(photo courtesy of Corbis)
“Come, ye thankful people, come;
Raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin.
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come;
Raise the song of harvest home.”
-Henry Alford
May the Lord richly bless you and your family today as you praise and thank Him for His abundant grace in your life!
Blessings,
Nancy
Good Morning! It’s a fun and exciting week around here this week, as it probably is at your house, too! Here is my Daybook entry for today ~
Outside my window. . .the sun is shining brightly through my window after a day of overcast clouds yesterday. Many Juncos are pecking at the ground under the bird feeders – it’s a thrill to see them after being gone almost a year now. Mama and Papa Cardinal have come for breakfast too, and are so lovely with their bright orange beaks and Papa’s brilliant color.
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I am thinking. . .about plans for the week and the season ahead – many things to think about!
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From the learning room. . .we are taking the week off from formal studies, but are still reading aloud the Pilgrims’ story – just finishing up the first hard winter in Plymouth. I have some puzzle sheets for the children to have fun with this week in their spare time.
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I am thankful for. . .the blessing of celebrating Thanksgiving each year with my family – and for the traditions we share and the fun we have together.
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From the kitchen. . .Spaghetti, Salad, and Homemade Bread for dinner tonight. I may bake a chocolate cake for dessert if time (and children) permits.
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I am wearing. . .white t-shirt and blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .Christmas cards to share and send.
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I am going. . .to try to trust God more and worry less each day.
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I am reading. . .Pilgrim stories with the children and my Bible.
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I am hoping. . .I can find time to blog this week!
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I am hearing. . .David talking to himself as he colors next to me, Michael fixing his breakfast, and a Christmas dvd playing on the tv.
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Around the house. . .the yearly onslaught of Christmas tubs has descended from the attic! I counted around 20 tubs – unbelievable! Their sweet inhabitants will be taking their places around the house to bring us added joy this season and remind us of Christmases past, while making new memories with us this year.
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One of my favorite things. . .my sister’s homemade dressing that she brings every year to our Thanksgiving dinner – I look forward to it each year with great anticipation!
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .Christmas decorating, working on Christmas cards, accompanying and fussing over Jeff while and after he has a cyst removed from his neck, baking in the kitchen, Thanksgiving Day with my family, a little bit of Christmas shopping, and the annual Dickens festival in a nearby town next weekend.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .
Sweet and delicious Pumpkin Pie ~ I couldn’t resist sharing this for my picture thought this week!
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To see what others have planned for the week, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman to find the list of particpants in this week’s The Simple Woman’s Daybook.
I’m off to dive in to the week. Have a lovely day, whatever your plans may be.
Blessings,
Nancy
After the children finished playing in the slimy pumpkin goo last week, they washed their hands and got ready to “paint” (frost) the sugar cookies that we had rolled out, cut, and baked earlier in the day – a mess of a different kind. Here is the recipe I use for Sugar Cookies – I think I got the cookie recipe from my Mom, but I wrote down the frosting recipe so many years ago, I don’t have any idea where I got it -
Sugar Cookies
1 1/3 cups shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
4 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tsp. milkThoroughly cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, mix thoroughly. Sift dry ingredients (I just stir them together), stir into creamed mixture along with milk. Divide dough into 4 round portions and wrap separately in waxed paper. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Working with one round at a time, roll out on floured surface. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen cookies (depending on what size cookie cutters you use!)
Cookie Frosting
2/3 cup shortening
4 cups (1 lb.) powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3 Tablespoons milk
Food ColoringIn medium bowl, cream shortening. Add sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to make decorating consistency. Beat until smooth and well blended. If necessary, thin with a few drops of milk. Divide into bowls, coloring as desired. Makes about 3 cups.
I use this same recipe all year round for different holidays – Christmas, Valentine’s, etc. For our Thanksgiving cookies, we decided on 5 different colors of frosting this time around – the colors of Fall -
Here are some pictures of the children hard at work -
As usual, David can’t wait to sample them!
Here are some of the results of their artistic endeavors -
Jeff couldn’t resist – he thought some of the leaf cookies looked like Christmas trees, so he decorated one as such – which started a trend around the table, which you may have noticed in some of the pictures.
After they were all finished painting the cookies, they, of course, had to eat a few – but it’s really hard to eat your masterpieces too soon, when you’ve worked so hard on them, so they saved their favorites to eat later – the next day. These cookies weren’t around here for very long – totally typical.
Have a lovely evening!
Blessings,
Nancy
We’ve been busy with Fall activities lately, and I’ve had a hard time finding time to get them posted (and still having trouble with that image loader!), so I thought I’d try to share them one at a time – shorter posts, but hopefully, more often than they’ve been lately. Last Friday, we had our first pumpkin cutting of the year. The children always look forward to digging into the slimy insides of the pumpkins and harvesting all of the seeds for roasting. The picture above shows them busy at the task. Tommy wasn’t really in such a bad mood as he looks – he thought he was being clever to make that face for the picture. Here are a few more pictures of this adventure -
Yes, he really is still just kidding around with me!
If you’d like my Roasted Pumpkin Seed recipe, go here. They are a special treat to us since we only get them at this time of year. We will have one more pumpkin seed night before Thanksgiving, as we have a few more pumpkins left to use before we start decorating for Christmas.
Have a wonderful Friday!
Blessings,
Nancy
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Good Morning! Are you feeling thankful today? Think for a moment of a few of the blessings in your life and thank the Lord for His gracious goodness.
Here is my thankful list for this week -
1. I am thankful for a cozy home to keep us warm on a cold night like tonight will be.
2. I am thankful for my son, Ryan’s visit yesterday. It was good to have him home and have time to talk.
3, I am thankful for food in the pantry to feed my family.
4. I am thankful for the low gas prices – I filled my van for only $55. the other day! I thought something wasn’t working properly when the pump shut off so soon, but was amazed to realize that my tank was actually full.
5. I am thankful that I have finished cross-stitching Michael’s stocking. All that is left to finish is putting it together and lining it!
6. I am thankful that my parents had a wonderful vacation and returned home safely.
7. I am thankful for the freedom we have to worship God in this country. We have been reading about the Pilgrims struggles in England with King James and the imprisonments and separations they suffered all because of their refusal to worship the King’s way and were worshipping in secret.
8. I am thankful that when I feel anxious and fretful, the Lord reaches out and comforts me with those precious words – “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)
9. I am thankful for my husband, who tries to lighten my load on a daily basis.
10. I am thankful for my children, who bless me daily, as well, with their thoughts, actions, and sweet love.
To read more thankful thoughts, click on the button below to find the list of participants in this week’s Thankful Thursday.
Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Nancy
Welcome to this week’s installment of Help for Growing Families! This week I would like to tell you about our stairs baskets. We live in a two story house and this is a great help to us. If you live in a single story, maybe there’s a way to adapt this idea for your home – but, probably, you won’t need this as much.
You may have seen the baskets that are sold for staircases – the idea behind them being that you place a basket on the stairs, and drop things in it throughout the day that need to go upstairs. Then, when you’re ready to go up, you just take the basket up with you and distribute it at that time. This saves many trips up and down, as well as keeping your house neater throughout the day.
I have adapted this idea to suit our large family. I have three baskets on my stairs – one for the girls’ room, one for the boys’ room, and one for the hall and linen closet. I have used decorative (but not expensive) baskets, so that they will look nice, but still be functional.
We put things in them all day long, including clean laundry. At chore time before dinner, while each child is cleaning their assigned room for the week (go here to read about how that works), they simply put items in the appropriate basket. Part of chore time is for them to take up their room’s basket and put things away.
Now, the only down side is that most days the stairs look like this during the day -
But, we don’t mind this so much as long as it is emptied before dinnertime. This is a simple idea, but it works for our family and has made life in a two-story home much easier.
For more helpful tips, please visit Mother Hen at Ship Full O’ Pirates to find the list of participants in this week’s Help for Growing Families.
Blessings,
Nancy
Good Afternoon! Here is my Daybook entry for today ~ November 17 ~
Outside my window. . .the sun is shining brightly in crisp, blue skies. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, giving the world around me the look of the beginnings of winter. Still a bit of color on the crepe myrtles, though.
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I am thinking. . .about getting the Christmas boxes down soon!
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From the learning room. . .we are reading aloud a wonderful account of the Pilgrims and their lives, starting with their troubles in England, their stay in Holland (we have learned much about the Dutch culture), and on to their voyage across the Atlantic to America.
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I am thankful for. . .all of the blessings the Lord has given to me.
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From the kitchen. . .Roast, New Potatoes, Green Beans and Pumpkin Pie for dessert.
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I am wearing. . .a pink sweater and blue jeans.
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I am creating. . .starting to work on my Christmas cards. I made a prototype over the weekend and, after a trip to Michael’s for a few supplies, I will be working on the rest of them.
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I am going. . .to stop in the quilt store sometime this week, too.
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I am reading. . .my Bible, finishing our study of Romans this week at Bible Study.
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I am hoping. . .that WordPress fixes the glitch in the photo uploader soon – every time I insert a picture it puts it at the top of the post and I have to move each and every one – it takes so much time and I have a lot of recent photos that I want to share with you!
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I am hearing. . .birds singing outside the window, “Blue’s Clues” dvd playing, children talking to each other.
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Around the house. . .the crockpot is heating up – filled to the brim with roast for our dinner tonight, dishes and laundry to be tackled, bags of clothes still waiting to be put away in the attic.
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One of my favorite things. . .a bologna sandwich with mustard, chips, and a sweet pickle.
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A few plans for the rest of the week. . .sewing, baking, making cards, Ladies Bible Study, starting my Christmas shopping list, and a church picnic this weekend.
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Here is a picture thought I am sharing. . .
Fresh, roasted pumpkin seeds – what a treat!
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To read more Daybook entries, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman to find the list of participants in this week’s Daybook. Have a lovely day!
Blessings,
Nancy
Today is another special day at our house – my husband, Jeff, is celebrating his birthday today! We will be celebrating out for dinner tonight at his restaurant of choice – Braum’s – for some burgers and ice cream. I need to get in the kitchen pretty soon and start working on a cherry cheesecake to surprise him with – this is one of his favorite desserts. He and Tommy have gone off to a men’s work day at church this morning, so I should be able to get it put together before they get back.
I thank God every year on this day for creating Jeff and for giving him to me for my husband. He is a selfless, Godly man who works hard to provide for his family. He gets up early each morning to drive into work, so that he can get off early and have more time at home with his family in the evenings. He is always looking for ways to make his income go farther, so that he will have money to supply us with our needs (and a few wants) and to have some to give away to further God’s work in the world.
He loves the Lord and seeks to serve and obey Him in all areas of his life, growing in his relationship with the Lord and teaching his children how to do the same. He has a strong heart for evangelism and for helping those in need around the world. His heart is a tender one and he can easily be moved to tears by something that touches his heart. He has always been sentimental and sweet in giving me special gifts throughout the years to bless me.
He loves baseball and has been an avid collector of baseball cards for years. His favorite team is the Chicago Cubs, who he has followed since his childhood.
He is a fun-loving man with a good sense of humor. He loves to be silly and laugh and have fun. Here he is dressed up as Groucho Marx with Laura as Harpo at our recent family costume birthday party -
What a couple of characters! Another of Jeff’s great interests is weather and severe storms. He has a degree in Meteorology and loves to be outside during a storm while the rest of us are hiding inside. I like to jokingly tell him that he “doesn’t have enough sense to come in out of the rain”, when he does this! He has taken a number of great weather pictures over the years, and will stop the car for a photoshoot when the clouds give him a show worth capturing.
He is my comforter when I am down, my voice of reason when I can’t think straight anymore, my helper when I am overwhelmed, and my calm amidst the storm. He loves me and our children and is always working for our good, as the Lord leads him.
We are so blessed by his life, love, and wisdom and thank God for the gift he is to all of us.
Happy Birthday, Sweetie!
I love you,
Nancy
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18
We’ve got a busy day going today with cookie baking, pumpkin and seed roasting, snack making and the usual daily events mixed in, but I wanted to write up a quick Thankful list for the week before I got up to my ears in flour -
1. I am thankful for the rain we had this week that was a needed refreshment for all.
2. I am thankful for my husband, Jeff, who is celebrating his birthday this week – for his Godly example, love for his family and tender heart.
3. I am thankful for fun family nights, like tonight – with special occasions, special treats and special memories to make.
4. I am thankful for the great time that we had at the outdoor Fall Festival last weekend, and the generosity of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law in treating us all (no small feat!) to the day.
5. I am thankful for the work that I’ve been able to get done on Michael’s stocking this week – it looks like it will be done in time to hang it up with the others after Thanksgiving.
6. I am thankful for our church – for the Godly teaching and friendships that we have found there.
7. I am thankful for good movies like “Facing the Giants”, and how they teach my children the truths of God’s Word in everyday life.
8. I am thankful for these words from Scripture -
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in Your hand. . .”
-Psalm 31:14-15a
Well, I’m off to the kitchen now. To read more thankful lists, click the button below to find the list of participants in this week’s Thankful Thursday. Have a wonderful day!
Blessings,
Nancy
This week I thought that I would share the system that we have in place for the children’s chores. Over the years we have tried many different approaches to chores, but this is what is working for us right now.
Four of the children are assigned a room each week downstairs that they are responsible for straightening up each day at chore time. They tidy that room every day for a week. The next week, we rotate them around to another room, so they each have a turn at each of the four rooms on the rotation in a month (some rooms are harder than others, so this keeps it fair).
In addition to their assigned room, they have one special chore a day. These include things like washing windows, vacuuming, sweeping, wiping down cabinets, washing mirrors, dusting pictures, etc. These do not rotate and are assigned to the same day every week. They are handed out based on age and skill level. Every so often I overhaul this chore schedule and change them around some – this way they eventually learn how to do different things as they get older.
The two littlest children are not on the room rotation, but help out with whatever needs doing that they can handle. Since Anna just turned five, I will probably start giving her one daily chore to do that will be her daily responsibility, rather than just helping someone else.
Matthew also is not on the room rotation, since he works now and is many times not here at chore time to tidy up. He does have a special chore each day, however, and is responsible for mowing the lawn in season.
Chore time is usually around 5:00 pm or sometimes I wait until Jeff gets home, so he can supervise it (if it’s been one of “those” days).
Lately we’ve started adding in something new during the day that has been a really big help. We call it the “20 Item Pickup”, and it works just like it sounds – everyone picks up 20 items each in the living room and puts them where they go. I use this when the living room has gotten super messy (most days) long before chore time – mostly for my own sanity – I can’t function when the house looks like a tornado (David) has just gone through. The children think it’s fun and it helps the house (and me) survive until the more thorough straightening at dinnertime. It also makes it a bit easier on the person assigned to clean the living room each day, which is usually the dreaded room because it gets the messiest – what can I say? – we live in it.
So, that is our chore system for our children. Feel free to ask me any questions about it. I’ll be happy to go into more detail about their specific chores, if you’d like me to.
To find more helpful tips, please visit Mother Hen at Ship Full O’ Pirates to find the list of participants in this week’s Help for Growing Families.
Hope you have a wonderful evening!
Blessings,
Nancy
