A Few Snapshots From Last Weekend . . .

Last weekend was a busy one for us, but thanks to a glitch with my computer and uploading pictures, I haven’t been able to post about it until now. But, I have managed to outsmart my computer for once in my life . . . heh, heh, heh (evil scientist laugh) . . . when even the resident tech go-to support people couldn’t solve the problem. It just goes to show you that if you fiddle around and have a little patience you can beat it at it’s (the computer’s) tricks – either that or completely crash it – in which case, the computer has the last laugh. But, not this time. Thank you for indulging me as I digress.

Anyway, like I was saying, it was a busy weekend for us last weekend. Friday night was our annual Reformation Day celebration at church. Costume opportunity #1. Everyone is invited to dress in medieval attire, which means six costumes around here. Thankfully many of these are worn and handed down year to year, and we only ended up having to purchase 2 new ones this year, which wasn’t too bad – especially since we waited until the last week and they were already marked down 30%. Here are a few snapshots we took before leaving home ~

We spent the evening enjoying a fellowship meal, hearing a short talk on the life of John Calvin, and, after the costume contest, the children ran around the church – attending various booths to play games that each, in some way, taught about Calvin’s life. Jeff and I ran the “Authority of the Bible” booth, where the children had to throw balls and knock down every book (cardboard reproductions) except the Bible. It was lots of fun, but I was so caught up in the events that I forgot to take pictures! So, these will have to suffice – and the older girls looked so lovely in their long medieval dresses, too! Oh, well, maybe I’ll do better next year!

Costume opportunity #2 -the next night we attended the Fall Festival that we have been going to for many years back in our old town. It is full of games, bounce houses, ponies, and candy. It seems to get bigger every year and is sometimes a lesson in patience as we wait in line with the crowds for each event. This night required 5 more costumes (now you know what I spent the previous week doing). I managed to get more pictures this night ~

Our group included three clowns, a cheerleader, and Elizabeth Swann -

We played Limbo . . .

Baseball (or should I say “air-ball”?) . . .

Decorated cupcakes . . .

And pet the animals in the petting zoo . . .

When we were sufficiently worn out, we headed to my mom’s house (an annual tradition) and the kids dumped and sorted their candy – always a highlight of the evening – especially since the rest of us can sit down and relax finally!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend – ours is gearing up to be another busy one, but at least no costumes are involved this time!

Blessings,
Nancy

Autumn Haiku

One of our final assignments in our Fall lapbooks yesterday was to write a Fall haiku poem. A haiku poem consists of three lines and each line has a designated number of syllables. I only required the older children to write their own, while I had the younger ones copy the ones that were written. It turned out to be a very fun experience for all. In no time, Tommy and Sarah had turned out two wonderful poems which they added into their lapbooks. I thought I’d share them with you here ~

First Tommy’s poem ~

Leaves changing colors,
Scarecrows in the fields of wheat,
Harvest time is here.

The syllable requirement for this assignment was 5 syllables in the first line – 7 in the second – 5 in the last. A haiku poem does not have to rhyme, although Sarah chose to make her’s rhyme. Here is Sarah’s poem ~

The pumpkins are here,
And everywhere there is cheer,
Harvest time is near.

I wrote one myself to put in my lapbook (I always make one along with the kids – it’s too much fun to miss out on!). My poem centers around a kitchen theme ~

Pumpkins, apples, spice,
Cinnamon, ginger and cloves,
Autumn baking day.

This activity was so much fun and fairly simple that I think that we will try writing some more about different subjects – nature, history, Thanksgiving, etc.

Blessings,
Nancy

Candy Corn Day!

Today is National Candy Corn Day, so be sure and grab a handful before the day’s over!

While working on our Harvest lapbooks yesterday, we learned that candy corn was invented by the Wunderlee Candy Company in 1880. It was made in the shape of a corn kernel, and thus the name was born. The colors also were chosen to resemble corn. I was surprised to learn that one of the ingredients in candy corn is marshmallow.

My brother held a poll at last week’s family birthday party on which was the most favored candy corn – the yellow or the brown. I, of course, voted for the brown due to it’s close resemblance to chocolate. However, in the end, the yellows won by a narrow margin, with the result really being summed up by my nephew, Dylan, who said he voted for yellow because – “it’s classic”.

Which is your favorite color of candy corn?

Blessings,
Nancy

An Autumn Tour

I walked around the house the other day and took some pictures of a few spots that have been decorated for the fall season. Just a few of the touches that we have added to our home to celebrate. Some we put out every year, traditionally. A few others are new this year. Many are just simple, but I love their simplicity. I didn’t take pictures of everything, but here are a few areas that I did capture ~

The above picture is on the front porch, as is this one – I put a big pumpkin in this chair by the front door each year ~

I love the way the yard looks when the leaves start falling ~

Coming in the front door, the first thing you would see is this autumn wreath hanging on a closet door ~

In the living room, the mantle has been decorated with fall berries and the blocks changed to reflect the season ~

Atop the living room hutch is a seasonal basket, while the lower part of the hutch holds several types of pumpkins, real and handcrafted, as well as a Harvest candle ~

The piano holds my annual favorite berry pumpkin candle ~

On the nature shelf, our ceramic Fall houses have been set up. I almost didn’t put these out this year, but the children wanted them – many of the pieces have been broken over the years from being played with by little hands. They light up at night and look very pretty, I must concede. Next to the houses sits a basket of colorful autumn gourds ~

The stairs and church pew have been dressed up with cloth pumpkins and corn husk garland (the kitties love this!) ~

The dining room cabinet needed just a simple pumpkin to fancy it up ~

The dining table holds my old milk bottle with red, orange, and yellow berries (love these!) and a lovely white pumpkin that I picked up at the store ~

Into the kitchen, there are pie pumpkins sitting around the counters ~

A Jack-Be-Little on the windowsill is a yearly must ~

A small ceramic pumpkin in a corner and a glass pumpkin serving up Autumn mix candies on the island (you may remember this from my Daybook) ~

Finally, the kitchen hutch is decorated with berries, baskets, and mini pumpkins ~

On the way out the back door, is one of several Fall signs that I have hanging around the house ~

I hope you have enjoyed this Fall mini-tour of our home!

Blessings,
Nancy

Keepers Cake Decorating

Last night was our monthly Keepers of the Faith meeting. The girls spent the evening in the church kitchen, decorating the cutest little pumpkin cakes I’d ever seen.

They were made in mini bundt pan molds and then the girls decorated them with orange, brown, and green icing. There were many different variations of pumpkins that resulted ~

The girls also made fruit kabobs which they used to decorate a pumpkin for a centerpiece, which turned out just lovely ~

It was a fun evening, but the best part of all, in David’s opinion, was eating the cakes at the end ~

Blessings,
Nancy

A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

Monday found us with a beautiful Fall day just perfect for our trip to the Pumpkin Farm. After our morning studies and a quick lunch, we packed in the van and headed for the farm. It was a lovely drive, down country roads lined with farms and Autumn trees.

We arrived at the Pumpkin Farm and were greeted inside the front gate by many friendly (and hungry) goats. Thankfully, they were behind fences! We had been given cups of feed when we entered and the children started feeding them while I started taking pictures -

In addition to the many goats, there were also sheep to feed -

And a few Longhorn steer, too – in classic Texas style -

Next we took advantage of the abundance of Fall decorations and pumpkins around the property for a few posed pictures -

We spent some time climbing on the hay bale spider, one of several neat hay bales around -

The next part of our adventure was the hay ride, always lots of fun -

Finally, it was time to hit the pumpkin patch and pick pumpkins. Each person was allowed to pick one small pumpkin from the patch to take home (part of the entrance fee). It was fun wandering around the field looking for the ones we wanted -

We did a little more socializing with the animals before leaving -

And took this group picture – they really did have a good time, even if they don’t look like it! ( I told Jeff it looks like a mug shot!) I think they were just a bit tired by this point – I know David was -

And speaking of David – did you notice how many pictures of David are in this post? Can you tell he’s the baby of the family? Well, here’s one more, for the road, because I’m a mother and I just can’t help myself (again) -

Blessings,
Nancy

Bread Pudding

This is my Mom’s recipe for Bread Pudding. We enjoyed this many an evening after dinner while I was growing up. Since then, I have made it many evenings myself. I have a tradition of baking this for the first time each year on the first cold night of Autumn. I can always be heard to say, sometime around this time of year, that “this is a bread pudding night”. We had one of these chilly nights last week, so I made my first bread pudding of the year, To be honest, not everyone in my family shares my enthusiasm for this dessert, but that just leaves more for those who do. If you like custards, you will enjoy this recipe. I really like custards ~ for the flavor as well as the simple, old-fashioned homemade classic that it is.

Bread Pudding

1 egg, beaten
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla
3 biscuits (or bread slices), torn into small pieces
Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients and pour into greased square glass baking dish. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

I doubled the recipe for my family. It tends to flatten a bit after it comes out of the oven, but serves up nicely in bowls. Enjoy it the next cool Fall evening where you live!

Blessings,
Nancy

Fried Apples

I grew up eating fried apples every visit to my grandparent’s home. Grandmama would always cook up dishes and dishes of fresh vegetables from their garden and fried apples were always included, although I believe she bought her apples at the store ~ I don’t remember any apple trees on the property. They were my favorite part of every meal at their house.

So, naturally when I grew up, I wanted to learn how to make them. I don’t know the recipe Grandmama used (if she used one), but when I was first married I found a recipe for Fried Apples in the local newspaper, and I have kept it and used it ever since. I haven’t really made them very often, usually opting for the ease of opening a jar of applesauce, but sometimes I just get a craving for them, and then I pull out this recipe and head to the store for some Granny Smiths. I double this recipe, but even then, they shrink down so much that I don’t get a huge bowl. I may triple it next time. Anyway, they’re pretty simple, if you follow the directions and don’t improvise too much ~ don’t ask me how I know this!

Ingredients
4 Granny Smith apples (or any tart green apple)
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Begin by coring the apples and cutting them into wedges (about 8 pieces to an apple) ~

Bring a large saute pan to medium heat (I used my electric skillet).
Add butter, then apples. Saute until apples are beginning to caramelize (about 5 minutes) ~

Add brown sugar and completely caramelize (do not burn), until apples have a shiny candy appearance (10 minutes) ~

Here they are ready to eat, served in Grandmama’s old vegetable dish ~ sweet and delicious!

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Autumn!!

Today is the first official day of Fall! We will be celebrating with Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches for dinner with Apple Crisp for dessert, or maybe even Apple Dumplings - we’ll see how the day goes. I have a few more decorations to hang – mostly my Fall berry garlands and of course, pumpkins to set around.

I hope that your day is cool and crisp and cozy – just like this time of year!

Blessings,
Nancy

Happy Thanksgiving!

(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