{ Let's catch up }

Good morning ladies! 

 

It's been a while.  Couple of weeks at least, since I've sat down and just talked, shared, updated and had a cup of coffee with you all.

 

I have another busy day today, but I felt so pushed to come in and just share.  Share the photos I've been taking, because even though I haven't been posting them, they've been accumulating in my camera, and so this weekend, I did a photo dump, edited everything I had, uploaded it to my Flickr Account and cleaned out the card to start again.

 

So let's start, grab a cup of coffee or tea, sit back and let me just chit chat for a few minutes.....hopefully, though if you know me you know that sometimes I just start talking and keep going.  *snicker*

♥ Deer ♥

I love this time of the year. The weather gets cooler, the leaves start turning and our property gets an influx of deer.  Big bucks, does and fawns, all colors and sizes.  It is fascinating and I always thank God for his works of art.  The beauty of this animals is just unlike anything else.  

 

 

♥ Cleaning and organizing ♥

In between my errands, chauffeur mom duties, cooking, etc.  I have been slowly organizing and cleaning out a room at a time.

 

I keep my house clean and tidy, but we all know that things tend to pile up, it's just normal for a day to day household, and we as moms are always going around trying to get things back where they belong.  But even as moms we tend to sometimes leave a pile of laundry on the couch for a day, or a stack of books in a corner of the room waiting to be put on the shelf.  

 

It's those little things that have been bothering me, so I have been making it a priority to pick up, organize and put away all the random bits and bobs around the house. 

 

♥ Preparing for the holidays ♥

I've started making plans for Thanksgiving, planning, buying food for the meals, working on Christmas gift lists and getting ready for the holidays.

I can not wait to celebrate, especially this year.  We have so much to be thankful for, even in the middle of the uncertainty and chaotic world we live in.  This Thanksgiving we will be giving thanks for another year gone by, for the blessings God bestowed upon us, for a new baby boy due in December and for my sister in law finishing her treatments on the 19th of November.  

With all this in mind, one of the first things I do every year, is make my fruitcakes.  It didn't happen last year though, if you remember it was right after my sweet mother in law passed away, so we didn't celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas the way we usually do.  We just didn't have it in us to do.

But, the fruitcakes are baked this year, and instead of the usual rum I use to drizzle on top, I decided to try something different.  Kahlua Salted Caramel Liqueur.  It tastes amazing in the fruit cake.  Yes, I always take a little bit to try and make sure they're good.  

Speaking of which, I need to go and give the cakes another drizzle this morning.

 

 

♥ Reading ♥ 

Reading has come back into my heart, with a bang.  I missed it so much.  I have this tremendous love for books.  My shelves are full, and anytime I am in a bookstore, I can't help but purchase one or two more.  There is just something about a physical book in my hands, that brings such joy to my heart.

 

Among the review books that I have, I also have my own piles of books waiting to be read.  I don't always have the time for mine because my review books take priority, but when I have a little break in that commitment, I immediately grab one of mine.

The review book I just finished is called The Book of Timothy and it is a true story, based on quite a famous case from many years ago.  It is the story of Timothy Nockels who was abused by a Catholic priest.  It's quite hard to read because of the circumstances, but a very good book nonetheless.

From my own pile, I have grabbed Francine River's A Lineage of Grace which tells the fictional stories, of 5 very important women in the lineage of Jesus Christ.  Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary.

I also have Sons of Encouragement which is also part of the same series, and tells the fictional story of Aaron, Caleb, Jonathan, Amos and Silas.  That sounds like a phenomenal book too.

 

♥ Sweet Elliott Time ♥

This little boy has crept into my heart and has been a life saver, since my heart broke in August, when my Marley left.  I don't talk about it much because I am still grieving.  

I have not been Ok. I still cry, I still miss him, I still don't understand why this happened and I still hurt like nothing I've ever felt before.  But Elliott has been my little shadow.  He is quite naughty at times, and that's expected since he is just a year old, but he follows me around, snuggles up next to me in bed or the couch for naps, and gets so happy when he seems me get up each morning.

He immediately starts purring, rubbing against my legs, drops and just lays at my feet, closing his eyes while I pet him.  He plays with me, he loves playing fetch with the aluminum foil balls, he loves laying in the kitchen while I cook.  He is just my companion and I thank God every day for him.

 

 

♥ Fall Cooking ♥

I love cooking all year long, but Fall and Winter time just brings forth all the stick to your ribs, filling, yummy stews and soups.  We've had soup a few times already, starting with the one I just posted above which was a Portuguese bean soup, with sausage and potato and carrots.  It was one of the best soups we have ever eaten, so good, so filling and thick and tummy warming.

 

I also made an Amish Chicken recipe which was delicious and so easy to make.  I'll have that recipe on the blog later today.

 

 

Curt is still working on his Master's Degree, he will be done in March of 2022.  He has been listening to the Lord and trying to figure out what and where He is leading him, and lately he has felt the pull to do Youth Ministry, so he has talked to our church pastor about it.  We are praying on it and will see where God takes us.

Jasmine has been doing amazing at driving.  She loves it, she has a renewed confidence about her that I am incredibly grateful for.  She is loving work, loving her cowokers, has gone out with them after work and is just living life to the fullest at the moment.  As always we pray for her and continually ask the Holy spirit to pursue her heart.

Nick is also starting his journey towards getting his driver's license as well, and he is trying to figure out where to go with his future.  He is not sure if he wants to go to college or go straight to work.  We are praying on that as well, that God continues to guide him.

I'm doing well, I'm still holding on to the Lord's hand and continuing on my own spiritual journey.  It has been life changing in so many ways, I am so much more aware of everything around me.  I never understood discernment until last year, and now I can't imagine life without it.

I hope to do a full post on discernment, what it is, and why you need it.

And that's it my friends.  You are all caught up on what has been happening around here.  Just plain ol' living, being with family and keeping our heads above the water in this crazy world.

Have a blessed Tuesday, thank you as always for coming by to see me and leaving such sweet comments.  I really appreciate them.

I'm going to end this post here, go and give my fruitcakes their weekly boozy bath, and make myself a salad for lunch, before I have to step out to pick Jasmine up from work.

{ The Thanksgiving Tree }

I had such a blessed weekend.  It was a whirlwind of activity, overnight guests, games, laughter, catching up and fellowship.  We talked about what we had each been up to, but we also talked about God, about our individual journeys and what the Lord has been doing in our lives.

It was wonderful!!!

{ Decorating for Christmas }

Last year, I had no Christmas mojo.

I felt like I stumbled onto the holiday season, right at the end and figured it was no use decorating.  So I didn't, and I felt bad about it because it didn't quite look like Christmas in my house.

This year, I'm way ahead of the game, and decided that I needed to get going with decorations as soon as possible.

It's no secret that the minute November comes around, I start watching Christmas movies, especially those on the Hallmark Channel.  TV is turned on in the morning and it's a Christmas movie fest all day long.  I absolutely love it.

Last week I pulled out my Christmas boxes and had them just sitting in the corner, waiting for me to get to work.   So, after breakfast yesterday, I turned on the TV to the current movie, and got into the boxes.

It was so much fun decorating and working on the house.  I hadn't felt like that in a long time.  I mentioned on my Happy Homemaker Monday post, that I feel like I don't know who I am anymore because a lot of the things I had so much fun doing, weren't making me happy anymore.

But doing this yesterday, was like going back to the old me and I can't tell you how much I loved every single minute of it.

I took some photos and thought I would show you a little of what I've done so far.

This is one of my favorite pictures :)

My nativity scene is one of my favorite Christmas decorations.  I got the manger many years ago, from Precious Moments, and the little ceramic figurines we bought, I don't even remember where.

For the window treatments, I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do, but while looking through my boxes I found a ton of garland, so I used that and then placed some of my cinnamon scented pine cones on top, and little red bow in the middle.

Love the result and I didn't have to spend any money, just used what I already had on hand :)

My Christmas village is once again on the fireplace.  It's funny, before we moved to this house I always thought I had nowhere too many buildings because every place I tried to put them in, in our previous homes, always seemed too cluttered.

Here with this fireplace, I feel like I don't have nowhere near enough, so I guess it's a good excuse to purchase a few more pieces right?

The house is definitely feeling very festive and it's keeping me in the holiday spirit.

Earlier today I did our white Christmas tree in the living room, and then next weekend we will get a real tree for the den.  I'll take pictures tomorrow morning and show you in a new post. 

I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek at my home and I would love to see yours, so if you've already decorated, let me know in the comments so I can come by :)

I'm off to start on dinner, which tonight is going to be Meatball subs.  Have a wonderful night friends.

Crochet and getting ready for the holidays

Please don't pass out when you realize I'm posting, yet again.  hahah

I know, I kinda feel a little weird that I've managed to do it the past 3 days without fail, and to tell you the truth it's felt good to make a conscious effort to take pictures during the day, and get a post up every night.

I'm thinking that I should do Blogmas this year, to really make sure that I get a blog post up every single day, through December.  If I do that, I may just kick start my motivation so that I can go back to daily blogging.  What do you say?

Alright, well let me tell you a little about my day, didn't have much interesting going on, matter of fact, I didn't have any housework to do aside from the usual tasks, so I have spent today working on my crochet blanket and spending time with Marley.



So this is what I was working on today, the roses.  I've never crocheted roses and I didn't know how it would turn out, but I must say that I'm finding them to be not only really easy to make, but so pretty.



There's the first row all done.  I just finished the roses row about 30 minutes ago.  I have to crochet when I have time, and there's a lot of stopping and interrupting, which sometimes is counter productive when you're needing to pay attention to stitches.

Yes, I've had to frog a row and I've had to pull apart 5 rows because I miscounted.  Oh well.  It's worth it, because it's looking absolutely gorgeous.



I've been working on Thanksgiving lists, writing down what I need to make, what I need to buy and what I need to do.

Also moved a few things about to make room for all the guests.  This futon is usually in my daughter's room, but I moved it into the green living room to provide more seating and also if someone is staying overnight, I can quickly make up a bed.



Got the fruit mix out, because I realized that I should have already made my Fruit cakes.  I am way behind ladies, like really behind on schedule, but I'll get what I need this weekend when I go grocery shopping and then get right on making these.



Marley is growing fast, I mean, really growing fast, to the point where I feel like every day I wake up and he's bigger.  He has the sweetest face though, and is actually not a bad puppy.



Did the normal schooling with Nick today, oh friends, this kid still dislikes school immensely and getting him to do anything is quite a pain in the you know what.

But we managed to get some portfolios done and turned in which is a good thing.

Like I said, I've been working on Thanksgiving lists, menus etc.  I think I may do a post on that soon, talking about my Menu, what I plan on making ahead of time and such.  Maybe even do a Thanksgiving grocery haul.

Is that something that would interest you?  Let me know in the comments below, also let me know what kind of posts you want to see, if there's anything that I used to do that you would like to see me bring back or anything specific.

Well I best get this post up and get myself ready for bed.  Have a blessed, restful night friends :)

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July!

We're planning to have a BBQ....just us.....some Bratwurst, Steak, Potato Salad, Beans, Corn and a Flag cake for dessert.

Later we'll watch the fireworks, they're not exactly allowed on base but the military does sometimes put on their own show OR we will just enjoy the fireworks being put out by people outside the base.

What are your plans for today?

EDIT: I just added a few recipes to the food blog, they're perfect for today's celebration, go on over and check out the 4th of July Cake, Sandra's Potato Salad and the Best Grilled Steak Marinade.

Christmas has come and gone..........

Time really does fly by, one minute you're anxiously awaiting Christmas and rushing to make sure you have all the presents and the last minute details..........then in less than 30 minutes, that's it, it's gone. Wow!

We had a good Christmas, I got to speak to all my family which is somewhat of a tradition since I left home, the phone rings on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve and I get to sit down and say hi and catch up with all 12 of them. hahahahah
You think I'm kidding??? It's a long phone call but so worth it!

I spent the rest of the day in the kitchen cooking, I have the recipes for you including pictures and all, I'll be updating the food blog tonight so those will be available soon :)

We got to track Santa as he made his way across the world delivering presents, the kids sprinkled reindeer food in the front yard and even think they spotted Santa due to the big bright red light in the sky, slowly moving across from one side to the other while leaving a smoke trail behind. You should have seen the looks on their faces, there's absolutely NOTHING like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child....pure heaven.

We opened presents at midnight and ate and laughed and played with the new goodies and just had a great time.......Curt did really well with my gifts this year, this man knows me and what I like. I got a new griddle, Sandra Lee's Slow Cooker Recipes (YAY), a cute cute black Tinkerbell top which he knows I love, some wonderful new suede gloves and then oh does this man know me...........coffee. YES, Irish Cream and French Roast coffee plus a new grinder to boot. I'm thrilled, I've let my fingers page through the cookbook, I've had a wonderful cup of Irish Cream coffee, I'm wearing my new top and I plan on using that griddle tomorrow morning. Life is good!

Here's a short slideshow:

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Now we're heading towards New Year's Eve and quite frankly I could take it or leave it, it's not a date we particularly like or make a point of celebrating, as a matter of fact the past 8 years or so we just go about our day and head to bed at night only to wake up to a new year. Works fine for us!

We don't like going out and getting in the middle of the crowds, the drinking, the fights and the craziness out there.

So we'll be at home, doing the usual, I actually can't wait until it's all over and done with, I am dying to get back to a normal routine, the holidays are wonderful but they're tiring aren't they?

One thing I've been thoroughly enjoying is the christmas movies on tv. I don't think I've ever watched the Lifetime Channel this much....there's just one great movie after another, I'm going to miss those.

Don't be surprised to see a new template around here soon, I'm over Christmas and that includes the current look, I know I know, I change it a lot but I guess I like my blog to match my mood. Not sure what I'm doing yet though so it may be that I don't mess with it anything for a couple weeks. Who knows!

I think I need to head to my food blog and post a couple of great recipes for you, get the kids bathed and in bed and then slip into a hot bath with a good book in hand. "A Painted House" by John Grisham is calling my name :)

Have yourselves a wonderful evening, I hope you are all full from the wonderful Christmas meals and happy to be surrounded by family.

God Bless,