Candle By Night

I have been praying an awful lot today. I know that God is good in all he does for me, but could he please have the hurricane hit north of the Carolinas? I just wanted to have a good weekend taking my family to North Myrtle Beach and now I am not sure what the weekend holds. I now Ernesto is supposed to move through by this evening, but that can still leave things up in the air. I just really wanted to be able to take a trip. We haven't traveled anywhere for a year. Last year we went to some Camp Meetings in North Carolina. My husband really needs this vacation. Ever since he lost his job before DD was born we haven't had a chance to get away as a family. So..I guess we will just have to wait and see. I finally got those Ground Cherries made into a pie yesterday. Everyone liked it too. Hubby said it was different and wouldn't mind having it again. So...I will probably grow a few next year to make a couple of pies and maybe some jam for something different. I should proba...

All I can say is that if it wasn't for the Lord I don't know how I would surivive this week....or any week for that. I have so many things to do I feel like my head is in a spin. I just need to continually remind myself that I am not along in my daily tasks and that he is always there. *The picture above is one of my favorites. It is of my son and my parents dog, Daisy.* I was able to finish up my canning at 11:30 last night and all the quarts sealed. The pint did not, but that is okay. I will have it for lunch today. As usual I am trying to catch up on my laundry since it is not supposed to rain today and as I do laundry, I am going to start slowly packing things to. Oh yeah...I guess I need to clean out the van and wash it too! *Deep breath in....and out.....* Okay..I am better now. I was able to finish the tea cosy for my swap partner on Crochetville. I will wait to send it out after we get back from our trip though. I hope she likes it. I wish I could post a pic...

Wow....I am currently in the process of canning vegetable soup that I made today. The first batch is in the canner. I think I will have about 15 total...can't remember. I need to stay on top of this as I have plenty of other things to do before this weekend. I am also trying to catch up on laundry, but it is almost impossible with the rain yesterday and the wet day today. So...laundry is going very slow at this point. I need to get all of these things done because our family is heading for North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on Friday morning at about 3:30 am. We are going to stay at my parents home at NMB. I can't wait for the children to see the beach for the first time. We are also going to take a trip to the aquarium on Saturday and to Dixie Stampede on Sunday. DS will absolutely LOVE the Dixie Stampede and DD will too. DS love of horses has definately rubbed off on his sister! I just don't know if I am going to be able to get everything done in time. I sure hope so! ...

Well...we had an interesting afternoon in our home. I won't go into much detail, but I will say that Hubby finally burned his items from karate...awards, belts, certificates, etc. It is amazing what a spiritual hold those type of things have on people. It was quit a struggle, but I know he is very relieved and so am I!!! Everything else doesn't seem as important to post about...so maybe I will tomorrow. Blessings to all and may all those in any type of bondage "Break Free!"

Well...today started out with me cleaning once again. Only this time I am trying to clean out a room so that we can move our son into it. At the house we previously lived in we stored everything in the basement. Well this house...the basement is too damp to store things and the attic just is not conducive to storing items up there easily. So I am trying to sort through and clean items so my son can eventually move over to his own room and DD can get used to sleeping in a toddler bed. I made a dinner for a family in our church today and took it over this afternoon. They have a darling little girl that I just got to see for the first time today. She is going to have quit the interesting life with three older brothers. I took over a Taco Pie, chips and salsa, applesauce, and I shared some sunflowers and broom corn with them. On my way back home I stopped at a friend's house and picked some ground cherries. I hope to try making a pie with them. I have heard a lot about them and thought...

I don't even know how many people have even read this blog, but I realize that someone might wonder why in the world I titled my blog "Candle By Night." Well...it is my "business." Sort of... Last year I made a lot of items for a local craft fair to sell. I was trying to come up with a name for my booth and my DH came up with "Candle By Night Creations" and that is what we went with. Last year was not a good year for craft fairs, but I will try again this year and maybe even some bigger ones. Anyway, I make crocheted dishcloths and washcloths, crocheted potholders, purses, doilies, bunting dolls (these are sooooo cute!), afghans, and I hope to make some bath salts, bath bombs, and soaps soon. So..In case you where wondering. That is why. I was selling some of my items through a lady in Amish Country, but I felt it was too much of a hassle for her to deal with my items, take care of her husband, and run her little shop. I hope to post some photos of thi...

Well, you can probably guess what is going on in my home today. I am continuing to do my daily chores/tasks. I finally got the kitchen counters cleaned and straightened. Now I need to take care of the floor. Since summer came..I am embarrassed to say...I don't know the last time I gave my floors a really good cleaning. So I hope to..on Friday...give my kitchen floor a really good hands and knees type scrubbing. It needs it. I can at least say that I accomplished making and canning about 5 pints of spaghetti sauce last night. I can't believe that I have run out of quart size jars. I thought I had so many, but I actually had to get more a couple of weeks ago. So far this year I have canned 51 quarts of beans, 15 pints of pickles, 5 pints of spaghetti sauce, 5 pints of pizza sauce, and I think about 27 quarts of peaches. I also made peach jam and strawberry jam. Hopefully I can get some Jonagold apples this fall and make apple butter, applesauce, and try making apple pie in a jar....

Well...not too much excitement in our home today except the usual "scuffle" between brother and sister. ;) Anyway...I get these feelings of being overwhelmed once in a while. I have a really hard time keeping my home in order. People always tell me...."It's because you have small children." To me...that should be no excuse. I know the house won't be spotless. But once I get it clean within a day or two Tornado Titus/Elisabeth goes through and you can't even tell I did anything. It is my fault. I do better when I have to do list. Ever since we moved in the house in January I haven't been able to keep a schedule. I wish my printer worked so I could reprint my daily routine pages and get my management binder together. I just need to take the initiative and get up and do the work. It is just so unappealing at times, but I don't want my children to have the same habits I do. So....I am at least half way done with cleaning the kitchen counters and sin...

I realize I already posted for today, but I just had to write this down. One of the most wonderful sounds in the world was happening out on my front lawn today. My husband and children were playing and laughing. It was so wonderful to hear. Many people ask my husband what he does for a hobby. He says.."What hobby? I don't have time to waste on a hobby. I love playing with my children and that is what I fill a lot of my time with." It brings such joy to my heart to know that our family comes first, after God, with my husband. So many men come home after work, eat dinner, watch TV or go out with friends. If my husband leaves the home it is for a church meeting, bible study, or a seminar at the jail. So..I just wanted to post how happy my DH makes me and my children. May you all be blessed!

Yes, Mondays are my laundry days. They just seem to take forever. My washer...even on the short cycle....takes a long time. Longer than it should. Hubby is going to take a look at it this evening and see if he can figure out what is going on. The other day I read this article on Homeliving Helper. Oh...how I long to have a lovely linen closet. Well...for one..I don't have a lot of linens, but someday. I love reading her blog. I get so inspired to do so many things and it is a good reminder to keep me home neat, tidy, and inviting for my family and for visitors. I got this great book from the Library the other day called The American Girls Handy Book by Lina Beard and Adelia B. Beard. It was originally published in 1887. It is a really neat book. It gives instructions for girls on how to: make a lawn tennis net, make a hammock, model in clay/wax, how to make homemade candy, make corn husk and flower dolls, and a lot more. I wouldn't purchase this book because it has things abo...

I figured I better go ahead and post while I had a chance. The children are watching a short video on Daniel and the Lion's Den and DH is at a men's meeting. We have a full day ahead. I have a lot of "housekeeping" to do, hubby is at his meeting, then hubby is going to give the van an oil change...Then we are all going to our friend, Curt's home, to do some work for him. After that...not real sure, but I am positive it will be a full day. I guess Hubby does need to get the children's lesson for tomorrow. Well...Hubby just "beeped" me and said he is on his way home. I better get off and get things done. Hope all have a great day! God Bless!

It is not even 7:00 am yet and I am proud of what I have accomplished so far. Yes this is an accomplishment because I am so tired I don't usually get anything done. So far I have done my devotions today out of Romans and I have made Donut Muffins for my hubby and children. hubby took half of them to work! Now....The rest are just waiting for my little ones to wake up to have breakfast. Today is going to be a busy day. It is payday so I will be going to Joann's to pick items up for a swap I am a part of and then off to Sam's club to purchase a few items. I am going to wait to go to the grocery as long as I can. It seems if I do all my errands on payday...then it feels as though we are pinching pennies to get to the next one. So...off to get dressed and get ready for the day!

I just wanted to show some of the crochet work I have done lately. Here is a dress I did for Lullabies and Lace . You can find all the links to the left. Here is a dress I tested for Crochet Garden .

Well...let's see how this goes. I have never had a blog before and I thought I would give it a try. So....bear with me as I try all this out.