Candle By Night

I was looking at some posts over at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee . This post really struck me. I guess she had seen this article about a "famous" pastor that left his church and headed to Asia. You may not agree with everything this pastor teaches, but this message really struck me. I just wanted to share it with you.

 just so cute! My mother brought up a few things of mine a few weeks ago. She also gave me my grandmother's wedding dress. Sweet E was so intrigued by it. I decided to let her try it on. She just had the biggest smile on her face and was so giddy. It definitely made her day. I will have to scan the wedding picture of my Grandma some time and show it to you all. ;-) That's it. A short and sweet post. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

God for providing for our family. I can say our debts (minus the mortgage anyway) are paid off. We paid of the ER bill (the biggest bill) off this week. It felt so good! We thought it would take a long time to pay these bills off and with a surprise blessing they are taken care of! So I just wanted to share that with you all. ;-) And during this blessed week of reflection on God's love, goodness, grace, and forgiveness we are constantly trying to figure out what is best for our family. I guess you could call them traditions. Of course any time I hear the word tradition I think of this song. I just can't help it. ;-) (just make sure to shut off the music in the side bar).   We don't do the Santa thing with our children. That's our choice. We don't spend a ton of money on gifts for everyone in the family either (not like we could if we wanted to. LOL) For a few years we didn't celebrate Christmas at all. We would attend family gatherings but that was it. I don...

What little girl didn't pretend to be a princess? It's something I think all little girls want to be at one time or another. As a mother it's hard to find a fairy tale type of book with good morals and values. Something that is really beneficial to my daughters. Where the Jewels Are , written by Diana Symons, is about a young princess who has everything. How do you tell her no when so wants even more? Her wise Father sends her on a journey to find the one thing she is missing. This book is an easy read with short chapters. Good for young readers and great as a read aloud book. (Written for 8-12 years old or the young at heart.) It's hard to find a book like this without magic, witches, and the like. It was refreshing to find a book that didn't include any of this. I am always on a lookout for books about knights, kings, queens, princesses and princes, but they usually have magic or witches involved. I am glad I had a chance to review a book that didn't feel ...

A year already? It can't be...can it? ;-)

all the time! Praise the Lord for his mercy endureth forever.We have had a ton of things happen this past month. From doctor visits, to an ER visit, to more doctor visits, Special K chipping her front tooth and Beloved getting in a car accident this week.....we haven't had a dull moment. And during all of this the Lord has helped us every step of the way. His hand of protection was on our family during all of this. Especially with Sweet E (ER visit), Special K (Chipped tooth), and Beloved (in the car accident.) And during this time of year we reflect more on God's goodness. The fact that a little baby was born just so he could die for our sins is unbelievable. (I know there is debate about the actual time of year Christ was born, but I am not getting into that right now.) I just want to focus on his love, greatness, and forgiveness. Thank you Lord for sending your son, to be born on this earth and to die for our sins. Because of Jesus we can be saved and have a relationship wi...

"O, give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever." 1 Chronicles 16:34 "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57   Our family has had a lot going on the past couple of weeks. One week Beloved and Special K went to the doctor and came out with 5 prescriptions between the two of them. Then on Friday (about 3 am) we rushed to the ER with Sweet E. Her face (on her left side) had swollen up so bad that she was screaming and crying in pain. So we took the other three children over to my in-laws and headed to the ER. No definite cause was determined. The ER doctor thought it had to do with her saliva gland and our family doctor thought it had to do with a lymph node. She was prescribed antibiotics and ibuprofen. (along with instructions to place a warm compress on her face every few hours). Praise the Lord, the swelling finally went down and it appears to be totally gon...

Maybe you have heard in the news about the 4 people that went missing last week. They rescued the young girl on Sunday and they just found the bodies of the other three (two women and an young boy). My heart is aching right now. The girl was found about 2 minutes from our home. Not knowing them doesn't matter. It's a tragic thing that has happened and we all need to pray for everyone involved. Especially this young girl. She has a long road ahead of her and God is the only one that will be able to help her through it. Please keep everyone in your prayers.

What does the title mean? Well...I will tell you. Here is the ouchie part. It's sort of hard to tell. But Special K kissed the pavement one day. She scratched up her nose and had the biggest fat lip I have ever seen on a baby. :-( And of course it had to happen before a trip to see family. The family part of the title is just that. We went to Indiana for a family Christmas. Yes, I did say Christmas. My grandparents go to Florida for the winter so the beginning of November is usually Christmas time for us. Here is a picture of all the grandchildren plus 4 great grandchildren with Nana and Grandpa. I almost forgot to post this. Before we went to see my Mom's side of the family we stopped off to see our oldest niece at college. We didn't get to spend much time with her but we did have a chance to take her out for supper. We miss having her around, but we know she is loving college.  And the pick-up part of the title has to do with leaves. Every year when the leaf truck ...

Don't you just love surprise packages? I sure do! Look what showed up on my doorstep one day. Our household has been 90% gluten free for over a year and a half. Hubby is the one that needs to eat gluten free, but the rest of us do as well because it's just easier. (So that's why we are not 100% gluten free.) I make the majority of things from scratch. But It's hard sometimes to always have something. That's why I was ecstatic to have a chance to review all these gluten free products.  We had the yellow cake with chocolate icing the other night and it was a hit with the entire family. The only thing I have a problem with is that gluten free products are usually twice as much as the gluten free counterpart and half the size. Which is what this cake was. It only made one round layer instead of two. I guess you can look at that as a blessing in disguise. It keeps me from eating too much of things I shouldn't. ;-)  Oh yeah...and the brownies are delicious as well...

Yes, once again I am way behind on updating this site. I know. Excuses....excuses. But we have had sickness go through the house the past month. First up are the cake pictures from Special K's birthday. I did a take on Sweet E's 1st birthday cake. Here is a picture of Sweet E and her 1st birthday cake. I made a gluten free yellow/chocolate layer cake so Beloved could join in. I was going for more fall colors, but I ended up with fluorescent instead. :-(  I have to say that Special K's cake did turn out nicer. But I had to start somewhere right? And she wasn't sure what to do with the candle either.  But she sure loved eating cake for the very first time! The Saturday after her birthday was the Upward Soccer Celebration. There was a bonfire, hayrides, face painting, corn hole, jump house, giant soccer balls, and the local college radio station was there too.  The announced each of the teams and the children received a nice Upward backpack.   The Little ...

Welcome to Adventures in my Review! Sorry. I couldn't resist. I hear the line "Welcome to Adventures in Odyssey" almost every day. ;-) It quickly became a family favorite this past year. Big T, my oldest, can't seem to get enough of it. Thanks to MamaBuzz and Tyndale House I had the privilege of reviewing the lastest volume of Adventures in Odyssey called Cause and Effect. From the website - It’s all-new Adventures in Odyssey episodes in volume 52,   Cause & Effect.   Join Eugene and Matthew as they investigate why the clock tower at City Hall seems to be counting down to a mysterious deadline. Could it have something to do with the anniversary of a lost love from twenty years ago? Barrett couldn’t be more excited about getting the lead role in the school play. But when his first practice is interrupted by a mysterious booming voice, Emily Jones must investigate the “phantom of the school play.” Also, perfect for the holiday season, are stories on Thanksgiving...

Boy....am I ever behind on getting this review posted. *shaking head*  It's a good book too. I just let things get in the way of posting this review. So....without waiting any longer. Here is my review.  Description from the Publisher:  A powerful, compact biography of Robert E. Lee, focusing on how his intrinsic goodness shaped everything from his battle tactics to his treatment of his troops. It’s no surprise that Robert E. Lee graduated second in his class from West Point. His four years there were marked by exemplary conduct and nary a demerit. He went on to become one of the most successful generals of the Confederate army during the American Civil War, inspiring his troops with his unselfish character and devotion to duty. Lee’s string of victories earned him praise on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line. He was admired for his tactical success in battle, and even after surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomatox court house, his example of cond...

I can't believe it. My baby girl is one year old today! Where did the time go? To Special K: I am so happy to be your Mama. God has given me a very precious gift and a big responsibility. You are such a joy and blessing to our family. I can't imagine not having you around walking and giggling at your siblings. I love you so much!

Are your children into knights, swords, chivalry, etc? Mine sure are. They love it! I was excited when I had a chance to review some books from The Knights of Arrethtae Series. This series is written by Chuck Black, a former F-16 pilot/engineer. From the Website-   Two friends face the Dark Knight’s deadliest scheme, but only one knight has the courage to overcome. Sir Quinlan leaves his boyhood friend to serve the Prince, fighting a battle darker and more intense than any he’s ever known. The mysterious Sir Baylor recruits him into the ranks of an elite unit of knights known as the Swords of Valor, but when tragedy strikes and everyone blames Quinlan, the Swords of Valor disband ending a legacy of heroic deeds . From the Website - A knight left for dead. A country on the verge of ruin. An evil lord rising to conquer. Sir Rowan is the most decorated tournament knight in Cameria, but when he is attacked and left for dead, his world collapses. Betrayed and lingering...

I love this time of year. Yes, Autumn is my favorite. I love the changing colors of the leaves, the crisp air, the crunch of leaves underfoot, and the smell of apple butter in the morning. My wonderful MIL had a week of vacation last week, so we had a chance to go apple picking together! I love to go apple picking. I love going into the store at the orchard because you are just bombarded with so many wonderful smells! I wasn't sure if we would be able to get enough of our favorite apples this year (They only have one row of trees of Jonagold and all the apples were ripening earlier this year.) But we were apple to get a bushel worth of Jonagolds. :-) I think my MIL even got a 1/2 bushel of apples. The children loved picking their own apples and later, getting to pick out pumpkins to decorate our front steps. If I had the money I would go to the orchard every week. :-) Big T was a huge help getting apples we couldn't reach. :-)   I can't wait until next year!

Yes, I am alive and well. I made an emergency type trip back home to Indiana the end of September and I have just been trying to catch up (again!). I hope to be posting some pictures and video of the children very soon. :-)

I make my own laundry detergent. Yes, you read that right. I make my own laundry detergent. I used to purchase a large bucket of laundry detergent from Sam's Club. Since we don't have a membership there anymore and I don't like spending money on name brand detergents I started making my own. It's so easy and so cheap! All you need is some water, washing soda, Borax, and a bar of Fels-Naptha soap. That's it! Easy right? First you just need to grate your soap. I grate it right into the pot I am going to use. I have a pot, plastic spoon, and grater that I purchased from the Dollar General just for this project. Once you have the bar shredded just add 4 cups of hot water and put it on the stove at a medium-low heat. Keep stirring until it's all melted. It will go from this..... to this. Oh, I should also add that you need a 5 gallon bucket. You can find one pretty cheap in the paint department of most home improvement stores. Fill the bucket up half way with hot wat...