Candle By Night

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...

This past weekend was so nice. The weather was pretty close to perfect if you ask me. Sunday afternoon brought a time for relaxing and playing with the children. Beloved became a dragon, Special K and Sweet E were princesses, and Big T and Little E were knights. Beloved swooped in and captured the princesses. So what were the knights to do.....but to rescue the damsels in distress. :-) And run from the dragon , And use the catapult to throw things at the dragon. It was pretty much worthless trying to save the princesses when the oldest one wanted to be captured. :-) While the battle was going on I had a chance to lounge in my chair I got for Mother's Day and enjoy the beautiful weather. Every once in a while the children and I would use our imaginations and see what the clouds turned into. For a split second we would see a turtle in the clouds and it would quickly change into a dog. We had so much fun and the sky was so blue. It was beautiful. When Special K was freed she spent a ...

This post is going to have a little of this and a little of that. I'm sorry...okay? But I fell WAY behind in my posts once again. And I am too lazy to write multiple posts. ;-) First up we have Robin H0od. Little E was having a good ol' time with his bow. Too bad his overalls are a little too small. haha And then I found proof of Little E touching the camera after he has been instructed multiple times not to touch it. We finally built a second bench for our dining room table a couple of weeks ago. Here is an in-progress picture. It has a slight wobble to it, but it works just fine. Nice and sturdy. :-) (You can find the plans at Knock Off Wood/Ana White ) While we were building the bench Sweet E wanted to fly her kite. At least she wore herself out a little bit. :-) Who's that coming down the road? Why...it's my Dad and Mom riding bikes with the children! They gave our bikes a try and I think they liked our set-up. Every time I thought they were going to stop, they woul...