We could get 127.8 inches of snow???

Posted on Friday, December 14, 2007 at 02:46

I was wondering if we were still in a drought. We have had so much rain lately I figured we were pretty much caught up. I looked on our local weather site to see if they had any information.

We live in Ky and our weather reporter said :  we are still 8 1/2 inches under in rain for the year. That  means it could be 85.2 inches of wet snow = 7.10 feet (or) a dry snow of 127.8 inches =10.65 feet of snow.

I am hoping to have some really great pictures soon of some really great snow:) Well we will have to wait and see:)

Blessings,

Ma

Help! I need recipes...... edited version

Posted on Monday, December 10, 2007 at 02:08

Hello!

This past year I found out I can not eat eggs, butter or milk and if I do well I don't feel very well afterward.

 I was wondering if anyone has any recipes for cookies and other goodies that do not have these ingredients in them.

Thank you!

Ma

Christmas happenings and My birthday

Posted on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 01:12

We are almost finished with our Christmas shopping. I really think we have done a pretty good job getting gifts everyone will like and not spending too much money. Pa has almost all the gifts wrapped which is his favorite thing to do:)

We have our tree up and a few decorations out and about. Macy are cat is not real sure about all the changes. We have so many more decorations we could put out. I try every year to have a more simplier Christmas. I like all that we have put out:)

We are having much of our family here at our home this Christmas. Which means we have lots of goodies to make. I will have to write out my grocery list. I am hoping I don't forget anything:) We are having a Christmas get togther with our small group. God has really Blessed us with the people in our small group.

I really need to get my Christmas cards written out. There is always so much to do:) My birthday is on Sunday. I will be 38 years old. We are going out to lunch and we still have a little more shopping to do. I am excited about spending the day with my husband and our girls. I guess you can see It doesn't take much to make me happy:)

I almost got to share my birthday with my niece Christina except she was born on the 10th. I hope she gets to read this and has a Wonderful Birthday!!

Blessings to all

Ma

Our Weekend......

Posted on Sunday, November 4, 2007 at 02:54

It has been a while since I have been able to post. We have been very busy trying to get ready for winter. We have been getting some rain so our burn ban has been lifted. We tried to burn alot of the brush and wood that we have been clearing out of our woods. I have been trying to get the house ready for the cold weather. I put plastic on our bed room windows and some weather stripping around our doors and windows.

Here is our fire and us enjoying a bag of marshmallows:)

The girls found this crawdad.

It was pretty big:)

The girls also enjoy some quiet time. They found a special spot in the creek.

We couldn't  help taking one of them smiling:)

One of the girls took this picture of Pa. My husband worked so hard yesterday. He mowed the yard and worked in the garden. He has the garden put to bed for the winter. We are working  on our compost bins, and we do have a few heads of cabbage planted.

We have been working on making our lives more simple. I hope to post the changes we have been making. One big change I have made is line drying most of our clothes. I bought a wood clothes dryer rack and have been using it for most of our clothes. It feels good to save money and it also helps our clothes look nice longer.

Our library had a lady come in  to talk  about making lye soap. It was so very interesting. This lady has 6 acres.  She has goats, chickens and  bees. We are hoping to get to know her better and how she lives a simple life on her farm. She has made the girls and  I excited about making more soap and she gave us some great hints and ideas:)

Well I hope you had a great weekend!

Blessings,

Ma

Do you put God in a Box?

Posted on Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 09:58

As I sit here and type this I can hear it raining. I have almost forgotten what that sounds like. The girls are doing their studies and I have found a moment to write:)

I am so glad that we are getting a good soaker. We might get to burn some of our  wood  this weekend:) We have so many tree branches that need to be burnt. There is always something to do:) We don't have much land but there is always something to do in our yard.

Last Wednesday during our small group one of our friends said she wanted to sell her house but she didn't  have a sign in her yard. She said "if God wanted her to sell her  house he would send a buyer."  Well I  knew she would have an easier time selling  her house it if she had a "for sale" sign in her yard. I doubted that she would find a buyer? How would they know it was for sale anyways?

This week one of my family members was outside working in their yard and some one pulled up in their driveway and asked if they could buy some land on their property. Now there was no sign in their yard either.  They have been praying for monthes to get some of their land sold. I was shocked!

So I was wondering do I put God in a box? God has been working on my life so much and  He is showing me that He is so much bigger than I ever imagined. Do not ever doubt that God can't help in a certain problem. I am now seeing that God can do anything!

I have been trying so hard  trusting God in our finances I have now decided if God wants our debt paid off he will help us do it. This is easier said but hard to do. We have been struggling. Yes! We get our bills paid but have nothing left over each month. I should be grateful for just that. We have plenty of food and a warm home. I just want to be out of this huge pile of debt. I know God is Big enough to help us with this! I have still been reading many books and working hard each month getting our debt paid down. We have been trying not to use the credit card each month. I am now leaving my worries at the Saviors feet and I know He will help us with this:)

Blessings to all,

Ma

Fall clean up.......

Posted on Monday, October 15, 2007 at 11:23

It is suppose to rain the next few days so I thought I would try to clean up the garden and the yard some today. My husband worked on the deck this weekend. It is almost finished. We have alot of wood still to cut before winter. A small tree fell on to our fence it will need to be trimmed back before we have a good snow or I am afraid it might break are fence.

It is so hard trying to decided to work out doors or to work indoors. I am trying to get everything cleaned up outdoors because I am afraid we might have many, many days indoors when it starts getting cooler:) Since we are around 22 inches under for rain we might get that in snow?

We went and looked at the house that we thought we would like. It really looked like "our" dream house on the computer but then we went to see it and boy it didn't look anything like the house we saw on the computer. It is funny when you think you are missing out on something and you really are not:) God is so faithful! This weekend while we were outdoors I truely looked around at what we do have:) I some times wonder why I am always looking for more?

I have been working on our money issues. Things are looking much better:) We have now started writing everything down that we buy. I hope to post at the end of the month our daily totals. I am always asking where does all of our money go? Food? Gas? extras? I can't wait to find out.

I bought a new book from Amazon. It is about a family that chooses simple living. The family had been living in the city and decided to buy an orchard. It talks all about the changes they go through to have the simple life. I can't wait to read it:) It is suppose to be a true story.

Well I better get busy,

Blessings,

Ma

What we could have had ...........

Posted on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 at 09:04

Have you ever had a time that you wished you had saved more money. Well we have still been looking at farms around us. I guess really dreaming:) We have known for a while that we needed to get our finances straighten out. We really need to get our debts paid and save more money. It is times like these's which I can see that you need to look a head towards the future everyday and not just once in a while.

I was looking on the web-site that  I usually look at for homes for sale. I found a great house with 11 acre's it had a small house but a nice one, a creek and a small building that you can use as a office. It only would add an extra 100.00 a month to our morgage that we have now. But wait we have no money saved and a boat load of debt.

I can now see what we could have had if we only would have started a couple years ago saving and not spending. Take some advice from me Save!

Blessings to all,

Ma

It's going to get cooler....

Posted on Monday, October 8, 2007 at 10:48

What a wonderful weekend we had:) The weather was a little hot, but it is suppose to get much cooler the end of this week. I can't wait! On Friday it may not even reach 59 yes! We have been trying to save money on our electric bill and not running the air which has been hard all last week it was above 90.

We have school today and then pick up the house from the weekend. I am hoping to write out bills, and work on some crochet:)

We are looking for a quiet week and then a slow paced weekend:) It is nice to have so many good things to think about:)

Blessings to all,

Renee

Just a few words.......

Posted on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 at 09:40

Hello! I hope you all are having a good week so far:) I can't belive it is already Wednesday. The week is flying right by:) Our family has made a goal of getting up early all week and so far we are doing great! We are all out of bed and ready for are day by 7:30. We have been starting school at 8:00:) We had gotten a little lazy through the summer monthes and now that it is fall we now need to get ourselves back to getting up again:)

The girls are working on their school work. I have a load of laundry about ready to be folded.  I have my dishes done, bed are made, and I need to make a snack for our small group tonight. I think I am going to make a loaf of zuchini bread.Yum!

Now that my husbands father has passed away we are in sort of a "now what" My husband spent so much time with his dad that  now we find ourselves thinking "What do I think of now". My step-grandmother is now in the last days of  her life. It is so hard losing the ones we love. It is also hard to fill our minds with joyful things when we have had so much sadness. During these times the Lord calls us to come to Him to get our strength. I can't even describe the peace our Lord can give during hard times. I am so glad that He is incontrol and that I can lean on Him!

Well I better get back to my girls,

Blessings to all,

Ma

Are you in a Hurry?

Posted on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 02:02

Have you noticed that it seems like everyone is in a hurry. I am not just talking about on the road or in the store but at church. We were going to a small church attendence of 150 on a good Sunday. It was a busy little church people were always busy. Every now again someone would ask how your week went.

Now we go to a much larger church 1000 on a good Sunday. Everyone is nice but again so very busy. What has made us as a community to be way to busy to be with others. Now I have to admit there have been many of Sundays that we jump into the car without greeting other's but that is very rarely. What happen to the days when we invited the Pastor over for an evening meal  and fellowshiping? I wonder what it will take for us to slow down and enjoy each others company again?

Your thoughts are welcomed:)

Blessings,

Ma

What do you do to get ready for the fall season?

Posted on Monday, September 17, 2007 at 12:38

It is so good to be back! The last three weeks have been so hard on our family. Although during the difficult times the Lord has been so kind and loving to us. He showed us the true meaning of love. My husband went to the hospice unit Monday - Friday and somedays stayed until 2:00 in the morning. During this time the Lord would show us His love by giving my husband strength and giving my husband kind words to share to others. When you are weak and so worn out it is so nice to know God is incontrol:) I am always amazed to see the Lord at work:)

Well........ we really did work hard this weekend. My husband worked outside yesterday until almost dark. We are hoping to have the wood-pile cleared before winter:) We weren't allow to have a fire in our "new" fire ring because it is so dry and we are under a "No" burn ban. The girls are excited about roasting marshmallows sometime soon:)

We had taken a few days off last week so today will be the start of a full week of school. I am glad to start back to our regular schedule:) We have been working really hard to catch up on our work. We have been doing a couple extra pages so it won't take long to catch right back up:) We are so Blessed to be able to Homeschool our children! I will never take it for granted!

We have a long list of "to dues" before winter. I am hoping to write them out and post them. I would love to hear how you end your summer season and what you do to get ready for fall and winter.

Blessings to all,

Ma

How much do you care about what others think of you?????

Posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 at 05:20

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those long weeks. My step-grandmother is really doing poorly. She is now not eating anything and is not taking any of her medicine. My husbands dad is not doing well at all either he is now under hospice care which is good but also we know now it won't be long before he will die. Which makes us sad. Please keep us in your Prayers:)

Yesterday during our worship service our pastor asked about how do you "want others to think of you after you die". I have had a hard time thinking about this because I thought we shouldn't worry about what other thought of us? I am talking about what others at church think of you or how about the lady at the grocery that you don't know if she is a believer or not? I know we should act like a Christian everywhere we go and I also know that not everyone likes Christians. So do we act differently when we are around others that are not? I know it sounds confusing. But I have been dealing with this for a while and I have decided to just be me and if you don't like me oh well. I just want God to bring healthy relationships into my life. Yes I would be like to be well thought of but I also want to live for Christ and that is not as popular. Sometimes you just have to be the weird one in the room:) The more I get to know Jesus the more I enjoy being different! I have been willing to give up my friends for Christ and that is a hard thing to do but He is worth it!

I am not sure how much we will be writing in the next few days. I am praying to see if I (Ma) need a computer fast. So much is going on I think I should spend my free time in prayer.

Many Blessings to all,

Ma

Our Day...........

Posted on Friday, August 24, 2007 at 01:15

What a wonderful day we have had so far:) I decided to give the girls the day to sew and read and we  had a good time sewing:) They bought some materail a while back and I bought a pattern of a purse or a carry on. We have worked all morning on their bags and they turned out great. Next time we are going to buy a little stronger material but other wise the bags look great:) They are going to read a bit in their new books and then find sometime to just do what they like to do:)

We are going to have my husbands Aunt and Uncle over for just a short time tomorrow morning. They are on their way to my husbands brothers. It will be nice seeing them again:) We are then going to the store  to pick up my sister's birthday. She will be turning 17:) We are going out to eat for her birthday which will be fun!

The weather is suppose to be a little cooler this weekend:) We have plans on building a cold frame soon, maybe we can start thinking of how to build it and were it will go. It will be Fall before we know it and we still want to try to get some fresh vegetables from our garden:)

Blessings to all,

Ma

Seeking God's will for our lives......

Posted on Monday, August 20, 2007 at 10:36

We had a wonderful weekend at my dads cabin. The girls and their cousins fished alot we caught a few. They also swam in the lake and had nice enjoyable boat ride. It was nice to be with my dad.  The weather was wonderful! We are suppose to get some heavy rain tonight. There have been many storms around us that left a lot of damage we have been very blessed that we haven't had the damage. We could use a nice steady rain though:)

My dad bought us a few fall vegetable plants to plant in the garden. Pa worked out in the garden a bit yesterday tryng to make room for the new plants. The groundhog has pretty much eaten everything but a few tomato plants and Mary's flowers:)

I finished my scarf this weekend. I will start on a new one this week. We are going to the store tomorrow I hope then to pick  up some more yarn. I enjoy keeping my hands busy while the girls watch T.V. or read. I have found that crocheting also keeps my mind calm and I do like that:)

For a while now I have been searching for God's will in my life. Should I  be asking for more than He is already given me? Do you ever question what God wants you to do? I know first and above all else He wants me to Worship Him and Him alone. He also wants me to be a wife to my husband and a mother to our children. Is there anything else? Should I want more than that? Do I have time to do more that? ( I don't think so?) I just keep praying that I hear His voice above everything else. Because He is truely all I need:)

Blessings to all,

Ma

Week in Review

Posted on Friday, August 17, 2007 at 10:05

I can't believe it is already Friday. Right now the girls are working on their school work they have been doing a great job. I can't believe it has now been a full two weeks of school. This week has been a busy one:)

Last night we canned 14 pints of salsa and 9 pints of dill pickles. So that makes 23 jars of salsa we have made this week. We also made 13 pints of bread and butter pickles last week. Grand total so far  for canning 45 pints of good things to eat. We did take 2 jars of salsa to our small group and I did make 2 loaves of zucchini bread to share. We are hoping to can a few more pints of tomatoes for chili but we will have to see. Right now our  garden is in a sorry state.(although we did get some rain last night)  While Mary and I were getting the tomatoes ready for the salsa Laura and Pa went to the garden to see if there were anymore tomatoes on the vine. They caught a groundhog eating the rest of our greenbeans and it looked  like he had finished off the sweet potato leaves. Oh well we always have next year :)

Today: We are going to finish school and then I have a few things I need to work on. I am hoping to crochet a little. I haven't been able to finish the scarf I was working on. Christmas is right around the corner. I really would like to make a few gifts this year. I  would also like to buy some more yarn:) I just love looking at yarn there are so many things you can make:)

Tommorow:  We are going to my dads cabin to go fishing. My brother is bringing  his children so it should be a fun day:) The weather is going to be  great! The girls love to fish I sometimes wish we had a small pond in our backyard. Then again maybe not  we would never get anything done:)

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ma

It is so Dry.... and My Zucchini Bread Recipe

Posted on Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 07:58

Well it is a sad day here. Our garden has been eaten by either foxes, raccoons or something else. All of our garden is about gone and it saddens the whole family. We will post pictures in  a few days.  Right now my husband and Laura are pulling up what is left and getting ready to make plans for our fall garden that is if it is not too late.

We made 14 pints of salsa last night with tomatoes we had to buy at the farmers market. Laura and I shredded 9 cups of zucchini. We will use this for later use for our wonderful zucchini bread:)

We are hoping to make more pickles later this week but this week is going way to fast. Tomorrow night we have our small group and the children have youth night. Thursday will probably be the best day to make the pickles that is if they don't over ripen.

I can't believe how dry it is I heard on the news that we are 8 inches under for rain fall for the year. The grass just breaks when you walk out into the yard.  I also heard that we could have a early autumn I can believe this because many of our trees have already lost many of their leaves.

I had a few commenting that they would like my zucchini bread recipe so here it is.....

Zucchini Bread

4 eggs

2cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cup canola oil

3 cups flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 cups shredded zucchini

In a large mixing bowl beat together the eggs until light colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Add the oil, vanilla. Stir well

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredient to the egg mixture and fold in the zucchini but do not over mix batter.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour makes 2 loaves.  I really hope you enjoy this:)

Well it will be bedtime shortly and there are many things left to do.

God Bless,

Ma

Another hot day...

Posted on Thursday, August 2, 2007 at 09:20

I woke up this morning with a nice cool breeze blowing in and then I looked at the weather report and it said: HEAT ALERT AND SMOG ALERT IN EFFECT FOR TODAY!! Mostly sunny, hazy, hot and humid. High: 96°  YUCK!

I suppose if the girls want to go outside we will be in the pool again. We really do need to mow but I don't want to get sick again from the heat.  I have been sleeping like a log with being in the pool everyday. Although I don't feel like I get much done when we are outside most of the day. I do enjoy having time with Mary and Laura and they do seem to talk a lot more when I have them captured in the pool:)We have been having good conversations. God has blessed me so much with Mary and Laura:)

School starts next Monday and we will be back on a schedule which I really like. I don't really think I am a control freak and I have really loosen up alot but I do enjoy having order:)  I love waking up early and getting school finished by 2:00 and having the rest of the day to do crafts or bake. It is almost time to start canning and I am really looking forward to putting up some jars of tomatoes and pickles:)

Well I want to get outside to see if we have any veggies for dinner.

Blessings to all,

Ma

Another hot day...

Posted on Wednesday, August 1, 2007 at 09:25

Well it is already 75 degrees and suppose to make it well up into the 90's today. I am not sure what the girls and I will do. Yesterday we were in the pool just so we could be outside. I hate being inside the whole day. Monday I pulled weeds and read outside and got sick from the heat. Yesterday being in the pool help us not to feel so hot.

I am looking forward to the cooler weather in the next few monthes. I have always enjoyed the fall season due to I enjoy reading and crafting outside.  When I was a teenager I use to sit outside on my families porch and read and do my cross-stitching. One year I made so many pillow cases I gave them alway for Christmas gifts. I am still working on my scarves.  I have been teaching Mary to crochet she is doing great we went to the library and she took out a few childrens books with crochet idea's. I can't wait to see what she decideds to make. Laura is having a little trouble learning  how to crochet but I told not to give up. I am sure soon she will get the hang of it. My niece has been learning to knit maybe one day she will teach me:) I have tried to teach myself I guess having one needle in each hand is more confusing?

I better get busy I have much to do:)

Blessings to all,

Ma

A Week In Review

Posted on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 12:07

This week went so fast I just wanted to write some of what went on here at Little House.

Our garden has been giving us many good things to eat. We have picked 6 zucchini. The girls and I made 3 loaves of zucchini bread. We gave a way 1 loaf of bread and a zucchini to my mom. We have been having tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers everyday. We are watering the garden because it has been so dry. It looks like we might get a little rain today or tomorrow. We have also been thinking about our fall garden. I really have been wanting to build some cold frames. We are looking into that:)

I  taught Mary to crochet . Last night we went out and she got to pick her favorite yarn. We are going to make some scarves to take to the homeless shelter. Now Laura is wanting to learn:) Mary was surprised how easy it was to learn and she said it was so relaxing:)

Money: We went to the store last night and I spent 70.00 for groceries. I only bought a few things we will need a big shopping trip next week. I have been working on our budget and I am finally understanding it:) Budgeting shouldn't be that hard unless you have more things and less income.

Saturday we have my husbands company picnic. Sunday after church we are going out to eat with a couple from our small group.

Blessings to all,

Ma

Blessed!

Posted on Monday, July 23, 2007 at 05:17

Well it is very rare for me to feel content but today I really feel blessed. I thought I would share a few thoughts of my day....

This morning I sat and had a hour with God thanking him for all he has given me and today he opened my eyes to it all.

Today I did my laundry and cleaned up the laundry room. I feel so blessed to have many clothes that I can wash and provided my family something clean everyday.  I then cleaned up our down stairs living area. I feel so blessed to have extra room for us to have are things in. We really don't need this room but God has blessed us with extra space:) I can smell the beans from our garden with onions and ham cooking.(they smell so good)  We are so blessed to have a large garden to pick from. We will also have our tomatoes and a large salad with a cucumber and a green pepper from our garden. We are indeeded so very blessed. I went outside and sat and looked out into our yard what a blessing to have room for our children to play, are garden, small pool for our children, and my herb gardens.  Why would I want more? 

It is hard to be content in this world. Everyone is looking for more. I confess I look at what others have and wonder why I don't have it. Sometimes we want it so badly we just buy it anyways with credit. Which I know God does not agree with.  I am going to start looking at what I do have and not what we don't have. We are so blessed:)

Blessings to all,

Ma