Thanksgiving

She has her family-her wonderful Mom and Daddy, her 9 unique siblings, her awesome husband and incredible children. She has a warm house, and plenty to eat. She and those she loves are healthy. She has a God who loves and cares for her, and even died on the cross to pay for her sins. The sun is shining. It's a beautiful day and she thinks, "What more do I need to make my happiness complete? Nothing- my cup is full and running over." She is just Thankful.

The Mother Letter Project

I heard about this special project from several of my favorite blogs, and I couldn't resist getting involved. It's just the sweetest thing EVER!

A loving husband is on a mission to create the absolutely best Christmas gift for his wife-a compilation of letters from Mothers, to Mothers. You can read all about it here. Yes, I've contributed my simple, short little letter. It's about something I've been meditating on lately-taking my life one moment at a time and asking God to give me the grace and wisdom I need for Now.

I can't wait to read the other, "Dear Mother" letters. In fact, I've restrained from reading any that were posted on the website. I'm going to wait for the grand finished project. I want to be surprised, too! I'm looking forward to learning from other moms. I have a feeling we're all a lot alike, in many ways. I'm thinking we struggle with the same things. And this seems like the perfect gift, for all of us.

Important Things I've Learned From The Women in My Life, Part 1

This is a condensed version, of course. I know many beautiful women who continue to impact my life and from whom I am always learning. The few I have listed below have been a part of my life for a very long time.
And I'm being humorous here, so don't take everything too seriously. :)

Mom: Always scrape the bowl clean. That little bit of dough clinging to the sides? It'll make another cookie or muffin.

Butter, the Real Thing, is good for you.

Don't be afraid to drive in a little snow and ice. We're die-hards, you know.

Mara: Laugh in the elevator. Why waste time just standing there? There is always something to laugh about.

When in doubt, use lots of hairspray.

Rowena: Chocolate is good. So is Dr. Pepper. In combination with a really funny movie, you can relieve a lot of stress this way.

Be careful driving in snow and ice. It is preferable to stay in one's warm house.

Candace: All those yummy gourmet dishes that sound fabulous? Make them. Better yet, make them with a friend. There is nothing quite like good food and fellowship. Hours cleaning up messes in the kitchen together tend to make you bond.

Jessie: Go on adventures. You won't regret them, but you will regret not going.

Amy W: Tell your friends and family, "I love you", whenever you talk or write. It may be the last time you ever do.

Charm

"Charm is a glow within a woman that casts a most becoming light on others."
John Mason Brown


"There's a difference between beauty and charm. A beautiful woman is one I notice. A charming woman is one who notices me." John Erskine


"If you have charm, you don't need anything else; and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter what else you have." J.M. Barrie


"I'm convinced that it's energy and humor. The two of them combined equal charm." Judith Krantz


"There is no personal charm so great as the charm of a cheerful temperament."
Henry Van Dyke

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30

Baking Day :: English Muffin Bread

Today was one of those "blah" days. Most of the time I felt like everything was in slow motion and I couldn't get anything done! The baby broke a bowl. The kids fussed at each other. Math was impossible, and reading lessons a marathon. My grand plans for baking day somewhat fizzled out. However, I did make English Muffin Bread and Sweet Potato Muffins (Tom requested those!).

English Muffin Bread is called a "batter" bread or "casserole" bread. You don't knead it in the traditional sense, although you might beat the batter hard for a few minutes initially. The finished texture reminds me of a sponge bread, foamy looking. I baked my English Muffin Bread in the same Pyrex bowl I let it rise in. I was in the mood for a round loaf, but of course you can bake it in a loaf pan. It is the closest thing to English Muffins without actually making English Muffins. When sliced, the bread looks the same and, of course, is fabulous when toasted! That's the whole point. You can't make this bread and then not try it toasted and dripping with butter. It just shouldn't be done. If I remember correctly, my Daddy loved this bread and requested it often. It is very, very easy. I made it in my Kitchen-Aid. I use that mixer so much!



English Muffin Bread

2 1/2 to 3 cups flour (I used about 1 cup whole wheat and 2 cups white)
1 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat the water, sugar, and salt till warm, stirring constantly to dissolve sugar. Add to dry mixture in bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer for 1/2 minute, scraping bowl. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Shape into ball.

Place in a lightly greased bowl, turn once to grease surface. Cover; let rise until double (about 1 hour). Punch down. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. Grease a 1-quart casserole; sprinkle with cornmeal. Place dough in casserole; sprinkle top with cornmeal. Cover; let rise till double (30-40 minutes). Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes (mine only took about 35 minutes). Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly. Remove from dish; cool. Makes 1.

Recipe from the 1973 edition of "Better Homes & Gardens Homemade Bread Cookbook"

This is for you, Candace

A couple weeks ago, Candace and I were admiring a photo similar to the one above. She has told me several times since that she's been envisioning a lovely toasted bread topped with avocado slices. The ravings of a pregnant woman, I assume. I happen to love avocado as well. Then I started thinking about it and, well, I couldn't get avocado off my mind. So this morning: buttered. hot. homemade. buttermilk biscuits topped with avocado slices. salt. pepper. delicious.

"How we did it" series

For the last couple months, I have enjoyed following the blog, "Amy's Humble Musings". Recently, Amy started a series of articles on how they became debt free. I would really encourage you to check them out! You can find them here. I can tell that we share similar goals and ideals, and it's been inspiring/motivating for me to read her story.

Tom and I have always been prayerful about our finances. (We know it's all God's!) We've also endeavored to live far below our income, even when he made less than $15,000 a year.

Contrary to popular opinion, it's not how much you make, but what you do with it. Anyone can save money, even if it's just pennies at first. As Amy mentions in her third article, each little choice adds up, one way or the other.

When Tom and I got married, we had virtually nothing. We did, however, have a trailer to live in rent free on family property, a used vehicle in good condition, and absolutely no debt. Slowly, slowly, we saved. We also paid more than $8, 000 in medical bills during those early years. Now, 9 years later, we live in a modest home that we built and love. We own that and our two used vehicles (Tom's work van and our family van). We have no debt.

I feel extremely humbled and blessed. It is not impossible to get here! But it takes hard work and a willingness to be content, creative, and think outside the box. This is something I am still learning. It's actually been a fun, motivating challenge! What can we do with what we have? How can we make our savings grow? How can we live generously?

God is good, all the time.

Fried Sweet Potatoes

Ever had 'em? They're wonderful! Tom had a good sweet potato crop this year and I've been looking for creative ways to prepare the lowly but lovely sweet potato. Along with our dinner tonight, I served fried sweet potatoes. Oh my, did that bring back childhood memories!

They're quite easy to fix. Just slice your washed and peeled sweet potatoes fairly thinly, and fry in hot oil as you would white potatoes. We like ours puffy and not too crisp. Drain well, pat with paper towels, and salt liberally. The salt brings out the sweet flavor as well. Tom and the children LOVED them! So did our dinner guest from India. In fact, that's why I don't have a picture. They were INHALED. I see fried sweet potatoes reappearing in my culinary future!

Cozy Autumn Meal

We had chicken potpie for dinner tonight. Definitely one of my comfort foods! I've been craving it for weeks. What's a girl to do? Make it, of course, and feed it to her adoring family.
I love you, chicken potpie!

Monday :: Baking Day!

I've been trying to be more consistent in baking loaf bread, and Monday seems the best day to get the weekly baking in. I started making and selling homemade bread when I was nine, and have loved it ever since. However, the last few years I've neglected my whole wheat bread baking. I've often used a bread machine-which is great-and also gone through cycles of biscuit and quick roll baking, but now I'm trying to schedule a weekly or at least twice monthly loaf baking day. After all, I have the grain, the mill, and a Bosch mixer to get the job done! Tom and the children absolutely love my homemade loaves-none of us ever got used to that yucky store bought stuff! :) It isn't unusual for 1 whole loaf to disappear the first day it's made-who can resist hot buttered bread straight from the oven?!? I don't like store-bread crusts, but the heel on homemade bread is my favorite piece!

So today, the kids and I baked 5 loaves of whole wheat bread, 2 loaves of banana bread, coconut oatmeal cereal, and toffee bars. Plus, I cooked a whole chicken to be deboned and (hopefully) made into chicken potpie tomorrow morning. I consider that a successful baking day with three children in tow, and look forward to doing so again next Monday!

The toffee recipe is what I call a "Rachel Special"-meaning I adapted a recipe using what I had on hand. Even if you are out of eggs, you can still make these! They're quick, easy, and quite yummy:



Rachel's Coconut Toffee Bars

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces
coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar; blend in flour. Add extracts and salt, mixing well. Spread in bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Return to oven briefly to allow the chocolate to melt. Remove again and spread evenly with a knife. Sprinkle liberally with shredded coconut. Cool and cut into bars.

The Go-Cart

Tom took these pictures of the kids zooming past on our "new" go-cart. The plan is to fix it up for resell, but meanwhile we are having fun with it!
Attention Nail Family: this is just some extra bait to get you down here for Thanksgiving! Woo-hoo, let's go go-carting!

What They Said

Heard in the same five minute time period:

Drew: "Mom, shiny apple please!" He often requests apples, but the use of the word "shiny" took me by surprise. Since when did my 21 month old start using adjectives?

Caleb: "Mom, I got a radiant cut on my finger the other day". After reading Charlotte's Web aloud to the children, the use of the word "radiant" has increased.

Hosanna: "Mom, did you know I could play the piano with my teeth?" And she could, too, although I made her stop due to concern over injury to the piano keys and her teeth. :)

The Angels are Rejoicing in Heaven Today...

...over a lost sheep who answered the Shepherd's call!

My brother Seth (10) called me excitedly this morning to tell me the good news. He is now a follower of Christ Jesus! He has taken freely the gift of salvation offered to him...


...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3: 23-24

But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10: 8-10


In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10

An Election Day Reminder...

Get out and VOTE!

And even more importantly, pray for our nation.

If anyone would like to join me in prayer this afternoon, let me know. :)