Within the Lines

Family Reunion and a recipe

{ Posted by LindseyinAL }
{ 07:09, Friday, September 5, 2008 } { Posted in Eating } { 2 comments } { Link }

We spent Labor Day at my Grandpa and Grandma's house this year. Well, my folks have their RV parked on the G's property so we were at their house too! Anyway, it was something of a reunion since my dad's whole family was there except his sister's family and *my* sister's family (but they're moving to the same town as the folks, as I type!) It's always fun to see the cousins (especially since 3 of the kids there weren't born the last time we were all together. Here's a picture of us:

In the back row, from the left, we have my dad's younger brother (who is the same age as my husband), then my dad in the brown shirt with the gray hair and goatee, my dad's identical twin (holding the black dog), my brother, my husband and my grandpa. In the middle row we have my youngest cousin, his mom (holding him), his older brother (in the white shirt), my Aunt M. (married to Dad's twin), my mom, me, RK and my grandma. And in the front, the daughter of Dad's younger brother, TH, AC in front of my mom and MJ. Oh and in the very front is Jose, my mom's Chihuahua.

I had a giggle at the picture since my dad is standing behind my aunt and his brother is standing behind my mom. It's not the first time they've gotten briefly confused. This time it was because Dad was setting camera and timer so he had to run and get in the picture wherever he could find a spot.

And here's a scrumdiddlyumptious recipe that Aunty M. made for us on Monday. It was easy peasy and everyone loved it, even the kids!

1 big can black beans (about 3-4 cups if you're using homemade), drained and rinsed
2 normal sized cans Rotel tomatoes with green chiles (I think I will try it with some salsa when I make it)
2- 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, softened

Combine everything in a large bowl. Serve with tortilla or corn chips. That's it! So yummy too!! And pretty easy to make some NT style changes for an even healthier treat. My favorite!

Put THIS on your blog, Mom!!

{ Posted by LindseyinAL }
{ 09:58, Thursday, September 4, 2008 } { 5 comments } { Link }

I went outside this morning to put some clothes on the line (mostly new fall things for the girls, from the thrift store that is closing out its clothing section and has everything half off)

and my children said, "Come look at our tent, Mom!!" "I built it all myself!" "I couldn't have made such an awesome tent if I was an only child; I'm so glad I have a brother and sisters!!" Those were all from the same child, by the way, and he saw no contradiction in any of those remarks, so I chose not to as well.

They asked if I would put the tent on my blog and when I said I would (as soon as the laundry was hung out) they proceeded to ask if I would put "this! and this! and this!" on my blog as well.

and one more shot, of the back of the tent:

All the materials for the tent were found around the yard (even the blue and white striped sheet- yes our yard is a mess, why do you ask?) and I was not enlisted to help in any way. Pretty good work, I say.

Taco Soup

{ Posted by Kim Wolf<>< }
{ 10:08, 2008-Sep-5 } { Posted in Homestead Kitchen } { 5 comments } { Link }

Believe it or not...IT'S SEPTEMBER!! Those cooler temps are on the way! I LOVE fall...it's my FAVORITE time of year!! Along with those falling temperatures that invite us to pull on our favorite sweaters, collect pumkins, go on hayrides and build bonfires comes my desire to make wonderful, hearty soups and stews! One of our family's favorite cold weather soups is Taco Soup!! Oh...it is yummy, stustaining, it's even attractive to look at in your bowl. I hope you enjoy it!!

Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<><

TACO SOUP

1 lb. ground beef or chuck
1/2 med. onion - finely chopped
1 lg. bunch of fresh cilantro - finely chopped
4-6 jalapeno peppers (depending on your taste buds & stomach lining!) - finely chopped
2 15-16 oz. cans kidney beans (UNdrained)
2 14-15 oz. cans whole kernal corn (UNdrained)
1 15-16 oz. can black beans (optional)
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 pkg (1-1/2 TB) taco seasoning
1 c. water

~ Brown beef, drain; add onion, peppers, 1/2 of the cilantro and cook until onions and peppers start to get tender.
~ Mix everything together in a dutch oven OR crockpot.
~ Heat through in dutch oven for 45 min. - 1 hour OR in crockpot for 2-3 hours on low.
~ Top with shredded cheddar or colby-jack cheese, sour cream and corn tortilla chips crumbled like crackers.

More recent news....

{ Posted by Ashley }
{ 02:41, Thu-4-Sep-2008 } { Posted in The Adventure, My Life } { 6 comments } { Link }

aka the Biggest Photo Blog EVER!!!! Haha!

You ever get so far behind on news that you end up skipping major things, otherwise you'd have to put up like 8 posts in one day?

I do that.

But not today! Here is the whole enchilada.

We celebrated my brother's 23rd birthday a while back. THAT IS CRAZY! I was married 6mo when I had my 23rd birthday! That mean's I've been married 4 years. Okay, I know, we celebrated our 4th anniversary in June but it's just different to watch a younger sibling hit that kind of milestone....

Happy Birthday, bro!

More pics from the farm....

We stayed late.

Oh, and before I forget, which I have forgot numerous times, here is my new sink:

And here is the $5 dresser after Jonathan finished working on it and moved it to the boy's room. I wonder if it will be my boy's and girl's room before long?

Then, Jonathan's brother and his wife visited from Florida. We went to the Zoo together and hung around for an entire week generally making constant pests of ourselves. The boys really hit it off with their aunt & uncle!

Here is Elijah with his Aunt Clare. Clare is pregnant. A month ahead of me, but I'm the one getting the strangers asking about my pregnancy. I guess by #3 you don't have much left to hold it all in. Oh, well, Jay is thrilled that I'm "showing" this time around sooner. And it is fun telling people that it's our THIRD when they ask, of course, if it's our first. It makes it seem all that more real. Our third child!

Five years ago we had our picture taken "with the bear" and it was just the two of us. I love, love, LOVE having my lovely family doubled!!!

My boys really liked the zoo.

On Friday night, a soon-to-be Air Force .... guy. .... took us up on a Cessna 172. Did I mention he's 3 years younger than me and Jay? And that made me feel old to trust him to fly us up into the sky?

The airplane was ENTIRELY TOO SMALL. It made our car feel huge when I was back on the ground. Every little thing made it dip and buck in the sky. It was like a rollercoaster without anything beneath us. My stomach churned. Samuel freaked out. I had to comfort him by saying things like,

"The airplane is just bouncy! It's fine! Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy! Isn't this fun?"

.... while resisiting my urge to grab the pilot's shoulder and beg him not to kill us all.

Right before he freaked:

A field. Full of round bales. BIG BALES, folks!

My parent's farm. I tried to get Jonathan to take pictures. I really did. He said I would do "fine". Then, after we had circled and I took the camera full of pictures and we headed back, he turns in the seat and says:

"You took all the pictures zoomed in all the way, right?"

Appearantly, he was so confident of my answer he turned back around without waiting for one. It was too noisey and I deemed it the wrong time to tell him . . . NO. I hadn't even thought of such a thing, while trying to take pictures out of the window over my son while bouncing through the sky. My bad.

I still contend that Jay is partly to blame. He should know I'm no photographer by now!

It was a good flight anyway.

And that is about all, except I wanted to share two pictures of my boys. This old picture of Samuel (he was 7mo):

And this one, of Elijah (he's 11mo but probably close to the same size his older brother was):

My little boys! They are growing up so fast! I'm so ready for a tiny little newborn that wants to snuggle and nurse, this tiny new person that is bumping me from the inside to get to know. A unique, different individual that will be somewhat like the rest of us yet totally different in a whole new way . . . .

Still no washer and dryer. I have some tile to walk on (ungrouted and unsealed) now but it's a big, big project. I probably won't be able to do laundry until Monday or Tuesday or possibly later. My hamper floweth over, but we haven't come close to running out of things to wear. So it's all good! And when it's behind me, I shall have tile!!!

~Ashley~

Thursday

{ Posted by Shan (Sweetie) }
{ 03:01, Thursday, September 4, 2008 } { 0 comments } { Link }

Today has been a better day. I spent the morning reading Scripture until I had quelled the stress I am thinking by not focusing on what I need to do and let go of the rest to God. I emptied the clothes that have been in baskets in 3 locations in the house and started through them. First, to sort out what needed to be washed and donated, for wrong sizes or needs. Then to particularly do the towels and sheets, for nothing is nicer than coming home to freshly made beds and towels after a long day. Then daughter baked popovers and they were not only tasty they were pretty such as were in Little Women. I love their steamy goodness with honey. Now I am taking a break as there are still 4 loads or so to do and they are sorted on my kitchen floor. We homeschooled from 12-3 and that worked well for us today, so we got our chores done in the morning after my reading time.

I live in an urban area. I am a modern wife, mother, but the longer we are here, the more I realize I need to focus on being me, his wife, and their mother, and let the rest go. We're not jetsetters, nor weathy, nor do we wish to be in competition for anything....and the sooner I learn to be content in my own life the better.

Tonight is Dh's birthday. It will be a quiet night at home, but how thankful I am to have him and to know he's not in Iraq nor Kuwait this birthday! God is good!

Weekly Menu

{ Posted by Sara }
{ 10:36, Thursday, September 4, 2008 } { Posted in Weekly Menus and Recipes } { 0 comments } { Link }

My husband gets paid on Wednesdays, so I generally try to do my errands including my grocery shopping on Thursdays. So here is my menu for the remainder of this week, and the whole of next week. I am doing some extra cooking for the freezer a little every week, at least one meal a week, and perhaps one desert as well. I will post my menu, along with a breakdown of my daily kitchen to do's.

Breakfast- Lunch- Snacks-

-oatmeal -leftovers -animal crackers

-granola -ramen noodles -muffins

-eggs/toast -sandwiches -fruit

-yogurt -corn dogs

-french toast sticks

Dinner-

Thursday-lasagna, salad

Friday-salmon patties*, mac-n-cheese, carrots

Saturday-homemade pizza, salad

Sunday-meatball subs, salad

Monday-roast chicken, mashed potatoes, salad

Tuesday-meatloaf*, mac-n-cheese, green beans

Wednesday-leftovers

Thursday-chicken pot pie

Friday-lentils and rice burritos, salad

Saturday-homemade pizza, salad

Weekly Dessert-peanut butter cookies*

Weekly preserving-jalapeno pepper jelly

All the asterisks(*) mark a freezer meal.

Thursday-Make salad dressing. Make granola. Make oatmeal mixes. Lasagna is frozen, so start it early enough.

Friday-Start salmon patties early, leave out enough for dinner, freeze the rest. Thaw sausage for homemade pizza. Thaw 2 pounds of ground turkey for meatballs.

Saturday-Baking Day-Make bread for the week. Make peanut butter cookies, leave out 1-2 dozen, freeze the rest. Make several pint jars of jalapeno jelly. Make 2 crusts for pizza. Make meatballs and cook for Sunday.

Sunday-Start meatballs in crockpot before church, we will usually have a late lunch or early supper. Thaw 2 whole chickens for Monday.

Monday-Start chickens early. Save rest of chicken for pot pie. Thaw 6lbs of ground turkey for Tuesday.

Tuesday-Make 4 meatloafs, eat 1 for dinner, freeze the rest.

Wednesday-leftover night, clean out the fridge

Thursday-Make crust and assemble chicken pot pie

Friday-Start lentils early

Saturday-Baking day-make bread, deserts, and granola as needed. Make 2 pizza crusts. Do preserving if needed.

I'm going to be doing as much baking and freezing, and preserving as I can. We usually give food as gifts for the holidays and the baby will be arriving at around that time, so I want to be a little more prepared.

We're off to the store! Have a blessed day!

sara

Musings...of Autumn?

{ Posted by HandsNHearts }
{ 09:36, Thursday, September 4, 2008 } { Posted in Women of the Homestead } { 3 comments } { Link }

You know, in just a matter of a handful of weeks now, Autumn will officially start.

Yes, I know I do this every year.

I get rather melancholy this time of year. Every year it's the same thing. September begins and I start thinking with excitement about things like

combines harvesting the fields,
fertilizers being spread on those large farmsteads,
cooler evenings,
the surprise of a cool breeze during the day,
air conditioners being used less and less and windows opened with softly blowing curtains around them,
apples ready to harvest,
pumpkins starting to perk p for picking,
leaves slowly beginning to turn all those magnificent colors of deep rust, brighter red, rich orange and brilliant yellow,
the gathering of firewood for that first lighting of the woodstove,
those wonderful autumn smells...ever notice how pies and breads just smell so much better, so much more homey during the autumn than they do in the summer?
the starting of school and those big yellow buses rolling along the lanes early morning. No, my children aren't riding a bus, but there is just something that touches my heart and says autumn, in a nostalgic sort of way, about those yellow buses on the road after a summers' absence.

There are preps being made everywhere it seems...
folks are finishing off larger portions of their gardens and clearing them for a winter rest,
chickens are growing and seem to know time is limited for gathering those bugs and greens before the snow flies,
barnyards are freshened and hay mows filled with the last of the hay harvest before winter.

There are just smells and actions that speak autumn all over.

But, it's a bittersweet time for me. I miss all those things I've just mentioned. I know it's all a state of mind, really, but I have not been able to wrap my mind around a changing of seasons since moving here. Everything stays so green...and so wet...this time of year around us. I can pull out the autumn colors in flowers and garlands to decorate the house and give an illusion of autumn, but it's just not in my heart. I am just too wrapped up with seasonal changes.

Yes, I have so many friends here in the South who would argue vehemently that there are changing seasons here, and there is a definite autumn. I guess my trouble is, I only know one kind of autumn in my mind. It's the only one I've ever known. It's hard to change a vision that is ingrained in a nearly-40 year old mind.

So, this weekend, we are going to try to bring autumn to the homestead. I am gathering the fall fabrics to tuck here and there on a table, along a bookcase and near an oil lamp. I'm putting up a simple garland of flowers...all those beautiful rich tones I so love this time of year. We will be doing our evening devotions with the lanterns lit instead of the regular lighting...sort of creating that cozy feeling that autumn brings with it.

My eldest daughter says that's fine...as long as I don't crank up the a/c so we all have to don sweaters and thick socks to really bring that feeling of autumn to real life!

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About Me

Whoso loves believes the impossible.
--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

We are not called to get love,
but to give unstintingly and joyously,
life-giving agape love to those the Lord has surrounded us with.
--Ruth Lindstrom

Yay! I'm a daisy, my favorite flower!!

I am a
Daisy

What Flower
Are You?

Just as a flashlight draws power from its batteries,
we draw power from the Son of God.
As light, we dissipate fear, bring relief and lift spirits.
We don't even have to be big to be effective.
We just have to be "on".
Today, let's pursue that which is good,
right and truthful by shining through darkened circumstances.
Don't keep the switch off
or hold back as though our batteries have run down.
Our source is the glorious

"Light Invisible."

Being switched on pleases the Lord.
Stay on.
Stay bright.
--Luci Swindoll

The Narrow Path

____________________________________

Daily Routine - Summer

5:30 Dress, Bible
6:00 Prayer
6:30 Make bed, housekeeping chore
7:00 Kids up
        Complete housekeeping chores
        Make breakfast
7:30ish Breakfast, clean up
8:00 Family Devotion
8:30 Check kid chores, start laundry
9:00 Outdoors to weed & water
10:00ish To-Do list
11:30 Play w/kids
12:00 Make lunch
12:30 Lunch
1:00 Play w/kids
1:30 Read to kids
2:00 Quiet time
2:30 Bookkeeping
3:00 Bug10 does chores, then crafts
        I complete other to-dos
4:00 Kids-snack, then outdoors
        Computer-email, blog
4:30 Start bread, start supper
5:00 Kids help w/supper prep
5:30 Supper
6:00 Dishes, clean up, set bread to rise
6:30 Family time
7:30 Prep kids for bed, read aloud or baths
8:00 Kids read in bed
        I tuck them in, prep for tomorrow
9:00 Kids lights out
        Husband & I prep for bed
        Pray & talk w/husband
10:00ishLights out

Within the Lines

Family Reunion and a recipe

Put THIS on your blog, Mom!!

Taco Soup

More recent news....

Thursday

Weekly Menu

Musings...of Autumn?

About Me

Yay! I'm a daisy, my favorite flower!!

"Light Invisible."

The Narrow Path

____________________________________

Daily Routine - Summer

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