Creative Memories giveaway!

i thoroughly enjoy scrapbooking, and the creative outlet that it offers me. it gives me a way to preserve and protect the memories of our family for many years to come. (and there is always the added benefit that scrapbooking is one of those things that i can do once and be done!)

in the few months before we moved to Bradford county, i was able to spend considerable time scrapbooking. Dave and the boys were often gone several days a week, as they traveled up here to work on the house, and to prepare it for our eventual move. the girls were still small enough that they took wonderfully long naps in the afternoon, and of course they went to bed early. so i was able to "catch up" with all my pictures, and get them into scrapbooks, even with some creativeness and journaling thrown in.

now enter my present reality, complete with nearly constant major remodeling, as well as two very busy little girls, livestock to care for and manage, a very large garden staring me in the face, and managing the household, and all that goes with it, as well as the homeschooling of my remaining two students.

let's just say that i have not touched a pair of scissors or cardstock in a creative sort of way since last April! i have multiple CDs burned with undeveloped digital pictures, as well as several memory cards full of pictures of momentous (and mundane) family happenings.

can you tell I'm just a little bit behind? but my blogging friend Julie is about to change all that. she is having a Creative Memories Storybook Creator Giveaway! I've already entered for a chance to win, but with blogging about it, i get a second entry! woohoo!

so here's to winning this fabulous product, and finally catching up again on all my pictures!

Northern Pennsylvania, or The Land of the Puny Library

There is no frigate like a book, to take us lands away.

Nor any courser like a page of prancing poetry.

This traverse may the poorest take, without oppress of toll

For frugal is the chariot that bears the human soul.

Emily Dickinson

as a child, one of my favorite past times was reading. i was a voracious reader, devouring books and enjoying the escape that they provided. when i grew up, i wanted to pass that same love of reading on to my children, and give them the keys to find out fascinating and wonderful things about the world around them. from a very early age, i read to all 4 of them faithfully. in the picture above, M is 4, the boys D and N are almost 3, and baby G is about 6 months old.

where we used to live, there was a plethora of library options, with several public libraries relatively close by. but best of all, there was our church library. now, before you roll your eyes, and envision a tiny and musty room, with a few bookshelves sparsely populated with outdated and worn out books, i want to tell you that our library was nothing like that. more accurately, it is called the W.D. Himmelreich Christian Resource Center, and was chock full of books, CD's, videos and DVDs. enough to keep us all happy and content, with a fabulous and friendly librarian to boot. there were more books to be read than could possibly be completed in one blissful and lazy summer. and as for a teaching recourse, it was enough to make this literature based homeschooler's mother heart go pitter-pat, pitter-pat.

but with all the advantages that we've had with our move to the country 10 months ago, we have been missing the Land of the Wonderful Libraries in Central Pennsylvania. last week was a very busy week for me, with many outside commitments. i had several topics that i wanted to post about, but just didn't have the time. but, one of those commitments took me back home, and i planned my day around the time the Himmelreich library would be open. i planned on stopping and getting some books for A and B. the wonderful thing about the Himmelreich is that they have such a broad and wonderful selection of books, and they are all wholesome, and most are Christian. i have been wanting to read more to the younger girls, and introduce them to wonderful and rich books, while at the same time teaching them about Jesus, and helping them to comprehend His involvement in our lives, and how deeply He cares for them. there are a multitude of books exactly like that at the Himmelreich, and my bag wasn't big enough to carry all the books i wanted to bring home to them!

but i was able to get quite a few, and we've been enjoying time spent together reading. while B is just a bit too young to sit for any length of time, A loves to snuggle up next to me on the sofa, and will sit and listen attentively while i read her a stack of books.

this particular series of books is a wonderful tool to introduce A to the parables of Jesus, and to help her grasp what He is trying to teach from these stories that He told. the pictures are engaging, and the explanations are understandable and accurate.

this is just a book for fun, but the pictures are well done and colorful, and A can relate to the things she's seeing. she loves to go down to the creek in the summer with her daddy, and has seen many of the animals that are pictured in this book.

A likes when i read her some Psalms before she goes to bed, and this interpretation of an inner-city application is filled with striking, but sensitive, pictures.


another book just for fun, but i couldn't resist a book about two pig friends. I'm sure they'll have a happier (for them) ending than our two pigs, Pig and Spot.

and just to round out their literature exposure with something classical, you can never go wrong with Robert Frost.

"And miles to go before I sleep"

"And miles to go before I sleep"

it's a modern miracle!

even though Dave had lots of help from B and A, it still took all day to have running water in the kitchen sink. lets just say that it's not possible to put a 4 hole faucet in a 3 hole sink! but, $120 later, we're finally functioning again!

A has literally been asking ALL DAY to do dishes! give that girl a rag, and she'll find something to clean! so now, right before dinner, she's washing the back log of dishes that have multiplied in the last 2 days. notice the new dishrag? she gets to break them in.

i just wanted to share my good news with all of you. now i must run, and finish dinner, as well as supervising A, so she doesn't give her father a heart attack by getting water all over the kitchen!

it's going to be a momentous day!

the kitchen has been at a virtual standstill for the last several weeks while we waited for our counter top to come in. last week it finally came in, and Dave wasted no time in installing the portion to the left of the stove. not that that's in, we can install the rest of the cabinets there- the appliance garage and lazy susan, as well as the remaining cabinet next to it as well as over the fridge. it has been a relief to have a counter top that is stable, and best of all, cleanable! the cardboard that was a stand-in was getting a little rough looking!

today (and yesterday as well) have been Dave's days off, and he's been working very hard at getting the other part of the counter top in. it's been a bit more difficult, simply because the one leg almost 10 feet long! but late yesterday afternoon, the counter top was in, and fastened down. that meant that we could finally move on to the part of the new kitchen that we've all been waiting for: THE SINK!

Dave is cutting out the cardboard pattern for the sink hole.

making the final cut in the counter top

last night he put the sink in the hole, fastened it down, and ran the bead of silicone caulk all around the edge to seal it off. this morning already he's in the kitchen working again, and the priority of the day is to get the sink installed, plumbed and water running!

it's been over 2 months now that we've been working on the kitchen, and it's certainly come a long way- no doubt about that! we still have some things to finish up, and would like to get them done before it's time to head outside for our spring chores. remodeling the kitchen has not been nearly as inconvenient as i thought it might be, and not quite as messy either. in the end, of course it's all worth it. we have a beautiful new kitchen, and we can all be proud at the good job that Dave did. but most of all, we'll be thankful for running water in the kitchen!

hello, my name is Jennifer, and i am a pack rat.

i willingly confess that i am the world's biggest pack rat. after the 4 big kids were grown, i saved a multitude of things in the attic, even though i was fairly sure that i would never need them again. i saved things from the obvious of clothes and toys, to games and books, as well as a myriad of other miscellaneous things.

so imagine my delight when i went on to have 2 more children, and am able to bring down all the "attic delights" for 2 more little ones to enjoy.

when M was a baby, i made her this purple gingham dress, which she wore for her first birthday picture.

it was an organizational miracle, and A also wore it on the day she turned one.

now 3 little girls have worn the simple purple gingham dress, with baby B bringing up the rear.

now it's time for the little purple gingham dress to go back up to the attic, lovingly packed away, anticipating the next sweet little girl to wear the birthday dress.

a popular and yummy snack

recently i found an easy snack recipe to make in the crock pot, and even better, Dave loves it! M has mentioned before that he is very hard to culinarily impress, and that is certainly true! if it doesn't involve a large piece of red meat (preferably steak) and mountain dew, he can be pretty indifferent.

so when i found this recipe, i thought it was something i would try, and I've been pleased with the results. to be honest, it can be a bit on the pricey side, but Dave likes to remind me that i shouldn't muzzle the ox that treads the grain. yes, dear.

the cast of characters: 2 bags mini marshmallows, 2 bags chocolate chips, and one bag walnuts. and, of course, your crock pot. i use my 6 quart one, and that works well.

turn the crock pot on high, and dump in both bags of chips. let them in there to get soft and melted, about half an hour. set your timer for 30 minutes so you don't forget. then come back and stir them up, and dump in the marshmallows and walnuts.


i take the crock out of the heating element at this point, otherwise the marshmallows start to melt too much. stir it around until everything is nice and evenly coated.


then drop by the spoonful onto waxed paper. let harden, then store in the freezer, or an airtight container. but don't worry, they probably won't last long enough to go stale! my gang would eat them in no time flat. i have to hide them, or there won't be any left at all for Dave's lunch!




if you want more cool recipes to try in your crock pot, you can find heaps and hoards of them here, which of course, is where i found this recipe.

late winter creativity- a relaxing pastime

I've been working at finishing a few quilts that i had started, hoping to get them done before i needed to break away from my "winter rest" and concentrate fully on gardening and other outside chores.

Dave and i both have ordered our seeds, and last week Dave brought home a mini indoor greenhouse. we are both eager to start our seedlings, and it's getting harder and harder each day to wait! it's still too early to start most of our plants, as living in zone 5 we can expect frost until late may. but we will be having some hoop houses in the garden, and we hope to put out tomatoes, lettuce and radishes as soon as early April.

in the meantime, I'm done with the split 9 patch quilts. i made one twin size (approximately) and two wall hangings. the twin quilt, and one wall hanging are to sell at the library auction, and the other wall hanging i will keep for myself. that one is not done yet, because i didn't have enough batting, but it wont' take long at all to get it done.

I've been drawn to these colors- the teals, royal blues and purples, for several years, so was really glad to have the chance to create these quilts. it was a simple pattern, and really allowed the colors to be the focus, not the pattern.

here's a detail of the quilting that i did. i used metallic silver thread, and did a stippling pattern. instead of the regular meandering, i did a stippling in squares and rectangles. i thought that would go nicely with the linear design of the blocks. i 'm pleased with how these quilts turned out, and since i still have a wall hanging to keep for myself, i won't be too sad to see them go.

like i said, country living is not for the fainthearted!

yesterday there was excitement in the house- we got 7 eggs for the first time! we've been consistently getting 5 or 6 eggs every day, but since we have 7 laying hens, it was a momentous milestone to actually gather 7 eggs from the nest. A was all excited when she brought them in to me.

here they are, all lined up. the first one on the left it a little small, and it looks as if it might be the first pullet egg that the hen laid. owwie! (imagine having a baby every. single. day. those poor, poor hens!)




unfortunately, as with so many milestones and momentous occasions in our lives, we didn't realize that yesterday would be the first and last time that we got 7 eggs.


this afternoon when G went outside, it was to this shocking sight:

a chicken hawk! eating my chicken! G was able to get quite close, as you can see. the hawk would have flown off with its prize, but the hen was too heavy. the rest of the flock is either hiding down in the woods, or quaking in fear and shock under the back porch! kind of gives you new respect for Foghorn Leghorn.

he's mr. neat, and i'm mrs. tidy

we are so all about being neat and tidy around here. no, that wasn't sarcasm, why do you ask? anyway...now that we are slowly finishing stuff around here, I'm trying to teach (or re-teach) the kids to pick up after themselves, and put something away when they are done with it. and while I'm at it, that would be a good lesson for Dave to learn, too! she said fondly.

we do have these handy storage baskets in the mud room, and they are perfect for all those hats, gloves, mittens and lightweight coats. every one has their own basket, and even A and B know to put their stuff away when they come inside.

but wait! what is that furry hat i see in the bottom basket?


it's not a hat! it's the cat! we store her in the basket. cuts down on the cat hair all over. because remember, we are all about neat and tidy around here!

we've all been there...

whether you ARE a mom, or just simply HAVE a mom, i think that we'll all be able to relate! this is for you: