Last Minute Shopping!!

I saw this post this morning and just had to give it a try!! After all, I have my Christmas shopping done!! And I have for weeks!! But, there's something about the season that makes me just want to keep shopping and keep giving. My husband doesn't care for this habit too much, so I am seeking ways to cure the desire without killing it!! So this morning after reading the post on Heavenly Homemakers, (which by the way is a favorite of mine and inspires me to cook more healthfully, think about the quality of what I am putting into my body- my husbands and boys bodies and how to do it on a budget:) I was inspired to shop my cabinets!! I had all of the spices on hand, and even ran out to the curb to retrieve some baby food jars that I threw out the other day!! Very frugal yes, and hopefully this dressing will be just as yummy as she said it would be!! Hope you will be inspired too!!

Happy Birthday Elijah

The Birthday Boy at his First Party!!

The Second Cake which Looked better than the first!! The "e" is for Elijah and the "j" is for his cousin Jacinda who is 10 days younger than him:)

Sorry I can't turn these pictures... the only way I can turn them is by starting over, and I don't have time for that right now!!

He's still cute though;)

Eating cake...

Happy 1st Birthday Elijah Davis Eddy!!

Gingerbread House Fun

Ethan's finished Gingerbread House (or should I say Mommy's?)

Ethan enjoyed eating the candy more than decorating his house...
All the Pegram Grandkids with Grandma and Grandpa (minus li'l Ben and Elijah:)

Building Gingerbread houses at my parents started when I was in college (thanks to my friend Jenn for sharing her recipe with us, it's a keeper;) ... eight years ago!! Nevermind the fact that writing eight years ago makes me feel old! This is a tradition the older grandkids enjoy and have perfected it to an art!! Ben, Ashlan and Ali spent the night at Grandma's and made theirs the night before and on Saturday they were "helpers" for the younger ones. It worked out beautifully:)

Because I Don't Feel Like Folding Three Loads of Laundry!!

Another post is in the works, because my laundry keeps staring at me, and I just don't feel like folding it right now! I will get to it after this post!

What's For Dinner? Tonight we are having homemade bread (courtesy of my Bread Machine) and Cheeseburger Soup! Both are Delightful! You're sure to enjoy them!!

Herbed Onion Bread (for bread machine:)
1 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon warm water
2 T Butter, softened
1-1/4 tsp. salt
3 Cups Bread Flour
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1-1/2 tsp. Dill weed
2 T Nonfat milk powder
2 T Sugar
1-1/2 Active Dry Yeast

Add ingredients in order listed, set on "white bread" and start!! I love my bread machine:)


Cheeseburger Soup
1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 C. Chopped Onion
3/4 C. Sliced Carrots
3/4 C. Chopped Celery
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley
4 T. Butter
3 C. Chicken Broth
4 C. Diced Potatoes
1/4 C. Flour
8 oz. Velveeta
1-1/2 C. Milk
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 C. Sour Cream

Cook ground beef with onions. Drain grease. Saute carrots, celery and spices in butter for a few minutes till tender. In a large pot add beef, sauteed vegetables, and broth. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Mix flour in with milk and add to pot. Cook on Medium heat until potatoes and carrots are tender. Cube Velveeta, add to soup. Season with salt and pepper. Add sour cream just before serving. Enjoy!

With a Grateful Heart

Psalm 100

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD he is God.

It is he who made us; and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues to all generations.

Sunday Seven- Reflections of Grateful Heart!

1. I am incredibly thankful to Our Great God who created us! Verse 3 is a beautiful picture of Our God. KNOW that the LORD he is God!! It's not in question He is God, and always will be!

2. God made me, just the way he wanted to! He made me with a unique intellect, a body designed for me, and He made me to Worship Him!

3. I am so thankful to be a child of God!! He is my shepherd, watching over me, protecting me, and correcting me!

4. I have constant access to Him in Prayer! I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me! Enabling me to say no to my flesh that is weak and say yes to the Power and control that God has given through the Holy Spirit and His Word.

5. I can Praise Him anytime, anywhere! I can teach my boys to Praise the Lord for the many things he has done for us!

6. His love is never-ending! It endures through all generations. I am thankful for a godly heritage and the opportunity to pass down that heritage to my boys!

7. I am thankful for the graciousness of God in giving me a wonderful, loving, kind, patient, hard-working husband to share this Abundant Life with!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Time Last Year

This time last year I was about 40 pounds heavier, huffing and puffing walking up the stairs and chasing around my 20 month old. I looked like this:

Now my 20 month old is almost 3 and my baby will be one in a few short weeks. The plans for his first birthday are in the making. This is my favorite time of year. It always has been, now to add to the excitement of the holidays we will celebrate another birthday!! So much fun!! Every smell of the season brings a memory to my mind!! What memory will you "smell" this season? I hope it's a good one!

Which One???

We had family photos taken last week. I am trying to decide which one I will print in a large frame in our living room! Which one would you pick. I will post a poll on the right for you to cast your vote! Don't be shy:)

#1

#2

#3

#4

Wordless Wednesday

Swedish Brownies

Don't let the name fool you. These brownies are not brown they are a golden creamy color and they are amazing. My mother-in-law brought some to our house on Saturday and they taste almost like a Dutch Letter. The even better part is that they are so much easier to make.

Swedish Brownies

4 eggs
2 C Sugar

1 C Butter (use the real stuff:) Melted and Cooled

Pinch of Salt
2 C Flour
3 tsp. Almond Flavor

Beat eggs and sugar til light and fluffy (About 5 min.)
Add butter slowly to eggs& Sugar
Stir in Salt, Flour, and almond flavoring. Spread in 9X13 pan. Sprinkle with Sugar. Bake @ 325 for 35-40 min.

Enjoy:) They are yummy and will be part of my Christmas Cookie Plate this season!!!

I am a Cinnamon Roll

Who doesn't like cinnamon rolls. If you don't like them... well, you're missing out! I think they are out of this world and if you don't know how to make them, I want to teach you how!!





Before we get started I have confession to make. Up until a year ago I was a little afraid of... Yeast! I never could get it to do what it was supposed to. I would either "kill" my yeast with water that was too hot, or wouldn't get it to raise because my water was too cold. Then I had someone tell, me to put my finger in the water if it was too hot that I couldn't touch it... it's too hot. It should be hot to the touch, just hot enough to barely sting your hand with it's heat, or you can use a thermometer to test your water temp. It should be between 105-110 Degrees. Hope that helps! Needless to say I am no longer afraid of yeast and I am loving the world of opportunites ahead with this ingredient!





Here we go!



Cinnamon Rolls



1 Pkg dry yeast (or 1 Tablespoon if you buy in bulk like me:)

1/4 C Warm Water (This is to add to yeast to activate it:)

1/2 C Warm water

1/2 C Milk scalded

1/4 C Sugar

1/4 C Shortening

1 tsp. salt

3 1/2 C Flour

1 egg





First take a packet of Yeast (or if you buy in bulk, 1 Tablespoon) and "soften" in 1/4 C Warm Water (105-110 Degrees)





Take 1/2 Milk and heat for 3 minutes in microwave or heat til scalding on stovetop. Add shortening to heated milk, add 1/2 C water. In another bowl measure flour, sugar and salt. Add milk/ water and shortening mixture once the shortening has melted to the flour and combine. Add egg and yeast, mix together. Dump contents of the bowl onto a clean countertop and knead the dough for a few minutes. Place dough into a large greased bowl and let raise for an hour or til doubled. Punch down dough. Roll out dough into a large rectangle and generously brush with Butter... yes the real stuff:) Trust me... it tastes better!!! Then put brown sugar over the rolled out dough and then sprinkle with cinnamon.



(This is where you all may be thinking how much butter, brown sugar and cinnamon... well I hate to say this, but I have started to become like my mother. The more you do it. The more you learn how much and every time you make them will be better than before. )





Roll up the dough. Slice into 12 pieces. Place rolls into a 9X13 pan. Let raise again for another hour. Bake in a preheated oven 350Degrees. For 20-30 minutes or til golden brown.


Frosting

2 Tablespoons Butter

1 C Powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Water



Mix butter, vanilla and powdered sugar. Add water until it is a smooth and spreadable consistency. If you add too much water just add a little more powdered sugar til you get the desired consistency. Place on cooled rolls.



Another variation to this recipe is to make dinner rolls. The dough is made the same. Roll out in a large circle and spread with butter. Cut dough like a pie into 12 pieces. Roll large end to small end to make a crescent shaped roll. Bake 350 til golden brown.



I multiplied this recipe X4 the other day. So easy to make a bigger batch and share with others or freeze for later. I tried freezing the rolls before the second "raise." Rhodes Rolls are known for this method. So, I thought if they can do... I can too:) I'll keep you posted on whether my attempt at this is successful!!

Who am I?

I am soft.



I have light colored "skin" with hints of golden brown.



Children and Adults alike adore me.



Part of me boasts about antioxidants and healthy benefits.



I am by no means considered a health food.



I have swirls of dark brown on my insides.



I am covered on top with a white "hat"



Any Guesses??




I am almost sure you know who or what I am!




Just to make sure, write it down in the comment section!



I am a....

The Verdict is in!!

For those of you sitting on the edges of your seat waiting to hear how much my efforts of line drying helped in lowering the bottom line on our utility bill... well, it's hard to say how much was due to line drying, but our bill was almost$30 less than last month. I know some of this has to do with the fact that we haven't had our air or heat on much due to the mild weather. But, with *Snow* in the forecast the inevitable run of the furnace is upon us!! On a side note, I am SOO thankful for my husband. Last week, I was FREEZING so he said we could turn on the furnace to take the chill out of the air. Only after it had been running for a couple minutes it shut off and wouldn't restart!! Almost 48 hours later and 4 different parts from my second favorite man in the world...my dad:) it was up and running again!! So, glad we didn't find that out this weekend when it will be mighty chilly!!!

Fall Days

I love these fall days. Gorgeous weather, leaves changing color, cool crisp air, and SOUP!!

I love to make soup, and my little guy loves to eat it!! I am convinced that he is a true "Comfort Food" eater. Anything that is considered down home cooking is right up his alley. This recipe is a favorite at our house, healthy and oh so easy to make. And that is what I consider a perfect recipe:) Hope you enjoy it too!!

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can chili beans

1 can chicken broth

1 envelope taco seasoning

2 cans diced tomatoes ( I used 1 large can:)

1 can rotel tomatoes (or generic equivalent, these were .49 @ Target!!)

2 chicken breast halves ( I often use frozen)

Just put everything into a slow cooker, and stir. Place chicken in. Cook on high 3-4 hours. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Take out chicken breasts and shred with a fork and place back in your soup. Serve soup with shredded cheese on top and a dollop of sour cream. We like to eat this with Tortilla chips too!! Add a salad, and you've got an easy, healthy meal ready!! Enjoy!

Do you have any easy meal pleasers for your family! If so, I'd love to hear all about them!!

Keep your Hands Busy

An elderly friend of mine once told me, "Keep your hands busy to keep your mind out of mischief." Well, I sure should've remembered that last week when I was reading a blog and saw that an online retailer had 80% off shoes. If you know me well, you know how much I love shoes. Not just any shoes, I like the expensive ones that come with an incredible price tag!! Most of my readers are SAHM's just like me and can relate to denying yourself such luxuries and indulgences like a new pair of shoes!! Since having Ethan I've hardly bought any shoes. This summer was trying because all my sandals were really showing their wear... at least this is what I tell my wonderful husband;) And I ordered one pair in black and one in brown!!

I'm not going to lie!

Isn't that always a reassuring statement?!! As if to say, I lie sometimes but promise not to this time! Anyway, that's not the point of this post... but the point is, I've fallen off the green bandwagon and given in to the luxury and bliss of getting my clothes dried quickly! It all started because I could wait til the end of the day when the clothes were actually dry to fold them. Either I caught the humidity on a bad week here in good ol' Iowa or it just always takes that long. I still hang a load or two here and there, but maybe I was trying "too much, too soon." I guess it's a good thing I wasn't Amish!!

Loads of Fun!

When we moved to our new house it came equipped with a clothes line!!

I wasn't sure if I would use it, but have come to enjoy hanging my clothes on the line.
While there are a few things about line drying that really bother me ie. crunchy towels, I am finding my way around them. So, here are my line drying helpful hints!

- Sheets and other bed linens are great on the line. They are fresh smelling, dry quickly and dry nicely on the line.

- Towels line dried can be put in the dryer for 5-10 min. after they have been line dried to release the cruchies:) Thanks Christine for this tip!!

- No shame here we hang it all out on the line...although I usually put the undies in the middle and the bigger clothes on the outsides to help hide our unmentionables.

Poor Ethan has had his undies out on the line after an unexpected sheet changing and washing and his jammies and undies were involved:) Other than a few accidents he is really catching on to this potty training business... and his mother and her purse are very grateful;)

I even question whether line drying makes that big of an impact on the monthly utility bill, so this month I am challenging myself to line dry almost all of our laundry and see how much it saves. Between this and the unseasonably cool weather I think I am going to like September's bill:)

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I last posted. Life has been... well, busy:) After the move Jud and decided we needed a little R&R, so with that we decided to make a last minute call to our Church camp and see if they had any room in the inn- AKA: The Barn!! They did and we had a wonderful week we loved it so much we reserved the same room next year! What a perfect family vacation! No cooking, minimal cleaning, endless entertainment options, and lots of time with each other, time in the Word and fun with friends. Oh, and I almost forgot about a true blessing... free babysitting twice a day!! Folks, if this aint an advertisement for camp, I don't know what would be!! Family Camp is a true blessing! We hope to go to family camp til we're old and gray and have grandchildren who will hopefully go to family camp too!! The above picture is of my amazing husband, who really adores me and his little boys!! We enjoyed times like these just hanging out and just enjoying each other! The picture on the is there because honestly I could figure out how to move it to a different location! So, there it will remain and I will say that my little boys are growing up much faster than I care to acknowledge and as far as I'm concerned they'll always be my babies. They both just had their hair cut by daddy when this pic was taken. E has really taken a liking to little E and has started to discover that this little guy just might be fun to have around;)

We've Come a Long Way!

We moved into our new house two and a half weeks ago. Most of the rooms are looking more normal everyday, although the basement still has many boxes left to be dealt with:) It seems like all that stuff could just disappear and we would have no need for them. Needless to say, we will still be keeping them:) Maybe today I can work on that!

We have really been working with Ethan on a few things. Training and disciplining are hard and we are learning that we cannot rely on our own strength, but need to be in God's Word for daily wisdom concerning our little guys we have been entrusted with! So, more than the boxes need to be unpacked, we have a two year old we need to daily instruct in the wisdom of the Lord!

On a side note, we decided yesterday to call up to IRBC and see if they had any space available for a week when a number of other families from church go to family camp. We were delighted to hear that there was room, we know and love the speaker who will be there that week and are excited about getting away for the week at such a minimal cost! I love IRBC and grew up going to family camp! We are hoping to make this a yearly vacation:)

A Little bit of this, and a little bit of that!

Packing 'em up! Here is a pic of our first batch of boxes... which unfortunately represents only 1/2 of them. The other half still resides in the basement and will continue to until Thursday. Packing up all of your earthly belongings sure makes you think of the waste and times you bought something thinking you "needed" it. But, is this realization enough to make you DO something about it.

Matthew 6:20-21 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Oh, don't get me wrong! I'm not there yet... and won't be until I get to Heaven! But, until then I will strive to live this verse to be careful not to invest my time, my money, my passion on things that will one day fade away. It's just a bunch of stuff. If you want any of it, come and have it... then I won't need to move it;)

Tag... You're IT!!

Tagged
Deborah at thejoysoftwoboys.blogspot.com tagged me

so I get the privilege of sharing a random picture with you.

Here are the rules...

1. Open the 4th picture folder on your computer.

2. Open the 4th picture and post it on your blog.

3. Explain the picture.

4. Tag 4 people to do the sameChoosing the 4th folder, 4th picture

This is my husband, Jud. He got his first big buck a few years ago. Needless to say this man of mine loves the outdoors and gets a thrill out of hunting. I think this particular day was opening day of shotgun season, we had just bought the red truck behind him the day before! We had a terrible ice storm and I didn't want him to go! He assured me (like always) that he'd be fine:) And he was!! BTW we gave the deer meat to his dear mother:)

I don't have four blogger friends yet... so if you're out there silently reading my posts, pipe up and become a follower of mine... well. I'd rather you become of follower of Christ first though:)

Some Food for Thought

Our ABF has the privilege of being led by our Pastor, Robert Smith.

Here is a phrase that we centered our discussion upon:

Love the Sinner, Hate the sin.

Who said this phrase anyway? Pastor asked was Augustine? Was it Ghandi? Was it neither? And is this phrase Biblical? At first my initial reaction was, ya!

Love the Sinner, hate the sin is one of those "Christian" phrases that bounces around in our Christian culture! They can be quite deceiving! Yesterday as this phrase was being brought to the forefront of my mind, I was pondering the fact that although something sounds like it came from the Bible. So, the mission for our ABF this week: To support or disprove this statement solely from the Bible!

Will you join me on this mission?

Why Blog?

This is my very first attempt at blogging! It is somewhat intimidating to me and I am a little unsure of what I am doing. I love to do many things, but things involving technology really don't interest me. Now, I am concerned about that the fact that one day my little boys are going to know more about this stuff than I do, so here is my attempt to learn and keep up with our ever changing world.

Now why would I blog? Well, what I do know is that every person who chooses to write a blog or keep up with facebook or some other form of social networking, is desiring something! Now that was profound. Ok, so maybe it wasn't, but this is how my brain works! For me, I guess I have chosen to blog because I realize this world is bigger than me! God didn't create me, and just leave to go about my own plan or agenda. However, I do feel that on most days I am so accustomed to be concerned about MYSELF. How selfish is that! Being married has been one of those experiences that forces you to realize that the world doesn't revolve around me and my problems. But so often, my little head thinks that everything is a big deal. So my goal, my desire is to work on focusing my heart, my time, my energy on God. In this blog I desire to let Christ shine through this woman who is so prone to wander from the God I love, and cling to his precious promises in His Word that Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world!