homemade gifts....

Some of our gifts (well, most of them) are homemade this year!! I thought I would share a few with you!

This is the girls' gift along with shoes, tights, leotards & headbands, the whole ballerina ensemble! They will be so excited when they open these on Christmas morning! I am praying we get these done....if we do, I will post pictures for you.

Charlie is also making the girls a stove for Christmas and it is super cute! (It kind of looks like this one, minus the clock but now I am thinking maybe we could add one??? lol ) I wish I had a stove like that when I was a little girl....they also are getting all the "stuff" to go with it, rolling pins, baking sheets, aprons, etc.!!

Drew is getting a painted canvas for his room and a cool shelf to put all of his tractors on! The kid already has so many but he will be a collector just like his Daddy! :)

life....

chicken soup in the crock-pot. homemade bread in the oven. sweatshirts.the "clean" smell of homemade laundry soap. little hands helping mama shape the pie crust for the pumpkin pie baking in the oven.snuggles under quilts and Beatrix Potter before naps. mama does their "makeup". playing tractors with Andrew.phone calls from my baby.watching the leaves fall. Inhaling the smell of apple pie candles.working on christmas gifts.watching Anne of Green Gables. curling up with THE Good Book and a cup of hot tea. Praying......quiet uninterrupted time with my Savior. ahhhh....so blessed.

Apple Pie Bread..............

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk*
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded, peeled apple (about 4 medium)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup raisins
Streusel-Nut Topping

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of an 9x5x3-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in sugar until combined. Add buttermilk and baking powder; beat until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Add flour and salt; beat until combined. Stir in apple, nuts, and raisins.

3. Spoon batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle Streusel-Nut Topping over batter. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

4. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

5. Makes 1 loaf (14 servings)

6. *Note: To make 1/4 cup sour milk, place 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar in a glass measuring cup. Add enough milk to make 1/4 cup total liquid; stir. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes before using.

7. Streusel-Nut Topping: In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup packed brown sugar and 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Using a pastry blender, cut in 2 tablespoons butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans.

This one's for Darcy & Jess! Hope you enjoy; it's SO good!! :)

Martha mania.....

Our local Wal-Mart has the Martha Stewart craft line in stock!!! :) I can't wait until payday Wednesday to stock up for our homemade gifts!!

SO excited; LOVE Martha Stewart!!!

Julie

Christmas times a coming....

Claire, Lily & I have been watching this DVD since my birthday in March! We have been watching it quite often the past 2 weeks! These marshmallows are really easy to make & because I am so nice, lol, I am going to give you links to even more marshmallow goodies! If you are family, I am going to try and use these for gifts so DON"T COPY!!! :)

Here you go!

Snowflake marshmallows

Peppermint marshmallows

And, I found a recipe for something else but I am not sharing because I am using it for family gifts!!! I will share after Christmas. :)

Love,

Julie

With thanks, counting my many blessings....

*my God*my husband*my babies*a warm house*wonderful supportive church family*warm cookies fresh out of the oven*baby smells*family*friends*hubby's vacation (paid)!!*Psalm 71*hand me downs*our ancient computer*phone calls from my sisters*nieces & nephews*a cozy fire*Christmas & Veggietales CD's (save my sanity in the car)lol :)*chicken tortilla soup *horses*our old fixer-upper house*my dishwasher*clean, fresh laundry straight out of the dryer*Martha Stewart Holiday DVD's *blueletterbible.org (using this a lot lately)*listening to Claire, Kylie & Alaina's "conference" call! :)*emails from Cheryl, Crystal, Sarah, Denise, Misty, Miranda, Chris & Rebecca-love you girls!! :)* a healthy pregnancy for my friend Misty; and for her baby boy on the way!*hot cocoa with mini marshmallows(recipe on Hershey's box)*bills that even though they may be hard to pay mean that we have a home, electricity, insurance, and a vehicle. * paychecks* truth * An excuse to bake* Clean House* my nephews Jesse & Michael (have helped us a lot this week)* a mother-in-law who loves to cook and cook big for her family. * hymns (church songs, according to Claire) that go around in my head* Claire acting out her bedtime routine with her baby dolls. ("go sleep, baby, snug as a bug in a rug!") :)*LOVE*quiet times*Lily's cute little phrases and sweet, sweet, hugs :)*Drew's little baby coos and loving to be held*water and a washer that is going out but still works! *pumpkin anything!*the certainty of God in an uncertain world*bedtime stories*my mama's patience with me when she teaches me things*my Daddy's medication(helps him be my Daddy again)*prayer*wonderful smells of holiday baking*football*beautiful leaves*thick towels on a cold day* cell phones*blogs & talk radio (for my husband, lol)*Boscoe (our dog, should have listed earlier, sorry Boss)*Thanksgiving Day Parade*Dad's (my father-in-law) great heart test results!!!*Dad's (father-in-law)great sense of humor*Both sets of parents who babysit for date night!! :)*Lily's cute little "bite, bite, peas mumma" :)*Drew's crooked smile :)*Charlie's strong hugs & sweet kisses :)*Christmas trees & Christmas movies :)*restoration*forgiveness*Tammy & George reconciling*prayers being answered*redemption*visiting with family*leftovers :)

Gifts for Baby Drew!!!

Just some more cute things that we have received for Baby Drew; thanks everyone!! =)

Pictures and Thank You's!!!

Thank You, Aunt Cheryl & family, for the dresses for Claire & Lily & the cute clothes & ADORABLE boots for Baby Drew!! =)

I have some more pictures to post but this is taking forever so, I will try again tomorrow! My sister got me some precious clothes for Drew that I want to show off! So, hopefully tomorrow I will get those posted! =)

Love,

Julie

My New Camera and THANKS!!!

I have been needing a new camera for quite some time and just haven't wanted to spend the money and things just always seemed to come up where I couldn't buy it right then. Well, thanks to some generous family members (who wish to remain anonymous)I thought I would buy a new digital camera so that I could take all the pictures we want and do videos of the kids, as well! So, here is what I got! It's not a very expensive one but it will definitely work and I am just proud to have it! So, hopefully I can get some really good shots of the kids and post them soon! =)

I wanted to get pink but Charlie will be using it a lot when Drew arrives so I didn't want him to have to carry around a pink camera! LOL. =)

I just wanted to share my happy camera news with you and thank you SO much to the anonymous camera fund donors!!!

Also, a HUGE thank you to Aunt Cheryl , Uncle Greg & kids for the cutest overalls and John Deere boots and the onesies for baby Drew!!! They are PRECIOUS (and I will put a picture up a.s.a.p.) and for the adorable dresses for Claire & Lily !! Thank you so much!! Claire put her dress on over her clothes on the way home Wednesday!! lol. =) Thank you to Allison and Ann for playing with the girls, they really loved it and I enjoyed visiting with you!! Love you, girls!!! =)