It's December 1st and I'm ready to begin a running post and update on our family.

As I did last year in place of mailing Christmas Cards and Pictures out (except to a few folks) I'm going to do a virtual newsletter update on our family.  About once a week or so I'll do a posting and update you all on each person in our family. I'll start with the one I know best, me!!

2010 has been a year of emotional highs and lows!! From the excitement of planning for Kara and Derrick's April wedding, to having Ellen graduate from high school.

In January we kicked into high gear for our wedding planning, finishing up all the odds and ends like ordering a cake, which turned out to be an interesting event, but ended beautifully.  We had 3 blessed bridal showers, two here locally and 1 in Milan, PA (5 hrs. from here).  We just wanted to share our joy with all that we could and we knew that was not going to be entirely possible due to budget constraints, I don't think you can quite understand until you have to plan a wedding.  But God blessed this day with every heavenly blessing and showered down his love and care over every detail from the weather to the honeymoon.  We are so thankful for all those that took time out of their lives to come and share in the joy of the day, helping us watch our dear daughter move on to begin her new life as a wife.

 Then came our next big event of the year, Ellen's Graduation Party.  We scheduled this for June and had a very hot, but gorgeous day to celebrate.  We were blessed by the many friends and family members that came out to celebrate Ellen's accomplishment. Will share more on Ellen in her post coming up soon.

 Then in July we headed to Tennesee with the our friends the Balega Family and attended a family conference sponsered by Answers in Genesis.  While there we took in as many of the sites and activities that we could, it was a fast paced week that was a lot of fun!

The cabin on top of a mountain we rented, secluded we wanted, secluded we got!

The Awesome Titanic Museum, spent 3 hours there, could have spent more.

Some of our party wanted to go Zorbing! riding inside a giant ball down a hill!

Most of the gang on day 1 at Dollywood when it was about 102 deg, the next day it was 106 deg.

This is just one of the many switchbacks we took up and down the mountain 2x a day to the cabin, in our 12 pass. van nonetheless! talk about excitement!!

This was actually our first outing,  River Rage Tubing, tons of fun but not without a little danger.

On our way home we stopped at the Creation Museum, this is in the lovely gardens outside!

 

 

 

 

  We kept busy all summer by hosting a couple's Bible study called "Visionary Parenting" where we had 6 families come out for 8 weeks on Wed. nights, the older girls helped keep all the little ones busy, there were sometimes as many as 25 children in our basement!  We also hosted a twice a month fellowship night where Steve and our dear friend Angelo Terranella taught from the book of Daniel, this was after a few hours of fun activities that families had together i.e. wiffleball, volleyball, water games, water night, and always lots of snacks. 

Volleyball

Laura ready for Bible Study

Sack Races

Inner tube, tarp, soap, + water = fun

Even the little ones join in.

 Summer flew by as usual, we spent most weekends enjoying the lake house (as Derrick calls it) and our church family at Pleasantview Baptist each Sunday, we even were blessed to spend Resurrection Sunday with them this year, it was 90 degrees in April this year!! an unbelievable weekend that allowed the opening up of  the windows there so early.  Then in October we closed up a week early as we were making a trip up to help Kara and Derrick move into their new home.  It was a great trip and we all did not want to leave, even my van  tried to get us to stay, it took a few trips to the repair shop to coax it home.

Everyone worked really hard helping get the house ready to move in.

The livingroom looked great after everything was moved in.

The dining room getting painted, Derrick needs no stepladder.

We celebrated Kara's 21st birthday with her while we were there.

 

 

So not too much has happened since October.  We've been busy with our homeschooling and our one co-op. We did not return to the enrichment classes that I had directed for so long, so it's been nice to enjoy our Fridays at home for the first in over 14 yrs.

Kara and Derrick were able to spend Thanksgiving with us which was absolutely wonderful!!! it was very hard to see them go on Sunday, Ruby didn't want to let go of Kara's neck and everyone had sad puppy eyes as they pulled out of the driveway.  Lord willing they'll be back for New Years, but with new jobs for both of them it'll be a short weekend visit, it'll be time for us to make a trip back up to see them I think.

So I'll stop there and get some posts up on each member of our home so you can keep up to date with our lives,be sure and drop us a line and let us know how you are doing, we'd love to pray for your family, please remember us as well, pray that we may seek the Lord, continue in His will for our lives, and see His Kingdom grow.

Blessing others with meals

One thing I've always wanted to do on a regular basis is be sure to have an extra meal in the freezer all made up (main dish) that I could take out and use when I heard of a need.  More often than not we eat the meal before I use it, having none when the need arises.  But there's hope!  I wanted to share these two ideas from Molly over at Econobusters for lasagna and choc. chip cookies that can be done and will give you not 1 but 2 pans of lasagna! one for you and one to give away and the cookies can be done the same way!! Now just taking the time to do it and it'll be done!


Chocolate Chip Cookie Box
Pantry Staples Needed
Flour
Sugar
Brown Sugar

Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Butter (kept in the refrigerator)
Eggs (kept in the refrigerator)
Better yet, make cookie dough ahead and place drops on cookie sheet as usual. Then, instead of baking, place the sheet in the freezer and allow the cookie drops to freeze. Once frozen, scrape them into a freezer bag. Now you can grab your bag of dough drops, plop the desired amount on a cookie sheet and bake up fresh cookies on a moment’s notice.
You can also shape your cookie dough into a log and wrap with wax paper and plastic wrap. When you desire fresh cookies, just slice cookies from the end of the log and bake. Yum!

Lasagna (freezer style)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour (plus thawing time)
Yields: 2 pans of lasagna
2 pkgs. lasagna noodles (DO NOT COOK) 2 (15 oz.) containers Ricotta cheese 3 pkgs. Mozzarella cheese, grated 3 pkgs. sharp cheese, grated 2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated Sugar, to taste 2 pounds of ground beef 2 jars of spaghetti sauce
Cook ground beef until well browned, add spaghetti sauce and sugar. Heat.
In 13 x 9 x 2 inch tin foil baking pan, spoon a little sauce in bottom of pan evenly. Layer noodles, Ricotta, Mozzarella, spaghetti sauce and Parmesan. Repeat until all ingredients are used, ending with sauce and Parmesan.
Cover with tin foil and freeze. Thaw. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 2 lasagnas. These are great to have on hand for impromptu meals and make it easy to invite last minute guests for dinner.

Homemade and Delicious

Just sharing some new recipes and an old one we tried tonight for dinner.


First sharing the no knead bread recipe which was from Family Fun Magazine, I used this to make 3 large loaves of bread, this is perfect sandwich bread.

2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 T (2 packets) granulated yeast
1 1/2 T. coarse salt, or 1 T. table salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/3 c. veg. oil, melted unsalted butter, or olive oil (I use olive oil)
6 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour

In a lg. bowl or lidded container, stir together the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and oil or melted butter, then mix in the flours. If needed, the last bit of flour can be incorporated with wet hands.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise at room temp. until it collapses on top, about 2 hrs.

3. Use the dough immediately or refrigerate it in a lidded (not airtight container and use it over the next five days. It can also be frozen in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to one mos. (we recommend freezing the dough in 1 lb. portions for fease of use) Frozen dough can be shaped, rested, and baked after it has defrosted overnight in the refrigerator. To cut a recipe's worth of dough from the bulk batch, dust the surface of the dough with flour, then use kitchen shears or a knife to snip off what you need. 

Sandwich Loaf
Lightly grease a loaf pan, heat oven to 350 deg. brush the top of the loaf with the egg wash, then use a sharp, serrated bread knife to make three cuts across the top. Place the loaf on the oven's center rack and bake until brown and firm, about 45 min. Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely before cutting.

Then to top off the bread my family loves homemade apple butter, here's the recipe I use:

• 5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 4 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Apple Butter

Pumpkin Chili Mexicana

 

 

 

I just pre-cooked my ground turkey and then threw it all into a crock-pot and mixed as the day went on.

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 c. chopped red bell pepper

1 clover garlic, finely choppped

1 lb. ground turkey

2 cans (14.5oz) no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained (Wal-mart brand)

1 can (15oz) Libby's 100% Pure Pumplin

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

1 can (15.25 oz) kidney beans, drained (I rinse to lower the salt by 40%)

1 can (4oz) diced green chilis

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 T. chili powder

1 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. black pepper

I added a T. cheddar cheese and a T. sour cream when serving

French Crust Apple Pie

 For dessert we had french crust, apple pie.  It was not bad but not my favorite crust and pie recipe, definately had better.  So won't be trying this one again. 

Kara and Derrick's new home!

When we arrived at Kara's we gave her some early birthday presents, yikes 

she is 21 years old this week!!!

Kara opening one of her gifts.

Everyone helping Kara prime the walls of her bedroom, covering up the green paint.

Ruby was so excited to be able to paint too!

Painting party!! Kara & Derrick's friends Mitch and Larissa joined in on the painting of the livingroom.

Kara

Stephen was such a big help!! Here he is sweeping the hardwood floors.

Derrick and his Dad, Pastor Doug cutting wood for the new steps they built out the back of the house.

Friday night was a Dinner Theatre at the church, here's Adam serving Ruby & Emma their salads.

Here's Derrick's Mom doing a Chazzah presentation to "City on our Knees"

Derrick wrote and sang a beautiful song he wrote about Jesus, My Master.

This is Brad and Trevor doing a ventriloquist act! LOL

Here everyone is looking at the blue van after it just died in the driveway.

The big van loaded down with furniture and no seats! so thankful we didn't have to rent a u-haul especially after having car repairs necessary for the blue van.

Kara taking a break out back, see the new steps.

Derrick planning out his entertainment center lay-out.

Trying to charge the battery on the van, this wasn't the only problem unfortunately!

Stephen,Ruby, Adam, Amy & Zach taking a break and playing some ipod games.

Ellen, looking a little tired after getting up at 4 a.m. Sat. to make the trip with her Dad, see how lovely the dining room looks with the furniture he brought.

This is a piece of furniture Grandpa brought from his brother's house for Kara to have, it matches so perfect with all her woodwork.

The living room

Derrick's entertainment center, has some staining to do on it yet, but it's functional.

There are lovely built in bookshelves on both sides if a place for a woodburner in the living room.

A touch of Disney, of course!

Celebrating Kara's birthday!

This buffet piece was from Kara's great grandma, it looked great in the dining room!

This was one of the gifts Steve picked out for Kara.

Another gift from Dad.

Opening more gifts!!

Updates on Kara & Derrick

well where to start, just wanted to give an update on the newlyweds!  They are doing great, busy as ever, work has overtaken Kara's life right now and she's praying for a new job. She's working 12-14 hr. days, 6 days a week at Rent a Center.  She loves the job itself, but hates the hours. The job does not require her to be in the office every day, she gets to drive the truck, deliver and even set up furniture! Sometimes she's driving into NY as much as 2 hrs. away.  They lost an employee about a mos. ago and only re-hired a replacement this past week, only he lasted 3 days and quit! and this is the week someone else is on vacation, so she's wondering if 14 hrs. is now going to be 18!!!! 

The real downside of this job is that she has no time for her photography! She's had requests to do some family photo shoots and such, but has only Wed. off or Sun. (which of course is not really a day off, it's a day of rest).  So she has applied for a job with the local gas co. and was re-checking to see if the hospital is accepting any apps.  Please join us in praying the Lord will provide employment that will enable her to have her evenings free and Sat. to do what she loves, her photography. 

Derrick is teaching piano and voice and working with a local cleaning company.   He also would love to pick up more music students and do what he loves more. 

They are praying that the purchase of a home works out within the next mos.  They need to get out of the trailer before the weather is cold on a regular basis.  There is a possibility of a home purchase on the horizon, but all details need to fall into place.  Trusting God to work that all out. 

So prayers are appreciated on their behalf that they can be patient and prayerful as they seek God's best for their future. 

We did get to visit over Labor Day, it's not what I had envisioned for the summer, we figured we'd be seeing each other on trips there and their trips here, but with Kara's work schedule that didn't pan out.  Hopefully once they have a house, she can have a new job that would enable us to go up and visit more regularly.  We all really miss her terribly and 4 to 6 wks. between visits is too long!  And even then our visits are so short, they've gotten in as late as 2 a.m. Sun. a.m. and had to turn around and leave Mon. by 4p.m.  so we are all longing for longer visits.

flavored coffee syrup recipes/free recipe book

Molly over at Econobusters shared this, can't wait to try it, this list of ingredients will be way shorter than on the bottled brands.

Homemade Coffee Syrups Work for Me!

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 05:18 AM PDT

I have a friend who drinks coffee a lot! She loves flavored coffee syrup, like the ones they use at Starbucks, but it is about $7 a bottle where she lives.
I decided that this year, I was going to make some homemade coffee syrup and send it to her as a gift. When my package arrived, she fell in love! She told me that they tasted better than the real thing and that I was now her official Starbucks replacement!
Here is what you need to be able to to do the same:
~Start with a simple syrup. To make a simple syrup, combine 1 cup water and 1 cup white sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until it has reduced by half, which should take about 5 minutes. Now if you want flavoring, you have to add those ingredient(s) at the same time you add the water and sugar.
Vanilla Coffee Syrup: Add 2 teaspoons of vanilla flavoring to the simple syrup. Taste to see if it is vanilla flavored enough. If not, add an additional teaspoon.
Cinnamon Coffee Syrup: Add about a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the water and sugar mixture.
And to top off the flavored syrups, here is my favorite coffee from Starbucks! I don’t go there hardly at all any more since I have been making all my favorite coffee stuff at home! In fact, It has been months since I have been. I think mine tastes much better (I know, I am biased)!
Pumpkin Spiced Latte
2 cups milk
1 cup very strong coffee
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons sugar (or one packet of Splenda)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (plus extra for dusting)
2 heaping spoonfuls of canned pumpkin
Pour all of the ingredients into a pot and heat over medium-high heat until the coffee is steaming hot. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream & cinnamon. Enjoy!

Today she also has a link to a free ebook of Smart Schooltime Recipes there are 125 in there! so you can download that if you choose:
http://www.econobusters.com/?p=5248

Thanks Molly!