Mother’s Day and an Anniversary….

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This last weekend was Mother’s Day.  For the weekend we went camping.  This year the holiday coincided with our Anniversary as it did 11 years ago when we were married. 

I wanted it to be a tradition every year that our family would go away together for our Anniversary and my husband was willing to compromise as long as we were able to have an evening out to dinner with just the two of us that same week or somewhere around that day.  Which, this idea should work out great if our Anniversary is not on the weekend  

Last year we were camping in Pigeon Forge TN.

I was 6 months pregnant at the time….here we were with our barbequed shrimp and Filet Mignon with sparkling cider….

Here we are this year….

And hey look the same meal!!!  It is one of the few times that we get to splurge and have steak and since it is the best price buying it ourselves and cooking it we almost get two for the price of one compared to going out!!!  Haley took our picture and it was pretty dark as you can see by the time we were able to eat that night…I think it was around 9pm!!! So here it is almost 9months post partum.  And of course our Sparkling Cider!!

It was pouring down rain the whole day.  We were able to stream a few shows over the iPad for the children to watch to keep the insanity from ensuing and then the power went out about 4pm!!  So we still managed to keep them occupied and we finally decided to leave the trailer around 6pm just to get a change of scenery, fresh air….still pouring rain….

  

We corralled the lil guy as best we could on our bed, it is getting hard to watch over him when he is so mobile…not a great amount but just enough to get into trouble and get slightly hurt if you are not watching.

Then we came back around 8pm, fixed up food for everyone and sat the children down for another movie. We had the children off to bed around 11pm and I looked outside at the rain and saw that some little critter had been out in the rain to get into the garbage.

The park owner usually comes by each evening to pick up the trash from the garbage bins at each site, however, that night it was pouring rain and they had been gone most of the day.  I saw them arrive back and they stopped in front of our campsite on the road but we didn’t see them come to our site….I mentioned to my husband that something had gotten into the trash and he got up to go look.  We couldn’t even see the garbage can but saw some garbage clear over by the playground…I was thinking a couple of raccoons had gotten into it as I think that is what had happened when we were camping in NC a few weeks back.  Then my husband pipes up and says…maybe it was a bear!!!  What…and he is leaning way out the door looking around and I squealed at him…”Then close the door!”

It turns out the next morning when the park owner was back around to pick up garbage….it was indeed a BEAR!!!  and we missed it only 4 feet away from the window with the shades open and we missed it…of course due to the infernal pounding of the rain, we were not able to hear anything…I don’t think it could have rained harder from the gates of Heaven had the Lord tried!!!

We were at a lovely campground called Solitude Point…a wonderful Christian owned place that was tiny…only 14 camp sites with 4 cabins to rent.  If you are in the area, it is well worth coming by for a visit.  They do not have a pool, however, if the weather is warm, you can rent canoes, or inner tubes to float down the Saluda river.

All the spots were beautiful like this, your own little cozy area where it was private from your neighbors, so nice and green.

    This is the playground area that was right next to us, just so beautiful, a little tucked away oasis and you can see our trailer through the last picture…

A nice little garden area up by the Lodge that has a cross and the 10 Commandments on display.

 

Hope you have a blessed week!!

The Day after Christmas

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So that little bit of snow from Christmas….turned into this by the day after…it was so gorgeous!!!

 

A neighbor came over to help make a Snowman.

We still have snow on the ground at our house!!

Back to Thanksgiving….briefly…

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I had been meaning to post a few pictures of our Thanksgiving and just had not gotten around to it…uh probably because I think I am finally rested from that weekend…lol….

I used to cook the turkey in the oven the whole time…and use one of those disposable tinfoil pans…(Aldi’s had these roasting pans on special for 7.99 so I snagged one a few weeks back )

Well, two years ago I had a little extra money….thinking ahead with the size of our family and knowing one day with four boys…one turkey might not be enough…I went ahead and bought a counter roasting pan.  Now, when the time comes I will have space in the oven for a second turkey and in the meantime the oven is freed up for preparing the side dishes…

I also used to do the Martha Stewart method of cheesecloth and butter and then you baste it ….however, I now follow the Alton Brown method of slathering the top in butter, putting it in the oven on 500 for 30 minutes and then turning your temperature down to 350 or whatever it is that you cook your turkey at.

These pictures are what the turkey looks like after the first 30 minutes…from there I plop it into the Roasting pan with broth and let it cook for another 1.5 to 2 hours and then it is done!!

The picture below is just a close up of the bubbled butter on top….so delicious looking!!

Haley did this project all by herself and with her own creativity….she went outside and found some wonderful leaves and then came in and traced them and then colored them and hung them from the ceiling!! So we had a little extra ambiance in the dining room for dinner!

This is the turkey fresh out of the roasting pan!!

Unless we are having company, Turkey dinner is always served in containers that go right into the fridge once dinner is over.  I thought of this a couple of years back.  After standing for 5 hours getting the meal ready…who wants to stand around and do dishes after you finish eating?  I sure don’t…I am exhausted… So it takes about 5 minutes and the side dishes are all packed up and in the fridge…My family gets meals served on really nice plates the rest of the year and they are very appreciative of the meal and supportive of making it the easiest clean up possible

We have rolls, scratch mashed potatoes, scratch sweet potatoes, scratch stuffing, scratch ambrosia, store bought cranberry jell and scratch gravy.

 

Dear hubby completely relaxed getting ready to carve the turkey.

It wouldn’t be complete with out apple pie for hubby and pumpkin pie for me

We had a very relaxing day, we took the children to the park with all our bikes around 11am and stayed all afternoon….there is a huge giant fort/castle playground in the next town over that has about 4 different areas all connected to play on.  Tim had a great time playing hide and seek with them and then they all took the bikes and went riding around the big pond many many times.  I took Matthew and walked around it once and came back and watched them all play.  Matthew enjoyed a few swings as well

The Gift that keeps on giving…

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Do you ever wish you could give a gift for someone that would never get broken, never “go bad”, ever wear out its excitement?

At this time of year, it has been our families tradition to help out other families.  In years past we have gone to the stores and found the “Angel Trees”.  These are the Christmas trees that have the paper angels on them with children’s names on them.  They are usually from low income families and there is a short list of items the child could use…i.e. clothing and or toys.  We have usually picked out angels that are close to the age of our children.  We then take our children with us to go shopping and they get to help us pick out the gifts that we then turn around and give to the store to pass onto the family in need.  This has been a wonderful ministry for our children to practice and to learn about giving to others less fortunate than themselves.

This year, we are going to do something different!!  We actually haven’t done something like this since my oldest son’s twin died in utero and we wanted to do something in honor of that blessing.

Take some time and go to Heifer.org Heifer International supplies animals to families living in  in poverty.

“By giving families a hand-up, not just a hand-out, we empower them to turn lives of hunger and poverty into self-reliance and hope.

With gifts of livestock and training, we help families improve their nutrition and generate income in sustainable ways. We refer to the animals as "living loans" because in exchange for their livestock and training, families agree to give one of its animal's offspring to another family in need. It's called Passing on the Gift – a cornerstone of our mission that creates an ever-expanding network of hope and peace.”

The last time we did this we gave the gift of a goat, this year, we are going to choose five different animals and do partial gifts.  A partial gift, joins your donations with other families to make the purchase of a whole animal.

“The gifts of cows, goats, sheep, chicks, bees or trees become the fuel for hope and give people not a handout, but rather a way out of the cycle of hunger and poverty.

These are living gifts that not only provide families with the dignity of feeding themselves but also with the means to pay for clothing, education, doctor’s visits and decent shelter.

And then, because each recipient family must pass on the first offspring of the animal they received, or the equivalent, each gift given is multiplied again and again with each new generation.  It’s a cycle of empowerment that has now been changing lives for more than 65 years, thanks to the compassion and support of donations from people like us and you.”

If you go to this link: http://www.heifer.org/worldark/catalog you can see a list of all the animals that are available for giving as well as for partial donations.

I believe and so does our family that this is a truly a gift that can keep on giving…it is also a way that our children can learn about helping people in other countries and stir their interest in going on future missions trips to help out the less fortunate and share the gospel.

Thank you for taking the time to go and look at this wonderful giving opportunity.

God Bless~~

Are we in the End of Times…. Halloween….

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Well Halloween is over and done with and I suppose this post would have been better mentioned prior to the holiday, but it will be here for next year.

I am discouraged by how many in our society want to Celebrate Halloween either the holiday itself or some sort of fun related, parallel celebration…..because they don’t want to be accused of celebrating Halloween.

People….if you are a Christian…..you have to be discerning and not participate in the worldly festivals, especially those that patronize SATAN!!!  Yes, I said Satan!

Please do not let us deceive ourselves into complacency thinking that because we are so far removed from the origin of this holiday that it is ok to celebrate in today’s society….

Are you saved, truly saved…not just warming the pew’s on Sunday….but sanctified, living separate from the world as opposed to carnally?  There is no exception to this holiday, no plausible excuse in any form as to being ok to celebrate….”oh they don’t wear scary costumes…” as my friend in CA stated….is not acceptable…if you are dressing up, you are paying homage in some sort of way to the underworld….

If you are participating in some sort of festival, that still involves candy and celebrating the same day or a day or two later….you are still celebrating the pagan rituals… calling it a Harvest Festival….does not count….

When it comes time for our ultimate judgment….it should not be about how close to the line did we come without going over….it should be…I stayed back and away from that practice…. Wouldn’t it be better to stand before our Lord and not have to fear what he might think or say because you thought it was just plain having fun…. as opposed to hearing him say…Well done thy good and faithful servant…you kept my words in your heart….

These are the end times people….we need to be seen as separate from the world…not joining in in their frivolities….We need to keep the word of God in our hearts and not do anything that would corrupt that word, or weaken that testimony…Stand firm for God….do not go along with the crowds that it is just good clean fun….it isn’t and God doesn’t think so either.

Do not make a mockery of God if you are truly saved and following Him. What kind of Christian legacy are you teaching to your children, whom you want to follow the Lord, that it is ok to bend the rules, that it is ok, to do all the same things just not call it Halloween….

Being a Christian is not easy, but neither is it a life of deprivation, dullness and boredom….it is a life full of joy and happiness, it is a life full of blessings for those that follow the Lord.

I see more and more Christians, making allowances and getting further and further from what the bible says…Our God….is watching…and looking to see who is truly faithful to his word…..there is still time to change your ways…  God always gives us a chance to repent and start afresh….we see it all throughout history in the Old Testament….it is the same now…

I am earnest and passionate about this because I care so much for you all, I will join many of you up in Heaven one day, I just don’t want to see the punishment come upon your head for something that could have easily been avoided.

The internet is full of websites that list all the scriptures pertaining to this holiday and why we as Christians should not be participating….read them, share them with your husbands, your friends….

I have gathered a few here for you to read.  I pray the Lord would give you wisdom in this matter and that you would earnestly seek to do what is right.

http://av1611.org/halloween.html

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html

http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/halloween.html#harvestparties

http://www.biblestudy.org/question/does-bible-clearly-say-christmas-is-wrong.html

http://www.a2ndgenerationofhomeschooling.com/2010/08/former-wiccan-and-self-proclaimed-witch.html