Dinner

I have done many posts about many things but not our meal preparations. Okay, it know it's not really that exciting, but I like to be different sometimes, so here it goes:

Chopped onions and green bell peppers sauteed in:

Our favorite store bought sauce along with a little Extra Virgin olive oil!

Add some browned hamburger to the onions and peppers...

...and let simmer till you're drooling with hunger at the aroma!

Serve over brown rice,

and Romain lettuce salad on the side, topped with home canned pickled beats, three bean salad and home made ranch dressing.

Everyone loved it and decided we need to make it again and again! It was so easy too!

The Down Stairs...

....walls of our part of the house are all framed in!!!!! Praise God! Grandpa and Taylor have been working on the apartment during the day and have one wall up already! Dad, David and Taylor have marked where all the joists are going to be placed upstairs so that will be the next step! It will be extremely exciting to see a ceiling downstairs and a floor for the upstairs!

The far north wall of grandpa's house. You can see the trailer grandma stays in through the door of the apartment. The window, where you can see the shop, is going to be grandma's "sitting" room. If you look closely you can see the rain drops on the floor! It was raining hard that day!

This is the shower in the mudroom bathroom. Yeah! A shower in the mud room! I know it will be put to good use!

Okay, this picture was taken standing with our back to the kitchen sink. Straight ahead is the doorway to the laundry room and to the left the mud room. Both the laundry and mud room will be separate rooms which we are excited about. Having them both in one room makes for a muddy laundry room! We are looking forward to decorating the laundry room to make it bright, cheerful and fresh!
Yep! Another view from the end of the driveway. You can see the "river" or "slough" going through the driveway rather than under it. :sigh: We are trying to figure out whether to put in a small bridge or culverts.

Thanks for stopping by! Blessings to your day!

Gracie and Sarah's Photo Shoot

Our Gracie

"It was your fault...hehehehehe!"

"No, it was yours!"

"Maybe we both did it...hehehe!"

"Oh, you have beautiful eyes!"

Gracie's Photo Shoot

"I'm going to be goofy for the photo shoot!"

"Okay, I'll smile..."

"This isn't so bad!"

"I'm starting to like this!"

"Maybe..."

:sniff: "I'm getting tired of this..." :whimper: "I want to go home!"

"Awwwww! That's better!"

Welcoming in a new year!

A year ago we had no idea 2007 was going to be so incredibly full of surprises! God has shown us His faithfulness in every little thing that has happened this year and we are so thankful for provisions for our family. We have been so blessed with wonderful grandparents who love us and want to live with us! We have also been blessed enormously with friends who have been part of our lives. Some are not living close to us and some we haven't even met yet but we are ever thankful for their friendship and love. Blessings abounded in so many areas that I am at a loss for the right words to describe everything!

Sunday we had the pleasure of watching it snow! Okay, it was only a dusting but for here in the valley a dusting is more than we normally get so we greatly enjoyed it! Oh, yes the trampoline is ripped.... We've had it for 11 years and it finally gave up the ghost and quit on us.

After the snow began to melt the water drops hanging from the trees were shining and glittering! It was glorious to see!

This is our new home at the beginning of the new year! That is the front door and to the left is the entry-way to the library. This is what is done so far: The four walls of our part of the house are done, we have a pantry, a library, an entryway, and a powder room! Prayerfully we will be living in that house by this time next year!

This is looking at the library from the kitchen area. Off the to left of the library is the powder room which mom plans to have locked all the time unless we have company so it will always be clean!

Today part of the family is helping my grandparents move yet another time this year! They decided they really needed to be closer to the property and the house so when a house went up for rent just TWO houses down the road from the property we knew it was God's will for them! My grandparents are beginning a new year in a new house and hopefully next year they will be settled permamnently.

I hope and pray you all have a blessed and eventful new year!

Four walls and a pantry

Yippy! The guys are getting lots done!

David is standing by the pantry window.

Taylor helping support the wall.

This is our kitchen window! We will be spending a lot of our time here looking down the driveway.

The back wall (east wall). The big "window" in the center is the sliding back door/french doors, not sure which it will be yet. The window to the right is the music room window! The family room and music room are going to be one room but one end is where the piano will be! Can't wait to have it back in the house!

Daddy working. Ugh, it was wet this week! Every night we have been washing and drying the clothes and coats they work in. They do use rain gear but some times it really gets in the way.

That is the pantry off to the left. There is a small "window" type thing in the wall that we are going to use to pull out our appliances from the pantry into the kitchen.

A better view of the pantry! The guys are going to put a tarp over the top to make it a "dry" room where they will put all their tools and clothing to keep them from the rain.

Taylor and daddy in the trailer eating lunch. Notice how wet Taylor's coat is?

The view from the end of the driveway. See? All four walls!

Christmas Pictures!

As always Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were ever so special for our family.

Christmas Eve ~ The guys got up early and went to work on the house. It was very cold but they kept remembering they were going to leave early to head home for our special Christmas Eve hordurve meal and presents. They all came in chilled to the bone and ready for hot showers. When they were warmed up and ready for the evening we all sat down to read the Christmas story once again while we were waiting for the bacon appetizers to finish cooking. Then Heather, Gracie and I quickly pulled out all the goodies we had been preparing for the last several days and arranged the table with a lace tablecloth, candles, our nice white plates, wine glasses, and of course the delicious food spread! Even with the thought of presents after the meal we still enjoyed the time and food and even sat talking for a short time while the kids cleared the table and put the food away. hehehehehe! They were SO helpful! Then after a pleasant time opening gifts, "ewwing" and "ahhing" over them, grandpa and grandma headed home for the evening. We then proceded to rid the house of the hords of wrapping paper, boxes and bows. Then we sat down to enjoy a couple of the Andy Griffith shows we received from Grandma and Grandpa. Later the children were bundled off to bed, happy and saying this was the best Christmas ever! And it was!

Christmas Day ~ The morning started by getting the cinnamon rolls out to rise, scrambling eggs, cooking sausage, setting the table, getting everyone dressed, their hair done and the house ready for company. Grandpa and Grandma came to enjoy breakfast with us! My mom taught me to make the cinnamon rolls and her mom taught her! These cinnamon rolls have been part of our Christmas celebration for about 50 years! Then came the preparations for dinner. We had: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet potato pie, rolls, jello, and pea salad. One of the most special times during holidays is sitting around the table talking after we finish our meal. Grandpa told us about the white margerine they used to buy during the war (sounded nasty) with a little capsule containing yellow coloring to make it look like butter. Everyone was so full after the meal that no one ate the two apple pies or the chocolate cheese cake! I was shocked!

Also, to top it all off, it began to snow! Yes, really snow! It didn't stick but it was lovely to watch come down!

As you can see we all enjoyed our Christmas together!

Lydia and Benjamin Sunday before church

Benjamin and I

Heather

Gracie made the darling quilt and Sarah made the pillow for Lydia! You never saw a more happy two year old! She loved them and wanted her baby to wrap up and put her to bed.

A cute smirk for Mr. Benjamin!

Gracie and Sarah admiring something they opened.

The candle on the table Christmas morning was casting lovely light from the bowl it was in.

David picked his cinnamon roll out before they got to the table!

Heather dishing up breakfast while daddy gets Lydia settled in.

This is a video of Lydia opening her gift from Sarah. Well, Sarah wraps quite well and it was a little difficult for her to get it opened.


I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a will have a wonderful rest of the year! Blessings to you all!

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Wishing you all a very special day with your family and friends

As you remember what God has done for us!

Blessings to you all!