Today has been a wonderful day!

I laid in bed until 8:00 (I wasn't sleeping, just enjoying the quiet, and the opportunity to lay there). After having devotions, I finished reading a wonderful book I got for Christmas "Kisses From Katie". It's about a missionary in Uganda - very inspiring! She is so young and so wise. It makes me excited to be a missionary. I drank lots of hazelnut coffee while I read... so cozy!

The day was so bright, the sun shining, the weather warm. I ate lunch around 11:00 (since I never really ate breakfast), then I went for a 3 and 3/4 mile walk/run. How refreshing! I love running and walking and spending that time talking to God.

When I returned home I got a load of laundry going, cleaned the cat litter box, swept the basement steps, mopped the kitchen floor, scrubbed down the kitchen cupboards, and had a refreshing shower (with new shower gel I got for Christmas, followed by new lotion!). Around 3:00 my sister came over with her 4.5 children, and at 3:30 our good friend (from miles away) arrived. She just left at 10:00 p.m. We enjoyed talking and talking and drinking tea and talking. Mom made baked chicken and salad and I made twice baked potatoes for dinner. My sister Andrea made her special chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert.

I feel so refreshed. What a good day! Thank you Lord!

Reading

Reading to my nieces and nephews and cous

ins.

I love these kids:-)

Merry Christmas 2011!!

Our Christmas tree at 6:00 in the morning. Dad read to us from Luke 2, we listened to some Christmas music, and we passed out gifts:-) Later in the day, after church service, my older siblings and their families came over (and my Omama!) for another gift exchange. Mom made ham and mashed potatoes and my sister made green bean casserole. We ended with cookies, and yummy ice cream a friend brought over! It was a lovely day:-) In the evening we watched the new movie my sister got "The Help". It was very good!

Please pray for my sister-in-law, brother, nephew, and their new baby girl. She was born on Tuesday the 20th with "Apert Syndrome". She is beautiful and doing well, but will have to have surgery in the next couple of months to separate her little fingers and fix her skull so her brain can grow properly. Thank you!

At the wedding~

My sister Cara holding my nephew, Christina and Niece 1, Andrea and Niece 2, Anna (me!) and my nephew. Fun dancing:-)

A wedding at my brothers farm

Last Saturday my brother and his wife hosted a wedding for my sister-in-law's sister!

Everything was so beautiful.

The farm house -- they totally gutted this house, redid the inside, added a new roof, and put on the lovely rap around porch. Flower gardens compliments of my talented sister-in-law.

The barn was transformed (after several work parties to get it in shape!)!

The get away tractor!

The happy couple: Hannah and Patrick

Alaina and my niece Rachel, darling little 2 year old friends:-)

Our family; we took up two tables!

The cake, made by my sister-in-law!

Dancing in the barn late into the evening...

Grape Juice

We have LOTS of grapes this year in our garden. I made 7 pints of jelly on Friday, and today we made grape juice. It is more of a grape juice concentrate. We thought of it as we were straining juice from the grapes to make jelly. The juice was so thick and delicious! So instead of putting grapes into a jar with hot sugar water, we simmered the grapes on the stove for about 5 minutes, then strained the juice out. Put back in a pot, add sugar to taste, and pout into quart jars. Hot water bath for 15 minutes.

The sisters hard at work picking out the bad grapes (yes, worms do like grapes. It is very gross when you come across them:-P ) .

Andrea hard at work, washing up the dirty dishes (this is a typical afternoon at our house. Everyone doing their chores and being goofy!):

Joel making faces as he strains the grapes...

Simmering the juice just to heat it back up and melt the sugar.

Pretty grape juice next to the mums dad bought for my "mum":-)

We had 5 quarts survive. I lost 1 1/2 quarts due to the jars breaking as I was ladling in the juice.

I don't know why it happened, as I had the jars hot from the oven.

But it is not easy to clean up that much grape juice from the counters, stove, cupboards, and floor!

Flea Market Finds

This morning my little brother and I headed off to the flea market. It was very crowded, especially my favorite spot (the fruits and veggies pavilion!) but we managed to get what we needed, and a few good deals!

This is what I found for my sister (I talked her down to $10, she wouldn't go any lower):

It will make the perfect little play kitchen for my nieces!!

It is solid wood, not that grainy fake wood. Really nice!

I think it's so cute:-)

I also bought a couple of copper cookie cutters for 50 cents each.

As far as produce and food:

1 flat of strawberries - $6!

3 Cucumbers - $1

2 heads of asparagus - $4

2 pints of blueberries - $3

1 head of leaf lettuce - $1

I wanted to buy cantaloupe from a guy - it looked so good and he had allot! But our arms and pull along cart were full, so we went to unload into the car first. When we got back he had already sold out.

At the "R Grocery" scratch and dent store (also at the flea market), I bought:

2 boxes of cereal - $3.50

Refried beans - 60 cents

3 packs of gum -$1.50

3 bags of tortilla chips for only - 89cents each!

a smallish bag of pretzels - 35 cents

Water bottle - 40 cents

Bag of Starbucks coffee for my siblings (doesn't expire till Sept. or Oct.) - $4.29

It was a pretty successful trip! I love flea marketing:-) Even if I don't buy anything, I love to walk around and look. And I love free samples:-) We got a free cup of coffee (that is $10 a bag!!) from a local business, free samples of chips with various salsas, and crackers with various jellies.

For lunch we bought a bag of cheese chunks for $1, and had that and pretzels. Yummy!

And now my fingers are sore from cutting up the whole flat of strawberries - some for fruit salad, and the rest mom is using to make strawberry short cake for supper!

My sister's sewing project

My big sister taught me, and 2 of my younger sisters to sew, while she still lived at home and before getting married and having kids.

Andrea was too young to take sewing lessons from her. So her birthday present last year (2010) from me was sewing lessons. We went to JoAnn Fabrics so she could pick out a pattern and material. She learned to wash the fabric and tumble dry it. She learned to cut out the pattern, and read the instructions. She caught on quickly!

Busy hands at work, keeping the needle stitching in a straight line.

The final product. A beautiful skirt and sash!

I think she looks pretty:-)

Family.

Who ARE these crazy kids???? (oh, it's us!)

It happens to by my 3 cousins, some of my siblings, and me.

Thanksgiving 2010

This is my Omama crocheting...

Like Grandmother,

Like Granddaughter!

Sewing some baby shower gifts:

I love projects to work on these cold winter days. A cup of tea, and something to keep my hands busy is so nice.

Hope you are staying warm!

A new baby!!

My older sister and brother-in-law just welcomed a new baby into the family! He is sooo cute:-)
He's their forth little dear:His older siblings LOVE him. And so do all of his doting aunts and uncles and grandparents;-)

Aunt Anna and my sweet new nephew

Welcome to the world, little guy! You are so dear to us!