30 April 2009
If you are craving something sweet, something white, and something chocolate, this would be the thing to eat. Dipped in white chocolate, these little treats are perfect for one’s sweet tooth.
Beluga Babies
(or, Oreo Truffles)
1 package Oreos, crushed
1 8 oz. package light cream cheese, softened
1 package white Almond Bark (melting chocolate)
(and a cookie sheet that will fit in your freezer)
Mix the crushed Oreos and softened cream cheese. Shape into walnut sized balls, place on cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for 15 minutes. Melt almond bark according to directions on package. Dip the Oreo balls in melted almond bark and let set till hard. You can take some extra melted almond bark and put into a plastic bag, cut a tiny bit of the corner off and drizzle a little decoration on top of the truffles. Store in refrigerator. (These also freeze well.)
Enjoy the pretty dainties!
27 April 2009
We have been quite busy working on our little homestead together as a family. Projects that include the whole family are such a joy! It is such a blessing to get to work alongside my wonderful father, mother, and sister.
We worked in our herb garden, raking the leaves left from last autumn.
Instead of such a large circle, we are only keeping half of it and will fill the rest with our soon to be Square-Foot-Garden. The wind has been very strong as of late, so that has put off our soil mixing for now, but we are looking forward to putting it all together!
Breezy and I built boxes with Daddy for the raised garden bed. I just love working along side my daddy, he is such a wonderful, godly leader!
We moved the shed by rolling (screechy rolling) it on pipes which were in between boards and the bottom of the shed. Every couple feet they had to be moved, but it went more smoothly with us all helping than we thought it would.
There are several healthy Maple saplings throughout the garden. We plan to replant them as well as our little Pin Oak saplings.
We moved logs from one corner of our property (where a tree had just been cut down) to our wood pile at the other corner.
Under a step that I was moving, I found a nice size ant home. Their tunnels were amazing to look at and it was neat to see what God-given craftsmanship such little bugs have! We decided to give them some time to relocate, as they were panicking over what to do with all their little ones.
All throughout the yard are cheery little dandelions, just waiting to be picked.
“He will bless those who fear the Lord.
The small together with the great.
May the Lord give you increase,
You and your children.
May you be blessed of the Lord,
Maker of heaven and earth.”
- Psalm 115:13-15 -
25 April 2009
Yes, it is true. None of us in our family had ever eaten asparagus until just a few days ago.
Inspired by a post by the Pioneer Woman, Momma decided to try making the above dish, Oven-Roasted Asparagus. (This vegetable looks as though it might sprout invisible legs at any moment and start waddling around the table.)
We all ate some and found it quite interesting, coming to the conclusion that it tasted like corn and green beans with the texture hinting at something like celery.
As none of us grew up eating this veggie, we will have to develop a taste for these cute little stems.
It is pleasant to look upon – a very pretty vegetable indeed!
Have you eaten anything recently that you found interesting that you had not tried before?
24 April 2009
“Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.”- Psalm 119:105 -
21 April 2009
If you have a pile of sticks to pick up, this post will come in handy. For years we have picked up sticks around our yard so that the lawn mower can mow with as little injury to itself as possible.
We have always used the wheelbarrow, and though it worked well, many times the sticks would topple out when more were placed on top of the pile (on the wheelbarrow which could only be filled so high).
Last time we changed things up a bit: instead of a barrow, we used a blanket. It was a good change that made everything flow more smoothly. The tutorial below may seem rather simplistic (perhaps even neolithic), but it did take us years to figure it out (us girls anyway).
The easy and efficient way to pile and transport sticks:
• Take an old, large, and ratty blanket (one you wouldn’t mind getting scratched up) from your spare closet (or your local mission store) and lay it on the ground near all those nicely spread out sticks.
• Pick up the sticks and make a pile of them on the blanket. Continue to place them on top of one another until you are finished picking up the sticks.
• Pull the blanket to their final destination (the burning pile, the stick pile, the bed of the truck, etc.), and dump if desired.
• Ta-Dah!
18 April 2009
My little chicks have their lovely green coloring back, along with the pretty purple tips! I missed the little dearies during the winter (which seems to have finally ended this week).
It was not until two days ago that I was able to go outdoors without a jacket, with the temperatures actually making it up to 69°F. Such lovely weather!
A few of the wee ones were uprooted during the winter which I will need to take care of soon. These plants are quite durable and hearty! Some have grown roots into the dirt while still laying on their sides — they so want to grow and get big.
At our first home we had little chickens and hens that were left behind when we moved. The ones I have are from my aunt, which she gave me a few years ago. This year I plan to give some away, as they grow and reproduce quickly.
I love getting to enjoy God’s beautiful creation — it’s simply delightful!
17 April 2009
Over a century ago, our 20th president of the United Sates, James Garfield, said this:
“Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness, and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave, and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature. . . [I]f the next centennial does not find us a great nation. . .it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”
He said it well, and it is still just as true today as it was a century ago. It is because we have tolerated it that our government has become “ignorant, reckless, and corrupt”. We stopped demanding high qualities. But it is time for a change, we must stop tolerating such ill character and start insisting that our government be intelligent, brave, and pure.
The government is in shambles because we have been lazy (even ignored) the political forces, saying, “They know what they’re doing, that’s why we vote them in.” Should we be ignorant in the way we look at the government, in who we vote for, and in who will lead this country both at the local and national level?
Our nation is no longer the nation that it was when it was founded; no longer a nation that is held up by a belief in God as our creator and lawmaker; no longer following its own rules.
But what can we do to change that? We must take action. We the people of the United States of America have a voice. We have a voice that can be heard in Washington, no matter how hard they try to plug their ears. We must no longer be tolerant of ignorance, recklessness, and corruption for that kind of behavior is only tearing down our nation.
There are many across this nation that have a problem with how the government is being run: how the government is spending money, making more money to pay it’s bills, and not even following it’s own constitution. Our cry against such unwise and foolish behavior is there, but there are those who seek to stifle that cry (i.e. the media).
Our voices must be heard, we can be silent no longer. In a large, crowded room would you speak in a whisper when you wished to be heard? No, you would speak loud just like all the others. We must raise our voices, jut like in that crowed room, because we want to be heard. The media is in that loud and crowded room making plenty of noise, and we are that voice who is trying to be heard above all the clamor.
That is where the tea parties come in.
We stood beside our state’s capitol building at the Tea Party in Indianapolis on Tax Day. Surrounded by at least 13,000 other people who were fed up with the way the government is “working”, we saw that we were not the only ones. The people of this nation are tired of a reckless government who does not even read the bills it votes on, and we gathered to say, “Enough.”
The Tea Parties were formed to tell the government that it has done enough damage, and that we have had enough. We have been involved in our local Tea Party for several weeks now. Together we can make a difference!
We want our government to be intelligent, brave, and pure. We must step up and we ourselves be intelligent, brave, and pure, that we may, as President James Garfield once said, “demand these high qualities to represent [us] in the national legislature.”
We must pray and trust in the Lord, He is in control and His will will be done!
“The LORD has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.”
- Psalm 103:19
P.S. Tea Parties were held all over the US yesterday with a great turnout. At the San Antonio Tea Party, Doug Phillips (President of Vision Forum) gave a speech, and posted a few of his notes here (click here to download his address from Behemoth.com).
13 April 2009
The birds play outside our windows, singing their lovely little songs.
E’rywhere we turn there are little sprouts of green that get bigger by the day.
The days are cold and rainy, but Spring is here again.
“This is the day which the Lord has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
- Psalm 118:24 -
