Surrendered

2012.... Already?

2012-01-25T09:35:00.002-06:00

Remember those UFOs from October? Well, all were finished except one. The children's bathroom is still a work-in-progress ;)
Tony painted the exterior doors, here's the back door, they are all the same color.

He also repainted the hallway. This color looks like a Wendy's Frosty... yum! This color will eventually cover all the living room walls also. It's hard to take hallway pictures! We have some neat plans for hanging photos, etc.. in the hallway. Stay tuned.

Here you can see the original color (which is still in the living room). A medium gold on the walls and a deeper gold trim. I am so sick of this color... lol. All of the trim and doors are white/will be white also. The white trim just makes the Frosty color just POP!

The dining room also had the same golden paint with this green accent wall. We kept the green but the other three walls are Frosty.

These are the window treatments from our bedroom. They just matched so nicely in here that we moved them. We also removed our bed cover (duvet) and put a cream-based quilt on our bed. Along with cream curtains our room now looks bright and airy. What? You want a picture of that? lol

I want to do a photo collage on this wall along with a scripture verse.

This photo, unhung as of today, has an open Bible out in the field with the verse "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet..." I'll hang it today and post a new pic.

BACK WITH NEW PICS... what do you think? Is the frame too high?

The children's bathroom, previously a 'Rubber Ducky' yellow and blue themed room, is now orange with a fun elephant print shower curtain. The walls need a second coat, I need fabric for a curtain for the window and we need to overhaul the vanity... that may be a while. Just use your imagination. LOL

BACK WITH PICS: Here's the shower curtain that we are designing around. Nehemiah LOVES Elephants, as did Joseph when he was a wee lad.

This blue is the shower/tub. Pretty... lol Can you say "70s house" with me?

Friends gave us this CUTE corner cabinet! Don't you just Love it?!

This... this is the vanity that needs help. LOL We'd love to replace it but it's not a standard size. We'd love to have two sinks there... So the long-range plan is to refinish the base and build a new top with two sinks. The short-range plan is just to paint it brown and wait for the time and money to redo the top of it. The missing drawer was destroyed by visitors years ago. We've tried and tried to repair the drawer to no avail. We are going to just remove all the drawers and leave a large opening. Into that will slice a wicker laundry basket for towel laundry.

Above the vanity/below the mirror you can see the previous wall color of yellow. (What was I thinking with all the yellow? I've never even LIKED yellow! LOL) Goodbye Yellow! woohoo!!!

October is officially "Finish Unfinished Projects" Month

2011-10-10T13:19:00.000-05:00

here at the Lewis home. Tony painted and repainted our exterior doors -- at least the back porch and front porch doors. The downstairs doors were today's project but the rain put a stop to that. So instead he is painting trim and doors in the hallway :)

I have a "Honey Do" list for him! :)

I'm so glad to get these things finished up and will post pictures as we go!

What a Fabulous and Blessed Vacation!

2011-09-20T11:27:00.000-05:00

Our Fall vacation was just amazing! God is so good to us!

We left here Sept 2 and drove to Brownsville TN (my hometown). We 'camped out' at Daddy's house and visited with Daddy and my sister and nephew. The next day we drove up to Daddy's Family Reunion. It is always a blessing to see these aunts and uncles and cousins and we only see once a year. I have a sweet extended family :) We spent the next day visiting with my mother. I wish my parents weren't divorced but I am glad they live in the same town as it makes visiting a little easier.

The morning of the fourth we left to drive north. We visited our dear friends in MO for several days. The children had such a blast swinging through the trees! LOL We also were able to meet my friend Katie and her dozen children at a park in MO and enjoyed our afternoon with them.

On the eighth we left MO and drove north to Iowa. There we stayed with my friend Jennifer and her family. I have *known* Jennifer for many years via an online message board for Christian women. Meeting her in real life was a real blessing and she's exactly as I thought she would be. The children enjoyed the big back yard and then came in and played Spoons. It was just such a nice visit!

The next morning we were WI bound! I have a dear, dear friend in WI, Cathy. We have been friends for seven or eight years but never met in person. We met on a message board and have been email pals and phone pals for many years. Our daughters (both sets) have been penpals for three or four years. Meeting their family was almost unexplainable. Our hearts are now so firmly knit with theirs. God is so good to us! We had much fun at their house -- we visited with Tami who is a wildlife rehabilitator and we saw many different animals at her place. Duane is a woodworker and Caleb has enjoyed learning about woodworking for the past few years. Duane really took Caleb under his wing and taught him to use a lathe. Caleb made a bowl. :) It is very pretty. Our children all had so much fun playing together, they made a movie of an original play, they rode horses, we roasted hot dogs and had s'mores... many wonderful memories were made.

The morning of the thirteenth we sadly left their house with many promises of visits to come and drove to southern WI. We spent the night here with another 'previously unmet' friend of mine, Cathe. She, also, is a friend from the message board. Cathe arranged a picnic for the other ladies on the board who live locally. It was so nice to see Mary again and to meet Angela and Amy. Cathe's daughter in law to be even came by for a few minutes. Cathe and her husband Pat were amazingly gracious hosts. Our family much enjoyed our time at their home!

We left there on the fourteenth heading toward Chicago. We hadn't been on the road very long when someone pulled up beside us pointing frantically at our front drivers-side tire. Tony pulled over immediately and saw that his tire was dangerously low. We saw the Lord's protecting hand so clearly in the hour that followed. We were very close to an exit so Tony slowly drove to the exit and to the first gas station, which *just happened* to have air :) Here he noticed that the valve stem was very loose and whenever he touched it it leaked air badly. I asked the store attendant for a tire store and it *just happened* that there was a Sears only two lights down. We made it safely there and the attendant who *just happened* to not be busy checked and said he could fix it. An hour and less than $20 later we were on our way. As soon as we headed back toward Chicago it started to rain. It was dreary and drizzly all day long. We are so thankful we did not have tire trouble in noon time Chicago traffic. Can you even imagine?...

It was after supper time when we arrive in TN at Tony's brother's house. We crashed. LOL. The following day we slept in and rested some. Later the family all started trickling in. We were able to see everyone except Tony's stepsister Andrea and her family and Derek. It was a good visit with everyone. We are blessed with family who loves us :)

The sixteenth we drove home. It was a lovely drive. We were all glad to be home. Two weeks away from home is a long time!

And our wonderful vacation was made possible in large part by Traci and AT. Their family took care of all our animals and did our outside chores daily. They are very dear to us... and not just because they keep our animals well!
It was a really wonderful trip and I will try to get some photos up as soon as possible (Molly is still editing and resizing them).

And that, dear ones, is a condensed version of the story of our trip. I could go on and on and on about each family we visited and spent time with. I am so blessed with all these wonderful people in my life. :)

Joey's First Time Sewing all by himself

2011-09-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

He was so excited... :)

And the finished product... an I Spy Bag for his friend Nathan <3 He's so precious!

I love sewing with my children!

Beck's Chimichangas - A Family Favorite

2011-08-20T20:15:00.002-05:00

Caleb makes these almost every Saturday night for supper. They are a real family favorite and I wanted to share the recipe with you... cause I'm just nice like that!

3-ish pound beef roast (cheapest cut with as little marbling as you can get...it will shrink)
an onion, quartered
about 2 cups beef broth (or 2 c water + 2 t bouillion)
Cook above in crock pot for about 6 hours on high. You really want this to fall apart.

Gather:
8-10 10-inch flour tortillas (burrito size)
1 small can plain tomato sauce
chili powder/taco seasoning
shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese (about 10 oz?)
about 1/3-1/2 cup oil and a pastry brush

When roast is done, take out of broth (save for another use...great for the beginning of french onion soup!), and let cool enough to handle. In a large bowl, shred beef well with two forks. Pour on tomato sauce, however much is needed (this keeps it moist...you WANT this. My tomato-hating children hate these without it!) and sprinkle on a good amount of chili powder/taco seasoning. Blend well.

Heat tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds, IN THEIR BAG to make them pliable and moist. I work one tortilla at a time, keeping the others in the bag.

Lightly grease a baking sheet, either with PAM or oil, or whatever you use.

Lay out tortilla, sprinkle some cheese on the center, where you're going to lay your meat. Maybe 1/4 cup or less? Lay the meat on top of the cheese. Picture this as if it's divided vertically into thirds. You want to fill the center third, and leave about 2 1/2 inches at either end. You are making the size of your chimi here. Fold in the ends, and then one side. Tightly roll the chimi into the final side, and lay onto baking sheet, seam side down. The weight of the chimi will hold itself together, and the cheese is now on "top" of the meat, to ooze down into it, yummy-like.

Keep rollin'. When you're out of meat, you're done. I find that a 3 lb roast gives me a good 8-10 chimis (but I often make more roast and freeze some for omelets later! )

Brush the chimis with oil, and bake 10-15 minutes or until golden in a 375 degree oven. We serve with sour cream, black olives and sprinkling more of cheese.

Holler if you give these a try. We really love them :)

Our Children

2011-07-27T10:23:00.003-05:00

from 2004

from 2006

2007

The Pool Yard Fence

2011-07-19T14:06:00.000-05:00

Another project finished!!

A Quilt for Ivy Jewel

2011-07-08T19:46:00.002-05:00

oops... can't show a picture of this one...

Oh, Mandy... I need your address please!!

Joey's Birthday Quilt: Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

2011-07-08T19:43:00.002-05:00

Joseph loved this book when he was younger (and he still likes it now). I bought this fabric, I think, two year ago. I scrambled and scrambled trying to think of ways to use it. Finally I had an idea!

And the finished product. Oh, I need to take a picture of the back too! It's so cute!

UFO: Baby Quilt

2011-07-08T19:40:00.001-05:00

This is a quilt I started a few years ago. I was trying a new technique. It was all done except for the sashing. Now it just needs to be sandwiched and quilted :)

Finishing UFOs: Quilting

2011-07-08T19:38:00.002-05:00

So making Avery's quilt inspired me to finish some UnFinishedObjects :)

This is a quilt top I started making for my Great Aunt Louise. I hadn't finished it yet when Aunt Louise's health started rapidly failing. I just put it aside knowing that I would know when I was ready to finish it.

She was so very special to me and I loved her a lot. I will finish this quilt and always think of her -- especially when I use it.

A "My Favorite Things" quilt for my nephew...

2011-07-08T19:30:00.000-05:00

The last time we were visiting with Tony's sister Anitra and her son she was telling me some of Avery's favorite things. I made a mental note and then had this smashing idea: I would make him a fun quilt using fabrics of his "favorite things"!

Most of the fabrics are self-explanatory except maybe the gold and black border. You see, Avery is a Vandy fan! LOL

...and the back:

I can't wait to see his face -- I hope he loves it!!

Click each photo to enlarge.

This was all machine pieced and quilted. I used two layers of Killington flannel instead of traditional batting.

Summertime Updates

2011-06-29T15:29:00.000-05:00

So we decided to put up a pool this year. But you know us... nothing is ever simple or easy, right? LOL The children have been saving for the past year and bought this pool with their very own money <3. The pool is up and we are enjoying it. We are also fencing in the pool area -- that is still a 'work in progress'. I will get some photos up soon to share with you.

The spot where we decided to put the pool was off level by 11 inches. That may not seem like a lot but if you've never leveled a 17 foot diameter circle that is 11 inches off in 100+ degree weather in clay-y ground that hasn't seen much rain all summer... well, let me tell you... it's a tough job. I'm proud of my guys!

The "Pool Yard" not only houses the big pool (15 foot x 4 foot) but the kiddie pool also. There's room for Sam's new aviary and a deck around part of the big pool. Tony ran electricity and water out there so we have lights too! We have big plans for the pool yard and I'm excited to see it all coming together.

I am also happy to report that swimming lessons are coming along great! The Lord is so good to us.

Have a blessed Summer!

Children singing

2011-06-09T11:31:00.001-05:00

Our New Roof

2011-04-11T19:30:00.000-05:00

AND AFTER!

Isn't it pretty?! Now I can't wait for the fascia and soffets to be all pretty and white! I still can't decide on a door color. Any ideas?

A few photos of the kids...

2011-03-28T15:28:00.000-05:00

Duke & Duchess

Introducing.... We have new kids!!!

2011-03-17T14:36:00.000-05:00

It was Tuesday afternoon...Imagine our surprise! We had friends over and one of their children said to one of our children "So, how many goats do y'all have?" To which our child began pointing and naming goats only to realize...

THERE ARE TWO BABIES IN THERE!

Lady and the kids

Appropriately named Duke and Duchess

Duchess! Isn't she beautiful?!

Duke, he looks like his mother :)

By now we had figured out that our attempts to neuter Bucky must have failed (LOL) and that must mean that Lucy is pregnant too. It's so hard to tell with goats, they are very round anyway. Sure enough, Wednesday morning we awoke to:

Lucy and her new kids!

Now we need names for these, a boy and a girl. :)

Life on the Lewis Farmette... never a dull moment!

The Friendship House

2011-03-14T15:37:00.000-05:00

And for a little story about the name... the home we lived in when we lived in Mississippi was called The Friendship House. It was built in the early 1930s and many homes in that area are named. It was also used as a restaurant in the mid 60s and again in the early 90s. It was a gorgeous house. Sigh. Anyway, when we moved we brought one of the signs with us.

We had this storage building, 20x24, right outside the sewing room door. (Which is relevant when you get to the bathroom part of the story. LOL)

Matt and Jennifer had lived with us off and on for two years. We decided to renovate it to make it a small 'guest house'. We did all the work ourselves and with some friends from church. (That is the reason is has a half bath and not a full bath. LOL. It’s a short walk to the sewing room door and there’s a full bath just past the sewing room. :hn: ) The plan was for M&J to live there and save $$ so they could buy their own place. That happened sooner than we expected and we found ourselves with an empty FH. We talked about what would be the best use for the space and decided we wanted it not only for guests but that it needed to be a useful place for us too :hn:

The front half is living room/kitchen and the back is a large bedroom with half bath. We are going to put a full-sized stove in the kitchen and use it for a summer kitchen and for baking overflow! Molly and I are SO excited about this!!! The boys wanted a place to exercise and a ‘rec room’ so that’s what the back room is for. All these things can be pushed aside to make room for several air mattresses for when we have guests. The futon in the living room makes a nice bed space too.

From the front.

Looks like a harmless storage building, right? hhmmm... let's look inside!

The living room/kitchen. LR is to your right, kitchen to your left.

And the back room and half bath.

It was decorated to match their colors (notice the “accidental” Dr. Pepper kitchen colors ROFLOL ) Molly and I have decided we want to go with a beach theme color scheme in there. We can recover the futon easily and maybe I can beg a friend to help recover the loveseat. That will be a project for later but it’s fun to plan it.

Now taking reservations for the Friendship House, The Lewis Family B&B! Come one, come all! We love to have company!!!

Woohoo!!!! Movin' on up!

2011-03-08T08:38:00.000-06:00

Remember that song on the Jefferson's? I'm dating myself, aren't I? lol

We now have DSL. woohoo!!!! Thank you to my sweet husband for his patience and diligence getting this all set up. It's not only Faster than what we did have, it's CHEAPER too! A win/win situation for us!

Maybe now I'll blog more regularly? Well, we also got a new computer and all of the photos are on the old one so ... ;) Tony got a transfer cable, I just have to ask him what goes where.

Everything is good around here. School is going well, everyone is healthy, life is good. God is good! (Well, He's good no matter how things are going around here, amen?!)

Caleb is a little lighter now... :)

2011-02-25T12:02:00.002-06:00

He had all four wisdom teeth removed yesterday. The surgery went well and he is healing nicely. Thanks for praying :)

The Great Backyard Bird Count

2011-02-20T07:48:00.001-06:00

Fri:
3 Canadian geese
2 pied-billed grebes
1 turkey vulture
2 red shouldered hawks
2 American coots
2 mourning doves
1 Eastern phoebe
1 brown headed nuthatch
1 Eastern bluebird
1 American robin
2 Northern mockingbirds
1 Eastern towhee
41 chipping sparrows
6 Northern cardinals
1 Red winged blackbird
2 Brewers blackbirds

Bird count: 69
Species count: 16

Sat:
8 Canadian geese
1 pied-billed grebe
2 turkey vultures
3 American coots
2 mourning doves
2 red-bellied woodpeckers
3 bluejays
1 Carolina chickadee
2 tufted titmouse
2 Eastern bluebirds
1 American robin
2 Northern mockingbirds
1 Blackpoll warbler
1 black and white warbler
1 Eastern towhee
27 chipping sparrows
10 Northern cardinals
1 redwinged blackbird

Bird count: 70
Species count: 18

Sun:
8 Canadian geese
2 pied-billed grebe
1 osprey
3 American coots
2 mourning doves
1 red-bellied woodpecker
1 downy woodpecker
1 Eastern phoebe
1 bluejay
1 American crow
1 Carolina chickadee
2 tufted titmouse
1 American robin
1 Eastern towhee
35 chipping sparrow
7 Northern cardinals
1 red-winged blackbird
9 Brewers blackbirds

Bird count: 78
Species count: 18

Mon:
(In our backyard - early morning)
6 Canadian geese
2 pied-billed grebe
2 mourning dove
1 red-bellied woodpecker
8 bluejay
3 Carolina chickadee
1 tufted titmouse
1 brownheaded nuthatch
1 American robin
1 Northern mockingbird
1 orange-crowned warbler
35 chipping sparrow
11 Northern cardinal
1 red-winged blackbird
6 Brewers blackbirds

Bird count: 80
Species count: 15

(at T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Penisula State Park, St. Joe, FL)
9 brown pelican
8 great egret
4 snowy egret
1 white ibis
1 Wilson's plover
8 willett
15 laughing gull
15 ring-billed gull
2 mourning dove
1 belted kingfisher
2 fish crow
1 American robin
1 Northern mockingbird
1 song sparrow
4 Brewer's blackbird

Bird count: 73
Species count: 15

TALLY:
Total Bird Count: 172 (most seen at one time per species)
Total Species Count: 36

Large Family Logistics... book giveaway

2011-02-14T12:11:00.000-06:00

My friend Chautona did a book review of Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman. Hop on over and read the review and you can get a chance at winning a copy of the book!

http://paradoxology.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/book-review-large-family-logistics/

It Is Done

2011-02-14T08:32:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been eight days, I'm calling it done.

It seemed to take forever with Nehemiah but I think that's because he's so much younger than our other sons were. He's asking to go 90% of the time, no day time misses and dry overnight.

Seems wierd to close that chapter and pack up the diapers. I've had a child in diapers for eighteen years and three months. :)

... and so the Potty Journey begins...

2011-02-10T10:16:00.004-06:00

Monday:
Nehemiah decided Saturday that he wanted to wear underwear and not a diaper. He said diapers hurt his tummy... lol

He had one pee miss Saturday. Wore unders all day Sunday (even at church, where he pooped in the potty once and in his unders once) and slept in unders.

I don't think he's really ready though. But if he wants to go potty I'm not gonna say no .

Tuesday:
No misses, dry overnight

Wednesday:
Two pee misses and I told him he had to go back in a diaper. He just cried this sweet little pitiful cry... he wanted his underwear and not his green diaper. ;) Wore the diaper for a few hours and had a bm and then back into unders. Dry again last night.

Thursday:
I just don't think he's ready because he doesn't come and tell me when he needs to go. if I ask him if he needs to go potty he will either say "yes", "no" or "not yet" LOL

I guess we'll just see how today goes...

No misses today, dry overnight as usual.

Friday:
Well, had a pee miss last evening and we put him back in a diaper. He just cried and cried... he loves his unders. He wore the diaper all evening and night and woke up dry again. He's back in his beloved unders!

Saturday:
No misses, asked to go potty most times

Sunday:
One miss but Daddy takes the credit for it... lol, asked to go potty most times

Monday:
I guess this is it. I sure didn't think he would be ready so young but he is.

It.Is.Done.

On another note... we have one child who has secondary nighttime enuresis so we purchased a Malem Bedwetting Alarm. I will post our journey here:
So we got the Malem bedwetting alarm recommended for our very deep sleeping son. Tony wanted to try this before trying the chiro and then the ped.

Sat night: he was dry

Sun night: alarm went off at 5:15 am. Woke us up but not son. That thing is LOUD. Tony finally got him awake but, of course, he was soaking wet.

Mon night: 2:15 alarm went off. Did not even phase son. Sound asleep and soaking wet.
Someone give me some hope that this will eventually wake him up

Tues night: 2:15 and 5:30, wet again and alarm did not wake him the first time but did the second time

Wed night: woke up at 5:30 when Tony's alarm clock went off, thought it was the Malem and went to the potty!

Thur night: woke up to his alarm by himself, small wet spot on unders but he stopped the flow and went to the bathroom himself.

Fri night: successful, woke up on his own to the alarm

Sat night: 2 am, half wet before Tony got him up.

Sun night: dry all night, no alarm

Mon night: got up to the alarm himself, still dry

Tues night: woke up to alarm, tiny drop of wetness, went potty

Wed night: wet, alarm went off

Thu night: stayed dry all night

Fri night: stayed dry all night

Sat night: alarm woke him up, already wet

Sun night: forgot the alarm, dry all night

Mon night: woke up on his own, no alarm, to go potty in the middle of the night

Tue/ Wed/Thu: Dry!!!

Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon: Dry!!!

DRY FOR NINE NIGHTS!!!

It was neat when I started...

2011-01-14T09:22:00.000-06:00

I promise! Why is it that one always has to make a mess in order to reorganize and rearrange... ?

I had this idea. But I was only going to move one shelf. Really. And then this happened...

I decided to redo the way I had patterns organized. So I made a color copy of the front of all these patterns (almost 300) and organized them, put them in a binder with dividers. I wanted the patterns to be in open totes (used like drawers) in the closet which meant I had to clean out the closet.

Right in the midst of this the little ones got sick and have wanted me to hold them off and on for several days.

And now it's my turn... I have the head cold and feel miserable.

I just need to get this finished, ya know?

Jr Triple Bunks - All "Forted" Up!

2010-12-30T10:08:00.000-06:00

The little boys wanted a 'fort bed' so this is my version... ;)

It will be painted brown with some fun touches. It's not against the wall completely because we have to put sliders on the bed and then paint it before it's firmly in it's place. This thing is really heavy and very sturdy. It won't get painted until the new year though. Stay tuned!

Jr Triple Bunks

2010-12-25T15:45:00.002-06:00

Our latest project. Part whateveritis in the boys room... the 'frontier fort' (aka Boonesborough) bed!

Designing and building as we go.

I think this was after I said "Cut three 2x4s 32 inches long..." and then said "Oops, unscrew those and cut them 29 inches long!" I'm married to Job! LOL

Patient laborers -- Sam and Luke

Elijah, just hanging around... (yes, he needs a haircut! lol)

The bones are done... now for some fun touches and then paint!

side view...

little ones distressing the boards for the front of the fort... discovering that MDF is very hard!

More as we progress... nothing like step by step progess pics, right? :)

A new page is up!

2010-10-06T20:24:00.000-05:00

http://tonyanddanalewis.blogspot.com/p/beagle-fyi.html

Lots of really interesting information about Beagles!

2010 Family Pictures

2010-09-13T11:48:00.001-05:00

Matt, Jennifer, Landon, and Michael
Caleb
Caleb
Molly

Molly

Sam

Luke

MaryVance

Elijah

Isaac

Joseph

Nehemiah

Perspective

2010-07-31T09:34:00.000-05:00

ANTARES IS THE 15TH BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE SKY

IT IS MORE THAN 1000 LIGHT YEARS AWAY.

NOW TRY TO WRAP YOUR MIND AROUND THIS

THIS IS A HUBBLE TELESCOPE ULTRA DEEP FIELD INFRARED VIEW OF

COUNTLESS 'ENTIRE' GALAXIES BILLIONS OF LIGHT-YEARS AWAY.

BELOW IS A CLOSE UP OF ONE OF THE DARKEST REGIONS OF THE PHOTO ABOVE.

HUMBLING, ISN'T IT?

They are NOT clones! LOL

2010-07-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

Okay... someone (several someones...) said, upon seeing my new header, that my children are clones. LOL I just don't see that so I set out to prove my point, or prove theirs (whichever way it works out). I tried to find pictures that look just like the child, a regular smile, etc.. for them. Now you all get to vote. Clones or no?

Caleb

Molly

Sam

Luke

MaryVance

Elijah (he really doesn't have a double chin...lol)

Isaac

Joseph

Nehemiah (who loves to give his Mama a foot squeeze!)

So, please vote, Clones or No?

I definitely think some of them favor... do you?

Which ones?

Thanks!

Frying Chicken

2010-07-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

Honey would be proud of me!

Look Mama... fried chicken :)

That's my old trusty cast iron skillet my Mama gave to me.

Boneless strips.
What do you think Mama?

And, look what I made *just for you*... the children enjoyed them in your honor...

Crunchies!

And this picture is for my friend Carol. We were discussing the mertis of single dipping vs. double dipping...

On the left is double dipped, on the right is single dipped.

I used to fry chicken strips years ago... but they were never very crunchy (and I love crunchy) so I gave up.
Enter: Matt (lovingly called Matt Poo by the children and MattyCakes by me - lol)
Matt loves to cook. He taught me his way to fry chicken. Basically everything I had always done except for One Thing.

The One Thing?

Egg.

Yep, egg.

The drench should be made of egg and milk, not just milk. Egg is the secret. Lots of egg and just a splash of milk. Now you know. When you fry chicken you can think of Matt and me :)
No, I, of course, do not have a recipe - lol.
I seasoned flour with seasoning salt. Taste to see that it's well seasoned and not too salty.
Then I beat three eggs with a splash of milk.

I used five boneless breasts and cut into strips.
Then I heated about 1/2 inch of oil in my cast iron skillet.
Drench strip in wet, dredge lightly in dry, drench in wet and then dredge in dry. This time really press firmly to get the flour into all the little nooks and crannies and make sure it sticks well. Shake off excess flour.

Fry.
Drain on paper towels.
Enjoy.

Winter in Florida

2010-07-28T10:55:00.002-05:00

photo by Samuel

The Barn Gets A Facelift... and more!

2010-07-26T10:17:00.000-05:00

Barns have so much character... I just love them!

This is our old barn... our home was built in 1976 so we are guessing the barn is of a similar age. It's bones are very sturdy but it has some boo-boos that needed fixing! A storm some unknown years ago pulled up the roof on the left side at the front and back. The top floor in the back left corner, having no roof, has rotted. The bottom right half of the barn was floored (but the flooring was mostly rotten) and the bottom left had no flooring at all. Other than that, it was in great shape -- considering...

After many hours and much sweat the barn has a new floor on both sides and the roof is mostly repaired. One more section and it will be all done. The barn has a new front and new doors that are just awaitin' to be hung!

New floor!

And painted to seal it.

The outside wall being built.

The interior wall separating the two halves. The lower half of the wall was already there.

All ready for doors. And the door up top needs to be fixed too.

Isn't it pretty?!

Today, if it doesn't rain, the plan is to finish the top front left of the roof overhang, repair the loft door (and we will probably close in the other door opening) and hang the doors on the ground floor.

Then we'll be all ready to move the storage stuff into the right side and the workshop stuff into the left side. We'll add electricity later.

A Baby Gift

2010-07-19T20:22:00.002-05:00

A close up of the quilt

The red is baby wale corduroy.

The back of the quilt with the toy.

It crinkles :)

And is soft on one side and fuzzy on the other.

I hope they are much loved!

My Happy Place

2010-07-16T16:33:00.000-05:00

I have pictures to share of my Happy Place :)

This is the door between the guest room/sewing room and the open space with the computers, door to the bathroom, laundry room, pantry. Um... how to orient you? That door is on the east wall. The curtain to the left is a storage closet for craft stuff. We have the door but it hasn't been hung .....yet.....

Looking left, the futon and the shelf on the left with Matt and Jennifer's stuff that is still here.

Now your back is at the door and you are facing west. Those french doors open into the back yard. See the brick column? There and to the left was the garage opening.

The dresser with Matt and Jennifer's stuff. That cabinet holds the snaps and all the embroidery machine stuff. Hanging on the back of the bookcase--diaper, trainer and bib patterns.

Now your back is to the futon. Directly in the foreground is a work table. That's Molly's machine, MaryVance is using it to make a quilt. Under it are three drawer things with patterns and various sewing supplies. That shelf to the right has hairbow making supplies on the top shelf, the second shelf is a tote of fabric for the children to use and the bottom tote is mending --- blush. The large cabinet holds more supplies for sewing, knitting, crocheting and all the scrapbooking stuff.

Your back is to the french doors.

Standing in the corner with the larger cabinet. My sewing L and fabric shelves in the background.

My spot. Sewing machine to the left, serger ahead. I don't like the way the fabric shelves block my view of the doorway but I can't see any other way to do them for now. When Matt and Jennifer move their stuff out of the dresser we can put it in storage and then maybe put the bookcases flat against the wall. Or something?

My cutting table. Right now the ironing board is there because I'm working on that quilt I told you about.

How's that?

Off to finish those wipes. The bread will have to wait until tomorrow. Matt just called. He's coming back with steaks to grill!

Mmmm..

Dana

Hand-Foot and Mouth Disease

2010-07-08T09:07:00.001-05:00

Looks like our sweet Sam has HFM... he had a slight fever severals days prior to this:

The flat rash is on the tops of his feet and is spreading up his legs. It's also on some parts of his arms. He has a few blisters in his mouth, his throat is a little sore.

If you are not familiar with HFM, do not dispair, it's a simple disease.

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common childhood illness that is caused by a viral infection (most commonly the Coxsackie A16 virus). It typically affects children under the age of 10 years, but older children and adults can also be affected.

"Symptoms generally start to appear 3-7 days after becoming infected with the virus, beginning with a mild fever, tiredness, reduced appetite, and sore throat. The characteristic features — mouth sores and skin rash — usually develop one or 2 days after the onset of fever.

The rash appears as flat or raised red spots, which may form blisters. The rash is not itchy, and usually affects the palms of the hands and soles of the feet."
http://www.mydr.com.au/kids-teens-health/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease

HFMD is usually a mild disease, and children generally recover within 7-10 days. There is no specific treatment for HFMD, and because the disease is caused by a virus, antibiotics are not effective. (Antibiotics can only be used to treat bacterial infections.) However, a simple pain reliever such as paracetamol is often all that is required to treat the symptoms.

So prayers that Sam will heal quickly and that it will not spread are much appreciated!

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow...

2010-07-07T09:14:00.000-05:00

Where have I been? I just realized I haven't blogged in a long time... time for an update!

We spent the weekend working on the barn. The months previous we (we = the boys) had cleaned out the barn... of thirty plus years of someone (many someones) junk! The barn has two sides, the left side had a dirt floor and the right side had a wooden floor. The wood was rotten and termite damaged so we removed it. Mr. Lonnie came Saturday and Monday and he and Tony and the boys (and Matt when he got off work) rebuilt the one floor and built a floor on the dirt side and repaired the roof. Yeah!

There's still a little more to be done but hopefully it won't take long. Then we can move all of our stuff from the 20x24 storage building and begin renovations on that! We are going to convert that into a little bedroom/living room/kitchenette for our oldest little birdies.

What else has been going on... let me think... June 2 was Luke's birthday, he's 12 now! We celebrated his birthday on May 31. Tony took him out for the traditional 'Birthday Breakfast with Daddy'. Luke wanted to wait until Matt got home to have his party so we had a supper birthday party. Luke wanted Legos and a fishing pole, and he got a few other small things.

June 2 we left for Virginia and we were gone until June 8. We took Jennifer up for her best friend's wedding. Susanna's (the bride) grandparents go to church with us and we took them up also. It was a really fun trip!

Next we had Father's Day. Jennifer made a special breakfast for her hubby and her 'dad' :) It was much enjoyed!

Then Jennifer's 20th birthday on the 21st... we had supper and a little party for her. She wanted a strawberry cake so I modified my favorite white cake -- it was pretty good. When I perfect it I will share the recipe. Matt surprised her with a laptop :) We got her a waterproof camera for the beach. She's such a shutterbug but doesn't want to take her good cameras to the beach ;)

Tony's birthday is July 1. We had a supper party for him too :) He also wanted strawberry cake so I made the modified one again with another change. I like the first one better. And this time I made a Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing which was preferred by all to the Strawberry Buttercream I made for Jennifer's cake.

July 21 is Molly's birthday... guess what kind of cake she wants? LOL

Soft Pretzels

2010-06-25T12:10:00.002-05:00

Soft Buttered Pretzels

-Pillsbury recipe

3 to 3 ½ c all purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1 pkg dry yeast
1 c water
1 T Crisco (I used butter)
6 c water
¼ c baking soda
2 T melted butter
Pretzel salt, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc…

COMBINE: 1 c flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a medium bowl. Blend well. Heat 1 c water and 1 T butter to 100 – 110 degrees. Add liquid to flour mixture. Blend at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Stir in an additional 1 ½ to 1 ¾ c flour or until dough pulls cleanly away from sides of bowl. Knead in ½ to ¾ c flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in a warm place (80 – 85’) until light and doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

SPRAY two cookie sheets with nonstick spray. Punch dough down. Divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece into a 16 inch rope. Form into pretzel shape. Place on greased cookie sheets. Cover. Let rise in warm place about 15-20 minutes. Adjust oven rack to top position. Heat oven to 400’. Combine 6 cups of water and baking soda in a shallow sided saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Slowly drop pretzels into water, one at a time, cooking 15 seconds on each side. Remove from water with slotted spoon and return to greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with pretzel salt, etc…

BAKE for 8 minutes. Brush with melted butter. Bake 2 additional minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Brush generously with remaining butter. Serve warm.

I changed the Crisco for butter... you know how I feel about butter! :)

Pictures of the New Girls Room

2010-06-15T17:10:00.000-05:00

Spring Portraits, 2010

2010-05-26T10:24:00.001-05:00

Caleb (17)

Molly (15)

Samuel (14)

Luke (11)

MaryVance (10)

Elijah (8)

Isaac (6)

Joseph (3)

Nehemiah (19mo)

**Photographed in Neosho MO**

miscellaneous adorability...

2010-05-13T16:38:00.000-05:00

Luke, not Lukey, not Lukey Pookey, just Luke

The Four Musketeers

Landon and Poppy

The Joey

Buddies

My Super First Born

My adorable first born daughter

Sweet Sam and Silly Nehemiah

Matt and Ike, snugglebuddies!

Mare, the bird lady in waiting

The Week of The Virus

2010-05-13T10:25:00.000-05:00

Last Monday night Nehemiah spiked a fever. We treated with ibuprofen and it went down some. I assumed it was teething-related. He had a fever again the next day. By Wednesday he was fine. Saturday he woke up with a rash on his face and Sunday it had spread to his abdomen. I spoke with Sherry at church (she's a PA) and she reminded me that a mystery high fever followed several days later by a rash is a typical virus symptom. I knew that - why didn't it come to my mind? We had several episodes like that when our older children were younger. She also said that teething related fevers are never over 101, a fever over 101 is an immune system fighting fever. We didn't give much thought to it being contagious or anything and figured it was all over.

Sunday afternoon MaryVance was complaining of a stomach ache. She also had a slight headache but no temperature. That was the beginning of The Week of The Virus. :) Landon, Joseph, Sam, Isaac have all had the spiky fever, Landon has gotten a slight rash. MaryVance, Molly and today Luke have had the headache with stomach ache.

That leaves Caleb and Elijah... and all the adults. I wonder who will be next?

Life since vacation...

2010-05-07T18:54:00.000-05:00

has been busy and blessed.

Let's see... we got home on the 27th (Tuesday) and were joyfully welcomed by our "oldest children" Matt and Jennifer (& Landon, of course!) They stayed here and 'house sat' for us and took such good care of things. It was so nice, after such a long drive, to walk into a nice, clean, good-smelling home! The animals were all well-tended and happy :) They are such a joy to my heart and I am so thankful to the Lord for them!

So we spent the rest of the week in 'vacation recovery mode', ya know how that goes... While we were gone Danny and Brandy were blessed with the opportunity to rent a lovely large home that is only 20 minutes from us! The children and I spent Monday helping them with a little of the moving. The plan was to paint the new house and then move in room by room.

Meanwhile Danny and Brandy's son Evan had been having some concerning symptoms and they had taken him in for bloodwork on Monday. Their doctor called Tuesday and said "Evan's platelet count is 8000 -- I want him in the hospital right now. They are waiting for you." (Normal platelet count for a child is 140,000 - 450,000). Danny called and told me and then brought the other children (minus the baby) to us. Matt and Jennifer were still here and were a huge help during this time.

Wednesday Molly, Jennifer and Matt watched all the children and I took Caleb, Sam and Ashley with me and we worked on getting the kitchen moved. Tony had taken Wednesday off and he and Carol (a friend from church) worked on painting the house.

Evan was discharged from the hospital Wednesday evening. We spent Thursday painting and moving more stuff. The Nissleys brought their truck and trailer over and moved some appliances. It's Friday now, M, J and I are here with the children and Tony is helping move a small load. We'll all go over tomorrow and spend the afternoon painting and moving stuff around.

It's been a busy week but such a blessed one. We are so thankful to the Lord that Evan's initial diagnosis of ITP is treatable! I am thankful for such helpful children who don't mind hard work. I am thankful for Matt and Jennifer being so willing to just step in and do whatever needs to be done. I read a saying recently that said "Friends are the family that we choose for ourselves". I think that is so true and I am thankful that the Lord has filled our lives with such good friends who are family to us!

Our Marianna Arts Festival craft booth

2010-04-29T08:34:00.000-05:00

Pictures :)

The whole shebang

Brandy's "Sweet Marmalade" side

Our "Lewis Family Mercantile" side

a closer shot of LFM

a closer shot of SM

more LFM close-ups. See anything you need? LOL

All in all it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot and I know many things to do differently the next time!

On the road again...

2010-04-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday morning... we are on our way back home :)

We left Sunday before last and drove to MO to visit our friends there (we made a overnight stop in Lonoke AR). We had a wonderful visit with them! The time just passes too quickly. Jaynie is the kind of friend that you can not see for a year and then when you do get to visit it's like it was only yesterday. Their family is very dear to us.

They live in very south west MO so Tony decided since we had never been to KS or OK that we would take a detour on our way home. ;) We saw buffalo in OK, that was fun! We stopped in Alma AR for lunch and met an previously unmet but much admired friend Jennifer and her children. It so nice to finally meet friends that you've known for so many years!

We just had a leisurely day of travel and planned to stop at Lonoke again for the night. About seven miles out (it was raining) the driver's side wiper stopped working. We made it to Lonoke and spent the night. I have a friend who lives in that general area so I emailed her and she said for us to drive over to her husband's shop the next morning and he would help Tony figure out what was wrong and fix it :)

Stacy and I have been friends for several years but had not met until Saturday. She has the most precious family! I am so glad to have finally met her! Kent was able to fix the wiper, it was a very simple fix but not something Tony has ever done before. Kent knew immediately what the problem was because they had to make the same repair on their van once! :)

We hit the road and drove on to my hometown (Brownsville) and went to Daddy's. We stayed in his living room because our original plan to camp was thwarted by the high winds and scattered rain. :( We do enjoy camping there a lot so hopefully next time the weather will cooperate :)

We went to Mama's to visit for a while, Rebecca (my sister) was there. We met the birds. My mother is now the Bird Lady! She's such an animal lover!

Sunday evening we visited with the Sheltons and Turners. Miss Peggy and Mr. Floyd have been in my life since I was about four. We were neighors. I have so many happy memories of their home and family! I've often said Miss Peggy is my "sewing mother" but she is really much more than that. She and Mr. Floyd have always loved me and always been there for me :) Their daughter Lora and her husband and son were there too. Lora and I are a year apart and had many fun adventures as young children (involving potty training, eating a whole bottle of baby aspirin, one of us shoving the other of us off a porch on to concrete... you get the idea! LOL) Their whole family is dear to me!

We spent Monday at the Botanic Gardens in Memphis and then went to the Memphis Zoo after lunch. It was a perfect day for the zoo, the weather was light jacket weather and we were practically the only ones there!

When we got back to Brownsville we dropped by Rebecca's to meet Ronald :) and then back to Daddy's for the night.

We are on our way home right now. :) Yes, I have lots and LOTS of pictures to share!

Marianna Arts Festival 2010 -- almost ready!

2010-04-15T22:01:00.000-05:00

MaryVance and Luke are finishing up their knitted toy snakes...

Luke has been doing all of the painting on the displays Caleb and Sam have built -- in case you wondered why he has something brown all over his shirt! LOL

Caleb is doing the finishing sanding on another set of building blocks :) Pics will follow when he gets them done!

Here's what our goodies look like so far. I'll take some pictures of the final booth arrangement tomorrow.

The goodies! Still waiting on snakes and blocks and not sure where I'll put them!

Close ups!

Come see us!

Yesterday's Sewing...

2010-04-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

And eight more!

click here for pics

A Fun Friday Night with the Nissleys :)

2010-03-30T14:02:00.000-05:00

Playing outside...

Looks like the competition was fierce!

Another game they enjoyed a lot.

And one of the reasons for our visit... going to the workshop to check on Caleb's progress...

The band saw :) Caleb needed to use this to make cuts for a project he's working on.

Intent, isn't he?

And what is everyone else doing while Caleb works?

Lessons from Grandpa

Oohhh... looky at the pretty colors...

What have we here?

LOL! Playing with magnets, I think.

And what is this? A wooden circle mounted to a bicycle rim. It's a spinnable screw holder! How clever!!

Caleb's miniature duck decoys! The basic cuts are done and now's he's finishing them up. :)

We had such a great time. Burgers and hot dogs on the grill and lots of good visiting all around. God has richly blessed us :)

The new girls room... BEFORE

2010-03-16T18:09:00.000-05:00

I don't know if the girls room will be phase 2 or phase 3? Either way, this is what it looks like now!

um... yeah...

When we moved here they boys wanted a 'frontier' bedroom. We were so excited to find this wallpaper. The 'curtain rod' is a limb and the valance is burlap attached with twine (maybe jute? yeah, I think it was jute.)

Um, just realized Luke's airplane creations are still in there... oh Luuuuuuke...

The girls, after much, much, much searching finally found bedding they like!

They are thinking the lightest sage green for the walls but we haven't been paint shopping yet. Their room will be done in two phases also. The first part will be cleaning and painting. The second will be building a window seat, chests of drawers and bookshelves all around the window. :)

Ready, set, here we go!

I'm calling it Done!

2010-03-16T18:02:00.001-05:00

Even though we are probably, in reality only 95% done. There is just a smidge of touch up that needs to be done on the walls and we need the flooring repaired (where the walls were removed). But other than that... done. Yep!

What? You want pictures? Well, if you pull my arm... lol

The shelf above Luke's bed, mostly some of his Lego creations.

Beds for Elijah (l) and Caleb (r)

Our lovely closet! :D

Stuff, still not perfectly arranged...

Corner bookshelves, baskets of "stuff", that little chair was given to Sam by his great great grandmother (for whom he was named, she was a Locke).

This desk was made by either Tony's mothers dad or granddad... I can't remember?

In case you are wondering... I am not responsible for the room decor ;)

Looking south.

My lovely doors again... LOL

That wall will be painted to look like the fort in Boonesborough (from the old Daniel Boone tv series). In front of it will be a custom built twin over double toddler bunk bed. I just don't have it completely designed yet :)

There ya go! Just a few finishing touches:

some paint touch ups

insulated Roman shades

floor repair

Then we'll be off to Phase 2 or 3!

Dare I say it...? The Bedroom Remodel Project Phase I is D.O.N.E.

2010-03-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

Yes, I think in 'emoticons'! Woohoo!!!

Pics coming soon! I just wanted to say Woohoo! with y'all!

Phases 2 and 3 will be building the little boys a bed and painting their 'Boonesborough' wall and painting, etc... in the girls room.

Part... ten, is it?

2010-03-12T11:24:00.000-06:00

Closet doors are UP!

Little cute doors above closets are UP!

Boys are moving in their "stuff" -- LOL

And a bonus pic...

Landon and Poppy!

a brief peek at part 9

2010-03-10T13:16:00.000-06:00

The little doors above the closet, with their rope handle! One last door to hang and then the moulding to hang.

Molly has been rearranging and organizing the boys clothes drawers all morning! ROFLOL!

Next: Here come the beds!! We can do that ourselves and then tomorrow Tony can do the doors and ceiling fans!

It's so close!

By way of explanation: these doors were my idea (in case you wondered who would think of such a crazy and unorthodox thing -- lol). I can't stand the idea of wasted space and I wanted us to have access to the storage space above the hanging rack! So far, so good!

And it continues... part 8

2010-03-09T15:28:00.000-06:00

So Daddy decided he would save himself a lot of steps if he removed the screen and climbed in and out of the window (cutting the crown moulding pieces)...

How many little hineys fit in a window? Let's count them... 1...2...3...4...

And from the 'front side' LOL

When you say "Smile Nehemiah" he gives you this cheesy grin! He's so funny!

I love those four musketeers! :D

Okay, where was I? Oh yeah, the bedroom. Here ya go!

View looking north, the north end of the room is almost done. The nail holes in the crown moulding need to be set and puttied but that's all for that end except the closet door and ceiling fan! Woohoo!

Just waitin' on doors!

Remember the Dutch door the boys and I made? Here it is!

Cheese!

Looking south. Still just a bit of painting to do at the top of the closet so all the clothes got moved back out of that side.

The Shoe Closet! Yes, it's blue inside. We were out of 'secluded garden' (the main wall color) but had plenty of ' something? rain' left (from the Boonesborough wall).

So we still have to finish the doors for the top of the closets (little hidey doors with rope handles!), hang about a third of the crown moulding, hang the ceiling fans, hang the closet doors. Then we'll move the beds in. The floor needs to be repaired by our trusty flooring friend but I haven't even talked to him about it yet -blush-

It's coming along!! Tony took yesterday off and got a lot done. Then he called right after lunch and said he was on his way home again to get the cuts made he needs for the moulding before the rain gets here!

I'll keep you posted!

the bedroom project part 7

2010-03-04T16:48:00.000-06:00

notice the lack of caps... draw your own conclusions... LOL

Alrighty... what's new with this project?

The ceiling is done... it looks better in real life ;)

The "Boonesborough" wall has it's base coat (still needs some cutting in at the baseboard).

The exterior closet walls are almost done.

Today the boys and I made a Dutch door for their bedroom. A Dutch door is also called a 'stable door'... isn't that fitting -- LOL

Sam and Luke got all the trim pieces painted. Tony just got home so I'm going to see what he wants to get finished tonight.

We did make a Lowe's trip last weekend and got all the rest of the supplies we will need, including ceiling fans (remind me to tell you that story -- our wonderful government....) and an area rug.

I'm very excited to see all of the coming together.

*MY* plan is for the room to be ready for the boys to move into this weekend. The Boonesborough wall and the little boys beds won't be done but all the rest should be. Oh and the insulated Roman shades won't be done yet either. I have too many diapers to sew right now. ;)

Newest Sewing Project

2010-02-24T11:08:00.000-06:00

at my Dana Did It blog

The Bedroom Project - part 6

2010-02-23T09:57:00.000-06:00

Tony (and the big boys) got the ceiling sheetrock up, mudded, taped and mudded. He'll sand it today.

Luke and I got half of the room painted it's first coat! All of the trim will be white.

It's coming along!!!

The sunlight is so bright the color is not showing well. Let me try again to show the color. It's a very pretty color, I promise!

Caleb and Sam have plaid comforters that they have had for years and they really love them. They wanted to pick a color where they could still use these comforters. The sunlight reflects differently off the wall than it does the fabric -- trust me, they match ;)

I'm going to make duvet covers for the comforters for the other twin beds in that reddish/cranberry color. And I'll make quilts from the plaid fabric and the cranberry for the toddler bunks :) We have sheets in the plaid that I'll use to make insulated Roman shades for all four windows. Well, for two at least... I'm pondering a different idea for the double window since it will be on the little boys side of the room!

My first attempts at free motion quilting

2010-02-22T15:58:00.000-06:00

Is that what it's called? I called it 'squiggle sewing' LOL

It's a gift set for Ben and RuthAnn from our church:

My first ever table runner:

RuthAnn said she wanted coffee-themed stuff for her kitchen :)

The Bedroom Project - Part 5

2010-02-20T10:14:00.000-06:00

Do you remember earlier I mentioned "The Wall"? Here are some shots of it.

Couldn't get the whole wall in one shot -- you'll have to use your imagination :)

They really loved this wall and seriously debated whether to paint over it or not. Two sons (who shall remain unnamed) really didn't want to repaint it but finally decided that it would be better to paint it... :)

The little boys wanted to paint so badly... here they are applying primer.

What fun!

So last night while the girls and Nehemiah and Joey and I were at the ladies supper at church Tony and the big boys primed half of the room. I think Luke did most of the priming while the others were removing the sheetrock at the closet ceilings and working on the new supports for the ceiling.

And Tony removed the sheetrock from the ceilings of what were the closets.

Wanna guess what his project is for tonight while the girls and N and I are at a bridal shower? :)

The Bedroom Project ~ Part 4

2010-02-19T11:00:00.000-06:00

My guy is quite a guy!!

First Tony framed up this new closet for the boys. The closet Caleb built is to the right, behind the melon door, see it? It's the shoe closet.

This closet is for all their clothing, dress up totes and the top of the top rack is for sleeping bags and misc stuff that boys seem to accumulate. ;)

First Tony had to hang all the shelving because it wouldn't fit in the doorways after the front was framed up.

Then he framed the front of the closet. That makes it sound so simple. Let me rephrase... he Framed The Closet! I think he/we reworked the plan about four times. See we already had that existing bit of wall to the right beside the shoe closet to contend with. We are trying to make everything equal and look like it was originally that way. It took a lot of planning, figuring, measuring, replanning... Then you must remember that this concrete is 35 years old and very cured. Very hard. I think he went through a drill bit every two holes. It was a LOT of work. And he smashed his finger. The same finger he bumped with the saws all. :( Very icky. Oh and then he got a couple of splinters in that same finger!! Remodeling is dangerous stuff!

See?! A nice big closet, I think it's nearly 12 feet wide. This closet will have louvered bifold doors as will the shoe closet.

Now the other part that my Super Guy did I don't have pictures of. He moved a receptacle from the demolished wall to a new wall. He moved the light fixture over so it was centered with the light fixture in the other room. He hung a light in the closet and moved that light switch over to a double gang box (I think that's what he said?). He and Luke spend a couple of very squished, itchy, cold hours up in the attic getting everything wired and rewired. Tony even figured out how to use the existing electric to branch off and make a switch for the closet light and get it in place!

We now have all the electric stuff D-O-N-E! He never ceases to amaze me.

And now he has decided that he doesn't like my 'make do' idea with the ceiling and he is removing the sheetrock and doing it the right way :) It's gonna be so purty!!

The boys are cleaning up the tools and Molly is prepping the walls for painting. We are so excited, it's all coming together so well!!

The Bedroom Project ~ Part 3

2010-02-19T10:45:00.001-06:00

So Tony had off last week Th-Mo. Everything we did took at least five times longer than we though it would. Typical, right? LOL

The first thing we had to do was find places to put stuff. I'm telling you... we have stuff everywhere. There's a twin bed in the living room, there's a love seat and stacks of totes of dress up clothes in the dining room, there are dressers in the hallway, there's a load of stuff in the storage building, there's a dresser in the bathroom... I'm not kidding!

Here we go... our work days in order...

Caleb built a closet! This was his first 'start to finish' framing job he did all by himself! He did a great job. Let me try to explain. Our hallway is like a capital "T", the left end of the T going into our bedroom and the right end of the T going into was was the boys dressing room. Caleb framed up that opening and made a closet. So now the hallway looks like a "7". Make sense?

I am always amazed to watch Caleb work. He is so strong. He did a great job with all the measuring and cutting. And those of you who know our home will not be surprised to hear that the walls where not square so it made for some interesting cutting!

The finished framed wall.

He's making a silly face at his sister -- imagine that!

We used a piece of the paneling that we removed from the dressing room for this wall. A wonderful (haha) side result is that the yellow paint we had left over from when we painted originally has gone bad! LOL So we had to get more paint. However, it didn't seem to make sense (cents) to me to buy a whole gallon of paint for that one section when I really want to repaint over all the yellow anyway. So we bought a lovely 'hopsack' color and will repaint the entire hallway (which will eventually lead into painting the living room too! woohoo!!!)

I can't find the last picture. We recycled paneling from when we removed the living room/dining room wall (when we first moved in five years ago) to use in the inside of the closet. It will all be painted white eventually!

Part 3 coming soon!

Lest you think I am ignoring you...

2010-02-10T13:23:00.000-06:00

there's really nothing new to report on the Project. We've done more removing of doorframes, etc... patched one of the closet walls ... moved furniture out to have more space to work... painted one of the walls the color the boys selected to see if we like it...

Tonight we make The Big Run to Lowe's for supplies. Tony has Th/Fr/Sa/Mo off so I anticipate getting a LOT done in those four days. I am a Task Master. I have a List. And I'm not afraid to use it. Beware. LOL

Girls Room ~ BEFORE

2010-02-02T10:18:00.000-06:00

Again, this was not the most recent arrangement of the room but you get the basic idea. The beds are no longer bunked and will not be in their new room. They are also going with a whole different color scheme... either blue/yellow, green/brown, or blue/brown. Decisions, decisions, decisions... :)

The Boys Room ~ BEFORE

2010-02-02T09:57:00.001-06:00

I didn't take Before pictures but here are some I found on the computer. Their room is arranged differently now but you can see the basic idea and the wierd cinnamon color of the furniture. They have four dressers that are from the same collection.

The Bedroom Remodel Project ~ Day 2

2010-02-01T09:45:00.000-06:00

Sunday afternoon we finished removing the closet walls.

Had to remove the chair rail and baseboards. The chair rail was put up with huge long nails... ?

Destruction is so much fun!

The little boys (especially) had fun!

Done for today! View from the boys dressing room looking south.

View from the girls room, looking north.

I wish we had some place to put stuff while we are working, but alas, we don't. So we are just working around stuff the best we can. When we get to the final painting, etc... we'll have to move everything out. I can't even imagine... that will be fun! Um, no one come to visit then, okay? LOL

One room is paneling, one room is sheetrock... anyone have a any bright ideas as how to handle where they meet? It's only on the one wall but still?...

The Bedroom Remodel Phase I ~ Day 1

2010-01-31T13:41:00.003-06:00

Um, yeah, What Are We Thinking?!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, let me explain... Our home is a typical ranch style house. The north end has two bedrooms on each side of the hallway and a bathroom at the end of the hallway. The first bedroom on the left is the boys room, the first bedroom on the right is the girls room. The last bedroom on the left is our room and the last bedroom on the right has served several different functions. It was originally the sewing room and it was the last room we painted. The children all had wanted to help paint (we repainted the entire house when we moved in) and had been so patient that I told them they could paint the sewing room. :D I'm just a good Mama like that... LOL

We were trying to use all the leftover paint (being frugal -snort-) so I mixed the golden yellow from the living room and hallway with the cranberry from the living room and it made this melon color. Now you know why part of the room is melon colored. One wall is sponge painted with all the leftover colors of paint. The children painted one wall theirselves, it has their handprints, footprints and their names and ages. It's so precious :)

Fastforward... I moved the sewing room down to the new part of the house (we closed in the garage) and that bedroom eventually became a closet for the boys. A huge closet. It was their 'dressing room'.

They have outgrown their bedroom, it's too small. The dressing room is too large just for a dressing room/closet so... we decided to move the girls across the hall into the boys room and knock out the wall between the former girls room and the boys dressing room to make one big bedroom for the boys!

Whew. Following me? I, of course, forgot to take "before" pictures when it was neat (well, as neat as a huge closet can ever be)... so here goes:

Standing in the closet looking north

The hallway wall.

The view from the north looking toward the 'soon to be removed' wall!

And in case you were wondering 'why in the world did they paint this room anyway?!'... it was white and silver streaked paneling...

Luke was a little tyke when we moved in and he wanted to write everyone's names and ages on the closet wall :)

And here he is helping Tony pull down the trim from the closet.

Thank you Lord for Luke!

Actually the first thing we had to do was empty the closet so that's why you see shelves of shoes on the other side of this room!

Sam had been outside removing nails from wood we hope to reuse and was anxious to get in on the actual destruction. If you know Sam that will not surprise you at all! LOL

VOILA! And...

I'm optimistically thinking we are 1/4 of the way through with the wall removal. Woohoo!

A-B-C Master Muffin Mix

2010-01-27T18:46:00.001-06:00

A-B-C Muffin Master Mix

18 c. flour

5 c. sugar (or equivalent substitute)

2 1/4 c. buttermilk blend or non fat dry milk

6 T. baking powder

2 T. baking soda

2 T. salt

3 T. ground cinnamon

3 t. ground nutmeg

Stir together well, breaking up lumps.

Store in a large airtight container labeled with the date and contents; store in a cool, dry place.

Shelf life: 6-8 months.

Makes enough for about 5 batches of 24 muffins each.

If desired, sugar can be omitted then stir in 1 cup honey for every 24 muffins as you make them.

TO MAKE 24 REGULAR SIZED MUFFINS:

Preheat oven to 400*.

Coat muffin tins with an oil/lecithin mixture, grease with shortening or butter, or spray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, beat:

4 eggs

3 t. vanilla

2 c. water

1 c. oil (or butter. This measurement is up to your tastes and desires. Some find them perfectly acceptable without any fat, but any amount of oil can be added up to one cup)

Stir in 5 1/2 c. muffin mix and any additional ingredients (listed below) just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown.

Muffins freeze well.

To reheat frozen muffins, microwave on high for 30 seconds per muffin.

These two toppings would go well with almost any of the ABC muffins. Sprinkle mixture atop uncooked muffins before popping them into preheated oven:

STREUSEL TOPPING for 24 muffins:

Mix together:

1 c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

2/3 c. flour

cut in 1/2 c. cold butter until mixture is crumbly.

CRUNCHY TOPPING for 24 muffins:

Mix together:

1 c. rolled oats

1 c. flour

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 t. ground cinnamon

cut in 1/2 cup softened butter with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.

TYPE OF MUFFIN:

Ingredients to add to mix before baking:

APPLE MUFFINS:

3 c. raw grated apples

1 t. ground cloves

1 c. nuts or raisins

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture before baking.

APPLESAUCE MUFFINS:

Omit oil and add

1 c. applesauce

APRICOT MUFFINS:

1 c. chopped dried apricots

BANANA MUFFINS:

2 mashed bananas

1 c. walnuts (opt)

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen rinsed blueberries

BRAN MOLASSES MUFFINS:

Use only 3 cups of muffin mix.

Stir in:

4 c. bran cereal

1/2 c. molasses

1 c. raisins

BUTTERSCOTCH MUFFINS:

2 (12 oz.) bags butterscotch chips

1 c. chopped nuts

CARROT MUFFINS:

2 c. grated carrots

1 c. raisins

1 1/2 t. allspice

CASHEW MUFFINS:

2 c. unsalted coarsely chopped cashews

CHERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or dried pitted cherries

CHOCOLATE CHIP FUDGE MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. sugar

3 c. mini chocolate chips

COCONUT MUFFINS:

3 c. toasted flaked coconut

reserve some to sprinkle on the top

CRANBERRY ORANGE MUFFINS:

2 c. chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

1 c. nuts

1/2 c. orange juice

2 T. grated orange peel

CURRANT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. currants

1 c. chopped nuts

DATE MUFFINS:

1 c. chopped dates

1 c. chopped nuts

EGGNOG MUFFINS

4 t. run extract

2 c. eggnog (omit water from recipe)

before baking top with mixture of:

2 T. sugar

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cinnamon

FIG MUFFINS:

2 c. dried chopped figs

1 c. chopped walnuts

FRUIT MUFFINS:

2 c. dried diced fruit

GARDEN FRESH MUFFINS:

1 c. grated carrots

1 c. grated zucchini

1/2 t. ground cloves

GINGERBREAD MUFFINS:

2 T. ground ginger

1/2 c. molasses

2 c. raisins

GRANOLA MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

1 1/2 c. granola

Top with additional granola before baking

GRAPENUTS MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

2 1/2 c. grape nuts

1 t. allspice

HAZELNUT MUFFINS:

2 t. ground cardamom

2 c. chopped hazelnuts

INCREDIBLE CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS:

COMBINE:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

Drop this mix by T. onto top of muffins before baking.

JAM MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. jam or preserves (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry)

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

KISSES AND HUGS MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. sugar

After filling muffin tins 3/4 full, drop one Hershey's kiss into the center of each muffin, pushing down slightly until kiss is covered. Ice cooled muffins with confectioners sugar and water glaze.

LEMON MUFFINS:

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice

4 eggs

1/2 c. chopped nuts

LEMON POPPY SEED MUFFINS:

2 packages (3.4 oz each) instant lemon pudding mix

2 T. poppy seeds

4 eggs

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup lemon juice

MANDARIN MUFFINS:

1 (11oz) can mandarin oranges chopped and undrained

reduce water to 1 cup

1 1/2 c. shredded carrots

MAPLE MUFFINS:

6 T. maple syrup

reduce water to 1 1/2 cups

MARMALADE MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. orange marmalade

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

omit 1 cup water and replace with 1 cup orange juice

MINCEMEAT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 c. mincemeat

OATMEAL MUFFINS:

reduce muffin mix to 4 cups and add:

1 c. oats

4 eggs

up to 2 c. raisins or grated apples

ORANGE MUFFINS:

2 c. sour cream

1 c. nuts or coconut (opt)

2 cans (11 oz. each) mandarin oranges, drained

4 eggs

PEACH MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or one large can (drained) chopped peaches

PEANUTTY MUFFINS:

3 c. peanut better chips

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA MUFFINS:

1 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

3 mashed bananas

PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY MUFFINS:

1 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. chopped peanuts

drop 1 T. jam into each muffin before baking.

PEAR MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or one large can (drained) chopped pears

PECAN MUFFINS:

2 c. chopped toasted pecans

1 t. maple extract

PINEAPPLE CARROT RAISIN MUFFINS:

1 c. grated carrots

1 c. crushed pineapple, drained

1 c. raisins

1 c. walnuts, chopped (opt)

PINEAPPLE MACADAMIA MUFFINS:

1 t. ground cloves

1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

1 jar (7 oz. or about 1 cup) macadamia nuts, chopped

PLUM MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or canned plums, chopped

PRUNE MUFFINS:

1 to 2 c. chopped prunes

1/3 c. poppy seeds

PUMPKIN MUFFINS:

2 c. or 1 can solid pack pumpkin

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. raisins

RASPBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen whole, unsweetened raspberries

RUM RAISIN MUFFINS:

3 t. rum extract

before baking top wiht mix of:

2 t. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

SESAME SEED MUFFINS:

1 c. toasted sesame seeds

before baking top with mix of:

1/2 c. nuts

4 T. brown sugar

4 T. sesame seeds

2 T. flour

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

SOUR CREAM MUFFINS:

omit one cup of the water and add:

1 c. sour cream

2 c. nuts

2 t. grated lemon peel (opt)

SQUASH MUFFINS:

2 c. cooked mashed squash

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1/2 c. raisins

STRAWBERRY MUFFINS:

2 c. fresh or frozen strawberries, chopped

SWEET POTATO MUFFINS:

1 T. allspice

4 T. dry orange peel

2 cans (10 oz. each) sweet potatoes, mashed, well drained (about 2 1/2 cups)

TROPICAL TREAT MUFFINS:

1 c. dried mango or papaya, chopped

1 c. chopped banana chips or 2 fresh mashed bananas

1 c. macadamia nuts, chopped

1/2 c. coconut

1/2 c. sour cream

2 t. grated lemon peel

VANILLA MUFFINS:

2 packages vanilla chips

WALNUT MUFFINS:

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

WHEAT GERM MUFFINS:

2 2/3 c. wheat germ

4 eggs

1/2 c. extra water

before baking top muffins with mix of:

1/2 c. wheat germ

2 T. sugar

YOGURT MUFFINS:

reduce water to 1 1/2 c. and add:

2 cartons (8 oz each) yogurt, plain or flavored

ZUCCHINI MUFFINS:

2 c. grated zucchini

2 T. cinnamon

1 c. chopped nuts (opt)

This is not an original recipe but it's one we enjoy and I hope you do too!!

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-01-13T10:06:00.005-06:00

A wonderful birthday surprise from my HearthKeepers Birthday Sister!

Thank you so much Carla!!!

I love it all, it's all just perfect for me!!

And for a belated birthday supper last night:

Matt, Jennifer and Landon came for supper and we had

drumroll

Luther Burgers!

woohoo!!!

2010.... 20-10.... Twenty Ten... Already?

2010-01-07T09:39:00.003-06:00

The last year of the first decade of the new milennium.

Already?

How's your new year going? I made a decision to get healthier this year and I committed to walking for at least one mile every day on my treadmill. Day one... twenty minutes into my walk.... klerk... klerk...klerk... and it came to a jolting stop. -imagine me frowning and whining here- I am so frustrated. Hopefully Tony can get in contact with the service people soon.

And it's cold here. Really cold. For days and days on end. We are just not used to this anymore. Our lovely Florida warmth has spoiled us...

On a happier note.... I have been reminded over and over how blessed we are with our family and our church family. We have such wonderful friends here, such a loving church family... I am so thankful to the Lord! We also have wonderful friends who don't live here and I am blessed to have them in our lives too!!

And as soon as it warms up we've love to have any of y'all come for a visit!!

Until then, enjoy your hot chocolate :) Add marshmallows and think of me!

Our One Year Olds...

2009-12-30T13:30:00.004-06:00

Our sweet babies... all are a year old except Sam and MaryVance (they were 9 mo). Aren't they precious? Do you note any family resemblances?

Time to get real...

2009-12-21T11:03:00.002-06:00

Okay. Alrighty. This is real life here. This is what you see if you just show up at my house! These are not “Hurry! Someone is coming! Clean off the porches! Clean up the yard!” pictures. Use your imagination if you must. LOL

Standing on the front porch looking left (north – aren’t you impressed? I asked Caleb )

Looking straight ahead (that would be east! I love having a smart son!) (two shots)

The tractor is on loan. It started raining and it rained and rained and rained so the mowing hasn’t been finished yet. Surely it will dry up soon!

Our house. It was a dark and dreary day. We have very few of those :woohoo: Note: what appears to be a leaning column is not. It is not leaning. It is on the ground. It keeps getting bumped out of place. I’m thinking it’s not very important, right?

Standing in the front yard panning to the west

At the top of the driveway looking west into the backyard/goat yard area.

Turned 180 degrees, looking down the driveway

What’s this? This is a fire ant mound. It’s about two feet across. They are everywhere.

Where was I? I got distracted…

Oh yes, looking into the goat pen.

Meet Lucy. Ethel died.

The backyard

The back of the house. Um. Yeah. I told ya it wasn’t pretty… but it’s real. Right. Real is important. Right. ?

Look. A cat. A black and white cat. This is Biddy (she’s named for Cordelia Drexel Biddle). I asked Luke. I can’t tell them all apart. We have seven black and white cats. And two grey and white.

The side of the back yard. The movable chicken pens. We love hen fruit here!

Look! What have we here?

Proof that I am a fun mama! A big dirt area behind the back porch. Little boys love to dig. And dig and dig and dig…

See?

See my shoe there? Those are big holes. One of them was four feet deep and there was a tunnel between them.

The burn pile. You must have a burn pile if you live in the country. It’s in the rule book.

The barn. In process of being cleaned out and restored. There’s thirty years worth of someone else’s junk in there….

The south pasture, the dog yard is to the left and the barn is to the right

What is this? Who knows? Wheat or something similar? It’s from where a chicken pen used to set. We have all kinds of interesting things growing in our yard from the chickens! We used to have the chicken pens n the area in the picture just above this one… but we started losing chickens to weasels or possum or something?

More of the south pasture. It’s terribly overgrown. We have nothing to pasture there. There’s no cross-fencing so our land runs right into our neighbors land. It will be bushhogged though… when the weather dries up enough!

Well, that’s it. I hope it wasn’t too anticlimactic LOL If you ever wondered if we are just normal folk – I hope this answered your questions! We love company so come on down!!

Wanna Come to Town with Me?

2009-12-17T13:35:00.003-06:00

Here we are at the end of the driveway. We’re going to turn left onto Ocheessee Landing Road. Daisy is our guide to the next driveway!

½ mile of dirt and then we see Shady Grove Road

See the paved road?

Yep, and we are turning left again onto Shady Grove.

Lovely road, no?

On the left is Jackson Tomato Farms… not much to see right now. They harvest two crops of tomatoes a year along with melons.

Oohh… let’s take a detour here on Arkansas and show all the nice readers a cypress pond in case they’ve never seen one before.

Here we are at the boat ramp.

It’s really very pretty in the non-winter months.

Back on the road.

Another shot of the tomato farm. They grow peppers too.

Excuse the glare, I was taking pictures while I was driving… LOL This is a hay field (hay meadow?)

Lots of cows. Cows everywhere. Yummy cows. These are Belted Galloways. Also called Oreo Cows. Wonder why?

Corn. For the cows. Nice.

We are five miles down the road and now we junction with highway 69. We are turning right here. Surprised? 

Here comes Grand Ridge. Are you ready? No blinking allowed.

You blinked, didn’t you? You almost missed the Post Office!

The Town Hall. A place of much excitement. I’m sure. There’s bound to be some excitement there. Right?

Just a few minutes down the road and we junction with hwy 90.

Barn Nanny is at this intersection. Very handy to have a feed store so close by!

On highway 90. Four lanes. Are you impressed?

Don’t be. It’s only for a couple hundred yards!

What have we here? This is one of the roads we can turn on to visit our friends, the H’s!

Approaching Marianna. Alas… see the signal light ahead?

Crossing the mighty (cough, choke, sputter) Chipola River

One of three or four strip malls. This is where Goodwill lives.

Nearing the court square area.

Fresh sweet potatoes or citrus anyone?

We’re there! Welcome to Marianna.

Here comes the downtown/court square area.

Downtown. We’re going to turn right here and swing by Tony’s office.

There it is.

Oh look! What do I see? Tis the reason for my errand!

Here comes Tony. Janean is with him. She’s coming to tell me how much she LOVES the Struffolli I sent to the office with Tony.

I love this house. It’s right across from Tony’s office.

Now let’s drive around the court square…

The court house

Oh, look! It's Philip from church. Hello Philip!

We’ve circled the square LOL and we are heading back toward home on 90.

Fussy Britches. A day care. Just kidding…

Oh, let’s take a right at the junction on 70something and go home via the interstate so you can see The Walmart.

There. Wasn’t that worth it?

There’s I 10 just ahead.

Interstate driving is boring and ugly. I took this picture for my friend Charlotte… can you see that Charlotte? What does it say?

Just a few minutes down the interstate and we are at our exit. Back onto hwy 69. We basically made a big circle.

Cotton field

We are back on Shady Grove. Our turn is just ahead.

Back on Ocheessee Landing Road

Home Sweet Home

Struffolli... Dana-Style

2009-12-17T10:09:00.007-06:00

Struffolli... Italian Honey Balls

Dana-Style

1. Have your Luke pour sugar into the sugar jar (from a milk jar being used for storage because when Tony bought groceries a couple of weeks ago there were no small bags of sugar so he bought a 25 lb bag and we poured the sugar into milk jars for storage -take a breathe now-)

2. Dump sugar and cornstarch into your blender and make some powdered sugar (not a necessary step if you aren't out of xx sugar like we were)

3. Heat up your oil in your Kitchen Kettle (you need one of these... really, they are great, really versatile, etc... made by Presto). Heat the oil to, oh, say, 375? Yeah, that sounds good. Use a bland oil (like canola or vegetable) not peanut (unless you like that flavor) and remember olive oil is not good for high heat frying.

4. Have your Caleb wash a half dozen eggs. (in other words, scrub the poop off the shells... hey, it's real life and real life isn't always pretty!)

5. Into your mixing bowl put six eggs, 1 c sour cream, 1 c sugar, 2 sticks of butter and a glunk of vanilla.

6. Mix all the yumminess together! Add the baking powder and the flour one cup at a time.

7. Here ya go!

8. Dump the dough onto your cutting surface.

9. Divide and conquer.

10. Roll into ropes and cut into chunks.

Okay, now here's where I depart from the recipe given to me by my New Jersey Italian Friend Barb who is married to a Greek Guy... Barb says the ropes should be 1/2 - 3/4 inch in diameter and cut into chunks the same size and then rolled into little balls. She assures me that if you make them that size this recipe will yield a 'gazillion' balls.

I trust her.

Really.

I just don't have time for that. I have the hungry children egging me on... are they done yet? Are they done yet?? So chunks it is for us!

11. Arrange neatly (roflol) in your fryer basket. Not much more than one layer or they will not cook as well.

12. Plunk them into the yummy hot oil goodness.

Plunk gently... hot oil splashes and burns because, well, it is hot.

13. Somewhere along the process have your Molly make a light powdered sugar glaze. Here we depart again from Barb's instructions... at this point you are supposed to do the honey thing. My children don't like honey... so we improvise. Sorry Barb!

14. Remove from the fryer when they are deeply golden brown. Let them hang around for a minute or two to drain.

15. Gently scooch them over into the glazey goodness...

16. Gently toss and remove from the glaze.

17. Since you want to impress your husband's coworkers with half of this batch... have your Luke and your MaryVance roll some of them into neat balls. There, Barb, does that make you happy. I know, I know, they are still too big...

18. Place on a somethingorother to dry a bit.

19. Enjoy.

These are yummy fresh from the glaze.

They are yummy the next day.

After they cool you can store them in an airtight container until they are all gone!

And, whatever you do... do not call them donut holes. Trust me, just don't do it. If you do... my New Jersey Italian Friend Barb who is married to a Greek Guy will look you up... and it won't be pretty...

LOL!

Here is the original recipe from Barb!

Struffolli...Italian honey balls for lack of better descripition...no one seems to know what the real name is unless they are Italian

this recipe makes a gazillion

2 lbs flour (8 cups i believe)

¾ t baking powder

6 eggs

1/2 lb butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 pint sour cream

1 c sugar

1 bottle honey

vegetable oil

those little round sprinkles...not the long ones that go on ice cream (spritz?)put all ingrds in a mixing bowl except the flour and mix well

add flour slowly till well blended

roll out dough on a well floured surface into roped about 1/2 in to 3/4 in thick, 18 in long

cut into 1/2 in to 3/4 in balls

heat a large pot of oil/crisco and fry the balls until lightly browned

drain on paper towel then

put in a bowl...add some honey to each batch and mix well

sprinkle with the spritzie thing...if you want to be artistic, have a blast we usually put them in a big red bowl in the middle of the table with a spoongreat warm with coffee

recipe hint...do ALL the rolling and cutting first...unless you are used to the whole process or have an "assembly line" sort of thing going, you'll burn batches....not that i would know that

Nehemiah... signing and talking...

2009-12-16T12:04:00.003-06:00

He was distracted by the cd player... he loves music!

So... do you 'know' us?

2009-12-16T10:04:00.004-06:00

I received a very sweet email from someone who was very dear to me during my youth years. I sent him a sort of update note and thought I'd share part of it here with y'all Ü
---------------------------

We are all great here. We love living in Florida and are blessed with a wonderful church family -- that is really like family to us :) Tony enjoys his job (still with the SSA, he's the manager of the Marianna office).

We are still homeschooling and loving every minute of it! Caleb (17, grade 12) loves astronomy and got a telescope for his birthday. He is also very interested in and studies a lot of Creation apologetics.

Molly (15, grade 10) is very interested in photography. She and Sam have a photography blog (http://www.samollyphotography.blogspot.com/) and have sold several of their photographs. They have also each won several awards for their photographs. Molly is a delight to me, she is my left arm :)

Sam (age 13, grade 8), in addition to his enjoyment of photography is quite the bird lover. He enjoys watching and photographing them and is working on a little 'hideaway' spot for bird viewing. He is the 'go-to' guy for messy jobs and he, Molly and Caleb take care of all the critters on our little farm.

Luke (age 11, grade 6) is an avid reader (as were the older boys at his age) and just informed me that he read The Hobbit last night before bed. He's going to have one long book report due tomorrow! LOL He is such a blessing and an 'in the flesh' miracle to so many who prayed for him after the accident.

MaryVance (age 9, grade 4) loves school! She's a great big sister to 'all those little boys' :) She loves all things crafty and has a very tender heart for the elderly.

Elijah (age 7, grade 2) is the boss the the little boys! He loves to direct their dress-up / imaginative play and is very creative. He also loves to draw and is quite the little artist.

Isaac (age 5, grade K) is tender-hearted and loving. He goes along with Elijah's plans (most of the time!) and enjoys school and playing.

Joseph (age 3) is the first boy about whom I would say "he is all boy"... I never understood that phrase until now. LOL He is on full-steam ahead All Day Long. He is so much fun and I enjoy his energy and antics so much.

Nehemiah (age 1) is just such a fun, happy little boy. He is talking so much, he loves Daisy (our dog) and he's the first child who looks like me (for whatever that is worth... lol)

We are very active and involved in our church and homeschool community here. God has blessed us so much! I am pretty good about keeping my blog updated (http://www.tonyanddanalewis.blogspot.com/)... not so good about keeping our website updated (http://www.tonyanddanalewis.com/). Molly is good about keeping her blog updated (http://www.lewischildren.blogspot.com/). We also have a couple of home businesses that keep us all hopping.
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I hope you enjoyed that little blurb and learned something 'new' about our family Ü. We do love to have company and love to open our home to others. If you are ever going to be traveling down/up this way please let us know!!

MeMo and "SeeSee"

2009-12-15T09:10:00.003-06:00

Can you see those new choppers? Ü
Nehemiah loves, LOVES, Daisy!
He says 'Daisy' like he's saying 'See See'.

She's sooo good with him!

LOVE...

No! No, no licking the dog!

A little snuggle time ... taking a break from reading...

Back to the story... it's a good one!

Nehemiah loves books. He will sit for the longest just looking at books. And he loves to be read to... he has such a long attention span for books!

A little more snuggling...

A new ice cream flavor...

2009-12-11T10:45:00.001-06:00

In honor of the 44th President of the United States , Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream has introduced a new flavor: " Barocky Road " Barocky Road is a blend of half vanilla, half chocolate, and surrounded by nuts and flakes. The vanilla portion of the mix is not openly advertised and usually denied as an ingredient. The nuts and flakes are all very bitter and hard to swallow. The cost is $100.00 per scoop. When purchased it will be presented to you in a large beautiful cone, but then the ice cream is taken away and given to the person in line behind you. You are left with an empty wallet and no change, holding an empty cone with no hope of getting any ice cream. Are you stimulated?

A surprising ad...

2009-12-09T15:36:00.001-06:00

from Dockers!
And I heartily agree with Chautona's blog post about this!
http://paradoxology.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/i-may-become-brand-loyal/#comment-1384

Laugh for the day...

2009-12-07T09:42:00.001-06:00

This just completely Cracks.Me.Up!

if you don't normally check Molly's blog...

2009-11-16T11:32:00.001-06:00

do it now :)
http://www.lewischildren.blogspot.com/

New Blessing Pictures!

2009-11-16T11:21:00.001-06:00

Aren't they precious... each and Every One of them!!

Thank you Lord!

Fall Portraits

2009-11-04T21:45:00.001-06:00

Caleb Rains - 16

(He'll be 17 on Nov. 7th!)

Molly Elizabeth - 15

Samuel Locke - 13

Luke Anthony - 11

MaryVance - 9

Elijah Jack - 7

(Notice he's missing his first tooth! You can hardly see it, on the bottom, see that little black hole? :-D)

Isaac Jonathan - 5

Joseph Timothy - 3

Nehemiah Nissley - 1

"What He Must Be" food for thought from chapter 4

2009-10-29T11:37:00.002-05:00

This chapter is about the first requirement: He must be a follower of Christ. Baugham asks "What does it mean to be a Christian? ... Let us focus on three key aspects of conversation. For the sake of convenience, I have placed them in the following categories: regenerate, repentant, and reformed."

The word "reformed" always takes me aback a little. It always makes me think of 'reformed theology' but it, of course, has many other meanings. In the section where Dr. Baugham explains the point of "reformed" he states the following:

Beyond being regenerate and repentant, a true Christian man is reformed. Perhaps the most famous assertion of this truth came from the pen of the apostle Paul. He wrote, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Any man who has truly been converted will inevitably bear the marks of that conversion in the form of a changed life.

This is not to say that the man will no longer have struggles or rough edges. It is, however, to say that there will be fruit. No good tree will bear bad fruit. True conversion produces true changes. John captures this beautifully in his first epistle:

No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this is it evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3: 9-10)

Wayne Grudem, commenting on this passage, helps draw the fine line between the appropriate expectation of a reformed life and the unreasonable expectation of a perfected life. He writes:

Here John explains that a person who is born again has that spiritual "seed" (that life-generating and growing power) within him, and that this keeps the person living a life free of continual sin. This does not of course mean that the person will have a perfect life, but only that the pattern of life will not be one of continuing indulgence in sin.

"What He Must Be" tidbit from chapter 3

2009-10-29T11:32:00.003-05:00

This book is so good. It's making me think about things I've never thought about before. It's making me think of things in a whole new way...

Quote from Tim Keller:
There is, in the end, only two ways to read the Bible; is it basically about me or basically about Jesus? In other words, is it basically about what I must do, or basically about what he has done? If I read David and Goliath as basically giving me an example, then the story is really about me. I must summons up the faith and courage to fight the giants in my life. But if I read David and Goliath as basically showing me salvation through Jesus, then the story is really about him. Until I see that Jesus fought the real giants (sin, law, death) for me, I will never have the courage to be able to fight ordinary giants in life (suffering, disappointment, failure, criticism, hardship).

Qualities Necessary to Assume the Role of a Christian Husband

2009-10-26T12:04:00.005-05:00

I'm reading a really good book right now (more about it in a bit). I wanted to write out part of it here and insert the verses that are referred to by the author.

"I believe God has spoken rather decisively in his Word about what our daughters should look for. Moreover, I believe there are some non-negiotables that our daughters must be looking for. There are some things a man simply must be before he is qualified to assume the role of a Christian husband.

For instance, he must be a Christian -- 2 Corinthians 6:14 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"
He must be committed to biblical headship -- Ephesians 5:23 "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body."
He must welcome children -- Psalm 137:3-5 "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."
He must be a suitable priest -- Joshua 24:15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
He must be a suitable prophet -- Ephesians 6:4 "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
He must be a suitable protector -- Nehemiah 4:13-14 "Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the LORD, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses."
He must be a suitable provider -- 1 Timothy 5:8 "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel." Titus 2:5 "To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed."

A man who does not possess -- or show strong signs of -- these and other basic characteristics does not meet the basic job description laid down for husbands in the Bible.

The book is titled "What He Must Be... If He Wants to Marry My Daughter" by Voddie Baucham Jr. This book is not only about what women should look for in a marriage partner but also about what men have to be. It is written to fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. It's about legacy... multigenerational legacy -- how to recognize it and how to Change It!

Nehemiah's 1st birthday pictures

2009-10-20T23:19:00.004-05:00

Look at him standing up!
Sam and I (Molly) took him outside to get his 'official' birthday pictures,we only got a few before it started raining...

Isn't he adorable?!?

His birthday cake...

Looking at his book that Mama made him...

He really likes it!

LOL!! This is a toy snake Luke and MaryVance gave him... I think he was pretending to be a puppy in this picture! :-)

Nehemiah's last day as an 11 month old

2009-10-06T09:59:00.003-05:00

Nehemiah's new "trick"... he's a puppy!

I love how he squenches up his nose!

Look at those little toofers!
And those long eyelashes!

And his whiney face... it's cute now but it won't be so cute in a year! Ha ha ha

Look at his top gums... those teeth are about ready to PoP through!

Voila! My sweet Nehemiah. He's ONE today.
Birthday pics coming soon.

Nehemiah's Birthday Gifts

2009-10-05T13:36:00.006-05:00

My sweet, scrumptuous, adorable baby will be ONE tomorrow.

Here's a sneak peak of his birthday gifts.
I was going to title this "My Family Loves Me" but Tony suggested this title instead, so we could have his name on the front.

This is all sewn, made of fabric and has lots of texture too!

A closeup of the shapes that fit in the shape pocket.

This is an "I Spy" bag. It's filled with over 40 tiny things that you have to find. It's really a little advanced for Nehemiah but I wanted to make it so I did :)

The back has a vinyl pocket and laminated tag with a photo of all the things in the bag.

Caleb's Woodworking ~ Spatulas for sale

2009-09-25T12:09:00.004-05:00

Aren't they pretty?!
Caleb makes these by hand using Red Oak.

They are sanded very smooth and finished with food grade mineral oil.
$10 each
Just email me if you want one or fifteen or whatever -- LOL
dana@tonyanddanalewis.com
Thanks!

Home Tour Continued ~ Our Living Room

2009-09-22T09:51:00.006-05:00

A while back I started doing a 'Home Tour'....

During our 'spring cleaning' this week I worked on a way to display the children's artwork and photography and I wanted to share those pics with you. I also realized I never posted a 'After' picture of the Home Reserve Furniture so here goes...

The bookshelves are along the back wall of the living room.
Standing in the doorway from the back porch this is to your right.

and from the same point, this is to your left.

The huge, useless, monstrosity of a fireplace that I wish would just disappear overnight! I could sure use that square footage!

I just finished the top photo collage. It needs to be rehung higher but I just used a nail that was already there. I wanted to have photographs of the children's grandparents where they could see them often.

On the cabinet, L to R: Aunt Louise, my maternal grandfather's parents on their wedding day, Matt with Jenn and Landon, and a photo from our wedding with our parents (before the divorces).

In the frame, clockwise:

My mom with her red-haired grands, Elijah and Molly, Tony's grandmother, Grandma Alma and Grandpa Lonnie (Nissley), me and my dad, Tony's dad, Tony's mom and step dad and in the center Aunt Louise and Uncle Max.

Over the short end of the sectional.

I wanted to display the children's artwork and photography.

I really like how this turned out!

Here's a closer shot.

I have such talented children!
The view from the dining area.

The view from the hallway.

I hope you enjoyed your tour! Please stop by sometime, kick off your shoes and snuggle up on the sectional... MaryVance will bring you your favorite drink and we can visit!

Joey-isms, part one

2009-09-18T10:45:00.003-05:00

Joey had his head in my lap and he was upside down to my face.
He said "I am upside down!"
Then he turned right side up and said "I am upside up now!"

Hahahaha!

Matt & Jennifer's Reaffirmation Ceremony

2009-09-14T12:05:00.001-05:00