Apples in Abundance

"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." -- Jane Austen

Apple Crescent

1 pack of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

1 Can Apple Pie Filling (we cut the apples smaller to fit)

Cinnamon & Sugar Sprinkle

(we added caramel sauce too)

Roll up all those ingredients into the crescent and bake about 12 minutes at 325 degrees. 

The can of pie filling went farther than I thought, you could actually use 2 packs of rolls and still have enough filling. I already snuck a taste since it's for tonight's dessert, it's marvelous. Vanilla ice cream will be on the side.

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits." -- Henry David Thoreau, Wild Apples

"We are born believing. A man bears beliefs as a tree bears apples." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree." -- Martin Luther

We've been enjoying our apples lately, that's for sure. Ella made the art pre-school that is pictured up top, and the two pictured here, were made by Peter and Ella for a friend's birthday. My kids would pick apples over most fruit. I believe I would too. They go with Peanut Butter, Caramel, Chocolate, Cool Whip, and they even compliment meat. We put them in oatmeal. We put them in pies. This week we enjoyed them wrapped in dough with cinnamon ice cream-the ever loving DUMPLING!! They are a symbol for lots of people. Teachers, History, "An apple a day keeps (insert whomever you want) away,"  and the idea that there are 3 parts (skin, flesh, core) but only 1 apple (the Trinity). In the end, they're good for a number of things, even as stamps. 

Target did well with their new kitchen towels. Since Ella is learning so much about apples in school this month, I figured I would, you know, reinforce the idea at home. Wink.

Enjoy the apple!

Weapon of Mass Destruction

"It's an intense start to the day when you bring your third born downstairs to find that your first born has literally beat your second born with a tube of Go-Gurt. Unfortunately, it popped open and there was proof of her frustration in his hair, on his clothes, and all over the floor and chair. As I was wiping it off his head, I started laughing at the site it must have been and the fact that his hair was full of pink goo. You can't be serious all the time..."

 

This was the status the other day on my Facebook. It was no joke and I am still hearing about this incident from my boys. Ella would just as soon forget about it. She says, "I've already told this story too many times." When the kids ate Go-Gurt today, John said, "Dodurt, Bubba's hair!" Well, he didn't have any in his hair today and Ella was banned from tubed yogurt for 2 days. She's eating it the way most people do. From a bowl with a spoon. What a concept. I started buying the healthier kind of Go-Gurt by the way, just in case you think I bomb my kids with sugar first thing in the morning. Anyway, my mom called and said she wished I had a video camera copy of this war with pink goo. I have to say, I wish I did too. The story from Peter, was that he thought she was going to eat 2 tubes and Ella says she was just going to put it away. She got so mad that he was accusing her of something that she just started hitting him. So in the end, one tube ended up wasted anyway!! It was everywhere. I'm not even kidding. It was like my kitchen was a canvas with Go-Gurt as the paint. Oh and Peter too. He was also the canvas. The look on his face when he met me at the kitchen door with his head covered in slime was one I will probably not forget for quite a while. He didn't know whether to cry, laugh, or head for the bath. At that point I really thought it was just on him. Until I rounded the island and saw the destruction. How could that little tube possibly hold this much yogurt and still have more left? Who knows. I spent the first 15 minutes of my morning not getting breakfast for the kids, but getting breakfast off one of them, as well as the chairs, floor, and table. Not the best way to start the day, but looking back and seeing the scene in my head makes me chuckle. I did not give Peter a bath. His hair was sticky and smelled like fruit for the rest of the day. That's one way of smelling good I guess.

Today was a "Make Muffins" kind of day. 

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't have anywhere I have to be in the morning, so I like to make special things to eat since we have the time. I picked up some mini-muffin papers with pumpkins on them at Wal-Mart and thought it would be fun to use them for Banana Muffins. Today I added some extra Cinnamon Sprinkle in them and they were super yummy!

This is how I feel lately.

Having fun with Fall decor even though it was 80 degrees yesterday and we prematurely took our AC units down last week.

I love birds. I love watching my kids watch birds. 

I love that God talks about them in the Bible, how much He cares for the sparrow...He cares for us even more. I have a few of them around my house, maybe more than a few.

The windows are wet with drops. Which means it's raining here again. This is not really something we need right now. The kids are making the most of it today by watching the "Elf" movie and having snack together. They are already thinking "Crimpmass"and we haven't even done Halloween or "Fanksgiving" yet. I'm just ready for it to cool off. The garden is put to rest. The toys are about to get cleaned out of our backyard, and I am excited to buy pumpkins this weekend!!  

The Good

This boy is going to be a GOOD daddy someday.

This cup is a GOOD size for some GOOD beverages when I have GOOD children.

This is my GOOD man who has, for 2 years, sarcastically asked me if every beanie I made was for him. The answer was always nope, until now. I finally knit him his hunter orange tuque. (That's canadian for beanie). I think he looks GOOD in it, and I hope to have some GOOD deer jerky this fall.

This is what the GOOD man brought me the other day. GOOD job.

These are my GOOD children playing happily. It was a GOOD morning.

This is GOOD book that I am really into right now. 

This is another GOOD book I'm starting.

Here are some of my GOOD friends at the baby shower where we all had a GOOD time.

Bon Nuit. 

That's French for GOOD night.

Flood Aftermath

Despite the fact that most of this area has been able to resume normal daily life, there are many who are still in the middle of recovering from the flood 2 weeks ago. We took a drive through Bloomsburg, about 8 miles from us, a town hit so hard by the flood, they will not be able to have the state fair that was going to start this weekend. I had the most intense feeling of guilt as we drove by the destroyed homes and saw people's belongings strewn about on the sidewalk. I thought, I am so glad that did not happen to us and at the same time my stomach was in knots knowing that it happened to them. Those were the homes we drove by on a weekly basis and every time I would think, "I love those old houses, they are so cute." At Christmas they always had them decorated so nicely. To see them in shambles, surrounded by cement, bricks, broken wood, glass, and mud was something I could not have even imagined. A family from our church owns one of them and there have been people helping clean it out. Andrew wishes he wasn't so busy so he could help out more. We just gave away bags of things to a family who lost their home with a 2 year old daughter and baby twin boys. Ella and Peter were so understanding and trust me, there's more I could pull out if it was needed. At times when people are hurting and needy, we are so willing to run and help, to give our things away, give up our time and money. I just wish that I could have that on my heart and mind at ALL TIMES.  Keeping my eyes out for someone struggling, my ears out for someone who needs encouragement, and my hands willing to serve even when there isn't a natural disaster. It may sound cliche', but this encounter with water has really changed a lot of people, myself being one of them. I hope it doesn't wear off over time, but it makes me think about all the things that matter, how much God has provided for my family, and how I need to care less about things of this earth. 

These are the fences to the fair grounds. Caked in debris as a reminder of how high the water was.  The road in front of the entrance, was literally folded over on top of the grass. They're still working to repair the second lane.

The white home knocked off it's foundation and turned sideways from the water. The chimney on the blue house crumbled off the side.

Along the road on both sides, the fronts of the homes look like this. Some are for sale, others are just left to be. 

Another home knocked off itself. Pardon the car, this was taken from the van window. 

If you have ever had anything flood or kept something wet for too long, you understand the smell that lingers. This whole road smells of "wet." I can't really describe it to it's fullest extent, we just tried to take pictures as we drove. This is only one street, most of the town was under water, we just haven't made it out that far yet.

Lumberjack, Delivery Boy, and the Star of the Week.

This week so far the weather has been nice and we have had our share of time outdoors. It has also meant that things inside aren't getting done as efficiently, but today I caught up on a lot of that. We have been going through our house getting things together to donate to families who lost their homes in the flood. I am surprised at the kids' heart for helping sometimes. Ella is actually giving away her doll house. Understand that she didn't play with it as much as I would have hoped, but I didn't really think it would be willingly given. She told Peter, "I'm giving this for a girl who lost her toys in the flood." I'm so thankful and proud of her. She even helped me fold laundry today. I'm not ready to give her complete responsibility of this, but she does a really good job with the small clothes. Peter has very recently started playing on his own and using his imagination more. I peek my head in his room sometimes just to hear the stories he's telling his cars and trains. Yesterday outside, he was taking a load of flowers to the "flower hotel" to deliver them. I had to take pictures of him because he was so content to pretend. John is all over the place right now, in a good way. When it's time to eat, he gets in his chair. Time for nap, he grabs his blanket and gets upstairs. He talks like crazy and repeats everything the other 2 say, especially if they're laughing. He comes in the kitchen and says, "Mama, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeese SIT DOWN!" This means that he wants me to stop what I am doing, and hold him. I don't resist. This won't last forever. This is a busy week for us with preschool, MOPS that was rescheduled, a baby shower, and Andrew being on call again for the weekend. That is why today I was in my pajamas until 2pm cleaning, doing laundry, and sorting clothes. Even the kids were dressed and kept asking me when I was going to change out of my jams. I have been meaning to wake up before them again. I did well for about a week. Then I started staying up late reading again and at 6am, my eyes just say no. I need to work harder at this because my days are so much smoother when I get up on my own and don't spend time in my pajamas. That is my goal: go to bed earlier, get up earlier. Now to share some pictures from our afternoon outside. 

Introducing...

The Lumberjack

The Delivery Boy

The lumberjack helping delivery boy. 

Delivery boy who wished he was star of the week.

And the Star of the Week. For school Ella got to take the "ME " bag and share her favorite things and pictures. She filled it up with all kids of stuff. More than I actually knew about. Andrew brings home these funny little wallet sized cards from a patient who gives them out. They are mice, photographed posed in clothing and whatnot, with sayings on them. Think: Dinner for Schmucks. (if you've seen it) The lady is sweet and knows the kids love them, so she keeps giving us more. Well Ella shared them with her class and said, "Mom, it was funny, all the kids laughed." I'm sure they did.

I had to put this in, because I love this bucket. I got it when we first moved here from an antique store and the flowers in it are actually alive, unlike most of the other ones.

Ella wanted to take a picture of me after the flowers were "delivered".

Fall Craft

This was not a clean project by any means. 

When you take it upon yourself to let 3 small kids use paint to do just about anything, be aware that you and your surroundings may just end up a different color in the process. If I were to do this differently, the main thing I would do is: Not do it by myself. It was a lot of fun anyway, and the kids are still excited about seeing their hand print in paint hung on the wall. I used a 9x12 artist paper so that I can frame it. Michael's craft store carries that size now! 

I was given some vintage upholstery scraps a long time ago and I didn't know what I would do with them, but with my fun discovery of all the things you can do with MOD PODGE, I am finding my ways. I don't have a lot of Fall decor, and since it's one of my favorite seasons I figure I could use a few more festive things. With: One canvas, scissors, a fun idea, and the all purpose tacking wonder: Mod Podge, you too can make just about anything you want.

Heart Cookies for God

"But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." 

John 1:12

 I have always remembered the day I got baptized. I remember the day I stood in front of 10,000 teens and talked about sharing my faith. I wish for the life of me I could remember the exact moment I asked Jesus in my heart. I know it was at church around age 4 and I knew from then on I was going to heaven. Well, Ella may not remember the exact night she did it either, but I sure will.

 September 11, 2011. 

It was a special time last night having a conversation with my oldest child about whether or not she wanted to pray and have Jesus be her Savior. She said yes and understood so much more than I even expected. (Thank you Sunday School) I have said that prayer with kids at camp, friends, and even strangers in other countries, but I'm telling you, it was so special and amazing to pray with with my daughter. After we did, I told her we could make heart shaped cookies and celebrate tomorrow. 

So we did. 

Before our adventure with the cookies (which was super messy), Ella sat with Peter and I on the couch and asked him if he wanted to go to heaven. He promptly told her, "I am not READY to go to heaven." (Which, is the same thing Ella said 1 year ago when Andrew talked to her about heaven) Ella said, "Well, Peter, I asked God in my heart and I'm going to heaven, so is Daddy and Mommy, so you need to do that too." Peter told her, "No one is going to heaven right now and I am going to stay home and watch baseball." I started laughing at this point in the conversation. Peter then asked, "Is Goliath going to be there? Will God let Dave throw rocks at Goliath in heaven?" (He and David are on a nickname basis apparently) I told him no, that I didn't know if Goliath was going to be in heaven but David would be, and Peter could someday ask him about Goliath. How the conversation took this turn is only an act Peter could pull off. I told Ella, "Peter understands that Jesus loves him and that he died on the cross to take away our sin and that's what matters right now for Peter." He told her, "Yes Ella, I do know that." There we have it. While we made the cookies, the kids insisted that we save some for God. Peter said, "I think God likes cookies and he's probably baking some too right now." If heaven is full of wonderful things, then if I have my say, there will surely. be. cookies.

John is sharing his cookie with Peter.

Rainy Day Sewing

T-Shirt Scarf/Cowl

This is a fun idea for ways to use old t-shirts that are taking up too much room in the drawer.

I only ended up using 2 shirts for this project, but it turned out so fun that I just may use more and make them as gifts.

(You will have to pardon the setting for these pictures. It's dark outside, kids are finally in bed, and the kitchen is my craft room).

First, lay the shirt flat and measure about 4 inches wide from the edge. This is a raw-edged and very imperfect creation. Don't stress out about making lines perfect. I think it looks very fun with messed up edges. Cut both front and back with scissors up to the armpit of shirt. Then, the middle section will end up the longest of the sections. Use the other edge if you can. Cut off the seams and bottom of the shirt. I got about 6 pieces that were about 4x16 inches from each shirt, so a total of 12 (good math, eh?). This will vary depending on the size of shirt too.

As you can see, the edges are sewn right on top of each other. Not inside, just on top so both sides have edges sticking up. I had about a 1/2 inch overlap of the scraps. Some pieces weren't even the same size so don't worry about them matching perfectly.

It is very long, but when you sew the last edges together if you choose, you can wrap it once to start.

Then wrap it again for a long cowl look.

Or if you want to bunch it up, once you have it on and wrapped up a few times, make it a neck cowl by doing it again. This is so comfortable,  I might add. I did it with my kids awake which is a miracle, that's how quick and simple it was. 

Have fun!

Rest and Relief

Words cannot really express how thankful we are to be home and dry. The pictures of the flood have been heartbreaking. To know that there are many more towns affected even worse gives me pain in my stomach. We took a walk last night to see the height of the damage on our block. The sight of water up in people's homes just made me sad. Not just any water either. It smelled so bad, like paint and sewer. It was thick brown muck. Today, the water is down and still dropping even with the storm we had again last night. I woke up in the middle of the night to thunder so loud it made me jump in my bed and lightning so close I was certain would wake the kids. They assured me this morning that they slept through it. Thank goodness. We took a drive out of town today and crossed the bridges where we could see that the river is still about two rivers wide. It looks so terrible from above, a view we haven't had except in pictures. Coming back into town, we drove again by the street that was covered by water to see that it had finally gone down. There were dumpsters everywhere filled with soaked and muddy belongings. Curbs are overflowing with drenched furniture. The firetrucks are pumping water back over the levy where it leaked a bit. People are still walking around just in shock observing the devastation. It's so surreal. I don't think I will be able to pass by a newspaper or listen to an announcement about disaster and not be impacted to a higher degree than ever before. I was telling my sister that when you're in the middle of something like this, it makes you realize what's important in life. Not our stuff, not our home, but our family and our safety. Yes, it would have been so sad to lose things, but they are things, and that's all. We had a nice night with our friends (thank you Toepfers) and the kids were sad to pack up and come home. 

I have not been more thankful for my home than I am right now.

Heading Higher

 Just wanted to update with a bit of information. 

We are headed to a friend's house for the night because there is a slight possibility that our house could get affected by water. Our prayer is that it does not even come hear our street, but there's a chance. So, we've moved things up from the basement, Christmas decorations, hunting gear (of course), car seats, crafts, pictures, things that we can't replace or run through the washer. However, our water heater, furnace, freezer (full of fish), and other items will go unprotected for the next few days. This picture you see above now has water about 10 feet higher than it was here. Andrew took a bike ride around and saw that one of the houses we almost bought is surrounded by water and will have a house full by tomorrow.

 I sat on my couch today and thought about all the things we would lose if our basement and bottom floor flooded. I looked into my 2 year old kitchen and thought about how it would look covered in brown muck. I remembered the verse that talks about not storing our treasures here on earth, but in heaven. It means more to me now than ever before, that's for sure. I can only imagine what it's been like for those affected last week by the hurricane whose houses were really damaged and they lost everything. At least there is no wind, the rain has died down for now, and our biggest threat is the levy leaking or breaking. We are far enough from the river at this point to only have first floor damage. I'm praying this isn't even an issue.

 I have never been in a real disaster, and I thank God for that. I have been in earthquakes, around volcano eruptions, and close to fires in California, but preparing for a flood is beyond me. I spent today cleaning just so when we brought things up from downstairs it wouldn't add to the ongoing mess that my children create on a daily basis :). I scrubbed the bathroom just because it was dirty and dirty bathrooms make me want to gag. The kids are in the process of packing up their sleeping bags and I will get our things packed up along with some food to take over to our friend's house when I'm done typing.

 Thank you for your thoughts and prayers that have been expressed. Please pray for my friends that have been greatly affected already who live closer to the river. We will take another drive around this evening to check out the current state of our once peaceful little town. Andrew said there were field mice running through downtown trying to find higher ground. The wood chips that help our playground are floating like they're in soup. We are thankful for good friends who will house us and others who have offered. At this point all we can do it pray our house stays dry and just know that we will be safe up on the hill.