Making a House a Home

Christmas song?
My favorite Christmas hymn is "What Child is This?" My favorite Christmas non-hymn song is "Joseph's Song" by Michael Card.


Tradition?
Each year when we decorate our Christmas tree, we eat Cranberry Chicken. We also watch "The Nativity Story" and drink eggnog. Yum!!!!!


Favorite gift as a child?
Well, I don't remember actually receiving him (I was too young) but I DO know that I got my Teddy for Christmas- my first Christmas to be exact!! I still have my dear Teddy, so he's definitely my favorite Christmas gift!!!


Christmas meal?
Well, it's a toss up between Cranberry Chicken and the Christmas Day meal at my parents' house.


Cookie?
Cookie? As in SINGULAR?? I have to choose ONE????? YIKES!!! Okay... wait... this is my blog, so I can choose more than one, right???? I choose Gingerbread Men, Extra Spicy Gingersnaps and Cranberry Orange Cookies. OH MY!!!


Place to be?
With my family. :)


Memory?
Playing games with my family on Christmas Day after all the gifts were opened and all the food was eaten.


Christmas movie?
The Nativity Story and It's a Wonderful Life.

And here's our Christmas tree this year.

(If you click on the tree photo, you can see that the lights look like little stars! How pretty!!!)

Guess what, y'all? I just discovered that Adagio Teas has a $5 gift certificate for YOU to use toward YOUR purchase of tea!!

So for any of y'all that missed out on the tea giveaway, feel free to enter your email address and Adagio will send you a $5 gift certificate!! And with it being so cold in some areas of the US, tea would be a great Christmas gift for someone you love OR a gift for you!!

Pancakes

4 cups all purpose flour
4 T sugar
8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
4 cups milk
8 T cooking oil (I use light olive oil)

Combine all ingredients until combined. Onto your hot, lightly greased griddle, pour about 1/3 cup of batter. Cook about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

This recipe makes a lot of pancakes. We make extra and freeze them.






Homemade Syrup

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
2 T molasses
2 t butter flavoring
1 t maple flavoring
1 t vanilla flavoring

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT vanilla in a sauce pan. Bring ingredients to a rolling boil, remove from heat and cool completely. Once cooled, stir in vanilla.

My family prefers this syrup over any store-bought syrup.

Oh y'all!! We had these for breakfast Saturday morning and they were DELICIOUS!!

I got the recipe from Pioneer Woman. She said they make 12 muffins, but I made 18 of them. You can click on the link to PWs French Breakfast Puffs to see her exact recipe. Below it is written with a few changes I made.


French Breakfast Puffs

3 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 sticks butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 18 muffin cups. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside. In a different bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening, then add eggs and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Fill prepared muffin cups 1/2 full. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden. In a bowl, melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter, coating thoroughly, then coat with cinnamon-sugar mixture.


We found that these tasted BETTER after they had cooled for about an hour.

I am sure y'all will enjoy them, too! Happy eating!!

Oooh! I always get SO excited when Mr. U brings in the mail and a new catalog from Victorian Trading Company arrives! They have some lovely, feminine Victorian items in there!!

You can be sure to find me with the catalog and a cup of tea while I enjoy the catalog!

I truly want to thank all of you VERY kind and thoughtful fellow bloggers who think enough of my little blog to give me a blogging award!! Y'all are FAR TOO KIND!!!!! Unfortunately, though, I cannot accept them. Truly, if there is anything good or encouraging about my blog, it isn't because of me- it is only because of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

So for anyone that has given me an award lately and you haven't heard me from, this is why. I cannot accept something which I did not earn.

All awards can be directly given to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

Blessings, y'all!!!

Elizabeth's FAVORITE food is apples. Specifically RED apples (yes, she actually tells me that). We had a ton of apples that some friends brought us back from a trip to North Carolina. So, what did we do? Make applesauce, of course!!

Now, I've made applesauce before and it's always been good. Each time I peel, core and chop them and then boil them until tender. Then, I'll mash them up and add all the normal applesauce seasonings. Always YUM is the result.

This time, though, I was wondering if you could roast the apples in the oven first. A quick visit to Google led me to Well Fed. I followed the recipe...almost.

Oven Roasted Applesauce

8 good sized RED apples (for Elizabeth, you know)
1/4 cup apple cider
6 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 T lemon juice (yes, the stuff in the bottle)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of Kosher salt

Peel, core and chop all apples and place them in a 9x13 pan. In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients well. Pour over apples and toss to coat. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes until apples are very tender. Let cool 10 minutes and then start mashing them for chunky applesauce or process them in the blender, food processor or with a stick blender until desired consistency is reached.


WARNING: This is REALLY REALLY delicious and will NOT last long in your home!!!!!

(Sorry, no pics of this. We ate it very quickly!! YUM!!!)

Dear blogging friends,

HELP!!! I made a very delicious macaroni and cheese today, but it made TOO much! Do any of y'all know if I can freeze this? And does it reheat well, if so??

I use the recipe for Homemade Mac and Cheese from Allrecipes, but, of course, I changed it up a bit. Instead of cheddar and parmesan cheeses, I used extra sharp cheddar, mozzarella and Swiss cheese!! I also added a couple of sprinkles of dry mustard, a pinch of salt and some white pepper, too. OH MY!! It is very tasty!!

Now, PLEASE, is there any hope? Will I have to throw it away and lose it??

His,
Mrs. U

Today is Show & Tell over at Kelli's blog, There's No Place Like Home.



This is one of my favorite teapots. How CUTE is this little lady!?!

I got this teapot a few years ago from my Secret Sister at church. She knew I was collecting teapots, so she kindly gave me this adorable little girl!!

Here's the back view of the teapot. I love how her pigtail is the pouring spout!!

And just look at this! The teapot lid is actually her dainty pink hat!!

Thank you for visiting with me today for my Show & Tell. Be sure and head over to Kelli's for more fun!!

If anyone is hoping for a sweet, encouraging blog post, stop reading here. This is simply a post of me ranting and needing HELP!!! :)

Once again, I am having troubles with Photobucket. I upload the photos from my computer to Photobucket and then transfer them to my blog. But for the past month or so, when I take the photos from Photobucket to my blog, they are SUPER DUPER HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY?????? And, unless I resize them to teensy tinsy, they will NOT fit on my blog posts (they will be too wide and HUGE!)!!!!!!

Grrrrr......

And I've tried Flickr, as well. But I have YET to get a photo to upload with them. Each time Flickr has the message that it didn't upload and to try again. Ridiculous.

This is seriously getting on my nerves. I would LOVE to be able to share things here on my blog, but I can NOT figure out how to get the photos loaded properly.

Does anyone have any kind of suggestion???

Oh ladies!! I just read about being a Ruby Rebel and I had to share it with you!!

Here's some of what Kelly has to say about it...

Another thing about rare jewels...jewels are rare because there are not in abundance, but also because they have to be "hewn out" of the rock around them. They have to be chipped out, polished, chiseled on and perfected. You don't just stumble upon a ruby that is perfectly formed and sparkling. It must endure some work.

So what kind of wife are you? Do you desire to be a rare jewel? I know I do! I want my marriage to be quite uncommon from the world's view of marriage. I want to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in all things and that includes in the area of being a wife and living that out according to Scripture.

Have I arrived? Nope. Do I mess up? Daily. Wait. No. Make that hourly. But I still desire for the Lord to polish and chisel me into His image- not the world's image.

So ladies, are YOU a Ruby Rebel? If so, how do you daily live out the Scriptural commands for a wife?

After running errands yesterday, I arrived home to find these flowers!!! A sunny, sweet surprise from my son, Joshua!! What a sweetheart!!!!

In the comments of the post "Staying Home is Not a Waste of Time if You Don't Waste it", this question was asked by Exhausted SAH Mom...

I just have to ask whether the owner of this site and those who post here have always felt this love toward staying home and homemaking.

I have to admit that this was not what I had planned for my life and I do not always deal well with it.

Where I live, people do not drop by, ever. It's hard to get someone to come over by invitation. Everyone is so busy that they have no time, even within the Christian homeschool group I am in.

I would love to find someone to talk to. I need to move from being here because I have to be (long story) to where I am at least content with being here at home.

Dear wife and mother!! If there were a way for me to come and sit down with you and talk for a while, I definitely would!! I am definitely sending (((((hugs))))) your way as I am writing this.

My entire life, all I ever wanted to be was a wife, mother and teacher- a homemaker. Marrying my husband and adopting his children made me an instant wife and mother!! Then the Lord led us to homeschool and I was a teacher! The Lord definitely blessed me!!

The main reason that I wanted to be a homemaker was because I grew up watching my mother as a homemaker. If you were to sit down with her today and ask her what she did to become such a wonderful homemaker, she would probably laugh and say that she was far from that description. I saw differently, however. I saw a lady that loved her husband and loved her children. I saw a lady that chose to be with us instead of doing her own thing. She chose to serve our family and she had JOY when she did it!! When the Lord saved me when I was in college, He gave me an ever stronger desire to love and nuture my future family. Today, I am blessed to be able to do just that.

You mentioned that no one drops by and that you have no one to talk to. Please know that what I am saying is NOT meant to be cruel, but are you approachable? What does the countenance on your face look like to others? Do you look unhappy? If the answer to any of these is yes, may I suggest that you put on a friendly face the next time you are headed to your Christian homeschool group? Perhaps that would help draw new friends to you (or I could be FAR off.. .if so, please forgive me.).

You also mentioned that staying home is not something that you always planned for your life, that you don't always deal with it well, and that you "have" to be home. It seems as if you see yourself as "stuck" in this situation. If you are a Christian, please pray and ask the Lord to help change your attitude in this area. You are only as "stuck" as you decide to be. The Lord has given you children and He has you at home for His glory- not for your happiness. BUT when you pour your heart out to the Lord and lean on His understanding, He will make His desires YOUR desires as well!! His ways and His thoughts are SO much higher than ours!

Again, dear friend, I could be SO far off with my words here. I do wish I knew more of your situation. But what I DO know is that the Lord knows all about it. I definitely pray that He will give you wisdom and peace in this area.

Dear readers, please feel free to share advice and wisdom with this mother. Perhaps some of you have been in a similar situation? Perhaps some of you have friends or family that the Lord has given them joy to be at home? Please share as the Lord gives His you wisdom about this.

"Just one night a month, I have to get away from my kid. I don't care if other kids are there at the get-together or not. I don't have to take care of other kids. I just have to get away from my kid one night a month."

No, this is NOT a made up quote. I actually heard this out of the mouth of a new mother today. Her sweet baby girl is only 3 months old and already she just has to get away from her.

Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Does anyone else see this as selfish??? If children are truly a gift from the Lord (and He says they are in Psalm 127:3), then why do so many mothers today get tired of that gift?

It just broke my heart this afternoon to hear this. Just yesterday, Joshua was 10 years old and he will be 21 next month. Just yesterday, Elizabeth was a tiny little 9 1/2 month old who could do nothing for herself and today she is 2 1/2 and thinks she can do EVERYTHING all on her own. Children are young only once and only for such a short period of time. Mothers, do not let that time slip by. Surely you can set yourself and your desires to the side for a few years.

New mothers- Yes, it can be very hard adjusting to life with a new little one. May I encourage you to find a godly, older mother who has already raised a few children? Seek her out and ask her advice. Share your heart with her. Cry if you need to. She will understand and help you put things into perspective and she'll be able to give you invaluable advice.

Older mothers- Please be aware of the new mothers around you. Just because your children aren't babies anymore, it doesn't mean that you are finished with that age. The Lord has given you wisdom to share with the new mothers. Wisdom that only time and experience can teach. The new mothers might not want new advice at first, but stick around- they will be SO happy that you are close by for advice and help!!!

Tonight is our monthly Ladies Fellowship at church. The theme? Thanksgiving dinner. YUM!! Ladies could each volunteer to take a dish and I volunteered for corn pudding. Not just any corn pudding, mind you, but Ina Garten's to-die-for Sagaponack Corn Pudding. Delightful. For that matter, anything that Ina Garten makes is delightful!!!!

Today has been just a typical day around here. Errands this morning, lunch with friends at our regular Monday pizza place, laundry this afternoon and a nap for Miss Elizabeth. Well, she was SUPPOSED to nap, but, well, that's not happening today. The life of a 2 1/2 year old, huh? :)

Fall seems to be more colorful than ever around here. The trees are SO pretty!!! Just look at the lovely yellow and the blue, blue sky!!!!



Have a happy Monday, y'all!!

(Sorry for the extremely large photo again!! I am at odds with either blogger or photobucket- I've yet to determine who the culprit is!!!!!)

Charree is having a "Happy Fall Giveaway"!! Y'all be sure and visit her and sign up for her giveaway!!

While you're at it, check out her post about Caramel Apple Goodies!! They look pretty AND delicious!!!

Last week when I shared about making Pumpkin Butter, I forgot to tell y'all about roasted pumpkin seeds!!!

Once you have cleaned out the inside of your pumpkin, place all the insides of the pumpkin (pulp and seeds) in a collander and rinse them well. The seeds will still be sticky, but that's okay. Place the seeds on a cookie sheet and leave them alone for about 24 hours to dry. Do NOT put the seeds on a paper towel (trust me on this) because they will STICK LIKE CRAZY!! Just let them sit on the cookie sheet and they will be nice and dry the next day.

The following day, I drizzled them with some olive oil and sprinkled them with some salt and tossed them around to coat each seed. Bake the seeds in a 325 degree oven for about 35 minutes, until they are toasty brown and make sure that you stir them around every 10 minutes or so to make sure they brown pretty evenly. Once they came out of the oven, I sprinkled a little garlic powder and seasoning salt on them and BOY were these tasty!!! I stored these in an air-tight container and they stayed crispy for about 5 days.

I will definitely make these again!!