Family Camp!

It's family camp time again! I'm looking forward to hanging out with the nephews, enjoying the breezy weather, and maybe even collecting a few acorns. ;) Right now we're gathering our stuff together and preparing food. Since we are only coming for the daytime stuff, we're making our own food which will be fun. The list of snack jobs currently includes an apple pie and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (both regular and gluten free). Aimee and I are starting on those right now. Super yummy!

I hope to be back next week with some cute stories, great pictures, and a lot of acorns. ;)

Keep Your Rebekah’s Straight

Last summer, this test reading maniac was supremely blessed. One of my author friends, Rebekah Jones contacted me again and asked me to test read her newest project “24 Days Before Christmas”. It was a huge book, but since there was a generous deadline I accepted heartily.

A few weeks later, my other Rebekah—Rebekah Morris—contacted me with a test reading emergency. One of her test readers had to drop out at the last minute. Could I read her manuscript in two weeks? If I did, my review along with my name and my book’s name could be on the back of her fifth Triple Creek Ranch book. I was screaming over here with delight!! Of course I would do it!!!

You can imagine what it was like after that. Two novel-sized (at least) books to read in a month. Add to that the fact that both authors have the same first name and their email addresses start with the same letter. ; ) (I never mixed them up, though!) My family probably missed me; but, aided by my trusty tiny laptop, I finished the jobs. Rebekah Morris published her book on schedule (review will be here after the new year), and Rebekah Jones began the long editing process to get her book ready for Christmas time.

Rebekah Morris asked for my help again this autumn with a request for hand-drawn snowflakes for her newest project “Through the Tunnel”. My siblings and I experimented with several different ideas and finally got them to her. It was so fun to be able to help with yet another book! ; )

Now, to make the Tale of Two Rebekah’s even more confusing, their books both came out this last weekend in time for Christmas! I'd encourage you to check out Rebekah Jones’ mystery and Christmas story 24 Days Before Christmas. I plan on reviewing it here this December, so stay tuned! ; ) Also be sure to look at Rebekah Morris’ book Through the Tunnel and let me know what you think of it. I’m very anxious to read it myself. ; ) But remember, keep your Rebekah’s straight! ; )

And yes, this test reading maniac is currently working on another project. It's pretty fun. ; ) Have you ever been a test reader? 

We Gather Together

Wow, has this week been busy!! I am so grateful to have been able to spend time with my hilarious, Chick-fil-A loving, Hobby Lobby loving, music loving relatives. We had a great time singing Christmas carols together and making a ton of food in the kitchen. (I got to help out this year.) ; ) If you'd like to see a picture of the crazy crew, you can follow this link to our family blog.

Tons and Bunches: Happy Thanksgiving!: Happy Thanksgiving!!! All of Betsy's family came to town for a couple days, and we've enjoyed hanging out with  them while they...

I'd like to encourage you to listen to this sermon on thankfulness if you haven't already. ; )

Baking with Absolutely Nothing

We've had a wild weekend, so today is a catch-up day and a birthday celebration all in one. ;) I'll tell you all about it later, so for now I leave you with this adventure from a few weeks ago...

It all started when I decided I should try to bake something out of absolutely nothing. Well, not quite nothing. Just no eggs, no butter (or at least hardly any to speak of), no whipping cream, and no baking chocolate. I spent over an hour searching the internet for recipes that had the keywords “eggless”, “lemon”, and “cream cheese”. (It’s pretty rare for us to have cream cheese. The only reason we did was because I forgot we had some and didn’t use it on our bagels.) ; )

If you’re eggless you’re supposedly vegan, and they don’t use cream cheese. If you are using cream cheese, you’re probably going to make cheese cake; and you definitely need cream. And if you want to switch over from lemon to something with chocolate, you of course need baking chocolate.

For once, the internet had nothing. Nothing for my unique circumstances, that is. I did find a few recipes to save for later when we finally grocery shopped and it was the proper time between sweets again.

So I got very daring. I decided to make something up.

Cutting my precious loaf of cream cheese in half, just in case one of my experiments turned out super disgusting, I made a lemony-spready-thingy out of part of it. It didn’t turn out the bestest ever (baking gives me lapses in grammar); but what I did with the other half of the cream cheese turned out pretty amazing. Which is nothing short of a miracle, since I had nothing to go on; and I have a reputation of being a walking kitchen disaster.

Taking the other half of the cream cheese, I whipped it up in the blender with some powdered sugar, milk, and cocoa powder. (No baking chocolate!) It turned out really chocolate-y, and cream cheese-y, and lapses-in-grammar-y with just the perfect hint of sweetness. And my taste testers had very positive things to say. So far so good.

Then I got really creative. I’ve recently been drooling over a book on mini pies, so I immediately decided that this pudding stuff wouldn’t stay pudding stuff. I had been fortunate enough to find a few pie crust recipes that didn’t take oil (I was searching sour cream ones before I found out that the tub we had in the frig was two months out of code); but I also was advised by dear Mom that that wouldn’t be the right thing for the filling I had made. Think, think, think. No graham crackers. We buy those about as often as Shemitah and the blood moons line up.

We had some Nutter Butter cookies in the pantry which I decided would have to do, and I gleefully smashed them up with a rolling pin. Taking the half stick of butter left in the house (it wasn’t enough for anything else anyway), I mixed it with the cookie crumbs and a bit of powdered sugar into a gooey, icky-looking dough.

Don’t laugh, but I greased three spaces of our twelve count muffin tin (that’s all I could make!) and pressed the crust into it. After it had baked in the oven for a while, I took it out and was surprised to find that the crust had risen and completely filled up the muffin spaces. So much for filling. I really should have looked up how to do this. Doing the only thing possible, I smashed the middle of each down with a spoon while it was still hot and left them to cool until I felt I could take them out without breaking them.

They broke a little when I took them out; but that pleased the taste testers (who thought this part tasted good as well), and I was able to paste most of it back together with the filling. Carefully spooning in the filling so that the walls of cookie would not crumble, I admired my work and asked for a bit of Dad and Mom’s chocolate syrup for their coffee to drizzle on top. Now it looked like something real; not just crazy Kate’s unnamed experiment that might turn out to be a real treat or the new atom bomb.

I put it in the refrigerator until we ate it the next day. There was only three, remember? Perfect number for our family to divide up. Everyone ended up with an allotted piece, and the taste tasters were satisfied again. (There were even offers to buy the pieces that belonged to people who couldn’t eat them yet.) I was surprised, delighted, and blessed. I’ve ruined so many real recipes before (or at least almost ruined them) that who could have guessed a complete experiment would turn out so well?

I really enjoyed baking this dessert out of absolutely nothing (or almost nothing, anyway) and really enjoyed eating it. Next time, I’ll use all the cream cheese, more Nutter Butters, and possibly a mini muffin tin so the “recipe” stretches farther. And I’ll look up parbaking or whatever it’s called. ; )

Now, what do I do with that lemon frosting stuff? Hmm…

And isn’t amazing how God can orchestrate something as small as forgetting to use the cream cheese so that I had it later when I wanted to bake something?

My Bookshelf of Oddities and Amazingities (Part Two)

Hello again, it's me. I'm crazy. Book crazy. (That's the good kind.) ; ) Anyone else excited to see the rest of my book collection? ; )

The Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I’m collecting these, because I think every bookshelf should have ‘em. They are timeless. ; ) I don’t quite have the full series yet, but they’re everywhere so it’s coming. There are also a few “extra books” written by other authors in the spirit of the originals that I’d like to add to my collection too.

Dance at Grandpa’s

This is a picture book version of one of my favorite parts in Little House in the Big Woods. The paintings are so cute! ; )

Summer Days with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell

Another book I picked up because I was out of things to read and this one would be safe. ; ) Dad and Mom got it primarily for me at the one of the Maxwells’ conferences, but it was for me to share with my siblings. ; ) We all enjoy them, but there not our very favorites.

The Heavens Declare by Perry Willis

Yeah, I know. She’s Perry Kirkpatrick now. I have one of the old versions. Sister privileges. ; ) (It’s signed too.) It’s a really fun book!! You learn science without knowing you are which is always a good thing. ; )

Light of the World by Perry Willis

Sorry, old version too. ; P This one is similar to the first one in writing style, but this time there’s something of a mystery and an amazing Gospel presentation. ; ) I love it.

Pearl’s Practice by Perry Kirkpatrick

There we have it—now she’s married. Phew. This book is so cute!! It’s the only pro-life, pro-baby, pro-Christ one I’ve seen of its kind. I love it.

The Treasure Hunt by Kate Willis

Oh, my, that’s me! I’m so happy to have my own little book on the shelf (can you see it in the picture?), and I couldn’t be more grateful for the awesome people who’ve made this dream come true. ; )

Hank the Cowdog by John Erickson

I have two of these fabulously weirdly funnily interesting books. I have the first one, because it’s the first one. And I have Lost in the Blinded Blizzard because it is the best ever. (Except maybe the fishhook one and the tornado one.) You’ll never look at a dog the same after reading these. ; )

Along Came a Dog by Meindert Dejong

This book is really slow, as is usual of the author’s style, but I like it a lot for that reason. Charming story, especially since I remember Mom reading it aloud when I was really little. ; )

Man O’ War by Walter Farley

My favorite horse book is King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. That one and any other about an awesome horse always refers to their relative—Man O’ War. I was beginning to be frustrated that I had no idea what they were all talking about when I found this book at the thrift store. (Thrift stores are a bookaholic’s BFF.) It was really neat to finally know something about this famous horse, but I still think I prefer books about the Godolphin Arabian and Seabiscuit. ; )

The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

Our ancient church library was not always complete in their series I bought this book myself to see what happened next. We like this series a lot, but there can often be ghost “sightings” and slight attitude throughout. ; )

Adventures and Adversities by Sarah Holman

Oh, the wonders of the Homeschooled Authors booth! I found this there too. ; ) I’ve already reviewed it on here before, but it’s worth saying again—it’s awesome!! ; )

Before You Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally

This book—wow. Very helpful for the topic of boy/girl interactions and keeping a solid brain in Christ. My older sister gave me her copy when she got married. ; )

It’s (Not That) Complicated by Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin

I got this book last year with book money (from the year before’s birthday). My relatives are so nice to me. *sighs happily* This book most definitely goes on the list of “very favorites ever”. If the book I mentioned before goes far in being helpful, this one goes even farther! You might see me quote it on her sometimes as it deals with everything from sibling relationships to interactions with young men, from social media guidelines to contentment in Christ. It covers all the bases. Wowzers. (I would recommend this book for older teenagers, and the other one for the thirteen to sixteen age group.) ; )

Babywise by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam, M.D.

Ha, ha! You can tell that this is definitely one of the books I’m not using right now, but I’m sure it will be good for the future. It’s what Mom used with me! ; )

To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl

And this one too...no children to “train up” currently. ; )

Little Pilgrim’s Progress by Helen L. Taylor (not pictured because it’s on loan)

I love the story of Christian! Unfortunately, I’m not fluent in Middle English, so I really appreciate that this version is in regular English. ; ) It’s also awesome how in this version Christian is a child. Makes things a bit more relatable. ; ) I bought this book at a homeschool convention after enjoying my sister’s copy.

Evangelists in Chains by Elizabeth Wagler (also on loan)

Remember that Christmas I mentioned when I got the knock-knock joke book? This was my gift in the mail around New Years’. I love it so much!!! The whole theme of the story is “Our God, whom we serve, is able”. It will truly wow you and strengthen your faith! (And start some good discussions on non-conformity and non-resistance.) ; )

The Family Treasures Coloring Book by Breezy Brookshire

I love this!!! We all love it! Just enough detail and charm to be one of the good coloring books (that can keep even old people like me interested) without making it tedious to work on a picture. We especially love the family-centeredness of the scenes! ; )

Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith

I’ve screamed about this on here before, and I’m not hoarse yet so I’ll scream about it again. Take a tear-jerking story with Gospel overtones and hidden references to a true life tear-jerking story then have Breezy Brookshire illustrate it in full color. Yep.

Our Flag Was Still There by Tracy Michele Leininger (now Craven)

I love this story. And I love the pictures. One of the best patriotically-_geared books I’ve read.

Rosemary for Remembrance by Tasha Tudor

Mommy got me this gorgeous calendar treasury book for my birthday. I haven’t used it yet, but I love just looking and looking at the pictures. ; )

Large Family Logistics by Kim Brenneman

This book is awesome for now and awesome for later. I loved reading it for ideas, and I look forward to implementing it in my own household someday. One really excellent thing it did for me was to help me see motherhood as the exciting art, science, and ministry it really is. ; )

I’ve mentioned a few of the more notable books in my stack of sideways ones, but as you can see there are many more. If you were to browse through that part you’d find a knitting book, a Bible Bee workbook, picture books from my past and waiting for the future (though my little friends pull them out to enjoy once in a while), an old Highlights magazine (1975), full journals and empty ones, a book one of my little sisters made me, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”, and cds full of old family photos. I have my two ultimate favorite audio dramas on there too—“Sir Knight of the Splendid Way” and “The Last Battle”. It’s time to listen to those again. ; )

Over on my desk are a couple more books. They’re mostly there because they are the pretty ones, but also you can probably see that I’m running out of space. *grins sheepishly* *adds another book to that Amazon wishlist* I like my desk to be pretty (and cluttered with projects, but that’s beside the point), so these ones got to go on top.

Prayer Devotional Bible by God (and whoever wrote the devotions)

My Dad bought me this NIV Bible a while back because I’ve always had an interest in prayer warriors and intercession (and because it is really pretty). Unfortunately, I don’t use it much because our church uses NKJV for services. Maybe it’s time to switch back to it though, because my regular Bible is super beat up. ; )

Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W.E. Cule

Eeeeeek!!!!! I LOVE this one!!! It’s like a medieval (and you know I love medieval) version of Pilgrim’s Progress. Soooooo awesome!!! Life-changing. My Dad references “The Vision of the Face” when he’s encouraging us to keep our eyes on Christ. I can’t decide if it’s better in book or audio drama format—it’s probably better in both. ; ) A very favorite ever? Definitely. Very good birthday present.

The Lost Clue by O.F. Walton

Really great story! I don’t usually like the “our-main-character-is-the-long-lost-noble-something-of-wherever-and-that’s-the-reason-they-have-good-character” books. This book is half that and half not. (One of the only reasons it passed muster. The other reasons include a great mystery and a sweet Godly romance.) That “half not” part really made me love it. Marjorie is such an amazing character! She is really inspiring and encouraging. I love it. ; ) Another birthday present. Now I know why I was born—birthdays.

Comfortable Troubles by Elizabeth Prentiss

When you’ve enjoyed Stepping Heavenward and Aunt Jane’s Hero you naturally want more. I was so excited to see that Lamplighter Publishers had reclaimed another one of her books and even more excited to see it on the scratch and dent table at a homeschool convention. It came home with me, and I loved it as I did the others. In a way, it’s actually very different from them; but good all the same. I don’t tend to recommend it for younger readers, just in case they pick up on the wrong worldview the main character moves from.

So, that’s my bookshelf! Thanks for stopping by and bearing with my wanderings! ; ) If I know you in person, I’d love to loan you something; and, if I don’t, I’d love to meet you! ; )

What are your favorites? I’m not sure what mine are but you can judge that for yourselves from my descriptions. ; )

Thanksgiving Sermon

Since  it's finally handiwork weather, we've been listening to read-alouds and sermons. The height of fun. ; ) Here's my favorite sermon currently, especially applicable to Thanksgiving season. I hope you are as blessed by it as I was!

My Bookshelf of Oddities and Amazingities (Part One)

This weekend I've gotten to go with my family to help our aunt set up her yardsale (and do some awesome "pre-shopping"); help my siblings make a storm of snowflakes to go in this book; attend a concert by Sam Rotman; listen to a fabulous sermon on true religion (from the book of James); and yesterday I got to go celebrate Chap's birthday. ; ) So many blessed and blessing adventures!

One of the other blessings I've noticed recently, as I've gotten to loan out books to various friends from church, is just how overflowing my bookshelf is! So many relatives (especially Dad and Mom!!) have helped me collect them all, and the amazing authors make it all possible. ; ) God has truly blessed me by giving me something to share. 

Would you like a tour? Here goes...

My bookshelf is an odd collection of a little of everything. My favorite mystery serieses (??) from when I was 13…Bible study books…picture books…books for the future on teaching babies to sleep…audio dramas…adventures—ordinary and extraordinary…an amazing coloring book…an old-fashioned cookbook…even a board book… Like I said, a little of everything. ; ) My tastes and my standards have changed through the years, so not everything is always super recommendable or applicable to the stage of life I’m in right now.

Still, since I’m so book crazy (that’s actually my reviewer name on Amazon), I’ve decided to give you a quick tour of everything on there. Oh, don’t worry. This won’t take all day--I'll split it into two parts. ; )

The Mary Frances Cookbook by Jane Eayre Fryer

I spotted this book ages ago in a quilt store along with the rest of the series. I’ve always been interested in cooking and was excited to see cooking lessons in story format. The different utensils in the kitchen are teaching the little girl how to use them. ; ) Seeing my interest, my dad so sweetly picked it up for me. Unfortunately, it’s an old book so the utensils and methods are too antiquated for our kitchen; but I’ve kept it anyways since it’s so cute. ; )

A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall

After watching the amazing movie version of this story, we were excited to find that some friends of ours owned the book and borrowed if from them. Partway through the story, I found that it was going to be one of my “very favorites ever” and (having book money on hand) decided to purchase it. ; ) Mom finished reading this book aloud from the copy I bought, and it truly is amazing!!! Even better than the movie in some ways!!

Bonnie Prince Charlie by G.A. Henty

I got this book for Christmas when I was ten or eleven. At that time, the typical-of-Henty pages of straight history at the beginning were too much for me; but I was fascinated by the Jacobite revolution/resistance and delighted that there was next to no romance in the story. ; ) I still enjoy the story, but it’s not the best ever.

At Agincourt by G.A. Henty

Love the espionage and disguises, hate the astrology and feminism. Sigh. Very interesting, not bloody (always love that!) look at the times; but once again not super awesome.

Calico Bush by Rachel Field

This story is one of my most favoritest historical fiction books ever. (Right up there with “Carry On, Mr. Bowditch”!) Just enough history, realism, romance, and excitement for me! My Mom read it aloud to us a while ago, and she did find a few parts to skip for younger listeners (Really sad pioneer-like accidents); but we loved the story!!

The Viking Quest Series by Lois Walfrid Johnson

I’ve already reviewed this series on here before, but I’ll say a little about them again. They have had a huge impact on my life both for good and for ill. I ran into them at a time when I need to learn to forgive others and trust God. They helped me a ton in that! Unfortunately, the romance was too much for my fourteen-year-old brain, so I don’t loan them out to younger readers now. Instead, I keep them for old times’ sake and older readers. ; ) My favorite book in the series has got to be The Invisible Friend, but the others are awesome too. ; )

Dreamlander by K.M. Weiland

Frequent readers on here will remember me screaming about how awesome this book is about six months ago. I still love it. Someone make a movie of it. I will pay you. I have chocolate. I make brownies.

Gift from the Storm by Rebekah Morris

And this one. I keep these two next to each other because they are both gorgeous, I got them at the same time, and they go on my list of “very favorites ever”. I recently loaned this one to some friends, and they love it too. So it’s not just me. ; )

The Triple Creek Ranch Series by Rebekah Morris

Oh, wow! Same author as the last one. Since I bought the first book a year and a half ago at Perry’s Homeschooled Authors booth, I’ve been loving and collecting this series. The four books I currently own have been enjoyed by approximately seven people, and I think that whoever opens them next will love them just as much. ; ) God-centered, exciting, non-violent westerns—what could be better? More.

Little Miriam of Galilee by Edith Martin

I found this book through one of the Mennonite catalogs we order our school curriculum through. It’s one of my earlier ones, so the reading level and content are great for younger readers. I’ve always loved stories set in Bible times, and I really appreciate how the author didn’t try to portray Jesus and fall short. ; )

The House with Two Grandmothers by Rebecca Martin

Another from the same company, this one is about a family during the Great Depression. It wasn’t the best story or style ever so it hasn’t become one of my favorites, but it served the purpose of giving me something safe to read. ; )

Tanya and the Border Guard by Anita Deyneka

I bought this book after reading the sequel Alexi’s Secret Mission from our ancient church library and really enjoying it. It isn’t as amazing as the second book and has a bit more attitude, but it was neat to know backstory of what I had read first. ; )

Flat-Out Awesome Knock-Knock Jokes for Kids by Bob Phillips

We were snowed in with friends for Christmas, and the mail had stopped until New Years’. Some of our Christmas presents wouldn’t be on time, but Dad and Mom gave us what they had on hand. This little book was one of my gifts, and that’s why I keep it. I’m not a kid comedian anymore, but my younger siblings like pulling it out once in a while. ; )

The Farm Mysteries Series by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Castleberry

My oldest sister is five years older than me, so I used to get a lot of my reading recommendations from what she had read when she was little. Hearing about this series, I asked for it for my thirteenth birthday and my parents got it for me. (They are so supportive of my obsession.) ; ) I accidentally found out what I was getting before it was time, but that didn’t spoil my reading appetite. I read all nine books in maybe two weeks! Then the next siblings down the line read them, and I wrote a letter to the authors telling them how much we enjoyed them and that my brother and my younger sister had started their own detective agency just like the characters’. They sent me the tenth book since it had just come out. You can imagine how pleased I was. ; ) I can’t wait to share them with my littlest sister when she can read well enough. ; )

The Scripture Slueth Books 3 & 4 by Matt Halverson

I’ve always loved mysteries, and nothing shows that better than this part of my bookshelf I suppose. My Dad purchased book 3 for me at a homeschool convention and I loved it! (Still do, actually.) Mysteries you solve yourself using clues from the Bible then reading the ending to see if you were right. What could be better? Like I said earlier—more. ; ) My brother and I ordered more (I got book 4 this time) making sure to have them signed by the author. We spread the joy to a friend and between all three of us we have the complete series. ; )

Janette Oke’s Animal Friends by Janette Oke (what a surprise!)

I got these two books at a Christian bookstore when I was say, nine or ten. (All I remember about that day was that I got confused about how much money I had and Dad came to my rescue by adding a little.) ; ) These aren’t the best books ever, but they are fun for young readers. ; )

The Three Cousins Detective Club by Elsbeth Campbell Murphy

Dad and Mom got me two of these books for my eleventh birthday and signed them with really sweet messages. ; ) Four days later, we flew up to the Greatest Northwest that ever was to consider moving there. I read one of the books on our flight and saved the other to read on our trip. Since then I’ve been collecting as much of the series as I can. A few here and there for birthdays, one for a quarter at a library booksale, and so on. At first it was for me, and in a way it still is, but now it’s mostly for the younger family members and friends I share them with. I always love it when I find a safe series for that 8-12 age when it’s hard to find anything. ; )

Next time I'll tackle the next shelf... ; )

Happening Now

This is seriously what is happening right now as I write this blog post. ; ) (And I actually wrote this last night, so don't worry--I didn't have spaghetti for breakfast.) ;)  Hope you enjoy!

Seeing...my computer screen ; ), my lovely family, and a pile of dried leaves my mom bought home from her Oregon trip.
Hearing...music by the Willis Clan. (Not us, but we do sing along when we can.) ; )
Smelling...starch from spaghetti noodles. (My sisters will tell you I have a weird sense of smell.)
Tasting...starch from spaghetti noodles. ; P
Needing...sleep.
Wanting...more books to read. I just finished The Blackstar of Kingston last night.
Regretting...that that book is over.
Feeling...happy. ; ) ; ) ; ) (And itchy from bug bites. Happy summer. Oh, wait, it's autumn!)
Wishing...that Rebekah Morris' newest book was already out.
Thinking...about this blog post, the gorgeous music I'm listening to, the conversations going on around me...
Laughing...over an awesome family inside joke. ; )
Recovering...from putting my foot to sleep. (Wow, do I have big problems!)
Believing...that God is good all the time.
Anticipating...maybe getting to watch a Gregory Peck movie with the olders in my family. ; )
Dreaming...about the future.
Praying...that I would learn to trust the Lord even when fear seems to completely overwhelm me.
Reading...nothing. Oh, dear!!
Singing...nothing right now, though I was humming a little. You can't exactly sing fiddling. ; )
Wearing...my super old, super faded (but only in some random places) blue jumper and a long-sleeved red t-shirt. (I'm constantly pushing up the sleeves, and I think I stretched them out.) Quiet evening at home clothes. ; )
Preparing...this post for tomorrow. I shouldn't write a blog post about what I'm doing when I'm writing the blog post because then that's what it's about.
Remembering...that tomorrow we may go to PE.
Trying...to concentrate. ; )
Questioning...pacifism vs. revolutionaryism. (Wow! New word!) We discuss really fun things over here.
Fearing...relational conflict.
Loving...my family.
Googling...nothing. I haven't done it in a while, actually. Though I do need to figure out which way the glass goes when you shoot the window out of a moving vehicle. Yeah, story stuff.
Choosing...peace and trust. (That's funny after talking about shooting out windows.)
Working...on getting this done because I've neglected this blog for two weeks.
Emailing...nobody today, but I emailed both Rebekah's yesterday. (Yeah, I'm blessed to have more than one.) ; )
Sewing...sewing??? I haven't done that in ages. Argh.
Texting...not that either.
Considering...whether or not I'll be doing anything at PE. Sports are not my thing, but I probably should get the exercise.
Turning...into a pumpkin because I'm getting tired. (You know--like Cinderella's coach at midnight? Get it?)
Longing...to publish, to get married, to have children, to go to heaven. ; )
Suffering...from slight allergies.
Recognizing...that I have a letter to reply to that is at least two weeks old.
Checking...Amazon just to see if my favorite authors have anything new. I know, I'm hopeless.
Organizing...well, today I did some laundry, does that count? ; )
Reckoning...myself blessed indeed!!
Smiling...over how a baby boy I know says my name. I taught him to say "Katie" in a sing-song voice and his version became "Ti-ti". So sweet. ; )

Last Week's Adventures

In my last post, I practically promised to tell you all about what I've been doing when I got the time. Last week was all about autumn cleaning and writing for me, but when the weekend started the adventures got closer together. So, I'll tell you about them. ; )

On Friday, my littlest sisters made this amazing autumn-y banner for our family (as well as two others to give away). They were so adorable doing the apple printing, painting seeds and stems onto them, arranging the pieces to make a banner, etc... Mom was the brains behind the operation, and she gave the little girls such a great experience! ; ) We hung it near our front door, so we can see it whenever we come and go.

Later that day, the three middle girls went to a birthday party; so it was just us two oldest girls, our brother, and our littlest sister at home. That's when she was reading "Alice Through the Looking Glass" after she beat me at cards several times. ; ) After she went to bed, Aimee read some of the original Sherlock Holmes stories aloud; and Dad gave us a hilarious lesson in accents of the world complete with demonstrations. ; ) Fun times.

Saturday, after an awesome library trip (although I didn't bring home anything worth reporting on, and I still have the last batch to tell about), Perry and Tyler and the awesome nephews dropped by. Do you like my buddy? His ears are just the best. ; ) And, oh, the tickling of his brothers! We had a ton of fun with them! ; ) Chum "helped" me make sugar cookies for church the next day. ; )

Our church meets in the afternoon now, so Sunday morning we went on a family hike. That's us on top of a mountain I don't know the name of, but it was sure fun hiking there! ; ) Dad and our littlest sister drove us up there and stayed in the van to wait for us, and Mom babysat the awesome nephews. (Chap tricked her into thinking that Chum's crib was his, so we heard about a wild naptime when we got back.) ; ) It was so much fun hiking together, then having lunch (complete with Studio C) afterwards. There are no friends like family. ; )

The sermon that day was taken from the beginning of James chapter 1. The part that I remember the best is that trials are designed to show us the areas where we need to ask God for wisdom in so we can grow. Definitely super applicable right now!

And Monday, (which believe it or not happens to be today) has been just mostly just a regular-do-the-dishes-do-the-laundry-catch-up-to-start-the-week day. Except that I made cards which is something pretty unusual for me. I don't have a great eye for design, so it always surprises when I come up with something pleasing. I'm all caught up on October birthdays now, so I'm really excited for November. Hmm... what shall I make next? ; )

Now my family and I are getting ready to watch a movie together. ; )

How was your week?

Explanations

Well, it's that posting time again. This week has been really busy for me with autumn cleaning, baking, writing, and some other fantastic things I'd love to tell you all about--when I have the time. :) For now, here are two fantastic memes that have really explained everything for me...

In my house we do have some smartphones,  but 99% of the time it's books. ;)

You too? ;)

Oh, and FYI, my littlest sister is reading herself "Alice Through the Looking Glass" and ranting about how weird Alice is. "She talks to her cat, and she thinks it can talk. She's just--weird." She's reading a whole year before I was able to. O.o.

Until Monday!

Book Series Review: Aggie's Inheritance

"From Book 1: Fresh out of college, Aggie Milliken thinks she's prepared for anything life can throw her way. Think again, Aggie!

After the abrupt loss of her sister and brother-in-law, Aggie is stunned to find herself the sole guardian of their eight lively children. If learning basic parenting skills wasn't complicated enough, she must also battle the children's half-crazed grandmother, survive a massive remodeling project, and navigate the waters of new friendships-alone.

She has little experience with children and none with housekeeping, and it shows. What she has going for her is grit, a double dose of determination, and the confidence that this is exactly where the Lord wants her to be. With an unlimited P-mail account and enough hymns to keep her spirits bolstered, she tackles one catastrophe after another.
                                                                
It seems like nothing Aggie does is right, but ready or not, here she comes!"
                                                                                                                         ~Amazon description

I try to avoid reading very many romance novels in the first place (they either send my head into the clouds with the delightfulness or into the wall with the drama), so it’s very unusual to find me recommending a series of them. Savor this moment, dear readers, this is a rare bit of history. ; ) These books by Christian author, Chautona Havig, are the best “romance novels” I’ve ever read; but they are also much more than that.

The Setting:

Set at first in an expensive, Victorian era town home and later in an ramshackle, rural farmhouse, these books really come to life. Not too much description, but enough to give you the perfect feel of everything. (And remodeling sounds really fun…)

The Story (make that “Stories”):

From reading the synopsis, you’ve probably already guessed that the story is a bit of a ride. : ) Funny moments (like accidentally feeding the baby coffee instead of formula, oh horrors!); Spiritual lessons on trusting God, dealing with grief, and leaning on Him every day; lots of day to day life; and, yes, some healthy, God-centered romance combine to make these books awesome!

The Characters:

I just loved Aggie. She’s realistic down to her meltdowns over nothing, but she had an encouraging faith in God. She was such an inspiring and spunky character! The children were awesome—always full of surprises. ; ) I also really enjoyed their friends neighbors including William, Luke, Tina (Go, Tina!!), Uncle Zeke, and Libby. (One downside though, was that the Love Interest was a leeetle too perfect, but don’t let me get ranting about writing. We’ve got a review to do, folks!)

The Concerns:

Sigh. Parents should have caution in considering these books for younger readers because, well, they are technically romance novels. (Though I am happy to say there are no bedroom scenes or kissing before marriage except a light kiss between two side characters.) Other concerns include crazy, scary grandmother-in-law who SPOILER ALERT! engineers a kidnapping of one of the children (child is found unhurt and returns home safely!); discussion of death; and SPOILER ALERT! backstory of a side character and his baby sister being beaten as children by a drunken mother. Potential readers may also want to note discussion of lingerie as bridal shower gifts; short discussion of adult themes in movies (particularly sexual immorality); and passing mention of a background character having a child out of wedlock. Also, there is a view of pants vs. skirts that some families may not agree with.

How in the world do I explain how awesome these books are??!! Well, try this. Take a freshly graduated college student dealing with grief; add eight kids (ages 12 to a baby!) for her to feed, clothe, homeschool, disciple (remember, they are dealing with grief too!), and take to the ER a few times; mix in two suitors—an imposing police officer and a very handy handyman; remember the aforesaid crazy, scary, loopy, controlling, nuts grandmother-in-law; and stir in a seven bedroom farmhouse to remodel. Now you have what I’m talkin’ about!! (And they are really long books too! Delightfully so!!)

So, if you’re looking for more of a sensible, God-centered “romance novel” with a good story that isn’t just filler between the mushy parts (Lorna and the picture frame is really cute!); I suggest you read these books! ; ) Enjoy!!

They are available on Amazon…

Joys and Adventures 2.0

This blog post has that strange title; because, well, this is the second time I've written a post like this. ; ) I particularly like the word “adventure” to describe things that are less than comfortable or kinda’ quirky because of G.K. Chesterton’s awesome quote, “An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” So, here it is—what’s been happening in my life.

Joy:

Starting the week out by witnessing the baptism and covenanting of several children and families! The ever growing circle! : ) The testimonies were so encouraging as they reminded us all of the Good News once again. I was particularly blessed to hear the testimonies of an older couple who came to the Lord late in life and the testimony of a young boy whose faith is very real despite all he has gone through. (His father is AWOL, so he knocked the socks off a Christian family friend by asking him to stand in and baptize him. So amazing!)

Adventure:

Doing the famous take-two-trips-to-go-somewhere-because-Dad-took-the-van-to-work. This time the car was my aunt’s and the destination was DQ to celebrate her birthday. Only problem—just as the second ice cream expedition was starting out, the car decided to quit moving and start smoking. We jumped out and were very grateful that it had broken right in front of our house.

Joy:

Salvaging the party!! The first expedition took a cab home bringing a DELICIOUS ice cream cake with them, and we gave her the gifts we had made to show our appreciation for her. Betsy Bea and I had so much fun making this card together. ; ) I think our aunt really enjoyed her day!

Adventure:

Scurrying to finish dinner in time so my sisters and I could visit with friends during Dad and Paul’s Bible Study.

Joy:

The amazing fellowship of sisters in Christ! We talked, did some handwork, and laughed a lot. We only got shushed about twice, which is banner for a lot of wound up girls. ; ) On our way home, Dad and Paul informed us of their tradition for after Bible Study—shakes. A very good tradition indeed.

Adventure and Joy:

The library!!!! It’s a mixed blessing but a blessing indeed! Here’s a picture of my latest finds. I’ll be sure to report back on them later. ; )

There have also been some other great movies that aren’t pictured here, mostly because I didn’t bring them home myself. We got to see the 1950s version of the movie “Anastasia” starring Yule Brenner and Igrid Bergman. Fascinating!! (My sister is now researching the Romanovs. Good ol’ Aimee.) ; ) My younger sisters brought home “Big Hero 6”. What a fun movie! (Does anyone else think Tadashi Hamada is just the best?)

Joy:

Getting some editing done! The next three parts of “The Twin Arrows” are nearly ready to go up on Noble Novels! (Speaking of that story…would anyone like to read more on here?)

Adventure:

Getting blood drawn for the first time ever! Pearl’s doctor offers free testing for T1D since we’re close relatives of a patient, so all of us kids got tested on the same day. I didn’t watch any of them, since I was really scared of it. It didn’t hurt at all; but for some reason I almost passed out, almost threw up, and could barely walk out of the doctor’s office. Yeah, that was scary.

Joy:

The Goodwill trip afterwards! That was really, really fun! I found Aimee the world’s best linen skirt and the world’s best denim shirt. Yours truly is an awesome shopper. *crows like Peter Pan does when he’s super proud of himself* *head-cuffs herself for being so weird*

Adventure:

Trying on autumn boots. There were two pairs—brown suede for $10 and brown leather for $6. I had to try. I never knew boots could be so hard to get on and off!! (Cinderella’s shoe was actually a glass boot, FYI.) Yours truly cannot, at this time, walk in heels. It was hilarious; but hey, I tried! ; )

Joy:

Making deviled eggs with my “baby sister”. She is awesome at peeling eggs!!

Adventure:

Dropping one of said eggs and calling our dog Ella over to eat it. She haunted me for the rest of the cooking time, and I had to make sure that the plate of finished eggs was beyond her reach on the table. ; ) She has good taste.

Joy:

Doing “baby” sister’s hair. We had a funny time to start with—I did it like Anne Shirley’s just for fun. It was amazing how poufy I could get it! Then after some calming down time, I tied a pink scarf-headbandy-thingy around her head and secured it with bobby pins. It took two tries, but she was such a princess the rest of the day.

Adventure:

Going outside to finish my sweeping job (just a teeny bit of the porch left to do!) and discovering that a neighborhood cat had decided to kill a pigeon in front of our front door. Fortunately, no carcass but lots of feathers everywhere! I felt like a Pixar character.

Joy:

The clean porch!!! So beautiful!!! Why don’t I do this more often?!!!

Adventure:

Discovering that on my regular posting day there was again no time to write a tome of a blog post. Sigh. So, I’ll be honest—I’m writing this on a Saturday and scheduling it for Monday so I can at least look like I’m on top of things. ; )

Joy:

Banana cake with chocolate drizzle this morning. Wow. Yum. (I get more creative when we haven’t grocery shopped in a bit.) ; )

And One More JOY:

Psalm 71:14-16. “But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only."

A Camping We Did Go

Last weekend, my family and I had the awesome adventure of going to our church's family camp together! Since it was an hour or so north of here, we got to enjoy a taste of greenness once again. The best parts, though, were sharing a cabin duplex with Perry and Tyler (and the BABIES!!!!!!) and getting to know our church family better.

After packing way too much clothing; gathering card games; baking and popping food (I made these cookies and popped four huge batches of popcorn. I even used up all the coconut oil and melted the lid just to make it more fun.); finishing up the sermon (Dad did that part. We only pack things and melt things.); collecting random forgotten things; and smashing it into the back of the van (Paul saying his typical, "Hey guys, don't open that one door. Everything will come out.), we started off on our adventure. Wow, that was a run-on sentence if ever I saw one!

Some of my lovely road-trip buddies. (My angel mother is in the passenger seat, but since she is shining like the sun you can't tell she's there.) We are veteran road-trippers now from our move down here last winter, so an hour doesn't feel like much. ; ) Dad had an awesome time pointing out real and imagined landmarks to us, and we kept ourselves clapping and bouncing with the PianoGuys.

The rest of my lovely (????) buddies. Weird angle because I'm sharing a seat with them, but you get the idea that it was pretty fun. ; ) (Oh, is Paul an angel too? I'll leave that for you to decide... No, he is an angel for sharing a seat with all the copious amounts of bedding we brought.)

 A little while later (we used to drive this far to go grocery shopping). we arrived at Friendly Pines just in time to throw everything into the cabin and run off to the cafeteria for dinner. After that came a chapel session, organizing our cabiny-messy-thingy, and games in the cafeteria until the wee hours of the morning.

Next morning we all walked to church. (It should always be this way, shouldn't it?) It was beautiful outside!!! At just about every session of chapel our family enjoyed mixing with Perry and Tyler's little family and the H. family as well.

Our fantastic little neighbors. They were the best thing about the weekend!! Unfortunately, they were so cute that we had a really hard time not laughing out loud during the sermon.

Especially when this one sneezed so hard he almost fell over...or when his older brother dumped a toy dump truck load of dirt into my lap...or when the camp cat startled one of them out of their wits when it came scampering by. Yeah, pretty cute. ; ) Don't you just love those funny eyes???

The theme of the weekend was revival, and Dad chose a really amazing aspect of the whole topic for his sermon Saturday morning. I HIGHLY suggest you listen to his sermon "Don't Lose Heart". It was very encouraging!!! (Special thanks to Anna for taking the picture because I couldn't see Dad very well through some people's heads.)

Saturday is probably everyone's hands-down favorite day of camp. That's because of....

FIELD GAMES!!!! I watched the first few games from the sidelines, but after a while I wished I had joined in. ; ) This game was a crazy relay race of trying to bat a balloon down the field without popping it. Add to that an ornery breeze and some surprisingly sharp grass--you get the picture. ; )

Another great one was passing a hula hoop around a circle of people without letting go of each other's hands. That was pretty crazy, but a high-five to everyone who managed it especially those wearing skirts.

We didn't get pictures of my favorite relay race (also the first game I played), but it was pretty fun/funny! All of us players threw our shoes in a huge, stinky pile at one end of the field and lined up on the other. You've probably guessed the objective--run across the field, find your shoes, cram them on, and make it back to your team without them falling off. There were some pretty hilarious stunts too, like my brother-in-law throwing his best friends' shoes out of the pile so they would have to go farther to find them. Thumbs up, Tyler! It was pretty hard to find my shoes (since apparently brown is the most common color); and I found myself wishing for one of the first times ever that I had flip-flops. ; ) I'm not sure how the scoring came out, but my team was awesome!! ; )

The tug-o'-wars were awesome!! This picture is kids against adults. You'll find me on the kids' side because this was taken before a couple of older girls and I realized that we belonged on the other team. ; P We lost the first one since our church is mostly children, but we won the second! ; )

That's my little buddy!

The rest of the weekend consisted of more hanging out (I did a little exploring with my friend Hannah and chatted some with her older sister), chapel sessions (I loved the history of the laymen's revival), an amazing bonfire (S'mores. That's what we exist for.), and amazing games in the cafeteria. (Some of my family members brought crafts to do with everyone, but I never got around to doing them.) Those times of all sitting around together laughing and talking or trying to beat each other at Dutch Blitz were my favorite times of all. That's when I got to know people (and sometimes got to beat them too!). ; )

Hanging out with the H. girls was my younger sisters' favorite thing about their first family camp (that they can remember, at least). I got to hang out with them a lot of the time which was so much fun! We visited their favorite spot at camp (nicknamed "the L tree"  for it's unusual shape), visited each  other's cabins (this picture was taken in ours), and sat together during church and the group picture. ;)

Altogether, it was an amazing time of fellowship and learning from God's word! And I highly suggest you all check out my Dad's sermon. ;)

Happy Autumn!

Happy autumn everyone!!! It is truly the best season! 

 How did you celebrate?

Good Days

Summer is leaving, and I'm not very sorry at all. Next comes good weather, our church's family camp, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. What's not to like? Still, these days have been good, and there is plenty to be grateful for...

I'm grateful for...

• The weather. I already mentioned it, but it's worth saying again. This Northwestern girl isn't quite done acclimatizing, so the cool(er) weather is a welcome relief. ; )
• Birds. I peeked out the window the other day and saw pigeons and some little brown birds (yeah, I don't know their name...) gathered together in our front yard. I had never realized before that there are beautiful birds even here! I'm just used to seeing gray mourning doves and nothing else. ; )
• Old pictures. The other day I was working on the huge project of putting eight years' worth of pictures on a USB drive. It was so wonderful to remember the times we've been blessed with. I found I had even forgotten some of the things we had done earlier this year, and it was very nice to be reminded. It also amazing to see how much my wonderful nephews have grown!
• Books to read... I've been reading so much lately it's been a ton of fun! Reviews coming when I can. ;P
• I've also been doing a lot of reading for our history studies. We are learning about Egypt right now, and I'm so excited to see how the Exodus fits into everything. 
• Christian movies. It seems like there have been a ton more good ones coming out lately than ever before. I got to see "War Room" earlier this month and absolutely loved it!!! It was very encouraging and inspiring, and I can't wait for the rest of my family to see it so we can discuss it. ; ) My dad bought "Polycarp", and the older ones in our family watched it together. It was a slower movie than I am used to, but it was very good!
• Nephews! Since their little family moved out, we haven't gotten to see them as much; but Perry sends enough pictures and hilarious stories to keep us alive until their next visit. ; )
• How much faster chores are lately. That sounds really weird, but now that I'm a "big girl" chores that were painfully slow to do in that past get done in a snap. So much more free time... ;P
• Shortbread--three flavors--plain, spiced, chocolate. 'Nuff said.
• Music playing all over the house. Sometimes three different songs at once because everyone has their own mp3 player. ; ) Walk into the kitchen--encouraging Christian music that we all love. Walk into the girls' room--very lighthearted and slightly romantic. ; ) Walk into the boy's room--inspiring, majestic, heroic movie music. Yeah, it's pretty fun. ; ) My favorite song right now is "After the Last Tear Falls" by Andrew Peterson. (The version from 2014 is awesome, but so is the older one too. Pick your favorite.) ; )
• Ants. Yeah, really, I'm grateful for our ant invasion! It gave Buddies a project to do when she ran out of schoolwork, and she was so cute and "adult" doing it. She had me help her handle the vacuum a bit, but she mostly did it all by herself. She found where they were coming in and was full of ideas to block the hole, get ED (she meant DE for diatomaceous earth) or poison for them, etc. After a while, she decided she needed a break, and we had popsicles together. ; )
• Inspiration. The little people in my family (soon I'll have to call them "medium people" because they are only getting bigger) are so hilarious and inspiring. Together we discussed what it would be like to have a world completely made of chocolate, or bagels, or noodles. ; ) I made them a pretend newspaper the other day using some of their ideas, and it was so much fun.
• Direct access to my Maker. Anytime I need to talk, He's there!

Today, what are you grateful for?

Happy Autumn!

Today I am grateful for...
Spiced and plain shortbreads with improvised blueberrry sauce
The opportunity to make them on a beautiful morning
Gorgeous fog
Pounding, refreshing rain
The creativity rain inspires
Books, magazine back issues, coloring pages, sketches
The fabulous feast my younger siblings put together (complete with great
decorations!)
Storytime at dinner to celebrate...
Autumn!

Happy autumn, everyone!!

Winter in Autumn

Today, even though it is below freezing outside, we decided to go out and
play since it wasn't raining. : ) Now we're indoors, and what do you know
but wool socks are really good for "skating" in (on wood floors). The
sink is running so the water lines don't freeze, and we keep asking Mom
about it. We're all well-trained not to waste water. : ) If you are ever
cold inside step outdoors, and you are immediately grateful when you come
back in!

1. Betsy Bea loves to jump on the trampoline!
2. Everyone is ready to see Aimee's big shot!