The Artist and the Detective

You have to love it when the four-year-old sells twenty pictures for a
penny each to complete her first green dollar! She plans to spend it on
gumballs to sell for more money. There is also an eight-year-old
detective, going under the name of "Barbara Walters", roaming around in
Mom's wool coat and Dad's black hat. She even has a magnifying glass! She
has solved three cases so far.

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!

Banana?

Sometimes there are phenomenons. And sometimes they are food.

 

Banana Cake

1/2 C melted butter

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 C mashed bananas (approx. 3)

1/2 C milk

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Chocolate chips to taste*

 

Beat together oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Bake in a lightly greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a fork comes out clean.

 

~From Set for Life by Merrill and Sunderland

 

*This tastes really yummy with chocolate chips, but we recently discovered another fantastic way to eat it...

 

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Frosting

16 teaspoons milk (5 TBS and 1 teaspoon)

2/3 C peanut butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 1/2 C powdered sugar

16 teaspoons cocoa (5 TBS and 1 teaspoon)

 

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, peanut butter, and vanilla. Add the liquid to the powdered sugar and cocoa. Mix well until it is of a spreading consistency. (You may need to add some milk). Ice cooled cake and cut to serve.

 

~From Recipes from Home: The Eldon Shetler Family Cookbook, recipe by Janet Ewing

 

Enjoy this cake every leap year!

One of Today's Joys

We are using the dishwasher!

Joys and Adventures from the Past Two Weeks

Joy:

Listening to Betsy Bea tell a love story where two people meet in the woods and tell each other their names are cute and handsome. Then they "made funny faces" and shortly after got married. They raced to the wedding in their own personal race cars, and later, when they had their first child, that really came in handy because they could get to the hospital really quickly. In turn, I told her my version of "The Frog Prince".

Adventure:

Cleaning out the refrigerator of our old house. It really wasn't that gross, it actually made me hungry for burritos, of all things. Then I got to defrost the upright freezer. It was so cool the way the ice came off in strangely shaped hunks! I did get my feet cold and wet, but it was really interesting just the same.

Joy:

Celebrating my favorite little man's birthday by watching him eat his first slice of birthday cake. He smashed the piece in half before eating it, then ate what had fallen into the pocket of his bib until it was time for me to clean him up. We got to play with his new toys some before it was time to go. By the way, we discovered that I am hilarious when I have my coat hood on and I make funny faces at him. You wouldn't believe the giggles I got while we were waiting to leave! It was such the joy to ride in the backseat with him and watch him be fascinated by the hail hitting the back window. After that he fell asleep clutching my finger in his fat, little fist.

Adventure:

Sadie, we always do the weirdest things together, don't we? This time it was forming elk patty after elk patty to freeze since some friends delivered a whole ice chest of meat along with our piano. Thanks for helping my sisters and me!

Joy:

Clapping for my friend after she fiddled amazingly at our local Fall Festival. Rebekah, you are amazing!

Adventure:

Boiling water to wash dishes in since the hot water heater is broken. Plus, our water isn't potable, so we get to rinse our toothbrushes in Dixie cups.

Joy:

Going to the pretend doctor's office and having Dr. Skittles inspect my foot. Though, I will admit that I suspect she was trying to see just how ticklish I am.

Adventure:

Finding out you have to stick your hand in blackberry bushes to put the flag up on the mailbox.

Joy:

Being the banker in Monopoly and having the cutest assistant ever. Would you believe the four-year-old can recognize the difference between the types of money? My wealthy seven-year-old sister passed out ten dollars to everyone when they were on the verge of bankruptcy.

Adventure:

Using six washers at the local Laundromat!

Joy:

Naming helicopters and discussing bullet train technology while planning a story with my brother.

Adventure:

Banging elk patties on the kitchen floor to try to break them apart. The best part was when the bag broke and they slid across the floor!

Joy:

"Dancing" with Betsy Bea in the new bedroom I share with Aimee. We also tried on fancy Victorian hats and even porcelain doll hats as well. Our favorite song to dance to was "When Did You Fall" by Chris Rice. (Fun sound, you know.)

Adventure:

Our cat has not only experienced a new house, but also living in a dog kennel. She really enjoyed it and the hay was her favorite part! She also has been playing "soccer" with a little ball on our awesome wood floor.

Joy:

Having a woodstove again! It smells so good!

Adventure:

Doing school with the school room still half unpacked. The first day we got to do our computer school kneeling on the ground with the computer on a bench as a desk. During kindergarten time we had to go hunting for the books before they could be used. : )

Joy:

Listening to extra verses of "Todd the Toad". Did I mention I have a very creative family? Sometimes in strange lines.

Adventure:

Storing muffins (that I made with Blue) in the microwave. I wanted to leave them out for the next day's breakfast, but in the past this house has had mouse problems so the microwave worked perfectly for storage.

Joy:

Writing stories on the front porch while watching the little girls jump on the trampolines.

Adventure:

Celebrating the find of mucking-out boots by shoveling a manure of sorts off the basketball court. My brother says we are over halfway. Yay!

Joy:

We are mostly settled now and some friends gave us a freezer. Today we finally got the hot water heater working! It's coming!

Goings On

We're moving again, so today was all about packing and fruit processing. Some of us have been working on packing books and breakables while the others have been working on making five apple pie fillings and applesauce. The last batch is in the works and then we'll be moving on to a few batches of pear sauce. I can't count how many times I've listened to Keith and Kristyn Getty's cd Hymns for the Christian Life, but I do know that "The Village Reel" is awesome background/working music! Betsy Bea always skips the calm songs. : )

By the way, I found out that my personal stash of books takes two small boxes. : )

The Definition of Autumn

The definition of autumn is walking out in the yard wearing a green
sweater because of the breeze and chomping on a juicy red apple while
clutching four crookneck squash just picked from the garden, and looking
lovingly at the walnut leaf that stuck to your shoe. Ahhh.