a merry soot mess and other delightful capers...

Hope you all had a blessed Christmas! We certainly did and we're looking forward to getting together with family this friday. A few days before Christmas, my brother and I decided it would be cool if we could open up the chiming in my room and have a fire. By the way, it hadn't been opened in probably 20+ years. Anyways, if you've ever seen the newer version of A Little Princess you'll be able to imagine what my room looked like when we were done. : )  Soot was everywhere and it took a few days to get it all cleaned up!

what are we doing? Don't ask! :P

We found some used rollerblades for Haydon earlier this month and when he came for a visit we brought them out for him.

Christmas eve was spent at my great-Grandmommie's home

Her place is so peaceful.

Grandmommie's wreath on the garage.

LOL. I love this picture. Samuel (5), Matthew (7) and Adrian (2)

A December sunset.

In Jesus,

Merry Christmas

(from google)

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

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Luke 2:1-20

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, 

   and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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That little baby boy was born in a manger because no one had room for Him. Born at an unexpected time in an unexpected place. His name is JESUS, our Savior, Intercessor, Redeemer. Thank you Lord, for sending us your Son!

Merry Christmas to all of You!!!

Restored (The Grindstone Song)

This song has been ringing in my head the past few days. It's so beautiful and I just wanted to share it with you all today.

Restored

Cheri Keagly

I’ve been living against the grindstone, where nothing is sure but the Lord

For He gives us the treasures of darkness, where faith’s greatest riches are stored

And in ways that are quite unexpected, I have learned a most humbling truth
That a faith that has never been tested is just growth that is long overdue

So, I’m practicing joy, choosing it daily, putting it on like a favorite cologne
And when life breaks me down, it won’t even faze me
Some call me crazy, but I’m just in love with the Lord
For He has been faithful enough just to fill me
And take me to heights I have never explored
If I’m never broken, how can I be restored

So I’m trading these comfortable choices, For living that’s much more alive

And the more that my spirit rejoices, the more that I grow and I thrive

If surrender is seen as a weakness, then the lowliest beggar I’ll be

I’ll embrace every struggle with meekness ‘cause I know that it’s making me free

Restore me Lord and make me new again, I want nothing more than to soar

So, I’m practicing joy, choosing it daily, putting it on like a favorite cologne
And when life breaks me down, it won’t even faze me
Some call me crazy, but I’m just in love with the Lord
For He has been faithful enough just to fill me
And take me to heights I have never explored
If I’m never broken, how can I be restored

Blessings!


P. S. My cousins are coming over tomorrow so keep a look out for more posts soon!

Getting ready for Christmas

This past weekend we had a soccer tournament, got a Christmas tree and went to a Christmas concert which Benjamin and Julie played in.

First off... Soccer!

Watching the boys warm up

Julie and Uncle Matt were at the fields all day refereeing. On one of Julie's brakes she came and watched Ben's game. IT WAS FREEZING! And we forgot all our blankets. Brrr...

Aunt Emily, Mari, Matthew and Samuel came to watch the game too!

Matthew and Adrian playing a game on Aunt Emily's phone. 

Samuel, keeping warm by drinking some hot chocolate!

Go Ben!!!

Aunt Emily, Ben and Marianah

At a Christmas Tree Farm

on the way home from the tournament we saw a tree farm and stopped to get ours!

Little cage with sweet little bunnies

and goats

Adrian was watching this dad throwing his little girl and he began to smile... : )

on top of a haystack

the perfect one

Adrian saw some stumps with sap oozing out and rubbed his hands all in it before we realized it. Here he is just realizing that pine straw is sticking to his hands!

sweepy little boy

At the Concert

The pictures we took during the concert didn't come out quite right so here's some from afterwards

Julie played the flute and Ben, the violin

Me and the Maestro's! : )

What have ya'll been up to?

Counting Blessings

More blessings #10 - #28

Laughter, love and fellowship with family

Grandmommie's sweet prayer, a blessing, crying softly

Leftover sweet potato souffle


Dirty hands, moving boards around in Papa's barn

Haley's sweet smile

The beauty of a frost

Mama and Dad talking quietly downstairs

A 600-piece puzzle of the world and building it with Ben

Finding a little white rabbit on the way home from Thanksgiving

Sweet pictures of the little girl and her returned rabbit

When my horses nuzzle at my shoulder

Laughter

The strumming sound of a guitar

The smell of chopped wood from the stack

This unusual, beautiful November weather

Blustery winds

Peppermint tea

Adrian's mischievous faces

Pondering a portion of Scripture

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!

For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Psalm 95:6-7

Lost and Found

Coming home from our Thanksgiving get together at Grandmommie's home we found a little white bunny hopping along a busy road. Dad was driving past when he slammed the brakes and began backing up. (Don't worry, there weren't any cars passing by just then!) Benjamin jumped out of the van and caught the little bunny and we began home, wondering who this little fellow belonged to. The two houses along the road were dark and so we decided to come back when the people were home. Mom and Dad went out the next day and found the owners. The little girl was so happy! The next day Mama and Adrian brought the sweet rabbit back. Mom took some pictures too.

Adrian handing the bunny to a very happy girl.

Isn't she cute?

Sweet Potato Pie- a recipe

A few years ago I heard a song on the radio. It was something about the South, Gone With the Wind and sweet potato pie. Since then I've been wanting to make this novelty. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and adapted it to what we had in the kitchen. The crust I made from an amazing recipe book called Once Upon a Tart. This book has incredible recipes and beautiful pictures in it!!! When I made this I used a small food processor which is really helpful while making the crust. I used a tart pan as well, but you could use any pie pan. So without further ado... here's the Sweet Potato Pie recipe.

Ingredients for Crust:
2½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you can use regular all purpose if you'd like)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1½ sticks cold unsalted butter (cut into 1/4-inch cubes)
5 tbsp solid vegetable shortening
A small glass of ice water


Directions:
1. Dump the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, and pulse a couple of times to make sure the salt is distributed evenly throughout the flour.

2. Add the butter and the shortening all at once, and pulse five to ten times, until the mixture forms little balls, like moist crumbs, and no chunks of butter or shortening remain. Pulse, not run, the food processor. The worst thing that could happen at this stage of the crust-making game would be for the flours and fats to come together completely into a  paste.


3. Remove the blade from the food processor, and dump the crumbs into a big bowl. Sprinkle a tablespoon of ice water over the surface of the crumbs. Repeat with 3 more tablespoons of ice water.

4. Use your hands or a wooden spoon to bring the dough together. Add more water if you have to, 1 tablespoon at a time. The dough should be just past crumbly and just coming together. You don't want it to be so wet that it turns that sticky-white color.

5. Cut the dough in half, press each of the halves into a disk, and wrap the disks in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Ingredients for Filling:

2-3 sweet potatoes

1/2 cup softened butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter milk

2 eggs

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Poke holes in the sweet potatoes with a fork and place them in the oven at 400˚ for 1 hour or until the potatoes are soft. Let them cool a little and then remove the skin.

2. Break apart the sweet potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix well with a mixer. Stir in sugar, milk, eggs, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Pour filling into prepared pie crust.

3. Bake at 350˚ for 55-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The pie will puff up like a souffle, and will sink down as it cools.

the glorious pie in all of its... er, glory.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, friends!