Rain, Rain, Go Away.....

To say we are all a little waterlogged would be an understatement...and the forecast does not leave us with much hope for sunny days until Monday. Really? Yes, really the weather man says rain, rain, and more rain! YIKES! Our county remain under a flood watch until midnight tonight. The county schools were on a 2 hour delay this morning due to flooding. I went out today and took some pictures of some of streams/ rivers close to home. So take a peek at all our WATER....


This is the stream at the edge of our property. No it does not look like lots of water but it is usually pretty much dry. So it is up a good bit.


This is the opposite side of the stream.... which of course is also usually much lower.

Now we will move on a little further from my house...

Both of these are of Middle River on Frank's Mill Road...It one of the rivers that runs through much of this part of the county. The water appeared to have receded a little but the water is still ROLLING.... and is out of the banks on one side of the river.


This is the Middle River as well....it is a different location. This is in Churchville. The river runs behind some churches, a picnic pavilion, and park.


This is outside my son's school facing the baseball fields...water is just sitting everywhere. Doesn't look like ball will be played here for a couple of days. :(


This was the bottom of my driveway yesterday about this time just as a thunderstorm rolled through....


This was what the bottom of the driveway looked around 9 am this morning. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the water "disappears". However, it leaves behind a mess and destruction.


Guess where all that water took the gravel from my driveway....Yep! Into the road and left behind this....


a big 'ole rut in the driveway that now I have to dodge when I go in and out. We just fixed this last summer. Guess I know what the hubby will be doing once all this rain stops.

Well, there is a bright side in all this rain. The grass will be green, green, green and the flowers...I mean weeds are blooming beautifully. Take a look....


I found these beauties all along the bank in front of my house. It reminds us that God is in control and that there is beauty even in the yucky stuff if we just take the time to look around us.

Well, It is about time to start the dinner and homework routine. How is the weather your way?

Until next time....may your heart be merry and your day be blessed :)

Diggin' in the dirt...

It is that time of the year.....time to start digging in the dirt. It is still to early here to plant our garden but we get closer every day. I can say that I am eagerly awaiting to be able to get outside and just play in the garden. The hubby was able to plow our garden this past weekend so we are ready for planting....now if it would just get warm and stay warm! I do not look forward to weeding because that is no fun but planting and watching those little plants grow and produce it truly exciting.

My mom and I visited a greenhouse a few weeks ago and I was able to purchase lots of herbs. I got some herbs that I have not found around here and all for a good price which is even better. So, feeling the need to dig in the dirt I dug out my pots, potting soil and got them all planted. Here is what I have so far....



There is Cumin and Thyme, Chamomile, Parsley and Dill, Cilantro, Tarragon and Chives, Stevia and Peppermint, Sage and Savory. All the plants seems to have taken to being transplanted except the Oregano.

After getting all of these planted in dawned on me I forgot one of my favorite herbs....I forgot BASIL. How on earth does one forget to plant BASIL. Me oh my.....back to the greenhouse soon. Thinking I will get two kinds of basil... the purple basil looked interesting. I will, also, be on the hunt for an aloe plant.

My mom treated me to a special plant. I fell in LOVE with this plant but was there to buy herbs so herbs is what I bought. So here is a picture of this beautiful beautiful plant.




here is an closer look at the leaves....




What have you all been up to? and how is the weather your way? It is WET, WET, WET here. Been raining since yesterday and is suppose to rain through Thursday. Many of the streams/river are about at flooding stage which is not good. So everyone here is a bit waterlogged :( Oh well, we should be thankful for the rain...we do need it!

Well, time to go. I have to go pick up the kiddos from school. Then it will be back to serve snack, work on homework, fix dinner and then I have a Girl Scout Community meeting this evening.

Until next time.....may your heart be merry and your day be blessed :)

Creamy Vegie Soup

Do you have a favorite "Comfort Food"? You know that one thing you make that just simply soothes the soul like no other food can do? These days for me it is Creamy Vegie Soup. Oh how I love this soup... and its what for dinner tonight and then we will have the leftovers on Wednesday night when we have to be out the house early for church. Here is the recipe:

Creamy Vegie Soup


Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp oil, I use olive oil
2 carrots diced
2-3 stalks of celery diced
2 cups of corn
1 can (pint) green beans, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 small potatoes, diced
5-6 Tbsp flour
4 cups of chicken stock (can use vegie or beef stock)
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream or milk
Salt, pepper, season salt, and/or garlic powder to taste

melt butter over medium high heat, add oil...

saute carrots, celery, potatoes, and onions until about tender about 10 minutes...

add corn and green beans.I use corn and green beans canned from our garden so I don't saute them with my fresh vegies...

add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes...

add chicken broth, bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer, cook for about 10 minutes...

add the whipping cream, simmer for about 10 minutes...

It's Done! Enjoy this yummy CREAMY goodness....

We garnish our soup with various combinations of oyster crackers, sour cream, crumbled crispy bacon, and cheese. Tonight I will be serving this with either grilled cheese sandwiches or toast out of the yummy Soft Oatmeal Bread I made yesterday. Because my kids are not big soup eaters I will be making them mac & cheese.

Well I better get busy....time is steadily ticking away! I have laundry to fold, floors to sweep & vacuum all before the kiddos get out of school for the day.

Until next time....may your heart be merry and your day be blessed :)

Soft Oatmeal Bread....

The house is smelling so wonderful right now.... I LOVE the smell of freshly baking bread. I just pulled out two loaves of Soft Oatmeal bread. This is one of the easiest bread recipes I have ever come across. Perhaps you will try it yourself.

Soft Oatmeal Bread

1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup of honey or maple syrup
1/4 cup of oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
3 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of quick oats
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Mix all ingredients (I mix/knead mine in my KitchenAid mix with the dough hook). Knead 5 minutes. Grease and flour bread pans. Place dough in pan, cover with towel, let rise 40 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Bake 35 minutes.

My husband loves this bread. What's better than a sandwich packed in your lunch on homemade bread. It is a heavy or dense bread but it is oh so good.

It has been a busy weekend for our household. Vern and Kenneth have been hauling wood from a friends house and splitting it for next years firewood. Arin spent all day yesterday at band practice for the All County Honors Band. The concert was awesome. To say I was a proud momma would be a huge understatement. To celebrate her hard work we went out to eat at one of her favorite's Applebees. I have spent much of the weekend in the kitchen making Vernon's breakfast bagels and burritos for the freezer, chocolate chocolate chip muffin tops, banana Oat muffins and of course this bread. Now I must make myself get dressed to make a run to the grocery store for a few things we need for lunches this week. That is right it is 3 pm and I am still in my jammies....been fighting a headache all day! So I better get motivated.

Until next time....may your heart be merry and your day be blessed :)

Christmas....

As I look back over the past few weeks it warms my heart so very much to think of the quality time spent with my family rooted in tradition as we celebrated Christmas. Do you have Christmas traditions? This Christmas was a little different as our hearts were all a little sad with the absence of my brother but I know he was looking down on us smiling and with us in spirit.

The start of our Christmas tradition was the making of the Gingerbread houses at Granny and Paw Paw's. We have done this every year for a very long time. No matter how old our children get...my niece being a senior in high school...this is still an activity we all look forward to each year. So here are a few pictures...

Kenneth's gingerbread house and tree....

Arin's gingerbread house and tree...

Miss Morgan's Hello Kitty gingerbread house....

Some of other Christmas traditions happen on Christmas Eve. During the morning I always bake a cake for the kids to decorate. This cake is a birthday cake for Jesus that will be enjoyed on Christmas day just after we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Here is a picture of this year's cake...

Then we always go to church with my mother -in- love at the church we used to attend. It is a small church that my hubby's grandfather actually helped to build. The service is simple... singing Christmas carols, lighting of the candles, sharing of scripture and a message which is always thought provoking. This year was no different. All the family attended this year...my parents, my sister, my niece of course me, the hubby, the kids, my mother-in-love and even my nephew, Adam from SC. After the service we all loaded into our van to ride around to look at Christmas lights and track the where that jolly 'ole fellow Santa is so we know when we need to head home for bed. It is just pure family fun.... singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Jingle Bells" as we ride down the road. This is my mom and daddy's house all decorated...

After we look at the lights we head home usually to spread reindeer dust in the drive way to attract dear 'ole Santa. This year we spread Grinch Dust....

My niece LOVES the movie...so we made Grinch dust this year. You know to keep the Grinch away....

Here are pictures of the kids spreading their dust in the driveway....

Kenneth....

Arin....

the Grinch Dust in the driveway....

Then it back inside to put on our jammies and set out milk & cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer before going to bed...

Then it is time to head to bed and dream of all the Christmas goodies we will find in the morning.....

Isn't he just absolutely precious?

The next morning to say he was excited would be an understatement! What do you think?

After all the presents were opened and our bellies were full we headed outside to wish my dear sweet brother a Merry Christmas up in heaven. We each placed a message in a balloon and released them as a family...

We watched as the balloons danced and twirled and floated up....

up, up, up they went.....

until they were just out of sight....

Then we posed for a family picture on my mom's front porch....

Aren't we a good lookin' bunch?!?

Here is one of just the kids....or cousins as they would say!

I guess that is it for today....I truly hope each of you had a wonderfully blessed Christmas and as we move into 2013 I wish you a Happy New Year!

Until next time....may your heart be merry and your day be blessed :)

Reindeer Lane...

What is your fondest Christmas memory from your childhood? I have many fond memories of Christmas as a child. There was a Christmas when "Santa" and "his helper" had to pull an all niter in order to put together a stove, refrigerator, and sink for my special gift. I remember wondering why my daddy and grandaddy were so tired that Christmas. They had only finished minutes before I awoke to see what that jolly ole fellow had left for me and my sister. I, also, remember the Christmas I received a life size handmade cloth doll made by my relatives. I awoke that morning and was told I couldn't go out of the bedroom yet.....what I didn't know was that this precious doll had not arrived from Santa's workshop yet. I remember the excitement and joy of that those Christmas days brought to my life. I, also, remember celebrating Christmas in South Carolina with my brother and Sonya. One year because it is rarely cold in SC we had a Christmas picnic...yep, we ate our Christmas dinner out side on the picnic table. It may not have been the typical Christmas or "Christmas" weather but it was full of all the love that Christmas should be full of with rich family memories.

But my fondest Christmas memory is centered around Reindeer Lane. Growing up we would travel to SC for Christmas about every 2 years. My grandparents and brother would travel to VA the other years. This allowed us to always be together at Christmas. We did the same thing at Thanksgiving. On Christmas eve, we would all pile into the car to ride around to look at Christmas lights. In may not have been cold and snowy but there was certainly the Christmas spirit. It always amazed me how each street decorated with a theme. The lights were always beautiful. Here in Virginia at the time not many people decorated the outside of their homes...we were like the ONLY house on our street then to decorate their front doors with lights. After riding around to look at lights we would make our way to what was called Reindeer Lane. My parents had grown up going to see this house all decorated. My sister and I enjoyed it for many many years. Reindeer Lane was a small white house at the end of a lane that had a curved driveway that ran around the front of the house. The house was decorated with simple white lights and candles in the window but the most fascinating part was the mechanical reindeer and sleigh attached to the top of the roof. The reindeer actually appeared to be taking off of the roof...it was magical. In the book The Night Before Christmas when it says, "when out there on the lawn there rose such a clatter." That clatter is what you experienced at you heard the "clatter" or the tap tap tap of the reindeer hooves. Sadly, I can not share this experience with my children. Reindeer lane is just a special or fond memory just as many things from our childhood become...a memory. The family continued to keep the house and the reindeer with sleigh going after the gentleman passed away but I to my knowledge Reindeer lane is no only a memory.

So what is your most fond memory of Christmas growing up? I would love for you to share.

I better be getting motivated. My darling daughter has to be at art class this morning then hopefully we can fit in haircuts before she has to be at youth for a missions event. I will be spending the afternoon in the kitchen making breakfast burritos and bagels to tuck away into the freezer for the hubby. Tonight, I get to enjoy the house to myself while Kenneth and Vernon will be heading to Christmas party, Arin will be with her youth group...I will enjoy a Christmas movie, finish wrapping presents and then browse through my Christmas cook books to see what goodies I will make this year. I will be back soon to talk Christmas Traditions.

Until next time...may your heart be merry and your day be blessed! :)

Christmas is in the air...

The Christmas season is upon us and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this time of year. I am enjoying a stress free Christmas season so far...For the first year in a very LONG time our house is decorated and almost all the shopping is done. Even better almost all of the wrapping is done as well. My plan is to enjoy the next two weeks with no worries and no stress so I will go into the Christmas week ready to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with my children and family. So let's take a little peak into our home...

Welcome friends....

Come on in through the front door.....

This is my favorite Christmas display this year....the Wisemen, the Star, the angel and even the nativity scene my daddy got me many years ago. (Just noticed the darn flashlight in the picture....grrrr!)

this is one of my darling daughters favorite displays....

and of course then there are the nutcrackers.......

This is the centerpiece on my Kitchen table.

Kenneth's favorite decoration....counting down to Christmas each morning as we start our day by adding an ornament to the tree.

The Christmas tree..... and yes there are presents under it already!

The stocking are hung with care...just not by the chimney.

No celebration would be complete with out the TRUE REASON we celebrate being displayed....my Nativity given to me by my mother so long ago. This is one of my most treasured decorations.

What do you love about this time of year? I love all the decorations...the lights....the music and songs...but I also LOVE the extra time with my family and doing special things some expected and some not for our friends. Since the shopping is done and the presents are wrapped I can spend time baking goodies not only for my hubby and kids but to treat others. Yes, tomorrow I will crack open ALL those cookbooks so I can decide what I will make as gifts this year. Yummm.....I can almost smell the goodies baking already!

Well I need to get going...I will leave you with one last picture...and a special wish...

From our household to yours....May you all be blessed with the true spirit of Christmas in your hearts and May God bless you and your families today and throughout this Christmas season.

We will talk more on Christmas soon...

Until next time...may your heart me merry and your day be blessed :)