Raisingthree4Him

Candleberry Room Spray

2012-01-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

I have been a user of the Candleberry Candles now for about 3 years. My friend Tiffany got me one for Christmas ("Honey Buttered Rolls", in fact) and I was hooked. I have since added to my favorite scents "Hot Maple Toddy" and "Tennessee Whiskey" Well yesterday afternoon we ventured out to go to a new to us antique/primitive store and I got me can of this "Hot Maple Toddy" room spray to try. I'm sold again. You can't go wrong with Candleberry, it's the best. Don't burn your money on anything else! No pun intended ; )

Saturday, January 21, 2012

2012-01-23T16:16:00.006-05:00

I took down all of my Christmas decorations on New Years' Eve. The only problem was that the bins and boxes just got stuck out in the garage. In addition to all of that mess, the kids' playroom side of the garage was a total mess as well. So, I decided today that we had to get all of the Christmas and fall decoration stuff stored back up in the attic, so that I could reclaim some sense of order. It's still a work in progess, but at least all the boxed clutter is put away and not an eyesore ~~hazard~~ anymore, and to me that's a major accomplishment.

The Results (ignore the spackling on the walls, we haven't gotten around to painting yet):

Princess and Boy's "Playroom"

They do have toys in their bedrooms, this is just overflow.
And yes, the garage is insulated so they neither freeze nor burn up while playing :)

I struggle with this corner, I despise open shelving.

And this would be my "overflow" shelf.

Detox from the World

2012-01-10T10:48:00.001-05:00

"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." - Mark 8:34-38

Some questions for us to ponder:

*Do we deny ourselves? Most Americans don't deny themselves anything. If we want it, we eventually get it. That's talking materially. But the fact that we get those material things is a sign that we are going to satisfy the needs and wants of ourselves. So back to the point, do we really deny ourselves? Mostly, No. We are very self-centered, we have conformed to our culture. We were actually born into a self-absorbed culture from the get go. It's all about me. It's the American mentality - I work hard for my money so, I deserve to have what I want. But, is that what Jesus wants from us, or does He say for us to deny ourselves? How do we completely do that?

*Do we take up our own cross? Do our sins that hung our Savior on His cross really burden us? Do we realize that every little sin we commit is a slap in Jesus' face? Do we think of the agony Jesus was under as he carried the cross, that dripped with the sap of our sins, all the way to the place of His death? He was willing to carry that cross. Are we?

*Do we truly follow Jesus? Do our lives we live before others show where our allegiance really is? What drives us? What are we focused on? What was Jesus focused on? His Father's business? Yes. Is that what we are truly focused on, our Father's business? After being seperated from His earthly parents, while He was a child, after they found him and anxiously questioned why He didn't go with them, He responded - "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" -Luke 2:49 So again, is that what we are focused on, our Father's business, or we about our own business?

I don't mean to make anyone doubt their salvation with these questions. I just think we all need to really delve deep into our souls and evaluate ourselves before God. He knows the real us, now it's time for us to get real with Him, to fess up our failures and ask for His forgiveness, and allow His blood to cover our sins. No, we do not deserve it, but this was God's plan. He saw the cross from creation. This world we live in is not our real home, we need to treat it that way. We are just here for a season. This is only a blip of time compared to eternity. We need to detoxify ourselves from this world. [Detoxify - to rid of poison or the effect of poison.] All poison comes with warning labels, and the world's poison is no different. The warning label is the Word of God. How many would give your child a medicene, without first reading the bottle looking for the correct dosage to give? Do we treat everyday matters with the same care, or do we measure out our lives only comparing ourselves with our neighbor (which only leads to justification)?

Father, forgive us for living our lives like this is our home. Teach us how to truly follow you. Let us not fall into the pit of doing things like the world, let us be different for You. Let us not look and act like the world. Let us be set apart for Your business. We have to stay focused, and keep the main thing, the main thing! Though I completely do not understand what it means to deny myself, and to take up my cross, I am trusting that one step at a time, you will reveal to me what I am to do to please You. . . .

Saturday, January 7, 2011

2012-01-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

Kim and the kids were playing Monopoly. I was watching them play and realized they were going the wrong direction around the board. They were following the direction the "go to jail" man was pointing.

Who needs to socialize any more, when you have technology???

2011-12-25T00:57:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas!

"Glory to God in the highest.

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" - Luke 2:14

Weekend Happenings December 17-18, 2011

2011-12-21T14:25:00.003-05:00

Saturday, December 17, 2011
Christmas Party at Tim and Jan's

Aunt Carolyn broke out the silly string. It was intended for the kids,

but as you can tell the "big kids" got in on the action.

Jan cleaning up after her ~~crazy~~ messy in-laws.

Food and togetherness

And Princess, just because

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Our church is very blessed with musical talent, we have musicians in our church that perform with Tim Mcgraw, Faith Hill, and Randy Travis to name a few. This morning we were having music performed by different ones, and the choir did some Christmas specials. One of the couples who were performing, asked for the pastor and his wife to come up the the platform. She wanted them to ring the bells every time the words "Jingle Bells" were sung. They got up there and she threw in a stipulation, they couldn't use their hands! She then tied the bells around their waists. Pastor laughingly said he was resigning right then, but went on to be a good sport and joined his wife ringing the bells. It was so funny, and we were lucky enough to have a front row seat. . . . . .

This Is What Procrastination Looks Like

2011-12-21T13:33:00.000-05:00

My least desired chore of choice to do is sorting the socks. I have a basket on my dryer that collects the loose socks as they come out of the dryer. Most of the time that is where they stay until someone starts yelling they have no socks in their drawer. This morning the basket was overflowing. It had been almost 2 weeks since I had sorted the socks, so I thought I had better get the job done. It took me almost 30 minutes to sort and fold 64 pair of socks. I can't believe I actually had 128 loose socks laying on my dryer!

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-15T14:32:00.002-05:00

Another craft project idea from www.thehomespunheart.blogspot.com. I just cut out scraps of fabric and pinned them on muslin and sewed them on. I embellished with a star button and put it in a black frame. Took about 30 minutes.

Cinnamon Roll Cake

2011-12-15T11:20:00.001-05:00

For the cake -
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter (melted)

For the Topping -
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Mix all cake ingredients together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9X13 cake pan. This would probably be good in a bundt pan as well. Now, mix the topping ingredients together, and spread evenly over the cake mixture and take a knife and swirl it in. Bake at 350 for about 25 to 33 minutes for 9x13 pan. When it comes out of the oven pour the glaze evenly over the cake.

For the Glaze -
2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

*I found this recipe on Pinterest.

Jute Webbing Candle Jars

2011-12-15T10:49:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday I went over to Nana Mickey's (my mom) house and she was decorating her sled for her front porch. She pulled some jute webbing out of a bag to ask what I thought about using that on top of the greenery. She didn't even know that this stuff was so in this year when she bought it. It is all over Pinterest, used in all kinds of craft projects. We didn't use much of it on her sled and she said I could take the rest. I had already seen an idea I was wanting to try on http://www.thehomespunheart.blogspot.com/. She was hot gluing the jute webbing to jars. So, I remembered seeing in the Dollar Store ad that they had their large candle filled mason jars B1G1F, so I ran by there and grabbed 8 of them, and came home and started cutting and gluing. Can't get any simpler than that! I ended up going to Wal-Mart and getting 10 more yards of the webbing - I love this stuff. I think they turned out pretty cute. I added some buttons to them for a little bling. What do you think?

I had already put one on display for myself,

and took one down to my neighbor.

I'm thinking these would be cute filler gifts,

or a gift for a Sunday School teacher,

or Awana teachers as Monica is using hers for.

Lovely, I Know!

2011-12-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

This is me last week after getting my wisdom teeth removed. I don't even remember Al coming in the room, let alone taking this picture. . . . .

Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

2011-12-06T11:49:00.002-05:00

We had a very good Thanksgiving, with entirely too much food. Every year we prepare too much, but this year we went overboard, we even had a whole other table filled with food that wasn't last year. We will definitely skim back next year because by Friday evening we were tired of leftovers.
Guests for dinner
All of us
Nana Mickey
Bishop's
Sutter's

Menu
Turkey
Ham
Dressing (2)
Mashed Potatoes
Corn
Mac n Cheese
Pinto Beans
Deviled Eggs (2 trays)
Fried Oysters
Green Bean Casserole
Hashbrown Casserole
Broccoli Salad
Rolls
Banana Pudding
Pumpkin Bars
Carrot Cake

Well, I said I wasn't going shopping on Black Friday, but I did a little. I didn't go to any of the crazy places though, at least not during the peak hours. Kim ended up talking us into going to the Lebanon Outlet Mall. After an afternoon of resting, Kim and Stacy came back over at 9:30. We had some carrot cake and coffee before heading out, to give us some much needed energy. Nana Mickey had the kids. I really didn't find that much there, the only store I bought anything at was Gymboree, but they were having really good deals. The lines weren't too bad either, nor were the stores too crowded, except Bath and Body, whose line stretched outside to even enter the store, no thank you! We got back home around 3:30 a.m. Lowe's opened at 5 a.m., so we sat on the couch, with our jackets on, and slept for a whole hour, and Al and I were right back out the door. We ran in Wal-Mart and Goody's after Lowe's, and came back home and crashed the rest of the day. Kim and Stacy came back over later and ate with us, then we went ahead and froze all of the leftovers, enough was enough.

Saturday morning we got up and decided to go do some Christmas shopping. We went to Culver's for lunch before we started shopping, we were all wanting hamburgers, NO MORE TURKEY! After lunch we ran into Best Buy, Home Depot, Kohls, and Sam's (Yes, we did have all the kids, and yes, I was ready to pull my hair out by the time we got home.)

As if that wasn't a day full already, we came home and I was persistant that the tree had to be put up. I always put my tree up on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I wasn't willing to change my tradition. Thankfully, before we left that morning, Al and I had pulled everything down from the attic and had it all stacked up in the garage. I should have listened and waited until Sunday to put it up. It was 7 p.m. as we were getting started, and I was already tired and ill. Al went out to his building to "play" with his new "toys" he had bought at Lowe's the day before, Alla was playing on his Xbox, so I was left with Boy and Princess to assist with the tree. While we were decorating, I was huffing and puffing, wanting some help from someone while I was streaming the lights and garland, Princess started humming "Deck the Halls" while she was playing with the ornaments. She didn't miss a beat. Where did she even learn that? That chilled me out, it made me realize the reason we put up a Christmas tree anyways is not out of tradition, but because it is a symbol of rememberance. As we celebrate Christ's birth this season, we can't help but to reflect on His ultimate sacrifice, hanging on the tree, dying for our sins, and rising back to life and ascending to the right hand of the Father. Now that makes me want to light that tree!

Sunday we got up and went to church. I taught in the 3 year old classroom that morning. We came home from church and I finished putting up the rest of the decorations, and even managed to get a few presents wrapped. Our Thanksgiving weekends tend to follow the same pattern from year to year. That can be a good thing, as long as the patterns aren't forced, but just flow.

Thanksgiving Prep

2011-11-23T16:29:00.003-05:00

* Turkey soaked and brining
(Put in the oven around 2 in the morning.)
* Pinto beans soaked and cooking
* 2 pans of cornbread cooked for dressing
* Eggs boiled for dressing and deviled eggs
* Floors mopped
* Go through Black Friday ads
(Even though I'm not planning on going anywhere!!!)

"Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." - Psalm 106:1

Yuck!

2011-11-17T13:23:00.001-05:00

I had a consultation appointment this morning with the oral surgeon. I have to get my remaining 3 wisdom teeth removed in a few weeks. Why didn't I get them all out back in '97, instead of just the one causing problems? That's what I get for not using my "wisdom". . . . . Actually in '97 wisdom was no where to be seen. Yep, that would explain it!

Senorita Kimmie's 40th

2011-11-16T00:20:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago we pulled off a surprise 40th Birthday party for Kim. We totally surprised her. I don't know which she was happier about, the party or Nick being there!

Happy 4-0 Kim, we love you!

Field Trip to The Big South Fork Scenic Railway & Cumberland Falls

2011-11-15T23:08:00.005-05:00

The week before our train ride we attempted to go to a "farm" that deemed itself educational and fun with family friends, the Rogers, that also homeschool. We made the 2 hour trip there only to be totally disappointed. We didn't even get out it was so horrible. The cows you were to milk were made out of plywood and had fake udders, they were right up front when you pulled in the driveway. The conversation in our vehicle when we pulled in was - Al, "I'm not paying money to get in here." Me, "I'm not eating any butter that is made here." Alla, "This place looks like something on American Pickers." Al gets out of our van and goes back to the Roger's car and they were like let's get out of here. As we were driving off, Al says to the kids, "Oh no kids, your mom picked out the train ride we are going on next week!" Anyways, we totally couldn't find anything else to do in the area, so we ended up eating lunch at Dairy Queen and came back home. We laughed, literally, all the way home. I was told I was no longer allowed to have anything to do with planning our field trips. But thankfully, I redeemed myself with the train ride. I was a little scared though. The morning we were to go it was very cold (30's) and raining. Yeah, I was nervous. We had to leave the house by 6 a.m. to get to the train depot by 9 a.m., an hour before the train departed. We were all layered up and had our blankets and our picnic lunch. It rained on us the whole 3 hour trip to Stearns. We didn't know if there were enclosed cars or what to expect. By the time we got the the depot the temp had warmed up to upper 40's, and it the rain was down to a drizzle, thank you God! The depot started filling up quickly. When the doors on the depot were opened to load up the train, everybody started taking off to get inside an enclosed car (there were only 2 enclosed). It was a very tight squeeze but no one had to ride in an open air car. The ride was fun. Princess really liked it. The only complaint was that it smelled of propane and BenGay. The Geezer Express is what Al called it.

Half way through the train ride we stopped in a little old coal town to have lunch, and to look around the town. This is a picture of an actual, not used anymore, coal mine. You are able to walk so far up in the mine, that was pretty cool. The top picture was also taking in the coal town. There was a huge bridge that went out over the river you could walk across. That about made me sick. Al, Alla, and Princess went right on across that thing like it was nothing. Me and Boy were scared to death, there were cracks in the floor of the bridge so you could see the river right under you. My knees were shaking, but we made at least out to the middle before turning around. There were very few brave enough to go across it in our group, they were turning around as soon as the bridge went out over the water.

After the train ride, I went inside the very cute gift shop in the depot. They even carried Candleberry candles, and they had a new scent, "Tennessee Whiskey". It smelled soooo good, it had to come home with me. I also bought a really cute Christmas gift while I was in there. After we left the Big South Fork Scenic Railway we headed to Cumberland Falls, The Niagara of the South. . . . .

We had an early dinner at Culver's, and then went to Wolf Creek Dam to see the work being done on the dam, and to let Al fish a spot. . . . Imagine that, remember the LBL field trip?

Tips for Freezing Ground Beef (or Chuck)

2011-11-02T10:00:00.003-04:00

When I find ground beef, put preferably, ground chuck on sale, I will buy in bulk. Instead of breaking the package apart and freezing as is, I will go ahead and cook it, drain it, and put it into ziploc containers to freeze. It is nice to be able to skip the step of browning the beef at dinner time. Also a plus, it thaws alot quicker than frozen raw meat.

**I add onions and green peppers to the beef as I'm cooking it all.

--I also will go ahead and pat out about 2 lbs worth, and freeze in a larger ziploc container with wax paper between each layer.

~I'm linked up at www.raisinghomemakers.com & www.growinghomeblog.com

Princess's 4th Birthday

2011-10-19T09:33:00.001-04:00

Princess with her Nana

I didn't get very many good pictures.
Princess was in a mood!

Menu: Pizza and Ice Cream Sundaes

Ironing Out Time

2011-09-19T23:34:00.005-04:00

Months ago I would spend about two hours every week ironing. That was my time to watch all of my shows I had DVR'd. Even with having an excuse to watch TV in the middle of the day, it was a hassle, having to drag out the iron and ironing board, and lug all of the clothes that needed ironing to the living room. Then I would have stacks of ironed clothes laying all over the living room furniture, until I had ironed the last piece. I have alot to iron because most of our clothes, with the exception of pajamas and play clothes, I do not put into the dryer. I feel that it shrinks them, and wears them out faster. So, most of our clothes, get hung up to dry. I either hang them up on the bathroom shower rod, or if it's nice outside, that's where they dry. Anyways, 5 people times 7 days a week minus a few for the days we stay in pajamas all day, that's a lot of clothes to iron every week. A few months ago I started using a steam iron instead of the old iron and ironing board. The steam iron came with good wide hook that goes over my laundry room door, that holds quite a few clothes. That is where they go after they have dripped dry. When that hook gets full I have enough to justify ironing. There is no taking all of those clothes off of the hangers and manipulating them all around that ironing board. Nope, I just put my water in the little steam iron machine and let it heat up a few minutes and swipe away at the clothes just hanging there. I can't beleive the time it's saving me. I actually counted the number of pieces I "ironed" tonight in just 20 minutes: 22 pieces. That's crazy, I feel so productive. If you want a crease in your clothes, then this probably isn't the thing for you, but for me, I just want the wrinkles out.

*I'm linking up this week over at www.raisinghomemakers.com

Field Trip to Land Between the Lakes

2011-09-06T21:09:00.004-04:00

A few weeks ago we went to the Land Between the Lakes area. We started at the south side of The Trace, the highway that runs straight through Land Between the Lakes. Our first stop was at The Homeplace, a living, working history farm. Even this city girl had fun on this farm! We got to tour the old house, which was decorated for the era. There were two ladies "living" in the home, one making a potholder, the other quilting. The historic interpreters were very informative, as we had lots of questions for them. They were dressed in period clothing, and could be found all over the farm, working and demonstrating what life was like back in the day.

We saw buffalo and lots of deer. You could literally get within ten feet of the deer.

We ended the day up at the north end of The Trace. Al just had to fish the lake. Princess had her first outdoor pottying experience, she did not hesitate. Thankfully we had wipes with us. Princess, Boy, and I picked up a mason jar full of shells to bring home with us. To top the day off, we ran upon a little primitive store, and Al kept the kids in the van, and let me go in by myself (the perfect way to end a field trip.)

Menu Plan Monday

2011-09-04T23:54:00.006-04:00

*I'm linking up this week at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I'm a little strict with my menu planning. There is no room for a change of appetite, and that drives my husband nuts. Just like earlier today he asked what was on the menu for this week and I told him it was pork burgers tomorrow (we had a pig slaughtered, so we have lots of pork to eat) and he rolled his eyes and suggested steak. Thankfully, I already had the pork burgers in the fridge thawing - we were committed!

Monday (Labor Day) - Pork Burgers, Baked Beans, Fries, and Fruit Salad

Tuesday - Baked Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Corn

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Soup and Grilled Cheese

Friday - Beef / Cheese Skillet, Green Beans, Roll

Haircut for a Princess (August 2011)

2011-09-03T23:34:00.002-04:00

This was Princess's first haircut in a while. We decided to cut it off short. She did really good sitting still in the big chair. The last time she had her hair cut, I had to sit in the chair and hold her (which meant I left with just as much hair on me as was cut off her head.) Thankfully though, she did great this time. She has really grown up a lot in the last six months. She even went to the eye doctor for an exam and did perfect. Last December when I took her to the pediatric opthalmologist, it was awful. She also had her teeth cleaned, for the first time, a few weeks ago. I had an appointment for all three of them, and when we got to the dentist, she said she wanted to go first, and she did. She is like a different kid than she was just a few months ago. She's a big girl now, and the haircut proves it!

Pioneer Princess (Summer 2011)

2011-09-03T23:07:00.012-04:00

Princess had been asking for these stinking Hello Kitty boots
e-v-e-r-y time we went to Target.

I kept telling her to wait until they went on clearance
(like everything eventually does at Target.) Finally, after months of
them being priced $16.99, I relented, and she got the boots.

The boots actually did come in handy. They kept her good shoes

from being worn outside and getting dirty and ruined.

The only problem was, she didn't want to wear her good shoes

anymore. Hello Kitty boots it was, no matter the outfit.

Princess worked hard this summer in the garden.

She carried buckets. . . .

She helped Dad fill the buckets. . . . .

Oops, can't forget that one. . . . .

If only those boots helped her to come inside and help Mom wash all of those vegetables!

Mountains - May 2011

2011-08-28T15:14:00.001-04:00

Clingman's Dome

Waterfalls on the way to Cades Cove

Cades Cove

The Sink outside of Gatlinburg

May 2011

2011-08-24T09:31:00.003-04:00

How are you 13 already?

Only 5 more years to mold you into the man you will become.

I pray you will grow up to serve the Lord with all your heart.

You are so fun to raise. You wear me out with your introvertness,

because we're the only ones you come alive around. You constantly

have something for me or your Dad to come and see or watch.

You are doing amazing on the piano and drums. Remember that

God gave you your talents, never refrain from using them for His glory -

whatever He would call you to do. He gave you your talents and gifts,

and if hidden under a bush, He can take them away from you.

We love you and thank God for you!