Adorable Gift Ideas!

One of my sisters started an Etsy shop as her home business: Sunshine Country, she has a bunch of very nice crochet items listed for sale.   From owl hats to teddy bear scarves, I think everything is super cute!  If you are looking for gifts for any little ones you may know, here are some ideas! :)

I think these owl hats are very cute! 

These Mary Jane style crochet baby shoes are my favourite thing in the shop! 

This set it pretty sweet too! 

A teddy bear scarve. 

This would look adorable on a little one. :) 

Two other hats. 

If you'd like to see what else she has listed please visit her store! Link above and also on my sidebar! :) 

Hope everyone has a great day! :) 

Fresh New Snow

Last night it snowed around five to six inches, it was so pretty outside this morning that I took a few pictures.  

Snow on the lamppost. 

The picnic table.

Cold and white.

Captain and Sadie.

Waiting for springtime. 

"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches." 

Random Favorite Photo #2

I thought this was sweet!  Lydia had hurt herself and Matthew, without any prompting, went over and hugged her. :)  

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a wonderful day today! :)

Give Thanks 

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

Give thanks with a grateful heart
Give thanks to the Holy One
Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son

And now let the weak say, "I am strong"
Let the poor say, "I am rich
Because of what the Lord has done for us"

" O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.  O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.  O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.   To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.  To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.  To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.  To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:  The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever."  Psalm 136 

Follow That Which is Good

See that no man render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men. Thessalonians 5:15

How quickly we want to get back at someone and return evil for evil! Slights, insults, open rejection- hurtful words and actions that sometimes come our way. Our immediate response is to retaliate, to show we will not stand for it and to silence the source. But that strategy, appealing to the flesh and encouraged by the world deepens the problem. If that is your situation today, commit the matter to the Lord Who experienced the same (1 Peter 2:23) and watch how He will work with you and for you.  -M. Kolchin

Jesus, meek and gentle, Son of God most High, Gracious, loving Saviour, hear Thy children's cry. -G. Prynne

Surprise Supper

I already know that I have an awesome husband who treats me like a queen every day, but it's times like this...

 ...when he surprises me and brings home Happy Meals for the kids and delicious sushi for me and him so I didn't have to fix supper, that I realize again just how blessed I am to have him!  I'm one spoiled girl. ;) :) 

A Little Fellow Follows Me

I came across this poem not long ago, though written about fathers and sons, it can easily be applied to me as a mom of daughters/sons too.  I'm thankful for my husband who is a wonderful loving example to our children! 

Graham holding our youngest son Luke, at the top of the Calgary Tower.  

  A LITTLE FELLOW FOLLOWS ME

A careful man I want to be;

A little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray

For fear he’ll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,

Whate’er he sees me do, he tries.

Like me he says he’s going to be;

The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I’m so very fine,

Believes in every word of mine.

The base in me he must not see;

The little chap who follows me.

I must remember as I go

Through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,

I’m building for the years to be;

The little chap who follows me.

Sweet Girls, Three Years Later

I came across this precious picture of Abby and Lydia from 2012. 

I took this one of them today; three years later. :) 

hahaha! :)

This made me laugh, I thought it was pretty funny. :) 

Creamy Hash Brown Casserole

I used to made this casserole a lot for the seeding and harvest crew on our farm.  It's cheesy, creamy and yummy, and nice because it's quick to mix together.  Even my 10 month old little boy loves it. :)

All the ingredients.

Mixing everything together.

Putting on the topping.

Hot out of the oven. :) 

Creamy Hash Brown Casserole 

1 10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted 

3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. sour cream

1/3 c. melted butter

1/2 t. black pepper

2 t. garlic powder

1 2 lb. bag frozen hash browns

2 c. grated cheddar cheese

3/4 c. Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl stir together the undiluted soup, milk, sour cream, melted butter, black pepper, garlic powder and parmesan cheese; whisk until well combined. Mix in the cheddar cheese, onions and hash browns. Spread into a 9x13 baking dish. If desired top with some crushed cornflakes, more cheese, or in my case I used rice crispy cereal, which I don't plan on doing again. :)  Bake at 350 for about 40 min until hot and bubbly. 

Hope you enjoy! 

ABC Say It With Me, Bible Memory Verses, DVD

“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11

If you are looking for good movies for your children to watch you should consider getting this one!   "A-B-C Say It With Me, Bible Memory Verses",  only uses the KJV and is 55 minutes long.  Already my three oldest children (ages 5,4, and 3) have been quoting verses that they have heard on the DVD.  For every letter of the alphabet there is a memory verse, for instance for the letter "B" the memory verse is: "Be ye kind one to another..." Eph. 4:32, and it shows a little boy being kind to his sister by sharing.  

Here is part of the description taken from the Moore Family Films website:

"Filled with delightful music and endearing scenes of home, farm, and family life, ABC Say It With Me promotes family unity, Scriptural truths, and, most importantly , the gospel message of Jesus Christ. An enjoyable and easy way to memorize and apply the character- building truths of God's Word!"

You can purchase the DVD or download by going here. 

Trust

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  Proverbs 3:5-6

“Those who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.”

~ Frances Ridley Havergal

Whatsoever ye do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD

An adorable Beatrix Potter picture I found online. :)

"What’s happening in your home today? Is everything piling on top of you--laundry, dishes, and teaching the children all waiting to be accomplished? Don’t throw in the towel, dear mother. Don’t look at everything waiting to be done. Just tackle one job at a time. Priorities first. But do each task with ALL YOUR MIGHT. Not half-heartedly, grumblingly, or lazily. And teach your children to do their chores with all their might, too. Inspire this attitude in them as they see the way you begin each responsibility. What a great day you will have in your home today as each one does everything with all their might."    -Nancy Campbell

 “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy MIGHT.”  Ecclesiastes 9:10

“And whatsoever ye do, do it HEARTILY, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23, 24: 

 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:17

 “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the GLORY OF GOD.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

 “He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much.” Luke 16:10 

"The Earth is the LORD's..."

"The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.  Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?  He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.  This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.  Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah." -Psalm 24

Random Favourite Photo #1

This little boy likes playing cowboys. :). He was excited his Gramma made him this new cowboy shirt; paired with his new hat, (thrift shop find) lasso, rubber boots (okay, not exactly authentic cowboy apparel, but hey, we live on a farm, rubber boots are essential) ;) and stick horse he was set to go! :) 

A Fun Fall Picnic

Last week we had several beautiful fall days, sunshine, colorful leaves, and perfect weather.  The kids and I decided it would be lovely to have a picnic.  I'm glad we did, we enjoyed it a lot!  :) 

Fixin' the food!  Ham sandwiches, juice boxes, sour cream and onion chips, apple slices, and chocolate covered granola bars. It was yummy! :) 

The "perfect" picnic, in reality it was only like this for about half a minute before the kids all scrambled over and made it look like real life. :) 

The tree we sat under was beautiful with bright yellow leaves, which sadly, have mostly fallen off now. 

Content and happy with his very own juice box. :)

Enjoying their food. 

No picnic would be complete without a begging animal right?! This dog is a master at it, she'll even help herself to food right out of the younger kids hands if I'm not watching careful.

Fun times! :) 

"This is the day which the LORD hath made we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Mustard, Garlic Fish

This yummy fish dish turned out very flavourful, I loved the garlic, mustard combination. For my fish I used yelloweye rockfish fillets which is what I had in my freezer, I think this would tastes great on other fish like salmon as well. I did prepare it a day in advance and it sat in the fridge overnight before I baked it, which is not what the original recipe called for, but it seemed to help the flavours intensify.  I made this for lunch served with hot buttered noodles. :) 

Mustard, garlic fish topping 

1/4 c. olive oil
2 Tbsp parsley
3 or 4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1.5 lbs fish fillets 

Combine first seven ingredients in a bowl. Cover a large baking sheet with foil and lay the fish fillets on the foil.  Spoon the olive oil mixture over the fish. Bake at 400 for 20 min, or until done. Enjoy! 

Verse for Today~His Compassions Fail Not~

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."   Lam. 3:22-23

Peace

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

A Tea Party With My Sisters

I've always loved tea parties. Growing up my siblings and I would have them often, ours were never the traditional fancy "English tea", but we did sometimes put a lot of effort into our parties. We'd bake up yummy treats like "Scotch Teas" and cook a pan of lemon curd to top our homemade scones with; other times it would be more of a simple affair with only bagged pretzels (or other snacks we could rustle up from the snack cabinet) to go with our cups of tea.  My brothers would usually join us too, (where there is good food the men will come.) Lol ;).  When I was little my Mom got us cute china tea sets, we broke more handles off those small cups then I can count, but we had such a lot of fun playing with them! :) Before I was married I loved collecting assorted pretty teacups and if I could find a book about tea parties at one of the many favourite thrift stores we went to, well I was a happy girl. :) 

A few months back two of my younger sisters got to come for a visit, while they were here we thought it would be nice to once again have a tea party together. It was lots of fun! We had a good time together sipping our tea, talking and of course eating. :) Here are a few pictures I took of our tea table. 

The tea table. 

On the menu:

Assorted teas

Scones

Lemon curd

Cashews

Smokie sausages 

Mints

Lacy cookies

Lindt chocolates

Yummy little sausages. 

View from above.

Scones, lemon curd, and vanilla and cherry tarts.

The china. I found this (incomplete) set at a thrift store, as soon as I saw it I loved it. Some day it would be nice to find the teapot and a few other pieces that are missing to complete the set. 

Another view. :) 

A Recipe: Favourite Coffee Cake

This recipe goes way back to when I was first learning to bake and cook and it's still one of my favorites!  It had been awhile since I last made it; just smelling it baking brought back a lot of good memories. :) 

Favorite Coffee Cake

Cake:

1 1/2 c. Flour

3/4 c. Sugar

2 1/2 t. Baking powder

3/4 t. Salt

1/4 c. Oil

3/4 c. Milk

1 Egg

Topping:

1/3 c. Sugar

1/4 c. Flour

1/2 t. Cinnamon

3 T. Butter 

Mix the dry ingredients and then add all the wet. Mix thoroughly, pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan. Mix topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the unbaked cake.   Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy a warm piece with a good cup of coffee. :) 

Mixing the dry ingredients.

Pouring in the milk and egg.

Beat with a spoon till the batter is smooth. 

A few of the kids wanted to help mix the topping up (and sample it too; it's yummy!). :) 

Hope you all have a happy day today! :) 

Consider the Great Things God Has Done for You

"Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you." 1 Samuel 12:24

The word "consider", means "to reflect on" or "contemplate".   Scripture tells us to consider many things and to learn from them.  When you have some time consider: the lilies, (Matt. 6:28); the ravens (Luke 12:24); the ant (Prov. 6:6); the heavens (Ps. 8:3); your ways ( Hag. 1:5);  one another ( Heb. 10:24); The Lord Jesus (Heb. 12:3); the wondrous works of God (Job 37:14)!  When was the last time you really stopped and considered what great things God has done for you? -E.V. 

"Count your blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what The Lord hath done."