4 Sweet Sisters

A bad day canning is better than the best day shopping! Can I tell you that I have been going crazy wanting to can! But unfortunately there has been absolutely nothing available to stock up on and can. That is until these fabulous peaches went on sale for 69 cents a pound. That is a terrific price for where we live! It's been years since I've done peach jam. So I read up on all the procedures and on how to can peach slices. I made sure I had plenty of lemon juice, clean jars, lids, rings and sugar. I also watched Homestead Blessings, Canning addition. The Chickadees really enjoyed watching the West Ladies and I got a little braver about trying my new pressure canner. (I still haven't used it.) Scoring peaches for their hot tub time. Boiling for about a minute to loosen skins. Some of them just didn't want to loosen. I let them sit in ice water next to help even further. Some still were persnickety! Farm girl stopped by from the pool to help out. You can see some of th...

A beautiful thing is taking place here. Every once in a while the Lord just puts something ever so precious in my lap. Right now that something is Bible & Beach. About 13 young woman and a couple of us moms are meeting weekly at the beach. We're digging in deeper to what the Lord has for us and fun fellowship. We are working our way through Eric and Leslie Ludy's book, When God Writes Your Love Story. For some it's a new concept and for some it's confirmation. While for others, it is a helpful reminder of all the beauty that awaits those who seek after His heart. The main reason I highly recommend this book is because it places the reader in the "driver's seat". It's not just what parents, grandparents or even what pastors say we have to do or should be doing. Its not about rules, regulations or the "perfect" way to date. Just an invitation to invite the Lord into all parts of our lives including our romance life. Heavy and rich. Better t...

I'm really getting excited about SWAGBUCKS. If you look over in my side bar you see the icon to join. I'm saving for Christmas gifts and I'm well on my way. I have one high ticket item (i can't disclose) that I hope to purchase in full from Amazon. A $5 e-certificate is 450 swagbucks and I've got a tidy little sum building. Swagging is super easy. Set up a tool bar and start searching. Swagbucks will appear as you search and go right into your account. You can also do surveys, purchase items from real online stores, and find codes to earn lots more SB's. Interested? Click Here and join or go to my side bar. Have fun swaging and saving for gifts! julie

Bakerella and the Cake Boss we are not! But we sure enjoy pretending we are and acquiring some new skills a long the way! I really have to make an effort at times to just let my chickadees do it their own way. So I set a morning a aside a couple of weeks ago for them to practice there cake decorating skills. The white and chocolate cupcake pictures are from that day. Farm Girl concentrating... Isn't she sweet! Farm girl learned to make this and the flower cookie below. She had a great time at a birthday party with friends creating and decorating. I thought she did a terrific job on these little flowers. This was the Little Chefs first experience. It was all about squeezing hard and getting as much on the cupcake as possible. More chocolate please! Some of the finished product. Here is a beautiful cake that was created by a friend at Country Boy's . She loves to make cakes like the Cake Boss. What neat birthday gift for the Little Chef who really wanted a Pink Castle Cake ...

Ever wonder what happens when "the cats are away"? Ah Ha! I found these on my camera. I'm pretty sure she is the Ring Leader. I mean she just bought a stir fry cookbook at Ikea. The evidence points to her. Have they gone deep sea fishing? This must be the Right Handwoman or maybe the girl who does the dirty work! Something looks like it smells good. WaLa! Stir Fry ala Urban and School Girls. Love the crinkle cut texture on the carrots. Fancy they must have picked that up from me. Someone really enjoyed themselves. Next sauces! julie

School has "officially " been back in session for a week here at our house. I frequently get asked why we start so early. I'm not a very eloquent person and usually fumble on the spot. I use words like,"uh", and " that's what I was meaning to say". But , the reasons we start back so early are: It's SUPER HOT here! I like to be done with the bulk of our studies in April so that I can start planning in May before the Homeschool convention. Usually 3 out of the 4 chickadees are begging to start. We still have summer fun, take days off and so it isn't straight school, day in and day out. A little crazy on my schedule, but doable! So these are some of my reasons. Catch me on any given day and I could have more or less. I spoke of scheduling. I'm a real nerd when it comes to scheduling. I micro manage our individual and daily schedules down to the last minute. Then I feel totally relieved that I have this wonderfully organized schedule and ...