I grew up as an amish girl in the rolling hills of Lancaster County. I had many dreams as a child. Dreams of getting married one day and having a family. Well that dream did come true for me and now I am married to an amazing man. A few yrs ago God blessed us with a precious baby girl. I wouldn't trade this life for anything. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me yet.
Today is one of those days when you want to spend the entire day inside. I'm planning on baking ginger snaps, finish up some Christmas projects and complete a few hand lotion orders. I made lotions 2 years ago for a few fundraisers, stop and shops etc. but didn't have anything set up last year because of the arthritis. So since I am doing alot better this year I decided to give it a try again. The last two days I've made Vanilla Bean Noel, Warm Vanilla Sugar, Midnight Pomegranate, Water Orchid, Brown Sugar and Fig, Bedtime Bath (a very popular lotion for babies), Sparkling Plum, Winter Candy Apple and Twilight Woods. I'm only selling them in 8 oz. bottles and they are $8.50 each. So if anyone wants to purchase any let me know! There are no harsh chemicals or preservatives in these lotions. The only ingredients are: Emulsifying Wax, Vitamin E Oil, Safflower Oil and the fragrance.
Snow Globes
I seen these adorable snow globes on pinterest the other day and I could not get them out of my head! So yesterday I went to Christmas Tree Shop and purchased a pack of mini glittery Christmas trees. They came in a pack of 6 and only cost $6.99.
First hot glue the tree to inside of a mason jar lid. You can use wide mouth (which works better but I was short in wide mouth jars) so I used the regular jars.
Then I poured some Epsom salt into a quart sized jar, sorry this photo below is not cooperating!
Then place the tree into the jar upside down and use a ring to seal it.
Once its sealed turn the jar upside down on the countertop so the lid is on the bottom. All the Epsom salt will come to rest under the tree. Make sense? :) I thought it was cute!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We are having my family at our home for something different and I also am looking forward to going out in the evening with my friends. I always enjoyed Black Friday Shopping!
The last several days I had a blast Christmas decorating. Yes, this is the earliest I ever did this. Call me crazy but I'm not the only one. I thought it would be fun to share some ideas with you since I got all my ideas from pinterest this year. Since I have my own account I check out new pins quite often. I had a total blast with everything I did. Mom and I were together on wed part of the day and we did a few pinterest projects as well. May I say, What did I ever do without internet? I'm the type that can get easily carried away on my computer with stuff like that but I'm disciplining myself in that area of my life! So now that I've finished decorating it makes the home so cozy. My husband isn't usually the type that gushes over everything but that's ok. He likes when I make the home cozy, I know he does. Men are men and some are more expressive than others. So here are some shots of our home....
THE BEDROOM
l saw this quote on a pinterest board and thought it was adorable!
Let's just say this bright mustard runner was supposed to be scarf but it found a new home! I ordered it from etsy and apparently overlooked the measurements and when I tried it on, it looked as if I was trying to hang myself!
THE KITCHEN
I had a blast with my kitchen this year! On the top shelf I found a clear vase in my attic and spray painted it gold. Yes, gold is becoming a favorite color of mine. I bought 6 fake pears at Dollar Tree the other day and spray painted those gold as well. I know, lame, right? but I think they are adorable! you will find them on a few other pictures. Those were a pinterest idea as well. On the second shelf I filled a turquoise mason jar with alittle fake snow that you can buy at target and placed a pack of candy canes in the jar. Another pinterest idea!! :)
The next two pictures I simply grabbed a bag of pine cones at AC Moore and spray painted them white and sprinkled Epsom salt on them. It's easier if you pour a bunch of Epsom salt into a bread bag and then put the pine cones in the bag and shake it around. You want to make sure you do that right after you spray paint the cones. The Epsom salt will stick a lot better. A pinterest idea as well!
I found this antique bowl at an amish farm this summer and had so much fun with it already. These branches I found in our woods and I spray painted them white. A pinterest idea! You're probably getting tired of me saying that !:)
This chair below I found at the cottonwood house last week and I immediately fell I love with it! It matched perfectly with the colors of my kitchen. And the merry Christmas thing, $1.00 from target! I was so excited because I love anything bright and colorful.
THE LIVING ROOM
I found a board at my parents and spray painted it red and placed a wall decal on it! So simple and so cheap if you do it yourself!
Their is something so spectacular about a tree!
THE OFFICE
The frame I found at the cottonwood house last weekend and I found some cardboard, and spray painted that with chalk board spray paint. That stuff is the coolest invention ever!
ALAINA'S ROOM
A Pinterest idea below (the frame I found at the cottonwood house this past spring)
I found this wooden crate shortly after we got married and I spray painted it gray and put it in my daughters room. The pink egg basket was once black and I didn't have use for it anywhere else in my home so I spray painted it pink and filled it with white ornaments. Another PI!
Fill a glass vase with fake snow and place a few pinwheels in it!
THE FRONT PORCH
(mom gave me this window for my birthday)
momma's old skates :)
Last winter this sled below was brown, it's amazing what a bottle of spray paint can do! And the old tool box was also a cotton wood house find from this spring! Love it! The wide board I got free at a yard sale this summer and spray painted that as well with chalkboard spray paint.
The basket below was once brown with apples all over it. Lets just say it has a whole new meaning! The vase was also black and it got a makeover. The Noel letters I found at Michaels, they were black when I purchased them but the red stands out alittle more. I used red spray paint for that.
Ultimate Grilled Cheese
I was at a scrapbooking party this fall and they served these wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches. I've made them probably 10 times since! They are not just your original grilled cheese. They are spectacular! I wanted to share the recipe with you! I'm personally not a huge bread fan so I used French bread. My husband thinks the French bread gives it alittle more crunch. Also, the recipe says to use 3/4 cup mayonnaise. I just use a 1/2 cup. It's a lot better that way. To zoom in on the recipe simply click on the photo. Enjoy....
Here are a few shots of my honeys from the other day. A day of cleaning up the outside! We had thousands of leaves everywhere! And our mower gave out on us so we couldn't use the catcher. Have a wonderful week! Erma
Speaking of honey, the other day I said to Alaina, "Honey, can you please come here to mommy?" then she says, "What momma, is daddy here? Where is he?" I said, "No, Daddy isn't here, I'm calling you honey!" she replies, "I'm not honey momma! I'm Alaina!" LOL, so smart they are!
I promised you that I would start off with a favorite Christmas song of mine in the beginning of each of my posts from now till Christmas. So here is one from Phillips, Craig and Dean
Beings the holidays are here, everybody is out and about and saying they are busy. I find myself wondering, "What does Jesus think of all this?" I know he understands our excitement but I want to purpose in my heart to not let these upcoming holidays distract me from the most important things in my life. I don't want this Christmas to be all about me. I'm personally not a fan of the sayings, "I'm to busy to go" or "I'm to busy". Period. This year, instead of everything being about me, my christmas decorations, my gifts piled up under the tree and all the good food to make, I want to add "taking a jar of soup to my 90 year old widowered neighbor who hibernates in the winter and tell him about Jesus". I want to do more than drop a few coins in the salvation army bucket outside of walmart. I want to be willing to give from the heart to those who are struggling financially and you know, above all it is not just about giving money. Its about giving up of our time. Its about sitting down with those who are hurting and focusing completely on listening to them. Its about letting that person pour out their hearts and encouraging them and praying with them. THAT, is what I want to do so much better at. So many people have done that with me over the time I was struggling with my health. Now, I look back and that was just as special to me as someone taking the time to bring my meal. So what can we do, what can I do to bring a smile to someones face this holiday season? It's a challenge for all of us and there is so much beauty behind blessing someone in all sincerity and not expecting anything in return or hoping Jesus rewards us for all the time and effort we put into blessing that person.
My highlights of these upcoming holidays are: singing for people, family time, baking Christmas goodies, listening to music, drinking white chocolate peppermint mochas from starbucks, having parties, exchanging gifts, eating lots of good food, scrapbooking, decorating, shopping and the list goes on. But there are so so many people that are not as fortunate as we are and don't get to do these types of things. Some days I feel guilty but I know I cannot feel that way. Instead I want to thank God every single day for everything he has blessed us with.
That leads me to a question that has been on my mind alot the past week. How can I go about my everyday life and be more aware of God? How can I include him more in my life when I'm on the go all the time? I'm not the type that likes to go away alot. I enjoy my days at home. My days go a lot smoother when I simply stay home. I always find plenty to do. And it seems lately that I have been staying up late and wanting to sleep in, I'll say 7:00. That is sleeping in for me, I tend to be an early riser because I get more done that way. So here's my scenario, say I get up at 7, start a load of laundry. Then as I walk past my computer on my way into the living room to have my devotions I think, "I'm quickly going to check my emails, pinterest notifications, facebook notifications and my favorite blogs, then I'll go spend time with Jesus before my daughter wakes up because spending time with Jesus doesn't go to well when my daughter is awake and in the living room with me. Its always the same, "momma, I want cereal", "read me a book", "get me a drink", or "I need to go potty". And there is nothing wrong with her demanding that. I will most times do these things for her or help her with whatever she needs help with but there is nothing like sitting on my favorite section of the couch with a cup of hot chocolate, my favorite devotional book and the Bible in my hands. And there is nothing more relaxing than when it is just you and Jesus. I cannot focus when my daughter is up and this past week, it happened three mornings in a row when I thought, ok now, I'm going to make having my devotions my number one priority when I get up because I really do enjoy my alone time with God in the morning. I love giving him my undivided attention. I'm just not doing very well with that this week. I do not want spending time with God to be a chore and I don't want do it because I feel its required of me from him. I want to spend time with him because I want to draw closer to him. I want God to see into the depths of my heart and I want to learn more about him. Not because I have to. I want it to because I want to. Praying is probably one of my biggest weaknesses. And they're somedays when I feel as if my prayers are so boring to him but we don't need to use fancy words. From experience, prayer to me is just simply talking to God as if he were in the room with me. You don't need to use big words, just talk. He hears everything! Let it be sincere. I never did go into my closet like the Bible says you can do, but when I gaze into the sky and pretend to see his face, Prayer comes easier for me! I began praying that God would teach me how to be a better prayer warrior because I know it is a weakness of mine. And yes, I have seen a difference. He has helped me overcome that obstacle. I find myself praying in my car, in the shower and as I'm baking. If we don't get our prayers finished in the morning because of our demands of our kids, Its ok! There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. If we get distracted with the thoughts of what we need to all do that day, ask God to bring your mind back to him. The Bible says to be in prayer constantly, I really don't think it means 24/7. I think he means throughout the day just whisper constant words of prayer, whether it is a need or a struggle. He is always listening!
Back to my morning routine this week. I did it three mornings in a row where I thought I would quickly check this or that before I had my devotions and guess what? All three mornings I didn't make it back into my living room before I heard my baby girls bedroom door open. I would be so upset at myself the rest of the day and catch myself thinking, "why couldn't I wait to check my emails after I had my devotions." "Now I won't find the right opportunity and on and on." I finally told myself, ok this is ridiculous! Either I'm getting up earlier or I'm getting my priorities straight. But then I began to realize that yes God wants us to spend quality time with him but if we don't, he's not going to add that to my our sin list. He doesn't have a sin list anyway and He's not that kind of God. Yes, I do want to overcome this spiritual battle and because it is a weakness of mine, the enemy is going to try and do everything he can to discourage me. I believe with all my heart Jesus is always up there patiently waiting for us to talk to him. He loves seeing us put effort into it so take the time today and give it to him. Meanwhile I'm going to try my hardest in becoming a better prayer warrior and not letting small things in life distract me!!
From now on I will be posting a Christmas song on the top of each of my blogs! I do really enjoy Christmas music and I want to share all my favorites! Here is one by Third Day
So I'm getting extremely excited about the holidays coming up! I cannot figure out though why I'm acting this way so early in November? This is the first for me. ever. that I anticipated Christmas before thanksgiving. Yesterday I took my in-laws to the mall off of 11/15 in Selinsgrove. We drove and hour and a half to meet my other sister in law Carolyn who lives in Bradford County or also known as the haft. She also had an hour and a half drive so we arrived in the parking lot at almost the exact time. Before we hit the road we splurged and ordered starbucks. I know they are expensive but I haven't found a coffee shop yet that can beat them. I was craving a pumpkin spice latte the moment I left my house but to my dismay they did not have my pumpkin spice latte!! I ordered my winter favorite instead. The white chocolate peppermint mocha! As we were cruising I wanted to savor every ounce of that drink! Wrapping those cold hands around that red cup brought a smile to my face. It takes little things to make me smile! I was extremely tired but I was very excited to start shopping! How can I not be excited for Christmas when all the malls are covered in Holiday décor? We shopped at almost every shopping center along that route and I don't know about the others but I had a very successful day. Believe it or not I got almost everybody crossed off my list and today I wrapped everything and stored it in my closet. I really loved that mall so to those who want to do something different this year, you should give it a try. Alaina was with my mom so that made things so much easier for me. Thank you mom for helping me out! You truly are the best! I'm certain I will repay. My parents sold their 5 acre property in September and bought a 2 acre property in Lancaster. Yes I said Lancaster. They just don't get it that it is to far for me. But they are excited about it and hope to get in in 2 weeks to start painting. Everything else is in great shape. So that's where I will be up until Christmas. She warned me to have all my canning and fall cleaning done by the time they can get in. I've completed all that now so I will be leaving my November and December OPEN! She also said I need to have all my Christmas decorating done and a week ago I nearly laughed at my friend Susan for putting her tree up! Actually I thought the stores were losing it but when I seen she had her things out to, I was floored! Sorry Susan. It came back to bite me though. Exactly a week later I decorated my daughters room. Alaina is so proud of her mini white Christmas tree with pink ornaments, pink snow flakes and sparkling lights. Her room is pink and gray so I found some adorable pink and gray Christmas décor at Ross's last year and couldn't wait to put everything in order. Yes I do enjoy decorating and so often I wish I had a few of my friends taste to but everybody has a different taste for different things. Yesterday as we were shopping I said to my sister in law jokingly, "if only money grew on trees" but as I thought about it, I really wouldn't be any happier! I know for a fact I wouldn't. Our earthly treasures are not going to matter to Jesus when he returns. He wants us to store up treasures in heaven. So I found myself being more willing to be content. We do have so much more than what people in other countries and even in our own county have and I'm so grateful for that.
Layered Chocolate Bars
Ok so there is a very funny story behind the demand for this recipe. One that leaves me speechless! A few weeks ago there was a funeral at our church and I was asked to make a batch of bars for lunch. I had to have them at the church by 11 or 11:30. My morning started off pretty crazy, nothing was going my way and my daughter was showing me a hard time so by the time I got these bars baked and to the church it was 11:40. I was so upset the entire drive to my church, the bars were so over baked and I was going to make sure that they don't use them unless they absolutely needed to. When I get to the church I handed them to the lady and completely forgot to tell her that. So within 2 weeks after the funeral I had numerous amount of women come up to me and ask me what I put in those bars and how I made them and a few people even asked if I sprinkled granola on top. So let me tell you, I was floored! I found it quite humorous actually. A few women didn't believe me when I told them I just over baked them alittle and that I didn't add anything else to recipe. So to all of you who want that recipe they are in the older version of the Honey Brook Cook Book. The recipe is on page 328 and to those of you who do not have that cook book I will gladly share my burnt bars recipe with you!
You will need:
1/2 cup butter melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
16 oz. mini chocolate chips
8 oz. mini peanut butter or butterscotch chips
(You can use regular sized chips as well, I always used the mini)
Layer each ingredient in order given in a 9 x 13 inch pan or you can use alittle bigger pan if you don't want the bars fat (if that makes sense) The recipe says to bake at 350 but I set it at 325 because of the heat that my oven throws. Bake for 30-35 minutes is what the recipe says but I guess if you want them looking and tasting like mine try 40 minutes! Sorry I do not have pictures but they are the easiest bars to make so good luck and enjoy........
Can someone pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming? How can tomorrow possibly be the first day of November? Why is time going by so quickly? Why? This year is flying by so quickly and I'm wondering if it's because I make myself so busy all the time or if it gets that way as you get older. Either way, I just want to fully enjoy what is left of this year. I have many goals that I would want to fulfill yet before 2014. I'm actually looking forward to the new year. I don't want to get ahead of myself but in reality it is just around the corner. I cant wait for a fresh start. I feel as if I have had the most difficult year of my entire life. Difficult and beautiful at the same time. My health spiraled out of control earlier on in the year and all summer it was rough for me but I still in my heart knew that I needed to consider myself blessed. I still had so much more than many others. As I reflect back it was also a year where God took a hold of me and turned pain and a hurtful past into restoration and life! I found victory for the first time in 16 years and I know God is not finished with me yet! I have many goals for the remaining year but I'll list 10...
1. I want to love more
2. I want to laugh more
3. I want to encourage more
4. I want to be a better listener and less of a talker
4. I want to give up of my time to help others
5. I want to rejoice more in trials
6. I want to trust God more
7. I want to be a better mom
8. I want to be a better wife
9. I want to stay away from conversations that are consumed by gossip
10. I want to be quick to forgive and forget
So cheers to a fun filled rest of the year!
I was in the baking mood today and decided to try this recipe. I got it off of pinterest and they are fabulous!
Crumb topped pumpkin cream cheese muffins
Here's the recipe if you want to try them
Muffins:
3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin (canned or cooked)
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
*mix everything together and pour batter into muffin holders. fill each holder 3/4 full and then drop 2 tsp of cream cheese filling onto the batter. swirl alittle with a fork and then place the crumbs on top of the cream cheese mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry
Cream cheese filling:
6 oz cream cheese softened
2 T sugar
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
*Soften cream cheese and mix the 4 ingredients together
Crumb topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
3 T brown sugar
2 T sugar
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
6 T butter softened
*Soften the butter then add remaining ingredients.
This week was going so fast for me but today for some reason it seemed to come to a stand still. I am more than ready to have my husband home but he still did not get anything so I'm hoping he will have the opportunity yet. They have 3 hunts left so me and my daughter are earnestly praying. Alaina is being even more specific than I am. She's telling Jesus that Daddy needs to shoot a big buck so we can have bologna! :) Have a wonderful rest of the week.....
I just got done sending off my man to Oklahoma. A trip that he has been giddy about since he found out he is going! I can't help but be a tad bit excited for him, He never sings in the shower and well lets just say he was really singing his heart out before he left!! So how can I not be excited for him? It does look like a long week ahead but I have no choice but to make the most of it. Looking on the bright side, I'm glad it's not a week.
Here are a few shots of the new addition to the family and her proud owner
Her new best friend Fluffy
Also this week I was having so much fun on Pinterest again and I feel like its becoming an addiction! I did recently stop at a local farm where they sell anything and everything old. I grabbed a few things and gave it a makeover.
This box I bought for 2.00
And this is how it looks afterward, Its amazing what you can do with a bottle of spray paint
The aqua blue frame was once black and had a wedding picture in it. I decided it needed a new look as well
This item below I got the idea from a creative friend, this piece was also black and said "welcome friends", I spray painted it and then used my cricut machine to print out the snowflakes and the letters. Since it will be outside on my front porch, I spray painted the whole thing with an "all weather protection glaze"
Since my husband and I are not huge coffee drinkers I decided it is time to make our favorite homemade hot chocolate again. It is not just any hot chocolate, it is fabulous and I got the recipe from a friend last winter. I made it many of times last year and now that the weather is getting colder again I decided it was time to whip up a batch. It is fabulous, go ahead and try it!
