The continuing saga

Unfortunately, the entire family is now sick. So far, Adam, 5, still has the worst of it and I am still running a close second. I cannot remember seeing Adam this sick before.

The other two kids are in the beginning stages of it now. Alli, 16, always gets an ear infection when she gets sick. We will be looking for that to set in during the next few days. Adam is nursing a bloody nose (due to his illness) as I type this.

So far, Hubby has escaped with only a minor sore throat. We pray that he won't get any worse as he is the one who must go to work! He has been sleeping on the couch and avoiding the "sickroom" in hopes that he will be able to escape this.

Yesterday I sent him to the grocery store for a few things when he got home from work, and he was quite lost. He hasn't been to a grocery store in years! If I didn't feel so bad I would have laughed at him when he kept calling me to ask questions.

I did take Adam to the pediatrician yesterday. The doctor said it was viral and antibiotics won't help. I knew they were trying hard not to prescribe antibiotics anymore, but I found some of his other recommendations interesting. The doctor said they were no longer recommending cough syrups of any kind, including Dimatapp, Robitussin and Mucinex, because they have discovered that they rarely work.

I told him I had been drinking hot echinacea tea (echinacea boosts the immune system), and he asked if I put honey in my tea. I said yes, and he said that explains why my cough isn't nearly as bad as Adam's. Apparently, they are now recommending honey instead of cough syrups as a natural cough suppressant. Who knew?

It is also interesting to note that an internal medicine practice (I have to pass through their office to get to the pediatrician) was making anyone in the waiting room who had certain symptoms wear masks. Apparently, they are expecting a bumper crop of sick people this season.

Anyway, the only thing the doc would recommend to me for Adam was honey and Tylenol. I guess I found this interesting because he is not a homeopathic doctor, he is a regular pediatrician.

No, we are not dying or in the hospital or anything, but for our family that rarely gets sick, this is a big deal and hard to handle when everyone gets it at once.

Sick as a dog

Recently I was telling someone that I had not been sick (except for minor colds) for the past year. Remind me not to brag on such things again...

Adam, 5, came down sick Friday and by Sunday afternoon I was sick, too. With symptoms that include fever, headaches, sore throats, runny noses, cough, etc., the two of us are spending a lot of time curled up in my bed together. Poor baby! He sounds so pitiful!

Please pray that the rest of the family escapes this and that Adam and I will be feeling better soon. I know I have read many accounts of other bloggers being sick, too, so maybe we should remember all our friends and family in our prayers!

I have something very big coming up on Thursday (I'll tell you about it when I am feeling better), and I pray that now that God has humbled me He will see fit to heal me by then.

New law means demise of craft business

Once again, the government has stepped in to "save" its poor, ignorant citizens. Although its intentions may have been good, the government will be effectively shutting down crafters across the nation.

Because some big manufacturers were irresponsible and imported Chinese-made toys filled with lead and other poisons, the government has mandated that anyone selling items (toys, clothing, etc.) geared toward children must pay for product testing (at a cost of roughly $4,000 per toy). All items must also be permanently marked with a batch number and date.

Sounds good, right? Wrong. How many small family businesses, indie artists, stay-at-home mom and others who supplement their income by selling handcrafted items do you know that will be able to afford to pay for the mandatory testing?

The new law will go into effect on Feb. 9, 2009.

Please read this post at the Baby Gardener to see how you can help.

Other good links on the subject:

Change.org

Business is Personal

A very merry Christmas

I hope each and every one of you had a happy Christmas, filled with family and good memories! I thought I would share photos of our Christmas.

It actually started Christmas Eve night, when we always go to my mother-in-law's for dinner and the exchange of gifts for my husband's side of the family.

Hubby's stepfather cuts the turkey up before everyone sits down to eat.

I am very blessed to have a very sweet mother-in-law (and I'm not just saying that - she doesn't own a computer and so will never see this blog!).

Hubby's sister and her son.

His sister's cute daughter.

This morning the kids got started right away by tearing into their stockings.

Then it was time for the Christmas gifts!

This is Adam, 5, serenading one of the dogs with his new guitar.

Both of the boys got Air Hog radio controlled helicopters, but I think Hubby and the cats played with them more than the boys did. Jack, the orange cat, had a personal vendetta against the helicopter. He would be in a sound sleep, but he would hear the buzzing of the helicopter and come running. The chopper is about the size of a hummingbird - maybe Jack thought it was a bird? He wore himself out running and jumping on the couch, Hubby, or anywhere else he felt would get him closer to the helicopter. And he got really proficient at jumping up, hooking a claw in it and bringing the whirlybird down - despite all the wrapping paper and boxes lying around.

Surprisingly, the cats also enjoyed Justin's new skateboard. They both got on it (at different times) by themselves, and I was able to snap pictures.

Later in the afternoon two of my brothers (the only ones who still live in the same state as myself) came over with their families. This is my younger brother with his youngest child.

And that is my older brother on the far right. Notice Hubby in his recliner with his "Godfather" pose. He couldn't remember what he was doing but later joked that he was looking over his "subjects" in his domain.

Tomorrow my friend Nancy and her family will be coming down for a day or two. Who knows? We might hit some stores up for some after Christmas sales!

18 degrees and no heat!

Close View of Tree Branches After Ice Storm

A few years ago, a severe ice storm hit our area. Our power was out for five or six days. Some homes in our city had it even worse. Our home is heated by a heat pump, so no electricity meant no heat. For my brother and his family, it also meant no water since their well required power to work.

Since we had water - even though we didn't have hot water - my brother and his whole family came to stay with us. We had one kerosene heater we used in emergencies. We stood in line for two hours to get kerosene from one of the few area gas stations that hadn't sold out of it. We set that kerosene heater up in the living room and both families slept cuddled together on the floor in sleeping bags every night. In the mornings, we would take very quick, ice cold showers, and the adults (myself included) would head over the icy roads to work. Even though it was cold and crowded, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. We played games by candlelight in the evening and cooked on charcoal grill outside.

I hadn't thought about all that in years, but we recently got a phone call from our power company. They will be cutting our power off tonight at 10 p.m. for six hours in order to do some maintenance. Unfortunately, it's supposed to get down to 18 degrees in our area tonight. What a night to shut off the power!

We will be pulling out extra quilts and blankets and dressing in warm clothes, and I feel like we will get through the night okay.

So we are concerned about going without heat for one night. What we would do in a crisis where we had to go without heat, hot water, stove/refrigerator and washer/dryer for weeks or months? We would have to find alternatives, and we need to be prepared. A wood stove? Solar heat? Lots of kerosene? A generator?

Christmas at Victoria Hill

If you still need some Christmas decorting ideas, head over to BooMama's Tour of Homes. I'm late (these were supposed to go up on Dec. 15), but I figured I would add mine on anyway. There are more than 800 links to people's homes!

Here is what's going on around my place:

The Christmas tree.

The snowmen.

The country Christmas.

The front gate.

The advent candles.






Above the kitchen sink.

The pinecones and greenery my friend Nancy and I gathered.

On top of the television.

The nativity.






My 5-year-old's bedroom door (with his artwork he taped there).

My front door (oh look, more artwork).

Merry Christmas!

The busy holiday season

Christmas Holly, Faith Family Friends

Well, it's here. The week before Christmas, when everything is hectic and our lives are go, go, go. Every year I say that things are going to be different - simpler. But every year I can't say no to the people who want to fellowship or do service projects during the holiday season.

Despite the busy season, I have to say that I enjoy every minute of the places to go and people to see. It's the things to do that get me. Keeping up with everything at home, so that we can enjoy the fellowships, is the hard part.

One thing I did do right this year- I insisted that I was not cooking a big dinner on Christmas day. I will make a big breakfast for my family. In the early afternoon, we have extended family coming over, so I will have to make finger foods and desserts -but not an entire dinner.

I do hope that each holiday activitiy falls under at least one of the three categories above: Faith, family and friends.

Here's the rest of my holiday schedule:

Today - Do all the laundry, make the kitchen spotless, figure out what to put in gift baskets. Go to a speciality store to find a particular gift. Meet friend at church who is going to help switch out computers (hopefully the new one will work better). This evening we have the church-wide Christmas party.

Thursday - Volunteer all day in the church office. Go to store for milk and produce.

Friday - Bake homemade items to go in gift baskets. Put at least together to go to in-laws tomorrow night. Go to homeschool store (30 minutes away) with friend who is just starting to homeschool and needs to see some different curriculum, etc. See what they have in the used section while I am there.

Saturday - C.A.R.E. (Christians Actively Reaching Everyone) Ministry at church (3 hours), Cantata dress rehearsal, dinner at father-in-laws in evening.

Sunday - Christmas Cantata at church. After church, go with 5-year-old to Christmas party for his Bible Skills, Drills & Thrills class.

Monday - Find Christmas present (the last one I have to get) for that hard-to-buy person who has everything and doesn't appreciate homemade items.

Tuesday - Volunteer in church office all day. Clean house!

Wednesday - Bake, bake, bake. Go to other in-laws house for dinner.

Thursday - Enjoy Christmas morning with Hubby and kids. In the afternoon, both of my brothers and their families will be coming over for finger foods and gift exchanges.

Friday - Travel down to S.C. to spend the weekend with friends (if Hubby's day off is approved).

Book review: Where do I go?

Where Do I Go?
Thomas Nelson (December 9, 2008)
by
Neta Jackson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: As a husband/wife writing team, Dave and Neta Jackson are enthusiastic about books, kids, walking with God, gospel music, and each other! Together they are the authors or coauthors of over 100 books. In addition to writing several books about Christian community, the Jacksons have coauthored numerous books with expert resource people on a variety of topics from racial reconciliation to medical ethics to ministry to kids in gangs.Dave and Neta live in Evanston, Illinois, where for twenty-seven years they were part of Reba Place Church, a Christian church community. They are now members of a multi-racial congregation in the Chicago area.They're trying something new! Not just new for them, but something completely new in Christian fiction: “Parallel novels,” two stories taking place in the same time frame, same neighborhood, involving some of the same characters living through their own dramas and crises but interacting with and affecting one another … just the way it happens in real life. It’s something that only a husband and wife writing team could pull off. While Neta has Where Do I Go?, her husband Dave has written Harry Bentley's Second Chance.

ABOUT THE BOOK: A story of seeking-and finding-God's will in unlikely places.Gabrielle Fairbanks has nearly lost touch with the carefree, spirited young woman she was when she married her husband fifteen years ago. But when the couple moves to Chicago to accommodate Philip's business ambitions, Gabby finds the chance to make herself useful. It's there she meets the women of Manna House Women's Shelter; they need a Program Director-and she has a degree in social work. She's in her element, feeling God's call on her life at last, even though Philip doesn't like the changes he sees in her. But things get rough when Philip gives Gabby an ultimatum: quit her job at the shelter or risk divorce and losing custody of their sons. Gabby must take refuge, as in the song they sing at Sunday night worship: "Where do I go when there's no one else to turn to? . . . I go to the Rock I know that's able, I go to the Rock."Romantic Times Book Reviews says, “Exquisite characters coupled with God's mercy and love emanate from each page.”Publisher's Weekly adds, “Jackson's Yada Yada series has sold half a million copies, and this new offshoot series ... promises the same.... The book's dramatic ending ... leav[es] readers eager for the next installment in the series.”

New homeschooler needs encouraging words

My friend Jill has just decided to pull one of her boys out of public school and begin homeschooling him. If you are a homeschooler, how about heading on over to her brand new blog, Sawant Day Academy, and leaving a few words of support?

I know from experience that it is not an easy decision, and she could use all the tips and recommendations she can get!

Giveaway winners!

Congratulations! We have three winners for the Holiday Cooking Gift basket!

The winners, chosen by a random number generator, are:

Millie at Just So Millie
"Thank you for giving us all a chance to win such a great gift! I hope you have a happy Holiday season :)"

Juicebox Mom at Just Here for the Snacks
"Just subscribed via google reader, thanks"

Anonymous, a.k.a. jjobe1
"Great giveaway. I'm not a very good cook so would be great to win something to help me in that field!! Thanks"

The winners have all been emailed and have until Friday, Dec. 19 to e-mail me with their addresses or their gift basket will go to the next randomly generated person. Enjoy your gift basket!

Last day of giveaway

REMINDER: This is the last day to enter the Holiday Cooking Gift Basket giveaway. The winner will be announced on Tuesday!

Homemade toys

The men spent much of the weekend in our unfinished basement/cellar/workshop. Hubby spent his time making the boys some more wooden weapons. In the past he has made rifles and long swords, this weekend he made handguns and daggers. I didn't get a picture, but he is also making some spaceman-inspired phaser guns. Here are some of what he was working on this weekend, all in various stages of completion. He made each of the toys from one piece of solid wood, which makes them more durable.

The boys love using them to play everything from cops and robbers, to medieval knights. These wood weapons stand up to the abuse the boys and their friends and put on them much better than the plastic ones found in stores.

While his dad worked on the weapons, Justin, 13, worked on his first birdhouse. We probably should have started teaching him things like woodworking at a younger age - but later than never. He was having a hard time hammering the nails diagonally into the roof, but we explained to him that it's all about practice and learning.

Adam, 5, looked on - imagining the day we would let him take up a hammer, I'm sure. Not yet. I need to keep my youngest safe just a little longer...

One down, about 20 more to go

My baby lost his first tooth! Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep it. We knew he had a loose tooth, but it wasn't until a few minutes after lunch that he realized it was missing. We checked his plate and cup, but the tooth was nowhere to be found. We can only assume he swallowed it with his lunch.

Since I didn't have the tooth to keep, I decided I better get a good picture. But have you ever tried to take a photo of the inside of a wiggly 5-year-old's mouth? Especially the bottom teeth? This is what you get.

Hubby's thoughts

My husband watched this video that I posted today and was very upset. He said the video was not only depressing, but made him hurt inside.

And he believes that it's not really a good interpretation of God's sacrifice. He makes a good point in that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing on earth. He knew the sacrifice He would have to make, and He was willing. The boy in the film didn't know what was going to happen to him, and the father had only a split second to make his decision.

Also, God's son rose on the third day and his loved ones were able to see him again. The son in the film, though he may go to heaven, will not rise again on earth.

So I apologize if the film was too depressing or unrealistic. It did make God's sacrifice seem more real to me, but it guess it wasn't exactly the same.

Wordless Wednesday: Jack the cat

REMINDER: Don't forget to enter my Holiday Cooking Gift Basket Giveaway!

Jack the cat takes a nap, under the Christmas tree.

You see, said he, "I'm as cute as can be, even when I sleep!"

(Yes, I know. That was cheesey... I couldn't resist. Guess I'll never be able to fill the shoes of Mother Goose!)

The sacrifice

At six and a half minutes, this video is a little long. But it's worth watching! It's very moving and shows God's sacrifice in a way where we as humans can understand it.

Easiest fudge you'll ever make!

Years ago, as a new wife, I was looking for a cheap and easy way to make fudge. I never did find one, but my research into the world fudge gave me an understanding of the bare ingredients.

And so, I made up my own recipe for fudge. It could be made in the microwave and it consisted of only three ingredients. You couldn't get any easier than that.

For years I never saw another recipe like it, until recently, when I discovered a very similar recipe in the Kraft magazine. Obviously, someone else had the same idea! This is my version of the easiest fudge you will ever make.

Added bonus: I buy all the ingredients at Aldi's very inexpensively!

1 package (about 12 ounces) of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Prepare a square or rectangle glass dish by forming aluminum foil or waxed paper to the inside.

Dump chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl.

Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla. Mix together. Microwave on high for about four minutes, taking it out a couple of times to stir it.

When completely melted, pour into dish. Smooth out the top and pop into the refrigerator. Let set for several hours (overnight is best).

When firm, pop out of dish and peel off foil. Set block of fudge on cutting board and cut into squares (I use a pizza cutter -makes it easy). Enjoy!

Holiday Cooking Giveaway!

I don't know about you, but I cook more around the holidays than at any other time. There are several products that I like to have on hand for my cooking forays. Chicken broth is one of those things that are versatile and can be used many ways. I like to make my own, but if you look in my pantry I also always have a couple of store bought ones, for those last minute dinners when I don't have time to thaw out a batch that has been in the freezer.

I love the many great things about the new all-natural Progresso Chicken, Reduced Sodium Chicken and Beef-flavored broths. Progresso’s broths are 99% fat free and contain no preservatives, artificial flavors, or MSG! They even come in convenient, re-sealable 32oz cartons.

Here's a Mashed Potato Gratin that uses Progresso chicken broth, by celebrity chef Michael Ciarello, that I plan on trying in the next couple of weeks.

I have some good news for my readers! Progresso is allowing me to give away not one, but three, "Perfect Recipe" gift baskets.

The gift baskets include a free coupon for Progresso Broth, a recipe card holder, recipe box and wicker basket, as well as a set of serving spoons and a spoon rest. It will include everything in the photo. The only difference is that instead of actually getting the broth in the mail, you will be getting a free coupon for it. Everything will be mailed directly to your door free of charge!

Even though I'm giving away three baskets, not everyone can be a winner. So Progresso has provided me with this link for a discount coupon for future purchases for my readers. The coupon is only available until Dec. 17, so get it now!

How to enter: All you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment on this post. Make sure I have access to your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win!

Want extra entries? Subscribe to my blog via e-mail using the form on my sidebar, tweet about the giveaway (leave me your Twitter user name), subscribe to my RSS feed (let me know what reader you use - if you are already subscribed, that counts, too) or blog about the giveaway. Leave a comment for each extra entry.

Deadline for entries: Monday, Dec. 15

The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada. Good luck!

The last of the fall garden

After four or five weeks of below freezing temperatures for many nights, our garden has had it. Here in the south, we usually get a much longer growing season. But this year that season was cut short with cold weather.

We covered our raised beds with plastic, which allowed them to last longer than they would otherwise have been able. But eventually, a few nights of below 20 degree weather took its toll. The carrots have been stunted, and I don't think they will survive. The cabbage has completely died off. The bib lettuce is now a total loss. And even the hardy green and red leaf lettuces look like they're telling us we've had our last salad.

This was the last really good bowl of lettuce I was able to cut, and this was what the carrots looked like. I just don't think they are going to be able to grow any larger.

Still, this was the first time we tried a fall garden. And even though the only usable items we got out of it was lettuce, we are happy. We had good, organic lettuce for weeks. And gardening is all about learning by trial and error.

Next year, we know to plant a little sooner. Even for the south, our fall planting was a little late. Now it's time to sit back and start planning for spring.

By the way, we are still enjoying some garden delights that we either froze or canned, including zucchini, green beans, peaches and tomatoes.

Donut muffins

Last week, amongst the busy Thanksgiving preparations, we decided to try to make these donut muffins. They are supposed to look like muffins and taste like donuts.

The recipe was a little too complicated for first thing in the morning with a bunch of kids and animals running around, but we managed. And they certainly did have a donut taste to them. The reviews were mixed. Two kids, as well as myself, liked them. One kid, the one who loves donuts and was really excited about trying them, didn't like them.

I think next time a little less powdered sugar will make them go down easier. The kids were egging me on, so as you can see, I really dumped it on there. And I don't think they keep well. Hubby tried one the day after we baked them and said they were not good.

Final verdict: They are a little more time consuming to make than many muffins, but if you have the time they are definitely worth a try!

Note: If you click on the link to the recipe, you will notice that the blogger has the word "bake" tattooed on her knuckles. Now that's someone who is serious about her muffins!