Homemaking on the Homestead

Crystal ’s Country Store is on vacation (and so am I )   All orders placed as of September 29th will be mailed out on October 13th.  - -     -  

  I thought I would wrap up Leanne’s mission trip. Leanne will be sharing Sunday at church about her trip and Emily and Leanne made up this presentation and I thought I would share it with you.     

  My daughter Hannah delivered Elizabeth Emma on Wednesday morning, September 24th at 9:16am . She weighed 6lbs 15oz… and what a cutie she is - -

  Life has been busy with our school schedule starting back up. I have found myself overwhelmed with trying to keep all my plates spinning lately. Think of the circus act with the guy who has the long poles and he gets a plate spinning on the pole, then takes another pole and does it again, all while keeping the first plate spinning. So I think of myself with lots of poles and lots of plates spinning (and I know lots of moms just like me! LOL). Since my girls got back from Maryland we have been working together to keep things moving ahead (keeping those plates spinning ). My daughters are the BIGGEST help I could have ever dreamed of. I am so thankful for their cheerful attitudes and their helpful hearts and hands. With the three of us handling so many details we decided a homemaking notebook would help us to all know what is going on and what needs to be done. So this last weekend we finally got started on it.    Homemaking Noteb...

A lady on my message board posted this today.  I thought these were good things to remember right now!  TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2008 ELECTIONS! 1. The Bible will still have all the answers. 2. Prayer will still works. 3. The Holy Spirit will still move. 4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people. 5. There will still be God-anointed preaching. 6. There will still be singing of praise to God. 7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people. 8. There will still be room at the Cross. 9. Jesus will still love you. 10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

Fall time weather seems to come and go around my parts. Earlier this week we nearly 90 degrees and by the end of the week it was down to 70 and cloudy.. time for some comforting hot soup and homemade dinner rolls!   My family really enjoyed this meal. If you like things a bit more spicy make sure to have the Tabasco sauce sitting on the side.      Super Easy Crockpot Hamburger Veggie Soup   1lb hamburger 1 onion, chopped 1 can green beans, drained 1 can corn, drained 2 cups sliced carrots 1 can diced tomatoes 3 cups water 1 T chicken or beef broth powder 2 T Worcestershire sauce 1 can organic cream of mushroom soup (a brand such as Amy’s, found in health food stores) Salt and pepper to taste   Brown hamburger and onions until meat is no longer pink and onions are soft. Add to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients, stir. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve with some hot homemade dinner rolls for a great fall time...

  I usually buy a large bunch of bananas from Costco each time I grocery shop.   Typically they get eaten up before they start to get too ripe.   But occasionally I find myself with several bananas that need to be used up in a hurry.   Most often I make banana bread. It is easy to make, freezes well and my family loves it.   But sometimes I get a bit more creative.   Here is what I recently made with my overripe bananas:   Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes Crystal Miller 2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour, freshly ground if possible 2 T baking powder 1 t. salt 2 eggs 2 cups milk, buttermilk or kefir ¼ cup light olive oil 1 cup mashed bananas (approx. 2 large bananas) Mix dry ingredients together. Add milk, eggs, oil and bananas. Stir until blended. Bake on a medium hot to hot griddle until bubbles appear and the pancakes are nice and golden brown.   Banana Cream Cheese Pie Crystal Miller   1 9in graham cracker crust (recipe follows) 1 ...

  Life is slowly returning to normal for me here on the homestead. I was hit by jet lag which really seemed to slow me down. But things are moving along normally now. My daughter Carolyn is doing great and my daughters Emily and Leanne flew out to Maryland Thursday to lend a helping hand for a week or so.    On Tuesday Emily took and passed her Macroeconomics CLEP test and that officially finished up her first year of college! She started taking her CLEP tests in May. It took her 4 months to finish her first year. We are quite proud of her determination and effort in this. After she comes home she will get back to work and studying and will begin her classes for her 2nd year of school. I am not sure how many CLEP tests she has left but after she finishes them she will begin her dante tests at a different college.    Fall time is here and I am thinking about becoming more streamlined in my home. I am working this weekend...

My grandson Owen James was born on Sunday at 6:41pm at home with my friend and I as birth attendants.   My best and closest friend Sarah and I flew to Maryland on Thursday because my daughter was having a lot pre labor signs.   Friday and Saturday her labor started and stopped and finally on Sunday it kicked in for good.   She had a longer than expected labor for a second baby.   When Owen was born Sarah and I saw why this was.   Owen was born with his head in a “military presentation” meaning that the largest diameter of his head(across the brow) was what was born first as opposed to the crown of his head. My daughter did a fantastic job of laboring and delivering and the Lord was with us all each step of the way. There were many aspects of this labor and birth that were challenging to us all.   I saw in a powerful way that birth is a process..   a spiritual process that is; and not an aspect that is seen to the same degree as...