Winter/Christmastime 2012

These pics are a combination of winter fun and Christmas preparation. We have been so busy lately with craft shows and so many other things. I can't believe it's already the 10th of December. This year has had it's trials, along with it's glorious wonders. Isn't it funny when you look back, how things change in just 12 months?
I am enjoying our Carhart weather (yes, I said Carhart weather. I love when it's cold enough to wear my Carhart coat. I'm convinced nothing could keep me warmer :D )
This next week, we will be beginning our Christmas baking for friends and family. I have to admit, that is one of my favorite ways to spend these beautifully cold winter days. How about you, what are your favorite things to do this time of year?

Dickens on the Blvd historical street dance

Sissy and I

 

Sissy Dancing

 



Mallory with her friend Ginger

We always eat at Boomerang Diner before the dance

 

Thanksgiving

 

We spent this Thanksgiving at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO

It was a blast

Momma and Daddy

 Where we ate our Thanksgiving Dinner

 

Grandma and Sissy

Daddy and I

 

Getting snacks

It rained on us quite a bit so grandma had to pull out her rain scarf

About to ride Wildfire, our favorite rollercoaster

 



 

 

 

Christmas preparation

Our Old World/Dickens tree

 

Our main tree

 

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

~Erin

 

NGJ Texas Shindig

This past October, our family attended the No Greater Joy Texas Shindig in Big Sandy, TX. We had such a great time and can't wait until next year. It was amazing to spend 4 days with over a thousand like-minded families. The fellowship was great.

 

Here are some pictures below; enjoy :D

 

This was a giant game of musical chairs that we stayed up playing until about 10:30 one night.

 

 Trying to balance on one of the fun ropes course. ( I think I'm failing this one)

Watching Mr. Pearl showing off his knife throwing skills

 Mallory playing a game with some other kids

Momma & Daddy

 



Spending some of my spare time playing my banjo

 

 





Momma & Daddy in the pines

Our family

 



 

 

Another ropes course

 

 Daddy swinging through the pines

Mallory & Daddy

Breakfast

 Mr. Pearl laughing about his whiskers

Sissy

 

 

Daddy & I

 

 

These are just a few pictures capturing some of the fun we had. It was great to just be able to sit back and relax and not worry about anything. After I leave a camp like this, I have a hard time transitioning back into the world. For those few days, we don't have to worry about inappropriate behavior or skimpy clothing. Then we have to come back into the real world and be careful what we see in public places. It shouldn't be this way, but it is. This makes me even more thankful for family vacations like these.

 

 

Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Pearl for such a great time.

http://nogreaterjoy.org/seminars/texas/

 

 

Scrumptious Pumpkin Cookies

Oh my, how I do love fall! I want to share this recipe that I received from a friend. If you are in a fall mood, you are sure to enjoy these yummy cookies. They are so so simple. :D

Here is what you'll need:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Cup Crisco (or whatever off brand shortening you prefer. We get ours at Aldi :) )
1 Cup Canned Pumpkin (NOT pie filling)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Egg
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt


It calls for frosting, but I prefer my cookies unfrosted. However, here are the ingredients for the frosting if you please:

1 Pound Powdered Sugar (usually 1 bag)
1 8oz Package Regular Cream Cheese
1 Stick Salted Butter
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract

Ok, you ready? Let's get started.
P.S. Preheat your oven to 375°

First, put on your favorite apron (I used Momma's :D)

Cream the Crisco, pumpkin, and sugar.

 

 

Add the egg and mix well

 

 

Now add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well

 

 

Now just use a fork to grab medium size lumps of dough and plop em' on an UNGREASED cookie sheet. (I had to use a small pan because all we have at the time is a little convection oven. Our big oven is broken :(  )

Bake for 10-15min.

 

 

Place on a wire rack to cool

 

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

~Erin

 

Simple Fix

So this is one of my newest consignment shop finds. YAY. I must say I am addicted to shopping at resale shops. I'm all about the bargains. Anyway, back to my point. I recently purchased this adorable skirt, but there was only one problem, it was too big by a couple of inches. :(

 

I knew that I wanted to keep the zipper that was in it, so my next question was: How can I do this without having to put darts in the lined skirt without ruining it? So, I decided to just put a small strip of 1/2" elastic along the inside of the skirt.

 

 

Yes, you can see it, but not when I'm wearing it.

The end result, one of my favorite outfits. (And you can't tell the difference :D )

 

So what kinds of techniques do you like to use to make minor adjustments to clothes that don't fit like you want them to?

 

Have a blessed week

Erin

 

Church Centennial & Fall Garden

Hello blogging friends. This post probably should have been 2 different posts, but I ended up just doing it as one.

 

First off, I decided to snap some shots of our fall garden. We have tomatillas (which are looking great, just not putting on yet), lima beans, squash, and jalapenos from this summer are still flourishing like crazy.

 

 Momma's lima beans

 

 

 

Our first squash just appeared

 

 

 



These are our squash plants that are going absolutely crazy. We only have two that survived. The one shown in the picture is actually planted a few feet away from where I snapped the picture (so you can't see where it's in the ground). It just keeps crawling. If you look really close, it continues up into the upper left of the picture. Crazy. :D

 

 

 

Ok, so now for the second half of my post. This year, our church celebrated it's Centennial. This weekend, we had a Centennial Celebration. Old pastors came, we had a get together out on church property, and fireworks!!

 

We were able to take along our friend's son Keegan. :D He liked Mallory pushing him in the swing

 

 

The Downing Family, a bluegrass/gospel group

 

 

 

Have a great week.

Erin

 

 



Fall Project

About a year ago, I decided I wanted to make a quilt to put in my hope chest. I purchased all the material, and that's as far as I made it. Life took over and other things took priority over my quilt. So, the other day I decided I was making my quilt before the year is gone. I am using the Grandmother's Flower Patch pattern (which I was able to snatch up at a garage sale for 25cents; yay for bargains :D ).
So.... here it is in it's early stages.

Here is my selection of fabric

 

 

Here are about 400 hexagons. That seems like good progress, but I have to have a total of 2,277 hexagons cut out. See, not much progress compared to the number I still have to finish.



 

 

I would love to hear from you what your favorite quilt patterns are and quilt making experiences you have had; good and bad.

Well, until later,

happy quilting

Erin