A REALLY FUN GIVE AWAY!!!

I've entered a giveaway contest only once before if I remember correctly. This one looks really cool, so go on over to Molly Coddled and have a peek! Friday the 26th is the deadline though...sorry...it was a very small window!

From the Publisher

Make room on your kitchen shelf-our biggest, most complete cookbook ever is here!

The Taste of Home Cookbook is jam-packed with over 1,200 family-favorite, classic recipes… plus all the cooking basics, practical tips and how-tos you’ll need to make every meal a guaranteed winner.

You’ll find over 300 main dishes alone, like succulent “Honey-Ginger Barbecued Ribs.” Hundreds of desserts are included, too, along with appetizers, sides, salads and more.

This sturdy hardcover, 5-ring binder book has 676 pages with more than 1,300 full-color photos! 9-1/8″ x 10″.

PS: scroll down..lotsa goodies below!

Good Morning

Good Friday morning to you all! I see that my daughter got into my blog last night! Well if you can understand what she's saying or follow her story line...congratulations!! She's 15 and need I say more!?!? :D
Well I can hardly believe it's the end of the week already...although I'm really ready for it! Homeschooling is going great with Janelle. She's learning to like school again. The first time I pulled out the science she groaned and said that she hates science. That only lasted for about 2 minutes! Once I showed her what we were going to be doing later, she wanted to do it right then and there! She's realizing that she CAN do schoolwork! Which is a big step for her..She's enjoying school and so am I! :D
Well have a great weekend ladies, I'm hoping to get around for a visit today sometime.

Hijacked

Hello Dames and Doods.
I was thinking, "My mother's blog lacks some up-to-date lingo and pizazz." So I, in my youthful zest, will inform you about what's happening in this household. (p.s.,mom, please don't delete this. You blog buddies might chuckle at the ramblings of my fingers...maybe. Or they will just find me wacky)

So, last weekend my homeslices, youth pastor and mother, Mademoiselle Watt piled into Trooper, and another vehicle and headed to Grand Forks, British Columbia. And man, oh, man, that is a beautiful place. There are alot of steep mountains then it all OPENS up into a wide, flat plateau-type valley with lots of red and orange trees and a tiny little town smack in the centre. When we got there it was pretty much a riot of greatness. I got to meet people, hang out with old buddies, get surprised, play volleyball with inspirational group hugs, exclamations of massacring the v-ball,and sand kicked into my face. I knew about eight of the guys whose bands were playing that weekend, so when they were playing their concerts I got to run their merch tables. and now hear this, that is some fun. Having to dig around for the correct t-shirt size and design and taking peoples denari and putting it into the heavy cash box and marking it down in the record book. THen just sitting back with a rubik's cube and having a blast. Then I got a challenge. Tyler (whom plays the skins for Kiros www.myspace.com/kiros or www.kiros.com) comes up and sits down and says, "You know you're never gonna get that." and I said, "Cause of the stickers." and he said "Yep." then left. lots of the stickers on the cube were missing. So, to prove him wrong and get one side a solid colour, I got about 7 reds on one side, and methodically peeled the other red stickers of and switched them around until i had one face of the cube all red. wahoo. so then I said, "Hey, Tyler. "and he looked and I said "Proved you wrong." and he looked amazed for about 1.13 seconds, then said "You peeled the stickers"
so, there's a play by play on one conversation, here's another one
Kerline: SH! be quiet! he'll hear you! you're embarassing me!
me;"Why? because CURTIS MIGHT HEAR ME?"
kerline; (grabs me forcibly by the neck) YOU BE QUIET!"
she was literally chasing some guy around with two other of our youth, so my mother and I were shouting out things such as, "OH! YOU FINALLY CAUGHT UP WITH HIM?" and "YOU'RE STILL CHASING HIM?"

I ate smarties with chopsticks for a guy with a video camera. The chopsticks were pretty dang cool. I wanted to steal them. I got about 3 hours of sleep the first night, because me, Carmen and Starr were laughing and exploring too much. and Laceydawn is protective of me.
Laceydawn is my mother/youthpastor.
She didn't want to put a band button into my ear, but when Ryan offered, she was very quick to offer her services of poking something through my ear.
I would love to write more anecdotes, but my ring finger is aching from playing guitar, so I think I'm done typing for now.

check out my buddies' bands
www.myspace.com/kiros
www.myspace.com/birdstoairplanes
www.myspace.com/drewmckay

my mother likes all these guys' music, so you might too. specially drew, he's folk/acoustic music.

goodbye
Lindsay
p.s.
Hi mom. I'm probably downstairs almost to sleep when you find this, so please do not come downstairs and say, "DO NOT TOUCH MY BLOG" cause that'll wake me up. But if you could, wake me up and about 7:20 so I can have a shower. I have alot of glue in my hair. It feels like my hair got petrified. and remember, we've gotta pick Starr up outside of Maggie right after school.
adios, mes amici.
spanish, french and italian.

Hardy Falls

This summer we went on a little hike up to a water fall. It was a really pretty walk through a narrow canyon. The creek was full of red salmon spawning...some of them were quite rotten and didn't smell too good! It's an amazing and quite fascinating thing to watch!
We went with my brother, Tom and sis in law, Allison and nephew, Silas. When we were at the top Lindsay gave Silas a pear and there was No way he was going to give it up!! He absolutely loved it! It was funny to watch him eat it with such gusto!! =D




Janelle and Silas with his pear.


Lindsay enjoying the falls.
I have a whole bunch more photos that I wanted to post but Blogger won't let me put anymore up! :S
I'll try again later.

Pictures from last weekend

Just wanted to add some photos from where we went last weekend! it was such a pretty place.
There are two rivers that come together...thus the name of the place....Grand Forks..I wish I had taken a camera...these are just some pictures I found online...they really don't do it justice! This place is known as "the land of sunshine and borscht." MMM yummy I love borscht but didn't get out to have some...guess I'll have to go back!






The colours looked like these leaves....it was so beautiful!!

The weekend

Happy Monday friends! Hope you had a great weekend! I did!! I went on a youth retreat with my two oldest girl's youth group. It was about 21/2 hours away from here. We left Friday afternoon and got home at about supper time on Sunday. It was such a pretty place to go to...not that we spent our time looking at the pretty scenery! It was an action packed weekend of Christian bands, speakers, hubs (workshops), and lots of other fun stuff! The kids were sad to come home...they just wanted the fun to keep on and on and on.....
At one point 3 of the other ladies that went and I snuck away for an afternoon cup of tea and pie at a little restaurant in town...It was sooo nice. We just spent some time visiting and enjoying some quiet time to connect.
Randal spent the weekend at home with the two younger girls....not that they were home at all over the weekend!! But they had a great time with the hubby of the other mom that went with us...as well as with their kids....apparently they ate lots of yummy food and drank lotsa pop while Mommy was away!! The stuff that doesn't happen too often if Mommy's home!! =)
What did you do this weekend?

HAPPY THURSDAY FRIENDS!!!

I thought this was cute....and no I won't be staying in bed!! It does seem like a good plan on some of those tired days though!! =D

Blog Content

I've done a bit of an experiment on my blog.....
Quite some time ago I put up a post with political content. My readers/comments dropped right off...
So I did it again and I see that the same thing has happened again... =) I find that interesting...That tells me that you my blogger friends must all be alot like me! Really not into politics all that much. There are times that the odd thing catches my attention though....But I have a confession to make....I didn't even watch the whole video that I posted on my site! :D I found it quite disturbing... but I thought after watching the bit that I did~ this is what the people in power kind of like! People like me, that don't keep themselves informed....So yeah..I'm left feeling ill-at-ease...
There are many people that say oh this is just a bunch of garbage...conspiracy hunters....and I'd love to believe those people because they help me keep my little bubble intact. But sometimes when I see things like this I notice the walls of my bubble starting to stretch and tighten....
What do you all think?? Do you keep yourself informed about what's going on? If so...what is your main source of information? Is it the mainstream media...or something else..?? Or do you just try to ignore it all and stick your head in the sand like me???
Let's hear from you, my bloggie friends!
Thanks!! Heather

Forgiveness

Have you ever been wronged by someone....? A close friend....family member....boss.....spouse? Man doesn't that just make you want to retaliate--Just let 'em have it?!? I can tell ya, sometimes I do(want to that is!!) That is just not my style though! :D However, lashing out at the person is NOT the ONLY way to retaliate. Sometimes when we're upset we'll NOT lash out at them, but instead just hold the anger inside and stew and think of all the things we should have said. Rather than now doing something though, we'll just cut them off--give them the cold shoulder---silent treatment. (Actually I don't usually do this...mostly in extreme cases..but ya..I'd have to have a memory for that!! lol) But guess what~it may feel good to stick it to them that way for a short while but slowly the Holy Spirit starts whispering to us....and if we're listening and obedient, we'll start to come around and admit to that this is just as wrong as freaking out and yelling at them or whatever other way of retaliation one can think of.

Here's a devotional I was reading on this topic this morning. Take a look...it's very well written and layed out! I really enjoyed it.

Yes, you can and you must! Not next week or next month, either - you need to forgive that person today!

Spiritually speaking, unforgiveness is downright dangerous. It will make your spirit feeble and your prayers ineffective. It will pull the plug on your faith so completely that you won't have enough power to move the molehills in your life - much less the mountains.

Read Mark 11:22-25 and you'll see why I say that. There you'll find one of Jesus' most powerful teachings on faith. He concludes that teaching with these words, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any...."

Notice He didn't say, "When ye stand praying, try to forgive" or "When ye stand praying, forgive if you can." He simply said, "Forgive." Period.

Jesus made forgiveness a command. It would be unjust for Him to command us to do something we couldn't do. So you can be sure it's within your power to obey His command and forgive - no matter how badly you've been wronged.

Why then has it been so difficult for you to do so? Probably because you have fears that are holding you back. Most people don't realize it, but unforgiveness is actually a form of fear. Quite often we don't forgive because we're afraid of getting hurt again. We're afraid we're never going to recover from the damage that person has done to our lives.

If you want to freely forgive, get rid of those fears. Cleanse yourself from them by the "washing of the water by the word" (Ephesians 5:26). Fill your mind and heart with promises of God that apply to your situation.

If your business has been threatened by this person, for example, meditate on the fact that no weapon formed against you will prosper (Isaiah 54:17), and rely on the fact that your God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Let the knowledge of the merciful, protective love of God cast out all your fears (see 1 John 4:18).

Then forgive, not by feelings but by faith. Do it the same way you would receive healing or anything else by faith. First, make a quality decision. Determine that you're going to do what God's Word instructs - no matter what. You're going to forgive.

Second, speak and act in accordance with that decision. Refuse to say anything negative about that person. Refuse to rehearse in your mind or with your mouth the hurt they have caused you. Instead, look for opportunities to bless that person both in word and in deed.

Finally, don't be moved by what you feel. Forgiveness is an act of the will, not feelings. When lying symptoms of unforgiveness well up inside you, come against them in faith. Say, "Praise God, I have forgiven that person by an act of my will. In the Name of Jesus, I'm not moved by these feelings. They'll just have to get in line. They'll have to submit to the faith and the love of God that's been shed abroad in my heart."

If you'll continue to do that, I can assure you from my own experience, your feelings will change. It may not happen overnight...but it will happen. One of these days, almost without thinking, you'll throw your arms around that person, give them a big hug and say, "I love you." What's more, you'll mean it from the bottom of your heart.

North American Union...???

Okay my blogger friends I know I'm NOT a political kind of person, normally but this really caught my attention. Has anyone heard of this?? What do you think...is it legitimate??? It does sound like it is...
Please tell me what your thoughts are on this one.

Family trip to Bears Fruit Stand.

This weekend we took a drive down to a fruit stand to see their harvest display and just have a look around. It was a nice drive. The kids goofed off at the fruit stand and we took lots of pictures. Amanda hates having her picture taken so there aren't many of her....mostly just the ones that I made her sit for...and you can tell!!! There are a whole ton of pictures on this post...when I post pictures I really go for it!!Can you see the bear peeking over the hilltop??? Isn't it cute? It's an ad for the Bear Fruitstand.Amanda being silly when I was trying to get some nice pictures of them.
All of us together trying to balance on that pile of pumpkins!!
goofy Lindsay
Courtenay peeking through the corn.
No.....they're not for sale!!
more girls posing for Mom.
This is one of Lindsay "roaring" through the fruitstand on an ancient tractor.

It was such a pretty, colourful display of the summer's bounty!

Lindsay posing for Mom. :D

Little Miss Sunshine trying out the tractor.
Janelle balancing on a leaning stack of hay bales.












Candy!! This one's for you! Here are some WHITE pumpkins!! Maybe you can find them in
your area! :D


After the fruit stand we went for a drive in the area...it's really pretty but it was an overcast day, so the pictures didn't turn out that great.
They call this K Mountain...can you see why??

Lord we are SO thankful for all that you bless us with day in and day out! I thank You that You are so gracious and merciful and that You are faithful to keep your promises to us Your people!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scroll down to see our goofy video blog....

Making baked apples.

~Lindsay's centrepiece for the table~









Okay.....I decided to take Leigh Ann up on her challenge (a looong time ago!) to get in front of the camera. So this is a silly video that we decided to do impromptu. So just ignore the mess, the bad hair day and all the rest of it and watch the silly show. I didn't realize that Lindsay, our camera operator, kept the camera on(I don't know how to edit the video)..so you get to listen to our conversation...at one point I say something about cutting the fat off the neck.. :D My fil was there, you'll hear his voice in the background. He brought over a deer neck roast for me to cook for dinner. It was very good! The girls were having fun with the camera so I'll add some of those photos as well. This took me forever to do because I knew I needed a chunk of time to sit down and figure out how to do the video thing....You'd think after all this time and suspense that it would be something spectacular!?! But not so....just us in an everyday moment in our kitchen! (our half painted kitchen, with some of the cupboard doors still off)

This meal seemed like the official kick off for Fall. We had deer meat(venison), root veggies and baked apples with ice cream for dessert. Lindsay felt creative and went out in the backyard and picked a few different things to make a table centrepiece. She did an amazing job..it was so pretty. I'll also add the video of Janelle. She wanted to be in on helping so I got her to put the apples into the oven. By the way...they were delicious!

~ Baked Apples~

4 large good baking apples, such as Rome Beauty,

Golden Delicious, Gala or Jonagold

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup currants or chopped raisins
1 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup boiling water

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. Wash apples. Remove cores to 1/2 inch of the bottom of the apples. It helps if you have an apple corer but if not, you can use a paring knife to cut out first the stem area, and then the core. Use a spoon to dig out the seeds. Make the holes about 3/4-inch to an inch wide.

2 In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, currants/raisins, and pecans. Place apples in a 8-inch-by-8-inch square baking pan. Stuff each apple with this mixture. Top with a dot of butter (1/4 of the Tbps).

3 Add boiling water to the baking pan. Bake 30-40 minutes, until tender, but not mushy. Remove from the oven and baste the apples several times with the pan juices.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Makes 4 servings.

ps...Our kitchen is as it came when we bought the house last year. The oven is very small and so is the stovetop....I can't put a full size cookie sheet in properly and putting a pot on every burner is tricky too....they're very close together. The appliances were put in when they redid the kitchen in 1986, so hopefully before too long we can get the kitchen redone again...it's pretty tight fitting more than one person in there...and there are always lots of us wanting to be in the kitchen at once!

Getting this house CLEAN!!

Wouldn't we all just love to have a maid come and clean our house...even if it was once in awhile?!? But who can afford such a luxury?? Well I found a maid service that will come and clean my house (and probably yours too!!) for $5!!??! It really does sound too good to be true, but I think I'll try it out ~ see if they really do a good job or not...
Can you imagine that someone would clean your house for such a measly fee!?! I was rather astonished too. Soo... Here is where I heard about it! Go take a look!! I think you will probably find that this maid service is available in YOUR area too! Good luck! :)


ps.. I'm working on that other post with video still...