Decorative .... Butter?

I like this idea!


These decorative pats of butter add a festive touch to a special dinner. They are very easy to make using inexpensive candy molds.

Simply let the butter soften on the countertop for about 30 minutes. Then, using a butter knife or small spatula, fill the molds. Check the underside to be sure there are no air bubbles.

Set the mold in the freezer for a short time to let the butter harden (it will be easier to get out of the mold if you do this). By applying a small amount of pressure to the underside of the mold, the butter should just pop out. Do be careful though not to dent the butter.

Thanks to Amy from The Prudent Pantry.

Curbing a Cough

Most of us can testify to struggling with a persistent cough. You know the kind that keeps you and your spouse (if you have one) awake at night.

Well, two of my Aunts have given me a suggestion that seems to have worked for at least three of us at various times these last two months. So I figure I'll share it with you -- in case you too can find relief.

Oil of Oregano -- one drop under the tongue stops the cough. Yup, one drop does it! That said though, it is HOT stuff and burns for a bit. I followed the drop with a big drink of water, but it still does the trick.

For administering to little ones? I put the drop of Oil of Oregano onto a quarter teaspoon of honey and followed that with a drink of water. Again, it helped to curb the coughing. PTL! Of course, honey by itself is said to curb a cough, though I find that the duo is even more effective.

Such an easy, healthy fix! I hope someone else finds this useful too.

Tonka Tough

Put two minds together and see what you come up with ... ? We all got a good chuckle from the innovative idea the twins tried this time (click on the picture to make it bigger. I'm sorry that the video clip Brayden took of this was too long to post here).



Who needs snow to go down the sledding hill when you've got Tonka trucks?

These trucks are 15-20 ... no 40 years old?? They've been through such use/abuse from all six boys, (one was even used by their Dad & five uncles) ... and they're still going strong. Tonkas are tough!

Provision

While the bucks are still elusive, Carsyn pegged another doe yesterday afternoon.


Praise the Lord for His further provision of meat for our freezers. In the last week of hunting season, we're not being choosy about getting "the big buck".

Fun & Fresh Air

... excercise & woodsmanship, orienteering and exploration, that's about the most of what the hunter's in this area are getting this year.

Mostly due to the unseasonably warm temperatures, apparently the rut season has not yet really begun. We need a big snow with some colder temps ... in the next five days!

The hunting season ends this Saturday. While we are grateful for the one deer Carsyn shot already, supplying us with about 60 lbs of ground meat, we are still praying that God will supply more. In whatever way though, we know tat God will supply ALL our needs. That is an assurance He gives and we are blessed by Him to have that!

AND while my hunters are faithfully "out there", I'm busy here at home keeping the home fires burning and our "Littles" constructively occupied. Thus there is little time for updates ... besides the camera is also "out there" ready to capture the elusive buck shots, lol!

Favorite Toddler Toys

An empty pop bottle! (For safety sake, tighten the lid well.)







And a cardboard box ...

They're Here

Finally, Faith Mattaya is getting some teeth. Not that waiting is a problem, but it's nice to have them coming in to accommodate her abilities with regular table food.

First Things First

Faith Mattaya took her first eight steps on her own the last day that Timothy was eight years old. She walked to him upon his encouragement. She was 9.5 months old.

Now, a week later, when Grandma & Grandpa W. arrived for a weekend visit she took off walking knowing what she was doing and doing it frequently, enjoying the freedom and the praise she gets from all of us.

The funny thing is ... she's walking before she even has teeth! Ha,ha! First things first! She's definitely been a mover since day one -- that was even the difficulty that put my labor and delivery with her into the high risk category. PTL all went well then and still is to this day. God has given grace & mercy sufficient for each day.

Learning the Ropes

Hosting camp horses for the winter is giving our family an opportunity to get to know horses. What a blessing that we can share some of our excess hay this way ... and get to enjoy riding, grooming the horses etc. without first having to make an investment into them.

Phonics Fun

Getting to do this again...

Already a month ago, Bronlin wrote out the song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" as I dictated it to him (at his request - he wrote out this special song as a gift for Grandma).

Teaching our children to read and write is a great thrill. By God's enabling grace and mostly on their own, the twins have already progressed very well in Mathematics aided by Father, Mother, brothers and workbooks so ... this year we are focusing on learning how to read and write words. Of course, Mathematics is still part of each day and they're continuing their progress, grasping new concepts like subtraction, clockwise & counter clockwise, time, and thousands with amazing ease. Ah, to God be all the glory! Thank you, Lord!

Back to phonics though, their penmanship is already neat and orderly. They know the names of the alphabet and most of the sounds that each one makes. Now we're beginning to put consanents and vowel sounds together to form blends and then words. Today they put together their first words and wrote them onto paper.

It is so rewarding to listen as they come to me throughout the day telling me that " 'v' starts with vehicle" or "Mom, 's' starts both six and seven". They are learning skills they will be using for life -- what an amazing privilege to lead them in this, one of the most basic things in learning.

Meanwhile, Faith Mattaya is discovering the joy of books ... I am continually amazed at the length of her attention span.

BreakTime

You've noticed my lack of posts lately, sorry.

It all started when our computer crashed due to a technical fault. We've been without internet for a week compounded by the fact that we're now setting it all up again from square one ... well, some of our stuff was backed up on external, but not all (we had to learn the hard way :(

Learning curves take time -- and energy! Thus my creative juices are just not flowing much outside of what needs doing day to day for my family ...

Please do keep checking in with us though. Regular programing will begin again.