A giveaway!!

My Friend Lydia, is hosting a giveaway on her blog for one of my waldorf doll sweaters AND featuring my business and dolls!!  Thanks Lydia!  Go here to check it out!

Another daybook

FOR TODAY
August 1, 2011

Outside my window...sunny and bright, it's gonna be a hot one!  Heat advisory is on for the day!

I am thinking...about my husband riding the DAV van to Sturgis today for a doctor's appointment.

I am thankful for...how the Lord has blessed us with clothing in abundance from others for our children

From the learning rooms...on break right now.  Busy planning our year which starts up very soon!!

From the kitchen..Jeff and I are both watching our diets right now, wanting to lose about 15 lbs., so no baking yummy stuff! :)

I am excited about...news this morning of a dear friend's son being called to preach!!!

I am wearing...nightgown and robe.  I need to shower when I am off here!

I am creating...going to be dying bamboo velour today, making a dolly and lots of clothes to go in my Etsy shop

I am going..to town later to do a few errands

I am reading...the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5,6,7)

I am hoping...to go on a date soon with my husband.  One week from today is our 19th anniversary!!

I am hearing...my boys at the table chattering and picking on one another

Around the house...I have a big to do list for the week!!  Summer is running out and I haven't gotten all of my cleaning projects done!!

One of my favorite things...sharing an iced coffee with a friend and doing our bible study together!

A few plans for the next week...order school books that I still need and buy supplies.  Homeschool group has our planning meeting tomorrow morning.  More church renovating and cleaning to be done on Friday, plus out of town visitors!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing: My precious new niece, Everly Brynne

Chicken Fettucine Alfredo

Here is another of our family's favorite recipes!  Very quick and easy too, as long as you have all the ingredients on hand!  In fact my 11 year old daughter made this almost all by herself for our supper this week!

1/2 stick butter
1 pint heavy whipping cream or half & half
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c parmesan cheese
1/4 t nutmeg
garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. fettucine noodles, cooked
Cooked chicken.  I usually just cut up a couple of large chicken breasts and brown in skillet.

Melt butter in saucepan, add garlic to taste.  Add cream, cut up cream cheese and slowly melt.  Add nutmeg, salt and pepper.  When heated and cream cheese has melted, add parmesan cheese.  Stir in chicken and pour over cooked noodles.  Toss and enjoy!  Also good with shrimp!

Join me and others on Comfy in the Kitchen's blog, for Feasting in Fellowship Fridays!!

Saturday's Daybook

FOR TODAY
July 2, 2011

Outside my window...sunny and bright, fog in the distance

I am thinking...about firecrackers and children!

I am thankful for...the way the Lord constantly molds and shapes me!

From the learning rooms...on break right now.  Still working on math facts and summertime science!

From the kitchen..making muffins this morning.  Another recipe from Dole Valley She has some great muffin recipes!  I have tried quite a few!

I am excited about...fellowship with our friends over the next couple of days!

I am wearing...long flowy denim skirt and turquoise t-shirt, plus my pretty apron I made out of Tanya Whelen roses fabric

I am creating...catkin shawl, may try to make my kitchen curtain today

I am going..to get groceries later today

I am reading...James in the bible and a new wonderful little book that I can't wait to share with my daughter, Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola

I am hoping...that Jeff and I can coordinate our weekend in the Black Hills and get away together!!

I am hearing...my noisy dryer

Around the house...fairly clean, need to work on this computer desk though!

One of my favorite things...finding a great deal at a garage sale


A few plans for the next week...going to Hoven, SD for church tomorrow night.  They have asked Jeff to come and preach.  We are staying the night with them, then having a picnic and fellowship on the 4th of July

Here is picture for thought I am sharing:

Favorite Chicken Enchiladas

This is my first attempt at sharing a recipe and instructions with you!  This is a recipe that I came up with several years ago.  It was pretty much a combination of two other chicken enchilada recipes.  It also happens to be one of my husbands favorite meals (and mine too!)

Ingredients
4 or 5 chicken breasts, cooked (about 2 lbs.)
taco seasoning, 1 pkg.
small can green chiles
2 T butter
3 T flour
2 cup chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 can red enchilada sauce
8 oz. shredded cheese
tortilla shells

Directions
I cook the chicken one of two ways.  Sometimes I dice it raw, then cook in skillet and add taco seasoning.  Sometimes I cook the breasts whole, then cool and shred and put back in skillet with taco seasoning.  Next I make a white sauce with the butter, flour, and broth.  Once thickened, I add the can of green chiles and cup of sour cream. Next I fill the tortilla with the seasoned chicken and a spoonful of sauce.

Roll them up and lay them in the pan. Pour remainder of the sauce over the top and then pour can of red enchilada sauce over it.  Cover with shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.  About 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy the pan of enchiladas with your family!  Homemade salsa and chips go along with this great!

More bible study help

I wanted to share with you what I found this weekend that has been a great help to me already with my bible study.  It's a multi colored pen in PASTEL colors!!

I was so excited to find one that wasn't your basic, red, blue and black.  This one has pink, purple, lime, and turquoise.  I was glad to find the pens in these colors because they work well with my new bible.  I used to do the same idea with my old bible and highlighters, but found they bleed through too much on the pages of my new one.  Now I can do my markings again!  Here is what I use
 God's special verses for me : pink
 Verses on the family : purple
 Wisdom and Instruction : blue
 Salvation : green

  

 Here is a picture of my new bible.  I love the wide margins that it has.  Plenty of room for notes!  I also chose one that does NOT have study notes.  Not that I am opposed to that, but I was finding it distracting during my reading, and wanted something simple instead.  I do not like to change bibles, so I'm hoping this one lasts me a long time.  I bought a pretty nice quality one with some birthday money.


So there you have it.  A quick peek at my bible and how I use it in my daily study!

http://www.goodmorninggirls.org

Happenings

We had a lovely weekend on the road!  We traveled Saturday to Elk Point, SD to our dear friends the Haileys.  The Haileys are church planters and were the family that started the church here that my husband now pastors.  They moved on to plant another church in the Vermillion area and were holding their first services at Elk Point Baptist Church last Sunday, so we wanted to be with them on the special day!

We arrived Saturday afternoon, had a nice visit and then went to Sioux City, IA for supper.  We went to a Japanese Steakhouse.  What a fun time!!  The chef stands in front of your seat and cooks your meal.  He also puts on quite a little show!  The food was just delicious and we sure had some laughs!  Here we are waiting for our chef to arrive.  Melanie and Jesse Hailey are in the front and Jeff and I are in the back.

 The Haileys had offered to keep the children for the night at their house so Jeff and I went to the hotel that we spent our wedding night in nearly 19 years ago!  What a lovely little getaway for a night!  Jacuzzi and all!

Services were to be held at 11am on Sunday morning.  Pastor Hailey had been contacted by about 3 different people that they were planning on attending, so we were hopeful for just a few to show up for services.  There ended up being around 25 locals that came!!  What an encouragement!  We have prayed earnestly for the church there and that they would reach the community with the gospel and they are off to a good start!  Here is a picture of the little church.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend full of fellowship.  I'm so thankful for the Christian friends that the Lord has blessed us with!!

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
June 9, 2011

Outside my window...cool, windy, and cloudy

I am thinking...about repentance and what that really means!

I am thankful for...my lovely church family

From the learning rooms...on break right now.  Still working on math facts and summertime science!

From the kitchen..something with rhubarb today maybe?  Meatloaf for supper!

I am excited about..the electric piano sitting in my living room.  A lovely gift from a member of our church family

I am wearing...long, flowy, blue knit fabric skirt.  Red t-shirt.  Wool socks (told you it was cool this morning) and black mary janes

I am creating...a knitted blue teddy bear for Caleb's bday next month, a dolly dress today

I am going..to town later with a friend to hit a huge rummage sale (also known as a garage sale)

I am reading...Hebrews

I am hoping...that the levees hold the Missouri River out of our town

I am hearing...children finishing up their breakfast and the washing machine making a bunch of racket!

Around the house..need to put the piano in it's place today and reorganize dressers.  Good cleaning is planned for tomorrow.

One of my favorite things...red and aqua fabric.  Can't wait to get some new and make me another apron!

A few plans for the rest of the week...going to Elk Point, SD this weekend to stay with the Haileys and join them for the first Sunday service in their newly planted church!  Jeff & I are actually going to stay the night in the hotel that we stayed at on our wedding night and the kids are staying with the Hailey Family!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing:

A picture of a real gumbo lily, taken by my husband

last week on the NW South Dakota prairie!

Dolly Days Friday!

http://littlejennywren.blogspot.com/search/label/Dolly%20Day%20Friday

Ever since I saw the first "dolly days" post on Little Jenny Wren, I knew I wanted to post!  I have a very special Cabbage Patch Kid doll that I want to share about with you.  Back in the year, what was it, 1982?  CPK's became incredibly popular.  As usual, we paged through the Sears and JCP catalogs, circling what we wanted for Christmas.  Well, I wanted one of those dolls.  My Mom thought I was crazy and ignored my wishes, since I'd never been one to really want a doll.  Before long, they were impossible to find anywhere!  My Mom ended up getting on a waiting list at our little store in town that carried toys.  For my birthday that year in February, she gave me a card with a cut out picture of a Cabbage Patch Doll.  If I remember correctly, I finally got my doll in May.  Her name was Emmalynn Freddie.  Here she is now in the same original outfit.

It turns out that close to 18 years later, we named our first child, a daughter, Emmalynn.  We didn't keep the middle name Freddie though.  Hope sounded like a better choice.  So she is Emmalynn Hope and here she is at age 11.

I still think Cabbage Patch Kids are adorable and they probably contribute to my current love for Waldorf Dolls!  Love the cloth skin and yarn hair!

Bible Study Helps

I am joining with a small group of women this spring and summer in an Email list called Good Morning Girls.  It is an accountability and encouragement group.  The idea is that each day during the week, we send a short note to each other via email about what we read or studied during our morning devotions (or sometimes afternoon or evening devotions!).  It has been so great to share with each other and be able to pray specifically for each other.

Today my verse was Luke 6:40, The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.  Now if we used the modern day definition of perfect that makes the verse a little more difficult to understand.  For we know we will never be "perfect"!  However with using the Webster's 1828 Dictionary we can find that the word perfect means finished, complete.  Christ wants to make us like Him, conform us to his image.  We have to submit to that willingly or the process is much more painful!

I love having the 1828 dictionary.  The definitions are so much richer and deeper!  AND, scripture is used to explain definitions!  It has been a great help to us in our bible reading and studying!  You can find it online at various places if you don't have a copy at home!

Weekend plans

Good morning!  I am not doing so great yet with the blogging world am I??  I need to plan a regularly scheduled post I think.  That way I can work it into my schedule and actually have a plan for what to write out!  I am spending most of today preparing for our church's little ladies meeting and luncheon tomorrow!  This is the second year we have had it and I have been looking so forward to it!  Angie Ruckman, wife to Pastor Ruckman of Glory Bound Baptist Church in Hoven, SD will be speaking.  We have a delicious lunch planned for afterwards and fellowship of course!  My girls and I are going to be finishing most of the cooking prep today and also making up some more pretty tissue paper flowers to decorate the tables.  This evening we will be going to a youth meeting in Chamberlain.  We are of course excited about that!  We do love going to church!

I had hoped to have my pink and gray shawl finished in time to wear this weekend, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen, I just haven't had enough time to work on it this week.  I did try to put together a new skirt last night to wear tomorrow, but I had a few issues with that, so not sure if I will get to wear something new tomorrow or not!

I hear my family beginning to wake up and I'm sure they will be looking for breakfast soon!  Here is a picture of the shawl at the beginning.

Here is my new "Little Jenny Wren" doll.  She is wearing the little dress that I knit for her.  I think she is so cute and she will sit on the shelf with my other special dolls!

It's a rainy morning here in South Dakota!  Chilly too!  The furnace was turned off a week ago and with no warm air or sunshine out this morning, it's a tad cold in here! 

We all slept late today.  The past two nights have been late ones with revival meetings at Calvary Baptist Church in Chamberlain!  Good preaching and fellowship!  Two of my favorite things.  I sure am burdened right now though for some friends and the trials they are going through.  Just all the more reason to pray earnestly.

I received my doll from Little Jenny Wren yesterday.  She is such a cute thing!  I will get a picture up of her later.  Everyone ooooohed and aaaaaahed when I took her out of the package.  She traveled all the way from Tasmania to get here!  She was given the name Immy by the dollmaker, but that sounds too close to Emmy, so we are trying to come up with a different name for her.

Well, my coffee up is calling me from the counter and children are begging for breakfast, so I'd better get to that now!

What do you think of my lovely new blog?? My Dear friend Nataly, whom I have known online for quite some time, is doing web/blog design and I won the drawing on her blog for a free blog design! I love it!

The Gumbo Lily is the name of the business I started a couple of years ago to sell my handmade items online. I haven't pursued that recently, but am considering giving it a try again soon.

Meanwhile, since I have such a lovely place to post my thoughts now, I just may try to do more blogging again!

Saturday morning at the Vollmers house. I was up early for my quiet time with the Lord and was soon being squished on the couch by 3 little boys. Guess it is time to start our day!