Hannah is my fourth child and my second daughter. She’s one of the “middle children”. With six kids, you can’t have one middle child. lol She will be 17 this December.

Hannah America is named after my grandmother. America was my grandmother on my father’s side. It was a good choice for a middle name for Hannah, as she shares many of the same personalty traits her great grandmother had.

Hannah is the quietest of the three girls. So sweet and loving. Her talents lie in the domestic arts. Cooking, crocheting, knitting, sewing. I anticipate her being a true Proverbs 31 woman.

Our family already benefits from all the baking she does. She made cheesecake cookies this week. From homemade cheese! At least once a week, sometimes more, I’m posting a Facebook status declaring how delicious her latest project is.

She also can knit or crochet anything she wants. Pattern or no pattern. If she wants to make something but can’t find a pattern she likes, she makes up her own. She can even look at a picture and come up with a pattern to make a matching item. She amazes me, as I can’t do that!

She sews anything she wants, too. Last year, she made her own modest bathing suit. This year, she made a bathing suit for her sister, and a swim shirt for her brother.

She also recently designed and sewed her own dress.

While Hannah’s God given talent abounds, the most important thing about Hannah is her heart for God. She spends a lot of time reading her Bible and studying.

I’m excited to see what God has in store for my dear, sweet Hannah!

 

Good night! awwww……has a parent heard sweeter words than this after a long day? I think not.

We’ve been watching The Andy Griffith Show together and one thing that really struck me was how early Opie went to bed. And how Andy and Aunt Bee always had what seemed like a couple of kid free hours before they turned in early themselves. Ah, the good old days!

That is a perfect example of how television is so different from real life! lol Our four kids still at home are 12, 14, 16 and 17. Who all like to stay up late! sigh This Mama needs some sleep! I often leave them out here with Dad when I go to bed at 11. Because Dad usually stays up late, too.

Occasionally, they will sleep late, especially the 16 year old girl. The others don’t believe in sleeping late. Unless, of course, we have to be someplace early. Then they don’t want to get up.

So, anyway, back to me sleeping!

For the last couple of years, I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Oh, I fall asleep very quickly. It’s staying asleep that is my problem. I have become a frequent visitor to 3 a.m.

If you have trouble sleeping at night here’s a tip. I keep my mp3 player under my pillow. Sure do. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I just reach under my pillow and turn it on, stick the headphone on, and I’m good to go.

Now, if you only listen to rock music. this might not work for you. lol I have a selection of sermons, Bible verses and praise music that I listen to during the night. Most of the time, listening to these keeps my brain from working overtime and I’m able to drift off to sleep again.

Even if it takes me awhile to fall back asleep while I’m listening, at least I’ve spent my time awake wisely instead of just tossing and turning. And listing all the things I didn’t get done yesterday, and all the things I have to do tomorrow!

Do you have any other tips for getting a good nights sleep?

 

 

 

Freezing…….as in cold!

The weather has taken a turn to the cold side here in Kentucky.  A cold snap we weren’t prepared for! There has been frost a couple of mornings. brrrr….. The days have mostly been in the 50’s though.

Since I try really hard not to turn the heat on until November 1st, we’re a little chilly here. I’ve kept my eye on the indoor thermometer. One morning, it was 58 in the house.  Most of the time it’s been 60 or 62 in the morning.

We normally have the thermostat set on 62 in the winter, so it’s only a couple of degrees colder than we would normally keep it. It just feels colder since it’s the first cold spell of the season.

Time to winterize around here. We’ve broken out the sweaters and sweatshirts. The thick socks and the warm afghans. It’s also time to put the plastic up on the windows. It really does make a big difference in the warmth of a room. The new window kits with the plastic that you use a blow dryer on after installing are what we use. The plastic shrink wraps so you can’t even see it on the window when you look out. The only way you can tell it is on the window is by looking at the edges.

A couple of years ago, I bought thermal drapes for the living room, dining room, and school room. They have made such a difference. We close them at night and even keep them closed during the day when temps are in the 20’s or below. In the summer, we close them to the afternoon sun and it keeps the house so much cooler. They were definitely worth the investment. I actually bought them online from Walmart and they were very reasonably priced.

So those are the main ways we try to save money on our winter heating bills. Setting the thermostat lower, using plastic on the windows and using thermal drapes. Oh, and baking more yummy food warms the house up, too.

What are some ways you use to lower your heating bill?

 

 

Oh, how we wish everything could be easy. No troubles at all. Or if we did have trouble we could just press an “easy button” and all our troubles would go away.

Our family has had some stuff going on lately. Including the death of my mother in law. Her memorial service is tomorrow. So, needless to say, our family is going through a hard time and everyone is on edge.

It sure would be tempting to just give up when troubles come our way. When it seems like we have no hope,we could just retreat and try not to face our problems. But we don’t have to lose hope and give up.

We can turn to God!

 

I will lift up my eyes to the hills– From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.  Psalm 121

 

God is there for us in our time of trouble!

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling.   Psalms  46:1-3

 

God will give us joy and hope again!

Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.     Psalm 30:5b

Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.     Nehemiah 8:10b

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.   Jeremiah 29:11

 

Oh, how grateful I am that I can turn to God when life isn’t easy!

And HE is always there!

 

Dress shopping should be easy, right? Well, it’s not. As anyone that has tried to go dress shopping lately knows.

I’ve been searching for a decent, modest dress for my 13, soon to be 14, year old daughter for her grandmothers memorial service. I really didn’t think it would be this hard. It’s just a dress, right?

Well, as I have found it’s far from easy. I spent the morning searching online. I searched all the big name stores that are in the town we go shopping in. I figured if there is nothing acceptable on their websites, there won’t be anything acceptable in store, either. Checking online saves a lot of time.

I really don’t think I’m being that picky. A dress with some sort of sleeve, a neckline no more than 3 finger widths below the collar bone, and down to the knees. Is that unreasonable? I don’t believe so.

Oh, we found some very lovely modest dresses on several modest dress websites. For $75.  An up! Seriously?  Uh, no!

My 16 year old is making her own dress for the memorial. I wish I had time to make one for the 13 year old, too.  We finally decided that she would use a skirt she already has and buy a new top.

What has happened to all the decent clothes for young ladies? Or even us not so young ladies? I haven’t heard about any fabric shortages. So why do all the clothes look like there is?

As you can tell, I need help! Where do you find modest dresses for a modest price? Please help!

 

I love baking. Always have. Always will.

I remember way back (way, way back! roflol) when I was probably 12ish. My mother used to buy these cake mixes that came with the pan and everything right in the box. A cardboard pan, at that. You dumped the mix into the pan, added water, stirred it all up and baked. It even came with a frosting packet. Anybody else remember those? That was my first experience baking by myself. That I remember anyway.

I vividly remember the first time I baked from scratch by myself, too. I was baby sitting my little brother. And there was nothing in the house to eat for a snack. So I made sugar cookies. I got out the cook book (yes, my mother had one. lol) and found a recipe to go with the ingredients we had. Sugar cookies it was.

My brother and I ate good that night. roflol I remember when my mother came home and I offered her a cookie, she asked me where I got them. lol I told her I baked them. She said “Oh”. That’s what I remember anyway, she probably said more. Like clean up this mess! roflol So my baking career started even before I took Home Ec in Jr. High.

And I’m still baking. My baking recently has expanded to gluten free baking. That’s a whole other world! Fun to try, frustrating when it fails and I’ve wasted money. I’ve had quite a few successes, though. 🙂

I was feeling pretty good tonight so I decided to bake some chocolate chip cookies. Not gluten free. Just plain old chocolate chip cookies. Lots of butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips with half white flour and half whole wheat. yum!

 

 

So my kids got a nice (late!) snack. And went to sleep smelling chocolate chip cookies baking. My guess is, they’ll wake up really hungry in the morning! lol