Brownies

I'm always anxious to try new recipes.  Especially desserts, cookies and bars.  I saw this recipe referred to on MoneySavingMom and thought it was worth a try.  The recipe is at Fake It Frugal.  It is a knock off of Betty Crocker's Brownie Mix.  So, I made one batch and the children and I loved them.  I then got a container and mixed up enough mix in the container for 5 more batches.  Then I stuck it in the freezer to have brownie mix ready at the last minute.

My mess.  And you might be a homeschooler if your paper cutter and homeschool games are in the midst of your ingredients.  

A look at the brownies.  Don't blink or they'll be gone.  

My container of Brownie Mix, in the freezer and ready for whenever I might need it.  Perhaps today :)

Harvest has started

Harvest has started.  Yes, it's early.  But there will still be a crop and for that, we are thankful.   One of the best things about homeschooling is combine rides in the middle of the day in the middle of the week.  

These were almost two weeks ago, the week after Labor Day.  If you look close, you can see Emmet driving.  

Some of the time the children get to ride two at a time (usually boy/girl, boy/girl) but other times they have to ride all four of them at the same time.  We rolled a dice to see who would be first.

Ephraim and Eliza had to wait for their turn but rest assured, they got the same amount of riding time as Eden and Emmet.  

Eliza only rode for 90 minutes, but she was easily lulled to sleep.  

Emmet took a turn at the wheel, too.  

I'm sure there'll be more harvest pictures coming. . . 

Girls Just Helpin' Out

Long story short, the boys (Seth included) were away on a church campout Saturday afternoon and into the evening.  Seth had weaned the calves earlier in the day but there were a few jobs left unfinished by the time he needed to leave.  That left me and the girls to step up to the plate and help Grandpa finish up.  

Our main chore was to empty the cattle waterer tank that was full of ground corn for the pigs.  The newly weaned calves would need it back as a waterer.  Okay, let's get to work girls.

It was a dusty job!

Taking a moment to be silly!

Definitely ready for a bath!

Trying her best to brush off!

Taking a look at the newly weaned calves to make sure all is well.  We watered them and fed them.

Not afraid to get dirty!

My farm girls!

3rd grade Bible Presentation

  Our church has a tradition when it comes to 3rd graders and Bibles.  They are each presented with a Bible, monogramed with their name.  It's been a long-standing tradition because Seth received a Bible of his own as a 3rd grader.  The actual presentation of the Bibles has evolved over the years.  Now, it is  a special event with parents fully involved.  First, all the 3rd graders and their parents met together.  We looked up a few scriptures about the importance of God's Word.  There was a funny moment in there when we had to look up Hebrews.  Seth said "It comes right before Shebrews."  And then later the students were asked to name a parable.  And the funny quote that time was "oh, a pair of cows?"  Get it, parable/pair-a-bull?  Anyway, back to the Bible.  

The students left the room to work on a bookmark and the parents took the Bible and wrote in the cover.  We could write something about how special our child is to us.  How important it is to read God's Word everyday.  

We used this verse inside Ephraim's cover: Psalm 119:35

"Direct Ephraim in the path of your commands, for there he will find delight."

(Emmet took this picture).  There was quite a group of us this year, 13 I think.  It's the biggest group in quite a while.  You can see Seth and I in the back row, but Ephraim's right in front me, completely blocked from view :/

There was a short program in church.  We placed our hands on Ephraim and said these vows:

"Ephraim you are my child and I am very proud of you. 

You are a wonderful creation of God who is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

God has a special plan for your life, a plan for hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

May this book be a lamp unto your feet (Psalm 119:105).

May it penetrate your soul (Hebrews 4:12).

May it teach you, correct you and train you (2 Timothy 3:16) to be the very person God longs for you to be.  

We love you and present to you your very own Bible."

Then the students held their Bible and said:

"I receive this bible as God's Word for me.  

I will strive to know and understand it 

and through it know God.  

May it shape my character, 

penetrate my soul, 

direct my decisions,

 shepherd my heart, 

be a beacon of truth, and lead my life.  

THIS IS MY BIBLE!"

Later in the service the children were invited up to sing "Days of Elijah."

A nice picture outside with his new Bible.

And a "First day of Sunday School" picture.  We're looking forward to the new Sunday School year.

Fossil Field Trip

Our first homeschool group field trip was last week Wednesday.  Actually, it was supposed to have been in May, but the rainy weather postponed it to September.  My boys were more than anxious to go.  With the recent Mammoth fossil find in the area, they were pumped, but that's not where we were headed.  We were going to the local nature center.  We enjoyed some indoor exhibits and then took a walk. For September, it was a warm day with temperatures in the 90s.  

On our hike.  Part of the experience was to be blindfolded and then led down the path.  

Searching for fossils at the site of an old mine.  I was a bit skeptical at first, but all the children had quite a selection in their baggies of fossils.

Helping out with the pond study.  The boys are watching Matthew scoop the net in the water.
All in all, it was a worthwhile field trip.  We made some new friends and some new memories!

Pictures of the week, Sept 1 to Sept 8, 2012

Saturday, September 1, 2012

A picture of me with some of my college friends!

 Sunday, September 2, 2012

 Enjoying some tadpole catchin' with friends!

Monday, September 3, 2012

 It was Labor Day but farmers don't get to take it as a vacation day.  Seth and the boys were busy grinding corn and tarring the roof of his parents' house.


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

The girls were having a grand ol' time playing together--tickling and "wrestling" when they weren't playing dolls or Legos.  

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

 We purchased 3 more bushels of apples from Drakesville and made applesauce all Wednesday afternoon.  We did 8 half gallons and 14 quarts.  And Seth's mom took some home for them, too.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Lest you think we haven't started school, we have.  I just haven't posted our "first day of school picture" yet.  

Friday, September 7, 2012

Hy-Vee was having a great sale on cheese and ham.  The cheese was on sale for $.99, with a limit of 15.  (I went back a second time, so yes, I have 30 packages of cheese).  The ham was on sale for $1.99, normally $5.99, limit of 4.  I ended up with 8 of them.  I froze some and we're having the rest chopped up in casseroles or just plain on sandwiches.  

Saturday, September 8, 2012

A morning of doing 7 batches of tomatoes!  Chili base, pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce are all ready for consumption in the next year.

In the evening, we went to our church's 100th anniversary Sunday School Potluck and Auction.  

The children enjoyed the bounce house. . . 

. . . while the adults were bidding on many homemade items and goodies.  Seth and I donated some hamburger and my Supper Swapper group donated meals.  I came home with some fudge and some black walnuts.  It was a nice evening!

Apple Queen

Last Wednesday we did another three bushels of apples into applesauce.  All totaled, that gave us another 19 half gallons of applesauce.  I think that'll be enough for the year, combined with what we've already done. 

Two bushels of apples fill the sink!

Eliza was a big help.  She was smashing the apples and running the strainer.

But she also wanted to cut apples.  My apple slicer was just perfect for her.  She loves wearing this sleeveless hand-me-down from the boys.  It does show off her upper arm muscles :)  At one point, Eliza remarked, "Man, I'm getting good at this!"  Okay, she can be the Apple Queen for the day.