::Christmas Ornaments 2011::

This year I literally hammered away at some old baking trays until they looked like

Punched Tin

::Pretty Scribbles & Lemony Pleas::

A few tidbits from my life this week.

::Heroes::

We just finished Book One of "Hero Tales" by Dave & Neta Jackson. We all love it. Each day we read a short biography of a godly Hero of the Faith. I am refreshed and amazed by the accounts of God's miraculous provision for men and women who trusted God implicitly while staring death in the face.

The kids have responded so well to this. How better to teach them to live and pray BIG than to read true stories about those who did just that.

This series has three or four books. I can't wait to begin the next one.

::Yummy Crystals::

Cae and I grew some Rock Candy this month. She says they were delicious. I think they looked like a gooey, purple mess. But they are beautiful. We peered at them under the microscope. Breath-taking.

Activity: Grow Crystals
Crystals grow in undisturbed spaces where mineral-filled liquid is present. This means that a sugar-water solution in a glass jar serves well as a make-shift "geode."

These are edible crystals: Rock candy.

Observe & Sketch the growth of your crystals

::irresistible::

I have not seen my children since we said "Amen" after family worship this morning. They are out in the white: wet, cold and LOVING it! I, meanwhile, am in by the fire: dry, cozy and LOVING it!

::Lantern for Baby Charlotte::

A few years ago I made THIS.
I adapted it and made a lantern for a friend’s baby.

::Dress-Up Day 2011::

::Trail Bars::

::Cranberries::

Caelah and I took a mini tour into the world of cranberries this thanksgiving. Here is a sample of what we learned:

Crane-Berries: Pilgrims thought the cranberry flower looked like the head of a crane.
Bounce-Berries Cranberries must pass a freshness test called a "Bounce Test." This involves bouncing them over a one inch bar. Only the fresh ones make it over.

Cranberries

Cutest, and most helpful website about cranberries:
www.cranberries.com

When John “Peg-Leg” Webb poured a load of cranberries down his storage-loft stairs (his wooden leg made it impossible to carry them), he noticed that only the firmest and the finest made it to the bottom—the bruised and spoiled lingered on the upper steps. He realized then that the fruit’s “bounceability” was the perfect test to separate the good from the bad. That was in 1880; today, a bounce test still exists—a cranberry Olympics of sorts—but instead of stairs, many farmers use something called a bounce board separator. The berry contestants are dumped into a hopper, where they face a gauntlet of angled wooden boards. Softer cranberries slouch against the slats, sliding into a box set aside for the compost heap. Somewhat sprightlier specimens make the cut for the juicer, while the top-shelf cranberries—the gold medal winners—catapult themselves in graceful pole-vaulting form to the conveyor belt below. Only these bouncy berries are destined for the table. ~EatingWell

OceanSpray Video:

::Cooking with Cranberry::

::Cranberry Reads::

::Thanksgiving 2011::

This is another occasion where I will have to rely on words for memory, rather than pictures. When hosting over 20 people, the camera lies forgotten. Sadly. No pictures of the men around the bonfire. Or the children building forts in the woods. Nor the cozy gathering on the back porch, and the tables covered in glorious food. Sigh. Aidan stole a few photos in the evening. These will have to do.



P.S. Apart from an Aunt and Uncle I adore visiting from thousand of miles away. I am particularly thankful today for the news that Daniel and Amanda are engaged!

::So Thankful for Cousins::

::Caelah's gift::

Caelah painted this for Ryleigh's first birthday. I am so impressed. I could never manage animals or people, but she looked up a YouTube video and away she went!