finishing up 2023 - December

Life has been an avalanche of challenges this year requiring us to make some tough decisions and changes. 

Holiday changes: we didn't send any Christmas cards out this year, 
we didn't host a big family gathering, 
and we simplified our gift list plus used things we had to make most of the gifts we gave.

But these changes didn't change the true gifts of Christmas ...

LOVE  *  JOY  *  PEACE  *  HOPE

Here are a few of our creations... pallet snowmen for neighbors.

(thanks to my sister in law for the idea!)

grapevine wreaths

homemade soap

plus polymer clay wreath ornaments in boxes made from old calendar pages

And we decided to try different treats for Christmas.

We each picked something ...

Matt - English Toffee (this is his favorite so not a new thing)

Angie - orange chocolate truffles

Nathan - peppermint bark

Grace - pretzel rolo sandwiches

And Grace and I made this peppermint trifle dessert for my mom's family dinner.

ALL the treats have been yummy!!

Grace had fun spending her first day of Christmas break making this gingerbread farm ... log cabin, barn, tractor, truck with Christmas tree all included! (I love helping her with this project!)

A friend helped me by making a couple Christmas gifts for Matt and the kids - 

custom made t-shirts for each of us   

and these awesome farm boot ornaments for the kids.

I wanted their ornaments to be farm boots because Matt and I were blessed to find a great deal on Muck boots and to be able to give the kids Muck chore boots and wool socks for Christmas.

Yes! My 16 and 17 year olds LOVED them.

And both kids are good at working odd jobs for people and saving their money

plus buying thoughtful gifts.

Together, they bought Matt this apple picker like the one his grampa had

that Matt talked about often.

Nathan bought Grace a new cowboy hat because her old one was too small.

The day after Christmas, we have adapted the tradition of Jolabokaflod from Iceland spending the day reading, eating chocolate and sipping warm drinks.

We want to wish you and your family a

MERRY CHRISTMAS

and a 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

God has been so faithful to us and this season gives us the perfect time to celebrate our Hope in the greatest gift given to us, Jesus, and reflect on God's goodness over this past year.

I hope you will take some time as we close out 2023 and rejoice in God's goodness in your life!

November highlights

 During the first couple weeks of November, life slowed down and I felt like I could catch my breath. And then it picked back up full speed ahead...

I have shared before how Grace and I help lead our church's prayer shawl ministry.

The inventory of shawls was getting low, but so was my yarn supply.  So I started praying asking God to provide yarn.  The next day God reminded me how our church in Richmond's knitting group made prayer shawls from donated scrap yarn so the request was put out and the yarn came in! And the day after I started praying, my mom's friend said she had yarn for me because she wasn't going to crochet anymore. wowie wow wow! Check out the yarn supply now!

Matt's birthday was on Thanksgiving day this year so we celebrated early by going to the Bear Check In station on the first day of bear hunting season.  Then we came home for homemade stromboli.

Matt hopes for hard tack candy each year during the Christmas season.  So the kids and I each bought one of the main ingredients to make it as Matt's birthday gifts.

This summer, God laid it on our hearts to open our home to people who didn't have a place to go for Thanksgiving dinner.  Our guest list included 12 people ranging from age 6-82! 

We enjoyed a lovely dinner, football games outside and on tv plus playing games.

Grace made these yummy pumpkin rolls and honey butter!

(I didn't get a picture of everyone...but here are a few from that day.)

My mom's birthday was on one of the first days of deer season so we celebrated with her on Black Friday.  We helped her cut down, bring in, set up and decorate her Christmas trees. (My brother ordered and the family planted Christmas trees the spring before he passed away 17 years ago so my mom has her own Christmas tree farm.)  The one she picked out was a FAT tree.

After helping with the tree, we made popcorn and watched the movie I Heard the Bells about Longfellow writing the poem which became a Christmas carol.  It is a very moving movie!

Then deer rifle hunting season began ...

Matt and Nathan both shot doe.  No deer for our new hunter.  Friends who shot more deer than they needed, gave us two.  So in a two week time period, we processed 4 deer.  I even did something new ... rendered some of the fat to make tallow for soap.

So now our new meat freezer (the 36 year old freezer we had died on Thanksgiving morning) is full of venison and we are blessed once again by God's faithfulness to provide for us!

our October

 The very first day of October was a beautiful
fall day and we enjoyed it in the woods on my
Uncle George's hilltop for the annual 

Walk in Penn's Woods.

(This ended up being the only nice-weather weekend day all month!)

We are blessed to get our new car!

(people that didn't know our car was totaled won't 

even know we got a new car - ha! ha!)

It was chilly and rainy on this first Saturday of October, 

but that didn't stop the bikers from riding past our house

during the Rock Oil Foliage Frenzy ride.

Nathan went up to the check in station to help

and I sat on our front porch {wrapped in a blanket with coffee}

ringing our cow bell and cheering on the riders.

It was so much fun to cheer for people I didn't even know!

While Nathan and I were cheering for and helping the bikers,

Matt and our new hunter were out in the woods small game hunting.

Grace has caught the "hunting bug" and has enjoyed

going out with Matt even though she hasn't shot anything

and I think it has rained every time they've gone out.

Matt, Nathan and Grace are all gearing up for deer rifle season coming soon.

And Nathan has been out archery hunting a lot.

Matt got a black squirrel one night when they went out.

We sponsor a "granny" in Uganda through ROTOM.

A couple from our church went over early October

and delivered this prayer shawl that I made for Nosiata, our granny.

You can see her smile below when they delivered it.

Between life and weather, we weren't able to go on our much loved

fall camping and hiking trip.  I was disappointed, but still wanted to

do something special for fall.  When I asked my family,

one of their favorite things unanimously is when I make homemade donuts 

to go with our fresh cider.

So I decided to try different recipes for baked donuts each Saturday

of the month while the cider we pressed lasted.

So we had...

pumpkin donuts

maple glazed donuts

apple fritters 

and apple cider donuts (which got eaten before I got a picture).

Good thing each batch only makes a dozen or less!

A friend from church (who is a knitting queen and helped

me in my endeavor to learn to knit socks last year)

gave Grace sock yarn for her birthday so I could

knit her a pair of socks. 

(So far I'd only made socks for our moms.)

And here they are ...fun fall colors!

We helped our church host the US Celebration for the 20th anniversary

of  Reach One Touch One Ministries.

The evening was inspiring and we are blessed to be

part of this ministry!

(even though Matt was quick to say "no!" when I asked if we could 

move to Uganda to be part of this ministry there)

SO MUCH September ...counting our blessings!

 September had SO MUCH going on for our family...

and we are COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS! 

Nathan was accepted to Slippery Rock University

and IUP!

On Fridays this month, Nathan spent the day doing an

"externship" with Crawford County Commissioners,

GIS department, 911 Call Center, and Emergency Management Agency.

This is for his Capstone Project but also because he

plans to major in Geographic Applied Technology

with a minor in Emergency Management.

We celebrated Grace's 16th birthday!

She loves to bake and wanted to help make her

birthday cake ... Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake!

We are talking 3 layers of moist dark chocolate cake

with thick layers of homemade caramel in between,

a chocolate buttercream icing on top and sides

drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with sea salt.

Yum! Yum! Yum!

We made the caramel layers so thick the cake slid

but it still tasted amazing.

("no more pictures mom, I just want to eat it!")

Grace's pink roses from daddy!

Grace was blessed with all the cards she received!

23 cards in all!

(thank you to everyone who sent one)

And our family outing to celebrate was going to

the Big Daddy Weave concert two days after

her birthday because this girl loves Christian music!

(I've been wearing my hair pulled back a lot lately

because Grace and I are growing it out for wigs again

and it is getting long ...it isn't a buzz cut, ha!)

And look at this beautiful stained glass horse

that Grace received from "Aunt Flora".

We also celebrated Gramma's 90th birthday!

The whole family went out for dinner.

We also went over one evening just us four and Gramma

with an elderberry pie and ice cream to bless her.

We spent a week doing farm chores for a local farmer/friend.

After collecting, washing, weighing and sorting up to 600 eggs

a day plus feeding/caring for all these chickens, turkeys, pigs, beef cows and a dog...

I'm content with our homestead of 10 chickens, 2 ducks and a barn cat!

This month, I had never ending tomatoes to can ...

I did salsa, pizza sauce, soup, crushed tomatoes, and marinara sauce.

We also did up 2 bushel broccoli and 1 bushel cauliflower for the freezer.

I picked 2 bushel of grapes making 135 qts of grape juice.

AND we picked about 10 bushel of apples from our property or neighbors'

pressing 41 gallons of cider.

I'm exhausted but so blessed to have overflowing canning shelves and freezers!

Nathan grew potatoes for the first time this summer.

Here he dug up the first few for dinner one night.

He harvested about 15# total.

Our ducks have been laying a lot of double yoke eggs,

but one day we got a triple yoke egg!

The duck eggs make great boiled or deviled eggs and are

awesome in baking!

We are so blessed!  

{The more I look in the details, the more of Your (God's) goodness I find!}

lyrics from this new song - take a moment to listen

Counting My Blessings