Pumpkin painting & Pastries

The colors of Autumn are my absolute favorite.

The Farmer's Market, just down the road from us, is just a tiny, whole-in-the-wall kind of place, but the produce that is piled high every fall makes it one of my happy places each year :)

Large bins of apples, pumpkins for days, baskets of plums & juicy red tomatoes.

Today, when I walked through the produce tent, the overwhelming, sweet smell of the Concord grapes, stopped me dead in my tracks. They smelled SO good!

Today the Market was offering Free Pumpkin painting for the children, free juicy drinks, donuts & cinnamon rolls & Ice cream cones for 25 cents each.

The children consumed more sugar in one morning, than I think they get normally in a months time...crazy!

We're suckers for freebies, especially if they involve Fall activities & good food ;)

Husband is headed to the hunting grounds, to set up tree stands & trail cams, with the 3 older children. I'm hoping they walk off all that sugar & get it out of they're system before they get home. 

The 2 little guys & I are taking lazy, Saturday afternoon naps while they're gone.(Netflix & the thunder-storm last night, had me up  much longer than I would've liked)

Happy Saturday!

Boys will be Boys...

This one is ALL boy...

From the tips of his dust covered toes, to the top of his buzz cut head(hair)...cause it's less work to wash & care for, of course! (His words, not mine)

He's the creative one...minnow traps out of plastic bottles. Fishing lines from a tin can. Spears carved from sticks. If there is something he wants for his next adventure & doesn't have it, he'll make it from anything he can get his hands on.

Countless hours are spent wandering the woods behind our home, with a BB gun in hand & his four-legged sidekick close behind.

The creek provides endless opportunities for him to bring home freshly caught "pets" such as turtles, sun fish, creek chubs & crawdads...

He's an artist.

The images come alive with the scratch of pencil to paper. Animals & cartoons are his favorite things to sketch. 

Hes not a boy...not yet a man...

This age has it's challenges. Yet, we are embracing them. Remembering not so very long ago, our own years of awkwardness, where we didn't always know where we fit in. Where sometimes we needed to be reprimanded like a child & next thing we knew, we were being told,"you are old enough to be responsible for this, that, or the other" 

We remember, so we show grace.

Give him the right book & he'll read for hours...he's our deep thinker, coming up with questions that I may never have the answer to. Even as a toddler, he could sit for extended periods of time, pouring over stacks of picture books...

...no matter what stage of life you're in or what you're interests are, know that we love you. Forever & always.

Quiet Days

Coming out of a pretty crazy week, last week & a long weekend for the school kids...Throw in some canning etc., it was pretty crazy.

Today has been different. We've had a quiet day of home-school. Catching up on laundry & putting all the clutter back in it's place.

Between loads of laundry, little man climbed onto my lap, pulled his shirt up & said, Tickle my skin, Mama...Our children have done this for as long as I can remember. Even as babies, when I'd rock them to sleep, it was the one thing that would instantly relax them.

Home-school lunches are pretty simple around here. It's often some type of finger food thats quick & easy. Today, lunch was Pillsbury biscuits pressed flat with pizza toppings added & baked, & fresh apple cider...

...There is hazelnut coffee, chilling in the fridge, perfect for a tall glass of iced coffee while little man naps & the older children & I have our designated reading time. But for now, I'm headed out to breathe in this absolutely gorgeous, fall-like afternoon with my kids.

Fall Musings...

Although the temperatures have been saying otherwise...fall is just around the corner.

When my kitchen starts smelling of bean & bacon, taco & chili soup...big pots of pasta sauce simmering on the stove...I know we're getting close.

This young lady has been completely in her element, chopping peppers for soups & sauces, cutting up apples to cook for sauce & so much more. She is happiest, puttering around in the kitchen, helping with whatever I'm cooking or canning.

This week I picked up a bushel & a half of Ginger Gold apples.

I juiced up a bunch of apples, let the juice simmer for a few minutes, put it in jars & cold packed it for 15 min...It's delicious!

I found a recipe for Apple Cider & want to try that too!

Next on the to-do list is Apple Pie Filling. One of the handiest things to have in my pantry over the winter months. I can have apple pie, tarts, or crisp ready in no time.

Many of our winter,"Sunday Suppers" consist of popcorn & homemade apple or grape juice.

And Apple crisp with ice-cream.

My canning season is coming to an end, the yard & garden work has slowed down, & it's that time of year where I start lighting the coffee scented candles, snuggle in with a good book & enjoy the cooler evenings with a cup of hazelnut coffee :)

I look forward to this time of the year, all year long...

1st Day of School 2016/2017

As I'm typing this, we have another 1st day of school under wraps.

Our school day begins at 8:30 and we finish up at noon, aside from an hour of reading in the afternoon, when the smallest Hilty is napping.

This year presented a new challenge, I have a kindergartner.

I've never taught a child how to read, & I'm still not too confident that I have what it takes :) but I'm giving it my best shot!

My 1st year of homeschooling, the children were way past the stages of learning to read & homeschooling them was/is no hardship at all. Aside from a little guidance here & there, they are able to do it on their own. This year, I'm very hands-on & sit with my Kindergartner the entire morning.

1st Day of Kindergarten for this one!

1st day of 4th grade!

1st day of 6th grade!

1st day of 7th grade!

This one wants in on all the action! He sits right next to me & has approximately 100 questions for the duration of the school day. Something tells me I need to pick up a few preschool work books & let him in on the action.

I am so grateful that each one of the children enjoys being home-schooled. I love the fact that they aren't sitting behind a school desk for 6+ hours every day...the next few weeks/months of fall, are the best months of the entire year(in my humble opinion) :) 

The stifling, can't-breathe-when-outside,  heat of summer-time is behind us & the children are spending so many hours of play, outside. 

I feel as if we're prolonging summer break, by being able to enjoy these gorgeous afternoons, outside.

Lifting my cup of jo-Here's to another successful school year. Stretching & growing young minds, building good character & embracing the moment!

Dog days of summer

The "dog days of summer" Some of the hottest days of the year, is when my garden goes a little crazy & everything ripens all at once.

Earlier this week, I canned 19 pint salsa. Yesterday there was 10 dozen ears of corn to clean & freeze, & today I'm in the kitchen, elbow deep in sauce.

       

My house smells like a little Italian Granny's kitchen :)

The smell of tomatoes, peppers & onions simmering on the stove top has to be one of my favorite things about canning season.

There is something so fulfilling about filling the cellar shelves with home-canned goodies from my garden...& when the snow flies & there are sub-zero temperatures outside, I don't need to venture outside. I just need to head to the basement to do my grocery shopping, Husband can pick up the basics on the way home from work :)

Here are the recipes I used if you're interested...

Salsa

14 cup tomatoes, peeled & diced

3 cup onion, chopped

2 cup green bell peppers, diced

1/2 tomato sauce

3 T sea salt

1 T chili powder

1 T garlic powder

1 1/2 t cumin

2 T organic cane sugar

5 T clear jell

1/2 cup vinegar

-Mix clear jel & vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, mix all other ingredients then add the vinegar/clear jel mixture. put in pint jars & cold pack for 15 minutes.

Pasta/Pizza Sauce

1/2 bushel tomatoes(9 quarts juice)

4 large onions

4 large green peppers 

2 sweet banana(or hot peppers)

2 1/2 cup organic cane sugar

5 T oregano

5 T sea salt

1 T + 1 t black pepper

2 T basil leaves

4-12oz cans tomato paste

6 T flour

1 1/2 cup olive oil

-cut up tomatoes, peppers & onions & place in a large stock pot. Simmer for one hour, then blend in a blender. return to the stock pot. Mix the oil & flour & add to the pot. add remaining ingredients & simmer for 1 hour. pour into jars & cold pack for 1/2 hour.

-If you're gluten intolerant, eliminate the flour & simmer the sauce till it reaches the desired thickness.

Celebrating Gracie's 11th Birthday

Little miss ended up celebrating her Birthday the entire week of her special day. Not a bad way to celebrate...

We have a once-monthly family dinner with my extended family & it just happened to fall on Gracie's Birthday this year, so we had to have cake & presents :)

Grandma Raber has a special gift for knowing & remembering the special interests of her grandchildren & buys gifts accordingly. 

Grace loves puttering around in the kitchen, helping me bake pastries & helping to cook the family meals. Ever since she watched the American Girl movie "Grace" (who also loves to bake) I haven't been able to keep her out of the kitchen :)

She is now the proud owner of  2 cookbooks of her very own. Grandma also made the sweet little apron shes wearing.

...more goodies

Earlier in the week, she had 2 of her cousins over for a Tea Party Luncheon, complete with dainty tea cups & Mama's wedding china.

Her gifts from Mama & Daddy...she was thrilled :)

Every day, I thank God for giving me a little pink in my life. Someone to do all the girly things with. Your adventurous spirit inspires me. Your willingness to help, in all areas, blesses me.

Your sensitivity to other's needs, challenges me to be more sensitive...

I'm so proud of the young lady you are becoming.

I love you, sweet girl <3