~Music Mondays~ Love Came Down & I Heard the Bells!

Hope ya'll will join in on Music Monday! There should be some great Christmas songs shared over the next month! If you have one to share, I hope you will! Just go to Shawntele's blog, "Saved by Grace" and link up! One lady shared a really great A Capella song today! It the singers are just so talented and the song is very....well you just have to go hear it! =)

Well, I have so many Christmas songs that I love it is hard to choose, especially since we only have 4 Monday's left before Christmas!!

I decided to share Jars of Clays song "Love Came Down at Christmas"! But then I found the Jars of Clay version of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas", and the youtube of it is very beautiful! So I just had to share both!

Christmas is such a busy time for everyone and I think it is important that we remember the true reason for the season and that Jesus came to bring love, for He is love and Christmas should be a time to show our love! Not so much in how many gifts or how great the gifts are, but that we show actions of love! That we are a good example and keep our hearts and minds on things above and not on things that do not last. Christmas is a time to love, to make an extra special effort to show those close to us how much we love them and to do good to those in need! To show love to someone hurting, lonely or someone that is just not giving much attention or appreciation.

Hope you enjoy the song, "Love Came Down At Christmas" and may you keep Christ love in your heart, thru the Christmas season and Always!

Things are not very good in this country right now. I do not believe that we will ever see it back to how it was, but then again I do not believe it was all that great from my Christian stand point. We have been killing millions of babies for years now, we throw our children out to the wolves and they grow to be products of a sinful world, we tolerate what is evil and we compromise.
Everything seems really upside down right now, but God can and I believe will give His strength to good people and there will be peace on earth for many, again!
Praise the Lord! He gives peace, no matter what the world gives or takes away!

As I said the video of this song is amazing! It takes you thru Christ life and is very touching! I hope you will take the time to watch it while you hear the song. Jars of Clay did a great good on the music, I think!

Samuel Adams Saturday Speech cont. (part 17)

"Other nations have received their laws from conquerors; some are indebted for a constitution to the suffering of their ancestors through revolving centuries. The people of this country, alone, have formally and deliberately chosen a government for themselves, and with open and uninfluenced consent bound themselves into a social compact. Here no man proclaims his birth or wealth as a title to honorable distinction, or to sanctify ignorance and vice with the name of hereditary authority. He who has most zeal and ability to promote public felicity, let him be the servant of the public. This is the only line of distinction drawn by nature. Leave the bird of night to the obscurity for which nature intended him, and expect only from the eagle to brush the clouds with his wings and look boldly in the face of the sun." - Samuel Adams

To be continued....or go HERE to read the whole speech!

Great Giveaway for Games!

Looking for some great games for gifts this Christmas? Here is a great review and giveaway You should check out! I have never heard of these games, but they look so fun and great for children! I know my girls would love them!

One is called "Giraffalaff Limbo" and the children have to spin to see what animal they have to walk like as they do the limbo!

The other is "Scatterpillar Scramble" which is a balancing marble game, with music and looks very exciting and entertaining!

While you are checking the games out, be sure to check out the other giveaways at The Mommy-Files!

Thanksgiving Crafts!

I am not as much of a craft person as I would like to be (or maybe I should say hope to be!)! I think it is mostly because I am too much of a clean freak and the idea of having glue and little pieces of paper stuck all over you and everything is just not appealing to me! =) I know, I know, I need to get over that! My girls love to make crafts and I just have to overlook stuff like that and make it as fun as possible!

We did out Thanksgiving crafts on Monday (the 23rd) and made some turkey pictures! First we did the "hand turkeys" tracing the girls hands on construction paper and drawing the head on the thumb and making legs for the hand turkeys! I also printed off some cute Thanksgiving pictures for them to color that I found linked up on HERE.
For the main, big craft, we made "Thankful turkey place mats"! I just made my own patterns, drawing and cutting them our of construction paper and we used an old desk calender pages to glue them onto! Very frugal, huh?

Here is both girls, (above) with their finished products!


Princess S. got to cut out most of the feathers for the turkeys! I let her come up with most of her things to write, but we had to settle for "animals" and "bugs" instead of each individual animal and bug!! =) She wrote all the things she was thankful for on her feathers too. She is a very good writer!

Princess A. "wrote" with her markers on her feathers, making circles and squiggles! Then mommy wrote the words that she approved for her turkeys feathers!

Both girls had a good time and are very proud of their turkeys! I plan to cover them with clear plastic so they will not get tore up and we can keep them better for future Thanksgivings!

~Gratituesday~ Health!

Happy Gratituesday! =) I hope you will join Laura and the other bloggers over at "Heavenly Homemakers"! You can leave a comment on Laura's blog about what you are thankful for, or make your own blog post and link up to her blog! Remember, she has some giveaways for this Month's Gratitusday Challenge!

I love Thanksgiving! I was really looking forward to spending it with family I have not seen in years, but we have started coming down with headcolds.
=( Boohoo!
With us coming down with headcolds, I am reminded to be more thankful for our health! Praise the Lord, our family has not been sick much! And for that I am VERY thankful! God is sooo good!
Homeschooling, staying home a lot, and not being around a lot of people helps keep from being sick so much. So I am thankful we can be home a lot and really thankful we homeschool! I do enjoy seeing friends and family ever so often though! =)
I am also thankful that I have been learning how to use herbs to take care of my families health!

I hope everyone else has good health this winter too! And pray that our family is over this soon and does not get sick the rest of the winter!

May you and yours have a blessed Thanksgiving!

~Music Mondays~ Give Thanks!

There are some great songs linked up over on Shawntele's blog, "Saved by Grace" today! Hope you will go over and hear them. It is a great way to start your week out!

I wanted to find a special song for this week on giving thanks, and I think this is it! I had never heard it before but it is really good! It is a good reminder during this busy week, that we need to be thankful for God's gift of His Son, for us! A good song with Christmas coming up too!

Hope ya'll have a very blessed Thanksgiving week and week-end!

God is Sooo Good!

"Give Thanks"

By Don Moen

Samuel Adams Saturday, Speech (Part 16)

"This day we are called upon to give a glorious example of what the wisest and best of men were rejoiced to view only in speculation. This day presents the world with the most august spectacle that its annals ever unfolded--millions of freemen, deliberately and voluntarily forming themselves into a society for their common defense and common happiness. Immortal spirits of Hampden, Locke, and Sidney, will it not add to your benevolent joys to behold your posterity rising to the dignity of men, and evincing to the world the reality and expediency of your systems, and in the actual enjoyment of that equal liberty, which you were happy when on earth in delineating and recommending to mankind?"

-Samuel Adams

To be continued or read the whole speech HERE!

Canning Pork Roast

CANNING PORK ROAST

Last week, King Ed brought home two huge packages of pork roast (two large boston butt pork roast in each pack), from the store. He said one was $14 and the other was $12, so he could not pass them up.
It was a good week to can, since we were in between just finishing Kindergarten and starting 1st Grade!
Here is the first roast. Remember there were 4 of these to do!

Two bowels Full! Yippee!

I had to cut out a lot of fat. If I had been making sausage, I would have left more of it, but for canning chunk meat, I cut a lot out. Here was the bowel of fat and the 4 bones, one out of each roast.

Everything you need for canning meat!

I use sea salt.

And the rubbing alcohol is for cleaning the rims of the jars before I put the seals and rings on. My husband says he grandmother did this. I do this when canning meat to make sure the rims are extra clean!

Here are the 16 quarts with the meat in them, and 1 tsp. of salt in each, ready for seals and rings and to go into the canners.

Since the meat was cool, I bring my canners up very slow. Takes a while, but I do not want to crack any jars!

Since I had 16 quarts, I put 6 in each canner the first round and then I ran the last four after those were done.

I ran each canner 1 hour and 30 mins. on 10 lbs. pressure.

Here are the finished jars! Yum! It smelt so good when I opened the canners!

And below is a close-up!

All said and done it was a productive day! Especially if you consider that I did some house cleaning, and cooked a huge supper of sausage, gravy, biscuits, fried eggs and hash browns, etc! =)

Neno's Award!!

My dear, online, sister in Christ, "Sunflower Faith" has given me an award! How sweet! I meet Sunflower Faith not long after I started my blogging, almost a year ago. So it is interesting that she gave me this award, that ask, "Why do you love to blog"?!

This should be fun too!

Wow. There are a lot of reasons I love to blog!

One reason I love to blog, is because I am not much of a social person, in person! I do not have a lot of friends that I see or do stuff with. We home-church at the moment, we do not have family very close that we get to see very often, and I am not one who likes to talk on the phone! So blogging has opened up a new world of corresponding and meeting like-minded, Christian, home-schoolers! I have a lot of great sisters-in-Christ now and Praise the Lord for them!

I also love blogging, because it is a way to learn, share, and it is like your own personal way to reach people with your opinion on the news, what is going on in the country today, homeschooling, and just everything! I started blogging because I was concerned that women are just not paying attention to everything going on and they have been in a alternative reality! But now I see a lot of women getting involved, concerned and doing stuff about it!

I pray that my blogging is inspiring and pleasing to my Heavenly Father!

Here are the women and their wonderful blogs that I have picked to give this award to:

1. Stephanie @ Living Life On HIS Terms

2. Tanya @ A Beautiful Calling

3. Elizabeth @ Family Life With The Babler family

4. Connie @ A Country Homemaker

5. Laura @ Heavenly Homemakers

6. Kathleen @ Bear, Bub and the Cubs

7. Laurie @ Common Sense Homesteading

8. Laurie @ Women Taking A Stand

God bless you all!

Neno’s Award—-Rules and Regulations
1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.
2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.
3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.
4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.
5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.
6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.
7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

~Music Mondays~ Brave

Wow! Shawntele has a great song up today! Newsboys, "Something Beautiful"! Love it! Hope you stop by her blog, "Saved By Grace" to hear it and check out the others who joined Music Monday! I can't wait to see/hear what the others have picked for this week!

This week I wanted to share "Brave" by Nicole Nordeman. When I first heard this song I was breathless! It was like I could have written this! So close to my own hearts cry! Amazing. Praise the Lord, He gives us the strength to let go and to trust and to truly live! It is His love that sets us free and free we are in Him! "What can man do to us....?" Praise the Lord! God is sooo Good!
It is amazing how long we may hold onto some things, afraid to give them to God. It is like we can trust Him with some things, but others we think are just too big to hand over! Or maybe we think they are too small to bother Him with! LOL! How simple we can be at times! He is God! He can handle everything and what a load that takes off of us! We just have to be brave, to trust!
We have to be brave and not worry what others might think about us! We are no longer of the world, we are set apart, we are lights to shine and be a good example! We cannot compromise, meet half-way, or straddle the fence. We have to take a stand and remain standing! Praise the Lord, He gives us strength!
Okay, enough of me rattling! Here is the song!!!!!

"Brave" By Nicole Nordeman

Verse 1

"The gate is wide

The road is paved in moderation

The crowd is kind and quick to pull you in

Welcome to the middle ground

You're safe and sound and

Until now it's where I've been

'Cause it's been fear that ties me down to everything

But it's been love, Your love, that cuts the strings

Chorus:

So long status quo

I think I just let go

You make me want to be brave

The way it always was Is no longer good enough

You make me want to be brave

Brave, brave

Verse 2:

I am small

And I speak when I'm spoken to

But I am willing to risk it all

I say Your name

Just Your name and I'm ready to jump

Even ready to fall...

Why did I take this vow of compromise?

Why did I try to keep it all inside?(chorus)

Bridge:

I've never known a fire that didn't begin with a flame

Every storm will start with just a drop of rain

But if you believe in me

That changes everything

So long, I'm gone

(chorus)

Uno Moo! Giveaway! Check it out!!

Yippee! Yippee! Yippee! I found a giveaway that is on my Christmas wish list!

(yes, I have a mental wishlist, which is the best, so I forget most of it!!)!

Anyways, here is the game/toy!

She is giving away three of these games and I think my girls will LOVE it!!

If you want to enter this giveaway, or check out some more giveaways, check out:

The Mom Reviews

Kindergarten Gratuate! ALREADY!!

Congratulations to Princess S!

This is hard for me to believe, but my oldest baby has completed Kindergarten! And she did so well! We are so proud of her! Her daddy is just the most intelligent and smartest man in the whole world, so I know she is taking after him! She is her Daddy's girl too! So sweet!
Well last week end we had a little graduation party for her, to celebrate her finishing her Kindergarten books! She was excited to pick what kind of cake and picked chocolate with chocolate icing! That made Daddy happy! Lol! He dislikes the pink cakes we usually have on birthdays!

We invited our Nonnie and Papaw Steve over for supper ("adopted" grandparents)! And Nonnie's mom, "Granny" was out that afternoon mowing, so we walked over to the pasture across the road and invited her! She was very happy to be here too! It was great! We had the 2 women over who have had a big hand in her education too! "Granny" teaches phonics at a school near were she lives and has given us some great phonics pages that we are using, and Nonnie has always given us educational books, toys, etc!

We had marinated chicken, noodles, sweet peas and mashed potatoes for supper, and cake and vanilla ice cream for dessert!

I printed off a Kindergarten diploma for Princess S. and she is very proud of it!


Now we are going to start 1st grade next Monday, Lord willing! Wow! Anyone else have a 4 year old in 1st grade? =)

God is Good!

for thier future

~Hannah

P.S.

Here is the link to the diplomas if anyone needs some!

~Gratituesday~ Growing up Close to Nature

Joining Heavenly Homemaker's November Gratituesday Challenge again this week! Yippee! There is just SOOO MUCH for God's Children to be grateful for!

After splitting firewood this afternoon, I will ramble a little about my growing up years!

I could complain about a ton, that is for sure! And I could go over all the things my parents did wrong in raising my siblings and I, but they did do some things right, and for that I am grateful!

I am glad that I grew up around animals, almost my whole life, we always had pets, and later, all the farm animals! A lot of great experience has come from that!

I learned how to garden, grow our own food, can food, make jelly, butcher animals and work the meat up, etc. I milked cows, hauled hay, harnessed mules, learned about trees and firewood, carpentry work, building barns, building houses, greenhouses, etc.

The list goes on and on, but the bottom line is, I was close to nature and for that I am Most grateful! I believe everyone should live close to nature and that children should experience living on a farm! It brings you close to reality and closer to your Creater!

The Words of Our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson Tuesday "Shall Become as Wolves"

"Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges, and Governors, shall all become wolves."

--Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, 1787

~Music Mondays~ "God will Lift Up Your Head"

I am sorry I missed last Monday....Again!!! UGH! Well, thought I better get over here early this Monday!

Sometimes it is hard for me to pick which song to share! There are just sooo many great ones! I have been thinking of a lot of songs and hymns that come from King David's writings in Psalms, since I have been reading some of the Psalms in my daily Bible reading. Last weekend I was trying to remember a song that comes from Pslams 121, but I could not find it since I could not remember the lady who sang it! oh well!

Then the other day we went with husband to get some solar stuff and while listening to the Dove (94.5), heard this song by Jarsofclay! It is just a wonderful, uplifting song! Hope you enjoy it too!

"God will Lift up Your Head"

By Jars of Clay

The Words of Our Founding Fathers, Samuel Adams Saturday (Part 15)

"Such, it is possible, may some time or other be the state of Great Britain. What will, at that period, be the duty of the Colonies? Will they be still bound to unconditional submission? Must they always continue an appendage to our government and follow it implicitly through every change that can happen to it? Wretched condition, indeed, of millions of freemen as good as ourselves! Will you say that we now govern equitably, and that there is no danger of such revolution? Would to God that this were true! But you will not always say the same. Who shall judge whether we govern equitably or not? Can you give the Colonies any security that such a period will never come? No. The period, countrymen, is already come! The calamities were at our door. The rod of oppression was raised over us. We were roused from our slumbers, and may we never sink into repose until we can convey a clear and undisputed inheritance to our posterity!" -Samuel Adams

To be continued....or go Here to read the whole speech!

A Savespro Giveaway!

I have to share another favorite blog for giveaways right now!

If you have not visited "One 2 Try" blogspot, you are missing out on a lot! She has tons of great giveaways going on!

Tonight I wanted to share the Giveaway she has from Savespro! I have never heard of them before, but they carry a Ton of great stuff! Since she mentioned the bakeware, I had to check it out! The cake pans are sooo amazing! So I entered for a pineapple upsidde down cake pan! Husband will LOVE it! =)

Hope you will go check out "One 2 Try" and join the fun!

The Words of Our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson Tuesday

"It is the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigor. A degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats to the heart of its laws and constitution."

--Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia Query 19, 1781

November Gratituesday Challenge!

I have been subscribing to/following Laura's blog, "Heavenly Homemakers" for a while now, and I really like it!

She has a Gratituesday Challenge this month and I hope to join in for the great fellowship and giveaways! Hope you will head over to "Heavenly homemakers" each Tuesday this month and join the fun!

Today I am grateful for many things! But I am mostly grateful for my husband!! He has been doing a lot of hard work and trying to help a lot of people. What makes me more grateful of him is how he does so little for himself and so much for others, even when he is not ask to, or does not have to. His family means the world to him. He has such a great, big, good heart! Love him soo much for that!!! I thank God every day for blessing me with my husband!! I could not ask for a better man to share my life with!

A Discovery Toys Giveaway!!!! Check it out!

I have a new favorite blog for finding GREAT giveaways! You have got to follow "Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports"!! I think you will like it too!

She has tons of great giveaways going on right now, and I am finding wonderful ideas for Christmas gifts, crafts, etc!!

The giveaway I am soo excited about today is the Discovery Toys giveaway!!! A $35 gift card!!! I LOVE Discovery Toys! Wish I could be a part of their sales team and recieve and sell all those great toys for them! Aahhhh! That would be so cool! Maybe someday...

Anyways, get over to "Energizer Bunny's Mommy Reports" and join the fun!!