Now the colder weather is coming upon us. Here is a great recipe for chocolate oatmeal cookies! I have modified it. The original recipe was from a friend.

Ingredients:

220 gramms of butter

3/4 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1  cup of plain wholemeal flour

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 cup of wheatbran

3 cups of oatmeal

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of cocoa powder

2 free range eggs

Method:

First you cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy.

Then add the eggs.

Next add the flour,baking soda, oatmeal and cocoa powder and mix well.

Lastly, shape into biscuit sized pieces and bake at a medium heat, in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes around 24 generous cookies.

You can then top them when cool with some melted chocolate, for extra indulgence.

One must realize that I don't blog for others, but for my own sanity.... I've had way too many 'general meanderings' that I wish I hadn't said in fits of my own personal insanities, but mostly it's because I write things down here, and at least I know where I can go to find them as my 'book' is constantly lost or I forgot to write things down.  Pretty much if you are reading this, then consider yourself reading my diary.... ha!  I am pretty confused that the number of you guys reading daily has maintained, and that the countries represented have increased as well.... I really don't get it, but I have to admit that as I am way too obsessed by numbers,  I find it pretty cool.... and I'm not like obsessed with the amount, but by the number.... just to give you a glimpse into my hopefully, well-hidden in person, OCD mind.

So if you've lasted thru the last run-on sentence/paragraph... I have a lovely pumpkin recipe for you.  A wonderful friend came over yesterday with pumpkins her husband had found (sorry, but that is another story).  We pressure cooked the jack-o-lantern sized thing in a couple of batches, and this is what I made today:

Easier than you think, and better than you think it will be:

Pumpkin-Broccoli Chowder

2 tbsp butter

1 red onion chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 ripe tomato, chopped/peeled, (or cheat like I did and use about 1/4 cup of canned tomatoes

4 cups of chicken stock, or an equivalent liquid

4 cups of pumpkin puree'

1 tbsp honey

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into bites

1/4 cup of cream

• Saute onion in butter for several minutes until translucent
• add the soy sauce and tomato.  Cook stirring often until the tomato's juice is evaporated
• Add the chicken stock, pumpkin, honey and salt and pepper, and stir frequently
• Steam the broccoli for about 3 minutes until bright green
• Stir int he steamed broccoli to the soup and add the cream.  Let it cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until hot for about 8-10 minutes.  Do NOT let it boil.
• Serve hot.

We are in the middle of a remodeling project. Or perhaps I should say "projects."  The kitchen floor has been mostly ripped up, we have trim stacked in the foyer for the cabinets, new wood flooring stacked in the dining room for the kitchen, tile for the bathrooms and laundry stacked in the garage. The garage and shed need siding up before the really bad weather sets in. And, yes, we are hoping to re-do the "dining room of many colors"  so it is all one harmonious hue instead of the patchwork of paint samples that we about which we were undecided.

In the middle of this mess, it is just too distracting to do school. Since we are doing very well with our days and our assignments, we are taking off a few days. The kids could use a break, and I need time to clear out some clutter and take stock of where we are academically. I also need to make a LOT of copies of certain things and my printer has died an unnatural death. Chalk up a day out to town for a Xerox run.

Tonight we're having microwaved burritos and putting down the new kitchen floor. I can't cook homemade meals right now because the stove has been moved.

It's been an eventful day already. The children and I have  rearranged furniture, done some yard work, and  tossed some unnecessary books.  Boy, that hurt to type. It goes against my grain to call any children's books unnecessary. My friends that know what a book-nerd I am will be shocked to read that. I may bring them to Jen's get-together this Friday so I can make sure they find good homes.

I'm almost ready to let go of children's clothes, too. Notice I said almost.  Every article of clothing my children have worn has been carefully stored for future use. We weren't sure how many blessings the Lord would give us, so I kept all the clothes to save money.  Now that we know there probably won't be any more little ones around here, it's time to start letting some things go. Ouch. That hurt to type, too.

All in all, we need some time to regroup, catch up on home stuff, get ready for winter, and make more detailed lesson plans. We have a small time window before Dad starts his next several surgeries. I plan to make a little time to find out what it is like to sit down for a while and relax, too. With a cup of tea that Pat sent me this week. Ahh! Things are shaping up nicely already.

I just got this in my email today and HAD to share--I've already downloaded my copy. Thank you, TOS!

It's your FREE gift . . .

Get ready to . . .
Wrap your family in a ribbon of thankfulness and joy and
season your holiday with laughter, love, and togetherness.
Start planning now for a wondrous holiday season with . . .
 

The TOS 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement

WOW . . . a gorgeous Holiday/Christmas Digital Magazine filled with a fabulous lineup of planning, recipe, gift, and craft ideas you'll love. 

“This is TOS’s gift to the homeschooling community, and anyone is welcome to it. The 2009 Digital Holiday Supplement will fulfill your yearnings for fresh and original additions to your long-treasured, family customs, and maintain Christ’s honored position first, and foremost, in your celebrations.”

—Gena Suarez, publisher of The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine

I am so pleased to announce and invite Doehill readers to our church  Sunday,  November 22, to hear a Voice of the Martyrs speaker who has ministered in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Middle East.  

He will be speaking to the entire church during the Sunday School hour. This special event begins at 9:15 a.m.. If you are going to be in the area [possibly vacationing at the Smokies?] , please feel free to come be with us.  If you've never gotten to hear about their amazing work, I hope you'll come be with us, or at the very least, go visit their website at www.persecution.com .

Once again, we are blessed to have the opportunity to hear about, pray for, and actively help the persecuted Church through this organization. VOM has been to our church before for  two different ladies' mission conferences [here, here, and here] , but this is the first church-wide meeting. ALL AGES ARE WELCOME! Two staffed nurseries are provided.

Please visit out church's website [ www.fbcmaryville.net ] for directions! And come back here for more info as we get closer to the event! in Christ, Gin

Often, when we stay at home mums tell people what we do, we are met with negative response, like, "Oh, but don't you want a career?" or, "When are you going to stop having children?" Even if the comment is more positve, people may add a negative, like,"Wow, but I could never do that?" So people think it is either a waste of a life to bring up a large family and educate them, or they could never possibly do it themselves.

Granted, it is not easy finding time to do everything, but then it is very rewarding, and as I have mentioned before, serving others helps to keep us from selfishness. However, we need to adopt a cheerful attitude. How can we adopt this cheerful attitude?

1) We need to rely fully on God.

2) We need to be positive and think positive.

3) We need to realise that we will never be able to accomplish everything, so better to concentrate on what we have done and not what we haven't done!

4) Remember what we are doing is for eternity and eternity is never ending! Our lives on earth are brief.

Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Proverbs 13:1 "Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."

We are building our houses by caring for and nurturing our children in the Lord. We are caring for their souls and for their bodies. It is so easy in today's society to give our children everything materially, but not provide for them spiritually. If only we can set our perspective on eternity, then we will see our most important perspectives, here, on earth. This is only temporal, only fleeting. When we get to heaven, all our cares, worries and pains will be gone. Praise the Lord! If only we can grasp a sense of this, it will make our lives more fruitful.

If we are carrying heavy burdens and finding it hard, take it to the Lord! Take each day as it comes and praise God that we will have all eternity to rest from our woes! Serving is a delight.

Sorry, I know everyone is waiting with baited breath for pumpkin recipes, but I'm out of time, and this was way better.....

Please take time to watch....

This week I began reading several different types of books--Christian living, children's fiction, and adult Christian fiction. In an evening I finished C. S. Lewis' last book of the Narnia series, [appropriately titled] The Last Battle .  I also began  D. Martin Lloyd-Jones' Spiritual Depression Its Causes and Cure. The title sounds dreadfully boring, but it's actually one of the best things I've picked up in a long time. Here's a challenging excerpt  from chapter three, "Men As Trees, Walking"  :

We are considering this subject not only because it is sad and tragic that any Christian should ever be miserable, but because of the whole state of the Church today. I have no hesitation in asserting again that one of the reasons why the Christian Church counts for so little in the modern world is that so many are in this condition. If all Christians simply began to function as the New Testament would have us to do, there would be no problem of evangelism...It is because we are failing as Christian people in our daily lives and deportment and witness that the Church counts for so little and that so few attracted to God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So for that most urgent reason alone it behoves us to deal with this question...

 

On a recent trip to the library I picked up some Christian fiction. The only current Christian fiction author I care for is Jan Karon. Another author came highly recommended and I sighed while pulling it off the shelf, hoping to be pleasantly surprised.  Let's just say that Christian Gothic/prairie/Amish/western/modern romances  and Christian serial killer series aren't  appealing to me. But I do like classics, some mysteries, and--of course--Hank the Cowdog books.   Our local library is small and has a limited space [about three small shelves] devoted to classics.

To change the subject slightly, our librarian commented that our local library would be moving into a part of the new public school about to built in the community. It will be a little strange taking my homeschooled kids to school just to go to the library, though  we certainly could use a bigger library facility.  Here's hoping there'll be more room for classics.

Have I mentioned that I really like Jonathan Park cds?  Yesterday's field trip to Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies was a welcome break.  The crowds were thin, and we were able to enjoy it at a leisurely pace. Ripley's is a beautiful place and doesn't drip with evolutionary nonsense, but it is there. There is a lot of very interesting science as well--such as how they get the water salty enough for twelve sharks to survive and keep all that water clean with sand and bacteria. And of course, there are the fish! What an amazing variety of life the Creator has designed!

I waited for the children's response to certain lectures and exhibits.  It was time to see what they had picked up without me prompting them with questions. They were able to detect certain statements presented as fact and immediately wanted to talk about it.  Thanks to the excellent teaching from the Jonathan Park series and materials we've used from Answers in Genesis, the children are seeing science from a creationist perspective.  I love homeschooling!

Can you say 'pressure cooking pumpkin' five times real fast?

It doesn't matter if you can say it, just as long as you do it....  In my adventures in pressure cooking, pumpkin has been one of the treats I've made.

Actually it's quite simple.... the hardest part was cutting thru the pumpkin.  Once you do that, simply cut it into strips, and fill you pressure cooker.  No need to peel it, just chunk it up, and pile it in the pressure cooker with about an inch or water in the base.

I didn't worry about over-filling the cooker, as the pumpkin wasn't a solid mass, and there was room for movement.  This actually isn't as full as the picture appears though... This was actually right at/slightly above the max-fill line.

I then pressure cooked it for 5 minutes per my cooker's directions.  THis still blows my mind!  Five minutes and you have a wonderfully cooked food with all of the nutrients contained and not wasted!

Tomorrow (if I can get it together, and find the time) what I did with the pumpkin....