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Well hello again. It has been a while since I've been able to blog. We've mainly just been living life, and being so blessed to experience it. We have had so much going on lately. About 4 weeks ago, we had the chicken slaughter 2007. It was great. I said I would post some pictures when I had them, so here goes.
Here is Amy and Jennifer working with their chickens. Look how seriously they are taking their work. I am impressed. I love how Jennifer's chickens feet are just kinda sticking up.
Here is a picture of my son Eli. He wasn't overly impressed with the whole chicken thing. I think next time he will be a little more excited maybe. He is standing in front of some chickens getting ready to be slaughtered. What kind of word is slaughter anyway?
This is me holding and washing off one of the birds.
Here is Poshred with one of the chickens. It kinda looks like it's flying here. She worked so hard that day. Instead of plucking, we pulled the feathers and skin off all together. Amy wins the award for the best female skinner. Good job Amy. I feel so inadequate at chicken skinning. Maybe next time. I just cut off necks, legs wings, and cleaned them out. That was enough for me for one day.
Here is Jennifer working on the trimmings. It really was an awesome experience. It was nice being able to be with friends. It took the hesitation out for me. We made it as fun as that type of thing can be. It was hard work though. Think, clean chicken that has not been gassed or dipped in a bleach solution. I am so excited to be more involved with knowing where our meat comes from. I feel truly blessed to have learned how to do this.
On another note, can you guess who this is singing? It's Rebecca St. James . We were blessed to have tickets given to us to go and see her, right here in our own town. Some friends of ours (thanks Brandon and Tracy) so generously gave our family as well as 3 others tickets to get in the concert. It was scheduled to be in an outdoor arena, but torrential down pours and lightning kept us from it. The stage was nestled in the beautiful mountains here. It rained and rained until we thought the concert would be cancelled, then they announced that we would move to the very small space indoors. Me, my sweetheart and Ms. Amy sat in the floor with our children. A few of our children were able to sit in chairs, but we were in the floor without an inch to move. We ended up about 4 feet away from the stage. It was great . The Lord was given glory. Amy had some funny moments with someone touching her foot. You'll have to ask her about it. We laughed really hard. Our friends Jennifer and Eddie, and Dee and Jerry were with us as well.
My children had such a wonderful time. She took her time to take a picture with them. They were so pleased to see someone minister this way. Eli really liked her because she told him she liked his hair. Speaking of hair. Before we came to the concert, Eli was trying to fix his hair, and work on his style when this happened.
Eli had came out with this look when my youngest Gabriel disappeared for a few minutes. When he returned he looked like this. We belly laughed. Eli was irate and said that Gaby was stealing his style, and that we musn't allow that to happen. It was so cute, my sweetheart made these 2 peas in a pod pose. Gabriel was happy to obey. We tried to explain to E boy that immitation is a way to show that you admire someone. He would rather not be admired I think. One more post. Eli loves to have his picture made, and he comes up with all kinds of poses. This is one of my favorites. Isn't he handsome?
In Christ, Geanine |
What a little man. That is all for now, or I won't be able to get up in the morning. Please over look any mispelled words or run on sentences. I am so tired, but wanted to update my blog. I hope everyone is finding His Truth in the everyday moments. |
My friend LadyJane(Pam) has tagged me. She wants to know 7 things about me that no one knows. Lets see hum. 1. I love to sing. Music is such a connection with the Lord, and it is a way that I privately praise and worship Him. I am really kinda shy about singing in public though. 2. I grew up in church, but truly didn't accept the Lord Jesus until I was 19 years old in 1991. I was already married to my most favorite person on the planet. 3. I am the support group leader for the most wonderful group of homeschool families that I know. It has been an honor and blessing to me to serve them and the Lord in this ministry. 4. I love being outside. The mornings here in the mountains are incredible. I love reading my bible outside surrounded by the birds and the lush green of the trees and plants. 5. I have a dream of doing mission work overseas, and possibly adopting more children. 6. I am a huge history buff. I very rarely read anything fictional, but I love reading about real life people. Books are definately a passion of my families. 7. I went to school to do makeup artistry and hair after Craig and I were married. I stopped after I found out I was pregnant with my oldest son C.J. This was fun, thanks Pam. I enjoyed reading the seven secrets on your blog. The seven people I am tagging are, Poshred1, MySmokyMtnHomeschool,ShayC, Hearthstone, Singing4Him,CoasterQueen,and Tnmomtomanyblessings.
In Christ Jesus, Geanine
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The Art Of A Good Marriage
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Well Amy (Poshred1), Jennifer (Flossy's owner), and Myself are doing bulk cooking again on Thursday. It was so much fun, and a huge success by the way. It has been so nice to go to the freezer and pull out 1# of seasoned ground turkey, turkey meatballs, or bierox , and whip something up for dinner. IT has saved me so much time and energy. We've been talking about doing this for over a year, and I thought it would be nice to have the food in the freezer, but I thought it would be more fun having someone to prepare it with. Well the fun was all I thought it would be, but the blessing of the prepared food has way exceeded my expectations. This time we are making sauces and tortillas. I have borrowed my friend Janna's tortilla and flat bread maker that she bought from the Urban Homemaker. We are really looking forward to it. We are making spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce,, chili gravy, loves sweet syrup (yum), rice, and I suppose whatever else we have a hankering to make. We are also getting ready for a chicken slaughter on Saturday. Our friend Shawnee has a friend who is a farmer. He has 100 chickens that he has raised for us, free range, grain fed, with no vaccines or any hormones whatsoever. We are anticipating delicious chicken. We are slaughtering at Amy's house. I am in charge of the burn pile where we will burn skins, beaks, feet, ewwww. I would rather do this, than slaughter. Several of us mommies are getting together with the farmer to slaughter, clean, package, and get on ice 100 chickens. He also has 3 cows that are clean, grassfed (some hay, it's been so dry lately), no hormones, that we are splitting. My family is getting 1/2 of a cow. We will be sure to take alot of pictures so we can fill everyone in on our adventures. We thought it would be a great experience for the children to have this knowledge as well. Take care. In Christ Jesus, Geanine |
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Today is my friend Amy's birthday. (Poshred1) She and another friend, Jennifer, came over today and we did bulk cooking. We made lots of seasoned ground turkey, turkey meatballs, and bierox, which is dough stuffed with seasoned ground turkey. It was alot of fun, and we have quite a bit for our freezers. I kinda think miss Amy gets the turkey award though. She was keeping her birthday a secret. We fixed that though. We made her a cake, and took pictures, and sang to her. When you put our two families together, you end up with alot of people. It was fun. What is even funnier is that I was making a chocolate cake and accidently added 3/4c. of cinnamon instead of cocoa. Wow, You see I store all of my spices and such in big glass gallon jars, and cocoa and cinnamon are similar in color. Especially when you have cooked like 15# of Turkey... It was actually not as bad as I was expecting ot to be. Everyone was gracious and ate it, except my dh, who had his heart set on chocolate. Anyway, Happy Birthday Amy. Hope you had a blessed day. In Christ Jesus, Geanine |
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On our way back home from \vacation, we stopped by to see one of my dearest friends and sister in the Lord. Her sweetheart and daughters were at a little cabin they have near Chattanooga. Her husband likes to hand glide, yikes. When we got there, there were people flying over head. Insane I say. I couldn't believe how high they were going. Anyway, she just recently moved to Al. I miss her so, so my sweetheart took a route that would take us to their neck of the woods. She has two beautiful daughters and a wonderful son. She is one of the most godly women I know. She has been a constant reflection of the love of Christ. If you are reading this Abdrea, we had such a nice visit with your family.
Isn't she lovely? Ok, don't look at my hair, and lack of makeup. I had been driving all day long, and my shirt makes me look pregnant. Not funny, but comfy.
Here are our children playing in a gold cart. Aren't they precious. We're minus my oldest son, who is flying back home with my parents.
Anyway, hope everyone is well. and full of the Joy of the Lord. In Christ, Geanine |
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Thought I would share a few more pictures, and a little bit of what we've been doing the past few days. We wanted to go and swim with the dolphins.
They look dangerous huh?
My fearless husband tamed them right away. And all for $5 from Wally world. What a bargain.
More fun.
We went out at night digging for sand crabs. It was a blast to walk in the dark with flashlights and dig for these critters. Here he is in a war stance. I'm sure he was ready to pinch any stray fingers.
Today we went to St. Andrews State Park. It was amazing. Here are the treasures at Alligator Lake. The island of grass behind them had all kinds of birds on it. There is actually an alligator swimming behind them toward the birds. Snack time. We walked on trails where alligators have nests. It was so creepy. I loved it.
Here is the alligator swimming.
Here is the jetty where you can snorkel and look at creatures of the deep. I can't tell you how beautiful it was there. There is no way to not realize how wonderful our Lord is, and what a wonerful imagination He has.
Here we are looking for jelly fish. I learned they only sting when they have the tentacles hanging down.
Here is Gabriel holding one of the jelly fish that he caught. He stepped on a sea urchin and it put it's prickely things in his foot. His daddy and I had to pul them out. About 15 of them. Memories~~~~
Here are C.J and Eli attacking the waves.
Here is Craig using the boys diving toys. He is hysterical. He's seriously diving.
Here he is chasing Gabriel like a shark. Gabe is squeeling with fright. Really happily excited. Hannah is helping daddy.
Here we are at a really yummy resturant. It was called Spinnaker. Hannah is pouting here. We've got it saved forever on film. The burgers here were so big you had to use both hands. We ate right on the beach. Anyway. That's all for now. Have a wonderful evening. In Christ Jesus, Geanine |
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Ok, here are a few pictures we've taken so far. Giddy Up!
Here is Gabby riding his killer whale. He has loved the water so much. Our deck of the condo is huge. In the evenings I sit in a lounge chair, and he likes laying with me. The sound of waves sends him straight to sleep. He is such a good cuddler.
Here is my sweety out with the treasures. Hannah banana is in the pink tube, and C.J and E boy are to her left in red and black. Gabe is learning to ride his boogie board with his daddy's watchful eye.
We have seen some beautiful things so far.
Like this.
And this.
Mom has had a bit of trouble walking in the thick sand, so one of the local vendors has offered to give her rides to and from the gate. Isn't that sweet. God provides once again.
Here is my sweet family having fun.
Here is one of the pools here. They call it a lagoon pool.
Here is C.J. snorkeling in the pool.
Look at this cute baby. He's so cool.
Here is E-boy taking a snooze.
Here is the boy's having dinner. Look at the view out of the big glass windows. Isn't is beautiful. Anyway. Just wanted to share a wonderful time with you. Hope everyone is well. In Christ, Geanine Thnaks Kim for the carrier, it was a life saver.... |
Here he is taking on some pretty big waves. Isn't that water georgeous. God is so grand isn't He. The ocean always makes me stand in awe of His Greatness.
Notice the smiley face ball next to him.
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We are so excited. We found out a few days ago that we are going to Panama City Beach soon. I am sooo excited. We need one. My darling husband works so hard. His mind must be so looking forward to rest. I am going to pamper him a little extra. We are going with my parents.
Aren't they cute. We are hoping for a trip filled with happy times. We are staying in a beautiful condo right on the ocean. SO many plans to make, pictures to take. Think of all the blogging material. The Lord is good, and we are so thankful for our family. His blessings of peace and joy never cease to amaze my heart. Until next time, In Christ, Geanine |
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Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. My family had a great day. We went to my sisters lake house. We enjoyed it so much.
It was a lovely sunny day.
Here is my dd and my niece Brittney on the deck. Isn't that a fantastic view. They are both such treasures.
Here is Old Glory blowing in the warm breeze. Isn't the sky just beautiful? Today we are celebrating my sweethearts birthday. I will post more later. In Christ, Geanine |
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Here is some info about the Red Kuri Squash, also known as A Sweet Potato Squash.
These are easy to start from seeds. In Christ, Geanine | ||
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This has been a crazy week. Last Saturday was a used curriculum sell. It was a pretty big used sell. Poshred1, me, and our friend Dee loaded up at 7:00AM to head out.. We had such a fun time. I found some great curriculum at wonderful prices. I found the Apologia Biology course for $14. Wowsers that is really good. I was so pleased with my finds. We laughed alot. It's so good to have friends that like to laugh. We went to Panera Bread Co. afterwards. It was delicious. What a great day. On another note, the week has been filled to the brim. My sweetheart teaches the youth at church on Wed. evenings. We have been doing a study called From Clay to Conquest. It was a 30 week study over the first 5 books of the bible. It was really good. The youth did great. They were told by our pastor that the top three boys and girls would recieve a reward. They earned points for scripture memory, bible readings, handing out tracks, and quizes. They worked really hard. We found out that my 2 older sons came in 1st and 2nd place. They were so excited. I am very proud of my sweetheart too. He really worked hard to make sure they were learning God's word. Tomorrow we have our monthly moms night out. It is at poshred1's house. Thanks Amy for filling in on such short notice. At our moms night's we have so much fun. We really let loose, and party. Each mom brings a dish that they have made, so we eat some really yummo foods. We have a bible study, and we just fellowship. It is such a sweet time. I look forward to it every month. On another note, I had a pampered chef party about 3 weeks ago. I love cooking, and kitchen gadgets. I invited quite a few people, and ended up having a great show. I was able to get some things I've been wanting for some time, and for free. I highly encourage having a party. My friend Rita was the consultant. She is also a homeschool mom, and a personal chef. Because we had such a good turn out, she invited me out to lunch on Friday. I am so excited. I don't go out for lunch with friends hardly ever. I am anticipating a good meal, and great conversation. Hope everyone elses week is going good. BTW, I have red kuri squash ready to be planted in the garden. I can't wait to reap the harvest on this veggie. In Christ, Geanine |
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Ok ladies, I had made an entry about a greenhouse my sweetheart was making for us, but I hadn't figured out how to load pictures yet. I have really been blessed with this simple structure.
Here is the beginning stages.
Here is my sweetheart, dd, and papa working hard. We are so blessed with wonderful grandparents for our children. Craig's parents live on the property connecting ours. They are involved in most of our projects. It has been such a help over the years.
Here it is with the heavy duty plastic on it. I've have been quite busy planting seeds. We had a bad cold snap a few weeks ago, and many trees and plants were bit back pretty badly. I had bought and everlasting hydrangea bush last fall, and it looked dead after the hard freeze. I put in in the greenhouse, and it has some new leaves coming out, yeah!
Isn't this fun?? I am having a blast with this stuff. Aren't you proud Amy?
Here are some of the seedlings. You can't really see them, but they are there. There is calendula, and stevia, and some Illinois canteloupe (cantelope??sp..), that my friend Shawnee gave me.
Here are some window shelves my sweety made. I like them better than window boxes. You can switch out with the seasons easily. At Christmas I go into the woods and dig up little pine trees to put on them, and in the fall I decorate with mums and pumpkins.
Here is my dd holding two of the six new additions at our house. We have 2 mama cats, and they both are so proud. I saw jenig's new kittens and they were so cute, I had to take a picture of some of ours too. I felt like a midwife to these cats. Kittens everywhere. They had there litters three days apart. It is such an exciting thing for my treasures. They love playing with them, and dd is very motherly. On another note, my ds turned 12 this last week. We had a birthday party up in the mountains. It was suppose to be warmer, but it was very cool. Poshred1's family came. We had a delightful time. I have to share a couple of pictures.
Here we are. We seem like normal people right? Well think again. We let our children in the water. They begged. How bad could it be right? If you have ever been in the mountains of East Tennessee, you would know how cold that water was, if the temp outside was 65. I must have been out of my mind. I lost all sense of motherly instinct, and my children froze. Some of my children forgot their change of clothing. Had it not been for Amy's super stocked Burban we would have been in trouble. a
Have a blessed evening. In Christ Jesus, Geanine |
Here is Amy's youngest treasure swimming. We laughed so hard when we saw this picture. It's a reminder of our children's chattering teeth. Poshred is good for me. Much more laid back than I am. She didn't seem to be near as stessed as me. In our defense, they were only in for a few minutes. Amy was right, they do get out when they are cold enough.|
After reading poshred1's blog on tea, I decided to post a picture of my favorite tea cup. I love tea. I like trying different kinds. I dry some of my own, but mostly buy it. I have several tea cups that I really like, but this is my favorite.
My dd and I have had several tea parties at our house. We have so much fun preparing for our friends to come over.
This old podium was made by my childrens great, great uncle. It was being stored in an old barn, and was very dried out. My sweetheart rescued it, and we have revived it by adding lots of oils to it. I lined the shelves with some fabrics. One is my favorite toile design. Anyway, I use it for storing some of my spices, herbs, teas, etc.. It's also a place for my rolling pins. I like old things, especially when they are useful. I pray you are finding joy in your adventures at home. In Christ, Geanine |
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You know, I don't think you have to have alot of money to decorate your home. Truly, I like to pray when I am going yard saling. I want to find what will make my home a nice place, and also be a good steward with what the Lord has given my family. If we made millions, I would still like to yard sale. It's just good business. This weekend I went with my sweethearts mom, (also known as Grammy at our house) and sister, plus my 4 treasures to some yard sales. We hit this old farmhouse that I have always wanted to go into. The older lady who had lived there for many years had moved to an assisted living facility. I suppose there was alot of things the family didn't know what to do with, so they had a yard sale. When we went in, there were things everywhere. I saw some beautiful old pieces of furniture. I really don't have any place to put another piece of furniture though, so I moved right along into the kitchen. I found a cake plate with the dome cover for a whopping $2. It was really dirty, but I had a vision for this very old piece.
Isn't it pretty? I have space above my cabinets in my kitchen, so I am always looking for something pretty to add.
Here it is in it's new home. Most of the decorations in my home, I've gotten wonderful deals on. The Lord has been so very good to me. He seems to place things in my path that I really like.
That white thingy on the counter is my Walmart dehydrator. I've probably had it for 12 years. It was like $30, and I have used it for so many things. Here are some of the oranges I've been drying. The smell is fantastic. I use these dried pieces in mulling spice or tea, or I grind the peel for baking. I also use dried oranges on my christmas tree as a garland. I use raffia as the actual garland, and tie oranges on every foot or so. I really like the homey look of oranges in a big glass jar too. There are so many blessings being a homemaker. So many joys in simple things, that the rest of the world might overlook at a glance, but the rewards are so numerous I could never quite put it to pen and do it justice. I hope you are finding joy in your home today. I hope Christ is reigning supreme in your hearts and minds. In Christ, Geanine |
Here is a little white oak handmade basket we found for $1 Wowsers. I can't tell you how excited I was to find this little treasure. I really do love the beauty and usefulness of baskets. When I am out yard saling it really makes me love my job as a homemaker. So many things in the homemaking world appeal to me. When I got home from ysaling, I decided I was going to slice up some organic oranges and dry them. Eww how much fun I was having.
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I am so blessed to come from a large family. Well large outside the homeschool realm anyway. I am the baby of 5 children. I have kept this title my entire life. It seems to follow me around with my family. They all seem to baby me some. I think just recently did they start treating me like an adult. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother. They are very special to me. They add alot to the world.
This is my sisters and me. My sis Jill, Me, Sis Vicky, and Sis Lisa. 2 blondes and 2 brunettes. This is Thanksgiving at my house. I love to prepare food for my family. It edifies me. It's such joy to have them in my home. It gives me a chance to baby them. We are all very different, but still very close. As time goes by, we just love each other despite differences. It all makes my life good. In Christ Jesus, Geanine |
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My sweetheart loves his pipe. I bought it for him at Christmas this last year. He doesn't use it very often, but when he does, it smells wonderful. We buy all natural tobacco at a place in the mountain mall called the Gatlinburlier. That place smell so good. I am not endorsing tobacco use, but with pipe smoking, most people do not inhale. This tobacco has no chemicals whatsoever. They are known for raw stuff. Poshred1's husband, my sweetheart, and another friend Brandon C. always like to stoke up there pipes when our families get together. This afternoon we went to Gatlinburg for our nephews 18th birthday party, so while we were there, my dh bought a new flavor called the mountain mall. I went in a tea shop and bought some delicious teas. One was called spicy rocky top. It was absolutely wonderful. Very fruity. It was an herbal decaf. Yum I don't normally do caffine, but one day I decided I was going to try my sweety's oolong tea. I put probably half a cup in my french press. I do not reccomend this! I was about to crawl out my skin. Too much caffine for me. Alot of people use it to aid in weight loss. It's suppose to speed up metabolism. IT DOES! Wowsers. Hope you all have a great day in the Lord. In Christ Jesus,
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I love our mountains so much. My family has been here for generations. There is alot of wonderful people here who have made my heritage so sweet to me. My grandfather was one of the first basket makers in Gatlinburg. He made the white oak baskets which he sold to provide for his family. He had 10 children and my dad was his youngest child. I in turn was the youngest of five children. That put a great many years between my grandparents and myself. These mountains have a way of romancing your heart, and calling to you when your gone, and embraces you when you come home.
This is a picture my sweetheart took of our beloved mountains. Alot of people make fun of appalachian people for not being smart, but they couldn't be more wrong. They were innovative and resourceful. My sweety is a wonderful photographer. He gets the best shots. w This is poshred1's dh hard at work. Once the season picks up here, he stays really busy. We stood in front of his booth to watch the Dolly Parade. The parade kicks off the opening of Dollywood and the tourist season here. He hands out tracks and uses his location to be a witness for the Lord, and share the gospel. My sweetheart loves this guy.
This is poshred1, me and some of our treasures having a great time.
Here is Dolly herself. She has done alot for our community. She is loved by most people who live here.
This was one of the entries in the parade. Is this not hystrical. The guy riding in the buggy is actually driving that thing. It sounded like a hot rod. It was really funny to look at them. They looked like dolls. Thought I would share about our weekend. In Christ, Geanine |
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My family and I had such a fun weekend together. My sweetheart and I laughed all weekend at different things. We needed it. He has been working so very hard for our family. So many things compete for his attention . I know he feels pulled in a million different directions. I am so thankful that he takes time for his family. Anyway, I think he is just wonderful. He is my favorite person on the planet. If you can't tell, I really love this man.
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In Christ, Geanine |
I set up every year at a local heritage festival. My whole family looks forward to this every year. Everyone makes something to sell. My daughter Hannah Bananna makes rag dolls that her aunt Ronda taught her how to make, Elijah makes sock babies that his grammy taught him how to make. CJ makes christmas star ornaments made out of plumbers straps. My sweetheart Craig and my son Gabriel (Gabriel loves his daddy so much, he mimics him often), make spiced mulled cider and sell it by the cup. Craig's parents set up in the booth next to us with antiques that they sell. It is really a ton of work, but so rewarding. I work on lavender everything, soaps, linen sprays, solid perfumes, body powders, sachets, cleaners, furniture polish, etc. whew. I better get busy. Just thought I would share something that is important to our family. I hope I can get the pictures to load.