Seven Sisters Treasures #15

Quote of the Week

The Bookshelf

"Understanding How Other's Misunderstand You"

(The DISC Personalities)

By Ken Voges and Ron Braund

"One Minute After You Die"

by Erwin W. Lutzer

Videos of the week

Want to laugh?  One day we got on YouTube and found all sorts of videos of laughing babies--it just makes you laugh to hear them laugh!  Here are two of the best!  The last one should make you laugh, too, only it isn't about babies .

Twin Baby Boys, Laughing at Each Other

Laughing Baby

Gold Miner  

Recipe Box

Fudgy Brownies

The best brownies ever!!

• 1 cup butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cups chopped pecans, optional
• Confectioners' sugar

• Melt butter and chocolate together; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, beat sugar and eggs. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to chocolate mixture. Stir in pecans if desired.
• Spread into a greased 9" X 13" baking pan.  Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired. Cut into bars. Yield: about 24 brownies

Farmgirl Favorites--Harp Websites

If you like harp...this is a fun website to go to.  You can hear clips of the harps being played .

Harps of Praise

This website also has clips of their harps being played : )

This store is just perfectly wonderful  : )  They have everything you need, harp-wise : )

Little Miss Giggles

      I stumbled across this blog a few weeks ago, and especially enjoyed her post, "How my weirdest hobby can help you!"    She shares my name, and my love for lists...and giggling .

                                                                                                                                                    ~  Jessica

Cute Quotes

Noah:  "We were running and all my breath is out!"

November 1st, 2009  by Leah

        Tonight while reading "This is What Would Happen if Everybody Did" to Isaiah, we came to the "Always cry?  This is what would happen if everybody did" and I pointed out to him all the people crying.  He said, "n', spank them!"  Then we came to "stay up?  This is what would happen if everybody did"  He saw all the people with their mouths wide open (yawning) and said, "spank, spank, spank!"

    Noah got a birthday card in the mail from some friends of ours and said, "Bekah!  Look at my card!  And they spend me a dollar!"

  October 23, 2006 by Jessica

   While riding in the van one day, Bekah asked me, "How do you spell a hundred?  One, zero, zero? 

"Yes"

"How do you spell it in numbers, like A, B, C, D?"

     November 8th, 2006  by Leah

    This morning Noah and Isaiah were crying, and Charissa said, " I wish we could just we-wind this!" (rewind)  

    I would rather fast forward : )

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sister's Treasures #14

Quote of the Week

      "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest."

"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future."

                                                                                       ---Corrie Ten Boom

The Bookshelf

 Two books by Christmas Carol Kauffman (she has many more too!).   These are really wonderful books!  (Click on the book to go to the review.)

Videos of the Week

Don't let the beanbag get you!

"Hold that thought God. I have to check my e-mail!"

 ~Both by Joshua Harris

Another one...

Are you ready?

  Something to Laugh About

~Why city folks shouldn't move to the country (this is an actual poster)

The Recipe Box

Chicken-Cheese Crêpes 

 These are good with yummy oatmeal rolls! 

Chicken-Cheese Crêpes

6 tablespoons of butter

1/3 C. flour

a dash or two of salt

2 C. milk

1 C. chicken broth

1/2 C. shredded Swiss cheese (I also used cheddar cheese....mainly because I didn't have enough Swiss :-) 

2 T. snipped parsley

Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce

2-1/2 oz. jar sliced mushrooms, drained and chopped

10 oz. frozen peas

2 C. cooked and chopped chicken

1/2 C. chopped red bell pepper

12 basic crêpes (recipe below)

Paprika (optional)

For cheese sauce, in a medium saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk and broth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Stir in cheese, parsley, and hot sauce. Cook until cheese is melted and then take out 1-1/2 C. for later. Stir in drained mushrooms.

For filling, cook peas and drain. Combine peas, chicken, and red bell pepper and the reserved cheese sauce.

Spread 1/4 C. filling over the unbrowned side of each crêpe and roll them up placing them in a greased 12" X 7" baking pan. Pour the sauce over the crêpes and sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 370º F. for 18-20 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

I double the chicken-cheese crêpe recipe and do one and a half recipes of the crêpes.

Basic Crêpes

In a bowl combine 1 cup of flour, 1-1/2 cups of milk, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and beat really well.

Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into a heated and greases skillet and cook until light brown. Cook only one side. Grease skillet occasionally. (The unfilled crêpes freeze well [up to four months] by placing a piece of wax paper between each one. )

Enjoy!!!!

Farmgirl Favorites

 The Teapot Shoppe has lots of neat teapots, teacups, teasets, tea accessories and more!

 Penguinlover

 Click HERE to see her blog

  The other day Charissa was looking at a road map that was only of one city. She was trying to find our town (which was not on there) and said, "I can't find where we live!"  Noah replied, "That's because it's not our world---we live in a different one!"

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sisters Treasures #13

        One day while out in the barn, our goat Bethany was making the funniest 'smiling' faces!  She did better than this when the camera wasn't out, but this gives you an idea of how ornery she was being!

Quote of the Week

             "Thus saith the Lord; cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

            "For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

             "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

             "For he shall be as a tree plnated by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

                                                                                                          Jeremiah 17:5 - 8

The Bookshelf

This is probably the best book that I have read on this subject!  It is wonderful for all ages of girls, and is so helpful in showing you what you should be doing, before you meet your Prince Charming :-)

   Hind's Feet on High Places is an allegory of a girl named Much-Afraid, her journey to the mountains with the Shepherd, and how she is transformed into "Grace and Glory" by Him. 

  Mountains of Spices is the continuing story, where she comes back to the valley with the Shepherd and wins her relatives over to the Shepherd's service.

Videos of the Week

Need some motivation to...

Exercise?

Pick up after yourself?

Recycle?

The above links were found at thefuntheory.com .

The Recipe Box

 Pumpkin Bread

this bread is almost as good as pumpkin pie!

1 (15 ounce) can pumkin puree

4 eggs

1 c. oil

2/3 c. water

2 c. sugar

3 1/2 c. flour (Susannah used all whole wheat, and it was delicious!)

2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cloves

1/4 t. ginger

            Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour three 7x3 loaf pans.  In a large bowl, mix together pumpin puree, eggs, oil, water, adn sugar until well blended.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger.  Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.  pour in to the prepared pans.  Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven.  Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Makes 3 loaves. 

Farmgirl Favorites

                          I was "blog-hopping", and found THIS!  OH MY!  We are SO excited!!!! Can you tell?!  : D

Click HERE to find out more : )

 We found this neat idea over at Beach Vintage.  She picks up mismatched plates at flea markets to use as her everyday dishes.   Such a pretty idea!  Click here to read more about it : )

 We keep a family journal in which we write down all the funny little things that little people say, or just fun things that happen.  This time, I decided to type them out here as they are in our journal : )  Enjoy!

 October 14th, 2009   by Leah

       Tonight Noah was going upstairs with me and was turning the light (stairway light) on and off, then ran up the stairs and was going to do it from  there, but I put the downstairs switch half-way so the light wouldn't turn on.  He tried it upstairs several times, and when I asked him what he did to it, he said,

"I don't know!  It was just working and now it ranned out!"

October 18th, 2009  by Leah

      The boys were supposed to be laying down on their blankets going to sleep, but while in the other room, I heard them making some noise.  When I went into their room, I saw them both kneeling beside the girls' bed.  Isaiah looked at me (he had already been in trouble for getting off his blanket) and said, "Um, I doing prayers."

       And while writing this, I am hearing more noise... 

 Parting Picture...

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sisters Treasures #12

Quote of the Week

             "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoiceing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts."

                                                                                                                Jeremiah 15:16

             "And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and thy shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord."

                                                                                                                Zechariah 10:12

The Bookshelf

Assumptions that Affect Our Lives

by Christian Overman

To see an overview of this book, click here.

Video of the Week

Candid Camera--Weekend Smile

        Note:  After Sunday, we have no idea what the next Candid Camera will be--so this endorsement is only for this weekend .

Animator vs. Animation 1

The Recipe Box

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

      This pumpkin ice cream is as good or maybe even better than Dairy Queen's Pumpkin Pie Blizzard : )  It is very rich!  Those of us who usually like 2 to 3 scoops of ice cream were fine with only one or one and a half scoops of this yummy dessert : )  

  Sugar Cookie "Crust" Recipe:

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. shortening

2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

1 T. milk

1 t. baking powder

1 t. vanilla

dash salt

      In a large bowl beat butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 or until softened.  Add about half the flour.  Add sugar, egg, milk, baking powder, vanilla, and salt.  Beat until combined.  Beat or stir in remaining flour.  Roll out dough onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 min. or until lightly browned.  Let cool.  Crumble into small pieces. 

Pumpkin Ice Cream Mixture:

2-15 oz. cans pure pumpkin puree (or about 3 1/2 c. of homemade cooked pumpkin puree, well-drained)

3 c. heavy whipping cream (if you don't want the ice cream quite as rich, try 2 c. whipping cream and 1 c. milk)

1 c. sugar

1/2 light brown sugar

1 t. salt

1 1/2 to 2 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cloves

About 3 to 4 cups of the crumbled sugar cookie crust

         Place pumpkin puree into a strainer lined with cheesecloth for 15 min. to drain any excess water.  Gently heat heavy cream and sugars until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring often.  Do not boil. Remove from heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved.  Let cool to room temperature (I cooled mine in the freezer to make it cool faster : ).  Beat pumpkin, sweetened cream mixture, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves with an electric mixer on med/high speed for 3 minutes.  Pour mixture into an ice cream machine and freeze for 20 minutes, adding the crumbled cookie pieces during the last 5 min. of freezing.  Makes 2 quarts.

Farmgirl Favorites

A fun website to get dress ideas from : )

Something else, just for fun...

...Lurking Smileys!

The Knapp Family Journal

Some IRL friends of ours whose blog we really enjoy reading : )  Be sure to check out "Toady Takes A Ride" and over at Mr. Knapps blog, "The Return of the Stunt Toad"  : )

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sisters Treasures #11

Quote of the week:

    "Many Christians are like young sailors who think that the shore and the land are moving when it is the ship that they are on that is moving.  We can count on it that God has not moved."          

                   Elisabeth Elliot

  The Bookshelf

 These books are fun to read, even if they are way below your reading level : D

                                                                                                                            Jessica

Video

 Are women born this way?!

                               ~this is very funny, and very cute!

Recipe of the Week

Lemon Custard Ice Cream

Here we thought we had the very best ice cream recipe, and now we've found one even better!  It's almost like Ritter's frozen custard : ) This recipe is from Taste of Home's 2005 annual cookbook.  Next time I make it, I am going to skip the lemon juice and do 2 T. vanilla instead : )

2 cups sugar

1/4 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

4 c. milk

4 eggs, beaten

3 c. heavy whipping cream

1 c. lemon juice (or 2 T. vanilla if you'd rather have vanilla than lemon)

*   *   *

         In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt. Gradually add milk.  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir fo 2 min. or until thickened. Rmove from the heat; cool slightly.

        Whisk a small amount of the hot milk mixture into the eggs.  Return all to the pan, whisking constantly.  Cook and stir until mixture reaches 160 degrees and coats the back of a metal spoon.

       Remove from heat.  Cool quickly by placing pan in a bowl of ice water; stir for 2 min.  Gently stir in the cream and lemon juice (or vanilla).  Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard.  Refrigerate for several hours, or overnight.  (We refrigerated ours for about 5 hours.) 

       Fill cylinder of ice cream freezer two-thirds full; freeze.  Refrigerate any remaining mixture until ready to freeze.  Allow to ripen in ice cream freezer or firm up in a regular freezer for 2 to 4 hours before serving.  Yields 2 quarts.

     To ripen the ice cream:  After you have shut off the ice cream freezer motor, take it off of the bucket, then place a plastic sack over the top of the ice cream cylinder.  Finish by covering the  sack and the whole top of the bucket with more ice.  Replenish ice as it melts until the ripening time is over.

Farmgirl Favorites

 Blue and White Make the Whitest White

"It is said that color experts can distinguish about 300 shades of white, and if you look at all the things around you that are white, you will notice the many different shades. Some are a pink- white, some are yellow-white, etc. The white which is the brightest of whites is one which has a slight blue hue..." more>

I use this all the time for my white laundry--usually about 10-12 drops for a small to medium load.  We found this at a Kroger owned store, but you can also order it online.   ~ Jessica

 Joyous Notions is hosting a giveaway of their wonderful magazine right now!  We are currently subscribed to it, and it is wonderfully full of homemaking things and instructions.  Our last issue had a "Honeybee Tea" with recipes, instructions on ribbon embroidery, how to build a desk, and LOTS more!

Cute Quotes

 Today Noah was getting ready to help husk corn and asked Susannah,

"Are we going to eat the corn on the cones?"

*  *  *

Isaiah:  " I shut off Peter!" 

(I shut off computer!)

*   *   *

Rebekah held up a cloth napkin that matched her dress and said,

"You can tell my dress is fainting!" (fading) 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sisters Treasures #10

Quote of the week:

 "The King of love my shepherd is, His goodness faileth never;

I nothing lack if I am His and He is mine forever."

-Sir Henry William Baker-

  The Bookshelf

 But Not Forsaken

By Helen Good Brennaman

This is a story of a refugee family in the years following World War II.  It is fiction, but is based on many real-life tales told to the author by refugee friends. A very neat book!

Video

This is a video of some funny piano playing!

This was posted on our blog several months ago, but we decided to post it again!

Something Funny

I was looking up "Vanilla Cake" on Cooks.com, and I found two of the strangest recipes for vanilla cake. 

The first one was this:

           Somebody was having too much fun playing around, or else their are really missing out on vanilla cake!!!

Recipe of the Week

Now for a real recipe!

Breakfast Casserole

Four slices bread (any kind)

12 fully cooked sausage links

1-2 cups cheese

6 eggs

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

Tear or cut up the bread and place in a greased 9"X13" pan. Cut the sausage links into small pieces and sprinkle over the bread, along with the cheese.  Beat together the eggs, milk, salt, and a dash (or two) of pepper. Pour egg mixture over bread and sausage. Bake at 350 degrees for    35-40 minutes or until done.

Favorite Websites

Roses and Teacups

Sweet Necessi-Teas

Two places with many neat teacups, teapots, tea cozies, tea jewelry, tea stationery, tea decor, tea aprons, tea anything!

Katie-Bug

missladybug's blog

Cute Quotes

We have often told the little girls not to water the flowers while the sun is shining on them, or else the sun will scorch the plants.

So, one rainy day the sun started shining while it was still raining, and Bekah said, "Oh no! It's raining on the flowers and the sun is shining, it's going to fry them!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Charissa asked out of the blue, "Is this tomorrow?"

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 One night Anna put a tape of Otto Koning's missionary stories in their tape player to listen to while going to sleep. Bekah was whining and said, "I want that music off!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 Some things Charissa said while playing house with Bekah:

"Bring your childs too!"

"Mommy, the phone is answering!"

(meaning, the phone is ringing)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sister's Treasures #9

The cat watching....

...the rabbit on the other side of the yard

Quotes of the week:

 "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris." -- Orville Wright.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

The Bookshelf

 "The Inheritance" by Christoph von Schmid

Video

 Candid Camera--Museum

Recipe of the Week

 Dick's Homemade Ice Cream

Perfect for hot weather : )

2 1/2 c. sugar

6 eggs, beaten

3 c. half and half or whipping cream

2 c. milk

2 T. vanilla

5 drops lemon extract*

Beat all the above ingredients together very well with an electric beater.  Heat and stir until mixture is just hot enough to be uncomfortable when you stick you finger in it : D

Pour into an  6 qt. ice cream tin.  Add 1 quart more of milk.  Dissolve 6 junket tablets in a small amount of water and add to ice cream mixture.  Freeze.  We have made this without the junket before and it still works : )  In case you are wondering why it is called "Dick's Homemade Ice Cream" ---Dick is a cousin of ours who gave us this recipe, and taught us how to make ice cream : ) He and his wife, Ann, are SO much fun to visit with! 

What is Junket?!  It is a brand of rennet tablets that help with thickening the ice cream.  We used to be able to get ours at Wal-Mart by the ice cream toppings section, but I guess Wal-mart does not believe in them anymore :(  Oh dear!  Click here to see a picture of Junket.

*this does not make the ice cream taste like lemon, it just gives it a really yummy flavor : )

                                                                                                                         ~Jessica

Favorite Websites

A place to get your digital pictures printed.  And they even have a "get the first 50 prints FREE!"   deal : )

 Click here to see the post they did about poaching the poachers : D

Cute Quotes

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 One day Bekah was telling Leah about a game she and some of the other girls had been playing.  She said the game was "True or Floss?" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Noah said:  "Where's the garage sale stop sign?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

One of my favorite things is when the little girls are just starting to read and try to spell words out--here are a few of those words : )                ~Jessica

vgdubou = vegetable

mornene = morning

ice ceem = ice cream

stubbry = strawberry

saled = salad

and one of my most favorites...

weping well loos =  weeping willows

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~

Seven Sister's Treasures #8

Quote of the week:

 (We like to use these quotes sometimes )

The Bookshelf

"Amy and Her Brothers" by Sarah S. Baker

Video

Just For Laughs--Police Prank With License Plate

Recipe of the Week

Sweet Potato Rolls 

 Ingredients:                                             ~These are some of our favorite rolls!

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

In a large saucepan, bring potatoes and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid; cool liquid to 110° to 115°. Mash potatoes; set aside 1 cup to cool to 110°-115° (save remaining potatoes for another use).
    In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in reserved potato liquid; let stand for 5 minutes. Add reserved mashed potatoes, butter, honey, oil, eggs, salt and 1-1/2 cups flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
    Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
    Punch dough down and turn onto a floured surface; divide into 30 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Place 10 balls each in three greased 9-in. round baking pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
    Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2-1/2 dozen.

Favorite Websites

A website that has a lot of goat information.

Cute Quotes

 Charissa said awhile ago, "Once we were playing, probably like the day after yesterday, and...."

~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~

A few months ago, Charissa was cutting the peel off of a banana and said, "I wonder how they get the bananas in these things!" 

 ~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~♫~

Noah asked Daddy, "Daddy, can I go outside if I come back in?"

After Daddy thought about it, he said, "Well, if you come back in!"

~♥~♥~♥~♥~♥~