A few Christmas Photos

We had a wonderfull Christmas! How about you?

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Happy Valentine's Day!

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Merry Christmas!!!

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and The Government shall be upon His Shoulder: and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty GOD, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His Government and peace there shall be no end, upon the Throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will perform this"(Isaiah 9:6-7).

Matthew 1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, Who is called Christ. 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with Child of the Holy Ghost. 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for That which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 1:21 And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins. 1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying, 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with Child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His Name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God With Us. 1:24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the LORD had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn Son: and he called His Name JESUS.2:1 Now when Jesus was bornin Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2:2 Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?for we have seen His Star in the east, and are come to worship Him. 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule My people Israel. 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the Star appeared. 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young Child; and when ye have found Him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship Him also. 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the Star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.2:10 When they saw the Star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

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My tree!

We got our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and all decorated! It's sooo pretty! I love when the lights are all out and the tree is the only thing glowing in the house. Thanks Rach for your help in putting it up!

And even though I had a tree HALF that size last year I managed to fill the new tree up with all my ornaments! It's pretty!!!

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Happy Thanksgiving to You!

Thanksgiving

(Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer)

Let us give thanks to God above, Thanks for expressions of His love,
Seen in the book of nature, grand, Taught by His love on every hand.

Let us be thankful in our hearts, Thankful for all the truth imparts,
For the religion of our Lord, All that is taught us in His word.

Let us be thankful for a land, That will for such religion stand;
One that protects it by the law,One that before it stands in awe.

Thankful for all things let us be, Though there be woes and misery;
Lessons they bring us for our good- Later 'twill all be understood.

Thankful for peace o'er land and sea, Thankful for signs of liberty,
Thankful for homes, for life and health, Pleasure and plenty, fame and wealth.

Thankful for friends and loved ones, too, Thankful for all things, good and true,
Thankful for harvest in the fall, Thankful to Him who gave it all. Share

Baking Day #3 ~ Cranberry Chocolate Bread

Oh the smells of orange, cinnamon and cranberry cooking in the oven, and the cool breeze coming in the house.... Is it really Fall? It's beginning to feel more and more like it!!!

Today I made 5 loaves and a cake of Cranberry Chocolate Bread. Oh and boy does it smell good right now! If a taste of the batter was any clue to what this bread will tastes like its sure to be good!

I made 4 recipes to make the 5 loaves and one cake pan full!

Cranberry Chocolate Bread

Ingredients
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup fresh orange squeezed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick, halved
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries (or defrosted or dried works to!)
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup chopped, toasted pecans (I used 70% Dark Chocolate Chunks instead!)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the corn syrup, orange, white sugar, water, cloves, and cinnamon stick and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the cranberries. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the berries burst, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the berries cool in the liquid. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves and discard.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease loaf pan.

In a mixer bowl, using the mixer on high speed (or using a hand mixer), cream the sugar and butter. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Into a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl, combine the buttermilk and orange juice. Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter, beating after the addition of each. Fold in the reserved cranberry mixture, pecans, orange zest and vanilla. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap well to freeze and put in Freezer bags.
Recipe changed a bit from foodnetwork.com!

Check these out to!

Baking day #1 ~ Pumpkin Bread

Baking day #2 ~ Zucchini Bread

Have you been baking for the holiday's? Please do share!!!!

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Baking day #2 ~ Zucchini Bread

Today I made 5 loaves of this delicious bread. As usual when you bake something the house smelt so good! This recipe is very simple and good. I actually followed the EXACT recipe for once! I know not a norm for me but its a good one so why change it? :-D


I am really loving baking day and am on the search for some great recipes for items to make ahead to freeze to save money and time during the holidays!


Homemade food makes great gifts that people LOVE and they are a fast item to take to a get together so no stress involved in trying to get stuff together to take! Just take it out of the freezer and defrost, re wrap in a pretty colored saran wrap with a ribbon and you have a wonderfully packaged gift!

Here's the link to the recipe I used.

Zucchini Bread (I made 4 batches to make 5 loaves! )



Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (I used fresh!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Stir the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. When cominbed, mix in the oats. Make a well in the center of the ingredients. Whisk the eggs, oil, and vanilla together in a small bowl and pour the mixture into the well. Combine lightly, then stir in the zucchini. Do not overmix.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, mounding it up in the center. Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar if you wish. Bake for 60 or 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack covered with a clean dish towel to prevent indentations. Let the bread cool at least 10 minutes longer before slicing. The bread can be served warm or at room temperature. It keeps well and makes good toast, too.
Variation: Brown-Sugar Carrot Bread
Replace the zucchini with 2 cups grated carrot. Because the carrots are a little starchier, reduce the oats to 3/4 cup.

To freeze wrap well with plastic and then tinfoil and put in Freezer bags and Make a note on bag what it is and date made!

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Baking day #1 ~ Pumpkin Bread

Today I made 7 loaves of pumpkin bread. Wow did the house smell GOOD!

I made it a goal to make a holiday food item, once a week or every other if it works out that way to, till the holiday season! :-) So this week I set out to make 6 loaves of pumpkin bread. And it ended up being enough for 7! So one for us at home, one for hubby's work (your welcome! haha), and 5 for the freezer.

And the great thing about all this is I can buy my items to bake ahead of time doing Walgreens, CVS, and other frugal shopping to pay for all these AWESOME goodies! It doesn't have to cost alot to have lots of special items to give away or eat during the holiday season! Stay tuned for each weeks baking day!

My niece is here staying with us for fun so she loved helping out! She already ate 2 & 1/2 slices herself LOL!

We had to put it in a bigger bowl to stir it all together! :-)

5 out 2 more in the oven.

5 ready to go into the freezer

Ready to go to hubbys work!

So good!!!

Here's the link to the recipe I used.

Pumpkin Bread (I made 4 and 1/2 batches to make 7 loaves! )

I made a few changes to it here's what I did!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups canned pumpkin
for the 4 1/2 recipes I used 2 bags of Chocolate chips so per recipe about
1-2 cups depending on how rich you want them!

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the pumpkin. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.

To freeze wrap well with plastic and then tinfoil and put in Freezer bags and Make a note on bag what it is and date made!

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Autumn

Well living in South Texas doesn't mean that we have cool weather when fall comes around... It's more of a we hope it gets cool soon kinda day!

This morning when went out to turn off the water in our yard I realized it was a tab bit color than usual! Tis' nice!

There are many things I look forward to in the Fall and I can hardly wait to get started on some of them!

• To wear boots and sweaters ALL THE TIME! Last year was not as cold a I would of liked so this year I'm hoping we get plenty of sweater wearing days!
• Baking LOTS and LOTS of goodies for the holiday season! This year I plan on doing extra baking and making sure I give out lots for the holidays! Nothing better than a plate of homemade cookie or bars, and lots of other holiday goodies.
• A trip to Fredericksburg for the Peddler Show and huge barn set up with all the holiday stuff you can think of! I didn't get to go last year and the year before our time was cut short but I fully intend on hitting it this year and stopping at every last place and hanging out with all the girls that wanna go with me! Fun FUN! (So if ya wanna come LET ME KNOW!)
• And a trip to San Marcus with the girls to shop for Christmas! Of COURSE! :-D
• And just enjoying this time of year!

I'm getting excited! Aren't you!!!

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Happy Labor Day!!!

Happy Labor Day!

I hope you have a restful, fun filled day!

We sure are going to!!! We have a big group of people coming

over for a BBQ! Looking forward to it! :-D Fun, Food and

GREAT fellowship!

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Happy Memorial Day

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Happy Mothers Day!!!

from allposters.com Share