Nothing is so Precious as Family.
Nor enjoying your Time with them in Beautiful Surroundings. Truely the Earth declares God’s Glory.
From There to Here: A Family’s Living Legacy November 24, 2009
As you know, passing down family traditions & our heritage have been on my mind, this month. This is such an important concept because it connects your family’s past, present & future. It grounds you in who you are as a person.
My great-grandfather, Henry Kenny
I have been so blessed to have been raised by Godly parents and have the example of a Godly grandmother. I am daily reminded of Paul’s words to Timothy, “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5 NIV. What a precious heritage. I value where I came from very highly. My grandmother was born in a little town called Millry, Alabama. Betty Ready has been a farmer’s daughter, a wife, a mother of five, a child of God, a fabulous cook and so much more. I am proud to see these traits echoed in my own life. But, of all her many facets, I most desire to follow in her example as a prayer warrior. So, many spiritual battles have been won by this Godly woman on her knees.
My Grandmother, Betty Kenny Ready
In addition to my grandmother’s example, there is my mother’s. Who came to God at a young age and truly learned who she is in God. She in turn, taught her children that a relationship with God is deep & personal. He is a best-friend, who knows us by name. Both are Proverbs women whose children raise up and call them blessed. Such a rich heritage.
My Mother & Her Siblings
I pray that I able to pass this beautiful gift to my own children as well as these beautiful women who have walked this road before me. I am humbled at the responsiblity and often fall so short. But, I take comfort in the promise of Lamentation 3:21-26. When we fail as mothers there is hope because His compassion is new every morning. We can trust in our Best Friend, Jesus Christ.
Introducing Papa November 20, 2009
It never fails to amaze me how soundly Nicolai (my hubby) sleeps nor his talent for wrapping the bed cloths around him. No amount of sunlight or giggling kidlets disturbs his rest. How I wish I had this talent. This morning, the kids were so tickled that they begged for a picture to be added to the blog. So, enjoy!
Into the Wild Beyond – Week 3 November 17, 2009
This week, our plan was to make a fort. But, it just didn’t happen! There seemed to be so many other things to do outside.
There was discussion about where to build a fort and what materials to use.
But playful silliness took over.
And who can resist showing a cute little one year old all the pleasures of playing outdoors?
So, a fun time was had by all! Mommy even noticed a few of her favorite flowers. How Thankful I am for God’s beauty in our surrounding world.
Decking the Halls are Underway! November 16, 2009
This weekend, I started making Christmas decorations! I found the felted sweater Christmas Trees at The Long Thread. She has two versions – Large & Small. I made both but will admit that I like the larger one the best.
My Purse is Finished! November 12, 2009
It took me a while because I couldn’t decide if I wanted the inside to be lined or not. After trying several times, I finally decided to leave it unlined. I just didn’t like anything I tried. Anyway. The purse is super simple and small but I love it! Isn’t my model lovely?
Handing down our Heritage November 4, 2009
Oh, my goodness, GIRLS! As of today, we have just a little over 7 weeks until Christmas! Are you prepared? Will everything be ready in time for you to actually enjoy the celebration with your family & friends? Or will you be 
stressed, tired & disappointed when the holidays draw to a close?
I have to admit that I’m usually disappointed in my handling of our family’s holiday celebrations. We have an inter-cultural family. My honey was born in the former Soviet Union to a Communist father & a mother with Orthodox roots. Me? I’m a Southern Belle born into A/G pastors’ family. It’s a challenge to blend our two cultures. Making sure that neither heritage is lost in the mad rush of holiday bustle. Keeping the beautiful, lovely observances and throwing out the unimportant.
Sadly, for too long, I’ve not been a good keeper of my home and traditions. I’ve allowed the almost hysterically race of Christmas to throw our legacy out the window. But, this year, I am committing the holiday season to our Heavenly Father. Asking Him to show me what to pass on to my children and what is to no account.
You do realize that as the mother of the house we are responsible for passing on our faith, traditions & customs to our children and our children’s children. We are given the awesome task of teaching our children to know who they are, where they came from & why we celebrate. It’s such a heavy responsiblity that will impact -for good or bad- our future generations. And I truly fear that for a very long time our American culture has had a negative impact on our Christian Heritage.
So, this year, I am committing to simplify the season and quiet the rush. I’m going back to what made Christmas wonderful for me & my siblings growing up. I’ll ask my honey what he wants for New Year’s and actually LISTEN! Woo! That’s a shocking thought!
So, I’m formulating a plan of action! The goal is to simplify so that I can focus on handing down our heritage.
1) I’ll make a gift list. No running around like that headless chicken. This list is for everything: gifts for family, gifts for friends, gifts from Santa & gifts from Grandfather the frost. Gifts are going to be homemade, handmade or bought on the internet. As to Santa & Grandfather Frost, they are running a tight ship this year. Can you say budget! I’ve talked to my kidlets and let them know that the hard economy effects even Santa/GF.
2) Set the Christmas mood. Music. Lots of Music. Pull out the Christmas decorations. Put up the tree. Read the Christmas Story. Focus on those traditions. Read exerts from books that show a simpler Christmas. Such as “Little House on the Prairie” & “Little Women”.
3) Outside parties & activities will be at a minimum. The focus will be family first. Think before I say YES to anything.
4) We will bake! This goes along with the homemade gifts. I’m going to involve my kidlets in the decisions & process.
;-P Ok! That’s my plan for now. It might change and evolve has time goes on. So, what’s your plans for the holiday season? What do you love about your family’s traditions and what do you hate?
Reset, Review! Redo, Recycle! Recap! October 27, 2009
Hi, gals! Long time; no see!
I’ll bet you’ve been wondering where I’ve been. A traveling adventure? Crafting frenzy? Learning binge? *sigh* Yes, we’ve done a little of all of those. For the most part, I’ve simply been lazy. Which made me think of my title. I really do need one of those remotes that let’s you rewind or reset your life. Lazy isn’t a good thing. Projects & School aren’t finished in good time; Caring for your body is forgotten & it generally makes for an unhappy family. But, most of all I think it disappoints our God. We are putting ourself first.
This month, we spent a week at Oleg & Natasha’s (my honey’s brother & sil) home in South Carolina. Such fun! Russian grocery stores, homeschooling curriculum store & quality time with family & friends. How much better can it get!?! 
Well, add in gardens, great Russian food, chickens, guinea fowl, yard bunnies (who hop right up to you and eat out of your hand) and you have heaven for my kidlets. 
We were quite impressed with our niece’s reading skills and decided to change our phonics program to the American Language Series. Hopefully, we’ll be able to jump-start our reluctant reader and have our younger siblings reading quickly when they begin phonics. Reading is one of our greatest pleasures. We are really looking forward to the kids’ joining us in literally bliss.
As to crafting, this week, I’m working on a felted sweater purse. Jul has tried to turn it into a hat so I’ll work on that 
too. And, yes, this is her usual response to my projects. Such an artsy/craftsy girl!
And I’m making Lasagna Rolls for supper. I’m basing it on this recipe but will use more traditional ingredients and I’ll put it into the crock-pot to finish it off. Hopefully, it will work out get and I’ll have a new crock-pot keeper. ;-D Here’s how I did it. I’ve kept the recipe a bit vague because every family and crock-pot is different. Adjust to fit.
1) I browned 3 lbs. ground turkey with thinly sliced veggies: mushrooms, yellow bell pepper, carrots, celery, onion & 
garlic.
2) While browning meat mixture, I place lasagna noodles in large pot of hot water, so they would be pliable.
2) I combined ricotta & large-curd cottage cheese with Parmesan cheese. Then, added about 1/3 of the ground turkey mixture.
3) I combined one can each of our favorite spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes & 1/2 jar of salsa. Then, added 2/3 of meat mixture.
4) Once noodles are ready, I placed 1/2 cup of sauce on bottom of crock-pot.
5) I filled and rolled noodles with cheese/meat mixture. Putting 1/2 cup of sauce between each level.
6) When finished with rolls, cover with the rest of the sauce and turn crock-pot on. Most everything is cooked so you won’t need all day to cook it.
Of course, I won’t be eating the rolls since I’m on a diet but I am cooking a spaghetti squash to go with the extra sauce. YUM!
Hope you enjoyed the recap of our month! Now, off to stop the laziness!
October – The month of cool weather & scary things. October 7, 2009
October. What can I say about October. It’s a time of cooling weather – relief from hot & humid temperatures. A time for hats, sweaters, scarfs, and gloves. Such a fun, cute look on my kidlets.
It would be such a pleasant month if only Halloween had not taken over the whole month. Not a fun thing when you don’t celebrate the holiday. Scary movies on every channel has caused our household to turn the noise box off for the month. So, we’ll spend our time with board games, classic books, DVDs and popcorn. It a lovely way to be together.
Now, as to my book review. Just because I don’t celebrate Halloween doesn’t mean I don’t like scary. It’s the type of scary that I’m picky about. I don’t do spooks or gory. I love a good murder mystery! One of my favorite’s and probably one of the scariest that I’ve read is Agatha Christie’s “And then there were none.” Not only will this book will have you jumping at every little noise in the house, but you will think about the plot for years to come. Seriously, there’s a great reason that it’s considered the 7th most popular book of all time.
We have blue pickled garlic! October 6, 2009
See that’s why you ALWAYS make a small batch when you are trying something new.
But don’t worry it’s still edible. We just won’t be using this batch as Christmas gifts. Are you wondering WHY it’s blue? It’s a chemical reaction! You can find more information here. The bottom line is this: the next time I pickle garlic, I should cook them just a bit.
Onion wise, all went really well.
Blue Garlic, anyone?
