Chowder - Happy Thanksgiving!

I Thank Thee

O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,

With every blessing meet!

I give Thee thanks for every drop—

The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,

And for the riverside;

For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,

And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,

And for the gain and loss;

I praise Thee for the future crown

And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love

Which stirred my worldly nest;

And for the stormy clouds which drove

Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,

And for the waning joy;

And for this strange, this settled peace

Which nothing can destroy.

 ~ Jane Crewdson (1860)

Chowder - Big Words

A few weeks ago I could hear E playing in her room and she was using really big words like humility, "gemtelness" (gentleness), compassion etc. My first thought was "where did she get those words from?" and then I remembered. It's from the Bible verse she's learning at preschool. So since I've decided to work hard on memorizing more verses I figured I should learn the same one she's working on. So here it is...

It's truly something to meditate on and make part of your life!

Something to do - Advent Calendar

I've been wanting to make an advent calendar for E since, well let's just say since before she was E. (Advent calendars are a big thing in Sweden, where I grew up so they were always part of my Christmas season as a child.) And this year I finally made one! It came out great, if I may say so myself. 

 

E loves it and H can't stop staring at it. I think she wants one too. Maybe with baby socks. That would be fitting, don't ya think?

Here's a little tutorial (sort of) for you...

Start with getting a text from your hubs who just happen to be at Walmart.

"Didn't you say you wanted something like these? 4 for $1."

Use the green glitter glue you bought for your daughters Tinkerbell wings. 

(You bought the wrong shade that didn't match the first bottle that your mom sent you that you were out of. But you saved this one anyways, remember?)

Write the odd numbers 1-23 on the red stockings.

 Write 25 on the slightly larger, fuzzy, red stocking that your hubs suggested that you get for the big day.

Try to find number stamps since you want to use your white craft stamp pad for the green stockings. When you realize you don't have any number stamps, go to your local craft store and find out that they are way overpriced. You don't want to spend $20 on stamps right now. That would be more than you're spending on this project total. Buy white, puffy fabric paint for a buck something. And on your way to the check out line just stumble upon some shape-able Christmas string on sale.

Go home and write the even numbers 2-24 on the green stockings.

 

Go out and find one of those branches that blew down in your backyard during that last stormy day. It was probably from your neighbor's tree. He doesn't take good care of his trees. They're dying and fill your pool up with leaves all summer long.

Cut your branch to the size you want. Hang it up on your wall using command hooks. 

 I first called them commando hooks when I published this post. (Thanks Mare for your comment and I'm glad I could make you laugh today.) I thought I would let you all know so you can laugh at me too. =)

Since tree parts aren't straight you want to be able to remove the oddly placed hooks once you're done with the branch.

Assemble. 

Fill with goodies such as small toys, crafts, candy etc. Be sure to not put anything heavy in the stockings that hang on the skinny little branches. If you want to go cheap I can recommend the toys in the 25 cent machines at the mall or grocery store.

Let the count down begin!




I linked up to:
http://twelvecraftstillchristmas.blogspot.com/2010/11/twelve-plus-day-of-traditions-christmas.html
http://sewmuchado.blogspot.com/2010/11/we-did-it-wednesday_16.html
http://tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com/2010/11/weekend-wrap-up-party-and-partybox.html
http://danajeanward.blogspot.com/2010/11/link-party-giveaway-and-another-winner.html

The Gilded Bee

I've entered another giveaway over at take heart and let me tell you I never thought I would say this but I love cherries! Well, I've always loved fresh cherries but this country had me in chock when I first came here and I could find everything in cherry flavor. Fake cherry is Yuck! But remember how I told you before that everything goes with brown? I have two words for you... CHOCOLATE CHERRY! But I'm not talking about edible stuff here. 

 The Gilded Bee has these lovely things I would love to hot glue to... Wait, I'm not going to tell you. I have a project in mind that I will get to later. 

For my future project I would also like these:

Aren't they just darling?

Here are some other things I like...

There are so many things to choose from and I have so many ideas buzzing around in my head right now. 3D wall murals, headbands, hair clips, my project (that will be a Christmas present for my girls)...

Wish me luck!

Yummy for my Tummy - Butternut Squash Soup

I have been blessed with a child who eats most everything you put in front of her. In fact, almost every night at the dinner table she tells me that she loves the food, that it's delicious and that it is her favorite food. It sure makes me a happy mamma! But there's one type of food that she loves more than anything. In fact, if you were to ask her what her absolute favorite food is she would answer:

SOUP

 So here is one of our favorite soups, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp EVOO
• 2 small onions, sliced (I normally only use one onion and I have no idea what size category it falls into.)
• 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (really, there's garlic in it? I think I've missed that every time I cooked it. I guess you could put in some garlic.)
• 3 cups peeled, chopped butternut squash (just wait for my comments on this one...)
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups apple cider
• kosher salt 
• freshly ground black pepper

 

 Before I give you the instructions I want to tell you 3 things...

1. This was  Rachael Ray recipe but I can no longer find the link. Just wanted to give credit where credit is due.

2. 3 cups of peeled butternut squash normally means two whole ones. Last time I only needed one. 

See what I mean?

3. Be careful when you peel the squash. Don't use a cheese slicer.

Cook onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer for about half an hour until the squash is soft. (I have roasted the squash a couple of times and then scooped it out and added it to the liquids, instead of peeling and chopping. Considering my cheese slicer incident maybe I should stick to that.) Puree the soup with an immersion blender until it's smooth.  Serve with your favorite croutons.

I wish I had a picture of the finished product, but I stopped taking pictures when I sliced off part of my knuckle. I actually stopped cooking that night and didn't finish it until the next night and had no thought then of bringing out the camera. Sorry!

I hope you try this soup. It is absolutely delish!

Too tired to edit

I changed some settings recently which made some of my older posts look a little off. It really bothers the OCD part in me, but the mommy in me says "go to sleep so you won't be too mean tired tomorrow". I'm going to listen to the mommy part. Sleep tight!

It's personal

I'm finally getting personal again.

Zoomed Out

Congratulations to Mare and my mamma who were able to figure out that what I zoomed in on in this post was...

...a radiator.

Chowder - Mirror, mirror on the wall...

Words every girl should have on her mirror...

When my girls get older and want to check how they look in the morning this will be written on or framed next to their mirrors!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

Something to do - Paper Town

Wanna play?

E's Nanny (No, we don't have a nanny for our kids. I'm talking about my mother-in-law.) gave her a subscription to High Five from Highlights. In the latest issue there was a paper town craft and this rainy day was the perfect day to set this up. We cut, glued and pasted and made a preschool, a library, a bank, a grocery store, a diner and pharmacy. They came out pretty cute, don't ya think?

As we were making these paper houses I remembered this post I read a while back and modified it for us. I wanted something I could easily clean up when H crawls around so we put the tape down on a blanket. We  didn't seal the tops of our houses, for easy storage reasons. E thinks it's great that she can open up the bags. How else are the little people going to get in to the grocery store?

I'm thinking we might add on to this town with more blankets and more houses (we can easily make our own doors and windows) someday.

So, wanna play? Head on over.

And if you bring a child or two our kids can play

and we can chat over a cup of tea.

Chowder - Faith Food

When I wake up in the morning I grab my iPhone, go to my bookmarks and click on Proverbs 31. I also try to get another quiet time in during the day, but sometimes that can be quite the challenge. So as I was reading these words this morning I felt convicted:

"I tried to feed my faith on a two minute devotional in the morning…"

 And I decided to take the author up on her challenge. I would hide His word in my heart, just as scripture tells me to. And the verse I decided to start with is the introduction verse of today's devo over at P31.

"Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Romans 10:17 (NIV) 

"Alltså kommer tron av predikan, och predikan i kraft av Kristi ord."

Romarbrevet 10:17

Zoomed In

I figured it was time for another Zoomed In picture. I will zoom out sometime next week. Stay tuned.

 

Want to find out what this is all about? Click here.

Yummy for my Tummy - Cinnamon Spice

The best tea ever, what to do when the supplies are limited:

Use one tea bag for a small tea pot. Steep for a long, long time. Get 3½ cups from only one bag. 

Thanks mamma for sending it to me. Love you!

...with every Christmas card I write

A sweet friend of mine has been looking at Christmas cards since September. Me, not so much! Even though I'm usually a planner this year I've been more of a One season at a time- kind of person. We went apple picking, sort of. The apples fell early this year and was gone before you could say, well October. Then there was Halloween, and dare I say I had two very cute little trick or treaters to hmm, borrow(?) candy from. Soon we will celebrate Thanksgiving. Throw in some family birthdays too and there's just no time for a procrastinator like me to think about Christmas.

Actually, December is one of my favorite months to enjoy, but there's just so much planning that comes along with it that I get a bit overwhelmed just thinking about it, so I don't. Did I mention I'm a procrastinator?
I have a 4th birthday party to plan for and a 1st one too. Well, the 1st one will be in January, but that's awfully close to December, don't ya think?
Anyways, I love reading my sweet friend's blog and she wrote a blog post about Christmas cards and while clicking on her links I started dreaming of my family's Christmas cards this year. It was so much fun I really have to tell you all about it! I pictured my two little angels smiling cheerfully and patiently at the camera as I'm trying to snap that perfect Christmas card picture! (I dare you to burst that dream of mine!) What will they be wearing? What back drop will we use? (What candy should I bribe them with?) What site should I upload this perfect picture too and order my darling cards from?
Well, that last question is the only one I actually has an answer to as of right now. That was an easy one. Shutterfly, where else? Did you see their selection this year? If you know me you might be aware of the fact that my favorite color is brown. (Some might call it an obsession.) You can mix anything with brown and it looks good. They did! They mixed brown with Christmas cards and although I normally go pretty traditional with anything Christmas (you know, red, green, gold, or any combination of the three) they might have convinced me to take another road this year. I'm feeling adventurous! I also found some traditional colors in a retro take that also appeal to my newly found adventurous Christmas Spirit.
Don't you just love Christmas? And if Shutterfly's Christmas Card collection could get me in the Christmas mood they can do the same for you. Head on over and see for yourself. They are offering 20% off all holiday cards! And if you're a fellow blogger you might like to get 50 Christmas cards for free.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmas cards be... (brown?)

Orabelle Baby

Do you like super cute clothes for your kids? Would you like to join me in a giveaway? Head on over to take heart and leave some love in the comment section. If I win my gift card is going towards these pants, for sure!