Last Harvest..

...for this years garden. These cool nights we've been (finally) having finally got to it! I need to go pull the plants! but first here is what I've picked so far:

See those tomatoes in the corner? That is just a handful of what's left out in my garden! What to do with all those tomatoes?? They're still green!! I'll show you what I did with the few I've picked so far...

Fried Green Tomatoes!! YUM!! A good ol' southern favorite! And yes, people still make this, although Mark wasn't sure he had tasted it before. He wasn't so sure after the first bite, but then he took another... He decided that they do grow on you! Here's the process:

Items needed:
Green tomatoes
flour
egg wash - I put a little milk in mine
cracker crumbs
oil for frying

here's how:

I fried them until they were tender:


And then sprinkled them with salt (go easy... I got mine just a tad salty.) :)

YUM!

We had ours with black eyed beans and snaps with rice. I drank iced tea... how's that for a southern meal?

Anyone else had fried green tomatoes? Oh and any other ideas on how I can use up my tomatoes? I'd hate for them to go to waste! :)

With every Christmas card I write...

Have you sent out your Christmas cards yet? hmmm... me either. Every now and then I get a card like the day after Thanksgiving... I haven't got the mail yet today, so we'll see... :)  But I am usually doing good to get mine out the week before Christmas. I am determined not to do that this year (but isn't it like that every year?)  :) However, I have a little boost this year! Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers!

I've heard about Shutterfly for quite a while. I haven't yet used their services, but I am impressed with the cute cards they offer. From really cute fun ones:

To really classy:

Of course, you can also use more than one picture... love this one:

Mark and I were planning on sending a photo with our pictures this year. I wasn't originally intending to do a "Photo card." But these are really classy! And I love that we can really customize them... like writing exactly what we want to appear on the inside!

Oh, and maybe someday soon we'll be sending out baby announcements like these!! :) If you are interested in signing up for the free cards, click here. :)


PS~ Shutterfly did not tell me what to write... the only compensation I am getting is the cards... Have a Merry Christmas! :)

So Thankful...

I have some many things to be thankful for...

• God's Love
•  A beautiful fall this year.

• My wonderful husband
• A great family (including inlaws!!) :)  
• A cozy "fireside"

 

• wonderful friends... including YOU!! :)

...and so much more!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sunday Blessing

Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.

For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day all offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last in the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store in His garner evermore.

Selected from Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

By Henry Alford

Finished Object Friday

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments about our adoption. We are really getting excited! Thank you for your prayers as well. Right now we are praying specifically for God to lead us to the right social worker to do our home study. 

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This may be more of a progress report than an actual Finished Object Friday. Remember our bedroom? Well, thanks to help from a friend, it is finally painted!!

Beka and James came last Friday. After getting the guys to move the furniture, Beka and I set to work! It sure is a lot more fun painting with a friend!! :)

Please excuse my appearance... that painting is hard work! (actually Beka did most of the hard work... I just used the roller.)  :) It's great having a friend that loves to paint! :)  (Is the "nursery" next, Beka???)  :)

I really like the depth that the "accent wall" gives to the room. I know it is a darker color, but instead of closing the room in, it seems to make it bigger. And it is a really nice green - it's hard to show it accurately in pictures.

Now to figure out what to hang on it...
This was my original idea and my sister-in-law found the door for me. However...

... it rather dwarfs our bed!! I do like the color with the bedspread, but wow. that door is just too big!! I'm thinking my old window might look better, and maybe stand the door in the corner. Any other ideas? 

Now for your turn!! What have you been up to? Anyone started on their Christmas crafts? (Not me. oh. dear!! December will go fast!!)  :)

What we can do

Sunday, November 7th, was Orphan's Sunday. In my post, I asked what you are doing for Orphans. You see, God calls each of us to help the fatherless. And there is something that we all can do to help them. Here's what we are doing:

Many of you know of our desire to have a family (you know, one with more than just us two.) Infertility isn't really a joy ride. But as we've traveled the road of infertility, God has made it clear to both of us that He wants to build our family in different ways.

In the back of my mind, I've had the thought for years that I would like to adopt "some day." I planned - in my earthly little mind - that we would have a biological child, then maybe look into adoption. However, God kept telling us - in so many different ways: people we met, books, movies, songs... that He wants us to adopt now. Honestly, at one point, I was like "Ok, God, I get the message loud and clear!"  :)  Isn't it amazing how God makes His plan for our lives so clear if only we will listen?

Some might think we are "settling" for adoption. But that's NOT the way we see it. You see, when you go with God's plan for your life, you are never settling for second best. So many people call it the "Miracle of Adoption." And that is just the way I see it. Each life is such a miracle. And when you choose to bring someone into your life it's a whole other miracle. Not only that, but what a wonderful living example of God's love for us.

            

So where are we now? We've been saving for quite a while now. Do we have enough saved? Umm. no. :)  But right now, we're not sure what our expenses are going to be. Our next step is to get a home study started. Honestly sometimes I feel like we really don't know what we are doing - what steps to take and where to turn. But we have gotten connected with a great support group and have people ready to answer our questions or to help us find the answers. It's really awesome how God has placed us in the right place at the right time! We are planning to adopt an infant domestically. We know that God has the right little person for our family in His time.

What am I doing now? Well, I am starting to get excited! I've been picking up assorted little things at garage sales etc...  I even started a baby blanket to welcome our little one home. It's my hope blanket.

Ravelry link for those wondering about the project specs! :)

And the winner is...

The box is all packed and ready to go!!

And the winner is:

Snoopy said: "I actually have random balls of yarn in almost every room of the house, :). But right next to me is an old night light and some kind of weird pencil holder shaped like part of a tree trunk...Love your blog!"

Congrats, Snoopy!! Email me at charitree (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your prize!! :) I hope you see this post... I don't know how else to get in touch with you. In order for you to recieve your prize by Thanksgiving, I need to get it in the mail. If I don't hear from you by midnight (central time) Wednesday - the 17th - another winner will be drawn.

Thanks to all for joining in the fun!! I wish I could send something to each of you! Thanks also to Mark for drawing the winner! :)

Randomness....

What? You mean you don't have a random ball of yarn on your dusty window sill??  :)  you know, sitting next to your hospitality book?

Oh, and there's a giveaway in this post too... :)  I've actually been planning to do a giveaway for quite a while. Now I figure I'd better do it before fall is over! :)  Thanksgiving is in less than two weeks!

I am thankful for all my bloggy "buddies!" I have enjoyed getting to know each one of you - I consider you my friends! So as a little friendship gift, I will send this to one of you:

The giveaway includes the following:
Two fall dishtowels
One leaf cookie cutter
One "Welcome" pumpkin
A votive candle and holder
A package of notecards
A Mary Engelbreit "Autumn" book (The inspiration for the giveaway...)
And a vintage(?) biscuit cover.

You see, the longer I waited to do the giveaway, the bigger it got!! :)  So here's the deal, just leave me a comment, and I'll pick a winner this coming Tuesday evening. For fun, share something completely random lying some odd spot in your house! :) 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Sunday Blessing

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
   is God in his holy dwelling.
 God sets the lonely in families.

Psalm 68:5-6a

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, 

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction..."
-James 1:27

Today is Orphan's Sunday.

What are you doing to help them?

Finished Object Friday

Last month was Pastor Appreciation Month. (I hope you "appreciated" your pastors!) :)  We had a "card shower" for our pastor and his wife - everyone wrote them a thank you card and included a gift card. They really liked that! :)  After church that morning we had a church potluck at my parent's home. Thankfully it was a beautiful day and everyone could be outside! :)

I made a cake for the occasion. Who doesn't love chocolate?

I had fun decorating this one... although in retrospect, I wish I would have made the top "layer" square... it would have looked less like a hat. But anyway... Here's what it looked like before the flowers.

(In my fridge - chilling out.)  :)

And most importantly, they really liked it! :)

So what crafty things have you been up to? Sorry this is a bit late... I should have posted last night but oh. well. :)  Happy Friday!! :)

Oh, and the linky tool will be open all weekend - so don't worry if you don't get something posted today. :)  We'll have fun anyway! :)

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1. Nikki 2. Vintage Mixer

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Lately....

...I've planted pansies in my front flower bed. (don't the ducks look happy to finally have some colorful companions? Pansies are the only flowers I've really had success with in that bed - remember last years in the snow?)

...and baked cookies. (Molasses Crinkles - YUM!)  :)

So... what have you been up to lately? :)

PS~ Two more things:
1. Have you noticed my "pages" links at the top of my blog? I just added a "Recipe" page this evening.
2. This past summer I shared about our friend Sis. Connie - her battle with cancer and God's wonderful work in her life. She is doing so well!! Praise God! You can read her version of her story as she shares it on her blog. It's such a blessing the way God has worked miracles!