The Blessings Of Others!

This year our poor little garden did just about nothing, and I thought it might cause if my lack of time to be out there in it all the time with Baby Quinn and all! But the Lord has made sure that we are not lacking any veggies around here.
 We have been so blessed by our friends and church family with every kind of veggie you can think of, so much so that I've done lots of canning this summer.
 Here is just one day of the fun.

Summer Squash! 

I'd  never heard of canning squash before, but with all these beauties I set out to find a recipe that we could use.
It's Pickled Squash. we like the little bit that we tried before we canned it. so I'm really excited to have it this winter when the snow flies!

Washing the jars!

Salt and Vinegar bath!

 My Super little helper!

 The finished product! the squash is on the right, and the day after we made relish on the left!

We've also done beets and pickles and 4 kinds of jam. and put some other fun stuff in the freezer too!
Its been a blast for the kids and I to get to do this much canning and freezing this year. we are sooooo blessed. I've had fun learning to, as we are given new veggies that I've never canned before.
Still to go on the canning list is... tomato juice, salsa, corn, apple sauce, apple butter, apple pie filling and veggie soup. If I have lots of tomatos We just might try spaghetti sauce. I've been wanting to for a few years now, but never really had time or the energy to do it. and  you know, with school starting Monday I just might not get that whole list in. We'll see!
I'd like to try Chow Chow/ Last of the Garden. But I think I just might be the only one in our family that will eat it. so maybe in a few years I'll give it a try. :)
What have you been up to this summer? I hope you've been loving the great weather we've been blessed with!
I've got " Fall fever"  pretty bad already! with these cool evenings, all I want to do is relax and have camp fires! But we still have a few more weeks of summer to enjoy. and I know that right behind fall comes winter and I'm not wanting to rush into that just yet!
Have a Blessed day!

Blessings!

Just can't help it!

This "Lil Mr." Has stole my heart and I just can't help it!
So smitten with our baby boy.
Can't believe in just 2 days he'll be 4 months old.

Blessings!

The Winner is!!!!

Congrats to Watered Spring. You are the winner of our Songs for Saplings CD giveaway!!
Please email me your address Amy with in 24 hours!!! Amy has a Sweet blog about her Precious family. So go check her out!!
Email me at
carraleneee@yahoo.com

Have a Great Day, Thanks to everyone who entered!
Blessings!!!

Songs for Saplings CD Giveaway

                            


 I'm so thrilled to share with you the giveaway that I've been so excited about!!!! 
At Christmas, when our family was getting ready to travel to GA to be with family, our head Pastor gave us a CD for the kiddo's to help make the trip go a bit quicker! It was a Songs for Saplings CD!

We loved it!!!  So much so that I got in contact with Songs for Saplings and asked them about a review and giveaway for you, our faithful readers.  They were quick to respond and  graciously sent us all 6 of their CD's to review;  I was so delighted!!!!

The music has a Folk sound that we love and is all Christ centered with lots of  scripture memory songs and the Westminster Catechisms.   It's great. The kids love it and it's parent-friendly, too. We have it playing most days here in our home! One of my favorite things is that they add the Scripture references too, that way it helps you remember where it's found!!!

This is not your typical kids’ praise/worship music. It is doctrinally sound and helps set the Word deep into the little hearts of our children. I just love that!

They have 6 great CD's with the 6th one just having been released in the past few months!
Here's a little sample

With the release of the new CD here is what they have to say about it!

"Volume Four: The Word of God starts with 10 songs, one for each of the Ten Commandments, then has songs about how and why God gave us the Bible, how he expects us to believe what it says, and why it is important for us. One of the best of the series. This is the album that, when your kids are 40, they will thank you for playing for them now. "




 Songs for Saplings translates their music into other languages for use in other countries, and has a great heart for Missions all over the world! They are in Malawi right now, to start the recording  of Vol. 2 in Chichewa. 

Another great thing is all of their chords and lyrics are available free for all their music here.



So you've heard what I think,
 Here's just a bit of what other families are saying about Songs for Saplings from their web sight.

 "My children love your music!"

They have learned so many Bible verses and Bible concepts through listening to your music, and can't stop singing and dancing to it! Our family has been so blessed by your gift of spreading Gods word through music. Thank you! - Becky

"Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful gift of music and wisdom!"

Our family has enjoyed learning scripture with Songs for Saplings. I'm so amazed at how God is planting truth in their hearts at such a tender age. It certainly helps create many loving "teachable moments" with our boys! Everyone who has heard the album has loved it and asked for your information - or received it as a gift from us! What a sweet way to encourage the greater body of Christ. Thanks for your encouragement and willingness to share a love of God's word and music with His children. Many blessings on you and your household. -Calyn

Songs for Saplings is the ministry of James and Dana Dirksen and their 6 " Little Treasures". They live in Portland, Oregon. It has been a blessing to work with them for this giveaway!!! 


If you love the CD's as much as we do you can go here to purchase them. They are just $9.00 each with free shipping!!

Scratches? Dents? Peanut butter?
I love this about SFS, too!  If your CD gets damaged in any way and becomes unplayable, just mail it back to them with a note in the memo line telling them which CD you want along with a check for $3.50 (per CD) and they'll mail you a new CD. You can have as many titles replaced in one order as you like.
That's just too cool!!!

Ok... So on with the giveaway!! 
James and Dana are graciously giving one of our readers all 6 of their CD's!!
I'm so excited for you have a chance to win these great CD's.
 Here is how to enter... 

Mandatory entry -  Be a Follower of our blog through Google Friend Connect or email !  Leave me a comment letting me know you do and through what one, and please include your email address so I can contact you in case you win!

Optional {additional} entries - The following are additional ways you can enter to win.  But you must complete the mandatory entry first. *Be sure to leave a separate comment on this post for each entry.

• Like Songs for Saplings on Facebook HERE
• Follow Songs for Saplings on Twitter HERE

Be sure to leave a separate comment on this blog post for each entry.

Here's another exciting thing. They are giving you ALL a download of a sample CD to have in your home! Go here for your sample CD.

 The Giveway will end this  Sunday,  Aug 12 at 10 pm! I'll contact the winner by email. The Winner will be announced on Monday!
So, don't forget to check your email! :)

Thank you Songs for Saplings for giving me the chance to review your music and share it with our readers!!! May the Lord richly bless your ministry in the years to come!!!

Have a blessed day !!!

PVBC Church Picnic

Last Sunday was our church picnic. it was a good time of fellowship and fun.
 The kids favorite part is always the HUGE Slip N Slide!!!

 The Double Decker!

 Sweet fellowship!

 The Food was great, the kids love the cookies!!!

We love our church family, and just the fun and fellowship that we have together!!!
 We are so blessed. Check out our Church here!
Summer is going by sooooo fast, our school books arrived this week, and I'm so excited, I think were going to get started the last week in Aug. it's just a few weeks away!!!

VBS Week!

This past week was Vacation Bible School!!!
Our Kiddo's have been looking forward to this all summer and they just had a ball!!

With our church being a Generational Church, VBS looks a little different then I remember VBS being when I grew up. but to be honest with you, I'd rather have it this way. it's such a joy to see the parents and the children all together learning about the Lord!

The Them was "GOD Did It ALL"!

We used the music from Songs for Saplings.  I'll be doing a 6 CD give away here in a few days of their music . :) 

 The kiddos loved this guy, Pastor Wally did a Great job with him!

 My sweet Hubby doing a lesson on Creation!

 Whats VBS without games?

 Friday evening we had a big picnic, fried Chicken and all! :)

 One of the hilights was a Greased Pig!!

 Sorry the pix are a bit blurry, I was excited! Our Lanna Joy is there in the Red shirt!

 And Liam's age group, he's also there in the red shirt!

A couple of our helpers for the evening I couldn't do without!

 At the end of the evening they had a General Store! the kids loved all the yummy treats. Thanks ladies for all your hard work!

 Some of the adorable treats!

 Just too cute to eat!

Our Little Crew all dressed up for the picnic!!!

Here again is the link for Songs for Saplings Be on the look out for the review and giveaway next week!!!

Blessings!

Shoes!!!

My Sweet Aiden LOVES Shoes!!!!

Mama's Shoes, Daddy's Shoes, any shoes he can find!

I often find him trying to get on someones.

He's so good at it that he can put most of his own shoes all by himself. and 90% of the time on the right feet! :)

 The other day I got these beauties at Good Will for $2 . I was excited!
Guess what? So was Aiden!

 Mama loves it when he puts on Daddy's! It's just way too cute!

I found this the other day and it reminded me of our Big Boy Aiden!

Brand New Shoes

I bought a brand new pair of shoes. You simply have to see. They're purple, pink, and pretty. They're as lovely as can be. They're topped with silver sparkles, so they shimmer in the sun. They're awesome when I'm walking and they're stunning when I run. The laces look like rainbows and the backs have flashing lights. The sides are lined with lightning bolts. They're such amazing sights. But now my friends avoid me when they see me on the street. Indeed, my shoes are pretty but they smell like stinky feet. --Kenn Nesbitt So Cute!!!! Have a Blessed Day!!!

Just thinkin!

This past week has been interesting with VBS and all. here's some of my thoughts and conversations with the kids.

Eternal Life is better.

"Mom, why is there a boot print up in sky, is it God's?"  ~Liam

The kids love playing with the 4 baby kittens. and want to keep all 4. not happening! :)

Will I ever get caught up on house work?

I'm so thankful for that moment when Daddy walks into the door!

VBS song  "Who made you? God made me. Who made you? God made me. Who made you? God made me, I know God made me." Love that little song, even Aiden loves to sing it!

Thinking about closing my Face Book, but keeping just family.

Aiden has one had 1 potty accident in 2 days maybe he's got it! :)

I wish dishes in the sink would wash them selves!

Brown Sugar vs. Honey?


"She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Proverbs 31:26




I'd love to know some of your thoughts, would you please share some with me?
Have a Blessed day!