A few things I'm thankful for

(I just thought this picture turned out neat!)

GOD- He is my strength. He loves me with an unconditional love so great & amazing that I can't even fathom it. He has blessed me with so many gifts, so many things to be thankful for & I still find my self asking "Why God? What did I do to deserve these things?"

My husband- one of the greatest gifts from God. He makes me angry sometimes, he makes me want to lash out irrationally. But I love him, he loves me & I know that God knew what He was doing when he place Hubba in my path.

My kids- whom I also want to throttle sometimes, but the hugs & kisses are amazing & I can't help but melt when I hear the words "I love you, Mom" come out of their mouths.

Our house- One of those things I thought was unattainable in my life.

The animals- Just because

My right to homeschool- I fear I may lose that right one day, but for now I relish the fact that I can watch my kids grow, that I can see their "a-ha" moments & that I can nurture the things they desire to learn about.

Gardening, baking, cooking, homekeeping, crafting, sewing- Because I can.....

My Grandma- She is watching down from Heaven & I pray I am making her proud. She taught me so many things & is the lady I aspire to be

What are you thankful for today? Don't forget to thank God for the little things!

Wordless Wednesday

Leeper Thanksgiving Menu 2008

Leeper Thanksgiving Menu 2008

Turkey
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Gravy
Sweet potato casserole
Brussel sprouts
Corn
Cranberry sauce
Rolls

Dessert: Punkin pie & Tollhouse pie

Homemade "Windex"

See, here's the thing. A few years ago I made a window cleaner recipe. Hubba LOVED it. He used it on the car. I LOVED it. It left no streaks & cleaned so well. I wrote the recipe on the side of the gallon jug I used to keep it in. Then someone threw it away when it was empty. So I figure I'll post the recipe here (YAY! I found it online), and unless blogger goes under, I can always find it!!! YIPYIP!!!

Homemade "Windex"

1/2 cup ammonia
2 cups rubbing alcohol
1 teaspoon dish soap
1 gallon water

Mix all ingredients together, adding water to make 1 gallon.

Crockpot Sundays

Yes, you're thinking normal stuff, rt? But NO!!! This past Sunday Hubba wanted potato soup. I've been sick since last Tuesday so at about 11, I decided I was going to go ahead & make it before I ran out of steam. Figured I could either keep it in the CP or warm it back up at dinnertime. I made a HUGE pot & it dawned on me that the 2 older kids could serve themselves from the CP. So from about 12:45 til 7 I left the soup on warm, piled a baking pan with bread & left that on the stove & had crackers on the counter & basically told them that they could serve themselves throughout the day. I also told them they could have clementines & bananas as they desired.

It was a HUGE success. The kids had a blast & I snacked on ramekins of soup throughout the day. Wonderful for a sickie. So I decided, we're doing this on Sundays from now on. On Friday or Sat while I'm making dinner, I'll make something else as well. Sunday mornings it'll go in the CP on low til after church & after church it'll get switched to warm & everyone can dig in as they wish. I'll supplement as I did this past Sunday with fruits & veggie trays, or what have you.

I have SO many ideas, but if you are interested in doing this, here are a few I've come up with along with the things needed:

-Soups (put out crackers, breads, and other garnishes)
-pulled BBQ meat (put out buns & chips)
-cowboy beans (put out a HUGE pan of cornbread)
-chili (put out a HUGE pan of cornbread)
-finger foods like cocktail wienies, meatballs, etc. Like superbowl food
-dips (put out melba toasts, chips, crackers, etc)
-beef au jus (put out hoagie rolls)

The ideas are endless. Basically whatever has to stay warm goes in the crockpot & the things I mentioned putting on the counter are shelf stable, so it works!!! For things like meatball subs or tacos or something, just make a crudite of cheeses & veggies that need to be kept cold & plop it in the fridge.

You can either put out disposable plates & such or make rule of wash as you go (rinse & load dishwasher as you go, whichever).