Journal Entry- #4 Earth Shake

     It was a long night, restless kids, a antsy husband, I couldn't sleep, something felt wrong, like the earth was trying to tell me something but I couldn't get a grasp on it. It felt like I knew something big was going to happen, but I couldn't grasp what it was.

    Morning came and the sun was starting to rise, I was being lazy, dozing in bed, bearly on the edge of sleep. Trying to keep track of the baby crawling around on the bed. 

   That is when it hit, the earth had grown uneasy and showed us its rage, the house shook, pictures were dropped off walls, I jumped out of bed and screamed for my Matthew, the ground like jello under my feet. The kids were still sleeping but I ran to them. I held my baby in my arms and the earth showed us its mighty power.
   It felt like it lasted forever, but really it was only a few seconds.
James came running up from the downstairs crying, Olivia thought it was cool, and Abigail didn't really care.
  Soon another one hit, you could hear it before you felt it. You can hear the angry rumble of the ground before you feel it shake.
  Our house went dark, all power and cell service were gone. Thank goodness Matthew was home, I stayed calm and cool headed, but inside I was shaking just as badly as the earth.

   What had we done to enrage her so? Why was she mad at us?

   We got ourselves and the kids dressed as fast as we could and sent them outside, I talked with some neighbors and we decided to pack the car just in case we needed to flee. Many streets were blocked off as older building crumbled, many people were forced out of their home due to a broken foundation.

    Streets were packed, freeways backed up. We knew leaving was impossible, yet we felt better knowing everything was in easy access. People were advised to stay home, that overpasses might not be safe.
    It felt like we were all ants and someone had stepped on the nest, causing us all to scatter, with no concept of where we were going.

    They kept coming, all day long we were rocked, our stomachs in a constant shake.
   I worried for my friends and family, our way of communication was cut off, how was I suppose to know if they were okay?

   There was a lot of speculation on when the next one would hit, that God was punishing us, that we had done something wrong. What greater force in working? What is causing the unrest?

   Are these actions of God, or is man playing with the minds and hearts of the people, putting them into a state of panic for their own gain?

Quarantine Cooking: Episode 1- Hummus

    Last year while I was pregnant I craved canned raw chickpeas with salt and pepper, I would eat them all the time. I become super sick while pregnant and this was one of the things I could eat that caused little nausea.

    A friend told me that is was called raw hummus or naked hummus, I never thought about making hummus before. I have always bought it, it was just one of those things we didn't think about making from scratch.

     I looked at a few recipes and discovered it is very simple to make, and I had all the ingredients, so

we made it.

     I did end up adding a little bit too much Tahini sauce, so it had a strong sesame seed flavor, but still so good!

   I used this recipe here, check it out for yourself!

https://www.inspiredtaste.net/15938/easy-and-smooth-hummus-recipe/

     

Hedgehog

February 26, 2020

  Today our hedgehog Piper passed away, she lived 5 years in our care and was loved by everyone in the house. She passed peacefully in her sleep and is buried in the backyard.

   A few years ago we put her care in our sons hands, she got moved down to his room and it became his responsibility to take care of her. My son was experiencing a lot of behavioral issues and we noticed that once she was down there they stopped. He had a very close bond with her, when I informed him of her passing he cried for days. He kept running down to her cage to see her, he was very distraught.

   Even though she seemed like just a pet to those on the outside, she was a family member to us, her loss was hard to on all of us. Even though she was spunky, had a fierce attitude, and always got her way, she loved to run around outside, eat bugs, sit in your lap, and gave kisses.
 

    When she passed the ground was to hard to dig, we put her in a small box and set it in the garage, for the next few days every time James would become upset he would run outside and sit next to the garage door. We didn't understand what was going on and he kept getting in trouble for going outside without asking.

   A few days later after Pipers funeral services James and I were talking on my bed, I asked him why he was so sad, why he kept hurting others and being mean.
   He said that before Piper died he would go to his room and sit next to her cage and she would sit next to him and he would tell her how he was feeling and she was always there for him, now he goes to his room and she isn't there, he told me he is confused and lost. He told me that he was running outside all the time because because he wanted to be next to her, he was going to the garage to be near here, for a few weeks after we buried her he was going outside to her grave and would sit next to it and talk to her.

   We miss her a lot, but we know she is in heaven enjoying all the open fields and fresh air.

Journal entry #3- Total Panic

Growing up it seemed like our garage was a store, you could go out to the cupboard and find anything and everything imaginable, canned and dry packaged wise. 

That was just how it was, I learned to cook off of canned, frozen, and fresh vegetables and fruit. We had many 5 gallon buckets packed with rice, sugar, flour, and oats. If we needed something, we made it.

When I moved away from home my mother made sure I have 15-20 lbs of all the necessary items, and stock piles of canned goods.

Bread, learned to make it. Waffles, learned to make it, fried egg, learned to make it

 My mom had us in the kitchen as much as possible, and age 5 I was frying my own eggs for breakfast, and age 8 I was making full meals and using the oven by myself. My confidence came from the kitchen.

Now it have been just over a week since the order went out, stating we are on a 2 week quarantine, and well, this order says that we can stay in groupings of less than 30 people, and it also said to make sure you have enough food for 2 weeks, because if you get sick you will have to stay home and not leave your house for anything, for 2 weeks. People went buzerk. Shelves that were always stocked are now empty, store are having to open up specific hours just to the elderly, because people aren't leaving food on the shelves for them.

The top 2 items that are still hard to come by is water and toilet paper, now the governor of our land didn't say anything about the stores closing down, or not being able to leave our house. He just said only leave it if you absolutely need to. And if you are sick, stay home and self quarantine.

The problem we currently have is that a vast majority of the population do not know how to cook with the items that they have now stock piled into their house. They are going hungry, eating out, and complaining about being hungry because they have just filled the house with unusable items.

I am glad that they have bought all the noodles, rice, cream of soups, and beans, but they don't know how to make a meal out of it. Matthew was at the store, getting a few essentials for us, along with some ice cream, and was talking with the cashier. She informed him that she has had multiple people come in and stock up on items, get to the register and realize they can't afford it. So they put back all the fresh produce, frozen meat, and keep the crackers, cookies, and junk. I am lucky that my mom has taught how to cook, and how to live without the "extra's"

Stores are still bare, people are still going hungry because selfish people took more then they needed. Leaving very little for those who really need it.

People are scared, more scared then I have ever seen in my life. I hope things start to calm down soon, I hope nothing else happens and we are able to get back to a normal life.

Journal Entry #2- Pollution

I grew up on a beach, I lived in a major city just off the west coast, summers were spent on the beach,

outside working, we had BBQ's and pool parties. The sky was always a pale blue and we spent our

evenings roasting marshmallows and sitting by bonfires.

We had perfect weather, winter's were sometimes cold, but not unbearable.

Here in the dessert, between mountains that I am sure look pretty, is nestled a large industrial factory town.

One with large refinery's, with huge steam pipes that fill the air with gray/black smoke. There are so many

people packed into this city that apartments reach high into the sky, the tops get lost in the smog.

People used to travel from around the world to see the historical district in the heart of down town with it's

large temples, ornate architecture, beautiful gardens, and visitor centers, giving in-depth history as to the

people who founded and built the town. But now that district is dead, the building are covered in inches

of grime and the air is so toxic that 1940 WW2 inspired face masks have to worn at all times outside.

There is no wind here, the air is dense, it lingers on your skin and clothes, it makes you feel dirty.

Thankfully I live on the outskirts and we avoid the heavier smog.

I miss the sun, cool breezes, and the blue sky. This smog which was created by mans greed to make

bigger and better material items, as taken this things from me. My kids have never felt the sun on their

skin, they have never heard a bird chirp, or seen a blue sky.

When I say I was working the ground for a garden, there is not much "gardening" I can do. With it

being always over cast and dark we can only grow root vegetables, carrots, beets, radishes, and

potatoes.

Anything else take a lot of time and usually a green house to care for. We our meager means and our

way of life, we don't have such luxuries.

We have to have 90% of our food imported, most is to expense to eat. Eggs, milk, and cheese are

about the only thing we buy fresh. We make our own bread and by a lot of canned goods, it is cheaper

then buying fresh or frozen. I remember a time when I could go to my friends house and pick a avocado

off of their tree and eat it fresh, a few years ago when I was pregnant my husband splurged and bought

my 3 avocado's, they cost us $7, and we ate them slowly enjoying as much of them as we could.

When the mandatory quarantine was issued I couldn't see how it could help me, our industrial town

was hit hard and the sickness was spreading fast.

It has been about a week since the order went into affect. It rained yesterday, and the rain wasn't as polluted as normal, it smelled fresh and not like its usual chemical smell. Normally when it rain we are shut in doors for days because we could tread harmful chemicals into our homes from the ground.

But yesterday I opened a window and smelled hope.

Today when I stepped outside went outside I started to see the effects of the order I noticed the sky was a light gray, not its usual dark stormy color. Maybe shutting everything down is a good thing after all. By the end of this, my kids might be able to see a blue sky for the first time.

Mardi Gras

   I have learned that not all holiday's are as they seem. I was never taught about this paticular holiday because it was considered a "bad one" growing up. It wasn't until a few years ago when I want to a Mardi Gras party that it wasn't what I thought. I held great judgement against my friend because I didn't understand why she would celebrate such a "bad" holiday.

   Skip ahead to February 25th, I had spent many hours doing lots of research, pouring over tradions and cultureal celabrations on it. I learned a lot, and learned that it is a very sacred holy holiday, brought over by french imagraints, and celebrated in a much more boorish, and eccentric. It has morphed into something crude, offensive, and dare I say evil.

    I wanted to turn this holiday into a learning experience for my kids, I have also been trying to "Celebrate" little holidays to mix up our Home school schedule.

   I planned out a lesson, an activity, and a snack. I left plenty of time fore everything because sometimes things go fast, and sometimes they are slow.

   I invited some other home school friends over in the neighborhood that I thought would like to participate in this educational experience.
   We started with a brief lesson on the history of it, moved into a craft making masks, ate a colorful snack (all food was themed Green, Purple, and "gold")
While snack was happening I gave a information about the holiday and asked any questions they might have. All in all, everyone enjoyed themselves.

 I made Jambalaya for dinner and we had king cake for desert.

   Can't wait for next year!

Journal Entry 1- Quarantine

     It was a normal day for me and the kids, I don't even remember what we were doing, but that doesn't matter. I saw it, the order telling us that all residents were quarantined for the next 2 weeks.
    I had heard about the virus that was starting to run rampant through the US, when I tried researching it more, there was a lot of mystery and botched information. Because the reporters in China were going missing. They would start to get someone when their research and then disappear, some of them never showed up again, others were found in hospitals infected with the same virus that they were researching, in such a critical state that the families were told they might not live through it.

   I feel like I am now apart of a science fiction novel, living in a world that got turned upside down within a few hours. Soon after the quarantine order was issued all schools and bars were closed, church meetings were cancelled, and restaurants can only have carry out options.

   As I read the different news articles I could feel my heart sink, the pain of loss started to creep into my stomach and left me feeling sick. With a large family full of little kids I never got out of the house often, when I did it was to parks and such, I didn't meet up with other friends, and I don't have a social life, with church gone I felt like my heart was ripped out, I felt like God did care for me.
 
   Quarantine life feels like a normal day to me, I cook, clean, and take care of my kids, for the first few days I worked in our yard, getting it ready for spring planting, the hard labor took my mind off our the current world troubles, and excising my body felt amazing.

   Quarantine sounds like most peoples dreams, being locked in their homes for days on end, but for those of us with kids, it feels like we may go crazy.
 
   Lots of people have questioned if this virus was created by the government, while others say it is a act from God.
   I guess only time will tell.

Do you know The Muffin Man?

Muffins, who doesn't love a good muffin?

They are light, yummy, and have a lot less sugar and are usually packed with yummy fruits that cupcakes are lacking. 

I haven't made muffins recently, and if you have been fallowing the blog since I started it in 2011, you would know I usually make them quite a lot!

My husband is not the biggest fan of muffins, unless they are the almond poppy seed ones from Costco, and I have recently discovered the ones from WinCo aren't bad either. But do to the amount of sugar in them I usually get a high off of them, and crash a hour or so later.

I also am a sort of snob and I haven't made them in years due to not having my moms recipe and knowing how amazing it was, I have been hesitant to try anything else. 

I spent a few ($$) dollars at WinCO on their muffins this week and they went bad before we could finish them (I know you can freeze them, I just forgot to do that), plus the fact that I had some very nice over ripe banana's I wanted to see if I could make a half decent banana muffin using a recipe from a cook book.

I did get a little creative with the recipe and I switched it up a bit, only due to the fact that I had made them 1 way for so long, I knew this extra step added a great taste and extra moister to the muffin. Here we go!

Banana Muffins

Bake: 18 minutes (I baked mine for 12, adjust for your oven)  Oven: 400  Yield: 12 muffins

Note: I quadrupled it because of the amount of banana's I had, I always smash the banana's fist, measure them according to the recipe, and that tells me how many times to double it.

1/2 cup milk

1.5 teaspoons lemon

3/4 cup banana

1 3/4 cups Flour

1/3 cup Sugar

2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 Egg

1/4 cup cooking oil (I used Canola)

1. Mash banana into a bowl

2. Take a cup and pour the lemon and milk into it, stir slightly and pour over banana's

3. Set aside

4. In stand mixer or bowl add the flour, sugar, (sifted) baking powder, and salt. 

5. Mix and set aside

6. Beat the egg slightly and add oil

7. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients (if using a stand mixer, remove the paddle and bowl from base, make well in the center)

8. Pour banana and egg mixture into well

9. Replace to stand and mix till combined but still slightly clumpy.

10. Fill muffin tins and cook for desired time till set, remove from oven, remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

I decided I want to make something to go along with a valentines party the kids were having, a somewhat healthy snack, so I made some strawberry ones. I used the above recipe for the dry, eggs, milk, and oil, but made these adaptions. 

Mix your dry ingredients together and then mix in 1 cup diced strawberries (fresh or frozen are fine)

Mix your wet ingredients together and pour into the dry+strawberry mix

Pour into prepared muffin tins and bake at 375 for 15 minutes

Enjoy!

Cookies Sent From Heaven

Everyone has a cookie that they feel is the best in the world. One that they turn to when they need a sweet treat and a pick up.

My husband loves snicker-doodles
My Grandma's favorite are raisin cookies

Chocolate chip are a good staple, and a lemon butterscotch never hurt anyone (unless you are allergic to lemon)

But my absolute favorite that trumps all cookies and I could eat plates full of, are Peanut Butter Oatmeal.

These cookies are chewy and soft, have a hint of peanut butter flavor but aren't over powering, and have a lovely texture.

Once I got all the ingredients together they took only 5 minutes to make the dough, with only 7-12 minutes in the over (depending on your ovens temperament (ours runs low)) they are quick, easy, and perfect for all group gatherings (unless someone has a peanut allergy, then I would pick something else to bring)

The recipe comes from Better Home and Garden: Cook Book

Prep: 30 min   Bake: 7-12 min    Oven: 375 F    Makes: about 48 cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped peanuts or chocolate chips (optional)

1. In stand mixer, mix peanut butter and butter till smooth.
2. Add sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. Beat in eggs
4. Beat in as much as the flour that you can
5. Add oats and chocolate chips

Drop dough onto a lined cookie sheet (about 1 inch big, they will spread)
Bake until edges are golden, do not over cook, remove from oven and let rest on the cookie sheet till done (about 5 minutes)
Move to wire rack for rest of cooling time
Enjoy as many as you like!

I like to think they are healthy because of the oatmeal and peanut butter, but in the quantity that I eat them, probably not.

I hope you try the recipe out and like it as much as I do!

Prepare Every Needful Thing

I recently had a conversation with my mother on the definition of "House of Order"

In Doctrine and Covenants 88:119 states:

Lets define a few words first and see where this takes us.
The 1828 Webster Dictionary defines house as such: 

HOUSE, noun hous. [Latin casa; Heb. to put on, to cover.]

1. In a general sense, a building or shed intended or used as a habitation or shelter for animals of any kind; but appropriately, a building or edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, mansion or abode for any of the human species. It may be of any size and composed of any materials whatever, wood, stone, brick, etc.

The dictionary gives 2 note worthy definitions:

OR'DER, noun [Latin ordo.]

1. Regular disposition or methodical arrangement of things; a word of extensive application; as the order of troops or parade; the order of books in a library; the order of proceedings in a legislative assembly. order is the life of business.

OR'DER, verb transitive

1. To regulate; to methodize; to systemize; to adjust; to subject to system in management and execution; as, to order domestic affairs with prudence.

These give you the idea that a "house of order" means a dwelling with rules, regulations, and a system in place.

I asked some friends what it meant to them, here are what they said:

"A house of order to me is one where everything is well planned and expectations are clear. Like Heavenly Father's plan. It's also one where standards or adhered to and not fudged here and there. People are help to the same standard so there's no confusion about different requirements/treatments"

"To me a house of order would be a Christ centered home, with a routine, a schedule, but still freedom to play and have fun. One with a set FHE time, with a peaceful and happy night routine, less yelling, a home free of anxiety and stress."

"A house of order to me is a refuge. There's rules, discipline, but most important there's love and respect."

"This is a tough one to answer, just because everybody’s answer can and honestly should be very different from each other. For me personally, I find that my house is best that piece we do work to keep things clean, but not to the point where we become overly exhausted and stressed out. There is a fine balance between clean and content. It’s nice to be able to come home and have a place that’s orderly, is it somewhere where I feel comfortable kicking back in, and most importantly, spending time with my family.

In the end, you need to find a make the thing that feels peaceful and natural for you and your own family. You should go by what you feel, not necessarily by the expectations of others. You shouldn’t have to literally work to get home what you want it to be, but it should eventually be something that you are truly at peace with. That is for you to decide though, and no one else should make you feel like you need to do something with your home, because it is not their home, it is yours."

"Clean. A place for everything and everything in it's place. Fixed, painted- no big projects so you can spend time on important things/family time. Systems in place so that you aren't constantly putting out fires and being able to roll with the crazy days because things are in order."

One Friend brought this scripture to mind:

Doctrine and Covenants 132: 8
"Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion."

"I like referring to this scripture as well because it gives us an even bigger picture of what a house is NOT. We need to first and foremost create our homes to be a place where the spirit can dwell. Where we feel safe and protected from the world. And where we can learn and grow. If our house is constantly in chaos, how can we do that?

That doesn't mean that our homes will ever be perfect in this life. They can't and won't so that should never be the goal. The goal should always be that our homes are a place where we would feel comfortable if the Savior were to come to the door and we asked Him to join us for dinner, FHE, etc. What would the Savior see when He walked in our door? But more importantly, what would the feeling be? Obviously for me, it would be joy and peace inviting the Savior into my home. But would I be embarrassed because I hadn't vacuumed up the dog hair that day? Or because I hadn't finished washing the dishes from the day before? Does any of that matter? Or would He be pleased to see the pictures that we have on the walls of the temple, Savior, and our family? Would He be pleased to see that we have an area in our home where we go to study our Come, Follow Me as often as we can. Would he be pleased to know that we sit together as a family for dinner as often as we can. These are all questions I honestly ask because sometimes I get so caught up in the cleaning and organizing that sometimes I forget about why I do it. It isn't for the praise of man that I do that...although, that is part of it. For me, the reason I want to have order in my home is so I can have the spirit there. If there is chaos or confusion in my home, I have a hard time focusing or even handling basic challenges that are thrown at me."

The Lord wants us to be organized, and in a home that gives us peace so we can feel the spirit.

I have the the fist scripture hanging up in my kitchen, to remind me what a home is and to remind me what my home should be. 

My home is far from organized, it is far from clean. But my kids know they are loved, they know they are wanted. My kids are small, we have lots of learning, growing, and order to undergo. But my kids are safe in my home and they know that.

From the above quotes we see that everyone has a different view of a "House of Order" and that is perfect, because we are all our own person. The important thing is that we keep striving for a house of order, that if we go to the Lord is prayer and ask for his help, he will guide us in the direction that we need to go to establish a house of order.

Happy Birthday Mr. James

James turned the big 5 at the beginning of January.
Due to sickness we had a family dinner, a few presents, and then jello with whip cream for desert (it's his favorite)

His favorite present he opened was from his sister Olivia, she got him jelly beans.

A few weeks later we had his big birthday party, he made the friends list of everyone he wanted invited, and reminded me many times to make sure they were coming.

We started planning his birthday mid October, but as always I procrastinated. I seem to want to make things bigger and bigger as the years go on, but I have found that keeping it simple is the best.
He wanted a Bat Man birthday party, so I made him a pinata, we played a game with cups and Bat Rays, and then played Dance Freeze, the kids had a blast and James keeps talking about it.

For the bat ray game I took cups I already had, had the kids color bad guys and then tapped them to the front of the cups. The bat rays were made from cardboard that I spray painted black.

Happy 5th Birthday little man!

Happy New Year 2020!

Bitter Newsletter 2019 Edition

We have welcomed 2020 with lots of goals and have filled the calendar with hiking and camping trips, but let's look back on 2019 and reflect.

We started off the year with James's 4th Birthday, it was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed and his day was filled with lots of family!

He enjoys playing with Lego's and eating candy.

Heather celebrated her 26th birthday in March, alone with spending lots of time with family on St Patrick's Day. 

Olivia turned 3 in April and had a blast at her jungle party. She enjoys all things to do with drawing, she will easily make her way through a large stack of paper, each picture is unique and has a lot of thought put into them.

May brought on the hardest trial for Heather as she prepared for the birth of their 3rd daughter, Heather spent a lot of time on bed rest, in and out of the hospital, and relaying on close friends and family for everyday simple tasks.

Mandianne was born on May 23rd, she is healthy and has the same energy as her older brother James. She started crawling right after she turned 6 months and finds lots of joy in climbing on people when they are lying on the floor. She enjoys the small amount of table food she can have and loves to be held by her mommy.

Matthew and Heather celebrated 6 years of marriage in August along with Abigail's 2nd birthday and Matthew's 30th birthday. 

Abigail loves anything soft and fluffy, she loves dogs and talks a lot. She is very short compared to her siblings, but makes up for it with her personality. She follows close behind her older sibling in everything and her favorite food is cheese.

Matthew and James had the opportunity to go hunting together, which was more like camping with lots of hiking. Olivia is excited to go out with Matthew next year.

Matthew was able to bag 2 Antelope and Heather was able to go on the hunting adventure with him. 

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating in 40°, they enjoyed buying gifts for each other, and spending lots of time making Christmas crafts.

We made our annual trip to Hardware Ranch, it is run by DWR and is a safe haven for Elk during the winter, they have a field set up for feeding the elk, we were able to take a sled ride through the field and see them up close.

2019 had its fair share of trials, some plumbing issues caused the basement to flood multiple times, Matthew pulled a tendon in his knee which ended his hunting season early, the brakes went out on the van, the washer died, and the biggest trial was Matthew’s father died suddenly the week before Christmas. 

Matthew flew out to Florida the Saturday before Christmas to be there for his family, and Heather was able to join him Thursday after Christmas. The funeral was held on Saturday the 28th, and Heather and Matthew flew home the following Monday. 

Even though it was a tragic time for everyone involved, there was a lot of laughing and enjoyment as we visited with family and reflected on his life.

James is becoming an expert on his bike and wants to go on long bike rides, he loves the color green, and enjoys anything to do with the outdoors. He is learning to write his name, can say his ABC’s and is working on basic addition problems using his fingers, he loves asking questions and finding the answer. 

Olivia is learning how to maneuver her PICA, she loves the color green too, she can sing the ABC’s, loves to test gravity, loves to play in the dirt and get covered in everything. She also loves to dress up like a princess and wear sparkly things.

Abigail is figuring out to maneuver the trial of being short, she has a huge heart and loves her baby sister deeply. She loves to have books read to her, she enjoys anything girly, and you can often find her hiding in a huge stack of blankets. She loves to help in the kitchen and do the dishes. 

Mandianne is figuring out the wold. She is crawling, jabbering, and pulling herself up to stand on anything she can find, what usually means she falls and gets a bump or too. She has a lot of allergies so table foods are hard to maneuver, but so far she loves yams the most. 

Heather is working towards getting her hunters safety and has planned a large RV camping trip with all the kids this upcoming fall. She is still sewing like crazy, loves to try out new recipes in the kitchen, and has recently taken up hand embroidery, it is very daunting but she enjoys it.

Matthew has taken up the art of bread making and you can often find him in the kitchen making something. He has yet to get an elk while hunting, but he is determined that this next year is the year! He is working on sewing the binding onto Abigail’s baby quilt and then will get started on Marianne's.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The Bitters