History Lesson

What a nice suprise! I've been praying about school in general. I want it to be fun and yet I want her to show her work. A few days ago I also received some advice from a friend on getting Lizzy to comprehend a little better. Today she really surprised me, not only with comprehension but with her art work. This was a great day for her :)

Cherry Coffee Cake

I've made this several times now for different people and it seems to be a hit. It is very easy to make, so don't fear that you've offered to bring snack for church and it's already late on Saturday night. This may be your ticket :) This recipe came from a can of Lucky Leaf Cherry Pie Filling. Happy baking.

 

Ingredients

• 1 (18 oz.) package yellow cake mix, divided
• 2/3 cup water
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (21 oz.) can Cherry Pie Filling
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon water

Directions

Stir together 1 1/2 cups cake mix, 2/3 cup water adn eggs. Spoon into a greased 13 X 9 inch baking pan. Top with pie filling. Cut butter into remaining cake mix. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie filling. Bake at 350 degrees fro 25-30 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack. Combine powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon water. Drizzle over cake.

Makes 15 servings

Random

We are in the process of getting a new furnace and heating system. We are doing most of the work ourselves. I am thankful for a husband who knows how to do things like this. We are going with coal furnace because we live in the Antracite Coal Region of the US; so why not. We'll be paying 1/4 of what we have been paying in oil which is not found anywhere near our region nor state. When I'm not helping with school I have been helping hubby with this big project :)

Homeschooling is going well, though we have our challenges. I'm learning alot about the girls and I would never discover (their challenges) if they weren't home. Tonight my oldest and I had a long chat about her responsibilities. Honestly I was almost at wits end with not knowing how to get through to her. God was gracious in helping us both to communicate and come up with a plan. Looking back I wished we had prayed together though, I'm still learning and will give thanks to God tomorrow morning.

I've been saved for 2 years now and so for most of my daughters' lives I had not been saved. Before Christ I was an angry and unhappy woman. I wasn't worthy of God's forgiveness and yet he chose to save me. It is only by the grace of God that I can do anything good. God has been so merciful in helping my girls and I to grow spiritually. I am so thankful that both girls (16 & 8) who enjoy going to church with me and all three of us have a testimony of faith in Christ. We continue to pray for daddy.

I took a lil break from writing to check my email. My youngest now has a penpal from a lovely family. Oh I can't wait to tell her tomorrow morning :)

Last week was very cold and we had a little snow, but, so far this week it has been in the high 60's. Ladybugs are in the air!! :)

When was your first day of snow?

Today was our first snowy day. This is our dog Gretchen wearing a sweater my oldest daughter crocheted for her. The picture was taken last year because I didn't get outside to take a picture and didn't even think of it :) ... but wish I did :) By the way,,, we only had flurries so far.

When was your first day of snow?

Vanilla Almond Granola Bars

Our family is crazy for granol bars right now and since they are almost $3.00 at the cheapest store I thought it was worth trying to make them. I've made them 4 times now, trying things a little differently each time. The reason I've done things differently is because they are more crumbly than I hoped for. I am now thinking this is just the nature of cutting these babies up though. There are 2 great looking recipes for granola bars that I haven't yet tried. One is Ina Garter's Granola Bars and the other is Joyful Abode's Bars.

Preheat oven 300 degrees F.

4 c old-fashioned rolled oats
1 c slivered almonds
1/3 c wheat germ
1/3 c honey
1/3 c brown sugar
6 T butter, melted
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
1/2 t salt

1. Combine and spread oats and almonds on 2 cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through. Keep an eye on granola so it doesn't burn. Cool 10 min. Or put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine honey, egg, sugar, salt, and extracts in a large bowl.
3. When oats are cool, add wheat germ and brown sugar.
4. Add oat mixture to honey mixture folding thoroughly. Then add and mix the melted honey.
5. Transfer and mash down into a greased 13 x 9 pan and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Cool on rack. Cut into squares. Makes 24.

A few times I have made them with 2 beaten eggs hoping to make them stick together better, but they are still crumbly. I saw another recipe where someone cooked them at 450 for 10 -12 minutes in a 10" X 15" jelly roll pan and they looked more the ones you buy in the store because they were thinner. If anyone has a recipe they love please share it with me :) I'm still experimenting. I've not had to throw out a single batch of bars, so try them if you like them :) All those crumbs are saved for yogurt! Yum! If you'd like to make your own yogurt from a tried and true source you can get the link here.

You Turkey

Tonight we made turkeys. We got the idea from That Artist Woman. She has A LOT of great ideas, so if you like doing crafts check her site out :) Next time Lizzy's friend comes over we will paint them.