hiswayhomemaking.com

 Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Delicious!  Picture from Jane’s blog  

   My friend, Jane, posted a wonderful recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls a little while back.  WE LOVE THESE!  Here is a link.  Jane and her sweet girls are very crafty.  I think you will enjoy the visit.

http://seedstosew.blogspot.com/2009/04/if-i-had-bed-and-breakfast-id-serve.html

Pumpkin Pot Holders

Cute!!!  Picture from Kathy’s Website  

       Another of my talented friends, Kathy, has a tutorial on a pumpkin pot holder along with several other pumpkin related crafts.  Kathy’s website is devoted to helping parents to teach their young people life skills.  Talking about crafty and talented, well, just visit, you’ll get the idea.  Here is the link to the tutorials

 http://teachinggoodthings.com/blog/pumpkin-tutorials-make-your-own-pumpkin-spice/

Blessings,

Marcie

     Have you ever contemplated the goodness and wisdom of the Lord in the foods He gives us in season?  I guess these thoughts  came to me when home educating my first kindergartener.  (Another benefit to home educating).  

     In the summer, when we are outside working and loosing fluid, He gives us fruits such as watermelon that are mostly water.  In the fall, when our bodies are a little more stressed due to changes in weather, He gives us colorful vegetables like those in the squash family that are full of anti-oxidents to strengthen our immune systems.  His provisions for us are perfect! 

     This Pumpkin Loaf may not be perfect, but I hope your family enjoys it as much as ours does!

Harvest Pumpkin Loaves

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 2 loaf pans.

 Cream butter; gradually add sugar; mix in eggs, 1 at a time.  Set aside.

 Combine the next seven ingredients.

 Glaze: 

Blessings,

Marcie

     Wondering what to do with those pumpkins you have?  For the next several posts, I’ll be sharing several of our favorite pumpkin recipes and crafts.

     The recipes will be for Pumpkin Soup, Pumpkin Cheesecake, Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, and Pumpkin Bread.   (No pie recipe, )

     First things first, though. 

Cooking Pumpkin

     1.  Wash the pumpkin.  Cut off the stem and cut the pumpkin in half.  With a spoon, scoop out the strings and seeds.  (You can save the seeds to roast if you like.)

     2.  Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Pour one inch of water it a 9″x13″ pan.  Place pumpkin, cut side down, into the pan.  Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until tender.  Cool.  (This can also be done without the water)

 3.  Scoop out the pulp.  It can be frozen for use later.  I usually freeze 2 cups per container.

      Roasting the Seeds

     I’m still working on this.  I did rinse the seeds in water, rubbing them together to remove the pulp/strings.  This wasn’t hard to do. 

     In a 9″x13″ pan, I poured a little oil.   Add pumpkin seeds and salt, then stir them in the oil to lightly coat.  Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees until roasted, turning frequently. 

 The really delicious part is still inside the seed hull.  You can enjoy the whole seed and hull.or crack the hull and remove the seed. 

     I’m going to experiment with trying to remove the seed from the hull before roasting.  If I find a relatively painless way to do this, I’ll pass it on along.

     Pumpkin  and pumpkin seeds are considered super foods for their high nutritional value.  Here is a link that gives the nutitional analysis:

http://nutrican.fshn.uiuc.edu/tables/Pumpkin.html

Blessings,

Marcie

     Do you ever feel a little lonely?  Our friends, the Bailey’s, invited 320 of their closest friends to a Barn Party.  With hambergers and hot dogs provided, side dishes and desserts brought to share, it was quite a hoe-down as my in-laws would say!

Here are some highlights:

The West Ladies singing with our friends, the Travers Bluegrass players joined by that very talented banjo picker, Stephen Boyd.  (I took the liberty to name them the Travers bluegrass players:-)

This is a little taste of the West Ladies’ singing:

And the evening was just beginning!

Katie and her friends, Tiffany and Emily.  O.K., we really want to be adopted by their family.  There are 15 of them.  Do you think they would notice if a few more move in?

(sorry she is sideways, my hardrive died last week along with photo editing software )

Hay to play in for the younger crowd

And last but not least, Square Dancing!

Zach even gets dragged in toward the end.  He had  fun, but hey , it wasn’t football with the guys outside.

And last but not least, another great video by my talented friend, Kathy:

Thanks,  Bailey’s , for another awesome Barn Party!

Blessings,

Marcie

Here is a link to my friend Kelly’s skin care products. She is having an awesome sale!  Click on the picture to learn more.

Happy Savings!

Marcie

Too Good Not to Share!

American Vision is having a 50%-90% off sale on a bunch of books, two of which we have used and really recommend:

Looking for a good book on the American War Between the States?  We were, too, until we found this book:

It’s 50% off!

For our Civics course, we use God and Governmentby Gary DeMar.  Very thorough teaching on what the Bible teaches about government and on our government.  Interested in your children having a biblical worldview?  Get these books! 

75% off!

To see all the items on sale, go toamericanvision.com

Happy Savings!

Marcie

       Concern over vaccines is high.  I do think it is best to be informed.  When my daughter was little, she received some of the vaccines.  After a seizure from her 6th month vaccines, my thoughts about vaccines really changed.  If she were little now, we would skip the vaccines (and the doctor’s check-ups).

     These are some of the reasons why:

     Several of the vaccines routinely given to children have been grown from aborted fetuses.  Besides the ethical questions, and how disgustingly sick that is, there are questions about genetic material from the aborted fetus being passed on through the vaccine.  They do not know what problems that might cause.

     Go here http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/abortedtissue.htm  to find out more about this disturbing fact.

    Vaccines have been linked to Autism.   iHealthTube videos discusses Vaccinations linked to rise in Autism:

http://ihealthtube.com/aspx/search.aspx?s=autism%20and%20vaccines

Here is an interesting video on what mercury does to brain cells, ( adults as well as children’s)

     The other day, I posted about experiments to modify seeds with vaccines.

      Did you know that some vaccines containing birth control have been given to women of childbearing age without informing the women?

Here is a link to an interesting blog about it by my friend Kelly:

http://www.generationcedar.com/main/2009/07/population-control-through-tetanus-vaccine.html

     This is a lot to think about.  But isn’t it better to have the information before the injection?

Blessings,

Marcie

What!! ! Not drink their milk?  Well, Katie has been at it again, this time reading about genentic modification of milk.  Yes, milk.

    Back in 1993, Monsanto was granted permission by the FDA to market Bovine Growth Hormone known as BGH or BST.  This hormone is given to cause cows to produce 25% more milk.  Bovine Growth Hormone is a naturally occurring hormone.  Researchers took this gene and spliced it with E. coli bacteria in order for it to reproduce.  After the desired reproduction occurs, the bacteria is killed off  and the BGH/BST is harvested.

   What are the results of this growth hormone?  For the cows, the increased milk production causes udder infections.  This leads to cows being given antibiotics.

     How does this affect the milk?  Milk from cows given growth hormones has been found to have more puss in it from the udder infections.    Another substance, IGF-1 has been found to increase in milk from these cows.  There are possible links between IGF-1 and cancer.  Also, antibiotics are in the milk.

     A friend of mine recently told me about a 25 year old young woman suffering from breast cancer.  This cancer was thought to be related to growth hormones.  I have noticed if I’m not careful about the dairy products I use,  they cause a migraine headache.  Other health problems associated with pasterized and or homogenized milk are degenerative arthitis, heart disease, cateract, and failure to thrive.  Want to learn more?  The Milk Book  is a good source.

 Also, this website has some interesting information. 

 http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/bgh.htm

     The Lord talked of milk as a blessing ” A land flowing with milk and honey”.  If available, we do enjoy the blessing of “real” milk; fresh and raw.  Otherwise, we are fortunate enough to have a local dairy that does not use growth hormones or homogenize their milk.   Ask around.  You may be surprised at what is available.  And then, go ahead and drink your milk.

Blessings,

Marcie     

From Smithsonian Institution Libraries

“I call on heaven and earth as witnesses today that I have offered you life or death, blessings or curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants will live.”  Deuteronomy 30:19

     Science has provided many wonderful blessings.  Take computers, for instance.  Science has also provided many curses.  Take genetically modified seeds, for instance.

     Back in 1998, a new genetic technology was patented by Monsanto that causes plants to poison and kill their own seeds.  This is a 3 part process. 

     Three new genes are inserted into a plant.  One codes for a toxin that can kill seeds.  Another DNA blocks production of the toxin.  Before seeds are sold, they are treated with another solution that removes the gene that blocks the toxin.  As the plants from these seeds grow,  the toxin is produced.  This causes the new seeds produced by the plants to die, making it impossible for the farmer to harvest seeds for next year’s crops.

     Farmers then have to purchase new seeds each year.  The seed supply is left in the control of the seed companies.  Can you see a danger here?

     We do look for non-gm’d seeds to grow  in our garden.  The dogs love them!    (We did get to enjoy the eggplant and okra.)   I’m excited about harvesting my first seeds from the okra.  Seed harvesting has been very intimidating to me.  Gardening has been intimidating!   Here is a video I found to show me how to harvest okra seed:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4546227_glean-okra-seeds.html

     There are lots of seed companies today who are dedicated to preserving seeds that “reproduce after their own kind.”    Seeds of Change and Baker’s Creek are to companies I have purchased from.   

     I would love to know what seeds you have harvested and how you did it.  I’ll try to let you know how the okra seed harvesting goes.

Marcie

Meet Ellie Cate and Josie Claire!

       Robin and Scott are dear friends of ours.  I am so humbled by them.   They take seriously the Lord’s words “Suffer the little children to come unto Me.”   Here is a video of their lastest family additions.  

     Robin and Scott have 5 biological children, 4 more in heaven, Joseph from Liberia and have welcomed home the twins this week.

     We cried and prayed with them as they anticipated the adoption of Joseph.  Joseph was in great need of heart surgery.  Robin miscarried while in Liberia bringing Joseph home.  She and Scott stood in awe of God’s amazing provisions, provisions only He knew would be needed. 

     We cried with them  as they endured the loss of William one month before his due date several months ago.  It is hard to imagine the grieving of this beautiful family that loves children so much, but they hang on to the Lord.  “God is faithful,…though He slay me, yet will I trust Him”  their cry.

     Only God could fill those empty arms as He has this week.  Praise His Holy Name!

Marcie