2013/03/31

Easter Sunday 2013 Pictures.

We didn't go to church, but we wore our fine clothes and celebrated in typical Reynolds Fashion.








Biscuits!

It's not the kind you may think of when a Southerner pulls a mass of flaky golden goodness from the oven.. It's the kind I want you to envision a Northerner pulling from the oven on a cool, Spring Day. It's golden and flaky and puffy from the yeast. It's the kind the Mother tells her daughter about while the daughter of the daughter is in labor with her 3rd child. It's the kind of recipe that gets handwritten in the laboring daughters cherished family cookbook. She comes home from the hospital, heals up and when granted energy from God once again.. She opens her cookbook and there it is! Written by her mother; passed down from her Grandmother. A treasure.

Biscuits
From the kitchen of Nanny
Written on March 9, 2001 by my precious mother while she was caring for a 4 year old Colby and 2 year old Jackie. I was in labor. Jake was eating a whopper.

Proof Yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp. sugar
2 pkgs yeast or 4.5 tsp

In Mixer
1 and 1/2 cups lukewarm buttermilk. (do no overheat-it will separate)
1/4 cup oil
Add the yeast mixture from above
4 and 1/2 cups of flour- Level Measures
3 TBSP Sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix and let set for 10 minutes

Roll to 1 inch thickness then cut into biscuits, put on a tin. Brush tops with shortening and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they're golden brown.

Serve up with honey butter.


2013/03/30

It's Saturday Evening. It is Finished.

Such a lovely week it's been. This Spring Break turned out not as I had expected. I truly saw myself achieving much in the garden; through weeding, clipping back our wild bushes, loosening up the compost bin, and planting. Instead I cooked yummy foods for my people who didn't feel well. I ran errands alone and had chick fil a twice. The flu left Jake sometime Thursday pm. Colby, Libby, Samuel, Silas, Benjamin, and Hazel all had mild variations of it compared to their poppa. We were thankful. The older boys took it harder than their siblings with fatigue being the biggest complaint. 

Unfortunately, I don't see church being an option in the morning. Frankly, there's too much snot to keep it all contained. That's okay though. Christ has Risen! He will come again and we will worship Him tomorrow. Missing church is not our habit, we think it's unhealthy to be left to our own devices, but this is an exception. We will glorify the King of Kings, He is our Lord of Lords. We live our life the way we do because of His mighty, forgiving, awesome work that's been done for us and all of mankind 2000 years ago. The tomb was left barren and Heaven is full!

We look to Christ's coming again. We look to being rid of our dead bodies and longingly await the new resurrected ones. We are so thankful for our Christ. For our first-fruit of what's to come! God bless you all, dearest family and friends. May your Easter Sunday be full of praise for the Risen King. May your afternoons overflow with full vats and crowded plates. May you laugh at the little joys in your life and thank the Risen Savior for all of it!

XO,
Christie


2013/03/25

Spring Breaking (Monday edition.. No promises for any other updates, though my intent is to update)

We've only waited since last year this time for Spring Break to come again. Jake has taken the week off work. For months now I've been formulating in my mind all the wonderful things I'd accomplish. I'm here to inform you that's it's the end of our first Spring Break day, Monday.. Have I accomplished anything? No, no, and no! Have I cooked, read to my littles, made the bed, showered, spanked, and loved on my family? Yes, yes, and yes!

Jake is home, but with the flu. Not the stomach bug... people that's not the flu.. But with what seems to be the real deal. Instead of sunshine and warm weather I woke up to 5 inches of snow. Yippee. So, despite my best plans and my intentions they melt away. Praise be to God that I am to take joy in all things and delight in Him. God's plans never fail. So, though this Monday seems empty it was indeed quite full.

XO,
Christie

2013/03/17

Jackie Lynn is 14. Seriously FOURTEEN!

With Benjamin turning 12 that meant the inevitable; Jackie was going to turn 14. I absolutely can't believe it. I remember feeling shocked when Colby hit that age, but Jackie? It was only yesterday...

Shopping for a girl comes easy to me, but when it's your daughter you don't want ease, no you want thoughtful and fitting and just right and something that's so her.. How to choose the right gift, without overdoing it and without spoiling, but yes, spoiling and making it perfect and making it worth remembering. Enter, Jake. The man is an amazing father. He knew just what to get and he found the perfect gift. A pair of earrings with her birthstone. Aquamarine suddenly became quite precious. How to choose a setting that best fits a girl with such a timelessness about her? Jake had no trouble. Somehow her earrings sum her up; classic, beautiful, lovely, and one of a kind. 

The party was a bit calmer than Benjamin's. We had to wait for her to finish her evening ballet class. A simple meal, but highly requested, Pasta Alla Amatriciana with a side of french bread. Of course the cake was Red Velvet with Magic Frosting. We celebrated and sang and hugged and kissed our birthday girl. We love her so much!

Sweetness.

Beautiful.

14 candles suddenly extinguished. 
Jackie, you never cease to amaze us. The Lord has worked so preciously in you. We delight in the young woman you are becoming. May you continue to flourish in the repenting of sin and the delighting of Spiritual things. May you continue to strike the balance between sports and school. May you grow ever more lovely and even more humble. We love you and praise God for your life. Happy 14th birthday darling!

Benjamin is 12 (A post complete with run-on Sentences!)

With the ushering in of the month and the great snowstorm we waited eagerly for, but didn't think would ever happen, but eventually did happen.. March 9th was here before we knew it. For some reason or another Benjamin's birthday tends to do that to me every year. We were super excited for his day. For one thing, the said snowstorm came 3 days prior and the 7 plus inches it brought with it eagerly melted away (for the most part). Our power which left us had returned and the Airsoft Party we'd all been super duper excited for was really going to happen. 

A week prior we'd taken in the pleasure of ordering an Airsoft Gun for the young man. It was only fitting that Benjamin should have a gun being that his party was an Airsoft Party and he would have been the only boy without the said party gun. So, the gun came, it was unwrapped, Colby was jealous and there were audible gasps of delight from the party-goers. We'd done good. I set out a table of requested snacks and the boys played hard all day long. From 1:30 to 5:00 I didn't see the young men much. Every now and again there were streaks of camouflage dashing across the front yard and there were bushes unusually swaying and some up and moving.. Now and again there'd be a plea, "Need more popcorn!" or "Any more oranges?" It was an easy day. 

For the young man's birthday dinner he'd requested Spaghetti and Meatballs. We went ahead and invited all the party-goers parents and families to come back for dinner since we live far in the country and with the party ending around dinner hour we didn't want people getting home too late with the dreaded Spring Ahead time change occurring the coming sleep cycle. Yes, all went well. Lemon cake with candied lemon slices was the cake choice and it was an easy fix. With the exception of a few slices of the cake; by the end of the day 9 quarts of sauce, 4 pounds of spaghetti, 2 loaves of sourdough, 2 loaves of french bread, one large salad, many gallons of water, 2 bottles of wine, and a sheet cake were gone. No one complained, everyone rejoiced, no one cried, everyone sang. It was a fabulous day of celebrating our fine, young man. 

The girls hid inside with me, where it was safe, dry, and comfortable and without the stinging of Airsoft Pellets.

The Competitors. (excluding Libby and Samuel.)

Our young man. 12 candles,  many friends, lots of family. Perfect.
We praise God for giving us the life of Benjamin James. We pray we'll continue to Shepherd and Steward this boy well. We are blessed to be your parents, Benjamin. We pray you'll continue to grow in godliness, in stature, in obedience to the Lord our God. We love you with all our hearts! Happy 12th year of life young man! 

2013/03/08

Smell me, Smell me. It's about the Laundry.

A year ago November, that adds up to 16 months ago, I started making homemade laundry detergent. I read about it through a heap of emails a bunch of homeschool moms were throwing around. It sounded very intriguing to me because I had come to this place in my laundry life where I was sick of using FAB and had issue with TIDE. So, I tried out Meyers and few other organic laundry soaps. None of them really excited me and as a matter of fact the amount of laundry going through the laundry room and in and out of my hands and on and off the table was mind boggling.

So, I set out to conquer the laundry soap fiasco. I dug around and discovered the Duggar Family recipe for laundry soap. It's listed on their webpage. Anywhoo, the exciting thing about it is that I can scent the laundry soap with my essential oils making it smell just as I please. The other huge and extremely exciting thing is that by using the homemade soap vice the store bought soap I'd be saving a $1000+ in a 5 year period. I was very skeptical of the soap at first because I'd always heard stories that it wouldn't work and my clothes would stink and yadda yadda yadda. Whatever. As a mom to numerous children I've discovered that it only takes a couple months for a kid to destroy a once beautifully perfect, crafted article of clothing. Clothes are made for a purpose. To cover ones body and to protect from the elements. Be it the cold, the heat, the wet, the sun, etc. My mission as a mom is to be sure the drawers are full of clean clothes.

What did I have to lose? I gave it a go and the laundry soap has been working like a charm and we are all wearing very clean clothes. I have noticed that the only fabric that tends to have difficulty smelling right would be those polyester character pajamas that children wear to bed. Everything else is fine. Our clothes are clean and smell great. I've been very pleased with the soap; the labor involved is small and worth the savings and the feeling of having made it myself. I do pre-treat stains with resolve, but I always did that.

I also have been encouraged that our soap is effective even in the awful water we have at our home. We frequently have bouts of light brown water. We are on a well and there are times the water is tinged. It's normal for well users in these parts from what I've been told due to the bright red, clay-like dirt underneath us. The laundry soap is effective even still and this makes me quite pleased. If you're interested in the recipe it will be linked below. Much love and happy soaping!

Duggar Family Liquid Laundry Soap

So, I was just over at the Duggar website and they have recipes for fabric softener. I'm so excited! More savings in our pocket.