Thunder Snowstorm - February 21, 1013

16 Things I love about Chloe

1.  You are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside.
2.  Love your creativity.
3.  Love your red hair.
4.  Good imagination.
5.  Love how you just get sweeter every year.
6.  You study hard--get good grades.
7.  My Chloe is not afraid to reach for the stars!
8.  You are confident in your abilities.
9.  You make me smile.
10.You make me laugh.
11 You are not afraid to say what you think.
12. You are so smart!
13. Your hair smells good.
14. You look good in high heels.
15. You are determined.
16. The sparkle in your eyes!
One more thing...proud of you for winning the $500 grant to go to the art study in Georgia!

Ya Just Gotta Love Sophie

I found this on my phone from a while back.  I don't know what is going on with that other one.  She looks kind of mad.

Happy Birthday, Sophie❤

Sophie is 7!

7 Things I love about Sophie:

1.  I love her creative and artistic side
2.  I love her beautiful face
3.  I'm glad she has a great imagination
4.  I love it that she is deeply spiritual and writes spiritual songs
5.  I love her quiet spirit
6.  The way she giggles makes me smile
7.  I love it when she plays her violin

Zwiebach Recipe

Mom's Zwiebach Recipe

Dissolve yeast:

1/3 c. warm water

1 t. sugar

2 pkg. yeast

1/4 c. flour

Set aside until foamy.

2 c. milk
1/2 c. butter
1 T. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
Warm milk and add butter, salt & brown sugar; cool.

Add 2 c. of flour to the milk mixture, then add yeast mixture and beat until smooth.  Add enough flour for a smooth dough but not as firm as bread (3-4 cups of flour).  Use a total of about 5-6 cups of flour in the entire recipe.  (I use the dough hook at this point to knead the flour in.)
(I think it is really important to use King Arthur flour~makes everything turn out better.)

Let rise until doubled in bulk, knead down, let rise again and punch down thoroughly.  Let rise again and form into zwiebach (the lower half larger than the upper half).  Set the zwiebach far enough apart so they will not touch each other.  Let rise until light.  Bake in a 425 degree oven till browned about 15 minutes.
This recipe makes 2 dozen zwiebachs~~most of the recipes I have looked at use around 10-12 cups of flour and make 8 dozen.

I remember Mom telling me that when they would get together with their cousins that they would serve zwiebachs in bushel baskets.  She also told me that to make really good zwiebachs, you had to make them every Saturday.  On the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog, they say that you can't say exactly how much flour to add, because it just doesn't work that way.  You have to go by the way the dough feels.  If the dough is too soft, the tops don't stay on.  The good thing was that meant they were softer and light as marshmallows.  Get too much flour in the dough and they are too dry.  Mom also believed in getting them good and brown.  Wow, I remember her making them and letting me eat as many as I wanted.  I got so spoiled that I would only eat them right after she baked them.  Wouldn't even touch them on Sundays.  Day-old goods by then.  She always had some in her purse for Matt, Melanie, Aaron and Annie on Sunday mornings and they would eat them during church.  How she loved spoiling all of us with her roast beef dinners and pies and cakes.
Those were the good old days!

Moving to the Farm

We are trying to get unpacked and get things put into place.  It will take a while...

Basement photos--we are starting to work down there now:

Lili's Preschool Christmas Program

Pictures from the almost finished project!

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.
                                                        ~a hymn by Jan Struther, 1931

Fun Green Beans

Instead of french fried onions by French's, we had Funion green beans.  Made our Thanksgiving a LOT more FUN!

Grandies

Love this quote about family...

"Family isn't always blood.
It's the people in your life who want you in theirs;
the ones who accept you for who you are.
The ones who would do anything to see you smile
and who love you no matter what."  ~unknown

Pinterest: Fail or Win?

Cheesy Enchilada Stack

I don't know why I thought 6 tortillas could stay stacked in a neat little heap when I had to add 2 cans of enchilada sauce, a can of refried beans,  & 2 cans of green chilies. Then I put cheese on each layer, creating a natural slide.  It was beautiful before I covered it with foil and put it in the oven.  But it wasn't a total FAIL because it still tasted great!  Next time I will put it in a round pan with sides to hold it together.  The pinterest recipe said to put the stack on a baking sheet, so I did--even though I knew it was a precarious situation.

My inspiration:
http://pinterest.com/pin/276619602083857202/

My kitchen is coming along!

Miles is 3❤

The boy and his dog:

 What is Scout doing?

 Zamma & Miles

 Miles on his new bike

 Miles & Mason

 Eating icing

 Only eating the icing~with his cousin, Annique

Building a New House~

Sun porch~yea!

Looks like a house made of sticks:

Looking at the living room from the kitchen:

I've got windows!!

We've got bricks:

Our house is going just to the right of the grove of trees in the middle~