Solomon Homestead

DECEMBER

A country boy can survive

Well, he did it again!  2 more!!! ~~Way to go~~

Limit here is 6 deer so he's already half done.  If he gets anymore I think we'll give them away.  He's still hoping for a big rack to put on the wall though!

What’s Been Coking in my Kitchen?

 

 

While I was cooking up my soups Leanne and Sierra made a triple batch of apple cinnamon muffins. I bought a 20lb box of organic Fuji apples on my last Azure order and have been working to use them up. We have eaten a lot of apples, made 3 apple pies and now 3 dozen muffins. The box is almost gone now..  

 

I don’t have a recipe for her coffee creations printed down yet.. maybe someday! 

That is all the cooking for today!!  Hope you all have had a pleasant and blessed Sunday on your homesteads!

Prayers for Jeanine Taylor and Family

Could you all pray for Jeanine and her family, they were so kind to us when we were expecting Daniel and they are experiencing a miscarriage. This is so hard on the children as well they were so excited as they had lost one baby stillborn in 2007.  Their excitedness when we were expecting daniel was shown in pictures drawen and the gifts sent to us.  I can only imagine how hard this is on the whole family. Please pray for her to be able to pass everything on her own and that all will be well physically and that the Lord would heal their hearts.

Jeanine, I am here praying if you read this know that I am so sorry and yet I am so thankful to you Sis.

Your loved and cared for....

Linda, Mark, Faith, Hope, Daniel Josiah...

Our Little Country Church...

At the end of a country gravel road sits a 110 yr old country church......it's a small, simple church..... just one room... no bathroom ( there's an outhouse!) I feel blessed that my family attends this little church...... where the Bible is still preached each and every Sunday and where the Hymns of our faith continue to be sung by the young, the middle aged and the elderly...... It's a humble little place...... no big praise bands here.... no fancy awanas programs or children's worship service.......

What you will see though is young families as well as elderly couples praising God and praying.  You will see the young children sitting with their parents as there is no "children's church" here..... nope, this is a family integrated church..... that means church is held like it was 100 yrs ago before the Sunday School programs came into style.

I am blessed to have a pastor that believes children learn to worship best by worshipping with their parents.... that no child is too young to sit under the teaching of God's authoritive word.

We may be few in numbers, we may be humble farmers , carpenters and laymen..... but we love the Lord and seek to worship Him in Spirit & truth.......

These little country churches dot the midwest...... these churches were the backbone of America once a long time ago...... the farm families that lived in this area all attended this church... communities would gather in their local church for worship, and for fellowship........

I truly feel like I am a part of history ...... 4 years ago this church was ready to close it's doors.... there was just 3 elderly couples attending.... then my pastor felt called of God to come pastor this church..... and now 4 yrs later we have about 40 people attending... we are still small in numbers, but children are now raising their voices to sing Amazing Grace once again....

Another generation of Christian families are coming to hear God's infalliable word.......

Oh sure, we could be driving into the city to attend the new mega church with all the fancy programs for kids, teens and moms........we could be listening to the praise bands.....

But you know what? I really love our little church...... we know everyone, it's "home"..... but more than that I know that each Sunday I will hear God's word preached.... not a sermon, or a 10 minute talk, but our bibles are opened up and we dig into God's word......

I am so thankful for our little country church at the end of the gravel road......

Praising Him,

gloria

And so it begins

Tomorrow is December 1st and with that begins the gift giving for me. I not only have Christmas gifts to purchase but I also have over a dozen or so birthdays, including my husband and three kids. This madness will continue untill my dd's  26th birthday on January 31st. There is almost one every week with 2 nephews, 1 niece, my 3  kids, one dh, 2 brothers in law, a mother in law, a brother, a best friend,  and a cousin or two for good measure.  With times being the way they are, some of these special people will get some baked goods and maybe a card or two.  All this gift giving also comes with a whole lot of baking added in too. That's not too good for someone who is on a diet, ME. I think that's going to be the toughest of all things to handle, not being able to eat cake and other goodies. Oh oh.

   Well the weekend was a rainy one for a couple of days, so Zach and I decided it was a good time to take out the Christmas decorations and do up the house.  I ended up going through each box and decided that I had way too much "stuff", so I've put aside a car trunk full of thrift store donations. It's all still good stuff that I hope someone else might need. I tend to keep ALL the handmade thing-a-ma-jigs that the kiddos made growing up. You know how that is, you just can't let go of those. That's the stuff you give to your new son and daughters in law. LOL I can't wait for that.

   I waited untill today to do the outside of the house. I had to go get some new red ribbon and bows for the porch post. I love the red, green,  and white look of decorations. I'm not much for shinny items or too many lights. I don't remember the last time I put lights on the outside of the house, probably years ago when my son Eric was helping and climbing the ladder for me.  Since I broke my foot five years ago, I do not climb up anything higher than a chair, and even that gives me the willys. LOL.

   Well everyone has finished supper, so I'll head off to do some dishes. Then later I think I  will pop some popcorn and catch a Christmas movie or two. I saw White Christmas last night, LOVED it.

Gift Card Buyers, BEWARE !!!!!!!!

Hey ,Ladies I recieved an email today about gift cards .Don't Buy Them This Year as a Gift !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alot of BIG Store's are CLOSING after the Holidays !!!!!!!!!!!! Your gift cards want be honored if the one you pick is Closing For Good due to the ever Changing  Economy. I'm sure we all will be hearing more about this subject as this year ends .The stores are trying to make money during the holidays . They are  stocking up on our money to get them throught , and draining the low and middle class Folks .So ,it might be a good idea this Christmas ,to Share the most important gift  of all LOVE . Having an old Fashioned Christmas ,baking ,cooking ,crafts ,and spending TIME with love one's. Which is really what our Children want and need from their Family .Time spent with them !!!!!!!!!!!! I hope everyone had a blessed family gathering this Thanksgiving .See ya all later , Shaune  

The day after Thanks Giving

Happy Birthday JR!

The Old Fashioned Parlor

Long ago,  "the parlor" was a place where the family would gather after a busy day of hard work..... a place where families would gather to sing a song around the piano as mother or sister played a tune.... a place where the family would sit and listen to the radio for hours of enjoyment......

Does your home have such a place?

In our old 110 yr old farmhouse we have such a room...... we have tried to recreate some of that "old fashioned" wholesomeness that just can't be found in the modern homes of today.... our parlor serves many purposes in our family. It is the place where I meet the Lord each morning.... as the sun streams in thru the windows in the morning... it is the place I gather my children together for prayer, for worship, and for our daily bible readings...... it is the place we play games, sing songs, and it is the place where I sit at the end of the day to read aloud to my children..........

There's the piano where my beautiful daughter hannah often sits for hours and plays, while we sing and lift our voices......we even have an old fashioned radio that we enjoy....... it plays CD's too...

Then there's the comfort of sitting and enjoying each other's company......I guess I could have gone with a more "modern" decor.... but I oh so wanted to "recreate" yesteryear.......lace curtains don the windows..... doiles on the couches....... a crocheted afghan to place on cold knees......we draped the walls with an old fashioned wallpaper similiar to the one the walls originally had......

It's wonderful to see the house a glow from a distance..... the lamps turned on to elude a shining warmth emanating from the front room that houses our "parlor"......

My 15 yr old son and I were in the city last week and he noticed that the houses all appeared so dark......so few were lit at dusk........ he mentioned to me how much he loved driving up to our old farmhouse to see the whole house lit up....... I reminded him that many families have both mom & dad working, so no one is home to "turn on the lights" sort of speak......

I hope that as home keepers we  may never doubt the work we do in our homes to keep the "lights on" in our homes and hearts......... to make room in our busy lives for time to gather to share, to sing..... to pray, to worship........ to listen , to laugh and to "be" together as families, surrounded by our loved ones.

As my children grow & mature, they now share with me how very important this role is in their lives...... how much comfort they take that there is a place called "home" that they know will always have the lights on ,  waiting for them with open arms....

This is the essense of being a home keeper......

May God bless each of you as you keep your home fires bright & burning!

~ gloria ~