Chinese Pork Chops for the Crock Pot

This recipe takes just a couple of minutes to assemble and it is so yummy.

Whisk together:
1/4 tsp. brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 cloves of garlic, (or garlic powder)

Pour over pork chops in a crockpot. Cook on high for a couple of hours.
(Cooking times will vary according to your crockpot.)

Autumn Fires

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer,
Fires in the fall!

Come Let Us Adore Him

A dear friend gave me the book Come Let Us Adore Him ~ stories behind the most cherished Christmas Hymns, written by Robert J. Morgan. Each morning as we begin our day, the children and I are reading about one hymn. Today our hymn was "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" by Martin Luther. The story tells of how Luther came to be married. Soon he and Katharina had a little boy. When the little Hans was five years old his father wrote the above mentioned hymn for the child. Each year as the family celebrated the birth of Jesus, they sang the hymn.

I especially like this quote by Martin Luther~
"The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding." And it is truly amazing, isn't it?!

Influence

This I learned from the shadow of a tree,
That to and fro did sway against a wall,
Our shadow selves, our influence, may fall
Where we ourselves can never be.
~Anna Hamilton

Happiness

The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do. ~ Sir James M. Barrie

Frugal Friday

It's Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood. I love reading the tips from the thrifty homemakers!

I have been able to save money by buying my spices at our local health food store. The quality is far superior than anything you buy in a bottle. I buy pound bags of spices that I use often, such as cinnamon. Other spices I purchase from their bulk section. I just ask for as many ounces as I need.

Recently, I was purchasing the ingredients for a new Asian dish that I wanted to try. I needed seseme seeds but our health food store was already closed. McComick was selling a 1.9 oz. bottle for $3.69. I just couldn't make myself do it. I waited and purchased a pound at my health food store for under $2.00.

I have friends who purchase some of their spices online. Do you have any online businesses that sell spices that you really love?

A friend's encouraging words

I had mentioned to some friends that I'm really not that great about decorating and dressing up my home with the seasons. My friend, Abby, who has successfully raised three children, sent me this poem:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,

For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.

I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Thanks, Abby! You're a breath of fresh air to this mommy!

Friends

We must love our friends for their sakes rather than our own. ~ Charlotte Bronte

Another Favorite Hymn

Is a person allowed to have a new "favorite" hymn, oh, maybe every week or so? How could you help it? Here's my recent favorite, written by M.J. Harris.

I Will Praise Him

When I saw the cleansing fountain
Open wide for all my sin,
I obeyed the Spirit's wooing,
When He said, Wilt thou be clean?

I will praise Him! I will praise Him!
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory, all ye people,
For His blood can wash away each stain.

Tho' the way seems straight and narrow,
All I claimed was swept away;
My ambitions, plans, and wishes,
At my feet in ashes lay.

Then God's fire upon the altar
Of my heart was set a-flame;
I shall never cease to praise Him,
Glory, glory to His name!

Blessed be the name of Jesus!
I'm so glad He took me in;
He's forgiven my transgressions,
He has cleansed my heart from sin.

Glory, glory to the Father!
Glory, glory to the Son!
Glory, glory to the Spirit!
Glory to the Three in One!

I will praise Him! I will praise Him!
Praise the Lamb for sinners slain;
Give Him glory, all ye people,
For His blood can wash away each stain.

I'm so thankful for music. I love the richness of hymns. I love it when a group of God's people sing them together and you know that Jesus is among you. That happened today at our church and what a blessing it was to my heart! I love hearing my best friend, my husband, sing these hymns. I could listen to him for hours. Tonight I rejoice in my Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Lamb who was slain for me and you! Praise His holy name!

My Little Man

 

Down Home Recipes

For down home cooking, I enjoy Tammy's Recipes . She updates her site regularly. There's always something new and exciting to try. Many times I already have the ingredients on my shelves.

We especially love the Apple Crisp! :)

Enjoy!

Our faith is a treausured heritage not a contemporary experiment. ~ Clarence Sexton

One cannot obtain a Christlike character for nothing; one cannot do a Christlike work save at a great price. ~ Howard Taylor, son of J. Hudson Taylor

Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing. ~ J. Hudson Taylor

Have you been to the library this week?

We love the library!!!

We check out tons of books each week. We also check out family friendly movies and educational DVDs. I also love the books on CD. We spend alot of time in the car listening to books on CD. We've recently enjoyed Stories of the Pilgrims and 1776.

We've saved hundreds of dollars throughout the years just by using our library!

Visit Biblical Womanhood for more fun ideas on saving!

Summer Bounty

My Baby

He's grown so fast. The months have flown by! Yesterday I just had to cry as I held him. He'd crawled over to me and pulled up on my skirt to a standing position. Why did this time have to go by so quickly?!

Oh, what joy he brings to our family! 

My soon-to-be sister!

She'll be an awesome aunt to my children! They already adore her! 

Market Fresh Hash

This is such an easy supper and yummy, too!

4 strips of thick bacon
1 medium purple onion
2 potatoes
1 red bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1 soft green scallop squash
sea salt to taste
dash of pepper

Fry the bacon. Remove bacon from pan but leave the bacon grease in the pan. Add chopped onion and potatoes. Cook until potato is partially cooked through. Add the remainder of the ingredients that have been chopped to uniform size. Season to taste. I enjoy adding various fresh herbs.

We enjoy this as a simple supper. It would be excellent as a breakfast food with fried eggs!
Here's the breakdown of what it cost to fix this dish.
bacon-(.50) onion (.33) potatoes (.20) red bell pepper (.50) jalapeno (.03) squash (.33)= $1.89

Summer Beauty

 

So true

"When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes"

Erasmus

The Wild West

The Wild West is here, in fact, it's right here in my livingroom! How I love to watch my children play. Micah is writing a book. Of course, he needs to illustrate the book! The project is in full swing.

Oh, the simple joys of childhood!

The Greatest Promise

I love this hymn!

Once far from God and dead in sin,
No light my heart could see;
But in God’s Word the light I found,
Now Christ liveth in me.

Christ liveth in me,
Christ liveth in me,
Oh! what a salvation this,
That Christ liveth in me.

As rays of light from yonder sun,
The flowers of earth set free,
So life and light and love came forth
From Christ living in me.

As lives the flower within the seed,
As in the cone the tree,
So, praise the God of truth and grace,
His Spirit dwelleth in me.

With longing all my heart is filled,
That like Him I may be,
As on the wondrous thought I dwell
That Christ liveth in me.

The Promise in a Seed

Our seeds were waiting in the mail on Monday. We're impressed with how quickly they arrived! Baker Creek sent along a very nice 14 page planting guide. They also included a free gift with our order, an 1880's heirloom Brandywine Tomato seed packet.

Here's our list of seeds:
Strawberry Spinach
Ground Cherry (Strawberry Husk)
Thai Green Pea (a type of eggplant)
Mizuna (Oriental greens)
Japanese Long (cucumber)
Orangeglo (watermelon)
Early Prolific Straightneck (summer squash)
Taiwan Black (long bean - 38 in.!!!)

Dreams for our Garden

This morning Nathan filled out our seed order. We all put in our requests. All I had to do was call and place the order with the friendly staff at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. You can visit their catalog at rareseeds.com. A couple of years ago we attended their Spring Festival. What fun! We love all of their unique varieties.

~Our raised beds a couple of years ago~

Midnight Visitor

This little guy visited our back deck several times last night. He really didn't seem to mind that I was taking his picture.
Finally, around 1:00, I moved the dog food bin inside. I was half afraid he might try the door! Isn't he almost cute?

A Princess

Kiersten is a Princess. Grandpa teaches her that she's the Princess and Jesus is the King. Kiersten loves to say she's the Princess and her daddy is the King.

Brothers

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
~ Proverbs 17:17

 

We love the library!

 

Grandpa

"Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers." ~ Proverbs 17:6

Zeke finally met his Great-Grandpa Green this past weekend. Great-Grandpa always has time to hold the babies! He even fed Zeke. Great-Grandpa's 86 years have not made him "old". He always has time for others. All of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren know they are loved! He is blessed with 2 sons, 8 grandsons, 4 great-grandsons, 2 great-granddaughters, and another great-granddaughter on the way! As Zeke's mommy, I'm so very thankful for the Godly heritage Great-Grandpa is passing on to him!