She's Home!!

We thought Hannah would have to stay at the hospital overnight.  That was the case five years ago when she went for the same surgery.  I guess since she's older and with the miracle of modern medicine (*wink*) it was an outpatient surgery. 
 
Her arm is still quite numb and she just took her pain medicine so hopefully it will work well when her nerve block wears off.  She goes back down to Indy July 13th for a check up and further instructions with her external fixator (for now we have to keep it dry and bandaged).  She's quite tired and will be resting with her arm elevated for a few days.  Thank you all so much for your prayers!  Please continue to pray for healing in her arm and that the external fixator will do the trick!

She still has yet to give me her dinner request but I have a feeling it might include pizza in the living room and a movie with the fam. 

So glad to have her home!

Prayers for Hannah

Early in the morning my dear hubby and his mom will be taking our Hannah down to Indianapolis for surgery on her arm (surgery is scheduled for 9:15 a.m.).

She's had this surgery before (about5 years ago) to correct a bone that isn't growing properly.  It's not growing again and it's hindering the use of her wrist.  It's her left arm and she's left handed. 


She absolutely loves playing the piano but can't spread her fingers apart for certain notes and she has problems with some fine motor skills with that hand as well.  The doctor will put an external fixator in her arm to help the bone grow. We're hoping and praying this helps.  I am a bit sad and anxious since I can't be there.  I have little Samuel who is nursing and he can't stay overnight at the hospital with us (nor would I want him to with all the hospital germs floating around) so my MIL is going with hubby for support and to keep him company. 

Since Hannah won't be able to use both hands/arms for a while she had to finish her 4-H projects ahead of time (with the exception of her foods project...biscuits...not sure how that's going to work out). 

 So before our trip out east she finished her pillow for sewing. 

And today she finished her cake decorating project. (Can I just say that Royal Icing and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love that the cake can be decorated so many weeks ahead of time (it's a styrofoam cake dummy), but I hate that it is a pain to work with...super thick!

Anywho...she's so happy that it's done and wanted me to share her finished project with you.


Please pray for safe travels, steady hands for her surgeon, and patience and peace for all of us.  Thanks so much!

This-n-That, a Giveaway and a Shamless Plug

Hey ya'll!  We've been busy here around the homestead since we got back from our vacation.  Unpacking, laundry, and tidying the house have kept us pretty busy.

One of the funniest moments of our trip was when one of our kiddos (who shall remain nameless) stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and said "I thought he'd be taller!".  *snort*

I've also been busy filling orders from my etsy shop!  Folks are loving the subway art signs!  (Only $18 for this sweet piece of encouragement! I can do custom color combinations, too!)

Speaking of my etsy shop ... Sasha over at Lemonade Makin' Mama is giving away a bunch of fun goodies.  Some of which include my yummy goat milk soaps made here in the Old House Kitchen! So hurry on over and enter the giveaway!  Tell her I sent ya! 

photo credit

We are also busy sprucing up the house since we'll be having company next week and hosting our church's small group for a 4th of July (on the 1st!) cookout.  We want the house to be in tip top shape! 

 photo credit

All this month I was saving up my magazines that I got in the mail so that I had some good reading on the drive out to New Jersey, to Maryland, and back, but it was so hard not to open them up and take a peak!  I was thankful that my Country Living magazine comes in a plastic wrapper!  Makes it a bit easier to resist, you know?!  I often post pictures from Country Living (with proper credit, of course!) because I love their photography!  Love. It!!!!  So I was so happy to see in my latest issue that they are having a blog contest!   So..please...pretty please if you ever would be so kind as to hop on over their and nominate yours truly?  I'd love ya for it!  (Shoot, I'd love ya either way, but I would definitely be super thankful!)

So hop on over to  Country Living and fill out the nomination form HERE (it's super quick and easy...painless, too!).  Please and thank you!  *wink*

Out and About

Hey there!  We have been so busy this last week!  We are headed back to home Friday.  It's hotter than all can be outside so the kids are resting and watching a video so I thought I would share some of our adventures with you!

First we enjoyed a lovely wedding last weekend...my hubby's brother, Ryan to his lovely wife, Kathleen at an arboretum.

 Ryan, Kathleen, and hubby's parents.

 I got some pictures of the kiddos for our family albums.

One of the kiddos snapped a picture of hubby and myself.

Then we trekked down to Maryland (we used to live there) and stayed at a friend's house.  We visited our nation's capital...

Visited Baltimore's Inner Harbor....

 They were celebrating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812...

they had a lot of old looking ships in harbor to celebrate!

Federal Hill

Enjoyed a visit to Annapolis and ate at a yummy restaurant called Buddy's (it's on the harbor...lovely place!)

 The capital building in Annapolis.

Our eldest daughter being goofy with a crab we were about to eat.  They were yummy!

Samuel wishing he could have some!

Tomorrow we are visiting a mall that has a Lego store...all the buzz about the house!  The kids are super excited to go!  I'll be back next week with some recipe posts and the Etsy shop will be open again Saturday!  I have a few sign orders to make so if you'd like to add that to the mix visit the shop! 

Half Price Sale!

In honor of today being the first day of Summer 

(although it's seemed like summer here for months, am I right?) 

I am selling my e-book 

Summertime at the Homestead for 50% off 

the regular sale price of $9!!

That's less than $5, folks!  ($4.50 to be exact!)

Full of fun summer recipes, tips, and decorating ideas you don't want to miss out!

So hop on over HERE and order today!  

Use coupon code SUMMERFUN. 

This is a limited time (ends July 4th at midnight) so you won't want to miss out!  It will not go on sale again like this this summer!  Hurry!

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AND...

We're super busy this week so I won't have time to ship out any etsy orders so it's taking a little vacay for a few days.  It'll be open again on June 23rd see you then!

Winner and Etsy Sale!

Hey there ya'll!  I loved reading the comments on The Harvest Table giveaway post!  One thing about fall that I had forgotten about was from a reader who mentioned going to football games and watching the marching band. 

Hubby and I were in marching band.  He was lead trumpet and I was usually either 2nd or 3rd (no matter...I didn't like to play the solos so it worked for me!).  I was also Drum Major...I'm the person in the white on the left side.  We loved band!  There was something special about stepping out on that field!  *sigh* Oh Fall, how I love thee!


I digress...on to the giveaway, right?!

From Random.org our winner is...

Julie A. in Michigan  (The best state ever by the way!  *smile*)

I'll email you in a second to get your addy so I can send this yummy cookbook to you!

If you didn't win, don't worry, you can still get it at my Amazon shop HERE.

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ETSY SALE

Remember that tomorrow the 20% off sale at my Etsy site ends!  Coupon code:  DADDYSGIRL. Also, my shop will be taking a week or so off since we have a super busy schedule.  Don't worry, though, I'll keep ya'll updated with some pics of our endeavors! 

Caramel Apple Cake

This is another yummy Gooseberry Patch recipe from The Harvest Table cookbook!

Caramel Apple Cake

18-1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix
21-oz. can apple pie filling
2 eggs, beaten
12-oz. jar caramel ice cream topping, divided
Garnish: vanilla ice cream

Grease and flour a 13" x 9" baking pan and set aside.  In a bowl, combine dry cake mix, pie filling, eggs and 1/4 cup caramel topping.  Beat with an electric beater on low speed for one to 2 minutes, until blended.  Pour batter into baking pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.  Remove cake from oven.  Pour remaining caramel topping over cake and spread evenly.  Serve topped with ice cream.  Serves 8 to 10.

Notes: I just sprayed the pan with non-stick spray.  I beat it for 2 minutes. It served all 9 of us just fine with plenty left over.

This recipe got an all thumbs up!  It was deeeelish!  

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Don't forget to go HERE to register for the giveaway of this lovely cookbook!
(Ends tomorrow!)
 

Or purchase HERE.

My Dad and an Etsy Sale!

My dad would have celebrated his 72nd birthday today!  Instead almost 8 years ago he went home to be with Jesus after a 5 month struggle with cancer.  We miss him so much!

He was such a wonderful grandfather to our kiddos.  He loved to get on the floor and roll around and tickle them.  He enjoyed going camping with us and going on walks with the kiddos.  One year we went camping in Door County in Wisconsin.  Dad had left a box of (a-hem) prunes out on the picnic table in our screen room one night thinking they'd be fine. Ha!  He was so surprised (and quite angry!) that a raccoon had pilfered his prunes!  He was so angry at that raccoon!  It was hilarious!

He loved old cars, trains, watching big boats and fishing.  When my parents would come for a visit he would rave over the meals.  It was always such an encouragement for me to find something new that dad would enjoy (which wasn't that difficult).  I think I spent two days before they came preparing items for recipes in the kitchen!  He made me feel so special like I was Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray!

He was also a very good father-in-law to my honey.  He treated Nathan like he was his own.  He enjoyed doing whatever silly antics Nathan had planned. One year when we lived in Maryland Nathan talked my dad into wading in the ocean.  Well dad didn't see a little hole in the sand that the current had made.  He stepped down wrong and splash! he went in face first in the water.  It was hilarious!  After my dad got over the fact that his wallet was wet he was laughing sooo hard!  He had a great sense of humor...that's obvious!

If my daddy were alive today I know he'd be raving over the handmade goodies that I make and sell.  He'd also jokingly give me ideas of soap fragrances.  I can hear him now..."weedy meadow, chainsaw oil, gasoline...you know... "manly" smells".  *smile*

Happy Birthday Daddy!

In honor of my daddy I'm having a sale at my etsy shop now until next week Monday (June 11th).  Use code DADDYSGIRL for an extra 20% off all etsy shop items...even special orders!

Crumb Coffee Cake

This is another recipe from Gooseberry Patch's The Harvest Table.

Crumb Coffee Cake

1/2 c. butter
1-1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c. low-fat milk
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1-1/2 t. vanilla extract
Garnish: 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Line a 13"x9" baking pan with non-stick aluminum foil; set aside.  In a large bowl, blend butter and sugar.  Stir in eggs and milk; set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix flour and baking powder; add flour mixture to butter mixture.  Add vanilla; beat until combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Sprinkle Crumb Topping over cake batter with your hands, squeezing it together as you do.  Crumb Topping should be lumpy; there will be more topping than cake.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Cool for 15 to 20 minutes; top with powdered sugar.

Crumb Topping:
6 c. biscuit baking mix
2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar, packed
5 to 6 t. cinnamon
1-1/2 c. margarine

Combine biscuit mix, sugars and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Cut in margarine; combine with your hands until well mixed.

NOTES:  This coffee cake was super sweet.  Too sweet for me almost.  The kids loved it, but next time I'm going to make a double batch of the cake part and divide the crumb topping over the two coffee cakes.  I skipped the powdered sugar.  For the crumb topping I used Suzanne's baking mix recipe over HERE.  I used butter instead of margarine in the crumb topping.  I baked it for 40 minutes and then it cooled for 15.  I cut it and then pulled the cake out with the aluminum foil and put it on a cookie sheet to serve from.  It was quite gooey in the middle.  So in the oven it went for another 30 minutes. Ovens vary so the one who submitted this recipe to GBP might have had a hotter oven.  Next time I make it I'll skip the aluminum foil and grease the pan and bake for about an hour and let it cool 15 minutes.

The kiddos loved it!  "This is great, mom!"  "Well worth the wait!"  "Heavenly!"  That's all that counts, right?  *smile*

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Don't forget to go HERE to register for the giveaway of this lovely cookbook!  

Or purchase HERE.

Brown Sugar Muffins and a Gooseberry Patch Giveaway!

The lovely folks at Gooseberry Patch are at it again!  They've gone and invited me to host another giveaway!  Big hug and thanks to them!  This go-round it's The Harvest Table that is being given away!  Over 200 pages of yummy harvest time recipes and tips!

First, a recipe!  For my first recipe to review I chose a muffin recipe.  We're all about muffins around here lately since one of our kiddos is perfecting this apple muffin recipe to show for 4-H judging in July. 

Brown Sugar Muffins

1 c. quick-cooking oats, uncooked

1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1/4 c. butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 egg, beaten

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (we left those out)

2 t. baking powder

Mix oats, milk and brown sugar in a large bowl; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add butter and egg; blend well.  Stir in remaining ingredients just until moistened.  Fill greased muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes one dozen.

Notes:  I think these muffins were pretty good, but needed a little something.  Next time I'll add a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg.  And I'll use cupcake liners.  I greased the muffin tins like I always do and they still stuck.  I think it was all the brown sugar in them that caramelized and caused them to stick.  Because this is what I got...

However, on this blog, what counts most is that my 8 perpetually hungry kiddos loved them.

 Mission accomplished!

Baby doesn't quite count in that vote, yet so you only see 7 thumbs up! *wink*

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On to the giveaway!

   The Harvest Table: Welcome Autumn with Our Bountiful Collection of Scrumptious Seasonal Recipes, Helpful Tips and Heartwarming Memories

(click above link to order)

**GIVEAWAY**

*  *  *

Please be sure you leave something that distinguishes you from other
comments like "Carmen from northern Indiana". 

*   *   *

Entry 1

Since this cookbook is about Harvest time, 
leave a comment (in the comments at the end of the post) with your favorite Fall activity.

(I love Fall, Harvest, Autumn...whatever you want to call it!  I love it!  I think my favorite isn't really an activity more like a setting:   It's a little drizzly outside and the wind is lightly blowing and leaves are turned and swirling around.  A candle is lit and instrumental piano music playing is in the background.  The family is playing board games and enjoying any fall-ish recipe: Spiced Chai, Caramel Corn, Pumpkin Squares. Bliss!)

Entry 2

Share the link for this giveaway on Facebook.

Leave a separate comment (at the end of the post) telling me so. (Another entry)

Entry 3

Blog about this on your own site.

Leave the web addy in a separate comment (at the end of this post).

(Another entry)

Please be sure you leave something that distinguishes you from other comments like "Carmen from northern Indiana".

**All entries need to be a separate comment for drawing purposes.  I count up the total number of comments and then enter it into random.org.  Random.org picks a number then I count down to that number in the comment section.  If all entries are left in one comment unfortunately you will only get one entry.**

**Prize**

One blessed reader will win a copy of The Harvest Table!

** Giveaway starts now and ends Sunday, June 10th at midnight EST **
(winner will be announced on Monday, June 11th)

  
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Tune in soon for another yummy harvest recipe!