Fender Bender

Yesterday on her way to Bellingham, mama was in a little fender bender (in one of those ridiculous roundabouts of course!) Everyone is fine, and it wasn't her fault, but it caused us all to be so very thankful that it wasn't worse! The Lord is so good!

Our poor little Jetta car suffered the most, and we now drive a silver car with a bashed left corner and no hubcap on the left front wheel. Eeew. But it will be fixed when all the insurance companies calm down and decide who has to pay for what.

Oh, and they made it on the Bellingham Herald! :) I can't even find the article. It must be buried somewhere in local news, but mom read it, and said that they don't mention names or anything.
And there's only one really bad picture from a roundabout.

So that's been the buzz in the Clarkie house! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and stays safe during the left over holiday traffic!

Christmas Cookies and Decorating

Sorry I haven't been blogging lately, but I am subject to a crazy schedule (as we all are this time of year) But the time I haven't spent blogging has been spent in enjoyable holiday hubub and activities. Some of my favorite things to do at Christmas time are bake cookies, and decorate.
So... today was cookie bakin' day. Shortbread, Cherry Flips and Almond Roca for starters. (Yes you can make your own Almond Roca, oh so yummy!)

Oh umm..that's not Crisco...umm...really. OK, OK, it is Crisco shortening. But the ONLY time we use shortening is in Christmas cookies and lighter desserts were you can taste the lard. Promise!

Cherry mice and peanut butter thumbprints are up next.

Mrs. Williams gave me this adorable idea for holiday candle holders. Cranberries is canning jars with tea lights in the center. SO cute!

Ready for the tour? Welcome to the 'House of Christmas' as we like to call it. :)



Mom and Daddy's mistletoe. :) Like they needed another excuse...

The Christmas tree looks the same as it does every year, but our angel is on straight this year, this year we're not going to let her fly. :)

Hand crocheted angels made by my great-grandma for each of us girls.

My mother has hand embroidered each of our beautiful stockings.



So the tour wasn't that long right? Thanks for hangin' in there with me. This could very well be my last post until after Christmas, unless something absolutely incredible happens.

(i.e. It snows six feet, Ali sits on her Guinea pig, or I win the lottery. which would be amazing since I don't play the lottery)

It was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man posessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so as Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us, every one!" ~Charles Dickens

So Merry Christmas my dear blog readers!

Blessings this Christmas,

Emily

Weddings, Holidays and Shopping.

The ol' blog has been mighty silent lately. Weddings, company, Thanksgiving etc, have all conspired together against blogging. But at least here's a bit of what I've been up to lately.

The best part of all the hubbub was the Marriage of Jon and Kelsie. Now Mr. and Mrs. Criss

So sweet! I wonder who will be next in our group to get married...?

Our friends the Moores stayed with us for three days, and as usual we had so much fun having them with us. Games, walks, fiddling, (aka 'jammin' ) and discussing theology are some of our favorite pastimes with them. We look forward to their visits so much. They are a joy to be with.

You can visit their fiddling website here: http://www.siblingstrings.com/

But now that the craziness is over, we have two days of vacation! This week mom and the girls and I are kicking off our Christmas shopping with our annual tradition. Two full days of shoppin' till we're dropin', starting with the Victorian Country Christmas, a huge Christmas fair down at the Puyallup fair grounds. (complete with our standard lunch; homemade chicken salad on Cost-co croissant rolls, Mmmmmm!)

We hang out the rest of the day in Puyallup and spend the night in a nearby hotel. The next day, we head out for Ikea, and then the Alderwood mall. Heading home usually around 9pm with Starbucks coffee in one hand, and shopping bags in the other. It's such a fun time, and very sweet memories are made with momma and sisters. No boys allowed. :) But they have fun guy stuff and lots of food to keep them happy.

So that's what I'll be doin' tomorrow and Thursday. Oh, and then the Messiah concerts on Friday and Saturday night! Ahh, busy, busy holidays. Tis' the season. And I'm lovin every minute of it.

Happy Holidays!!

Christmas is not a date, it's a state of mind. ~M.E.C.

More Shower Pictures!

My computer has been brought under submission and, as promised, here are the photos.




LOTS of visiting!
The everlasting food line.

The bride's table, minus a few people.

Time to open presents! Many curious onlookers.

Laura C. kept track of the gifts, and Becca C. made the rehersal boquet.

Great job Becca!

Guess who just couldn't stay away from his beloved bride-to-be any longer? :)

That's it! Well, not IT of course, but that just about cover all the bases.

Hope you've all been having a good week!

Kelsie's Shower

Here are the promised pictures of the shower! It went very well, and Kelsie seemed to really enjoy it. Sorry the pictures are actually far from in order but my abominable computer loaded them wrong, and it took forever, so I'm not going to try again! But here they are.

Kelsie is the one with long dark hair. Seen here. chatting with family-to-be.

Greeting the guests. I had an entire army of cute, volunteer greeters! left to right, Emily and Ivy Bento., me., Lydia C., Leah, Rebecca and Hannah M., and Krista V.

The Bride and her mother (also with dark hair)
visiting with a friend.

All set and ready to go. This is of course, before the guest arrived.

70 fresh baked scones, of which two were left at the end of the day.


Lots of veggies!

The shower was an afternoon tea, so tea cups and tea pots were a must!

Of course there are LOTS more pics, Ali took over one hundred, and did a lovely job. But until my computer gets over its attitude problem this is all I can post. Well I hope you all have a wonderful week. Most likely I'll be posting again later this week. Thanks for reading!

'Great necessity calls forth great virtues'

~Abigail Adams

The Titleless Post

I'm so sorry it's been so long since I posted, but with planning the bridal shower and practicing music I've pretty busy, but it's all fun stuff!

I finished all the center pieces for the tables at the shower, dried and pressed fall leaves in canning jars tied with raffia.

(shhh, don't tell Kelsie! :)

I sprayed every other leaf or so with gold glitter paint to make them really shimmer and stand out.

In the list of my favorite fall things, I said Pumpkin Spice lattes from Woods, like this one....

But to my delight, Coffee Mate came out with their own Pumpkin Spice coffee flavoring. While it isn't quite as good, it does the job, and it is O, so yummy! It's like insta-latte! And it smells heavenly, just like punkin pie. :)

Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee. ~Piro

Happy 20th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

There is no feeling so comforting and consoling as knowing

you are right next to the one you love.

~Unknown

:P

I got it! I passed the test with only one wrong! I would have been embarrassed beyond mortification if I hadn't passed again. But now I've got the permit for a short while, and then the driving test which should be comparatively easy. Mom's not going to get in that driver's seat again for awhile!

Happy Day!

Channels Only

How I praise thee precious Saviour, that thy love laid hold of me;

Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me That I might Thy channel be.

Channels only blesses Master, but with all thy wonderous power flowing thro' us,

Thou canst use us every day and every hour.

~Ada Rose Gibbs

A new hair-do

Not me, my mutt! Eloise was looong over-do for a hair cut, and I finally bit the bullet and brought her in to be scalped. I have had her cut several times, and I always dislike how she turns out. But this time, I actually really like it!

Before....

After....

That's my mutt!

BTW, When I took the driver's test for the first time last week one of the questions was, 'What do you do if a school bus is stopped with it's red lights flashing and children are present.

It's a multi-choice test, and one of the answers you could pick was Speed up. !

If you pick that answer they probably instantly flunk you and put a warning or red flag with cross bones on your record and your licence. If you're lucky enough to get one after that.

Crazy stuff. But then, it is a goverment program. What else do you expect? :P

Mark Twain says...

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. ~M.T.


Unfortunately very true! :)

Sorry I havn't been blogging lately, I've been busy reading the driver's book, and then proceeding to flunk my first driver's test by one question, and studing to take it again later this week! (bleh.)

Hope you're all havin' a blessed Lord's day!

Concerning Cabbage

So I've always wondered, 'what can do you do with cabbage other than coleslaw, and have it turn out something that looks and smells edible?'

A valid question right? Well when some friends of ours had us over for dinner their daughter had cooked this delicious, I mean, really, really delicious braised cabbage. I found a link to the recipe on her blog, and tonight, finally tried it out.

And it's easy! Chop up carrots, onions, add seasonings, oil, chicken stock and some balsamic vinegar. Then pair with a family favorite, in our case chicken stroganoff...

Results? A nutritious and yummy dinner.

Link to the cabbage recipe here: http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/

It's a really neat website full of delicious and nutritious recipes.A new favorite for me!

And the winner of the fall drawing is.......

Scroll down......

Scroll down....

Press on, your reward is sure......

Alexis Bento!!!!

Congrats Alexis, and thanks for entering! :) I'll be getting your prize to you when I see you at choir on Monday! (I need to add more chocolate to it still! :)

Thanks everyone for entering, it was fun! Maybe I'll do one every quarter...

Fall Surprise Drawing!

Enter the contest to win a fall surprise package! I won't tell you what's in it, that's for me to know and you to find out! But I will say, it will definitely include plenty of chocolate!

All you have to do is become a follower of this blog, and then leave a comment on this post with your name and email address or some other way to contact you if you win!

If you're already a follower you can still enter, just leave a comment with your name and email address.

On October 7th, one week from today, I'll put all the names in a bowl and one of my sisters will draw one out. But you have to be a follower to win! ;)

I'm hoping for lots of entries!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Breakfast for Dinner

At least twice a month we like to have breakfast for dinner, and tonight was one of those nights!

Eggs A La Supreme (eggs w/ cream of mushroom soup, milk and cheese)

And pancakes and sausage.

To change the subject.... While we were at Pet Co. getting some more food the Guinea PIG, the guy asked if I wanted to hold a ferret. Of course I said yes, I love all of God's critters (except most bugs and spiders. Oh, and leeches. bleh) and welcome opportunities to get to know them better. And wow, are they cute! No I don't want one, but I sure loved the chance to hold one of these mischievous little critters. Their eyes sparkle with fun and mischief, and I was just waiting for him to wink at me. Too cute.

And none of this 'rat' buisness Laura, even you must admit...The little critter's purty darn cute. :)

Blessings on your week Everyone!

My Favorite Fall Things

Orange and yellow leaves.

Leather boots.

Walks in the rain.

Scarves.

Pumpkin pie lattes from Woods.

Leather gloves.

Bible time by the fire place early in the morning.

Rain and wind storms.

Apple butter toast.

Sweaters.

Flannel sheets

Pumpkins and squash on the front porch.

Lynden's Harvest Festival (I still love the hay maze and tractor trailer rides like when I was a little girl!)

Hot apple cider(not drinking it, just the smell it makes in the house!)

Thanksgiving.

Grandma's pumpkin pie bars.

The Gigger Pinny

If you don't already know, the item of excitement in our household is Ali's newest pet. A little guinea pig named Hemingway(whom I affectionately call the 'gigger pinny'). I won't go into all the details. (go to Ali's blog for that, you've already committed the ultimate crime in her book by visiting my blog first. But I won't tell) ;)

He is cute, he does stink, he makes funny noises (e.g. weep-weep, prrr, snort-snort) , he has silky ears, a darling nose and buck teeth.

Photos galore, and free downloadable 'I love my guine pig' blog buttons will be available on Ali's blog shortly I'm SURE! :)

Long live the guinea pig!
(he'd better)

The painter paints his picture on canvas,

the musician paints his picture on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski

Home again, home again...

On our hike in Juneau...Smoky the bear offered to take the picture for us.

It has been waaay to long since I've posted, but we've been rather in Alaska the last week! :)

I'm not going to post all the pictures and tell the story of the trip because I have two other siblings who are working on that right now. So I'll spare you the details, and sum it up by saying that if I disappear one of these days, I've moved to Alaska! We're making a slideshow, and I kept an almost-day-by-day journal on the trip that you're all welcome to read if you're interested

Enjoying a latte with my sisters from the explorations cafe.

So there, I knew I couldn't get away without posting something about the trip, and now I can resume normal life right? Right.... Oh who am I kidding?!? Life as a homeschooled, 'sheltered', 'unsocialized', 'uneducated',

'home-bound', skirtie is far from normal, praise the Lord!

Life is amazing.

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel, until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow. ~L. Y.