Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you!

My happiest time in 2009: My second nephew being born, and staying with my sister and her family over night on the night of his birth.

My most sad time in 2009: Our dog getting hit on the road.

Craziest thing I did in 2009: Stayed up to 4:00 am doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen BECAUSE I FELT LIKE IT... I am not planning on doing that again for a long while if ever... I could not fall asleep once I did go to bed and was SO sleepy the whole next day. (If you wonder how I stayed up that long, it is because I drank a BIG mug of black tea ON PURPOSE :)

Some other things that happened in 209...

~ I grew another year older

~I am another year closer to my savior

~ I began blogging :)

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~I'd add more if I had more time!!

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Things I wold like to happen in 2010:

~Become more of a servant

~Love my Lord even more than ever

~Become closer to my family more than ever and cherish each fleeting moment

~Get faster at doing dishes!!!!

~Get a puppy

~Plant some gladiolas for cut flowers

~Read at least 365 books

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~Again, I'd add more if I had time!!!

We have my sister, he husband, their children, and our friend Zach over so that is why I don't have much time!!

Grace and I have some fun things planed to do at midnight... that will be for latter!!!

And The Mystery Picture Is...

If it's midnight, ain't that the next day? In this case it is already thursday! I could not wait till tomorrow morning (actually later on this morning!!) to post the comments and tell the answer!

The Mystery Picture is...

A Petoskey Stone!! Michigan's state stone, and, my favorite stone!

Everyone who lives in MI that guessed, got it right!

Was this picture, Too Hard? Too Easy? Just Right?

I am felt kind of bad that I did a petoskey stone because after I got all the comments, I realized that maybe only people that live in MI have heard of petoskey stones. I don't want to exclude anyone!! So, please let me know in your comment how you felt about me doing this!

Here is a bit about petoskeys:

A Petoskey stone is a rock and a fossil, often pebble-shaped, that is composed of a fossilized coral, Hexagonaria percarinata. The stones were formed as a result of glaciation, in which sheets of ice plucked stones from the bedrock, grinding off their rough edges and depositing them in the northwestern portion of Michigan's lower peninsula.The name comes from an Ottawa Indian Chief, Chief Pet-O-Sega. The city of Petoskey, Michigan, is also named after him, and is the center of the area where the stones are found. The stones are commonly found on beaches and in sand dunes. Stones can be found on various beaches in Northern Michigan with many of the most popular being those surrounding Petoskey and Charlevoix. Similar fossil corals occur in a variety of locations, however the name Petoskey stone should only be applied to those from Northern Michigan which exhibit a six-walled coral structure.

I live right in the area where petoskeys are found. They are always a treasure though when we find them. Some the patterns do not show up on them as well as others. I like to rub them with oil to make them look wet and make the pattern more visible. Around here, people polish petoskeys and sell them. They are very expensive. Especially if they are a extra large one, put on jewelry, or made into a heart or a MI mitten...ect.

Also, I want to let you know, that you are welcome to take a mystery picture, email it to me with the answer, and I will consider using it for a Wednesday Mystery Photo post!! Click here to email me.

I am looking forward to seeing any pictures you send me!!

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THIS IS?

It is wednesday, and here is a mystery picture for you!!

Now, this is obviously a rock, but do you know what type of rock it is??

I look forward to your guesses! I will post the answer and you comments on Thursday.

Today Was..

A very beautiful, blustery, (not quite blizzerdy) but very blowy, snowy, day!

All of us except David and Nathanael went to town. We had to return the videos, and also Mama had an appointment with an orthopedic. On friday, Mama got some ex-rays on her leg that she injured on the ski trip. We found out that instead of a bad sprain (which we thought it was) it was a small avulsion fracture on her knee. If I remember right, I think it is caused by the tendon being pulled so hard that it fractures the bone. Thankfully, we found out today that it is small enough that they don't think they will have to put a pin in. Mama is in a brace that immobilizes her leg and she also has to use crutches. I a few weeks they are going to do another ex-ray to make sure the knee is healing properly. Mama is doing great and it is not really painful for her (which is really good).

Daddy and Mama dropped Grace and Enoch off at the library while Daddy, Mama, and I went to another store to return some boots that Daddy had got me that were to small. We swapped them for a larger pair...

Then Daddy dropped me off at the library to join Grace and Enoch while him and Mama went to pick up a few things. We found over 20 good books to keep us through the winter!

I am such an always hungry little bookworm...

Look at all this great food!

This book is a very funny children's book about six fisher men.

I had alot of fun laughing through it with my younger brothers!

I found a book that Daddy is reading aloud to all of us. It is SO interesting!

I'll share the title of it when daddy finishes reading it.

Daddy and Mama got us some markers to color in some "stained glass" and "hidden feathers" coloring books that some friends gave us. Here is a picture of Nathanael coloring.

Miejers had some really ripe fruit for sale for really cheap. Daddy and Mama bought some exotic fruit for Nathanael. I don't remember the name of it, but it had a very yummy strange indescribable flavor. If any of you have tried a fresh wintergreen berry, it sort of tasted like that but with out the minty-ness. All of these fruits were $0.25. My brother was so happy!

Here are a couple pics of the fruit...

Oh, and they also got 11 avocados for only $0.40! Wow! I like avocados SO much! Oh I wish they were as common as a tomato! But, then they might not be so special!

Anyway, you all have a good rest!

Gute Nacht, schlaf gut und träum süß!

Captions Anyone?

Long Time No Post!

Hi Pals! It's been a few days!

I thought I'd share a few pictures of what we did over the past days.

We had some warm weather a couple days ago. It was around 34-ish. Nathanael made a really nice sculpture, a bird of some kind. It sort of looks like a loon- don't it? It was hard to get a good picture because of the white on white.

Here it is a bit closer up:

Nathanael bring in potatoes from the cellar...

So that way Grace could make...

PIEROGIES!!! Yummy! They are SO good.

Grace making popcorn.

Mama and Daddy got a few movies that we watched over the past few days. These two are really good. Have you watched either of these before? "Gifted Hands-the Ben Carson story" was a special one because my brother Enoch had surgery when he was a baby and the surgeon was a very kind and gentle black man.

Also, my sister Grace is doing a mystery picture on her blog! She is going to end it on Mon. It is a really interesting picture. She wants lots of guesses so please scurry over there by clicking on the link I made here: "The Upper Road"

Good day to you all!

Hey Blogger pals!

Are you interested in guessing another picture before I do my next one? Cora Beth has a "Name that thing" post on her blog with a mystery picture for you to guess! Hurry Scurry over there!

And The Mystery Picture Is...

A Rose hip!

(from our rosa ragosa rose bush)

Stephanie, Cora Beth and Mary C. Guessed Correctly.

I understand that some of you may not live in an area where rose hips grow, so you may be wondering "What is a rose hip?"

The rose hip and rose haw, is the pomaceous fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but might be dark purple-to-black in some species. Contrary to the fairly common myth, rosehips are not poisonous. Rose hips begin to form in spring, and ripen in late summer through autumn.

Rose hips have many health benefits including being very high in vitamin C. They don't have a bad flavor at all. Actually they have a nice flavor! Here is something I found online about their taste and this is how I would describe it too:

Their taste is sort of tangy, like hibiscus. If you've ever had Red Zinger tea, it's along that line.

I hope you all enjoyed this and are looking forward to next Wednesday!

I am thinking of something that I could do that everyone knows about no matter where they live (like the apple, but a bit harder). How does that sound? Fun?

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS?

Wednesday is here and so is another picture to guess! I will wait on publishing you comments with your guess until tomorrow. Was this picture: Too Hard? Too Easy? Just right? Let me know in your comment! I will post the answer tomorrow and next Wednesday will be another picture!

Went Skiing Again!

Today all of children (except David) went out skiing again! It was SO fun! Grace and the boys went out first because I was still working on the dishes. I caught up with them down at the creek (about a 1 1/2 miles). They got some yummy watercress and we brought it home. Enoch's ski pole broke and so Grace and Nathanael had to whittle him a new one. On the way back, we kept going up and down our favorite hill over and over and over again! It was SO much fun!! This particular hill has many different ways to go down. Some ways are so bumpy, you have to do sharp turns on them and alot of times you end up falling! Another way has a big fly/drop-off on it and you crash on that one too! So we kept whizzing down, and duck-walking up over and over again until we where tuckered out! I did not get any pics... sorry :(!

Got to go and make some sweet and sour sauce for dinner! Bye!

Your Friend,

Peanut Brittle Recipe

Enoch made this peanut brittle yesterday. I did not think of getting a picture until it was almost all gone, but I think this picture turned out nice! It is such YUMMY peanut brittle! A good winter time treat!

Ingredients

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1 1/2 C. white sugar

1/2 C. light corn syrup

1/4 C. water

1 1/2 C. raw peanuts

(they have to be raw for best flavor)

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. baking soda

Directions

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Spray two cookie sheets with non-stick spray coating.

In a 4 quart saucepan over medium-heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Heat to boiling and add peanuts. Cook until peanuts become golden in color and syrup mixture beads off nuts when raised out of pan. Quickly mix in the salt and baking soda until well blended.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared cookie sheets. Allow mixture to spread on it's own. Cool completely, and break into pieces. Store in air-tight container or plastic bag.

ENJOY!!!

Just for Today

We had a nice ski trip! Mama got a sprain so you can be be praying for her. She is doing fine, but is sore. She has not been skiing in years and is still getting better at it. She is looking forward to the next ski trip though!! I hope you enjoy the pics. I am tired and don't want to do a big post!

Oops! Did someone fall down the heater vent??

No, I was drying my leggings!

This is where we cross over the little creek...

Nathanael was thirsty. We like drinking this water. It is SO cold and refreshing!

Here is Nathanael coming down one of the smaller-ish hills...

Overlooking the river...

The water level has gone up since the last time we were here...

Nathanael going down a little hill slope...

I think this picture is so beautiful! The bend you can see up river a ways is called horseshoe bend...

This is me and our cat Shiitake. He is so cute and is our largest cat (since my tom cat Rusty ran away) . He likes to give hugs (literally) when you pick him up, and he tries to act like a human. Really, he does! When I was taking this picture, he was trying to hold the camera like I was! Yesterday evening, when Mama drove to go somewhere in the truck, he had jumped in there (without her knowing:) and they latter showed his face when it was too late to turn around! If you say to him "Hi Shiitake!" He meows in a way that sounds like he is answering you back! He has many nicknames too. I normally call him "Ticky-tocks", "Taco Bell" "Taco" or "Tockie".

This is all the things my brothers imagine him:

My brother's make him say that he loves to eat at Taco Bell, He was good friends with our dog (which he called Doug). He likes to go to Chicago and eat at the restaurants there. They also say that he has an ipod with his favorite music on it. The latest thing they made Shiitake say was that when he drove away with Mama in the truck he was trying to get to Chicago to go visit Doug (because he does not know what happened to our dog :).

My brothers have a fun imagination at making animals talk. It is fun to listen to them (and yes, more than once I have joined in!)

Well, I guess this post turned out longer than I thought it would! Have a good night!

This morning when I was looking up something for Nathanael on e-how, a little advertisement popped up. I normally don't pay attention to the advertisements, but this one caught my eye. It said "Stop typing. Start Hiking." and had little feet running acrossed the green background. So that is what I am off to do. As soon as I write this I am off to go hiking. In my case though since we have snow, I am off to go skiing!! After you leave me a comment (no obligation!! ), stop typing, and go hiking or sledding or skiing (depending on where you live) if it is raining, get an umbrella and go splash in mud puddles!

I'm off!

Another Giveaway!!!

Another GREAT giveaway at A City On A Hill. She is giving away your choice of one of Cover Your Hair's products. The giveaway ends on the 23rd so hurry scurry over there quick! You have many things to choose from.

GREAT GIVEAWAY!!!!!

To get to a wonderful pattern of your choice giveaway at Fashionably Modest Patterns, click HERE. To see the patterns you can choose from, click HERE. Hurry! It ends on Monday!!

We had a very enjoyable day!

This afternoon Mama, Grace and I went to our friend's house. She was having a open house soap party. We always love her soap parties! She makes very yummy smelling things- lotions, creams, body butters, soap, candles,air fresheners, and more! It is a nice ladies and girls day. Yummy food is served... Me, Grace, our friends, and their cousin always eat in the basement every soap party. It is fun because we like to listen to all the voices above us and try to pick out who's voice is who's! After we ate, we went out snowmobiling!! VERY FUN! I drove it twice. I love to have the wind rush around my head while I fly around over the snow! I did not go too fast. I don't I ever went over 50 mph. It is also fun to ride behind in the sled. You have to drive slower (15-20 mph) but it is still fun because you can do curves on the snowmobile and it makes the sled swerve and fly snow in the air! Have any of you ever been snowmobiling? Here are some pics and videos. The videos are short. I could not get the whole thing because of a hill in the way. Hope you like them anyway!

Me pulling Olivia on the sled:

Grace driving with Olivia on the back:

We made snow angles while waiting for our turn:

Olivia pulling Pricilla and I:

Here are the videos:

We dropped off a bar of soap to our neighbor on the way home. We got stuck but then we got out. :D

For dinner we had homemade Polish Kabasa(YUM!!),Homemade Sauerkraut (YUM!!) and Potatoes! Mmmmm!

Well, I really am super tired, so best be off to bed!

Good Night Friends!

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Oh, I forgot,

The thing that I got from the party was a lotion bar. It is like a salve in a tin, but it is more like a hard lotion. It is really good for chapped skin. My hands are chapped right now from all the cold weather so I think it will be nice.

Thanks Mama for getting it for me!

Make Sure you vote on my polls! And leave me a comment letting me know what you voted!!

Here are some pictures that I took today. I took another really pretty one, but I am planing on using it for my next "Guess this picture" post on Wednesday. :D

Tomorrow Mama, Grace and I might go to our friend's open house soap party. She makes lots of body butters, soap and things like that. I can't want to see her girls Grace and Olivia! Grace and I might go snowmobiling with Grace and Olivia!!! If we do, there will be pictures posted on here of us!

Here is Nathanael bringing a load of wood to the basement to put in the furnace.

An Icicle on our lilac bush.

ENoch and I played chess... he won. :C

Nathanael coloring the Fedco Seed Catalog.

Hope you all have a restful evening!

<3> Hannah of Marilla Heights

Answer to "Guess This Picture"

It is a frozen APPLE toped with a little bit of puffy snow!

So, yes you all got it right!

Do you want me to do another picture sometime?? Maybe next Wednesday?? Let me know!!

Don't Forget to vote on my polls!!

THANKS!!

WHILE OUTSIDE TODAY, I TOOK THIS PICTURE... CAN YOU GUESS WHAT IT IS?

I'll wait on publishing your comments until tomorrow!

The Skiing Videos!

This one is the biggest hill. Like I said before, it is hard to see how big it really is.

We are going down really fast...

The first one to go down is me, then David, and then Daddy.

Here is another of a smaller hill:

This is the same smaller hill as the one Grace and Nathanael went down, only this time it is Daddy and Enoch!

PICTURES!!!!

I can upload pictures on my blog! Yeah! Now, since I skipped so many days without putting any pictures on here, and because I took so many pictures that I wanted to put on here, this is going to be a big picture post!! I hope you enjoy it!

This was taken a few days ago when we had our big snow. It got cold (-2) and then it warmed up to packing snow temp. (I don't know the exact temp.). Now today it got a little bit colder and the snow has a crust on it. We might go out skiing again today because a crust on the snow makes for REALLY fun skiing! When we had out dog, he would pull Daddy really fast over the crusty snow while Daddy was on his skis! I never got a chance to have Prince pull me on my skis... maybe with our next dog I will :)!

We made pizza a couple nights ago. Here is a picture of one of them...

Now here are the pictures of our skiing!! We first have to go through the overgrown christmas pines on some neighboring property. David had to cut the trail through the really deep snow- this is not the most fun thing to do, but someone's got to do it!

I love this picture of the snow piled on the christmas pines.

Once we get on the power line, there are snowmobile tracks that pack down the snow... so no one has to cut a trail!

This here is the first hill. Not the biggest one, but a fun one nonetheless because it has some curves and turns that you get to steer while whizzing down!!

Here is Grace getting ready to go down. You can see Daddy and my brothers climbing up the other side...

I got to the top! The hill you see in the back is the one Grace just was going down in the above picture...

Grace and Nathanael climbing up the second hill that we go down. The second hill is a strait hill, but it has some bumps on it that the snowmobiles made when they go down.

These are the bunny hills. If you push yourself really hard with your polls as you go down one, you can almost make it up the other. The tree covered hills you can see in the background are the Yuma Hills. This is the heights of Marilla that I live in!!

Now, this is looking down the biggest hill! You can sort of see how high it is. And yes, we ski down this hill too (video coming soon :).

Look how tiny Enoch and Nathanael look way down there!! It is hard to get the actual height of this hill in a photo, but it is really huge! When you get to the bottom of it, and look up, it looks like a wall!

Our destination was the river. It was so beautiful in the snow! Our camera's memory card was full when we got to the river so we did not think we could get a picture of the river because the button to delete pictures is broken on our camera. But Grace and I took turns "pumpin' Camy" (as we call it) which simply means we pump the broken button really hard for a long time until it finally does what we want it to do :). This was the result:

Here are the pictures of the pot holders I made Mama for her birthday.

I had so much fun doing them that I want to make more!

And finally here is the last picture of some wild turkeys that came into our orchard/barn yard today! We have never had this many turkeys come this close on our property!

Have a good day!

~Hannah~