So, what has been going on?

Hi pals! This is going to be a picture post big time. I have been taking pics over the past days and have not been posting many and I thought I'd share some.

First of all, I'll post a few pictures from new years eve.

Here is my sweet nephew J. :

Happy little Izzy (as J. has sweetly nick named M. He calls him this because he always hears everyone saying "Where is he?" and J. thinks they are saying "where's Izzy?")

J. waiting patiently as grace dishes up the delicious...

...Homemade pumpkin icecream!!

When the clock struck midnight, Grace, Nathanael, and I all ran barefoot, no nothin outer-where to the stop sign at the end of our road and back. Enoch chickened out (or rather was too smart to race with us!!!) We are the last of two houses on a dead end road, so we don't get traffic at all. To the stop sign and back, it was probley almost 1/4 of a mile.

It was a cold nigh,t and I was pretty brrrrrr by the time I got back in the house!

Now for some more recent pictures...

Our largest icicle. By this time it is already touching the ground...

This is Nathanael. Mama asked him to take all the boots and shoes from the entry to the basement where we will keep them for the winter. He decided to what we call "a lazy mans load". Details of his time getting these boots down a narrow staircase into a very small Michigan basement are not necessary, but I will tell you by the time he got on the basement floor all the boots had fallen off. Oh, and he carried the dolly-cart in his arms most of the way. Him and I had a great laugh over the whole episode!

Cleaning cupboards...

Enoch made Mama a precious wood creation...

Baking biscuits to have with sausage gravy (big time yummers!!!!)...

And more baking!!! Mama mixed up bread dough and then I took it through the hours of pats and folds and the bake. They turned out really nice...

One of the 30 min. pats and folds...

Rising...

Baking...

Done!!

The crust turned out really well.

I just love handling bread dough. I like feeling the gluten sheet developing under my fingers.

I can hardly hardly till the joyous day comes when our certified kitchen is complete. And we can all bake together as a family. I was envisioning it the other day when we where all working together in the kitchen. We had a jumpy song playing on the radio and we danced as we made dinner. It was SO much fun!

Nathanael and I made some cookies together...

Enoch made several candles...

Mama went though some of our knitting and other wool things, and came acrossed the pair of socks that I have been working on for 5 years (I think).

I really want to get them done!!

On friday, we had friends over for clay oven pizza. Here are some photos of that...

Normally we make cheese for our homemade pizza, but our cow and goats are drying up and we don't have alot of milk. So, we bought some cheese!!

Grace and Mrs. S. putting toppings on the pizza.

The oven after David pushed the hot coals to the back...

Mama had a small florist that is in a near-by village deliver a couple bouquets. She gave them to me as a birthday present. I turn 16 on Monday.

They were and are so beautiful!

These are my two favorite flowers out of the bouquets...

The pink striped carnation,

and the lilies!!

I gave some flowers to G. and her little brother J. when they came for pizza. They are such sweet little children and where delighted with the flowers!

G. and J. again...

Grace reading...

David made and still is going to make more yummy corn chips from our corn.

First you boil the corn kernels in water and a little sake of ashes.

Then when they get really soft, he grinds them into a dough.

At this point with the dough you can either make tortillas or chips.

David made chips.

They are SOOO good!

Today, Mama, us girls, and the little boys went to my older sisters for a visit. We had a nice pleasant time. Enoch and Nathanael worked on clearing of their pond so we can go ice skating.

They got half of it cleared. I can't wait till we go skating!! We have to get some skates first. Probley from Jounque and Necessities. I have not been skating in YEARS so I will more than likely crash alot! And, when I did go skating several years back (I was probley 8) it was not really skating. it was more like zooommm....crash.....zoooommm....crash, over and over and over again!

I got a very special birthday card in the mail today from my Grandparents on Daddy's side.

We plan to go and see them on my birthday (monday). It is going to be nice!

A good friend of my Grandpa, who we call uncle Parker lives near them. He makes a famous ice sledding ramp every year that goes out onto a frozen lake where you can also go skating.

It is SO much fun. We might go there on monday too. Uncle Parker also is a snow sculptor. he does not plan on doing a sculpture this year though.

Well, you know what? It is late once again. Actually, it is late enough that I can say tomorrow is my birthday! So, I want to wish you all sweet dreams and good night!