Frappuccinos, & truffles

If your looking for a GOOD home-made frappuccino recipe here it is! We've had the recipe for along time but never made it! Don't know why?!

Easy Frappuccino

2 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup fresh espresso

1/4 sugar

To make espresso, put 1/3 cup coffee grounds into coffee filter, run 1 1/2 cups water through coffee

maker (or make very strong instant coffee) mix together. We save empty frappuccino bottles & like to put them in those, or fill a glass & put cool whip on top with chocolate syrup, chocolate covered coffee beans, chocolate curls etc.   To make mocha frappe use 1/4 tsp. cocoa powder (or chocolate milk mix) 

For vanilla frappe use 1/2 tsp. vanilla.  Enjoy!

Simply Sensational Truffles

2 1/2 pkg. Bakers semi sweet chocolate, divided

(this would be 20 oz. & any chocolate will work including milk chocolate)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened 

Melt 8 oz. chocolate. Beat cream cheese w/ mixer 'till creamy; stir in melted chocolate. Refrigerate until firm. Shape into 36 balls. Place on wax paper covered tray. (Refrigerate again before dipping) Melt remaining chocolate. Dip truffles in until completely covered. Garnish tops with chopped nuts, peppermints or sprinkles. They are also good plain. Store in fridge.

I don't have a picture of these so I guess another of the coffee drinks will have to do! :) 

Happiness!

•  A candle is burning
• piano is practiced for the day
• Jolly fat snowmen sitting on the shelf
• the laundry is getting clean :)
• I'm happy about the fact that I am updating 5 days since my last post instead of 15! :)
• I'm working on sewing a dress
• there are the best chocolate covered coffee beans (that my sister won in a giveaway) sitting on the desk & sometimes I get 1 or 2. or 3?

The new year is coming! 

I'm thankful for another year to be alive & most importantly another year to serve my God 

& discover more of His Greatness!

Blog transformation.

 Greetings & Salutations!  Now that this blog has been "transformed" for several days I have finally decided to talk about it! :)   The pages of songs & quotes have been re-done as well. Tell me what you think!  I might do a little more to the pages yet sometime, no promise. :)  Thanks to Corina for loaning me the picture for the header. She does a wonderful job with photography!    Someday I will do a real post again. until then.... Merry Christmas!

Of cousins & coffee shops

When we were in Iowa for Thanksgiving, we made a point of going to the little coffee shop there in Kalona.  I discovered that they are very generous; They forgot about my order so they brought me a size larger then I had ordered, it was almost more then I could drink but the tasty-ness made up for it :)  ~For what it';s worth~ if you ever go there get a snicker's mocha!

   ( If you wonder why I re-posted this, it's cause I realized the picture wouldn't come up if you weren't signed into google.)

Wisconsin...

Last weekend we went to Wisconsin. That being the place I grew up I have great respect for the north & it's winter beauty:) *grin*   We went up for a wedding but because of snowy weather the ones of us that were going to the wedding later in the day turned ourselves around & came back home for the day. (Home as in our friends house:) We had a grand & wonderful day just being together ! :)

                I have discovered that I love bowling!   Great fun :)

                        Afterwards we went to Culver's for lunch...

                                                         Micah & Noah

 

All of us -except Kathryn-

                                                    Snow covered pine trees

The best conversations are late at night, sitting on the counters 'speeching' about... oh never mind

                  Micah & Jonathan (perhaps we ought to say; trouble:)

-phase 10-

                           All of us children -- oh the joy of friends! ;)

                                                         

                                            Kathryn & I - Love you girl!

                                                             snowy-ness...   

                                Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

6 Random pictures

       My bro-in-law w/ his kidders, something must have been very funny! :)

Cousins                                      Jaden

                                         Naomi's car, looks just like her I think:)

                           Carson with his ice cream birthday cake.

                           All of us girls at Jon & Mary's wedding.

   Most of these pictures are old but I still like them:)  (my blog lacks people pictures so I thought I'd put some on)            

Attention!

 My friend Kristin is doing a giveaway on her blog! the drawing is on Tues. so there isn't much time left!
 The prize includes coffeeish things:)  Here is the blog; Transparent Splahes of Color

Surrender

I feel somewhat inadequate to be writing this seeing that it is an area that I myself struggle with, but I feel like I should.
 It can be so hard to give up everything. Completely. But it's so necessary to do so. we need to give our Life, time, energy, talents etc. to God for Him to use as He wishes. This is a song that puts it perfectly I think. When I first heard the song I didn't appreciate it very well, it made me feel sort of guilty but now that I have accepted what it was/is trying to tell me I am thankful & am challenged to give more of myself to Him daily, He is the reason I live!

                                                                  More Of Me                                       

All the riches one could gain

All the ever glad refrain          

All the glory yet untold              

All the love the heart can hold

CHORUS:  He has given all to me

          All I'll ever need 

And it's not that I need more of God

But He needs more of me

More of time time I waste each day

More unceasing when I pray

More my heart my mind & soul

More of all to His control 

      

     We are constantly faced with times when we want to hang on for dear life to the things we call "ours".

 (dreams, talents, attitudes etc.) Let's remember that it's not us who need more, but GOD!

My new favorite song

I heard this song a few days ago & it made me think,  we all have times when it's hard to really have faith but the Bible says that If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
 Listen to this song, I know you'll like it.

Rambles.

I currently have nothing to say.
Nothing that is very interesting & needful that is. Last week my sis. & her children were here all week, perhaps sometime I will post pics. perhaps I won't?- presently the computer isn't wanting to cooperate to let me take the pics. off the memory card, on to the computer. *sigh* this IS modern technology! this week I was very busy -baking- you may think this is all I do but it isn't. Next week we (mom, Rhoda & I) go to Iowa to clean my Grandma's house. A fun piece added to that will be seeing all my cousins (if pics. get taken I will post them;) Last night my bro. Micah came home from Iowa after being there for 2 weeks, it is good to have him here again seeing that  it might be good to have "someone with some common sense" around again in case of things happening (water pipes breaking etc.:) well I should go and bake some supper.  A wonderful weekend is wished  to you all!:)

Nieces & Nephews

I know I have only 1 niece instead of several like it sounds but oh well...

I was needing to update so I thought I would do some pictures of these little people, namely my niece & nephews.

                                                           Aubrey & Kyler

                                                   Carson & Jaden

 

Right now Sara is here (which means that Aubrey & Kyler are as well:) It's fun! At Thanksgiving I will get to Carson & Jaden which will also be fun:)   Sorry, but some of these pictures are somewhat old. 

Have a wonderful day!                                                                                                     

Happy Fall! :)

Hello to one & all! Honestly I did not mean to hold back posting till after the first day of fall but being very busy plus slow internet when you have time to update makes for wide spaces between posts!

                                            Meet Jane:

She happily sits in the corner of my sisters schoolroom with some pumpkins & squash, (this was before the pumpkins & squash were there) Dorcas found her & she probably comes from China but I do like her!:)

I am currently working on some pages for my blog, such as; Favorite Songs ~ Quotes  & Proverbs ~ Links~ etc. Perhaps there will also be a guest book?  The reason is to hopefully make this a little more interesting(I said hopefully) Please tell me if it is boring 'cause I don't like boring things! :)

This coming Saturday my sister is coming for a week, bringing her little family with her:) It will be fun (to state the obvious!)

  Wishing you all a good day until next time:)

Who agrees...

...that beautiful, breezy, fall days are a gift from God & God alone?

            
This morning I woke up to the sound of birds singing, leaves rustling, a coolness that was fresh air coming through the window & blue skys.  What more could I have asked for?!

In which we are industriously baking...

All week we have been baking for a bake sale this weekend, & since I have nothing else to post I will just do some pictures of this recent activity;

                         Mom writing labels for bread & cookies
                           

                                     A bed full of cookies

                          Labels for various things

                                 And here we have some pies :)


                

A random collection of things

To start with I shall write the chorus from a beautiful song entitled; All good things(a Pooh perspective) from my (older) sister's Pooh tape :)  :)
                                                                                                                                                                       I'll see the good things in everything
                         around me
                        The happiness and beauty of it all
                        So many good things if everyone
                        Could find some
                        Look and try to see within your heart
                       All good things

                             
________________________________________________
           
                                                 Chocolate Chip Bars
                                                 2 cups brown sugar
                                                 2 cups flour
                                                 1 stick butter
                                                 1 egg
                                                 1 tsp. salt
                                                 1 tsp. soda
                                                 1 tsp. vanilla
                                                 1 cup milk
          Mix together first 3 ingredients. Reserve 3/4 cup for later. Add the rest of the  ingredients to the remaining crumb mixture. beat well. Put in greased jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup crumbs & mini chocolate chips.
Bake at 350* for 20-25 min.  
                          (certain ladies ~ahem~cannot quit eating these :)
                

     And because I don't have a picture of the bars, I shall post a picture of some chocolate that some very wonderful cousins gave to us! :)      

                         __________________________________________________
               

       My handsome brother and I, the morning of our baptism.
     

                                                                  A rainbow

                                             

                                        A footprint in the sand/gravel

   
                           
           

Pictures & such from my week

And so... we see that I did not update last week so from that I hope to excuse myself.  About my time in OH...
  I got there on Fri. (July 30) & came home yesterday, I was there a total of nine days. The last weekend the rest of my sisters were there too, it was such fun to have all five of us together like that! Now for pictures:



      Aubrey & Kyler eating supper at their little table in the living room

                          Rhoda & Aubrey in their matching dresses

                                  Mr. Kyler with a dirty mouth :)                                                                                                                     

           Kyler standing on the corn hole game looking very dejected

                                                        All of us sisters

                                The beautiful Dorcas taking pictures:)

                         Don't they look like the cutest little couple?:)

                                 Aubrey is busy at her desk

                                       Don't you love that adoring look?

                                            Dry bread... how yummy!

Saturday we went out on the lake, perhaps Kyler is watching all of us in the water,(he was scared to go in)

                                                  Aubrey & her mommy

    One last picture of us all (except Wes, he was taking the picture) 
 ***********************************************************
Quotables from the week:
       One night Wes was trying to explain to Aubrey the difference between a "him" & a "she", when he was finished explaining Aubrey very seriously asked if Kyler was a 'himshe'.
 One night last week Wes decided to give himself a buzz, the next night at supper we were talking about it & Aubrey said; was Daddy with the bee's?
 She also said; I have the ticcups! (hiccups)

 Have a wonderful day!