"With My Whole Heart" Window

I have had this old window frame above our bed for a while now and decided it needed a new life. 

So this is what I did ---- 

I cut a piece of heavy brown paper from a roll of floor paper (not sure the name of it, but you can find it at Home Depot,  it's the stuff they put down on floors to protect them when they are finishing up a house.) Anyway, I cut a piece the size of the window frame. 

Then I modge podged old sheet music to the brown paper. 

Once that was dry I free-handed my words in place with pencil, making  sure the words fit between the panes. Then I traced over and shaped the words with a thick black sharpie. 

I stapled the paper to the back of the frame and walla - a whole new look above our bed. 

It was that easy!

"Hit or Hold" - An Egg Cracking Good Game

In my family, Easter is first and foremost about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter is a day of celebration because it represents the fulfillment of our faith as Christians.  My family celebrates Easter Day by attending Morning Mass as a family (all 20 plus of us - we take up a whole pew) then heading back to mom and dad's to enjoy a fabulous family meal.  By the time we are done eating we are stuffed to the brim and ready for an afternoon nap.  BUT that doesn't happen...... 

Several  years ago my sister-in-law learned a new game from a co-worker and decided it might be fun for our family to give it a try.  Needless to say it has become an O'Reilly Family tradition.  

-Hit or Hold - An Egg Cracking Good Game-

This is how it works -

* Choose one family member to be the moderator.  This person will draw the game bracket, provide the slips of paper for numbers, flip the coin, and keep track of the bracket winners..  The moderator can also play the game.

* All ages are welcome to play (this year our players ranged from 18 months to 93 years old)

* Each family member is to bring a hard boiled egg to the family gathering.  

* The eggs cannot be raw or frozen (only hard boiled)

* Egg decorating is encouraged - but nothing can be used to strengthen the egg shell (so that means no gluing of fabric or other materials on the egg and no use of hard acrylic sealers or polyurethanes,  etc.  Eggs found to be in violation of this rule are automatically disqualified.

* Contestants take turns drawing a number from a basket.

* A game bracket is made (depending on the number of participants sometimes a lucky person or two will have a bye).  Contestants are placed on the bracket based on their number.

* The first set of contestants are called to the center of the room

* One of those two contestants  is asked to call the coin toss

* The moderator flips a coin.  The winner of the coin toss gets to choose "Hit" or "Hold."  

* What does "Hit" or "Hold" mean?  It means you get to choose if you want to be the person hitting your egg against the other person's egg or if you want to hold your egg and let them hit your egg.

* Rules of "Hitting" and "Holding"  -  Your egg must be exposed.  Your hand cannot protect the egg in anyway.  You can hold your egg top to bottom or sideways.  You can hit top to bottom or sideways.  Just as long as your hands are not disrupting the hit.  You cannot hold anything else in your hand (such as a napkin, sweater sleeve, pillow, etc.).  The egg must be presented in it's truest form. 

* Once the person who makes the call says "Hit" or "Hold,"  the game is a go and the "Hit" or "Hold" action is taken..  The person's egg that cracks is out.  The winner of that round is moved up on the bracket and the game continues until there are only two uncracked eggs left.  Surprisingly, one egg will always crack and one will not. The last two eggs compete for Champion.

* The Champion of the game is the person's with  the only uncracked egg in the room. 

Little Erin getting ready to hit Great Grandma's egg

Erin was a bit concerned that her egg cracked, but we all cheered good job anyway!!

Battle of the spouses!
Jeff & Maggie competed in the final round together.  

And the winner is.....Jeff!

Uncle Jeff was a good sport and shared his prize basket with the kids!

** Update: Each year brings new things to our Egg Cracking Party.

Here are a couple of the decorated eggs from 2015.

We also added a rotating trophy last year.  It was made from a recycled 4-H trophy.

Unforgettable Chicken Sausage Pie

In honor of Pi Day I bring you Unforgettable Chicken Sausage Pie. It is kinda funny that I would make a dinner in honor of a day that celebrates mathematics - a subject I hated all through school - but since I don't have to take math classes ever again, why not celebrate!  It is a deliciously hearty meal after a long day working on the farm, or at school, or behind the desk, or doing house work, or shopping, etc.  You get my drift that it is just a good hearty meal for just about any kinda day.  At dinner, my son Todd ate half of the pie all by himself  (although that is pretty typical of a 14 year old boy!)

Unforgettable Chicken Sausage Pie

Crust - note: don't substitute a store bought crust in this recipe.  the crust sets this pie over the top.

2 c. flour

2 tsp oregano

2/3 c. shortening

6-7 Tbsp cold water

Cut shortening into flour & oregano. Stir in water.  Roll out 2/3 of the dough to fit the bottom of a deep dish pie plate.  Roll out the remaining 1/3 of the dough to be used for the top.

1/2 lb pork sausage  (I used HOT flavored sausage , but  use a traditional bulk sausage if you prefer)

2 c. cooked chicken (chopped)

1/4 c. butter

1/3 c. flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 - 14 oz can of chicken broth

2/3 c. milk

1 - 10 oz package frozen peas

Brown sausage, drain and set aside.

In the same sauce pan melt butter, then stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Add broth and milk. Cook until thick and bubbly. Stir in sausage, chicken and peas.  Pour into unbaked pie crust.  

Place top crust on the pie and flute the edges. Make knife cuts several place on the top crust to allow it to breath while cooking. 

Bake 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes until crust is golden brown.

I am sad that when we sat down to dinner we were all so hungry we dug in before I remembered to take a picture of the pie fresh from the oven.  It was so pretty.

Happy Pi Day!

Chewy Sweet Granola Bars - (Hudson Bay Bread) - Yum!

I ran across this recipe November/December issue of Midwest Living and have been wanting to try it.  With the snow day today it seemed like the perfect snack to make.  Not sure why it is is called Hudson Bay Bread because it is more like a granola bar.  Regardless it is amazingly yummy! The perfect combination of chewy and sweet.

Chewy Sweet Granola Bars

(aka -Hudson Bay Bread)

2 cups butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup honey

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

10 cups regular rolled oats

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, honey, cornstarch and corn syrup until combined.  Stir in oats. Dough will be crumbly.  Press firmly into a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. (I would recommend pounding with the side of your fist as if pounding rice krispie treats into a pan - kinda messy, but worth it!)  Bake 375 for 22-25 minutes.  Rotate the pan once and cook until the top is light brown and has tiny bubbles across the entire surface.  Do not over bake  Cool and cut into squares.

Next time I might add mini chocolate chips or dried cranberries.

These were so yummy and of course with the amount of oatmeal they contain, they must be good for you, right?!

God invites us to express our  uniqueness and have fun by making things with our hands. These things don’t have to be big or elaborate or even “correct,” but making them should provide solace and personal fulfillment. Handmade things should reflect us: a fine meal, a garden patch, a beautiful quilt, a backdrop for a play, a piece of music, a poem, a letter. The idea is to keep our hands busy with meaningful activity so that we develop inside ourselves, depending upon the Lord and not on others for endorsement or approbation. May God help us to express and define ourselves in our one-of-a-kind way.    Lucy Swindoll

"Red Hot" Cinnamon Popcorn

I love this Red Hot Cinnamon Popcorn and thought it would be the perfect recipe to share for Valentine's Day.  I found this recipe a couple years ago at www.cdkitchen.com and have really enjoyed making it and I hope you do too.

Ingredients:

6 quarts popped popcorn

1 package (12 oz) red cinnamon candies

sugar (about 2/3 cup)

1 cup butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda.

Directions:

Spread popcorn in a lightly buttered roasting pan, bake 250 degrees while preparing syrup.  I don't always do this step, but it was suggested that this be done to keep the popcorn warm allowing you to have a little more time to mix the candy coating on the popcorn before it hardens. 

Pour cinnamon candies into a 2 cup measure.

 Fill remaining space to the top with sugar.

 Place in a heavy pan. Add butter, corn syrup and salt. 

 Allow candies to melt. Bring to a boil; boil 5 minutes.

Remove from heat, carefully stir in baking soda.  Pour over popcorn, stirring to coat.

Bake 250 for one hour stirring every 15 minutes.

  Remove from oven and cool on wax paper. Store in air tight container. If stored properly it will last a long time, but if you are anything like me, it will be gone in a matter of days or even hours!

So God Made A Farmer.....and this is the rest of the story

I didn't really watch the Super Bowl.  I sat on the couch with my husband while he watched and I played on the iPad.  I watched the commercials of course.  Some were pretty good, others just so, so.  But the commercial that kept me in awe was the Dodge Ram commercial with Paul Harvey's "God Made a Farmer."  The commentary was not new to me, as a kid I remember riding in the pick up truck with my dad listening to Paul Harvey on the radio. Maybe hearing "So God Made a Farmer" during the 2013 super bowl was so much more meaningful to me because I married a farmer.

It has been 35 years since Paul Harvey first read his "So God Made a Farmer" poem.  He first shared it at the 1978 National FFA Convention. 

I was thinking.....would Paul Harvey say the same thing about farmers today as he did 35 years ago?  Millions of viewers watched that commercial, but did it really communicate to viewers what today's modern farmer is all about?  

Today's farmer still works from sun up to sun down, snow, wind  or sleet,  loves his animals and land, gets his hands dirty everyday, and puts his faith in God for a bountiful harvest. The farmer - who he is and what he stands for will always be the same....

Yet, I feel there is such a disconnect today between the farmer and the consumer.  U.S. Agriculture has fed this country and the world for over 200 years.  In the 21^st century, American agriculture not only produces food to feed the world, but the products of today’s farms are used in the fuel, fiber, polymer, and medical industries.  Many people don't realize that today's modern farmer feeds 155 people worldwide compared to only 25 people 50 years ago.  Yet, most of the public still views agriculture as the industry it was in the 1960’s.

Ninety-eight percent of Americans have little to no on-farm connection, yet many are becoming increasingly more vocal about how food is produced and how farms should operate. Often the consumer takes for granted that we have the most bountiful, healthy, and diverse food supply in the world. Modern agriculture has researched and discovered the best ways to care for animals and produce high quality grains, while using fewer resources and producing more, in an effort to keep food costs down.  (side note: the last two paragraphs were actually part of an essay written by my daughter who is  at OSU majoring in agribusiness. She has a passion to help re-connect the farmer and the consumer and I think she is awesome!)

Today’s farmers are doing a good job and they have a great story to tell. 

If you don't know much about modern agriculture I challenge you to do some homework.  

Did you know???

* Today my husband can plant in half a day the same amount of land that his grandfather could plant in an entire planting season.

*  My husband's grandfather treated every field the same.  Every field got tilled, planted and fertilized the same.  My husband's father farmed by the field - meaning the type of seed,  fertilizer or crop protection changed depending on the location and soil type of each field. Today, my husband is able to farm by the foot.  Because of today's modern technology he is able to vary the seed, fertilizer and protection chemicals based on the needs of each foot of ground.

* While working ground, planting or harvesting, my husband can send emails, read the paper or sell grain.... all from the luxury of his tractor cab.  The auto steer and the GPS system in today's farm equipment allows him to multi-task in ways he never dreamed. But with more information and data to observe comes more decisions to make to assure the best crops possible.

* The Future of Farming -  You can’t order one from your dealer today, but robotic tractors could be available in the near future. On-board computers already have the capability to control many tractor functions. Add a little more hardware, a GPS-powered guidance system, some navigational software and you have a tractor that doesn't need  a farmer warming up the cab seat.  Also referred to as autonomous tractors, they basically remove the need for a person to be physically on the equipment to operate it (AgrAbility).  Wow, wonder what Paul Harvey would say to that?

Whether a horse pulls the plow or the robot drives the machine, it's the farmer's skills and experience, along with God's blessings of sunshine and rain that produces the crops that benefit mankind.

Life on our farm.....

 .

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 - For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.......

Genesis 1:29 - And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

 Proverbs 16:3 - Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established

Exodus 34:21 - Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest. In plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.

Thank God I married a Farmer!

So God Made a Farmer by Paul Harvey

And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, “I need a caretaker.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the field, milk cows again, eat supper, then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the township board.” So God made a farmer.

“I need somebody with arms strong enough to wrestle a calf and yet gentle enough to cradle his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait for lunch until his wife’s done feeding visiting ladies, then tell the ladies to be sure to come back real soon and mean it.” So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt and watch it die, then dry his eyes and say, ‘Maybe next year,’ I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from an ash tree, shoe a horse, who can fix a harness with hay wire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. Who, during planting time and harvest season will finish his 40-hour week by Tuesday noon and then, paining from tractor back, up in another 72 hours.” So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor’s place. So God made a farmer.

God said, “I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bales, yet gentle enough to help a newborn calf begin to suckle and tend the pink-comb pullets, who will stop his mower in an instant to avoid the nest of meadowlarks.”

It had to be somebody who’d plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed, brake, disk, plow, plant, strain the milk, replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week’s work with an eight mile drive to church. Somebody who’d bale a family together with the soft, strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh, and then sigh and then reply with smiling eyes when his family says that they are proud of what Dad does. “So God made a farmer.”