Thankful for Matthew's Christian School

It's Halloween week. Phillip and I really don't "celebrate" or make a big to-do over Halloween, b/c neither of us like the idea of celebrating the dead with white ghosts, witches, haunted houses, and scary monsters. As a child I was afraid of Halloween thanks to a neighbor who chose to wear a scary mask and scare me so badly I was speechless and threw up at his feet. Still as an adult I don't find humor in scaring children and making them "fear" anything that is related to Halloween celebrations.

I was reminded how thankful I am this morning that my son is in a a Christian preschool. I went to see three children for therapy at a Head Start center in town. They were having a fall festival complete with scary stickers to put on paper and ghostly buckets to use to go trick or treating around the center. One child's teacher even came to get him from speech so he wouldn't miss the opportunity to get candy. The group of children, with the adults, looked like a swarm of bees going from door to door and their little voices like a buzz as they attempted to say "trick to treat". I was completely dumbfounded. I expected the pumpkins and jack o lanterns but this threw me for a loop. I realized I too have been sheltered by having my son attend a Christian preschool where they will be celebrating "Hallelujah Day" instead of Halloween.

Matthw's Bible verse for the week is "Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!" Psalm 135:3. The letter of the week is "P" and on Friday they will all dress up in pajamas, make pancakes for breakfast and pepporoni pizza for lunch! This will follow their field trip to a pumpkin patch on Thursday! So instead of learning about fear, being scared, worrying about monsters in the dark, ghost and our house being haunted this weekend, Matthew will be excited to talk about his pumpkins, can show us what he learned in the kitchen and build his self confidence while doing so and we'll carve a happy jack-o-lantern!

AND, in case you are wondering, Matthew is going to dress up like Iron Man on Saturday and join friends for a friendly trunk or treat, and go back to his church preschool on Sunday night, where the adults will make over all the children on how cute they look in their costumes and give them candy! It will be all about the treats for the sweets:)

Our Trip to the State Fair

It's been a while!

The last post I made was around the time I became sick. It's been a long three weeks. I have been on three antibiotics, gone back on an inhaler, and still I am having trouble breathing and losing my voice. I need my voice and energy to work, and neither is cooperating with me.

I truly feel like I have been in survival mode these last three weeks. Phillip leaves on Sunday night or early (4:45) on Monday mornings and we don't see him til Friday night now (this weekend will be an expception). It is so hard when you don't have family near by to help out and so lonely when you are stuck at home sick all alone.

Matthew was also sick several weeks ago. His cough started on a Friday night (the 8th) and he didn't get back to school until the 14th.

We did find out some good news last week. Phillip was offered a position with The Children's Home in Winston Salem and will start his new job on December 13th. I cried when I heard the news, but I'm still not sure if the tears were b/c he is finally going to be back home or if they were b/c he won't be home for 8 more weeks! So many times during a week I want to pack up Matthew and drive to Clinton.

We are looking forward to Phillip working a short week this week. On Friday, our unsuspecting son will be going to the state fair by train! Phillip and I are like kids ourselves just thinking about how excited he is going to be to ride the train:) I've never been to the state fair and I'm looking forward to enjoying my first time with my family!!!

This little update is so short! There is so little to say when you've done little more than just sit, sleep, and rest.

Apple Sauce Candy?

The applesauce didn't come out like we hoped. It turned dark brown and was so sweet it nearly melted in your mouth before you could actually move it around and swallow it. Matthew refused to taste yucky brown applesauce and so we threw it away. It was really like eating warm candy and I couldn't help but wonder if we couldn't make some time of candy out of it:)

My second batch of apple butter didn't turn out too well either. I let it cook too long trying to do it around my crazy weekend schedule. It too had to go. So, I must get the rest of these apples canned soon! I still haven't made an apple pie, but Matthew and I are going to tackle that this weekend! Should be fun!

Just me

Applesauce

Finally, I put on a slow cooker full of apples to make applesauce. It called for 10 large apples, 2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup water and some cinnamon but I'm leaving that out. I know Matthew won't eat it if I add it. I don't think I used 10 large apples either. More like 5 large and 5 smaller ones. I wish the recipe had called for cups instead so it will be interesting to see how it comes out in the morning. Oh, and another large crock pot of applebutter is going as well! A number of apples are showing brusing from their traumatic wash so we are going to have to keep those pots cooking this weekend:)

Yay for Fall and Thank you Lord for apples!!!!!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

8 cups of peeled apples
4 cups of sugar
1/2 cup vinegar

Mix all of these ingredients in crock pot and cook covered for 12 hours on low. I cook mine overnight. In the morning the apples will appear watery and there is a vinegar smell. Mash cooked apples or puree. I used my potato masher righ in the crock pot.

Add
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. all spice

and cook for 3 hours with the lid off or until the mixture becomes a spreading apple butter consistency. Put into hot sterilized jars, adjust lids and heat process by submerging for 10 minutes into boiling water. If apple butter is boiling and jars are removed from boiling water just prior to putting in apples butter, then putting on the lids and rings and inverting them quickly and turning them right side up again should produce an adequate seal.

Apple Washing

Yesterday evening we took my grandma's old wash tubs out on our brick patio and washed the rest of our bushel of apples. Matthew loved using them and it brought back such great memories for me helping grandma wash clothes when I was little!!!