Happy Last Day of November!

Tomorrow is the first day of December...25 days until Christmas.

So I just thought I'd help you usher out November with a few pictures of the cutest girls in the world!

They haven't learned that raking leaves is actually a chore, but at least they know how to have fun with them!

Have a great Monday!

For These Things We Are Thankful

Melanie

1). My salvation - thank you, Jesus!

2). Forgiveness

3). My husband

4). My two beautiful daughters

5). Music & lyrics

6). Food!

7). The color green

8). Water

9). Each breath I am given

10). Family & Friends
11). The Bible

Rachel

1). My Momma

2). My Dadda

3). God, my Savior

4). My dog

5). My sister

6). medicine

7). food & water

8). bras & underwear

9). especially deoderant

10). toilets

11). tissues

12). rabbits

13). phones

14). mp3 players

15). the manger that held Jesus!

Grace

1). God

2). food

3). family

4). friends

5). home

6). warmth

7). Jesus

8). water

9). my dog

10). my cat

All I Want for Christmas...

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

My first-born, precious daughter is 11 years old today. I have been calling her chopsticks...get it 1 1...chopsticks?!?

I don't know how it happened...because I am certain just the other day she looked like this...

And now my baby looks like this...

Wasn't I just wiping her nose, her bottom, her tears...and now more often I find myself wiping more of my own tears as I mark her milestones, and thank God for the remarkable young woman she is growing up to be.

The loving, bossy big sister

The animal lover



The book lover


Rachel brings kindness, joy, and conviction into my life. She has a heart to please others, but is not afraid to stand up for what is right. Rachel is a natural singer, and it makes me smile to hear her sing, and I am blessed when we have the opportunity to sing together. Rachel is smart, strong-willed, and always questioning, sensitive, and loving, and I am madly in love with her.



She is a committed follower of Jesus Christ, and a fierce prayer warrior! I love it when she is aware of a prayer need, because Rachel will make sure that need is lifted up to God's ear in prayer. She has strengthened my relationship with Jesus through her questions and her desire to know Him better. I am humbled by her faith in Him.

Happy 11th Birthday, Rachel-Lu!

Makin' keen bean Candles

Well, it's late, and I'm about to head off to dreamland. But my house is now filled with the fragrances of lavender and sunflowers. Yep, I've been making candles. Not just any candles. My very wonderful keen bean candles.

These candles are made with 100% soy wax, all cotton wicks, and are dye free.

They come in a variety of sizes and fragrances, and hopefully I will have even more fragrances for you to choose from very soon. Let me know if there are scents you really like and just hope I will carry, please?

I even have wickless candles, for when you can't burn a candle, like at work, or other public venues where a flame is a "no-no!" You can use a candle warmer and still get the same great scent, without the flame.

Anyway, you can check out my website at www.keenbeancandles.com I've been making changes to it lately...I hope you like them (if not, let me know...gently!) I haven't figured out the best "shopping cart" method - directly on my site, or a link to a site called etsy. If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it.

Since I know my followers in blogland is a smaaall number (and I appreciate every one of you!), if you order from me, and mention that you read this post, I will give you $2 shipping on your first order! That is more than half off the average cost to ship! Just a little "thank you" from me to you!

So check it out...it's the keen bean!

Mmmmmaking Waffles

Let me just say that I am not a huge "Martha" fan. Sorry, Martha...it's not you, it's me, actually. I just never think I can achieve what you're offering.

But this morning, Rachel & I wanted to make a "scratch" breakfast and in my Google search, I came across this recipe for Buttermilk Waffles from...Martha! (Go figure) Well, it looked do-able, and there was also a simple-looking recipe for Blueberry Sauce, so we gave it a try.

Of course, our waffles did not come out looking as perfect as these (I'm certain even Martha's don't...are these even real?!?) but they tasted so good! Even Grace, who shook her head at waiting for the process to be done, and had cereal instead, ate one later and declared them "very good."

The blueberry sauce is what sealed the deal for me, though.

Again, the picture is a little too perfect, so don't expect miracles, folks. But it was simple to make, and it tasted delicious on top of the waffles.

Here's the link for the recipe if you want to try for yourself (there's a link to the Blueberry Sauce recipe from the Waffle recipe): http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/how-to-buttermilk-waffles

Thanks, Martha!

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Today is a special day. My youngest daughter, Grace, is seven years old today. My baby...is 7. And yet I can still remember the day she was born so well, when she looked like this (being held by big sister, Rachel):

But, oh how the years go by! Grace brings love, and laughter, and hugs and kisses into my life. She is happy and stubborn and smart and funny with a sense of humor that just rolls out of her like a natural comedian. She loves to sing and read and dance and fight for the underdog, human or chicken ;-}. Grace is a snugglebug, a pouter, a princess, a wiggleworm, and often a drama queen.

Grace is a God-lover. She has Jesus in her heart and I see Him shining through her more every day. Some days I say God told us to name her Grace because He knew we would need grace to raise Grace! =) But I am so pleased and blessed and in love with this child that God has gifted us with. Happy 7th Birthday, Boo!