Oh dear Oh dear ...I shall be late!!

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?

So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her.

There was nothing so VERY remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so VERY much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, `Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!' (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually TOOK A WATCH OUT OF ITS WAISTCOAT- POCKET, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge.

In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.

~Lewis Carroll

Do everything in love.
1 Corinthians 16:14

Thanks Tonya for the blog award we do enjoy your blog and all the wonderful scripture you include on it! It is so encouraging and a real breath of fresh air!!
We are to list 7 others to pass it on and then list 7 interesting facts about ourselves
So the 7 facts........

1.I am terrified of butterflies. Will send me running and screaming.

2.I used to be allergic to chocolate as a child would send me right to the ER...but not anymore thank goodness.

3.My husband really is my best friend. We have known each other since we were 15.

4.I really want to learn how to ride a horse.

5.I was in a car accident where I was not wearing my seatbelt when I was 18 and was thrown right out the window and hit a tree.....it is a miracle I am alive!!.....Yup God is Good all the time!!

6.I do not wear makeup or use anything on my face at all not even soap...

7.I know for a fact I can do nothing... but I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me!!
Here are 7 people that I pass it onto....

Grace Marie~ From the Rustic Home......She is from our old stomping grounds in New York and she is a beautiful young Christian Lady you has a wonderful Edifying and Encouraging blog.

Sandi~ at Rose Chintz Cottage~ Sandi is one of our new blogging friends and she has such a Lovely & Edifying blog we so enjoy our Tuesday Tea Time with her!!
LDH at With a Grateful Prayer and a Thankful Heart.~ We love all the wonderful photography on her blog and we have often wished to be her neighbor when she post pictures of the delicious things she cooks!!
Maria at The Simplest of Days.....You always leave Maria's blog feeling renewed and encouraged by the word. She truly honors the Lord in all that she does and her desire to do so is very encouraging.
Vivianna~ At Blossoming Where I am Planted!! I enjoy Vivianna's blog she is very encouraging and I always look forward to her comments on mine!! Yes it's true what they say I do blog for comments hehehe!
Michele at the B Skep Chronicles~ I enjoy Michele's Blog she has the cutest little girls, always wonderful photography and she has been blessed with creativity and she makes wonderful things. plus I think she makes the best soap in the world!!
Carrie at Farming on Faith......Carrie now I do not know her personaly but she seems like she would be the Queen of Multi tasking.. A wonderful Creative & Godly woman who encorages me that I could possible do 2 things at once with out setting something on fire hehe...yes I have been known to accidently start the odd fire while multi tasking... And she always post wonderful recipes and tips!!

We hope you have a Wonderful Weekend.....~Love The Watts Family~
If God sends you down a stony path,
may he give you strong shoes.

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

1 John 4:9

Barn Paint and a Surprise for Adrian....

We wanted to surprise Adrian when he came home with a freshly painted deck. We have a huge deck on the back of the house but it was in really sad shape the paint was very faded and peeling everywhere. So the kids got to work scraping, sweeping and painting. We weren't sure if the weather was going to co~operate but the sun ended up coming out and the deck turned out great. We can't wait to surprise Adrian!! Here are some snapshots of what happens when you mix 3 kids with 5 gallons of Barn Paint.

Here is our pretty valley some beautiful clouds in the morning.

scraping and more scraping...getting rid of all that loose paint.

More scraping and then sweeping...

working together and painting....

This is what happens when you leave Anna alone with the paint lol!!

All Done!!

We can't wait to surprise Mr.Watts so when he comes back from the other side of the world he can sit out on the back deck and enjoy the view!!!
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
1 Peter 5:6

Unit Study Of Japan

In our homeschool we love to do unit studies, we do these with our Weaver Curriculum and sometimes we do them separate from our normal studies when the children have a desire to learn about a topic in particular. We find nothing more enjoyable than an immersion into the things we love. With Anna's father in Asia this week. We decided to jump into a Unit Study on Asia & Japan.

When we decide on a topic we always head over to the book shelf to see what we have available to read and learn.

Then we pile up our books and choose what to read...

Some geography, photography, & literature...

Then we head over to the computer desk to get paper and file folders and this time we printed some worksheets off Enchanted Learning and we decided to make our own lapbook that we filled with our worksheets, & crafts all about Japan.

Then we headed over to the arts and crafts bin and dug out some art supplies. We decided to have fun with Origami and then we made a Koi fish wind sock.

We looked and played with some currency that Mr.Watts brought back from his last trip to Asia. And then we curled up on the couch and we looked at some photography and maps from Asia and read some old folk tales from Japan.

That is how we like to do a Unit Study in our home. It does not have to be something really complicated or take weeks to plan. I have found that some of our best units the ones my children have retained the most from are the ones we did not plan out in advance but

just jumped right into.

And Anna is feeling much closer to her Daddy now that she knows all about Asia & Japan and where he is.

Update on Wyatt: Wyatt our puppy is spending the night with the vet he looked sick today and did not want to eat...we are not sure what is wrong. The children said a very nice prayer for him Hopefully he will be feeling better soon and be able to come home.

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Psalm 57:10

Greetings from Thailand

Adrian sends his greetings from Bangkok Thailand this week. He is there with his work. He has quite the journey ahead of him from Thailand he will head to Singapore and then Tokyo. When his work was all done yesterday he had some time to take in the sights. Here are some pictures from the Royal Palace in Thailand.




















***disclaimer***I am including a video of Adrian in Thailand I just want to make a note that when the video is done Photobucket has the option for you to view related videos and these are random videos off Photobucket. I am not sure why they put this feature on there but that being said they are not from our family and may not have appropriate content.****************************


A Ride through the city on a Tut Tut....You better hang on Adrian!!

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:5

Tuesday Tea Time~

We are joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for another Tuesday Tea~

Here is a little piece from a book that I read and enjoyed~
Roses for Mama
Janette Oke

"I remember one day when I didn't want to do the washing," she began slowly. "There were lots of grimy clothes. Piles and piles, it seemed, and I thought I would never finish the wash. Mama said, 'Angela, never let your task become a drudge. You are special. You are unique. No matter what your duty, no matter how distasteful you might find it, inside you can be whatever you decide to be. Outside your hands might be soiled with daily toil~inside, your soul and spirit can be refined and elegant. You can be just as much a lady leaning over a tub of hot sudsy water scrubbing your farm dirty socks as you can sitting on a velvet cushion, fanning yourself with a silk and ivory fan."
"What did she mean?" wisphered Sara.
"Well," responded Angela, "I think she was trying to tell us that work is necessary~ but honorable. It is what you are deep inside~ not what you do that is important.
"You mean," asked Sara "I can pretend to be a grand lady while I am washing the dishes?"
"You don't have to pretend," answered Angela."You can actually be one."


Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Thessalonians 5:16~17

A Cloudy Weekend with the Dogs and some new Recipes...

Our house sits around 3000ft in elevation and we literally sat in a cloud all weekend. It was sunny down in town but not at our house! So we loaded the dogs into the car and brought them out to get some socialization. After the vets report I expected Wyatt to attack and kill someone at the pet store but I am happy to report he was very friendly and we brought him to petsmart, petco, the local animal shelter, and then to Starbucks. He met lots of people and lots of dogs and was absolutely fine.

I tried out some new recipes this weekend that we enjoyed, I'll post them below. I thought trying out some new recipes might help me stick to the cleanse that I am doing which this time I am having a hard time sticking to. The first one is from Better Homes and Gardens and I altered it a bit to make it work with the McCombs Plan that I am doing. It also called for Arugula but our grocer has not been able to get any in so I just left it out and used more spinach in its place.

Spring Green Soup
1tbsp. Olive oil
1 Medium onion halved
1 32oz. container of natural broth chicken or veggie
3 cups of chopped potatoes (recipe calls for yukon I used what I had on hand)
3 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
3 cups of spinach leaves
3 cups of fresh Arugula
2 cups of fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper

In a sauce pan cook onions in hot oil over medium heat. Add broth bring to boiling Add potatoes and return to boiling..reduce heat Simmer covered 10 minutes.
In a separate pan ~I used a cast iron skillet now fry up your mushrooms in some olive oil. When they are done set them aside then end up as a garnish to put on top of the soup.

Add spinach arugula and parsley to soup and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and then use an immersion blender and blend it up. I do not have one of those stick hand blenders or immersion blenders so I poured it into my regular blender then put it back in the pot. Serve immediately topped with the sauteed mushrooms! YUMMM we had several bowls one just wasn't enough lol !


The other recipe I invented on my own. This is a gluten free meatloaf that also follows along the guidelines of the McCombs Plan that I am doing.

I call this new recipe
Anna Don't Know There's Squash In It Meatloaf!!!
2 pounds of ground beef
4 crushed brown rice cakes
1 yellow squash grated ( about 1 overflowing cup in size )
2 heaping tblspoons of minced garlic ( I love garlic the more the better)
handful of fresh chopped parsley
2 fresh bay leaves chopped
1 tbsp of freshly grated ginger
1 egg
1/4 cup of Braggs Aminos

I put this all in a bowl and mixed it up real good then patted it into that wonderful meatloaf shape and put it in a loaf ban and baked at 375 till it was done. Which was about an hour. Anna had no idea there was squash in there hehehe ;)


I got to enjoy candlelight tea with my husband this weekend....and we saw him off this morning as he heads to Thailand

I pulled out my beading supplies this weekend and had some fun making jewelery. What else are you gonna do while waiting for a cloud to pass?


This is a rock I fished out of the creek from our hike the other day....wrapped in wire.

I made some heart earrings to match the locket Adrian gave me for Valentines...
I also turned and old quilt into a dog bed....

Quality control inspecting the work I am doing....I wonder what happens if it does not meet his approval lol!!

Wyatt is certainly not making it easy to sew this!!

After all that here's what they think of their new bed!! HA I think there playing a joke on me hehehe!! Yes they are actually sleeping next to the bed not on it lol!!

Here's wishing you a wonderful week filled with lots of sun and clouds that don't sit on your house but just pass on by~
Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
1 Peter 4:12-13

A is for Apron

Well summer is already gone and spring has come back in our neck of the woods that certainly did not last long but alas that is the nature of spring it always seems to be playing tricks on us. We looked out our window today to find a very cold and gray day staring back at us. Even though it is winter in most parts of the country I like to think that spring has arrived here!!

Wyatt is doing very well recovering from his surgery. The Veterinarian did say though that he was not socialized enough, so we will have to start bringing him out more to be around people. He is fine with us but has started growling at people he doesn't know Yikes can't have that right!(I didn't say anything to the vet but Lucy does that too so I guess I will have to get her out more as well) I guess we will have to find Wyatt & Lucy some friends.



Well the gray skies and dreary weather made me feel like sewing something bright and colorful. And since Anna and I need no more clothing I figured I would sew an Apron. You can always use another apron right!
I used the book called A is for Apron and I made the Lorelei apron. I decided to line the apron with a lightweight cotton the pattern did not call for this but, I do this with all my aprons I find they are alot more sturdier and hold up better with a lining.
Here's how it turned out.



Now if only the sun would come out so I could go and see how this apron is in the garden!
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him."
Jeremiah 17:7