Chickens and lots of them.....
I know many of you have been waiting for me to post some pictures of our chicken butchering adventures. It was over a week ago that we went to my parents house in Iowa and ended up getting 86 laying hens and butchering 80 of them. It was a 5 day event and the participates were my husband, my self, my mom and my grandma. We not only butchered them but canned all but 6 of them that were left whole for the freezer. So here are the first few steps.....

1. Catch a chicken, chop the head off and let it lay for about 3-5 mins to let some of the blood drain out a bit.
2. Have a big pot of boiling water ready and dunk the whole chicken in for about 30 secs.

3. Now the chicken is ready to have the feathers plucked off.

Here is the hubby working at getting the feathers off. They come off pretty easy and I would have to say this was my favorite part of the process if there is one.

More pictrures to come another day......

Chicken's Part 2
After the chickens have there feathers plucked off....

4. They have to have to be singed because they have small hair all over them. That was my grandma's job.
Anna was so proud that she had the courage to hold a chicken.

5. Then it's time to scrub the chicken up clean, cutting the chicken into parts and taking the guts out.

It was my job to scrub the chicken and clean the parts that were cut up. We had to keep the water changed in the buckets, so it was nice and cold. My mom and grandma did the cutting up part.

Chicken Part 3
Here I am cleaning the chicken up and getting it ready to cut up. We worked out in my parents dog building where we had nice running water and a counter to work on.

Here we are in my mom's kitchen and we are getting ready to put the chicken into the quart jars. We would can 7 quart jars at a time with the pressure cooker and had another pot for chicken up stock.

Here are some of the jars of chichen that we canned. We also made many jars of chicken broth.

Also the few days that we were working on chicken we also collected dozen's of eggs. This is the container of eggs that my mom sent me home with. I boiled up a good dozen eggs this past week and have been enjoying egg salad sandwiches.

So that is the details of our chicken butchering adventure.

Our Wood Piles.......
The kids had a good time helping us unload wood from the truck.

Some people took down a couple of trees down the street and so we picked most of it up. It's going to be a nice pile in our garage after we cut it all up.

This is the pile of wood that my parents brought up to us one day. It's some nice oak wood that will keep the house nice and warm this coming winter.

Caramel Apple Pie......

This pie was so yummy that I ened up making two of them. I used apples that I got from my grandma and the apple combination was delicious. We were able to enjoy both pies with friends, which makes desert even sweeter.

"O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." Ps. 34:8

Kitted Hat.....
This is my first hat for this season. It was one that I had started last year, but never finished. I'm not sure who will get it, but it will go in my gift bin.

Went for a Drive.......
Yesterday afternoon we decided to take a drive to Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. It's about an hour and 10 minute drive from our house and is located right off of Lake Winnebago. We went up to the top of this light house, but the kids got really scared. So, we were only up on the top for a few seconds before they were all ready to come down.

We also enjoyed walking the trails, watching the geese & ducks, and probably the most fun for the kids was playing at the park. What kid doesn't like playing at the park?

We also took our beagle Ruby with use and she had a fun time walking and sniffing the ground.

The last place we stoped at before we headed home was the Goodwill store. The retail worker told me that they are rated one of the top stores in the area. They had lots of brand new items with tags and new in the box. Some of the items were over priced, but many of the items were awesome deals. I got 3 new items of clothing for $1.50 each and two of them were new with tags. I would love to go back sometime to look, but without kids.

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I have been working on several knitting projects and when I have a chance to take some pictures I'll share with you all what I have been working on. Until then have a blessed week:)

Daddy & the Kids.......
The kids were all piled on daddy's lap the other day, so I had to grab my camera and take a pick.

Fire Station Day......
About a week ago the fire station in town had an open house. The kids were all excited about it. They had a chance to ride a fire truck......

shoot water out of the fire hose......

bounce in the inflatable castle they had set up and see lots of firemen equipment. It was a great day for it. Warm and sunny:)

To find some of our favorite links about Firemen go here.

New Bench......
I picked this little bench up for free a little over a month ago. The colors of it were pink and purple and we had it up in Anna's room for a while. I should of taken a picture of it, but I forgot. It is now a nice green color, which looks nice in the entry way. The seat of this little bench lifts up and there is great storage for kids's shoes, socks, mittens, and scarfs.

I have to say I love it and so do the kids.

Anna's New Bag......

The kids started Awana's a couple of weeks ago and in Cubbies the kids have a bag to bring there book in. Well Anna is now in Sparks and I thought she needed a bag to use to take her book in, so I made this for her this past week. She loves it and it was so much fun to make.

Sweet Potato or Squash Muffins.....

To read more about these muffins that I made yesterday you can go here.

Noah's John Deere PJ's
Since I had made Gabe a pair of pj's I have been wanting to make Noah a pair too and so I did . They turned out pretty good and he was more then willing to pose for a picture. He is such a cutie.

I've been having so much fun sewing up little projects and the kids get so excited. I'll post pictures soon of the little bag that I made for Anna.....

Switching It Up....
It's that time of year to get a new design for my blog. I love to make changes, which I also like to do to my house. I am one of those persons who likes to change curtains, move furniture around and change out a few of the decorations depending on the season. Today I got out my small box of fall decorations and I mean small. The house looks nice and the kids love the change as well.

Also for the next 4 days my husband will be taking two different classes to get some Nursing certifications. It will be a bit strange having him gone all day, since we have had him home all summer. I have a feeling the kids will really be missing daddy by the time evening comes and I will be too. He is also on the search for a job and hopefully will find one within the next month or so Lord willing.

Well it's time to get off the computer and sit down to do some crocheting. I have been working on a afghan for my daughter, which I hope to get done by the end of the year.

The Beach.....
This past weekend we found a nice beach to take the kids to. It is up in Pardeville Wisconsin, which is less then 30 minutes from our house. There is a nice park for the kids to play at, a nice sandy beach and the lake to swim in. The kids had a blast and we will be planning on visiting this place more next summer.

Zoo.....
A couple of weeks ago we decided to go to the zoo. The kids were there earlier this summer with friends, but this was the first time we have gone as a family. Madison has a wonderful zoo and the best part is it is free. The kids had a great time and the weather was awesome.

John Deere Pajama Pants.......

I had some tractor fabric laying around and decide to try and make up a pair of pj pants for Gabriel. I had heard of people just using a pair of pj's that fit them already to trace a patttern from. It probably took a total of 30 minutes to get the project done, but as a mom of 3 kids I don't usually have that much time without interuptions.

Now I have some more pj pants to make for little Noah, Anna and maybe even daddy will get a pair if I can find the right fabric.

Homemade Caramel Apples.....

We went to Lapacek's Orchard this past Sunday and got a couple of bags of yummy apples. The kids then wanted to make caramel apples, so there friend came over to help. They took all the wrappers off of the caramels, ate a few, and then.....

got the bowl in the microwave, pushed the numbers and watched impatently as the caramel melted.

Here's Noah working real hard at getting the wrapper off. You can also see on the counter his gum that he is saving to eat later:) What a cutie!

Here is the finished result and they were delicious.

Friday Already......

Wow I can't believe how the week has gone by. We have been working on school stuff all week and the kids have been doing very well. I am still adjusting a bit and trying to see what works and what doesn't. I'm not really happy with the Sonlight K science curriculum that I have because I think it goes through things to fast with not enough activies to go along. I am planning on slowing down and finding extra activities and books to go a long with the lessons. The library is a great resource, which I am planning on using a lot.

Today I had a bunch of tomatoes that have been needing to be canned and so I got started on thoses and got 7 quart of jars to go along with my 8 quart jars that I caned a couple of weeks ago. I also decided to make a batch of applesauce with some apples that I bought. I ended up with 5 pints and am hoping to make more in the next few weeks.

Also as I sit to write this Anna is in the kitchen peeling carrots that we will cook, puree and freeze in the size of ice cubes to use in smoothes or whatever else mom can find to use them in. I use them mainly in smoothies and also put spiniach leaves in for extra vitamines. Since I have been making them that way I have Anna begging me for lettice smoothes. It's makes me laugh! Mommy also has been enjoying her vegitables this way.

Lets see later in the day we have some more school stuff we need to do and then mow the lawn later this evening. It's been a full week of activities, but over all a nice week. Hope you all had a great week.

Menu Plan Monday:

Monday: Labor Day Picnic with Friends

Tuesday: Hard Shell Tacos

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, French Fries, Corn

Thurday: Pirates Stew

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: House Church Fellowship

Sunday: Hearty Hashbrown Cassarole

To find more menu plans you can visit Organzing Junkie.

Toy Story 3

We took the kids this past weekend to see a movie in the theater. The older kids did well, but Noah got a bit craby. We did make it till the end of the move with the help of some cotton candy. It's amazing how something sweet can help. I enjoyed the movie, but I don't really like movies with a bit of a sad ending.

Bike Riding......

The kids have especially been enjoying their bikes the last few weeks due to Anna & Gabe having learned to ride without training wheels. I figured Anna would be able to learn, but Gabriel surprised me. It took them only a couple of hours of practice and they were going all by themselves. It's been awesome to watch them and they are so proud of themselves. Noah loves riding his Radio Flyer tricycle and before we know it he will be riding a big boy bike.

Noah Ray.......

Sometimes Noah gets to enjoy a bath all by himself. He was enjoying all the bubbles and having the tub filled up to the brim. If I had not caught him the tub may of overflowed.

Here Noah decided to snuggle up to Ruby. I just had to get a picture of this. Ruby was enjoying all the love and attention.

Taking Time......

It has been a while since I have posted just because I have not taken the time to do it. It was a busy weekend of spending time with friends and I spent some good time listing stuff to sell on ebay and craiglist. I am waiting for my auctions to end in a few days and hopfully everything sells and I can list more stuff. I really want to get my garage cleared out and back to normal here soon. I may even have another garage sale when it cools off.

We have had our house listed for a couple of weeks now and still have not had a single call. I would have throught we would of at least one person look at it. Brandon & I have done so much work around here and it feels good to have it done, but it would be nice to show it here sometime. I guess we will just have to wait on the Lord's timing.

The kids have been having fun with friends and both Anna & Gabriel learned to ride there bikes without training wheels this past week. They are just zooming everywhere and it's just awsome to watch. We also have been having some water fun while the weather is still warm. Fall is almost here and the kids will be starting homeschool here in the next week or so. I have everything I need and I'm looking forward to trying the Sonlight Curriculum. The kids have also been listening to Key's For Kids in the morning and then doing there Kinderbach lessons, which they enjoy. Anna has also been asking about Awana's and wondering when it is going to start. She is super excited and has been encouraging her brother Gabriel in going.

Well that's all for now. I know I have some pictures of the kids to share, but it will have to wait till another day.