Clothespin Bag

A Cute Clothespin Bag

In my quest to make a clothespin bag, I came across an adorable clothespin bag at Martha Stewarts website last week. It had directions for you to make your own so I thought I would give it a try.   But I have
to say that it was a lot harder than I thought.  Not because the bag was that hard to make.  If you are not use to sewing the button holes would probably be the most challenging part of the bag.  The problem I had were the directions at the site.

I am a visual person.  I do best when I see how something is made step by step.  The directions were a little confusing.  I tried to visualize what I was reading ,but still had a difficult time.  As I went down to the comments I found that many other people had a difficult time understanding the directions too.

Thankfully my dear husband came home and looked it over with me.  After a great discussion and flipping the fabric over a few times trying to understand what the directions meant we finally figured it out!  Hurray!

I am pleased with the end results.  Although I think I need a bigger bag :)  with 6 children still living home and mom and dad :)  We still have a lot of laundry so we need a lot of clothes pins!!!!!

As a side note.  I thought that this bag would also be great for other things.  I could see it hanging on the side of a rail of an infants changing table with little items needed to care for the dear little one.  It also could be hung in a closet where small items could be placed to help organize the child's room. 

Homesteading Dreams........

My husband and I recently watched a DVD series titled "Homesteading for Beginners" . Our local library happen to have these and my husband came upon them and brought them home. We loved them! My husband and I would love to live in the country. That has been one of our dreams for a long time.

One of the things that we truely enjoyed, was that the family all worked together! They have five children and the children were working right beside their parents. They are teaching DVD's showing everything from milking cows, raising chicks, butchering those grown up chickens, butchering and canning the meat from their farms and their neighbors, making cheese, butter and the likes! A lot of work but also a lot of fun!

When I have put these DVDs' on during the day my children flock to the TV and watch intently proclaiming "Mommy we want to have some chicks" !

My husband and I do not live in the country. We are living in a small community where we are not allowed to have livestock like chickens, or cows. We know that we are were the Lord wants us right now so that is the best place to be. :)

The things that we are allowed is to have a vegetable garden. We enlarged our garden this year and learned a few tips from these DVD's so we are hoping to have a plentiful harvest. Lord willing :)

Hence the name of my Blog "I'm Just A Country Girl at Heart" . I do have a lot of idea's floating around in my head of some things I would like to try, and do with my children this summer.

I hope to share those Ideas this summer through this blog!

I found these DVDs' at Bulk Herb Store another great source for do it yourself ideas.

Photo taken from Bulk Herb Store

So if you have a little Homesteading desire in your heart check out these DVDs'

My Testimony

 

Gods Amazing Grace

 God can truly change a life.  I was born in the year of 1963.  My parents had immigrated  to the United States  as a young couple from the country of Canada.  I was raised in the North East of the US. with a brother who was two and a half years my junior.  I grew up attending a Catholic Church.  My parents were devout Catholics so we were raised to faithfully attend church, and were taught the Catholic doctrines.  I graduated in 1982 and went on to hair dressing school in 1983.

In 1986 I married a young man from my home town.  My husband and I started our lives like every other young couple with dreams and hopes for the future.  In 1989 we were blessed with our first child, a daughter Rebecca, and then in 1991 we brought home our son Brandon.  As children came into our home so did struggles in our marriage.  Little did we know what God had planned for our future.

In 1992 I met a woman through an ad in the paper for a job with Princess House.  Through this we developed a friendship.  One day as we were visiting she began to talk to me about the end times and the book of Revelation.  She told me things that I had never heard before.  By the time my husband came home from work that night I was in tears.  I told him some of what I had heard, and that I did not want our children to go to hell.  The next day he went to work and spoke to a friend that he knew who attended a Baptist church. He told my husband to have me read the book of John.  As I began reading the Bible for the very first time in my life I realized that there was a lot that I did not know about God.

I began to pray and to ask God to show me the truth!  I  attended several other churches seeking for the truth.  In October of 1992 my husbands friend from work invited me to attend a service at Central Baptist Church. I decided to go to the service, it  was like nothing I had every seen or heard before.  As I left the church for home I was given a track to read. That night I opened my Catholic Bible and began reading the book of Revelation.  I read the track.  God showed me my sin,and I prayed that night and asked God to forgive me and to cleanse me of my sin.  I trusted what Christ did for me on the cross of Calvary , and my life has never been the same.

Since that night in the fall of 1992 God has changed my life forever!  My husband received Christ a month later and we began attending Central Baptist Church . For the first time in our lives we began studying Gods word and experiencing the wonderful fellowship with our heavenly Father.  In the fall of 2012 it will be 20 years since we took that step of faith and our lives have truly been transformed.  In Genesis 1:27 the Bible says that we were created in the image of God.  As we continue to read in Genesis we find that God has a desire to have fellowship with man kind.  When sin entered into the world that relationship was severed.  In Gods great mercy He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, who died on the cross to take our punishment (Romans 6:23).  Through that great love we can have our relationship restored with our heavenly father.  The Bible says in Romans 10:9  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  The day I trusted Christ as my Savior truly was the greatest day of my life!

Making Butter!

This past week we made some butter! 

You know the old fashion way.

Well they probably did not use a glass canning jar to make butter

but we discovered through some books we were studying

about "Colonial Times" that we could make our own butter, so we

decided to give it a try. 

First we purchased some heavy whipping cream.  Took a glass

canning jar with lid and ring (you could use any jar with a lid)

We poured in the heavy cream and started to shake the jar.

Thankfully we have five  younger children who could share in the

in the shaking.



We passed it around and kept shaking!  This went on for

about 40 mins!  We were at the point of giving up and throwing

it into a mixer when all of a sudden we began to see the butter

seperating from the buttermilk!  

This really was pretty cool! 
We then had to drain the buttermilk from the butter

Stephanie then took the butter and began to rinse it in cold water

to remove the excess milk

When we finished we formed it and wrapped it in plastic wrap

We placed it in the fridge and we had some awsome butter!



Aside from the butter we also had some buttermilk left.

I had purchased some store bought buttermilk that was

cultured so I took about a 1/2 cup of the cultured buttermilk

and poured it in the buttermilk that we had.

I left it out on the counter  in a glass jar over night and in the morning

the butter milk had thickened! 

Of course we had to make some buttermilk pancakes that night and

try our fresh made butter!  Yum add a little bit of maple syrup

and what a great tasty treat!

Now my children want to make butter every week!

I think we need a cow!

If only .............. well we can dream :)

Take My Life and Let It Be
Frances R. Havergal, 1874

Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.

Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee;
Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.

Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee;
Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.

Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise;
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine;
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store;
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee.

Timeless Truths

Desire to Serve God Continues

Jim Elliot had a rich heritage, he had the priviledge of growing up in a godly home with parents that obviously trained him and all of his siblings to have a heart to love the Lord and to serve him. It appears to me that Jim was a young man that had set his heart and affections for the Lord at a very young age. As I read this book I am just amazed that at such a young age he was so desiourous to know the Lord and to serve him with his whole life.

Jim seemed to always know that his main purpose in life was to bring the gospel to a people that had never heard the gospel before.

I was so impressed with his wisdom for such a young man. In his college years where he attended Wheaton College he often wrote home to his parents.

One such letter on Janurary 27 he shared how he had such a burden for the high school group of young people and how important it was to give guidance in what he called the reckless years.
This really spoke to my heart. He reminds us how when they were young the biggest problems was perhaps a broken window or an apple fight.

I will quote Jim " A year's patient, prayerful shepherding will bring most of that flock home with Little Bo Peep's lambs, dragging their tails behind them. " " It takes a while for revelry to turn to reverence, and much repetition of truth to eventually turn young zeal into habitual channels for good. Take care that well-doing does not become a weariness. It is after ye have done the will of
God' that you have most need of patience." The last sentence really encouraged me.

One of my greatest desires is to see all of my children living for the Lord , loving him and following his will for their lives.

I look back on my life and see how God was always working in my life. I did not receive the Lord until I was 29 years old and I often wish that I had known the Lord at a younger age. I wonder what would my life be like now? Well there is no sense to think of the what ifs. God in his soverence knew when would be the best time in my life to reveal himself personally to me, how so very blessed I am!

God Bless, Kathy

A Desire to Serve God

Well it has been a long time since I have blogged anything and as I was talking to my daughter Rebecca I told her how I would like to journal some of the things that God has been doing in my life and how he has been speaking to my heart. She suggested that I just write these things on my blog. So I thought that I would give it a try.

This past semester Rebecca was able to take a missions class and one of the books that she was required to read was Through the Gates of Splendor. I had watched the movie The End of the Spear which retold the story of the five men who loved the Lord so much and wanted the Wadoni people to know of the Lord Jesus that they were willing to risks their lives to reach them.

I had heard of Jim Elliot but I really did not know too much about him or these men so I decided to also read the book. The book was so good it really captured my heart and made me desire to have a closer walk with the Lord myself.

After I finished the book I looked online to see if there were any other books that I could read to learn more about these men and I came across a book written by Elisabeth Elliot (Jim Elliots wife) Shadow of the Almighty The life and Testament of Jim Elliot . This book has been such an encouragement. Much that is written in this book was taken directly from letters that Jim had written to his parents, siblings, friends and a small diary that he always kept with him.

I am currently reading this book (when mommy gets a few minutes to read :) and I am going to write some of the things that the Lord used to speak to my heart.

God Bless, Kathy

Quilting Projects

I have finally finished my wall hanging!
It was a lot of fun I really enjoyed learning
the different aspects of quilting on this smaller
project.

When I began this project I thought oh I will just machine quilt, no problem,
but the teacher said, "no I am going to have you hand quilt."
I really enjoyed the hand quilting it worked out good at night when I
finally had a little time to just sit and unwind.
Now I do not know if I would like to hand quilt a large quilt, but I can appreciate
why hand quilted quilts are so much money :)

I had some fabric left over so I decided to make a throw pillow to match.
This pattern is quite easy once put together and a good size to hand
quilt again.


If you have some fabric left over this would be a great project to begin with!
God Bless, Kathy

Some More Great Savings!

I went to our local Walgreen with coupons in hand and I was able to get some great deals last week !

I bought 2 Gillette Gamer mens razors for .04 each! They were on clearance and I had a 4.00 coupon for each of them.

I also bought 2 packages of FriXion erase-able pens for .19 each package.

My best deal was for the FriXion erase-able highlighters. They were on sale for 1.19 each pkg and Walgreen had a 1.00 off coupon so they came out to .19 cents each same as above for the pens. What made this deal even better was the package had a 4.50 rebate on the back if I bought 3 of them. So I have the rebate in the mail and I will actually make money on this deal :)

Trying to be frugal sure is fun :) It does take some time and planning though but some times the rewards can be worth the work.

Money Saving Mom or Living Rich with Coupons are a great place to start for some ideas on some great tips.

Frugality It is so much fun!

Well one of the things that I have been trying to learn is shopping more wisely. Last week at Shoprite (our local grocery store) I did very well I was so excited!

My receipt said that I saved a total of $170.00 after sale prices and coupons. I had quite a few many which were doubled. Love those .75 cent coupons :)

In the picture up top I was able to get the 4 tubes of toothpaste for free, I received 12 boxes of Smart taste Pasta for free, 4 Snuggles dryer sheets for free, 4 bags of No Yokes egg noodles for free, 1 dozen eggs for free too, in the end I spent a total of $51.00.

There are many websites that I like to frequent for deal ideas and coupons here are a few.
Couponmom.com
Living Rich with Coupons
Money Saving Mom

This year I thought I would learn a little more so I purchased a book from Coupon Mom .
She had a lot of good ideas which have helped me.

I know that there are a lot of young ladies that frequent my daughter Rebecca's blog and I must say that learning this important skill while you are still young can be such a blessing to you in the future. What husband would not be happy if his wife was frugal and spent his hard earned money wisely. :)

I hope to continue to keep learning more tips in my Frugal journey ;)

Baby Quilt Project

Here is my first baby quilt top that I decided to make for a

dear sister in Christ in our church who is due any minute. :)

I found this free pattern on line at Claudia's Quilt Shoppe

It was written for Absolute Beginners!

The quilt had 5 , 9 patch squares and 4 snow ball squares

I decided to sew the backing to the front along the edge and to turn it right side out.

I had pinned the batting to the back of the front piece.

I also decided to tie the quilt.

I used 6 strands of floss and tied every 4" or so.

I really enjoyed making this quilt.

I would encourage any one who is new to quilting to give this one a try.

God Bless, Kathy

My Version of Julia Child's Beuf Bourguignon!

One of the many things that I enjoy learning is cooking. Of course I do cook everyday for our family of ten but I would like to learn how to cook some new dishes.

So off to the library I went and I took out the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

My husband loves beef stew but I never knew how to make a good beef stew so I found this recipe "Beauf Bourguignon" from Julia's cook book. This book is very thorough and I think that I will have to start saving up for a copy of my own.


I have to add that I did not use the 3 cups of red wine that Julia used in the recipe. I replaced this with 2 cups of red grape juice and 1 cup of water. So if this changes the recipe too much and it does not qualify to be called Beuf Bourguignon well than so be it :)

I decided to make it last Saturday and rewarmed it for our Sunday lunch after church. This worked out wonderfully! As a matter of fact Julia states in her book that it tasted better the next day and I think I must agree!

I found a site with the full recipe and directions if you want to give a try for your self!

Here are a few photos of the process. I hope you will give it a try I am sure you and your family will enjoy it.

Free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

My dear husband bought me a brand new sewing machine this past christmas so I decided to take a quilting class at our local high school. I have been working on a wall hanging and learning a lot of different techniques.

I also found some curtains this past summer at a tag sale and I had to cut them and adjust them to fit our basement windows. I made up a little smile box that you can see some of the photo's.

The picture of my quilt is in progress and when I have it finished I will let you all know.

God Bless, Kathy

(Of course the photos are taken by my wonderful daughter Rebecca the photographer! :)

This digital scrapbook created with Smilebox

I have a question for you all...

(image courtesy of Gasoline Alley Antiques)

I volunteered for our annual Ladies banquet coming up and I was asked if I had any ideas for some party favors.

The theme is going to be picnics. There will be the checkered table clothes and mason jars with cut flowers for the center pieces.

Sounds so cute! I was thinking of making pin wheels. What do you all think of that? Does this go with the picnic theme?

Does any one have any other ideas? I appreciate any suggestions.

Have a wonderful day! God Bless, Kathy

I'm Just a Country Girl at Heart!

Hi my name is Kathy and I am a wife to my wonderful husband Doug with whom I have been in love with for the last 28 years and a mother to eight wonderful children which I have the privilege of raising for the King the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been homeschooling for the last 14 years and it has been a growing experience and the old saying that you are always learning is so true!

My daughter Rebecca and I racked our brains on what to name my new blog. I have always desired to live in the country and the things that I really wanted to blog about, were about all of the many things that I have always admired about country living and about the many skills that I wanted to learn.

I will be 47 this year and I realized that there is still so much that I want to learn and do. Life is passing by and I thought I need to get moving :)

I always loved watching Little House on the Prairie! I loved the idea of baking bread, quilting, sewing, gardening and cooking a good home cooked meal. I always dreamed of having my own fruit orchard.( Hmmm. Apples wouldn't that be wonderful!) I love making apple pie and apple sauce how much more rewarding it would be to just go out and pick our own apples :)

Well the Lord has me living in the suburbs so this is were I must be content :) But I still can learn new things .

So I want to invite you to come along and follow me in my journey of a life time of learning!

My daughter is working on designing a title picture and decorations for my blog, which hopefully will be up very soon!