We recently took a trip to Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. It is a wonderful place to take your family and have lots of fun!!!

These are some pics of some of the fall decorations.

These are beautiful handstiched quilts from local quilters

We just had to ride the teacup ride

Entryway to a Sweet Shop

Family of Scarecrows

Ever seen a Pumpkin tree?

The Violin
Alone in an attic stored away,

without being played, untouched and neglected

There's a beautiful instrument

Waiting for someone with care to find it,

to bring life back to the silent strings

There's a feel of a warm hand on the bow,

The wood is nestled under a soft chin,

After years of still silence,

the bow's smoothe hair touches the strings

Gently gliding through the air

The silence in the room is filled with a sweet melody of harmony and peace

Shanna Renee Lane

Copyright ©2007 Shanna Renee Lane

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The poem listed above, is written by my youngest daughter, Shanna, and was recently awarded as a winner of a poetry contest on the http://poetry.com/Publications/display.asp?ID=P8300672&BN=999&PN=1 website and will be in a new book being printed up soon.

My oldest daughter, Alissa, was recently contacted that she was a winner in a recipe contest for the Kitchen Garden Seeds magazine. She was very blessed by the news. You can see her actual recipe, listed on the website, by clicking on the link below and then click on the Rosemary Lemon Balm Cookies.

http://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/recipes/index.html

Or just read it here below.

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2007 Award-Winning Recipe!

Alissa Lane * Mountain Grove, Missouri ---

“At sixteen years old, growing herbs is a hobby of mine and I also love to bake. When I found a recipe for Rosemary Cookies in a magazine one day, I decided to try them. However, the recipe called for lemon zest and since I didn’t have a lemon, I decided to try fresh lemon balm instead. The cookies turned out wonderfully and everyone said that they tasted like they were fresh from the bakery.” We think so too, Alissa. Thank you!

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Rosemary-Lemon Balm Cookies
½ cup butter
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh lemon balm
½ teaspoon lemon extract
3 ½ cups unbleached white flour
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cream butter, shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in rosemary, lemon balm and lemon extract. Combine dry ingredients and gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in raisons. Roll into 1” balls. Place on un-greased cookie sheets. Flatten with a fork. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy fresh or freeze for up to 3 months. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.
Recipe Seeds: Lemon Balm, Rosemary

Daughters Are Such Blessings!

I read a statement from an article that said, "Give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back."

This is so true.

A few years ago, my daughters and I were in a convenience store that we frequented, and the cashier asked me advice on parenting. She said, "Your girls are always so well behaved. What is your secret to parenting?" I was a little surprised that someone would ask ME such a question. My answer was simply, "A lot of time & love." She was kind of taken back by such a simple answer. But I gave her a smile and then she said, "That is good advice."

I love spending time with my daughters. They are such a blessing to me every day. In the small things as well as the big things. We work well with one another and we spend time discussing things that are on their minds.

They also get along well with each other as siblings. This is something that I do not see a lot of in many families. I have always told them that they may have friends that come and go in their lives but the two of them will always be sisters. They have taken that advice and become best friends. They still have other friends but they have each other first. I believe that they will always stay close to one another.

Recently they have both decided to start their own businesses. Alissa is raising jersey wooly rabbits and also making soaps from herbs that she grows and sells from her greenhouse. Shanna makes candles and also gives music lessons. They decided to work together over the holidays, setting up a booth at a local craft show. (Our dear neighbor provided a booth for them.) I was very proud of them for working so hard and sharing the work with each other. They handled themselves as adults would and did pretty well.

Since we also have a family band, that gives us a lot of opportunity to work together while we are having fun playing the music that is dear to our hearts. Everyone has to work on their own part to add to the music and then we come and put it all together. It is much more fun to sit around playing music and singing together than to watch television and have no communication. We all really enjoy it.

Raising children does take a lot of time and love. But it is definitely worth the sacrifice.

The Kitchen is a Good Place to Start!

I was talking with a relative of mine a few days ago and found myself giving my own testimony of what has happened in my life that has changed my home and way of living.......It started like this:

I bought a timer. Yes, this seems like a simple little thing. But it has changed my way of thinking and my way of life.

Things that seemed hopeless to me before are now being changed in small increments of time. Five, ten or fifteen minutes set on my timer allows me to tackle huge jobs a little bit at a time so that I do not become overwhelmed. Usually when I see myself or others procrastinating about doing a job, it is because it seems too BIG to do. But if it can be achieved a little bit at a time, it can become possible to finish.

I told my relative about my timer and how I had bought one for my daughter to help her get organized. Now, I know that this relative spends a lot of time in her kitchen, so I told her "The kitchen is a good place to start." I bought her a timer of her own and gave her a few cleaning tips. Then I started cleaning her kitchen sink to show her how to do it and to help get her jump started. She seemed skeptical at first, thinking how can this really do much for me?

But the next day, when I went to her home and walked into her kitchen, it was CLEAN. The clutter on the counter was put away and where there are usually dirty dishes piled in the sink, was clean and sparkling. I was so proud of her. But most importantly, she was proud of herself. She was smiling a big wide smile. She even showed me a cabinet that she had organized.

After we visited for awhile, we went shopping and I bought her another little helper. It is an index card binder. When we got back to my home, we sat down and started writing little projects in it that she wants to work on. This is an excellent way to set up habits that you want to create in your life.

She is doing great and I am so happy for her! I hope that this is an encouragement to you too!

Christmas Cookie Exchange/Tea Party 2006

We had a wonderful time, last month, hosting our 3rd Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange/Tea Party. It is something that my daughters and I look forward to each year. This year we had seven ladies that participated in the baking of a variety of cookies.

We served Christmas Spice flavored tea along with some finger foods that we arranged on the kitchen table that we used as our buffet.

After we ate, we played a Bible trivia game and my favorite game where everyone says something nice about the person sitting next to them. (That one always brings a smile to their faces.)

If you've never been to or hosted a cookie exchange or tea party, you could start your own tradition next month. You don't have to wait until Christmas time. Valentine's Day is another perfect opportunity to have a tea party or a cookie exchange. We just enjoy giving away some our cookies during the Christmas Holiday as gifts to our family and friends.

I just finished making up the booklet for our party. It consists of all the recipes from the seven ladies who baked the cookies. A friend of mine helped me put it together. Each lady will have a recipe booklet of their own to remember the fun event and to have the recipe to keep and bake in their own kitchen.

My only regret is that I did not take any pictures. I wish that I had taken some during the party to remember and show them at the next year's event. I will try to remember to do this next year.

Happy

HomeKeeper

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