20 Days to Christmas!!!! :)

Yesterday, Sunday, Win shared at church on the signs of the coming of Christ. He looked up lots of news articles and shared just what is going on in our day. The things that Christ predicted are happening. The largest earthquake, so far, was this year. He shared how the fig tree represents the nation of Israel and how Jesus said that when the fig tree would blossom, the end would be in that generation. The nation of Israel came together in independence in 1948, and if that representation is true, the end is very near at hand. We must be ready.

Friday, Dec. 2nd, I officially learned how to make candles. I had tried before, but didn't know how to do it easily. I made several with Rachelle Himelick's help. I am hoping to start selling them sometime soon. I am also hoping to make some bar soaps, as soon as I can get some money to start that up. 

Jabin is growing so fast. He goes everywhere and gets into everything. We have to keep the bathroom door shut and keep the bar soaps up or he'll go in and try to take a bite! He goes around in his walker and if you don't watch out he'll run over you in his hurry... :) It's funny, because sometimes he's looking one way and going another. Right now he's got a cold, which he gave to me, so he's a little less active.It's hard to believe that in another week, he'll be 9 months.

I'm hoping to be able to get a Christmas tree this year, but I'm wondering how that's going to be with an explorer in the house...We might have to make some adjustments... :)

Where have I been this year?

Wow. I just realized that I haven't been on my blog for almost a whole year... I actually kind of forgot it, obviously. Let's see, where to start???  My pregnancy was great, and to some exceptional. I didn't have much of any sickness or anything. I gave birth at IU North Hospital on March 13th, 5:25 PM to Jabin Koroka Oki. He was 21.5 inches long and 8 lbs. 15 oz. with lots of hair. :) My Mom helped out and Win stayed with me the whole time. When Jabin was first born he had some fluid in his lungs, but after just a short while he was ok. As I type this he's crawling around my chair... (time flies...). He gets into everything; especially the computer area because of all the interesting cords. He likes to play the piano. Win started letting him play when he was about 4 months old and now he goes over by himself and plays it. He likes the "Pat-A-Cake" song. I've just recently started feeding him solids, at approximately 7 1/2 months. His favorites so far are sweet potatoes with apples and applesauce. Well, I'll try to do better at posting. Jabin needs my attention now... :)

Just an update on myself: I am currently 19 weeks pregnant, but haven't felt anything yet. I haven't had any major, distracting symptoms. I have a "new" wardrobe, mostly borrowed, so I am enjoying a new variety of clothes to wear. Last week I went over to Alicia's house to help her out a little. I am hoping to go over again this week. Church has been going pretty good with our new building and schedule. We are changing our church meeting time to 10:45 next week, because no one was really getting there on time. Hopefully it will be better next week. I've been playing the piano for church now, as Sister Gibson is still playing for the Methodist church. I've enjoyed that. We are going to see a lawyer this Thursday to see about Win's paperwork. Hopefully that works out and it's not going to be too expensive. We also need to call the midwife to see if she is taking new clients. We called the Dr.'s office, and without having insurance, they require a $1,000 downpayment for one visit. Thankfully, I'm not having any problems. Well, that's enough for now.

Hotdog Stand on the Circle

Yesterday Mom and Dad came down and took me out for lunch. Dad had been wanting to have a hotdog from a stand on the circle for awhile, so we decided to try to get one there. I didn't even know that guy sold hotdogs. They were pretty good. Anyways, we ate them on the steps of the monument, and then went to the library so I could show them around. We were going to go look at baby stuff, but it got too late. Anyways, it was a nice change of pace for me and nice to see my parents again.

Fresh- Grown Salsa!

Saturday I made homemade salsa. I think it came out pretty good. I used the tomatoes and hot peppers from our garden. I just kind of guessed at how much to make and what to add, seasoning wise. Mom gave me a recipe, but it was hard to know how much to add, because I didn't really know how much I was making. I got 11 jars; 6 hot and 5 medium, hopefully. It was kind of hard for me to know how much hot peppers to put in so I just put a few spoonfuls and hope that we'll be able to taste the spice. I added onions and green bell peppers (had to buy those, but maybe not next year). I used the canner and just gave the jars a hot water bath. The lids all sealed so I'm really happy about that. I hope that I'll get enough tomatoes again that I'll be able to make some spaghetti sauce. Here's some pictures from the experience.

Pumpkin Cookies

Here's a recipe that I'm trying out today.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1/2 cup margarine

1 egg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream the first 3 ingredients together until well mixed. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Using a small or medium cookie scoop (spoon), drop the dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies.

My First Garden

Yesterday I started harvesting some of the herbs I planted. I got basil, peppermint, and thyme. Some of the others I'm still not sure what to do with. I tied them up and hung them in the laundry room to dry. I am hoping to get some medicinal benefits from them. I tried to make some peppermint tea, but while it was boiling I started playing the piano, so it got burnt, and was very nasty.

I am going to try to make some salsa and maybe spaghetti sauce this weekend or next week. We've got lots of tomatoes and hot peppers. I wish I had planted a little more variety, but this was just my first time, so I am glad that they came out as well as they did. I let some of the plants go to waste, unfortunately. The lettuce bolted and then died; the kale was ready, but I didn't really know what to do with it, so it died too. My organic carrots never came up, except for 2 teeny ones. The cucumbers were similar to styrofoam, so most of them were wasted. I did get a couple though. I guess I am going to be having lots of tomatoes and hot peppers!! I have some purple peppers that are getting ready to be picked, so I am anxious to try them.