Our visit with Grandma C

Well I never thought a year ago I would be a 'twice a month blogger' but that is what it has come to. I just have not made it a priortiy and that's ok I guess:) We are doing great. With having the 2 oldest at ECA for school, our schedule has taken on a whole new meaning!

My Grandma Craiger has been moved to a nursing home and we try to go over a couple of times a week to visit with her. She is doing pretty well considering how independent she has always been. It really bothers her to have to ask for help! If you know her, you understand this:) Lord willing she will board a plane in January with my mom and dad to head to the D.R. Even if its her last trip, that is what she wants. We are hoping she keeps improving and is able to go. Last night her home had an open house for halloween so we met Brandon and Ashlee over there with the boys. They had a great time.

Applesauce Fun!

Two good friends and I spent a day this week making homemade applesauce.

Boy was it fun and boy is it yummy!

We did 4 bushels of apples in about 4 hours. With 2 kitchenaid mixer attatchments (one was mine that I had been saving up for...great investment!), 3 adults, a handful of kids...it went pretty smoothly. I canned several quarts but froze the rest in baggies. Here is the step by step!

Cutting each apple into quarters
Boiling them down until they are mushy

I am just realizing I didn't take a picture of us feeding the apples into the mixer. Out one end comes the cores, seeds and peel and the other end comes this...

Filled the bags

Here is my stash for the winter. I froze most of my veggies but wanted to give a try at canning. Looking forward to having fresh from the garden vegetables this winter.

Chapman is 9

So hard to believe our little Chapman Reed was born 9 years ago. On Tuesday Sept. 29th we celebrated his birthday. He had some friends over for a little party. His request was 'cake balls'. They are our new favorite treat. I'll post more soon on what these are:)

Chapman is such a joy to have in our family. He is happy Chappy most of the time. He's a good friend to others and has a real sesitive spirit to the word of God. He is very faithful at reading it each day. We pray that he will grow in his knowledge of our Savior and that

God will use him in a mighty way!

Fun Field Trips

So far this year we have had some really fun and interesting field trips. We have learned about Pioneer living and visited Sauder Village in Archibold OH. The boys had a great time learning how they lived long ago and experiencing it first hand. My mom was able to go with us which was a special treat.

We also visited a small farm here in town that some friends of our church owns. He had llama, goats, deer, turkeys and zebras outside.
He is a big time hunter. He's been to 32 different countries to hunt all kids of animals. He preserves them and has a 'museum' in his house. It was amazing and he of course had every ones attention!

The kids had a ton of questions and he answered what he could.