MerryHeartCrafts.comMountain Momma… Country Living

Hello ladies.  It has been very cold here in Floyd today.  Temperatures have been in the upper 30′s but the wind has made it seem like 20′s.  We had snow flurries yesterday but nothing stuck to the ground.  This morning was extremely overcast but by late afternoon the sun came out for a little while.

The girls and I worked on school in the morning and then we helped Hubby set up Jessica’s bed.  No pictures yet as he has not put the headboard and footboard on.  He says we will have to put them on after we take it down to Jess.  It would be too big to fit in the van if we put it together here.  We are thinking we will take it down to them Saturday, if all goes well. 

Yesterday, the girls and I went down to Jessica’s.  Sam and Katie had appointments so we went to help.  On the way back home, Sam feel asleep.  I carried him up to his crib, we ate lunch and then left.  Sam was very upset when  he woke up and found out MawMaw was gone.  Jess had to call me and let him talk to me on the phone.

I hope you all have a great evening.  God bless.

My Christmas cactus is blooming.  I don’t think it has ever bloomed at Christmas but it’s very pretty no matter when it blooms.  I love the bright pink color.  It always makes me feel happy when I look at it.

Temperatures here this morning were mid 20′s with a heavy frost.  It has warmed up already to low 30′s and the sun is shining.  I think it will be a nice day.  We will be doing school as usual, then we have some wood to unload.  We also need to go into town to get some chicken feed.  Thank the Lord, we have once again sold enough eggs to pay for the feed. 

Jess and Katie are doing well and big brothers are adjusting nicely to having a little one in the house.  Katie seems to be (as of right now) a very content little girl.  She sleeps very well at night, 3-4 hrs between bottles.  Amazing!  David will be going back to work on Thursday.  He took a week vacation during Katie’s birth. 

Well, it is almost time for school and I have clothes to hang out.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Here are a few more fall pictures.  These was taken last Saturday during our hike at Bottom Creek Gorge.

Fall is such a beautiful time of the year.  We have been working on school, cleaning up the garden for fall plowing and working on an afgan.  Not a lot going on.  Yesterday evening we gave Mr. Rooster away.  YEAH!  We gave him to a family that wants to hatch baby chicks for their young daughter to take of.   He will be so happy.

Yesterday, it was rainy and foggy here.  Then the temperatures dropped quite a bit during the night.  It was 36 degrees this morning when we got up.  The sun is out now though and it looks like it will be a beautiful day.  Yesterday, I was reading a blogger friend’s post, http://theboydbunch.wordpress.com/, and she was having crockpot parmesan chicken for supper.  I thought that sounded good and I had already planned on having chicken for supper so I looked up a recipe for it.  I’m not sure if this is the same recipe she used or not but it was really good.  I got my recipe from betty crocker.  I did make a few changes. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan with Penne Pasta

1 egg, 1/3 cup bread crumbs, 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 jar spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, 2 2/3 cups penne pasta.

1.  Spray crockpot

2.  In a small bowl, beat egg until foamy.  In another bowl, mix bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  Dip chicken into egg, then coat with bread crumb mixture.  place in crockpot.  Cover chicken with spaghetti sauce.

3.  Cover and  cook on low for 5 to 6 hrs.   (I cooked mine on high for 4 1/2 hrs.)

4.  Cook and drain pasta.  Serve chicken on top of pasta.   Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.  (I used mozarella).

Makes 4 servings.

I hope you all enjoy your day and God bless.

We had such fun day yesterday.  We went with the Horn’s to Natural Bridge.  I have lots of pictures to show you all.  We’ll start today with the bridge itself.  Isn’t it beautiful?

This picture shows how big the bridge actually is. 

I love this picture of Grace.  I wanted one of Julie too but she was ahead of us with the Horns. 

I wanted to tell you all the amazing blessing we had on Friday.  We went with Hubby to check on a job and were coming home from C-burg.  We had some rain and then the sun came out.  When this happens, we are always on the lookout for rainbows.  Well, we found not one but two.  The girls and I had never seen a double rainbow.  These both were complete arches reaching from one end of the sky to the other.  They were so huge.  Sometimes it seemed as if we were driving right into them.  We got to see them for at least 15 min.  It was so amazing.  We were so excited.  I wish I had my camera with us to take pictures but it probably would not have done any good.  Vicki was at home with her camera but she couldn’t get a picture of it.  She said it was too  big to get it all.   Isn’t God good to show us something like that. 

I’ll show you all more pictures of our trip next time I post.    I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

Yesterday, we went down to watch the boys while Jess went for her ultrasound.  This time the baby was not shy.  Jess will  be having a little girl in  November.  All seems healthy which of course is the most important thing.  About 2 months ago, while in Goodwill, I found this darling little dress.  I thought it was so cute  I just had to buy  it.  You know,  just in case it was a girl.  I figured I could always give it as a gift to someone.  

We had quite a lot of rain last night and today has been alternately overcast and then sun.  I have clothes on the line hoping to get them dry.  It is very humid here with a temperature of 90 but we do still have a slight breeze. 

I hope you all have a great day and God bless.

The ducks and the geese were in the yard together this morning.  Look how much they have grown.  The mama duck has 5 babies that have survived.  One goose is missing.  We are hoping it is not mama or papa.  From what I can understand they mate for life.  If something has happened to one of them it would mean no more babies, which would be very sad.

Our VBS has been a lot of fun so far.  2 more nights to go.  Thursday night is family night.  We went with Hubby yesterday.  He had a little repair job at this house on Claytor Lake.  We worked on school while he did the job.  Then we went down to the lake for a picnic.  It was a nice day.  I, of course, forgot the camera so no beautiful lake pictures.

Today is a beautiful day here in Floyd.  Temperature is in the lower 70′s as of now.  The sun is shining and we have a slight breeze.  Very nice.  We are hoping for nice temperatures this weekend as Dave, Jess, and the boys are coming up.  We hope to go into town on Saturday night and watch the fireworks. 

I have clothes ready for the line so I better get busy.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

On one of the rare occasions Sunday that the sun actually peeked through the clouds, we happened to be at Smartview Park.  These beautiful fire pinks were blooming everywhere.

I thought you all might like them.  We are always looking  for  different types  wildflowers and quizzing each other to see if we can remember their names.

Today is STILL overcast and foggy.  We had rain most of the day yesterday and more last night.  Our temperature this morning was 40 degrees.  I finally decided to just go ahead and build a fire.  I washed a load of clothes on Monday and hung them up inside.  This morning there were still not completely dry.   It takes a long time for them to dry if I don’t have a fire and besides the house was a little chilly and damp.

Time for school.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

We have a very small snowball bush that was given to us last year by a friend from church.  I was not sure it would survive the winter but it did and now has one beautiful bloom on it.  It also has several new starts coming up from the root.  Next year we are hoping for lots of bloom.

Yesterday the girls and I went to big town.  We needed chicken feed and a few other things.  We went to Books-A-Million, which is a big treat for us.  We used to have one in Christiansburg but they moved to Blacksburg.  The girls had some money they had been saving.  They each bought a new book with their money.  I found this documentary in the bargain DVD basket.   I am thinking of using it some for next year’s history course.

We have had several days of fog and rain.  Today, though, the sun is peeking through the fog.  Hopefully the weekend will be nice.  Dave, Jess, and the boys are supposed to come up for the weekend.  Our church is having a clay shoot tomorrow.  Dave is going with Hubby to shoot and the rest of us are going to a big yard and craft sale here in Floyd.  We hope to picnic Sunday and celebrate Hubby’s birthday.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

Our baby chicks are now 3  weeks old.  It kinda amazes me we have only had them 2 weeks.  Seems much longer somehow.  The red ones are a week older than the white ones but for simplicity’s sake we put them all at the same age.   

We had some rain last night, with wind (of course)  and it is still overcast today.  I am hoping for some sun but we’ll see.  Temperature is nice though, 56 degrees.  I was hoping to get some of the earlier veggies planted in the garden but it is too wet.  Maybe I am just getting in too much of a hurry.   Several years ago, when we first moved to Floyd, we had to replant all our garden.  About the last week of May, temperatures dropped to the teens for 5 nights in a row.  Everything froze, even through our buckets that we had used to cover our plants.  The seed potatoes froze in the ground.  So needless to say after that I try to not plant too early.  However, I can plant peas, lettuce, onions and cabbage now (as soon as the garden dries up enough). 

Well, time for school.  Enjoy your day and God bless.

Our forsynthia bush is in full bloom.  I love the bright yellow color, so cheerful.  Today is beautiful here in Floyd.  Temperature is mid 50′s, the sun is shining and the wind is not too aggressive.   Very nice.  I have one load of clothes on the line and another on the way.  We are busy with school and have plans for outside time this afternoon.  

Yesterday was a nice day too.  Church was very nice and our evening study went very well with lots of discussion.  Our menu last night was beef roast with potatoes and carrots, green beans, macaroni salad, cookies and peaches.  Very good.  We did hamburgers on the grill for lunch yesterday, with grilled onions and asparagus.  I love cooking on the grill.  I think it makes everything taste so good.   

Enjoy your day and God bless.