The Feast of Stephen

  Happy Feast of Stephen Day!

   Wait. . . WHAT???

You heard me right! Today, is the Feast of Stephen! Have you ever sang the song 'Good King Wenceslas'?
                              You know. . .

Good King Wenceslas looked out

On the feast of Stephen

When the snow lay round about

Deep and crisp and even

Well, today is the feast of Stephen that the song is referring to. And the Stephen that the feast celebrates, is the Stephen in the Bible who was stoned as the first martyr for Christ. So take a moment today to remember those who have suffered for their faith, and to pray for those who are suffering for their faith.

Today also happens to be Boxing Day. And this does NOT refer to a boxing fight. Instead, it refers to the day when you take boxes of food and necessities to the poor and needy.

Tis the Week Before Christmas. . .

Since some of my married siblings are going to be out of the area for Christmas, we did our family Christmas with them early this year. :) 

It was a great day celebrating the birth of Christ with my family.

You're probably sick of Christmas baking pictures, but we put together some plates for the neighbors with gospel tracts. I took the picture too soon, because after I took it, Hosanna wrapped them up with a pretty bow.

Since we opened some of our presents early with the married kids, I got this! I keep calling it a Fitbit, but it's not the Fitbit brand, so I'm really not sure what to call it . . . Whatever it's called, I'm enjoying it!!!

One year, Mom got these three angels in a white elephant thing and I always put them in the window. Since there are three of us single aunties. . . can you guess which one the nieces and nephews think is me?

I LOVE this picture the married kids got for Dad and Mom. It's missing the newest grandson, but besides that, they're all there! 

Tomorrow, is our church's Christmas Eve program at 7:00 p.m. and we'd love it if you could stop by! The birth of Christ is worth celebrating! Without Jesus, we have no salvation. So PRAISE GOD for His Son!!!!!

Christmas Baking

We usually always put together several plates of Christmas goodies and give them to neighbors, bring them to church, family get-togethers, and anything else we can think of, so we do a lot Christmas baking!

Some years, I don't do as much of the baking as I did this year, but after not baking all summer, I've REALLY been enjoying the kitchen!

Yes, this is fruitcake. No, I've never made it before. No, it wasn't as horrible as everyone seems to think it is! No, I didn't use brandy even though the recipe called for it! I should have taken the picture later, because I ended up drizzling it with white chocolate. (That was the best part:)

These are peppermint cream cheese mints. We weren't done drizzling them when I took the picture, but you get the basic idea.

And of course, we usually dip hundreds of these little pretzels. I was REALLY glad that Miriam did most of the pretzel dipping this year because after dipping all of the maze ones, I was tired of pretzels! But not so tired of them that I didn't want to eat them . . .

I'll try to post pictures of other things we made later.

I LOVE CHRISTmas. I really enjoy all the family get-togethers, but the thing I love the most about Christmas, is my dad's favorite Christmas verse. 1 Timothy 1:15 ". . .Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. . . "  As you go about the season, don't overlook the reason for the manger. The baking, the decorating, the lights, the family, they're all things to be thankful for, but don't forget why He came! We NEED a savior, and Jesus is that Savior! What amazing love!!!!!

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Today, we went to Grandpa and Grandma Krahn's for lunch, and on the walk home, we couldn't help but notice the snow covered trees. My sister Hosanna grabbed the camera and we did a quick photo shoot! We've had a lot of light snows lately that make me feel like I'm living in a snow globe!

So, this beef heifer wasn't being very cooperative and walked off, but I do live on a farm!!!

Okay, so when I'm walking through the woods with other people, I DON'T normally grab trees! However, when you know the person behind you has a camera . . . you do things a little different! When I'm by myself, I've been known to rip holes in clothes from climbing trees . . . 

And, of course, Dad's dog, Mike, felt left out so he had to come see what we were doing!

Does anyone else have trouble smiling naturally while looking at a camera? 

I tried throwing some snowballs, but the snow was too cold to stick together.

As you can see, we do still have some flax straw if you need to buy some!:) 

I found this on my phone the other day! Mom sent it to me a while ago. . . Apparently it makes everyone think of me!?!?!? :) :)

A huge thank you to everyone who stopped by the craft show! I had a lot of fun!!! A special thank you to two of my AMAZING friends who helped me out!

We ended up babysitting some of the grandkids all day, so Mom invited some of the others over and we had a Christmas party! They decorated cookies, had a treasure hunt, and heard some stories.

I hadn't done these iron on bead things in forever, but when the nieces wanted me to do something with them, I pulled them out! It was a lot of fun to see them enjoying it so much. I used to spend hours doing this kind of thing. 

Then, this morning, I made another latte. This one was a white chocolate, peppermint latte, and although it wasn't quite what I was expecting, it was still delicious! 

Sometime, in the next few weeks, I'll be posting an excerpt from my current work-in-progress, but I'd like to wait till I finish the cover. Since the program I was using to design the cover is having trouble, it may be a little while. Until next time, this is Priscilla J. Krahn, reminding you to enjoy your family and have a merry Christmas!!!!

December 1st

     Since my dad doesn't like Christmas overrunning Thanksgiving, we always wait to decorate the house till December 1st. It's one of my favorite days of the year! My mom posted pictures on the family blog, so I don't need to re-post them here, but as the Christmas season draws near, I want to encourage you all to remember WHY we celebrate Christmas. Last Christmas, I wrote about Eight Reasons Why I Celebrate Christmas, and today, I just want to remind you of point three. CHRISTMAS IS A GREAT TIME TO SHARE CHRIST!!! As you go about Christmas shopping this year, make sure you take the time to share the gospel. Give a gospel tract, and brighten the world by letting your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, which is in Heaven.

Author Interview!

 If you'd like to get to know me a little bit better, Ruth O'Neil interviewed me on her blog! Some of the questions were really hard to answer, but I enjoyed it anyways! :) You can read the post here.

   I got connected with Ruth through the Indie Author Sale, which is still going on! Adventures of Amy books are$0.99 on kindle!

Black Friday Book Sale!

I'm THANKFUL for books!!!! 

The kindle versions of the Adventures of Amy books are on sale this weekend with the Indie Author Sale!

   Regular Kindle price - $2.99 - Sale price $0.99

There will also be a LOT of other books by independent authors for sale as well! From November 24th-30th the huge selection of discounted books is available at indiechristianbooks.com. You can also join the Indie Christian Authors for a week long Facebook party during the same dates.

www.indiechristianbooks.com

Thankful to be an Aunt!

  With Thanksgiving, I'm reminded to be thankful! one thing that I'm ESPECIALLY thankful for this week, is the fact that God has blessed me as an aunt! I have eight awesome nieces, and eight awesome nephews, including one that WAS BORN THIS MORNING! :) :) :)

I know I've posted this picture before, but with Thanksgiving, and remembering the first Thanksgiving, and the pilgrims, and the Indians, I thought the outfits were cute! I love seeing the nieces wearing my old dresses!

Remember to stay Thankful! After all, that IS THE WILL OF GOD!!!!!

And I just had to add these pictures again of me with two of my awesome nephews!

Book Review - The Rise of Aredor

 Although I don't read nearly as much as I used to, (or as much as I would like too.) I do still find time occasionally to read. I got this book last year in the Indie Author Sale and wanted to share this review with you guys.

The Rise of Aredor, by Claire M. Banschbach

   The story is compelling as it follows the life of Prince Corin, the second son of the King of Aredor. At twelve years old, Corin's life goes from the common routine of his education to a life of hardship and pain when he's kidnapped and brought to a far country as a slave. As the years go by, and Corin has no hope of ever making it home again, his memories of life at the castle, and his family fade. After eight years as a slave to the cruel lord Balkor, he's given the opportunity to take on a new life. No longer a slave, but still unable to go home, Corin settles into his life. Trying to push the pain from his past aside, Corin makes friends, and is trained to become a special guard for a wealthy lord. While battling wars, sickness, and his own past, Corin becomes a confident soldier who is fiercely loyal to his friends and the man who saved his life.

   Then one day, word comes that his home country had been taken over by the very lord Balkor that he had served under for eight years. If he stays in his new life, he knows he will regret not having done something, but what is there to return to? Can he ever be victorious in bringing his country back to freedom? And what of his family? His parents, and brother and sister haven't been seen since the invasion. Are they still alive? Will he find his family or will he lose the one position he has been given? Can he handle having friends on both sides of the war?

    Living in the forest as an outlaw isn't exactly the way that most prince's live, but it's better than being a slave, and when his past returns, he knows that there is hope. Hope for his family, and hope for his beloved country Aredor.

     Loyalty, friendship, intense action, and adventure are woven into the pages to make one compelling book! The beginning was a little hard to get into, but once I got started, the characters made you like them. I look forward to seeing more of her books as she continues to improve as a writer.

    As far as content, there is not a lot of spiritual content, some violence, (battle scenes etc.) and clean language.

      From November 24th-30th a huge selection of discounted books is available at indiechristianbooks.com. You can also join the Indie Christian Authors for a week long Facebook party during the same dates.

Four Fall Lattes!

When I'm stressed out, and under a lot of pressure, I can act kind of weird. . .  I know that some of you are probably thinking right now, 'She must ALWAYS bu under a lot of pressure and stress, cause she's always weird!' and you're probably right. For me, when I have a list of deadlines, and feel like crawling into a hole and hiding for a year, the best way to relax, is to make something in the kitchen. Of course, we have to be careful with the 'things' we go to when we're stressed. The only thing that can really help us, is spending time with Jesus, and HE should be the one we go to. Not books, not food, not movies, not people, we should go to Jesus. That being said, sometimes, I have the greatest conversations with Him while I'm working in the kitchen. Making something for other people's enjoyment helps me take my mind off of me, and focus on Christ, and serving others. This fall has been an especially crazy time for me, and since I hadn't been able to bake or experiment in the kitchen all summer, I've taken full advantage of this fall in the kitchen!

My latest 'creations' have been fall flavored lattes!

You've already seen the pictures of the Pumpkin Spice Latte.

But then there was the Apple Cider Latte. This one was good when it was fresh and still hot, but as it cooled slightly, the apple cider curdled the milk a little. Of course, it was still good, (I mean it had coffee in it!) but of the ones I've made, this one was definitely my least favorite. I didn't use any one recipe for a lot of the lattes. I kind of merged a few recipes and threw in my own twists, but this one had apple cider, milk, coffee, brown sugar, and vanilla. It didn't taste the greatest to start with, so we added some cinnamon and caramel and that did the trick!

The Caramel Latte was one of my favorites. You can't go wrong with caramel, milk and coffee! I also added a bit of vanilla and brown sugar. Then we topped it with whipped cream and more caramel.

This is my attempt at a Turtle Mocha Latte. Although it doesn't look the nicest, it tasted great! Not quite like one you'd get in a coffee shop, but close. I'll have to try making this one again and see if I can get it any closer to the taste I was looking for.

Basically, most of the recipes are 1 cup of strong coffee, to 2 cups of milk, then you add whatever flavor you're trying to get, and sugar to taste.

What is your favorite latte/coffee drink? I'm hoping to try making a few more, and I'd love some ideas! Till next time, this is Priscilla J. Krahn, reminding you to stay thankful in EVERYTHING, and enjoy the small moments of life.

Four Deer!

   There's nothing like sitting out in the freezing cold for hours. No matter how many layers of clothes you have the cold still manages to creep in. It starts with stiffness in your cold fingers as they grip your frozen gun, and moves to your toes, until your whole body is freezing. Then you see the deer, and the cold is forgotten as you try to stay steady despite your racing heart. That is hunting.

      For those of you who haven't already seen the pictures, here we are! Four of us hunters, and four deer on opening day! We are so blessed!!! God is good!!!! You may notice in the bottom picture there is actually five deer. One of them is my brother-in-law's deer. Now we just need to get together and cut them up for the freezer.

Proverbs 12:27 "The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious."

Hunting Season!

Saturday is the beginning of our deer hunting rifle season. Around here, that's like a holiday, even our local businesses give people a long weekend for it. The last few years, we haven't done much hunting because you were only allowed to get bucks, well this year it's open for buck or doe, so we're hunting again! Hopefully next week, I'll have some pictures and we'll have some meat in the freezer.

   Some years hunting, I didn't see any deer. Other years I saw deer and . . . well, I have some embarrassing stories. :/ Picture me with deer running circles around me and you'll get the picture! But there is one year of hunting that stands out. It was my second year hunting. I was thirteen, and it was one of those years that I'll never forget!

   Opening day I came home with a ten point buck and a doe! I won't tell you the whole story because if you're not a hunter, it would probably bore you, but a picture is worth a thousand words.

If you're interested in the picture of me gutting the doe, (with help from one of my brothers) you can look at the original post from seven years ago on my family's blog. 

Please pray for safety this weekend as there will be a lot of hunters out. The temperatures will be cold making it harder to sit still, but the snow makes it easier for tracking. Lord willing, we'll have some meat to put in the freezer by this time next week!

I couldn't resist taking a few more pictures of the beautiful snow!!! :) :) Despite the high winds and power outages, I still love this weather!

My first snow angel for the year! :):):)

Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Pumpkin Snow

       So my sisters and I went for a walk through the fresh snow today. It's a lot whiter now than when we took these pictures, but it gets the idea across :):)

And yes, I did throw a few snowballs. . . 

Despite the snow, and the fact that I was listening to Christmas music, I was still baking like it's October! Honestly, I've never been a fan of pumpkin flavored anything, not that I hated it or anything, it just wasn't my thing. I'm more of a vanilla and chocolate kind of person. I don't know if it's all the pumpkins around or what, but this Fall, I've been wanting to try some pumpkin recipes. (Maybe it's the Hallmark movies:) 

So, I made Pumpkin Whoopie Pies today!

And Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Ecclesiastes 7:8 - Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.