Getting Ready..

We haven't been blogging very faithfully these past two weeks, so I thought I would post a little update on what we have been doing. Our main activity has been getting ready for the CHEC Homeschool Convention in Denver on Thursday! We are very excited as this is our first year doing a booth for our business and magazine. Mom and I have been running about, making up all of the "homey" goodies we want to decorate the booth with, plus all of the other products we are taking with us. Needless to say, it's going to be one packed booth! I keep finding things we can take with us..

Here's a couple of things we have been working on this week~

We discovered that nice displays of any kind can be wickedly expensive. Amen Dad knows how to make our own! This is our cookie stamp display for the table. He made a couple of others for our magazines and cd's.

We are also taking along the majority of our ribbon embroidery goods. I made up two little designs to sell with the ribbon. I had all of the instructions and how-to pictures printed out on nice little cards. I thought they came out rather pretty :)

And when preparing for the convention hasn't kept us busy, the weather has. We've had tornadoes and storms almost everyday, nothing too serious, but they have provided some wonderful picture taking opportunities. Not to mention all of the rain has been wonderful! Our garden is enjoying it immensely

Two tornadoes came down yesterday behind our house, a good distance off, but close enough to see. Both stayed on the ground for about an hour, but I don't think either did any damage.

Now I need to hop off here and get to the rest of my duties for the day! I might have a chance to get back on later to finish my homemade ice cream post :)

Have a very blessed day everyone! ~*~Jessica~*~

Delight Yourselves in The Lord!

This was today's Elisabeth Elliot newsletter and I thought I would share it. I found it very encouraging..

A Safeguard for the Soul

"Souls are vulnerable things. They need safeguards. It was when Paul was in prison that this idea came to him. He had just been writing to the Philippians about the benefits that accrued because of his own sufferings and the possible death he might die. He told them of Epaphroditus' illness and anxiety, and finished with "In conclusion, my brothers, delight yourselves in the Lord!...You will find it a great safeguard to your souls" (Phil 3:1 JBP).

It would be very easy to allow depression and anxiety to overcome us when we look at the dismal circumstances in which we sometimes find ourselves. Who had better reason than Paul for depression? ("Oh well, but he was Saint Paul!" we counter.) He had learned by practice how to apply the soul's safeguard, which is not mere enjoyment. It is delight. This is a command and therefore an act of will, and it is done in the Lord. No circumstance is so dismal as to prevent obedience to the command. No trouble can blast that safeguard. Do it. Do it by faith. Delight yourself in the Lord. Maybe you will have to get out of bed, get up from your chair, go outdoors and walk, sing a song out loud, bake a pie for somebody, or mow the lawn as an offering of praise. You can do something which will help you to obey that command. It is amazing how strongly what we do affects how we feel."

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Let's choose JOY!!

Many blessings on your day! ~*~Jessica~*~

Vanilla Bean Frappuccinos

A dear friend and I have been talking about Starbucks, and generally how we can't afford it. It is really true. Even if you can afford $4.00 for a cup of bean water and foamy milk, going too often is a rotten waste of money! This is of course coming from a Starbucks guru (we love Starbucks). I'm a shaken tea addict.

So she started digging around for some good coffee recipes and sent them to me to mess around with. This afternoon, Mom and I decided that we needed a little perk, so I dug out the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino recipe :)

Vanilla Bean Frappuccino

I only changed a couple of things in the recipe. I decreased the amount of sugar, added more ice cream and added vanilla extract too. This is pretty basic, throw the following ingredients into the blender and turn it on.

2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2-1 cup strong brewed coffee, chilled
4 small scoops vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup ice cubes

It came out quite yummy! I have been craving something with chocolate today, so I stirred in a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder into mine, and some chocolate chips. Just like a Java Chip Frappuccino.. :)

Thanks Michelle!

June Quilt Block!

This is the lovely June quilt block for our quilting membership. I love all of the pretty blue fabrics for this one :). This one is a little less challenging than last month's block, which involved fabric folding, but it came out so very pretty! We only have one more block to go before we can put our quilts together! I had better catch up on mine..

Have a lovely day everyone!

~*~Jessica~*~

June Giveaway plus May's winners!

The winners for the Seasons at Home Subscription are..
Cathy Bryan and Heather G! We have emailed the winners, and you must respond within 5 days of this post.

This is the June Giveaway Post so go ahead and enter! Two winners will receive a Seasons at Home Magazine subscription! We do have a new rule that an email MUST be provided. We will not go to your blog to contact you. To read the rules again, go to the Giveaway Page above, Thank you and blessings!
Theresa