Soup Recipes Wanted!

Winter is nearly upon us and there is nothing like a steaming bowl of soup on a chilly winter day. I'm looking for good soup recipes to use throughout this winter.
And if you give your favorite soup recipe, you have a chance to win a copy of the 28 page "The Hope Chest Record Book"! This contest is open to anyone. All you have to do is comment on this post with your favorite soup recipe, and the person with the best recipe will win the book. You are welcome to enter more than one recipe if you wish. When commenting, please do not select "Anonymous" as your identity, as I will need actual names when announcing the winner.

The deadline for this contest has been extended to December 15th, 2007. Winner will be announced here on December 17th.

Random Musings on Aprons

I love aprons.

I don't mean the kind of apron you usually find in a department store, that has nothing pretty about it except maybe the fabric. I'm talking about "girly-girl" aprons - the old-fashioned kind that is gathered at the waist, has two ties that go over the shoulders and meet the ties at the waist; the kind that has ruffles at the shoulders and around the hem. That is what I call an apron. The other stereotype "aprons" should be called clothing protectors or something.

The value of the apron has been lost over the generations. Aprons used to be worn all the time. If you think about it, it really does make complete sense. An apron is worn to protect the clothing, and if visitors arrive or Dad comes home, the apron can be whisked off and there you are, fresh and clean. Probably the concept has gradually been forgotten as women have started to dress more casually and pants have less risk of becoming soiled.

Now, all that said, I admit that the majority of the time I do not wear an apron around the house; but I beg to say that the reason is that I do not yet have a "pretty" one as I mentioned earlier. But I am planning to make one, and trust that I shall begin wearing it regularly once it is finished!

The benefits of wearing an apron:
It keeps your clothing clean and consequently ready for anything! :-)
The skirt of an apron makes a very handy "basket" for laundry, veggies from the garden, and other sundry items
It lends a sense of femininity and-
It can even give you the motivation to do your housework with joy! (Or at least do it {smile})

Several months ago, my grandparents on my mom's side came for a visit, and you know how grandmas are always bringing you things that they found in their closets or picked up at Hobby Lobby. Well, this time my grandma (Oma, we call her - it's Dutch for grandma, and my mom's side of the family is Dutch) came armed with a very special thing - my great-great-oma's apron! She (great-great-Oma) wore it everyday, except Sunday because she had a special white Sunday apron. It's still in wonderful condition, and almost looks brand new, which tells me she took great care of it. What a treasure to have something from so long ago, and from my own family!

Well, I hope this hasn't bored you, but rather inspired you to begin wearing an apron regularly - a real apron.

The New Hope Chest Record Book

Guess what... I have just recently published a new version of The Hope Chest Record Book, which was (and still is) available through the Maidens of Virtue Shoppe. This new version is hardcover, so it is created to last and be passed down for generations to come. And it has 100 entry pages, instead of 28 like the original paperback, combound version. Yes, it is more expensive - but you are getting a keepsake with a lot more room for filling that chest to overflowing! You can purchase this through Maidens of Virtue (on the same page as the original) or from Fairhaven Press.

Motherhood

I am not usually a big video person as far as blogs go, but this otter one was just too sweet to not post it! An adorable picture of motherhood!

Patience Rewarded

This is a post I wrote for our family blog, and thought maybe you girls might enjoy it too:

Here at our lovely home, we were sure that there must be hummingbirds around. We had seen a few even at our old house in a subdivision, and one would think that here, with so much open land and fewer houses, we would find more wildlife.
Well, we were right.
We have two hummingbird feeders out, and have had them filled for quite some time. We've waited and waited, and then we saw a hummingbird a month or so ago, but it didn't seem very interested in the feeder. So we added more sugar, which proved more effective. We now have a little "resident" hummingbird who stays around all the time, and what is more, we see every day what is apparently rather unusual. We see it sit. Most people spot hummingbirds in flight, but our little friend has a favorite perch on our Japanese maple, right by the deck, and we see it sitting there quite often.

Here are 3 shots of basically the same view:





It was very fun for me yesterday morning, which is when I took the first two shots. The hummingbird was sitting on her usual branch, and so I grabbed the camera and decided to go outside and see if it would fly away. It did, but was back in a moment and I was able to get those pictures with our "super zoom" lens. Then it flew off again, so I moved closer and waited to see if it would come back. I was standing about 2 feet or so away from the feeder, and then the hummingbird came right up to it! What a neat experience to be so close to one of these amazing creatures. Unfortunately the camera would not focus fast enough and I was not able to get any close-up shots.
It is amazing how fast their little wings go - when they hover, they don't make much sound, but when they move, it makes a whirring noise. Very neat!

God's creation is MARVELOUS!!!

Another Contest!

Well, girls, it's time to start sewing! Modest Handmaidens is now offering a sewing contest for young ladies ages 9 to 19 (three separate categories). All you have to do is send in 2 pictures of one of your sewing projects with a submission form!
The deadline is October 15, 2007.

Click here for more info!

P.S. The winners of the essay contest put on by Modest Handmaidens are now announced! Click on the same link above to see the results!

"Nice Blogger Award"

My mom tagged me for the "Nice Blogger Award" which is:
“This award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award."

So now I am supposed to pass it on to 7 others, but I don't know 7 bloggers, so here's what I do have:

My friends:
Anna Joyce

Megan Rose

Lauren

Mrs. Guenther at Teacup Talk

Miss Taylor at Godly Girlhood ~ Taylor's Blog

Lovely blogs, ladies... now it's your turn to tag!

If I find 2 other good blogs, I'll add them too! :-)