Diaper Tricycle

This is what I made the other day. I seen this idea on Pinterest (of course lol) a long time ago and have been meaning to make one for a baby gift. So I finally took the time to do it! If you are interested in making one just go to YouTube and type in diaper tricycles/cakes etc. and piles of ideas come up.

Cheers
Ash

Bittersweet Horfrost and Sunrises.

This morning we woke up to some beautiful horfrost!! I love horfrost. The old wives tale is that 6 months to the date later we should receive rain and if that is true that is wonderful. It means we will get a rain mid-may. Let's pray it happens bc we will most likely need it. (Unless we get PILES more snow yet)

It's also things like horfrost (and sunrises/sunsets etc.) that really make me sad for the people who are either sick in a hospital bed (too sick to go out) or passed on. Because these are such beautiful things that God created for us to enjoy and know that there is always a new day or that no matter how bad it seems there is ALWAYS something good about your day. Seriously. All I have to do is watch the sun rise and it makes me feel so rejuvenated, full and content. (not every morning mind you...he he but most) Anyways I guess it just tugs at my heart because they will never experience these things with us again. Someone said me today that my Grandpa will be able to experience these things through my eyes. I want to Thank that friend. She is so right, not only will he be able to cherish those wonderful moments in life with us still but he will always be with us. I know my Grandpa is going to Heaven and for that I am glad. Mom said he was singing in the hospital the other day and he even had a nurse that could speak a bit of low German and she sang 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus' with him. Oh how I wish I could have been there to hear him sing one last time and also to sing with him. My Grandpa loves music and loves to play instruments.

When I sat down tonight I had absolutely NO intentions of writing about Grandpa. But when my fingers touched the keyboard I could not stop. I love my Grandpa so much and I am SO blessed to have had all my Grandparents alive till just a couple of years ago. Not many people get to spend as much time with them as myself and my cousins have, or even introduce to them their Great Grandchildren! So for that I am Thankful.

So when you get to Heaven Grandpa, please say Hello to Grandpa Friesen, sing with the angels, make some home-made Summer, Comst Borsht or Noodle Soup with Jesus and don't forget to behave!

Goodnight Grandpa.
Love Ash

Passing down family recipes one generation at a time

So lately I have been on a mission to organize my duo-tang that is supposed to be my 'Canning Diary' but is also filled with my random collection of recipes. I have been wanting to make a Recipe Binder, so I started the task. I had been telling my mother-in-law about my project. I think I must of talked about it at least two or three times, the last time being at her house. Because all of a sudden she says she has something for me. It's something that she started working on for my birthday and hadn't finished it yet. Out she brings a Recipe Binder! It has our family name on the front and everything, cards to write recipes on, page protectors, etc.

Needless to say, my crappy binder went to the wayside and I transferred my recipes to the new binder.

I don't know if she could have given me a gift that meant more to me than that. I just wanted her to know how special this is to me, it's not a fancy elaborate gift or anything but I'm a lover of practical meaningful gifts.

In it she had recipes from Grandma Manns, Grandma Nelson, herself and some of Corey's aunts. Unfortunately I never got the pleasure of meeting Corey's Grandma & Grandpa Nelson and I really wish I had. I have been told more times than not how much Corey is his Grandpa Joe. Brenda even inserted a funny little phrase that Grandpa Joe used to say pertaining to a certain recipe. That made it even more special. Apparently she has more recipes to add to it yet and I can't wait to see them :)

This is something that I will treasure and use for all of my days! I love it.

Thank-you Mom-in-law!

Cheers & Goodnight!
Ash

House update and freezer burnt hotdog buns.

 All that is new new with our house is all the snow that is on it LOL! I'm glad we have the floor on so the basement did not get full.

 Out of the back door.

 Out the front door.

 Getting ready to go to the cabin.

Lifelong friends? yikes ;)

This is the best we could do for a picture of all four of our kids. Of course we always leave it till we are ready to go home and the kids are DONE! lol. Sorry Reg this is the best I could do ha ha!

So since it is hunting season, it is a tradition to have a 'Fish Fry' where our hunting crew and families get together every weekend to fry up our most current catch of meat. It's funny that we call it a fish fry because the purpose is to fry the deer meat but lots of times nobody is lucky enough to shoot anything so then we end up frying beef lol...

Last night was Fish Fry number 1...I guess to end Muzzleloader (Deer-1 Hunters-0) and to kick off rifle season. We headed over to our cabin across the road which is where we were all meeting at about 7 pm and by the time we got there both kids were sleeping so I just decided to take them home and put them to bed. So, I missed the partay last night. One of my girlfriends took pity on me and spent the evening with me while her hubby went to the fish fry.

Then today rolled around and Tanner was upset because he never got to go to the cabin so we promised him that after his nap we would go to the cabin and have a fire and roast some hotdogs. The hubby and a couple of his buddies decided to site in their guns and afterwards we all gathered at the cabin and proceeded to have a lovely Sunday evening of laughs and stuffing our faces with hotdogs and chips. Not to mention a rum and a whiskey here and there ;) Although this was kind of spur of the moment plans and we didn't really have any hotdogs or buns so Reg and I both had to mooch from our mother-in-laws!! And really who keeps fresh hotdog buns in their house in November??????? lol. I must say that a camp stove hotdog really drowns out the taste of a freezer burnt bun!

We were discussing how city people would be so bored (and probably disgusted) with our Sunday entertainment! This cabin is nothing fancy. It is an old granary that we pulled into the bush and put an old wood stove in. There has been so many memories made there. I believe it has been there for 4-5 years. It is a pit stop for the sleigh trail, a place to we have family gatherings, a place to have Birthday party's, a home for the mice (no joke ha) and it's where we spend Christmas Eve every year. A lot of BS has been told there and so many laughs.

So all in all it was a wonderful place to spend a few hours while it snowed to it's hearts content today!

Cheers!
Ash

Wanted by Hunter Hayes

I liked this song when I first heard it on the radio. Actually I thought it was Rascal Flatts! He sounds just like the lead singer of Rascal Flatts. Then two weekends ago my brother-in-law and sister-in-law danced to it together at their wedding social and now I LOVE it. It`s such a precious song. Although I must say that the video kind of ruined it-dissapointed me. First off, he looks VERY young, secondly the chicky poo riding on the bike with him looks eons too old for him lol. I guess I just expected an older `experienced` guy to be the singer...LOL. If that makes any sense. I find it ironic when you see very young singers singing about things that you would think that only people who have experienced a true long time relationships would know about! Does that make senseÉÉ (How do I make my question mark work again!!!!!gr I have no idea how I accidentally changed it) Anyways, this song melts my heart. I am in need of some mushy songs for my heart tonight because it is hurting for people I do not even know. My mother-in-law told me a story that is so heart wrenching that I will not even repeat it. I wish they would not even of put it on the news. All I will say is that these parent(s) lost their two year old child.

Anyways, have a wonderful night all.
Ash

And the house continues to go up.

Yesterday and today we got A LOT accomplished on the house. My uncle, cousin and the other fellow that works with them found some time to come and help us work on the house. Thursday they finished putting the weeping tile all around the basement, waterproof barrier on basement walls, crushed rock and styrofoam down, filled the dirt back in along the outside walls, put the I-beam in place and started on the floor for the main floor. Today they pretty much worked on the floor all day. Then we also had a guy here to drill the piers for our veranda and entrance. We did not get the floor quite done, almost but not quite. Once that is done we start stacking blocks for the main floor walls!

 Putting the I-beam in place.

 Almost there! It goes across the whole length of the house for the floor to sit on.

 The black stuff is the waterproof barrier on the basement and as you can see the dirt is filled in.

 It snowed for half of the day today! It looks like Christmas. Here is my handsome hubby putting up floor joists. I was sure that someone would slip up there and fall down. The snow made it slippery.

 I told the hubby that he has to leave this big pile of dirt where it is so I have a good place to get pictures from a good view. Slowly but surely it's coming together.

 Drilling the piers for our veranda. I do not have any pictures of the floor being covered with plywood, I will get one tomorrow.

Tanner has been sooooooo in love with his sister lately! Like to the point of smothering. He just will not leave her alone. It's cute actually, if she makes any sort of a peep he is instantly by her side asking her what is wrong. LOVES to hold her and he is actually doing really good holding her. She loves him too, constantly smiling and laughing at him.

 <3

Tonight I made a Tatertot Casserole and it was soooooooo yummy. This recipe will be a favorite in my kitchen for awhile! And so easy to make! Here is the link: Tatertot Casserole

That's all folks!

Ash

Happy Halloween!

 Ali is a cat and Tanner is a frog!

Landen is a clown! We happened to stop at Grandma and Grandpa's at the same time.

 Cousins, they are 1.5 years apart.

 Caleb makes the CUTEST Superman!

He even had a cape!!!!!!

We only did four stops this year. Getting in and out of the vehicle with both kids is not that much fun plus Tanner still is not old enough to think that being in a costume is fun so he wanted it off after stop #1. haha. After four stops they had over half a pillowcase full of candy!

I know it's November already and my post is late but that's ok.

Have a wonderful day!

Ash