The Best Blueberry Smoothie in the World

Here is a picture of our favorite smoothie. It has blueberries, almonds, bananas, tahini, maple syrup, water, and bee pollen. We got the recipe out of the 'non' cook book REJUVENATE YOUR LIFE by Serene Allison. It truly is the "BEST SMOOTHIE IN THE WORLD". ~Sisters

P.S. You can order her book at www.aboverubies.org

Strawberries

If you think that the cake below is a bit too rich and/or fattening, here's an excellent salad that would lighten things up!  We made it with baby lettuces from our garden.  Add organic strawberries, red onion strips and chopped walnuts.  We made the dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and salt.  VERY refreshing.  ~Sisters

Happy Birthday Daddy

I made a Genoise cake for Daddy's birthday. One layer was plain and the other was chocolate.  In the middle was a layer of chocolate ganache.  The icing was a rich chocolate buttercream.  It was the first time I made this recipe (which was a combination of 5 recipes) and it took most of the afternoon.  There was a lot of work with the double boiler and A WHOLE BUNCH of chocolate, butter, and heavy cream involved. Daddy loved it and is still eating it.  He said it was even better the second day after it was refrigerated.  I used recipes out of the WILLIAM SONOMA BAKING BOOK for this cake.  I had a few bloopers, but the result was delicious.  ~Laura

Part 2 of Precious Things

"Christ is precious, O most precious, gift by God the Father sealed;

Pearl of greatest price and treasure, hidden, yet to us revealed;

His own people's crown of glory, and resplendent diadem;

More than thousand worlds, and dearer than all life and love to them."

Frances Ridley Havergal 

~Laura

Mock Tuna Salad

Here is our version of several raw mock tuna recipes~

4 Large Carrots

2 Celery Stalks

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

1 C. Walnuts

2 T. Dulse and/or Kelp Flakes

2 T. Organic Soy Sauce

1 t. Onion Powder

1 T. Flat Leaf Parsley 

Vegan Mayo to Taste

Finely chop the carrots, celery, red bell pepper, and walnuts.  Mix in the next 4 ingredients.  Add in as much mayo as you like.

We ate this Thursday with avocado, and we stuffed it into whole wheat pita pockets for a picnic lunch after bible study Friday. 

In bible study, we have been studying the book of Joshua and have been putting Joshua 1:6-9 to memory.  The verses are all about being strong and of a good courage.  My favorite version to memorize these verses in is the KING JAMES VERSION because of the word "withersoever". The sound of all the neat words is alot of fun to memorize. :-)

~Laura

Meet Elizabeth

Elizabeth does not know that I have decided to introduce her to everybody! Muddy and I put together 2 slide-shows of her when she was practicing her violin.
~Laura

Mystery Project Clue #3

Aiguille et Fil

~~Laura

Sewing Machine Poll

Do you have a favorite sewing machine? Please post a comment and tell us your favorite and what features you like best. I love sewing sew........ much and Elizabeth is starting to learn also. Sharing one machine isn't easy. I'm currently using my mother's machine and am starting to look around for one of my own. Thanks for your opinions.

~Laura

Tomatoes

WOW! We are SOOOO excited that the tomatoes are on the way to producing! Elizabeth has already started to draw them. We will post another of her paintings in a couple of months when they actually have tomatoes on them!
~Sisters

Weekly Verses

During piano lessons 1 1/2 years ago, while working on the hymn "LIKE A RIVER GLORIOUS", our teacher introduced the book LIFE CHORDS by Frances Ridley Havergal. I do not think that it is in print anymore. We bought ours used over the internet. This verse is part 1 of "Precious Things". I will share the rest of the verses periodically.
~Laura

"O WHAT shining revelation of His treasures God hath given!

Precious things of grace and glory, precious things of earth and heaven.
Holy Spirit, now unlock them with Thy might golden key,
Royal jewels of the kingdom let us now adoring see!"

Salad Time

Here is another salad idea ~
Organic baby greens, organic romaine hearts, organic spinach, red bell pepper, grated organic carrots, grated organic beet, chopped organic red onion, artichoke hearts and capers. We topped this salad off with a dressing that has organic fresh lemon juice, dijon mustard, organic olive oil, and celtic sea salt.
Deee-licious!!

We normally won't post on a Sunday but this was too beautiful and the whole family got in on taking the photos! ~~Sisters

Banana Muffins

We are so sorry that we have not posted in so long. Our computer crashed the day that we had planned to post! We changed from a PC to an iMac and are still trying to figure it out!

Here is our favorite recipe for whole wheat banana bread (or muffins). We wait until the bananas have brown spots before we make them. We freeze the muffins for our father and he eats them for breakfast every morning. We even make our own brown sugar! We have made this recipe with both pecans and walnuts, and we make bread, muffins, mini bread loaves, and mini muffins!
~~ Sisters

Banana Muffins~

3/4 c. BROWN SUGAR
1/2 c. COCNUT OIL
2 FARM FRESH EGGS
1/2 tsp. SALT
1 tsp. BAKING SODA
1/4 c. BUTTERMILK
2 c. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
3 SMALL MASHED BANANAS
1 tsp. VANILLA
1 c. PECANS OR WALNUTS


CREAM TOGETHER THE BROWN SUGAR AND COCONUT OIL.
ADD THE EGGS 1 AT A TIME, THEN THE SALT.
DISSOLVE THE BAKING SODA IN THE BUTTERMILK.
STIR THE FLOUR AND BUTTERMILK INTO THE ABOVE MIXTURE
STARTING AND ENDING WITH THE FLOUR.
ADD THE BANANAS, THEN THE VANILLA, THEN THE NUTS.
BAKE IN A PREHEATED 350 DEGREE OVEN.
MUFFINS ~ ABOUT 15-20 MINUTES
BREAD ~ ABOUT 1 HOUR

Mystery Project Clue #2

... And her hands grasp the spindle.

Proverbs 31:19

~~Laura

Spring is Here

While outside in our backyard we could not resist

capturing these flowers on camera!

They grow on our fence right by our garden.

~~Sisters

Mystery Project

I am currently working on a new project. This picture is the first of several clues leading to my mystery project. The final clue will lead you to the answer. I am planning a final unveiling around mid to late May God willing.

~~ Laura

Birthday Afghan

"She rises also while it is still night..."

Proverbs 31:15

I made an afghan for Muddy for her birthday this month. I woke up early for 28 days to complete it. Elizabeth would read my bible verses to me each morning during quiet time so that I could knit. The afghan has 5 different yarns, including alpaca and ribbon. It is so soft and fluffy! Muddy loves it and was really surprised. ~Laura

SO MUCH MORE

"The heart of her husband trusts in her,

And he will have no lack of gain.

She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life."

Proverbs 31:11-12

We are currently reading SO MUCH MORE by Anna Sophia and Elizabeth Botkin and have listened to their audio tape. We were very excited to hear them speak in February and have provided the link to Anna Sophia's speech that evening. May you be blessed by her words as much as we were. ~Sisters

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/2007/02/2117.aspx

Garden Babies

"She considers a field and buys it;

From her earnings she plants a vineyard."

Proverbs 31:16

These are organic seedlings that we have started for our summer crop, and we have planted quite a variety of vegetables and herbs including peppers and heirloom tomatoes. Most of the plants are for our family garden, but we will sell some at the farmers market. They will be organic plants that are not available at local nurseries! We start the seedlings each year, and are so amazed at how God enables such tiny seeds to become beautiful plants that produce such tasty garden goodies. Wow! What a wonderful botany lesson!

Felted Purse

"She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight."

Proverbs 31:13

Here is a purse that I knitted for Grandma (Muddy's mommy). I also knitted a purse just like it, only in blue tones, for Mamie (Daddy's mommy). I always keep at least 2 knitting projects going at the same time, so that I never get tired of one project. I am always knitting, either in the car, or while we listen to our Father's evening devotions. I am currently knitting a baby afghan out of 100% organic cotton that we bought while in Santa Fe, New Mexico. ~Laura

Salad!

"...And gives food to her household"

Proverbs 31:15

Our family loves trying new variations on the typical salad.

Here we made one using fresh baby greens, blueberries, and avocado.

All this salad needed was a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of celtic sea salt to bring out the flavors. ~~Sisters

Dog Food Thieves

I saw this little robber out the kitchen window!

This less than beautiful robber was creeping around until our dog found him!
(No harm came to these little robbers except for a terrible shock from a scared barking little Bichon Frise) ~~Laura

NATURE~GOD'S HANDIWORK

By Elizabeth

I had a great sighting today of a beautiful bluebird and a mischievous squirrel! I was just finishing up my mathematics, when lo and behold, a squirrel came to my view! It was rather small, with a grayish brownish tint. I watched it furtively with interested eyes, as it hopped from one branch to another, and he made it very clear that he wanted to transport himself over to the next tree. Among all this fruitful activity, he plunged forth into the branches, lightly landing on all the pretty leaves that were shaded so delicately. As I watched, I noticed that it's small little feet were straining to make each landing profitable, and that it's toes were gripping the branches every so lightly! And to my sudden surprise, it had swiftly gone up to the very top of the tree and tried to jump to the next tree, but with little success. It's next try, it went up even higher, and swinging itself to and fro, it made it's desired landing. I was amazed at how far it flew to the next tree, and with such alacrity as well! When it had disappeared from my eyes' view, I saw a lovely bluebird that was sitting on the limb of a tree, singing away it's happy song, when it suddenly dove at a 100° angle down to a stump. I was shocked! If any other bird had tried such a thing it would have been sudden death. But the bluebird had such a gift, as to make it an easy glide with ease and grace. God made bluebirds and squirrels very special for his wonderful plan.

Canning Pears

"...She brings her food from afar."

Proverbs 31:14

Recently while at Whole Foods, we found organic pears on sale!
We bought 4 huge bags, came home and canned honey pears. We'll use them later for ice cream toppings or pear cobbler. ~~Laura

We couldn't resist making a dessert for that evening, and so while Muddy and Laura canned the pears, I decided to make a pear cobbler. It turned out very yummy indeed! ~~Elizabeth

We served it up with vanilla ice cream and Daddy was the first recipient.

Let Us Introduce Ourselves

We are Laura (15) and Elizabeth (12), two sisters on a journey to becoming virtuous women. We have been studying Proverbs 31:10-31 and are excited about learning to be the women that God planned for us even before we were born. We are starting this blog in hopes of encouraging other young ladies and women to bring back some of the lost arts of homemaking and stepping "out of the box" and trying something new. We'll be sharing our successes and stumbles, ups and downs. We will be baking, sewing, knitting, playing instruments and singing. There will be service projects, poetry writing and new business adventures. We'll be trying all sorts of new things and stretching our limits with activities we've never tried before. We are praying for God to guide our hands, show us new opportunities, and lead us in the path he has prepared for us. Please join us as we explore the life of the woman whose worth is far above rubies.

We are daughters and homeschoolers and have priorities that must be met each day. We'll try to post a couple of times each week, but if we're absent at times, it's because we're busy being daughters and homeschoolers (or maybe working on a fun project). You might see several posts in the beginning of things we'd like to share up front, but it will taper off soon. Muddy (alias Mommy) may also pop in and share something with us. Please be patient with us as mistakes will surely happen with our blogging as this is all quite new to us.

Thanks and God Bless