Casner Family Blog

After Hannah finished up the softie from Lukas-she was inspired. We pulled out her sewing machine and she made a cat for Lizzie today. We used Sock and Glove for the patterns.

      

    

 A long time ago, when we first adopted Mac I took this photo. They both have grown up a bit since then.

      

 Here are the berries from our fist pick. We ended up finding a whole other section of berries that I didn’t know we had. I think we picked about a pound.

 This week when I went out to visit Suzanne, Lukas was making softies with gloves. They were awesome! He was kind enough to send me home with one to finish. He included 3 buttons and even a threaded needle…

 Hannah finished it the next morning when she returned from Grandpa & Grandma’s. Thanks Lukas!

 

Black raspberries… more photos tomorrow.  

Our bake sales all began with the kids wanting to make some money. I asked them to brainstorm ways to do so, and this was one of the ideas I thought we could do. Matheau and I have several goals for the weekly baking sessions and then time sitting at a table trying to peddle our wares.One, that money isn’t always a fun thing to earn, sometimes your job isn’t the most fun thing to be doing, but it is worth it when you earn the check-or our case-cash and change. To make money, you sometimes have to spend it first. Each week, we take time to deduct the price of our supplies and ingredients used to make the product. It does cut into our earnings, but it is a necessary  step. Customer service-this has been a biggie and the hardest. I can’t think of a time when I have had an opportunity to respond and help educate our children in thinking through how they respond to adults and peers purchasing their baked items. It has been a good experience.Good stewardship is important. After we figure out how much everyone earns, we deduct tithes (10% goes back to God to thank Him for the opportunity to earn money in the first place). And 10% goes into savings.  

 

 A couple of weeks ago, Luke had quickly spent  all of his earnings. Even though his pockets were empty, he was dying to spend some more and Hannah offered him a loan. $10.00 if he paid her $20 back. (She is learning about interest.) Anyway, even after some words of warning, she made up a contract and he signed it. Every time he has earned money in the last two weeks, he quickly hands it over to her. I have to admit, I have had to bite my tongue at times because I know how hard it is for him to hand over the money and I think maybe he could just keep a dollar… but that would be ruining this important lesson. Some things look like they are worth paying interest for, but in the long wrong, sometimes it is just best to wait.     

it’s my 13th tooth, don’t you think it is getting a little old by now…” was Hannah’s response when I asked to take a photo of her with her newest missing tooth. 

 

The tooth is on the lower right hand side if you look closely. 🙂

And Hannah, no, it isn’t getting boring to your Mom. 

And we sold out! It was a good day of sales. Thanks everyone who stopped by. Yesterday I made more sugar cookies (our best seller) and I tried a black forest cookie with dark bittersweet, semi-sweet chocolate and dried tart cherries. I think they are going to be one of my favorite dark chocolate cookies. I am kind of picky about how the sugars blend after they have cooled. One thing I don’t like is if there is a strong sugar taste. These called for dark brown sugar and I haven’t noticed too much sugar, it may be all the bittersweet chocolate. 

  

 

 Yesterday, the girls spent some time picking more wildflowers.  

  

A couple of weeks ago, Grandma Donna sent a bag of strawberries our way. I made my first batch -although small-batch of strawberry jam. 

 

Recipe from “Apples for Jam”. 

 

Yesterday she came bearing at least 20 strawberry runners from her strawberry bed. Thanks Donna. 

 

Relaxing on the front porch after all the work of putting them in the ground.  

  

This one wasn’t quite as easy this time. After Allison realized the tooth was lose, Hannah and her spent the next couple of hours wiggling it until it was out. 

 

 

Allison had given me some wildflower seed for my birthday and Mother’s day this spring. The wild sunflowers and Queen Anne’s lace is blooming right now. When I came inside from working in the garden yesterday, this little bouquet and note were waiting for me. 

 

Allison lost her first tooth this evening. She was eating an apple after dinner and out it came.

 

 

 

 

After visiting the hens and gathering a few eggs, I stopped by the garden to pick some lettuce for dinner. That just makes me smile.  

   

(What you don’t see are the weeds and grass that keep popping up in the garden from all the rain and the dinner dishes that are being neglected in my kitchen sink so I can post. There goes the romanticism. ;)) While on the topic of good stuff, yesterday I scored a brand new pair of Nine West shoes for $3.00.