Pumpkin Bread

When fall hits we bake lots of zucchini and pumpkin bread at our house. We use this recipe with just a few changes. We use fresh ground whole wheat flour, a little less nutmeg than it calls for, sucanat instead of sugar (and I only use 2 1/2 cups.) I made some today and the kitchen smells so good! :o)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 cups granulated sugar
1 (15 ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, canola oil, water, vanilla, and eggs. Mix until smooth.
4. Slowly blend in flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and walnuts. Evenly divide batter between the three loaf pans.
5. Bake for 60 minutes, or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove loaves from oven and cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes. With a knife, go around the bread and loosen the loaves. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.

Mariah

The same little girl that put this in my bed last night....

put this by my bed tonight. :o)


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Mariah has been learning about verbs in English lately. In her lesson today she had to write a poem and use the words "come" and "gone". This is what she wrote....

Winter has gone and springtime has come;

I love spring, it is so much fun.

Flowers grow and the sun shines on me;

That's the way I like it to be.

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She is my new running buddy! I usually let her come out and finish the last mile with me. The other day she asked if she could do two.She did it!

A fall walk...

McKenzie recently bought a new dairy goat. One day Malachi asked me over and over again to take him out to see the new goat. I had no desire to go back to the barn to see goats! I felt bad as the day was coming to an end and decided to take the two little boys outside. They had so much fun!


Quite pleased to meet "Rose".

Talking to "Nilla"

This little guy almost always has a smile on his face.

I captured Myles with a smile. He is usually my serious one.

McKenzie's "girls"

Visiting "Candy"

Myles ended up staying out past dark and went milking with McKenzie.

Sometimes I have to force myself to forget my "to do" list and remember the little things in life are much more important!

Chicken Pox

Several years ago my oldest five children had chicken pox. McKenzie was 14 at the time and it was horrible! I really wanted Myles to get them while he was little. Last spring I drove an hour and a half to expose him to them. He didn't get it and I figured I would have to try again next spring. Thanks to vaccines it is hard to find cases of them now. I was so excited last week (well, the timing was bad... that is another post!) when we realized he was getting red spots all over him! :o)

Isn't he pretty! :o)

I put him in front of the mirror and he was scared of himself. Later he looked at his hands and said, "Oh no! Yuk, yuk!"

Now a week and a half later his skin is clearing up and it was really a breeze! SO much better to get it while they are young!

Redneck trampoline...

Fair 2011

It has been a busy fall and I am going to attempt to catch up posting some of our hundreds of pictures. About a month ago the fair was in town. It is a huge fair and lots of fun to go to every year. We always try to find a food contest to enter so we can get in for free. This year we did the pie contest so that we would have the pies for dessert later in the day. It was hilarious because I threw mine together the night before without a recipe and got 2nd in the adult division. :o) It was made with sucanat and it wasn't very pretty!

Madeline got 1st place in the youth class! It was her first blue ribbon at the fair.

I was impressed that Matthew even made one. He did it by himself and even made his crust from scratch!

McKenzie entered lots of sewing projects and canning. The two blue ribbons (and yellow one) are hers! :o)

Madeline got 2nd on her knit hat.

The cows are always one of our favorites to see!

"The look, the feel of cotton, the fabric of our lives...."

Myles riding with grandma on her "hot rod"!

McKenzie's dress.Pajama pants that Madeline made for Myles. This is the first sewing project that she has ever done by herself.

More knitting by Madeline.

McKenzie's pillow. The girls placed 1st or 2nd on everything they entered! :o)

A boy and a tractor.... the thrill!

Matthew checking out the engine. For as long as I can remember he has always been fascinated with how things work.

Waiting for the alligator show.

With grandma and pa after a long day at the fair.

We went another day so that Marc could go. We entered a soap carving contest. Marc wouldn't do it but I did. I did a fabulous job! ha

McKenzie really put a lot of effort into hers!

Mariah got second place in the younger youth division and Matt got 1st in the older youth! My children are much more creative than I am! :o)

Madeline has been raising chickens for several years. She has always loved baby chicks.

Well, that is just a few of our fair pictures! Until next time...

Beach...

Thank you to those who left the sweet comments on the last post. I know it is the prayers of friends and family that have helped me get through it. I didn't mention that the day I miscarried was the 2nd anniversary of the car accident that Marc, Matthew and Malachi were in. Those of you that know us or have read my blog for a long time remember. Matthew was injured the worst and spent a few days in the hospital. The people that saw our van and the paramedic that worked the wreck couldn't believe that he had survived the accident, much less without lasting injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that the hand of God was on him. So while I was very sad because of the miscarriage, I looked at Matthew that evening during our family Bible time with a heart FULL of gratitude!
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Our family went to the beach several weeks ago. It was a much needed distraction with everything that was going on with me. The weather was cooler than normal and it was a very relaxing trip. McKenzie posted a few pictures here. (We only took about 500! :o)

Mariah and Malachi always supply us with lots of artwork! :o)


Lined up in birth order after we had a picnic at a rest stop. Eating Chinese food the first night is one of our traditions. :o)

He did this so many times while we were there. I think he liked the upside down view.

Where we stayed we could see the huge ships going in and out.

The little guys...

Pippy long stockings :o)

Malachi's "jumping" picture. :o)

The big kids...

One of our favorite places to eat.

Eating out by the water.

Mariah and Madeline love playing in the sand.

Napping on the beach is the best!

Walking the pier at night.

Goodbye summer 2011...