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Luv'N Lambert Life

Luv'N Lambert Life

A blog about living with Epilepsy, IBHS, Homeschooling and so much more

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thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Challenges {Thoughts From Me}

November 27, 2016 by Dana

Our Thanksgiving weekend did not go as we had planned.  There were many unexpected challenges that came about.  There was work where we least expected it.

Wednesday, as I was cleaning our room to prepare for Winter and cold weather, I saw a place on our walls where the paint was peeling away so I gently tugged at it because I am planing to paint that room anyways.  But what I did not expect to find behind that paint was a molded wall that had been covered with cheap paint before our landlords purchased our residence.  The previous owner had covered over the mold so the new owners had no idea what they were really getting.  Over time, the cheap paint loosened and the truth was exposed.

Mold.  Seriously?!  At Thanksgiving?!  Just what we needed to find!  Luckily, we do know how to remove and treat the areas that were affected.  And so you can guess how the weekend was spent.

We’ve taken our room wall by wall.  One spot had to be peeled away, trashed and repainted with Kilz 2 to protect and seal the remaining mold which was affected only on the surface area.  But there was more to be discovered.  The opposite side of our room, by our window, the wall was brittle and breaking due to the dampness and mold growing there.  It, too, had been hidden by the previous paint job and then by the furniture we had inside our room.  So these walls had to be completely ripped out and replaced.  I’m thankful to say that this is done and now we just need to finish it all off with paint!

So you’d think that God would say “Ok these guys have had enough” but NOPE.  He decided to challenge us even more.  As I was cooking our Thanksgiving dinner (I had the sides while Don did the Turkey and Ham and my Mom did the Giblet Gravy, Mac N Cheese and the Stuffing or Dressing as you prefer to call it), I discovered our sink drain was not draining out.  Oh boy!  Another challenge!  The water was backed up with no where to go.

Yep, you guessed it!  Our septic was FULL!

Hurricane Matthew still has the water level high, so add to that 7 people using the water, bathroom, shower and that equals a full tank!  The septic decided on Thanksgiving Day that it had enough and wasn’t taking anymore.

Yep!  This mess was our holiday weekend.

I’m thankful to say that Don has fixed the bedroom and our wonderful landlords had the septic emptied completely late last night.  We did manage to have a great meal despite the challenges and we all shared things we were thankful for.  Me?  I was just thankful to have the meal done and my family fed.

Sometimes challenges happen and you come through them together, stronger than you expect to.  You learn from them, deal with them and move forward.  These were some pretty serious tasks we faced but we didn’t let that stop us from enjoying our time as a family or discourage us from our holiday.

When life throws you lemons, you simply add some sugar, some ice and have sweet homemade lemonade!

Filed Under: 2016, aftermath, challenges, faith, Hurricane Matthew, issues, lemonade, mold, septic, strong, thanksgiving, thoughts from me

Fall is Coming! {Caramel Popcorn Ball Recipe} {Recipes from Us}

September 10, 2014 by Dana

Falls coming.  I can smell it in the air.  The plants are changing and the pond is showing the early signs of the season’s change. 
This is my favorite time of year!

Fall brings us out of the house and into the world again.  Summer in the South gets awfully hot, y’all.  We tend to hibernate behind closed doors with the air conditioner keeping things cool.  So when that weather starts changing, we head out the door and spend as much time in the coolness as possible.

In the Fall, we do field trips to places that we greatly enjoy.  The beach for walks, the state parks to see what we can learn and the Zoo when we are able.  Anywhere that brings learning and fun, combined into one!

Fall is also the beginning of our favorite Holiday season: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We love these holidays and love to share them as a family.  The holidays lead us back to the kids birthdays, which is a season all in itself when you have 8 kids to love.

One of our favorite things for Fall are Caramel Popcorn Balls.  This was a childhood favorite of everyone who knew my Momma.  Every year she’d make up a big ole batch of Popcorn Balls to take to our school events and everyone loved them.  Momma doesn’t make them much anymore but it’s still something we enjoy when we are able to.

The recipe is really simple and easy to make but it does make a sticky mess and can be HOT, so be forewarned before you attempt to make these gooey goodies for your own family and friends.

Caramel Popcorn Balls

4 T. butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup (Momma prefers Karo)
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
6 qts popped corn

Combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan.  Stir well.  Bring this mixture to a boil over medium heat.  Add in the condensed milk, continuing to stir constantly.  The mixture will become a soft ball when it reaches around 236*.  Stir in the vanilla at that point.

Pour this mixture over the top of the popped corn, stirring to coat all of the popcorn.  Lightly butter up your hands to prevent the sticky, gooey mixture from sticking to you.  Shape the caramel popcorn into balls that are about 3 1/2 inches in diameter. 

You can wrap these up in cellophane or saran wrap to keep them from sticking to one another or to anything else for that matter.   Tie them with a cute ribbon and add a label for the Holiday to make them a gift!

One thing Momma always did was add in food coloring to make these festive colors for the Holiday.  Halloween the popcorn balls were always orange, while at Christmas she used red and green.  She’d add the food coloring before pouring the mixture onto the popcorn balls and after adding the vanilla.  If you are using two colors, then half the mixture and the popcorn so that you can make half the batch one color and half another color.

I don’t have a picture of these since we haven’t made them in a while but I promise they will be hit around your home for the Holidays just as they are around ours!

Enjoy!

Filed Under: 2014, autumn, christmas, end of the year, fall, gooey goodness, halloween, holiday, Popcorn balls, recipes from us, season, thanksgiving

30 Days of Thankfulness {2010}

November 1, 2010 by Dana

I’m a bit behind but I have decided to join in anyways with the 30 Days of Thankfulness event over at Modesty is Next to Beauty.  This event began on October 27th and ends on November 25th.  I will be beginning today (November 1st) and ending on November 30th. 
“Each day we will post something we are thankful for, or something that is pertaining to thankfulness,
such as a poem, a special song, a picture taken by you, or a painting,
or simply a bible verse to which you are thankful for that has helped you.”

I look forward to joining in on this event of Thankfulness and hope you will join me too!   Don’t forget to link back to the original site so that the others who participate can view your Thankfulness, also!

Filed Under: 2010, 30 days of thankfulness, Modesty is Next to Beauty, November, thanksgiving

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