The Sound of Music Live!

 Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things

One of my favorite movies is The Sound of Music.  I enjoy so many of the songs from it and it is such a great family movie.  So I was pretty excited to hear about the upcoming new LIVE version of this classic movie!  Coming this Thursday, December 5 at 8/7c, The Sound of Music will be shown live on NBC.  I can't wait to watch this with my family and hope that you all will be able to as well!

From executive producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron ("Smash," "Hairspray," "Chicago") comes an instant holiday classic: "The Sound of Music," based on the original Broadway musical. Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer star as Maria and Captain von Trapp in this beloved story of the young novice who falls in love with Captain von Trapp and his seven children, set against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Austria. The jewel in the Rodgers and Hammerstein crown, "The Sound of Music" contains some of the most famous songs ever written for the stage, including "The Sound of Music," "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "Climb Every Mountain" and "Edelweiss."

This new version of "The Sound of Music" will be a faithful adaptation of the original stage musical, to retell the story for a whole new generation. And more than that, it will be broadcast LIVE, adding a whole new level of immediacy and excitement. Get ready to reintroduce your family to the most joyful, most emotional and most musical family adventure of them all.

This post is part of the Faith & Family Viewing Party featuring THE SOUND OF MUSIC, live on NBC.  As a participant in this party, I will be receiving a $25 VISA gift card for pizza and snacks.

Blessings,

A New Button and a Winner!

So I think that most of you prefer the picture of the cows for my button, so I will stick with that one.  Thanks for all of you who have grabbed my button before and I would love it if you would grab my new one now!


<center><a href="http://www.munchkinfarm.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx240/MunchkinFarm/Country%20Blessings/cows-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" alt="Munchkin Farm" width="150" height="123" /></a></center>

And now, thank you to the two ladies who entered my Twin Sisters Productions giveaway.  Unfortunately only one of you gets to win and I used random.org to pick who it is:

Comment #1 is:
Farmin chick said... 

Miss M's favorite song for the longest time was Amazing Grace:) We would sing it every night before bed:) I loved hearing her sing the words, knowing them by heart.

Congratulations! I will be contacting you soon!

New Name

I've recently made some ID cards for myself and the kids (like other kids get from school) and I needed to give our homeschool a name to put on it.  I asked hubby for some ideas, but neither of us is too creative.  Finally we came up with Country Blessings Academy.  I think it fits our family well since we live in the country and God has blessed us with so much.  I also like it better than Munchkin Farm, so I am changing the name of my blog to Country Blessings.  To go along with the new name, I am making up a new button.  When I showed it to Hubby though, he wanted me to stick with the picture of the cows.  So I need your help!  Let me know which of these two pictures you like better (or neither!) so I can get a new button made.

Silent Auction at Happily Domestic

I am trying to help spread the word of an upcoming Kolcraft Silent Auction that will be benefiting the Michael Dayne Morgan Memorial Fund on the Happily Domestic blog starting April 25th. Beth at Happily Domestic has a very close friend, Lori, who just lost her husband to cancer. Lori is a stay at home mom to their 2 young daughters. However, with all the medical expenses and no income (there was not even a life insurance policy in place) this family is in a great need for help. Kolcraft has generously offered up a few of their awesome products for a silent auction to help the Morgan family.

Please take a moment to help spread the word on your blog, facebook, twitter or via email to your friends and family. They may not be interested in personally bidding on these baby items, but may know someone else who would be. Donations are also being accepted to help this family who needs support during this devastating time.

You can read more here about the silent auction as well as the Morgan family's story. Thank you for helping to spread the word!

Items to be auctioned:

Contours Optima Tandem Stroller

Jeep Overland Limited Jogging Stroller

Preferred Position 2-in 1 Bassinet & Incline Sleeper

Contours Innerspring Organic Cotton 2-Stage Infant-Toddler Mattress

A Kitchen Meme

Well, the kidney stone that I thought was out and gone apparently is still partially there.  It's been bothering me since Friday night so in between the bouts of pain and nausea, I've been getting a little bored.  When I saw Jaime Lynn's kitchen meme post on her blog this morning, I thought it would be fun to share with you about my kitchen.  I love to see other people's kitchens, so if you share about yours, please leave me a comment with a link to your post so I can check it out!

Do you have magnets on your fridge?

Yes - lots of random ones and some for the kids

Do you have a calendar in the kitchen and if so, what is its theme?

Yes, it is scenes of California

What is your favorite kitchen gadget or tool?

That is a toss up between my KitchenAid mixer and my Nutrimill grain mill

Are you lucky enough to have a pantry of some kind?

Yes, I am very blessed to have a huge walk in pantry (it is also our laundry room) so I have tons of room for canned foods or to buy things in bulk!

What is your favorite appliance?

My dishwasher!

Do you have an eat in kitchen?

Yes (sorry for the dark picture, I couldn't get a good one with the bright windows in the background)

Do you have a bread box?

No

Do you have a picture of your kids on the fridge?

Yes, several

Do you ever cook breakfast in your pjs?

No

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

Yes, my Betty Crocker one.  If you don't know how to cook, this is a great book.  It is very detailed in how to do even basic things and has great recipes!

Are you lucky enough to have recipes that were passed down from your mom and grandma?

I have a few from my mom, but I'm not sure if she got them from my grandma

What’s your favorite food?

Ice Cream!

What’s your favorite thing to cook?

I love to bake bread or anything sweet!

Is your coffee pot electric or stove top?

We don't have a coffee pot

Do you make your own bread?

Yes!  You can see my favorite whole wheat recipe HERE

Does your kitchen have a theme?

No

Is there a clock in your kitchen?

Yes, 4 of them!  One on the wall, stove, microwave, and radio

Do you have a bowl of fruit on your table or counter?

No, we keep most of our fruit in the fridge, but there is usually a bunch of bananas sitting on the counter

What type of canisters do you have?

None

Name one thing you have hanging on the wall in your kitchen.

This framed cross-stitch we received as a gift for our wedding

What’s for supper tonight?

Probably leftovers since Hubby is probably the only one who will eat much of anything since the kids are at grandparents' houses and I'm not too hungry these days

Do you have enough cabinet space?

Plenty!

Does your family use paper plates?

Only for picnics or if we have lots of people over

Do you have a good set of china packed up?

I don't have any china, so our china cupboard makes great storage for our homeschool stuff

Do you wear an apron to work in the kitchen?

Once in a while, depending on what I am making

Name one thing you would change about your kitchen if you could.

That it would be self-cleaning! :)

It's Out!

Yesterday I spent a relaxing day at the spa hospital with my mom, complete with a nice long nap, fuzzy brown slipper socks, and bedside service while my amazing hubby stayed home and watched the munchkins.  It was finally time to get rid of that kidney stone and stent!  Everything went really smoothly and I went home pretty much pain free.  Things got a little uncomfortable as the evening wore on, but the stone finally popped out late last night and now I am feeling so much better!  Thank you to everyone who was thinking of and praying for me!

Stents and Stones

My monster kidney stone has had me down and out for a week now.  I went for a walk with the kiddos on Monday and I carried Peanut in the Moby wrap and I think that is what caused the stone to start moving.  By Tuesday it hadn't let up, so I saw my doctor and he ordered a CT scan and referred me to a urologist.  I saw her on Fri and she said that the stone was way too big to pass on it's own and would need to be blasted, but the lithotripsy machine would not be in town until Wed.  She was very concerned that I would get an infection so we decided to get a stent put in Friday night.  While waiting for that at the hospital the urologist there told me I actually have 5 stones, one blocking and three in my right kidney and one in my left!  All of them "good sized" with the biggest about 12 mm.  I don't think any stone is a good size to have!  So now I am just taking it easy at home with my Peanut and crazy cat.  I used to feel bad for her when the other kids tortured her all day long, but now I know she needs it.  She is attacking anything that moves and it is driving me crazy!  I'm getting a few books read, movies watched, and crochet projects completed.  My kids are going to have a hat for every day of the week and Sweetie's doll might have a complete wardrobe by the time this is all done! Anybody need me to whip something up for you?

It's Swagbucks' 3rd Birthday!

Have you signed up for Swagbucks yet?  Today is their 3rd birthday and they are giving out lots of codes for free Swagbucks!  Hurry and sign up to get your free stuff!

Sunshine Award!

Recently Melanie at Out of the Miry Clay honored me with a Sunshine Award!  Thank you so much, Melanie!

There are 2 rules for accepting this award:

1) Thank the person who gave it to you
2) Pass it on to 8 other blogs that bring a beautiful ray of Sunshine into your day!

So I am going to pass this on to 8 bloggers who make my days a little brighter and I hope you will go visit them too!

• Jodi at Granola Mom 4 God
• Beth at Happily Domestic
• Kim at Home is Where Your Story Begins
• Jamie~Lynn
• Theresa at Loving Life on the Farm
• Conny at The Life of an Ordinary HausFrau
• The McJason's
• Jaime Lynn at Training Up Kaitlyn

Our Property Value Rose Overnight!

Thanks to the Pineapple Express we now have waterfront property!

 Our former driveway

Our former front yard

That should increase our property value, right?

Nutrimill Grain Mill

Beth over at Happily Domestic is having a giveaway for a Nutrimill Grain Mill.  I really want to win one of these because they are very pricy so I am letting you know about it so I get some extra entries, but please don't go enter so my chances are better! ;)

Our New Yard Decor

I think that this picture shows less than half of the shingles that were blown off last night.  I don't think there are any left on the roof!

My Newest Toy

Last week, my newest toy arrived at our front door.  I got a great deal on Amazon's deal of the day and to make it an even better deal, I got it FREE using my Swagbucks!

I have been using contact paper to laminate things, but using a laminator makes it go so much faster!  And I have tons of school stuff to laminate, so this will save me lots of time. 
If you want to find out how to get free stuff with Swagbucks, check out this post I wrote a while back and start Swagging today!

Your Comments: Thank You and Replying

I just wanted to thank all of you who have been kind enough to leave comments for me. I love getting them, they make it much easier to keep up with writing posts knowing that someone is reading them. I also wanted to let you know that I do reply to all your comments, but have just recently realized that not all of you have your email on your profile, meaning you don't get my email replies! I apologize if you have left comments and it doesn't seem like I respond. I will try to pay more attention if your email is public or not and reply on your blog if it's not. If you are interested in making it possible to reply through email, all you have to do is make your email public on you profile. If you are worried about getting a lot of junk mail, I really haven't gotten any more since adding my email to my profile. And if you want to reply to someone who has left a comment on your blog, you just need to hit reply to the notification email and they will get your reply if they have their email on their profile. Thank you again and hopefully I will find time for a few posts at least in the next few weeks and months!

The Secret to Really Good French Toast

I have never really liked french toast all that much. I don't like the soggy bread taste. Recently I have come to love it however, after a little trick I learned to get it a little crispy instead. I thought I would share it with you since it is such a quick, easy breakfast that kids usually love. Before you dip your piece of bread in the egg/milk mixture, spread a little butter on each side. This prevents so much of the mixture from being absorbed into the bread. Then fry on your griddle or frying pan as usual. It should be a little crispy when done! I have also found that this works even better on homemade bread than store bought. Enjoy! (Unless you are like my hubby who loves the soggier version much better and even adds extra egg/milk mixture to his slices!)

Do You Use Swagbucks?

Have you ever heard of Swagbucks? I have been using Swagbucks for a while now and have been earning a lot of free stuff, just for using my computer! It is a search engine (similar to Google) that randomly rewards you with Swagbucks for using it. They have a Swag store with tons of items and gift cards that you can purchase with your swagbucks. One of the gift cards is a $5 Amazon cards and this is what I have found to be the best value, so that is what I always purchase when I get enough (450) saved up. I usually earn enough to purchase at least 2 of these a month! That's $10 free that I can use for anything on Amazon! Here are just a few of the things I have purchase with them so far:

It is great for getting "fun" stuff for the kids for school or gifts!

The easiest way to earn swagbucks is by using their toolbar. You just have to down load it and it will appear at the top of your internet screen. Then when you need to search for something, use it and you may randomly be awarded swagbucks in amounts anywhere from 5-50! I also use it for getting to facebook, email, etc instead of having them on my favorites list or typing in the whole address. I just type facebook and it searches facebook sites and then I just have to click on the one I want. It's really only one extra step and the prizes have been worth it! You can also go to their homepage and search from there or check out their other ways to earn, their blog, twitter, or facebook page for codes to enter and earn swagbucks.

If you want to sign up, and you use my referral link, I will also earn some swagbucks, so I would love it if you would! Also, for anyone who creates a new Swagbucks account before midnight on August 15th,you will get an extra 40 swagbucks if you enter the code BackToSchool. You always get 30 when signing up, so that will be a total of 70!

So what are you waiting for?!? Start Swagging and earning some great prizes!!!

Prayer Request

I have a prayer request for you today. There is a 6 year old boy in our church who has been going through chemo the past few months for a tumor on his hip. This morning he went in for surgery and it is expected to last about 6 hours. Please pray for him, his family, and the doctors today as they all go through this. They are doing a partial, and possibly total, hip replacement and there is also the possiblity for nerve damage. Afterward, he will have to be in the hospital for about a week. Please pray for complete healing, but also for peace for the family for whatever outcome God has planned for them.


For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11