Decorating and Making Memories and Planning

 Call me old fashioned, but Christmas is my favorite time of year. I'm sentimental. I love the smell of baked goodies and the memories. I love the music, reminds me of all the choral concerts I was in when I was in elementary and jr high school, and oh, the lights. I remember trees with so many lights when I was little. Homemade ornaments. My mommas handy dandy, but careful decorating. The candy. The fire in the fireplace. The Christmas Angel's glowing. Sometimes home made gifts because you knew they were from the heart. The beautiful snow. All the memories of being with family gathered around to say the blessing and eat and laugh and have fun even if it did get a little loud. The singing Christmas songs together. Making memories for children to remember the rest of their lives. The beautiful red bows and poinsettias that was my grandmother's favorite. And the old childhood movies. Those are the memories that are dear to me and I will do my best to keep it going as long as I live. So keep up is all I gotta say. #isittoomuchtoask

I hope I'm passing down some memories for our younger generations. This is a few pics of years ago when our boys were younger and decorating our tree. They also helped every year. 

Hello Friends. What have you been up to? Around here, we have been decorating, making memories, having fun, cooking, baking and just in the Christmas groove. 

While the grands were at school, I set out to getting all the decorations out of storage and getting them up to the house. Sometimes you just have to man up ladies and do it yourself. 😆 

I struggled while managing to get my things loaded, and one of our calves just had to christen our tree with its slobber. Thanks 😊 

And in other news, this is what can happen when you get the toe of your boot stuck between the gas and brake pedal trying to back up to the door to unload stuff. Just great. 🤦‍♀️

Trust me when I say, I keep my man very busy around here 😌 

We got the house and tree decorated. I made some new things for our house this year from the Dollar Tree haul I had last month. I made a new table scape and arrangement. I love how it turned out. 

The granddaughters had fun helping me decorate. Every year they are in charge of the small Christmas village. They love setting it up. They also have their own Christmas tree. 

When our boys were younger they were always the ones to set up my small Christmas village. Now, I have passed it down to the grands. They really love it. Is my OCD kicking in? You betcha, but I'm not going to touch it. They will know. TRUST ME THEY WILL KNOW.  😆 🤣 

Everyone gets a new ornament every year. This is all of ours for this year. 

The Santa Claus 🧑‍🎄 🎅 is extremely special. This belonged to my dear late Mother in law. She loved it. She always put it out just for the kids every year. It warmed her heart to make kids laugh and smile. When she passed, I told my husband I wanted it for our grands and I would keep the tradition going. They love him. 

For some reason, they are extra nice to each other when he's around. Maybe I should keep him out all year long. 🤔

They helped with the tree and we finally got it all done. 

The top manger scene has always been put out for Christmas ever since I was a little girl. I have protected it all these years. The bottom manger scene is one that David bought in 2014 when we spent Christmas in CO when he was on a work trip. They both have sentimental value. The girls love both of them. So a few yrs ago I gave them the one on the bottom and they loved it. 😍 I hope it serves them well in their childhoods. ❤️❤️

Then it was bath and shower time and then smores and hot chocolate. We colored some pictures for Santa to leave with his cookies and milk on his big night. 

What a great day and spend the night party. 

The next weekend, dear hubby planned an anniversary suprise for all of us. He wanted to share it with our girls. We use to always take our boys on dates with us for our anniversary.  (We never went anywhere without our kids). He really outdid himself on this one and that is not exaggeration. 

This is something I have been wanting to do for years and we finally got the chance to. 

He planned, bought all our outfits,  accessories and all, and suprised us by taking us to see ( and him sit through 2 long hours) the ballet production of The Nutcraker.  I will post pics but sorry about the quality because you could not take flash photographs or video and we were in the balcony. 

This is an experience I hope they remember for the rest of their lives. We had a great time. My man is the best. 

When no one is around, I get to wrapping gifts. They know there are some already under the tree for them and we explain the purpose of gift of giving to those you love. They will still have gifts from Santa that will be put out last minute. 

We also have been getting goody bags ready for kids at different families homes we do every year. This is a good way to teach them service and gift giving. 

We are just going to keep doing our thing and get ready for our times together and events coming up with family. 

Hang in there everyone. Breathe and slow down just a little. Don't get overwhelmed. Let's remember the Reason for the Season. 

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4D Farms LLC. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Our storefront link is an affiliate link that earns our farm a commission at no additional cost if you click through and make a purchase. You can trust that we recommend products that we use in our own home and love and maybe some we wish to have. Our storefront is designed to help you locate items easily by specific, organized, and titled lists. 

Thank you for your support. 

If you like video versions of our content here on our blog, you can visit our YouTube Channel here 

We hope you find something that you enjoy. We also have our channel designed by playlists so you can find your favorite topic to search for certain videos easily. We hope to see you there also. Subscribe to our channel so you can be notified when new videos are uploaded. Be sure to turn your notification bell on too or you will miss them. 

We also have a Novelty Merch Store for 4D Farms where you can find apparel, housewares, and novelty gifts for yourself, friends, and loved ones. We hope you like our custom-made designs by me and one of my daughters-in-law. They are our own and copywritten. 

You can visit our store here 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home 

Kids Appetites

 Kids appetites are so finicky but they know they have to compromise with me. I can do chicken nuggets but they know they will get vegetables and fresh fruit with them. 😊😊😊😊

And yes, I can have a unicorn plate too. 😊😊😊

I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve when getting good things into kid's bellies but still being fun and lenient too. 

I sneak a few vegetables into muffins, waffles, chaffles, pancakes, etc. I also substitute flour when baking too. Whole wheat,  oat, etc. 

I can make pumpkin pancakes, with whole wheat and oat flour. But compromise and let them have a little whipped cream with sprinkles and fruit. 

Chicken nuggets pair well with corn on the cob, green beans, and some carrots with ranch dressing. See, it's all about balance. 

Check out these videos to see how I sneak things in without them knowing they are eating something good....

If you enjoy our blog and content, be sure to sign up to receive emails when a new post is published so you don't miss a thing. We would love it if you would join us. Enjoy your reading. 

If you are curious about any products you see in our images or that we use in our kitchen, please feel free to visit our Amazon Store where everything is organized into lists for each category. 

Visit our 4D Farms Storefront here 

4D Farms LLC. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Our storefront link is an affiliate link that earns our farm a commission at no additional cost if you click through and make a purchase. You can trust that we recommend products that we use in our own home and love and maybe some we wish to have. Our storefront is designed to help you locate items easily by specific, organized, and titled lists. 

Thank you for your support. 

If you like video versions of our content here on our blog, you can visit our YouTube Channel here 

We hope you find something that you enjoy. We also have our channel designed by playlists so you can find your favorite topic to search for certain videos easily. We hope to see you there also. Subscribe to our channel so you can be notified when new videos are uploaded. Be sure to turn your notification bell on too or you will miss them. 

We also have a Novelty Merch Store for 4D Farms where you can find apparel, housewares, and novelty gifts for yourself, friends, and loved ones. We hope you like our custom-made designs by me and one of my daughters-in-law. They are our own and copywritten. 

You can visit our store here 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home 

Quickest Protein Breakfast Ever

 My day is full of  making Christmas candy so I need a good quick breakfast full of protein. This is my go to sometimes and it literally takes around 5 minutes. 

Take 1 egg and add a splash of milk and beat real good. At this point, you can add anything you want to to make it even better. I chose cheese 🧀    You can add greens like finely chopped spinach, kale, arugula etc. You can add a finely chopped vegetable like onion, pepper, pimento etc. You can add a meat for extra protein. Finely chopped cooked sausage, bacon, diced ham, etc. Put in the microwave, be sure to cover with something like a paper towel, cook for 1 to 1 minute 30 seconds. (You want the middle done). Then gently scrape out of the bowl onto bread, bagel, English muffin, biscuit or even a Hamburger bun. 🍔 Viola' enjoy. No messy Frying pan or messy kitchen. You're welcome . 😊

If you would like more breakfast hacks, check out my Make-Ahead Breakfast playlist here some breakfasts are quick just like this one and some are for big batch baking days when I stock the refrigerator or freezer with grab, heat up and go, or heat up quickly and sit down to get a nutritious meal in you before you start your busy days. I'm sure you will find something 🙂 😉 that suits you and your family. There is nothing like starting your day out right especially if you need energy for focus and concentration also. Protein goes a long way to stave off food cravings and helps you feel fuller longer between meals. 

I hope you enjoy these recipes and tips. 

Find more gifts for your friends and loved ones before the time runs out: 

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Please feel free to check out our Amazon Store. You will find a little bit of everything. Our store is organized by category in lists that are easy to find. (We do earn a referral fee for qualifying purchases at no cost to you. Thank You.) You can find our Amazon Store Here 

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Tracy

Keeper of the Home 

Let's Make Cowboy Lasagna for Supper

Hello Friends. I hope all is well and you are getting everything prepped and ready for Christmas. I hope, most of all you are not stressing. If you feel like you are refer to my previous post and take a gander at it. I've got a few tips and tricks up my sleeve that help me keep my sanity the closer we get to the BIG DAY!!!!!!!

Here is a meal that you might think about making for a party, get-together, potluck, or holiday dinner. Make two and eat one now and freeze the other one. Why not? You're going to be in the kitchen anyway. I will include the recipe at the bottom but I just want you to look at this goodness:

 

How did you like that? Now that I've wet your appetite, here is how to make it.

Cowboy Lasagna:

1 lb ground beef

4 tbsp minced onions

dash Worcestershire sauce 

3 tbsp parsley

one can of tomato soup

one can of corn (drained)

1 package tater tots 32 oz

salt and pepper

4 cups mozzarella cheese (reserve 2 cups)

1 envelope of taco seasoning

Grease a 9x13 dish and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, brown ground beef and drain. Stir in taco seasoning. Add soup and corn. Simmer for 10 minutes.  Layer tater tots, meat mixture, and 2 cups of the cheese in casserole dish and repeat until all is gone. Add the remaining 2 cups of cheese to the top. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and broil the top to get a little crust don't the cheese or not. It's up to you. 

I hope you find this helpful and if you do decide to make it, please come back and tell me how you liked it. 

If you enjoy our blog and content, be sure to sign up to receive emails when a new post is published so you don't miss a thing. We would love it if you would join us. Enjoy your reading. 

If you are curious about any products you see in our images or that we use in our kitchen, please feel free to visit our Amazon Store where everything is organized into lists for each category. 

Visit our 4D Farms Storefront here 

4D Farms LLC. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Our storefront link is an affiliate link that earns our farm a commission at no additional cost if you click through and make a purchase. You can trust that we recommend products that we use in our own home and love and maybe some we wish to have. Our storefront is designed to help you locate items easily by specific, organized, and titled lists. 

Thank you for your support. 

If you like video versions of our content here on our blog, you can visit our YouTube Channel here 

We hope you find something that you enjoy. We also have our channel designed by playlists so you can find your favorite topic to search for certain videos easily. We hope to see you there also. Subscribe to our channel so you can be notified when new videos are uploaded. Be sure to turn your notification bell on too or you will miss them. 

We also have a Novelty Merch Store for 4D Farms where you can find apparel, housewares, and novelty gifts for yourself, friends, and loved ones. We hope you like our custom-made designs by me and one of my daughters-in-law. They are our own and copywritten. 

You can visit our store here 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home 

Venison the Other Meat

 

Have you ever thought about supplementing your freezers and pantries with another staple of protein? 

Enter: Venison. 

We are avid hunters and we utilize venison as another source of protein and to help take a load off of our grocery bill. Not to mention, we enjoy it. We enjoy teaching younger generations and we enjoyed teaching our own boys when they were little. You can read all about our Hunting adventures on our Hunting Page here on our blog 

On this page we share how we got started, the benefits of hunting, the legalities of hunting and what you will need to know legally to get started. We love the extra savings on our grocery budget because dear hubby processes a lot of our deer meat. We make our own sausage for breakfast and supper sausages. We have tried dear bacon and he makes a wonder full deer jerky which goes very fast around our boys and grand daughters. 

We have a video playlist on our YouTube channel dedicated to Hunting where I take you along on some hunting trips with me, yes, me Dear hubby has a playlist of all the different things he does with our deer meat, you can watch his videos here He is learning more and there will be more videos. 

We love to cook with venison and we have used some of the deer meat in some of our meals. Be care full cooking deer because it is a drier leaner meat and will dry out quick. 

Dear hubby made a buck in rut back strap cook up really fine and I paired some of our home canned goodies with it. Green beans, carrots and onion gravy.

I do not know when the hunting seasons start in your area, they may already be upon you. I hope this post has caught you in time or at least not late. I hope you find the information useful to may be get your started in Hunting on Your Homestead. 

If you enjoy our blog and content, be sure to sign up to receive emails when a new post is published so you don't miss a thing. We would love it if you would join us. Enjoy your reading. 

If you are curious about any products you see in our images or that we use in our kitchen, please feel free to visit our Amazon Store where everything is organized into lists for each category. 

Visit our 4D Farms Storefront here 

4D Farms LLC. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Our storefront link is an affiliate link that earns our farm a commission at no additional cost if you click through and make a purchase. You can trust that we recommend products that we use in our own home and love and maybe some we wish to have. Our storefront is designed to help you locate items easily by specific, organized, and titled lists. 

Thank you for your support. 

If you like video versions of our content here on our blog, you can visit our YouTube Channel here 

We hope you find something that you enjoy. We also have our channel designed by playlists so you can find your favorite topic to search for certain videos easily. We hope to see you there also. Subscribe to our channel so you can be notified when new videos are uploaded. Be sure to turn your notification bell on too or you will miss them. 

We also have a Novelty Merch Store for 4D Farms where you can find apparel, housewares, and novelty gifts for yourself, friends, and loved ones. We hope you like our custom-made designs by me and one of my daughters-in-law. They are our own and copywritten. 

You can visit our store here 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home 

Start Prepping Those Christmas Meals

 

I know we just got over Thanksgiving right, and now I'm talking about Christmas 🎄? 

Well, if you're like me, you have alot of meals coming up. Church Christmas dinners, family Christmas dinners (maybe more than one), work Christmas dinners or lunches, school parties and dinners, you see where I'm going?

If you have so much to do, why wait until the last minute? Before I finally adopted the motto, "Work smarter not harder", I used to stand in the kitchen the last couple of days before Christmas and absolutely wear myself out to where I was so exhausted, stressed,  overwhelmed, and irritable. I couldn't even enjoy the holidays. I said, "Enough is Enough". 

I came up with a game plan. I would start right after Thanksgiving and plan meals and prepare them. That meant planning,  shopping then precooking and baking them. I would add a dish or two while I was already making meals for every day anyway. I'm already in the kitchen, stove is already on, why not? 

I would make a dish or two every night or every other day. Then I would wrap them up tightly and put them in the freezer. Every day I would chip away at the Christmas meals I had planned. When it came time for a particular meal that I had made for a particular event, I would grab them out of the freezer the night before and place them in the refrigerator to thaw. Right before the event, I would place them into the oven to warm up. When they were done, I would place them in my insulated casserole or pie carriers and walk out the door. 

When preparing to do this. Keep the lists of the recipes or dishes you are going to make for each event. Like,  green bean casserole and Mac and cheese.....Grandma's Christmas dinner. After you prepare the dish, and wrap it up, write on the aluminum foil or saran wrap what it is and whose even it goes to. That way it will be easier to grab and go if they are grouped together. 

I did dishes and desserts this way. I can't tell you how many years this saved my sanity. Sometimes I would start this process right after Halloween to get ready for Thanksgiving.  Sometimes I would plan my Thanksgiving meal and double a dish and put one back for a Christmas meal. The earlier you start, the better. Because who doesn't already have other things to think about and prepare for Christmas? There is the decorating, Christmas gifts, etc. 

We even start Christmas shopping early, like in September and October early. To be honest, I worked in retail for years, and the same sales they ran for Black Friday deals were the same ones they ran throughout the whole year. 🙃 Yep,  that's right. 

Start implementing some of these ideas to get you ready for next year and have a game plan in place. Starting in January, pick up a gift here and there for someone on your list.

Watch for those sales....oh Debbie would like this sweater,  and it's on sale, I'll go get it now.....see?

Put it up somewhere with their name on it. Go-ahead and wrap it if you want to. Little by little you could already have your shopping done. 

Now you can sit back and enjoy the Holidays Stress-free. 

If you would like more ideas to prepare for the Holidays so they can be stress free...catch these videos:

Don't forget about traveling with kids for the holidays. You want to keep your sanity there too. I got you covered:

Now that we have a game plan, let's get busy my friends. Let's get back to enjoying our Holidays with our loved ones. 

Don't forget to check out my video of my latest Dollar Tree Christmas Goodies I found at Dollar Tree. I got some new things for myself. I've got decorating to do. 

If you enjoy our blog and content, be sure to sign up to receive emails when a new post is published so you don't miss a thing. We would love it if you would join us. Enjoy your reading. 

If you are curious about any products you see in our images or that we use in our kitchen, please feel free to visit our Amazon Store where everything is organized into lists for each category. 

Visit our 4D Farms Storefront here 

4D Farms LLC. is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Our storefront link is an affiliate link that earns our farm a commission at no additional cost if you click through and make a purchase. You can trust that we recommend products that we use in our own home and love and maybe some we wish to have. Our storefront is designed to help you locate items easily by specific, organized, and titled lists. 

Thank you for your support. 

If you like video versions of our content here on our blog, you can visit our YouTube Channel here 

We hope you find something that you enjoy. We also have our channel designed by playlists so you can find your favorite topic to search for certain videos easily. We hope to see you there also. Subscribe to our channel so you can be notified when new videos are uploaded. Be sure to turn your notification bell on too or you will miss them. 

We also have a Novelty Merch Store for 4D Farms where you can find apparel, housewares, and novelty gifts for yourself, friends, and loved ones. We hope you like our custom-made designs by me and one of my daughters-in-law. They are our own and copywritten. 

You can visit our store here 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home 

Wishing Everyone a Happy Thanksgiving

 

All of us here at 4D Farms would love to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. May we be thankful of our everyday blessings that the Lord so graciously gives us. May we take this day to reflect on and count our many blessings and truly be thankful. We will be taking the weekend off to spend with our loves ones and we hope you will be able to also. 

Tracy

Keeper of the Home