Here is a sneak peek video about it, I cannot wait till we can watch it next year!!!  I a very excited about it!

You can also subscribe to their You Tube channel HERE or to their e-newsletters or their blog HERE!!!

Blessings,

The first one we watched about a week ago for the second time was “Sergeant York” (click the title to see the trailer!) starring Gary Cooper and this one had to be one of our favorite movies! It is up their with “Gettysburg” and “Gods and Generals” it is so good!

Here is a short synopsis of the film:

“A stirring biography of World War I hero Alvin York, SERGEANT YORK features Gary Cooper in one of his most famous roles as a wild, hard-drinking young man from rural Tennessee who finds religion… A stirring biography of World War I hero Alvin York, SERGEANT YORK features Gary Cooper in one of his most famous roles as a wild, hard-drinking young man from rural Tennessee who finds religion and reforms after almost killing a man for revenge. Alvin becomes a pillar of his community; when the war breaks out, he refuses to defy the Bible and kill the enemy. However, after being drafted and put into combat, Alvin realizes that duty to his fellow soldiers and his country are important as well and succeeds in capturing more than 100 Germans almost single-handedly at the Battle of Argonne. A moving war drama that boasts an Academy Award-winning performance by Cooper, SERGEANT YORK is an affectionate look at a simpler time in U.S. history as well as an inspirational portrait of a true American hero.”

Another great movie around the same era, this time WW II is “Mrs. Miniver”

This movie has both action and romance in it, though my brothers thought it was ok (due to the romance and not enough action for their taste), my parents and I enjoyed it a lot!

Here is a synopsis of this film:

“It’s World War II. The Minivers, an otherwise happy and well adjusted English middle class family, must learn to live under daily bombardment by German planes. Mr. Miniver joins hundreds of boat owners summoned to Dunkirk to help evacuate British soldiers from the mainland. While he is gone, a downed German flyer seeks shelter in the Miniver home. Mrs. Miniver is one of the best Allied propaganda films of World War II. It shows how the British public reacted to German aerial bombardment during the Battle of Britain (August – October, 1940). President Roosevelt was so impressed with the final speech in this film that he ordered it printed onto leaflets and dropped over occupied Europe.”

The last film is one I enjoyed, but my brothers liked a lot called “Sink The Bismarck” which is based in WWII

“The English Navy faces some hard choices in the spring of 1941. An order for Prime Minister Winston Churchill “Sink the Bismarck at what ever the cost.” puts the Royal Navy on high alert. The Admiralty pulls in every ship it can muster and even takes ships from convoy and troop escort duty to follow the order of sinking the Bismarck. Based on actual events and featuring real combat film footage.”

I hope you and your family enjoy these great films as much as our family has!

Blessings in Christ,

PS. Sorry about Mrs. Miniver trailer, it was the only one I could find, and it is a little bit dark!

The first is over at “Prairie Flower Farm” and you can enter the giveaway by clicking HERE!

She is giving away lots of really neat things so head on over to check it out!

The second is over at a wonderful new site new web-site called “Raising Homemakers”

and they are giving away the whole 10 DVD set of  the “Homestead Blessings” collection!!!!!

WOW, you cannot pass that one up!  I already have the whole set, but I know I could really bless one of my dear friends with them!   You can enter the giveaway HERE!!!

I would also encourage you to read the other posts on the site as it is very refreshing to read!

And last but not least a giveaway at “Homestead Revival” for a very useful family first aid kit!  Enter this giveaway HERE!

These blogs the whole family, (especially the men in the house) will enjoy and be encouraged in their walk with the Lord!

For His Glory ~ This is Tony’s (father/husband’s) blog  that is very encouraging and uplifting that also has book/movie/product reviews every now and again!  May you enjoy his blog and be encouraged in the faith!

Made For Work~ This is Nik’s (eldest son/brother’s) blog that is about his many projects whether it be wood working or gardening!  He adds heart and passion to his work, and shares why he started a blog  about work and how brother’s in Christ are “Made For Work”.

4 His Glory Photography & Design~ I (miss Antoinette) am not the only photographer in the family! Andrew (Youngest son/brother) started before I did and got me hooked!  This is his blog where he posts his photographs and the creations he has made thanks to Gimp and a couple other programs!

What They Said~ This blog (done by my dad mostly, Antoinette, Nik and Andrew) is where we post quotes (a quote a day)  from men of the past, and present (mainly past).

May y’all enjoy these blogs, and have a wonderful Lord’s Day tomorrow!

Blessings in Christ,

So, what have you readers been up to?  Anything interesting in particular?

Yesterday was an out of the ordinary church day for us! We have about 2 family’s that come regularly, and one of them is out of town while the other was driving back from their trip to the mountains yesterday and so since my dad had no congregation to preach to (other than us and my grandfather) he decided to put in a DVD of a sermon from Mr Paul Washer on “The 10 Indictments Against the Modern Church in America”.  It was so good (as all of his talks are!) I knew I must share this talk with my fellow blogging friends, and sister’s in Christ, and spread this amazing and very powerful message!
May it encourage us to continually become more Christ-like and share our passion for the gospel with others who are lost, and by God’s grace bring them into God’s loving arms and to follow the one true God! The Church is so broken these days with watered-down “neutral” sermons and evangelizing we have lost God’s purpose and understanding of the Church! Mr. Washer speaks so clearly, it is like having a “duh, I should have known that” moment!   Again, may you be blessed!  Now grab your family, take a seat, have a nice cup of your favorite drink, and enjoy!  *This sermon is about 2 hours long, but worth every minute.*

Part 1

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=102308839520

Part 2

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?sid=1030081039409

For more information, please visit his wonderful ministry below!

http://www.heartcrymissionary.com

God Bless!

I thought that this week we would look at one thing that all young ladies should put into their hope chest but even be wearing it now and that is an apron!   I know at first when the thought of aprons came to me at the age of about 13 I thought it was so silly and only moms and grandma’s wore those, but not someone young like me (I was not too fond of cooking and baking at the time either)!  Our culture has not just downgraded the usefulness of the hope chest, but even aprons to an extent!  Now, they are starting to come back and almost everyone now wants to own one, but how many of those ladies actually wear it for what it is truly used for or just want to have it as long as it is “in” fashion?  In the prairie days, they were worn practically all day as they were constantly working on things in the kitchen and they would even use them while doing outside work as well such as gardening, collecting eggs, and such and would have special aprons for all the different kinds of work around the home (inside, and outside)!   To keep the clothes that they had (normally only one or two outfits) from getting stained and dirty,  the apron was the best item to keep them clean.  I have now come to understand the importance of aprons and have even come to appreciate them so much as I am now the owner of a few myself and wear them every time I am working in the kitchen (which is very often now), and I try to remember to use it in the garden as well!  This is one item I would encourage all you young ladies to use often, and to even put one or two in your hope chest for your future home!  You can never have too many aprons!  I am so blessed that I will be able to pass this special item down to my future daughters (Lord willing).

A neat tip if making an heirloom apron: Make the ties (or the whole thing) with an old sheet from an old relative (Great grandmother, etc) this gives a wonderful heirloom twist to an apron!

Here is one I did for my cousin’s new bride with the heirloom twist for the ties, and neck! You can see photos, and read more about it HERE!

Here is a couple photos of an apron I finished for myself not too long ago! next time I think I will add pockets, as I always seem to need them when I am cooking/baking! 

Side #1

Side #2

To end my post I would like to share a neat poem I found a few days ago that I thought fit so well with my topic for today…..

Grandma’s Apron
by Tina Trivett

The strings were tied, It was freshly washed, and maybe even pressed.
For Grandma, it was everyday to choose one when she dressed.
The simple apron that it was, you would never think about;
the things she used it for, that made it look worn out.

She may have used it to hold, some wildflowers that she’d found.
Or to hide a crying child’s face, when a stranger came around.
Imagine all the little tears that were wiped with just that cloth.
Or it became a potholder to serve some chicken broth.

She probably carried kindling to stoke the kitchen fire.
To hold a load of laundry, or to wipe the clothesline wire.
When canning all her vegetables, it was used to wipe her brow.
You never know, she might have used it to shoo flies from the cow.

She might have carried eggs in from the chicken coop outside.
Whatever chore she used it for, she did them all with pride.
When Grandma went to heaven, God said she now could rest.
I’m sure the apron that she chose, was her Sunday best.

God bless,

Miss. Antoinette K.

I thought I would share this post from a friend of mine over at the blog “Walking With Sarah” on abortion called “Worse Than Hitler!!!”!  It was very well put together and should cause you to think and ponder many things! I was very moved by this post to continue to pray for our country and for the people that think it is a burden to have children, that the Lord would open their eyes to see how wrong they are as God’s word tells us that children are a blessing!

I also have a dear friend who has a non profit organization called “Coins and Quilts 4 Life” that you can donate handmade quilts (not store bought) given to shelters for mothers as a thank you for making the right chioce in not aborting her child, and gives them comfort.  You can also donate money to help her in her endeavors in buying supplies for crisis pregnancy centers that are suffering financially as well!

I would also recommend watching a thought provoking movie called ‘The Monstrous Regiment of Women” and  how feminism is part of the cause of abortion and other things that are effected by feminism! *Warning* there is     a seen of an abortion in the movie, but they do give you a countdown and a warning beforehand,  so in case you have       little eyes watching, you can skip it!

I hope you all are encouraged by this post and those mentioned!

Blessings in Christ,

Miss Antoinette

Follow this link to find what TV channel in your area will be playing on Jan. 10th and 17th , and a trailer too!   Return to Cranford

That’s right, a new story begins in the small town in Cranford where any small news is BIG news, and I am so excited about this!   I only found out a few days ago, so I thought I would let my friends know about it!   I know we will be watching it, and if you cannot stay up late to watch it, they will be showing it online at the link above from the 10th-16th of this month (Jan.)!

if you have not seen the first movie, here is the trailer below! I could not find the movie on YouTube, so you will just have to borrow it from a friend or add it to your wish list!

Blessings in the Lord,

Miss Antoinette

For the next few articles, I will be focusing on what items you can put into your hope chest.

This will be so much fun as I share some of the items I have in mine, and give you ideas for yours.

So here we go!

Books: A family Bible is a wonderful item to add to any hope chest, it can also be just a regular Bible if you wish.  My family has a couple of family Bibles from way back, and it has inspired me to someday either have one of them, or save up some money for one for my hope chest! Devotionals are another great item to add as well.

Also, I would recommend books /and or/ curriculum that would be useful for homeschooling your future children as well (though I could fill my entire chest with books for this purpose!:) ).

Because I have quite a few books I would like to keep for my future homeschooling purposes, my mother and I tucked them away safely in the garage for now.

Heirlooms: Heirlooms are another amazing thing to have in your hope chest as every item has been passed down from generation to generation and all (if preserved correctly) can still be very useful!  I wish I could hear all of the lovely stories some of my heirlooms could tell (I feel the same way when walking into an antique shop:)  )

The Lord has blessed me with some special heirlooms in my hope chest. I have some baby clothes that my mother wore and when she had me I wore them!  They were made by my great grandmother and they are in such good condition, that I have kept them for (Lord willing) my future children.  I have kept some of my favorite dresses growing up that my grandma sewed for me (I even helped her make some of them) and some sweaters that my great Nan (great grandmother from England), and Nanny (my grandmother) knitted for me!

I also have some pillow cases, crocheted doilies, linens, and quilt tops made from as far back as my great, great grandmother that are in such good condition that I even use some of these items now around my room!

I know that some of you will be starting your hope chests from scratch (possibly not having any special heirlooms in your family), so I have three great ways to still have those special heirlooms in your own hope chest (if you so desire):

1. Start your own: Now is the best time to start your own heirlooms by making some.  Dress up pillow cases by adding some nice lace on the edge or hand embroidering something on the end, Make quilts of any size you wish, how about cloth napkins, tablecloths, etc. the list is endless as to what you can make.  When you get older you can pass those items down to your children for them to use and their children after them!  Heirlooms have to start somewhere right?!

Another way to have heirlooms in your hope chest (if you are not inclined to make you own)……..

1. Antique Stores: Antique stores are one of the BEST ways to buy heirlooms from someone who no longer wants them, and can be very practical and useful for ladies like us who want them for our hope chests! Antiques can get quite expensive sometimes.

Another option if antique stores do not fit the budget……

1. Thrift Stores/Yard Sales: Here you can find some really neat heirlooms, books, and so on for a very inexpensive price, and sometimes you can find amazing items that would cost you a lot more money elsewhere!  I have found some wonderful things at the thrift store before and I am always so thankful to the Lord for providing wonderful items for my hope chest!

Well, I hope this has been another encouraging post, and that it has inspired you to start your own heirlooms.  I would still recommend this for those who (like me) already have heirlooms to still make your own as they are wonderful to have and it creates memories of when you made it and they can be just as useful and sentimental (or even more so as they are brand new). I hope you will join me next week when I will discuss two other ideas for your hope chest contents!

Love in Christ,

Miss Antoinette