The Sannes News

BARB'S 2011 CHRISTMAS COOKIE EXCHANGE

2011-12-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

I held my 4th annual Christmas Cookie Exchange on December
20, 2011. I had 7 ladies in attendance and 1 lady couldn't come,
but sent cookies to exchange. L - R: Eunice Knight, Valerie Quales,
Lucinda Leamer, Emily & Lisa Quesenberry, Amy Stratton, &
Brenda Lynn.

Valerie's Pecan Sandies

Vanilla Bean Biscotti

Eunice's Jeweled Swirls

Brenda's Dipped Gingersnaps

Lucinda's Cutouts

My own Thumbprint Cookies

Sandra Grabill's Peanut Peanut Butter

Amy's Christmas M & M

Cookie Exchange 2010

2010-12-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

2010-12-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Thursday, December 9th I held my 3rd annual Christmas Cookie Exchange. There were 13 different kinds of cookies: Dipped gindersnaps, coconut crunch, holiday M & M, Christmas cutouts, pumpkin, fudgy mint, pecan sandies, thumbprints, Finnish tea cookies, merry cranberry, snickerdoodles, candy cane and pointsetta cookies. We had a really fun time and I am so glad that I ever started doing this in 2007!

Christmas Cookie Exchange 2010

2010-12-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

I spy a .... Robin!

2010-02-27T12:14:00.001-08:00

Victor very excitedly called me to the door this morning. "Mom! Mom! A Robin!" I went a runnin' and he went and got the camera. We enjoyed watching the robin in a grassy place not too far out the door. I want to post a picture, but my card reader is out of commission so until I get another one, words will have to do!

2010-02-14T13:01:00.000-08:00

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THE BIG SNOW on February 6th, 2010 generated about 2 feet of snow. We had our driveway plowed and that made a HUGE pile of snow. Victor made a snow cave of that humongous heap. The following pictures are of the interior of the cave. The above picture is the outside of the cave.

The Snow Cave

2010-02-14T12:48:00.000-08:00

Barb's Gingerbread House 2009

2010-01-31T14:28:00.000-08:00

Campbell Family Fun Day

2009-10-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Campbell Family Fun Day October 2009

2009-10-11T12:00:00.002-07:00

SCIENCE FAIR 2009 ~ VARIOUS CLASSROOMS

2009-02-19T10:34:00.001-08:00

SCIENCE FAIR FEBRUARY 6, 2009 ~ BRADLEY'S CLASS; 3RD/4TH GRADES

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SCIENCE FAIR FEBRUARY 6, 2009 VICTOR'S CLASS; 5TH/6TH GRADES

2009-02-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

2009-02-19T09:16:00.000-08:00

Salem Wesleyan Academy held a Science Fair on Friday, February 6, 2009. Bradley is in the 3rd grade and his 3rd/4th grade classroom had a Breakfast Cafe. Each student chose a different breakfast food or beverage. Bradley chose Strawberry Jam. That was an easy choice for him since mama makes strawberry jam every year. We went and bought strawberries and with minimal help from mom, he made 16 half-pints of DELICIOUS strawberry jam. He took them to school and gave out samples on toast. YUM.

Victor's experiment was on Parachutes. He tested different shapes and materials to see which parachute would have the best descent. He thought up the idea on his own and ran with it and did a great job. He was able to go to the shop where Bear works, Progressive Dairy, and launch his parachutes from a loft about 20 feet high. What FUN!

let it snow ~ let it snow ~ let it snow

2009-01-29T12:24:00.001-08:00

2 snow days in a row. WOW. The kids are on cloud 9! We are sure enjoying the beauty of the sparkling white snow. It is nice to be IN looking OUT! The one picture here shows the kids out playing in the snow on Wednesday. The temperatures have been in the mid 20's today!

Sannes Homestead

2009-01-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

The Sannes Homestead ~ house built in 1973 by my father-in-law, Marty Sannes.

The David Sannes home established in 1990.

2009-01-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

S N O W

2009-01-14T06:51:00.000-08:00

The sun shines on the snow and makes it glisten like diamonds. The pure white snow is so refreshing. It reminds me of how Jesus takes a life of black ugly sin and washes it WHITER than snow.

Saturday we got a nice snowfall. The boys had a birthday party to attend at 1:00, so afterwards they got together with several friends and went sled riding on the girls dorm hill. They were more happy than two bunnies in a lettuce patch! Their cheeks were rosy and they were frozen to the bone, but they were chatty & delighted! I helped them get out of all their cold, wet clothes and sent them off to a hot shower while PJ's & blankets warmed in the dryer for when they got out.

Monday after school found them sledding on the neighbor's hill. Charlotte lives right next door and has a nice hill to sled on. (Unfortunately we do not have a nice hill to sled on!!) Then again Tuesday they went sledding at Charlotte's again. Not sure if they will get to go today since the temperatures are much lower today. It was 3 degrees this morning @ 8. Now @ 10 it is 14 degrees with the sun. But I was able to get some nice pictures of them sledding on Tuesday. My philosophy is "It's winter, so 'Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow' "!

OUR CHRISTMAS 2008

2009-01-04T16:30:00.000-08:00

"The best made plans of mice and men" fell through for our Christmas plans. My mom & dad were to come out the 23rd (our Victor's birthday) and stay for several days. However, mom started having real bad trouble with her left eye and the doctor had to put a full eye patch on the eye and she could not see to drive. Dad has not been able to see well enough to drive for quit a long time, so they were not able to come out as originally planned. We debated going there or driving down to get them. But mom was in a lot of pain and miserable as can be so we opted to leave them alone so she could heal! We ended up having a very quiet Christmas Day here at our Homestead.

David had a few days off work over the holidays so we slipped out of Salem Friday morning (26th) and headed South along the river and went to Cabela's in Wheeling, West Virginia. Seems like this time of year always finds us there. Last year we went on New Year's Eve. We all thoroughly enjoy the trip and the store there. We always pack a picnic lunch and take a break from shopping and have a picnic in the car. Really a fun day. The boys are really into tomahawk throwing, fishing, pellet gun shooting, & slingshot shooting, so it seems like each time we go, there are more departments of interest to cover!!! The boys favorite remains ~~~ The Shooting Gallery. There you will find laser shotguns and laser targets which equals a TON of fun.

Saturday January 3rd we went to our niece's house for Christmas/New Year's on David's side of the family. Emmy and her husband Richard Miller welcomed everyone to their place in town. Those able to be there were David's sister Lynn, her son Marty and Marty's brother-in-law Lance. Marty's wife, Jen, unfortunately had to work and we really missed her a lot. An unexpected guest was a "forever friend" Willis Montgomery and his wife Charla. We had not seem them in ever so long and they were able to come visit for several hours. What a treat to listen to Will, David & Lynn reminisce about "the good ole days"!

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New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T13:43:00.000-08:00

I keep meaning to post my Christmas pictures and still have not done it, but here it is already New Year's Eve and I am thinking back over 2008 and looking ahead to 2009. It has been a quiet day at my house and I've been able to do a little cross-stitching, enjoying the Christmas tree, loving the beauty of the snow falling, and oohing over the drawings my boys are producing. It is a nostalgic day thinking back over the happy times of this year. Happy new year to all...

Victor's 11th brithday

2008-12-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

Our older boy, Victor, turned 11 on December 23rd. I always try to make a special meal and this year was no exception. Amish meatloaf was the specialty this year. Delicious!! Instead of a birthday cake, Victor likes "Oreo Fluff". So I made that and put a Bunker Hill tractor on it to represent all the fun times we had this summer at the Bunker Hill truck & tractor pulls. (I can't seem to "find" the pictures of the cake!)

2008-12-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

2008-12-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Christmas Cookie Exchange

2008-12-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

I hosted my First Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange at my house on Thursday December 11, 2008. Last Christmas I wanted to do this but didn't get my act together soon enough, so I started planning for this year as soon as Christmas was over last year. My cookie exchangers were my sister Brenda Lynn who could not be here, Sandra Grabill, Joanna Pears, Valerie Quales, Debbie Goodenow, Melinda Mattern, Amy Stratton, and Melanie Thomas. So including my cookies, we had 9 different types of cookies. YUM! Here's what we had: I made Cream Wafers and Brenda's Dipped Gingersnaps, Sandra ~ Rich Double Peanut Butter Cookies, Joanna ~ Thumprints, Valerie ~ Mexican Wedding Cakes, Debbie ~ Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies, Melinda ~ Sugar Cookie Cutouts, Amy ~ Shortbread Cutouts, and Melanie ~ Peanut Butter Blossoms. Oh, what a spread! My table never looked so good!

I started out the evening with refreshments. I had a couple loooong subs from Wal-Mart, Sunchips, and applesauce. For dessert I had mint wafer cookie and cheese logs. To drink I had Tang, Wassail, and coffee with vanilla carmel creamer.

After our tummies were satisfied, we played a Left/Right game using salt dough snowmen ornaments that I made a few months ago, "Name that Christmas Tune" with Valerie helping me out on my mini keyboard, Christmas Trivia, and "What is in your purse". I had a blast and it seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves.

Finally... the reason we were gathered together ~ to swap Christmas Cookies. Each lady shared why she chose that particular cookie and then we got our extra trays and started going around the table gathering cookies. There were 6 dozen of most, so each lady got to take home 8 cookies of each kind. Oh, how wonderful those "going home" trays looked! And the delight on each face made it worth everything!

Ladies, I am already looking forward to next year with great anticipation and am hoping we can spread the word and have a few more ladies to get in on this fantastic way of having lots of different kinds of cookies with just the effort of doing one kind.

Now, I will have to add a little PS to this story. Although I have been planning this for months on end and have had my invitations out for weeks on end, on Monday I was not sure I was going to be able to go through with it. I started having a pain in my left foot Thursday of last week and it gradually got worse and worse. By Monday I could not walk on it. I went to my doctor and he sent me for X-rays. Said that I probably had a stress fracture. I was unable to do much of anything. I about ready to call off the party. Then My dear darling husband came to my rescue and took a vacation day the day of the party and got the house cleaned and in order. So HE pulled off the party for me!! I am so grateful for his help since I was very limited in what I could do! Another PS. The x-rays showed no stress fracture. Doc says it is a sprain. So it is the "hurry and wait" game of healing and mending.

Sisters of Encouragement Christmas Gift Exchange

2008-12-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

Our annual Sisters of Encouragement Christmas gift exchange was held in the warm cozy new parsonage this year. How delightful that was to gather there with about 28 other church "sisters". The food was scrumptious and the fellowship was refreshing. Our pastor's wife was a wonderful hostess.

Oreo ~ our Cocker Spaniel

2008-12-03T09:51:00.000-08:00

Oreo... our sweet puppy ~ 11 months old

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-03T09:45:00.000-08:00

Putting up our Christmas tree

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving @ Barbara's Mom & Dad

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving will be in Pittsburgh with my mom & dad again this year. It has become a tradition for David & me to leave the kids with grandma & grandpa on Black Friday morning and the two of us sneak off in the dark of the morning and do our secret shopping. We often end up at Panera Bread in Monroeville for breakfast and... to catch our breath and regroup! Most folks think us crazy for "wanting" to shop in the Black Friday crowds, but honestly, it isn't as bad as shopping at our Salem Wal-Mart on a SATURDAY. Oh how I HATE those crowds. I have to be desperate for something to go to town on a Saturday! So it is with excitement that we get up very early and head out into the cold, crisp, quiet morning and make our way to the shopping district. What precious memories!

Salem Women of Worth Meeting 10/26/08

2008-10-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

The Salem Women of Worth met Monday evening 10/26/08 in the Allegheny Wesleyan College cafeteria. Sis. Jan (Henry) Miller was the speaker for the evening. She spoke about having a merry heart. Even in the dark times God can help us to see the brighter picture and get our heads above the clouds. Having a merry heart is an attitude that we choose.

We enjoyed a delicious baked potato bar with yummy 'tater toppin's. Ladies also baked up a storm and brought scrumptious pumpkin and apple desserts. What a spread. God's presence was very real as we ended the evening in prayer.

Potato Harvest

2008-10-19T12:36:00.000-07:00

We had a very small raised garden with potatoes and tomatoes in it this year. Saturday we harvested the potatoes that we grew. It was an exciting time. We only had 2 hills, but it was so much fun you would have thought we had enough for the whole winter! We had them for Sunday dinner today and they were absolutely the best potatoes we have ever eaten!

The Apple Orchard

2008-10-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Saturday dawned clear and crisp here in Eastern Ohio. We planned a Fall Family Fun Day a Haus Apple Orchard in Canfield, Ohio. The trip over there was so enjoyable. The trees were ablaze with brilliant hues of orange, red, and yellow. Our 4 car caravan consisted of mom & dad (from Pittsburgh), sister Brenda and her family (from Butler, Pa), sister-in-law Genevela and 2 of her children (from Salem) and our family; making a total of 15 people!

When we got to Haus, we went inside to watch the incredible operation of pressing apple cider. WOW ~ that is so spell bindng. I have seen it done many times, but I still leave in awe of it all. The fragrance is awesome. The sweet cider is delicious and refreshing. Some of us could not help buying a gallon or two!!

Outside in the field there is a tall stack of round bales of hay for the kids to climb on. They really
enjoyed climbing, rolling, tugging, & jumping on and around the hay. The parents and grandparents laughed at their silly antics! What fun we all had! What a great memory of this beautiful time of the year.

Fall

2008-10-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the beautiful season of Fall! So much I love about this time of year; the cool crisp mornings and evenings, the crunch of leaves underfoot on the yard, the trees showing thier briliiant colors, and most of all I love the family gathered inside a little earlier at the end of the day. A soft lamp-light, a good book, and a warm cozy throw over my lap and my family gathered round... that is my favorite thing about this season!! Our pace has slowed down a bit in some ways now that school is in full swing. Some evenings are consumed with homework and spelling drills and that keeps us busy in a different kind of way. We cherish those moments with our kids no matter what we are doing.

W E L C O M E

2008-05-19T06:01:00.000-07:00

My blog is created with the intent and purpose of connecting with friends and family in a new way in hopes of strengthening those precious connections.