SummerHill Secrets

Hey, everyone! I have finished these two books called SummerHill Secrets and they were really awesome so I decided to suggest them on this blog.

They're by Beverly Lewis and they rock! It's mostly about a 15-year-old girl named Merry Hanson who lives with her parents and older brother Skip next to an Amish farm. The books are pretty much just about her life at school and with Amish friends who she calls cousins because of the distant relation. There are five stories in each book, and they are so thrilling. Every time I would start reading it, it was quite hard to put down. Here are the stories in each book:

SummerHill Secrets book 1:

Whispers Down the Lane: When Lissa Vyner shows up bruised and beaten, Merry enlists the help of her Amish friend Rachel Zook.

Secret in the Willow: After her Amish neighbors' farm is vandalized, Merry resolves to find the culprit before an innocent person is blamed.

Catch a Falling Star: With her crush on Jon Klein stymied by Lissa, Merry mystifies nearly everyone when she begins spending time with fun-loving Levi Zook.

Night of the Fireflies: Susie Zook reminds Merry of her long-deceased twin, but the parallel becomes hauntingly similar in the wake of a terrible accident. [(Guaranteed to make you cry!)]

A Cry in the Dark: An abandoned baby girl appears to be the answer to Merry's prayers, but she isn't the only one with hopes for baby Charity.

SummerHill Secrets 2:

House of Secrets: When Chelsea Davis's mom vanishes, unsettled clues lead Merry to suspect a strange religious cult may be involved.

Echoes in the Wind: A skating party on Zook's pond has Merry on edge until a disastrous event forces her to look at things from a fresh perspective.

Hide Behind the Moon: When Merry gives in to Rachel Zooks pleas for a taste of forbidden fancy life, her friend begins making all kinds of crazy plans.

Windows on the Hill: Staying with Ruby Spindler offers Merry the perfect opportunity to explore the woman's big house...and uncover her surprising secrets.

Shadows Beyond the Gate: Can Merry count on her friends to understand as she at last attempts to come to grips with a years-old tragedy?

These are very good books and have Christian morals, but keep in mind that these books were written for teens. I would not suggest them to kids twelve and under. For example, my family and I believe it's inappropriate to "go out" at a young age like most kids do in school nowadays. As a matter of fact, we believe courting is the best solution when getting to know guys, but not when you're fifteen. But in these books, Merry Hanson does "go out" and though there isn't any inappropriate romance, I just wouldn't suggest it for younger kids. There are also a couple of stories that have "thematic elements" that probably wouldn't be appropriate for younger kids but they're still very cool books and I hope you'll enjoy every minute of reading them.

Hannah

Is it time for Pumpkin Pie?

Yes it is. Now that fall is around the corner we need to post about fall foods and everything in between .

Pumpkin Pie is a very good place to start. (YUM!)

Here is a good Pumpkin Pie recipe:

Pumpkin Pie

1 16oz. can pumpkin
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 egg
1 5oz. can evaporated milk
1/2 c. milk



For filling, in a mixing bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and eggs. Beat lightly with a rotary beater or fork. Gradually stir in evaporated milk and milk. Mix well. Place a pastry-lined (pastry recipe at bottom) 9x9 in. pie plate on the oven rack; pour in filling. Cover edge with foil. Bake at 375 degrees oven for 25 min. Remove foil; bake for about another 25 min. more or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream. (if desired)


Pastry for Single-Crust Pie
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening or lard
3 to 4 TBSP. cold water

In a mixing bowl stir together flour and salt cut in shortening or lard till pieces are size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 TBSP. of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork push to side of bowl. Repeat till all is moistened. Form dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough with hands. (Make sure hands are clean) Roll dough from center to edges, forming a circle about 12 in. in diameter. Wrap pastry around rolling pin. unroll onto a 9 in. pie plate.
Ease pastry into pie plate, be careful not to stretch pastry. Trim to 1/2 in. beyond edge of pie plate; fold under extra pastry. Make a fluted, rope-shaped, or scalloped edge. Do not prick pastry. Bake as directed in individual recipes.

Have fun!
Hope your pie turns out great!

Alisha

Recipe: Coffee Cookies

If you like coffee and cookies please read this post.
If you like one or the other than still read this post.

Coffee Cookies

2 1/2 c. All-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 c. crisco (DO NOT USE BUTTER)

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs or 3 small eggs

3 TBL. coffee creamer (hazelnut is good)

1/2 c. cooled, brewed coffee (we like hazelnut coffee)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In mixing bowl combine (in no certain order) flour, baking soda, salt, crisco, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, creamer and coffee. Mix well, best to use electric mixer otherwise you hand will get extremely tiered. Drop by spoon fulls onto cookie sheet 1 1/2 inch. apart. Bake for 10-20 min. or until golden brown.

(Optional topping: two parts whipped cream to one part creamer. Same creamer used in cookies.)

Cool and enjoy.

Sophie

Our Introduction

Hello, everyone! This is our first post, and we're very excited! This blog was made for suggested movies, books, or recipes that we have tried out. Before we start, I want to tell everyone a little bit about us with this first post. First, I'll let you know that each of us, except for Holly, have our own personal blog. In those blogs we write about our lives. Alisha's is http://www.highschoolhereicome.blogspot.com/. Mine is http://www.hannah-indiana.blogspot.com/. Sophie's is http://www.girlinazoo.blogspot.com/. And Melanie's is www.stuckinthemiddle-athomemama.blogspot.com. So if you want to hear about us personally, those are good websites to check out. The rest of the blogs that we suggest, that's to the left of this page, is the rest of our friends and family's blogs. So you can check those out too.


We have pictures of ourselves I could post, but we kind of wanted to wait until we take some new, updated, professional-looking pictures of us probably around next week.


A little bit more about us is that we're homeschooled by our wonderful mothers and are very proud about that. We also strongly believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, so a lot of the books we'll be suggesting will be Christian.


I'm about done here so I'll end by saying that all of us will probably be taking turns making new posts. We don't all do posts at the same time. So enjoy!


--Hannah