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I have all these things in my head that I need to get written down…and all these photos on my computer that I want to show you…but it just isn’t happening these days. This week was wheat planting and all three of my boys getting hand, foot & mouth. Enough said. It could have been so much worse. That is what I have to keep reminding myself. Hand, foot and mouth goes away. I got to hug my sad babies a little bit extra. And I got to talk to my husband on the phone a little more this week because I had to complain to someone about being quarantined in the house with three sick kids, right?! Levi was so mad at me about having to miss school. He just sobbed. At least I learned this week that he really does love kindergarten. Haha. So really quickly, here are a few random thoughts for today…and then I am back to taking care of the sickies.

DaySpring’s $10 Secret Sale | DaySpring has a $10 Secret Sale going on now through Sunday, October 4. There are over 30 items marked down to $10 while supplies last. A great gift for $10?! Here is another chance to get a head start on Christmas shopping (for those of you who plan ahead like that!). These are some of my favorites…

$10 Secret Sale

 

Daily Grace – Memo Chalkboard

Daily Grace – Cake Pedestal | Everlasting Light – Star Cluster Necklace

Our Days Are For His Praise – Decorative Lantern | Hope & Encouragement – 10 Premium Card Assortment

There are several boxed card sets marked down to $10. I love having these on hand because it saves you a trip to the store (which is so important when you don’t plan ahead and live in the country) and you get a great card for $1! Make sure to check out the rest of the $10 deals. And don’t forget there are a few other promotions going on right now that you might be able to use too.

Use code GIFT20 for 20% off gifts! Good through October 31.

Use code 15BUCKS for $15 off any purchase! Good through October 31.

B1G1 Free Boxed Cards. Going on now through October 4. No code necessary. (*DaySpring affiliate links used)

Seeds Family Worship | We love the Seeds CDs at our house. The Seeds Family Worship mission is to get God’s Word through Seeds into as many homes (and hearts) as possible around the world. Don’t you love that! These CDs are such a good tool to help our kids memorize Scripture in a fun way. My boys listen to these at night all the time. And I love that when you buy a CD it comes with two…so you can gift one to someone else! Right now you can get the Seeds of Courage album completely free. Just visit the Seeds website and a window will pop up asking if you want them to send this CD to your email…that’s it! Do you listen to Seeds at your house? If you don’t…go check them out! (P.S. I just noticed they have free downloadable memory cards to go with each CD…so great!)

Revive ’15 | Are you tired of me talking about this conference yet? I mean, I wasn’t even there! I did listen to parts of the LIVE stream and it was so good. I wish so much that I could have been there. Anyway, I just wanted to mention it one more time because the audio of the Revive ’15 Conference is now available online. I loved Jen Wilkin’s sessions. Her book, Women of the Word, is one of my favorites. If you haven’t read it (you should!), Jen’s sessions from the conference cover some of the material from the book. If you need something to listen to this weekend while you are cleaning the house or exercising or driving or whatever…check these out!

Butternut Squash | We picked the rest of our pumpkins and squash last weekend. I have an abundance of butternut squash now. In the past I have baked and pureed most of them and used it for baby food, but no babies here this year! Unfortunately my boys aren’t too crazy about squash. So, I need all of your best butternut squash recipes…help a girl out! Here is Levi with all of our pumpkins. He worked so hard and was so proud of how he arranged them. Cutie pie. Also, if you miss seeing photos of my boys on the blog, make sure to follow me on Instagram. I do so much better at posting updates on there!

pumpkins fall15

It’s finally starting to feel like Fall around here. Yay! Hope you all have a great weekend!

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  • Janel - Hi Jess….

    I just adore your sweet sweet family…been following you for a while..and my heart always smiles just seeing your family grow, fun, fun!

    As for the squash family…I think winter squash soup is a must. And I’m sure your boys would love it. It’s a soup to make while trapped in the house for a bit…it’s time consuming roasting and puree-ing…but the end result is SO worth it. You could use all varieties on hand ( butternut, acorn, pumpkin,, even sweet potatoes) with onions garlic..etc.serve it up in the little pumpkins scooped out for the boys…crusty bread to dip in it..hhhmmhhmmm. Some recipes just call for 1-2 varieties..but I prefer 3 min for the best flavor.ReplyCancel

  • Muriel Siadak - Jess
    Here is the best ever butternut squash lasagna recipe. My whole family loves it! And it freezes well too if you make extra!

    Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna
    prep 50 min ∙ cook 1 hr 10 min ∙ makes 3 to 4 servings (Scaled) ∙ difficulty Easy ∙ source Foodnetwork.com
    INGREDIENTS

    For the vegetables:
    1/2 butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
    1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    Kosher salt
    1/2 onion, halved and sliced
    For the bechamel:
    1 tablespoons unsalted butter
    5 sage leaves
    1/8 cup all-purpose flour
    2 cups whole milk
    Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
    For the lasagna:
    Unsalted butter, for the baking dish
    1/2 cup grated fontina cheese (about 4 ounces)
    1/2 cup grated low-moisture mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)
    1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
    1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
    4 1/2 no-boil lasagna noodles
    DIRECTIONS

    Make the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil on a baking sheet; season with salt. Toss the onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on a separate baking sheet; season with salt. Roast, rotating the baking sheets once, until the vegetables are tender, 18 to 20 minutes; set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

    Meanwhile, make the bechamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sage and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the flour until smooth; cook, whisking, until the flour is lightly golden but not brown, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg.

    Assemble the lasagna: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Toss the cheeses and the flour in a bowl; set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Evenly coat the bottom of the dish with 1/2 cup of the bechamel. Lay 3 noodles side by side on top. Cover with one-third of the remaining bechamel. Sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese mixture, then top with half of the vegetable mixture. Arrange 3 more noodles on top and repeat the layers (bechamel, cheese, vegetables). Top with the remaining 3 noodles, then cover with the remaining bechamel; sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup cheese.

    Loosely cover the dish with foil and bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Uncover the lasagna and broil until browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

    MurielReplyCancel

  • Amber Lo - This is a yummy pasta recipe using butternut squash. 🙂
    http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/bacon-butternut-pasta-0ReplyCancel

  • Erica - Hey Jess. I substitute it for pumpkin puree in recipes. It cooks much faster than pumpkins do, and if we want anything pumpkin we have to roast it, we can’t buy it. I freeze it in 2 cup or 1 cup baggies.ReplyCancel