Homemade Chai

Ingredients

• 1/2 whole star anise

• 10 to 12 whole cloves

• 6 to 7 whole allspice

• 1 heaping teaspoon (or 2 short sticks) cinnamon bark

• 6 to 7 whole white peppercorns

• 1 cardamon pod, opened to the seeds

• 1 cup water

• 4 cups whole milk

• 2 heaping tablespoons high-quality, full-bodied broad-leaf black tea (Ceylon or English Breakfast)

• Sugar, to taste

• 
  

• 1. Boil the spices in water:

     In a 2-quart saucepan, add spices to 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let steep for 5 to 20 minutes, depending on how strong a spice flavor you want.

  2. Add the milk and simmer:

     Add 4 to 6 cups of whole milk to the spiced water. If you don't have whole milk, you can also use non-fat or low-fat milk. Just add some cream to it, a few tablespoons to your liking. Bring the milk and spice mixture just to a boil and remove from heat.

  3. Add the tea and steep:

     Add tea and let steep for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how strong your like your tea. (Option at this point - reheat to a simmer and remove from heat.)

     You can add sugar at this point, or serve without sugar and let people put the amount of sugar in they want. Traditionally, sugar is added before serving.

  4. Strain and serve:

     Strain into a pot, and serve. Add more sugar, to taste if desired.

StarFAMILYfeature 9/21/26

 

Welcome to week#3 of the September 2026 "You're the Star" Blog Hop!

Before we continue onto the Linky party I wanted to share this post from my blog:

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WELCOME to FAMILY feature week of the
September 2026 "You're the STAR" blog hop!
Meet your hosts 

This week is FAMILY feature week
Swing by the hosts' blogs:

Michelle @ Moms Are Frugal

Lisa @ At Home With Lisa

Kris @ Kris and Larry . com

Angie @ God's Growing Garden

Colleen @ Butterfly in the Attic

This is a month long Linky party featuring YOU!

There will be 4 different features each week and 4 different feature categories.  Just to be clear - this is NOT a themed party - you may link up ANY family-friendly blog posts any day of each month. 

The "theme" occurs in our weekly features:

WEEK#3 FAMILY - parenting, fitness, health, finances & inspirational (this can include anything about children like: education ideas for children, also self help, beauty etc -  anything family friendly)

(These features were chosen from the August 2026 "You're the STAR" blog hop)

Experience Norway in Wisconsin- Norskedalen's Midsummer Fest by Amy's Creative Pursuits

Back To School! Summer Spotlight by Our Grand Lives

Risky Frisky Self-Care by Road Gypsies

The Beautiful Things We Almost Throw Away by Butterfly In The Attic

If you've been featured then please grab a STAR button below:

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All Hosts/CoHosts will post this blog hop on every Monday of each week.

Please link up your family friendly blog posts below!

It wouldn't be a linky party with YOU!

(IMPORTANT NOTE: by linking up you understand that you might be featured next month and if so, we will use some of your photos from your post - rest assured - we will always link back to your lovely blog.  We might also share your fantastic posts on social media.  Also, you may link up as many family-friendly posts as you like & YES - other blog hops &/or giveaways are welcome {giveaways and blog hops will NOT be featured though}  Thank You & ENJOY! )

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Sunday fellowship

Sunday fellowship....

Is all about spending time with my church family after service. Our church hall is our meeting place and all are welcome to join. 

My Bible journal cards is today's project 

I bought these at the local Bible book store next door to Hobby lobby. We colored these to add too  cookies trays we give out at the nursing home.

My cookies.   .

 Kids time : the kids get involved with color pages.

The Fall Imagination Activity Book

 

The Fall Imagination Activity Book: 220+ Fun Activities for Kids and Families: Crafts, Games, Recipes, Nature Adventures & More

The Fall Imagination Activity Book

Make the most of autumn with 220+ fun and creative activities designed for kids and families to enjoy together.

Fall is a season of changing leaves, cooler days, cozy meals, outdoor discoveries, and opportunities to spend meaningful time together. This activity book brings together crafts, games, recipes, nature activities, creative challenges, kindness projects, conversation starters, seasonal traditions, and hands-on experiences for children and families.

Inside, you'll find activities inspired by:

• Fall nature walks and outdoor exploration

• Apples, pumpkins, harvests, and seasonal foods

• Arts, crafts, drawing, and creative projects

• Halloween games, crafts, decorations, and activities

• Age-appropriate opportunities to learn about Día de los Muertos

• Gratitude, kindness, and family conversations

• Back-to-school activities and creative challenges

• Seasonal recipes, baking, and kitchen activities

• Family games and screen-free activities

• Seasonal traditions and celebration ideas

• Creative prompts for exploring, imagining, and learning

Inside You'll Find

• 100 full-sized fall activities

• 120 bonus seasonal prompts

• Nature exploration and outdoor adventures

• Arts, crafts, drawing, and creative projects

• Recipes, baking, and kitchen activities

• Halloween-themed activities and games

• Opportunities to explore seasonal and cultural traditions

• Gratitude and kindness activities

• Family conversation starters

• Harvest and autumn celebration ideas

• Screen-free activity ideas

• Activities suitable for families, classrooms, homeschool settings, grandparents, caregivers, and youth groups

Activities can be completed independently or enjoyed with parents, siblings, grandparents, teachers, caregivers, and friends. Choose activities according to your family's interests, traditions, available time, and resources.

Whether you have a few minutes after school or a full weekend to explore, this book offers ideas for creating, learning, playing, discovering, and spending time together throughout the fall season.

Designed with children approximately ages 5–12 in mind, The Fall Imagination Activity Book is a useful resource for families, teachers, homeschoolers, grandparents, caregivers, libraries, and youth programs looking for seasonal activity ideas.

Explore the season. Get creative. Spend time together. Make autumn part of your family's story.

Book Review from the library 

 We enjoyed this book. There are so many ideas in here that I wouldn't have thought of myself, and I liked that you can simply pick an activity depending on how much time you have that day. Some are very easy, while others give you something a little more involved to do together.

The autumn theme makes the book especially fun, and I can see myself coming back to it whenever we're stuck for something to do. I particularly liked the mix of creative and outdoor ideas rather than having page after page of the same type of activity.

A really useful book to keep around during the fall, especially on those days when you hear, "I'm bored!" and need an idea quickly.

Saturday at the library

Welcome to our community library and circle time with us. Today we are celebrating Talk like a Pirate day! 

It’s Pirate Day and our little bird friend is super excited to dress up as a pirate and take to the high sea! The bird can’t wait to experience the life of a seafaring pirate such as going on treasure hunts and wild adventures. But will the little bird truly enjoy being a pirate for the day or will it regret it’s decision? Read along as you and your child will once again enjoy the silly antics of this quirky bird!

This is a read aloud kids book and is easy to read. The target age range is for toddlers, preschool and young children.

Paper plates crafts.....

Our treat : we are hunting for treasure.

Color My World

Today's watercolor item is this colorful pumkin. Perfect for the end of September.  

DIY Pumpkin Coaster

 

Cut out 2 squares for each pumpkin, about 7" x 6", large enough for the pattern with an extra .5"-1" around all sides. 

Cut out 2 pieces of fuslible fleece the same size as the fabric pieces and press to the wrong side of the fabric. (or skip this step and when you layer the fabrics just layer cotton batting between the fabric pieces. 

On one piece of fabric trace the pumpkin pattern on the center of the fabric with an erasable or washable pen. 

Place the two pieces together with the fusible fleece sides in the middle and right sides of fabric out. 

Sew along the traced line, starting at one of the center points that dip in to the middle of the pumpkin.

When you get back to the center stitch down the center of the pumpkin in a curved line, then back up curving the line in the opposite direction, When you are back at the starting point repeat again curving the line out further as shown in the diagram below. If you prefer you could draw these lines on before sewing but I just freehand stitched them on. Trim around the edge of the coaster with pinking shears.Cut a piece of ribbon about 2"-2.5" long, fold in half and place over the top of the coaster with the fabric sandwiched between (you can fold up the ends to the middle of the ribbon if you don't want the edges raw or are worried about fraying), sew across the bottom of the ribbon to make the stem. 

If you used heat erasable pens give your coasters a quick press to remove the pen lines.