{Home}... and lovin' it!

Happy Sweet 16 MaKenna!

2011-10-08T22:12:00.000-04:00

16 years ago today, Mark and I welcomed little MaKenna into the family. She made Holly a big sister and since then, I have watched them over the years squabble, argue, laugh, giggle, play, and become the best friends they are today.

MaKenna - you are an amazing part of our family!!! Our lives are better because of your kindness, your Godliness, your dedication, your laughter, your silliness, your passion, your uniqueness, your craftiness, your messiness, your CDO-ness, your awesomeness!!!! You have always had the ability to bring a smile to my face. I am so thankful that of all the people in the world, Jesus picked daddy and I to be your parents.

I love you sweet girl and hope that you had the best birthday ever with many more to come.

{Birthday party info and pictures to come, but here's a teaser...}

See You At the Pole 2011

2011-09-28T21:57:00.001-04:00

{Somehow, I wrote this post and then forgot to publish it! So, it is late, but better late than never, right?}

See You at the Pole is an annual event that I even remember from when I was in high school. I remember the Christian kids at my high school inviting me to come to the flag pole on a particular morning to 'pray' - which I had never done and, had I admitted it, would have said that I thought it was weird. One time though, I went out of curiosity and felt oddly drawn yet strangely out of place at the same time. Sadly, I didn't go back...

This year, the youth pastor at our church organized an after event on See you at the Pole day for our youth service and it inspired me to get our homeschool group (or as many as possible!) together at our church flagpole - to join together and pray. We had a nice sized group meet at our pole on 441for prayer and were joined by our youth pastor - we prayed for our nation, our state, our city, our community, our schools, our church and each other. Here are some pictures from the day, minus the 2 photographers!

This time, I was able to participate without feeling odd or out of place and it was a welcome change. The After Event was a great success, with lots of visitors from schools around town, including some of our homeschool friends! God is doing great things and greater things are yet to come! Did you participate in See You at the Pole?

Unusual...

2011-09-04T23:15:00.005-04:00

Do you notice anything unusual in the picture below??

How long did it take you to notice the tp in the fridge? Well, in my family, it takes 2 days to notice it! Someone accidentally put in here when they were unloading the groceries. I noticed it the first time I opened the door, but decided to leave it and just see what happened. And no one noticed for 2 days! Two days! HeHe!!

Anyway, just thought I would share the latest little mishap from our home with you. Hope it made you smile!

Caleb's Hunting Party

2011-09-03T23:12:00.001-04:00

For Caleb's 12th birthday, he asked if we could have a Hunting themed party for a few of his friends. This was a fun party to put together, and now, all the boys want to have one for themselves! Here's what we did:

As the boys arrived, they gathered around the "campfire" in the backyard with their Hunting Instructor, aka, Mark:

Mark and I gave them some instructions and guidance for the first activity, a scavenger hunt:

We had a slip of paper for each of them with a combination of numbers:

Their job was to run around the yard and find targets like the one below. Once they found it, they were to look on the back. Each of their names was listed there with some letters beside it. These letters went on their slip of paper under the correct number:

Gathering letters:

Kenna got in on the fun and helped Max, the youngest of the group!

As hot as it was, the boys had a blast running around and finding the targets that Mark had hidden - very well, I may say!

Hmmmm, did Caleb find any in that tree???

Mark hid them near and far...

Max, filling in his letters:

Once they collected all of their letters, they were able to read a hunting word and earn their prize (to be told below!) Next up was target practice. Mark gave them a safety talk, set up a target and let the boys chose the airsoft gun they wanted to practice with. The boys were pretty serious about their aim!

Caleb used a handgun

Jack went for the shotgun...

Max liked the pistol...

Andrew used his handgun...

Dawson used a machine gun type...

Dylan went for the handgun... (seems to be the favorite)

Once everyone had a round of practice, we gave them their prizes, Marshmallow blowers that Mark and Caleb made for the boys, ammo attached!

Max had a little bit of fun with his!

They all took their guns into the yard and had a 'blast' (teehee) blowing them at each other, trees, squirrels, the air, etc.

Marshmallow guns are pretty cool! They work really well and you can take them apart and recreate them any way you like, kind of like legos! But the next big hit was the smores on a stick, below:

I took marshmallows, dipped them in melted chocolate, then in crushed graham crackers. The kids loved these! And no smores mess! They each got a hot dog and roasted it over the 'campfire' - hunting does create a hearty appetite!

More free shooting followed, then it was time for the cake. We had a few 'issues' with the cake, but in the end, it was not too bad... Notice the sleeping bad in the tent, the marshmallows ready to roast, and the campfire, with the candle inside to light it! OK, so it's not the best cake ever, but the kids all ooohhed and aaaahhhhed over it, Caleb loved it, and it tasted amazing, so that's what counts!

Here's a shot with the fire lit:

I meant to get a picture with all of us, dressed in our camo, but the girls got in the shower and changed before I remembered. Argg! Well, here are Caleb, Mark and I anyway...

Just trust me that the girls had on camo, too! Ummm, any one but me realize how tall my 12 year old is??? Can we slow this down a bit? I don't think we can keep up with the clothes anymore! Help!!!!

So, Caleb loved his party, the kids played hard and a good time was had by all - Success!

September is Here, so bring on the Fall!

2011-09-01T23:03:00.000-04:00

I just love the first day of September! Even though our temperature was somewhere near 90* again today, September seems to say 'I am here with the comfort of fall, regardless of the temperature!' September brings back memories of growing up in the north when the beginning of September meant going back to school (always the day after Labor Day), it meant apples - lots and lots of apples - and harvest of all kinds, it meant jackets and breezes and long walks outside collecting brilliantly colored leaves. I feel homey and cozy and warm inside thinking of September and all the good things that it brings!

Now that I am a grown up, fall means so many of those things and more. In addition to the above, it means pumpkins, warm colors - oranges, reds, browns, yellows - spices, pumpkins, pies, baking, playing outside with my kids until the sun goes down, pumpkins, cooler temperatures (we should only have highs in the 80's all weekend!), and, did I already mention, pumpkins?? I LOVE pumpkin - for decor, but especially in all sorts of recipes - yummy! Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin dip, pumpkin butter... I could go on and on with all of the yummy things I will be baking sooner than later!

After saying all of that, then, it should come as no surprise that I started today on my pumpkin baking! I was making a chicken pot pie for dinner and happened to make too much crust (hate when that happens!), so I followed a recipe from the American Girls Josephina Cookbook and made Pumpkin Empanaditas. These. Are. Amazing. You must try them and I will make it easy on you by posting the recipe so you can!

Pumpkin Empanaditas

Filling:

1 Tbsp. butter

1/2 c. brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon (or more!)

1/4 tsp. cloves (or more!)

1 cup canned pumpkin

Use a crust of your choice - storebought or homemade

Directions:

1. Make your pastry dough, if making it homemade, according to your directions. I love my crust recipe:

1 tsp salt

2-2 1/2 c. flour (fresh milled soft white, if possible)

2/3 c. butter

7 tbsp. ice water

Add the salt and flour to a food processor and mix it up. Slice the butter into thin slices and add to the flour mix. Pulse just until combined. Add the ice water and mix just until blended and a ball forms. Over mixing takes away the flakiness, in my opinion.

2. OK, so you have your crust ready and waiting. It's time to make the filling. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, spices and pumpkin, stirring til smooth. It should look something like this:

3. Continue to stir this over low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then, allow it to cool to room temperature and put in the fridge until it is cold. (We didn't do this last part, just let it get to room temp - FYI!) Go ahead and turn your oven on now to 375*.

4. Now, sprinkle some flour onto the counter, your table or a plastic cutting board and roll your rolling pin through it to keep the dough from sticking. Take a ball of your dough and roll it out, being sure to turn it often and that you have enough flour - no sticking! Roll to about 1/4 inch thick.

5. Use a cookie cutter, glass or (like us) a metal mason jar lid ring to cut as many circles as you can from your dough.

6. Here, the cookbook recommends making an egg wash of 1 egg and 1 tbsp water, beat well together. You would then brush this onto the edge of each circle, to keep it closed. I did not do this and had no problem with it at all!

7. Now, place about 1 tbsp. of the filling into the center of each circle:

8. Fold the circle in half and press the edges together, then seal with the tip of a fork:

9. Place these about 1" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat the above with the rest of your dough and filling. You can use your egg wash to brush on the top as well, if you are using this.

10. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until they are lightly browned, remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar. Let them cool slightly, then add a dollop or two of cool whip and Enjoy!

I am now officially ready for fall!

Making Hand Soap

2011-08-26T21:15:00.000-04:00

We were finally able to collect all of the ingredients needed to make a couple of batches of homemade hand soap this week and I am so glad that we did! It is super easy, cheap, fun and satisfying. Here's what we did:

We have been collecting bars of nice soap (Yardley's, for example) anytime they have been on a good sale at CVS and Walgreens for the past couple of months. I was able to finally find glycerin in the pharmacy area of Walmart - for $2.98 for a 6 oz. bottle. Here's what you can do to make some for yourself! (For our first batch, we used English Lavender from Yardley's and then made a smaller batch of an herbal soap for the sensitive hands in our family.)

Grate one bar of soap using a regular cheese grater:

Next, add the soap flakes (you should have about 1 and a 1/2 cups) to 15 cups of water in a large pot with 1.5 tbsp of glycerin. At first, this is how it will look:

Stir regularly over medium heat until the flakes are completely dissolved. Transfer to a large container and let sit overnight. At first, we thought we did something wrong since it was kind of runny. But, after sitting overnight, it thickened right up.

We refilled our empty bottles around the house right away and it worked perfectly! They smell so good and only cost .38 worth of glycerin and .48 for a bar of soap - for the whole thing! 85 CENTS to make 15+ cups of hand soap!! We have already filled 2 bottles and have so much left over it will last for a very long time!

My next project is to make these to fill with our homemade soap:


Source:Canning Jar Soap Dispenser

If you try it out, let me know how it goes!

Celebrating the Sabbath

2011-08-25T19:58:00.000-04:00

In my back to school post, I alluded to more details about using 'My Father's World' with Caleb. So, here you go!

I used My Father's World for both the girls and am so excited to be learning from it with Caleb. We are starting with Creation to the Greeks and will spend the next 3 years traveling through world history from Creation to the present day. This year, in addition to studying Bible history (I learn so much with him as we go!), ancient history, dinosaurs and the science of Creation, we are learning about the Feasts that the Jews celebrated in the Old Testament. Not just learn about them, but actually partake of them ourselves! Here's what I mean.

Last week, we learned about the celebration of the Sabbath or Shabbat as the Jews call it. So, in addition to reading about it in our lessons and Caleb reading about it in books on his own, we actually celebrated it, as much as possible, as they would have originally over the weekend - It was so wonderful! One of the great parts is that, leading up to the sun going down, everyone pitched in to clean the house so that even the mom (AKA, me) can rest on Sabbath! We all cleaned, cooked and prepared so that we would have no work to do the next day. Since it is more conducive to our lives, we started Saturday and ended Sunday, and since He is Lord of the Sabbath - we kept our eyes on Him as we celebrated.

Saturday night, as the day ended, we prepared to gather around the table. There are lots of prayers said, blessings given and received, etc. If you have never celebrated an authentic Sabbath, you really should. It is beautiful. So, we lit candles and had a pretty centerpiece, picked and prepared by Holly:

After all of the preparation, and now that everyone was truly 'starving', we began to eat. You don't know how I regret forgetting to take pictures in the midst of everything. I mean, I made a mighty fine meal! We had baked salmon with completely homemade tarter sauce (including grating the pickles for relish!), brown rice, cooked and candied baby carrots and challah - the traditional Jewish bread. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

So, from then until the next day at sundown, you are on Sabbath rest time. Our family truly tries to keep Sunday as a day of rest anyway, so this was not too hard for us to do! Sunday morning, we woke up celebrating the Lord's presence and prepared for church. We had a great service, then came home to a lunch that we had been preparing since the day before, to avoid cooking on the Sabbath! Boy, did the house smell wonderful!

We found this recipe in a book called "Cooking the Israeli Way" and it is called Sabbath Stew. This will be a regular in our home, it was that good! I will now tempt you with a picture and the recipe, so that you can try it on your own and fill your house and tummy with amazing smells and flavors!

Here's what you need:

1 1/4 cups dry chick peas (I used 2 cans)
1 1/4 cups dry navy beans (I used dry beans for this since I had it and then cooked them til soft)
4 tbsp veggie oil
2 large onions, chopped to your liking
6 small new potatoes (I didn't have these, so I used about 6-8 idahos and quartered them)
2 lbs beef cut into 2ish inch cubes (I used stew meat)
4 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
1 tsp ground coriander (did not have so did not use...)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
(Note: the recipe calls for 8 uncooked eggs in their shells. I used 2, but next time will use none. You can decide for yourself!)

If using dry beans, soak overnight the night before. Saute onions until golden brown, adding garlic at the end. In a large crockpot, place potatoes, onions, meat and eggs, if using. (Be careful not to break the eggs!) Add beans to the pot, discarding the liquid first if they were soaked. Add spices and mix well. (I waited to add my eggs until everything else was in the pot and mixed, then I gently tucked them in.) Add enough water to the pot to barely cover the contents. If your lid does not fit tightly, add a layer of foil under the lid. I turned the crockpot on at about 11 PM or so on high for about 30 minutes, then down to low and let it cook until 5 AM. I turned it off at that time, but turned it back on at 7 AM on low and let it cook til we got home from church. Alternately, you could add everything as above to a casserole dish, bake for 1 hour on 375*, then reduce heat to the lowest setting and cook for 5-8 hours. Before serving, if you used the eggs, remove them from the pot, take the shells off and cut into quarters. Serve the stew hot, garnished with the egg if desired, and have some of the challah with it. Oh so good, filling, nutritious and just plain yummy!

So, after that, we rested, spent time together reading, playing outside, etc. We had a light dinner of cheese and crackers, then waited for the sun to go down. There are more prayers prayed at that time and more symbolic celebrations as well. It was a wonderful day - so good that we are considering doing it again. Soon! I wish I had taken more pictures, but we were just so caught up in the time, that it slipped right by... Maybe next time!

This weekend was just a testimony of one of the many reasons that I love to homeschool. Getting to bring things to life and make them real and meaningful for my children - not just facts to memorize for a test, but a true love for learning and wisdom and truth. I am blessed!

Caleb turns 12!

2011-08-24T22:06:00.002-04:00

Another birthday? Where does the time go???!! We are so blessed to have Caleb in our family - he keeps us laughing with his infectious humor and laugh. He is truly a gift from God!

His sisters think so, too!

You may know that part of how we celebrate a birthday in our home is by letting the birthday person get to choose all the meals we eat that day and what we do as a family. We did a tiny bit of school in the morning, played a game and then he played airsoft war with his daddy. After that, he wanted to watch a movie of his choice, so that's what we did!

Sometimes the food choices can be very interesting! He chose to have:

Breakfast - Homemade Biscuits and Gravy
{Note: This was the best gravy I ever made! I made homemade turkey sausage and also used part milk and part 1/2 and 1/2 (because I ran out of milk - I love when accidents make something so much better!). I don't know if it was one or the other or both reasons, but it was yummy! And on top of homemade biscuits??? Not much better than that!}

Lunch - Quesadillas
{Funny that he chose this since we have them several times a week as part of our regular meal plan - but we just looooovvveee them!}

Dinner - Homemade Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans and Baby Carrots

Dinner on our Special Birthday Plate

For his dessert, he wanted to try something new: I don't even know what it would be called, except maybe sinful! I'll share the process with you since they say confession is good for the soul... =)

Caleb snapped this picture of me working - notice the messy kitchen... this was a big job!

So, first you make a batch of your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and spread it in the bottom of a well greased (or parchment lined) 9x13 pan

Homemade chocolate chip cookie layer

Next, layer oreos on top of the chocolate cookies - my recipe actually called for Double Stuff, but you have to draw the line somewhere!!

As if you needed more, you now add your favorite brownie mix on top of that (I actually cheated here and just used a box mix. Sometimes, you just have to cheat!)

Then, you bake it for about 50 minutes at 350* Take it out and it looks something like this:

Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and chocolate and caramel syrup - because it wasn't bad enough on it's own.

I could only take one bite (don't need an upset stomach over dessert!), but it was very good. Tasted like a brownie on steroids. Caleb loved it though, and that's what counts!

Happy Birthday to Caleb! I think this will be his best year yet and pray that it is so!

"Back" to School

2011-08-23T22:36:00.000-04:00

It's hard to say "back to school" when we never really took off from last year! We have kept busy through the summer staying on top of math, reading and cursive for Caleb and math, history and literature for the girls. But, for all official intentions, we officially started back on August 15th - last Monday.

This year marks some major milestones for us - Caleb starts 6th grade, so I have no more in elementary school... ='{ this is so sad to me! On top of that, MaKenna is a Junior and Holly is a Senior. Oh. my. Where did the time go? We were just starting kindergarten yesterday or so... Right??? And now... Holly will graduate. In May. Whoa... Ok, moving on, before I shed tears.

For Caleb this year, we are using the following:

Bible includes a character study, devotional, Bible reading and verse memorization.
Math U See Epsilon - Fractions. I love the freedom that this curriculum gives me!
Madsen Method - this is a spelling and grammar combination.
We are beta testing Writeshop Junior Book F for creative writing. I LOVE this curriculum!
Cursive is through 'A Reason for Handwriting'
Reading is through Pathway readers with questions that I make up for him.
Music is guitar lessons from a video program.
Last but not least, for History and Science we are using My Father's World. (details in another post soon!)

MaKenna is using:

Bible - we are currently doing a study of the Fruit of the Spirit
Math U See - finishing Geometry, then, TBD...
Botany Adventure - Science
English is Literature and Writing - Writeshop at the next level (creating as I go!)
Spanish I on FLVS
Tapestry of Grace for History, Bible, Literature and Worldview - (we are working through almost 3 years of curriculum in two, hence working so hard all summer!)
Crafting, cooking, baking, homemaking and character are through me, books, and daily life skills =)
Music - Lessons with our music minister

Holly is using:

Bible - we are currently doing a study of the Fruit of the Spirit
Math U See Stewardship - business and real life math
Chemistry on FLVS
English is Literature and Writing - Writeshop at the next level (creating as I go!)
Spanish I on FLVS

Tapestry of Grace for History, Bible, Literature and Worldview (same as MaKenna above)
Crafting, cooking, baking, homemaking and character are through me, books, and daily life skills =)
Music - Lessons with our music minister
Web Design II on FLVS

Looks like it will be a full and busy year - just how we like it! And full of all the things we each like to learn about.

How about you? When did you start and are you doing anything exciting this year?

Last Launch of the Space Shuttle

2011-07-08T23:23:00.001-04:00

Today, the kids and I got to be a part of history when we drove to the space coast to watch the lift off of the Atlantis shuttle. Even living so close to the launch pad, none of us had ever seen one lift off before and we realized that if we didn't go to this one, we never would either! We ended up having quite an adventurous day that started when we left the house at about 7:15. We almost didn't go, since the chance of lift off at that time was only at about 30% due to weather conditions. But, on the chance that it would go up, we went ahead and packed a lunch, loaded up and headed out - the back way to avoid the traffic!

Everything was going along great as we drove on the back road, pretty much in the middle of nowhere, listening to launch updates and traffic reports of all the people who went the main way who were not moving very fast. The next thing we knew, traffic was stopping ahead of us and we were sitting - on a two lane road with no detour options and marshy scrub on either side of us. At this point, there were NO traffic updates about this situation and we had no idea what was going on. Well, turning around would mean going home since we were so far in the boonies, so we turned off the van and decided to wait. After a while, we got out to see if we could tell what was up and chatted with a nice lady in front of us. At this point, most people had either turned around and left or were out of their vehicles.

The cars in front of us - not too many

The cars behind us - we couldn't even see the end of them!

Zoomed in front after people were getting out.

Zoomed in behind us - lots of people!

We ended up waiting there for an hour and a half! We found out that there had been a 3 car accident just around the next bend and 2 people had to be airlifted to the hospital. So sad.

Once they had gotten it all cleared and taken care of, we were back on the road and only about 10 minutes from our destination! We were headed for a park across the Indian River from the shuttle. However, we had no idea how to get to where we could actually see the launch. So, we parked the van, gathered our things and just started walking. It was a really pretty park with ball fields, lakes, playgrounds, and lots of wildlife. There were others there, but this was definitely not a well known area because it was not packed. We passed others as we walked and decided to just keep walking to see how close we could get to the river. From where we were on the path with others, all we could see was the wetlands marsh (aka TREES) and lots of clouds. So we walked...

The trees on the left were between us and our destination - how to get through was the dilemma!

We saw several gators as we walked.

Should we stop here? Nah - let's keep walking and try to get closer!

We saw tons of fish jumping out of the water - can you see it?

Pretty things were growing everywhere we walked.

Then, we started finding old abandoned things like this canoe.

We realized that we were at the end of the path and that to our left was what appeared to be a way through - if we were willing to trudge through sopping wet mud, tall grass and who knows what! We were willing!


More neat little things along the way down this hidden path.

Just off the beaten path...


Led to the dirt road...

Past this abandoned house...


And finally to railroad tracks, which ran beside the Indian River!

We had found it! YAY!! We walked just a short ways down the tracks and the trees opened up to a completely clear view of the launch area.

The Indian River and the NASA building in the distance.

Looking down the tracks

Air Force Helicopters were constantly monitoring the area


While we waited, a family of wild hogs crossed the tracks down from us!

All of this before the shuttle ever began it's final countdown!! We were down to 5 minutes to lift off and it was still a go. We tuned in to the radio on my phone for updates and listened as NASA began the final steps. Then, all of a sudden, it was time and the shuttle ignited and lifted right in front of our eyes!

I found it funny that while it was right in front of us, we didn't really hear anything. But, once it was above the clouds, WOW, did it get loud! The ground started to shake and vibrate and we could hear it for quite a while, even when we couldn't see it at all! So, it was time to head back - another 2 mile trek through the wilderness!

On the way, we decided to climb to the top of the observation tower we had passed on the way in, if there was room. When we passed it the first time, it was packed at the top and all the way down the stairs with people hoping for a view. Turns out, other than where we were, this was the only place in the park that could see the launch! When we got to it this time, there was hardly anyone on it, so we made the climb.

"Our" railroad tracks, seen from the top of the tower.

Part of the trail we followed to find our path.

More of the trail.

A train coming through, not long after we had left the tracks from watching the shuttle!

What an adventure we had had throughout the day! Memories were made, history observed first hand, and (though we missed Mark getting to be with us) we had a great time just being together. I am so thankful we had the opportunity to be there.

Caleb's Baptism

2011-07-04T09:24:00.000-04:00

What better way to celebrate true freedom than to be baptized in the name of Jesus and have the bondage of all of your sins washed away??? Well, that's just what happened to Caleb yesterday!!

Pastor talking with Caleb

Pastor prayed an amazing prayer over Caleb - I am so thankful for this man of God in our life!

Acts 2:38 - Baptized in Jesus Name!

Freedom from sins!

Free Indeed

2011-07-04T09:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we heard a powerful and life changing message at church from our Pastor. Here are my thoughts that I took home from the sermon - so appropriate for the 4th of July.

Freedom is what we are celebrating this weekend. My neighbors behind me have had a non-stop party all weekend - starting Friday afternoon. They are probably celebrating their freedoms as an American, the same as the rest of us. However, are they truly FREE? Are we?

The Bible says:

         "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." John 8:36

Free INDEED is better than just being free.

In this same passage of scripture, the disciples had the gall to say that they had never been in bondage to any man - even though they were, at that time alone, subject to Caesar and Rome, not to mention that countless other times they had been in bondage through the years. They had a deception of freedom that wasn't freedom indeed.

         "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." John 8:36

As an opposite example, how is it that victims in the Holocaust Concentration Camps were reported to show a sense of freedom - in spite of the terror, the horrific abuse, the bars?

Americans take pride in recognizing our freedom financially, politically and physically, yet fail to see that we are not free indeed.

         "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." John 8:36

We are not necessarily free emotionally and, most of all, spiritually. Many, maybe even my neighbors, are not free from the bondages of alcohol, drugs, etc. yet they celebrate freedom. It is better to be free indeed!

        "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

I pray today that, as you celebrate with family and friends, eat, watch fireworks, cookout, etc., that you will ponder true freedom. I pray that if you are not free indeed that you will learn the truth that will make you free and have a better reason to celebrate - better even than the great country that we are a part of and the foundation we have beneath us. We can't let the amazing freedoms that we share as a nation prevent us from experiencing this true freedom!

Happy 4th of July everyone!

On My Heart Today - Is Jesus with Us?

2011-06-17T23:28:00.002-04:00

I am doing a study with Caleb right now on Obedience - ways to be obedient, the true definition of it, the rewards for it and the consequences for not. While we were doing our study today, we were instructed to read from Luke chapter 2, which we obeyed =)

At the end of that chapter, we find Mary, Joseph and Jesus in Jerusalem for the Passover. The group heads home after their feast, but that night, Mary and Joseph are unable to locate Jesus with family or friends. Quickly, they turn around and head back to Jerusalem, worried about their son. It takes 3 days before they actually locate him - in the temple with the teachers.

I went through and had my discussion with Caleb for his lesson - Jesus' attitude toward his parents, his not arguing back, his willingness to return home with his parents and the blessings that came with that obedience. (Read this section of scripture to see the benefits of obeying, even if you think you are doing a good thing.) It was a great lesson and we had an amazing talk.

However, as we moved on to his next subject, I couldn't stop thinking about those verses. How could Jesus' parents leave their young son behind and not even notice for a whole day? Why did they not make sure he was with them before they left the city? Then I wondered, were they so busy - in their lives, their trip home, their 'to-do' list - that their son's absence easily went unnoticed? How did they not know that Jesus was not with them - why were they not communicating with him along the way?

Then, I wondered... How often am I so busy that I forget to pay attention to whether or not Jesus is with me? Have I ever gotten caught up in my life - the to-do lists, the schedules, the daily routines - that I haven't noticed that He is not with me? How often have I not made the time to be in His presence, ensuring that He is with me wherever I go? I don't want to be so busy that I am able to continue to operate even if He is not with me. I need daily, moment by moment fellowship with my Lord that ensures that close walk with my Saviour!

My daily time with Jesus is the most important part of my day - it is the part that ensures He walks with me as I go! I never want to forget that priority or think that I can get through a day without Him.

Psalm 63:1: O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Psalm 34:10: The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

Psalm 22:26: The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

Psalm 27:8: When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.

1 Chronicles 16:1: Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.

May you be encouraged today on your walk to make sure that Jesus is with you as you go. It will make all the difference if He is!

May - Part 3

2011-06-08T20:51:00.001-04:00

Saturday evening, after getting cleaned up, we went to watch the sun set on the beach. If you have never seen the sun set on the gulf, you just don't know what you are missing! It is breathtaking...

While waiting, the kids had fun playing in the sand:

My two favorite boys, hanging out for the 'ball to drop':

My two favorite girls, doing their share of waiting:

Mark and I - pictures just don't do it justice!

Beauty:

So peaceful:

Fun running on the cool sand:

Silly girls, making memories and having fun:

The next day was Mother's Day. My family decided to take me on a boat ride to see dolphins. However, you know me... we had to find some coupons and a good deal! So, we did some research, found some coupons and headed out. Oh, did I mention that we had to talk them into letting us take Maggie on board?? We had her with us and couldn't just leave her in the hot van. After talking to the captain, showing him our backpack carrier for her and convincing him that she would be amazing to take along, he agreed to it. She was so sweet on the boat and even liked it, somewhat:

Then, sometimes she would hide her face in Holly's arm!

All of us on the boat. I love being their mom and his wife!

Mark and I - We were married on Mother's Day 20 years ago!!!

The views were amazing as we sailed around the bay:

Not to mention, the dolphins:

Later, before heading home, we found this great beach area, off the beaten path, with this lovely cluster of trees:

Inside the trees:

Loved the boat just sitting there, waiting...

We had such a nice weekend just being together. Family time is so important to us and every sacrifice made was worth the memories created with each other.

May - Part 2

2011-06-07T23:58:00.000-04:00

So, after a picnic lunch of sandwiches, pasta salad, carrots, apples, pretzels and other yummies, we decided to go for another walk. We were now on a beach called Honeymoon Island - a small but beautiful piece of beach north of Clearwater. From our picnic spot, we had seen signs for the nature trail, so we packed up and headed out. As we walked, we came to a sign that pointed us to the "Osprey Trail" and we took that path, not really knowing what to expect but a nice walk together! Looking up at the trees ahead, I caught a flash of red and saw this beautiful Cardinal - he is so far away that my camera was on max zoom to get this shot:

We all love bird watching - it may be one of our favorite hobbies. We are always watching for them outside our windows at home and keep track of the types, the families, the nests, etc., as much as possible in our little corner of the world. So, continuing the walk, Caleb suddenly spotted a nest in a tree. Looking closer, we noticed a mommy osprey sitting inside and 2 little heads poking out, crying. I never could get the right angle and timing to get the baby's heads, but here is the momma:

Isn't she beautiful??

We stood there just forever, watching her and catching glimpses of the babies. Suddenly, the momma started to call out, loudly, and began to look all around:

See how she has her neck craned, looking up?

Her calls became louder and more frantic sounding as she continued to look all around:

Then, we started to hear another call that was not hers and within seconds, the daddy came flying home, carrying a snake for his family to eat! I was too busy standing in amazement at the sight to take a picture, but after the daddy dropped off take-out, he went to a branch nearby to watch and wait. We found this very comical and wondered about the way they interacted with each other. Here is daddy, waiting and watching:

Just to give you a perspective, this is an actual, no zoom shot of their tree from where we were standing and watching:

They are in a nest just behind the Y of the tree in the center.

So, after observing them for about 20 minutes, we decided it was time to move on. Up ahead, just above us, was this beauty:

Can you see that he is holding a fish or something under his claws?

Moving further on, we found this pair:

Same pair, different angle.

Ok, see the two nests below? One is the same as those above and then we noticed the other. What we think is the daddy hopped to the branch above, as you see him in the top right corner:

Then, for some "guy time", he flew over toward that other nest and met up with his neighbor, to compare notes on children, I'm sure!

Well, we ended up being on that trail for a few hours, watching birds, getting lost, wandering in circles, wondering if we would find a way out and taking pictures of trees, sun and flowers:

Picked for me by my amazing children!

When we finally found our way out, we headed back for more beach walking! We found a lonely spot where Maggie could be with us. It was peaceful, serene and beautiful. I leave you with one last shot that captures our spot just right:

Stay tuned... There's more to come!

May - Part 1

2011-06-06T23:58:00.001-04:00

May - the month of many blessings in our house! Going into the month, we realized that we could use some family time to prepare for all that lay ahead. With that in mind, we started looking into our [budget friendly] options and came up with a short Beach trip. We headed out to the Dunedin area on the Gulf coast for a couple of days of relaxation and family time. Below, in pictures and words, is how our time went.

We were heralded in with:

and...

and on our arrival, we were met with this sky:

While we waited for it to pass, we let Maggie run around and picked ~~weeds~~ flowers:

But soon, the sky cleared and the sun came out:

The storm clouds moved away from us:

and we had the whole beach to ourselves:

We walked for miles, collected a few shells, and watched the birds, but we mostly just enjoyed getting our feet wet, hearing the waves lap on the shore and laughing together. Just being at the beach is so peaceful and relaxing - not to mention awe inspiring. It is amazing how small you feel when you look at the wonder of His creation.

"The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters." Psalm 29:3

Well, I'll tell about our next adventure tomorrow, so stay tuned!

2 months???

2011-06-05T23:58:00.000-04:00

I am having a hard time believing that it has been 2 months since I blogged last! Ahhh! Where has the time gone? I am not really sure... April is a blur of quizzing, kid's connection, extra choir practices in preparation for Easter, homeschool evaluations, co-op and school. We did watch the Royal Wedding online - it actually was perfect since we had been studying about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their royal wedding, so we were able to compare and contrast the two and count it toward school!

Then, there was May. May - why did Mark and I get married in the same month as both of our birthdays? I'm not sure, but it makes for a busy month! Then add all of the above (except for Easter and a royal wedding) to homeschool convention, music lessons, birthday parties, field trips, planning meetings and a mini vacation and I guess that is where May went!

Now, here we are in June, looking forward to summer while still doing most of the above! Over the next week or so, I hope to catch you up on some of the more exciting things that have happened since I blogged last including dates, surprises, friends, etc. so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

2011-05-25T20:24:00.002-04:00

OK, for starters, you need to know that it was not just any birthday this year - I turned 40! So, it was somewhat significant as birthdays go. At least, I guess my friends thought so! They decided that just going to a girl's lunch or having me over for dinner was not enough - not this year. Nope, they felt that a surprise party was in order for the day.

Imagine being invited to a friend's house for dinner, on the presumption that they are keeping you from making dinner for yourself for your birthday. Just your family and theirs. You arrive, ring the doorbell and are greeted with SURPRISE!!!!!!! From about 40 people. I don't have that happen to me, EVER and it quite literally about scared me to death!

After recovering from the initial shock, reality hit me and I immediately felt so loved by these special people who took the time to recognize my day for me. I never saw shock two coming as I was taking everything in. As I turned to hug another friend, I realized that not only were many of my special friends from here at the party, but my very dear friend Kimi and her family were down from Alabama earlier than I expected and they were there too! Could the day be any more special???

Well, they sure did their best to make sure that all of my favorites were covered - favorite people, favorite foods, favorite drinks, favorite activities represented with cards, notes, etc. I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness for the blessing of true friends who I love dearly.

My lovely daughter Holly posted all of the pictures Here, so be sure to hop over and check them out.

I have to say that 40 looks pretty good from here! I think that it may just be the new 20. Or $29.95 + tax. Or 30 with 10 years experience. No matter what, I think it will be the best year yet!

Strawberry Season

2011-04-05T22:41:00.001-04:00

I know that it is probably a little early in some areas of the country, but in Florida, we are right in the heart of strawberry season right now. We are firm believers in eating things in their season as much as possible and from as local as possible. Thankfully, we can get strawberries in abundance from all around central Florida from local sources! And we stock up on them too! Some of our favorite ways to use them are (in no particular order!): Strawberry shortcakes (we use home made biscuits, fresh strawberries and cool whip - layered in yummy goodness), Strawberry jam, Fresh strawberries with cereal or toast or on the side of any meal, Added into a blackberry pie, or Smoothies (made with kefir, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, flax, honey, whey protein powder and coconut cream).

Today, we made another of my favorites - Strawberry Spinach Salad - Fresh spinach, sliced strawberries, chopped pecans, cranberries, croutons (if desired) and your favorite dressing. To me, it goes best with either a vinaigrette like Raspberry Pomegranate or Poppy Seed. This is what our lunch looked like:

Those are all just to name a few of the many ways we enjoy strawberry season. If you have any amazing ways you use them, I would love for you to share!

Swanson Vitamins

2011-03-30T23:44:00.005-04:00

Several years ago, I learned about a website as a great resource to buy good vitamins at a great price and buy them from there as often as possible. Today, I got an email that I could win free vitamins just by sharing their site with you! It made me wonder, why haven't I shared it already?! So, click here for more info about their site:

Have a blog? Want to win a $100? Check out the Swanson Health Blog.

They often put their vitamins on buy one get one free, always have great prices and often have shipping deals on top of everything else. {I get nothing for telling you this, by the way! Just the joy of sharing what I love with you!} Check it out for yourself and see if you like it.

Blooming Blossoms

2011-03-12T23:34:00.003-05:00

Our Orange tree has blossomed! Oh, my goodness, I am so excited! This may not seem like a big deal, but we have raised this tree from basically a stick with no leaves - for about the past 6 years! Last year, it got about 2 flowers but they never did anything. This year, it is just covered with blossoms and the first 2 have opened:

Maybe we will get some oranges next year??? That would be so amazing! I only wish you have a way to smell through your computer - mmmmmmmm!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, while I'm telling you about things growing, I may as well update you on our garden projects for 2011. We changed things up a little from last year and are doing more of less things.

We will have more Tomatoes:

More Green Peppers:

And more Lettuce:

We have started some beans, spinach and basil from seed and have nothing to show yet. We will soon be adding some zucchini (this is our last year - if we don't get it right this time, we are DONE with zucchini!), spearmint, chives and grape tomatoes. We added a new raised bed this year, so now we have 3 total and we are doing some things in containers as well. Our plan is to grow more of less and to do it well. That's the plan anyway! We'll see what happens as we go...

My Best Deal Yet

2011-03-11T20:27:00.009-05:00

Many of you know that I have been into Extreme Couponing for almost 4 years now. I learn more all the time about how to be the best steward possible with the resources that we have at our disposal. The competitive side of me comes to life when I am faced with the challenge of limited finances to feed, clothe, house, etc,. a family of five plus three pets. It is so fun and rewarding, though, to rack up the savings! Recently, I had one of the best shopping trips that I have ever had in all of my couponing - major stockpiling going on here! Here is the lowdown of my ~~steals~~ buys! (My kids once asked me if I ever felt like I was stealing when I leave the grocery store - because I pay so little! Nope - I do this fair and square!)

Bought:

32 boxes of Muellers pasta - various kinds
8 lbs of chicken leg quarters
2 1/2 gallons of Blue Bell Ice Cream
16 cans of Green Giant Veggies
26 cans Hunts and Muir Glen tomatoes and tomato sauce
2 1/2 gallons of Silk Almond Milk
1.5 Liter Aquafina Water Bottle
2 cans of Skintimate Shave Gel
2 cans of Pam Cooking Spray
1 Publix Bakery Whole Grain Baguette

Total before coupons: $148.27

Total after coupons: $10.11

Total Savings: $138.16

Not bad for a days work - I LOVE saving money and I LOVE Publix! Now, off to menu planning with my finds - I think we may have some sort of pasta, what do you think?!

A Random Observation

2011-03-06T23:45:00.000-05:00

This is kind of silly and completely random and mostly useless info, but every day when the girls and I work out in the living room, our cat goes to the back door to be let out on the porch. Every day, I watch to see what she does and she literally goes out and does a lap around the pool! We think that she is working out with us, but it doesn't seem to be helping her - she is still fat! However, at 16 years old, I don't think she is doing too bad.

Ever notice your pets doing things like this or are we unique??

February in Pictures

2011-02-28T23:45:00.002-05:00

Since my last post was on February 1, I thought it would be appropriate to wrap up the month with a capsule of what we've been up to - it was a busy month, as usual! Enjoy!

Mark's brother was deployed overseas this month and before he left, we had a family get together here at the house.

Mark's Dad showing Caleb some guitar tips

Mark and his brother, Lonnie

Holly and Grandpa playing a duet - I never even knew that he could play, but he did a great job!

Mark, Dad and Lonnie

Grandpa with 6 of his Grandchildren - MaKenna, Caleb, Holly, Trey, Jeramie and Courtney

Mark and I with Lonnie and his wife Kelly

Caleb and I went on a field trip to the Science Center with Joshua and his mom, my friend Sandra. It was a homeschool lab day and we had a great time learning all about space together.

Learning about the sun and seasons, day and night

Discovering the distance of each planet from the sun

Lab reports!

Comparing the size of the planets using playdough

Discovering how telescopes and their lenses work


Learning about light and lasers

Later the same week, the girls and I went to see 'Pride and Prejudice' at the Shakespeare Theater in Orlando with Priscilla, Katie, Caitlyn and Megan (and Dawn!). Great girl time!

Toward the end of the month, we had a scheduled and long anticipated field trip to The Holy Land Experience in Orlando. We had never been, as long as we have lived here! I did not get many pictures of things, though. There were several shows, informational talks and many reminders that Jesus is God and that He shed His blood for us. My favorite part was called The Jerusalem model - a miniature, to scale version of Jerusalem at the time of Christ. A gentleman came out and brought it all to life as he showed various things, explained what they were, where they were mentioned in the Bible and what happened there. It was so interesting to put it all into perspective. As a bonus, they had a rock climbing wall for the kids. Caleb had a great time trying and falling many times over, but he kept going again and again.

Hooked up and ready to go

Scaling the wall

Getting there - that bump was a huge hurdle that he never was able to get over.

Some of the girls waiting on the boys to climb the wall - Holly, MaKenna, Charlotte and Micaylah

Austin has joined Caleb trying to make it to the top.

Tyler and Austin

Garrett having a good time!

Cutie Patootie Abigail on the elephant

Camille and Holly, making memories!

My family with the Wiseners - such a treat and blessing to get to spend the day with them!

Wrapping up the month was a combined Junior/Senior quiz trip in Tampa. We took one Junior and one Senior team and had a great day. What a great looking group of children who have already committed over 100 verses to their memory!

(Bottom to top): Alexandria, Corbin, Erica, Melissa, Jilianne and Christina

All of those things took place, in addition to sickness, homeschooling, church involvement and activities, co-op, allergies, couponing to the max, etc! We had an overall great February - how about you?

Homemade Magic Shell

2011-02-01T23:02:00.001-05:00

Recently, I came across a recipe for making homemade Magic Shell ice cream topping. I personally have never liked that since it always tastes fake to me, but the ingredients in this inspired me to try it out. This is one that did not disappoint! And, relatively speaking, it is good for you - at least better than store bought! You should give it a try - all you need is:

1/2 c. coconut oil
1 bag of any type of chip you like - semi sweet, dark, mint, butterscotch, etc.

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan on the stove. Add the chips just until melted. Allow to cool and then devour over ice cream!

This works perfectly because coconut oil solidifies when it gets cold. Plus, you get the added benefit of the health goodness coconut oil offers.

Enjoy!

When life hands you lemons...

2011-01-25T23:45:00.001-05:00

All plans for the evening fell through when major storms came through our area and we were told to stay at home if at all possible. So, when the radar looks like this:

You do this:

We had a great night of playing game after game and never even noticed the storm raging around us! That's the stuff great memories are made of! Praying that everyone was safe through it all and that you were able to make some memories in spite of the storm, too.

New Year Check In and Random Thoughts

2011-01-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

We are two weeks into the new year and I am wondering, how are you doing? Did you make resolutions? Have you heard of and are you doing the "My One Word" challenge?

I read a church sign the other day that said:

"Many fail by never getting started."

Hmm, that is pretty deep and true! Have you gotten started? Then, on the other side of that sign it said:

"Make commitments, not resolutions."

That sounds like a good idea to me! Resolutions seem to be something we do out of habit these days. Not that we don't intend to do them, but many things are just thrown out there, often with the best intention, because it is the thing to do - but without full commitment to the thought,and without that, it is in vain. (Trust me, I know from experience!)

That being said, though, my family and I did make some resolution/commitments for the new year. It is our prayer that by the end of the year, these commitments will make us better spiritually, physically and relationally.

We are also taking the My One Word challenge. That one is a toughy - choosing one word to summarize something you want to develop over the next year. (If you want to learn more, you can go to www.myoneword.org) It could be Faith, Discipline, Connect, Positive, Discover, Obey, etc. Just a One Word challenge between yourself and God. I haven't chosen my word yet! I have it narrowed down to a few, but not quite there - maybe I am afraid of the full commitment to a word! Maybe I'll let you know when I choose it!

But, the bottom line is that at the end of the year, I want to be more of the person that God wants me to be and to give my best to Him - even if things are not how I want them to be!

So, those are my random thoughts two weeks into 2011. I will leave you with a story I read yesterday {and found to be inspiring} and then leave you to your thoughts!

I Am the New Year
~ author unknown ~

I am the new year. I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.

I am your next chance at the art of living. I am your opportunity to practice what you have learned about life during the last twelve months.

All that you sought and didn’t find is hidden in me, waiting for you to search it but with more determination.

All the good that you tried for and didn’t achieve is mine to grant when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn’t dare to do, all that you hoped but did not will, all the faith that you claimed but did not have—these slumber lightly, waiting to be awakened by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity to renew your allegiance to Him who said, "Behold, I make all things new."

Holly's 17th

2011-01-06T23:23:00.000-05:00

The older my children get, the easier it is for me to remember being their age. I mean, I was just 17 like, what, about 2 years ago???!!! It feels like it anyway! Well, what a special day we have had celebrating Holly and the beautiful young lady she is becoming. I remember before she was born all of the hopes and dreams we had for her - all of the prayers that we prayed for the kind of young lady she would grow up to be. Everyday, I watch with amazement as those prayers are fulfilled in her.

So, what did we do today? Well, around here you get to pick your meals for your birthday. Holly chose Lemon Blueberry Scones for breakfast. Ummm, can you say YUMMY?? These were the most amazing scones - very flavorful, moist and delicious.

Oh, we topped them with just a dollop of lemon curd, to make them even more lemony than they were! WOW!

Then, we talked, worked on some school for a little while and had a pleasant morning. For lunch, Holly asked for my Corn Chowder and Spinach Quiche. Sorry, no picture, but just take my word for it - amazing!

After lunch, we ran some errands and got home in time for her chosen dinner - my special meatballs, mashed potatoes and baby carrots. Again, no picture but boy did they taste good!

Thursday night is Ladies prayer night and so that's where we spent the evening. What a great way for her to welcome 17 - with 2 amazing ladies (and none were me!) with a heart for our young girls who prayed with my girls and spent time with them in God's presence. I am thankful for their dedication and burden.

After prayer, we came home to have dessert - Banana Split Pie. Holly is good at picking out great food to celebrate her day! I do have a picture of this one:

Yummy homemade graham cracker crust topped with a special layer of goodness, bananas, crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts, cool whip and a cherry on top! What a special way to end her special day.

I have to say, that even in my greatest imaginings when Holly was born, I couldn't have asked for a better daughter than the daughter that God has given to us. I love you Holly and pray God's greatest blessings on your life!

No Excuses

2011-01-02T23:48:00.001-05:00

My Pastor preached an awesome message today. I can't even begin to put it into words here or to tell how it impacted me, but the basics were: We need to keep our focus on the blessings of God (as opposed to our circumstances surrounding us) because God wants to bless us. He gives us a choice - choose life and be blessed! Nothing can stand in the way of the promises of God - what a promise that is to kick off the new year!

I am so thankful to start another new year knowing the truth, having forgiveness and living for Him with my whole heart. I can't imagine living in this crazy world without Him! So, all of that got me thinking, why in the world would you NOT want the blessings of God in your life?? Isn't that silly to think about? It made me remember an article I read a while back. After searching for it and finding it, I reread it and found it just as fitting and thought provoking as the first time I stumbled upon it.

The article begins by talking about the author's love of sports. I'm not even sure why I kept reading, because I do not have a love of sports! However, I read on and truly enjoyed the analogy. The point of the article is that we shouldn't give more enthusiasm to anything than we give to God. And so many times, we make excuses when it comes to God and church and commitment to either - so much so that we remove the blessings waiting for us on the other side- and we wouldn't consider making those same excuses for other things! Here is an excerpt of the article:

"I've often wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about church as they are about sports—or any number of other pastimes. This was reinforced some years back in a Moody Monthly piece that illustrated twelve excuses a fella might use for "quitting sports." The analogy isn't hard to figure out.

Every time I went, they asked me for money.
The people with whom I had to sit didn't seem very friendly.
The seats were too hard and not comfortable.
The coach never came to call on me.
The referee made a decision with which I could not agree.
I was sitting with some hypocrites—they came only to see what others were wearing.
Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home.
The band played numbers that I had never heard before.
The games are scheduled when I want to do other things.
My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up.
Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow.
I don't want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.

I've come up with a few more:

The parking lot was awful . . . I had to walk six blocks to the stadium.
Nobody came up and introduced himself to me . . . very impersonal, also loud!
The public address and lighting systems don't suit me.
It's always too hot (or cold) in the stadium.

Enough said. Think it over."

What if 2011 was the year of no excuses? What would God do for us if we were willing to worship Him and serve Him with the same enthusiasm we gave to our hobbies? I for one am willing to stand on His promises and find out. Who wants to come along on the journey?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T23:46:00.002-05:00

2010 was an awesome and memorable year for our family. I can say that because God is good - all the time! In the midst of our ups and downs for the past 365 days, He was right there with us. Some of the highlights of our year were:

*Holly turned 16 at the beginning of the year and we celebrated together with many friends and family.

*Mark turned the big 4-0 this year!

*Homeschool Convention and Hadassah are ALWAYS highlights, every year.

*I took 2 college classes from January to May and completed both with a 99% A! This enabled me to renew my Professional Teaching Certificate for another 5 years.

*We went camping and enjoyed some quality time, away from it all and together.

*God was our provider through many things - He never failed us once!

*We began a new homeschool curriculum and have experienced the trials, frustrations and joys of figuring it out and making it work for our family.

*Holly began playing the piano in youth services at church.

*MaKenna created many new little treasures that have amazed us. All 3 of us girls have enjoyed creating through the year.

*Caleb grew more inches than I can count and is now about 3-4 inches taller than me and he is only 11 years old!

*We spent much quality time with great family and friends who brought meaning to all that we did.

*Our family grew spiritually as we read the Bible, prayed and fasted together in new ways.

I am sure that I left out many things that were just as important as the above! These are just the few that jumped from my mind.

Goals for 2011, in no particular order, include:

*Growing closer to God in new ways, listening to His voice, seeing His hand and feeling His direction.

*Slowing down enough to enjoy the Here and Now. It is so easy to always be thinking about what comes next as we go through life. I want to be able to enjoy each moment, while I am in it, and not be rushing to the next thing - even in my mind.

*Patience. Yes, I just admitted that "out loud! Waiting, patiently - whether for things in my life, my children, my husband, my family - waiting, trusting and doing it patiently.

*Learn, grow, accomplish, enjoy and BE.

I am sure that I will add to this list, often daily. Overall, the goal is to stay focused on my priorities: God, my husband and my children being at the top of the list. Everything else will bring added blessings! I am looking forward to 2011 and all that it will bring for our family!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and yours! May 2011 bring you many blessings as well!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 22

2010-12-22T23:45:00.001-05:00

A group of us recently went to the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney to watch a demonstration of creating a gingerbread house and to take in the scenery. So beautiful! I had never been to the Grand Floridian at all, let alone at Christmas, and just loved it!

Outside - I loved these deer!

Caleb, Tyler, Andrew and Corbin

In front of the tree in the lobby

The gingerbread house, with recipe - I won't be making this any time soon!

Pastry chef demonstrating her technique

All of the children

The full size house from above

The Christmas tree in the center of the lobby

A musician singing Christmas carols while the man behind her plays on a Steinway - Holly was drooling!

Christmas Tree made of gingerbread at the Contemporary Resort

After our fun at the Resorts, my family drove over to walk around Downtown Disney. It was terribly crowded, though, so we got on the water taxi and enjoyed a nice, relaxing boat ride back to Riverside (about 25-30 minute FREE ride!), then rode the 25-30 minutes back, got on another boat that took us to the other side of Downtown Disney and left! For as crowded as it was, we had a nice time on a beautiful boat ride.

Me, Holly and MaKenna on the boat - notice the bright yellow trees behind us. Yes, we are in central Florida! We have had so much leaf color change this year. Does that mean an extra cold winter? I think we are well on the way for that!

More of the trees

And still more. The boat was moving, but you can still see the color!

Mark and Caleb trying to stay warm

Our view while waiting for the return boat

Reminds me of a northern fall!

Caleb and I on the return

We had such an enjoyable day being together and celebrating this season of hope as a family.

December Photo Project {2010} Day 21

2010-12-21T23:02:00.001-05:00

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

December Photo Project {2010} Day 17

2010-12-17T23:38:00.002-05:00

Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves.
~Eric Sevareid

Each year, we have the blessing of singing at a variety of places to a wide variety of people. The first one this year was a local nursing home. It is such a blessing to sing songs of the season and to worship with people who just want to feel loved. I love watching the expressions of wonder on their faces, the memories passing across their eyes and the joy in their countenance as they celebrate the birth of our Savior with us. Here are some shots of our day today.

Caleb and Jack, drumming

The children waiting for the next song to start

Corbin and Tyler being, well, Corbin and Tyler!

Caleb and Jack

Charlotte, Christina and Madilyn

Delaney and Abigail experimenting with bells and mini cymbals

Abigail, who did amazing with the instruments!


My snowflake MaKenna and the triangle

It truly is more blessed to give than receive! I pray that you get to experience that blessing for yourself this year.

December Photo Project {2010} Day 15

2010-12-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

The front yard at night

December Photo Project {2010} Day 14

2010-12-14T05:46:00.002-05:00

Expending energy by laughing may require a caloric intake that can only be properly assimilated with a Christmas Cookie. : )


Cream Cheese Walnut Cookies - the first of many to come!

A friend passed along an email to me the other day that seems appropriate here. Have a laugh and enjoy a Christmas cookie while you're at it!

Christmas Cookie Rules...

1. If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test and thus calorie free. However, calories are units of heat so if you wait for them to cool, there will be no calories.

2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.

3. If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Because your friend's first cookie is calorie free, (rule #1) yours is also. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free.

4. Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

5. Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.

6. Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have three and green ones have five - one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!

7. Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.

8. As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

9. Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories because the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate. We all know how calories like to CLING!

10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. It's a rule!

So, enjoy those Christmas Cookies - we get them only this this time of year!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 13

2010-12-13T23:36:00.001-05:00

Christmas Candlelight Service 2010 - a few photos

Holly played the Keyboard during the youth band song "Beautiful Things" and she did an amazing job. I am so proud, blessed and thankful!

Rory and part of the choir

Brother Urshan sang his annual, traditional White Christmas - it wouldn't be Candlelight without it!

Holly, MaKenna and Brittaney after the service

Melissa, Diane and I

Holly, MaKenna and Madilyn

I never get to take as many pictures as I would like after greeting everyone who comes that we don't often get to see, but this is a good preview of what we did get! This service at our church each year is just amazing and we are blessed to be a part of it.

December Photo Project {2010} Day 12

2010-12-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

One scene from Christmas Candlelight - more to come!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 11

2010-12-11T22:34:00.001-05:00

The other day we had our annual homeschool group Gingerbread House party. We met at a park and it was pretty chilly that day, but we plugged along and had a great time working on our creations and sneaking a bite or two of candy here and there!

The loot

More loot

Ready to work

Serving up grilled hot cocoa

Amber is intent!

Her finished project

Charlotte's creation

Madilyn's creation

The back of Amber's (aka, Helen's creation!)

Hard at work

The younger children started making "sand angels" when they finished! Hey, Floridians have to have some fun, too!

A finished sand angel

Nina's house and garden

Holly's house

MaKenna's house - she is like an architect and spends lots of time designing, planning and building, so it is not finished yet. Soon!

Jonathan's house - he's only in it for the candy!

Such a great time! Do you make gingerbread houses at Christmas?

December Photo Project {2010} Day 10

2010-12-10T06:43:00.000-05:00


A scene from our front yard - "Come on, we're going on a sleigh ride..."

December Photo Project {2010} Day 9

2010-12-09T06:03:00.001-05:00

A scene from the {free} Handel's Messiah performance that our family attended. It was absolutely beautiful! "For unto us a child is born. Unto us, a Son is given..." "Every valley, shall be exalted..." "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth..." So amazing!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 8

2010-12-08T20:02:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't your typical Christmas picture, but it was taken from my life today. It was just another beautiful (55*, cool and sunny) day in Florida! We really do have fall here, several times over in fact, and this beautiful tree is evidence - although the picture truly doesn't do the vibrant red justice. And yes, this really is central Florida!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 7

2010-12-07T05:42:00.000-05:00

"How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me"

Lyrics to the chorus of "How Many Kings" by Downhere

(One of my favorite Christmas songs)

December Photo Project {2010} Day 6

2010-12-06T08:30:00.002-05:00

This past weekend, our family went to Light Up UCF and some friends joined us for a chilly night of sitting outside and watching a Veggie Tales Double Feature: "It's A Meaningful Life" and "The Star of Christmas." This is the second year that we have gone and both years, we have gotten to sit on one of only 2 sofas that the college puts out! So, we were nice and cozy snuggled under blankets on the warm sofa with our hot cocoa. It really felt like Christmas (at least to us Floridians)! Here are some pictures from the night:

Mine, MaKenna and Holly's matching snowflake socks

Me and my hubby trying to stay warm on the comfy sofa!

Mackenzie, Priscilla, Holly and MaKenna

Caleb, Christina, Chandler and Amber (other boys came too, but after pictures were done being taken!)

What a fun way to start the month of December!

December Photo Project {2010} Day 5

2010-12-05T05:15:00.001-05:00

I just love snowmen! Here are some of my favorites on the piano with the snowflake garland that MaKenna crocheted for me.

December Photo Project {2010} Day 4

2010-12-04T05:35:00.002-05:00

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men'". That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie brown."
~Linus Van Pelt

One of our favorite Christmas traditions each year is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas and hearing Linus' speech about the true meaning of Christmas. I pray that you know the true meaning of Christmas each and every year for yourself.

December Photo Project {2010} Day 3

2010-12-03T05:33:00.000-05:00

The star of Bethlehem was a star of hope that led the wise men to the fulfillment of their expectations, the success of their expedition. Nothing in this world is more fundamental for success in life than hope, and this star pointed to our only source for true hope: Jesus Christ.

~D. James Kennedy

December Photo Project {2010} Day 2

2010-12-02T08:08:00.005-05:00

For God so loved the world, That He gave His only begotten Son, That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

~John 3:16

December Photo Project Info

2010-12-01T22:03:00.001-05:00

If you are interested in getting more information about this fun project and how it started, as well as see what others are doing, check out this site:

December Photo Project {2010} Day 1

2010-12-01T07:56:00.001-05:00

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.

~ Roy L. Smith

Each year, my family works together to choose the "theme" for our tree for that year. We have done homemade ornaments only, color themed, snowman themed, etc. This year, my daughter crocheted me a beautiful chain of snowflakes that inspired us to do a white and wood tree with red accents. We have lots of homemade ornaments, like the cinnamon bundles and stars made out of sticks or Popsicle sticks that go great with this theme. I collect snowmen of all types and they were a great addition to it as well. Throw in some beautiful angels, snowflakes, wood bead garland and few others and we had our tree. Oh, and the garland that inspired it all? It never made it on the tree, but it looks beautiful with my snowman display on the piano! But, that's another post for another day!

Time Flies and December Photo Project

2010-11-30T20:51:00.000-05:00

Well, November has come to an end and my lofty dreams of catching up on blogging have faded fast into the valley of high hopes. Sometimes, it is just more important to step away from technology and give that time and attention to other things. If I have to sacrifice something, I would rather it be these simple little outlets of mine!

So, here we are entering a new month and the holiday season. My life is certainly no less busy. If anything, it will be more so! However, for the past couple of years I have participated in a blog event called The December Photo Project and have truly enjoyed it. So, I will once again enter this season of advent by demonstrating in photographs the Christmas season as I see it.

I have decided to try something a little different this year, so we will see how this goes - I am going to try to post a Christmas quote or scripture with the photo each day. Maybe a thought as well, maybe not - we'll see! So, will you join up this year? If you feel up to it, be sure to leave a comment and let me know so I can follow Christmas through the lens of your world as well! Merry Christmas!

A Thought Provoking Question

2010-10-29T07:21:00.002-04:00

The other night at church, someone asked Mark and I a question that I have not been able to get out of my mind. We were complemented on what a beautiful family we have and how wonderful our children are - to which I am always humbled. Then, it came. Out of nowhere. "If you could go back and change something or do more of something in your parenting, what would it be?"
I realize that they were asking because they have younger children who they are still raising and were looking for advice. But my mind has not been able to let it go. I didn't have much time to answer before service started but as I thought of how to answer such a question, the stark reality that hit me was:

NOTHING.

I would change nothing.

Is that what you were expecting? I wracked my brain for something that I would love to do differently, but when it came down to it, all that I could think was NOTHING.

Does that mean that I think we did everything perfectly or that our children are perfect just as they are? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Hind sight is 20/20 as they say, and that includes the good and the bad. However, in thinking of the big picture, here are some of the things that came to my mind:

I wouldn't want more "things" at the sacrifice of time with my children.
I will take all of the sleepless nights, sickness and inconsolable crying, messes, spills, and tantrums that sometimes seemed endless. They were usually overcome by hugs, laughter, tickles and sweet words that made it all better.
I wouldn't go back and think that any book knew my children better than I did - I would still trust my instincts and pray.
I wouldn't spend any less time swinging for hours in the back yard singing silly Sunday School songs, chasing each other, eating cookies, playing in the pool, or any of the other things that don't mean much in a corporate and carnal world.

Mark and I decided that having time with our children was more important to us than being able to have everything we wanted. We made some hard choices to be there, always available for each other and our children - even when that wasn't easy.
We made time for them when they were little and never pushed them aside.
We chose to take the time to stop and smell the roses, and maybe even talk about them.
We chose to pray with them - daily.
We chose to make the hard choices that they didn't always like, but now understand a little better.
We chose what many call the hard path and in some ways it was. Life was far from perfect while they were little (it still isn't close!) - mistakes were made, things said and done that could have been said and done differently, we surely didn't have all the answers or always know what to do - but in the big picture, we are truly content with who we were and who we are now. We are still a work in progress, but God has been so good to us and enabled us to walk a path that He has set before us. For that, I am forever thankful.
I love the relationship that we all have that causes our teenagers to love being with their parents and siblings more than being with anyone else. I truly believe that when we are available to and for them when they are little, we will reap the joy of having them want to be a part of our lives when they are older.
I tend to think that that is what God had in mind for families.
I tend to think that it is the way it should be to reap the relationship every parent craves with their children!

The Invisible Mother

2010-10-28T04:36:00.001-04:00

I read this story a long time ago, but don't know where it ever came from. I found it the other day and was touched all over again by its profound meaning. I have not truly ever felt invisible, but there are so many times that I have wondered if anything that I do makes any difference at all. On days like that, I need to read this again and remember that the masterpieces of lives unfolding before me are truly making a difference. Only God knows how He will use my children, but for now, I will cherish every moment of being their mother. I will pour all that I can into them and do it to the very best that God has enabled me to do.

When my children were very small, I was praying one day and asking God how I was to be a witness for Him when I was home all day with just my children. He helped me to see that they were my current mission field. I was to win them to Him and show them His love in the world around them, so that they would serve Him with all their heart. I have never forgotten that and strive to do so, daily. I consider it the highest honor to have a small part in creating such amazing masterpieces - ones fit for the King's use! I hope that this little story will inspire and encourage you as it has so often done for me.

I am invisible... Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Pick me up right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied and the mind that had dreamed of greater things-- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going ... she's going ... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. My friend had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To my friend, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work. No one can say who built the great cathedrals-- we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're going to love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Keep on building, moms - don't ever give up on your cathedrals!

Passionate for Pumpkin 2

2010-10-26T22:12:00.001-04:00

We have made these yummy pumpkin pancakes for a couple of years now, but this year, I found a recipe for a syrup that just puts these little guys over the top! Hope you get to make them and enjoy! (Reminder:my modifications to the original recipe are in parentheses. This recipe is a combination of several others that I put together.)

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 c. flour (fresh milled soft wheat, sometimes some oat flour too - just throw some oats in the blender til flour consistency. I have used up to 1/2 oat flour before)
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger (with all of these 3 spices, I err on the side of 'a little more!')
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk (almond)
1+ c. pumpkin puree
1 egg
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2Tbsp. vinegar
(1/2 c. ground flax - optional)

Mix together the pumpkin, milk, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just to combine. Adjust the thickness by adding additional milk if needed. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop onto the griddle. Brown on both sides and serve hot with homemade

Cinnamon Brown Butter Syrup:

1/2 c. butter, cubed
1/4-1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2+ tsp. cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. chopped pecans, toasted (optional)

In a small, heavy saucepan, cook butter over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring often (this will burn quickly if it goes too far!). Add the maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in the pecans, if desired.

I am telling you - this is good stuff! No picture this time, though - they went too fast!
I have a tender tummy, so I can't eat these for breakfast, but I made them for dinner the other night, and they were a huge hit. One more reason to love pumpkins!

An Update on 'Sunday'

2010-10-26T19:50:00.001-04:00

After my post introducing our new pet, I realized that I had not posted pictures of the lego creation that Caleb made for her - even though I had mentioned it in the post. So, here is a brief update on her, with pictures.

She loves fresh lettuce - isn't she cute??!

Caleb likes to put her in his shoe and watch her climb over the tongue and squeeze out through the laces.

This is one of his lego creations for her - here she is just coming through one of the windows, but in this one, he added another room that she would enter instead of being on the outside.

So, she had to look around and figure out what had happened and how to fix it!


She decided to scale the walls - and is able to make it!

We just think she is so fun and adorable - thanks for letting me do this one more post on her!

An Introduction

2010-10-19T22:40:00.001-04:00

For the past few quarters, Caleb has won the contest in his Sunday School class. He earns points by memorizing Bible verses, completing his take home activities, bringing his Bible and offering, etc. Usually, the prize is money - and he is happy with that! But this time, his teachers (thanks Melissa =D) gave him the option (with parental approval, of course!) to have his prize be a pet instead! Mark and I thought about it, talked about it to each other and to him and finally decided to let him have that if it was what he wanted. So. last Sunday he came home with his new hamster! She is absolutely adorable - a dwarf hamster who won't grow very large. He named her Sunday - partly because he got her on a Sunday and partly because she is vanilla ice cream colored on her belly and chest, covered with a darker color on her back and a stripe of chocolate down her spine. Sometimes, though, we just call her peanut!

We are having a good time learning all about her and her habits. She is supposed to be nocturnal, but not a lot of luck with that here since she is typically being held and played with by someone most of the day! Caleb built her a little cage type thing out of legos. She quickly learned that two of the windows open and she can squeeze out of them! He was so impressed by how smart she is.

Caleb is so good with her - very gentle and aware of how he handles her. At first, we made them wear gloves since Sunday wasn't used to being handled and she bit, a lot. After just a few hours, she was used to it and now, doesn't bite hardly at all - if ever. Really, the only one having a problem with this whole thing is Maggie! The poor puppy - a middle child all of a sudden. MaKenna feels her pain! She (Maggie) is a little jealous of the hamster, tries to play with her (aka snap at her!) and always has to know just what she is doing at all times. She has been scolded a lot - so we are trying to give her extra play time and love as well.

Well, now you know the story, here are a few pictures:

Day 1

Trying to climb up Caleb's shirt!

Looking down into her cage

A funny shot of Maggie looking in at her as she eats her carrot


I just think this one is so cute! She responds to our voice and when I called her, she looked up at me!

We are enjoying this new little member of our family so much!

Passionate for Pumpkin

2010-10-19T08:08:00.000-04:00

Well, I have to come clean - I LOVE pumpkin!! There are so many ways to use it and I haven't had something that I didn't like yet. (check out my post here for another autumn meal using pumpkin in a neat way) So, I have decided to put myself out there for all of you. No need to thank me, I am just doing my small part to make the world a better place. ;-]

Just for you (not me, really...) - (ok, maybe a little!) - I have decided to try many new pumpkin recipes over the next few weeks and then post about them here with my comments. Then it will be your turn - for your family, of course - to get in on the action! Today, I tried a recipe that was just amazing. So, we will kick it off with this one. (I put in parenthesis the actual ingredients that I used instead of the original recipe.)

Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake
adapted from All You magazine

Topping:

*1 c. all purpose flour (fresh ground soft wheat)
*1/2 c. packed brown sugar (sucanat)
*pinch of salt
*1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (2 tsp.)
*6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

Cake:

*2 c. all purpose flour (2 1/2 cup fresh ground soft wheat)
*1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (almost 2 tsp.)
*1/2 tsp. baking soda (more like 3/4 tsp.)
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1 Tbsp. cinnamon (well rounded)
*2 tsp. ground ginger (1 tsp. ground and 1 tsp+ fresh)
*1/2 tsp. nutmeg (+ a little)
*1/3 c. vegetable oil
*3/4 c. unsweetened applesauce (3/4 c. kefir)
*1 15 oz. can pumpkin
*1 tsp. vanilla (+ a little more)
*1 1/2 c. sugar (1 c. sugar and 1/2 c. honey)
*1/2 c. packed brown sugar (1/2 c. sucanat)
*2 large eggs, at room temp, lightly beaten
(I forgot to put flax in - don't know what was wrong with me! Normally (and from now on) I would add at least 1/2 c. of ground flax as well.)

Make the topping: In a bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add butter and combine with fingertips until the mixture is crumbly. Refrigerate while making the batter.

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9x13 cake pan. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, applesauce, pumpkin, vanilla and both sugars until well mixed. Whisk in eggs. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir just until combined; do not overmix. Pour batter into cake pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle the reserved topping evenly over the top.

Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack about 20 minutes. (I never read that part and we ate it pretty much as soon as it came out of the oven! Ooppsss!!!) I had mine with some of my {free} pumpkin spice coffee, creamed with {almost free} caramel vanilla latte creamer - ohhh, boy, what a treat!

A Couple of Pumpkin Recipes

2010-10-09T19:50:00.001-04:00

I just love fall and everything that goes along with it, especially the baking! Making wholesome and yummy food is something that I have always enjoyed doing for my family - at any time of the year. It feels good to serve them things that I have put my time, effort and love into creating for them. When I am able to combine nutrition with fun things that they will consider a treat, I feel as if I have hit the jackpot! That said, I bake pretty much all year, but I love using pumpkins and apples when they come in season. Not long ago, I read about a recipe on GoodLife Eats called Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal. We love oatmeal when it gets cold and pretty much love anything with pumpkin, so I decided to give it a try. While it wasn't cold here by some standards, we were waking up to upper 50's and low 60's several days in a row. After waking up to 79+ for weeks on end, that was a huge difference that sent shivers up our spine! It was amazing, actually! Anyway, the oatmeal was so good that I think you will love it, so here's our version of the recipe to try!

1 cup old fashioned oats - not quick cooking
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2-3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp butter, softened
3/4-1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk (we used almond - use your favorite!)

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 tsp. softened butter
2 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 375* and grease 4 individual ramekins - then set them aside. Combine the oats and the salt. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Divide the mixture evenly between the 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet (this makes it easier to get it in and out of the oven) and bake at 375* for about 10 minutes. Now, while that is cooking, combine the ingredients for the topping. After the oatmeal has baked, remove and divide the topping evenly over each one, then bake for an additional 7 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. We added an extra splash of almond milk to it before we ate it, just to add to the creaminess.

That's it! I had never had a baked oatmeal before, so I was a little nervous. And I must admit that the first bite was different, as far as comparing the texture of regular oatmeal to this. But, it was intriguing enough to go back for another and before I knew it, my ramekin was empty! It was not too sweet, but had just the right combination of hearty, autumn yummy-ness to make this a definite keeper! Here's what ours looked like (before consumption!)

You owe it to yourself to try this!

Another of our new favorite fall recipes is Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are denser than a regular cookie - more like a scone or cake-like. You have to try these too! Here's what you do:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 300* - not a typo! You will bake them this low to get them just right. Next, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, pumpkin and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the chocolate chips and mix thoroughly. Scoop cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet ( I make them kind of smallish). Bake at 300* around 22-24 minutes (a little less if smaller). Remove from the oven, let sit for a minute or so and then place on a rack to cool. Oh, and try not to eat too many at once!

Well, I have some more, but that is enough to get you started - so get to the kitchen and cook up some good things for your family!

MaKenna's Birthday

2010-10-08T21:50:00.000-04:00

15 years ago today, MaKenna Morgan DeVore entered our world and changed it forever - in all good ways! We are so blessed to have such an amazing daughter. She is beautiful inside and out, talented, creative, funny, loyal, fun-loving, and best of all, a God's girl through and through! Around here, in case you don't know, for birthdays we let the birthday girl (or boy) choose all of the meals and dessert. This year, MaKenna chose homemade waffles for breakfast - a family favorite. Here's our recipe in case you want to try:

2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cup milk (we use almond)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup ground flax
1/2 cup kefir or buttermilk
cinnamon

Beat the eggs until fluffy, then add the other ingredients and mix just until smooth. Cook in a pre-heated waffle iron until golden brown. Sometimes we add blueberries before cooking, too. These are so good with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

For lunch, she wanted homemade chicken salad sandwiches on croissants. I make my chicken salad with a rotisserie chicken, mayo, miracle whip, grapes, pickle relish and toasted pecans. Yummy served on a croissant!

She won't be having her dinner today since her daddy had a work schedule change and she wants to have it with all of us. But, she will be having Spinach Stuffed Chicken, homemade mashed potatoes and green beans. Her dessert will be homemade fried ice cream - so worth the effort!

MaKenna asked if we could go to Crane's Roost, the lake behind Altamonte Mall, to walk around after dinner and since it is her day, that is what we did! Mark had to work, so the kids and I took Maggie and made 3 laps - 3 miles! Maggie has been sleeping soundly since we got home! It was a great day and an awesome evening - there is nothing better than spending time with your family! I'll end with a picture from the lake - such a pretty evening.

A Moment

2010-09-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

The other day, I had "a moment." Holly, MaKenna and I are organizing all of the pictures that we are intending to scrapbook, with the intent to actually complete some projects in the near future! It is hard to sort pictures without looking at them and reminiscing. So, there we were, looking through all sorts of pictures from over the years. One of the girls found a silly one of them when they were only about 4 or 5 and we had a good laugh over the event.

Then, I said it - "Yep, those were the good old days!" I didn't think much of it at the time - just a casual, common remark. But, it creeped back into my mind later and I realized what I had said - the good old days? Back then, I got very little sleep, money was short, life was busy and overflowing, we didn't own a home, I was eyeball deep in the raising and training of 3 children (whom I poured my all into, mind you!) - and I called that the good old days?

Now, before I go further, let me start by saying - I would do it all again! I loved raising my children, losing sleep to nurture them, seeing the world through their eyes, and watching them grow and change before my eyes into their own little person - even the trials of "tantrums" and conflicts. So, I am not discounting any of that by what I just said! However, what I realized was that often, we don't see how blessed we are in the time we are in. We can live in a perpetual state of looking back at what was (either in regret or with longing) or we look to the future for what we are anticipating. And in doing so, the moment called NOW slips by without notice.

I started thinking about my NOW time - money is still tight, I still don't get enough sleep, I am still over the head deep in raising and training 3 children with unique personalities (and the decisions don't get any easier!), my life is still busy and overflowing. But, I am also blessed beyond measure. I have an awesome relationship with my children, who are growing into Godly young men and women. I have an amazing, hard working husband. My life is full of things that I love and am passionate about - homeschooling, teaching children, church, God, family, friends (not necessarily in that order!). I don't want any of my NOW moments to pass me by. I want to keep in mind that I am NOW living in the "good old days" of tomorrow and I want to make the most of every moment! I pray that you do the same.

End of Summer Reflections

2010-08-31T22:35:00.000-04:00

It is already the first day of September! September always takes me back to childhood in Pennsylvania where school started the day after Labor Day. It meant baking, apples, jackets and breezes. In Florida, not much changes from August to September (or October, November, etc!). In spite of that, I always start thinking about baking, apples, pumpkins, walks outside, etc. at this time every year. The change of seasons (not necessarily summer or autumn, but seasons of our lives as we go through the changes around us) is so exciting to me! It is a time of renewal, no matter what season we are going into, because there is an element of change and expectation of things to come.

There is also always a time of reflection of what was accomplished in the previous few months. That is where I find myself today. What did I do with my summer (that is suddenly over) that was meaningful? I always expect too much of myself as far as what I will be able to/want to accomplish, and this summer was no exception. However, we had a great summer nevertheless! We accomplished a lot of organizing, planning and rearranging. We helped friends, several times around, and enjoyed the rewards of hard work, good times and fond memories while doing so. We had fun together - doing things {beach, day trips, conferences, etc.}, and doing nothing {reading, being home, playing games, watching favorite movies}. We stayed busy with church involvement, piano lessons, friends, couponing, and everything already mentioned above.

Basically, while we did nothing "spectacular" or "out of the ordinary," we had a summer with no regrets - only wonderful things to look back on in years to come. Sometimes, MOST times, it is truly the simple things that make all the difference. Hope your summer was just as amazing as mine!

Back to School

2010-08-30T21:06:00.000-04:00

We started back to school a few weeks ago and have been so busy with it that this is the first chance that I have had to blog about it. This is an interesting school year for us in many ways.

First, we are using new curriculum. After trudging through history the past 2 years with a satisfactory but not favorite curriculum, I was ready for a change. After much research, looking around, talking to lots of moms at convention, etc. I came across a curriculum called Tapestry of Grace. You may be familiar with it, but I had never heard of it before. It takes a Classical Approach to learning and uses various sources to make history come alive. It brings in Socratic discussions to encourage thought beyond the books and incorporates all of history as it happened from a Biblical World View. TOG covers history, government, fine arts, church history and literature. Sounds impressive, right - so what's the catch? The catch is that it has taken a TON of time to familiarize myself with the ins and outs of the program, to track down at the library the resources I needed and to plan out our units. Once I got through all of that, it was awesome! We are on the 3rd week and LOVE this study. We started with the beginning of American History, but they are learning about everything that was happening around the world at the same time. Did you know that the KJV Bible was written at the time that the Pilgrims came to America? There are so many things that I have learned as a homeschool mom that I never learned in Public school! And, Caleb is learning the same topics as the girls, but on his level, so we can have group discussions and they are learning from each other. We are all thoroughly enjoying school!

Second, Caleb is doing all subjects for the first time. He is doing Bible, History (and all the subjects mentioned above that go with the TOG curriculum), Science, English, Reading, Math, Spelling, Writing (with a Writeshop Curriculum that I am Beta testing for release!), and Handwriting. He is handling it all so well and today, came out and asked when we could start school - talk about a milestone!

Third, I am back to full teaching and planning for all 3 of them. Last year, with my dad recovering here from his heart operation, I did not do as much as I like to do to be hands on with them and we really just made it through the year. I am happily back to doing what I love most - teaching and interacting with my children full time!

This is a challenging year for the girls. They have a lot of upper level reading, discussion questions as well as all of their other subjects. However, so far so good! They are both doing all of the History mentioned above, Science (Biology for MaKenna and Marine Biology for Holly), Math (Geometry for M and Algebra 2 for H), PE, Music (Violin for M and Piano for H), Foreign Language (Sign Language and some Latin), and Writeshop 2 - I think that's it! Whew - can you tell that we are going to be very busy this year? But what an incredible honor and blessing it continues to be to homeschool my children - even in the midst of the busy-ness it is worth it all.

That's it for us! Here's to the best school year ever - no matter what yours looks like!

Hadassah =

2010-08-23T21:11:00.009-04:00

As a summary of Hadassah 2010, I decided to do a picture post showing all the things that Hadassah equals to us. Enjoy!

Hadassah = Mother Daughter Time:

(Ready for Church)

(Ready for the Banquet)

Hadassah = Tutus:

Hadassah = Friends:

Melissa and Delaney

Rebecca and Cheyenne

Me and the girls with Denee

At the skating rink

At Mimi's

At the Banquet

Hadassah = Church:

MaKenna during a Stix Ministry

Holly during a Stix Ministry

Holly and MaKenna during Signing

Denee and Sister Varnum

Hadassah (this year) = Roller Skating:

Hadassah = Motion Songs:

Hadassah = so much more than a blog post can tell, because the best part of Hadassah is BEING THERE!

Hadassah

2010-08-02T08:39:00.000-04:00

I have had the honor for the past 5 years to take Holly and MaKenna to a mother/daughter conference called Hadassah.

Hadassah was the Hebrew name for the young girl who would become queen of Persia, despite (or maybe because of) her Jewish heritage. In the book of Esther, we learn about this young girl, the circumstances surrounding her being chosen queen, her uncle (who had an obvious and outward love for the one true God and stood on the truths in His word, even at the risk of his own life), and an evil plot to kill of all of the Jews by a man blinded by greed and power. In the midst of all of this, Mordecai, her uncle, makes the profound statement to Esther - "who knows if you were not brought into the kingdom 'for such a time as this.'"

Now, I was not on the planning team for the first (or any, for that matter!) Hadassah conferences, but knowing what I know of the story of Esther and what I have experienced at this conference every year, I have a pretty good idea of why it is what it is! Christ-minded parents of girls are raising and training daughters who are prepared to meet the King one day. We are guiding their paths, directly their steps and believing that they are in the kingdom "for such a time as this." This conference affords us just another opportunity toward that end.

So, now that you know the "background" info, here's what we have to look forward to this week. (Warning: this may create feelings of covetous attitudes in those of you with daughters who are not going and may create a need for a time of repentance! Maybe you can come next year and share in the fun with us!)

We start the conference with a Royal Banquet for our Princesses - and it is formal to the max! The girls and their moms or (chaperons!) get all fancied up in their fanciest of ball gowns, tiaras included. It is so fun for us to get to be all girly, with no boys around! After all, their first goal should be to impress the King of kings. In fact, I read a quote a long time ago that a girl should love God so much that a boy has to seek Him to find her. How true! So, there we are, all dressed up and at the Royal Banquet - delicious food, entertainment, friends and fun make a perfect evening.

The next 2 days, during the day, the girls take two sets of classes - one on Personal confidence and one on Ministry. The Personal Confidence classes include things like hair care, skin care, nail care, healthy habits, etc. Basically, they learn about how to care for their body in a way that reflects God. The Ministry classes involve things like Singing, Drama, Hospitality, Stix, etc. In these classes, they learn how to use their talents for God and then get to use them in the evening services.

Thursday night is a church service - and these girls know how to worship! There is always such a powerful presence of God in the service and lives are changed. Following the service is the annual "Fuzzy Slipper Party" - music, crafts, motions, games, food, candy and fun reign until midnight! This is the party to end all parties - and no boys allowed!!!

Friday night ends with a special ceremony called Coronation for 15 year olds. It is a very special time for the girls and their parents as the parents commit to raise her according to God's ways and the girls commit to follow their parents and stay pure. It is emotional, beautiful and powerful.

In the 5 years that we have been going, I never cease to be filled with thanksgiving for the opportunity, for all those who give of themselves to make it possible and for the amazing opportunities for my daughters to learn in multiple ways and places to live a life pleasing to God - because they love Him and He loves them. Our walk with God should never be about rules, but always about relationship. I am so looking forward to another chance to build my relationship with them, but more importantly, their relationship with their God.

Getting back on track - AKA, Summer Break is nearing an End...

2010-07-29T08:05:00.000-04:00

I have started this post I don't even know how many times and keep deleting everything I write. Hmmm, how do you start again after 2 months of ~~vacation~~ silence?! In that time, I have thought about blogging, have posts written in my mind, have spent the past 2 hours or so catching up on friend's blogs and gotten inspired, I have talked about blogging with friends - all with no new blog posts to show for it! So, since I know a little about what some of you have been doing since my last post, here is a quick recap of us to get me started.

The garden has grown, produced, flopped and is regrowing again! We have harvested some things and enjoyed them, although more would always be better! Right now, the tomatoes, green peppers, eggplant and watermelon are coming back, so we'll see what happens... In the process, I have learned some life lessons from my garden that I may just share on here.

We are doing school over the summer, just much more laid back. Holly is taking 2 classes online and is very diligently working toward completing them. MaKenna is finishing math and just finished science. Caleb is maintaining and practicing math and reading. We are enjoying the flexibility of summer and spending time doing some less structured things while staying on top of their education at the same time!

Graduation parties, Kid's Connection, Ladies Prayer, Girl's Volleyball, Birthday parties, helping friends, hanging out with friends - old and new, school, the beach, lesson planning (LOTS - more on that later, too), cooking and baking, organizing and reorganizing, taking walks, crafts, sewing, swimming, reading, Bible Study and prayer are just some of the ways that we fill our days around here. We are loving summer and life! Just being together in all that we do makes all that we do worthwhile.

So, there is a quick recap, though it doesn't quite do it justice. Maybe just getting over this hurdle will get me going in the right direction, though and blogging will become part of the schedule again! In the meantime, I pray that you are enjoying your family and your summer!

Progress

2010-05-15T20:47:00.000-04:00

Since my last post, we have added the second raised bed to the backyard. At first, we just had some marigolds planted in it - to help with pest control. I'm not sure that that is working, but they look pretty and bring the butterflies! You can also kind of see that we added some bean teepees to the other bed. In the big pot, we put some cucumbers.

Here's a better picture of the teepees and the tomato cages. Silly me, put them in upside down at first! I had no idea how they went, but we did get an amazing deal on the bamboo polls and the cages, so does that make up for my lack of knowledge??!! We did figure it out and fix it, eventually! Look carefully at this picture, cause it sure doesn't look like this anymore!

OK, before I get to the most recent picture, try to see the problem in the next two pics:

Do you see it? In each picture, there is a tomato hornworm. These things are so nasty and they eat a lot! We saw one on Thursday and got it off. Then, we went out Friday morning to check on things, as we do daily, and there were SIX of these guys and they were HUGE! About 3 inches long and as fat as a thumb - munching away happily on our tomato plants! Well, thankfully, Caleb was not quite as grossed out about them as I was and he happily picked them off and killed them. We did some research and found out that they become moths - since we are not short on moths, I felt ok about getting rid of these six. Once they were gone, we spayed a mix of water and peppermint extract all around the plants. Supposedly, these guys do not like that smell and it will keep them away. We shall see! For now, we watch vigilantly and remove if any are found.

Here is our new bed with pumpkins growing in the front and watermelon in the back. We have thinned a couple of times and are about to do so again.

On a side note, it has been neat because Caleb and I are reading "Farmer Boy" by Laura Ingalls Wilder right now for school. So many things that are happening in the book, Caleb is able to watch in his own garden and experience for himself! For example, the other day, we went outside and our pumpkins had the first two leaves. The same day, we read our chapters and the very same thing was happening there! I wish I could say that I was on the ball enough right now to have planned this, but that is just not the case! It is just happening for us - I love it!

So, this is the most recent picture from a few days ago:

We officially have 4 zucchini, about 6 green peppers, 5 heads of lettuce, baby spinach, more tomatoes than I can count and lots of flowers on the green beans. Yes, the zucchini has taken over the corner of the garden - it is massive! We knew it would get big, but didn't see this coming! Everything is growing so nicely, except the carrots and the onions. For some reason, we keep losing these. I don't think that there is anything left there, so we are going to try again and see how it goes. I love watching all of the things grow! I can't wait to start eating from the fruit of our labor!

BTW - we are using an organic pesticide. Here is our recipe to keep the bugs at bay: 1 tbsp. vegetable oil and 1 tbsp. dish detergent mixed in 1 gallon of water. Put in a spray bottle and saturate your plants often. Also, to help with animals, we have done two things. First, the last time I cut Mark and Caleb's hair, we saved the trimmings and spread them around the bed. Then, just for good measure, we sprinkled cayenne pepper all around the perimeter of the garden. They don't like the smell of either of these and it really seems to keep the critters out.

Growing a Salad and SpRiNg!

2010-04-21T23:31:00.001-04:00

The day after we built and filled in our garden, we looked out front and there on the dirt pile were two HUGE woodpeckers! I mean, they were as big as Woody Woodpecker. We couldn't get a good picture of them before they flew up into the tree, but you can see them if you look closely below. Remember, this is a very zoomed in picture, so just take my word for it, they were big!!

Also, in the midst of planting, we got to watch spring officially arrive. Now, if you stay inside all day, you completely miss this exciting event! I LOVE to see the first blooms on our pretty tree out front. It took a little longer this year than normal - I guess the cold scared it off! But, it finally started poking out little buds as we were starting our garden.

Our crepe myrtle tree out back is always cut back to sticks about March, so it is exciting to see the first sign of buds. Here is a picture of one of the branches the day we were building the garden:

This is the same branch, 3 days later:

Again, the same branch, one week after the original. God makes all things beautiful in His time!

Ok, Ok, on to the garden. So, the garden was built, we added good organic fertilizer to the soil in the bed, mixed it around, and we were ready for some veggies. We bought a few that were already started, since, according to Florida guidelines, we were a little late in getting things in the ground. Plus, we were a little nervous about critters coming and eating up all our seeds before they could grow, so for us, a mix of some starters and some seeds seemed a good decision. Here, we are getting things going:

Here is the partially finished plot. MaKenna made the cute little signs! In case you can't tell, we planted 3 types of tomatoes - Better Boys, Roma and Cherry, Bell Peppers, Zucchini (all the starter plants), and from seed, Sweet Onions, Carrots, Lettuce, Spinach, Blue Lake Beans and Zipper Peas. In two smaller containers, we also planted Cucumber (plant) and Basil (seed).

Hmmm, while the girls and I planted the veggies, what did the guys start??? More on that to come! You'll have to be surprised!

This picture shows a couple of things - first, we "mulched" it with some leaves. Also, this picture is one week from planting - do you see our beans, peas, carrots, spinach, onions and lettuce growing????!!! How exciting! We are almost at 2 weeks now, and they are even bigger. I will post more pics soon and the newest addition to the garden scene.

We are about to build one more raised bed garden next to this one, while we still have the wood and dirt here. We may plant some watermelon and pumpkin in that one!

We have worked hard to get this going, but we are loving the process so much. We have had a few critters dig in it and found that when we sprinkle cayenne pepper around the perimeter, they stay away! We will have to redo it tomorrow, since it has rained the past few days, but it seems to be a good, safe way to keep unwanteds out.

Anyone else gardening this year? What are the tricks that you have found to work with critters - both bugs and animals? What are you growing? I have so much more to share and will hopefully get there soon! In the meantime, I will dream about the yummy meals I will make with my homegrown vegetables!

Raised Bed Gardening

2010-04-20T23:57:00.000-04:00

Oh, I have so missed my blog. It has been wayyyyyy too long!!!! I am not even sure when I was on here last, but I know that it was looonnnggg ago!!!! I have so much to share, too! How will I ever catch up??!! Let's just say that while I haven't been on here, we have been enjoying life around here and the journey that we are on. It isn't always just how we want it to be or perfect by any means, but it is ours and we have decided to make the best of it as it comes and be joyful at all times, even when we may not be "happy." Think on that for a while, it's worth it!!!

For now, even though I have so many blog topics and posts in my mind (and my camera!), I am going to share something so exciting that we have been doing around here, in all our spare time!!! So, get ready, here we go...

Last year, we decided that enough time had passed since we lived here, it was time to start a garden. We planned small, just to see how it would go and actually used a small child's wading pool and placed it on our back porch. All things considered, that went well, but this year, we knew we were ready for bigger and better! For what we had in mind and the space that we had to work with we decided to build a raised bed garden. Here is what we did:

We chose a spot in our backyard that got at least 8 hours of sunlight a day and that was kind of out of the way of the usable yard. We chose a spot near the back left corner by the fence. Next, we marked off our space and prepared the ground - dug out the grass and pulled all the weeds. Like this:

As we brought out dirt that was no longer needed there, we took it behind out shed where there is a little erosion. I really only mention this because in this picture of Holly working, you can see the little swimming pool that was our garden last year. This year, it is a compost pile in the making!

The next part was to build the garden walls. Oh, have I mentioned yet that we did this whole thing for FREE! Yep, that's right and here is the first how. Before starting the garden, we took apart Caleb's fort that he is wayyy to big for and never uses. This gave us a tremendous amount of wood at our disposal! So, the labor was free and the walls were free - so far so good! Here are the first posts laying down and ready to go:

Caleb and Holly decided all work and no play is no fun, so they take a break for some playtime!

OK, the walls are built - now to fill it in! It takes lots of dirt to fill a garden that is about 4'x8'! Lots of trips with the wheelbarrow! The dirt came from that pile that sits between our house and our neighbors. He had a truckload of soil brought in last year for a planter project, he used the amount that he needed and the rest has just sat there. We asked if we could use some and he gave us his blessings to take as much as we liked! More FREE materials for our little garden! So, here are the first few piles: (notice the difference between soil and sand!)

Here's the dirt pile we are working from. After all that we used, it seemed like we barely made a dent in it! (We are actually about to start another raised bed and use some more of the dirt this weekend!)

OK, that's all for now! You will have to check back for the next part, adding the plants. We are LOVING our garden!

Fun Times in February and March

2010-03-23T21:31:00.000-04:00

Since I haven't been blogging much, due to school, church, school, co-op, school, family, school and, oh yeah, school... =) here is a little review of some of my favorite highlights from the past 2 months!

We finally got back to scrapbooking, after a looonnnnggggg break for the holidays, in February. Holly and MaKenna helped Cadence bake up some brownies for a goodie while we worked. I actually ended up accomplishing nothing except for catching up with the girls sorting through some pictures and loving on Tracy's new baby!

A few of us took Melissa to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory for her birthday. We had such a great lunch laughing, talking and celebrating Melissa and friendship.

Kimi came for a visit, making the month so much more special than it had already been! We always have a great time when we get together and can pick up right where we left off - even our children! Camille even got to come this time! So many fun memories made!!!

Garrett, Austin, Camille, Caleb, Holly, MaKenna and Micaylah:

Kimi and I:

These are the "special" things that have happened. Life tends to take on a sort of busy routine these days full of family, church, friends, school, homeschool, co-op, baking, cleaning, cooking, couponing, bargain shopping, lesson planning, etc. Not to mention all the good things in the works - lots of little goodies up our sleeves around here! Here's one - getting ready to build a raised bed garden - bigger and better than last year! I am so excited! This is my life and I am loving every minute of it!

Hopefully I can get back to more regular posts, but for now, I better get back to that next assignment before it comes due!

Dr. Seuss Day

2010-03-02T23:09:00.000-05:00

March 2, 1904, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born into the world. We know him today as Dr. Seuss. What a character! I think that he was a really neat person who we all learned to read from, taught our children from and has been a part of all of our lives for a long time. Who doesn't love a good Dr. Seuss?

In the past, the kids and I would do all sorts of silly things for his birthday - dress silly, read his books, eat green eggs, make Cat in the Hat hats, etc. Today, I took a midterm exam and we didn't do any of that! But, I did have some fun with the kids looking up quotes of his and we enjoyed that. You can learn a lot of life lessons from Dr. Seuss! So, I decided to post some of my favorite quotes here so that I can come and look at them anytime I like. Thanks for humoring me and coming on the journey! Hope that you enjoy them as much as we did.

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

"Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You."

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too."

"You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!"

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."

"They say I'm old-fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast! "

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed."

Thanks for reading along! I find these inspiring in quirky little ways, don't you?

Bread Machines

2010-03-01T10:05:00.002-05:00

Funny - my last post was about bread that I made by hand and this one is about bread machines. Seems like a contradiction, but so many things have come up about bread machines lately that I thought I would post a few thoughts here.

I was in a store the other day near some bread machines that were for sale. There was a couple near me, looking at various things and the husband pointed out the bread machines, asking her if she wanted one. Her response was so similar to many that I hear. "No, I had that one a long time ago and never used it (used it only once or twice, etc.). They are just a waste of money."

I reflected on buying my first bread machine after I heard this discussion. I bought a cheapie machine at Wal-Mart soon after my wedding and did as the lady at the store said - I used it once. The bread was horrible and after that, if I made bread, I made it completely by hand.

Then, a few years ago I was at my local Homeschool Convention. As I walked into the vendor hall with a friend, an amazing scent filled my senses and I think I literally floated to the booth in the far back corner of the massive hall. The booth was for a company called Bread Beckers and I believe that I spent most of the rest of my time at that convention at their booth - watching, asking, talking, listening, learning and, yes, tasting! I left there changed on my views of bread making, but didn't buy a thing. I did take a free CD that heralded the health benefits of eating bread made from freshly ground wheat, though. I didn't need much convincing. Always being one to look for new ways to take care of the temple that God dwells in for myself and my family, I consistently and diligently search for ways to reach this goal. Not to mention, the things I tasted were amazing!

Mark and I were blessed to sell a house that year, the year of the great rise in prices, and we made a nice profit. We talked about it, analyzed the cost vs. the benefit to our family, and decided to take the plunge and get the things we needed. We went back to the Bread Becker's booth at another Convention nearby and purchased the Zojirushi Bread Machine as well as the Nutramill to grind our own flour. It sounds so Little House on the Prairie-ish to write that, but I love it! The fresh ground flour makes everything taste better and fresher and it feels so good to know that I am putting unprocessed, whole wheat grains in my family.

So, what about the bread machine - do we use it or did I use it once and that was it? The truth is, I use my machine at least several times a week, even though I take my dough out and bake it in the oven (simply because I like the shape I can make by hand better). I trust this machine to take the wholesome ingredients I put in it and mix them thoroughly and properly for a perfect dough. Then, I am able to make rolls, bread, pizza crust, cinnamon buns, sandwich pockets, etc. The possibilities are only limited by my creativity and time! If I didn't have the bread machine, I would like to think that I would still consistently bake bread, even by hand, but I know that there would be times when reality would take over in the busy-ness of life and it would be easier to stop and buy a loaf. The machine helps me to continue making bread at home when I just have to throw the ingredients in the pan and go about my business.

So, when I hear people talk about what a waste bread machines are, I feel sad for all that they miss out on by using this amazing kitchen tool. Here is my favorite bread recipe, in case you were wondering! :D

Gathered Ingredients:

Grain ready to mill:

Fresh ground flour:

1 1/2 c. tap water - as warm as it will get straight from the tap
1/3 c. olive oil
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. gluten
2 Tbsp. lecithin
1/2 c. flax meal
4-4 1/2 c. freshly ground hard red flour
1 Tbsp. instant yeast

Pour the water, olive oil and honey into the bread machine. Add the salt, gluten, lecithin, flax and about 4 c. of the flour, in order. Make a small well in the top of the flour and add the yeast. Place in the bread machine.

I set it on the basic dough setting which takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete the cycle. I will check the machine when the "add" timer beeps to see if it needs anymore flour (this will vary based on temperature, etc.). This is where the extra 1/2 cup of flour may be needed!

Dough is ready to be punched down and formed:

When the timer beeps, I take the dough out and, on a normal occasion, I make 3 average sized rolls which I place on a greased cookie sheet. I take a small amount of dough, form a rope and tie a knot. I set these aside and then take the rest of the dough and lightly punch it down while forming it into a loaf shape. Place it in a greased loaf pan and set in a warm place to rise to the desired height or doubled, about 30 minutes to an hour.

Ready to rise:

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes, remove and let cool on a wire rack.

Fresh out of the oven. I wish you had smell technology on your computer, cause this is pretty much amazing!

I have used bunches of recipes, many of which are very good, but this is my overall favorite. It is just right for us! Do you have a favorite bread recipe? Oh, and the ingredients are mostly gotten from a local co-op through the Bread Beckers. You can get info from their site if you are interested in learning more.

BTW - I mentioned that sometimes we use the dough to make pizza. Sometimes when I am making bread, instead of making the three rolls, I use that dough and make beauties like this for lunch. Yeah, homeschooling is tough sometimes!

Homemade Spinach Alfredo Pizza:

I'll save that recipe for another time!

Homemade Bread

2010-02-09T22:05:00.001-05:00

Many of you know that, for several years now, I have had the pleasure of making homemade bread using fresh ground grain. I can't tell you what a difference it is to have fresh baked bread every day! Just the flavor difference alone is enough to make it worthwhile, but then, when you consider the nutritional value difference - there is truly no comparison! Well, that being said, I am always playing with new recipes and have my eyes and ears open for anything yummy that I can get my hands on. So, when my dear friend, Melissa, called one day to tell me about a new recipe she had found, I knew that I had to give it a try! Needless to say, it is amazing and I have made it 3 times in one week! It is so good, that I had to share it with you all, too! First, a picture to whet your appetite:

Isn't it beautiful??!! So, here's the recipe:

4-4 1/2 c. flour                            3 Tbsp. sugar
4 1/2 tsp. yeast                            2 tsp. dried dill weed
2 tsp. basil                                     1 1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder               1 egg
3/4 tsp. rosemary, crushed       3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. water                                  1/4 c. butter, cubed
1 tbsp. butter, melted

(This is how I made it using a bread machine to mix. You can also mix the dough by hand, if you like.)
Place the milk, water and cubed butter in the microwave until the butter melts, to about 120*. (Don't allow to get too hot or it will kill your yeast!) Pour this into the bread pan. Add all of the seasonings next, then add about 4 c. of the flour. Make a small well in the top of your flour and place the yeast in the well. Knead in the bread machine for 10 minutes. I keep an eye on it and see if I need to add more flour, so that it forms a nice ball and is not sticky. When done mixing, let rest for 10 minutes. (If you are not doing this in a machine, make sure it rests in a warm place.) After 10 minutes, divide the dough into 1/3's , shape each section into a rope and then braid on a greased baking sheet. Pinch the ends and tuck under. Cover and let rise until double, about 25 minutes. This gets huge!!! And so pretty! Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes until golden and brush the top with the melted butter. We have eaten this with butter on it and we have also done this:

Dipped in olive oil that has a little pepper in it (like Macaroni Grill!). Mmmmm, mmmmm... this bread just has an amazing flavor. I have been out of rosemary, so I still haven't tried it with that. The last time I made it, I had run out of dill, so I used some thyme and it was still good. I have also been adding extra garlic powder and minced garlic as well, just because we like it like that - you can modify it with herbs and spices as you desire. Also, it made me think of pizza crust, in a way, so this week, we will be using the same recipe to make homemade pizza. I'll let you know how it turns out! Let me know if you try it and ENJOY!

Checking in...

2010-02-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

It has been a little while since I blogged and I felt like it was time for a check in. Then, I sat down to start a post and couldn't think of a thing worth posting! I hate when that happens. So, here is an update on where I am in my life with the newest event - I went back to school!

Yep, that's right. A few weeks ago I started two classes that I have to take to keep my teaching certificate up to date. I was very apprehensive and nervous about going back to school, seeing that I graduated from college in 1993! And back then, I had no children, no homeschooling, no ministry involvement, no true adult responsibilities! All that said, I chose to take 2 online classes, hoping that would help a little bit.

So, I am in my 4th week of classes and, so far, so good! I am taking Teaching Strategies, learning various methods, techniques and strategies to teach all types of students and Technology for Educators, learning all about technology and how to use it in an educational setting. I am fascinated with the 2nd class - it is very challenging, but it is right up my alley for creativity, computers and integrating all of this in a classroom (homeschool or otherwise).

I am learning how to juggle reading my textbooks, completing my assignments and doing my research with the rest of my life and have lived through it so far! I love learning and am excited about all that this semester has to offer me!