Bounty!

As we were driving around our new stomping grounds yesterday, Rich turned the van around and pulled over to the side of the road. I wondered what he was up to, until he came back to the car with a handful of blueberries. He boasted of bushes loaded with wild blueberries.

This morning, with the kids in tow, we went picking. In under an hour we picked 10 cups of blueberries and left plenty on the bushes. I'm thrilled to not have to go to the blueberry farm this year. Instead, we got our berries free.

We do have blueberries on our own land, but they are in a very wet and boggy area. After talking this morning, I think, we are going to try to move the bushes to a drier,sunnier area, and see if they will produce more berries for us. If not, we'll buy bushes and have our own blueberry patch.

I'm again, so thankful for how God provides. How He knows what thrills us, and indulges us with so many of His blessings. I mean, He doesn't always give us what we want, but other times, He goes above and beyond our wildest dreams.

I was reminded of times with my grandparents this morning too. Traipsing through the woods berry picking with them, at their cottage. I can do this in my backyard...CRAZY!

I think the best part of the trip, was when Simeon stated he could see himself berry picking with his kids in 20/30 years from now! Be still my heart! My son is enjoying and planning on continuing the legacy of berry picking. Oh, how I hope that I can partake in berry picking with my son and grandchildren!

Even as I write this, I realize, that I also hope that my son, and grandchildren will share in a spiritual legacy. My prayer is that the love for God, His word, His ways is also passed down through the generations. That they would expeience the love of God's bounty, not only physically, but also spiritually.

Thank you Jesus, for the blessings of berry picking!

Musings...

I was reading Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest, yesterday. What struck me is that God is more interested in the process than the end results, where as I am more interested in results than in the process. I've been reading Ann Voskamp's blog http://www.aholyexperience.com/ . I'm fascinated by her relationship with God and her willingness to partake in every moment of the here and now. She has inspired me, and with Oswald Chamber's promptings as well, it is what I am asking God to help me do. I'm asking that He help me to live fully in the moment. To be aware of Him throughout the "ordinariness" of my day. I want to enjoy the process, rather than missing the gifts of now, for the hopes of tomorrow. We'll see how I do.

Today's blessings:

I'm looking forward to a woman's craft night in a couple of weeks. A lady I met in my home school group has invited me to partake in this bimonthly get-together of crafts and chit chat. I'm hoping to make connections in my new town. The neat thing is that most of the women are also homeschooling moms, so I'm also hoping that a few of the women have boys the same age as Simeon. I'd love for him to develop some closer relationships.

I'm just amazed at how this move has brought some opportunities my way, things I've been hoping and praying for, but didn't know whether or not God would allow. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the treasures He has prepared for me.

Finally, years ago, I had perfected my kettle corn recipe. It's not something I made often, but it was a nice, inexpensive summer time treat. The problem came when we changed our old stove for a glass top stove. I could no longer make my kettle corn. Well, the house we bought had a propane stove. I've been looking forward to trying my hand at kettle corn again. I finally indulged this afternoon while the children were resting. I figured it would be a nice treat for snack time. The verdict is that the kettle corn is just as good as I remember it. If I had a camera, and we hadn't eaten it all up, I would take a picture for you. Maybe next time I make some I will. Following is the recipe, if you want to try your hand at it.

Kettle Corn

1/2 c. popcorn kernels
1/4 c. canola/corn/vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 t. salt

Heat your oil in a pot over medium heat. As you are heating, place 3 kernel's of corn in your oil. You'll know that your oil is ready to go when all three kernel's pop. Pour your popcorn in the pot, and then top it with the sugar and salt. Put the cover on and shake. I shake for 20 seconds right on the burner, and then off the burner for 5 seconds, until the popping has slowed significantly. After the popcorn is done, I transfer it to a bowl, so that the sugar coating does not burn. Let it cool and toss to break apart the popcorn and enjoy! It's a quick, sweet and salty treat, that reminds me of the fair.

The Move...

Rich and I have finally done what we have talked about for the past 11 years. We bought our first home. What a blessing it has been. We had all kinds of things we were hoping for, and honestly, for a while, I was not sure that we were going to be able to buy a house. What with the financial restrictions we put on ourselves ( the bank would have loaned us far more than we felt comfortable with). Living in New England comes with a price, especially when close to major metropolitan areas, but God has blessed us abundantly.

On July 16Th, we moved to our little homestead. It's a 4 bedroom 1 1/2 bathroom house on 1.57 acres of land, agricultural land. Rich and I are thrilled with being able to expand our tiny garden. We are looking at getting apple trees, raspberry bushes, strawberry plants, high blueberry bushes rhubarb and more. Some of the bonuses we have found since moving is that we have a walnut tree, that we will be able to harvest, or at least try to harvest. We also have some blackberry bushes on the perimeter of the property.

It has been so exciting and exhilarating to spend time outside with the kids, working on our land. The people who sold us the land had planted some tomato and pepper plants. We had told them that they were more than welcome to the fruit, since they planted them. ( They live across the street) I also had told them, that I really didn't have the time or energy this year to work in the garden. I've been trying to get the inside of the house settled and ready for the upcoming home school year. ( as a side note, I now have a home school room that I'm thrilled about.) Anyway, I felt so bad at how awful the garden looked that I took the kids into the garden and we did some weeding. It took a lot less than I expected to restore some order, and it was so fun to do with the kids.

Some of the highlights of the past week:

1. Introducing the kids to caterpillars and to the joys of those furry little creatures. Naomi was much bolder than Simeon, but preferred holding the caterpillar only if she had a garden glove on. She did however enjoy petting it. Simeon on the other hand, wouldn't try holding it without a glove and barely managed to pet it. Ah, the beauty of caterpillars.

2. Picking blackberries from our own bushes. Blackberries are just coming into season here. I noticed yesterday evening that there were a few berries that were ready to pick. In all, we probably picked about 10 berries, but Naomi LOVED it! Simeon doesn't like blackberries, and Rich doesn't really care for them. It was so funny and exciting to hear Naomi say that she wanted to go blackberry picking today.

3. Understanding a little more about what God does and why. I've been researching how to care for the lone apple tree and the blackberry bushes we have on our property. I have been reading a ton about pruning. It's interesting to me,that in order to get more fruit and better quality fruit, one has to prune the tree/bush. Lately, God has been prompting me to give something up, and well I have been a little resistant, without really knowing why, its just not something I've wanted to give up. Yet, here I am realizing, that He wants to prune that area, so that I can be more productive and efficient. Never thought I'd learn more about Jesus by buying a house, but I have and I'm just so thankful for His grace amidst the chaos and ordinariness of my days.

Negligent and Inconsistent

I have been negligent and inconsistent with this blog, and for that I apologize. Things here are going well. Naomi and Simeon are keeping me on my toes. Simeon has recently finished 2nd grade and is enjoying a freer schedule. We are continuing reading and science throughout most of the summer. He has also discovered a love for basketball this spring. Its been fun shooting some hoops with him. Naomi is one verbal little spunk ball. She has an answer for everything, and we are working on what is appropriate or not. Trisha is getting ready to graduate from high school and is looking at starting University in the fall. Where did the time go? She was in 2nd grade herself when Rich and I first married.
Rich is busy at work. The big news however is that we put an offer in on a house. We are waiting to hear from the sellers to see if they accept our offer. We are hopeful and yet trying to keep ourselves from getting too excited. There are still home inspections to pass before this is written in stone.
I will try to update a little more frequently. Maybe I can use some of my nervous energy by keeping the blog up...then again, there is some decluttering to do, in case we do move!

Strawberry and Chocolate Stuffed French Toast

I wanted breakfast for supper and wanted to be inspired. I saw a recipe with this title, read it and then made it my own with what I had at home. Verdict? YUMMY!

8 slices sandwich bread ( I used whole grain)
3 large eggs
1 C of milk ( I could have used 1/2 a cup and it would have been sufficient)
4 T cream cheese
4 T semi sweet chocolate chips
8 oz strawberries, sliced ( I only had 5, but 8 would have been better.)
powdered sugar for sprinkling

Spread 1 T of cream cheese on 4 slices of bread, then sprinkle each of the 4 slices with 1 T of chocolate chips. Place enough strawberry slices to cover the slice of bread. Place the 4 remaining slices of bread on top to form sandwich. Combine milk and eggs. Preheat skillet. Dip each sandwich into the egg mixture until sufficiently coated. ( If you like your french toast soggy, use the full cup of milk and soak the sandwich until saturated.) Cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Devour!

So Proud!

I'm so proud of Simeon. Today he did a cumulative test on all we have learned in Botany over the past year and he did pretty good. Considering he is in 2nd grade, getting 74% on a test that included information from last Spring is GREAT! Way to go Sim! We are looking forward to finishing second grade studying space/astronomy for science!

I'm also proud because today, he learned to tie his shoes. I've been pretty easy going about it, but it has been bothering Rich, AND Simeon is almost 8. He took up the initiative on his own today and he now knows how to tie them on his own. He just has to practice to get it down pat, and figure out how to tie the laces tightly.

My little Haitian munchkin is turning in to a young man. Time goes way to quickly!

What Is My Word?

A fellow blogger,Wendy, posted a word that was going to be her focus for the coming year. I liked the idea, and have been thinking of what my word could be. There are two words that I have been thinking on. I'll share one of them for today's blog, and the other one in a different post.

Consistent: always acting or behaving in the same way; continue to happen or develop in the same way

Here are ways I hope to live up to the word consistent:

In my marriage: I want to make a point of spending time with Rich doing things we enjoy together. Too often, once the kids go to bed, I get on the computer and before I know it, its bedtime. I'd like to remedy that by being more consistent in engaging in mutually interesting activities, puzzles, music, games, TV show we both enjoy, etc

In my exercise:I'm a great starter, but not so good at following through. I want to be more consistent, and part of that is making attainable goals for myself and not being all or nothing. I'd like to get 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of weight training at least 4 times a week, preferably 6.

In my spiritual life: Again, I'd like to make sure that my bible is being read and that I'm spending time in prayer everyday. I seem to do okay during the week, but weekends, when I think I'd have more time, but it is often the weekend, where my consistency fails me. I have also committed to Beth Moore's Scripture Memory team this year. The goal is to memorize 24 Scriptures in 12 months. So far so good, but I want to continue to be consistent over the next year. It doesn't take much to throw me off my game, and I need to make sure that this area of my life is a priority or else everything else falls apart. I SO need Jesus.

In My Home: Keep up with the laundry, the dishes and the overall care of the home. I tend to start a cleaning routine and do well for a couple of weeks and then fizzle out. It doesn't take much to distract me and get me thinking of something else. I'd like to be more consistent in the overall care of my home.

In My Parenting: This is a big one. I have great ideas, start them, and then fall short of completing them. I'd like to make sure I'm engaging my kids more regularly, outside of regular parenting and home school. I'd like to play outside more often, have more dance parties, bake more with them, do more crafts and art activities. I want to do more out of the ordinary things with them, making special memories all year long, rather than simply during the holidays.I also want to be more consistent in my discipline, in remaining calm and uninvolved emotionally, so that my yelling decreases and my effectiveness increases.

With Myself: I'd like to do more of what I enjoy. Take a baking/cooking class or two, finish a book series I've started, buy clothes that make me feel good, plan more girls nights out, develop more friendships. Too often, I give my all in other areas of my life, and then have nothing left, and feel drained.

There you go! One of the two words I'd like to focus 2011 on.