Hi! We're home after a wonderful week of family bonding! I have so much to write about and share, but digging out from the mountain of laundry is going to have to take precedence. I can't wait to stop by and visit all of you and see what I have missed over the course of the week...but all things take time. Soon, friends, soon!

I'll be back and can't wait to jot down some of my favorite memories. For now, I'm off to nurse my major caffeine withdrawal headache (Wow! The coffee we consumed this past week!!) and finish emptying the bottomless pit of a minivan!

Talk to you soon!

It was a whirlwind day, just as most are before you leave for vacation. Well, at least in my house anyway. It is 10:58pm and I'm off to go pack MY clothes, finally. I think everything else is in order. We are pushing back our 5:00am departure time due to the weather forecast being rain and wind. :( Oh well, we will still find plenty of games to play and enjoy lots of fellowship anyway. My entire family will be there, complete with cousins to play pioneer with, adults to play pinnochle and Shanghai Rummy, and food for everyone to munch. I'm sure I'll have lots to share when we get home, but in the meantime, here's a few pics from years past to show you.






Have a great week!

The week is flying and I feel like I am doing the same. The check off list is getting longer instead of shorter, but that's par for the course prior to vacation. We decided this AM to take TJ into the doctor after yet another night of being woke up with severe stomach cramps. She wouldn't let us touch her tummy, and were a little concerned about a hot appendix due to the vomiting (although that had not happened since Monday night.) All is well, and there is no obstruction or infection. So, we will ride it out, and pray it continues to subside.

We've had rain every day and hot temps so the garden is multiplying and growing quickly after a slow star. God is truly blessing us with a great growing season. I took these pictures ten days ago:


And, here they are today:



It's hard to tell, but we have purple, yellow, and green beans, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, banana, yellow, red, purple, and green peppers, snap peas, yellow squash, pickling cucumbers, regular cucumbers, roma, early girl, better boy tomatoes, and 4 types of heirloom tomatoes. My herb garden has lettuce, spinach, basil x 2 kinds, oregano, cilantro, peppermint, and chives. Stevia is in a container pot and I am anxious to experiment with that soon. Hopefully, we'll be in full swing of preserving once we get back from the lake!

Well, enough of my avoidance - I need to get back to the tasks at hand. Hope you all have a great day, and I'll leave you with these two little lovebirds. :)

Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Hot, hot, hot. We were wishing for summer and we got it! Upper 80's today with high humidity. No breeze so it is warm. We've had a lot of rain to counter the heat thus far so that is a blessing.

One of my simple pleasures:
My ceiling fan in my bedroom. I love the stir of the breeze as I am ready to sleep, and it keeps the room tolerable throughout the night as we are on the 2nd floor.

On my bedside table:
I've been holding off on any new novels until vacation, at which time I plan to read the next 3 in the Neta Jackson prayer series. Right now I have my "Eating Well" magazine, and continuing with Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.

On my TV:
I actually sat down and watched the last 20 minutes of the US Open this morning. I so wanted Phil Mickelson to win - bummer!

On the menu for tonight:
Grilled turkey tenderloins, asparagus, blueberries and strawberries with yogurt
Tomorrow is split pea soup with ham even though it is HOT

On my To Do List:
Right now I have 29 things on my incomplete "to do" list - I didn't want to move to a second sheet of paper until I got a few things off this list! This list is the MUST DO things before we leave to go to the lake on Saturday.

New Recipe I tried last week:
Baked potato soup (so yummy!)
Crepes (rolled with fresh fruit/rhubarb sauce) I made them with whole wheat flour and they were really good that way as well!

In the craft basket:
Still gardening and working on our godchild's memorial box - photo to come once it is completed

Looking forward to:
The lake, the lake, the lake - need I say more? (Well, I will, but that will be another post!)

Homemaking Tip for this week:
Buy a pound of sausage in a roll and make your own patties. You can stretch it so much further, and have less of something unhealthy, but still get a taste of it...use turkey sausage to further reduce fat.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I have two this week. Bonnie speaks to keeping your eyes focused where they should be - UP...
And Karen speaks to the joys of summer, reflecting back to our childhood.

Favorite photo from last week:Brad got up early one day this week and found this pleasant surprise - a small window of opportunity to view a rainbow that actually was visible between storms.

Lesson learned the past few days:
Fathers are so special and an anchor in the family. I am blessed that the mate God chose for me is a wonderful Christian man, and a godly leader and father to our children.

On my Prayer List:
Friends from our church who lost their 8 month old yesterday to a heart condition.
Our pastor
Our military
My TJ, recovering from the flu
Our family, that we may all stay healthy

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
From yesterday's sermon. "Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4

I pray you all have a blessed day!

My blogger friend, Karen, at Over the Backyard Fence, inspired me to think about life's little pleasures. She challenged her readers to pick six things that are not vital to your life, but make it so much sweeter and special. Here are my six, in no particular order:

1. Coffee - it is my built in security blanket. I must have a cup in my hand, or on my desk, or anyplace where I am working. When I go to the office and work for my husband, he pays me in at least one cup of coffee from the local Starbucks or Caribou or Dunn Brothers or Scooters or whatever else can meet my needs. First thing in the morning, it would be black and strong and 1/2 caff. Later on in the day, it may be a cinnamon Dulcie (sp?)latte, skinny, no whip, 1/2 caff. Whatever the java, I enjoy a good cup. The smell, the taste, the feel of a mug in my hand - all contribute to a better day. If I can sip it on the porch first thing in the morning, even better. It's always 1/2 caff though - I save the fully leaded for those rare occasions where I need a real pick me up. ;)(Note stray coffee bean on counter)

2. The front porch - (preferably with #1). I love to sit in solitude on our front porch...It's fairly decent sized, surrounded by some plants and birdfeeders. If no one in the neighborhood is mowing, it speaks to peace and relaxation. It helps me focus in on my day by sitting with my bible in the morning, and it helps me connect with my husband when we can close out the day together on the love seat...usually with two cats and a dog nearby. Front porch sitting is highly underrated, and the mere thought of time spent on the porch relaxes my brain.


3. Scented candles - I would love if you could walk into my home and instantly be met with the homey scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. While my house doesn't smell like that on a day in and day out basis, I love to tickle the olfactory lobe whenever possible. When my candles burn, it exudes warmth and homeyness, and seems to bring out the homemaker in me even more. The stronger the smell, the better, at least in my book.

4. Bubble baths - although I only take them in winter, my bubble bath is a way of warming myself to the inner core. It is my reward at the end of a day when I have been clothed in massive layers, socks, slippers, flannel, and whatever else I can to keep our house temp low and my body temp high. At the end of the day, I can sit in my super hot bath water, with a great book (see #5), and relax the day away.

5. A good read - nothing, nothing, nothing can top a good book, especially if I have #1, #3, #4, and #6 along with it in the winter, or #1, #2, #3, and #6 in the summer! (Notice a trend here of my favorite things?) I love fiction, non fiction, anything but science fiction and fantasy. I can get lost in a book, sometimes so much that I can't sleep because the characters dance in my head and come to life. Sometimes I read until late in the night because I can't put my book down. What a gift to be able to story tell with that type of intensity and ability. Books are a treasure, and life would not be the same without them.

6. Quiet and solitude - this little pleasure may seem strange, but with three kids, and all of them "talkers", I have found that when I do have peace and quiet, I rejuvenate and get energized. My husband will come home and turn on the radio, while I can work the entire afternoon in silence. It speaks peace to me, and gives me a break from the constant influx of activity and stimulation that seems to flow at an extremely high level around here. While it may not happen often, I relish the time it comes and envelopes me in its presence.

Life's simple pleasures - I can do without, but life seems to be just a little bit (or a lot!) better with these few things. As I type, I realize I have so many more than six. How blessed I am to have more to choose from! How about you? What would you pick as your six simple treasures? Let me know if you post them on your blog, so I can make sure and visit you!

Until then, enjoy, and have a wonderful day!

Yesterday morning, two of my children and my niece hopped into the car to meet up with my sister in order to safely hand back her precious daughter. I have found that I love to go on a short road trip for a number of reasons. Here in the upper Midwest, if you are going to drive for two hours, you are going to conquer a fair amount of miles. At 70 to 75mph on the interstate, you can get a pretty good distance away from home. Sometimes the landscape changes, but inevitably, you are going to have a trip which will showcase God's beauty and time to reflect on the marvels of his creation.

Traveling with my kids often times provides me a lot of thinking and "zoning out" time. On the way to meet my sis, all of the kiddos were involved with reading joke books and picking out their favorites. Every once in awhile, they would share with me one of their favorites, but all in all, they giggled and laughed to themselves. On the way home, both of them zonked and I had a blissfully quiet trip, complete with talk radio so I could get educated on what is going on in the outside world. Needless to say, I relished the time, and treasured every second.

This particular road trip started me thinking about how different and how much we have changed in a generation. These are some generalizations I noticed that show the differences compared to when I traveled as a youngster...

1. I could stop at any given drive through along the way to purchase a coffee - it would have been brought in a thermos from home in the past
2. Rest stops are for bathroom breaks now - but we used to bring a cooler and have lunch at a picnic table
3. We have air conditioning - need I make the comparison?
4. My kids were safely buckled in seat belts and car seats - my sister and I would lie across the back window or on the floor to get comfortable
5. Each child has their own seat - no rubbing across potentially scratchy legs and complaints of "you're touching me" are greatly reduced
6. Although I don't have one, if my kids asked if we were there yet, I could probably check my GPS or direction finder...
7. Cruise control
8. Bathrooms are plentiful as are gas stations - from point A to point B, I had a tremendous selection right along the interstate
9. My cell phone was ready and available - not only for emergencies, but just to pass the time away. Heck, my sis and I were able to determine a meeting site in the town rather than plan ahead just by calling each other on the road
10. Books and songs and license plate games have been replaced by movies, ipods, and handheld games (however, disclaimer - we still do the books, songs, and games..)

There was one thing that does remain the same - road construction. :) But, if I plan ahead and can determine a different route in a touch of a button.

The other thing that is the same is the joy of having a family to travel with and how we still enjoy being together. Whether a short trip, or a long marathon, time spent together makes you stronger, more patient, and understanding. While I may not always learn these lessons at the time, I do look back on travel time with my kids as precious memory building opportunities, and character testing as well. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Special thanks to Sandra for hosting!

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Rainy, cool morning. We've had sun so infrequently over the past few weeks, and much cooler temps - the plants in the garden are way behind schedule.

One of my simple pleasures:
Walking out to the herb garden and clipping something to add to supper. Last night, I clipped some chives to add to our grilled potatoes and carrots.

On my bedside table:
I'm saving the next three books in the Neta Jackson series (#5-#7) until I get up to the lake in two weeks. I plan on spending a lot of time reading up there. I did just finish Tracie Peterson's A Love to Last Forever.

On my TV:
Nothing much - summer seems to be a time away from the computer...although we do want to watch Top Chef Masters on Wednesday nights

On the menu for tonight:
We cooked a ham on the grill last night, so will have leftovers for the next few days. I have to cook up the ham bone and make some split pea soup. For tonight, I may do some scalloped potatoes or omelets.

On my To Do List:
Put away rugs/blankets washed over the weekend
Clean TJ's room
Work on office
Brad rented out the other half of our building, so we have all the painting to get done before June 27th

New Recipe I tried last week:
I tried this Cream Cheese Carrot Muffins recipe from Taste of Home that is also posted on Sandra's blog...I made some modifications to it just to tweak it for our family...
I doubled the recipe so how they look may not be exactly right...I had to guess at how much I needed for the base vs on top of the cream cheese. I sliced and cooked large carrots (not baby ones) and then pureed them with my magic bullet. They were a bit chunky so I mashed a bit more with a fork. I did two cups per batch. I used all whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose, and used only 3/4 cup of cane sugar. Next time, I will most likely make with 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup sugar. I typically substitute applesauce for sugar when possible, but didn't have any thawed. I used olive oil instead of canola. I also used the entire single batch of filling for the double batch of muffins - make sense? I wanted to cut back on that aspect of it, and it seemed to be plenty of cream cheese. I also didn't use quite as much sugar in the filling and I added more cinnamon as well b/c it seemed to not be quite enough. The muffins are probably more heavy due to the whole wheat, but I wanted to be able to use them for a breakfast muffin, and I still like them this way (we typically use whole wheat across the board whenever possible, so the texture isn't a biggie for us. Yummy!

In the craft basket:
Again, just continuing with my gardening
Putting together a Father's Day photo album for daddy

Looking forward to:
Date with my daughter tomorrow
The lake in two weeks
Playing golf with Brad on Thursday
Coffee/lunch with a friend in the next week

Homemaking Tip for this week:
When baking bread, if your recipe calls for an oil and also something sticky, add the oil first and the molasses/honey will come out of the measuring cup very easily

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):
I had a few favorites this week, so am having a hard time choosing. I have so many blogging friends that I enjoy reading, that I am not going to be able to pick a stand out favorite this week. I made the mistake of traveling to a few other links through blogs this week, finding more that I wanted to come back to, and promptly didn't add them to my list - so now I can't remember who they were! UGH.

Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:
Children tend to miss their parents the most at night and when they are overtired. Plan ahead and make sure they get enough sleep, and offer the opportunity to sleep closer to you, or wherever they feel more safe.

On my Prayer List:
Our pastor
My oldest son, that he would continue to seek God in his life
Our military

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
"But the wisdom that comes froms heaven is first of all pure; then peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:17-18