Hike 1 - Revival

Inspired by fall like weather, the requirement to be alone*, and the idea that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing, I have made a goal for me and the kids to hike or explore a different nature trail at least once each week. After today's hike, I also thought it would be fun to revive the blog and keep a journal of our hikes.

We headed to Lake Perry. I had planned on going to a couple of spots we had been before. However, the road to get there was closed, so driving a little further we found the State Park Hiking and Biking trails where I had never been. Caleb started with the map and we planned a route that would get us to the lake, as that was a part of the goal - spend time playing by the water. The trail along the lake wasn't actually to the lake, so we hiked a short distance through a water run-off area to a rocky beach. There we skipped rocks, broke rocks, and collected nature treasures.

This area had so many more trails to hike, I am excited to go back. Though we will not return until the ticks leave as the kids did not appreciate the tiny tick invasion we discovered upon returning home.
* Social distancing and quarentine during a global pandemic. We will all remember this part of the year 2020.

Right Now - July

Feeling: like I want to write an actual blog post, but not sure it will actually flow right.  
On the to-do list: tomorrow's school lessons for the kids
My guilty pleasure: Walking outside alone while the whiny kids work it out inside.
Favorites: Vegetable: Kale - wishing more was growing in my garden right now.
Dreaming about: A bigger, more successful garden.
Thankful for: Nature, the world God designed and the peace it brings me.

 

Right Now - December

Feeling: Heavy for people's struggles and those for whom choosing to believe in Christ as their savior is so close!
On the to-do list: Pray.  Then drive around and look at Christmas lights.
My guilty pleasure: Coffee. 
Favorites: Reading.  I love books and sometimes sneak them in when I should be doing other things.
Dreaming about: A new house by day and crazy things involving planes by night.
Thankful for: Rest.  Physical sleep. Slow seasons.  Peace when my mind is in Christ

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
Isaiah 26:3
 

Hello little blog.  Every once in a while I think it would be fun to post more regularly.  Tell stories about our life, reflect on topics that get me pondering, share tips I discover.  I don't spend much time reading blogs but I have my favorite blogs that I dream of being like.  In the end, I just don't spend much time on my computer or electronics much any more.  So I leave you with bits like this:


Feeling: Thankful to the God who answers prayers
On the to-do list: Make biscuits
My guilty pleasure: Candy Crush has been my distraction of late
Favorites: My kids.  Always favorites!
Dreaming about: Homeschooling.  Beautiful, peaceful days where we all work together and learning happens easily.  (HA)
Thankful for: The fact I like to cook, try new things and every once in a while it is a hit.  (Baked Egg Puffs with hidden squash for breakfast this morning)

We've enjoyed several Fall campfires lately.  Love!

 

Right Now ~ September

Feeling: Peaceful.  With the day.  With the new fall schedule picking up steam.
On the to-do list: Go to the library and get more picture books
My guilty pleasure: Coffee.  When did I come to like it so much?  2 cups a day!?! Really?
Favorites: Yogurt, only because I'm making some right now and looking forward to eating it.
Dreaming about: A house without kids toys scattered about
Thankful for: The Word of God.  It is the truth that sets me free, brings me joy and the Rock on which I stand.

 

Healthy Eating Tips

Recently I've been using some simple healthier eating tips and wanted to make a collection of them on Pinterest to share.  Well, I don't have the time to take all those fancy pictures and edit them to add text as I really would like. So this will be the spot for my random collection.

• Use unsweetened applesauce in place of maple syrup on pancakes.
• Put cooked peas or broccoli in Mac & Cheese
• Mix in butternut squash puree anytime you melt cheddar cheese.  Grilled cheese, mac & cheese, quesadillas, etc
• Always find a way to put a fruit or veggie in muffins!
• Roast veggies.  The tastiest way to eat them.
• Prep veggies when you bring them home.  Seriously, it took be a while to jump on this bandwagon, but I'm so much more likely to toss them in when they are already ready.
• On that same note, Mason Jar Salads.  
• Sloppy Joe's are also a good place to put diced veggies of any sort.

 

A Random Post

	Weekly Menu Plan
		Date	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Prep
	Sunday	2 W	Blueberry Peach Baked	Hummus log	Fried Rice	Make Bread
			Oatmeal	& Plums	& Oranges	Boil Eggs
	Monday	3	Peanut Butter Banana	Chickpea Salad wraps	Grilled Ginger Lime Sirloin	Artisan Bread
			Toast	& Apricots	Roasted Radishes	Make Biscuits
					Artisan Rolls
	Tuesday	4 W	Pancakes	Mexican Mixture
			& Peaches	from Zuc casserole
				leftovers
	Wednesday	5		Fresh veggies & dip	Zucchini & Noodles
			Egg and Sausage biscuit	Fresh fruit	Spaghetti
				Popcorn?		Set out pork
	Thursday	6	Slow Cooker Steel Cut		Pulled pork fajitas	Pork in Slow cooker
			Oats topped with		& Guacamole or
			fruit		Avocado Ranch Dressing
	Friday	7 W			Veggie Burgers	Make dinner during
			Cereal	Broccoli Rice Cups	Guacamole	naps
					Fruit
	Saturday	8
				leftovers	Church

Just a couple holes in this week's menu plan. :)
 

Right Now - April

Feeling: Excited.  Looking forward to a long weekend in Colorado
On the to-do list: Finish packing
My guilty pleasure: Spending this time 'vegging' on the computer
Favorites: Life
Dreaming about: Journaling more consistently. Um, yea, it's a dream...
Thankful for: Friends who think it's fun to chicken-sit while we're away.

Backfire

Last night at dinner Ryan was telling me a story about work.  It was a rather extensive story about a co-worker who had a prank backfire on him.  At the end, Caleb politely chimes in "Mommy, Daddy, what happened to the fireman who had fire on him?"
We were a bit confused and replied with "No one had fire on him."  "There was a firefighter who's house was on fire. Is that what you were thinking?"
Caleb sill looking pensive says "But what about the one with fire on his back?"  Ah, "backfire".  We attempted to explain in three-year-old terms how the work backfire has nothing to do with a fire or a back. I just love seeing him learn language.  And gain awareness of how confusing the English language actually can be.

 

Welcome 2014

 

I just love when we get to ring in the new year with snow.  

And what's more fun;

to get outside in the cold,

bundle up and tromp through the

beautiful snow.

This Week's Menu

After some weeks with no menu plan, I am once again experiencing the freedom of being prepared for dinner.  There is a lot of preparation that happens for our homemade meals, and it's so nice to know what I need to do today for dinner tomorrow.

Sunday: Sloppy Joes, grapes
Monday: Baked potato soup,salad
Tuesday: Turkey spaghetti casserole made with carrots, spinach (based on this)
Wednesday: pressure cooked Roast experiment
Thursday: Layered enchilada casserole made with left over beef
Friday: Camping fare - burgers, brats, beans etc
Saturday: Dinner out for birthdays

The Garden

This year I finally received the harvest from my garden I've been waiting for.  Nothing huge, but very encouraging.  All it took was moving the garden to a sunny location.  Oh, that and engineering a fence to keep the dog and all other usual garden pests out. I might be getting in my garden groove.

So I've spent time the past several days planning and drawing a garden for 2014.  Digging a new bed to the east of our house.  Gathering long sticks for the pole beans.  Paying attention to seed varieties.  Planting a winter cover crop.  I am very excited!

Just today I ran across this inspiring blog!  Wow, to have a garden that provides us with most of our meals.  Meals of plates full of colorful, tasty veggies.  My dream ... and a very achievable dream if I continue to put all this planning into action.

On the list for 2014 garden: tomatoes, peppers, peas, green beans, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, winter squash, lettuce, spinach, beets, herbs and maybe other greens.
 

Right Now - July

Feeling: Worn out.  Fun day with crazy kids
On the to-do list: Fold diapers
My guilty pleasure:Quiet time alone each day.  You know, when I go upstairs and tell Caleb I'll be right back, then come back in 10 minutes.
Favorites: Vacation
Dreaming about: 20 acres of land
Thankful for: the lessons my husband has taught me.  Among them: Keep it simple.  Go with the flow.  Be content with the situation.

Read and dream

It's not a secret on this blog that I love to read. I definitely prefer reading over writing.  I spend about an hour each night after the kids go to bed reading books.  Usually novels ... for a bit of an escape.  Sometimes non-fiction to make Jenny proud learn about new or favorite topics. 

Lately, I've been enjoying reading for inspiration.  I go through seasons of finding lots of inspiration from other bloggers.  My current favorite is SouleMama.  She has a garden I dream of and is, in general, living the homestead life I think would be fun.  Think might be the key word.  Would I actually enjoy the work if I had a homestead.  SouleMama sure makes it look fun.

Toward this dream, print books to read include the Homemade Living series.  Checking these all out from the library.  Any other suggestions?

Just what I needed to hear

My family is getting ready to go on vacation. I love vacations! (Really, who doesn't). I even love the anticipation that comes with the preparation, packing and cleaning.  Ryan is off work now for a couple days before we leave, so we're in complete pre-vacation mode.

This morning I was being a downer - getting a little frustrated, overwhelmed and emotional.  Here's our conversation:

Ryan: Well don't get me down.  I'm off work now for three weeks and intend to enjoy it!
Me: There's just so many things to do...
Ryan: I'm just going to keep doing what I think needs to be done to get ready to go.
Me: [frustrations escalating] Yea, that's what I want to but there's these two kids that are demanding ... (There, I said it.  The unfortunate real source of my frustration.)
Ryan: No they are not. They are just living their lives, too.

Stop. Quiet.  Peace.  I have no comeback.  Ryan is so right.  Those kids - that I sadly point at as the problem - are simply living their lives too.  The lives of a two year old and nine month old just happen to look quite a bit different than adults.  Especially when getting ready for vacation.

And now the fun has returned to our preparations.  It takes a bit longer these days, but I can be okay with that.  I can even enjoy it! 

 

Garden Update

I may be the only one that reads back through my old blog posts. And since I did that yesterday, I thought it about time for a little update.

First.  Compost.  Trial #2 was an error.  Too heavy to turn and the frame wasn't stable enough.  So Trial #3 began.  A fenced in area, to keep the dog out with a gate for easy turning.  Though I really don't turn it often, so we'll see if this pile of scraps turns into compost on it's own.

Next: we moved the garden to a sunnier location.  It's still a work in progress as we try to kill the grass and use the ground rather than raised beds.  But, as always, the most difficult part has been outsmarting the dog by engineering the proper fencing to keep him out.  You can see here the orange snow fence with added wood strips, tomato cages and finally our chairs.  Each item added as Camden somehow made it over the previous.

I'm so excited about the success of the spinach and lettuce this year.  Ready for the peppers and squash!  We keep improving the garden - little by little.

A Journal

I'm coming to realize through experience just how exhausting this "I have young kids" phase of life can be.  We get together with friends and I'm constantly correcting my two and a half year old's behaviors (pushing, hitting, throwing, not obeying).  Upon leaving I wonder, "Did I really have a meaningful conversation with those wonderful friends?"

Or I put two kids in bed for a nap, thinking they are quite tired after a late night and will probably sleep at least two hours.  Forty minutes later an eight month old wakes up, not to return to sleep.  And, yes, she is exhausted and doesn't want to be put down from my arms.  There goes a relaxing hour alone.

I watch closely the parents of teens, grown children and even ten year olds.  What freedom they have to:

• simply sit in a chair and read in the eveing
• host a brunch with lots of homemade goodies
• stay up late, go to bed early and otherwise sleep as needed
• enjoy road trips
• eat dinner while it's warm

Even as I sit and write, I get a beautiful, toothless smile from my sweet happy baby girl and remember (as I do daily) I want to enjoy ALL the moments and phases of life.  To not only wish for the freedom to read on my own, but to run and laugh when I hear "Mommy, et's wun."

To the friend who said "I remember leaving friend's house thinking "What did we just talk about?"  The Lord knew how I needed to hear that.  And her boy is six - only six.  This exhausting phase will, of course, not last forever.  So I will soak up the memories and all the sleep I can get.

Good night.

 

Right Now - Joy

Feeling: Peaceful, loving life, excited to visit some garage sales with my mom tomorrow.
On the to-do list: Keep up with daily bible study.
My guilty pleasure: Still very much the Dr Pepper.  That hasn't changed from a couple months ago.
Favorites: My hobbies.  Frugal cooking, sewing and reading.  I just love that I can find time to do them and play with kids.
Dreaming about: Girls weekend.  Literally, twice in the past week my dreams have been about Girls Weekend this year.
Thankful for: My little 8 month old (today).  Her smile and little tushy in the air when she sleeps. Haha.

 

I Love My Kids

Today's random thing: a mixed list of things that have to do with my kids these days.

• Caleb likes to read books about Elmer.  The other night he asked for "Elmer on the toots."  What?  We now know that 'stilts' sounds like 'toots' in Caleb-speak

• Jayna squeals with delight every time she sees the light fixture in our stairwell.  She's even started anticipating as I open the basement door.

• The other day, Caleb refused to use a paper napkin.  He wanted a napkin.  We use cloth napkins and they were all dirty.  He kept saying "No, dis not a nakin, it's a paper taowel.   I want a nakin!"

• Jayna sleeps on her tummy.  While squirming around getting comfortable, she can get up on all fours in a crawl position.  When playing with us, she rolls onto her tummy and immediately starts fussing with no attempt whatsoever at getting her knees under her.

• Caleb is quite the negotiator.  Yesterday at lunch:
  Ryan: Why don't you finish eating your oatmeal, then we can watch an episode of Curious George before your nap.
  Caleb: "How 'bout we watch Curious George, then play Legos... then eat oatmeal ... then take a nap."
  Ryan: "Are you finished eating your oatmeal?"
  Caleb: "How 'bout we watch Curious George, then finish oatmeal. Would that be fun?"

Right Now - I'm tired.

Feeling : Tired and excited for tomorrow morning.  Caleb is having a sleep over with Gramps & Gran.  Just me and J in the morning.
On the to-do list: Sleep, clean, water the garden.
My guilty pleasure: Hmm... I guess I'm more tired than I thought, nothing is coming to mind.
Favorites: This Bountiful Basket we received today.

Dreaming about:  Keeping chickens... fresh eggs. :)
Grateful for: God's plan.  Christ's life, death and life again!  Salvation.  Eternity!