Life's Journey

Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates

We have had warmer weather and the kids have enjoyed it.  They spend their days outside and can hardly believe that I would ask them to come in.   Our backyard gets quite a bit of shade and this helps them to enjoy their play time.  Our trampoline broke, so they have ventured into the land of roller-skates, creating gardens for me,  and squirt guns.  They planted a flat of pansies for me underneath our pine tree.  It was supposed to be a surprise, but then they got distracted and forgot to tell me.  So, I had to peek so I could water them.  I appreciate the thought.  I just hope that the flowers flourish.  It will be lovely to have pansies growing in a patch of dirt that is barren of any life due to being under a huge tree.  We'll pray that the Lord blesses their efforts.

We went camping this weekend.  We got to the campground late Wed. evening just as the sun was setting.  The people kept coming and the campground was almost full by Thurs. morning.  If we had waited until Thurs. as we had planned, I don't think we would have gotten a spot.  The kids loved being next to a shallow creek.  It was quite hot, so we spent quite a bit of time splashing around.  Even Gideon got in on the act.  He loves getting wet and didn't hesitate to imitate his older siblings by sitting in the cold mountain water.  We had some "how long" competitions for who could sit in the water the longest.  Jael demolished Keren's record by sheer will power while sitting in the icy cold water.  Of course, the oldest can not handle defeat, so she too had to try and set a new record.   We shared our campsite with a mouse and a rabbit.  The mouse was quite brave and would come out and scour our campsite as soon as the children were tucked away for the night.  We did pack it in a bit early though and decided to come home and enjoy the 4th at home where it wasn't quite so hot.  Hubby is already planning another trip in two weeks. 

Already starting to plan for school next year.  The younger kids are really looking forward to starting up again.  I look forward to seeing their growth and hope that their excitement continues. 

No fancy firework displays near our town or closest city, so we will be spending a quite evening at home watching a movie with the kids.  Quiet is of course a relative term on the fourth because many of our neighbors have backyard fireworks.  The kids are excited about what they might see.  Maybe next year we can plan to travel to some place that has a display.  I think , no I know, the kids would enjoy it. 

I'm starting to look at paint chips for the different rooms in the house.  I need to take advantage of the warmer weather because fall will set in before we know it.  I look forward to refreshing the rooms.

We continue to enjoy going to our new church.  They have been extremely friendly and the kids are enjoying their time there.  The messages have been sound and biblical and the pastor has a sense of humor, which we enjoy.  They have many ministries that we can get involved in, even a quilting one.  So, we are hopeful that we have finally found our church home. 

The chickens continue to grow and we all enjoy watching them.  I chuckle when they try to jump over the few blades of grass left in their yard.  We are looking forward to their laying eggs, even though it is quite a ways off. 

Have a blessed day and enjoy this special time with family and friends. 

God bless,

Denisa

It will soon be green bean season here

My green beans are blooming so you know what that means I will soon be up to my elbows in green beans! Nothing tastes like fresh green beans straight from the garden to the table in the same day.  One of our family favorites is to cook fresh green bens in a pot with a piece of ham and some new potatoes, serve it up with a hot pan of cornbread and a fresh green salad and you have one of our favorite meals. Another way we use fresh green beans is by cooking them with fennel and feta cheese;

 1 pound fresh green beans

1 fennel bulb, cut into thin slices

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Fill a saucepan half full with water and bring to a boil. Add the green beans and fennel slices; cook until just beginning to become tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into a colander to drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Return the empty pan to the stove and set heat to medium. Pour in the olive oil and let it heat for a minute. Return the green beans and fennel to the pan. Season with basil, salt, and pepper; cook and stir until coated and warm, and toss with feta cheese.

 Does anyone have any other green bean recipes they would care to share?

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976

Happy Birthday America!

  Happy Birthday America!  Today I am especially grateful for the wonderful freedoms we enjoy.  The freedom to worship, the freedom to praise God, the freedom to own our own property and live and work as we wish. For all these freedoms and more I very thankful for!

I pray each one of you enjoys a blessed & wonderful day!

Gloria

Praying for the Sun to Make an Appearance Today!!!

Happy Birthday America!!!!  Let's all cheer for the Red, White and Blue!!!  I love the Fourth of July, and the cookouts, family gatherings, and fireworks.  But this year, we aren't sure if there is going to be much fireworks.  We might be able to still arrange the cookout, and just eat indoors.  But is is difficult to celebrate with fireworks when it is raining!!  UGH!  The weather reports aren't sure if the rain will stop before sunset and the big firework displays or not.  DARN IT! 

Matthew took off earlier this morning with our Noah, 3 years old, to pick out some fireworks.  We always wait until the 4th to buy ours because of the wonderful sales they hold the day of.  He alsos picked up some sausage and milk on the way home for our breakfast....sausage gravy and biscuits!!  YUMMY!  He even made breakfast for us.  Matthew never cooked (except for Hamburger Helper) until he met me.  LOL  Now he is the breakfast expert and won't let me in the kitchen when he is making pancakes or his specialty of biscuits and gravy. 

The rest of the day we are going to hang out, relax (finish putting away laundry, do a few dishes) and just enjoy having daddy home!   Tonight we are going to my brother's house for a cookout (possibly cook in...depending on the whether), and then back to town for the city wide fireworks display.  I am looking forward to seeing my family today.  We are all so busy, and it seems working schedules conflict that we don't get together more often.  Looking forward to seeing how big my neice Megan is getting with her first pregnancy.  She is due in October, and I am sure she isn't much bigger than her little frame was before, but maybe a tiny bit. 

Matthew's family is all scattered this weekend.  We made a comment last night that if everyone wasn't gone, we would have loved to get them all together at our house this weekend.  Oh well.  His parents church is having a 3 day meeting, his sister lives in Washington,DC area and unable to come home, and his other sister, her hubby and 5 year old daughter just started their 5 day trek back to Missouri from California and today.  They visited Sea World, Disney, etc. and had lots of fun.  I can't wait to hear about their trip!

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST!!

BLESSINGS!

   I ASK FOR URGENT PRAYER FOR HOMESTEADBLOGGERS COUNTRYMOUSE (SISTER CARRIE). SHE WAS INVOLVED IN A CAR WRECK YESTERDAY WHERE HER VEHICLE WAS T-BONED. SHE WAS LIFE FLIGHTED TO A HOSPITAL, TREATED AND RELEASED TO HOME.

   HER HUSBAND CONTACTED US AND TOLD US THAT ONLY GOD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HER LIVING THROUGH THE CRASH AND ASIDE FROM SOME INTERNAL BRUISING, CUTS AND SCRAPES SHE SUFFERED NO BROKEN BONES!! GOD'S HAND IS ALL OVER IT.

   AS I ALWAYS TELL FOLKS, GOD IS NOT SILENT AND YES HE STILL PERFORMS MIRACLES. THANK YOU JESUS!!!

   PLEASE LIFT SISTER CARRIE AND HER FAMILY IN YOUR FERVENT PRAYERS BOTH IN SUPPLICATION AND PRAISE. SHE IS GOING TO HAVE A TIME OF IT AS SHE HEALS FROM THIS. PRAY FOR HIS HEALING HAND. AND FOR THEIR COSTS TO BE COVERED AS THIS CAME AT A TIME WHEN THERE WAS A LAG IN THEIR INSURANCE.

   I KNOW YOU ARE ALL SUCH WONDERFUL PRAYER WARRIORS AND KNOW THAT GOD WILL HEAR!

GOD BE WITH THEE!

SISTER LORI

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, I hope all of your plans for picnics and get together’s go well today and that you take just a few moments to ponder the freedoms we enjoy here in the country and say a prayer of thanks to all the brave men and women that have served our country in the past and present.

A Prayer for Fourth of July

Fourth of July Plans & Menu

                              I have been planning our weekend.  Tomorrow we will enjoy a quiet day at home.. just family ( all 12 of us!).  We always enjoy a special meal on America's B-day.. so this year I will be making grilled steaks ( a rare treat) , baked potatoes, homemade baked beans, watermelon & homemade apple pie! It's not the fourth w/ out homemade apple pie! 

      Sunday our Church is holding an evening meeting and then a potluck meal. I'll be brining watermelon, lemon meringue pies and spinach salad. The girls are making cookies & cupcakes.  We are also going to bring a pinata & water balloons!  It should be a fun evening!

      Fourth of July is one of our favorite holidays!  We sure enjoy celebrating and taking time to remember how blessed we are in this land of the brave and home of the free!  I am also thankful for the freedom and perfect law of liberty thru Christ our Lord ! Jesus died so ALL men could be set free!  How grateful  I am for that!  We are no longer under the bondage of the law -- but are free thru the grace and liberty in Christ! Thank you Jesus for your precious blood shed on calvary so all men can be free!

  Hope you all enjoy a blessed Holiday!

Gloria

Summer Vacation is on.

Well, our summer is underway and I'm already tired.  It might just be the heat.  Today it's 33 degrees Celsius.  Thankful the pool is warm as I've been swimming a bit.  I'm not complaining that's for sure because we get enough rain and cold in the winter so this is awesome weather we are having right now.

My favourite fruit is in season right now and we are enjoying an abundance of "raspberries". Yum.  I have made raspberry cheesecake...raspberry viniagrette...raspberries and cream...just plain raspberries...raspberry shortcake...you get the picture.  Plus, I put 40 pounds in the freezer to make raspberry jelly later. I am not doing much this summer...I am still working on this "tennis elbow" thing and so any amount of work causes pain...and trying to use my left hand for everything is also difficult....so I am taking it easy this summer and just sitting around doing only what absolutely needs doing...and with five kids still home, that's busy enough.

We took the kids to the ocean and for ice-cream...and now Anika says she has touched her feet in the North Atlantic Ocan and now the Pacific Ocean..it was exciting, not to mention we all had our favourite ice-cream...mine is "tiger"...delicious!  The tide was out so we were able to walk quite a ways out.

Dh and I also made our first "beer can chicken"...or others call it, "beer up the butt" chicken.  It turned out amazing.  Next time though we will leave in on the barbeque 1/2 hour longer..but the flavour was unbelievable.  I went on the internet to look up recipes and there were hundreds of them, so dh and I just came up with our own rub and everyone loved it.

The boys got the go-kart out from the garage and pumped up the tires washed it and even got it started on their own.  Last year they couldn't really touch the peddles very easily but this year well.....my boys are growing up too quickly for "this mama"....but it was fun watching them tearing around the grapes and through the long grass.  They had a blast....so did dad!!!!

We are reading Daniel Boone right now...and because the weather was so great today we took our blankets and I read to the kids under the big tree in the back yard...I sat in our wonderful Muskoka chair and the kids laid on the blankets...it was fun.  I finally got a sore throat from reading so we all laid on the blankets while the kids  talked about all kinds of things...we all told story after story until I got a whopper of a headache...so Anika decided to massage my head so I wouldn't go inside...she loves listening to my stories...she even braided my hair.  It was a fun afternoon.  Of course every once in a while the wind would blow a certain way and it was "chicken poo smell" everywhere....then thankfully the wind would shift and it was beautiful trees and grass smell.  Oh the joys of living in the country.  God is so good!

Our cherry tree is producing lots of fruit this year...but unfortunately the birds are getting more than we are. Any ideas how to keep the crows away? 

Well, that about sums up our past week....looking forward to the weekend. 

Happy "4th of July to all my US blogging friends

and

Happy Birthday to my sister!

Asking for a few prayers, its been along week

Good Evening, it’s been another long week here and I for one am glad to see the week draw to a close and the holiday to be upon us. We have spent the last few days getting the hay baled, it is done but we only had the two of us my husband and I to do it all. Usually our son in law helps us but his father passed away on Monday night very suddenly and most unexpectedly. He was on 57 years old had a heart attack as he was sitting down to dinner. My daughter and son in law have been busy helping his mother get through the arrangements and all so my husband and I have been taking care of little Noah and trying to support all of them, while trying to beat the rain and get the hay done. They say god never gives us more than we can handle at one time, I guess that is  true but I hope our family has time to catch our breath collectively after this past week before the next thing comes along.

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976