Saturday

Today has been a pretty good day.  Got some chores done, had a nice visit with a friend, ran some errands, and had a good dinner.  I'm still watching for that first lightening bug of summer- the race is on!   I think Brian saw the first one last year.  Maybe we'll see some on this camping trip we're getting ready to go on- more on that later.  Just looked out and saw one!

So here's my prize from the library- a coffee mug I can write on with chalk.  Also a nice bag for carrying books.  Trying out Agatha Christie for the first time.

The potatoes are growing!  I didn't plan on working on them this evening but I'm glad I did.  The kids were playing on the swings, laughing when their dad gave them big pull-backs.  It was nice to hoe the dirt and hill the plants while listening, first to them then to the quiet once they went inside.

You better believe I was looking forward to having some of this when I came inside.  Can you see Kayla's "K" in the fudge sauce?  She made Amanda's most delicious fudge sauce this afternoon.  Yum.  It might be loaded with sugar but at least I know what's in it!

Friday Afternoon

*It's starting to rain again- just in time for quiet time at our house.  I thought I might pull my hair out if the kids couldn't get out for a while today without getting soaked- which some of them did yesterday.  That was fine by me but a dry day is a little less work!
*There's a summer virus in the house- fever/headache/sore throat. Between that and allergies, we'd all like a little break.
*I'm starting to wonder if I'm a library nerd.  Possible, but I don't mind.  I signed up for the adult summer reading program like a good mom does when her son is volunteering with the summer reading program.  For every book you read, you get entered into the week's drawing.  Guess who won this week?  Don't know the prize yet.  This is not the first prize I've won at our library, either.
*Kayla and I went to the Goodwill Bookstore yesterday.  Jackpot!  That store is really a great place to shop for books.
*Here's another good recipe for you.  Lucy especially likes oatmeal- plain old oatmeal with some raisins on top.  Which is great except that raisins are sticky and get stuck in teeth.  So we tried this and liked it, some of us more than others.  (which is usually the case)  I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com.

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup veg. oil  (I used 1/4 c oil and 1/4 cup applesauce)

3/4 cup white sugar (I cut the sugar to about 1/4 cup)

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1T baking powder

3 cups rolled oats

Blueberries or other fruit

Beat the oil/applesauce/sugar.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Pour into a lightly greased pie pan.  Refrigerate overnight.  The next morning preheat the oven to 350.  Bake for around 35 minutes or until the edges are brown.

Summer Book Study

A cozy house.
A group of ladies.
A good book.
That sums up Tuesday night, our first ladies book study of the summer for Providence PC
Really, it was our first ladies study, ever.
I was excited about it, maybe a little nervous, too.  But I was encouraged and so thankful for each one who could be there.
We are reading through Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Phil Ryken.  He looks at 1 Corinthians 13, the "love chapter."  It's so often read at weddings, and yet it's meaning goes much deeper than just romantic love.  He says,

"The Love Chapter is not for lovers, primarily, but for all the loveless people in the church who think that their way of talking about God, or worshipping God, or serving God, or giving to God is better than everyone else's."

And my favorite quote from chapter 1:

"No one cares how much we know unless they also know how much we care."

Just the first few verses of 1 Corinthians 13 are enough to make me squirm if I really think about them.

Looking forward to digging in more and more this summer.

Cousin Time

I am behind again when it comes to blogging.  I write posts in my mind everyday but they don't always make it to the computer.  Where to begin?
How about with some cousin time?

Last week was a lot of fun for the kids.  Their Ohio cousins (well, two of them) spent the week in Virginia.  Here they are after a t-ball game at Custard Corner- which in my opinion is the best place to get ice cream in town.

I love this picture.  We spent some time at Brian's granddad's over the weekend.  I took these guys strawberry picking.  They were great helpers.  I realized I have a really hard time passing by plants loaded with strawberries when Mary took hold of my bucket and gently pulled me along.  "Come on Aunt Danielle.  I think we have enough..."  

Mary found this strawberry.  Can you see it smiling?

Also on this trip Brian introduced the kids to the old song "Footloose."  Do you remember it?  They wanted it LOUD and with the windows down.  I thought that since we were driving through a small 

town we shouldn't have the music up quite so loud.  Kayla disagreed.  "Mom!  These people deserve to hear good music!"  Haha.  Makes me realize the pre-teen years are right around the corner...

We also went to a lovely, outdoor wedding.  Here's a shot of Lucy and I.  I actually like this picture of myself (shocker!) and of course I think she looks adorable.

Two Potato Recipes

I've been trying some new recipes lately.  We're trying to move away from as much processed food, like everyone else! 

Kayla and I had these for lunch one day, just to try them out.  Yum!

To make them, cut thin slices in the potato, almost all the way through but not quite.

Brush with olive oil or butter.  

Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 for 40 minutes.  

(That's what the recipe said.  I needed to bake them for at least another 15 minutes.  Maybe next time I'll up the temperature, too.)

Well this is not the most appetizing picture but they tasted really good.  They were even better the second time I made them and didn't burn them!

Sweet potato fries.  I got this recipe from my friend Julie's blog, Plant Pantry.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2 large sweet potatoes, sliced into fries (I leave the skin on)

2 T. olive oil (I usually use less to lower the fat content)

1/4 t. garlic powder

1/2 t. paprika

1/2 t. brown sugar

1/2 t. chili powder (I use less b/c my kids don't like them spicy)

1/4 t. sea salt

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.  Spread sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, tossing gently to coat.

3.  In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients.  Sprinkle over potatoes, coating evenly and tossing as needed.

4.  Bake in over for 15-25 min. on each side, the smaller and thinner the fries, the faster they will cook. 

Wednesday Afternoon

 Sammy and Lucy helped "hill" the potatoes.  The plants are coming up so pretty!

The past few days have been full!  

And I think it's going to stay that way for a few more.  That's ok, though.  It's all been fun.

There are cousins in town!  So our kids have been having a great time with them and Brian's parents for the past couple of days.

Don't think that time has been lost on us.  Brian and I have been on a couple of dates.  I worked on curriculum for next year while sipping a chocolate milkshake yesterday.  And today it was lunch on the deck with a book.  It's amazing what a little quiet will do for ya!  And it's amazing how "off" things seems to be without those kids around.

In case you're interested, I saw a summer reading challenge over at Redeemed Reader.  The challenge is called Around the World in 60 Days.  I think we'll give it a try, beginning with Around the World by Matt Phelan.

Summer! (Almost)

How do we know it's summertime around here?  Or at least that school's out?
*Allergies.  Half of us can't stand to be outside much right now because of the pollen.  Eyes are red, itchy, and puffy.
*The kids and I rearranged the school/play/catch-all room.  I am always ready to move things around by the time school's done.  It helps us clean up all the stray things that have gotten pushed under and behind furniture all year.
*The hummingbirds are back!
*The kids want fruit smoothies most days for lunch.
*I'm working on putting together summer reading lists for the kids.  I'd love suggestions!
And-

It's time for sun-tea again!

There are flowers to cut and put in vases.

Planting time!  This is probably one of my favorite things to do.

The garden is in and we're planting some flowers.  Self-control is hard at the local nurseries!  I did save a gift card from Christmas so that helps.

Soccer is over but we are right in the middle of t-ball.  I love it.  Feels so American to be out at the ball field when it's hot!