I hate thistles and dandelions in my yard and garden. We could spray them with Round Up, but I don't like that stuff close to where my boys are playing. What's a girl to do? Well, I read about this great idea on someone's blog a long time ago.
Step #1: Boil Water
Step #2: Dump boiling water all over the weed you wish to get rid of, being careful not to burn yourself.
Step #3: Within seconds, the weed will wilt and start turning brown. By the next day, it will usually be dead.
Step #4: Rejoice that the weed is dead.
This method works great for thistles that seem to grow in abundance all over my yard. By the next day, they are "rotted", and I just kick at them to remove them.
Boiling water. . . . it's just not for tea time!
Proverbs 22:6 says to "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
All my life (as a mother), I have lived by this verse. God is the most important thing in my life and naturally, I want Him to be most important in my children's lives as well. I pray that in the spiritual ways, I am doing my very best as a mother.
This verse is also true in other parts of our lives. I have proof:
This was taken many years ago - Kevin shot this turkey while both boys were with him. You can see the joy and excitement on their little faces.
This was taken this morning. Ty shot this bird today and could not wait to have his little brothers in the picture with him. His love of turkey hunting he got from his dad, but also he inherited his dad's sense of humor and kindness for little ones.
I am so proud of this young man.
Wow-it has been a busy week. I've gotten so many things done and I feel so productive. I really wish every week felt like this, but more often than not, I don't get much done and I feel overwhelmed. I am sure that by next week, things will be back to "normal" :-).
I have recently taken over the 2 year old class at my congregation. I have 5 two year olds and 1 eleven month old. I was so excited to take this class. I have so many ideas and plans. However, last week was not such a good class. There was an incident during "potty time". Let's just say that it involved a bloody lip and a toilet seat, but no one had to go to the ER, and the children seem to all have forgotten about it and will hopefully trust me again this week. I do plan to eliminate potty time from my curriculum.
This week's class lesson is on the fiery furnace and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. This story is from the book of Daniel and has always been one of my favorites. I thought I'd share with you my very large visual. I used a big piece of cardboard, some black paint, a sponge and some tissue paper to make this "fiery furnace". I hope the kids will enjoy pretending to be "thrown in", and I sincerely pray there will be no more bloody lips.
Before. . . .
After. . .
Apple pie - the all-American dessert. I happen to be blessed with a husband who has planted a beautiful orchard on our property. For the past two years, our trees have yielded beautiful apples. I was fortunate enough to come across a great recipe for canning the apple pie filling I make with these apples. I can several jars and we are able to enjoy "fresh" apple pie throughout the year. Now, I am in now way an expert canner and in fact, I rather despise doing it. It makes such a mess in my kitchen! However, I like to be able to run to the pantry any day of the year, throw a pie together quickly, and know that my hard work has paid off.
Love/hate relationship for sure!
I made this pie for my parents when they were visiting last week. Here's the recipe I use for the filling:
First, peel and cut your apples and pack them tightly into clean canning jars.
Mix:
4 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
10 cups water
1 cup corn starch
3 tsp. lemon juice
Cook until thick and bubbly. Pour into the jars over the apples. Pour slowly and you may have to use a spatula to move things around so it is all nicely filled.
Give them a hot water bath for 20 minutes to seal.
The pie crust recipe is from my good friend, Marie. I always hated working with pie dough until I tried this recipe:
2 tsp. salt
1 cup Crisco
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
Easy as apple pie!
I love fruit, but for some reason, I have a hard time getting in my 2 servings a day. I aim to have fruit for my morning and afternoon "munchie" time, but I usually end up grabbing a fiber bar. My goal this week is to eat 2 servings of fruit a day. Small steps. . .
My other goal is to run 3 days this week (2 miles each time). Can I do it???? I hope so!
Any suggestions from you all on getting fruit into your diet?
Nothing tugs at my heart like a big bouquet of yard flowers (aka- weeds) in the hands of my little boys as they run across the yard yelling "mommy, I got you flowers". Their big blue eyes shining and a smile on their little faces. Daddy may be their "buddy" and who they prefer to hang around with most of the time, but Mommy gets the flowers, smiles and kisses. I display my beautiful bouquets in a plastic cup on the window sill and keep adding more each time they play outdoors. It warms my heart just looking at it. Soon, they will grow and the flowers they give will be for some other girl who has their heart, but for right now, at this moment,
I am the only girl they care about. And I love it!
Sorry I've not posted in a long time - been so busy visiting with family, running to see my son play baseball, etc. Busy time of year.
I recently had the opportunity to photography my nephew, Jesse, and his girlfriend, Alyssa before they went to the prom. I played around in Photoshop Elements and did some changes with the coloring. I love black and white and also I love "vintage". I think the "vintage" shot adds something, especially with Jesse wearing a cowboy hat! Here are some of the shots - what do you think? Any suggestions???
