Science with Crinkleroot

Jim Arnosky has many wonderful books that the children and I have enjoyed over the years. Crinkleroot's guides are a very clever way to teach children elementary science. It's enjoyable for everyone involved! Today we enjoyed his guide to Animal Habitats. The Butterfly and Moth guide is excellent, also! Just reading this book today made me want to take a walk in the woods.....maybe tomorrow.

Zinnias

Zinnias, stout and stiff,

Stand no nonsense: their colors
Stare, their leaves
Grow straight out, their petals
Jut like clipped cardboard,
Round, in neat flat rings.

Even cut and bunched,
Arranged to please us
In the house, in water, they
Will hardly wilt - I know
Someone like zinnias; I wish
I were like zinnias.
~Valerie Worth

Beans

The beans in this picture are Tiawan Yard Long Bean from Baker Creek Seed Co. And the blooms are from the Scarlet Runner Bean. The yardlong beans are delicious stir fried or steamed. My kids have also been known to enjoy them raw, munching along on them as they play.

Seabird

Are all of Holling Clancy Holling's books just wonderful? I read Seabird aloud to the children this week and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm amazed at what can be learned by just looking at the illustrations! The copy we read was borrowed from the library but I'll be putting this book on my "wish list"!

Remembering Florida

My Children





We loved all the wildlife and new-to-us nature!

Within your heart...

Keep one still, secret spot
Where dreams may go
And, sheltered so,
May thrive and grow.
~Louise Driscoll

Another great give away!

Biblical Womanhood
is having another drawing for some great free (to the winner) resources!!! Just send Crystal an e-mail and you'll be entered!

Zeke in Florida

For the most part, this picture sums up Zeke's vacation in Florida. He loved to walk along the beach. I'm not exagerating when I say he would walk for miles. He seemed to enjoy being alone. He didn't pay much attention to the rest of us. He never did spend much time in the water but he'd hang out on the water's edge just walking and walking and walking. Content, at peace and maybe full of awe? I wonder if he could feel the Creator near? I certainly would like to think so. Zeke is 20 months old but I've prayed for him for years already. And since his conception, I've prayed specifically that the Holy Spirit would speak to him. Maybe the beach was part of that answer to prayer.

How is your fountain of beauty?

The fountain of beauty is the heart, and every generous thought illustrates the walls of your chamber.
~ Francis Quarles

Tomato Basil Soup

Thankfully, I have an abundance of fresh tomatoes right out my back door. When they start piling up a bit too high, I make this soup that everyone in our family loves. It is so fresh and just screams of summer! And it is so easy it feels like you are cheating.

Heat a couple tbsp. of olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add about 8 medium chopped tomatoes (give or take). Throw in a cup of fresh basil (adjust for your taste). Cook tomatoes until somewhat soft (no big deal on this either). Puree in blender with 2 cups of cream, milk, chicken broth, or a combination of the above. I then strain the soup. And that's it! Couldn't be easier!

Yum!

For our supper, we enjoyed Garden Fresh Tomato and Basil Soup, Squash Anyone?, and whole grain crackers with Soft Goat Cheese from the Vermont Butter and Cheese Co.

Food can make me feel so blessed!

I looked for someplace to purchase this online but can't seems to find anyone that carries the goat cheeses. Amazon does carry some of their other products, though.

Another great food blog

I've been enjoy Eat Well food blog. There are lots and lots of raw food recipes and they always sound great! I'll be trying th Watermelon soup this week.

Watermelon Soup

5 cups watermelon, seeded and cubed
2 cups mango, peeled and diced
1/4 cup lime juice
3 Tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground cardamom

1. Place 3-1/2 cups watermelon and 1 cup mango in a food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Dice up the remaining 1-1/2 cups watermelon and 1 cup mango into tiny pieces and add to the puree.
3. In a small, separate bowl, combine the lime juice, mint, ginger, honey, and cardamom. Add this to the previous mixture and stir well.
4. Chill and serve.

***I wanted to make sure everyone read Cristy's comment about this recipe. Here it is:
Hi! So glad to have you visit Eat Well!

I made the soup and have been enjoying it. The ginger is pretty strong, so use a little less if you aren't too keen on that flavor.

Also, be sure to mix it really well. I had to mix it in my blender to get it smooth enough. It was definitely worth it!

Don't miss out on this drawing!!!

Biblical Womanhood has an incredible drawing taking place this week! Who can pass up the possibility of FREE new books??? Crystal says:

For those of you who appreciate the high quality and character-building books which Vision Forum sells, I have some exciting news for you: I will be giving away an entire Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library this week on my blog, compliments of the wonderful folks at Vision Forum.

This 10-volume set (a $220 value - on sale for a limited time for $165!) was written in the 19th century by Robert Michael Ballantyne, who was a devout Christian of the Scottish Covenanter kind and perhaps the most influential writer of boys' literature of his generation.

Have fun!

Awwww.....Home

I love this place we call home! And it is so good to be back to our humble abode. Truly, to my children the first days at home are as exciting as all the happenings while we were away. We got in around midnight and so didn't do much Saturday night but fall into bed.

But Sunday morning we had a blast! :) It was raining but that didn't stop Nathan from checking all the animals, and grabbing some fresh produce from the garden. Then we noticed that Kiersten's butterfly had hatched from it's cocoon. Out came the field guides to see if our identification of the caterpillar had been correct. And it was! During this whole process everyone is talking at once, laughing and just plain excited.


A few minutes later Nathan comes in thrilled to death that he had caught a field mouse/rat in a live trap in our shed. He proceeds to bring it in to show all of us. Kiersten loves it and wants to keep it as a pet. The rat is currently enjoying cat food. Lest you are concerned, IT WILL NOT BE A PET!

Our gardens looked like a jungle! They had grown so much and the beds are filled to overflowing! The beauty of the beach is amazing and fills me with awe but my gardens are a place just as enchanting! How I love that little plot of ground. Truly, it is one of my favorites places in all of the world. The gifts God has given me in that little spot never cease to inspire me!

Who was it that wrote about the importance of going away so that your senses are sharpened when you return to the ordinary? Can't remember but it's true!

Off to the Beach

The title of the post makes it sound as though we'll be on the sand in minutes. We leave in the morning but it will take us two days before we get to our destination~a quiet spot, a "natural" part of Florida. That's what we are hoping for anyway and that's what we've been told.

After hours of trying to find any type of lodging that would take four children and their parents, I was beginning to wonder if we wouldn't have to camp in a tent. ( I wonder if they limit your children at a campsite, too?!) But I knew the Lord would have a perfect place for us. And I think we found it! It's a house right on the beach in an out of the way sort of place. We are really, really looking forward to relaxing and playing for a few days!

Then it will be off to my little brother's wedding where I hope to be able to get my whole family presentable looking all at one time! :) Tim will be a groomsman, Nathan an usher, Micah and Kiersten are the ring-bearer and flower girl and Tim and I will be singing "Yours Forever". I'm looking forward to seeing April and Justin's apartment, church, and friends and family. It will be an exciting time!

The week after we get back my parents will be having a reception for them here. They'll honeymoon for a week and then we'll get to see them again for a few days! There will be more family and friends coming in and so it will be time for even more fun! Isn't that how summer is? One fun happening after another until Fall comes and it's time to slow down and play in the leaves!

Right now in between packing and cleaning and planning, I'm anxiously waiting for the UPS truck to arrive with my new camera that my best friend ordered for me (for those of you who don't know my best friend is Tim, my husband!). I've even dreamed about it! :) So....hopefully, I'll get some really good pics of our trip that I can share when I get home.

Goodbye for now...............

Bambi and Thumper

This is a pic of our friend's two day old baby deer that they rescued and our six week old bunny. Our friend decided to keep Thumper as company for Bambi. They've been good buddies from the start!

Bite-Size Life Lessons

Our children's librarian was restocking books and as she picked this one up she mentioned that it was new and was a very sweet little book. And IT IS! We've really enjoyed it. It's one of the library books that we'll read more than once.

My mother-in-love is here visiting and she always spends lots of time reading to our children. As soon as she finished reading this book she said she really wanted a copy of it. I "took a trip" to Amazon and she will have a copy at her house by the time she gets home. This is quite the world we live in, isn't it?! Let's not move so fast that we forget our manners! :)

(Click on the pic to "see" the book at Amazon.)

Tammy's Recipes

I really enjoy Tammy's Recipes! Her meals are always so down-to-earth and very easy! This afternoon I just printed off her recipe for Italian Beef and Bean Sauce over Pasta and whipped it up for supper. (I didn't read that it had to simmer for 45 minutes. Oops! We were all good and hungry by the time it was done but it was well worth the wait.) We all enjoyed it very much. Tim said I needed to add it to my favorites so that's what I'll be doing!

Another reason I end up using her recipes is because I usually have all the ingredients already in my house. They are practical and therefore frugal, too.

So.....use this resource that Tammy has provided for us~an online cookbook that can save you time and money.

Love is the....

Morning and Evening Star.... It is the air and light of every heart, builder of every home, kindler of every fire on every hearth. It fills the world with melody.
~Robert G. Ingersoll

Two Potato Hash

Yummy, easy, whole foods, and oh, the smell!!!

While at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO you can watch them cook dishes like this in probably 5 foot cast iron skillets. The aroma makes your mouth water!!! At $5.95 a serving, I'd say making this at home would qualify you as being frugal! :) Since four of us will enjoy this today we'll be saving a hefty little sum!

Here's what I did:
Heat up a generous amount of olive oil in whatever skillet you like to use. Add one chopped up onion, one sliced sweet potato and two white potatoes (I used red-skinned potatoes just because that's what I have.) Season with natural sea salt (That's all I use. I'm sure any salt would work. Maybe even a seasoning salt?!) and black pepper.

Enjoy!