Harvesting Green Beans

I have now harvested my green beans twice! TWICE! And we had enough both times to eat them as our veggies for lunch.  I steamed them a bit and man were they good.  I'm so excited that we got to eat all those wonderful fresh veggies!  And there are still more to come.  Those little plants sure are working hard especially in this 100 degree weather.

These seem to be the only thing producing for the harvest currently although the other plants are still hard at work.  We shall see what comes up in the garden next week.

Oh and since I sprayed my plants with that wonderful spray, I have not seen any more white flies eating my plants.  That makes me soo happy!

Changing

Well I think things are beginning to change around here.  My little man seems to be fighting his morning naps.  I am a bit sad and I keep putting him down for them still.  He doesn't ever sleep though he sits in his crib and talks and plays with his stuffed animals.  So I may have to reevaluate putting him dow.  I'm glad he is getting to be a big boy, but I'm a bit sad that one of his naps my be disappearing.  He ususally needs them or at least some quiet time or he gets cranky as all get out.  We shall see where this next week leads.  If he continues to just play I will probably just stop laying him down unless he asks. (and yes my child will ask to go to bed if he is tired, we are extremely blessed!)

 Yes he is sitting on the table, he learned how to climb and is becoming a pro!

He has also been getting a really bad diaper rash, so far desitin and butt paste are not working too well.  We have also done some baking soda baths and it seems to calm it for a bit but not anything long term.  I have read that browned flour works well for diaper rash but have yet to try it.  Has anyone ever tried this before??? If you have did it work? Just curious-not really feeling like messing with it if it isn't going to work.  I have also thought about getting a big boy potty and seeing if he is ready for that-as it appears his bottom has had enough diapers!  We will see if I am brave enough to try as he is still so little and not walking on his own.  He is a smart learning though so maybe he will be ready.  Anybody have any potty training tips? We will need to start looking into it soon enough!

My big boy is also starting to want to walk-not on his own mind you.  BUT he does want to hold my hand everywhere, so I am taking that as good news as he isn't so nervous about using his feet.  Maybe my 18months he will finally take a step on his own.  I never thought it would take this long, but he really isn't in any hurry so I'm not going to rush him.

My baby will be 12wks old tomorrow.  Where has the time gone? She is chewing on her hands and drooling a lot, makes me a bit nervous that she may be working on teeth already but only time will tell.  She is still a good nurser and usually has one 4 hour chunk a night that she lets me sleep for, which I greatly appreciae.  She loves to be held and snuggled(um more like smothered or suffocated.)  She burrows into you and sometime I feel like she can't breathe, but it is so sweet. She loves to sit in the bumbo seat and watch her brother and dog run(crawl) all around her.  I love watching her just take everything in, she watches so close and is so attentive!

daddy caught her with her tongue out!

Beef and Noodles

1 lb ground beef-browned
1/2 package of 16 oz noodles-your choice
1 c sour cream
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c beef broth
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic minced
1 tsp onion powder or 1/2 onion chopped fine

Cook the noodles according to package instructions.  Add to the bottom of a 8"x8" pan.  Next add the ground beef.  Mix the last ingredients together until smooth.  Pour over top of the beef and noodles.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. It may look a bit funky but I promise you it tastes wonderful! 

This is a super yummy and easy meal.  Almost like a beef stroganoff but with ground beef instead of a stew type meat so it is a bit more cost effective.  I added some parmesan cheese on top when it came out of the oven. It also freezes well.  Just assemble and just before you would put it in the oven cover in foil, label/date, and place in the freezer. Thaw before cooking in the oven.

Gardening-Parenting

Gardening just seems to reaffirm so many things about parenting and there are so many parallels.  I love the constant reminder as I'm working in it.

Gardens need water.  Our children also need water, yes they need this in the physical sense.  But they also need to drink from the Living Water.  I'm reminded of this daily as I water my plants.  I need to make sure that I am also reading to my children daily from scripture so they might drink of the Living Water and have a fuller, more beautiful life.

Gardens need care/time.  They are an effort.  You cannot just let them be.  You must go out there and check on them.  Check to see if there is anything to harvest.  Check to see if there are weeds or if they need more water.  You have to make sure they have the right balance of everything.  Just like children.  They need balance.  You have to spend time with them, and put forth and effort.  If you don't put effort and work into them, you will notice as they get older. 

Gardens need to be kept in check.  My cucumber plants specifically seem to want to take over everything else so I go out there daily and guide it where I would like it to go so that it doesn't go somewhere that it shouldn't.  We must make sure we are guiding our children.  We need to show them the straight path of the Lord and try our best to keep them on the right track.  We need to be training them while they are young so when they are old they will not forget the way they should go.

Gardens need to be cleaned out.  You have to clean out the dead leaves or plants.  You have to pull out the weeds so they don't choke out the good plants.  Again much like our children.  You must recognize the bad fruit in their lives or the weeds that get in the way.  You need to prune them and help them to grow in the way they should go.  You need to make sure there are no weeds choking them up and remove them.

You must be gentle.  When the plants are just starting to grow you need to be careful not to step on them or move them around to harsh or the stems and leaves will break off leaving your plant damaged.  You need to be gentle in your rebuking, correcting, and teaching of your children.  Always do it out of love, never anger.  Make sure you are gentle with them and their spirits as they are fragile and still forming.  This is especially true for me since my children are so young.  I need to make sure I correct them when they do wrong, but in a gentle and kind way.

I know there are probably more, but this ones are the serious reminders to me every time I step foot outside to work in the garden.

Harvest

My veggies are doing so good and it makes me so excited. When we came back from our weekend away we had 5 cucumbers to pick and eat.  We kept 3 and I gave 2 away as there was no way we could eat that many so quickly.  There were 2 more on the vine that would be ready any day.  I picked 1 today and the other should be ready by this weekend! I need to find some cucumber recipes I feel.  Although, both of the boys absolutely love to just eat them as they are.

We also got to pick a couple more pea pods when we got home.  When I looked today there were about 10 more that should be ready any time, I will probably pick them tomorrow.  Elijah loves to eat the peas straight out of the pod, he thinks it is funny to open it up and see all the little "balls."

We were our weeding today and I noticed I have green beans.  I'm going to save them to pick tomorrow.  There are quite a few we should have enough to have some for lunch.  I love fresh veggies and Elijah really seems to love them as well. Yeah for him liking fruits and veggies!

The tomato plants continue to get more and more tomatoes on them, although they are still all green.  I'm so antsy I just want them to get red now so I can make a fun sauce out of them.  Greg reminds me every day, it's just June just be patient they will turn red soon.  Poor man everyday I'm dragging him out to the garden to look at what is coming along with me.  I don't really know that he cares that much, but he knows it makes me happy so he goes along with it. What a wonderful man.

I also picked some of my onions, not because they were ready necessarily.  I wanted some fresh green onions to chop and put in food.  They smell soooo good! I love the smell of them.  I picked 4 that were close to other onions so the others would have more room to grow and then I could use the small ones in the meantime.

My carrots continue to get bigger as do the broccoli.  My broccoli is like miracle broccoli.  I almost pulled them up because those little worms ate them all up.  I just couldn't bring myself to do it.  Well, now I am so glad that I didn't they are growing and one of the plants is huge! It grew up from nothing what a wonderful thing.

I am having so much fun with this! I'm glad you are sharing in my journey on something new.  I did by a 3 in one deal to spray on the plants because I was getting white flies and they were starting to eat my beans, broccoli, cucumber, and peppers.  So it is a fungicide and insect killer all in one.  It appears to be working, I haven't seen any white flies since we got back from vacation.  I also added some plant food to the soil, just since the soil here is like clay.  I figured it would hurt it any, hopefully it won't and it will help things grow a bit better.

Whirlwind Weekend

We just got back from a food friends wedding.  It was absolutely beautiful.  They got married in Chicago which is an 11hr drive from here.  It's a good thing our children are well behaved(to brag on them a bit), they did so good for being in the car so long.  On the way there we decided to drive all night so they could sleep and it wouldn't interrupt their routine too much.  They both did pretty good with that.  Thank goodness I have such a wonderful husband who drove most of the time!

For the rehearsal dinner, my mom and siblings watched the kiddos.  This was absolutely amazing.  It was the first time we have been by ourselves since our littlest one was born and only like Elijah's third or forth time away from us.  Report was that they both did so good. The rehearsal was a lot of fun and it was good to get to see old friends again and some family.

Wedding day! A beautiful hot day at first, then with a quick turn of events it started raining.  They had to move the location of the wedding but you wouldn't have known it.  It was so pretty and looked like they had planned it to go that way all along.  Props to them for handling everything so well.  During the wedding I had some major help which was so nice.  Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Lindsey were there so they helped me a ton with the kiddos which was very much appreciated.  It is just so good to be around family when you have small children!  Elijah was so funny, he sat in his own seat and was so excited to hold his own program.  Then daddy came down the aisle and everything changed.  He started yelling hey dada, hey dada, louder and louder and louder.  Grandpa took him to the back to calm him down.  Everything about the wedding was fun and beautiful I was so glad we were able to go. Congrats to Alex and Nerissa!

Road trip again.  This time we drove all day Sunday, Father's day.  What a way to spend a day. HA! Well it went pretty good Elijah fought sleep so he didn't fall asleep until 1030 at night and we arrived home at 11. So he didn't get too much sleep which lead to him yelling, not in a sad or mad way just talking really, really loud(I'm pretty sure this was his attempt to keep awake).  Greg drove the whole time, I attempted to help but as soon as I started driving both kiddos started screaming.  So we switched and I hopped in the back seat with them to calm them down.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner, as that was daddy's choice.  Elijah loved the food and he had his first candy stick and he also really seemed to enjoy that, but who doesn't love a good candy stick??

We are home now and it is so nice.  Although we did discover we must have been really pooped after the long car ride because when we woke up we noticed a few things were off.  The car was left unlocked all night long, with all the stuff still in it.  Luckily it was all still there this morning.  And Greg left the keys in the front door and no one got in the house! Tired is a bit of an understatement don't you think?  Now it is back to our routines and getting stuff done around the house.  They both finally fell asleep for their afternoon nap so now I need to get ready to go to work and finish up some laundry from the trip. How was your weekend?

Angel Food Cake

7 egg whites
1/2 c flour
 3/4 c sugar
1 1/2tsp baking powder
2tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 Beat the egg whites with the baking powder and vanilla until it is foamy.  Then add half of the sugar to the mixture.  Beat until soft peaks form.  Mix the remaining sugar and flour together.  Slowly add to the egg white mixture folding it in gently.  Pour into a loaf pan or a bundt pan if you have one.  Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache:
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 c chocolate chips

Mix together in a sauce pan until well melted and it begins to get thick.  While still hot pour over top of the cake!

Angel Food cake is good by itself, but I like a bit of spoiling so I always add the chocolate ganache on top and I also then add some fresh strawberries you know just to make it seem a bit heathier.  Elijah loved it! What do you think?

Nursing

I am a huge breastfeeding supporter.  I believe it is what God has called me to do in my children's life.  I am blessed that I am able to breastfeed and do not have any medical reason as to why I cannot or why I am not able.  God has also blessed me with two children who are amazing at nursing.  Before you go thinking I am crazy my oldest is weaned-he actually weaned himself at 10 months.  We are pretty sure it was because I was pregnant with my other child and we have been told sometimes a mother's milk changes in her second trimester and the older child will either not notice a difference and keep on nursing.  Or notice a difference and stop completely.  He apparently did the later!

I think every mother should at least attempt to breastfeed.  There are so many benefits they are almost too many to count in my book.  It helps you loose that weight a lot faster than not.  My baby is 8 wks old and I am almost back to my pre pregnancy weight.  Do I still have some flab- sure but that will go away in time. 

I love knowing that I am giving my children what is best for them.  I love being able to supply their every need while they need it.  Soon enough they will not need me for everything and to tell you the truth that makes me a bit sad.  I look forward to seeing them grow, but at the same time I pray they will slow down.  They just grow waaayyy too fast.  I miss my snugly newborn already.  But I love that she is all smiles and has started vocalizing.  I miss my baby boy and all his chubbies.  Now he is still a big boy but not nearly how he was.  He is now trying to walk and is quite independent.  I am blessed however that he still loves his mommy snuggles.  Every morning he has his milk, we get him dressed, and then we go snuggle on the couch and read our Bible for the day. I cherish this time like none other.  I know that time is fleeting and before I know if he will be a grown man leaving for college or getting married. So for now I love my little man and cherish EVERY moment I have with him.

It is free! That is a huge reason I resolved to do it with Elijah.  We simply did not have the money for formula.  I honestly didn't think I would like it or that I would be able to.  Well guess what I could, I loved it and still do, and I don't have to spend any money for food for the first 6 months.  Elijah wouldn't eat anything else until he was 6 month old.  He only wanted me to feed him.  He even fought the bottle and Greg had to bring him up to work a couple of times so I could nurse him!

It's more than just food.  Both of my children loved to be nursed to sleep.  If they were sleepy they would nurse for a couple of minutes and out they would be.  All snuggled up with mommy and in my arms.  I love a sleeping baby, especially one I can hold and snuggle.  They always slept better when they were nursed to sleep and I loved the feeling of them falling asleep in my arms.

It's convenient.  I always giggle to myself when people say a bottle is more convenient than breastfeeding. I ask how??? It is always ready, always just the right temperature, and there is no mixing or messy formula needed.  It is just ready to go.  You also don't have to wash all the bottles unless you are pumping!  In the middle of the night I don't have to stumble around to find the bottle and make sure I mixed everything just right.  I can just nurse and be done!  Often times we fall asleep together and I love that snuggle time. 

I love my middle of the night feedings.  Yes you heard me right.  I LOVE them.  It is just me and the baby.  We snuggle and doze off together at times.  Sometimes I pray over them, or hum songs to them.  But it is alone time for us.  There is nothing more precious.  I also know the time will come when they no longer want to nurse all night and I will be able to sleep so for this short amount of time, it is fine with me. I will cherish and love the moments I am given with my children.

So there you have it.  I love to nurse.  I am proud to nurse.  I also LOVE to be awake and loose sleep because I am nursing them. It means the world to me that I am able to do this amazing thing.

The start of a harvest

I harvested my first two pea pods yesterday and can I just say I am so excited!  I honestly can't put into words how happy I am that I didn't kill them and that I am starting to get some food.  They grow overnight.  Yesterday I had the beginning of some pods and then today I had two big fat pods.  I am going to have to remember to examine my pea plants real close to make sure I don't miss any.

 My green bean plants are growing like crazy they keep getting taller and taller. Amazing, hopefully soon I will see something come on them as they are supposed to be ready shortly after the peas.

My peppers have finally started coming in. At least one type of my peppers.  The ones that are good for frying, so stir fry and fajitas will be made shortly!

 I have a second tomato plant that has 3 small tomatoes on it.  One of my pear tomato plants is also starting to flower and has some itty bitty ones on the branches.  So that makes like 10 tomatoes in the process.  YEAH! I need to get busy researching some recipes so I can make something up that is super yummy.

My carrots are getting taller so I can only assume that means good things.

 

My onions are starting to get a little droopy and some of them are even starting to flower at the top!  I still have a little while before I can use one of these but they seem to be growing faster than the package says they should so who knows.

My herbs are also starting to make a small appearance.  I can't wait to use these in my cooking because they taste like 100x better than just the stuff in the container.

Well that is how my garden is growing this week and I am just so very excited to see all the progress and to know that my hard work really is paying off.  Thank you again to my dad and Sheryl for teaching me how to garden. It helps a lot when you have good mentors teaching you what to do!

Resolutions

 I have resolved in the past week that I will not spend any time on the computer, and to only do light house work while they are awake.  You may think this seems crazy, but I want them to know that I love them and that they are more important to me than any technology or than having a clean house.  He still takes two naps a day and that should leave me plenty of time to get done what I need.  My bathroom may not be scrubbed so that it is sparkling but you will find happy well loved children.  I am some what of a neat freak so this is something I am slowly learning to let go off.  As far as the house does not have to be perfectly clean at all times, it can be tidy and that will suit us jus fine.  Afterall you can't keep it too clean with kids running around.  We only have one opportunity to raise our children up in the Lord before they are grown and gone, so I am going to make the most of every moment I have with them.

I will do my best to be patient, show self control, be compassionate to others. I need to make sure I am growing the fruits of the Spirit daily in my own life, so that they may see this fruit in my life and want to imitate it. This is rough at times, but each experience is a chance to grow in our walk with the Lord and I will take it as such.

I have also resolved not to yell- I feel that yelling just is a downer in the house. I will still correct my children but it will be with a soft and stern whisper. I have know people who come from this type of environment and they still knew their parents meant business even without the yelling.  This has honestly been the hardest thing I have resolved to do thus far.  Yelling is what I knew, and I can have a quick temper at times.  I will say since I have come to Kansas(that has been almost 4 years now) I have not had one anger outburst.  I would say the calm atmosphere out here helps and the laid back attitude of everyone is also a blessing in disguise. Please pray that I will continue in this way.  This is something I am constantly fearful of coming out now that I have children and one in particular who is starting to learn how to get into trouble without much work!

I have resolved to spend more time in the Word than ever before.  I have finally(I say finally because it seems it has really been hit home in the past week how much more I really need this and how much more I need to pay attention and memorize it) realized how essential the Bible is to teaching and training up your children.  If I do not know exactly what the scriptures say about an issue, how can I train my children?  I must know this book inside and out so that it may affect my life and the lives of those around me.  I pray they will see a difference in me and my family and wonder what it is that makes us so different and unique. That way we can be a light unto the world just as we are called to be.

I have resolved to be constantly learning...learning everything in life.  About nature and the little things I don't know so that I can help my children in any way I am able.  I want to be able to ask them questions and for them to ask me questions and for me to know that answers.  Now I know I will not know the answer to every question, but I resolve to search out the correct answer so that I may be able to train them well.

I will resolve to be content in where I am in life.  I will not try to rush things, I will take my time and love where we are and learn from each stage I am in.  If I learn now hopefully I will not have to go through it again as I have learned my lesson the first time!

I have resolved to be a better steward with the money we are given.  At times honestly it is hard to make ends meet.  But the Lord has always provided.  I need to make sure the money that we have is being spent in an efficient way.  In a way that I can provide for the family but also in a way that I am making it go as far as possible.  I will try to save when possible and I resolve to get out of debt one way or another.  This is something we struggle with all the time, we hate being in debt and because of many of life's circumstances we are in debt.  We are trying to get out and it is an up hill battle it seems but there is a light at the end of this long tunnel.  I have to believe that to give me something to look forward to!  I know God commands us to live debt free and we repent for the money we spent even though it seemed good at the time, we should always be better stewards with our money.

I will resolve to leave the number of children that I have with God.  He knows what is best for my life and I will trust and lean on this fact.  I do not want to miss out on any blessings and I believe children are some of the best blessings you can receive in this life. (yes they can be a challenge at times, but they will teach you things as you go through them)

I'm sure I will have more to add to this list, but in the past weeks these things have really been hitting home with me and I want to make sure I am the best mommy for my children.  God has blessed me with them, He knew I could handle it and He knew that I would train them in the way they should go. Since He knows I can do it, I must rise up to the challenge and train my children up in His way and His way alone so they may grow up to know Him as well.

A Gift!

Children are a GIFT! I know this may go against the cultural norm, but that doesn't bother me one bit.  People may look at me strange when I tell them what we believe and that is fine with me.  I know that every child is a gift and I will take as many as the Lord deems we should have.  People ask if that means I am going to be like that huge family on tv...my reply: If God sees it fit to bless us with that many children.  The Bible tells us they are a gift.  It tells us they are the arrows in our quivers. I love the two children that I have and if God says that is it then so be it.  I will admit I would be a bit sad but maybe we would look into adoption at that point as the Bible also commands us to care for the orphans and the fatherless.

My current children are 16months and 8wks old.  I know they are close and no we did not plan it that way.  We said Lord give us another in your great and perfect timing and he did.  When Elijah was 6 months old we found out we were pregnant again.  Hence her name Athaiah-it means in the Lord's timing because that is exactly when she came!  I can tell you I got a lot of slack for getting pregnant so quickly and for "not knowing what causes that."  I can assure you I am no dummy I am well aware of what causes that.  I also know that the Lord knows all the plans for my life and I am going to trust HIM and HIM alone with what those plans may be.  When we try to plan our lives they fall apart, they bear no fruit, and it stresses us out(at least that has been my experience). So when people ask when I will have the next one or tease me if I'm pregnant again, I just smile and say who knows! Because I don't know, Greg doesn't know, the Dr. doesn't know, only the Creator of the Universe knows and I will trust Him.  We are learning to lean on Him in every aspect of our lives and it can definitely be a struggle at times but we are learning.

I am by no means an expert at parenting and I do not pretend to be.  I am young and am constantly learning.  Each child is unique and different.  On here I will post my experience as we go through the good, the bad, and the ugly.  I believe it is good for people to see us just as we are, not as fakes or as people who don't struggle because we all struggle and go through rough spots.  We all wrestle with ideas and problems.  I just look forward to enjoying the ride God has blessed us with-even the bad and the ugly!