Afternoon Fun

Just a glimpse into the life of three curious fellas. This was about the 5th time they had transported the water from the water table to the tramp, so I was just glad to remember the camera. ;-)

Fuji Date Night

Last night Chad and I had this spontanious idea to take the boys out for a date night. We told them we were going somewhere new and exciting. Of course they asked all kinds of questions, but we held out until we got there. We all dressed up, boys matching...too cute. We ventured to the local Japanese steakhouse, Fuji. We had so much fun. We all loved the ginger salad, Owen and Tate loved the soup with Chad and me, and everyone enjoyed our shrimp and veggies meal. Owen kept saying, "I want to eat everything he cooks!", Tate kept swealing, "Yeeh!" throwing his arms in the air when the flames got high, and Griffin just quietly checked things out next to momma.

I must say though, Chad and I were completely shocked at the amount of people that were there, and treating it as a "Let's go grab a bite out, casual type place." I remember going to a similar place growing up, but it was rare and a big deal. You know, the whole dress up, special date kind of place. Needless to say, for our family it will be a rare visit and I hope we can continue to teach our boys the simple art of appreciation through moments like this.

Thank you Lord for the little things in life, those surprises to our days, and the moments to experience new things with our children. I am so grateful for Chad and his desire to treat us.

CSA

This year our family is participating in a CSA , community supported agriculture. We are a part of the Delvin Farms co-op, which provides a bushel of organically grown food each week. It is so fun to guess what might be in our bushel, although mom has a heads up because the owner sends an email of what to expect with some recipes. The last few weeks I haven't gotten around to take a picture before I jumped into the goodies. So far, we have eaten kale, swiss chard, onions, garlic, lettuce, strawberries, and this week collard greens. This new experience has really challenged my cooking skills, which are lacking, so I have had fun learning and trying new recipes. If you have any good ones to share, please do... There is a recipe we tried this week and really enjoyed!

Matthew's Spicy Tomato Peanut & Kale Pasta

(I doubled this recipe for us)

dry pasta, enough for two

1 10 oz can of tomato juice, unsweetened (I used crushed tomatoes)

2 C kale, finely chopped

2 tbsp peanut butter (or other nut butter)

1 tsp Asian Chili -garlic sauce

Boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, in a medium pot on medium heat. cook tomato juice and kale for ~ 6-8 minutes or until tender. Stir in peanut butter and chili sauce until smooth and simmer an additional 2 minutes. Drain and return noodles to the pot. Add the sauce to the noodles and toss together well. Yummy!

At first, the boys turned their nose up, but after I asked them to have a try bite, they literally devowered it! It's light, fresh and oh so good!

Getting Organized

Little Tots and Trains

TV and Air Hockey

Music and Legos

Art Spot

There is a part of me that loves to organize, schedule, create new beginnings, and see structure. It just fills my heart with joy to have a place for everything (I haven't labeled the drawers yet, but watch out!). Over the last few days I have had ideas floating through my mind as to how I wanted to rearrange the playroom. The boys needed a little change up, and I was trying to create a space where our art supplies were more readily available. So here's the newly rearranged playroom with mini "play spaces" to help break up the room. I am excited to think that one of those sections is where we will call homeschool. Grantly, that's not the only place we will do school, but it was fun to get all my supplies in one spot.

Fruits of our Labor

Last Wed. the boys and I went to a Strawberry farm with some friends. The car was loaded down with 5 boys and 3 moms. Talk about excitement!!! There was never a dull moment in the car. Once we got to the farm, the owner descibed the patch as a 2 year old Easter Egg Hunt, meaning...easy pickin'. So us moms split up and went at it. I picked mostly canning strawberries (i.e the smaller ones that are "sugar cubes" and the best for preserves) The other moms picked the eating ones, and we were literally had full flats in 30 minutes. Which was a good thing, being that the boys were done in half that time. Besides the fact that one of my children got reprimanded for stepping on some rows, we had a great time. We had packed a lunch, so we just enjoyed the whole morning out. I brought home 2 flats, and made one of those into strawberry preserves. I am just thrilled, since last year my batch was a little over cooked. (Ask me how later) Just look at our 7 pints of preserves. I think we are set for a while!!

Weekend To Remember

Last weekend Chad and I had the priviledge of spending every waking moment with each other without any interruptions. It was wonderful! Not that interruptions are bad, but the simple fact that we could have each other's attention....oh did I feel loved!

Just the simple act, yet complicated, of getting away together for 2 nights to remind ourselves and our Heavenly Maker that we were created to complete one another. Not just in that intimate way, but in so many different realms. It was fun to reminense of how we met, what drew us to one another, and those little quirks we have resigned to changing about the other. It's those quirks that will one day make us love our loved ones even more.

My heart is full and thankful now as I write, just thinking about the Marriage Conference and how we plan to return often. To all of you out there that truly love your spouse, start praying now for the opportunity to attend a "Weekend To Remember" Marriage Conference. Just the fact alone that you are away from all laundry, spats, picking up, and even those sweet good-night prayers. But to commit time away with Chad was worth it.

Yes, my heart broke thinking about the couples there on the brink of divorce, BUT they came, and I trust their marriage is on the mends. Then on the other extreme, there were engaged couples...WOW! To have started marriage with that wisdom would have definately changed our home! Whatever part of the journey you are on, there is something to be learned...just be teachable.

School's a stirrin'

On Saturday morning after a business meeting, I found myself wondering into a church in Franklin, TN. No, I wasn't lost, but I'm sure a look of "pure awe" was on my face. It reminds me of my dear friend Chrystal who is ALL about bargain shopping. I was at a used homeschool curriculm fair. It was fabulous. I truly was overwhlemed with all the supplies these families brought to sell. One family in particular was using their money made to bring a little girl home from China. For the most part, people just wanted to sell in order to buy for the upcoming year. It was in the gym of this church, and there was stuff packing out the room!! I really was just trying to take it all in, and not feel the need to buy any and everything K-1. Thankfully, some seasoned homeschoolers had sent me lists of "must-haves", so I was looking for those things. I really didn't have great intentioins of buying bunches, being that I'm going to another used fair in 2 weeks. But...I did come home with a few good finds for only $20! (do I sound like you, Chrystal:-))

• Five In a Row vol.1
• First Book of Nature
• The Yucky Alphabet Book - an amphibian alphabet book
• Nature Art Projects
• The CLown of God Book (used in FIAR)
• Draw.Write.NOw Book 2

You can kind of see a theme: nature, art, projects and reading. That pretty much will sum up Owen's first year. To all you other homeschool moms that haven't sent me your "must haves" please do.