Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sing a Happy Song!

With all the rain we've had lately in our neck of the woods, several mushroom gardens have sprung up all over our yard.  Tuesday, I was cooking supper and heard a loud scream and ran out the door to find Summer Rose sobbing in the front yard, with Seth standing there with that "innocent" look on his face, holding a mushroom.  


 ...or should I say, holding a Smurf house.  Whenever Summer and I walk in the yard, every time we find a mushroom, I'll say, "Shhhhhhh!  Listen carefully," and we'll lean down and I'll quietly sing, "La la la la la la, sing a happy song.  La la la la la la, sing the whole day long."  She just loves that, and I guess has taken it a little more seriously than I thought.  She was truly heartbroken that Seth had carelessly destroyed a Smurf village!
I just love little girls!  And though I am working on making her less of a "cry baby", I love it that she can still get so upset over something so cute.

I Bow My Knees

Having a child who's nearly 15 years old has brought me to a new stage in my parenting life.  I find that I cannot micro-manage every area of my children's lives, at least their thought life, at this point.  I've always been very protective of them and their outside influences, and I still am.  Unlike conventional wisdom, I am NOT going to loosen the reigns at my teenager's critical stage of life; however, I am realizing more and more how small I am, and how dependent I must be on the work of the Holy Spirit of God to do anything good and lasting in their lives.

This post has nothing to do with me being more lenient on what kind of friends they have, or what kind of movies they watch, or what kind of books they read.  I am determined now more than ever to keep their minds pure and clean.  I will be more careful than I've ever been about those things!  I've never understood the strategy of shielding children during their young years, and then exposing them to sensual media during their hormonal teenage years in the name of "giving them space".  But because my children don't have access to computers and television and friends outside of my watchful eye, they've never even asked to watch or go anywhere inappropriate.  Thank the Lord, that's never been an issue here!

What I mean, is that I'm quickly realizing that teaching my children the ways of God and keeping them innocent....will not save them.  I am helpless to do this, and I humbly throw myself at the mercy of God on behalf of their little souls.  As I've prayed over them earnestly, God has laid a Scripture on my heart that has been such a blessing to me, and I wanted to share it:

"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:14-19

This was Paul's prayer for his beloved congregation at Ephesus, and it is my prayer for my children.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Dorothy and the Militia

Let the games commence!



- Posted using my iPhone

Saturday, July 14, 2012

The Fruits of Yesterday's Labors

...or should I say the vegetables; although, tomatoes are technically a fruit....
:-)

With what I kept in the refrigerator, I made the equivalent of 18 pints of salsa!  That should last a couple months around here.



- Posted using my iPhone

Friday, July 13, 2012

Total Security or Freedom?





- Posted using my iPhone

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Canned Salsa

I'll share my recipe for delicious, fresh, homemade canned salsa.  It has jalapeno peppers, but when they are seeded, it's pretty mild.  This is a lot of work (chopping, that is), but definitely worth it!  AND PLEASE, wear GLOVES!  I learned that lesson the hard way. Enjoy!

Canned Salsa
Yield:  9 pints

15 c. tomatoes, chopped, seeded, cored, pealed* (about 20 large)
4 1/2 c. sweet peppers, chopped and seeded  (about 4 lg bell peppers or several lg banana peppers)
5 c. onion, chopped (about 5-6 large)
1 c. hot peppers, chopped and seeded (about 10-12 jalapenos)
18 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not minced)
1 c. lime juice
4 1/2 Tbsp. sea salt
2 c. cut fresh corn (or 16 oz. can white shoepeg corn)
2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cumin
1 1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped, stems discarded (measure lightly pressed down in measuring cup before chopping with kitchen shears)


Bring to boil; Simmer 40 minutes.  Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headpace.  Process 15 minutes in water bath canner.

*Peeling large amounts of tomatoes can be a chore!  To make it quick, just bring a pot of water to a boil.  Drop the tomatoes in for 30 seconds, then straight into ice water for 30 seconds, and the skins just peel right off by hand.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Greater Expectations - No Greater Joy Ministries

I always glean a lot from every issue of No Greater Joy, and I thought this was an especially good article.  I was certainly challenged and encouraged by the article myself, but I think it also brought to light many points that well-meaning, loving parents of public school children perhaps haven't thought through to the end.  Here's a paragraph from it:

Today’s child is prodded out of his warm bed and told to dress for school. He is fed a bowl of sugared cereal and loaded into a vehicle. At school he is just one of the herd; he sits in a row, stands in a line, plays on asphalt with all the other sad, bored kids. When he gets home in the afternoon he sits in front of a screen in a dumbed-down state, watching some other kid sing, dance, have an adventure, or do something interesting or heroic. But he feels himself to be the guy outside looking in through the window. The wonder in his soul lies dormant; he FEELS that life happens to the cool kids. Adventure is not his. He never considers that he might hold a tiny frog in his hand; he can’t conceive that he might watch a snake slowly swallow a mouse. All he knows are the animals at the zoo boringly observing him observing them. It is a freeze-frame experience. Most children live regulated, packaged lives, never feeling the awe of the moment. Their young life is spent “killing time” and trying to stay out of trouble.

(read the entire article through the link below)
Greater Expectations - No Greater Joy Ministries

Birthdays and Water Balloon Fights

Here are a few pics of our summer fun.  Our little Rosebud turned 4 years old!  Such a big girl, and getting sweeter every day (really!  finally, thank the Lord!).  Also, a water balloon fight at my sister's on the Fourth of July.












Everyone waiting in line while my mother and sister fill up more balloons
Of course, Jason was always FIRST in line





Here he is reaching through, into the bathroom window waiting on balloons
And here he is, right after my mother returned a  few prank favors from over the past  18 years LOL (she threw a cup of water at him)
 
We all had a great time!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Obama Is Making Kids Gay

My poor blahg! I will resurrect it soon. It's just such a busy time right now! In the meantime, refresh yourself with a little straight talk from a 14-year-old kid.