Our special little boy who has Down Syndrome never ceases to amaze me! He is always wanting to do everything he can to help and to participate in family life!
I just love watching this energetic, full of life boy of 4 years old, imitate his dad! He is so inquisitive and gets right into yard work any everyday projects.
There is no job to tough or to hard for this guy!
I am doing my very first giveaway and I am so excited! I think it is a great time of year to eat healthier foods because they are so much more available. In a few weeks many people will have veggies growing right in their own back yard or frequenting there towns farmer's markets!
Fresh salads are easy to toss together and can be filled with wonderful ingredients grown locally or picked straight off the plant or vine!
There are so many different ways to make salads and this great book by William Sonoma has some great ideas! Not only does it have the salad recipes but it also has recipes for dressings, too!
Sharing recipes can be a great gift idea for a family member or friend. I like to write my favorites ones on some pretty stationery and give together with a few of the yummy ingredients in a pretty bowl or basket.
Salads are a great way to bring friends together on a sunny summer afternoon! A few simple festive flags as to decorate the middle of the table in the dining room, on the front porch or the back patio. I want to spend some time catching up and sharing my blessed life with some of the women I don't get to see during the busy home school year.
Two of my favorite colors during the summer are navy blue and kelly green. They make me think of sailing and a life at the beach! I love watching sailboats when we go to Mystic Rhode Island for a few days each summer.
I hope this summer brings with it many opportunities to gather my thoughts and some friends to share my home and some fresh delicious food! I want to give away these items to help another to do the same:
All of these a ideas are just suggestions of course, this giveaway is a gift just for you to make and create your own special summer memories!
I will run this giveaway until Wednesday of next week, and the names will be folded and put in the salad bowl and randomly picked by my daughter.
I will announce the winner Thursday, June 11, 2015. I will mail it off to the winner that afternoon.
To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite Salad and your favorite summer colors and why these colors are your favorite.
Winter this year has been so very harsh. Every few days we have gotten snow and the temperatures have been below zero at times. This makes me long for green grass and blossoming trees but since there is none of that right now, I like to bring some blooms into our home!
I like to get bulbs because they are a fun and easy way to accomplish a small indoor garden that will bring some outdoor nature into our home.
We like to use small pebbles and gravel to plant them in. The younger kids like to help with the planting.
Kids get such a sense of accomplishment when they participate in these kind of activities. they love to watch them grow each day and see the fruit of their labor.
These bulbs are actually paper white bulbs. They will grow about 12 inches high and produce little white blossoms with a touch of orange around the center. I hope they grow nicely in our home and bless us with their beautiful blooms!
Come to the Linky Party at Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
I don't do that well with indoor or outdoor plants. In thw winter we usually grow an amaryllis and it is so nice to watch it grow day by day. I wanted to have the same experience in the other seasons as well, so I decided to try growing these succulents.
These plants are supposed to be easier to deal with, not much maintenace required, they store water in their fleshy leaves.
I got three different ones because I wanted to make a small indoor garden with them. They are usually potted in a round shallow pot or dish with rocks or gravel placed on top.
My little succulent garden is doing great, the plants are already showing some healthy growth. My husband brought home some rocks for me to put on top of the dirt and it really gave it a finished look. I am enjoying my easy indoor tabletop garden. Join the Linky Party @ Shabby Nest, Frugal Friday
I love the fragrance of the Lilies of the Valley flowers. The beautiful little bells are so petite and humble no wonder they are also known as 'Mary's Tears'.
Another white wonder is the Bleeding Heart, these have always been a part of our yard. They dangle on their stalk as a symbol of God's love for us. What a wonderful Creator we have, who reveals himself to us in such awesome ways!
Children and flowers go hand in hand. I like to recall the quote from MotherTeresa, "How can there be too many children? That is like saying there are too many flowers."
White coral bells
Upon a slender stalk
Lilies of the valley
Down my garden walk
Oh, don’t you wish
That you could
hear them ring.
That will happen only
when the fairies sing.
This was one of my favorite childhood songs and every time I see the lovely blossoms or smell the scent of the lilies it brings back fond memories.
Take some time out to smell the flowers!!
I am just overwhelmed by the beauty of these gorgeous Amaryllis flowers. We have a total of eight blossoms between the two flower stems.
It is such a treat to have these blooming this time of year. Hannah expressesd her delight in the soft red color.
I am so glad my children notice the wonders God gives us in nature. These are the types of things that make my heart swell up and feel so truly blessed. We have also been watching the winter birds at our feeders. I haven't gotten any good pictures yet because I've been whimping out when it comes to the cold weather. Maybe this week I will get brave enough but for now I will stay inside and soak up the sight of these grand beauties.
The last three years we have planted an indoor garden during Advent. It is simply made up of paperwhite bulbs. They are extremely easy to care for and grow quite rapidly. It is a great activity for this liturgical season, it allows us to watch and to wait.
The girls filled the bowls with fish tank gravel. They always enjoy doing some kind of hands on activity.
Even the littlest of hands can get in on this. Just take the bulb and pushit gently down into the rocks.
Older sister also helps in the process, watering the thirst plants. Hopefully, this will be a lesson of TLC. It will take patience and care for the bulbs to finish growing.
Watching, waiting, wondering and being alert to the changes and the needs of these bulbs will help us to remember what advent is all about.
Grandma also blessed us with an Amaryllis bulb this year. I haven't grown one of these in a while and I don't think the kids have ever seen the beautiful flower it produces. I am so excited to have our indoor Advent garden.
A couple of weeks ago at Mass, I actually said a prayer that went like this, " God please help me be a better cook for my family." I always feel adequate in the decor and the house cleaning department but sometimes I do not enjoy the cooking part of my vocation.
I like to be creative in the kitchen and use cookbooks but this does not go over well with DH or the family. They would rather stick to the old standards, spaghetti, tacos, hamburgers and hot dogs. They like the plain and simple stuff.
I decided to try and make a quiche from a thrifted cookbook. Max and I had a blast preparing the ingredients. Of course, boys love to chop and cut so that was his job.
Fresh dill from the store, lemon balm and parsley form our garden were added to the pie crust for what I would call an herbal medley that would delight anyones palette. So I thought.
I was so excited the way it was finished; I forgot to take a picture when it first came out of the oven.
Fried chicken and from the garden: broccoli, squash, and zucchini in the quiche. I truly enjoyed making this dish...but guess what my mother and I were the only ones who thought it was a hit.
The kiddos wrinkled their cute lil' noses and started to complain immediately," Can't we just have raw carrots instead." I don't like eggs, I can't eat cheese, etc." I almost began to get frustrated and then realized if they didn't eat it there would be some for me for lunch for the rest of the week. I also still had hope that hubby was going to like it, after all. I had impressed him with my quiche when we first met.
As DH sat down to eat my fantasy was shattered, He started to pick at the veggies and I knew I would get no satisfaction from his evaluation of my "creative" dinner dish. " It is good, too many veggies.", he said.
I was about to pout and give him a lecture but I had been doing that a lot the past week and I was kinda all tuckered out. I did manage to tell him how much work went into making it though. The next day he called me from work and told me he was having, guess what? You got it, quiche for lunch. What a guy!
I can be so spoiled and and wanting things to go my way. I prayed to be a better cook for my family, thinking the meals I cook have to be all fancy and time consuming. God showed me something else; they are content with the easy, boring, everyday meals I know how to make. That is pure love isn't it. Alleluia!
If I want to make something fancy, I will make it for myself or experiment on a group of girlfriends who have probably experienced the same kind of creative dinner trauma as I have and will understand herbal infused pie crust. LOL
I find that if I stay in the house long enough I start to get a get a bit depressed. There are so many tasks that need my attention though that sometimes I find it difficult to take the time to go outdoors.
( Our beautiful Hydrangea)
I have read many articles that have emphasized a need to be outside for at least one hour a day and I know why it is needed. God has given us so much beauty in His creation that when we gaze upon it it brings peace to our souls.
(a garden zinnia)
Nature is a nuture for our spirits and connects us who are here on this earth with God. He wants us to experience him here on this Earth!
(another zinnia)
Seeing the intricate details and brilliant colors of each flower never fails to bring a smile to my face and starts my on the path of imaginative thinking.
The textures and shapes of the garden veggies and the way they grow into these magnificiant sculptures are fine art masterpieces.
Black- Eyed Susan's imitaite the sun's rays and have a glow all of their own.
( Angel's Trumpet)
This trumpet point's staight to Heaven blasting a silent song for all to hear.
This spiral shape of the opening trumpet allowed me to see God's glory, it is so awesome and I would have missed it if I hadn't gotten outside amongst His lovely creation. It took my breath away.
I was able to gather the fruits of our garden and bring a bit of this wonderful nature indoors. It was so worth it to spend a few moments away from chores and electronics. I had so much of His peace when I was through, it made for a much better evening.
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He knows exactly what we need and He brings peace to His people on Earth.
Yesterday, we celebrated the Fourth by enjoying the fruits of our land. We are blessed to have a wonderful garden. DH does all of the vegetable planting and I do most of the weeding. I have planted some flowers and herbs, too.
I haven't been much help in the past with the garden because most of the time I have been growing a baby during the summer.
DH always says, " The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few."(lol)
This year we have an abundant harvest of shell peas.
I had a great time opening up each pod and finding such awesome green peas.
The Red Leaf Lettuce was just waiting to be made into a delicious salad.
The tomatoes have a bit longer before they are fully ripened.
It was such a nice day, being able to pick some of the bounty and poke around in the garden. We were even visited by this beautiful sparkly green dragonfly.
It was a day of remembering how much we have been blessed to live in such a prosperous and fruitful country. God has shed his grace on thee.
Our table was set with fresh produce and we even had a loaf of fresh baked bread and some herbal butter my dear friend made for us.
DH barbecued ribs and we worked on a white bean dish together. It was seasoned with our garden chives and had chunks of our friend's fresh lamb meat in it.
I can't tell you enough how thrilled I was to be able to celebrate this great country's birthday by giving thanks to God for allowing us to produce such gifts from its land!
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