3 things i really like about summer....

1. the miracle of a garden

i "by chance" started a garden from free plants friends gave me this year and some basil seeds i purchased. my sister has a garden the size of our lot our home rests on so i have got my organics from her for quite some time. though the other day i went out to see how my very disregarded "garden" was doing and lo and behold....harvest indeed! i threw some of the bounty in my spaghetti sauce and have also made some yummy bruschetta (recipe below) and check out the size of this cucumber!

2. popcicles on the porch

3. camping in the backyard

bruschetta

tomatoes (i used both red and yellow) chopped

4 tbsp (or whatever you need) extra virgin olive oil (evoo)

dash of Italian seasoning

fresh chopped basil

shredded motz cheese

bread

optional - chopped up cooked chicken

mix the tomatoes, basil, seasoning, chicken (if desired) and some evoo. bast bread on one side with evoo and broil on high till light brown and crispy. flip bread over and add mixture heaping on top. sprinkle with motz cheese. broil again fro approx. 3 min or until cheese browns slightly. enjoy!

He's still working on me...

when does the random chance happen that i have time to blog? when both kids are napping, of course. how did i get my 3 year old to nap at 11am? poor thing is sick this morning... so i made him a little bed on the bathroom floor... remember those...somehow when i am sick, even as an adult, it is my favorite place to be ... right near the warm tub and the potty. :)

so yes, my toddler now is now a little boy... even with an official 3 year old hair do....

for elijah's birthday we had a God is my builder theme party. God has been teaching him so much i thought it would be perfect since he is fascinated by every scoop, muck and dizzy he sees. translation: scoop = backhoe, muck = dump truck, dizzy = cement mixer.

Theme verse:

I am certain that God who began a good work within you will continue His work until it is finished.

Phil. 1:6.

And

For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God. Hebrews 3:4

Décor:

Food: make the food into materials buy adding title cards to identify (if you want mine I can email you). Watermelon – bricks, carrots and celery – nails, chips – wood chips, pretzel sticks – logs, pasta salad – screws, bugles – construction cones, etc. and display them in dump trucks, clean buckets etc.

Cake: I also made a cake that looked like builder hat (using chocolate ganache, marshmallow fondant, and moist fudge cake. YUMMY – if you want recipe just message me, was easier than it looks).

Signs: I got some construction CAUTION TAPE and decorated everything, I also made “warning” signs with the verses on them, etc., the party favors were building projects(cars,boats, trucks, planes) for them to do at home. ACMOORE - $1.50 each

Games:

CAN YOU BUILD IT? – Divide the kids into teams of 2 or 3. Object: with the random materials provided (caution tape, blocks, toys, etc.) as a team build a structure that will survive. The first team that builds the structure then takes it to the destination and returns with it, and it still stands, wins.“ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.” 1 Cor. 3:14

TOOL TOSS – Divide the kids into 2 teams. Have an even amount of toy tools or blocks in 2 buckets. Have a bin or toy dump truck on other side of the room or a few feet away if outside. Objective: to try to get the most tools/blocks/etc into the bin/dumptruck in 2 minutes. Each team member get a chance to throw the toy into the bin then it is the next team members turn.

DRESS THE BUILDER - Divide the kids into two teams and have them select one team member to dress. Give each team a T-shirt, a flannel shirt, jeans, socks, work gloves, goggles, tool belt, tools, etc. The first team to dress the person wins the game. Another variation of this game is to have each team take a roll of caution tape and wrap it around one kid until he's completely covered. First team to finish wins.

feasting and fasting

40 days before Easter (for Lent) i decided to fast T.V. It really wasn't Lent that motivated me to fast, it was what God was revealing to me about seeing life through His perspective (read previous blogs to catch up). Garbage in - garbage out...you know.

You would think it would be easy for someone that didn't have any T.V. for six years, but it was hard to begin with. Anyway, i fasted till after Easter then i felt like i should fast with a friend.... so i fasted it 30 more days. i had a one day break, watched a few shows and felt miserable - like i waisted my time on meanlessness. Then i had a group of friends that we altogether said we wanted to work on our relationships with Jesus and decided to feast on the things that brought us closer to God and fast on the things that took us away from seeing from His perspective... so i began again... anyway all that to say i have been fasting T.V. 119 days minus 1 and now i don't even have a desire for it...really! :)

This means i missed the last 5 or so episodes of LOST and i really don't care what happened. Shocking i am sure!

The feasting part is the really exciting part. Sometime in May God prompted my heart to go through the whole entire Bible and find stories to teach my children. So i am in Isaiah now... which may seem kinda of slow...but when you have 2 little ones, very little alone time, and your categorizing the whole bible including Proverbs.. well it takes a bit of time. i am loving it! i am reading through the New Living Translation which speaks the way i speak. If i have a few moments... that is where i want to be.. reading and sorting the Bible and discovering God. He is so very amazing... words can't not describe Him.

If you feel far from him, or you just know you need something to kick you back into what life is really all about.. try cutting out the things in your life that are distracting you from Him and filling that time with talking to Him and reading about Him. That is how we get to know anyone well - by spending time with them, and truly listen to them.

Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions. Psalm 119:18

Every word of God proves true. Proverbs 30:5a

now this picture doesn't have anything to do with the blog, but what is a blog without a picture?! this is one of my favorite summer photos: Great Grammy Grooms, new Riggins baby - Naomi Joy, and Jeriah relaxing at Jason's ball game in PA.