The creek, crawfish...and corn...summertime fun!

I've always loved playing in a creek in the summertime! I remember coming to this very creek when I was a little girl...and we had a small one in the woods by our house that we would play in all the time.

My little ones like "The Sugar Creek Gang" stories. We have 5 on dvd's....and a lot of their books....so this was a great way to cool off, and pretend they were in the stories themselves.

As this was a homeschool field trip, we were blessed to go with a couple other families and enjoy God's creation, fellowship and fun at Mingo Creek! Today, the kids learned about inverebrates...specifically crawfish. They had a blast! It was my little nephew, Ty's, first field trip...after he got over not wanting to be dirty or wet...he ended up having a lot of fun! He especially loves to do whatever Ronnie does!

Anna loved it! She had so much fun looking for crawfish and playing in the creek! She is definitely my little nature girl!

After all of the children had a crawfish, the instructor sat them all down and taught them about different fish and fresh water creatures. Some people even found fresh water clams. I must say...Ronnie and Anna were very interested, but Ty was, too! He listened so well and wanted to be where all the big kids were.

There is a hollow sycamore tree that was the perfect photo op! We all had such a fun day!
I had to take this picture of Ty when we came home from the creek! He loves his corn-on-the cob as much as his Aunt Suzie does! We have a picture of Ronnie at this age eating his corn and they look so much a like!

~What a fun day at the creek! We have had a fun, BUSY summer...lots of get-togethers with friends...old and new. Lots of family gatherings, lots of TOMATOES this year....and more preserving the harvest than we've done in years past. Looking foward to a vacation at the lake soon....but also looking forward to starting school again...getting Ron and the whole family into a new routine with (FINALLY) my husband working daylight and weekends off...cooler weather and actually...a slower routine for us. Hoping for a large round of canning/preserving in September and October...and very much looking forward to soups and stews, "nesting" and preparing for winter's unique joys in Pittsburgh! Blessings to you all! ~Sue~

He is faithful!

The Lord is so faithful! He has proven His faithfulness, provision, caring and blessing over our family numerous times...and today is another incredible day!

We had been praying for a very long time for the Lord to move my husband into another job. We were very grateful that he HAD a job...but we knew his contract was up for renewal...and the job didn't look good. Add to this, him working almost 10 years of night turn and no weekends off...and it's been hard for our family. He couldn't go to church with us, was one of the hardest and we worked our family around his schedule. He has been sending out resumes and putting job applications out there at least twice a week for 2 years...and not even an interview.

But...yesterday he had a job interview with the municipality where we live for a position with their public works department...and today, they called and offered him the job! Praise You, God, for your faithfulness, provision and perfect timing! We are so excited! It won't be more money...but we're alright with that...we know how to live frugally...but it WILL be daylight, weekends off and it will be secure and stable. We have such a sense of relief! He is so faithful to His promises!!! Just wanted to share our happy news!!!!! ~Sue~

PO-KE-NO!!!

Games....family time....we've been trying to play more games as a family, and it has been surprisingly challenging finding games that all 6 of us can play. When Anna learns to read just a little bit better....it will be easier. Apples to Apples was a little much for her, so we moved on to my grandmother's game of Pokeno.

Pokeno is very like Bingo only with cards, which has actually taught my 2 younger children all the different suits of cards. Oh, my goodness....who would have thought we would have laughed so much! Anna was so funny...she got more Pokeno's than anyone and was tickled. This was a game we all enjoyed! We've been playing UNO as a family and the game of Pilgrim's Progress is always a favorite.

This week, we're going to try Yahtzee with Anna and see how she likes it. Family time around the game table is so much more fun than movie nights, I think. We talk more, laugh more and generally interact more together. We do love our movies together, especially in the winter with a fire going and popcorn or homemade cookies.

We're up for suggestions, though, for some games that are fun for a wide age range....and especially good for an "almost" 6 year old! Let us know your favorites! ~Sue~

One small change....Preserving the Harvest!

Our 'one small change' for July and August (and will probably be doing it in September and October, too) is preserving the harvest. We are regulars at our local farmer's market. We've put up strawberry jam, canned some homemade barbeque sauce and have now made peach jam. We were given the gift of a big bag of peaches on Monday and yesterday, canned 15 jars of peach jam. Oh, the house smelled so good!
I will calling around to different farms and seeing if I could get bushels of "seconds" of peaches and tomatoes to can and dehydrate. We're also shredding and freezing zucchini in flat freezer bags to pull out for zucchini bread/muffins this winter. Cutting and freezing corn off of the cob. Today, I am going to try a small batch of pickles. I would like to ferment them, but I had heard that these need refrigeration and I am looking to store in the pantry to save room. I've never made pickles before, so I am praying they turn out.

Another change I would like to do is 'pressure can' rather than freeze broth, and cooked beans. Our freezer room is at a premium as we've been rather cutting down on the amount of meat that we are eating and preparing for some lean times ahead. Bone broths are so very healthy that I like to have a lot of them on hand, but don't always have the room to store them.

So many changes going on at our home! From gardening, to clotheslines, canning & preserving...to even reading aloud more and playing more games. We'll be working outside more to gather and organize kindling and firewood for this winter as well as harvesting the garden. I'd like to even try my hand at gathering some free crabapples from a friend and making crabapple jelly. Just trying to spend more time together as a family...building family time & memories and working together for the good of our family. ~Sue~

What is one small change you'll be doing this summer?

Generosity...and Gratitude!

Thanks to the generosity of some kind folk (Thanks, Mom, my friend, Anna and anonymous neighbors!) we had some awesome fried zucchini with our dinner tonight!

Unfortunately, all 13 zucchini plants that we planted got 'eaten' by a grub...along with 9 cucumber plants and I think my butternut squash as well. (we'll see...I hope not!) I know a couple of friends that this happened to as well, and next year, I'll be prepared!

But tonight...hubby requested fried zucchini and GF pasta with sauce for dinner. So, Meghan and I made a tempura batter using rice flour & cornstarch and it was the best fried zucchini I think I've ever had! (ok...we fry twice a year...this was one of those times!)

So....since we accept any and all donations of produce that others may have too much of....I will be stuffing zucchini and shredding it to freeze as well. I would like to make dehydrated zucchini chips as well as zucchini pickles and regular pickles as well. I would love to try fermented pickles and some homemade fermented sauerkraut as well. (Nourshing Traditions has tons of recipes for fermented veggies as does Mary Jane's Farm)

We've been picking and eating lots of green beans from our garden and looks like we'll have plenty of celery and peppers as well as tons of tomatoes this year. (Hooray!) Think I'll clean out the garden beds and will be planting some lettuce for the fall...now that we are fenced in, the 'critters' won't be eating all of our efforts!

Thanks again, all, for the generous gifts of zucchini! Hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful summer! ~Sue~

Happy 17th Birthday to our beautiful daughter, Meghan!

Our special, oldest daughter, Meghan is 17 years old today! Seems like yesterday that we held her in our arms for the first time....and how fast time has flown! She is such a sweet daughter!
(Meghan & I on Mother's Day this year)

~Meghan....I pray that your birthday today is full of joy, laughter and many blessings! I love you! ~Mum~

Summer scenes....

This seems to me to be one of the hottest, most humid summers in Pittsburgh in recent memory! LOL Lot's of fun going on...lots of work catching up in the house...cleaning out, rearranging and moving around of books....putting away last years, and getting ready for our new homeschool year to start. We are so excited to start! Here are summer scenes from our home this week..... Little ones in the garden....checking out the plants and picking these for supper....
Oh, these green beans were delicious last night, along with some stuffed zucchini and wild rice.

Lemon icecream pie with blueberry sauce...WOW! This recipe is a keeper from my friend, Rochelle....I made the crust gluten free by mixing in the food processor gf ricekrispies, melted butter, agave syrup and brown sugar. We'll be making this again!

Running thru a sprinkler on a hot day....I love this picture! My little Anna, cousin Ty and Ronnie had a blast earlier today!

My little Ty (just 2 years old) kept running over to me, patting my arm and telling me "oh, Aunt Suzie....water wet!)...then running back thru the water. I was cracking up in between taking pictures! LOL
Cousins having summer fun in the water! Hope you all are keeping cool! ~Sue~

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes.....

~There is a fresh wind of change moving thru our family! Seems, some days as if the Lord is holding me upside down by my ankles and shaking everything loose. I know I can trust Him, though....He has been so faithful to us thru the years, that we have no doubts that He is faithful now. We are TRYING to 'seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness'...and He is closing some doors, opening a few others...and basically having us rest right where He has us in some areas for now. Just some of our changes:

Well...He has us switching churches. Yep....we've been praying about it for a while now, and with Ron working nights and weekends, it was impossible for all 6 of us to go to worship together and to a service as a family...let a lone any type of men's group for mentoring and accountability. So...He is moving us to South Hills Bible Chapel...where we have family, friends and a great men's group that Ron has gone to before. It is so hard leaving our church family, but it does make it easier knowing that we know many people at the new church.

He is also having our girls not do worship dance this year...at least, not in a formal school. The church has a ministry, and it is more casual...come when you can. We'll all have the opportunity to go together on Wednesday as well...which hasn't happened in years. Already, I see a glimpse of the work that the Lord is doing in my husband's life...and in our families.

He has also been closing some doors, and putting it on everyone's hearts to be home as much as possible....to do things together , rather than seperate. And to have more family time...for devotions, games and movie nights. (at least until hockey starts...I guess us girls will have to make more of an effort! LOL)

Sometimes,change is painful...and the treatment stings before it starts to heal...but as each layer heals, it gets stronger....I pray that as the Lord strips away anything in our lives that would be outside His will....that He strengthen and guide us to follow His path only...with His help and His strength.

(still have a lot of family birthday celebrations, graduation, family reunion , more birthdays and a vacation coming up....finding out that I just don't have as much time for the computer. Will post as the Lord leads me to sit down and take the time.) God bless you all! ~Sue~