Friday with Friends!

This is a slightly belated post, since it is now Tuesday, but better late than never! :) This past Friday the 13th we had some friends over for snacks and a movie. These friends were Caelyn, Morgan and Gabriella (all sisters) and earlier in the day Sarah and Rachel came over. It was so much fun! As customary that afternoon before dinner, Mum made us strawberry Kefir smoothies. They were yummy! Because this time we had Stevia to sweeten it with instead of honey. I MUCH prefer Stevia to honey in our smoothies. :) Sarah and Rachel both had some smoothie, too. Here's Sarah drinking some:

The poster child for Strawberry Kefir Smoothies! :)

Almost as soon as they walked through the door, poor Sarah and Rachel were cajoled (forced!) into tasting Mum's kombucha; as were Caelyn and Morgan. Mum is such a great sport with our friends, but forcing kombucha on them was a little overly much. Caelyn said she didn't mind it, and that she'd drink it. Morgan said that it tasted better than it smelled. Amen to that! :)

Our lovely beverage that our friends got hounded to try a sip. Out of us four kids, Anna seems to like it and I don't mind it.....the other two.....well, not so much. :)

Here is Mum and Rachel in our kitchen....Mum with a big glass of Kombucha in her hand. Rachel's face was priceless when she tasted it. :)

Here is sweet Rachel crocheting. By the end of the day she had finished a hot pad for her mom. We showed her a few new crochet stitches and had a blast! She was my crocheting buddy.

The two Sara(h)'s on my Sara's laptop. They were looking at different blog backgrounds, how to make them.....they hardly came off of the bed until it was dinner time. :) They were funny. And no, the Sarah on the left is not sleeping. :) She has what I called her 'thinking cap' on over her eyes. :) While our Sara is hamming it up. While watching a movie that evening they made some adorable jewelry together on the floor and did not spill any beads! :)

We loved getting to know Caelyn, Morgan and Gabriella better and found that we have a lot of the same passions and interests. Mum made her 'famous' popcorn and set out Salsa Verde and Tortilla chips. We had some homemade lattes-mine wasn't really a latte. I had more coffee than milk. :) But you know me. :) We watched the movie State Fair from 1945 and loved it! Caelyn and Morgan are into old movies, too, and had never seen this one. Unfortunetly they had to leave before it was finished because it was getting late. :(

Caelyn, Sarah and your's truly. :) Coincidentally, we're the three oldest girls in our families.

Morgan and Sara. Look at those adorable glasses. :)

Our rather blurry group shot of the night. :) In front of me you can see a popcorn container. :) Big surprise. Seated on the couch are from left to right: Rachel, Gabriella, Morgan and Sara

Seated on the floor are Caelyn and Sarah.

We had SO much fun with all of you girls! We have to do it again soon and watch another old movie. :) It was such a fun time, though we did get to bed rather late. Luckily the next day was a Saturday so we could sleep in. :) Sorry about the post being so late!

God's gentle correction and grace....

Had to post a picture of the beautiful roses Ron gave me for Valentine's day. They looked so pretty this morning, especially with the sunlight coming thru the lace curtains, and set against my antique china with pink roses in the backround. These roses also represent to me, the grace that has been shown in my marriage as well as God's gentle correction in that area...but that's a post for another time!

God has been doing such a work in me! His patience with me continues to amaze me....years ago, when I was a new Christian, God basically showed me His plan for our family's lifestyle. How He wanted us to live, what our homeschool plan should look like....and somehow, over the years...I've taken my focus off of "His" plan for our family....and either focused on what I thought our lives should look like or I compared our family to other families that we know...again, taking my focus off of His plan for us.

I've been feeling God's prompting strongly lately...to simplify. But, in reality, it is to repent and turn to God...to return to God's plan for us...to "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you"....to seek Him, and follow his commands....not ignore them, and do what I want to do. A friend and I were recently talking about God's rebukes, and for me, it was confirmation that what I was doing was grieving God's heart. He had called us to live simply and be content...and with our focus off of His plan, we were filled with discontent and a lack of gratitude to God.

I can't speak for any other family, nor do I want to. But for us...God's plan has always led us to simplify...to move further and further from what the world thinks is important...to live simply, to live in a God honoring way. Do we always do that? Of course not! Living simply means different things for each family. Again, I only know what God has been speaking for our family. For us it means, no big vacations, no shopping at trending stores at the mall...no Starbucks everyday. (ok...Starbucks every long once in a while!) It means watching our pennies closely, saving as much as we can, being 'creatively frugal'...living simply. In order for our family to live the lifestyle that God has called us to live, a simple homeschooling lifestyle, this requires me to stay at home and have us to have one income. And...since that income is not huge....we have to choose wisely how to spend it. Would vacations be nice? Of course! Can we live without them? Of course! Can we thrive without them? Yes! If we cultivate a spirit of gratefulness....and contentedness....and practice the habit of being content with whatever God has for us. If day trips to lakes, fishing, trips to Kennywood or Idlewild Park, to Mingo Creek, or the Science Center,, a day at the Butler county fair, a day spent antiquing...or sipping sweet tea on our deck in the shade while the little ones play in a small pool is God's plan for our family...then we are abundantly blessed!!!! It might not sound exciting by the worlds standards, but it is peaceful, fun and filled with family memories...and it is God's will for us...therefore, it is God's best for us!

As we continue to follow God's plan for our family, I'm sure I'll be posting all the little joys of our days...some of which you may not think of as joys...but whatever God's calls us to, He equips us for. For me....hanging laundry on the line is a joy...especially taking it down...warm, sweet outdoor smell. That brings me joy! Crocheting with a wooden hook with some soft warm wool or super soft yarn brings me joy. Beautiful fabric, especially using scraps to quilt or make gifts, brings me joy! Giving my family a hot, healthy homecooked meal brings me joy...and offering hospitality to family and friends brings me joy. Having my children's friends here for a fun evening brings me joy! I don't need frills, expensive vacations, expensive clothes or filet mignon (although I do like filet mignon!)....I'm just as happy at my big wooden table with a big bowl of navy beans and my family happy.

Whatever God has for your family...embrace it! Cultivate contentment...and practice gratitude! Living the life that God has for you is different for each family....for our family, we will continue to simplify and find joy in the everyday. Living simply is not an easy life....but the rewards are endless as are the lessons learned. As my Gram used to say " hard work never hurt anybody" ....as well as "many hands make light work"....both good lessons to teach my children....and to remember myself. May you have a joyful day! ~Sue~

Menu plan Monday!

Another week....another menu! I've found that planning my menus helps me so much...and my girls, too. We're able to look at the plan, get things started, and save time and money in the process. Along with the main meals, we've been having strawberry kefir smoothies everyday, kombucha and either 'carrot lemonade' or 'green lemonade'...along with a little bit of elderberry here and there! Trying to boost our immune systems a little bit! LOL Here's this weeks menus:

Monday
oatmeal custard with raisins
veg't soup, cheese & GF crackers
Pasta carbonara, salad

Tuesday
cheesy eggs, potatoes
banana bread, yogart, pineapple
grain/garden burgers, refried black beans with cheese, cucumbers & beets

Wednesday
apple cinnamon millet
leftovers/pbj
seafood bisque,salad, cheddar garlic biscuits

Thursday
cereal, bananas, juice
GF mac & cheese, veggies
sausage potato stew, green beans

Friday
GF blueberry pancakes
brown rice lentil casserole, veggies
chicken soup, GF Foccacia bread

Saturday
oatmeal with raisins
eggs, turkey sausage, potatoes
Birthday party for Maggie & Maria!

Sunday
cereal, bananas
crockpot soup, cheese & crackers
GF chicken pot pie, green beans

Have a healthy, blessed week!

Valentines Day for Maidens

Happy Valentines Day!

Because I have a very, (*ahem!*) romantic heart, this holiday is a very sentimental one for me. :) Anyone who knows me knows that I am incredibly romantic and sentimental. :) For instance, because my hard-working Dad had to work this morning/afternoon, yesterday he came home from the store with a bouquet of light pink roses for Mum. :) It was a token of his love for her. Well, for Mum and all his 'little women.' :) Right now, I am listening to Frank Sinatra crooning a Jerome Kern song called, "The Way You Look Tonight," eating a box of Nerd candies, (wishing I had a certain Mr. D pillow) drinking a strawberry smoothie (pink!) and I just read a few 'courtship stories' from YLCF. So I'm just a weeee bit in a romantic mood. :)

I don't have a special someone to share it with but that doesn't make me 'single.' I have wonderful family and friends and the Lord who loves me unconditionally! So I'm not going to feel all pessimistic about Valentines Day or have a huge pity party with me as the honorary guest. That is not glorifying to the Lord nor a good heart attitude. The right heart attitude is to be content and happy where the Lord has placed you. Within your family. As a stay at home daughter and a maiden of virtue. I know that when the Lord's time comes, that He alone will bring my husband into my life and lead through my Dad......speaking of him.....

My wonderful Dad always gives us big hugs and tells us how much he loves us....and how we're growing up so/too fast. He does this everyday, but with just an extra measure on Valentines Day. Poor Dad....as he hugged me with a big, sentimental smile on his face, I looked up at him and grinned impishly. My dimples mirrored his. "And next Valentines Day I'm going to be 16!" He looked so sad! :) I'm a 'Daddy's girl', alright. :)

My friend Ella and I were talking the other evening about what we look for in a spouse. I personally, aside from a few silly things that I've listed over the years (ahem ahem!) I never really thought about what I wanted in a husband. I wanted him to be tall-my Dad's tall-and I like looking up. :) But, aside from silly preferences about his appearance, I never really thought about what the kind of man I want for a husband. I have been thinking about it recently and one thing I want in a husband is for him to be gentle and a 'Mr. Steady.' Like my Dad. :) On one of the Duggar episodes, one of the younger boys says, "You know, boys look for someone who's like their mom....so girls look for someone just like their dad." That's true for me! :)

I'm not going to be all mopey that I don't have a 'boyfriend' or that I'm 'never going to get married! WAAAH!' but rest in the Lord's will for my life right now. I'm sure as I get older, it will get harder and my patience and contentment will be tried but the Lord has already picked out who I am going to marry, and when.

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope."

Simple shopping....

Simple shopping...hmmm....sometimes the two don't quite go together! In my efforts to simplify our meals, our health and our budget...I'm trying to eliminate some supplements that we are taking....and get more and more of our nutrition from food. I have tons of books, and usually pick and choose and glean from all of them, but one that has made the most sense to me is 'Nourishing Traditions' by Sally Fallon. I've always made our own homemade broth...and when I found out how very nourishing homemade bone broths are, I rejoiced! (I'll be doing another NT post soon)

So...today, since Ron was off, a friend and I set off to do some healthy shopping as inexpensively as we could. We headed to Trader Joe's. (with a quick stop at a yarn store...I can never pass them up!) Trader Joe's (for those of you who have never been) is a really cool grocery with everything their own brand....most organic, or at least simple ingredients. I love this store! Shopping with Amy was so much fun,too, as we have never had the chance to visit....so we talked all day! Most of what I get at Trader Joe's are things that I cannot get anywhere else...or I can't get them for that low price. I stocked up on lots of Gluten Free pasta, GF spagetti, Thai rice stick noodles, tuscano sauce, green tomatillo salsa (my very, very favorite!)...cashew butter for Meghan, and some gluten free waffles.

After that, we headed to the Strip District to a restaraunt supply store, then an oriental market for more gluten free supplies. 85 cents for tapioca starch! I loaded up! Picked up my husband some of his favorite Mancini's bread as a treat and headed home. Shopping with a friend is always more fun than shopping alone!

Ron is picking up our natural foods co-op order now. I've found for us, that ordering all of my dry beans and grains in bulk really saves us money...and with a pressure cooker, they cook up quickly. I also grind a lot of beans on a coarse grind, keep them in the freezer and cook them up quickly with some boiling water and spices for instant refried beans. Now we have to rearrange the pantry, and we're done for another month. I love "shopping" from my pantry and seeing how creative I can get to plan my menus as healthy as possible with what I have.

Now I'm off to finish dinner. The girls have a couple friends here now who will be joining us for dinner and a few more coming over in a little while for another movie night....complete with homemade lattes and popcorn again! I love having their friends here! They are welcome here anytime....and I have fun with them,too! I'm sure the girls will be posting their fun time tonight soon! Blessings! ~Sue~

Happy Birthday, Ella!!

It is my dear friend Ella's nineteenth birthday today! We spent over an hour on the phone last night and I plan to call her later today to sing Happy Birthday to her. :) It's little tradition we have in our family. :)

Ella is truly a wonderful friend. Though we haven't known each other very long, it seems to me that I've known her forever! She has a wonderful gift of encouargement and her voice always rings with joy-over the phone and through her e-mails. I thank the Lord for Ella!!

We've discovered that we have A LOT in common.....to say the least. :) We're both old movie nuts, old-fashioned, love books and writing. :) But our common bond is not our passion for old movies and Frank Sinatra (who is crooning right now on the CD player) but the Lord. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful friend in Ella and has blessed our friendship so much!

My dear friend, I wish you a wonderful birthday and to let you know that, "I thank the Lord upon each rememberance of you." Phillipians 1:3.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Legacy: a Short Story in Progress

This is my homemade book cover for a new short story I am working on about a real life girl: Isabella of Castile. The story follows from age three until her secret marriage to Ferdinand, heir to Aragon. I researched her extensively, and whats really neat about writing fiction based on a true story is that the characters are already named, the story is written, and all I need to do is write about it and flesh out some details. Here is the prologue to Legacy; hopefully as I write more, I will post more of the story. But for now, here is the beginning:

Prologue:
Shy. Sweet. Innocent. Those were the words Isabella would have used to describe the reflection she saw staring back at her. She was only three years old, but wise beyond her years, her mother often times said. Her father had bought her first pony, and she spent much of the day riding it. She was just getting ready to have supper when her mother rushed up to her room, with a frightened expression on her face. “Isabel! Date prisa, no tenemos mucho tiempo! Tenemos que apurarnos y dejar! Ahora!” Isabella knew enough to know not to question her mother when she spoke so hurried. Isa quickly grabbed her cloak and a bag of possessions and ran with her mother. They went into the nursery, where Isa’s little brother, Alfonso, slept soundly. The queen wakened the sleeping infant, wrapped him in a blanket, and rushed out. Where are we going? I am so confundido! Isa thought as they ran to the stables, where they both collapsed into the hay.

“Madre, what is going on? Why are we running?” Isabella asked, gasping for breath while her mother patted her head. “My dear little Niña, your father has passed on. He died quietly in his sleep and is now gone.” The queen saw two silent tears run down the small child’s face as Isabella hugged her knees to her chest. “I am afraid that is not all. Not one hour after your father’s death, your half hermano has been crowned king.” Isabella’s eyes widened. Her half brother, Henry IV, was a cruel man interested only in himself. “What will he do to us? Aren’t you still queen?” Isabella’s thoughts ran at the speed of light while her mother rose. Isa stood and lifted the hood of her cloak. “He is splitting us up so we can no longer be together. My hand maiden, Maria, will watch over you and be your mother until we can be together on day. Learn to call her Madre and love her like you do me. You must have the strength of a lioness and the sharpness of a serpent. Now go and be a strong warrior angel.” The queen’s words rang in Isabella’s mind as she and her new ‘mother’ rode towards the road out of Portugal.

At a stop in a small village outside of Portugal, Isa asked her Madre to dictate a letter to a very important person:
Jesús, nos ayudan a estar cerca de nosotros oh señor su humilde servidor, ~Isabella~
This translated means:
Help us Jesus Be near us oh lord Your humble servant, Isabella

This was the beginning of some new adventure, and the end of everything Isa ever knew. She knew that if she wanted to survive, she needed strength. This simple child’s prayer would become a hero’s legacy.
This is Isabella’s story.

Gifts and Blessings!

This day has been so very, very filled with gifts and blessings! For some reason, I was so touched by each one of my children as a special, unique gift today...and the gift of having a baby in the house again! The weather today was so beautiful....especially for Pittsburgh in February! I've always said, that I believe that God gives us days like today in the middle of winter as special gifts...to remind us of His faithfulness....that Spring ALWAYS follows Winter...the seasons are unchanging....and so is He...the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Our high temperature was 64 degrees! And, did we take advantage of it! Today was another "Ty Day" as well....and we had him outside almost more than he was inside! Ty has 'graduated' to the clip-on toddler chair at the table with us..he loves it!
It looked like it might rain this morning, so I put Ty in the carrier, put raincoats on the little ones, grabbed my umbrella and off we went for a walk. I wasn't letting anything keep me inside today! We saw green garbage trucks, trolleys, birds and squirrels nests...and a water main break. ( Ronnie pointed that out, he was intriqued)

What a blessing it is to homeschool! I had to get a shot of this...where else can you do your geometry and lit with a sleepy cat on your lap?!


This is typical...Ty was playing, Anna was sitting next to him playing doll house, Ronnie was doing his math, and I was sitting on the floor with them doing some natural food ordering online. When Ty is here, he just fits right in!

This is so special to me! This was my great-grandmothers rocker. It sat on my Gram's front porch ( my Baba lived with my Gram) and between Baba and Gram....many, many babies and sleepy toddlers have been rocked in this chair! The only babies that my gram didn't rock at all , are Anna and Ty....you can bet I'll be rocking Ty a lot this summer on the deck in the shade of our big oak tree!

Today, though, Anna and I took turns rocking Ty in Baba's chair.

Ronnie and Anna had so much fun today! They rode their bikes, played in the yard and were swinging on the swingset....Anna learned to petal!

Ty got to swing, too! We got this toddler swing when Ronnie was a baby at the old house, then hung it here when we moved....Anna was only 1 year old, and she loved to swing. (still does) Now Ty gets to enjoy it too! And there is never a shortage of hands to push him or play with him around here!

Here he comes! Look at that face!

The closer he came, the more he laughed!
Everyone wanted a turn with Ty!
We all have so much fun with him!I pureed for Ty part of what we had for dinner...I just pureed some brown rice and carrots for him.....he loved it! He looked so funny "chewing" with no teeth!

Then his Daddy came....and finished feeding him before taking him home. It was hard for Todd a little bit, because everytime Ron would talk, Ty would swing his head to see him!

~Like I said...a day of gifts and blessings! After Todd and Ty left, we had a cubscout den meeting here. It was fun....our cubmaster came and told the boys all about camp and different activities coming up in the summer. The boys have already earned their Tiger badges, and will be officially "wolves" in May. It was a very full day, but so full of blessings! I am tired! Another full day tomorrow as well...so I'm off to bed! I hope your days are full of gifts and blessings, too! ~Sue~