A 'whirlwind' month!

I'm back...thought I would update on everything that has been happening in our lives for the past few weeks. In my last post, I mentioned that our special girl , Gabrielle, has come to stay with us for 3 weeks. Well...this past Tuesday, she flew home to Idaho to be with her family...it is strangely quiet without her here. Our time with her FLEW by...and along with all the late night talks, movies and food network shows that we watched together...there were tons of get togethers with friends for...photo shoots, picnics, movies, baking (the chocolate expresso cupcakes were a huge hit...along with the lemon cream cupcakes with strawberry jam filling and lemon creamcheese frosting....do you think the girls have been watching "cupcake wars" on Food network?!)...family parties, graduation party, pizza at Danny's, many lunches at Panera's, shopping, card games, swimming....along with lots of laughter, a few tears, lots of talking, praying...and making memories! Here are some bits and pieces of our summer the past few weeks: Lunch at Clementine's Tea Parlor in Ohio....Meghan, myself, Sara and our sweet Gabrielle.

Cubscout day camp for Ronnie...a full week of all day activities with over 200 boys...it was so cool! I got to help out for a day and it was great!

Archery, slingshots, BB gun target practice, science experiments, games and crafts filled Ronnie's days...."guy stuff"!

My sweet nephew, Ty.....his 2nd birthday party was on the 4th of July (my dear husband's birthday)...what a wonderful party with family, good friends and the most awesome fireworks I've ever seen...right over our heads, courtesy of my brother-in-law, Todd!

I LOVE this pictures...the girls were doing the country line dance the "Hoedown Throwdown"...we laughed so hard! Lots of sleepovers with various friends...and of course, for Meghan and Sara...it was a glorious 3 week sleepover with Gabrielle!

The trail ride that Sara and Gabrielle went on was so much fun for them...and a very special memory.

Treated my Dad to a special father's day lunch at Big Jim's. This has become an annual tradition...he tells me all the old stories of when he was growing up, we drive thru his old neighborhood on the way to the resteraunt, and he has my undivided attention for hours...his stories never grow old to me...I love to hear them and they make me feel closer to my Gram, who I miss so very much!

This week....a whole week of basketball camp! 3 hours every morning of basketball, drills, scrimmages, devotions and fun...I love the Upwards program! Ronnie has really gotten good at basketball and has had a great time, too!

~Tomorrow....SLEEP! LOL ~

~ (Sigh....) Now that it seems as if our summer is settling down a little bit...I'm feeling the desire to "nest"...to clean out and organize, move furniture around, CLEAN...and get books organized. I'm very excited for our school year coming up and want to get organized. But first...more memories to be made...time with family and friends, swimming, picnics, bridal shower, lots of birthdays, a family reunion and finally...a family vacation to Lake Chautauqua, New York at the end of August with a day at Niagra Falls thrown in! What a great summer! Hope everyone's summer is going well...enjoy it and make some memories! Blessings! ~Sue~

Home, Sweet Home!

Home sweet home! The girls and I had a wonderful trip to Ohio this past week! Gabrielle flew in on Tuesday evening from Idaho for a 3 week visit with us, barely unpacked, then off we went to Ohio! My little ones had a great time with Dad, then 4 days with Grammy and Buppy...they enjoyed themselves so much and can't wait to go back. We headed to my friend, Stephanie's house. What a great hostess she is! She even had lots of gluten free food for me (thanks again, my friend!) and her boys couldn't have been more welcoming and helpful! We had a wonderful time! We also went to the CHEO homeschooling conference in Ackron, Ohio. (that is a whole post in itself!) then, for a short visit with our dear friends, the Teeter's. (Sara is staying the week with them until the 4th of July) It is so good to be home! I missed everyone so much, and...when Sara is home again, all will be right with my little world! LOL Here is a little bit about our visit: Steph and I at the little town of Olmstead Falls. What a wonderful, beautiful little town!!! It is a late 1800's restored town and the businesses renting the spaces are perfect! The barber even came outside and offered to cut our hair! LOL There is a shop called "Yarn Knit by Sue"...I kid you not, and Steph took my picture by the sign....the nice man inside taught me how to knit the 'continental way' instead of the american way (which is much easier for me, being that I crochet) and even invited me back for their 'knit-in' that evening!

Stephanie treated us to a lunch at 'Clementine's Tea Room'....oh, it was good! Wonderful food, beautiful atmosphere...and special friends...what more could we ask for?!

Our three beautys , posing on a deck overlooking the Rocky river.

We visited a beautiful rose garden....(Meghan didn't want to leave!)

To go to the beach at Lake Erie at sunset...it was the most beautiful sunset...and unique, as well....as we were able to see the sun sinking thru a cloud...just gorgeous! 'Praise you God of earth and sky!!!'

The girls had fun wading in the 'surf'.....my Sara will always 'pose' for me!

My girls....I wanted this time with them since it seems as if sometimes, life is so busy and they are growing up so fast...just some special memories with me and my girls! I know I will be making many more...and I'm so glad that Ronnie and Anna had the time with Grammy and Buppy to make special memories as well.

~This week...Cubscout Day Camp for Ronnie all week! Yesterday, I worked it and got to see all the cool things he is doing this week, take pictures (of course)..then he went to hockey last night...both of us were wiped out! I was so blessed, though, that Meghan and Gabrielle made a delicious dinner for us...thanks, girls! Now, off to make Ronnie breakfast before I take him to daycamp. Have a blessed day! ~Sue~

More summer pleasures...

As we will still be on our trip to Ohio when this posts, I wanted to share this precious summer pleasure...Anna playing 'Pioneer' with her dolls....her big sister , Sara, helped her dress all the dolls, dress Anna in the bonnet that her older sisters played with....I have such wonderful memories of my older girls playing with their dolls! All of the dolls were very busy that day...including Anna!

Can't wait to post pictures of our trip! My little ones will be staying with my mom and step-dad for 4 days while we are gone and Ron is working...can't wait to hear all about their adventures! ~Sue~

Pilgrim's Progress.....

Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan....it is one of our very favorite books...and next to the Bible, the 2nd best selling book in history. We have come to collect many copies and interpretations over the years and if I could encourage you to read for yourself, read to your children...watch on dvd, even....I believe it will make a tremendous impact on your life, your children's lives and your family...especially your walk with the Lord thru this life, on your own way to the 'celestial city'!
We started years ago when my older girls were little, reading this out loud...they were enthralled from the first page.

I hope this image shows up....it is one of my favorite images, depicting Christian's journey.

http://www.redemptionca.com/Misc/OtherGames/recommendedgames.htm
THIS is the coolest game! We've had this for years, and as you travel the path, you fight appolyon, get past the lions, conquer your sins, and travel thru vanity fair...if you don't leave your burden at the cross, you cannot enter the celestial city. The website above sells many cool games, but unfortunately, this one is out of print at the moment...I"m sure it can be found, though, somewhere on the internet. :)

We have a 2 disc set starring Liam Neeson of Pilgrim's Progress, including Christiana's Journey. It is excellent...we all enjoy this very much, even my little ones. But...our favorite by far, is the new musical dvd that we got simply entitled "Pilgrim". This was performed by the highschool students of Covenent Life Fellowship, a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Maryland. I cannot give this high enough praise! The music is exceptional (we all have now memorized the songs), the acting seems professional and most importantly...this musical adaptation is true to the book AND scripturally correct. If possible...get one of these for your family library...you won't be sorry! Here is the link: http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=O9250-00-41

And, (thanks to my helpful assistant, Anna) we also have a picture book called "Go with Christian" that is a pop-up book with a little board game in the back.

I can only tell you that "Pilgrim's Progress" has blessed our family so very, very much! It has convicted, humbled and blessed us...as well as opening up many teaching and correcting opportunities for all of us...from the youngest to the oldest.

Read 'Pilgrim's Progress'....watch a dvd....get the musical 'Pilgrim'...I know you will be blessed! ~Sue~

Preserving the Harvest....Barbeque Sauce!

Preserving the harvest...this was very commonplace for centuries before refrigeration, and even after as for many people, grocery stores were not on every corner, and many people simply could not afford to purchase 'store bought'...they ate seasonally, which I am trying to do for our family as much as possible. I'm new at eating seasonally, and have to really think and plan, but the book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" helped me a lot to realize that the old-fashioned way of eating seasonally was by preserving the harvest.

Now, the above photo is NOT from homegrown tomatoes (or any other veggie right now), but as our freezers are full of meat (Praise you, God!) I was at a loss as to how to store the excess of homemade barbeque sauce that I had made. The container in front is what we used for ribs for Father's day dinner....and I water bath canned the rest. As this homemade sauce is very time-consuming, I am pleased as punch that I now have 5 quarts ready and waiting when I need them! The other thing that makes me very happy, is that there are no preservatives, funny ingredients or high fructose corn syrup in there....and my family loves it! I will try and give the recipe, but, to be honest, I'm one of the 'those' cooks who does not measure...I just estimate and taste until it tastes 'right' . So, here are the general ingredients:

diced onions, green peppers, garlic, pickle relish, yellow mustard, balsalmic vinegar, apple cidar vinegar, lemon juice, pureed tomatoes, salt, pepper, honey, brown sugar.

Just sautee the veggies in a little butter/olive oil, spoon in the relish and just a little bit of mustard....add the rest of the ingredients to taste. My husband likes it sweet, so we add a good bit of honey and brown sugar.

~We are hoping to preserve A LOT of fresh veggies and fruits this summer and early fall...we will be canning, freezing and dehydrating as well. Anyone have any special recipes they might want to share? Here is to a "Happy Harvest"!!! ~Sue~

Family memories....

My hard-working husband was on vacation last week, so we tried to do a couple fun things, relax at home and get some projects done....but the first thing we did was spend the day making a special family memory.

We packed snacks, drinks, extra water and lunches and headed out to Living Treasures Animal park. I really like packing all of our food...it's healthy and frugal..and picnics are fun! The day started out raining...but we decided that rain or shine, we were going to have fun! And...when we pulled into the Animal park...the rain stopped. What fun we had! Meghan and Sara were busy taking lots of pictures on their own cameras and LAUGHING....while Sara took home movies on her new FLIP camera.

Anna was enthralled with the kangeroos....the one on the left had a little baby in it's pouch and Anna wanted to take them home!

Ronnie fell in love with this big guy. He named him "Shellvin"...and spent quite a bit of time with him.

Afterward, as we were walking to the car...the rain started up again! We drove just a couple minutes to Morainne State Park...and by the time we pulled into the parking space at the lake, the rain stopped. We had a wonderful picnic lunch, then headed for the sand! Sara, Ronnie and Anna ended up putting their suits on and swimming, looking for rocks and playing in the sand. The blue gill fish were swimming around their feet, while Ronnie & Anna tried to catch them by hand.

I simply relaxed with a little bit of knitting...it was so peaceful there! I WILL be getting a nice, big straw hat to keep the sun off of my face though!
Meghan kept me company busily crocheting away....while the clouds rolled away and the sky turned a beautiful shade of blue!
Dad enjoyed the peace and quiet for a little nap while the little ones played...

The rest of our week, we watched Ty, went bowling one afternoon, finished our bathroom project! Then...from Friday on, it was BUSY! We had the highschool evaluations for Meghan and Sara (always wonderful, our evaluator, Diane is such a wonderful friend!)...then we went to a very special celebration...and adoption party for our friends, the Porcari's, who adopted Alanna! What fun we had! After the year they have had, since Alanna was placed with them when she was 3 days old...the ups and downs, the uncertainty, the joys...and the trust and faith that they placed in God....it was a joy to celebrate with them! It was such fun seeing all of our mutual friends, the older girls hung out with all of their friends, the little ones played on a big playground with tons of their friends...and Ron & I had a great time catching up with OUR friends, as well!

Saturday, we had my nephew, Shayne's graduation party. I have to say, my sister Lori is a pro at planning parties! It was such a special tribute to Shayne...the decorations were perfect, the food was incredible (my mom made most of it...pulled pork, meatballs, sauce, rigatoni, roast beef....all homemade from scratch)....even with the rain that poured down (it IS Pittsburgh, after all!) everyone had a great time!

We ended our week with Father's day! My wonderful husband enjoyed a special week with his family, we had my Dad and step-mom, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for dinner (Ron's favorite...slow cooked barbecue ribs with my honey barbecue sauce)...then Meghan made 2 banana cream pies for dessert. A sweet ending to a special week!

~Now....tomorrow, our dear friend Gabrielle is coming to stay with us for 3 weeks...a nice, long visit! Then...on Wednesday....I am leaving for Ohio with Meghan, Sara and Gabrielle for 5 special days...time spent with good friends, a large homeschooling conference where we will have the privilidge of hearing Dr. Voddie Baucham speak...then more good friends, and home on Sunday!~ I have a couple posts scheduled to post while we're gone, then it's back next week to document our trip! Ah....summertime!!!! Have a blessed week! ~Sue~

Culinary endeavors....

One of the many lessons my daughters are learning, are the culinary arts...I am so proud of them! They each are not afraid to try new techniques or recipes...and genuinely love being in the kitchen...usually together! They are going to be responsible for preparing many, many meals over the course of their lives, so I'm glad they enjoy it! Here are some of their culinary masterpieces!

Meghan's curried carrot soup with fresh chives...

Sara's 'famous' omlet and homefried potatoes...

Sara's rasberry tarts...
Ronnie "helping" Anna make her 'famous' pizza bagels for dinner! Even Anna is loving preparing meals! I'm looking forward to more culinary endevours from my girls in the future! ~Sue~

Bagels!

Part of our lifestyle is making as much as we can from scratch...rather than buying everything. If it is food, then I know the ingredients (and can usually pronounce them), and it is much cheaper and healthier. So, Meghan and I set out to make homemade bagels...she whole wheat and I gluten free. We had so much fun! Her's turned out much better than mine did, so I will probably not try gluten free bagels again....our next project...english muffins, regular and gluten free! Meghan, kneading her dough.

Dividing it into equal pieces..

My gluten free bagels rising....

Meghan's whole wheat bagels rising...

The finished products...the gluten free version on the left and the whole wheat on the right. Since she mastered the whole wheat, this something that she'll be making for her dad and everyone occasionally as a treat. (we don't buy bagels too often)

As part of the girls education, they are being trained in the culinary arts...everything from canning, baking, cooking, preserving to menu planning, shopping and budgeting....along the way, they are mastering cake decorating, candy making, drying herbs for spices and teas, and natural remedies as well. Next stop...english muffins! ~Sue~