Calming

We head up to the mountains to find water when we can.  There is something peaceful about sitting by a river.

Summertime at Our House

Every morning when Logan wakes up he says, "Is it summertime?" He has summertime and morning mixed up.

We have loved this summer. I'll be sad when autumn comes and I'll have to explain that it is no longer summertime every morning when he wakes up.

Peeking through the corn stalks

Loving the apple tree

Eating corn on the cob for breakfast

Playing in the ditch out back

Homemade Granola Recipe

5 C rolled oats
½ wheat germ
½ cup sesame seeds (could substitute sunflower seeds or flax seeds)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional… I like almonds)
1 cup shredded coconut (please don’t offend me by leaving this out, it is the best part… however, you could use chopped apples, dates, raisins, or some other granolaish thing, if you must)
1 tsp coconut extract (not necessary, but extra yummy… maple extract is also tasty)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup oil
½ cup melted butter or margarine (you could use all oil if you are trying to be healthy… I like the butter though)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup honey

Mix all ingredients together. Spread evenly onto a greased cookie sheet (or several cookie sheets). Place on center racks of your oven. Cook overnight at 170 degrees. Crumble into airtight containers. Sometimes I mix the granola with Cheerios or grape nuts to make it go farther.

Enjoy!

When We Picked this Cabbage,

Logan cried. These basketball sized vegetables have become his favorite plants in the garden. He begged me not to kill it. I had to explain that we grew the cabbages so we could eat them. I told him I would take his picture, and he could help me make a salad that we could share with our neighbors.

He felt better.

This Weekend I Was Out With These Hot Ladies

...at the Shakespearean Festival. Please go see Secret Garden if you get the chance. We also loved Comedy of Errors and As You Like It. Some weekends you need to go out with the girls and laugh until you pee your pants.

Lessons From the Garden

It is a tough time to raise kids.  I worry about Logan falling into the traps of entitlement and laziness.  I worry that he will be disrespectful.  I am working hard to combat these vices that have unfortunately become the socially acceptable norm.  Even though he is little, I believe that now is the time to really begin teaching him to be respectful, hard-working, and grateful.  

This summer he and I have worked hard growing a beautiful garden.  It has taken us out of stores, away from the screen, and away from the battles being inside brings.  After months of tilling, weeding, watering, mulching, thinning, and transplanting, we are finally picking.  If anyone comes to visit, Logan wants to take them out to see our garden to show them the vegetables he has grown.  Even though I could have completed the necessary tasks much more quickly if I had done them alone while he played, I'm glad I let him help.  He pushed most of the seeds in the ground himself.  He spread the mulch.  He even knows how to tell the difference between the weeds and the plants.  I hope that learning the Law of the Harvest while he is young helps him do more than just plant gardens one day.

Pics I Should Have Posted, but Didn't

These are from our excursion to New Mexico. 

Concerning Trend

I'm working as a mentor for college students in an online university.  I love what I do.  After several months of interacting with students, I have noticed an interesting trend.  Not many people do what they say they are going to do.  Of the 90+ students I work with, I would say I can count on less than 20% of them to consistently keep the commitments they make to themselves regarding their progress at the University.  It is a sad truth that many people are willing to betray themselves.  When considering trust, it is important to have others trust you.  It is perhaps more important to be able to trust yourself.  More and more it seems acceptable in our society to say what we think we should, or what sounds nice, regardless of what we actually intend to do.  Even in cases when the right intentions are there, so often the discipline to keep our word is not.  

Happy Birthday to Me

For my 27th birthday I went to a fantastic little pizza joint with one of my favorite people.  Girls night is such a wonderful thing.  Thanks for the fun Marissa!

Please Allow Logan to Give You a Tour of our New Backyard

Welcome to our new yard!

We have lots of potato bugs and ants under rocks.

This is our shed.  It is where I keep my tools.

This is a little running path.

This is an old pole I found in the bushes.  It is good for lots of things.

Here is my garden.  Mommy helped me plant it.  

This is my little river.  I find things in it.  

I like to play in the water.  I'm usually muddy by 8 am.

We have lots of plants.  

This is my raspberry patch.