Almost the end of garden

I am absolutely amazed at the amount of food we were able to grow this year in our garden. We had so much zucchini that if you invited us over to your house you were bound to get some :) We also had a ton of tomatoes that we have made everything from spaghetti sauce to chili with. We have also had 2 amazing basil plants that are still growing strong. If you want tips on basil I found a great article that gave great information to help ours grow. We were also very blessed to have almost 10 cantaloupe and 1 honeydew melon. I did learn though that if you do not fertilize the melons they will be very small. I had a couple that I called Joshua and Mason size :)
I am already thinking onto next years garden. What I did not like this year, what I want more of next year, how I will water better, fertilize differently, what new things I want to plant. I even want to give the kids a bit of land to grow on.
I am a little sad to see that my tomatoes are slowing down and that there are only 2 more cantaloupe out there. My zucchini is almost done, but I am not as sad about that, lol. So if you are in the area and want an excuse to stop by now you have it (but you do not really need an excuse just knock).

Yup, we are still here...

As always, we have been busy. Mikey, Annika and Joshua just finished a week at Pathways camp. If you have not sent your kids there, boy are you missing out. It comes around 1x a year, but it is the week I set out to do everything :) The kids go to camp at 10am and I pick them up at 3:15 for Joshua and 3:30 for Mikey and Annika. They sing songs, do crafts, have Bible time, meet friends and then they have a big carnival at the end! Mikey and Annika look forward to it all year (and so do I, lol). Joshua had a couple mommy separation times, but after 5 minutes he was fine. He had amazing teachers as did all the kiddos. Now all I have to do is get Mace potty trained by next summer and then he can go to :)
Bran is gearing up for homeschooling. We are trying to figure out programs, schedules, extra curricular stuff and just life :)
I just found out that my last class for my degree will be June 13th, Joshua's birthday :) Which will actually have me getting a degree before Mike, lol.
Hope all is well with you and yours :)

Gardening

Yes, I think I can finally say I am a gardener. Last year we started with an 8x4 boxed bed, where we grew tomatoes and herbs, this year we went bigger. 16x16 to be exact, plus our box :) I am so excited as most of our tomato plants (7 out of the 9) are not only flowering but growing tomatoes. The other night I was able to pick 3 zucchini's and today I just trimmed our sweet basil and Italian basil down. We had so much basil that I took some over to my friend Annette's who offered to dehydrate the rest of what we had. With all the basil we filled 8 out of 9 of her trays, lol. So now we will have dried basil (Thank you sooo much Annette for blessing us). I also have about 15 yellow crook neck squash that will be picked in the next few days and some of the cherry tomatoes will be ready to go by then too.
It is amazing to see how God works everything together, even in a garden. I mean things as simple as the plants need good soil and the worms need good stuff to eat off of and they all work together to grow both.
Lastly, I am addicted to a magazine all about gardening it is simply called "Grow." It has so much information, tips and tricks. I have tried a couple of them and they have all exceeded my expectations. If you see it in Lowes or Home Depot (I can't remember which one it is at) pick it up and take a look, it is a great find.

Can you believe it? He is 4!

Yes my baby is 4, well not quiet my baby, but you know what I mean. I remember like it was yesterday when I found out I was pregnant with him. The fear was beyond overwhelming and God just kept telling me "be courageous, if you really believe this is from Me, then be courageous!" I do not like it when God tells me something I know that is obvious, but my fear is such a mountain it is sometimes hard to see Him. After Noah died having another baby was unfathomable. It is truly through His mercy and grace that we have Joshua.

Joshua asked me the other day "Mama, why am I Joshua?" I told him "you are Joshua, because God told us to be strong and courageous just like he did Joshua in the Bible. When we found out we were having you we wanted to honor God for pulling us through our owies." Yes I know honor and owies in the same sentence, lol.

So here goes my trying to be creative, lol.

J is for Joshua - because God is making him a strong and courageous little man

O is for Ornery - because he likes to push the limits

S is for smiles - because his grin will melt your heart

H is for his heart - that reaches out to everyone

U is for unimaginable - because we never in a million years thought that God would bless us with more kiddos after Noah, boy are we ever glad he did

A is for amazing - because everyday we are amazed at this little guy and how God is using him even though he is only 4.

God is slowly working ;)

I have been praying for awhile that God would help me figure out how to run a house. I know I am a mom of 5 kiddos you would think I would know and yet... I guess it comes from that old adage "you don't know what you don't know." Last night I went with my friend Rachel to a meeting at my friend Amys house. It was a budgeting meeting and in all honest I went begrudgingly. If I had not told Rachel I would drive us then I probably would not have gone. The bottom line was that I did not want to hear it again, I was sick of hearing the problem and the solution, but people forgetting that sometimes (many times) finances are a heart issue. That is where Beth comes in, she is the woman who spoke last night. I had the walls around my heart built up because I knew I would get blasted and yet as she spoke tears filled my eyes as I realized that God was using her to speak to my heart! She kept reinforcing what God has been laying on my heart "In ALL labor there is PROFIT." Now all of you know I am not a morning person and yet I keep waking up at 6:30 which is when I toss and turn and try and do everything I can to stay in bed. It was funny though this morning after I got in bed I realized I have a lot of profiting to do today. So I got my crockpot out and planned out our dinner (sides and everything). Total off note: Another friend of mine was at this meeting and she made a great point that shot me awake (about dinner), know what you are doing for dinner by 9am other wise you will not get it on the table, it will not be as healthy as you wanted it to be and/or you have a higher chance of getting fast food. So ribs are cooking (they smell yummy already and it has only been an hour, the kids are dressed, I am dressed, breakfast is about to be taken care of, then school for them and then go pick up Bran. I know my day will be profitable!
I want to leave you with a story that Beth told that brought me to more tears last night. She explained how she did not have money to buy clothes for herself (her and her husband have 8 kiddos-and you thought I was blessed ;) . As she stood before her closet she prayed "God I have nothing to wear, will you please get me some clothes." Her husband had told her they did not have the money and yet she was tempted to just go buy clothes. A friend of hers called and said hey can you meet me on Saturday. Beth agreed and there was her friend with a huge box (almost as tall as her and about as wide as a washing machine). She opened it up and would you believe it, it was full of summer clothes! As she hung up her clothes she thanked God and then prayed again "God it is awfully cold, could you please get me something warm to go with these clothes you have given me." The next weekend at church someone had given her a bunch of cashmere sweaters that would go perfectly with her new summer clothes to keep her warm through the winter. She concluded with this "If I had done what I wanted too, which was to go take care of it myself, I would have first been disobedient to my husband and second I would missed the opportunity of God doing his work for me, God dressed me and I could have easily missed it."

Dad and Mom Job description

My dear friend Tricia sent this to me and I thought it was perfect! I know that many of you will enjoy it as well. Keep up the great work!!!

POSITION: Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required..

RESPONSIBILITIES: The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and bean embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION: None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis. WAGES AND

COMPENSATION: Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.
** AND A FOOTNOTE¦ THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!!

My way chicken parmesan

Dinner has once again come in our household and once again I was stumped on what to make. I had chicken breasts and knew it had to be something with that. I was going to put it in the crockpot, but..... it didn't get there. My friend Annette gave me a great black bean salsa soup and after I told her I had all the ingredients, because I was sure I did, I went to the freezer to grab the frozen black beans that I had in there and they were gone! By that time Mike had told me I needed to grab Bran from school at 4:30 and after 30 minutes of searching for him he finally appeared from practicing with his friend Vinni for the talent show. So with all that said and done I had 5 very hungry kids getting home at 5:30 and I needed something quick. So of course I thought of spaghetti, quick, simple and no prep, gotta love that. But Brandon sighed and started asking if we had any meatballs. So once again I went to the freezer to see if we had meatballs or ground turkey and once again I came up empty handed. And then I saw the chicken breast. So this recipe is my simple try at a somewhat healthier and yet easy chicken Parmesan.
1lb Chicken breast
about 1 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons or so of Spike
3 tablespoons or so of Parmesan cheese (I just used the jar stuff, cause that is what we had, lol)
1 egg
splash of milk (I didn't have this but I think it would be a nice addition, lol)
1) Get out 2 dishes with edges (plates will work fine if they have higher edges)
2) Pour your bread crumbs, spike and Parmesan onto one plate - set closest to the stove - do not get it so close that it catches on fire ;)
3) On the second plate put your egg and splash of milk and mix till it looks like an uncooked scrambled egg - put this plate just to the side of the other one
4) On a cutting board cut your chicken breast into a little bit bigger than bite sized pieces - put this next to the egg
Now you have an easy assembly line with a lot less mess :)
5) Heat up your pan to about medium to medium high depending on your stove. You can spray a little bit of Pam or something to keep it from sticking, I didn't use anything and I didn't have a problem with it, but just in case.
6) Now take as much chicken as will fit in your pan and put it in the egg mixture. Turn it with your hands or tongs and coat all the sides with eggs.
7) Now take your chicken and carefully put it in your bread crumb mixture and once again coat it on all sides.
8) Put your coated chicken on your hot pan and cook till nice and golden. Turn your chicken after about 2-3 minutes or till cooked on that one side. Continue to rotate your chicken so all the sides get nice and brown.
Because I did not use oil it did not get a real crunchy crispy crust but it was a great flavor.
Serve on top of some spaghetti noodles and sauce. Eat and enjoy.