Happy Thanksgiving!

What are you grateful for today? That's what I asked my kids. One of them said, "Spider Man." Another said, "That I don't have to go to school. (She's home sick)" Not quite what I had in mind. Sometimes gratefulness is a choice. Especially when you are in over your head in a difficult time of life. Today, I am grateful for faith in a God who is forgiving and loves me as I am, my kids, a husband who is a hardworker and full of integrity and for a great community of neighbors and friends who are willing to walk life alongside me with all my junk. So, I ask again, what are you grateful for today? Hope your thanksgiving is a reflective one of the blessings in your lives. Happy Thanksgiving! Here is a great Pumpkin Muffin recipe both you and your kids will love.

I got this from Cooking Light but have made some changes...
Spicy Pumpkin Muffins
3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/3 cup of brown sugar or honey
3/4 cup of milk
1/3 cup of canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (opt.)
1 cup chocolate chips (opt.)
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flours through cloves in a large bowl, Make a well in center. In a separate bowl, combine sugar through pumpkin and mix until smooth. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Add walnuts or chocolate chips and mix lightly. Spoon into muffin cups, approximately 18, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

Fall is in the air!

Happy Fall! I love this time of year. We have had 70 degree days for a week and the trees have turned. So beautiful. I love the crisp nights and mornings. Today, my six year old and I made caramel apples. A friend of ours has an apple tree and so after the picking, we dried a bunch of them and enjoyed caramel apples for dessert tonight. By the way, butter the waxed paper you set them on! It took me forever to free the apples.

We are still harvesting carrots, squash and tomatoes and even have a few snap peas from the August planting already. Hard to believe winter is on it's way. I planted garlic around this time of year last year. So easy! Plant it now and harvest it in August to use all year. Check out how to plant it here

Happy Summer

Happy Summer! The kids and I just came home from the perfect summer evening. We hung out with some friends for dinner, biked to campus for a free outdoor concert, watched the sunset and biked home. The perfect temperature. Gotta love summer but not a fan of making big dinners. Here is one of my favorite summer dishes that is easy and so yummy!

Tomato, Basil, and Feta Pasta

1 box of Farfalle Pasta

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 cup of loosely packed chopped fresh basil

1 cup (or more) of extra-virgin olive oil-first cold pressed is the best and healthiest!

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 cup of feta

salt to taste

Cook pasta al dente. Meanwhile place the remainder of ingredients in a large bowl. Pour drained pasta over the mix and stir. The dish is best served at room temperature to let the flavors meld together. I like this dish as is or you can add chopped spinach, sauteed mushrooms or serve grilled chicken on the side. Add some good bread (ecce panis ciabiatta is one one of my favorites!) for lapping up the oil. A bowl of fresh summer berries and you have the perfect summer meal. Enjoy!

Take A Hike

School is out and it's time to GET OUT! Take advantage of the changing season around your area and explore with your kids the outdoors. Take a walk after dinner together and observe the changes. Your kids will come alive! Make a plan on June 5th to take a hike and celebrate National Hiking Day! checkout this website to celebrate the day

Happy Earth Day

I love Earth Day! How cool to take a moment and pause from our self-absorbed lives and think outside of ourselves for a day. In our house, you might hear my kids say, "Everyday is earth day." There are so many simple things we can do to show our care for our planet.



Here are few green everyday tips:

· Re-usable shopping bags / gift bags / produce bags
· Cloth napkins
· Wrap –n- mats (http://www.reusablebags.com/)
· Carpool or ride bike
· Rechargeable batteries: Hundreds of recharges compared to single use batteries
· CFL light bulbs: Last 9X longer than incandescent bulbs - do the math!!
· Shut down your computer at night and save $90/year
· Use micro fiber cloths, washcloths, to clean, dust, mirrors - INSTEAD of paper towels
· Stop your junk mail (http://www.greendimes.com/)
· Plant a tree
· Buy local
· Eat whole and organic foods
· Use Safe, Biodegradable, Non-toxic cleaning products- www.shaklee.net/whole-living
· Stop using plastic- Americans dispose of 10.5 million tons of plastic garbage every year
· PRECYCLING-Figure out how you’re going to dispose of a product and it’s packaging before you buy. Think of packaging as a part of the product. You get what you pay for: If the packaging is designed to be thrown away immediately…part of your money is going toward cleverly designed garbage.

“Most of us feel a little confused about where we're supposed to "land” on issues of the planet: Global warming. Over- population. Endangered species. Disposable diapers. Recycling. Conservation. We care—deeply so—about the people on the planet. But the planet itself? It's confusing. Whatever your take on the environmental controversy of the day, the fact is 100 years ago, 1.5 billion people used the planet's resources to meet their everyday needs. Today, there are 6 billion people using the same resources. A biblical world view calls Christ-followers to steward the world's resources so that people today have enough and the planet is preserved for the people of tomorrow…We're called to be earth-keepers, planet-lovers, our Father's-world children, creation-caretakers and homeowners. Whether we literally own or lease our dwelling in the land, we really are "homeowners" of this planet…This is our Father's world. Better moms make a better world—for their children and for all the children of future mothers who will dwell on this planet.” ~Alisa Morgan, MomSense-March08, “Why should I care about planet earth?”

Why not celebrate Earth Day everyday? Think through how you spend your days and make a change toward caring for this beautiful planet.

New Thoughts for the New Year

Happy New Year! Every January I love to sit and reflect on the past year and write down my hopes, prayers and desires for the new year ahead. I love starting fresh, with new perspective on life. One of the most important things we can do in our daily lives is to take time to sit and reflect. In our crazy, busy western culture quiet reflection is not a value and yet it's in these times we often gain perspective, understanding, and experience peace. Sometimes I spend time praying, or reading or taking a walk or writing in a journal. I love to get outside early in the morning (if the weather permits) with a cup of coffee and a blanket and watch the world wake up.

Every year I write down something new I would like to do. I spent some time reading last year's entry and one of my desires was to learn how to make jam. I smiled because I had forgotten that I wrote this and in July, my dear friend, Mason, taught me how to make blueberry jam. We had so much fun making it and I still have several jars left! Canning seems daunting but it's actually quite simple, especially if you can do it with a friend. Now I know exactly what is in the jam I am eating and serving to my kids (most jams are loaded with High Fructose Corn Syrup) and I plan to make jam every year.

Why not try something new this year that will improve your health?...run a race, eat less sugar, give some of your time to serving those in need, plant something, open the shades, on a warm day-open the windows and doors, get outside, ask other people questions about their life, make a choice to only eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full, eat slowly, drink more water, ask God to show Himself to you, lay down on the floor and stretch, detoxify your home environment, take a walk everyday no matter the weather, read more instead of watching tv, make more meals at home, write a hand-written letter to a friend, laugh, eat more beans instead of meat, eat more fruits and vegetables-get creative, smile everyday, say one nice thing to each person you live with each day, get up early once a week just to watch the sunrise...make time to reflect!