JD’s Photo-Shoot with Lisa

JD loves playing ball and reading books
more than anything else right now!

		Our Sweet Baby Boy at 14 Months VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 
Photos by Lisa at www.maineberrypatch.blogspot.com

Sapping Time is Here!

Yum, Maple Syrup!

There are few things in the state of Maine that are as encouraging as "sap season."  When sap from the maple trees begins to flow, its a sure sign that spring is just around the corner!  Yesterday we began boiling sap once again for another year's supply of yummy maple syrup!  Its a fun and educational family affair! Another educational adventure for

The Family Forest Academy!

		Sapping Season VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thursdays: Tied with Love and Laughter

 BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW HECTIC AND CRAZY LIFE CAN BECOME, STOP BY ON THURSDAYS TO TAKE A MINUTE AND REMEMBER ALL THE REASONS WHY YOU FELL CRAZY IN LOVE!  HOW HAS THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN A BLESSING TO YOU THIS WEEK?

What is your most memorable "Get-Away?"

Each year, my husband and I mark our calendars well in advance for the Maine State Homeschool Convention which takes place at the Samoset Resort for three reasons:

1) The Samoset is gorgeous! 

2) We believe that homeschooling is one of the major key players in the pursuit of our family goals and so we like to invest in this weekend to prepare ourselves for the upcoming school year.
3) Its one of the rare times that we actually have the opportunity to get away, just the two of us! 

This year we left our three little ones home with "Meme" and "Brahaw" and headed out for a refreshing weekend together.  It was a weekend of encouragement, blessings, laughter, and quiet.  We even got to have dinner out with good friends AND we got a room upgrade that had a hot tub!  It was fabulous.  This week I am thanking God again for allowing me to share my life with my husband.

Can't wait to hear YOUR stories!

If you don't have a blog to link to, feel free to just leave a comment below!

Stumped for ideas?
Did you have a special date, did you make a big decision, did he make you feel extra special in some way, did you laugh together, did you remember a special past memory, did you overcome something together, did he make you smile, were there any surprises this week? 

Egg Free Muffins-JD Safe

 

Found this recipe at Food.com and then tweaked it just a little.  These are JD safe and they turned out moist and yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemons or 1 tablespoon oranges or 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
   
• 1 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• I also added 1 mashed banana from the variations below

Variations

• 1 -2 mashed banana
• 1/2 cup raisins with 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup blueberries or 1/2 cup fruit

Directions:

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

Light and Fluffy Egg Free Muffins from Food.com

1. Mix all ingredients until combined. Do not overmix!
2. Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 20-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted in the middle.
3. Makes 12 muffins

Grammar Lesson of the Day

To capitalize or not to capitalize?

I always thought that a semi-colon took the place of a period, tying together two separate thoughts or sentences, which it usually does.  But I also thought that when it was tying together two complete sentences that it should be used as a period, therefore capitalizing the first letter following the semi-colon.  WRONG!  It is NOT necessary to capitalize the first letter following a semi-colon.  Thank you to my free-lancing cousin Robin Lindamin for setting me straight!  I had read this truth at Dr. Grammar (see below) but I didn't believe it until I ran it by Robin!  Thanks Robin!

 

Semicolon use?

"A semicolon creates a brief reading pause that can dramatically highlight a close relationship or a contrast. The semicolon alone can't specify the relationship the way words like because or however can. Be sure, therefore, that the relationship you are signaling won't be puzzling to readers."
"Join two sentences with a semicolon. A semicolon joins main clauses that can stand alone as complete sentences.
[Example:] The demand for paper is at an all-time high; businesses alone consume millions of tons each year."
"Use a semicolon with words such as however and on the other hand. When you use a semicolon alone to link main clauses, you ask readers to recognize the logical link between the clauses. When you add words like however or on the other hand, you create a different effect on readers by specifying how the clauses relate.
[Example:] I like apples; however, I hate pears."
"Use a semicolon with a complex series. When items in a series contain commas, readers may have trouble deciding which commas separate parts of the series and which belong within items. To avoid confusion, put semicolons between elements in a series when one or more contain other punctuation.
[Example:] I interviewed Debbie Rios, the attorney; Rhonda Marron, the accountant; and the financial director." (Anson, Schwegler, and Muth, The Longman Writer's Companion 432-433)

Mini-Vacation

So my husband and I took a little mini-vacation this weekend and went to the Maine State Homeschool Convention.  We had a blast! Between sickness and our little get away, blogging took a back seat this week.  But I am optimistic that we will be returning to "normal" very soon. 

Homeschool Convention 2011 Keynote Speakers:
Steve Demme and Mark Hamby
Special Guests for 2011:  Portland Symphony Orchestra String Quintet with Narrator Laura Harris and Composer Delvyn Chase presented Strings KinderKonzert: Lighthouse Keeper: The Story of Abbie Burgess.
Governor Paul LePage, who happens to be a strong advocate of homeschooling!

The thought that inspired me the most this weekend was when Steve Demme from "The Family that stays together, stays together," shared his daily prayer.  Paraphrasing of course, he basically said that his prayer as a parent is that God would allow him to see his children the way that God sees them.  He later added the importance of children understanding that they are loved and accepted unconditionally by their parents.

I hope to remember this prayer more often in my daily prayer life.

More to come...

Whole Lot of Family Fun!

After MONTHS of planning, we were able to successfully surprise my husband and our children with a visit from my sister-in-law and her family!  It was a complete surprise!  My husband starred out the window at their van in our yard and repeated the words, “What?! No! What?!”  over and over again!  Our girls just giggled uncontrollably and then took off playing and never stopped all weekend!  It was a fun-filled 3 days of snowmobiling, snow activities, AWANA sliding party, random science experiments (including exploding our volcano and creating a Mento-diet coke explosion!) games, Polly pockets, Barbies, dress-up, stories and lots of laughs!  Was so much fun for all! 

Great New Books!  The girls are sharing these books back and forth tonight as they lay in bed, definitely favorites!



We ended the weekend with an evening of Tim Hawkin's, Insanitized, could anything possibly be funnier?!  Check out a clip HERE

		Our Maryland Family Visits! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Thursdays: Tied with Love and Laughter: Can you keep a secret?

BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW HECTIC AND CRAZY LIFE CAN BECOME, STOP BY ON THURSDAYS TO TAKE A MINUTE AND REMEMBER ALL THE REASONS WHY YOU FELL CRAZY IN LOVE!  HOW HAS THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE HAS BEEN A BLESSING TO YOU THIS WEEK?

Ok, can you keep a secret? 

Because this is a really big one!

When I married into my husband's family, I not only gained an incredibly awesome husband, I also gained incredibly awesome in-laws!  My sister-in-law Rosanne is one of my favorite people ever and her husband Keith is one my husband's favs as well.  The only bummer is that we live 13 hours apart. 

But today (here's the big secret!) my sister-in-law, her husband and their three children are in route to our house for a visit, due to arrive around noon... and get this... My husband has NO IDEA!  If I pull this off, it will be the single biggest surprise that I have ever had for my husband.  I am so excited! I can hardly wait!  Oh, and my kids don't know either, so its double the fun knowing that they too have an awesome surprise in store! 

This is such a fun day! 

Will let you know how it all turns out! 

And a little shout out to my good friend Jenny who picked up my shift at the hospital so that I could be at home to pull this off... thank you!

Dan with our nephew Tyler (years ago);
Yes, they are working on a roof together!

Have you ever surprised your husband with something?

Can't wait to hear YOUR stories!

Stumped for ideas? Did you have a special date, did you make a big decision, did he make you feel extra special in some way, did you laugh together, did you remember a special past memory, did you overcome something together, did he make you smile, were there any surprises this week? 

If you don't have a blog to link to, feel free to just leave a comment below!

Veggie-Bean Quinoa, its nut free and egg free!

We continue to experiment with new recipes in our house as we attempt to find foods that are both appealing and allergy safe for our little man.  Found a dinner that was a success!  After trying a combination of three different recipes and tweaking it here and there to make it allergy safe, we created a recipe that pleased everyone!

Yummy!

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan.

Add 3 diced garlic cloves and 1/2 cup diced onion.

Heat for 5 minutes

Add 3 diced carrots, 2 stalks of celery diced, and 1 diced red pepper.

Heat for 3 to 5 minutes.

Stir in 1 cup of quinoa, cover with 2 cups vegetable broth (I added one extra boullion cube).

Add 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp red pepper, and 1 tsp sea salt.

Allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Add in 1 cup frozen corn and 2 (15 oz) cans of kidney beans.

Stir in 1/4 cup Parsley.

Serve warm.

 

Was definitely a family favorite!

Sunday Snapshot

Our first "Baby" still makes me smile everyday.  She was being so obedient, trying so hard to sit still even though I repeatedly blinded her with my flash!  I just wanted ONE good shot of her big brown eyes but in the end, this one best captured her sweet, want-to-please, loving disposition.  Its my new favorite, even without her big brown eyes showing. 

I just love her!

www.wordlesswednesday.com

Tiny Talk Tuesday

"Mommy, can I please move my chair back from the tv?  I think I am too close, my eyes are really sweating."

-AN4

Rock Buildings

Living in New England, there are no shortages of rock.  So when we started building the family-room addition onto the back  of our home, it was no surprise that the most widespread material that we found in our yard was rock.  Lots of rock!  And let me tell you, most of the rocks where not ideally located.  So as a family, we spent a great deal of time moving rocks, arranging rocks, re-arranging rocks and piling rocks until the rocks were all in just the right places.  Even the children carried rocks, smaller rocks, but still rocks none-the-less. When the ground was finally sufficiently level and the concrete was poured, the foundation of our family room formed together quite beautifully! 

Months later, rainwater began to take it toll where it had collected on the roof and then poured off the eaves onto the ground below.  The surrounding sand was beginning to wash away from around the outside edges of the foundation.  Having a measure of fore-sight, my husband prevented further erosion by supporting the surrounding ground with more rocks.  The rocks kept the ground and our foundation from washing away.

“…And the rains fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and slammed against the house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock...” Matthew 7:24-27

Rocks, so simple and and yet so incredibly necessary to the foundation of all structures!  Rocks do not move!  They do not wash away! They do not blow away!  They hold, as a firm foundation so that a building may stand!  So why is it, that I so often avoid building on rock? Its the obvious choice!  So why do I so easily believe the lie, that a momentarily-satisfying-sand-like-foundation will hold?  Will self propelled plans and attempts ever truly succeed? 

 “…like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house; and it fell-and it was a great fall.”  Matthew 7:24-27

As I was reading Matthew chapter 7 this morning, the image of my children carrying small rocks and carefully laying them out as part of our foundation caused me to take a reflective pause.  Which endeavors in my life have been carefully built upon the rock?  And which ones have not been? Which ones have been successful and which ones have not? Which decisions did I make hastily, choosing the path laid with sand?  And which endeavors did I take to God first, laying my foundation upon Him, my solid Rock?  Which endeavors have withstood the rain, the floods, and the winds? And which ones, have not?

Praising God again today for His Love, for His Word, for His forgiveness and for His direction.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to the wise man who built his house upon the rock…” Matthew 7:24-27