Mystery Jar

Well, I think I need to provide more clues as to the mystery jar...

1. I stood on a ladder to pick the fruit...from a tree.

2. It's a kind of jam.

Help?

Funny though, I really thought I would be able to eat it easily. For heaven's sake, I made it and know exactly what is in it. But...the color. Oh, the color. It messes with the mind. I tried to mix it in some yogurt this morning. It was really hard to eat it. Maybe if I close my eyes...all that came to mind was green beans. Yuck.

On that note, any more guesses???

Poor

I've read the beatitudes a few times. Some of them are clear...those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Then, there are others that aren't so clear. What does being poor in spirit mean?

I don't know that I have a perfect definition...but when Kasey played this song for me last night, it had "poor in spirit" all over it. I want to NEED God like this.

Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me bleedin'
cause I need more now than a fairy tale,
a god who lives in a book.
I need someone real.

So would you come?
Would you come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?

Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me on my knees,
cause I need more now than philosophy.
Some god in outer space doesn't mean anything to me.

So would you come?
Would you come?
If I begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Would you come?
Would you come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?

Son of David, do not pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.
Son of david, don't pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.

The Golden Thunder Dragons

THEY PLAY.

I COACH.

YOU CHEER.

That would be the slogan on the back of the coach's shirt for Clayton's soccer league. Yep, it's official, Clayton's grown up. Because playing soccer equals grown up, of course.

He's had lots of fun, and has *almost* made about 5 goals now. We've decided that he is good defender material. But, when he gets alone with the ball, he sure goes for it.

Last week, I asked Clayton how many goals he wanted to make at his next game... The ensuing discussion proves that I aim low.

My suggestion: 2 goals

Clayton's: At least 100, mom.

Oh, and Levi is just so much fun at the games. Let's just say he wants to be a soccer player too. We've had to run across the field several times to keep him from joining in...

A few more games left this season, but a good experience for sure. Hopefully he'll be a soccer star like my sis and bro. Let's just say I didn't get the athletic genes in our family.

Garden Haul and Guessing Game

Well, the goat poo worked. We attempted a large garden this year. Had some major failures [slugs + greenbeans = bad news] and some successes [5 ft. tomato plants]. A good friend who has goats allowed us to come get a truckload of the...the good stuff, let's just say. It worked!

It seems like everything has ripened late, but it's so nice to still have cherry tomatoes out the wazoo, and regular tomatoes to turn into tomato sauce - yum! I have to say though, the purple peppers...not so much. I think I need to let them turn red to sweeten up. They were super bitter, though they do look pretty cool. Here's a shot from last week.

And now for the guessing game. What is this??

And a closer shot.

Three hints:

1. Yes, it is this color.

2. My boys will eat it [that says a LOT].

3. Can't think of another hint, sorry.

Because this looks so disgusting and yet tastes so good, I have to share. I'll send a jar to the first person to guess correctly.

[for the couple of people who know what this is, no cheating!!]

The Fam.

This is my new favorite family pic. It's rare to get us all looking the same direction at once, so thanks to my sis-in-law for snapping this one for us.

It was from a recent weekend where we sent Kasey's brother Aaron off...back to Iraq. A great weekend, and a good reminder to be grateful for who and what we have.

Food!

I love to cook. It makes me happy. Cleanup...not so much, but the process and enjoying with family and friends, love it!

So, thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes...

Breakfast

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins from smitten kitchen. Oh my. Seriously, these are the best muffins I've ever had. They don't look all that pretty, but man are they good. Love that they are half whole wheat flour too. The boys love em. Two notes - I don't bother with unsalted butter, just been using the salted I have, and I haven't been putting the brown sugar on top.

Baked Oatmeal - Lots of recipes out there, my favorite with adjustments is from All Recipes. What I love is that you mix it the night before, set it in the fridge overnight and bake it the next day. Thanks, mom for turning me on to this one.

Regular Oatmeal, Plain Yogurt and Bananas. I know, not really a recipe, but really good. I've come to LOVE plain yogurt, and use it whenever I can...I'm going to attempt homemade yogurt one of these days, but for now, just the storebought stuff works.

Dinner

PW's Sloppy Joes. Oh. My. YUM. Kasey drooled over these tonite, they were really yummy, and pretty easy. Don't tell Kase - I used half ground beef and half ground turkey.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup. Levi just devours this one. It's so good, and the best part is it cooks in the crock pot all day and is super easy to dish up. I just add fresh salsa, homemade salsa verde, avocado, cheese, etc. and I usually serve over rice. It's a lot thicker if you use dry beans, which I usually do.

BREAD

I LOVE homemade bread. And I've enjoyed fixing it for the last month. I'm on a roll... Next step is to try out some whole wheat variations, but my go to recipes for the moment are...

Sandwich Bread

Crusty, Artisan Mmmmmm Bread

Happy cooking. Maybe someday I'll take photos of my food, but for now, you just get links :)