Lest I Forget

My southern roots, that is. Exhibit A: Tomato Pie (we had this for dinner tonight) And just so y'all know how southern I truly am, the side dish was okra straight from the garden. The recipe: Tomato Pie 1 batch of biscuit dough* 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided 2-3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced 2 Tbsp. flour 1 small sweet onion, minced 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 3/4 cup mayo-mustard blend (I use 1 part dijon, 2 parts mayo) Pat bicuit dough into bottom and up sides of a lightly greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1/4 cup cheese. Toss tomato slices in flour; arrange one layer of tomato slices over cheese. Sprinkle evenly with half the onion, basil, salt and pepper. Repeat procedure. Stir together the remaining cheese and mayo-mustard blend, and spread over top of pie. Bake at 400 degrees for 24 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. *My biscuit dough: 2 cups flour 1 tsp. salt ...

"God is true: he has a long memory for his own promises and a short memory for our failures to keep ours." ---from the morning readings in my Magnificat

I am joining Ginny again this week since I have just cast on a new project. My tendency is to knit small, quick projects that give near instant gratification. I do try to learn some new technique each time and I have definitely jumped into uncharted territory! Actually, I am knee deep in chart reading! That's new. So is lace. So is lace weight yarn! And I am going to be adding beads in a few not so short rows. (363 stitches on the needles right now!) I am trying this pattern from Ravelry, but will add beads instead of the nupps. The yarn is so fragile, so delicate and soft, and so colorful. The more closely you look, the more colors you notice. I am ever so nervous about messing up. Hopefully this will become more relaxing as I gain confidence! I am still reading "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. The bookmark lets me know that my time with this story is almost over. I will miss the story, the people, the land. Don't you just love it when a book can make you feel like y...

--1-- One man's logic: If I can get a free bag of M&M's at the gas station when I buy at least 8 gallons of gas, then I should only buy 8 gallons of gas at a time, thereby maximizing my free M&M intake. It logically answered my question as to why my husband was only partially filling the gas tank in my van for the last couple of weeks. Oh, and I do appreciate that he does this for me! --2-- Nature is brutal, but amazing. While driving to swim lessons with the kids, we were stopped at a traffic light on the water's edge. We saw a bird dive down to the water's surface, skim the water with its feet, and as it flew upwards, we saw that it had caught a fish in its talons! That fish was struggling mightily and the bird was fighting to stay aloft. The bird was the victor in that battle of nature, and we drove on to the pool in awe of what we witnessed. --3-- My daughter just called to let me know she made it to work. This was her maiden voyage as a licensed driver with...

A few nights ago, Tony was grilling our dinner, when a storm blew up rather quickly. All day, the air had been oppressive and weighed you down like a heavy burden. The storm rolled in on cool bursts of wind that swirled the tree branches mightily. I opened the back door to listen to the storm, with it's brilliant lightning and thunder like cannons. And when the storm had passed, the air was crisp and new and light. I feel just like that: renewed. The coming storm Orange Cinnamon Loaves Sophie requested these for her birthday recipe coming soon! We returned to Busch Gardens yesterday, with a stern lecture about NOT trying on hats this time around! I don't want to bring home more uninvited guests. It's best to capture Jack on film candidly. I'm thinking I should have cropped this one! Oh, how she loved the little fountains of water coming out of the ground! She squealed with delight and tried to catch the water in her sweet little hands. All I can say is...I am glad...

Nineteen years ago, at 1:30 in the afternoon, I became a mother. That was the beginning of my vocation, although I didn't think of it like that then. I was awed and amazed at the tiny baby they placed in my arms. She was ours. I was overcome with tears of joy. My sweet Sophia Marie made us a family, made us parents, and has definitely made me a better person. I will never forget that while in labor with Sophie, the nurses left the door open and I could hear their conversation in the hallway. It went something like this: "She would deliver that baby in 15 minutes if the doctor would let us break her water." "Yeah, but he is still on the back 9 of the golf course." Had I not been a mere 21 and had no clue that I could or should speak up, I would have! Thanks to my doctor, I labored for 14 hours with Sophie. The rest of my babies have all been extremely short labors, the next longest being 4 hours, the shortest being 2 1/2 hours! Today, she is such an amazing young...

Does anyone else have a basket full of leftover yarn? Every so often, I get the urge to purge our house of clutter. Now is one of those times and all those balls of yarn? Yep. They are on my list. I found this quick and easy pattern for a market bag on Ravelry. I may keep it or it may be given away if I am still in the purging mode when I am finished knitting. Either way, I like it. I took Ginny's advice and started a Willa Cather novel. Each night, after I read to Jack and Anna, I sit in their room while they fall asleep. I bring in my book and read a chapter or two, until I hear the soft, rhythmic breaths that let me know my children are peacefully resting. Sometimes I read one more chapter in the soft light coming from their little lamp, enjoying the quiet moment. Thank you Ginny for recommending this author, and for being such a lovely host!

I really like the idea of a weekly photo journal. I just don't seem to be able to keep up! Here we have paper flowers that Anna made for me. With most of our toys either in bags or in the freezer for a while, she has returned to her crafts. The haircuts. "If you don't know what you are doing, why are you trying to cut my hair?" Tip of the week: Don't let boiling water splash on your stomach. Don't, I tell you. My boy and his train. This is now in the freezer, just in case. It's a market bag in the making. Today's harvest from the garden!! Zucchini Okra, bean and cucumbers, with some volunteer tomatillos Tomatoes, and another view of the cucumbers overflowing the beds. Thanks to the very sweet Barbara for hosting, even if I don't join in every week.

"In the evening, when our strength is worn low by the day behind us and the darkness of night awaits us, it is easy to grow downcast. Let us then put our hope in Christ our Savior, our strength and our joy." -from the Prayer for the Evening in my Magnificat

After the one week mark of finding head lice on Anna, we are still deep in battle with these bad bugs. On Sunday, I put our coconut oil treatment on her head and waited the eight hours to comb it out and check her hair. I had hoped that I wouldn't find anything in her hair and life could resume. But when I combed through her hair, I found two more bugs! ARRRGGHHH! I broke down, I will admit it. It was not pretty. It was pathetic. And then, I found a bug on Jack. I broke down all over again. I knew it was coming though... Sophie had agreed to watch Jack and Anna while Tony and I took an evening walk. Therese was already in bed. All she had to do was read them a bedtime story. Only problem, she put herself to sleep! We came back home and could not find Jack or Anna. We looked in their bedroom, my room, the downstairs, nothing! I was growing panicked, thinking they left the house to look for us. I went through the den again and noticed the closet door was ajar. They were lying there t...

The other day, I was pondering how to recognize God's will vs. my own. I hadn't really come to any conclusion until Sunday morning. That's when Anna came to me and told me her head itched. I know, it doesn't sound like it could lead to a spiritual breakthrough, but that's where you'd be wrong. I had recently read another blogger's woeful tale of head lice, and Jamie's story is what prompted me to look at her head. My heart sank as I saw a little critter in her hair. How could this happen? What was I going to do? After determining that Anna seemed to be the only one with this predicament, I went into action. (Well, actually first I cried.) I got on the internet and started researching what to do. This is how I cope with things, I research them ad naseum. I sent Tony for the special comb and then decided to send an e-mail to Jamie to seek advice from someone actually living it. She was an absolute angel. I was pretty distressed about the whole thing, for t...