Wanna Favicon?

Martha's is a photo of herself.  Tara Whitney's is my favorite.  BYU's is the "Y".
What will your favicon be?

A favicon is the icon to the left of your blog URL.  Do you want one?  Here are the directions I used to create our blog's favicon.  I don't know if ours works on every browser, but hey, I like seeing our little heart every time I pull up our blog.  Our favicon is the uppercase "O" of the LDJ Flirt font from Lettering Delights.  It's also the font on our header and sidebar labels.  You could say I have a thing for hearts:)  I used photoshop to make a 16x16 pixel jpg, then uploaded it to my flickr account in order to give it a URL.  I used the code editing directions towards the end of this post to put the favicon into action.  It's fun to see more than just Blogger B's:)

Go for it!

The Hiding Place

Reflections upon reading The Hiding Place.

1. Even when freedom is lost, everyday we have the gift of agency to choose how we react to situations and those around us.  We constantly choose our feelings and our beliefs.  We constantly choose how to express ourselves.  With each choice comes consequences, both good and bad.  This agency is a divine gift.  We can always choose to grow in our faith and learn from Christ. (chapters 10+)

2. Even when we are going about doing service and worthy projects, this agency and decision making is still ours.  Life continues to involve "experimenting, making mistakes, learning." (pg. 237)

3. Some trials of adversity are actually blessings in disguise. Having our hearts' worthy desires granted can come at a cost, including suffering (the story of the flees).

4. When we have a mission to fulfill, the Lord will make a way for us to survive as we faithfully seek to know and do His will. (pg. 241)

5.  When we do not feel love for another human being, even one who has been cruel, the Lord can bless us with His love. (one of my favorite parts of the story -pg. 238)

6.  Bravery has many faces.  The ten Boom family chose to assist Jews in hiding from the Nazis knowing that they could/would be arrested if they were caught, but they did not have a clear idea of the inhumanity that was a consequence of this bravery.  Even after their arrest, they never spoke of regret for their choice to help the Jews.  Following their arrest, the ten Booms were transported to The Hague, Gestapo headquarters in Holland, and Corrie's father was offered a ticket home if he would agree to "stay out of trouble."  Mr. ten Boom replied, "If I go home today, I will open my door again to any man in need who knocks."  (pg. 138)  He didn't live much longer through his imprisonment.

And then there was the bravery it took to smuggle their Bible into their prison room and read it aloud daily. 

The raid on Corrie's home doesn't take place until chapter 9, and I put the book down many times in those early chapters of life pre-Nazi occupation of Holland. It was good story telling, but just not the meat of the book.  I found the whole business of the Dutch underground helping their Jewish neighbors compelling and brave, and from the raid through the imprisonment, and finally post concentration camp life...all compelling & I couldn't put the book down.  Corrie and her sister, Betsie took that most difficult experience and chose to draw closer to the Lord and share his love with all who would hear.  The trial was not lifted, but they were humble enough to grow in spirit and ultimately offer inspiration through the retelling of their experience.  No doubt they never envisioned their life journey leaving their cozy life and steady watchmaking business to go through awful suffering in Nazi Germany, and finally years of service for those in need back in their native Holland.  How much of our lives are we open to discovering what the Lord would have us do...no matter what?  This involves some sacrifice, but also comes with great blessings.

This would be a great book for book club discussion!  Have you read it?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Lobstah!

Rain or shine, the AW Clambake is one of our favorite family Autumn traditions. Next year we hope the weather cooperates so we can meet up at Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA -the PERFECT setting!  Thomas & Christina love the lobstah, but Grace, Caroline, & Wes have yet to venture past the corn on the cob, hot dogs, & watermelon. All of us enjoyed catching up with old friends. 

After the Clambake, we had another great, family-friendly activity called "Clean the basement."  No one had fun, but the job got done...pretty much.

After dinner, pj's, and such, I found myself with some reading buddies... Happy Dreams!

20 Things I love about Autumn

Melissa over at Inspired Room invited anyone and everyone to share their 20 favorite things about fall.  This is perfect timing because we've cooled down here in MA, the leaves are changing...ready or not, it's time to embrace AUTUMN!

20 Things I Love about Autumn

1. Pumpkin Gingerbread (I add chocolate chips)

3.  Snuggling in the big flannel patchwork blanket I made for my sweetheart.

4. A fire in the fireplace

5. Breathtaking foliage everywhere I go (I just wish "peak" season lasted much longer).

 6.  Soup!  Since moving to New England I've become a huge soup fan.  I love Legal's clam chowder and black bean soup.

8.  Yankee Candles- Home Sweet Home scent

9. Apple Crisp

10. Cider donuts

11. Cramming those holiday projects in after kids are tucked in bed, hoping to be done before Christmas!  A couple years ago I made a ribbon trimmed bulletin board for my niece, Lauren for Christmas.  As I made it I thought of how my mom used to spoil Lauren (the 1st grandchild--my mom died in '92).  My mom was visiting friends and said, "Do you want to see my new grandbaby?" and proceeded to unroll a poster size photo of Lauren asleep.  We laugh about that to this day.  So, as I sat there with my daughter making this ribbon bulletin board for Lauren, it was sweet to feel like I was doing what my mom would be doing were she here...spoiling Lauren (& all her grandkids).

12. Hot chocolate

13. Cozy turtleneck sweaters

14. Pumpkin pie spices

16. Annual clambake at Crane Beach in Ipswich, MA

17. Thankful hearts

19. Cheering on USC, BYU, the PATS, the Red Sox, & the Dodgers

HAPPY AUTUMN WISHES!

P.S.  I'd love to hear your favorites too!

Canning Peaches

Happiness is....

Spending the morning with dear friends making good on our peach spoils from Tougas Farm. We went from peaches in boxes...

to peaches processing in Mason Jars....

to the sweet sound of lids popping, sealing in the goodness of orchard fresh peaches....

My dear, sweet Wesley...

I got a call from Liesl asking if I was missing my cell phone. Turns out while we were canning peaches you were hiding my cell phone in Liesl's kitchen cabinets. You make me laugh!

It may not be about the fish. . .

. . . but it's nice to catch one every once in a while.

Thomas and I went fishing last Saturday morning and he had a blast landing his first fish (a bluegill).

Wordle

Have you wordled? It's the modern day version of the good old fashioned magazine collage. Wordle gives you a few more possiblities...blog headers, t-shirts, cards, Primary, YW, etc. Here's what I came up with today....
I typed in my own words...repeating the same word will make the word larger, and putting a "~" in between words connects the words (ex: Red~Sox will appear Red Sox). You can type in your blog URL and wordle will pull a collection of words from your recent posts and make a wordle out of them. You can customize the font and colors on your wordle. I've got a couple links to color codes on my blogroll (see sidebar to the right)...you can use them to customize the color scheme of your wordle. Wordle. CO Julie will have fun with that word:)

http://wordle.net 

Thanks, Macy!

Apple Picking at Tougas

The weather is cooling down and with apple picking season and leaves starting to change color, it's beginning to feel like autumn...ready or NOT!

What can I say...we love our local farms.  After peach, nectarine, raspberry, blueberry, and apple picking it will be hard to buy store bought.  It's all so much better fresh from the vine/tree/bush.  The local U-Pick farms and orchards here are such a treat.  

Today we went as a family to Tougas Farm.  We took the wagon ride to the apple orchard and picked Gala and Honey Crisp apples.  The kids liked the Galas best- they were so crisp and sweet.

We played for a spell in the pumpkin patch, and the kids found pumpkins of all shapes and sizes.

Wesley had some hilarious grunting effects going on as he tried to lift the pumpkins.  He's such a FUN little man.  

When he hollers, we all...laugh!

Before heading back to the car, we stopped at the kitchen

for cider donuts, a gallon of cider to go, and an apple turnover...LUNCH.

Time to dig up yummy apple recipes & munch on some apples! 

Raspberry Peach Freezer Jam

As I was standing at the sink with Caroline, helping her mash raspberries for this raspberry peach freezer jam,

the thought crossed my mind that there was no place in the world that I'd rather be than right there with her smashing berries. I love you, Cutie!

XO, mom

A dose of inspiration...

My friend, Julie just posted this on her blog.  I thought I'd pass it along....

Fishing

I only went fishing with my Grandpa once or twice.

I don't remember where we were or if anybody else was there. I know we didn't catch anything but that didn't seem to matter to me or my Grandpa. I was just a kid, maybe 7 or 8, and I relished the undivided attention that my Grandpa gave me, even if I have since forgotten any practical advice he gave me about landing a trout or tying a lure onto my line.

What I did learn, although it took me a few more decades to realize, was that fishing wasn't about the fish, or at least it wasn't when he and I were fishing. Good thing, given the lack of success we had those few times. I'm sure it would have made the day more exciting to have caught something. . . anything really, but it wouldn't have made the memory any more clear and might have actually made it harder for me to recognize what I was taught.

Last week these memories came back to me.

The Scouts had a fishing camp out planned for this past weekend. In preparation for that trip, I went out and outfitted myself with some basic fishing gear, including a few extra rods and reels for our kids. The week before this trip, I found myself with an unexpected evening free and some brand new fishing gear in my trunk.

I got home after work that day and told Thomas we were going fishing. We headed out to a local pond and found ourselves a spot. I taught Thomas the finer points of casting and we tried a few different types of lures while fishing until it got dark.

We caught a lot of weeds and a few tree limbs but not even a nibble from the fish. Highlighting our failure, the guy down the way from us was catching something about every third cast.

This worried me. I thought Thomas might get discouraged by his dad's obvious lack of fishing skills but then he made a declaration; just one short statement of fact.

"Fishing is awesome, especially when you're with someone you like."

With those few words, I remembered the time spent fishing with my Grandpa and I hoped desperately that I had expressed a similar sentiment to him. With a simple phrase, I finally learned what my Grandpa had wanted me to understand.

Fishing is not about the fish.

There's a lot of things I wish I could talk to my Grandpa about now that I am older. Things that I didn't know to ask only a few years ago. Now, with a daughter on the cusp of her teenage years and a son not too far behind her, I wish I had a few more years with him. I wish I could capture just a little more of his wisdom and experience.

For now I'll have to settle for the memories made and the lessons learned, even if it takes me a few years to understand them.

The Conversation that is Prayer

l Last week I struggled with one part of my primary lesson on prayer.  I knew I wanted to share an experience when I felt like my prayers were answered, but as always, I wanted the children to be able to apply the principle I was teaching to their lives TODAY, not just when big problems come.  At the end of my lesson I realized that the prayer experience I needed to share was about Grace.  She was sitting right there, looking as healthy as any other child in primary.  This was not the everyday experience I was looking for, but I didn't argue:).  I felt to preface that experience by reminding the children that sometimes it is obvious in big ways that our prayers are answered...we are healed, we are kept safe, we feel courage, we find what we're looking for, etc.  But it is important to know that every earnest prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father...the mealtime prayers, the morning prayers, the bedtime prayers, the prayers of faith and thanksgiving offered from the heart.  Then I told of Grace, specifically of when in the first hours of her life we found that she had pulmonary atresia that couldn't be treated right away because she had developed Necrotizing Enterocolitis.  It's a scary thing to be told that your day old baby's heart can't be fixed because she's got a more pressing issue!  The doc told us that they were starting Grace on aggressive antibiotic treatments, and until the NEC resolved we had to wait on repairing Grace's pulmonary valve.  PRAYERS.  We prayed.  We had our home teacher come to the hospital and assist Wayne in giving Grace a priesthood blessing.  She was told she would be healed and that it would be as if there was nothing wrong with her.  The next morning we got word that the NEC had resolved, and that Grace would have her Cardiac Catheterization as soon as possible.  Miracles.  I told the primary kids to look at Grace.  She's living proof of answers to prayers.

l What I didn't share with the primary children, but what has been a life lesson for me came days later.  My sister delivered a stillborn baby at 39 weeks.  We had been on the phone regularly during our pregnancies comparing notes, spitting in Drain-o to "know" the sex of our babies, dreaming of these two little girl cousins.  I remember getting the sad news of baby Julia's death and gasping in shock.  It made no sense.  We talk of faith healing and miracles, but I knew that my sister had no less faith than I, if anything she and her sweet family were much more faithful.  How could this happen?  My answer came quickly and clearly... "Faith does not mean believing in Christ because we got 'our way,' but faith also means believing in Jesus Christ even when you do not."  Isn't it ironic that although our babies faired differently, my sister and I both attribute our faith to getting us through those experiences?

l Not surprising, the key point in senior primary was made by one of the primary children.  After reading, D&C 6:22-23, J. who is turning 12 this week, was asked to share a time when he felt like his prayers were answered because the Spirit gave him peace.  J. said that one time he was saying his prayers and he repented for something he had done.  He finished his prayer and he waited.  Then he felt warmth inside and he felt like he was forgiven.

So, the challenge for the primary, adults included, was to take time in our prayers to have a 2-WAY conversation with our Heavenly Father...Wait...Listen.  Even if the answer doesn't come right away, we can feel the love of our Heavenly Father and know that He is there for us, and will help us in His time and in His way; the Perfect way.

l Something I didn't share with the children, but love to remember...

Game Night!

We had a USC-Ohio State party at our house.  Our friends, the Robisons, showed up after the following picture was taken, but they are Buckeye fans as well...so sad!  Knowing that we were going to be outnumbered, we made sure SC was represented well.  We painted the white table cloth, made a poster, served USC fruit pizza, and lemonade among other munchables.  The B's and R's brought buckeye treats.  They are rich like truffles & so, so yummy.  

  

They came with faces painted and all decked out to cheer on Ohio State, but although we were lacking in the costume dept., we held our own for our beloved  Trojans!  Fight on!

Fruit pizza consists of a cream cheese "sauce" on a sugar cookie, topped with fresh fruit and berries & a citrus glace.  Christina's church teacher made this for their class a few weeks ago and Christina was raving about it.  It's an easy, yummy dish, and you can jazz it up for whatever the occasion (ie. flag for July 4th, flowers for girls' party, etc).  Christina did a great job making our USC version. 

Thanks for the fun party!  We had a great time.

We should have gotten together a little earlier for the BYU game....we ALL would have been cheering for the Cougars.

What a game!

...and our Red Sox won!  It was a good day.

Blueberry Crêpes

This delicious crêpe recipe comes from The Patriot Inn, Olde Town Portsmouth, VA and is found in the Virgina B&B Cookbook that my brother & SIL, who live in VA gave me for Christmas last year.  I'm tempted to try and live off crêpes....my favorite are filled with fresh berries and whipped cream, topped with a dusting of powdered sugar.  What's your favorite?  Grace and Thomas weren't fans of the blueberry version, but are open to other ideas.  Caroline and I took some extra crêpes, whipped cream and blueberries down the street to our new neighbors with our contact info, the crêpe recipe, and directions to Tougas Farm in case they want to go pick berries, peaches, and/or apples.

Here's the crêpe recipe.  I'm including the B&B's filling, although we just used fresh blueberries we picked at Tougas Farm.

Cherry & Strawberry Crêpes

Crêpes:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

4 eggs

5 1/3 Tbls. butter, melted

2 cups milk

Filling:

1 (20 oz.) can cherry pie filling

1 (10 oz.) package frozen sliced sweetened strawberries

Whipped cream

Crêpes:  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add flour mixture to eggs and mix well.  Stir in butter, then stir in milk.  If time allows, let batter stand for 30 minutes in order to yield more tender crêpes.

Pour 1/2 cup of batter into a crêpe pan or a skillet over medium heat.  With a quick wrist action, swirl batter to cover bottom of pan.  Cook until light brown on first side, turn and cook the other side for just a few seconds.

Filling:  Fill each crêpe with pie filling and strawberries (reserve some pie filling and strawberries for topping crêpes).  Fold up crêpes.  Put 3 crêpes on each of 6 plates.  Top with whipped cream, a little pie filling and a few strawberries to serve.

Bon Appétit!

Blueberries for Sal - Raspberry Freezer Jam

I'm using the Before Five in a Row and Five in a Row lessons to teach Caroline at home this year.  This lesson collection takes classic literature and offers suggested activities in art, science, geography, math, religion, etc. that relate to the book.  You can spend as much or as little time on each book, choosing which activities you want to do, and in my case use the ideas as a springboard for more teaching ideas, all related to the book we're reading; I love the flexibility.

Yesterday Caroline and I read a book from Before Five in a Row titled,  Blueberries for Sal.  Caroline enjoyed this story about a mom and her daughter, Sal and their blueberry picking outing.  Today the weather was gorgeous, so my friend, Allison met us at Tougas Farm and we set out picking 1 pint of blueberries and 10 pounds of raspberries!

 Caroline learned that when picking blueberries you need to make sure that they are blue all the way around, not green or purple.  This means they are ripe and ready to pick.

Wesley was not so helpful, in fact he was counter productive as he munched on our raspberry stash as we tried feverishly to reach the 10 pound discount rate before our big kids got home from school.  The berries were so amazingly delicious, I didn't blame him for diggin' in!

Between munching on berries and finding sticks, Wesley may not have helped much, but he had a good time. 

After homework, dinner, and Thomas' baseball game (I took the 3 little ones since Wayne was with Christina at a Youth temple trip), Caroline & Grace helped get raspberry freezer jam (just like Sal and her mom made in Blueberries for Sal) started before heading off to bed.

 

 We were looking at Grandma Brower's recipes and found that GGma Higginson used the juice of 1/2 of a lemon in her jam, so I added that as well.

We're set for the winter with raspberry jam!  As I dumped in all of the sugar I realized this is truly a sweet treat.  Next week we'll make more freezer jam for holiday teachers' gifts.

Tomorrow we'll use the blueberries we picked....yummy recipe to come!