But I am trusting in you, O Lord,
saying, "You are my God!"
My future is in your hands.

Psalm 31:14,15a

Fall Photos

JLT Thursday Tidbit

Oops....it is Thursday again already. Where does the time go? It was sunny and bright out today so I thought I we would eat our lunch outside on the go. So, here is a quick lunch idea.

Green smoothie...with:
Leftover yogurt (homemade, I will have to post the recipe next time) about 1 cup
1 banana
2 handfuls of frozen chunks of mangoes (from Trader Joe's in the freezer section)
1/2 cup of orange juice (don't usually add this, but Grace's request)
Stuff the blender full of spinach

Blend and drink....oh so yummy....

And then I cut up an avocado into bite size pieces and drizzled with raw honey and then Grace sprinkled with dried coconut(the no sugar added kind)


And there you have it! A wonderful fall lunch to enjoy outdoors.

Sunday

I don't usually blog on Sundays, but the girls are down for a nap. Jesse is getting in some education this weekend, so he won't be home until supper. It is a blustering Sunday afternoon. Snow/sleet is swirling around outside our windows. It is so windy out there. Hadassah couldn't even walk against the wind this morning. It was funny to see her almost blowing backwards, but then sad because it frightened her. I taught Gracie's class this morning. Colossians 3:23 is our memory verse for this week. I let the girl's sleep as long as possible this morning as it has been a busy week. So, I put milk in their sippies for the ride to fill them up a bit more after breakfast. I added a couple of drops of vanilla to their milk and Grace told me it tastes like icecream. So, if you haven't done this before it might be worth trying. I don't push milk that much as they get plenty of nutrition from the other foods in their diet, but it adds a little variety. I also had plain carob or cocoa powder. And Dassah likes cinnamon and honey with her milk. Or just a banana blended in with the milk. Okay, enough about food. The girls got to stay overnight on Friday at my parents. Grace was so excited and they did great! Jesse had class and I had to work. But it was fun for the girls to spend some extra special time with Nana and Papa. Grace goes on Tuesday to get her teeth cleaned for the first time. She is excited and looking forward to it. So, I hope that lasts. Of course, Nana works there so that makes it a little more fun. Hadassah is just a little comedian. I just can't get over her little antics. And she loves to laugh. She keeps me laughing. Well, I am going to do some reading while it is quiet time. Enjoy your afternoon!

27 degrees

Yep. When Jesse left this morning he said it was 27 degrees on our thermometer. And by the time the girls and I got up it was a balmy 31 degrees. This made me think it was probably time for me to pull out the winter coats and see what was what. Well, the girls tried on snowpants and coats and mittens and boats and then of course had to go outside in their outfits. By the time we went outside there was still frost on the ground, but they were so excited to be all bundled up. Jesse asked if I took a pic, but I forgot. They had a blast. Hope they still think it is that much fun come January.

JLT Tuesday Tidbit

Just a quick website for you to check out.

menus4moms

It has a weekly menu plan and grocery lists and other tidbits for planning and organization. I like to get meal ideas and usually mix and match to find something for my family.

Hey, I finally added a link. Sorry it took me so long to figure it out. I will use them in the future.

Goings on around here....

The girls are napping. For at least a little longer. It was cold last night. Frost all over the yard this morning. We stayed indoors and made a huge tent(house). Grace said it was not a tent today, but a house. Yesterday we had company. Liz and Tate came for a visit. The kids played. We caught up on life and books. We ran around the farm and Grace showed Tate all her favorite spots. Jesse worked late. I took the girls to the park after naps, but it was so chilly. Kids don't notice that kind of stuff, though. I had to tell them it was chilly. Well, maybe I just wasn't running around enough. Grace likes to push Dassah and I on the merry go round. Too cute. That will work up a sweat, right? After the park we went home and made "warm" chocolate. What can I say, they don't like it hot. Jesse and I caught the end of the debate. Ouch.. Keep on praying for our country and its leaders. That is all I will say right now. More as a reminder to myself. A couple of my books are in that I requested at the library. One of them is about vaccines. Anyway care to share your thoughts on the subject? I will after I do some more research. Jesse has a meeting tonight and so the girls and I are going to head over to Jessica's. Caleb turned one yesterday so the girls wished him a happy birthday last night on the phone. Hadassah can say happy birthday so cute. Her words are coming along like crazy the last couple of weeks. She is so funny. I love her. So much. Too fun. Tuesday I had a Tele Ed day. One of the sessions was on C. Difficile. Sometimes too much information is just too much. I saw a 2 month old in the hospital visiting a grandparent with her mom. Okay, do not do this. There are sick people and germs everywhere in the hospital. Do not bring your precious little gems there to pick something up that there body may not be able to fight off. If it is a life and death scenario I understand, but beyond that I would not spend the afternoon at the hospital with my girls. Okay, off the bandwagon. Well, enough. I need to finish some laundry and get some cookies together to take over to Caleb. Next time there will be photos, promise.

JLT Thursday Tidbit

Okay, so I am a couple of days late. But what is a girl to do? Life is not slowing down right now. Just wanted to fill you in on our favorite lunch. Today we had cheddar cheese and apple quesadillas. What more could a 3 year old ask for in a fall lunch. We ate these like crazy people last fall and I just remembered them yesterday. So, there is your quick lunch idea. Just make sure you chop up the apples tiny. I don't peel. Don't want to lose any fiber, right? Enjoy!

A Really Good Book!

I read this book a little while back and it was so good. It was recommended to me by a mother of 5. It is called EDUCATING THE WHOLEHEARTED CHILD. The authors home school, but there is so much valuable information in it that I would recommend it to any parent. It is filled with questions to make you think. And ideas for living and learning with your children. It is by Sally and Clay Clarkson. Check it out from your library or if you live close to me I would love to share my copy with you! (But I will definitely want it back!)

Supper Last Night

Okay, I am so disappointed that I did not get up from the table to take a pic of our supper last night. It was so lovely. We got some more apples from the orchard and last night Grace asked for pizza. Well, I didn't have the stuff ready for pizza, so I made an apple panakookan instead. Yummy! The reason I think the meal looked so lovely was the bright colors. I put the panakookan on my light blue striped plates and then dropped freshly picked raspberries on top. Then, we had a bright green smoothie with spinach, mangoes, and bananas(when I put tons and tons of spinach in our smoothies I called it our salad in a cup, we end up with the same amount of greens as 3 side salads each). Delicious! Again, sorry about the missing pic, but hopefully I helped inspire a meal idea.

Cleaning Day

We have been cleaning all morning and now it is time for a break. Almost lunch time, too. I work this afternoon and Alyssa is going to watch the girls. Why did I choose this morning to go crazy with cleaning projects? I don't know. Usually I try to just do laundry and play with the girls on the days I work, but not today. We read a story the other night called "The House That Biff Built". Today Grace is Biff and has been building a house in her room. With a little help from Mom. Hadassah loves to brush her teeth, now. ALL THE TIME. She comes up to me, "Teeth? Teeth?" I have to keep an eye on the bathroom or she will be in there looking for her toothbrush. Yesterday we tried having a picnic for lunch. Grace thought we could pretend we were at the lake. We pu the blanket by the sandbox and stuck her little umbrella in it. Well, the wind caught the umbrella and it took off. Me, of course running after it. I caught up to it before I tired out. The girls were cheering for me, but it could not have been a pretty sight. We went to the park after nap time. Tried to soak up as much outside time as it is suppose to be getting colder. And it rained the the first 3 days of the week so we were ready for lots of fresh air. We met up with a friend of mine from high school at Panera yesterday. Hadn't seen her since we graduated. She was out in CA for awhile, but is now back in the area. The leaves are turning so pretty. I love the reds. Grace and I point them out to each other everywhere we go. Last weekend we went up to the cabin. Scott and Jesse were going to roof it for Steve, but Scott fell off the ladder right away in the morning. So, they went home. The doc said he is fine, just sore. Jesse got about 2/3 done, but has to go back this Saturday to finish. Hopefully the weather is dry. I think we will stay home this time. Although the girls love the cabin time and we went for a long walk and found acorns and birch bark and all kinds of other treasures. Well, this is short, but it will do for now. Time for lunch!

Good Times At The Taubert House

These pics make me smile. So, I just had to share them.

JLT Tuesday Tidbit

It is Tuesday and it has been too long since I posted. And this is going to be quick. More tomorrow, perhaps. I am so excited. I found a new dehydrator on ebay and got it for a super good deal. Anyway, tonight is my first night of trying it out. I did four trays. One with just bananas b/c I had a bunch that I thought would be good for snacking. I made one row of fruit leather. And the other 2 are flax crackers. I am looking forward to lots of experimenting with different recipes and will post any favorites I come across.