I have a green thumb!!!

We are planting a garden and I am very excited! We have done some gardening in the past, but it was always on a small scale- mainly raised beds or container gardening. This year I am happy to announce that we will have a honest-to- goodness good ol' southern garden!
George has tilled up the ground and we have started some seeds, but it will be a few weeks yet before we really get going. We are planting butter-beans, corn, tomatoes, pole beans, cucumbers, onions, sunflowers.... And maybe even more!
Pictures will come soon!!!

The Woman Who Fears the Lord

The Woman Who Fears the Lord
10 [4] An excellent wife who can find?She is far more precious than jewels.11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,and he will have no lack of gain.12 She does him good, and not harm,all the days of her life.13 She seeks wool and flax,and works with willing hands.14 She is like the ships of the merchant;she brings her food from afar.15 She rises while it is yet nightand provides food for her householdand portions for her maidens.16 She considers a field and buys it;with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.17 She dresses herself [5] with strengthand makes her arms strong.18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.Her lamp does not go out at night.19 She puts her hands to the distaff,and her hands hold the spindle.20 She opens her hand to the poorand reaches out her hands to the needy.21 She is not afraid of snow for her household,for all her household are clothed in scarlet. [6]22 She makes bed coverings for herself;her clothing is fine linen and purple.23 Her husband is known in the gateswhen he sits among the elders of the land.24 She makes linen garments and sells them;she delivers sashes to the merchant.25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,and she laughs at the time to come.26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.27 She looks well to the ways of her householdand does not eat the bread of idleness.28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;her husband also, and he praises her:29 “Many women have done excellently,but you surpass them all.”30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,and let her works praise her in the gates.

Tea Time!

Tea Time is should be relaxing and can be casual. It does not need to be formal, and you certainly do not have to eat those unappealing little cucumber sandwiches if you do not want to!!! You can have tea everyday, all by yourself, although it is a great deal tastier if you share it with friends!
Here in America, high-tea is incorrectly used to describe a very formal, social tea. The meaning, however; should be used to describe simply a tea served with the dinner meal. You can choose to have “high-tea” everyday if you would like.
Here is how to brew a “proper Tea”
1. Fill tea pot with hot tap water to warm it up prior to adding tea leaves and boiling water.
2. Fill tea kettle with fresh, cold, non-distilled water.
3. Place kettle on stove and bring to boil.
4. Just before kettle begins to boil, pour water from tea pot and add one teaspoon tea leaves per cup to pot, plus an additional teaspoon 'for the pot.
5. Remove kettle from heat right after it comes to a boil, and pour 6 ounces per cup into tea pot.
6. Let tea steep 3 - 7 minutes depending on desired strength.
7. Pour tea into cups using a strainer to catch loose leaves.
8. Add cold, whole milk, or lemon to tea cups depending on preference of guests.
* often directions for tea will instruct you to add milk before pouring tea. This was done to temper the fragile porcelain of the 16th and 17th centuries. The practice continued as habit only. It is perfectly correct to add milk and lemon after the tea has been poured. This method is also preferred in order to maintain taste consistency since we have little control over the strength of the leaves being brewed.


There are many teas on the market. My personal favorites are Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea, or Earl Gray (Twinings or Bigelow).

Most of these come in teabag form- Use about 3-4 teabags per teapot and let steep for about five minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

The other night I made a really tasty chicken pot pie and I thought I would share the recipe. Usually making a pot pie is too time-consuming, however I think you will like this little recipe because it uses some short-cuts but nothing that affects the taste.

First cook and remove the meat from one whole chicken (anything over 4 lbs should work. (tip: whenever I do one chicken, I figure it is just as easy to do two- then freeze for next time to save a step) reserve the stock

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces.

I use a ready made (rollable, not fixed) pie crust (Pillsbury is great- it tastes homemade!)

Other than the chicken and pie crusts, this is what you will need:

2 9-inch pie pans
1 bag of frozen, mixed veggies
6 TBSP butter
6 TBSP Flour
4 cups of broth, (you can use the stock from the chicken plus bouillon to make 4 cups)
1 tsp garlic
Salt & pepper to taste
3/4 tsp parsley
¼ tsp Thyme
½ bay leaf


To make the chicken pot pie, heat the butter in a pan. Add flour and continue to cook for two minutes. (med. heat) . Stir in broth and cook, stirring, until mixture is thickened. Add mixed vegetables. And allow to cook for two minutes on low heat.

*Pre bake your bottom crusts a little before spooning in mixture

Spoon in mixture and cover with top crust. Cut slits into the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Bake pies at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Pie should be golden brown and bubbly.

*Yields 2 nine-inch pies

Bless Your Family By Setting The Table

I used to be a real stickler for dinnertime. I sent friends home, we all sat down together and the television was OFF. As my kids have grown older, I have let this slide more and more. I have been realizing that dinnertime is important now more than ever. As they get older it is even more important to have these times of family talks and closeness.

In today’s hurried families, actually setting the table for evening meals rarely, if ever, happens. Why has something this basic faded away? For many reasons, but here are a few: Firstly, Most women work now and dinner is oftentimes a very hurried non-event consisting of cheap take-out or fast food. Secondly, no one seems to eat at the same time anymore. Schedules are varied throughout the house and moms are too tired to make even the slightest extra effort. Thirdly, It’s seems such a trivial issue. Why does it matter? Who cares? As long as the kids are fed, right?

I think dinnertime is very important. This is a time to show your family just how much you care about them. You are making the effort to feed them healthy food and you want them to sit down and be comfortable. Children seem to “talk” at dinner. You can find out so much about what is going on in their lives! Dinnertime is a time of closeness and togetherness. It shows you are interested in them. Children, even older ones, like to have consistency. It helps them to feel secure. Dinnertime should be something they can count on happening nearly the same time every night.

It doesn’t take much effort and in fact, if you teach your children to set the table, you won’t have to do it at all! Even if tonight’s dinner is pizza, I encourage you to still set the table with the basics and for everyone to sit down and enjoy it together!

Sometimes it really is the little things that matter most. I am committed to making our evening meal special from now on!

It’s very simple:
The fork stands alone
On the left side of the plate
The knife protects the spoon
From the fork on the right side.

Start with placemats positioned about two-inches from the table’s edge. Make sure everyone has adequate elbow room. Tight areas produce lots of messy accidents!
Place the main dinner plate directly in the center of the placemat. Place your fork on the left side of the plate and the knife on the right hand side. At my house this is really the only silverware needed for a meal, however if you are serving multiple courses keep this rule in mind: The utensils to be used first belong on the outside.
Position glasses to the right and a few inches above the knife, or knife and spoon,( depending on what you are serving)
Napkins go to the left of the fork. If you are serving bread, place a bread plate or small saucer a few inches above the fork placement.

That’s basically all you need to know to make mealtimes special in your house! Oh, and turn OFF the t.v.!

Today is Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Sometimes it is called "Holy Thursday". Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified. Maundy Thursday services are usually solemn occasions, with remembrances of the betrayal of Jesus.

Different denominations observe Maundy Thursday in different ways but it is usually done with one of two main themes:
Some churches will hold a "foot washing service" the Bible says in John 13:1 that Jesus "showed them the full extent of his love." Jesus demonstrated to us by this humble service that we are to love others with humility and sacrifice. This is why many churches choose to commemorate this event with a special service.

During the Passover meal, Jesus took bread and wine and asked his Father to bless it. He broke the bread into pieces, giving it to his disciples and said, "This is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Then he took the cup of wine, shared it with his disciples and said, "This wine is the token of God's new covenant to save you--an agreement sealed with the blood I will pour out for you." These events recorded in Luke 22:19-20 describe the Last Supper and give the biblical reason for the practice of communion. Many churches hold special Communion services as a part of their Maundy Thursday celebrations. Many churches, like my church, Forest Christian Church, observe a traditional Passover Seder meal. This is the very meal Jesus himself was observing when he was betrayed. To learn how to celebrate your own seder meal check out this link:

http://www.domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19990301/FRIDGE/seder.htm

May God Bless you and your family

Teaching Letter Recognition

How to teach a child to recognize the Alphabet

After your child has learned to recite his or her ABC’s, the natural progression is to teach them to recognize these letters. This is not a difficult task. There are many things you can do to make this effortless and even fun.

Firstly, many people will tell you to introduce the lowercase first because the great majority of printed letters are in lowercase. After teaching my own four children and many others, I am convinced that it does not really matter and I actually prefer to teach the Capitals first. This is for precisely the same reason stated above! The vast majority of printed letters ARE in lowercase, so it is much easier for the small child to pick out the Capitals, when you give them a task such as, “show me the letter G”. Another reason is because many lowercase letters are similar in appearance. For example, g,q,p,b,d are very similar and thus difficult for a still learning child to differentiate.
Secondly, many people espouse that both cases and sounds should be taught at the same time. I say absolutely not! It is much better to teach them to recognize the letters and then teach sound. Too much information at one time is confusing and takes much longer to absorb.

Here are some games to teach letter recognition:

Buy refrigerator magnets!!! You can find both capital and lowercase, (the lowercase are more difficult to find, if you have trouble check a school supply store or the internet) Place only 2-3 on the refrigerator. Show the child the letters and say their names. After you have shown the letters and stated their names continue by moving the letters all around and asking for a particular letter. Make sure to shower lots of praise on the child for every correct letter he or she gives you. When incorrect, simply state the correct name for the letter and place back on the fridge. Add new letters only when the child knows the old letters perfectly. Do not remove the old letters, just simply add to them.

The same method above can be done with foam letters in the bathtub! This is a great place to learn! The child is nice and relaxed! Who wouldn’t like to “do school” with bubbles all around? ;)

Try having your child point out letters while you are waiting in line at the grocery store, the bank, wherever! Letters are everwhere! Look on signs, magazines, t-shirts, ball-caps…

Once your child has learned all of the capital letters, it will be time to teach the lowercase. I do this by calling the capitals the “mama letters” and the lowercase, the “baby letters”. I begin the same way I did when they were first learning. No more than three at a time. I point out that most of the babies look like their mother, however not all do (i.e. Gg) We play games like match the mama to her baby. You can use index cards, foam letters or refrigerator magnets, or letter tiles. (you can find those at Walmart) When playing the matching game I lay them out on the floor and make sure not to use more than 6 letters at a time.
It is at this stage that I begin saying the sounds of the letters, however until they firmly have a grasp on visual recognition, I do not stress this concept.

=) Amy