Saturday, June 30, 2012

God's Hand

Throughout my life whenever times were hard I have always envisioned myself curled up in the palm of God's hand. This always brings me comfort and makes me feel loved and protected from life's hurts and troubles. Right now I am imagining myself nestled in the hand of God because this week we lost our little unborn baby at ten weeks. Heartbreaking disappointment doesn't even begin to describe the anguish we are feeling right now. Still, throughout all of this sorrow we can feel the love and care of God as he holds our family close in His arms.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

How to Clear Six Kids from a Room.. Fast! (AKA How to Make Kale Chips)

One of the challenges that a mom-to-many children faces is how to ensure that each and every little darling feels loved, special, and unique. One of the ways I try to make this happen is to make a special food sometimes that one of the children loves even if the others don't.  For my fifth child and fourth daughter Melodey Grace one of those special things is Kale Chips. I first introduced my family to Kale Chips last year while I was on a weight-loss program. To be honest with you I never thought I would eat such a thing let alone try to get my children to eat it. Surprisingly half of the children did like it and I did too; it's great for snacking and really good for you, too!

Now, I would be sincerely remiss if I didn't first warn you about some things you should be aware of before attempting to make kale chips. Do not plan to make them if you are expecting anyone to come to your house, or if your husband is about to come home for lunch (oops), or if your home is located very close to another home and your windows are open. Trust me. You just don't want to. Unless you are a health freak or you have a strange olfactory condition that causes you to be unable to smell anything or you have a little darling that you really want to please you may just want to find another resource from which to obtain kale chips. If you are one of the aforementioned people then here's how to make them:

Start with the following ingredients: a head of well-washed kale, olive oil, and salt.

Preheat the oven:

Dump the kale into a big bowl and drizzle 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over it.


Then use your hands to toss the kale and olive oil together.


Spread it out on a baking sheet or maybe two if you're ambitiously hopeful like I am that ALL the kids are going to love kale THIS TIME.

At this point you can LIGHTLY salt the kale if you want. I said it like that cause I ignored that part and let's just say next time I won't even add any until it's done and then salt to taste.

Place the sheet(s) into the preheated oven and set the timer for ten minutes.

Wait about 1-2 minutes. This is the point where you should realize that you have the kitchen to yourself and possibly even the whole house.....

Sit down and enjoy your favorite Gooseberry Patch cookbook while having  20 minutes to yourself for the first time in about ten years.... But don't forget to get up in ten minutes to turn the kale...


Let it cook for ten more minutes after turning it and then take it out and let it cool. Move it to a plate and light a nice candle.





Start hollering for all the kids to come-n-get-it!!!



When they all come tromping  back inside try hard to convince your two littlest kids that you just made something really yummy that's gonna make em grow as big as your 9 year old overnight!!!


















Take goofy pictures of the two littlest kids trying to pretend that they like kale.


Watch anxiously for your little darling that loves kale chips and when she comes running in show her the yummy plate of deliciousness that you made just for HER.



Enjoy the "Thanks mommy I feel so special" smile that she bestows upon you and snap a picture of it to remember on another not so smiley day...


Get back to the work of the day in your fruity-candley-smelling house and bask in the happiness of  making someone happy.

Leave the plate of kale out on the table for the "kids" to pick on all day. Reap the added benefit of a great big (yet private) laugh for yourself later that afternoon when your special little darling of the day skips in and grabs a big handful of kale and yells "Thanks so much Mommy for making me this green KELP stuff!! Can I please  have some more??

Smile sweetly and say "yes, sweetie, you can go ahead and finish it ALL up, if you like."

Wash the empty plate feeling content in the knowledge that at least one of your six children ate a vegetable today without coercion. Write the two words kelp and kale in the kids vocabulary notebook for the next school year.

Thanks for visiting!


Kale Chips Recipe link: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CGwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodnetwork.com%2Frecipes%2Fmelissa-darabian%2Fcrispy-kale-chips-recipe%2Findex.html&ei=6TniT_7OMon48gShjPWGCA&usg=AFQjCNGvi8H_ApeaoC6c68R3jFYsRIFVsw&sig2=HL4As_kQh6-9lMH4B1MS3Q





Monday, June 18, 2012

Hi! I'm Mrs. J. I'm so excited to begin blogging here! I'm using this first posting as an opportunity to introduce myself and share my intentions for this blog.

In a nutshell I am a 39-year old,  married ( for 18 years), stay-at-home, homeschooling, mom to 6 children still living at home and I am also an Army mom to a grown son who is currently deployed overseas. If you're keeping track that's seven children and I am expecting a baby in January 2013. I also attend college at Liberty University Online in the  Business program and will have earned my degree next spring. However, I consider my family to be the work I have chosen as most important in my life and I have a wonderful husband who shares the vision of raising a big, beautiful family with me. I have been extremely blessed and thank God for spoiling me like He has.

When I was a little girl back in the 70's I remember how my precious mom who stayed at home to take care of us used to take us "visiting" at the homes of some of her friends in our little town during the week. We used to run off and play with the other ladies' children while Mom and her friend(s) would chat, share recipes, housekeeping tips, praise and prayer requests,  and laughter while they sipped their coffee. I loved going visiting with my Mom and have some great memories from those times.

The purpose of this blog is to go visiting and share fun things from my everyday life with my readers. My life as a mom of 7  is very full and I feel like I have a lot to share with others that they may find useful or interesting and sometimes just funny!! I think writing a blog is a great way to go visiting and share some of the things listed above with my readers. Hopefully many of you will want to come visiting to my blog on a regular basis to get to know me and share my journey!