shuckin’ corn

i don’t know about you but i sure love summer and all the things about summer. okay so maybe the heat is the only exception especially when it is over a 100 degrees but i am thankful that those days seem to be over for now. i also love going to the farmers market and we have some of the best sweet corn sold at our farmers market. seriously, you have to get there early if you want in on the corn.

can you guess what else i love about summer? how about these barefoot, corn shuckin’ beauties! they love eating corn on the cob and boy howdy let me tell you what! they can flat out do some serious corn shuckin’.

what is better than eating corn on the cob? how about eating corn on the cob outside? that is exactly what we done. took our meal outside and enjoyed a feast of homemade sloppy joes and fresh corn on the cob smeared in real butter. yum! yum!

it has been such a wonderful summer so far and i have enjoyed being with my family so much. i am beyond blessed to have these guys around me everyday and what an honor to hear their sweet voices each day. as a family huge changes are on the horizons for us and so i am soaking up every moment of togetherness that we have. i am off here….my sweet husband has a date night planned out and it is a surprise for me.

have a blessed day!
sarah

a glimpse of my day

canning…

05.22.2012

sunshine in the sky and the warm breeze draws me outside this time of the year to enjoy all that nature has to offer. we are in desperate need of rain and higher temperatures are coming in the next few days. today i chose to spend my time outside listening to the laughter of the children and the birds singing high up in the trees.

it was the perfect day to write down some recipes out of a cookbook that i borrowed from our local library. i get tired of fixing the same things over and over again so today i took the time to write out some new recipes that i hope will become family favorites. the children are home from school and i created this play for them to eat outside. it’s much more fun to eat outside on nice days then it is in the house and if messes happen they are much easier to clean up. i hope that someday my children will look back and cherish their summertime moments.

take time to enjoy the little things in life. summer is beckoning. go. enjoy every moment.

have a blessed day!
sarah

buttermilk pancakes

summer is officially here. the children are out of school and we are enjoying the days of being together. morning routines of sleepy children walking into the kitchen and asking the ever famous question, “what’s for breakfast” so today I share one of our favorite recipes. all compliments of the wonderful paula dean and her southern cooking. :) I love some southern style cooking. how ‘bout you?

grab your pretty bowl and get ready to whip up some of the tastiest buttermilk pancakes that you will ever feast on. be prepared to hear your children tell you just how wonderful of a mother you are. all because of buttermilk pancakes!

go ahead and grab your cute little kitchen helper as well. it’s good for children to be in the kitchen and learn how to cook and learn how to listen to instruction. this cute little helper was barely awake when he grabbed the favorite kitchen stool and climbed up to help.

buttermilk pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp. butter melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
maple syrup for drizzlin’

in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. in medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla until combined. fold the buttermilk into the flour mixture just until combined. a few lumps are fine. pour batter onto hot griddle to form pancakes the size that you desire. once tiny bubbles form on one side, flip the pancakes over and cook until lightly browned. slather with some peanut butter and maple syrup if your anything like our family.

enjoy your pancakes by the light of the morning sun gleaming through the kitchen window. yummy!

have a blessed day!
sarah

05/08/2012

What a gorgeous day it was to get out and get some work done outside. The weather was just perfect so we drove down to the farm today to work in the garden. On the way out the door I grabbed my camera hoping to capture some of God’s wonderful creation and I wasn’t disappointed. So I wanted to share some of the beautiful images I was able to capture this evening. Enjoy!

The colors and the beauty that surrounds me everyday is just breathtaking at times. There was one area where I was capturing photos of butterflies and there were so many of them fluttering around. I am not sure the name of the plant that they were enjoying but oh how I would love to have some near me. Take time to enjoy the creation that God has lovingly put together.

Have a blessed day!
Sarah

05.07.2012 daily life

Woke to the sound of majestic rolling thunder and bright bolts of lightning flashing through the dark skies this morning. The sound of heavy rain pounding the concrete sidewalk was a welcoming sound. It doesn’t matter how many times I water my flowers or the garden area it just never gets the nutrients like it does from the rain. The day stayed pretty cloudy with the sun making an appearance every once in awhile. It wasn’t a day for hanging laundry on the line so I took a trip to the library where I loaded up on plenty of gardening books.

While I was get my library books scanned one of the librarians made the comment that I would never get any gardening done if I sat and read all of these books. I let her know that I was one of those people who skimmed the book taking the information that I felt I needed. There is such a wealth of gardening information out there and I have a feeling that no matter how much I read that I will learn more from just doing.

Around here we seem to eat the same vegetables day after day so I finally decided to try something new and thankfully it was a hit with almost the entire crew. The children are sensitive to spicy foods so they picked out the cayenne pepper taste right away. :) It was a super easy recipe and I like easy on busy days.

Cast Iron Skillet Black Eyed Peas
4-5 tbsp bacon grease
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
3 tbsp minced onion
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste
2 cans black eyed peas

Heat bacon grease in skillet and add garlic and onion.
Allow to cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes.
Drain black eyed peas and add to skillet.
Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Have a blessed day!
Sarah

05/06/2012 daily life

What a hot weekend for the beginning of May. We loaded up Friday evening and spent the evening at the farm. Enjoyed dinner with the family and it was an early evening of going to bed. Early evening to bed means an early morning rise and early it was for me. I laid in bed waiting a bit for the rest of the crew to rise. Once everyone was up it was time for breakfast and then it was out the door for a day of work in the garden and around the farm.

Considering that I only get down to the farm once a week to work on the garden things aren’t looking to bad. I had gone down this past Tuesday after learning that I had been invaded by a very unwanted enemy bug called the Colorado Potato Bug. I am trying to garden as organically as I can and therefore the best option for preventing these unwanted bugs is hand picking. I picked twice on Saturday but didn’t get near as many as I had on Tuesday. I am thinking my efforts are working. Thankfully the garden is also full of lots of beautiful wonderful ladybugs and that is yet another reason that I don’t want to use any chemicals. I don’t want to take the risk of killing them along with the gorgeous butterflies that are out which I hope to capture soon on my camera.

The children are very curious as to what is growing in the garden and all the various bugs. A few of our children enjoy picking the bugs off the plants and asking lots of questions. One of them just so happens to be the little beauty pictured below in her dress that she managed to get dirt on first thing, barn boots and a hat to protect her little head and face from the hot sun. I can’t express the joy that I feel to have my little ones in the garden with me and learning about all the various things that they do. I am a very blessed mother.

I am also very blessed to have an amazing husband that does the cultivating and tilling in this garden. Once he is done helping me he usually is off to work in another area of the yard. This is his parents land and they have been very gracious to allow us to use this garden area. My husband helps with the yard work and is currently clearing a path down to the creek that borders their property. The plan is eventually clear it out and put large stones in as stairs so that the creek is easy to access. The cool creek will feel good after a long hard day in the hot sun.

Have a blessed day!
Sarah

4/10/2012

Last week was such a whirlwind of a week for us. We journeyed through the week with a sweet couple from our church who lost their home in a fire and the wife was badly burnt. She lived from Sunday to Friday evening and we were there as she drew her last breath and entered into the arms of Jesus Christ. What a sweet moment for her but she will be greatly missed by all.

I had taken Friday off from doing home daycare in order to spend the day with family that had come in from out of state. With us being called away to the hospital we missed being with family but this is just one of those times that ministry has to come first. I am thankful that my husband and I both have family to help us out when the need arises. We spent Saturday on the farm tilling in the garden and pulling lots of weeds. The ground was so dry and the sky was so cloudy. I was praying for God to send rain and finally decided to start watering the garden. I got a little over a row finished when it began to sprinkle and then God poured out the blessing of rain in a mighty way. I am so thankful that he always provides for us!

On Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise service at church and then enjoyed a delicious breakfast with our church family. After Sunday School and then regular service we spent the rest of the day with family celebrating Easter and the reserecution of Jesus Christ. It was a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy the company of our wonderful family. Our children went home with grandpa and grandma so my husband and I went looking for a location to have our family photos done in a few weeks.

We are so blessed to have family that lives in a gorgeous area with creeks flowing behind their homes and a lot of wooded areas. Our photographer was looking for a place that included woods and a shallow stream. I am looking forward to having our photos done outside in Gods wonderful creation. We are such a blessed family and I am thankful that God chose me to be the wife and the mother to my amazing crew.

Have a blessed day!
Sarah