Tuesday, March 31, 2009

What we've been up to...

Well, since it finally stopped raining we decided to finish planting our herb garden.



After filling our box with soil; then we made our squares...



Poked holes for the different seeds...



Then filled the holes...





We labeled each square with masking tape so we would know which herb was in each square... so "TADA" there is our square herb garden! (minus the seed packets of course.)



But wait... there's more... we also planted some yummy strawberries. Actually we have had these for a long time so I'm not sure if they are going to grow.





And last but not least... SUNFLOWERS...



It's cool to watch them grow...



and grow...



and grow...



In just a few days they were ready to plant... Seth wanted to plant his first.


















After we finished planting his sunflowers along came our beloved Mordecai. He must like sunflowers too, because he preceded to dig them up and eat them!!! Unfortunately that is not the only thing he decided to eat this week. A few days earlier I got out of the shower to witness this face and mess... He had ripped apart something very personal to me, which I cropped from the picture so you could see his face... He looks really scared doesn't he?



Mike had a spur-of-the-moment idea... "Let's go bike riding", he said and I said, "but I don't have a bike?" Then he said "Then let's go get you one." And so that's what we did...



Then we went to Salem Lake...



Even though it may be true that you never forget how to ride a bike... sometimes it does take awhile for your body to get the memory from your brain to your arms and legs!!!



We had a great time! But boy was I sore the next day! I can't wait to go again. This was a great family outing.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Happy Birthday to My Honey


This past weekend we celebrated Mikes birthday. Mom and dad came Saturday evening from Roanoke and stayed the night. We played Rummy until we were so tired we could no longer keep our eyes open. A rare occurrence happened... I didn't win; actually I came in third! I know you can't believe it but it really happened. :0)

On Sunday Paw-paw, Nana and Michael Bean came for lunch. It was great to have everyone together. Here are a few pictures of us eating cake. Cheese cake with strawberries...YUM!




Thank you Joshua for taking these pictures.


Noah telling Granma and Bapa a joke.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Rescue Mission


On Tuesday the boys (except Joshua; he was at his weekly class.) and I along with our home school group visited the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission for our monthly service project. The Rescue Mission is a shelter that ministers to homeless men.

We decided to put together care packages for the men and take them to the shelter. The kids decorated paper bags and filled them with everyday necessities such as... toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, shampoo, conditioner etc.











Look at this bag... it is too cute!!! I think one of the girls did this one.

After all the bags were made we headed downtown to the shelter. We delivered the bags and then we were taken on a tour of the facilities.

This building was a hospital, an apartment building and then in 1973 was donated to the Rescue Mission.


The staff at the Rescue Mission have been told by several men that they saw this cross and followed it to their building. One man said it was one of the first things he saw as he came into the city.


As we toured two of the three buildings we learned many of the wonderful ways this ministry helps hurting people in our community. Their goal is to meet the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of each man that enters their program. Along with providing food and a clean place to sleep each man is encouraged and equipped with the necessary skills to succeed.


UPDATE ON OUR HERB GARDEN...


Me using power tools. Scary... isn't it?


And you thought me using power tools was scary?!!!


The last few nails.


TA-DAA! We're done. (well with that part at least.) Noah just had to have his picture taken in the box. :o)

Monday, March 9, 2009

Our Square Herb Garden

Well here we go with our next project. Mike and I have been wanting to have a garden again. We had a very small one a few years ago. (That is if you can count a few bell pepper plants, a watermelon vine and some cherry tomatoes a garden?)

Anyway, I've been checking out this website called "Square Foot Gardening". It's basically gardening out of boxes in 4 square feet increments. You can check out the details here.

I thought this would be a great family project. So, off to Lowe's we go. We are starting off small. A 2x2 herb garden for our deck. Since it will be on our deck we have to have a bottom, which is just plywood. Here's the wood...


The next two pictures are of Seth and Noah cutting the boards in half to get the 2ft we need. (See boys, you really do use math in real life!)




In the next few days I will update on how far we have come on building our box.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

book 2/12

I just finished reading my second book for this year. To see my reading goals look here.

"SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen foods That Will Change Your Life" by Steven G. Pratt, M.D., and Kathy Matthews. (See my bookshelf for a picture of the cover.)

This book talks about 14 different foods that are considered super foods, the list includes...beans, blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkin, wild salmon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts, and yogurt. You can improve your health by knowing the right foods (and the right serving size) to add to your diet. There is a chapter dedicated to each of the 14 super foods that outlines the health benefits of that food. There are simple suggestions on how to get more of the super foods in your daily meals. In the back of the book there are fifty recipes and a shopping list of where you can find the food he talks about in the book. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in having healthier eating habits.

Check out my bookshelf to see what I'm reading next.

Monday, March 2, 2009

More Snow!!

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1


What a beautiful morning! We ended up getting around 6 inches of snow during the night. This tree is actually in our neighbors yard but, it looked so pretty with the sun coming up behind it. The picture doesn't do it justice.


A cool shot from a little window above our front door.


A few pictures from our yard...




A few cute pictures of Mordecai...




A few of the boys...






One of mom...


And last but not least "Mr. Bobbie" our snowman...