It's Apple Time!

This is just the beginning of our apple adventures. We don't usually pick them ourselves since the price is hardly different, but a friend was going to pick apples today and we decided to try it ourselves! We had a great time! And the trees are small enough with many branches hanging down low enough so the kids were a big help also.



This time we picked Macintosh and Honeygold. We'll be drying some of them and making applesauce with some (for my tart loving husband!). What a fun time of year!

Michigan Deer

I suppose from the title of this blog entry you would assume that there would be pictures of deer. No....this blog entry is about the damage that deer can do to a person's car while driving in Michigan at night!



Dave had just left a Bible study when the deer tried to cross the road. It's head hit first and the whole body swung around and the car the as well. But Dave was perfectly okay and Praise the Lord for good insurance! So we're now surviving on one car for the next two weeks. It could be worse!

Red Lentil Soup

Yum! Yum! That's what we all had to say after we ate our soup and cornbread on Friday night. A friend of mine sent a very good recipe that we tried out for the first time. Here it is!

Red Lentil Soup
10 C water
1 1/2 cans tomato sauce
2 onion, chopped
5 med onions, diced
1 carrot, chopped
6 T olive oil
3 C red lentils, rinsed
3 T chicken seasoning
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
basil and oregano to taste

Put all of the above in a large pot and bring to a boil. Simmer on medium heat for 45 minutes. Makes a lot of soup which is good because you'll want leftovers!!

Yummy, yummy pears!

Pears are probably my least favorite fruit to can, however my kids love them in the winter time! So, of course, I gotta do them! They just seem to take more time and three utensils to half them, core them, and peel them. It is fun taste testing them though. They are excellent pears this year!



Yes, it's all worth the effort!

Raspberries

Grammy has raspberry bushes at her house and the kids always love to go over and graze on them! (so does mommy!) That's what we did for dessert on Sabbath. It was yummy and we're sure to enjoy a few of these every once in a while the rest of the month!

In the Kitchen

This past Thursday we were still practicing and learning attentiveness and we put it to use in the kitchen while making a new cracker recipe. There is lots to be attentive to in the kitchen so it was a productive day. Some of us like the crackers, and other don't. Oh well, it can't always be a winner for everyone! :) We did, however, have a good time mixing and rolling and cutting! That's the most important part, right?!

"School"

I put school in quotations because Chaeli just turned 5 last month and we aren't doing formal school yet. I'll start some sort of Kindergarden with her next year. But I am excited about what we are having fun with this year.

CHARACTER FIRST (characterfirst.com)

We're concentrating on character...and yes, I know I don't need a curriculum to do this. But someone recommended this to me and we are really enjoying it. There are four series with 9 character qualities in each. We have the first series and will be concentrating on attentiveness, obedience, truthfulness, gratefulness, generosity, orderliness, forgiveness, sincerity, and virtue until Christmas time.

I have a 16 page booklet for each character trait and it is filled with stories (from history and nature), crafts, songs, memory work, games/activities, and a coloring page. I've also chosen two bible texts to go with each and we also have a CD with a very cute song for each trait. We're spending two weeks on each character trait and each day we will look at it from a different aspect. One day from history, another from science/nature, another from in the kitchen/home life, or using it for others, and on Friday we will explore how it relates to Sabbath and how we serve God.

This and swimming lessons, that is what we're doing now...