Moss Rock Preserve

Our family has discovered a wonderful place in the middle of residental Hoover, AL. It is a park with huge boulder outcroppings intermingled with hiking trails, and even a creek and waterfalls. We have only been a few times, but the kids love to go and climb the rocks, and hike down to the waterfall. We last went this fall, and the leaves were just beautiful. While we were there, we encountered a tiny bird who at first seemed to be following us. He would flit from tree to tree as we walked down the trail. But whenever any of us tried to get too close, he flew directly at our faces. A couple of us even got scratches as he flew too near our eyes. I tried to get a good picture, but could not get very close (for obvious reasons.)
We found alot of really nice leaves, and collected a few to take hom and make "stained glass" pictures. These are done by ironing the leaves between two pieces of wax paper, then framing with construction paper strips. (This is about the only time I iron, btw)
phtos to come later - there's a problem with uploading them right now.

"Ketchup"

this post is not actually about the red stuff made from tomatoes, but is in actuality what I hope to do in the next couple of days - Ketch-up! I have gotten seriously behind with all the busy-ness of the holidays, and have tons of things to blog about. so with that said, I will delve into the picture files on my computer and see what needs to be added...

Good Helpers

I've struggled with different types of rewards and systems for chores, and had problems. For awhile, we were using a piece of paper with each child's name, and I would give stickers for RAK's (random act of kindness). Then I found a system where they had a poster with pockets and chore cards that they moved aroung from one pocket to another when they had completed each chore. (Reminded me of Richard Simmons' Deal A Meal!!)But over time I have discovered that the best and easiest method for us is the Nike slogan - Just Do It! We have been trying to teach them that as part of a family, we all have responsibilities that we do to help everything go more smoothly for the good of everyone. There are so many opportunities to serve one another, not just try to see how quickly your points are adding up to gain that cheap little toy that you didn't really need or want anyway. That just gives you more stuff to pick up later when you get bored with it after a few days and leave it lying on the floor.
I think the children have adapted very well, and there are even a couple of chores they really enjoy. We are still working on who will do what chore, but they are getting better and more willing to do them with minimal or no complaining.
Noah and Bailey both enjoy mopping the floor. The first day we got the new mop, I think Noah mopped the kitchen about eight times! I finally had to make him stop. This was after Bailey had already mopped it twice.
Bailey enjoys doing the dishes, but is not quite as proficient at it as Noah. He has really improved - he used to get alot of water on the floor using the sprayer thingy, but now he does a wonderful job. He is also very patient and persevering now. He used to wash only a few pieces and then ask if he could stop, but now he does the entire sinkful without any fuss.
Bailey also likes cleaning the bathroom, especially the sink and mirrors. Noah completes the bathroom by scrubbing the tub and toilet.
They both pitch in to help wash and put up clothes for themselves, and for Daddy. So if you notice that some of William's pants have a crease in the wrong place, or there's a wrinkle in his shirt, please be forgiving! They haven't made it to ironing yet, and neither have I }:(
Also, Noah has a cool wagon that we got him for his birthday. It will carry up to 500 lbs. (yes you read that right!) Just the thing for taking bags of garbage up the hill to the big garbage can.
It is not always easy to teach our children to do this, but it is such a blessing!
Thank you, Bailey and Noah, for being obedient and gracious about doing your chores. Daddy and I appreciate your good attitudes and hard work.

Fall Festival Frenzy

Costume? What costume?







On October 31, William took our kids and went with Derek and the Johnson kids to a couple of churches who were having Fall Festivals. There were two that were close to one another and the game plan was to hit one and hopefully do it quick enough to be able to go down the road and take in the other one as well, and still be home by about 8:30.
The kids decided to dress up at the last minute, so we gathered all the props for Bailey to be a cat, and Noah to be a pirate. We had alot of fun trying to come up with a tail and an eye patch, but Mom's ingenuity came through! I had an old pair of black leather boots that I cut up to make the patch for Noah, and an old black sweater that I was able to fashion into a tail for Bailey. William maintained through it all that "I always dress like this!", refusing to admit he was wearing a costume.
Melissa and I were not invited, so we headed off to shop for an gift for an upcoming wedding tea.
The kids (and their dads) had a blast! There were games with prizes, lots of junk food, and of course CANDY!! The guys were impressed that there was even chili at one of the churches. The only thing they didn't like was having to fill out a long laborious form before entering one of the festivals.

Happy Bear-thday Bailey!

I have really gotten behind on blogging lately, but in the next few days I am going to attempt to catch up.
Bailey's 7th birthday was actually on October 18, but as you can see, it is now November 21!
Well, here are some highlights. We opened presents and had cupcakes on Wednesday morning, the actual day. Bailey got a butterfly necklace, a stuffed really soft puppy and a cool glitter motion lamp that moves the glitter around when the bulb heats up. That night we took all the leftover cupcakes to church to share with the kids there.


We celebrated the following Sunday at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's(William's parents). Mawmaw made a chocolate cake with pink frosting that was very good. Aunt Kathy and cousins Kayla and Melissa, and Aunt Sherry and cousin Ryan came to join the celebration. Bailey got presents from everyone, and I think her favorite was the movie "Over the Hedge".

Happy birthday, Bailey!

Happy Bear - thday, William

Above, William blowing out the candles, with a little help from Bailey
Noah ,William, and Bailey put on their best smiles for the camera

On September 18th, William turned thirty-nine. We celebrated at home by having cake and ice cream and presents. William had asked for no presents, so the ones we got were minimal - 2 tapes of gospel bluegrass from a yard sale for only 25 cents each. They were really good, having handmade instruments such as mandolin and dulcimer accompanying the guitars and fiddles.
Recently, I read about a family who had a birthday tradition of having one huge gift bag that they filled with presents for each member's birthday. This helped save on wrapping paper for each individual gift. Although we did not choose to adopt this tradition, that got me thinking about what type of tradition we could incorporate into our own family. A few months ago, we got a really cool bear hat at a yard sale. But we have not really had much occasion to wear it. It's one of those things that seemed really neat at the time, but once we got it home, we stuck it on a hat rack, and it just kind of stayed there. I thought it would be fun for the birthday person to wear the hat for the birthday celebration, so here is the inauguration of the "bear"thday hat, as we like to call it. Bailey will get to wear the hat in a couple of weeks for her birthday.
About a week after William's birthday, we all went out to Captain D's for a birthday dinner. William got to choose where he wanted to go, and the kids couldn't believe he wouldn't pick their favorite, McDonald's! I think he was trying to pick something we would ALL enjoy (plus we had coupons, which is always great!)

Thinking inside the box

The two pictures above are of the turtle I found, dubbed "Cardboard". The picture below is the one William found several days later, named "Sheldon."
This past week we have really been blessed with box turtles. One day, I heard our neighbor's dog "Molly" (not her real name) barking down by the creek. She simply would not cease, which is unusual. I finally went down there to see what she was barking at, and it was a box turtle. I brought him back up to the house to show the kids, and we ending up keeping him overnight. Noah tried for about 30 minutes to devise a way to get him to "come out of his shell." Bailey even took him to church to show all her friends. Since we did not have a large enough cage for him, he spent the night in the bathtub. I looked on the internet for some info to tell the kids. We learned that you can easily sex a box turtle by two main characteristics. The females have brown eyes, while the males' are red or orange. Also, the males' shells are more rounded (taller) while the females' are flatter. We definitely(?) had a male.The next day we let him go. We also learned that turtles have a built in "homing device" that leads them back to their birthplace. So if you ever see a turtle crossing the road, put him on across instead of taking him back to where he started. Otherwise, chances are, he'll just try to cross again later.
A few days later William was out in the field and he came in with a box turtle he had found. We quickly discovered this was not the one we found a few days before. It was smaller, also a male, but the shell was misshapen, as if he had been assaulted by some animal or machine at some point in his life. We did not keep him very long, but put him back where he came from as well. We know there are so many wonderful animals in these woods, and it is exciting to find ones we don't see very often.

Meme! pick me!

Ruthanne tagged me to do a five things Meme. I had never heard the proper name for this sort of thing, but have seen it done. Questions are asked, and you respond with short personal answers to each one. She actually asked me to do a homeschooling one as well, but I am working on a LONG post in that area for the future. She told me I only had to answer one of the two, so I chose the short, fun one!

1. What are five things in your refrigerator?
a severed head (of lettuce), extra sharp white cheddar, ingredients to make our homemade salsa,frozen eggs ( I think we need to adjust the airflow between the 'fridge and freezer), and yummy hot wing chicken dip (Aunt Nancy's recipe)

2. What are five things in your closet?
skeletons, my grandmother's painted glass lamp that I dare not use til we get in our "real house", two pair of boots waiting for cold weather, manuals for every appliance we own (or have ever owned!), a hanging pocket-thingy full of costume jewelry

3. What five things are in your purse?
letter to mail, pizza hut "frequent flyer" lunch ticket with only 2 more punches to go (then I get a free buffet!), BC's, photos of family and friends, cell phone that I rarely if ever use (500 minutes lasts me over a year!)

4. What five things are in your car?
several pairs of kids' shoes, old medicine cabinet I got at a yard sale for $1.00 today, rechargeable aa batteries that need to be brought in the house and recharged, homeschool books Mary printed for me at her work for cost (thanks, Mary!), and a piece of carpet given to me by the people who gave us the two toilets from freecycle so the toilets would "stay put" on the way home.(the toilets were clean, and so is the carpet!)

5. Five People to tag
Melissa
James Sappington
Katrina
Peggy Paulin
anyone else who may want to share

you do not have to have a blog to do this. to participate, just click on comments and leave your answers there

God is in Control

Today we had quite an experience. We had decided to go over to Tannehill State park for a little while, and we were driving along Greyhill Road, about 2 miles from our home. All of a sudden we noticed a car coming along very rapidly, and swerving all over the road. William tried to get over, but just at the last second, the car hit the left rear of our car, then kept going at what seemed to be full speed, and out of sight past us. Praise the Lord, we were all ok, and William got out to walk up the road and check on the people who were in the other car. We were able to flag down a passing motorist and get them to call the police. As it turned out, the driver was a handicapped woman who had been driving her relative (either daughter or granddaughter) home from work and had fallen asleep at the wheel. When their car left the road, amazingly it did not flip or hit anything, although there was potential for these things to have happened. We felt so blessed and grateful to God that no one was hurt. The paramedics came and took the other driver to the hospital, just to have everything checked out, but she seemed to be fine.Her relative was also fine. It is so great to know that God is in control, not only of that, but EVERY situation!!

edible(?) wild plants

this is an Asiatic (or Virginia) day flower that Noah found out in our front yard. we later found several of these.




we think these are both edible, but we are no experts, so PLEASE do not eat







turk's cap lily that I discovered, also in the front yard

Salsa!

Monday I made two batches of our famous salsa using tomatoes given to us by the Characters. We finally retired our old food processor that literally fell into two pieces as I was holding it. I am glad William went by and picked up a "new and improved model" on the way home. ( BTW, how can something be New AND Improved? If it's new there's never been anything like it, and if it's improved, there has to have been something that can be improved!! )
When I chopped the jalapenoes, which is the first step, I thought I was going to have to go put on a gas mask to finish the process! They were so strong that the membranes of my eyes and throat were definitely affected. I started coughing and tearing up, and was having trouble approaching the container to remove some of the peppers before continuing. I was finally able to get past the overwhelming burning and add the rest of the ingredients. It came out tasting sooo delicious! Home grown tomatoes definitely made a difference. I am not bragging when I say it rivals any good Mexican restaurant salsa. Much better than "store boughten" jarred sauce. We got the recipe with some horrible, hand powered chopper we bought several years ago. It was almost impossible to turn the handle while trying to keep the container flat on the counter, and it was very difficult to keep control. We ended up throwing out the chopper, but realized we had found a gem when we tasted the salsa we created by using the recipe in the instruction booklet.

We were intending to take part of the first batch to Brother Derek's (our pastor) family. Before we got out of the driveway, Bailey noticed that the salsa had spilled out of its container and (thankfully!) into the plastic bag. It was sad to lose half the batch like that, but I made another batch after delivering salsa and chips to the Johnson's. Here's the recipe for those who want it.



1-3 jalapenos
1 bunch fresh cilantro
3 medium tomatoes (either home grown, or "on the vine" from the store)
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
1T olive oil
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t oregano
1-1/2 t salt
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

use food processor to chop jalapenoes. remove majority of them from container to add back in at end.
wash all vegetables well, especially cilantro. cut stems off cilantro and discard. put tops in bowl of processor and pulse to chop. add in can of tomatoes next, pulse lightly. then add in pieces of onion and bell pepper. next add pieces of fresh tomatoes. pulse after each addition. finally, add garlic, liquids and all spices. again, pulse to mix thoroughly. after salsa is thoroughly blended together, taste to see if you need to add salt, or more of the jalapenoes. Make sure if it needs salt to add the salt before adding additional peppers. the salt will bring out the heat of the peppers. William likes this with Doritos scoops, but I prefer the flat santitas or tostitos bite size chips. Enjoy!

trip to Tennessee to visit Jan's family

I just got back last night from a trip with my dad, brother (Doug) and his children, Maggie (9) and James (13) to visit my aunt Nancy and uncle Ted's house in Tennessee. We left Birmingham Saturday morning. James and I had a great time on the ride up talking.

Also visiting, from Illinois, were my mom's brother Bob and his wife Georgie. They were on their way to Arkansas and stopped over at Nancy and Ted's. We also saw my cousin Cindy and her husband Bret and their kids Ally(9) and Zach (15), as well as my cousin Matt and his new bride of a little over a year, Kimberly. It was a short trip for us, only staying one night, but it was good to see everyone. The last time we were all together was in March for my Mom's funeral.

We spent most of the afternoon talking and catching up. My aunt Nancy made a delicious chicken and rice dish for supper, and I made sure I got the recipe for it before I left (coming soon to a fellowship meal near you, Grace members!) In fact, it was so good I made it tonight for my immediate family since they didn't get to join us in Tennessee.

While I was gone William and the kids had fun going and doing some fun things together. First of all, they went to several yard sales (big surprise!!) For those who don't know, yard sales are one of our favorite Saturday morning activities. For lunch they hit McDonald's and even managed to squeeze in a visit to Krispy Kreme for a donut before heading back toward home and stopping by Tannehill State Park.

Meanwhile back in Tennessee, we were catching up and laughing about our childhood memories. We also listened to James play the keyboard. He is so talented, and is really doing well not only playing alot of songs, but making up his own really cool arrangements that usually sound better than the originals! I am really proud of him! Some of us sat around and talked, while Doug and some of the others watched the British Open (yawn) .

Sunday morning seemed to fly by. Ted made cinnamon bread and two pots of coffee (the first pot was more like motor oil, according to Ted and my dad!) for breakfast.We packed and got ready to leave. After we had lunch, we said our goodbyes and got on the road.

I still had about 40 minutes to drive after we got back to Dad's. When I finally pulled in the driveway, Bailey and Noah ran out to meet me with hugs and kisses . It was a good trip, but I was glad to be home.

and so it begins

This is the first of (hopefully) many posts about our family and what we are all about : our hobbies, loves, dislikes and beliefs. We know two other families who have blogs, and we decided to begin one as well. We have many goals for this blog, some of which are :keep family and friends up to date on our lives, share info on Wild plants (William's specialty), and keep an organized record of our family photos and history.