Green Beans

We went to visit my mom and dad today and were able to get a few beans. They only have a small garden but had gotten what they needed. We also got some from my Grandma Betty. From the garden, to the sink, to the jar....
To the pressure cooker.....about 45 minutes later.......
to the sealed jar for storage. Thanks Mom and Grandma for the beans. Next year I will have a much better production but we desperately needed beans this year. Every little bit helps and we were able to get 11 quarts off what we cleaned up today. And THANKS MOM! for teaching me this ageless skill of food preservation. I count my blessings for knowing how to do this every day! You are the greatest Mom!

Another Testament of Christ

I love "Reflections of Christ" and now I am excited to see this video as well. I watched Reflections over and over again. The music is amazing and the pictures.....I can't even put a word to it. My heart and soul are moved each time I see his work. The images come alive for me. Mark Mabry is becoming my favorite photography. I wish I had one of his prints..... Hope you enjoy this tidbit.

Deck staining

After digging numerous slivers out of feet, mostly Matthews, we were in desperate need of sanding and staining our deck. I told Robin his "honey do" list should be non-existant by the time he gets another job. He is working hard on just that, eliminating his to do list. We had picked out a lighter grey stain but it ended up having too much blue tint. Robin picked this darker color for the second coat. It looks great! I think it might get a bit hotter but the deck is shaded most of the day so it's not bad.
It looks so good next to the trim on the house. I love it. Plus- no more slivers. Robin sanded it down really well before staining. I don't think a finish had ever been applied. The weathered grey wood went with the grey of the house but this is so much better on the eyes and feet. Just don't mind the footprints from the garden, it is a deck after all. Honey do list #1- stain deck- CHECK! Thanks babe!

1st day of School

Where did summer go? The nights are getting longer, days are getting cooler- sort of, the leaves are changing and school is back in session! It was nice to hit all the penny sales without the boys, they were home with dad. We spent Wednesday evening packing the backpacks to overflowing with school supplies. Once I had 2 file drawers overflowing with glue sticks, folders, tablets, crayons, markers, scissors, and pencils...oops forgot the pink erasers......Now I onlly have 1 drawer. We bought extras last year and some this year for the unexpected in the middle of the year. Thursday morning they were up early for the 1st day of school, well at least Josh was. Keegan is not much of a morning kid. All went well. Robin was actually glad to be home as he has never been home to send the boys off to the 1st day of school. We had huckleberry pancakes, of course, for breakfast. YUMMY. There is just something about the zing of the huckleberries. You hardly need any syrup.
I am such a multi-tasker that sometimes I get ahead of myself. Trying to take good pictures while the pancakes were cooking left a couple well done but not too bad- oops. Still all the rest were perfect. Keegan was a little nervous but as usual, Josh couldn't wait. I think he was more excited over meeting his friends than anything else but I guess that would be normal.
Tyler gets to start preschool next week. He loves it and has so much fun. Matthew topped the morning off with crying and not feeling well. He had been running a fever and had fever blisters all over in his mouth and lips. Poor little guy was NOT happy. Thankfully no ear infection but we just had to wait it out. Robin and our friend Jeremy gave him a blessing and now he is much better. Even with his sore mouth he enjoyed the fresh pancakes. Our boys would survive anything as long as we have pancake mix- which I am currently running low on. Thank heavens it is coming up on some caselot sales. Our morning went well and before we knew it, it was time to head out for the bus. The boys could have cared less about the pictures mom wanted to take and Matthew figured it was his turn for attention so this is it...... Have fun boys. Remember who you are and what you stand for!
Not too worry, with 3 boys still at home (Robin is the biggest boy of all) I had plenty to keep me busy. Life never ends and just when you get things figured out someone sends you a curve ball....... I'm coming Matthew.....Poor little guy........time for some stories and cuddling!... Ah shucks I can't do the dishes after all...... HONEY!?!

Job Search

After coming home from our fabulous vacation we found ourselves among those hit by the down economy. Robin returned to work for 1 day and at the end of that day was laid off along with 25% of AMET's workforce. UGH! We are currently counting our blessings. #1 I have a good and secure job, the hospital would have to cut DEEEEEP into the nursing staff to cut me. #2 We have built our food storage. #3 I can feed and keep my family clean for less than $100/week. #4 I know how to coupon and do so well. #5 The Lord is aware of our family and our struggles. He is active in our lives for which we see evidence every single day. I am so thankfull for all these blessings and many more.... For now we search, or rather Robin does. He has had success in that there are some openings in his field, however it is a tight job market and I fear we may be in for the long haul. If anyone hears of something please let us know. He is an electronics technician. This is the technical portion of electrical engineering. Keep him in your prayers as well. This is hard on him as he is just not used to being home all day. He said he felt like a square tire that just didn't fit into the daily routine around the house. We are working on that and have made several adjustments to fit our new and TEMPORARY lifestyle.......Once again- focusing on the blessings. Please keep an ear bent for new job openings. I know he will find something and this experience will one day be counted as a blessing until then..................................