Favorite Fall Things

Right now, my favorite Fall things are this....

and this....

Now, I know this isn't a fall picture, but it's the swing and the man on the swing that I'm talking about! (I prefer the kids to be in the yard, playing, rather than climbing all over us while we try to swing and talk.)


I love a Fall sweater and a swing! Now all I need is some good hot apple cider....

What are your favorite Fall things? Leave a comment if you'd like to share with the rest of us. :)

Do What?

If you have been a Christian for a good while, you can probably think of times when the Holy Spirit really impressed upon your heart to say something or do something specific. Years ago, I think not long after we had our first child, we were going through a pretty difficult time financially. I cannot even remember the specifics - it might have been a large repair bill for our car at the time - but I know we hadn't told anyone about our financial worry. I do remember thinking, "How in the world will we pay this?" And I remember the day that a letter and a check arrived in the mail from my Grandma. (I wish I knew where that letter was!) She had written us a check for a generous amount of money (I don't even remember the sum) and had written something like the following: The Lord placed you on my heart and I knew I needed to do this. I've learned that whenever He tells me to do something, I need to do it right away.

That money met our need; but, more importantly, the valuable lesson I learned from her that day still sticks with me. When the Holy Spirit tells you to do something, do it! If the Lord lays something specific on your heart, follow through!

I can think of times when I have obeyed the Spirit's leading to do something specific for a friend or even a stranger. Immediately, I felt peace and joy that come from obedience. Shamefully, I can also think of times when I second-guessed whether that was really the Holy Spirit prompting me, wondered how I would do that, or made an excuse. Immediately, I felt convicted and knew I had robbed myself of a blessing after the opportunity had passed.

Walking in the Spirit (or being in the "measure of the fullness of Christ" as Beth Moore puts it) is a daily choice. Very simply put, reading His Word, praying, and saying "no" to sin and "yes" to His ways allow us to be filled with His Spirit. And being filled with His Spirit puts us in a position where we can be fully used by Him! Don't you want that?

For your viewing enjoyment (and for a blessing!) I downloaded a rather humorous story that Beth Moore tells about this very thing. :)

A Thrifty Tradition

Remember that scene in Gone with the Wind when Scarlett digs some kind of vegetable out of the dirt, eats it, throws it up, and then proclaims, "I'll never go hungry again!" Well, I'm pretty sure it was a dirt-covered sweet potato she devoured right then and there. I know, I know. Some of you Gone with the Wind experts know exactly what it was and you're correcting me right now. But what root vegetable could be more southern and carry more tradition than a sweet potato?

And that is exactly why my family (especially my parents), since moving to North Carolina, have developed a tradition of loading up the non-school age grandkids, trekking out to some nice farmer's sweet potato field, and harvesting the leftover sweet potatoes every fall.

Not really. Although it HAS become a tradition, it has nothing to do with some southern nostalgia of the sweet potato. In actuality, we're just really cheap. My husband prefers to call it "frugal." Call it what you will, I like free food. And, yes, I did blog about this last winter, but my mom and I put a new twist on it this year. I talked her into helping me can the sweet potatoes this year.

So, they went from this...
To this...
To this...
...To this. It doesn't get more farm to table than that!

(There really are sweet potatoes under those marshmallows. All I had on hand were campfire marshmallows!)

What surprised my mom and me was how easy canning sweet potatoes is! I baked half my potatoes and boiled the other half (skins on). The skins slipped right off the boiled potatoes. Then all we had to do was quarter them, pack the jars, put a little fresh squeezed orange juice in each jar, pour boiling syrup (2 parts water to 1 part sugar) over them, and then process them. And they're good! Making Daniel's Favorite Sweet Potatoes took no time at all when all I had to do was pour them out of the jar, spice them up, whip them, and then throw some (huge) marshmallows on top! So if you're interested in canning (just about anything), but especially some free sweet potatoes, here's the website to check out.

P.S. I'm not sure why, but my boys will eat vegetables twice as well if they've helped pick them or they even just know that Grandma and I canned them. Whatever the case, it works for me!

*This post is linked to Frugal Fridays

Some Thursday Cookin'

Thursday is probably my favorite day to cook. And when I say "cook," I mean drag out a bunch of ingredients and try something new. Or maybe something new for lunch, for snack, for supper.... Today is one of those days. So I thought I'd share a new salad recipe I had for lunch today. This one came from the Kroger home mailer, but I tweaked it a little to my liking. It includes beans, asparagus, and olive oil - so it'll make you feel healthy while you're eating it. It also includes lots of onions. Red onions. Green onions. I can sense the excitement growing. And the need for a breath mint. So enjoy!

Tuna Salad with White Beans and Asparagus

1 can of water-packed tuna

1 cup of lightly steamed asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 can of white beans, rinsed well and drained

1/4 cup of red onion

2 T olive oil

1-2 T fresh lime juice

1/4 t garlic powder

1 T minced chives

dash of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Toss all ingredients together.

And for an afternoon snack, you could try these:

Chewy Granola with Butterscotch and Chocolate

It's easy to find a basic recipe on Food Network or All Recipes. Just make sure it includes this:

Health food at its finest.

And now it's time to go pick up the kiddos from school. They're bringing home two of their best buddies so they can look for bugs. That's right. Bugs. Roly-poly's for the buddy's Roly-poly Playground, to be exact. Apparently, we have the house around which you can find lots and lots of bugs. Just what I wanted to be known for. The house with lots of bugs. I think Daniel told the buddy that we have bugs everywhere - or as Daniel would say "EVERYWHERE!" (insert dramatic hand motions). So off I go for an exciting afternoon of bug hunting! :)

My Boys

It's been a little while since my boys have made an appearance here, so I thought it was time to relay the happenings of their busy little lives. Since Thomas started second grade and Daniel entered kindergarten, their schedules have amped up a bit, but they love their school-time activities. It seems there is always something to look forward to at school, whether it be Daniel's lunch-outside-if-you-behave; Johnny Appleseed Day; watching an HCS soccer game with daddy (where the neighbor's free-roaming chickens are the main attraction for my kids); or even just after-care. Which my children beg to go to every single day. As in, they want to know why I picked them up so early when I arrive at 3:00. And, this morning, Daniel was excited that tomorrow is Tuesday, the day he gets to stay in aftercare. I feel that maybe I should be slightly offended....

ANYWAYS, they've also started AWANAs at church and Thomas begins piano lessons this afternoon - his daddy will be teaching him. So, yes, they are quite busy these days. Even in the afternoons after school, they go to their room together to play with legos, or they play outside with our favorite neighbors' boys.

And when do I get to spend time with them? Well, that is what was starting to worry me a little. They are becoming more independent, thankfully; and they are wanting to follow mommy around less and less, which is probably a good sign. So now, Thomas and I go out to breakfast one Saturday a month, and Daniel and I go out to breakfast on another Saturday. They get so excited over choosing where to eat and having Mommy's undivided attention. And I love it, too. It is nice to talk to each boy one-on-one. I definitely hear more funny stories that way!

This is Daniel REALLY enjoying his doughnut at Krispy Kreme. I have to tell you that no outing with Daniel is complete without a song and dance number. He made sure I was entertained!

Thomas had found a coupon for a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit at Biscuitville. He brought me the coupon a month ago, and made sure I put it in my purse. It was, of course, expired by his Saturday for breakfast. But I love the fact that he wanted to use a coupon! :)

And here's a few pictures from Daniel's 5th birthday, as well.

So there's a little update on the boys. Can you tell I'm proud of them?