Abundant Thankfulness Abounds

If you know me or know even a little of my testimony you know that I am one of the blessed ones. God has painted a beautiful landscape in my life that echos what Joseph says in Genesis that what the enemy meant for harm/evil God will turn to His good purposes - I have seen it over and over in my life and I AM THANKFUL - for it is by His Grace Alone that I am who I am, doing what I am doing and living the life I am living ~~~~
In that vein let me share with you some of the many things for which I am thank filled to overflowing ~~~~
For a godly man who loves my son like he is his own.
For a wonderful man who leads our family in kindness and gentleness.
For a husband who loves me with the kind of love that every little girl's heart desires.
For a husband who gladly goes to work everyday to provide for our family.
For a husband who supports, encourages and embraces me being at home to take care of our family, home and hearth.
For a best friend who continues to amazes me in his ability to put up with me and my goofy ways.

Above all - a man who loves God and seeks him in all things.

For a child who gave me the courage and drive to fix what was so sadly broken in my life when giving up seemed the easier option.
For a boy who makes me laugh when I feel like I have no laughter left.
For a son who has me chasing my tail most days but getting up ready to do it again each morning.
For a little boy who loves his Mommy with the kind of love that God seeks to receive from his children.
For a son who gives silly a whole new definition;-)
For a living breathing example of God's miracles in my life each day.
For a child whose heart humbles me and makes me know that I am called to a much higher purpose than laundry and cooking.
For a child who had taught me that Mommy's hugs and kisses really can heal all kinds of boo boos.
And last but certainly not least for my family - the kind I never had, always wanted but never dared to hope for - I am so blessed and oh so very very Thankful ;-) God is so good, so very very good!!!

Learning as I go,

Leisha

Cold Mornings & Hot Love

With temperatures dipping below freezing mornings are c-o-l-d here in the sunny south (being Canadian I ought to know) it's time to break out the heavy artillery to fight the cold - not many things work better than a little hot love on a cold morning.......

Hot Love

A hot bowl of hot love is a great way to chase away the morning chills......it worked for us this morning ;-)

Ingredients

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 medium Granny Smith (or other tart variety) apple, chopped

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 cups 7-Grain cereal (the flaked variety works well)

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons flax seed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Bring water, salt, apples, raisins and cranberries to a boil in a large saucepan. Add cereal. Stir and reduce heat to medium. Stir in walnuts, flax seed and cinnamon. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.Makes 4-6 bowls. Serve with brown sugar and a little milk. Refrigerate leftovers.

Now I for one tend to not follow a recipe exactly - I use them more as a guideline - so I would add to this recipe and say - throw in anything else that sounds good. We like a little milk and brown sugar or maple syrup on top - this will keep you fueled through the morning!!

Learning as I go,

Leisha

A Tybee Birthday

You need a little background to understand how we ended up in Tybee Island for my 44th Birthday - counting backwards the last 4 birthdays have been .....well to be honest pretty lousy for one reason or another. The Principal has tried so hard to make them happy and memorable - they have been memorable -but well, I'll leave it at that. It seems something always finds a way to spring up and attack on that "special day" so this year The Principal decided to take matters into his own hands and get us out of town - distraction being the method that would lead to a successful natal day !!

We like lighthouses - Tybee has one. Wonder Boy had never been to the ocean - Tybee has one. We love to Letterbox - Tybee has several - it was a done deal - the plan was in place - I was going to turn 44 yrs. old in Tybee Island, Georgia ;-)

We spent 4 great days on Tybee Island - we climbed the lighthouse - which was a blast - what a great view of the ocean - makes you aware of how small we are and how big God is.We visited Fort Pulaski and Fort Screven (the first photographed baseball game in the US was taken here during the Civil War) which date back to the Civil War and of course snuck a little homeschooling in while we were in the area ;-)

Tybee is a really neat place - time almost stands still - it is very unaffected by modern day USA if you knw what I mean - life seems to be very simple and self contained on the island. There is very little influence from large corporate America, the homes are funky, people ride their bikes everywhere - I almost felt like I was not in the United States at all. One other thing we noticed as we explored around the island was the huge population of fat happy cats that seemed to greet you everywhere - well not really greet you so much as look at you while lazing happily in the sun on porches and verandas all over the island.

On my actual birthday we did some letterboxing and shopping and while we were in one shop we met a little fellow who was to become a member of our family. A lady who owns a gift shop in Tybee takes in strays and adopts them out to homes across the country - she says that cats have gone as far as California and that there are cats all over the USA named Tybee & Savannah (which is about 18 miles from Tybee). Over the next few days I could not get the story of the 2 kittens that had been found in the marsh after what they think was an alligator attack on Mom and the rest of the litter. I made a few comments to The Principal - well not really comments so much as "meows" and remarks like - "don't forget we need to stop on the way off the island to pick up my birthday present". This went on playfully for a few days and I really was only half serious - still I could not shake the thought of the kittens and their story. Apparently I was not the only one, because the morning we were leaving when I made a comment with only a note of seriousness in my tone - The Principal surprised me when he said "We can get one of those kittens if you really want one" - picture me standing there in a shop with my mouth hanging open and trying to smile at the same time. We didn't even know if they were still there but after a brief discussion we determined that if we were supposed to adopt one they would be waiting for us when we left later that morning. Well....they were both there and funny as it seems now (I really wish sometimes that we had gotten them both) we took the "girl" and headed to Huntsville, happily with "Tybee" in our care. It is with great pleasure I introduce to you - our little boy Tybee ;-) Yep turns out she is a he - good thing Tybee works both ways - we had a hard enough time calling him him when we found out!! lol

He has completely captivated us in the few short weeks that we have been home. He is the best cat I have EVER had - sweet as he can be and fits in like an old pair of favorite blue jeans. This is by far the best souvenir /birthday gift I can imagine!!

Learning as I go,
Leisha

Yogurt Making Adventures

After being away I suspect it will take a little bit for me to get my blogging groove to return - in the meantime I thought I would share some short posts and just let you know some of the things that have been eating up my time. I have learned to make yogurt!!! Really - I know that sounds nuts to some of you, but in my continued effort to change our family over to a healthier way of eating in 2008 I have determined to cut out artificial sweetener and make things from scratch with whole foods and wholesome ingredients where I am able.
I have been baking all year and have only bought a few bags of hot dog and hamburger buns from the store. I keep fresh baked muffins (now made with homemade yogurt) in the freezer for The Principal to take for breakfast at the office - now I am sending him with yogurt for dessert at lunch. I do have to tell you he was VERY skeptical but told me just this evening how much more he likes my yogurt than the store bought. I have made peach yogurt with fresh peaches that I froze back in the summer and have pureed them to flavor the yogurt and then used either agave nectar or pure maple syrup to sweeten it. I have also made sour cherry vanilla and sour cherry almond both using sour cherry preserves that we got when we were in Amish Country last fall - all have which have been great!!
This machine was just over $20 and whips up a one quart batch of yogurt in 4 - 6 hours depending on your tartness preferences. It really is easy and oh so much healthier. The adventures around here never end.......

Learning as I go,

Leisha

Where Oh Where Have I Been?

I had a friend ask me at church a few weeks ago "Are you ever going to blog again?" So to answer your question dear friend - I am - I'm back - and it is good to know that my absence was noticed ;-) So where have I been ? Well you know that thing called Life? It has been consuming my time - can you imagine?!?!?!
We started 2nd grade with a new approach through Ambleside Online and it took a while to get our groove - now I am pleased to say we seem to be grooving ;-)
The other main contributing factor - can I be terribly honest with you all? I have not been too chipper and just haven't had it in me. Refer back to that "Life Thing". So everything is all better and my chipper is back in alignment right? Nope. However, I have found my way far enough out of the pit to realize that the enemy of my soul is delighting in my funk and I cannot allow that to continue a minute longer!! I make no promises other than to say - I'm going to make an effort to make an appearance a little more regularly again ;-)
To those who have checked and found me gone - please keep checking, and should you find me gone - check again - it's good to be accountable ;-)

Learning as I go,

Leisha