Strawberries and Pie!!!

    It took a few weeks, but this...

 has finally turned into this!

The ones we haven't simply eaten out of hand were made into a strawberry pie. Three so far!!The recipe is so easy and made even easier by using a frozen pie crust. I prefer the ones you have to defrost and then unroll - Pillsbury to be specific. Here is the recipe! Happy Eating!!

1 C sugar

1 C water

2 1/2 Tbs cornstarch

1 large box strawberry jello

4 C quartered fresh strawberries

Heat sugar, water and cornstarch over medium heat, stirring often. Heat until it begins to thickens and turns clear. Add jello, stir well until combined. Pour over berries and chill until set.

*PS I would post a picture of the finished product but they don't last long enough for photos at my house!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

We are looking forward to the day when this....

produces this once again...

Warm temps and lots of sunshine has everything bursting out around my yard. We started some sunflowers and tomatoes a few weeks ago...they should be ready to move outside soon. Our strawberry plants had a single bloom 5 days ago....we checked today and they are covered with white blooms. Our crop last year was pretty good and we are looking forward to more this year! This will be the 3rd year for our blueberry bushes and I read that they don't start producing until then. How exciting to discover little white flowers on one of the bushes today. It will be fun to see how that plant develops.

Forgotten carrots from last season...

What's a day in the garden without some worms? Miss M used to actually KISS them when she was his age. She still likes worms, but no longer LOVES them!

So what's growing in YOUR garden so far?

Vacation Pictures & Catching Up

As mentioned last week, the wee ones and I met some of the family in Branson for a little vacation. Mr C enjoyed the pool and tram ride in the Silver Dollar City parking lot the best! As you know, Miss M has a need for speed and that was met by some of the bigger rides, although she wasn't tall enough for the big coasters. (I don't think she would have ridden them anyway!)

Miss M being "robbed"
on the train. I was
a little scared of this
as a child, but she
took it in stride.









One of the few rides
Mr C could go on,
but he still found
plenty of fun
things to do.









Miss M, Aunt Jennifer,
and Uncle Nathan on the
kiddie coaster.
























Relaxing with Nana...notice Mr C is holding Nana down so she won't get away! (Like she would...with a cutie like him sitting there!!)



Pool Time!

























This shot was NOT staged - he crawled into bed, set up his pillow and dog Bob, pulled up the blanket, and asked for "me read Mama" - then crossed his leg on his knee and proceeded to check out the brochure for the animal show we were going to see in the morning.


The MOPS garage sale didn't raise as much as last year, but we were still pleased and very blessed by the proceeds. I have only been to the airport in Nashville and I am looking forward to exploring the city a little.

Finally, I think our strawberry plants are just about spent for the season. I was able to pick enough after church though for this VERY fresh strawberry pie! The green beans should be ready for picking in another week or two and the cucumbers are looking good too. It has been a little wet for the okra, but it will do well in the dry and hot days later this summer. Our tomato plants are looking a little weak though, so I might give them a boost with some additional fertilizer this week. Also, about fertilizer...I have been thinking about having a compost bin for the garden....any of you have experience in this area?


I will leave you with a shot of the above mentioned berry pie....Andy and I had a slice after I took the picture...YUMMY!! Safety fair in the morning and then working on a paper mache sheep for VBS tomorrow afternoon with a gal from church. Depending on how they look, we might post a picture or two of that later!

"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

Strawberries!!

Don't they make your mouth water?Mr C was ready to eat a berry, can you tell?

Sweet peonies and even sweeter wee ones...

We are managing to stay ahead of the critters and seem to get more berries than they do! It helps that I have two super fast pickers with me! Miss M is a big fan of Farmer's Markets so having our own berry patch is very exciting. They didn't produce much at all last year but are going great guns right now! Off to bed now...had a great dinner on The Hill with hubby..still trying to figure out the scanner but I am helping in 2nd grade at church tomorrow so I need rest to be on my best game!

Pre-Summer Craftiness

We harvested the first strawberries from our little patch last night. They were better than last year, having a good berry taste but not very sweet - still yummy though! The tomatoes have a few yellow blooms - Miss M and I are very anxious for that. I thought I would post a few crafty pics - per Miss M's request. I know some family members are anxious for carnival pics, so I will get to that later!

First off, we attended a super fun party at a children's hair salon several weeks ago. This is my first attempt to duplicate the fancy do at home. This isn't actually a craft, but still creative! I emailed directions to a grandmother we met at the post office, so let me know if you want them too -it is way easier than it looks!

Next up were May Day Baskets we made for friends and neighbors. We used leftover ribbon and wallpaper samples to make little cone-shaped baskets, which we filled with chocolate covered pretzels. The kids really enjoyed trying to hang them on front doors without getting caught!

Finally, a little Memorial Day Bling for the mailbox! Using materials leftover from previous projects, I made up this little decoration. Super easy & cheap too!