Rainy day ramblings

There's a nice steady rain falling today and we really needed it! I am loving the chance to have a cozy day inside. Jim is home and has been doing a lot of stuff in the garage, and keeping the kids with him a good bit of the day, which has been really nice, too! Julia and I made a blueberry pie (well, she sat on the counter and did her best to help me make a mess!) and it is in the oven right now. Mmmm, I can't wait! We spent some time at my grandparents' house on Saturday, picking blueberries. We so appreciate them sharing their abundance of berries with us! I hope to go back later this week and pick more. I'd like to get enough for at least a couple batches of jam. Plus some to freeze, also!

Blessings

I just have to share some blessings I have received over the weekend! A friend called me on Saturday to ask if I could trade nursery duty with her, so I ended up working Sunday morning in a different nursery than I usually do. One of the moms came in to nurse her baby, and as we were chatting for a minute, she asked me if I could use some bags of baby girl clothes that she had been given, but didn't need, as her daughter was moving into larger sizes. Of course I jumped at the chance to get hand-me-downs! There were 4 huge garbage bags full of clothes, mostly 2T, but a few other sizes mixed in here and there. I have had such fun going through them, and there is SO much we can use. I won't have to buy Julia much at all for the fall and winter, or probably even next summer!! One thing was especially neat--I had been wanting to get Julia a white or cream color cardigan to go with the corduroy skirt I got at the resale store. Before I delved into the bags, I had the thought that maybe God would provide just the right sweater that I was wanting. Sure enough, there was a very nice Gap zip-up white cardigan, in the exact style I was looking for. Isn't God so good to provide even for our little "wants," down to the tiniest detail?!!

Another blessing was finding out that a friend of mine who lives nearby has extra kefir grains!! I keep forgetting to order them online and now I know why . . . because all along God had some in mind for me that were very close to home! I didn't even know that my friend was making kefir, but I guess they read on my blog about my wanting some, and emailed me to let me know I could have some from them. I will be picking up my grains later today and can't wait to get started. Thanks so much, guys, if you're reading this!! :)

Yet another blessing was hearing our church's teens share testimonies from their trip to the Wilds last week. Last night's service was primarily set aside for their testimony time. Well, so many kids got up to share what God was doing in their lives, that the service lasted about an hour later than usual. It was a very challenging and special time! I pray that we can raise our kids to have the hunger and thirst for God that was evident in many of those teens!!

Smoothies

Lately we have been all about making smoothies for breakfast (or sometimes for lunch or supper!). Sam will often come to me first thing in the morning and say, "How 'bout we make smoothies?!" How could I refuse? :) They are so yummy and healthy, too. Here is the recipe that is our current favorite:

Berry Smoothie

1 cup milk (I often substitute vanilla yogurt for half the milk)
1 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries
1/2 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries
3 T. sugar
1 cup ice cubes

Place the milk, berries and sugar in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Add ice cubes; cover and process until smooth. Yield: 3 servings


Well, I could chatter on and on, but I'd better go for now. Hopefully I'll have time to blog a couple more times later this week!