Homemade is Better

 

Today I'm canning tomato juice.  Last year I canned very little juice as we were living in a camper during the majority of the canning season. ( Long story that I'll tell some other time. )  Anyway, at the time I thought it would make little difference because tomato juice is fairly inexpensive in the store.  Little did I know how wrong I was.

We use tomato juice a number of different ways.  I use it to make homemade tomato soup, chili, spanish rice, and a number of different casseroles and we also enjoy drinking it chilled as a snack.  Sadly the tomato juice from the store tastes VERY different from the home canned variety.

I soon realized that my home version of tomato juice is really more like a V8 juice.  I put onions, green peppers, and some seasonings in my tomato juice.  The store variety has tomatoes, water, and salt listed as the ingredients.  Also it has a weird metallic taste to it that I can't identify, but do not enjoy.  We even tried the kind that comes in a plastic bottle, and it STILL tasted of metal.

Anyway, my conclusion is that the extra effort that it takes to can tomato juice is well worth it for our family. 

What do you can that can't be compared to "store bought?" 

Foster Parenting Is.......

We are nine weeks into our fostering journey, and what a ride it's been!  Please understand that I would love to post more details, but I want to respect the privacy of our foster children and their birth family, and also maintain a certain amount of privacy for our family. 

Over the last nine weeks I've made some observations about fostering.  If you are a veteran foster parent and are reading this please bear with me as I'm still "wet behind the ears."

Foster parenting is..........

loving little ones like they are here to stay--while knowing they may leave.

having your heart in your throat when you recognize your social workers number on caller ID.

living in limbo while waiting for the next court date.

sleepless nights for you and little ones after a difficult change in their case.

trying to explain to a 2 year old something you can barely wrap your mind around.

giving up a lot of extra activities because what the foster babies need is security and sameness.

sometimes feeling like your life is completely out of control.

having very little privacy due to the steady stream of people in your home.

totally worth it because there are little souls involved!!!!!

If you know someone who is fostering please encourage them.  Tell them you are praying for them.  Offer to cook a meal for them or clean their house.  It may not be apparent to the outside observer how exhausting the job is emotionally, and physically.  To those of you who have done this for years I applaud you.  God bless you for your faithfulness in a hard, but rewarding task!

Romantic or Practical

I received two gifts for my anniversary.

 

One romantic..............

 

 

and one practical.

I liked both of them!!

What type of gifts do you enjoy receiving?

Fourteen Years Ago

I was 18 he was 22.

I was scared, I think he was too.

I had no clue what the future would hold.

How hard it would be, or how wonderful.

We first met at a church youth rally.  My husband and his brother arrived late for the first service, and he noticed me from the back of the church.  He whispered to his brother that he was going to marry that girl, and when my husband says he is going to do something it generally happens.  This was no exception. 

After the church service a group of youth went to Pizza Hut.  When we arrived I was the last one to be seated and guess who was sitting across from me.  We started talking, and something just clicked.  I felt like I had known him all my life. 

I can't believe it's been fourteen years!!  In some ways it seems like yesterday. 

Can't wait to spend another fourteen years together!

(The figurine is the cake topper from our wedding cake.)

Can You Say Tomatoes?

 

My tomatoes are ripening thick and fast.  I have to admit that tomato products are my favorite things to can.  Perhaps it's because they make the whole house smell so good. 

 Saturday I canned 20 pints of salsa.  That isn't quite a full years supply of salsa for us, but I would like to make some pizza/spaghetti sauce and tomato juice next, and if I have enough tomatoes I might make more salsa.

My husband is not fond of salsa that has been thickened with clear gel or other thickeners so I thicken mine by cooking it down.  Saturday morning I started chopping veggies and by noon I had a huge stock pot full.  I started it simmering and cooked it for almost four hours.  By then the house smelled heavenly!!

What are you canning at your house?

My Garden of Weeds

My garden looks--how should I phrase this--terrible!!


The weeds are higher than my head in some places.


I'm still harvesting from it and I'm fairly happy with the yields.


But I'm hoping everyone that drives past our place is nearsighted.


I guess that's pride isn't it?


I was discussing this with my hubby, and bemoaning the state of my beautiful-no-more garden.


Know what he said?

"Don't worry about it, you're growing something more important than a garden."

Made tears come to my eyes.

He's right you know!!

So, if you're a mom, and your garden looks bad.

Or, you don't even have time for a garden.

Look at your babies, and know that this is only a season.

A Day In My Life

Starting my week with yet another question from Karen.  By the way you should really go check out her blog!!

"What does a typical day look like for you?"

6:00am My alarm goes off and the radio quietly begins the daily news that I rarely remember, but enjoy waking to rather than incessant beeping.

6:05am I stagger to the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee and sit at the computer to check emails and read a few blogs.

6:15am The one year old wakes up and I feed him his bottle while finishing up at the computer.

6:30am Hubby is up and in the shower, and I get breakfast for him and my eight year old son. ( he has been going to work with Daddy most of the summer )

6:45am  The two year old and six year old get up and I add bowls and spoons to the table for them to start eating breakfast while popping the baby in the high chair and feeding him bites of cereal.

7:00am Hubby and son are out the door and I start a load of laundry and dress the two youngest and start my day.

7:15am I chat on the phone with my mom a little as I start cleaning up the kitchen, and then head to my bedroom to comb my hair and make my bed.

8:00-11:00am I do my daily chores--settle squabbles between children--change diapers--answer the phone for hubbies business--not necessarily in that order, and sometimes all at once.

11:30am I fix lunch--usually we have leftovers, or sandwiches, and we eat.

12:05pm I put the two year old down for a nap while rocking the one year old with another bottle.  Six year old either reads in bed or plays quietly.

12:30pm When the babies are asleep I lay down for a fifteen to twenty minute nap myself.

1:00pm I get up and start more laundry and do a little office work and return phone calls.

2:00-5:00pm I start supper--tidy the house--fold laundry--finish daily chores, and play with babies after they get up from naps.

5:00-6:30pm Somewhere in here we eat supper depending on if Daddy will be home to eat with us or not.  After supper I load the dishwasher and tidy kitchen.

6:30-7:30pm  I take children out with me to do the chicken chores and check the garden for produce that is ripe.

7:30-8:30pm I give the babies baths and get jammies on.  Usually Daddy arrives home sometime in this time frame, and we spend a little time with him.

8:30pm Put babies to bed and shoo older boys toward the shower.  Set up my coffee maker for the next morning.  Sometimes I put another load of laundry in depending on the need.

8:30-9:00pm I sit down with my feet up and talk with hubby about the day.  We have family devotions, and send the big boys off to bed.

9:00-10:00pm I take a shower, unwind, and go to bed.

This is a typical summer day for us.  This summer has been unseasonably hot so our time outside is mostly in the evening.  Our days are very different during the school year.  Maybe sometime I'll blog about a day that includes homeschooling.