First day!

Madeline's first day of preschool was today!!  We went to the open house on Monday and as soon as we pulled into the parking lot she screamed "preschooooollll!!!!" with arms up in the air.  "You see the playground Mom?  It is so fun!!!"

I love that she is so excited to go and I love our sweet little school. 

Sara was just glad to have the house to herself for a few hours.  She's off to explore.  You'll be there soon enough munchkin!!

August Book Review

Ravi Zacharias is multi-cultural.  Raised in India, he has lectured throughout Europe and now resides in the US.  The book is a derivative of lectures he gave at Harvard and Ohio State Universities. 

It's divided into three main sections with 2 appendices  (okay, appendices is a funny word, makes me laugh out loud every time).  The first section address the anti-theistic world view, it's inherent contradictions, and how it is philosophically unlivable. The second section is a confirmation that all people long for meaning and the answers to that search.  And the third section hangs on the question of " If Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, any castigation of His message is the ultimate expression of futility.   On the other hand, if His claims were false, all of Christendom and much of history is built upon a lie."  The two appendices are a Q&A from Harvard and a brief bio of "mentors to the skeptics"; ie Descartes, Kant, Nietzche. 

For me this book was a real challenge and made me regret not taking any philosphy in college.  I had trouble following all of the logic lines without giving myself a headache.  But, when you boiled down a lot of the wordy questions, and Zacharias does a lot of this for us, it comes down to this:

" Does God exist? and if he exists, what is his character or nature? It is out of one's belief or disbelief in God that all other convictions are formed."

I want to type more, but I fear watering down the message of the author.  I really appreciate the magnifying glass he puts to our human nature throughout time (particularly as in this present age we struggle with materialism, significant medical healing, social media, and radical individual success) and clarifies how the thoughts of a few turn the minds and heads of nations.  This is a great book. 

Sunday wisdom

" The Reformed doctrine of perseverance is that a regenerate soul will certainly persevere through the trials of life and continue to believe and repent.  He will slip and fall, develop bad habits, wrestle with doubts, but through it all he will keep on going even as he began...all believers slip and fall into sin. But the truth of the matter is that no believer stays down.  Just as God gave him faith and repentance unto initial conversion, so He supplies him with faith and repentance all along the way to heaven."

Dr. Curt Daniel "The History and Theology of Calvinism"  p. 415

A morning at the museum

We had the KMA on our bucket list for a while now, and with prechool just around the corner, I thought we'd take advantage of one of the last unscheduled mornings. 

See if you can spot the theme:

Still  (me)

vs.

track runner (Madness)

Lots of fun!  Oh, how my child stretches me.  A couple of times I thought we were going to be put on the museum bad list as little hands reached to "touch" the art.  Madeline did learn the difference between a "picture" museum (Look, but don't touch!- as she explained to Daddy) and a children's museum. But, everyone was kind and engaging.  One of the museum workers encouraged Madeline to play a museum version of "I Spy"- thoughtful woman. 

We did take a little detour to the chocolate factory for some treats; I couldn't deny the girl a chocolate lollipop for 89 cents.... and a truffle for me!  Next time, we'll pack Fort Kid in alongside a picnic lunch. 

For a few dollars more

Last weekend we passed through the Asheville Farmer's Market, and my list had two must haves on it. Tomatoes and peaches. But, glory be! The produce was bountiful and cheap and I couldn't resist nectarines.... or purple!!! peppers.... cherries, oh joy! Even tomatillos beckoned from within their happy little paper wrappings.

So, I got tomatoes. 25 lbs of stunning little Romas who looked as blissful as a baby in a deep slumber. $8. I will confess to you that I have no idea - *officially* as to how to process them. Last year, I purchased the same amount and ended up with a bunch of water with tomato "coloring". I swore then that I would come up with a good recipe to draw salsa, pizza sauce, and spaghetti base from. I have a wonderful, wonderful web site that I am using as a go to, but even with all of her instruction, it turned out that I just didn't have the uninterrupted time to make a genuine go of it. So, as per my mom's instructions, I plunked them into the crock pot until they reduced by half. I removed the skins, and pureed the lot of it. It's definitely more potent than last years version, but we'll just see how it translates this winter.



Next, peaches. 1 basket of yellow and 1 of white, $14 a basket. Some are preserves, others have been converted into jam, compote, and pies. I think next year I'll have to get a whole basket of white purely for eating. They are unbelievable!! There's a white peach festival in Alabama that's on my bucket list- anyone out there want a road trip??



These preserves are ready for cobbler this December.

Super simple:

Melt one stick of butter in cobbler dish as oven heats up.
Mix 1/2 cup of sugar, 3/4 cup of flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup milk, and pinch of salt. Pour batter over melted butter and dump fruit on top. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. The crust will rise up over the fruit.
(Now that's the kind of science I could have gotten into!!)






The cast of characters:
Tomato sauce (run through the food mill, which I quickly lost interest in)
Stewed tomatoes
Peach preserves
Nectarine & White Peach Jam
Yellow Peach Jam
White Peach Jam
Roasted Tomatillo salsa
Cherry Pie Filling
Nectarine Jam
Peach Compote



Lest any of you think I am a canning wonder woman, I don't "process" , I freeze. Way quicker, and to me, a much more fresh taste. The jams are just the Ball freezer packets; so if you can make Jello, you are more than qualified. I worked a solid week, off and on, and bought my peaches "green" to buy some time. I also just peeled the peaches with my fingers. Usually you do a pot boil and ice water bath so that the skins slide right off, but I didn't have the time to watch all of those pots with 2 munchkins underfoot. So, the peaches didn't look gorgeous, and I probably lost a little too much flesh, but that's the price to pay.

Next year, I am looking for a ensemble cast to can alongside of: Anyone interested? It would be a 2 day venture and no kids allowed!!

July Book Review

Poor planning. This weighty volume has no business being a July read.

Michael Horton has written one of my top ten reads ever: "Putting Amazing back into Grace", which I read back in college. This book could truly be a must read every year, it is THAT good. Hint, nudge, shove, GO to your nearest reading outlet.....

Okay, so this one, is a little...... let's say..... um..... academic. I'll be perfectly honest and say that I read it and retained very little, and would suggest that writing an outline as you read would be an excellent treatment for this book. However; it is a beautiful and wholly complete journey through the covenants, and law vs. promise.

"As Paul warns, we do not recieve justification and forgiveness by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, and then go on to sanctification as a matter of personal achievement (Gal 3:1-4). In the new covenant, all of the blessings have Christ and his obedience as the only ground qualifying us as heirs. Not some of the blessings, but all of them are comprehended "in Christ"......... because of God's sworn oath by himself, the justified sinner will also be one who perseveres against doubt, temptation, the world, the flesh, and the devil, one day inheriting by that same royal grant rest from all warfare."

and rest from incomprehension....

So.....

my vacuum literally went up in a puff of smoke today...(I thought that was only a cliche' phrase, but I can testify that it is true). Anyone out there have a good one they can recommend?? Or one to steer away from? Feel free to e-mail or comment. Thanks!