Fresh Salsa Recipe

I like salsa. I like a freshly made salsa especially. I recently tried this one. It's delicious so thought I would share it.

5 large tomatos, chopped

4 green peppers, chopped

2.5 large red onions, chopped

1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped

1/2 cup lime juice

Mix up. I processed it in the canner for 20 minutes. Makes 4.5 quarts.

T-Ball!

Joshua is in T-ball this spring and really enjoys it. Here he is in the outfield:

His first official "hit" at his first official "game":

Joshua is on the "Moose" team. I will post more pics later with his actual uniform on. Go Josh!

Josh Garrells - Farther Along

This is a great song off a great album which you can download for free from here.

Farther Along

Farther along we’ll know all about it
Farther along we’ll understand why
Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine
We’ll understand this, all by and by

Tempted and tried, I wondered why
The good man died, the bad man thrives
And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both
We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes
Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope
In a house of mirrors full of smoke
Confusing illusions I’ve seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along
To every chorus of the song
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates
Leading mice and men down to their fates
But some will courageously escape
The seductive voice with a heart of faith
While walkin’ that line back home

So much more to life than we’ve been told
It’s full of beauty that will unfold
And shine like you struck gold my wayward son
That deadweight burden weighs a ton
Go down into the river and let it run
And wash away all the things you’ve done
Forgiveness alright

Chorus

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul
And I’ve got no place left go
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I’m free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I’ll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levee and my bluff
Let the flood wash me

And one day when the sky rolls back on us
Some rejoice and the others fuss
Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess
That the son of god is forever blessed
His is the kingdom, we’re the guests
So put your voice up to the test
Sing Lord, come soon

Chorus

TWO!

During Grampa and Nana's visit Madelynn also turned Two Years old!

Happy Birthday Madelynn! We love you so much and are so grateful you are a part of this family.

More Fun With Hudson

Garden!

Grampa and Nana and Joel worked on building six raised beds during their visit...Aren't they (Nana and Grampa) amazing? They worked so hard, the bugs were bad and they kept having to get more dirt/compost to fill the boxes. Thank You Nana and Grampa and Joel!

The boxes are now planted. Peas, beans, onion, green onion, beets, lettuce, tomato, watermelon, and carrots. And off to the left in this picture outside of the boxes, I planted pumpkin, cucumber, and more watermelon. In one of the boxes the kids planted flowers of their own: sunflowers (Joshua), Petunias and vincas (Rachel), Teddy bear sunflowers and violas (Madelynn).

We also have a large mulch pile from all the raking we did earlier. We're putting it to use and so planted some potatoes.

Here's pictures of some flowering greenery:

Flowering Crab

Day Lily

Viola

?

Lilac

Chive

More Grandparents!

A few weeks ago Nana and Grampa (Joel's parents) came to visit! We had a wonderful time with them, so good in fact that we didn't take many pictures. :)

Towards the end of their visit Grampa and Nana went camping for two nights. The first night they took just Rachel. She was so excited she talked non stop! The second night they took just Joshua. Both kids had good times with their grandparents and can hardly wait to see them again.

Here is a picture of Nana and the girls:

Family and Friends

In the month of May Renee's folks took Joshua, Rachel, and Madelynn far, far away to their home. Over a ten hour drive away. For a week. No kidding. It was just Joel, Renee and Hudson and boy, was it quiet! The time together was great, not only did Renee get to make breakfast when she wanted to, but both Joel and Renee got about a month's worth of projects done around the house and property.

We are still in amazement at Nina and Papa's generosity for taking the kids. Thank you!!

To pick up our kids after the week "vacation" we drove to Renee's grandparents' house to meet Papa and Nina. On the way we stopped and saw some good friends:

Brenda (Alfie's Mom) was visiting too, so we got to see her also!:

After a lovely visit with our friends we continued our travels. It is so easy to travel with one child. Wow.

We had to make a quick stop here, out of a non-traditional tradition (anyone know where this is? If you can guess correctly, we will clap and cheer for you):

It was such a joy to see the kids again! They hadn't changed one bit, and I (Renee) realized how much I loved and missed them.

Great Grandpa and Great Grandma had not seen Madelynn since she was 6 months old and had not met Hudson yet. This too was a joy to see them hold and play with their great grandchildren:

It was a great visit and a great trip. It is amazing to see family members grow and mature in Christ. My cousin is going on a missions trip to Italy! She has such a heart for God and for people to know Christ. I don't know her very well, but it was so great to hear her talk and catch up with her a little bit.

I wish all my family (blood and non) lived closer, but I remember to cherish each moment that I do have with them and to pray for them when I am not with them.

Some Good Reads

These are some books we've been reading lately...

This is a good one:

The book title is "Radical" by David Platt. The subtitle is 'Taking back your faith from the American Dream'. Really good read. It's worth the time, and it doesn't take that long to read. The author is quite humble and wrestles with the conflict of being a pastor of a mega church yet following a leader of a mini church. At the end of the book he gives five different challenges to the reader; challenges that will change lives, world views and faith.

Here's another good book, well, actually it's a bible:

Biblica came out with a TNIV (Today's New International Version) bible with no chapter headings, no verse numbers. It's just the text. And the books

are arranged in a chronological (when they were written) fashion. They are also grouped together according to the author. Joel and I have only experienced the New Testament version so far. But I've really enjoyed it. It's like reading a book, you just read it.

The downside: It's hard to find a specific passage or book.

A friend gave this one to me:

I've been drooling (well, ok, eyeing it) over this one for awhile.This book will tell you how to live off the land, raise cows and other livestock, grow a veggie garden, live without electricity, make candles, have a bee farm, how to cook, and so much more. It's title? The Encyclopedia of Country Living. Here's the blog.

What about kids' books? Yes yes, we've been reading those too. Here is one of my favorites right now:

The Llama Who had No Pajama. The book contains 100 poems. 99 of them are great! Well written poems that are easy to understand and talk about things that children are familiar with. There is one poem that I would caution about. But it provided a spring board for discussion about evolution. So maybe it's not all bad! Always learning, even about things we don't agree with.

This has been Madelynn's favorite book right now:

My First Body Board Book

I think the title explains it. :)

Goodbye...

Hear my cry O Lord

attend unto my prayer

From the end of the earth

will I cry out to Thee.

when my heart is overwhelmed

Lead me to the Rock

that is higher than I

That is higher than I.

Never Let Go, David Crowder Band

Three years ago...

Three years ago.

Today.

Our baby girl

Emily

was born

We miss her

but

we know where she is now

and we will see her again

someday

someday when there will be

no more tears

no more pain

no more grief

there will only be Jesus

and joy

and glory

and His Church

magnifying

glorifying

praising

HIM