Encouraging Deep Roots

I love where we live. We live on a road that has hardly any traffic. There are nothing but rolling hills, green meadows and woods. Here are some scenes from a recent walk. Wildflowers galore. Birds. Wildlife. Beautiful skies. There is nothing better than walking after dinner in the cool of the evening.

Emily received her very first cookbook from my friend Stephanie. Today she asked me if she could make a dish from it. Since we were having London broil for dinner and I was planning something with potatoes, she chose to do oven baked french fries. Here she is with her new book. She cut the potatoes in wedges. Brushing melted butter on top. Here she is with the finished product. She was so proud of herself. You could almost see her chest puff up when she got a compliment. LOL!

Here is my peaceful place. I can sit and crochet on a warm afternoon. I have my supplies and a cool drink. Beautiful views. The sounds of birds chirping. The sweet smell of freshly picked flowers. The stress and cares of the day wash away.

Okay, have you all noticed how serious my husband looks in every picture I take? I told him the other day that people are going to think he never smiles. So, he decided to humor me........................ What a nut! But, that's why I love him so much. :-)

My friend Stephanie and I both love ethnic food as do our husbands. So we decided long ago to put the names of different countries in a basket and take turns drawing a name and then cooking an entire meal from that country. This past Saturday night was my turn and I had Italy as the country. Now, I could of taken the easy way out and made spaghetti and meatballs but I know Stephanie would never let me live it down! ;-) So I did a bit more complicated fare. We had caponata with water crackers, pasta al forno, homemade Italian bread and bitter greens salad with roasted beets and orange vinaigrette. I thought I'd share the caponata recipe with you. I've had it before out of a can and I thought this turned out much better. Not everyone is an eggplant fan but I personally love it. First you peel and cube 3 small eggplant. Put in a colander and sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop 3 small onions, mince 2-3 garlic cloves, and chop 2 stalks of cele...

My baby is 9 years old today. ACK!!!! I can't believe how she's grown. She is becoming so grown-up and is quite the young lady. She is so extremely joyful and fun to be around. Life and energy just ooze from every pore. Grandma sent her a dress for her birthday. Here she is modeling. We are off to spend the day at the zoo per her request. I'll post some pictures tomorrow.

After spending the entire afternoon and evening with our church planting director, Dan & I need to cling to God's promises today. I do not like change. I do not always handle it well. As of the beginning of July, our church will be meeting in the local Veteran's Hall. It's not the ideal situation but the only one that is available to us at the moment and the only one that our church plant can afford. There is more visibility but it will require us setting up and tearing down each Sunday. Something we have not had to do for the past 2 years. It will also mean the end of some of our programs, like 3D Girls. The church is not a building, it's a body. But you know what? A building sure helps at times! However, I know that the Lord is preparing us for something.