Strawberry Fields

We went to a local U-pick Strawberry farm this past Saturday. We picked for a little over an hour and got almost 30 pounds of strawberries! The kids had a wonderful time, and they both had so much fun picking!


The hardest part was fighting the temptation to pop them in our mouths!

After picking, we headed to Yellow Creek State Park for a picnic. Picnicking is one of our favorite things to do in the summer. And we do it often. It's very economical, and our kids just love it. No need for an extravagant outing. Just pack up a nice little lunch and grab your picnic blanket, and you're all set to go. We have found that state parks are awesome spots for outings because they have lots of picnicking areas and many have play areas and beaches.

I packed up ham sandwiches with American cheese and lettuce and onions from our garden. I also cut up some refreshing honeydew, and packed baby carrots and garden zucchini with ranch to dip them in. Oh, and we couldn't picnic without a bag of our favorite potato chips - Cape Cod Kettle Cooked. Yummy! It was such a scrumptious and refreshing lunch to have after picking our strawberries.

After a game of soccer and a short swing on the tire swing, we ended our day eating Bomb pops on the beach. This was a nice little treat for the kids that they thoroughly enjoyed!

We have definitely added strawberry picking to our mental list of family activities to do annually.

So, you may ask what I'm going to do with 30 pounds of strawberries. Well, we've already eaten a bunch and as for the rest of them? Well, that's my project today. Fresh strawberry pies and yummy strawberry jam. I'm off to start!

Chasing butterflies...

My Garden

I LOVE gardening and landscaping. I am such an amateur at it, but I have been learning a lot over the past few years. I'm always so excited when spring arrives because it means I can start messing around outside again. It's really a wonderful way for me to relax. I even enjoy weeding my gardens. I know - GASP!

I've come to learn that the best way for me to garden is by experimentation. That was hard for me to accept as a perfectionist. When I first started, I wanted to make sure I got it right the first time. However, now I put a plant/shrub/flower where I think I want it. I'll examine it in that spot all during the summer season, and if it just doesn't jive with me, I'll move it in the fall or early spring of the next year. Giving myself the okay to fail makes it easier to accept experimentation when planting. I've learned that it's best not to be intimidated by it, and it's much more productive to dive in and get your thumbs dirty!

One of the more economical things I've discovered about container gardens is that you can pretty much use anything for a container. I use a lot of baskets. I simply line the basket with a garbage bag which I have punched holes in, and fill that up with soil and the flowers. Garage sales and thrift shops are great places to search for containers. Old wooden boxes with holes drilled in the bottom would look great. Tin containers would give a rustic look. You just need to make sure that your container has a way to release the extra moisture so make sure you use a container that you can drill holes into.

Borders are another nice touch. Lucky for us, my dad owns property that had been strip-mined. As a result, there are piles and piles of nice limestone that Brad uses for our borders. It's a nice rustic look that matches our landscaping and home well.

I've also learned that it's best to add to your landscaping a little each year. That way you're not overwhelmed by the cost of it. The first year we landscaped, we did our entire front which ended up being a nice chunk of cash. Last summer we added a little to the front. This year we landscaped part of the back. And hopefully next spring we'll be able to landscape the rest of the back.

One of my favorite plants are hostas. Hostas are beautiful plants that come in a huge variety of breeds. They flower. And they can be endlessly divided which means they are an economical plant as well. We started with five hostas three years ago and we just divided them this spring so we now have ten. Daylilies are another nice plant that flowers and can be divided like the hostas. I've always recently learned that hydrangeas are also an easy plant to propagate and so I will be experimenting with that in the next few years to come. A love a plant that goes a long way!

Remember, don't be overwhelmed by the thought of landscaping your home. Take it slow and remember that you have the years to come to add to it and tweak it to your liking. A landscaped yard is such an asset to a home, in my opinion. There's something incredibly lovely and relaxing about going out onto your porch/deck/patio and enjoying a beautifully vegetated yard.

Happy gardening!

~Amber

It was a blast!!!

All I can say is, oh my goodness. I was so truly blessed at the Beth Moore conference this weekend. It was amazing how perfect her teachings were for me at this present time. I just knew God had sent this word for me. If you EVER get a chance to attend one of her conferences, please take advantage of it. You will not be disappointed. The presence of God was so evident in the arena that it gave me goosebumps. There is something absolutely AMAZING about gathering with a big group of sisters (6000 lovely women!!!!) in Christ and lifting praises to God!

Besides the wonderful God-inspired teaching and the spectacular praise and worship, my sisters, mom, and I had an absolutely wonderful girls' weekend. I thought I'd share some pictures of all our fun.

(I have no idea what we were laughing at, but it was obviously hilarious!)

If you couldn't tell by the pics, we spent quite a bit of time eating. Lots of good food this weekend!

Oh, can I just add that Beth Moore is the cutest little thing there is? I got a couple of pics of her, but I didn't think it would be appropriate to post those without her permission. She was such a sweetie. So down-to-earth and hilarious. And that southern accent? Oh, how I loved it!

'Til next time,

Amber

The Love of My Life

I LOVE this guy. He is the desire of my heart; a blessing from God above.

He is a man of God. He spends time in the Word each morning. He prays with and for his family. His heart desires to serve the Lord and His family. He knows that importance of a solid relationship with Christ. He desires to build our marriage on the solid foundation.

He leaves bright and early each morning and drives over an hour each way to provide for his family. He finds it a blessing to be able to provide for us so that I can be at home with our kids.

He makes it a point to spend as much time as he can with the family. He kicks the soccer ball with Ian. He has tea parties with Lily. He reads to them. He teaches them the ways of the Lord. He prays with them. He sings them "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "You are My Sunshine" at bedtime.

He supports me. He tells me and shows me that he loves me. He kisses me in the morning before he leaves for work. He gets my coffee for me on the weekends. He tries to understand my obsession with books and doesn't get upset when another one shows up in our mailbox. :) He tells me that he appreciates what I do and acknowledges how hard it can be. He always thanks me for making dinner and reminds the kids to do the same.

He is my soul mate.

He is the love of my life.

I love this guy.

My Silly Girl

I'm often amazed that I produced such a silly, goofy, fun-loving, outgoing little girl. Not that I'm boring and mundane. I've just always been more of the serious, studious, reflective type. Must be my husband's genes. She definitely gets it from her dad.

Where do I start?

Yikes! It's been awhile. I hope this post makes you happy, April You've been riding me to post something new, so here it is!

I just wanted to show you all a breadbox transformation I did today. I originally got this breadbox as a C-mas gift from my mom approx. 7 years ago. At that point in time, I was really into gingerbread. She spent way too much money on this breadbox at a local Amish wood-working store. Last year, I painted it black when I was going through my "I want to spray paint everything black" stage.

Here is the "before" picture. Before it was painted black. If you look behind and to the right of Lily and me you will see the breadbox in its original state.

Now it looks like this...

I had to put something on the front to cover up the lines from the gingerbread men. The painter had really outlined the gingerbread men thick, and I was too lazy to use an electric sander to sand it all down smooth. But this works for me. Much quicker and less messy.

I spray painted the frame black and then hot glued it to the breadbox. Oh, and I got the nest and egg print from here.

Here's another recent transformation. This hutch was a dark green. You know, I could kick myself for going with so much green when we built our house. Particularly permanent pieces (aka the countertop - what was I thinking?????) But, hey, let's keep perspective. I'm blessed to have a countertop and the convenience of a kitchen. Right?



Back to this hutch. It's black now. And I'm hoping to change out the knobs as well. When the budget permits. I'm waiting for a good deal 'cause I'm very frugal that way. I'm hoping I come across something nice at a thrift or antique store. That would be awesome.

We've been busy here. We've already had our summer beach vacation. We went in the beginning of May, and, although it was chillier than what we're used to, we still had a great time.

Oh, and we got one of these...

His name is Max. Pretty cute, huh? He's currently a house bunny, but that's going to change. We're just waiting for his pen to be completed. I've tried really hard for the last two weeks to be a "pet in the house" person, but it's just not me.

Anyway, I'm hoping to stay on top of posting a little better now that school is done. We'll see how it goes. :)

My mom, sisters and I are heading to the Beth Moore Conference in Pittsburgh this weekend. I'm really excited. I love hearing Beth teach, and it will be so much fun to have a girl's weekend! Yay!

Later!