Wordless Wednesday

Z is for Ziploc, Zinnias, and Zucchini!

It has been so much fun having a vegetable and flower garden this year! I spent the morning shredding zucchini in 2-cup amounts and storing it in Ziploc baggies for the freezer. Of course, I had to save a fresh supply to make zucchini bread! I have so many wonderful recipes from friends and family, so it was hard to choose. I decided to try my mother in law's recipe first. It couldn't be easier, and is as yummy as it looks!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 C oil
2 C sugar
3 C grated zucchini
2 tsp. vanilla
3 C flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 C dates (or raisins, or dried cranberries, or chocolate chips!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together and pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for one hour, or until done.

Makes 2 loaves.

Garden Glory!

I picked the first zucchini and green beans from my little garden today! For those of you who don't know me very well, I'm TERRIBLE when it comes to plants and growing things, so this is a pretty big deal to me! The zucchini plant looks like it is going to be the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving. I plan to freeze a lot of it and use it for soups, casseroles and breads this winter. There is such a sense of satisfaction in growing and storing your own food! I have already been online searching for a variety of zucchini recipes, and plan to cook the green beans tomorrow for dinner. Yum!

A Lovely Afternoon

I had the privilege and pleasure of spending this afternoon with two lovely women, one of whom I know, and the other I recently met and am beginning to develop what I hope will be a wonderful friendship. When I arrived at my friend's home, she had a beautiful table prepared for us. Each place setting had a small white china plate, with a small spreader and a floral napkin placed in the middle. A goblet of iced tea had been poured for each person, and the table had a lit candle and vase with roses in the middle. The house was filled with the aroma of fresh blueberry oat scones still baking in the oven. The conversation was delightful as we shared about our families, common interests, and current goals. As I drove home, I was reminded of Titus 2:3-5 which says, "Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be dishonored." This afternoon was a great blessing and encouragement to me, and I thank you, Anita and Dorcas, for being Titus 2 women in my life. Thank you for a lovely afternoon!

Blueberry Banana Bread

This is my banana bread recipe, but since I currently have a huge supply of fresh blueberries, I thought I would throw in a cup for a different twist!

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
2 medium-size bananas, mashed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a medium-size bowl, combine sugar, bananas, eggs, and butter; beat until smooth. Add banana mixture to flour mixture. Stir until all of flour mixture is moistened. Add blueberries and gently mix. Place batter in a greased loaf pan, and bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Makes one loaf.

Alphabet Soup

Quote of the Day from my six year old daughter: "Mom, do we get to go to GPS today?" (She meant VBS)

Bountiful Blueberries!

I took the children blueberry picking this afternoon. I had never been to this particular farm before and was quite pleased with the abundance and size of berries!

As we got to work, the comments started flowing. My son said, "I like this way better than picking strawberries because I don't have to bend over!" My daughter just kept saying, "Look at the size of these berries, Mom! They're huge!"

Noelle was concerned about the occasional bee that would buzz by, but I used that opportunity to talk to her about the process of pollination, and that the bees are necessary! She asked if the birds liked the berries, and I said that they do, and that this is one of the many ways that God feeds the birds!

They really did a wonderful job and were very proud of their buckets of berries. I forgot to include my bucket in the photo, but we ended up picking 10 pounds in an hour and a half! They have already put in a breakfast order for blueberry pancakes!

Lemon-Poppy Seed Pancakes

Ingredients

1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. cornstarch
1 cup fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries, thawed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 8-ounce carton lemon low-fat yogurt
3/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 Tbsp. poppy seed

For raspberry sauce:
Stir together orange juice, honey, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Add raspberries. Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Strain through a sieve to remove seeds. Keep warm. Makes about a 1/2 cup.

For pancakes:
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl, combine yogurt, skim milk, egg, and poppy seed; add to flour mixture all at once. Stir mixture just till blended but still slightly lumpy. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased or nonstick griddle or heavy skillet. Cook till pancakes are golden brown on both sides, turning when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges. Serve with warm raspberry sauce. Makes 4 servings (3 pancakes each).

Oh, the possibilities...

I just love all of the fresh fruit produced by local farms in the summer! I picked up a flat of plump, juicy raspberries this morning and spent the day freezing 14 quarts for the winter months. The children had a hard time keeping their hands out of the box! I think I'll spend a few minutes hunting for some recipes that will use some of the fresh berries that I kept in reserve!

Finding Him in the Little Things

"That we ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed." (Brother Lawrence)

I have recently begun to re-read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I first heard about Brother Lawrence in college and was so encouraged by his writing. He focuses on how to foster an ongoing relationship with Christ, and to train your mind and spirit to be in a continual conversation with Christ as you move through your day. Sometimes I struggle with finding a consistent time for personal devotions. I am a busy mom with a very fluid schedule. I do, however, spend a lot of my day at the kitchen sink, and this is where I most often meet with my Lord. As I go through the "rinse and repeat" cycle several times a day, I pray. Often I will have worship music on, or perhaps focus on a memory verse. I encourage you to find those areas and pockets of time throughout your day when you can converse with the Lord. My experience has taught me that the more I do this, the more I am blessed and encouraged, even in the little things.

Bullseye!

We brought my son home from summer camp yesterday. He went to Trout Creek Bible Camp which is where I went when I was his age. I have so many wonderful memories from that camp, and am thrilled that he will have his own now!

After loading everything in the car, he took us around the camp and showed us all of the many things that he got to do. He went swimming, played in the gym, slept out under the stars in the field, canoed on the pond and discovered beaver dams, learned how to make fire, did a creek walk (waist deep at times), caught crawdads, ate crawdads (cooked, of course!), learned archery, and built and shot off a rocket!

One of my goals as a parent is to make sure that as we progress through life, I am helping my children to develop a Biblical worldview. I want them to seize life and enjoy as many opportunities as they possibly can, while seeing God in the midst of it all. I always have my radar up, looking and listening for indicators from them that I am on track with this goal. When I asked Nathan what his favorite part of each day was, he said without any hesitation "Chapel! That was definitely the best part of every single day here!!"

Bullseye!

Introduction

I have always been fascinated with birds. They are one of the many wonders of God's creation. I appreciate the majesty of an eagle soaring overhead, and the delicate beauty of a hummingbird hovering over a flower. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Matthew 6:26 which says, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" Birds are an ever present reminder of God's faithfulness and provision for His children.

I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time, but couldn't come up with a title that I liked. After listening to a devotional about being a Godly wife and keeper of my home, the Lord placed the nest image on my mind, and I immediately connected with it. I decided to name my blog "Notes from my Nest" because I see it as a metaphor for how I view my home. My home, just like a nest, is a little world within a world. It is a place of security and comfort where my family can grow, both physically and spiritually. As the mama bird (!), it is my responsibility to help build and maintain the nest with only those things that will provide physical, spiritual, and emotional enrichment for my children. Nests are usually a little rough around the edges, just like my home. Sometimes they are quiet, and other times they are noisy and full of activity! I chose the word "Notes" for the title instead of "News," because I like the double meaning. It can mean short written notes (words), but it also carries the bird theme with the implication of birdsong. Each bird has a unique and identifiable song. It is my desire to have my family's song be identified as joyful and full of praise as we serve our King together.

I invite you to visit often and take a peek into my nest to see the latest happenings!