Repose

“O Maker and upholder of all things,

Day and night are thine; they are also mine from thee…

But one day above all days is made especially

For thy honour and my improvement;

The Sabbath reminds me of thy rest from creation,

Of the resurrection of my Savior,

Of his entering into repose…

I long for that blissful communion of thy people

In thy eternal house in the perfect kingdom;

These are they that follow the Lamb;

May I be of their company!”

--“The Valley of Vision”

(posted by Betsy)

Recipe--Barbeque Sauce

A few days ago, I promised you the recipe for our homemade barbeque sauce, so I am sharing it with you today! But it actually isn’t “our” sauce recipe; it was a recipe from my dear Aunt D who saved Mother’s Day for us! J You’re our hero!

I would consider this recipe a sweet barbeque sauce, but it still has some tang to it! It is also quite thick and good for slathering! We’ve slightly modified it to suit our tastes, and we hope you enjoy it!

Barbeque Sauce

Photo by Roma.

¼ cup of water

½ cup of vinegar

1 ½ tablespoons of oil

½ a cup of ketchup

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon of dry mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons of chopped onion (we used 1 tablespoon of minced)

¼ teaspoon of paprika

¼ teaspoon of garlic powder

¼ teaspoon of chili sauce

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Good with beef, pork, or chicken. Makes 1 cup of sauce. (To feed our family, we have to at least double the recipe.)

Photos We've Taken

As part of the 30 day blogger challenge I mentioned last week, we are posting photos that we have taken. Some of these are special pictures that are our “pet” favorites for different reasons. We hope you enjoy looking at them!



Mark—This photo was taken in downtown Istanbul, Turkey. You can see the Galata Tower (Christ Tower) that was built in 507 AD. I enjoyed Turkey because of the Christian history that took place there.



Betsy—This photo was taken on a wonderful anniversary trip Mark and I took to Mission Point. This was the vineyard at the Grand Traverse Winery.



Bianca—I took this photo back in 2007 with our Kodak Easy Share Z650. I haven’t touched up this photo at all, although I did purposely water the plant to get water droplets. Even with a DSLR camera, I don’t think I’ve been able to top this picture yet!



Ben—I took this picture of Josiah and my cousin when we were playing at my Grandma’s house. I like it because it shows the friendship between the two of them and how silly they can be! J



Rubia—This is one of the best pictures I’ve taken because it’s just way too cute! J He usually doesn’t “smile” like that.



Roma—This is one of my favorite pictures I’ve taken because I like the dark background, and the details in his face.



Josiah—I like this picture because it was the very first picture I ever took! I took it at Mt. Vernon last year when we visited Washington D.C. This was the view from the piazza.



Springtime!

I believe it’s safe to say springtime has finally arrived! Watch, I’ll say that and the temperatures will plummet in a few days. J As I type this, it is a balmy 77 degrees out! It feels glorious: I think I was meant to live with eternal summer. My body and mood always improve with warmer weather.

We have been enjoying the warm weather in many ways, especially this past weekend. Here are some pictures of our spring projects:



Roma picking violets to make violet jelly (recipe below.)



And Ruby picking dandelions to make dandelion jelly (recipe below.)



Ben, hard at work mowing the lawn for the first time this year.



Meanwhile, I worked on thinning my quickly-growing seedlings. Since this picture was taken, all of my peppers have sprouted, several of the plants have grown a third leaf, and I have started setting them outside in a shady spot during the day.



Ok, so this wasn’t quite a “springtime” project, but I had to do a biology dissection Saturday while everyone else had fun outside. I’m not sure how long it will be before I eat fish again. J



Mikey has been learning some serious lessons in manners. We will be having an invisible fence installed this week and we’re VERY EXCITED NOT TO HAVE TO CHASE HIM ALL OVER THE NEIGHBORHOOD ANYMORE!!!

(P.S. Mikey is the dog, not the boy. J)



Ok, this isn’t about spring either. J But I haven’t talked about it here yet. A few days before Mother’s day, (Cinco de Mayo to be exact) we decided to go out for a Mexican dinner at our favorite local restaurant. It was a nice break from our routine!



I’m sorry, I’m always forgetting to take pictures before I eat the food. Several of us enjoyed fajitas for dinner. They were delicioso!



Back to spring. J Our 2 cats have ADORED being able to go outside again. Here Zinnia gives her “I’m sniffing something because I’m curious” look. She’s turned out quite pretty for a runt, if you ask me.



I saw what appear to be some type of insect eggs in our crabapple tree. They are so tiny!



Can you find the cat in this picture?



There he is!



Sometimes Zack just likes to lie around.

Photo by Roma.

 And now for the long-awaited recipes. Every spring we love to make violet and dandelion jelly since we have such an abundance of these wild flowers and weeds. The violet jelly is very sweet and a bright pink color, while the dandelion jelly has a golden color and tastes like orange marmalade and honey. They are both delicious and I would highly recommend trying them before the flowers die off.

Violet Jelly

2 cups of violet blossoms

2 cups boiling water

Juice of one lemon

1 package powdered pectin

4 cups sugar

Place 2 cups of violet blossoms in a quart jar. Cover with 2 cups of boiling water. Cool and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

Strain off 2 cups of the infusion (discard the petals.) Add the juice of 1 lemon and 1 package of powdered pectin. Bring mixture to a boil. Add 4 cups of sugar and bring back to a boil. Boil 1 minute. Pour into sterilized jars and seal. Process in hot water bath for 5 minutes. Makes 5-6 jelly jars.

Dandelion Jelly

*Use your LARGEST soup pot to make this jelly. It WILL bubble up!*

1 quart of dandelion blossoms

2 quarts of water

1 package of pectin

5 ½ cups of sugar

2 tablespoons of orange extract

Pour blossoms into a large soup kettle with the water. Bring to a boil and continue boiling approximately 4 minutes. Strain through cheese cloth or strainer, pressing out 3 cups of dandelion liquid.* Return 3 cups of the liquid to the kettle. Add pectin and let boil, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in sugar and boil 5 minutes more. Add orange extract. Boil 1 minute. Cool slightly; skim foam from jelly. Pour into sterilized jelly glasses. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

* At this point, you can refrigerate the liquid for 3-4 days, and make the jelly another day. Also, this mixture easily strains out 6 cups of liquid—enough for two batches of jelly. One batch makes 5-6 jelly jars.

My Happy Wall



This is picture of my Happy Wall



It’s a wall near the back door, which I can see in my going out, and my coming in.

Whenever I look at it, I feel a sense of calmness in my spirit…a fluttering of nostalgia that soothes my soul.

My Happy Wall is made of memories. It represents special moments, seasons of life, and deep yearnings.

The printer’s drawer, stocked with “treasures” of 23 years;

Old-fashioned globe lamp, reminding me

Of Who has always been the light unto my path.

Below that, the black stone, from my much-loved mother-in-law, with words:

“He that is without sin…let him cast the first stone.”

Cuddly three-in-one cats, nestled perfectly together,

Mama and her ducklings…so much the way I yearn to be remembered.

An apple for teacher,

Sharp pencils, bright red eraser,

Could I have imagined so long ago that we would someday

Educate our children at home?

Papa Bear and Mama Bear, growing old together.

Need I say more?

To the right of the printer’s drawer is my “welcome” sign. Always the same, yet changing each month. Here it shows the May flowers that grow best after the April showers. Such a comforting sight, if one happens to be in the midst of a shower storm.

My Happy Wall has a road that winds upward and leads to a much simpler time, just through and beyond that covered bridge. I’ve dreamed about that place and time, and it is lovely. Flowers bloom everywhere…the air is heady with the scent of perfume…sunlight dazzles, and unspeakable joy fills my heart.



She girds herself with strength, and makes her arms strong.



I could step into the world of this virtuous woman, and feel as though I’d come home. Her world is not fancy; nor is her home spacious or elegant. But every detail of it embodies her strength, from fresh round cheeses curing on the simple shelves, to butter churn full and ready at the waiting, to sweet kittens curled contentedly nearby, while a flaxen-haired child extends helpful young hands to mama.



Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like” home, sweet home.”



A simple terra-cotta plaque, bordered by my daughter’s favorite “morning blue,” sums up my heart. Long ago, after numerous moves had left me frustrated, teary, and longing for stability, the Lord impressed a message on my soul. Make your home in Me, He whispered. And since that day, there’s no place I’d rather be.

I believe every woman needs a Happy Wall. Yours may look different from mine. Maybe it’s a journal…or a scrapbook…or a collection of photos. Perhaps your memories fill a box, or a special shelf, or an entire room. Whatever the form, may our Happy Walls not be a monument to ourselves, but rather a reminder of why we have died to ourselves. For it is only by losing our lives, that we truly find them.

(Posted by Betsy)

Mother's Day!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Mother’s Day this year! We spent the morning (and part of the afternoon) at church. They had some special festivities for Mother’s Day. After church, we ran by Meijer really quick to pick up some last minute things for our dinner we were planning on having in the evening for Mom.

During the afternoon we rested and enjoyed the Sabbath with a family walk! The weather was beautiful and much more spring-like than what we’ve been having.

Daddy was planning on grilling barbecue chicken for dinner, along with corn and salad. The only problem was we had about an eighth of a cup of barbecue sauce, not nearly enough for 8 or 9 breasts. So, I learned how to make homemade sauce! We have a delicious recipe from my Aunt, and we really enjoyed it! Look for the recipe later in the week!



As we walked through the store, I couldn’t resist the pack of peach Snapple! I think I’d rather have that than soda pop.



The grilled chicken on the left, and the salad on the right.



Salad, corn, and dressings on the right.



This dinner makes me look forward to grilling in the summer!



For dessert we had a delicious apple pie with ice cream. Mmm, so good!



Are you drooling yet?



After dinner we gave Mommy her gifts. She was thrilled and shocked to receive a large pancake griddle which she very much wanted! We look forward to making pancakes more often now, and in much less time than trying to make them in a pan on the stove. She also received the game, “Set,” which she really enjoyed playing at our friend’s house last week. We had a good game after dinner!

I am so very thankful for my Mom and all that she does for me. I cannot imagine life without her! She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman, and I thank the Lord for her every day!

Doing Devotions

(Posted by Roma)

When Ruby and I were at the Mexican restaurant, after we got baptized at church, my parents gave us each a devotional journal. Inside the journal, you could write just about anything. So Rubia and I decided we were going to write what we learned from reading a devotion book that she had purchased from a Christian bookstore.

The devotion book is called “Girl Talk.” It has stories of real girls, who learn to make choices. After we read the stories, we use the journals Mom and Dad gave us to write about what we learned, and answer questions they ask in the book. There are 52 weekly devotion stories—but there is writing to do each day.

But I had noticed that in my devotion journal, there was always a Bible verse at the bottom of each page. I decided that I wanted to apply that Bible verse, to whatever I was writing about in my journal that day. But how? What if the verse had nothing to do with what I was writing about?

So I prayed and asked God about it, and so far, God has helped me to always apply the Bible verses to the “Girl Talk” topic for that day! To show you what I mean, here is an example I wrote in my devotional journal:

Story Name: “Are You a Quitter?”

(read 2 Tim 1:7)

Today we learned about a girl named Jessica who was afraid of riding a horse, but she ended up not being a quitter! She also ended up becoming a great rider, and she taught younger children how to ride horses. In the book, they asked us to tell a story about a time something like that happened to us. I remember my first time riding a horse. I was so nervous, but I did it, knowing that God would protect me, and it was fun!

The verse on the bottom of the page was Psalm 23:1 (“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”) What does that have to do with not being a quitter, I wondered. Then I knew…it DID apply to the story about Jessica!

The Lord is our shepherd, and we are the sheep. And as our shepherd, He watches over us. And “I shall not want” means that we should not be afraid, and want someone to always be with us, because God is watching over us. I don’t think we should be quitters, because we know that God is always there, and He has a plan for us.

I have lots more great ones I could share, but I think I’ll leave room for other people’s posts!:-) Bye!

Fruitfulness

“God therefore intended the Sabbath to be the means of producing spiritual fruitfulness in the lives of His people, and to be the dominating factor in their lives.”

--F.N. Lee, “The Covenantal Sabbath”

(posted by Betsy)