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Fighting Depression – 10 Tips
It is dark out at 9 in the morning. The beautiful autumn leaves have fallen. The dark clouds have carpeted the sky. The rain falls like the mood of all those around me. The season is changing. But there is also the season of my heart. The season where my soul feels like it hits the dark side. I will say I’m not there right now. I am blessed. Blessed with experience. Blessed with family. Blessed with very dear friends. Blessed with knowing myself. But that’s not to say that in the future I won’t return, or that I can’t bless a friend with my own thoughts, or share with you the reader…
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Apple Chips for your Next Care Package
Are you looking for something new to put in your next care package? How about a slice of home? A reminder of autumn? The taste of crispy apples. But how do you get it overseas without it turning bad, mushy, yucky? Enter the power of the dehydrator! To make these yourself you will need: Apples – 4 or 5 per batch An Apple Peeler / Corer (Here is an example over at Amazon) A Food Dehydrator (An example at Amazon) Wash and core your apples, but leave the peals on for some yummy added fiber. If you use a corer similar to mine you can simply push the peeler-arm back and it won’t…
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Walk in the Woods Wednesday
The warmth of the landscape is everywhere right now. Countryside woods, county lanes, and front yards are blanketed with orange, yellow, dark green and brown. The ground looks like it is hand stitched with irregular sized threads of maple, oak, elm and 17 other variety of trees leaves. Patterns form and then are whirled by south, east and north winds. Either the tree is on fire, or the artist is showing off the paint pallet!Zooming down the highwayThe stands of trees by the highway make me happy that I am the passenger in the car as my eyes zoom through the depths of the foliage. I love this time of…
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New Friends, Motherhood and Growth
We are well into the autumn schedule. Boys are at school, my toddler and I are settling into a great routine, which includes some Disney Channel, Lego-time and lots of books. Plus lots of crock-pot time, a newly-painted bedroom and garden canning and storage for the winter months. It has been a great fall so far! But I’m taking on new adventures too. This year that includes MOMSNext. I’m a huge advocate for MOPS. That organization turned my life around from being a lonely mom with not many friends in a new area with a toddler and baby, to an involved mom part of a group; wanted, loved, befriended, needed. …
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Pride in the Uniform
“Being in public when he is in uniform and feeling like the proudest person on the planet” How true these words do ring! For me the public-uniform doesn’t happen often as usually hubs changes right away when he gets home and doesn’t make too many side-trips between duty and home. But if I get the pleasure of going with him to drill-weekends or military-events I swell with pride. (It’s a good look on me, really.) Getting ready to head out this past weekendI do remember one particular autumn day. *E* had an afternoon soccer game and Hubs was on his way home from a weekend away. He had a choice. He could go home…
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A Minute out of the Norm: Painted Candle Holders
There is something about a candle in Autumn. Even a small flame gives off heat as we adjust to new temperatures outside. Something as simple as looking at a warmly-lit candle can heat me up from the inside out. Temperatures have fallen here in NE Ohio and my neighbor friend and I enjoyed a craft that can be enjoyed of all ages, from 4 years old to 37 and older. What you will need: A glass jar. We used two mason jars that I have used for canning garden veggies in previous years. You can also make smaller candle holders with baby-food jars. This is a great job for recycling…
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Tasty Tuesday with Sweet Potato Muffins
We went to the pumpkin patch with 2 of the grands today. Fun. Each ran and found their beauty. They surprised me in that they didn’t go for the big one… but each chose their favorite from the ones at the farthest end of the garden… as if the pursuit was the prize!With a little muscle help from Grandpa, the vine came loose, and the chilly orange orb was theirs! Since it is Tuesday, they wanted to perform in the kitchen, and pumpkin was on their minds. Muffins seemed the perfect treat for this chilly afternoon. We got out the ingredients, put on the aprons and set to work. One…
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Sermon Notes: Praying for My Sons
I pray for the sick, those in the need, even for the future of my children (professions, spouses, choices they will make in years to come). But I rarely pray for my children in the present, here and now. Today there was a subtle nudge that I need to be better about that. *E*, received his 3rd grade Bible in front of our church congregation this morning. He stood in front of the same congregation he was baptised in front of eight years ago. This was the same church-family who agreed to raise him in our family of faith. There we stood eight years later praying for him and thirty of his peers. This mother’s…
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What is Veterans Day?
Welcome in autumn. Our country steps up to elections. Our view of the land flashes from green to fading oranges and yellows. Where parks and buildings raise flag poles we see our nations pride: the American flag flies! It is more colorful; hangs more prominent; and displays strength on Veterans Day. Each November 11 America looks to the past, the present and is thankful for the future with eyes on our servicemen and women. This year 11/11/11 illustrates squadrons standing next to each other… the date is like a parade marching across a page; a phalanx of individual ‘ones’ standing side by side and displaying numerical meaning to the date.November…
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Halloween on a Budget
Autumn has begun and with that come thoughts of beautiful shades of leaves, pumpkins, apple picking and more. Many families begin to decorate their home with the season’s decor. It is so much fun to walk the aisles of our local Target or eXchange to see the latest Halloween decorations; lighted jack-o’-lanterns, black cats, funny graveyard markers, skeleton-bones and zombies everywhere. It is fun to look at but a family on a budget needs to do more looking then putting in their cart! How do you save this time of year? I have a few suggestions. To start with, I love the change of season. I love to decorate the house as we…
