Eating Clean

Oh my goodness, this break has been good for me.
It's been so good that when i sit down to do a post, i feel lost about what to tell you.
So much happens in a week when you aren't blogging.
Where do i begin?
I'll start by telling you about an awesome garden project that we've been working on
and about some decisions I've made for our health.
My husband and boys built some raised garden beds to plant our vegetables.
Here's what they look like....

We now have chicken wire over the other two smaller beds.
We had to build those because the squirrels would eat everything if we didn't.
As the plants grow, we'll make them higher and with sides.
If staring at them all day everyday makes them grow, then our garden should be full grown in no time.
We're about to worry ourselves to death over seeing something come up out of the ground.
Hopefully, in no time at all, we'll have onions, carrots, orange peppers, yellow peppers, jalapeno peppers,

spinach, red leaf lettuce, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes.

The great thing about living in Florida is that we're able to have two harvest seasons.
I can look forward to planting again in the Fall.

I started the journey of organic, clean eating over six years ago.

But, in the middle of our adoption and  move to Orlando, I got lazy.

Let's face it, eating clean is one of those roads less traveled.

It is not easy or fast.

It requires thought, time, energy, money...all of which are sacrifices for most families.

God has consistently put people in my life, for years now, to help spur my desire to eat clean.

 I've learned everything I need to know about additives, preservatives, artificial colors to do what's right.

I know the effects that those things have on our health, behavior, attention spans, hormones, moods, etc... 

If you'd like to read some excellent posts written recently by two fabulous bloggers, then you can go

here and here.

Anyway, I've ignored the nudges in my heart for too long.
I eat healthy enough that I should feel better than I do most of the time.

So, during this break, I've taken time to really think about some more changes I can make
to eat cleaner and feel better.
I'm starting a 30 day cleanse this week to detox my system.
While I'm doing it, I'm also going to use a protective pro-biotic, and I'm going to be drinking
organic apple cider with raw, local honey.
All of this is in hopes of balancing my hormones, cleansing my body of toxins and yeast build up
and cleaning out my colon and liver.
My back has been "out" since October, so I am sure that doing the cleanse and eating cleaner
will help aid my body in being restored to health.
I've been baking more breads and muffins and making our own "clean" pizza dough.
It feels good to know what we're eating.
I have a huge sweet tooth, and a good friend told me to put a little nutella on my homemade millet muffins.
If you're desperate for a cupcake, this will kind of do the trick.
I've got several more ideas and recipes that she's given me, so as I try them, I'll be sure to pass them on!

 Okay...before I hit "publish" I wanted you to know the cleanse that I'm using
in case you're interested for yourself.
I ordered my cleanse and probiotics here.

Weekend fun in Winter Park

Hi Everyone!

I can't believe it's been nearly two weeks since I've posted.

I thought I'd show you pictures of the Winter Park Art Festival that we enjoyed yesterday.

Our boys were at a birthday party, so we took advantage of our time with Lydia.

As you can tell, I didn't take any pictures of the art, but I took plenty of some of the homes in the area.

Andy did manage to snap a shot of me in that straw hat. 

Someone had an entire booth full of every shape and size of straw hat that you can imagine.

I'm all about a straw hat, but they were all around 250 bucks, so I think I'll stick to the ones at tjmaxx.

There was every kind of food imaginable, but I think I enjoyed the crepes that we bought the very best.

Does it get any better than a homemade crepe with nutella, fresh strawberries & bananas?

I can tell you, it didn't get any better than that for me yesterday.

I never want to come off like a bragger, but the weather has been perfection here in Orlando.
We've enjoyed lots of family walks in the neighborhood, drive-bys in Winter Park to look at houses,
and playtime at the park.
It's been a wonderfully needed break!
I'll be back next weekend with some thoughts on blogging.

Taking Time to Smell the Fresh Air

Today is Ash Wednesday, and it marks the beginning of Lent season.

It's a season of repentance, reflection, and fasting... a spring cleaning of sorts

 ...a cleaning that purifies the clutter that has accumulated in our souls.  

If you'd like to read a beautiful & detailed post about Lent, you can visit Edie here

Fasting is one of  the spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith.
It is the practice of self-denial.
One of the books that I read over and over again is Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge.  
In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."
Bob Sorge explains in the book that some people equate fasting with suffering,
but it is actually a beautiful invitation to intimacy with the Lord.
I loved Mr. Sorge's explanation of the difference of self-denial and taking up the cross.
"Self-denial is different than taking up one's cross.
To take up his cross is the process of crucifying the sinful passions of the flesh.
Self-denial is the deliberate curtailing of healthy passions and desires for the sake of pursuing Jesus harder."

There is a clarity that comes when you sacrifice the things that you run to for comfort.

I'm amazed at the things that I run to that I don't even realize I run to until I'm not running to them during Lent.

Since the very beginning of time we have all been wanderers.
We are the sheep and he is our shepherd.
Sheep are in constant need of being redirected to the right path, and we are just like them.
We can be walking right along, focused & determined not to stray, and then we find ourselves
distracted by some bright and shiny object off in the distance.

I LOVE in Edie's post where she quotes,"The beginning of repentance is homesickness."

Friends, I'm afraid that I've found myself homesick.

Nothing in this world can satisfy that need for feeling truly at home in your heart.

For me, "home" is when I'm nurturing my relationship with God above all else
and then my relationship with my husband and my family.

One of the "bright & shiny objects" that has become a distraction for me is my computer.
Blogging has been such a source of encouragement & inspiration for me over this past year.
With homeschooling, it's been my window to the world.
But, it's also served as an escape.
I find myself looking forward to finishing school work with kids or finishing the bedtime routine
just so I can escape to my time on the computer.
There's not a thing in the world wrong with having a blog or looking at blogs or plugging into facebook,
but even the good things in life can take up too much of our time.
I used to start my day with coffee and the Lord.
Now, I start my day with coffee and blogging.
Is there anything wrong with that?
Absolutely not.
Does God love me any more or any less based on what I choose?
Absolutely not.
I just miss that early morning start with him.

I've decided to only blog & facebook on the weekends, if at all, during Lent.
I imagine myself this time next week going through major withdraws, but I know the break will be good.

This time will re-focus my mind's attention and my heart's affection to the Lord and to my family.

I hope your season of Lent is refreshing and renewing.
God couldn't possibly be nearer to us than he already is, but I pray that our hearts are drawn nearer to him.
See you all on my weekend visits!

Meals on Monday

            Source: Here

Since my husband is on a Spring break mission trip with the freshman students at UCF,

I decided to let my kids pick out their favorite meals this week.

Homemade Pizza

{I'll make our own pizza dough and give everyone a personal pan size of their own to "decorate"}

Blueberry Pancakes

{My kids love breakfast for dinner, and I do, too, because it's easy!}

Cheese Quesadillas

{I add sauteed vegetables & black beans with Guacamole, Sour cream & Salsa}

Spaghetti with homemade meatballs

I'm also going to have my kids do most of the cooking.

Each of them love helping me in the kitchen, but usually, it ends up being cutting up fresh fruit for everyone.

I think it'll make them feel special & "bigger" if I let them follow my instructions and make it 

all by themselves.

To make sure that an argument doesn't break out, I'll let each child have a turn at being lead chef.

that kitchen.....

LOVE 

the ceilings...

the light fixtures...

the farm sink and skirt....

those ginormous windows....

the island and the plants...

the clear glass canisters with flour and sugar...

{I just added these to my counter tops this weekend}

the bead board backsplash....

the glass cabinetry....

the wide-planked wooden floors.....

****************************************************************************

Well, I've lasted about ten weeks at these "Meals on Monday" posts.

It definitely has helped me get into the habit of making my weekly menu plan on Sunday afternoons.

It's also helped me get into the habit of only buying what I need for one week at a time.

I think we've saved some  money in our grocery budget this way.

But, I'm bored to tears with these posts.

The best part of them for me are the kitchens that I showcase each week.

How sad is that?

With that said, I'm moving on.

I'm still gonna make my menus each week and try my best to follow them, but no more weekly posts on them.

Thank God we're entering the grilling season.

I imagine that we'll be visiting the farmer's market just about every weekend to pick up fresh ingredients.

And, we're even going to attempt to do another small garden.

The last one we did was when we lived in Georgia, and my dad came over and regularly helped us.

{and by "helped" ...I really mean that he did most of the work}

We stood and watched and took a plethora of pictures to document all of it.

Happy Monday~

every element of every picture makes me smile.

love the door....

love the hunter boots and dream of living in a place where i can actually wear them....

love the shutters....

love the eclecticness of it all.

love the clock....

love the island...

love the cluster of green plants sitting in that kitchen window...

love the cabinets and the pulls....

usually not an industrial kind of chick but love the metal shelves with whatever that goodness on it is....

love the plants in the grouped together in those unconventional containers....

love the sneak peak into that kitchen.....

love that perfect shade of blue side table with the plants on top...

love, love, love the old wooden doors...

love the bird cage hanging on the wall....

love the architectural piece up against the wall on top of the chest......

love the drapes in that dining room....

love the round table and the beautiful cream colored chairs.....

love the huge clock face.....would love a whole wall of them in all different sizes....

love that whispy fern in that terracotta pot.....

love the orchid...makes me want to pick one up at the farmer's market this weekend....

love those bare windows....

love that window seat....

love the hanging pots & pans....

love the old canister with the wooden spoons and other utensils in it....

love the plant...

love the brick floor....

love the bench...

love the windows....

and the plant...

so much character!

Some days it just does my mind good to sit and look at prettiness.

{All the photos came from Erik Johnson Photography}

No Higher Calling

 

Kids don’t remember what you try to teach them. 

They remember what you are.

— Jim Henson 

There is no higher calling in my life or greater joy in my heart than raising these three children.

Lord, fill me with your love and grace and mercy and compassion and gentleness.

Give me your patience and kindness.

Help me to be slow to anger and quick to forgive.

Teach me to depend on you for all my needs.

Give me a grateful heart so that their hearts are filled with thanksgiving.

Let them see me rely on your provision.

Let them see me wait on you.

Let them see me trust in you for my friendships so that they can trust in you for theirs.

Let them see me seeking you so that they might seek you also.

Help me to always be mindful that they are watching me.

It is by your grace...
that I raise them and teach them and show them the way.
It is by your grace....
that they follow you all of their days.
It is by your grace alone.

I'm linking up with Tiffani at House of Belonging today.
She's giving us all a chance to talk about our babies.

Spring Cleaning...in the home & the heart.

                             Gardenview Cottage

    Pottery Barn

    Pottery Barn

    Pottery Barn

I'm pretty sure it's officially Spring here in Orlando.

Most of the trees never lose their leaves,  but the ones that have are covered with fresh new growth.

I've made no bones about Fall being my favorite time of  year, but Spring is a very close second.

The seasons are so incredibly symbolic of what I feel like the Lord does within us in and out of seasons.

God is always sure to prune me back in the "winter season" of my soul, 

and it always seems painful at the time.

But, Spring always shows up...

with new growth, fresh dreams, and clear vision.

I love nothing more than cleaning out my physical house.

I can't stand looking into closets and drawers that hold things that we don't use anymore.

I really and truly only want to be surrounded by the things that inspire me and my family.

It doesn't matter to me anymore if what I love is trendy or in style.

It only matters that when my family looks at it, our hearts smile and feel refreshed.

It's the same way with my heart.

I need it good and cleaned out in every season.

I need God to evaluate the motives of my heart in marriage, parenting, friendships and life.

I need him to show me where I am to dedicate my time & energy.

What works in one season may not work in another.

I never want to be doing things that don't bring joy & life.

Are you preparing for spring with some major house cleaning

in your home & in your heart?