Tomatoes!

I really love raising and eating our own tomatoes, but unfortunately our patio doesn't get enough sun for growing tomatoes.  So, I needed to plant them somewhere else!  The guys at the farm helped me find some big tubs and I put them out of the way behind one of the greenhouses.  While I am a little late for planting Spring tomatoes (most other people had them out late March) I am still hoping to get a few tomatoes off them before they succumb to the heat!

Grow 'maters, Grow!

Blueberries!

 One of the girls in my office is working with different blueberry varieties and methods of propagation (making new plants-cuttings versus tissue culture specifically), so that means we've got to help her harvest and sample all those berries right?  And of course there will be extras and something has to be done about that! :)

Last week she let us know it was time for her to harvest again so we spent the day in Citra helping here pick and weigh the ones for her research... and then picking a whole bunch for ourselves too!

There was netting over the rows to keep the birds away.  Since the rows were so long it was easier to crawl under than take it all off and put it all back on!

The netting kept trying to grab my hair!

 We came home with SO MANY berries!  And the season isn't even over yet!  Here are some quick shots of washing up!  Right now we are going to just freeze them all.  Most will probably go to smoothies in the near future, but I hope to post about some other fun things I have planned for them (such as cobbler, pie and smooshed fruit!).

The size variation was amazing, we picked some as big around as quarters and some much smaller than dimes.  While the smaller ones had more taste, I kept going back to the bushes with the bigger berries because they filled my cartons up faster!  Here are some next to a dime for size comparison...

Sylvia (my office mate) said the variation was mainly due to the different varieties.  I guess just like you can have all different kinds of apples, you can also have all different sizes of blueberries!

Hope you find something to sweeten up your week!

Contentment

Contentment has always been a tricky area in my life.  Even when I like where I am, I often get wrapped up in planning for the future, so much so that I miss the joys of the here and now... often so much so that I think the future must be better than where I am, and oh why won't it get here sooner?!?!  That's at the best of times mind you, when I am several states away from my family and in a challenging program this struggle can look more like an outright pity party.

Over the last few months I have been challenged in this area through scripture and counsel with several friends and family members.  Obviously God has me here for a reason, even if I don't know that reason now and even if I never find that reason out this side of heaven.  So I should be rejoicing in the fact that He has a plan He is using me in, instead of begrudgingly following where He leads.  I want to get to the kind of contentment that Paul talked about, that no matter the condition or circumstances he can be content and even rejoice.

So where do I start on this road?  One of my closest friends recently told me something I didn't realize I needed to hear - that it is okay if I like Florida.  It is okay that I make new friends and actually become happy here.  Her friendship would not be dulled and my family's love would not be reduced for me if I allowed myself to actually like where God has put me.  That they actually would be happy for me!  Those words were so freeing.  My stubborn heart was fighting so hard to not get attached here that it was not only affecting my contentment, but my joy, my peace and my openness to new relationships and the people the Lord was placing around me.  It was also preventing me from committing my full effort to this program and project.  Hopefully with this new knowledge and freedom I can make some significant strides towards contentment here in Florida.

This friend also suggested that I start keeping track of the good things about Florida and the things I am thankful for along the way (she's a smart cookie, huh?).  While it has been very inconsistent I have started a notebook of things that happen on a daily basis that I am thankful for.  In honor of this list (and maybe to help keep me accountable) I decided to try something new, Thankful Thursdays! (Go ahead, roll those eyes!  I rather thought it was clever!)

Obviously this will be sporadic, like all of my postings, but it will give you and myself some reminders of my progress.  Feel free to keep me accountable!

What things help you to be more content in spite of your circumstances?

Herbs!

Before...

I have been itching to plant stuff ever since we moved in, but between being super busy and not sure what would do well down here we haven't gotten around to it... until now!!!  We finally have a few herbs on our patio as an experiment for what we can successfully grow!  I am very worried about the excess shade they receive from the porch roof and surrounding trees, but the need for something green has beaten out these concerns.

I love using our own basil for most of my pasta dishes and we also LOVE caprese salad, which needs fresh basil.  Chris has become really interested in growing herbs that can be used for home made teas, his favorite being mint tea, and I'm interested in more medicinal teas.  So our next two picks were Sweet mint and Lemon Balm.  Finally, I'm just a sucker for Lavender, it is so pretty growing and fresh crushed lavender is a really soothing scent to me. 

So those were our criteria and here are the results!

Chris' mint!

After!

            We will keep you updated on the progress and resulting yummy teas and treats!

I know we have a trowel somewhere, but I couldn't find it!

Reminder of who I am...

Living in Florida can be wonderful.  Just yesterday I was able to pick a whole bunch of Blueberries, in April!  That has been so neat.  But, living here can also make one self conscious.  Almost every hour of every day you can see some fit, good looking person running on the sidewalks, often with too few clothes on.  I try not to pay too much attention to them, but more often than I like to admit my self-esteem takes a hit when I see them run by.  While I know I could be in better shape, I feel like I have a pretty healthy body image and I try to take care of myself, but sometimes I need stronger truths about my self worth than those measly reminders.  In case any of you ladies find yourselves in the same boat as me, maybe these will remind you of how absolutely awesome you are as well.

While I know my family and husband think I am beautiful, I should ultimately find my value in Christ alone.  I am a child of the king, who's love I cannot comprehend or grasp, who has made me His bride.  How cool is that!?  There are so many verses I could quote, but these have been on my mind most lately...

In Zephaniah, He rejoices over us with singing!

        The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.  (Zephaniah 3:17)

In Ephesians, He has made us His spotless bride, without wrinkle or blemish (yes that means Jesus doesn't notice that ugly pimple on your chin when He admires you!).


       Husbands love your wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25-27)

In Song of Solomon the bridegroom (a picture of Christ) declares:


       How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are! (Song of Solomon 1:15)

We are 'the apple of His eye' just like Jacob in Deuteronomy 32:10.


If you are ever tempted to doubt His love and acceptance, please remember:

      Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39)

Hymn I've been humming...

During this last week I have had the hymn 'Christ the Lord is Risen Today' stuck in my head... The only problem is I couldn't remember all the words!  Saturday morning I looked up the hymn in my 'The One Year Book of Hymns', it was so refreshing and encouraging I wanted to share it and the verse they provide with you! 

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!

Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!

Once He died, our souls to save, Alleluia!

Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!

Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!

Death in vain forbids Him rise, Alleluia!

Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!

Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!

Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!

Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Praise God for the timeless truth and hope in the old hymn!  This is our hope and joy during this season and all through the year, the death and resurrection of Christ!  But most of all His resurrection, for without that He would have been just another man and we would still be lost in our sin without the hope of completely overcoming the curse of sin, death.

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!  Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.  But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep... for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

I Corinthians 15: 17-20, 22

May you find deep joy and contentment in the sacrifice and victory of Christ on our behalf!  Happy Easter!

Well Hello...

 In spite of seeing several of these big guys during my regular walks around campus, they still manage to surprise me.  I think because they are often in new and unexpected places.  Like Monday for example, I saw an old tire in the grass several yards away from the side walk.  I was surprised to see this large piece of garbage since the maintenance usually keeps campus so clean.  When I happened to glance back at it as I walked by however, I was startled to realize that what I mistook for an old tire was really the tail of a rather long gator!

For some reason I expect them to stay in the same place so I know where to expect them to be... but of course they don't listen to me!  Well, I guess I just have to keep a vigilant watch while taking my walks!

I included the tree to give you a bit more scale for his size!

Timely reminder from another blog...

For some reason this week has just been hard.  I don't really want to go into the details, but my heart has been on my sleeve and too many people brushed too close and everything feels upside down and hectic of late.  It really shouldn't considering the semester is almost over, but sometimes life doesn't work like we expect.

In the middle of my pity party I ran across this post on one of the blogs I like.  It helped me put things into perspective and encouraged me to step back and look at where I am a little differently.  I hope it can encourage you too!

Here is the link: It's the Process

For those of you who don't like links, this is what Kim at Raising Olives had to say...

"This past fall while I was busy packing for our camping trip, something occurred to me; life is not really about the destination, it’s about the process.

As I sat in the midst of sleeping bags and tents, asking the little boys to ‘please stop jumping into the pile of pillows’, I realized that this is life. Life isn’t so much the vacation as it is packing for it.

Life is the process.

Life isn’t about seeing your homeschooled student graduate; it’s about hundreds of nose wipes, thousands of nap time prayers, teaching them the sound that ‘b’ makes, reminding them to chew with their mouth closed and listening to them as they tell you hundreds of silly stories. It’s about the millions of  God ordained moments that proceed graduation.

It’s about the process.

Oh sure, we eventually go on vacation and watch our children graduate but if I’m living my life for those big moments, always rushing toward the next goal then I’m missing life.

I’m missing the joy of  jumping into piles of pillows, the beauty of cracking eggs into batter, the satisfaction of a freshly swept floor, the blessing of each precious moment that my sovereign God has purposed to give to me. I fail to appreciate the myriad of life things that occur every day and I ultimately miss out on the very life that God has ordained for me.

If I’m living for the big moments then I may view a runny nose or silly story as a hindrance, a nuisance to be avoided or gotten through as quickly as possible rather than a sovereign gift to enrich this tapestry of my life, to craft me into the person that He wants me to be.

So if you hear Mark or I say to one another, “It’s the process”, you know that we’re just reminding each other to take a breath and thank God for the moment, because we believe that the process, each and every moment of it, is important."

Corn on the Cob in APRIL!!!

One of the perks of living in Florida is the wonderful, fresh produce we have access to!  Including corn on the cob!  I'm not used to having this fresh until sometime in July, so when I saw it for sale at 6 ears for 2 dollars I got really excited!!!

It was soo delicious!

Why, yes I do look crazy, but its Corn on the Cob!

My own gator stalker...

The last couple of times I have went walking around campus I have seen a gator in the same area along Lake Alice.  I must admit, he really freaks me out... but it freaks me out more when I don't see him, because then I feel like he is watching me! 

Oh the many joys of living in Florida!

Sorry for the picture quality, this was taken on my phone because I never have my camera when I see him!

P.S. if you are having trouble finding him, look in the moss close to the grass and under the sign... yeah that's his head...

Finished with Genesis!

While I got started a little behind, I finished Genesis on Tuesday!  I wanted to share some things that stuck out to me.

1.) Whenever I think of families in the Old Testament I assume they are huge, like over ten children.  As I was reading through this time I was impressed by how rare that really was.   Even Jacob, who is famous for all of his sons, fathered those children between FOUR women, not just one.  From the account we have Leah had the most children, and she only had seven that we know of, and Rachel only had two children.  This was particularly interesting to me because Leah and Rachel were sisters, and you would assume they had the same fertility potential, but due to their situations in life God chose to send Leah far more children than Rachel.

2.)  I have been reading some books that talk about how God's blessing often included children and how His cursing also included children.  I vaguely remembered this from previous reading, but going through a book so quickly really brought these instances to the forefront of my mind.  Not only do God's blessings mention blessings of children, but family blessings also prominently included children.  The most obvious one that comes to mind is the blessing given to Rebekah by her family before she leaves to marry Isaac:

     "Thou art our sister, be thou mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed posess the gate of those which hate them."
                         -Genesis 24:60

Thousands of millions!  Talk about big vision!

3.)  God fulfills His promises in his own time.  This was a different revelation to me.  When God promised Abraham children, He always talked about them not being able to be numbered, like the stars of the night sky... but Abraham only ever saw Isaac.  And Isaac only had one set of twins.  Add to that Isaac and Rebekah took a long time to have children so Abraham probably never met his grandsons.  I am always so excited about the miracle of Isaac's birth that I never stopped to consider how this would look through earthly eyes to Abraham.  It makes me think that he must have such a bigger faith than we give him credit for, and God must have seen all of that when He 'counted it to him as righteousness'.  We really don't begin to see the physical outworking of this promise until Jacob's family, which is three generations removed from Abraham.  This encouraged my heart by reminding me that even if I don't see the results of God's promises in my lifetime, He is faithful and will follow through.

4.)  Some really cool prayers!  I always associate template/example prayers with only being in the New Testament, but that's just not so! Abraham's eldest servant's prayer in ch. 24 and Jacob's prayer before meeting his brother in ch 32 are just two of these beautiful prayers that can be examples for us all.  I like Jacob's especially and want to quote it for you here.

    "O Gos of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the Lord which said unto me, Return unto thy country and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.  Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children.  And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude."
                                                                       -Genesis 32: 9-12

5.)  Pre-incarnate visitations of God/Christ.  I never realized how many times God came down in person to speak to His people!  Of course we all know he talked to Adam and Eve in the garden, but he also visited Enoch, Abraham on several occasions, Lot, Hagar, and Jacob.  I always assumed before that these were angels, but after consulting a couple of references it appears these events would better be described as theophanies, or a visible manifestation of God to humankind.  So these events were God Himself coming to visit His people! So cool!

While I did get some other things out of my whirlwind trip through Genesis, these were some of the newest things for me.  What's new in God's word for you lately?

Peach Update!

 My peaches are getting so big!  These are pictures from yesterday when I was fertilizing them!

Further down the row were these Blueberries! I'm amazed by how big they are so soon in the year!  They should be ready to pick sometime next week!

While they aren't blue yet they are starting to turn colors, right now they are a undefinable mix of green and pink.

Gifts in the Mail!

When Grandpa and Grandma Shirley were here we got to go shopping in a kitchen store and I saw some things that I really liked and didn't have in my kitchen yet.  I was over budget for that day so I decided to put them off for later.  Grandma Shirley remembered them however and I was surprised by these in the mail last week!!!

I know its crazy but after almost five years of marriage I still did not have a pie sever!  Also Chris has been interested in making his own tea from different herbs (he especially likes mint) but we didn't have any way to steep the tea, so Shirley sent not one, but TWO options!  I was so surprised and excited by our gift so I wanted to share!  What kinds of gadgets have made your day lately?

PhD Update

This semester has been WAY busier than I anticipated!  One of my classes has been great, the other two have had a lot of busy work and my TA position turned into more time than I expected... here is a quick rundown!

Plant Physiology:
            Favorite class by far this semester!  We have been learning about the effects of the environment on plants and the ways plants can adapt to survive changing conditions.  You don't really think about it but plants have to be able to adapt to whatever condition is around them because, unlike animals, fleeing is not an option.  So, when it gets really hot they upregulate the genes for Heat Shock Proteins and start making new proteins and chemicals that help them endure the hotter weather that could potentially break down the cells!  And when it gets cold they have ways of keeping ice outside of the cell and changing their cell membrane content so their membranes can stay fluid in spite of freezing temperatures (if a cell's membrane become less fluid, or more solid, it can begin to leak and eventually kill the cell)!  God's design for plants is SO COOL!!!

Plant Nutrition:
             This class was unfortunately a disappointment.  The teacher who usually handles this class had recently been promoted to a different position, in an attempt to keep this class our department head took it over.  Sounds lake a good plan right?  He has lots of experience and should know this subject in and out because of his history in plant nutrition... that's what I thought, along with the rest of my classmates, and we were all wrong.  We have actually learned the most from our multiple guest speakers than from the department head.   We ended up doing a lot of busy work and not getting much feedback on our work and have not learned much about plant nutrition either.  What have we learned?  I have come away with some good but not cohesive information about applying fertilizer, taking soil tests in Florida, irrigation and we went on a really cool fieldtrip to multiple farms in the area.  Aside from that, this class has been rather frustrating.  Would not recommend it.

Seminar:
          This is one of the few required courses in my program.  I have to compose and deliver a seminar to the department about my project proposal.  Did I mention it was to the Whole department?  No pressure.  Fortunately, I've already done this and now I just have to attend class every Monday to hear everyone else's proposals.  Some of them are awesome and really well thought out... some not so much.  But that's OK because that's part of what this class is for, to get you to think about what you are doing and why.  My proposal went really well, but I didn't realize this was the class I was technically in!  I thought I signed up for Seminar Prep, no big deal right?  Since I already took Seminar and did well I shouldn't have to take seminar prep right?  Apparently not.  Since they are both required, I still have to take seminar prep in the Fall... shouldn't be hard but still rather annoying...

Ta for Growing Fruit for Fun and Profit:
           I have had a lot of fun listening to the different speakers in this class, the undergrads have been overall good, but then there are those issues that you must expect as TA.  Grade disputes, wonky excuses, and threats to go to higher authorities.  Aside from those this class hasn't been too much of a problem, just time consuming.

Project Extras:
           Work with my peaches has really picked up this spring.  I am still working to get estimates for the irrigation installation and did some calculations and searching earlier in the year to get the granular fertilizer started on the mature part of the study.  All in all this is rolling along and it looks like I will be busy soon with harvesting!

In other news I will be getting to go back to WKU soon to present my peach proposal to them!  During that time I am also going to some friends graduations and spending time with my family!

Well, that's the school news for now.  The next post will be more fun!  Promise!

Chicken Feed Bag to Handbag!

 When Mom was here we started on a cool project she saw in one of her magazines, turning a chicken feed bag into a handbag!

This is what one of the bags looked like before.  The pictures later are a different colored bag but the idea is the same!  You can make a whole handbag from just one feedbag, by using part of the bag as the bottom, pocket and handles.

Here are some photos of putting them together!

Tada!  Here is the finished product?

Reading the Bible in 90 Days

So after seeing several friends complete this challenge I really wanted to give it a try.  I intended to do this earlier this year, but as you have been witness my semester exploded!  Well Kim at Raising Olives brought this to may attention again, AND she supplied a schedule to use as well!  She has offered to email folks to help keep them accountable and I took her up on it... unfortunately I started out behind!!!  This particular challenge started on April first (Friday) and I'm just starting to read today (Sunday), so in order to catch up I need to read to Genesis 40!  Oh well, that's what Sundays are for right?

I have tried to read through the whole Bible before and never made it.  I wish I could confidently say I have read everything in the Bible at least once, but I can't!  I know I've read most of it but I can't say positively that I've read it all.  I have tried reading the Bible in a year before, but I would usually get distracted somewhere in Leviticus... not very far in.  I'm hoping through this more intense approach I can power through some of the more difficult books while getting a fuller picture of the time line and connections through out scripture.

I hope to give you regular updates along the way and would love if you could keep me accountable too!

Strawberry Series: Strawberry Pie

 This is the last strawberry post, I promise!  I can't finish without talking about my strawberry pie, however!

Strawberry pie is one of those things that I associate with my Granny.  It was a treat she made for us in the summer and it was always somewhat mysterious to me.  That may sound silly, but it just always amazed me that you could make a pie out of strawberries.  This is a desert that I associate with a nice, cool break during a hot summer day full of hard work with my family.  I never attempted this recipe until after she passed and I no longer had anyone to make it for me.  Mom and I made a pie while she was down and it made me want to try again with these berries. 

While I think Granny had her recipe memorized this is what Mom and I cobbled together from memory and other, similar recipes.

Granny's Strawberry Pie

One deep dish, baked pie shell
Fill shell with topped, halved berries

1 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1 cup water
1 3oz pkg strawberry jello


Mix cornstarch and sugar before adding water so cornstarch isn't lumpy.  Add water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, boil until mixture thickens. Add jello.  Pour over strawberry filled pie shells.  Refrigerate until set. Serve with Cool Whip on top. Enjoy!


This recipe makes enough jello mix to more than fill one deep dish pie or fill two shallow pie pans.  Its a cool, yummy summer treat.  It made a lot of happy memories for me and I hope it will continue to make good memories in the years to come!

Strawberry Series: Chocolate Covered Deliciousness

With all these strawberries you've got to have some chocolate!

I really like the little cartons of dipping chocolate you can find in the baking isle.  They are great for just one quart of strawberries, easy to use and easy to store.  If you are wanting to do a bigger batch however, I recommend the big bars of chocolate almond bark that you also find in that section.  They are much cheaper per ounce and will last forever in your fridge, even if they are a little difficult to chop up into microwavable size portions!

You don't have to go to Godiva to enjoy some decadent strawberry treats!