The end...not

This was the view from Miss Sofi Bug's room on Friday.

Beautiful!


This is the view from Miss Sofi Bug's room today.

Sad.


What a difference one very rainy weekend can make.


All of those pretty pink petals now litter the back patio...

...and the back flower bed.

The time for blooming came to an end for the crab apple tree this past weekend.


The world however did not come to an end this past weekend as some claimed it would.


Jesus did not come back.


I know He did not come back because I am still here. You see I fully intend to leave with Him when He returns.


I do not know when that day will arrive...no person does. Jesus said "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mark 13:32)


What I do know is that one day Jesus will return, maybe I will live to see that day, maybe I will not live to see that day, but I will be ready!


I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has my heart and my soul. My faith is in Him and the salvation He died to give to all who would believe. 


It's so easy to be prepared for that day. "Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:15)


Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.


There is no need to fear the end of the world or Jesus return, only the need to be ready.


And now, because the world did not end, I have to go clean pink off the back patio.


Christine

Pretty in pink

This is the stunning view from Miss Sofi Bug's bedroom window.

My beautiful, smart, funny Sofi Bug, who like her Dad is able to make me laugh, not a simple chuckle mind you, but the whole hearted, make my sides ache, kind of laugh.

It always surprises me that they can make me laugh so much because the things that Miss Sofi Bug and her Dad find funny are often lost on me. The two of them can be in stitches over something that causes me to wrinkle my nose and scrunch my forehead in an effort to grasp the humor they have found. 


Huh! So that's where those wrinkles are coming from.


It's also the reason I treasure the times that I am able to make them crack up with laughter. It doesn't happen very often but when it does it gives me great pleasure and I have to say out loud, "I made you laugh!" just to confirm that it really happened.


Anyway...


Our pretty pink crab apple tree is right outside Miss Sofi Bug's window, it has finally bloomed and it's gorgeous!

It smells fantastic too.


I'd like to trade rooms with her for the few days the tree will be in bloom, so that I can enjoy the lovely fragrance that wafts into Sofi Bug's room and see it out the window first thing every morning.

It truly is a sight to behold!


I suspect the Husband would not agree to the room switch though. While it might be cute for about 5 minutes to snuggle together in a twin size bed, spending an entire night in one might annoy him. 


There might also be a struggle convincing Miss Sofi Bug to give us our spacious queen size bed back and return to her compact twin size bed.


I will have to settle for standing under the tree and breathing in deeply to get my fill of it's wonderful scent.

Then again, if we get the storms that have been forecasted for tonight it won't matter anyway, all of the petals will be blown away and that will be that. I will be so disappointed.


It happens every year. I really should be used to it by now.


I'm off to breath deeply!


Christine

Not-so-little Emma Bean

Emma Bean asked me if I wished she would stay little forever. Was I sad that she was growing up?

The answer was easy.


Little one it is a joy watching you grow.

I am thrilled by each new thing you learn!

I take delight in the joy you find in each new day!

I hope you follow your dreams and discover God's plan for you.

I have watched creativity blossom in you and it is a gift.

I am amazed watching you grow bold and courageous and try something different.

It is a blessing to witness a heart of compassion grow in you.

Always hold on to your playful spirit.

No, my not-so-little one, I do not want you to stay little forever. I want you to grow and experience all the wonders God has planned for you. It will give me great joy!


Yes, my not-so-little one, I wish you could stay little forever so I could take care of your every need and snuggle you and kiss your little nose and sing you silly songs. It would give me great joy.


As I said, the answer is easy, and you will fully understand it one day if you decide to become a Mommy.


But, whether my little one or my grown up girl, my love for you is absolute! I delight in you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY my Emma Bean!


Mommy 

Garden decor!

I am on the edge of my seat, waiting for the promise of beauty to burst into reality. 


Some flowers will open any moment now.

Others will need a few more days.

Ok maybe weeks, but soon the garden will be full of gorgeous, fragrant blooms.


Thus begins the ritual of digging out all of the garden decor that has been tucked away in the garage for the winter, so that it can once again add that delightful touch of whimsy to the flower beds. 


That's right decorations for the garden. I am that person. 


NO pink flamingos mind you! And I don't have any plastic deer. No way!


I do have a cute little frog.

I have this darling little mosaic Emmabean made for me in preschool. 


Emmabean who will be double digits TOMORROW!! I can't believe it!

I also have this cute mushroom that was given to me for Mother's Day.

And this silly bird. I have no explanation for the bird. I like it. I got it. It is what it is.

The only item left to be placed in the garden is the birdbath.


That's when I ran into trouble. 


I can't find the birdbath.


I've looked everywhere!


Nothing.


The birdbath is MIA!


The system of tucking the garden decorations wherever I can find space is not working. I can't remember where I stashed the birdbath.


The birdbath stand, which we leave in the garden all winter, is ready and waiting. But I have no bath.

I will have to get a new birdbath. We can't have dirty birds all summer!


Drat! I just know that as soon as I get a new birdbath, I'll remember where I hid the old one.


Christine

Easiest salmon recipe ever!

For the longest time my girls would not eat fish. They wouldn't even go for the highly battered, deeply fried, can't even tell if there's any fish in them at all fish sticks that kids are supposed to like. They simply weren't having it!


All of that changed when I found this recipe for salmon in the Everyday Foods magazine. It is delicious! The girls get to help make their own...they love that, and there is minimal clean up...I love that!


This recipe needs only a few simple ingredients. Salmon fillets (6oz each), green beans (trimmed of ends), lemon, capers (rinsed and drained), salt and pepper, and extra virgin olive oil.

I get my salmon frozen from Sams Club. It's always very good and the fillets are the perfect portion size.

Preheat the oven to 400˚. Place each salmon fillet in the center of it's own 16inch piece of parchment paper. 


I set out the parchment with a piece of salmon on each one and from there everyone in the family gets to finish preparing their own meal. 

Top the salmon with green beans.

Everyone has their own way of placing their green beans. That's just fine!

Add lemon zest to taste and a teaspoon of capers. 

Then season with salt and pepper, again to taste, and drizzle each fillet with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil.

Fold one side of parchment over salmon and roll top and bottom edges together making a sealed packet for the salmon to cook in. The girls like this part and have gotten really good at it.

Place packets on a cookie sheet and place in 400˚ oven for 12-15 minutes.


Remove salmon from packets and serve with a favorite side dish.

This dish gets four thumbs at my house. It is so good and because the salmon cooks in packets there aren't any pots or pans to wash. Bonus!


This meal also helped change my girl's minds about fish! Since trying this salmon recipe they have tried and liked halibut, cod, beer-battered and fried and you could definitely tell there was fish under that batter (yum!) and walleye.


I'm loving that the whole family finally likes fish!


Christine

What a weekend

Thursday: I told you about the Husband's car trouble.


We took the car in for repair.


It was more expensive than we hoped it would be. BUMMER!


Friday: I planned to tell you about the repair, but Blogger was DOWN!


I yelled "WHAT?" when I discovered Blogger was down.


Blogger did not respond.


I could not post.


We did take down the apple tree that was damaged over the winter.


Thank you neighbor with a chainsaw and the desire to use it! With your help we made short work of that big tree.

The extra muscle we brought in was a big help too.

This is all that remains of the old apple tree.

Once all of the work was done, we parked it on the patio for a nice neighborly chat...and beer. The men had beer. I do not like beer! yuck. But it was great to have a lovely evening and finally get to sit outside for a visit with the neighbors! Ahhh spring!


Saturday: Cold and rainy! Grrrr! Darn spring!


The plan was to go to the farmers market, purchase the tomato plants and herbs for the garden, rent a tiller, till up the garden and begin planting.


We should have put it off for better weather.


We did not. 


Cold, wet and with globs of not-quite-mud stuck to the bottom of our shoes, we got the job done!


Tomatoes in!

Snap peas in!

Peppers in!

I bought herbs, but we did not get them in. Maybe later today if I am feeling a bit more recovered from yesterday.


We then spent the afternoon warming up and playing Farkle with the Grandparents. 


We have had friends and family tell us that Farkle is fun to play.


We got the game to check it out for ourselves.


Farkle is fun!


Farkle is fun to say!


Farkle, Farkle, Farkle.


The Husband won.


The rest of us were good sports about it because while Emma bean was off playing a cousin her age, Sofibug played Farkle with all of us adults and we felt it was important to set a good example. I really just wanted to pout because I lost! 


Sunday: Awoke to a beautiful sunny day! Birds were chirping with delight!


Emma bean and I were sick!


I held back her hair. That's all I'm gonna say about that!


She told me she loved me for taking care of her.


We curled up in fetal positions under the covers and whimpered and whined!


We nibbled crackers. 


We whimpered and whined!


We napped.

The Husband made us chicken soup.


We whimpered.


We watched Boston Rob win Survivor, though we were rooting for Matt.


I whined some more...not because I was sick.


Monday: Emma bean and I are improving. 


Some rest and real food today and we should be back to our old selves tomorrow. Like I said, maybe I'll even feel up to planting the herbs this afternoon.


I don't know when I will recover from Boston Rob's victory over Matt!


Christine

The upside

Bummer! The Husband's Jeep began to overheat on his way to work this morning. 


The upside is that he hadn't gotten very far before he had car trouble, he was able to make it back home and we didn't have to pay for a tow.

This picture is not an actual picture of the Husband's Jeep. This is a picture of how the Husband would like his Jeep to look! Just sayin.

However, this means we have to take the car into the repair shop after I get back from an appointment I have this morning. I hope the repair won't cost us some big $$$$.


The upside is that the Husband will be working from home today and I get to gaze at his handsome mug whenever I'd like to, and I like to!

However, this means that I will have to be productive today. I'll actually have to clean the house. He might get upset if while he is working all day I play Plants vs Zombies all day.


The upside is that the house will be spotless so we'll be able devote the entire weekend to getting the vegetable garden tilled up and then planted! Frankly, it's all upside from there...except for weeding all summer.


Christine