Lemon, vanilla, raspberry, mint and more! Homemade extracts!

I was introduced to homemade vanilla extract about a year ago on heavenlyhomemakers.com. Making your own extract is quite possibly the easiest thing you make in your kitchen. I bought the vanilla beans from Frontier, a whole foods bulk foods distrubtor. Although you can also buy them from Olive Nation, amazon.com, or azurestandard.com. I like going with either Olive nation, azure starndard, and Frontier the most. The reason being, I know both of their companies have a high standard and I have always been satisfied with the beans I bought from them.

Vodka, rum, and bourbon are the most common alcohol's for vanilla extract making, but you could venture out and try another alcohol. My favorite by far is either the bourbon or the rum.

What you need for vanilla extract:
40 beans for 1/2 gallon batch, 80 beans for 1 gallon

You can use all rum, all vodka, or all bourbon, or you can do like I do and do 1/2 gallon jar of rum and another 1/2 gallong jar of bourbon (you put them in seperate glass jars, not mixed together). This way we get the yummy flavors of both! Cut your vanilla beans in half, place in your glass jar (did I mention glass is better for extracts). Once your jar is filled with your amazing aromatic vanilla beans pour your alcohol of choice over the beans. give it a shake and put in a dark place for six months. If I am out of vanilla I will sneak a little bit after a week, but it is definately a lot stronger left for the six months.

I have only made vanilla extract, but I fully intend to make mint extract, vanilla bean & mint extract, lemon extract, raspberry extra, and I plan on attempting other extracts as well!

Homemade extracts give your taste buds a happy dance. You don't have to use as much as you would with store bought extracts because homemade extracts are more potent. Making your own also gives you piece of mind of what is and is not in the food you are eatting!

How's a mama to fit in her quiet time?

I am a wife and a mommy of three little ones. The realistic time for me to have a quiet time is any time between 5:30am and 6:30am. However, my kids are still small enough that it is not uncommon for me to get up three to four times a night. Soooo...let's be realistic...if I have gotten up three to five times a night I'm probably going to sleep in a bit longer that day. Nights don't work very well because that is usually my time with Mark or we have other things going on, by the time I put the kids to bed I'm usually too tired to keep my eyes open to read anyways.

So, what's a tired and busy mama to do? I have found writing scripture and posting them on my kitchen cabinet to be helpful in many ways. While I am chopping, dicing, spreading peanut butter on bread, washing dishes, and lots of other ing things. I read, mediatate, and pray about the verses I have posted. Some scripture is for someone or something speific the Lord is teaching me in my life or in the life of someone else, other verses are ones that bring encouragement and perseverance to my day.

Yes, having a quiet time alone with the Lord is important and nessaccary. John 15:5 says, "I am the vine you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing." Spending time everyday with the Lord is important but it's also wonderful to know that we have a God who understands busy, tired mama's.

Just as I have brought scripture into the kitchen, I have brought prayer into my everyday routines. Dusting, vaccuming, doing dishes, laundry, these are all great times to spend in prayer. If I am doing Mark and I's laundry I will pray for our marriage, I will pray for Mark at work, I will pray for something we are struggling with. If I'm doing the kids laundry, I will pray for character traits we are trying to teach.

Another great idea is to get your kids involved in your scripture reading. After we have breakfast we have bible time. We read the scripture, sometimes we have read the same scripture all week but each day we read a different bible version. We also have had weeks were we all work to memorize the same scripture and pray about the verse becoming more real in our lives.

Being a busy, tired mama doesn't mean quiet time has to dissappear, it just means we have to get creative incorporating it into our day. I do know that when I have had my time with the Lord I am able to give more and love more. When we are connected to "the vine", we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). 

Flies be gone!!!

Mark and I were having fruit fly issues and I needed and wanted to get rid of them. However I didn't want sticky tape hanging from anything and I'm not big on putting things around my house that says do not ingest. After some research I came upon something I was willing to try and had things I already had on hand or were inexpensive.

Things you will need:
*container (I use glass, but plastic is probably OK)
*warm water
*vinegar
*about a tablespoonish of honey

Pour about a 1/8 cup of vinegar in your container (you can eye it, it's not exact science), then add warm water (warm water helps the honey to dissolve) to the container. Pour your honey in the container, and stir. Set on counter or windowsill and allow the concoction to lure in those pest flies! While I have noticed it draws mostly fruit fly, it will occasionally draw in the bigger flies.

I cried out to the LORD this morning...

When I am weak and have nothing else to give,

is usually when God is able to work the greatest in my life!

I could run and hide, bury deep within a book.

I could shove my pain, way down deep inside.
Deny the pain and rejection, tell myself I am not lonely.
But I would be lying and my soul knows it.
I cannot be what he needs when wallowing in self-pity.
Giving without the need to receive is this realistic.
Giving without the need to have it given back, is ONLY accomplished with your mighty hand.
It is impossible to give any part of me, if my God is not filling me up and directing my heart.
I am weak and needy, I am a plant in the sprint sucking nutrients from the earth,
needing water and sun.
I am weak; I need your strength, O Mighty One!
I have nothing to give, I am nothing!
Give me all I need today, fill me up.
O Lord, let my lips be filled with sweet nectar.
O Lord, let my heart overflow with love and patience.
Come near to me, be a bulwark and shield to me.
Your love is everlasting; I come to bask in your presence.
I come to hide in the shadow of your wings.
Teach me when to be silent and when to speak.
Teach me to wait on your timing.
Let me shine for you today
Let me be a beacon in a dark world.
Let me be what my husband and my children need today.
I am needy myself today, selfishness is not far from me.
My selfishness shouts I need, I need, I want, I want.
Align my wants and my needs with your truths, truths that bring freedom.
I need you today LORD, I want you to today LORD!
Help me to serve today, as Jesus served!
Without you LORD, I am nothing.
I hide in the shadow of your wings today LORD!
I wait and watch the miracles you do in me today!
I wait and watch the energy you pour into me!
I wait and watch you transform me today!
I wait and watch my relationship with YOU deepen today!
I wait and watch the Almighty work today!
He is faithful, He is lovingkindness, He is hope, He is steadfast, and He loves even me!

Homemade Jam vs. store bought Jams

Honestly, the only thing store bought Jam/Jelly has over homemade is that it's convenient. To me, that is not a good enough reason to not make my own. The perks of homemade anything is that you know what is in it and more importantly what is NOT in it! I first experimented with homemade jams/jellies last spring and fall when berries were plentiful on the bushes. On my first jam/jelly maiden voyage, I read and reread the recipe to make sure that I had all my ducks somewhat in a row and I was somewhat confident of each step. The first batch I was nervous that I would mess something up and it wouldn't turn out. Which was completely silly because as I completed each step I realized how simple it really was.

My sister got me the Canning book  "Balls complete Book of Home Preserving". Along with some canning tools. Little did I know that they would come in handy with jam and jelly making. However, if you do not have a canning book, no problem, there are websites like home-canning.com and blogs such as foodinjars.com out there to guide you with recipes, hints, and tips.

My recommendation is start simple, get your feet wet, build confidence with an easy recipe and work your way to more difficult, time consuming recipes.

Perks of homemade jams and jellies:
* You know what is in them and what is NOT in them!
*It is cost effective when you watch for the berries to go on sale or
  if you pick them yourself and freeze them for later use.
* If you get real good at it your friends will want to buy it from you. :)
* The variety of jams/jellies you can come up with is endless! Today I made mango-strawberry jam because it's the kind of berries and fruit I had on hand.

What I learned during one of those days...

Yesterday was one of those days. For starters we opened the twins bedroom door to find Naomi naked and poop from head to toe, with poop footprints on the floor. Then later, because she is potty training I had put her in a pull up for ease of going potty. She ended up pooping in her pull up which had dropped to her ankles from the weight of the poop. As Naomi was playing on the bed with Maddie she had some how fallen off backwards and hit her head on the floor. Shortly after that Titus' piggy bank some how fell off the dresser and shattered into a million pieces. As I was homeschooling Maddie, she continued to have meltdown after meltdown. Titus was whinny and clingy, adding to the frustration of trying to scrub poop footprints from the carpet, taking the bedding off of Titus and Naomi's bed and putting clean sheets on.

How did I get through the morning? I cried, I laughed, I prayed and cried out to the Lord. I got through because the Holy Spirit was faithful to remind me to slow down and be ok with not getting done what I had wanted to get done. Because the Holy Spirit reminded me that my kids are only small for a short time. He reminded me that while I may not get much done that he is faithful to help me get done what needs to get done later. I got through because God is faithful and cares about mommies drowning in stinky, nasty, poop footprints. God cares about mommies who's children are having meltdowns, God cares about mommies who are feeling suffocated by their little ones clingyness.

On a day like this...oh...I need the LORD to help me! One of the valuable things I have learned being a wife and a mommy is to cry out to God for wisdom in the midst of the crazy things that happen. When my children all decide to revolt at the same time, when Mark is busy and stressed at work and cannot meet my needs, when I'm feeling lonely. Whatever the circumstance, God has taught me to cry out to Him and let Him fill me up, pick me up, clean me up. In crying out to God, abiding in Him, I am developing an intimacy with Him I have never experienced before and it's amazing.

Are your kids ganging up on you today? Do you have poop prints on your carpet? Are you lonely? Are you scared? Cry out to the Lord for wisdom, comfort, and peace. He gives to all abundantly when we ask and seek Him! Seek Him, He is waiting for you!

After a morning of craziness, I gave the kids an early lunch, they went down for early naps, and the afternoon turned out much different than the morning had went. I dressed the kiddos in their grubby clothes, put their mud boots on, and off we went out into the amazing spring afternoon. The kids got to taste mud encrusted ice chips, eat plenty of mud, splash in puddles. They made mud pies, and slid on ice. We watched and listened to birds, we saw squirrels. The Lord heard my heart and answered with mud puddles and laughter! He turned my tears into laughter. I left the laundry, instead of tracing letters Maddie and I made brownies together. The day did not go as I had planned, but that's OK, it went as God planned, and He is amazing at planning. It's freeing when I can embrace what God wants done from day to day, even if it's different than my day planner.

Donating to Locks of Love, It's as easy as one, two, three.

Every once in a while Mark decides to grow his hair out, but once summer comes it usually means it's about to get chopped off. This time around Mark's hair measured well over 12 inches when pulled straight. This year I suggested to Mark that he donate to Locks of Love and agreed that was a great idea. I went to the Locks of Love website and easily found the page to donate his hair and the criteria the hair needs to meet in order to be donated. The Locks of Love website has a form you can print and fill out, but just in case you do not have a printer or like us you are out of ink for your printer you can simply write the same information down on a piece of paper and stink it in with the Manila envelope you use.

From the Locks of Love website; "Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis." 

"We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Our mission is to return a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to provide the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children. The children receive hair prostheses free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need."