Try It Tuesday: Freezer Jam

For over a year I have been interested in learning how to can! I've read bunches of books and watched plenty of Youtube videos!

I found this video about making Freezer Jam. It seemed pretty easy to me! 

I purchased two packages of 8oz. jar. Each package has five jars. Love the purple lids!

Here is the pectin that I used. It is especially for making freezer jam. 

Three containers of starwberries

Crushing them with a potato masher was especially fun!

All three containers of berries mushed up!

Sugar and Pectin

 The berries mixed in with the sugar and pectin.

 Three containers of strawberries made seven 8oz. containers of jam.

Freezer jam is delicious. It was super easy to make and tastes wonderful on whole wheat toast. This is a good and safe first step into food preservation.

How-to Video: Homemade Granola!

I made some fabulous granola this evening! It really came out great!I put together a little how-to video just for you!! Enjoy!

The Kite Festival

We spent a beautiful afternoon enjoying the incredible weather at the Kite festival. We attended two years ago with Michael's parents. We had such a good time that we decided to go again this year. Just the perfect day for the festival. Not to hot, not to cold. There was a slight breeze and the sun was shinning! It was a happy shiny day! Here are a bunch of pics!

The yummy and greasy funnel cake!

Michael making his very own kite! That very nice High School kid helped us out. We were the only ones in there without any kids! We are big dorks! It's OK!

I'm actually in a picture!!!!

After the kite festival we headed to one of the Hamilton County Parks for a little walk. They have a really nice walking trail. Some more goofy pictures!

I love windows!

 

We ended the evening with a concert performance by the Cincinnati Christian University Concert Choir! They were brilliant!

Have a lovely evening! Enjoy your sunday!

 

Birthday-In-a-Box and Stuffed Shells

Watching the news lately has made me feel pretty helpless. Why does the news always have to be so negative? Why do they always leave the happy human interest stories until the end. Why can't they mix them in with the rest of the "news".

While reading through my quote journals recently I was reminded of a quote by Mother Teresa, “We can do no great things; only small things with great love.”

Small things. I need to remember the small things. The smile from a stranger. Someone opening the door for you when you have your hands full. The warmth of a sweater. The smell of fresh brewed coffee. The flower or tiny gift given just because. 

Trying to be more mindful and remember to do those little things that make other people's day!


Being busy is no longer going to be an excuse for being lazy. If everyone would take steps to "small things with great love" think of what the world could be life!


Have had the desire to plan a kids birthday party lately. Don't know why, I don't have children. Ok...I do spend a LARGE chunk of my waking hours with children. So anyway,I was on Volunteer Match looking for volunteer opportunities in my area. I came across an opportunity to create themed birthday-in-a-box for the Ronald McDonald House of Greater Cincinnati. It's the most perfect volunteer opportunity. I get to use my desire to make a difference and my love for creating and planning thing. Perfect. So the theme for the box is Butterflies. Going for the 5 to 6 year  old age range. I'm so excited to get started. Hoping to make a couple of things this weekend. Maybe a cool butterfly banner!! Stay tuned for pictures of the project as it comes together. 


Made the most delicious stuffed shells for dinner on Saturday! Yummy! I used ricotta instead of cottage cheese. I enjoy the texture of ricotta a lot more. 

  

I will leave you with a funny kid conversation

                
        Little E: Ms. Emily are you a mommy?
        Me: Not yet!
        Little E: Are you a sister?
        Me: Yup! I have a brother!
        Little E: My brother is old enough to be a 
        daddy!
        Me: How old is he?
        Little E: Seven!

I love 4 year olds!

Have a lovely evening!

Emily

Easter Day

We have started a new tradition! On Sunday we went for a walk at Spring Grove. The flowers were all in bloom it was a beautiful day! We hope to do it again next year!

Here is my adorable husband! What a goof!

Try It: Rainbow Salad

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!! 

This is a little something that I made for one of the preschool classes!

Red: Strawberries

Orange: Cantaloupe and Oranges

Yellow:Pineapple

Green: Kiwi

Blue: Blueberries

Purple: Purple Grapes 

 The Gold at the End of the Rainbow: Vanilla Wafers

The children really seemed to to enjoy the fruit. When I served it to the children I asked them what colors of the rainbow they wanted. Many of the kids even tried a new fruit or two.

Try It: Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill

 

  We enjoy going on day trips together. We haven't been on one in ages. Today we headed south to the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

  Hmmmm....She doesn't look happy does she?

 
 Michael working on some quilt stiching

 

Dried flowers

 

 This woman made the most beautiful woven pieces!

This is one of the pieces she made.

A friendly goat!

 

 Just caught me as funny!

 The placement of his sticker is totally on purpose! What a dork!

 

An actual picture of me!!!

I *heart* picket fences!

Try It: Church Visits Week #1

Since getting married, Michael and I have not been able to find a church home. We have attended a few churches for a while,but nothing felt like home. The last church which we've been attending for over a year has a great Pastor and we attended a great small-group. We both feel that serving in the church is very important and we sought out opportunities to serve. I contacted the youth and children's ministry leaders to find out how to volunteer. I filled out two applications. I sent two volunteer resumes and tried to make several contacts by e-mail and phone to the leaders. I never got a response. Then in the bulletin we would read how the children's and youth ministry needed more volunteers. Its hard to volunteer if nobody gets back to you.

So Michael and I are done with just "GOING" to church. We want to be involved. So the church search has begun. This past Sunday we went to two churches. The first one we attended was OK. I was very excited that they seemed to have lots of opportunities for service inside the church as well as in the community.

The second church we attended was Lakeside Christian Church. It is a pretty big place. Actually it is enormous! They really rolled out the carpet for visitors. They had parking spaces for visitors. They had a gift bag filled with goodies and information about the church. When we first arrived we were greeted by several very friendly people. At least two people came up to Michael because they recognized him from work. That really made a BIG impression on him. We went over to the welcome desk to find out some more information about the church. The lady who was staffing the booth was very friendly and helpful.

The sanctuary was a sanctuary. What I mean by that is it was not a multipurpose space. It was a beautiful two-level sanctuary with stained glass windows! There were comfortable pews. It was really light and breathtaking in there. Worship was amazing. I felt the presence of the Lord there.

From what I've been reading and hearing about the church is that it is highly involved in the community. It puts a high priority of fulfilling the Great Commandment to " Love your neighbor as yourself!" This is very important to us.

Michael and I have committed to visiting churches until the 28th of March when we will visit our top two. If you are the praying type, we would ask for prayer for guidance in which church to become involved with. 

Here is a random pictures from last year's summer camp! It reminds me to keep growing!

Try It: Scraplifted a layout from "52 More Scrapbooking Challenges" book.

A couple of months ago I picked up "52 more scrapbooking challenges" by Elizabeth Kartchner.  I instantly fell in love with the layout on page 21. While I wish I could show you the original layout from the book, I would be getting into all kinds of copyright laws and blah blah! So... just take my word that I found a lot of inspiration for this layout from the one in the book!

  

Here is another layout that I made today!