How Does Our Garden Grow ~ Part 2

Its early July and our little garden is just a growing. 

I have been surprised that the hotter it gets outside the better the plants seem to do. 

We have had a little trouble with blossom end rot but hopefully the lime slurry we made today will help with that. 

I am learning a lot, and Grant loves to help me! 

Here are the first veggies from our garden.
2 Zucchini and 1 Yellow Squash
I should probably steam them, but I think I'll make Zucchini bread instead. 

Here is our watermelon. 

This is our little Okra plant.
The only one that made it out of an entire row. 

This is our pole bean, it hasn't gotten much bigger than when I planted it. 

Yellow Squash

Here you can see one pepper plant, squash, zucchini, marigolds and tomatoes. 

A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet ~ Book Review

Y'all I just finished the best book! 

(A few weeks ago, but who is counting) 

I found this book and author, Sophie Hudson, as I read the Pioneer Woman's blog. 

Sophie Hudson has a blog and another book titled Home is Where My People Are (I can't wait to order and read it as well) 

I originally ordered this book, because I am from the South and I miss the South and the stories of the people. I thought this book would be a fun light hearted read, and it is, but I also cried. I had sweet memories of growing up and also a longing to be back. So many emotions wrapped into these pages. 

This book reminded me of family and friends, but also that the Lord is good and He is working in my life, and truly I need to rest in Him and His plans for our family. 

My favorite passage from the book is one that I have gone back and read over and over again since finishing the book: 

"As we share our stories with those people God has specifically ordained to walk with us on this side of eternity--and as they share their stories with us--we see the sacred in the ordinary. We see the profound in the mundane. We see the joy in the day to day. We see the hand of God writing a much bigger story--a story of rescue and redemption and hope and glory. Right here in the middle of the hilarious and the tragic and the sublime and the sad. That's just something else, isn't it?" 

Praise God for creating us as relational beings, in His image. As much as we want relationships with others He wants a relationship with us. 

So if you are looking for a good book to read this summer, then this just might be the book for you! 

(I don't have any affiliation with the author, just wanted to share this sweet book with others.) 

How Does Our Garden Grow - Part 1

We have planted a garden !

We moved an old raised bed into our yard, along with the dirt that was there. 

My neighbor and I tried to use this garden in its old spot but animals ate all of our plants... so here the garden is in our back yard, protected by fence and dog (except Parker likes to hunt lizards and has been in the garden) I'll keep you posted of our success or failure. 

Dirt! 

Grant working hard to rake the dirt smooth. 

The raised bed is full and the white on top is the soil additives that Micah then tilled into the dirt. 

It is hard to see in the picture but we have 4 tomato plants, 2 basil, 2 cilantro, 2 chive, 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 2 pole beans and a row of flowers and a row of okra. In another pot we have a watermelon.

Stay tuned for more garden updates.

Bar-B-Que

The South is synonymous with bar-b-que, all different styles of sauce, ways of smoking the meat and

plenty of fixins to go along with it.

 My love of bar-b-que began back in high school when my family started going to a local bar-b-que restaurant. 

Davis Bar-B-Que became a family favorite and soon became a second home to me.

I began working at "the restaurant" the month after I turned fifteen and was still working there in some capacity when the Lord brought us to California almost three years ago. I learned a lot over many plates of bar-b-que, I learned what it meant to be "in the weeds" and how good it felt to finally catch back up again. I laughed so much, I cried a little and I loved a lot. I traveled, learned a whole lot about southern cooking (like how to make gravy) and got to know people in the community. I learned what hard work was and the benefit of doing a good job, not only because I needed good tips, but because of wanting to do the best I could for the people I worked with. Jerry, Carole, Leslie, Phil, PJ, Clay, Chip, Ashley, Trip, Barry and Cindy may not be my blood relatives but they are my family and when I am in Jasper "the restaurant" is my home.

If you are ever near Jasper, Georgia I highly recommend making a stop at Davis Bar-B-Que where you can play eye spy for weeks, be greeted with a smile, and eat some delicious food. 

Simply Southern ~ Sweet Tea

This marks the first post in a new section on the blog to host all things southern. 

 Whenever I become homesick I naturally want something that reminds me of home, the other side of that is I have the blessing of sharing my love of all things southern with others .

One of the great things about where we live is that we get to host our summer interns for dinner while they are here serving for three months. Micah and I like to pull out the stops and share some our favorite southern classics like boiled peanuts and bar-b-que. (I guess the south is the only place where bar-b-que means meat slowly smoked to perfection, because here when someone says bar-b-que they usually mean hamburgers and hotdogs.) 

The one thing that the interns and others have loved the most is our sweet tea. We have gone through as much as four gallons of tea in one evening. So many of these young adults have asked for our recipe and we don't really know what to say, so for all of you who want to know how to make our tea 

Here is the recipe: 

Tea bags - some people are very particular when it comes to this ingredient.
Sugar, gallon sized pitcher, spoon and water in a pot. 

Add the sugar to hot water in your pitcher about half full. 

Bring the water to a boil. 

Add your tea bag - this is a gallon size tea bag. 

Turn off the water and let steep. 

For five minutes. 

Discard the tea bag and add the tea to the sugar water in the pitcher. 

Add water until you fill the pitcher. 

Pour over ice and enjoy!

~Sweet Tea~ 

Ingredients: 

Gallon Size Pitcher

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

Tea Bags - 1(if using gallon size tea bags)

             or  4 (if using family size tea bags)

             or  8 (if using regular size tea bags)

1. Add some water to a pot and put in on the stove to boil. 

2. While the water is heating up add your sugar to your pitcher then add hot water and stir until it fills about half of the pitcher. 

3. When the water boils add your tea bags and turn off the water. Let the tea bags steep for five minutes. 

4. Throw away the tea bags and add the tea to the pitcher of sugar water. Stir and place in the refrigerator to cool off or pour over ice and enjoy right away.