Home Sweet Home

After MUCH waiting, praying, thinking, looking, waiting, and more waiting. This is our new house! I am so happy! This whole thing came together in a week and half from the time we looked at the house to when we signed the contract and gave 'em our check. We have to have it moved to our property. (the land wasn't for sale...just the house) Another development of that week and a half was finding out that there is an acre of land available across the street from where we were originally going to build. So we quickly snagged it and now are in the process of getting the septic, electric, and water well all taken care of before the house gets moved. It has to stop raining first though.
Here are the specs:
Built in 1905
when we are finished with it, it'll be a 3/2
1400ish sq ft (gigantic compared to where we were)
2 bedrooms downstairs and a little loft upstairs
HUGE walk in pantry in the kitchen (i've never had a pantry!)
Wood walls, bead board ceilings, wood floors...the works
It does need some work but it's all do-able stuff. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!
So here's a little tour of our new/old little farmhouse!

Front Door

Entry with stairs that go to the loft

Kitchen

Built in china cabinet in the dining room

Loft

Boy Room

There you have it! I'll have you over for coffee as soon as we get it all ready! I can't wait to show it off!!! God is good...I couldn't have asked for anything more. In fact, it's exactly what I wanted. I'm still in awe of what he has given us. wow....

Parsley

I was recently at my sweet friend's house fixing a meal (because that's what we do...) and she put some parsley in whatever it was that we were making (and by "we" I mean "she") and I said that Cathe Olson puts parsley in everything in The Vegetarian Mother's Cookbook. My friend said "well, yeah...it's good for you" so just in case you don't know the health benefits of our good friend parsley either...here you go! I happened to come across this on the whole foods website. So sprinkle a little or a lot in whatever it is that you are making!

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, fresh parsley delivers:

• vitamin C and vitamin K
• natural plant compounds such as flavonoids and limonene
• volatile oils and potent antioxidants that benefit digestion
• carotenoids such as beta-carotene and lutein

A special note: pregnant women should avoid excessive amounts of parsley.

There are two kinds of parsley: curly and Italian. Use them interchangeably, but remember that curly parsley is milder and works well as a garnish. Italian (flat-leaf parsley) is stronger, thicker and heartier and is best for longer cooking, stewing and simmering. To maximize those health benefits, aim for a 1/3 cup serving.

Here's the rest of the post.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys helped me put together some Valentine crafts for our family today! Hunter helped me at the sewing machine and Jay did a great job signing his name on all of the cards.

I love those sweet little hands and that he likes to sign "John" on all the cards instead of "Jay."

Hope your Valentine' s day is super sweet!

I Heart Homeschool

It's been a fun week!

Jay and Hunter (eh, Bumblebee) watching flamingos on youtube.

The Little Artists

(Yes, they are in the painting in the bathroom!)

The littlest brother!

Coffee Break

I am constantly working hard to improve my health and that of my sweet family. I minimize the amount of sugar we consume, fast food is a big no-no, lots of fresh foods, home cooked meals, etc. So when I tell people about my daily consumption of coffee and partially hydrogenated soybean oil a.k.a. Coffeemate creamer (in DELICIOUS flavors) I get some crazy looks and I know they are right on. I've been thinking about this for a few weeks now and finally decided to kick the habit. Not the coffee habit...I'll work on that one when I don't have 3 small children to tend to anymore. But the soybean oil thing...I'm finished with it. I decided to make my own creamer! =) I found some yummy recipes. I know I'm still consuming sugar...and I'll work on that later too. One step at a time, my friends! I'm enjoying my coffee even more now! Here's a few of the recipes that I've tried.

Base:
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk (I used organic)
1 1/2 c of milk (I use my yummy raw milk)

Mint Chocolate add:
2 T raw cocoa
1 t peppermint extract

Vanilla add:
2 t vanilla extract

Studel add: (I haven't tried this one but it's next on the list)
1 T cinnamon
1 t vanilla extract
1 t almond extract

Here's a few more...enjoy!

I'm in Love!

Mmmm....fresh from the garden!

Check out this giveaway!

If you don't subscribe to Simple Mom....do it! She has just launched a new series of "simple" sites and they look awesome! Each one is having a giveaway and my favorite is the one at Simple Kids. So check it out, leave a comment, and win some great prizes!