Fall in AZ

I have enjoyed reading about agrarian living at Cindy's blog. She says agrarian living is a state of mind and not just the ownership of land and living off that land. It is all things home. Hospitality and fellowship, tea and coffee, flowers, gardens, trees and a simple life. I have a long way to go to live this life but a little walk around our 'city acre' proved I'm on my way ;-) Frankly, I don't desire to live the BIG agrarian life, I know my limits and I know I can't grow certain vegetables and flowers in 110 degree heat. There are things I can enjoy while living in the Southwest; container gardening, beautiful fruit trees, unique aloe vera plants and yes, someday a small rectangle shaped garden. It is living the simple life in this big city suburb that convicts me most. It is difficult not to get caught up in all the craziness, you know, sports, unnecessary shopping, hair, nails etc. In other words...stay home girl! Enjoy the beauty in your home and the outdoors that God has given you, whether that is a little patio or an acre or two full of trees and horses and gardens. Each year I add a rose to a little area of our yard and hope to create a beautiful rose garden complete with a wood bench and an attractive source of shade! Little by little is how I manage best, it is safe and secure that way. Some people would say I like my box a little too much, that's ok with me. My box and I try with all our might to honor and glorify God daily.

Blog Material

Donna suggested we post an old Christmas picture. And being the obedient younger sister that I am....

Here it is. It is almost impossible to get these children to be still and smile. I love looking back and seeing the changes; J has braces now, H's braces are off, S has her two front teeth, D has grown several inches taller, and L, well what can I say, her cheeks are smaller??

I try to coordinate clothing for the Christmas pictures. Now that we have a few older children we have to try to be cool and not cutesie ;-)

I'll post Christmas 2005 when Donna tells me to....

Back to Life

We braved Target and The Mall today. We only needed a few things so it was fine but boy oh boy was it packed. Hannah noticed the noise level in Target and thought it was funny. We were able to find the four girls something cute to wear for our annual Christmas picture. Note: James will NOT be in pink :) I thoroughly enjoyed myself in Coldwater Creek. I bought myself a little something special for our company Christmas dinner and business trip next weekend. Can you believe my 13 year old is not especially fond of that store? She doesn't like the clothes or the music they play (I didn't even notice) What this really tells me is that I am getting OLD. hee hee.

We went on a hike yesterday at Thunderbird Park. It's a beautiful little mountain only 15 minutes away. The weather was perfect, about 75 degrees and sunny. All seven of us and another family of seven climbed to the top. My husband carried Lauren on his shoulders almost the entire way up but she was able to walk/run down by herself. 3/4 of the way down I asked her if he legs were sore and she said "oh, yes, and my arms too!" She is a joy.

We've had a very nice long weekend and holiday.

I am blessed and I am thankful.
God is so good.

Christian History

I taught 4th grade today at our children's Classical and Christian School. It was such a blessing. I loved every minute of it. I had a small class of very sweet, content, attentive and smart students. (hi Danielle!) While they were working on some homework, I picked up and began to read "The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History". What a gem of a book!

http://www.graceandtruthbooks.com/search/results.asp?S=100+most+important&T=exact

I skimmed some of my favorites; Spurgeon, Moody, Wesley, Luther, and Calvin. These are short, well written stories and very easy to read. I highly recommend this book for the old and young alike. If the link worked, you'll see I also like Grace and Truth Books. They are very nice folks, I've met them a few times at our homeschool convention.

I'll be calling Donna soon to figure out how to link to websites, the real way.

Lauren Paige

Me: Lauren, go potty before you go to bed.

Lauren: I already did go potty.

Me: When hunny? I don't want you to have an accident.

Lauren: In October.

Me: It's November now and I think you'd better go again.


Oh, I love this life :-)


*****

THANK YOU!

Thank you all so much for visiting my blog and commenting. What would I do without Donna! :)

I feel very blessed to have met (some for real) so many wonderful ladies.

Soup For You!

Italian White Bean Soup with Sausage & Spinach


12 oz. Italian sausage, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1/4 C. water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 T. olive oil
2 15 oz. cans white kidney (cannelloni) beans, rinsed and drained
2 14 oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, oregano & garlic, undrained
4 cups coarsely chopped kale or spinach
Ground pepper

Combine sliced sausage and water in a large skillet. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer, covered about 10 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink. Uncover and cook about 5 minutes more or until sausage is browned, stirring frequently. Remove sausage and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic over medium heat in a large saucepan about 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in beans, broth and undrained tomatoes. Cover and bring to boil, reduce heat. Simmer covered for 5 minutes.

Stir in cooked sausage and spinach. Simmer, uncovered about 3 minutes more or until spinach is tender. Season to taste with pepper.

Serves 5


I doubled this recipe. It is delicious and very easy to make. It is a very hearty soup. All you need is a nice baguette and your meal is complete.

Bon Appetit!

For Donna

Donna told me to post something. So here it is. My first post. I won't be posting very often. It took my two daughters (13 &10) and me (39) way to long to figure this much out. I have a delicious soup recipe I thought I'd share...maybe that will be my next post.

Would anyone like to guess why I named my blog "Just Janet"?