Singing Tonight!

I had a hard time getting ready for this concert. Now that it is here, I am glad I stuck with it. The music is fun, light, and entertaining. I hope the audience enjoys it!

Last Day of School

School's Out! School's Out! Teachers let the monkeys out!!!

After the 8th grade festivities ended, we ran by the farmer to pick up our veggies for the week. This is the 5th week of the season. Their sunflowers are in full bloom and I could not resist picking up one. Love it!

We got some pretty good stuff this week. I've accummulated potatoes. I need to cook some today. I am not too sure about the small onions. They are pretty dirty requiring lots of work before cooking:(

I got all the veggies put away and snuck over to Peanut's school. I tied five balloons on to his bike to celebrate the end of the year. I waited for him at my usual spot.

Here he is coming off the school path. The wind was pretty strong. The balloons just trailed behind his bike.

We stopped at the top of the hill to capture another shot.

When he got home, Pumpkin bombarded him with water balloons. I know they felt great. It was over 90 degrees. They had a water balloon fight in the driveway. I loved the laughter and genuine fun.

Here's to summer of 2009!

Eighth Grade Promotion Ceremony

My Pumpkin graduated from 8th grade yesterday. The ceremony was very nice. He received a few honors. He got recognized for honor roll this year, honor roll all three years, presidential award, and the all west choir medal.

I grabbed my camera at the last minute. The lighting is awful. Here he is after he received his awards.

The 8th grade choir sang Embrace the Music. It was well done. I like the message of the song.

We snapped one shot before we headed to lunch to celebrate.

His middle school years flew by. As I reflected on the three years, these memories came to mind~

Pumpkin switched to the public school in 6th grade. It was quite a bigger larger than he was used to. I was so proud of him for stepping up and fitting in. He expanded his horizons trying new classes and associating with new people. He reunited with a friend from his tee ball days. They had moved from the area and came back. They continue their friendship today. I was very apprehensive with the school switch. It did not take long to calm my fears. I am so thankful we did it. Pumpkin is too.

In seventh grade, Pumpkin switched to chorus. He did not waste any time. He auditioned for All West successfully making it in 7th and 8th grades. There is something about music. It is healing. It is spiritual and the messages can be very powerful. I hope he takes that with him for the rest of his life.

In eighth grade, he ended up on a team with lots of folks he did not really know. He impressed his home room teacher right away receiving a few leadership honors from her. We are still sad that she moved in December. Pumpkin settled in and made new friends. The girls are on his radar screen or should I say his texting screen. He's been to one boy/girl party and is heading to another one this weekend. I am happy to say it still seems pretty innocent. As he says, he just happens to have some friends that are girls. I have watched him morph into a young man. I know more changes are coming. But, these are pretty dramatic. I feel more of an urge to pat him on the bag, analyze his hands, or stare at his face. They are changing all the time!

He has built a strong foundation. I pray it will be stable enough to carry him through the high school years. We'll all be here cheering him on. If only there was a way to slow the clock down. From what I hear, the next four years may go faster than these three.

Congratulations, Pumpkin!!

As a graduation gift, we gave him the book, Wicked, and tickets to see the show. It will be in Memphis in June/July. He was thrilled. All of us have to get the book read in the next month.
Image copied from http://www.wickedthemusical.com/page.php?#AboutWicked

Pumpkin's Last Middle School Concert

Last Tuesday, we went to Pumpkin's spring chorale concert. It was the end of choir for his middle school years. He got to sing a solo!! They did a great job.


I have a few more pictures to post from the end of the year. I hope to get to them later today.

This morning is very peaceful! Summer starts today!!!

Pumpkin Receives the Gift of the Holy Spirit

The event was wonderful held down at the Cathedral. Bishop Steib performed the honors. He did an amazing job.

We are grateful for Pumpkin's swim coach. He was his sponsor. We were proud of Pumpkin for asking someone he admires and respects. Here they are with the Bishop.

When we thanked Bishop Steib, we got to snap a quick family photo. I hate to admit that I have heels on in the photo!

Boys' Bike Ride

On Sunday, the Big Guy mentioned that he was going for a bike ride. The other two chimed in that they wanted to go with him. He didn't know what would be in store. They doned their gear and were off!

They rode over 16 miles at a pretty good clip! You can bet your bottom dollar that Peanut beat Pumpkin home! The Big Guy was impressed. I think he had an Ah-Ha moment enjoying the bike riding, real riding, with his sons.

On Saturday, Peanut went to a birthday party at an indoor soccer place. I did not have any wrapping paper. So, I used fabric! What have I turned into? The mom of the birthday boy sews. I hope she gets to re-use the fabric.

Incarnation Memories and CSA #4

I picked up another sack of goodies from the farmer. The berries are about gone. We are having sweet potatoes tonight. I washed the greens and need to find a recipe for them. I need to find something for the bok choy too. I am excited to try something new.

Pumpkin attended the local Catholic school for elementary school. The school started in the year 2000. It has k-8 grades. The first set of kids that started in kindergarten are graduating from 8th grade today. The principal, Mrs. S., that started the school retired a few years ago. She came back into town for the graduation. Another teacher, now friend, hosted a little lunch and I got to see Mrs. S.

I sewed a few little gifts. The host has a beautiful garden where we dined in leisure. I picked up some basil from the farmer when I got my veggies. I whipped this little holder together to present the basil. I like how it turned out. If you look closely, you'll see that I sewed green ribbon in the center to tie the sides together. To be even more functional, I should have stuck cardboard in the bottom of the holder. Next time...time was of the essence!

As a side, the farmer said that the purple basil is slightly bitter. It makes a great partner with normal basil which yielded my pairing.

Mrs. S is a knitter. I whipped up another bag and got some sock yarn for her. It turns out she is not the biggest fan of socks. Maybe all this won her over! I think socks are great for car rides. They do take lots of time, but the pattern is not hard to master. I made another bag for a friend of mine that I have not seen in quite some time. Her bag was filled with lots of prayers. She has more going on in her life. I added some chocolates too - just for smiles.

I had a wonderful day! It was a lovely time. Mrs. S is a phenom person. It was great to see her. In addition, another teacher, Miss. Mary, surprised us. Miss. Mary was Pumpkin's kindergarten teacher. She was amazing but retired due to her husband's terminal cancer diagnosis. She moved to Cleveland. Seeing her added to the treat. It dawned on me that I should go get Pumpkin. Right before school ended, I checked him out and brought him back to the party.

Here he is with his old principal, his kindergarten teacher and his third grade teacher.

I am so thankful that I was included in this little get together. Those Incarnation days will always have a very special place in my heart. I had some wonderful friendships. I need to make sure I am better at staying in touch. Pumpkin was glad to see his teachers. Mrs. S made it clear that she was still taller than him! Too funny! I don't think it will be that way for long!!

Mother's Day Recap

Look at the lovely flowers I got from my mother in law. Most of the roses came straight from her amazing rose garden. The aroma was incredible. Pumpkin added a rose he got for me from PRE class. The carnation came from after mass. I have enjoyed the flowers all week as they grace me on the table.

I knitted this dishcloth for my mother in law. It is from the first Mason Dixon knitting book. It reminds me of a basket hydrangeas. My mother in law has quite a few hydrangeas plants too. They aren't in bloom yet. We are the lucky recipients of some of the dried blooms from previous years. She is a fanatical cleaner. This dishcloth will get put to use. She told me it already has!

I am making one for my mom too. I've got a few more stitches. Fortunately, mom is very understanding as I did not get it to her on time!

The boys got me an ihome for my iphone. I love it! I am turning into a NPR junkie. In our area classical music runs during the day. I love hearing that in the back round as I putz around the house. I need to add more music/podcasts to the iphone so I can listen to lots more. As an added feature, the ihome charges the phone. I just pop it in and don't have to pull the cords out.

When I planned the menu for the week, I forgot Sunday was Mother's Day. My boys did not break stride. They jumped at the chance to make me dinner. This was such a gift to me. The Big Guy doesn't like to cook at all! We tried a new recipe using some veggies from the farmer. It wasn't the best but I enjoyed being served a meal.

This mom job certainly has its days. Most of the time, it is the best job in the world!

Rainy Day Fun

We've had quite a bit of rain these last few weeks. It seems like most of it came on the weekends. This past Saturday, the boys gave in to it. They could not stay inside any longer. They set up the soccer goals playing their version of soccer/handball. Peanut came in for dinner saying that he was going back out there. I love when kids make the most of everything. If you look closely, the four legged dude was right in there with them.



We made them head straight to the showers before dinner. We got to sweep up all the grass that migrated into the house!

My Bike Ride Today

Got three miles in and realized I forgot my water bottle in the garage.
Turned around to pick it up and shed my long sleeve jacket.
Refrained from looking at my legs. I did not shave yesterday.
Enjoyed the cooler weather. Stay, please!!
Accepted the wind in my face going down hill.
Chatted with a motorcycle rider at a red light. I wonder if I rode farther.
Savored all the green that the recent buckets of rain produced.
Saw two armadillos on the side of the road. Road kill!!
Wondered whether the squirrels I saw had been in my attic (we think it is true. we'll find out more later today.)
Confronted a woman not scooping after her dog. Why don't people pick it up? It gives all dog owners a bad name.
Compiled a list in my head of the things I need to do today.
Smelled lots of honeysuckle which was much better than riding down wind of the garbage truck!

My legs are tired, my lungs are refreshed and my heart says thanks!

IT is ALL about the FOOD!

I downloaded some recent shots realizing they are all pictures of food! I guess it is because I am a week and a half into an attempt to eat better food. I don't want to call it a diet, but I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds. I have a birthday coming up and want to start the year off feeling well. Anyway, I digress...

Last weekend is rained Saturday and Sunday. I recruited Peanut to help me make banana bread. I resort back to an old simple recipe. It was fun to have a helper. He did most of the work. We have a nut allergy preventing them from being added to the bread. Normally, I add chocolate chips. Peanut opted to leave the bread plain. The Big Guy's breakfast bread was quite yummy this week!

I even let Peanut break the eggs. That is a hard skill to teach. Some shell may have fallen in to the mix. Fortunately, we use a food processor to make it. The shells don't stand a chance to the Cruisanart. No one has tasted anything crunchy in the bread yet!

Look at how beautiful the loaves look. I think I'll keep him around to help me.

I used the mustard greens from the farmer in this recipe. It was very good. I am sure the bacon added something to it. The boys would not touch it. The Big Guy and I reheated it a few nights later. It still tasted good.

We picked up some shrimp from Costco last weekend. I am trying not to think about their carbon footprint. I think they came all the way from Thailand! Seafood is not the easiest thing to get living in the middle of the country. I marinated some veggies and the shrimp in a regular Italian dressing. I skewered them cooking them on the grill. This is a Becky meal. We used to have it quite a bit. Now that the weather is turning to summer, we may just eat this more often. I added the leftover veggies to mixed greens for lunch a few days. Yummy!

I saw this recipe and decided to try it. I think I cooked mine a bit too long. I was trying to time it for when the boys walked through the door. It was very hot! Everyone kept blowing and blowing in an effort to get it to cool off. The Big Guy liked it and ate it all. Peanut picked around it. I ate about half. I just could not get beyond the egg sitting there. I only started eating scrambled eggs a few years ago. If you need an economical impressive dish, this recipe just may do it. We had crusty bread on the side. That was the best - dipping the bread in the tomato/cheese mix.

This week I picked up CSA #3. It all looks wonderful. I think the strawberries are already history. I am not sure about the collard greens, but will do some research.

The turnip was included. I just forgot to include it in the picture:(

I think that is the end of the food pictures! Thanks for making it this far. I got a Mother's Day gift early from Peanut. He wrapped it all by himself.

They made these in class. At first, I thought I could use it for a coaster, but learned it is not sealed. I think I will just put it up on my dresser. I love it.

Happy Mother's Day to all! I am hiding my head from my mom as her gift is still on my knitting needles. I hope she understands. She will get a treat in the mail later in the week. The boys are out shopping for me right now. The Big Guy promised it was just something small. I'd love to be a fly on the wall. We are thinking about going to Fiddler on the Roof tonight as an early Mom's day event. It has gotten rave reviews and I want to see it. I'll let you know!

CSA #2 for 2009

On Wednesday, I picked up my second bag of produce from the farmer. The Farmer's Market at the Botanic Gardens is now open! Spring is definitely here! We just did not get to enjoy much of it as it rained all weekend. That's another story. We were thrilled with our treats in our bag. We got sweet potatoes, onions, mustard greens, collard greens, strawberries and honey. The berries did not last long in the house. I made a recipe with the mustard greens that included bacon, corn meal, and onion. It was pretty good. We just could not convince the boys to take a bite.

The story of the honey was detailed in the farmer's email. I thought I'd copy it in here for you.

In case you guys didn't know we have bee hives on our property. Peace Bee Farms, out of Proctor, Arkansas, is owned and operated by Richard & Rita Underhill. They are two of the sweetest people you would ever want to meet. They keep bees the Amish way and use absolutely no synthetic materials when working with their bees. Richard is the president of the Tennessee Beekeepers Association and also keeps bees at the Memphis Botanic Garden. We truly feel blessed to have their hives out here at the farm. What started out as a simple experiment bloomed into something much more. Last year was a phenominal year for both farming operations, and wouldn't you guess that Peace Bee collected hundreds and hundreds of pounds of delicious honey from the hives located here! It was so exciting to witness throughout the growing season. This week you will be receiving honey that was made in our hives. You'll actually be tasting honey from the fruits of Whitton Farms labor! Hope you like it!

How cool is that? I just wish I liked honey. I have to find some folks who are really into it and see what they think.

Peanut had some friends over on Friday night. The boys went to a talent show at their school. The teachers do all the skits. It was very enjoyable. Other than that, we are trying to stay dry. Pumpkin had to volunteer at the local Fair on the Square yesterday. It rained the entire time. He was soaked by the time he got home. I feel sorry for the vendors. I can't imagine that many folks showed up. They say the rain is out of here tomorrow. I'll be cutting the grass. I know all this rain is making it grow rapidly!!! Have a good one!