What a Crew!

When I look into these faces I am often admonished to live out my parenting in a kinder, gentler manner as Matthew Henry describes.

Let not your authority over them be exercised with rigour and severity, but kindness and gentleness, lest you raise their passions and discourage them in their duty, and by holding the reins too tight make them fly out with greater fierceness. The bad temper and example of imprudent parents often prove a great hindrance to their children and a stumbling-block in their way. And it is by the tenderness of parents, and dutifulness of children, that God ordinarily furnishes His church with a seed to serve Him, and propogates religion from age to age. - Matthew Henry

Summertime Standby

Well I had hoped to be blogging about the NCFIC conference that our church hosted this weekend. Instead I am home with a feverish Merry and her uncharacteristic irritability due to a stomach bug.  Thank goodness for Elderberry syrup!!  I'll still give you the low-down on what we've been up to this week.
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Sew Cute: Since I had several orders to fill this week for embroidered swim team towels and totes I didn't have much time for recreational sewing. I was pleased with how the towels turned out as it was my first time designing a logo from scratch. My customers were happy and I was too when other parents placed their orders for more towels. The only sewing I did for fun was this bib n bow n sock set that I am calling GaGa for Grapes. What do you think?
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Taste Test: With orders to fill, a sick little one, a swim meet this week, and extra food to be made for our conference at church I needed a break from the kitchen. This favorite standby comes together easily 'cause it's made in the crock pot. It's a little long on the prep time but then you can leave it once it's in the pot. My kids LOVE to chop, chop, chop. Add a loaf of homemade bread and some tea... and you've got dinner! No need for salad since there are plenty of veggies in the bowl. By the way, I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine.
Slow-Cooker Chicken and Pasta Soup
4 carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch pieces
4 long strips lemon zest
4 sprigs fresh dill, plus 2-3 T chopped
2 T Extra Virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 cup small pasta, such as pastina
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ bunch fresh spinach, stemmed
4 ounces Feta cheese
Freshly ground pepper and some lemon wedges for serving
1 – Combine the carrots, lemon zest, dill sprigs, olive oil and ½ tsp salt in a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Season the chicken with salt and add to the slow cooker. Add the broth and 4 cups of water, cover and cook on low for about 8 hours.
2 – About 20 minutes before serving, add the pasta to the slow cooker, cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
3 – Stir the chopped dill, peas and spinach into the soup and cover until the spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Stir to break up the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and crumble the feta on top. Serve with lemon and bread, if desired.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Family Matters: In January this year we set a goal to memorize the book of Titus as a family. We have been buzzing along nicely but I have noticed our pace beginning to slow a bit this summer. Perhaps it is due to our more relaxed schedule. Normally we review at lunchtime since everyone is together and we are not usually in need of getting to whatever is on our evening agenda. These last few weeks we have not all been together during the lunch hour due to practices, appointments, etc. Much of our review has been done independently. I trust our efforts will be more productive once we get back to our school year routine this fall. What works for your family as you seek to hide God's Word in your hearts?
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Homestead Happenings: We are continuing to enjoy our home grown produce. My husband worked hard this year to till up a larger area for our summer garden. The size and quality keeps getting better each time we gather. Here is Freckles with our two largest yellow squash as well as our two largest cucumbers so far. Not bad for a suburban gardener, eh?
My Deal of the Week was found on eBay. I have 3 daughters, therefore we play with dolls a lot around our house. We have some very nice My Twinn dolls but I had never been able to bring myself to splurge on an American Girl doll. Call me cheap, call me mean but I just could not do it. In fact, I still haven't. Tender Heart has had her tender little heart set on owning one so she used money from her savings to purchase Molly. She's the cutie with the glasses and braids. We were fortunate to get an original Pleasant Company Molly in superb condition for $30. I'll be sure to post a pic of our new friend soon.

Enjoying Dixie Living,
Melissa