it has been a long - hard - snowy - wet - cold - winter! and although we have had some nice days over the last several weeks and the grass is turning greener and buds are popping up all over the place and the daffodils, tulips and (my favorite) lilly of the valley are beginning to bloom. the most significant sign to the end of winter is the opening of the farmers market. YEAH!!! tomorrow is the opening day for the muskegon farmers market!! i can't wait to walk the aisles and smell the fresh cut flowers and see all the produce (although it may be few). i can't wait for the week to come that i won't have to grace the doors of a meijers - I AM SOOOO EXCITED! 
as i sit here thinking about how we laughed and made such a mess together and out of nowhere telling me, "i love you mommy" i realized how much i would have missed out on had i not been here. so, as i sit and write this i am playing a new game of "would you rather"....
today we joined many other families from churchill elementary for the 2nd annual book fair at barnes & noble. caleb was one of many students who was picked to read a story they had written. although he was very nervous - he did a wonderful job. i'm so proud of him! for you proud grandparents, dave video taped his reading and you can view it here. 
our family LOVES granola. so, i have been working on creating a great granola recipe that everyone will enjoy. the best part about making granola is that you can't really screw it up and you can add just about anything you want to the mixture. i thought it may be fun to share lilly's and mines most recent granola concoction (the best, to date, if i don't say so myself).My hubby, Dave, posted the following earlier this week on his blog and I thought it appropriate to share on my blog too :) I haven't really wanted to delve into sharing about our choice over the last couple of months to drastically change how and what we eat. Mostly because I don't think I wanted the added pressure to "live up" to whatever precedence I may be setting for our family. With that said, I was blessed to read what Dave wrote this past week and realized that we have made some pretty drastic changes in our food preparation and consumption and that this is something to celebrate not hide from.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Recently at
the dinner table our son Luke offered the prayer before dinner and surprised me with his words, “Dear God, thank you for this chicken, the farm it came from, and please look after all of the other animals.” In this prayer Luke reminded us of some things we had forgotten.
Our food comes from somewhere.
This may seem like a no-brainer, but with all of the instant “food” so readily available to us, it becomes easy to forget (or even know) where our food comes from.
In being reminded that our food has an origin, we’ve begun asking: “Where does our food come from?” Asking this question has been a bit like opening Pandora’s Box. “Just exactly what kind of plant grows a Twinkie?”, “Do these cookies really come from tree-dwelling elves?”, and “If this apple is labeled, ‘organic’, then what kind of apple is this?… ‘Industrial’?”
Our questions have led us to make some changes in the food we purchase. Each Tuesday Misty stops by Grassfields Farm on her way home from work to pick up milk, eggs, and whatever meat they have available (we started back in January). After our first experience we instantly appreciated the taste and quality of the food but even more have grown to appreciate being able to build a relationship with those who grow/raise our food. Participating in this local farm has reminded us that we are part of a bigger creation and that we have a responsibility (and privilege) to steward what God has made.
I recognize it is in part due to our “affluence” that we have the opportunity/choice to purchase food from a local farm. Not everyone has the means of transportation to connect them to locally grown food (we live in a part of the country where farms are still common, unlike many of our cities which have become “food deserts”). Further, fresh/clean/whole food is more expensive (a cheeseburger from McD’s is 99 cents, and a head of broccoli costs close to 2 dollars). As a result, we’ve had to make some choices in the food (and amount) we purchase.
Instead of buying 2lbs of beef from the grocery store we purchase only 1 lb. at the same price from the farm. In buying less food we have begun to look at what we eat differently. Don’t get me wrong, we have plenty to eat, but having to purchase less food means that we cannot afford to think of food in terms of “mindless consumption”, instead food, animals, and the farms they come from become a “gift”.
Another gift of purchasing local food has meant that we’ve had more prep-time in preparing meals. At first this may sound more like a chore (we are all busy with the hurriedness of life) however, purchasing ingredients to make our meals has caused us to slow down. Lilly, peeling carrots for dinner, has developed a deeper appreciation for the food we eat and Caleb, chopping lettuce for salads, has caused him to be more curious about eating “leafy greens”. Instead of Mom “heating up dinner” our meals have become a family affair, full of conversation and meaning.
Is this something we do each night? No. We still have evenings where soccer games and gymnastics cause us to eat on the run, but those times are becoming less and less. We may never be able to fully live off of locally grown food however our hope is that as we do our part to steward the food resources in front of us we are able to create better, more intimate connections with our community, our kids, and our Creator.
That is something to be thankful for.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
well said dave!!
it has been FOREVER since i last blogged. i don't have any real excuse except that life is busy. but, whose isn't? so, in true "misty" form i thought i would just dive back in with this photo.
we have taken this same picture since caleb was in kindergarten - how fast time goes by!
luke started 3rd grade this year. he was the most nervous out of the bunch in the morning but came home with nothing but excitement in his voice for the upcoming year. i am so proud of him and how hard he has worked over the summer to be as ready as he could be for the upcoming school year.
caleb is in the fifth grade. he likes to remind me that in only four short years he will be a freshman in highschool. he loves being back at school with his friends and can't wait for the challenges that come with being a fifth grader.
sweet lilly jane started 2nd grade. as many of you know this was a hard decision over the last year - not knowing whether we should move her on or keep her back to repeat 1st grade. as dave and i pulled away after dropping them off on their second day we both knew we made the right choice to move her on. she has progressed by leaps and bounds academically over the course of the summer and she was probably the most excited out of all the kids about going back to school and learning new things. i am so proud of her!
so, i had the very fun opportunity to record with gabe davidson (aka: brian leibrandt). we did a cover of "hallelujah" together and i sang back up on several of his other songs. although i sing often in the shower, church and around the house i don't do a lot of recording - so, i had to share! click here to listen/buy the cd "less is more" - gabe did a great job!!
i am a big fan of getting as much done today as you can in anticipation of tomorrow. a number of years ago i was introduced to flylady and our families household changed dramatically as a result. some of her main points is to shine your sink before bed, get dressed and tie your shoes in the morning and do whatever you can to prepare for tomorrow, today. some of the other things we have enlisted into our household routine based of the flylady regimen is to clean using a timer (15 mins. max per room), instead of cleaning we call it "house blessing", creating and following a weekly menu. i am thankful for a husband and kids (note pic of kids packing their lunches for tomorrow) that is very helpful in maintaining our household with me and for the help flylady has given me over the years to let go of the perfection of maintaining a household. in it i have found peace and feel as though i am able to actually "live" in our home and enjoy our household to the fullest - or at least most days :)
lilly asked me today to count how many days until florida. we looked at the calendar and counted...67 days! this year will be our fifth year heading to our favorite getaway, don pedro island, for two weeks. we have some dear friends who have opened their condo to us over the years and we have enjoyed it to its fullest. these trips and memories remind me how important vacations as a family are. sometimes i can't believe how much the kids remember from our times and how much they love remembering every trip.
i see a counselor. i actually have an appointment tomorrow morning with jodi boyd at westshore integrative health. therapy/counseling has been an amazing journey for me and i am so thankful to have the opportunity and insurance coverage which allows me to see her and share my heart every other week. my road to ongoing counseling began as a quest to "fix" my insomnia when the traditional route of medical care wasn't working. now, over a year later, i can't help but look at counseling as a necessity for the well being of my mind, heart and soul. i have found it to be a safe and unapologetic place for me to just "be" and learn how to empower and love myself enough to move beyond my own anxieties and live life to the full potential that God created me to. i love to talk about my experiences with counseling and am very open about the fact that i see someone and have encouraged many a friend to at least consider seeing someone. out of curiousity, what are your thoughts on counseling/therapy? why do you think there is, at times, such a negative stigma with the idea of seeing someone about the way you feel?
