Ingredients:

Double Pie Crust

5 CUPS (approx. 3 lbs) of sliced and peeled WHITE PEACHES

1/2 LEMON

1/3 cup FLOUR

2/3 cup SUGAR

GROUND GINGER (to taste)

CINNAMON (to your taste)

1 TBSP butter

Directions:

Lay pie crust in pie plate (mine was 9.5″).   Bake for 12 minutes at 425 degrees. Take out and cool.

Mix the flour/sugar/spice mixture together in a small bowl, set to the side.

Cut and peel WHITE PEACHES, pat dry if they are particularly juicy.

Squeeze 1/2 lemon over the peaches to coat.

Mix peaches with the dry flour mixture until all of the peaches are coated. It should become like a syrup over the peaches, the more you mix together.

Put the syrupy peaches into the pie shell, put divided up tablespoon of butter around the top of the pie filling.

Then cut and criss-cross the second pie crust over the top (or decorate as you like).

Wet the pie crust with water, sprinkle with white sugar (or mix it up with white and brown).  Doing this before cutting and layering may be easier to do.

Bake for 35 minutes (with foil over the edges) in 425 degree oven.

Take off the foil.

Bake 10 minutes uncovered, then turn oven off and let rest in oven. (I only do this if my pie crust isn’t looking like it will burn… otherwise cover it up.)

Let cool for at LEAST 2 hours, so that the pie doesn’t ‘run’ when you slice into it.

I wish I had a slice right now actually (and I had at least 2 slices of pie with lunch!)….

…   it’s that good!

Tonight was my first attempt at the pie (pictures only today, recipe will come soon).

I bought the refrigerated boxed crust (hey! I heard that gasp!) I wanted this pie to be quick and easy, and nothing that would make more of a mess than was already being created with 3 bowls and two little boys who want to “help Mommy”.  haha!       It would have been more eye-appealing, had I realized my pie-plate was 9.5″ diameter, rather than 9″ … that half an inch made a difference for the crust… and I like to have “extra” decorative crust (though I don’t ever eat it, I just think it looks better).

So here are the photos:

Pie Crust- 10 minute headstart

Laced up the top

This pie has an alien defense system

Tuesday: Rain

Wednesday: Rain

Thursday: Cloudy/Rain

And since we’ve been cooped up in our home with the flu-bug which attached itself to Ichi, we decided to go OUT for the day. 

 And by “OUT” I mean we ran errands at Target and Save-Mart, with a nice playground break in between.

Here are some pictures of our time in the last bit of sunshine, while dark clouds hovered and crept into view. Though I wanted these photos to turn out slightly different, I like the outcome.   It’s one thing to picture in your mind how you want a photo to turn out and another to get a 4 year old to cooperate.  haha! 

Autumn has come more rapidly than I anticipated.  Hopefully Spring will come just as quickly!

PERK: paycheck (paying off some debt is good)

DOWNFALL: Feeling exhausted every day.

PERK:  Making friends with new people.

DOWNFALL: Missing out on family time.

And that’s when I focus on all the unexpected benefits of working again….

 MY HUSBAND:

 Makes us dinner (and it’s not BBQ’d _________!!)

 Washes the dishes (YES! ALL of the dishes)

 Helps Ichi with homework

Takes the boys out to the aquarium, a movie, the park and the beach! 

He gets to do all the things he hasn’t been able to do in years (father and son bonding time). 

Though I am sad that my involvement in these areas has been decreasing, for the time being, I’m happy to see my husband have the opportunity to have an increased involvement with the boys.

I’m certain that, as the months wear on, the Lord will accomplish many more works in the hearts of our family- and I’m excited to see what those will be!

the small things...

Can you guess what it was? 

close-up

And now we’re the owners of new down pillows, with WASHABLE cases.  Our old pillows have served us well, but have the battle wounds of 6+ years around two rambunctious boys! 

AND I also found four white cereal bowls, to replace the ones that have chips and dings that we use each day….

AND  I can hardly contain the fact that I found them for 89¢ EACH (bowls, not pillows) !!!

AND even BETTER still….   I paid with CASH and not my CREDIT CARD.  

This was my “fun” for today, picking up a few things for the home that need replacing.  Hope you all had a wonderful start to your week as well!

Need I say more?

I like my new job, enjoy the people I work with (though I am starting to see a bit of “cattiness” between the younger girls).  Everyone closer to 30 seems oblivious to it though, lol !

The people are nice, the atmosphere is so much nicer than a previous job *cough*COFFEESHOP*cough*. 

My boss is nice, the people coming in are fairly nice…  time seems to go by quickly (well, until the last 2 hours anyway).

So I am happy with my new job.  I’m anxious to have a more set schedule though- so that our family can settle into a routine with my working.

My mother-in-law is awesome and is a babysitter for us once (and sometimes twice) a week.  She’s been a blessing to our family in a billion different ways, and if it weren’t for her- I don’t know what we’d do.  Ok, I know what we’d HAVE to do… but I really don’t like that option, lol.  So I am thankful we have loving-willing family around =-)

SO a big THANK YOU! to my Mother in law.  And a BIG THANK YOU to God for meeting and supplying our needs!

Hope everyone is doing well, and enjoying life.  I can see from the blog-o-sphere that everyone is having fun and enjoying the last of their summer weather!  =-)

X’s and O’s from our little speck on earth!

    Generally speaking- I’ve been busy.

I’m grateful for many things, living in the cool and VISITING the heat, is one that I am beginning to appreciate all the more! (literally and figuratively)

I’m also grateful for the life of George Muller, a witness to the Lord. (Almost finished reading a book titled “Answers to Prayer”).

  I stopped during a part of this book (and my life) that spoke about the storm before the calm. And at the time, I was going through such a storm that I was quite certain the boat would sink before the storm lifted. (Sound familiar? See Luke 8:22-26)

I prayed and prayed, and then I SERIOUSLY poured out my heart. 

 My trial felt hard and I felt selfish for even considering it such a trial when compared to what others go through.  But the Lord showed me that I don’t have to be the poorest, the most in need, in the biggest trial, or living the MOST faithful life  in order for Him to love me, to listen to me, consider me, or save me. 

  I believe that’s an important lesson to understand.

I realized a few things through this experience (that I am willing to share):
1. I’m incredible impatient
2. I’m incredibly selfish and spoiled
3. My comfort outweighs many things on my priority list
4. God still loves me even though my list of faults reaches far beyond #3.
5. Answered Prayer is a beautiful gift!

Yes, the Lord knows my needs before I even come to Him! Yet I still pray and pour out my heart to Jesus and know He is listening.

 And, once again, I learned a lesson that showed me the importance of  ”casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you.” [1 Pet 5:7]

I planned on sharing exactly what happened, but at this moment- I couldn’t begin to tell you ALL that the Lord is doing!

Answering prayer? You bet!  Because I’m reading George Muller? haha, no.

My help comes from the Lord. And I will put my trust and faith in the only One who can truly save!  (And boy does He save!!!!)

  Thank you Jesus for all that you have done for me on that cross, and all that you do for me and teach me in my little life… from peanut butter to my salvation- your love for me is great!

“Salt [is] good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.”

 

 These were some pictures I took at CA State Park- Pt Lobos.  I had never seen this before, and wanted to share it with others.  There were dozens of these little “Salt holes” as we climbed some boulders looking for tide-pools.  Each one was uniquely shaped, and forming salt crystals at different rates.  If California still has a park system in another month, I would recommend going to see this, among other wonderful creations, at Point Lobos. 

The thought to look at the lending library table at church, seemed out-of-place as I was running around before service getting things in place and ready for the children’s Sunday school room. I glanced at all the titles, nothing stood out- but I knew I was looking for “something” that was going to help. I saw “The Autobigography of George Muller” and signed it out. I had no idea how much this book would mean to me, and now know that the Lord ABSOLUTELY led me to this book.

I started it Monday morning, and had finished before lunch on Tuesday. It was THAT good.

My faith is refreshed, knowing that the Lord hasn’t left my side even through my own thoughts that perhaps this time, just this once, I had been overlooked. How silly I can be!

I have never had the desire to read an autobiography, and I’m not much of a reader (other than the Word, and occasionally a book every year). But I am anxious to read more about this man of God, and can honestly say I have been blessed by this book and this man’s life.

So- Do I recommend it?
You bet!

Seriously, go read this book right now.

Depression is not my friend. 

To jazz this blog up some:

Today, Ichi is 7 years old!!   I decorated 20 cookies with royal icing for Ichi’s birthday today- well, it’s for his birthday- but his class will enjoy the cookies tomorrow, since their end-of-school party is tomorrow, and the teacher and I agreed that there wasn’t really time today to do cookies for his birthday (there’s alot planned for this minimum day).  So tomorrow there will be iced cookies for the class, along with a little party.  I’m sure it’ll be fun. 

Yesterday we were able to go to Gilroy to purchase a couple of much needed clothing items for Ichi, though we’ll still need to figure out how to buy shoes for him.  Still, he now has a couple of shirts that actually fit and don’t have holes. YAY!   We also went downtown and spent time as a family walking around and enjoying some sunshine.  And we let Ichi open one present early, from my Aunt and Uncle- and so we took a couple of pictures of the kidlets playing with the bubble-wand.  Enjoy some photos of our day: