Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved. Psalm 62:1-2

The kids are at church camp this week, and I'm staying busy while they're gone. I'm going to take a break from blogging for a few days. Enjoy your week! :)

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes (or sweet 'taters as we say in the South) are one of my favorite kinds of vegetables. You can use them in countless dishes, and they have a high nutritional value and are loaded with antioxidants. I like them best baked and then smothered with butter and cinnamon sugar. So much for all that nutritional value.:) Lately I've been using sweet potatoes to make fries. They're healthier than the traditional fry, and kids love 'em! Your kitchen will smell so good after you've cooked up a batch. Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries 4 sweet potatoes 1 Tbs. brown sugar 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 2 Tbs. olive oil Start off by washing the potatoes, then slice them in half lengthwise and around the middle, then in quarters. If you soak the slices in cold water for about 30 minutes and then pat them dry you'll have crispier fries in the end. Most of the time I just skip this step. Toss the potatoes with oil, mix in the spices, and they're ready for the oven. Cook for 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven, then flip them over and cook for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Back with a splash

Mickey's home again, and I'm so very glad! Soon after his arrival he hit the pool and swam until he was waterlogged. He's been getting up before six each morning to help his Papa on the ranch, so today he was happy to be able to sleep in. I walked into the kitchen and noticed him cleaning up after himself at breakfast. My dad likes things neat and clean, and I think Mickey picked up on some of that while he was away. Hopefully it will stick.:) The reunion with his sisters was sweet, but the harmony was short-lived. They haven't forgotten how to squabble. :)

My boy has been been gone to his Papa's house for eleven days, and I'm missing him something fierce! Good thing he's coming home today. I can't wait to see him! I'm off to get his room spic-and-span, put some clean sheets on his bed, and sneak all the broken toys out of his room. :)

The Simple Woman's Daybook~ 6.8.09

FOR TODAY~ June 8, 2009... Outside my window...it's been sunny most of the morning, but I see some rain clouds forming in the distance. I am thinking...that I'm going to have my hands full with my new group of girls in Sunday school. Yesterday was Promotion Sunday, and I welcomed 31 upcoming seventh graders into my class. I am thankful for...afternoon rain showers. From the learning rooms...we're taking a break right now and will pick up with some review work in a couple of weeks. From the kitchen...baked salmon, brown rice, and a salad from the garden. I am wearing...a coral shirt and navy skirt. I am creating...a list of things that the kids will need for camp next week. Three kids going at one time--I'm not sure I can handle it! I am reading...in my Bible: I Kings and Mark; just for fun: Alexandra Stoddard's Living Beautifully Together. I am hoping...that the little girls will take a short nap this afternoon. They stayed up way too late last night. I am hearing...Bookworm playing classical hymns on the piano. Around the house...vacuuming, ironing hubby's dress shirts, and straightening the attic. One of my favorite things...taking a walk through the neighborhood in the early morning quiet. A few plans for the rest of the week...storytime at the library, swimming in the pool, and a playdate with friends. Here is picture thought I am sharing...~Bookworm and her piano teacher at the spring recital~~~~oOo~~~Thank you for reading my Daybook! You can read more entries at The Simple Woman.

Saturday Randomness

It's been a nice, relaxing day here in the land of sun-then rain-then sun-then rain again. This morning I hit the road bright and early to check out a yard sale at a local church. Have you ever been to one of those church yard sales where you find all kinds of hidden treasures? Well, this was not one of those yard sales. It was packed, though, as church yard sales tend to be. The poor volunteers couldn't even get all of the stuff out on tables. Too much stuff and too many people for me! I drove back home and fixed scrambled eggs and whole wheat bagels for breakfast for me and my hubby. Saturday is a "free" breakfast day for the kids. If we have any unhealthy breakfast food in the house (a.k.a. Pop Tarts), they're welcome to have them. After breakfast I went to the grocery store to do my weekly shopping. I don't usually go on Saturday because it's just too packed, but today I went to a store in another town that wasn't quite so bad. Hubby grilled shrimp kabobs for lunch, and they were delicious! He and the kids spent some time playing in the pool while I took a cat nap. A blissful afternoon. :) This evening we attended the wedding ceremony of a sweet young couple. The bride was radiant, and the groom's smile as she walked down the aisle toward him couldn't have been bigger. After the wedding we stopped by the school cafeteria to pick up some spaghetti dinners from the volleyball team's fundraiser dinner, so I didn't have to cook. Instead of showing you pictures from my easy-going Saturday I'm going to share some random ones taken recently. Hope you all have a blessed Lord's Day on Sunday!:) ~~~oOo~~~ Recently we went with some friends of ours to McD's. Not just any McD's--it has the biggest McD's playland in the world. Two families with eleven kids under the age of eleven. Yes, we got many stares. Only in Orlando can you watch a man wrestle an alligator while you're eating a Big Mac. One of the ladies in our church made this amazing cake for our high school graduates. The cake rotated to display all of the graduates' photographs. I thought that was so neat! One afternoon my sweet tooth was screaming nicely calling my name. Since I've been trying to eat better lately, I thought a good compromise would be to add a few handfuls of chocolate chips to the banana bread batter. The bread turned out fine, but I think I prefer it without the chocolate chips.

Summer is here

School is now out for the summer, and we're enjoying a break in our routine. The last few days have been spent sleeping in and relaxing. The girls and I have been spending quite a bit of time in the pool. Our daily afternoon rain showers have disappeared this week, so we've been getting plenty of sun. We slather on the sunscreen as we try to keep the freckles from multiplying. The water temp. is over 80 degrees. Are you jealous? :) Mickey is out of town visiting his Papa for a few days. He's become a master at opening all the different gates on the ranch and is a big helper in my dad's garden, too. He's not bored, not with a couple of thousand head of cattle to keep him occupied. I don't think he's feeling homesick yet, but he is missing his sisters. Last night as we were saying our goodbyes on the phone he said, "Tell the girls I love them." He's such a sweet boy. My favorite redhead sitting with his favorite redhead.