Spring is here and I am so glad. The weather is getting warmer and a few things are blooming, like jasmine and the dogwood trees. Another sign of spring is that we worked out in the garden on Saturday and planted some lettuce. Gardens are so much work, but so worth it. There is nothing like home grown lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, herbs, etc. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up a little more so that we can plant some more.

I am so grateful that spring is here.

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Spring Is Here is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

If you are a regular reader to my blog you know that I have had a busy couple of weeks helping out at my husband’s office. I don’t usually work much at the office. I shop for supplies, help pay some bills, and run errands. But that is it. I have not had much to do with the everyday work for about eight years. So this was something new for me.

The last couple of weeks have been exhausting, but well worth it. I am glad that I had a chance to help out with what needed to be done. I am also glad that I was able to have a glimpse at my husband’s work day.

So often I think stay at home moms, at least I know I do, focus on our day. I know I tend to focus on all that went wrong with me. I complain about being stuck at home, being too busy, having sick kids, and on and on. I tell my husband all about the kids not doing well in math or how I can’t get them to focus. I also talk about the things that the kids did well or what we did that day, but it is all about me and my day. I don’t think we focus enough on what our husband’s do. They work hard and we should be involved, as much as possible, with what is going on with them and their work. We need to focus less on us and more on them.

What I learned this week is that his job is much tougher than mine.

I was reminded that my husband works very hard. He has a tough job. He goes and goes all day. He can make difficult decisions very quickly. He has to and he does it well. I learned how good he is at management and leadership. I learned how much all his patients like him. I learned how really hard he works, and I enjoyed watching him work.

So, because I don’t tell you often enough, thank you Matthew for all you do for us. Thank you for working so hard and being such a great Dr., husband, and dad.

And Happy Birthday!

For more see Gratituesday.

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Gratituesday is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I thought I needed to post something about healthy eating, since I have been posting a bunch of unhealthy recipes. Yes, last week I fixed a lot of unhealthy food but overall I have been trying to cook healthier. I decided it would be a good time to combine my Kitchen Tip with GratiTuesday.

One of the things that I have struggled with in trying to cook healthier is baking with whole wheat. I have had trouble incorporating it into things. I was not happy with the results and neither was my family. I could get by with using 1/4 to 1/2 whole wheat in things, but more than that I would get a lot of complaints. But I knew I needed to add more whole wheat into our diet, after all the goal was, and is, to help improve my daughter’s health problems. (If you are new to my blog my 8 year old daughter has had problems with severe asthma over the last year)

I have done a lot of research on the different types of whole wheat, like regular whole wheat versus stone ground versus home ground. In researching the different types of whole wheat flour I realized that the healthiest and most nutrient packed was the home ground whole wheat. Not only was is healthier but most people claimed it gave you much better results in your products by using fresh ground whole wheat.

My husband and I decided that we thought it was worth buying a home wheat grinder. I am so grateful we were able to purchase one of these.

I love it. I have been amazed at the difference it makes in baking. Home ground whole wheat is so much better. I can now use 100% whole wheat in many recipes without getting complaints. If I do not use 100% whole wheat, I can use at least part whole wheat without anyone noticing. I have never been able to do this before. I love my wheat grinder. Yes, it takes an extra step in baking things but I think it is worth it.

I was able to find a local or semi local, it is at least in state, source for wheat berries. This will make it much cheaper than ordering them. Shipping can get very expensive on wheat.

I know this is not a purchase most people can or want to make. A nutrimill is expensive but for us at this time we feel it is worth it. If you would have asked me a year ago if I would ever be one of those people who grind their own wheat, I would have laughed. I never had any thoughts of ever doing that. But things have changed and now I have become one of those people that grinds their own wheat.

Our main goal in eating healthier has been my daughter. The changes we have made in our diet like cutting out processed foods and eating whole wheat, along with cutting out almost all chemical cleaning and bath products, has worked. My daughter is much healthier this winter. We have been able to cut back on her medicines and she is doing very well. I am so grateful that her health has improved and the small sacrifices we have had to make have been worth it.

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Wheat Grinder is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Today I am grateful to have a six year old boy. Let me explain one reason why.

My husband has been really busy lately. He has not had time to get much done around the house and property. We got rid of the last of this years hogs a few weeks ago. I now have a freezer full of pork, which I am very thankful for. But there are a few jobs that need to be done to clean up after the hogs. One of them is cleaning out the hog pen.

You can imagine how fun this job is. I was really hoping that my husband would have time to get to it, but he hasn’t. I knew this job needed done, so I decided that my son and I would tackle it, or at least start the job, this morning. We needed to clean the “stuff” out of the pen, and I wanted to spread it on the garden to help fertilize it for next year. I decided that I would let my son skip math in order to help me. I thought it would be a good lesson in life and work. You know, tackling even the worse jobs. I was trying to put at least some school into this project. He needed a lesson in tackling the jobs we don’t like to do. We need to do those jobs as much as we need to do the ones we like. At least this is what I was trying to convince myself of. It turns out my son did not need convincing or a lesson.

We got everything we needed for the job. I told my son to get a shovel and his wagon. I thought filling up his wagon would be a good idea. This way he could do a section all by himself. He got his stuff, including his work gloves, and we set off. I could tell right off that he thought this was going to be a fun “project”. But, I figured that would wear off soon, and guess what, it didn’t.

I was trying to “joyfully” clean out the hog pen. Let just say that I was struggling a little with this, especially after I had been at it for a while. As I was struggling with being “joyful,” my son starts to explain to me how sorry he felt for his sisters because they had to be inside doing math. Yes, he felt sorry for them. I tried to explain to him that they were quite happy to be inside doing math. He did not understand how they could be happy. He would much rather be outside cleaning the hog pen and spreading it on the garden than doing math. He would choose it over math anyday.

This amazed me. Here I was trying to teach him a lesson, and he was enjoying it. I am sure my girls would have helped me do this job, but it would have been with a lot of complaining. As they worked I am sure I would have heard: this smells, this is dirty, this is gross, and on and on. So, I am sure they were glad to get out of this job. My son on the other hand loved it. So much for the lesson on tackling jobs we do not like.

So, today I am thankful for a six year old boy, who loves jobs like cleaning out the hog pen. Aren’t boys great! He now has a new job, but sorry son, tomorrow we will be back to math.

For more thoughts see Gratituesday.

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GratiTuesday is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I am sorry, but I decided to do another non food post. I hope you do not mind. I wanted to participate in Gratituesday today.

I love life in the country. If you have read my blog long I am sure you have realized that. Fall is my favorite time of year in Oklahoma and I especially enjoy fall in the country. I am not a summer person. I grew up in Oregon where people complain when it hits 90 degrees in August. So, 100 degree humid weather just is not my favorite part of living in Oklahoma. But I do love what comes after summer and that is fall. The weather is getting cooler, the bugs are going away, the trees start to change color, and things are being harvested.

We own 43 acres. The only thing we raise is a few hogs. A good portion of our land is field, and we do not raise any animals that use the fields or hay. So. we have someone who cuts our field for hay twice a year. Usually in June and again in the fall. I love the view around our property after the hay has been cut and before they haul it away. I am not sure why I do, but I do. So, for Gratituesday I thought I would share some pictures from around our property that I took last week. I really am grateful for country life.

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Life In The Country is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I am so glad we had a nice summer break. We home school and are going to start school next week. I have a lot to do this week to get ready to start. But in many ways I am glad to be starting back up. We have had a nice summer break with lots of fun and enjoyable times. I like schedule though. I think we need to get back into the routine and schedule of school. Things just seem to go better when we have more structure.

I am grateful for summer. Last May I was so ready for a break from school. Well, actually I was probably ready in February, but by May I was really ready. I need summer break. I know many people home school year round and take a few breaks here and there. I don’t think I could do that. I need those few summer months to regroup my thoughts, organize my house, catch up on things that have been neglected over the school year, and work on any big projects that need done. This summer I did not get all I had to do done, but most of it. Overall it was a good break and I think I am ready to start a new school year again.

For more GratiTuesday see Heavenly Homemaker.

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Summer is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

Last week we had a missionary family with seven kids stay with us. We have had this family stay with us several times. I always enjoy the time with them. They have given so much to serve Christ in a foreign country.

Each time we have had missionary families stay with us it has served as a reminder to us of how easy our life is and how ungrateful we as Americans are. We take so much for granted. This family loves what they do and seem to have adjusted fine to life in another country. But just hearing about their life in a foreign country makes me feel spoiled. The things they have to do in order to do day to day things, are things most of us would never consider. And the items we consider necessary are things people in other countries would consider luxuries.

We complain when a storm causes an electrical outage for a few hours, when we should be grateful to have reliable electricity. We complain about the quality of our water when we should be thankful we have clear running water when we turn on the faucets. We complain about the price of gas but we should be thankful we have a choice of several gas stations on just about any street corner. We complain about the price of produce like melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes, we should be glad we have access to them at all.

We have access to just about anything we could want or need, at stores within thirty minutes of most of us. If we can’t find it at a store, we can order it online and have it delivered within a week. I never really think about what a luxury this is. But it is. We can get just about anything we could want or need anytime we need it. We really are spoiled in America.

Having this family in my home has made me very grateful for those giving up the American lifestyle to serve Christ in other countries. It has also reminded me that I need to be grateful for all I have. I need to stop complaining about things and realize how good life in America really is.

For more GratiTuesday see HeavenlyHomakers.

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GratitTuesday is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

I think we need to remember to be thankful for the little things. So often we don’t realize how good we have it. We complain about things, we get bored with things, we get tired of the same things. For me this happens a lot with food and cooking. I get tired of cooking the same things, I get tired of eating the same things. I like variety and change in my cooking and food.
We plant a garden every year. Each year we plant this zucchini.

I am taking time today to be thankful for zucchini. Do you know why? Because right now I am loving having zucchini. We are eating it raw, in salad, grilled, in breads, and desserts. But in another month or so when I have more zucchini than one family can possibly eat and I am taking zucchini to all my friends, I will be tired of it. I will be asking myself why I even planted zucchini because we always have to much. If I take time now to be thankful for it, which I am, than in a few weeks maybe I will remember how much I enjoyed it earlier on.

I am thankful to have food. I am thankful to be able to grow a garden and enjoy the benefits of it, and yes I am thankful for zucchini!

Thanks Laura for hosting Grati Tuesday!

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GratiTuesday is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

For Grati Tuesday I am thankful for Dr.’s and medical care. My daughter was recently diagnosed with asthma. I have posted about it several times already. She has shown no allergies but is sensitive to chemicals. I am now trying to incorporate more whole grains and healthy eating into our diet.

But what I am thankful for is the fact that the Dr.’s figured it out. It took about 6 months because she had some unusual symptoms. I am so thankful for the medical advances we have today and the help we have to deal with conditions like this. Yes, in general people take to much medicine and do not live a healthy lifestyle. But, when it comes to asthma that it not related to allergies there is not much you can do. Some people just have it and breathing is not an option, it is a necessity. So, I am very grateful to be living in this time in medicine. One hundred years ago people died from asthma, now we can maintain it and live a normal active life. That is what I am thankful for. I am thankful that my daughter is starting to act and play like a normal eight-year old again.

And for those of you who are interested, please read these posts here, here, and here about trying to eat healthier and the changes I have been making because of this diagnosis. I really do not want her or my son to stay on medicines long term. I hope they both can come to a point where they do not need them but in the mean time breathing is not an option.

For more post on gratitude see here.

And I was not trying to copy Laura’s post. I was planning on posting about this last week but did not have time to write about it. Thanks Laura for giving us a chance to stop and be grateful for the little and big things in life!

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Asthma is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.

For my first Gratituesday I wanted to post about lettuce and gardening. We picked our first lettuce from our garden this week. It was actually the first thing we have gotten from our garden this year. So I am thankful for homegrown lettuce and our garden. I am so glad that we have the space for a big garden, but I am also thankful for the knowledge of how to garden. That is because my parents showed me how.

I spent a lot of time during my summers as a kid in the garden or in the berry fields picking berries. We helped plant and then helped weed all summer long. Then we got to enjoy the fresh from the garden food. As a kid I hated working in the garden. I thought it was terrible that I had to help. I also hated working in the berry fields. I made a whole $2 a flat picking strawberries. I thought it was horrible that I had to do it. Now as an adult I am glad my parents made it part of our chores and responsibilities. It taught me so much about what goes into gardening and growing your own food. I wish I had paid more attention.

Now as I garden with my children I hope they will take the knowledge they are learning by helping in the garden and put it to use one day in a garden of their own. After my daughter ate some of the fresh lettuce she said “things we make always taste better then the stores”. This gave me hope that she is already learning to be thankful for all the work you put into growing your own food.

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First Lettuce of theYear is a post from: Lynn's Kitchen Adventures ©2011 LynnsKitchenAdventures - All rights reserved.