I'll set the scene for you-- it's a midsummer night, the kind that's not too sticky and feels way too comfortable for it to be the middle of July. The girls and I had just finished 'putting up corn' with the rest of the farm wives at my in-laws home located at the main farm. We were all sticky from spending our day husking corn, cutting corn and bagging corn. It was turning into a late night for the girls, an hour past bedtime- but as I'm trying to hurry them into my SUV to take them home and scrub them down they see my husband pull into the driveway and up to the barn. It was his night to do 'barn check'. Well, off they go, one barefoot and wearing a dress and the other one in muck boots that were a size too big. As I reach the barn just a few strides behind them, the lights in the maternity pen and office are all turned on and shining against the dark sky. I stop and look around to see what it is that has made these two balls of energy so quiet and so still. Well, sure enough, there is my husband in the pen, right in the middle of delivering a newborn baby calf. They are so intrigued, so captivated and once they were in that moment it was impossible to pull them away.


I quickly knew that our already long day was going to stretch on into the night. After the calf was safely delivered they just stood there and watched as the mama took care of her, washing her, nudging her and standing guard. Meanwhile, Aaron was following his post-delivery protocol and getting everything ready for the calf, he milked the mama, tended to her needs and sent her on her way once she was no longer interested. After a few minutes, he joins us again and plants himself in the soft sawdust with the girls, armed with two bottles in his hands. He starts to teach them how to feed the calf. Needless to say, they were living their best life that night, the minutes passed by, the hours seem to fly by unnoticed and soon after the calf was settled into her stall we all made our 30-second drive home over the hill. Everyone was bathed and clothed and tucked in all while recounting every single second of that night, giggling, smiling and asking Aaron about a million and ten questions. I honestly can't recall, in my entire life, many more nights that were more fulfilling than that one. I still look at this image and think of those after dusk moments, I can still feel the cool steel of the gates under my arms as I stood at the birthing pen watching the four of them, I can feel that cool breeze and I can still smell the corn that we were all plastered in.


This photo is one that I've always wanted to do something special with but the quality of it was never that great, it's slightly grainy and gets distorted when blown up. Then, in walks Melissa Munger, an extremely talented and self-taught artist from Alabama. She has a service where people send her pictures of sweet and special moments that aren't quite hangable yet, the image is either blurry, the coloring is wrong or you would like something unsightly removed from the image, she then creates something that you would be proud to display.

Melissa Munger - Portraits & Miniatures


The original photograph:

We're starting to get dangerously close to cold and flu season, especially with the temperature fluctuation recently I've noticed cold starting to be passed around. We chose every year to vaccinate the girls with the flu shot, but Aaron and I usually don't get one for ourselves. Our household manages to stay pretty healthy for the most part but I'm one to force, yes force everyone in the house to stay on a strict vitamin regime, drink warm water with honey and lemon regularly, diffuse air purifying oils and last year I added Elderberry Syrup to my wellness arsenal. This past January right before Naomi arrived we all had a month-long cold, I was desperate, 145 (that what it felt like) months pregnant and searching the shelves for whatever I could find to make our clan better before the baby's arrival. I spotted a bottle of elderberry syrup, read the back and bought that pricey little 4-ounce bottle. I liked the changes I saw in my health and the length of that cold, the girls liked the taste and we were all better quickly. I did some research on elderberry and I was impressed and sad that I haven't known about it before! Now, elderberry from the store is SO expensive and there's no one around here selling in ready-made and homemade so when I saw a relative post that she had made her own and I knew that it was something that I needed to try! The recipe is easy enough and you can find all of your ingredients online or in the store. Plus I'm saving $$$ buy making this on my own. Side note: I'm a firm believer in modern medicine but there are times that colds don't call for antibiotics or over the counter options do not help, in those situations, I like to use natural options to help ease symptoms and improve my family's health.

"Elderberry might affect the immune system. Elderberry seems to have activity against cold viruses including the flu, and might reduce inflammation." - WebMD

*And if you want to get scientific: In the most compelling study, a randomized trial of 60 patients aged 18-54 suffering from flu symptoms for 48 hours or less received 15 ml (3 teaspoons) of elderberry syrup or a placebo 4x per day for five days. Researchers observed that “Symptoms were relieved on average 4 days earlier and use of rescue medication was significantly less in those receiving elderberry extract compared with placebo”.{LINK HERE for the .gov site with the information on that study.}

Also, not only do we take the syrup when there is something brewing in our bodies but we also take it a hand full of times a week as a preventive measure. I'll list the ingredients and instructions below if you want to give it a try. The syrup can last up to six months in the fridge, stored in an airtight container, preferably a glass one. 

I also linked up the places where I found my dried berries & other items:

{recipe adapted from Wellness Mama}

Squash! I love it, all kinds, butternut, spaghetti, acorn, summer squash, zucchini, you name it... My kids have become pros at picking out the vegetables in their meals, you will often here Ava say "Ugh, Mom! Now I have to pick out this lettuce stuff!" to anything that is green like spinach. Unless I serve them peas, they'll eat peas like crazy and for that, I am truly thankful. Last summer and fall I started experimenting with squash as a lower carb option for Aaron and I and surprisingly all of the dishes have been going over extremely well with the girls, their favorite is the Spaghetti Squash.


[1.]  Butternut Squash Alfredo Penne Skillet with Spinach

I mean, if it looks like mac and cheese they will eat it, they had no idea that this recipe had butternut squash in it, I mean I could hardly tell myself! Hashtag, mom win! Also, it's ready in 30 minutes with super-basic ingredients.

Ingredients

2 cups 1-in cubed butternut squash

3 cups fresh spinach, destemmed and roughly chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1-1/2 cups milk

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

12 oz cooked penne pasta

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F. Place butternut squash on greased baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over both and season with salt and pepper. 

Roast butternut squash for 20 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter then saute garlic in butter 1 minute until fragrant. Whisk flour into butter, then slowly whisk in cream and milk until smooth. 

Bring sauce to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg and Parmesan. 

Puree squash in a blender or with an immersion blender. Pour into the mixture and whisk to combine until completely smooth. Stir cooked pasta and spinach into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle parsley on top. Enjoy!


[2.] CHEESY GARLIC PARMESAN SPINACH SPAGHETTI SQUASH

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash
2.5 TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp olive or avocado oil
5 oz fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 TBSP cream cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for topping
salt and pepper, to taste
grated or sliced mozzarella for topping, to taste

Instructions
First cut Spaghetti squash in half (you can microwave for about 3 mins to soften for an easier cut). Next grab a lipped baking sheet or a rimmed baking dish.
Rub the cut side of the squash with a teeny bit of olive oil.
Place inside a baking dish or atop rimmed baking sheet and roast face-down for about 40 minutes, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork. Cooking time will vary a bit depending on the size of your squash, and larger squash will need to roast a bit longer to tenderize. Once ready, the once rock-hard exterior of the squash will be visibly softened with a tender interior.
While the squash roasts, start on the sauce.
In a medium pot or skillet, bring a drizzle of olive oil to medium-high heat and sauté garlic until fragrant.
Next add the spinach and stir until wilted. Add your cream, cream cheese and parmesan cheese and stir well.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.
Once squash is done roasting, allow to cool until easily handled or pop on an oven mit and use a fork to separate and fluff the strands of spaghetti squash.
Pour your sauce over each squash boat, stir to mix, and top with a little mozzarella cheese and additional parm cheese, if desired.
Bake at 350 degrees F for around 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
For a golden cheesy topping, flip your oven to broil on high for just a minute or two until lightly browned. Serve hot while the cheese is gooey!!


[3.] Zucchini Pizza Boats
The best part about this recipe is my little kitchen helpers can lend a hand in the creation of the boats.

 several small zucchinis
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic , finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup marinara sauce (I used Classico Four Cheese)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz)
1/3 cup finely shredded parmesan cheese (1.4 oz)
1/2 cup mini pepperoni slices
2 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Cut each zucchini into halves through the length (if they don't lie flat trim a thin portion from bottoms so that they will lie mostly flat. I only had to do this with one of them). Pat insides dry with paper towels (cut portion). Align on prepared baking sheet. In a bowl, stir together olive oil and garlic then brush lightly over tops of zucchini. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste then brush a slightly heaping 1 Tbsp marinara sauce over each zucchini, leaving a small rim near edges uncoated. Sprinkle tops evenly with mozzarella cheese then with parmesan cheese. Top with pepperoni slices (placing them more near centers as the cheese will melt and spread). Bake in preheated oven 12 - 18 minutes (bake time will vary depending on how thick your zucchini are and how crisp/tender you want them).
Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped fresh oregano. Serve warm.


Challenge: Try a new recipe this week and enjoy the crisp change in weather.