Life in Maine

My husband and I taught for a year in Virginia just outside of Washington D.C. My husband had the ultimate goal at that point of being in the pastorate, so after a year of teaching, he chose to look for an assistant pastorate.

The Lord allowed us to find a church in a small town in Maine. As most people who hear about Maine, we envisioned the beautiful lighthouses, coastline, and of course the Lobstah. We enjoyed all of these. We lived in a parsonage next to the church, and we made it our home - our 3rd home.

With every place we lived, I tried to adapt what we had to the style of the home. In Maine, we lived in a very old farmhouse. I loved the space, and I enjoyed making it home.

We loved having land that we could make our own as well. My husband and I enjoyed having a beautiful garden during the first year that we were there.

We made a point to visit several lighthouses while in Maine. The Portland Head Light is one of the beautiful ones that is often photographed.

Everyone assumes that winter in Maine is the coldest possible and very snowy. Where we lived, however, although there was one winter while there when we got a great deal of snow, the temperature was not all that different from living in other northern states. One of the things I liked about Maine in the winter though is that the sky often stayed blue.

Our experiences in Maine were so varied. We learned a great deal during our time there. We gave birth to our second son. That was the most difficult time in our lives, but I'm thankful that we were in Maine when it happened. God always has a purpose. If you would like to read more about our son Trenton, you can read another of my blogs: morethanastatisticforhim.blogspot.com

Just as I'm thankful for our first two homes, I'm thankful that I was able to make this farmhouse in South Gardiner, Maine our home as well.

Chicken-Spinach Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a comfort food that I did not grow up enjoying. It wasn't a family favorite, so we never really had it much. When I got married, I tried a few inventive ways of making meatloaf. This Chicken-Spinach meatloaf is my most recent invention. It is a winner.


1 lb Ground Chicken
1 pkg frozen spinach (use 1/2 if prefer less)
2 t. onion powder
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 pkg. cornbread stuffing mix
2 eggs
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
2 T. olive oil

Mix ground chicken, thawed spinach, seasonings, stuffing mix, eggs, and pour olive oil equally over loaves. Put in mini loaf pans, muffin pans, or two regular sized  loaf pans. The time cooked will depend on what pan you use. I used the mini loaf pans, and these took around 30 minutes at 375.  Ketchup is a good topping for this meatloaf.

Our Second Home Sweet Home

Lakeridge Home

Dining Room

After my husband graduated from grad school, we moved out of our tiny two room apartment and headed for the big city. We moved to Lakeridge, VA which is just outside of Washington D.C. My husband and I both taught in a Christian school there. We gave birth to our first son there as well.

This home was also small, but we gained almost 400 square feet, so it's was basically double the size of our first home. Before our move, Ryan had inherited a number of items from his grandmother. It was fun getting to integrate these beautiful pieces into our home.

Each home we live in has its own memories. Many of my memories here surround the birth of our first son, the scare he brought us at at birth and in the first weeks and months, and the joy he brought us throughout that year. 

Living just outside of Washington brought its own set of memories. Being pregnant most of the time that we lived there meant that in I felt like I was having contractions almost every time we went to the city. Yes, the traffic is that bad. The beautiful museums more than made up for the traffic though, and I'm thankful we were able to have that year in this place. 

Living Room

Delicious Dumplings

I've never really been a southern style dumpling person until I made my own the other night. To me they are often a little too mushy and without as much flavor as I would prefer.

Last night I made chicken and rice soup, and I decided to add some dumplings. I used your normal Bisquick mix and followed the measurements for biscuits/dumplings.

Instead of just leaving it at that, I added a good amount of onion powder, basil, and some thyme. It was a great combination.

I dropped them into the pot of soup, and didn't really mess with them. The lid went back on the pot, and when it was time to eat, they were soft on the outside and biscuit-like on the inside. The flavors really enhanced the overall taste of the soup, and it was actually my favorite part of the soup.

So next time you think about chicken and dumplings, don't forget to add a few spices and use a hands-off approach to cooking them. You might become a fan.

Fruity Greek Salad

Using what we have has been my theme lately, although since I love grocery shopping, I still make trips out.

I was looking for something for lunch, and this salad just fell together.

1/2 cucumber peeled and sliced
match stick carrots
fresh chives, chopped
mandarin oranges
strawberries, sliced
feta cheese
Greek vinaigrette
Slivered almonds or or some other crunchy topping would be a great addition as well.

Enjoy!

Remembering our First Home

It seems that everyone has some story associated with their first home.

My husband and I were married the summer before his last year of grad school. Because it was only the two of us and we had limited funds, we looked for someplace small and inexpensive.

We found both in a basement apartment that was not quite 400 square feet. If you included our storage space, it was right around 400. We paid around $300 a month, and that included utilities and cable.

When you entered our little home, you would see a small love seat on the right, a television on the left with the refrigerator next to it, and a small kitchen island in the middle with stools - our kitchen table against a make-shift wall.

It was basically a 2 room apartment, so we needed to split it up in some way. I did some research and found that our best option was a white, fiber glass privacy fence section. We attached it to a pipe on the wall.

If you walked around the privacy fence, you would have seen a small antiqued off-white desk that I used as a sort of bedside table, then our bed was right there. At the foot of the bed was very small kitchen sink with a few small cupboards above it, and we had a closet on the other side of the bed. I always said I could never be pregnant in this apartment as I would never be able to fit between the sink and bed.

Room #2 in the space housed our kitchen and bathroom. We had found a small kitchen island, and we used that as a counter top. There was a very small apartment-sized stove, and then not far from this was the microwave in the space. We bought a large shower rod and a large fabric shower curtain. We used this to make the bathroom and kitchen separate. It worked.

We loved our little space. It was just right for what we needed that first year of marriage. Except for one morning waking up to termite larvae all over the floor by our bed, it was a mostly-blissful place to live.

It was just the beginning of a series or spaces that we have been able to turn into a home.