Summer Corn Salad

For many years, our friends, John and Emily have blessed us with ears of fresh corn right off their farm here in southern California. There's nothing like it! Sometimes we eat it right off the cob, other times we shave it off and make this refreshing Summer Corn Salad.

2 cups corn, fresh (or frozen/thawed or canned)
1 cup tomatoes, fresh & diced
1 cup mozarella, fresh & diced
4 basil leaves, chopped
1-2 Tablespoons Italian salad dressing

1. Combine all ingredients in a pretty serving bowl.
2. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

* We like using cherry, grape, or sugar plum tomatoes...just slicing them in half.
** Variation: Sometimes we omit the dressing and just opt for a little salt and pepper.

Watching Ava

Ava and her family visited our area from Texas last March.


Tiffani was a Ball Girl at the 2008 Pacific Life Open Tennis Tournament in Indian Wells, CA.



Tiffani: "I love my cousin, Ava!



I was so excited to babysit her a couple times during their visit."

.

Ava pushed Tyler Kitty in his buggy and chatted with him as we strolled the neighborhood. She was soooooo cute!

Ava became a big sister last month!

Traci: Before Tiffani was old enough to babysit in other families' homes, she babysat in our home under my guidance. She has always loved little ones and she is so blessed by the families for whom she cares. She's taken 2 babysitting courses now, the latest one included 12-hour CPR & First Aid certification. Tiffani and a couple of her friends started babysitting within the past year. What wonderful skills they're learning!

Mothers & Daughters...Sisters & Friends II

Sarah & Michelle

More special Mother-Daughter pictures from the Christmas Tea in December 2007.

(I was only allowed to upload 5 pictures on the July 21, 2008 posting.)

Their Young Ladies Book Discussion Club planned and prepared the entire Tea from the table setting to all the dishes and desserts. Gorgeous!

A Love Letter

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love is patient,

love is kind

and is not jealous;

love does not brag

and is not arrogant,

5 does not act unbecomingly;

it does not seek its own,

is not provoked,

does not take into account a wrong suffered,

[keeps no record of wrongs]

6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness,

but rejoices with the truth;

7 bears all things,

believes all things,

hopes all things,

endures all things.



8 Love never fails

Raspberry Picking

It's time for Raspberry picking!

We went to Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, CA last September. Arriving late in the season, it was like a scavenger hunt finding the berries, but it was really fun!

Grammy went with us...she took this picture...Tiffani's holding her pint of berries.

We're hoping to get there a little earlier in the season this year! I just looked at their website and saw that it's taking about 6 minutes to fill a pint basket right now...it took us about 45 minutes last year.

Quote of the Day:

You are your child's keeper until she's mature enough to keep herself.

~ Laura Ramirez

Lindsey

Tears filled my eyes this morning when I read the news...

From CarePages:
"God's grace was present with the Sowles family last night when His call came for Lindsey to join Him forever in heaven. At 10:15PM, July 24th, God chose to open heaven's door for Lindsey to walk through in peace. Lindsey was surrounded by her mom, dad, sister, brother, and her fiancé John and a small gathering of very close friends. Lindsey will be greatly missed by all of us and by everyone she ever welcomed into her life which was everyone she ever met. Although life will not be the same without her, she is already at work preparing heaven (her new home) for future celebrations of homecomings for all of us.



In closing I want to share a little something that I read in a book entitled Courage, "He called me to the cliff and I said no, He called me again and I said no, He called me a third time and I said yes, He pushed me off and I flew." Lindsey is flying now, no more pain, tears, or suffering, her hair is long and full, her beautiful brown eyes sparkle with life and happiness, and her smile is letting everyone know that it's ok and she loves us all. Celebrate Lindsey's life and the joy she brought into it, that is what she would want! God bless each of you and please continue to read her care page as we will post the times and dates of her services once we know them. With love from the Sowles and Lindell families!!"

* * * * *

Traci: I was asked last April to begin praying for Lindsey. Our comfort, as a close family friend said, is that she is now "truly healed." I will be praying for her family and friends. It sounds like she was a lovely, young lady who blessed all who knew her.

The Desert Sun article

Corn Casserole

We love cooking together...here's one of our favorite Corn Recipes. It's very tasty and light...perfect as a side dish, for lunch with a salad, or pour chili over the top.

Most corn casseroles have eggs, but we've found this one perfect for families with children who have egg allergies.



1 15 oz. can Corn, drained (about 2 cups fresh)
1 15 oz. can Cream-style corn
1 cup Sour cream
8 oz. pkg Corn muffin mix
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) Butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients except the butter.
3. Place the butter in an 8x8 baking dish. Rotate dish, so it is well-coated with butter.
4. Pour excess butter in with the other 4 ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour entire mixture into the baking dish. Bake for 50 minutes.
6. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*To control the amount of salt in the casserole, we use unsalted butter and unsalted cream corn. Play with it and see what tastes best to you.

** Inspired by one of our favorite cooking hostesses, Paula Deen. Paula Deen's original recipe used a whole stick of butter & a topping of cheddar cheese.

Email Us!

We're inviting Mothers and Daughters everywhere to join us in celebrating fun, healthy, and loving relationships. If you have special activities, hobbies, outings, books, tips, recipes, or other good stuff you'd like to share, please leave a Comment OR email them to:

tmdBLOG2@Gmail.com

* Painting: "Flowers for Mother" by Johanna Bohoy

How to Post a Comment

I "borrowed" these instructions from my friend, Sandra, who hosts her own wonderful blog...maybe I can interview her for a future entry! If you're not sure how to post a comment on The Mother-Daughter Blog, she walks you through the process step-by-simple-step below.

Sandra:
As with all tech stuff, you just need to get your feet wet and try. It is super easy! I promise, here you go....

Step 1
After reading a post (blog talk for 'article'), simply click on the comments header under any posting. The site will take you to the comment posting page. Type in your Comment.

Step 2
Scroll down. Now, type in the letters in the box under "Word Verification" that you see on your screen--it kinda looks a puzzle. This is important because it prevents spamming. If you can't read it, just type in something--if it is not right it will provide another letter sequence. Do it again, if necessary (sometimes those letters are hard to read).

Step 3
Select an "Identity" by clicking on one of the bubble options...
1. If you have a gmail.com account, you can log-in and use that.
2. You can click the bubble next to "Name/URL" ~ a box for your name will appear ~ then type in the name you want displayed. (You may also type in your own blog address or other website...just leave URL blank if you have nothing to type in there.)
3. You can click the bubble next to "Anonymous" ~ the Display Name will be "Anonymous"

Step 4
Click on "Publish Comment!" Your done!!! It's so easy, see!

You may Comment on any post (article), even those that are months old. If you still have questions, please email TMDblog2@gmail.com
We look forward to reading your comments!!!

Mothers & Daughters...Sisters & Friends

Leslie & Hannah

Tiffani & Traci

Mother-Daughter pictures of some of our special mothers and daughters...friends and sisters. These were taken at a Christmas Tea in our home in December 2007.

Palm Springs Tramway

Out here in the California desert, when the temperature skyrockets to 110+, our family starts thinking about escaping up the Palm Springs Tramway. The Summer Pass is a real bargain.





Jeff's out of town this weekend for biz, so the two of us packed our lunch & a couple books then set out for the tram. Once up the tram, we headed to our favorite secluded spot, nibbled our lunch, and read for awhile. We explored new territory and found a trail that we didn't even know existed...and we've been visiting there for years! We chatted with some other hikers as our paths crossed ~ and while we sat aside the trail for a snack.

Oh yeah! And we smelled the trees...that's right! Stuck our noses right into the bark. There's no mistaking the aroma of the Jeffrey Pines! It's resin smells like vanilla or butterscotch. Everywhere, hikers are sniffing the trees.

Quote of the Day:

If I was a bug, I'd want to live in a Jeffrey Pine.

~ Tiffani

Our Family

Mother-Daughter relationships can be enhanced by the care of a loving husband and daddy...we know ours is.

This family picture was taken at Tiffani's 8th grade graduation in June 2007.

Special Love

The love between mothers and daughters is so special at any age. A mother takes her daughter under her wing and teaches her how to be a woman. A daughter reminds a mother about the importance of each stage of life.

Mothers, how do you pass life lessons on to your daughter? What are your hopes for her? How do you love her?

Daughters, how do you love and care for your mother? What does she do or say that makes you feel loved? How do you enjoy spending time with her?

* Painting: "Gathering Memories ~ Mother & Child" by Laurie Justus Pace

Quote of the Day:

The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children.

~ Elaine Heffner