Planting Peach Trees

     Ever tried to plant a peach tree? There are multiple steps to take to ensure proper planting. 

     You have to think about your climate to determine what time of year to plant the tree, plant them at a certain depth, make sure they have just enough sunlight, but not too much, this and that and that and this. 

    Planting peach trees is a lot like parenting. A child - no matter how many you have be it one or 19 plus, is special in their own way and must be properly nurtured. 

     Since 2003, when I first learned I was pregnant with my daughter, I was determined as we all are at first to the BEST parent possible. I was going to do everything right and never make mistakes, to make sure that she was always happy. Ummmm. Somehow that didn't quite work out. Mistakes, tears, laughter, frustrations, three more kids and lots of years later, I'm not a perfect mom, but I feel like I'm a dang good one - most days.

    I've learned a lot in my parenting. To share some knowledge maybe will help y'all reading this feel a little more confident in your parenting skills. 

     I've learned that having a great partner who will support you through the laughter and the tears, the boo boos and the boogers, the muddy diapers and the fevers, the slamming doors, the one-more-hug-from-mommy (at least four times) before bedtime ----everything is made better by having someone that will laugh with you or hold you as you cry and tell you you're the greatest mom ever. That person, for me, is my husband, James. He works with me to raise these four amazing children and I absolutely could not do it without him. Your partner may be a friend, a sibling, a parent. Whoever it is, thank them for being there for you, even when the going gets tough and that little tree (child) is hard to get rooted (taught) and allowed to grow. 

     I've learned that although I do believe it is important to teach our children about our Creator, for my beliefs being Almighty God, it is not mandatory for them to see the inside of a church building every Sunday. Horrors! I live in the South and just uttered those words? Yes! Why? Because, although I believe in going to church and enjoy going when we do, our lessons to our children should not be only within the walls of a church building and only from 11 AM - 12 PM Sundays. Guidance on growth should be given every single minute of every single day. At home, on the way to school, in the grocery store, playing blocks, coloring - lessons can be given at any time. Sharing, compassion, respect, loyalty - all these are important to make our little trees grow. Turning the other cheek when someone wrongs us and mercy knows my children have witnessed my turning of the other cheek in life and the other and back and forth. I believe in God. I believe in church. The church is the body of Christ. The church can be experienced everywhere. So, when my children, hubby and I are all sick, we'll snuggle up at home and it won't make me a heathen mama. It will make me a mama who shows her children to love God - no matter where you are.

     I've learned that sometimes you're gonna feel like you'd be better off talking to a wall. A brick one at that. I can see you shaking your head in agreement. Now you're looking around, wondering how I can see you. Duh, I'm a Mom! I can see everything. :) This one decides to hit the other one and the one that was hit says in the loudest voice ever, "Don't hit me!" I sigh, knowing that the only reason they have increased the volume of their voice is to MAKE SURE to get the hitter in trouble. We can try to convince the trees to grow the direction we want them to, but they sometimes have a mind of their own and choose to try to go to the side instead of straight up....meaning...use everything as a lesson to teach them how to grow. The tree branches may get a little blemished along the way, but in the long run - the trees (siblings) will realize that they are each other's best friends. 

     I've learned that we can't protect our trees from everything. As much as we want to, our trees' leaves will be bitten and sun burned (problems will arise) and some of the peaches will have spots on them (obstacles in life). Our children will go through things that dang it, as hard as we try, we can't protect them from. Whether it is a angry bee, a hurtful word from a mean kid at school, life-changing events, someone close passing away, a best friend moving away, etc. We can't protect them from everything. The guidance we give them will prepare them to better handle these things, though.

     I've learned that at the end of the day, as you may have seen in my previous posts, a clean house IS important, but it's not THE most important thing. What's important is that we are sure we've watered our trees. That we've made sure they know they're loved and taken care of. There may be times you can write your name in the dust on our coffee table, but our children know, without a shadow of a doubt that we love them and we'll take care of them. Want to balance daily chores and spending time with your kids? Let.them.help. Yep, it won't be done just as you want it. Yep, the towels will be folded a little less perfectly than you'd do them. But they will be spending time with you and they'll remember those times and reenact them with their own kids one day. 

       Yep, raising children is a lot like "raising" a tree. It may not go perfectly, but it doesn't mean it's not right. It doesn't mean you're not a great parent. In fact, don't let ANYONE make you feel that you're not a good parent. You know the group that had a name like bugs...um....hmmm...what's their name? (Just kidding, my siblings!! I know who they are!! My siblings are the biggest Beatles fans, ever. Had to mess with them.) "Can't Buy Me Love". Dang straight. Can't buy your kids' love, no matter how many trips you take, no matter how many clothes are hanging in their closest, the best electronics are on their desk, the shiniest car is in the driveway. Don't get me wrong...those are all GREAT. But, just remember that along with those things, give water (Praise and encouragement), give plenty of sunlight (Fun!! Laughter! Smiles!), give good soil for roots (Strong family connections and good friends), give room to grow. 

    You'll find that you have the most delightful peach trees in all the land. And the world will be an even better place as your children grow up because they will have the confidence from you that they can make a difference. 

    Happy Planting (Parenting)!!

Thanks for reading. 

Karen
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http://www.ehow.com/how_4529756_grow-peaches.html

 

     Our sweet Laine started 4th grade last month, cutie pie Riley started Pre-K, Alex turned 3 months old and Taylor 17 months. I love watching them morph into these amazing people, but at the same time, I wish I could freeze my little peaches and make them stay these ages for a little longer.

     So many times, we face speed bumps in life. We have a hurried, busy schedule. We have stress from work or school. We have to-lists longer than our kids' Christmas wish lists (and ya KNOW that means looooong). We get so busy with plans for the future or worrying about things from the past that we forget to concentrate on the now.

     I wouldn't mind fast forwarding through the laundry and housework and my to-do list, but I want to freeze my time with my husband, children and family and friends. Those are the things that are important in life.

     The times that I find my husband looking at me and he tells me he loves me, the times he comes to sit beside me and watches one of our favorite TV shows or a movie, the times he catches me in a strong embrace as I'm scurrying around taking care of our children.

     The times Laine wants to tell me about her day or wants to share something with me that makes her giggle, the times she wants to play with my hair because she loves how soft it feels to her, the times she gives me a hug or kiss for no reason. The times that Riley wants to hold my hand as I walk them up our driveway to catch the morning school bus, the times he chooses to sit right next me on the couch just to snuggle with me, the times he wants to show me how he's advanced in a game on his tablet or when he does something great and wants to know if I'm proud of him. The times Taylor puckers up to give me kisses or stops playing just to come sit in my lap or hug me, the times he play sneezes or coughs - just to make me laugh, the times he waves and says "hey" or winks. The times Alex smiles from ear to ear just at the sound of our voice, the times he cries for something because it means he depends on me.

     The times my family or friends call, text, email or message me on social media just to let me know they were thinking of me or to share something with me. The times I walk outside to see our beautiful surroundings - the trees, the bunnies hopping to the woods, the frog that makes Laine scream as it jumps too close to her in the driveway, the chickens - yes chickens- that come up to the front door and make Riley and Taylor laugh, every time I take a breath - every single reminder of how precious life is. These are the peaches or times I'd like to freeze. I'd love to make each memory last just a little longer. I put my peaches (memories) in my freezer (heart and mind) and enjoy them over and over again.

     One day, when we are just a memory to others, do you think they'll remember how many loads of laundry we did or how clean our bathrooms were? Do you think they'll remember how many times we did the dishes directly after the dinner table was cleared? Do you think they'll remember how rough of a school day or work day we had? No. They'll remember the frozen peaches. They'll remember who you were and how you made them feel important. They'll remember how you loved them and cherished your time with them.

     Believe me, I understand that we all need clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to eat on and jobs are necessary to pay bills, etc. I'm saying to make time to enjoy the peaches. Enjoy the special moments. Make memories. Don't get so preoccupied with all the other freezer items that you allow your peaches (memories) to get freezer burn (neglected, forgotten about).

    I'm going to go freeze some peaches (spend time with my husband. He's feeding our baby baby boy right now...such a good daddy.). Here's a recipe for ya below.

Thanks for reading,

Karen

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 http://www.food.com/recipe/freezing-peaches-484560

Freezing Peaches

By pammyowl on July 30, 2012

Photo by katew

1 Reviews

• 
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 15 mins
• Yield: 1 quart

About This Recipe

"A good way to freeze instead of can your peaches.From the Ball company."

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons fruit fresh
• 1 quart peach, peeled and sliced

Directions

1. Mix the sugar and fruit fresh together. Gently toss the peaches until coated. Let sit for ten minutes to let the juices develop. Pack in quart freezer bags. Store in freezer for up to a year.

Peach Preserves

     Our baby peach, John Alexander, made his grand entrance May 31st, 2014...just two days before our scheduled c-section. What a joy he is and we are all already so in love with him. 

     It's amazing to see how our three older children react to him. Laine (10) is our little mama, barely wanting to put him down and offering to feed him, change him or hold him - any time he makes even the slightest noise. Riley(4) can't get over the fact that Alex is finally here and says frequently that he's glad Alex is out of my tummy (that makes two of us, baby!!). Taylor (15 months) has finally decided he likes his baby brother and often gives him hugs and kisses. Daddy and Mama are mesmerized and are amazed at this new ingredient to our family's recipe.  

    I was hoping that, this being our last baby, somehow time would go by very slowly, but I'm finding that it goes by even quicker with how busy life is being the mama of four little people. Tomorrow, Alex will be five weeks old. Surely we just had him yesterday? But then we blinked and somehow time fast forwarded five weeks.

     Why is it that when we're young, we're eager for time to pass by quickly so that we can get our driver's license, date, graduate from high school, leave home, etc. But, when we get married and have children, we want time to slow down so that we can relish every minute with them...however, that is when time passes the quickest. 

     Wouldn't it be nice, if like peach preserves, we could place our memories in a jar, seal it tight and put them on a shelf to keep? The laughter of our children, kissing our sweetheart underneath a sky full of fireworks on the Fourth of July, first day of school, graduation, hugs, kisses, birthdays, etc. 

     Since that isn't quite possible, other than tucking them away for safe keeping in our minds, in our photo albums, in our DVD collections, we must make sure to relish every single minute. Leave that bed unmade and snuggle up the babies in it instead. Let your daughter braid your hair instead of being too worried about every strand of hair being perfectly in place. Don't cringe when your son gives you a slobbery or peanut butter and jelly kiss. Enjoy the times your newborn wakes you up all hours of the night and stare at the beautiful creation you've been given. Take interest in something your sweetheart likes - just to spend time together. 

     Enjoy every minute because these moments are what makes up your jar of preserves. These are the ingredients that you will take with you when you leave this world behind. I'd much rather be remembered for the great preserves (memories) made, rather than the amount in my bank account or how large of a house I lived in or how my hair looked. 

     Life is so precious. Stop long enough to enjoy making jars and jars and jars of preserves.

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Enjoy the recipe for Peach Preserves from Allrecipes.com below.

Peach Preserves

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peach-preserves/

Ingredients Edit and Save

Original recipe makes 8 cupsChange Servings

• 12 fresh peaches, pitted and chopped
• 4 1/2 cups white sugar

• 1 (2 ounce) package dry pectin

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Directions

1. Crush 1 cup chopped peaches in the bottom of a large saucepan. Add remaining peaches, and set pan over medium-low heat. Bring to a low boil, and cook for about 20 minutes or until peaches become liquid (my family likes a few bits of peach left) .
2. Pour peaches into a bowl, and then measure 6 cups back into the pan. Add sugar, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Gradually stir in dry pectin, and boil for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat after 1 minute, and transfer to sterilized jars. Process in hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. Let cool, and place on shelf.

Kitchen-Friendly View

• PREP20 mins
• COOK1 hr
• READY IN2 hrs

Footnotes

• When making preserves and jams, select slightly underipe, firm fruit .

Baby Peach

It's hard to believe that our baby peach will be here in 3 weeks, 5 days unless he decides to show up sooner - which my heart and my back wouldn't mind too much. 

When I found out we were expecting our little peach, I have to admit, I was anxious and apprehensive about being the mom of FOUR children. I still get nervous thinking about it, hoping that all will always feel my love and they will not ever feel left out. 

With each kick or hiccup from our little baby peach, though, I'm reminded that God must think I'm pretty good at this mama thing to be entrusting me with another blessing. (He hears me typing and senses it MUST be about him...CONTRACTION!! Ouch!)

Will our baby peach look like his siblings? Red hair like his daddy or blonde hair like me? Will he have our green eyes or his siblings blue eyes? You know, I read that's possible...even though the parents both have green eyes (And James is the first person I've ever seen with eye color identical to mine), the baby can have blue. 

I can't wait to hold him, smell him, kiss him, rub on him and whisper in his ear that Mommy will always love and protect him. I can't wait to be able to hold him close and pat on his little peach fuzz back, calming him when he cries or has the hiccups. I can't wait to see the look on his daddy's face when he sees him for the first time and the look on his siblings' faces as they meet their new brother for the first time. 

This pregnancy, like the others and really like every day, sends me into deep thought about what being a mom is all about. Being a mom isn't about buying everything they ask for and spoiling your children. If it were, wow would mommy hood be so much easier! And so many think that is exactly how to win the heart of a child. 

Being a mom means loving them on good and rough days, it means picking them up and telling them it's okay before you ever touch the heirloom tea cup they accidentally knocked off and broke. It's stopping to hug them or give them a smooch, even when your to-do list is a mile long. It's being woken up in the middle of the night because they've had a bad dream. And realizing that they come to you because in your arms, they feel the safest. It means doing without so that they won't have to. It means showing them love and supporting them, even when you're most tired. 

Being a mom isn't about what you can give them materialistically, although food and clothes are ESSENTIAL! :) It's about what you teach them about love, respect and caring for others. 

I know that our baby peach will have a heart that is full of love because his siblings and parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, etc. and our friends will teach him and love him. 

I can't wait to meet you, our little baby peach. See you soon. I love you so much already!!

In honor of our baby peach's impending arrival, enjoy some peach baby food recipes. 

Hugs,

Karen

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http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/nectarines-peachesbabyfoodrecipes.htm

Pureed Peaches for Baby 

Steam or Bake or Blanch Peaches for Making Baby's Peach Puree

These methods work for nectarines, plums and pears as well. I HIGHLY recommend giving baked peaches a try at least once. You will find they are more tasty when baked. Why not trybaking for all fruits?

Steam Peaches - Method 1 
1. Scrub fruit clean and carve an X into 1 side of the fruit
2. Place X side down in a pan with an inch of water
3. Bring water to a boil and steam until soft and tender
4. Peel skin from fruit and remove pits and/or seeds
5. move to step #6 below

Steam Peaches - Method 2
1. Peel fruit
2. Pit the peach
3. Cut the peach into dices
4. Steam until soft and tender then
5. move to step #6

Bake

1. Halve the fruit, pit and place "open" side down in a pan filled with 1 inch of water
2. Bake at 400F until soft and tender and/or puckering of the skin appears.
3. Peel skin from fruit and remove pits if you did not do so prior to baking (you may also leave the skin on your baked peaches - the skin may simply melt into the fruit.) 
4. move to step #6

"Blanch"

1. Bring 3 or 4 cups of water to a rolling boil
2. Add cleansed peaches or nectarines to the boiling water and boil the fruit for 3-5 minutes
3. Remove fruit to a bowl of cold water, allow to cool for 2 minutes
4. Slip off the skins and then take out the pit
5. move to step #6

Moving to Step 6

6. Reserve any left over water to use for thinning out the fruits
7. Peel off skin if you have not done this already. Place fruit(s) into your choice of appliance for pureeing and begin pureeing.
8. Add the reserved water as necessary to achieve a smooth, thin puree
9. Add cereal (if desired) to thicken up.

 Peeling Fruits & Veggies - It is suggested that fruits and veggies be peeled for those babies under 8 months of age. This allows for easier digestion. If you have always left peels on, then there should be no need to begin peeling. Read more about Peeling Fruits & Veggies

Peach Baby Food Recipes - Peaches & Tapioca
 without yogurt  with Yogurt

½ Cup Water
1/3 Cup Quick-cooking Tapioca
1 Peeled & pitted Peach
½ Cup Vanilla Yogurt

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Gradually add tapioca, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low & cook 5 minutes, continuing to stir constantly. Separately puree the peach & add to the mixture. Blend tapioca with yogurt & peach.

Peachy Bananas  

1 peeled & pitted Peach
1/2 ripe banana - peeled

Steam peach if needed and then mash it
Mash the peeled banana into the peach
Puree if needed for your baby's texture preferences.

Ice Cream! Get Your Peach Ice Cream!

     Ice cream....One of my favorite treats for the Summertime, Wintertime, Falltime, Springtime- any time! So cool and sweet, so soothing. If your child has a scraped knee, ice cream- along with Mama's kisses and hugs (and a ointment and a Band-Aid) fixes it right up. Good grades - Let's celebrate with ice cream! Don't want to eat your veggies? Uh oh. No ice cream. Amazing how quickly veggies disappear from a child's plate when there is ice cream involved.

     Day to day, we are faced with challenges. Some challenges make us feel like we've had the wind knocked out of our sail. Some make us feel stronger, empowered. It's the people in our life...those who pray for us, those who send good thoughts, those who hug us at the right moment, that tell us they love us and that really mean it that make the challenges seem less....well, challenging. They sooth us, they comfort us and they make us realize that we can handle anything that comes our way. They are our ice cream.

     I have many flavors of ice cream in my life. I have Sweetheart Cherry ice cream in the form of my husband who knows something is wrong even if I try to say "nothing" in response to his question of "What's wrong". He holds me when I cry and kisses my tears away. He understands me because he makes the effort to do so. He loves me through whatever is going on and makes me feel strong enough to tackle anything. He once told me he wanted someone he could tackle the world with - we've found that in each other. To say I'm blessed to be his wife is an understatement. Honored? Definitely. He's my once-in-a-lifetime love. And my best friend. 

     I have another flavor called Hugs and Kisses in the form of two of my children, Laine and Riley. They always, always, always seem to know exactly the right moment when Mama needs a hug or kiss or both! They tell me I am the BEST at simple things such as fixing a bowl of cereal, painting toenails or coloring. Little do they realize that by saying I'm the "best" at anything gives me relief in knowing that I'm being the kind of mom they need and deserve- one that loves them on the good days and on the rougher days and that has taught them to be gracious for even the smallest things done for them. These two started my journey of mommyhood and wow what a journey it's been. I'm so proud of the people they have become and are becoming. 

     Another of my favorite flavors is Happy-Go-Lucky in the form of Taylor, our precious 1-yr-old. That baby very seldom has anything other than a smile on his face. In fact, Daddy or Laine can smile at him with a big smile and he smiles right back at them so big that his eyes squint because he is smiling so big. When I pick him up from his crib, he pats me on the back and hugs me. He loves and is is so happy and that is thanks to Daddy, Laine and Riley and his G-Daddy, Nana and Auntie M. Strangers fall in love with him when we're at the store. His smile is contagious. His personality develops more every day and we all love to watch.

     Yet another flavor is June Bug Baby in the form of our soon-to-be-here Alex. Each kick, each crazy movement of my stomach and case of heartburn reminds me that God saw fit to give us another sweet blessing. Daddy, Laine and Riley all love to feel Baby Alex kick and we can't wait to meet him...only two months away from today via c-section!!

    One of my all-time favorite flavors is Love Forever in the form of my family and friends. My family has been the lifeline that kept me going my entire life. They were there for me during the good times and the bad times and I will never, ever be able to begin to tell them how important they are to me and how grateful I am for their unwavering support. And the old adage that parents get wiser as you get older? TRUE TRUE TRUE!! I have a few friends that have been the same way. Friends that have been friends since high school that I can rant to, cry to, whatever I need...they are there. 

     I'm so thankful for my ice cream flavors. What are your favorite flavors?

     Please enjoy a recipe for Summertime Peach Ice Cream below from www.myrecipes.com.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/summertime-peach-ice-cream-10000000265721/print/

Summertime Peach Ice Cream

Take advantage fresh peaches and make our five-star homemade peach ice-cream to cool off this summer.

Southern Living JULY 2002

• Yield: Makes 2 quarts

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, diced fresh peaches (about 8 small ripe peaches)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

• 1 (3.75-ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 cups half-and-half

Preparation

Combine peaches and sugar, and let stand 1 hour.

Process peach mixture in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.

Stir together evaporated milk and pudding mix in a large bowl; stir in peach puree, condensed milk, and half-and-half.

Pour mixture into freezer container of a 4-quart hand-turned or electric freezer; freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon into an airtight container, and freeze until firm.