When life gives you blueberries......

With my abundance of blueberries, even after giving away more than 2/3 of them, I had the daunting task of finding things to do with these juicy little gems. After all, they are SO good for you, filled with antioxidants and probably lots of other healthy stuff of which I have no knowledge. Anyways (Nacho Libre accent included), I was a bad girl. I did bad things with my blueberries. Instead of being used for the healthy consumption they were intended for, I placed those healthy, juicy, amazing little things in the fellowship of other not so healthy ingredients. If those blueberries could talk, they would have screamed for salvation. It was like placing a saint in the middle of a room of sinners. They just don't mix. But in my opinion, mixing blueberries with sugar, butter, and the like makes an amazing combination, especially when your end result is Blueberry Pie and Blueberry Sour Cream Crumb Cake my friends. Let me preface this by saying, I am NOT a good pie maker. Just ask my niece Emma about the dreaded peach pie incident. I can make a Dutch apple pie, only because it has no top crust. But I just haven't been able to make a good crust for the life of me. It's always underdone, chewy, boring, bland, you name it. But I tried a new recipe for a butter crust that came highly recommended on one of my favorite cooking websites, Recipezaar, so I thought I'd give it a try. Well, it was no Karen Harasick pie crust, but it was actually pretty amazing. I was impressed that I actually made a pie that was not only semi-presentable, but delicious. The berries totally shined, as all I added was a couple tablespoons of sugar and about 3 tablespoons of flour as thickener, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. The blueberries ended up happy in the end, as they were juicy, plump, and delicious. The next day I made Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) recipe for Blueberry Sour Cream Crumb Cake, and it was the moistest, tenderest (probably not a word) cake. Paired with a cup of coffee, it was perfect for both breakfast and dessert. Just don't do both in the same day (haha). I still had enough berries to make some healthy whole wheat banana blueberry streusel muffins and to pop a handful straight out of the bag about 5 times a day. I am sad to see them go, but what a blessing they were!

My blueberry coffee cake before baking.....my battery died, so I didn't get an "after" shot.

About to go in the oven....

Alongside one of my family's favorite recipes....homemade crescent rolls. It was a busy day!

Oh baby, I wish you were still in my life.

I'm sure the coffee was brewing behind you, my love. Until next time.

Blueberry picking and January updates....

Vance took this picture of me picking those beautiful organic blueberries!

There were dozens of rows.....and millions of berries ripe for the picking.

Clusters of berries ready to just fall off....

Austin was a skilled blueberry harvester.

Vance demonstrating his berry-picking techniques....

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go blueberry picking with our homeschool group at a beautiful farm in Camarillo. The owners had an early harvest and were going to have to pay people to clear out the ripe berries so they could still have their usual spring harvest. So instead, several families from our group went and cleared them out for them! They told us to pick as much as we wanted, and that it was all FREE! And on top of that, they are organically grown!!! How much more could you ask for? All of us were SO thankful for the abundance of delicious, beautiful fruit we were able to bring home and share with others. This was our first experience picking anything other than fruit off my sister's orchard on her property, and it was so enjoyable! For me it was completely therapeutic to pick those berries, and I could have spent all day there, seriously! The boys enjoyed it for a while, and along with all the other kids, quickly became bored with the menial task. Afterwards, we were able to enjoy lunch at a beautiful 5 acre garden property just down the street. It was just breathtakingly beautiful and such an enjoyable afternoon of fun and fellowship. It was one of those days where I told myself, "Self, this is why we homeschool." For opportunities such as these. It was truly a gem of a day. And the evening was capped off by a rich time with two of my favorite ladies, Karen and Kelly, whom I meet with regularly (along with another wonderful lady, Nancy, who couldn't make it last night). We meet once a month to talk about ways we can pray for one another, discuss our current struggles, difficulties, things we are thankful for, and ways we can better love Christ and others. I am so thankful for the encouragement I receive from these ladies. They are a deep and rich treasure to me.

Another side note is that Dave's new job is going well! We are so thankful for 5 days a week once again, and the transition has been smooth. I am missing having lunch with him, but it's a good trade off. Work 5 days a week vs. having lunch with Dave....hmmm.......? I continue to marvel at how God takes care of us. My husband is healthy, able to work, willing to work hard, and an example and testimony to me.

Missing my nephew...

Today is the 5 year anniversary of my nephew, Brady's departure from this world and entrance into heaven. This is one of the last pictures I have of him with my boys, taken the Thanksgiving before he passed away. Look how little Vance is!!!

Brady was such a remarkable boy. He was the first one to make me an Auntie in 1989! He was always such a goofy, silly, and energetic kid. In so many ways he reminds me of Austin, which I think is amazing. Most would view his illness as a horrible tragedy, but God used it in so many ways in the lives of so many people for good. I witnessed firsthand the grace, mercy, and sustaining love and power of God in multiple ways. Brady's bravery, strength, and gratitude during his illness was a living testimony of this to me and to many others. If a child could ever be an example to adult, he was that example. My faith was strengthened, and my understanding of the character of God deepened because of him.

Brady experienced more in his short life than most people ever will in a full lifetime. He was mature far beyond his years. He was able to discover the truth that many people will search long, far, and wide for, but never find. He understood and experienced the transforming power of God in the heart.

We all miss Brady dearly. Austin and Luke knew him for 7 and 5 years, and Vance, only a brief 3. But we all have memories that we will hold in our hearts forever. Someday I will have the privilege of seeing Brady again. Until that day, I have those dear memories of a boy who changed my life forever.

A little of December....

Since I haven't blogged in a while, here is a recap of December's festivities! I don't have pictures of all of the events, but there are some below.

December began with our annual Hanukkah party at my sister's house with my Dad. Every year we celebrate together by making my Dad's special latkes (potato pancakes) served alongside a barbecued tender brisket. I look forward to the latkes, as I only get them once a year, and they are the yummiest, most delicious little things.

Christmas Eve morning, we held to our tradition of opening stocking stuffers up. I decided that stockings really aren't the best way to contain all of those little goodies. The stuff just doesn't fit!!!! There are always "stocking overflow" presents under the tree. The boys stockings were complete with snacks, candy, and various fun stuff like batteries, post-its, etc. Dave always fills mine with kitchen gadgets, office stuff, and my very favorite Dove dark chocolates. Dave's was filled with lots of "man stuff". Beef jerky, thermal socks, his favorite candies, clamps, bungee cords, etc.

That same evening, we held our annual dinner for Dave's family here at the house, and we served ham, mashed potatoes, and all the fixings. It was a delightful evening with Dave's mother and step-dad, and all of his brothers.

Christmas day, the boys opened their presents. We didn't do too much this year, so each boy got one nice gift, and a couple of other little things. Austin and Vance got dirt bike gear (jerseys and pants), and Luke got an Itunes gift card and memory card to expand his MP3 capabilities! We also added several movies to our collection this year.

Christmas day continued as we traveled down to my sister's house, where we stuffed each other's stockings (more like baskets), and enjoyed an amazing prime rib dinner. It was SO yummy! We had lots of fun watching Nacho Libre and just hanging out all evening.

We finally were able to take our Vasques Rocks hike that we do every year once the weather calmed down a bit. It was a beautiful day, and we all had a lot of fun hiking up rocks, investigating tunnels, and picking up the sheets of ice that were on top of some of the small pools of water. The boys always pack some of their stocking snacks for noshing, and it is always a memorable experience.

New Year's Eve, we had some dear friends over for an "appetizer dinner". My boys have been begging me to do another appetizer dinner, so I made pigs in a blanket, taquitoes, nachos, shrimp coctail, rumaki (bacon wrapped water chestnuts and shrimp), veggies and dip, and my friends Kelly brought some potstickers. It was so fun! We all stayed up until midnight having Wii sports tournaments and having fun together. Here are just a few pics I took:


The boys getting out all our ornaments.

Part of my collection of Starbucks ornaments my sister has been giving to me.

Our cute little kitty, Chipotle loved sleeping under the tree. He also enjoyed pulling all the ornaments off the tree, as well. Naughty boy.

The stocking were all stuffed!

Dave and the boys hiking at Vasquez Rocks.

Going down through a cool rock formation. This place has lots of cool things like this.

Dave being silly with his Slim Jim.

The boys stopping on the trail for me to take a pic!

Vance picked up this sheet of ice off of a small pool. He tried to eat it. Gross!!! Then he threw it and watched it shatter into a bunch of little pieces. Now that's fun!

Winter Camp '08 Pics!

Juniors Winter Camp

At our church, Dave and I serve in a ministry for 4th-6th graders, called "Juniors". From the minute we stepped in the door several years ago to check out the ministry, we were blown away. The quality of people serving in the ministry is top-notch. The structure, order, and discipline being given to these young people amazed us. And the leadership-loving, humble servants. We knew we just had to be a part of this life-changing ministry.

Every year, Juniors holds both a summer and a winter camp. I have had the privilege of going to Winter Camp three times now. I just got back from another amazing weekend up at Forest Home Camp in the beautiful mountains capped with snow, in a cabin with 8 amazing little young girls who are such a joy to minister to. And you know what? They ministered to me without knowing it. Every Sunday I have a small group of girls that I teach after the main lesson is over. Most of the girls in my cabin come from that small group. So I am familiar with them, making the time together comfortable. Our amazing Childrens' Ministry pastor, Kurt Gebhards came and taught the kids with love, compassion, and power from the Word of God. I pray hearts were softened tenderly to the messages they received. Among the many children in attendance were two of my own, Austin and Luke. This was Austin's last camp as a 6th grader, as he will move into the Junior High department next year. This was Luke's first camp as a 4th grader. So this ministry even serves my own family in a personal way.

Some of the highlights of camp were the quiet times I had with the girls to discuss the lessons, time in the cabin decorating our "Funky Monkey" themed cabin, giggling like a little girl with them, the flashlight hike, the zipline (I went twice, I'm such a kid), the rock climbing wall, and pulling a prank on one of the 6th grade boys' cabin. We decided that while they were away we would take everything (I mean EVERYTHING, including mattresses) out of their cabin and move it to a nearby empty cabin, so that when they returned they would have a nice surprise. The girls absolutely LOVED doing that. It was too fun! It was a long and tiring weekend, but by God's grace, I was able to get through it. In fact, I caught a cold the day after I returned! I'm so thankful it wasn't during camp! Praise God for his many blessings on our camp and I pray for His work to be done through it in the lives of these precious young people in our ministry!

Thanksgiving in California City

We at the DeShong home are the unconventional type, I guess you could say. While some prefer to decorate their homes and embellish their dining room table with Fall decorations, serving their Thanksgiving meal all in beautiful crystal and heirloom China, we prefer to take our trailer out to the middle of nowhere. We served our Thanksgiving turkey straight from the deep fryer, and served out of the very best disposable containers, using the finest plastic utensils and paper plates. Oh yeah, baby, it was the 2nd annual Thanksgiving/Dirt bike camping trip. Along with the Harasicks, Tubbs, Berggrens, and Nardones, we enjoyed 4 glorious days out in California City. And don't you dare think that in any way your Thanksgiving was superior (giggle)!


Rich and Robert deep fried two turkeys, and we served all the traditional fixings, as well. Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberries, corn casserole, etc. etc. There was even pumpkin, pecan, and apple pies for dessert. The weather was stunning. No wind. No rain. Just sunny 75 degree skies and beautiful sunsets. It couldn't have been more beautiful.

All three of my boys were on motorcyles this weekend. It was Dave's dream come true. Our dune buggy is broken (so sad), so Austin hopped on the Nardones' 70 and rode it around quite a bit! I was so proud of him. And he actually fell in love with the two wheeled variety! Yippee! Luke's 80 was not running right the entire time, despite Dave's efforts to make adjustments. He also rode the Nardones' 70 until he discovered that he could ride Emma's 100. He said that was pretty much the best bike he has ever ridden. Hey, as long as you can get 1 toe on the ground, why not? He really did amazing with that big bike (well, big for him)! Vance rode the 50 until he discovered the 70, and then there was no turning back to that slow little 50. I have a feeling a couple bigger bikes are in our future (if the money is in our future). Dave took a nice spill on the last day and tore up his forearm pretty good (I guess he will always wear his elbow pads from now on, even when he is just riding up and down the road). We are thankful that there were no other injuries, as there could have been plenty of them.

Other highlights were enjoying a couple of movies outside with the projector, complete with popcorn, snacks, and plenty of sugar. The kids really enjoyed that. We adults prefered to sit in front of the blazing fire in the evening! We also enjoyed onion rings, asparagus, and zucchini in the deep fryer, thanks to Rich and Robert. That was awesome. On the last day, my Dad called and said that the Space Shuttle Endeavor was routed to land at Edwards Air Force Base at 1:30pm that day. We walked up the ridge above our camp and discovered a panoramic view of the dry lake bed at Edwards Air Force Base. We all set up our chairs, listened for the sonic boom, and tried to spot the shuttle coming in with binoculars. Rich saw the whole thing, but the rest of us were a bit disappointed that our view was less than spectacular. It was exciting nevertheless!

So for those of you who enjoy the conventional holiday, you keep on enjoying it! We prefer to sit in the middle of nowhere with all the creature comforts of home and enjoy God's creation amongst wonderful friends and family. Here are some random pics from the trip:



My favorite animal in the world...the lovely tarantula...NOT!!! Especially not in my camp!

A view of Edwards AFB from the ridge above our camp.

Our group all hiked up the ridge to watch the Space Shuttle Endeavor land!

Me and my fuzzy!

Lots of Honda's.

Getting the Thanksgiving meal tables set up.

The feast about to be served. The traditional Thanksgiving meal in a non-traditional setting!

Drew opening a jar of gravy!

Nice, Drew.

Austin in the mining hole the kids found.

The boys climbing rocks.

Their fort.

Our trailers at camp.

Our 5-family camp setup!

Waiting for the exciting space shuttle landing.

The kids had a "fort" that they were playing at all weekend.

The dads happened to match, so we had to take a pic.

A picture of camp.

Luke riding till the sun went down!

The big kids ready for a ride.

Jill, Brenda, and Karen hanging around!

Vance didn't spend much time doing anything but riding.

Vance riding....and riding....and riding....

Dave trying to get Luke's bike started (it had problems all weekend)!

Rich and Robert working hard at that fried food.

The turkey goes in....

Hot steaming frying turkey!

Emily, Stephanie, Cody, and Drew.

Me and my sis!

Yum, yum, yum! Love that deep fryer.

Gene and Brenda Nardone- a true MX family!

Onion rings, fried zucchini, and fried asparagus in the turkey fryer! YUM!

All the Honda's.

Luke taking a little break!

A bunch of red riders.

Robert and Rich testing the turkey.

Could there be a more beautiful thing? Turkey in the deep fryer.

Austin riding on two wheels! We were so proud of him!