Mother of Seven + 2

  I awoke with an old hymn in my heart this morning.  This photo reminded me of the words, "...though sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, it is well.  It is well with my soul."  And I am thankful...thankful that all is well despite the storm! Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net It is hard to even begin to describe this year for our family.  Back in January, we began dealing with a rebellion with one of our sons that was difficult to understand.  There were sleepless nights.  There were days he didn't come home.  Many were the tears.  The concern and anguish ran deep.  We prayed and sought God as never before.  We turned to others for outside help, seeking counseling and prayers. It felt like things could not get worse, but it did in March.  Another son ended up in legal trouble.  We faced the difficult decision of turning him over to the authorities to be placed in juvenile detention or to place him ourselves in a place w

I have always used canned spaghetti sauce as pizza sauce for my homemade pizza.  However, it often has unnecessary additives in it unless I want to fork out more dollars.  I like to save as much as possible on groceries, so I looked for a recipe for pizza sauce that would be inexpensive to make.  I found this one that is yummy, and I only modified it slightly.  The original recipe was  Kittencal's Pizza Sauce . Pizza Sauce 3-4 Tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning 2 teaspoons oregano 1/4 c. tomato paste 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt (I thought 1 teaspoon was too much, but my husband liked it) 1 Tablespoon of sugar In a saucepan, heat the olive oil; saute the onions, Italian seasoning, and oregano for 2-3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add in the remaining ingredients; cook and simmer on low heat for 30-45 minutes. stirring occasionally. Th