quotes to live by

"Treat the Earth well. 
It was not given to you by your parents, 
it was loaned to you by your children. 
We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, 
we borrow it from our Children." 
~ Ancient Indian Proverb 


The more you have, the more you are occupied,
the less you give. But the less you have the more free you are. Poverty for us is a freedom. It is not mortification, a penance. It is joyful freedom. 
There is no television here, no this, no that. 
But we are perfectly happy.
~Mother Teresa


God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change… Courage to change the things I can, And Wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
- Reinhold Neibuhr


“Just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors.” 
~Papa from The Shack


There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.
 -Baba from Kite Runner

first blog

Silhouette Tree.
Shellman's Bluff, GA by Steph

Hello online world. Its little old me, Stephanie Curtis. I am currently typing while standing up, with my 2 & 1/2 year old daughter, Alexandra (Alex) clinging to my legs, asking me for more animal crackers while her baby brother Ezra naps. So, as you can already guess, this blog will most definitely have sporadic posts. 

Here are my blog goals (Is this common? I have only looked at a handful of blogs)

1. Create a little "memory bank" for my children. I have never been good at keeping diaries. Lets face it, I think I still have some unfinished from 3rd grade. You remember the type, the kind with a lock and key to keep your parents from reading about your most recent playground crush. I can barely keep up with my children's baby books. (Sorry kids!) But, one thing is certain, I have a love affair with photography, so I am awesome at documenting their life in pictures in their online scrapbooks. (I heart you Shutterfly!) The children page is where you will find memories about my babies.

2. Contemplate life.  I love this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:

Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people...

Yes, this directly contradicts my number one, but a blog should not be one dimensional. Being the dork I am, I was a part of my universities' honor program. We were required to read, write, discuss, & learn from the great philosophers of the world. When I was 20, I didn't really think any of the works or manifestos were quite brilliant, but now as a reading adult, I pose the same questions they did. What is the meaning to life? Why are we here? What's on the other side?

3. Share recipes.  I am a mommy after all, one that has to cook, clean, discipline, love. So I hope to post a few recipes I would like to try out and some that are a hit! 

4. Adventures. They are few and far between now, but still there. The little adventrues count now :) (The BIG one's could be just disguised as little ones.)

5. BOOKS! & such. Need I say more?

6. Square Foot Garden attempts!! way back in college I picked up a book about a "new" way to grow all the veggies in 20% the space as a traditional row garden. Lets see if it works!