If I've Told You Once....

The Winter of the Outbuildings

2012-01-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

This has been the winter of the outbuildings. My goal this winter was to get the backyard ready for spring planting, chickens and hopefully goats.

The first building built was my garden shed. As is true with most of our projects it is only partially finished. It still needs the door and the shelves inside but I am thrilled to have a place in the garden to store all my gardening tools. Erik got it to this stage before Christmas, the winds came and knocked it over but thankfully didn't damage it. It is now staked down and has withstood fairly substantial gusts of wind since then. Oh, and paint. It needs to be painted.

Next we started work on our chicken coop. Or the "Chicken Palace" as I've started to refer to it. I spent more hours than I want to admit pouring of coop/enclosure designs at Backyard Chickens. Then based on a few of them, drew up some plans.
And the work commenced.

Erik has slowly gotten better at delegating through the whole project and so I've been able to hammer quite a few pieces of the coop together.

I quite enjoy it. And it sure beats standing out in the cold just watching.

This is as far as we've progressed. Still quite a bit of work to do but it's getting there.

We've even put down leftover linoleum from our kitchen on the floor of the coop to make the plywood floor last longer and make it easier to clean out. The front here will have large doors that open up (also to help with ease of cleaning). And those holes at the back (the black squares right now) are where the nesting boxes will be attached. The nesting boxes will open from the back so that we can reach in and grab the eggs from there. The whole area will be enclosed with chicken wire and we found a neat door at Cart'm for $5 for the door into the run.

Here's an overview of how the backyard is progressing. It's the view from the backdoor. Eventually the goat enclosure will go back to the left behind the garden shed.
Slowly, slowly projects are getting done.

More Projects and My Excuses

2012-01-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss in posting as of late and I am sorry.
So to sort of catch you up to date I'm posting pictures of most of the lovely projects that have kept me busy and away not to mention the getting back into the schedule of all things homeschooling as well as nursing sick kiddos back to health and trying to get my own health woes under control (darn thyroid).

This is the little stuffed soccer ball I made for my adorable nephew Will for Christmas.

Marilyn liked it so much I made her one for Christmas as well.

The boys each received a crocheted dinosaur, these were awfully fun to make.

And Hobbes. Hobbes belongs to Jessie.

This circle scarf belongs to my sister Mindy now, I made a red one for Hannah's violin teacher and an aqua green one for myself. I love the pattern.

I crocheted a blanket for my sister Beth but alas forgot to take pictures. I'll have to borrow it back for a photo op.

My MIL gave me a Joann's gift card for Christmas and it went towards the recovering of my dining room chairs. We were tired of sitting on plywood. You see, my wonderful mother recovered these chairs about a year and a half ago or so in oilcloth. They were easy to clean and really fun. Only Clayton decided it would be fun to jab a pencil down through the seats and then pick at the holes. So I duct taped them. And then it was fun to pull off the duct tape and pull out the old foam pad.
So.... new foam, regular cotton fabric, vinyl and a little work and they look as new ever (and are still easy to clean). The children have been dully warned and/or threatened about stabbing and otherwise destroying the new coverings.

And if you notice the feet of this chair, it is wearing socks. (Please don't notice the floor, I didn't sweep.) I've been crocheting "socks" to fit over the feet of the chairs so they won't scratch my floors any longer and I don't have to be forever buying those ridiculous little sticky foam pad things that don't adhere very long to the bottom of your chair. It's a great use of scrap yarn and it's quite colorful depending on how tall your "socks" are.

St. Lucia

2011-12-13T08:20:00.000-08:00

This morning we celebrated Saint Lucia.

I've written about it before on Cowgirl Clippings.

This year is different though.

This year my darling Hannah has discovered Chapter Books. And not only Chapter Books but the Kirsten books. She started a week and a half ago and is at this moment half way through the sixth book! She has fallen in love with reading and this momma couldn't be happier. After finishing book three, "Kirsten's Surprise" she came and whispered, "Can we do that? Can we celebrate Saint Lucia." I tried to reply in my calmest voice, "Yes!" But I was really excited; I get to pass along some of my favorite traditions to my children!

Yesterday afternoon Hannah and I made the saffron buns (click the cowgirl clippings link above for the recipe). Last night at sewing circle I made her a "crown" to wear (I wasn't going to let her wear lighted candles on her head) and this morning I woke her up early and we made hot chocolate and coffee and she got dressed up in white with a red sash and the crown and woke everyone up to invite them to breakfast.

It was a wonderful morning of sitting around the table as a family, talking about the tradition of Saint Lucia, the bringer of light, but more importantly pointing us to the light of the world who's advent we celebrate at Christmas, Jesus Christ. And then also the reminder that we are to be lights in a dark world pointing others to Jesus.

And they got it. They understood this morning. They remembered Children's Corner on Sunday when Mrs. Porter talked about the light of the world. They connected the dots and it was a blessed morning indeed.

First Deer!

2011-11-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

* Warning* Warning*Warning*
If you do not want to see dead deer pictures do not read this post.

Remember this amazing view from "hunting" with the kids?

Well, Erik went back up there on the last day of the hunt and... got his first deer!
He called a friend to help him pack it out and they brought it home in the back of his friend's pick-up. The kiddos were all quite fascinated.

Even Marilyn thought it interesting.

Ah...my mighty hunter:
I know nothing about these things, but apparently it's a 3 x 3. Erik shot it through both lungs and took off the top part of the heart.

And for the last few days it has been hanging in our shed.

The other kiddos went back in the house to watch Shaun the Sheep but Hannah sat on a paint can and watched Erik skin the whole thing.

Last night Erik and I stayed up way too late cutting and wrapping most of it. The rest we stuck in the fridge and I'll probably work on it some today and try and get started on making our own venison jerky. I'm kind of excited about that part.

"Hunting"

2011-10-26T14:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Erik only worked a part day so we took the kids to Tillamook to get a few new pairs of rubber boots, had lunch at Denny's (Hannah and Ivan still had their gift certificates from the library summer reading program) and then came back up to Nehalem to go "hunting".

I was the only one who "shot" anything.

It was a gorgeous day and the views where amazing. No views of deer though. I think the deer heard us coming a mile away (at least).

Marilyn was hunting in style. The pink sunglasses only lasted so long though, and then they ended up in my pocket.

Clayton was the proud person in charge of the binoculars. I believe he is explaining to me the art of sighting deer. And he's wearing a tie with his sweatshirt. Now that is classy hunting wear.

We hiked down through some forest.

All the while looking for deer sign. Marilyn pouted because she wasn't quite sure that hiking through brush much taller than herself was any fun and momma wouldn't hold her.

The kids got really good at spotting deer prints, poop and rubs.

While Marilyn made sure that someone was still paying attention to her pouting and non-joining-in-ness.

And Ivan tried to hide like the deer.

We made it out of the trees to the logging road we drove up and started hiking back up to the van. Marilyn became the party responsible for the binoculars and as a result she and I lagged considerably behind the others.

But I eventually picked her up and made it back up the hill.

Erik had taken the boys hunting Saturday night and Sunday morning during Children's Corner at church the question was asked, "Does anyone know what time of year it is? What season?"
To which Clayton very promptly and loudly announced, "Deer!"

Looking forward to many more hikes in the future.

Projects

2011-10-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

My fingers have been happily hooking with my crochet hook for weeks now.

I don't know if it's the fall weather or what but projects and ideas for projects have been swirling in my brain for weeks now and I start to go crazy if I don't release some of them.

So here are the projects that have left my hook:

A baby blanket for my new nephew William Heath Dante:
(Sorry I don't have a picture of the baby, I haven't met him yet.)

A little hat and booties for a friend's baby...

A blanket that I made for simple reason I wanted to try the pattern and I had a bunch of cotton yarn that I don't remember the project I collected it for in the first place. Love this one. The colors make me happy.

I suppose that doesn't look like tons when it's laid out like this but I've also been quilting like crazy. It helps that our church has started up a "sewing circle" on Monday nights and it's at a time that I can go. I've loved having Monday nights to sit and drink tea and work on projects while visiting with some of the women of our church.

Peanut Butter

2011-10-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

This choosy mother does not choose Jif when it comes to peanut butter.

But I do hate stirring peanut butter. For awhile now we've been buying Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter from Costco. It's in smaller containers than the Costco Adams peanut butter so it makes for easier stirring. I mean, slightly easier though still difficult, annoying and messy stirring.

I hate stirring peanut butter. Oh wait, I already said that. And usually there's always a clump that didn't get stirred in, or you didn't quite get to the bottom of the jar so the end scrapings of peanut butter are dry. I've even tried those lid stirrers that they sell with the mixing wand-thing attached...yeah, doesn't work so well unless you buy little tiny jars of peanut butter (I don't).

Enter my mother, "Oh, I just dump the whole jar into my kitchen aid and mix it for a few minutes and then pour it back in the jar."

So thinking my mother brilliant, last time I was at Costco I picked up Adam's Peanut Butter in the big jar; saved myself a whole dollar (which, when you're shopping with a calculator and hoping to squeeze out a few dollars to buy that school work book for your kids in the book section of Costco, is huge) and I got more ounces of peanut butter to boot.

Today, I dumped the whole jar of peanut butter in my kitchen aid mixer and used the dough hook. Turned it on. Left it for a few minutes. Came back to perfectly mixed peanut butter. Poured it back into the jar and the mixer bowl was an easy clean up.

I think my mother is brilliant.

And not just 'cause she knows how to mix peanut butter.

Wool Dresses and Vests

2011-10-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

Wool vests and dresses finished, worn, and loved; though Ivan thinks his vest needs pockets.

"I want a picture, my baby in my tummy." - Marilyn
'No, please put the baby down and stand with Hannah."

Um...where's Marilyn?

Uh-oh, Daddy took the baby doll away.

"Hey look, it's a earth!"

"Nope, that's the moon."
"Oh."

Wigs

2011-10-12T08:22:00.000-07:00

Take a good long look at this picture. It was taken at the Ecola Retro Party when Erik was AD dorm RA. Hannah found this picture in the "junk" drawer yesterday.

"Mom, were you wearing a wig?"

"Yep."

"The wig you let Aunt Mindy borrow?"

"Yep."

"Is daddy wearing a wig?"

"Nope, his hair really looked like that."

"Wow, he had a lot of hair on his chest."

"Okay, um...well that was a wig."

It's nice to know we've grown up a little since THAT retro party...

"sing me sleep" - Miss Moddy

2011-10-07T22:26:00.000-07:00

Most nights my precious kiddos ask me to sing them a few songs while they are laying in their beds awaiting sleep.
Some nights I do.
Some nights I say, "Sorry but Momma is tired tonight."
Tonight I was exhausted.
But tonight I sat in the girls' room and sang and watched the eyes of my littlest slowly close. And the eye's of my oldest peer down from the top bunk and her mouth sometimes form the words with me. The words of the old hymns that I love and words of scripture that my dad has put to music.
And as I left their room I heard my eldest boy whisper, "Mom, can you sing US some songs?"
Life's not fair, but tonight I played fair and went and sat down on a bed and sang the same songs once more for the boys.
And it hit me in a new way.
I get to sing blessing and words of truth over my kids right before they slip off to sleep.
It's an honor and a privilege.
And I got goosebumps.

Marilyn's Abacus

2011-09-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

This delightfully silly little girl:

Is quite a handful.
And she loves the abacus.

The other day she sat on the floor just inside the kitchen with the abacus and tested me on my numbers. She would move a bead and ask, "What number this mommy?" And I would look up from my dishes that I was washing and answer accordingly, to which she would reply, "Yeeeaaaahhhh!!" Indicating not that she was happy to be learning but that she obviously already knew the answer and she was proud of me for knowing.

And once I found her on my bed. The thing is, the door had been locked. I keep it locked during the day and use the little metal key to unlock it if I need to get in there. Marilyn likes to get in to my room and get into things, or get into my bathroom and use my mascara as lipstick. One day I used a little green screwdriver as I had misplaced the metal key. I did not notice that a certain little girl was watching closely. Near her on the bed this day, was the little green screwdriver.

Oh boy, do I like her.
She sure does keep me on my toes.

Rendering Tallow

2011-09-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

I've done it.

I've rendered tallow.

Tallow is rendered beef fat whereas lard is rendered pork fat.

The terms are not interchangeable I've learned. It can confuse people that know the difference. Using the correct terms can also confuse people who do not know the difference.

It's a win-win situation.

The actual rendering is not all that difficult.

The cutting of the fat (or suet) into tiny pieces on the other hand gave me a blister. In many of the online tutorials I read they recommend using a food processor. I couldn't bring myself to get mine all greasy-dirty and then have to wash it. It fits in the dishwasher but I do hate washing it.

I don't know that I'll give you a step by step tutorial but these are the ones I sort of followed:

How to Render Beef Tallow

How to Render Lard and Tallow

With our half a beef we bought recently I got three 2 1/2 pound bags of beef fat. I've been waiting a long time for beef fat. Last time we bought a beef I asked the butcher to save me some fat. "Oh sure, not a problem." Picked up my beef, put it away; no fat. "Um...excuse me, I thought you were going to save me some fat." "It was a lean cow, there wasn't any fat worth saving."

I don't know much about cows, but I'd call that a lie to try and cover up the fact that they forgot to save it for me.

For my first attempt I mostly thawed one bag and started sawing away with a knife. It wasn't working really well, so I switched to another knife. I got a blister. Then I switched to scissors and kicked myself for not trying them sooner, they made it fairly easy.

I cut all that beautiful fat into little pieces and threw them in a big pot.

And slowly cooked it on the stovetop for what seemed a very long time. I stirred it occasionally.
And the disgusting smell of beef fat filled my house.
I don't even like the smell of the fat that comes off of beef roasts and things.

When I figured it was done (and I was done, I started too late in the afternoon and so I was up later than I wanted waiting for it to finish) I strained it through a scrap of muslin fabric laid in my mesh strainer. It worked perfectly and I just threw the fabric away.

I was left with this lovely golden liquid (that still smelled yucky).

I filled two pint jars with the golden liquid and let it sit overnight on the counter to cool and solidify.

In the morning it was creamy white and quite pretty looking. (But it still smells kind of yucky).

I've been reading tonight where the best place to store tallow is. Some say the fridge, some say the freezer but I have read a few things that say you can store it on the counter as long as it's sealed tightly. I'm hoping this is so because I've been keeping mine in the fridge and it's very hard to dig out of the jars. I've had to resort to using the ice cream scoop.

It still smells funny. Well, it smells like beef fat. And I still don't like that smell, but once it's cooked in something it sure is yummy. I made biscuits the other morning, using half butter and half tallow. The biscuits where light and fluffy and very very good. They almost had a "store biscuit" taste (and I've always loved, but hated to admit, that I like the taste of "store biscuits").

And Saturday night I made this pie crust:

How to Make Perfect Pie Crust

and filled it with apples. And we ate delicious apple pie for breakfast Sunday morning.

I won't say that it was the most amazing pie crust I've ever eaten. I still might even like the pie crust I usually make with all butter, better. But here's the thing, I use a lot of butter. And butter gets expensive.

So if I can cut my butter usage in half and get the health benefits of good tallow from grass fed beef, (Yes, real fats are good for you!) then that's a good thing.

Oh and I used it to fry potatoes/onions/fennel and zucchini in tonight.

Oh my!

They were very good.

So I think I'll just make sure the stove fan is running full force and windows are open when I render the other 5 pounds of tallow because render I will.

Show and Tell

2011-08-29T08:46:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was my golden birthday, and as birthday's go it was pretty good. No grandiose plans or anything but my mom was here and she did my dishes and made hot fudge cake. And my sister Mindy was here and we hung out.

It was absolutely lovely.

That was yesterday and now I am another day older.

But I didn't hop on here to talk about age and birthdays or anything, I really want to show you my newest project.

This is one of those accordion style mug holder things that you can hang on the wall. I bought it at Cart'm. Yay for Cart'm once again.

And I took it apart because all I really wanted were the "hooks" or the pegs. Those along with a few shelf brackets and two lengths of pine shelving from the local lumber yard and I've got myself more hanging space and wall art. I've had this vision for this corner of my bedroom for awhile now but I could never bring myself to spend $1 or $2 per peg to build these shelves.

The purple shelf brackets are also a Cart'm find from about 2 or 3 years ago and they've been employed in various other locations in my house.

For some reason my bedroom has been the last place to really be made into the place that I want it to be but I'm working on it now and I really like how it's shaping up.

And just in case you're curious, this is the other corner:

I'm pretty excited about that white bookshelf hanging on the wall. It was $7 at the local thrift store and it answered my need for more bookshelves.

Dandelion

2011-08-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

A week ago or so when we were up at my parents' house Marilyn was sitting with my dad in the hammock and she called him a dandelion. It was pretty cute and later that night as I was rocking and singing her to sleep I started singing a song I hadn't thought of in a really long time. I couldn't remember all the words so I looked it up the other night. It's the Dandelion song from the musical "Quilters". I performed in it at the Coaster Theatre the summer I was pregnant with Ivan.
The lyrics and music for "Quilters" are by Barbara Damashek but the lyrics to this one are based on a poem by Clara J. Denton called "Blooming in Fall"

Dandelion

Dandelion why so late with your golden crown?
All your comrades long ago laid their splendor down.

Though your face smiles bravely up from the grasses dead,
Watching you my heart forgets the Summer's wealth is fled.

Blessings, blessings little flower for your shining grace,
Doubly welcome that you deck Autumn's furrowed face.

Dandelion, like the dauntless heart you seem beneath Privation's power.,
Smiling bravely though above the threatening tempests lower.

Blessings, blessings sunny flower for your shining grace,
Doubly welcome that you deck Autumn's furrowed face.

Marilyn tries to sing it with me now; "dandelion, golden crown" is about all she can remember but it's sweet to hear.

Birthday Rock

2011-08-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the ugly corner at the back of my house:

We've lived here 6 years and for 6 years I've been dreaming and scheming about this corner of the backyard...what to do, what to do?

Rocks! More specifically, rock that I can create a patio with.

Happy Birthday to me!

Really, I wanted rocks for my birthday, either that or gravel.

I bought a bunch of really cool flat stones from some friends of ours and I moved them all to our house. Technically our driveway, and then moved them again to the back yard.

I'm not a perfectionist so you'll still have to watch your step a little but here is the start of the patio that will cover this corner.

The plan is to eventually build a small garage onto the house and turn the shed into a guest room and the patio will be the walkway between the house and the guest cottage.

This is where it is today:

Still more to lay; it's like a giant puzzle where none of the pieces actually fit together and each piece weighs 20- 50 pounds or so.

And I like it.

Cart'm Treasures

2011-08-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

I've been shopping Cart'm again.

It seems that Cart'm always knows what I'm looking for. Well, maybe not always but most times when I'm looking for something specific (like a small table to paint and put on the back deck so I have somewhere to set my tea when I'm sitting outside) I rarely leave disappointed.

Turns out when I decided that I needed a small table to paint and put on the back deck so I have somewhere to set my tea when I'm sitting outside, I found the perfect one for $5.

A little craft paint, some polyurethane sealer (though I only had indoor, need to find some outdoor), a ruler and a quilt book and I had the perfect little table.

Everything but the blue diamonds were painted twice because I didn't get the colors right the first time but now I'm happy with it.

I was going to paint the base a different color as well but Erik convinced me it was fine. Personally I think he was hungry and wanted me to stop painting so I would make dinner : )

I really do like it and it's the perfect height for between my Adirondack chairs.

Adventures in Dehydrating

2011-08-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

My mom found me an Excalibur Dehydrator at a garage sale last year for $10. It's an old one and only has five trays but it works.

And this year I am discovering how lovely it really is.

I dehydrated a few trays of apples and pears last year and we really enjoyed them but I wasn't fanatical about it.

I'm afraid I might become fanatical this year.

I have 3 1/2 quarts of dried blueberries.

Apparently you're suppose to blanch blueberries first to break the skins so they dry better, but I didn't know this when I started, so I just threw them on the trays. They turned out just fine. Some of the skins are papery and flake right off, but it hasn't made a huge difference to us in texture or taste.

And this lovely, very little jar is powdered spinach. An entire dehydrator's worth of spinach rubbed through a mesh strainer. I've since dried another 5 trays and so the jar is almost halfway full! : )
I have plans for adding this to smoothies this winter. And the other day we added it to tuna fish, no one really knew it was there but they were all eating their spinach!

Actually, it's not a fight to get my kids to eat fresh spinach we just couldn't get through all of the greens from our CSA so thought I'd dehydrate it so as not to waste. Oh...and there are powdered beet greens in there as well now. We're not huge fans of anything beet, but the dried greens hardly have any taste at all.

Right now the dehydrator is full of zucchini and I have plans of drying many more apples and pears this year.

I think eventually I'll save up for a larger dehydrator.

Memory Lane

2011-08-15T08:23:00.000-07:00

Sunday night I shared "The Story of Gomer" at my dad's church. And the night before that I shared it at Machias Community Church in Snohomish, WA.

Both performances were a little surreal but yet really fun.

You see, Machias is where we lived from the time I was 3 until just before my 6th grade year when we moved to Whidbey Island.

We came up to my parent's house on Friday night and then on Saturday my dad and I drove over to Machias so I could perform there. We drove by our old house and then drove to the church, down the road where I could still remember the turns and still recognize so many houses even though so much has changed. We drove to the church where I remember running through the isles, playing on the stage, taking the "secret" stairs behind the baptismal down to the basement. I was baptized there. I remember singing in Steven Curtis Chapman songs in kid's choir. Awana and Sunday School, so many things that just kept flooding back. I remember exactly where I stood one Sunday when I told my dad that I was going to Grace's house after church and then going and getting in trouble later because my dad had assumed that I had already gotten permission from my mom and then was surprised that my mom didn't know where I was when they got home.

And it was odd and neat at the same time to stand in front of this same church, with familiar faces in the audience (faces that if I saw them in a crowd I would probably stare for awhile and think, "I think I know them" but not be able to put a name to a face, though that face is dear) to share the story of God's amazing love, through the story of Gomer.

Someone came up to me later and laughed when I said "Hi" back. He said it was the first time that I'd ever returned his greeting. When I was little I would hide my face in my dad's pant leg or my mom's skirt whenever he said hi.

And then last night, at the Chapel, in front of a few more familiar faces who knew me through my middle and high school days, I got to share the story again.

It was a lot of memories in 2 days and that's not a bad thing. It was really really special.

I feel so blessed to do what I love and hopefully be used of God to share the truth of His redeeming love.

Garden Woes

2011-08-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

I am tempted to plow my entire garden under and call it a year.

The slugs are back and have eaten most of my squash, zucchini and pumpkin plants.

And this year I have buttercups.

Apparently according to many Google searches on the subject (I typed in "buttercups mean my soil is..." and got lots of good results, I love Google) my soil is very acidic and not only do the buttercups creep and spread quickly they are not a useful herb and they rob the soil of nutrients.

Oh joy.

So now I am contemplating the direction to head in helping the soil along. I am not a learn-ed gardener by any means, I putter around, so any help in a natural and organic way of balancing my soil and adding some nutrients back in would be helpful.

The only reason I haven't resorted to plowing the whole thing under is that in spite of all my garden's maladies it is producing something, which I've been told is better than nothing at all.

Oh garden bounty, beauty is thy name.

Not exactly bounty, but we'll get there, eventually.

I'm planning on planting tons of carrots next year. I love the surprise of pulling a carrot and seeing how big or small it is.

It's the simple things really.

God's Good Grace

2011-08-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the amazing opportunity to perform "The Story of Gomer" three times at Hauser Community Church in North Bend, Oregon. I performed it for all three of their services, one on Saturday night and two on Sunday morning. I pray that the story will be used of God to remind or to tell people of His love for them and of his amazing forgiveness.

I have a feeling "someone" didn't want the story told. Friday morning before we left I woke up with a very pink, goopy left eye. After a week of leading games at VBS (where we also had a momentary unidentifiable rash scare), who knows where I caught it. I made up some chaparral/comfrey eye wash and prayed for healing. We left after Erik's doctor's appointment on Friday morning and I put drops in my eyes every two hours (and prayed) the whole way down to North Bend. Saturday I did the same while we were out and about playing tourists (neither Erik nor I had ever been that far south on Hwy 101 before). Saturday night my eyes were clear and I was able to wear my contacts and the performance went well. I even wore an over the ear microphone for the first time! That was actually quite fun and not as scary as I was anticipating.

Sunday morning my eyes stayed clear and the first performance went well. Second performance (technically third of the weekend) about half way through the tiredness suddenly hit me. (This was also my first time performing this story three times in short succession.) I never realize how much energy a performance takes until suddenly I just feel too tired and almost nauseated to go on. It's also amazing to me what can run through my brain while I'm on stage performing. Sunday second service it was this, "Dear God, I can't do this. I can't go on. But I can't just run off stage and not finish the story, Lord this must be in your strength, because I have nothing left to give." And do you know what? He gave the strength. The story was told, and told well. The message of God's redeeming love and amazing forgiveness touched many hearts because God is faithful to equip where he calls.

And the story of God's provision and protection on this journey does not end there. On our way home yesterday as we were coming into Tillamook, Erik asked if we could stop and get the tires on our van rotated at Les Schwab. I said, "Oh sure, I guess." They took one look at our almost completely tread-bare front tire and wondered that we didn't have a blow out or a flat. So even though we are now in the market for at least two new tires and we need an alignment done on the van, WE MADE IT SAFELY HOME. By God's good grace we made it safely home.

Projects, Projects and More Projects

2011-07-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

Two Sundays ago Erik hurt his back during a water rescue drill with the fire dept. Thankfully it wasn't a bad injury and he got to spend a week at home with us.
Can I tell you how amazing this was?
It was so much fun to have him home, not only did we get to hang out with him (which was the best part) but I've gotten to finish some of my really long project list.
I "built" a screen out of PVC pipe and then sewed and painted curtains for it. It's to take with me when I travel with "The Story of Gomer". I needed something light and fairly easy to take apart and put together. I used a painter's canvas drop cloth for the curtains; very inexpensive and easy to paint. I think I like how it turned out.

Don't mind the messy house surrounding the screen, I hadn't gotten to that yet...

I also got our bedroom deep cleaned and re-arranged.

Put a new zipper in a dress who's zipper has been broken for 4 years. Finished another dress. Finished an apron.

Moved the bookshelf from my closet to the girls' room.

Cleaned out 5 boxes of stuff from the boys closet, making room for some and adding some to the Goodwill pile.

Hung a few shelves and pictures that have been languishing in my craft closet.

And...

...cleaned out my craft closet!

And yes, amidst the many things I've gotten done we did actually get to hang out with Erik.

The things on my list, individually don't take very much time but the nature of them distract from keeping an eye on certain children that know how to open doors and escape. It's been nice to have an extra pair of eyes and hands around.

It feels good to get things done!

And Erik headed back to work today.

We missed him!

I Might Be Crazy

2011-07-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just might be crazy.

And I'm just going to come right out and tell you why:

I'm not going to buy any clothing for myself for one whole year.

This might not seem crazy to some, and some will think I'm off my rocker completely, no doubt about it. But it's something I need to do.

I have a closet full of clothing. I have a dresser full of clothing and I simply do not need anymore. I love goodwill and I love thrift stores, I love finding deals. I have a weakness for wool skirts, sweaters and dresses. But too many deals can really drain the wallet quickly and so I'm quitting for one year.

Starting today.

Now this does not mean that I will not make myself clothing. But the rule is I cannot buy fabric or patterns for that purpose, I must use what I already have. I may buy thread or zippers to make said clothing but that is it. This doesn't mean I can't accept hand-me-downs or gifts. I'll still gladly take those; it means no cash will exchange hands for my clothing until July 9, 2012.

I will make do or do without.

I could have said a month. Or 4 months or 6 months. But no...I'm going cold turkey and I'm going extreme.

And I need to tell you. Because if this was just a goal in my head I could change the starting date, I could justify. I could ...gasp....lie to myself.

I'll update you on how this goes. I'm a little scared.

Wish me luck!

Little Bit of This and That

2011-07-05T15:54:00.001-07:00

In the process of moving dirt (yep, still doing that), and playing outdoors and enjoying the summer that has finally started, I have missed sharing with you some very important dates.

June 21:

Erik and I celebrated our 8th Anniversary. Sorry, I have no pictures. Our "celebration" consisted of saying "Happy Anniversary" and me leaving a great card I found at Fred Meyer the day before on Erik's pillow.

June 25: My 10 - year high school reunion up on Whidbey Island. Alas, I did not take pictures. I could probably go steal some from FB but I"m not going to. Suffice to say it was really fun and I enjoyed seeing people I haven't seen in 10 years.

June 28:

Hannah turned 7!
My little girl is getting bigger, oh me, oh my. This year she wanted cupcakes (yay!) which made it super easy on me. And luckily Aunt Mindy came down to celebrate so there where seven of us, which made one candle per cupcake. I like when things work out like that.

July 1-2
Erik's parents and sister came to visit. The girls garage-saled in the morning and then Erik and his dad worked on attaching a $5 garage sale slide to our porch.

The kids love it! (And don't worry, we've built up the dirt around the bottom a little more). Mostly we used the dirt that I dug out of our new fire pit:

I dug a big hole, put down a layer of rock, lined it with cinder blocks and then at ground level surrounded it with really cool river rocks that all came out of the free fill dirt we got.

July 3-4

We broke in our new fire pit by roasting hotdogs over a fire and then after the kids were in bed we invited our neighbors over for s'mores.

We did get to ride in the fire truck for the parade, but I didn't get pictures. And then the kids all went to bed and missed all the fireworks. Our really great babysitters came over and "watched" the kids (sat at the house while they slept) and my sister Mindy and I were able to go sit on the fire truck with Erik and watch the fireworks. The firetruck is right behind where they light them off from, it's probably the best seat "in the house". Maybe next year I'll work up the courage to wrangle all four kids in the crowd by myself so the kids can see the big fireworks but this year they enjoyed 3 days of little fireworks. Once with Grammy and Grandpa, once with the neighbor girls across the street and once with the boy next door; I don't think they felt deprived.

Tonight T-ball starts.

Whew...I think that's all.

I Want to Be Like You

2011-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

My husband told me the other day that I needed to update my blog.

You know it's been awhile when he reminds me.

I haven't really needed the reminder, what I really needed was a topic.

Sure, I could write about the many small children that I love, I could write about the many small things that I love. There have been many small things I've wanted to share but haven't found the time or motivation to write down.

But I think this morning I'm going to share this:

Follow the Rabbi Lectures by Ray Vander Laan

My sister Mindy shared these with me last January and Erik and I finally made it through them all. (We only listened to them together while we where traveling somewhere and we just haven't traveled all that much).

I highly recommend these lectures. I put them on my ipod and listened to them before falling asleep at night. I listened to them when I went walking. I listened to them on the computer while the kids where doing homework or watching a movie, and then I listened to them in the van with Erik.

And it's got me thinking about a lot of things. But last night it got me thinking about this:

So many times I've thought to myself: I want to be like my mom. I want to be like Laura Ingalls Wilder. I want to be like this friend, or that friend. I want to be like so and so... The list can go on and on. And yet why is it that though I claim to believe in Jesus and I want to be a disciple of him it's farther down on my list that I want to be like Jesus. That's what it means to be his disciples, to be like him. And I'm finding that I don't know what that means. I'm finding that I don't know what that means because, I hate to admit it, I don't know what he's like. Sure, I know he's God and I can spout the many attributes of God as listed in the Bible. I could probably even quote you some verses. But do I know Jesus? Do I know how to answer the oft misused and abused "What Would Jesus Do?" Do I really know what he would do? I can make an educated guess but do I know? Do I know it with every fiber of my being?

Wish I could tell you that I'm on fire and passionately seeking him, diving into the Bible with joyful abandon and devouring his word like I devour other favorite books, but I can't. It's a choice that I'm making and working at. I want to know my Jesus. I want his name to top the list of people I want to be like.

I want to purposefully and practically know Jesus.

Welcome to My Gym

2011-06-02T09:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday the kids discovered their new "play area".

Well, yesterday it was dropped off.

Two dump truck loads of free fill dirt in the front yard. I love that they love to play in dirt! (Though I'm not sure about loving the mud leftover in the bathtub when they're finally clean at night).

But that's not all.

Three dump truck loads in our neighbors back yard and four on our other neighbors side yard.
We have nice neighbors.

We are sharing the dirt with them and we are leveling out a few low spots in our yards. Which means unless we can sweet talk (or rather con) someone into bringing over a tractor I will be wheelbarrow-ing much of this dirt into our yard. But even if we do have someone bring in a tractor, I'll still get to move a bunch and smooth and spread it out.

Welcome to my gym.

Amidst the many crazy things of our lives the last few months I have been slowly clearing out brush in our backyard.

Ivan and Clayton kindly offered (okay I bribed them with chocolate chips) to stand in front of one day's brush pile for a size reference.

The brush pile is to the left of the picture, but there's our backyard.

There's still a way to go but I do enjoy the work; though as I type my back muscles are all cramped from the starting of said wheelbarrow-ing.

Free dirt, a shovel and a wheelbarrow. That's my kind of workout!

On A Sunny Afternoon in May...

2011-05-25T07:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was cleaning Marilyn up at the kitchen sink and I looked out the window to see Ivan standing quietly and nicely at the garden gate.

He was obviously expecting something.

And then I noticed Hannah walking slowly with purpose on the pathway to the garden.

I laughed really hard, left Marilyn on the counter (came back to her rummaging in the compost bucket), grabbed my camera and caught the tail end of the wedding.

Vows and rings. The rings being jewel stickers that Hannah earned at violin lessons on Monday.

And then back down the aisle they go!

Then they finally noticed me on the deck with the camera and asked for their pictures to be taken. I'm no wedding photographer but I think these turned out well. : )

It's Not Raining!

2011-05-10T12:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we worked outside all day.

Oh it was lovely.

I made a little fence from branches and twine to go in front of my apple tree:

I'm hoping it will keep Quincy from running through that garden/flower bed.

Any ideas on what to do in the area between the apple tree and the deck? That's where I'm standing to take the picture.

Here's another perspective of the same area. I don't know what to do right there, I suppose I could just leave it grass but it gets so wet there when it rains that I just don't know.

The kids worked on defining their play area, I found this sign tacked to the tree.

Marilyn has decided she likes to be rocked to sleep but sometimes it's hard because she (as well as all the kiddos) eat chives all day long and the smell just lingers on their breath.
But Clayton remarked the other day that, "we will never starve when we're outside because we can eat chives".

Hopefully we'll get the garden planted soon and things will grow this year, then maybe we can find more to eat outside than just chives.

Special Ed and Safe Ly

2011-05-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

Back when my sisters and I were politically incorrect...oh wait...we still are...when we were little though we used to call each other "special".

One of us would say, "You're pretty special." and another of us would say "Yeah, special ed."

To which the insulted party would respond, "Who's Ed?"

When I got married I think we discovered who Ed was...it can either be my husband or myself...both of our initals are E.D. (Hence the blog address of specialedswife).

But we also discovered that Ed has a brother. His name is Lee.

Once upon a time I shouted the common "Drive Safe" after my husband to which he responded "ly". Such a stickler for grammar.

So the next time I had need of that phrase I shouted, "Drive safe and take ly with you too."

"Who's Lee?"

"Ed's brother."

So in our family we have "special ed" and "safe ly".

If ever we call after you "Drive safe and take ly with you too." maybe you won't look at us so strange...ly.

On another note, Ivan moved up to a bigger bike so we put the training wheels back on Ivan's old bike and bought Clayton a helmet. He was so excited that he's been wearing it whenever he can. I think the special-ness runs in the family.

Food Allergies

2011-05-04T16:01:00.000-07:00

Oh where, oh where to start.
Many of you know the struggles we've had with Clayton's allergies. If you don't know you can click here.
Clayton has not had a rash or real flare up of eczema for about 2 years now but we decided to have a food panel done on him anyway, just to make sure we weren't missing anything. For the two years we have been very watchful of what has gone into his mouth. Only things that have been minimally processed or not at all. I grind our wheat. We only eat whole plain yogurt and use cultured dairy products when we can't get raw dairy products. We stay away from corn and corn syrups, msg, yeast extracts etc. We eat grass feed beef and eggs from chickens that are mostly raised on pasture, and lots of fruits and veggies. We cheat maybe once a month and get dinner from Left Coast Siesta or a pizza from the Pizza Garden but other than that we don't eat out much.
Our eating habits changed about 5 years ago thanks to a wonderful cookbook called Nourishing Traditions. It was put out by the Weston Price Foundation and I think it has been crucial in how Clayton has done so far.
We had Clayton tested in April by our new ND (Dr. Dramov in Tigard, OR) and went today to find out the results. This food panel tested against 96 foods and they rate the foods according to the antibodies against those foods in Clayton's blood. Rated O-VI, O being low and VI being extremely high.
Here's the thing.
Clayton tested in the III-V range (low to very high) for different types of dairy, eggs, and wheat but he hasn't had any reaction in the last two years and these are common foods in our house.
So what's the difference?
I believe it is the way we eat those foods. Our eggs we get from a local source where the chickens are pasture raised. Our dairy is whole, cultured, minimally processed and because I grind our wheat, it has no preservatives, no added nutrients, and then most of the time we soak the flour in an acidic medium to help break down the hard to digest stuff. He also tested a II (or low risk) for almonds and peanuts. But again, when we eat almonds and peanuts, they are nuts that I've soaked in salt water and then dried with low heat in the oven. Thus they are basically somewhat predigested. All stuff I learned from Nourishing Traditions. Clayton has also been taking cod liver oil and probiotics every day, though this is more recent.
I was so afraid that I would have to relearn to cook and we'd have to be even more diligent in guarding what he puts in his mouth but what we're doing already is enough I guess.
But if he starts to react to something, if his eczema flares up, if he develops asthma or gets a cold and can't quite shake it we will know what foods to avoid but as of right now we can continue on doing what we're doing, eating what we're eating and keep praying that he grows out of it.
Praise the Lord.

Nursemaid's Elbow

2011-05-02T16:45:00.000-07:00

Last night we took Marilyn to the ER for the very first time. (I'm hoping also the last...) Nothing too terribly serious, but I accidentally pulled her elbow from the socket.
How does that happen you ask?
We were at church eating dinner and she was running from the fellowship hall, I ran after her and grabbed her hand and wrist to pull her back into the room and she was still running in the opposite direction. Apparently the ligaments in the arms of 2-4 year olds are not very strong and sometimes one of the bones in the forearm can be dislocated. It's actually more common than you might think and they have a name for it, it's called Nursemaid's Elbow.
And apparently, this is what my mom did to me when I was little, only at that time the doctor told my mom how to pop it back in over the phone.
The ER Doc that we had laughed and said, "Well we better teach you how to do this so when Marilyn does it to her child someday you can help her pop it back in."
Nana was wonderfully kind to come watch the other kiddos and when we got home last night at about 10...something; my house was clean, the dishes mostly done and laundry folded. THANK YOU NANA!
As soon as Miss Moddy's bones were all in the proper place she was asking for a banana and this morning she's not even convinced that we went to the doctor last night, silly girl.
But she does like her "bracelet" and has been wearing it most of the day.
Oh my.

With

2011-04-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

This morning the kids are cleaning their rooms and about 20 minutes ago Clayton came running from his room holding a blanket, "Momma, Momma! I thought this blanket was lost but I looked under the bed it isn't lost, it's with me now!"

It's funny when some little phrase catches you off guard. I fully expected him to say, "I found it! I found it!" but no, he said, "it's with me now!". And it set my mind to thinking.

In the parables of Jesus he talks of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son (Luke 15) and there is rejoicing when these are found. But these things are not just found, they are now with the finder. With implies interaction.

Sometimes we find things just to put them on the shelf or to put them in the place they belong but when Jesus finds us (or we find him) we are found to be with him. We are not found to just know where we are...we are to be with him now. In his arms, being carried by him, interacting WITH Him.

It's a small little word but it made a huge difference in my outlook this morning.

Table Tent

2011-04-21T17:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago on Cowgirl Clippings, Chelsea shared a tent idea that she found on the blog, The Artful Parent.

Oh my, it was love at first sight.

I love forts, always have. BUT...and it's a big BUT... now as a parent and a stay at home mom trying to keep some order to the chaos I have started to loathe the building of forts, because it takes all my chairs and strews many blankets across the floor, house and furniture. BUT...and it's another big BUT... just because it may irk me some does not give me a good excuse to deprive my children of the joy of fort building.

So today I pulled out my sewing machine, a couple old sheets, an old table cloth, and a basket of leftover quilt binding and got to work.

And here you have it:

Three windows and a door, and the oldest three are, as I type, enjoying it fully.

I've even gotten a few random hugs of joys and a thank you every couple minutes!

I'm going to go see if I can squeeze in and join them.

Garden Treasure

2011-04-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday I took recycling to Cart'm and surprise, surprise, I found another treasure.

Erik rolled his eyes.

He does that just about every time I go to Cart'm; at least every time I come home with treasures from Cart'm. Which, if I'm being honest, means just about every time I go to Cart'm.

But this time I found this:

I have no idea what it was used for before I found it. It was a box with a window hinged on it. The boards on the short ends of the box stuck out past the box part by about a foot on each side and the back had weird notches cut out of it.

I bartered and came home with it and Erik helped me cut off the ends and then he cut out the back. Then we set my new cold frame in one of the garden beds and Miss Moddy helped me plant lettuce in it.

I'm so excited.

A few of my seeds I planted weeks ago are actually growing. Not many, but there are a few snow peas poking up.

My parsley is doing really well, but that's not new. It's been growing for awhile. I just love the green!

And do you see the shadows? Do you see the light? The sun actually came out for a visit!

Oh it was beautiful.

Wedding! Oh and other things...

2011-04-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

My dad commented the other day that I hadn't blogged in awhile so I figured I better get on it.

Hi Dad!

But I'm going to skip the obligatory "Sorry I haven't blogged in awhile, I've been..." and just head straight into the big news.

Erik's brother Tony got married this last weekend. My kiddos are so excited to have another Aunt! So, Welcome to the family Aunt Kendra! (I'm also excited to have another sister in law!)

Erik was a groomsman and Ivan was the ring-bearer. They both looked quite handsome.

And I've got a million pictures to sort through but I thought I'd just share a few.

Also life has just been crazy.

Last night I performed "The Story of Gomer" for a Village Missions Pastor's Conference in Cannon Beach. It was really fun being able to share the story again and I already have a few offers to come perform it at other churches in the near future! I'm quite excited about these opportunities that God is presenting. It's quite humbling to be used of God and quite scary.

Tulips are blooming in my yard. The seeds I planted in the garden a few weeks ago are slowly sprouting and just a few little green shoots are venturing above the surface of mud. Sadly I think many seeds were drowned.

My sister Mindy is at Ecola Bible School for the spring term and we're loving having her around. At least once a day Miss Moddy asks for "Minny". Though sometimes she asks for "Bethy" (Aunt Beth) and I have to tell her that "No, we're just going to see Aunt Minny right now".

Hopefully I can get back into the habit of sharing more often. But often that's "a pie-crust promise, easily made, easily broken."

Name that movie.

"New" Couch

2011-03-23T13:31:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my lovely, wonderful mother, my couch has been re-upholstered!

We bought a brand new flexsteel couch years ago when Hannah was just a few months old. Not thinking anything of it, we picked out a red couch. It was covered in a wannabe micro fiber type material. We loved the red but the plainness did nothing for camouflaging messes.
Fast forward about 6 years and we were the owners of a well built but really dilapidated looking couch. Every stain showed and you could see the strain on the fabric from the couch enduring four rambunctious children. The fabric on the cushions was starting to fray and there where a few places that my children could get their fingers in and remove stuffing. Not good.

(Notice the couch behind my sleeping handsome boys.)

(I'm horrible at taking "before" pictures...so I had to search hard for these two, the one with Ivan in the helmet is from a year ago and notice the nasty stains on the arm of the couch.)

It needed help, badly.

Now, I have attempted a few re-upholster jobs in my brief history but all my "jobs" where cheap chairs I found at the dump re-sale shop, so it didn't matter if I got it right or not. But my couch...no way, not by myself.

So I called my mom. "Mom, will you help me re-cover my couch?"

Without hesitation she said yes. My mom is awesome. And also she has quite a bit more experience re-upholstering things. She knows what she's doing and she's good.

Back in October I went to Fabric Depot and found a great upholstery fabric for $7 a yard, and bought all that they had left; I think it ended up being about 18 yards. I wanted to be on the safe side ('cause it's not like I could run out and buy more mid-project). It's textured and patterned and will hide stains well.

And the fabric has been waiting in my craft closet until my mom purchased the pneumatic stapler she wanted and found the time to come help me. Though as it turns out, I mostly helped her...

She got here Sunday night and Monday morning after the kids and I did a little schoolwork we got to work taking the couch apart.

The key is to take it apart slowly and use the old pieces as patterns.

We got it all taken apart and the main body of it, except for the back, put together again on Monday. Erik even helped with the stretching, pulling and stapling. And then Tuesday we spent working on the cushions. My mom did all the sewing, so I did most of the taking apart of old cushions, so we could use the piping and zippers, and the cutting out of new pieces.

The back cushions used to be attached, but I hated it. They were quite scrunched down and I hated not being able to turn them, so we didn't attach them this time. In doing so we discovered we didn't have enough piping to go around the "new" back cushions. So my mom checked at Creative Fabrics in Wheeler and Doris gave my mom the number for Jerry's Custom Upholstery in Bay City. I called and he said he would sell me some, so I hopped in the van and drove down there. I only needed 10 yards, so he just gave it to me! He said I paid more in the gas coming down, so just to take it! Lovely!

We finished last night at about 11:20pm.

I really like my "new" couch. My mom does good work.

And I did help some, and so did Erik. I have about 7 or so yards of material left! So maybe I went a little overboard with the fabric, but have no fear, I'm already planning a few projects for it.

Marilyn Oliva

2011-03-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

I thought many times about sitting down yesterday and writing a Birthday post for Miss Moddy but amidst the many things going on, it didn't happen. We also haven't "officially celebrated" with cake yet. We're waiting until Sunday and she'll share a cake with Aunt Mindy.

My little girl is 2.

2!

I'm having a hard time believing it.

She's a spunky little thing and sometimes I just look at her and wonder, "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

She's full of life and energy. She loves animals, her "special job" is feeding Quincy in the morning (she gets really upset if she sees anyone else doing it). She loves playing outside. She's a sweet cuddle-er and my favorite thing is in the morning she'll come stumbling into our room if we're not up yet, climb up next to me and lay across me and snuggle. She also likes to help unload the dishwasher.

She still takes a nap in the afternoon and usually requests me to sing. Her favorite song is "Bible tells me so" (Jesus loves me) which she requests two or three times in a row. Then if she's feeling particularly silly she'll interrupt me mid-song with a smile, a laugh, and a request for "lu-lu". (Another lullaby I've sung to the kids since they were little.)

Happy Birthday Marilyn!

Love you baby.

Garden Dreams

2011-03-09T17:00:00.000-08:00

This year we're getting a head start on the garden. I just planted a few colder weather veggies directly into the ground and I'm hoping they actually grow.
Sunday was a gorgeous day, still cold but the sun was shining so Erik and I headed out to the garden to work the beds. We dug up most of the invading buttercups and tilled the soil.

(Side note: Erik now wears a wool hat instead of a baseball cap...and oh boy do I like the look of it.)

We then worked some of this wonderful compost into the beds. This beautiful dirt came from our worm bin. We have red worms and a huge box that we throw all the compost from our kitchen into. And in turn we get to "harvest" this beautiful dirt to put back in our soil. I never thought that worms and compost and dirt would make me smile but they do.

This is what the inside of our bin looks like. Nothing fancy, but we started by throwing all the compost on one side of the bin and when that got full and subsequently worked down we started throwing the compost into the other side and the worms migrated over, leaving the garden ready stuff behind.
Miss Moddy came out after her nap and helped drop seeds in their rows. She was quite helpful and careful.

Then she joined Clayton in the hammock for a swing.

Three beds are worked and two and a half are planted with snow peas, kale, swiss chard and spinach. There's some garlic growing that I planted last year and a few onions that were missed last harvest.
Here's hoping things grow this year and that the slugs stay away. Spring is around the corner, I know it. My irises are blooming and just today, in spite of the rain and blustering winds I spotted a yellow tulip just about to open.

This is Why...

2011-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

...I love homeschooling!

Today we were playing with pattern shapes and Hannah had a large hexagon shape in front of her. I asked her to tell me about her shape and she said, "It's a square."

In much confusion I asked, "What do you mean it's a square? It's not a square, it's a hexagon. Can you try and explain?"

And she said, "Well, it's kind of like it's a box."

Me: "Huh?"

She went and picked up a cardboard box out of the laundry room, brought it to me and held it at an angle, "See, kind of like this."

I still wasn't getting it.

So she pointed to her shape again and said, "Well, just pretend there's a line here and here and here."

And then I saw it.

And to explain what she explained to me, I drew you a picture.

Look in order of top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right.

Let's just say I was/ I am quite impressed.

And then I explained that that shape is a cube.

I love being in on these discoveries that my children make.

Cooking With Emily?

2011-03-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Every year the church puts on a "Gifts of the People" art show during the 4th of July weekend, preceded by art classes the few weeks before. You can come and learn photography, painting, quilting, crocheting, leatherworking, glass work and guitar.
So...
Hypothetically speaking...
If someone asked me to teach a cooking class some night at church, what would you like to learn to make?
Okay...
Maybe it's not so hypothetical.
And maybe I've already said I would.
And maybe the panic has already set in...
What should I teach?
A full meal?
Something baked?
Breakfast?
Lunch?
Dinner?
Snack?
Dessert?
Any suggestions?
Any recipe I've mentioned that you would love to learn from an expert....er...me?
Please comment and let me know, I'm horrible at decisions like this.

Jealous?

2011-03-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

I've had this for awhile now but I keep forgetting to share about my "new toy".
I inherited this wonderful grain mill from Erik's grandparents. It's a wood encased stone mill that can be hooked up to a handle or an outlet and grinds beautiful flour. The latest that it could have been purchased was 1972. I doubt the warranty on the back of the owners manual is still viable but...
Oh how I love it.
Don't get me wrong, I love my kitchen aid grain mill it just can't handle the quantities that I require. I still use it for cracked wheat cereal.
But this...

Well, actually these:
Can turn many cups of grain into many more cups of flour in about 5 minutes.

I really like freshly ground flour.

Two Hours and Two Dollars

2011-02-26T13:44:00.000-08:00

In two hours this morning I made 2 dresses and 2 ties, all for $2.

I'm sort of proud of myself.

I was browsing around etsy sites last week and came across the pillowcase dress pattern (which you can find for free by googling it) as well as a few really cute ties for boys and I thought, "I could make those."

Now, sometimes I can and sometimes I can't but that doesn't stop me from trying.

So when I took recycling to Cart'm last weekend I looked through their resale shop and found a couple clean great pillowcases for 50 cents each. I grabbed three striped yellow ones and a striped blue one.

The striped yellow ones where turned into matching dresses for Hannah and Marilyn:
Notice how sweet and sisterly they are:

And then the blue striped pillowcase was cut up and used for ties for the boys. These are just fabric cut in the shapes of ties, layered with warm and natural batting and sewn with the raw edge showing. The neckband is elastic. Brilliant and funky. And no matter how the boys rough house or pull on the ties they can't really harm them or "un-tie" them.

I used to think that Hannah was the poser I had to worry about...but I turned the camera on Ivan today and something happened...Oh my how I love my kiddos.

Checking In...

2011-02-25T08:12:00.000-08:00

This Sunday night I am performing "The Story of Gomer" at Calvary Bible Church at 7pm. I mentioned it a few weeks back, but performance time is drawing nigh. There's a little bit more about the story and a few pictures up over at Cowgirl Clippings today.

SNOW!

2011-02-24T16:01:00.000-08:00

YAY!
I love snow.
I think I might love it more though if we had proper snow clothes. With as fast as my children grow and as infrequently as we have snow or visit places that have snow I have a hard time shelling out the money for proper snow clothes.
We attempted to play in the snow this morning. We piled on the clothes and went out in spite of our lack of proper hand wear. It lasted five minutes.
Then there was much "grump"ing and screaming.
The kids even joined in too.
Just kidding.
I would have gladly stayed a little while longer but I couldn't handle the drama.
So I made them all come in.
I even threatened to send them all back to bed.
But I was lucky enough to catch a couple photos before the mayhem ensued.
Then this afternoon the neighbor girls came over and they all (minus Miss Moddy who was napping) built a snowman. The only help they received from me was when I handed them a carrot from the veggie drawer of the fridge.

Hannah Art

2011-02-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

Hannah's art continues to amaze me. I posted this one on facebook a few days ago. Her new favorite movie is The Swan Princess.

This one I found lying on the floor amongst the scrap paper.

And this one is one of my new favorites. It's hanging on one of my cupboards.

Answering in Love

2011-02-08T11:36:00.000-08:00

Today I'm up to something new.
Today I have a post titled "Answering in Love" up over at Cowgirl Clippings.
It's not Breakfast at Emily's, I ran out of breakfast ideas. I hit a wall and in the scramble of trying to find new breakfast ideas I forgot to make the old ones for my family. Silly, I know.
So now, every once in awhile I will be guest posting over at Cowgirl Clippings on a variety of things.
I hope you stop by.

Rain Gutter Shelves and Maps

2011-02-06T13:36:00.001-08:00

A friend walked into our house the other day and was admiring our "remodel" when she remarked, "There are too many white walls for an Emily house."

And I would tend to agree, I like color and the warmth that color can bring but when we had everything redone because of the flooding I wanted a blank slate for the living/dining room areas, because we have a lot of color we apply to the walls in the forms of art and maps and things.

A few weeks ago I found the idea for Rain Gutter bookshelves on a blog called Raising Olives.
I fell in love immediately.
It was the answer to my book storage problem.
Namely, my kid-book storage problem.
Kid books come in all shapes and sizes and they don't "shelve" well so they end up stacked on a shelf and I end up reading the same few stories over and over again because the kids always grab the books on top.

BUT...

Now all the books are visible and they look nice and the kids can easily put them away!

Yes, those are rain gutters. Real, regular rain gutters hung on the wall.

And not only do I have those really cool book shelves but my husband also trimmed my wall maps with the extra trim we had lying around. (He also got our new shower rod put up yesterday, which makes three projects finished in one day after he passed his First Responder test yesterday morning! Yep, he's pretty much amazing.)

The walls are still white but I don't think we're lacking for color by any means.

Find a Tree

2011-02-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

Clayton is potty trained!
Marilyn is reverting, but she's not yet two.
I'm not worried.

Clayton's only accidents lately are when he's playing outside in the backyard and tries to make it into the house and take his boots off...he usually doesn't make it.

So we told him it was okay to pee on a tree when he's out in the backyard.

The other day he came running in full of excitement, "I didn't go potty in my pants, I went on a tree! I didn't go in my pants!"

I told him good job and he went out to play and the older two kiddos and I went back to schoolwork.

About 5 minutes later Clayton comes running in again, "Marilyn took off her clothes!"

And I stepped outside to find one slightly nekkid and very disappointed little girl.

It's doesn't quite work the same with little girls.

The Story of Gomer

2011-02-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

"The word hypocrisy comes from the Greek ὑπόκρισις (hypokrisis), which means "Jealous" "play-acting", "acting out", "coward" or "dissembling".^[2] The word hypocrite is from the Greek word ὑποκρίτης (hypokrites), the agentive noun associated with υποκρίνομαι (hypokrinomaiκρίση, "judgement" »κριτική (kritiki), "critics") presumably because the performance of a dramatic text by an actor was to involve a degree of interpretation, or assessment, of that text.

Whereas hypokrisis applied to any sort of public performance (including the art of rhetoric), hypokrites was a technical term for a stage actor and was not considered an appropriate role for a public figure. In Athens in the 4th century BC, for example, the great orator Demosthenes ridiculed his rival Aeschines, who had been a successful actor before taking up politics, as a hypokrites whose skill at impersonating characters on stage made him an untrustworthy politician. This negative view of the hypokrites, perhaps combined with the Roman disdain for actors, later shaded into the originally neutral hypokrisis. It is this later sense of hypokrisis as "play-acting", i.e., the assumption of a counterfeit persona, that gives the modern word hypocrisy its negative connotation."

- Wikipedia

Why did I start with a really long quote from wikipedia on hypocrisy?

There have been many times in my life, none that I am proud of, that I have played the hypocrite. I have said one thing and done another. And in my hatred of all things hypocritical I have questioned many times my love of acting, of being on stage; struggling to find the reasons I love it so much since the word hypocrisy is rooted in "play-acting". Why is it that I love pretending to be something I'm not?

Is it the glory of performance, the applause afterward?
I have cried out often, Lord, why this? What am I suppose to do with it?!

And then one day in passing someone mentioned, "You know, Jesus loved to tell stories."

And it hit me. I love acting because I love to tell stories. I love to tell stories that are worth telling.

So I've been praying that God would lead me to stories that are worth telling. Two years ago I saw a story written and performed by Geri Campbell called "The Story of Gomer." I e-mailed her at that time wondering if I could perform it. At that time she wasn't ready to let anyone else perform it but I kept the e-mail.

I think God was waiting for my heart to be right with him. He was waiting for me to say, "Lord, I want to tell this story because it's important to you and not because I think I could do a good job. I want to tell it because people need to hear it, not because I have a need to perform."

And a few months ago I e-mailed again.

On the evening of Sunday, February 27, 2011 at Calvary Bible Church I will perform "The Story of Gomer" and I am so excited.

Well, nervous excited. I still have a bit to get ready before that time.

The Story of Gomer is based out of the book of Hosea, when God tells Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer. And Hosea did; living out painfully and dramatically how God loves Israel even when Israel turned their backs on Him and chased after other gods. Time and time again God takes his people back just as time and time again Hosea took Gomer back, forgiving and loving her. But it's not just the story of Hosea and Gomer, or God and Israel, but also the story of God and each of us. God loves us with an incredible, redeeming, transforming love. He has bought us with the blood of his son Jesus and there is nothing we can do to earn it or lose it.

It is a story worth telling over and over again because so many need to hear it. Please pray with me that God would use the performing of this story and that he would prepare the hearts of those who see it. ... And that my memory wouldn't fail me and that I would perform it well.

Hair Cut

2011-01-24T08:28:00.000-08:00

Nope.
Not one of the kids.
Me.
It's not drastic but it's a trim and there was quite a bit of hair on the floor.
I must say I love having a sister and a sister-in-law that both cut hair.
They're both amazing at what they do too.
This hair cut is courtesy of my sister-in-law Ashley. She's married to Erik's brother BJ and they have an adorable little girl just two months younger than Miss Moddy. (That's them behind Clayton, Moddy is in the pink.)

Both are very active and it's hard to get a picture of them together.

Anyway...

This weekend while Erik attended his First Responder class I took the kids to the zoo and then to Grammy and Grandpa's house to visit. Saturday Ashley came over and was kind enough to cut my hair and just for fun I thought I'd attempt a few self portraits and show you the before and after.

Before:
(This is, I need to take a shower and put in my contacts "before picture". I thought it might give you a little better contrast).

After:
(Not a huge change, I wanted to keep most of the length and there's just not that much you can do with long hair. So basically more layers, a few more, shorter bangs.)

I like it.
Anyone else try and walk by as many mirrors as possible after they get their hair cut, just to see it?

M.I.A.

2011-01-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

Hi.
It's been awhile.
I'm sorry.
I missed you.
Did you miss me?
Life has been happening.
It does that you know.

I've been feeling a little off lately, so I started a 21 day Chaparral Cleanse.
And discontinued my morning cup of coffee.
All at the same time.
Not a good idea.
I thought that there was something seriously wrong with me.
I now think it was some serious detox symptoms.
I'm still going to see a great ND in the near future though, just to make sure my assumptions are right.
I'm feeling much better this week.

I've been reading a lot to my kiddos.
They like it.
I LOVE it.
We just finished Little House in the Big Woods and started Little House on the Prairie. It makes me so happy to read these stories to my kiddos.
And we're getting a little more serious about our other curricular studies. We've been doing great with phonics and learning to read but falling a little behind in oh, math. But we're on track now.

And these are all my excuses for why I haven't been here for you lately.
I'll try to do better.

Clayton has been drawing me pictures.

And Ivan plays horse to Marilyn's cowgirl.

And Hannah continues to fill sheet after sheet of paper with pictures and words.

Lately Hannah and Ivan have become partners in a money making scheme. Hannah has been decorating sheets of paper and Ivan folds them into paper airplanes. (He's pretty good, they fly better than any of mine ever have). They have a whole box and they plan on selling them. My favorite so far is the orange and purple plaid one. I might have to raid my wallet.

It's that time again though.
Time to say goodbye.
I'll see you later.
I've got to go make dinner.
It happens every day and yet still manages to take me by surprise sometimes.

I'll leave you with this darling quote from my darling Clayton, age 3:

"Can I help you make dinner? 'Cause I'm a good man that makes dinner, like Christmas dinner."

Stuff and Things

2011-01-04T09:02:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else find it funny just how much stores capitalize on New Year's Resolutions?
We walked into a store on New Year's Day and the "seasonal section" of the store was filled with exercise equipment. And right next to that, storage containers.
Yep, it's the season for storing things we bought but don't have room for, or for storing all the new "Holiday" decorations we want to save for next year but then will discover next year that they are out of style and will want a whole new style.
I'm sorry that I'm sarcastic this morning.
I'm finding more and more that "stuff" is getting to me. Not stuff in the general term of things of life, but stuff, junk, clutter, more junk.
I'm truly loving getting rid of un-needed things. The kids got quite a few toys and things for Christmas so we went through their old and packed up those that we didn't need anymore. And even though we took a u-haul load to Goodwill just a month and half ago or so I already have at least two good sized boxes to take again.
Life runs a little smoother when it's not cluttered with stuff.
It runs smoother because I have time and space to play with my kiddos. I don't have to constantly be pushing aside the stuff to just breathe.
I didn't mean for this to become a rant on stuff this morning.

I was going to tell you that despite a unwilling start, Clayton is now potty trained and waking up with a dry diaper most mornings. Marilyn on the other hand refuses to wear a diaper but is having more trouble going potty on the toilet. She climbed into the bathtub yesterday to take care of business. And the other day she had an accident in her underwear and I accidentally flushed her underwear down the toilet when I was trying to rinse everything out. I'm still hoping they went through okay, we haven't had any back up problems yet.

Marilyn has also been climbing out of her crib. She's gotten quite speedy. Yesterday she refused to stay down for a nap. She had her pants and diaper off and was out of her crib having a tea party with Hannah's tea set within 45 secs. to a minute after I laid her down and shut the door. So I figured if she could be out that quickly I would make it easier for her to crawl back in. I set up the toddler bed and she slept in a big girl bed last night. She got out once right after we laid her down and then slept soundly the rest of the night. She looked so sweet with her little head resting peacefully on her little pillow and her quilts tucked up around her. I would have taken a picture but I didn't want to run the chance of waking her up. She's growing up, the little turkey.

I'm off to wash dishes now. I'm not a big fan of dishes. I mean I like eating off of them, they serve a very important purpose, but our family goes through a lot of them and I still haven't cultivated the discipline to keep up with them.

May your New Year be filled with less stuff and more of what's important!

Once Again

2010-12-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again.
The end of the year.
And time again to not make resolutions.
I've spent the last half hour or so re-reading my "New Year's posts" from the last two years and I think I was more shocked that I've actually been blogging for almost 3 years!
Yikes.
And I still have things to say, and people that actually read what I write.
So this year I'm making it simple.
I'm saying "Happy New Year".
May it be bright and merry and wonderful.
See you next year!
I'm going to go make peanut butter cookies.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-12-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

I'm reposting "Eggs In A Basket" over at Cowgirl Clippings today. I actually made it this time, so there's pictures. I like pictures. And this recipe intrigues me...you basically crack an egg into a pastry lined muffin tin, add more pastry and bake it. Oh but it's yummy and well worth the little bit of time and effort. And there's a cheese dill sauce for the top. It's good.

We've moved back in!

2010-12-24T14:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, most of you know that but I've been remiss in posting pictures.

So here they are.

You're also in for a special treat, you get to see the house decorated for Christmas.

This is what it looked like with all our stuff in but not put away:Then we took a load to the dump and rented a u-haul trailer to take stuff to Goodwill.

And just a few days ago, it looked like this (it's a little messier now).

That's the living room and dining room. With the biggest Christmas tree we've ever had, it's a little over 8 feet tall.
We've always put the table in the breakfast nook but it was getting a little crowded. Here's the kitchen and the breakfast nook, which is now just that, a nook. It's my favorite place to sit and drink tea and crochet or quilt.

And here's the master bedroom:

And the master bath:

I seriously feel like I'm in a hotel bathroom or a spa or something.

Remember what it used to look like?

Yeah, we've definitely got improvement.

Anyone want to buy it?

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-12-23T08:18:00.001-08:00

Today on Cowgirl Clippings I am sharing a breakfast recipe I have never tried. It's called Eggs in a Basket. I found it in one of these cookbooks.

I was desperately searching for a recipe that didn't call for sugar...I kind of overdid it on the sugar the last week or so and my body is saying "NO MORE!".

I'm hoping to make this in the next few days...it looks really interesting. But if you get to it before I do, please share what you think of it.

Happy Birthday Sir Ivan!

2010-12-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

Sir Ivan the Clifford of Dante turned 5 years old on December 18th!
Though he's looking more like a cowboy than a knight. Can knights be cowboys and vice versa?
He's wanted a cowboy hat for awhile and Hannah and I found this one at an antique store a few months ago. He looks pretty handsome, if I do say so myself, and I do.
He got a nerf gun from Grandpa Cliff and Grandma Casey and a couple new Thomas the train engines from our friends the Hastings for his wooden tracks. He also got a remote control car from the Pences, though he and daddy haven't tried it out just yet.
He requested a chocolate cake with a red dinosaur, but I didn't have enough red food coloring so he would have ended up with a pink one. I convinced him that green was better and he was happy with the result.
I don't usually bake cakes in my cast iron skillet but while I was mixing up the cake batter the power went out. So because I can still use my propane cooktop while the power is out, I poured the batter into my largest cast iron skillet and cooked it on the stovetop. The bottom got a little tiny bit scorched because I had the heat up too high at the beginning. The power came back on when the cake was almost done so I stuck it in the oven for about 8 minutes. It was actually pretty good.

Sir Ivan is my shyest one, but he can be loud and silly too. He loves his school work and is reading well (and loving it) already.
He's gentle and kind and loves to play with both his sisters.
And he's got a pretty good aim with that nerf gun.

Sometimes he seems so old, he's always been big, but I can't hardly believe my little boy is 5!

The Dress

2010-12-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

My mom made this dress.
I think...right mom?
And I wore it.
Yep, this is me:

And luckily for me, she saved it too...and passed it down to my girls.

Hannah wore it a few times.

This is when I was very pregnant with Ivan, Hannah is kindly blocking the huge belly.

Just the other Sunday I put it on Miss Moddy. And here you get a series of pictures, maybe it will help you understand the live wire I have here. She's a crazy tiny.
I tried to get a semi-normal pose from her one more time...
But now I'm obviously being told...I love this dress, and maybe someday I'll have another girl to wear it too, or maybe we can keep it nice for my future granddaughters; wouldn't that be cool?

Though, I don't want to think about that yet.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-12-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

We've missed the 13th of December to make these Saffron Buns for St. Lucia's feast day. But they're good any time of the year. So check out the recipe on Cowgirl Clippings today.

Happy Birthday Erik!

2010-12-15T08:24:00.000-08:00

On December 13th my wonderful husband Erik turned 28.
I'm sure glad he was born.
He's an amazing husband and father and I love him a lot.
So, Happy Birthday!
(Even though you don't read my blog.)

It was on Monday, so he still had to work, but his boss' wife brought him a muffin and a cup of coffee. The kids pulled together some of their "monies" and wrapped up 39 cents for him. I found him him the Pocket Ref, which is perfect for him. He's been totally into trigonometry lately, with angles and how all the numbers of hip roofs work out...he tries to explain it to me but I still don't get it. I'll stick with my simple math required for balancing the checkbook and quilting and be amazed by his intellect. I made a turkey dinner and applesauce cake with butterscotch meringue for desert. The only birthday candles we had where the number ones we've used for the kids but luckily we had a 2 and two fours so I made a plus sign out of toothpicks and we had 24+4 emblazoned across his cake.

I'm so glad I get to spend my life with this wonderful man. He does an amazing job leading and providing for our family.
I like him.
A lot.

My Big, Little Girl

2010-12-10T10:29:00.001-08:00

I'm a proud mother.
And I'm blogger...
So I'm blogging about potty.
Miss Moddy, who is not even two, is 1. wearing underwear today and 2. telling me when she needs to go potty and 3. actually going potty on the toilet.

My dear, 3 year old Clayton doesn't want to even step foot in the bathroom.

Oh well, we'll get there eventually.

My dad has nothing to do with this post, I just like this picture. : )

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-12-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

This week's installment (that word sounds so formal, I'm not sure I like it) over at Cowgirl Clippings is Bread Pudding.
It's a new find for me and my family and we all absolutely love it. So if it's old hat for you, I'm sorry and if it's something you've heard of but never tried? Get cooking! It's a.maz.ing.

Out of the Mouth...

2010-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Last night Erik and Hannah stayed up and watched "The Sing Off". I was sorry to have missed it but I was at bible study so Erik filled me in.
During one song, he couldn't remember much except it was a guy singing about making good girls bad or other such nonsense, one of the girls in the performing group took off her glasses, shook down her hair and did some sort of chest/shoulder shimmy and shake.
My darling Hannah looked her daddy in the eyes and calmly stated, "Well, that was stupid."

I hope she always thinks it's stupid.

Blogging Woes

2010-12-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

I've wanted to blog so many things lately.
Sometimes I think in terms of blog posts.
And yet, sitting here tonight waiting for dinner to finish cooking I can't think of a thing.
I actually came up with something for dinner, which I'm quite excited about considering at 4:45pm I had nothing.
I've made it through 6 days of Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred exercise dvd and I haven't died yet. I think I'll wait one more day before bumping it up to level 2.
Oops.
Now dinner is ready.
Maybe I'll put blogging on my to-do list tomorrow.
If I remember what I wanted to say.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

This lovely pile of spices and flour is all part of the Jenny's Gingerbread I made for breakfast the other morning. It's light and fluffy and melt in your mouth delectable.

Check out Cowgirl Clippings for the recipe.
And with all this Christmas baking going on you could also join us in the The 31 Day Challenge. While I don't get out and run in the mornings during the winter months because of these guys roaming the neighborhood:

I have pulled out the Jillian Micheals 30 Day Shred workout video I borrowed from a friend ages ago and never used. Hannah did the whole video with me yesterday, we'll see if she makes it through again today, or if I do.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-11-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

I'm a little early this week; yes it is only Wednesday.
But this week I'm sharing a make ahead breakfast casserole called "Country Brunch" over on Cowgirl Clippings.
There's also a few pictures of my new, finished, kitchen.

Wedding Dress Photo Shoot

2010-11-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a grumpy day.

For me and the kids.

So I put us all in time out.

Trying to also be productive, I started to put more things away in my bedroom (still unpacking) and found the box with my old prom dresses and my wedding dress.

So I called to Hannah, let everyone out of timeout, except Miss Moddy (she fell asleep) and let Hannah try on my wedding dress and a few prom dresses.

The day went a little better after that.
But please don't grow up too fast Hannah-Hannah!

With a Smile and a Song

2010-11-18T22:24:00.000-08:00

This summer I stopped at a garage sale.

It was at the home of an older couple that goes to our church.

For the life of me I could not think of their names, still can't.

The man mentioned to another gentleman browsing the garage sale wares that he loved to hear me sing.

Then he turned to me and told me that if I saw anything I wanted I could literally have it for a song.

I started to get nervous.

What would I sing?

Really?

Was there anything I couldn't live without?

I politely declined the offer.

And now as I sit here contemplating the cutting up of 40 lbs. of apples to lay out in my dehydrator I'm mentally kicking myself.

I'm pretty sure there was a barely used apple peeler/corer/slicer sitting on one of the tables.

I remember pausing at it.

But that was before I had a dehydrator; I didn't know my need.

And I could have had it for a song!

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-11-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

This is my 350th post on my blog and I'm using it to say, "I've got nothin'." With moving and unpacking I just didn't get around to writing Breakfast at Emily's this week. But tune in next week on Wednesday for an early post. All that said, you should still check out Cowgirl Clippings, there's lots of fun stuff over there.

Christmas Chandelier

2010-11-11T08:38:00.001-08:00

I'm getting ready for Christmas.

I'm trying to be more creative this year.

I know, some of you are probably thinking, "more creative?! Yikes, how do you get more creative?!"

I'm branching out.

I'm playing electrician.

Okay, maybe not electrician but I've started playing with wiring lamps and lights and chandeliers.

I found this great chandelier a month ago or so at Cart'm for $8.
The plan was to take it apart and use my old light bar from my bathroom and make a new light bar with the pieces from both.
I succeeded to the point of taking them apart and putting them together into a funky looking light bar that I really liked. (sorry no picture)

The problem was that I couldn't figure out how to hang it on the wall. The old light bar used the fixtures on the front of the light bar to hold it with pressure against the back piece that was attached to the wall. That wasn't going to work this time.

So I gave up and bought a $40 light bar at Fred Meyer for my bathroom.

Not wanting to give up my $8 chandelier I decided yesterday to put it back together, decorate it will some beads from old jewelry and hang it in Hannah's bedroom for Christmas.

(You were wondering when I'd get back to Christmas weren't you?)

I saw a darling sparkly chandelier at Ikea a bit ago and immediately knew that Hannah would love it but didn't have the extra cash for it. She loves to watch Home Decorating shows with me and then designs her own bedroom, always with a sparkly, jewel be-draped chandelier.

Perfect.

So I put it all back together, and it works!
I'm really excited about that part.

I have yet to decorate it and hang it, but that's the plan.

Don't worry I will share pictures when I get to that part.

Please just don't mention it to Hannah, it's a surprise.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-11-11T07:10:00.000-08:00

Raw Fries
Cowgirl Clippings
Oh, I'm tired today.

And Now For Something Totally New...

2010-11-09T07:31:00.000-08:00

I finished my first ever felted project yesterday.

It's based off a felted diaper bag pattern I saw online.

It'll probably become my new project bag.

And I think I might make more.

Only a tad smaller, perhaps.

House Update

2010-11-05T08:26:00.001-07:00

Well, the carpet is in.

But we are not.

Some of our stuff is.

But we are not.

And Erik won't let me touch anything in the "work area" part of the house. So I think it's best I just stay away until I can.

It's a mess, and I want to clean.

It's close. Really close. But my husband being a both perfectionist and a finish carpenter, took a look around our "almost finished" house and wrote out a bullet list of things that were not done correctly or needed to be fixed. he wrote small and filled two sheets of college-ruled notebook paper. Only one side of each paper though, lest you worry.

I'm trying to be patient.

It's hard to be patient when it's so close to ready. All of our stuff that was in the trailer parked in our driveway has been moved into the back bedrooms and the living room (which are finished) and I've started to go through a few boxes already.

A few friends and I are attempting a garage sale on the 19th and 20th of November. Eh, why not? I have four boxes of stuff pulled out for it already and I haven't even begun to completely unpack.

It has been wonderful living comfortably with 4 children in 800 square feet and other than furniture (and not even all of it) there is tons of stuff out of the trailer that I've realized I can live without.

Oh, wait.

You probably want to see our carpeting...

It's beige-ish, with flecks of browns in it. Still very neutral and yet will not show every speck of dirt.
Apparently the contractor's plan was to finish up yesterday. That didn't happen, and there's more guys, or a guy coming out Saturday to work on it....

Someday. Someday we'll move back in.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-11-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

Old Fashioned Cream Scones over at Cowgirl Clippings today.
As I was looking up the link this morning so that I can post it for you, Hannah caught sight of the pictures and begged to have them for breakfast today (I'll admit, I took the pictures a month ago or so...). So here I go, to look up my own recipe.

Park Days

2010-10-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm learning to take advantage of these Fall days when the sun shines and the rain is sparse. I used to feel guilty about running to the park in the morning because dishes weren't done and we hadn't started schoolwork yet. But I've come to a few realizations: 1. The dishes eventually get done and I'd much rather spend a morning at the park with my kiddos and 2. We've figured out that doing schoolwork after lunch when Moddy takes her nap works better for us. For some reason I was believing that it had to be done first thing in the morning, silly me.

Of course, Clayton started off yesterday at the park by hitting his sister. So I drew a circle in the bark chips and there he stood for timeout.

Miss Moddy loves the park and she loves to climb and sometimes I think she'll give me a heart attack.
She climbs:
She sits:
She does the drop and hang. And she loves it all and has no fear.

Momma, has a little fear.
Ivan and Hannah have both learned to pump on the swings and only occasionally want a little push. Ivan has started sticking his tongue out when he sees me taking pictures (where do they learn this?) I caught him just before here:
Ahh...there it is though:
And my superheroes:
Hannah-Hannah lost another tooth the other morning. It's been loose for awhile and it fell out when she was eating her morning apple. I'm loving the cute toothless smile:
Though I don't know about this type of posing (where do they learn this stuff?):
Again with the "no fear", she holds on, she swings, she leans back to look at the sky and shakes the swing around. I just don't know what I'm going to do with her.
I think I'll keep her though.

I kind of like her.

I kind of like them all.

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

The kiddos have been begging to carve pumpkins this year, and a week ago when we were at Fred Meyer we picked up 3 to do just that.
They sat on the counter for a week and everyday I heard "Can we carve our pumpkin faces now?"
So Wednesday we did.
Mod was taking her nap and Clayton had fallen asleep so Hannah and Ivan each picked "their" pumpkin, I gave them a permanent marker and told them to draw the face for me to cut out.
I then cut off the tops and told them to pull out all the insides.
I don't think they realized all that was involved and commented that they never wanted to do this again.
But we made it through.

Clayton woke up and told me what he wanted and I drew it and then cut his out as well.

We had to run to the store for candles but later that night when Daddy got home we stuck in the candles and showed off their creations. Hannah, Ivan and Clayton are all hoping to scare some trick-or-treat-ers with the "really scary pumpkin faces".
Can you guess which pumpkin was designed by which kid?

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-10-28T07:22:00.000-07:00

Wow. I've been slacking in my blogging lately. But I still have a recipe up over at Cowgirl Clippings today. It's my favorite (I know, they're all my favorite) Spiced Pumpkin Waffle Recipe.
It's Fall, the weather is colder and rainy and anything pumpkin-y or spicy sounds wonderful and tasty and comfortable. (Can something taste comfortable?) For some reason I can't load a picture to tempt you in that direction, so you'll just have to follow the links for all the goodness. Enjoy!

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-10-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

Mmm....coffee.
I love coffee.
So when I found this recipe a few years ago I couldn't pass it up.
Though I left out the rum, I'm not a big rum person.
Especially first thing in the morning.
You're curious aren't you?
Better head over to Cowgirl Clippings and check out the White Spiced Coffee.

Merry Christmas!

2010-10-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Don't hate me.

I've been listening to Christmas music all morning and it's not even Halloween yet.

It's not the first time this month either.

While I will exclaim, "Good grief! It's not even Halloween or Thanksgiving yet and they have Christmas stuff out!" right along with Hannah (true story, it happened the other day at Fred Meyer) I will happily pull out the Christmas music early.

I think it has something to do with Christmas craft bazaars.

(Confused? It helps to listen to Christmas music when you're making stuff to sell at a "Holiday" craft bazaar.)

I love craft bazaars.

I used to any way.

My mom sold stuff at craft bazaars a lot when I was younger and I loved it. And since I want to be just like my mom, I too have attempted selling crafts.

It's just not the same anymore.

Not when you can buy "crafty" looking stuff that's made in China and costs a fraction of something homemade.

But still every year I get a flyer in the mail asking if I want to rent a booth at the "Holiday" bazaar around here.

Every year there is the fleeting moment of "Could I?"

And then I remembered this year that all my craft stuff is packed away in the trailer and besides, there is no way I have enough time to get stuff ready to fill a booth at a bazaar.

I think they should send out the flyer in March, or even as late as July. Then I might attempt it again.

I suppose I could just remember and start now for next year...

...but it's so much easier to blame someone else for my lack of planning.

Oh dear, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

Now my brain is reeling with thoughts of what I could make and sell.

I better just leave you with a picture of my first craft bazaar. Hannah was about a year and half, she's in the picture there if you look closely, and I was very pregnant with Ivan, but I'm not in the picture, I'm just mentioning it so you have a time reference.

Wood and Vinyl Floors and Counter Tops

2010-10-16T08:47:00.001-07:00

Work is getting done.

Flooring/counter top guys were there yesterday, so last night we stopped by and I grabbed a couple pictures to share.`

It looks amazing. I'm so excited.

The view walking in the front door:

The kitchen:
And the master bathroom once again:

Sinks need to go in. Trimwork and carpets need to be put in and then I think there's a bunch of work under the house that needs to be done.

It's fun to see it all come together (and not have to do the work ourselves).

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-10-14T07:31:00.001-07:00

I've started making Craisin bread instead of cinnamon rolls when I make sourdough bread every week. I'm sharing that variation with you over at Cowgirl Clippings today. Enjoy!

The TV Battle

2010-10-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

We are not t.v. watchers per se.

We are movie watchers.

And I hate it.

Well, it's a love/hate relationship.

I love the distraction of it when I need my kids to calm down and rest for a bit.
Or if I want to take a bath or shower; it keeps them occupied nicely, calmly, and in a safely (yes, I know this is not correct, maybe I'll let you in on the joke later) manner.

I hate when my children start expecting to watch at least one movie a day.

I hate when they cannot use their God-given imaginations and figure out something to do.

I'm not ready to quit cold turkey and just chuck the thing. There's a time and a place for entertainment.

I try to limit the amount we watch but yet it sits there, a large hulking mass, the focal point of the living room, an ever beckoning temptation of entertainment.

I'd love to shove it in a closet or something and pull it out only sometimes. But we've got a huge box of a tv that is quite heavy and does not lend itself to being easily transportable.

I've been dreaming of a wall mounted flat screen that I could hide with a cool cabinet or something but that is most definitely not in the budget anytime soon and then I started thinking.

We only pretty much watch movies on it. Can I hook my flat screen computer monitor that we no longer need directly to my DVD player? It would be portable enough to move around if needed or small enough to hide.

I Googled it.

That's what I do with a lot of things; Google them.

I think it might actually work!

I think.

The computer monitor is packed away, like a lot of other things, in the trailer and so in the mean time I die in anticipation of what could be.

Well, not really die.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe for Baked Oatmeal is one my mom shared with me and I'm sharing it over on Cowgirl Clippings this morning. I haven't made it yet but hopefully will be soon. I'm short on casserole dishes right now.

My House Right Now

2010-10-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

I'm still indifferent about our whole house situation, just not quite as much as before.

As work is being done I'm finding that my anxious/excited-ness to be back in our home is rising.

Last week the drywall was patched.

Over the weekend Erik, his brother and a friend got the cabinets installed.

And Monday the painters came.

Yesterday I talked with the floor/counter top guy and he's getting everything finalized to start putting all that stuff in.

I'm hoping and praying that everything goes smoothly and quickly.

I think I'm becoming slightly less indifferent because I'm missing things that are packed away in the trailer.

Such as:

My piano. Oh how I miss my piano. I never, ever want to be without one again. I knew I loved the freedom to sit down and play something whenever I felt like it, even if it was for 30 seconds. I didn't realize this was a vital part of my sanity.

My fabric. Another of my creative outlets. I'm getting excited to start on Christmas gifts and other such crafts and yet all of that is locked away for now.

My running shoes. I'm not a runner by any means but I've had the motivation to get moving and I don't have the proper footwear, or any footwear for that purpose right now. I resorted to purchasing "So You Think You Can Dance" exercise videos. These only partly work. Sure I get some exercise but my children think that when I'm attempting these "dances" it's the perfect time to hang on me, cling to me and otherwise get in my way.

I'll make it.

No one has ever died for lack of a piano, fabric or running shoes.

And look at all the fun stuff that's happening over there:

A new kitchen! The desk area there is a new addition, there was counter there before but it was fondly termed "the junk counter"; now it has a purpose!

The sink used to sit at an angle in the corner there, making a completely wasted corner of counter top, that was hard to keep clean, behind it. It also made using the dishwasher awkward. So we turned the sink, lost one cabinet and the sink will now sit under the window, offering a great view of the backyard and garden to whoever is doing dishes.

We also got a new bathtub and new cabinets in the bathroom. We now have two banks of drawers in the vanity. The cabinets are 36inches, making them the same height as a kitchen counter and to the left of the bathtub there was a big empty space that was designed to hold a shower. We alas did not opt for the "glamor bath" package when we had the house built and therefore did not need another shower. We now have a custom cabinet tucked away in there. Perfect for linens and other things.

I'm hoping I'll have more updates for you soon! Can't wait for the new flooring and counter tops!

Everyday

2010-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still stuck on Ikea.

But only because the catalog was sitting on top of my Bible when I went to read this morning.

The line under the Ikea heading caught my eye and made me think for a minute.

"Hooray for the everyday."

Wow.

That hasn't been my mentality at all the last few weeks.

I've lived in anticipation for a solo trip to Costco, and girl's day out and a weekend away with my husband in a few weeks but I haven't been excited about the everyday.

I get frustrated with the everyday dishes and cleaning. Forgetting to be thankful that God has blessed us with food to eat, clothes to wear and a place to live. Forgetting to be thankful that I can stay home with my kiddos and teach them and learn from them and watch them grow.

Maybe that's why my patience has been wearing thin and I've been disgruntled and grumpy. My attitude has been rotten.

So of all the "treasures" I found at Ikea, I think my favorite is the complimentary catalog I picked up.

The everyday can be a cause for celebration and hoorays if my attitude is right.

Not because of what I can buy at Ikea.

Time to get celebrating.

Hooray for the everyday!

Girl's Day Out

2010-10-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a wonderful Girl's Day Out.

All 12 hours of it!

I left my house at 8:32 yesterday morning and pulled into the driveway at about 8:35pm.

I was tired.

But I had tons of fun and got tons of stuff.

Okay, not tons, literally, but quite a bit.

I had a list so there wasn't any impulse buying involved.

Well, only some impulse buying.

I started the morning picking up my friend Rebecca in Cannon Beach. We then joined Rolana and Nyssa at Starbuck's on 185th in Beaverton and from there journeyed to Ikea.

Ikea was a new experience for 3/4 of us. And it was fun. And I am so glad I went with a list of things I wanted already.

Otherwise I would have been very overwhelmed.

After a gleeful wander through Ikea we went to Red Robin for lunch and then shopped a few other stores before we parted ways; Rolana and Nyssa in one direction and Rebecca and I on an adventure to Fabric Depot and Lake Oswego.

We hit Fabric Depot, even with faulty directions from Google, and I found some fun upholstery fabric to re-do my couch. We didn't look around much because we had an appointment to meet a lady in Lake Oswego to look at a couple chairs she was selling on craigslist.

I now own matching living room chairs!

I only took a picture of one but the other looks the same.

Then we hit Target, where I almost had a heart attack because I thought I left my wallet in the lady's house in Lake Oswego but then found it in the depths of my purse (it usually resides in my pocket because I'm not one for carrying purses), and Jamba Juice and headed home.

Erik was pleased with the chairs, called my fabric "orange" (it's really more of a rust-ish red with brown and beige) and I watched as his eyes got bigger with each item I pulled from my bags from Ikea. But he only asked once in amazement, "How much did you buy?"

Successful day, shopping wise, and uber-successful day for fun and frolics without children.

Oh and here area couple gratuitous shots of Hannah 'cause she wanted me to take her picture whilst I was taking pictures of my finds.

Where the heck did she learn to pose like that?! Certainly not from her mother! Though if it was from her Father...

Weekend Plans

2010-10-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

I am so anxious, but in an anxious/excited sort of way, for this weekend.

Work at our "flooded" house is moving along swimmingly, drywall has been patched, Erik and his brother are installing cabinets on Saturday and I've heard rumors that the painter is suppose to be here on Monday.

I'm sorry, I have no pictures. Maybe after the cabinets are in.

But that is not all.

I get a "Girl's Day Out" to Ikea!

No children, just adult female company and shopping. I am so excited. I've been pouring over the Ikea website making out lists and paring down those lists for days.

I seriously could spend a lot of money there, but I'm trying not to, thus the lists.

And...my mom said she would help me re-upholster my couch so I'm heading to Fabric Depot also to see if I can find the fabric for it.

And...I found a couple awesome matching chairs on craigslist and I have a tentative time to go look at them and hopefully they'll be just what I want and they'll fit in the back of the truck.

I can't wait to share my finds.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-09-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

We love Waffles here at our house. So today over at Cowgirl Clippings I'm sharing the recipe we use. Enjoy!

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-09-23T16:52:00.001-07:00

Wow, I'm not really on my game this week.

I completely forgot that I needed to post the link to Breakfast at Emily's over on Cowgirl Clippings.

This week it's my favorite recipe for Zucchini Bread. Now you know what to do with all that extra zucchini...that is if you have extra. And if you do, could you send some my way? : )

Window Shopping

2010-09-22T08:52:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Erik came home from work and "caught" me with a million tabs open to Pier1, Ikea, Pottery Barn and the like. I was furniture dreaming. Internet window shopping if you will.

Other than our couch our furniture has always been modge-podged together. Random pieces that I try to fix up and reuse, often purchases from Cart'm (our local dump re-store). Some have turned out okay and some are...interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I love doing that. I love re-purposing and reupholstering and reusing and hopefully I'll always do that. But the more kids we have and the more toys we have the more I yearn for a living room that looks pulled together. Where the chairs actually match. Where there's enough seating for gads of people but enough room to walk and play and not feel cramped.

I'm tired of clutter and junk. I want my home to be restful and relaxing, even with toys on the floor. So in this vein I have been window shopping. Dreaming of matching chairs and fabric to re-upholster my couch (I'm really hoping my mom will want to help with that or I may have it professionally done; I know my limitations).

So back to the beginning of this post. Erik caught me.

And I explained simply that I dreamed of matching living room chairs.

He asked if we could get rid of the big overstuffed chair.

And I said yes.

Sorry Jessie, I loved the fabric though.

And then he smiled and said, "I think I would like that," and sat down and looked at the tabs I had open.

He's not one to have much of an opinion when it comes to decorating other than he wants a home he can live in and use. Yesterday when we picked out flooring and counter tops he left most of the decisions to me, no matter how much I asked him what he thought.

So I'm kind of excited.

'Cause I like this sort of thing.

It feeds my inner interior designer.

I've posted a lot about houses and homes the last couple days, guess as much as I feel indifferent about our situation, I'm thrilled with getting to redecorate.

The Carpenter

2010-09-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

John 14:1-3
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

People keep asking how we are doing. They ask if we are feeling anxious, displaced or unsettled while we are waiting for our house to be repaired.

Honestly?

No.

Erik and I are in agreement that we feel very….indifferent.

The other day Hannah was sprawled across a chair and she looked at us and said, “You know, this place (the river house) kind of feels like home.”

What followed was a great conversation with the older three kiddos about what makes a house a home, it’s the people not the stuff and the fact that our REAL home is in Heaven with God and everything good about our earthly abodes is but a shadow of what God has for us there.

Last week I finished reading “In Light of Eternity” by Randy Alcorn and just started his book “Heaven”.

Oh my.

My brain and heart are reeling in anticipation and joy for THAT home.

The thought that has been delighting me this morning though is very simple. Maybe it’s because I’m married to a carpenter…

Jesus, when he walked on this earth, was a carpenter. I never really thought about that being an intentional occupational design. Oh sure I’ve heard so many sermon illustrations about the Master Carpenter etc. and I know that he is the ultimate Creator and Architect of the Universe but I’ve always heard the carpenter part spiritualized and it‘s never hit me that, “He knows how to build”, in the physical, practical description of a carpenter.

In “In Light of Eternity”, in the chapter titled “He Knows How to Build” Randy Alcorn has this to say:

“I imagine our first glimpse of heaven will cause us to gasp in amazement and delight. The first gasp is likely to be followed by many more as we continually encounter new sights in that endlessly wonderful place.
…
Why will heaven be so beautiful and wonderful? Because the One who’s prepared it for us is so skillful and creative.
Knowing our children were coming, Nanci and I prepared a place for them. We chose the room, picked out the right wallpaper, decorated and set up the crib just so, selected the perfect blankets. The quality of the place we prepared for our daughters was limited only by our skills and resources and imaginations.
Since our Lord isn’t limited in any of those categories, and since he loves us even more than we love our children, what kind of place can we expect him to have prepared for us? It will simply be the best place ever made by anyone and for anyone.
…
Our home is being built for us by the Carpenter from Nazareth. Building is his trade. A good carpenter envisions what he wants to build. He plans and designs. Then he does his work, carefully and skillfully fashioning it to exact specifications. He takes pride in the work he’s done and delights to show it to others. And when it’s his own children or his bride he’s made it for, he takes special delight.”

Sure, I’m excited to move back into the home we own here on earth. I’m even more excited to sell it and start construction on a new home. A home, as I’ve said before, that we pray to use to bless others; to invite in and hopefully show others a tiny glimpse of heaven through the joy of home and rest.
But really, I’m looking forward to a country and a home who’s architect and builder is God, just like Abraham and all those others mentioned in Hebrews 11.

“For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. … All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had the opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11:10 & 13-16

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-09-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to see a pattern here. We've got more dessert for breakfast over at Cowgirl Clippings. This week it's Orange Cake. It's not one of those beautiful to look at desserts but it is oh-so yummy.

I had this post all ready to go yesterday but our neighbor's internet router wasn't sending out a strong enough signal to load pictures and post it and then we took the kids to the zoo. I almost forgot to post it today but you're in luck. Enjoy!

God's Blessings and Provision

2010-09-10T09:58:00.001-07:00

I promised you a story of how God has brilliantly provided for and blessed abundantly through this fiasco of flooding, so grab a cup of tea or coffee and read away.

Back in July my mom was "given permission" to tell all us kids that Grandma Olive was giving away money. My Grandma Olive has been blessed with a very giving heart and loves to give money away to her kids and grandkids, she has also been blessed with the money to give away. We have been on the receiving end of her generosity many many times, and she has helped us through many tight months financially without knowing that it was indeed a tight month for us. God has used her so many times with out her really knowing it. Grandma does not know Jesus and we pray everyday that she might come to know him. So Grandma giving away money wasn't a shock or anything. What was different was that she was giving out a large amount to every grandkid all at once. We received a check from her on August 9th - 5 days before our house flooded.

If you remember Ivan had been to the emergency room and the Doctor's the week before and we were not overwhelmed because we knew about Grandma's money.

Then our house flooded. But we were not overwhelmed because Grandma's money was then residing in our bank account.

Let me back up a little. I'm sorry if this is disjointed, there are so many things I want to share.

As I've mentioned we are looking forward to selling our house and buying property to build our own house, a house that we've designed to house not only our growing family but hopefully use to bless friends and family. We were just a few short projects away from calling a real estate agent to list our house. But as I've been cleaning and looking around "objectively" I've started to realize how lived in our house really is, thinking, "Oh my, there's a nick/cut in the linoleum, the counter is slightly bubbled there, there's a rust mark from water and a cast iron pan I didn't get to soon enough, we shouldn't have gone with white carpets, I should repaint the laundry room (not everyone likes orange), I don't know if the grime from years of not cleaning the toe kicks on the cabinets will come off, I'm pretty sure there's mold behind our bathtub from when the house flooded before we moved in"....oh yeah, lots of unimportant things but things that might drive down the value or sell-ability of our home in a slow market.

Everyone of those "concerns" have been literally washed away by our house flooding. With grandma's money we are able to pay our home owners insurance deductible as well as replace carpet and linoleum in the back bedrooms and bathroom; rooms that were not damaged. We are getting all new flooring, a new kitchen and because the drywall had to be cut out in the rooms that were flooded so they could dry out the insulation they are repainting the walls, which means if I want I can change colors.

Now moving on.

While all of this is happening Erik is not working all that much, they are between houses and so the work is slim, so not only do we get to have him home with us but we can "save" money on the work to be done because the contractors are allowing him to do some of the demolition and we have no fear of not being able to pay our bills because we have the money from Grandma.

Our insurance is also paying rent for us to live somewhere else while our house is being fixed. That somewhere else is a house belonging to good friends of ours. I've posted pictures of the view but let me tell you about this little house.

Back in 1996 it was flooded. The house was raised but not much work was done to fix it up after that. Our friends bought it a few years ago but never with the intention of moving a family of 5 (now 6! Baby boy born this morning!) into it. Economy went sour and with it many dreams of an investment property and they moved into this house. A tiny house, partly unfinished with one small bedroom, small living area, small inconvenient kitchen for a family with food allergies and mold. Yep, mold. Nine months ago they moved into her parents' basement for a "short" stay so that they could finish up the unfinished part and clean out the mold. That short stay turned into a much longer stay than they anticipated and the house turned out to be a bigger problem than they anticipated. Slowly the work has pressed on, but a man must support his family and this house was not doing it, so the work on it was slow indeed and money for it was running out.

Then our house floods and we need a place to live. It was almost to the point of occupancy and a couple days hard work by the husbands and it had a toilet and running water, though no bathroom sink. Because of Grandma's money we were able to front the money to get it to the occupancy stage while we wait for the rent money from insurance. We get to finish up inside projects; something I've been dying to help with (I love these sorts of projects, it fuels my inner interior designer). Money for rent has paid for important things like a stack washer and dryer, a fence so that no kiddos fall into the river and drown, doors for the bedrooms and bathroom and many other projects small and large. Projects that make the house fully livable and move-in ready for them when we move out. Projects that probably wouldn't get done for awhile otherwise with a brand new baby in the house.

And we get to live here too! That is a huge blessing for us. It's a darling little house, right on the river with an amazing view. There is tons of natural light that comes in, the walls are painted a very light cheery yellow and the floors are cherry laminate wood flooring that just glow when a tiny bit of sun hits them. The sun rises just out the kitchen window and it sets out over the river which I can marvel at through the 10 foot slider. It's open and light and airy. Anyone need a vacation home?

It has been a rest for my heart, in spite of all the projects it has been a blessing to me to enjoy this house for the little while that we get to. I had a place to can all the peaches we will eat for the next year.

And more blessings for Grandma's money, we were able to give 10% right off the top to Ecola Bible School. I know that it will be put to good use there, and multiplied many more times as the school is used by God to teach many more classes of students about himself and living in relationship with him.

When we first heard that Grandma was sending us money we thought, "Yay, we can actually put some money in savings, set some aside to save for emergencies and someday."
But God had other plans; plans for provision and blessing for so many others instead of ourselves. Sure we don't have money set aside for a rainy day, to plan and provide for ourselves but God has proven over and over that He provides when we have need.

I've always loved these verses from Proverbs:

Proverbs 30:7-9

"Two things I ask of you. O LORD;
do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the LORD?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.

The only thing missing right now is my piano. When my heart is this full I just need to sing and praise God.

My House Right Now

2010-09-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today Erik is pulling out the rest of the flooring and stuff that needs to be gone so our house can be put back together. The contractor is allowing us (read Erik) to do the work to save us some money that we can use towards upgrades and replacing carpet in the kids room (which wasn't damaged) that needs to be replaced and because Erik is between houses right now and isn't working. The kids and I joined him over there this morning to discuss a few things we want to change and so I could take pictures.

It's bare over there.

It's strange.

But I'm excited for what's going to happen.

Don't worry, I'll try and keep you updated.

Here's what you see when you walk through the front door:

The kitchen, minus a few cabinets already, that Erik's parents' wanted for their garage:

Laundry room, minus everything...I think the orange is going to go away too. I'm going to go with a light yellow. It's called "spiced applesauce".

Master bathroom. The vanity cabinet will be replaced. I'm keeping the same color paint but I'm hoping that I can find a cool mirror to replace the plain monstrosity that is there.

And the master bedroom. I'm keeping the same paint color in here; I just finished repainting it after all. I'm excited for new carpet in here, as well as in the kids bedrooms.

Turns out this whole flooding business has been more of a blessing than anything else. God has so brilliantly provided for us as well as others. I'll tell you more about that later. It's a nice long story.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-09-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

More dessert for breakfast over at Cowgirl Clippings. I just finished canning a bunch of peaches so we're having Peach Crisp for breakfast.

Another Love

2010-09-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

I've also always had a love for banana bread. Seriously, I could eat a whole loaf by myself.

A Few of My Loves

2010-09-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

When I was visiting my parents a few weeks ago I went through old pictures. Lots of old pictures. I thought about scanning them all so that I could share and then decided that would be too much work and I've never been impressed with the quality of my scanner. I had my camera with me and so I took pictures of the pictures. All so that I could embarrass myself and share them with you.

Is is narcissistic to now have so many pictures of myself? Or am I just making up for always being the photographer now (poor as I my skills may be)?

This morning I'd thought I'd share a few gems and let you know that my love of knee high boots started young:

As did my love of red shoes:

And believe it or not I have this secret (?) love of lipstick. Always have. But I guess it hasn't always been a secret. Alas this secret love is languishing away, tucked away in a dark corner of my bathroom where my 20-odd shades of lipstick hide, waiting to coat my lips. I don't wear lipstick all that often anymore. My husband won't kiss me when I wear it and I can't kiss my babies either when I do (I refuse to leave lipstick marks on their faces); two very good reasons to hide the lipstick away until a future day.

My Grandma Dorothy always had the little sample lipsticks in that silver box you see at my knee, as well as her regular shades. She let us wear the sample ones but if you look close you'll see I have a larger lipstick in my hand...oops. I have always loved this picture but when I took the picture of it I noticed for the first time my shadow in the mirror...not a reflection, but my shadow. I love that.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-09-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Yummy Blueberry Coffee Cake Recipe over at Cowgirl Clippings today. I'm off to pick peaches so I can start canning. Have a great day!

A Belated Happy Birthday Clayton!

2010-09-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

In all the confusion and mayhem and fun of the last few weeks this boy of mine turned 3. My mind is still reeling. How can this Clayton boy be 3 whole years old!?! He's rambunctious and crazy and silly and sweet.

For his birthday I made him a zebra. He is obsessed with zebras. He has two plastic ones from the Little People Noah's ark he received at Christmas, and he has another little plastic one he received from my mom. I had a hard time convincing him that this also was a zebra even though, "it's not little". It's growing on him.

For his birthday he also got a Black and Decker tool set from Grammy and Grandpa Dante and a plastic Chuck E. Cheese birthday crown from the neighbor girls. Which he wore all at once and fell asleep in.
This boy loves to run and he thinks he's the fastest. The Sunday we were up at my parents' house I was slightly overwhelmed and the kids were grumpy so I strapped them all into their carseats and was going to go for a drive. Right before I pulled out of the driveway my sister Beth called and I told her what I was doing:
" I'm strapping them in so they can't touch each other and I'm going for a drive so I don't beat them all, they are driving me nuts right now."

Shortly after I hung up the phone I hear Clayton's sweet little voice pipe up, "Why are you going to beat us all."

I replied, "Well, I wouldn't really beat you all, I was exaggerating for Aunt Beth because you guys are grumpy and driving me nuts."

Clayton, "I'm going to tell my dad you beat us."

"But I haven't so you wouldn't be telling the truth."

"But I'm faster than you, you couldn't beat me."

It's then that I realized he thought I was going to beat him in a race. I'm glad that's the only beating my children know!

He's not afraid to wear pink, even a pink tu-tu. I think he wears it quite well, only I hope it doesn't last.

He came out of his room the other night to tell me, "Ivan said you didn't make me a Birthday cake."

"You know bud, I don't think I did. I'm so sorry."

"Oh yes you did. You did yesterday." (Yesterday refers to anytime in the past. It's all yesterday.)

"Oh, I did. Okay then go back to bed."

"Okay."

And off he padded in his feet pajamas "with cars and trucks all over them!"

His use of the English language always cracks me up. He's quite articulate and sometimes Erik and I just look at each other and laugh, like yesterday when we were headed to Costco. We had just pulled out of a parking lot from one of our many stops on the way to Costco when we hear Clayton, "Excuse me, where are we going exactly?"

Sometimes I'm not sure but I do like that he's along for the ride. Happy Birthday little man!

"Hard Life"

2010-08-27T19:55:00.001-07:00

I missed posting for Breakfast at Emily's this week.

I'm so sorry.

I've been busy getting settled in an adorable little house on the river.
This house belongs to some good friends of ours and they are kindly letting us "break it in" for them. It's been in the process of some much needed upgrades and it's almost done. As I type, Erik is finishing plumbing the bathroom sink.

It's an adventure.

And it's really hard to complain when this is the view:

The kids are in bed, and I have a moment to myself to breathe and pause...

Yes, we're right next to the river, no there is not a fence yet to keep the kids from falling in...and so it's definitely interesting right now trying to contain and keep them entertained inside but hopefully this weekend the fence will at least be started.

I am so in love with this little house right now, it's open, bright and cheery. We've moved important stuff over here from our house, like beds, our table and chairs, a couch, the computer, a few dishes, stuff to make cookies...

Hopefully in the next few days we'll be a little more "temporarily settled" and I'll post some more; I have so much to share. That is if I remember by the time I sit down to type.

Breakfast at Emily's

2010-08-19T08:31:00.000-07:00

Apple Pie for Breakfast over at Cowgirl Clippings.

Pie is a breakfast food at my house...you know you want to come visit.

But you'll have to wait on that one, I still don't get to live at my house.