Our Story

Happy Birthday Hope!

2011-11-06T21:59:00.002-06:00

Much belated, but better late than never, here are my thoughts to Hope on her fourth birthday.

Dear Hopers,

Congratulations! You have reached your dream of being 4! For months now, I've thought of you as already four... not sure why... I always think of you as older than you are. Truthfully, that oversight on my part gets you into a lot of trouble. It's hard to remember to treat you as a four year old and have four year old expectations, when you tag along with your big sister all the time and are much taller than the average kid your age. But alas, you and I are bumbling along and I fully expect we'll emerge alright in the end ;)!

Hope, this year for your birthday you chose to have "bike ride birthday bash". You take great pleasure in riding along behind Daddy on the tag-along. You are pretty distracted and not much help in pedaling, probably because you are savouring the wind in your fluffy blonde hair or the trees whizzing by you in a blur. Bike riding is not exactly an athletic endeavor for you, but as in all of life, it is a magical adventure. You are such an emotional girl, and all of your adventures are either perfectly magical and bound in layers of imagination, or all together awful. It seems to be we are always riding the wave with you- to the heights of laughter, joy, and silliness. Then to the depths where you are nothing short of despondent and hopeless. What a ride!

Silliness. You have been such a fun kid to be around. We suspect you are the clown of the family (right behind Daddy, of course). You seem to have a knack for what will catch us off guard and make us giggle. You really get Eva and Esther going with your silly monologues or funny dance moves. Your friends seem to think you're pretty funny too, and they definitely motivate you to dig deeper (and sillier)! You and Hazel are still going strong as best friends. You are both extremely loyal to one another, and it seems a day at church or with friends just isn't quite good enough without Hazel around. Of course you roll together on the highs and lows of being four, so it is not always a tranquil scene to see you together. You always seem to make up though, and you spell out your great affection for each other regularly.

You seem to be a bit of a free spirit. I often wonder if there is any way that you and Eva are alike... the answer is probably only in your looks! You sort of wander carefree through life, taking it as it comes with a good measure of wonder and imagination. You thoroughly enjoy playing with others or by yourself. Your alone play is really amazing to listen to, so full of life and curiosity. Things that seem completely common and normal to the rest of us, fall completely dull on you. One example is food- our family likes to eat good food. You, however, don't really seem to care about food at all. You virtually refuse to eat meat, for the reason that it doesn't taste good to you, and you feel sorry for the animal. At a meal you usually ask, "Is this pig? or cow? or chicken?" Eva says, "it's pork, Hope. You'll like it!" And you respond, "Is that pig?", then you push it away. Hot dogs, of course, are a different story :). In fact, the only food you care anything about is junk food, as far as I can tell!

You love adventure, fun, and anything girly. On the flip side, you disdain structure, limits, and expected outcomes. This year, we continue to participate in the Preschool Coop. While you like to see your friends and listen to the story, you find the structure to be draining. You complain about calendar time, saying it is sooooo boring! I assume that it is good for you to practice paying attention to logical and sequential activities since, obviously, you won't be able to live forever in your fairy tale world. I am surprised, however, at your recent interest in letters and words! At your own pace, in your own time, I'm sure you'll come to love school and all that it entails.

Being the emotionally sensitive child that you are makes you a great snuggler and very affectionate. We can count on you finding your way into our bed almost every night, just to be near and snuggle! You really love a good wrestle with Daddy and or some time cuddling and reading with Mommy. In general, your emotional ups and downs are much less extreme if we keep that emotional love take FULL! You definitely challenge me to unearth the emotional, sensitive side of me, but I think it's good for both of us.

In general, you keep us guessing. Whether it's a new emotional roll, a mischievous act that catches me by surprise, wandering off to the neighbor's a few times each day, or your interpretations and opinions of the world around you. I'll think we'll be able to count on you to keep us on our toes and look at things from a different perspective!

I'm thankful that you are becoming a healthier child. Sometime in the last year, we took the plunge and tried giving you cooked egg whites. Your former severe egg allergy seemed to have been healed. You were so proud to be able to eat the whole egg with the rest of us! Last winter was pretty brutal with numerous ear infections and two ruptured eardrums, but you do seem to be getting stronger. You had a virus this week that ran it's course in only a few days, which was a real praise! Speaking of sickness, you remember to pray every day for your cousin Solomon Leo's fight with leukemia.

Things you love- pink, princesses, sweets and breads, jewelery, pretty things. You are a warm kid and always wearing the least amount of clothes possible... usually skirts and frilly shirts. You wear size 5 clothes, size 11 shoes, and your crazy self-imposed haircuts are finally starting to grow out so that we can do stuff with your hair. You are obsessed with boyfriends and people getting married. You tell everyone that you have a boyfriend named Isaac Boldt, even though I'm always responding that you don't actually have a boyfriend. You and Isaac do seem to like each other an awful lot though!

Oh Hope! You are wacky, fun, and full of new ideas. We laugh, shake our heads, sigh, and get white knuckles being your parents, but we wouldn't have it any other way! We're so thankful that God put you in our family and we pray for abounding grace for you in the future. Happy Birthday!

We love you so much,

Daddy and Mommy

1st Grade

2011-09-12T21:57:00.006-05:00

The morning of the first day of First Grade was such fun! No real fears, few unknowns, morning routines already very familiar. This is the outfit Eva chose for her first day. Showing off the new hole in her mouth left after she pulled her tooth out a few days before school started.

Found the new locker... right across the hall from her Kinder teacher, Sra. Ponce Carmona.

And, found her chair, right next to her friend Matthew from last year. Then the nerves started to set in just a bit. As we walked into the classroom, the teacher was no where in sight and the rest of the kids looked alarmingly somber. No one was talking or excitedly showing off new school shoes, or even smiling. Eva was brave, though pretty nervous, I think. I was curious all day to find out if the day had gone well. She claimed that your teacher was going to be very loving and kind after the first day's impressions. By the second day, though, she was a complete wreck after school. By the third day, I was considering investing in handcuffs and a padded room. Eva was throwing tantrums and "blowing off steam" of an intensity we had not experienced before. I was starting to get concerned, wondering what was going on at school and if the teacher was just too strict or tough.

Eva shared that she had gotten yellow cards (like a warning) on Wednesday AND Thursday, which was a complete surprise. Her Kinder teacher had continually praised Eva's good behavior, and often said she was possibly too concerned about following the rules. ****An aside- at home, Eva is not at all a perfectly obedient child (far from it!), but at school she is so concerned about pleasing her teacher, that she really works hard at it.**** When I asked her what the yellow cards were for, she said that she hadn't been watching the teacher the entire time she was talking. The other one was for being distracted by the boys who sit at her table. She said, "those boys aren't really very interested in learning. But I get distracted by their talking!"

Ugh. Not a great start to 1st Grade at all! As a former teacher, I wasn't surprised that Sra. Castro was starting the year out strict. But.... As a mom, I was concerned that Eva was going to have a crushed spirit and not be confident in her relationship with her teacher.

Well, Friday afternoon rolled around, and all the craziness of the early part of the week was nowhere to be found! As Eva and I talked about her school day, she said is was "Great!". She said that her teacher had told their class that they, "learn faster than all the other classes." Alrighty then! She was very proud of this "fact". Apparently Eva's competitive nature just needed some props from the teacher? Or maybe she was just happy to have arrived at the weekend? Do teachers generally use false praise to garner the allegiance of their students???

All of the enigmatic events of last week make me very, very curious about the rest of this school year. I think we could've said, "Toto, we're not in Kinder anymore." and "Welcome to the big leagues, Eva!"

Camping Pictures

2011-09-10T23:39:00.023-05:00

Here are pictures from last weekend's camping outing with our small group. Although it was short, it was very sweet! The first few hours were not documented as people trickled in, set up tents, applied bug dope, explored our surroundings, played whiffle ball, and munched on trail mix.

Eventually a critical mass began to gather by the fire. This was the Reece's S'mores debut, as well as the debut of a less than stellar gluten free apple crisp recipe that I tried in the dutch oven. Always fun to try, not always a success though!

This is the crowd around the fire... the Lindquists, Madalyn and Hope,
The Gibsons and Nate,
Eric, Becca B., Lily, Bronte, Esther, Leah (Eric M. is cut off),

Me and Ashley the camping mega-maniac,

Bert, Beki, Beth, Anna, Ian,

The campfire was the location of many scary stories, a few funny stories, great testimonies, deep talks, singing, and laughing. Eventually everyone drifted off to bed.

In the morning, everyone slowly drifted back to the fire, where it was more of the same, except with glorious sunshine and a bit of...

hair braiding and

caterpillar rescuing... Yes! That is a huge, juicy, green caterpillar giant. Hope is a caterpillar fanatic!

The campsite was well stocked with a myriad of different kinds of caterpillars. The girls founded a caterpillar hospital, though I'm not really sure what took place there. Madalyn is holding up her arm to show off an albino crawler!

Shelly and Sarah talked,

Becca knitted,

then we all headed to the lake for lunch.

Gwen was a tummy time superstar!

Esther was a sand castle eating superstar!

Hope was a sandy sunbathing superstar!

Anna took Esther and Ian out for a wet romp, which they both loved!

Eva practiced the backstroke for probably the last time this summer.

And..... one out of order photo. Tim and Ashley at the fire.

Shelly and Anna chit chatted, and Eva splashed them with water (WHO? Eva?!? Couldn't be....)

And, a fun time was had by all!

Camping with the Eikum Small Group

2011-09-10T22:56:00.003-05:00

Original title, eh? As you might have guessed, we went camping with our small group this weekend. We accomplished a one night stay at Baker Park Reserve, just 30 minutes from home. To all you locals: I really liked this park! Close to home, clean, great facilities. I think we'll be going there again, but hopefully for a longer stay next time.

Small group camping trips always create a fascinating group dynamic. You are not necessarily camping with your best friends, or your children's grandparents, or avid outdoor adventurers, or people who even like camping! You are there simply to be together, get to know each other better and make some memories. So, here are some of my favorite memories from the trip:

A derailed kickball game after our ball suddenly deflated and permanently failed it's calling in life.

Becca Bice's carefully and neatly packed individual bags of gorp, as well as AMAZING mint brownies and homemade salsa with chips.

Ashley developing her athleticism, combining jump kicks and Frisbee.

Eva erupting in giggles watching Ashley work on her Frisbee skills.

Hearing Bronte and Lily share their testimonies of God's grace to them.

Singing with the guitar around the campfire.

S'mores made with Reces peanut butter cups.

Explaining the full moon to Hope, who them suggested that tomorrow there would probably be a "triangle moon."

The kids glee over finding a "secret path lake".

Madalyn, Olivia, Eva, and Hope collecting scores of unique caterpillars and creating a caterpillar hospital.

Telling our real life scary stories around the campfire until half the girls were afraid to even walk to the outhouse.

Bronte, Beth, and Becca Bice's terrified screams after Eric ambushed them on the way to the outhouse. (All time best scare!)

Bronte's sharp reply to Eric, "What are you!?! Twelve!?!"

Falling asleep in the tent without a rain fly, gazing at the full moon.

Waking up in the tent to sweet Esther prying at my eyes and exclaiming, "Wake up, Mama!"

Shelly's Old Country Buffet mock-up at our campfire breakfast. Incredible spread!

Sitting around in the sunshine, chatting and mentally thanking God for blue skies.

Ian and Esther clowning around together, kissing and hugging and "running" down the hills.

Everyone taking a turn at holding peaceful Baby Gwen.

Hope and Esther getting ridiculously dirty, and once again proving that all things fun necessitate stain treatment.

A perfect day to sit by the lake.

Girls building sand castles and soaking up the late summer sunshine.

Anna and Jason taking Ian and Esther for a romp in the lake. tons of baby giggles!

Standing in the water shooting the breeze with the Lindquists, savouring every last breath of summer.

My tank has been refilled and I am both tuckered out and invigorated!

The mundane and the negative

2011-09-07T22:13:00.005-05:00

OK, apparently I am in a once a month blogging pattern, which is not satisfactory to me, but probably won't be changing anytime soon. Now, the title of this post is, I fear, a solid preview. Nothing much is going on in our life (hence, the mundane). There are a very few things are going on, and today they are mostly negative. Admittedly, not VERY negative, just not very positive. And admittedly, as soon as I type something such as "mundane and negative", the Spirit pricks me and I am reminded that underpinning all of the day to day bleh, we have very, very much to be thankful for. Starting with Jesus, and well, ending with Jesus (with a long list of other taken-forgranted blessings in between).

So, what about the mundane? Suddenly this week with the beginning of the school year, everything is all about routine and schedule. Our lives, usually different every day and sprinkled with a variety of people, outings, sibling squabbles, and read-alouds, are now ruled by morning drop-off and the afternoon bus stop. We also throw in three meals and one afternoon nap. At times during the dizzying summer months, I longed for the boring winter routines, but this week has been a little too dull for my taste.

School itself is good though. Eva likes her teacher, Sra. Castro, and has nice kids in her class. She has two bus buddies, crisp, unstained school clothes, a gaping hole in her mouth left by one of her front teeth, and a decent ability to be responsible. All good things. Today she also had evening crying spells and angry meltdowns, which I can only attribute to her being a child (naturally) and harboring some unexposed emotional stress. Maybe she is a little overtired at the end of a full day immersed in her second language??? Perceptive, huh :). After tonight's bedtime train wreck, she shared all about the hard parts of her day: boys distracting her, teacher unintentionally embarrassing her, too short recess, coveting school lunch, etc... sounds like Jr. High to me!

Now for the mildly negative. We've been house hunting all summer in hopes of upgrading our digs. In early July we put an offer on a place, didn't get it, but it wasn't too big of a deal. Last week we found a place that we imagine HAS to be the very best thing for us. The house isn't amazing, and would need work, but the lot is HUGE and very private. Our prayer has been for a place that is centrally located in the city (or first ring sub burbs), but feels like the country. Kind of impossible, right? This house seems like the closest thing to that. So, we offered yesterday in a multiple offer situation, and found out today that our offer is the "runner up". This is a short sale, and apparently enough things can go wrong with short sales that they keep a runner up on deck, I guess. This news was pretty disappointing.

Now, we have certainty that God has good things in store for us, whether it be this short sale, a different house, or maybe staying put right here. BUT, of course I still felt a little deflated. We will keep praying, hoping that somehow our offer will move into first place. We will also keep praying that God would guide us to the right place... maybe this isn't it?!?

Alright, moving on to the quite negative news. We found out late last week that our nephew Solomon (Eric's brother Ryan's boy) has leukemia. Big bummer! We are so sad for his family and for him, knowing that they will have a long and arduous journey ahead of them. However, the doctors are giving him a really optimistic prognosis, so we are praying with full confidence for complete healing. Please pray for Ryan, Stephanie, Thor, and Solomon with us. We are confident that God has good things in store for them too!

Ok, now to end on a positive note. The beastly garden season is at it's peak right now, and my counters are covered with jars of lacto-fermented pickles, boxes of plump, red tomatoes, and bags of freshly dug potatoes. Vegetables are the name of the game, and the answer to any hungry plea. "How 'bout carrots? Baby tomatoes? Cucumber slices? Go pick some green beans"! Even though it can be overwhelming, fruit fly inviting, and labor intensive, I am proud of the produce and the hands that earned it. Gardening is rewarding!

Also on a positive note, we are going on our first camping trip of the almost-over summer (gasp!) on Friday with small group peeps. Everyone in our family is excited! Hopefully I'll blog again with pics after the outing.

Imagination

2011-08-05T12:49:00.003-05:00

My friend Melissa once posted something like this to her blog, which is my inspiration today.

At our house...

We don't have a pillow and a wooden spoon... We have a canoe and paddle.
We don't have stuffed animals... We have a pet shop or a zoo.
We don't have a bed rail on the bunk bed... We have a balance beam or sometimes a high wire.
We don't have a kiddie pool... We have a water factory.
We don't have an upside down Little Tykes car... We have a helicopter.
We don't have a picnic table... We have a dancing stage for pretty ladies.
We don't have a sandbox... We have a sailing ship.
We don't have piles of unpacked boxes... We have apartment buildings for Little People and dolls.
We don't have a bath tub.... We have an ocean full of sharks, whales, and octopi.
We don't have a couch and love seat... We have castles and forts.
We don't have a rocking chair... We have a royal throne.
We don't have big, black crow feathers in the yard... We have old fashioned pencils, and magical combs.
We don't have towels... We have superhero capes.
We don't have card tables and blankets... We have wild, scary caves.
We don't have mom and dad's wool socks... We have mountain climbing boots.
We don't have a play house... We have a McDonald's drive through.

We don't have tricycles... We have super, flying motorcycles.

What do you have at your house?

What's Up?!?!

2011-07-16T16:37:00.003-05:00

We're past the midpoint of summer, more than two months since my last blog post. SO, what have we been up to?

TOO MUCH!!!

Life is just busy and complicated around here. Here is a random sampling:

several house guests, including visits from family and friends
a "temporary" and often spontaneous "roommate"
a trip to Iowa City to visit the Thompsons
an overpriced pedicure at a beauty school, lasting 3.5 hours
swimming lessons
play dates
birthday parties
looking at at least 25 houses for sale
making an offer on a house
"loosing" the house to a different buyer
prepping our current house for renting
five days at Hannah's cabin, doing every possible fun cabiny activity
riding bikes and trikes
4th of July day trip to Stillwater
lots of late nights
a bit of gardening
a handful of unauthorized haircuts
one unauthorized shaved eyebrow
throwing a successful surprise birthday party for Becca
helping Ashley plan and execute her wedding
Eric losing 20 lbs (and counting...)
laughing at Esther's way of making just about anything charming and hilarious
playing kickball (new favorite "sport") with Eva and Hope
listening to Esther talk and talk and TALK

So, that's an idea of what we've been doing. What we've NOT been doing, is sleeping.

Hoping for an early bedtime,
Becca

Eva Turns Six

2011-05-04T21:52:00.007-05:00

(if you're not Eva or family, you might want to scan this... it got super long :)

My Dear Eva,

You've completed a sixth year, and you're on to your seventh with great excitement! This has been a beautiful year for you. I confess, I never did write a birthday letter for you when you turned five. For several months surrounding your fifth birthday we were struggling. Always, constantly, heart wrecking, anger inducing struggling. I didn't know what to write last year, and I was so frustrated. You already know this, but moms get tangled up in their sin too, and I was really weighed down by it last spring. Well, this year is a little different. You seem to have moved past that rough patch, and by God's grace, made some major leaps forward.

To be honest, we noticed a significant change in you during last summer. Almost overnight you went from constantly combative to generally considerate and desiring to grow in godliness. We adventured all summer long- swimming, hiking, biking, gardening, imagining. I asked you tonight at dinner what your favorite memories of the last year were. "Playing with Katherine", you said. We remembered that super fun afternoon in Colorado when you and my cousin Katherine discovered the joy of building mountain forts and creating kingdoms among the huge rock outcroppings. You bravely climbed 20 feet in the air to be on top of the big boulders, declaring your reign and rule to every scraggly pine tree in the area.

You and Katherine threw pine cones at anyone who ventured near, but were eventually captured by courageous enemy knights otherwise known as your fathers. You had hiked so far to find your kingdom that I couldn't see you at all. But I could hear your strong voices echoing in the rocks. I sat at the picnic table, breathing deeply of the piny dry air and savouring this adventure with you. I thank you for transporting me back to my own childhood for a brief moment, reliving my own exhilarating, high altitude adventures of rocks and sticks and vertical endeavors.

Another big adventure for us all was "kinder". Senora Ponce Carmona welcomed you with a hug on the first day, and by now you are fiercely loyal to her. She has been a good teacher for you, recognizing your strengths, but pushing you to expand your repetoire and try some challenging things. Ahora puedes hablar todo el tiempo en espanol... por supuesto no pudes hablar con la reina de Espana de cosas muy altas, pero en casa y en la escuela eres muy capaz de comunicar. Nos gusta hablar en secreto y hacer chistes de tu papa. De vez en cuando, me dices algo que no comprendo, y yo realizo que vayas a hablar muy bien el espanol, mejor que yo, en poco tiempo.

Spanish immersion kindergarten was truly the right choice. I'm so glad that we humbly accepted the strong "gut" feelings that Daddy and I both had and let you out the door. It felt so early... you are little still. But school has given you much independence, stretched your brain in ways that I never could, and been such fun. Yesterday you did the Spanish version of "eenie, meenie, miny, moh" while you and Hope were playing, and it was so fun for me to listen and learn something new. We have loved watching your reading and writing absolutely explode in English and Spanish simultaneously. I think your favorite book to read in Spanish right now is "Es tu Mama una Llama?" and in English is "Come Back Amelia Bedelia". Of course you LOVE crossover books, and you are currently enthralled with the Spanish/English rhyming in "Say Hola to Spanish".

Friends are becoming very important to you too, although you are generally introverted and need plenty of alone time. Right now your best friends at school are Mari and Kate. Among our family friends, you really love to play with Kara, who has lived in our neighborhood for this school year. Some days you and Hope adore each other and play beautifully together, and other days you grate on each other's nerves the whole time. I guess that's how it goes with sisters! When it comes down to it though (like nights when you are scared of imaginary ghosts and shark attacks), it sure is nice to have a sister to snuggle with in bed.

In our family, you are growing into a fantastic older sister and helper. You've learned how to do a few simple cooking tasks like frying eggs, making toast, and getting drinks. We call on you often to get a snack for Esther or Hope and to help me set the table at dinnertime. You almost always respond with cheerful willingness, which is a real blessing to your busy parents. Esther loves it when you read to her, help her walk down the stairs, or play silly little games with her. You are becoming a wonderful role model for both of your sisters!

The biggest growth this year, the one we are most thankful for, is your heart towards God. You have always been interested in God and have easily grasped spiritual concepts, which is a good thing. However, your heart has not always been tender and soft towards Him. We realized that was changing one night this winter when you pulled Daddy towards you at bedtime to ask some very important questions. All the talking, thinking, praying, and learning about God was penetrating your heart, and you had a few things to clarify. That night Daddy encouraged you to confess your sins to God and put your full trust in Jesus' death on the cross to cover those sins. He told you that you couldn't do anything to earn God's favor, and from experience you already knew that you had done plenty of things against God. Later that night, and many nights since, we have heard you quietly thanking God for sending Jesus as the payment for your sin and confessing your love to God the Father.

As the eyes of your heart have opened to the gospel, we've watched in amazement as your behavior and attitudes have gradually been more and more governed by the Holy Spirit. Of course you are still a child and act as a child often (just as Mommy and Daddy still struggle with sin as well), but heart change is beautiful. The greatest thing we desire for you is that you experience the joy of knowing Jesus Christ and the fellowship of the Body of believers. We are so happy to see that God is bringing you down that path and pray for more fruit in years to come!

This is a long letter, dear daughter, but it is only because Daddy and Mommy are so thankful for you and enjoy you so much! Little things about you right now that we want to remember- you love all things about school, but especially reading, science, math, and art. You draw all the time, and just this week figured out how to make shoulders look more realistic :). You create math problems in your head... this week it has been things like 50 x 10 = 500 or 30 x 10 = 300. Science right now is all about worms and seeds. You tell me (in Spanish, of course) tons of interesting tidbits about worms around the world. You are silly, love to laugh, and daydream about your plans for the future (currently including violin lessons, piano lessons, and getting a dog). You oppose cheese, but eat TONS of anything and everything else.

You are still competitive, contemplative, and cautious. When you grow up, you would like to be a Children's Librarian or a Veterinarian. You blush, get giddy, and show tons of interest in any kind of love story... you are probably a little boy-crazy already! Your favorite colors are blue and orange, and although you like jewelry and make-up, you don't prefer super girly stuff. Your weekend attire is always yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt, so you and I match quite often! (Actually that's an understatement. You absolutely insist on wearing "comfy clothes" such as fleece pants, pajama pants, and sweatshirts as much as possible.) You are currently enjoying swimming lessons, but are patiently waiting for the "real deal", which will be ballet in the fall.

Basically, Eva, we love you so much and are blessed to be your parents. We're thankful that you are in our family! Happy 6th Birthday!

love, Daddy and Mommy

Food Day Friday: Strawberry PB Smoothies

2011-04-22T09:30:00.001-05:00

Did you know that peanut butter and jelly milkshakes were a huge fad in the 1930's? Can you say "Calories!!!"? During my 4th grade homeschooling stint, my mom and I studied the 1930's. For a little fun diversion, we set up a family movie night one Friday evening. We checked out an old fashioned projector and several reels of film from the library. We whipped up some popcorn and dimmed the living room lights. Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire lit up the blank living room wall in black and white. The slapstick comedy was totally funny to my elementary brain. Some of the moving pictures even had sound! And then there were the peanut butter and jelly milkshakes... We enjoyed those shakes, and I've often thought of them since. This morning, since we are out of eggs and I didn't plan ahead to soak any grains, it was a smoothie breakfast. It is also a swimming lessons day, so we need protein! No eggs to throw in? Enter peanut butter!

We all really enjoyed this recipe, and I think it would make a fantastic after school snack. Or maybe it would do well frozen as Popsicles for a hot summer afternoon.

Strawberry PB Smoothies

1 c. raw whole milk

1 c. plain kefir

1/2 c. natural smooth peanut butter

1 T. ground flax seeds

16 frozen strawberries

1/2 t. vanilla extract

optional sweetener to taste (stevia, raw honey, maple syrup, sucanat - I used stevia)

Throw it all in a blender, mix it up, and enjoy! This recipe seems like it would survive lots of different substitutions, so have fun and try something new :). Serves 4.

(frozen strawberries and flax meal)

I like this as a nourishing breakfast because, among other things, it supplies lots of the following: fiber, Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, probiotics, and protein. Happy Healthy Eating!

Young Diego(a) Rivera

2011-04-15T22:25:00.008-05:00

Eva LOVES art, and creating "murals" on our kitchen appliances, windows, and mirrors has been an entertaining winter activity. Eva's cousin Elysa gifted her with these neato window crayons at Christmas and they have been thoroughly put to the test. They are much easier to clean than I anticipated and are lasting a long time. I endorse this product.

Randomly, one of the most commonly drawn murals has been the solar system. It is never quite the same each time, varying in spelling, size, and alignment. At this age, precision matters little to me. I just love to see curiosity being expressed by our little girls trying to wrap their minds around this big world! Translation: the Sun, Jupiter, the Moon, Saturn, the Earth, Venus, and Mars. Considering she spends her whole day learning formal spelling in Spanish, I am very pleased with her attempts at English spelling! Watching kids create: yet another reason I LOVE MY JOB!!!

Spring Daybook

2011-04-06T21:42:00.006-05:00

Today marked our first day of playing outside for the majority of the day. My eyes are sun scorched as I write this, stinging and watery, as if I'd played one too many rounds of "Marco Polo" on the chlorinated pool floor. It's all good though, reminds me that summer is coming, when almost every day will be a sunshiny, eye scorching. Vitamin D filled adventure.

The girls burst into the backyard with heightened senses and well rested imaginations. Hope is mastering our fleet of tricycles, and Eva was slightly ashamed to find out that all of the other neighborhood kindergartners already ride 2-wheelers. Hallelujah- She is asking to learn to ride her bike! Esther is mastering nothing but her one finger walking skills. Although she walks on her own regularly now, she still insists on travelling any distance with a firm grip on one of our fingers. I am impatient and cannot savour this crawling stage any longer (going on 10 mths). Get up and run already, kid!

Hope's preschool co-op met at our house this morning, and we spent a lovely hour nature walking. Perfect weather, well behaved children, lots to see and explore. I LOVE the curiosity of preschoolers. After pasting pine needles, dried leaves, yarn, bark, and other treasures into little construction paper books, there were still several full bags of pine cones, leaves, rocks, etc. left for play. Esther spent a good 45 minutes of the afternoon on the picnic table, managing her own little science experiment. How many of these objects will fit through the umbrella hole? That's too big- that's too small- wow, that rock falls fast! The small mountain of organic matter under the picnic table speaks to a well spent afternoon of inquiry.

The older girls moved to Hawaii, where bikinis are essential. They rolled up their pants and shirts to their chests while Eva sang a little song about a bikini in Spanish. Their Hawaiian homes were constructed of cardboard boxes (left from our bulk food order yesterday) and pine boughs (yes, left from our Christmas tree). Eva was especially pleased with her thatch (pine) roof. Later the cardboard boxes transformed into sailing vessels and they made their maiden voyages to China, Florida, New Mexico, and Guatemala. Hope's British accent gave the whole adventure a very dignified edge, especially when she shouted again and again, "Oh Mother, there is a shark in the water!" Another afternoon well spent. And as Shakespeare said, "All the world's a stage..."

I'm thinking garden... a few tulips and daffodils have poked through the mulched leaves. I'll probably pull back their covers tomorrow and hope for the best. No more snow, right!?! We ate strawberry spinach salads with leftover pork two nights in a row. Salad feels gloriously like summer.

Girls fell asleep the moment their heads hit the pillow tonight, and I am ready for the same.

Welcome back sunshine!

Thoughts on Lent

2011-03-20T23:11:00.003-05:00

We've never celebrated Lent with much intensity around here. I recall in high school possibly trying to "give something up" for Lent, and maybe I did something similar when we were first married. This year, however, I am in the midst of a Lent journey. We aren't doing special readings or following a Lenten calendar, but I have been inspired to fast from something. Also, as a friend insightfully pointed out, you can't put something off and not put something on in it's place. So, I am also trying to "put on", welcoming Him.

It's not that I'm using Lent as a habit making or habit breaking, 40 day crash diet. No, this time around, I see Lent as an opportunity to explore my cravings and my longings. I want to be hungry for Christ and immeasurably grateful on the day that we celebrate his glorious resurrection. In my mind, each time I chose to meditate on Christ and his sufferings, I am inching closer to that happy Sunday morning. I am making a deposit of yearning in the joy tank of my soul. I have another opportunity to die to self and live to Christ, saying "I need YOU." As my yearnings, longings, cravings, hungers increase over a short 40 days time, I am believing that the Holy Spirit will come and transform desires into ache for Him, the crucified one.

You see, I am simple, sinful, addicted. After the long list of synonyms used above, you might be led to believe that I'm really suffering, making myself battle with basic needs in the hope of enlightenment. No, it's much simpler than that. All I'm saying "no" to is sweets, desserts, sugar treats. But however simple and silly that may be, I'm opening the window of my soul to say "yes" to more of Him.

Although it hasn't been a monumental struggle, I have been spent at times. And the needy one cries out to God, saying "More! Please. I need you." Can there possibly be a better place to find yourself? I am enjoying saying "no", believing that the Father says "yes! I will fill you. I will help you. I am."

Eva mulled it over and decided to give up arguing. She has had to plead with her sister to stop inciting her to anger for the sake of her fast. It is a beautiful thing to see her desperate, and ultimately longing for the help of the Holy Spirit. We yearn together and talk together.

Most of the time, I am happy to not be eating sweets. Anyway, my brain is less foggy this way and my energy more even through the day. But each time I say, "I need you", I am looking forward to Easter. Forward to victory, to resurrection, to the day when we shall see Him face to face. Longing is good for me.

Here is my inspiration to fast this year.
Elizabeth writes a compelling tale.
Ann's words simultaneously sting and sweetly heal.

Wordless Wednesday: 424 Days and Counting (but almost done!)

2011-03-16T12:36:00.000-05:00

More deep things

2011-03-15T16:45:00.001-05:00

***this is a continued post***

The moments continued. There were other words, other Scripture, other prayers. The Holy Spirit was moving in and out and between his people, allowing us a brief taste of the joys of paradise forever with Him. Allowing us to see Jesus better.

It came to me again, "We are small." Then the picture became clearer. Ecclesiastes. Life is meaningless. There is nothing new under the sun. We are small.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity
in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from
beginning to end." (vs. 3:11)

He loves us. We are small. he is BIG. He wraps us into his story. His redemptive story, which we cannot fathom. We are running after perfect houses, coordinating swimming lessons schedules, fluoride free toothpaste, matching picture-day outfits, new bathrooms. He is writing an epic story, transcending space and time, starting before the foundation of the world, the destination: HIM. I am undone.

I spend all of Friday and Saturday in my head. Thinking, feeling, yearning. I want to understand! Why is it so important that I know that He loves me? Do I know that? Do I feel that? I feel blessed. Refreshed. Fortified. The Holy Spirit's presence and surprise giftings excite me. I am exhausted still, but I cannot nap. I can only think. pray. read more of His Word. I am drawn, the Holy Spirit is working in me, drawing me closer. I can't explain this longing for more. It is not natural to me. It is otherworldly... a taste of Glory.

Sunday morning brings family conflict and struggle. It also brings peace. In the presence of other believers, I feel rest. I let the words of the songs swell and wash over me. I watch my girl earnestly singing next to me, fighting to keep pace with young reading skills. She knows. She prays each night into her pillow, "Thank you for loving me, even when I disobey you." She has childlike faith. She knows she is small.

Our dear friend and pastor stands to preach his final sermon. With trembling voice, he begins to share his parting words for us. If he were to share just one thing, this is it.

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified." (1
Corinthians 2:2).

He moves on to share the meat of his message from 2 Corinthians 5. Several bullet points, but I was unable to take any notes. For 45 minutes he gave fresh words to stale truths- I am calloused to the glory of the gospel! The righteousness of God, the wrath of God, the redeemed sinner, the ministry of reconciliation. The greatest weight of the sermon was on this point though,

"For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21)

And I was undone again. I sat next to my husband, tears falling on both of our cheeks. We're shaking. My view of my sin must be great. The view of Christ must be greater still! Again, "He. loves. us. We are small. He gave his son for us."

We stand with the congregation at the end singing, "Jesus Messiah. Name above all Names. Blessed Redeemer. Emmanuel. Rescue for Sinners. Ransom from Heaven. Jesus Messiah. Lord of All." Arms outstretched. Steady tears falling. Gasping for air. I am wrecked by this love. He has come hard after me in only a few short days. Why me? How can I know HIM more? How will he make me, small, wretched sinner, "the righteousness of God"? Why does he love us so?

All is grace.

Going a little bit deeper than "stroller derby"

2011-03-14T22:57:00.005-05:00

I want to write about what God's been doing in my heart. But it's deep, and it's personal, and it's so important that I am afraid to write. Afraid the words will come out wrong. Or maybe they won't come at all. Or perhaps it will be one of those posts that just rambles on with no clear direction or cohesiveness. In this moment it's a risk I'm willing to take, so please bear with me. I blog because I think in narrative. It is good for me to put my stories out there, no matter what sort of quality my writing might be. This post has been writing itself in my head for a few days now, and I must let it live.

I've been reading good books lately and thinking about important things. Soul work. I am slowly softened, continually regenerated. The Holy Spirit comes and guides me, purposefully it seems, to the stuff I need to hear, need to read, need to savour. This past week, a new wind began to blow in my devotions. Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, really), I sat with glazed eyes and watched Eric and Aaron play their 1,000th game of Tetris that night. It wasn't mind numbing though- real conversation was happening. The men were talking, building each other up, this is the technology-age take on sitting in the boat fishin' and talkin' about nothin'. You know how guys have to DO something to bond. Anyway, finally Aaron announced that he really needed to go. He had to get up early for Ecclesiastes, to read it. He said, "It's kind of blowing my mind." I asked why, and he told me.

Next morning, I was sucked into Ecclesiastes too. Solomon had done it all. He was the wisest man to ever live. The richest man in the land, he travelled the known world and tried it all: women, food, drink, adventure, power, insight, pleasure. His final word on all of it- "There is nothing new under the sun." Ultimately, life is a breath. In the end, we all die. In the end, your Nobel Peace Prize is going to rot. Your banking empire will be handed down to someone who will squander it. Even your lifelong investment in training and loving your own children may be all for naught. Again and again, Solomon declares "This too is meaningless."

Slowly, so slowly I was getting a picture. A feeling. Ecclesiastes compelled me. Instead of feeling disheartened and despairing by the "meaningless" state of life, I was stable, steady, at peace. Wednesday morning, Thursday morning, I read and read. I drank in the repetitive nature of the book,

"Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will
call the past to account." (vs. 3:15)

Thursday evening, we travelled to small group. It was "full group", and the plan was for extended prayer time. I considered my week, full of late nights and early mornings (Ecclesiastes included), and thought I might actually fall asleep for extended prayer time. I arrived nauseated with exhaustion and car sickness. But joyful. Joyful in the fellowship of other believers, trusting that God was there.

Extended prayer time wasn't fatiguing. There were heartfelt petitions for employment, healing, refreshing. Tears were poured and hearts were laid bare, desiring more. More from God, would the Holy Spirit come and meet us? A Brother believed that God was giving him a tongue for the Body. Yes, that. Speaking in tongues at a small group. I'd never heard it before, but I *we* believe that it isn't outside the realm of possibility. We are open, and so we prayed and invited the Holy Spirit and all His giftings, including discernment.

He prayed and we listened, silently asking for interpretation. Willing, but travelling uncharted waters. Like a child who looks to their parent, "Is this OK dad? I've never done this before.", looking for the assuring smile and nod from Father. I sensed that more was coming. The Holy Spirit was moving, washing through the room, coming over me with warm pressure. Scared, dependent, shaking, on the edge of a precipice of faith. We're not used to following. It still feels scary, bringing an unfamiliar rush. This feeling is distantly familiar, but it makes the breath catch in my throat each time. Then the interpretation came,

"He wants us to know that He loves us. He loves us. We are
small. But He loves us. He. gave. his. own. son. for us. He
loves us."

That was my voice, my tears. Those words were forced out, not by me. They had to be spoken. God was giving us a gift. My heart was stabbed through deeply. He wants to tell me that He loves me? That's it? Then in a moment of revelation, "It's that important that I we know that He loves us. And that we are small ." He gave the gift of a tongue and an interpretation to an unlikely audience. His message is important. I was struck through with the weight of this moment. A moment when, and just for a moment, we transcended the line between space and time, the mundane reality always at our fingertips and the invisible spiritual plane of glorification.

***to be continued***

***EDIT: After this post was read by a number of people who are far more educated than myself, my Senior Pastor pointed out that what I thought was the gift of interpretation of a tongue was probably the gift of prophesy instead. This doesn't make the evening less meaningful or negate the message. The only reason I post this edit is to help other believers deepen their understanding of the spiritual gifts and develop sound theology. Here is what my small group leader wrote in an email on this subject-

Becca Pat's words after the tongue was spoken was not an interpretation of the tongue, it was a gift of prophecy. How do we know that's true? If you read through 1 Corinthians 14:13-19, it describes the gift of tongues: "I will sing praise with my spirit....give thanks with your spirit". Reading directly from my notes from the Holy Spirit Seminar 2 months ago: "What are tongues? Speech directed towards God. Prayer or praise or thanksgiving to God.... The interpretation will always be prayer or praise or thanks to God. If not, it is not an interpretation."

Just thought I should clarify. Grace to you all!***

Stroller Derby Video

2011-03-13T21:08:00.000-05:00

We keep joking that Old Man Winter has been on speed (a few have suggested Cialis) through the entire season this year. It has snowed, even just a little, every single day for months now. We have blind corners at every turn, narrow streets, tunnel-like sidewalks, "ice dam" seems to be the word of the day (every day), and the hems of our jeans have permanent salt lines inching higher and higher. I inwardly scoff when the girls check the calendar each day to confirm, "Yes, only 16 more days until Spring!" Spring storms in Minnesota are some of the worst.

The girls get outside often, but some days it is just too darn cold. Today it wasn't that cold, so Eva and Hope, in a sudden, rowdy fit of excitement burst through the front door. They ran up and down the sidewalk and around the side of the house wearing only socks and a single layer of indoor clothing. Eva, in a dress, even had bare legs. I didn't care. I just hollered out the door, "Come inside when you get cold!" They lasted a good three or four minutes...

Anyway, the video I am including here is to prove several things:

1. Happiness is an older sister who adores you.
2. Noise levels reach record heights immediately preceding bedtime.
3. Small houses have a surprisingly large capacity for fun.
4. Parents really do slack off on the rules the more kids they have. (In the name of good stewardship and safety, Eva and Hope were NEVER allowed in the doll stroller.)
5. I may have completely lost my marbles.
6. Esther's lack of walking ambition may be fueled by the obvious display of charity.
7. Spring (Real Spring, that is) couldn't come soon enough.

Food Day Friday: When Frugal is Top Dog

2011-03-11T17:12:00.010-06:00

(spare me the examination of my dishpan hands. Also, I already knew that I had blue pen on my fingers. Thanks for keeping me in the light!)

I recently got an email from a friend (you know who you are!) who said, "I need to be inspired again to live frugally and also how to keep living in a smaller home... I would love to get together and see how you're doing."

She stole the words right out of my mouth! Also, two follow-up comments:

1. Aren't we all trying to have it all on a budget that can't afford it all?!?

2. Even those who live in modest homes come to our house and magically feel like they own a mansion. And we're happy (sort of) to provide that service to any of you!

I was actually thinking about frugality in the kitchen this week, so here's one small way that I am pinching pennies: Cake mixes. And not just any cake mixes, the Holiday Funfetti cake mixes that were $.11 each after Christmas. I also grabbed several cans of premixed frosting (retro 70's green) for $.17 each. I thought to myself that I must, must, must (!) be able to find something to do with these for that price.

Now, I have to suspend my cake mix excitement for just a moment and offer this disclaimer. It is abnormal for us to eat boxed food. I don't recommend it. I don't like it. I'll go so far as to say, I loathe it. But, how many times have you been asked to bring a dessert or bars or cookies to some event? More than likely, you will bring your offering and never see it's ugly mug again. More than likely, you are feeding hoards of starving pubescent boys that don't care one bit about the ingredient list. They're the ones who hover around the potluck table and take several pieces of dessert in each hand, inhaling them before you can say, "Artificial food coloring" three times fast. This is the cake mix's moment to shine!

Personally, I'm saving my meager grocery budget to be spent on real food for more intimate hospitality or my own family's consumption. I'm not trying to be selfish or set a double standard here, it's just that age old balancing act- quality vs. cost. Let's face it, dessert ingredients can be quite expensive: real cream, butter, chocolate, berries, nuts, cream cheese... not the most frugal of characters. Sure, I love to splurge on them for a birthday party or a special night with friends, but not. the. potluck.

And, as it turns out the cake mixes have come in handy often! The whole "funfetti" thing has not been a hindrance since I just omit those little red and green Christmas trees. Without the funfetti, I'm left with a white cake mix that has become many things: Superbowl party cupcakes (frosted in the retro green with piped white goal posts), baby shower cupcakes (I dyed them blue and pink with contrasting frosting... gender confusion), peach dump cake, and tonight cake balls. The cake balls were especially satisfying to me because I used both the cake mix and the premixed frosting in one sitting- the green frosting easily translated to St. Patrick's day. Apparently people really like cake balls, and Eva and Hope really like to help make them. But here's my dirty little secret- I think they're kinda gross. Personal preferences aside, refreshments for Arts Night at church were something out of the ordinary and really easy on the budget.

So, that's my frugal dessert tip, friends! Watch for cheap cake mixes (couponing or after Easter) and be a little creative.

Wordless Wednesday: A quiet moment

2011-03-09T10:55:00.002-06:00

UTAH!

2011-03-07T11:23:00.001-06:00

In January, Eric and I took a special trip to Park City, Utah to chill with our friends David and Beth Anderson. We were gone for 6 days with no kids! It was a hard decision to go since we hadn't really envisioned spending money this way and because it was a long time away from the kids. I'm so glad we went though! There is more to tell about this trip than I have time for blogging, so I'm just going to throw out a few happy pictures.

We skied, quite a lot. Two days of downhill skiing and one day of cross country. As you can see, Beth is mega preggers, so she was not allowed on downhill skis. David and Beth humbly (and patiently) invited me to teach them the basics of cross country skiing, and they caught on quickly! Cross country is a great workout for a gestating mama!
Basically, it was 5 degrees in Minneapolis, and 35 degrees in Utah the whole time. It was paradise. The sun on my fair skin felt as good as a Triple Chocolate Coconut Raspberry Entirely Decadent dessert on my tongue. (I have a good imagination for things like dessert, and I really love sunshine). David (certified ski instructor) very generously spent most of two days teaching Eric to downhill ski. Although he is still struggling a bit, David dun good! Eric can remain in control at all times and actually wants to continue learning the skills. While they taught and learned and skied a bit together, and while Beth ran all our errands and cooked our food (thanks Mom!), I explored the resort solo. It was fun and exhilarating and challenging and refreshing!Then we met up and did a few runs together. David and I also got to (recklessly) ski together a bit, allowing me to ski some new runs with a companion. David also evaluated my skiing a bit and helped me to start unlearning some bad habits and catch on to some new tricks. I can't wait to hit the slopes again and practice!
When we weren't skiing, we were settling Catan, talking politics, eating delicious food, talking economics, watching Sundance films, talking A Capella, sleeping in, talking parenting, hot tubbing, talking science, looking for Eric's lost _______ (fill in the blank), talking religion, cooking, talking Jesus, gleaning Sundance freebies, talking major life decisions, and talking some more. It was a sweet time!

Thanks D & B for convincing us to make the trip, and of course taking great care of us!

Esther Follow-Up

2011-03-02T22:18:00.015-06:00

Life With Baby Esther sped away at breakneck speed last week and has left us welcoming a new BFF, Life With a Toddler #3.

Literally moments after posting about Esther a few weeks ago, after declaring that she "refuses to walk" and "demands to be carried", I found myself clapping and cheering wildly for Esther's first few seconds of unassisted standing. Believe me, at almost 17 months, the whole house was ready to celebrate. We encouraged Esther to share her trick with any and every person to pass through our doors, and sure enough by day 2 of standing, she decided to take a few steps. Now just to be clear, that was about 2 weeks ago, and there is currently no running, jumping, ball-kicking toddler emerging yet...

But, she does decide to walk a few steps every once in a while. Esther's personal philosophy is becoming quite clear in regard to walking: slow and steady wins the race! To date, she enjoys standing for praise and when she forgets that she is doing it. She walks also for praise, and occasionally if she only needs two or three steps between stabilizing objects. Her longest walk so far was about 8 feet, probably 10 steps or so. With the other two girls, I declared them to be walking on the day they took their first steps. For Eva that was on her first birthday, and for Hope it was near the end of 13 months. This time around though... I'm waiting to announce that Esther is a walker (though it would've been 16 months) until she really moves... which I'm hoping is before her second birthday :).

Anyway, the toddlerhood explosion continued all last week. Suddenly I realized that Esther likes to feed herself with a fork and a spoon. I also realized that she easily forgoes the morning nap (if I had been paying attention, I would've realized that she was playing in her crib for most of it anyway). By the end of the week, she was "lovingly" loading a baby doll into her doll stroller and taking all kinds of trips around the house (and NOT on all fours!).

I took her to the doctor last week for a well-baby check, and I was actually surprised by several things. I thought she was a puny runt, but it turns out she is solidly in the 50th percentile. I also thought she was probably a little delayed across the board with development. On the contrary, as I filled out one of those developmental milestone questionnaires,
I was able to circle every skill up to 21 months. Of course, I laughed out loud at the thought of Esther kicking a ball, so I (obviously) didn't circle "running", "walking", or "kicking a ball". Her doctor, who we absolutely adore and love to recommend to others, thought she looked great and chided me for having any concerns about the lack of walking in light of her other normal growth.

Once I stopped to think (and blog) about Esther's words, I started to remember and notice many more than I thought she had. To add to my previous list: (sorry it is double spaced. Blogger and I fight. A lot.)

sock

light

boll (ball)

babo (baby)

noh(nose)

eye

guk (yuck, in relation to poopy diapers)

meow

moo

quack

neigh

bah

tickl (tickle)

Brrr

Sno (snow)
col (cold, we DO live in Minnesota)

bana (banana)

chiz (cheese)

poo boo (peekaboo)

Esther has a very special relationship with Eva lately, but that will have to be for another post. For now, I am pleased to introduce our official TODDLER!

Wordless Wednesday: Loot after a visit to Bonnie and Donnie

2011-03-02T22:16:00.002-06:00

Friday Food-day: Two Quick Cheats

2011-02-25T08:44:00.001-06:00

Eric and I were on an soccer team together at an FCA retreat in college. Our motto, which we shouted loudly and frequently, was "You've got to CHEAT to win!" The catchy little line was followed by an even catchier (dorkier???) clapping rhythm. College, now those were the days...

Anyway, I do believe in cheating occasionally, and snacks, treats, and convenience foods can be areas that see a lot of "cheating" if you're trying to stick to a real food, nourishing diet. So, based on last weekend's snack cravings, here are two of my winning cheats.

1. Hot cocoa made with coconut milk. I found this great, basically healthy, cocoa mix recipe here. BUT at our house last weekend, we had Swiss Miss in the big blue container on hand. So, in order to improve the value some, I heated up 1 part canned coconut milk and one part organic whole milk. We dumped in a few heaping teaspoons of cocoa mix and voila! The resulting cocoa was really rich, creamy, with a delicious hint of coconut. It was also loaded with beneficial medium chain fatty acids found in coconut products. Score!

2. Cheesy popcorn made with nutritional yeast. I think our usual popcorn recipe is nutritionally satisfactory and delicious, but with "cheesy popcorn" I faked the girls out while simultaneously maximizing the health benefits. If you're not familiar with nutritional yeast, it comes in a few different forms (we have a powder) and has a definite cheesy, slightly nutty flavor. Esther will eat it mixed into just about anything, but the older girls are sometimes a bit suspicious. Nutritional yeast packs a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals including a high level of B vitamins and protein. To make my popcorn, I use organic, non-GMO, yellow corn popped in a bit of olive oil or coconut oil, drizzled with melted butter. This time, I also generously sprinkled one big bowl of popcorn with about 3 T. of nutritional yeast. The girls loved munching it as they watched The Swan Princess, and I loved the added B vitamins and protein. Double score!

Now, I know I'm not the only cheater out there... if you have any other tips, I'd love to hear your comments on how you "cheat to win" (including an audio clip of your hokey hand clap is optional...).

Wordless Wednesday: Slip Sliding Away

2011-02-23T23:18:00.009-06:00

(yes, that's Esther flying down the shoot)

Giveaways Galore

2011-02-19T17:07:00.003-06:00

There are tons of great giveaways at Saving Naturally this week. Of course I love free things, and one item, the Berkley water filter, is something that I've had on my wish list for a long time! So, I am shamelessly blogging about these giveaways in order to get more entries for the contest. Yes, I know my odds are low. I am hopeful nonetheless!

If it is Saturday afternoon in your hemisphere, and you are avoiding cleaning up your kitchen -or- If you like free things (who doesn't?!?), and you especially appreciate products that help you lead a more natural lifestyle, check out these giveaways:

Berkey Light Water Filtration System

Living Clay Cleansing Package

Graham Gardens Wholesome Baby Skin Care + Gift Certificate

Naturopathic Home Medicine Kit

The end.

Esther Update

2011-02-15T23:00:00.001-06:00

Esther definitely gets the least amount of press on this blog of anyone in our family. Here's an attempt at turning that around!

These days (these last few months...), Esther has been stuck between babyland and toddlerhood. She just can't seem to make up her mind which direction she should go, and eventually, the inevitable will befall her. I suspect that her personal self-image is utterly baby, although by virtue of intelligent design she is slowly maturing into a toddler.

On the baby side of things, she enjoys two long naps each day and an early bedtime of 7:15 or so. She still refuses to walk, crawls, and often demands to be carried to wherever she wants to go. She loves to be held, especially when I need to get something done :).

Meanwhile, over in toddlerland, she has been eating anything and everything since about 7 months. She self-weaned at 13 months (much earlier than the older girls) with absolutely no fanfare. She loves to read books, and at 16 months has quite a bit to say. It all starts with her favorite word, "Gak." For every 10 times she points at something and says, "Gak", she throws in some of her other favorites:

Mama
Dada
Hup (Hope)
Ayra (Eva)
Uh oh
Nah (No)
Yea(!!!)
Yaw (yes)
Book
Grnma (Grandma)
Go
Hi
Die die (Bye bye)
Au Dai (All done)

She also signs "more", "all done" and "please".

Esther is passionately embracing the "dump and fill" stage, and wanders from room to room on her hands and knees looking for anything and everything to dump or unload. She even loves to clean up after herself, as long as someone comes along and happily announces "Time to clean up!" At that signal, the girl can quite rapidly undo almost any mess she has created. As long as there are pieces to be put in a container, that is.

Esther loves to LAUGH loudly and squeal with her sisters. She really likes to charm the masses, and is extremely curious about anything her sisters are doing. Generally (when she doesn't have some seasonal virus), she is loads of fun and full of smiles. We all completely adore her!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T11:57:00.010-06:00

We're having fun celebrating Valentine's Day (aka: Binge on Sweets in the Name of Love Day) around here! We've been busy with a variety of preparations over the past week. Here's a little sampling of what we've been up to...
The girls worked on "Valentine Dots" on Saturday afternoon. A perfect kid project, with almost no help from Mom!Then Eva painstakingly divided them all into 9 piles to be bagged up for special friends at church. The glue stick and bingo dopper in the background are evidence of the heart cards she made later on.
We've made about a gillion other Valentine cards and pictures, but no photos of those.

Valentine's Day breakfast. A few little trinkets, special heart shaped cakes (don't tell my conscience that I someone named Little Debbie made those), and pink milk (again, no one needs to know that I may or may not have contaminated our organic raw milk with a drop of red food coloring). We also had soaked oatmeal :).
I brought Hope to the table still half asleep, so she opened her eyes to our candlelit breakfast. We all had fun watching her take in the little celebration with childlike wonder, breathing out "Oh my, oh my." There is nothing better than seeing through the eyes of a child.

(Extra credit will be awarded to any commenter who can guess what the last occasion was that I used those candle holders. I'll give you a hint: it was in the summer.)

At preschool last week, Hope had a special Valentine's party, and at school today Eva will be exchanging Fun Dip for all kinds of Valentine's goodies too. Life is good. Really good.

When the mail came, Hope opened a card from Grandma Patenaude with a dollar for each of the girls in it. Eva will have to see hers when she comes home from school, but for now, Hope is celebrating enough for the two of them. "My OWN dollar! My OWN dollar! Now I can buy an American Girl doll!" Dear three year old, more likely something from the dollar spot at Target, which will probably be just as awesome. Thanks Grandma!

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. Squeeze the ones you love today!

Theology 101

2011-02-09T21:21:00.004-06:00

I've been away from the blog for over a month. And what a month it has been! I have many posts rattling around in my head, begging for an outlet, so hopefully someday soon I'll free my fingers and take back my brain. For now, just a quick snippet about dinnertime tonight.

For the last few months we have been using a great resource, Long Story Short, for family devotions after dinner. Our church generously purchased a copy for each family in our church, and what a gift (!), as it is the perfect fit for our kids. The lessons are short, simple, and Biblically grounded. A testimony to the uniqueness of male leadership, the girls love, love, love to share this special time with Dad way more than they enjoy their teaching times with Mom.

Tonight, Eric opened by asking for a show of hands, "Raise your hand if you have ever in your life disobeyed..." Of course, the hands shot up (even little Esther appropriately thought hand raising was cool and required). The following conversation was about how Satan lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden, convincing her to disobey God and promising that it would have positive consequences. It was good.

Eva's observations afterward were fascinating. Our resident kindergartner hasn't wasted any time getting to the big questions. First she said, "If I saw a snake in a tree, I would probably go a little closer to see it better." Then after some consideration, "But if it TALKED to me, I would stay far away. Because that would be Satan." Then the million dollar question, "Why did God create Satan if He knew Satan would tempt us to sin?"

And though we've hardly just begun, we've already shut the book on Theology 101. Up next week: The total depravity of man, the freedom of the will, and original sin. Buckle your seat belts Mom and Dad, the kids have some questions!

***In the interest of total disclosure and keepin' it real, if you are like me, you might read this post and think, "Great, another family who is doing devotions and having provocative and gratifying dinnertime conversations." Then you might compare yourself to those (imaginary) families and beat yourself up for your (perceived) lack of familial accomplishment. Let's just be straight here and remember that ANY grace, even somewhat regular family devotions, is GOD'S grace. We don't claim any credit, and I know that God's grace is available to all who seek it. Amen. :) ***

Quotables

2011-01-05T10:25:00.003-06:00

I can hardly keep up with all the goofy things Hope says these days. But Eva has mostly transitioned out of the really cute, wacky, random, nonsensical, quotable stage of toddler hood and the preschool years. Now she is a verified gradeschooler, and the funny phrases of yesteryear are all but extinct. Except for these recent goodies:

(on the 5 hour drive to Crookston for Christmas, from the way back of the van) "Are we there yet??? I counted to a million and six already!"

(while reading aloud Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, where Aunt Jane says that Rebecca can be anything she wants when she grows up, I ask Eva what she wants to be when she grows up.) "I want to be an actor in plays... and a vegetarian." I ask, "Do you mean you won't eat any meat?!?" Eva gives me a quizzical look and after some thought, "No, a veterinarian."

:)

Children Singing

2011-01-01T12:40:00.003-06:00

This is a video that I just came across from August 2010. The girls' little voices are so sweet, I just had to post it. The first part is the best...

Walking in a Frozen Farmland

2010-12-27T11:20:00.013-06:00

Christmas at home

2010-12-27T10:34:00.008-06:00

We opened gifts together as a family this year a few nights before we headed off to Crookston. The agenda for the evening was 1. Open Gifts, 2. Eat Christmas dinner, and 3. Watch the movie The Nativity Story.

This year, gift opening was a very rewarding experience. Satisfying for the kids and affirming for the parents. You know it is NOT always this way, so we savoured the experience :).

We gave Esther and Hope a wooden dollhouse, and Esther opened the matching dolls with Eva's expert assistance.

Eva had a very specific list of desires for Christmas this year, including jewelry, make-up, and an American Girl doll. From us, she received a pretty little necklace and her American Girl doll, Josephina. The doll has been on her wish list for several years, but we always said she had to wait until she was five years old. It is sort of a rite of passage, one that she has been dreaming about for a long time! She actually saved her money since last summer when we told her that she would be able to get her doll this Christmas. I paid her one penny for each weed she pulled from our yard, garden, and flower beds. After the summer of weeding and a few other odd jobs, she ended up with $24.70. That is a lot of weeds!!!

Her response to opening the doll was a crazy arms flailing, high-knees dance with lots of screaming and overall elation. (makes parents feel falsely affirmed...good parents buy their children expensive dolls :) So far, she has done a good job caring for her and protecting her from Hope and Esther.

The necklace was also well received, and well protected in a musical jewelry box that came as a gift from Grandma Patenaude.Esther-P totally lived it up during the gift opening. She loves tearing through the paper, with plenty of high pitched squeals and laughter!
Hope was overjoyed by the dollhouse gift, which she demonstrated by hugging and kissing the box over and over again. I am also in love with the doll house (I've wanted to buy one since Eva was a baby), and I'm sure it will be one toy purchase I won't regret. Grandma and Grandpa Patenaude gifted Esther and Hope with much of the furniture for the house when we got up to Crookston, so hours of fun will be coming our way!
We snapped one family picture in front of the tree before all the craziness began, and for once everyone looked at the picture. Not all smiling, but pretty good for us!
Merry Christmas from our little family!

Feliz Navidad a Todos

2010-12-22T11:11:00.001-06:00

Many Memories Tree Christmas Card

Personalize your Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Flying Grandpa Style

2010-12-20T20:17:00.000-06:00

Sweet Flying

2010-12-19T20:08:00.007-06:00

A Surprising Friday Afternoon Discovery

2010-12-18T08:58:00.003-06:00

***my apologies to all of you who have heard this story already since we've been jabbering about it so much.***

So, here's a little story for you. About three years ago, Eric and I (and Baby Hope) took a road trip to Montana. Eva stayed with Grandma Patenaude in Crookston. It was nearly Eva's birthday, so Grandma took her shopping at Wal-Mart. Eva picked out a little doll. Later, Grandma apologized to me for buying the doll since it is the annoying variety that talks and moves. We sometimes joked that it was the "possessed" doll because even when it was turned off sometimes it would spout out baby gibberish.

Well, the doll hasn't been much of an issue until today... My friend Sarah was picking up her two girls who had playing at our house and she heard the doll "talking". She immediately picked it up and listened again. "Do you hear that???" She made me listen to the doll a few times, then she said, "It's saying 'Islam is the light!' ". Sure enough, after I listened to it again I heard it... hidden between the "mama" and other gibberish. My personality would be to ignore it, especially since we've had the doll for three years and never noticed, but this time my curiosity was aroused.

Later, I googled "Fisher Price doll says Islam is the light" and came up with tons of links! Eeeek!!!!! Of course there are the super conservative fundamentalist crazies who ranted about One World Order and how Obama is the Antichrist, but mostly a lot of people just felt cheated and deceived by a company hawking a seemingly harmless baby doll. Targeted at two year olds.

As my mom commented, we must be "Wise as serpents, and gentle as doves", and I guess that applies to even the ubiquitous stash of plastic that fills our kids' shelves.

Entertaining certainly. Disturbing probably. Enraging maybe. Annoying for sure.

Blizzard Adendum

2010-12-13T20:03:00.003-06:00

Well, we got a lot of snow over the weekend (around 20 inches at our house). As I mentioned, we stayed the weekend with our friends in nearby Minneapolis, only blocks from our friend Hannah. Dear Hannah had a humdinger of a weekend! While she was struggling against the weather, Aaron, Bethany, and I decided to walk 6 blocks to Walgreen's. Our walk was anything but ordinary, trudging through snow that was at times as high as our hips. Though the temperatures were frigid, all the hard work of walking kept us dripping with sweat! Anyway, as we walked, we repeatedly encountered people in sketchy situations trying to drive somewhere or just park their cars. On every block we had the opportunity to help dig out or push some body's vehicle. It was madness and chaos! So, I won't write out the whole long tale of our walk, but if you check out Hannah's story you'll get an idea what an afternoon stroll in blizzardy Minneapolis looks like. Thankfully, we had headed out "just for the fun of it" and weren't actually fighting with the storm or it's inconvenience!

"A Bulwark Never Failing"

2010-12-13T14:58:00.014-06:00

Name that tune! If you're a hymnal buff or attend a Reformed church, you probably know it. Yes, the hymn writer is talking about God. Today, however, I will be primarily talking about our home. The phrase preceding "a bulwark" is "A mighty FORTRESS is our God." Truly, He is a mighty fortress and a bulwark never failing (can I get an amen?!?). And our house? I suppose you could say it is an allegory pointing to God....

I'll let the pictures explain- See, this is our front curb. Do you notice the wall of snow (it's not really obvious or anything :) ? Let's take a look at some of the other houses in our neighborhood.

Lots and lots of snow, but no bulwark.
Quite a lot of snow, almost a bulwark, but not quite like this: If you haven't heard, we were blasted with a pretty good snowstorm this past weekend. Epic, really :). Halfway through the day on Saturday the plows were pulled off the road, the buses sent to the garage, the airport closed (first time since the Halloween Blizzard of 1991), and the Metrodome roof collapsed. As one twitter fan commented, "proof that God really does hate the Vikings." Ha!

We were silly enough to think the storm would quickly pass, so we spent snowy Friday night at the Darling's house. Really, we should've hightailed it home while we had a chance. By Saturday morning it was pointless to try. We ended up staying until Sunday afternoon. When we finally got home, our yard was peacefully hibernating under a three foot thick blanket of snow. Sitting in the van, I was eye-level with the top of the drift. The girls and I cruised the neighborhood for an hour while Eric worked to make a path to the door.

After a quick dinner of leftovers, Eric headed back outside to continue his quest to conquer nature. When he finally came inside at 10:00 pm, I had to laugh. He had stacked the frozen blocks of snow around the perimeter of our sidewalk and the curb to create an incredible castle wall. You can imagine our little "princesses" are thrilled! We're calling the snow wall our "fortress", and although it is a little embarrassing to see all the passing cars slow to a crawl to observe the spectacle, it was a lot cheaper than an extravagant display of Christmas lights! When I asked Eric "WHY?", he gave lots of reasons. I think the real motivating factor though was the remains of a boyish fascination with Legos. Who wouldn't want to spend 6 hours in sub- zero temps building with large blocks of snow??? He slept really well last night.

This year will be a snowy one, I think it's fair to say. Our poor short-legged daughters will have a hard time playing in the white fluff, but they will have fun navigating the corridors of our fortress. Even the connecting mailman paths make for a nice meander.

The Gumball Girls (and their parents)

2010-12-03T22:57:00.016-06:00

I've wanted to post some photos that my sister took of our family last summer for a long time, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now that I'm actively thinking about Christmas cards again, I'm thinking of these pictures too. Hindsight is always 20/20 right? So, for the next time we take family photos, I am going to avoid the gumball effect (my sister calls these "my little pony" colors), and probably not allow the little bows (that was NOT my idea). In my golden years I'll cherish their little faces, no matter what color they were wearing!

That's why we called her "Pebbles" :).

Thanks Sis for taking these pictures and puting up with the Crazies! And you know they were crazy!!!

I'm having CARDiac arrest!

2010-12-03T22:04:00.007-06:00

So, there is a big fat awesome deal available to anyone out there with a blog. Shutterfly.com is offering 50 free holiday photo cards to any blogger who blogs about their amazing products. I have in fact used Shutterfly a few times to print photos, and I have been perfectly pleased with the quality, timeliness, and price. I would use them again! And now, because of this super deal, I will for sure be using them again. Here are some of the cards I'm considering...

because we just might get a great photo of each of the girls AND the whole family unit...
because we probably won't end up with a photo of all 5 of us that is worth sending out, but the girls are always cute...
because these two girls are so stinkin' cute it doesn't matter that a picture of us wouldn't have the same effect...because I love this font and the retro feel.

So, now you see some of the Christmas card options at Shutterfly, and actually there were 803 choices. You're sure to find something that fits your fancy.

I am also considering two other orders from Shutterfly this year. First, the photo calendars. I used to scrapbook these cute little calendars for my mom each Christmas. I think I had a solid run of three years in a row, which is pretty good for me! Then, last year I was bored with scrap booking. Also, I was busy. Also, I was uninspired. Also, it takes many steps to complete the whole thing. So, I gave my dad a calendar of vintage tractors instead (true story), which hangs on the wall in the sacred grandkids-calendar spot now. I am pretty sure that was a let down under the tree :). Perhaps it will be a Shutterfly calendar this year!

Second, the canvas wall art photos. Doesn't that sound like a cute way to decorate, especially a kid's room or a space that might get a lot of traffic??? No frame and glass to get bumped and fall to the floor and break (as happened in the girls' room last week), no deliberation over which frame and the time spent framing a photo. I like it.

Now, Shutterfly isn't paying me to jabber on about their great products, but they are offering 50 free photo cards. Pretty much worth it, I'd say! And like I said, I have been utterly satisfied with everything I've ordered in the past.

If you have a blog and would like to participate in this promotion, click here.

Older Photos

2010-11-22T13:38:00.010-06:00

I'm posting a whole slough of stuff on Craigslist today, and as I searched for the saved pictures of bed frames and little people houses, I came across old shots of the girls. Wow, how they grow! And boy, how I wish I could rightly taste and feel every moment in my imagination. Eric would say that is the longing for another place, the next, perfect place. C.S. Lewis and I know he is right. Ahhh, nostalgia.

So, here are some oldies-but-goodies. All Eva, age 2, taken on a vacation to Ohio to celebrate Ryan and Stephanie's wedding. Some of these shots were taken by Uncle Dana... that's why they're so good :).

Status Updates

2010-11-18T15:01:00.001-06:00

Borrowing from my brilliant friend Nicole, this week I will be recording life by way of my Facebook updates.

Tuesday: "Overheard from the kitchen, "Eva will you help me build a fort? OK, good. Then Mommy won't be able to find me to spank me." "

True story, I do spank the little rascals. And lately we've been trying to graciously and lovingly reinforce obedience a little more firmly around here. The reinforcements come largely in the form of spankings. And they know when they've got it coming to them, though obviously they can run, but they can't hide ;).

Sunday: "Just took Hope to the bathroom at 11:00 at night. Deliriously she asked for, "Privacy, please." Then decisively she announced, "This drives me crazy!" Then in a slightly maniacal voice, "I'm driving crazy!" Then she was asleep in bed again. Whew"

Hope continues her maddening habit of getting up twice a night to go to the bathroom, with help. Of course, Eva's habit of wetting the bed twice a night is even more maddening, so... we take what we can get. Hope is very sweet and usually not delirious when we take her. Next week, Eric has allotted four days to finish remodeling our upstairs bathroom, so perhaps next week Hope will no longer need assistance to find the toilet in the middle of the night!

Thursday: "7 little girls playing, two dressers painted, 24 "all natural" chicken nuggets, 2 poopy diapers, tasty beet salad, and sunshine. Ordinary, but still interesting, afternoon around our house."

I run a very unofficial daycare here. Apparently my spiritual gift for serving the church is watching kiddos, because I do a lot of it! I enjoy it (don't stop bringing your kids over!), and by default there is no shortage of playmates for Hope while Eva is away at school. Officially, I have also started watching two little girls for 10 or so hours per week, for actual income. At our peak last week, there were 9 little girls and 2 boys playing in our yard, with the addition of the neighbor kids. Busy, anyone???

The beets are starting to run dry, though we're still consuming them occasionally. All natural chicken nuggets do, in fact, have only five ingredients that are all recognizeable. While they aren't quite real food, they aren't the worst alternative :).

The dressers and the sunshine went hand in hand. The following day, the temperatures dipped low and we got our first snow. I was so thankful to finish up the last of the summer/fall bedroom redecorate project before we were trapped inside. I was also relieved to be able to accomplish a painting project with a gazillion little people underfoot! My ability to multi-task, the level of everyday chaos, and the number of children at our house seem to be multiplying equally and exponentially these days!

OK, reading through this I'm deciding that Nicole's Facebook posts are much more interesting than mine. And her commentary is superbly more interesting. So, I'm quitting now. But at least I've journaled and remembered, right?!?

Almost Wordless Wednesday: All a little out of focus, which only reinforces the generally chaotic vibe

2010-11-17T14:36:00.012-06:00

If I were to give captions to these photos it would be something like:

"Yeah! Let's go hiking!" "I'm tiiiired" "No eating rocks." "Let's climb those stairs!" "Will you hold me?" "Hazel, you can't catch me!" "I want to ride in the stroller." "Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!" "My stomach hurts." "What is for dinner?" "I DON'T want to _______" "C',mon Hopie!" "My stomach hurts." "She won't hold my hand." "I'm tiiiiired."

Weekend Top 10

2010-11-14T21:54:00.003-06:00

10. TWO afternoon naps for me.

9. Snow! The first snowfall of the season started on Friday night, and Hope roused us bright and early on Saturday morning to take in the winter wonderland. Finally Eva has a playmate for colder adventures. The girls played together for a good hour in the white without any complaints of snow in their gloves, cold faces, or inability to actually walk through the snow. For better or worse, they're growing up!

8. Completed bedroom renovation. The girls' bedroom underwent a face lift, starting in August and ending today. They have now have bunk beds, blue walls, another dresser, new curtains, bedding, decorations, and **pause for dramatic effect** a bed canopy. The room is not an interior design masterpiece in any way, but it is a major improvement. And the girls love it. And I know I spent less than $100, thanks to re purposing, recycling, garage saling, spray paint, and Ikea. Wahoo!

7. Sleeping in my own bed at night. Esther has now moved into the new and improved girls' dormitory (see above). Since lately she does not sleep soundly with her mother in the room, I have been sleeping on the love seat. For at least a month. But not anymore!!!

6. Family of 5. Eric did not take any trips or do much socializing this weekend, so we enjoyed lots of face time with him. Mmmmm.

5. Mommy date for Hope. The middle daughter and I went out for dinner to Noodles tonight. We chit chatted about the Sunday School lesson this morning, then pulled out Sesame Street Dominoes and later read three lovely picture books. We sat together on the same side of the booth the whole time and totally soaked up the personal attention.

4. Mommy date for (duh) Mommy. Our church women's meeting was cancelled due to the snow storm, so I had some beautiful time away on Saturday morning by myself. I ate quiche, drank coffee, and read excerpts from three books: Keep a Quiet Heart, When I Don't Desire God, and most importantly the Bible. I needed some good time with God and was mercifully refreshed by the Holy Spirit's presence with me.

3. Homespun productions. While Hope and I were away tonight, Eva and Eric worked up a little dramatic presentation. We arrived home to paper arrows directing us to the basement. We sat in a line on our little green chairs and watched as Ms. Beadle (Eva) instructed her pupil (Eric) in math skilz. In Act II, Laura (Eric) tried to convince Mary (Eva) to raise some money by selling questionable home remedies. In Act III, Laura (Eva) is chastised by the elderly neighbor (Eric) for attempting to sell said remedies door to door. The play was well rehearsed and very professional. Complete with an actor Q&A at the end.

I bought season tickets to all the performances forever into eternity, and I didn't even bat an eyelash at the cost :). I can't wait to see more from these budding actors!

2. Worshiping together with our church family today. Sunday IS the best day of the week.

1. Daddy date for Eva to see Anne of Green Gables, performed by some of our own dear babysitters. Grace played Anne with an "E", and Bronte played Marilla. Apparently, Eva was on the absolute edge of her seat the entire time, and I hear nothing but rave reviews and high praise for the teen actors and actresses. Eva LOVES this kind of old fashioned, female drama with big puffy sleeves and a touch of romance, so I knew she would adore Anne. I'm sad to have missed it, but Eric and Eva had a really special night together!

This weekend was all together relaxing, relational, and refreshing.

Tired Post

2010-10-30T23:08:00.004-05:00

It is 11:08 PM, and I promised myself I would blog tonight, so here I am. I really wanted to watch something on Netflix, but the site is not cooperating. I'd really like to blog more, and I'm thinking that my posts might start to be more of the "stream of consciousness" or "dear diary" variety. Maybe just the "here's what we did today" journal. I want to remember stuff, I just don't have a lot of time for formulating cute posts or uploading (forget editing!) photos. So, here's my trial run:

Today is Saturday, October 30th.

In the kitchen- Turkey stock has been simmering all day. Just minutes ago, I strained the finished product and scalded my fingers picking hot meat of the bones. Glamorous, I tell you ;). We ate wheat/flax/coconut oil pancakes at breakfast with some beet/apple juice. And for lunch, I splurged on Chipotle. Did you know that Chipotle has very affordable, large, fairly nutritious kids meals starting at $2.50. My favorite chain restaurant has just gotten better!
Dinner consisted of fruit/spinach/yogurt/honey smoothies and old fashioned popcorn. The girls adore that menu, and I appreciate the efficiency of it.

Today I am creating- Also in the kitchen today, three very impressive jack o lanterns, if I do say so myself :). My sister and her son spent the night yesterday and most of the day with us today. We had a lot of fun scooping the pumpkin guts, trying to come up with a good design, then meticulously carving each wacky face. They are wacky, but I'll have to reveal the photos another time.

I am pondering- I have a strong internal desire for rhythm and beauty in this life. I know I am longing for another life, the life to come. But how can I bring more rhythm and beauty to this life, the here and now?

Still yearning to home school... I love to teach and learn together. Will that desire ever subside, or is it God directed?

Out my window- The invigorating days of Autumn are coming to a close, leaving the gray, almost-winter days. Leaves are mostly off the trees now, the vibrant hews raked and mulched and locked away inside garbage receptacles unjustly labeled "lawn waste". The nip in the air is starting to make me uncomfortable outside, and the house feels extra toasty after any amount of time in the fresh. I finished cutting back perennials today and raked crispy leaves over the flower beds. Yanked out the tomato plants that finally froze to death last week. I don't know where all the sand from the sandbox disappeared to you this fall, but there was a lot of organic matter to sweep off the patio today! We still have piles of winter squash and pie pumpkins, but I moved them inside the garage to keep a bit longer. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will clean out the play area and stack all the hideous plastic outdoor toys against the fence until the spring when we burst outside on the first 40 degree day.

About the children- Esther had a good day today, the first in several hard days. She might be teething? Entering some new stage or developing an unseen skill? I am hopeful for a cheerful child again tomorrow.

Eva also had a good day today. After a few weeks of defiant and chaotic behavior, a very firm discipline and heart to heart with her mother seemed to have it's desired effect. I am hopeful for lasting heart change for my oldest.

Hope is a ray of sunshine lately. My eager companion and helper, asking many questions to make sense of her world and inviting me to see through pint-sized eyes. She is finally out of a tantrum stage; this week she was the relational motor oil that kept us all smiling and together.

Eva secretly discovered the Halloween goodies to be given to trick or treaters, and devoured 10 Fruit by the Foot packages behind the couch in the basement last night. The evidence was revealed this morning, so there was no movie at the library today and there will be no trick or treating tomorrow. I don't feel disappointed one bit, and she seems quietly content to have been fairly corrected. Hope is blissfully ignorant that her rights were revoked, hand me down style :).

On the road- Eric is at a men's retreat with my dad and brother in law this weekend. He is in the wilderness, but still uploading Facebook posts from his new Droid. Juxtaposition. We're eager to see him tomorrow evening!

I'm thinking- that I should fall asleep now. And that I like clearing my brain with this journal like endeavor. Good night.

Wordless Wednesday: October 9th, 84* and sunny

2010-10-13T13:46:00.000-05:00

How come you never blog anymore???

2010-10-07T10:55:00.003-05:00

Because it has been an extremely productive garden year (except for tomatoes).

Because I currently have 18 pie pumpkins on my patio and 30 more in the garden.

Because I have at least 50 lbs. of winter squash "keeping" until winter and twice as much still in the garden.

Because my house smelled like rotting tomatoes for a whole week before I remembered the huge bag of tomatoes hiding in the corner.

Because our diet consists of a variety of simple, semi convenience foods and every possible combination of vegetable side dishes.

Because there are 30 pounds of beets in the aforementioned corner of the kitchen now. And a whole 'nother row still in the garden.

Because our breakfasts are ALWAYS accompanied by fresh carrot/apple/beet juice and I cannot fathom the idea of keeping the pulp for baking purposes.

Because potatoes are my new favorite vegetable. They KEEP for a long time!

Because I have served apples in every possible manner: pie, cake, muffins, sauce, butter, from the hand, with carmel, cider...

Because one entire produce drawer in the refrigerator is filled with Anaheim *HOT* peppers. Must make jelly?

Because my fingers and fingernails are permanently stained by beet juice and dirt.

Because my kitchen floor is nothing short of disgusting, layer upon layer of sticky squished tomatoes, carrots, summer squash, and more spotting the floor. If you love me, you will come and scrub my kitchen floor!

Because I am living on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Half of the time I am in a frenzy of chopping, dicing, canning, and freezing. The rest of the time I am in the fetal position, crying for my mommy to come and please tell me what to do next.

with love from my "fragrant" kitchen,
Becca

PS)although it may not sound like it, I love fall. The weather, the produce, the leaves, the fires.

PPS)If this sounds like a lot of vegetables, just remember this is only 1/3 of the booty. We had a cooperative garden this year and divided everything equally. Holy pile o' produce!

Wordless Wednesday - BWCA 2010

2010-09-22T12:13:00.011-05:00

Eva's Birthday - Friend Party

2010-09-21T15:09:00.001-05:00

Geez! I'm only four months behind on posting for Eva's birthday. What can I say, I've been spending my time on more important endeavors than the Internet.

So, May 4th marked Eva's 5th birthday, and as it turned out, we celebrated hard core for a good two weeks. She has two friends at church who have birthdays very close to hers. When the girls were born, our families were together in the same small group. Since that time, we haven't seen as much of these families as we'd like, but of course we stay in touch. One of the moms had the brilliant idea to do a combined birthday party since the girls would all be inviting a lot of the same guests from church. We loved the idea of combining our time, energy, and money to make a fun party! We ended up having 16 girls total. The theme was "princess" or "crowns" or something similar. It was a blast! Here are a few pictures-

(Eva, Taylor, Gracie)

The girls made "magic" wands consisting of shiny wrapping paper, bamboo skewers, tag board, glitter, markers, curling ribbon, sequins, and more. They were really snazzy! And really messy :).

(Ashley, Emmi, Eva, Briana, Elayna)

Jenna made cupcakes for each girl with a crown and their name on it. They were really cute!

You can also see Jenna's handiwork on the girls' faces below. Cake decorator and face painter extraordinaire! The birthday girls blew out their candles.
It was a beautiful April morning, so all the girls spread out on the deck for their princess lunch.

Jess and Jenna were the royal servants, catering crown-shaped PBJ sandwiches, cheese, strawberries, "princess punch", cupcakes, and ice cream. Apparently I just loitered around snapping pictures ;).After everybody went home, we posed a few pictures of the birthday girls together. The composition of this shot matches a Wal Mart portrait (don't scoff now!) we had taken of the girls when Eva was a mere 5 weeks old. I tried to scan it into the computer, but alas it is lost in the disorganized bowels of my hard drive.

***goofy girls***
***happy birthday girls***

test.

Kindergarten, here I come!

2010-09-08T09:46:00.004-05:00

I cannot believe that we're already at this stage of life! Eva headed off to RDLS, a Spanish immersion school yesterday.

Leaving the house early in the morning (7:25, to be exact), she seemed totally calm, confident, and happy. We prayed together at breakfast, which really helped me to calm down. Nonetheless, I gave her the fiercest, tightest, longest good-bye hug ever! I was continually surprised all day when the tears would flow... I just missed her so much! I seemed to have absolutely no control over the thoughts racing around in my head, not the least of which being, "I knew we should've homeschooled!"

Picking Eva up at the bus stop was probably the highlight of my day. The first words out of her mouth were, "I LOVE school!" It was bittersweet to hear her say that. .. glad that she had a happy day... sad that she is content being away... can't believe those first five years with her flew by so fast. Even as I type this, my eyes are flooding with tears. Whew!

Since her entire school day is in Spanish and she doesn't yet speak the language, Eric and I were full of questions about her comprehension, frustrations, confusion, etc. Turns out, it didn't bother her a bit to not understand the teacher, and she could give us lots of details about the day and what she was supposed to do without having exact words. From my own Spanish teaching background, I knew this would be true, especially for someone as young as Eva. She remembered the words to some of the songs they sang ("Buenos dias, Buenos dias, Como estas?...). She also knew practically every detail about two discipline situations (the kids names, infractions, consequences). I think her biggest anxiety before going to school was the thought of getting in trouble at school!

Highlights of her day? After telling me that she loved school, her next words were, "And I already made a best friend. Two actually!" Samantha is her current classroom best friend, and Mari is her bus best friend. How awesome kids are at making friends!

Eva had a "God sighting" from her first day at school too. She told me, "Mom, God helped me today!" She explained, "I went to the bathroom, and after I was done I couldn't unlock the door. So, I prayed two times. Then I could open the door!" I imagine my panicked little kindergartner facing the rest of her day locked in the girls bathroom, and I am sure she cried out to God with urgency. Her voice was really ecstatic as she reported God's care for her, and I am so thankful to know that her seedling faith is still growing, even away from our constant guidance.

Oh, what an adventure kindergarten feels like!

In Hope's World

2010-09-03T11:37:00.003-05:00

Eva and Hope are engaged in a game of pretend. They have fused their Little People-Polly Pocket-wooden blocks worlds into one creative little city. On Eva's side of town, Polly Pockets live in elaborate homes on stilts. These are Chinese people and they live by the sea, I'm told. They drive convertibles and their towering homes are amazingly symmetrical.

On the opposite side of town, Hope has constructed a lovely Little People cave dwelling. The Little People live partly protected from the terrors of the outside world by camping pads propped up to create a fort. And the best part of Hope's world??? She describes, "My house stinks 'cause tormadoes* are pooping in the toilet." Never a dull moment in Hope's imagination!

Then, when the tormadoes* get off the pot to make their terrorizing trip through town, Hope cries out, "Anybody on the ground! There's a tormado!"

*Hopespeak for "tornadoes"

Disapointment Lake

2010-08-17T16:08:00.004-05:00

Eric and I just returned from a trip to the Boundary Waters with three other couples. To sum it up in a word, it was FUN. I, personally, needed to play a little bit and got many opportunities to indulge. Eric, I presume, needed a new audience for some punny jokes that have been clamoring around in his head. The humor found it's way out. FUN.

Now, like any good drama, the highs could not have been so high without a few lows. Our campsite for three days was located on a small, rocky, picturesque island on none other than Disappointment Lake. On Disappointment Lake ...

... Eric's Teva sandal strap broke, leaving him without aquatic footwear
... it rained every night
... Eric fell in the water THREE different times trying to get in our canoe
... A lovely small mouthed bass freed himself AFTER being caught
... Eric dumped A LOT of charcoal ash in our chocolate cherry cheesecake
... then Eric dumped our chocolate cherry ash cheesecake on the ground
... we ate Ash cake mixed with dirt
... two black bear found our bear tree and greeted the men at the tree one evening
... after relocating our food pack onto the mainland, a bear still found it
... our food pack was the only pack to be completely consumed by the bear, save one grimy aluminum spoon
... we borrowed the world's slowest and heaviest canoe for the trip
... we proved to be the world's slowest and heaviest paddling team
... we were met with huge gusts of wind and billowing "seas" on our way out, doubling our paddling time...

BUT, it was still so much FUN!!!

Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon.

Wordless Wednesday - Super Dad

2010-07-21T08:57:00.001-05:00

Spending time in Crookston

2010-07-05T16:47:00.001-05:00

Eva always finds ways to pass the time in Crookston. The "bike hat", as Hope calls it, is a favorite accessory up here. Really, I'm not sure why. I mean absolutely no disrespect, but it gives Eva's private reading time a little bit of "short bus" appeal!

Everyday Moments

2010-07-04T15:24:00.002-05:00

Good morning, Hope! Eva does her hair before Vacation Bible School.

Hope says...

2010-06-26T22:21:00.003-05:00

To Grandma Spears, "Do you like to drive cars? No, Grandpa likes to drive cars, but you don't. (long pause) Grandma, do you have kids?

Grandma answers, "Yes, I have two kids."

Hope, "NO, you don't have kids!"

*****

Earlier in the day, "Grandma, can you brush my teeth? They have snarles."

Maybe I'm pregnant???

2010-06-24T16:51:00.003-05:00

Doubtful, truly doubtful. BUT, I've indulged in some unusual pleasures today that might make one wonder.

1) Coffee. I made a whole pot for myself. Of course, I can't drink more than one cup (and it takes me all day) without getting an upset stomach... thanks to all the years of completely avoiding caffeine... still coffee was delicious today.

2) Teddy Grahams. Our elderly neighbor gave Eva a whole unopened bag of them this afternoon. I took the liberty of opening them while the girls were ALL napping (a rare occurrence), and they compliment a sip of coffee very well. I've never had more than one or two of them since I've never actually bought them, but they're yummy!

3) Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. We had some friends living with us last week who love ice cream (shout out to the Thompsons!), so Eric instructed me to buy lots of it. After their departure, the only varieties we have left are the unappetizing Mango and the simple, but elegant Vanilla Bean. I strongly recommend you try Vanilla Bean ice cream with a handful of teddy grahams thrown in. It was really a beautiful experience, friends!

Do you think I could market my new creation, coffee-teddy graham-vanilla bean? Cold Stone, anyone?

Wordless Wednesday: Car Wash

2010-06-23T22:20:00.014-05:00

Yo Mama

2010-06-19T00:37:00.002-05:00

Hope, the diva mama, hopped in the empty kiddie pool with Esther one day last week...

Catching Up

2010-06-16T21:30:00.004-05:00

Oh, do I have some catching up to do! Life has been moving at breakneck speed for the last few months, leaving secondary priorities (like blogging) completely sidelined. I do hope to catch up and at least blog about Eva's 5th birthday, but in the mean time here are some simple updates:

1. All of us: We love summer. We love grilling and leaving the kitchen a little less "lived in". We love eating on the patio and having some elbow room at the table. We love splashing in the kiddie pool. We love our friends, the Thompsons, who have been staying with us for the last two weeks before moving to another state. We love working in our really enormous garden plot at my parent's "homestead". We enjoy working in our small raised garden beds on our own little parcel of land. We have three or four little green Roma tomatoes and lots of blossoms on the other tomato plants! We loved our most recent field trips to Gale Woods Farm and the Children's Museum.

2. Eric: Just returned from leading a trip to the NEXT conference in Maryland. He describes it as totally awesome, transformative, and I'm sure will be a mile marker we remember when we're looking back on these years. His passion for Jesus was renewed, as well as a deeper love for serving the church and serving/loving our family.

Immediately after returning from NEXT, Eric started his new job which is really, really busy. He spends lots of extra time learning the job so he can be really, really good at it really, really quickly. Man, what a good employee!

3. Me: I am generally racing from one craziness to another. I spend my days cooking, picking up toys and personal paraphernalia, refereeing child's play, applying band-aids, answering the phone and email, chatting with neighbors, making and unmaking the guest bed, and I've just recently started drinking a half a cup of coffee with cream each morning. My, what a miracle drug!

I set a personal record by being in the grocery store with my girls at 9:20 this morning and home unloading the car by 10:00. Three cheers for coffee and for Hope, our unrelenting alarm clock.

4. Eva: Finally recovered from the extreme highs of having a birthday, she is trying to find her place in the world. Truthfully, we've been struggling a lot lately to train and discipline Eva, which can also make fun and loving times hard to come by. But, she is staying busy nonetheless, dressing up in long dresses, jumping off the picnic table into the kiddie pool, playing for hours with her friends, and giving long and detailed descriptions of her own decision making processes. Whew!

5. Hope: Currently fighting a mild cold, her two year old voice sounds extra dopey these days. She also spends hours of the day changing between ballet clothes, gymnastics leotards, prairie girl dresses, swimsuits, and sweatsuits. She hates tank tops and short sleeves and pitches enormous fits if I insist that she wear summer clothes. Her bangs are often in her eyes, but it doesn't stop her from browsing books for hours of the day. She can also be found screaming, squealing, giggling, and arguing with her live-in playmate Malachi Thompson.

Esther: Today was the crabbiest day of her life. I held her a lot and thanked God that she is not normally like this, allowing me to complete my tasks with two hands. She is not truly "mobile", but wiggles around quite a bit and has the longest reach possible. She also has a fantastic gag reflex, which enables her to never choke on or swallow the myriad of things she is able to stick in her mouth (thanks to her amazingly long reach). She started eating solids a few weeks ago and is really enthusiastic. She screeches and howls if we sit up to the table to eat and don't include her. Unlike her sisters, she pounds mashed up table foods like I've never given her an once of breast milk in her life. She is typically really happy, really excited to eat anything, completely obsessed with watching her sisters play, and passionate about biting off large chunks of paper that she reaches with her long arms.

Her bangs are never in her eyes anymore since she almost always sports a little ponytail, and she looks super cute with her four little baby teeth. Basically, I think she's adorable and tons of fun!

Alrighty, that's the to-the-minute update. Peace out!

Working on Bike Skills

2010-05-20T12:43:00.006-05:00

We were given a free, beat-up old bike for Eva this spring.

Although she is exceedingly cautious and unmotivated, I think she might learn to ride a bike by the end of the summer. In the meantime, I have more than made up for her leery approach with my giddy excitement for this new stage of independent adventure. Eva and I are similar on so many accounts, but this is an area where we totally diverge. I learned to ride a bike at the age of four in one crash-and-burn afternoon. At age five I found some BMX tracks with fun little dirt "bumps" in an empty lot near our house and never looked back. On the other hand, Eva will not fall... refuses to risk pain... will not relinquish control, even if it means she will never experience the adrenaline rush of a downhill joy ride. If she can't calculate her approach and strategize a successful outcome, it may never happen. I can already pretty much say "forget about it" in reference to "Look ma! No hands!" On the bright side, she happily dons her shiny purple helmet for each outing. Differences aside, we sure are having FUN learning!

The day after Eric's long-awaited significant raise,

2010-05-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

we were sitting at the table eating lunch. Eva turned to me and said, "Can we get a dog soon?" Likely anticipating my answer, she continues, "Well, we're probably going to run out of money soon. I mean (dramatic sigh), I want an American Girl (doll) and a dog."

Appreciating the hint of humility and frugality in her tone, I was still thinking about how to respond when she continued. "We could get one of those signs... like when someone is really poor... you know... they hold up a sign..." Surprised, I ask, "Like the people who stand on the side of the road with a sign like, 'will work for food' or something?" Eva responded enthusiastically, "Yeah!"

Not sure where to go with this conversation, and thinking that I've certainly sent the "watch your pennies" message very clearly, I said nothing. In a moment I reminded her, "Well, Daddy just got a new job, so we probably won't need to beg for money on the side of the road."

I don't actually know what Eric's new job title will be, but he will working in a completely new role, at a new location, but still within General Mills. He is really, really excited to start! And as I mentioned, his new boss fought for a very nice raise for him, so we won't have to get out our dry erase boards to stand at the corner... unless we buy Eva both an American Girl doll and a dog :).

Almost Wordless Wednesday: In the Mailbox

2010-05-12T16:04:00.007-05:00

Don't you just love getting *real* mail? Me too!!!And who knew that Esther had a secret admirer???

Overheard

2010-05-11T16:36:00.006-05:00

EVA (walking into the room carrying two blankets over her shoulder, rolled so tightly that they are stiff as boards): "Do you want one of these blankets? Do you want this one that is as colorful as a rainbow and as silky as mud? Or do you want this one that is as soft as a lamb and as cuddly as a baby?"

Which one do I choose? The rainbow mud, or the lamb-baby?

*****

HOPE (standing on the stage that is the living room floor): "Hi. I'm Emily Elizabeth and I'm going to be doing a dance called Ballerina Banana."

Dancing ensues...

*****

HOPE: "What is that little house for?"
ME: "That is where they sell Christmas trees in the winter."
ERIC: "That is where Santa lives."
ME: "But we know that Santa isn't real, right?"
long pause...
EVA: "Mom, I don't think that's an appropriate thing to say. Because God made Christmas for presents, and Santa brings presents to kids. So, I think the kids are going to be disappointed."

Don't worry, we had a short refresh-your-theology conversation following this discourse. :)

*****

HOPE: "Esther isn't old enough to have gum. Because she isn't three enough. No, Esther isn't three enough so she isn't three enough to have gum. She is 60-80 because she isn't three enough to have gum.

Got it, Hope. She isn't three enough!

More Bedtime Fun

2010-04-10T22:05:00.004-05:00

It seems to be universal law: When mom and dad are about ready to punch the time clock for the night and put their feet up, the "fun" really ramps up. If you're a parent, you know what I'm talking about: Bedtime. It is instinctual in most kids... mom and dad want to call it a day, so we're gonna start bouncing off the walls. Or something like that, anyway!

Tonight was no different for us, except that it was a "mom only" night. It is a Saturday night after a long day of outside play, so the girls were thrown into the shower for some scrubbing. After the shower it was already 8:04 pm, meaning we needed to abandon our typical bedtime routine and head straight to bed. Enter craziness.
***For anyone who is interested, I love using a visual routine for rough times of the day such as bedtime! Sometime I'll post about it, but basically I have a laminated piece of paper with pictures for each part of our bedtime routine, ending with SLEEP. The girls really like to follow it, and often will correct me if we get out of order (like tonight).***

After going potty, I instructed Eva and Hope to go straight to Eva's bed for prayers. But heading into the hallway I heard an imperative whisper, "Hope! Jump on my bed!"

Next thing you know, Hope and Eva are jumping on the bed, and literally bouncing off the walls. Not the end of the world (right?), except that Esther is laying on the bed and has already been kicked in the face by Hope's flying feet. I swooped in, taking swift action by spanking Hope for jumping on Esther's face and hurting her sister. Eva's instructions were to sit quietly on the bed and play with Esther, keeping her happy.

As we were wrapping up the discipline time in the living room, Eva came creeping in. She knew she was up next for a spanking since she was the instigator of such evil entertainment. To tell you the truth though, I had already decided to grant her mercy. As soon as she saw Esther's face getting smashed, her eyes had welled up with tears. She knew it had been a bad plan and felt immediate remorse. Also, it was already past their bedtime and I didn't want to drag out another spanking (trying to decide if I'm lazy or practical, or neither).

Anyway, Eva and I had a quick talk about encouraging her sister to do naughty things and how that is not being kind or loving. Apparently she had been giving all of this some thought while she was sitting with Esther. At once she suggested, "Let's make up a rhyme to remember."

With guarded optimism, I said, "That sounds good."

Immediately, "Stop, Think, Don't be wild."

"Hmmm" I ventured, "What about, 'Be kind to your sister, don't be a trickster"? (Yes, that really was my first neural firing.)

But she didn't like it. She rewarded me with an admiring smile, but said "No, I think "Stop, Think, Don't be wild."

So, it was decided. Eva had a "rhyme" to live by. A mantra, a motto, if you will.

A minute later, we were back on the bed for prayers. You would think that a good hard spanking and debriefing time would have mellowed Hope a bit. Not tonight. She was trying to crawl under the bed. Then she was loudly counting to 26 (I didn't know she had that skill before tonight), followed by trying to hide under the covers. And through it all, the older and wiser voice of reason:

"Hope. No, Hope. Hope! Stop, Think, Don't be wild! Really Hope. Stop! Think! Don't be wild!"

The first book of Eva, verse 1: Stop, Think, Don't be wild. I hope we've found a new universal law.

Bedtime for Hope

2010-04-08T21:57:00.003-05:00

Hope is our least sleepy child. She wakes up first in the morning and goes to sleep last at night, and it's not unusual for her to wake for hours in the middle of the night. At two and a half, she already skips her afternoon nap about 50 % of the time. She just doesn't fall asleep, and instead sings, talks, plays, or stares at the wall from her crib. As a mother, I am often tempted to wonder what in the world I have done wrong to create this two year old with a sleep disorder. But, she seems to be getting along just fine despite her strange habits. And glory be(!), she doesn't often wake me up with her in the night anymore.

Comparing isn't very productive, but I'll indulge myself just a bit here. Eva and Hope are opposites on my levels, and especially in the sleep department. Eva sleeps a lot. She falls asleep immediately after I close the door and would often sleep until 9:00 in the morning if Hope didn't wake her up. Eva slept soundly through the night from around 8 months, and Hope still wakes sometimes. Eva took naps until last year, and she still yawns a lot in the afternoon if she isn't flying around the house concocting misadventures. (I don't let her nap because she can't fall asleep at night if she naps.) Hope, is a champion napper- when she actually falls asleep. However, Eva still wets the bed at night. She will be five in less than a month, and I have to drag her to the bathroom every night before I go to bed or else she will wet. Hope, on the other hand has been dry at night for months now... at the age of two. Interesting, how each child is so different, no?

Anyway... back to my original story. Tonight Hope was struggling to fall asleep. Eva was already off in the land of Nod probably dreaming of Prince Charming within minutes of climbing into bed. Hope, on the other hand, started hollering at me a good thirty minutes after I left their room. When I went in to check on her, she was in tears. I asked her what was wrong, and the tears immediately stopped. It took her awhile to think of something that might be wrong, then she announced that she was scared. (For the record, she did NOT seem scared.) I asked what about, and she responded, "that lady was looking at me." Ohhhhhh, that makes sense (read sarcasm here). Sometimes, helping Hope wind down for the night can be quite a drawn out struggle.

I tried a new approach with her tonight, giving her four little books to look at in bed. I told her that once her books were done, she would have to lay down and go to sleep. Sure enough, around 9:30 and 15 minutes later she was hollering at me again. "Mom! Get these books out of here!" I went in and removed her books then she layed her head on her pillow. After I covered her up, she peacefully looked up at me with her big soft eyes. I stroked her forehead and blonde hair for a moment, then I said, "Hope, you are a good girl."

After another few moments gazing at my baby I say, "Jesus loves you."

She just stares up at me, slight smile on her little lips and restful look in her eyes.

"And Mommy loves you too."

"Good night, Hope."

Then her eyes brighten and her head pops off her pillow. "No, we're playing House on the Prairie and you're Ma and I'm Mary."

I say, "Good night Mary, sleep well."

I hear, "Good night Ma."

And then she closes her eyes and goes to sleep.

Looking Back at Winter

2010-04-02T23:14:00.004-05:00

We're away in Crookston this weekend celebrating Easter and having some family time. It's fun! At present, I am blogging to keep myself awake while I watch the other adults play a long, drawn out game of Seafarers of Catan. This is the "three hour ~~tour~~ game, here on Patenaude's Island...".

While we sit, I am sharing photos from this winter. This was a blessed winter. Very little "cold/flu season" sickness. Lots of sparkly white snow. Relatively short in duration. Spring has arrived early, boasting a snowless March and summer temperatures over the last few days. The girls are begging me to fill up the kiddie pool. Invigorating!

However, I'm taking a moment to travel back in time. Eric went on another of his winter adventures, testing his manliness and survival skills. This year the weather was a full 50 degrees warmer than last year. Yes, it was in the mid 2o's, making it practically a tropical getaway in mid-February.

Eric describes the trip as cold, fun, awesome. Here are the pictures in no particular order at all: Building the quinzee. I think there were 12 guys on the trip this year.

loaded up sleds.

diversion on Saturday afternoon. Sledding

Everybody together in the quinzee.

Eric is warm blooded (yes, he's a mammal!), so during the challenging up and down hike, pulling a sled full of gear, he stripped down to his undies. No, those are are not his everyday shorts. He said he kept his body heat while shoveling snow for the quinzee, so he didn't have to put on pants until three hours after arriving in camp.

mug shot.

Morning fire.

The first quinzee actually caved in, and they had to build another the next day. This photo is a good teaching tool...

Close quarters... shoulder to shoulder... these men are bonded for life...

morning devotional time?

aerial view of the camp (if you can say "aerial" when you're just standing on top of a hill).

The whole gang (L-R): Bert Eikum, Nathan Hettick, Jonathan Anderstrom, Aaron Darling,

Chad Whipple, Robin Sutphen, Scott Krismarzick (sp?), Jason Lindquist, Eric, Clyde Veldhuizen, Luke Thompson, Mark Brenner.

A Tale of Two Noses

2010-03-25T21:13:00.002-05:00

Once upon a time, there were two girls in a family. The round, gestating mama and the precocious, adventurous two year old girl took a road trip. They travelled for two full days, driving a grey, four door sedan. Alternating between nursery rhymes, fruit snacks, reading books over her shoulder, and rest stops, the mama endured aches in her pelvis and cramps in her calves until they finally arrived at their destination, the event of the summer...

In a similar place and a later time, there were four girls in a family. The busy, blessed, and sometimes overwhelmed mama had a high order to keep up with the comings and goings of her estrogen-swamped herd of offspring. On some days, like the weekly "day of rest", it was especially difficult to be certain that the needs of all young ladies were met as they scurried to and fro from services to nursery to responsibilities to conversating. It was a typical, scattered sort of day...

After a few days spent recuperating the natural shape of their bottom ends (after all, the grey four door sedan was not a luxury vehicle), the mild-tempered mama and the easily excited two year old got up early one morning to dress for the event. They both bathed (gasp!), donned apparel appropriate to a formal celebration, and even attempted to adorn their heads with smooth, shiny curls, primping far beyond their everyday approach. Admiring the lovely sunny morning, they casually walked two blocks through quaint, yet impressive historic homes, commenting along the way at the varied architecture and collection of children's toys beautifying the lawns...

The general chaos of the day was interrupted when the eldest of the three young women was urgently rushed to use the facilities as her intestinal fortitude was giving way. The mess was as enormous as the aroma was putrid. Sometime in the metaphoric black hole of rectifying the disastrous discharge during which elapsed time was completely overlooked, the second born young lady went missing. She was presumed to be with the lone male of the family, her father, or perhaps participating in a raucous game of chase and squeal with her equally pint-sized companions...

To be continued...

To be continued...

Aruba, Crisis, and 3 Babies

2010-03-20T10:36:00.003-05:00

My father in law just returned from his annual one month trip to Aruba. He spent yesterday unpacking, repacking, gifting, and talking about what God taught him while he was away. A lot of talking. One word kept coming up over and over again: Crisis. He listened to a preacher talk about how sometimes our lives are just one crisis after another. I'm sure the preacher expounded on God taking care of us during crisis as well, but my ears were full after awhile ;). Our small family is not currently in the midst of a crisis (unless you count the serious sleep deprivation we've been experiencing lately), but this week I've watched several tornadoes storm through the lives of those close to us.

*****

1. Last Monday Eric's brother's wife gave birth to their second son, Solomon Leo Patenaude. His arrival was early, so they are now in the midst of a crisis with their 7 week premature baby. We are so thankful for modern medical technology that has kept little Solomon alive and will continue to sustain him until he is able to nurse and breath well on his own. Their family is banking their hope on Jesus to sustain them through this trying time. Ryan (dad), was in the midst of student teaching and has had to quit, Stephanie (mom) had to go home and experience the joys of postpartum life without her sweet baby by her side, and Thor (big brother-16 mos. old) is making some adjustments too, I'm sure.

2. Our close friends and partners in sanctification, Luke and Jennifer, found out on Tuesday that they will be moving to Iowa in a couple of months. This was a HUGE surprise and not a welcome one. They are struggling to believe that God has a good plan for them and that He will provide all the things they long for. Little Malachi (2 yrs) and Baby Nerea (2 months) are along for the ride...

3. My sister and her Baby Levi (6 mos.) were in a serious car accident on Thursday. They were hit by another driver then taken by ambulance to the ER. Thankfully they each only sustained minor injuries, but the car they were driving is fatally wounded. My sister is in the midst of a difficult first semester of Nursing School, but will need to rest some before returning to full speed mode.

*****

I felt a certain adrenaline rush as I watched from the sidelines of each of these situations. We know how stressful crisis is for a family, though thankfully ours have always been brief. As God brings these three babies and their families to mind, please pray for them. Pray that the "peace of God would guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).

Peace to each of you.

Fun Day

2010-03-19T08:40:00.001-05:00

We recently overhauled our family budget. Again. After an expensive Fall due to medical issues(hospital birth, meningitis), we recognized that our monthly budget was going to have to be crimped in order to pay all the bills. I spent a few days carrying a major how am I going to stick to it??? burden before Eric set me straight, reminding me that God will do it. He always provides. Then I spent a few days carrying a major self-pity burden that we could not even afford swimming lessons for the girls. As if swimming lessons are the measure of a good life, or something. Really, how privileged and sick in the head am I? I have walked, talked, and lived among truly poor people around the world, and still I feel that my children are entitled to swimming lessons, of all things??? After a few days of that pity party, God mercifully broke in and let me put my sin aside and move on.

It wasn't long before He gave me tangible evidence that He will provide for all of our needs, and our wants. Over the last few months, I've been having a blast discovering all sorts of free enrichment activities to do with the girls. We have tours lined up at a wacky bookstore and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts with our preschool co-op. We've been attending weekly story time at our local library and preschool time at the science museum. We plan on visiting nature centers, farms, and the Zoo, all for free.

The best freebie to date has been the Children's Museum. Our children's museum is awesome, but it is expensive! At our library story time last week, we were able to sign up for four visits to the Children's Museum, all made possible by a community non-profit who's mission is to support children and their caregivers. We had such a fun day at the museum yesterday, and there are three more to come! I feel as though God is showing me in a very real way that A)we don't need swimming lessons in our lives right now, B)that He knows how to provide for us, and C)He is kind enough to give us more than we need!

A few highlights from our fun day out-

Hope says that her favorite part of the museum was the Dinosaurs Exhibit. Hope LOVES dinosaurs, and these were very lifelike and just scary enough to be fun. There were some that moved and made noises, but there were others that were just for climbing on. The exhibit is great because it is like a kid-sized, simplified science museum exhibit. Eva's favorite part was the Our World Exhibit. This exhibit is designed to be like a little kid-sized town, where kids get to try out all the things adults do most of the time. Eva especially liked working in the Chinese restaurant and using the cash register to ring up my bill. Hope spent most of her time riding the city bus or pushing a grocery cart overloaded with grocery staples.

In this picture, Hope was telling me that she was pouring syrup on her pancakes. Or laundry detergent on her Parmesan cheese... it's up to the imagination!
Firefighter Eva to the rescue!
Finally this girl is making herself useful! ;)
Hope checks the mail after Eva delivered a few postcards.
There is so much to do and see at the Children's Museum that normally we end up rushing the kids from one area to the next. But yesterday, since I knew we would be coming back again soon, I let them play as long as they wanted in each exhibit. We didn't even see half of the museum, but that's OK. We can't wait to go back and explore more!

We ended the day with some face painting, giggling, and dancing. It appears as though nothing but abstract art will ever emerge from this household. Eva has a thing for symmetry. Every one of her art projects at preschool has arrived home with great attention shown to symmetry. One look at her face tells me that this will be a distinguishable "Eva" trademark. Each color is matched with it's equal on the opposite side of her face. I'm going to have to google this and find out what kind of psychological analysis I might be offered...
Here is a sampling of our impressive dance moves...I even gave myself a few red squiggles. I was afraid this might scare Esther, but on the contrary, she found our painted faces to be side-splittingly funny. I took at least 20 pictures of her belly laughing at the mere sight of us.If it weren't for the ridiculous "apple green" background, I would probably mat and frame a series of these happy shots. Ahhhh, it is just occurring to me that I will have to photo shop these black and white.

love, peace, and fluorescent green strollers to you all!

Spring looks like...

2010-03-17T23:10:00.012-05:00

Picnic lunches in the bright sunshine...running through clothes hanging out to dry...
the amusing cycle of seasons in which *apparently* every first-load-hung-out-to dry is a pinks/reds load...

laying in partial shade, massaging your gums with a clothespin...
Tee ball and rain boots...

chives...
Hens and Chicks (ironically the first up in spring and the last to bloom in the fall)...
tulips (I think, though I can't rightly remember what is planted there)...

Happiness... Refreshment... Hope... Surprise... Awakening... Fun... Energy... SPRING.

Food Day Friday: Texas Caviar

2010-03-12T09:00:00.002-06:00

Bean Salad. Texas Caviar. Mmmmm, good!

I served this at a baby shower last weekend and several people wanted the recipe. When people ask me for the recipe, I figure a dish must be good enough to throw up on the 'ol blog. I warn you though, this zippy little creature will test your self control...

Texas Caviar

1 small onion, diced finely

1 can garbanzo beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can corn, drained

some sugar (about 2 T. or to taste)

some salt (about 1 t. or to taste)

some Italian seasoning (about 1 T. or to taste)

1 bunch chopped cilantro, divided

a splash of lime juice (to taste)

*****

Optional, but yummy additions:

avocado

Rotel canned tomatoes and chilis

shredded chicken

canned green chilis

*****

Mix it all up in a glass bowl, holding out half of the cilantro and the avocado. Throw it in the fridge and let the flavors marinate together for several hours or overnight. Before serving, drain excess liquid, adjust seasonings, add more cilantro and avocado if you're using it. Enjoy as a salad or dip it with Frito's.

Have a happy, tex-mexy weekend!

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T00:24:00.004-06:00

She downs 100% organic coconut oil milkshakes about 7 times daily.

Eva's lab notes

2010-03-08T23:48:00.002-06:00

Eva: "Mom, I'm kinda like a scientist."

Me: "Really?"

Eva: "Because if you say 'excuse me', the toots stop smelling."

Me: "That's good."

Eva: "And that's a good observation too."

Food Day Friday: The Coconut Oil Cooperative

2010-03-04T15:25:00.008-06:00

If you knew me in real life about two years ago, you would've known about my growing (actually exploding) passion: Coconut Oil. I resisted coconut oil for years, while my father in law continued to get me to read books about it. He touted it as a miracle food, perfect for whatever ails you. He ate it by the spoonful, which made me want to throw up.

Then I finally cracked the book that had sat alone on my shelf for years. Seemingly overnight, I was a convert. I loved coconut oil. I found a way to tie coconut oil into any conversation. I dreamt about coconut oil, I cooked with coconut oil, I smeared coconut oil on my face and my sunburns, I fed coconut oil to my baby, I searched the Internet for coconut oil information. And I ate coconut oil by the spoonful and didn't throw up.

In my opinion, the only thing wrong with coconut oil is the price. It is EXPENSIVE, about double the price of high quality extra virgin olive oil. The cost comparison to canola oil or corn oil is not even worth figuring. For about a year, I faithfully shopped sales to find the cheapest coconut oil I could buy locally. Then, I learned about Country Life Natural Foods and discovered their amazing prices on coconut oil (aka "liquid gold" to my father in law). It was during the summer of 2008 that I bought $50 worth of "somewhat refined" coconut oil. I was equal parts alarmed and impressed by the huge pail that it came in. The coconut oil pail found a permanent home in the corner of my kitchen. Over the next year I dug into the pail via a little spout near the top and a soup spoon. I couldn't pry the lid off by myself, and I couldn't lift the pail to pour it either. What a conundrum.

It was a little more than a month ago, when my husband exercised leadership in the coconut oil department of our family. He announced that I would never be able to use all of this oil before it went rancid, and I absolutely had to transfer it to smaller containers. On a visit to my parent's homestead, we decided to divide up the oil and free me from my own enslavement. I had no idea what a project this would be, nor did I understand the level of strategy the men would take in conquering the pail.

Step 1: Leave the pail beside a blazing wood stove all day. Since coconut oil melts at 76 degrees F, the oil is usually in a solid state during a Minnesota winter. We intended to melt the oil before removing it from the pail. But by golly, 50 pounds of coconut oil does not melt quickly. After a day of "melting", the middle was still solid fat!

Step 2: Move the pail to the kitchen counter and pry the lid off. Here's the pail, and here's my dad scooping oil out into gallon jars, after using a crow bar to pry the lid off. Step 3: Divide coconut oil into many gallon sized jars. My brother in law Jon, Eric, and my dad took this job very seriously. In my extreme gratefulness, I wanted to throw myself prostate on the floor before them. But the floor was greasy, so I didn't. Look how joyful (and out of focus) Eric's face is in this picture.
Step 4: Charge each of my family members a small fee for their coconut oil, making this simultaneously an exercise in humanitarian relief and capitalism.
Step 5: Discover that there are not enough one gallon glass jars in the county to completely divide this endless vat of oil.

Step 6: Determine that the remainder of the coconut oil will be securely housed in the pole barn on my parent's property. Perhaps in a few months the Coconut Oil Cooperative will reconvene to divvy out the rest of the commodities.

Although our Coconut Oil Cooperative does have a decidedly red-neck, tight-wad, interbred sort of feel to it, I hope we won't dissuade you from discovering coconut oil for your self. Take my word for it: IT'S AMAZING (by the mouthful, of course)!

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday: Esther

2010-03-03T12:25:00.008-06:00

First pony-tail:Sawin' logs:

Love those dimple-y hands:

Right Now

2010-03-02T19:19:00.003-06:00

1. Right now Hope is prying magnets off the refrigerator and throwing them to the floor, lovingly declaring, "here ya go, aminals." she is wearing a black ballet leotard and pretend plastic high heel shoes with pink rosettes. When she takes a break from taking apart my refrigerator display, she is pressing the buttons on my under-cabinet CD player. Her goal is to learn what effect each button has, or else break the machine. I suspect she'll succeed either way.

2. Right now Eva is lugging Esther around the house and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. She just tried on a new shirt/pants combination and came asking for my opinion on her preference for all aqua. She's only four, but my opinion really doesn't matter folks. She'll wear a monochromatic scheme if she wants to... and really, I don't usually care what she's wearing.

3. Right now Esther is patiently taking in the sights from her sister's hip. She has just patiently travelled to the girls newly rearranged bedroom where she has been securely enveloped in a nest of blankets on Eva's bed. She is patiently watching the girls sort the coins in Eva's piggy bank and squeal. Have I mentioned that Esther is patient?

4. Right now I am unloading my thoughts on the computer. I'm considering why I spent the whole day doing laundry and our bedroom floor is still covered in clothes. I'm considering why Hope insists on doing everything that she is not capable of and whines and screams when she is redirected. Soon, I'll go put new sheets on the guest bed. Eric's best friend from childhood is staying with us all week. We're happy about that!

5. Right now Eric is at Invest, a class where men go to discuss deep theological matters. He loves it and almost never misses. He almost always does all his homework too, which has not been his pattern in the past. I admire him for his diligence.

6. Right now I should get off of the computer and get some little girlies into bed. It's getting to be that hell-raising time of night, and I wouldn't want to prolong it by waisting time on the computer.

Farewell, friends and family!

Friday Food Day: Better Than Nuthin'

2010-02-26T08:00:00.002-06:00

My dear mother is many things (teacher, thrift shopper, gardener, reader, homeopathic practitioner, philosopher, earth steward, Sunday school teacher...) but a gourmet chef she is not. Based on this common understanding, the news that she had won a recipe contest made everyone in our family raise our eyebrows and lean forward on the edge of our seats. As we sat around an extra long table at Christmas, she told how she had submitted a venison recipe to the local paper, and her recipe won! It is a well known recipe in our family, and always a crowd pleaser. For those of you who get lost in long posts, I will post the recipe first and the whole story afterward. Here's the recipe (and Elizabeth, it's gluten free, I think :)!

Chinese Savory Beef (or Venison)

2 lbs. lean meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares (may use very tough cuts of meat) -or- 2 lb. roast

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves pressed garlic

4 slices fresh ginger

1/2 c. soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

2 T. brown sugar

1/8 t. pepper

2-3 c. Water

Saute meat in a skillet or dutch oven. Add vegetables and saute. Add soy sauce, sugar, pepper, and water and cover. Simmer over the stove for 3 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

***This recipe also works well just thrown in a crock pot for several hours***

serves 8

Now for the newspaper article in which my mom was interviewed. I know that my girls would love to read this when they are older, so I am going to post the whole thing here. I think it gives an interesting and accurate snapshot of my mom (and dad) in their early years together.

Award winning recipe came from "better than nuthin' " cookbook

by Becky Glander

A recipe out of the "better than nuthin' ' cookbook won Beth Knudtsen-Spears first place in a recipe contest.

Knudtsen-Spears, a homeopath who deals in complementary and alternative medicine as a trade, won the Isanti-Chisago County Star's $100 holiday recipe challenge with a venison recipe that originates back to the beginning of her 32 year marriage.

"It's an adapted recipe from the cookbook called, well what my husband, Don calls 'better than nuthin,' " Knudtsen-Spears chuckled. The cookbook is actually titled, "More with Less" and is put out by the Mennonites.

When they were first married, Knudtsen-Spears moved to West Germany where her military husband was stationed. She didn't bring much with her. The apartments over there at the time came furnished with linens and other household items, so she took only what she could fit in her suitcase- only what she thought a new bride may need. "I took one cookbook, I took two cookie sheets and some knives."

The cookbook, a wedding gift was a "crossover" cookbook - not fully vegetarian, but the recipes contain less meat, a little less sugar and promote healthier eating. Her plan was for her and her new husband to become vegetarians. The challenge: he had grown up on a beef farm.

"That first year we didn't know each other very well- like many newlyweds- but we probably knew each even less well," she laughed.

Knudtsen-Spears' lifestyle plans weren't quite working. The commissary refused to carry soy beans because "soy beans are for pigs" according to the commissary manager. She had little access to other vegetarian meat substitutes such as tofu.

Knudtsen Spears said she would use the Mennonite cookbook and adapt recipes out of it depending on the ingredients they had available.

"Many times, they were not edible," she said. "So Don would say "umm... good cooking." And I would say "yeah this is a great recipe." He would say "yeah... better than nuthin.' So that's how the cookbook came to be named."

When her husband got out of the army, they moved to Colorado. Both of them were going to college, basically living on the G.I. Bill. They actually did become vegetarians at that point. "Beans were cheaper than meat," Knudtsen-Spears said.

One day, her avid hunter husband shot an elk. "We had 800 pounds of meat, " she said. "So I learned how to fix meat."

She started to adapt the recipes in "better than nuthin' " for game. And so the recipe 'Savory Venison' was born which one day became a clear- almost unanimous- contest winner by Isanti-Chisago County Star staff judges.

Knudtsen-Spears lives in Cambridge and woks at WillowBridge Center. She could choose any place in town to put her $100 winnings toward in the form of a gift certificate. She chose WillowBridge Center, where she plans to use it to help pay for Total Wellness Coaching fitness boot camp.

Valentine's Celebration

2010-02-23T15:51:00.015-06:00

We hosted a Valentine's Day party for Eva's friends again this year, and it was a blast! The girls are all one year older and a whole lot easier to keep up with.

Eva's friend Ella was the first to arrive, so we took a couple pictures of her with Eva and Hope.

After all the girls were there we took a few more pictures- before anyone had purple frosting staining their teeth and fingernails :). (L-R: Ella, Madalyn, Hope, Kara, Moriah, Eva) Everyone looked adorably dressed for the occasion.
Our first matter of business was to bead some candy necklaces. The girls sat very quietly and diligently beaded their necklaces. Although some of the little ladies had impressive and artistic patterns in mind, Eva's main goal was to beat everyone and have her necklace done first. After noting this, I commented, "Wow, you're really cruisin' Eva!" The other girls looked a little confused and asked me what "cruisin'" meant. I tried to explain it, then they continued stringing their sugary masterpieces. I noticed some of them accelerating the project, and a few minutes later Madalyn looked up at me and announced, "I'm really...(pause of concentration)... screwin'!" I looked blankly at her, then realized, "Do you mean CRUISIN'?" I asked. "Yeah, cruisin'!" That little dialogue gave something to smile about for the rest of the day...
After making their jewelery, the girls played together for a few minutes while I set up their heart themed snack. Heart cupcakes, cheese slices, jello, and berries were on the menu. To the girls credit, they all wanted seconds of the berries and they hardly finished their cupcakes. Good taste, girls!
I'm learning a few tricks for large living in small spaces. One of them is what we call "living room picnics". We often have adults squeeze around our tiny kitchen table and spread the kids out on the floor with a vinyl tablecloth to define their space. It works for us!

During snack time, I read the girls a clever story called Pinkalicious. In the story, a headstrong little girl turns her whole body red by eating too many pink cupcakes. The girls enjoyed the tale, and had some very interesting discussion about consequences, confessing sin, and obeying your parents. I found their conversation to be insightful, motivating, and all together entertaining!
Moriah and Kara.
Madalyn and Hope.
Up next we made a little craft. I found a little craft kit at Joann Fabrics with a bunch of ladybug magnets, enough to make 16 for less than $3.00. That was an easy, affordable, and cute plan, I thought. I wasn't really thinking then about the glue gun that I would have to use, but thankfully the girls were all very obedient and helpful and no one was scorched by the hot glue! Ella shows off her ladybug here.
As is often the case, Esther enjoyed the festivities from the safety of her Bumbo seat and while getting some Z's in our quiet bedroom. Of course, the girls wouldn't let her off the hook completely! After all the "big" girls applied their heart tattoos, Esther got one of her own. There has to be a first time for everything, and this was it for baby-tattoo-wearing. I thought it looked pretty cute next to her fat, little feet though! As you can see, she was completely nonpulsed by the whole event.

Thanks to all of Eva's friends for coming and sharing a fun morning with us. Lord willing, we'll do it again next year!

Today I am not Super Mom (I hope)

2010-02-16T15:16:00.003-06:00

Today is an interesting day.

Hope is recovering from having the stomach flu, a variety that had her throwing up a lot, but for less than a full 24 hours. She has been vigorously playing all day, so she appears to be all better.

Eric is home from work because he is sharing Hope's virus, only from the other end.

Everyone (except Hope, since I didn't get to her fast enough) is LOVING my super intense probiotics. They really do seem to improve your gut feeling very quickly.

I am preparing foil fajitas for 12 men (don't worry, I'm washing my hands often!). Eric is going camping this weekend, and he promised the boys he'd bring dinner. I intend to make good on that promise, on his behalf.

We went to Mankato for the weekend to visit Eric's brother and family. It was fun and relaxing. They shared their stomach virus with us (no hard feelings though, DPs!!!).

Our house is a little bit messy. Or a lot messy. Correction: the kitchen is the only region that is not a complete disaster.

I am planning the preschool lesson for Thursday. We will be reading "The Big Green Pocketbook" and doing green activities.

In my searching for preschool activities, I landed on this homeschooling mom blog. Given the state of our home and variety of activities that I am juggling today, this post was very helpful. The title of it is Super Mom vs. Abiding Mom. Enough said, I think.

I know there are several moms who read my blog. I strongly suggest you head over and get a good reminder of what "Super Mom" really looks like.

Now, I am going to go be "Abiding Mom", and not "Computer Mom". :)

Friday Food Day: On Spaghetti

2010-02-12T12:07:00.005-06:00

I recently tried a new spaghetti sauce recipe, and I am so in love that I have to share it with you. Eric thought it was amazing and super delicious, and I was happy because it was delicious but also easy, fast, and relatively frugal. See, I'm really trying to streamline our grocery spending lately. It's not easy to do when you're picky about what your family will eat. Everyone knows that hamburger helper is cheap (not that we ever actually eat that... it's just a good scapegoat for all over processed food). In fact, the dollar menu at McDonald's is a really cheap way to feed a family too. But, healthy it is not! Last weekend we watched the movie Food Inc., which is a documentary about how food is made in our country. Unsettling, and it really has me reexamining what I'm willing to pay for and put on our table. One thing that I took away from the movie is how much government choices influence the food production industry. I've decided to use my consumer power and cast my votes with my grocery bill. Hopefully, if more people do this in a thoughtful and informed manner, things could really change!

But this post was supposed to be about spaghetti, wasn't it?

So, another reason that I love this spaghetti sauce recipe is because it isn't a jar of Prego or Ragu or whatever. Though, Prego and Ragu are cheaper than this recipe when they're on sale, this is much better for you, and a little closer to the way food used to be done. If it tastes like anything from a jar, it would be the four and five dollar jars in the grocery isle that I don't even look at!

Here it is, delicious, easy SPAGHETTI SAUCE

1 T. oil (I use olive oil)

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed (I use four)

28 oz. canned tomatoes, diced (do not drain)

6 oz. can tomato paste

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

3 T. Italian Seasoning

1 T. sugar (I used raw cane sugar)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and saute for 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is golden brown. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to mix. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. If it thickens too much for your taste, add up to 1/2 c. water.

Makes almost 5 cups (6 servings)

While I'm on a bit of a soapbox about food, let me tell you about my favorite spaghetti noodles. Tinkyada brown rice pasta has been our thing for the past year or so. I love it because it has pretty decent texture for an alternative to durum pasta. I originally started buying it because of my conviction about grains needing to be soaked or sprouted to be healthier for you. Since rice is the only exception to this, brown rice pasta seemed the way to go. I can truly say that this pasta is good nutrition. I order it in bulk through a buying coop, so I don't spend any more for it than I would for whole wheat pasta at the grocery store.

So, to summarize: I love this new spaghetti sauce and I think it goes great with Tinkyada spaghetti noodles. Give it a try!

Wordless Wednsday: Modern Day Eskimo Baby

2010-02-10T11:21:00.000-06:00

Wisdom from Pa

2010-02-08T21:43:00.002-06:00

It's no secret that we are Little House on the Prairie freaks around here. We're not all as freakish as the girls, but we do all enjoy reading a chapter together before the girls' bedtime at night. Currently, we're reading The Long Winter, which isn't necessarily the best choice in the midst of your own long winter, but we are enjoying it nonetheless. I find it fascinating to imagine raising my family in the harsh winter that Laura describes in the book. I also love thinking about housework, homemaking, and home educating in a house that was approximately 300 square feet. I like to ponder the ultimate simplicity of their lifestyle. Three knick-knacks, five cooking utensils (including pots and pans), hand sewing all the lace to edge their voluminous petticoats (OK, that part doesn't feel simple at all!).

Anyway, this quote really caught my attention a few days ago. The Ingalls family has moved to town to survive the winter, the worst in three decades, and they are slowing running out of every "convenience" they have become accustomed to. The kerosene is gone, and the train is not coming until spring due to 100 foot drifts blocking the railroad line.

"If only I had some grease I could fix some kind of a light, "Ma considered. "We didn't lack for light when I was a girl, before this newfangled kerosene was ever heard of."

"That's so, " said Pa. "These times are too progressive. Everything has changed too fast. Railroads and telegraph and kerosene and coal stoves- they're good things to have, but the trouble is, folks get to depend on 'em."

How would you survive without your modern conveniences???

Hope's Other Face

2010-02-05T12:00:00.002-06:00

Hopers has been getting a little bit a bad rap on this blog lately. And she can't even defend herself, what with her illiteracy and lack of computer skills. So, in her defense, I'll throw out a few happy mug shots to restore her image a bit.

The 30 Day Shred

2010-02-04T14:57:00.000-06:00

I am undergoing a life transformation. Instead of having a satisfactory body shape, despite my varying eating and/or exercising habits, I now have a "mom bod". Baby #3 has been breathing her own air for a full four months now, and I am still huffing and puffing as if I have double the blood volume. And there is no baby in my belly, but you might think there was... I'd be due in about four months, by the looks of it.

Apparently I don't have the luxury of eating whatever I want and exercising only for leisure anymore. Don't get me wrong, I'm a devoted La Leche League nursing mom, so I will never truly cut calories while I'm nursing a babe. But, I am working out. Better yet, I'm mostly working out in the mornings before the girls get up, so I'm simultaneously working on my lazy morning habits and my sluggish abdominal wall. This could result in an actual-factual, real life transformation for me (you know, besides REAL life transformation like meeting Jesus). Anyway, it's been great. I'm surprised that after a little more than a week, I am already seeing my shape and my endurance improve. The beautiful thing about the 30 Day Shred video is that the workout only takes about 25 minutes. That is do-able, even with little ones underfoot (or blissfully sleeping in the early morning).

Another interesting thing about the 30 Day Shred is that Eva loves to do it too. Of course, her form and endurance are both terrible, but we're encouraging the enthusiasm. While I won't post a video of myself doing static lunges and bicep curls anytime soon, I do have this entertaining little clip of Eva doing push-ups and squats. In advance, please accept my profuse apology for the awful (AWFUL!!!) video taking job. And now, enjoy watching as Jillian Michaels teaches "prairie girl" a thing or two about hard work!

Wordless Wednesday: Hope's Grumpy Face

2010-02-03T15:52:00.002-06:00

Please tell me these are the Terrible Twos

2010-01-28T18:27:00.006-06:00

WARNING: This post contains graphic details, the likes of which may be considered TMI (too much information) for some. Proceed with caution, and consider yourself warned.

Hope is in a stage. A little bit of a rough stage, I think. She is charming and fun and sweet and silly sometimes. And my mom recently marvelled at how "Hope is so easily redirected," for whatever that is worth. But then sometimes she is anything but fun. She is in the "No, I'll do it myself," stage. She is also in the I'm-so-frustrated-with-my-situation-that-I'll-HIT-you stage, and the I-don't-always-feel-like-taking-an-afternoon-nap stage too. She loves to use her whiny voice, and when we won't have it any more, she acts as though one of her constitutional rights has been violated and she's rioting on the steps of the capitol building, loud screeches and little feet kicking. It's really fun, folks. And although she's still Hope, and therefore often snugly, compassionate, and easy going, she is basically really, really egocentric right now. It's all about her (and truthfully, I'd love to have a day like that too... wouldn't you?!?).

Today was a pretty good day for her, overall. She went to preschool with Eva and then we were running errands. Aside from refusing her nap with loud screaming and tantrum throwing, it was easy to get along with her. It was a good day until the Terrible Twos took us down an untraveled and horrifying side street shortly after the nap that was not to be.

I was absent mindedly working in the kitchen, when Hope wandered in, wearing nothing but her birthday suit. She smiled down at Esther sitting in the bouncy seat, then squatted near her to give a little love. A moment later she loudly demanded that I wipe her butt. No "please" was offered.

We marched off to the bathroom where I found a very large quantity of defecation of the most ripe variety in the toilette. I also found that she was in dire need of help with wiping after this excretion. We wiped and clothed her, and I went back to the kitchen.

Moments later Hope was fiddling with the laptop sitting on the kitchen table. She accidentally popped off one of the keys, so I told her to get down on the floor to find it, please. The next thing out of her mouth was, "Mommy!!!! WHAT'S THAT???? Poopy?????"

As she walked toward me holding out her thumb and pointer finger, several things confirmed her finding. First, the seriously foul odor that was coming closer and closer to me by the nano-second. Second, the light brown, chunky smear on her fingers. Third, the open mouth, tongue sticking out, appearance of just eating a mouthful of oreos. Only it wasn't oreos darkening the spaces between her sharp little teeth. Yes, my daughter ate her own poo.

Thankfully there was no hitting, screeching, or resistance of any kind as I rushed her into the bathroom to do something about this. What does one do about poop in the mouth???

Forgive my little tangent here, but we have a major issue with eating non-food items around here. No, the pediatrician(s) do not believe that my girls have pica. Nonetheless, if there is someway to taste any new substance they come in contact with, they will. There is no end to the list of things they have tasted or eaten. Thankfully, kids art supplies are all non-toxic. I know from experience that large quantities of Rolaids are not harmful to two year olds. Salt on the sides of cars is not tasty like table salt. Magnets (yes, magnets!) can be chewed and swallowed. Polly Pocket shoes come through the digestive track in one piece, but really, really stink afterward. Oil based paint doesn't come off of teeth very quickly. Cod liver oil capsules by the handful leave a very strong odor. Sidewalk chalk? It's practically a food group. Paper? It can easily be mistaken as gum. After two or three years of Eva's tendency, I decided to turn a blind eye to eating any form of organic matter (besides POOP!), declaring to myself that I have bigger fish to fry and I was not going to spend my life spanking and giving time outs for eating dirt (or bugs or whatever). End tangent.

This was a new one, and the above tangent explains the motivation. Apparently for my first two offspring, if you don't know what it is, the only way to find out is to taste it. I receive a big fat F minus for my ability to train discerning palettes.

There was thorough hand washing and brushing of teeth. Hopefully, all is well that ends well. To be honest, I was relieved to see that -finally- eating some non-food item actually grossed Hope out. She thought it was disgusting. There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth on her part. And I am glad. She's already immune to Hepatitis A, so she's in the clear for that one. She directed me straight to the little spot on the kitchen floor where her naked butt had perched, leaving the evidence of a big trip to the bathroom. She was very bossy in delegating the clean up task to me, and I was happy to be her Cinderella.

The end.
(My apologies for such poor manners in sharing this bathroom adventure.)

Colorado Christmas: Hodgepodge

2010-01-20T00:00:00.001-06:00

This is just a jumble of photos from our Christmas vacation in Colorado. We visited my mom's side of the family, and were plenty busy with a very eclectic collection of activities, as you'll soon see.

Here's my Grandma, Jane Knudtsen (I'm forgoing all Internet privacy concerns here, obviously. I wonder where I would get if I googled her name. Hmmm, now I'm curious!). This is one rugged lady. She is out at the tubing run with us here, but she decided not to tube since she had already been to the pool and cross country skiing that day. Or maybe she decided against tubing because she's almost 80 years old and has earned every bit of wisdom that is hers!These little people went tubing though. This is Eva and my youngest cousin, Drew (their birthdays are less than a week apart). They wedged their bums together in one tube while Kathrine Rachel (9 yrs.) held onto their feet to make a train. Wahoo!

Esther spent the week being held by many loving arms. She was in a I'm-not-napping-in-my-bed-on-vacation mood, but happy for her, there were plenty of people who wanted to cuddle a snoozing babe. This is Aunt Nancy, intense lover of all babies.
Esther also was held by my dad, her Grandpa.Uncle Andy got to hold Esther too. Back at the tubing run, Eva and I took a few turns together. It was fun! But my tailbone and groin really hurt the next day. Eva is hiding behind her mittens here, but don't worry, her courage built through the afternoon and she did peek out once or twice. There is my fearless (read: reckless) sister, "willing to sacrifice Levi's lunch" (as Grandma observed). After her crash landing at the bottom, I'm surprised Levi has any lunch left! "Yep," Grandma says, "There goes Levi's lunch."
Oh, look! There's my beautiful sister. And proof that Levi's lunch survived. Back at the ranch, there were many board games to be played. A few favorites were Chinese Checkers, Apples to Apples, Scrabble, and Settlers of Catan.

(L-R) Dalton, Anna Grace, Peter, Jon, Jonathan, and David. I told you there was an eclectic mix of activities. In this picture, a group of my relatives are singing Russian Orthodox chants, which is a new addition to our family gatherings.
(L-R) Grandma, Mom, Aunt Mary, Anna Grace, Uncle Steve, Eric, Dad, and Jonathan.
With this cold-blooded family (I'm not kidding... you've never seen so many Scandinavians layered in wool, polar fleece, and slippers before!), I was surprised to see the outdoor hot tub get so much attention. Then, even more surprising, the kids were able to goad the grandparents into doing Polar Bear runs. (FYI: Polar Bear runs involve hopping out of a sauna or hot tub and rolling in the snow.) It is electrifying and makes a person happy. Not kidding.

The kids started it, except for Hope (because she's too little) and Kathrine Jane (because she is wise). Soon, they were chanting for my mom and her brother (the most cold-blooded of them all) to make the run. Sure enough, they did, with lots of hooting and hollaring to go along with it. Eva and I also made a special mommy-daughter run to make snow angels. I don't reccomend running around when you're three months postpardum and wearing your high school speedo, but I'll do anything for a little fun with my girl, even galavant in my three sizes too small swim suit.

(L-R) Mom, Hope (2), James (7), Eva (4), Drew (4), Becca, Kathrine Jane (7), Uncle Andy, Kathrine Rachel (9).

This concludes my series of Colorado Christmas pictures and stories. Lord willing and the creek don't rise, we'll be back with another installment in two years!

While quietly lounging on the couch

2010-01-19T16:22:00.001-06:00

Eva says, "I can't wait 'til we have a bunch of kids. Then we can watch movies together. And if the little ones miss Mommy, I'll let them sit on my lap."

Colorado Christmas: Skiing

2010-01-13T15:28:00.013-06:00

My mom's whole entire family (minus one sickie) settled in at a lodge at the base of Pike's Peak for three days between Christmas and New Year's. We are so blessed by the generosity of my grandparents who provided the whole experience, and golly did we enjoy ourselves!

There was much snow fun to be found, but the thing I had looked forward to the most was skiing with Eva. She's at that magical age of four and a half, when most Knudtsen descendants begin their love-hate relationship with skinny skis. Cross country skiing is the cheapest form of skiing, and it allows you to really savour some of the high, remote places that downhill skiing doesn't. Plus, there are no lift lines, no crowds, and no near-fatal injuries (usually). Even though, as a kid, I much preferred adrenaline-packed downhill skiing, we all learn to cross country ski, and by the time we're adults I think most probably prefer it. Though, they're so different, it's hard to judge which is more fun.

Anyway. In the bazaar way that all things in life are cyclical and amazingly repetitive, we arrived in Colorado at the exact time that Eva was four and a half, that my uncle Steve (former CSU ski team member) was without a small child of his own (first time in 20 years), and that there was good snow. Just like 24 years ago when the stars aligned in the exact same way, allowing me my first skiing experience. I still remember the drudgery of attempting to make those skinny, slippery, extra long feet go somewhere. And the relief and joy of being perfectly clutched between my uncle's long legs while he did all the work. He would ski with me between his legs, allowing me to work on only the basics: getting the skis on and balancing on them.

For Eva's first run at it, I told her we only had two goals: learning how to get up when she fell down, and balancing long enough to go forward. Simple.

As a former ski coach myself, I know that Eva had a very typical first skiing experience. This is what it looked like:

andand then
and againAnd then finally...

then, yay! You're doin' it, Eva! Keep it up! Nice job, girl! Eventually, to my relief, we saw Uncle Steve and Daddy pop up over a ridge. Steve's happy-go-lucky, infectiously optimistic voice hollered, "Yahoo, Eva! That's right!"Then, with his downright incredible sense of balance, he took over.
That is, until Eva wriggled herself free (ever the independent one...) and was plowed over by her truest aid and ally.

The entire experience lasted less than an hour, which is plenty of exposure for a first timer. For me, it was priceless to be on skis for the first time with one of my own kids. I didn't even mind the grunting, groaning, being pulled down into the snow, moaning, coaxing, and (yes) tears of the first 75% of the ordeal. I was just happy to be at 9,000 feet above sea level, lungs burning, staring at the back side of Pike's Peak. Invigorating !
And Eva says she liked skiing and wants to go again. So another generation of skinny-skiers begins...

Fear (and relief)

2010-01-12T14:35:00.008-06:00

It's January 12th, exactly one month after Esther was hospitalized for meningitis. Prior to actually experiencing meningitis, my only reference was that my friend Jen, a medical student and mom, would occasionally mention really scary childhood diseases in our mom talks. And she always mentioned meningitis. And she used the words "messy" and "scary". Well, it was Jen who strongly encouraged me that night to get into the ER (again). She thought this sounded like meningitis. Our pediatrician was saying the same thing in a different conversation Eric was having on his cell phone.

We had been out of town at a family Christmas gathering, so we had a two hour car ride back to downtown Minneapolis to the University Children's Hospital. And boy did I feel fear. My baby was riding next to me, with a fever pushing 104 degrees, a rash, and completely lethargic. I imagined her brain might be fried at the end of this ordeal. And the two people who's advice I was taking most seriously were talking meningitis, and not flippantly. And although I didn't know what meningitis was all about, those words "messy" and "scary" were lodged in my brain for such a time as this. I was so afraid that I felt like throwing up. I wanted to cry every time one of the other girls would ask me a question or Eric would ask me to give him directions. I wanted to sit silently and hold my baby to me.

Frankly, my fears quickly subsided when I got into the ER where they whisked us into a room and quickly began testing. Before they even had the tests back, Esther was started on an antibiotic IV and I felt strangely comforted that at least we were doing something for her. And her fever started to creep back down towards normal. The doctors didn't seem freaked out and gave a very optimistic forecast for her recovery.

Mercifully, her recovery was as fast and complete as we could have hoped for. We were allowed to leave the hospital as soon as was possible, and Esther went back to normal eating and sleeping patterns quickly. I was filled with gratitude to God for answering the prayers of our friends and family. I was filled with relief and thankfulness that this illness didn't take a bad turn. I was exhausted and grateful.

But, I should have known it would happen. Fear gradually crept back in. The doctors told me that there was about a 5% chance that Esther would experience hearing loss from this. They said it was unlikely, but that I should keep an eye on her developing verbal skills. They wouldn't do any testing unless I requested it, around 18 months. Well, I felt a tinge of fear when they told me that, but that little tingle in my tummy of fear has been growing over the last month. I have a hard time fighting the fear, having self-control to dismiss it and go on with life. I pray for Esther's complete healing, but I don't feel like that's enough. As a quite laid-back mom, I have grown ridiculously protective of my baby, the little, sweet one. Of course, she has sustained more bumps and "beatings" than either of the other two did, just by virtue of being the third born and loved by her sisters.

It is ridiculous, really. I've fought this battle before (and by God's grace, won it) when Eva was born with holes in her heart and when Hope was diagnosed with potentially life threatening allergies. But Emmanuel, God with us, has been with us. He graciously healed Eva's heart sometime around her third birthday. And He has kindly protected Hope from serious egg-eating-induced catastrophe. He is true, and He is faithfully with us.

The sick and frustrating thing about fear, is that it has a nasty habit of multiplying itself. You let it take hold for a moment, and suddenly there are many more things to fear. And fear manifests itself in the most surprising ways. I have given into fear about my baby, and suddenly I am also unable to manage my home. Unable to formulate a menu plan. Unable to fold laundry. Unable to roll with my two year old's ever-changing emotions. Unable to enjoy my husband. Fear gives Satan a stronghold, and tears down one's ability to function. Ugh.

I've been thinking on this for a good week now. I started thinking about it because the fear started to subside. In the last two weeks, Esther has had some significant developmental changes. She has some new "words", she can stand (supported) on her feet, she is examining her hands and finding things to do with them, her tummy time has improved a ton! So, my fears (particularly about her hearing) have started to depart, giving me space to actually examine them with objectivity. And giving me a few days of inspiration towards being normal again. I laughed with my two year old, and I made a new daily routine to help me be more effective in my home. Things are looking up, I think. So, today as I badgered the Lord with my frustrations, questions, disappointments, these two verses came to mind:

John 10:10b - I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Isaiah 41:10 - Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Although I know I will be tempted to fear again, by this and other unforeseen circumstances, I think I have some powerful ammunition. These two verses are a banner for me, and since we're at the start of a new year, these might be a weapon specific to this new year. I sense that this is God's gift to me for this year. Maybe I'll be coming back to these verses a lot, and I hope that the Holy Spirit will use them to transform my heart. I don't want to fear. I want to know instead that "Surely I will help you."
***I'm including these pictures since I hadn't posted any of the hospital stay yet, and because I like to remember. Yes, the good, the bad, and the ugly.***

But, I'm still saying no to fear. :)

THAT Season

2010-01-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

"The hap-hapiest season of all" has departed, and now we are left with that season. If you're from the Northern (or Southern) reaches of the globe, this will make sense to you. A few reasons why I know it is that season again-

1. I can easily sit on the couch and stare blankly out the window for half of every day, without being sure what I saw or thought about.

2. When "C'mon April!" burst out of my mouth, I wasn't talking about my long-lost college roommate.
2.5. I was shocked when Eric replied, "For once I'm with ya on that."

3. The sidewalks resemble mazes, or better yet, tunnels.

4. The streets are two feet narrower than they were six months ago, thanks to the piles of snow lining the sides.

5. When Eric came home from work he assumed we hadn't gone anywhere today based on the lack of footprints in the huge drifts of snow on the sidewalk. But, we'd made several treks out... lugging three kids through those blasted drifts.

6. I instinctively sleep as late as possible. Hibernation. Wait, I do that in the summer too! :)

7. I feel a gravitational pull to the library. Must check out travel books and gardening guides.

8. I will spend hours of my day pouring over garden designs and bulb catalogs. Green!

9. As a non-TV watcher, I'm actually really, really excited for the final season of LOST. It takes place on a tropical island, after all.

10. The temperature reading in the van yesterday was 7 degrees at noon. Eva insisted on not wearing a coat, hat, or mittens. And she didn't feel cold. We're all in denial.

11. Bethany starts texting me about swapping kids to go cross country skiing. We hardly ever do, but it is an all important sign to Old Man Winter that we won't take this lying down.

12. I start to explore uncharted waters on the Internet. I'm now a big Pioneer Woman fan, folks.

13. I think about what a great time of year this would be to do some deep cleaning. But I probably won't lift a finger until spring; morale is down.

14. We are all pasty and pale looking... and not at all in the precious China doll way.

15. In contrast to #10, Hope insists on wearing every piece of outerwear available. And she still complains that her hands are cold!

16. Eva bounces between headstands and somersaults on the couch as I read to her. We really need a physical outlet these days.

17. Esther frantically gasps for air every time we step out the door. She doesn't remember that the biting cold was here yesterday too.

18. I wipe more noses than butts throughout the day. (sorry, everyone.)

19. We cannot drive up our driveway due to the freezing rain that mortared 10 inches of snow to the cement.

And my personal favorite... the most telling sign that we are in the THAT season...

20. We attend church as a family approximately 50% of any given month. The other 50%, we send the parent who has Sunday responsibilities (or has the worst cabin fever) with the contingent of children who are not exhibiting obnoxious signs of viral illness (aka: colds and influenza).

Can you relate???

PS) After posting this, I'm fully expecting a few "email interventions" in which you all tell me to fight for my life and hang on for summer. Don't worry, I will. As my mom always said, "This too shall pass."

Come on over, it's...

2010-01-07T00:24:00.000-06:00

NOT CHRISTMAS ANYMORE! I "shouted" that part, not because I'm glad that Christmas is over, but because apparently I didn't get the memo that the month of December f-l-i-e-s by way too fast. I started this post (again) back in December, but I just haven't had time to throw it up on the board, so to speak.

Anyway, it may be the 7th of January, but my house still looks like it's Christmas. Only maybe a little more picked up and cleaner, since I'm not spending every spare moment baking, shopping, wrapping gifts, or overnighting at the hospital. :)

So, let's say it was Christmas. I would say, "Please, come hang out with us!" And this is what you would get (plus some noisy little girls running around trying to impress you and woo you to their room):
A wreath is a "must have" for me each year. And it must be real too.
Somehow along the way, we've accumulated a grand collection of over sized snowman ornaments. Of course they don't match, but they cheerfully hang from most of the interior door knobs.
The buffet is my main Christmas display, housing the nativity scene and other "seasonal" exhibits, including this flashified little gal's face.
My grandpa made these nativity sets years ago, and since I am the oldest grandchild, I was lucky enough to get one too. He loves wood working and is always looking for a new, unique project. On first glance you might think this is a pretty simple nativity scene, but on second glance, you realize that it is a puzzle that is anything but simple! And even if it weren't a tricky puzzle, it would be up front and center since my grandpa made it and it is therefore very, very special to me.The stockings (our mismatched, home style collection that they are) are hung by the buffet with care. December wouldn't feel right without the window trim and the cabinets in the kitchen covered with the greetings of friends and family. Don't Christmas cards make your heart swell with joy???I can't leave out this guy. For some reason this thrift shop find has found a special place in my heart. Sometimes I light up it's rusty frame inside, sometimes on the front stoop.
Believe it or not, we've only had a Christmas tree four times in our 8 Christmases together. The other four times we were dissuaded by little terrorizing toddlers or laziness or the fact that we would be out of town too long. This year, however, the Christmas tree was a main priority. The girls were downright stoked to get out the decorations and make the tree "pretty". I'm sure all mothers out there understand the different kinds of pretty you experience when the kiddos decorate the tree...It was so fun to have ornaments made by Eva this year! She made this angel in preschool and a star of David also. I love getting out the ornaments from my childhood. I made this adorable little cookie sheet in preschool when I was four.We have a sizable collection of antique (or maybe vintage?) ornaments that my Grandma Knudtsen's deceased neighbor gave us (from her attic) as our wedding gift. It might have been an unusual gift (especially since I never met her), but I think old ornaments are super cool, so I happily place them on the tree each year. The girls each have several special ornaments. Here's Hope's "Welcome" ornament.And Esther's.And Eva's. It is noteworthy that Eva very strategically placed that shiny candy cane by her ornament. Let no one confuse who's candy cane that is, come January when we get to eat the candy canes!This is my favorite of the vintage ornaments. They are really fragile, so it seems we lose one each year. It will be interesting to see which ones actually make it for the long haul.

That's the end of our Christmas tour. Now, we'd finish our game of Scrabble or Wii Sports Resort, feed you some thing rich and fatty, and send you out the door. As you look back to wave goodbye, you'd notice these pretty luminaries lighting up the dark walkway.The End. And Merry Christmas!

Colorado Christmas: Day 2

2010-01-05T17:34:00.000-06:00

Highlight of Day 2 at 1905 Manor Lane: playing in the yard. I have an endless reserve of nostalgia for this yard, this place, making it was pure pleasure to watch my little ones explore this wild spot in the middle of a city.
After traipsing along the half frozen creek, we stumbled upon this outpost. I know that my cousin's kids (from the other side of the family) played here a few months ago, but I'm not sure who else has called this spot "home". Just a few logs, stumps, and boards ignite the imagination. We were Indians in a blizzard... Hungry Indians, apparently...The old and wise ones share knowledge handed down through generations via oral tradition...
The view of civilization from the Indian encampment...
It's back to the present tense to do some swinging. Although, this might have been 10, 20, 30 years ago or more, as the setting has changed very little according to my memory.
Later on, inside, Grandma has some cuddle time with Baby Esther and Hope in her childhood home.
I love sharing my grandparents' place with my girls. There is no place on earth that I find myself more relaxed than here. What a fun day!

Gingersnaps Recipe

2009-12-26T08:24:00.002-06:00

this small mound of cookies represents the 16 dozen gingersnaps I made last week!

Eric or I or both of us make these scrumptious cookies every December. They are our absolute favorites, and they are really easy and relatively inexpensive to make. We often hand out dozens of them to friends and family around Christmas, so over the years I've had many requests for the recipe. They are just a little spicy, soft, and best after they cool a bit. It is originally Eric's mom's recipe; we owe all the credit to her!

Mom's Gingersnaps

3/4 c. crisco or butter, softened (I only use butter)

1 c. sugar

1 egg

1/4 c. molasses

2 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger

1 t. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 (Actually, baking at 360 degrees seems to work best in our oven). Mix it all up, but don't mix too long or too fast (the texture will be impossibly wet and goopy). After mixing, form one inch balls of dough and roll them in granulated sugar to coat the outside. Bake for about 10 minutes (we do 9 minutes) and promptly remove from cookie sheet to cool. Enjoy!

ps) This year we thought we might make a good thing better and added a slather of cream cheese frosting on top. Mmmmmmm...

Colorado Christmas: Day 1

2009-12-26T08:00:00.003-06:00

Just a warm, relaxed day at 1905 Manor Lane. Esther was a little out of sorts after our 20 hours in the car the previous day. (Side note: the weather has been the talk of the town around here. That, and how we "threaded the needle" by driving out here between blizzards, only spending about 25% of our driving time in icky conditions. Interstates and highways are currently closed because of snow, ice, drifting, or all of the above, so we are glad we got here when we did!). Great Grandpa Knudtsen had a soft touch, and fussy Esther enjoyed sitting quietly with him for hours of the day.

Eva and Hope played with the assortment of toys here, some that have been passed down through generations and some that are new garage sale finds. Here Hope is playing with huge toy trains that were an extravagant gift to Great Grandpa when he was a boy.

Grandma referred to the month of December as "the great freeze", during which she baked and cooked and froze food every day. Now we are experiencing the "the great thaw", eating the fruit of her labor. She says that the real challenge is to get everything thawed on the right day and at the right time :). It is no small task to feed 28 people and still have time for plenty of card games!

...Or Scrabble games. Eric and Dalton had the highest scoring words, 120 and 108 respectively.
And what would Christmas at 1905 Manor Lane be without a few hands of "Pounce"?!? The women gathered around the table to raise their blood pressure and chip a few fingernails. The alternate name for this game is "Bloody Knuckles." Enough said!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-23T00:24:00.016-06:00

A grey day and a brisk walk... A bundled boy... A secret, furry nuzzle... A snuggled sleepy-head..A brand-spankin'-new stroller...Ahhhhh.

Happy Pearl Harbor Day

2009-12-22T01:12:00.000-06:00

My dear hubby's birthday was this month (groan! I started this post three days BEFORE his birthday and I'm just now posting it!). You guessed it, he shares his special day with the national holiday, Pearl Harbor Day. Because I am not really, really good at writing nice things that don't get extra long, I will attempt to honor him using the favorite elementary school vocabulary building activity: an adjective for each letter of your name.

*****

E - Emotional. I thought for the bulk of our marriage that your love of logical arguments and well-reasoned approach to planning meant that you weren't very emotional. I was wrong, and I stand corrected. I love that you cry at sappy movies and sometimes during worship at church. You make the perfect daddy for little girls since you love being cuddly and tender.

R - Righteous. Over the past six months I have admired an increased desire for godliness and discipline in your life. God is bringing you to a new place in your walk with him... a place that requires self-discipline and a "dependent effort," as you like to say. Psalm 97:11-12 comes to mind, as well as Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness for they will be filled."

I - Involved. I am ever thankful to have an husband who wants to be involved in raising our daughters. At the very least, you participate with me each day in dinnertime craziness and bedtime extra-craziness.

C - Comedian. You're funny, which is one of the reasons I had so much fun with you before we were married. Most of your joking comes out when we're in a group of people, and I love watching you get a few laughs.

*****

H - Hospitable. You lead the way in making our home and family a place where hospitality happens. I would have people over occasionally on my own, but you make it a constant activity and it is such fun!

A - Ambitious. You are competitive and aggressive, whether at work or play. Don't even think of winning a board game without a serious challenge from Eric! I'm proud of how hard you work at your job and how you strive for excellence there.

N - Nostalgic. You love to reminisce, which is fun and refreshing.

S - Stable. Although you may be emotional and nostalgic, you are level headed and calm in leading our family. You always have an optimistic outlook and a certainty that things will be OK. You make me feel safe and provided for.

E - Explorer. This is not one of your prominent character traits, but it sure is fun when your French-Canadian heritage shines through and you want to adventure with me in the great outdoors. On a related note, you are always eager for a new adventure in other areas of life too: learning a new skill, visiting a new place, expanding your knowledge about something.

N - Nurturing. You are a marvelous father, always excited to help the girls grow, learn, and explore. You eagerly spend time with them and take the time to make them feel special and loved.

*****

Eric Hansen, I'm thankful to be your wife and impressed with the man God is forming you to be. Happy 31st Birthday!