Thursday, December 29, 2011

And a Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve is once again at our doorstep and I can hardly believe where the time has gone. As I watch my 2011 quickly roll behind me, I am certainly thankful for the moments given to me. I pray for the year to come that my family will be mindful of our blessings, strengthened to overcome our challenges, and given wisdom to know when to simply let things go.


As we wrap up this year's activities, the past week has been an extra special gift for the kids and I. My husband, who usually works six days a week has taken off and given himself a vacation in between the Christmas and New Year holidays. The last few days have been filled with love and laughter as we all got some much needed family time.

One activity we look forward to doing post-Christmas is helping the kids explore their new toys as well as our own. Trinity has been enjoying her new collection of baby dolls and Lincoln is deeply submerged in the realm of matchbox race cars. As for Daddy and Mommy, Adam has entered into the gamer's world of Skyrim, while I have dabbled back into Sims 3 through a new expansion pack, Sims Ambitions


Something we have been enjoying the past couple days in particular is a new popcorn appliance Adam gave to me as a Christmas gift. You put in a cup of popcorn kernels, and the interior heats up until the kernels pop open and then are blown up through the top spout into your bowl. I have never seen an appliance like it, but my husband's family made popcorn this way a lot when he was growing up.


One goal I had set for myself in celebration of our lazy mornings was to make breakfast for my family everyday, but I have failed miserably. I did alright for a few days, but by the time I woke up to Thursday's first rays of sunlight (which is not saying much since it was practically 8 A.M.) I unwrapped a couple of granola bars for the kids and said have at it.

But all in all it's been a great week and a wonderful year. I am looking forward to another 365 days of watching my babies grow while also growing as a mother and wife. Raising kids and being married is not easy! But anything worth having is not going to come without hard work and dedication.

Goodbye 2011. Hello 2012!

White Hot Chocolate

3 cups whole milk (or half and half)
2/3 cup white baking pieces
3 sticks of cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
Pinch of vanilla
Pinch of almond extract

In a pot, combine 1/4 cup of the milk, the baking pieces, and spices. Stir until baking pieces are melted. Add remaining milk until heated through. Remove from heat, remove cinnamon sticks, and add extracts. Serves four. Sprinkle with nutmeg for flavor. Double or quadruple for more servings.

Egg Nog

-1 gallon of whole milk
-16 eggs
-2 1/4 cup sugar
-4 tsp vanilla
-nutmeg for individual servings

Mix eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Pour in milk and mix thoroughly. Pour through a fine strainer or cheesecloth. Serve with nutmeg for seasoning.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The case of the missing kitty cat


Today I absolutely could not find one of our kittens, Ree Ree. She and her sister, Trill, are outside kitties that stay in our attached garage, but we often let them in for visits so they can warm up a bit. They had been in for a couple of hours this morning when I had decided it was time to put them back out. Easily, I located Trill, a beautiful black calico with a cute dab of tan on the tip of her tail, and deposited her in the garage but Ree was no where to be found. I started calling for her, but was not too worried, figuring she would show up sooner or later.

I got lost in other activities when I was suddenly on a mission to find a DVD we had been missing for a few days. It was Lincoln's favorite TMNT movie, and he had been asking to watch it several times including this morning. With a heavy duty flashlight I combed over every hiding place I could think of to search, when suddenly I came to a realization. I had looked through almost the entire house for the DVD and I still had not seen Ree Ree.

It was very unlike her to not come trotting out when you approached. Panic immediately set in. Something was wrong, Ree never disappeared for long periods of time. It had been at least an hour, maybe two, since I had seen her last. The adrenaline kicked in and immediately I began calling to her like a crazy woman. Of course the kids picked up on this in an instant, and sensing new drama in the air they became my sidekicks. There I was, an unkempt mad woman frantically lifting up bed skirts and looking down floor vents followed by two toddlers who peered into any nooks and crannies I may have missed.

I began to double check all the holes plugged up during our remodeling, which unfortunately included peeping into an unused room I had been using to store Christmas gifts. Lincoln was right behind me and exclaimed, "Mommy, presents!" I immediately replied, "Those are for Nini and Papa, now get out of here!" Thankfully he did not understand what was going on, and I was able to herd the kids on to other things.

All my construction holes looked in tact, so I tried thinking of other possibilities. I had ran the dryer that morning, and sometimes Ree liked to climb on the door while I was loading clothes, but surely I would have noticed if she had tried to climb in. Surely. I ran to the dryer, thinking 'Pleases, God, no!' I knew it had just ran a full cycle, and in a frenzy I unloaded all the clothes dreading what I would find. I grabbed handfuls of shirts and socks, pants and boxers (yes, I throw EVERYTHING into one load; I hardly ever separate) but found nothing. I put them back in, and thought, 'maybe I should look again.' I pulled the clothes out a second time, quickly going through each piece, a little relieved I had not found anything, but even then not a hundred percent convinced she was not in there somewhere. Putting them back, I searched a third time, and still saw no signs of Ree.

Fairly certain at this point she was definitely not in the dryer, I sat there on my knees about to lose it. Where could the dang cat be? That is when my son said, "Don't cry mommy. We'll find her.”  I love my sweet boy, and even though he’s only three he was worried about me. I hugged him and Trinity, sucked up my tears, and said I was sure she’d show up eventually.

We walked into the living room, defeated, when all of the sudden out of the corner of my eye I spied a grey and white furry foot peeking out from under my hope chest. That little devil had been under there the whole time, snoozing the day away pretty as you please. Relief washed over me.  Then I grabbed the little booger and kicked her toosh outside with her sister. I leaned on the door after it was closed wondering how I was ever going to get anything accomplished today.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Sunny Winter Days

Today I have carted the kids off to my dad and mom's house.  I have purposefully tried to get everything accomplished that I can think of so that I can have a few hours to write on my book, but now Adam is home early from work so I guess I will have to put off book writing until I get his lunch made and see what he is up to for the rest of the day.  Plans never go quite as smoothly as you previously expected, do they?  Tonight, however, we are going to go on a date, which we try to do once a month, so I am very excited for that!

Yesterday was one of our stay-at-home days.  Its hard to navigate the stay-at-home-days, because without a car ride to break up the monotony the kids can definitely wear me out.  But here lately I've started a routine that works out great.  Here's a few pictures from yesterday of things we did and saw.


-Some potatoes leftover from the garden.  We keep them in buckets in our garage and they stay fresh all winter long for us to enjoy.


-I love our little boot collection


-Our garden shed


-An amazing bloom on a bush by the side of our house.  I have not seen this bush bloom in the whole two years we have been here, and then about a month ago it decided it was time to unveil its true potential.  I cannot believe I have a budding flower on anything in the middle of December


-My dad and mom put this bird feeder station together for my birthday this past year.  I believe it is a 4x4 treated wood post, and my dad dug a couple of feet into the ground and set the post in without concrete.  It is very sturdy, and my mom picked out a lovely solar light for the top that puts out a soft glow each night.


-My husband, Adam, makes fun of me for having these geese.  A cousin of his actually owned them, but I asked if I could have them for my own because it looked like they were not getting much use.  They brought them over for us, and I hope to paint them some fun colors.


-Our garden.  The tall dried stalks in the background are okra, and the broken down stalks in the foreground are leftover from sunflowers.  In the middle I dump ashes from our fireplace as well as food compost..


-If we have a fire going non-stop, this wood in our garage will last two weeks.


-A cast iron bell of a cocker spaniel, similar to our family dog Lilly.  I put this bell on one of our barns low enough for the kids to ring.


-I got out some watercolors for the kids to play with. It was a lot of fun to see the kids enjoy some time being creative.  I would have included my daughter in this photo but she was getting ready for a bath by the time I could grab a camera to take a photo.  Let's just say she got more paint on herself than on the paper. 

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Thank you

I would like to thank all of you who have started to follow my blog. I am so appreciative of your support!

Today the kids and I enjoyed our last day of MOPs for the semester. In our program, every other week the moms meet and have brunch with a speaker, and then a time for small group discussion while the kids are in classes. On the off weeks moms are able to drop the kids off and then leave to have a " morning out" for themselves which is wonderful! Today was a morning out, so I left my kiddos and then headed to Starbucks where I wrote on my book for a couple of hours.

After that the kids and I had lunch from Taco Bell's drive thru, and then headed to the FFY for open gym. Later, we came home and I finally had some time to clean for the first time in a week. I can already tell this place is going to be a crazy house once all the Christmas festivities get underway, but we are definitely looking forward to it..

Monday, December 12, 2011

Christmas trees, snow, and celebrating the birth of Christ


I cannot believe it is that wonderful time of year again. Christmas is less than two weeks away! The cold weather has finally settled in for its long visit to Indiana, and we have already seen the snow fly on a couple of occasions as early as late November, which has local "weather forecasters" predicting a long winter. I have learned to embrace the cold weather because it arrives every year right on time whether I like it or not.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and remember to be thankful for the most precious gift of all - Jesus!

Banana bars

I love this recipe. Especially because it uses up leftover bananas that are over ripe, preventing me from throwing them out. Give it a try and add your own touches.

- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 over ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup softened/melted butter
- pinch salt
- pinch baking soda
- pinch almond extract

Blend all ingredients and bake at 350 for 25 minutes in a bars pan (13x9). Or use a normal pan (11x7) for a more bread/ brownie quality. Bake until it appears done, usually about 35 minutes. Icing once completely cooled.














Icing

- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- pinch almond extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar

Blend and then spread over bars. Enjoy!

Ten things I love about winter



10. A break from outside chores.






9. Having a wood burning fireplace in our living room. I love the hot air it puts out and watching the glow of our fires.


8. Decorating! We pick out a live Christmas tree every year, and I also like to put out wreaths on my doors, Christmas cards to neighbors, and Christmas bed spreads on our mattresses.


7. Snuggling with my kiddos and hubby.
6. Getting snowed in for a couple of days..


5. Catching up on old DVD series. Some of my favorites are: Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, Mama's Family, Golden Girls, Designing Women, and Lark Rise to Candleford (BBC).



4. Catching up on reading or here lately I have been working on my own book which I hope to post more about later. One book I really enjoyed reading recently was The Hunger Games.



3. Watching birds eat from my bird feeders. I try to keep the feeders filled so the birds will always come back.


2. Comfort foods, especially hot tea or coffee.


1. The holidays and keeping up with extended family.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Goats and kittens

I love our little farm. We recently added three new members to our family, all within the past week actually, and while I was nervous at first it has actually been a lot of fun.

Our new additions include two squirrelly kittens and a sweet tempered goat. The kittens are sisters and have been a huge comfort to my three year old son, Lincoln, who broke his collar bone a week before. He has suffered a lot of hurt from the fracture, but he won’t take medicine so it’s been a painful healing process.


Thankfully he is feeling much better now, but at the time he was acting out with lots of tantrums and a constant attitude. We really had to reign in our parenting, and stayed home a lot so that we could at least give him the comforts of a steady home environment. The doctors said it would take a couple of months for him to be somewhat healed up, and six months for him to be back to a hundred percent. Right now we are about at the two month mark and thank God he is finally back to his spunky self.


Our other new member of the family is a very kind goat that we have named Blue, courtesy of Lincoln. Blue was given to us by my uncle and aunt who own a larger farm where they raise goats on a regular basis. My father-in-law gave us our original goat, Dandy, when we first moved to our farmhouse so the kids would have an animal to play with, but he has always been lonely. I have been on a mission to find him a friend, and finally my aunt was able to get us a friendly wether, who has been a great match-up with our billy. Both of our kids love to help feed the goats and watch them run and play. Having animals is a lot of work, but it definitely helps teach children (and adults for that matter) responsibility and how to care for God's creation.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The persimmons are falling! And 10 other things I love about fall!

Don't you just love fall? I live in Indiana, and we are fortunate enough to encounter all of the seasons in the fullness they are meant to be experienced. From the crispness of autumn, to the crystals of winter, the birth of spring, and the embraces of summer - each interval of time delivers a climate that stays just long enough to satisfy and then lingers a bit more so that we are left hungering for the next season ahead. As for fall, here is what I am looking forward to:


1. Planting my new perennials and cleaning up existing flower beds, tucking my seedling babies in for a long winters nap. This includes a load of mulch to fill in any gaps that have weathered away in my beds, cutting back plants that are preparing to hibernate, and buying a bale of straw to throw loosely over tender plants that need an extra cushion against winter's bite. 


2. Stocking up. Its not that I hate winter, but I relish spending those cold days snuggled up here in my home with my children and our pets (and my husband when he is able to be home from work), and the fewer trips I can make into town the better! Some of the things we stock up on are straw for the barns, particularly for our pet goat Dandy to make his bed, firewood for our wood stove, freezer bags full of processed vegetables from our garden, and a few shelves of canned pickles, pasta sauce, jelly, and salsa. 


3. The first wisps of wood smoke in the air. I have heard it said that your sense of smell is more closely linked to memories than any other sense and I would have to agree. One of my own earliest memories as a child is taking in breaths of smoke tinged air while I stood out in a snow covered yard.


4. The smell of dried leaves, and the crunching sound  they make.


5. Perfect weather and perfect skies. What is it about fall that makes the sky so blue, the clouds so puffy, and the air so fresh? The newly cool weather is always such a relief from sultry summer days.


6. Camping and Camp fires. We love to take the time and visit local state parks and camp if we are able. We also have a permanent fire pit in our back yard that we use when family come to visit or for ourselves to enjoy,


7. Harvest. Here at our small farm we are surrounded by fields owned by other families. I love watching the soy beans and corn stalks turn yellow and then dry out. My son, Lincoln, looks forward to all the tractors that travel the road in front of our house, and then finally getting to see the equipment up close when the fields next to us are cut and gathered.


8. Festivals. One of my favorites is the Feast of the Hunter’s Moon in Lafayette, IN. The food there is amazing. I also enjoy a renaissance festival close to Cincinnati, OH, it’s more re-enactment entertainment, but they have great food as well. I also enjoy lots of local events in my town that seem to pop up seasonally.


9. Getting the kids back into their activities. It’s this time of year where our schedule starts revving up again after a summer spent swimming, playing at the park, and keeping up with play dates. Right now we do MOP’s and gymnastics, while also trying to drop in for time at the library or open gym to keep the kids busy.




10. Decorating. This year we grew our own decorative gourds which was great! I’d put on TV Charlie Brown and The Great Pumpkin or Garfield's Halloween, and then I’d sit and carve/paint my gourds. It’s such a fun project; I’ll have to do a post about the details soon. The rest of my decor I store in large totes that get pulled out every September, and it’s always a lot of fun re-discovering what I have.

Happy Fall!







Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Raising Kids and Persimmons

Two years ago, my husband Adam, our son Lincoln, and myself moved from a small house in town to a large farmhouse in the country closer to where we grew up and to our parents who both still lived in the area.  It had a beautiful old persimmon tree in the front yard, just like the one I used to climb growing up.  The house needed a lot of work being not quite a hundred years old, but we knew we were just the people to do it.  Oh, we had visions! Visions of jumping right in to the renovations, of converting the out buildings into amazing workshops, of  starting a greenhouse and raising small farm animals - but then life happened.  I got pregnant with baby two, the mortgage bill started showing up right on time the middle of every month, and Adam's business picked up keeping him away from home six days a week, twelve hours a day.  Needless to say, we do not have very much done at this point!  And unfortunately we do not even have the persimmon tree anymore.  It blew over in a storm six months after we moved here.  So much for romantic notions!  Don't worry, we planted a couple more that are thriving and I hope to share with you some persimmon recipes at some point in the future because they are out of this world. 




Sometimes, all of this craziness is overwhelming.  Two rooms, complete with bathrooms, are completely gutted and unusable.  My husband's business is a source of constant clutter sneakily creeping into our garage and house.  And the kids who are almost three and one are by nature human tornadoes.  Now throw all of that at an organized, obsessive control freak, which I am, and you could have an immediate cardiac arrest on your hands without the power of prayer being used on a daily basis.  




I have had to adjust, and it has been for the better really.  But when I do get frustrated at living in home that is always "Construction in Progress" I have to remind myself this is the life we wanted!  And it is a darn good one.  Maybe we do not have it all right now when so many people do.  But we have enough, and truly it is more than enough!  The most important aspect of our lives is that we have a beautiful budding family which is such a blessing and is definitely more than just "enough" - it is everything. 



Anyways, I decided to start this blog to share with you our stories of living in constant state of disarray.  I hope you enjoy it, and I so appreciate you taking some of your precious time to spend it with me.