Luke turns 9

Having cake in his pajamas

So this big guy is now 9.  He actually had his birthday in May, but I'm still late at updating.  Every year I tell him that he can't turn another year older, but he still does.  He's big enough now that I can hardly remember him as that tiny little baby he once was.  He's also moved past little boy stage, and now is getting into big boy territory.  In this past year he has matured so much.  It makes me giddy with excitement (he takes out the garbage to the road and does dishes proficiently!) but it's also hard on a mama's heart.

I don't want to brag, but sometimes I can't help it and since this is about him, I'm going to!  It's actually kind of  a mixed bag, because all of Luke's good qualties are those that often get overlooked in our busy, "look at me" world.  They are things like his thoughtfulness, gentleness, patience, a great listener, a respectful leader (not pushy).  I feel so blessed that we have such a responsible young man growing up, and can't wait to see his personality shine through more and more.

He loves doing projects and crafts.  Inventing things, fixing things, refurbishing things and improving things in one way or another.  He soaks up information from books, his Dad, myself and whoever is teaching/talking at the moment.  He loves listening in on adult conversations to learn something new.  I remember doing that as a kid too, and so totally understand it (although it can be kind of annoying if a conversation is private).

Reading is his other favorite pasttime.  He can remember what book he reads information in, and can usually go straight to the book and page to find the information he is recalling.  It helps that he's read books over and over and over again.  He does read super fast too, so likely misses a lot of information so gets new info each time!  He likes mysteries, animal stories, space information, how-to's most of all.  We've been getting more audio books which have been a fun change.  

I think he's finally outgrowing Thomas the train.  I didn't think he ever would!  He's been in love with him since that first pair of shoes when he was 18 months old.  He still loves trains, and wants a career in transportation (either an engineer, pilot, truck driver or something like that).  They all appeal to him, so he's not sure what he'd like the most.

Here's a selfie he took.  He likes to use the camera to show me things he builds or how clean a room he's been cleaning is.  He usually takes 100 pictures where 2 or 3 would have been sufficient!

Anyhow, Greg and I were just talking about how Luke is such a blessing in our family, in yet because he's not the "squeaky wheel", his attributes often get overlooked.  He needs us to draw him out more, but there's a gold mine in there when we do!

He even came face to face with a young buck the other day in our driveway and wasn't hardly scared.  He ran out to check the mail and a deer happened to be walking through our yard at the exact time.  They both scared each other, but he kept on running to get the mail.  The deer bounded off, but he said they came within a couple feet of each other.  He thought it was rather exciting!

We love you so much, Luke Wesley!

for the love of Thanksgiving (memories of the old days)

The date:  November 2000.  The location:  Kelso, WA.  What happened here?  It was here that Greg and I met.  And that, my friends, is the big deal!

And here is how it all started.  Back in those days, the Castle Rock ALC (our present church, ironically) hosted special services at Thanksgiving every year.  Different friends and I would come down from Canada for them since we had friends that lived here and it was a good chance to hang out, go to the services and visit and such.  Each year whoever could go would load up in a car and make the snowy drive to Washington. Because they were much smaller services than some of the other ones, the group was much more close knit and strong friendships were formed.

This particular year, I rode down with an uncle, aunt, some cousins and one foreign exchange girl named Marina from Finland.  We braved the nasty roads, and Marina and I were staying with my old roommate (and dear friend) Reidun and her roommates.  The services were on Friday evening, Saturday youth gathering, Saturday evening and all day Sunday in Longview, WA.  After the Friday evening service, we all went to Denny's for coffee as such was the habit.  We ended up at a table with a guy named Brian (who I knew from before) and his friend Greg from Arizona who came up for the long weekend, along with other friends.  I was on one end of the big table and Greg was on the other with a whole lot of chatting people in between.  Much fun and coffee was had and we headed back to Reidun's for the night.  Although this is when we officially met, I didn't even talk to him at all this night.

The next night, we ended up at Denny's again, this time just Reidun, Marina, me, Brian, Greg and Phil (another friend from way back).  We all visited at length and had a great time.  So good that we all had to leave Denny's and head over to Shari's across the way to finish the night off.  Let's just say that very little sleep was had and much great conversing was had amongst us 6.  In fact, I'm not sure that we got any sleep at all.  Sunday we said our goodbyes and got ready to head back home to Canada on Monday morning.  A good time was had by all, but it was all over.

So how did Greg end up in Washington, you may ask?  Being an Arizona guy and all?  Well, it just so happened that the chairman of the hosting church (Dave K.) had a son (Nathan) who decided to go to college in AZ.  Nathan and Greg became friends, and on a trip to visit his son, Dave suggested to Greg that he should come up to Washington for Thanksgiving services sometime.  So, he did.  His friend Brian lived there, so he stayed with him and they came to the services together.  Brian was slightly interested in me at the time, and so Greg ended up just tagging along because what else was he to do?  But, it all worked out swimmingly in the end!

After the trip, nothing evolved right away.  Over a year even went by with no contact or thought of each other.  And then one day, Greg ended up on our church's chat page (remember that?!) and was chatting with my sister Amy.  Amy and I used to go on there and chat with others when she worked at the Grind (coffee house) late at nights.  Somehow he finally got my email address from her, since he, his brother and some friends wanted to make a trip up to Canada in the coming summer.  He then emailed me (since I was the only Canadian he knew) and I thought he must be trying to check out more about cute little Amy (since every guy before him had tried this tactic).  I quickly told him, "Don't even bother, she's taken.  She's getting married in a few months!"  I didn't think this email stuff was going to go anywhere.  But it did.  We continued to email back and forth, and then one time he asked me if he could call me.  Yes, yes indeed!  He did and we just had dozens of things to talk about.  The most important was discussing the book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis which I was reading at the time.  This went on for a few months and then suddenly he stopped calling.  I tried to pretend I didn't care, but I really wondered what had happened.  I didn't want to get my hopes up (and I had tried not to), but still, this guy was pret-ty cool!  It was this same time (May 2002 by now) that my friend Reidun and I were moving to Alaska as we had previously decided.  I got focused on that, and kind of tried to forget this Greg-in-Arizona guy.

Meanwhile, he was going through some turmoil of his own.  He broke his arm (out of work for many weeks), his company then shut down (lost his job), an old divorced female classmate moved back to town and was pestering the life out of him, his church was splitting up (and he was on the board, responsible for making many of the decisions).  Then his mom had major surgery and when his grandma came to care for her, she had a massive heart attack requiring a quintuple bypass.  Yes, life was crazy.  But, through it all, he felt like he needed to call me and clear the air.  Ask forgiveness for his sudden fall-off-the-edge-of-the-earth behavior.  It was October by now and I was back in Alberta for my friend Janine's wedding.  Greg finally had the nerve to find my number (in Alaska) only to be told that I was staying at my parent's in Alberta.  When he called my parent's place in Alberta, he was told that I wasn't there, but was over at Janine's getting ready for her wedding.  So, he got that number and called her folks' place.  Us girls were all getting decorations ready and I hear, "Rachel, the phone's for you.  It's some guy named Greg."  Akk!

I took the phone in the other room and he explained that he wasn't sure what we should do about our relationship (or lack of it), but that he wanted to ask for my forgiveness for his behavior, and would I forgive him?  Of course I would!   But wasn't sure where to go from there.  I remember going back into the room with the girls and explaining what it was all about and wondering what their advice would be.  "Forgive him!" they all agreed. (Remember this, Kendra?)  When I got back home to Alaska, he emailed wondering if he could call me again (after I had some time to think about it) and we agreed to.  By this time I had seen his character and integrity through and through.  From all the church stress (he lost 30lbs, if I recall), in yet remained firm in doing what he believed was right, to calling me up after a 6 month absence just to say sorry, this guy was husband material, in my books.  I couldn't even remember what he looked like anymore (it's been 2 years by now since we met), but I loved to hear from him.  But, I didn't tell him that.  I wasn't really sure how he felt about me.  In both of our books, we were still "friends".  I kept encouraging him to come up to Alaska,  but he kept coming up with reasons why he couldn't.  His grandma was still pretty ill, and his funds were still pretty tight.  But...

About a week before Christmas, I was working my third straight 12 hour night shift in the ER, and so was pretty tired when I got off work on that Sunday morning when he called me.  He always called in the evening, so I don't know what compelled him to call me early on a Sunday morning (except Providence), but he did.  And it all came spilling out (I was too tired to keep my guard up any longer).  I told him how I was tired of him telling me that he'd come visit me and then never did.  I told him how a coworker of mine had asked me out the night before and I didn't know what I should say because I didn't want to go, but didn't know where our relationship was or wasn't going.  I told him it all.  And then felt like an idiot.  But, he had himself a plane ticket to Alaska by the very next day (the competition was what sold him!)  He had told his Papa Davidson his dilemma and Papa said, "She's Ray Kurtti's granddaughter, you'd better get up there!" (His Papa and my Grandpa had been friends from way back).  Papa had even funded the trip to ensure it happened.

At the Anchorage airport before Greg leaving for Arizona

Greg rounded up a bunch of cold weather clothes and boarded the plane for Alaska on Dec. 26.  He stayed there a week, but he had only been there an hour or so when we both knew deep in our hearts that each other was "the one".  He had told me over and over how terrible his year had been, and how he just wished it would be over so he could start anew.  I kept telling him that there's no way a calendar page can change your life in that way.  But, we kissed good-bye in the airport shortly after midnight on New Year's Day and 2003 was a year of blessing for us.  We were married on July 19.

An hour after we got engaged in Arizona, Feb. 15, 2003

So, now that we live in Washington and are invited to Dave & Kristie's for Thanksgiving, I think of how Dave is really the guy to thank for getting us together way back then.

When I was single, I had only 2 criteria for who I would go out with.  1) they couldn't be related to me (a common thing in our church group) and 2) I had to have a spiritual conversation on the first meeting/visit with them, so that I knew it was a top priority in their life.  Thankfully, my first conversation with Greg was at least 8 hours long that night at Shari's and Denny's, so there were plenty of chances to put him in the "yes" book.  And our hours upon hours on the phone were always full of great spiritual discussion.  After 11 years of marriage, this is still the same.  Love, love, love our life together!  

These pictures of when the Thanksgiving weekend are compliments of Marina.  After Greg and I got engaged, she mailed them to me from Finland.  I'm so thankful she had her camera along and caught the famous moments!

Evening thoughts

This is from Luke's reader and shows why I love reading to my kids.  Since I am not an eloquent nor imaginative thinker or writer, I need to read quality work from those who are.  There is so much beauty in our world, and I am not versed in capturing it's splendor.  But, there are many authors who can, and I am blessed by their words.  I hope my children can grow up to appreciate the beauty of words and can express themselves with them.

This is from the Eclectic Readers (first published in 1836) that we use.  They are just beautiful and have sold millions of copies through the years.  I love being able to use them to teach my children.  Mott Media reprinted them in 1982, and you can even buy them at Walmart (online) these days.

"It is evening.  The sun is setting behind the mountains, and the shadows begin to darken the forests.  The birds have ceased to sing, except as lonely robin or a thrush, that sits upon the top of a tree, and sings a plaintive hymn.

"The farmer has left the field and is going to his happy home.  The bee is silent in the hive.  The buzzing insects are still, and the fowls, who, a little while ago, were filling the air with their notes, are heard no more.  All around us seem to see repose, and the very hills and valleys appear to be sinking into gentle sleep.  We too must now retire to our pillows.

"Before we close our eyes, let us lift up our hearts in gratitude to that Great Being who never sleeps, but watches over us, as the shepherd watches over his flock.  

"Let us ask His forgiveness for our faults and His aid to avoid every sin.  Let us seek His friendship, and ask Him to assist us to be kind and amiable to our brothers and sisters, and companions- to be gentle to every living thing, to obey and love our parents, to respect the aged, and to be kind to the sick and to the poor.

"Above all, let us ask God to fill our hearts with love for Him, to inspire us with a love of everything that is good, and to refrain from everything that is evil.  Let us ask Him to make us love to tell the truth, and to be ashamed to tell a lie.

"Let us ask Him to watch over us in our sleep when darkness is around us, and none but He is awake to keep us from evil."

~Eclectic Second Reader, Lesson XIII

The sound of silence

It's often said that to get kids to listen to you, it's much better to whisper than to yell.  But, in the instances where I would do such a thing, this never comes naturally. But, last week I had an instance that proved to me (and to the child involved), that silence was even better than whispering.

It just so happened on that fair Tuesday morning, that we had finished our breakfast and were buckling down for school time.  We have moved school-ish activities to our larger living room now, and so all involved persons and belongings were getting things ready to start.  For me this means bringing my coffee (now cold, already previously reheated, still no available chance for drinking) with me.  I look forward to this time, because it means cuddling with each kid individually, reading collectively with them all (my favorite part of parenting, hands down!) and enjoying the sunshine through the 5 big windows we are blessed with in that room.

All was going well until...whoosh...a big ball came flying through the air and landed right on top of my coffee cup (set down about 1.2 seconds before the crash).  The abrupt landing of the ball was followed by a rainbow of coffee flying across the couch, my chair, the bookshelf (and a good many books) and a nice, thorough heavy trail through the carpet.

The child who launched the ball was shocked at what happened.  He stood there dumb-founded at his unfortunate luck wondering what his penance might be.  I sat there dumb-founded at my unfortunate luck of no coffee, yet again.  I probably sat there for 30 tick-tocking seconds wondering if I should yell, scream or wring his cute little neck, since he knows far better than to launch balls in the house.  Especially when he was supposed to be getting out his schoolwork and studiously starting on it. 

But, an amazing thing happened in those seconds of silence.  I realized that I didn't regret any of my actions (as usual when I "fweak out").  And the guilty child was punished more by my silence than anything else I could have done.  When I finally decided what to do, I just told him (calmly), "get a cloth and you know what to do."  He did so and then we talked about it all and he apologized for his misdeeds.

We both laughed about it afterwards and agreed that he could not have had better aim in spilling that coffee.  It made a perfect, beautiful rainbow as it was splashing everywhere.  None of this dump over, seep down everywhere, boring type stuff.   His spill had flair!

So, looking back, I think I'll try that approach again if the need arises.  It was way more successful than nagging, whining, guilting or saying words that I'll likely regret.  Have you ever tried silence?

The more sweaters the better

I have this slight addiction to baby sweaters.  They just melt my heart.  I can barely pass them up if I see them in a store.  Yes, my babies are always warm!  

Yesterday, I received a bag of hand-me-downs, and this adorable little sweater was in it.  A handmade sweater.  Oh, my!

I was telling Greg how much I adore baby sweaters as they are just so cute.  And if they're handmade, I melt even further, because of all the time put into them.  Because time equals love.  And if they are made by someone I know, especially for me and my baby, well, I'm a goner.  I actually got tears in my eyes telling him this (as he was silently chuckling to himself that his wife actually would get that sentimental over a sweater!)  

When Luke and our niece Anna were born, a dear old lady at our church named Elna knitted both babies each a sweater with pristine stitching.  All of our boys have worn the yellow one made for Luke, and I ended up with Anna's pink one too, so Elise (and now Celeste will) wear the girl one when she's big enough.  Elna passed away this past year, which makes me even more sentimental about the sweaters.  Elna taught me to knit (very patiently), so that makes it all the more special.  I doubt I'll ever have the patience to knit a sweater, but I sure appreciate those who do.

Here's Celeste wearing a little sweater suit that was mine as a baby.  It's an interesting combo.  Not handmade, but a sweater t-shirt with little sweater shorts to go with.  I guess that was the fashion in the 70s, as I have 2 outfits saved that are the same sweater/short combos.  Or maybe that's what Arctic babies wear in the summer time.  Who knows?!

Book Reviews Fall 2014

Here's the few books I've been reading lately:

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
This is an easy, enjoyable read about midwifery in the 1950s in England.  Lots of good stories about what she faced.  I've read 2 of her other books last spring, and finally got the first one read (I was on the waiting list for it at the library)



















Strong Mothers, Strong Sons by Meg Meeker, MD

Most books I read have very little useful information, and lots of fluff.  This one is completely the opposite.  I have found no fluff in it yet (and I'm almost finished), and everything is relevant and useful and from a (mostly) Godly perspective.   Dave Ramsay had recommended Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters on his radio show once, so I finally got around to getting this one.  She has 3 other books that I have checked out of the library too, but I haven't had a chance to read them yet.  They look excellent though.  (Boys Should be Boys, 10 Habits of Successful Mothers and the Strong Fathers, Strong Daugthers)

 Here's a bit of what it's about:
• the need for mothers to exercise courage and be bolder and more confident about advising and directing their boys
• the crucial role mothers play in expressing love to sons in healthy ways so they learn to respect and appreciate women as they grow up
• the importance of teaching sons about the values of hard work, community service, and a well-developed inner life
• the natural traps mothers of boys often fall into—and how to avoid them 
• the need for a mother to heal her own wounds with the men in her life so she can raise her son without baggage and limitations
• the best ways to survive the moments when the going gets tough and a mom’s natural ways of communicating—talking, analyzing, exploring—only fuel the fire

Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman

This book looks better than it is.  It has good intentions, but isn't anything that most of us don't already know.  I got it because it looked good.  But, like they say, you can't judge a book by it's cover!  There wasn't anything wrong with it, just nothing helpful nor profound, as far as I can find.  Having trouble finishing it, in fact.  I had hoped she'd go into a little more depth other than "give grace and get grace in all you do".

I've also been venturing into Gospel Messages by John Riikonen, a pastor in our church back in the day.  And Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis again.  Also some homeschool books.  It seems like I have plenty to get through these days.  Also I've been pondering more about baptism and end times prophecy in the Bible too.  It seems there's plenty of different views on these subjects, and though they're not essential for salvation, they are important to be firm on, whatever view you may have!  I also read magazines in the bath, so have plenty of them I've gone through this fall too.  So much to read, so little time to read them!

The kids have been enjoying more Boxcar children, as well as the Jonathan Park on audiobook.  Jonathan Park is an Creation based adventure series that is great for boys and girls to learn more about the Biblical worldview and how it differs from the evolution theories.  It explains the differences in a way that the kids can understand and makes sense, all done in story/adventure form.  They listen each afternoon once their other schoolwork is finished for the day.  I'm trying to find more for Elise, as she gets kind of bored with the boys' stuff.  I ordered some classic Pooh on audiobook for her for now, and hopefully will find some more wholesome stuff.

James turns 7

I still picture James as my "little" boy.  He turned 7, so technically hasn't been a little boy for a couple of years now, but my heart hasn't gotten the message.  Maybe it's because he's so sweet and innocent still.  Maybe it's because he's so cuddly.  Maybe just because his Mom just isn't ready for him to be a big boy yet.  Who knows.

But, no matter what we think or feel, the fact of the matter is that he had a birthday, and on it he turned 7.  Seven.  A big adventurous seven.  He wanted a Chuggington cake, so that's what we came up with. (Grandma Somero helped out by buying him the train for his birthday).   He loves just playing all day long.  He buzzes through his schoolwork so he can have more time to play.  He plays cars and trains and Legos and Hello Kitty's and whatever he wants.  He is our acrobat and likes to climb the door frames like SpiderMan or be flipping, jumping, carrying someone around all of the time.

His heart is extremely tender and he is also very intense.  He is the first to play pranks, but also the first to get hurt if someone gets him back.  He likes to egg on bigger boys by pestering or wrestling, but then also the first to get hurt.  He is always taking good care of baby Celeste, and is the first to watch out for her safety and well being.  He sits by her in our van as we're driving and keeps us entertained as he's keeping her entertained.  He takes this responsibility very seriously and loves his little sister so very much.  

He also prayed for her specifically, so feels partly responsible (if that's the word) for who she is.  He wanted a blue eyed baby sister, so that the number of girls and the number of blue eyed kids in our family would even out better.  He is the only other child with blue eyes, so wanted another.  And he got her!  And he is quite thrilled about it, even now 9 months later.  He loves to come and get her and take her to play with them.

He also loves food.  Pretty much any kind, any day, any time.  He is a great compliment to any cook, and makes me feel better about what I make, because he always loves it, and always says so too.  He is very open with his compliments, but this means also his complaints.  We're working on that!

We just love this toothless grinning boy James Wallace so much!  He is such a unique addition to our family and keeps us on our toes each day.   He recently got glasses for reading and chose turquoise, which is his favorite color.  He looks so handsome in them, if I do say so myself.

James (7) decided that he doesn't want to be a zoo worker after he found out that he'd actually have to go in the pens. "What if I'm in the lion pen mowing the lawn and the lion wants to wrestle with me?" So, he wants to be an acrobat instead. "Then you can hear about all my tricks on the news, Mom!" Whatever he does, I know God has a very unique, amazing vocation planned for his life! He absolutely loves watching videos of Nik Wallenda walking the tightrope over Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. Be still, my heart!

Everything plus the kitchen sink

Philippians 4:19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

There are times when God is watching out for you in so many ways that you can't even imagine.  Sometimes He makes His plans known, but often He does not.  Sometimes we chalk things up to "coincidence", in yet we are not seeing the workings of our ever present Father in heaven who knows and plans for our needs.  Sometimes He answers our prayers that we have not even prayed, and then when we see the answer, we can only give Him the credit.  This is what happened the other day around here.

I happened to be once again complaining about dishes.  How I can't seem to teach the kids to do them properly.  How I can't stay on top of them because there's so many.  And then when I get finished the ones I have, I find more.  On a random counter.  In a bathroom.  Under the table.  In the car.  All those places where *people* (unnamed, of course) are not supposed to be eating.  I try to remain ever vigilant about making kids eat at the table, but that doesn't always happen either.  Of all the household chores, dishes seemed to remain the thorn in my shoe that festered in my feet, but never resolved itself.

I will note in the past that random people (husband, mom, m-i-l) have suggested getting a larger sink, but I declined the offer.  For some reason I thought that a bigger sink would make me neglect the dishes even more than I do now.  If a small sink accumulates 25 dishes, wouldn't a big one accumulate 50?  Or more?  Not what I wanted (or needed) in my day.  We had planned to remodel our kitchen this past summer, and were going to try the bigger sink when we did that.  But, those plans fell by the wayside, being a busy "baby year".  They got put back in the "someday" file for now.  

Now, back to the present.  The bigger sink option was brought up again.  I shopped online a bit.  I talked to my experienced mom who suggested a sink that was bigger on one side and smaller on the other, so I can soak big things but still have a rinsing sink too.  I told my dear patient husband that I was ready for a bigger sink should we come across a good deal somewhere.  I really wanted one of those shiny farmhouse (apron front) sinks, but our present cabinets wouldn't fit one very well.  Oh, well.  Lots of money saved.

That very day, Greg said, "I think Jeremy (our neighbor) is remodeling his kitchen and I think I saw a sink in their yard.  Let's check when we drive by next time."  When we drove by, yes, they did have a kitchen sink in their yard.  But, we were in a hurry so thought that we'd stop next time around.  When we were coming home that evening at about 10:30 p.m., we noticed that Jeremy's kids were out playing in the yard and that the front door was open.  Greg stopped, got out and checked out the sink quickly and then asked the kids if their dad was home.  He was and said that we could have the sink.  Yay!  We didn't really look too closely, because it was bigger than ours, and it was free.  That was enough for now!

When we got home, we found out that it was one of the lopsided ones which we wanted, and it was wayyy bigger than our old one.  And it had an awesome faucet on it too.  Our old sink, was both bowls 13" square and only a meager 5" deep.  When Greg was taking it out, he found a sticker on the bottom that said, "For RV Use Only".  Yeah....The new sink is 8" deep, 8"x12", and 10" deep and  17"x18".  Massive amounts of room, and a rinsing sink too.  It's also a brown color, which won't be nearly as fussy to keep clean as the gleaming white farmhouse would be.  I priced out a similar sink and found that it is worth about $325, and the faucet about $200.  So, we saved ourselves a monumental $525.  Score!  (It turns out that Jeremy had bought it at a Habitat for Humanity store, so he didn't pay full price either.  They weren't able to use it themselves and had bought another.)

So, sometimes God answers prayers that we haven't even asked.  Because He just knows what we need and when the right time is too.  In the big things, but also in the little things, we can trust that He is faithful.  Sometimes this isn't material things, but sometimes it is.  Sometimes He looks out for us in every single way, including the kitchen sink.

I also was the recipient of an anti-fatigue mat from Greg this week also.  While his coworkers have been making cool stuff like syrup spoons for Dutch Bros., Greg has been making molds for these mats.  They are rather intense to machine, as they have about 1000 rubber holes/pegs on the back which is what bears and evens out the weight.  This one has a basket weave finish on top, which also rather time consuming to program and machine.  I have been wanting one for a while, and an employee brought Greg a factory second that I could have.  It feels amazing after standing on the floor or the cheapy ones I had from Big Lots.  No comparison!  It is made of rubber, so you think it will not be comfortable, but it is.  And it matches my new sink.  I guess brown is the new black.  At least in this house!  Here's their website: Smart Cells USA  They have an engineer who used to work at Nike who designs these mats.  They also make shoe insoles and various other mats.  And they're made up in Chehalis, just a ways from here.

Daily Schedule Fall 2014

What does our day look like?  I know I've posted this long ago, and each year it changes slightly as the dynamics of our family change, but it also stays pretty much the same.  This is how I function.  I feel like so many things are out of my control these days anyhow, so the least I can do is to *try* to at least do the same things each day to keep up with all the changes that are out of my control.  5 kids is definitely more dynamics than 4 and so forth.  Schooling 3 kids this year adds a new dimension that schooling 2 children did not.  I still feel that homeschooling gives me a much better control over my day though, as I can function on our family's schedule rather than someone elses.  Nap time would otherwise get disrupted by bus time or pick up kids from practice time.   Besides, my 2 biggest helpers (now 3) would be the ones gone to school. I found out when the 2 big boys went to aunt Becky's this fall for a week how much work having only the 3 little kids was.  A LOT!  This way I can be home to start meals whenever I remember rather than cramming much more into the day and resorting to takeout because I'm driving by it.  5 kids also takes multitasking to a new level, but it seems that we're finding our groove!  (Subject to change tomorrow, I'm sure!)

7:30 Kids get up and start on their chores (get dressed, make beds, tidy the room assigned to them that month, start schoolwork).

8:30 I get up with baby (I can't get up before this, as she nurses most of the morning prior.  I use this time to plan my day, pray and sort my thoughts since I'm not sleeping.  One or more of the kids will often come and cuddle too).

9:00 Start breakfast (eggs, warm cereal or kefir smoothies on weekdays, pancakes on Saturday, hard boiled eggs/toast on Sunday)  We listen to audio Bible during this time.  The same thing for 2 weeks and then move ahead (to drill it into our heads).  I always do a real breakfast, although I know it takes longer.  We all learn/cooperate better with real food in our tummies and then don't have to worry about lunch for a while.

10:00 Start schoolwork (Luke, James and Elise.  Isaac and Celeste play quietly on floor nearby, or Elise and Isaac help me with chores if needed).

11:30 Hopefully be done our lessons.  Reading, writing and arithmetic is what we do each morning.  Celeste goes for a nap at 11:00, which gives me more time to focus on school needs and reading to the littles.  There's also some playing in here if kids get done with chores/school.

12:30 Start lunch and eat.  Ideally this is just supper leftovers heated up, but often is not.  Quick meat/cheese/veggie wraps or pb&j on rice cakes or gluten free pasta with meat/veggies, hummus and veggies/chips has been the meal lately.  I read a devotion to them and write in my daily homeschool planner.

1:00 After lunch is cleaned up we go for a walk up the road.  Get our outside/exercise time.

2:00 Quiet time/nap time.  The older kids read learning books (science, history, social studies) or listen to audio books.  The littles nap (hopefully).  The kids will usually play quietly after their reading is finished during this time too if others are still sleeping.

4:00 Fruit time (eat some fruit for a snack).  Quick "buzzy" cleanup before Dad gets home from work.  Kids play outside some more if necessary.  Start supper if hasn't been started yet.

5:00 Dad gets home, have supper shortly after.

6:00 Kids relax and read and play/visit with Daddy.  Mom usually takes a bath.

7:00 Story time (read aloud), Bible Story, start getting ready for bed (snack, brush teeth, prayers, sing songs).

8:00 Daddy goes to bed (because he gets up at 4:30), so kids need to too.  Kids can visit quietly until 9 in bed, as they all sleep in the same room.  Celeste is ready for bed now too, so the house is quiet while I nurse her before bed.  This takes a couple hours at best.  I usually read during this time since it's quite lengthy.

11:00 I finish my evening rounds (make Greg a lunch and snack, put baby in her bed, lock doors and make sure kids are all covered up and tucked in.  Go to bed and read my Bible chapters once in bed.

Our weekly chores are:

Monday - tidy everything in the main rooms from the weekend

Tuesday - floors- vacuum, sweep and mop if necessary (always necessary!)

Wednesday - bathrooms and bill pay, grocery day if needed

Thursday - laundry - usually 3 big loads (one kids, one Greg and mine, one towels/sheets/dish towels/napkins)  If I am hanging them to dry, I spread them over Thur/Fri/Sat.  I have a huge washer and we re-wear our clothes and towels for a few days which is how I can keep laundry to a minimum.  I usually do 2 batches of cloth diapers on 2 different days also.  Now with 5 kids I sometimes need 2 batches for them, but on quiet home days (where no one is getting muddy) I can get by with 1.  Love my huge washer!  Fold and put away in evening during story time.

Friday - extra projects/town day/bedrooms tidy/catch up day

This seems to keep the majority of the house clean to my standards.  I started the weekly schedule back when Luke was an only child and we have altered it slightly, but it works pretty well.  

What does your schedule look like?  Any improvements you can see to mine?  You'll note "do dishes" is not on there anywhere.  I'm still working on that one!  Should I do them after every meal?  Once per day?  What do you do?  How long does it take?

Elise turns 5

I'm a little late, since Elise's birthday was in April, but here we go.

This young lady has really turned into our little princess, despite our concerted attempts to keep her from being one!  She loves all things frilly, sprarkly, ruffly and pink.  She loves necklaces, bracelets, purses and sparkly shoes, of course.  This is kind of hard for her, considering her brothers don't care for such things and think she's kind of ridiculous (although I think a couple of them might be slightly jealous that she can acquire such luxuries).

For her birthday she wanted a Hello Kitty's garden cake.  I found some little Hello Kitty accessories at Target and thus the cake transpired.  She mastered her new scooter right away, and has also learned to ride a 2 wheeled bike with only a couple lessons from Luke. 

This fall she has been learning to read, and also loves to play the piano pretty much every day.  I need to keep on the lessons for her (which I always forget to do, because somehow when you have 5 kids, piano lessons just never are top priority).  She tries to plunk out her own songs, so I think with a couple lessons, she could actually do something with it.    We also got a kids kitchen lately, so she's been busy playing restaurant with the boys.  She loves drawing and coloring and is always eager to help pick things from the garden or the berry patch.  Many times this summer we couldn't find her and she would be out in the blueberry patch just picking away.  I also found a little glass tea set (just like the Holly Hobbie one I had as a child) for her, so her and Isaac like to have tea parties with oodles of water and spills.

She also just adores her Daddy.  She's always cuddling with him and telling him stories.  She dotes on little Celeste and is very aware of Celeste's needs and lets me know how baby is doing.  It's so neat to see how different boys and girls are from each other.  You can tell she's totally soaking up all the mothering information so that she'll have it for when she is a mom someday.  So awesome, but makes me be more aware that I'm setting a good example for her!

We are so blessed to have our Elise Meredith in our family!

Your Liver- the good, the bad, and the inevitable!

Now comes the post I had promised about the liver.  Your liver.  My liver.  Whoever's liver!

I'm going to now cut and paste from a few websites that show deeper how the liver works and why keeping it healthy is so important.  I'm certainly no expert on the subject, but hopefully this will give enough information to delve deeper for yourself if need be.  Any deep issues should be addressed by a Naturopathic Doctor or Functional Medicine Doctor.  There are dozens of ways to address liver health, and they each work in a somewhat different way.  The main thing you want is to get your liver (your big huge blood filter) to be working properly.  Red letters indicate links for more information or links where to buy products (in case you didn't know!)

What does your liver do?

The liver performs hundreds of important tasks. Here are just a few:

• Toxin Removal: During digestion, blood from the stomach and bowel filters up through the liver. This is where toxins, drugs, alcohol, bacteria, and other poisons are cleared to the best of your liver’s ability.
• Fat Digestion: Bile is formed in the liver then stored in the gallbladder to break down fat molecules. This also helps you digest fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Your liver is key to burning fat and maintaining a healthy weight.
• Carbohydrate Metabolism: The liver helps insure steady energy levels by producing and storing glucose to regulate blood sugar. Liver problems can be the hidden cause of blood sugar issues and fatigue.

• Blood Regulation: The liver creates proteins for blood clotting and blood volume. Because every cell in your body is nourished by blood passing through the liver, a disabled liver clogged by stones makes your whole body a toxic breeding ground for disease.
• Hormone Balance: Estrogen, testosterone, and insulin are just a few of the hormones the liver helps regulate. Poor liver function and hormone imbalance often go hand in hand.

- See more at: (source)

*This is a good analogy of what the liver does:

Have you ever changed the oil in a car? What does the oil look like when you drain it out? It is black and gritty. When you put fresh new oil into the engine, what does it look like? It is clear, smooth (no grit) and amber colored. As this new oil circulates through the engine, it picks up carbon and dirt. The oil is keeping the engine toxin-free so that it can run at optimum capacity. If we allowed the same oil to continue to circulate through the engine for a long time—say years—what would eventually happen to the engine? It would lock-up. It would cease to function. Everyone who deals with machinery knows the importance of changing the oil in an engine. It is the same with the human body. The bile is the oil. It is responsible for carrying out waste. However, if we never change the oil, and the old oil continues to circulate over and over again, eventually that oil will lock up the engine. In this case, the engine is the gall bladder that becomes blocked with debris—the debris is the old bile or oil that is so nasty by now, that the gall bladder is no longer able to function properly. What is the answer? Change the oil. The new oil (bile) will clean out all the old bile deposits and the gall bladder will be restored to health. - See more at: (source)

*A bit on the gall bladder and how it relates to your liver.

Nasty Toxins Are Filtered From The Blood, Now What?

Once the liver has filtered these toxins and waste from the bloodstream, it is necessary to find a pathway out of the body for this “garbage.” The liver has no access to the urinary tract, so it cannot send its trash away through that system. However, the liver does make bile, and this bile goes to the gall bladder. The gall bladder stores the bile and then releases it at the appropriate time into the duodenum (first part of the small intestine where most digestion takes place). If the bile can travel the length of the intestinal tract and be expelled from the body in a bowel movement, then the liver will have been successful in ridding the body of those toxins and wastes that were placed in the bile.- See more at: (source)

*This is a fascinating article on Why Beans DON'T Cause Gas. "Beans are a bile magnet. Bile and beans have an incredible affinity or liking for one another. They make a sort of chemical bond that is almost impossible to break. Most of the other foods with which bile binds in the intestinal tract are foods with which the bile makes temporary bonds. But when the bean enters, the bile leaves all other foods behind and rushes to make a permanent bond with the bean.

Now you must know something else about bile. This digestive fluid that the liver makes is released into the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). It travels to the last part of the small intestine, doing its digestive work, and when it reaches the terminal part of the ileum, bile is reabsorbed and returns to the liver! How much bile returns? Ninety to ninety-five percent!"  Read the article to see how to get this nasty bile out of your system so that your body can make new, fresh bile.

- See more at: http://www.karenhurd.com/pages/healthtopics/specifichealthconcerns/ht-shc-whybeansdontcausegas.html#sthash.iock96pR.dpuf

*Here's one last interesting article on how a clogged/congested/sluggish liver relates to eyesight.  Yes, eyesight.  Most of us would never connect the two, but it makes a whole lot of sense~

"Blurry vision, Myopia (nearsightedness), floaters in the eyes, dry eyes, or color blindness have been linked to liver blood deficiencies. Liver blood deficiency can be caused by scarring of the liver or anemia. Both of these problems prevent the flow of blood through the liver. Blood from the liver is believed to moisten and nourish the eyes. Bloodshot eyes, pain, and burning sensations in the eyes are linked to liver heat. Liver heat is usually associated with an inflammation in the liver.Your eyeball turning upwards or moving involuntarily has been linked with internal liver wind. Internal liver wind is normally associated with extreme heat in the liver. This can be caused by extreme high blood pressure or emotional stress. Strange as it may seem, your liver and your eyes really are linked in many ways. The head bone’s connected to the neck bone!" (more information/source)

Now here is a few bits and pieces about common complaints in relation to your liver~

*How the liver works in relation to hormones.  Although hormones aren't produced in the liver, the liver regulates their release.  Mainly sex hormones and insulin, but others as well.  This next one is lengthy but also worth the read.  Especially when so many people are experiencing various hormone imbalances these days.

 More information/source:  http://drritamarie.com/blog/2013/06/04/the-role-of-liver-detoxification-in-hormonal-imbalance/

The liver and allergies

"As histamine is also asasociated with allergy, allergy itself indictes a sluggish liver. I don't believe in allergy. I believe allergy is merely a symptom of an underlying cause, notably a sluggish liver. A good naturopath should always treat the causes. Complete avoidance of wheat and milk may alleviate symptoms but is it also important to improve the breakdown of histamine in the body. I believe that people should be able to handle normal amounts of the top 8 allergens (the most common food allergies are to dairy, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) without developing symptoms of allergy. It is not necessary for total elimination of suspect allergens. It should be enough to reduce and rotate whilst treating the “cause” of the allergy which is not wheat etc. per se, however excess histamine resulting from poor methylation by the liver. As naturopaths we should always treat the cause. In TCM also, there is also no such thing as allergy. Allergy symptoms such as itching and rash, are seen are a Liver pathology." 

(source)

*What a fatty liver is and what to do about it.

"Around one in five persons in the general population, in the USA and Australia has a fatty liver. Fatty liver is usually associated with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance and is more common in people with type 2 diabetes."  (source for more information)

This link is just a good all around one for liver health.  Lots of good information.

http://www.liverdoctor.com/liver-check

So now that you know all of this, what can you do?  There are many heavy duty cleanses out there that work really well, but for most of us, a gentler, calmer method works better.  Slowly add in more good things, and slowly flush out more bad things.  To start, here's some ideas to incorporate into your diet: 19 foods that naturally cleanse your liver. Finding out how toxic you are is also a good thing to figure out.  Here's a quick toxins quiz. A digestive bitter will help with digestion if yours is poor.  Urban Moonshine and Mountain Meadow Herbs Liver Glow (or Liver Glow II if pregnant or nursing) have some good ones for starters.  

Wikihow Liver Cleanse has a great article on daily things you can add in to gently cleanse your liver.  Easy things like adding lemon to your water, adding more garlic, and the like.  To quote from their website,  "The liver is the second largest organ in the human body and one of the most important, because it's responsible for filtering harmful toxins out of the bloodstream. There are medical programs to detoxify the liver, but there are also several natural, simple lifestyle changes you can make that will result in a clean, healthy liver."

If your liver is congested/sluggish, this can only go on for so long.  Permanent damage is inevidible if it's constantly worn down and never renewed.  Here's a link to what liver disease is, symptoms and what can be done about it (if it's not past the point of no return).  http://www.healthy-holistic-living.com/knowing-symptoms-of-liver-disease-save-life.html

Interestingly, cardamom is a great spice to be using too.  You can add it to your tea or coffee, to change it from acid to alkaline.  Either sprinkle some in with the grounds while brewing, or add a peeled pod to your coffee cup.  "Cardamom is also alkaline, making it a natural antidote to acid. As a member of the ginger family, cardamom has been used to make heavy and acidic foods easier to digest for more than 5,000 years. Throughout the Middle East even coffee is brewed with ground cardamom seeds, reducing its acid and neutralizing the stimulating effects of caffeine (plus, it tastes good!). Cardamom is also one of the richest sources of the phytochemical cineole, a potent antiseptic for bad breath, gum disease, sore throats, and respiratory conditions." (source)

There you have it.  Liver Health 101 from my perspective.

I also read "Toxic Relief" by Dr. Don Colbert who promotes juicing and fasting as a way to detoxify.  He also goes into the spiritual aspect of fasting, which I haven't really looked into much before.  I'm going to ponder that subject for a while as it seems fascinating.  I am reading "Healing Fatty Liver Disease" and "Fatty Liver Disease, You Can Reverse It" also.  Can you tell I just ordered whatever liver subject books the library had?  Yep.  That's what I did.

Visit with the Herbalist

As I mentioned in prior posts, when we were in Canada we went to see an Master Herbalist who my parents see.  What I like about her is that she looks at our blood under the microscope (Live Blood Analysis) so her results are pretty objective.  She's rather distracted and likes to visit, so I had to use my quizzical nature to my advantage and ask lots of questions to keep her on track!  Greg, myself, James and Elise saw her, as we seem to be the ones needing some health direction.  Although I feel we've been on the right track to healing, sometimes I wonder if we really are.  So, going to her is reasonably priced and gave me lots of direction as well as an overwhelming amount of information to sort through and process.  We didn't use any of her recommended supplements, as I needed to research more what herbs/vitamins were safe during nursing (most of all), but also wanted to conglomerate so that I'm not buying dozens of bottles of things when 1 or 2 would cover most of the basics.

So, what she found was that Greg and I both needed some major liver cleansing.  Mine is full of ammonia (a byproduct of having yucky parasites in my system) and Greg's was just overloaded altogether (she didn't say why, but I'm assuming workplace toxins mostly, possibly poor diet in single days, former smoker, etc.)  She wanted me to go on a parasite, candida yeast and liver cleanse, and Greg to cleanse his liver and his blood.  In the meantime, we are both showing up with random foods in our blood due to poor digestion (sensitivities).  (him just dairy and eggs, me- eggs, dairy, gluten and fish/shellfish)

James' liver actually looked quite good, which was really good to hear.  We've been working on his for probably 5 years now (off and on), although he still had gluten and dairy in his blood.  He also showed formaldehyde in his blood from stuffed animals (she just recommended washing them multiple times to reduce exposure).  He also showed low immunity, for which she recommended echinacea and probiotics.  Elise showed up highly sensitive to gluten.  As in almost-Celiac level.  And that she had low iron (solved by 1/4 c. raisins each day for a couple weeks).  

When we got home, I started with the diet.  Eliminating all those things seemed impossible, but somehow we're managing most of the time.  Back to meat and vegetables.  A few nuts and grains too. Gluten-free products in limited amounts (these are mostly nutrient poor, so I'm not too keen on just replacing bad grains with "good" ones, but they have helped fill in the gaps).  We can all do goat milk, but to avoid all other dairy.   I have been allowing milk kefir too, as it's cultured and we can really use the probiotics offered.

Then I planned on how to do the cleansing.  Since I'm a nursing mama, all the cleanses have to be safe for baby too.  So slow and steady is better than fast and intense.  When I asked the Herbalist about cleansing, she said that breast milk is the 5th way of elimination for a body, so is only used when the other 4 channels of elimination (skin, bowels, urinary tract and lymph system) are clogged and/or not working.  If the other systems are working well, then detoxing while nursing is no problem.   

One of the herbal tinctures I already had James on is great for livers.  It's technically a digestive bitter, but offers liver assistance overall.  I bought the kind that is "Mama friendly" (so it would be gentler for kids), and so I just started the rest of us taking it too.  It's called Liver Glow II from Mountain Meadow Herbs.  It's kind of spicy but a good flavor too, so the kids and I each take some before each meal.  It's easier than pills with kids too, as it's fun to drip the drops into their mouths.  This promotes more stomach juices so that your food digests better overall and you get more nutrients from your food.  It also has milk thistle in it which is a great liver protector.

I'm also taking Mountain Meadow Herbs Olive Leaf Extract which is great for Candida yeast and parasites and is also Mommy friendly.  You time this with the moon cycles to get the best remedies for parasite killing.  For Greg she wanted him also on Red Clover or Burdock Root to cleanse his blood.  I bought some pills for him since he takes them to work and it's easier for him to do pills.  I also have him on Milk Thistle/Dandelion/Turmeric for his liver.  We are also trying to do fresh juices more often (at least twice each week, although more would be even better) and eating more cabbage, beets, other cruciferous vegetables too.  We also buy Green Goodness for the days when I can't make fresh juice.  It's available at most grocery stores.  I have been drinking Teecino's Dandelion Tea each day too.  It's full of stuff to cleanse your liver and tastes almost like coffee. It has carob and chicory in it which are great for the liver too.  Another thing to add is this, if you're bowels aren't working up to par, it doesn't do much good to cleanse your liver.  You will just reabsorb the toxins before they can be eliminated.  So, adding in some colon cleansing foods/supplements can really help get you cleaned out.  Psyllium husks are an easy thing to add in as fiber to help move things along.  Apple pectin is another (or just eat 2 apples each day).  Make sure you're drinking enough water too, as these are both fibers that absorb water in your colon and help eliminate toxins.  Not enough water will cause you more problems than you started with!

I'm going to write my next post all about the liver, as it gets rather lengthy.  I just keep on a-learning all kinds of new information.  The geek in me is fascinated by our body and how it works.  And how God made so many wonderful things to heal it!

CSA experience

This summer we finally signed up for local, organic produce from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the summer.  I have been hesitant to do so in the past, mostly due to upfront costs.  But, when I actually calculated what we normally spend at the grocery store for produce, it worked out cheaper per week for fresh-off-the-farm produce.

The downside of this was (if you can even call it that) was the randomness of the produce received.  I'm totally into trying new things, but having new vegetables each week, some of which I could not figure out how to eat together proved rather challenging for my already full brain.  One night we had taco salad with a side of roasted zucchini (because there was far too much zucchini to just add to the salad).  Another night we had chicken curry (full of veggies) with a side of Greek salad.  Often we did just meal salads and threw whatever we had onto it (my favorite, easiest option).  We had a ton of tomatoes, which I eventually just ended up dicing and freezing these last few weeks.  The only weird vegetable we got was kohlrabi, which is kind of like a cabbage/jicama mixed.  I shredded it for coleslaw one time and roasted it another.  Just kind of a plain old vegetable!  We got plenty of peppers which made me happy.  The variety we got looked like a hot pepper (red Anaheim or something, I'm no pepper expert) but tasted like a really good red bell pepper.  We ate those almost every day.  We should be full of vitamin C!

We always got lots of vegetables with at least 1 fruit.   Then I would just stop at a local produce stand and buy a bit more local fruit that was in season at the time and called it good.  The kids have fruit for a snack every day when quiet time is over (4 p.m.), so have taken to calling it "Fruit Time".  Must have fruit for fruit time!

Our garden did well, but in keeping with the reality of what I can actually accomplish on a having-a-baby year, we kept it pretty small.  Just enough to supplement our other produce, not enough to can or freeze though.  We plan on expanding our small space (it's maybe 12' square now) this fall, so that it'll be ready for next summer.  We're still doing the Back to Eden style, so we have to get our compost (leftover scraps and chicken manure) down and then cover with wood chips for the winter and in the spring it should be good to go.

All in all, a good experience which we plan to repeat next summer.  If you would like to find a CSA near you, they can be found at http://www.localharvest.org