Broccoli-Cheddar Chowder

This is one of those fast ones that you can throw together at the last minute.  Super good and our family gobbles it up.  I think it came from a Better Homes magazine years ago, but can't recall.  It's also in the Kurtti Family Cookbook for those of you who have that.  You can use homemade stock instead of the water/bouillon if you like.  Salt as desired.

Broccoli-Cheddar Chowder

1 cup water

1 medium carrot, diced (I always add a few more)

1 (10oz.) pkg. frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix

3 c. milk (alternate fine)

1/4 c. flour

1/2 t. chicken bouillon

1/4 t. pepper

3 c. shredded cheddar cheese or mixture of kinds

In a pan (Dutch oven), bring water to boiling and add carrots and frozen vegetables.  Cook covered for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are tender.  Do not drain.  In a small bowl, stir 1 c. milk into the flour and add to the vegetables in pan.  Add remaining milk, bouillon and pepper (and salt if needed).  Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly.  Cook 1 more minute.  Add cheese, stirring until melted.  Serve with homemade bread.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

This a super easy, but fabulous soup.  Lots of flavor and even better with some crusty, homemade bread.  I combined a recipe from our Kurtti family cookbook  (Hungarian Mushroom Soup by Rich and Julie Schaaff) and one that I found in the book Almost Amish by Nancy Sleeth.  This soup works really well in a Dutch oven so that you can brown the mushrooms really good, which adds to the flavor.  Dairy free milks and alternate thickeners work fine too.  This is the only mushroom recipe my picky kids will eat because I chop the mushrooms really small.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

2 lbs. mushrooms, cleaned and sliced, or chopped finely in a food processor
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 T. butter
2 T. paprika (the smoked kind is better if you can find it, WinCo has a spicy one in their bulk section that is great too- just use a pinch if using the spicy!)
1 tsp. dill
1 T. balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
2 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 c. milk with 2 T. flour whisked in
sour cream to garnish

Saute mushrooms and onions together with butter in your Dutch oven until browned.  This will take a while to get all the moisture out of the mushrooms.  Add paprika, dill and vinegar and stir on med/high heat.  Add broth and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add milk/flour mixture and simmer just until thickened.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream if you like and your sourdough crusty bread.

Christmas letter 2014

Our day of joy is here again, With love and peace and song;

Come, let us join th'angelic strain With voices clear and strong.

Glory to our God, we sing, Glory to our Lord and King;

Peace, good will with all abide This holy Christmas tide. A.L. Skoog, 1892

Once again I write to you, wishing you glad tidings of great joy, that our Savior has come to this sin darkened world. In this ever changing world we live in, it seems that nothing is for certain. What comfort we have that Jesus doesn't change, even if mankind would like to change, eliminate, silence and pervert His teachings and truths.

This past year we've been up to a whole lot of busyness. The we-have-5-kids-now kind of busyness, not the extracurricular style of busyness. Which means we stay home most of the time, and have much more chaos and disarray than we've ever experienced before. This also means more funny toddler sayings, more cuddles and singing before naps, more dishes and laundry, and more time together.

Baby Celeste Marjorie was born on Valentine's Day, and she's been our little Miss Sunshine each day. The kids love to dote on her, and she's finally getting old enough they can actually play with her. As I'm writing this, they are taking her on a trip (with all their dolls and stuffed animals) and are staying overnight at a motel. Her middle name is my Grandma Staudinger's name, for those who don't know.

Luke (9) likes building things, fixing things, inventing things and creating things. He's full of projects and ideas, and loves his Legos. He reads all sorts of books, but especially likes mysteries and comic books.

James (7) loves to make people laugh. He's into zebras and the color turquoise and climbing and jumping around. He enjoys drawing and learning about animals. He's a Lego lover too.

Elise is now 5 and started kindergarten at home this fall. She is learning to write her letters and slowly learning to read as well. She loves all things sparkly, pink, girly and princess-y. She's quite thrilled with her baby sister and is waiting patiently until Celeste can play with her.

Isaac is our super cute 3 year old. He is full of randomness and keeps us laughing. His latest antic is to fake a cough in hopes that he doesn't have to help unload the dishwasher. It doesn't work, but he still tries it every time just in case it will. “I have a toff (cough), hack, hack” in a very sick sounding voice. He recently told Luke, “We can share this toy. You bought it and I will play with it.” He thought that was a totally fair trade.

We did make it up to Canada this summer, but ended up having at least one of us sick the whole trip. We even ended up coming home early so that Greg could rest before having to go back to work. Traveling with 5 kids isn't exactly “fun”, but we enjoyed seeing friends and family again.

Love & God's Peace, Rachel & Greg, Luke, James, Elise, Isaac& Celeste

Chicken Coconut Curry Soup

This is one of those fabulous recipes that once you have it, you just have to keep making it.  And if you made it for company, they'll be asking for the recipe for sure.  I got it from my friend Donna who got it from her sister-in-law Brenda who got it from....I've passed it on to many people and today am passing it on to you.  Even if you haven't experienced curry before, or haven't liked it in the past, you will love this.

As with all of my soups, I always double the vegetables.  Lots and lots of carrots.  I also grate them rather than chopping into matchsticks just because it's faster.  This one is gluten-free and dairy free and is good with quinoa instead of the rice too.  Use canned chicken if you want.  Use uncooked rice if you want, just simmer a bit longer.  It's all okay.  It'll be good no matter what.  Well, almost no matter what.  Too much curry paste can ruin it.  Or if you buy another brand and it's way spicier than the usual, that can cause a spice dilemma as well.  So, add a dab, stir and taste.  Repeat.

Chicken Coconut Curry Soup

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped – except for a few matchsticks for garnish

1/2 onion,  chopped finely

1 red bell pepper, chopped finely – except for a few thinly sliced pieces for garnish

1 cup cooked chicken meat, chopped

1 cup cooked rice

2 tablespoons red curry paste (if you like it less spicy, just use 1 tablespoon)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

13.5 oz can Asian coconut milk or cream (unsweetened)

21 oz chicken broth (roughly 1.5 cans of Swansons brand)

Optional:  2 tablespoons fish sauce and a few sprigs of cilantro

Note:  Reserve some of the coconut milk, carrots, and red bell pepper (and cilantro) for optional garnish.

Directions:

In a medium  sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium heat and cook chopped onions, carrots, and red bell pepper for approximately 5 minutes.  Add curry paste, brown sugar, chicken, rice, and fish sauce stirring and sauteing everything until curry paste is completely incorporated (approx. 2-3 minutes).  Pour chicken broth and coconut milk into the pan and give it a good stir for a half minute.  Reduce heat to medium and allow the soup to cook for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with a spoonful of coconut milk added on top with a few matchstick carrots and a slice of red bell pepper for garnish. Enjoy!

Full recipe: http://savorysweetlife.com/2010/01/chicken-coconut-curry-soup/

Christmas traditions and what happened to Santa Claus

As a new parent, you wonder what traditions to start with your family, and which ones to ingnore.  We had some trial and error choices, but also some good ones that we've adapted over the years.  Holiday traditions seem to be one where I still feel kind of lost.  Should we try to do traditional things (whatever they may be), or should we make up our own traditions or should we just wing it each year? I think we do more of the last one, but I try to have some things traditional so we have some memories of doing *something* special.

I was just talking with a friend, and she mentioned that even if you only do some things once or twice in a child's life, they can still view it as a tradition if they felt it impacted them that much.  Which makes it easier on the parents.  You don't have to do it all!

With Christmas coming, I still don't have our traditions figured out.  And that's okay.  I guess (trying to convince myself here.)  As our home and family dynamics change, so will our traditions.  The main thing being focused on celebrating our Lord's birth, however that may be.  Greg isn't attached to any traditions, so it's more me who wants things *memorable* and the same year after year.

When we have no immediate family nearby (my sister who lives the closest is either committed to her in-laws or her husband has been crab fishing from Thanksgiving-February or they've only been up to doing something with their immediate family), it leaves us in a quandary.  No matter what we do, it doesn't seem right to me.  We've tried joining other families and that just felt awkward.  We've tried staying home and that felt empty.  We actually spent the first many years of our marriage travelling to our family, just to be a part of something bigger.  Now that we have 5 kids, we can't be just jetting off to Canada or Arizona or Florida as we had in the past, so we'll have to figure this stuff out.

Last year was our first year of just staying home (I was 7 months pregnant with Celeste and she had been breech and finally turned the right way on Christmas Eve night, after a Chiropractic adjustment), so I wasn't up to travelling anywhere.  It ended up being just like any other day, and that was rather disappointing.  I know my little family here is enough, but how do I make it special, if that's how it's going to be?

Our church also doesn't have a service on Christmas (unless it's on a Sunday), which also makes me feel rather empty.  Isn't that the most important thing about Christmas?  Just because it hasn't been done in the past, doesn't mean it isn't a good thing to start doing!  I think we'll make sure to get to a service this year, even if it means driving a ways.

One tradition we tried, but nixed this past year was the Santa thing.  We never really totally bought into it too much, but did have stockings for the kids and filled them for Christmas morning.  We open our gifts Christmas Eve, so it was a fun thing to do.  Until the kids started spending more and more time each year wondering about this Santa.  They knew that Santa isn't real, he's just a guy dressed up, but how did their stockings get full?  And how did he know to put almost the same thing in them each year?  And teaching the littler kids about it...how mysterious.  They would spend hours pondering these things, even though I usually minimized it and tried to redirect their conversation.  This went on for a few years, but last year at lunch one day I had had enough.  The whole reason for Christmas is to celebrate Jesus' birth, and here they were spending all of their days wondering about Santa.  So I told them, "Dad and I fill your stockings after you go to bed."  And that was then end of that.  The rest of the season passed blissfully and this year is the same.  I even heard one of them tell Celeste, "Dad & Mom will fill your stocking on Christmas Eve with good things for you to find on Christmas morning."  It's been so nice!  They get a new toothbrush, a mandarin orange, a candy cane and a few chocolates.  I've done toys in the past and they've gotten tossed over the shoulder in search of more.  So, now I just keep it simple.

And one gift per kid too.  They get gifts from grandparents and some aunts and uncles, so one gift from us each is plenty.  This year I was able to find all I needed from the local antique stores (think vintage character items), so I hope they'll be happy.  I always wonder if I should buy them exactly what they want, or what I think will be a good thing for them, and have settled on the latter.  Something to learn and grow with, but is fun too is usually my direction to go in.  Greg insisted on keeping the bar low, as he says each year you'll have to raise it, so why go all out?  I agree.  With more children, we don't need more gadgets and gizmos that turn into junk after a short while anyhow.

I've reduced baking to 3 kinds of treats too.  As a family, our favorites are peppermint bark, baklava and Finnish prune tarts.  If we want more, we'll have to get them somewhere else.  Usually people are baking way too much and trying to get rid of them pretty readily!

We also like to go to the Journey to Bethlehem every now and then.  It's a very well done reenactment of the title.  We've done ZooLights one year and hope to try a different one at the Portland International Raceway (a drive through one)  someday.  Sometimes just looking at the fancy houses in town is enough too.

So, that's my thoughts for tonight.  I love Christmas, but still am not sure what to do about much of it!

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.