with all that I've been given

Organized Simplicity

2012-01-27T06:14:00.004-06:00

I started reading Tsh's blog about a year ago, and I've appreciated her perspective on a variety of topics related to parenting and homemaking. So I was excited when Monica loaned me a copy of Tsh's book, Organized Simplicity.

The book is divided into 2 parts: the first is about living simply in the real world; the second is about taking ten days to create a more organized home. Though I read the book in its entirety, I did not participate in the organizing challenge. For one, I don't think my home really needs such a thorough approach right now. But I also don't feel like being that aggressive, either! I did, however, appreciate the philosophy behind the organizing challenges.

As Tsh encourages us to declutter our homes, she reminds us that what truly matters at the end of the day is "a family and a home at peace."

Tsh is a big proponent of writing a purpose statement that reflects your priorities, personality, and vision for your family. She wrote about it on her blog here. Once you have written a statement (and she gives questions to help guide that process), the aim is that "All the independent things in your life--the items you own, how you spend your time, the relationships you cultivate, and the books you read--ultimately benefit your life's purpose."

In addition, Tsh explains many of the tools she uses in her own home management, with copies at the back of the book so you can use them, too. I liked the idea of her daily docket ("a to-do list on steroids"as she calls it), though I don't think I need something that comprehensive at this time.

I liked Tsh's statement that "A peaceful home requires a change of attitude, a habit of regular maintenance, and a lifelong commitment to place higher priority on relationships and events than on things."

After reading the section on toy decluttering, I was inspired to clear out some of our collection. I had Nathan help me sort through many of our toys, and it was interesting to see what he thought what we should keep--and not!

I'm very interested in both organizing and simplicity, so I definitely enjoyed this book, and I would recommend both it and Tsh's blog. If you've read either, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

Fun with kids

2012-01-24T06:12:00.005-06:00

I checked the drafts folder of my blog over the weekend, and found several posts I'd written but never published. I figured it was high time I *draft* them into active duty. =) So though the thoughts may not be current, hopefully they are still worthwhile. This post was written in May of 2010. Why didn't I post it sooner? I have no idea . . .

Recently, Eric knew our daily routine was feeling stale for me and that I was lacking inspiration for activities to do with my kids, particularly Nathan. Being the thoughtful husband he is, Eric surprised me by typing up a list that included the following suggestions:

*Go on a litter walk. We did this right before Earth Day, so it was a nice tie-in to explaining that we should keep God's world clean. My litter-obsessed son loved pointing out each scrap, and I picked them up with a glove. After going just 8 blocks, we filled a plastic grocery sack!

*Check out a kid's movie from the library to watch with Nathan, and have a special snack. I was overwhelmed with the many choices available at our library, so decided to see if they had a Thomas the Train movie since Nathan loves all things Thomas right now. I confess it was a bit painful for me to watch my selection (very hokey!), but Nathan was snuggly during the movie and leaned over several times to say how fun it was. Totally worth it!

*Take kids to a new park. Our small town has a handful of parks, and we go to three of them on a regular basis now that it's warmer out. At Eric's suggestion, we visited a park in a neighboring town, and I loved it! The equipment is the perfect size for my kids' ages, and we were the only ones there on the morning we went.

*Visit some elderly friends at the nursing home. A married couple whom we've known for many years moved into a nearby nursing home a couple of years ago. It's a difficult place to take a rambunctious three-year-old, so we don't stay long, but our visits always bring a smile to their faces.

If you're interested in educational activity ideas, I found these wonderful lists, which offer creative educational activities for pre-schoolers in the areas of reading, math, writing, speech and listening! I printed each of the "fun activities" sheets and highlighted the ideas I want to try.

Now, back to the present. With winter in full swing, we've been spending most of our time indoors. I am ecstatic that Nathan finally likes to color! I've heard for years about my nieces spending hours coloring, and I couldn't imagine Nathan sitting still for that activity. Well, the time has come, and I am grateful. He is also really into Legos, which we gave him for his birthday last month. Natalie's current favorite activities are looking at books with me, and playing Memory and Hullabaloo, a fun new acquisition. I would highly recommend this game, which is in the Cranium round-up. It encourages being active, following directions, and knowing shapes and colors.

What activities have your kids been up to?

*Note: I included the Hullabaloo link if you wanted to check it out, but the price listed here is ridiculous. Ours was purchased secondhand, and I actually just saw it at a thrift store for less than $5!

A spirit of fear

2012-01-20T06:02:00.007-06:00

I have spent most of this pregnancy dealing with fear and anxiety. The beginning was uncertain, the middle has been uncertain, and what's ahead is definitely uncertain. We are facing more tests a week from Monday, and some moments I have found myself nearly paralyzed with fear of what the future holds.

This past week, I read these words in my Jesus Calling devotional:

"Rehearsing your troubles results in experiencing them many times, whereas you are meant to go through them only when they actually occur. Do not multiply your suffering in this way! Instead, come to Me, and relax in My Peace. I will strengthen you and prepare you for this day, transforming your fear into confident trust."

How I needed that message. Rehearsing my troubles is exactly what I've been doing. Trying to guess at the answers, pondering the what-ifs, worrying over it all. I've been living with a spirit of fear, yet I am told in I Timothy 1:7 that "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." I am also reminded of Isaiah 26:3, which says "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." Help me, Lord, to trust in You and not give in to fear and worry.

I will plan to post another update in a couple weeks. We are so grateful for your thoughts and prayers during this time!

A note about photos: Bless those of you who thought Tuesday's picture was an actual shot of my pantry, but it's just a nice picture I found on-line. The above picture, however, is definitely me, sending a little love to our baby girl.

Pantry challenge update

2012-01-17T06:09:00.004-06:00

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I am doing a January pantry challenge for the third year in a row, and I wanted to post at the midway point. My goal is to spend just half of our usual monthly grocery budget, so it's forcing me to be creative and use what we have on hand.

The first step I took earlier this month is to make an inventory of random items we've accumulated or things that need to be used up. I've shared most of that list below with you so you can see what I'm working with. I don't list things like flour and sugar that I always have on hand; rather, most of these ingredients were given to us, acquired for free/very cheap, or are expiring soon.

As I'm planning our meals this month, these are the items I'm hoping to use in the process:

*apple pie filling
*Panko bread crumbs
*powdered creamer
*homemade yogurt (This was something I'd wanted to try for a long time--my result was super runny, so I've been using it in baking.)
*frozen shredded zucchini
*frozen rhubarb #
*frozen tilapia
*frozen green/yellow/red peppers
*soy flour #
*taco sauce #
*flavored mayo #
*Rice Krispies
*wild rice
*instant potato mixes
*Bisquick
*basmati rice

Quite the variety, huh?! If you have ideas for the items with a # next to them (other than rhubarb crisp/egg replacement/tacos/sandwiches, respectively), I'd love to hear them! (Italicized items have been used up by the writing of this post.)

I'm halfway through, and enjoying the added challenge. I'm right on track on terms of the amount I've spent, and I've tried to be especially ruthless when making my grocery list. I really enjoy coming up with a grocery plan that involves sales, matching ads, and coupons. And I was proud on Friday when the cashier told me what a great job I'd done saving money on my bill!

In addition to groceries, I'm also challenging myself to use up samples and half-full toiletry items before purchasing more. I was amazed when I went through our stash to see that some products have been in there for, um, years.

I'm still contemplating where to send the remaining grocery funds, but completing the challenge is extra rewarding knowing we can bless someone else with the surplus.

Photo credit

Homemade gifts

2012-01-13T06:03:00.010-06:00

We received several neat homemade gifts this year and I wanted to share them.

Nursing cover made by Monica. I have several friends who have raved about these, and I figured the third time's the charm. =) The cute taggie blanket was made by my mom.Scrabble coasters made by my sister-in-law, Kendra. What a fun idea!Parking garage made by Eric's dad--isn't this amazing? I casually mentioned that Nathan had enjoyed playing with this when I made it, and Eric's dad ran with it. What a keepsake!
Hot cocoa mixes with marshmallow stirring sticks made by my friend Kelly. I think these are darling and delicious, and I totally want to do something similar for Nathan's teachers for Valentine's Day.

Baby shoes and crayon roll made by Monica's friend Grace. I won a giveaway Monica hosted, and had my pick of items from Grace's new Etsy shop. Super cute!

Did you receive anything homemade this year?

Update

2012-01-11T15:24:00.000-06:00

Several of you have written to ask for an update regarding my pregnancy. Thank you so much for your concern for our family!

We received both good and bad news at yesterday's appointment. Thankfully, our little girl is doing quite well. It was amazing to see her moving around, and during the 3D portion of the ultrasound, we got a great look at her sweet face (surrounded by a variety of appendages--she was balled up most of the time!):
Isn't that miraculous?! Her movements and solid development are a comfort to me as we face additional tests and the potential news of more serious complications, in addition to the placenta previa I've already been diagnosed with.

We'll know more in a couple weeks after our next set of appointments, so I will plan to post additional details then. Thank you for your prayers!

Michigan Christmas

2012-01-10T06:13:00.013-06:00

We found these two girlies in a big box after all the gifts had been opened.

Nathan got to try downhill skiing for the first time! (It's not Colorado, of course, but probably a better bunny hill for him to learn on.)

We took our dog, Reggie, with us, and he found a cozy naptime spot.

What a goofy girl--taken at the local children's museum.

Grandma sure had her hands full! (And be assured, there were two other adults watching at all times.)

Love this Nathan smile.

We are thankful for the time we had together!

Redeemed

2012-01-06T06:00:00.003-06:00

Last Sunday morning was a little hectic at my in-laws' house. Due to a pending snowstorm, our travel plans had to be adjusted, causing us to leave a day earlier than expected. Because of packing and saying goodbye to other relatives, it seemed that going to church was unlikely, but we decided to make it work.

I am so glad we went. What a unique approach to a New Year's Day service. The message was about redemption and our new life in Christ, with an emphasis on receiving individual communion. Due to the large size of the church, getting up to partake of communion took quite a long time, but as we waited we sang beautiful songs to prepare our hearts. I was in tears as we sang "The Old Rugged Cross"--not only are the words powerful, but it is one of my dad's favorite hymns and I think of him every time I hear it. It was during that song that our pew was motioned to make our way to a communion station.

The older gentleman who served the juice looked into my eyes, and said, "This is Christ's blood shed for you, and the little one, too." My tears flowed at that tender and true but unanticipated statement. Yes, Lord, you shed Your blood for me, and for this unborn child. What a gift. As I reflected on my life in Christ as well as the little life growing inside me, I burst into tears again when we sang the line "You are Lord of all." This pregnancy has not been an easy one, and I have definitely battled anxiety about the unknowns. And yet, I KNOW: He is Lord of ALL.

Next week, Eric and I will travel to a nearby bigger city to see a specialist and have a 3D ultrasound. We'd appreciate your prayers as we continue this journey, and I will share an update when we have one.

Checking in

2012-01-04T08:47:00.005-06:00

*Thank you for your comments on my book post. The winner of Jesus Calling is Sara! A couple people asked about my reading list for 2012. I don't have a formal list--just titles I hope to read written down in various places. My revised goal for this year is 24 books--two per month. I'm not expecting to read over 40 again with a newborn on the way! =)

*What a time to live in Iowa. Because of last night's caucus, we have been INUNDATED with political calls--24 to be exact! Glad for that to be over for awhile.

*I am super excited to implement my third annual pantry challenge, where I will aim to spend just half of our monthly grocery budget so that we can donate the other half to charity. I plan to make a list this week of pantry items that should be used up to aid me in my meal planning. I am really motivated to do this again!

*I'll be back soon with some pictures from the holiday. Happy new year!

2011 book list

2011-12-31T06:31:00.008-06:00

I don't think I'd ever before kept a list of what books I read over the course of a year. I took great satisfaction in recording each title after I'd turned the last page, and it's fun now to look back over the list and remember each one.

You'll see that I lean heavily towards non-fiction. Of the 41 books I read this year, just 4 are novels! When available, I've linked to review posts on particular books. Otherwise, I've written a brief description after each title.

1. Instructing a Child's Heart
2. Mountains Beyond Mountains (Compelling story of a doctor who feels called to transform medicine in Haiti)
3. The Five Love Languages of Children
4. 1001 Ways to Introduce Your Child to God
5. One Thousand Gifts
6. The Dirty Life (Former city girl falls in love with a farmer)
7. The Prodigal God (Fresh perspective on the well-known prodigal son parable)
8. American Wasteland
9. The Heart of a Mother (Collection of reflections about motherhood)
10. The Complete Tightwad Gazette (More coming on this later--chock-full of frugal inspiration!)
11. 365 TV-Free Activities (Creative play ideas for kids)
12. The Bookseller of Kabul (Tough read about a family in Afghanistan)
13. The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook
14. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World
15. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (Makes you stop and think about the story you're living)
16. MomSense (This year's MOPS International book)
17. Organized Simplicity (Get organized with the author of the Simple Mom blog)
18. Loving the Little Years (I read this one twice this year--it's that good.)
19. Misplacing God (Making time for God a priority)
20. Acedia and Me (Not my favorite book by Kathleen Norris, but still an interesting read)
21. The Dry Grass of August (A fictional, gritty story of a Southern family dealing with racial issues)
22. The Happiness Project (Wanted to see what all the hype was about--an intriguing book)
23. The Hidden Art of Homemaking (Classic thoughts from Francis Schaeffer's wife, Edith
24. Crossing to Safety (This novel about marriage and life came highly recommended--I definitely felt engrossed in the characters.)
25. Raising a Soul Surfer (After seeing the movie, I wanted to read more about this remarkable young woman!)
26. Eats, Shoots & Leaves (Excellent reading material for a grammar junkie like me)
27. Living Prayer (Seeking a prayerful life)
28. A Love that Multiplies (I am fascinated by the Duggars family and how they live!)
29. Heaven is for Real (Flew threw this compelling story in less than 24 hours)
30. The Cheapskate Next Door (Always interested in books on frugality, though not much takeaway with this one)
31. The Family Blessing (A gift from my grandma, about intentional blessing your children each day)
32. Feathers from My Nest (Reflections on motherhood written by Beth Moore)
33. America's Cheapest Family (Books like this motivate me to be a better steward.)
34. One Million Arrows (Teaching our kids to be mission-minded)
35. I Don't Know How She Does It (Saw and mostly enjoyed the movie, but I wouldn't recommend the book.)
36. Plain and Simple (Liberal woman feels compelled to live with an Amish family and learn about their way of life)
37. The Money Saving Mom's Budget
38. Committed (Interesting perspective on marriage from a non-Christian and the author of Eat, Pray, Love)
39. Running Away to Home
40. Not Buying It (A couple commits to buying only necessities for a year--interesting concept, though not a big fan of the author's rants)
41. Jesus Calling (see below)

I am pretty amazed I read 41 books this year, especially since my original goal was 18--1 1/2 per month! I definitely picked up speed in the summer, and really enjoyed making reading more of a priority this year.

I finished Jesus Calling this morning after reading through it all year. Like My Utmost for His Highest, this is a daily devotional that you read through in 365 days. I've been blessed by the insights, prayers, and direction to specific Scripture passages.

I have a copy of Jesus Calling that I would like to give to one of you. Just leave a comment on this post, telling me if you've read any of these books, or which of them looks most interesting to you. A winner will be selected on January 4.

We wish you a merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T06:06:00.001-06:00

Let's have a ball

2011-12-21T06:04:00.008-06:00

Nathan had a very special birthday. We of course continued our tradition of breakfast in bed, and we had lunch at Nathan's favorite restaurant, a local pizza place. I asked him what he wanted for supper, and without hesitation, he requested mac and cheese, quesadillas and grapes! It was nice to have an easy supper on the agenda, especially with the party immediately following . . .

"Let's have a ball" is what I wrote on the homemade football invitations I made for Nathan's party. I love using things I already have on hand, which allowed me to spend less than $10 total on food and other supplies for the party. For the invitations, I cut out football shapes from brown construction paper, and then used a white paint marker to draw the lines and stitches.

Because of our employment at the college, we have access to campus facilities such as the gym/rec center. I thought that would be a perfect location for a football/sports party. My plan was to have a couple organized games, then let the kids just run and play, and end with cake and juice.
For the first game, I put together a pin the football on a field goal game that I found here. Then we did an egg hunt. I remembered seeing Easter eggs last spring that looked like footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, and baseballs, and I was able to cheaply order a couple dozen on Ebay. I put a couple Skittles in each one, and we hid these in a large area of the student center. I used the footballs from the first game to label a paper sack for each kid to collect eggs. They could collect one of each of the 4 kinds of balls. I hid four eggs for Natalie, too, and hers were all pink. =)Eric took over the next portion, which was fun to observe, especially since his dad retired a couple years ago from being an elementary P.E. teacher! The kids had a great time throwing balls, and playing a variation of dodgeball. They even created their own racing game!

After everyone was sweaty and tired, we sat down for juice and football cake, and then Nathan opened his gifts. We still had time to play, so I corralled everyone for a game of Duck, Duck, Goose, which is a favorite of Nathan's. The kids thought it was hilarious to call me the goose!

I found it quite humorous to be planning a football-themed party since that is one of my least favorite sports. The things we do for our kids, right?! =) But I had fun thinking through all the details, and I'm glad Nathan had a good time.

*******************************************

So I just gave you the details of Nathan's party, but they only tell part of the story. The truth is that I didn't have so much fun at this shindig. Despite our best efforts, things felt chaotic, and there was a lot of selfishness being demonstrated. I wrote out some more observations last night when I was feeling the aftermath, but upon reading them again this morning, they sounded whiny albeit accurate. So there may be a post on that subject at some point if I'm able to articulate my thoughts a little better. I do know that we will take last night into account when planning future birthday celebrations. And that's a good thing, I think.

Happy birthday, Nathan!

2011-12-20T14:15:00.005-06:00

I have started writing in a journal for each of my kids as soon as I found out we were expecting them, and it has been really meaningful for me to go back and read earlier entries. I was just recording my annual birthday message in Nathan's notebook, and I read back over his other birthday entries, as well as some from right after he was born.

I was particularly struck by Eric's observations written right after Nathan turned one. Here is what Eric listed:

You are very smart and learn quickly.
You get frustrated easily.
You are very coordinated and love balls.
You are very determined.
You are picky about food.
You seem like you will be an extrovert.

I think the eating thing has improved, and I'm not certain about him being an extrovert. (Perhaps he'll be like me, being energized by both people and time alone.) But the other observations remain right on target, and it's been interesting to read these today and think about who Nathan is and how much he's grown.

We're celebrating all day, and I'll share more tomorrow about the festivities. But since I was feeling reflective right now, I wanted to get this post up on his actual birthday.

Book club

2011-12-16T06:17:00.006-06:00

My blog friend Carrie recently asked me to participate in a new endeavor of hers: the Reading to Know Bookclub. She asked 12 different bloggers to each select a book, which we will review on her blog over the course 0f 2012. Anyone is welcome to join in by reading one or more of the books.

I have a strong tendency to over-think most decisions, so when Carrie asked me what book I'd like to review, my initial reaction was to tell her I would think about it. Which is code for "I will agonize over a list of titles, and once I choose one, I will still wonder if it was the best choice." But a funny thing happened. While I was typing the email telling Carrie I'd think about it, I realized it was silly to drag out such a decision. So I went to the list of books I've been wanting to read, and picked the first one: Running Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson. Wilson is a fellow Iowan who decides to move to her ancestral homeland of Croatia for a year in hopes of reconnecting with her past and present family. I usually really enjoy books of this nature, so I'd love for you to join in if you're interested.

My bookclub post is slated for February, but in the meantime, go check out the list of 12 books for the 2012 bookclub--such a nice mix of fiction and non on a variety of topics! What a neat idea, Carrie. Thanks for inviting me to participate!

Merry swap show and tell

2011-12-13T05:31:00.009-06:00

I sure love the holiday swaps. It's show and tell time for the Merry swap . . .

Since we ended up with an odd number of swappers this round, I was in a 3-way swap. I sent a box to Amy who sent to Angie who sent to me.

Here are the goodies I received from Angie: She organized them into categories so it spelled out MERRY: Memories of Colorado (items she picked up on a recent trip to my hometown--neat!); Eat, Drink and Be Merry: tea, cookies, and M&Ms; Rest during the busy season: tissues, gloves, book, potpourri and candle; Relaxation through hobbies: Target shopping bag =), notecards, clipboard, notepad; Yuletide supplies: tissue paper, Advent reading guide, ribbon, "merry" sign, and ornaments for N+N to color.
As if that wasn't enough, the crowning touch is a wooden sleigh her father made using wood from her great-grandfather's farm. Her husband then sanded and stained it. Wow! What a special gift. Thank you so much, Angie, for your generosity!And here is what I sent to Amy: snowman candles, snowman kitchen towel, nativity made in Israel, homemade hot cocoa mix, snowflake garland, "Merry" napkins, gift notebook, card kit and washcloth for her daughter, thank you notes, and star ornament.Now it's your turn--please leave a link in the comments so we can check out your Merry boxes!

The Money Saving Mom's Budget

2011-12-09T06:01:00.009-06:00

I've been reading the popular Money Saving Mom blog ever since it was created several years ago, and it's my go-to site for scoring deals. I also enjoy many of the articles, especially those on mothering and stewardship, which are topics near to my heart. So I was excited when I learned Crystal was writing a book, and I was thrilled to receive a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget to review.

The book covers creating a budget, using cash, using coupons, grocery shopping strategically, and finding cheap or free entertainment. Eric and I do these things already, so there are just a couple little things I wrote down from these chapters that I would like to try.

One area of the book that I'd like to come back to again is the section on personal priorities. Crystal suggests creating a list that helps you identify what is most important to you, and then referring to it when making decisions about how you spend your time, money and energy. Since I am prone to over-commitment, I liked this statement: "Whenever possible, invest your life in what you're truly passionate about and gifted in. You will lead a much more productive and fulfilled life."

The final chapter of the book is on cultivating contentment, and that advice of course is applicable to all of us. Being grateful and generous top the list. Good reminders!

I also wanted to mention that there is an appendix at the back of the book containing ten ways to earn an extra $100 a month. Several months ago, Crystal asked her blog readers to submit ideas for that section of the book. I offered a few suggestions, and was excited to see one of them made it in, even if it wasn't just because of me. =) I suggested proctoring tests on college campuses. Eric and I have both done this quite a few times over the years, and it is a pretty easy way to earn over $100 in the course of a few hours.

To use a financial term, here's the bottom line on the book, from my point of view: If you've read Money Saving Mom for a long time and follow many of the money-saving strategies mentioned above, you likely won't glean a ton from the book. But it is still an enjoyable read. And if you don't read MSM and/or could use some advice and motivation where your finances are concerned, I would heartily recommend this book. It covers the basics, but takes you a step or two further as well. Thanks, Crystal, for a wonderful blog and for the opportunity to review your book!

Have any of you read this book? Do you read the MSM blog? What are your thoughts?

Thanksgiving re-cap

2011-12-05T06:06:00.008-06:00

Thanks for all your kind words on Friday's post. I am feeling more hopeful about the situation now, and appreciate all of you who shared experience with the same condition.

As promised, I wanted to share a few photos from our Thanksgiving trip. We drove to Chicago to visit Eric's sister, Kendra, and her family for a few days. I also got to see this wonderful chica, my dear friend Mandi:
This was Kendra's first time to host Thanksgiving, and her first turkey, and she did a wonderful job. Everything was beautiful and delicious!A fun highlight was a group outing to an evening parade in a nearby suburb. The weather was mild enough to make it bearable, and local businesses were handing out free cider and cookies. Eric and I even bumped into a friend of ours who lives in the area, which was a fun surprise!Love this pic of these two cute cousins, who are just 3 weeks apart in age. (As an ironic sidenote, Marc and Kendra were married 3 weeks before us, so it was very funny when they had their daughter 3 weeks before we had ours!)We had a nice time together, and look forward to seeing this group again in a few weeks when we head to Michigan for Christmas.

Announcing . . .

2011-12-02T06:09:00.006-06:00

We are thrilled to be expecting another healthy baby girl in April! The ultrasound tech was amazed we've used the same (reversible) sign each time, but it's served us well. Natalie is definitely excited about having a sister, but Nathan is quite disappointed, as he really wanted a brother. I told him since our dog is a boy that at least our house will be evenly split! I know he'll be a great big brother to this little one, though, especially since he enjoyed interacting with his 7 month-old cousin, Brylee, last weekend!

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. I was even more grateful to see our little girl kicking and her heart pumping strongly since we had quite a scare at the beginning of this pregnancy. Unfortunately, the ultrasound revealed that I have a condition called placenta previa, which can cause bleeding and premature delivery, so I appreciate your prayers as we continue down this path! It's been an emotional rollercoaster for sure.

Checking in

2011-11-30T08:43:00.002-06:00

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. We did, and I will share pictures soon.

Speaking of pictures, I'll be sharing a special one on Friday. Here's a hint. =) I really don't have a prediction this time--just hoping to see a healthy little one!

I have lots of other posts planned for the next couple of weeks, too, including a book review, our Merry swap show-and-tell, and Nathan's 5th birthday. Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T06:09:00.005-06:00

“O Thou who has given us so much,
mercifully grant us one thing more--a grateful heart.”

– George Herbert

Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!

A little fall treat

2011-11-15T06:03:00.002-06:00

I confess I have a hard time paying for drinks at coffeeshops. Sometimes I feel badly about that, because one of my best friends is a *bucks barista, and our neighbors own a local coffeeshop where two of our close friends also work. I want to support them, but it's hard for me to hand over $2-3 for some tea or steamed milk unless it's a special treat!

I'm not a coffee drinker, so that's not a temptation, but sometimes I want a fun warm drink, and I rarely make anything at home besides tea or hot chocolate with marshmallows. But I was excited when I saw a simple but unique beverage idea in a magazine: pumpkin pie cocoa! Here is the recipe adapted for one serving:

Ingredients

1 cup low-fat milk
1/4 cup hot cocoa mix
1 heaping Tbsp. canned pure pumpkin puree
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup whipped cream

In a saucepan, whisk milk, cocoa mix, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice; heat until steaming. Pour into mug and top with whipped cream. (I omitted the whipped cream, and it was still pretty yummy!)

I think this drink cost me about 25 cents. Now that I can handle! =) And even though coffee is not my favorite, I did make this other pumpkin drink a few times last winter when friends came over, and it was also delicious!

What's your favorite drink on a cold day? And are you more of a coffeeshop person, or a make-it-at-home person?

*And speaking of treats, the winner of the hair accessory giveaway is #4, Katie! Thanks to all who entered, and remember, Kendra is offering free shipping until Friday!

Photo courtesy of The Motherload

Simply Sweet Chic Giveaway

2011-11-11T06:38:00.005-06:00

11/11/11 seemed like a fun day to host a giveaway!

I mentioned awhile back that my sister-in-law, Kendra, recently opened an Etsy shop where she sells darling headbands and hair clips. Well, today, you can enter to win one of these pretties!

Check out these cute styles, made even cuter by my adorable nieces!So, how about you? To enter, visit Simply Sweet Chic Shop and browse the selections. Then come back and tell us which one you would choose if you win. (PLEASE NOTE: For some reason, blogger will not allow me to link to her Etsy shop. Please go to Kendra's blog and click on her shop button on the right side of her page. Or you can copy and paste this URL: http://www.etsy.com/shop/simplysweetchicshop)

Contest will be open until next Tuesday morning. Item can be shipped anywhere in U.S.

And if you don't win, Kendra is generously offering free shipping if you enter the code CARRIESENTME when you place an order by 11/18. Happy browsing!

Awesome photography credit (bottom photo)

Boo, y'all!

2011-11-08T06:11:00.013-06:00

The above expression is a nod to a funny family memory . . .

Anyway, I have several pictures to share today. First up, our kids in their trick-or-treating costumes. Our very cute dragon (dinosaur?!) and lion:Second, we were so blessed to have my parents here this past weekend. As always, the time went way too quickly, but we had a wonderful time together.

*This worked out perfectly: Nathan had to bring something to preschool on Friday that started with a "G"--what better to bring than GRANDPARENTS?!*Snuggle time
*Self-portrait
*Goofy grinsThanks for coming, Mom and Dad. We love you! And I am thrilled to say that as we approach the third anniversary of my dad's diagnosis, he continues to do well and to amaze both us and the doctors. Praise the Lord!

Our host family experience

2011-11-04T06:14:00.009-05:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we are a host family for an international student attending our local college, and I was asked to share more details about that. If you were to look into a program like this at your local institution, it might look quite different, but here's what it entails for us.

The host family program at our college has been in existence for decades, but this is just our second year participating. Most families who sign up are assigned a student, but in our case, we made a direct request. We were particularly interested in hosting Cristina, because a close friend of ours helped make it possible for Cristina to attend college here. She is from the poorest European country, and it is through generosity and God's grace that she finds herself in small town Iowa!

In the program we are part of, international students live on campus and not with their host families. Our role is to offer friendship and support, as well as a place where she can hang out, do laundry, and eat meals now and then. Because Cristina wasn't bringing much with her due to luggage, we compiled a list of her needs which friends and people in our church graciously helped provide. Eric has assisted her with registering for classes, setting up a bank account, and purchasing textbooks. She has regularly used our computer since we have a webcam and she can Skype with her family. We have had her over for quite a few meals, and we have helped her with an assigned paper on American culture. (Very interesting--she asked lots of questions about our values and beliefs.) On average, I would say we see her 2-3 times a week.

Cristina hopes to be here for four years, so the plan is that we will remain her host family during that time. Our kids love her. She is excellent with children, and she often brings them a little treat, which is a fun surprise for them!

Being a host family for an international student is a unique opportunity. We consider this commitment a part of our desire to show hospitality. If you have additional questions, I would be happy to answer them. Have a good weekend!

Merry Swap!

2011-11-01T05:00:00.004-05:00

It's time for another Christmas swap! We are pleased to announce that our next Sister's Shoebox Swap has a theme of Merry!

For those are who are unfamiliar with our swaps, my sister and I started these several years ago as a unique way to make a new friend and encourage them. Based on the information you send us, we match you with someone we think you will pair well with, and then we ask each of you to fill a shoebox with goodies tailored to the theme and your swap partner. It's a lot of fun!

Please read the following details carefully if you are interested in swapping:

1. In order to participate, you must either have swapped successfully with us before, or you must be a regular commenter on one of our blogs (The Homespun Heart/with all that I’ve been given). You don't need to comment daily, or even weekly, but we need to recognize your name when you sign up.

Before you send us an e-mail, please consider if you have the time and resources to fulfill your swap. We don't want anyone to be disappointed!

2. You need to fill out your questionnaire as part of the sign-up. In order to sign up for this swap, please e-mail sisterswaps@hotmail.com with the following info:

name
complete mailing address
e-mail address
blog site, if you have one

If you would be willing to ship internationally, please indicate that specifically. If you don't mention it, we'll assume it's your preference to ship within the U.S.

Also, please answer the following questions in your sign-up e-mail. The more thorough your answers, the better we can match you with someone complementary.

* How do you define a Merry Christmas?
*When you think of Christmas, what colors or images come to mind?
* What are your do's and don'ts of holiday decorating? (for example: Do you collect snowmen? How do you feel about Santa or religious decorations in your home?)
*When it comes to gifts, are you more likely to buy them or make them?
*Do you have a favorite Christmas book or movie?

Sign-up entries must be complete to be included. Even if you’ve swapped with us before, please send all of the information requested above. Please keep the theme in mind when selecting items for your partner, and as usual, please limit your gifts to what can fit in a shoebox.

Important dates to consider:
Sign-ups due by 8 a.m. (CST) Thursday, November 3, or when 40 people have signed up.
Partner info will be e-mailed to you by Monday, November 7.
Please send your shoebox by Friday, December 2.

If you have not received an e-mail with partner info from us by November 10, please check your “junk” folder first, and then contact us if needed.

Thanks, and happy swapping!

Our Christmas card

2011-10-28T06:07:00.004-05:00

I love the large volume of mail we receive at Christmas. It's so much fun to see pictures and read updates on friends and family near and far! We always send some kind of greeting, but we have not faithfully sent out traditional cards. A couple of years we've sent a holiday letter via email. But this year when I saw that Shutterfly was generously offering 25 free cards to bloggers, I had to jump on the opportunity.

Boy, did I have a hard time choosing a design, though. There are nearly a thousand options to pick from! I decided to narrow it down considerably by searching only the religious Christmas cards, as I prefer to share our faith in this way, instead of a more general holiday message. I ended up choosing the "Rejoice Rejoice" design. Maybe I'll show you a peek closer to Christmas. =)

I look forward to seeing how our cards turned out when they arrive in a week or two. I've ordered a photo book from Shutterfly in the past and was very pleased with the quality, so I hope the same for our Christmas cards.

So, what about you? Do you send a card every year? And if so, do you write a letter, put together a holiday card, or what?

Our community garden

2011-10-25T06:06:00.009-05:00

I've mentioned a couple of times that we are part of a community garden, and recently a couple people asked me to share more about it, so I wanted to do so here in case others were interested.

Our community garden was started by a local church that had a large and empty parcel of land just past their parking lot. As church members brainstormed ideas for how best to use the land, this idea was one many people were excited about.

The garden was perfect timing for us because it started three summers ago when we moved into this house. If you've been reading long enough, you may remember that we had a garden in our former yard, but here we have too much shade, and we're on a corner lot without a backyard. (We have a sizable front and side yards, but the layout of our house is such that our garage is behind the house.) The community garden is located just a few blocks from our house, so it is very convenient. If it was further away, we would be less thrilled with this option.

The details have changed a bit since we first joined, so I'll just share the current set-up. Each plot is 20x20 feet. Because we don't need that much space, we've actually shared the plot with another family every year. It works out great, and we split the modest $20 fee. (That fee includes tilling and water supply!)

Gardeners are each assigned a specific staked-out plot, and everyone has access to a shared tool shed. Eric and the kids do pretty much all of the gardening itself, and they almost always see others working at the same time, giving it the community feel that was intended. It is not uncommon for gardeners to share both advice and extra produce with one another. This year, we brought home dozens of beautiful zinnias, some jalapenos, a cantaloupe and a couple cucumbers. Eric has often asked more experienced gardeners for advice in planting and harvesting--what a helpful resource!

Yet another benefit is that the garden offers three huge wooden compost bins. We certainly do our part contributing! I fill gallon ice cream buckets with peels and scraps, and my crew takes the bucket every time they go to the garden--about three times a week.

I've mentioned another positive of the garden, which is that they have planted a few crops to be shared among the members. This past year, we were allowed to take as much rhubarb and raspberries as we wanted, and we definitely took advantage of that. Garden committee members recently planted several fruit trees, and in the future, what they produce will also be shared.

Last time I mentioned the community garden on my blog, one person commented that they observe a lot of waste in their local community garden. Eric definitely notices that here, too, but our garden has tried to counter that problem by 1) having a shelf against the tool shed where gardeners can leave surplus produce, and 2) committee members monitor plots to make sure they're being tended. Garden members are also encouraged to share extra produce with local nursing homes. It seems to be working, though of course not everyone holds up their end of the bargain.

If you have additional questions about the garden, please let me know. We have greatly benefited from this arrangement!

Frugal Fall Feast

2011-10-21T06:14:00.008-05:00

I get really excited about meals that are healthy, thrifty and delicious. But I get even more excited when, in addition, a meal uses lots of ingredients we have on hand from our garden.

I don't think I've mentioned it (I've had a few other things on my mind!), but our garden has produced a BOUNTIFUL harvest this year--more than ever before! Carrots, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, green beans, basil and potatoes galore. It's been fun to share much of the abundance with others. Over the weekend, Eric and the kids pulled our wagon to the community garden (which I will post more on soon, as requested) and loaded it up with so much produce, that they started handing it out on the way home. Neighbors were thrilled, Eric and the kids had a blast, and I was delighted, too. (I'm the only one who eats tomatoes at our house, and I haven't been very motivated to can them for that main reason.)

Anyway, back to the meal. I recently saw this new product at the grocery store, and I noticed a recipe on the back that included onion, green pepper, garlic and basil--all of which we have from our garden. Sign me up! Since it's chicken sausage, I ate a few pieces, but I really prefer many of my meals vegetarian, so I left most of it for my carnivorous boys.

I had so much fun making this meal, knowing that it was healthy, thrifty, and nearly all of it was locally grown from our own garden! I served the sausage skillet alongside sauteed carrots, which we've had a ton of. One entire crisper drawer in our fridge is crammed full with these orange beauties, with more to come, and we've been eating them regularly!

A package of the sausages was on sale for $2.99, and I used just two of the four, slicing them thin. With a couple other minor ingredients added in, the cost for our supper was less than $2 for all 4 of us--just 50 cents a serving, plus we had leftovers. Pardon my excitement, but I think that rocks! (I confess to feeling a little smug when I see people raving about dinners that are just $5 a serving, or something similar. It's not that I have it all figured out--it's just that I love the game of it!)

So, there's the story of our Frugal Fall Feast. If you have any winning carrot recipes, please send them my way. I'd welcome some variety!

Mail call!

2011-10-18T06:06:00.000-05:00

My kids received a fun surprise last week. My mom sent two self-addressed and stamped postcards, along with a note. As you can see from the instructions, the kids were supposed to draw a picture and then write their names. Then all we had to do was drop the cards in the mail!

Hopefully, my parents will enjoy receiving the colored cards as much as we enjoyed getting and filling the blank ones.

Just wanted to share this creative idea for others whose families are far away!

And speaking of creativity, my sister-in-law just started her own business of making super-cute hair accessories for little girls. Check it out here! She's offering free shipping until the 26th, so this is the perfect time to browse.

Note: Nathan has been practicing writing his name, but it's still pretty rough. The above was written with my help guiding his hand.

Birthdays!

2011-10-12T06:06:00.001-05:00

Thanks for all your sweet messages regarding our big news. I loved reading all the comments, and Katie went the extra mile by writing me a Mad Gab of her own!

Speaking of *birth*days, September and October are big months in our family. We have seven, and that only includes our parents, siblings, and a niece. We also have several birthdays of aunts and close friends during that time, so there are lots of cards and phone calls!

Last week, we celebrated two special birthdays in our home. Eric's birthday was over the weekend, and I made several of his favorite foods: apple pancakes, pasties*, and Scotcheroos. (If you look closely at the links, you can see I make these same things every year for his birthday! Why reinvent the wheel?)

A dear friend blessed us by watching Nathan and Natalie so we could head out of town for dinner and a hockey game. Good times!We also celebrated the birthday of Cristina, an exchange student from Eastern Europe who is studying at our local college. We are her host family, which means not that we provide lodging, but that we provide a home for her in other ways: laundry, meals and support. Here she is posing with her cake. It took her over three hours to make this beauty!

Do you have a concentrated stretch of birthdays in your family?

*This is not the recipe I use, but it's similar. I use only ground beef, and I make mine as one large potpie, served with gravy or ketchup.

Mad Gab

2011-10-10T06:08:00.004-05:00

I'm guessing many of you have played the game Mad Gab before. You read aloud the words written, and even though it looks like gibberish, if you keep repeating it, you will hear a special message:

Wee our ax peck tin bay bee numb berth read.

Anybody get it right? "We are expecting baby number three!"

We've actually had several weeks of uncertainty with this pregnancy, and we are so grateful that things now appear stable. I'm due in mid-April, and we hope to find out the gender as we've done the other two times. I like being able to plan accordingly with the room, name, clothes, etc!

We told the kids a couple of weeks ago, and Nathan didn't believe us at first. His initial reaction? "What in the world?!" =)

The first trimester is another reason I've not written much these past couple of months. I've been so tired, and there has been a lot going on. I do hope to post more regularly now, but we'll see!

Good times

2011-10-04T07:11:00.010-05:00

Things continue to be quite busy, but I wanted to share a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Eric took Nathan on his first camping trip. Both guys loved it!

This is one of my favorite recent photos. It's a joy to watch these two playing nicely together.

I was blessed to have 3 friends stay with us for a weekend as we celebrated our 10-year college reunion. Thanks for coming, ladies!

We've been having gorgeous, warm weather, and I am soaking it up while I can. Have a good week!

Simple pleasures

2011-09-26T06:06:00.006-05:00

I don't think I've mentioned in awhile that we have been members of a community garden for the past 4 summers. There are many things we like about being part of the garden, but one of the added benefits is that there are a few crops that are planted for the enjoyment of all members. We harvested plenty of community rhubarb earlier in the season, but have most taken advantage of the raspberry bushes. I admit raspberries are not my personal favorite, but Eric and the kids love them, and they bring home a cup or two each time they stop by the garden.

Over the weekend, I was looking for a seasoning packet in my kitchen, and I came across a free sample of this pectin I recently received in the mail. Because the sample size only required a little more than a cup of fruit, I asked the troops to pick some more raspberries so I could turn them into jam. They were more than happy to oblige, and making the jam took just 5 minutes. I was thrilled, as I normally make two big batches of strawberry jam each June, and of course those berries take longer to prep because of their stems.

Inspired by the quick and nearly-free jam (two half-pint jars required one cup of sugar, which costs about 10 cents!), I decided to make some homemade bread to go with it. Even though Eric is a huge fan of homemade bread, I confess I have not made it in probably two years! I make quick bread or muffins every week, but somehow making our beloved oatmeal bread has fallen by the wayside.

Enjoying a warm slice of fresh-baked bread with a thick layer of raspberry jam was a wonderful, unplanned treat for us this weekend.

And speaking of bread and jam, I was thrilled to come across a 50-cent copy of one of my favorite childhood books last week in a thrift store. Reading it aloud to my own kids has been another simple pleasure!

Don't quit your day job =)

2011-09-19T06:12:00.001-05:00

I found these bits of randomness in my draft folder, and thought I'd share.

My parents recently brought me a box of my childhood journals and books. I had to laugh when I saw a page about what I wanted to be when I grew up in my personalized copy of My Cabbage Patch Kid and Me. Here are my un-edited responses: balirina, artist, candy stryper, teacher, sientist, gymnester (!), vetrinaren, model (!) Wow, quite the list. I did grow up to be a teacher, so at least one of my guesses was spot-on. A gymnester? Yikes!

There was also a book where I wrote down information about my family. Since many of you also read my sister's blog, I thought you'd get a kick out of this. In a section where you were supposed to write down a name for who is the "most," I said Monica was the family member who talked the most and was the bossiest. =) And for myself, I said I was the one who reads the most, sleeps the most and jogs the most. The other two might still be true, but clearly, the jogging thing has changed to my dad! (Whose birthday is today--happy birthday, Dad! We are so grateful you continue to feel so well!!)

Checking in

2011-09-12T06:16:00.009-05:00

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but wanted to post a few little updates. Nathan started preschool right after we got back from Kansas City, I've been working on two assignments for the college, and I'm a main leader for our local MOPS group which starts this week.

Here are a couple pictures--Nathan on his first day of school and a shot of his classroom. He's definitely enjoying it!It's also starting to feel like fall around here. I got out my autumn decorations, and was thrilled to add something new to my collection. My college roommate, Hayley, is quite the crafter, and I purchased this set of cute "FALL" blocks from her. Love them!

Not sure I'll be able to blog as regularly for awhile, but I'll post when I can.

What's in a name?

2011-09-07T06:19:00.002-05:00

We sang this song in church Sunday. I'd never heard it before, but since then I've been listening to it over and over. Praise His great and powerful Name!

Goin' to Kansas City

2011-09-05T06:12:00.009-05:00

The kids and I recently took a 6-day trip to Kansas City to be with family and celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday.

Here is a picture after the birthday party (including my parents, grandma, and two aunts):Nathan and Natalie loved swimming at Aunt Joanie's pool:We had a wonderful time visiting the same children's farm Monica and her kids went to just a month ago. I had to laugh when I clicked on Monica's post, and saw she included about 20 pictures in her post. I'm including two. Typical. =)

It was nice to be with our loved ones and to celebrate my grandma and her special day!

Good reads

2011-08-26T06:06:00.016-05:00

I periodically like to share books that my children and I have enjoyed reading together. You can find previous lists here, but here are some more recent favorites:

One Monkey Too Many by Jackie French Koller

Shoes by Elizabeth Winthrop
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Noisy Nora by Rosemary Wells
Mini Racer by Kristy Dempsey
It's Spring! by Samantha Berger and Pamela Chanko
Flip, Flap, Fly! by Phyllis Root
One Lonely Sea Horse by Joost Elffers and Saxton Freymann (Very creative illustrations!)
That's What Friends Are For by Valeri Gorbachev
Making Friends by Fred (Mr.) Rogers
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
Cheri Meiners' books about learning to get along with others--good stuff!

As always, I welcome your suggestions, too!

Summer fun

2011-08-23T06:12:00.001-05:00

I thought it would be fun--and inspiring--to make a colorful list of potential activities to do with the kids this summer once we got home from our vacation. Here's a pic of our list:
The restaurant items were all certificates the kids earned from the library's reading program. Nice! Here are notes about the other activities:

*Colorful bubble art--Put a little food coloring in some bubble solution, and blow bubbles onto big pieces of white paper. Messier than I expected, but the kids loved it, and the paper looked so swirly and pretty that I'm going to use it as wrapping paper!

*Oobleck--probably wouldn't do this again. It was really messy to make, play with, and clean up. That's not my favorite kind of activity, especially since the kids didn't love it, either.

*Parachutes--Instead of a cork, we tied a little Lego man to the bottom. We didn't have a great launching place at our house to get the full parachute effect. But as soon as Nathan showed our toy to the neighbor boy, it was a big hit. We ended up in the neighbor's backyard, launching the parachute from the top of their balcony. Very fun!

*Pinaqua--This is the only activity we did not get to, kind of surprising with all the hot days we had. We'll try again next summer!

*Pudding in a jar--Mix 1 tablespoon of instant pudding with 1/4 cup milk in a baby food jar. Put lid on tightly and shake! This is something Monica and I did long ago when were in a Brownies troop.

*Paint popcorn--This was the inspiration, but we tweaked things a bit. I made my own evaporated milk for the edible paint. I heated together 1/2 cup milk, 1 T. butter, and 1 T. sugar. I divided the mixture into 3 bowls, which I colored pink, green and blue. Instead of getting out paint brushes, the kids just dipped each kernel into the paint, and then we added sprinkles, which was of course their favorite part. Like many activities, this took as long to set up as it did to carry out, but it provided some fun on a restless morning, and it really was a yummy snack!

A couple other special things we tried that were not on the list above:

*celery and food coloring experiment (we split our stalk at the bottom so we could see it take on two different shades)
*sidewalk chalk paint

Did you make a summer list? Have you done any of the above activities?

Food and stewardship

2011-08-19T06:08:00.001-05:00

When I was reviewing some blog posts that have been collecting dust in my drafts folder, I came across some practical ideas worth sharing for being a good steward when it comes to our resources of food. These are courtesy of the Sleeths:

Make eating meals together a priority
Eat what is served
Welcome others to your table
Cut back on meat consumption
Support farmer's markets and CSA's
Grow at least some of your own food
Avoid factory-farmed meat and eggs (no steroids, hormones, or inhumane practices)
Don't buy fast food; use the money saved to buy more organic
Drink tap water; if you buy coffee, make sure it's fair trade
Give thanks

I would give us a "star" for most of the things on this list, but our main weak points would be buying bags of frozen chicken breasts, and consuming quite a few processed items like crackers, tortilla chips and granola bars. (I'm lumping these convenience foods into the fast food line item above.) And even though we have a garden ourselves, we could also make more of an effort to seek out local veggies that we do not grow.

How about you? What do you think of this list, and what are your strengths or weaknesses in this area?

Editor

2011-08-16T06:07:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but when I read, I constantly edit what is written, especially when it comes to many kids' books. I often come across sentences or phrases that either don't make sense or are repetitive repetitive. =)

Consider the following example:

I had to read that second sentence more than once before it made sense to me, and even then I thought it could use some revision. I find the comma avoidance issue quite annoying. Thus, I exercise my right as a reader by condensing the material and saying "cars, trucks, buses, and trains." Take that, book!

Anyone else have this problem--I mean--skill, when it comes to reading? =)

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

2011-08-12T06:09:00.002-05:00

I have to confess that this book has been languishing in my to-read pile for more than 3 years! I snagged the book at a swap way back then, but it never made it to the top of my list. I finally decided a couple of months ago that I should either read it or give it away, so that I didn't see it every time I flipped through my stack!

Though this wasn't a book I was excited to read, it definitely was a convicting one.

I particularly connected with the chapter about worrying. Author Joanna Weaver quotes an anxiety study that says that of what we worry about, 40% of it will never happen, 30% is about the past, 12% is about criticism from others, 10% is about health, and 8% is about real problems that can be solved. As I thought about what I worry about, I realized how closely I fit those statistics.

Other quotes about worry from the book:
"God knows worry short-circuits our relationship with Him. It fixes our eyes on our situation rather than on our Savior."
"Worry doesn't prevent bad things from happening. In fact, it may prevent us from the leading the full lives God intends us to live." "Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from Him." Yikes!
"Fretting magnifies the problem, but prayer magnifies God."

Other quotes:
"While there are many needs, God has not asked us to meet every one." Weaver, a pastor's wife, points out that often 20% of the church does 80% of the work. (I know I sure feel that way, as I get asked to bring food/serve on a regular basis.)

"Jesus tells Mary, 'You're worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.'
And what is that one thing? Listening to God!"

"Conscious repentance leads to unconscious holiness." Oswald Chambers

Another favorite chapter was when the author observed that the story of Mary and Martha is sandwiched in the Bible between the story of the Good Samaritan (work, duty, being practical) with Jesus' teaching on the Lord's Prayer (relationship, devotion). She talked about a teeter totter where we find the balance of work and worship. I know that's something I can relate to!

This was a thought-provoking book, and I'm glad I finally picked it up. Have any of you read it?

Life is like a box of chocolates . . .

2011-08-09T06:12:00.001-05:00

. . . You never know what you're going to get! =) In the past I've shared some special gifts I've received; this time around I want to share a couple of ideas of how we've tried to bless others.

*We have some dear long-distance friends who are going through a divorce, and I wanted to send a little something to let the family know we're thinking of them. When I saw this idea, I thought it would be a creative way to encourage the mom to take her kids out for a treat.
*This is my favorite kind of (wedding) gift to give: a grouping of complementary items! The colander and cake pan were on the couple's registry, so I embellished the gift a bit by adding pasta, sauce and a brownie mix. Hopefully, the newlyweds were able to enjoy the meal right away. I received a few "pantry gifts" for my wedding, and I really appreciated them. (But I'm practical like that!)*Another standard wedding gift we've given is money to be used for a meal on the couple's honeymoon. One set of friends was going to Costa Rica for their special trip, so we even got the proper currency so they'd have some money when they arrived.

Do you have a standard gift you give for weddings or other special occasions?

Summer recipes

2011-08-05T06:19:00.002-05:00

Last summer, I shared a new recipe organizing method I tried to help me make the most of the produce that's in season, particularly from our garden. It's worked really well for me, and as a result, it will be easy to share with you some of my new favorite summer recipes!
1. Italian chopped salad (I could seriously eat this every day for lunch during the summer--so good!)

2. Blackberry sorbet (easy peasy, and so delicious)

3. Cookies & creme pudding pops

4. Bread salad (you have to love the name--and the taste!)

5. Quick-fix barbecued fajitas (a nice twist on the usual)

6. Gazpacho salsa (using green pepper, I can rely solely on veggies from our garden!)

And I even created a marinade, which I will share in case you want to make some delicious kabobs!

Carrie's Teriyaki Marinade

2 T. lime juice
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. honey
dash cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger

I marinated chunks of chicken for about 8 hours, and then skewered them alongside green pepper and pineapple. This marinade was a delicious complement, and made the chicken very tender and tasty.

In addition to the new ideas above, don't forget these summer classics I've shared before. Yum!

If you have any fabulous recipes using green peppers, we're getting a terrific harvest, and I prefer them fresh, so I'd love some new inspiration. We've been having lots of fajitas!

*In case you're wondering about the fairly random photo at the top of this post, I took that pic almost a year at a county fair. I thought Monica would enjoy seeing all those jars lined up. Since the picture has been sitting idle for so long, I thought I'd go ahead and insert it here since jams are definitely summer food, too! Speaking of, I tried a new kind of pectin this year for my strawberry jam. Has anyone else tried Pomona's?

Loving the Little Years

2011-08-01T06:05:00.008-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, a friend sent me a link to an article called "Motherhood is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)." I was intrigued enough by the article that I decided to order the author's book, Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches.

I flew threw this book in less than 24 hours! It was short, compelling, and easy to read. There are many gems to be found in this brief tome, and I have found myself continuing to mull over many of them. Here are some of my favorite thoughts from the book, written by Rachel Jankovic:

*"As you deal with your children, deal with yourself always and first."

*"You cannot resist opportunities to be corrected by God, and expect them {your children} to receive correction from you."

*If the sins {your children are struggling with} have changed, it can be a sign of growth. It is not as though our children are going to emerge from their current problems into perfect holiness if only we give them enough swats. They are going to emerge from one set of problems into the next, and that is good. That is the way of the Christian walk." (!)

*When our children are fussing, the antidote for them is gratitude." (Same for parents, too, right?!)

*"Prioritize your children far and away above the other work you need to get done. They are the only part of your work that really matters."

One of the most convicting concepts of the book is to rejoice in the challenges of motherhood. As Rachel says in ending the book, "If you accept your lot, and rejoice in your toil, God will give you the kind of overwhelming joy that cannot remember the details."

In addition to the above, I thought Rachel had some good advice for teaching kids to handle their emotions--she and her husband teach their children that their feelings are like horses that they must ride and control. She also suggests helping kids learn to anticipate their emotional responses, and to offer lots of praise when you see your children overcoming emotional temptations.

I also liked what Rachel had to say about dealing with sibling squabbles, and teaching kids to remain in fellowship with one another.

This was thought-provoking book that I will likely re-read in the future. Has anyone else read it? Which of the quotes above stands out to you the most?

The stay-ers

2011-07-27T06:16:00.005-05:00

Being part of a college community means that we encounter turnover every year.

We get attached to wonderful student babysitters, and then they graduate. We get close to co-workers, so close that we consider many of them our "family" here, and then most of them move away after a few years. Though we still love living in this place, we are one of the few remaining "originals" in our circle of friends, which is why I nicknamed us "the stay-ers" above.

We've had many hard goodbyes in our years here, but one of the hardest occurs today . . .

I met Jody when I was a college sophomore, and though there is an age difference of 20 years between us, we instantly hit it off, and have been close friends ever since. Jody's husband, Dave, was Eric's boss and mentor long before Eric and I were even friends. I used to babysit Dave and Jody's kids; now their daughter babysits mine. =) Dave and Jody played a role when Eric and I started dating, at our engagement, and they even hosted our rehearsal dinner. We've been through a lot together over the past 13 years, so needless to say, it was a blow when they announced that they would be re-locating this summer.

I took a literature class several years ago that focused on the ways that people shape places, and the ways that places shape us. I think one of the things that has shaped us personally is that Eric and I have been the stay-ers. Moving away is obviously full of its own difficulties. But sometimes staying is, too. When I think about these dear friends leaving, and about some of the other dear ones who've already gone, it makes my heart ache. We wish you the best, Dave and Jody, but we will sure miss you around here!

What has been your experience--have you more often been the mover or the stay-er?

The photo shows Jody meeting newborn Natalie!

Vacation, part 6: the 4th of July

2011-07-25T06:09:00.009-05:00

Whew, I had to put together one final vacation post to highlight the 4th of July. The weather was perfect this year, and we had a wonderful day.

We started the day with these flag waffles, inspired be a feature on MSM. Cute!
In addition to all of the usual lake activities, one of the families on the lake was selling elephant ears and sno cones as a fundraiser for a ministry in Africa. It was hard to turn down such yummy treats, especially for such a good cause! The kids also enjoyed an ice cream cone:Later in the day, we took part in the annual boat parade, and of course we watched fireworks. It was a wonderful day to celebrate freedom, faith and family!

Vacation, part 5: the lake

2011-07-22T06:05:00.008-05:00

Eric's parents have a cottage on a lake, and they spend every summer there. We are blessed to go for a couple of weeks each year. Our kids love the lake, and all the fun activities we get to do there. Here is just a sampling: Boating, fishing, trampoline, and tubing! Nathan even tried to water ski--he did a great job, but he was not happy. We'll try again next year!

Vacation, part 4: anniversary!

2011-07-20T06:06:00.000-05:00

Eric and I have celebrated all but one of our anniversaries in Michigan. It's been wonderful having grandparents who are willing to watch our children while we get away, and it's fun to explore new places together!

This year, we headed to two different beach towns on Lake Michigan, and our first stop was this:
Eric talked me into going on a sand dune schooner ride. I wasn't so sure about it at first, but it was really fun, and definitely unlike anything I've done before!

We walked around the towns a little bit, and I couldn't resist snapping this photo since it was pretty close to being accurate for us =):
We borrowed bikes from Eric's parents, and enjoyed riding along a shady trail. Because we were in the blueberry capital of the world, we had to stop and pick some berries to bring home with us. They were sweet and delicious, and just $1.25 a pound! The stand was also selling blueberry hand pies, which made for another tasty treat.
After all the walking and riding, it was nice to have some downtime at the beach. I only braved getting my feet wet, but Eric dove in! We had a nice dinner outside at a little Italian restaurant, and ended the evening by attending an outdoor concert on the harbor. The weather was perfect, and it was fun to watch the boats going in and out.
Thanks to our family for giving us a fun day away! Happy anniversary, Eric. I love you!

Vacation, part 3: family

2011-07-18T06:12:00.010-05:00

We definitely missed our California cousins this summer, but Nathan, Addison and Natalie had a great time together! Here are a couple pix of them enjoying one another's company:I insisted that we get a family photo while we were at the lake. In dozens of shots, we never had all 4 of us smiling nicely and not blinking. This was the best one--and while it's not bad, I wish Nathan wouldn't have been pouting!The kids loved playing with baby Brylee--what a sweetie!Here's a fun shot of the group gearing up for fireworks on the 4th--this includes Eric's parents, brother and sister, and two (wonderful!) aunts.I have two more vacation posts to go--one about our anniversary getaway, and the other about our lake activities.

Vacation, part 2: Grandpa

2011-07-15T06:16:00.005-05:00

I'm sure many of you will remember that Eric's grandma passed away in January. Well, 3 weeks ago, the day we left for Michigan, Eric's grandfather also went to be with Jesus. We rejoice that he is in heaven, but of course it is sad to say goodbye to him here on earth.

Here is a picture that Eric and his siblings took with Grandpa when we were together in January:And here's a shot from when Nathan met his Great-Grandpa:
The funeral was a wonderful testament to Grandpa's faith, generosity and many professional accomplishments. Once again, Eric's cousin put together a beautiful photo slideshow set to Steve Green's song, "Find Us Faithful," and I don't think there was a dry eye. We are grateful for a heritage of faith!

Vacation, part 1: friends

2011-07-12T06:10:00.001-05:00

Whew--we've traveled many miles in the last couple of weeks. And while it was very good to have a change of pace and scenery, it's true that there's no place like home!

I have tons of pictures to share, and if you can stand it =), I've organized them into 5 different posts, which I'll share over the next couple of weeks.

First up, it was great to see three wonderful friends along the way. En route to Michigan, we stopped in Chicago to have a delicious breakfast with my beloved friend Mandi. (Monkey bread with a side of berries, woot woot!) The time was short but sweet. Love you, girl!While we were in MI, it was fun to meet up with my blog friend Tracy for the second time. We had a nice lunch outside--and just in time--as we got caught in torrential rain! We made quite the memory together, didn't we, Tracy?! Eric's mom had told me about a kids' consignment shop near our lunch spot that was having a one-day sale, so we had our picture taken in there due to the rainstorm.Finally, it was really fun to stay overnight with my friend, Rachael, on our way home. She was a very gracious hostess, giving up her bed, playing with our kiddos, serving up cinnamon rolls, and catering to my desire for an insider's tour of this huge campus where she works.
If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you know our family is spread from coast to coast. Our friends are, as well, and it's always a treat to spend time with those we don't see regularly.

Special visitors

2011-06-21T06:11:00.010-05:00

Happy official first day of summer, everyone! Thanks to all who left comments on my wedding attire post--very fascinating!

We had two rounds of special guests last week--whew! First of all, my dad, Monica, and her 3 kiddos trekked here from South Carolina. Here are some pix from our time together. I'm sure Monica will post more photos and go into greater detail about our activities, but needless to say, the cousins had a wonderful time playing together. Their one request was going to a fun pool in our area; in addition, Eric took them fishing, we made s'mores, and Monica and I pulled off a reprise of this. We had so much fun hanging out together. My dad even gave Monica and I an afternoon out for lunch and a trip to a coffeeshop!
About 24 hours after my family left, we welcomed a dear friend and former colleague, Michelle, who came for the weekend with her family. Here's a pic of us girls, followed by our kids hanging out together:
Thanks for coming, Dad, Monica and Michelle and families. We love you!

June is a big month for being with extended family. (Yay!) I'll be signing off here as we spend time with Eric's side of the family for a couple weeks.

Wedding dress

2011-06-14T06:18:00.005-05:00

This post is not about a wedding dress; it's about how you dress to attend a wedding. Eric and I recently attended a local wedding, and though as a planner I'd determined my ensemble well in advance, at the last minute I was debating about what Eric should wear. I settled on a dress shirt, khakis and tie. You can see in the photo that the tie did not make the cut for my ultra-casual husband--who does not, ahem, own a suit!

Because it was an evening wedding, I was under the impression it would be somewhat dressier than a morning or afternoon wedding, and I tried unsuccessfully to convince Eric to wear the tie. But when we pulled into the parking lot, the guy next to us was wearing jeans. I couldn't believe it! And inside, I saw another young man wearing shorts. But the most eye-opening was a young woman wearing casual shorts topped by a V*ctoria's S*ecret sweatshirt. What?! Upon seeing these outfits, Eric was even more convinced that "no tie" was the way to go. Sigh. =)

I'm curious, especially those of you who live in places other than the rural Midwest--what would you generally wear or expect others to wear to a wedding? (And what about men?!)

In case it's interesting to you: The skirt and cardigan I'm wearing in the photo are what I wore to our wedding rehearsal six years ago! And the necklace, earrings, and shoes in this picture were what I wore on our wedding day.

$5 Dinners

2011-06-10T06:16:00.004-05:00

I came across this site sometime ago, and printed off a few recipes, so I was excited to read the book. Our library did not have it, so for the first time, I filled out a card asking them to order it. Not only did they do so, but they even called me when it came in. Woo-hoo! It was a fun book to browse, but I'm glad I didn't purchase it myself, as it's not one I would refer back to.

The first three chapters detail strategic grocery shopping, coupon usage, and meal planning. Because those topics are of interest to me, I enjoyed reading about them, but I didn't take away anything new. That doesn't mean I implement everything she suggests, but some concepts such as "playing the drugstore game" aren't very feasible in my rural area. (Thankfully, I have a sister who scores many deals this way, and she always shares her surplus with me!)

The remaining 8 chapters share a variety of main dish recipes--vegetarian, all kinds of meat, you name it. The common thread is that they all cost less than $5 to prepare, and are well-balanced in terms of nutrition. Finding new recipes is tricky for our family, because I don't eat any red meat or pork, and Eric is allergic to citrus and tomatoes. So, generally speaking, I can skip over at least half of all recipes in most cookbooks! I copied 4 recipes from this book that I'd like to try: summer pasta salad, chicken and rice salad, chicken potato pie, and roasted red bell pepper rotini.

I really like the concept behind this book, and I often add up the cost of ingredients for meals I'm making, so I appreciate that the author worked hard on developing these dishes and calculations. I recommend that you browse the website, and also that you check to see if your library stocks this book. (And if they don't, why not ask them to order it?!)

I also recently checked out this popular book from the library. I read the first few chapters, and then set it aside for awhile. On the day I planned to make the bread for the first time, I decided I didn't feel like it, and thought "Why force it?" So I took the book back right away. Maybe I'll try it someday--guess I'm just not in the mood right now, though I've read lots of rave reviews about it!

Lifesaver

2011-06-07T06:12:00.006-05:00

Today is my 28th Christian birthday. I remember being on the swings at a neighbor's house when I was just 4 years old, and running home to tell my mom I'd asked Jesus into my heart. I don't remember the rest of the particulars, only that humble, precious beginning of a life of striving to be more like Him. Oh, how often I fail in that regard. I recently read James 1:22, and have continued to meditate on its convicting truth: "Do not merely listen to the Word, and sodeceive yourselves. Do what it says." The other day, I decided to more thoroughly read the rest of the passage, and I was blown away:

¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³ Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴ and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵ But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

²⁶ Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

My words--and my heart--have gotten sloppy* lately, and these truths permeated me in a tender area. Getting angry does not produce righteousness, and if my tongue is spouting off, my religion is worthless. Ouch! I am striving to humbly accept these words planted in me that can SAVE me.

God has saved my life in many ways, and I am so grateful for His daily grace and peace. You may remember the story I shared of being rescued from a sinking boat. I believe God saved my life that day. You may not know the story that I had major complications after Natalie was born and was in an urgent care situation. Again, God spared my life. Those are more dramatic examples, but God truly is my Lifesaver, and I am so grateful for all He has done for me!

*When I am really wrestling with my sinfulness, which is often, I am moved to tears by this song.

I've never

2011-06-03T06:15:00.003-05:00

Have you ever played the little party game called "I've never?" I thought it would make for a fun post, so I'm sharing 5 fairly common things I have never done. You can play along by either responding to which of these you have or haven't done, and/or by making your own list!

I've never . . .

1. worked in a restaurant
2. seen any of the Lord of the Rings films (or read the books for that matter!)
3. driven a manual transmission/stick shift (I tried a couple times as a teenager, but wasn't very successful!)
4. been to any of the New England states
5. worn braces

Now it's your turn to share!

Sugar update

2011-06-01T06:11:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been an interesting month of trying to decrease my consumption of sugar. The first few days were especially difficult because I was thinking about it so much that it made me want to eat it more than usual!

Some of my most challenging moments were parties and group gatherings, because of the multiple dessert choices. In an ordinary situation, I would choose 2 or maybe even 3 of these offerings. So selecting just one made me more intentional about my choices.

I did, for the most part, uphold this challenge, and I'm actually quite proud of myself for being more disciplined in an area where I do not really restrict myself. There were two times that I willfully overindulged--one was at the end of a very long day when Nathan had been particularly disrespectful and disagreeable. Once he was in bed, all I wanted was to unwind with some chocolate! The second instance occurred just this past weekend. We went to a graduation party with the most gorgeous display of delectable cupcakes. Two of the flavors were lemon and coconut, neither of which Eric will eat. The temptation proved too great, and I had one of each!

I have to admit I debated for quite awhile about the second cupcake. I even brought it home so I could have it the next day, but I gave in. I felt a bit like the mairie (mayor) in the movie Chocolat, who does not allow himself to partake of even the smallest treat, until the tension builds, and the town awakens one morning to find the mayor sleeping, covered in chocolate, in the display window of the local confection store. (When I used the word "willfully" in the paragraph above--I meant it. We humans have a funny relationship with food, don't we?!)

Now that it is June, I hope I will strike a happy medium with my sugar intake--being somewhat less restrictive than I was this past month, but still making intentional choices, and showing more discipline in this area. As I said when I began, everything in moderation!

If you're wondering about the details of my challenge, more specifically, I made up a few of my own guidelines:

1. If we were having oatmeal for breakfast, I did not count adding brown sugar to my portion as my sugar serving for the day; however, I tried to use less than usual. Same with jam for PB&J sandwiches. For me, the challenge was about sugary desserts and snacks, not these less regular instances that were part of meals.

2. On some days, I did have something sugary twice, but I only allowed myself half a serving each time. Again, for me, it was not about being legalistic, but about making better choices. I considered that it was better to have half a serving twice a day, than a full serving twice a day!

3. When I was craving something sweet, my go-to choices were smoothies, Kashi granola bars, and fruity sugar-free gum.

I can't say that my headaches have decreased, but I have no doubt that eating less sugar offers some health benefit! I'd love to hear your thoughts--do any of you have certain restrictions regarding dessert/sugary treats? Is sugar a temptation for you, or notsomuch?

Spring has sprung

2011-05-23T06:11:00.008-05:00

After a long winter, we are relishing time outside. Here's some of what we've been up to lately:

*Learning to ride a bike without training wheels! Don't let the pink throw you. Nathan learned on this bike, and then he was ready, we took the training wheels off his BLUE one. =) We are so proud of him. He struggled at the beginning, but now he's loving it so much, he wants to ride his bike for hours every day!

*Hosting a dear college friend overnight. Thanks for coming, Erin!

*Lots of playing at the park--we've been going every day it hasn't rained.

Hooray for spring!

American Wasteland

2011-05-17T06:12:00.002-05:00

When I saw my mom in Kansas City in March, she showed me the book she was reading, and I was thrilled to find that our local library had a copy. The book is called American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It).

All areas of stewardship are compelling to me, and since food is something I obviously encounter on a daily basis, this was a subject I was interested to learn more about. Written by a journalist named Jonathan Bloom, the book gives an inside look at the waste prevalent in American agriculture, grocery stores, restaurants, institutions and homes. The statistics in the book are alarming. According to one study, the average American throws away 197 lbs. of food per year. Yikes! "No matter how you slice it," the author writes, "we're sending far too much food to the landfill--and that has dire long-and short-term consequences."

Reading this book is making me think more about what I buy (and how much) because "Creating the meal on our plates is an energy-sapping, environment-impacting process. Wasting that food squanders our supply of water, depletes our soil's nutrients, and wastes the fossil fuels that are used throughout the food chain." I try to be intentional about checking our fridge before I plan meals so that I know what we have and what needs to be used up. I actually really enjoy the challenge, and think we do pretty well in this area overall, but I've definitely allowed some produce like spinach to get past its prime, and I've seen more than one loaf of bread develop fuzz. I'm sure we can keep striving to improve in this regard, thereby decreasing the amount of food wasted by our household.

Contrary to what you might expect him to say, Bloom states that while he hopes people will reduce waste, he doesn't want anyone going to extremes and feeling guilty if they leave a few peas on their plate. Some waste, he says, is inevitable, but we can do our best to avoid it when possible. "We can be mindful of all that went into growing, shipping, and preparing our food and remember that there are those who go without enough to eat. Then we should act accordingly."

One of the issues Bloom identifies that could be easily corrected is to have a standard system (and understanding) for sell by/use by dates on products. Some consumers and grocers are probably too strict with this system (pitching items that are about to "expire"), and others are perhaps too lenient. But as Bloom asserts, we as individuals can use common sense when making decisions about whether a product is still edible or not. For example, I don't mind buying or even eating cheese that's at or just past it's stamped date, but I admit I get kind of squeamish when it comes to milk. (Which I know doesn't make a lot of sense, given that they're similar products!)

The section of the book that most fascinated me was a peek into another family's refrigerator. A couple from North Carolina shared a list of the contents of their fridge, which I found very intriguing. The couple discovered quite a few duplicate products crammed in their fridge, as well as random ingredients they'd bought for one dish and never used again. That's not a common situation for me. I actually often avoid some new recipes that include ingredients I think we're not likely to use regularly, or I make a substitution. To quote the author of a major food waste study, William Rathje, "The more repetitive your diet, the less food you waste." That doesn't mean you have to eat the same menu every week, but using the same ingredients in a variety of ways means you're less likely to have forsaken ingredients in your pantry or fridge.

I counted the number of items the couple listed, and came up with a total of 103 items. That number seemed really high to me, so I immediately opened my fridge and tallied 68 items. Because it was right before my weekly grocery trip, I'm guessing that number is a little lower than our norm. So interesting!

Thinking about the contents of my fridge makes me want to be more intentional with making sure I'm using the ingredients we already have there and in our pantry. I think it's a fun "game" to use up random bits and pieces. I loved one of the resources the book listed--a British campaign called "Love Food Hate Waste." The site is inspirational for increasing awareness about food waste, and has lots of tips and recipes for preparing the right amount, using up leftovers, etc. Brilliant! =)

If you are interested in learning more about food waste in our culture, I definitely encourage you to pick up this book or to look at the site mentioned above. Awareness is key!

What do you think of this topic? Anyone else willing to share the number of items in your own fridge for my entertainment? (I counted every jar and container, but things like a carton of eggs just counted for one item.)

Odds and ends

2011-05-13T07:33:00.000-05:00

Note: This post was supposed to go up this morning (Friday). Instead, my post for next Tuesday was published due to the system-wide problems with Blogger. Thanks to those who commented on the Tuesday post. I'm guessing your comments won't reappear, but I plan to copy and paste them from my e-mail archives.

*Nathan's last of preschool was this week. He said he would most miss his friends and making things, so we'll have to see what we can do on both of those counts over the summer. Here is an example of something he made at school:I saw a brilliant idea years ago about taking photos of your kids' artwork, and that's what I've been doing this year with pieces that are too large to fit in a 3-ring binder. I plan to print the artwork photos and make some kind of collage that can go in the aforementioned binder.

*We had the chance to check out a medical helicopter last week (Claustrophobia!!), and I thought this was a great picture of father and son:
*Our weather has been all over the place. We went from having our heat on to temps in the low 90s and back to the 40s two days later! All of the humidity earlier in the week did this to my sweet girl's hair:I love it! Nathan's hair did that at this age, and Eric and I both had more curly hair as toddlers, too.

*Lastly, and not related to anything else in this post, if you haven't signed up for Groupon yet, I encourage you to check it out. Even in my rural area, I've been able to take advantage of on-line deals for photo sites and E-bay.

Have a good weekend, everyone!

From my kitchen

2011-05-10T06:03:00.010-05:00

Just some random thoughts and ideas from my kitchen to yours . . .

*I bought one of these fabric potato baking bags at a craft fair, and I really like it. So nice to not have to poke potatoes for microwave cooking, and I think they turn out less wrinkly, too. Have any of you tried one?

*I decided to use our oven's self-cleaning feature recently, and though I've done it before without incident, this time the clock area displayed an error code hours after the cleaning was completed. I read in the manual that if the oven continues to beep, it needs to have some maintenance done. Since that is what happened, Eric called his friend who owns the local appliance store. (Yes, I said "the," as in singular!) His friend said he recommends people not use their oven's cleaning feature because the high temps can often melt wires and sensors, which is what occurred in our case. Yikes! We had to replace a $50 part to restore the oven's functionality. Makes me wonder why ovens have a self-cleaning mode if it can cause damage to the oven's parts! Though I'm sure it's out there somewhere, I couldn't find any information on-line about this. Anyone else care to weigh in?

*I have tried frozen grapes in the past, and haven't really cared for them, but I decided to make another attempt by fixing this smoothie. It has a refreshing taste, and I'll probably make them fairly often, given that grapes are now down to 99 cents a pound on sale around here.

*You may remember this post where I shared some recipes that did not become favorites. Recently, I made a meal that both Eric and I thought was terrible. I can't tell you what it was, because I actually got the recipe off of one of your blogs! (Now you'll all be wondering . . . Ha!) This was the third time in our marriage that I've made a meal that Eric couldn't stand. And though I felt badly about the failed dinner that night, I guess that's not too bad a ratio!

*I saw on a blog (can't recall where) a few weeks ago that you could make microwave popcorn without buying the pre-packaged kind, and I was excited to try it. I made it successfully in a paper lunch sack and then read all the warnings here about that a week or two later. So lately, I've been experimenting with a glass bowl covered by a plate. I like not buying chemical-laden bags, and it's a quick alternative when we don't feel like getting out our popper.

*Eric and Nathan assembled parfaits for my Mother's Day breakfast using granola, yogurt, and fresh fruit. Pretty, delicious, and such a fun idea! I hadn't had one in ages, but I was reminded what a great combo they are of some of my favorite foods. Plus, this was Nathan's first time to make me something for breakfast. Gotta love that!

*It's definitely been challenging decreasing the amount of sugar I consume! The hardest moment was making cookies last week. I wanted so badly to eat a spoonful of dough, but I made myself wait so that I could have a fresh-baked treat instead. I'm one-third of the way there! =)

One Thousand Gifts

2011-05-06T06:05:00.003-05:00

Though I don't read A Holy Experience regularly, I am always challenged when I do. I'd seen mentions of Ann's new book popping up all over blogland, and decided to give it a read.

As expected, I wrote down lots of insightful quotes, including the following:

"Our fall was, has always been, and always will be that we aren't satisfied in God and what He gives." And on those same lines, "Ingratitude was the fall--humanity's discontent with all that God freely gives."

"Thanksgiving--giving thanks in everything prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ."

I loved this quote Ann shared from Julian of Norwich, "For of all the things our minds can think about God, it is thinking upon His goodness that pleases Him most and brings the most profit to our soul."

I was stunned by the pastor she quoted who said his life's most profound regret was being in a hurry. "Through all that haste, I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away." If that doesn't make you stop and think, read it again!

I was challenged when Ann reminded us that we always have the choice to be fully attentive. I am often guilty of letting my mind wander, especially (gulp) when I'm playing with my children.

An especially poignant section of the book involved a sinful exchange between Ann's two sons. Though saddened and even angered by her son's selfish behavior, Ann realizes in that incident that she needs to pray aloud with and for them. She thanks God for her boys, and thanks God for not leaving us in our mess. In doing so, she reminds her sons--and herself--about the hope of forgiveness.

Though the content in this book is excellent, I sometimes struggled with the writing style. Adverbs are often shortened ("clock ticks slow"), words are inverted to what seems natural to me ("The sun rolls across wheat warm"), and articles (such as "the") are often omitted. The book is certainly worth reading--I'm just mentioning that the nontraditional writing style was distracting to me at times.

Shortly after finishing the book, the main message of intentional gratitude was reinforced in the March 22 devotion from Jesus Calling: "Rejoice and be thankful! As you walk with Me through this day, practice trusting and thanking Me all along the way. Trust is the channel through which My peace flows into you. Thankfulness lifts you up above your circumstances. I do My greatest works through people with grateful, trusting hearts. Rather than planning and evaluating, practice trusting and thanking Me continually. This is a paradigm shift that will change your life."

Have any of you read One Thousand Gifts? What did you think? My sister, Monica, and I decided to post our reviews of this book on the same day, so please click here to read her thoughts, and also to wish her a happy birthday!

*Thanks to all of you who left comments on my blogiversary post. I truly appreciated your feedback! I always use the random number site for my drawings, and this time the number chosen was 9. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the 9th comment came from none other than The Homespun Heart! Happy birthday, Monica!!

4 years of blogging (and a giveaway!)

2011-05-03T06:07:00.007-05:00

658 posts in the past 4 years. Wow! (As I looked at the numbers, I couldn't help but notice that the number of posts I write was cut in half when we doubled the number of kids in our family! Ha!)

I thought it would be fun a few months ago to put the topics I write about into a word cloud, and I was thrilled to see that the subjects I write about most still reflect what is most important to me: The top 3 words are family, faith, and homemaking!

Thanks for joining me on this journey. As a way to say thank you, I'd like to give away a Leslie Sansone DVD. I've mentioned how much I've enjoyed her workouts--my February challenge seriously got me back on track with exercising, and I'm so glad! If your name is chosen in the random drawing, you will receive a gently used copy of Leslie Sansone: Walk Away the Pounds Ultimate Collection.

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment on this post, telling me what topic or type of post you most enjoy reading on this blog. (Not to elevate me or my writing in any way, but rather to help me tune in to who's reading and what is interesting to you.) Thanks! I'll choose a name sometime Thursday, and will announce the winner on Friday.

Sugar, sugar

2011-05-02T06:13:00.005-05:00

(When trying to think of an appropriate title for this post, all I could think about was this oldies song!)

So, a month ago, I stated that my challenge for April was to floss every day. Boy, did I fall short this time around! I improved my 2-3 times a week to just 4 times/week. It's hard to get into a new habit. I often forgot, and a few times, I confess, I just didn't feel like it. Kind of funny, since it takes less than a minute to do, plus I knew I'd have to report back here on my blog!

My May challenge should also have a positive impact on my teeth, as I want to be intentional about consuming less sugar. Though I would consider myself a pretty healthy eater when it comes to meals, I am a snacker and a sweet tooth, and that does not make the best combination. I have some kind of dessert (cookie/s, piece of candy) after one or two meals a day, and sometimes I also reach for a sweet snack in the afternoon or evening. It's really a lack of discipline, and that's why I'm targeting it for my next challenge. The fact that I feel embarrassed about what I just admitted to you will hopefully be some good motivation for decreasing my sugar intake to one serving of sweets each day!

I thought about doing some kind of sugar detox--as in not eating any--but I know myself well enough that I would be setting myself up to fail with such an extreme attempt. This goal I've set will be challenging for me. As I've often heard my mom say, "Everything in moderation."

I often have headaches, and lately I've wondered if there's a connection to the amount of sugar I'm consuming. I've done some on-line research on the effects of sugar, but haven't come to any real conclusions at this point. If you have thoughts on the subject, I am interested to hear them!

Toy swap

2011-04-29T06:12:00.005-05:00

I've read lots articles over the past couple of years about swapping various goods, and the idea has been percolating in my mind for awhile. As a member of my MOPS leadership team, I decided that would be a good group to try a swap with. And since we're all moms with young children, I thought toys would be an easy item to target.

Here is how it worked for us:

First, I handed out the list of guidelines below at one of our meetings so everyone knew what to expect.

Guidelines for the MOPS Toy Swap

Please only bring toys that are in good condition—no broken or missing pieces.
In addition to “regular toys,” we will accept puzzles, games, sports equipment, and art supplies. DVDs and music CDs should be targeted to younger kids. (No VHS or cassette tapes)
NO books, clothes, or stuffed animals
Coloring books and small toys (Happy Meal, etc.) will be placed in a box labeled “Free”

You may bring as many items as you wish—everything must be dropped off at (church) between 7-9 p.m. on Monday the 21st. We will price each item, and on Tuesday you will receive tickets based on the value of the items you bring.

On the morning of the swap, you will spend your tickets to shop for items of your choice. Tickets have a $1 value, so if you have 4 tickets and want to buy a $5 item, you will need to pay $1. All items remaining at the end of the swap will be donated to (thrift store).

There were 4 of us who collected items the night before the swap, which was nice to have more objective input on pricing the toys we received. We then organized items by category (sports, games, baby, etc.) We counted the number of tickets each swapper earned, and then put those in an envelope labeled with the person's name, which we distributed the morning of the swap.

I asked a couple non-shoppers to serve as cashiers. For the first 3 minutes of the swap, we allowed all participants to browse and select one thing. This avoided grabbing and chaos, but also hopefully ensured that each mom walked away with at least one item she really wanted. Then we had "open shopping" for 15 additional minutes, and we encouraged those with extra tickets to give them to someone else, as only a quarter of the moms in our group chose to participate.

After 15 minutes of shopping/swapping, all moms present could browse and take home any remaining items for free. Items left were donated to the local thrift store. I noted that the majority of what remained were small baby toys, such as rattles and soft blocks, so in the future, I think we would discourage that category.

So that's how the toy swap worked for us. It was a lot of fun, and I'd like to do it again next year. For me, the brilliance of the swap is that I got rid of some toys my kids no longer play with, and I was able to bring home several new items without spending any money.

Feel free to contact me if you have additional questions, but please make sure I have your e-mail address so I can respond. If you're interested in a different kind of swap, my friend Kara just posted about one here.

Checking in

2011-04-26T06:15:00.006-05:00

Just checking in with a few random updates:

*Resurrection eggs--what a neat way to share this important Story with our children! I liked opening one new egg each day, and reviewing the parts of the narrative we'd already discussed. I also used Katie's suggestion of reading from our kids' Bible when the story matched what we were talking about with the eggs.

*We praise the Lord for two new nieces in one week (not twins!)--Lauren and Brylee. Can't wait to meet these precious girlies!

*I successfully made pancakes over the weekend. Woo-hoo!

*Thanks to all who commented about hymns. I'd never heard of one of Mer's favorites, but I looked it up on YouTube, and I've been listening ever since. Love it!

*Back Friday with toy swap details . . .

Hymn sing

2011-04-22T06:17:00.005-05:00

Several weeks ago, I saw an ad in the newspaper for an old-fashioned hymn sing at the local Baptist church, and I thought it would be a neat event to attend as a family.

Growing up, my parents were part of a hymn sing group. As I remember it, there were 5 or 6 families involved, and we would rotate houses each month. The host would acquire a stack of hymnals from the church, and of course there were refreshments provided after the singing. We'd fill the room with our voices, calling out numbers for the hymns we wanted to sing. One I most remember singing on these nights is "O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus."

I am grateful to not only have a heritage of faith, but that my parents instilled in my sister and me a love of the old hymns. I love more contemporary praise music, as well, but there is a unique richness and history to the classic songs of the church.

I've always loved "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," so that's one I requested the night of the recent hymn sing. I was also thankful someone shouted out the number for "The Old Rugged Cross." What a meaningful song, especially today. This song is a favorite of my dad, and I always think of him when I hear it.

What are some of your favorite hymns?

*A bonus of attending the hymn sing was the pie social afterward. My goodness, those ladies knew how to make pie! They had such an abundance that we were sent home with an entire plate of peach pie. Delicious!

p.s. Several people asked me for more details about the toy swap I coordinated, but I don't have contact info for everyone, so I plan to post more about this next week.

Nest swap show and tell

2011-04-18T05:00:00.011-05:00

Hooray for spring--and a spring swap! It's show and tell time . . .

My partner Amy put together a fabulous box of goodies for me: a pink and green bag (love that color combo!), cupcake mix with festive papers and flags (I will definitely make those for Easter!), daisy planter (the friendliest flower), garden gloves, flower lollipops, tin candles, bath fizzies, notecards and shopping list, matching plates and napkins, and a cute box with jelly beans inside. Thank you so much, Amy, for the fun box!
I sent Amy some plastic eggs, a spring picture frame, throat drops (random, yes, but cold season hangs on here in the Midwest where we both live), glittery candle, butterfly sidewalk chalk for her daughters, notecards, a pottery cup, a scented diffuser, lotion and fun sprinkles.Now it's your turn--please leave us a link so we can see your fun swap boxes!

Project Simplify

2011-04-15T06:21:00.006-05:00

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was hoping to participate in the Project Simplify initiative from Simple Mom. I worked on all 5 assignments, so here are some notes about each:

Clothes--having just done my 32 challenge, I didn't think I'd have any clothes to get rid of. Well, I was wrong! After going through my closet again with a little more scrutiny, I culled a dozen additional pieces. Some are things I've been holding onto for a long time, like a black silk wrap skirt that just doesn't quite wrap around anymore. =(

Paper clutter--Yikes--reading the instructions for this one scared me! Though my piles look reasonably neat, I hang on to way too much paper. I spent a couple of afternoons going through 4 of my most used paper areas. I found some random or humorous items in my stacks, including a tourist penny from San Francisco, nearly 6-year-old wedding gift receipts, and some Rainbow Brite trading cards (?!), which I passed on to Monica's daughters. =) I still have one more paper zone I'd like to attack sometime soon. One of the biggest offenders for me is articles I tear out of magazines. Any advice on how to store them in a way that they're neat but easily accessible?

Kids' clothes and toys--With garage sale season upon us, I've been wanting to sort through the kids' clothes anyway, so this gave me a push to do it earlier. As for toys, I'm a big fan of rotating, which is a system that's worked well for us. The toy sorting assignment was well-timed, too, because I coordinated a toy swap for my MOPS group that week. (The swap went really well, and I was thrilled with what I received in exchange for toys my kids were ready to pass on. I'd be happy to pass on details if anyone is interested in hosting something similar.)

Fridge and pantry--I check my pantry on a pretty regular basis when I do my meal planning, but my fridge was overdue for a good cleaning, so that's what I did for that week. I did finally part with some spices I'd purchased in metal tins that clumped together in last summer's humidity.

Choose your own disaster =)--I was interested to see computer files on Tsh's list of suggested areas to work on, as I'd actually written that on my April to-do list. It felt great to get this done. It only took me a half-hour to comb through all the documents on our computer and delete or re-file them. Isn't that often the case with tasks we put off?! Because that job went so quickly, I also re-organized our card catalog (below), which holds an interesting assortment of craft supplies, hardware, etc.I had a lot of fun participating in the challenges, and getting some areas of my home in order. Thanks, Simple Mom, for the inspiration! Did anyone else participate in any or all of these challenges?

Family Fun Night: Charles F. Cheddar

2011-04-13T06:16:00.005-05:00

Weird title? Yes. But I was trying to think of a spin-off name for this. =)

I was pretty pumped about this theme, which was inspired by one of the items I scored for free at the recent toy swap I coordinated. I had never seen a toy version of this fun arcade game, so I snatched it up at the swap. That game was the catalyst for the rest of the evening. We also did two other games: timed basketball shooting (30 seconds to see how many times you could score while standing behind a marked line) and animal bowling (using a little set we already have).
Eric's brother, Ryan, joined us for the evening (that's him above), which added to the fun. However, I endured some teasing from both brothers for my enthusiasm about the details! Eric, for example, said at one point, "I definitely married Monica's sister!" Thanks--that's a compliment!

We kicked things off with (What else?) pizza, and then I gave each of the 4 players 3 tokens--one for each of the three games mentioned above. I did a practice run of each game in advance to come up with a little scoring system, because they earned tickets based on how well they did. (Obviously, the games were modified for Natalie, but she did quite well!)

After everyone competed in the games, I had one more activity for them while I set up the prize area: I hid some pieces of candy in a box filled with balls, and each person took a turn (blind-folded!) at digging through and finding a treat. As for the prizes, I had fun coming up with a set of kid and adult prizes I hoped they'd all enjoy.
For the kids, I found 5 books/toys that I've been saving. Some were gifts, and I found the map puzzle for a dollar last year. For the guys, I bought a few things I thought they'd both like. The cake mix and cereal include a coupon for me to make that treat upon their request, so of course, those were the first prizes to go! =)

We finished the evening off with a special dessert of mud and worms, which was obviously a big hit, as was the rest of our time. I think this night will become an annual tradition!

Special gifts

2011-04-11T06:03:00.008-05:00

I wanted to share with you about a couple of special gifts I've received recently:

1. For my birthday, a family member gave me a check, indicating that the money was to be spent in mission. Two of my friends went on mission trips overseas last month, so I divided the sum between them, sending half to eastern Europe, and the other portion to Haiti. Both of my friends reported that they were able to bless someone special with the money they'd brought over. What a neat gift that kept getting passed on!

2. A few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find a big, colorfully decorated box on my front porch. The sender was a dear blog friend of mine, who asked to remain anonymous. Though we've never met, she was ready to pass on some of her daughter's dresses and other clothing items, and she decided to send them to Natalie. It was a very generous and thoughtful gift, and we are grateful. Here's a picture of Natalie in one of her cute "new" dresses, followed by the stack of all the lovely hand-me-downs we received. Thank you, friend!

Have you received or given a particularly special gift lately?

Note: You may have heard me mention before that Eric and I have chosen 3 traits to pray for each of our children beginning before they are born. One of the traits we pray specifically for Natalie is that she would be a person who gives meaningful gifts to others!

Homemade Resurrection Eggs

2011-04-08T06:09:00.009-05:00

My post earlier this week talked about introducing children to God and spiritual Truth. The idea I'm sharing today did not come from the book I just reviewed, but rather from a fellow blog. With Easter right around the corner, I'd been looking for a way to share the story in a more intentional, visual way with Nathan in particular. Enter Annette's post about homemade Resurrection Eggs! (You can purchase a set for about $17 on-line, but I loved the idea of making ours.)

As directed, I took an egg carton and scrounged around to find the 11 necessary items to put in each egg. (The 12th egg is appropriately empty!) Each item, such as thorns and coins, tells the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. I spent nothing to put this together, and I think it's neat knowing our set is one-of-a-kind! Annette lists not only each item, but also the corresponding Scripture passage. I took it a step further, and compiled all of the verses in a document for easier reference, which I would be happy to e-mail to anyone upon request.

We are planning to start walking through the story next Wednesday, introducing a new piece of the story each day (and building on what we've already discussed). This means that we will open the 12th egg on Easter morning. I love the symbolism of that!

Here is the set I put together:
I'm excited to walk through this with Nathan. Though he has a basic understanding of the Story, I think this will be a powerful way for all of us to observe this important season!

1001 Ways to Introduce Your Child to God

2011-04-05T06:16:00.009-05:00

"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

********************************

Last month, I stumbled onto a book at a local church library, and immediately knew I wanted to bring it home for further reading.

I love the Scripture passage the author shares at the beginning as her basis for teaching even babies about God and His character: "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 3:14-15

The book is divided into chapters that each focus on a different characteristic, such as trust, obedience, kindness, and even witnessing. Within each chapter, the author gives lots of ideas (songs, crafts, and games) for parents to implement with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.

To be honest, I found many of the ideas to be too cheesy for my style, but I love the intention behind the book. I wrote down a couple dozen ideas to try with my kids, and I will plan to share those that are effective at a later time.

The book ends with a parent's prayer: "O Lord, You have graciously given me a tiny child to teach and to lead to a personal knowledge of You. I first give my own life to You as my source of forgiveness, salvation, security, and strength. I am not sufficient for this task, but You are . . . through me. Use me, enable me, guide my steps, and graciously provide the godly wisdom and power that I will need daily. Keep me consistent in word and example, and please compensate for my inevitable errors. I am totally dependent upon You to introduce Your Infinite Self to my child, O Lord, my strength and redeemer. Amen."

If that prayer wasn't inspiring enough in our role as the spiritual leaders in our home, then surely this is:

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." Psalm 78:4-7

Have any of you heard of or read this book? What did you think? I look forward to sharing more specific examples from the book soon.

Note: When linking to the copy I've reviewed above, I noticed there's a companion book for introducing kids to the Bible, so I plan to look into that title as well.

P.S. Another of my book reviews was featured in this month's edition of Comfort Cafe. Check it out here!

No foolin': a flossing update

2011-04-01T06:06:00.005-05:00

It's been nearly a year since I admitted my remiss dental hygiene habits. Since that time, and having had an overdue check-up last May, I am proud to say this is an area I have finally improved in. I have gone from flossing a couple of times a year (!) to 2-3 times a week. Still room for growth, obviously, but this has been a long-time goal of mine and I'm glad I've finally kicked things up a notch! Monica gave me some of these she scored for free, and I find them easier to use than traditional floss.

As for the teeth grinding, I have a mouth guard that I wear most nights a week, which is pretty significant for me. I put off wearing one for years, and it took awhile once I started last spring for it to feel more natural and even comfortable.

I have another dentist appointment next month, and I'm hoping they'll notice some positive results! For the month of April, I want to be even more diligent in this regard, so my goal for the next 30 days is to floss daily. Maybe I'll even try the calendar trick again since it worked so well for my exercise challenge!

As for March, whew! The two biggest things: I'm wrapping up the big project I've been doing for the college, and I coordinated a toy swap for our local MOPS group last week.

Since I mentioned March Madness a few weeks ago, I have to share that at one point in the tournament, my bracket was ranked 895 out of over 6 million entrants! I feel it's OK to brag about this a little, because since then my rank has plummeted. =)

Butterfly birthday

2011-03-28T06:10:00.013-05:00

Natalie's birthday theme was butterflies, and I had fun coming up with ideas for her little party.

First of all, I made invitations using cardstock I had on hand. I used several different color combinations so that each person received a different butterfly. Here's a sample, along with this cute snack I made the kids for a party favor.For lunch, I served butterfly sandwiches*, and made pasta salad with butterfly (bowtie) pasta. Of course we had cake for dessert! I followed these instructions for making the cake into a butterfly shape, but opted to keep it simple with just frosting and colored sugar.
After eating, we played this fun game, which I borrowed from a friend. Kids and adults alike had fun trying to capture the butterflies!

Natalie received several butterfly presents, including several clothing items, a new cup, and this little backpack which she's been carrying everywhere!It was a special birthday, and we were glad to celebrate it with my parents, aunt, and grandma!

*A fun bonus of the cut-out sandwiches pictured above was taking the scraps to a nearby lake and feeding the ducks. I have fond memories of doing that as a child, and my kids loved it. I confess, though, that after we were done, we saw a sign on the opposite side of the lake prohibiting feeding the waterfowl. Oops!

Checking in

2011-03-23T13:04:00.008-05:00

Thanks so much for all of your birthday wishes for Natalie. I plan to have a birthday post up Friday or Monday, but wanted to share a few updates before then.

We had a good time in Kansas City, despite the fact that Natalie, Nathan and I have all had various ailments. Hopefully, we're on the mend now! Here's the birthday girl with Daddy, Grammie, and Pepaw (who continues to amaze us with how well he's doing. Praise the Lord!)

The biggest news from our week is that we found out Nathan needs glasses! He had a routine vision screening at preschool that indicated the need for a more professional exam. I promptly made an appointment, but I admit I thought it was kind of a fluke because I've never observed any concern regarding Nathan's eyesight. However, like father, like son: Nathan has a lazy left eye, and will probably need glasses for the rest of his life. We are grateful this was caught early, and I think Nathan's done really well adjusting to wearing them. We let him pick out these blue frames. Of course he has to goof off anytime the camera is nearby these days. What a cutie!
Natalie received many fun birthday gifts, but she and Nathan have sure had fun with this kitchen from Grandma and Grandpa.That's some news from around here. Back soon with birthday pix!

Happy birthday, Natalie!

2011-03-18T06:17:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this little girl is two today! You can see from this picture that Natalie has quite the sense of humor. She says funny things every day--I told Eric we should follow her around with a video camera, because her vocabulary and the way she enunciates words often cracks us up! She is still very petite, and as snuggly as ever.

We love our little peanut!We're thankful to be celebrating the day with extended family in Kansas City. I'll post pix and more details when we get home.

Natural cold remedies

2011-03-14T06:10:00.002-05:00

Colds and other illnesses are definitely still going strong in our area, and I've been wanting to share all season about some natural but effective remedies. I intended to write this post a long time ago (like in October--oops!), but better late than never, I suppose.

If you are interested in natural remedies, you should check out this very comprehensive post covering many ailments. I was particularly interested in the link to 5 simple remedies, and tried three of them this past winter: 1) Mixing eucalyptus essential oil with a little olive oil for a homemade version of Vick's, 2) Making hummus with fresh garlic to take advantage of the garlic's immune boosting properties, and 3) Chopping an onion. According to Stephanie, the fumes offer much of an onion's healing potential, and one night when I was really congested, I even tried her suggestion of placing a small bowl of chopped onion beside the bed. I'm not sure if it helped, but I was willing to try pretty much anything at that point! Another onion remedy is this homemade cough syrup which I plan to try sometime (though hopefully not soon!)

Hydration is very important in combating colds, and I know it sounds kind of gross but you need to keep your nasal passages moist to help avoid infections. To help with this, I tried a neti pot for the first time this year. (I got mine free through an on-line offer.) Yes, it's a bit strange, but it really is effective--this post offers helpful information for trying one. I also run the humidifier every night from late fall to early spring, and I use a saline solution most nights before bed.

For prevention, I'm also a big fan of Emergen-C. Whenever I feel a cold coming on, I drink 1-2 glasses each day. It may seem a little pricey when buying a box, but at 25-30 cents a serving, I consider that money well spent if we avoid doctor or prescription costs! In addition, when I have even a tinge of a sore throat, I use these throat drops, and I also gargle with salt water.

What are your tips for preventing and treating colds?

Nest Swap!

2011-03-09T05:00:00.002-06:00

The first day of spring is just around the corner, and we are pleased to announce that our next Sister's Shoebox Swap has a theme of Nest!

For those are who are unfamiliar with our swaps, my sister and I started these several years ago as a unique way to encourage others. Based on the information you send us, we match you with someone we think you will pair well with, and then we ask each of you to fill a shoebox with goodies tailored to the theme and your swap partner. It's a lot of fun!

Please read the following details carefully if you are interested in swapping:

Before you send us an e-mail, please consider if you have the time and resources to fulfill your swap. We don't want anyone to be disappointed!

2. You need to fill out your questionnaire as part of the sign-up. In order to sign up for this swap, please e-mail sisterswaps@hotmail.com with the following info:

name

complete mailing address
e-mail address
blog site, if you have one

If you would be willing to ship internationally, please indicate that specifically. If you don't mention it, we'll assume it's your preference to ship within the U.S.

Also, please answer the following questions in your sign-up e-mail. The more thorough your answers, the better we can match you with someone complementary.

*Considering that your home is your nest, how would you describe your ideal nest? (bright, spacious, cozy, etc.)

*What is your favorite thing about spring?

*How do you celebrate Easter?
* What are your do's and don'ts of spring decorating? (for example: Favorite spring colors? Do you collect bunnies? How do you feel about religious decorations in your home?)

Sign-up entries must be complete to be included. Even if you’ve swapped with us before, please send all of the information requested above. Please keep the theme in mind when selecting items for your partner, and as usual, please limit your gifts to what can fit in a shoebox.

Important dates to consider:
Sign-ups due by 8 a.m. (CST) Friday, March 11, or when 40 people have signed up.
Partner info will be e-mailed to you by Wednesday, March 16.
Please send your shoebox by Wednesday, April 6.

If you have not received an e-mail with partner info from us by March 16, please check your “junk” folder first, and then contact us if needed.

Thanks, and happy swapping!

Little things

2011-03-07T06:02:00.006-06:00

Lots of little things to say . . .

*I recently watched a segment on healthy breakfasts, and learned that old fashioned oats are more nutritious* than the quick cooking variety. I had no idea! We have oatmeal once a week, and I guess I've just assumed that the old fashioned kind would take too long to cook. However, I just checked my carton, and it said it only takes 5 minutes to cook--which is how long I cook the quick kind! (*I want to add, though, that I did a quick on-line search to back this up, and didn't find anything super compelling or decisive on the subject. Anyone want to weigh in?)

*Out of curiosity, I clicked on the "followers" section on my blog dashboard for the first time this past weekend. I browsed each name, and was surprised to be unfamiliar with a third of these blog readers! If you've been lurking for awhile, I'd love to have you leave a comment sometime. The same goes for some people I know in real life who I've discovered read my blog on the sly! =)

*I've had a recipe in my "try" file for quite awhile that I finally got around to making last week--cookies that have crushed potato chips in them. They are delicious! (I left out the pretzels and peanuts because I'm not a fan.)

*I came across this endeavor that starts today, and hope to join in for at least some of it!

More snow around these parts--bummer! I had to laugh when I was at the library this weekend and saw a local license plate declaring "H8 snow!" Back later this week--

The Five Love Languages of Children

2011-03-04T06:16:00.013-06:00

I recently read The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell. I'm sure that many of you, like me, have read The 5 Love Languages, but I was interested to learn more about how to apply the love language concept with my children. As the authors state at the beginning of the book, "A child's emotional tank must be filled before any effective training or discipline can take place."

The book says that you can't really expect to identify your child's primary love language until they are age 5 or older. (The book also mentions that love languages are not set in stone, and your child's primary language can switch at different stages.) However, after reading the chapter about quality time, my "suspicions" were confirmed that this is Nathan's primary love language. The authors define quality time as "focused attention." Nathan will often say to me, "I want to do something special with you, Mommy." I have also learned that when he is having a hard day, it is really calming for him to snuggle with me on the couch and read books together. I have been trying to be more intentional about doing a little something with him after Natalie goes down for her afternoon nap and before he begins room time.

As a mother with two young children, I needed and appreciated this insight: "As you express your love by acts of service to your children, doing things they may not be able to do for themselves, you are setting a model. This will help them escape their self-centered focus and help others." The book also suggested in this section that we teach our children how to serve others.

In addition to the individual chapters on each of the five love languages, the book contains an entire chapter about discovering your child's primary love language. The authors state that one of the languages will speak most deeply of love to your child; conversely, when that same language is used negatively, the child is very hurt. Some suggestions given for determining your child's primary love language: 1) Observe how your child expresses love to you. 2) Observe how your child expresses love to others. 3) Listen to what your child requests most often. 4) Notice what your child most frequently complains about. 5) Give your child a choice between two options (for example, a gift vs. an outing together).

Why go to all the work of figuring this stuff out? "The supreme value," the authors say, "of discovering your child's primary love language is that it gives you the most effective means of communicating emotional love."

The chapters on the relationship between discipline and anger and the love languages were interesting. I admit I'm not sure if I agree with the authors on all of their points, but it was definitely food for thought. I did appreciate the distinction between "making requests" and "issuing commands," and there was a particular quote I liked in the discipline chapter: "Being pleasant but firm not only conserves your authority, but it enhances your authority, because you are gaining your children's love and respect as well as their gratitude."

**********

Speaking of the love languages, I was thinking back to my birthday a couple years ago when Eric blessed me with all five gifts in one day. What a treat! You can click here to learn more about the love languages, and to take a brief quiz that will help you identify your primary language.

Has anyone else read this book? Have you identified your own primary love language, or that of your child(ren)?

Walk on

2011-03-01T06:10:00.008-06:00

Remember my challenge to get in shape during the month of February? Well, I am proud to report that I surpassed my goal of working out 20/28 days, and I was able to put 22 stars on my calendar! Woo-hoo!

I was amazed how motivated I felt, and the variety I incorporated made exercising a lot of fun! I did lots of walking--two days it was actually nice enough to walk outside, and on cold days, I walked on the treadmill* at our local fitness center (I had a punch card with 5 free passes). In the warmer months, I walk a ton outside, but my favorite new way to walk in winter is DVDs like this one and this one. Thanks to my friend Kelly for suggesting these--I'd never heard of them! I borrowed both of them initially, and liked the first one so much I bought it on-line. I may order the second one at some point, too--love it!

In addition to all the walking, I tried a couple other fitness programs a few times each--one was a cardio dance workout that made me feel less-than-coordinated =), and I also tried a walking DVD by a different instructor; however, I was not a fan and won't recommend that one. Isn't it awesome to be able to borrow DVDs from the library or a friend before you make an investment?

Even though my challenge is technically over, I know I will continue making more of an effort to walk inside while it's still cold because it makes me feel good and helps to beat the winter "blahs." Spring is just around the corner!

************

I have a lot of projects going on right now (my own version of March Madness!), so instead of tacking on an additional challenge this month, my desire is to work diligently on each of those tasks, and to do so with excellence!

*I would like to add that until a month ago, I had NEVER walked on a treadmill! The professional who helped me get started couldn't believe that. It was a little awkward for me the first few minutes, but then I found a rhythm and just enjoyed myself. Walking really is a great way to exercise!

I also want to add that I had to get creative with fitting exercise into my day. I often got up earlier before the kids were up, but sometimes I did my workout during the day, and a few times I fit it in the evening.

Overdue

2011-02-25T06:18:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks age, it seemed like everywhere I turned, I was coming across someone talking about the importance of taking time to reflect or retreat. In addition to this article by Stephanie, and the follow-up post on here, it seemed like several other people were thinking about this subject. I was certainly getting the message, but I wasn't acting on it. It's true that I was going through an unusually busy stretch with my work from home and some other commitments, but rushing around made me see my need for a retreat even more. I just didn't know how to "fit it in."

Then on February 11, my daily reading in Jesus Calling said, "Trust Me enough to spend ample time with Me, pushing back the demands of the day . . . You will find that you can accomplish more in less time, after you have given yourself to Me in rich communion. Also, as you align yourself with My perspective, you can sort out what is important and what is not. Don't fall into the trap of being constantly on the go."

That was the final push I needed. Immediately after reading that passage, I told Eric I needed to schedule a retreat in the coming weekend. I had to adjust some of my to-do items to make it work--I ended up running to the grocery store in the evening, instead of the morning as I'd planned, and I also woke up early to fit in my workout before the kids woke up. I know it takes extra effort, but once I was seated in my quiet space with warm drink in hand, I truly felt myself relax. I am refreshed by taking time to write, read and pray, and I hope I won't wait so long to do this again!

Our inaugural family night: For the Birds

2011-02-22T06:04:00.006-06:00

I've been wanting to be more intentional about doing things together as a family, and I was wondering about planning some theme nights, but I wasn't sure where to start. When I told Monica, the queen of themes, about my desire, she asked what some of my ideas were. I mentioned that I had a list of some things I've been wanting to do with Nathan, and one of those things was to make bird cupcakes (the name I gave them), using sunflower seeds, peanut butter, etc. She suggested I revolve our other activities around that theme, so I ran with it!

The "bird cupcake" recipe came from The Tightwad Gazette, but I have to say they didn't turn out as expected, because they were quite crumbly. I'm sure the birds won't mind, though, and Nathan definitely enjoyed helping in the kitchen. In planning other bird-related activities for the evening, I remembered we had some sheets of bird stickers I'd tucked away, so I pulled those out for the kids to make pictures on construction paper. I also found an ostrich paint with water picture for Natalie to work on while Nathan and I mixed the cupcakes, and I came across some colorful bird printouts that I'd saved from a library storytime. (Sometimes it's good to be a packrat!)

I was thrilled with how the plan for our family night was shaping up, and I saved the best activity for last. Thanks to my friend, Erin, for sending me the link to this fun bird hunting game that our kids LOVED. (FYI, I printed the bird sheets in black and white and colored them in with markers.) Eric and I took turns hiding the bird pictures around the house, and Nathan and Natalie had a blast looking for them. We did it 3 times! While they were waiting, we sang songs that had birds in them ("His Eye is on the Sparrow" and "Rockin' Robin"--those were the only two I could think of since singing was a very impromptu addition to the night's agenda!) and we watched some funny bird videos on You Tube. They wanted to stick some of the bird pictures on themselves, as you can see in the photo above.

I was surprised that all of these activities lasted just an hour, but we didn't spend a dime, and the kids were clearly thrilled. When we were done, Nathan asked when we could do it again! It certainly won't be a weekly occasion at our house, but I do look forward to planning more of these themed family nights in the future!

What's your design style?

2011-02-18T06:05:00.020-06:00

In the past year, I read a fun article in Real Simple magazine that talked about individual design styles, and a design expert suggested doing the following things to determine your unique style:

1. Look at your furniture, noting which pieces are favorites, and which are not.

2. Gather items that are special and beautiful to you.

3. Think about places you love and why you love them.

4. Look for common threads of design, colors, shapes, materials among the things you treasure.

After thinking about the above questions, check out the examples below, and see which one suits you most.

Modern Graphic (edgy, contemporary, abstract): pieces like the Eames lounge chair, this funky coffee table, or this silver furniture set.

Sophisticated Classic (elegant, feminine, traditional): pieces like this bronze wall mirror, this pedestal table, and this fancy chandelier.

Cozy Casual (warm, natural, weathered): pieces like this comfy sofa, this rustic coffee table set, and this pretty table lamp.

Vintage Eclectic (variety, layers, lots of details): Think Persian rug mixed with a brown velvet settee and this painting.

Which of these descriptions most aligns with your tastes and preferences? If none of these fit, how would you describe your style?

Note: You can also take a quick decorating style quiz on the Real Simple site by clicking here.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T06:19:00.008-06:00

Until yesterday, we'd never really done anything as a family to celebrate Valentine's Day. I wanted that to be different this year, so I planned a few special treats throughout the day.

In the morning, I served heart-shaped muffins with pink milk (which, unfortunately, the kids did not like!) I bought two little mailboxes for a dollar each and filled them with valentines (including some mailed by other family members) and a few goodies. One thing I gave them was swirly crayons I'd made from the many broken bits we'd accumulated. I tried making them heart-shaped, but they didn't really turn out that way! At Eric's place, I set a couple valentines (one made by me, and one made by the kids) and a rare treat: a package of Twizzlers.

For lunch, I made heart-shaped quesadillas, apple slices, heart-shaped finger Jell-o, and these (Thanks, Mom!) for dessert.

I wanted our evening meal to be a little fancy, so I lit candles and set out beautiful red heart placemats my grandma made. We had baked ravioli, green beans, and heart-shaped garlic bread for supper.

It was a fun day, and I'd like to make the morning mailboxes and the "fancy" evening meal an annual tradition.

Nathan also brought home plenty of goodies from his preschool party. Look at this cute alligator valentine box he made!

Lastly, Eric and I had a fun date over the weekend. Our annual Christmas date had been canceled in December due to a blizzard, and then my birthday plans were altered due to the funeral in Michigan, so this was a Christmas/birthday/Valentine's date. =) After a delicious supper here, we headed to one of our favorite places to browse.

I suggested we each pick out a few things for the other person to read, and I don't know if it was more fun to select items for Eric, or to see what he chose for me. In case you're curious, I selected a fantasy baseball magazine, a hunting and fishing magazine, a book on how-to-do just about anything yourself, and a dog training manual (I actually meant it as a joke, but Eric did check it out!) What he picked out for me to look at: an Indian cookbook, Time magazine, a book about crafty people who blog (totally made me think of Monica!), and a book of 365 ideas for creative projects. This was really fun, and the only bummer was that the bookstore closed at 9 and we ran out of time. I'd love to do it again sometime.

Hope you all had a special Valentine's Day!

Instructing a Child's Heart

2011-02-11T06:14:00.004-06:00

Thanks to my sister-in-law, Kristin, for loaning me Instructing a Child's Heart, the companion book to Shepherding a Child's Heart.

The explanation of the book's title offered by authors Tedd and Margy Tripp is that "Instructing a child's heart is not simply transfering data from parent to child. It is impressing the heart with truth." "We should impress truth on the hearts of our children, not to control or manage them, but to point them to the greatest joy and happiness they can experience--delighting in God and the goodness of His ways."

The book challenges parents to give children "big truths they will grow into rather than light explanations they'll grow out of." As an example, they explain that when addressing a child who hits other people, you don't just say "That's not nice;" rather, you explain that we are made in God's image, and as such, we need to be constantly striving towards righteousness.

This book convicted me many times of my tendency to be short-sighted in dealing with problems with my children. The authors urge us, "Don't think survival--think kingdom!" They also argue against the popular theories of behaviorism, which is something I often subscribe to. "The temptation," the Tripps write, "is to substitute the behavioristic methods of the culture for the power of the Word of God and the work of His Spirit in the hearts of our children." "Manipulation of behavior through rewards or punishments will never touch the stony heart. Only grace can change the heart."

In continuing their defense against behaviorism (which includes bribing, threatening, guilting, negotiating, rewarding), the Tripps assert that even though it is popular, and sometimes effective, it obscures the gospel. "When we can use incentives or punishments to get the behavior we want without God and His redemption, we are teaching our children that they can live in God's world without Christ and do just fine."

Other noteworthy quotes from the book:

"When a child is arguing about whether or not it is legitimate for a parent to make a request, that child is not submitting. If that child has to be 'sold' on what must be done, there is no true submission. When a child delays obedience or responds when convenient, there is no submission . . . When a child is challenging a parent's authority, or asking why in a demanding ton, that child is not submitting. Submission means responding to God's authority by cheerfully doing whatever is required."

I appreciated the book's concise definition of foolishness: It's asking "What will please ME?"

"How does a child learn the fear of the Lord? To answer that question, let me ask another. What would my children do if they knew there was hidden treasure in the backyard? They would dig up every square inch of the yard to find the treasure. Learning to fear the Lord comes through searching as one would search for hidden treasure. God will not hide Himself from those who earnestly seek Him." See Proverbs 2:1-5.

"Discipline is primarily an opportunity to remind our children of their need to repent and believe in Christ, and of the forgiveness and provision available from God through Christ."

The final quote I want to share is the powerful conclusion of the book: "The power of grace in the gospel will cleanse us, forgive us, change us internally and empower us to be all that we need to be to instruct the hearts of our children . . . Come to Christ each day knowing that you can do all things through Him who gives you strength."

Overall, I found this book to be challenging and convicting, and I would recommend it if you are interested in learning more about biblical parenting. Has anyone else read this book?

Note: This is the first book I've finished in 2011. I don't recall ever keeping a list of the books I'm reading, so I decided it would be a neat thing to record, even though it will be a much shorter list than back in the day! My intention is to post the list of books I've read on here at the end of the year, offering a giveaway where the winner can select a book from among the list of titles. You only have to wait 10 1/2 more months for it. =)

Random

2011-02-08T06:12:00.010-06:00

It's been an unusually busy week, but I have a few random things to mention, and thought I'd throw together a little post.

First , my husband and I did something really out of character last week: we bought a van on Ebay! What?! I know. But all of the details have worked out amazingly, thanks to Eric's siblings. His sister and her husband picked the van* up at the dealership near their Chicago suburb, and then it was driven back here by Eric's brother who was headed this way from Michigan! Any other proud Odyssey owners out there? Anyone else willing to admit to buying a car on the INTERNET?!

Second, I had the opportunity last week to help out at the Compassion table for this tour. If you're a sponsor, I would encourage you to consider volunteering at one of these concerts or a similar event. I'd thought about doing it for years, and finally decided to dive in!

Third, and I told you this was random!, do you remember when I showed you this map of our family who's scattered all over the country? Well, my aunt who used to live in south Florida, recently moved to the South American country of Chile. I hadn't done anything yet to change her location, but I just noticed it had been sort of taken care of for me. On its own, the string fell and is now pointing south. You can tell I'm tired right now because I actually thought this was funny and decided to take a picture!

So, as I said, just wanted to check in with a few random things. Feel free to comment, of course, although I understand if you don't really have anything to say after reading all that! =)

*Sorry the van pic isn't the best. It was -2 outside, and I didn't really want to stand around getting the best angle. I realize the paint looks messed up, but I assure you it's just shadows! The van is in excellent condition.

Get in shape, girl!

2011-02-04T06:05:00.010-06:00

Hooray--I made it through my second year of doing the pantry challenge! However, I have to confess that I went $15 over the half-budget amount. We use cash, so I'm not quite sure how I did that since we keep our money divided into separate categories, but the receipts clearly indicate my higher total. I'm a little disappointed, but I can still be proud of how tight I reined in our January food expenditures. I debated for quite awhile about where to send the remaining money, and decided to split it between World Vision Micro, an exciting program that gives small business loans to people in impoverished areas, and World Vision's Haiti hunger fund.

*******

And now onto my February challenge. I've gotten very slack about working out, and the long winters around here certainly don't help with that. My goal is to exercise 20 days out of 28--essentially 5 times a week. I am going to put a star on my calendar for the days I follow through, and my accountability will be to post the calendar here at the end of the month. I put this challenge under the stewardship category, because it's clearly important to take care of the physical resources God has blessed us with!

Does anyone else remember the fitness-inspired toy line called "Get in Shape, Girl?" I totally loved that stuff as a kid!

Finally, I have to tell you about something awesome I just came across--the Give: LOVE project! You donate to a great cause (helping children around the world who are victims of trafficking), and then you download super cute valentines that were designed just for this project. I'm all over that. Hope you'll check it out!

32

2011-02-01T06:13:00.007-06:00

I've completed both of my January challenges, and will post both a pantry follow-up and my February challenge on Friday.

I am proud to report that I got rid of 32 things before my 32nd birthday. In fact, I ended up with a list of 35 items!

I tend to be a packrat about some stuff, so this challenge proved a good catalyst for getting rid of a few things I'd held on to for a long time! For this challenge, I recycled, gave, pitched, thrifted, and consigned. Here are a few of the items I no longer own:

*I threw away a bag of gift bows that has been driving me crazy. I've stored the bag of bows underneath the guest room bed, and Natalie discovered it there over a year ago. It became a favorite toy of both kids, which I was OK with--for awhile. But then all the bows started getting really ratty, and I would find them in random places, and I decided I was done. I rarely use bows on presents, so I'm glad they got a lot of enjoyment out of them!

*I parted ways with this sweater that I've had since early college--ahem--over 10 years ago. Here's a pic of me wearing it circa 2000. I hope whoever buys it will wear it for another 12 years! *I went through all of our medicines and toiletries, and threw out a bottle of calamine lotion that expired in 2007. The consistency was a little strange, and for a couple bucks, it's clearly time to buy a new bottle!

*Though it was difficult for me =), I finally threw out two favorite pairs of socks that had LARGE holes in them. My mother was appalled with my sorry hosiery at Christmas, and gave me three new pairs of these cuties for my birthday.

*My friend Sara has passed on all kinds of goodies to me over the years. (In fact, Sara, I'm wearing that pretty coral cardigan today!) Last summer, one of the things in her stash for me was a cheese grater. Now, I've never been a big fan of grating my own cheese, so it's a chore I've been willing to avoid. However, the thought of a free grater made me think I might *someday* grate my own cheese, zucchini, etc. On my birthday, when I was wrapping up this challenge, I came across the grater, and I debated for a minute about whether or not to get rid of it. Imagine my surprise when a few hours later, I opened a box from my parents to discover this. I've already used it to shred and slice lots of carrots--so handy! Maybe I'll even use it to grate cheese sometime. Thanks to my mom's grate (ha!) timing, the hand grater became item #31 on my list!

This was a fun challenge, and it may become an annual tradition. Although, that will definitely be a lot more difficult if I'm still doing it at age 70! =)

Checking in

2011-01-28T06:16:00.006-06:00

We had a very meaningful time with family in Michigan, and are so grateful it worked out for me to accompany Eric for the trip. The funeral was a heartfelt celebration of a wonderful lady whom we'll all miss. One of Eric's cousins put together a beautiful photo slideshow set to Steve Green's song, "Find Us Faithful," and I don't think there was a dry eye. The Scrabble board I showed you a couple of weeks ago ended up being displayed at the visitations and the funeral, so that was neat. Grandma sure did love that game!

I think one of the most special things that happened during our quick visit was the evening following the funeral. My in-laws have a wonderful and supportive group of friends who offered to "cater" and serve a meal at a relative's house. I was so touched by this collective effort. These dear people brought dozens of dishes (roast, chicken, lasagna, and more sides and desserts than one could possibly sample), served us dinner, and even cleaned up afterwards. It was to me a beautiful picture of the body of Christ.

Our experience this weekend made me think back to a post I wrote on supporting others following the death of a loved one. You can click here to read it--Monica shared several ideas and insights after her father-in-law passed away. Another lovely idea from this weekend that I want to add to the list is that one of my sister-in-law's friends blessed the family with a breakfast basket. Our large family shared three breakfasts together, and this friend included something for each morning: a coffeecake, some muffins, and a delicious, easy crockpot oatmeal. (I can e-mail you that recipe if you're interested--just leave me a comment.)

On another note, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I definitely felt remembered with the many comments, e-mails and phone calls I received. {As a random sidenote, I tried a fun beverage recipe from a birthday edition of an e-newsletter. They suggested brewing a cup of tea, then mixing in a packet of hot cocoa. I wished I had some mint tea, but I tried it with raspberry, and the drink was a fun twist on two old favorites!}

Have a good weekend! I'll be back next week with the progress on my January challenges (getting rid of 32 things and eating from the pantry).

Happy Birthday!

2011-01-24T07:01:00.002-06:00

Good morning, it is Monica here - hijacking Carrie's blog! Today is Carrie's birthday and I thought it would be fun to surprise her with lots of birthday wishes!

Carrie - I am so thankful to have you for my sister and hope your day today is a fun celebration of the gift of YOU! Love you!!

What's in a name?

2011-01-24T06:03:00.006-06:00

A couple of notes: I wrote this post awhile ago, and set it to publish this morning, as we were scheduled, Lord willing, to return from Michigan late last night.

Second, I had the privilege of writing a guest post over at Offering Hospitality on the subject of personal retreats. If you have a few minutes, I'd love for you to stop by!

*******************

Today, my 32nd birthday, seems an appropriate time to thank my parents for not just my life, but for my name. Because the truth is, I like my name. I remember being told that my parents considered the name "Caroline," and even though that is clearly just a tad different from their final selection, I don't think it would suit me as well. More important than the sound of the name is the meaning. I wrote a poem about my name in college that I shared here a few years ago, but I thought I would re-post it today.

I pushed into the cold
two months early,
instead of staying tucked safe inside
'til St. Patrick's Day.

Immediately detached
from my warm jelly sac,
I was placed into a heated glass box.
My skin was yellow and wrinkled and hairless,
and my body was scrawny,
less on the scales
than a standard bag of white sugar.

Daddy held me in the palm of his hand.
My tiny fingers fought tenaciously to grasp his,
so my parents named me "Carrie," which means "Strength."

Despite my current name appreciation, I do recall as a young girl that I really wished my name was Victoria. I also remember that when Monica and I would play dress up, I wanted my name to be "Karen Puff." Quite humorous, especially when you consider how similar the names Karen and Carrie are!

So, what about you? What do you think of your name? And do you know what your name means?

A couple of "Cliff's Notes" for the poem: My due date was March 17, so I was born 7 weeks early. I weighed just 4 pounds, 13 ounces, and the heated glass box refers to the incubator I spent my first days in. A standard bag of sugar used to be 5 pounds, not 4 like it is now.

Finally, as usual, best wishes to my birthday twin, Abbey!

In His presence

2011-01-18T06:09:00.005-06:00

A few days before we left for Colorado last month, we received a call from Eric's mom that his grandma had suffered a series of mini-strokes. She has also had on-going heart and kidney issues, and it seemed that the toll of all of these conditions combined was showing her days on earth to be very numbered.

Updates we received at the cabin caused Eric to question if he should fly home to Michigan to see his grandma one last time. After much prayer, agony, and discussion, Eric decided to make the long drive by himself at the end of our trip. He spent less than 24 hours in his hometown, but had some sweet moments with his grandma and other family members. Since that time, we've been expecting the news we received yesterday: Eric's grandma is now safely Home. We rejoice that she is with our Savior, and that she is no longer suffering from physical ailments.

Here are a couple of our favorite photos taken with Grandma K:

I love this pose of her laughing with young Nathan.

We were married on Grandma and Grandpa's 59th (!) wedding anniversary, so it was only fitting that they joined us in cutting the cake.

Anyone who knew Grandma K knew that Scrabble was her favorite game. She even played avidly on Facebook! I couldn't resist making her this message board which I showed her via the wonders of Skype. She was a wonderful lady!

We'll be leaving later this week for a quick trip to Michigan, so I'll be back in touch next week.

Referrals

2011-01-14T06:11:00.006-06:00

When it comes to referral links, I always feel a little conflicted. As someone who cares deeply about stewardship, I don't want to ask myself or others to waste time or money. With that in mind, I share the links below with you not to encourage needless spending, but rather 1) as I mention again below, it seems like good stewardship to me to take advantage of the resources offered by some referral programs, and 2) to share those opportunities with you in case you care to do the same. Take 'em or leave 'em. =)

*I've been slow at jumping on the bandwagon, but I would like to say that I am a big fan of Swagbucks. I've read about it for a long time, and even signed up over a year ago--but then I never did anything with it. After using my mom's computer in CO, and seeing that she was an active Swagbucks user, I decided it was time to try it for myself. I do a lot of on-line searching, particularly for the work I'm doing at home for the college, so it's fun to be earning points towards Amazon gift cards--just for doing something I do every day! At the rate I've been winning points, I'm guessing it will take me less than two weeks to earn a $5 gift card with minimal effort on my part. Woo-hoo!

*I was also slow to join Groupon because we don't live near a major city, but I signed up last month, and I've been interested to see that quite a few offers are not location-specific. I'm guessing if you live in a more urban area that you could get some pretty good deals through this program, so it's worth checking out if you haven't already!

*I've been using Ebates for a few years now. Like Swagbucks, it's a great way to earn a little something if you're making on-line purchases anyway. To start earning cash back, all you have to do is sign up for an account and then click on the store you want to browse via the Ebates site. Super easy!

*This is not a referral link, but I want to encourage my sister in her latest endeavor as a consultant for a new Dayspring company called Blessings Unlimited. I am so proud of Monica--she has many gifts and abilities, and I think she will be a wonderful addition to their team. If you would also like to encourage Monica, please take a few minutes to browse the BU catalog. There are lots of neat gifts and home decor items, all with a Scripture or uplifting message. I know she'd enjoy hearing from you if you stop by!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Pantry challenge

2011-01-10T06:21:00.005-06:00

I had so much fun participating in the popular pantry challenge last year, that I wanted to try it again this January. For me, the overall goal is a financial one. As I accomplished last year (barely!), I'm aiming to spend half of our usual monthly food budget. If I meet this goal, I want to bless others with the surplus again. It was so motivating to send a gift to Samaritan's Purse following the Haiti devastation last year, knowing they needed the funds far more than we do!

To help pull this off, I did another inventory to list items I specifically need to use up, which will make my menu planning even more strategic. A friend recently recommended a fun show called "Pantry Raid"* that has inspired me to be extra creative and resourceful in the kitchen! I could use your help, though--anyone have any creative ideas for using crunchy taco shells? Also, I scored two really cheap cans of evaporated milk, but I'm not sure what to do with them. Would love to hear your ideas!

Anyone else care to join me for a version of this challenge? Other ideas are limiting what you can buy (such as only dairy and produce), limiting how many trips you make to the store, etc. What a privilege to be able to even do something like this--considering some people's "pantry challenge" is that their cupboards are bare. Thank You, Lord, for Your provision!

I hope to do several monthly challenges this year, and I will plan to keep you posted on all of that. A smaller thing I'm doing this month is getting rid of 32 things before my 32nd birthday on January 24. I'm scouring our house for 32 items to donate, sell, share, etc.

*I was unable to find an active link for the show, though there's a brief description here. I've been accessing it through our gift subscription to Netflix. Speaking of Netflix, it recently occurred to me that they also offer exercise DVDs. Anyone have a fun one to recommend that's neither too long (over 3o minutes) nor too extreme (50 sets of crunches, 2 push-ups)?

Family photos

2011-01-07T06:16:00.008-06:00

As promised, here are some favorite selections from our family photo shoot at the Colorado cabin:

This first one makes me laugh because Natalie spotted an airplane and had a hard time looking away. =)

Love, love, love my family! You can see more shots over at Monica's.

Colorado Christmas

2011-01-05T06:02:00.007-06:00

I didn't end up with very many pictures on my camera from our recent trip to CO, but I wanted to share the ones I do have of wonderful time with loved ones:

The cousins had a wonderful time playing and eating together.

A group of my high school friends and their families gathered for a nice brunch.

Our family was supposed to have a professional photo shoot done during our time together, but we had to make some last-minute adjustments. Friday, I'll plan to share some of the photos from our amateur shoot (read: Monica, me, and a patient friend).

Happy new year, everyone!

O, Come Let Us Adore Him

2010-12-22T06:15:00.003-06:00

Have a blessed Christmas, friends!