BOOKS I FINISHED - DECEMBER 2014

Covered Wagons, Bumpy Trails, written by Verla Kay and illustrated by S. D. Schindler

A rhyming story about one family's move from Missouri to California in a covered wagon through all the seasons of the year. I've put more books by this same author on hold at the library because I thought this one was a fun way to get some history read to the kids.

All for the Newborn Baby, written Phyllis Root and illustrated by Nicola Bayley

A short Christmas story that's fine on its own, but I really loved the illustrations. There were neat pictures of plants and insects on the border of each page, seeming somewhere between scientific and artistic.

We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance, written by David Howarth
I'm not one to read war stories, but I really enjoyed this true story of a Norwegian soldier who snuck into Norway from England to help his people fight against Germany, was ambushed, lost the rest of his team, and stayed alive under the harshest of conditions because of the bravery of others and his own willpower. I've loaned the book to a friend, but will have the big boys read it when we get it back.

A Stranger for Christmas, written by Carol Lynn Pearson
A quick read about an old woman's confidence that her grown children would invite a lonely stranger into their home for Christmas and whether or not her confidence was warranted. This book was a random pull off the library shelf, but ended up encouraging me to act on some things I've been thinking about for a year.

The Modern Magi: A Christmas Fable, written by Carol Lynn Pearson
I didn't realize this was written by the same person as the previous book until I listed it here, but I enjoyed both books. This book is about the choice we sometimes get to make between pursuing our dreams and putting others first. I believe that giving, and I don't just mean financially, is very important and love stories, whether true or fiction, of those who hold (or learn to hold) their resources with an open hand.

Finding Noel: A Novel, written by Richard Paul Evans
Part romance, part friendship, part strained relationships, part healthy ones  ... all hurting people trying to find their way in the world.

The Pieces We Keep, written by Kristina McMorris

I enjoyed the way this book alternated between two seemingly unrelated stories with each chapter, one in present day Portland (always fun to read a book set in a place you live or have lived) and one in a couple locations circa WWII, then eventually tied them together. Romance, friendship, secrets of various kinds, war, death, family struggles, religion, afterlife ... a little of everything. There were a couple brief sex scenes which were crucial to the plot. I don't like that and should have just stopped reading at the first one, but I was weak-willed and sucked into the story. I sure wish books came with a rating like movies so that you knew what you were getting into before you were deep into a story.

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, written and illustrated by Simms Taback
I love this book about a man who keeps repurposing a coat as it wears out. The lessons on frugality and resourcefulness are good, but I liked the illustrations best and the kids enjoyed using the cutouts on each page to try and guess what Joseph made next when each creation started to wear out.

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HAPPY FOOD

This is how I found the cat food on our back patio three weeks ago. One of the perks of living with Devon is that we find random things like this from time to time. (Remember this old post?) Always makes me smile.

PONDERINGS

The following are just things I've been thinking and writing about in little bits of time here and there over several weeks. Or months, maybe.


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I know someone who is unhappy about something and seems pretty determined to continue believing the worst case scenario about every aspect of it. From my perspective, which is obviously limited because I'm not them, they're bitter. They recently brought the situation up for the gazillionth time and I found myself thinking all sorts of snarky things to say in response. Then I realized I was bitter about their bitterness. How ridiculously hypocritical is that?!


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Melanie once asked me what I thought God was trying to teach me through Tim's unemployment. It was a while back, early in this game that we're still playing, but I was feeling pretty discouraged at the time and her question was a good one. I don't believe that God's wagging his finger, shaking his head, and saying "I'll teach you a lesson" (and I know Melanie doesn't think that either), nor do I think that lessons can only be learned through circumstances of our own making or only through the curve-balls life just throws our way. I do think, though, that we can all make an effort to see what we can learn through whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.

One of the things I regularly say to the little Ws is "Be teachable". I think it's equally important for adults, myself included, to take the same advice. Whether your life is mostly sunshine and roses or a huge dark cloud, take time to consider what you can learn from it. Maybe it's choosing to express thankfulness for the good things when life seems to deal one blow after another, using your resources (time, money, skills, etc.) to bless other people who could use your help, or extending grace to those who have let you down and/or forgiveness to those who have hurt you. Maybe it's trusting that God will meet your needs, learning to be responsible with your resources, or remembering that no hard season (or good season, for that matter) lasts forever. Maybe it's talking less about yourself, listening more to others, or going out of your way to befriend someone. Maybe it's managing your time wisely, getting adequate sleep, or having a better work ethic. It could be anything, really.

Just think on that today. Consider what you can learn about yourself from your current circumstances, how you can grow as a person through whatever your life is like right now.


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Relationships change. All kinds of relationships. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, sometimes to something that's simply different. Different can seem better and different can seem worse, even if neither is really accurate because it's simply just ... different. I prefer the "seem better" kind of different and have realized I don't handle the "seem worse" kind very well at all, even when I realize objectively that it's not worse. Just different.


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"Growth comes from truth. Truth is learned through knowledge. Knowledge is acquired through study. Study requires discipline and/or desire. Oh, how I wish my desire was strong enough to increase my discipline! To not just be spiritually hungry, but ravenous, to want nothing more than to know more of Jesus!"

~ Copied from my Bible study notes.


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If my circumstances never changed, then what would my attitude be? I think about that a lot. If employment, housing, health, family relationships, transportation, or other situations that we aren't content with were to stay the same forever, then how will we respond?  Let's assume that we have no control over whether or not changes can be made and that it doesn't matter whether our discontent seems valid to other people or not.

The choice is ours. Are we going to choose to make the best of the situation we're in and keep moving forward with a smile on our face? Are we going to choose to focus on the things we don't like and wallow in a stagnant pond of self-pity and complaining?


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If we find ourselves in the middle of a lot of conflicts or drama, then we should pay attention to the fact that we are the common denominator in all those situations. Figure out what changes to make. Make them. Move forward.


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How can I show love to the unwanted and forgotten? There are some specific groups of people that I have a soft spot for, but I've been reminded in various ways lately of how important it is to intentionally reach out to those who tend to be ignored. I need to figure out what the best way to do that is at this particular point in time.


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PRACTICAL, YET COOL

I got an e-mail from someone last week who was acting as the middle man for a person or group of people (I have no clue which it is) that wanted to anonymously bless our kids with something practical, yet cool, for Christmas. They had something specific in mind, but needed some information from me in order to accomplish their goal. The little Ws opened those gifts today.

Yep, those shoe boxes actually contained shoes. And multiple pairs of socks. And paracord for the two who like to make stuff from it. And there was some cash and a gift card for Tim and I to spend as we see fit. And there were a gazillion oranges. And a tub of cookies.

There are four very happy little Ws in our home right now. And two very grateful big Ws.

A BEAUTIFUL PAINTING FOR ME

Beep is very artistic and quite a while back she posted some of her work on Facebook. I absolutely loved one of the paintings. The bright colors, the greenery, the reflection of buildings on water ... it was beautiful!

Here it is.

On my wall.

Oh, I wish these pictures captured the vibrancy of the colors!

She and my dad did some plotting to give it to me for Christmas. Shipping the original overseas wasn't a safe option, but, thanks to the internet, they were able to come up with another solution. Beep took a high quality picture of her art and e-mailed it to my dad, then he hopped online and had it turned into a canvas print, which he brought up with him on Christmas Eve.

I had absolutely no idea about any of this and didn't even think twice when I saw the package under the tree. When my dad brought it out I still had no clue. Then I saw "Bertha" written on the envelope. That's what my sister calls me.

And I knew.

Instantly.

And I was giddy.

I'm always amazed at my sister's ability to create beautiful things, from painting on a canvas to cutting people's hair. She's so talented! I'm also thankful for her thoughtfulness and generosity in finding a way to give me some of her artwork and for my dad's willingness to help make it happen.

MENU: 12/25/14 - 12/31/14

I usually have these menus planned ahead and post-dated for each Thursday, but I'm creating our menu that started two days ago ... right now! That's what Christmas does to menu planning. I actually planned our Christmas menu along with last week's meals, just to save myself a last minute trip to the grocery store, but the leftovers we ate yesterday and plan on eating tonight won't stretch all week and I need a plan in place. So, let's figure this out.

Actually, let me give you a new recipe first.

* almond bread - I mentioned this recipe last week, but hadn't posted it yet. I love anything almond flavored and the other Ws enjoyed this loaf, which is made with almond syrup, as our post-Bible study treat one night.

I actually tried another new recipe this week, but I'm late getting it up because of Christmas. I'll have it ready next week!

Ok, now let's bust out a menu to get us through Wednesday, though I'm including the past two days.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.
* I'm having one of the other Ws chop a bunch of spinach and toss it in the freezer for future smoothies, soups, scrambles, and so on.

BREAKFASTS
* Rebecca's granola as cereal or with yogurt
* sausage balls/scrambled eggs/fruit salad
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x4

DINNERS
* rice, kale, and eggs
* roasted potatoes and onions/frozen green beans
* chunky potato soup (crockpot)/pesto chicken salad/focaccia
* do-it-all chicken (raw in marinade from the freezer, crockpot)/rice/raw carrots
* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers - one night of potato soup, one night of pesto chicken salad

SNACKS & DESSERTS
We've skipped chocolate chip peanut butter bars two weeks in a row. Oh well. 

I'm not into making a huge feast of special foods on Christmas, but having a bunch of sweets is what sets the day apart in the food department for me. That means we ate lots of dessert over the last few days! One dessert on Christmas Eve, truckloads on Christmas Day, and then we invited another family over last night to polish off leftovers with us. As I mentioned yesterday, though, we gave away a bunch of cookies to some of our neighbors. But still.  Just brace yourself for a sugar overload.

* a new pie that's not posted yet
* Nantucket cranberry pie
* pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
* soft ginger cookies
* snickerdoodles 
* lots of cookies and candies from friends and family

* potato wedges
* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

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CHRISTMAS - 2014

Hushed conversations behind closed doors among little Ws as they planned what to give each other. Sneaky drives to the store with a parent or bike rides across town with each other to put plans into action. The wreath hanging on our door, a gift from a friend. 

Christmas books and movies from both the library and our own personal stash. Advent stockings hanging across the fireplace. The origami angels and crown ornaments made for our family by one of the librarians. (And, no, this is not an announcement of a new W. She just absentmindedly made an extra boy crown.)

Christmas music playing on Pandora and Spotify. The snowman collection on the piano. White lights glowing on the tree in the evenings and early mornings. Christmas cards that go straight from our mailbox to the wall at the entry of our home.

Working on Christmas puzzles. Wearing Santa hats when we're cold. Baking snickerdoodles (finally tried them with almond extract and they were great), soft ginger cookies, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies on Christmas Eve. Walking as a family to deliver a bunch of the cookies to our four closest neighbors.

Dad, Debra, and Ashley arriving in time for dinner on Christmas Eve. Singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to some of the Moffits and making silly faces with Neo via Skype on their Christmas. A three mile run as a group with five Ws and Ashley on Christmas morning. The lady who asked us to stop so she could take our picture. One of the few cars on the road being friends who waved and wished us a merry Christmas.

The teamwork of making sausage balls, scrambled eggs, and fruit salad with Tim and the bigs for the whole crew to eat. Kids who were patient when we didn't open any gifts until very late in the morning. Taking the annual family picture in front of the tree.

Gifts that were thoughtful, creative, and silly. Tim reading The Legend of the Three Trees to everyone, as he does every Easter and Christmas. Sun streaming through the windows all morning. Grazing on a bunch of finger foods, plus treats that we made, Debra made, and friends gave us. Reading new books with Nana.

Putting new puzzles together. Playing new games. Enjoying new gifts. Chatting with each other. Having a low-key dinner of potato soup, focaccia, and salad (lettuce, tomatoes, and some chicken I tossed in the crockpot with pesto and then shredded when it was done cooking a day or two earlier). Following dinner up with the same treats we'd had earlier, plus some of the pie we'd eaten the night before (I don't have it posted yet) and some Nantucket cranberry pie. Going to bed. Spending some time watching funny Youtube videos with Papa, whose post about their visit can be seen here, before he left this morning.

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12/25/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful that God became a man and came to earth as Jesus.

What is something that you are thankful for?

12/23/14 - TEN ON TUESDAY

Almond syrup - Monique knows how much I love almond flavored and scented things, so she shared some homemade almond syrup with me. I hate coffee, which is what most people would add it to, so I hunted down a recipe for baked goods instead. This almond bread turned out great and you could easily make it with some Torani syrup, which is actually how it was intended to be made.

Crafty decor - I gathered way too many twigs for a project with our homeschool group a couple months ago, so I decided to stretch myself and do something crafty with some of them. My original plan involved twig stars, strung on twine, hanging from a branch that fell off a tree in our yard and got mounted to the wall at the head of our bed. It would have been headboard-ish. That didn't work out very well and I ended up hanging twig stars randomly on the wall instead. It's not what I had in mind, but it's growing on me. Step one in turning our plain and boring bedroom that we've had for three years into a place that I like to relax in.

Dara Maclean - My sister introduced me to this artist a year or two ago. I love her music, voice, and lyrics. Good stuff! You can check out her site, then, if you're like me, listen to her on Spotify, Pandora, or Youtube.

Gratitude - Devon spontaneously drew up a card for our whole family to sign, thanking the recipient for things they've done. Oh, it made me smile! Sometimes parenting (and I mean parenting anyone, not just little Ws) can be discouraging or just simply tiring, but those moments where you see maturity and character make it worthwhile.

Leaves & dirt - I got to rake a ton of leaves and move compost to some flower beds. In sunshine. While wearing shorts and a t-shirt. In December. If you've known me very long, then you know that's my happy place. So thankful for a warm afternoon, fresh air, and a yard to work in!

Open houses - We decided a couple months ago to start hosting a monthly open house, a time for people to pop in for however long they want and visit, eat, and/or play games. We've had two so far, one in November and another in December, and they've been exactly what I hoped for. We've had a mix of families and singles, people from all the different circles of our lives, and a wide age range all hanging out together. I love it!

Marriage tips - Jessica, my brother-in-law's sister, linked 36 Things I Know After 36 Years of Marriage on Facebook a week or two ago. It's a quick read filled with many good things to remember. And, really, it's a good read even if you're single because what's true in marriage is usually true in any relationship. Here are a few of my favorite things on the list.

** The term wedded bliss should be stricken from every couple's vocabulary. Marriage is wonderful in many ways, but expecting bliss makes the inevitable rough times seem like a problem when they're simply part of the deal.

** Marriage doesn't get good or stay good all on its own.

** Learning how to make up is essential since you'll never, ever, get to a point where neither one of you screws up.

Phone - It's pretty rare for me to lose things, but I lost my phone in mid-November. We knew it was lost at home, but all our efforts to find it, and there were many of them, were in vain. We'd been talking about getting another phone for the kids to have when they're home alone (they just keep mine and I go phone-less) or for Silas to take if he's babysitting, so we just did a complete update of our phone situation. But my old phone never turned up. Tim thought I'd dropped it while working in the yard. I didn't think so, as I don't keep my phone with me all the time and never take it outside if there are people inside. It turns out he was right. I found it buried in some leaves when I was working in the yard yesterday. A dirty, water-logged phone. I guess "never" wasn't the right word to describe how often I take my phone outside when people are inside. Oops.

Smiles & waves - Naomi suggested that we wear Santa hats on a recent run. I obliged, but she told me she was disappointed that people didn't honk and wave when they saw the hats. That girl loves to get honks and waves when she's out for a run and it happens a few times a week as people that we know drive by.  She was pretty sure that the hat would spur more friendliness and was bummed when it didn't.

We went on a run yesterday and I suggested we wear the hats again because it's Christmas week. She obliged, but without any enthusiasm. We'd finished about two of our three miles when she told me again that she was bummed no one was responding to the hat. I told her again that seeing a smiling kid running down the road with a Santa hat probably brought smiles to people's faces, even if she couldn't see it, and that's the point. That didn't help, so I suggested that she initiate the kindness that she was seeking. Life lesson there, right? She did. In fact, she waved at every car that passed us for the last mile. And guess what happened? Every single person that looked her way smiled and waved back. Several of them honked. One gave her a thumbs up. She was a very happy girl ... with a sore right arm.

Younger brother - Teebs is one of three boys in our family, but he's the only one who has an older sister. Which means this happened.

A DATE WITH THE MIDDLES

Devon, Naomi, and I all earned Cold Stone a couple of months ago, Devon and I for keeping a ten minute pace for three miles and Naomi for finishing the Couch-to-5K program. Unfortunately, Cold Stone left our town a while back and the closest one is about 25 minutes away. As much as I love ice cream, that's entirely too far to drive for it. We're often in the the general area, but we always have the whole fam in tow and this particular outing was intended as a reward only.

Today Silas had an event at church, so Tim stayed home with Teebs and the rest of us headed north. Silas went to his event, then Devon and Naomi went with me to Costco (hooray for lots of good samples today) and WinCo to pick up some groceries for this week's menu. It was pouring rain and we got soaked in both "it's the last Saturday before a major holiday, so everyone and their mother is at the store" jam-packed parking lots, but we finished with smiles on our faces.

Our final stop was Cold Stone, gift cards and a punch card with a freebie in hand. It was so fun to spend a chunk of time hanging out with just two little Ws! We enjoyed ice cream, chatted about all sorts of things, and snapped some pictures.

One of these kids likes to do rabbit ears on every picture, one likes to do silly faces when everyone does smiles and vice versa. That means this picture of the three of us was one of a gazillion, but the only one where everyone was smiling normally.

Their smiles look kinda fake, but I like this picture of the kids together anyway.

I'm thankful for several hours with these two and am proud of the running milestones they've reached!

MENU: 12/18/14 - 12/24/14

We had one new recipe on last week's menu, but it didn't turn out like we expected. I did, however, do a spontaneous tweaking of the e-z biscuits I made. I threw some onion soup mix in with the dry ingredients and the biscuits were delicious! I also made a new quick bread recipe that we all liked, but I don't have it up on my blog yet.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* pumpkin pancakes
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* crockpot beans & rice
* English  muffin & egg sandwiches/smoothies
* rice, kale, and eggs
* lentil & ham soup (crockpot)/whole wheat biscuits
* upside down pizza/rice/salad with mandarins and grapes

* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* chocolate chip peanut butter bars (we skipped these last week because we tried the new bread)

* potato wedges
* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

12/18/14 - THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for Christmas cards taped to my wall, Christmas lights and decorations in our home and around town, and Christmas music playing just about everywhere we go.

What are you thankful for?

MAGIC RUNNING HAT

Naomi and I usually throw bandanas on our heads when we go for a run, but this morning she asked if we could wear some of our Santa hats. I said that was fine and she gave me a giant hug of gratitude, which was a good reminder to say "yes" in parenting as much as possible. We took a picture to document the festive occasion, then took off.

Well, those hats not only made her happy, helped keep us both warm in 42 degree weather, and made more people smile than usual as they drove or walked past us, but hers helped her run faster. Her previous three mile record pace was 12:52 and today she ran a 12:09. Stud!

I WAS TAKEN ON A CHRISTMAS DATE

I got to spend Sunday afternoon and evening with Silas. Our ultimate destination was the A Christmas Together concert that he bought me a ticket for as a Christmas gift, but we left home early for some pre-concert fun.

We made a quick stop at the library, filled the gas tank, then headed to Cold Stone. I had a free ice cream on my punch card and he had a gift card he earned when he climbed South Sister with some friends over the summer. He busted out of his strawberry blonde rut to try coffee ice cream with Twix and I enjoyed a festive candy cane ice cream with brownies mixed in. Yum!

I needed to buy toilet paper, so our next stop was Costco. I regularly take the little Ws grocery shopping with me and it's fine, but with only one kid in tow and time to kill we decided to browse the aisles while enjoying samples. I don't remember the last time I leisurely roamed the aisles there and it was fun to do.

Silas picked up the tab for dinner on the way out, though neither of us was super hungry because we'd had ice cream not too long before. He had a hot dog, I had a smoothie, and we shared a churro. Nutrition was certainly not the theme of our food choices for the day, but it all tasted good!

We headed to the concert after Costco, but we were really early. We chatted in the parking lot for a while, then grabbed spots three and four in the line that formed before the doors opened, chatting with other people in the cold for an hour while we waited.

We finally got inside, warmed up, visited with friends for a while, and enjoyed a fantastic concert from front row seats. A variety of musical styles, challenging lyrics and poetry, Christmas tunes, impressive art, and memories made. Such a fantastic gift from a great kid!

TEEBS' BIRTHDAY, PART TWO - 2014

We headed out for church the morning of Teebs' birthday, but he got the traditional doughnut date with Tim that afternoon.

We attended a Christmas party with our old home group that night, something all the kids wanted to do, so we just took the birthday cake with us as part of our potluck contribution. Teebs is super aware of flags right now, spotting them everywhere we go, so he got a flag cake (plus a huge cupcake from the home group host). The stars look a bit like flowers and the blue field is too small, but that's fine. My goal is always that the birthday kid can identify what the cake is, which he immediately did, and I was able to make do with sprinkles we had at home, so we're calling it a success. 

No little W birthday is complete until pictures have been taken in the birthday outfits, so here are a couple shots of Teebs sporting some clothes that are way too big. The kids always have fun with this tradition!

We love this little guy!

MENU: 12/11/14 - 12/17/14

I don't have any new recipes to share with you this week, but I suppose that's balanced out by the four I had last week. So, without further ado, here's what we'll be eating in the coming week.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I bought several green bell peppers that I chopped and froze for future use.
* I roasted a bunch of squash, then popped it in the freezer.
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.

BREAKFASTS
* blueberry sour cream pancakes
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* tomato & navy bean soup (using dried beans I previously cooked and froze)/e-z drop biscuits
* roast with onion soup mix/squash & potato mash/frozen peas
* new recipe/roasted broccoli (this got skipped last week because Tim surprised us with pizza one night)
* lentils & rice
* kale & feta casserole/rice/carrot sticks/black bean dip (dip from the freezer, everything served at December's open house)

* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers (last week that meant taking leftover oats, turning them into pancakes, and covering them in warmed strawberries from the freezer for a super yummy dinner)

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* chocolate covered macadamia nuts (open house treat)
* chocolate chip peanut butter bars

* potato wedges
* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

(This post contains affiliate links.)

12/11/14 THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for flexible schedules.

What's something that you're thankful for?

MOVIES I WATCHED: 10/24/14 - 11/30/14

The titles and pictures are linked in case you want more info on any of these movies. 

The First Grader
I saw this listed in the "other movies viewers liked" section of IMDb or something while I was looking up a different movie. I loved it, but somehow managed to forget to add it to my last movie post. A friend recommended it to me on Facebook and I realized my mistake, so here it is. It's the true story of a Kenyan man in his eighties who, after previously being denied an education, fights for admittance to a first grade class.

Secrets of the Dead: Slave Ship Mutiny
I saw this on the library site when I was looking for stuff about Madagascar for the little Ws' presentation on the country. It's a dramatized documentary about a group of slaves from Madagascar that took control of the ship taking them to Cape Town. It's not a "happily ever after" ending, but it was an interesting story that I'd previously known nothing about.

Spirit of St. Louis
My dad recommended this movie and we watched it as a family one night. Starring James Stewart, it's the story of Charles Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic. We all enjoyed it.

Million Dollar Arm
This movie is based on the true story of a man who went to India in search of a cricket player who could become a professional baseball pitcher in America. Tim and I both liked it, but heads up that one character is known for one night stands. Although there aren't any sex scenes, there are women leaving the house in the morning a couple of times. Do what you want with that info before watching it or as you determine if your kids can watch it.

As a sidenote, IMDb has a really handy parents guide for every movie, an objective list of what a movie contains in the categories of sex/nudity, violence/gore, profanity, alcohol/drugs/smoking, and frightening/intense scenes that helps you determine if it's a movie you're comfortable watching and/or having your kids watch. I find those lists more efficient and useful than the sites that give a subjective review of those categories and try to persuade you whether or not to see the movie.


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BLESSINGS IN THE CHRISTMAS SEASON

I took off first thing Saturday morning to get some grocery shopping done and came home to find this.

We weren't going to get a Christmas tree this year and had another plan in place to pull some greenery into the house for hanging ornaments on, but someone gave Tim money and told him something to the effect of "bless your family with it" ... so he took some of it and surprised us all with a tree. So fun! The living room has now been rearranged to accommodate the tree and we got it all decorated.

Sidenote: Anonymous gifts are so cool. Tim is the only one who knows who the money came from and though part of me is obviously curious and wants to know who it was, the other part of me loves being able to think through all the people it could be. It's a neat reminder that our family is loved.

In anticipation of the A Christmas Together concert that I was given tickets for (check out this post from Silas for that story, in case you haven't seen it yet), I plugged in this CD that a friend was purging in the Minimalism Game a couple months ago as I went about the rest of my tasks that morning. Oh, how I love PawnShop Kings!

The kids had all been up late on Friday night and we had plans Saturday afternoon, so we put Teebs down for a short, early nap. Then, because we're awesome parents, we woke him up and put him directly in front of a camera for a family picture before we all left. Needless to say, he wasn't feeling particularly happy about that. He was snuggly and mildly irritated, but at least he was looking at the camera and not crying.

Next we all piled into the van and headed to Portland Christian Center for their free (but tickets required) Christmas Celebration. I think this was our sixth or seventh time going and I love it each year! We pull our kids out of the nursery and have them join us in the sanctuary once they're three, so Teebs sat in with us this time. He snuggled up with Tim, never let his eyes leave the performance, and clapped at all the right times.

Knowing we'd get home past our normal dinner time, Tim had taken more of that gift money and a great coupon to order some pizza from Papa Murphy's earlier in the day, which we picked up on our way back to the house. In the two hours that remained until bedtimes started we scarfed pizza and watched Miracle on 34th Street while decorating the tree.

In the interest of full disclosure ....

There was also the part of the day where I got a call from the kids during grocery shopping because Tim had left (I didn't know he planned on leaving), hadn't gotten back home when he'd expected to, and the kids didn't think they could call him because they thought our new phones meant we had new phone numbers ... and I was irritated.

And there was the part where the first thing I said to Tim when I got home from shopping was to ask where he'd been and tell him I didn't like the lack of communication on his part ... and I was irritated.

And there was the part where I felt bad about being irritated because he'd actually been out getting a tree to surprise us with ... and I felt dumb.

And there was the part where one of the little Ws was upset that they couldn't wear their dirty hoodie to the concert ... and both they and I were irritated with each other.

And there was the part where it was getting late, I was physically exhausted and totally overwhelmed with things that had to be done, our house was a total disaster, and I was frustrated that one of my favorite times of the year (tree decorating) was feeling like a burden because if we didn't do it that night we'd have to wait five more days and Teebs was getting into stuff and it was loud  (Did I mention the house was a wreck and I was beyond exhausted and had tons of work that had to be done?) ... and I was losing it.

And there was the part where Tim snapped at me because I'd been snapping at everyone, and at him in particular, so I went for a ten minute drive to have a good cry, pull myself together, and look at Christmas lights before coming home ... and I tackled the rest of the night like a rational person.

That, my friends, is why I take pictures of the good things. As I typed up this post I remembered the things that were stressful and frustrating about that day, but I saw the tree, the music, the (mostly) smiling faces of the other Ws, the pizza, the generosity of friends, Tim's thoughtful scheming ... and I'm thankful for all that went well that day, for being blessed with the fluff of life, for memories made.

TEEBS' BIRTHDAY - 2014

Three years ago I was at a hospital 35 miles away, driven there during morning rush hour traffic by Tim and accompanied by my midwives after a long night of unproductive laboring at home. By the afternoon I was done with my shortest and hardest pregnancy, recovering from the first surgery of my life, and happily holding Teebs, our third son and biggest baby. Points docked for not arriving on Granny's birthday, even though that's when labor started, but points awarded for arriving on his cousin Ally's birthday.

SIX YEARS AS A TEAM

Tim and I work in the one year old class during Wednesday night Bible study every third month of the year and I realized a couple weeks ago that this December marks six years that we've been in that class. Susan and Tiffany were already working there when we joined and the four of us have been together ever since. There are so many people who volunteer for stuff at our church and many have helped in children's ministry for years on end, but some turnover is normal as people move out of town, change churches, or opt to work with a different age group, so I don't know if there's another group that's been together as long as ours. Maybe, but I'm not sure.

I brought my camera on our first shift of the month two nights ago and told them we had to take a six year anniversary picture. They were good sports and Sachi said she'd take the picture for us, so here we are (minus Emma, an awesome high school student who joined us about two years ago as a junior higher and had to leave before we got a chance to take the picture).

I love our little team!

MENU: 12/4/14 - 12/10/14

Silas made a random batch of blondies (he skipped the M&Ms that they call for) for a movie night last week, but otherwise we stuck to our menu, as usual. Before I give you our next menu I have four new recipes to share with you. Four! Ready?

* apple ring pancakes - These were a spontaneous lunch plan using a recipe I'd had saved for a while and some of the 80 lbs. of apples we recently got a great deal on. Tim wasn't home when we had them, but the little Ws and I thought they were great. Not totally pancake-y, but a fun and tasty way to change things up a bit.

* kale & feta casserole - We scarfed this so quickly that I totally forgot to take a picture of it, but it was a delicious way to eat eggs! I'll take a picture next time and meanwhile you can click the link to Kalyn's Kitchen to see her pictures.

* pumpkin ice cream - Diana showed me this recipe a while back and we had it for our post-Bible study treat last night. Super yummy! It's also dairy-free, in case that matters to you.

* onion soup mix - I made cabbage soup recently and hunted down an onion soup mix recipe to save myself a trip to the store.

Here's the plan for the upcoming week.

ADVANCED COOKING (These aren't always planned, so they'll often be things I did the previous week.)
* I'll make peanut butter and crockpot beans, just like I do once or twice every week.
* Seasoned meat for Taco Tuesdays will get cooked up and frozen in quart-sized bags for the rest of December.
* I'm going to chop and freeze several onions to get us through the next month or two.

BREAKFASTS
* cherry oatmeal muffins
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix as optional toppings x5

DINNERS
* chicken nuggets/carrot sticks & cuke slices
* cabbage soup (from the freezer)/honey oatmeal wheat bread
* new recipe/roasted broccoli
* teriyaki chicken salad/rice
* carrots/red bell peppers/black bean dip/fruit (taking to a potluck)

* tacos - seasoned meat, crockpot beans from the freezer, and some other toppings served in a tortilla, bowl, as a salad over a pile of greens, or with mound of rice

* leftovers

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* birthday cake
* dark chocolate covered peppermint joe joes from a friend

* potato wedges
* produce 

* popcorn (kernels from the Winco bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post. )

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