Z - Z - Z - Z - Z - Z

Zoo - We were planning on hitting the zoo with some friends today, a perfect outing on our week off of school. However, we woke up to a temperature of 28 degrees and snow. Needless to say, we won't be strolling around the zoo today. We haven't gone in a while, so it would have been nice to go. Oh well, we'll try another day.

Zonked - Tim loves to take naps with the kids when they're little.



Zucchini - I realize it's winter. The snow falling out my window is proof of that. However, spring will be here soon, which means gardens will be planted. And growing gardens often mean lots of zukes. So I'm going to share a few of our favorite zucchini recipes. It's hard to go wrong with a cookie and zucchini drop cookies are no exception. They're a "cozy" cookie, filled with yummy spices. Want your zukes to be in disguise? Then make a chocolate zucchini cake. You can't even see the zucchini, but it adds a lot of moisture to the cake. And the favorite zucchini recipe at our house? Zucchini cake. It is the absolute best!!!

And that, my faithful blog readers, is the end of the 37 week and 2 day alphabet series.

Y - Y - Y - Y - Y - Y

Yahoo - I have e-mail at home!! We've been without a computer since Thursday afternoon when our cord died. The new one arrived in the mail today and I have rejoined a life of modern technology. I'd like to say that I'm quite proud of Tim, who by nature is not a bargain shopper. He was at the library with the computer when it died. Before he called to tell me the bad news he'd already priced new cords online. He ended up getting one through Amazon ... for free!! We don't have any credit cards, but if he signed up for some Amazon card, then he got an instant $30 credit. And the cord was only $20. Woo hoo!! So, we'll spend that extra free $10, cancel the card, then enjoy having a computer at home again.

Yawn - Two weeks ago I got strep. The following week I had a cold. Last week, the week of the cold, also included some late nights, early mornings, and busy days. Needless to say, I've been tired. When I woke up last Friday I told Tim I wanted to cry. That's what exhaustion does to me, it makes me weepy. Well, over the three day weekend I slept 9-11 hours per night (I usually get about 7) and napped for 5 hours (I have a very hard time napping and rarely can, even when I try). I feel so much better this week!!

Yummy - My friend Anna recently told me that she likes having me put links on my regular blog to specific recipes on my recipe blog. So, I thought I'd share a new favorite. I was given a subscription to Taste of Home magazine as a Christmas gift and pulled this recipe from it. It's called Biscuit-y Bell Pepper Muffins and they are so delicious!! We've served them once a week for the last three weeks. I love them!! Be warned, they are not for the calorie counters among us. But they're stinkin' good!!

X - X - X - X - X - X

The plan for today, based on the fact that I'm sick.

X School - I didn't do any school with my kids today.

X Housework - I didn't do any housework today.

X Playing - I didn't play with my kids today.

W - W - W - W - W - W

The above title would have been so perfect for a pregnancy announcement!! So stinkin' perfect. Alas, I'm most certainly not preggo. Oh well.

In an attempt to make up for the wasted title opportunity, I'll talk to you about the three little Ws that already exist.

W#5 - Naomi is a squeaker. She keeps her lips closed and makes squeaky grunting noises to communicate, changing the inflection according to what she's "saying". Other than her lack of verbal skills, she's a doll. She loves eating bread and apples, being chased by her brothers, mimicking her family members, waving to Daddy when he pulls in at the end of the day, and sneaking my phone

W#4 - Devon is super smart. He has an incredible memory and is quite the problem solver. He does well with puzzles and mazes, sings constantly, likes to get "wake up snuggles", loves fruit, hates meat, and raises his eyebrows when he's trying to trick someone. He's also Mr. Meltdown and we are always working on teaching him to handle frustration in a socially acceptable manner.

W#3 - Silas is really gifted athletically. He can throw, dribble, and hit balls like a pro. He loves to cook, enjoys playing Phase 10 and SkipBo, loves meatloaf, hates cilantro, dances 24/7, and purses his lips when he's trying not to smile. He can also be a bit of a stress case and is constantly being taught to relax.

V - V - V - V - V - V

Victory - The Blazers beat the Kings last night, 91 to 90. Thanks to Greg & Lisa, who had tickets they couldn't use, we were able to take the boys to their first NBA game. The four of us had a great time and Naomi got some quality girl time with Kema while we were at the game.

Vocational Training - Today the boys are at work with Tim. They really look forward to the couple times a year that he brings them along! I'm enjoying the day too. I've had lots of time to play and snuggle with Naomi, read my Bible, and bake cookies. Do your kids ever go to work with their dad? Unless it's completely impossible (your husband is an ER doc, pilot, or something similar), then you should send them on occasion. It's good for them to see what their dad does when he's gone all day!

Voice of the Martyrs - Americans are so blessed to be able to choose if, what or whom, and how they worship. It's a blessing we can easily take for granted. If you go to the Voice of the Martyrs website, then you can sign up for a free monthly magazine that tells you about people being persecuted for their faith around the world.

U - U - U - U - U - U

Unsurpassed, Unbeaten, Unbelievable - That's the kind of customer service we get from Sonlight. Not only do they treat their customers well when it comes to ordering, but they truly care about their customers as people. Devon received a personal card last week from the co-founder and head of Sonlight letting him know that they were praying for him during his hernia crisis and in the days following his surgery, as he recovered. We're thankful for such an awesome company to do business with!

Upside Down Pizza - Just thought I'd share a favorite recipe around our house. There are few things that all 5 Ws are equally fond of and this is one of them. It's on my recipe blog too, in case you want to give feedback on it over there.

~ Country Magazine, Aug/Sept 2000

1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. chopped green pepper
2 T. plus 1c. all-purpose flour, divided
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. fennel seed, crushed
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
2 c. (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1 T. vegetable oil
1/2 t. salt
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese, (optional)

In a saucepan, cook the sausage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in 2 tablespoons flour, basil and fennel; mix well. Add tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Transfer to an ungreased 13x9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place the remaining flour in a mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs, milk, oil and salt until smooth; stir in Parmesan cheese if desired. Pour over casserole. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Notes: I always use way more that ½ t. of basil and I often replace it with Italian seasoning. I never use fennel, as there is already some in the sausage. I frequently use whole wheat flour because it’s healthier and people who aren’t crazy about it can’t really taste a difference due to the strong flavor of everything else in the dish. I think the Parmesan is a must, and more than 2 T. You can never have too much cheese! I always make a double batch of the base and then freeze the extra in quart-sized freezer bags. You can pre-grate and freeze the cheese too.

Urban Camping - That's the term that Becky used to describe our lifestyle lately. We've been without a working furnace for several weeks, but we've had space heaters to keep us warm. Then our electrical panel blew last week and we've had no power in our hall, bedrooms, or bathroom. We've been peeing and showering with a flashlight for several days. However, we will have a new electrical panel tomorrow and a new furnace on Tuesday. Woo hoo!!

T - T - T - T - T - T

Therapist - My therapist called on Saturday night to see if life was still in the "stink, stank, stunk" phase. I explained to him that there were three main areas stressing me out. One has naturally taken care of itself. The second still stinks, but my therapist prayed for me over the phone. The third area was improved a little after my therapist reminded me of an important detail I had forgotten. So life isn't all sunshine and roses, but I'm feeling better. I've got a great therapist. I call him "Dad".

Traditions - I love, love, love traditions! I mean, I really love them. Seems that the holidays bring out many, so I thought it would be fun to share them. Here are some of ours. I'll try to stick to ones that aren't necessarily traditional (like Easter egg hunts).

Birthdays - It's "Doughnut Date with Daddy" for the birthday kid's breakfast. We cancel school (we school year-round) on each family member's birthday. The kids pick a birthday cake that I bake and decorate. Take a picture of the birthday kid in a pair of jeans and white t-shirt that belong to the same gender parent. It's the same outfit every year, so we can see how they grow.

Valentine's Day - We do a homemade valentine swap with people from the SL forums. We save all the valentines we receive in a basket until 2/14 . Then we spend the morning decorating heart-shaped sugar cookies, which we eat while opening all the valentines. We also map the places the valentines came from.

Christmas - We have a Sneaky Snowman that arrives around Christmas. I'll tell you more about him another day. The kids open one gift, jammies from Tim & I, on Christmas Eve. We drive around to look at Christmas lights. We go to Zoo Lights. Decorate the tree as a family while listening to Christmas music. We read tons of Christmas books. Listen to lots of Christmas music of our own, from the library, and on Pandora. Tim and I watch White Christmas (I love it, he loves me) while I eat pumpkin bread and apple butter (I love it, he doesn't). We do stockings first thing on Christmas morning. We watch the Christmas Ships. Tape all the cards, newsletters and pics that we get to the wall. Decorate tree shaped sugar cookies. Have dessert and crockpot cider on Christmas Eve after reading the story of Jesus' birth in the Bible. One ornament per kid per year, which they'll get to take when they move out. We go to an awesome concert for free.

Random - Tim does "four corners" with the kids, particularly when they're babies and toddlers. He kisses their forehead, each cheek, then their chin. The boys have carried on the tradition and do it with Naomi. I tell the kids "you're my favorite __ year old/baby" all the time. Sometimes that morphs into ...

Me: Guess what?
Them: I'm your favorite __ year old?
Me: How did you know?
Them: Because you tell me all. the. time.

I'll include some of my dad's, simply because they involve our kids. He has traditions of taking the kids to "Old McDonald's" and Chuck E. Cheese when he visits, taking us to a pumpkin patch, and doing magic tricks. He and Debra have a tradition of getting each of our kids a teddy bear when they're born.

I'm sure I'll think of more later, but that's the bulk of them. I'd encourage you to start (and keep!) traditions in your family. They don't have to be spendy, time consuming, or super exciting. They're just the things that make your family a special group to be part of, that give a sense of belonging and comfort, that provide something to look forward to and depend on.

So, tell me some of your traditions!

Turkey - I got a turkey for 22 cents/lb at WinCo last night. If you spend $50, then you can get a Butterball for 58/lb or a generic one for 22/lb. That's 17 lbs of meat for less than $4.00! I know Safeway has a similar deal going on. So go snag some cheap meat for your family! If anyone else has the opportunity to score a cheap turkey that they don't want, then let me know. I'd love to pay you back for 22/lb meat!

S - S - S - S - S - S

Sisters - Just have to say my sister is fantastic. Her name is Belinda and she's younger than me, which naturally makes me more mature than her. This isn't about me though, it's about her. Right? Anyway, she desires to be a good wife and mom and works toward those goals. She is way more girly than I'll ever be, but she's not prissy. She's crafty and artistic. She married her high school sweetheart and they've been married ten years. She desires to grow closer to God and works toward that goal. She has moved a gazillion times since graduating from high school. She lives in the mountains of the Philippines. She's honest. She can speak Tala Andig and used to speak Cebuano (until the Tala Andig took over). She's funny. I could go on, but I have two more "S" things to write about and only so much free time in my day. One more thing though. She introduced me to cracker nuts. That's too important to leave out.

Sleepless - When I turned the computer on Wednesday morning I realized it hadn't been shut down properly the last time it was used. Weird. Even weirder was that there were kid games on the screen. I knew for a fact that I hadn't been playing kid games before going to bed the previous night. A bit later Silas woke up. The first thing he said was "I woke up and played games while everyone was sleeping. It was 1:01 on the microwave clock when I woke up. I played for a while, then I went back to bed. It was all in the middle of the night." Fabulous. Another insomniac in the family.

Song - I have a friend, Susan, on the SL forums whose husband is in the music business. Just after Silas drowned she told me that his drowning was the inspiration for some lyrics that she and her husband had composed. Well, they were finally able to share the song. Before I link you to the song, let me share what Susan posted a couple days ago. For those unfamiliar with internet shorthand, "dh" means "dear husband". And "The Big Bison" is Susan's online nickname for her husband.

Here's the song the Big Bison and I wrote for Bethany! Well, OK, we didn't actually write it for Bethany. But something that happened to her inspired it.

Here's the back story. Dh asked me to help him write 4 songs he was commissioned to write for a music house in town. The way this works is that periodically, the music house puts out CDs of music that radio and TV stations and advertisers can license music from. You might here it as background music for a commercial on TV. They commissioned him to write 4 "modern folk songs" (whatever those might be) on any subject he desired.

So, he started bugging me to give him some ideas, and I turned to YOU ladies, because on these forums you certainly find a sampling of life in all its aspects: hopes, dreams, tragedies - topics ranging anywhere from the mundane to the glorious. (And may I say, that very often, the glorious is found in the midst of the mundane. Which sounds like an idea for another song.)

So, at about the time that he was bugging me to come up with some ideas, Bethany's son Silas almost drowned. What a shocking thing that was!!! One moment they were in the midst of a relaxed family get-together, and the next, the unthinkable had happened.

It took my breath away to read about it, and I prayed earnestly for Bethany and Silas and all the W's. And it got me to thinking about the concept of "life". How fleeting, how fragile, yet how tenacious and determined is our very breath, our very heartbeat. So, I jotted down some phrases for the Big Bison, and he did the rest.

And here is the song. It is just audio, no visual, and is about two minutes long. Enjoy!

R - R - R - R - R - R

Dad, I tried to do a single, lower case "r" but the keyboard wouldn't let me.

Rebates - Oh. My. Word. You are not going to believe what I scored on Sunday. Rite Aid was having a phenomenal sale this week! If you go here you can check out the ad page with all the deals. It's the west coast flyer, so if you live somewhere else then just punch in your zip code. I'm guessing it's the same nationwide, but better safe than sorry. The sale is going on through tomorrow, so head to your store and see if anything is left. A few of the things below were from Walgreens, but most were from Rite Aid. After sales, coupons, and rebates (which I won't get sent to me til next month) I will have paid .... well, I'll let you look at this and guess what the original price was and what my final price will be. Then I'll give the answer in the comment section in a couple days. This picture does not include one box of cold medicine and one cold sore medication that I already gave away.

Recipes - As you know, I recently started a blog for my recipe file. While I may be good at collecting recipes, I am totally incapable of creating them myself. So I gather them from other places. I find a lot at Allrecipes. One of the features I like about that site is that you can do an ingredient search, with up to four ingredients you do want and four that you don't. The reviews from other readers are also helpful. The other place I get the bulk of my recipes from is the Sonlight forums. The vast majority of the people there are using Sonlight curriculum and get forum access for free, but anyone can pay for a forum membership. Kelly is one of my forum friends and she also just started her own recipe blog. She always has great recipes and I've put her recipe blog in my blog reader. Where do you find recipes you love? Give me some links in the comment section!!

Recreation - Why pay for gymnastics classes and memberships at various "move your body" places for young kids when you can do it all for free at home? Just click on the "play" button.

Q - Q - Q - Q - Q - Q

Questions - We want to have open communication with our kids over the years and know that has to start now. It's easy, though, to only chat about trivial things when your kids are young because they have pretty simple lives. Plus there's the fact that our days get busy and it will become awkward to bring up some important topic totally out of the blue if you don't have a foundation of talking about the non-trivial things.

So, a few years ago we started doing something with the boys. Most nights, usually at bedtime and sometimes at dinner, we ask each of them two questions. What was the hardest part of your day? What was the best part of your day? When they were too young to grasp the concept of "hardest" and "best" we would follow the question with "something that made you sad or frustrated" or "something that was fun to do or made you laugh". Of course, they ask us the questions too. Everyone in the family gets a chance to answer.

It's one of my favorite times of the day. I love getting insights into the things that encourage or discourage each of them. I love that at three years old they would randomly ask Tim how his day at work or school was. I love that they are learning to listen to the hearts of others. I love that they're learning to be transparent. I love hearing them retell the best part of their day with a big grin on their face. I love hearing one apologize when the other says the hardest part was something their sibling did to them.

So, I'd encourage you to ask your kids these questions. Even your young kids. Ask your spouse. Ask your coworkers or friends. Then really listen to their answers. You'll learn a lot.

Quirks - This may be hard to believe, but I have some quirks. I know they are quirks and I've accepted that I'm quirky. I'll share some of my quirks with you if you share some of yours with me.

I love having my books in descending height order. I recently reorganized a shelf by author and title, simply because it bothered me to have books by the same author be in different places. As practical as that is, it still bugs me that they aren't sloping smoothly to the right. The boys' school books are still arranged in a beautiful slope.

I eat my cupcakes differently than most people. First I take the wrapper off. Then I tear the frosted top off the cupcake. Next I flip the top half upside-down, making the frosting attach to the freshly torn bottom half. Then I eat it. It's like a cupcake sandwich. All the goodness of a cupcake without getting frosting all over your face.

My closet is organized first by color (dark to light), then by sleeve length (long to short).

I hate hearing people chew. I've been known to turn on music during a meal to block someone's chewing sounds and to prevent my own bad attitude.

I can't snap my fingers "right". I put my thumb and ring finger together, then move my thumb to my middle finger. My index finger isn't part of the process at all. My boys could snap better at two years old than I can in my thirties.

Quotes - Here are some quotes I like. The first is something my mom always said and the last three are ones she had posted by our bathroom and kitchen sinks growing up. There's some proof that the things you subtly teach your kids will stick in their brains forever!

Should haves don't count. ~ Barbara Perkins, my mom

It is difficult not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. ~ George Sala

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. ~ Will Rogers

Profanity is the feeble attempt of a weak mind to express itself forcefully.

All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing. ~ Edmund Burke

Sometimes the Lord calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child.

P - P - P - P - P - P

Pasta - Last Friday we got together with Charles, Sarah, John, Rachelle, and Taylor for dinner and playing Apples to Apples. The guys were in charge of cooking and Charles did homemade pasta. It was delicious! He let our boys each crank the pasta maker a few times too, which they thought was really cool.

I'm 32 years old and had never eaten fresh pasta before. Is that normal?

Potlucks - We recently finished our summer potluck series. Friends and food. An excellent combination! We had 79 people show up to the potlucks. Some came to more than one, bringing our total potluck attendance to 98. Think we can beat that next summer?

Praying Parents - I mentioned earlier this month that a friend had me write a guest post on her blog about praying for our kids. Well, I was recently cleaning out my inbox and found an e-mail I'd forgotten about. Someone had read the guest post and asked how I thought parents should pray for their kids who are married adults.

My thought is that parents can pray for their married kids in basically the same way they'd pray for their own lives. Concerning marriage - open communication, forgiveness and patience, sexual intimacy, genuine friendship. Concerning kids - unity in parenting, wisdom and discernment, easy and healthy conceptions and pregnancies, patience. Concerning individuality - contentment at work (whether a job site or at home with the kids), opportunities to use natural strengths and skills, willingness to work on weaknesses. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but it's the first few things that popped in my head. In addition, a parent can pray about things that are specific to their child or their child's marriage, such as a child who struggles with depression or whose spouse is severely disabled.

So, tell me what you think. What are some things you'd want your parents to pray for you now that you are an adult, whether you're married and/or a parent or still single? For those whose kids are already grown, you may find some new insights in how to pray for them. For those who have no kids or whose kids are still at home, you can consider this a sneak preview into a way you can bless your kids when they are adults.

And if you want some more encouragement in the area of praying for your kids, then go back here. Mandi, from the site I did a guest post on, has spent the whole month of August focusing on praying for our kids and has had other people do guest posts. Clicking the link I just gave you will take you straight to the posts about prayer.

O - O - O - O - O - O

Odors - I realize that "odor" has a negative conotation, but "scent" or "aroma" don't start with an O and I needed an O word. So, we'll roll with it.

I mentioned yesterday that I love Glade's 2 in 1 Creamy Custard and Blushing Apple candles. They smell so wonderful!! I also love Partylite's Honeydew candles. While I love flowers, I'm not crazy about floral scented things. I just like the real deal when it comes to floral scents. When it comes to candles, I tend to go for scents that are fruity or cozy. What's a cozy scent? It's things like vanilla, spiced pumpkin, apple pie, or almond. What candle scents do you like?

Online Opinions - Remember Mandi? She's the one who was doing all the giveaways I linked you to a while back. About a week ago she asked if I'd be willing to do a guest post on her blog. So, if you head over to Doodles' Place, then you can read my opinion on praying for our kids.

Oral & Open - The Devs loves his mouth. The Devs loves fruit. The Devs loves to show the fruit in his mouth to the camera.

N - N - N - N - N - N

Necklines - I actually started writing about this a week or two ago. Even had a really catchy title going. Then later that day the topic came up on the Sonlight forums. Not wanting to look like a copycat, I bagged the idea for a while. I'm going to bring it up today without a catchy title. Plus, I have some other viewpoints to bring to the table from reading the thread on the forums.

I periodically think about the issue of modesty and all it entails. Lately it's been on my mind more frequently for a variety of reasons - seeing lots of breasts at church, struggling to find shorts for my infant daughter that do more than cover her diaper, seeing lots of summer outfits running around.

I'll throw out some questions for you to think about, tell you my thoughts, then I'd love for you to tell me what you think. For the sake of this post, I AM defining "sexy" as purposely dressing in a way that draws attention to your body, particularly in a sexual way. I am NOT defining it as dressing in a way that is simply very attractive to someone. Bear in mind that we all have different thoughts on the issue. So, feel free to disagree, but don't be disrespectful.

QUESTIONS
* How do you define modesty?
* Do you feel a moral obligation to consider whether your clothing reveals too much to the opposite sex? Why or why not?
* What do you think about the difference in clothing for the genders? Females - skin tight shirts, ultra low-rise pants, spaghetti straps, strapless shirts/dresses, low necklines, tight pants, shorts that end just below the butt, bikinis, one piece swimsuits. Males - baggy pants, loose shirts, shorts that go just above the knee or lower, swim shorts that go to the knee, tank tops with straps that cover the whole shoulder, pants that sit at the waist, pants that sit halfway down the butt. Why do you think women's clothing is so much tighter and revealing?
* Would you feel comfortable with the men in your life revealing as much skin and body shape as the women in your life do? Why or why not?

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM OTHERS
* We all should be responsible for our own thought process, regardless of what we see.
* We have a moral obligation to not dress in a way that emphasizes our sexuality
* Americans make too big of a deal about bodies. Nudity is not a big deal in other countries.
* If everything in America is sexualized and if bodies are generally viewed through a sexual lens, then we should aim to dress in a way that is not inherently "sexy".

MY THOUGHTS
I think it is very easy to become legalistic on this issue or to take responsibility for the thoughts of every single person who sees you. I think it is also easy to have no/a low standard and take no responsibility for the thoughts of the people who see you. Neither of those options are great. I don't necessarily think there is a line that can be drawn - wear this, don't wear this - where everything fits neatly on one side of the line.

What I DO think is important is to truly consider why you are choosing to wear what you wear and how your clothing is viewed by others. The "why" first. Trying to be sexy? Why? For whose eyes? Do you want to be viewed sexually by all who see you? The "how it's viewed" next. How much of your body are those around you seeing? Does the little boy standing behind you in line at the grocery store know exactly what color your thong is? Does the woman trying to chat with you have to see 2/3 of your breasts throughout the conversation? Does the man dropping his kid at class get to see most of your breasts and all of your bra when you kneel down to put a wristband on his child?

In a nutshell, I think checking your motives and considering the consequences for yourself and others before making a clothing purchase are very important. So, tell me your thoughts on the matter.

New Tribes - My sister and her family work with New Tribes Missions in the cool mountains of the Philippines. For the last seven months or so they have had a live-in tutor for their girls. She'll be there through the rest of this year and they have started hunting for her replacement. So, if you or someone you know would like to spend a year or so, starting about January, overseas teaching my cute nieces (and playing with my cute nephew and visiting with my fantastic sister and chatting with my great brother-in-law ... but that's beside the point), then go check out their blog for some info.

Nothing - That is the word I heard yesterday. Nothing. Such a glorious word to hear from the woman who just did your mammogram!! I had one done 7 1/2 years ago because of a teeny tiny lump. One mammogram, one ultrasound, and one needle biopsy later we knew the little lump was nothing bad. Well, now I'm four years younger than my mom was when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. So, I've been ordered to start getting annual mammograms. And yesterday's was delightfully uneventful.

M - M - M - M - M - M

Mirror - We have a big, honkin' mirror on our mantle. I took it down for a day last week and discovered a problem. I am vain! Every time I walked by the fireplace I'd turn to look in the mirror, but it wasn't there. Every. single. time. I've never even noticed that I glance that way when I walk past, so I was shocked at how often I did it. What's the deal? You know I'm a pretty low maintenance girl, so it's not exactly like I'm making sure my makeup looks good or my perfectly styled hair is all in place. I have no idea why I look. Now that the mirror is back up, I'm making a conscious effort to not look in it every time I walk by.

Mouth - I think a picture is worth a thousand words.

Music - We spent Sunday night at a free concert by Cubaneo at the park across the street from our house. It was great! The music was good, the weather was beautiful, we ran into lots of neighbors, the boys got their arms painted, and all the kids loved the balloons. If you live in our general neck of the woods, then go check out the schedule for other free concerts this summer.

L - L - L - L - L - L

Learning - We started our new school year on Monday. Doing year round school works well for us and we were all eager to get started. Devon started Core P 4/5 and Silas started Core 1. In case you've missed this detail along the way, we use Sonlight Curriculum and they don't use traditional grade levels. Basically we're doing pre-k and first grade. I would never have sent my kids to pre-k, even if we were sending our kids off to school, but we enjoy the Sonlight program. Basically, we're doing what we'd be doing at that age anyway - reading lots of books - but Sonlight tells us some of the books to read. Anyway, we've read some good stories, done some school in the sunny backyard and the shady front yard, and done lots of snuggling during school time. Love it! These pics make our school time look a bit traditional, but we actually don't spend much time at the table. Only when we need to write something.

Lentils - I know lentils are good for you. They have tons of protein, fiber, iron, etc. But they're kinda boring. Well, I tried a new lentil recipe from the Hillbilly Housewife last night that I liked. It includes bouillon, which is obviously one of the least healthy foods on the planet, so I'm going to try the recipe without bouillon next time. We used the lentils as a taco filler for Taco Tuesday instead of meat and beans. We also had some leftover refried beans without the refry (crockpot recipe alert!!) and rice out as a filler. Here's the lentil recipe.

Lentils and Rice

http://fortheloveofgrub.blogspot.com/2008/09/lentils-rice.html

3/4 cup dried lentils

3/4 cup brown rice

4 c. tap water

4 beef bouillon cubes (or 4 t.)

2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

1 t. onion powder

1/4 t. garlic powder

In 2 quart saucepan bring water to boil. As it's heating add all other ingredients. Bring to rapid boil, then reduce heat to low. Put on the lid and simmer 45-50 minutes. The water should be mostly absorbed.

Laundry on the Line - One of my favorite things about summer is that I can hang my freshly washed laundry out on the clothesline. It's obviously an electricity saver, but that's not why I love it. I love getting fresh air and hearing birds chirp while I do my housework. I love the fact that if there are clothes on my line, then I know summer has arrived. I love organizing the way I hang everything up according to who the laundry belongs to. I know, I'm weird about stuff like that. I love seeing sheets and towels blowing in the breeze. I love the time to let my mind wander. I love looking at my garden, which surrounds my clothesline, as I take care of laundry.

K - K - K - K - K - K

Kake - Mandi is doing yet another giveaway this week and I think it's the last one. Her husband sells and distributes Tastykake, so the winner will receive a variety of Tastykake products. Go enter!!

Kisses - Tim started a kissing tradition when Silas was born. It's called "four corners" and he kissed Silas' forehead, left cheek, right cheek and chin. Then he did it with Devon. Now he's doing it with Naomi. That's cute in and of itself. It gets better though. The boys give Naomi four corners all the time. Too stinkin' cute!!

"K" words - I couldn't think of a third "K" topic. So, I decided to google "k words". I ended up with a list of unusual words that start with "k". In an attempt to broaden our vocabularies and fulfill my self-imposed quota of three topics per letter, I am going to teach you some new words. I'm sure you'll find that they come in handy in everyday conversation. Ready?

kakidrosis - body odor
kantikoy - to dance as an act of worship
kenophobia - fear of empty spaces
keystone - to double the wholesale price for retail
kickie-wickie - a wife
kidology - a study of kidding
kirking - first attendance of church by a couple after marriage
kreatophagia - eating of raw meat
krobylos - tuft of hair on the top of the head

J - J - J - J - J - J

Jaquith - Yesterday Becky and I braved the hot weather and did mid-afternoon strawberry picking out at Jaquith Farms. Last year she picked much more quickly than I did, but I was working around a 7 month pregnant belly. I thought that my belly being in the way was slowing me down. Well, I'm not 7 months pregnant right now and she still smoked me. I'm convinced that she just got a better row to pick from. I love efficiency too much to believe that I could be a slow berry picker. Whether she is fast or I am slow, we had a great time chatting and picking and overheating. Between the two of us we got 33 pounds of berries. We'll use ours for freezer jam, freeze some for smoothies, and dehydrate some for granola.




Job - Though some of you already know this, I'll make an official announcement. Tim was offered a permanent contract at SK Online, so the one-year temporary contracts are over. He's still probationary for one more year, but it's nice to have a permanent contract.

Jokes - I let the boys each come up with a joke for the blog today.

Silas:
Q: Why did the chicken cross the street?
A: Because he wanted to go to the store quicker.

Devon:
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Tennis
Tennis who?
Tennis-see (Tennessee)

Devon said now you all need to laugh, laugh, laugh.

I - I - I - I - I - I

Imaginary - This is my imaginary conversation:

Me: I'm glad I'm your mom.
Silas: I'm glad I'm your son.

Or ...

Me: I'm glad I'm your mom.
Silas: I'm glad you're my mom too.

I was comfortable with him speaking his lines seriously or in a lighthearted manner. I'm just flexible like that. Here's the actual conversation:

Me: I'm glad I'm your mom.
Silas: I'm glad I know so much math.

He's such a sentimental sap!


Indecision - Tim and I are facing a decision right now. One option makes the most sense financially, but would cost our family in other ways. Another option makes the least sense financially, but would benefit our family in other ways. The third option is somewhere in the middle financially and in other ways. I've spent a lot of time in tears the last few days. It's stressing me out. There's just no obvious answer. Any choice we make is going to be hard, whether emotionally or on more practical and tangible levels. Please pray for us to be wise in our decisions.


Internationals - Before I had my clustrmap (and, by the way, it drives me batty when people intentionally spell the name of their product incorrectly) I would click on my site meter and then click on "by location" to see where my readers are from. I still do that, along with clicking on all sorts of other information in my site meter. Having the visual of the map has been fun though. I didn't realize how many international readers I had. I know of a few ... the McCourtneys in Uganda, the Moffits in the Philippines, and the Andersons in New Zealand. Who are the rest of you? Leave a comment and tell us who and where you are!!

H - H - H - H - H - H

Hillbilly Housewife - I first learned about the Hillbilly Housewife site from the Sonlight forums. It's filled with recipes and ideas that help you to be frugal with your grocery budget. We tried the kettle corn recipe last week and it is so good!!! I ate way more than I should have and enjoyed every single compulsive bite that I took.

Homeschooling - We finished up our second year of homeschooling on Friday, which makes this our first week of vacation. I was ready for a break, so we actually did a little cramming and finished a week early. We'll take the rest of this month off, then start up again in July. The boys are excited to get started on next year's books.

Humor - What makes you laugh? I've put Stuff Christians Like into my blog reader and it makes me laugh every single day. I know I've mentioned it a lot lately, but it's just so funny that I can't stop talking about it. We also got some chuckles out of Thou Shalt Laugh - The Deuce. We've got Thou Shalt Laugh on our library reserve list. What about you? Please, oh pretty please, leave some comments listing the movies, books, songs, or anything else you can think of that make you laugh. And, one more time, SCL is stinkin' funny.

G - G - G - G - G - G

Gadgets - This may be a bit of a "G" stretch, but it's my blog and I'm going for it. I realize that measuring spoons may not be considered gadgets, but we're going with it. Now, let me tell you that for the last year or so I've had one tablespoon, one half teaspoon, and one quarter teaspoon. It's not that hard to buy a new set, but I always forget. Anyway, I was at Dollar Tree the other day to pick up cheap ziploc bags for puzzles (that's the best way to store puzzles, in case you wondered) and walked by these little guys. Are they cute or what?! I don't know if they're so cheap because the person in charge of colors accidentally made two of them the same color or what, but I love them! They're fun. They're bright. They're cheery. And they come in a variety of sizes. Just ignore the glow coming from the two middle ones and pretend like this is a professional picture, okay?

Go Fish! - We've been playing a lot of this game lately. It's perfect for killing small amounts of time or helping two young boys to sit still for "just one more round". About 80% of our games are won by the same person. Sometimes in the first turn. Sometimes after several turns. Hands down, Devon is the master of Go Fish! in our family. The absolute champion.

Growth - Despite the fact that we've had about three hours of sun in the last two or three weeks (and you'll know which pic was taken on that day) there are actually some seeds sprouting in the garden.

Lettuce

Morning Glory

Corn

Pumpkin

Pea

Cosmos