I gotta share this!
http://www.beckahshae.com/blog/
If you listen to the local Christian rock station, you might have heard a song by her. It is great! She acknowledges the jewish roots of her faith and is a living testimony of what Yeshua is to her :) It's awesome to see the movement in the hearts of God's people! Her song is catchy too ;)
l'heim!
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Food for thought 2
I love my new cook book. I love that it backs up all that I know and love about good, healthy food. I love that I will not have to cut out a food group to be happy or content. I love that it has recipes and fun trivia and so much reaffirming information!
In this cook book is a recipe for baby formula! If you read my posts at all, you know how much work nursing has been for me. Finding this recipe is a little bitter sweet - if I had known how to make formula 8 years ago, I could have saved my sons from all the soy commercial formula. Then again, I might not have fought so hard to nurse, nor have the resolve to master it the next time around.
My littlest one has tried the milk based formula that I made, and lo and behold, he is allergic to milk! Just like all his brothers and his momma. This isn't an anaphylactic allergy, more like having hay fever congestion, and eventually the mucus works its way into the lungs. Not fun. So we will try one of the meat stock based formulas. It seems like the only offensive taste is from the coconut oil, which is in all the recipes. I'm going to start by freezing the formula into cubes and adding it to his food, hoping that he will get used to the taste and eventually take it in a sippy cup. At 8 months old, he refuses to hold his own bottle. I may not nurse, but he insists on having his time with me!
Other news: I get to take a trip to the big city this weekend, without any of my children in tow! I'm a little bit nervous, leaving the youngest one behind for such a long amount of time. It's just one day, but it will be the first time I've left him for this length. I also don't care for traveling without my kids, and never fully trust our vehicles to make the trip, so pray for me this weekend! I get to spend time with a special friend for her birthday and if I have time, I might stop by to say happy birthday to a very special little lady :)
In this cook book is a recipe for baby formula! If you read my posts at all, you know how much work nursing has been for me. Finding this recipe is a little bitter sweet - if I had known how to make formula 8 years ago, I could have saved my sons from all the soy commercial formula. Then again, I might not have fought so hard to nurse, nor have the resolve to master it the next time around.
My littlest one has tried the milk based formula that I made, and lo and behold, he is allergic to milk! Just like all his brothers and his momma. This isn't an anaphylactic allergy, more like having hay fever congestion, and eventually the mucus works its way into the lungs. Not fun. So we will try one of the meat stock based formulas. It seems like the only offensive taste is from the coconut oil, which is in all the recipes. I'm going to start by freezing the formula into cubes and adding it to his food, hoping that he will get used to the taste and eventually take it in a sippy cup. At 8 months old, he refuses to hold his own bottle. I may not nurse, but he insists on having his time with me!
Other news: I get to take a trip to the big city this weekend, without any of my children in tow! I'm a little bit nervous, leaving the youngest one behind for such a long amount of time. It's just one day, but it will be the first time I've left him for this length. I also don't care for traveling without my kids, and never fully trust our vehicles to make the trip, so pray for me this weekend! I get to spend time with a special friend for her birthday and if I have time, I might stop by to say happy birthday to a very special little lady :)
Provision
Thank you for your prayers! We seemed to have found a solution to our problem of finding time to work at the house without kids. After a few more days of frustration, my husband suggested that since most of his work is nearly done (the demolition), he can stay home in the evenings with the kids so that I can work at the new house! On top of that, a few people in our family have volunteered their time and service as sitters! God is so good!
I have spent some of the week over there, mudding ceilings and painting the nursery. The only problem has been the weather; the cloudy skies make our midnight sun hard to use as natural lighting for painting and texturing. We don't have many light fixtures up in the house right now! Another week and the painting and texturing should be done.
I feel like summer is slipping by faster than I had hoped. July is usually a month that I spend taking field trips, fishing, and soaking in every last bit of sunshine that I can. I don't know if I will have time to fish this summer, but I have to try. Fish is a big staple in our diets and with all the bad news surrounding our oceans, I get a sinking feeling that this might be the last good summer to stock up. Is that too pessimistic? I pray that it won't be, but I still want to store up as much as I can.
At least we will be in our house by August, when I can start picking berries, making jams and foraging for other winter necessities. Maybe I can even get some garden beds ready for next year!
I have spent some of the week over there, mudding ceilings and painting the nursery. The only problem has been the weather; the cloudy skies make our midnight sun hard to use as natural lighting for painting and texturing. We don't have many light fixtures up in the house right now! Another week and the painting and texturing should be done.
I feel like summer is slipping by faster than I had hoped. July is usually a month that I spend taking field trips, fishing, and soaking in every last bit of sunshine that I can. I don't know if I will have time to fish this summer, but I have to try. Fish is a big staple in our diets and with all the bad news surrounding our oceans, I get a sinking feeling that this might be the last good summer to stock up. Is that too pessimistic? I pray that it won't be, but I still want to store up as much as I can.
At least we will be in our house by August, when I can start picking berries, making jams and foraging for other winter necessities. Maybe I can even get some garden beds ready for next year!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Trying to focus
My husband and I came to the realization last night that I have to scale back my participation on renovating the new house. This sucks. Sorry, but I'm really disappointed. I do agree with him 100%, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating. I really want to help get our new home ready and be a partner in the remodel, but I will have to do it in a different way.
I've been having a couple of teenage girls watch the baby for a couple of hours every day, whenever possible, and then spending that time working at the new house. The problem is that it sometimes takes me all day to get ready to go to the house, or assemble all the materials because I am doing it with 4 little kids under foot either at home or at the new house. I have to work around the baby's nap times, when I can get the most done, but sometimes that doesn't happen until the late afternoon, which puts a real crimp in dinner plans. I still have to prepare all our meals, and my home is really suffering because I don't have the time to seriously clean it, since I'm always preparing to be gone. Basically, everything is getting partially done, but very poorly! This has caused a lot of frustration for me and for my husband, who is working all day and then putting in a few hours at the new house and is not being taken care of as well as he should be. Failing at everything is miserable.
I'm a little resentful right now, so pray for me. Not just about the house, but also about our extended family dynamics, concerning child care. I know that I shouldn't be so mad, and that the Lord has called me to a different kind of job than my husband's. My family would be best served by a mother who is home to feed everyone and keep the home in order, especially during this very chaotic process of moving and renovating. It will also give me time to pack and purge, a job unto itself. Pray that I will have the grace to be the support and not the lead on this project, and that I will find satisfaction in meeting goals of a different kind. And keep my husband in prayer - he is working long hours and mostly by himself. Safety is a top priority right now.
I've been having a couple of teenage girls watch the baby for a couple of hours every day, whenever possible, and then spending that time working at the new house. The problem is that it sometimes takes me all day to get ready to go to the house, or assemble all the materials because I am doing it with 4 little kids under foot either at home or at the new house. I have to work around the baby's nap times, when I can get the most done, but sometimes that doesn't happen until the late afternoon, which puts a real crimp in dinner plans. I still have to prepare all our meals, and my home is really suffering because I don't have the time to seriously clean it, since I'm always preparing to be gone. Basically, everything is getting partially done, but very poorly! This has caused a lot of frustration for me and for my husband, who is working all day and then putting in a few hours at the new house and is not being taken care of as well as he should be. Failing at everything is miserable.
I'm a little resentful right now, so pray for me. Not just about the house, but also about our extended family dynamics, concerning child care. I know that I shouldn't be so mad, and that the Lord has called me to a different kind of job than my husband's. My family would be best served by a mother who is home to feed everyone and keep the home in order, especially during this very chaotic process of moving and renovating. It will also give me time to pack and purge, a job unto itself. Pray that I will have the grace to be the support and not the lead on this project, and that I will find satisfaction in meeting goals of a different kind. And keep my husband in prayer - he is working long hours and mostly by himself. Safety is a top priority right now.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Food for thought
I'm sorry if I come off uppity or critical when I discuss the food I feed my family. I don't want to offend anyone or cause them to feel any animosity or self-doubt. It's definitely not an area that I would call my self an expert in. I eat junk. I take my kids to those golden arches and teach them that there is nothing quite like the combination of french fries and ice cream. I am guilty of letting my kids have goodies WAY more often than is healthy for them.
On the other hand, I do take nutrition seriously. I consider it to be a part of my job, as a mother and wife. I want my family to thrive, to have the best health possible and I sincerely believe that starts with nutrition and what we put into our bodies. For me, it is a journey. It's something that I want to do my best at, even though I will slip occasionally. It is part of the legacy that I can pass on - to eat well and feel well. More than that, I need this personally.
Early in my childhood, nutrition was my mother's focus. She gave us locally raised goat's milk instead of grocery store milk. She fed us oatmeal or other whole grains for breakfast. Juice was a really big treat at our house because we never had it around! Candy? Not likely. It was more like honey sticks and citrus candies from the health food store. We were happy and we were healthy. Sometime around the early years of elementary school, my mom went back to work full time, probably about the time my youngest brother entered school. Things changed, like they will when both parents are working and food needs to be prepared faster and easier. For me, I think this had a lot to do with my gradual weight gain around that age. Coupled with the stress of my parent's fighting, it could be the cause of many of my eating habits that have carried me through adolescence and now adulthood. I don't want to fault my parents, but there is some reason that I am the only child out of 4 who has ever had a serious weight problem. Anyway....
I could go on and on about why I feel spiritually lead to eat better, what the implications are for a biblically diet, but the point of this was to apologize. I don't expect everyone else to eat how my family eats or let it become a point of contention between us. I hope that you understand and know that I am sincerely sorry if this has happened. Peace
Romans 15:13
On the other hand, I do take nutrition seriously. I consider it to be a part of my job, as a mother and wife. I want my family to thrive, to have the best health possible and I sincerely believe that starts with nutrition and what we put into our bodies. For me, it is a journey. It's something that I want to do my best at, even though I will slip occasionally. It is part of the legacy that I can pass on - to eat well and feel well. More than that, I need this personally.
Early in my childhood, nutrition was my mother's focus. She gave us locally raised goat's milk instead of grocery store milk. She fed us oatmeal or other whole grains for breakfast. Juice was a really big treat at our house because we never had it around! Candy? Not likely. It was more like honey sticks and citrus candies from the health food store. We were happy and we were healthy. Sometime around the early years of elementary school, my mom went back to work full time, probably about the time my youngest brother entered school. Things changed, like they will when both parents are working and food needs to be prepared faster and easier. For me, I think this had a lot to do with my gradual weight gain around that age. Coupled with the stress of my parent's fighting, it could be the cause of many of my eating habits that have carried me through adolescence and now adulthood. I don't want to fault my parents, but there is some reason that I am the only child out of 4 who has ever had a serious weight problem. Anyway....
I could go on and on about why I feel spiritually lead to eat better, what the implications are for a biblically diet, but the point of this was to apologize. I don't expect everyone else to eat how my family eats or let it become a point of contention between us. I hope that you understand and know that I am sincerely sorry if this has happened. Peace
Romans 15:13
Saturday, June 26, 2010
So much stuff!
I started packing this week.
We have so much stuff that has just been piling up around our house for the last three years or so, that its hard to remember what a tidy house looks like. Yeah, its clean, but its cluttered. I have shuffled things in and out of the crawlspace, reorganized, purged... the junk just keeps appearing!
Anyway, I put the piles of things into boxes, brought it to the new house and now I can see my living room again! I'm trying to do the same in all the rooms. In our bedroom, I started by boxing up the clothes that have been flowing out of the bottom of my closet. I have a bad habit of stacking clothes that don't fit or are off season on the floor, and then they topple over, making a big mess for me to wade through in the mornings. It's nice to be able to draw the curtain closed on my closet.
I noticed that many of the things piled on the floor were items that were given to me that I just didn't care for. I've been blessed to receive clothes from a friend, but not everything is my taste or fits as well as I would like it too, and since I'm moving, I've given myself permission to purge the items I don't want. No sense in holding on to things we won't use! That's not always easy for me, to say no to someone when they offer me something like clothes. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I take them even when I don't need them.
So I have one bag going of things to pass on (and many more to be added as I continue to pack) and have just started to pack up clothes that don't fit right now or are maternity clothes that I don't want to wear right now. That's right, maternity clothes that I don't want to wear. Not that they wouldn't fit. It's true, the more children you have, the more your maternity clothes are your regular clothes. That's okay. They're longer, and they cover my imperfections better!
We are getting closer to moving, but we still have a lot to get done at the new house. The deadline is approaching fast. I'm really excited to be moving! I guess I should get back to packing....
We have so much stuff that has just been piling up around our house for the last three years or so, that its hard to remember what a tidy house looks like. Yeah, its clean, but its cluttered. I have shuffled things in and out of the crawlspace, reorganized, purged... the junk just keeps appearing!
Anyway, I put the piles of things into boxes, brought it to the new house and now I can see my living room again! I'm trying to do the same in all the rooms. In our bedroom, I started by boxing up the clothes that have been flowing out of the bottom of my closet. I have a bad habit of stacking clothes that don't fit or are off season on the floor, and then they topple over, making a big mess for me to wade through in the mornings. It's nice to be able to draw the curtain closed on my closet.
I noticed that many of the things piled on the floor were items that were given to me that I just didn't care for. I've been blessed to receive clothes from a friend, but not everything is my taste or fits as well as I would like it too, and since I'm moving, I've given myself permission to purge the items I don't want. No sense in holding on to things we won't use! That's not always easy for me, to say no to someone when they offer me something like clothes. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, so I take them even when I don't need them.
So I have one bag going of things to pass on (and many more to be added as I continue to pack) and have just started to pack up clothes that don't fit right now or are maternity clothes that I don't want to wear right now. That's right, maternity clothes that I don't want to wear. Not that they wouldn't fit. It's true, the more children you have, the more your maternity clothes are your regular clothes. That's okay. They're longer, and they cover my imperfections better!
We are getting closer to moving, but we still have a lot to get done at the new house. The deadline is approaching fast. I'm really excited to be moving! I guess I should get back to packing....
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Summer Fun
School has slowed down for the summer. We have just 2 subjects to work on, Math and Language Arts. Usually we do a lot of activities thru the summer, attending festivals, road trips, museums. We will try to do some of that, but honestly, most of our time will be spent working on the house! I hope this proves to be a summer they will remember, despite it's general lack of "fun". The fun will have to more of the homegrown variety, like backyard games and time with our friends.
Here is a sampling of some extracurricular things we have done this summer:
Eddie has been learning to mow the lawn (supervised of course), and the boys have had a great time shooting bb guns in the backyard with Dad. We also managed to get over to the Kenai River Festival for an afternoon, where we painted some wooden fish, met some mimes and Eddie was kind enough to stand behind the mermaid cut out, while his brother was the whale! What a great big brother. There are lessons in each of these: selflessness, diligence, patience, not to mention the value of hard work. I'm hoping these will be lessons that stick! Perhaps they are learning afterall....
Here is a sampling of some extracurricular things we have done this summer:
Eddie has been learning to mow the lawn (supervised of course), and the boys have had a great time shooting bb guns in the backyard with Dad. We also managed to get over to the Kenai River Festival for an afternoon, where we painted some wooden fish, met some mimes and Eddie was kind enough to stand behind the mermaid cut out, while his brother was the whale! What a great big brother. There are lessons in each of these: selflessness, diligence, patience, not to mention the value of hard work. I'm hoping these will be lessons that stick! Perhaps they are learning afterall....
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