Favorite Charity Winner

             The winner is Alisa. I will be donating $40 to the Peterson's for you. Thank you for participating!

Give Life

           My favorite thing in the whole world is the look on someone's face getting something they really.  That's what my favorite part of Christmas is...watching our kids open gifts we've spent months planning. I don't really do New Year's resolutions; but this year, I did. I resolved to be more generous. Joyce Meyer says that when you feel depressed you should go out and do something nice for someone else. I've had many blue days lately,  so this is my course of action.
          A friend of mine recently had a child born with Trisomy 18 (the median lifespan is 5-15 days). Her family has chosen to remain positive and celebrate every moment with her, naming her Olivia (which means "life"). I've been praying and following her story for the past few months after they found out later in her pregnancy (here's a link to their video where they tell their story in case you didn't see it on my Facebook page). They put out a request for meal help, but since I now live six hours away, I asked if those at a distance could donate money. They shared this link for those who want to donate: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/the-peterson-family

        This morning we read Isaiah 33 for school. Verse 15-16 says, "The answer is simple: live right, speak the truth, despise exploitation, refuse bribes, reject violence, avoid evil amusements. This is how you raise your standard of living! A safe and stable way to live. A nourishing, satisfying way to live." We talked about how it's not enough to just follow God's rules as Christians. We need to actively make a difference. I told the girls that I wanted to donate some money to our friend's family. I told them that they could donate with their giving money if they wanted to. Later today, one by one they gave me money that amounted to $38. I couldn't be happier! I doubled it to make it an even $80 to give away.
          This blog isn't for bragging (except on how cool God is), so why am I sharing this with you? At first, I thought I would ask you all to donate to this cause (and if God's telling you to do that, that'd be awesome), but God calls us all to different needs. Maybe you know of another need that is just as great. If you will leave a comment of your favorite charity or person in need on here or Facebook,  Mr. Blue Eye's will randomly pick a name and I will donate $40 to that charity. I know this isn't something you personally get anything out of, but just imagining the look on God's face is all the reward in the world that I could ever want.

Please join me in praying for Olivia.

Perfectly Preposterous

          There comes a day when your baby's name officially becomes an interjection (it ends in an exclamation point nine times out of ten). Our son's name has gone from being whispered with delight to being screamed in outrage and frustration, primarily by his four older sister's. As the only boy, he has an especially mischievous twinkle in his eye as he innocently grabs their most beloved toy of the moment and swipes it faster than you can blink. He also seems to be quite curious about investigating the toilet.
             I was putting away food from supper the other night while supervising the younger kids brush their teeth. (Yes, I thought I could multitask safely...I was so wrong.) I'd forgotten that toddlers need constant supervision...especially in the bathroom. Gracie screamed,  "Moooom, he has his toothbrush in the toilet!!!" I hoped she was exaggerating; but the second I saw him, I knew that it was much worse than she had said. He was brushing his teeth with toilet water! It was all I could do to calmly take away his toothbrush and call it quits for the night without gagging and dreading all the sicknesses to come. Oddly enough, he has remained healthy while three other family members have had sore throats. Maybe there was some helpful bacteria in there?
           He is the youngest , but my first boy. To my suprise (I've heard it takes boys longer), he has decided to start potty training,  which explains some of his recent fascination with the toilet and flushing it. The other night I found him cheering after flushing down the contents from his potty chair all by himself (unfortunately, he had made another large, brown deposit on the floor while congratulating himself). Mr. Blue Eyes also has the distinguished honor of being the first grandkid to sit on Nana's potty chair and somehow pee in between the seat of the potty chair and the container below it. I only discovered it when he started saying "yucky" and pulling at his soaked pants (which led to discovering the soaked socks and surrounding floor). Carrie was already wailing in my ear over her own trauma of something she had done earlier. She was convinced everyone was making fun of her because of it. Gracie entered the bathroom a second time (I had sent her out in search of a napkin once already) while I was frantically sopping up the escaped pee. She was now gagging on the food she realized she didn't like only after taking a huge bite. It had been in her mouth for several minutes to allow for the saliva to really pool. Then, the heaving began. What a fun Christmas memory, right?   
            Occasionally though, I'm the one who's laughing instead of getting grossed out. Two nights ago, Mr. Blue Eyes was hysterical and refusing to sit in his high chair. He was propped up on the edge and kept screaming, "Poop! Poop!"  On closer inspection,  I found dried taco meat in his chair. Dried taco meat bothers him, but not the receptacle that you flush the "dried taco meat" down. Boys are curious beings.      
          My word for the year is "patience", and I think so far it fits my year perfectly.  It's the one thing I'd like to develop more of in myself and in our kids. I'm using James 1:2-4 as my verse through this year. Joyce Meyer has it written out as a declaration (based on TLB) to speak like this: "I'll be happy when the way is rough, because it gives my patience a chance to grow. So I will let it grow, and not try to squirm out of my problems. For when my patience is finally in full bloom, then I will be ready for anything, strong in  character, fully complete."
           Mr. Blue Eyes is doing a swell job of giving me practice. His second birthday is right around the corner, so I think we're headed toward a fun filled year of constant supervision.  We've done this two-year-old thing before (and we've had a few struggles). Looking forward to this practice seems a tad preposterous, and still I have my hopes set high that this'll be a great year.

What's the best way you keep your busy child out of trouble?

Twelve Days of Christmas

            A couple of weeks ago, we drove home from an evening excursion; and Charles came up with the idea of rewriting the "Twelve Days of Christmas" after our own year in the country. This stopped Mr. Blue Eyes' wailing and knashing of teeth (he's not a big fan of being buckled into the car for long drives at night unless he is asleep). The van was filled with laughter as we tried to remember each line. We re-edited it the more we sang it. This just may become a new family tradition. Hopefully,  I can remember our final version. Give me grace if I don't.

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a red neck Christmas tree (we cut down a cedar tree on our land and put it up only to realize it is too tall...the girls insisted it was still perfect).

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me three bourbon reds (we're talking about turkeys, not whiskey), two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to me four girls in a row (I get at least one comment about it every time I'm out in Missouri), three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me five gold campiens (actually they're golden campiens,  but "gold campiens" sounds better), four girls in a row , three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to me six half-breed chicks (one "gold campien" hatched eggs that are part Rhode Island Red), five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eight kitty cats, seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine acres burning,  eight kitty cats, seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me ten ducks a quackin', nine acres burning,  eight kitty cats, seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eleven lice a itchin', ten ducks a quackin', nine acres burning,  eight kitty cats, seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,  my true love gave to me twelve brand new friends, eleven lice a itchin', ten ducks a quackin', nine acres burning,  eight kitty cats, seven crazy [fill in our last name], six half-breed chicks, five gold campiens,  four girls in a row, three bourbon reds, two guinea fowl and a red neck Christmas tree."

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas,  and you have a wonderful new year of adventures ahead...and let me know if you come up with your own version!

       

Easy Sugar Cookies (even if they're gluten-free)

           Maybe you're like me and you have family members or friends who are allergic/can't tollerate gluten. Here's a great recipe that you can make either with or without wheat this holiday season. Going out of your way to make something special for a family with allergies can make the best present of all for Christmas...seriously. However, that's extra special if it's actually delicious. Trust me. This recipe is and is totally worth it. I just adapted it this past Thursday with great success.
            This past week we went Christmas caroling with other homeschoolers at a local nursing home with other. Each family made a two dozen cookies to decorate together before we went caroling. I knew Mr. Blue Eyes would be confused by not sharing in the sugar sprinkling revelry. I mean, what almost two year old doesn't love cookies;  so I combined all the ingredients for this recipe except for the flour. I divided the mixture in half and added unbleached wheat flour (half of the original amount, of course) to one batch and gluten-free flour (I like the Betty Crocker brand because it isn't gritty and super affordable at Wal-Mart) plus one teaspoon of xanthan gum. I mixed and baked the gluten-free mix first and then used the same beaters and cookie sheet for the wheat batch. It turned out wonderfully. Half-pint stumbled onto this recipe shortly after we moved here, and we merely added a teaspoon of salt to the batter to make it better than any other sugar cookies we've ever had. I think the saltiness adds to the contrasting sweetness. Here's the link for the original recipe that we adapted: Easy Sugar Cookies.
           Enjoy this gem!

Easy Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
(Or 2 3/4 cups gluten-free flour plus 2 teaspoons xanthan gum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.

2) Gradually blend in baking soda, and baking powder and salt. Divide the dough at this point if desiring to make half with wheat and half with gluten-free flour. Add 1 cup plus 6 T. of gluten-free flour (plus 1 teaspoon of xanthum gum) to one half. Add the same amount of unbleached wheat flour to the other half. Otherwise just add the full amount of flour (and additional xanthan gum if it's gluten-free).

3) Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

   

Broken-Hearted

          "Don't believe her (mom). She told me the same thing about my baby blanket, and I'm still waiting." Hearing those words come out of Half-pint's mouth was enough to make me want to grab and eat an entire bag of Ghiradelli chocolate chips...or two. My heart plummeted. Gracie had already asked me at least a hundred times to sew up the hole in her stuffed Harley's ear; and, no, I'm actually not exaggerating.  Gracie is the squeekiest,  noisy "wheel" in our household of seven. I kept putting her off. I kept saying "I will fix the ear when I have time." That's the same thing my 10-year-old has been hearing for six years about a knitting project I began shortly after Carrie was born. It's the same excuse, just a different situation.  It hurt to hear my jaded daughter talk about her lack of trust. I don't remember what age I was when I realized my mom didn't hang the moon, but that feeling of distrust grew and clung on until I hit motherhood.  That's when I matured enough to realize how unfair and selfish I had been as a kid.
        Now there is the replay of distrust in my own family.  There is always something that comes between me and the things I intend to do. Sometimes it a major life upheaval that buries my promise like packing and unpacking twice in two years. Sometimes it the addition of a new baby and being incapable to sit for 15 minutes straight to knit and purl the hundred and twenty-eight stitches to complete a row in her "baby" blanket (I've had two babies since I began this project). Sometimes it is simply the lure of baking fresh cookies that are more appealing than completing a project that has already taken more time than it should've. It did take me roughly ten years to finish my hubby's blanket though, so maybe it's not that far overdue. I could remind Half-pint of this fact, but something tells me that wouldn't make her feel better. After all, here I am blogging when I could be knitting.  I tend to get all philosophical and think about how someday she will understand how unfair she is being.  I have a lot on my plate. I live in the land of the urgent, but unimportant...demands for water lid removals, and moans of help with writing "hundredth", and screams of accidents in the bathroom, or watching the snot run down, almost past, our one-year-old's lip.  Still, my mommy heart grieves the loss of her trust. It hurts, just as I have hurt her by letting her down.
            This past weekend, this failure came to my mind as I was asking God to help me examine what I should confess before partaking in communion (I'm not down with the whole 1 Cor. 11:30 sickness/"sleeping" issue...I like a clean slate). At first, I just apologized for the hurt I had inflicted on Half-pint. Her blanket just hasn't been a priority. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that maybe I was to use this to point her to God. Everyone in life disappoints us, but God is perfect. Maybe I needed to capitalize on that. My heart wasn't in that though. The honest truth is that I am disappointed with God at times. He is perfect, but it's hard to remember that when I sometimes feel like the old (introverted) woman who lived in a shoe who had so many children that she didn't know what to do...and she homeschools them.  Our home isn't perfect (it's cozy), but God put me here for a reason. I have a lot of kids (that I asked for... and one I didn't), but I truly love them and being their mom. I know that God gave them to me for a reason besides making me more tolerant of noisy, small spaces like our van rides. It'd just be easier if He told me why all the time, but that would require no faith.
           That's when it dawned on me. I have been acting like a hurt ten-year-old, demanding my finished blanket. I want to know it all right now, not once my life is finished. God isn't too busy for me, but He definitely has a different sense of timing than I do. When I allow my doubts to cloud my view of His goodness, it hurts Him just as deeply as it did me when Half-pint voiced her loss of confidence. He knows the future and the good that will come from my struggles (Jer. 29:11). God wants me to trust Him no matter what (Prov. 3:5-6).  Feeling the pain of Half-pint's disappointment brought it home for me. I had to apologize to God for doubting Him, His goodness,  and His perfect timing...and hurting Him.
            Life has felt overwhelming lately, especially with the holiday season. I don't understand it all, but I trust that God does. It's time to wait patiently. My blanket's not finished. In the meantime, maybe I'll knit a little more and make someone else's heart happy.

Pumpkin Bars

            Fall is amazing. I LOVE the colors of the changing leaves, but also the cooling temps. More than anything, I love the food...pumpkin pies, hot apple cider, s'mores over an open fire. Some of these things have become more challenging with certain family member's sensitivity to gluten. This year I converted a favorite family recipe for pumpkin bars. I used to work in a hospital (pre-kiddos), and I have to say that particular bunch knew how to make really good food! My recipe for this is a copy of a handwritten fax...we had to beg our co-worker for the recipe. I substituted 2 cups of gluten-free flour plus 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum for the 2 cups of all-purpose wheat flour. They have been declared but all seven members of our family...delicious!!

Enjoy this recipe suitable for both wheat lovers and the gluten-free:

Pumpkin Bars

4 eggs
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cups oil
1-16 oz. can of pumpkin
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups of all-purpose flour (or 2 c. of gluten-free flour plus 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum)

Combine the ingredients in the order listed (or you can separately combine the dry ones first before adding to the wet, but I personally think it's the mix companies trying to discourage us from making things from scratch by making us add an extra dirty dish to an already overwhelming counter).  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with cream cheese icing when cooled and store the cake in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Icing

1-3 oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups of powdered sugar