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A trip to Baskin & Robbins

She's typically neat and tidy...until she gets an ice cream cone in her hands.

Monkeys

The best snack in the world. We call it GCPB&CC. You have to dip it for 5 seconds to get the full effect.

At a church picnic beside Spring Creek

lately

Today is... french toast, laundry, and wiping noses. Isaac had a fever yesterday and through the night. His sinuses are mildly crazy, but he can still say his Ns. And he was still singing Fee-Fi-Fiddle-E-I-O, Fee-Fi-Fiddle-E-I-O-O-O-O, riding his trike to the laundry room. We've all taken our turns with being sick since we've been here, except me. Jared is just now getting over his month-long cough. Carly's cough doesn't sound quite so bad anymore, but she's sniffing something up her nose right now. A part of us is hoping it's H1N1 so we get it over and done with.

Yesterday, Jared stopped by a barber shop in a Mexican neighborhood on the way home from class. A co-worker back home had recommended this place. He needed a haircut, so he gave it a shot. Jared sat and waited his turn, looking around, feeling like there was something strange about the place, or at least something strange about the guy getting his haircut ahead of him. The man and the barber noticed a police car driving by. Jared found it equally strange that they were interested in this. He began to conclude that these people must be into drugs, and he thought his conclusion was verified when the man opened his wallet to pay. The man and the barber started talking in Spanish instead of English like they'd been doing all along. Jared tried not to stare, but he noticed the man giving the barber extra cash. Thinking this was surely a drug deal, he got his haircut anyway. When he pulled his wallet out to pay the barber, the barber told him that his haircut had already been paid for. A drug deal? Nope. Just a guy doing an act of kindness.

Carly has been taking her big-girl-ness a little bit more seriously lately. She's been helping Isaac dress in the mornings, and she willingly helps me wipe the dishes at night. Carly also bosses Isaac around and consistently gets mad when he states that he's bigger than everyone else in the house. "NO! God is bigger! And you're bragging. And it's not nice to brag!"

Isaac has made an executive decision that no one else can toot in his room except HIM! Especially not Daddy. We think this is quite unfair, as he frequently toots in our room. His decision still stands. We've been trying to work on Carly and Isaac's "L" sound. So the other day in the pool, you could hear us practicing saying "LLLLLISA," but the only sound you could hear was "YYYYISA!" The L sound is just not there yet, but the soft th- sound is. Finally, it's three, not sree. Next sound up is "R." Now, how to do that...?!?

bored

Pig was feeling fed up. "I'm bored," he moaned. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored! There must be something to do that's fun and I'm going to find it!" So off he trotted. Pig, thinking all the other animals had more fun than he, decided to try being something else: a giraffe, a kangaroo, a bird... He figured out that being a pig was the most fun of all.

As a kid, I remember moaning "I'm borrrrred! There's nothin' to doooooo!!!!!!!!" as I would dramatically fall into a living room chair. I'm glad our kids haven't figured out the word yet. Lately, I've been comparing the San Angelo summer to Sabetha winter. The temperatures are on the opposite ends of the thermometer, of course, but their extremes make it simply unpleasant to do much outside. Except swim. But there's only so much you can do in a swimming pool where the kids can't touch.

So we need your feedback. What should we do while we eagerly await Sabetha winter? (We're already excited to tromp in pastures, hunting for sticks to break for kindling. But we can't think about that just yet - it's only August.) :) How about commenting with cheap/free ideas of ways to pass the time?

We did go to Wal-Mart this morning thinking there must be something to do that's fun. Here's what we came back with:

perler beads

pinto beans

Isaac is making pretend lamb eyeballs out of his pile of beans. This stems back from our time living in temporary housing on base, where there was cable TV. The only channel in the evening fit for kids was the food channel. One night a man was trying delicacies, which included lamb eyeballs. This was a memorable moment for the kids apparently.

pray

I wondered if you could pray for my sister Carrie and her husband Kyle as they pick up their baby Betsinat in Ethiopia. They are there right now, meeting him for the first time. They'll come home (Dallas) later this week.

school

San Angelo schools started today. Our kids are staying home. Isaac's too young anyway. (He's still running around in his underwear this morning, which, I guess, is becoming a common practice around here.) When we return home to Kansas, Carly will attend her second year of preschool at the Lutheran Preschool. Meanwhile, the kids have been and will be going through a homemade curriculum. We have 2-week-long themes integrating math, handwriting, and reading, but most of what we do is crafts. Our current theme is an animal theme (broad, I know).

My original goal of homeschool-preschool was to sit the kids down in a semi-formal setting and make them do structured classwork for at least 15-30 minutes a day. This sounds a little rigid to some, but I think kids need to know how to sit down, listen, and do what they're told to do. Our kids need handwriting help, so that's what we're practicing. Carly needs to learn how to read, so we've spent time at the table making words out of homemade letter tiles and reading simple books throughout the day.

I sound like a mean teacher with a stick. But what I really think is that kids will learn what they need to learn, especially with gentle parental guidance. I've told Jared before that I'd rather have a dumb kid who faithfully loves Jesus than a smart kid who rejects Him - not that it has to be one way or the other. But as we start sending Carly and Isaac off to school in the next couple years, I hope we can keep focus on what's really important.

we are

It was my last day of school at Jardine in Wichita. The kids knew every teacher was killing time until 3:10. I gave a quiz, but this one was supposed to be fun. A 20-question true/false quiz about the teacher - Ms. Hartter, given orally. "True or false...I grew up on a farm." "True or false...My mother was born in Germany." "True or false...My great-great-great grandma was the daughter of a Belgian prince." The last question on the test was, "True or false...I go to church." A snicker came from Taylor Murphy's side of the room. He looked at me, laughed, and said, "Yeah, right!" Now, Taylor Murphy was a big, squirrely eighth grader who often got in trouble, but he taught me an unforgettable lesson. Even after spending at least 30 minutes each day with him for 10 1/2 months, he would've never guessed that I was a church-going person.

Who are we? We call ourselves Christians, but do we act like it? Do we even talk like it? At Jardine, I had apparently done neither. Pray for us - that we would walk as faithful believers. Pray for boldness to seize every opportunity to spread the Word. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7).

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from this week

mix and paint

Carly: the new photographer

Myra: enjoying a 10-minute kneading session. I attempted to make homemade bagels. I added blueberries, thinking they might turn out like Sara Lee's. Messing with the dough was fun, even therapeutic (something I recommend for an uptight woman needing something to squish)...

...but my bagels turned out tasting like yeast-flavored cardboard.

the kids making muffins and quickbreads for Grandma and Grandpa...

Carly wears this dance outfit (was it from Lisa?) when she wants to listen to fast music. She'll dance, but only if she's sure that no one's watching. If she's alone, music makes her come alive!

the purpose of alum

Alum is a chemical compound, also known as hydrated aluminum potassium sulfate. You can find it in the spice section of your local grocery store. Alum can be used for pickling foods, in developing photographs, for preventing bleeding due to small shaving cuts. It was even used as a deodorizer years ago. And alum can also be used in punishing a child for saying naughty words. Just a tiny finger, licked and dipped in the alum will do the trick.

A year ago, we were using Dial soap. I remember getting soap as a kid if I called one of my sisters "stupid" or if I stuck my tongue out at one of them. It didn't taste good. We were using it with our kids if they had a problem with something bad coming out of their mouth. Soap would "clean out their mouth." (That came with an explanation of the reason why we use words that are pure.) I know that prayer for our kids is the ultimate solution; even being a strong, Christian model for them is crucial. Jared and I felt that using soap was a practical, immediate solution to the naughty-words problem. By "naughty words," I mean a defiant "NO!" or something of that severity coming out of the kids' mouths. Later, the kids started thinking it was funny to baby-talk in a snotty, sing-songy tone. Soap was the answer for that too.

But then, the kids overheard me laughing with Jared about Kaden's soap issue. If I can recall correctly, my sister Jeanne told me how Kaden claimed that he didn't care if she gave him soap anymore. He proclaimed, "I LIKE soap! It makes me STRONG!!!" Isaac adores Kaden. Shortly after that, Isaac started liking soap too. We needed something that didn't taste so good.

Enter ALUM

This idea came from sister-in-law Tara. Jared and I both tried it before giving it to our children. It does the trick. It does not taste good when smeared onto your tongue. And it fits well in my purse.

Now, as much as we try to shelter our children from bad language, they somehow come to learn it anyway. A lot of this comes from the words we say. For example, when the kids were just learning how to talk, I heard Carly say "DARN IT!" during her play. Years later, we caught Isaac saying "Dag nabbit." And we realized that what came out of our mouths truly shaped what came out of our kids' mouths. When I say "bad language," I'm talking about purposeful language, not the made-up syllables/words that end up sounding like bad words.

A few days ago, they learned and started using "Oh my gosh." This is not a terrible phrase, but it sounds terrible coming out of a small child's mouth. I looked at them and said that I didn't want them to use that word because it wasn't nice. Battle picked. A couple hours later, Isaac tried it again and looked at me. I looked back and reached for the alum. I told them that "Oh my goodness" sounded nicer. Then yesterday, he said, "Oh my....." and looked at me. I looked at him and didn't say a word. He smiled. Seconds later the kids raced for Carly's bedroom closet. I heard them both laughing loudly, saying "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" They weren't laughing anymore when I joined them in their closet with alum for each of them. Okay, so maybe this was a petty battle to pick, but I don't want them to end up changing their phrase, using the Lord's name in vain.

ALUM. Our current answer for pickling-the-tongue needs. Any other suggestions?

crazy love, pt1

One of my sisters had this idea of doing a long distance Bible study. This is the first go-around. Starting in September, all five of us girls and Mom will go through this book Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God by Francis Chan (a man). (I clarify that because I thought Francis was a woman. I'd obviously never heard of him.)

For lack of something better to do last night, I took a sneak peek at chapters 1 and 2. The first assignment was to watch the "Awe Factor" clip. (If you want to see it, go to www.crazylovebook.com. Click on "videos" and "The Awe Factor of God.") Chan quotes Psalm 19:1-4a which says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

"This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork, and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious....Because we don't often think about the reality of who God is, we quickly forget that He is worthy to be worshipped and loved. We are to fear Him."

God is holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and fair and just. The more we grasp each of those characteristics of God, the more we realize who we are. With that in mind, it was convicting to hear what Chan had to say about our perception of ourselves:

"Suppose you are an extra in an upcoming movie. You will probably scrutinize that one scene where hundreds of people are milling around, just waiting for that two-fifths of a second when you can see the back of your head. Maybe your mom and your closest friend get excited about that two-fifths of a second with you ... maybe. But no one else will realize it is you. Even if you tell them, they won't care. Let's take it a step further. What if you rent out the theater on opening night and invite all your friends and family to come see the new movie about you? People will say, "You're an idiot! How could you think this movie is about you?" Many Christians are even more delusional than the person I've been describing. So many of us think and live like the movie of life is all about us. Now consider the movie of life....

....God creates the world. (Were you alive then? Was God talking to you when He proclaimed "It is good" about all He had just made?) Then people rebel against God (who, if you haven't realized it yet, is the main character in this movie), and God floods the earth to rid it of the mess people made of it."

Chan goes on to point out how this movie is NOT ABOUT US. He says:

"How is it possible that we live as though it is about us? Our scenes in the movie, our brief lives, fall somewhere between the time Jesus ascends into heaven (Acts) and when we will all worship God on His throne in heaven (Revelation). We have only our two-fifths-of-a-second-long scene to live. I don't know about you, but I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God. First Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." That is what each of our two-fifths of a second is about. So what does that mean for you? Frankly, you need to get over yourself. It might sound harsh, but that's seriously what it means."

I'm utterly guilty.

healthy homemade

granola

(Carrie's recipe adapted from online site)

6 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup blanched slivered almonds

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup wheat germ

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

salt shakes

cinnamon shakes

3/4 cup oil (plain oil, coconut oil, olive oil, or a mixture of oils)

1 cup honey

1 cup raisins

1 cup dried cranberries

(Add or take away any ingredients you want.)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, walnuts, pecans, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds, and shakes. In a small pan over medium heat, stir together the oil and honey. Cook and stir until blended. You could also do this in a large measuring cup in the microwave, heating for about 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Pour over the oat mixture, and stir to coat evenly. Spread out in an even layer on two cookie sheets.

3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the oats and nuts are toasted. Immediately after it comes out of the oven, stir in the raisins and dried cranberries. Let stand until cooled, and stir again to break up any large clusters. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks, but I guarantee it won't be around that long!

a train fanatic's dream field trip

We took a field trip to the KCM&O Depot museum on Saturday. There was a lot of history, and there were a lot of trains. The kids were pretty excited to see three different rooms with model trains. After we went through the museum, we climbed into an old engine and caboose. Here are some of the things we saw:

words

A few days ago, Isaac sat on the pot grunting and pushing. Moments later he looked into the toilet bowl and exclaimed, "THAT was as big as a LINCOLN LOG!"

The things that pour out of kids' mouths are said with no reservation, no hesitation, no prior analysis. I have this problem too, saying too much and not thinking before I talk. Surprisingly, this is the exact opposite of what's going on in my head right now. When it comes to blogs, I get a little intimidated by other bloggers' creativity, wit and wisdom, especially when this blog doesn't fit into a "real blog" category.

We are here in Texas, having done the same thing this week that we did last. It's a good thing to have routine, but in a faithful blogger's life, you need something to write about. I do not have anything new to tell you today. Thus, you come to a boring blog entry. The blog topics for today are/could be so numerous. I could choose to rant and rave about controversial topics, but my opinions would probably make somebody mad or I'd say the wrong thing in the wrong way that is not at all politically correct. I could write about something, acting like I know a whole bunch about it, but the truth is - I know a whole bunch about a lot of nothing. So what good would that do? Some real bloggers try to entertain their readers. I am not a "real" blogger. Ree at The Pioneer Woman is considered a "real blogger." I cannot and will not do that.

When I think I know something or have any wisdom at all, I quickly realize my own lack of knowledge. My only words of wisdom and over-the-top great ideas are not my own words at all. So, instead of trying to come up with some ground-breaking knuckle-bustin' proverbs on today's blog post, I'll just tell you where you can find unlimited knowledge, wit, and wisdom. The Word of God. That is better than any blog. Try reading that everyday.

Those are my thoughts for today. So, how did I go from Lincoln Log discoveries to challenging you to read the Bible daily? I do not know. And the great thing is - it doesn't really matter because I have not claimed to be a true blogger. or a writer. or a profound thinker. So there you have it. :)

Also related to this blog: Proverbs 12

images

Okay, maybe I'm an annoying parent who takes too many pictures and posts too many kid pictures on this blog. My excuse: the grandparents following this blog probably don't mind seeing pictures of their grandkids.

Here's a little bit of our week.

Coloring Sunday School pictures...

Isaac got a little carried away.

It doesn't usually rain in San Angelo. The kids loved this shower.

A new park

Isaac chose his outfit this day.

ABCs

lately

It seems self-centered to write a blog just about us, but I suppose that's why people check this blog - to see what we're up to. Posting plain pictures (especially of food) is more fun. Nevertheless, here is an update of lately.

Jared goes to class daily. He has PT (physical training) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. He enjoys this, even though it's at 6:30 a.m. He'd rather exercise for an hour than show up in class at 6:30 and sit there listening to an instructor that early in the morning, which is what he has to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So far, he has gotten lunch breaks at home and gets out of class around 4:00.

Isaac doesn't like it when I call this apartment "home." He usually says he wants "to go back to the apartment." Until two days ago, he was still saying "I want to go hommmme," but these last couple days, he has used the term "home" for the apartment when he wanted to leave the swimming pool or Wal-Mart or something. Carly, on the other hand, has never seemed to mind being gone from home (the real home), or else, she hasn't acted like it. The other day, she said that she missed Lucy. Isaac said that he missed the cats. Carly got big eyes and a smile when I told her that Grandma Sally and Grandpa Alan were coming for a visit in a few weeks.

The kids' days have been filled with play, whatever suits their fancy. Lately it's been trains and tracks (what's new?!). Carly lines all the farm animals up on a big wooden train car. The other day I watched them line up their 40+ markers, naming each one of them with every name they could think of. Isaac insisted that Loren was brown. They like playing preschool and Curious George games on the computer, but we limit them, reminding them that computers make you dumb if you spend too much time on them. I wonder what they think of me typing on this blog. Probably: Mommy must be getting real dumb! One particular preschool game plays songs as a reward for completing a task. Yesterday I saw a different side of Carly and Isaac as an Elvis tune with the words "gimme that barnhouse rock" came on. Carly immediately stood dancing on the desk chair with wheels. Isaac starting head banging from side to side. After Carly's dance, she started flinging her hair around everywhere. Isaac jumped off his chair. Oh my.

On regular weekdays, we run errands in the morning so as to avoid the heat. Early afternoons are spent doing school activities followed by swimming in the pool. 100 degrees doesn't feel so bad when you're splashing around. Twice a week we go to the complex's laundromat. Carly and Isaac race there with their trike, bike, or scooter, and Carly gets mad if Isaac wins. Starting in September, we plan to attend MOPS meetings, where the kids will have more interaction with other kids and I will have more interaction with other Christian mothers.

I asked Jared a couple weeks ago if we could start a new tradition eating out for Sunday lunch every week. This has eliminated the "I'm hungry" wails and my scramble to find something edible from the fridge leftovers as soon as we return home from church. Now this is rest. Or maybe I should just plan better. But my excuse for no more do-ahead Sunday lunches is: my oven here doesn't have "delay start." Church and the people in this tiny church have been a blessing to us. We SO appreciate the bold Truth being preached. Monday night, a church elder (who happens to be the pastor's dad) came to visit with his wife. I might write more about our conversation in another blog, but the evening was a true blessing; it's just what we needed. We enjoyed listening to their testimonies and sharing ours as well.

And talking about blessings...

It is an understatement to say that we appreciate all of you. It's rather humbling to try to grasp how much time has been spent on your loving us. Prayer for us. Sermons and Bible studies sent to us. The kids' Sunday School lessons sent, written in the form of personal letters. Packages sent to make us feel special on our anniversary and my birthday. Emails, I mean personal ones, sent just to fill our day with devotions, thoughts, conversations and news from home. Regular phone calls. And there are other ways I'm forgetting. Just thinking of all these undeserved blessings makes me cry. Not that we're so homesick; we're not as bad as we were. But to wonder: Who are WE, to deserve this kind of love?! What's even more amazing is how God loves us, even died for us, even though we're dirty, rotten sinners. Okay, I didn't think this blogpost was going in this direction, but this song comes to mind. Who Am I?!? (Click on it to listen.)

Have a meaningful day. We love you all!

Chocolate Hazelnut Latte Cookies

(Go ahead--click on this picture and drool.)

My first-ever made-up recipe that turned out, inspired from someone else's idea to mix chocolate, hazelnut flavor, and coffee. I made these for Zack's graduation reception but tried to perfect the recipe just today. Here is where it stands now.

1/2 c. crisco

1/2 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. cocoa

2 eggs

3 T strong coffee

3 T hazelnut syrup

1 T instant coffee granules

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3 1/2 c. flour

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. chopped pecans

Cream crisco, butter, sugar, and cocoa. Add eggs, coffee, syrup, and coffee granules; beat well. Beat in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls; flatten slightly with finger. Bake 8-9 minutes at 350. Cool and frost. Sprinkle with chopped hazelnuts (or other nuts).

Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting:

1/4 c. crisco

1/4 c. butter, softened

1 t. vanilla

2 - 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 T milk or cream

1/4 c. melted semisweet chocolate chips or cocoa

4 t. hazelnut syrup

Beat ingredients together well. And spread semi-thick over cookies.

I invite you to create your own cookie recipe and email it to me. All you have to do is mix a little bit of this and a little bit of that. It's FUN! The worst that could happen is you ending up with flat, bitter cookies, but you can try again. :)