Mom's kitchen

I have been staying at Mom's for the past week. We have been visiting, catching up and cooking. When at my Mothers one always ends up spending more time in the kitchen than in any other room. Mom has the best kitchen. It is big and spacious, a lot of cupboards and counter top space, her windows are ALWAYS open in the warm seasons and the quiet breeze floats in and mixes with the aroma of the almost always baking something-or-other. The best of these aromas is Mom's "Black devils food cake". The cake may have a naughty name but it is certainly delicious.

Fruit, Fruit, Fruit

We are a fruit-loving family. At this present moment, I have two brimming fruit bowls in my kitchen. They are holding ten pears, seven plums, six nectarines, and two kiwi. In the fridge I also have four pounds of strawberries, two handfuls of blueberries, and at least a pound of grapes. Sitting on my kitchen counter top is a bunch of bananas and an uncut cantaloupe. Oh, yeah. For a second I almost forgot the 13 lb box of navel oranges!

Okay, so that is an unusually high amount of fruit- even for us, but it does give you an idea of our weakness for members of the fruit family. I think that our eyes are actually bigger than our stomachs, especially in the Summer, because they are in season, easily accessible, and cheaper; and so we buy, buy, buy, and I always stress about our not being able to finish them before they rot. Thankfully, they do not all ripen at the same time.

Quotes of the Week

If you don't understand how a woman can both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child. - Linda Sunshine

Maude: Ahh... Sisters. I have five of them. In our family the line-up is: Brother, Sister, Sister, Maude, Sister, Lizzi, Brother, Esther, Brother & Brother (twins). So I am sandwiched on both sides by sisters. Growing up I was closer with some sisters than others at different times in my life depending on my age but they have all always meant the world to me.

A Few Quick Moving Tips

I've moved around 20 times in my adult life so I feel that, on this subject at least, I am something of an expert.  I wanted to share some moving tips I've found over the years:

* Put all your cleaning supplies in a box that is left open and isn't packed until last.  Use your cleaning supplies to clean your apartment before you leave and your new place before you move in.  Always include at least one roll of toilet paper, some handwash and a towel (or paper towels) in the cleaning supplies box.

Friendship

C.S. Lewis in "The Four Loves" talks about friendship. He was a man known to be surrounded by deep friendships that he treasured. He was sad by the lack of deep friendships seen in the society around him. He writes of friendship in his book "The Four Loves" he says, " To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world in comparison, ignores it... How has this come about? The first and most obvious answer is that few value it because few experience it. And the possibility of of going through life without the experience of is rooted in the fact that separates friendship so sharply from both the other loves. Friendship is-in a sense not at all derogatory to it-the least natural of loves; the least instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary. It has least commerce with our nerves; there is nothing throaty about it; nothing that quickens the pulse or turns you red and pale. It is essentially between individuals; the moment two men become friends they have in some degree drawn apart from the herd. Without Eros none of us would have been begotten without Affection none of us would have been reared; but we can live and breed without Friendship. The species, biologically considered, has no need of it. The pack or herd-the community- may even dislike and mistrust it."

Looking Above

Today I am tired and world-weary. Life would be so pleasant if every situation was clean and there was an unanimous consensus about how to handle it. We could all give a wave of "ayes" or "nays" and then go out and get coffee or pick flowers together. Instead, we get down in the muck and mire of daily living and we get messy in the process. What we had hoped would be so clear-cut becomes a confusing, hurtful battle.

This morning as I struggled to make sense of one such situation, I envisioned myself deep in suffocating mud, gasping, searching for an escape. When I got my head out of the thick oozing mess, I was able to inhale deeply and look toward the pure oxygen of the heavens, toward the only One who could offer direction. The bible verses that brought on such an illustration are Colossians 3:1-4. They encourage me to set my mind on Christ and the things above, not to focus on what I am dealing with here on earth, but on Him and His goodness, and the hope of heaven.

Camping

For the first time, my husband and I went camping together last weekend. I enjoy camping but haven't done much of it (he, on the other hand, is an avid outdoorsman) so I wasn't sure how it would go...

Turns out that we LOVE camping together! We had such a wonderful time and want to do it more often. We set up our tent together, made bacon and eggs for breakfast, went hiking and swimming and made sure we got icecream cones on our way home. It was a blast!!

The only thing that wasn't fun was getting sunburnt (teaching me the importance of sunscreen!). I hope we get to go camping several more times before it gets too cold. And the cold comes much too early in Minnesota!

*I wish I'd taken pictures but didn't - next time!

Sisters chat (Food)

Each Friday we will post an entry in which the four of us will talk about different things. We hope that you enjoy getting to know us better.

Today Katharine will not be able to join us in our sister chat :(
Esther: So, when thinking of what the topic should be I just kept coming back to the same thing

FOOD!
Who doesn't love food?
I must really love it since 2 out of 3 of my blogs have been about them
Lizzi: awesome!
Maude: Sounds like a yummy topic!
Lizzi: yeah!
Esther: I think our family did food well
I have SO many good memories surrounding food
I think food brings people together it is a way to share and welcome people in
So, to get started I thought I would explain about our special "birthday meals" and we could each share what we would "pick" as our meal
Our Mom really did birthday's well. And one of the special things she did for us on our birthday is that we got to pick what meal and dessert she would make; it could be anything we wanted!
Maude: We've already mentioned our little brother's pick in an earlier post! Obviously, it it was an important part of our childhood.
Esther: Absolutely!
Maude, what was your most common pick of a birthday meal and dessert? Would it be the same today?

A Week Without Children

Due to a writing deadline being moved forward unexpectedly to correspond with another deadline, my husband and I dropped the kids (3 years and 1 year) off with Gramma for the week.  After a headache of a drive where Gramma's car (with the children in it!) broke down and where our 14 hour drive turned into a 17 hour drive, we arrived home to an empty house.

It is quiet now, sad actually.  Is this what it was like before they were born?  Of course, we were living in a smaller apartment back then but this house feels unnaturally still.  Is this what it is like for empty nesters?

Biblical Parenting

http://www.gfchazleton.org/ministry/the_book.htm
I am reading "Shepherding a Child's heart" by Ted Tripp for the second time. I first read it when I was pregnant for my little man. Suddenly this book has taken on a whole new meaning. I am now living out what this book is talking about. When I read it before I was preparing to be a Mother, now I am one. Those are two very different places to be. When I read the book before it all sounded like such a good idea and oh-so simple, right? Wrong! Living an unselfish life and putting someone else's needs before my own is never easy.

The Wisdom of Silence

We live in a society that praises quick wit and cutting sarcasm. In the age of social media, if we have nothing to say, no one will notice us. We are given a stage, not only to be noticed, but to stroke our prides and shout about how great we are (and how great our thoughts, kids, dogs, houses, and recreational enjoyment are).

We are encouraged to "speak our minds" and "stand up for our rights" on a constant basis. Children who are naturally of a quiet or reserved nature are objects of worry by parents and teachers who believe they will have trouble acclimating to the culture around them. If we choose not to speak, there must be something wrong with us.

Sisters Chat (Love Languages)

Each Friday we will post an entry in which the four of us will talk about different things. We hope that you enjoy getting to know us better.

Lizzi:Today I want us to talk about Love Languages. You are all familiar, right? The love languages talk about different ways that people express and receive love.

Maude: Yes

Katharine: Yep

Esther: Yes ma'am

Katharine: Although I've never read the book

Esther: I have only read snippets of it

Maude: Neither have I, I don't think

Lizzi: There are five love languages and while people typically appreciate all of them,

there are usually 1 or 2 that fit them the most. I will name the five:

-Words of Encouragement

-Quality Time

-Physical Touch

-Gifts

-Acts of Service

I would like us to guess the top 1 or 2 for each sister

Maude: Fun game

Lizzi: How about Maude first?

Maude: I love being the oldest.

Lizzi: :)

Maude: I get to go first!

Power Outage

After church on Sunday there was an enormous rainstorm that my husband took my kids out to play in while I talked for a little while.  My 3 year old son was completely drenched, my husband was soaked, and my little 1 year old girl was fairly wet.  No other parents let their kids play in the rain, of course!  But it is standard procedure at our house  - when it is raining everything stops and you go outside and play for a while.  It made for a lovely Sunday evening.

When we got home, however, we found that our power was out.
Now, we are pretty well prepared for such a time at that.  My husband got out the handcrank radio and the flashlights that you shake to generate the energy to turn them on and he and the kids enjoyed playing with them. 

But food in the refrigerator only lasts 4 hours and food in the freezer only lasts 2 days without power - what if it took days for the power to come back on?

CocoNUT

Coconut, who woulda thunk it? I like coconut. I mean, I reeeaaly like coconut. It is such an odd thing to one day wake up and like something that has been detested for so long. Do you know what I mean? I have experienced this in some degree before with other foods but never like this. It all started with a walk (many things start with a walk with me) we walk a lot. (What can I say? I love being out of doors). The other evening I had two lovely ladies over for dinner, after dinner we had a walk, a walk that just happened to drop us at the ice cream shop (funny how that works out). I was browsing over the ice cream flavors and kept coming back to the coconut, almond, fudge flavor. Which is odd because typically I would just think "ewww, coconut!" But not today. I asked to have a taste sample, it was delicious!

A Song for Rainy Days

There are many tidbits from my childhood that I am passing on to my own children: a phrase my mom would say, or a poem she would quote. One of the tidbits I often share with my boys is a song my sisters and I sing whenever the sky opens up and shares its cleansing rain with the earth. It is a chorus that our dad would sometimes sing to us and it has been imprinted on our hearts and minds.

It's beginning to rain hear the voice of our Father,
Saying, "Whosoever will, come drink of my water;
I have promised to pour my Spirit out on your sons and your daughters."
If you're thirsty and dry look up to the sky it's beginning to rain.
(It's Beginning to Rain-Words and music by Gloria Gaither, C. Aaron Wilburn, William Gaither)

Even now, whenever I see raindrops start to fall, I think of my dad with his melodious voice, singing this chorus. And I think of my sisters standing in the pouring rain, arms stretched up to heaven, singing with all our hearts to the God who sends the rain. I suppose that little tidbit from my childhood is one worth preserving.

Storm

Last week we had a very big storm over in my neck of the woods... It rained and the wind blew so hard that it knocked one of our trees down, causing it to lean on our house. Thankfully, it didn't bust the window it landed against or cause any damage to our house which was a HUGE blessing! In fact, my husband was planning on chopping it down anyway - this just resulted in it happening sooner than planned. :)

Since my hubby and I are such goofballs I took a video of him preparing to tame the beast that was our downed tree:


I'll have to post more tree pictures (and the end result!) later...

Sisters Chat - 8/5/2011

Each Friday we will post a blog entry of the four of us talking about different things. We hope you enjoy getting to know us and see us interacting here.

Katharine: When you think of sisters, what comes to mind? (it can be specific or general, just whatever comes to mind)

Esther: A lot of conversations going at the same time.

Maude: Best friends.

Katharine: Those are good! Why do those things make you think of sisters?

Maude: Because sisters are around for your whole life and know all the ins and outs of your circumstances. I think it is easier to be friends with a sister than with anyone else.

Esther: well, my only experience with sisters is obviously my own and we are many (6 to be exact). We are loud, a little crazy and we like talking. So, it is just normal for there to be about 500 different conversations going at the same time

Katharine: I agree Maude. They know things about you no one else can so they can understand you on a different level, sometimes a much deeper level.

Esther: And they have to put up with you no matter what!

A Bell from Prague

Here is the bell I bought from a street blacksmith in Prague.  I love it!  It is my favourite purchase from that European trip because it was so cool to buy from a street blacksmith and because nearly everything else I bought that trip was more along the chotsky line.

Here is a picture of the street blacksmith's setup. 

an Anniversary alone

Monday was my second anniversary. It was also my second anniversary to spend alone. That is just the Army way. I would love to say that because that is just a fact about my life "being an Army wife" that somehow that would make being alone on my anniversary easier, but somehow it does not. In preparation of our anniversary I decided to go all out and have a mopesy, bluesly, sad day. First thing Monday, I packed Jude up and went to the Krispy Kreme shop down the street and bought a dozen hot doughnuts. I am pretty positive that hot krispy kreme doughnuts are going to be served to us in heaven because they have some kind of perfection going on. Have you ever had fresh, hot krispy kreme doughnuts?

Getting Serious about Nutrition

All you have to do is read my bio on this blog and you know that I like food. Especially sweet food. Ice cream, pastries, chocolate, cake, pretty much anything sweetening and bad for me. My sweet tooth has always been my strongest and most vocal tooth, and getting older has not lessened its voice one bit. It is so bad that when I drink my coffee in the afternoon, I look around the house for something sweet to nibble on while I drink it, or I contemplate what I could bake to eat with my coffee.

Thankfully, I am beginning to realize that I am battling a major addiction and one that I need to fight to overcome. If I am looking forward to a sweet treat, and longing for something to put in my mouth to satisfy the desire, then I have gone too far.