Harvest Photos

I am always admiring others' photography and trying to replicate it with my own humble camera. Thanks to picnik.com, a photo editing site, I can usually get my prints to my liking and avoid spending a small fortune for someone else to take them!
I had been waiting for the perfect day to take some outdoor photos of my kiddos. Wednesday afternoon was that day. It was sunny, calm, not too hot, and they were all in a reasonably cooperative mood.


The wheat field has always been my canvas of choice--it is just so beautiful! Watching it wave in the wind is so soothing. I just love riding in the combine when David is harvesting wheat--if I can get a turn in amongst our children!

I cropped this one of Nathan as he was throwing wheat into the air.

And . . . my personal favorite, which was suprisingly difficult to shoot. I had never tried to get my children to hold hands and walk away from me at roughly the same speed. Now I know why! It didn't take too long, however, and they cooperated. This is on the road right by our farm. I LOVE how it turned out!

Surprise Monkey Bread

One of my strange habits is that if I am eating alone, I MUST have something to read at the same time. Anything will do--even the "Green Sheet" (our local agricultural supplement)--will do in a pinch.
Recently when I've found myself in this situation, I've started going through my stash of "Simple & Delicious" magazines. I love the magazine, but I know I'll never make anything out of the issues if I don't cut out my favorites and move them to my recipe box.
This is one recipe I found yesterday. We had a coffee guest this morning, so it was the perfect day to try it. They turned out very yummy, but can anything with caramel and cream cheese be bad? I haven't tried it if there is!

Surprise Monkey Bread
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 tubes Grands biscuits
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon
1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese
1 1/2 cups walnuts (I didn't use.)

Heat the brown sugar and butter until melted and set aside. Combine the white sugar & cinnamon in a small bowl. Flatten each biscuit a bit and sprinkle 1/2 tsp of the sugar & cinnamon mixture in the center. Top with a cream cheese cube and fold over. Pinch the edges to seal tightly. If using walnuts, sprinkle 1/2 cup in the bottom of a greased bundt pan. Layer with 1 tube of filled biscuits, half of the brown sugar/butter mixture, and 1/2 cup walnuts. Repeat the layers.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Invert immediately onto a serving platter. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

What's the Difference?

Today the boys have been playing tractors and dreaming of what they will do when they grow up. This has been a favorite conversation for them lately. When I put them to bed, Nathan asks his brother, "Should we talk about our (John Deere) Gators?" They either talk about them or the other equipment that is on their mile-long green dream lists.

Here is a conversation from this afternoon:
Nathan: "When I get big, I am going to get a new mom."
Landen: "You mean a wife."
Me: "What will a wife do for you?"
Nathan: "Cook supper for me."

He did say, however, that he is going to keep the same grandma. :o)

Summer Reading

I uncovered an old friend this summer--my love of reading. Earlier this summer, my college friend Michelle posted on Facebook that she really liked the novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
I hadn't read a novel in awhile and thought I'd like to, so I went online and ordered it, not knowing anything about it at all other than its title. As soon as it arrived and I began reading it, I could barely put it down! It is about 1950's-60's Mississippi, the black "help" and the white families they served. I really, really loved it--both the story and how beautifully it was written.

I also ordered Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum at the same time. I finished the fictional novel about WWII Germany and the Holocaust last night. This one was equally well written, although often necessarily unpleasant to read as required by the subject matter.

As I turned the last page on Those Who Save Us, I thought back to watching Schindler's List and touring the expansive Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. in high school. I am deeply grateful for having experienced them, but even then did not want to do it again. Now that I have children of my own, I am not sure I could make it through the museum without weeping the entire time. I am putting Those Who Save Us on that list as well--a worthy experience, but not something I want to experience repeatedly.
Next on my bedside book pile is Firely Lane by Kristin Hannah, another recommendation by Michelle. I can't wait to get started on it!

Along the same lines, have you seen the previews for the new Beezus & Ramona movie? My favorite book series as a very young reader was the Ramona series by Beverly Cleary. I have already bought the first three Ramona books to share with my children when they are a bit older. I am not sure how this new movie will relate, but I hope it does not disappoint.


I always appreciate book recommendations, so send some my way if you have any! Happy Reading!

Counting

I just wanted to document that Teresa counted to 11 yesterday. She put her doll in my lap, stood back, and started counting. Then she would run back to me. I told David, "She just counted to 10!" Then we listened and she made it to 11. She wouldn't let Nathan help her. She told him, "I counting!"
Nathan makes it to 20, but skips 15. We'll see who makes it to 20 first! :o)

Chore Chart

After a particularly frustrating hour of church with our two youngest children, David and I came home on Sunday determined to change something around here.
That hour was just the last straw. The fighting, bickering, screaming, and spouting off everyone's new favorite word, "Poopy," (unfortunately completely out of context) were all running rampant. Some children may respond to the "ignore the behavior and it will go away" school of thought. Not mine. If not contained, their bad habits will just continue to spread like a plague, dandelions in our lawn, or a case of the stomach flu through a preschool.
I decided we would try something new--a chore chart. If they had time to fight, they could use some of that time to work around here.
I downloaded a chart from the Internet and made three copies. I gave a handful of jobs to each child, and told them that they would have these jobs for just one week. Then they would change. When they finished a job for the day, they would get a star. They were so excited, they wanted more jobs. And then they wanted a star for everything! That wasn't happening, so we gave each of the boys a more general job entitled "Helping. . . ." This star is given at the end of the day if they have been helpful to their family members.
The only reward is the star and that seems to be enough. I will pick up some sticky stars next time I'm in town to make things a little more fun. There's just something exciting about earning a sticky colorful star! It reminds me of all those years of summer reading program growing up and putting up my star in the library after each book read.
We're only two days in and I've been a mom long enough to know this excitement won't last forever. However, I am enjoying it while it lasts! I hope changing it up every week will help keep it from getting monotonous for them.
Meanwhile, my living room and their toy room have never been cleaner--and I didn't have to do anything!

Off to the Races

Our Modern Woodmen insurance company camp hosted a family night at our local speedway last night. I used to go to the local stock car races quite often in my tween and teen years, but I think it had been at least ten years since my previous visit. David hadn't gone in probably that long either, so we took the evening off and took our boys to the races.
The boys had many questions about the races before we left. Were there going to be monster trucks there? (No.) Was the track like Daytona? (No.) That question was quite funny to me because prior to my tour of the Daytona track, my only race track experience was our local dirt track. I could not believe the size of Daytona when we first drove by! Landen's only prior racing experience was seeing that track and other professional tracks on TV and in pictures. Even though our track is very tiny in comparison, he did not seem disappointed.
I forgot my camera, which was a bummer, because the boys were absolutely captivated by the races--especially the later ones when they put 16+ cars on the track at one time. The crowd groaned as there was crash after crash, but I think they thought that was the most exciting part. Nathan especially got into picking which car he wanted to win (usually the one at the front) and then sometimes changing his mind when another car won. Talk about a fair-weather fan! They were attentive up until the last race, with the help of popcorn and plenty of Gatorade.
The races really are a lot of fun. I don't think we will take a ten-year break before we go again. There are just some things you can only get at the local speedway--the setting sun, a no-smoking family section, the atmosphere as drivers' fans cheer for their local celebrities, and plenty of material (although lack of actual fabric) if "What Not to Wear" ever decides to visit our area. There was even a very tiny newborn baby there. I'm not sure I would promote that, but he seemed pretty much unaffected by the noisy experience.
As the cars spun around turn one and I felt the wet dirt blow into my face, I turned to David and said, "Ahh . . . that's what I remember!" Even that part was fun.

New to Blog List

Welcome to the newest addition to my blog list, White Around the Collar, by Fr. Dana Christensen. Fr. Christensen is a recently ordained Catholic priest in the Sioux Falls Diocese of South Dakota. My home parish "adopted" him during his time in the seminary, so although I have not personally met him, my mom has. She informed me of his blog this morning. If you check back soon, he plans to post pictures of my home parish, St. Joseph Catholic Church, next on his virtual tour of parishes. I have read some of his thoughts and listened to a homily, and I look forward to hearing more. Our former parish priest, Fr. Todd Reitmeyer, used to post his thoughts and homilies on his blog, too, and I've missed that since he left this world.
My opinion on religion and Christian denominations is this--I respect your choice and decision to worship however and wherever you choose. I myself, come from a loving home with a Catholic mom and an ELCA Lutheran dad. As for me, however, I am Catholic to a place so deep in my soul I can't explain it. Well-meaning people have tried to steer me away from the Catholic faith occasionally over the years, and I risked my own boyfriend (now husband's) complete rejection by choosing my Catholic faith over anything else over ten years ago. After thousands of tears, he has realized what I already knew from before the day we met--my Catholic faith is so much a part of me, I feel absolutely dead inside when I think of giving that up for anything. In short, as long as you don't try to change me, we're good.
You don't have to tell me the Catholic Church isn't perfect. Even the pope knows that. I am spiritually exhausted from theological discussions, debunking misconceptions of the Catholic faith, and wondering how any reformer is any different from the rest. In fact, I have built up quite the literary Catholic "arsenal" over the years to defend the Church. But, now, at this point in my life (at the ripe old age of 31), I no longer feel the need for those arguments disguised as discussions. If one is truly content with his or her choice in religion, trying to change others to their way of thinking--either with attacks or seemingly innocent comments--will simply not happen. If it does, that tells me where that person stands in rationalizing their own choices. I don't understand nearly everything about the Catholic church, but I have the rest of my time on this earth to learn. The greatest gift my husband has given me, after marrying me, is that he has allowed our children to be raised in the Catholic faith along side his own Lutheran faith.
About a month ago, my children and I stopped at an International Implement (red tractor) dealer with an aunt who needed to get a part for her husband's tractor. Landen marched right up to the front counter and announced, "I live on a JOHN DEERE farm!" The employee jokingly told him, "Well, then get out of here!" We all laughed at Landen's innocent outspokenness.
I have thought back to that day now when I go to a church other than Catholic and I understand his need to speak up. I want to be an innocent six-year old and announce, "I go to the CATHOLIC Church!" IT'S NOT THAT IT'S ANY BETTER; but, just as Landen knows he belongs in green tractors, I know where I belong, too.
Although it has gotten better over the years, living an ecumenical marriage has not been easy. I spent the first years of our marriage feeling threatened. It's really difficult when you move into a community with literally a handful of Catholics in the entire town and the closest Catholic church is about 20 miles away. It takes more effort than usual to be Catholic in this part of the country!
I have often thought it would be so much easier if it didn't matter so much to me, if I just changed denominations because that was the "wife's thing to do." For many it is no big deal, but for me it is. I am blessed beyond words to have a husband who understands that when many do not.
We read "To Kill A Mockingbird" in my first year of teaching and, given the events in my life at the time, this line from Scout jumped off the page at me:
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."
Sometimes it takes the fear of losing something to realize what a necessity it is. May you always hold tight to that "breath"--whatever it happens to be in your life.

For the Kids?

I made a batch of these yummy bars to take on our swimming weekend. Yesterday I asked my boys if they liked the bars I had made. They said they didn't know what bars I was talking about!
They disappeared quickly, but I think grandma, mom, & aunts must have been the culprits. :o) So, if you want to keep these for yourself, keep them on the counter and away from your kids' eye level!

Oaty Cereal Bars

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 1/2 cups toasted oat cereal (Cheerios)

In a saucepan, stir together white sugar and honey until boiling. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until blended. Stir in cereal and coat with mixture. Use more cereal if desired. Press into 9x13 pan.

Melius Cousins Swim Party

We had our 2nd annual Melius cousins swim party this past weekend. Last year we had wading pools for the six little ones. This year they were a little bigger, so we stepped it up to a REAL pool! We traveled to Carter & Lily's hometown in Minnesota for this one and celebrated Lily's 3rd birthday, too!

Here the "big" boys, Landen, Carter, and Nathan, cheer on grandma as she prepares to jump off the diving board.

Time for a rest for Lily!

Luke is more of a land lover. He will have a new brother or sister to join the fun next year!


Teresa makes a splash of her own.

Two Things

Here are two things I learned today:
1. Cresbard has a really great museum! Landen made it his goal to visit our local museum this summer. Today was the day we got to take our field trip into town. We saw all sorts of local treasures from the past and had a fun time. Nathan and Teresa don't quite understand the "look--don't touch" policy of museums, but we all left with no harm done.
2. White corn syrup has an indefinite shelf life. It's true. I looked it up.

There you have it! Have a great FRIDAY!

My Turf

Be careful what you wish for.
Usually my husband keeps himself pretty scarce in the spring, summer, and fall months. I always wish he was around more.
Well, yesterday he was working on his computer all day trying to fix a problem with farm software. I am ready for a little time to myself on my own turf again after that!
God love him, but I think he requires as much attention on average as our kids. (Although, he is thankfully much more appreciative.) To make matters worse, this problem required him to be on the phone nearly all day and he disconnected my computer from the Internet to upload the huge file. He says he will call our phone company and get it switched back on, but I am guessing that will be my job. Grrr . . . it makes me very crabby when people mess with my Internet connection! He just doesn't understand this. Maybe I should hide his Blackberry so he can't check the weather every hour. :o)
Last night when he was taking a shower, he tried to fix the shower head and ended up taking it right off the wall.
Oh, my darling David. I think it is time for you to get back to the field! (And I mean that in the most loving way possible.)

Melius Reunion

Our July 4th weekend was spent at the Melius Family Reunion. The most amazing part of the weekend was how well all 22 great grandchildren played so well together! Every day was great and we made many memories together. Our generation is now looking forward to Denver in 2013! (Those 22+ great grandchildren will stay with their grandparents for that one.)


Here they are--with just half of Elizabeth. She wasn't too excited about the photo shoot.



Since Teresa and I took a self-portrait last July 4, we took another this year as we waited for the parade to start.