T-ball Time!

We've been enjoying some t-ball time these past few weeks.  The boys are loving it and hope to hit some pitches by the end of the season.
David and I even worked the concession stand on Monday.  I have to say, I can make a pretty great walking taco!  Mmm . . . .

So Cheesy

Today finds me making homemade macaroni and cheese for supper.  It is in the oven right now and I CANNOT wait! 
(I posted the recipe on 8/30/10, but omitted the 1 cup of sour cream in the list of ingredients.  Sorry about that!)
Nathan offered to help and did my least favorite job--the constant stirring of the cheese sauce to make sure it doesn't burn.  I couldn't have done it without him as I was not as prepared with my ingredients as I had thought.  Speaking of stirring, I saw a robotic stirring device on an info-mercial last weekend.  I was going to order one, but a good Nathan works just as well!
Landen came to the counter toward the end and looked at one of the three cheeses that go into the recipe.
"Is this Lindberger?" he asked.
"No," I replied, "Velveeta."

Talk about going from a 5-star restaurant to 1 in a hurry.

No matter.
I love my Velveeta.
And my carbs.
Only 14 minutes left.

Keeping Clean

I like to think I keep a fairly clean house.  Some days there are more toys scattered throughout the house than others and I may go weeks between dustings, but I can't go too long in between cleanings. 

There is one room I pretty much ignore, though--our utility room.  This is also our "mud room," a term I had not heard of until I started dating a farmer.  It's where the dirty clothes come in to get dumped and dirty hands come to get washed.  Keeping this room immaculate became a losing battle long ago, so I turned my attention elsewhere.  (No--not to my oven--I don't clean that either.)

One just never knows when inspiration will strike.

Today as I was bringing in the week's load of groceries (the other side of the room holds our pantry and freezers), I decided the laundry area was dirty and depressing. 

It hadn't bothered me before, but suddenly I just couldn't take it ANYMORE!

 After starting a load of laundry and having some lunch, I got to work cleaning, dusting, and organizing the space.

Yes, there's still laundry in the baskets, but let's be realistic.  There will always be laundry in the baskets!  I even gave myself a little tip jar.  I've made 2 cents so far!

Big Cup of Coffee

It's another big cup of coffee kind of day.  The rains have settled in and they aren't going anywhere for awhile.
The coziness I am feeling right now is only because I know I get to escape with my family later today.  Rainy days in summer are a rare treat and a window of opportunity for family time.
I have been on this farm for the great majority of the time since we returned from Minneapolis.  Two of those days were taken up with nursing those with various bouts of the stomach flu.  (Yes--my favorite!  Thankfully, it was mild and fast moving.) 
To be fair, David has been working from dawn until past dark for most of those days, too. 
I love being at home, but enough . . . is . . . enough!  If I didn't know better, I would think someone slapped a house arrest ankle bracelet on me while I was sleeping last Monday night.
The days are all starting to blur together.  I swear I just fed all of these people, but they insist that was yesterday.  How sad is it that I am actually looking forward to pushing my overloaded, squeaky cart through Wal-Mart? 
Oh, sweet, sweet freedom.  I will be seeing you soon!
But, first I need to finish my coffee.

Key Lime Sugar Cookies

Good news!  My relationship with food (and thinking about it) is getting to be more cordial, and so I would like to share a yummy recipe.  I know it's been awhile since I've shared one!

Key Lime Sugar Cookies
Cookies:
1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp salt

Combine sugar, powdered sugar, and butter; beat until light and fluffy.  Add oil, vanilla, and eggs; blend well.  Add flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Heat oven to 375.  Shape dough into 1-in. balls.  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Flatten with bottom of glass (dipped in sugar if you'd like).
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set but not brown.  Cool on racks.

Key Lime Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup key lime juice
2 drops green food coloring
1 drop yellow food coloring
Frost cookies after they have cooled.

God's Surprise for Us

For the past few years, I have always said if God wanted to surprise us and give us a fourth child, we would happily accept.  It was just too big of a decision (for me, at least) to make on our own.  Life was good, we were happy, and the third child had been potty trained.
I thought that surprise (if it ever happened) would come in the form of an extra pink line, but that's not what happened at all! 
At some point this past winter, I started to feel unsettled.  What was up?  I started to pray about it and the reason slowly became clearer to me.
My first reaction was, "Oh, no thank you.  You have blessed us enough.  We're good.  Really.  There are so many other families who would do much better with such a blessing, such as . . . ."
But, this feeling (albeit pretty crazy) kept coming back!  So, I prayed that if the feeling wasn't from God that I would go away. 
It stayed.
And God wasn't taking any excuses.
When I told Him I had just lost weight and that I weighed less than I did in Jr. High--Jr High!--He pointed out that he had shown me how to live a more healthy lifestyle and I wouldn't forget how to do it.
When I told Him that I had been without any antidepressants for almost a year and a birth would make them necessary again, He showed me that I could once again come to live without it.
When I pointed out that we had given most everything away and turned our nursery into an office, I realized that He would provide and that none of these changes was permanent.  A baby would be just as happy in a brown room as in a white one.  My desk and scrapbook supplies could. . . move. . . out. . . of their new home.  Gulp.
When I expressed fear over the worst that could happen, He put people in my life who had gone through such tragedies and came out the other side not only alive, but much deeper in their faith.
When I told him I was too old at 32, He showed me my wonderful friends who had become new moms at 40 and after.
But, still, what a leap! 
One thing still kept nagging at me.  If we said "Yes" to this, there was no turning back. 
Then I got my final answer (not audibly, but as a thought that surely came from above).
"You will never regret a child."
After that I was sold.  But, there was someone else who needed to be on board.  I prayed for God to touch David's heart as well.
When I finally decided to ask him about his crazy feeling, he said he had been feeling the same thing!
Not long after that conversation, we found out our fourth blessing was on his or her way.  We expect his or her arrival around December 20.
Announcing a fourth pregnancy is different from even a third.  People (around here, anyway) expect you to have a third child.  But, when you already have three (including boys and a girl), it is assumed that your family is complete.
For a long time, we thought so, too.
But, we were wrong.
And we're so happy we were!

#4

I have been keeping a secret from you.
And it has been driving me crazy!
There have been so many days in the past few months that I have I sat at this computer and had nothing to say except, "I feel tired and nauseous today."  I couldn't very well type that, so I would pick myself up and push through the rest of the day. 
We finally shared our news with our children on Tuesday night and after that, it spread pretty quickly in our little town!
On Thursday, I did something I have never had the opportunity to do before--announce a pregnancy on Facebook.  Welcome to 2011, little one!  I found it so much less awkward than usual.  How do you bring that up?  What conversation is ready for that type of announcement?
This pregnancy has not been uneventful (how I long for my first pregnancy when my Dr. would tell me, "You're boring." and send me on my way!)  But, baby is looking great and we are optimistic all will be well.  We appreciate your prayers and look forward to December 20!

Who Can Turn the World on With Her Smile?

Mary Richards, of course! 

David and I took a little trip to Minneapolis this past weekend.  We both had been there several times, but neither of us had ever spent considerable time downtown. 

We came upon the Mary Tyler Moore statue Friday night as we were walking back to our hotel from The Shout House, (a great piano bar if you are ever in the area.)

I knew the statue was somewhere downtown and we just happened to stumble upon it!  I get excited about weird stuff like that.  (David had no idea who I was even talking about.  Was I surprised?  Um . . . no.)

A few years ago, some of my crazy aunts made the trip to Nicollet Mall and took pictures beside the statue, throwing their own hats into the air, as Mary did in the opening credits of the show. 

To David's relief, I stifled my excitement at finding this landmark and just kept walking. :o)

After 10 years, we travel pretty well together.  Some trips have been rather tricky with both of us being the responsible planning type. 

I have stopped organizing itineraries.  We tend to follow a pattern in our travels together--we eat lots of great food and spend most of our time walking and exploring the area we are visiting without a schedule.  We walked close to 5 miles Saturday alone.  Somehow that distance passes so much more quickly for me in the middle of a city! 

Over the weekend, we also saw the Spoonbridge & Cherry at the Sculpture Garden, laughed at the Acme Comedy Company, and caught a Twins victory.

Thanks to our wonderful parents and my sister back home keeping watch over the kiddos, I would say the weekend was a success.

And, just like Mary Richards, I think we "might just make it after all!"

10 years!

Happy Anniversary to my husband of 10 years!  It's been a good 10 years and I'd do it all over again, but I'd rather just keep moving on toward the next 63.  (Our original agreement was 73 years.) :o)
I would also like to wish my brother- and sister-in-law a Happy 4th Anniversary!
Have a great day, everyone!

From Captain Corelli's Mandolin:

When you fall in love, it is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake, and then it subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision.

You have to work out whether your roots are become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part.

Because this is what love is.

Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement. . . .

For that is just being in love; which any of us can convince ourselves we are.

Love itself is what is left over, when being in love has burned away.

Doesn't sound very exciting, does it?

But it is!

Where I Come From

I am spending this weekend with the Kallas side of my family in my mom's hometown of Leola.  It is a time of transitions for our family as my grandparents recently moved to an apartment in another town and are in the process of moving out, cleaning out, and selling the home they have lived in for 20+ years. 

This is the 2nd house I have called "Grandma and Grandpa's house" in my lifetime and I know their "house" is wherever they are.  Still, it is difficult for all of us to say goodbye this this home base and the town that has been so much a part of our lives. 

As my mom was helping them move last week, she came across some family history.  I had tried to create a family tree on ancestry.com last summer, but came up very short on both sides of my maternal grandparents families.  Thankfully, my great aunts had done quite a bit of research and I spent a great majority of my Memorial Day reading all of these great stories and facts.

These are my Great-Great Grandparents, Sophia and Julius Kallas.  Julius was born in Germany in about 1856 and came to America in 1879.  Here's the part that about knocked me off my chair--Julius worked for John D. Rockefeller (yes, the same guy in our history books that founded the Standard Oil Company) for a couple of years.  Rockefeller wanted my great-great grandfather to go into business with him, but his dream was to take the $1000 he had saved and stake his homestead in South Dakota.  That is why he came to this country and he stayed faithful to his dream. 

It took me a few minutes to get over this.  Talk about a detrimental financial decision!  Even though I am quite sure Rockefeller was no angel, Julius no doubt faced hardships and pain out on this prairie greater than he ever would have back east.  However, if he had not stayed true to the course, he would not have met his Polish-born wife Sophia and had all of these South Dakota descendants who are quite thankful to be here today.   

This is a picture of my grandpa, Francis Kallas, with his sisters.  One of the histories written by his sister gave quite the account of the trouble he got into with his sister Marie while they were growing up.  Talk about a naughty boy!  It just goes to show that a mischievous five-year-old can indeed grow up to be an admirable and upstanding man in this world.  Thank the Lord for that! 

There also had a younger brother who was born when these 5 were already teenagers.  He died at the age of 1 year and 9 months, most probably from pneumonia.  I had not even heard of this brother until recently when a distant relative contacted me through ancestry.com with a hand drawn family tree.

I find this sort of thing fascinating.  I love to learn about where I came from, what traits have been passed down through the generations (both good and bad), and the sort of lives these people lived.  Sometimes I forget that my grandparents and older generations weren't always my grandparents. 

I am so thankful for the sacrifices they all made. 

And, Great-Great Grandpa Kallas, even though I LOVE New York City, I totally understand the decision you made.  All the oil money in the world can't buy a South Dakota sunset. 

I have enjoyed many of them. 

And so have my children. 

Thank you.