First Communion Day

Landen received his First Holy Communion yesterday.  We are so proud of our young man and all that he has learned especially this past year to prepare for this day.

His grandparents and Great Grandpa & Grandma Neises were able to join us.  His Godparents were also with us to celebrate, but that photo is not on my camera.  (Angela--please send one.)  :o) 

Congratulations, Landen Joachim Melius!  We love you and may God continue to bless you on your faith journey!

Farm Kid Fun

The temperature reached 80 degrees today, so it was time to get muddy after school!

 They love to make their own "Wipeout" obstacle course by flooding the swingset area.

 Who doesn't love a good mud ball . . .

 or wet grass on your face?

That is some good farm kid fun!

When You Have Too Many Porcupines . . .

make them into meatballs!  I hardly ever post a main course recipe, so it is time to share one of my old favorites.  This recipe is from a cookbook I received as a wedding present.  I love church cookbooks!  The good news is no porcupines are required.  I hear they can be kind of spendy. :o)

Porcupine Meatballs

1 cup uncooked rice (either regular or instant rice will work)

1 cup water

2/3 cup chopped onion

1 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 lbs ground beef

Sauce

1 15oz. can tomato sauce

1 can tomato soup

2 cups water

3 T brown sugar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients.  Add beef and mix well.  Shape into balls.  (I use a medium or large scoop.)  Brown meat balls in a large skillet; drain and then return to skillet.  Combine the sauce ingredients; pour over meatballs.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.  Serves 12.

The Easter Season

Did you know the Easter season is 50 days long and Easter Sunday is just the beginning? 

 

Right after Easter Sunday, I found this calendar on CatholicIcing.com.  I cut out a little cross and put poster tack on the back so Teresa could move the cross every day to see our progress through the Easter season.  Our kids are always counting down to something and they also have an interest in the church year, so this calendar has been a great visual aid for all of us. 

Now when Nathan asks how many sleeps are left until summer vacation, etc., Teresa asks, "How many sleeps until Pentecost?"  Of course, she doesn't fully understand it now, but when we get to Pentecost, she will have this visual of the Holy Spirit's fire to go with that Sunday.

May you continue to have a blessed Easter season!

A Handprint & Zucchini

Finger smudges are a dime a dozen around here.  I have some on my living room windows that have been there since . . . well, for an embarrassingly long amount of time.  But, a hand print.  Those don't just show up every day!  It's like finding a rare dinosaur fossil.  This one was found after my "T"-Rex was done playing with her "gooey stuff," so I had to document it.

What else is new around here?   Against my better judgment, I bought a pack of zucchini seeds for our garden today.  If you live near me, this is your warning to lock your house and car doors come July/August unless you want to find free squash upon your return!  I will be sure to share plenty with my dad, who always erred on the side of planting too many zucchini plants in his garden.  I am 33 and can finally face planting it in my own garden.  That should tell you a little bit about how those plants produced!  To this day I absolutely refuse to pay any amount of money for a zucchini.  It's like paying to breathe the air. 

We also bought green beans (a must), carrots, lettuce, and a pack of flower seeds.  We have some zinnias already started.  Now we just need our garden tiller (David) to show up and some consistently warm weather!

Why My Baby was Nearly Naked in Pizza Hut

As our family settled into our pew at church this morning, I heard Teresa loudly whisper to her Dad, "The Easter candle!"  I smiled inside.  She had been listening lately, or remembered learning about the Easter candle at her sister's baptism.  What a beautiful moment.

It all got interesting after that.

Shortly before communion, Teresa's increasingly obnoxious behavior earned herself a trip outside with Dad, yelling, "No, Daddy, No!" as he carried her the entire way out. 

Some day as a teenager she will listen as fellow parishioners tell her they remember this particular Sunday.  (I may or may have not done the same thing in church at about the same age.) :o)

Even before they made it out of church, I noticed that the baby handed to me had lost her new baby smell.
I checked out the situation after church and we had a disaster on our hands.  No problem!  I had a fully stocked diaper bag.  I pulled out an extra sleeper to change her into and realized it was all wet.  Somewhere along the line, a bottle of water must have leaked in the bag and I didn't notice. 
Aha!  A pair of pants was also in the bag and still dry.  We had planned to venture onto Aberdeen after church.  A onesie wasn't my ideal shirt for Rachel on a cold, windy, rainy day like today, but it would have to do.  Her car seat cover and fluffy blanket would keep her warm.
We decided on Pizza Hut for lunch.  As we all sat down, I commented that she again smelled a bit . . . interesting.  I really should keep my nose and my mouth shut.
This time it was worse!  Her pants and socks were done.  Her onesie wasn't the best either, but I couldn't have a completely naked baby in Pizza Hut!  I need to add that as I was pondering what to do and checking one more time if there was ANYTHING left in the bag to clothe Rachel with, she was grinning at me the entire time.
I had no choice to become THAT mother.
Yes, I'm the mother who covers up her baby's legs with the diaper changing pad (thankfully a cute hand sewn one given to me by my sister-in-law) and carries her through Pizza Hut on a very cold day wearing only a onesie.  Nope--no socks.  Had my grandma seen such a thing, she would have called Social Services right away.
A baby or two ago, I would have tearfully told David we had to take our pizza to go and go home.  Not anymore.  Even the second blow out left me unfazed.  Rachel was perfectly content snuggled in her blanket on Dad's lap while we ate.  She was thankfully done making messes for the rest of the trip. 
As soon as we got home, I dressed her in the warmest thing I could find.  She didn't mind her lack of clothing, but I did!
And that is why my baby was nearly naked in Pizza Hut today.

4 months old

Rachel is 4 months old today. 

Except for the few weeks between when she was declared to be "getting kind of boring" and when she started to smile, she has been the center of her siblings' attention. 

Her smiles and coos have often been the sunshine in our days.  This little girl has A LOT to say!  She reminds us a lot of her brother Landen when he was a baby . . . in looks and in temperament. 

(He, too, had and still does have A LOT to say!) :o)

 Not wanting to be left behind, Rachel has been trying her hardest to learn how to scoot on her tummy and seems to be getting a tooth as well. 

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, she can use her teether to prepare for sweet corn season, too!  Who knows.  She'll probably have a cob of corn of her own by then--or she will think she should.

Happy 4 months to our Rachel Olivia.  We are so glad God made you a part of our family!

Slow Cooker Taco Beef

It's a slow news day around here, so . . . how about a new recipe for your weekend??

This all started normally enough.  Over my morning coffee yesterday, I found a recipe for roast pork that I wanted to try for supper.  The original recipe used a pork roast, a packet of taco seasoning and a can of tomatoes and green chiles. 
I decided to try the recipe using a beef roast, since we always have plenty of beef in the freezer.  On my way through the pantry, I noticed that I didn't have any cans of tomatoes and chiles, but I did have a jar of homemade salsa which included the necessary ingredients.  I grabbed my two substitutes and headed back to the kitchen.  As I prepared to put the roast in the Crock Pot, I discovered that I didn't have any taco seasoning!  I substituted that with about 1/2 cup of taco sauce.  I poured the sauce and salsa over the roast and cooked it all on low for about 8 hours.  After it was done, I shredded it and then put it back into the juice to warm until we were ready to eat.
We all thought the result was great!  Last night we ate it on soft taco shells with taco fixings.  Today's leftover roast made a yummy sandwich. 

Even though this started out as someone else's recipe, it ended up being my own--and a keeper for this family!  I hope you like it, too!

Antiquing

I have had an appreciation for antiques for quite awhile, but I do not get to go antique shopping very often.  Not surprisingly, my shopping excursions usually involve a speed walk through Target or WalMart and not much more. 

So, when my friend Roxanne asked if I wanted to join her antique shopping, I couldn't wait to go! 

We went to Bristol, South Dakota, a very small town which is also the home of the biggest antique store I have ever been in!  Their school closed several years ago and now it is filled with antiques and furniture old and new.  We spent hours in there and walked through the main part at least three times--at least one of us finding something new each time.

 I picked up these glass pop bottles and wooden cheese crate for a summer display.

 This wash stand was my big purchase of the day.  Someday I may add a pitcher and bowl to it, but not until my children are a bit older!  I did find the crock bowl, and that will work for now.  I plan to paint the frame of the blue mirror and will probably hang it on the wall to the left of the stand. 

It was on my last time through that a tag that said "Eureka SD" caught my eye.  It was on this advertising tray!  NWGF Insurance Co. has been a part of my hometown since 1898 and always a part of my family since my mom has worked there since 1976.  What was that tray doing in Bristol?  It needed to come home with me.

I can't wait until my next antiquing excursion.  I already have more items on my wish list!

Easter Moments

In no particular order . . . highlights from our Easter celebration!

Above, our crew is dressed up in their Easter Sunday best!

 We dyed Easter eggs on Good Friday at our friends' Patty & Gerry's house.  It has been our family's tradition for many years.  Here Nathan is starting out with Aunt Amanda.

 Dad and uncles got pretty creative with hiding eggs.  It's a good thing Aunt Darla and Grandma were up for the challenge of helping to get them down!

 We made our Empty Tomb snacks, but they didn't last long!  They were yummy.

 Easter Sunday brought the basket scavenger hunt.  Nothing is going to get by Lily and Teresa now!

All that exer-saucer-sizing is paying off for Rachel.  Cousin Avery is wondering what the big deal is!

The Easter season has just begun.  Happy Easter, everyone!

Alleluia!

Today I must reiterate what my niece Lily recently told her family,

"Thank goodness Jesus rose from the dead!"

Amen, Lily.

My Easter has to include this song by Matt Maher.  It has become a permanent part of my life's soundtrack.

Our God is not dead.  He's alive.  HE'S ALIVE!

Planting Seeds

We buy the potting soil, cups, and seeds.  We plant the dried up seeds in a little dirt and at the time it seems so impossible. 
How are those little dead looking seeds ever going to amount to anything? 
Then we water them, place them by a window and we wait.  We check them every day and after a few days we start to wonder if plants will ever emerge.  We wonder if we planted them to deep or if the seeds aren't germinating. 
We must have done something wrong.
And then.  Then the very next day we look at that formerly black dirt and see this--life! 

That little seed we planted was doing what it was supposed to do all along.

We just couldn't see it.
If we had tried to dig up the tiny plant to see it before it was time, we would have harmed it.
We just had to have faith.
And patience.
In a few months, this tiny plant will be even bigger and better and will have grown bunches of beautiful flowers. 
This is only the beginning!
This is why I plant flower seeds every year.  It is my reminder that just because I can't see growth right now, it doesn't mean it isn't there.
Thank God for that.

Do not judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.  -Robert Louis Stevenson

I have this quote at the bottom of our stairs and pass under it each night as I tuck my children into bed. 
Some days it doesn't seem like much gets planted in our children.  Or, the seeds we have tried to plant as parents are slow in coming up.  Sometimes we wonder what we did wrong.
But, some days little seedlings pop up all over the place.  We see that the seeds are growing.  We may never see that seed's full growth, but we know that it is doing what it is supposed to do.
Even if we can't see it right now.
Thank God for that.

Sweet Treats for Easter

I recently found a really cute blog called Catholic Icing.  The site is chock full of good faith-based activities for families and children, but I especially enjoy the food crafts for kids. 
The first post I read gave many ideas for helping kids focus on the true meaning of Easter.  I plan on making these Empty Tomb snacks with the kids this weekend.  Ours will be a little different, though.  Since my nephew Carter doesn't like chocolate, I bought non-chocolate supplies and frosting instead of coconut.  I'll keep you posted on what our finished version looks like!  This is the sample photo from the blog.

I read the post for the Jolly Rancher Cross Pops on Friday and thought they might make cute favors for Landen's First Communion.  Landen, Teresa, and I put them together this afternoon as a trial run and, with many thanks to Lacy's specific instructions on the blog, they were a success!  I will let you refer to the link above if you'd like to make these, but here are a couple pictures of our cross pop creations.  

 One bag of Jolly Ranchers makes about 5 pops. Also, I left mine in the oven for about 8 minutes because some didn't look melted after 5 minutes.   That ended up being a little too long for the faster melters.  (This is a test in how even your oven heats as well!)  I realized when we were putting the sticks on them that I could smoosh any that weren't completely melted with my fingers and that worked, too.  We plan to gather more Jolly Ranchers and make enough for our family and friends in a few weeks!

Happy Palm Sunday and may your Holy Week be blessed!