Prayers

Please pray for the families of four young men who lost their lives in a plane crash Sunday night near Highmore, SD.  One of the men, Logan Rau, is from my hometown.  My heart aches for his family and the community.

When it seems there is no end to tragedy in this world, we especially know that their is no end to God's love, peace and strength.  He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us.  

I pray that all four families and their communities feel God's abundant love at this time.

Getting Crafty

The Big Three and I have joined the loom band craze.  

After two of my piano students (who are sisters) made several bracelets for them, I knew the perfect Easter gift for my students would be more loom bands.  

While I was at the craft store, I thought it might be something fun for us to try, too.  And I was right.  Once in awhile, it happens!

Another piano student happened to have her lesson on the day I brought the first loom bands home.  After her lesson, she taught me how to make a basic bracelet using two fingers as a loom.  Later, the kids and I actually found pencils to be an easier loom to work with, but the results are the same.  (I did buy a plastic loom, but we found the other methods much easier!)  Since these first ones, I have had to buy more "boyish" colors because the boys wanted in on the fun, too.

Last night, I went on YouTube and learned how to make the fishtail pattern.  

There are all sorts of other intricate patterns (and not just bracelets) on Pinterest.  YouTube has some good tutorials, too.  

Who knew little rubber bands could be so much fun?

Easter 2014

This year, we dyed eggs with Grandma Shirley and Aunt Amanda.  We made lots of pretty eggs (and the dye may have gone to Nathan's head).  

An exciting development was I made deviled eggs for the first time and they were approved by all of the Melius children.  I have yet to figure it out, but even my pickier eaters LOVE them.

Sunday morning brought us Easter morning mass and dressed up kiddos.  Just recently, Rachel decided she LOVES yellow.  It was a happy coincidence that her Easter dress was also yellow!  She was unhappy for the family photo because I wouldn't open the Peeps first, but she decided to sit nicely with her grandmas later on.

After dinner, we had a little Easter egg hunt in our backyard. 

The yellow eggs held clues to show them where to go next.  When they figured out, "Happy Easter!  Now hop to the shop,"

they found a trampoline!

The rest of our Easter was spent enjoying the sun and fun of the trampoline!

We had a beautiful Easter weekend and are so thankful for our many blessings.

Alleluia! He is Risen!

There's nothing else more important to remember in this life.

He is RISEN!
He is RISEN indeed!

The Donut Man

Do you know The Donut Man?  

We were introduced a few years ago when my parents gave our big three this DVD as a gift.  Rachel recently discovered our DVD and fell head-over-heels in LOVE with it.  Before she could say it correctly, it was Doh, Doh, Bah and she requested it A LOT.

There's something special about The Donut Man.  All four of our kids will stop and watch it whenever it is on and I hear them singing the songs after it is over.  I love "O-B-E-Y, Obey Your Mom and Dad!"  ( I have to remind them of that from time to time!) 

There are several different 30 minute episodes available online and it runs once a week on EWTN, too.  While it's true the epidodes aren't, "new," it's proof that the message The Donut Man brings is timeless.

Jesus Loves Us!   

Holy Thursday

We've made it through Lent!  Today is Holy Thursday.




It's been a rather difficult Lent for me, (not so much because it was Lent, but mostly because of this extremely long winter.)  A long winter and lots of time in the house are a bad combination for my health.  I've been dealing with a lot of anxiety with a bit of depression mixed in.  (I know there could be worse genes to receive from my family, but wow--it still isn't much fun sometimes.)  You can about name it and I've worried about it.  The good news is that over the past 35 years, I'm probably 100% on what I worry about not happening.  That's an excellent record and I'm thankful to God for it, but it is still a very difficult cross to bear when I can't seem to shake it. 
As I've dealt with this throughout my life, I've learned that I do have control over my thoughts and if I let my anxieties get the best of me or not.  There has been an antidepressant commercial in which an "anxiety and depression" monster follows a cartoon woman around.  That's what it feels like.  I can tell the anxiety is there, but with my family, lots of prayer, good friends, good exercise, healthy food, enough sleep, and unfailing help God gives me on a daily basis, I can keep it away.  After a lack of those, stress from being cooped up or any number of other stressors, it can get a hold of me and I have to work that much harder to change my thoughts back to positive ones.  It is still possible, just a little harder. 
The good news is that I predict once I can consistently get outside to dig in the dirt and enjoy the sunshine, much if not all of this anxiety will dissipate, if at least until winter arrives again.  But I won't worry about that right now. 
I was pretty worked up on Monday evening, seriously giving in to my anxieties.  In the middle of that, Nathan spotted a mouse in his bedroom, which required my immediate attention.  It subsequently went to the girls' room, ran back by the piano and, with teamwork, we trapped it in a sticky trap.  I just wanted to have some time to myself and here I had to deal with another mouse!  I believe now it was God telling me, "Think about something else!  Look at this strange thing I'm putting in front of you to deal with and distract you.  Look at your accomplishment in not wallowing in your fears, but getting up and successfully catching that mouse!"  (Or something close to that; I'm quite sure I'm not worthy of quoting God verbatim.)  I didn't understand it then, but it came to me more clearly last night.
Last night, the big 3 and I were coming home from religious ed.  Often times, my children will express their fears and concerns to me, and although I do let them know I take them seriously, I often times will tell them, "But you don't have to worry about that."  That's exactly what I told Teresa when she expressed a concern.  She answered, "But I can if I want to." 
When I give in to my own anxieties, that's exactly what I am saying to God!  Jesus says, "Do not be afraid." 365 times in the Bible, and I answer, "But I can if I want to."  Yes I can.  It's very unhealthy, but I sure can if I want to. 
Teresa had no idea she taught me so much in that little sentence. 
We all have different crosses to bear, and we unite them with Jesus' cross and especially in these next two days as we recall his crucifixion. He uses our crosses to draw us closer to him and we must carry them as well as our hope as we make our way through this journey. 


I can give up the hope and make the cross much heavier if I want to.


But I don't want to.


God bless your Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday!  These three days, the Easter Triduum, is what our Christian faith is all about!

Honey and Sprinkles

When this morning brought snow, I decided trying a new cookie recipe would be the perfect pick-me-up.  Who can be gloomy with these golden cookies covering the counter top?

This recipe is from a great family friend.  They show up often at Christmas and Easter gatherings.  They make a big batch, so it is the perfect cookie to share with a crowd.  I love their cream cheese frosting and sprinkles on top.  They HAVE to have the sprinkles--I love the sweet little crunch they give.

Grandma Vera's Best Honey Cookies

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup sugar

1 cup honey

1 cup oil

1/2 cup milk (with 2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in it)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. lemon flavor

6 cups flour

Mix all ingredients and bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes.  (I used a small scoop to measure the dough.)  

Frost when cooled.

Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 stick butter

3 oz. cream cheese

Mix ingredients and beat well.  Add hot water until frosting is spreadable.  Garnish with sprinkles.

Evening Entertainment

It was a concert only a mother could love . . . and maybe LOVE is too strong a word.

It was extremely loud, had good rhythm and was thankfully quite brief. :)

Less than 3 weeks left!

 

With less than 3 weeks to go until WalkMS 2014, I am excited to announce that our team has raised $1210 so far!  We are very thankful for our faithful donors each year!!!!

 

If you would like to contribute, visit www.mymswalk.org. Search for the Aberdeen SD walk and then our team, Many Steps to Fight MS.  Or, if you prefer to send cash or a check, email me at wifeandmomblog@gmail.com and I will be happy to give you my address.

 

Happy Monday!

 

 

Updates

For my new readers, and those who maybe just don't know about this, you can scroll down the right hand side of the blog and sign up for email updates of new posts.  It will not send immediately, but you will have it in your inbox in time for your cup of coffee early the next morning. 

If you used to get updates and it isn't working anymore, let me know and I will do my best to fix it!

This is a good way to see new posts without having to check in everyday (because sometimes--not often--but sometimes I will go through an entire week without anything interesting to say)!  

As always, thanks for checking in with us and our little life on the farm.  :)

Strawberry + Rhubarb = Awesome

It's time to get last year's rhubarb out of the freezer to make room for the new 2014 crop!

Unfortunately I won't have any of my own crop this year since David sprayed mine off last summer.

(Who doesn't know what rhubarb looks like?  Obviously he didn't go to enough Rhubarb Day celebrations in Leola with me!)  To be fair, mine was never a particularly beautiful rhubarb patch, so maybe it was for the best.  Who knows--it might just spring up anyway.  Rhubarb and Germans are both pretty tough.  There's a reason they go together so well.

What else goes with rhubarb (besides sugar)????  Strawberries, of course!  

Strawberries that are red, tasty and don't cost a fortune are returning to stores, so it's time to put them together and make something yummy.  

The original recipe didn't call for strawberries, but I like to experiment.

Nathan gave this an "Awesome" rating, so it has to be good!  

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

Crust and Topping

1 cup flour

3/4 cup oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix together.  Press half into 9-inch square or round pan.

Filling

4 cups rhubarb, cut into small pieces

1 cup strawberries

(Feel free to change the fruit ratio if you like!  It would also be fine with one less cup of rhubarb, but I freeze mine in 2 cup bags, so 4 cups it had to be.)

1 cup sugar

3 T cornstarch

1 cup water (OMIT if using frozen rhubarb)

1 tsp vanilla

Cook in a saucepan, boil and stir the filling until thickened.  Pour over crumbs; sprinkle remaining topping over filling.  Bake on middle rack at 350 for 1 hour.  Use a cookie sheet on the bottom rack to catch drips, especially if you are like me and never clean your oven! :)  

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Add it to the list.

There are several things that I wished I liked, but I don't . . . .

1. sewing
2. bookkeeping (as does my husband)
3. vegetable gardening
4. most classic novels
5. amusement park rides
6. walnuts
7. picnics
8. camping
9. making small talk in unfamiliar social situations
10. running

Yes, after my triumphant first-mile run last summer, I have now decided that I am just not a runner.
I started out the spring in "training" to run at least a mile of a local 5K in June.  (By training, I mean that I pinned a Couch to 5K program to my Pinterest board and got up to jogging about 1/4 mile at a time.) I didn't get too far into this rigorous training when I realized it was scheduled for the weekend I will be in Fargo with my high school friends. Oh, darn.
Walking continued, but any semblance of running stopped.
I declared to my husband, a former cross country runner, that I am just not a runner.  He said it's OK, but I can't help but be a little disappointed.
I have taken better care of my health through diet and exercise and thought that running would branch off as a natural part of that.  (At least that's what happens on The Biggest Loser.)  It didn't work that way for me.  I admire runners, I like the thought of it, but not so much the reality of it.  I like the fun and energy of the 5K, but not so much the 5K itself.  There are sooo many other ways I would rather get my daily workout--pretty much any other way.
So, for now, add it to the list.
Maybe I'll change my mind someday, but I think I have a greater chance of resurrecting my dusty sewing machine than my running shoes.

Emerging

We are emerging from the bleakness of winter and we are LOVING IT!  Today was a great day for swinging, a tea party and baseball practice in the backyard.  

Rachel and I bought ourselves some yellow flowers today, too, because yellow is her favorite color.  She did not catch on to the whole potty idea, but she DID learn some colors while sitting on the froggy potty (willingly, but unproductively) for hours.  I really, really want her to be potty trained, but it's not worth the fight right now.  We'll pick it up again soon and see how it goes.  Until then, we will swing and sing songs while the sun shines.

 Baseball has been the sport of choice, with both Landen and Nathan excited about pitching, hitting and catching.  I threw the ball too hard a week ago Sunday and ended up with an injured elbow and numb fingers for a few days.  Seriously?  This mama is getting old, but my boys still beg me to be on their team every day, so I must have some skills left!  I loved softball growing up and it was the only sport I really felt like I was good at, so I'm glad my kids are excited about baseball, too.  We can't wait to PLAY BALL!

Every winter I ask myself, "Why do I live here?????"  And then spring comes and I realize it was to keep me grateful for these new beginnings that the change in weather brings.  

Every new season is the start of something new, exciting, and wonderfully different.  

a little something chocolate

What's happening this week in the Melius household?

Well, we have one mouse that was spotted entering the house Sunday morning, but is still unaccounted for.  I haven't noticed any evidence of its presence, so maybe it ran back out?  Yes, we will go with that theory.  

I am aware that I am basically cloth diapering at this point, but at least we're in the process of potty training.  

I am ready to start working outside, but outside doesn't quite agree with me yet!

Since I've been home quite a bit, I've been baking lots of cookies lately--Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Cake Mix Cookies, and a yummy Betty Crocker mix.

Today I decided to try something new--Soft Chocolate Cookies.  Since I have been baking (and eating my fair share) of cookies, I decided to replace half of the fat with applesauce today.  You can use a whole cup of butter if you prefer and have greater willpower than I do! 

Soft Chocolate Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

2/3 cup baking cocoa

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Confectioner's sugar

Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Add eggs, beating well after each one.  Add vanilla.  Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt gradually.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle.

Drop by teaspoonfuls on greased (ungreased if using all butter) baking sheets.  Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until the edges are firm.  Cool on wire racks and dust warm cookies with confectioner's sugar.