January 26

Here we are.  January 26.  A year ago our lives changed forever with a phone call.  We had just seen our nephew Luke at our baby's baptism on January 1.  We would never see him on this earth again.  Our family had just heard Jesus words, "Let the little children come to me."  One of those children was now in his arms.

I share this song today because I love the first line.

"Everybody's got a story to tell.  Everybody's got a wound to be healed."

Some are called to bear deeper wounds than others and somehow God gives them the grace they need to live each day.  May God's abundant peace be theirs. . . all of ours as we take our wounds to be healed.

All he has to worry about . . .

Calving has begun at our farm.  Our first baby arrived a little over a week ago.  We had a set of twins earlier in the week, and now the boys have their long awaited bottle calf to feed.  Rachel loves watching the cows on the monitor in her room/our office and can now say "Moo." 
Most people start calving in late February or March to avoid the coldest months of the year, but after David built a large barn to house the mamas and babies several years ago, he moved the start of calving back to January.  There were other reasons, too, for this decision, but those aren't important right now. 
What's important is what my husband declared he has to worry about this time of year.
Earlier this week, David was telling me how he likes this new calving schedule . . . I missed a little bit . . . and then he finished with, "All I have to worry about is how far to keep my barn door open at night."
I couldn't just let that comment go.

Yep.
That's all he has to worry about this time of year!

 

Things I Must Do More of. . .

All those compliments that go unsaid?  I need to put more of those into words.

When someone pops into my mind who may need some encouragement?  I need to send them a note.

When people in all different areas of service help me (even if they are getting paid)?  I need to genuinely thank them.   (They like that and are usually got off guard, which is kind of fun.)

The mom holding a 1 year old in one arm and unloading the shopping cart with the other?  I need to help her out.  I liked it when the mom who had "been there" gave me a helping hand the other day.

The mom who is drowning in the "joys" of toddlerhood?  I need to tell her that it DOES get better. 

It really does.  Just last night I was thinking we are already halfway through our time with Landen living in our house!  It seems like just yesterday I so desperately wanted to send him away to Potty Training Camp and here he is reading his new Simon Winchester book about shipwrecks on the Atlantic.  I recently bought it for him, but I didn't think he'd be ready to devour it for a few years.  He finished his giant Imponderables book and started in on it right away.  (Thanks to The Corner Book Shoppe and aunt Amanda, more Winchester is on the way.  Shh. . . don't tell!) 

Speaking of which, I must read more.  Maybe Atlantic after Landen is finished!

Pinterest is Not Evil :o)

As you know, it took me awhile to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon. 
But, I am here to report that it is NOT evil. :o)  I just didn't understand it before.  And, as long as you follow the "all things in moderation" rule and don't abandon your family to fill up your boards, it can be a very useful tool in keeping house and family altogther! 
Our family just enjoyed a most fantastic weekend with aunt Angela and cousins Carter and Lily.  While they were here, we tried two Pinterest recipes with yummy results!

The first was peanut butter and chocolate covered Fritos.  Pour a bag of Fritos in a baking pan (9x13 or larger), mix up a peanut butter/sugar/corn syrup combo and prepare it on the stovetop as you would for Scotcheroo bars.  Pour this over the Fritos with mini chocolate chips.  Yum, yum, yum.  Pinterest is not evil, but this recipe kinda is. :o)

We also tried the Baked Cheese Balls by cutting up string cheese, dipping the pieces in milk, and rolling them in seasoned breadcrumbs.  We baked them on a cookie sheet at 425 for 8-10 minutes.  Our attention was diverted at the end (we did have 6 kids running around), so they ended up melted.  But, as Grandma Shirley always says, "It will still taste good!"  And they did.  Last night David requested them again.  I used cut up pepper jack cheese and panko bread crumbs.  Not accounting for a different type of cheese, different position of the oven rack, etc., I didn't keep a close eye on them.  They were melted, but still yummy.  I ate my melted crunchy cheese puddles as a topping on the fish I was eating.  I think there may be a new recipe idea there . . . .

Maybe I'll have to pin it!

Cart Contents

You can tell a lot about a shopper by his or her cart contents.  Once in awhile the cashier will even comment on mine.
"You must be making tacos tonight."
"That's a hungry baby you've got!"
I didn't receive any comments yesterday, but my cart sure warranted one.
I had fruit, vegetables, milk, baby snacks, 3 bottles of vodka and a bottle of amaretto (for David).
I think my cart said, "I am a mom and this is how I get through the day." 

I am starting a 2013 batch of vanilla to have ready by Christmas. I had the vanilla beans, but no vodka for them to swim in. 
I got home with just about enough time to drop off the groceries to their appropriate rooms and skedaddle off to pick up Landen from basketball practice and continue onto Religious Ed with the boys.  I left the bottles on top of the deep freezer in their bag.
When I got home, Teresa did an experiment to see what happens when you raise the freezer door while there is something on top of it.  The bag and its contents slid to the floor behind the freezer, and knowing the length of my arms and how much fun it was going to be to get them out, I was not too happy about it.
David came downstairs to find me on my stomach on top of the freezer, reaching with all my might and coming up with one liquor bottle after another. 
He didn't buy my vanilla making plan. 
I have to say, that is the most effort I have ever gone through for a bottle of vodka in my life!
I'm sure he would have done the same thing for his amaretto. :o)