This Time of Year

I'm so thankful God made seasons--times and seasons of the year and times and seasons of life.  This time leading into Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year for me.  I love the crisp, fragrant, blustery (or even tempestuous, as it is at the moment!) days and how cozy it feels to be inside.  I can't help but smile as I see the all the lovely shades of brown in the form of mature, "pregnant" grasses dancing roadside and across fields.  I love the awe-inspiring sunsets and flickering candlelight.  And you know...just being honest....I really, really love the food!

Apples & Cider

Caramel

Pumpkins

Nuts & Seeds

and finally....POMEGRANATES!

What beautiful food!  I never tried a pomegranate until last year.  These fruits are surely a little taste of Heaven.  Perhaps I just don't get out much, but pomegranates cure a bit of the wanderlust I tend to experience this time of year.  There's something about them that seems so ancient, so exotic.  

I did a little research, and apparently there's a reason they seem that way.  Pomegranates were one of the first cultivated fruits, and have greatly impacted many civilizations for thousands of years.  Historically, they've been extremely symbolic in Middle and Near East, the Mediterranean, Asia, Europe, and North America.  Ancient Egypt revered pomegranates as symbols of afterlife, and there are numerous depictions of them on tomb walls.  They were required food in the pharaohs' residence, and had many other purposes as well.  Ancient Greece included pomegranates quite prominently in their myths.  The fruit came to signify a change of seasons.  

My favorite history of the pomegranate is the Biblical significance and Jewish tradition.  They are referenced in Exodus 28, Song of Solomon 7, and 1 Kings 7, among other places.  Tradition teaches that they symbolize righteousness, as they are said to contain 613 seeds, corresponding to 613 mitzvot (commandments) of the Torah.  It is said that pomegranates symbolize fruitfulness, knowledge, learning, and wisdom, and they are often enjoyed in celebrating Rosh Hashanah. 

In addition to being exotic, lovely and delicious, they're very healthful.  They're jam-packed with antioxidants, giving all those free-radicals a run for their money.  But the question remains, how do you eat them, and how do you do it without squirting yourself, your cat, your children, and your entire kitchen?

Let me share this wonderful trick with you (that was my original purpose of this post anyway, before I digressed...)  

• Wash the pomegranate and chop off the end, enough that you see the outer seeds inside.
• Cut through the outer peel only, beginning at the chopped end, all the way down the the other end.  I do this four times, quartering the fruit as I would do to peel an orange.  
• Place the pomegranate cut-end down in a bowl of very cold water for ten minutes or so.  
• Keeping the fruit submerged, break the fruit apart into quarters.  The seeds, called arils, will break easily out with your fingers under water and sink to the bottom of the bowl.  The white stuff will float to the top, and you can skim it off.  
• When you've loosened all the arils out of the peel, dump out the water and you've got yourself a lovely bowl full of pomegranate!  You can give them a final rinse in a colander, if you want, but I find that's not really necessary.  

Eat them plain, add them to salads, swirl a few into water or other drinks for flavor and color.  Enjoy, and give thanks to God for the creativity He used in designing our food!

A Decade of Our Eaglet

Ten.  10.  T-E-N.  1-0.  

It's been one decade since Eaglet and I made that laborious birth journey together. 

 

He came in with adventure, and he still seeks it.  This guy is full of dreams and ideas.  This year, he planned to hike Gold Cord Lake Trail on his birthday, with lunch at the lake, "no matter how much snow there is!"  

 

So, on that 20-degree, sunshine-filled day, that's what we did.

The lake was frozen, of course.  Wish we'd have had skates along!

 What an amazing day!  In the mountains, I always find myself overwhelmed with the magnificence, and yet the simplicity.  Somehow priorities seem so much clearer when you are held in the very cavern of creation.

 Things I will remember about ten-year-old Eaglet:

• his energy--up at the break of dawn and ready to tackle anything
• love of outdoors--he needs fresh air and wide-open spaces
• flannel shirts and camo
• one-of-a-kind tree forts
• his heart for others--especially those younger and weaker 
• dreams of becoming a farmer
• truck artist
• lists for everything with creative spelling
• a giver--we routinely find artwork under our pillows as love offerings

 We topped off the day with gift-opening, moose burgers, and apple-raspberry pie. 

Before he was born, God gave me these words for our Eaglet: 

" I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip-- he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you-- the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.  The LORD will keep you from all harm-- he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."  Psalm 121: 1-8

 

May he always know Who his help comes from.

So Big and Yet So Little

The two eldest head out with Daddy and Grandpa to Denali for caribou hunting tomorrow.  It's positively electric around here with all the exciting expectations for the upcoming week....but only for some.

Three-year-old Keiki Honu is quite glum that he won't be going.  Nearly the first thing he did this morning was pack up his little backpack with his hunting supplies:

• around 15 pairs of underwear
• toothbrush
• blankie
• stuffed rabbit toy
• water bottle

It broke my heart to tell him, "Not this year, Buddy."  He kept trying to ignore me, and so we just played around about it for the remainder of the day.  He pointed out his t-shirt and said it was his "huntin' chirt."  Then he pointed out his shorts he was wearing, because those were his "huntin' chorts."  He kept talking about how he was "allllll packed up for huntin' with Daddy and Grampa" as we packed up the other three who really ARE leaving.  We had all the gear lined up in the living room as we sorted, and then put the finalized bags on the couch.  At that point, Keiki silently came in and added his little pack to the other bags.  

It's hard for him to understand why he can't go, when we're always telling him what a big boy he is.  Someday I'll be helping him pack up for such adventures, too.  But for now, I'm happy to keep him home with me....after all, they're only little for a little while.

Roller Coaster

I certainly don't blog much, considering how much I love to write.  Life has had us on a roller coaster this summer, and there hasn't been much time to think things through, much less put them to words.



 "You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster.  Up, down, up, down.  Oh, what a ride!  I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it."


(Brownie points for anyone who can name that offensive-in-some-scenes, yet-has-some-strong-points-to-it movie.)

Indeed, I will take the roller coaster over the merry-go-round any day, but that doesn't take away the fact that this life path we've chosen has me quite whipped and jolted at times.  Life is quite simply--FULL--and although I'm so thankful for that, I'm also tired.

We have had some brief, "quiet" (it's all relative, you know) reprieves.

 

But mostly there's a constancy.  There's a blessed constancy of meeting physical needs and mental needs and spiritual needs and also little-boy-talk and preteen talk and education planning and  meal planning and meal prep and meal clean-up and snuggling and "doctoring" and paperwork and more paperwork and  Mt. Laundry and I won't go on because I've lost most of you anyway (!) Life throws in the death of a parent, some very emotional reunions, two gonna-kill-me Strep infections, a trip to the ER, the adoption process, no time to process any of it, and you've got yourself a roller coaster. 

I'm also learning that as your little ones grow into bigger ones, it causes you to be even more aware how short the days really are.  So much that needs to happen, so many things that we want to do, yet not enough time for any of it.  You routinely feel like your day just began and yet it's time for the nightly bedtime routine.  You're ready to start out the week but suddenly it's Friday.  You still feel like a new mommy, but you wake up with a 12-year-old.  Our pastor just spoke about this very thing.  He said basically, that it doesn't seem there's enough time in the day for everything...because there isn't enough time in the day for everything!  Even still, everything has its proper time.  The Word says so, and I believe it.  

How imperative it is, then, that we live the fullness of our current season--whatever that is.  We can't afford to be wishing ahead or pining for before.  This is the moment God has given us to live--right now.  There are things that can only be accomplished now in this season, that we may miss, if we give into the distractions of before or later.  We aren't guaranteed anything else...

ahhh....besides the after of this life...which will never end...and there WILL be time for

every.

thing.

It's ok then, and even preferable, to ride the roller coaster here, even if you get a little whipped and jolted.  Even if it seems everyone around you is moving forward and you feel like you're treading water.  Even if you feel you can't get to all the things you want to do.  What's important is that you get to all the things you should do--those things that can only be done in this season.  Those things that God put you here to fulfill.  The proper season for the other things will come, even if not in this lifetime.  I want so much for my life to be poured out completely...to live fully in each season I'm given.  I want it more than comfort.  I want it more than predictability. 

Thank You, Lord, for my roller coaster.  Give me the grace and wisdom to fulfill those things which can only be fulfilled during this season.

Thinking of you

Tony and I are winding down in the quiet stillness of evening.  Our five are snuggled safely and soundly in their beds, bodies blissfully resting after warm hours of play in the spring air and sunshine.  But...one...or two of us are missing.

I'm thinking of you tonight, as I often do...as I often have over the past nearly two years.  Are you cold?  Are you hungry?  Are you lonely and missing the arms of your mother and father and brothers?  Are you even born yet?  Are you even conceived yet?  Whatever the answers to these questions, you remain in our hearts and in our dreams and in our prayers.  Most importantly, you remain in our Father's care.  We pray He'll bring you home to us soon, because even though we've not yet seen you or held you,

we miss you.

He is Risen...and our boy says "yes!"

This past Easter was the best ever. It really was the most amazing Easter weekend of my life. I don't even know how to put it all into words, so I'm going to settle for at least getting it down in some form so that it will spur my memories later on.

Good Friday. I had been looking forward to attending our church's beautiful, reflective, Christ-at-Center Good Friday service. That service is a highlight of my Easter celebration every year. The week prior, however, had been standardized-testing week. We were all quite on-the-edge, and quite frankly, exhausted by Friday. Though I wanted to go to the service Friday night, I was pretty sure it would REALLY be pushing it.

"Baby's 1st Easter"

I remember last year, that I had wished I'd have begun a tradition of making Hot Crossed Buns on Good Friday. So, this year, I went ahead and went for it. They take a few hours to make, so I got them started and then put the babies down for their naps--the first afternoon naps they'd gotten to take in their own beds all week because of testing. While the babies napped and the bun dough was raising, I pulled out The Jesus Film, and watched it with the three older boys. It was the first time they'd ever seen it, and I know they will always remember. It was really, really special to have that experience with them. After it was finished, we were all pretty somber. The boys asked to paint. We pulled out watercolor pans and large sheets of white paper. They painted in response to what they'd just watched. The results were heartfelt and beautiful.

I finished the Hot Cross Buns, Tony got home from work, and we all sat down to a nourishing family meal with yummy buns for dessert. What a relief and joy after a hard week--time for just home and family. A couple of the boys and I decided to walk some plates of buns down to a neighbor family and neighbor widow. The family wasn't at home, so we left their plate on their porch as a surprise for them. Our sweet, sweet neighbor widow, insisted we come into her home so she could give us a tour, visit, and show us some things. She showed us paintings her grandmother had done and told us the stories behind them. She showed us pictures of her late husband and told us stories about him. She showed us a picture of them together--young and beautiful. It was one of those visits that bridges the generations, and you get the sense of time and life and purpose. We walked home in the dark--two delighted little boys and their pensive but happy mommy.

Holy Saturday. We woke up to SNOW. Not flurries, but bona-fide snow showers and four inches of accumulation added to our two feet still in the yard. It snowed the entire day. The temptation was to be sour and glum over the ever-elusive spring break-up. However, after praying and thinking and reading some wonderful words of encouragement, I realized how fitting it was for it to be gray and snowing. I chose to....and began to see the beauty. I saw this transformed, white world as a metaphor for what my Jesus has done for me. He has made me white as snow, though my sins were as scarlet. The gray skies reminded me of the sadness over my King's death. The falling snow reminded me of the tears Father God surely shed as He watched His Son, bleeding and suffering the consequences of my sin, as He hung nailed to a piece of wood.

We spent the day together at home, and I cooked up a storm a day in advance for Easter dinner. The boys and I dyed 3 dozen eggs...and as a note to myself: we must make more next year.

Easter Sunday! We woke to glorious...GLORIOUS sunshine! It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen, particularly striking after the prior days "gloom". With all the beauty nature can afford, the message was clear: HE IS RISEN! Four positively electric little boys raced upstairs to find their Easter baskets. I was just sure the baskets were hidden well, as I had duct-taped them to the underside of the kitchen table and put a table cloth on. Eaglet had already found them by the time the other boys woke, however, as he had sat up to the table to draw in the early hours and his knees bumped into them! And I thought I was so clever.

We headed to 2nd service at church, bringing along a few extra items needed for the BAPTISM service happening afterward. Yep--our boy Spunky decided last January that he wanted to follow Jesus, and he told us he wanted to be "babbletized" (baptized) to show it. He'd been looking forward to it for nearly three months, and today was the day.

There is absolutely no greater joy than to see your son declare their heart for Jesus. There is simply nothing more important in life than this. I am so thankful for God's working in our sons' hearts....and in Tony's and my hearts. I'm so thankful God is good, and He is love, and He loves perfectly--all the time. Our boy testifies to this:

"Secure in his Jesus"

We had a sweet, sweet time with friends after the service...just milling around joyously...and taking fun pictures!

Back home, my parents joined us for dinner. We had a fun day, filled with good food, time with one another, and our traditional egg hunt and treasure hunt.

We even had an unexpected guest:

We thought she may be a permanent guest (we're suckers like that) until we realized two days later (with some relief, because although she was sweet, she was also soooo big...) that she belongs to a neighbor!

It was a memorable weekend, to be sure. I love Easter time--a time to remember and realize new beginnings--all because of the love of God.

Super Bowl Makes Me Think...About...

Have you ever heard this song and truly, TRULY let the words of the entire song seep into your soul? The events of this day make me think of this song. I'm not diggin' on anyone who loves to watch a good ol' American football game. It's the surrounding events and the pomp and commercialism that screamed this to me today.

Lovin' the Cloth!

I finally took the plunge into the Land O' Cloth Diapers when Keiki (#4) was around 18 months (? I think?) I was pretty much "sold" immediately, and wish I would've gone that route with all the boys. I remember having considered it with Spunky (#3.) However, thinking he was the last baby (HA!!) decided against it. I thought of it again when I was pregnant with Keiki, but again, thinking he was the last one (HA!!) talked myself out of investing in the endeavor. Finally, after listening to several friends sing the praises of cloth-diapering, I decided to give it a whirl, even though potty-training would be in the next year or so.

I went with Kawaii pocket diapers, as they seemed well-made for a relatively small investment. I l-o-v-e-d seeing our then-tot trotting around in those colorful, puffy pants!

It took a little research, talking with friends, and trial-and-error, but overall, the transition was smooth. It felt fantastic knowing it was healthier and so much more cost-effective than paper diapers. Keiki was a fairly early potty-trainer. So, when he was finished with his Kawaiis, I gave them a good stripping, and packed them away for Little Bro, who was soon to be born!

Now, as many of you know, we don't exactly make the teeniest of babies. However, apparently even our size newborns don't fit real well in regular-size Kawaiis. Rather than invest in the special smallest size, which we wouldn't be able to use for long, I've been waiting it out for Little Bro to grow into the regular size. I tried him in them at around 3 months, then again at 4 or 5 months, but they leaked. FINALLY, at 7 months, he's in 'em!

The only thing I have against my Kawaiis, is their velcro closure. The velcro has held up, in that the diapers still fasten splendidly. However, there are these little microsuede "laundry tabs" that are designed for the velcro to stick to in the wash. This is so that the diapers don't all stick to one another and/or cause damage to the covers during washing. The laundry tabs went ka-put after about 6 months of use SO I was wishing I'd have gone with the snap closures.

Because the velcro thing is sort of annoying, and...it's so fun to buy NEW things for NEW babies, I went ahead and bought a few new snap-closure diapers for Little Bro. LOVE these colors!!

I'm trying out a new brand, Thirsties. They have, of course, snap-closures, and instead of being a pocket diaper (where you stuff the pad into a pocket,) they are all-in-ones. This means there's no stuffing, and the absorbent pad is attached to the cover. It has this little tunnel underneath the pad so that water can get through to launder effectively. They do take a little longer to dry because of this.

In addition to buying these new diapers from Arctic Baby Bottoms (shameless plug,) I also decided to try some cloth wipes!

Isn't the owl print adorable? I decided to try these, because it's sort of annoying when you change a cloth diaper, pop it into the diaper pail, and then are stuck with the dirty wipes. With a paper diaper, you just wrap 'em up in the used diaper. With a cloth diaper, the wipes either sit (yucky) on the changing table until you're done, or they accidentally get thrown in your diaper pail and need to be removed later (yucky.)

I just started using the wipes this weekend. I made up a cleaning solution in a small spray bottle. When it's time for a wipe, I spritz the wipe before cleaning up Little Bro. I find that I need to use only 1 wipe instead of who-knows-how-many of the disposable wipes. I use a wipe, and toss it in the trusty diaper pail to be washed with the diapers. What I especially love, is that the cleaning solution works SO well, and is so gently on bums! Here's what's in it:

1 cup water
1/2 tsp oil (I used pure jojoba oil)
1 tsp baby shampoo (I used Burt's Bees)

Here's what's in our disposable wipes (eeoo!):
water, vitamin E, aloe vera gel, disodium cocoamphodiacetate, polysorbate 20, propylene glycol, disodium phosphate, disodium EDTA, polyhexamethylene biguanide HCL, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate, lanolin PEG-75, citric acid

I will still use the disposable wipes when out and about.

What I've learned with laundering, is to run the diapers through on cold/cold with plain water for one cycle. This gets the majority of the nasty off. Then I run them through again with hot water and detergent. This disinfects, and scrubs/deep-cleans. The type of detergent you use is very important. You can check out how yours ranks here. They all go in my dryer for about 45 minutes. This dries the Kawaiis completely. The Thirsties will still be a little damp. I hang them up for a 1/2 hour or so, then turn them inside out (remember they have the tunnel thingy) for a few hours. I think I could dry them longer in the machine, but I want to be kind to them so they last a long while, 'cause let's face it--he won't be potty-training for awhile! (And I'm fine with that.)

Seeking His Wisdom

Typically, around mid-to-late January, I feel a little off my game--

• a little crowded (too much time with 4 walls and a roof, however thankful I am for those!!)

• a little claustrophobic (tons of layers of cold-weather gear, covered from head-to-toe)

• a little "down" (having gone months with very little sunshine)

• a little discouraged (wondering am I enough and am I doing enough for these precious people I'm so blessed to live with)
  

This is how I FEEL, but I have learned through the years that living by how I FEEL is not the best way to live. I can easily become held captive by these feelings, but I will choose not to. I am above self-pity. There's good work to be done, and by God's grace, I will continue in it! I cannot do this by myself, and indeed would not even want to.

Basking once again in this realization, I recently asked Him for a Word over each of our little treasures. I needed Him to give me a word of truth to hold on to, because at that particular moment my mind was just filled with all the problems I could see: "This one doesn't _____. This one needs to learn to _____. I need to do a better job with ____ with this one." You get the ugly picture! I asked Him to replace those thoughts with an affirmation over each of our little ones, along with a Word of Wisdom for me in mothering them. He is ever faithful and good.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously without reproaching, and it will be given to him." James 1:5


Word over Baby: "Contentedness"

Word to Mama: Cheerfulness + Healthy Scheduling



"Lovingkindness"

Cheerfulness + Firmness




"Curiosity"

Cheerfulness + Guidance




"Obedience"

Cheerfulness + Encouragement




"Justice"

Cheerfulness + Encouragement

Interesting how the Word of Wisdom to me, "cheerfulness," was part of my instruction x 5!

Eaglet's Plans are Music to My Ears

Eaglet wakes up early before everyone else on most mornings. He loves the quiet house (who doesn't?) He usually reads and then draws what he has read in the peaceful stillness of the early morning. This morning, however, he spent some time dreaming. When I got up to feed Baby, he excitedly ran to me with his sketchbook in hand, to show me his plans for his future house:

Above, you see the plan for the main part of the home. (Perhaps you'll need to click on the photo to enlarge for detail.) My favorite part is how he created a baby nursery across from the master bedroom. He even has the crib and changing table labeled.

This (above) was of interest to me as well. Notice the large bedroom with double bunk-beds. Then see the room adjoining with all the balls. Apparently, he is planning for a padded wrestling/play room for the kids. I asked Eaglet how many children he was hoping for, and here's the part that was music to my ears: "EIGHT...at least that's what I'm hoping for," was his reply.

I love this.

Eaglet talks often of large families and how he dreams to have one of his own. I know he's only 9, and plans may change, but I love that he loves children...that he loves and esteems LIFE.

And now that I'm through swooning, I will exhibit the last part of Eaglet's plan that I really got a kick out of. Apparently the future father of eight plans to have quite a "man cave":

Check out all the goodies he plans to have in his garage! I am also impressed that he's wisely planning for transportation needs with a 15-passenger van.

I surely love my Eaglet, and I hope he really does have eight children...at least. I'm still bringing home babies myself, but I tell you what--I cannot WAIT for grandbabies. I'm totally looking forward to the granny thing.

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving....Coming to a Home Near You

The cooking and baking skills of this mama have needed to be stretched and honed, big-time. I am so thankful for where God has taken me in this arena through the last few years.

I remember, very clearly, praying in January 2002 that God would give me wisdom in nutrition and preparation of foods. With my first two pregnancies, I was learning a lot about these things, was trying to make positive changes, but was also painfully aware of how much I needed to learn! I prayed that He would teach me how to best care for my body and to serve my family in this area as well. He answered YES in the fall of that same year, when our sweet Eaglet was born. It took us awhile to figure out, but our then-newest little guy had severe food allergies. That year was hard, hard, hard...in so many ways. Baby Eaglet struggled with intestinal upset, poor sleeping, severe eczema, infections, anaphylaxis, and many general discomforts. His mama and papa struggled with watching him hurt....and with the stress of carrying around an Epipen for possible anaphylaxis. We struggled with mean, judgmental comments from strangers. We struggled with feelings of inadequacy; it seemed that no matter what we did, it was not enough. Eaglet's problems were still apparent no matter how many appointments, how many treatments, how many prayers. I personally also struggled greatly with the food issue. Upon Eaglet's allergy testing, I was told I needed to give up all dairy, egg, soy, and wheat, along with all their derivatives. It was pretty sobering to realize that nearly everything we were eating at that point fit in one of those categories. Exhausted, clueless, and constantly feeling that deep, aching, nursing-mother hunger, I struggled to try and find foods we could have. I struggled with how to prepare those foods. Up until that point, you see, I had depended so much on prepared, boxed, or canned foods. My "cooking" was not really cooking. "LORD help me!!" was my cry.

Even just those few years ago, non-allergenic and "natural" foods were not very readily available. I'm amazed these days as I stroll down the Natural Foods section at Fred Meyers, how much more there is available. But, I have to add, that wholesome, good, natural food has always been available--in the form of WHOLE FOODS that God created for our health. I had never learned to cook.

With Eaglet's diagnosis, and my determination to continue nursing him, I HAD to learn. I HAD to make changes. It was hard, but little by little, I learned. I learned to cook from scratch. I learned to bake our bread. I also learned that I love to do these things! It's so satisfying to see your family enjoy good, wholesome, life-giving, energy-giving foods. I finally understood why both of my grandmothers "loved with food" as I was growing up. "Eat! Eat! EAT!!" they would say!

I've continued to learn much in the last few years, and I'm so, so thankful to say, that our God saw fit to heal our Eaglet completely. We no longer keep an Epipen, and indeed have not had one for years. He is a happy, thriving boy who even enjoys many of the foods he was so allergic to as a baby. God answered my original prayer for wisdom regarding food, big-time. He did not answer it in the way I would have chosen, but it was the way that I needed it answered.

So having gone through all this, WHY was it such an issue when we found last spring that we needed to give up gluten for Spunky Cub, who is struggling with seizures?

because I thought we were done with food allergies

because I LOVE wheat, LOVE baking whole-wheat bread from the berry every week

because I'm a busy mommy of 5 and where is the time to figure this out?

because meal planning, preparation, and clean-up takes up a very large portion of every day for me.

Do you notice what I notice? "I, I, I, I'm, me." What ugly selfishness.

So we've been wrestling through this. We've done some gluten-free trials, starting in April of this year. I took advantage of many of the prepared gluten-free products during the first two trials. Truth be told, I didn't want to go through the whole process of figuring out how to cook by scratch gluten-free., I figured we'd do the trials, check gluten off the list of possible causes of seizures, and move on.

The first trial was two weeks, and we noticed no positive changes for Spunky. Another month-long trial, and we still noticed nothing. However, his blood test came back in the meantime, with a big ol' *** positive for wheat and for gluten allergy. At this point, we're committed to a 4-month minimum (but most likely we'll do 6 months) gluten-free trial.

After the blood test came back positive, I rolled up my sleeves and determined to learn how to do this thing right. I am very thankful there is so much on the market "gluten-free" these days; however, a good portion of these things are devoid of good nutrition, not to mention horribly expensive. I searched on-line...read gluten-free blogs...called friends. It was pretty overwhelming for me at first, until I realized that I needed to take some time off from homeschooling in order to tackle the meal thing full-on. I am so thankful for an amazing, supportive husband and also wonderful family, and good friends who encouraged me to do this. "One week of planning for 51 weeks of peace" is the way one friend put it. Well-said, Friend, well-said.

I feel like things are under control. This has been a big challenge, but it has been good. We've been at it for over 6 weeks now, and actually Cub has been off gluten for over 10 weeks now, with the exception of one week between the 4-week trial and beginning this new commitment. We are actually seeing less seizures per day for him lately, but as to the cause of that, I do not know. I am also happy to say that I actually had to look at the calendar to see how long we've been at it. At first, it was a day-by-day thing, and I could tell you EXACTLY how many days we'd been at it, as well as how many we had left! :)

This brings me to the original subject at hand--"Gluten-Free Thanksgiving"! I've been cookin' up a storm today, and I am SO excited at the things I've learned and by God's grace can do:


Mixed Berry pie with gluten-free crust, using white rice flour and potato starch

Our new basic bread (from brown rice, sorghum, quinoa, and tapioca flours,) cut up and drying out to be made into wild rice stuffing (!)

Cut-out sugar cookies, made from brown and white rice, potato, and tapioca flours, and waiting for icing and sprinkles

Our basic, YUMMY muffins, made with quinoa, sorghum, and tapioca flours + grated carrots

I love that so many new and healthful grains have been added into our diet. Instead of wheat, kamut, and spelt, we are enjoying quinoa, sorghum, teff, tapioca, millet, and others. Do I miss wheat?

YES YES YES YES YES YES

Do I hope our family can go back to eating wheat in the future?

YES YES YES YES YES YES

Do I sometimes wish desperately after a long day that we could just pick up a Papa Murphy's pizza and relax while it's baking?

YES YES YES YES YES YES

But for now, this is what we need to do for our son's health. It's a small trade if it helps him, and, I think we're all the better for it.

If any of you are interested in these recipes, I'm happy to post them. But for now, peace out.

Household Tip--Life with Cats

To clean out the undersides of your washing machine, dryer, stove, or refrigerator, simply sprinkle a few kibbles of cat food under said appliances. Little paws clean out ALL sorts of things; some of them are scary-looking little things (I'll spare you a photo.) We found this out today on *ahem* accident. This beats our last epiphany regarding cat ownership, which if you read my facebook post a few months ago, will be familiar to you: Cats tongues are great for curing your baby's cradle cap. Yep. Beats any narrow-toothed comb with olive oil, hands down. So, now you know.

Beautiful Little Things...

I took Baby out for the day for some massive shopping--groceries, Christmas, etc. Despite the busy agenda and the over-the-top busyness of town today, several times I was taken into the moment and overcome with thankfulness by "little beautiful things". Just a few:

Zachy's soft, chubby cheeks all bunched up on his chest as he slept soundly in his car seat

tall, ice-covered grasses waving in the breeze as the sun shone on them

a father holding his young daughter's hand, and then being the gentleman to open the door for his little lady

an elderly man stopping to talk baby talk to my little son

the beautiful, mature couple from our church who "happened" to be behind me in line with my ginormous load at check out...and how they showed God's love to me with hugs, smiles, encouraging words, and helping hands

There is beauty all around us....ours to take in...if we just look for it.

The Halloween Thing

Every year I think on this, and I'm always curious to hear others' thoughts on "the Halloween thing." I hope you all will share a little with me in the form of a comment, about how you see this holiday.

So here's my Halloween history: Growing up, I loved Halloween. I plastered our house windows and doors with cardboard cut-outs of pumpkins, ghosts, goblins, and the like. I'm amazed my dear parents put up with it; it was seriously tacky around there from October 1 to November 1. One year I even fashioned a ghost out of a sheet and hung it in a Pine tree. I loved the spooky music sung in music class, and the homemade haunted houses put up in the local communities. I loved perusing the Halloween aisle at the local dime store (that's what we called it--the "dime store"--ha!)

I loved dressing up and trick-or-treating. We lived outside of town, and so when I was little, Mom would drive my brother and I around the countryside to friends' and relatives' homes to trick-or-treat. We would stay and visit a few minutes with each (or sometimes much longer than a few minutes...or so it felt to an anxious little trick-or-treater!) Every year, I looked forward to our friend Charlotte's homemade popcorn balls, and my Aunt Verlie's big bag of candy (which out of many, many bags of candy, was labeled with my own name.)

When I got a little older, I would stay overnight at a friend's house in town. We could do the traditional, walk-down-the-sidewalk-and-go-door-to-door trick-or-treating....and so the progression of this holiday began... As my classmates and I got older, Halloween evolved into overnights with a gory movie. I positively shudder to think of the things I put into my mind. I certainly would not view these types of movies now, and CERTAINLY would not allow my kids to watch them. During these high school years, other classmates preferred it to be a mischief-making event...and later into an excuse to party (not in a good way.) Kudos to my mom and dad...they kept a pretty good eye on me and I really didn't participate in the Halloween mischief. I would have if I'd had the chance, though, and I remember many who did. They got into all sorts of trouble (if they were the lucky ones who got caught...aka the ones who had people who cared enough about them to catch them.)

During college, for students on-campus, Halloween was all about the dressing up and drinking...house parties and bars. Unhealthy. Scuzzy. Skanky. Not a good thing to be a part of...and as I grew in maturity and became a Christian and grew in my Christian walk, I realized that.

As a young-married, I loved decorating at Halloween time, but stuck to the cute pumpkins and little black kitties. We moved to Alaska, and the decorating charm wore off as my cute little trinkets froze in the ground or whatever. Let's face it--pumpkins and snow just don't really go all that well together.

We had our first baby...and to have my own little dolly to dress up however I wanted was SUCH fun. At 3 months old, Little Wise Bobcat was my own little red chili pepper and he was ADORABLE. We drove him up to visit the grandparents at their cabin. (The year before he was born, I dressed up our dog--yes, our DOG, as a princess and we drove up to their cabin to "trick-or-treat"!) We visited and ate candy. What's not to like about that?!

Baby #2 came along and of course I had to dress up my newest dolly. He was an adorable baby lion and the big bro was a fireman. Adorable. We were invited to a harvest festival at a local church, which had a little hot dog supper and games/prizes for small children. Lots of fun and we did that for the next few years. The only exception was the year we tried a larger festival at the fairgrounds. YUCK. We spent 1/2 the night in notoriously long lines, about 1/4 the night trying to distract our babies from seeing some horrendously gory costumes, and the other 1/4 the night playing games. I was becoming very disenchanted, as I thought about the years to come. Is this something we really wanted to put time and energy into?

Through these years, I have noticed something else. An upping of the ante, you might say. Gone, for the most part, are the "cute" Halloween decorations I used to see around and about. Marketed and displayed in their place, is a whole host of really, really disgusting decor. You know what I'm talking about. Things designed to strike shock and fear in a person. It used to be fun to check out the seasonal aisle. Now I find myself avoiding that area of stores entirely, particularly if I have the children with me, even needing to avoid certain stores for the entire month of October, in some cases.

Jessica, you're going a little overboard here!!!! Maybe I am. But...am I? It is my job to instill and encourage goodness in my children. Do these other things really have any place here if that is my goal? As children of The King, we ought to be encouraging faith in our children--not fear. The roots of Halloween are pagan...and dark. Honestly, and unfortunately, those things were a draw to me as a kid; it was harmless fun, right? I was fascinated by the spooky music, the witches and ghosts, and scary stuff. I know we could ignore those aspects (and we do) and make a big deal out of the dressing up in a good way and the candy and things. However, then we'd be setting the stage for the kids to always expect something to go on during Halloween. We'd be ever-so-subtly instilling in them that celebrating darkness is cute. There's a progression to it all. Feel good/eat candy/dress up now....but one day they'll be with their fellow teenage friends and having to make a decision on a movie...or they'll be on a college campus and deciding what to do. In other words, Mommy won't be there to watch their every move. If Halloween was always a big deal, will they still be expecting it to deliver a thrill? I'm picturing the partying and carousing and wearing of skanky outfits that goes on, all in the name of "good fun." Yuck. We need to do all that we can now...to help and equip our guys to choose goodness in the future.

I know that despite Halloween's history, many families do try and participate in the innocent aspects of it--like the dressing up/pretending/eating candy aspects. I'm not diggin' at ya if you do. :) We tried for a few years to wade through it and take the good out of it, leaving the bad. We just found that it took too darn much energy--energy that is precious and in short supply during this season of life. At some point it became apparent that we'd rather put that energy toward other means. There are so many GOOD things to encourage our boys to do!

We've spent a few years trying to think of the perfect solution. I admit that some years I sort of lament of how fun it would be to dress my little cuties up and take them trick-or-treating. But, here's the reality: Put energy into costumes...probably money too, but definitely energy. Cover up the costumes with a huge winter coat. Brave the wind and cold and yet more WIND to go--somewhere--where we may or may not see things we'd rather not. Definitely we'd be instilling in them that it's all cute fun. Hmmm...no thanks.

We ditched the festivals several years ago. One year we went swimming. That was a fun alternative. We have some fun neighbors who have a hayride every year...and we look forward to that as our big harvest event in lieu of Halloween. Still there's a bit of "what should we do" as we reach the end of the month and the hoopla rises. There are good things to take part in. Do we want to? The answer, for us, has been "no".

So, for the last couple years, this is what October 31 looked like for us. A bowl of candy sat in the kitchen. We never have trick-or-treaters...but you never know...and besides, we like to eat all the left-overs (which usually consist of the entire bowl.) We got all sticky and gooey carving a big pumpkin, roasted and ate yummy pumpkin seeds, and set the pumpkin out on the front porch. We watched It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown over a bowl of popcorn. Before bed, we ran outside in the dark and cold in our jammies to see how pretty our pumpkin looked from the road. How boring! Except it really wasn't. It was a warm, fun evening in together...and we enjoyed it very much!

I wrote the majority of this post LAST YEAR! Here I am on October 31 once again, and here is what our night looked like. We cozily ate our family supper of homemade baked beans and potato soup. Boys cleaned up their toys and put on their jams, and returned to the kitchen table for root beer and the caramel corn and pumpkin bars we made earlier in the day. Our happy pumpkin, which we carved a couple nights ago, glowed warmly. The front porch light was on, just in case, as we laughed through the classic Great Pumpkin. A pleasant family evening, which they will hopefully remember, but without all the pomp and spook-umstance.

MMM Good

I gotta grab a bag of these jobbies every October; they're just so festive and nostalgic--one of the little things that speak "fall". Tonight I discovered something better than candy corn, and that is candy corn with cashews.

Random Monday

It's been an absolutely gorgeous, sunny, crisp day today! As much of a summer-and-sunshine girl that I am, I still really enjoy fall. Probably, September is my favorite month, which is why Tony and I married in September. We recently celebrated 17 years, which quite frankly, blows my mind. Time is flying....

Life is beautiful....

and I scarcely feel there's time to catch a breath.

This is something that's been on my mind--a lot--especially since Zachy was born. I keep thinking about the passage of time...different times and seasons...including the times and seasons of a human life. We hang onto this life...cling to it with all we've got. Yet, this is just a blink of an eye compared to what lies ahead. Most of the time, things like new wrinkles and gray hair don't bother me. I must admit, however, that I've caught a glimpse of myself occasionally (like in the mirror in the stairwell) and actually caught myself thinking, "WHO is THAT?!" I felt a tinge of glum, and then remembered with a smile that the wrinkles and gray hair are TEMPORARY!! My body is going to continue to show signs of age, faster and faster all the time. I will develop more aches and pains. This too is all temporary, for there is a place being made for me by my Savior who knows me and loves me so well.

Do you, my dear reader, know this Savior? Do you know this One who ensures our futures if we just ask him to? Do you know the One who ensures that our gray hairs, wrinkles, and ailments are temporary? He is the One who knew you before He created the Earth...who made plans--good plans for your life, to prosper you and not to harm you? If you don't yet know this Jesus, I pray you will come to know Him soon; He's been waiting for a relationship with you!

Furthermore, not only does He ensure the prosperity of our futures when we choose to follow and serve Him, but He also sees every secret sacrifice we make. He sees all those little and not-so-little things you do that make you wonder, "Does it even really matter at all?" All those things DO matter if we are doing them to His glory.

The boys and I were talking about this recently. I asked them, "How do we praise God?" They had several wonderful answers, such as, "singing His praise", "reading our Bibles", "memorizing scripture", "helping Mommy and Daddy", and "being kind to others". They were surprised when I also added to their list, "running fast", "riding your bikes", "playing Playmobil together", and "working in your gardens". Whatever we do, if we do it with thanksgiving to the One who works in and through us, we praise God in so doing! He is the one who gave us the blessings we enjoy in nature, our physical bodies, and relationships. He is the one who made us to be able to run, to taste good food, appreciate an amazing sunset, and experience the invigorating fall breezes. Everything good is from Him. It all is to His glory.

"Random Monday" is the title to this post, and wow is it random! Seeing as I began writing this with the main intent of encouraging you all to teach your children how to do household chores, I see it REALLY IS aptly named.

SO...moving right along... Today I experienced a real blessing, a reward, a fruit of labor if you will. So much mothering advice I've received has been about letting your children help you, even when it would be easier to do a task yourself. I've taken this to heart. When little ones clumsily scoot the chair over to the already-crowded kitchen counter while screeching, "Can I be your kitchen helper??!!" I find something for them to do to help, or should I say, to "help". You moms all know why I put quotations around that word! When a little one excitedly asks to scrub the toilet, and I'm thinking, "GROSS! This is going to be a MESS!" I do my best to smile, hand them the brush, and say, "Sure Honey, let me give you a few pointers." (Incidentally, I stand very near the scene to be sure they wash their little paws thoroughly afterward!)

Well, this past year, I've stepped it up in chore training. We've taken time to work with boys step-by-step to accomplish different household tasks the correct way. This fall, we implemented an official "chore time", right after breakfast. This is in addition to their expected tasks like making their beds, etc. I'm talking real housework--the stuff that in the past, Tony or I do or it doesn't get done-stuff. The boys LOVE this time and race to the chore chart to see what they get to do that particular day.

My heart swelled with gratitude last Friday night, when 6-year-old Spunky Cub exclaimed with exceeding joy, "Monday is MY day to clean the upstairs bathroom...and that means I get to use the new bottle of toilet cleaner!!!!!" Tony glanced my way and said, "It really is the little things, isn't it?!" The little boy is looking 3 days in advance to his chance to use the newest bottle of toilet cleaner. Wow.

This morning during daily chore time, I was working in the laundry room (my big focus chore for Mondays.) I went to use the bathroom afterward, and it was sparkling clean (and I didn't clean it!) It's an amazing joy to use a sparkling bathroom that I didn't sparkle! I then walked up the stairs, noticing that they were fluffy and dirt-free (and I didn't vacuum!) I then went into the kitchen, and the floor was swept, the table was scrubbed, the counters were clear and clean, and the dishes were washing (and I did none of the above.)

I feel as though I've arrived, Ladies and Gentlemen!

So, Mamas...get busy! Teach those chillins to pitch in, and in a big way. They will love contributing to the family in this way, you will love how helpful they are, and their future spouses will thank you. It takes work and patience to train those kiddos well, but it is well-worth the effort to help them find enjoyment and fulfillment in the household tasks they'll be doing their whole lives. In my book, it's as important (actually probably more important) than teaching them math, spelling, science, or a multitude of other skills and subjects. Really, only learning to read and study Scripture trumps the chore training.

Let's see...what other randomness do I have going on today? Well we've had the garden harvested for awhile now, except for the carrots. We pulled up about 1/2 of what was left of them today. When we have those eaten, we'll get the rest. I've been learning so much about gardening. The most important of which, is one must have healthy soil. Most of you are shaking your heads and saying, "Well of course...". It's taken me awhile to learn this, however. We'll be doing a big amending this fall, in hopes of a greater harvest next year. We still did ok this year, poor soil and all, but I'm excited of the prospect of rich, fertile soil for next summer.

This year yielded lots of carrots, quite a few (small) potatoes, TOMATOES (thanks to my Aunt Debbie who mailed us some water walls from Kentucky,) lots of Romaine, sugar snap peas, radishes, green onions, yellow zuchinis, and a wee, pathetic, li'l pumpkin. Eaglet and I try every year to grow a nice pumpkin. Every year is pretty much a flop, BUT, we have big plans to try again next spring!

Other randomness for this crazy-long post: We've been having a fun time learning lately. Just studied the Great Fire of London. The boys created the city of London:

And then to really re-enforce learning:

..they set the thing on fire. I LOVE homeschooling!

We've spent a fair amount of time around the fire pit lately:


We had a great little bonfire supper last Friday night, which included dessert:

No shame. They're licking the left-over caramel from the caramel apples, in case you're wondering.

...and to conclude this very looooong, rambling, stream of consciousness post:

Here's a couple cute baby photos as a reward for sticking with me! Check this one out--he's been falling asleep sucking two fingers lately:

Time a-flying or not, life is pretty sweet.