Thursday, April 18, 2013

Thankful Thursday

(Don't you love the new look on the blog??  Thank you oodles and oodles to Joy Neal, a dear friend walking out her journey as a missionary in Indonesia!  Joy, you are amazing!  Don't forget to sign up to receive email updates about new posts on the right!)

For some reason, I have not blogged in the past week.  Not for lack of thoughts, though.  I have things to say, recipes to share, and lots of great pics on my camera.  But sick kids trump all, and I have had sick kiddos for almost two weeks.  All three bigs had fevers last week, and this week, our poor Sophia has more double ear infections. (I think her 5th or 6th time now?)  So lots of home days, baby holding, and a slower-paced schedule for us.  That part has actually been quite nice.  The kids have painted, Micah put together a wooden birdhouse, we collected samples in petri dishes to watch bacteria grow, we played a geography game, we've worked through tons of curriculum and have read lots of books.  We've snuggled and done puzzles and have been memorizing Psalm 23.  We've had lots of time to be together and to enjoy our homeschooling life.  Such a joy.

As I've thought about Thankful Thursday today, I realized that I am especially thankful this week for friends. Two of my closest friends (one from Michigan, one from Canada) were in town recently, and it was such a treat to have time with both.
Kim, Melissa, and Me

My friends and my family threw me the most AMAZING surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday.  I thought I was going to a Thirty-One party (where they sell bags and organizing materials, etc.) but really it was a "Thirty" party!  I had a couple of suspicions that made me wonder if there was to be a surprise party, so I felt nervous all day and silly for either scenario...party or not!  Well, it was most definitely a party!  I was overwhelmed in the hugest way with how blessed I am to have such amazing women in my life.  And it is always such a beautiful thing to have women from different circles and parts of my life all in one place.  So I really wanted to record this down as one of life's best moments to date.  I am blessed beyond words.  I couldn't stop smiling.  And I had SUCH a blast.  We had a table full of appetizers, sangria, and a delectable chocolate fountain!  AND they spoiled me with gifts...lots of them!  Seriously, amazing, amazing, amazing birthday surprise!


So today, I am thankful for friendship and for the gift of friends in my life.  I do not EVER want to take this for granted.  I am one rich gal.  (I wish I had pictures of everyone there!  But this will have to do for now...)  

Two of my closest friends...my mama and my sister.

My mom's bestie, Julie, who is family to me.
My bestie of 15 years now!  Blessed, blessed, blessed...

My "book study girls," who are my lifesavers on so many levels.

Starting to become slaphappy at midnight!  We kept saying, "Why didn't we take pictures in the beginning of the night when we all looked better?"

Me and  my Melissa, my favorite Canadian

I came across a devotion from Lysa Turkeurst today on exactly this.  Friendship.  
There aren't many women who enjoy being revealed, exposed, and uncovered. But establishing real intimacy with another person requires pushing past the resistance—past the fear.
Friendship is risky. To be known is to risk being hurt. But friendship can be beautiful, and worth the risk...
I am so thankful for women who have taken that risk with me...who have allowed me to share myself and my stuff and who have let me in to know theirs, too.  This is a gift.  This is beautiful.
Yes, friendship is beautiful. The Lord gave it to us. He knew we would need each other to get through this life.
I am thankful for friends today.

What are you thankful for?

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Thankful Thursday

Our dear friends who live in Canada are here visiting.  Last night, Melissa and I got to stay out late chatting it up for a much-needed Girls Night.  Tonight they spoiled us and took us to a Japanese Hibatchi grill for an early birthday dinner.  It was such a treat for Zach and me!  They cook the delicious food at the table, and it just keeps coming!  And as if that were not enough, we settled into a cozy booth at a local cafe for tea and pie after.  This is not something Zach and I do often.  We love to go out on dates, and we've had our share of weddings and events to attend through the years, but we can probably count on one hand the number of times we've gone out with friends withOUT kids.  It was really a fun treat, so I am thankful for that today.

I am thankful that in spite of three kids with fevers today, we all still enjoyed a quiet day at home.  My boys spent most of the day on the couch, watching a movie and flipping through books and Micah reading novels. I am thankful that my boys love to read because sick days aren't such torture for them.

I am thankful that my kids are such dear friends.  They always have each other, and my heart just soars watching them be friends and do their little lives together.  Ella and Sophia have even been jiving together lately, making each other giggle and dance.  Precious beyond precious.

Today, while the boys rested on the couch and the girls napped, I put a CD of kids' hymns on for the boys, I made a cup of tea and sat on the couch under a blanket with my Bible and my journal.  This almost never happens.  I soaked it up.  Thankful.

I am thankful that Zach and I are a team.  I really, really, really never want to take this for granted.  We have our messy moments, and we are far from perfect, but I am beyond thankful for my husband and for our marriage.

Remember my Orange Rhino Challenge?  I am not yelling at my kids.  I have had my angry or impatient moments, but I have not been "losing it."  I do not say this to toot my own horn but to truly express how thankful I am that I can change and grow and learn.  Habits can be broken.  New ways can be learned.  (And only, only through the power of the Holy Spirit and through God's grace over me!!!)  Again, thankful that I am an imperfect work of progress.

What are you thankful for today?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Choo Choo!

I know I have said it before, but I will say it again.
I am so thankful for a homeschooling buddy who likes to do adventures with me.
I am all about adventures.  I'd rather risk things going wrong or getting crazy or getting off on naps than staying at home all of the time.  So we are always ready for the next journey.
My dear friend, Jen, and I do monthly field trips with our kiddos.
This month, we decided to take the train to Des Plaines to the huge library and to the Choo Choo restaurant for lunch, where a train literally delivers the food.  The kids all loved it!  We had so much fun!
Thankful, thankful...

The five big kids on the train...Ella, Sammy, Micah, Luke, and Lydia

Sophia LOVES Miss Jen

Watching the train leaving on the rainy beginning to the day

A new library to explore!


Choo Choo restaurant!





Everybody say, "Choo Choo!!!" 

Me and my loveys

 Amazing fourth child...she fell asleep in the stroller and slept in Jen's arms the whole train ride back

COUSINS!

One thing I make sure I NEVER take for granted is the gift of cousins!  My kids are so blessed to have six cousins in our family, all at the same ages and stages.  They have such a blast together, spending so many hours and making so many memories together.  Here are some pictures from the last week of some cousin fun!  Thankful!

Digging in the dirt (which made a big hole in our backyard!!!!  oh well...)

Mario shirts from Papa!

Best Buds

Pinstripes bowling with cousins, Chuck and Nolan, and almost-cousins, Maddy and Meredith 

Bocce Ball

Matching Girlies!!

The girls gotta stick together!

Ella and Connor

Fun cousin chaos!
We are thankful for cousins!!!!

Monday, April 8, 2013

Hunger in America

Hunger is an issue that has pulled at my heartstrings since I was a girl.

In my naive worldview as a child, I had the hardest time understanding why so many people were homeless and hungry.  I remember telling my parents that if every household put an extra blanket and an extra bag of groceries on their doorsteps, it would make a huge difference to the people who didn't have enough.  In my mind, this was a simple solution.

As an adult, I now know that these issues of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity are deep and complicated. But I still have the audacity to believe that we can do something about it.

My husband, Zach, works for Bread for the World, a non-profit organization that works on hunger issues both nationally and abroad.  A couple of months ago, I had the privilege of attending a work event with him, a pre-screening of the documentary on hunger, A Place at the Table.  This movie was both straightforward and powerful about the massive problem of food insecurity in our country.  I left with a full mind and a heavy heart, anxious to do something about this problem.  Tears came to my eyes as I realized that I have never had to put my children to bed hungry, and there are countless moms, living right in our midst, who do.

What would you do if you were hungry?  I urge you to consider this question.  Children that are hungry are not able to concentrate in school.  People who are hungry are getting sick and are becoming overweight because of the reality that cheap, processed food costs less and has more calories that can fill up their bellies.  Many people do not even have access to a full grocery store.  To try to bring this reality to a deeper understanding for us and our children, we took a challenge to go to the store and shop with $4 (the average amount per person that millions of Americans that participate in the nation's food stamp program have per day).  We explained to the children what we were doing, and we went to Aldi to buy our dinner.  Now, thankfully, we have an Aldi grocery store in our area, where we can buy food that is quite inexpensive.  With our four dollars, we bought a box of whole grain spaghetti ($0.99), a jar of pasta sauce ($1.19), a bag of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots ($1.09), and a bunch of bananas ($.58).  We came home, fixed our meal, and ate every bite.  We were still able to buy vegetables and fruit, but we were limited, with our set budget, in what we could buy.  Many times when our family has spaghetti, we make homemade sauce, sometimes with meat, and we always have the option to put fresh vegetables into our sauce or a salad.  We also usually make garlic bread with our spaghetti meal.  So even though it was still a fine meal, it wasn't the usual made-from-scratch-with-lots-of-vegetables meal that we are accustomed to having the privilege of cooking and eating.  And most people who are food insecure would not even have such a nice meal.

In honor of Food Bloggers Against Hunger day, I would like to share with you a few of my favorite, inexpensive recipes for you and your family to try.  (In the two recipes including chicken, please note that less chicken and more beans could be used to make it even more cost-effective.)

Blackened Chicken and Beans Skillet (click here)

Chunky Marinara Sauce to serve with pasta (click here)

Chicken Tortilla Soup  (for full post on this recipe, look here.)
In a crockpot, combine the following ingredients...
4 chicken breast halves (they can even be frozen)1 can stewed tomatoes1 can (14 oz.) black beans (drained and rinsed)1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce1 can corn (drained and rinsed)1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies1 cup salsaCrushed red pepper
Stir up ingredients and cook 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).Before serving, take out the chicken breasts, cut or shred, and put back in the soup.Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, and corn chips (or tortilla chips)!
So...you may be asking, "What can I DO?"

First of all, please, please, please watch A Place at the Table.  To watch the trailer, click here.  I believe it is imperative for all of us to understand the magnitude of this problem in our very own country.  To see this movie, check to see if it is playing in your city, or watch in on demand through iTunes or Amazon.

Second of all, click on this link to take just 30 seconds to send a letter to congress asking them to support anti-hunger legislation.  For just a small click and less than a minute of your time, you can make a difference to help stop this problem in our country!

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat.  What matters is that way too many people are hungry in the United States, and we have a responsibility to do something about it.  In our current standing, the only way for hunger to be eliminated is for policies to change.  We must make our voices heard.

Please help.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Friday, April 5, 2013

Thankful Thursday

It is 11:57, and my daughters will be up in 5 - 6 hours.  I have a full day of plans tomorrow, too, so this is Thankful Thursday in fast motion.

There is much to be thankful for this week.  Such a full social life.  Friends and family have filled my days, and I am so blessed.  My best friend from Michigan is here with my nephews, and I loooved spending the day together, walking to the park, salads for lunch, warm cookies out of the oven, sitting in the sun in the afternoon, and watching the boys dig in the dirt (which left a giant hole in our grass, by the way...).  The weather was exquisite.  Tonight was Girls Night Out with my besties, and it is always a blast sharing chips and salsa and margaritas together.  We can talk for hours like nobody's business.  We swap recipes, talk about silly things, talk about big things, and talk about our roles as mothers and wives and homemakers and friends.  For ALL of these things, I am thankful.

What are you thankful for today?

In other news, I came across this amazing website this week, The Orange Rhino Challenge.  She writes about her process of stopping yelling at her kids.  I am inspired.  I am joining this challenge of no yelling.  Day One??  Success!!  Care to join me on this journey?  I'd love it!  Let me know so we can encourage one another!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Guest Post on Homeschooling

One of my dearest friends from Minnesota has been doing an education series on her blog.  I was so honored when she asked me to do a guest post on homeschooling, but I was so very nervous to write this post, too!  First of all, this is a topic that can often be controversial, and secondly, I had never written something for such a large audience.  But as I mulled it over and sat down to write, the words flowed.  Of course it would be a joy to write about something so near and dear to my heart!  Homeschooling has been an incredible journey for me so far, and I am thrilled that we chose to keep our children at home with us for now.  You can click below to see information about the series!  And you can read my post here.  Blessings!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Humble Confidence

Micah's good bud from Minnesota recently sent him a Lego Ninjago book in the mail with a cute note.

I decided Micah should write him a thank you, and I figured it would be a perfect time to do a letter-writing review.  Little did I know that this would turn into a three day, hours long, four-draft process.  Oh, but it did.

The first attempt was a handful of words.  I suggested he add some more.

The second attempt went like this...
Dear H,
Thank you for the book.
I like it.
I am doing second grade math and read at third to fourth grade reading level.
From,
Micah

Soooo...I had a small discussion with Micah about the fact that although I know (and truly believe) that he has no intention of bragging (about his academic standings), it could be perceived as bragging.  And I decided that this would be a good moment to teach my son about how to be a good friend and not brag to our friends and that they could feel badly, etc.  So I suggested that we start over.  "Think of it as good letter writing practice," I attempted.  Not so effective.  My six-year old was M.A.D.  He threw the note in the garbage and had some snarky remarks for me in his frustration.  He was quite distracted for awhile with the next attempt, and when I finally saw him immersed in his writing, I was thrilled!

And then he brought me this...
 

Completely speechless, I found an excuse for him to go in the other room for a minute so I could quickly dial my husband and say, "What do I DO?  This has already taken so much time??  Do we just send it?  Do I push the issue more??"  My wise hubby said to just leave it be, as long as Micah was sure that's what he wanted to say to his buddy.

Well, what do you know??  A few hours later at bedtime, after the negative emotions had been replaced with a fun dinner together, some snuggling and book reading, and a more calm spirit, Micah said to me, "Could I write a new letter to H tomorrow?  That one is kinda weird..."  I laughed and agreed with him and inwardly celebrated this little victory of him coming to his own conclusion without my prompting.  And the final letter was written with a good attitude today...



As minor of a situation as this may seem, it was a big deal to me.  It raised the question I have frequently asked myself, how do I teach my son to be confident, yet humble, at the same time?

I have thought about this many times before.  I want my children to think they are the best thing since sliced bread.  I want them to know how incredibly gifted and talented and brilliant they each are.  I want them to know that I am their biggest fan.  And I want them to have a healthy, strong sense of identity and self worth in Christ.  So how do I both build them up and affirm all of their brilliance and giftings without them becoming arrogant?

Is it just in the modeling?  Do we keep guiding them along verbally?  Only through prayer?
This is the question I have yet to answer.

As in most things, I turn to prayer.  I have prayed over my son at night countless nights, "Lord, help Micah to be confident in who he is, but humble, too."  And maybe this is sufficient.  Maybe God's grace will cover this request of mine and maybe discernment will come in the moment on how to train and teach and guide.  But what if there's something more?

What do you think?
Have you figured out how to teach your children a humble confidence?
Do share!

Easter Honesty

In an effort to maintain honesty (see No More Perfect Moms), I would like to share that it was an imperfect Easter.  Lovely, but imperfect.  The night before, I was in the kitchen longer than I expected, and my hubby was trying hard to keep things running with the kiddos.  We started to dye eggs while I was making dinner, and the kids asked after two eggs if they could be done...(What??  Who doesn't love to dye Easter eggs?)  Our baby was feverish and sick, the kids were overtired, and there was a tornado that blew through our kitchen as I made things for Easter and also tried to mash cauliflower in an attempt to have a new, healthy side for dinner.  Weeeellll, thankfully, the kids got a second wind with the Easter eggs, although  many eggs ended up cracked and many fingers ended up stained.  They didn't like the cauliflower (but Zach and I did!) and they were all a mess by bedtime.  Zach fell asleep early, exhausted from the day, and I was left to fill and hide baskets myself.

Sunday morning came, and I was thinking that surely, the morning would be perfect.  It was Resurrection Sunday, for goodness sake!  But Sophia continued to be sick and needed someone to hold her the whole morning, Zach and I were arguing...(I know, silly, silly).  And Ella didn't want to wear her Easter dress.  We left the messy house in a hurry and in crabby moods, but thankfully, Zach and I apologized and connected on our way into church and during the service.  Phew.

My heart was burdened for a friend who was struggling, there were points in the day when I didn't think I could stay awake, and we had to put Sophia in a tepid bath following Easter dinner (when her fever reached 104.6!) and put a call into the pediatrician.  But you know what??  On the way home, I told Zach, it was a nice day.  The children had a blast at Nana and Papa's, we got to go outside for the Easter egg hunt, and I loved spending time with my parents and my sister and her family.  Micah and Sammy initiated "The Question Game" during dinner, having everyone come up with a question (i.e., "What's your favorite dessert?" and going around the table answering.  Precious how they facilitated the discussion.  And Ella insisted on only having purple and pink eggs in her basket.  During the Easter egg hunt, she would notice an orange egg and walk right on by.  Or, she would pick up an egg, look at it and realize it was green, and put it into her cousin's basket instead.  We laughed so hard as we finally realized why she was giving her eggs away.  So cute.  So girly.

The day was messy at points, but it was lovely.  We had celebratory worship at church, sweet time with family, delicious food, and [mostly] happy kids.  But, most importantly, we knew that we were celebrating the freedom and joy of the truth that Jesus is ALIVE!  And that carried us through our day with peace.


Death, where is your sting?  
Grave, where is your victory?  
He's ALIVE!  He's ALIVE!  
He is RISEN!
(a song we sang on Sunday)
















Happy Easter!