Favorite Foto Friday

This is not a recent photo but it's a favorite and I use it as my desktop picture.   I took this picture in Lancaster, Pa when I went with some girl friends and stayed overnight at the Hershey Farms Inn.  We saw a show at The Sight & Sound Theatre and did some shopping.  That's what you do in Lancaster, of course.

I remember it was my first night away from home without Mason.  I had such a great time with my friends.  It's now two weeks until I'm away from home again.  Will spend some time with family and friends again in a fun, fun place.  Stopping off to visit my sister and her new baby along the way.

The past few days have been full of NOT fun stuff.  Staying up all night and watching endless episodes of Star Wars in a variety of formats - some animated, some original movie version while caring for a sick child.  I've had my fill of Cartoon Network and Nick Jr and I think it has come to an end.  Mason's fever is gone, the bucket can be put away and the crying over ear pain has subsided.  I wonder what my parents did to keep us occupied at night when we were up crying with ear infections.  We didn't have cable tv or even a VCR.  How did we make it through without the unlimited supply of dvds and on demand entertainment to distract us.  Do you remember The National Anthem playing at midnight with the flag waving on the screen?  and then fuzz........ til at least 5 am I think.

Regardless, I'm glad for the company our technology provides.  It's a great distraction for a sick kid and his sleep-deprived mommy.  I'm catching up and only one day behind as I post this Friday blog on Saturday a.m.

Happy 1st birthday to my blog.

January's Spirit of Christmas

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.  Isaiah 9:6-7


Today was another beautiful warmer-than-usual January day.  My "boys" spent some time playing outside.  It was fun to watch them play ball and then go right into fight mode with light saber and scarf turned whip.  I suggested Dad needs a light saber.  He says it should be Darth Maul's double-bladed light saber.  (So he has thought about this also.)

 

 I wanted to focus on the spirit of Christmas this 25th day of the month after December.  There is so much hustle and bustle and focus on gifts and trees and treats during the holidays.  I want to make sure we remember to teach our kids about the real reasons that WE celebrate.  


First we set the mood with some rockin' Christmas tunes and measured out the holiday chex mix while we waited for dinner to finish cooking.

I dug out a few lone red plastic cups left over from December and found a few loose napkins at work with poinsettias on them.  Mason set them on the table with real china plates. We lit a candle as a centerpiece and he insisted we should eat with the lights off.  I was tickled that he wanted to play along.  





We poured some wine and sparkling cider and Michael read the verses above and told us in child-easy language what the verses meant to him. 


We pulled out a few Christmas greeting cards we received this year.  They are the only remnants of the season still left out for display.  We took time to pray for each of those families by name.  

Next, we enjoyed a splendid "Christmas" meal complete with favorite treats.  There was a small gift for each person just to keep it festive.  It was an enjoyable evening and one with simple focus and discussion.  I was happy with the kids' participation and questions.  I look forward to our spirit of Christmas celebration in February.

Kelsie's basketball game was our entertainment among other fun stuff during kitchen clean-up.  Congratulations Lady Falcons on 10 wins in a row.

What a warm January day....near 60 degrees makes you forget about snow and cold and boots and gloves.  We had snow this weekend though.  It was a treat to wake up to a white covering.  Nothing heavy just beautiful white dusting.

Mason decided he was going out before breakfast, pj's and all.  He put on his coat and shoes (no socks) and scooted around on the back deck.  He didn't have trouble talking Meagan into going out to play a few hours later. She even scraped and shoveled the driveway.

I love the natural light that is reflected off the snow.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the Spirit of Christmas in January and the next day marks the one year anniversary for my blog.  Then Friday starts my 2 week count-down to a fun little excursion I have planned with my mom, sisters, a certain newborn niece and a few good friends.

Here's what I have made for Haley so far.  Shhhh, don't tell her mom but I'm gonna get her started with the shoe thing early.

Find the pattern HERE

Happy Tuesday!

Thoughts of Fall

Mailed this to my mom today.  Don't peek Mom.  It's one of several gifts and goodie packages that I finished up this weekend.  (Instructions for various glass blocks.)  Made a lot of progress and have 5 packages to go to the post  office.  The holidays overflowed into January and it's nice to still think about Christmas.  January 25 is coming this week and our family will celebrate the "spirit of Christmas".  More about that soon, I'm sure.

The picture on this glass block is from a visit to Kentucky at the end of September 2011.  We had 9 of the now 11 grandkids together and took them to orchard to play on this creative playground.  What a nice day and my mom, 2-3 weeks hip replacement surgery post-op wanted to go along as did her friend, Doris.  Wow, Mom did great and it was such a beautiful blue sky day.  We all enjoyed it very much.  It was good to breath some fresh country air.  Here are the fun pictures I got from this day at Reid's Orchard.

Apple Barrel Racing!!

Slow and steady wins the race.

Looked like so much fun....I had to try.

That was fun - now back to our cold, freezing rain Monday. 

Favorite Foto Friday!!

Just wanna squeeze him.  I love his new look and his glasses really help him with his school work.  He is not as discouraged anymore because the blurriness and the tired painful eye muscle strain is eased with the bifocal lenses.

Half-day of school today and no school on Monday (that's two Mondays in a row).  What's a working mom to do???  Enjoy them, of course!!!  They won't be little for long.  In fact, two of them are not little anymore.

I love to watch as my husband schedules lunch and dinner dates with our two grown girls.  That's important and I'm so pleased that he sees value in it and they enjoy it as well.





Mason's favorite things right now are anything that resembles batttle....Ninjago, Thundercats, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean (Lego style) and all the features attached.  We have swords, masks, capes, gloves, goggles, sashes and more.


This little boy is growing and will need new pants soon as they are all suddenly too short.  It happens.  We are happy to pass them on to a friend that we pray for regularly but have never met.  He turned 4 last Saturday and is the new little brother of a close friend.  We are anxious to meet him very soon and pray for his safety, comfort and daily provision as his family waits to bring him home.

17 Day Update:  Today is day 5 and I bombed and included carbs in my lunch.  Made a great breakfast shake with berries and mango and banana but I'm insatiably hungry.  Feeling the ravenous hunger like when you're taking steroids and it just embodies you.  I'm not going to let it take me off track.  Tomorrow is day 6 and we'll get back to the plan.

Happy weekend!!!  Our family has fun plans for both days finished off on Sunday night by a phone date with a friend that I haven't talked to or seen in quite a while.  We're planning a visit and it's gonna be great!

Welcome Haley

Photo by Bella Baby Photography, Inc.  Permission granted for use.

Look what I got in the mail yesterday.....a CD with pictures of my newest niece.  My baby sister had a baby and she is beautiful.  I can't wait to hold her and squeeze her tight....soon.  I hope to see her in a few weeks if all plans fall into place.

In the meantime, I will enjoy designing her baby announcement AND I will wait and be thankful for a full night's sleep and rejoice that all of my babies sleep through the night now.

Thinking of Rachel having a baby reminds me of the day she came home from the hospital.  I was 9 years old and she was like a baby doll for me.  I remember helping to bath her and changing her cloth diapers.  I remember sticking her with a diaper pin and worrying that she would die.  I think I cried as much as she did.  I remember reading to her about the Hinkle Horn Honkers at nap time, over and over and over again.  I remember trying to tape record her cute little words and songs and whenever she saw the red light come on my cassette recorder she would stop and refuse to be cute.  I remember her long dark ringlet curls and wanting to brush and braid them.  I wonder if Haley will have those long curls as well.

Babies offer such a sweet balance to life.  Sleep well Haley, Aunt Donna is coming to see you soon.

Fresh Break for a New Year

Wow - 2 weeks into this month already.  I got a slow start with a bad cold that began on New Year's day and then others were sick and things just seemed to heep on.  I never had that new fresh-start-feeling until today.  Today was the day to begin again......the water drinking and carb eliminating and sweets avoiding....Day 1 of 17.  It was hard at times and yet my mind didn't waiver.  I am determined to get back on track to living a whole and healthy life.

We took a break this weekend, just Michael and I - and just a few hours - but it was a break and I treasured it.  Just had some time to talk without interruption and enjoy food that doesn't require ketchup.  We even got massages.  What a nice treat.  I feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle the daily grind again.  There are hints of a mom and sisters birthday trip coming in February.  That helps keep me motivated as well.  I sure hope they can all make it.  We will see how it all works out.  For now, I'm taking each day as it comes and know that God is in control.

Game Day Soup

Saturdays during the Winter months = game days for both our girls.  Meagan is happily traveling with her team this weekend (without pain and mom or dad).  Kelsie has a home game today so off to Pennsylvania we go.

We'll join with the team and other families after the game to share a potluck meal and enjoy a few minutes of face time with our girl.  What a great opportunity to take a favorite food for her to enjoy.  She mentioned soup and her very favorite is mine as well.

I don't typically cook meals with recipes.  I adore reading cookbooks and getting ideas for food combinations but I save the recipes for the baking.  I like to create when I cook a meal.

Because I've seen my husband and his family lament over not having his grandmother's secret recipes for their favorite treats and try time and again to recreate them I think I need to record my cooking in some way so that when my kids want to make an old favorite, they have something to refer to.

To prepare the soup base, bring 32 oz of chicken stock and 28 oz of diced tomatoes 

with juice to a boil.  Add 1 TBSP of minced garlic.

This is my favorite chicken stock because it has so much flavor.   

Color is my first thought when putting foods together.  In a soup I like to see an even mixture of orange, green, red, white, yellow and even brown or black.  Add your favorite veggie/color combinations.   I like baby bok choy, butternut squash, zucchini and mushrooms for this soup.  Dice small or leave in large chunks according to your liking.  Remember that when the water is released from the vegetable it will shrink in size.

Add these prepared vegetables to the pot and cook down for a short while.

Add salt and fresh ground pepper.

After the largest veggies are cooked to your liking and the water has been released, 

add some meat if you choose.  

Our favorite are these Sabatino brand
chicken meatballs from Costco.

I cut them in half so that they are more bite sized
and heat through faster.

Once the meatballs become one with the veggies in the pot I turn it off and let it sit 

to absorb all the flavors.  Soup and stew are always better after sitting.

We will let it cool, package it for travel and head up the road.  

It will reheat easily in the crock pot while we watch some round ball.  

I can't resist throwing in my dad's name for the game.  

Soup's on Kelsie and we brought your favorite tea also.

liquid gold.....

In the end it's all about seeing our girls and catching up on some family time 

even if just for the length of a meal.