Learning Together

What Am I Doing?

2012-01-30T22:27:00.000-05:00

My friend is writing a book.
I am helping her.
I know nothing about writing a book.

What am I doing?

Basically, I am her editor/proofreader right now. She is writing a testimony of the amazing miracles God has performed in the life of her family over the past 10 years, to which I have had a "front row seat", so to spreak. She wrote the first draft, and now I am going through it and not only correcting grammar and phrasing mistakes, but also cleaning it up, taking out parts, rewriting sections, etc.

I'm feeling a bit over my head, but my friend called today and said she and her whole family were really excited by the changes I made in the Introduction and first chapter. So I'm feeling that at least I'm going in the right direction with it. Whew.
There is a bit of a time crunch to get this done as soon as possible and to the publisher so that she can have it ready for a conference she is speaking at in a couple of months.
Gulp!

I will fill in more details later, but if you happen to think of it, I'd appreciate your prayers.

Starting with a Personal Trainer . Oh My.

2012-01-12T10:01:00.000-05:00

"Is there anything you don't like about exercise?

That was one of the questions from my young, bubbly, athletic personal trainer at our first meeting yesterday morning. I couldn't hide the snort, but then smiled.

"The pain."

I actually like to exercise, and I told her that. I enjoy physical activity and pushing myself and reaching goals and feeling fit. The problem is the pain that it takes to get from fat, flabby, out-of-shape me to svelte, toned, strong and healthy me. Yesterday was only my physical assessment - weight, body measurements, flexibility test ( sit on the floor with legs straight in front and reach for toes ), strength test ( lady push ups and crunches ), and cardio test ( resting heartrate, then 5 minutes climbing on and off the step platform, then heartrate again ) .

I. Am. Sore.

I have been going to the gym about twice a week for a few weeks now and doing about 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. That doesn't make me sore. Pushups, crunches, and step platform = another story. Which is the whole point of the personal trainer. Sessions with a trainer at the Y is actually a Christmas present from my oldest son - the Army captain who can deadlift 400 lbs and thinks CrossFit is fun. It is something I requested, because I knew I needed an additional push to both get my knee/leg strength back after surgery and to get this 51-yr-old body heading in the right direction, which is out of the chair and into the gym!

I really like my trainer - so far - after meeting her for just one hour. Her name is Carrie and she is a mom with 3 young children, and she had knee surgery when she was in college. So she can relate. Sort of. She is about as big around as my upper arm. But she is sweet and I think we'll work well together. Whatever that means.

She didn't tell me the results of the tests and measurements yesterday - thankfully. I think they have discovered that telling people the results right away sends them spiraling into the pit of depression and running away as fast as they can waddle! So she is saving those numbers for a later date, when hopefully I will have improved so much that I will be ecstatic at how far I have come! We are "starting" on Monday.

My first goal - which is very reasonable - is consistency. It is absolutely true that in order to get stronger and healthier you have to actually DO something on a regular basis, and not just think about it.   So I have to make myself go to the gym or go for a walk or do Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii at least 4 times a week. And Carrie will be keeping track of whether I do it or not! Accountability is good.

A long time ago, when I was in my teens and twenties and even early thirties, I was in good shape! I was a size 10 when I got married. I played sports, swam, ran, went to dance aerobics class. If you are exercising somewhat regularly now and are in decent shape, DO NOT STOP. Make it a lifelong priority!!! Because I got busy with kids and life and money was tight and I stopped making exercise a priority and I gradually put on more and more weight until my wedding ring no longer fit and had to be cut off and I hardly recognized the woman in the dressing room mirror.   I would start to walk or try to exercise with a video or go to the gym for short bursts, but I wouldn't stick with it.   And the older I got, the harder it got. And then my left knee started to hurt, a lot, and I ended up having surgery to trim a torn miniscus last September. I am amazed at how long it takes to recover from what seemed like minor, arthroscopic surgery thru a couple of teeny tiny incisions. I still struggle with stairs and getting up off the floor, even after finishing 8 weeks of physical therapy.

So. Here I am at 51, about to start again to see if I can reclaim that lost person. The one who felt strong and energetic and looked halfway decent in a pair of jeans. Why? Because I miss being active and I hate feeling like a slug. Maybe recording my progress here for the world to see ( okay, maybe not the world, but Mom and the couple of other people who actually read this ) will motivate me to stick with it this time. I'm hoping that having a cheerleader/personal trainer to hold me accountable and also give me a routine to follow will keep me going as well. I watch The Biggest Loser on tv, and marvel at the intensity of those workouts and what those people accomplish physically week to week! Part of their success is having someone showing them how to exercise and standing there screaming at them to NOT GIVE UP!   I can't imagine Carrie will be screaming at me - sure hope not! But she will be teaching me and encouraging me to push myself and do more than I would do on my own. So I have high hopes. Here we go.

50 Fun Facts About Me

2012-01-01T14:27:00.001-05:00

This is a reprise of a list I wrote several years ago. Just for fun.

1. I was born in Meriden, CT in 1960. My parents moved back to my dad's hometown of Uxbridge, MA within the year, and bought a house up the road, in Mendon, when I was 3. They still live there.

2. I love chocolate!

3. I was married on my birthday, as was my mother.

4. My mother and I made my wedding gown.

5.. I am the first-born daughter of a first-born daughter of a first-born daughter of a first-born daughter. .

6. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour when I was 13.

7. My husband and I first met in 4th grade, when we both played trumpet in the elementary school band.

8. Our first official "date" was our high school Senior Prom.

9. I've always loved being around children. I carried around the babies at all the family gatherings, and did LOTS of babysitting in high school.

10. My favorite books when I was young were Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Karen by Marie Killilea, and The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss. I read a LOT.

11. I am one-half Italian, one-fourth Scottish, and one-fourth English.

12, My first paid job, besides babysitting, was as Assistant Recreation Director at our little lake-front town beach in Mendon when I was 14. I continued to work at that beach every summer for the next 8 years., as a lifeguard, swim instructor, and then as the Beach Director.

13. I was in the Synchronized Swim Club in college.

14. My favorite candy bar is Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

15. I would rather go to the mountains than to the beach.

16. I dabbled in gymnastics as a teen. I took a gymnastics judging course when I was 18, and actually judged one high school meet.

17. I sing alto.

18. I remember where I was when the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I was vaccuuming the bedroom of our apartment in Boca Raton, Florida, listening to the radio, and keeping one eye on my toddler.

19. My dream house is a solar log home with a big wrap-around porch and a huge yard!

20. I am afraid of heights.

21. When I was 10 years old, my family ( mom, dad, 4 kids ) camped around Europe for 6 weeks in a Volkswagon Campmobile.

22. I hate horror movies and lima beans.

23. Fall is my favorite season.

24. I have had surgery three times ~ to remove my tonsils when I was 5, to remove my gall bladder when I was 42, and to repair a torn miniscus in my left knee when I was 51.

25. I do not drink coffee.

26. I love to bake.

27. I had a crush on David Cassidy when I was in Jr. High ( who didn't? )

28. My husband and I went on a Caribbean Cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary.

29. My favorite board game is Scrabble.

30. I am allergic to shellfish - more specifically, bivalves ( clams, oysters, scallops ).

31. I played field hockey in high school.

32. I was a cheerleader in my senior year of high school, and my future husband was on the basketball team.

33. My middle name is Marie, after my paternal grandmother.

34. When I was little, I wanted to be a teacher or a doctor when I grew up.

35. I collect souvenir pins.

36. So far, I have visited 27 states and 10 countries ( and just driving through doesn't count).

37. I love family camping! I do require toilets and running water, however.

38. The most amazing thing I have ever seen is the Grand Canyon.

39. I prefer Diet Pepsi to Diet Coke.

40. My favorite color is blue.

41. My favorite subjects in school were always English and Art.

42. My first job after college was as an assistant in the Public Relations office at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

43. I started homeschooling in 1994, with a 4th grader, 1st grader, 4 yr old and 1 yr old.

44. I am right-brain dominant!

45. I am very easily distracted. It takes me forever to get through a project, like cleaning my bedroom, because I keep getting sidetracked.

46. I have done both free-lance calligraphy and portrait drawing at one time or another.

47. I have been a full-time mom since my oldest child was born, but I have also sold Tupperware, worked part-time at a fabric/crafts store, taught private swimming lessons, taught art, and baked cupcakes.

48. I enjoy handcrafts, like crossstitch, knitting, quilting, etc, but don't take the time to do them anymore. I need to work on that.

49. I don't watch much TV, but do enjoy "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", " Cupcake Wars", "American Idol", and "NCIS".

50. I am a terrible housekeeper ( something to do with the right-brain, easily distractible thing....)

Welcome 2012!

2012-01-01T01:43:00.001-05:00

We rang in 2012 at the annual New Years Eve festivities at our friends, the Nemitzes.
The parents played Family Feud and Catch Phrase while the kids played games upstairs - then we all gathered in the living room and kitchen for the big Countdown!

Everyone toasted with New Year with sparkling grape juice - even the Campbells, who joined us via Skype from Vancouver, BC!

The kids finished off the night with sparklers out on the lawn.

Good night everyone! I wish you all extraordinary blessings in 2012.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

2011-12-28T10:15:00.001-05:00

I really do love Christmas and all the festivity, wonder, anticipation, and trappings of the season. Driving down the street and seeing a house decked out in Christmas lights makes me smile and, my kids will tell you I'm prone to shouted outbursts of "CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!!"

Although I don't go head over heels with decorations, I adore setting out my nativity sets, wreaths, and candles, and will sit contentedly admiring the Christmas tree, letting the memories that each ornament brings wash over me.

The smells of gingerbread, lemon peel, cloves, and peppermint whisk me back to happy childhood days baking cookies and Christmas treats with my mother, and more recently with my own brood.

Holiday cards from friends and family far and near grace the door frame between my dining room and loving room. I appreciate the effort it takes to get those cards in the mail, because my own cards have not made it out the door even 3 days after Christmas - but I rationalize that they will be appreciated all the more after the busyness of Christmas settles down.

Christmas music playing on the radio - or iPod, and Christmas movies like "It's a Wonderful Life", "The Nativity Story", and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" all put me in the holiday mood. Christmas Eve Candlelight Service with my family, welcoming Christmas Day as the clock strikes midnight, is another meaningful tradition. Most of all, I love being surrounded by my family. Four of my five children are nestled again in their beds, while the fifth is nestled in a cot in a tent with 30 or so other soldiers in Kuwait.... but at least we got to Skype on Christmas Day!!!

I hate shopping, as a rule, but I love giving gifts to the people I love. I did the Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh gifts again this year, and it really helped give me direction and purpose in choosing meaningful gifts for my family. Gold gifts = the "big" gift that is valuable or desired; Frankincense = a gift related to spiritual growth or worship; Myrrh = a practical gift for the body. Stockings are filled with small items like toothbrushes, candy, toiletries, socks, gum, batteries, magazines, pocket knife, Starbucks and iTunes gift cards, ice scrapers, and football cards. I knitted these Christmas stockings years ago, when my kids were babies - they are nice and stretchy.
:-)

Sarah and Amanda both were busy with the yarn and crochet hooks this fall, and Eric and Mark were the glad recipients.

Is it really worth all the hoopla? Is Christmas really worth the money, energy, time, and effort it demands? Well, it depends on why you do it. If it is something to check off the To Do list as you trudge through the calendar, then you might not think so.

If the trappings of the holiday obliterate the reason for the celebration, which is the unmatchable gift of Christ the King, our Savior, then it's probably not.

But if you view Christmas is a special gift - an opportunity - to engage in meaningful traditions and create cherished memories with loved ones, then it is priceless, and as enchanting for me at age 51 as it was when I was 5. I thank God for loving me SO much that He sent His one and only Son, so that through Him I can be assured of everlasting life! I thank God for the rich treasure I have received in family, friends, home, and traditions. With Christ at the center of it all, Christmas is not a chore or cheap commercialism or something to endure, but a wonderful, delightful time of celebration and commemoration. It's the birthday of the King!

Even as we give to one another, we remember the poor, the sick, the widows, the orphans, and give to help them as well... through The Salvation Army Kettle, Operations Christmas Child, TOMS shoes, sponsoring a child in Africa through Ten Eighteen, Inc.....

Because of Jesus - who He is and what He has done - it truly is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I hope it has been for you too.

Gingerbread House 2011

2011-12-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

Here is our Gingerbread House for 2011. I designed it and baked the pieces. Jason did most of the assembly and decorating himself, with just a little assistance here and there.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, ALEX!

We're proud of you.

We miss you.

We love you.

Stocking Stuffer Ideas for Teens & Young Adults

2011-12-15T08:55:00.002-05:00

Since Jason turned 13 in August, this is the 1st Christmas that ALL my babies are teens or twenty-somethings. A recent growth spurt means no more shopping in the children's department! And no more shopping in the toy aisles at Target or WalMart.

I am still buying "educational" stuff. Sorry, but I'll always be a homeschool mom who believes in LIFELONG learning. :-)

Everyone still gets a stocking filled with goodies, and that is opened first thing on Christmas morning. They are left at the foot of each bed, so they can be emptied as soon as the eyelids flutter open.

Here's a list of some of the things that might find their way into my teens'/twenty-somethings' stockings:

1. an orange - every Christmas, there is one in the toe.
2. a coin - it always used to be a quarter; however, an upgrade to a collectible gold or silver coin might be in order
3. Gum / mints
4. candy - preferably something a little unusual - peppermint patties, turtles, dark chocolate, homemade caramels ....
5. nuts
6. toothbrush - standard or electric
7. iTunes gift card
8. CD or DVD
9. pens / markers
10. mini notepad or journal
11. Chapstick
12. makeup ( lip gloss, eye shadow, nail polish )
13. jewelry
14. pocket knife
15. compass
16. socks/ slipper socks
17. watch
18. sunglasses
19. magazine / puzzle book
20. batteries
21. Earphones
22. gloves
23. Gift Cards - Starbucks, Chick-Fil-A, Bojangles, Barnes & Noble, movies
24. Face wash
25. hand lotion/ hand sanitizer
26. car air freshener
27. ice scraper
28. nail clippers / emory board
29. tweezers
30. Emergen-C / vitamins
31. Band Aids
32. Mini Photo Book
33. money clip
34. bag clips - for chips, pretzels, etc.
35. sports trading cards
36. cable ties
37. car charger for phone
38. jump drive
39. mini mag light / headlamp
40. keyring
42. stress ball / hand exerciser
43. jump rope
44. luggage tags
45. cellphone case
46. deck of cards
47. video game
48. Post It notes, flags, tabs
49. tickets to sports event or concert
50. guitar accessories - pics, tuner, strap, etc.
51. razor / razor blade cartridges / shaving cream
52. loofah
53. hair brush / comb
54. hair elastics, ribbon, clips, headbands
55. deodorant
56. Christmas tree ornament
57. purse organizer
58. Nerf darts
59. Silly string
60. stain stick

Celebrate Advent with Christmas Picture Books

2011-12-08T10:46:00.003-05:00

If you have young children, you probably do some sort of Advent activity to countdown the days until Christmas. There are lots of creative ideas for doing this and also reinforcing the message and meaning of Christmas with our children. For years I used the advent unit studies on the Symbols of Christmas and the Names of Jesus found in Celebrate With Joy! by Sondra Burnett/

We have created paper chains with Bible verses on them, tearing off one link per day.

We have collected change in a jar, counting objects in our house that are blessings, and then donating the money to the Southern Baptist's Lottie Moon Fund or another charity after Christmas. For example, on Dec. 1, put a penny in the jar for every shoe in the house. On Dec. 2, put a quarter in the jar for each car we own. On Dec. 3, put a dollar in the jar for each bathroom. On Dec. 4, put a dime in the jar for each Bible in the house. Etc.

We love books, and Arnold Ytreeide has written a wonderful trilogy of Advent adventure stories set in biblical times. The stories, Jotham's Journey, Bartholomew's Passage, and Tabitha's Travels are written as daily readings leading up to Christmas Day, and include questions to talk about together.

Another idea is to collect Christmas picture books and display them in a special basket, reading one story each day until Christmas. Advent traditionally starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas, but most Advent Calendars start on Dec. 1st. You can do it either way.
Here are some suggestions for books you might like to add to your Christmas collection.

The Very First Christmas, by Paul L. Maier

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, by Susan Wojciechowski

Jacob's Gift, by Max Lucado

Alabaster's Song, by Max Lucado

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss

Legend of the Christmas Tree, by Rick Osborne

Legend of the Candy Cane, by Lori Walburg

The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clark Moore, ill. by Jan Brett

Gift of the Magi, by O Henry, ill. by P.J. Lynch

A Charlie Brown Christmas Pop-Up Edition

Christmas Around the World Pop-Up Book by Chuck Fischer

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, ill. by Brett Helquist

Legend of the Poinsettia, by retold & ill. by Tomie de Paola

The Little Drummer Boy, by Ezra Jack Keats

St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend, by Julie Stiegemeyer

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

Christmas in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, ill. by Renee Graef

The Littlest Angel, by Charles Tazewell

Twelve Days of Christmas, ill. by Jan Brett

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story, by Cynthia Rylant

Christmas in the Trenches, by John McCutcheon

The Candle in the Window, by Grace Johnson

Annika's Secret Wish, by Beverly Lewis

Gift of the Christmas Cookie: Sharing the True Meaning of Jesus' Birth, by Dandi Daley Mackall

Gifts of the Wise Men - A Way to Give Meaningfully at Christmas

2011-12-07T23:56:00.000-05:00

Christmas 1987. It was the first Christmas in our new house. Alex was 2 and a half, Sarah was a newborn, having arrived just 24 days earlier. We were living in Florida, and decided not to make the trip to Massachusetts where our families were, but to celebrate at home. These were the only grandchildren in my family, so boxes of wrapped gifts arrived from my parents, brothers and sister, as well as Mark's family. Since Alex had now grown into the "fun" stage, Mark and I loaded up more than one cart at Toys R Us, and on Christmas morning the gifts spread out from under the tree, taking up half the room.

I kid you not.

For two children, one of whom was less than 1 month old.

Silly child. He kept wanting to stop and play with each toy he unwrapped. Overcome with the holiday spirit, we urged him to keep unwrapping! There were more toys to discover! What did Grammy & Grampa send? Look at this! Finally, he literally begged to stop, and we allowed him to play for a while and resume unwrapping after lunch.

It was the Christmas of extreme excess. To be fair, we were just so excited to be parents and wanted our children to have lots of wonderful opportunities to grow and learn and explore and use their imaginations! The gifts included a Little Tykes kitchen, a tricycle, a red wagon, a child's basketball hoop! We probably could have/should have spread those acquisitions out through the year, but there is just something so magical about Christmas morning! But we realized that we probably weren't setting a good precedent, and Christmas morning became a bit more sane in the following years. However, I still struggled sometimes with setting a limit and making our gift giving meaningful. Why do we give gifts at Christmas? How do we instill an attitude of giving and gratitude in our children and not of greed and selfishness?

Well, my kids are mostly grown, but we still all love the Christmas holiday and opening gifts on Christmas morning is a wonderful part of the celebration of the birth of our Saviour, the ultimate gift to all mankind. Last year I read about and implemented a new tradition related to gift giving that I really liked, and plan to do again this year. It is giving the Gifts of the Wise Men. We don't give actual gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but rather gifts that symbolize those 3 gifts to the Christ child. Each person in the family received a Gold gift, a Frankincense gift, and a Myrrh gift.
GOLD = something valuable, something greatly desired. The big gift. An ipod, or bike, or video game system or jewelry.
FRANKINCENSE = an aromatic spice/incense used in the temple; so a spiritual gift. A bible or Christian book or DVD, praise music, Christian message tshirt or jewelry, etc.
MYRRH = a resin, used to prepare a body for burial; rather strange, but an important and practical thing to have ready. So a practical gift, particularly something for the body. Clothes. Snow boots. Perfume. Hair bows.

This covered the bases. I had wrapped each type of gift ( g, f, or m ) in different colored paper, so on Christmas morning I had the gifts separated into piles and explained what we were doing. Everyone appreciated it, understood it. There were other gifts as well - a family board game, DVDs, gifts between siblings. But it brought new meaning to the opening of the Christmas gifts. I think that makes it a keeper and a new family tradition.

Merry Christmas !

Pinterest = Genius

2011-12-06T09:38:00.002-05:00

My daughter recently introduced me to Pinterest, and I'm hooked.   Not hooked, as in addicted and can't think of anything else and keep checking multiple times a day to see what has been "pinned" lately. But hooked as in this is something very useful for my life! Let me explain.

First of all, for the uninitiated, Pinterest is a website. Free. It is a virtual pinboard where you organize and share all the beautiful, inspiring, useful things you find on the web! Let me tell you, for a visual person, this is GENIUS.   It is one thing to have a long list of Favorites, even organized into folders, but a PICTURE list of favorites organized by category is 10X better!

You create as many Pinboards as you like and give them any label you like. Some of my boards include Oh, to be Organized! , I Love Cupcakes, Gift Ideas, Seasons & Holidays, Wish List, Yard & Garden, Healthy Eating & Living, and Crafty Ideas. You load a "Pin It' button onto your browsers Toolbar, and then when you are browsing the web and find things you want to save, you click the Pin It button and save it to one of your Pinterest Boards! Later, when you click on the picture on your Pinterest board, it takes you to the original website! You can also look at other people's boards for inspiration, and Pin items directly from there - that's the "sharing" part. :-)

You are pinning pictures, so a recipe must have a picture, or at least a graphic that goes with it, in order to pin it to your board.

Home Decorating, Wedding Planning, Homeschool ideas, Recipes, Vacation Planning .... so many ways to organize and plan!

I created a Wish List of things I would like to receive and gave my husband the link - because when he or my kids ask me, "What do you want for Christmas, Mom?" , I generally draw a complete blank! I don't keep a mental list of gift items in my head - I have too many other things to remember!   But occasionally I'll think of something that I'd really like, and then I can go find it on a website and Pin It, and voila! It is there so I don't have to "remember" to tell him!

Pinterest works by "invitation". You can go to the website and request an invitation, or have a friend invite you. ( a marketing ploy, I'm sure, because it causes people to spread the word to all their friends ) Guess that worked. ;-)

www.pinterest.com

Menu Plan to Get Back to Healthy Eating

2011-12-03T11:19:00.001-05:00

I have gotten away from menu planning lately, much to the detriment of our good health! Too much fast food, processed food, prepared food - all things I know are not good for us but have been quick "no brainer" ways to get fed in a hurry.
ugh.
As Mother/Wife/Head Cook/Nutritionist in this family, I MUST do better!

My goal is to include lots more fruits and vegetables in our meals, focusing on variety of colors and textures, and including specific foods and spices known for their anti-inflammatory and immune-building properties. Walnuts, almonds, spinach, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, blueberries, sweet potatoes, oats, green tea, mushrooms, salmon ... all considered Super Foods! Cold & flu season is upon us, and nutrition plays a vital role in keeping healthy! Also, inflammation is now considered a major culprit in numerous diseases and ailments, including the arthritis in my fingers and knees, and the allergies that just seem to become worse each year!

I have also been remiss in not enforcing healthy eating practices with my family as the kids have grown up. I was much more deliberate when my older kids were little, but I guess I have gotten lazy. My 13-yr-old is a pretty picky eater, and prefers canned ravioli and frozen Hot Pockets or taquitos to healthier lunch items. However, I'm the one who has caved and brought those items home from the store. If we don't have them, he can't eat them! Hubby can get complain-y if meals get to health-y .... but it's time to bring out the Tough Love.

If I have a plan, we'll definitely do better, even if we have to deviate occasionally, than with no plan at all. Also, breakfast and lunch are an issue right now, so I'm going to plan those as well. Mark will still eat what he wants for breakfast and lunch. So here is my Healthy-Eating Meal Plan for the coming week.

Sunday

B: Smoothie ( froz. blueberries & strawberries, plainyogurt, stevia, orange juice, flaxseed), Oat & whole wheat Waffles w/blueberries

L: Chunky Chicken & Brown Rice Soup (*w/ garlic,ginger, cayenne); Apples & cinnamon

D: Salmon, Brown & Wild Rice w/ mushrooms, Spinach Salad, whippedbutternut squash

Monday

B: Smoothie, Oatmeal w/ walnuts, cinnamon, & brownsugar

L: Tuna Salad Sandwich (tuna,celery, relish, mayo/yogurt, onion powder on whole grain toast, w/ tomato and lettuce); pear

D: Chicken & Veggie Stir Fry w/ mushrooms;Brown Rice, Egg rolls,

Tuesday

B: Smoothie, veggie omelet ( 1 egg, 2 egg whites, peppers,onions, mushrooms, sprinkle of cheese) w/ whole grain toast

L: Chunky Chicken & Brown Rice Soup, wholegrain crackers, Apple

D: Fajitas (chicken, colored peppers, onion,mushrooms, black beans, guacamole, cheese, sour cream salsa in low-carb tortillas )

Wednesday

B: Smoothie, Oatmeal

L: Turkey –Tomato Panini, pita chips & guacamole

D: Spaghetti & Turkeymeatballs ( homemade sauce w/ shredded carrot, garlic, chopped red pepper); Veggie Salad (broccoli, cauliflower, red& yellow pepper, carrot, red onion, celery, purple cabbage, tomato, black olives – olive oil& cider vinegar dressing )

Thursday

B: Smoothie, Veggie Omelet w/ whole graintoast

L: Taco Salad (seasoned ground turkey, lettuce,avocado, tomato, shredded cheese, salsa-sour cream dressing, tortilla chips )

D: Crock Pot Jambalaya (stewof brown rice, colored peppers, tomato, onion, cayenne, turkey kielbasa,shrimp, red beans ) ; whole grain bread

Friday

B: Smoothie, Oatmeal

L: leftovers (pack forCo-op), apple, yogurt

D: Homemade Pizza ( wholegrain crust, pizza sauce, mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions,mushrooms, olives )

Saturday

B: Smoothie , Oatmeal

L: Turkey Roll-up (lowcarb tortilla, turkey, spinach, avocado, O/V, oregano)

D: Roast Chicken, Veggie Salad , sweet potato “fries”

Some Changes That Come When Children Grow Up

2011-11-28T00:05:00.001-05:00

Our friends, the Nemitzes, had their 2nd annual (thanks to Emily, home from college and wanting to see everyone!) Thanksgiving Weekend Bonfire on Saturday, and a few of us moms were discussing some of the changes that have occured in our families as our children are growing up. My friend Tracy was commenting on how her oldest, who is almost 18, has a job this year, plus basketball practice 4 days a week, plus a few other commitments, which means she is rarely at home - something Tracy was not prepared for before high school graduation! She suddenly realized how much her two children did together for school, and now her son was left floundering a bit without his sister around so much. Another friend was talking about her son's first (not very pleasant) foray into the world of dating. There are a lot of new things to deal with that make us moms of older children look very nostalgically back on the days of sippy cups and multiplication tables.

Most of my homeschool friends whose children have grown and left for college or jobs have said the same thing. They were unprepared for how much they would MISS them! It is a huge adjustment, because for years we have had them around pretty much all day, every day! Sometimes, even the older ones who still physically live at home are so much in their own independent world that they are still "missing" from the family. One friend half-jokingly suggested that we start a support group for homeschool moms of grown children, to help work through the transition to "retirement".

Not only do we miss having our children around, but we also lose that "extended family" of their close friends. Many of my children's friends are like part of our family, and I miss seeing them at ballgames or co-op or the other activities that were part of our regular routine. Thankfully, I can still ~~stalk~~ keep connected with many of them on Facebook.

Another real issue as your children grow up is how to handle holidays and vacations. It has been hard on my older children as well as on me to have them miss family camping trips or visits up north to see grandparents and relatives. It used to be that the whole family would make the annual trip to Massachusetts each summer to visit the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. But this past summer only 1 of my 5 children made the trip. It makes me very sad to think that my children might now go years without seeing their grandparents. I think it is even sadder because I see myself getting closer to that time of life when I may not get to see my own children for extended periods of time. It has already happened with my oldest son, who is on his 2nd year-long deployment overseas with the Army, thus missing another Thanksgiving and Christmas with our family.

I know my mother went through this, as has every mother since the beginning of time. Transitions are tough. There's just nothing easy about it. To all you moms with little ones who can't wait for them to grow up - be careful what you wish for.
It will come all too soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T12:33:00.001-05:00

We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land..
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand..
He sends us snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain...
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain...

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above
Then thank the Lord, thank the Lord for all his love...

We thank thee then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seedtime and the harvest, our life, our health, our food,
No gifts have we to offer for all thy love imparts
But that which thou desirest, our humble thankful hearts!

Benefit of Homeschooling: Sleeping Late

2011-11-19T08:25:00.002-05:00

A post by Kris over at Simple Homeschool called Why We Don't Start School at 8:00 AM caught my eye. It appears there is a quiet sub-culture of homeschoolers out there who don't get up at the crack of dawn, but rather are happily snoozing in their warm beds while the big yellow buses are gathering up their charges and the car pool lines are winding around the neighborhood schools, and not starting school until 10am, or 11am, or - gasp! - after lunch!!

Who knew? Who knew there were other families like us?

Those of us who grew up attending traditional schools ( virtually everyone over age 30 and the vast majority of those younger) know that school starts between 8am and 9am. In high school, I had to catch the school bus at 7am, which meant I was up at 5:30am so that my siblings and I could shower, get dressed, and eat before heading out the door. Didn't matter if it was pouring rain. Didn't matter if you were up after midnight the night before finishing homework. Didn't matter if you had a cold or sore throat. School was inflexible and ruled by alarm clocks, bells, and schedules.

Some homeschoolers duplicate that schedule in their homes. For those with young children and naturally early risers, that probably works great! I know families who are all up and ready for the day at 5am, doing devotions and algebra with Dad before he leaves for work at 7am. When my children were all little, we were up at 7 or 7:30, and starting school by 8:30 or 9, after morning routines, breakfast, and chores.

For some though, getting up early is a struggle, and studies show that most teens do not get adequate sleep as the need for sleep increases in adolescence.

It is hard to break old habits, and even harder when societal pressure tells you that you are doing something wrong if you do. But letting your teens sleep later is actually a good thing. Our family schedule changed as my children got older. We tend to be night owls, and staying up late meant I also let my kids sleep late in the morning. It just made sense to me. My 13-yr-old typically gets up anywhere between 9am and 11am, so on most days he starts schoolwork around 10am, sometimes later. That is what works for us!

Will this cripple him later on, making him incapable of using an alarm clock and getting up for early college classes or a job? No. Really. All my kids have made the transition to early morning rising when required, are very diligent workers, and have not been scarred because they were allowed to sleep late as teen-agers.

Flexibility and individuality - these are two of the great things about being a homeschooler. So if your family's routine doesn't match up with someone else's, that's okay! If you are Early to Bed, Early to Risers, that's great! If you are Night Owls and late risers, super! No need to apologize! Instead, be thankful for the freedom we have to live and educate according to our own needs, convictions, and preferences. And do it all to the best of your ability, to the glory of God. :-)

Why Don't I Do That Anymore?

2011-11-16T08:18:00.001-05:00

The guest speaker at our November Lighthouse homeschool group parent meeting was Vicki Bentley. Vicki homeschooled her 8 daughters as well as numerous foster children, led a large support group in VA, speaks at homeschool conventions all across the country, has authored several books, and now works for HSLDA as their Early Years program and Group Services coordinator. We were blessed to have her visit us, and next time, will definitely have her stay longer, because she had great stuff to share with us!

Her topic was Time Management and Organization for homeschoolers - a timeless topic, as it is applicable to brand new homeschoolers as well as crusty veterans. Listening to her tips and suggestions, as well as preparing for my mentor group meetings recently, has highlighted that there were a lot of things that I USED to do that I have somehow let slide as my children have grown up and life has changed in our household. While it is natural that some things will change as we go through seasons of life, not all the things I have let slide have been good to let go! I have found myself asking, "why don't I do that anymore?"

#1 Menu Planning
When I had 5 kids at home (and even 4, then 3), I planned our meals by the week, and sometimes by the month. It was a necessity, and eating out or even getting takeout pizza was a rarity. I grocery shopped every week and made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my family almost every day. Now? I usually don't know what is for dinner until 5pm, when stomachs start to growl, and I realize I have to make a run to the grocery store. Way too often we eat out or get pizza, and I haven't made pancakes in a long time. I have had a hard time adjusting from cooking for a large family to cooking for just 3 or 4, depending on who is home that night! Not healthy. Not economical. I need to start making a weekly menu again and shopping for the whole week at once!

#2 Chore Schedule
We used to have chore charts. The kids had certain chores to do each day, before we started school. I tried to follow the FlyLady plan somewhat, although never very successfully. But at least the major things, like cleaning the bathroom, got done on a regular schedule. Well, kids grew up and left home and their jobs had to be reassigned, or I just took them over. And now.... it is kind of a "fly by the seat of my pants" instead of FlyLady approach. I've never been great at structure and routine, to my detriment. That definitely takes deliberate effort on my part, and sometimes I feel too worn out and overwhelmed to tackle it all. Grr. I KNOW that the solution is to simplify, both my belongings and my schedule.... but that is soooooo easier said than done.

#3 Community Service
Again, when my older kids were young, I placed a high priority on including community service in our schedule. It wasn't a lot of hours, but we faithfully volunteered at the church food pantry one afternoon every month for many, many years. We also visited the local nursing home with other families from our homeschool group a couple of times a year, both to bless the residents and also to help my children become comfortable being around the elderly and infirm. But then schedules changed. We started participating in a weekly co-op, which conflicts with the scheduled nursing home visits. The food pantry day conflicted with sports practices. So those things fell by the wayside, and I now realize that my younger two have not had that same experience as their older siblings. Yes, our family is very involved in serving the homeschool community through many, many hours devoted to homeschool sports and support group leadership, but I'm not sure my children get the same impact from that.

How have you adjusted to changes in your family?
Are there things you have let slide that maybe should be embraced once again?

Still here...

2011-11-15T22:48:00.001-05:00

I'm still here! Still homeschooling, still baking cupcakes, still doing physical therapy once a week, still up to my eyeballs in all kinds of stuff!It's about time for bed and I don't have anything profound to write about, but I figured I should at least touch base, since I haven't posted in over a month and I rarely go that long between posts.

Alex is getting ready to leave Iraq, but instead of coming home early like we thought, he is actually relocating to another base in the Middle East for the remainder of the deployment. So he won't be coming home until next summer. That's disappointing, but I'm not surprised. I had a feeling they weren't going to come home yet

Sarah has been in Uganda almost a week now, and comes back this Sunday. After that she'll be back here at home until after the New Year, so that is pretty exciting! She has been posting pictures of their work in Mbale on the Safe World website. She is helping lead a medical mission trip, even though she has no medical training at all. She is a photographer and artist and media specialist - but wherever God puts her, that's where she should be!

Basketball season has started, and Jason's first middle school game of the season is Friday afternoon. Woo hoo! Mark is coaching Varsity boys again this year, and his first season game is Monday. The insanity begins! go Eagles!

My knee is doing great! I'm walking normally again, and only have a problem now going down stairs and getting up from the floor. The physical therapist said those are the last things to get back after surgery - that certain muscle motion that I can't remember. But I'm doing exercises to help strengthen that muscle, and probably will only need to continue PT for another 2 or 3 weeks. It is pretty great to not have constant pain like I did for almost a year before having the surgery.

I'll try to get back in the groove of blog writing and not go so long between posts anymore.I actually have good ideas of things to write about every now and then. I should try to get some of them actually written down.

.

100 Days to 1000 Blessings - Day 8

2011-10-04T09:38:00.000-04:00

Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, that is often the way my brain works, and sometimes things don't get finished the way they should. I started to list 1000 blessings, 10 at a time, back in the early summer, but have gotten sidetracked. Well, I never said they were going to be consecutive days, right? And God is continuously pouring his blessings over us, even when we don't stop to recognize them. So here is another 10.

71. Sarah was just home for the weekend, and we had a really nice visit! She has been in TN since the 2nd week of July and this was her first visit back home. This week she's heading down to Atlanta, where Safe World Nexus will have a booth at Catalyst, a huge Christian leadership conference, featuring speakers such as Jon Acuff, Francis Chan, Bob Goff, Blake Mykoskie, Katie Davis, Dave Ramsey, Lysa Terkheurst, David Platt, and more.

72. Sarah bought Jason a new board game, Ticket to Ride, for his birthday, and taught us to play it this weekend. It is a lot of fun!
*from the website:

Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure in which players collect and play matching train cards to claim railway routes connecting cities throughout North America. The longer the routes, the more points they earn. Additional points come to those who can fulfill their Destination Tickets by connecting two distant cities, and to the player who builds the longest continuous railway.

73. Alex posted confirmation that his brigade will be coming home from Iraq early!!! They will be coming home in Dec / Jan instead of July! Hallelujah!

74. Fall weather has arrived! ahhh! after a blistering summer, temperatures in the 60's and 70's are just divine! This is my favorite season!

75. My knee is feeling pretty good after surgery to repair a torn miniscus a couple of weeks ago. It still gets stiff and stairs are still tough and I'm not walking completely normally yet, but it is coming along.

76. After surgery, my dear friends rallied around and brought meals for 2 weeks - I am so blessed to have people like that in my life.

77.. My friends are still enjoying my cupcakes, so I am able to send Sarah support to help her stay in her internship with Safe World a while longer.

Caramel Apple Crisp Cupcake

78.. We spent a day in Boone with Eric to celebrate his 22nd birthday. It was a pretty day so we went to a park on the Blue Ridge Parkway to throw a frisbee around for a bit ( I watched - bum knee ), then went out to Woodlands BBQ in Blowing Rock for dinner with him and his girlfriend, Ryan.

79. The freedom to homeschool and to raise my children according to my beliefs and convictions is precious, and tonight my support group will be showing the documentary, "The Child", which addresses some of the challenges to that freedom that our country is facing right now.

80. Did I mention that Alex will be coming back from Iraq much sooner than expected? And his contract is up in Dec. and he is planning to leave the Army??

Myth Busters: Homeschool Edition! - Setting Priorities

2011-09-22T21:21:00.000-04:00

The topic of our monthly homeschool support group meeting last month was "Myth Busters: Homeschool Edition", inspired by the Myth Busters television show and Todd Wilson's book, Lies Homeschool Moms Believe.

Our illustrious madame pres., Becky, who has very capably relieved me of my presidential duties this fall, created some great Power Point slides to introduce each Myth we addressed, complete with Todd Wilson's hilarious homeschool cartoons.

We talked about 4 Myths, or Lies that homeschool moms believe.

#1 Everybody else's kids are smarter and better behaved than mine.

#2 Everybody else has a cleaner house and serves better meals.

#3 Everybody else is more spiritual than I am.

#4 Everybody else can do it all and is more capable than I am.

A different mom tackled each myth, sharing about what their homeschool was like and how we all get caught in that same trap of comparing ourselves to others around us who we just KNOW are doing a better job than we are.

I talked about Myth #4. As a veteran homeschooler with 4 graduates and as a support group leader, I know that I am sometimes put on that pedestal of "doing it all". And just like Gena Suarez, homeschool mom of 6 and editor of The Old Schoolhouse magazine, relates in this article, it just ain't so!

I may do a lot of things that you don't do. But I'm certainly not doing "it all". You see, we all make choices about where we will and will not spend our time and energy. We also all have different temperaments, skills, callings, and tolerances.

I have a friend who gets more done in a day than I do in a month - no lie. She amazes me, and wears me out just hearing about her day. She keeps a spotless house, has a speaking ministry, decorates to the hilt for every holiday, has grandchildren as well as a houseful of little adopted children, and paints her kitchen in the middle of the night after she irons everyone's shorts and tee shirts!

Another friend is homeschooling her youngest 2 out on a farm where she and her husband have been homesteading for the past 8 years. She has a huge garden, cans hundreds of jars of gorgeous fruits and vegetables every harvest, is nurturing an orchard that they hope will provide retirement income someday, is active in overseas missions work as well as ministry at her church.

These two busy ladies are doing very different things - neither is doing it all! And neither of them is doing what I am doing. Or what you are doing.

Many years ago, I heard a speaker at a homeschool conference talk about setting priorities, and at the meeting I shared something that she taught us then. That is, make a list of What I Do and another list of What I Don't Do - and realize that life is about choices.

My list of What I Do includes

homeschooling my 13 yr old son
keeping up with my grown children and their needs
serving in leadership of our homeschool association
teaching history in a weekly Co-op
hosting a monthly Geography Club for middle schoolers in my home
leading a Mentor Group for new homeschool moms, and talking to many, many people about homeschooling through email and on the phone
helping my husband in his role as director of our homeschool sports program
chairing the homeschool prom committee
serving on the homeschool graduation committee
attending my son's sporting events
baking cupcakes to help support my daughter in her ministry work
clipping coupons and trying to figure out sales and ways to save money on our grocery bill
blogging / facebook /
moderating our homeschool group's email loop
cooking healthy meals for my family
keep up with laundry and maintain at least a sanitary home
attend church ; try to have a daily quiet time

My list of What I Do Not Do includes

keeping a spotless house - heck, I don't even make my bed very often
working outside the home
gardening
scrapbooking
home decorating
teaching Sunday School
attending Women's Bible Study or Women's Ministry events
paying the bills ( my husband takes care of that, not me)
painting, drawing, calligraphy - all of which I enjoy!
singing in the choir or in church musicals
sewing
nature study, lots of hands on science experiments, big art projects
lots of field trips
shopping for fun
exercise
lots lots more.....

The point is, those things on my What I Do Not Do list are good things, things I would like to do, some are things I SHOULD do. But the reality is, moving things from that list to the DO list will require a) giving something else up, or b) sleeping less, or c) becoming much more organized, which is not something that comes naturally to me AT ALL.

When you look at me and see the things I Do, you are not looking at the list of things I Do Not Do. So take a look at your own list of things you Do, and realize that those are hopefully the things that bring you joy, that are important to you, that are your calling right now. Resist the temptation to compare yourself to others. Look in your life for time wasters, and consider if there are things that need to be removed in order to allow time for what you have determined is important for YOU. Pray and seek God about where you are supposed to be and what you are supposed to be doing, and rest in that. Realize that priorities will change as the Seasons of your Life change.

Be content.

From the Recliner

2011-09-19T18:36:00.000-04:00

I keep coming here and thinking that I really need to update the blog, and wonder what I should write about, but I just haven't had the energy or motivation to come up with anything wonderful... or meaningful.... or even interesting. Well, I've had a few ideas that might have been.. but just couldn't get them written down. So....

I've spent most of the last week in the recliner chair in my living room. Recuperating from knee surgery for a torn miniscus. It is slightly depressing that it wasn't an injury, per se, but a "getting older, wear-and-tear" type of thing. Over the past year or maybe two, I've had pain in my left knee that started as being occasional and slightly irritating, to being more and more frequent and more and more severe, to the point of being somewhat debilitating. Finally, a couple of visits to the orthopedist, an x-ray, and an MRI got us to the diagnosis of arthritis and a torn miniscus. So a week ago last Friday, I went in for arthroscopic out-patient surgery. Not a big deal. I went in at 8:30am to prep, was taken back to the OR at 11:00am, and was home by 4:00 pm.
My wonderful friends have been bringing meals for my family, and Amanda has taken Jason to his classes/practices all week. So I took my pain meds and sat in the recliner with my leg up most of the week, getting up occasionally to hobble around on crutches, and after a few days, to venture out without them. Still some soreness, stiffness.... I go back to the doc for my post-surgery follow-up appointment tomorrow, and hopefully will set up some times to meet with the physical therapists to get this leg on the road to strength and flexibility again!

thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you to everyone who prayed, brought a meal, sent a note, or just stayed out of my hair last week! :-)

As I've been sitting in my recliner, I've taken the opportunity to read a book for pleasure - usually I read for a purpose, for information, for preparation for something. But this time I read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. I saw the movie a few weeks ago with my daughter and some friends. Great movie! Wonderful book!

Yesterday afternoon we mourned with some dear friends who lost their baby boy at 6 months gestation. He was child number 6, son number 3, grandchild number 12. His parents and siblings were so excited as the date of his arrival was getting closer, and preparations were underway ... the crib came down from the attic, other baby items were being recollected from various friends and family, anticipation over having a baby in the house again after 4 years was building. Every single life - even when a breath has not yet been taken - is precious and so full of expectation and possiblity. There was a small memorial service at the funeral home, and friends and family joined together in sorrow, but also in hope and a shared assurance that this child was in heaven and there will someday be a reunion with those who live him so much in the here and now.

Wrapping up August

2011-08-31T21:45:00.001-04:00

Well, August has been interesting.

Amanda traveled to Africa and back this month, where she helped conduct a basketball camp for kids in Kampala.

view of Lake Victoria from Father's House

My baby turned 13 years old.

We started back to homeschool this year with only ONE student.

Eric went back to Appalachian State University for his SENIOR year! woo hoo!

We had both an earthquake and hurricane here last week.

My hubs and I celebrated 29 years of marriage on my 51st birthday. Mark celebrated his 51st birthday today! We also helped surprise my friend, Shelley, for her 50th birthday, and I baked CUPCAKES.

I had an MRI done on my left knee, which has been getting more and more painful over the past several months, and found out that the meniscus is torn. So I have surgery scheduled in 2 weeks. In the meantime, my right knee is starting to "catch" and give me some trouble.

Today we went on a field trip to Fort Bragg, NC, visiting the Golden Knights Army parachute team headquarters and also the Airborne and Special Operations Museum.

On to September.

Searching for the Perfect Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

2011-08-14T18:02:00.001-04:00

Vanilla cupcakes - classic, basic, simple.....
Simple?
If you spend any time looking through cupcake blogs ( as I do ), you will find that there are numerous quests going on for the perfect vanilla cupcake recipe! It seems like it would be simple, but there are many variables that go into a basic vanilla recipe, and everyone seems to have different expectations for what makes a "perfect" vanilla cake!

Since I was baking Neapolitan cupcakes this week, which start with a vanilla cupcake filled with strawberry filling and then topped with chocolate buttercream, I looked through numerous recipes and chose one that sounded good.
Double Vanilla Cupcakes - found at Simply Recipes.

I have been baking cupcakes for about 9 months now, and have made vanilla cupcakes a couple of other times. But I hadn't been completely happy with them. Some recipes are dry. Some are flavorless. Some are heavy and "cornbread-y". Some are so tender that they crumble and fall apart when you take off the cupcake paper.

These Double Vanilla Cupcakes were delicious! Just the right sweetness with a strong vanilla taste, moist, fluffy - beautiful! I don't have any vanilla beans, but I do have Nielson-Massey vanilla bean paste, so I used that along with the vanilla extract. The recipe only made 12 cupcakes, and I needed to make 7 dozen. At a glance, it seemed like the recipe should double easily.

Not so.

The batter seemed fine, but the cupcakes exploded in the oven. At some point as they baked, the batter flowed up and over the top of the cupcake pan, and the cupcakes didn't cook all the way through, making a soggy, gloppy mess. I have no idea why, except that perhaps the ingredients didn't mix thoroughly in the larger amounts. Thinking that perhaps I had measured some ingredient incorrectly, I tried the double recipe again, and the same thing happened. Into the trash.
So I decided to try another recipe that seemed similar, but made a larger amount of cupcakes. That recipe produced cupcakes with a "muffin top", and the edges broke as I tried to take them out of the pan, making them not very pretty, and the texture was too soft. That batch went into the trash can along with the failed exploded cupcakes.
A third recipes yielded unsatisfactory results as well, with big airholes in the cake and a dry texture. ugh.

So I went back to the original Double Vanilla Recipe, and made it as written for 12 cupcakes, and they came out perfectly. If anyone has success doubling this recipe, I'd love to hear about it. It doesn't make sense to me, but after two failed attempts I'm sticking with the small batch version.

Double Vanilla Cupcakes

1 1/2 c. + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temp
1 c. sugar
1 egg + 2 egg whites, room temp
1/2 c. milk, room temp
1/4 c. sour cream, room temp
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter for 3 min. at medium speed. Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat for another 3 minutes, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add egg and beat for 30 seconds. Scrape bowl and add the egg whites, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds each.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, sour cream, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean paste.

With mixer on low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and combine, then add 1/2 the milk mixture, stirring just to combine. Add 1/3 flour mixture, mix, then the rest of the milk mixture, mix, and finally the remaining flour mixture. It is important not to overmix the batter once the flour is added, so stir just until smooth and combined.

Divide the batter into 12 cupcake papers in a muffin tin, and bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees, until slightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes from pan and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Fill and frost.
Makes 12.

When Your Child is in a Third World Country on Another Continent

2011-08-07T00:24:00.000-04:00

Be careful what you pray for! When your children are small and you pray that they will grow to love, trust, obey, worship, and serve God more and more, that might take them places you never dreamed of!
Like Iraq.
Or Haiti.
Or Uganda.

My 18-yr-old daughter, Amanda, left Thursday for a 10-day mission trip to Uganda. She has wanted to go to Africa for about 4 years now, but the right opportunity never presented itself until this year. She is part of a small mission team of 6 people led by our friend Jennings Wright, who heads a ministry called Ten Eighteen. They will be partnering with a ministry in Kampala called Father's House to put on a sports camp for 40 kids from the Namuwongo slum. They will also be visiting the slums and delivering donated clothing and medical supplies. In addition to ministry, they will be doing some fun things too, like going to the National Theater and Friday markets, attending the Ndere Dance Troupe dinner theater, and going on a one-night safari to Lake Mburo, during which they will actually cross the equator!

They are actually staying at a beautiful house in Kampala that is the home to an ex-pat American family who have lived there in Uganda for the past 5 or 6 years. I am very comfortable with that. I know they are with people who are wise and knowledgeable about the culture and the political situation, who know where to go and where not to go. I know she will see and experience things on this trip unlike anything she has ever seen before, and it will change her forever. Going to a third world country is life changing. Amanda already has a heart of compassion, and I'm sure this trip will expand that aspect of her life.

It is hard not being able to communicate at will. We are so spoiled now, with nearly everyone having cell phones. I am used to being able to get hold of my kids pretty much whenever I want to. But with Alex in Iraq and now Amanda in Uganda, I have to practice patience and trust, waiting for occasional communications via email or Facebook. It really does cause me to be in prayer more, entrusting my children to the care of their heavenly Father. I can't get to them if they are sick or hurt, I don't know what they are doing or where they are all the time. It makes me marvel at the strength and faith of our ancestors, who watched their children get on a ship to travel to the New World, or load up a covered wagon and head west, or board a train or ship and head off to war, not to be heard from for months, until a letter could make its way back to their hands. What a different world this is!

Amanda gets back on Aug. 15, and about 10 days later my daughter Sarah will leaving for Haiti. Looks like God is giving me plenty of opportunity to work on my prayer life!

When Your Child is in a War Zone

2011-08-03T15:14:00.000-04:00

Alex, my first born, has been back in Iraq for almost a month now. There has been very little communication from him - just a couple of sparse emails. I'm chalking it up to sporadic internet service, although it is just as likely that he has a heavy workload and writing to mom isn't top on his priority list.
I'll hold on to my fantasy, thank you anyway.

People ask me how I'm doing. Sometimes that catches me by surprise. I'm doing fine! He's the one living in the desert in 120 degree heat, eating army food, working 12-18 hour days. I think about him often and worry about the fact that it is so hot there and wonder if he is drinking enough fluids and getting enough sleep. I'm proud of him for serving his country and sacrificing comfort and convenience and security for something greater than himself. I pray for him and for his safety, health, and spiritual and emotional strength. I wonder who his friends are and how he spends his days.

But occasionally something breaks through the veneer of calm. A news report of a missile strike or IED explosion near Baghdad. A tv reality show of surprise reunions of troops with their loved ones. A song on the country radio station about a soldier who doesn't come home. A soldier we know making the ultimate sacrifice and losing his life over there.

That's when I think about the fact that he is living in a war zone, where there are people who want to do him harm.; that he wears body armor and carries a weapon with him everywhere he goes. And my heart starts to race, my hands start to tremble, and I sometimes burst into tears. And I realize that maybe, underneath, I'm not as okay as I think.

I know that God is sovereign. I know that we are all here temporarily, and that my son has a room in a heavenly mansion awaiting him someday, as a child of the King. But I am his mama and I have hopes and dreams for him, and I want to have him here where I can hug his neck.

Boy oh boy. God has some work to do in me yet.

Sarah and SafeWorldNexus

2011-08-02T08:43:00.001-04:00

My daughter, Sarah, has been in Bristol, TN at her new internship with SafeWorldNexus for just about a month now. The weekend after the 4th, we loaded up the van and her Honda and moved her into the over-the-garage studio apartment ( generously provided by a friend of the ministry) which she is sharing with Rachel and Katherine, two other interns. Things are cozy, so they are getting to know each other fast! After spending the weekend acclimating, they dove right into work, brainstorming ideas for a September missions conference at a nearby church which they are leading, volunteering at Jon Acuff's "Quitter" Conference in Nashville, and preparing for upcoming trips to Haiti and Uganda.

This internship is unpaid, so Sarah has been working hard for the past 6 months, saving her money and raising support from family and friends. She will also be working part-time at a cafe called Java J's in Bristol. In additon to regular living expenses, she also needs to pay for her travel expenses. Right now she only has about 3 months out of the 12 covered. If you would like to contribute to her support, go to her blog and follow the instructions on the right side menu. My cupcake baking will be helping to support her as well.

I am extremely proud of her in taking this leap of faith and giving her heart to serving God through this organization. Whether she is there for 3 months or 3 years, I know God is faithful to complete the work He has begun in her life. Philippians 1:4-6

Follow her adventures at her blog. http://saraheherbert.wordpress.com/

Short Week in Massachusetts

2011-08-01T23:59:00.000-04:00

We just got back from a short week in Massachusetts - drove up on Sunday and back on Saturday. My mom and I were talking this week about how years ago when my kids were small, I used to stay up there with the kids for 3-4 weeks! Mark would drive up with us and then fly back home to work, then fly back up to spend the last couple of days before driving us all home. Then as the kids got older and there were jobs and sports and classes and missions trips to work around, the trips got shorter. This time, it was just 3 of us for the first time ever- me, Mark, and J - so we didn't even need to drive the big van! That felt really strange.

We stayed with my parents and got to visit both my and Mark's family, since we grew up in neighboring towns and went to the same high school. My niece, who is 10, slept over at Grammy and Grampa's for the week so she could hang out with us. That is the one good thing about living far away - when we visit, we LIVE together for days and days. It doesn't really make up for the time spent apart, but at least it helps. We had perfect summer weather all week - mid-80's, with 60's at night. So much more comfortable than the 100's that were baking things here at home!

J and Mark got to go to an afternoon Red Sox game at Fenway Park, which they both LOVED. They also got in some good games of badminton in the backyard during the week, and J and I played bocce on Grandpa's real bocce court!

On another day, the 3 of us, my mom, and my niece went out on a Whale Watch with Capt.John Boats, out of Plymouth, MA. I had done that with my 3 older kids when they were young, and now J got to see the humpback and minke whales spouting, surfacing, and diving all around us. The naturalist on board the boat narrated the whole time, telling us exactly what we were seeing and also interesting information about the whales, their habits, and the things that she and other researchers are studying and learning about them! It was VERY cool!

Going to the Drive-In movie was another treat that we look forward to every summer. It brings back memories of me and my 2 brothers and my sister, clad in pajamas, laid out with our pillows and blankets in the back of our family station wagon with popcorn and drinks brought from home, watching "The Sound of Music" or "Fantastic Voyage" or "The Pink Panther". Later, it was me and my friends or me and my date....
This time, it was me, Mark, J and A, watching "Captain America", still eating popcorn and drinks brought from home.

100 Days to 1000 Blessings - Day 7

2011-07-21T21:11:00.003-04:00

I'm going to do something a little different for this today. I found this poem tucked in a file folder, edges curled and slightly browned. It gave me some needed perspective on the disaster area that is my house right now.

I'm thankful for the muddy floor that greets me every day;

I'm thankful for the dirty socks that on the floor do lay.

I'm thankful for the fingerprints that deck both chair and wall;

I'm thankful for the daily dust that on the desk doth fall.

I'm thankful for my kitchen sink that hides the dirty dish;

I'm thankful for the splattered wall from when I fried the fish.

I'm thankful for the Cheerios, Playdoh, and other yuck,

And all the stones and crayons that plug my sweeper up.

I'm thankful for the toothpaste smeared on the bathroom door;

I'm thankful for the wad of gum stuck to the kitchen floor.

I'm thankful for the scattered toys that often pierce my feet

When I must run to get the phone before I have time to sweep.

I'm thankful for the mending that I love so much to do,

That I hide it in the corner and buy them something new.

I'm thankful for the unmade beds that mean I'm not alone;

I'm thankful for so many things that make our house a home.

by Michele T. Huey