Buck up Princess

Waaaaaaay back in March (which happens to also be when my last post was!) I was complaining about my house; how I didn't like the layout,  how the kitchen turned out, the yard, the location, the dining room, and...well you get the idea. All the while knowing full well that there are people who are homeless or who live in a 10X10 home with 8 people in it or who live in a mud hut. When my oldest child looked at me and said "maybe instead of complaining about what you don't have, you should be grateful for what you do have" (note to self: no more gratitude lectures for him!) So I decided to take his -and my - own advice and be grateful for what I have. I also decided to start to change what I could, thus leading to this post of pictures:)

I have never liked my bedroom. So I moved the bed and now I LOVE it.

Notice the added decorations to my end table....I accidentally wounded a few hearts by removing these gems. I quickly realized how lacking my room was without them!

From the moment we moved in, I hated the light/pot rack in my kitchen. Surprising even myself, seeing that I normally love pot racks in kitchens. When I spotted this light, I knew my search for the perfect kitchen light was over.

You really cannot get any better than this light...it is fantabulous!

I found this little beauty for $5 at a garage sale...oh the joys of garage sales

I moved Colors, the fish, out of his ghetto plastic home, into a new chic home. He loves it and so do I. And my nifty HOME sign was my 10-cent garage sale find (yes you read that right, 10 cents) that a can of spray paint and 5 minutes of time transformed into a beauty.

The dining room is painted and decorated with another garage sale find...$10 clock. Not 10 cents, but who's complaining?

The picture does not do this table justice, but yet another garage sale find. This treasure was brand new, with the tags still on it! And I now love my living room as well!


This is a sampling of what Phil and I have been up to lately (among many other things such as 4 kids in soccer at the same time). Hopefully I will post more soon and not take 3 months to do so!

I thought I could...

My grandmother is an amazing seamstress and my mom is a fabulous seamstress and ever since I was little, I wanted to sew, just like them. But alas, I did not inherit the crafty gene...it skipped a generation and went straight on down to Evalin. However, the dream has never left...not even after I received a C- in Home Economics because I sewed my polka-dot project to the front of my shirt (that I was wearing) and had to miss the entire next period because I was seam-ripping my project off my shirt (ah...that seam-ripper and became such great friends that semester of school).

That dream to sew and create didn't even die after I decided to make all the baby blankets for Lukas' nursery and ended up ruining 5 yards of fleece because I could not get the seam straight (and to add insult to injury, Lukas' all-time favorite "blanket" is the remnant of fabric that survived - all misshapen and ugly)

The dream didn't die even after I purchased the exact same fabric that the Clinton's used in the White House, for only $8 a yard (instead of $100 a yard like they paid). Yet here the fabric sits eight years later! 

Earlier this week, my boss asked me what I do to relax and have fun. I said "Sleep" which apparently was not an acceptable answer as I was given an assignment to discover what I like to do besides sleep (which I really do love to do...) and to discover what "fills me up" as opposed to "drains me" And seeing that my boss is also my pastor, I decided I better actually do what he said.

So after thinking about this for many days, I decided that I do like to be creative and crafty (not crafty in the sneaky way, but the Martha Stewart way) and so I left the house this morning saying "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" all the way to JoAnn Fabrics (gasp!)

And once there, I purchased....wait for it....fabric...to sew with. 

And I did! I sewed!

And I made all that you see in these pictures! The darling pillows and the apron. And I did not sew anything onto the clothes that I was wearing (a win) and only saw my friend, seam-ripper, once!

And I promised my sister/apron-model that I wouldn't put this picture on my blog, but she is so ridiculous and this picture makes me laugh so much that... I lied.

My trip to Holland

This weekend Phil and I dedicated our kids (finally!) We decided that it was about time; especially when the four found out that Lukas had been dedicated when he was a baby and they had not...oh the injustice of it all!

And then what followed our family dedication was Kate's baptism, which was powerful and emotional for me, as in that moment, I saw WHY we were called to adopt. God was so crazy about Kate, that He rescued her twice...wow, sometimes  there are no words.

Adoption is hard work. It is painful. It is exhasting. It is challenging to say the least. But I have come to learn that if I focus on that which is negative, I miss the entire point.

I recently read this account, by a mom who had always dreamed about being a mom, and then she gave birth to a  child who had a disability, which was definitely not what she had dreamed about. And as I read it, I could not stop crying (okay, I will be honest...sobbing - the couch actually moved across the floor a few inches due to my hysterical sobbing escapade). I was convicted. I was heartbroken. And I was more determined than ever to embrace what I have been given.

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

It's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.
After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."
"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."
But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.
The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.
So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.
It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."
And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.
But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Our Daily Bread - in 5 minutes

My sister in law, Kelsee, is the kind of sister-in-law that most people dream about but never get...sweet, kind, generous, cheerful, beautiful, stylish, smart, talented, successful...thank you Andrew for marrying her! All of us are so happy that we get to benefit from having her in our family. At one family gathering, Kelsee made this most delicious bread and I begged her for the recipe which she cheerfully shared with me (please reference above list as to the reason she "cheerfully shared")

  So, after many requests, I too am going to cheerfully share

the recipe for bread that has four ingredients (yes, you read correctly, four) and takes 5 minutes a day. 

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1⁄2 tbsp granulated yeast (1 1⁄2 packets)
1 1⁄2 tbsp coarse kosher or sea salt
6 1⁄2 cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour

1. Heat the water to lukewarm
2.  Add the yeast and salt to the water. Let the yeast dissolve for about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in the flour (I use my Candy-Apple-Red Kitchen Aid with my dough attachment,until the dough is uniformly moist.You can hand-mix if you want to, but why in the world would you want to do that?) This step is done in a matter of minutes, and produces a wet dough that should stick to the bowl.
4. Cover the dough with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse (or at least flatten on top), approximately two hours, depending on temperature of your room. Longer rising times, up to about five hours, will not harm the dough. You can use a portion of the dough any time after this period. Refrigerated wet dough is less sticky and easier to work with than room-temperature dough. You don’t need to monitor doubling or tripling of volume as in traditional recipes.
5. Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized) piece with a serrated knife. Hold the mass of dough in your hands and add a little more flour as needed so it won’t stick to your hands. Gently stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on four “sides,” rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go, until the bottom is a collection of four bunched ends. Most of the dusting flour will fall off; it doesn’t need to be incorporated. The bottom of the loaf will flatten out during resting and baking.
6. Place the ball on a pizza stone or cookie sheet (which is what I use, seeing that I don't own a pizza stone) by sprinkling it liberally with cornmeal (or flour if you happen to run out of cornmeal which I usually do) to prevent the loaf from sticking. Let it rest uncovered for about 40 minutes. Depending on the dough’s age, you may see little rise during this period; more rising will occur during baking.
7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place an empty broiler tray for holding water on the bottom oven rack.
8. Dust the top of the loaf liberally with flour, which will allow the slashing, serrated knife to pass without sticking. Slash a 1⁄4-inch-deep cross, scallop or tick-tack-toe pattern into the top. (This helps the bread expand during baking.)
9.  Put the bread into the oven and quickly but carefully pour about a cup of hot water into the broiler tray and close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crust is browned and firm to the touch. With wet dough, there’s little risk of drying out the interior, despite the dark crust. When you remove the loaf from the oven, it will audibly crackle, or “sing,” when initially exposed to room temperature air. Allow to cool completely, preferably on a wire rack, for best flavor, texture and slicing. The perfect crust may initially soften, but will firm up again when cooled.
10. Refrigerate the remaining dough in a lidded (not airtight) container and use it over the next two weeks: You’ll find that even one day’s storage improves the flavor and texture of your bread. This maturation continues over the two-week period. Cut off and shape loaves as you need them. The dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in an airtight container and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to baking day.

This recipe was adapted from the following website. The actual DETAILED recipe and more information can be found at: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx?page=4#ixzz1ET3v8yK9

Jesus sighed...

Our church has been studying the book of Mark. I love the emphasis that Mark puts on the compassion of Jesus. Maybe Mark was someone who really needed compassion. As I read chapter 7, verse 34 jumped out at me. Verse 34 says, "Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” 

Did you see it? Jesus "sighed" before healing the man. Why? Why did He sigh?

Could it be that it was because His perfect creation was broken? The full, abundant, perfect life He had planned for mankind was ruined...spoiled...broken. 

Jesus saw the hurt, frustration, and pain that this man had endured and Jesus knew this was not how He had planned life to be. He had planned for joy, peace, excitement of life and instead he saw sadness, disappointment, and pain...and He sighed.

I find great comfort in those two words. If Jesus sighed, then Jesus cares...about my disappointments, my frustrations, my pain. And not only does He care, He enters into my disappointment, frustration and pain. He trudges along with me and restores me to what He has planned. I find great comfort in knowing that when I am hurt, Jesus looks at me and sighs.

Death by Pizza

There is a local pizza place that has a pizza called "Death by Pizza" and it has just about every topping you can order on it. Phil loves it, but I think that there are so many toppings, I can't seem to enjoy each flavor....there is just too much going on.

I had a pizza epiphany not too long ago...my life is a "Death by Pizza" There is so much going on...I can't enjoy each flavorful day. And what's worse (yes, worse, gasp!) I have, in a way, viewed my family as a big ol' overloaded pizza and have stopped enjoying each person and their individual flavor.

I have found that the real struggle with having many kids is not that there is not enough love to go around, there is not enough "awe" to go around. Each of my kids has a lot of flavor to add, some maybe too much flavor (ahem...Gwendolyn) and as difficult as it may be, I must distinguish each flavor and enjoy each and every one of them - not view them as one big blob of flavors.

Okay, let's be honest...this blog post is really weird. I am either really wanting pizza (like the one pictured above which is my very own invention: Jalapeno Popper Pizza - YUMMY!) or I have been in my house too long with the 40 days and 40 nights of rain and am going crazy...I lean towards the latter, seeing that I started my post by saying I had a pizza epiphany...that's scary, call the guys in-the-white-suits talk.

I have a love/hate relationship with my computer

So two days after declaring to the world that I was going to do better in the blog department, my computer crashed. And I mean crashed. Not a little crash, but a wipe-out -every-memory-won't-turn-on crash. No problem, I have a laptop (hooray for back up plans). Eight days later, my one-year-old-still-a-baby laptop crashed. And I mean crashed. Not a little crash, but a wipe-out -every-memory-won't-turn-on crash. So after another long break....I am back! I lost a great deal of pictures during the crashes, but here are some from our FUN month:

 Christmas Eve pajamas are one of my most favorite traditions

 Someday, they may hate me for making them wear matching pajamas, but for now.....smile.

Cute, cute, cute!

More to come soon (crossing my fingers and speaking encouraging words to my computer as we speak)