Goodness

More every day goodness to note:

1002- Grilled zucchini tonight- oh, so yum! And fresh from our landlord's garden, too!
1002-  THIS amazing concoction has made me the Queen of Laundry! I am so excited to have been able to remove ring around the collar from The Lawyer's dress shirts as well as some lingering oil stains on my shirts and the pink lipgloss M put on our white bedspread. Mind, I've washed all these before. To see these come clean in the laundry was nearly miraculous for me (previously known as Laundry Dud).
1003- Swimming. Kids swimming makes everyone happy.
1004- Woodpeckers in the morning. (I do love it, even if The Lawyer doesn't!)
1005- A friend surprising me by telling me that she reads the blog and finds encouragement. Really?!
1006- Friends doing school with us.
1007- Taking a walk with a big boy, who tells me things like, "this firefly is quite doe-sill." (docile!)
1008- Big boys doing the entire dinner clean up.
1009- And did I mention the grilled zucchini? Yum. Oh, and the Lulu kebabs were good, too. The kids snapped them up.
1010- New rockwool to plant more seeds in. New spaces for the TowerGarden to put the rockwool and seeks in. . . more opportunities to grow more good food!
1011- Bagpipes playing on Memorial Day
1012- Kids dressed in red, white, and blue
1013- Cousin dropping by with gifts of oranges and rice (the Lord knew I've been hungry for oranges, and these were delicious!)
1014- Freshly mown grass/weeds; yard looking much cleaner
1015- Boys sparring with bamboo sticks (without hurting each other)

Bierocks

I've used this recipe twice, adapting it slightly, to make Bierocks for our family. The Nourishing Gourmet site has a great little article to go along with it, too.

Today I thought I was making enough to have some extras for The Lawyer's lunches this week. . . but I really only ended up with one extra and a bit of filling. I tell you, if I put it out they will eat it! This is also the recipe that caused O to say he liked cabbage for the first time.

Ground Beef and Cabbage Filling for Bierocks -Enough filling for 16 pockets with leftover filling. Adapted from The Nourishing Gourmet.

---

We liked these served with a whole grain mustard on the side or a tomato sauce (see below).
 
Prepare a dough using about 3 cups of flour (enough dough for one loaf of bread). I used the bread machine to make 2 pounds of pizza dough with 4 cups of whole wheat flour.
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil, lard, tallow, or butter
1 pound of ground hamburger or venison
A half of a cabbage, washed and thinly sliced (I used the wet chop feature of the Vitamix)
salt and pepper to taste

1-In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions. Stir occasionally and continue to cook until the onions are soft (but don’t brown them too much).
2-Then add the hamburger and cabbage together, cooking until the hamburger is all the way cooked and the cabbage is soft. Salt and pepper to taste. (I used cooked beef and added it after sauteing the cabbage a few minutes with the onions.)
3-Now you can serve over rice for a simple dinner, or you can stuff into dough for little bread pockets.
4- For pockets, divide your dough into about 16 pieces. I divided my dough into fourths and rolled out each fourth into a large rectangle. Then I cut my rectangle into fourths and placed a few tablespoon on one half of each rectangle (made sure you use a slotted spoon to drain any excess liquid from the filling- it would make your pocket soggy!). Fold over the other half and press down to seal.
5-In a preheated oven of 400 degrees, bake your pockets until they are lightly brown, top and bottom. Ours finished in around 20 minutes. Serve right away hot, or send cold in lunches.

 Tomato Sauce for Bierocks
olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 small can tomato sauce
fresh herbs to taste (basil and oregano)


1-  In a small saucepan, warm olive oil. Add crushed garlic to the pan and allow to brown slightly. Add tomato sauce and heat through. Finely chop herbs and add to the tomato sauce. Serve warm.

See Kai Run Review

I don't normally do product reviews (no one is sending me free products, or I might!), but this company impressed me enough that I wanted to share my good experience. If you are in the market for kid shoes, these are shoes you should consider. First, the price is fair (and very good if you find shoes on sale). Secondly, they wear well (except the fluke I seemed to have had with the first pair). Third, they are really, really cute. And fourth, the company is great to do business with.

Back when M was one and just tottering around I purchased a pair of See Kai Run shoes. Loved that they were soft leather and yet had a nice reinforced bottom. They were easy to put on and off (no laces!) and they were super cute red shoes.

BUT... M really started walking and somehow wore this hole right through the toe of the left shoe. (It's not too hard to imagine if you've been around little boys chasing after big boys outside.) I was really sad, however, and had hoped these shoes would last much longer.

I contacted See Kai Run and their customer service was wonderful. They had me send a photo of the damaged shoe. Then, they let me choose a new pair of shoes and they sent them to me- totally free, including the shipping! I was a very happy mama.

So, M got new (blue) shoes. This time I chose the super-cute Park shoes.  M has worn them for months and months and has just recently outgrown them. They were his favorite shoes and he was quite upset when I put them on and he stood up, declaring, "Ouch! Hurts me!"

After such a good experience with this company and their shoes, I'll be looking for another pair.

Common Days

2 year olds love to play in water, dirt, and rocks.

Princess L and me.

notice M is trying to climb IN to the water trough

In the tapestry of childhood, what stands out is not the splashy, 

blow-out trips to Disneyland 

but the common threads that run throughout and repeat: 

the family dinners, nature walks, 

reading together at bedtime, 

Saturday morning pancakes.

Kim John Payne

Gifts 991+

I am only 10 gifts away from finishing my posted blog list of 1000 gifts, inspired by Ann Voskamp's blog. It has taken me weeks, however, to actually sit and type these final few. For some reason, I feel like they should be really, really good to finish well. And yet, I'm not really finishing anything. This exercise of noting gifts is still working in me and I'll keep noting gifts now that I am in the practice of looking for them. There are so many! Sometimes I use that as my excuse not to actually write them. I tell myself I'll just think about them. But I don't. So, I need to keep writing, noticing gifts and calling them out and lingering over them and thanking the Lord for all of these.

991) First family vacation. A lovely week in the Smokey Mountains with friends.
992) Friends that go back 12 years. Sweet to share memories and history and to still journey together.
993) Boys climbing mountains, sitting on huge boulders, tubing down rivers, digging in dirt.
994) Fireflies lighting up outside our window.
995) Mountains unveiled as mists trail away.
996) Sunsets all purple and pink and gold and blue over the mountains- simply breathtaking.
997) Peppermint tea with ice cubes on a hot day.
998) M falling asleep in my arms.
999) Bigger boys adoring younger ones. L the only girl princess. Laughter and teasing and forgiveness.
1000) Brakes that didn't give out on the mountain! Safety through it all (mostly!) and countless reasons to praise Him for His faithfulness!
1001) Sweet, amazing surprises.

Gorgeous Garden- Solution!

Here is our family's solution to the food procuring problem! This is the JuicePlus+ TowerGarden and we love it.

These photos are a few weeks old. We planted our state-of-the-art aeroponic garden in April and are now eating lettuces, chard, herbs, beans, and cucumber from it. Our tomatoes have grown exponentially in the past week and we are ready to start another round of lettuces. Our mint grew so crazy that I had to cut it in half this week!

The kids love this. They are always checking for new flowers and measuring growth. They walk by it and pick leaves off to eat. Really, our family could use two of these to supply us with enough for meals. For now, we're having a great adventure in growing. AND it's lovely! And the sound of it is wonderfully soothing (it's the fountain I always wanted!).

I love this because I know where our food is coming from and what is on it and what is in it. It feels so good as a mom to feed my family well and to know that I'm giving them the food they were designed to eat. Yum!

cucumber

lettuces

TowerGarden with crazy mint on far top

gorgeous, delicious lettuce mix

In Case You Love Kashi

You'll want to read this article I just read on Dr. Mercola's website.

I'll admit to being a "green" consumer. I like to make granola. I buy "healthier" products or make my own. I look for companies that are being environmentally and fiscally responsible and I'm especially irked by the confusion that results from misrepresentation on labels. When I'm trying to make good choices for our family it frustrates me that I can't actually know what is in something I (may) want to buy at the grocery store. I simply do not trust the companies that provide the grocery store food.

Kashi is a case in point. It looks like a health-conscious, eco-conscious company. But it's owned by Kellogg. I want to be able to choose a cereal off the shelf every now and again (and when it's on sale!) and Kashi looks like a good choice (from the aisle, where I'm doing a song and dance to keep a 2 year old in the cart and trying not to misplace my other four children).

Breakfast cereal and puffed grains are another post I'll save for later. This is not typical food in our house. You can find out why if you are curious.

SO... Kashi uses GMO soy in their cereal. And not just the soy is GMO. And if you looks at their shakes you'll be appalled. These ingredients are not "natural" and wholesome and healthy as we consumers are led to believe.

If we want natural, we'll have to know where our food is coming from.

Even then, there are some drawbacks. Kohlrabi is in season here in VA and today at Kroger I asked the produce manager if they would have kohlrabi in soon. He explained to me that he could get red or green kohlrabi on his next order from CA. . . and then it would be in the store by a week or so after he ordered it. Okay; it's nice that he'll order what I want- that's quite a luxury. STILL! I can go to the market on Saturday and hopefully buy kohlrabi that was just taken from the ground that morning. It seems so very wasteful to me to spend the money to ship kohlrabi from CA to Kroger in Midlothian when we have it here already.

Sheesh. These things are troubling!

Just Some Notes on Transition

Well, ya'll. I've been quite a disappointment in the blogging world. Most of my readers have given up on me, I think. For good reason: lack of interesting posts. I've come to realize that even when I post things that are interesting to me (good recipes or books for example), that just isn't as good as a good story. And the story of our family and of our lives unfolding is the good stuff. I could be wrong, though. Maybe it's just me who loves a good story.

The past year(s) have been challenging (but oh! so grace-filled). Since we moved here to Midlothian last summer I've just felt that we were in a season of transition.

I saw this painting at a yard sale yesterday and wistfully told The Lawyer that I really, really liked it. I didn't think he would approve such a purchase (because PracticalMe wouldn't!), but I'm so glad he did! This Winslow Homer painting, "Breezing Up," just captures something for me. It makes me think of my boys and their gracious, outdoorsy dad. I love the light on the water and yet the clouds overhead. Things have felt a bit stormy in our life and yet there has always been light on our way. These boys don't seem concerned at all (no life jackets! gasp!). What confidence we put in a father. No matter the waves or the clouds or the slant of the boat or the view on the horizon. . . this crew seems relaxed in the journey. I think they are enjoying their time with their dad.

So things have felt a bit tumultuous here with a move and many changes. I want to relax in the adventure, to put this kind of trust in my Dad, to recognize that I'm riding in light and it's good. I want to blog all the gifts I see and to see gifts all around me- but I start and stop, start and stop, and haven't even finished my list to 1000. We're in transition; I feel things changing. I'm not sure where the wind is taking us, but I believe it is breezing up.

Breezing Up by Winslow Homer

• We are renting a house (that I hope not to live in for too long!). It's quite small for our growing family. Three boys share one room. M has a crib mattress under L's bed that we pull out for naps and night. Our dining room table and chairs share space with our "office" desk/chair and our bookshelves, couch, and living room chair. Between meals we drop the ends of the dining table so that there is room to walk around it. I have at least three boxes of kitchen supplies that I utilize regularly from the garage because our kitchen doesn't hold all of our needed items. Hear that we are thankful, however! We have space enough and really enjoy our neighborhood trails and beautiful lake. We have incredible landlords who bring gifts for our children and attentively work on household maintenance. Mr. B is a grandfatherly figure to our children. This is just not where I want to be very long. I have a desire for our own space that I can clean and organize and keep simple and live in with our family. An old farmhouse perhaps? Or an open floorplan cabin? Something with trim and hardwood and lots of light and character...
• The Lawyer's job still perplexes us. Again, we are SO grateful. Many of our law-school friends are still trying to find suitable work or are simply working anywhere to pay their bills. We had the amazing surprise of a raise! And yet we wonder what toll eight more years of this work may have on our family.
• Along with the house and the job decisions, we still contemplate moving back to IL. There is just something uncomfortable to us about being so very far from family. We made the decision for me to move back with the children to live with my Grandpa. . . and then he passed away quickly. Without that apparent "need" for us to move, we continually weigh IL and VA in the balance.
• We leave the IL/VA decision IN the balance. . . because it doesn't really matter what we want to do so much. We don't have the ability to DO anything right now (as in: make a major cross-country move).  First, The Lawyer doesn't have a job there and would have to take the IL bar. Secondly, The Lawyer and I have committed to doing all we can to eliminate our debt. 
• We have a Dave Ramsey debt snowball going on. Everything "extra" from our house sale has gone to reduce debt. The great news: in the past year we have gone from eight debts to four. Praise the Lord! The hard news: those were (for the most part) the smallest debts. Three were not charging us interest and two of them we weren't even making monthly payments on. Rather than spend a lot of money moving our family across several states, we are choosing to live as frugally as possible and pay off as much as we can while we are here. ("Here" loosely means in this rental house, which we have renewed lease on for one more year.) This also means that I haven't added any "extras" for the kids in the way of lessons or sports or pool passes. I'm rethinking this now, wondering if scarcity thinking leads to lack more than lack of money leads to lack.
• When we left Lynchburg I sold or gave away nearly every baby item we owned and any furniture I thought we could live without. That has been good in this small house. We have talked a lot over the past year about our family. The Lawyer feels maxxed out (rightly so! He has special responsibility as a provider. We are soundly filling this home and we don't want to add expenses as we ruthlessly pay off our debt). I have had a hard time thinking that we would never add children to our family again. We've talked about adoption and foster care, being "done" and "leaving it to the Lord." This has been a challenging area for us and a source of tears and much prayer on my part.
• We've had questions about church and where we want to worship. Our family has visited several different churches, looking for a service that would be suitable for our entire family and one in which we saw people authentically living out and talking about the Gospel. We wanted to hear God's Word and wanted to sing unto the Lord. My ideals have been countered, however, with the convenience of choosing something closer to home and a place where we knew a few people. These are a few of the things that make our church appealing. We really like where we are. But if we knew we were going to live here for years to come, we might choose differently. 
• The end of one school year is upon us and I'm already eagerly looking at materials and thinking about how to spend our summer "light" school time and what we want to tackle in the fall. More transition! There are some things that didn't work for us so well this year (children finishing all their work each day, me grading each day, leaving book time until afternoon...). We are celebrating many achievements, though! There is a new reader in our house and a much-improved reader. Boys have learned Latin and math, history and science (and a few other things along the way). And I have hopes for the fall.

A Poem for Mothers

The Girl I Used To Be
by Rowena K. Lewis


She came tonight as I sat alone, the girl I used to be.

And she gazed at me with her earnest eye, and questioned reproachfully:

Have you forgotten the many plans and hopes that I had for you?

The great career, the splendid fame, all the wonderful things to do?

Where is the mansion of stately height, with all of its gardens rare?

The silken robes that I dreamed for you, and the jewels in your hair?

And as she spoke, I was very sad, for I wanted her pleased with me.

This slender girl from the shadowy past, the girl that I used to be.

So gently rising, I took her hand, and guided her up the stair

Where peacefully sleeping, my babies lay, innocent, sweet, and fair.

And I told her that these are my only gems, and precious they are to me;

That silken robe is my motherhood, of costly simplicity.

And my mansion of stately height is love, and the only career I know

Is serving each day in these sheltered walls, for the dear ones who come
and go.

And as I spoke to my shadowy guest, she smiled through her tears at me.

And I saw that the woman that I am now, pleased the girl that I used to
be.

Copyright 1997 Rowena K. Lewis.

Picnic Food

Last weekend we had two picnics/potlucks to attend. I tried two new recipes (crazy me!), but both with wonderful results. I had many people ask me for the quinoa salad recipe (which I made up but used a Vitamix dressing recipe). The beans were so delicious (to me) that M and I ate most of the leftovers the following day with tortilla chips.

Quinoa Salad with Veggies and Lemon-Garlic Dressing
2 cups uncooked quinoa, cooked in chicken broth or water (should make about 4 cups cooked)
1 cucumber, seeded and diced small
1 small red onion
2 carrots, shredded
1 cup peas
1/2 cup minced parsley
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 red pepper, diced
2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
feta cheese (optional; I didn't use this)

Dressing (Vitamix):
1 lemon, peeled, halved, seeded
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/3 cup olive or grapeseed oil

1. Cook quinoa according to directions. (Don't forget to rinse first!) Allow to cool.
2. Chop veggies. I didn't use all of the above, but only what I had on hand each day.)
3. Place all of the ingredients, except olive oil, in the Vitamix (or blender). Turn machine on and increase speed to variable 10 and then to high.
4. Blend on high for 1 minute. Reduce speed to variable 7 and add oil slowly through the lid plug. Blend for 20 seconds.
5. Combine quinoa, veggies, (optional cheese) and dressing in a large bowl. Garnish with fresh parsley.



I really went out on a limb in making a bean salad. I mean, I knew my kids wouldn't willingly choose this off a buffet line. . . but who knows? I was intrigued by the homemade BBQ dressings, which I really liked. I used garbanzo beans that I had cooked earlier in the week with rosemary (yum!) as well as some kidney beans (which I overcooked). I tried to take a good picture, but really it is The Lawyer who is good with the camera. Maybe you can get an idea, at least. of this bean salad.

Barbecue Bean Salad

adapted from Kitchen Simplicity

Barbecue Dressing

• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ketchup (without high fructose corn syrup!)
• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
• 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1. Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat until boiling. Lower heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes to meld flavours. Allow to cool slightly before using.

Salad

• 2 cans beans or 4 cups, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips (optional)

1. Stir together all ingredients except chips. Add dressing and toss to coat. This is best if you give the flavors time to meld in the refrigerator. Stir in chips (optional) just before serving.

Makes: 7 servings

Strawberry Pavlova Perfecto!

For M's birthday (2) this year, L and I decided to make a pavlova.

Pavlova is an Australian/New Zealand dessert. I first had it when I spent a semester in Australia back in 1998. A wonderful pastor and his family had some of us students over for dinner and pavlova was the dessert they served. The entire meal was an experience- I seem to remember that we ate kangaroo and some other wild game- but I can still taste that crispy pavlova with a creamy, puddingy filling, topped with kiwi (of course) and other delicious fruits.

I've adapted several recipes to make a family size pavlova. I used my grandmother's recipe for Berries on a Cloud for the basic filling.  I liked this fancier recipe, though I didn't have champagne vinegar. I preferred this recipe for the photos and step by step instructions (though it referred to rosewater that isn't listed in the ingredients). Plus, she made one large meringue instead of several smaller portions, which I liked for a birthday.

Two Layer Birthday Pavlova with Strawberries

• Meringue:
• 8 large egg whites (eggs should be room temperature)
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch (or meringue powder)
• 2 teaspoons white or champagne vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Filling:
• 2 cups cold whipping cream
• 8 oz. softened cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract 
• 1/2 cup sugar (optional)
• Berry topping:
• Strawberries (we used about 4 cups of sliced berries)
• zest and juice of 1 lime (we used 2 for 8 cups of berries so we had some for later)
• scant 1/4 cup sugar

1.  Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two baking sheets with parchment on them for the meringue.
2.    Beat the egg whites and salt with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or an electric beater until thick soft peaks form. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Beat in the sugar, a scattered spoonful or two at a time, until the meringue is stiff. (this takes time!)
3. Gently fold vinegar and vanilla into the meringue. (this makes it nice and shiny)
4. Divide meringue between the two pans, spreading it out to form two roundish circles. Place pans in oven and turn oven down to 300. Bake for an hour and a half, or until meringue is puffed and dry. Turn off oven, open the door, and allow pavlova to cool in oven.
5. While the meringue is baking, combine strawberries, 1/4 cup of the sugar, and lime zest and juice in a bowl. Set aside to macerate 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
6. To make the filling, whip cream, cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar (optional) until thick.
7. When meringue is cool move one to a serving platter. Top with half of the cream mixture. Gently place the second meringue on top of the cream. Spread the rest of the cream mixture on top and then pile on the juicy strawberries. Add candles as required!

Happy TWO!

Compassion Sunday

This past Sunday was "Compassion Sunday" at our church. A friend and I decided that we would be willing to tell a little bit about the children that we sponsor through Compassion and share the video that Compassion sends to churches for this Sunday to raise awareness of the needs these children have and the opportunities everyone has to make a difference in a child's life.

I read on Ann's blog about a Compassion Sunday presentation she gave. She brought three boxes of cookies to church and gave them to three boys in the front pew. Then, she proceeded to tell the congregation that she had brought enough cookies for ALL of them. . . if the boys were willing to distribute what they had been given. Her message was powerful to me: God gives the world the resources we need; He just doesn't distribute them evenly.

This was the message I wanted to share on Sunday. But on Thursday night as I prepared I just couldn't see a way for me to bake 200 cookies for church on Sunday. There were soccer games ahead and I would be out of town all day Saturday. It was the end of the month and I was out of grocery money. If I were to take cookies, I would want to make them from scratch. Or, better yet, I'd prefer to bring fruit or another healthy snack! Even though I wanted to use this object lesson, I couldn't figure out how to pull it off. I asked the Lord to provide 200 of something if He wanted me to share this with our own congregation on Sunday.

He did.

On Saturday I was in Forest, VA with my friend Krista. We were making healthy chocolate shakes at our JuicePlus+ table during the local Chocolatefest and talking those milling around about the importance of eating many fruits and vegetables. The skies looked dark and there were clouds hanging low over the mountains. After only 45 minutes, rain started to fall. Then, there was lightning and thunder and hail! We quickly moved our table under a nearby awning and watched as people ran for shelter or their cars. Then, we watched the vendors pack up and pull away, too. Sharing our little dry space was the vendor beside us. We got to know her as we watched the rain and chatted about our families (and wasn't there only a 40% chance of rain? and wasn't it supposed to start in the evening?). When she decided to pack up, too, she offered us three pans of fudge that she had made for the festival. "I'm not going to take these home," she said. "Do you want them?"

 Even as I thought how opposed my "healthy" brain was to taking a pan of chocolate fudge, I remembered all the teeny tiny squares she had cut the fudge into. "There must be at least 100 pieces in each pan," I thought. And she was offering me two. That would be . . . about 200 pieces of something homemade that I could take to church the next morning.

I took the fudge. And my boys carried it into church the next morning. And I shared Ann's object lesson and shared my own heart: that even when I think I may not have enough for myself I can give away and give away and never run out because we can't out-give the Giver.

And my friend Heidi and I stood at the Compassion table after the service. Some of the child packets were taken and other families told us they would go home and choose their child online. And I handed out fudge to adults and children who looked at these children and thought about how they could change a life, and shared fudge with the families who told us about the children they already sponsor through Compassion. And I knew how incredibly blessed we are.

When we left church that morning, there was still a pan of fudge that hadn't even been touched. I thought I needed 200 of something, but I didn't even need 100 pieces.

I'm not very good at judging needs, but my God is incredible at meeting them.