We are anticipating an addition to our family.
It has been six years since we last eagerly anticipated the birth of a baby. That baby, now that boy, is the most beloved of grandchildren to Floyd and I, the most beloved of nephews to his aunts and uncles. He is sunshine and spitfire, sweetness and sass, smart and silly, rambunctious and cuddly. He is all the contradictions that make up a five year old. Watching him grow and learn has been amazing. He has cemented our blended family into an emulsion of simply family. No step. No half. No part. Just family. Jason did that. If you want to love and claim Jason (and everybody does), then you have to claim one another. I never saw that coming, but will be forever grateful for it.
And now, another baby is on the way. A baby boy? A little brother for Jason to teach all the cool boy stuff he has perfected over the years? A rough and tumble mini-J to fall in line behind a beloved older brother? A baby girl? A little sister that J can protect and pamper? Pink and ruffles? Dresses and bows? Dance recitals, like her mama? How I love to see a man with a baby girl! I can just imagine George with a daughter. And Floyd with a baby granddaughter. How fun it would be to take a little granddaughter shopping, to teach her to cook and to do crafts with her. I do those things with J, but somehow I think it might be different with a girl - or not!
Boy or girl, I do know that this baby will be born into a family that will adore it. It will have wonderful parents. It will have grandparents and great grandparents that love it unconditionally. It will have aunts and uncles who enjoy playing with and spoiling it.
This child will change the dynanics of our family, as all babies do.
I am appreciating this time of anticipation, knowing it lasts only a short while before the whirlwind begins. I love having this knowledge, that a tiny new person is coming into our family. This time to prepare and eagerly anticipate.
I love being the grandparent. All I have to do is wait. Linda is doing all the hard work. I appreciate her more than I can say.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Monday, September 26, 2011
Everyone needs someone who loves them best
I truly believe that every child needs to have someone who loves them best, or at least makes them feel as if they do. Obviously, this is not their parent. Maybe an extended family member or close family friend.
My grandfather was this person in my life. For a variety of reasons my need may have been greater than most, and his love for me was akin to a beacon in the darkness. I can't overstate the effect that this had on my life. I doubt that even he knew how great my need was, nor the effect that his loving actions had on my life.
My fondness for and love of my grandfather never wavered. I was blessed (and I do not use that term lightly) to enjoy that special relationship until long into my adulthood. Although his last few years were difficult, I consider it such an honor to have shared so many years with him.
I have a picture of my grandfather on my desk. I look at him every day, and those loving feelings are still there. The love he felt for me, and I for him, did not die with him. It lives on.
Because of this experience with my grandfather, it was interesting to watch my childrens early years unfold. I recognized special relationships between each of them and a significant person in their lives. Why or how these special connections are made is something of a mystery. Perhaps it is chemistry. Perhaps a loving Heavenly Father provides these special someones to meet a particular need.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Recipes of the week
We tried a few new recipes this week.
Blender wheat pancakes turned out very well. Perfect for "eat what you store and store what you eat". The guys really liked them.
It was hot this week, so we were looking for cool dishes. Chicken apple crunch salad was good, but not spectacular. The guys must have liked it though, because it was gone in no time. I would definitely make it again. I would add nuts next time. Orzo and spinach salad was very good. I would make this again, as well. I also made zucchini refrigerator pickles, but combined a bunch of recipes and, as usual, I could not reproduce them if I tried.
Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes
From: Wheat Foods Council
1-1/2 cup wheat kernels
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
¼ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ Tablespoon baking soda
Combine wheat and milk in blender. Blend on high for 2 – 3 minutes. Add eggs, oil, salt and sugar. Blend well. Pour batter into a bowl, STIR in baking powder and baking soda.
Pour ¼ cup batter for each pancake onto hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on top. Flip (only once) and cook until lightly browned.
NOTE: This is the way I received the recipe at a wheat cooking class. No salt was listed. I added a few shakes of salt from the salt shaker. Unsure what the measurement should be.
Orzo and Spinach Salad with Lemon-Cranberry Vinaigrette
From CLBB adapted the recipe from What Can I Bring Cookbook by Anne Byrn
8 oz. orzo pasta
salt to taste -- I used sea salt
6 oz. Baby spinach
5 oz. or so feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup or so craisins
1 cup chopped sugared pecans or toasted pecans
Vinaigrette:
½ to 1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 Tablespoons or so fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Boil orzo and salt for about 7-8 minutes, until just done. Drain in a fine sieve and shake off excess water. Set aside to cool. (While the orzo is cooling I put it in a flat container and pour a little of the vinaigrette on it to keep it from sticking.)
Meanwhile, mix spinach, feta, and craisins in large bowl. Set aside.
For vinaigrette, mix lemon zest and lemon juice and gradually whisk in olive oil, a little at a time, until it thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix cooled orzo with spinach mixture. Pour vinaigrette over everything and mix. Cover and chill a few hours or up to overnight.
Just before serving add pecans and stir. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice, salt, or anything else.
Sugared Pecans
Pour about 5 to 6 Tablespoons of sugar in the bottom of a skillet. Turn stove to low or medium/low. Scatter about a cup of pecan halves over the sugar. Stir occasionally as the sugar melts. Be careful not to burn them! Remove them from the skillet to cool once they are coated with sugar and toasted.
Blender wheat pancakes turned out very well. Perfect for "eat what you store and store what you eat". The guys really liked them.
It was hot this week, so we were looking for cool dishes. Chicken apple crunch salad was good, but not spectacular. The guys must have liked it though, because it was gone in no time. I would definitely make it again. I would add nuts next time. Orzo and spinach salad was very good. I would make this again, as well. I also made zucchini refrigerator pickles, but combined a bunch of recipes and, as usual, I could not reproduce them if I tried.
Blender Whole Wheat Pancakes
From: Wheat Foods Council
1-1/2 cup wheat kernels
2 cups milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
¼ cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ Tablespoon baking soda
Combine wheat and milk in blender. Blend on high for 2 – 3 minutes. Add eggs, oil, salt and sugar. Blend well. Pour batter into a bowl, STIR in baking powder and baking soda.
Pour ¼ cup batter for each pancake onto hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on top. Flip (only once) and cook until lightly browned.
NOTE: This is the way I received the recipe at a wheat cooking class. No salt was listed. I added a few shakes of salt from the salt shaker. Unsure what the measurement should be.
Orzo and Spinach Salad with Lemon-Cranberry Vinaigrette
From CLBB adapted the recipe from What Can I Bring Cookbook by Anne Byrn
8 oz. orzo pasta
salt to taste -- I used sea salt
6 oz. Baby spinach
5 oz. or so feta cheese, crumbled
3/4 cup or so craisins
1 cup chopped sugared pecans or toasted pecans
Vinaigrette:
½ to 1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 Tablespoons or so fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
Boil orzo and salt for about 7-8 minutes, until just done. Drain in a fine sieve and shake off excess water. Set aside to cool. (While the orzo is cooling I put it in a flat container and pour a little of the vinaigrette on it to keep it from sticking.)
Meanwhile, mix spinach, feta, and craisins in large bowl. Set aside.
For vinaigrette, mix lemon zest and lemon juice and gradually whisk in olive oil, a little at a time, until it thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix cooled orzo with spinach mixture. Pour vinaigrette over everything and mix. Cover and chill a few hours or up to overnight.
Just before serving add pecans and stir. Taste to see if it needs more lemon juice, salt, or anything else.
Sugared Pecans
Pour about 5 to 6 Tablespoons of sugar in the bottom of a skillet. Turn stove to low or medium/low. Scatter about a cup of pecan halves over the sugar. Stir occasionally as the sugar melts. Be careful not to burn them! Remove them from the skillet to cool once they are coated with sugar and toasted.
Friday, July 1, 2011
LION HOUSE ROLLS
These may be the best rolls ever. Certainly the best I've ever made. I used just over 5 cups of flour, dough was slightly sticky but cleaned sides of bowl. Also brushed tops with melted butter.
Lion House Rolls
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour
Melted butter for brushing
In a large bowl, combine the yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes (no need to do this if using instant yeast – just add the yeast and water together with the other ingredients). Add sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed. Knead the dough for at least five minutes if using an electric mixer and for at least 10 minutes if mixing the dough by hand. When the dough is smooth, supple and elastic, place it in a lightly greased large bowl covered with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled.
Separate the dough into two portions. Roll each section out to an 11X14-inch rectangle. Brush the top with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into two pieces, the long way (see photos below). Then slice the dough into five or six strips across so you end up with 10 to 12 small rectangles. Roll each small rectangle up like a snail and place on a silpat-lined or lightly greased baking sheet with the roll resting on it’s open edge. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes until they are nicely browned.
Lion House Rolls
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2/3 cup nonfat dry milk
5-6 cups flour
Melted butter for brushing
In a large bowl, combine the yeast and water. Let stand 5 minutes (no need to do this if using instant yeast – just add the yeast and water together with the other ingredients). Add sugar, butter, salt, dry milk, 2 cups flour and egg. Beat together until very smooth. Add remaining flour gradually (about 1/2 cup at a time) until a soft but not sticky dough is formed. Knead the dough for at least five minutes if using an electric mixer and for at least 10 minutes if mixing the dough by hand. When the dough is smooth, supple and elastic, place it in a lightly greased large bowl covered with greased plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled.
Separate the dough into two portions. Roll each section out to an 11X14-inch rectangle. Brush the top with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into two pieces, the long way (see photos below). Then slice the dough into five or six strips across so you end up with 10 to 12 small rectangles. Roll each small rectangle up like a snail and place on a silpat-lined or lightly greased baking sheet with the roll resting on it’s open edge. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap and let them rise until doubled.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes until they are nicely browned.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Life Lesson That Stuck
Once upon a time, I was at K-mart with three small children in tow, ages 5 and under. I was spending more time instrucing the children on how to behave in the store than I was actually shopping, and was becoming frazzled.
A woman I had known from church since I was a teenager happened to be at the store and saw my plight. I had always known her to be kind, cheerful and caring, and never critical, which may have colored the experience. Her own children were older than mine and in a much different stage of life, but she had obviously been there with the preschooler and toddler stage. She came up to me and remarked that although it seemed like this stage would last forever, it would really be over in a moment, and I would miss having small children. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming witness that she was right, that this was but a small moment in time, and that I would miss having those small children to tangle with.
I took a "mind picture" on that day, at that moment, and it has stayed with me over the years.
I am so glad that she took the chance and shared with me that day.
A woman I had known from church since I was a teenager happened to be at the store and saw my plight. I had always known her to be kind, cheerful and caring, and never critical, which may have colored the experience. Her own children were older than mine and in a much different stage of life, but she had obviously been there with the preschooler and toddler stage. She came up to me and remarked that although it seemed like this stage would last forever, it would really be over in a moment, and I would miss having small children. In that moment, I felt an overwhelming witness that she was right, that this was but a small moment in time, and that I would miss having those small children to tangle with.
I took a "mind picture" on that day, at that moment, and it has stayed with me over the years.
I am so glad that she took the chance and shared with me that day.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness Class
Floyd Michael and I attended an earthquake and emergency preparedness class this weekend at Honeyville Grain in Rancho Cucamonga. It was taught by Linda from Just In Case Emergency Essentials. The class was really fantastic. I learned so much. Floyd Michael knew a lot of the information ahead of time, but much of it was new to me. Linda was an excellent instructor. Floyd Michael and I will definitely be attending more of her classes in the future. We had already decided to get CERT training, and this only reaffirmed that this is something we really want to do.
Historically, I have tended to bury my head in the sand, thinking I could never do enough and that preparedness seemed totally overwhelming.
After the tsunami in Japan, Destiny and I had some conversations about...what if it was our family. What if we didn't know where our family members were, whether they had survived, how to find them? Once we put J's name into the equation, the situation was magnified and brought home forcefully.
Maybe what we can do will never be enough. Certainly there are cases where that is true. But what if our preparations could have saved our family members, neighbors or community and we had failed to prepare?
Luckily, Floyd Michael and I are totally on the same page with this. As with everything, we each have our own areas of particular interest and knowledge, and we tend to complement one another. We have enjoyed learning and preparing over the past several months. This class was just the right class at the right time for us. Very good stuff.
Historically, I have tended to bury my head in the sand, thinking I could never do enough and that preparedness seemed totally overwhelming.
After the tsunami in Japan, Destiny and I had some conversations about...what if it was our family. What if we didn't know where our family members were, whether they had survived, how to find them? Once we put J's name into the equation, the situation was magnified and brought home forcefully.
Maybe what we can do will never be enough. Certainly there are cases where that is true. But what if our preparations could have saved our family members, neighbors or community and we had failed to prepare?
Luckily, Floyd Michael and I are totally on the same page with this. As with everything, we each have our own areas of particular interest and knowledge, and we tend to complement one another. We have enjoyed learning and preparing over the past several months. This class was just the right class at the right time for us. Very good stuff.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Taters!
This morning Floyd Michael brought me a bowl of small potatoes from the garden. We didn't actively plant potatoes. They seem to grow from compost material. Apparently we also have a compost tomato plant too.
We are really having so much fun with the garden. Floyd refers to the garden as his "crops", and communes with them both morning and evening.
Jason has his own strawberry plants, which he waters and checks for progress each time he visits.
The garden fits in really well with our preparedness and provident living goals.
We are especially looking forward to a ton of zuccini this year, since someone (me) meant to grab one more plant at Lowe's but instead grabbed a multi-pack of four (to add to our existing zuccini stash. Daniel should be thrilled, as he can't get enough zuccini. Hopefully we won't turn into those people who foist huge zuccini off on all of the neighbors!
We are really having so much fun with the garden. Floyd refers to the garden as his "crops", and communes with them both morning and evening.
Jason has his own strawberry plants, which he waters and checks for progress each time he visits.
The garden fits in really well with our preparedness and provident living goals.
We are especially looking forward to a ton of zuccini this year, since someone (me) meant to grab one more plant at Lowe's but instead grabbed a multi-pack of four (to add to our existing zuccini stash. Daniel should be thrilled, as he can't get enough zuccini. Hopefully we won't turn into those people who foist huge zuccini off on all of the neighbors!
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