Busy, busy, busy

I am always way overwhelmed by even the title: Once a Month Cooking. I decided I would not try that, but that I would try to do some bulk shopping and cooking. I've tried a few times and usually end up so tired after shopping that I don't do anything with what I bought so things to to waste and I spend more money. I decided to give it another shot. So this is not Once, or even twice a month cooking. Just a little head start for lots of meals. Here's what my last couple days looked like. I planned my meals on a calendar. There is no way I would make 30 or even 20 different meals in a month, so I start by marking down our favorites or our go-to meals.

Thursdays: Spaghetti
Tuesdays: Tacos/Burritos/Taco Salad
Mondays: Tilapia or Tuna meals
Sundays: any recipe made x4 for all Sundays of the month

Then I fill in the other days, taking into account events and traveling (Jay's going to be out of town for a week so I put PBJ, Quesadillas, Popcorn/apples/cheese, etc, down for that week)

I know that if I don't have brown rice or beans ready to go I just won't eat them and then we go way over the budget. So I started my cooking off with 10 c. of brown rice boiling, and 8 c. pintos, 6 c. kidney beans, and 6 c. black beans soaking. Yeah... if you have experience with dry beans you will know that I did WAY too many. I grew mountains of beans that night. Friday morning I didn't have time or place to cook them all, so half went straight from soaking into the freezer. The other half I cooked with some boullion, garlic, and pepper (no salt until after cooking). I had preschool music classes to teach in the morning, but was able to cook and strain my beans before class. After the classes I headed to Wenatchee with two sleep deprived toddlers. great.... I gave up and dropped Micah off with the iTouch and a large cup of unhealthy snacks at Jays' office where he watched movies for about 3 hours while Lydia and I shopped. Besides unpacking all the groceries, I didn't have much time for more that afternoon. But I had bought a new pizza pan, so I made pizza, doubling my sauce batch and freezing enough for 5 pizzas. Then I ditched the two still sleep deprived toddlers on Jay and enjoyed a rare Mom's Night In with friends until 2 am.

This morning came WAY too soon, but despite only 4 1/2 hrs of sleep I was raring to go. First, write out goals and post on wall. Check. (add two for already completed tasks, and I'm off to a great start!)
Next, speed thaw (I know, but at 2 am I was not going out to the freezer) chicken thighs and breasts. Chop and cook. Breasts cool and then go to freezer for BBQ Chicken pizza. Thighs sit aside while I make up some curry sauce: http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/06/chicken-curry-over-rice.html
Once the curry's done, I brown 3 lbs. of hamburger for tacos. I was going to mix it with Quinoa but forgot that until just now. Oh well. While the curry and hamburger is cooling, I grate a bar of Fels Naptha and make up two gallons of Detergent (1 bar FN soap melted in 6 c. water, add 1/2 c. borax, 1/2 c. washing soda and bring to 2 gal with water). Thankful for Jay keeping Micah with him while he fixed the fence outside. Then a neighbor girl took Micah to play for half an hour. Cleaned up soap mess and made a pizza dough for 3 lg pizzas. Cleaned that up and it was 1:10pm. Kitchen cleaned, table crowned with lots of ready to freeze food, and one tired momma ready for a nap. But boy does it ever feel good!Some of the work. A bunch was already in the freezer:

Total:
2 gallons detergent
2 gal bags of Kidney beans cooked
1 gal bag of Kidney beans soaked
2 gal bags of Pintos cooked
1 gal bag of Pintos soaked
1.5 gal bags of Black beans cooked
I can't remember if I have soaked black beans and I'm too tired to go look.
3 9x13's of brown rice
4 large mason/applesauce jars of Chicken and Curry sauce
3 balls of pizza dough
5 pizza's worth or pizza sauce
3 lbs of browned ground beef
8 c. of "broth" from the pinto beans. It smelled good so I kept it. When I have time I'll research to see if it was really worth keeping.


How was I able to do so much?! I.don't.know. God's work, for sure. I've never been a night owl, and have not felt up to this much planning, shopping, and cooking since before kids, I think! Much fun, and now time for bed.

Adoption talk at MOPS

When I heard that we were looking for gals to share their testimonies, I thought of volunteering, then decided I was much too busy and shouldn’t.  But the thought kept coming up so on Monday I finally asked Heidi if we were looking for one more person to share.  I was hoping she would say we didn’t have any time left.  But she said there was plenty of time, so here I am.  Instead of a life story, I just want to share with you a few things I have learned recently.  They all have to do with adoption because that’s been on my mind a ton since Christmas because I know of about 4 or 5 families who are all at critical places on that road.  But what I’m going to share is about my adoption.  I am my parents’ biological daughter, but more important than that is that I have been adopted by God into His family.  I was wandering away from Him, lost, and stuck in sin. I was young when I accepted Christ, but if I had been old enough to realize it, I was without hope, no way to win my way into God’s presence and love, and He reached down and brought me into His family of perfect eternal joy.  So here are some things I’ve learned about what I’m going to call Vertical adoption (our adoption into God’s family) and Horizontal adoption (fathers and mothers adopting needy children into their families). These come from a book called “Adopted for Life” by Russell Moore and from sermons by John Piper, and a bit from my own reading of Romans recently.

1. God loves adoption, in fact He created it.  In the beginning of Genesis we learn that God created man to be in a special close perfect relationship with Him.  When Adam and Eve believed the lies of Satan rather than obeying God, that relationship was shattered forever.  But, this was no surprise to God.  He did think, “Darn it! They screwed up my perfect plan, so now I’ve gotta come up with something else. I know! I’ll pay the price and adopt them back in.”  No, Eph 1:5  says He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.  Adoption was God’s original plan, His kind plan.  He knew we would sin, and need a Savior, and need to be rescued, and He planned to do all that before time began. Verse 4 says he chose us, “before the foundation of the world.”  Many people have adoption as Plan B.  They discover they can’t have biological children, so they choose to adopt.  I am glad they do, adoption is good and right.  But what has been amazing to me is that adoption is Plan A in the story of the world.  It’s not second rate, or less admirable, or less natural.  Adoption both vertical and horizontal is precious, natural, and God-glorifying because it’s what God does.

2. Having been adopted, I am really God’s child. 

It’s pretty common to hear and talk about how Jesus saved us from Hell.  But that’s only a very itty bitty part of it.  I’m no homeless gal He gave $10 bucks to before driving away.  I’m not even some criminal who He took the punishment for.  If he had just done that, I would feel afraid that he would eventually want His $10 back or that I needed to make it up to Him and if I couldn’t I’d be toast.  But Romans 8:15 says, “You have not received a spirit of slavery, leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba, Father!” God chose me and adopted me! God forgave me for my sins, saved me, loves me, is cleaning me up by teaching me and disciplining me, and He unashamedly calls me His child. When I sin, He doesn’t distance Himself from me by saying, “oh well, she’s adopted.” He knew before I was created that I will continually do the very things He hates, but He chose me anyway and He loves me regardless of how good of a child I am.

You might have noticed that Ephesians 1:5 makes a point of saying adopted “as sons.”  This is very cool.  In the time the New Testament was being written, sons had special rights, a special status, and special responsibilities, as well as the promise of the inheritance from the father.  For God to say that we have been adopted as sons, means He adopted us and, regardless of gender, gives us the all those special rights, responsibilities and status.  I don’t have to wonder about who I am.  The Bible tells me my identity is: child of God (Jhn 1:12), heir of heaven (Rom 8:17); my life’s work is to do everything to His glory (1Cr 10:31), Christ is my brother (Mat 12:50), God is my Father (Romans 8:15), all of you who have believed in Christ as your Savior are my sisters, fellow heirs of God (Eph 3:6). 

One more thing about being a real child of God:  Russel Moore in Adopted for Life tells of the reaction his two toddler boys had on leaving the orphanage for the first and final time in their lives.  They cried in panic and reached back toward the dirty doors.  It was the only home they had ever known.  They totally didn't understand that their new home was a much better place! Where they could play in the sun, eat healthy food, have affectionate and loving parents, and so much more! That totally describes me.  I love so many things in my world.  My "home" has tea lattes, and people who think highly of me (I think), we've got enough money to be comfortable, though I have a list of things I’d like to do with just a little more cash.  I love my stuff, my space, and my ME-time so much I get annoyed when people mess up with it.  What a crazy thing!  I've got all heaven that is MINE!  That is my home, I have streets of gold, and jeweled cities, I’ll be perfectly satisfied, and have a huge crowd of brothers and sisters with whom I'll get to party for God's glory for ever and ever!  No one will ever interrupt me from getting to do what I’ll want to do most.  My oldest Brother Jesus, the one who died to save me, is there! I am so excited and humbled at how God has rescued me and He loves me, even when I'm bad, with a true Father's love!  And Ephesians 3:6 says that is your home, too, if you believe in Christ and call God your Father.

3.  These are the things that have made me super excited recently, and super thankful to my Daddy for adopting me.  Now, I just want to encourage you to spend some time thinking about adoption.  As you read your Bibles, notice how that topic is everywhere!  And then pray about how God might use you to continue showing the world what God has done for us.  Participating in Horizontal adoption is a way of imitating our God and of proclaiming the glory of the gospel to ourselves, our families, our communities, and the world.  In James chapter 1 James writes, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.  Now neither Russell Moore’s book, nor any of the sources of my points says that every must adopt.  They clearly say, and I agree, that not everyone is called to adopt. But everyone is called to love and care for others, whether neighbor (Gal 5:14) or enemy (Luk 6:35), and orphans and widows definitely fall in between those.  Here are some ideas of ways we can all be involved:

1) Learn about our own adoption.  If you aren’t adopted into God’s family yet, then that is what you need to do first.  John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

2)  Pray about how God would have you display His same affection and compassion toward orphans.  It might be praying for orphans, or support adoption Funds that help adoptive families to deal with the high cost, or sponsoring orphans in their native countries, or helping friends through the adoption process, or minister to pregnant moms or teens.  It might be by adopting.  If so, we have a perfect example in our Heavenly Father of how we are to love these little guys in exactly the same way we do or should our biological children.  All of these ways will help us to speak and live out the good news of the gospel to a world that desperately needs to hear it.

In Conclusion here’s how my view of adoption has changed.  Before learning these things I thought of adoption as this: a beautiful but unfortunately infertile couple pays a few thousand $$, then fly across the world to scoop up a smiling chubby Chinese baby girl, and they live happily ever after.  That’s a beautiful picture, though I think we all know it’s woefully inaccurate.  Here is a picture that is better and true:

God, perfect and holy, lacking nothing, chose to display His glory by loving an ugly, stubborn, lie-believing, self-absorbed girl with huge “special needs” enough to send His perfectly obedient, only Son, to pay the adoption price to rescue her, that is, me.  The price was death.  Now I am legally His, but am living on Earth until He comes to bring me to my real home, one with streets paved with gold, where there will never be any tears, any hurt, any sadness or anger.  And not only this, but while I am still living on earth, He is with me, teaching me how to be His child now, protecting me from evil.  That is adoption in the purest sense, and horizontal adoption ought to reflect that.

Eph 2:4-5  “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),”

Changing Tides

A couple weekends ago Jay and I got to take a "business"/date trip to Whidbey Island.  While Jay was scuba diving, I got to sit, think, read, and write.  By Bible reading plan had me reading Deuteronomy 10.  One passage really caught my eye, so I wrote it out and read it over and over.  Here it is:

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of our heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the LORD your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen"

This is my God.  When I read this, how could I ever be ashamed of my God?!  He owns the world and everything in it, and everything everywhere!  He loves those who are infinitely unworthy of His love.  He loves the unfortunate and the outcasts.  He takes care of even the details, like food and clothing.  And so what should we do?  Fear Him, love Him, depend upon and imitate Him.

Micah's Birthday

Micah you are a joy.  I love that you are big enough now to stir the soup (actually today it was detergent) for me, push the blender buttons, and read words like "FOX" "STOP" and "NAP." I'm sorry my "FOX" in the "BOX" picture turned out looking like a duck.  At three years old, you are now listening to me read books like "Green Eggs and Ham," "Theodore," "If Jesus Came to My House," and other great books.

Last week you told Lydia, "You're my favorite girl, arn'chya!"  I loved that!  And you cried last night when we had to move Lydia to sleep in the basement.  I'm so glad you like being with your sister, even when her crying is keeping you awake.

God has blessed you with a wonderful little voice, Sunny Boy.  And since you listened to "Let the Earth Resound" (Getty) about 10 times yesterday, I think you like to listen as much as you like to sing.  When you are very excited about singing a song, you belt it out, stopping now and then to lick and smack your lips (lol, very cute!)  Right now your favorite tune (maybe besides "Let the Earth Resound,") is what you call the "Do-do" song. "Do to others, do to others, what you would have them do to you...."  Hopefully that title won't stick, but the words of verse will!

Daddy and I pray for you over the phone during your nap, that God would draw you to Himself.  He is where you will find joy.  You remember how crazy it would be for Daddy's hammer to decide it wanted to be a saw, right?  Well, for you to be a tool that works just the way it is meant to (the best way), then you need to work the way God made you to work, and not try to do things your own way.  It's been exciting to hear you say "Jesus is the Light of the world," or "I need Jesus" over the past few days.  Yesterday you told your crying friend, "Remember the song, Tom!  "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me."  Way to go, son.  God is helping you to believe!  May He continue working and teaching you to believe the truth.


Dear God, thank you for giving me Micah.  Thank you for all the things you are helping him to learn.  Show him Your holiness and love through Jay and me, especially when we have to come humbly to him and to You for forgiveness in falling short of Your glory.  Please draw him to You, and use him to advance your kingdom here on earth.  Take him wherever he can most effectively serve You in the world.  -Amen

Sayin's and doin's

Micah to Lydia over breakfast: "Lydia, you're my favorite girl, arn't chya!"

Lydia says "goo' girl" every time I praise her for something.
She also loves loves loves to say "HI!" when anyone walks in the door.
One day I found her pulling things out of the bathroom drawer.  I told her "no, no" and she hastily but them back saying, "De Ooo (there we go)"  It was so cute and funny!
Lydia currently calls Micah "Boppa!"  A little early to be referring to him as a grandpa, don't you think Lyddie?

Micah and Jay sang me happy birthday tonight.  Micah was belting it out and smiling ear to ear.  That's the most I've ever enjoyed having happy birthday sung to me.

Micah saw a truck go by as we were driving and started excitedly screaming "There's an in-face! Mom, there's an in-face truck!"  Apparently he named trucks that have no "nose" (i.e. a straight front side) are "in-face trucks."  Or is that the common name for them?  New to me.

Desperate for God

O God, You are my God; I shall seek you earnestly; My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Psalm 63:1
Last Friday night I was laying on my bed sobbing, feeling just what David writes here.  Rarely if ever have I felt such a desperation for the Lord.  But God used a certain little boy to pull me to His feet.  I was completely at a loss.  We were two hours long into a Micah Meltdown of epic proportions and nothing I did or said was working at all.  From bribing, to distraction, to cuddling, to reprimand... I finally told Jay I needed him home ASAP.  So when he walked in the door, Lydia was in her crib with toys, Micah in the kitchen with play dough, and Mommy sprawled out on her bed in front of her Bible in a puddle of tears, pleading for God to help.  There have been many things that keep showing me just how much I need a Savior and just how much I need the ever present help of the Holy Spirit.  This was the most intense.  And I also saw how black sin has made the world.  Poor Micah was committing sins at the speed of light, seemingly unable to halt his reckless craze, blind to the needs or desires of anyone else, and without a hope or rock to cling to.  I saw what could be, also.  As Micah grows up and gives himself wholly to Christ he will have a Rock to cling to when sin pulls at him.  He will have a faithful Helper, a sure Hope, strength and power to resist the devil, who will then flee from him; he will have eyes to see the needs of others, and the strength to put those needs above his own.  He will learn to joyfully count himself blessed to suffer trials, knowing that they are for his good and God's glory.  After the two hours, I was exhausted, and saw that I myself can do NOTHING for my son! Nothing to truly give him peace and joy and satisfaction.  All I can do is faithfully present God's truth to my son, and call upon God to make it come to fruition in Micah's heart.  Dear God, You heard my plea, and I know that it is in keeping with your own will that all would be saved and have true knowledge of You.  Please do rescue my son.  Bring the verses he has memorized to life in him, and use him mightily for your kingdom.  To you be all glory and honor and praise.   Amen

Oh, and a tip for you all.  I would recommend being careful about telling any young gals around you that they're going to be great moms. I cannot even count the number of times from my first babysitting years on that I was told I was going to be a great mom.  Over the past 3 years God has been knocking that block out from under my feet.  I am NOT a great mom, apart from the amazing continual work of God in me.  I think what made all those people say that about me was that I was a strict rule keeper and rule maker for all the kids I babysat.  I was not the "fun" babysitter, that was my sister Katie.  So the more accurate prediction would have been, "honey, you are going to have one great struggle with legalism and the thinking that consistent rules are all that matters.  Remember that our just God is also great in lovingkindness, that His mercy endures forever... that in His presence is fullness of joy, and in His right hand are pleasures forever.  Remember that Christ said, "Let the little children come to Me", and then He laid his hands on them and blessed them.  Make sure to give your children hope along with the holy standard God has called them to."  Ai-ai-ai, as my mom used to say.  Micah and Lydia are learning who God is through my character; am I modeling Christ for them?  What would a child think of God if they only had me to show Him to them?  (Thankfully they don't.  I have an amazing husband and family and a nurturing church body.)  I've got a lot to learn.  Instead of praising girls purely on their personalities, point them to how God uses whomever He wants. He very often chooses the weakest to work amazing things for Him, and that no person is anywhere close to being perfect for the job.  If we were, we wouldn't need Him, and He wouldn't be glorified.  I am very thankful that God chose me to be a mom.  There is nothing in the world that has made me believe this more fully: "What is impossible with men, is possible with God."  Luke 18:27

**update: since that weekend, Micah has had several "angel boy" days.  I love how God brings me to the edge, breaks me of my self-reliance and pride, and then graciously blesses me and shows me His merciful kindness.  Thank you, God.

Lydia turned One year old!

... almost a month ago.  But we've been sick, then sick, then sick, etc for most of that month, so here is her birthday post.

Dear Lydia,

You came into our world one year and one month ago.  I remember worrying that I wouldn't be able to spend as much good time with you as I had with Micah, and that we wouldn't be as close, therefore.  But God is so good!  You are a cuddler, and a Mommy's girl.  I love to wrap you in my arms with your special blankie and feel you lean into me and suck your thumb.  A few times now you have been inconsolable even with your wonderful daddy, then I pick you up and you quiet right down (and Daddy says, "Now how come I couldn't do that?").  It's just God's way of showering a mommy with love, through a baby girl.

At 12 months old, you have only your two bottom teeth, enough hair for a small "fountain" pigtail and to make curls all around the back, and stunning blue eyes.  You are almost running now, and babble a lot (though you have very few understandable words).  You love taking baths, and can hardly stand waiting for me to take your clothes off or fill up the tub.  You no longer let Micah hold you, but like to play peek-a-boo with him around the couches and corners.

After a 5 or 6 month "hiding" period, that strong "fighter" spirit we saw in you before you could even sit up is back.  Use what God has given you for Him, and it will be a beautiful thing. Dear daughter, God formed your inward parts; He wove you in my womb. Give thanks to Him for you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are His works, and my soul knows it very well. (from Psalm 139) We pray for you and Micah, that God will use you mightily for His glory and kingdom, knowing that only then will you be truly happy.

Happy Birthday, Lyddie-Belle!
Love, your Mommy

An old Saw Horse

There's an image I have in my head from the years of helping my dad in his cabinetry shop.  In the spray room, we would work on the cabinets, buffing, staining, wiping with tack clothes, painting, whatever needed to be done to help transform raw wood into stunningly beautiful custom designed cabinets. Dad would have everything up on saw horses. Those saw horses had layer after layer of paints, many colors of stains, and glue.  They were bumpy, uneven, and I had no idea what they had originally looked like.  But they were great tools, and we put them to continual use. 
I am an old saw horse.  Or maybe a young saw horse on my the way to being an old well used saw horse.  My mom gave me a book for Christmas called "Loving the Little Years: Mothering in the Trenches."  In one chapter author Rachel Jankovic writes about our bodies being tools, not treasures.  That hit home. I want to look pretty, have hands that are not cracked and nails that are manicured, wear stylish clothes, and not have a belly that sags when I ignore it.  I want to have time to put make-up on and style my hair.  Jankovic put my thoughts to words when she wrote about mothers resenting the sacrifices children require, or take offense at the things they do to our bodies by their mere existence.  But I am not a treasure, I am a tool!  God did not create me to put myself up on a shelf and stay a beautiful 18 year old forever.  I am to be used. "Mothering uses your body in the way that God designed it to be used.  Those are the right kind of damages... any wear and tear that [your body] shows is simply the sign of a well-used tool." (p. 58-59)  In mothering out bodies are "undone of the behalf of another."  What a way to live out Christ to ourselves and those around us!  Christ was undone infinitely more than we ever could be, so that we might live.  I will choose to put Christ in front of my eyes when I see my stretch marks, the bags under my eyes, my fingers raisined up from loads of dishes.

It would have looked absolutely crazy to see my dad bent over an old saw horse, chipping off the paint, sanding it smooth, painting it a pretty color, then hanging it on the wall.  He always took good care of his tools, but for the purpose of keeping them usable, not showing them off. I want to be a rough well used saw horse, totally worn out by the time I die, with a legacy of having been used for the production of many beautiful "cabinets," and with them prove the amazing skill and vision of the Master Cabinet Maker.

Belated Thank you to our friends

Jay and I decided we'd like to pour concrete on our 43 ft driveway... ourselves (or rather, himself with an analyst/advisor)... as if we knew about pouring concrete.  Let's just say, our friends saved us.  Especially Matt Steinhauer.  While I was away at a girls' weekend, a group of guys got together and poured out concrete!  We couldn't have done it without them... really, couldn't.  It started to rain shortly after the concrete was spread and Matt's skills and the ingenuity of my husband and Matt Turnbull and Victoria saved our bacon!  Here's pictures of the concrete and our amazing blue carport.  I wish I had taken picture of the inside of my house.  Twine was fit through the windows and tied to doorknobs, coat hooks, my utensil drawer, I think even to Yo-yo, Micah's toy horse.  And thanks to Jodi McDevitt for watching Micah almost all day, though a few dozen toddler footprints in the concrete might have added quite a touch.  Jay says it's probably better that I was away, too... I guess it was rather stressful when the rain started coming. When I came home, Jay and Micah were sitting in the living room reading a book.  Thanks friends!

These kids are growing up in fast forward mode!

"Wow, this is the best potatoes I ever aten!  I can't believe it..."
"exhAUsting" (Thank you Lily Keziah) - always totally out of context.
"I need a friend! I will be lonely" - our son is very social in small groups, and strangely a loner in large groups.  He can hardly stand to be in a different room from Lydia.  I think if he had his way, he'd have her 5 feet away from him all the time, no further, no closer.  With her walking now, he's having a hard time adjusting to the fact that she can come and go as she pleases.  He's had several meltdowns when they are playing in their room and she walks out.  I thought he was hurt from the sound of his screaming.  I come around the corner and Lydia's there with a smile and "hi!," oblivious to the fact that she has about made Micah's world come crashing to a halt.

Micah's facial expressions are so entertaining.  I wish I had a good camera and the skills to use it.  It amazes me at how much a 2.75 yr old knows about using the right facial expressions.

Micah quotes

(Micah, look at that house!)  "It' so BEAUteeful"
"Good job, Mom, I'm so proud of you!"
(Hugs Dad, then) "You could give Lyddie a hug.  That'd be ok." (He has learned that it is selfish to want Daddy all to himself, so now he shows his changed attitude by "allowing" Jay to hug Lydia too)

Micah is growing up so fast.  You know that video of him helping Jay recite Psalm 19?  That was a whole year ago!  Wowzers!  Micah is beginning to like make-believe.  Only instead of being a prince/cowboy/etc, he's a backhoe.  At the table he tried to be a backhoe and was getting pretty messing scooping food with his "bucket," so Jay told him to use his fork(lift).  Micah promptly responded that forklifts have two bars, (therefore his fork was not one).  Didn't you know that, Dad?  If he's not a backhoe his arms are the "ding-ding bars" guarding the train tracks at a railroad crossing. 
Micah loves to see Lydia learn things.  She just started clapping today and Micah was grinning ear to ear.  He loves to play peak-a-boo with her and to have me chase him across the room with her.  His most popular phrase right now is, "I need a friend!"  He just loves company!  He does play by himself, but is much happier with me or Lydia with him (so long as she leaves his stuff alone, which is getting rare).  He still tries to hold her, but at 9.5 months, she's not so into it anymore.

We're heading to the Pear Bowl tonight (bowl right? I always get cups and bowls mixed up.... a football games anyway).  What to wear?  Jay's a Cascade Kodiak, but his nephew is playing for rival Cashmere Bulldogs.  I wish I had a striped orange and red shirt, that'd be cool.  We'll see if we can keep the kids warm enough to stay the whole game.

My last couple days: Exploring

So I've been in the middle of a battle about food and $$ spent on food.  Do I go organic, all-natural, homemade?  Do I try Once a Month Cooking to save money?  Do I save time buy shopping at only a couple stores?  Do I coupon shop at a dozen stores?  Do I support only local businesses?  Do I only buy what's on sale (almost) regardless of quality?  AH!  Why does it have to be so hard?  But thankfully I have a science-minded, research-oriented husband to help me out.  So, I won't say exactly what we've decided, because I always seem to unintentionally discourage someone (or myself) when this food/health topic is brought up.  Let's just suffice it to way, I decided to give homemade laundry detergent a try (it's approximately $0.01 per load). And I did bulk cooking (definitely not OAMC, but maybe 12 meals (only 2 different menus, though)).  Here's what it looks like:

 

1 c. grated Fels Naptha soap

1/2 c. Super Washing Soda

1/2 c. Borax

Combine.  (Easy enough.  Having only used it in 1 load, I can only say it's no miracle mixture. Spaghetti and mystery stains remain.  Now I'll pretreat them and wash again.)

Here's the liguid gel version:

1/3 bar Fels Naptha

1/2 c. Super Washing Soda

1/2 c.  Borax

lots of water (I think about 2+ gallons)

Heat 6 cups of water.  Melt the soap in it, add Soda and Borax and stir until dissolved.  Pour 4 c. hot water in a bucket then add the soap mixture.  Stir.  Add a gallon plus 6 c more water.  Let set up 24 hours.  It's liquid with gel globs in it.   Mine's not totally set up yet, but I've got a load of it in the wash now.  Will see how this does.

 I got half way through the recipe when I realized I had meant to half it, but had forgot to.  And I'm definitely a novice.  I tried to save energy by just pouring from that big bucket into those jugs with the funnel... on our wood floor.  And had to use all those towels to mop up. (decided to set up the jugs in the sink and heave up the bucket after the big spill).

 Guess my floor needed mopping.  Yuck.  Actually, on closer inspection, I discovered the detergent had taken off the finish of about a 2 ft sq. spot in the middle of the kitchen.... well, Praise the Lord for old, splintered, creaky, worn down floors, I guess!  This spot doesn't stand out at all from the rest of the house.  So if you're needing to get that old finish off your floors, here's the recipe!  Doesn't even take any elbow grease!

 My freezer.  Of course, again like a novice, I forgot to write down what I had in there.  So now I get to unload it all, make a list of what have, and load it up again.  Thankfully, it's not that big.  But from my recent adventures I have 5 meals plus leftovers of spaghetti sauce, 1 Mexican casserole, 3 cups of taco meat, 3 c of browned hamburger, and 3 meals plus leftovers of Minestrone.

That ice cream is calling my name! AH!

A lot of things happened during all this work that could probably have frustrated me.  But as a wise experienced friend just told me recently (before all this), there just so much exploring for a young wife and mom.  Lots of mediocre meals, sunken loaves of bread, grocery shopping gone awry.  I guess she's right.  Columbus had no intention of landing in the Bahama Islands, and I had no intention of discovering finish remover.  Yet, all in all, it felt quite satisfying to get all this done.

By the way, spaghetti stains remain.  And it's one of my favorite shirts!  Why was I making spaghetti sauce with it on?   Well, I have a few more things to try.

**Lol, Micah and Lydia woke up part way through my post and have been playing in the living room.  Micah just called to me to say, "We're having a good time.  We're having Micah and Lydia time!" (That means, "Don't come in yet, Mom.").  LOVE it!**

Growing up...

Micah has been learning some new hymns and this one is his current favorite.  It's one of the hymns I learned as a little girl, and have always loved the encouragement I get by the powerful, factual, and Christ-exalting words.

He usually sings in tune, but I started it too low for him, so he's a bit off.  It is one of my favorite things to hear him running around the house singing this at the top of his lungs.


Lydia's... mode of self-transportation:  What would you call this?

kid stuff

Micah got a Nerf gun from a friend. It's a little hard for him to use so he usually comes to us asking, "Can you pull the sugar?" :-)
He was outside with Jay while Jay was tightening bolts on our new trailer (pictures coming soon).  Micah was so excited that Jay let him play with the extra "scratch-it" tool. (ratchet)  I love all the words Micah thinks he knows and tries to use.  There are lots of them, but I can only remember these two right now.

Poor Lydia... I kept track of every sound and movement Micah made, but I haven't tracked anything of Lydia's really.  But she's 8 1/2 months old and is moving (not a crawl really, but she can get where she wants to), and can pull up and pull along furniture a little.  No teeth, but I think there's one on the way.  And... Score one for Mommy, she said "mama" first of anything!  Actually I think she's just complaining and it comes out like "mamamamama."  She and Micah play well together, especially when she's stuck in the crib and he's stuck out of it. :-)  I love to hear them laughing and yelling with each other.

We were at the playground today and another little boy pointed out a rainbow.  Micah quickly told him that God made the rainbow.  I love how little kids don't really think about whether people want to hear what they're saying or not.

Get-a-way and Get-home

We got away on our first date weekend since Lydia was born!  Yippee!  Jay and I dropped the kids off with Grandma and Papa Dirkse on Friday and headed over a rainy Steven's pass toward Bellingham.  I was so thankful to see the edge of the rain cloud north of Everett.  We stopped off in Burlington for the All-you-can-eat Pasta Bowl at the Olive Garden then camped at Larrabee State Park south of Bellingham.  It's amazing how easy it is to pack for one night camping with no kids!  It was so easy.  And I am glad we didn't have the kids since the train went by at 8:15 and 10:15 pm, then again at 6:45 am, just a few hundred feet from our campsite.  Then there were the Christian college guys jamming on their guitars until Jay kindly asked them if they knew it was past the quiet hour mark.  They were enthusiastic in their playing and singing, but did not realize what a bad witness they were being to the people camping on the other side of us (they were NOT happy about the noise).  We were up early the next morning, and I admit we had a hard time wanting to be quiet after the noise our neighbors made late at night. :-)  We headed to Fairhaven/Bellingham to run our 15K race.  It was sunny, cool, calm, and absolutely perfect running weather!  Jay and I had a great time running (I think I had a little more fun than Jay...)  Oh, and you can definitely tell when you are on the West side: there were compost cans instead of garbage cans. :-) 

But... I was glad to get back to my kids.  I read a little poem once about being "tied down" to laughter sweet, chubby feet, etc.  It's so true.  Even though we were having a great time, whenever I saw a mom and baby I wanted my babies with me!  So it was quite nice to have Lydia grin from ear to ear and bounce up and down when I walked into the house.  Even my ever-busy Micah took a break after a while to give me a quick hug. :-)  I am so thankful for my kids, and for my husband, and his parents, and my parents, and well, just everybody God has put in my life right now.  Thanks everyone for your friendship!

Limo

Mom: (pointing out the car window) "Micah, Limousine!" 
Micah: "Yeah! Limo...limo...limonade!"

Forgotten already

So Micah said something really funny when I was putting him down for a nap today.  I'm finally sitting down to write it down, and it's gone!  It was so cute.  It went something like this.  He had a pull-up on for nap and was all settled in bed when he reached down under the covers while saying, "My body (his word for bottom)'s sneaking/peeking/slipping out." I had put his pull-up on crooked and he was having issues with it.  I think he said sneaking.  <>  There are so many funny things that I think I couldn't possibly forget.  Then I do.  Oh well, I'm glad he keeps saying them.

Micah, again.

I was reminding Micah about making sure he was going to use the toilet when he needed to go and he responded, "Yeah.  I will.  You don't need to worry."  Another common response (to my, say, needing to use the restroom) is, "Ok, that'd be fine, you can do that."  I can tell that both of these are something I must say all the time, because he sounded just like me, not like a 2 and 1/2 year old.

"I'm going to show the mirror to me." (I giggled so he amended his statement).  "I'm going to show the mirror to myself.  Look, here's a picture of myself" (in the hand mirror).

Housecleaning

The other day I was thinking back to what I used to do as a new wife.  Before kids, we lived in a tiny old cabin.  We all called it a shack until it became my future home, then we kindly started referring to it as a rustic cabin. I scrubbed, painted, sewed, arranged, rearranged, and, to my amusement now, I often vacuumed twice a day.  And that was only the inside.  For a 450 sq. ft. or so home, that was probably a bit overkill.  As I think back, my tiny house was so clean and I believe I made it quite cute.  Ah... nostalgic.  Well, now, I have an 1800 mostly finished 85 yr old house which I vacuum very irregularly, almost never mop (not sure how to take care of cracked wood floors that have lost their seal), and have a living room that can only hope to be clean from 9 pm to 6:30 am.  I appalled at how infrequently I scrub anything, and yesterday I noticed some spots on the ceiling from about 8 months ago.

I think many moms would say, "Well, you have two little kids, life is like that."  But, unhappily, I think that very idea has been one of the causes of my continually messy house.  I have been duped!  Everything around me says, "give yourself a break!" "do something for yourself."  I do that very well without any encouragement.  I decided to seek Biblical guidance on housecleaning.  Now there's not much there that is directly intended for that topic.  But under the instruction of "Teach Them Diligently" by Lou Priolo, I wrote down my "problem," phrased it Biblical terms (disorderly rather than messy, etc.) and looked up verses from which principles can be derived.  Here's what I came up with. 

Irritant: Messy house, continually cleaning, continually generating a messy house!

Biblical interpretation:  Having a disorderly house leads me to anger, despair, and resentment against other mess-makers.  I make a messy house by my slothfulness, disorderliness, carelessness.  Having a messy house disturbs my peaceful heart (rightly or not), burdens my husband (to either clean or put up with a discontent, distracted wife), and is a means of hypocrisy when I require more of my kids than of myself. 

Slothfulness: 
1 Cor 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 
Prov 6:6-11 Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise,
Which, having no chief, Officer or ruler,
Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
"A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest"--
Your poverty will come in like a vagabond And your need like an armed man.

Disorderliness:
1 Cor 14:40 But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.  
1 Cor 14:33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

Hypocrisy:
Mat 7:5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Jesus also tells the hypocritical Pharisees that they will receive greater condemnation for their hypocrisy.) 
Job 8:13   So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish: Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure. (JKV)
 

 Excellent Wife:  The entire 31st Proverb which, when I am listening to the world's advice, has been my nemesis. In particular these verses: 
¹³She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
works joyfully 
¹⁵She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.  
disciplined 
²⁷She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.   
manages her home 
²⁸Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:  
praiseworthy 
²⁹"Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."  
distinguished 

³⁰Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.  

God-fearing 

³¹Give her the product of her hands, 

And let her works praise her in the gates. 

Honored
  
This is a work in progress. I'm sure over the next 60 years I will revisit this topic many many times.  For now, I have some meditating to do on the verses, along with prayer that God will change my vision for my home into His vision for my home.  I do not want Him to chide me as He does Martha for being "worried and bothered about so many things."  Yet I do not want to be a slob to the point of failing to obey the commands to practice hospitality, among others. 

You know, I would just love to have year long apprenticeship under Sarah Edwards.  She had tasks we don't even think of today! She joyfully poured her life out to provide Jonathan all the time he needed to fulfill his God-given calling.  She lovingly housed guests for extended periods of time.  She took time to have valuable conversations with her children and her guests. According to a guest of theirs, Samuel Hopkins, Sarah was "in every sense a help mate for [Jonathan], one who made their common dwelling an abode of order and neatness, of peace and comfort, of love and harmony, to all its inmates, and of kindness and hospitality to the friend, the visitant, and the stranger."

So, off to scrub the bathrooms.