On This Day Fourteen Years Ago

Saturday, November 11, 1995

One man, one woman, the two became one flesh.



Surrendering to one another and legally binding themselves to one another until the day death separates them.

Before God and witnesses, to hold us accountable and legitimize the transaction.

The happy couple began their journey of life together as one; blissfully ignorant of life's hardships and blessings, and barely knowing anything at all. By the grace of God, still living happily ever after, and growing more in their love for one another each day!

TIN-November 11, 2009

Day 11: Did someone compliment you yesterday?

To participate in Thankfulness in November, you'll need a container to hold the change that you'll be collecting, which will be referred to as the bank. Each day there is something to be thankful for, and a small monetary donation to put into the the bank. At the end of the month, you'll have a heap of change (and a heap of things to be thankful for). Then you can bring your contribution to your church on December 6th, and glorify God for His generous provisions in your life.

I would love to hear from you if you are participating!

TIN-November 10, 2009

(I'm making some headway on getting caught up. Thanks for your patience. We'll go back and catch up when we can, but we're better off moving forward.)

Day 10: How many pairs of shoes in your closet? Five cents for each pair please.

To participate in Thankfulness in November, you'll need a container to hold the change that you'll be collecting, which will be referred to as the bank. Each day there is something to be thankful for, and a small monetary donation to put into the the bank. At the end of the month, you'll have a heap of change (and a heap of things to be thankful for). Then you can bring your contribution to your church on December 6th, and glorify God for His generous provisions in your life.

I would love to hear from you if you are going to participate! Please leave a comment below, and even your website if you are going to post about it on your blog. Thanks for your participation!

TIN-November 9, 2009

(TIN stands for Thankfulness In November, in case you were wondering. Well, I've only allotted a certain number of minutes to get as caught up as possible on blogging, so I'll not waste any more time. Since it's actually November 9th, I'll post today's "assignment," as it were, and I will back-fill days 1-9 after the fact.)

Day 9: Did you get a friendly letter or e-mail this week? Say THANK YOU with 25 cents each one.

To participate in Thankfulness in November, you'll need a container to hold the change that you'll be collecting, which will be referred to as the bank. Each day there is something to be thankful for, and a small monetary donation to put into the the bank. At the end of the month, you'll have a heap of change (and a heap of things to be thankful for). Then you can bring your contribution to your church on December 6th, and glorify God for His generous provisions in your life.

I would love to hear from you if you are going to participate! Please leave a comment below, and even your website if you are going to post about it on your blog. Thanks for your participation!

It's Coming Soon...

Here I thought I'd be posting every day this month with Thankfulness in November! Well, I'm working on the somewhat low-tech graphics, but my camera's batteries died and I had to buy more. AND I'm trying to make 60 cups of apple puree into apple butter but need to buy another 5-lb bag of sugar. AND I need to make apple jelly with the juice Enoch made. AND we have pumpkin seeds to roast (if they haven't gotten moldy in the fridge). AND I am trying to stay on top of the heaps of laundry that a family of six generates in the fall, as well as keeping them fed 3 times a day. AND we've been up late watching the Phillies defend their World Series Championship status. AND we are looking for an inexpensive upright freezer to store the 100 pounds or so of frozen vegetables that arrive this weekend (while I'm supposed to be at a women's conference). So I appreciate your patience. Thankfully blogger has a neat feature that allows me to post things with an old date, so I hope to get caught up eventually.

Thankfulness in November 2009

Aren't you glad November is finally here? I have been looking forward to this month, and I have been looking forward to once again celebrating Thankfulness in November. I hope you are too. If you've never heard of it before, you're in for a treat. Not only will you realize that you have more things to be thankful for than you thought possible, but at the end of the month, you will have a little chunk of change to show for and to give as an offering of thanksgiving, when most people are running out of cash. And it's such a good feeling to give a little extra when the going gets tough, believe me! That's part of the reason why I'm so looking forward to Thankfulness in November.

For those of you who are new to the idea, here's the basic concept:

If you wish to participate, you'll need a container to hold the change that you'll be collecting, which will be referred to as the bank. Each day there is something to be thankful for, and a small monetary donation to put into the the bank. At the end of the month, you'll have a heap of change (and a heap of things to be thankful for). Then you can bring your contribution to your church on December 6th, and glorify God for His generous provisions in your life.

Last year, not only was it fun to bring an envelope packed full of coins to put in the offering plate, but it was fun to see how excited the kids were to do it. I imagine when a whole congregation of people celebrate Thankfulness in November, that first Sunday in December must be a lot of fun and extra work for the offering-collectors!

I would love to hear from you if you are going to participate! Please leave a comment below, and even your website if you are going to post about it on your blog. Thanks for your participation!

Another Great Halloween Costume

Boo-Humbug. We aren't big into Halloween. I hate parting with hard-earned dollars to pay for senseless costumes to celebrate a "holiday" that represents things I detest. But it is a big deal in our community and at the kids' school, where they spend half of the day in class, and half of the day parading in their costumes and partying. So I try to think of some creative do-it-yourself-with-what-you-have-on-hand costumes. Each year it seems to get harder, as each time it's a little more creative. Last year, I dressed the boys up as "Joe the Plumber," since he was so popular this time last year. This year, I had so much going on in my life personally, Halloween costumes were at the bottom of my list of concerns. But I'm really pleased with the outcome.

I found a cardboard box and cut off the flaps and colored them and laced them together with twine for a very last-minute butterfly costume for Rosalind. (The boys even liked that one!)

For Julien and Tristan, I found long-sleeved shirts from Enoch's dresser, and made them tuck the shirts into their sweat pants. I blew up an assortment of balloons of differing sizes (leftover from Rosalind's birthday festivities). We put smaller ones in the arms, but large at the top, and then all along their backs to represent "bulging muscles." Then I used a marker and some freezer paper to draw up letters and numbers that look like team uniforms, with the name of their P.E. teacher in big letters to tape to their backs. (I wish I had better tape to attach these; they came off too easily.)

The proud teacher, showing off his A students.

The result was a HIT! All the teachers thought it was so funny; especially the P.E. teacher, who seems to have no lack of self-esteem, and a great sense of humor. I kidded with him that we expect the boys to get straight A's in P.E. class now--and I'm pretty sure they will.

Tristan, getting quite used to the muscle-man look, flexes for the camera. Below, Rosalind loved dancing with Julien's classmates in a game of "freeze dancing."

(SIGH!) Now what will we have to do to top that next year?

Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe that three years ago we were blessed with the pinkest little blessing we've ever received.

Now our little girl isn't so little anymore. She fits right in with her brother's classes at school (with only an occasional social faux-pas). If I can get my act together and start doing some "home-school pre-school" as we like to call it, I am convinced she could be reading soon; she's so bright.

Here she is wearing her most-favored pink "sparkle-y dress"

Unfortunately, she's also VERY LOUD. Well, you have to be when you want to be heard in our house. Talking is a competition it seems, and everyone wants to be the first to be heard and the one to have the last word.

But I digress. This post is about our beautiful, smart, and lively little girl, and her birthday. Well, nothing can express the joy of the celebration quite like pictures. So here we go:

Getting ready for the "Strawberry Snake Cakes"

"R" "heart" "3"

Up close, you can see how they look like snakes. (The cakes, not the people.)

The birthday girl is having a blast playing with her new toys, wearing new birthday clothes.

Future homemaker in the making!

Up Days, Down Days, and Birthdays

It's been an interesting couple of weeks. During the same weekend that I recently miscarried, Enoch was sick with the flu, and Tristan had some sort of viral infection that included a trip to Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia on Sunday. (He's fine by the way.) Monday I had blood work done, Tuesday Tristan saw his doctor, Wednesday I cut my thumb with a bread knife and had to get three stitches. Thursday I did more blood work, and Friday saw my doctor to check out my thumb. Then by Saturday Rosalind and Brendan were getting fevers and sniffles, and Tuesday was Rosalind's third birthday. Wednesday I finally got caught up folding all the laundry. Now it's Thursday, and I got my stitches out, and got caught up on my dishes. Hopefully I'll get photos from Rosalind's birthday posted soon; I just wanted to give the overall view of the last two weeks, roughly. And I mean roughly. We're hanging in there. The Lord is good and gracious, and ever-sustaining us. Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.

Unexpected News

We were hoping to share happy and exciting news around Christmas time; news of our expectation of another baby due in early June. But instead we have the sad news of announcing a miscarriage, and the expectation to one day meet the child we never knew who is safe in the arms of our sovereign Lord. Lately, this passage from Psalms has been a comfort to me, and I'll share it with you.

Psalm 139 (New American Standard Bible)

God's Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
You understand my thought from afar.
³You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O LORD, You know it all.
⁵You have enclosed me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
⁷Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me.
¹¹If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,"
¹²Even the darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day
Darkness and light are alike to You.
¹³For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.
¹⁹O that You would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not hate those who hate You, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.

Columbus Day Hay Ride

Here's some more fun photos of our fun day at the farm in New Jersey. The kids were off from school, but Enoch wasn't. So we went back for more fun: a hayride to a pee-wee sized pumpkin patch, and a cider donut and apple cider to drink at the end. We had a great time, and next year the kids hope to get to go through the corn maze as well.

Apple Picking Day

Last weekend we went to our new favorite farm in New Jersey to pick apples and pumpkins and have another fun family outing. The weather was breezy but warm, and the apples were ripe for the picking. A good time was had by all. We had so much fun in fact, that the kids convinced us to come back on Monday for the Columbus Day holiday to enjoy a pumpkin hayride and perhaps a corn maze. That's for the next post. Now on to pictures.

(Who needs a ladder when you have one of these?)

Sweet faces enjoying sweet apples

This one was loaded! More fruit than tree almost!

This one doesn't look as impressive, but it was also abundant with apples.

Showing off the bounty.

Pumpkin Patch Pictures:

Even though it's a homely gourd, Rosalind loved it enough to bring it home.

Afterwards, while Daddy weighed and paid, we played in the hay!

Brief Update

I was hoping to update the blog with photos of our long weekend. We went apple and pumpkin picking in New Jersey on Saturday, and then I went back with the kids on Columbus Day and we went on a hayride and got more pumpkins and apples. Today I was planning to go to my Tuesday morning ladies' Bible study, but after taking the older kids to school, we weren't home five minutes when Brendan started to vomit. So those plans are scratched, along with a couple of others. But stay tuned for new photos hopefully soon, and pray we don't all get whatever the baby's got. Thanks!

Big Shoes to Fill

I snapped these two photos just the other day as we were getting ready to eat breakfast. I just couldn't resist.

Double Take

From the archives, here's some photos of Tristan when he had his first hair cut at around 13 months of age, right beside photos of Brendan who just recently had his first haircut. I'll try to make them small enough to fit side-by-side on the page.









They do look like one another a bit, don't they?

Fourth Baby's First Haircut

Here he is, folks: Number Four. (See on his shirt?) Brendan is thirteen months old, is walking all the time now, and likes to feed himself. And his hair kept sticking to his face at breakfast, poor guy. So Daddy (who hasn't seen the shears himself in many months now) decided to give him his first haircut.

He is such a sweet boy. After the initial nervous crying, he settled down and seemed almost to be enjoying the feeling of the clippers on the scalp. (He does like to have his head scratched.)

And when the deed was done, Rosalind noticed how much he looks like his big brother Tristan. (I'll see if I can dig up an old photo from the archives to show.)

Isn't he handsome?

The Best Cabbage Recipe Ever

I love this time of year. I love wearing long-sleeved shirts and warm layers. I love the chill in the air and the change in the leaves. I love turning the oven on and not the air conditioner. Which is why I want to share with you the best cabbage casserole recipe I have ever tasted.

Now I would not categorize myself as a fan of cabbage. When I think of cabbage, I usually think of coleslaw. If my Mom or a friend served it, I would eat coleslaw as a compliment to the chef, but I never buy it from the store or make it at home. It never sounds appealing to me. I like cabbage in a tomato-based vegetable soup once in a while, or in a church potluck casserole, but it has never been a regular item on my shopping list.

But every now and then, my 80-something neighbor will bring me half a head of cabbage because it is just too much for her and her brother to eat. And since I hate wasting food and since we have lots of mouths to feed, I decided to find something to do with all this cabbage we keep getting. So I found this recipe online. I don't know how I found the website, and I'm not a regular reader of it, but I like to give credit where credit is due. I have cooked it numerous times with different alterations to the recipe, and every time I make it I get compliments galore and kids asking for extra helpings. While I will post the recipe as it written, at the end I will leave my remarks for what I did to tweak it to our preferences.

This recipe was found on 12/11/08 at www.willowmanor.blogspot.com


Blackstreet's Cabbage Roll Casserole

3 cups chopped cabbage (I used coarsely shredded with carrots)
1/2 cup brown rice (I used 2 cups cooked rice)
2 onions chopped
1 lb ground meat (I used ground turkey)
1 large leek chopped (optional)
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. Italian blend seasoning
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
a good pinch freshly ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Saute onions (and leek) in a bit of oil until translucent, remove
from pan and put aside. Brown meat in the same pan, add brown
sugar and spices. Stir until sugar melts, add tomatoes, raw cabbage
and raw rice, onions and leeks. Stir until everything is mixed well
and pile into a large casserole.* Pour chicken broth into all the
nooks and crannies. Cover tightly and bake in a 350 oven for 30 to
40 minutes until bubbly and cabbage is tender, but not mushy.

*(I layered the ingredients in the pan in this order: meat, onions
and leeks, rice, tomatoes and cabbage. A doubled recipe fills a
13 x 9 inch pan.)


Merrilee’s recipe tips:

• I prefer to cook the rice separately on the stove and spoon the casserole over it on the plate when serving. (I’ve never had great success cooking rice in the oven.)
• Because I don’t bake the rice in the casserole, the cup of broth can be eliminated. However, if you use a lot of cabbage, the extra liquid might help it cook without drying out, so use your best judgment and experiment with it.
• The recipe calls for ground meat. I have used ground turkey, diced ham, and even a can of black beans for the meat, and each time we loved it. (The secret is in the brown sugar and spices, I think!)
• I never measure anything for this recipe; it’s all to-taste and whatever is on hand.
  

Enjoy the season!

Up To My Knees in Everything

Can you believe September is almost over? It's like we went right from August to October in about two weeks' time. Life has yet to slow down. Two weeks ago, we went to Lancaster County (near the Amish) with some friends who took us to visit his parents, who live in a place called Mount Joy.

Lancaster is known not only for the Amish, but for shopping in general. There are outlet malls here like North westerners have never seen. There are family general stores and handmade furniture stores, quilt stores, country "stuff" stores, antique stores, and junk/yard sales all over the place. There is a museum of farm equipment, an amusement park called Dutch Wonderland, as well as a made-to-scale version of the Old Testament tabernacle, to name a few tourist sites. There are lots of retirement centers, lots of hotels, and lots of tourists, which is why we tend to avoid it like we tend to avoid the Jersey Shore in the summer time. Big crowds are not a big reason to go someplace, in our estimation.

But thankfully, our friends' parents live far enough away from the "circus" that is Lancaster that we spent a lovely and enjoyable day with them seeing why people love to live in that area. They treated us to a delicious lunch, showed us their favorite places to buy bulk foods and fresh eggs, and we admired their lovely home and beautiful vegetable garden out in the peaceful countryside. And we came home with five-dozen eggs ($.80/dozen), 50 lbs. of whole wheat flour, 100 lbs. of high-gluten bread flour, and a few other snacks and goodies too wonderful to pass up. While all the flour is resting in our box freezer for a couple of weeks, we are preparing to make room for 1/2 of a pig which is due to be delivered to us (already frozen) on Saturday.

On top of all that, yesterday while Enoch was off from school because of a Jewish holiday, he harvested all of my thyme, basil, and mint from the front garden, pulled out all of the tomato plants from the back garden, and most of the beets. And to top it all off, three of my four children are at varying stages of a sinus cold (everyone but Tristan); the baby seems to get croup when he gets sick, just like Tristan used to, so he's not sleeping real well either.

So suffice it to say, I'm up to my knees in everything, including my usual laundry and dishes and housework. And we hope to go apple picking and pumpkin picking this weekend, weather permitting and depending on when the awaited pork arrives. I love this time of year, don't you?