Homespun Easter tradition continues!

As I was uploading Easter pictures, I thought it would be a neat idea to share all the Easter outfits the kids have worn over the years (more for my own purposes of having all of them in one spot!) Its been a goal of mine that the kids wear homemade outfits every year until they refuse or turn 18 (whichever comes first!). I've succeeded in all but one for Addy but sadly Keith only has a 50% success rate (lets face it, dresses are more fun to make!) So...join me down memory lane, won't you??

Easter 2004, Addy's first Easter. Dress was actually my Easter dress and was hand made by my Grandma Walton.



Easter 2005. Keith was still in the oven. Addy's dress was made by Nana and I made the bonnet.



Easter 2006. Keith's first Easter. Nana made matching outfits for Keith and Addy. Since we had just moved, I didn't make squat.



Easter 2007????? I have no pictures from this year!! This was the year Addy didn't have a homemade dress, and Keith's outfit wasn't homemade either. But, I do remember that both outfits had frogs on them. Luckily, I re-used Keith's outfit the following year, and I managed to take a picture of it then!!

Easter 2008. I made Addy's dress out of "vintage" fabric from a feedsack (for those of you unaware, livestock feed used to come in fabric sacks that the women would then use to make clothing or quilts). Keith gets to wear his recycled frog outfit.



Easter 2009. I've been a busy seamstress this year, I made both outfits! Addy gets a dress made out of, what else, but Littlest Pet fabric!! And Keith even got involved picking out his fabric...his requirements were that it had to have yellow on it and a train!! (there is a yellow pinstripe on it, you can't really tell in these pictures, though)





Hope everyone had a great Easter!
Until next blog,
Jen

A Serious Blog Entry (I think it may be the only one!)

I know this is very uncommon for me, but for some reason I've had a "nagging" on my soul (if you can call it that) to share this on my blog. I don't know why, and I don't know what purpose it will serve, but I truly feel God is asking me to share it, so I will.

Some of you may not know this, but July 16, 2001 was, to date, the saddest day of my life. I hadn't even been married a year yet, and was living in Chicago. On my way home from work, I received a call from my mom that my dad had suddenly died. No warning, no goodbyes, he was gone. For several months after, I struggled with why this happened and I could feel my heart become bitter. My dad was a great man, a strong Christian, and was in good health. I couldn't understand why he had to be taken and not some mean, horrible person.

For those of you who did not know him, my dad was a computer geek. No really...he actually built a computer back in the late 70's FROM SCRATCH (did I mention he was also a genius??). So, it really shouldn't have come to my surprise that he reached out to me, after his death, through his computer. Yes, it may sound corny, but several months after he died, my mom was cleaning up his computer files and found a letter he had began composing and it was addressed to me. It wasn't finished yet, but it was the miracle I needed and was the best blessing that could have ever happened to me. Here it is:

Dear Jennifer,

For some time now I have often wished to set down some of my beliefs in hopes that if something should ever happen to me I would at least made the effort to communicate them with you. So I start now to set them down, perhaps more for my own peace of mind and satisfaction than for what you may gain for I find myself that often the beliefs and values of others are difficult to apply to myself and I often have to learn on my own.

Evidence of God

It often seems to me that the best evidence of God is to see the stars at night and to think of the vastness of the universe. And yet we cannot explain where one atom of the universe comes from for we reason from one thing to another. At some point in time somehow that atom must have come to exist where there was nothing before. Thus it seems to me that there are some things which are beyond our reasoning which points to a higher being.

Accepting God's Will and Purpose for us

We once studied a book called "And I Will Praise Him" in Sunday school. It was basically a study of the Psalms which all wind up praising God. Two things in this book really impressed me. One was that God made us for the purpose of praising Him. When you stop and think about it what else could God want from us? Will any material thing that we gain impress a God who made and controls the Universe? Will any knowledge that we gain impress a God who knows how all things were created and how all things will end, who is unchanging - the alpha and the omega?

The second thing in the book that really impressed me was how the author applied the continued attitude of praise towards a tragic situation in his life. He and his wife found out that their 21 month old daughter had leaukemia. Of course they felt great grief in this, but they determined to not let the attitude of grief last. lest their joy in God would be replaced by bitterness. They determined not to live in the "Why, Lord?" syndrome. They decided to ask instead "What now, Lord?" and to praise God whatever would be the course of His present action. The God whom they had trusted in the past was still worthy of our trust. Whom else was there to trust? They knew that should she die, God in His great mercy would take her to be with the Lord Jesus in heaven. There disease would never again tear out her joy. When they wept, it was for themselves at the temporary loss until they would see her again.

This is the attitude we should take when what we consider tragedy, but what must also be used for good by God, happens .

DId you catch that last bit?? I know when I first read it, I sure did! This letter was the sole reason I stopped being bitter about my dads death and tried to find God's purpose in everything that happened to me, good or bad.

Let us all use this letter as a reminder that God desires for us to worship him...IT WAS WHY WE WERE CREATED. He is there with us ALWAYS; In birth AND in death, in happiness AND sad. If you put your trust in Him, he will provide you the vision to see the good, even at the most challenging of times. What better time than Easter to make it your mission to make your daily lives ones of worship to Him, the maker and creator of everything. I promise you, if you do, you will truly be blessed.

Until next blog,
Jen

What's for lunch??

Does anyone else read that title and have their stomach flop at the thought of thinking of something to fix for that dreaded mid-day meal?? Ugh. I hate lunch. At my house, it needs to be relatively simple, healthy (of course) , and palatable enough that a 3 and 5 year old will eat it. Sooo...that leaves...hmmm....ham sandwiches and a side of fruit?? chicken noodle soup??? organic cheetos, a Flintsones vitamin and milk???

Well, the following recipe is a FAVORITE at our house and, since I made 48 of them today, I thought I'd share this little gem with ya'll. If your kids like pb&j, they'll be sure to eat these. And...get this...there is a VEGETABLE in it (SHH!!!)!! They aren't quite as simple as a pb&j, but with an hour of effort, you can make a whole batch of them to freeze and zap in the microwave at a moments notice. And, even for those of you with no children in the house, they're a great snack for us adults!

PEANUT BUTTER MUFFINS

*non-stick cooking spray OR paper muffin cups
*1/2 cup natural peanut butter (creamy) MUST BE NATURAL PB...IT WON"T TURN OUT AS GOOD IF NOT!
*1/2 cup carrot puree (I use a jar of carrot baby food, its easier and the texture is perfect for this recipe)
*1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
*2 tablespoons butter, softened
*1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
*1 large egg white
*1 cup all-purpose flour (I actually use 1/2 cup wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose)
*1 tsp baking powder
*1 tsp baking soda
*1/4 tsp salt
OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons wheat germ (for extra hidden nutrients!)

as is, this recipe makes 12 muffins (I usually quadruple the recipe for freezing purposes)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat muffin pans or line with paper cups.
2. In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter, carrot puree, sugar, and butter with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in the yogurt and egg white.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and wheat germ (if using). Stir until just combined, but do not overmix - there should be some lumps in the batter.
4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. (OPTION: At this point you can choose to drop a spoonful of jelly/preserves on top of the batter of each muffin. I choose not to do this...instead I add my toppings when I serve them)
5. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, 20-25 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto the rack to cool.
6. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or bag and freeze.

How we eat them:
Me: plain, warmed slightly in the microwave
Addy: cut open with honey drizzled on top
Keith: cut open with strawberry-rhubarb preserves on top
Brian: by the dozen on his cheat day

If you want to try one...come on by...I have lots!!


This recipe is from the cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" by Jessica Seinfeld. I LOVE that cookbook!!

Until next blog,
Jen

What do I do when a 3 year old outsmarts me??

This week I started teaching the kids about the 12 disciples. So, today we were reviewing them.

Me: OK, Keith, can you name one disciple?
Keith: James!
Me; Addy, how about you? Can you name another one?
Addy: Peter!
Me: Let's see...can we keep going? Keith, can you name another one?
Keith: James!
Me: You already said that one, try a different one.
Keith: But, Mommy, there were two James!!

I can't wait until I start helping them with their homework!

Until next blog,
Jen

Audra's basketball

This year my niece, Audra, made the 7th grade middle school girls basketball team. Of course, I'm quite proud of her. For those of you who aren't facebookers, here are some pics of her 1st County tournament game. They won!!


Audra makes funny face at her shot during warm ups


In the huddle (Audra is #34)


Audra playing defense (did I say that right? I don't know squat about basketball!)


Audra getting ready for the rebound


Audra dribbles the ball...


...she shoots...


...and she scores!!!


Two of the cutest athletic supporters Audra has!


Until next blog,
Jen

Chipmunk Keith

A week ago, when Keith woke up dry, he was rewarded with 2 peanut M&Ms. Instead of eating them one at a time, he shoved them in his cheeks and let them melt before eating up the peanut. It was funny. So, when he successfully completed 10 workbook pages this morning, he was rewarded with the same prize and I knew I had to capture his chipmunking on film. Its not quite as funny as the first time, especially on video instead of live, but you'll get the gist. There are some captions to understand what he is saying.


Me: What do you have in your mouth?
Keith: M&Ms
Me: Why did you get M&Ms?
Keith: Because I did my numbers and letters!


Until next blog,
Jen

Homemade bird feeders

About a week and a half ago (when there was still snow on the ground!) the kids and I decided to entertain ourselves by making homemade bird feeders...you know...the kind with pine cones and peanut butter? So, I got out the peanut butter and portioned it into a bowl. Much like Martha, I like to have all my ingredients ready to go before I start the project. So, I got my boots on and headed out to the garage to get the bird seed. When I came back in, I found my "bird feeder makers" eating the peanut butter!!!




So, I let them finish out that peanut butter, got some more in the bowl, and then they quickly realized the fun of getting messy with peanut butter. Addy even got some in her hair!






The final step was rolling it in the bird seed and hanging it on some yarn. They were very proud of their creations!





It has taken me so long to blog this because I have been waiting and waiting for the birds to attack these bird feeders so I could get a cute little picture of our feathered friends enjoying their pine cone feast. BUT, as I said, its been a WEEK AND A HALF and still NO TAKERS! They haven't even eaten the bird seed that I poured in the real bird feeder! I'm just glad I didn't waste my organic peanut butter on these finicky creatures!!

Until next blog,
Jen