Weekend

Friday night my parents watched the kids (thank you mom and dad!!! The kids had a great timing with you.) and we went out to dinner and saw Jurrasic World. Once again, I forgot to take any pictures of us. But, I did take the picture above for Jared's mom because she and Jared love peanuts. Somehow the best days end up not being captured. When I am enjoying myself the most and spending time with the people I love, I rarely think about my camera (or phone). I like I that way. 

Saturday, was the fiesta baby shower. Again, I took no photos. I could steal a few from Facebook if I really wanted to. It went perfectly smoothly and there was plenty of food. Thanks to Jared for watching the kids and cleaning while I was gone. 

Did you enjoy your weekend? 

Rain For Roots

I love both their CDs! And until about last week the first album was my favorite, but now I am not so sure. Regardly, this song had been stuck in my head all week. Enjoy. 

If you held a mustard seed in your hand 
You’d see that it was tiny, like a grain of sand 
But Jesus says that even when our faith is small 
Nothing is impossible for Him at all 
Nothing is impossible for Him at all 

‘Cause our God is faithful 
He can move mountains 
And He asks us to believe 
Our God is faithful 
He can move mountains 
Even when our faith is like a mustard seed 
Even when our faith is like a mustard seed 

If you google the song, the bandcamp webpage should come up and you and listen to any of the songs on the album. They are favorites in our house and car!! 

Digging Dirt

They were digging a hole down the street from us. So, of course, we had to walk down and watch! 

More Fiesta Party

Here are what all the tissue paper flags look like. I have about 40 more that we are going to decorate with as well. So fun. 

Sneak Peek Fiesta

I am helping with a baby shower on Saturday. Martin and I have been cutting tissue paper into all sorts of shapes during the baby's naps. 

The colors are so bright and cheery! It makes me happy to work on them. 

Ham & Cheese Bread

You can either make your favorite bread dough or buy premade bread dough. I usually use my Betty Crocker Italian bread recipe when I make this. Follow all the directions. Just stop before the last rise to roll out the dough and stuff. 

We slice off pieces and dip them in tomato soup or just eat it plain. It is especially good with tomato soup and I don't like tomato soup. 

Let the dough rise and whatever else the directions call for. Then roll it out, layer with ham, and sprinkle with cheese. 

 Roll up the dough. Pinch all the seams. Cut air vent in the top. You can roll the bottom in cornmeal, if you want the extra crunch. Let it rise another 30-60 minutes and then bake as directions say. 

Sometimes they split open in the open. 

Yum! 

More Sewing

This is about all the sewing I have time for these days. 

One of my friends at church offered me the chance to look through her clothes and take some pieces for the boys before she donated them. I picked up these two shirts even though the bottom hem of the blue shirt was undone about halfway around and the green shirt had stains on the sleeves. They are both Gap and super thick! 

All finished! It took me 30 seconds to zigzag seam the whole bottom of the blue shirt. I grabbed my scissors and cut off the white stained sleeves of the green shirt. It took me about 5 minutes of work and now the boys have two play shirts that will last through both of them. They are really nice shirts. 

Most thrift shops would throw away anything stained or torn. I am happy to have saved these from a landfill somewhere. It is a win win all around. :) 

Not Home Yet

Some encouragement from my two-year old. As we were driving home from blueberry picking, a little voice in the backseat said wistfully, repeatedly, as we turned on each new road, "not home yet... Not home yet..."

This world is not my home. There is so much more ahead. I have been relistening to the sermons from this year's mission conference. Don't be afraid to risk for gospel. Don't wait until you feel like you can do what God calls you to or that you have all the pieces together to start. Trust him! Start something! He will give you grace! 

Ps. Thanks to Michelle for the fun early birthday mug! A package in the mail, what a fun surprise. 

Cheese!!

I made cheese!!! You have to add the rennet and let it sit for 5 minutes. I was so excited, when at the end of that time, I checked it and it had started to thicken! Yay, science. I get that giddy feeling that I have when dough rises. :) Everytime I check bread after the first 1-2 hour rise, I think, "this is so cool! I love science. I can't believe this works everytime." I am a complete nerd. 

I told Jared last night all about cheese and how it is as amazing as bread. He wasn't excited by cheese or bread. Heh. 

It worked!! It starts out runny like this. After kneading it a few times it starts to take on a normal consistency of mozzetella.  

Ignore the spots. I mixed the salt in improperly. What a fun science experiment. I will be trying this out on pizza this weekend. 

While I was kneading the cheese and adding the salt, which took about five minutes. I left Martin in the living room. I came out to check on him and he had fallen asleep in one of the chairs. That is a first. Is it creepy that I just stared at him for about 5 minutes before finding some things to work on while he was asleep? He was just so precious. 

After he woke up, he just wanted to be carried around and held. Since, that is a rare request, I wholeheartedly obliged. Though, I did the math. The two of them together weigh around 47 pounds. That is a lot of extra weight to tote around. 

I love Polish Pottery!!

This is my little collection. Jared and I bought the two smaller bowls for our 2nd anniversary and said, "wouldn't it be cool to add one piece for each anniversary?" And then we forgot about it. Two years ago my sister gave me the other three for my birthday. So, since this is our 6th anniversary year... Maybe I should buy a new piece. :) 

I dream of having a collection like Aunt Suzanne someday. I love the platters she has and the bigger bowls. But I don't know where I would store either of those items. Maybe someday. 

I enjoy what I have now. It is more fun to eat yogurt and granola out of these bowls. 

Update: Cheese Fail!!

Lesson one:

Rennet is killed in chlorinated water. City water is chlorinated. 

At least it is not wasted. If the rennet is killed, you are left with ricotta. Now I just need to try again so I have some mozzarella to help use up all this ricotta. 

The adventure in cheesemaking continues later...

Gateway Drug

My birthday present to myself arrived today!!! I ordered these so that I can make my own mozzarella. I told Jared that I had bought it, but not to worry because I wasn't going to be making cheddar or anything that has to sit around for months and be pressed. 

He looked at me and said, "that's what you say now, first it was ricotta, then yogurt, and now mozzarella. Soon you will order penicillin and make your own blue cheese and after that, cheddar and everything else! Yogurt was your gateway drug."

I'll let you know how the mozzarella goes.  I am pretty excited. It came in two days!! Amazing. It said 5-8 business days on the website. 

Pencil

I have owned this mechanical pencil since college. I was in class one day and I wondered to myself (sometimes my mind wanders in classes) if I could use the same pencil for a whole school year (I also think of weird challenges sometimes). That was my senior year. I surpassed my goal and used it for both my senior year and grad school the following year. 

I also use it to plan my lessons when I teach. It usually permanently resides in my backpack, but I lent my backpack out  this winter and I haven't put it back yet. I have been nostalgically using it in the meantime. 

Hello, favorite pencil. 

Baby Cover

I made my sister a car seat cover for her shower. I have been saving this London fabric for a really long time to make something for her. She convinced me to get my passport and once it came she said, "well, you have to use it". So, we went to Germany, France, and England over my graduate school spring break. It was amazing and I am so glad I went! 

I love the way this turned out. Thanks to Jared for picking the cream polka dots and gray handles to coordinate. I made it reversible. I also love this side!! The orange ric rac came from my grandmother's sewing box. I had just enough. 

He likes things a certain way. He was bothered that my normal cover wasn't on here. He kept asking me to take this one off. 

Catching Up

My sister and I threw a children's literature themed baby shower for my other sister on Monday evening. It was lovely and amazing and the best shower I have ever been too. :) I had so much fun (I don't normally enjoy showers that much). However, I didn't take any pictures. So that's all you will hear about that. 

Yesterday, I caught up on laundry, cloth diapers, some house cleaning, yogurt making, and playing with the boys. We read bunches of books and spent most of the day in the toy closet. Warren now crawls. Martin thinks it is hilarious and calls him into the closet. He goes, "come here baby, have toy (for) you. Come hereeee."

We had steak fajitas for dinner. Jared and I don't like beef that much; we rarely eat it. We both prefer chicken (not dry chicken, you have the brine or marinade it). So, I forgot how easy steak fajitas are. Just sprinkle on salt, pepper, and lime juice and grill. Yum. 

We had some leftover bacon from breakfast on the weekend.  I threw that in with an onion and some black beans as a side. Delicious. 

We also attended touch-a-truck day on Saturday. Fire trucks, bucket trucks, excavators, and more. He is growing up too fast. We plan to take the boys every 2 or 3 years, which means Warren will be running around talking and climbing on trucks next time we go. I can't even imagine. Maybe my sister will be visiting with her son and the three boys can go running around. That will be so awesome and crazy and wonderful! 

The Only Sewing

This should have posted last week, but it had and error, which I just noticed. The blogger app doesn't go back in time. So, it looks like I posted this today. It was really last Monday. And I have done a bit more sewing since then. I will post pictures later this week. :)

I bought this dress a size or two too big because I wasn't proportion at all (I measured in three different sizes depending on where I measured). I altered it to make it fit well all over. I seam ripped the sides, pinned it, and resewed it. I left the skirt area a bit big to help camouflage the rest of my Warren weight. 

It has pockets!! I found it on Lands' End clearance. 

Martin joined in the pictures. 

And I sewed my brothers insignia on...

As you can see, I folded the shirts, not him. Ha ha. I really need to learn to fold better. 

That is all the sewing I have had time for recently. My sister is having a baby and I really need to sew her a baby quilt. I have a girl's baby quilt made, that I love, and have been saving for a niece, but she is having a boy. Oh well, boys are great. 

Two Thing I Am Thankful For

1. Hymns 

They are so rich. I am so thankful for both the Trinity Hymnal and Indelible Grace's ministry. 

2. Sunday Evening Service

I am thankful my parents made evening service a part of my life. We have been going the through the Psalms for over a year now. I have just loved it. It is such a wonderful way to close out Sundays. 

Last night was Psalm 65. I want to mention three quick things. 

1. I don't praise God enough. 

2. I am so thankful for my church family. And I am so grateful for all the opportunities to be in God's house (Sunday morning and evening, night secvices, Bible studies, conferences, etc.) We are so blessed. 

3. I think we are so far removed from farming that we lose sight of the fact that God has blessed us with those provisions. What a wonder. I have been thinking about that since I read that last part of the Psalm. God doesn't have to make the plants grow, but he richly and bountifully does. Praise God. 

Psalm 65

Praise is due to you,

O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.

O you who hear prayer,

to you shall all flesh come.

When iniquities prevail against me,

you atone for our transgressions.

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, 

to dwell in your courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

the holiness of your temple!

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,

O God of our salvation,

the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas;

The one who by his strength established the mountains,

being girded with might;

who stills the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

the tumult of the peoples,

so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.

You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it;

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide their grain,

for so you have prepared it.

You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy,

The meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy.