Bunk Bed Project in the Boys' Room

New babies inspire us to start new projects. 

With baby 1: we painted our room, the baby's room, and the bathroom. 

With baby 2: we tore down the wall In the kitchen and repainted. We also repainted the bathroom. 

With baby 3: we are building a custom bunk bed for the boys. Oh, and we painted and redid the bathroom (those pictures will come soon). 

More pictures when we finish in a few weeks. And by we, I mean Jared. I just dream up this stuff. :) 

A few before photos to intrigue you while you wait. :) 

Chickens and Mystery

Spot all five chickens. 

Hint. The three black stars always hang out in a group. Spot one and you see them all. 

They are eating something out of the rain spout. Apparently, there are a lot of Bugs around our house. They have spent most of the last two days eating things right outside the door. 

Jared had a haircut after work tonight and so we had pancakes and eggs for dinner. Martin told me that we had to try the brown eggs to make sure they were good. So, the boys had the first half dozen of eggs, scrambled with cheese. 

We are still only getting one egg a day (come on other four chickens!!), but it is super exciting to find the egg each day. Martin loves it.  And as much as I would like to be the one that goes out and gets the eggs, I am letting him because he takes such joy and pride in picking it up and carrying it inside. 

It is the same feeling as when bread rises or yogurt ferments or you pick produce from your own garden. There is something magical and mysterious about it. It doesn't get old. It is a marvel. Ask Jared, I still get excited every time my bread rises. :) 

I guess it is a good reminder to be amazed and awestruck at the provision and wonder of God. He has provided so much for us and in incredible ways. We lose sight of that while grocery shopping. An egg is just an egg. It seems so much crazier that a chicken lays an egg almost every day to provide for you. It is unbelievable. It is crazy. 

It seems as if you were trusting God to make a chicken lay eggs and a cow make milk and grain to grow in your fields, you'd appreciate the verse about God always providing for the birds and clothing the flowers. Why worry? He just made a chicken lay an egg!! What! That is crazy. An egg that can be used to make bread more delicious and sweet cakes and that you can whip into meringue. The God who can do that can also provide everything else you need. His provision is beyond imagination. He is  all powerful and wonderful. Be in awe of His mighty works. 

Praise God for chickens and eggs and the simple lesson to trust Him more. 

We spend a lot if time watching the chickens eat and walk around the yard. It is way more interesting then you'd think. 

...That is until they eat your thyme and hostas and you have to chase them away. 

First Egg!!!

I found the first egg this morning!! 

Here is a comparison with a large white store-bought egg.  They get bigger as the chickens mature.  

So exciting!! 

Now we just need to convince the other four to start laying. Jared and I have bets that Runt won't be laying eggs for at least another ten weeks. She is so far behind developmentally. But a few of the others look like they are getting close...

Silence

Sorry I haven't posted much. 

It was VBS week. I co-taught the first and second graders. They have a lot of energy. :) It was over 90 degrees each day and snack and games were outside. I skipped those some of the days. :) 

You know it is going to be a long week when on Tuesday you are cooking dinner and panic and suddenly think "oh no, I need to turn on the radio. I am missing my favorite Friday show (Sci Fri - Science Friday)!!" And then you realize that it is just Tuesday and no where close to Friday. 

My sister was visiting from North Carolina and my sister-in-law was visiting from Wyoming with their husbands and kids. So, we were trying to squeeze in visits to everyone (and various combinations of cousins) before they all left. That added up to some late late nights. But lots of fun. 

And my sisters threw me a baby shower on Monday, which was lovely.  More on that later. It included lots of good food and Legos. Martin had a blast. 

So, I'll be back to blogging in a few days when I recover from all of that. And then in August I have jury duty... I hope to read lots of books while I wait around at jury duty. We'll see.

Bibs and a teething toy

This is a teething toy that I made for my sister. 

I made a few bibs for my other sister.

And I used these fun new snaps that GC gave me for my birthday.  :) 

I was in a bib making mood. I made two of the ones pictured, two other floral bibs, and four cowboy/western bibs (the later two I forgot to take pictures of). I have done quite a bit of sewing in recently.  I made the case for my camera, fixed a bunch of my cloth diapers, and I helped two girls at church each make a runner (it took us two 6 hour days). 

Camera Case

My family bought me a video camera for my birthday!!! I am very excited to take videos of special events in my family's life: days with cousins, birthday parties, holidays, and the first time the boys meet their new brother (it will either be very sweet or we will look back and laugh about it later). 

I sat down and sketched up a camera case based off a little bag pattern that I found online, which I can no longer access.  :(  I changed some of the dimensions and added an extra pocket inside. 

Here is the bag finished. 

Here is my pattern that I sketched.  Yes, that is an old wedding runner that I use for patterns. 

I sewed the pattern together loosely, just to check the overall size.  

Here are my fabrics and lining cut. 

And there is the finished inside. I doubled up the quilt batting to make the padding nice and thick. The pocket in the back is for the charging cord if I am on a trip. I am pretty happy with how sturdy it turned out.  I finished it in under two hours a few Saturday nights ago.

Stamps

A trip to the post office is always fun!! I couldn't decide what stamps to get. It won't take long to use these up. 

More Popsicle stick fun

A few popcicle sticks and some masking tape can be so entertaining. 

First, we just rolled the marbles down the track. Now we are trying to aim them into containers and predicting where they will land. 

Who needs real toys? 

Seven Years!!

Yesterday was our seventh anniversary!! It has been a wonderful 7 years. 

We spent the day visiting with 6 of the 9 other cousins on Jared's side of the family. So, 9/12 grandkids (I count the new baby as being present even though only I can feel him) were in one place. That might be a record. The boys had a wonderful time. 

In typical Faith fashion, I caught a cold for our anniversary. I usually am sick for all big events and holidays. 

And Jared was diagnosed with mono, which is actually great news. He has been exhausted, worn out, and has had no energy for 2-3 months now and we couldn't figure out why he was feeling poorly. He's been to the doctor twice and had two blood tests. We are so glad to actually know the reason. Now we know why he has been going to bed so early and I have been able to read so many books. :) 

Hopefully, we will celebrate once our energy returns, ESL training is over, and VBS week ends. 

Cars

While this one was napping yesterday Martin started asking me how everything works. 

It started off like this: "why gas burns under our hood? I want you to teach me how a car works." 

Seriously? What thee year old asks these kind of questions? Boy, am I glad I am an engineer. I am way more fit to answer these type of questions than playing dress up. :) 

So, I pulled out a book that explains how various things work and we sat and looked at it for almost an hour. We learned about most of the parts of the human body and many different vehicles. 

Last week the boys were sick. Thankfully, I had ordered a new toy for them. Popsicle sticks, clothes pins, and binder clips! We had a blast putting together shapes and structures. I am sure you will see more of these in the future. So much fun! 

Chicken Coop

I keep forgetting to post pictures of the chicken coop (I will post pictures once the nesting boxes are complete - we put that off until the chickens were closer to laying eggs) and run that Jared made me. Isn't it lovely? 

It is attached to the side of out shed.  Yes, our shed has two doors.  We turned one third of the left side into the coop and then added the run on the outside.  And by we, I mean, mostly Jared.  I did help cut, drill, and screw in some of the wood pieces that cover the edges of the wire, but that is all.  Oh, and I made the ramp. :)

Book Update

I have been doing a lot of reading in June (5 books) and July (4 books so far).  Jared has been fighting a virus and has been super tired recently.  This has left me with lots of reading time. I have updated my list here. 

Since, six out of the last nine books I have read have been Biblical based, I have noticed something about reading. It influences the way I think about life. It reminds me of that verse (1 Cor 15:33), "bad company corrupts good character." The reverse is also true. Good company builds up good character.  And that is the way it is with a good book. 

I think that is why I tend to read mostly non-fiction. I don't find a lot of fiction helpful it developing my world view (as much as I love Sherlock Holmes, he isn't teaching me anything about Godliness).  There are books out there that can influence you positively, that are fiction, but my brain doesn't find the hidden truths in books well.  I need books that just tell me how it is.  :)  

I have more to say about this, but the words aren't coming right now.  I just want to encourage you to keep reading good books. God definitely uses them in our lives. 

I also encourage you to read hard books for your devotions, as suggested by C.S. Lewis (here). I just finished Future Grace by Piper. At first when I tried to read it, I found it was too much to read straight through it, but when I switched it over to my devotions and only read a chapter or part of a chapter, it was much easier to digest, understand, and apply.  I am looking forward to digging into some Puritans and Packer in the next few months.  

Blueberry Buckle

This is my new favorite recipe to use up blueberries. It is cross between a blueberry muffin and coffee cake. I am posting the original recipe and the ways I changed it. I made it the recipe the first time, but it was too sweet. So I reduced some sugar, substituted some applesauce for butter, and used half whole wheat flour the second time. Still great!!

Note: This is better served the day it is made.  The second day is okay.  By the third day the topping gets mushy.

Strusel ingredients:

1/2 c. Flour

1/2 c. Brown sugar

2 T. Sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Pinch salt

4 T. Butter

Mix everything but butter in mixer for 30-60 seconds until combined. Add butter and mix until it resembles wet sand (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside. 

Cake ingredients:

1-1/2 c. Flour (can use up to half whole wheat without noticing)

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

10 T butter (or 4T butter and 6T applesauce)

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 c. Sugar (or 1/3-1/2c.) 

1/2 tsp. lemon zest (I haven't used this because I haven't had any lemons)

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

4c. Blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9" cake pan (I have also made this in a 13x9). 

Cream butter, sugar, salt, and lemon zest about 3 minutes. 

Beat in vanilla. 

Best in eggs one at a time. 

Add flour and baking powder. Stir about 20 seconds. Don't overbeat!! Fold in blueberries with spatula. Batter will be very thick. 

Push batter to edges of pan with spatula.  Sprinkle with strudel. 

Bake 55 minutes (or 30-40 if using bigger pan).  Cool 15-20 minutes. Invert on  cookie sheet. Invert a second time in plate (so strudel is on the top). Or just serve out of pan. :) 

Peach Pie and Whipped Cream

It is an ATK recipe. Look how it stays together. They drain the peaches and only use some of the juice to help it not be watery. That makes so much sense. I cut out some of the lemon juice because I find some of their recipes to be too lemony (I am looking at you blueberry pie). 

Look at this fun bowl one of my friends gave me for my birthday!! Isn't it great? It goes well with my vintage Pyrex pie plate. I love it. 

I made this pie to go to a friend's house tonight for dinner, but the second child has come down with a mysterious fever.  It is the only symptom and then it is gone in 24-48 hours. I don't know if it is better to be staggered or both be sick at the same time.  

Two for the puddles

The second son started jumping in puddles today. I guess we need another pair of rain boots. :) 

At first, when I had my camera out, he was a little timid. After 30 minutes he was splashing everywhere after his brother. 

We were soaked. One of our favorite activities today was dropping leaves in the gutter and watching them float away. Number two thought that was hilarious. 

On days like today I wish we lived on a nice peaceful court so that the boys could run and jump in the gutters. Cars go down our street so fast that it isn't a possibility. And the muddy driveway is only going to appease them for so long. 

Martin is a little over protective of The baby. A car was parking five houses down and he didn't want him anywhere close to the road. He is sweet. The baby didn't think so.

Frugal Things

1. I made Greek yogurt!! It is so easy. You just strain regular yogurt through a cheesecloth to drain the extra liquid. It reduced in size by half! So creamy! So delicious. 

2. I made a padded bag for my camera. Pictures coming in a future Friday post. 

3. I am wearing a hand-me-down maternity dress! It is super comfy!! 

4. I chopped up a bunch of tomatoes that were marked down at the produce stand because they had bad spots. Some went to Warnie, who likes to eat them plain. Some went in dinner last night, Feta Cheese Chicken. Some went in my Sunday dinner, baked ziti, that I already put together (bonus points! I don't like having to cook on Sunday). The rest I am taking to a friend's house for tacos!! 

5. I also bought peaches that were bruised and marked down. I made a jar of jam, that will be used to stir into Greek yogurt for Jared's lunches. I cut up a bunch and we ate them plain and in smoothies. :) 

6. I turned some old bread and rolls into garlic bread to go with dinner last night. 

7. I bought a bunch of clothes and old shoes from a friend. They are mostly play clothes. Some of them look pretty worn and have stains, but they are perfect for play clothes or blueberry picking clothes. This way I can save their nice t-shirts and shorts for special days and not worry about getting these clothes messy. 

I will try to post my blueberry buckle recipe early next week.  I am making one later today and I'll try to take pictures. 

Simplicity

I try to have just enough of everything around the house. When your house is small and storage space is at a minimum it makes you question what you really need.  I still keep way too much stuff. It is a constant battle. I have always been on the messy side. Jared wants to throw away half the stuff in our house. We balance each other out nicely. 

Here are a few examples on how I have saved space or gained space:

* One laundry basket 

* Three baby spoons (I just rinse them off when I am finished and put them in the drying rack)

* Three baby cups 

* Just enough silverware

* Four knives (a chef knife, a bread knife, two paring knives - note: I do have another chef knife, but it doesn't stay sharp and I never use it, I should donate it)

* Table over the stairs (Have I posted about my sewing table? I can't seem to find the post. Maybe that will be my next Friday post).
* Desk in our room 
* Boys' play closet
* We store the boys' too small, too big, and out-of-season clothes under their beds in plastic totes

Sometimes when I am changing the boys clothing size and season over this happens. Since we were away this weekend this sat in my room for over a week. I know. I know. I am trying to avoid situations like this... The point is that there is always work to be done. We will never be perfect, but it isn't an excuse to do nothing and not care.

Rain

Well, I was going to go blueberry picking this morning. They open at 8.  I need to start checking the weather in advance. 

June has been relaxed

We've been doing a lot of this. 

We have had many free nights at home this month. It has been wonderful. 

I can't figure out how to take a selfie of us taking reading. 

They can't capture all of us well. 

Happy Birthday to me!!

This is my happy early morning baby! Notice my braids coming out after I have slept on them all night. Good thing Jared has trained me to enjoy waking up by 6am because his children take after him. I used to be such a night owl until I married him. 

Today I turned 30 and started the third trimester of baby number three. I had three visitors and have eaten three cookies. :) Three is one of my favorite numbers. I have high hopes for my thirties, especially 33. 

Yesterday, my sweet friend Caitlin (www.morningjoy.co -- she actually does reviews of all the books she reads through the year -- which reminds me, I just finished my fifth book in June and I need to update my book list) made me these chocolate cookies with buckeye balls on top (I was trying to decide what kind of cake or cookies to make for my birthday, so these were especially exciting because I didn't have to make anything!!).  Chocolate peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations. They are amazing. I want to stuff my face with them, but they are so rich that I ends up only eating two yesterday and three today. And she came with a new book, which is always welcome around my house. 

My sister and her sweet little family brought me chick-fil-a breakfast and played with the boys for two hours. I was wonderful to see some of my family on my actual birthday. The rest of them live far away or are on vacation. 

And another dear sweet friend of mine brought me a balloon!! Which might not sound like a big deal, but I was thinking of buying myself one to celebrate. So, it was a huge surprise. :) 

My family sent me a gift, that was supposed to arrive today, but it is pouring down rain today and our mailman is funny about delivering anything in the rain. He sometimes just takes those days off. So, I am guessing it will come tomorrow. How exciting! 

Also, I made myself brown sugar salmon for dinner. :) It was delicious. 

A, B, C, D Presents

I was invited to a book themed baby shower recently.  When wrapping the presents I organized them by letters of the alphabet.  

A is for Apple (bib).

B is for Ball. 

C is for (outlet) covers (not pictured, but off the registry). 

D is for Doll. 

A note on the doll. When I have time this is going to be my go-to present (along with a large bib). I made a little cute monster doll for Martin when he was a baby.  It had long thin legs and an arm.  He loved chewing on the legs when he was teething.  The baby enjoyed it as well.  I made one for my sister for her shower. Her daughter loves it as well.  

This is the other side of the bib. Note that I used snaps. :) I have gone ahead and replaced all my velcro bibs with snaps. The baby is sneaky and has been able to take velcro bibs off from a young age. 

And here are the packages wrapped. We don't own anything, but Christmas paper around here.

Blueberries

I went to pick blueberries today because it wasn't supposed to rain until ten. :( It started to pour as soon as we arrived. 

We sat in the car for 30 minutes and watched it rain. Blueberries were so close, but yet so far away. We finally gave up and drove to visit GC. So, the trip wasn't a complete waste. 

My breakfasts consist of blueberries, yogurt, and granola for most of the summer. It is my favorite breakfast. So good. And I made this blueberry buckle yesterday and it is amazing. 

Air Force Base Breakfast

My little sister flies around a lot for her job. She flew in to a base that is about 90 minutes from our house and was there for the breakfast hours. So, we woke up a bit earlier, loaded the boys up, picked up my parent's van (they were out of town and not using it), picked up my other sister and her daughter, and drove up to pick up my little sister for breakfast. We went to Chick-fil-A. 

And there was no on else in the play area, so I let them play. 

The baby taught Martin how to go down the slide. 

And then he didn't stop going down the slide. :) 

It was a busy day. We spent the afternoon playing drums and swimming in the pool at Aunt Anna's. Then Jared and I went to a friend's birthday dinner and the boys played at their Grandparent's house. The boys were exhausted by bedtime. 

We are very grateful for all our family! We love spending time with them. I didn't have any cousins close to my age or living close by when I was growing up. Three of my grandparents died before I was 7. It has been fun to see my children interacting with their grandparents and cousins. 

Guitar Strap

I had originally tied a ribbon around the "guitar" because I didn't think it would last.  After, several months of this being a favorite "toy" I decided it was time for an upgrade. Seriously, who would imagine that the bottom of the refrigerator would be fought over! It is played almost every night when we sing hymns after the Bible story.  

My mother-in-law let me borrow her snap tool (and I invested in over 2000 snaps to fix my diapers). So, I have been looking for ways to use them. I quickly sewed this strap from my most boyish fabric.  It is adjustable so that it can fit both boys as they grow.  It also comes apart in the middle as a safety feature.  

They both love it! Oh, the simple things of life. These two constantly remind me to enjoy every little thing. God has richly blessed us with many things that we take for granted.

My siblings will be happy to know...

That I have updated the pictures in my kitchen. I know you will appreciate that the goofy April fools photos are finally gone. 

Out with the old, younger versions of ourselves. 

In with the photos from Christmas.

 It was so good to see all of you at one time. I love you all dearly!! 

Book update

I may have only finished one book in May (and that was read on the 30th and 31st). Thanks to a hold at the library for the newest David McCullough book on the Wright brothers. It was excellent. That brought me to 16 books for the year. 

June is already shaping up to be at least a three book month. 

I just finished The Jews in Berlin and Bringing the Gospel to Covenent Children (by Joel Beeke - will probably be the best book I read all year and one I read at least once a year from now on). I hope to write a longer review of the Beeke book once I finish Shepherding a Child's Heart (which I have been in the middle of for over a year). The Beeke book is way more consice. He fit in more material almost a third of the pages. I appreciate that. 

I was pondering what to read next when this showed up. Happy early birthday to me from my parents!!! I am pretty excited about this one. It might set me off on a missionary biography spree. :) 

I already finished my meal for tomorrow. So, off I go to start my new book!!! 

This Is Not My Place of Resting

I fight the feeling of wanted peace and knowing this is not my home. I am not promised comfort here.  The older I grow, the more I understand the verse about all of creation groaning, waiting to be made new.  This song is off the new igrace album. It is amazing. It inspires me to put more energy into kingdom matters. This life is so quickly over.  What am I spending my life on?

This is not my place of resting,
Mine’s a city yet to come;
Onward to it I am hasting,
On to my eternal home.

Refrain:
Beautiful home, oh, may we come
Safe to its fields of fadeless day;
Where every trace of sin’s dark story,
All the curse hath passed away.

In it all is light and glory,
O’er it all a nightless day;
Every trace of sin’s sad story,
All the curse hath passed away. [Refrain]

Soon we pass this desert dreary,
Soon we bid farewell to pain;
Never more are sad and weary,
Never, never sin again. [Refrain]

A funny mistake

On my meal plan for Thursday I wrote down hamburgers on the grill with sweet potato fries and broccoli from my parent's garden. However, hamburger meat was cheaper in the 3lb container than the 1lb. So, I bought the 3lb and changed my meal plans a little bit. 

Yesterday, I worked in the kitchen making  three meals at once:

1. The hamburger patties 

2. Sloppy Joes

3. A new ATK recipe - Cuban something (it has a bunch of spices and raisins in it)

I decided to warm up the Cuban dish for dinner and serve it with black beans and rice. I even tried some when it was finished. I thought it was quite good. It reminds me of Chrsitmas chili. 

The phone rang right before Jared came home. He had to rush off to have his hair cut. So, I pulled out the containers from the refrigerator while I was still on the phone. I warmed the boys both up some and let Jared dish up his own. **

Everyone ate it. But when I asked Jared later what he thought of the new recipe, he replied that is seemed bland. That seemed odd to me because it had a lot of spice in it, but made a mental note not to make it again. 

Fast forward to lunch today. I went to warm up the sloppy joes for the boys and I for lunch. And it struck me, I had pulled out the sloppy joes to go with the beans and rice last night!! No wonder the food tasted bland. Ha ha ha. I opened up the other container and sure enough, there was nothing taken out of the Cuban dish; it was all still there. 

I guess the lesson is to pay attention when you are on the phone. And don't put the two dishes right next to each other. The thing that kills me is that I DISHED UP THE BOYS FOOD.  I can't believe I didn't notice. Oh well, Jared will have to try the new dish tonight. Too funny. 

**You may wonder why I didn't eat with everyone else... I did, but the new baby doesn't like huge meals or garlic or spicy foods at night. So, I ate, but it was an apple with peanut butter. :)