Treasure in the Ordinary

Remembering on this Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T16:16:00.000-07:00

July 2004

Today was my grandma's birthday! She was such a sweet lady - so happy and courageous! She lived through a lot of struggles, and spent the last 30 years of her life battling MS. She taught me so much about love, about courageous living, about trusting God. We lost her 2 years ago - 4 days after her 85th birthday and 1 week before her 65th wedding anniversary. She has been greatly missed and we are looking forward to Jesus soon return, when we can be reunited with her.

Feeling Uninspired...(#301-350)

2012-02-11T22:12:00.003-07:00

At least, that's where I am. I posted last week about the crazy ending to it. And it continued on into this week with me getting ill on Sunday night. Since then, I've been taking it easy. My children needed my attention, and I worked to just barely keep our household from falling into complete chaos.

However, my boys have been very inspired. Both boys love to sing and I have enjoyed their music this week. Antonin loves playing his guitar or on his drum and singing at the top of his lungs. Titus gets in on the action as often as he can too. It is such a treat to hear him sing "Hawu, hawu, hawu, hawua, pais to lor" and to have him ask to sing "monin" (Whisper a Prayer). These boys are the ones who kept me smiling and laughing this week.

The following "gifts" are from my list in early September. I will soon be caught up to current gifts.

301. fresh peach crisp with hazelnuts
302. a finger puppet
303. fun green yarn
304. planning a new baby blanket
305. an afternoon nap
306. conversations between little cousins
307. a package in the mail
308. shopping sans kids
309. sleeping through the night
310. colours
311. 28 quarts of tomato sauce made
312. sale on tomatoes and peaches this week
313. looking forward to camping
314. warm fall days
315. one year in our home and church
316. beautiful drive
317. warm weather for camping
318. borrowed supplies to use for forgotten things
319. watching the boys play in the water
320. camp fun
321. incredible starry sky
322. sharing the beauty of the night with Antonin
323. campfire
324. smores
325. warm blankets
326. sound of water lapping the shores
327. seeing deer crossing the road
328. seeing a black bear beside the road
329. finding enough of the food that I wanted in a cleaned out store
330. a baby who went to bend with minimal crying
331. a clean garage
332. exercises that help my shoulder feel better
333. flannel jammies
334. 22 quarts of peaches done
335. 13 pints of peach jam done
336. helping a friend
337. warm days
338. playing outside
339. Dave doing some laundry
340. Antonin having no accidents today!!!
341. all vehicles are returned
342. a fresh peach
343. cool nights
344. tomatoes sauce nearly complete
345. family & friends
346. cleaned peach jars
347. having running water
348. having electricity
349. ABC bookmobile
350. a new children's DVD

One of Those Weeks... (# 286-300)

2012-02-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those weeks. You know. The ones where you have so much to do, and you work like crazy to get everything done, but every time you do something, you mess it up and so you create three or four times as much work for yourself. Yeah, that's what this week has been like. Plus the boys have added to the chaos and confusion.

So, I've been pretty moody and on edge these past few days. Yesterday however, a couple of emails showed up in my inbox that spoke to this very topic. And they helped me to see my situation with a little more clarity. One of the biggest things that I was able to do was to work on changing my thought processes. In the Bible we read about how our thoughts affect our actions and I found this to be true.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. ~Philippians 4:8 NIV

When I was thinking about the broken drawer, the emptied cupboards, the flooded bathroom, the broken jar, the spilled food, etc., I became angrier and angrier and I was not able to handle even the smallest disruption to my thoughts or actions. My focus on these negatives was causing me to lie to myself. I kept thinking about how awful my life was, how I couldn't do anything right, how I wasn't accomplishing anything, so I shouldn't even try. I couldn't see the positives even if I tried. And with these negative thoughts, came more mistakes and challenges.

When I managed to think about the good things - the things I had finished, the laughs with my boys, the snuggles, the sunshine - my mood brightened and lifted and I could respond appropriately to my boys. Thinking about the "gifts" allows me to see what my life is really like. Yes, there will be times of stress and anxiety. But by focus on the blessings that God has given us, we are able to keep on moving in spite of the stress.

286. dry pants during our excursion
287. new toys for the boys
288. fun with drumming
289. the man who stopped to help the dog wandering down the highway
290. the helpful and encouraging woman at the quilt shop
291. sweet words of encouragement
292. an extra fridge to use during preserving season
293. two stuffed animal giraffes for Sabbath School
294. a candle burning on my counter
295. a clean kitchen
296. an easier quilt block for this month
297. prepwork done while children are sleeping
298. acting out Bible stories
299. sharing my gifts
300. singing and playing in church*

* these gifts were recorded in September

Fun with Tortillas

2012-02-03T22:31:00.002-07:00

Our family loves eating Mexican! And we go through a lot of tortillas and chips every week. I have been wanting to make my own tortillas for a few years now, but have always shied away from it. I didn't know how to get them shaped well and I thought it would take a terribly long time. It does take time, but I found that it was very fun. I got my last little push towards making them by reading this post and by watching the following video.

I have to say I loved making these. I did not really follow this recipe. I'll include the recipe that I used. But the technique is brilliant. And I use it all the time now, for anything that I need to roll out in a circle. These instructions also say to make each tortilla from a 1.5 oz ball of dough. In the future I would make them from 2 oz balls of dough, because we like our tortillas to be a little larger.

For me, this is a great way to save money! One package of 10 tortillas usually costs $3.87 at the store, while I can get 22 lbs of flour for $8.97. I haven't figured out the math on this to find out how much it actually costs to make my tortillas, but I know that each batch makes about 15 and costs much, much less. So here's to saving money and eating better!!

Tortillas

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking powder
5 T. butter
1 cup hot tap water ( plus a little more)

Prepare as shown in video above.

Clayton's Blankie

2012-02-01T22:53:00.002-07:00

Friends in Michigan had a baby boy just over two months ago. And I just needed to make a blankie for him. The pattern for this blanket is out of the book Our Best Baby Afgans,just as Betzi's was in May. This is my color and border option of the cover picture. It is a simple pattern to make that involves crocheting in rounds and alternating two different rows in two different colors. In the picture below, you can see where I ran out of yarn and had to start with a new batch. Even if yarn says "no dye lot," there still are subtle variations that can make it difficult to match. (Funny thing is, I couldn't see the change as clearly in person as I do in this picture!) I also made the blanket a lot bigger than the pattern in the book. I believe that having a blankie that you can wrap your child up in for a long time is so important! Antonin still snuggles up in his blankie and has room to spare!

I still am in love with these colors, but I've decided to make the next ones with other colors. I've got three more to do over the course of this year that I know about right now. Good thing I love crocheting :) I am excited about the plans I have for them

Merry Christmas ( a little late, but no less sincere :)

2012-01-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

We had a delightful Christmas this year. My sisters and I managed to pull off a surprise trip to visit our parents. (Unfortunately, my brother wasn't able to make it this year.) My dad was in on the surprise, but my mom was in shock when she opened the door Friday night, December 23, to find ten people that she was not expecting for Christmas.

We spent 3 days together, and we all enjoyed the time of visiting, playing, cooking, and tobogganing and, of course, the presents! The living room was overtaken by presents - they were piled around the tree, behind the chairs, and even in the far corners of the living room. The food we shared was excellent, the plans and preparations we made before made it easier to keep everyone fed on time. And the visiting was very sweet. The kids, especially, really enjoyed playing with their cousins.

On Christmas Eve, we sang carols - led by Abigail, Olivia, and Antonin - and acted out the Christmas story. We also opened a couple of presents. Christmas Day found us opening our stockings, laughing, and eating. And opening setting up presents.

The Little Things (#270-285)

2012-01-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Last fall, I took a break from all my writing...blogging, journaling, list-making, etc. I was just working on getting through one day at a time and trying to keep on top of things that seemed to be changing every day. As I'm getting back into my routine at home these days, I'm looking back at some of the things that happened last summer and fall and I'm remembering all that I am thankful for.

There are little things each day that are worth remembering and thanking God for. Today, I'm continuing my list of 1000 right where I left off.

270. chocolate
271. epiphanies
272. reading to Antonin
273. snuggling and talking with Antonin
274. some ideas to work with
275. a new soup recipe
276. a reorganized linen closet
277. long naps
278. a chance to sweep the floors
279. more dishes cleaned than anticipated
280. having helpers to make the house look pretty
281. fun songs to sing and dance to
282. feeling not overwhelmed -- safe and somewhat capable, even though not in my own strength
283. three blog posts that spoke to my torn and weary heart
284. love
285. tomatoes ripening

Home-Made Experiment: Making Deodorant

2012-01-26T22:09:00.001-07:00

This past year has seen me trying out several little experiments towards more healthful, natural living. In early 2010, I decided that I really wanted to make some changes, but I decided to wait until after baby #2 and our big move happened. So, I stored up all my plans and tackled them little by little once we started settling in.

One of the biggest changes I've made is to make my own deodorant. I know, I know! It's a really scary thing to tackle when you really don't want to stink. But I was tired of my tradition antiperspirant that wasn't working for me any more. And I was challenged to try it based on a couple of posts that I'd read (here and here). And I figured that if these ladies could do it and say that it worked for them, I'd just have to try it out.

My first attempt was a year ago. I used the recipe on Passionate Homemaking. And I loved it! I found that it worked all the time. No stink, no mess. I first had it in a little tub, but then moved it into an old tube that I had lying around for easier application. I learned that it is important to keep the deodorant cool, or it would melt.

As time went on, I decided to improve on it a little. I wanted to have a slightly more solid stick and I wanted the baking soda and corn starch to be blended in better. So I did a little more research and came across the blog Crunchy Betty. She had links to several other posts with different recipes, but I did not find one that I liked or that I had the ingredients for. So I improvised my own. I love the slightly citrusy coconutty scent. (Of course, if you want to try it, you can always customize the scent.) And I really like the texture.

Deodorant:
5 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp beeswax
1/4 c arrowrootpowder or corn starch
1/4 c baking soda
7-8 drops tea tree oil
7-8 drops sweetorange oil

Melt oil andbeeswax in a double boiler. Mix dry ingredients together, then blend with the oils. Add essential oils if desired. Let cool slightly and then pour intoempty deodorant container. This recipe makes enough for two containers.

Today, I made my third batch. Last time I used arrowroot powder and I found that it was not as effective for odor control. We'll see how this one works with the cornstarch. I'm liking it already. And I'm thinking next time, I might even decrease the coconut oil just a little more.

* I should mention that Keeper of the Home has a recipe that is very similar to mine.

Florida Interlude

2012-01-24T22:58:00.002-07:00

Last week, we were very fortunate to find ourselves in sunny Florida. :) Especially since temperatures at home dipped into the -30s C range! The boys and I got to soak up some warmth and sunshine while Dave attended meetings. The resort that we stayed at was pretty incredible...several swimming pools, 4 golf courses, 900 acres, etc.

We especially loved the main pool and spent our first afternoon and nearly all of our second day there. We all enjoyed the shallow water and beach access to the pool. Antonin relished the freedom to run in and out at will and also enjoyed building a sand castle in the sandy area at the pool side. And he always asked to go to the "hot cool pool" to warm up.

Titus did not like the sand. He barely tolerated walking in it when I first put him down and always tried to walk around the edge to get where he wanted to go. He also got chilled a lot more easily and wanted to sit on a chair wrapped up in a towel.

After Dave's meetings, we drove down to visit with his aunt and uncle. We celebrated his aunt's birthday and enjoyed visiting with two of Dave's cousins and their kids, as well. Antonin had a great time playing with Karey's daughter and was disappointed that we didn't get more time to visit. Dave and I were disappointed that we didn't have more time to visit or go to the beach either. We could easily have spent a few more days relaxing.

The worst part of the trip was the travel there...a forgotten diaper bag and blankies, messed up boarding passes and getting stuck at customs, late flights and nearly missed connections, and missing luggage were some of the things that I really did not want to experience. Thankfully, the boys traveled really well on the trip there. On the way back, everything went much more smoothly stuff-wise, but the kids were more irritable and difficult to manage.

Easing Back In

2012-01-21T21:01:00.001-07:00

After taking such a long and unexpected break from blogging, I'm finally ready to start back up again. It will be a little slow - it is always so difficult to start something again once you've gotten out of the habit. But I'm really glad to be finding the time to get back on my computer and I've got a few changes that I'm planning for here. First is the new layout and name. Bear with me as I gradually sort things out. In the next couple of weeks, I'll share a little of what we've done over the past several months and return to a more regular schedule of posting. Thanks for your patience.

Cousins and Generations (236-269)

2011-09-24T22:58:00.000-06:00

Families are such wonderful treasures. We learn so much from our parents, our grandparents, and even our siblings and children. Belonging to a family stretches us and helps us to grow and develop greater love, trust empathy and responsibility. It is a shame that so many extended families live so far apart. In our case, the closest family that we have to us lives 5 hours away. However, it doesn't work out that we get to visit my sister every time we drive through where she lives. My parents live 8 hours away. My other sister and my brother live 18 hours away, and Dave's family lives even further. I really like taking every opportunity I can to gather with family and enjoy a good visit. On our journey home from vacation this summer, we had a few special stops to make. First up was my brother's house, where we enjoyed a wonderful meal, soft beds, and a short visit. Then we slipped over to my sister's place for another great meal and an opportunity for the cousins to play, which was far too short. And finally, we took the scenic route back to my parents' to get in a visit with my grandpa. It was great to see my boys laughing with him and showing him their things.

This week, I am at my parents' once again. My sister and her children are visiting as well. And the cousins are relishing this time together. All of them fight over Antonin, but somehow we sort it out. It is good for Antonin to not be the oldest or biggest one all the time, although, since everyone wants to be with him, he's still got a lot of control.

236. fresh baked bread
237. warm pot of soup
238. tomatoes, fresh from the garden
239. a baby, proud of accomplishments
240. afternoon tea with my love
241. snuggles with my big boy
242. gentle reminders
243. second chances
244. improved mood
245. improved clarity
246. encouragement from a blog post
247. playing piano in the evening
248. laughing with my boys
249. baking soda bath for a diaper rash
250. travel chair straps
251. clover blossoms in my back yard
252. blossoms on my tomato plants
253. peace
254. renewal
255. joy of a child in a simple, homemade notebook
256. a baby who went to sleep on his own in his crib tonight
257. a new batch of homemade yogurt
258. hard lotion & lip balm made
259. soft, smooth lips from lip balm
260. scent of sweet orange essential oil
261. new deodorant made
262. the opportunity to develop patience
263. two hungry boys
264. latches under my kitchen sink
265. blog posts this week
266. hot chocolate pick-me-up
267. a sofa to pray/cry on
268. a little extra help from my husband who mostly worked from home on this day (Aug 30)
269. decadent peppermint-cocoa scented lotion

Time Flies... (201-235)

2011-09-18T00:00:00.002-06:00

It's already been over one year since we moved here to Fort McMurray and into our home here. Exactly one year ago, we were just starting to unearth our things after having been without most for nearly six weeks. It felt great to be in a house that had more than one chair to sit in and to have a proper bed to sleep in. Even better was having more than one pot to prepare food in and having access to more of my good food. Then, we had a one month old and a 2 year old. And the youngest was very unsettled, and needed to be held nearly all the time (I was so thankful for my Moby wrap!!!). And the oldest was struggling to figure out why his whole world had changed. Now, we have a one year old and a three year old. And the youngest is intent on exploring his world. He doesn't crawl anymore - he walks and even tries running and falls and gets right back up. He still likes lots of cuddling, and that Moby wrap still comes in handy :) (I have learned a new trick from some of the African mamas in our church on how to tie babies onto the back and I use that method too.) And our oldest is still growing and learning and trying to figure out the way his world works.

I would like to say that I am settled in here. But I'm not. The biggest problem is the master bedroom - it has not been painted yet, so I haven't unpacked much. There are empty shelves and boxes and piles of things to deal with. This is the longest that it has ever taken for me to get settled somewhere. And it gets discouraging sometimes. But then I remember: I have a one year old and a three year old. And they require a lot of attention. And sometimes that's about all I can manage. But, I've been taking little snatches of time to work on little projects this past week and I'm slowly working through the pack-rattery and chaos and hopefully by Christmas, we'll be all settled in.

201. a boy who mostly dressed himself
202. first steps solo
203. building friendships
204. timely words in a sermon
205. the good work
206. splashing water
207. head full of sand
208. sweet tiny baby
209. playing with friends
210. refreshed
211. sweet bread from the freezer
212. cherries - fresh & sweet
213. sun & water
214. wind & cloud
215. comfy, deluxe camping chair
216. Sabbath rest
217. pretty black dress
218. fun hair
219. a new hairstyle on my man
220. hymns
221. money raised for a new church building
222. visiting with church members
223. news of a new baby girl - due early January to Lori and Jason
224. happy children
225. blintzes for supper
226. beautiful stone serving pot
227. a microwave for a gift for cheap
228. a jigsaw found at the sale
229. sorted clean clothes
230. fewer things in my home
231. a clean garage
232. a crystal bud vase
233. a bigger paycheck than expected
234. dreams
235. carrying baby African-style

A Week Derailed (#161-200)

2011-09-11T08:25:00.000-06:00

We had a very full and busy week last week. Peaches and tomatoes were on sale last week and I picked up a lot. I needed to replenish my store of canned peaches and tomato sauce. I spent Friday, September 2, canning 28 quarts of tomato sauce. Then, Tuesday, canning 22 quarts of peaches and 12 pints of peach jam. I took a break most of Wednesday, because of the heat (it was 30C with no AC and too hot to slave over a stove), but started working on another couple of batches of tomato sauce at 5 pm. I stayed up, getting the second batch on to simmer by 2 am, then went to bed. I finished canning that batch by 10:30 am Thursday morning, before it got too hot again. I spent the rest of the day cleaning up in the kitchen and getting ready to process peaches later in the evening, when it would be a little cooler.

But I didn't get to start that. While I was preparing supper, my poor Antonin boy fell off a chair while watching pictures on the computer and landed wrong on a bar just above the floor that connected two legs of the highchair, breaking both bones in his left arm about 1-2 inches up from the wrist. Supper didn't get finished as we gathered things together to head off to the ER for the second time exactly 3 months after the trip with Titus. Thankfully, when we arrived in ER, there was absolutely no line-up. Within minutes, we were in the x-ray and then taken straight back to a room in ER. His bones were set and follow-up x-rays taken all within an hour of us arriving there. Antonin was such a brave little boy. After the initial shock, he sat calmly at home while we got ready to go. And once in the hospital, he was so cooperative with the x-ray technicians and the nurses. Sadly, the hardest part for me was when he had an IV inserted. And even then, he calmed fairly quickly after that. The doctor quickly set his bones and a follow-up x-ray showed excellent alignment. We're taking him in to follow-up with an orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday and he'll be getting a new cast then.

It's been a tough couple of days, keeping him out of trouble and occupied so that his cast could set up properly. We've watched a lot of videos (I'm so glad that I picked up a new one at the ABC bookmobile this week) and looking at pictures. We went to church yesterday, too. But I wish I hadn't. It was too much for him and he spent a lot of the afternoon in tears. Today is a new day. And I hope it goes better. For one thing, I'm not going to be as mother hennish because the cast is now completely dry and he won't be able to do damage to it. Hopefully being more active will improve his mood.

161. friends who can help
162. a reminder to accept our situations and find peace
163. blue sky through leaves
164. sunlight glinting on leaves
165. occasional drop of water from saturated trees
166. sounds of life flowing around me
167. watching people
168. knowing why I care so much about including everyone
169. a bird's call
170. driving under black clouds
171. open blue sky and white fluffy clouds next to blackness
172. sun, like a distorted ball of flame, seen through clouds
173. celebrating milestones with family
174. the phrase "a little bit while"
175. bug spray
176. antibiotics when very sick
177. being home
178. hands - being held, shaken, placed upon
179. prayer of dedication
180. personal words of encouragement and challenge
181. surrounded by family
182. making plans for publication
183. a growing son
184. patience being stretched
185. cool days
186. finding booties that will stay on baby's feet
187. taking time to love on my big boy
188. lettuce not frozen through
189. "let bitterness go away"
190. a good price on berries
191. anticipation
192. unexpected money deposited
193. a lower mobile bill
194. sleeping in
195. middle of the night with God
196. seeing His answer in the peace and enjoyment of the next day
197. a baby sleeping through the night
198. only part of a project left
199. quick dishes to make for potluck
200. singing children

Antonin in Oregon - Summer 2011

2011-09-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

Today, I am in the midst of canning - canning 30 lbs of tomatoes into spaghetti sauce and working through another ~60 lbs of peaches. I've already done the same amount of tomatoes last week and did ~50 lbs of peaches yesterday, so we're doing good. I cannot believe the weather though! It got really hot yesterday, hotter today, and still more heat to come. Temperatures have been over 30 C or getting close to 90 F. And when you don't have AC and you're working over a hot stove day in and day out, it's a little draining. Hopefully, I can finish up the canning by Thursday night. I've got too many other appointments scheduled for Friday to be able to work on my preserving. One good thing about this weather though, it's letting my poor tomato plants work on ripening a bit more fruit.

One month ago, though, we were enjoying some wonderful times at Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra's house in Oregon. Antonin got to experience some fun and new things. Ralph Wyman treated Antonin to a close up experience of a motorbike. He got a little scared, but humored everyone for some pictures. He copied everyone else lounging around reading and read a "hilarious" story (about church plants, but he doesn't need to know that!) He went berry picking with Grandma. And he got to pet some goats - particularly their "beards":) He made a point of going to each goat and stroking their beards. He's just got this thing about them - where he gets it from, I don't know, but I have a feeling that facial hair is in his future.

Cannon Beach and Manzanita

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Two boys.

First time to the coast.

Sand.

Surf.

Grandma and Grandpa.

Auntie Flory and Uncle Matthew.

Mama and Daddy.

Frisbee.

Walking.

Tide pools.

Water.

Pure fun.

Sweet Potato Fries

2011-09-06T08:00:00.002-06:00

One of our new favorite foods are sweet potato fries. They are so yummy! Titus eats as many of them as he can whenever I serve them, which is hard, because the rest of us want to eat as many of them as we can too. And they are so simple to make. (I got my inspiration here.)

Ingredients:
sweet potato
olive oil
sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Peel sweet potato and chop into strips about 1/2" thick. Lay out strips on a baking sheet. Sprinkle olive oil over them and toss them around to coat with the oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy!!!

While in Oregon this summer, we went out for a late night snack with Matt and Flory and had sweet potato fries with a basil, mint, cilantro, and sriracha mayo. That was so delicious! Next time I make the fries, I think I'll try some type of cilantro mayo based of this recipe.

Train Park in Shady Dell

2011-09-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra had a really fun surprise for the boys during their visit this summer: a trip to a train park where we could go for rides. Both Antonin and Titus loved the trains and went on the rides as many times as they could. Antonin went on every time, but the rest of us took turns off taking pictures or taking care of other things. The trains are real models of trains. There are steam engines and diesel engines. The track winds around the grounds and you get a pretty long ride. It is such a fun place for children and adults to spend an afternoon.

The One Year Old

2011-09-04T08:00:00.001-06:00

Titus turned one on July 29. We were so excited to be at Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra's house for his birthday. He had a little road cake, and was very excited to see the car on top. He even liked eating it, but was so carefully picking at it that it took a long time for him to eat. He also got some fun presents and had a lot of fun. Antonin picked out a pink Little People SUV for him and the two of them keep having trouble sharing. Grandma and Grandpa gave Titus a collapsible tunnel, which they both love crawling through. We are so blessed to have Titus in our family. He is such a sweet little boy! He's recently started giving hugs and kisses when he's asked to. He's working hard at learning to walk and learning to talk. He is such a happy, busy boy that brings us so much joy!

Being Ordained (#141-160)

2011-09-03T18:34:00.001-06:00

One of the highlights of our summer happened on the second Sabbath of campmeeting. Dave was ordained that afternoon. We were so blessed that my mom's siblings were able to attend and to also bring my grandfather. Dave's parents drove up, as did mine. And we had a wonderful afternoon visiting with family and enjoying a decadent cake that I made, along with a little help from my mom and Dave's mom.

The ordination service was really special. Dave was the only one being ordained this year, so it became a very personal service. Each person that spoke spoke directly to Dave. The charge and descriptions of an ordained pastor and his/her family were very daunting and humbling. No one can do or be all that is described. Only through God's grace can we even try to be the influence and person that we are called to be. What a powerful time it was, being prayed over like that. It was very good to be reminded of our call to lead others into a closer relationship with Jesus. And yet, I am reminded that it is Jesus, himself, who draws people to him. I praise God that it is not me. And I was so glad that our conference president's wife, one of my school bus drivers from my childhood, spoke to me about fulfilling the role that God has called me into and not trying to do all the things that everyone else expects or demands. I'm still searching for that path, but I do know that spending time with Jesus daily will help me to find my way.

141. another sunny day

142. earlier naptimes

143. simple meals

144. picnic

145. seeing former teachers

146. confirmation of plans to homeschool

147. finding a resource for Sabbath School props

148. getting new books

149. tasting a delicious vegan ice cream

150. stillness in the air

151. a chance to sit and crochet

152. enjoying a different pace than at home

153. anticipation of Sabbath

154. spending so much time outside

155. ColdFX extra strenght

156. a cold that quickly dissipates

157. sharing a meal

158. sharing joys and struggles

159. shelter in the time of storm

160. rapid relief from hip pain

My Little Helper

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

Titus has gotten very active in the past couple months. Actually, that's not really true. Titus has always been very active, even before he was born. But now, he is on the move. And I cannot keep up with him. He is a very busy little boy. If he's not loading or unloading the dishwasher for me, he's climbing chairs and sorting food in my pantry. Of course, that's when he's not busy rearranging his big brother's cars or my furniture! Or even, gnawing on his daddy's toes :) I love my precious baby and can't believe how quickly he is changing and growing.

Black Bean Soup

2011-09-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

Beans are a staple in our house. Dave absolutely loves them. The boys like their share too. I enjoy them, but can only tolerate them as burritos/fajitas or haystacks so much. But, because they are so inexpensive and packed full of nutrients, I usually make a big pot of them every week. I love making beans that are very well cooked and therefore quite smooth. This means that I need to start the evening before. I rinse the beans first, then throw them into my crockpot. I add about 2 Tbsp of lemon juice and fill the pot with water and stick the whole thing back into my cupboard. (My kitchen is pretty small and counter space is at a premium.) The next morning, I pull the pot out, drain and rinse the beans and pot again, and then set them back into the pot, usually in a corner on my stove. I chop an onion and crush 3-4 cloves of garlic and add that to the top of the beans. I also put about 2 Tbsp of dried oregano. On high, these bean will be cooked by lunch. At that time you can season them up a bit more however you like to. For me, recently, it's just been salt. Then I can use them in a number of different recipes.

Lately, I've been looking for other dishes to make. And I came across this black bean soup in one of my recipe books, 1001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes, Third Edition. I changed it up a bit when I made it. I found that this recipe was not my favorite when I first made it. The flavors had not blended well and it seemed quite bland. But after letting it sit for a couple of days, I have to say that it became one of my favorite soups. And I love soup! Here is my version of the recipe:

Classic Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

3 c black beans, cooked

6 c water

1 Tbsp oil

1 large onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato chopped

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

4-6 Tbsp sour cream

Oregano or parsley, finely chopped as garnish

Heat a large saucepan on medium heat, then add oil. Sauté onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and herbs and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add beans and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until beans are very tender. Serve soup with dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with oregano or parsley. Or serve with tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

Titus Meets Great-Grandpa Holm

2011-08-31T08:00:00.002-06:00

We were pretty blessed that my mom's siblings and her dad were able to visit with us at campmeeting this year. They all made a point to come for Dave's ordination. And that made it extra special. One of the big things that happened was that Titus was able to meet my Grandpa for the first time. And, he wasn't too impressed until Mama finally held him beside Great-Grandpa and he could investigate from a safe place. Poor kid had a lot of new experiences that week. On top of that, he was sick with a sinus infection and bronchitis, so he was quite overwhelmed.

Travel Cloth Highchair Straps Tutorial

2011-08-30T08:00:00.003-06:00

When we headed off to camp-meeting, we forgot some very important things. One of those was a highchair/booster seat that would strap Titus in place for meals. And if there's one thing that I know about Titus, it's that he doesn't stay still. He has nearly fallen head first out of his highchair here at home! I found him hanging with one leg still tucked under the tray. Now, I cannot leave him unsupervised at all. But having him strapped in certainly helps a little. When I realized I was missing this important piece of equipment, I thought, "Oh yeah, I get to make one of those travel cloth straps to tie Titus up with! I've been wanting to make that for forever." Luckily, I was at my mom's and she happened to have a stack of my fabric, just sitting in one of her closets. The only problem is that all of it was Christmas patterns. I finally chose one, grabbed an old cloth diaper for a very loose pattern and got to work. And here are my steps:

1. Cut fabric out:

one piece 18" by 18".
four pieces 6 1/2" x 30 1/2" (or longer, depending on how long you want your straps.)

2. Start sewing it together. All seams are 1/4".

Fold the 18"x 18" in half with right sides together. Sew down outside edge to form a tube. Turn right side out and iron. Set aside. This will be the seat.

Sew two strips together to make 60" strips. Repeat to make second strip.
Fold a strip in half, right sides together, making the straps 3 1/4" inches wide. Mark of 10" in the middle of the strip where you will insert the seat. Sew the strip, leaving the 10" portion open. Repeat for second strip. Trim inside corners. Turn right side out and iron.

Attach strap to the seat by pinning the seat in place in the opening in the strap. Sew 1/8" in from the edge of the fabric. Continue sewing a top stitch 1/8" in all around the strap to give it a finished look. Repeat for second strap. Top stitch down each side of the seat.

3. It's all finished! I grabbed my older son to test drive it. He thought it was great fun. And then I stuffed it into the diaper bag and we raced off to take care of a couple of errands before heading up to campmeeting. You can go use this for your baby. Or, tuck it into a purse or diaper bag to have it handy when you are out and about.

Campmeeting

2011-08-29T14:18:00.000-06:00

Campmeeting was so much fun and so much work! We enjoyed visiting with friends, and Antonin loved playing with the boys and girls he met. He also really enjoyed the classes he went to. Funny thing, we got our same cabin that we used to have again this year. I liked that, because I knew what to expect and was able to plan for things to make my life a little easier. I had thought of a few more things to make it easier another time, but next year, we're planning to get a trailer. We'll have to see how that changes things. In some ways, it'll make it so much easier, but it will also make things a little more difficult. We'll have much farther to walk to get to the meetings and back. Anyways, here are a few images of campmeeting.

Catching Up: In June

2011-08-28T17:03:00.000-06:00

Summer has been a very busy time for us. We have been on the road a lot. And it seems like when we've been home, everyone has been sick and I haven't been able to work on my blog. In June, I'd nearly gotten up to date with my posts, but once again have fallen far behind. Also, getting out of the habit of posting makes it hard to get back into it. Today, I'm trying to jump right back in. Hopefully, I'll start getting things worked out to post a little more regularly too.

June was a good month to spend at home, preparing for our travels and enjoying time with church members. One Sabbath afternoon, Antonin and Titus had some little friends over to play with. And another Sabbath evening, the church family went out to a lake and had a vespers program there. We couldn't have a campfire due to the fire bans, but we enjoyed good singing, fellowship and playing. We even had the exciting opportunity to see the world's biggest water bomber that was out here fighting our forest fires. Antonin enjoyed hours of play in our back yard dirt pile or garden. And Titus showed signs of following in his brother's footsteps - he was organizing his cars.

Simple Things (#121-140)

2011-08-13T16:21:00.000-06:00

We just returned home in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after being gone most of the summer, at least that's what it seems like. We left home on July 4 for camp pitch and camp-meeting, and although we came home for a week in the middle, it doesn't really feel that way because I spent most of that time sick in bed or sitting in a dr's office. The past couple of weeks we've been on vacation. We had a wonderful break and I'll be posting some of our adventures soon. Today, I'm continuing my list of gifts. These "gifts" were written down a few weeks ago, but I'd still like to include all of my gifts on my blog.

*****
121. seeing Emily
122. my hip not going out until we were almost packed
123. quick relief from pain in my hip
124. visiting with my mom
125. a safe trip
126. visiting with friends
127. watching 5 little kids chasing a football
128. encouragement received listening to Dr. Samaan
129.seeing the helicopters bring Prince William and Kate back to Calgary
130. missing the tornadoes and storms at camp
131. that all were safe at camp during the storm
132. that our vehicle did not get damaged
133. finding new blouses to wear
134. bug spray
135. the breeze keeping mosquitoes away
136. sun, when the forecast was rain
137. a morning retreat
138. early bedtimes
139. a family walk
140. being stopped to be prayed for

The List (91-120)

2011-07-23T22:29:00.000-06:00

91. early bedtimes
92. early risings
93. laundry done early in the week
94. an almost potty trained boy
95. a warm bath
96. a tasty cappaccino - warm or iced
97. white, flowing, soft cotton nightgown
98. sorted paperwork
99. a clean desk
100. anticipation of a working vacation
101. chill time for my oldest
102. a menu plan for camp
103. a packing list started
104. a dozy boy at suppertime
105. dancing with my boys
106. belly laughs
107. sweet potato fries
108. pictures for a project
109. fun summer plans
110. an approaching deadline
111. beautiful pink sunset
112. kids needing a summer job
113. talking about salvation with my almost 3 yo
114. pizza
115. my mother-in-law
116. seeing a "baby bump" on a friend
117. "catching up" with Skype
118. catnaps while putting baby to sleep
119. exercise gotten while putting baby to sleep
120. a day with all at home.

Driving to Campmeeting

2011-07-10T23:03:00.001-06:00

Last week, on our trip down to camp meeting we stopped in Edmonton to visit Auntie Emily. We had to wait in the van for a little while for her to get home, so Titus got to have lots of fun driving until he thought that the dashboard would be a cool place to hang out. Antonin was content in his carseat for a while, but once he saw Titus doung really cool things, he wanted to join in. If it's not one brother, it's the other trying to copy and follow. As these boys grow up, they are going to get into lots of trouble together! But they are so much fun to watch.

Thankfulness

2011-07-09T08:59:00.001-06:00

On Thursday evening, four tornados went through our area here. We are so thankful that not all thw campers were here yet and that the damage to the campground was a lot of leaves and twigs down, but no more. All the vehicles here at the time also suffered some hail damage. This is a picture of some of the leaves. All the walkways were covered, but by thw time I got out therefor a picture, the camp staff had it cleaned up as best they could.

Lazy Black Bean Enchiladas

2011-07-08T08:00:00.001-06:00

I love the taste of enchiladas, but I don’t always love the time that it takes to make them up. It really can be quite time consuming, especially when you have little ones hanging off your legs begging for attention, not that my boys do that or anything. J So I was very glad to come up with a quick recipe that allows me to throw it together very quickly. This recipe tastes great just out of the oven. It is one that you can throw together and put into the freezer to pull out on those days when you really can’t cook! Just stop before you bake it, pop it in the freezer, and continue when you are ready to eat. Make sure to thaw the dish before putting it into the oven.

Lazy Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas

Ingredients

4 cups cooked black beans (2 -15 oz cans)
2 cups frozen corn
2 bell peppers, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1– 4 oz can diced green chilies
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
¼ cup fresh cilantro
2 tbsp. lime juice
12 soft corn tortillas
Enchilada sauce, or cream sauce (below)

Cheese (optional)

Grease a 10X13 pan. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix first 11 ingredients together. Set aside. Put enchilada sauce to cover bottom of pan. Lay 4 corn tortillas on bottom of pan. Spoon half of bean mixture over tortillas. Top with enchilada sauce, then repeat steps, layering tortillas, bean mixture and sauce. Put one last layer of tortillas on top. Pour remaining sauce over top of enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese (optional). Bake for 45 minutes, or until warm and bubbly.

Gravy Chic-Style

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped
3 tbsp oil
¼ c flour
1 tbsp chicken-style seasoning
2 c water or milk
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt, to taste
1 can diced green chilies

Directions

Sauté onion and chilies in oil until soft. Stir in flour and seasonings. Add water slowly, stir and cook until thickened. Simmer 5 minutes. Makes about 2 cups.

My Budding Artist

2011-07-07T07:13:00.001-06:00

Antonin got this little magna doodle when he went to his cousins' birthday party when he was one. It's been one of the best gifts that he's gotten! He uses it every week, and sometimes every day. He is always asking someone to draw pictures for him, but recently he started drawing his own. Here are a couple of examples. The first goes without saying. The second he titled "The French Car".

A Little Slip-up: How Not to Cut Hair

2011-07-06T14:32:00.001-06:00

I try to keep up with cutting Antonin's hair. It grows so fast, but I can't cut it too short because of his double crown, so I need to cut it quite often. Usually he does pretty good with not squirming too much, but a couple of weeks ago, we both slipped up a little and I ended up trimming a little skin off the top of his ear. Poor kid - but after we got him bandaged up, he was pretty proud of his unusual bandage. He was much more catious when I trimmed his hair just before heading off to campmeeting.

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Welcoming Betzi

2011-07-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

In May, my cousins in Australia welcomed a little baby girl into their family. I had sent off a little package to surprise them with and just got word today that they've received it. Two months shipping time is not too terribly bad, but I was getting antsy! I'm so glad that it arrived safely. I've wanted to show the beautiful blanket I crocheted for her. I am in love with the colours white and yellow right now. Titus' is that colour, my newest project is that colour, and Betzi's is that color. I've been getting my crochet inspiration and patterns from the book Our Best Baby Afghans lately. I love their blanket designs. They are easy to make and always turn out some beautiful projects. Often, I will change the borders up a little, and I love playing with colors. That makes baby blankie number 20! And with one more on the go and a new one I just learned about this weekend (my sister-in-law just found out that she's expecting), I'll be busy for awhile! I love it!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T07:59:00.000-06:00

Happy 4th of July to all our family and friends! This year is quite different than last year. Last year we were expecting our baby any day. This year, our baby is starting to talk and is into everything. Last year, we celebrated the weekend of the 4th with family and friends in Michigan and Indiana. This year, we're in Northern Alberta, scrambling to get packed and ready to head off to camp-meeting. We'll spend most of today on the road, but it will be fun. It's a beautiful day, and we're all set to enjoy it!

A Morning With Gramma Kartik

2011-07-03T08:00:00.001-06:00

At the end of May, we took a quick trip down to Red Deer and back. The conference wanted to interview Dave for ordination, and they wanted me to be there too. My mom made the trip from Cochrane to Red Deer to look after our boys while we were in the meeting. They had a lot of fun and Gramma spoiled them nicely by taking them for as many walks as she could handle without letting them get eaten alive by mosquitoes. (We actually had fun too, and Dave will be ordained in 3 weeks, on the last Sabbath evening of the Alberta camp-meeting! I'm so proud of my husband!)

Blessings (76-90)

2011-07-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

This week has been a challenging one. Late nights and early mornings naturally lead to being less productive. So, I struggled through, not really accomplishing much on my list of tasks and goals. Over-tiredness, combined with chasing after a little monkey, a.k.a. Titus, kept me from getting any momentum going to accomplish tasks. So, I find myself with one more day at home before we head out with at least a weeks worth of tasks to accomplish. Today, however, it is time to stop and enjoy the Sabbath that God created for us. As Jesus said in Mark 2:27, "Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." I pray that you will find a Sabbath rest today.

76. talking with old friends
77. being reminded that "God loves me"
78. company at potluck
79. holding a sleeping baby
80. getting to sit beside my husband at church
81. homemade rolls
82. happy boys
83. getting laundry put away
84. the smell of homemade applesauce being made
85. 28 quarts of applesauce in jars on my counter
86. pink-hued applesauce
87. a cool day for making applesauce
88. a baby's first words -- 'at' = eat; 'all done'; 'socks' -- so much fun!
89. interactive communication with my baby
90. a boy's questions

Summer Time!

2011-07-01T08:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Canada Day! This is the first time in four years that I have been in Canada at this time of year! I'm excited to be here today and am looking forward to some fireworks tonight. It really seems like summer has been here for ages already! We've had a lot of really hot weather in my corner of the province since early May, with temperatures ranging from the low to high 20s C. This past week I believe it even hit 30C! In other parts of this province, they're wondering if summer temperatures will even come.
In the summer, I love making iced tea! And, I had the perfect recipe, but, somehow, amidst all the moving that I've done, I lost the recipe, and I can't remember how exactly it was made. This led me to a massive search for the right recipe. See, I'm Canadian and it has to be a Canadian-style iced tea for me to really enjoy it. It is sweet, but not too sweet, and a citrus, such as lemon, is also essential.
I never did find quite the right recipe, but I found inspiration in two different ones and combined elements from both to make the perfect iced tea - smooth sweet tea, and sweet lime iced tea. I loved this tea, the lime juice was such a refreshing flavour and the baking soda really does make a very smooth tea.

Heidi's Sweet Lime Iced Tea
2 c boiling water
5 black tea bags (I used decaf earl grey)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c lime juice
pinch baking soda

Put boiling water, tea bags, sugar and lime juice in a pitcher and allow to steep for 45 minutes. Make sure that sugar is dissolved in the liquid before it cools too much. Once the tea has steeped, remove the tea bags and add a pinch of baking soda to the tea. Top up with about 4-6 more cups of cool water, depending on your taste, and chill.

It Feels Like Fall...

2011-06-30T08:00:00.002-06:00

On Monday this week, I spent the day processing 2 bushels of apples into applesauce and canning it. Yeah, I know, that is such a fall activity! And I was dreading it just a little - worried that it would be too hot. But the weather cooperated with me. It was a gray, cloudy, wet day. And the temperature barely got above 10oC. And it really needed to be done. All three of my boys go through applesauce so fast! And we used up the last jar of it last week. I don't know about you, but having home-made applesauce makes me not want to buy any from the store. There is no comparison in the flavour whatsoever. So, when I found a fruit truck with apples to sell that were a better price than what I can get in the stores, I went for it. It was a fun busy day, but I really missed my friends Sarah and Walter! I've been doing applesauce with them the last few times I've done it, and now they're too far away.:( Or maybe it's the other way around. We ended up with 28 quarts plus the little that we ate before canning. That should last us through to the fall when I'll have to tackle some more. Our last batch lasted us for about 1 1/2 years, but I don't think I'll be that blessed again. Our last batch was also free.

So, how do I make applesauce? I start with a small helper (my son, who has helped with applesauce making since he could walk), helping me put apples into a sink full of sudsy water. I wash and rinse each apple, quarter them and remove the stems and the fuzzy ends. Do not core or peel. Then I cut each quarter into halves or quarters again to get chunks about 2" in size and toss them into one of my 8 quart pots. When the pot is full, I add about 1/2 c water to the pot, and put it on medium heat on the stove. Let it simmer until the apples are nice and soft, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom. When the apples are soft, I take the pot to my table where I have my strainer set up. I ladle some of the hot apples into the waiting strainer, turn the crank, and watch warm applesauce come out. Repeat this process until all the apples have been turned into applesauce.

I like to process most of the apples before starting to can because that gives the chance for the sauce to blend a little. Otherwise, some of it might be too watery, while others would be to thick. When I'm ready to can, I put water into my boiling water canner and begin to heat it. Then I start filling jars - 7 at a time. I make sure that each batch is covered by 1" of water and that the water comes to a boil before I start timing. You'll have to figure out what your canning time is based on you altitude and the canning times. I like to check wikipedia for the information for where I live, then compare it to charts on Simply Canning, which has all the information you need to get you started on canning.
There are a few things that have made my applesauce making days go by more quickly and easily:

applesauce strainer

over the sink cutting board with removable colander

noritake colorwave pasta serving bowl,

20 quart, heavy bottomed stock pot,

2 -7quart pots for stewing the apples, and

boiling water canner and canning accessories

A Room Redone

2011-06-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

In May, I finally took the time to get Titus' room fixed up! The painting and settling of our home has taken so much time here. It's hard to believe that we've been here 10 months, and still there is so much unsettled and unfinished. I really believe that the chaos and stress of moving so soon after Titus' birth has held me back in some ways from getting things settled more quickly.

One of the dilemmas in Titus' room was what to do about a change table. In December, we finally had to dispose of our $2 thrift store one. Antonin stood on the side and managed to twist things up so much that it was impossible to put it back together safely. At that point, we moved the changing area into the master bedroom on our dresser, but that was less than ideal. I wanted another change table, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that had only that one function. Also, I'd really wanted to get some nice shelving and storage space for his room. From my sister, Janette, I finally was inspired to combine those two wishes. While Dave was in Edmonton, he picked up the shelving unit and I worked hard to sand, prime and paint his room. Most of the time, I worked while the boys were sleeping, but once, I was right in the middle, and so ended up stuffing them both into the crib to play while I worked. They had fun and I got to finish without anyone getting into the paint. Now, all I need to do is put up some pictures and make his baby quilt. I'm looking forward to really seeing the finished product!

Cinnamon Coconut Loaf

2011-06-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

First up on my baking frenzy day, was a cinnamon coconut loaf found in the book Company's Coming Muffins and More. It smells wonderful, but the centre fell during baking and the baking time was a little long. But, we love just about anything with cinnamon and coconut around here, so we'll enjoy it. You can find the recipe in this post.

ingredients:

2 eggs

1/4 c cooking oil

1 c granulated sugar

1 c curdled milk (or sour cream)

1-1/2 c flour

1/2 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c medium coconut

1/4 c packed brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350oF. Grease a loaf pan. Beat eggs until frothy, then beat in oil and sugar. Add milk and combine well. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, and salt well. Add to wet ingredients and stir until just moistened. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour half of batter into bottom of loaf pan, sprinkle half of coconut mixture over top. Cover with remaining batter and coconut mixture. Cut through batter to give a marbled effect. Bake for about 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

Antonin's A Big Boy

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

Antonin has been working hard on an important milestone for the past couple of months - he's learning to use the potty! He caught on to the # 1 part of it so quickly, but really struggled to overcome a fear of doing # 2. After trying to figure out what incentive to use, I picked up this set of 5 matchbox cars. He was so excited to get them, when he finally used the potty! And, he hasn't had an accident in his underpants since then! I just wish he would remember to use the potty for # 1 all the time too. :)

I'm so proud of how quickly he trained himself! We had tried a couple of times in the past, but he was not ready or interested in going diaper-less then. And I did not want to have to deal with the headache of all the extra laundry, when it was obvious that he didn't want to do it. Now, he's even traveled to Red Deer and back without having any accidents! And just in time for camp-meeting.

It's All About Titus

2011-06-26T20:29:00.000-06:00

Titus really came into his own during the month of May. At the beginning of the month, he figured out how to really crawl and that opened up his world! He is into every thing now! Laundry, music, driving, dishwasher, cabinets, socks, books, papers, Antonin's toys (especially the cars!!), walking. Now, he's even standing up and trying to pull things off the kitchen table! He definitely is trying to keep up with his brother. That kid keeps me on my toes more than anything else these days. He's going to be interesting to keep up with once he starts walking.

Giving Thanks (#1-75)

2011-06-25T21:30:00.001-06:00

It's been a long time coming. I've seen it around the internet. I bought the book and started reading. And I have been thinking of things in my mind. But I haven't started recording the gifts and blessings that God has given to me. Until this week. I finally pulled out a brand new journal and a pretty pen and started writing. In case you don't know what I'm talking about, I have decided to record my 1000 Gifts, being inspired by the book of that title by Ann Voskamp and by reading the lists that others are sharing.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17 NKJV

black clouds on the horizon
sun shining through clouds
"You're special to me!" words of a 34 month old boy
"I want to hold you!" words of a 34 month old boy
raindrops on my window pane
tiny baby fingers
bopping to a song
Singing "I Come to the Garden Alone" with 34 month old son for bedtime - and hearing most of the words coming from his mouth
Tiny arms wrapped around my neck
baby giggles
cloudless skies
homemade iced tea
homemade cream of mushroom soup
homemade tomato bisque
a clean fridge
sweet fingertip kisses
a dirt covered little boy
herbs fresh from the garden
a reminder to "stop complaining"
two sleeping boys
a fresh haircut on a little boy
open windows
open doors
"follow the leader" on our knees
two giggling boys
story-time
creating little (schedule) gifts for special nieces and a nephew
telephones
talking to my sister
talking to my mom
talking with my love
keeping my blog going one more day
a comfortable bed
a finger still there
my proud creeping son
long daylight hours
the taste of homemade raisin bread
playing with the hose in the afternoon heat
running, squealing, laughing from water
boys kissing through screen door
peaceful piano music on itunes radio
new recipes to try
boxes of apples
a dressingless finger
one less stop on errand day
second tomatoes
days outside
sparkling clean bathrooms
a good dr's visit
clapping hands
chocolate chips
an ironing board cover that fits
a good deal on a new computer
clean floors
the sound of thunder
yummy blueberry muffins
home canned peaches
the sound of a heavy downpour
the smell of rain
chatting with nieces
a freshly scrubbed boy
starting to recite and memorize the Lord's Prayer with my almost 3 year old
hearing songs of praise on my son's lips
a clean living room
clean hallways
a dry home
a washing machine and dryer
electricity
running water
clean clothes
many clothes
a blankie wrapped baby
a growing baby
a creeping 11 month old
a quiet evening

I plan to link up to the Monday's post of One Thousand Gifts.

All Packed Up With Nowhere to Go!

2011-06-24T13:38:00.000-06:00

In May, Dave spend a week in Edmonton. That left the boys and I here on our own. We had a fun time. We worked hard and played lots. We had yummy food. And we even got some projects in the house finished, but by the end of it, the boys were really missing Daddy, especially Antonin. The day Dave was coming home, Antonin found a small duffle bag, and crawled inside. He was ready to go see Daddy.

Raisin Bread

2011-06-23T08:00:00.001-06:00

This is the recipe of raisin bread that I made during my marathon baking day last week. We love this raisin bread! It is so simple to make and it tastes wonderful. It is a little crumbly, but the flavour makes up for it. The original was also found in Company's Coming Muffins and More, but I also came across it here. I made some alterations, but I think I'll make even more changes, such as the applesauce that so many were recommending over at all recipes, the next time I make it. And there will be a next time! :)

ingredients:

1-1/2 c whole wheat flour

1-1/2 c all purpose flour

1/2 c granulated sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 c raisins

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c oil

1-1/2 c curdled milk (or just plain milk)

Preheat oven to 350oF. Mix first set of ingredients thoroughly. Combine wet ingredients, then add to dry ingredients. Stir just enough to moisten, then pour into a prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour.

Mad Drivers!!

2011-06-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

What could possibly be more fun than driving a red car(t) with the wind blowing hard! Little boys and their cars :) I can hardly believe that Titus already has the car sound down pat! And the first thing that he goes for anywhere is a car! Books/paper are a pretty close second, but he hardly pays any attention to balls. Go figure.

Kitchen Adventures and Misadventures

2011-06-21T08:00:00.004-06:00

It all started with a simple pot of yogurt, or at least what was supposed to be yogurt. I posted a couple of weeks ago about how easy it is to make delicious yogurt at home with very minimal effort. And, I always figured that it's pretty basic and easy to make. But I did something a week ago that left me scratching my head and scrambling to come up with something to use up the 1/2 gallon of milk that I was left with. Somehow, something acidic was introduced into the milk while it was heating, and I ended up with a pot of curdled milk. When I complained to Dave, he laughed and told me that I'd made cottage cheese. And the same thing with my sister. It certainly didn't look or taste like cottage cheese to me, but whatever it was, I just couldn't make yogurt out of it. I decided to stuff it back into the fridge and bake with it as soon as I could come up with some recipes and enough time to do it all. And last Monday, I finally did. (Mondays are Dave's day off, so I was able to leave the kids under his responsibility and focus on the kitchen and my baking.) I found some great recipes, modified them all by intent and by accident, and ended up with enough sweet bread in my freezer to last us until the end of the summer, especially considering how much we're going to be out and about. I made 6 loaves of bread and 32 poppy seed rolls. I'll try to post my recipes in the next couple of weeks.

First up was a cinnamon coconut loaf found in the book Company's Coming Muffins and More. It smells wonderful, but the centre fell during baking and the baking time was a little long. But, we love just about anything with cinnamon and coconut around here, so we'll enjoy it.

Next, I mixed up a double batch of raisin bread. We love this raisin bread! It is so simple to make and it tastes wonderful. It is a little crumbly, but the flavour makes up for it. The original was also found in the same cookbook, but I also came across it here. I made some alterations, but I think I'll make even more changes, such as the applesauce that so many were recommending over at all recipes, the next time I make it. And there will be a next time! :)

Third, I made a double batch of banana bread based on a recipe I found on the website, The Fresh Loaf. I made a couple of minor adjustments to the recipe which I will outline in another post.

Fourth, I made a lemon yogurt cake from a recipe by Barefoot Contessa. At least, I tried to, but I ended up making a number of changes to the recipe quite by accident. You know, kids waking up from naps and everybody looking for food and wondering what to do next. All the distractions got me slightly confused. It still turned out quite nicely, so I'm happy about that.

All those mistakes should have warned me that it was time to stop the baking frenzy. But I had a little milk left, and I had a recipe that I had been really wanting to make since April. So I got to work on the poppy seed crescents, from a recipe that my friend, Leia, had posted on her blog for me to try out. And, it seemed like everything was progressing well. However, as I mixed the dough, I couldn't figure out why it was so dry. So I started adding a little more milk, and then a little more, until the dough felt right. Then I looked at the recipe again, and realized that I'd forgotten the eggs! I add the eggs, and then had to add some more flour. In the middle of this, Titus started fussing. I looked down to find the dressing had come off his finger. I quickly left my "mess" and got his dressing changed. Finally, I got back to the dough and crescent making. I know the dough was not quite right, but I guess I did the best that I could. And I discovered that making them was not as difficult as my mind had made it out to be. I certainly won't win any prizes for the looks of them, but they sure were tasty! Antonin absolutely loved them!! He ate four of them before I could stop him and then had a major meltdown when I told him he needed to save some for another day. I am looking forward to trying these again, and getting the recipe a little more "right" this time!

Vancouver Revisted

2011-06-20T08:00:00.001-06:00

I would be remiss not to talk of the fun we had with my brother and his family when we visited in March/April. My brother and sister are lucky...they both live in the same town, unlike us. The closest family to us now is my baby sister. She just moved to Edmonton and started her first real, big-time job. And that is 5 hours away!! Anyways, back to our BC visit. On our way through the first time, we stayed at my brother's house. We arrived really, really late, so they had our beds set up and we tried to settle in as quick as we could. Antonin loved "his" bed, a larger version of his tent. (That almost tempts me to get one for him, but I know that he doesn't need it. He does so well sleeping in a big boy bed and loves sleeping right in the middle of a queen bed, if need be.)

In the morning, we woke up to fun times with his cousin, who is 7 months younger than him. The boys all had so much fun playing with his toys. I discovered there that Antonin loves playing in a little kitchen. (I think we'll put together a joint "kitchen" present for Christmas this year. I've already started collecting the supplies to make something along the lines of this.)

The boys also had lots of fun when they got together at my sister's place. My sister watches our nephew, and Monday morning, when we arrived there, the bigger boys thought it would be fun to have a bath. Actually they had been promised a bath, so the mamas needed to follow through. Such smiles and laughter...and splashing. It was fun, fun, fun!

Daddy Time

2011-06-19T08:00:00.011-06:00

One thing that Dave loves to do with our boys is head outside. Several times a week, he bundles them up and heads off for a walk around the neighbourhood, checking out the red-wing black birds in their park, the trees and the trails in their park and ending up at the playground across the street. Both boys love it! They love spending this time with their daddy and love being outside too. I've been persuaded to join them on a couple of walks, and really enjoyed it too. But, I think I like having my house to myself for a little while even more than I like going on the walks, so home usually wins.

Antonin was so worried that Mama would get lost. :) After this picture, he had to hold my hand the rest of walk.

Joy!

2011-06-18T08:00:00.005-06:00

Have you watched children as they express joy in living? Watch what they do to have fun, and maybe even try some of the things they do. Jump in the air. Jump onto your bed. Stick your tongue out and make a silly face. Laugh.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10

Builder Antonin

2011-06-17T20:00:00.005-06:00

Antonin helped Grampa Kartik and Daddy build the gates for our back yard. And, when he got in the way too much, we set him up with a few of his own tools and some wood to work on his own. Now, Antonin, and soon Titus, can play in the backyard with out Mama being terrified that one will be tempted to leave the yard and try to cross the street and head to the super fun park that you can see from our front window. Antonin has had some very fun days playing on his slide, kicking his ball around, digging in the garden, and driving around on a couple of trikes. Titus is getting used to being outside too. He doesn't really enjoy the poky-ness of the grass though. He had the most fun when we set the play pen up out there so he could stand and play in comfort and still see everything that's going on. This is definitely the safest yard for kids that we've lived in.

Titus is Dedicated

2011-06-16T08:00:00.000-06:00

On May 7, we were incredibly blessed to have Titus dedicated by Pastor Ken Wiebe, our conference president. It was special for me, because Pastor Wiebe dedicated my baby sister many years ago. It is so nice to have our paths cross again and to be able to serve alongside him. We were also blessed that my parents were able come and stand beside us. I know that many other people wanted to be able to be with us, but this time, it was not possible. They were with us in their thoughts and prayers, though. Sadly, our camera was not working during church, so we didn't get pictures. A church member kindly took some pictures and emailed them to us.

Big Boy! and a Wonderful Gift

2011-06-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

Antonin is growing so quickly! And his toddler bed was no longer big enough for him. We planned to try to buy a bed for him this summer, but luckily, I mentioned our plan to Dave's parents while we were visiting them. And, they gave us Dave's childhood bedroom set! At least, we have the bed, bedside table, and chair right now. And this summer, we'll be getting the dresser/hutch and desk. We're really grateful for them! We wanted to get a good quality set, but could see how we could afford to. Now, Antonin has a special bed that was his Daddy's. And it can be a bed, or a truck or whatever else his imagination makes it. Here he is, enjoying his new bed for the first time. He's so proud of his new big boy bed.

Undressing Already

2011-06-14T08:00:00.000-06:00

One of the happiest babies I know.

Antonin Loves the Zoo!

2011-06-13T08:00:00.001-06:00

Can you tell? He likes visiting as often as he can. "His" zoo is in Calgary, and he often talks of taking various people to the zoo. Usually, we go with Gramma Kartik, but in April, he got to take Auntie Emily and Grampa Kartik to the zoo. He was so excited. We saw lots of fun things like hippopotamus, and giraffes, and elephants, and gorillas, and wallaby. And Antonin even got to sit in a kangaroo's pouch. He has to go to the Australia pavilion because cousin Benzen lives in Australia and he wants to see what else lives in Australia. Visiting the zoo was a wonderful way to spend a Sabbath afternoon. Next time, he wants to take Daddy with him.

Picnicking

2011-06-12T08:00:00.002-06:00

I have been very remiss in keeping up with this blog over the past year, nearly. I think I must be 2-3 months behind all the time. Maybe I can catch up here soon, and then try to keep on top of things a bit better.

Our first picnics of this year came on our long trip in March and April. First, we had a picnic at the zoo in Oregon, with Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra. Then we had a picnic in my sister's backyard in Surrey. Both were a lot of fun. The thing that I loved about the picnic at my sister's was how decadent and relaxing it felt to be eating at little tables outside in the sun (even though we were very late leaving on our 10-hour trip back to Cochrane). The boys had a blast, and we made some special memories that day.

Makes me want to get our table set up outside so that we can enjoy some meals on our patio this summer too!

Split-Second Changes

2011-06-11T16:33:00.000-06:00

Titus loves his brother. Now that he is mobile, he follows him nearly everywhere. And they have so much fun, giggling and laughing and getting in each other's way. Antonin sings, "Come along with me! " as they play and they travel the house together. But, Antonin also likes to have lots of control over things. If he thinks that a book needs to be on the chair, then wailing and gnashing of teeth occurs if that book is disturb. The same goes for his cars and toys, as well as doors. Yesterday, as Antonin headed into the bathroom, he declared that he "needed to be private" and proceeded to close the door, not realizing that Titus' fingers were in the way. And, the middle finger on his right hand was nearly cut off just above the first knuckle.

After the first few frantic, paralyzing moments, I figured out how to hold Titus and keep his hand immobilized while Dave called for an ambulance. And after a couple hours in ER, the doctor used 5 stitches to put his finger back together. He thinks that the finger will fully recover, and I'm praying that it will. And I'm so thankful that it probably will. I don't think I will ever forget that bloody, mangled fingertip, but I'm also thankful that he probably won't remember the incident.

Today, as I was talking with some ladies at church, I started to make the comment. "You just can't describe the paralyzing feeling that comes over you when you look at the damaged, hurting body of your child and know that you can do nothing for them." But, I don't think I finished the sentence. One of those ladies had the life of her 18 month old son snuffed out in a car accident. And, even though that happened about 20 years ago, she knows that agonizing feeling even more deeply than I do. And all I can say right now, is "Thank you, God, for my son and for watching over him."

Zoo Time In Portland

2011-05-25T08:00:00.012-06:00

Antonin had been saying for a couple of months that he wanted to take Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra to the zoo. Well it actually turned out the other way around, Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra took Antonin (and Titus and I) to the zoo. We had way too much fun there. We watched the water spot out of the tide pool. Antonin was the first person to spot the lions when they came outside. Antonin got to "drive" the safari jeep and the farm tractor. He even had a ride on several of the animal statues, including the elephant, which is his favorite right now. We got to see lots of elephants there and even heard the mama elephant trumpet at her baby for misbehaving and rattling some gates around. Boy, those elephants are loud! :) Even more fun was being able to run on green grass. He hadn't done that since early November. He also got to play on some drums and bells in a little hut! Making noise is just so much fun.
Titus had a good time too. He rode around tucked in his stroller. He had a nap. He got carried around. And he even got to see some animals, too. To top the day off, Grandpa and the boys explored the steam locomotive outside the forestry museum. Antonin really did have fun taking Grandma and Grandpa to the zoo, and they liked it too.

Malachi's Sea Adventures Quilt

2011-05-24T08:00:00.002-06:00

Over the last few years, I have enjoyed creating quilts for each of my nieces and nephews. I must say, that as time has gone by, the design for each has gotten a bit simpler, so that I could finish it more quickly. Here is the latest one, that I made for my sister's baby...who is 19 months now. I finished this quilt over a year ago, but never got a picture taken of it until last month when I was visiting. This one is a very simple grid quilt. The finished size is about 42" x 55". I found two different fun fabrics of colorful fish and cut our twelve 10 1/2" blocks highlighting the fish. I made the sashing and border out of a light blue solid, each strip being 3 1/2" wide. I did not do a lot of quilting for this one, just some large meandering squares in each of the blocks. I don't have a picture of the backing here, but it is a striped fleece with blues, aquas, whites, and browns. It is bound with another fabric highlighting creatures of the see. This one does not have any bright colors, though, which is exactly what I wanted. I had written some, but not all of his birth details, but I opted to brush those out of these pictures. I really like how it turned out. It is fun and yet simple. And the size allows it to be used for a bit longer than just in the crib

Over the next couple of months, I'd like to highlight each of the ones that I've made. And maybe, just maybe, I'll finally get the one for Titus made. All the fabric is sitting in a box downstairs, just waiting to be cut and sewn together.

Hanging Out at Grandma and Grandpa's

2011-05-23T09:14:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned earlier, on our trip we traveled to Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra's house. We had a very relaxing week there. We spent a lot of time just hanging out at their house. We also went to visit Grandma's school. The boys had lots of fun exploring her classroom, with all the fun and interesting toys. On the weekend, Mama and Grandpa enjoyed a creation symposium, while Grandma had fun with Antonin. Titus got his first taste of fresh apple, which he loved. And then we got to visit the zoo, but we'll save that for later. Antonin and Titus really enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa. By the end of our week with them, Titus was starting to come out of his stranger shyness. He still wanted very little to do with anyone but his mama, but at least he tolerated being with other people for some of the time.

Vancouver Aquarium

2011-05-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

At the end of March and beginning of April, my boys and I went on an epic journey. Well, at least we went away for a long time - 3 weeks. And we went far - 3200 miles. We went visiting. Gramma and Grampa Kartik. Uncle David, Auntie Melanie, Levi. Uncle Jimmy, Auntie Netty, Abilgail, Olivia, Elijah, Malichi. Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra. Auntie Emily.

We spent our first week in Cochrane, where we played hard and had fun. Auntie Netty's family came too. Of course, we went to the zoo and saw amazing animals there. And, we celebrated Gramma Kartik's birthday! She got some special birthday snuggles from her grandchildren.

Then we drove with Auntie Netty to Vancouver area. We stayed with Uncle David, Auntie Melanie, and Levi and had so much fun playing with Levi. Titus even liked Uncle David, which gave Mama a break from holding him all the time. He didn't like anyone else when we were traveling, or it took a long time for him to get used to someone else.

And we went to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park while we were there. There were so many really fun things to see. Antonin has been learning about whales, dolphins, sharks and other creatures of the sea for the past couple of months. He thought the jelly fish were really cool. And the turtles. And he had a great time saying, "sea anemone"! Titus wished he could be doing something else though. At least he let the rest of us enjoy it mostly.

Stay tuned for more of our adventures...

Where Is Your Treasure?

2011-05-21T08:00:00.005-06:00

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves
do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Matthew 6:19-21

This week, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what is important. On Sunday, many homes were burned down in a community west of us, Slave Lake. And since Sunday, there has been a fire burning about 10 miles north of us. Some days it didn't seem like there was anything different around, and then days like yesterday, when we woke up to the house smelling of smoke.

It puts a lot of things into perspective. I spent some time this week, preparing what I would take if we needed to leave quickly. A box of important documents, my laptop and camera, and a few boxes of pictures. Of course, I'd pack my boys up and I'd try to grab some food, and drink, and toys for them, as well as their favorite blankets. But, nothing else made the cut.

That really makes me wonder, why do I keep all the things that I do? Why do I buy all the things that I do? What are the most important things in my life? Do I live like they are the most important? What do I need to change to make them my most important every day?

After God, my family is most important to me, and yet I let my agenda, in addition to material possessions, get in the way of loving them and showing them. It's time to make a change.

The Brothers

2011-05-20T08:00:00.002-06:00

My two little boys love each other! They have so much fun together. Titus always gets so excited whenever he sees Antonin, and vice versa. In fact, one of Titus' first words is "A-da" for Antonin. He's quite a talker, that little guy. He's already got "A-da", "Dada", "Mama", and "Bye bye" down. These boys love roaring at each other, sharing kisses, reading, sharing Mama's lap, and playing cars. I am enjoying watching them become friends and actually start playing together. They both still have a lot to learn about sharing, but that will come someday, I think. In the meantime, they can have fun and get upset, then have some more fun.

Yogurt Making Adventures

2011-05-19T09:00:00.001-06:00

One year ago, we lived in Gurnee, IL for 5 weeks, while Dave helped with an evangelistic series, and then preached his own follow-up series. For half of that time, we lived with an Iraqi family. While we were there, the father was baptized, which was really special. The best part about staying with them was knowing that we were loved and wanted in their home. They treated Antonin as a grandson. This post is one that I've wanted to write since February. See, the father passed away in February due to complications of diabetes. And, I have not been able to stop thinking about this family.

While living there, our hostess showed me how to make yogurt. And it's not the complicated, scary process that I thought it was. She also showed me how to make dolmades, but that's something else entirely. Today, I want to share the simple way that I learned to make yogurt. You don't need a lot of fancy equipment. Technically, you won't need anything more than what you already have in your home. For best results, however, I would recommend a candy or milk steaming thermometer.

Supplies Needed:

1/2 - 1 gallon whole milk

1/4 - 1 cup plain yogurt with active cultures

1 large pot

1 thermometer

1 large fleece blanket or a couple of bath towels

1 heating pad (optional)

Directions:

1. Take yogurt out of fridge and set aside. You want this to be warmer than fridge temperature when you add it to the heated milk so that the cultures do not have as much of a temperature shock.

2. Pour milk into pot and turn on to low to medium/low. Heat milk until it is steaming or boiling, about 180°F. Remove from heat and cool milk until it reaches just above 110°F. (There are a couple of ways to do this: just let it sit, or place in a sink of cool water and stir milk constantly until desired temperature is reached.)

3. Add yogurt to milk. Stir in gently.

4. Cover and wrap tightly to keep heat in. Set aside and let the cultures work their magic. In about 4 hours, you should have wonderful, thick yogurt. You can also let it culture overnight.

5. Put it into storage containers, setting aside some to use as a starter for the next batch, and pop it into the fridge. (Or as I've tried it a few times, put it in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour before putting it in the fridge. This supposedly improves the texture of the yogurt, and I can't argue with that.)

A couple of tips that I've gleaned from different websites and from experience:

You need about 2 tablespoons of yogurt per quart of milk. I like to use just a little bit more, probably about 3 Tbsp. Too much however, and it can get quite tart.
You can incubate the yogurt for up to 24 hours. The longer you culture it, the tarter it gets as the lactose is used up by the bacteria.
You want to maintain a warm temperature for incubation. I had been using a couple of towels, but found that at least during the winter, the temperature was getting too cold too fast. I now wrap it up in a fleece blanket and wrap the pot with a warm heating pad (like a rice sock). This method has turned out thick creamy yogurt.
The best temperature for introducing the yogurt into the milk is about 112°F, however if you don't have a thermometer, you can always do a touch test. Make sure your finger is clean, then dip it into the milk. If it scalds you immediately, it is too hot still; if you are able to hold your finger in it for a few seconds, but it is definitely on the warm side, then the temperature is just right...add your starter now; if it is very comfortable to touch, it's too cold. Don't worry though, I've let the milk get too cold, reheated it, and started again and it works out great.

Serving suggestions:

My favorite way to eat homemade yogurt is to mix in some lime juice and honey. I also like to add a little coconut flavouring once in a while. My son loves his yogurt with applesauce, or with pears, or peaches, or honey. I have used it in place of sour cream or even cottage cheese. It is easy to flavour with vanilla, too. Explore and find the ones you like best.

For further information, check out the following posts:

homemade yogurt the easy way

make your own yogurt

yogurt 101

The Littlest Explorer

2011-05-18T08:00:00.002-06:00

Titus has been figuring out a lot of things these past few months. I love watching him playing in the living room. He takes his explorations very seriously. It is fun to see how he inspects things. A couple of months ago, he was just starting to try to figure out how to crawl. He could move around a little while on his stomach, but he hated it! His biggest feat was to do the plank for push-ups. He stretched out there and just screamed. Finally, in the last 2 weeks, he's gotten it figure out and he now is into a lot of things and moves from room to room. That means that I really need to get my act together and get this place baby proofed. The pictures in this post are from March.

My Happy Antonin

2011-05-17T15:04:00.000-06:00

Antonin is such a happy boy! He loves having fun and he loves laughing. Even more, he loves getting other people laughing. This weekend, he was talking with Grandma and Grandpa Hamstra and he kept insisting that he wanted to hear Grandpa laugh again. Finally, after several minutes of this, Grandpa asked him, "I don't hear anything funny. What should I laugh at?" Antonin immediately replied, "ME!!" That generated a laugh from all of us. Here are a few pictures of my laughing, happy boy.

Feeding Babies

2011-05-15T22:33:00.000-06:00

Antonin has really started to care for his babies over the past few months. He rocks them, puts them to sleep, and feeds them. He's even named them - Tylet is his and he's renamed one of mine Eng-el. I would love to know how he came up with those names! Here, he is demonstrating his feeding capabilities, while Titus shows us how wonderful babies are to eat.

Feeding Eng-el

Feeding Tylet or himself

Digging Us Out

2011-05-05T23:41:00.001-06:00

After our lovely interlude in South Carolina, we returned home to piles of snow and cold temperatures. But for some reason, Antonin loved digging in the snow. Every day, Antonin would run to Daddy, "We're going to shovel the driveway!" Then again, every day, he gets in his "rental car" to go to South Carolina, so maybe he warms himself up enough that he needed to refresh himself in the snow.

Here is Antonin helping his daddy clear the snow. He's using his gift from Auntie Ashley and Uncle Steven. (Of course, next year we'll try and get a proper snow shovel for him.)

By the end of the winter, the snow pile by the driveway was so high that I couldn't see over it from inside the van. The snow drifts in the corners of the back yard were around 5 feet high. And the snow had collected in interesting formations on the rooftops of the houses around here. We had a great outdoor freezer on the back porch that needed to be shoveled off several times. And yet, we had beautiful weather while farther south in Alberta, they continued to get snow and nasty weather until the past couple of weeks.

The Wedding of Ashley and Steve

2011-05-05T22:40:00.000-06:00

The French Huguenot Church - Source: Marvin

Steven and Ashley's wedding on February 6 provided us with a wonderful opportunity for a family vacation! Dave was one of the groomsmen for the wedding, so I needed to find some other help with the boys for the day. Auntie Flory, Grandma and Grandpa all pitched in throughout the day and Uncle Dan helped out a lot during the ceremony. Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day. And the wedding was beautiful...a beautiful bride, beauty all around. I really thoroughly enjoyed the whole wedding and the entire trip.

Aside from the beautiful ceremony and decor, there were a few things that made the weekend stand out for us. As we each checked in, we received a gift bag of snacks, water, and info on the area. And at the reception, each child had a bag of goodies waiting under their chairs...flash cards, crayons, coloring books, party hats, stuffed animals, play dough...enough things to entertain them for a long time. And if that wasn't enough, the bride's mother brought a couple of bins of children's toys for the children to play with in the back of the reception hall.

Groom and Groomsmen ready to head out.

source: Ryan

What do all these lovely ladies have in common?
- the name: Mrs. Hamstra

Charleston

2011-04-23T23:18:00.000-06:00

In February, we had the privilege to travel to Charleston for Steve and Ashley's wedding. What a beautiful city! Our days were packed with fun, family, and friends. We spent some time touring the city, even though it poured the day that we spent touring. We spent a lot of time visiting in the lobby of the hotel. And we enjoyed the time that we were able to relax. We even got to attend one of the most beautiful weddings that I've been too. I'm dividing the photos of our trip into two posts: one of family and fun and one of the wedding day. Most of these pictures are ones that we took, however a couple of them are from friends who shared their photos of the day.

Antonin getting comfy waiting for the shuttle bus to pick us up.

We've just arrived in SC! I love my Moby wrap!! Would not have survived this trip without it.

Antonin cannot survive without his cars, nor without setting them up just so...

Titus really getting the hang of this sitting thing for the first time on Friday afternoon. By Monday, he's a pro!

Antonin telling Auntie Ashley all the exciting things he's been doing.

Hanging out with cousins and their kids. Antonin cannot believe how many little boys there are to play with.

Titus enjoying being held. Steven enjoying a little baby warmth.

Boys at play. Antonin has sure missed Adam since we moved.

Sabbath and marriage...Dave giving us all something to think about in our special worship service on Sabbath.

Enjoying the wonderful food that Ashley's mom and friends prepared for our Sabbath meal.

Grandpa entertaining the boys while the ladies prepare for the wedding.

Titus loving his Grandma.

Waiting for the rehearsal to start.

Inside the beautiful French Huguenot Church prior to the rehearsal.

Daddy and Titus enjoying the rehearsal dinner.

Catching up on sleep while touring the city.

Pouring rain on the battery. Wish we could have spent time there when it was sunny out!

A Wedding Quilt

2011-04-19T17:16:00.000-06:00

In January, I did a couple of crazy things. Freezer cooking and sewing a quilt, in addition to traveling for a week. In the first week on the month, I cooked. I cooked everything that we were going to eat for the month, and then some. And that really helped me to be able to focus all my time and energy on the quilt that I made for my brother- and sister-in-law for their wedding.

This was such a fun quilt to put together. It is the largest quilt that I have completed, measuring a little under 60" by 60". I designed the quilt top just before Christmas. That way I was able to ask my mom to pick up a couple of things at a fabric store where she lives and send it up with my sister. (We have one quilt shop here in town and things can get a little pricey there.) Then, on the second Wednesday in January when I went to pick up my block-of-the-month (more on that in later posts) I purchased a few more pieces to round out my fabrics. Even with those purchases, I found that I'd miscalculated some of the amounts, so ended up improvising a little. I actually started cutting and sewing the following Sunday, January 16. I finished sewing the quilt top by Friday morning, which was a good thing. We needed to pack up and head south for Dave's workers meetings. I took the finished top along and spent time in the car embroidering their names and a bible verse on it as well as trimming all the threads.

We got back from workers meetings late on January 26, but we had brought my mom home with us, so she helped me by entertaining the kids, keeping up with the dishes in the kitchen, and the laundry and packing for our trip to the wedding. By February 1, the quilting was finished and the binding was attached. I quilted the diagonal of the blocks as well as in the ditch of each of the blocks. I found and traced a double helix onto the borders.The only thing that remained was hand-stitching the binding. And that was finished as we drove into Edmonton on February 2. Our flight left then next day for their wedding. Here are some pictures of the quilt, in progress and completed, and finally with my brother-in-law enjoying it.

I love the way the whole quilt came together- the colors, the quilting, the size, the feel of the fabrics and the weight of the quilt. If I didn't have a specific purpose for that quilt, I would have been very tempted to keep it for myself. It has really inspired me to finish up the quilt that I'm in the process of making for myself. The only problem with that is that I always seem to find something else that I need to finish up more urgently.

A Sad Day

2011-04-18T22:22:00.000-06:00

Today was a sad day for us. We had a busy day ahead of washing load after load of laundry to be ready to face the week, and our dryer started screeching and grinding. When I stopped it and opened the door, the dryer was filled with haziness. I couldn't continue to wash and dry with the dryer in that condition. We'd known that this dryer was not going to last us much longer, but had hoped that it would be a couple more months until we could save up the money to get another. After a bit of argument and frustration, we decided that even though it was not the best day to be doing it, we needed to find a new machine today. And this new machine needed to have the ability to control the temperature and to control the sound on the signal. I went upstairs, making plans to eat, pack up the boys and go to the only store in town that I figured would have machines in stock. Dave went upstairs to his computer. He looked up dryers in our town and looked at some stores as well as checking out Kijiji. And one on Kijiji caught his eye...it had temperature and signal control. It was a price that we could afford. And it had just been posted yesterday. And so, he went and got it and brought it home. He learned that the people had been storing it for two years, and yet were just now selling it. It's amazing to me that God knew we needed it and provided for us! Too often, I doubt God's presence. Rather, I think that I forget that he is interested in the details of our lives. And I worry and get angry and fight and drag myself and others down. And yet, here is just one more evidence of his care. And this is certainly not the first evidence either. Now, I have a newer dryer with a larger capacity. I think I might even be able to dry my comforter in it, saving the yearly cleaning bills! Yeah!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Searching for Inspiration

2011-04-18T21:40:00.000-06:00

It's springtime! Well, at least most of the snow is gone and the temperatures are above freezing most days. And now that spring is here, I want new food. I'm getting a little dissatisfied with the fare that I've enjoyed so much over the winter. The stews, curries, and chilies seem a little heavy for spring. The problem is, I just don't know what to make. It doesn't help that both the boys and I have been sick this whole week since we've returned home and I just don't feel like working in the kitchen. And, since I've been trying to make things from scratch more and more, it takes much longer to make our meals. My stockpile of prepared foods has dwindled, but the quick spaghetti and sauce meal is not appealing either. So, tonight, I read through a couple of cookbooks and finally saw the start of a great meal - "Curried 'Chicken' and Broccoli Couscous." The original is in "More Choices: Eat Well - Live Well" by Cherly D Thomas. Here's my version:

1 can Worthington FriChik, sliced (reserve liquid)
2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp celery salt

1 can mushroom pieces, drained

1 medium red pepper, diced
1 bunch broccoli florets
1/2 c raisins
1 tsp honey
2 1/2 c FriChik liquid and water
1-2 Tbsp chicken-like seasoning
1 1/2 c uncooked couscous
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp butter

Brown FriChik in a large skillet over medium heat (about 2 minutes on each side.) Remove from skillet and set aside. Add onion, garlic and celery salt to skillet. Sautee until onion softens and becomes translucent. Add mushrooms, red pepper and broccoli. Saute for a couple of minutes until vegetables begin to soften. Return FriChik to saucepan and add remaining ingredients except butter. Cover saucepan. Bring water to a boil, remove from heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in butter before serving.

Activity and Learning Bins

2011-03-14T22:52:00.001-06:00

Auntie Netty gave Antonin a wonderful Christmas present. She gave him the supplies to make three activity bins inspired by the blog Counting Coconuts. (This blog is a wonderful resource! It has so many ideas of fun things to do with your children that are also learning activities.)I already had a rice bin that Antonin really loves playing with (pictured in this post). She set up a pasta bin, an ice cream bin, and a bath-time bin. Antonin got to play with each one throughout the month. The pasta bin was the first one we worked with. Antonin really enjoyed trying to string the penne and wagon wheels on shoe laces. These days, he's a little more interested in making plates of food for himself, Daddy and Mama. This week, he also made some meatballs in a muffin pan. The ice cream bin is also a fun one to make food for people. He's even made muffins using the pompoms. And we took the bath-time bin with us to Foothills Camp while Dave had workers meetings. Antonin and the other children enjoyed playing with the bath toys and picking up the beads. However, the mamas didn't enjoy picking up the fuzz left on the carpet from the cotton balls. The vacuum cleaner did not touch it, so we were reduced to crawling around and picking it up by hand.

In addition to the sensory (activity) bins, I've been making play-dough for Antonin (from this recipe). I love the texture of the homemade play-dough and it only takes a few minutes to make. In January, to go along with the pasta bin, I coloured the play-dough red (more like pink) and added a little garlic powder and oregano to it. I must say, it smelled great! This month, in honour of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make a green play-dough. And the scent that I associate with "green" is mint, so I added a little mint extract to it. This one is just a subtle aroma, thankfully. To play with playdough, Antonin must have a spoon, fork, knife, rolling pin, and cookie cutters. He's made fish, and pancakes, and apple sauce, and cookies, and on and on. It is so much fun seeing how his mind is working and seeing his imagination grow.

My Baby In January

2011-03-14T22:21:00.000-06:00

January found Titus growing and starting to do new things. He is such a happy baby and so much fun to watch as he learns and grows. He figured out exactly how to get his toes in his mouth, and now not a day goes by that he doesn't soak his socks. He figured out how to give "kisses" - grab someone's head with both hands, open mouth, and suck on whatever meets the mouth. He is so cute when he does that. In January, I also decided that he's big enough to have a short bath with his brother. Titus was kicking his feet and playing, while Antonin alternated between wanting to play and wanting to get away from the splashes. He was proud to have his little brother in the tub with him.

Another Christmas Gift

2011-03-13T21:54:00.000-06:00

Antonin got an awesome wooden workbench from Gramma and Grampa Kartik for Christmas. Actually, it was a gift for both of the boys, but Antonin has a little more use for it right now :) Antonin had a wonderful time helping to set it up. He loves having his own hammer, screw driver and other tools and such. And he has a place to store them, which makes him even happier. He is someone who thrives on having things in order.

Christmas Jammies and Our Bedtime Routine

2011-03-13T21:50:00.000-06:00

The boys got these cute pjs from Auntie Melanie and Uncle David. The boys love their bedtime routine and getting to cuddle with Mama and Daddy. Still, getting little boys to sleep is always a big challenge around here. Antonin can sing for hours in his bed before drifting off. And Titus has had lots of trouble settling to sleep. For a while, I would spend my entire evening fighting with him, and he wouldn't drift off until 11:30 or even later. And then I'd wake up throughout the night with him too.

This past week we've finally started making some headway with Titus. Of course, his sleeping situation is not where we want it to be yet, but at least I have some hope that things can improve with him. So, what made the difference? I picked up a copy of the book "No Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers." I know that Titus is neither, but that's what was in the library and I was desperate. And I did find a little help. I read about the eight sleep tips for your child and realized that I could change a few things right away for Titus. So...naptimes are regular now. And I'm getting better at getting him down to sleep earlier in the evenings. We moved Antonin's sleep sheep into Titus' room and I'm working on setting his biological clock with bright lights in the morning and a dimmer environment in the evenings. I don't usually nurse him to sleep any longer. But, I am rocking him now. This is an improvement, but I really want to teach him to sleep on his own. And, with this method, I can definitely get him to sleep in 20 minutes, but usually it's less than 10.

So, what's the plan now?

Get a white noise maker that last longer than 45 minutes. (It stops just at the end of one sleep cycle and so he wakes up.)
Get a good mattress pad for his bed to make it more comfortable for him
Get room darkening window coverings set up, especially now that the daylight hours are getting longer so quickly.
Find a copy of the "No Cry Sleep Solution" so that I can learn more tricks on how to teach him to go to sleep more easily and to sleep for longer.

Antonin's Church Obsession

2011-02-12T14:19:00.001-07:00

Antonin loves wearing his Sabbath School clothes. If we let him pick his clothes, he chooses the dressy ones. And he loves going to church. Sabbath school, girls, lots of people, what more could a little guy ask for. Unless it was a microphone. Antonin now must find the microphone every time that he is in church. I guess it's a blessing that he does such a good job singing! :)

Overnight French Toast

2011-02-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

While Jim and Janette were here, I wanted to make our morning meals quick and easy. One such meal was this overnight french toast. I got my inspiration from here, but switched it up just a little. Here is my tasty version.

French Toast:

1 loaf day old bread, cubed in 1 inch pieces

4 oz. cream cheese

6 large eggs

1 ½ c. milk

1/2 tsp salt

Place bread in a greased 9×13 pan. Cut cream cheese into ½ in. cubes, place over bread. In bowl, beat eggs. Stir in milk and salt. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 min. before baking. Cover with foil and bake @ 350 for 20 min. Uncover and bake an additional 20-25 min, until golden brown and center is firm/set. Serve with cherry pie filling.

Christmas Dinner 2010

2011-02-12T14:02:00.001-07:00

Our Christmas dinner this year consisted of some traditional Czech and Slovak fare, in addition to some of our standard items. Our menu was:

Cornbread stuffing with cranberries
sautéed cabbage
parsley-ed carrots
bread dumplings
halusky
turkey loaf
gravy
spinach salad
apple cider
Christmas pudding

I made the stuffing from a Pepperidge Farm package, but added cranberries to it. I was inspired to do that by the tasty presidents choice stuffing that we'd had at my parents' place for American Thanksgiving. The directions for the cabbage, bread dumplings, and halusky were from Babi (my Grandma Kartik.) The recipes for carrots, turkey loaf and Christmas pudding were from my mother.

Sautéed Cabbage
1 lg onion (chopped)

1 head cabbage (shredded)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp McKay's chicken-style seasoning

1 tsp sugar (optional)

salt to taste

caraway seeds

In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic powder in oil. Add cabbage & seasonings. Stir & cover. Reduce heat & steam that cabbage till tender, stirring occasionally. Add a little sugar to balance flavors if needed. Sprinkle caraway seeds for flavoring.

Parsley-ed Carrots

4 medium carrots

salt to taste

1 tbsp butter

1-2 tsp parsley

Peel and slice carrots. Cook in water in a medium saucepan until tender. Drain. Stir in butter to melt, and salt and parsley to taste.

Bread Dumplings

3 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp powdered milk

1 tsp gluten flour

1 tsp yeast

1 egg

1 1/8 c lukewarm water

2 c cubed bread

Combine first 5 ingredients. Add water and knead into a soft dough. Knead egg in. Fold bread crumbs in. Divide and form into 2 oblong loaves. Let raise for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Steam dumplings for 20 minutes. When done, remove and cut into thin slices with a string.

Halusky

3 lbs potatoes, finely shredded

flour

Salt

Stir flour into potato "mush" slowly. Add salt and mix thoroughly. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff pasty dough consistency. (You may want to taste the dough to see if it is salty enough.) Spoon the paste onto a wooden cutting board. Dip the bottom end of cutting board into a pot of boiling water far enough to moisten the paste on the edge. With a spoon or butter knife, cut away small pieces into the water. Cook until halušky begins floating about 10-15 minutes. Remove from water and place in a casserole dish and dot with butter. Serve with cottage cheese or sautéed cabbage.

Turkey Loaf

1 medium onion, diced

1 c finely diced celery

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (4-oz) mushroom pieces, drained (save liquid)

2 c finely chopped veggie meat

2 c liquid (mushroom liquid and water)

2 tsp chicken-style seasoning

1/2 tsp each sage and rosemary

4 eggs, beaten

3 c dry bread crumbs

1 ½ c raw cashews, washed, lightly toasted, and chopped

Directions

Sauté the first 5 ingredients in oil for 5 minutes in a large non-stick pan. Stir. Add liquid and seasonings. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients; mix well. Put into a prepared 2-quart loaf pan. Cover and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake until browned, about 15 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes to cool; run knife around edges and invert on serving platter.

"Death by Chocolate" Cheesecake

2011-02-12T13:26:00.000-07:00

Every year, I try to ask Dave what kind of cake he wants for his birthday. This year he sent me this link, half in jest, but I decided to take the plunge and make it for him. I also looked at the epicurious.com version and then set out to collect the ingredients. I guess I didn't read the directions too carefully, because I missed the part that said to make it ahead. I made it the day of. Also, I decided that this cake was much to large for the few that were going to eat it. I halved the filling and cut the topping down by 1/3 and still came out with an incredibly rich, satisfying dessert.

Crust:
9-ounce package of chocolate cookies (such as chocolate wafers)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Bernard Callebaut's dark chocolate chunks)
3/4 c sugar
2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 large eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tsp sugar

For crust:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Crush chocolate cookies in a food processor until they are finely ground. Transfer them to a small bowl, add the melted butter and mix until well combined. Press the crumbs evenly onto the bottom only of the prepared pan. Bake just until set, about 5 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Keep the oven heated at 350 degrees.

For filling:Melt 5 ounces of chocolate in a double boiler until smooth. Cool slightly until lukewarm but still pourable. In a large mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour the cheesecake filling over the crust; smooth the top. Bake until the center is just set and just appears dry, about 1 hour. Cool on a wire rack for approximately 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan, running a knife around sides of cake to loosen. Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature. (You can cover and place in fridge overnight or for up to 3 days at this point.)

For topping:
One hour before serving, stir cream, 4 ounces chocolate, and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over the center of the cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2 inch of edge and filling any cracks. Chill until the topping is set, about 1 hour.

First Foods

2011-02-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Titus is a little boy who loves food! What surprised me with him, however, was how little he paid attention to us eating for the longest time. Then, suddenly, just before Christmas he discovered that other people were eating. I still didn't think he was quite ready for food yet, but in the days just after Christmas I discovered just how ready he was. He started nursing every 30-60 minutes around the clock. He wasn't satisfied, and I wasn't getting anything done. So, on December 29, at 5 months, he had his first meal of rice cereal and formula. I have never seen a baby inhale his first food that fast! He loved it and was looking for more. He has very quickly progressed from 1 meal to 3 meals per day and enjoys everything he's been given so far. At 5 months, we was approximately 17 lbs and 27 inches. He hasn't added much weight in the last month and a half, but he's been growing longer.

Visiting

2011-02-12T11:54:00.001-07:00

Jim, Janette, Abigail, Olivia, Elijah and Malichi visited us for a few days between Christmas and New Years. We had so much fun with them, playing in the snow, the kids playing in Antonin's room, swimming, cooking, reading. It's just too bad that they didn't have the temperatures at the pool right. The kiddie pool was much too cold, but they finally got that corrected this past month. Now Antonin loves swimming so much better.

After they left, Antonin found his doll without clothes on and exclaimed, "My baby! We need to get clothes on you!" He went looking for the clothes, but we couldn't find them all, so we wrapped it in a blankie. Antonin then declared the I needed to sing for the baby, but I encouraged him to do it instead, so he sat in his chair by his table, rocking and singing "Mama loves the little baby..." before putting it to sleep in his bed. I love watching how he cares for his things, and I love hearing him sing. He sings everything from children's songs to hymns. It always amazes me what he knows.

Christmas

2011-02-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

As you all know, Christmas was on Sabbath this year. So, Dave and I decided that it would be best to celebrate on a different day...mostly because I wasn't ready. We did have a mostly clean house on Sabbath, and we shared a Friday evening meal in our home, as well as Sabbath lunch in another home, with friends from church, but we left the gifts until later. This year, Antonin thought he had a birthday all the time, due to the number of times that we celebrated with him, and we didn't want him to think that Christmas is the same. So, we celebrated on December 27, the day that my sister and her family arrived for a brief visit. We opened our stockings and prepared the gifts, which we opened after a lovely homemade pizza supper. We saved Christmas dinner for the next day. As a sign of times, you can see that every single one of the children, except Titus was enthralled by a cell phone.

December (before Christmas)

2011-02-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

December was a fun month too. It started out with our home looking like a disaster zone, and I guess it ended up that way too. I spent a lot of time in December working on gifts for people. I also spent time cooking and cleaning. And the boys had fun. Titus moved into his own room and his own crib. He still shares part of the night with us, but now he is getting better sleep in his own room. Antonin really discovered the joys of building with his blocks and also developed a fondness for stuffed animals. He now thinks that he needs to sleep with all of them in his bed. But he also is learning to share them with his brother. I set my sewing machine up at the dining room table, so Titus (and Antonin) spent a lot of time sitting on the little sofa next to it. He decided that lying down is for babies, and he doesn't like it, but he doesn't have the balance to sit up on his own yet. Antonin also got his first taste of talking or singing into a real microphone at church. Now, every Sabbath, at the end of church, he rushes up to the front to get his hands on a microphone before they are all put away. Luckily, the church members love him and put up with his little antics.

Mountain Fun

2011-02-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

Ever since moving back to AB in August, we have been wanting to head out to Banff. We love seeing the mountains and wanted to explore them a little with Antonin. He loves the pretty mountains and asks to see them regularly. In November we finally got out to Banff. We went for a little walk along the Bow River. It was cold out that day, but I loved the lighting on the mountains. We had fun walking, and played in the snow a little. Antonin was his usual self, trying to make friends with the others that stopped by that day too.

My New Toy

2011-02-12T09:33:00.000-07:00

In November, Dave took advantage of a special offer from the conference for getting some new technology. We picked up this little toy. We've been having some fun learning how it works, and I must say that I'll be playing around with it a lot more.