Winter's winds

I spent the day in bed. I wish it could have been for the purpose of being lazy but it was not. However, despite being in pain I was able to look out my window and watch the clouds roll over the mountains. There is something so amazing about this time of the year. The trees have lost all but a few leaves. Those that still cling to their branches can barely hold on and quiver in the wind. Sometimes I feel like one of those leaves. I am barely hanging on and one more blow of the winds of change will cause me to lose hold and be swept away. As the dark grayish blue clouds rolled over the mountains the sky darkened. Then, suddenly, the sun burst through the clouds and caused the tree I was watching to glow in the sunlight. It turned almost white against the backdrop of the dark clouds. At that moment, all the pain I was in fell away and I sat there in wonder.

Even during times of great pain, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, God shows us good and beauty. I believe it is in those times that our faith is growing. That beauty, wonder, and good is God at work in our hearts. That realization that there is light even during a time that seems to grow ever darker, allows us to realize that even if we do get swept away in life's wind storms God is always right there with us. In fact, God is the creator of the wind storms. Where ever the winds of change take us, at least we know that God is the one carrying us.

Time is spinning

Today my new-to-me Ashford Traditional double drive spinning wheel came in the mail.
For at least a year now I have been wanting to get a spinning wheel. In the last few months that dream had increased as my knitting and crocheting had increased. The idea of being able to make my own yarn/thread and then make my own clothes from that yarn/thread was very appealing. After some tricky bidding on ebay, I won a beautiful wheel. I am not sure how old it is but to me it is perfect. For the last week, as I waited anxiously for my wheel to arrive, I had dreams of what it would like to actually spin. I dreamed of sitting down and being a natural. Spinning fine wool right away with none of the hiccups that the many spinning books and websites talked about newbies having.
The reality of spinning was not quite like I imagined. I thought the hardest part of spinning was going to be getting the wool to be even as I spun it. And it was hard but that was not the hardest part. No, the hardest part for me was actually getting the wool to go onto the bobbin as I was spinning the wheel. I spent hours today working at getting a few yards of wool on to that bobbin. Surrounding me were the left over attempts of over twisted yarn. The tightly twisted castoffs took on a life of their own as their numbers steadily increased. At the end of the night, when I took off that bobbin of finished single ply yarn I felt very proud of myself. The large pile of curly castoffs that snuggled up against my feet were not something to be ashamed of but lessons to be grateful for. My dreams of being a complete natural spinner, went out the window but the reality was even better. I had to work what I did and will have to keep working at it but I think in the end I will be much happier with the results than I would have been if doing this was easy. Isn't that the way life is? When something comes easy for you, its easy to take it for-granted. When you have to work at something, even just a little bit, whatever that something is, becomes more important, more impressive, more noteworthy, more worthy of respect.

Time flies!

Ack! It has been sooo long since I posted! As it is once again ridiculously late here are some quick updates until I can write in more detail.
I am two days away from being done with school for this semester. One more final to go!! yay!

On November 5th, we finalized the adoption of the three! YAYAYAYAY!!!

I have suffered from a dislocated shoulder, lots of torn stuff, and separated AC joint. That has been a challenge but I am learning to use my left hand.

Dad was called to the corporate office to work out of state for 3 months. It has been hard but all of us are realizing how much we appreciate his presence.

The chicks are all grown up and laying! I am in the process of trying to figure out how we can have a goat- so I can make some cheese!

I have been learning to cook gluten free since one of the little ones is allergic to wheat- and we are not sure if it will become a gluten intolerance as well. there have been some great success and some major- brick like- failures too.

Did I mention that I am almost done with school! Yahoo!
Good night for now...and hopefully I will post again very soon (with some recipes or craft ideas?)!

Many blessings to you all.

The end of summer (or at least the start of school)

The giggles of children being dressed for bed waft from the living room. I guiltily hunch over my computer and type into it trying to avoid being drawn into the bedtime dynamics. Its not that I do not love putting the little ones to bed or being part of that scene. In fact, I love every part of taking care of the littles. Tonight, though I do not want to be a mom. I'm not even really a mom but there are days that I feel as if I have all of the responsibilities of being a parent. As the prospect of school starts to loom closer and closer (35 hours and 40 minutes) I am beginning to panic.

I didn't have a vacation this summer. I never went away and sipped Margaritas on a beach or paddled fearlessly through class 5 rapids. I didn't even get away for twenty-four hours to read a book quietly or sing at the top of my lungs without having to worry about waking the baby. Yet, even as the panic of taking on even more responsibilities to my already full plate begins to make my heart beat faster and my body break out into a cold sweat I know that I did have a wonderful summer. I got to spend an afternoon here or there reading a good book, I baked some delicious pies, made a ton of cookies, learned how to sew (sort of ), spent a few evenings with good friends, and was hugged and kissed at least a thousand times by three wonderful children. It wasn't the summer I was hoping for or dreaming about but in the end it I think singing “Hush little baby” as a little bundle of joy snuggles into my lap a little bit more is much better than watching the sunset on a beach with a margarita. So I thank you summer for teaching me many things and bringing me much joy! I bid you farewell knowing that next year you will be teaching me all new hard and wonderful lessons.

cabbage and ground beef (err turkey)

A family dish that is made usually at least once a month is that of cabbage and ground turkey. The "real" recipe calls for ground beef but since most of the people in our household do not eat red meat more than once in a blue moon we substitute with ground turkey. Brown the meat. Cut up half a cabbage (sometime a bit more, sometimes a bit less) add it to the meat. Cover and let cook. We like it when the cabbage is almost to the transparent point. Add a liberal sprinkling of Braggs Amino Acid or soy sauce (I am sure the original recipe called for a different seasoning but this is what my family prefers) and it is done. I don't know if this is a traditional Mennonite dish but since my great grandpa used to make it, my grandpa makes it, and now my family makes it we consider it a family tradition.

Its funny how when I think about it how many things my family does or has that have been passed down from generation to generation. One such treasured object is a cutting board.

With the names Arnold and Ruth and the year 1937 carved onto the bottom of the board. They are hardly legible after all of these years but every time I take out the board I am filled with a quiet happiness knowing that my great grandfather carved it for my great grandmother as a wedding present. That for years she prepared meals with love using it and then after she died it was passed on to my mother who also puts a great deal of love into everything she does. Before his hands became to shaky to hold a carving knife my Great-grandpa also cut and carved a board for my parents. It is my hope that someday I too will have a cutting board with my name and my husband's.

Tonight I made "Poor Man's Cookies" a recipe from my great-grandmother's hand written records. The first time I made them they came out great. Tonight I made them again. They did not turn out as perfect. First off, I added a bit more water to the recipe (because the dough was a bit too dry last time) and instead of greasing the cookie sheets I sprayed them with cooking oil (err the really bad part- it was olive oil) and instead of slightly puffy lovely cookies they are completely flat slightly olively cookies. While I perhaps, do not believe they came out wonderfully, the lovely thing about having younger siblings is that they seem to love almost anything I cook- especially if it has sugar in it! So as I munch on a very flat cookie, contemplating how I could improve it the next go around, two very happy little boys stuff cookies into their mouths and call out slightly muffled thanks. I think that is the very best part of family or at least my family. Even during times in my life when I feel down or like I am missing something, a smile or a hug or even the muffled thanks from a cookie filled mouth cheers me right up and lets me know that I am loved.

first set of June bdays!

M's Bday was filled with a lot of people, presents, cupcake decorating (vegan cupcakes, icing, and all natural dyes for the icing- which are much harder to find and make than I expected!), clowns, and windstorms. All in all it turned out quite wonderfully!

A very natural, organic, not too much sugar cake (well, except for the icing!). The decorations include blueberries (I guess that is pretty obvious) and blueberry syrup. As this was K's bday cake he got to choose the decorations. M and I decorated the cake. While blueberries are not my favorite berry (at least in this extreme amount) it was fun to make and it even tasted pretty good too!

Where does the time go?

I can hardly believe that it is June already.  I have been busy sewing K's birthday present.  He turns 3 on Thursday.  He has grown so much since he and his sibs came into the house.  I feel so utterly blessed that God has granted us with the gift of raising these kids.  Even during the hard days it is worth it because our lives would surely be lacking the vibrancy it now has with these little ones blessing us each day.  (Some days it takes a bit longer to see the blessing- like when I am scrubbing poop off the walls- but they are a blessing none the less!)

I have been finding the joy in my life again.  During school it is hard to make time to do little projects or big ones that are not part of the school syllabus but during the summer I am free to work on many different things.  We have three new chicks that I will be introducing to the flock as soon as they get a bit older and a few more feathers.  Right now, they are adorable little balls of fluff. 

 I have been working on my cooking skills and setting high goals for myself.  Sometimes a bit too high if I am being honest.  Still, even when there are a few too many pots on the stove top I feel a sense of rightness with cooking.  It is as if God is saying "Yes, this is good, this is something you should learn."  Plus, when something turns out tasting good it is worth all the effort.  

Ahh bedtime once again.  The kinner will be up all too soon and I best get some sleep while I can.  Many blessings to all!