Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The 2013 Report

This journey around the sun--this trip we've called 2013--is almost over.  A new one waits on the horizon, brimming with hope and possibilities.  But I can hardly say goodbye to a year without doing a reflective look-back post, now can I?  :)

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How the Blog Looked in 2013













I always ask myself which blog look is my favorite of the year, and I'm never quite sure how to answer myself.  :)  This year, I was particularly fond of March and September, but that's not to say that I didn't like the others.  It's really too tough to choose a favorite!  :)


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What Books I Read in 2013

January
1. Musings of a Mother - Doris Coffin Aldrich - this was given to my mother, during her early years of child-raising, by her mother, and was a great encouragement to her...as it was to me  :)
2. Stronger than Pain - Arlene Kauffman & Lori Yoder - lent to me by my next-door neighbor, this book tells the real-life story of a conservative Mennonite woman who dealt with often unidentified physical problems for years, enduring excruciating pain and endless frustrations along the way, but learning to rely on God's strength for each day
3. Date Night in a Minivan - Lorilee Craker - her writing style is light-hearted and easy to read, but contains some great principles - the absolute best part of this book for me was in the chapter called "When Your Ovaries Twitch at the Sight of Footie PJs" - at the very end of the chapter, Lorilee is talking about a woman coming to the realization that she's not going to have any more babies; and she writes this: "Watch and see how God fills up the empty spaces.  He wants you and your husband to love each other well more than he wants you to have another baby.  He will always fill you up in just the way you need." -I've often wondered how I will be able to handle the season of not having another baby because, to be honest, the thought of that has filled my heart with grief; but these words reminded me that God will fill my empty spaces.  (And yes, a mom of five kids, even if her hands are full, can have empty spaces!)

February
4. Heaven Comes Closer - R. J. Headings - another book that my neighbor lent to me - just like in the book she lent me during the previous month, the main character in this story dies (this time it was a mom of four kids who was only in her 30s when she got breast cancer and passed away) - I wondered why she kept loaning me these books; did she think I was going to die because of my thyroid issues (which she herself has, too)?  ;-) - the most meaningful quote from this one came from a conversation between the dying woman Kay and her best friend; when the friend expressed sorrow about Kay's suffering, Kay answered (even though she was short of breath and was very close to the end of her life), "I'm not...suffering... Heaven...is coming...closer and closer...as I get...sicker and sicker."  What a wonderful attitude to have as death draws near.
5. Bringing Up Girls - Dr. James Dobson - I have a huge amount of respect for Dr. Dobson and have learned tons from him through the years; but I have to admit (I feel so disloyal saying this) that I was a little disappointed in this book - why? because although he did an outstanding job of laying out the challenges that face the girls of this generation (including a wealth of information from other sources), I didn't feel like he did an equal job of presenting solutions - maybe I was just hoping for something more practical in terms of "this is what you need to do to raise a daughter well" - I'm still glad I read it though  :)

March
6. Roar of the Heavens - Stefan Bechtel - fascinating account of Hurricane Camille, which happened before I was born but which was especially gripping for me because part of the tragedy unfolded in Nelson County, Virginia, which is a couple of counties away from me but is still close enough to feel sort of like home - this was lent to us by one of Jeff's customers; his dad, incidentally, was one of the Mennonites who responded right away and headed to Nelson County to help out with the disaster relief
7. Secrets of Wisdom from Mother's Heart - Joe Aldrich - this includes portions from the first book I read this year; but in addition to the words of Doris, her son Joe includes some devotional thoughts as well, which I appreciated
8. All She Ever Wanted - Lynn Austin - this was the first fiction book I read this year, but it was a little more meaty than some fiction is - it was a vivid portrayal of how family backgrounds (even if unknown) can affect current and future generations - it made me grateful all over again for the line of faithful, God-loving, family-focused women that I've descended from
9. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer - during one of our date nights, we happened to be in the Goodwill store (I guess that's the kind of date night you enjoy when you've been married a decade and a half!), and Jeff picked up this book; but I was the one who started reading it when we got home - the story gripped me and saddened me, and frankly I don't understand the kind of drive that would lead Chris McCandless to do what he did - but maybe that's because I'm a woman and value security and companionship more than risk and solitude!
10. And the Angels Were Silent - Max Lucado - since this is all about the final week of Jesus before His death and resurrection, it was wonderful preparation for Easter
11. Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer - I've never felt an urge to climb Mt. Everest - after reading this book, I still don't; but maybe I understand a tiny bit about people who do

April
12. Loving the Little Years - Rachel Jankovic - I really loved this book because it was short and easy to read ;-), but also because the word pictures she used were so good at capturing a piece of motherhood or a new strategy for dealing with a particular parenting issue - this is one I'd like to read every so often, just to be freshly inspired again

* At this point, I stopped writing these little blurbs about what I had read and simply jotted down titles and authors.

May
13. Learning to Speak Alzheimer's - Joanne Koenig Coste
14. A Love Like No Other - compiled by Elisa Morgan
15. Logged On and Tuned Out - Vicki Courtney
16. Leah - James Shott
17. Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery
18. Anne of Avonlea - L. M. Montgomery
19. Anne of the Island - L. M. Montgomery
20. Amish Values for Your Family - Suzanne Woods Fisher - I will mention here that I really liked this book; much of the principles were already familiar to me either through my own upbringing or my Old Order Mennonite neighbors' example, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it - and there's even one funny story in there that makes me roll with laughter every time I read it  :)

June
21. Anne of Windy Poplars - L. M. Montgomery
22. Anne's House of Dreams - L. M. Montgomery
23. Anne of Ingleside - L. M. Montgomery
24. The Shiloh Project - David Beaucage

July
25. Rainbow Valley - L.M. Montgomery
26. The Ishbane Conspiracy - Angela, Karina, & Randy Alcorn
27. A Day in the Life of America - Rick Smolan and David Cohen

August
28. Rilla of Ingleside - L.M. Montgomery
29. Unending Devotion - Jody Hedlund - this was a gift to me, and I opened it, expecting a light piece of Christian fiction - but its topic of human trafficking in long-ago Michigan was heavier than I expected, especially because that issue is--tragically--still alive and well today

September
30. Lion of Babylon - Davis Bunn - another gift that I wouldn't have read otherwise, but I have to admit that I really enjoyed the adventure and suspense of this
31. Love's Awakening - Laura Frantz - another gift!  this was the first Laura Frantz book that I'd ever read, and I liked it

October
32. Courting Morrow Little - Laura Frantz
33. The Wonderful World of Boys - Dr. James Dobson

November
34. Our Town - Thornton Wilder
35. My Journey into Alzheimer's Disease - Robert Davis
36. The Kite Rider - Geraldine McCaughrean - bought for a quarter at a thrift store - I didn't really like it because it made me mad!

December
Hmmm...I don't have a single book recorded for December; is it possible that I really didn't finish anything this month?  Well, I suppose it must be true.  Actually, I can think of a good reason for it.  On Thanksgiving, I started reading the Bible because one of my goals for 2014 is to read the entire Bible, and I knew I'd better get a head start or I might not make it.  :)  During December, I know there were times when I reached for the Bible to read when I might have otherwise reached for another book.  That's probably why I don't have anything to write down here.  But you know, I don't care!  Even if I don't read a single book in 2014, if I can read the whole Bible, that's the most important thing by far!  :)

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Which Posts Stand Out in My Memory

January
I Didn't Know I Was Marrying Old MacDonald
"Let's Just Get Past January 9th"
Filling the Shoes
February
There Was This Guy...
This Little Part of Your Leg
The Gymnastics Journey
March
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday {Portrait of a Snowy Day}
A Hierarchy, and an Accomplishment
Two Girls and a Blanket
April
On My Feet! {A Guest Post by Moriah}
Who Knew a Cake Smash Could Be So BEAUTIFUL?
Putting All That Energy to Good Use
May
The Lilacs of 2013
Not Taking This Mother's Day for Granted
The Violin Guys {Uncut Version}
June
16 Never-Before Published Wedding Photos
A Major Accomplishment for Our Girl!
Unspoken
July
I Have One Son
What Else Happened on the Fourth
The Birth Story of My Firstborn
August
We Drove Three Hours to Find a Place to Swim
The {Unofficial} End of Summer
The Fair! The Fair!
September
When My Kitchen Is an Absolute MESS
A Very Special Family Day {The Full Report}
Where Josiah Spent His Summer
October
Revising the "About" {A MUCH-Needed Update}
Even Superman Has to Sleep Sometime
When My Brothers Play with Me {A Guest Post by Moriah}
November
Let Me Tell You about My Mom
My Town
While I'm Safe and Warm at Home
December
Seven Times We've Climbed These Hills
Big Christmas
The Night Before Christmas


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Lastly for this end-of-the-year finale, the bits and pieces I jotted down on Facebook during this past month--and some from Jeff, too.  :)

December 1 - (Jeff posted this photo and caption) - We went and got a tree today ...had fun decorating it tonight!

December 4 - (Jeff used his phone to take this picture of Moriah getting her hair done--not cut, just put in pigtails--by Pam, one of the wonderful barbers at Jeff's shop.)

December 7 - The benefit of homeschooling that I'm most grateful for this evening is the second chance that I get to learn things!  Like everyone else, I have forgotten SO MUCH of what I used to know; but as I homeschool, I find myself learning right along with my boys. Some of the information is review, but some is brand new, and I'm thankful for both. For example, today we read a story about Margaret Haughery. "Margaret who?" I would have said yesterday, "Never heard of her!" Well, I won't rehash all that we learned about her today, but I will say that she was an incredible lady who, having experienced loss after loss after loss, reached out from her pain and made a difference in the lives of hundreds of people. What an inspiration!

December 7 - Note to candy manufacturers: I might be more inclined to actually eat (and consequently, buy) candy canes if I could actually get the wrapper off. In one piece. In less than five minutes. Without making ALL of my fingers a sticky mess in the process and without using up all the patience I had on reserve. Could you work on that please?  :)

December 9 - Today was the second time I took Moriah to the Health Department for shots, and I would have to say that it was a more typical experience than the first time I went. This time, there were no parking spots in the lot, the waiting room was full of people, and the nurse started to give me a guilt trip about delaying Moriah's vaccinations. All of that is what I expected at her first appointment (and was, of course, happy to avoid the first time around)! But it all worked out: I found a parking spot across the street (even for the Big White Van), I had fun people-watching in the waiting room (observing the diversity of our area, from a conservative Mennonite, prayer-covering-wearing mother to a family of Hispanics to an Arab couple--and more), and I realized that the nurse was actually a really nice person, despite the strong opinion she started to voice. Plus, despite the number of people waiting, I was out of there in about 35 minutes--not bad at all for public health. The actually-a-nice-person-though-I-wasn't-sure-at-first nurse told me that one of the side effects of the vaccines today might be drowsiness, and boy, was she right! When we got home, I fed Moriah some lunch, then picked her up out of her high chair and sat down with her in a rocking chair. We sat there an hour or so, all the way until time for her nap; usually she would have wiggled to get down and play after a few minutes of sitting with me. I can't say that I minded the extra snuggle time.  I learned today that even though I'm really glad I don't work in the field of public health, I am immensely grateful for those who do. I can't imagine that their jobs are easy ones.

December 12 - I'm 99% sure Moriah said the word "baby" this morning. True, she was referring to a little stuffed llama that I handed to her; but since it resides in her crib with her dolls, I think it could count as a "baby." At any rate, for a girl who says basically NOTHING, I'll count it as a word.  :)

December 12 - I walked down the steps after putting Moriah in bed for her nap and saw Tobin and Shav working together on a puzzle in the living room--an alphabet puzzle with animals for each letter. "Hey, Mom," Tobin called to me in his I-need-help voice "we did the 'L' but now we can't get the 'P' to fit!" "The 'P'?" I thought, "why are they working on that letter?" Then it dawned on me; when they sing the alphabet song, after L comes an unintelligible string of sounds until they get to P. (Sing it yourself, and you'll see what I mean.) Poor forgotten M, N, and O. Whoever wrote the alphabet song sure did them a disfavor.  :)

December 12 - While my mom and I were doing dishes together this afternoon, I asked her what her favorite Christmas carol is. She paused, the dish towel in hand, and said, "Hmmm, I'll have to think about." A few minutes later, she was ready with her answer. "I've always been partial to O Holy Night," she told me, then her eyes filled up with tears and her voice choked. With a laugh, she said, "I'm getting old!" Well, my dear mother, if you're not allowed to "get old" when you're 72, I'm not sure when you can! So you go ahead and cry. I've been known to do the same thing when I hear O Holy Night, and I'm only 37.

December 18 - (Jeff took these pictures with his phone while we were at Wildwood Park for me to take photos of our kids)


December 19 - I learned a new word yesterday. Shav was explaining to me where his best tickle spots are, and he told me they are his neck (of course), his armpits (oh yes), and his legpits. His legpits? That's the back of the knee, he informed me, and they're really ticklish.  When I tapped on the front of his knees and asked him what that part was called (wondering if he knew the word "kneecap"), he answered confidently, "The front of the legpit!"  In other news, Moriah has a new tooth--the one right next to her front bottom right tooth. She also had a low-grade fever last night and this morning, but I'm hoping that's teething-related and not a sign of illness. We have too much celebrating to do in the next few days to be sick!

December 20 - Let me start by saying that I've never actually watched Duck Dynasty; but because I don't live under a rock, I've heard a whole bunch about the show and the Robertson family, especially recently when Phil made some bold statements about his beliefs. Here's what makes me shake my head: was anyone really surprised by this? That a conservative Christian would make such statements--is that shocking? That A&E would speak out against it--would you expect anything different? Why are people acting like this is anything out of the ordinary? This issue isn't new news, folks!

When the Chick-fil-A incident happened, I remember having such a distinct feeling that, underneath all the hoopla, one fact remained: this is war. I thank God it is not a physical war; and to be VERY clear, I do not condone any acts of violence associated with this issue. But it is a very real moral, cultural, and spiritual war. Whether you find yourself to the right or to the left, whether you want to be a pacifist and you go around offering hugs to everyone and you lament, "Why can't we all just get along?", or whether you're an isolationist who denies that such a full-blown conflict exists, the wise thing to do would be to realize and admit that a battle rages.

Stop acting surprised when a preacher or other individual openly states that the Bible condemns homosexuality. Don't act shocked when a secular media outlet gets mad about that. In today's culture, this is entirely to be expected.

The issue is, at its core, not free speech. I have never met anyone who was so adamantly in favor of free speech that he or she desired the removal of all cultural and moral boundaries surrounding what is publicly expressed. I, for one, am very glad that as I walk with my children through Walmart or go downtown to a parade with them or visit our local library, there ARE standards of what is and is not acceptable to say in public. If we're honest, let's admit that we all pull the Free Speech card when it suits our purposes. 


When we're willing to admit that it's a war, the next vitally important step is this: remember who you're fighting. It is NOT the person across the divide from you. It is NOT even a media network (which is, after all, made up of people, who may or may not be across the divide from you). It is NOT the court system or the politicians who seem to be seeking to sway the laws of the land in a different direction than you wish to see them go.

The enemy is clear: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

So if you care about this issue, pick your jaw up off the floor, stop acting bewildered, and hit your knees in prayer. That's where the real transformation begins.



December 20 - "You're my dearly beloved sister." A wonderful compliment, no? But heartbreaking when it comes from the lips of your mother...who has Alzheimer's...and who forgets you're her daughter but thinks you're her sister. Well, as I've told my Aunt Joyce--my mom's real sister--it's a very good thing that my mom has always gotten along well with her sister, because now that she thinks I'm her, she still thinks I'm great!!

December 21 - When your son asks, "Why don't you ever make homemade bread like Sally?" there's only one appropriate response: laugh.  You see, God has given each of us unique giftings, and one of Sally's (many!) gifts is breadmaking. Mine is...not.  So I'll accept my limitations and thank God for the gift of a friend who earlier this week unexpectedly dropped off two loaves of delicious homemade bread, right when we were sitting down for supper. Sally, it was a perfect addition to our meal - thank you!!

December 22 - (Jeff took these pictures using his phone and posted them to FB) - Playing Mexican Train with my brother David and his family


December 24 - I just glanced out the window and realized that it's snowing! I don't expect us to get much (anything), but what a special gift to see some flakes fall. As if Christmas Eve wasn't exciting enough all by itself!

December 24 - If I could freeze time, oh, I would! This moment, this place, these precious souls snuggled up, trying to fall asleep on the one night in the year that it's almost IMPOSSIBLE to fall asleep in!  As much as my boys have been wishing that time could go faster so that we could hurry up and get to Christmas Day, I've been urging the clock to tick more slowly. This is a time of beauty, with the house decorated, the schedule cleared, secrets whispered, yummy food being cooked, and hearts filled to the brim with joyful anticipation. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to it yet! With ever-present reminders all around me that tomorrow is not promised, I think ahead to next Christmas and wonder what it will be like; and then I feel a deep desire to seize this one and not let it go. Oh, I am a sentimental fool tonight. ("Only tonight?" I hear you ask.)

December 26 - If it were possible to instantly infuse myself with the essence of one Scripture verse today, the one I would choose is Proverbs 31:25, "...she can laugh at the days to come." With aging parents, my heart feels heavy as I look to the future; what challenges, what pain, what loss lies ahead in the path God has laid out for us? I desire to walk that path with a spring in my step. Today my spring is lacking, and I look--once again--to the virtuous woman as an example of how I need to grow.

December 27 - I was reading Matthew 12 this morning and read these words of Jesus: "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." I'm thinking I'd better take a vow of silence--QUICK!  :)

December 28 - This morning I read this quote by Charles Spurgeon: "The bow cannot be always bent without fear of breaking. Repose is as needful to the mind as sleep to the body... Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength." This afternoon, I was grateful for those words because a terrible headache laid me low, and I was utterly useless. I was in such pain that I was literally watching the clock and counting the minutes until I could put Moriah in her bed for a nap, and then I hit the couch myself. I certainly wasn't planning on spending the afternoon that way, but there's more to life than being "productive," and sometimes rest is the very best use of time!

December 28 - Date Night tonight...the picture didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I'm so grateful to be in it (the picture, marriage, life!) with this man!

December 30 - I'm not sure how old I'll have to be to make it through the last five or six chapters of Genesis with dry eyes. The story of Joseph gets me every single time. When he reveals himself to his brothers after being convinced of their change of heart from the days of his youth...and then when he reunites with his father...oh mercy, I'm a mess! But what really stood out to me tonight as I was reading it was the scene when Jacob, old grizzled (I imagine) shepherd that he was, is brought before Pharaoh by his son Joseph. Imagine the disparity between those two: the Hebrew nomad and the Egyptian king. But what does Jacob do? HE BLESSES PHARAOH. Twice in Genesis 47 (in verses 7 and 10), we are told that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and I'm having fun trying to picture that moment. I have to ask myself if that would be my response, were I given the opportunity to stand before one of the most powerful leaders in the world. I also ponder the fact that sometimes in an interaction between two people, all the power seems to be with one of them (in this case, Pharaoh, of course); but if we could only see for a moment with spiritual eyes, we might realize that once again, God's upside down kingdom has burst forth. And those who appear the weakest are actually the ones who possess the most powerful force in the spiritual realm.


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With that, I've come to the end--the end of this post, but more significantly, the end of this year.  There's a rightness to bringing things to an appropriate conclusion, and I'm happy to be wrapping up this year gone by.

Hello, 2014!  I welcome you with open arms!  :)

Tallying the 2013 Harvest

Before the sand in the hourglass of the year 2013 runs out completely, I want to continue a tradition I started last year and officially record the harvest that God graciously gave us this year.  Before I get to the numbers though, here are some thoughts I jotted down throughout the course of the gardening/harvesting/preserving season.
The first thing that should be said is how grateful I am for all the help from Jeff and from my boys and from my parents.  Truly, truly, I could not do it without them; and as a matter of fact, Jeff does the VAST majority of the garden work (including enlarging it this past year).  In general, he grows it, and I preserve it (with help from him at times, too).  I like our system.  :)
~ while preparing green beans for canning, David created this piece of "art" with the ends  :)

Besides Jeff, I would say that Tobin was the most faithful garden helper this year.
He really took a special interest in it, and very faithfully watered his little portion of the garden--even when we'd had a big rainstorm the day before, and the ground really didn't need a drop more.  ;-)  Tobin's efforts were rewarded with some beautiful onions and zucchini.  Sadly, after giving us a few zucchini, all of our plants were mysteriously stricken and died rather quickly, so we didn't get nearly as much of a harvest from them as we expected.  But Tobin was happy that he at least got some.  :)  (And Josiah and David were happy that the plants died so they wouldn't have to eat as much zucchini!!)  ;-)


We were blessed with lots of rain this year (see the TALL corn in our neighboring field, for example!); and as a result, we didn't have to water the garden much at all.  The little bit of additional water we did give to the garden came from Jeff's rain barrels which he purchased VERY cheaply after finding them on Craiglist.  He rigged up a way to arrange them under various rain spouts from our house, our garden shed, and our wood shed, and then to let gravity do the work of getting the water onto the garden.  A penny saved is a penny earned, and Jeff "earned" us quite a few pennies that way.  :)

One thing that I enjoyed this year more than most years were our cucumbers.  I'm not sure if it was because of all the rain, but they had the BEST flavor.  Our plants produced an abundance of cucumbers, and I felt like the richest woman in the world to walk out to our garden whenever I wanted, pick a cucumber, and enjoy the fresh, healthy tastiness.  :)

Another winner in the garden this year was watermelons.  They were plentiful, huge, and delicious.  We weighed a few of the biggest ones; and although I can't remember the exact weights, the number 40 pounds comes to mind.  Writing about this in the cold, dark winter makes me long for the sweet juiciness of those watermelons!  :)

Every year, Jeff decides to do things a little differently; and this year some of the new things were planting sweet potatoes (they did well), asparagus (hmmm, I'm not sure how well these plants did; hopefully they'll come back in the spring), and strawberries (looking forward to a good harvest from these plants next year, too).  In addition we (Josiah, David, and I) also went to a nearby orchard and picked and canned sweet cherries, and we had fun planting cherry and plum trees.  On top of that, Jeff decided to make pickles with our great cucumber harvest, and they turned out really yummy.

From time to time this year, I once again experienced the discouragement that can accompany the process of canning food.  For example, you take a pile of green beans and work very hard to get them ready for the canner, and then what do you have?  Only 7 quarts of beans to show for it (and you think, "I could have gone to the store and bought 7 quarts of beans in a lot less time than THIS took!").  :)  But then you do it again, and you have 14.  Another turn in the canner, and you've got 21, and so forth.  Next thing you know, the cellar shelves are full, and it all happens 7 quarts at a time.  I'm sure there's a spiritual lesson in there somewhere  :)

Preserving food is messy.  Want proof?  :)


Our tomatoes were so full of moisture that when I canned tomato juice, this is how it turned out.
The jar on the right is what it looked like before being canned; it looks nice, right?  But after canning, it looks quite different.  Even though it's not very attractive, it still tastes good in recipes.  :)

OK, the numbers.  Keep in mind that we ate LOTS of food fresh, and we gave some away to others.  But here is what we preserved (at least, this is what I remembered to write down)...

Frozen:
Cilantro - 32 snack bags - a cup each maybe?
Strawberry freezer jam - 7.5 pints
Peas - 25 pints
Green onions - 11 snack bags
Sour cherries - 24 pints
Blueberries - 29 pints
Diced onions - 25 cups
Creamed corn - 87 (overly full) pints
Peaches - 7 quarts, 2 pints
Frozen tomato "juice" - 2 quarts, 7 pints
~ Tobin helping with green beans...the bandage on his wrist was just for fun, no real injuries had occurred :)

Canned:
Sweet cherries - 7 quarts
Pickles - 34 quarts, 11 pints
Dill beans - 17 quarts
Hot peppers - 4 half-gallons, 3 quarts, 4 pints
Salsa - 4 half-gallons, 30 quarts, 2 pints
Green beans - 34 quarts
Diced tomatoes - 31 quarts
Applesauce - 65 quarts
Peaches - 68 quarts
Tomato juice - 7 quarts
Spaghetti sauce - 6 quarts, 3 pints
Grape juice - 6 quarts
Venison - 12 quarts

Other:
Potatoes - I didn't measure how many pounds or bushels we got, but we got A LOT.  The neat thing about these is that, for seed, we had used old, shriveled potatoes that were left from the previous year's harvest, and they did just fine.  We didn't have to spend a penny on these, and we harvested enough to last us all year.  That thrills me.  :)
Sweet potatoes - Again, I didn't keep a record of how much we got; but for the first year, I think these were a success!
We give heartfelt thanks to the Lord of the harvest for His provision for us!  :)

Monday, December 30, 2013

Christmas Tidbits

As this merry month of December rolled by, I felt so many things slipping through my fingers--little bits and pieces about Christmas that I didn't want to lose.  The solution?  A Christmas tidbits post.  :)

~ 1 ~
I unabashedly and unapologetically admit that I listen to Christmas music year round, whenever the urge strikes me.  After all, is not the news that God sent His Son to earth as a tiny baby worth remembering and celebrating, whether the date be April 28, August 3, or December 15?

Let me qualify that by saying that if I owned or managed a public place of business, I would not play Christmas music until after Thanksgiving.  There is so much commercialism that has crept--no, raced--into our remembrance of Christ's birth, and I wouldn't want to add to that by playing Christmas music early.  Here in my own home however, I feel quite at ease listening to it whenever I like.  :)

So it was that sometime in November, I pulled out Josh Groban's Christmas CD and turned it on while Moriah was finishing her lunch.  After she was done, I got her out of her highchair, held her close, and danced around the kitchen while listening to "The Little Drummer Boy."

And then I cried.

"Really? You cried because of 'The Little Drummer Boy'???" you might be asking.

Yes.  Yes, I did.  Something about the lines "I played my drum for him...I played my best for him...Then he smiled at me..." touched my heart, and I thought, "Lord, here I am, playing my drum, so to speak, for You.  I'm fixing lunch for these children, I'm listening to their voices and answering their questions, I'm clearing off the table, I'm wiping off a dirty highchair tray, I'm giving hugs, I'm dancing with my daughter--none of which is particularly glamorous or noteworthy.  But it's my drum, it's what I can do, and I do it for You.  Right now I feel Your smile.  Thank You for that."

That's a good reason to spill a few tears, right?  :)

~ 2 ~
We were so happy this year that Grandma Fisher was here as we began our Christmas preparations, especially since it was the first time she's been here for that!  I've already written about our trip to the Christmas tree farm to get our tree, but here is the rest of the story.

After we brought the tree home, Jeff worked to get lights on it, which wasn't as easy as it might sound because somehow all of our strings of lights had decided that half their lights should work and half shouldn't.  Rather than put a bunch of half-lit strands on the tree, Jeff worked and worked and checked and checked to see what the problem was and which bulbs needed to be replaced.  He was relentless in his pursuit of fully-lit strands of Christmas lights.  :)

Meanwhile, I got out the boxes of Christmas decorations and started opening them up, and the boys were SO excited.  I suppose they're that excited every year, I don't know, but they were just having so much fun.  Every new box I opened and every new thing I pulled out was met by delight.  For example, when I opened the box containing our Christmas books, they exclaimed their joy and immediately grabbed some before settling down on the couch to read/look at books they hadn't seen in 11 months.

And then I got out the box with nutcrackers, and they were thrilled.
They used those nutcrackers to act out all kinds of dramas--a wonderful diversion while Jeff was still working on the lights.  :)

Finally, Jeff completed his task and declared that they could start putting ornaments on the tree--the moment they had all been waiting for, with various degrees of patience.  :)


They all enjoyed it, but I particularly remember Josiah saying something about how getting out the ornaments and decorating the tree was so much fun that it was almost as good as opening the gifts!!  :)

Moriah, of course, found something soft to carry around and cuddle with, little mama that she is.  :)






When I started trying to take a picture to use as this month's header, I began with Tobin as my model.  Eventually he tired of the job and happily let David take over.  And that's when I got my winning shot.  But I still like this one of Tobin.  :)

~ 3 ~
One of the very good things I had done last year as I packed away our Christmas decorations was to sort out the ornaments that particularly belong to each child and store them in a big Ziploc bag.  It made the process of decorating so easy this year to simply pull out a bag, hand it to a child, and let him have his own ornaments to place on the tree.  In years past, I would have to ask the kids to wait as I got out the ornaments and figured out whose they were so the proper person could have the honor of putting them on the tree--a big deal to my boys!  :)  I am definitely going to repeat that organization strategy this year as I put our ornaments away.

~ 4 ~
One of the very not-so-good things about decorating this year was that at some point during the past year, we had an infestation of stinkbugs in our garage.  :(  I remember several years ago when we were visiting my brother David and his family in Pennsylvania, we encountered stinkbugs there; and he told us how they were migrating south.  It was only a matter of time, I suppose, until they got here; and nothing we could do would have stopped then.  But still, it was disheartening to unpack our Christmas boxes and find lots of them.  I gave many of them a watery farewell in the toilet, and some got a fiery end in the woodstove.  But along the way, I learned something.  I learned what stinkbugs smell like.

Are you ready for this?

They smell like cilantro.  ;-)

The odd thing is that I like cilantro!  I like it very much.  Maybe that's why the scent of the stinkbugs didn't really bother me that much.  ;-)  

I did, however, hate the sight of them crawling out of our Christmas things.  I didn't like that one tiny bit.  Even though I'm not squeamish about bugs, I still had many moments of "gross!" and "ack, another one!" and "ewww."  :(

~ 5 ~
In years past, we have helped each one of our boys buy a gift for each of his brothers; and I really like how that adds the joy of GIVING to our celebration.  It's so much fun to see their excitement as they choose, wrap, and give those presents--and how they can hardly wait for their brothers to open them because they just know they're gonna love 'em.  :)

Until this year, most of those purchases were made at the dollar store.  It didn't seem too difficult to find something there that would bring some simple pleasure to each of the boys, and it was easy enough to drop a few bucks there and have it all taken care of.

This year, something changed.  Walking through the aisles of the dollar store when I took each boy Christmas shopping, we discovered that there really wasn't much there that would bring lasting joy, so we upgraded--all the way to Walmart.  :)  There were a few of the boys' gifts that came from the dollar store (glow in the dark stars for Josiah's ceiling from Tobin, for example), but most did not.  Instead, we walked the aisles of Walmart, looking at things like games, LEGO sets, Nerf guns, etc.  It cost more than choosing gifts from the dollar store, but it also meant that the gifts among the brothers were really wanted gifts!  :)  It also meant that Jeff and I didn't spend quite as much on "fun factor" gifts for the boys, since we knew that was covered.  (Not to imply that we didn't give them any fun gifts, because of course we did!  But you know what I mean...)  :)

~ 6 ~
I wrote a little bit earlier this month about how wonderful (understatement!) the Holidayfest concert that Josiah got to sing in was.  I hesitate to use the word "magical," but it really was that.  It was so, so, so special--everything from the way Jeff unselfishly let me go that evening (our original plan was for me to go the following day, but because of the threat of bad weather and the possibility of the second concert being cancelled, Jeff urged me to go to the first one, which was a good thing because the second concert was indeed cancelled) to the fun I had hanging out with David before the concert (since we had to go really early for Josiah to rehearse) to the friends we saw there to the beauty of the concert hall to the absolute gorgeousness of the sound to the meaningfulness of the words and the whole reason for the celebration to the overwhelming joy on the way home as Josiah and David and I were all as happy as could be and laughed and carried on like a bunch of silly kids ;-) to the snow that fell and gave us a cozy day together the following day.  It was beautiful, it was powerful, it was memorable, it was magical.  One of my very favorite days of the whole month?  For sure!  Something I never want to forget?  Absolutely!  :)

~ 7 ~
When Shav the Boy did his (almost) annual photo shoot with Shav the Bear, Tobin wanted me to photograph him with another Christmas bear we have.  Tobin has, not surprisingly, christened him Tobin Bear; and I was happy to snap some pictures of them together...

 ...and with the Shavs.
 No, I don't know why Shav wanted to use our checkerboard as a blanket.
 Yes, I think they're adorable.
All four of them.  :)

~ 8 ~
With all the extra excitement this month, I wasn't surprised that Shav was extra tired (and the other boys, too, although they didn't fall asleep during the day as much as Shav did!).  Most of the time, he rarely naps; but during December he definitely had more than his normal share of naps.  One day, Grandma was here and was reading stories to him, and then this happened.
So Grandma finished reading the book to herself.  :)

~ 9 ~
The new song that I heard and loved this Christmas was "Light of the World" by Lauren Daigle.  I heard it come on the radio late one night when I was working in the kitchen, and I had to drop everything and figure out who was singing and what the song was.  I found it.  :)


~ 10 ~
Having our nativity set up on a low bookshelf meant that little fingers could touch and move the pieces...which is exactly my goal for it!  :)  Toward the beginning of the month, I kept finding pieces of white notebook paper under the stable and on the roof and scattered all around, and I wasn't sure if my boys were just being particularly messy or if there was another reason.  When I inquired, they told me that it was snow!  :)

"Aha!" I said, "Maybe I can find something better to use as snow," and I went upstairs to my closet and got out a silky white scarf.  I spread it under and around the stable and arranged the pieces in my traditional way: Mary and Joseph close together with Jesus right beside them, the sheep and shepherd back a little, and the wise men even further away, coming along in a line toward the stable.
Not long after that, I discovered it this way...
...ALL the characters huddled up together in the stable, and the "snow" covering the whole thing!  :)

I would leave it that way for a day or so, then rearrange it to my preference.  It usually didn't take long for someone to come along and put it back to the let's-crowd-in-close-so-we-can-see-Jesus-and-let's-have-snow-on-the-roof  arrangement.  :)

~ 11 ~
Since our Christmas celebrations were all finished on the 25th (some years we have obligations and celebrations even after that date), I've had a few days here at the end of this month to take advantage of a WOO* and have made some progress with some kitchen cupboards, the hall linen closet, and some paperwork (although there is still MUCH to be done in that area!).  :)

*Window of Organizing Opportunity, written about here

One thing I found was this piece of paper from 1997.  When we got married, we needed a vacuum cleaner, of course, so we decided to buy a used one from the lady who managed the apartments where we lived at the beginning of our marriage.  If I hadn't found this, I wouldn't have remembered that we paid $400 for our first Kirby!  :)
I also found some napkins that had been written on long ago by our most prolific napkin-note-writer, sweet David.  Not only was I intrigued by the fact that on one side of the napkin, he correctly wrote "Tobin"...
...while on the other side, he made the classic mistake of reversing the "b" and making a "d" in Tobin's name...
I also found it heartwarming that he had written the simple sentence, "I love you, Tobin."  Just four words, but what a wealth of meaning.  And between two brothers, such exclamations are ALWAYS welcome!  :)