Oct. 6, 2008
Since I have "All the Time in the World"...
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And you all know I just sit around eating bon bons all day long, I have been tagged by one of my favorite bloggers and her pirate crew to do the following meme. But first, WHAT IN THE WORLD IS A MEME and isn't it one of the stupidest words available? Off my soapbox now.  I have a sneaking suspicion that she cheated, though, since hers was so incredibly exciting. Here are the rules: The rules of this meme are as follows:Grab the nearest book.Open the book to page 56.Find the fifth sentence.Post the text of the next two to five sentences in your journal/blog along with these instructions.Don’t dig for your favorite book, the cool book, or the intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.Tag five other people to do the same.So, since I have such integrity, I am going to resist picking up a book which will make me look like a great mom (like the Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson waiting in my to read pile on my shelf) or something like that. Or the BIBLE, which is next to my recliner... Here goes: 2 cans of Tomatoes, diced or stewed. Tortilla chips. 1 c. salsa. Grated Cheese. 1 can Tomato Sauce. Sour Cream. Need I go on?! It's a recipe for Black Bean Chicken Chili. What book is it from?! The one my children call the "Wonder Book" - my MOMYS Cookbook which is already open to page 4, since I was typing out the recipe for overnight coffeecake for the Open Kitchen thing I did last week. Here's the whole recipe: 6 chicken breast tenders 2 cans black beans, underained 2 cans tomatoes, diced or stewed 1 c. salsa 1 can tomato sauce 2 t. chili 1/2 t. cumin 1/4 t. garlic powder tortilla chips grated cheese sour cream Combine all ingredients in a crock pot, slow cooker except chipe, cheese and sour cream. Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours. Just before serving, remove chicken and slice into bite size pieces. Stir into soup. To serve, put a hanful of chips in the bottom of the bowl, ladle soup over chips, top with cheese and sour cream. Sounds good! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tag: Misti - at Raising Sweet Savages Char - at Yours, Mine, and Ours Beck - at Full Hands, Open Hearts Eunice - at Home of the IVLeague Laura - at Quilt of Grace Just be glad I could FIND a book in the mess I have on my desk. So I tag Mother Hen to another MEME! One I am making up... I'll let her make up the rules just so she doesn't fall into a funk. (She likes to make up the rules to these things...) I want to see a picture of her desk. What do you all think? Do you agree? Let's start a workplace photo meme. And please - think of another name for meme!!! Humor me. |
Oct. 3, 2008
My Laundry Line
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I have been working on lowering our electric bill. And it worked! At least if we look at Kilowatt Hours... this summer we used on average 7 KwH less a day! Unfortunately it still cost us $.40 a day MORE to use LESS, but that is another story entirely. My main way to save money without sweltering, was to I LOVE HANGING OUT MY LAUNDRY!!! It is so nice to be forced to be out in nature for a little bit every day. I even love to fresh smell of the laundry when it comes in. And I especially love that it is so neat and orderly!!! I can actually hang all pants together. All shirts together. I even can hang the socks MATCHED... Wow. I have very little order in my life. Actually I only have one bookshelf, and my laundry line. I posted earlier that we have a basket in each room, and everyone just throws anything in the basket into the laundry all at the same time. We have never had trouble with bleeding. It may have something to do with the fact that we are blessed with enough hand me downs to clothe most of the family... so we rarely have to buy anything new. What a blessing, since it would run us almost $150 to buy one bag of socks, and one bag of underwear per person. I fold the clothes as I pull them off the line, so they come in the house folded. If only I could mange to be disciplined enough to put them away that very moment, I will have conquered the Mt. Laundry. |
Oct. 1, 2008
Kitchen Organization!
 It's the kitchen organization version of Works for Me Wednesday! I cannot wait to hear everyone's ideas on this one. For no matter how hard I try, my drawers stay a mess. Maybe because I let the cherubs do the dishes. And put them away. And they could care less if I have to fiddle around to find all the pieces of a bottle in the middle of the night.So I invested $7 in my sanity, and in the longevity of life for the children who are responsible to put dishes away, and bought this... And I no longer think murderous thoughts in the middle of the night with a crying baby. It works for me! Don't forget to visit Happy to be at Home to see a week in my kitchen! |
Sep. 30, 2008
So Here's The Deal -
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Upon being tired of seeing a the room being a continual mess, and laziness in doing his animal chores, I have made the following deal with Josiah. - If I never find the waters empty for the month of October, or if we don't have to remind him to close the Poultry Palace before bed, he gets 2 weeks of double computer time. If not, I get a foot rub a day for two weeks. - If he keeps his room completely clean for the month of October, he can have double computer time for 2 additional weeks. If he cannot, I get a foot rub every day for two more weeks. Can I toss some clothes around his room so I get my foot rub?! I tried to convince him that he should be my personal slave for two weeks, (along with calling him "pig boy'! Like on Veggie Tales...) but he thought that was a bit over the top. The girls are trying to figure out their deals... Angela wants money for her mission trip coming next year, but the littler girls don't know what they want to do... we'll see! I do know that the penalty for failure will be 2 weeks of kitchen duty, but they are not sure of the reward yet. They weren't interested in being my personal slave, either. Bummer. ~~~~~~~~~~ Don't forget to hop over to Happy to be at Home and get a glimpse into our kitchen! |
Sep. 29, 2008
I'm in love, a picture of love, and an update
Who could resist snuggling someone as sweet as my Bethany? Also I found this picture, drawn by Emma, age 7. I love these pictures, with the creative spelling. They are definite keepers in my book!  I realized I have not yet updated on Mercy's September appointments. The bottom line is that we are still waiting. I am anxious to get something started, but it just takes time. The hemangioma continues to grow if we try to go below a certain dosage. Dr. Adams has written a study and is waiting for the funding to put it in place. I assume Mercy will take part in it. It will track the use of the beta blocker (propanalol) which seems like a promising treatment vs. Vincristine (chemo) and prednisone. But that is still in the formation stage and we don't know details yet. She had an echocardiogram and EKG done. We'll meet with the cardiologist next month. There are some more in depth hearing tests they want to do, and we are still trying to get her to wear her glasses more so we don't have to try contacts. Developmentally she is doing great. When we started going to Dr. Adams in March, she was WAY behind in development. She was 15 months, and doing things more like a 6 - 9 month old. Now she was consistently doing things on a 21 - 22 month level, which is actually a little ahead of her age! I cannot tell you how much I loved seeing that. We continue to wait, but every month gets us closer to doing something, so we are waiting with anticipation. I leave you with a cute photo I got yesterday when she climbed onto the dining room table and got into the powdered sugar from the pancake dinner we had. I think she is trying to get out of being in trouble by being so cute!  |
Sep. 28, 2008
Guest Blogger
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I may not be here much this week, as I am a guest blogger at : Happy to be at Home . I'll be opening up my kitchen and showing what we prepare, eat, and clean up after each day in our kitchen! If you have wondered about how I do it... head on over there and see! |
Sep. 26, 2008
You know you're a large family when...
I found this at a friend's blog. She has 13 children! Go visit her here.You know you have a large family when...
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Sep. 26, 2008
Pumpkins
[This next week I will be a guest blogger at http://happytobeathome.net/ - don't forget to go visit me over there! I'll be opening my kitchen up for all the world to see for the next week!] I am trying a new Frugal Trick today...
The other day I stopped by a fruit stand and bought 6 pumpkins (they actually look like green and white squash, but the man declared fervently that they make the most sublime pumpkin pies you can imagine, so I trusted him). They were only $1 each!!! This morning I am splitting them in half, laying them face down in a pan, and cooking them until tender at 350*. I then am scraping the pumpkin out and sticking it in the blender to be nice and smooth. Then we'll freeze it to use in pumpkin muffins and pies through the winter. Hope that works for you! (I also got 2 bushels of apples for $18 to make into applesauce and eat, but that's for next week's post since I haven't made them yet!) |
Sep. 24, 2008
Fly Killing in the Country.
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Those of you who live on a "farm" know the constant battle against flies. Those of you in town have some too, I am sure! There is an easier, cleaner, better way to kill flies than a swatter. The thought of all those fly guts being splattered on my counters and all over the house totally grosses me out. Here's how you do it better: At night, when the flies are all roosting on the ceiling, get a cup with a fairly wide mouth. We have found that a white one works better than a colored one since the ceiling is white. Fill it with soapy water. Put the cup up around the sleeping fly. When he drops down to fly away, he get trapped in the suds and cannot get out. This is easiest with a tall husband (The dark and handsome part is a bonus!), but my boys have been known to carry around a footstool and do it. We have competitions between who can kill the most flies in one night. We have killed over 200 at a time! (We DO live in the country, you know!) And we keep track of the most flies killed in one shot - 4. Think you can beat us? So, for my friends who are new to the area - here's how to KILL FLIES IN THE COUNTRY! For other ideas that WORK , click on the link!  |
Sep. 23, 2008
WOW!
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In today's news: I have "won" a blog award!!! Thanks Ship Full of Pirates for proving there is at least one person who reads my blog. What does this award mean? Absolutely NOTHING! But I am thrilled to get it all the same.    Ship Full of Pirates is one of the blogs having the privilege of being on my toolbar, so I can see quickly if there is a new post or not. Go check her out! ~~~~~~~~~~
I also have the good news that at least someone in the blogosphere also has trouble with their no egg laying chickens. Go read about it here . There is comfort in company. I have heard that in addition to layer mash, we need to give them cracked corn and wheat. Just how expensive are these eggs going to get before I just give up? I suppose I am just extra stubborn. That and unwilling to break my children's hearts by killing their pets. But if I catch Tyrian Tumnus in my garden eating my tomatoes again, there will be no mercy. |
Sep. 17, 2008
"Owning" a Horse
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I know that not everyone can (or wants to) live in the country. But I know that some of you also have children who would love a horse. I have found you a solution! Go check out this site . I heard about it at soccer practice the other day and thought I would check it out. It's quite addicting! You create a virtual horse, take care of it, and get a virtual job to earn virtual money to pay for your virtual horse. It's funny. Of course, they hope you will pay real money for extra things for your virtual horse, but that is going too far in my opinion. Check it out! Your children may thank you! It'll Work for You! |
Sep. 16, 2008
Let's discuss Chickens for a minute.
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I'm no newcomer to raising chickens. It all started 4 years ago when we won a hen and a rooster at the local 4th of July celebration... we appropriately named them Yankee Doodle and Dandy. Dandy even laid blue eggs for us. She was a great hen. Until a cow stepped on her. Everyone remember the post I had with my chicken advice? Mainly it was that you NEVER name a chicken after missionaries. It is impossible to eat Gladys Alward, Lillian Trasher, or Jim Elliot. They are still around getting tough and eating our grain. The next year the children named the chickens after Narnia characters. It's really hard to kill Mr. and Mrs. Beaver too. Especially when your 4 year old plays house with Mr. Beaver. Now they are being named after food products... Burrito, Walnut, Tortilla, Porkie, Hamburger, and McDonald's are all in our flock. (And our cows have been named Burger King and Supper. Boy are they good!) I think the hens have caught on to the food theme. My chickens have formed a labor union, and have gone on strike. We haven't had a home grown egg in over a month. And precious few before that. I'm a nice boss. I keep them in their yard until late afternoon in the hopes that they will lay an egg, but they just haven't done anything. They have access to layer pellets, and plenty of water. They have a huge building named the Poultry Palace in which to roost and get out of the rain. They range every evening and catch all the bugs they want. Now they are holding out for death and dismemberment benefits. Which is going to get all 40 hens and 12 roosters dead and dismembered and in the freezer if they don't get their rears in gear (most literally) and give me some eggs!!! Feed prices are up also - it now costs over $12 a week to feed them. Almost $50 a month on chicken feed and not a single egg! So I am going on record as saying - chickens - you have met your match. Either pony up the eggs, or we're eating you! No more Mrs. Nice Guy. I should be getting at least two dozen eggs a day. You have until Thanksgiving or we'll be having BBQ chicken for dinner. This is no joking matter. |
Sep. 15, 2008
The Growth of a Hemangioma, and the Lessons I have Learned.
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(I have linked this in the Talk About Tuesday found HERE: Go visit to see what others are talking about these days!) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I often write about my Sweet Little Mercy... let me fill you in if you are a newer reader. She was a beautiful Christmas Gift... arriving just after midnight on Christmas morning. When she was born she had what looked to us like a bruise along her left temple. The pediatrician told us it was a port wine stain. Here is a photo of when we brought her home from the hospital...  Following medical advice (thinking it was a port wine stain, and there was nothing we could do about it), we watched it grow (Jan. 3),  and grow (Jan 22),  and grow (March 5).  In March, we got an appointment with a dermatologist, who recommended laser surgery. They told us she would not be at all uncomfortable, which was a bold faced lie. Four people held her down for the laser, while she was screaming bloody murder. It obviously hurt her, and after this I refused to return to that doctor. We went to a pediatric dermatologist in Louisville until she was a year old. (April 15 - on a high dose of prednisone, resulting in the bloated cheeks. You can see the burns from the laser. These later ulcerated, got infected, and resulted in some terrible scarring.)  (June 2)  When she turned a year, and the hemangioma was still growing, we moved from having her care in Louisville, to getting her seen monthly by a specialist in Cincinnati. We are so thrilled by Doctor Adams and her staff. (Jan. 2008)  I tell you all that to tell you what I have learned. Mercy is a beautiful child. Everyone who sees her agrees about this. This week I realized that when I look at Mercy, I don't see the hemangioma... I see MERCY! I see her sweetness, and her smile. I see how adorable she is, and see the potential for a wonderfully full life.  And I realized that is how God sees us. When he looks at us he looks past the awful things we do - past the growths which deform us, and make us less than perfect, and HE LOVES US! He sees us as we are meant to be. As He designed us. He doesn't look at our horrible parts... He sees the sweetness He put in us!  If you are like me, you wonder sometimes how in the world the God who created the universe could even care about you. When there are so many people out there who are so much better and more beautiful then I am, why does he bother about me? But He sees the me He knows I can be. The one I was designed to be if I could just get past my own selfishness and greed. He takes my sins, forgives them, and seperates us as far as the east is from the west! He can't see them anymore.  Mercy's Hemangioma is still growing. If we were to just look at the hemangioma, it would seem that she is just getting uglier. Her face is not "normal". People stare when we go places. But we see past that, to the beauty we know is there. So does God. Be encouraged, my friends, He loves you more than we love Mercy. And while we hope the doctors accomplish what they claim they can do - make Mercy's face look normal someday - we would still love her even if they couldn't. She would still be beautiful to us because she is OURS.  You are the same. God loves you because YOU ARE HIS. He created you! Let Him love you. Let Him forgive you. Forgive yourself. Forgive the others who only look at your "ugliness" and know that God sees you how you can someday be.  |
Sep. 15, 2008
Kentucky Dictionary
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Having some friends move to the area, I realized my dereliction of duty to help them understand the local speech. For, much as I totally love this place, there are some weird things that they say, and it's important to understand them! It'll take a while to understand the accent, but you might as well understand the phrases! If someone in Kentucky says "I don't care to" they are meaning they would love to. As in, "I don't care to watch your kids for you at your appointment" - TRANSLATION: I'd be glad to babysit your kids during your appointment. TRUE SAYING: "If you play with matches, you'll pee the bed." No joke. As if getting burned isn't bad enough! This really is said! And when we ask why they say this, EVERY ONE OF THEM says, "Well, of course you'll get burned. Everyone knows that. No one wants to pee the bed, though!" Real Food: When most people think of real food, we are thinking of whole foods, as close to their natural state as possible. Not in Kentucky. When they say they want REAL FOOD, it's fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, butter beans (what they call Lima beans), etc. Anything fried is REAL FOOD. Salad is definitely not. If someone says they'll stop by tomorrow evening after dinner, they are NOT talking about coming at twilight to catch lightning bugs. They'll be over in the afternoon. Makes sense, if you call the noontime meal dinner, after dinner is evening! When they regularly do something they will say they do it "of a morning", "of an evening", etc. So we do school "Of a morning, after breakfast." I am sure I'll think of more, but I need to go get the day going. Any of you Kentucky people - feel free to add your sayings in the comments! Let's help the newcomers out! Because, they're not from around here, are they? |
Sep. 12, 2008
Only in MY house...
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Only here would you hear the following: Emma: Mercy! Where's your nose? Where's your hair? Where are your eyes? ... WHERE'S YOUR HEMANGIOMA?  |
Sep. 12, 2008
Frugal AND Famous (Maybe)
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With the price of gas going up by the moment, Eric and I try to combine errands as much as possible. I stay home a lot more now... it's a good thing. One thing we have discovered is that it is cheaper to have ERIC do the grocery shopping. (It only took us 13 years to figure that out.) When I go into Stuff Mart (no- that's not it's real name. Just what I call it), I see a million things I didn't have on my list, but we need desperately. Eric SHOPS THE LIST. Last time he took the kids shopping with them, they remembered they needed shampoo, but it wasn't on the list, so he didn't get it. It's wonderful. As long as I make a great list. With exactly what we need and how many of the items. I'm not a details person, so this has the potential to cause a bit of angst. We also save money because we live almost an hour away from the nearest Wal-Mart. We try to go only once a month. Ever notice how little you spend if you never go in a store? So last night, Eric went to the store to do our grocery shopping straight from work. He did one cart, checked out, unloaded it, and went back in for the second load. It just happened that he checked out with the same lady... she asked if he was buying for his whole base. (He was still in his Air Evac Flight suit). He said, "No, I'm just buying for my family." She answered, "OH! You are the Petersons, aren't you!" Yes, my friends, 45 minutes, two towns, and an entire time zone away - they still know who we are. Now THAT'S a small town! |
Sep. 3, 2008
Clothes Storage?
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This week is a Backwards Works for Me Wednesday: I tell you my problems, you send me your brilliant solutions. For all of you with your young brains (See my post on how old is your brain...) can certainly out think a poor old Mama who can't remember the last time she slept through the night. As fall approaches, I am once again looking at the time when we need to weed through clothes, figure out what fits or not, see what we still need to get, etc. It is so hard to figure all that out, and I hate the mess. Top that off with the fact that Josiah is hitting his growth spurt and growing faster than a season lasts, and it is a recipe for disaster. Where do I store all these clothes? We have 3 closets in the whole house, none of which have doors. Up until now, I have just gotten rid of all clothes which will not be worn the next season. But I just feel like I am re-inventing the wheel each time I go through clothes. There HAS to be an easier way. But where do I store extras, and how do I access them easily? We do have a small attic, but it fills up quickly with Christmas and stuff. It's not the most accessible place, but maybe the only option? How do you sort them? How many bins do you have? Boys, girls? Remember I have girls ages 15, almost 9, 7, 5 (these three just pass clothes down from girl to girl), 20 months, and 2 months. The boys are 14, 11, and 3. I don't save between the 11 and 3 yo boys, nor between the 15 and 9 yo girls. Ideas? Leave a comment as the server for my e-mail is down and I cannot access it. Thanks! |
Sep. 1, 2008
Having Fun
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I have been reading the blog of another adoptive Mama - She has 13 children, and is just amazing at having fun. You can visit her here: http://bakersdozen.typepad.com . One time, after doing something cool with her children, she said it was one more step in making her home the "funnest" place around. That convicted me. She had a great party to watch Nim's Island, and hosted a really fun summer camp for her children and some of their friends. She actually does stuff like that. Did I mention she has 13 children? 4 more than I do? So what's my excuse? I have been feeling convicted to have FUN with my children. Then I read this blog this morning: http://happytobeathome.net/being-a-fun-mom/ . Think God is trying to tell me something? I used to be a fun mom. One time (in 2001), we had fun. We had read a book about the Topsy Turvey Family, and had a Backwards Party. We took showers in the hose outside (With clothes on!), then entered the house face first through windows. All the clothes were inside out and backwards. We ate on the bottoms of plates, and ate dessert first. It was fun. The children still talk about it. All the photos on the photos here are from that night...  Fast forward a few years. Two moves and 5 more children later, and we tried to have FUN last week. I am sure you can tell where this is going. We ate fast food at home (you have to do this when it would cost you almost $50 to drive through a fast food joint. And when the nearest one is 25 minutes away. That's not a joke.) I made sausage and hot dogs, fries, and each child got THEIR OWN CAN OF SODA.  Friday afternoon is our time to do our weekend cleaning... so I had warned them to do them especially carefully and look at their checklists to be sure they didn't forget anything. When I inspected them, I gave them a ticket for each job done correctly. These tickets could be turned in for toppings for the ice cream I bought. FUN, right? Well, it turned out I had to go visit a friend in the hospital, which got me home late, which started our FUN late. The gas ran out on the grill, so we had to boil the dogs. We didn't eat until 6:30, which is a recipe for disaster when you have 4 children ages 5 and under. And one child lost his tickets. Twice. And the drinks got spilled, and - well - it just wasn't much fun for me.  The next morning Eric sent me a thing put out by http://www.familyman.com , excerpted here: " I’ve also been thinking about the somewhat-annual backyard camping trip that needs to happen in the next couple of weekends before the nights turn really cold. I’m not sure we’ve pitched the tent in our yard in the last two years, but I know it’s time to get it out. The kids love it. They love the smell of the tent, the warmth of the fire, and the frigid cold in the morning. I don’t love it---but I love them and what happens when we camp in the backyard. If you want the painfully honest truth, I don’t really love most of what my kids love doing. I don’t love playing kickball, going on bike rides, hosting the Wilson Olympics, or having pillow fights in the familyroom. BUT---I do love my children and they LOVE doing all that stuff---with ME. So, Dad, make this Labor Day a good’un. Play hard, camp in the backyard, take a canoe trip down a creek, go for a long-promised bike ride, go to the mall to do some serious back-to-school clothes shopping, or whatever else it is that your children would love to do with you. Yeah, I know you don’t love doing those things---but I know you do love them." [Emphasis mine]  So (if you have made it this far) I am trying to have FUN! We are getting ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for a week, which is LOTS of fun. But it is 10 hours in the car both ways. Anyone have any ideas to make that more FUN?  |
Aug. 31, 2008
Fundraiser
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These kids from Life in a Shoe are raising money for the Persecuted Church... go click to them and see if there is anything you would like to buy from them! http://inashoe.com/2008/08/30/fund-raisingfor-the-persecution-project/ |
Aug. 30, 2008
Words I Never Thought to Hear
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Well, at least in MY house. You may hear them often in yours. The other morning Emma was overheard saying, "Mercy, do you have a stinky diaper? PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE have a stinky diaper!" See, I pay $0.25 per stinky diaper change (and for setting traps which kill the mice which enter each fall, but that's another story)... and Emma wants some spending money for an upcoming trip. So she is begging the diaper wearers to stink it up so she can change the diapers. No one is fighting her for the privilege! |