Oh how I love thee, molasses

The girls and I just finished baking molasses cookies! The house smells heavenly. The cookies are delicious. I am trying to keep my paws away from them but it is proving futile. The cookies are made with cinnamon, ginger, and ground cloves. They are nice and spicy. I love each of those ingredients. The original recipe also calls for cardamom but after seeing how much it costs ($12) I decided to skip it. I didn't think I could justify $12 for a spice I would rarely use. Oh well! Still delicious. My brother and sister in law are supposed to be coming into town today but the weather is awful in their neck of the woods. Hopefully, they will get a break. We will miss them terribly if they can't make it but would rather have them in one piece! :) I will try to post some pictures of the tree and cookies later. For now I am going to get a shower before Goosey gets up!

Book List

My mother in law and I were discussing libraries the other day and book selections. I thought I would post a small reading list of books I enjoy. Not at all comprehensive!

• In A Sunburned Country Bill Bryson
• A Walk In the Woods Bill Bryson
• State of Fear Michael Crichton
• Desiring God John Piper
• The Chronicles of Narnia C.S. Lewis
• The Blue Castle L.M. Montgomery
• Anything by Holling Clancy Holling (beautifully illustrated)
• Anything by Bill Peet (technically children's books but I used to get them even before I had kids!)

Enjoy! I will try to update as I think of others.

All dressed up...

...with no place to go. That was the story last Monday. Goosey was up at 7 am. Perfect! I could eat, shower, and pack a lunch so we could head to the museum. The girls ate their breakfast and got dressed. We made it out the door by 9:30 to be at the museum by 10 when it opens. I can't believe how smooth things are going. We get almost to the interstate when I remember something I forgot. We turn around and get it. Husband and I chuckle to ourselves thinking how awesome we are to still be relatively on schedule. As we pull into the parking garage I notice a small sign saying the museum is closed! What?! We ask the garage attendant if this is true. It is! Every Monday during the winter the museum is closed. Ok this will not deter us from family fun. We head over to the art museum. The girls are a bit unhappy but trying to stay upbeat. The surface level parking is mainly empty. That's no big deal the weather is kind of crummy maybe everyone parked in the underground parking. We pull underground. The lot is packed not a place in sight. This looks good. They must surely be open. Back to the surface lot! We park and I notice a security guard eyeing us. I stop and ask if the museum is open today. He struggles back a smile and says no. What?! Closed on Mondays throughout the winter. You have to be kidding me!!!!! So, we head home. It turned out ok though. We ended up having a picnic lunch on the floor and watched a movie with the girls. The only day I am supermom and this is what happens!

Vacation

Sorry I have been out of touch this past week. My dear husband took some time off work so we could have "vacation". We didn't actually go anywhere just stayed around the house. We went to the Children's Museum one day. I will discuss this later. The kids and I have been battling another cold. I took Zicam and feel pretty decent. The girls have stuffy noses but are fine. The baby has a stuffy nose and coughs a few times in the morning. Hopefully this won't be the status quo of the whole winter!!! Off to suck the baby's nose and feed him! More later!

Poison

Well, Thanksgiving went great! We all had a good time. The food was wonderful. The turkey turned out great! Very delish! However, the turkey had a bath before it was able to be cooked! My dad has Celiac-Sprue which means he can't have gluten (wheat). I am always very careful when I cook for him. I double and sometimes triple check what I have made and make sure there is no cross contamination. For some reason I checked my brain at the door. The recipe I was using for the turkey called for chicken boullion. I know this is not safe! I happily go about preparing my sauce and pour it over the turkey. Perfect! I pop it in the oven and then walk away. Within 5 minutes I have a near panic attack over the fact I have just poisoned my dad. I quickly call my mom and ask her what I should do. We decide to wash the turkey very well and try again but with chicken stock this time. I give the turkey a good cleansing and pray that it will be ok. Thankfully, dad is still alive to tell! :)

Blessings

Psalm 100

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Turkey Virgin

Believe it or not this year marks my first Thanksgiving turkey. As far as I can remember I have never roasted a turkey! I have made plenty of other delectable dishes but not a turkey. I love to cook. My parents usually host Thanksgiving at their house. This year I am having everyone over. I am excited and a little nervous about the turkey. Hopefully, all will turn out! I am sure you will hear about it one way or the other! Have a very wonderful Thanksgiving. We truly have much to be thankful for!

Lesson learned

This week has been a long one. Goosey hasn't slept particularly well at night. So, by the time Friday morning rolls around I am tired and Adam is at work for a very long weekend. 12.5 hours is a long day!! And he has three of them. I digress...At 9:30 the doorbell rings. I am in the middle of a huge poopy diaper while also talking to my mom on the phone. I have mad multitasking skills! I yell to Henny Penny to see who it is but don't open the door. She says a lady with stuff. Hmmm...sounds interesting. I run to the door and it turns out to be a very nicely dressed young woman that wants to talk to me about God. I tell her I would dearly love to talk to her but am in the middle of three things (at least) could she please come back. I love talking to Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormon's! Call me crazy but it is fun. Did I also mention that I am still in my jammies? Hair undone? Teeth unbrushed? Yup I was looking like the stereotypical housewife. All I needed was screaming, naked, dirty children! I promptly finished up with the baby and got in the shower. Even straightened my bangs. (just got my hair cut and am still at the bang straightening point) I remember thinking she will be back later today and I will look decent! Moving on to Saturday morning. LOOOOONG night again. Looking worse than yesterday at probably 10:30 in the morning. Doorbell rings. Of course I am trying to feed the baby (more on this later). Yell to Henny Penny to see who it is. "Two ladies with stuff." Great! She brought reinforcements and I still look like death! I open the door and they begin their spiel. I share briefly that I am a Christian and would love to talk more but this isn't a good time. The new gal says "you look really familiar" We share where we went to school and when we graduated. Turns out we went to elementary and middle school together. They are twins that look nothing alike. I closed the door and just wanted to sit and laugh! They were probably driving away thinking "wow! I am glad we turned out better than she did!" Did I also mention that I was wearing a white t-shirt with no bra and trying to hold the baby in such a way as to cover this. :)
Ok...so I know you are going to ask some obvious questions
Q- Why did you answer the door in the first place?
A- Our door has glass panels on either side and you can see in quite easily. Kids were standing at the door looking out. Didn't want to look like they were home alone!

Q- Haven't you ever heard of a robe?
A- Yes! I have one but it had been peed on by Goosey.

Hope you enjoyed my discomfort!

I got...

Nothing! I haven't had much to write about this week. The girls still say funny things. Goosey is still a sweet baby. I have been thinking a lot this week about my friend Cari who lost her 7 month old baby 5 days after Goosey was born. My heart aches for her and her husband. I hug my babies a little tighter every day. Worry about whether my baby is breathing when he is asleep. But girding it all is a knowledge that God is in control. He loved their sweet baby and he loves mine. He is ever watchful, sustaining us all. I know that God is good even when it doesn't make sense. His plan and purpose are perfect. I have been struggling with my own grief over something much smaller than losing a baby. I know God cares about my pain as much as He cares about the tremendous pain Cari and Andy are going through. I don't want to talk about my own struggle when it seems so insignificant and silly comparatively. I am thankful that God listens and doesn't tell me I shouldn't be sad. I am thankful to have a God who listens and responds. Blessed be the name of the Lord. HE alone is good!

Big Game Hunt

This morning Henny Penny woke up in a particularly feisty mood. She decided it would be fun to hunt the cats. We have two cats, Petrie and Moses. Petrie is older about 8. Moses is 2. Moses is the all around best cat ever. Completely content as long as he is fed! Even while being squished and held and generally manhandled. Petrie, not so much. Henny picks up Petrie and moves her from room to room. (As only a three year old can carry a cat.) Tries putting her in Goosey's car seat. For some reason she won't stay! I hear complaints of "mom, Petrie scratched me, Petrie tried to bite me." Ummm...gee I wonder why! Does this deter her? No, of course not. If at first you don't succeed try another cat. Moses having seen this from afar decides to run. Henny chases him up the stairs and proceeds to hold him (Moses is very lazy and doesn't put up much of a fight) and talk to him in a baby voice. This is all before 8am! It is going to be a long day!

My babies

Henny Penny, Goosey Loosey, Turkey Lurkey

OK?!

So, we head over to my mom's house this morning to do some picture downloading. (whole 'nuther post there!) Mom was still in the shower so the girls sit down by the table. They see some new farm animals and look at me. You can see the question in their faces. "Can we touch these? Are these for us or does Nanny secretly play with kid toys when we aren't around?" I tell them they may play with them. Turkey Lurkey asks if Nanny said it would be ok. I say yes of course she got them for you. They both look at me as though "ok but if Nanny gets mad it is all your fault!"

Overwhelmed

This year has been both magnificent and tough all at the same time. Our family has been such a blessing through it all. Our finances took a few setbacks due to unexpected and expensive home repairs, a new precious baby and the economy/gas prices. I feel blessed to have a generous family who seems to just know when things are especially tight and crazy. Thank you, family, for the formula. You know who you are! We are humbled by your generosity and graciousness. And, yes, I have cried with thankfulness and I don't think it is all related to postpartum issues. :)

Clueless

After reading some of my friends blogs I realized I have no idea what I am doing on here! I was able to manage a new background but need to learn some other tricks! Like how to put a link into the body of my post. Hmmm...I am sure I will figure it all out.

Read all about it!!

I love to read!!! My husband makes fun of me for my freakishly fast reading skills. I can easily devour a book! What can I say but "thank you mom and dad". From my earliest memories the library and books have been an integral part of my life. I can remember both of my parents reading to us. When I was entering my first year of college and was very sick my dad read to me. Books are great. I love them all from board books to novels and biographies. I love the library almost as much. FREE BOOKS! What could be better! Free cheesecake, maybe, but I digress. I love the handy feature of being able to put materials on hold. I can pop into the library and have exactly what I want in my hands. Now don't get me wrong I love to browse. However, with three small children who find the adult section a place to pull books off the shelves and hide in the aisles it isn't something that is as enjoyable as it used to be. I hope my children will love books as much as I do!

Flakey

As I was washing dishes this morning I looked out my window and saw snow!! As most anyone who knows me knows that I do not like winter. But there is something about that first snow. It is so beautiful and clean. Of course it didn't last long only a few minutes. It reminds me of how great our God is. He creates each tiny flake different than all the others. When you think of how much snow happens over the whole earth it truly is amazing! How creative is my God!

Pitiful

My poor baby is sick! He sounds awful and is miserable. He is only sleeping about 2 hours at a time at night. Needless to say we are both tired and cranky. If he isn't better by Monday we will get a chest x-ray to look at things. He is crying again now so I am off!

Drama

As I was checking Turkey Lurkey's phonics work I noticed she spelled plug...plujg. I asked her about it and she said, "my pencil accidentally swerved out of control and made a 'j'." I have those days too, my dear!

Teeth

So last night I walked up the stairs to get the big kids ready for bed. As I round the corner to the bathroom I see Henny Penny with her head tipped back squeezing her toothpaste into her mouth! Now before any of you call CPS she uses fluoride free toothpaste that is safe to swallow and there was only about a dime sized amount left in the tube. I asked her what she was doing...."I am tasting it." I took the tube away and told her she would have to use water only until she could remember that toothpaste is for brushing teeth only. :) Which brings me to another point. The fluoride free toothpaste is ridiculously overpriced. Almost $4 for a tiny tube! It doesn't even have fluoride in it!! Why is it so expensive?

Goosey is now sick. He has a nasty cough and is congested. We are praying God protects him from RSV and that he heals quickly.

Vote!

So, I went to vote today! Did my civic duty. I got home and found out my precious firstborn was in tears because she wanted to go with. She has really got into this election year. She knows the candidates and her parents' preferences. Crazy! She asked me who I voted for. I told her and she said, "That's who I would have voted for too." Good grief Charlie Brown! Too funny! Hope you all voted.

Welcome

I have decided to start a blog. As it turns out I have quite a bit to say and this seemed like as good as any place to say it! I have all kinds of ideas for posts and will get started soon.

I have been married to my husband now for 9 years. Our anniversary is 9/11. Back before it was anything more significant than our anniversary and my cousin's birthday. We have had our ups and downs and thankfully now it is more up than down. God is gracious and able to change hearts! We have three very wonderful children. Turkey Lurkey is 5, Henny Penny is 3 and Goosey Loosey is almost 7 weeks. We are homeschooling this year. So far it has been fun and she seems to be doing well. Starting to read! So exciting. I can't wait to introduce her to so many great books. Henny Penny is tagging along and starting to learn a few things. And of course Goosey just sleeps through it all. We are just taking one year at a time. As long as it works we will continue. If it works well for one and not the others then we will do something different. I am sure I will devote more time to this later as everyone has an opinion on it. I will share mine! :)