All posts filed under: Family

20 Years and Hot Pineapple Salsa

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm.” – Song of Songs 8:6 Wasn’t I in my teens just yesterday? Didn’t I style my hair with arcing, 5 inch bangs, wear the original skinny jeans with leg warmers, cheer, ” R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” for Broadrun Highschool and have a crush on the consumate Mullet Boy who sat behind me in Algebra 1 just yesterday? Except for those nights I drop into bed at night from parenting, I still feel 20! 🙂 Last week, Daniel and I celebrated 20 years of marriage! We are taking our big trip to celebrate in the spring; I am hoping for somewhere hot, beachy, with tropical hikes and killer Pina Coladas. In honor of 20 years together… This little girl with a white fro from northern Indiana Amish country was born and her father, contrary to his Mennonite upbringing, joined the U.S. Air Force and traveled across the seas, far and wide. She became a young woman. At the same time (Give or take five years …

Summer Vignette #3: Vacation!

At 4:30 a.m. we headed out on vacation! ⚡️🎉🎊💥 We are militant travelers, limiting our hydration, so we don’t have to stop much. 😳 Can you see where we were headed (below)? That’s right, the palm tree laiden land of the Arizonians, where pool cleaning is more lucrative than hobby lobby is in a female dominated populace of middle aged “cropping” suburbanites. 😜 Before you scream, “generalization,” please note… I am one of those. Lol. On the way, we wondered if my husband was being called to the backwoods. After 12 long hours- paradise found! Ok, ok. Scottsdale is hardly paradise but it is hot, has palm trees, a pool and is out of our norm. Besides, nobody in their right mind goes there in the peak of summer, so it was cheap! LOL. Here’s what it looks like. Many hours were spent by the pool. Do you remember me telling you about my youngest three doing water aerobics with the older crowd? Well, they wouldn’t miss it for the world! The first day, we hit …

Summer Vignette #2: Yearly Cleanup and Happy 4th!

Love getting my daily scriptures after I run; a little vitamin for my heart. 👍 Daniel had SO much to do this week, staining our deck and a friend’s deck. So, we formed “Team Bless You” to surprise him. We cleaned the garage, the upstairs of the barn and the car. This is us right before we set to work- grrr, determined! 💪                           Lots of evening dinners around the fire after a week of house repair and organization for the year. Found these gluten free flour tortillas for Joab at Trader Joes. They were chewy but not bad.                           Add a little meat, fresh veg, black beans,  cheese, homemade salsa and Kapow! This is Isaak scoring in his end of season rugby game. 🎉                           I’m loving that “stone washed” is back in, apparently. 80s graduates unite! 🙌 …

Summer Vignette Post #1, Camping, College and Blooming!

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD… He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green” – Jeremiah 17 For those of you who didn’t see last week’s blog post, I am taking a one month break from my usual format and just posting lots of pics of my family and what we are getting up to 🙂 It is finally hot in Colorado; can I get a rousing, “Amen!” The picture above is my big hearted Dad and I, in honor of Father’s Day. We took the family to Grand Junction this week to check out Mesa State College because my son is senior this year. I can’t tell you the exhilaration of driving 7.5 hours to find that our peaceful Palisade campsite was maybe 50 feet, on a hot, mirage-filled day, from Interstate 70! But, we decided to laugh it off with a little repetitive and quality family humor, “I am so happy to be up here …

Thankfulness and Hummus

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -Mother Teresa The sun has finally come out in Colorado and graced us with a summer day! Would you like to know the evidence I have besides the strawberry shade to my legs? Well, let me tell you… One day last week, I was peacefully doing my hair in front of the mirror. The sun was pouring through my open bedroom door, flickering slightly as the pine trees swayed in the breeze, like tall mothers rocking their newborns, breaking the light into patterns on my tile. It was a rare moment, where everything in the world seemed to pause. Suddenly, I jumped. My body jumped, my heart jumped and, even, my cells seemed to jump, as a nearby gunshot reverberated just outside my bedroom door. I gasped, not expecting such a different atmosphere within 1 second flat. What was it? Well, in walked my beloved husband, carrying a cocked shotgun, looking more like a craggy, moss covered southerner, who has been …

Silence and Spaghetti

“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of God.” – Emerson Two weeks ago, our family piled up in our Suburban for a little pre-season camping, looking an awful lot like the Beverly Hillbillies, with blankets, tin cups, enough S’mores’ supplies for the nation of Chad and with sausages strung along the roof rack. Ok, I am teasing on the last one 🙂 If you’ve been into the mountains, isn’t the silence up there hard to describe? Even our quiet moments down here don’t compare. And, it doesn’t just silence the exterior noise but my thoughts start to slow way down, as I take in the popping of the fire, as it breaks down twigs and the white sides of aspen logs, and the evergreen needles snapping under the hooves of visiting deer. Learning to be quiet is a skill and in my 9 person family, which is as peaceful as bead craft day at a junior high girls’ summer camp, a prized commodity! Often when the whole house sleeps, I lay …

Aspens, Growth and an Intense Ab Workout!

“Whose woods these are I think I know… The only other sound’s the sweep, of easy wind…The woods are lovely, dark and deep.”  – Frost When we moved into our home 10 years ago, there was one young Aspen tree behind the kitchen window that had recently been planted by the previous owners. I loved the way the leaves flipped back and forth, like broad green coins in the wind. Every year, I eagerly look out to assess its growth. Ten years on, that tree hasn’t grown an inch. Not one single inch! And, it hasn’t sent out a single shoot. It is completely solitary and small. It has aged however. There’s something sad about a tree that ages and yet remains small. It looks worn out, just as a child hunched over unmoving on a park bench would look. Here’s why it hasn’t grown or reproduced… Well, first of all, Aspens need full sun and this one sits shaded in a woodland of pines, like towering, overbearing giants. But, more than that, Aspens need other …

How to Eat a Whole Dinosaur and the First 3 Weeks of my 3 Month Ab Challenge

“Who will bring me to the strong city? Give us help from trouble, For the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly.” Psalms 60 Every week, I try to write just a little about what I’m working on heart-wise, as well as with my fitness. You see those awesome people above? They are the best thing I get to be a part of every day on this earth. This week, however, I am feeling utterly overwhelmed with the needs of each of those 7 kids and their different and unique stages of life and academics. Our schedule is about as peaceful as a snowman in July. Nod to Frozen. Give me a break, people, I rarely have time for grownup movies! Lol. A good chick flick with friends, chocolate and jammies sounds like a slice of heaven right now. Let me give you a tiny one minute example of my kids and their ages. As I picked up kids, ages 7-17, yesterday and was navigating busy roads with construction going on, my …

Easter Eggs and Dairy Air, All About Glutes

“I touch the sky when my knees hit the ground” – Hillsong I was talking with a friend recently and we realized we both look at egg dying with all the fear and trepidation of Bambi accidentally released into the Mountain Lion cage at the zoo when funding is down.  It’s one of those traditions that is just flat out a mess and, with teenage boys who make everything a joke, you can imagine what it was like in our house this year! Let’s put it this way, how many random things can you do with a boiled egg and 6 colors to make your brothers guffaw harder? Yeah, they tried them all! One of my sons has taken to saying in a goofy voice, “I am so sorry, Loretta.” Obnoxious and hilarious, both. In fact, as I type this blog post, my sons are belting out a dramatic version of the smooth as butter, “pickup” song “Take Your Time” by Sam Hunt. I’m totally fine with a boisterous dance party in my living room, …

The Great Gift of Life and Homemade Spelt Bread

“This is my one and only life … And it’s a great and terrible and short and endless thing.” – from the movie, P.S. I Love You Have I ever mentioned that I have old order Mennonite in my background? I know! Shocking to believe that this modern girl, who loves a very particular, persnickety latte that takes a seasoned auctioneer to recount, central heating, cute hair and who is drawn to all things glittery, just like the intoxicating effect of Catnip on our feline friends, would ever have come from that heritage! Two years ago, at the ripe young age of 42, I had my first pedicure, first professional nails done and first Mimosa. It was a year of lessons in all things girly, I guess. Let me tell you something, this Mama of four 100% burly boys, 3 of them in their teenage years, needs to enjoy those estrogen laced activities as much I can. Today alone, by way of example, I was sent to my early grave by the boys rigging a door …