Happy New Year

 

It is New Year's Eve.  Christmas is over.  The tree is down and the house is returning to a somewhat normal state (as normal as things get around here).  This New Year's Eve will be spent at home relaxing and watching the snow along with a movie or two with all of our little people. Another advantage of large family life is that we are our own party (never a dull moment).  Bentley got Princess Bride for Christmas and I have a feeling that everyone will love it.  We took a family trip to the store to buy all those fun snacks and appetizers that the rest of the year are off limits (even for mommy and daddy).    We pre-ordered wings online for daddy at Pizza Hut, a coveted treat.  Mommy was too lazy to make the mess of wings from scratch.  The babies tired bodies will fall asleep in the middle of our fun and being at home makes it easy for them to go to bed.  The older kids will pull out the sleeping bags and build forts in the basement with doors strategically placed so that they can watch t.v. until exhaustion overtakes them.  In reality no one will probably be awake long enough to ring in the New Year.  Monte and I are getting too old to care and the babies think sleeping in is overrated so they will be up early.  The New Year will still be here tomorrow and we can celebrate then with Yummy New Year's Cookies, and yes dad we will be over with some.  Hope you all have a wonderful evening and a Happy New Year!!

 

For Whom Do We Wait on Christmas?

As a child, we did not grow up with Santa Claus.  We knew that our parents purchased the gifts and that Jesus was the center of the celebration.  Before we were allowed to open the gifts we always read the Christmas Story and were reminded of God's love for us sending us his only Son that we may have eternal life.  My parents often made many of our gifts, spending many late nights hand crafting their creations.  We truly felt special and blessed.  They weren't the latest toys shown on the commercials or expensive Atari's and electronics, but they were one of a kind gifts that showed each of us that we were special.  Some of my favorites were almost life size Raggedy Ann and Andy Dolls, Shadow Boxes for our special trinkets, and a lamp with a beautiful doll on a stand.  I know that we got store bought gifts too but those are not the ones I remember.
Early on with our first child, we decided that Santa would not be a part of our Christmas.  My convictions were not super strong against Santa, in fact he is kind of intriguing, I just knew that I agreed with my parents that he could not become what Christmas was about.  Our children know of him.  We even enjoy movies and story books about him.  We talk about the Saint and the true story of the man behind the legend, a generous kind hearted man who helped the poor and sick and gave to children.  You might ask but what of the magic that Santa brings to Christmas?
In our home, honesty has always been important.  It became even more important at the adoption of our son who was 4 1/2 at the time.  You see he didn't trust adults because they were not truthful.  They made promises they could not keep and they told him things that were not true.  The truth is a story of a baby born in a lowly stable.  A story of the wealthy and noble wise men along with the lowly poor shepherds, often known as thieves, all receiving the one true gift of Jesus.  It didn't matter who was naughty or nice, Jesus came for everyone.
This year I have run across an interesting concept.  One that I had never before thought of.  What if when our children discover that Santa, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are indeed not real they also lose their faith in Jesus as well.  After all you can't see him and they have been tricked before.  Are we putting their faith at risk for the sake of magical fun?   We are asking them to sit on the lap of a stranger, a human being we don't know, instead of asking them to sit at the feet of Jesus.  As parents we need to be careful.   For whom do we wait on Christmas?

   "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

Are There More Children in Our Future?

The million dollar question that everyone wants to know is are we done adding children into our family.   For those who don't know our story, we currently have five children, two through adoption and three biological.  Much of our family journey has been a struggle about control.

When we first married, we decided to start a family right away.  Monte was in his early thirties and I in my mid twenties.  We struggled through some mild infertility issues and were blessed with our oldest child, a beautiful girl, now eleven.  Almost two years later we were blessed with a bright and happy baby boy, now nine.  Our family could have ended there but we are so glad it didn't.  Within a few years we struggled again with infertility to have a third child.  When our son was six, we decided to look into adoption through the foster care system.  We were looking at it more as a way to grow our own family than helping children.   During our foster care training there was a time when we decided that this was too hard and the children might be to "damaged" and we wouldn't be able to handle their needs.  Our worst fear was that we would have to send them back home and it would leave our hearts and family broken.  We wavered many times but finished the class and decided to take a placement of three beautiful babies all under two and a half years old.  We fell in love with them and eventually with their mom and it was bittersweet to send them home to her.  During that nine months with them God taught us to give up control to Him.  We could not control the foster care system or the choices of their family and we certainly could not control the outcome for our own family.
 
Our second placement was two siblings, a four year old boy and three month old baby girl.  This time we were more prepared to trust God to control their fate and that of our family.  Shortly after their placement, we learned that we were expecting a baby boy.  Many people asked if we were still planning to go through with their adoption but God was working in our hearts.  He was teaching us about His perfect timing and control.  We trusted that God would care for us no matter what.  Don't get me wrong we are human and definitely had our moments when doubt crept in and we wondered if God really knew what He was doing.  His overwhelming peace came time and time again.  Our commitment to them never wavered and we were up for whatever God had in store for us, although I was convinced that God was giving us a baby because He was going to take them from us but He did not.  God knew that if He gave us another biological child when we wanted him, we would never know the love of adoption and His plan was to bless us not once but three times over.

"Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
  Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court."

Psalm 127:3-5

After our youngest was born we were sure that we were done (I didn't say God, I said we).  Outside pressures told us that we had already surpassed the point of normal in the world's eyes because we have more than 2.3 children.  But God never called any of us to be "normal."  During the last eleven years, God has been slowly and quietly working on our hearts.  We were learning through His scriptures and hearing other large family's stories that children are a precious blessing and that God's timing and control is so much better than our own.  There came a point where God had blessed us with child after child and had provided for us time and time again and it seems crazy to tell Him to stop.  If we were offered an inheritance from someone on earth we would never turn it down.  If we were offered twenty inheritances we would never turn any of them down.  Then why would we turn down blessings from our Heavenly Father.  Is money more precious than our Children?  In His Word, God tells us that money is the root of evil and children are a blessing, a reward from him.   We prayed so many times for all of these blessings, I am not quite sure how the prayer goes that tells God to please stop blessing us.  It means that we take back control and tell Him how we got this now, thanks for your help, but we don't need it anymore.  We certainly don't want to have that conversation with God.  There is an overwhelming peace in the knowledge that God is in control and we like it that way.

So where does our family go from here?  Honestly we are leaving it in God's hands.  If you ever met our littlest surprise blessing you would know that God makes no mistakes.  We cannot imagine our lives without him or any of our children for that matter.  Adoption is also an experience that has changed us to our very core and through it God has challenged us to become better people.  More children is certainly not out of the question because we know that with God in control He will continue to bless and care for us.

*Family Size is a personal choice between husband, wife and God.   This is our personal journey.  I encourage you to look into God's word and listen to Him to see how He is leading your family.  We should not judge those families who have no children nor those who have ten, we do not know their story.  I believe God does not have the same plan for each family and we are certainly unique. 

Truly Thankful

This year my list of things to be thankful for is very very long. So I will pick a few to share. God has blessed us in so many ways.  If you would have asked me five years ago where I thought I would be today and what I thought our family would look like it would be far from this.  God taught us some hard lessons along the way about who is really in control (we learned that it is NOT us).  Those lessons have blessed us.  We learned that life is so much easier when we give up control to a loving Father who knows the plans he has for us and our future.  We are much wiser,  much more at peace, and much more thankful than we were five years ago.  Our marriage is stronger than ever and amongst the chaos of large family life we feel truly blessed and at peace with the journey.
1.  I am thankful for a loving God who cares for me and sent his son to die on the cross because I definitely am a sinner in need of his forgiveness.

2.  I am thankful for our children, all five of whom are blessings from God.
3. I am thankful for my husband who loves us deeply and is a strong spiritual leader in our family.
4.  I am thankful for the adoption of two of our little people and the social workers who cared for them and many other hurting families and children.
5.  I am thankful to their mama who gave birth to them and pray that someday her children will be able to show her Jesus' love and the way to the cross.
6.  I am thankful that God continues to bless us with just enough so that I can be at home with our babies. 
7.  I am thankful for our extended families who have blessed and cared for us in so many ways over the years and continue to have our backs in times of crisis (big or little).

8.  I am thankful that God is leading us on our new homeschool journey and that I get spend so much time with my kiddos.
9.  I am thankful that our children love spending time together.
10.  I am thankful for our church family and the friendships that have been made there.
11. I am thankful for our home that is no stranger to the laughter and love of many children.

12.  I am thankful for Sammy and the love and joy that he brings to our family.

13.  I am thankful for the moments, like when five wild haired kiddos, in their pajamas, climb into bed with us on a Saturday morning for family snuggle time.  Or those moments when we dance our hearts out in the living room and no one really cares that mama can't dance.  On earth it doesn't get much better than this!

***Please share something you are thankful for in the comments...I would love to hear from you!!!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever."

 Psalm 107:1

Creating a Place of Peace

 

Ten days ago I wrote a blog post about cleaning this old house.  So far I have deep cleaned the kitchen, living room and our "green room" or main floor play/tv room.  I am proud to report that the kitchen has remained clean and clutter free.  It has been so much easier to keep it  clean with all of the extra non-necessary items tucked away out of sight.  Each night Monte and I make sure that it has returned to its original clean condition so that it is easy to maintain through the next busy day of homeschool and meal preparation.  Each day, I burn a candle to remind me of the peaceful place that I desire my kitchen to be.

This weekend moved into another big project, our bedroom.  Our bedroom is currently in the original Parlor of our home.  Because of the layout of our home it makes the most sense to have the children in the two large remodeled bedrooms upstairs.  Our third bedroom downstairs is to far away from our little ones so we manage on the main floor with the space that we have.  Our bedroom has a pretty stain glass window but that was pretty much its only redeeming quality.  The carpet is old and dated, there is no closet, the walls are some of the last cracking lath and plaster in the house and because it has one door from the living room and one door to the basement stairs, our room is a high traffic area (there is another stairway entrance through the green room but our room seems to be more popular because you don't have to open and close two baby gates on the way through).  As for decor well...the bedspread is one I have had since before we got married almost thirteen years ago and the room had just become a general dumping ground for no longer used baby stuff, things to return, and undone crafts purchased from last Christmas.  There were old magazines, meant to be read long ago, an extra playpen, set up for a baby in need of it, and just lots of general clutter.  Honestly our room had a door and so during those crazy busy times with lots of littles it was not a priority.  But a room make-over was long over due.
First of all I purchased a new set of sheets and a bedspread and matching pillow shams.  Nothing fancy but something cozy.  I recruited Monte, poor guy, to help me move furniture.   I am pretty much known for rearranging furniture a lot.   I used to do it during the night when I couldn't sleep.  My habit has slowed quite a bit with five children in the house and sleep at a premium .  I just think when you rearrange it makes everything look and feel new and you are able to clean all those dust bunnies and cobwebs (and cat hair in our case) out of the corners.
Now I know for some it's not much, but it is for me.  It isn't out of the pages of a magazine.  But it is...  A place where I can go and feel at peace while I rest or read my Bible.  A Place to relax and read a book with a child in need of a mommy moment (my favorite rocker is by the window). A room where I can smile and love the pretty decor (old carpet, cracking walls and all).  I wish my room had been so pretty last year when I was spending hours in it nursing and rocking our youngest.  You know the old saying of our grandmothers "cleanliness is next to Godliness"...I am learning that it may just be true.  Now I have a clean organized place where I can go to refocuse and breathe in peace among the chaos of life. 

Make Ahead Meals Part 2 (cooking ahead for the holidays)

 

In My Christmas Wish Post, I shared that I wanted to try to relieve some of the common stresses that Christmas preparations bring.  My plan is to fill my freezer with 20 freezer meals and 10 crock-pot meals for the month of December so that I can enjoy holiday fun along with our children. The top shelf of my freezer is filling up and it makes my heart smile but there is plenty of room for more. 

The first recipe I will share is Bow Tie Ham Bake (click link to get recipe).  This yummy recipe is from Taste of home.  I take this recipe X 1 1/2 to make two 9x13 pans.  One to eat and one to freeze.

Shepherds Pie is another easy favorite that I grew up with regularly as a child.  When I make mashed potatoes as a side dish I try to make up extra to make Shepherds Pie.  If you want to make it easy you can also use Instant Mash Potatoes.  This recipe makes one 9x13 pan so I usually double it and put one in the freezer for later.

Shepherds Pie

Layer each ingredient, starting with ground beef on the bottom.

1 1/2 Lb Ground Beef (I use a lean ground beef/ ground turkey mixture)

1 family size or 2 regular size cans french cut green beans

15 oz can tomato sauce

3/4 cup ketchup

Mashed Potatoes (to cover top 4-6 cups)

Cheese (whatever kind  you have on hand)

Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 45-60 minutes.  Add cheese for the last ten minutes of baking time.

 

This next recipe is so good that is was gone before I got pictures taken.  It was introduced to us by my dear friend, Stef,  upon the birth of our second baby.  We later made this recipe together for our Youth Group Retreat.  It has become a family favorite and if there is anything in my freezer, it is usually these.  This recipe makes two nice size pans of meat balls and easily feeds our family of seven two meals.  This Barbecue sauce is my go to sauce for a variety of Barbecue recipes.  I think the key ingredient is the liquid smoke.  Credit goes to Carol Schmidt.  It comes out of an old church cookbook from out East.  This recipe has been modified a bit from the original.

Barbecue Meatballs

3 lb hamburger

1 cup milk

2 cup quick oatmeal

2 eggs

1 chopped onion

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp pepper

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp salt

Mix all of the ingredients.  Make 1/3 cup meat balls (I use an ice cream scoop) in two 9x13 pans.  Pour sauce over top and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

Sauce:

2 cups ketchup

1 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs liquid smoke

1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix and bring to a boil on med-high heat.  Pour over the meatballs before baking.

 



 

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

Pork Loin

Barbecue Sauce Above X2

Buns (clink link for recipe)

Cook the Pork Loin in the crockpot for 4-6 hours.  Shred the pork loin with a fork and add barbecue sauce above.  I usually double the sauce recipe above for a large pork loin. This Barbecue Pork is wonderful with homemade buns.

 

Barbecue Crockpot Chicken

6-8 frozen or thawed chicken breasts

Barbecue sauce from meatball recipe above

1 medium onion sliced

Mix together and cook on Medium heat in crockpot for four hours (six hours if chicken breasts are frozen).



 

For Part One of this Freezer/Crockpot Series Click Here.















Time to Clean this Old House (It's been 3 years)

This year, before Christmas, I committed to become more organized, cook ahead, and work towards getting my house back in order.  You see three years ago a chain of events began and it has been a wild and blessed ride.  For nine months we fostered three babies two and a half, one and a half, and six months old bringing our household up to a family of seven.  Within a month after they went home, we fostered again and eventually adopted a three month old and a four and a half year old.  Shortly after they arrived, we found out that God had blessed us with an unexpected but long awaited pregnancy.  Life was a whirlwind, not a bad whirlwind, but busy and different.  We were emotionally and physically drained from a roller coaster ride of emotions and life lessons about love, control, peace, and grace.   Our baby is now almost eighteen months and life is finally settling in to a new normal as once again a family of seven.
Yesterday as I was working on deep cleaning and organizing in the kitchen, I was reflecting on the last three years.  I realized that for three years, deep cleaning, organizing, decorating, and crafting have taken a backseat as we worked hard to care for our precious little ones and figured out how to manage life as a large family.  These kids have all eaten yummy homecooked meals.  The house has been cleaned, not deep cleaned, but cleaned.  Best of all we have had fun but those personal, fresh, decorative touches have been missing.  Those touches that tell my family I love them and make me smile when I walk by them. 
After three years, the clutter, dust and cobwebs are starting to overflow out of their hiding spots, behind closet and cabinet doors.  It reminds me of the song by Sanctus Real called Whatever Your Doing.  In that song, there is a line that I replay over and over in my head.  It says "Time to face up Clean this old house, time to breathe in and let everything out."  It is time...time to declutter to create room to breathe, time to organize to create peace, time to let my family know that I love them by lighting a candle or making our home look pretty with those loving touches.  I want people to be able to drop by without feeling that panic in my bones that says my home is not good enough because I haven't made time in my busy schedule to make it, not perfect, but good enough.  It is funny how God always seems to send a blog my way right when I need it.  Yesterday Better Mom was sharing about "keeping your house and your heart clean."  How fitting.
The chorus goes on to say "Whatever You're doing inside of me It feels like chaos but I believe You're up to something bigger than me Larger than life something Heavenly."  It describes life so well right now.  God has created this Heavenly Chaos but there is immense peace in trusting that this is bigger than me but He is in control.  So I start in the heart of my home...the kitchen.  I clean, declutter and light a candle because "It's time to breathe in and let everything out."
Read more: SANCTUS REAL - WHATEVER YOUR DOING LYRICS 


BEFORE...Even with dishes done and things more picked up the counter was still cluttered with crock pots, dish soap, cups, etc.  It never felt clean.
 

AFTER...I cleaned basically everything off of the counter tops except for the bare necessities.  I cleaned out the island cabinet and threw away old crock pots and overflow plastic containers to make room for the crock pot and coffee pot that sat on the counter.  I moved the radio to the living room and put dish soap and scrubbers etc under the sink.  I made a permanent home for everything I didn't want out.
 

I have a basket for my papers and bills in a nook beside the fridge because they never make it to the desk downstairs so papers need their place.  I also created a cup station from a 9x9 glass pan (kind of hard to see).  The kids cups needed a home instead of an area so that they have concrete boundaries for where cups need to be.

This is my kitchen cleaning list broken down into two weeks.  Obviously the day to day washing dishes etc isn't on this list.  My original list and ideas came from flylady but I have modified them quite a bit to make them fit our home.  I have a total of eight weeks worth of "zone" lists.  Originally these zones were designed to be done in a month but that is not realistic around here.  I broke it down even further to make full deep cleaning last two months and maybe just maybe be more doable.  The kitchen is the hardest room for me to get done and move on from.  I have been stuck on it for about three years now :).  So I am taking two weeks and then moving on...done or not.