Sunday, December 31, 2006

Good-Bye
*reposted from Jan 1, 2006 because there really isn't much else to say about these sorts of days in our family life.

Have you ever thought much about that word? Growing up as a missionary kid I became very familiar with cyclical goodbyes. Goodbye to friends in OR to go overseas. Goodbye to that country to come stateside. Goodbye to parents to go to school. Goodbye to school friends to spend the summer at home….I quickly learned that many of the things people say about “goodbyes” are plain silly!

“Goodbye doesn’t mean forever” – oh really? I have plenty of dear friends who I said goodbye to 24 years ago, that I’ve never seen again.

“Friends Forever” – hmmm.

“Don’t think of it as goodbye; think of all the hellos you get to say”.

OK now…but how does that help the pain of leaving the current friends? The goodbyes are not any less real for thinking of the hellos. If you want to be completely cynical about it, every hello is simply a goodbye waiting to happen.

MK’s learn at a young age to get good at saying goodbye. Don’t think about the parting, smile; don’t cry….life goes on. You’ll make new friends.

Then Mike entered the military. Spouses are told at deployment briefings, “Smile, when your spouse leaves. The worst thing you can do is let your spouse see you crying as he goes into battle, he needs to know that you are strong and can handle things.” I’ve noticed, however, that many, many men/women do not LOOK back when they are leaving…maybe they are told to look straight ahead as the “worst thing they can do is let their spouse see them crying as they go into battle?”

I’ve gotten good at stoically saying goodbye. This was brought home to me by Corinna last summer. She drove the kids and me to the airport when we left AK. She later wrote to me that we were so “strong” she and I. Both Third Culture Kids…we said goodbye, no tears, and quick hugs and quickly walked away…never looking back.

I got good at it…until last September when the girls left for WA. Who would have guessed how hard it would hit this expert farewell taker to say goodbye to two girls? I’d been told for months “at least you have a houseful to keep you busy” and had come to think that the children at home would insulate me from the pain that mothers most often experience when children leave home.

It didn’t.

Those who know me will guess this is coming…I did a word study on this one. Good means beneficial. Bye means leave taking. I stated last week that it seemed that many of my goodbyes haven’t fit the definition…but this goodbye does. It IS beneficial. It has been a JOY to see how the girls have embraced God’s call for their lives. It has been a blast to see how they have grown and matured and flown strong these past few months. It has been beneficial. It has proven that our lifestyle of parenting…releasing them when they were strong was valid for our family. They were ready to soar. They were not social misfits who wouldn’t fit out in “the real world”. They have had no trouble learning to interact with new authority figures.

And so we prepare to say goodbye once more at 0 dark thirty. This time for eight months. We entrust them to God’s care as they return to Master’s Commission. We eagerly look forward to seeing the growth and work that will occur in their lives in the next eight months.

There is a quote that has spoken volumes to me for years. Elizabeth Stone says, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body”. It has never spoken as loudly to me as it has since September of 2005. Even with a houseful of children, parts of my heart are walking around WA. Think of it though: parts of my heart are touching the hearts of others for His glory! This is beneficial…good even.

And so the time has come. Back to feeling that things are not quite “right”; though they are perfectly right. Back to counting heads 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, 9 in WA. Yes, Donna, you were right. I survived the goodbyes this fall and then they came home, and now they’ll leave again and as you warned me it will hurt all over again…but the hurt is good. The season is good. The day the girls left in September I seemed to be surrounded with 50 year old ladies and their 80 year old moms. I was feeling bad about all the duos and felt God speak to me that it is about seasons. We’ll be together again in the same house…and this time THEY’LL get to be the care provider. {Grin} This goodbye really isn’t forever. This time we really are forever friends. It is a beneficial leave taking.

And now the time has come to say – Goodbye!

Travel Update

The website still shows delays and cancellations in the panhandle and Denver....BUT I called the station in the panhandle and they said buses will be going through starting tomorrow afternoon....so the girls will leave here at noon. Please be praying that the buses are not overloaded and that they can get right through to WA. Thanks.

Cindy, they are in MT for only 45 minutes and I believe they arrive at 1 a.m. LOL

Family Fun

Bre Hugs Josiah
Stacia gets jealous and runs across the room to hug Arielle

Krista initiates a group hug...Stacia joins them simultaneously trying to climb into Jared's lap and push Bre away....Jared comments the ladies are all fighting for him....::snort:::

You know you're a large family when...


*I had fun with this while waiting for the children to come out of Hollywood with some videos for tonight. Always TOUGH to pick movies that will span the interests of 1 - 21. LOL


You know you're a large family when.....

Your spare room is turned into a pantry.

Your pantry rivals the shelves of a convenience store.

You can play baseball or basketball as a family.

Family movie night consists of a cartoon, a chick flick, and a war documentary.

It takes 4 "family size" packs of an entree to make 1 side dish for dinner (i.e. jello, scalloped potatoes, macaroni and cheese).

The line outside your bathroom rivals the gas lines of the early 1980's.

Visiting friends ask you how many people you are having to dinner while you cook a quick family meal.

Your dishwasher and washing machine never stop running.

Appliances and utensils with "life-time warranty" consistently last 2 - 5 years in your household.

Every family outing qualifies for a group discount rate.

People routinely count aloud as you walk past, and you consider this a normal occurrence.

Restaurants add a 15% gratuity to your dinner.

You need two family size meat entrees for one dinner.

You consider a mini van to be a "sports car".

Game evening consists of dino bingo, RISK and charades.

Very few people question your home school children's need for socialization.

Only one of your children have ever had their own bedrooms...and they were too young to remember.

You have over 100 pairs of socks in your home.

Shopping for new clothes signifies digging in the storage boxes for the next size.

You always buy "classics" and never "fads" so they'll be in style when the 1 year old needs them - 20 years from now.

Your youth will NOT go on the every 6 month underwear shopping trip...claiming all stare when you pull up to the check stand with two carts of socks and undies.

People routinely question your knowledge of elementary biology.

Bragging on My Boys (::clearing throat:: - tried to SPELL that ) YOUNG MEN!

Josiah came home last night with the news  he's been asked to be a team leader/manager! I immediately asked if this means I could have unlimited Oreo Cookie Chick Fil A shakes - guess not. He'll begin training Monday. There is some "thought" about his age....but the boss says he knows of ONE other 17 yo who was made a manager - himself. He'll be a good resource for Cy. He's already warned him that the 20 year old guys who've worked there for 3 - 4 years are sure to be upset for a few weeks. We're proud of Josiah. I'll snap a picture of him in the new uniform, when he gets it. Evidently, this was run by the other managers and they all thought it was a good idea to give him the position regardless of age. Go Cy.

Jamin decided he was not finished with his book. He has 30 pages left to edit. We decided we'd waited LONG ENOUGH to read this book. I took it to Office Depot and had them print and bind it. We were all taken aback at how THICK it is. We are going to start reading it. Krista is taking a copy with her on the bus. She is reading for plot and action and such. I am reading and trying to remind myself to look for comma rules, spelling, and such. Becky, if the offer holds we'd like to send you a copy by the end of this week. Mike, you too. He wants the 30 pages finished before he sends you both a copy.

When he's had several read it and comment....he'll be ready to take the next step. While we all read it, I think I will not allow him to work on it. FOUR years - I think he needs a breather....maybe. He thinks he could start in on book 2. I think he could use this time to surf writer blogs, websites etc and get some idea about the next step. It's been suggested he go to the Christian Writer's Guild conference in Colorado Springs. That would allow him face to face interviews with several publishers. We simply aren't sure it's a book for the Christian market. We haven't READ it...but we know that he says he doesn't "preach" in it. Of course, his world view will shine through - I hope. LOL

Holding it strange to cover his last name
Apron a gift from Bre, check out the size of that manuscript

Saturday, December 30, 2006

SATURDAY

I was going to add a button and change some music etc...but blogger is acting up again and NOT allowing me the "add page element" again...so I'm guessing no new photos until tomorrow.

Mike - I know you most likely can't call on Sunday - but Josiah needs to talk with you when you can call....sooner than later would be nice.

Krista wanted to go out alone with me today. Bre came along. I'm glad we did it. We planned to go to Chick fil A for shakes - but their machine is down again. We went to Chili's instead. We had a blast. We split a Southern Egg roll plate and a Molten Chocolate Cake. Krista had questions she wanted to ask me and said that at home there is always a little one running in about the time she is ready to talk. Ah the trials of being an introvert in a large family. ::snort:: It was a great visit. They both had wonderful and tough questions. I was able to encourage them before they leave. They are doing so well 2nd year of Master's Commission (link in side bar to new website). Second year involves a lot more leadership - and they are learning and stepping up to the plate. They are also praying through their future plans. At the end of the first year most students are SURE they know what their futures hold (despite Moms who say - just follow Him one day at a time and let Him bring the plan to fruition ::snort). The first year is EXCELLENT. They study their spiritual gifts, their passions, their personalities...the focus is on digging deeper in their walks with God, discovering how He has created them and what their passions and purpose are/is. Bre said that by this point all the second year students are questioning their "firm plans". I'm not surprised. I'm overjoyed. I see them learning to listen and follow the voice of the Shepherd for MAJOR decisions in their own lives. Yay God. It will be fun to see what they decide after this year....and to see where Cy ends up next year...but I'm not so excited to see a 3rd child leave home.

My hip has been hurting a LOT. I can barely walk today. It will clear up when the rain goes away.

Stacia has a horrendous diaper rash again. ARGH. Coconut oil doesn't touch it. I went to walmart and bought a giant tube of Lotrimin. I sure hope it's better by tomorrow - poor baby. She's got some sort of intestinal thing going on.

The girls will be here tomorrow - probably leave Monday.

Jamin has finished rewriting his book - again. It's down to 210, single-spaced, 8x11 pages...from 350. That's some editing he's done. LOL I'm figuring out the best way to print this. Krista wants to take a copy of the book. I want a copy and he plans to mail a copy here and there for comments. I am thinking to take the disc to Office Depot and have them copy and bind it for us.....much easier to deal with than loose papers....
TRAVEL UPDATE

Hmmm.....800 number at Greyhound says that there are "delays and cancellations" in the panhandle....and Denver station is closed. The girls will not be leaving tomorrow. We're tracking the storm and trying to guess when to put them on the road.

Mike, the local station said they'll "most likely" not charge me for them to change their tickets...I told them I don't care...I wanted to be sure they could make conncetions further up the road if they leave here late. He said not a problem. He also said that our best bet may be to have them go through El PASO, LA and then UP.....doesn't that seem a bit drastic at this point? I'm thinking they can get out Monday or Tuesday when Denver has a couple of days to dig out.....

OK - Kristine - do you think ya'll will be dug out by Tuesday afternoon? Or will be babies be stuck in the panhandle???? ::snort::
OPINIONS

OK - got music going.

Does it make it slow for your computers to load the blog? Too slow?

I like jazz....

Stacia really likes it...::snort:: but I told Bre it certainly makes you feel like you need to get on, read, read, read, FAST, comment fast and get off!!!!!! Speed being the main drive I feel with the music going in the background of the blog. Bre mentioned something about panic attacks.

Does it have this affect on ya'll? I wanted it to be upbeat and reflect joy and my tastes...but this may be a bit too upbeat??? ::snort:: It doesn't seem relaxing...but I wanted instruments and not words (I'm easily distracted) and I didn't want "elevator music".

Bottom line - you CAN turn the volume down (I do that many spots online)...but what about the speed of loading the site? Is it causing your browser to freeze?

Let me know....please...and any suggestions for a new song are welcome. I realized my favorites are all Christian contemporary and they aren't listed at sonific. LOL
Photos and Songs

Heather - http://sonific.com will allow you to put songs on a blogspot. Unfortunately, I've been trying to get MY blog to load my selection for a couple of weeks. ::snort:: I'm not thrilled with the selection of music at the site...you'll find way more contemporary Christian music available at myspace. I didn't find Phil Wickham at all on sonific...but I did find some nice jazz. LOL

Photos are loading. I have the "add page element" button again this a.m.; so I ditched the plan to clean house and am trying to get photos loaded for you Mike...the pile of laundry on the couch is all YOUR doing, dear! ::snort:: Hmmm....well the song thing is ME - no - Heather ASKED. ::snort::

Video will not load into a post....not sure about side bar....guess I can try....Mike, I can't email you the dancing video either because it says the file exceed the maximum size.
Photos from Last Night



Stacia loved the chicken, rice, veggie, cheese soup....and the bath afterwards

Game night - Imagine If

Scenes from the last couple of days


Arielle finally has her dancing Barbie....she raises her arm (wearing some radio control) and the doll raises her arm....Stacia and Zander had to get into the dancing too....


Notice the sly little spider getting into the fun
Dino Bingo...this is a game that the younger ones are really enjoying


Tea Tree Treatment

Friday, December 29, 2006

Friday -

Speech and Produce Co-op this a.m. Krista pulled out the tea and brewed a few pots of tea near the end of pick up. It was fun to sit around and chat and relax for a bit with the ladies that were still here. See...Dorothy...I listened.

Bre has no cavities! That's always good news.

Arielle spent most of the day with a friend - always fun for her.

Jamin, Jared, Krista and I searched out a post office and mailed a package to Mike and 7 missing Algebra tests to NARS. I was sad that the little station we'd discovered in NOV. is closing. I really don't like using the post office.....must look for another little station.

I called Greyhound and was told that the route from TX to Denver is "delayed" and that the Denver station is closed. The girls do NOT want to have to spend a night at the Denver bus station. They witnessed arrests, pick pockets and more at that station. They also do not want to spend a night at the Amarillo station. {g} It appears that it will be fairly simple for us to change their tickets if the storm continues. They are scheduled to leave Sunday but we may have them leave on Monday. I'll have to figure out a good source for tracking this. Master's is fine with them arriving home late...better to spend an extra day HERE than in a bus station. We'll see what develops.

I changed our dinner plan a bit and we had Kelly's Cream of Chicken Rice Soup for dinner. Kelly - it wasn't very WW friendly when I finished with it - I added lots of cheese. LOL I also added broccoli and cauliflower so I think that cancels out the cheese calories. ::snort:: Jodi, I made your garlic pull apart rolls to go with the soup. It's been a RAINY day here - perfect opportunity to use up some veggies.

Games (Imagine Iff, Dominoes) and movies (12 Dog Christmas and Poirot's Christmas) filled our evening. I can't get photos to load again tonight; those posts will have to wait.

*Out of the Frying Pan and into the Choir* by Sharon Kahn is the latest in "Ruby, the Rabbi's Wife mystery" series. Other titles in this series are: Fax Me a Bagel, Don't Cry for Me Hot Pastrami, Never Nosh a Matzo Ball, Hold the Cream Cheese, Kill the Lox, and Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver?.

I began reading this series shortly after the first book was released in 1998. I was drawn to the series for the behind the scenes look into a Temple community, the use of email messages to develop the plot line was fairly new at the time, and Ruby was likable to me.

In *Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Choir*, trouble is brewing in Temple Rita. Temple Rita's star soprano, Serena Salit, collapses during a choir preformance. Ruby discovers surprising secrets about Serena and Temple Rita. Essie Sue insists the choir continue their planned trip to Lake Louise, Canada regardless of the murder. Everyone in the choir is considered a suspect. Mayhem and danger follow before the choir arrives back home in Eternal, TX.
"David Danced Right Out of His Clothes" - and so did Zander.

During the clean-up, Cy always puts "his" music on. Tonight it was Toby Mac. I bathed Stacia. She broke free and ran into the living room. I caught her as she was dancing. I got her diapered. The rest of the littles were not to be outdone. They began dancing. I love this time of the day. They love to dance to Mike playing the piano too - but this is wilder. Stacia is a hoot - she gets feet, head, waist - everything into dancing. Cy bought her one of those play microphones you can get at the dollar store. She played with it and threw it....then Zander got it.

Imagine our shock when Zander threw the microphone down and began to rip his shirt off. We were laughing so hard we couldn't stand up...but then he pulled his shorts off too. The boys were dying and I said, "Hey, David danced in his underwear before God".....There really is a song that we learned during our time in the gospel service that talks about dancing like David did and says he "danced right outta his clothes". After watching Zander tonight - I have a very vivid picture of how David *may* have played wholeheartedly before the Lord and danced right out of those clothes and kept right on enjoying his dance.

Nothing big and theological here - though I COULD go there....I have been fascinated with that passage of Scripture since teaching in 2 or 3 years ago. LOL I do believe that God wants us to PLAY and ENJOY our times with Him more than we do. . . but I said I wasn't going to go there - and I won't. Anyway, I was having too much fun with the children to grab the camera. Krista got it on video on her camera. I'll have to figure out how to save that for Mike to see. ::snort::

Thursday, December 28, 2006

TEA TREE OILS ETC

Since several asked...and my friend Heather posted this on her blog today....here you go....

From Heather's blog: First of all I am really loving the essential oils. I never knew how many wonderful uses they had. Our favorite two oils are Tea Tree and Lemon. Tea tree oil is not only a disinfectant, but has anti-fungal properties as well. It can be used on Acne, sinus congestion, skin irritations, athletes foot, as well as a multi-purpose cleaner. Lemon oil also has disinfectant qualities and smells terrific when using it for cleaning. I recommend going to www.teatreeoiluses.com or www.naturesgift.com for more information. Also, by clicking on the TITLE to this post (Healthy Home), you will be directed to a website that has many natural recipes for cleaners and other non-toxic remedies for household problems and maintenance.Here are just 2 of my favorite homemade cleaning solutions.

Disinfectant spray:In a clean spray bottle, combine 4 oz distilled water; 15 drops lemon essential oil; 3 drops tea tree oil. Shake well. This is primarily what I use instead of Lysol.

Window Cleaner:Mix equal parts distilled white vinegar and distilled water with 1/4 tsp natural dish soap (like Ecover) Shake well & use as you would windex.
We have a plan!!!

Do you remember the society matron mouse in "American Tale"? She stands up and announces, "We have a plan" in her NY accent and then life moves on (or at least the movie). This line has become my personal line. My family tease me with it and I make fun of myself with it. I MUST have planning sessions and I end them all by saying in my best imitation "We have a PLAN - e pluribus unum".

A very dear local friend has hinted that I'm "anal" about being on time. We've talked about it and this has stemmed from leadership roles. A leader can't be showing up late...and since I've been in leadership roles for the past 20+ years....I've learned to make myself be on time.

This goes along with what I'm about to confess. :::drum roll::: I cannot be on time without a WORKING PLAN. I live for plans. I drive my family crazy with my obsession with "the plan". It's sad. I've worked on this. I need to know what we are doing. I can't relax without a plan. I think being on time is hard for me and I've learned that a plan is essential for me to be on time....LOL Or maybe I've always been psychotic - Mom could comment on that.

Regardless, I'm always asking the family for "the plan". I woke up last night at 4 a.m. and realized that I had NO PLAN for what we were doing with the girls' visit. It makes no difference that we are 1/2 way through the visit...I need a plan. We may forget something important without a plan. Mike tends to be a late riser, he is content to take the day as it comes. I feel like the day is 1/2 - 2/3 gone by the time we DISCUSS what we're going to do with it. I've learned to be a bit more laid back...and my family has learned that they need to give me a plan. Which they do with much eye rolling and good natured teasing. Often Mike will tell me Friday night, "We're going to sleep in tomorrow until we wake up, we're going to laze around until lunch and then we'll go geocaching." AND I'm content with a plan. LOL

Mike called today when we were in the middle of our "planning session". He added his .02 to my plan mania. LOL One of the girls laughed at me when I said "we need a plan". They know me so well. Our plan can be as simple as "today we are going to stay home and do nothing"....I only need to know that we PLAN to relax...and then I can. Without that, I'll worry that we aren't doing something we should be doing. ::snort::

How does this gel with the persona of a person who "jumps into things?" Well - I am quickly able to switch plans...but I must have a plan. I can't move without a plan.

Our plan:

Today - Krista took the boys out for a treat - her Christmas gift to them. I called Don and got the computers working - the upgrade to IE7 had done BAD THINGS to my computer because they were clashing with Fire Fox. Bre will watch the littles and the rest of us will go see the Nativity. We'll play games and such tonight. I need to also check about cashing checks....I don't want to use my credit card again for a month. We pay it off monthly but I don't need the airline miles and I need to figure out what they are doing with limits and charges etc.

Tomorrow we have speech and produce co-op. We'll spend the afternoon playing games, visiting, maybe caching if it is nice.....and packing the girls up.

Saturday - we'll do any shopping I need to do for the girls before they leave, and get a package off to Mike.

Sunday - The girls have to be at the station by 11:00 and leave at noon.

"We have a plan.....and I can rest." ::snort::

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

BLOGGER QUESTION

What has been the best way you have found to get answers from blogger. My edit page STILL doesn't have the "add element" button to click. I have to mess with the template to make changes. I AM signed in on blogger. I dont' even remember the old sign in info. ::snort:: I can GET to the add element page...but I don't have any buttons to easily do this any longer....I have surfed the "blogger buz" and I'm not finding an answer. Is it a sign that I should quit blogging? Begin a new blog...what....I even changed templates and it didn't help.

I'm basically computer illiterate...I'm open to ideas....step by step ideas. LOL
WEDNESDAY

Our day began bright and early with an eye appointment for Bre. She no longer is on our military insurance. Ouch. We got her a year's worth of contacts.

We came home for a bit. Krista had figured out how to load CD's to the ipod, but only one computer is now working well. She was busy with that job.

Josiah didn't feel well, but had to work. He worked a full day.

BreAnne and Krista went for new haircuts. I enjoy them visiting with my young (18yo) hair stylist. They talked with her about their life, vision, Master's Commission...totally new views of life for her....and I think she enjoys it as well because she hugged them goodbye.

We met Tricia and family and Adrienne and family at our city's newest park. Fun. Zander chased down an 11 year old who stole their light saber. Zander has bully tendencies...but it was nice to see him use that spunk to defend others today.

We came home to more visiting. The girls had stayed home to work on course work....Cy was home and asking about ways to clear his sinus'. I had just the thing...tea tree oil. I got it all out....managing to drop and break the bottle so the whole house now has clear sinus'....there was just enough left in the bottle to set Cy up....he reports that it worked well.....I'm going to be ordering some more oils from herbco....Heather, let me know if you want me to order anything else for you. I'll get you a bottle of tea tree oil as I know you gave me YOURS. Wow...does my whole tile floor smell like tea tree oil. I wonder how long it will last???? LOL

We are getting lots of phone calls from students, friends and Master's Staff...it's fun to see how well adjusted our little homeschooled unsocialized "misfits" are. ::snort::

I managed to make sweet potato fries, fries (LOVING that french fry slicer LOL), stroganoff, salad and fruit for dinner. . .between the phone calls and exploding tea tree oil bottles.

We are going to end the night by playing Lord of the Rings Trivia DVD game....Bre is taking pity on my sharing how I feel so outnumbered around here most days...there are lots of boys here...and I love them dearly but I miss the nicey nice things...she just came to tell me that she has a pot of tea ready...think I'll grab a cuppa and watch the children play.

Hope you all are having as wonderful breaks as we are. If only the photos would load!!!
NOTE: I added new posts below the older ones you may recognize. They were written last night but the photos wouldn't load and I wanted them to be down there....so scroll down Mike - there are more photos....

Chocolate Mint Cheesecake (Andes Mint or Tropical Source Mint LOL)


This is one that I knew would be requested for Christmas. It was requested at Thanksgiving. It took a bit of time to gather all the ingredients to make it "healthier" but certainly not healthy. It was amazingly yummy...and no preservatives or dye or such of any sort. It's still incredibly rich and you'd do well to start with a sliver. This is a recipe I came up with years ago and has repeatedly been shared on SHS but I couldn't find it on the blog this week when I thought the recipe was lost. ::snort:: So now it will be somewhere online that I can access easily. This cheesecake has earned the title the "400 lb cheesecake" and earned me the title of "cheesecake diva". Kelly in OH makes it very pretty by adding some dollops of whip cream along the bottom..... I still have an idea for a maple/honey cheesecake but I didn't want that many competing flavors in the chocolate one. I used Rapadura, which has a mild toffee flavor. Sucanat would work -sucanat is a bit grainier than Rapadura. The girls were suitably impressed - comments such as "I never knew organic could taste this good" flew around the table...along with my comments that this is a RARE treat these days. I also made an organic cheese ball so the girls are starting to realize I am not depriving the youngers with our lifestyle change. The favorites are still there...just adapted. ::snort::
Crust: *See note
1 1/2 C Oreos (about 22 - I used Newman O's)
2 T sugar (Rapadura)
1/4 C melted BUTTER
Mix. Press onto the bottom and up the side of a greased 9 inch spring form pan.*** Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325*. Set aside to cool.

Filling:
1/4 C Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (Sunspire)
1/2 a pkg of Andes mints (1 1/2 - 2 bars Tropical Source Mint Crunch Dark Chocolate)
1/4 C Whipping Cream (NOT cool whip)
4 packages (80z) cream cheese, room temp (Organic Valley)
1 C sugar (Rapadura)
1/3 C baking cocoa (ahLaska!)
4 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla

In a small bowl melt chocolate and mints (double boiler or microwave - stir every 30 seconds). Add 1/4 C whipping cream and stir until well blended. Set aside.

Beat cream cheese and rapadura on low speed until there are NO LUMPS. Add the baking cocoa and beat on low until blended. Add eggs and stir until blended. Add the reserved chocolate mixture and 1 tsp of vanilla and stir until blended. Pour into prepared spring form pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is almost set (small cracks begin to appear around the edges of the cheesecake) I do the water bath **** here so it takes about 10 - 20 minutes longer. Cheesecake is fine without the water bath if time is short.

Topping:
1 C Andes Mints (1 C Tropical Source Mint Crunch)
6 T butter (or Whipping Cream to thin)

Melt. Spread on cheesecake. Cool completely before covering in any way. Chill. Refrigerate overnight. Just before serving garnish with whipped cream if desired.


*We like a thicker crust so I use 3 C of cookie crumbs, 1/3 C of butter and 2 T of Rapadura for my 9 or 10 inch cakes. The sugar could be left out but I like the hint of crispness that it gives the crust.

**The second batch of chocolate mint can either be melted with the chocolate chips and incorporated into the topping (my favorite) or shaved over the top of the topping....or used to garnish before serving....but that makes for BIG bites of mints...

***I have used 9 or 10 inch pans...either work.

****To water bath or steam your cheese cake: Wrap the bottom and up the side of the pan in foil (I'll have to illustrate this as this is the most questioned step). Set the cheesecake in a pan big enough to hold the spring form pan. Pour boiling water 11/2 -2 inches up the side of the pan. Set the whole thing in the 3255* oven and continue. Water baths improve the texture of the cake and get rid of most of the cracks.....however when you top the cake it tastes wonderful and looks pretty either way.
NOT SURE WHY BLOGGER HATES PARAGRAPHS AND SPACES ::snort::
Radio Controlled Tarantulas...this gift was from Arielle and Nolan for Zander....
TRAMPOLINE

Here you go, Mike. If you can zoom in on the one of Arielle the expression is great. The other photos that show all three aren't so clear....but you can get a flavor of it with these photos. What a great thing for the big ones to do for the younger ones. Yes, they are all enjoying it.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Tuesday

Josiah is back to work.

Krista and Bre have had conversations with folks from Master's. They also organized everyone to play a game of Dominoes....and we watched a Samantha movie. Krista had taped 3 of the American Girl movies for Arielle for Christmas.

I dried apples, baked 4 loaves of bread and made dinner.

The youngers played all sorts of games, enjoyed the trampoline and had fun with the girls.

Krista figured out how to get CD's to load to the ipods.

Bre hooked up the card reader from the crashed computer to THIS computer. The reader on this computer seems to have gone out. When she did that for some STRANGE reason one of the color printers began to work. Who knows???? At one point she had the wireless mouse from the crashed computer controlling the screen on this computer...but that seems to have resolved itself.

ARGH....IE7 updated just fine on this computer but something went wrong when the other computer was upgrading and now we have Internet on ONE computer....I need to figure out how to blow the IE out and try it all over....but since we can't get online at all on that computer I have no idea how to download it. LOL Anyway - they can't go to the itunes store until we can get the computers to work well.

I typed some entries to post but the photos won't load, so I'll try tomorrow a.m.

That's the day in a nutshell.
Recipes: I realized how valuable it is to have favorite recipes on the blog when I couldn't find several I needed and had to copy them from the blog. ::snort:: Expect several in the next few days.

Menus:

Monday - Chicken Divan, Salad, fruit

Tuesday - Oven Fried chicken, oven fries, salad, carrot sticks, fruit

Wed - Beef Stroganoff, penne, salad, fruit salad, corn

Thursday - BBQ meatballs, rice, salad, fruit, oven baked sweet potato fries/fries

Friday - Pizza, salad, fruit

Saturday - Encore or Eat Out

Sunday - girls leave - most likely Encore Presentation and move our weekly eat out to Saturday.....

I CAN'T GET PHOTOS TO UPLOAD TONIGHT...JUST A WHINE! lol
Rocking Chair



Jamin and Jared bought me a rocking chair to match the one Mike bought me for Mother's Day. I'm excited to have matching chairs on the front "porch" and soon.....someone to rock with in the evenings.

Jamin spent the night assembling the rocking chair....
The Makeup Bandit

The girls are having to relearn survival in a big family techiniques....but Stacia is quick to return the things she borrows....{g}



Christmas Photos

No, I won't show photos of each gift that each one of us received and gave....but just for MIKE...here are photos of our gifts to the children.

BreAnne, Krista and Josiah received ipods. These were a huge blessing. I thought we could maybe swing an ipod nano 4gig but then ended up finding an ipod 30 gig at the BX for cheaper than the ipod nano around town. The ironic part of this deal is that Josiah had one on his list, shopped around and saw it was over budget and crossed it off. THEN I said, "Wouldn't this be a great gift for the girls?" He knew I bought them for the girls. I told him that it was their birthday/Christmas for the year. I could tell that he was bummed he'd crossed it off his list. Christmas a.m. we had a blast watching the totally unsuspecting girls. I thought maybe Josiah had figured it out...but he hadn't. They were all wrapped in different size boxes. He found his in the bottom of a big box and said, "I NEVER saw this coming." The older 3 have been trying to figure out how to copy their CD's to the ipod. I'm no help whatsoever. LOL


Jamin's gift from us was "Lord of the Rings Trivia/DVD edition". It didn't arrive until today...but yesterday he received his second big thing on his dream list.....a set of videos from the History Channel. He loves to watch the History channel every time we move and are stuck in TLF or motels....this will be a treat for him. He had quite a list of videos he'd like from them.

Jared's gift from us was Civilization 1709 or some such year.
Arielle has asked for a "dancing Barbie" since she was 3. This is the first year I SAW one - I thought she'd imagined it. I knew she had to get it this year or be a bit old for it next year.



Nolan's gift from us was two sets of Duplos. I know this seems strange for his age...but he can't handle the legos and these will be great for improving his motor skills and eye hand coordination.




Zander's gift from us was Lego STAR WARS play station game. What a hit this one was. He's wanted to play the Star Wars game that the older boys have but we've felt it was to old for him. This is the perfect solution for him. He quickly earned 60 tickets to earn some play time today. ::snort::




Stacia's gift from us was Noah's Ark FP blocks and an extra set of Fisher Price blocks. She loves these blocks. This was another one of those toys that I didn't know existed until Mandy gave us some on Thanksgiving.
An Organized Christmas

In one of the last meetings Master's had before the girls left, they were asked to share a Christmas memory. Bre tells that she shared how "organized" Christmas mornings are and how much she loves it. She told me this AFTER our gift exchange. ::snort:: I was shocked to hear that some are NOT organized...that children just tear into a pile of gifts! But, she says it's so...that our home with 9 children was the only one that was "organized". I think this must be because things would get lost, there are so many of us that no one would enjoy others receiving their gifts if we simply "let it rip", and Mike and I like to catch photos at strategic points...anyway we have an organized Christmas exchange.

We always wake early (but not this year), have breakfast and then read Scripture. We always wear our Christmas Eve Pj's (except last year when we skipped the pj's in favor of a gps unit).

After reading, we divide all the gifts into piles....each person has a laundry basket and a garbage sack. One for wrappings and one for presents, which can then be easily carried to their room after the storm of paper settles. This year we had to move the gifts from the tree in my room to the living room.... Everyone enjoyed helping with this...though the chaos nearly undid ME. ::snort::
When everyone had a nice pile, we began. I explained that since I was the only photographer this year, and we wanted photos of the gifts from Mike and I, that they all needed to find their packages from us first. Then we opened...and my camera (whose battery bar was FINE on the 24th) died. Bre and Krista took turns with their cameras. I'll have to figure out how to get their photos to the computer to post more photos. We proceed one by one through the list of gift givers.
A funny story from this year centers around the MAIN gift from Josiah, Jamin and Jared for Arielle, Nolan and Zander. They bought and set up a trampoline. As the younger ones came to find the gifts from the boys, they couldn't. They were concerned. We kept saying, "we'll keep going - it will show up." Then we said, "Well, lets clear away these gifts and we'll probably find it." We cleared. We got all the boxes broken down, we got all the garbage bags tied up, and still no gifts from the big boys. We were really waiting for the girls to delete photos so we had room to catch the moment on "film". Finally, I told them, "Well, I guess your gift isn't here....why don't you take some of this garbage out while I keep looking?" They did. Arielle stopped COLD. "Nolan, come here." Nolan stopped cold. Zander barrelled through the door, pushing them out of the way, and yelled "Woooaaa...what's THAT?" ::snort:: They were totally shocked. More stories with more photos - later. LOL
We spent the afternoon playing Dominoes (gift from Krista) and Apples To Apples (from Bre) We discovered that Krista HATES Apples to Apples. Strange.... The older 3 tried to get thier ipods working...I cooked Chicken Divan (requested by Cy) and played games...and frosted the Cheescake (requested by Krista) and made a cheeseball (requested by Bre)....

Zander realized that Bre is totally freaked out by his new toy tarantula...she kept flinging it across the room. It is a radio control spider.

Stacia's Daddy Bear

The whole Christmas Gift thing was overwhelming to Stacia. Since she is not our first child, ::snort:: I was prepared for this and had not gotten her a lot of things to open. I knew the children would get her things and I knew that she would want to PLAY with each one and not move on. This was her second gift of the day (the Middle Eastern Doll being first). It took her a bit of time to get going.....

This is the bear I purchased, mailed a sound box to Michael, he recorded a message and sent it back. He says, "Hi, Staica, I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long I'm living my baby you'll be. I love you Stacia." This surprises her....pleases her....and has earned the bear the name of "Daddy Bear".

She loves to listen to it...though it's hard for her to get it started....
She ran around the room sharing the bear with everyone (and showing it off a bit too I suspect)

She stopped now and then for a kiss
Mike's Package

The day began with breakfast, Scripture reading and finishing up Tabitha. Then it was on to gift giving.

We began with Mike's package. Mike had sent t-shirts for several of the children, hats for the boys (can't show most because they show his location), dolls for the girls, a gorgeous brass vase and wind chimes for me, the rest of the Narnia books he'd read for the children on tape, and a few other things.


Zander's baseball hat


Arielle & the Middle Eastern doll to add to her collection....


The girls especially liked the nose rings

My windchimes...I'll have to get a better photo - they are really cool. When I opened the package I was sure it was something broken from the rattling. The brass chimes were a pleasant surprise.


Reading a card Mike included in the package...

Monday, December 25, 2006

It's Christmas....

Where are my children???? Zander got up at 4 a.m. and woke up Stacia. They all snuggled up and went back to sleep. I climbed out of bed and am WAITING for someone to wake up.....Krista finally got up and wanted to make cinamon rolls....I wonder when they'll wake up. It's good that all my plan are "flexible" and "subject to whims". LOL
Southern Belle

I left a long reply to your comment on the grain entry. I thought I'd better say something so you don't miss it since it's been a few days since you asked.
~My Hero, My Heart, My Home, My Husband ~

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Home

"Where's home?" This question raises a dilemma for many third culture kids, myself included. Where IS home? How do I answer? It depends. If the person seems like one with whom I'd like to strike up a conversation, or one that is honestly interested, I often say, "Africa or The Philippines". If the person seems to be simply fulfilling social obligations, I'll say, "Oregon" and let it drop. If they seem interested after that I'll say, "My parents were missionaries, and we spent furloughs in OR." If they are STILL interested, we go on to discuss Africa, Philippines, boarding school.... Since home is where the heart is, many in my family respond to the question with one word, "Alaska".

I was once asked by a dear lady, who had lived the majority of her married life in her childhood home, if I "left a part of myself at each home." Hmm...at that point (20 years ago) I'd lived on 3 continents, 2 states, and towns and homes too numerous to count. I replied that I'd have nothing left if I left a part of myself at each spot...but now I see that I do leave something at each spot.

"This world is not my home". "Home is where the heart is". Hmmm... I've been thinking that if this is true, and I begin to think it is, then it is possible for home to be a spot I've never seen. It's possible that home is in Spokane, WA...Eugene, OR...Crescent City, CA....Anchorage, AK....TX...Mangagoy, PI....Liberia, W Africa and Kuwait. The ultimate home being heaven....

You suspected, of course, that my musings stem from the repeated hearing of the song, "I'll be home for Christmas". It seems to me that no matter where I travel...or where pieces of my heart land with loved ones...if home IS where the heart is...then regardless of physical location...I always am HOME for Christmas...

And so this Christmas, I'll be home in OR, home in TX, home in CA, and home in Kuwait.
It's HERE....or at least the countdown candle is gone....
Christmas Eve (Photos won't load - later)

We had yummy pizza that Jamin made. He made pizza while I used the new Bosch shredder to shred 11 lbs of cheese. We figured out that we use 1 lb of cheese per pizza.

Bre, Josiah, and the littles played monopoly. Krista and I worked on an "Andes Mint Cheesecake". I adapted the recipe and it LOOKS good - we'll see tomorrow.

Jamin and I had to run to the store to get a few things. Bre wanted a cheese ball so I need to get that done. Several wanted Chicken Divan, so that will be our meal tomorrow.

We went to the Candlelight service at chapel. YIPPEE. I got a huge Christmas present. I was able to sit through the entire service. Zander and Stacia both did excellent.

We always open our stockings on Christmas Eve. Poor Zander didn't think the evening would EVER arrive. He was very excited by the Capt Hook set that Jamin had stuck in the top of his stocking.

We often do presents from extended family on Christmas Eve too, but this year they are buried under the tree. LOL Zander did a lot of the shopping for stockings...so that will explain some of the strange things that the various ones are enjoying....::snort::

The littles are all in the little boys room. I got the little tv/vcr combo out for them and am letting them watch a movie. The olders are out in the cold back yard assembling the present they bought them. LOL

Stacia doesn't care about her stocking - she just enjoys the general chaos



Zander is the t-rex nose



Bre thinks these finger puppets will be good company on her return bus trip...
I found these great sleep shirts for the girls....one says "I'm grumpy" and one says "I love mornings"...they have the same cups etc but one has grumpy statements and one morning person statements. Very appropriate for these two...and yet they shared a room for 19 years. LOL

Zander tries on his Christmas pjs "Hey Mom, What do ya think of me?"

The boys goof off with their Christmas toys

Krista tries gummy pizza slices - from Jamin LOL

Stacia disappeared and came out in the silky robe Mike brought me from Korea.