Thursday, April 02, 2015

Proud of These Men

They were wonderful! When I'm not so tired, I'll write and post more photos.

And there it is - the last "event" Michael will run in the Air Force. I think.

Baking Fools



 Baking bread isn't hard; I've needed to do it for weeks. When I get out of the routine it SEEMS daunting....but I knew I needed to make some small loaves and a big one for the Living Last Supper. Looking over the schedule - it SEEMED - Monday would be the only day to bake....so I did.  I knew the kids wouldn't be happy if none of it stayed home....
I felt like a big bully telling the men they couldn't EAT the bread at rehearsal on Monday. I put it in the freezer so I could pull it out for tonight's play.  However, I realized it WOULD be good to have some food at the dress rehearsal on Wednesday.....so I baked 8 more of the 3/4 lb loaves. 

It WAS April Fool's Day. After some consideration I put lots of jalapenos in two of them. Unfortunately, the bread got mixed up and I lost track of which loaves were special. I had a couple of guys who I wanted to give them to.....ah well. Kevin and Alex ended up with one loaf. He noticed something yellow when he tore into the loaf and asked, "What's the yellow?"

Nolan didn't want to give away the prank and replied, "Mom baked the bread on Monday."  Poor Kevin must have thought it was mold. The other guys never bit into the loaf. Joke on me.

I realized this a.m.  I had no bread for us again.....and Stacia is determined we need to provide Desiree and family with bread - I need to encourage her giving spirit.  She agreed to help bake.... we baked for the third time this week. 

While we were grinding flour the top blew off the grinder....Stacia was very impressed with the cloud of flour. I've not seen anything like it since Jamin (now 23) threw a 5 lb bag of flour down the stairs in Hardin, MT.  THEN the lid blew off the Bosch while it was kneading. LOL 
Four 1.5 lb and one 2.5 lb loaves in one oven - I was happy

I was feeling accomplished. Bread - check. Dessert for the O bunch and our guests - check. 
 
I blinked. You  never know what will happen with young men in the house. ALEX....yep....Alex. Well, I figure they must be o.k. if he ate more than one. ::snort::
 
I decided it would be wise to label baking from now on....and I let them each have a brownie too - they were my applesauce specialty - no black beans. LOL

I think I've broken through the, "it's so time-consuming" barrier and proven I CAN bake bread if I want to. We baked 25 loaves this week. I think I now have one loaf in the freezer.

We'll make another dessert for our guests. LOL

Arielle has a Plan

Arielle has wrestled through her post-graduation plans....she is logical and reasons well. About a
Via Google Images
month ago she told me she just wasn't sure what she was going to do - but she was moving to Oregon in any scenario. ::grin::

She's considered beauty school - which would allow her to have a job she would enjoy as she pursued her dream of being a missionary in Japan.

She's considered New Hope Christian College - and thus our college preview day last month.

She's thought of working and living a year in Oregon to establish residency - but in the end - she doesn't want to "waste" an extra year in Oregon. The idea of spending five years in one town is overwhelming to this one whose very life has been defined by Michael's military career - I was pregnant with her when we went Active Duty and Michael will retire as she graduates high school and turns 18.

She's considered taking general classes at Lane Community College.

The University of Oregon has a Japanese Immersion program (all classes are in Japanese) and she would  earn an Asian Studies degree. She seriously considered this as it would provide a solid foundation to live and minister in Japan.

Stacia informed us and Arielle confirmed ::snort::, she is submitting an application to New Hope Christian College. She'll earn a degree in Cross Cultural Studies, which she believes will prepare her with a foundation in theology for ministry in Japan. She plans to continue her Japanese lessons to continue to increase fluency.  We aren't quite sure how all the pieces of this will come together. She's correctly informed us that international moves disrupted the course all of our other high school youth have taken - working and saving for college in the years prior to entering college. God had it all planned; we'll figure it out a step at a time. LOL  I'm quite sure our international move and four years in Japan were meant to be in the larger picture.

It's been a joy to watch Arielle process her options, wait for confirmation from God, and consider her lifetime goals. She knows to hold the plan lightly.  It's ironic we are also in the process of  waiting for clear direction.....She beat us to it. ::snort::

Family Time

Family anchors us in the midst of the craziness. I'm truly thankful for family walks on spring nights. One recent night, much to the humor of the males in the family, Arielle proved her hatred of snakes.


Another favorite activity is bike riding.....our weather has been 70's and low 80's - perfect for getting outside.

Lurking in the back of my mind during these idyllic family moments is thankfulness Michael is home and won't deploy again, the awareness our life will drastically change in four months and the awareness Arielle will be leaving home in three months.

I blinked and we flew into a new season of life.....from nine at home to three chicks in the nest, from a young Air Force family to retiring.....more adventures await.


Princesses

Yes, we DID allow, and even encourage, our daughters to be princesses. Why? We believe they ARE. We wanted them to ACT like noble royalty....considering the good of others, kind, dignified, worthy of respect.....and none of our daughters have become the "princess" that so many seek to avoid in the "princess syndrome" - in fact I believe it's all in the way you define the word, cast the vision and mentor. Yep, I HAVE freely admitted I'm a word geek - but definitions matter.

From BreAnne to Krista to Arielle to Stacia - all have become princesses. However, this one may have developed the dreaded princess syndrome.

Yuuki was brought into our home to be our forever friend - the pet we had when the children all left home.  As our life plan has changed since we adopted her, we are seriously considering her moving with Arielle or BreZaak this summer. It makes me sad.

Math and Prayer

I've neglected the blog for the past two weeks. We've been quite active - but sometimes life doesn't feel "blogworthy."  Michael insists documenting the ordinary has value.  Briefly, days have been full and happy with school, meetings, play practices, "fellowship" opportunities, retirement "stuff," family fun and various doctor's appointments for both Michael and me.  Rather than trying to summarize each day I am going to share some snippets that stand out in my mind.

I've pretty much heard it all now.

"If I could protest one thing it would be school. Down with school!"

 Me - "You don't like school?"

At this point I was heaping condemnation on my head...I KNEW I should have kept up with the up to date curriculum, we need to do more crafts, we should add some lap books....

Child - "Oh, I like it, but math ruins my praying time."

Yep - there you have it - math will ruin your prayer life.... What's a Christian homeschooling mom to do? Any guesses which child thought this up? First to try this track in 26 years of homeschooling. A+ for yet another inventive way to avoid math.....
One of these girls would rather pray than do math
If you guessed our caboose - you would be correct.