Growing Like Trees

In Her Footsteps

2009-12-19T21:41:00.002-06:00

When I was little, I dreaded certain things about Christmas. One of them was opening gifts. Now don't get me wrong, I liked getting gifts, of course! But there was always something other the tree that was either gross, gaudy, or somehow embarrassing. And I found it rather uncomfortable to be greeted with such a present and try to feel (and therefore act) grateful.I distinctly remember the year

If you give a Mom a muffin....

2009-12-16T22:32:00.002-06:00

If you give a mom a muffin,She'll want a cup of coffee to go with it.She'll pour herself some.Her three-year-old will spill the coffee.She'll wipe it up.Wiping the floor, she'll find dirty socks.She'll remember she has to do laundry.When she puts the laundry in the washer,She'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer.Bumping into the freezer will remind hershe has to plan for supper.She will

Nine ways to treat thrush (mostly) naturally

2009-10-14T20:59:00.004-05:00

One of the most painful parts of breastfeeding is thrush. I've had it numerous times, and a friend of mine is currently battling it. Our local lactation consultants are woefully ignorant of the most effective natural treatments for thrush. If yours are too, perhaps this list will help you (and me when it next occurs).Catch it right away. After dozens of times around this block, I can finally

Decorating Pumpkins

2009-10-14T20:54:00.003-05:00

I was too much a scaredy cat to actually get out paints to decorate pumpkins.It was just easier to use sharpies. (That was scary too).Everyone got their own to decorate (they gave them out at church last Sunday, yipee!)Orange didn't show up very well on the pumpkins.Red did though.Yellow didn't show up well either. Jo was innovative, and colored her stem purple.Paper under the pumpkins was

Lemongrass

2009-10-12T13:40:00.004-05:00

Considering that it's cold now, very cold, we decided to save our lemongrass. We didn't have the time that night to properly harvest it, so Chester brought it inside.With it came seven grasshoppers. The kids were pretty excited about the new "pets". So we're trying to be discreet about killing them off.The smell of the lemongrass is wonderful. I can hardly wait until we chop it up!

Candy Love from Scrap Fabric

2009-10-05T13:19:00.008-05:00

Even in a project that starts out using scraps (like this dress I made), there's scraps left over.What to do with small scraps of a fabric? Especially fancy fabric?Last week was our anniversary, and my husband's favorite candy is Dove chocolate. I took the opportunity to make custom dove wrappers.The supplies:small scraps of fabricscissors and/or pinking shearstiny rubber bands (I got these at

We have bees!

2009-09-29T17:41:00.002-05:00

Oh, and pears.Too bad the bees aren't producing honey for us. But they are providing entertainment.

because I have too much free time....

2009-09-26T22:04:00.003-05:00

As you might imagine, with five kids, one being a new infant, and the oldest being six, I have a lot of free time. Add to that a part-time job (20 hours a week), which I went back to this week, a Bible study that actually requires me to work at it, playing piano for church and getting ready for our big conference at work.... well, I really need a hobby.So I took one up.I've always liked to sew,

A scribble art primer

2009-09-04T20:53:00.003-05:00

This week's art project: scribble coloring.My family did this when I was a kid, and I realized this week that my kids had never done this. So we learned.First, you scribble loosely on the paper.Then you color in the spaces, all different colors.Josephine was very careful to color in all the spaces.Bennet had his own interpretation of the scribble picture, and it looks great!

Grape Jelly for the severely preoccupied

2009-09-04T19:42:00.000-05:00

Our grapes were ripe on the day I went into labor. Which do you think took my attention?So, the kids (and Chester) picked.Chester piled them into the roaster, added a cup or two of water and put it on low.Several hours later (this is fine for up to 12 hours or so), they were all cooked out -- the only lumps remained were seeds. Then Chester strained the mixture through a pillow case into ice

A Sweet Namesake

2009-09-03T18:13:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday was a Family Holiday: Sweet SundayYears ago, the Davises lived in the city, and were somewhat impoverished. One year when they had practically nothing to eat, someone dropped by with a truckload of corn, and just gave it to them (the corn, not the truck). They celebrated by inviting over a couple of friends and eating an entire meal of sweet corn that night. Thus, the birth of

When I grow up....

2009-08-29T17:32:00.001-05:00

I wana be like Daddy.

Back-to-school nature walking

2009-08-28T16:52:00.006-05:00

Our first nature walk in a good while.And baby's first nature walk! He looks like a baby kangaroo. I should call him Joey. Or Roo. It's a good thing he was bundled, because it was just a tad rainy and chilly, and we locked ourselves out, so it was a nice long nature walk.Matt is dressing himself these days! He's all ready to go.Our mission: To notice berries.And to go exploring.Instead of

The announcement!

2009-08-13T15:32:00.002-05:00

Our baby (whom we'll call Thomas on this blog) was born Saturday afternoon 3:51 pm. He was 6 pounds, 4 ounces -- pretty hefty for 4 weeks and a day early. He came out absolutely howling, and I got to hold him for about ten minutes before they whisked him away to the NICU for checking over. Once in the NICU his breathing deteriorated quickly, not doing anything unusual for a preemie, but giving

2009-07-13T21:36:00.002-05:00

Of all the kids, Lisel is the most like me. This causes her to be both uniquely endearing and uniquely annoying to me. In my totally pregnant, super hot, so achy I can hardly move, the "annoying" side has definitely been dominating lately.Most of my childhood insecurities, I see in her. But instead of causing me to have compassion and reach out to her in a way that I know is meaningful to her,

Amusing craigslist posts

2009-06-10T15:08:00.003-05:00

I've become a bit of a craigslist junkie lately. I've been looking for a few specific items, and the good deals go fast, so I've been watching the local list closely. Most items are more expensive than I would expect at garage sales, but I feel like it pays off in not driving all over town just waiting to find the perfect deal.As a side benefit, I find the ads rather amusing. Now, I've never

Unplugged Cheese

2009-06-08T20:58:00.004-05:00

I have wanted to, for a long time, join in the unplugged weekly projects. I just never seem to get on the ball within the week. But I love that site. Pretty much everything about it jives with me -- reducing "screen" time, no TV, hands-on activity with kids, what's not to love?So tonight, I go to check out the weekly project, and notice that just the other day, We Chester and the kids did the

Principals of Scripture memory

2009-06-07T21:15:00.002-05:00

Scripture memory is one of those things that makes me laugh at Christians. First of all, we all know we should do this, but we don't. And strangely enough, we don't consider ourselves to be sinning that we don't (what is that verse in James which says "to him who knows what to do and does not do it, to him it is sin...?). (Either that, or we don't care that we're entrenched in laziness and sin

Driving Lessons

2009-05-29T20:48:00.004-05:00

Two years ago, when I started my first (now defunct) blog, I opened with a story on how we'd own nineteen vehicles in our (then) 5.5 years of marriage. At the time he'd just bought two-wheeled vehicle number nine, a Honda Nighthawk that I really liked. But I did wonder if nineteen vehicles in less than six years was normal...Since then we've bought and sold at least a half dozen more. It's not

Painful Garage-Saling

2009-05-24T20:46:00.002-05:00

I think I've done a rather effective job of brainwashing my kids in some areas: They all love to garage sale. Yesterday morning was a special treat -- one of the best church rummage sales I've ever seen.Bennet brought his own money, and very quickly made the decision to use it to buy a skateboard.After we had him cleaned up from "trying it out", they gave it to him free.

I earned a penny today

2009-04-23T20:52:00.002-05:00

After supper tonight, Chester did the dishes (what a man), while I sat out front, pretending to weed the flower beds, and watching the kids play. After a while, Bennet grew tired of simply riding his bike, and came up to me."If you go tell Dad that I'm almost ready to play football with him, then I'll give you a penny on your birthday!"

Earth day gardening

2009-04-22T16:37:00.001-05:00

Chester's really good at starting our garden in February. Here it is now.It's pretty much taken over the living room, but is impressively healthy. Pretty soon they'll be hardened off, and get to move outside permanently. Then I'll have more involvement with keeping them alive (watered) and weeded.My favorite are these miniature "pistau basil" plants. They're full grown and in bloom at less

Creativity trumps stubbornness

2009-04-20T09:25:00.000-05:00

We took an after-supper bike ride last week on a beautiful evening. Chester had promised Bennet that we'd "go see the horses" (a bit over a mile away, on a dirt road). So we all got ready to go - Lisel and Jo in the trailer (since their Lisel's bike doesn't go fast enough for a family ride, and Jo is still on a trike). But Matt, being his usual stubborn self, was determined to ride his own

First nature walk of the season

2009-04-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's been so fun to go outside now that the weather is nice!Our first "school" nature walk focused mostly on noticing buds on trees, and the color yellow (which is Matt's favorite -- he loves to say "lellow!" Not many of my pictures of buds turned out terrific, but the "lellow" shots were okay :)A lilac bud."Look mom! Lellow!""Mom, I picked you some flowers!"

Pearls before Breakfast

2009-04-18T16:02:00.002-05:00

Do you take the time to recognize beauty? What would the results be if someone actually conducted an experiment to see?I just read this amazing, amazing article. It's long. It's worth your reading it. I'm going to read it again later. But I had to pass it on to you. I'll be thinking about it for a good while.