2 Blessings in Rascal disguises

52 {8}

This week: From the ground up.

This image is a tribute to my husband.  He climbs these things, not with a ladder, but with hooks on his boots.  I'm way too afraid to ever try that, so I admire him:)

sword fight

Milo somehow managed to break the swiffer that I never use, and he has repurposed it as a very dangerous sword.

Sing, Sing, Sing!

Milo had his first "on stage" performance last week at church.  His Sunday school class, along with the 4 & 5 yr olds, sang 2 songs at both services.  They were a bit shy and quiet during the first one (except for a couple of boys who have quite the stage presence), but during the second one, they were much more enthusiastic!  

It's so fun to watch kids this age!  I can remember being little and being up in front at church, singing & acting, and it felt like the WHOLE WORLD was watching me and I felt like a superstar.  I can't believe I have kids old enough to do the things I swear I just did a few years ago.  

Milo, making his entrance, holding Uncle Ryan's hand

Following along with the enthusiastic, fearless leader Oliver (in the red shirt, facing the kids)

Getting all lined up for second service

Not sure if this is when they are still singing, or if Milo is just fooling around.  Either way, I love this picture:)

52 {7}

Theme - Backlighting.  My favorite kind.

Mail

Who doesn't love getting a package in the mail?  Milo is on a first name basis with our UPS driver, since we do so much Amazon ordering around here.  Usually the packages are addressed to me or Kevin, but not the last one!

get the butter knife out to get serious about slicing & dicing some packing tape

Milo thought this (the plastic air filled packaging) was the really cool present

Valentine from Grandma Pam:)  She lives nearby but wanted the boys to have the experience of getting a package in the mail.  So fun.

Bribed with a sucker to sit still and show off their Valentines:)

52 {6}

This week's challenge is 'creative editing'.

For this picture I used a lightroom preset called "cheery cherry", applied a hazy tone curve, and put on some rounded corners.  A little bit outside of my usual editing box, but kind of fun.

10 on 10 {February 2012}

This 10 post is full of average-ness. It was a regular day, and actually a challenging one. We are working on some behavior issues that befall so many young 3 year olds:)

I've been praying for lots of extra patience lately!

After reading my post, please check out Marisa, another photographer from the Bloom Forum, and take a look at her 10 on 10 project for February!

*Get everyone's sippy cups filled so the day can get started!*

*Little car seat fit*

*So glad the sun was out on this day.  My mood needed it so much!  Thanks God:)*

*Getting a slow start toward the goal of 5 stickers*

*Nap time. Much needed*

*Earning a sticker by vacuuming*

*Kevin had the day off for a grower meeting, and he brought me this, mid-afternoon cup of liquid love*

*Out to get some fresh air and sun, poor Nicky could barely get around because the driveway was solid ice*

*The snow has been melting at a rapid pace.  I managed to catch one drop making it's way to the ground by way of the wind chime*

*Kevin in his dreary man cave working on his RC helicopters*

*Goal of 5 stickers achieved.  Prize choice-ice cream*

Look at that.  Over 10 pictures yet again.  My apologies:)  Now go see Marisa

52 {5}

This week's 52 assignment-fill the frame.  I had a blast on Wednesday "filling the frame" with this sweet little 6 day old boy.

Artisan Italian Bread

This bread is delicious and addicting, so if your trying to follow the Paleo diet, or anything remotely low-carb, walk away from your computer/smartphone/tablet RIGHT NOW!

I started baking this type of bread about a year ago.  I found the original recipe here, but have since made a few tweaks, making it more to my liking.  I'll outline the recipe for you, and I promise, it's super easy and if you have any time at all and no shortage of flour, you can have delicious hot bread in less than 3 hours from now.  Ready?

First gather your ingredients:

6 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 Tbsp Yeast

1 1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt + additional sea salt for sprinkling on top

3 Cups Lukewarm water

1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning

Olive Oil for brushing on the tops of the loaves

Baking temp-450 Baking time-35 minutes

Next Measure all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl.  You'll need a bowl with a lid, and the lid should not be super air tight, so if you buy your bowls at grocery outlet like I do, this shouldn't be a problem:)

Add the 3 cups of lukewarm water & start stirring until it looks messy and unappealing.  

Put your lid on and let it sit somewhere relatively warm for 2 hours.  We usually have our house somewhere between 70-74 this time of year thanks to the woodstove, & that temp works just fine for letting this bread rise.

2 hours later, it's spread out a bit, risen and is ready to be made into a loaf or loaves, depending on how many you want to make!

Take 1/3 of the dough and shape it.  You don't knead it, and it definitely doesn't have to be & shouldn't be, looking perfect.  The beauty of this bread is in it's roughness and irregularities.

Next, take a serrated knife and make 3 fairly deep cuts on the top of the loaf, diagonally.  Then brush the loaf with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Time to transfer to your oven, which has been pre-heated to 450, and set up to function like a little steam oven.  I use a pizza stone for cooking this bread on, it makes a delicious crust.  Also, you will need some sort of pan to put in a few inches of water to create steam in the oven.  I use a round cake pan.  Place it on the rack below the pizza stone.

I do not have a pizza slide, that is on my wish list.  So for now, I use 2 pancake turners to transfer my loaf onto the hot pizza stone.

it's in!

35 minutes later, the house smells beyond delicious, and we have a loaf of bread that is just the perfect size to have with dinner for our family of 4.

Organized...at least for now

I'm feeling pretty accomplished right now.  I know the feeling will probably be fleeting, but I'm savoring while it lasts.  I've been reading a book called "Organized Simplicity" (If you are an Amazon Prime member you can get your FREE e-copy here).  The book so far, is about defining your family's purpose, and utilizing the space you have to best achieve your purpose as a family.

I haven't made a "purpose statement" for our family yet, but I have been very inspired to see things around our house with a set of fresh eyes, as to whether or not the things we have are contibuting to our general functionality as a family residing in a small house.

I really have a tendency to think that if I just had a bigger house, THEN I could be organized and things could be tidy.  My husband, bless his heart for giving me a reality check, even if it stings a bit: "Oh yeah right, you'd just fill up a bigger house and it would look just like this house".  Kevin grew up in a very orderly non-cluttered environment, and while he insists that he doesn't care whether our house is clean or messy, I'm sure he would appreciate more order.  I'm so thankful that he is very understanding though, that with 2 boys ages 1 and 3, we just generally tend towards disorder on the daily around here.  I would like more things in order here so that I don't feel all-consumed with keeping up with the house every day.  Maybe that's not possible when you have small children, but I'm going to give my best shot at getting us to a state where I can just focus on general maintenance rather than living every day feeling like our whole house needs overhauled.  I want to be able to spend time with the boys rather than just chasing my tail all the time.

I've had to check my heart quite a bit with regard to my intentions for WHY I want a tidy house.  Honestly, I am prone to wanting that so that other people think I have it all together. I don't go to a job outside of the home, so the only things that able to easily be evaluated by an outsider of our family, are whether or not my kids are actually wearing pants, not saying the latest swear word picked up from "Home Alone", and whether or not our home has some modicum of order about it.  But then I realize, that "the fear of man is a trap and a snare", and I'm really doing things with the motivation of living up to other people's standards to how I should be living out my "job description" as a stay at home mom.  The only standards I really need to worry about are God's.  It's hard when I realize that some of things I'm working on with my kids won't be bearing any fruit that is measurable for a long time, even years.  I'm addicted to instant gratification and affirmation, so raising Godly children is definitely forcing me to look at the big picture, identify long term goals, and work on being patient.

 Some of my biggest idols are: control, order, and the approval of others. I used to think of idols as things, but now I see that for me they are ideas, feelings and other non-tangibles that I worship and seek, often at the expense of my family.  As John Calvin said "The human heart is a factory of idols".  I find myself having to identify these idols daily and prayerfully work against them with the constant help of God's presence in my life and in our home.

So, long story short, it's been quite revealing as to where my spiritual shortcomings are. as I've been on this journey to make our home a more comfortable place to live.