Tuesday with Papa

We got up early (for us anyway) and got ready real quick to go out to breakfast. And Daddy let Alvin drive.

I figured we'd go to this little local mom and pop cafe we found recently but Matthew had much grander plans for our day. We headed down to Hillcrest for some Hash House A Go Go "twisted farm food."

This is a pic of what I COULDN'T finish if my life depended on it, but delicious Biscuits and Gravy.
Then since we over fed the meter we walked down to Buffalo Exchange and I scored two new tank tops on the cheap.But then we had to practically run back to the car to make it back in time. lol
After getting all loaded up in the car again, Matthew says, "Let's go see your dad at work." :o) Now, for those of you who don't know him, my Dad works for the Navy on North Island. I haven't been on base in forever and the kids hadn't ever gone. So, he called up my Dad to see if we could swing by and 20 minutes later we began the tour. We started in my Dad's shop where they build/ load with explosives the ejection seats for the jets. Then we got to walk through the hangar where they rebuild to perfection the jets that need love. After that we got to visit the airplane graveyard and hangar where volunteers restore to mint (though not operational) condition for the Aerospace museum. They were working on a WWII fighter plane that had been sunk in Lake Michigan for the last 50 years and was just pulled up. It was incredible to see and talk to these men who were so knowledgeable. But the best was yet to come.
My Dad had made a call to a friend and all the boys got to sit in the "display bird," an F-18, on the flight line.

The boys were so excited and all agreed, "Papa's work is sooo much cooler than Nana's work!" No offense Nana. hahahaha
Then, per my request we stopped at Ikea for a few things and the big boys played in the kids playroom while we shopped. Poor Fin slept in the stroller the whole time.
Then Rancho's for supper. And a visit to Nana and Papa's house completed our day. It was such a wonderful day. Praise God!

self loathing

Uggh. I am so selfish and unmerciful and not helpful. It's makes me angry at myself. I see someone I love bending over backward, straining other important relationships, taking excessive time off from her job to help someone who may or may not be in as bad of shape as they say and all I can do is stress her out about it. I'm sooo convinced that she's thrown all "healthy boundaries" and the concern of her family out the window that I've probably hurt her feelings and added more stress to her plate than she was already dealing with. I totally suck. I don't think I'm wrong or even feel bad about what I said to her. But I feel bad that it went this far and that in expressing my concern for her, I was heartless towards the one she cares enough about to go all out for. I'm not helping her in anyway. Just making things worse...... gahhh! I'm going to keep my mouth shut from now on. It's her life and whatever she wants to do with it is up to her. I love her with all my heart and I will not say anything else to bring her down. Please pray for my family and that God will heal what is broken and build a hedge of protection around my Mom who is the most wonderful, merciful, self-sacrificing and long suffering person I've ever met. I hope to be half the woman she is.

Photo Day!

I make curry a lot. A lot a lot. All different kinds and ways. Last week before our vacation started I made this and it was delicious.

Chop chop

Boil your potatoes

This is the curry I used this time. I definitely recommend the medium because it
s still not spicy.

Serve with basmati rice and naan and you're all set.
We also took the boys to Mulberry Park and had some fun to hanging out together.

Then we decided to take advantage of Matthew's time off and ran out to Las Vegas for a few days before our camping trip.

We noticed a chip when we stopped in Menifee at the Super Target and by the time we finished shopping it looked like this. :( Matthew had the insurance co send out a chip repair guy who turned out to be someone we knew (!) and he did his best but before we left Vegas we had to get a new wind shield. Lame.

In an Auntie Anne's pretzel trance

If you're ever in Vegas, go here. Killer.

After Vegas, we came home, unpacked, washed clothes, repacked and went camping. I'll post camping pics later. Too many to go through right now.
Today I drove up to Menifee again but this time I got to hang out with my bestie, Delane, and finally deliver Scarlet's birthday presents. A full two weeks late, geez. I made her two dresses and a reversible skirt. (And knit a beanie with built in pigtail holes that turned out poopy, so I didn't give it to her.)

Whew.... I think that covers it for now. I'll post the camping pictures asap.

Whew...

God is good all the time and all the time God is good!
On Tuesday, We all hopped in the car to go hang out with my family for dinner and after picking up some strawberry shortcake supplies (mmmmmmmm) were headed to my parents house. On the way we saw a man laying on the sidewalk behind a parked rv with a crowd of people trying to help him and his motorcycle laying in the street. I said a prayer for him as we drove on by.
Then at my parents house everyone's getting into the hustle and bustle of getting supper ready and the phone rings. It's my Aunt Sandy. She's been in a car accident and she's bleeding in the street. So, my parents take off to the accident while my brother and Matthew and I continue making the food and watching the boys run amuck. After awhile my parents come back as Aunt Sandy and my cousin, William, are now loaded into the ambulance.
The story goes.... My Aunt is driving along and out of the parking lot of a strip mall bar a drunk driver cuts her off making a left turn and my Aunt slammed into them. Her car is totaled (sp?) and the drunk driver takes off. William got hit pretty hard by the airbag but is otherwise fine (we know now) but with the car filling up with smoke some witnesses are trying to get them out quickly. When a lady tried to pull Aunt Sandy out she started to pick her up but realized right away that something was wrong with her leg and had to put her back down. Praise the Lord the car didn't do anything crazy while they waited for the FD and cops to get there.
The EMTs were worried about William who, having Downs Syndrome, couldn't tell them if he was in pain or how he was feeling. He was just stoked to be in an ambulance.
So, when my parents get back we finish getting supper ready, my mom heads over to the hospital and the rest of us sit down to eat and hang out. But it's not exactly the joyful family gathering we'd all envisioned earlier in the day. With talk about how they're doing and what recovery will be like and what will happen with William and the like. My Aunt's ex husband went to the hospital and sat with William in the Trauma ER while they did a full work up to make sure he was ok and then took him home when he was discharged later that night. Aunt Sandy had several MRI's and CT scans which determined a lot of bruising and that her left leg was broken in two places. Now, for those of you who don't know her, She has SEVERE rheumatoid arthritis, the likes of which I've never seen anywhere else. She is so frail and fragile that a few months back she broke her leg standing up getting out of bed. SO, while we were happy to know that's all that had broken, we were nervous about how well they could repair it and what recovery would be like for her. She had surgery Wednesday and despite warnings that she may wake up with only one leg they were, in fact, able to reset her brittle bones and she has been in good spirits. Today, she was transferred to a "skilled nursing facility" to aid in her recovery and physical therapy. She's hoping to only be there a week but I have a feeling she may be there longer and that it would actually be really good for her to stay as long as she can to have the best care. She will be in a wheelchair for quite some time but the dr says that with proper PT she'll be able to walk again. Thank you all for your prayers as she recovers.
In other, totally less important, news:
The garden is exploding! It's so fantastic having berries and beans and peas to eat from the garden and the promise of so many more goodies in the near future!

Hey, anyone know what kind of white squash this is? I bought these as starts and they were labeled zucchini. But when they started spreading I knew they must be pumpkins of some sort but now the fruit is white without any banding. They're totally smooth and round. I'm confused.

One of my gargantuan tomato plants is covered in beautiful green tomatoes and I am just so excited for them ripen up already. However the other, just as large and even bushier, has none. So weird.
Last night, I made Parmesan Breaded Chicken from my Nourishing Traditions book with mashed potatoes and buttermilk bisquits. Sooo good.

Parmesan Breaded Chicken Breasts
8 Skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 C unbleached flour
1 tsp pepper
4 eggs, beaten
2 C whole grain bread crumbs
1/2 C grated parmesan cheese
about 4 tbsp butter
about 4 tbsp olive oil

Trim the chicken breasts and pound lightly with the small prong side of a meat hammer. mix flour and pepper together on a plate; have beaten eggs ready in a bowl; mix bread crumbs and cheese in another bowl. Using tongs (or your fingers)

dip each piece first in the flour mixture then in the eggs and lastly in the bread crumb mixture. Saute a few at a time in butter and olive oil about 7 minutes per side, being careful not to burn.

Transfer to a heated plate in the oven until ready to serve.
This is a delicious substitute for fried chicken.

In the grind

Good grief. This past week has been a challenge. My bestie and I have been going through a rough patch lately and when we all hung out on the 4th it was awkward for various reasons. Then I've had a busy week with Matthew being home a lot more than usual, which seems like it should make things go more smoothly, but somehow it doesn't. And then i was a little crazy on friday trying to get the house ready to have Matthew's brother and his family over for dinner and hanging out that night. They brought up carne asada to grill and it was a really nice time. So, this morning, I realized that somehow the week had gotten away from me and I hadn't texted my bff and she hadn't texted me either, all week long. So, I sent her a quick note on fb apologizing for going mia and a shorter version of the above weeks play by play. She got back to me a little later and we kind of had another exchange, if you will, and now we both agree that it's time to work this out for real and get it behind us, whatever this is. Growing pains? I hate how it's been lately. I miss her. We're working on it. sigh....
On a happier note, I'm starting to notice a very slight tan developing on my legs. Woohoo! Now, honestly, it's not much to be proud of. And to most people here in SoCal, they're ghastly white but for me, it's quite the accomplishment. The garden is doing fantastic. My new broccoli sprouts have come up but still no sign of the new lettuce sprouts. I'm hopeful but not holding my breath. I'll keep you posted.
I still don't have an eta on my proposed chicken coop although My dad has said he'd bring up the wood a few times now. And we've gone to the feed store and checked out the chicks they have available and pricing and everything. But nothing set in stone. Again, you'll know as soon as I do. hahaha.... That's pretty much it, I think.
But now, I'm exhausted and I'm going to go veg on the couch with my Husband.
Good night all!

Updates

So, We are now 23 weeks along in this pregnancy! Little Declan True is a busy boy constantly kicking and flipping around in there. Yay! I'm knitting him a bright royal blue cabled baby beanie right now and starting to gather supplies to begin his bedding set. The theme will be owls. Hooty hoot!
I also just made a list of what I need to make some maternity clothes based on tutorials from diy maternity

Megan Nielsen has two excellent blogs and wonderful easy to follow patterns for both maternity and baby! Go check her out...
The garden is growing tall and bushy (depending on the plant) and the only no show is our lettuce. Bummer. I'm going to re-sow it and a few other bald spots and hope for the best.

We also had a great visit with Matthew's parents who came to visit last week. Which means we also got to spend some concentrated quality time with Gina and our nieces, as well! Yay!

The boys actually asked to do school yesterday. I think they miss the structure. So, we did a bible lesson from Landmark Freedom and a couple math and LA worksheets and games.

Ten Ways NOT to Look at Children

Ten Ways NOT to Look at Children
by R.C. Sproul Jr.

Wisdom is a narrow path. Folly, on the other hand, is a wide, gaping desert. Our conversations in the church about children tend to be contentious and emotional. Few things touch closer to home. Which is why we need all the more to develop a careful, thoughtful and sober understanding of the Bible's wisdom on this issue. Below are ten common ways we err in our thinking. May He give us grace to fill our quivers with blessings, and our hearts with wisdom.

10. Children are a hassle to be avoided. What has become conventional wisdom in the world is now conventional wisdom in the church. We quip about longing for school to start, about dreading when they outgrow children's church. We make the same stupid jokes- "Do you know what causes that?", flaunting our folly. We are so biblically illiterate in the church we have no idea we are calling God a liar, who tells us children are a blessing from His hand (Psalm 127). We are so historically illiterate we don't know that every denomination in Christendom condemned practices designed to avoid blessings from the beginning of the church until little more than fifty years ago.

9. Children are more precious than rubies and must be attained at any cost. On the other side of the above spectrum are those who see having children as the only blessing, and their purpose on the planet to conceive as many babies as humanly possible. The truth is that wisdom is more precious than rubies. God, however, is the one with all wisdom, and so is best equipped to plan our families. Seeking to pry babies out of His gracious hand, employing sundry technologies and timings, ironically, like the above problem, separates the blessing of the marital act from the blessing of children. What is to be a joy, on both counts, becomes a duty on both counts.

8. Children can be ordered like new flatware from the Pottery Barn. The Bible reminds us that God is the one who opens the womb, and the one who closes the womb (Genesis 16). To suggest that you can have children of this sex or that, this far apart or that is hubris of the highest magnitude. If you want children, God may bless you, or He may not. If you don't want children, God may bless you or He may not. In the meantime you look pretty silly sitting in your baby car seat turning your toy steering wheel, thinking you are driving.

7. Their lack of children is a sign of God's peculiar disfavor. I'd like you to meet your friend Job. To affirm that children are blessing from God does not mean that those who have not been so blessed are not God's friends. God has many kinds of blessings and He gives them, in His grace, as He sees fit. You can no more measure a man's piety by the size of his quiver than you can by the level of his suffering. Neither is someone's family size proof of any error in their thinking on children. You can't rightly assume that those with small families are guilty of error #10.

6. My abundance of children is a sign of God's peculiar favor. The flipside of #5, only here the pride is slightly easier to see, and yet equally ridiculous. Children are a gracious gift, not a paycheck.*

5. Children are an unalloyed blessing. That the blessing is alloyed doesn't mean it's not a blessing. It does mean that children, even the ones in large families, sin, wake up in the middle of the night, throw up and break things, sometimes even our hearts.

4. Children are God's version of the "Hitler Youth." Our children fill our quivers in the battle against the seed of the serpent. We are drill sergeants, raising them for battle. And they are soldiers right now. But the Bible doesn't call us to do this only for the sake of battle. Instead the Bible says children are a blessing, a joy. If you are not enjoying them, you're doing it wrong. If you think the kingdom comes by breeding, you are missing the point. The kingdom comes by joy, and joy comes from many places, including the blessing of children.

3. Children are given for our glory, or our comfort. It is true, and a blessing that godly children bring honor to their parents. But that honor comes to us not as they live for us, but as they live for Him. My children do not exist to spread my fame, but to manifest the glory of the reign of Jesus Christ. There is a thin line between letting your light shine before men and praying on street corners like the Pharisees. You will only know which side you are on by humbly and honestly examining your heart.

2. Children are no longer needed; the world is overcrowded. There are plenty of thoughtful arguments to gainsay this folly, filled with statistics and sound economic theory. The simplest one is this- God said to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. We'll know we're done when He tells us we're done.

1.We have to have more children before the west is overrun. Though the west has been profoundly blessed by the impact of the gospel, it is the gospel, not the west that matters. We don't need more white children; we need more covenant children. We don't need more Americans; we need more Christians. We don't need more Republicans; we need more citizens of the kingdom of God.

These mistakes, of course, come from all sides. Large families can make some, small families others, and some both sides can make. We would go a long way to combat all of them, however, if we believed this simple truth- children are a gracious gift from God who opens and closes the womb, for His glory and for His kingdom. We might go even farther, however, in combating these errors this way, by being certain to hug and bless the children He has given us.

* = My personal opinion and is not included in the quote.
*Octomom, Jon&Kate and even (gasp) The Duggars.... I'm looking at you.

A mish mash

Yesterday we got to go visit our precious new niece Austin at the hospital and she is simply to die for. I forgot how much I forgot about brand new babies. Does that make sense? Like, she is impossibly soft, smells like heaven, I instinctually wanted to nuzzle her or that 8lbs 4oz feels like holding air. Unfortunately, she has/ developed (hey, I'm no M.D.) bilirubin so she had to be under an intense light almost the entire time we were there. Gina explained that it's like having jaundice on the inside... And that there was some kind of reaction between Gina's and Austin's red blood cells. Shrug... We had to watch her get pricked for blood tests twice while we were there and while it was very sad, she has the sweetest little cry I've ever heard. How is it that baby girls are sooo enormously different than baby boys even at birth. It's wild to me. If we have a girl this time around, I will be on pins and needles to see what she looks like. Will she look like my nieces, who look so much like their dad (Matthew's brother?) Or will the look like my boys who are a decent mix of the two of us or would she look like me? So many possibilities! hahaha
Our day today has been pretty hum drum. School, yard work, Target and Trader Joes. Have I told you how much I love Trader Joes? I love Trader Joes. Only a few things we have to go to Target for. We can get like 99% of our stuff at TJ's. Just the usual running around, weekend stuff. In case you didn't know, Matthew's days off are Mon/Tues since he works at a church and thus Sat/ Sun are work days. Unfortunately, Matthew has a cold so that's been a bummer. Overall, A great day, though!

Welcoming a new Bennett!

The lovely Austin Jeanne Bennett joined our family today! She is absolutely perfect with the sweetest little nose and round cheeks, deliciously soft brown hair and, of course, blue eyes for now. She was born to my beautiful sister in law, Gina, and Matthew's brother, Mike. They sound quite sure that Austin completes their family of four, joining her sister, Brooklyn, who is not yet 2.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!

Family birthdays

My cousin Dennis and his wife Olivia have two precious boys and their youngest, Luke, turned 1 yesterday! So, the boys and I piled in my Mom's Expedition for the drive up to Placentia, CA. It was sunny but VERY cold and breezy. There was a bouncy house that Milo and Autry took great advantage of but Fin avoided like the plague. And decorate-your-own cupcakes, and hot dogs and hamburgers and such. It was a really nice time and I'm glad we made it up there.

My clown-like "you did it" face and my cousin, Dennis with the Birthday boy, Luke, on the bouncy.

Autry and his cousin, Nathan.

Obviously, serious cupcake decorating going on.

So, summer is finally here.

Milo's done with school and we're planning more trips to the WAP/ beach/ Playwerx. And definately excited about Disneyland for three days for Autry's 3rd birthday and then it's off to Family Camp at Forest Home the following weekend. So we (Matthew and I) are bracing ourselves for all of the excitement headed our way. The boys, of course, are thrilled and ask daily if today's the day we go to camp.
And finally, and perhaps most wonderful of all, we are thrilled to announce to our friends that the boys first cousin has been born to Matthews brother, Michael, and his beautiful wife, Gina!!! Born May 11th, the beautiful Brooklyn Elizabeth!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008