The Writing on the Walls

Someday, in a few decades, someone is going to decide to redo their kitchen and maybe...just maybe...if they decide to replace the drywall too, they will get just a little peek into the family who lived in that house a long time ago.

They will get a glimpse of who they were and what they believed...

They will see in whom they put their trust...

and know that they were not ashamed of His Gospel...

They will see that they believed in a God that is loving and forgiving...

and who will always lift them up when they are weak.

When they lift their eyes and notice the writing on the doorframe, they will see the 23rd Psalm and know that theirs was a family that looked to Christ for their redemption...

and were seeking the treasures of a better world.

When they look down at the raw floors....

and at the beams over the patio door,  hopefully they will also see that they were a family that tried to have a bit of fun...

whether in their attempted scriptural humor   ↑ ↑ ↑

or in spending an evening together....

filling the very walls of their home...

with words of love and trust...

and faith in God.

Although drywall may cover the words for now, it is my prayer that every person who enters that house in the years to come will know that, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 

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Thanks to my friend, Shawni, for the inspiration for doing this.  

Keep or Throw or Both?

With five kids in the house, we've had plenty of art projects come through our door over the years.  I usually hang them up around the house or on our bulletin board for a while, but struggle to know what to do with them once the next batch of artwork arrives fresh and bright from their backpacks.  Do I dutifully try to save them for some future day when I may get around to framing my favorites?  Or toss them in the trash never to see them again?  

For a while I tried a bit of both methods and wasn't too fond of either.  Then I started blogging and came across an idea that was the best of both worlds!

I take pictures of their projects, post them on the blog, then throw them away.  The artwork doesn't keep cluttering up our house and since they're now all safely printed into our annual blog books, someday I can still show them to my future grandchildren.   

I know that most people probably figured out this cool trick a few decades ago,  but it was revolutionary discovery for me!   Here are a few of my favorites that we've had hanging on our kitchen bulletin board for a while (some for a long while).  

"Stormy Night" by Adam

"Snow Globe" by Ellie (1st grade)

"All About Adam" by Adam

"Self Portrait" by Adam (circa 2012)

"Mother's Day Coupon book" by Ellie (2013)

"Halloween/Birthday card" for Emma by Ellie (circa 2012)

"Mother's Day card" by Adam (2013)

"Note to the Easter Bunny" by Spencer (circa 2005)

"Science Fair project" by Emma

"Old Faithful" by Adam

"Washington DC temple" and a "Picnic" both by Emma (several years ago)

"We are in a Flower" by Ellie (made in preschool)

My first attempts at sewing (too ugly to pass on to future generations):

My first ever attempt at sewing for Cami
circa 1998

Easter dress made for Cami (all of the girls eventually wore it)
circa 1999

My cross country bear from high school.

Adam's end-of-year signatures June 2013.  (4th grade)

We're not actually throwing this away yet...just didn't want to forget it!

Father's Day by Ellie 

Emma's Boston Report (one of her first middle school projects):

Remission NUMB3RS

500+ miles of driving from NoVA to Harrisonburg, then back to NoVA, then back to Harrisonburg and back home again all in one day

3  siblings who skipped school for the opportunity to spend a little time with their big brother  (I'm counting my two homeschooled kids in that number)

10 minutes total we spent in Harrisonburg

2 hours total Spence spent in Northern Virginia

20 minutes of which were spent at Spence's favorite NoVA restaurant, Cava Mezze

1 mom, happy to see her son, but tired from all the driving around and determined to find him an oncologist in Harrisonburg for future appointments.

16 months of being cancer free!!!

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Clinic Stats:
Weight=69.5 kg, WBC=11,000 (high, but within the realm of normal for someone with a cold), Platelets=168, Hgb=15.2, ANC=7750

Quebec City

This is a long-lost blogpost I found from last summer that never got published.  I am pre-dating it back to September, so that it ends up in our blog books in about the right place.  I have no idea if it'll register in my feeds, but if you do happen to be reading this in May 2014, know that we have just as fond of our memories of Quebec City eight months later as we were  right after we got back!

It wasn't on our original itinerary, but my dad talked us into it adding it by telling us that  it was one of the prettiest drives in all of North America.  He had served his mission there many years ago and it holds a very special place in his heart.

We didn't go there with very high expectations, but from the moment we arrived, we were enchanted.

Quebec City is a city that has everything--history, natural beauty, decent prices, and plenty of free things to do.

We only ended up there for about two days, but we could have stayed ten and not grown tired of it.

There were costumed people everywhere, none of whom actually seemed to be participating in any reenactments.  It was something that greatly amused all of us, especially Ellie.

We also loved the architecture.  A tour guide told us that half the architecture is French and the other half English.  I'm not well-versed enough in architecture to know the difference, but the effect was charming.  We felt like we had plopped ourselves down in the middle of Europe.

Even the food was great and not overly expensive.   Random cannonballs lodged into trees proved entertaining as well.

Our obligatory dinner of authentic French crepes.  YUM!

If you ever get a chance to go to QC, know that it comes highly recommended from this family!   

Boy, my kids look small...

I want to move to this house.  I guess I'll start brushing up on my French.

I did take 6 years of HS and college French, but I didn't need to use it much in the touristy parts of QC, since everyone spoke English.

As soon as we got outside the tourist parts of the city, no one spoke a word of English.  

I look forward to another trip to QC someday, although I think that this time we'll make it a destination in itself instead of a side trip.

See here for my other Quebec blogpost.  

Kitchen Updates

For years and years we've been daydreaming about one day redoing our kitchen and now that it's finally happening I can't believe how petrified I've been through the whole process.  While we are quite excited to finally be rid of the 47-year-old cabinets, countertops, oven, and linoleum, it has been a painstakingly slow process of deliberation to choose their replacements.    

On the one hand I know that brand new anything is going to feel amazing after living with a half-working, broken down kitchen for the last year or two (our dishwasher, oven, and sink were all broken at the time of tear-down), but still I have this nagging worry that I'm in way over my head with these expensive  (and permanent) decisions!  Thank goodness our contractor has been patient with us, because it's literally taken 9 months after signing the contract, to get to a place where we felt comfortable enough with our decisions to let them start working....and still we have our doubts.  

Now here's hoping that all the polling of my friends,  my Houzz and Pinterest perusing, and frequent Home Depot and showroom visits will have proven helpful to my cause, because the further we get on in this process the more I realize....

there's no turning back now!

And one of the only good things about taking so long to make all the decisions, is that I started freezing meals for these days back in April and had plenty of time to compile quite a stockpile in the meantime.   Now I have a freezer full of delicious homecooked meals ready to pop into the toaster oven most nights and I am proud to say that we've made it through one week of being kitchenless without a single fast food run.  Frozen convenience foods...yes, but fast food...no!   (I'm sure this streak won't last, so I better brag while I can...) 

Here's a glimpse at what we ate:      

Day 1:  Lemon-Herbed Chicken and Veggies (frozen 3-1/2 months) - 3 stars-- we froze it already cooked with  all the juices, then cooked it frozen in 450 degree toaster oven (convection setting) for about an hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The veggies were mushier than we preferred, but it was still enjoyable.

Day 2:  Homemade Pizza (frozen 2 months)-- 5 stars -- we baked the pizzas as usual, allowed them to cool, and wrapped them in plastic to freeze.  Then we put them still frozen directly onto the rack of the toaster oven (2 at a time) and baked them at 450 for about 15-20 minutes.  They turned out perfectly!

Day 3: Grilled burgers and hot dogs

Day 4:  Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles (frozen 4 months)--4 stars-- We cooked this as usual, then combined the chicken, sauce, and noodles all together and wrapped it tightly in plastic before freezing.  We thawed it in the fridge for about a day then baked it in the toaster oven at 450 (convection setting) for about 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes (as soon as it's thawed enough to stir).

Day 5:  Boxed Taquitos from Costco with homemade salsa that Cami made with the heirloom tomatoes from our garden

Day 6:  Yogurt Baked Chicken Parmesan (frozen 4-1/2 months)--5 stars--Freeze raw and wrap in plastic.  Allow to thaw in the fridge for 24-hours, bake at 400 degrees in toaster oven (convection setting) for 50 min.  Increase temp and cook at 425 for last 10 minutes.  These turned out delicious and you could not even tell they'd ever been frozen.

Day 7:  Turkey Taco Casserole--Chicken Pot Pies from Costco--we had the turkey taco casserole thawing out in the fridge, before I realized that I was eating dinner at Enrichment night!  No need to waste a perfectly good homemade meal on a night when I won't be eating it.

*I froze all my meals in disposable 9x13-inch baking pans and wrapped them tightly in plastic wrap and foil.   I used sharpies to label each dish with what it was, the date, and any cooking directions.  I intended to do most of my cooking in a  toaster oven and didn't realize until I almost bought one that was too small, that most toaster ovens are not big enough to fit 9x13 pans.  It wasn't as big of a selection in the bigger sizes, but we have still been happy with the oven we bought and intend to keep using it even after our kitchen is done.