Gingerbread Houses!

It's not every Tuesday night you get to have friends over, eat candy, and showcase everyone's unique creativity!!! On Tuesday, December 6th, we had a bunch of friends over to build gingerbread houses! We used gingerbread-style graham crackers and each of us constructed a fun building. I for one had lots of fun and felt even a little giddy. Usually my extrovert husband is anxious to have fun and play, but this time I was excited. (Don't get me wrong, I love people, but I do tend to feel exhausted after lots of socializing.) Sean was excited too, to clarify!

Mallory, Matt, and Sean hard at work

 Sean, Cam, and Josh

The table

 Our completed houses

And... I insisted on taking individual shots of each master architect and his or her structure.

 Cameron Cunningham, one of our "old," dear friends from CA/Vandenberg days, with his radio tower. He works out at Schriever, as do Josh and Sean.

Josh Carlson, another oldie-and-goodie friend from CA (also Sean's former roommate before we got married!), with a very discriminating look on his face.

 Mrs. Rachel Carlson (as of July this year) with her welcoming little bungalow. Peppermint doormat, anyone?

 Yours truly, with a snow-bedecked rooftop.

 Mallory Hillis, the real-life artist/sculptor (and mama-to-be!), with a popcorn smoke-topped chimney.

 Matthew Hillis, dentist/resident at Fort Carson, husband of Mallory, moonlighting as Godzilla! These two are our newest friends, but good ones already! Thanks to Brandon and Emily for introducing us all at a BBQ at their place a few months ago.

Sean and his masterpiece (replete with snowdrift in the corner, not visible, and a snowman outside)

It was great fun, and we made lots of good memories! We are so grateful for our friends here. It's hard to believe we are only 18 months away from our next assignment-- which may or may not mean moving away. Just yesterday Sean and I were talking about how to balance two seemingly-conflicting emotions: contentment with our circumstances, while allowing ourselves to miss people or past seasons. (The conversation was prompted by me crying over missing my friend Amanda, and missing that season we had in California.) It was such a sweet time when we were in California: a bunch of fun, active single people who hung out all the time and "did life" together. It was relatively carefree-- no kids, marriages, or mortgages! (Not that any of those three things are bad, they just change your life monumentally.) We have been so blessed to continue that fellowship we experienced then with at least four LT's from the California group getting stationed here-- Sean, Josh, Cam, and Brandon. But life is changing. People are getting married and starting families. Both Josh and Brandon are dads-to-be now! Our tour is on the downhill side of time, 2.5 years down, 1.5 to go. For Sean and me both, Colorado has a special place in our hearts. We started our married life here; Caleb was born here; we bought our first home here; we found a thriving church home here; we've grown and matured here. I know we will continue to grow and mature throughout our lives, but there's something about the "early years" that stimulates a fond nostalgia, even when you're in them!

Anyway, before any sentimental tears drip into my hot tea, I'll sign off, with a pledge to cover Josh and Rachel's wedding next time!

Hiatus

Hello, there. I haven't blogged in forever, it seems. But I have decided to try and make more of an effort again, because it's good to document LIFE, with all its complexities, and be able to look back and see how God has worked in our lives. I get hung up on blogging when I think that every post has to be inspiring and cohesive, articulate and impressive. Sometimes I don't think I have very "deep" or meaningful thoughts to share, and that keeps me from sharing at all. Perfectionism is interesting, isn't it? I'd rather NOT do something at all, than fail at it, or do it less than perfectly. Fear motivates that kind of thinking-- fear of what others think about me, fear of looking bad, fear of what I will think about myself when I measure my efforts-- and I am working on changing that, by God's grace. He already loves me, even though I am not perfect! His love isn't based on my performance, but on His choice. There is such freedom and joy in that truth.

Caleb continues to be a great joy to us. Our 14 month-old bubbly baby boy has at least 20 words, is down to one nap a day, has taken his first steps (Nov. 9th), gives hugs and kisses liberally, says "hi" at least 100 times a day (I counted), and is growing bigger by the day! It's truly a privilege to get to spend time with him each day... even with mealtime messes and stinky diapers and helter-skelter toys. Whenever I feel tired at the thought of changing another poopy diaper, or picking up toys again, or mopping the sticky, dripped-on floor under his high chair one more time.... I remind myself what a privilege it is to have a child at all. I remind myself of all the people who desperately desire to conceive a child, and cannot. Or those who have lost a child to disease or tragedy or miscarriage. Or those who do not have custody of their child and are prevented from seeing them. Caleb is healthy and "normal," with no medical or developmental issues. He is learning as he should and progressing in all ways. That is such a gift! I need to spend less time on e-mail or Facebook (blogging excepted, right?), and more time on the floor with him, wrestling or reading or building with blocks. I should worry less about messes, and more about his maturity. I should see his temper tantrums as a reminder that I too was once rebellious and independent-- and that I still have those tendencies inside me, before God saved me and started changing me. I should see difficult moments as opportunities to invest in his life and display God's love to him-- the kind of love that is patient and kind; the kind of love that speaks truth gracefully; the kind of love that disciplines him for his own good; the kind of love that cares not for its own interests, but the interests of others; a sacrificial love that does "the right thing" even when it's inconvenient or difficult. This is a kind of love that I can't manufacture; I can't show it to Caleb or anyone else by sheer willpower, but only by the Holy Spirit's work in and through me.

Being a parent definitely teaches you so much!

Here are a few things that I hope to catch you all up on in the coming weeks:

*some recent sewing projects!
*Josh and Rachel's wedding in July
*Colorado camping this summer
*friends' visits in August
*Sean's first half marathon, and a couple 10ks for both of us
*our car issues, including a major car accident (and God's protection)

*Caleb's birthday in September (and his grandparents' visit!)
*our October Hawaii trip to see Nalani

Stay tuned!

Father's Day

Caleb approves! :)

Sean's finished "DAD" project. :) I originally sought a five-opening frame to make a DADDY collage but was unsuccessful in finding a frame with five side-by-side, upright openings. Oh well! 

Sean really liked it. :)

We had a lovely Father's Day! After church-- which was so encouraging-- we ate a lunch of open-faced spinach/Parmesan chicken sandwiches on homemade Italian herb bread (see below). It's a mouthful to say, but it was a spontaneous creation, since I didn't have any plans for a special meal. I used what I had on hand, and would have LOVED to slather the bread with some pesto, but we didn't have any. :) I used spicy brown mustard instead, which still gave it a nice little flavor-kick.

We ate outside in the back yard, and it was lovely.

I LOVE MY BOYS!

Caleb received a new outfit or two from his Grammy, sneaked into Sean's Father's Day package....

"I dig Daddy" indeed

He's only the cutest. thing. ever! :) I love the plaid shorts!!!

And here's just a nice family shot we got on our "date" last weekend to Wahoo's Tacos-- we had a couple free-taco coupons. God is so gracious and I love my family. :)

Sneak Peek

Here's a couple shots from the project I'm currently working on...


I love his little blond wisps blowing in the wind!

Bright moment outside

You'll see the finished product (hopefully) in a week or two.... :)

I'm contemplating going to a park that actually has green grass, instead of our still-mostly-dead front lawn. :) There's something wrong with our sprinklers, because they just stay on if you turn them on, and I'm not good at remembering to turn them on for five minutes early in the morning (and turn them off again), on our sanctioned days to water (M, W, F, Sat).

Anyway. Stay tuned to see what exactly it is I have up my sleeve. :)

Crib bumpers!

Why, yes, I did cut up a shower curtain, a tablecloth, and a brand-new fleece blanket to make bumpers for Caleb's crib. (That first cut was so scary! Me being me, a recovering perfectionist, I was doubtful they would turn out well, simply because I was winging it in a big way. Sean, of course, was very optimistic and certain they would turn out great.) I just finished sewing the last little edges TODAY, after starting the project a few months ago. This was a fun project, though it ended up being "The Project That Will Not Die." I called it that because of my own fluctuating motivation, really. That, and finding time when Caleb was asleep or awake, depending on what I needed to do (work with pins on the living room floor: asleep; measure crib and mark tie locations: awake). The pieces sat, pinned and partly cut out, for weeks at a time.

First, I measured the crib and figured out what size to make my pattern pieces (taped-together printer paper), and pinned the pieces to my shower curtain (a lovely Target find from my apartment days that we were not using, AND it coordinates with the blue-green color scheme of Caleb's room).

My chicken-scratch calculations

The cutting has begun!! After cutting out the floral, I pinned the two fabrics right-side together, using the floral fabric now as the pattern and tossing the paper patterns.

 

 Here are the ties (i.e. cut-up hems): I made thirty-six 10" strips to be sewn into the seams of my bumpers.

 And here the ties are tucked into the right sides of the fabric, ready to be sewn up.

 Partially sewn! I am so thankful for this sewing machine, passed down from our neighbor/friend Angela, after she passed away. 

 Short sides done (except for slip-stitching the side I used to turn it right-side out!

I had to try them on for size! The ties aren't perfectly placed, since I measured only once, and that very unofficially (holding up the fabric to the slats with my fingers and not using a tape measure).

Short sides tied on! You can see the middle of the left side is still open, not sewn shut yet.

Here's a close-up of one of the ties: some of them are half sage, half floral because of the yardage of the pieces I had. I cut off the seams of both curtain and tablecloth, and ended up using them for the ties! It was a very economical idea, there was just enough to go around, and the ties coordinate perfectly. I don't mind the frayed edges; it adds to the charm, I think.

 I just had to include a photo of my bright-eyed, bushy-tailed boy! 

 Finished product! I am soooo excited to have them finally done! Since there is only one layer of fleece to soften them, instead of a foam pad, Caleb can easily pull them down. But at least they look pretty and will cushion his noggin from the rails, as long as I keep pulling them back up into place!

Total out-of-pocket cost: ZERO!!!! I was really excited about that.  :)

Vacuum Trials

We put a vacuum on our wedding registry (I did zero research on different brands or models and just zapped one). We received said vacuum from one of Sean's relatives. It's not the best vacuum in the world, but it works worked adequately. Recently, the belt broke-- a pretty common part to break and pretty easy part to order. Sean hopped online and ordered a new one (yay, he's wonderful). It arrived, several weeks later. Sean installed it (he's extra wonderful). I started vacuuming.... and not only did the belt break again, but something happened to get the roller bar off track somehow and the end melted, so now the roller bar will NEVER roll again. I'm sure that part can be replaced, but it would mean several more weeks of dirty carpet, which already has not been vacuumed for several months. Since Caleb spends a fair amount of time very close to the carpet, I want to make sure it's reasonably clean.

It's gotten to the point where I feel like I just can't stand it anymore, so today I called my friend Christina from church, one of the few friends of ours who lives close to us out here in Falcon! She gladly let me come by and borrow their vacuum-- a Kirby!  Now those things are quality. Expensive to buy, but quality cleaning machines.... I vacuumed Caleb's room first, since he needed to go down for a nap soon (this is thrilling, I know, but believe me, it is going somewhere); then I moved on to the living room. I vacuumed about half of the rug... and decided to move the couch, like I'd been wanting to for some time. I moved the couch, and for whatever reason decided to vacuum the master bedroom before finishing the living room. When the master was about 3/4 done, I noticed a funny smell, the machine sounded different, and the green light on the head was dark. Great. Well, I looked online to troubleshoot, and one of the suggestions was to make sure the brush bar was moving. It wasn't... aha! I started cleaning out the hair (why all the gory details? puh-lease! well, it'll make the punchline better. Hopefully.) and noticed this vacuum's belt was not quite broken all the way through, but very much "frayed" and "deteriorated," like the manual PDF online described. I'm definitely starting to feel a little weird-- what is it with me and vacuums lately? It has been pretty frustrating to not only live in a dirty house (one, I spend a lot of time here with Caleb, and two, as a homemaker it's almost a reflection of me as a person-- I should find my identity in Christ, not in how well I complete my to-do list or how clean my house is-- still working on that) but also to go through two different vacuums, for the same reason. And to break someone else's vacuum, after they were kind to let me borrow it... yikes.

Each time a vacuum has broken, thwarting my intentions, I have reminded myself, okay, this is nothing in light of eternity. But it is still frustrating, and I believe it is okay to call it a "trial." Not all trials have to be earth-shattering. Some are simply annoyances that impede us, things that make life a little more difficult, a little less smooth. I am learning to "count it joy" and be thankful for what I do have: an incredible husband; a "gigglebuns" son who is a joy; a comfortable home; paid-off, dependable cars; two sets of amazing parents; and so much more.

And..... my incredible husband okayed the purchase of a used Kirby I found on Craigslist for.... $150. About what we'd pay for a new vacuum, but not a regular Hoover or Eureka, a Kirby. (I am still getting over my crush on Kirbys.) It works great! And I am a happy camper, who actually likes vacuuming, now that I can.

So if you have to stand in a long line, or people at work annoy you, or your car (or vacuum!) breaks down, try to think of all the ways God has blessed you. You should be able to come up with quite a few things! I have found it's a great way to adjust my perspective.

Sweet Potato, Pepper and White Bean Ragout

Not only did I have the opportunity to try out my new dutch oven cookware (thanks, MOM!!!).... I tried it with a new recipe that turned out really tasty!


Here we are sauteing red and green bell pepper, sweet potato, and garlic

The finished product! Yum! Meatless and delicious, flavorful and hearty. Although next time I think I will substitute other veggies for the peppers. They don't translate to leftover status very well-- a bit limp and slimy. (When I make stuffed peppers, I try to only make a quantity that we can eat right away.) We looooove our leftovers! I used white beans, not from a can... but dried beans that I soaked and cooked in my crock pot. It's cheaper and healthier to "make your own" beans, sort of (I didn't "make" them, God did, but I guess I "prepared" them, and with no salt or sugar or mystery ingredients added). I am still trying to figure out how to get the desired texture. Sean likes firmer beans in soups or stews, but my last batch of black beans came out kind of pithy. More cooking adventures ahead!

Update: we tried this dish with peas and carrots (originally frozen) instead of bell peppers and again it was super tasty! This is a "keeper" recipe, another wonderful meatless entree.