For All Seasons

Technology

2012-02-04T06:23:00.001-08:00

A pet peeve. I'm going to try not to go on a rant, but I can't promise anything! ;)

To start, I should say that I can't go 2 days (when I'm at home at least) without feeling strange if I don't get online. If we're gone, that's a different thing. But if I'm home and have lots of stuff done around the house, it's nice to pop online before bed, etc... And, I also would hate to live without the DVR... this changed my life! No more videotaping a show, rewinding the tape to tape over previous shows, etc... No more having to sit down at 7 pm when a show starts or miss it. The DVR keeps all the shows I tape until it's convenient for me to watch, and I do love that!

But society has gotten crazy. 15 years ago, if suddenly we saw 95 % of people with a mini computer all. day. long, we would have thought they were nuts. Well here it is. A phone is virtually a mini computer and it has taken over the world. One small example. I remember going to church camp, everything normal as life was then. Last year, after a few years away from the Ladies Retreat, I was there and after the evening message when we were getting out of the pews, as I looked around, half of the ladies, had pulled out their phones (within 5 seconds of the message being over) and were checking... what? Texts? Facebook? I do not know. But it seemed CRAZY to me.
We were surrounded by women! Face to face contact! No need to check something that would still be there an hour later in your cabin.
It just made me sad. Sad for the life I once knew. Sad that my kids would grow up seeing this as 'normal' from society.

A few years ago, we had texting on our phones. After a while, we got rid of it. Great decision- I don't regret it! No more having to check technology every 10,20,30 minutes. Live life!

Now I know that most people are not going to go back to 2005 or whenever it was before this stuff started. But it seems like an addiction! Could you be without checking your phone (or whatever you use to keep up with texting/online stuff) for 3 hours? 6 hours? Would you feel you had to check it?
If you feel it's a huge part of your life, consider taking steps to check it less often, little by little. Show our kids how our childhoods were, and help them grow up like that as well!
Don't feel the need to get the newest gadget, just because it has been invented. It's just more stuff!
Okay I'm scared to publish but I will anyways! It's been on my mind for a year!

An afternoon in pictures

2012-01-28T06:30:00.000-08:00

I didn't go into this thinking I would post this as an afternoon, so there are some things during the evening that didn't get photographed, but I realized that I had quite a bit of what they did after school until bed, so, made a post!

After school watching a show while I cook supper.

Suppertime

They played Othello

He worked on a puzzle and she read to him

This is a daily sight; curled in bed reading

He wanted me to take a picture of his puzzle picture

She wanted to read to him before bed

She made him laugh by doing different voices

And this was a day or 2 after, but I added it-- the finished 300-piece puzzle!

More in depth information...

2012-01-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

about what we've done for Austin's health lately.
4 months ago, I started making all of his food- following the GAPS diet. Down on the page are the foods he can have and then the foods to avoid. He has avoided all grains, sugars (raw honey is allowed).... such a change in the way we make food, but I knew there was no other choice. His eosinophilic esophagitis has no medical cure. We have also been clearing his allergies through acupuncture (no needles) in Marshalltown (1 hour away) for the last 8 months. Long process for him but in the last 5-6 weeks, his regurgitations have drastically diminished! (they are allergy related, so I'm finally seeing that clearing the allergies is working more and more!)

Then about 2 1/2-3 months ago, we started 'mudding' certain spots on Austin's body that showed weak, to 'draw toxins out of the body'. And he has been drinking lots of water mixed with a bit of pink salt, which gives his body good minerals it's craving. And he has taken aloe vera to help soothe his insides and his body showed to need it.
He also has had digestive enzymes before meals to help them digest as they should.
I think all of this working together is beneficial to Austin, and we have seen great improvements in the last few months! Such a nice thing to write, after 3 years of negative health for his body.
I had meant to write this earlier but forgot!

Austin update and random

2012-01-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post for weeks now, but just haven't gotten to it!

We are in the 4th month of Austin's GAPS food (no grains, sugars, yeast, etc..)
In 4 1/2 months, he grew ONE INCH! :) This is big for him. His legs, chin, etc.. are also chubby!!! (a year ago, he was rail thin, and only grew one inch in the whole year)
His regurgitations, which have basically been constant for 3 complete years, have completely lessened. Literally, they were every 1-5 minutes all. day. long.
Now, once in a while they are after a meal, but then they stop quickly!
It's... amazing. I'm sure it helps that we are continuing to clear his allergies in Marshalltown (everything is working together I think!) but it is so worth it to put in the extra work of making him these meals and snacks daily!
They are healing for his body, and we are seeing it help him. I'm so thankful!

In other news, we got Autumn's ears pierced in July for her 8th Birthday.(the good earrings that should have been fine) But they have constantly been crusty, sometimes bleeding, I guess infected no matter what.... so it just came time to let the ears holes grow back in and be done with earrings. She made that decision herself, knowing we won't be getting them pierced again. Sad! But she made a wise choice. So, back to stick on earrings for her. :(

Have you ever heard of elderberries?

"Elderberries contain potassium and large amounts of vitamin C, and have been proven in quite a few recent studies to shorten the duration of cold and flu symptoms, as well as strengthen the immune system.

Elderberries are also a good source of anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants which are responsible for giving many red and purple fruits their color."

1 tsp. a day keeps cold/flu at bay, usually! And if we get sick, 1 tsp. a few times a day makes the cold/flu last half as long as normal.
I bought a one pound bag from here and then made it into a syrup from this video It took raw honey, water, grated ginger, cinnamon stick, whole cloves. Very simple, and my one pound bag will last much longer than buying a little bottle at the store for $10! (And Austin can't have that anyways since they add sugar to it)
All of those ingredients help kill whatever virus you have! ("anti viral" I guess that's called)
Anyways, just passing along a good thing! :)

I've made this a few times in the last few weeks, it's easy and yummy!
I just cook up some ground beef. In another pan, scramble some eggs. When they are each almost done cooking, I combine them and then add some avocado, (homemade) salsa, freshly grated parmesean, and sea salt.
The flavors are really good together!

And then of course, some sunset pictures.. we have the perfect view of sunsets and in the kitchen when I'm getting their food ready, the perfect view of the sunrise! :)

And, my hair was long overdue for a trim so I just found a place in Pella I've never been to... it was great! I actually got a head massage while the softening treatment was letting set in my hair; I told her I've never had a massage on my scalp before, and it was sooo nice! Definitely going there next time too :)
My hair never used to be curly. But in the last few years, it has become naturally curly-- weird! So she styled it curly for me and taught me how (I got a diffuser), and I really like it! So, trying to embrace the curl :)

Videos

2012-01-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

Here is a minute from the church program. (my actual camcorder is old and can't be put online, so these I took with my camera, just a minute each!)

And this video is me shooting the camcorder screen with my camera (did you get that?!) but it is too cute to not share!
Austin was just 3 years old and... what a sweetheart. He has grown up too fast!

The longest post Ever... Christmas recap

2011-12-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

So... another Christmas has come and gone. This year was the fastest year I think I have ever had. It flew by.
The kids are growing up very quickly nowadays. When they were little, it seemed they would stay that way for a long time, but now, not so much!

Austin's very special brownie :) Look at that smile!

Peppermint Meltaways... I will post the recipe soon if anyone wants it- it is the best thing to make for the holidays; sooo delicious!

And we spent Christmas Eve day at Raun's mom's house.

Christmas Eve night, opening stockings and 1 present that they chose from the pile! (and the homemade things they did at school and home; there were a lot of envelopes with papers they did inside, bags, etc...)

Love the "oooh" face!

This is her favorite phrase lately- "Fluuffy!" It gets a little much when she does it about everything soft, ha!

Her present was a drawing pad and crayons- look at that smile! I know what my kids like :)

"Whoohoo!"

Oh yes--

Legos!

And there are lots more pictures I could post, but I think this is plenty!

I do need to make a post of the kids' Christmas programs from school and church. And some other things that have gone on lately. So, I'll do that in the next few days!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

2011-12-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

Have yourself a merry little Christmas,

let your heart be light

From now on, our troubles will be out of sight

Here we are as in olden days, happy golden days of yore.

Faithful friends who are dear to us, gather near to us once more.

Through the years, we all will be together,

If the fates allow

Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.

And have yourself

A merry little Christmas now.

Tree slideshow

2011-12-19T11:00:00.001-08:00

Digital slideshow generated with Smilebox

Artwork

2011-12-14T07:01:00.000-08:00

Austin drew instruments during church, copying off of this paper.

And Autumn got her sketch book out and decided to sketch the fruit baskets on the counter.

And those were just because :)

Hiiiiii-yaaaaa!

2011-12-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

The kids played 'karate'... don't know how they learn these things!

Pretending and not touching each other

She laughed a lot when she saw this picture!

And this one.... trying to be mean?!

I like how they make their own fun!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

Shutterfly card

2011-11-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

(I am receiving $10 off my next order by embedding this into my blog!!)

Artwork, kids concert, updates, trick or treat

2011-11-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Autumn had been practicing 'ballet' in her room for a recital she wanted to do for us- to 4 songs from the Nutcracker Suite. I thought she'd just be dancing around, but for each song, it was specific choreography that she made up for it- I was impressed! She is growing up quickly.

The kids' church choir "Melody Makers" had a concert a few weeks ago. They sang well!

The kids went trick or treating - they just love to dress up in their costumes. We went to their Grandma's and then a few other houses just for the experience of it, and then I exchanged the bit of candy they got for a special toy for each (that they picked out, like $5 each), and they were happy with that! (since of course Austin can not eat regular food/candy) They never get toys from the store- that is what birthdays and Christmas is for, so this was a rare treat for them to pick out a toy.

Flying up to Grandma's window to surprise her!

Sorry, not taking the time to edit out the red-eye ;)

For over 4 weeks, Austin has been on the GAPS diet (not a diet at all, just a way of eating that most people do not have to think about. It includes many healthy fats for him! 80% savory/healthy and nourishing foods and the rest almond/coconut flour, honey, things for his bread and cookies, etc...)

Every single meal each day and 2 snacks each day are made fresh by me. It means hours and hours in the kitchen, many more hours than I was used to or that most people are used to nowadays with all the conveniences of 2011. But I'm getting used to it! Making fresh juice daily, dehydrating snacks in the dehydrator, making homemade yogurt, buying almond and coconut flour, making recipes with few and fresh ingredients, soaking nuts and navy beans so they are easier for him to digest, making crackers with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, garlic and water, thinking how to add avocado, egg yolks, olive oil, coconut oil, real organic unsalted butter, animal fats to his meals to help him get lots of good fat, drinking homemade chicken broth for many meals to help his food digest... it's the new way of life here. And, I am happy to say that Austin has hit weights in the last 4 weeks that he never saw before!! First was 35 1/2 pounds, and then yesterday was 36 pounds!!!!!!! We are excited!! A year ago, we couldn't get him above 29/30 pounds!

I hope that helps his height start to shoot up (he is still not on the charts for height due to his eosinophilic esophagitis) I'm just doing the best I can and so thankful to see small results like this!

Here is a meal from a few nights ago. Quiche (almond flour crust) and honey-glazed carrots.

Autumn loves to draw. She is in the TAG program for art at school. She borrowed a book from the library that teaches how to draw many things -here are just a few things she drew just by looking at the pictures in the book.

Austin -kindergarten- has been learning at school the basis for reading... putting sounds together to make words, and I get emotional looking at his school papers that he brings home that show words he has made, and how he is learning those things; my baby boy is growing up too fast!

He wrote 'going to the flower' as 'gowitotheflwr.' Oh my word-- precious!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

"Hey kids come here and see this.."

2011-11-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

is what Raun said to Autumn and Austin.

Had to get in on the fun!

Caught it right as he threw him!

They have lots of fun outside!

Sunset: The sequel (clean window version)

2011-10-31T12:31:00.001-07:00

So after seeing the previous pictures of the window, I had to clean them.

And then take more pictures to show the difference :)

Nice and clean!

Pumpkin Farm

2011-10-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from last week when we went to the pumpkin farm in Grinnell.

(and this picture of the kids at home)

Appreciating the sunset

2011-10-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

And oh my word- let's not dwell on the fingerprints on the window.. I am ashamed to say how often I clean windows, but... we have lived here almost 2 1/2 years and I do not clean windows!

I will try to clean them soon!

Enjoying the changing season

2011-10-08T07:18:00.000-07:00

Hide and Seek

2011-10-07T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hiding

Seeking

She can't find me!

Where is he?!

Austin?

Finally found you!

Around Here

2011-09-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

Well it's been busy lately- I thought it would be slower but life caught up to us I guess! I also am working every Wednesday and Thursday all day until I get the kids from school, so that keeps me busy. And then about every week also going to Marshalltown after school for Austin... the days are going quick and I am not getting things done like I had hoped to!

I will only work a few months until they don't need the extra help, so these few paychecks I will get are so nice. I mean, normally I get no paychecks so something is better than 0! With my first paycheck, I bought a yogurt maker (--more on that soon, it is for Austin), some Acapella CD's from my childhood--

("Rescue" "Travelin Shoes" and "Conquerors"--love my CD's from songs I loved long ago!!!!)

http://theacappellacompany.com/acrel.html

Some packages of dried flowers that I make cards with

http://www.naturespressed.com/flower_basket.php

And a few other things. I couldn't have gotten these things without my extra money (our budget is tight and would have had to use grocery money for them, and then we would not have enough money for food!) so I am very thankful for these few months that I get to bring in a little extra money for extra things!

I wanted to share this site I found http://www.jenuinelypure.com/ --I really love the cleaning spray which is made of these Ingredients: Purified water, vinegar, saponified organic oil of cocos nucifera (coconut), olea europaea (olive) and simmondsia chinensis (jojoba), sodium borate, essential oil blend of citrus paradise (grapefruit), citrus limon (lemon), citrus aurantifolia (lime), litsea cubeba (litsea), citrus reticulate (mandarin) and citrus sinensis (sweet orange), organic rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract

-In case you can't read that, it's vinegar, coconut, olive, jojaba oil, essential oil, lemon, lime, orange and rosemary extract and that is about it. Can't get much simpler than that!

It smells wonderful and it is all natural which I am loving!

I also have the hand soap (also all natural) and the soap nuts (for washing laundry)

Raun is going to Texas on Sunday and returning Wednesday -- he and a church friend get to go to MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL! (that would be Raun's excitement about it!) He loves the Cowboys. And he has never gone and done anything like that. So, he deserves a little (or big!) something fun like that! He works very hard.

Raun's Grandpa passed away a few weeks ago and so that was a busy week. Howard was a sweet grandpa and great grandpa and we are all missing him here.... but we know he is Home in Heaven! :)

So back to Austin ---our future way of making and eating food is going to be quite different than most families in 2011. It will be more like people ate a long time ago. Which can be overwhelming but the internet has so many recipes and people that are eating this same way, so that is very helpful!

Every day will homemade beef broth, fermented vegetables/some fruit, homemade yogurt.... Here is a quick list (scroll down) of what he will be able to eat and what he won't.http://gapsdiet.com/The_Diet.html

Soaking beans, nuts, seeds. No grains, yeast sugar. (a little honey to sweeten)

Organic meats.

But I have found recipes for things made with almond flour and a few other ingredients to make something special for him. I already made some almond flour by just grinding natural almonds!

I hope to buy a juicer with my next paycheck.

-here is what it says about this -- If you have a juicer your patient can start the day with a glass of freshly pressed fruit/vegetable juice diluted with water.

You can make all sorts of juice mixes, but generally try to have 50% of therapeutic ingredients: carrot, small amount of beetroot (no more than 5% of the juice mixture), celery, cabbage, lettuce, greens (spinach, parsley, dill, basil, fresh nettle leaves, beet tops, carrot tops), white and red cabbage, and 50% of some tasty ingredients to disguise the taste of therapeutic ingredients: pineapple, apple, orange, grapefruit, grapes, mango, etc. Your patient can have these juices as they are, with some yoghurt/kefir or diluted with water.

And this about the future YOUR PATIENT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO THE TYPICAL MODERN DIET FULL OF SUGAR, ARTIFICIAL AND PROCESSED INGREDIENTS AND OTHER HARMFUL FOODS. USE THE YEARS OF FOLLOWING GAPS NUTRITIONAL PROTOCOL FOR DEVELOPING HEALTHY EATING HABITS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE !

As long as I am preparing Austin's food, we will eat very naturally and healthily and someday when he is older, he will be able to tell how different foods make him feel and I hope will continue eating how his body is most benefited. That is all I can do, and I am willing to do it, because I would do anything for him!

This will be a full-time job, but it is very important to me to do what I can to get Austin healthy.

Here are some recent pictures.... Austin chose this costume for this year's holiday.

Meatloaf that is full of things Austin can eat --- beef, eggs, almond flour, onion, green and red peppers, mushrooms (chopped so tiny no one knew!), zucchini squash, carrots, tomato paste, garlic, beef broth, honey, chili powder, salt, pepper.. That is pretty much it!

(after it baked)

Sweetly reading
They kind of argue about who gets to fold the laundry-- crazy right?!

A forgotten post -million dollar recipe

2011-09-01T07:24:00.001-07:00

Here is another post that I was going to do (a long time ago!) but never got around to it.

I made the pillsbury million dollar recipe winner!

I mean, if something wins a million dollars, you can bet it is going to be yummy!

Mini Ice Cream Cookie Cups

(halfway done)

Mine could have used more ice cream but they were still delicious!

Here is the recipe link

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/mini-ice-cream-cookie-cups/b562af5e-c063-4c0e-8b34-9072f37b2faf/

Austin: A health update

2011-08-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

So I haven't updated in a long time about Austin--- it just gets overwhelming to me and I can't think about it all more than is necessary! But I will..

Austin should be able to eat quite normal and have no regurgitations, but for the last 2 months; 2 months longer than I thought, (about 2 months ago the basics should have been cleared) that is not the case. Even a simple banana causes him to regurgitate. We went weeks thinking it seemed to be sugar combinations and have cleared those, and still his issues continue. Many combinations are likely needed to clear, but we do not know what is effecting him and it is just frustrating to go week after week and read things online and see that is probably has 'leaky gut syndrome' that is making his issue not easily fixed with these allergy clearings...

Leaky Gut information and more information A little snippet:

When partially digested food, toxins, and bacteria pass through the small intestine and enter the bloodstream, this is referred to as a condition known asleaky gut syndrome, or LGS. In simple terms, large spaces occur in between the cells that compose the wall of the gut. Since these spaces exist in the gut wall, bacteria, toxins, and food can find their way into the bloodstream.

When the gut wall or intestinal lining is damaged due to leaky gut syndrome, damaged cells called microvilli become unable to do their job properly. Therefore, they can't manufacture the enzymes that are vital to good digestion. So, digestion is impaired, absorption of nutrients is effected, and damaging substances are able to invade the bloodstream. How does the body respond to the “foreign invaders” that have entered the bloodstream? It responds with inflammation, allergic reactions, and other unpleasant symptoms.

Well now, what harm is a bit of inflammation and some allergic reactions? This may sound relatively innocuous to some, but this condition is thought by some experts to contribute to numerous serious diseases. Since the immune system becomes overburdened by toxins that enter the liver, the toxins are flushed back into the blood where they are sent to connective tissues and muscles. Can you see how some of the above diseases might develop? Leaky gut syndrome may have a hand in the following conditions: allergies, Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, arthritis, pancreatic dysfunction, giardia, irritable bowel syndrome, and lupus.

The introduction diet is very very overwhelming... (to heal the intestine lining which is making his condition harder)

I just want to KNOW that he will eventually be okay and healthy and not have these issues, and I don't have 100% certainty and that is hard- this road is hard.

First Day

2011-08-24T08:28:00.001-07:00

On to Second Grade and on to Kindergarten (all day!)

They are very excited. They love school!

So grown up!

Such a young lady!

Now, what should I do the rest of the day in this quiet house??!!

Biking

2011-08-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Austin was given this bike a few years ago and was too little for it then-- we thought about getting it out this year and he is definitely big enough now!

Much better than a tricycle at this age!

Yesterday we went to Red Rock (in Pella) and we enjoyed ourselves so much that we are getting another adult bike soon! It's nice to be able to do things like this!

Closer

2011-08-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

These 2 have gotten quite close this summer.
I suppose it's being together 24/7 instead of at school half of the time! They choose to play together most of the time (if they argue, I tell them they can choose; I am not making them play together so if they choose to, they have to play nicely- it works!)

I hope that they continue this relationship up even though they will be apart half of the time starting next week.... it is very sweet!
I love that they love each other!

A post from the past

2011-08-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

There are some things I never got around to blogging about... like Austin's first field trip (preschool, last fall)

So I am going to do it now :)

It's all pretty self explanatory so I'm not going to write about the pictures- you can see for yourself what they did!

And now he is almost a kindergartener... that makes me a little sad! He's a sweet little guy and I don't want him gone all day, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Wisconsin Dells 2011... waterparks galore!

2011-07-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun last year on our vacation to the Dells, we just had to go back! We went to a different place though; there are so many places to go there and can go to new ones each year. We did Chula Vista and Mt. Olympus.

On our way!

Buffalo Phil's for supper... a train comes around to the tables to bring your drinks/meals, etc...
It's a tradition now :)

I am just posting a handful of the pictures from our vacation-- and still for every picture I took there, there were many things we did that didn't get photographed.

Each indoor and outdoor waterpark just had so much to do, we did that for most of our 3 1/2 days!

A roller coaster just her size.. much better than the Tornado I took her on last year at Adventureland- she was SO scared on that; I just didn't think she would be so scared but she was... she enjoyed this kid one :)

Paul Bunyon is another tradition. The best breakfasts ever. And these homemade donuts are the best donuts I have ever had. Can't even describe them but it's too bad they are so far away from us!

Another fabulous vacation- really great to get away from our normal lives --and not cook a single meal for 3 1/2 days! ;)

Curtains, Invitations, a farm cat and a mystery person

2011-06-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Raun's mom asked if she could get fabric to make curtains for the kids-- we would sew them together. Autumn picked out butterfly fabric

It is covered with sparkles.
and Austin picked out Cars fabric

She measured and cut the fabric, and we both sewed them!
I made pillows with the leftover fabric.

I have also kept busy making invitations for Autumn's upcoming 8th birthday party. We're renting out the New Sharon movie theater (we are in a very small town!) and I think it will be "Tangled" (we bring a DVD to have them play if we don't want that week's movie that is playing)
Hopefully most of her friends from school can come!
There are a few cats that live in the barn here, but every time they saw us, they would sprint away. This black one was in the garage and actually didn't run away when I approached it, and was easily won over by milk and some chicken.

Now the cat constantly hangs around our house, mewing for us! Kind of annoying actually :D

Autumn and Austin made their own mystery to solve. I don't remember what started it, but something was out of place and they assumed it was an 'invisible stealing mystery person'!

They collected 'clues' all day and Autumn wrote them down. Kind of funny!

And here are a few random shots from the last week.

Reminiscing on photobucket

2011-06-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

I never get on photobucket anymore, but I have pictures uploaded to there from years ago.... I thought I'd share some from when the kids were smaller!!

(Autumn, still in hospital)

(Austin)

I could get teary looking through pictures.... they grow too fast.

Lately... around the house and the yard...

2011-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Something little like getting this for over our kitchen sink makes me happy whenever I see it!

Our lilac plant in our yard bloomed for about 2 short weeks-- so sad how quick that goes! They smelled wonderful, though.

I used a little bit of the money I made doing a garage sale with a friend to get this from the store.
Just a little summertime fun for the kids, since we aren't getting the pool pass to Pella this year (we did last year)
It comes with an inflatable hoop that attaches over the top and a basketball, rings to toss on things, etc... but it was so windy so it's pointless when it's windy. This part is the most fun anyways!

Unfortunately playing outside for a long time led to this other event.... I take the bad-mommy award here! :( We did not have any sunscreen but I didn't think it would be a big deal... well I learned my lesson. Autumn was fine but Austin's back was very very red. And hurting. And in the next few days, a few clear blisters showed up on his shoulders. Anything rubbing on them hurt (shirts), so I put bandaids over them. Fast forward a few days to me needing to get those bandaids off... it was awful. It literally tore some of his top layer of skin off where the bandaids were. My poor baby; I have felt so so awful since it started. I have learned the lesson for sure!!!

The owners of our house allotted a certain amount of money to mulch around the house and plant some flowers, so we did that last week. It was nice to buy those things with their money- and have the house look nice outside!

My mom offered to start Autumn on piano lessons once summertime came, so last week she had her first lesson! She is a fast learner, says my mom, and Autumn has really liked practicing every day (as I recall from my own childhood, that may not last forever :)
And my mom also offered to teach me too! I took as a child for years, but ended up not keeping up with it and then from age 18-27, I did not own a piano, therefore I did not play. So, I have a piano at home I can use now--- it's really nice to have my mom teaching me again and have something to practice on the piano!

I hope this video works--- this is her 2nd day practicing, I think!
If it does not work, I also uploaded the video to photobucket--
(this is a direct link, so just copy and paste in the address bar)
http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y128/raundog/?action=view&current=blog986.mp4

I have been feeling constant dizziness (whenever I stand or walk, which of course, has to happen!) for about 2 weeks. Even after getting adjusted at the chiropractor, it did not diminish the dizziness. But a lightbulb came on after being at my parents and away from home for hours--- I did not have any dizziness there and when I got home, I started feeling it again. Aha... it was from our environment! Well, we rent this house. The basement is unfinished (it's concrete, bricks, etc...) and is more humid and a bit damp than not, which is not good.....
Raun ended up finding some black mold in the bathroom down there, which I thought there was mold somewhere causing my dizziness.. scary! He got an air purifier and the people who own the house are sending someone to clear out that bathroom and get going on ridding the house of mold, which is good. Still it is scary.

I guess you can't even really see the mold here, Raun says, but when I took the picture I assumed all of that was mold... the mold is actually around the bottom of the wall.

And this is in one of the basement rooms (we tore the edge of the carpet away because it had gotten damp previously... it just looks so bad down there! I don't even want to go down there, but when I do, I put something over my nose so I don't breathe in the air.

My Little Preschool Graduate

2011-05-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

Austin had a great year at preschool. He never once got in trouble to go to 'time out' or anything-- he really wants to please people and he was such a well-behaved child!! I'm very proud of that (and he knows it!)

Sitting in the audience trying to get pictures, they never turn out right (the setting is weird...), so excuse that, but they are still nice to have!

Singing a song they all practiced...

Spotting us waving at him!

When his teacher called his name to walk and receive his little 'diploma' I guess, I was shifting my camera setting and missed getting a picture of it or a video! But oh well- those things happen.

Proud guy!

With his preschool teachers, Ms.Carmen and Ms. Lana!

Here is a little video from my camera of part of a song they sang.

(If the video does not work, I will try something different later)

Autumn

2011-05-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share some shots I got of her....

This one is my favorite!

The John Deere Desk

2011-05-10T06:58:00.000-07:00

More than a year ago, some friends of ours gave us an old school desk that we (Raun) planned on fixing up. It just sat there for a long time, until Raun got a tool that sped up the process a lot.... He had taken it all apart. It was rusty, so he sanded it down, cleaned it up, painted it, and put it all back together.
He knew how he wanted it to look, and here it is!

Austin was the lucky recipient of this desk, and he knew nothing of it until now.
Pardon the blurry picture, but videoed his first reaction then tried to snap a quick picture of the reaction too.
He loves it!

So cute!

The desk has a good place in his room and he uses it so often. His daddy has good skills!!

Easter Pictures

2011-05-04T07:59:00.000-07:00

In their basket, they each got a new box of crayons, (who doesn't love new crayons?! They love it!) each a tablet with a 'magic' marker; you remember those that we used as kids? Draw over the page with the marker and the picture would change into specific colors-- it's the same ones as we had as kids! And they each ended up eating about 2 peeps from the package (I had a few, but the rest just got thrown away)

Sweet kids Easter morning before church!

After church, a little Easter egg hunt at Grandma's.

With their Great-Grandpa.
Austin asked what Easter meant, and it was neat to be able to share with him exactly why we celebrate Easter. He really loves Jesus. We listen to "Bible songs" often (he enjoys the Steve Green 'Hide 'em in your Heart' CD), and he understands a lot at his age! I am thankful I see God working in his life; Austin says often that he wants to obey us because that obeys God too, and he loves God.

Hair Cut

2011-05-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Since Autumn was a bald baby with barely enough hair at age 2 for pigtails, her hair has just been left to grow and grow since then. I have trimmed it occasionally, but no real cut more than a little trim. This is how long it was a few weeks ago.

And here it is now!

I probably cut a total of 5-6 inches off. She was about 4 when her hair was this short, so it's been 4 years since then!
It makes her look more grown up I think!

Week 4

2011-04-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

So, Austin has gone once a week to the Marshalltown clinic. The first week, eggs and chicken were cleared. Next, Vitamin C, then Calcium mix, and then B complex (vitamin b, folic acid..)

And I just have to say, in the last 7 days, Austin has had the least amount of regurgitations that he's had since he started having them, at age 2 1/2. Eating the same food he's been eating for 6 weeks, but having less regurgitations than usual. WOW!! It is exciting, and I can not wait for the future in a few months when we can actually eat a normal meal together, and Austin have no regurgitations after that meal. It seems like it could never be normal again, after living like this for 2 1/2 years, but I trust that his life will be back to how it was that long ago. Can't wait!

Next week is the sugar mix (it clears all: cane sugar, beet sugar, brown sugar, corn sugar, rice sugar, maple sugar, molasses, honey, fruit sugar, sucrose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, lactose, date sugar, grape sugar)
Then Iron mix, Vitamin A mix, Mineral mix, salt mix, and I can't wait for the next one: Grain mix!! --Wheat, corn, rice, oats, rye, millet, barley... basically Austin is allergic to all in that section. Wow...

Anyways, there is the latest update!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-13T06:55:00.000-07:00

climbed all by himself!

Random Posting

2011-03-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

So our world has changed immensely in the last month, but some things still remain the same.

A few birthday pictures from last month. He is 5 now!

Learning how to write in cursive. The public schools won't be teaching her that for a few years, so she is getting a head start! She'll be a pro by the time they teach it!

See the bib on bunny? She traced a picture from one of her notebooks (onto tracing paper), and cut the paper out in the shape of a bib, and made it all by herself for her bunny!

After baths, he'll hold onto some toy or washcloth and try to keep me from getting it. I must say, I prevail always :)

Playing together

So going back to my first sentence, life has changed so much in the last few weeks. I went from thinking Austin possibly had a dairy allergy (and being overwhelmed at that thought), to knowing how numerous his allergies are.

Allergies: Soy, corn, rice, peas, beans, garlic, 4 tree nuts (so may as well be all of them), and peanuts.

And his bloodwork showed allergies to wheat, barley, oats (there goes his breakfast of oatmeal), and egg whites.
Overwhelming? To be sure.

Gone are the days where I can just feed my kids without thinking much. Austin is living on meat, fruits, and a few vegetables. Not a normal life for a 5-year old, considering 4 weeks ago, he was eating quite normal, whatever I would give him.

I wondered if there is anywhere around here that can help like how he got helped in Colorado.

A friend from church contacted someone she knew, and thankfully, that one had high praise for someone in Marshalltown. So, I looked it up. I called. Made an appointment.
And Austin and I went on Wednesday.

We have hope- a long process of eliminating one set of allergies at a time (once a week we will be going to Marshalltown), but in 3-ish months, we should have a 'new' Austin in a way! I can not wait!
It is called NAET --Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique

http://www.naet.com/subscribers/what.html (this helps explain; but I still bought a book and workbook which is very in-depth and so helpful)

There is a process; it doesn't just eliminate the allergies I choose each time. It starts with the same set of allergies (eggs/chicken, which Austin just had treated), and goes as far as is needed until one gets completely rid of them. The allergies don't just leave and come back in the future; they are gone. Week 10 is the one that treats wheat, corn, oats, etc... and that is 2 1/2 months away! So, until then, it is sticking with meats, fruits, etc... BUT in 3 months, if we have a healthy Austin, I just can not wait for that time.
Some allergies may be stubborn and need more than 1 treatment to get rid of (2-3), but it is worth the time, money, and patience needed to get Austin completed on this new road.

http://www.naet.com/subscribers/faq.html

Testimonials: http://www.naet.com/subscribers/testimonials.html
The book is also chock-full of them. I have absolutely no reserves about this. This is proven and will work!

Wow I just saw this testimonial:

I just wanted to write and say thank you. My 2 year old son Max was diagnosed with failure to thrive caused by Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE). (There is a website www.apfed.org with info) We were told that there is little information about this condition and no medicinal cure, just a bunch of drugs to put a band-aid on the problem, including steroids. He could have ended up on a feeding tube as an adult. I heard of NAET through an acquaintance and brought Max to see an acupuncturist Linda Fournier in Leominster, MA. After 12 NAET sessions Max was cured of his food and environmental allergies. A repeat endoscopy showed that Max is 100% cured of his EE. He had zero eosinophils in his digestive system, and has gained 3 pounds. We are so thrilled that I feel like telling the world about this. I am telling everyone I know about NAET, and hopefully it will help someone else’s life as well. So thank you again. You have changed our lives.

JULIE KEENAN
978-632-5125
111 VERNON ST. #1
GARDNER, MA 01440
NAET Practitioner: Linda Fournier,
Leominster, MA.

This is what Austin has!!!!

I am so thankful!!

This is Hard

2011-03-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Austin had an appt. in Des Moines to see what possible new allergies he has. Over 2 years ago, it showed one allergy: peanuts.

Yesterday, multiple red hives showed on his back where they tested numerous possible allergies. About 8 red spots. Not just 1.

Allergies: Soy, corn, rice, peas, beans, garlic, 4 tree nuts (so may as well be all of them), and peanuts.

For 2 weeks, I have thought he has a dairy allergy. Cut out all dairy: challenging, but I was getting the hang of it. OH if he could just have a dairy allergy instead of ALL OF THESE!! This list is... overwhelming. Soy is in just about anything you could imagine. Rice (rice flour) is in many things in our house. And corn ingredients, garlic.. AHHH!!

Frustrated is how I feel. I have figured out dairy-free. Now I have to completely go a different route and figure out soy/corn/rice/ etc.. free. It is HARD!
Please pray for us.

Love from kids, 29, and a B&B

2011-02-21T07:22:00.001-08:00

For Valentine's Day, Autumn spent about a week beforehand making things for her family. Each of us received about 6 things! I love her creativity; here are a few things that I loved.

She made Austin 2 puppets.

I love the detail she made of the fly on the frog's tongue!!

She browsed through an oriental trading magazine and made her own valentines for us..... taking candy out of her own 'stash' in her room to give away!
Each of us received a letter,
illustrated with what the letter talked about.
She is a sweet girl, that's for sure!
-----------
My 29th birthday was last week. I had asked Raun for a few things that have been on my 'get someday' list for a very long time.

First was this cookbook

Which is an exact replica of the one made in 1950. I love it because my grandma had it when she was raising young kids back then, and now I have the same one, and it is just neat!

Also I asked for a kitchen hanging basket and I received my wish!
And I also got to pick out the miniature items I wanted, to go in this small unit. It is hanging on the wall now and looks great up there!
I am thankful to have those things checked off of my list, and Raun to care for me!

-----------------

Raun was at work on my actual birthday, and so when he got home on Saturday, we were able to
go away for the night and stay at a bed and breakfast! We had a nice room which had a fireplace in it! I'll tell you, I could get used to having a fire every night and listening to it as I fall asleep in bed; so nice! Oh and the bed was about 2 feet wider than ours (ours is a queen) and I could also get used to that size of a bed!
Maybe someday :)

A really nice week!

Random

2011-02-10T07:21:00.000-08:00

After getting home from Colorado and seeing each other (5 days is a long time to be away from your brother/sister!)

Making tents

Handsome (little) Man

2011-02-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

(this really was straight before it uploaded! frustrating!)

Playing Guess Who with his 'big blue bunny'!

Laughter.....

2011-02-06T14:42:00.000-08:00

maybe not the best medicine, but pretty close!

Austin: January Colorado Trip: Recap

2011-01-29T06:29:00.000-08:00

(continued...)

Last week we took our second trip to see the dr. in Colorado. It was great timing and we are thankful for all we got accomplished there!

As I mentioned in the last post, Austin tested clear for parasites and mercury toxicity!!
His first allergy that showed up was treated; it was to his stomach! (autoimmune disease: His body has built antibodies up against his own stomach. His immune system is trying to destroy his stomach.)
The dr. checked hormones and found one in the brain that effects growth, that Austin was weak on. The hypothalmus gland. His is on specific nutrition to help that.
An allergy of TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was treated.

Austin showed to need 6 a day of a multiple vitamin (not man-made; it has things from food, nature, etc...) It's called Cyrofood.

An allergy to theobromine; a chemical found in coffee, tea, chocolate, cola... was treated.

--The skull has many detached bones; when a person breathes, the bones move and pump spinal and brain fluid constantly. Austin's bones didn't move like they need to, so he went weak when exhaling. Definitely connected to his stomach problems. The dr. loosened the skull bones to get them flexing again.

The dr. then was searching for why Austin is so susceptible to getting allergies. He found a homeopathic liquid remedy that neutralizes the weakness; spray 3 times a day in the mouth.

He checked emotions and most showed no changes in Austin (money, job, family, etc...) But when the dr. said "insecurity" and pushed a specific area (I think the small intestine?), Austin's muscles went weak. This just means that at some point in the past, Austin's circuit breaker in the brain connected to some insecurity he was feeling, was blown out. The dr. reset this circuit breaker. (His wife, who we love, said this is a common one found in kids, and some of her grandkids had this as well)

An allergy to naringenin was treated (found in citrus and pineapple, mango, etc...)

I asked the dr. to check the viles for outside allergies, and Austin showed weak to the tree one, so he had a tree allergy treated.
Last fall after playing outside, his excema would be even redder! I knew there was something outside flaring it up.

The last allergy was a mold allergy. There is a small part of our church that has that problem; going to get cleared up sometime but as of now, I'm glad his allergy to it was treated!

Austin had no excema while we were there- very strange! But back here, it has shown up again slightly. Hmm, maybe water? Something is different here than there, I wish I knew what it was!

We are also doing other things for breakfast instead of cereal. It's going pretty well!
Here is why:
http://editor.nourishedmagazine.com.au/articles/puffed-grains-should-we-eat-them

Austin also had a fraction of his normal regurgitations the day he had no cereal for breakfast there, compared to the previous day after cereal--- a fraction of them!!
(he did show weak to the cereal he ate, also.... but all cereals except for granola (because they are expelled), are somewhat damaging. And Austin's system is just not helped by eating cereal!

Well that is our trip in a nutshell! Glad to have more answers and hoping he starts GROWING!!

Austin: November Colorado Trip recap

2011-01-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

I never did 'blog' about our trip this past November.... lots of thing happened in a short period of time and I just never got around to it.
Since we have gone back (a week ago), and there is even more information about Austin, I thought I'd update about it here, starting with the November visit.
I'll post in the next few days about our visit last week. Then I'll be caught up!
Oh, and his current condition is not 'acid reflux', so the previous posts regarding that won't be continuing under 'acid reflux'.

As a back-story, Austin stopped growing well around age 2 1/2... he slowly went down on the charts, and for close to 2 years, he has been at 0%. At age 2 1/2, he started regurgitating.. and it only got worse. 6 months ago, at its' worst, he would literally have stuff coming up every 2-5 minutes, ALL day. No breaks. Unfortunately that is not an exaggeration.
The medical field put him on medicine (like prevacid), put him through PH probe studies, put him to sleep to take samples of his insides, etc....

About 6 months ago, a sample of his esophagus showed positive for
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosinophilic_esophagitis
It is allergy related and causes regurgitations.

Austin was put on flovent inhaler (for 8 weeks) to help reduce the regurgitations.

Our Pastor's family has known a special chiropractor in Colorado for 20+ years; he has learned for 30+ years about applied kinesiology, and has helped them often, which is why they keep making the trip out there to see him.

Going through all of the medical options to help Austin and not having results, we decided it would be helpful to have Austin go and visit the dr. too.

Austin had 6 allergies treated during our visit (2 a day, the maximum that can be done each day).
-allergy to peanuts
-allergy to a protein called Zein (found mostly in corn and corn products)
-allergy to genestein (chemical found in apples and soybeans)
-allergy to enzymes; ALL enzymes (which are found in food for digestion!)
-allergy to albumin (egg protein, not whole egg)
-allergy to uric acid (found in cow's milk, pork, quite a few other things that
I didn't write down...)

Austin showed to have parasites, mercury toxicity, a hiatel hernia, no good stomach acid because his medication allowed none (good or bad acid).....

Dairy does not help Austin's system, so he's been on Oat Milk since our visit.
The dr. maneuvered Austin's stomach back into the correct place.... the hiatel hernia meant that some of his stomach was pushed upwards where it should not be.

I got laundry detergent/fabric softener that is free of dyes/fragrances, etc, and that is more helpful for him. He has severe excema and it is allergy related.

This was only a starting point to try to begin more help for Austin's health.
We are so thankful to say that after 9 weeks of specific nutrition to get rid of the parasites, they are gone! (in the next few weeks, it is a possibility that there are eggs left that will hatch, and he will go back on the nutrition, but as of now, they show gone!)
And, the mercury toxicity is gone as well!!!

On to last week's visit........

Around the House

2011-01-12T07:01:00.000-08:00

I was taking a picture through the crack in the door so she wouldn't see me... She was fixing her hair, and all dressed up.

Then she heard me so I took a few more pictures.

These are the best pancakes I have ever had. They are a Martha Stewart recipe
and they are blueberry cornmeal pancakes with orange maple butter... delicious!
Let me know if you want the recipe...

$50 auction hutch, $25 auction china set.

The china is really pretty!
Got prints of and framed a few of the sunset shots I have gotten.
Organized closet; a sigh of relief!
Bright flowers and fruit to bring warm thoughts amidst the freezing temperatures!

Jumping rope in the basement.
Passing the time on a long day.

Pulling off a new style (not permanent, just for the day!)
Caught him sitting on the trash can to search through his coloring book drawer for
what he wanted.

A Christmas Post

2010-12-29T12:17:00.000-08:00

What my kitchen looked like December 24th....

insanity!

Christmas Eve --they opened their stockings and chose one present each from under the tree...

They chose the biggest presents to open.
Austin got a BATCAVE!!!! That needed to be in all caps because it was the one thing he told me he wanted for the last month- he was so thrilled to get it!!
Autumn loves her Tinkerbell house.
Later that night playing with the Batcave!

Christmas morning, opening presents at home!

This following picture shows Austin's expression that he had after most of his presents; he was
humming and whenever he saw what was in each present, he held it up and showed Autumn
with this expression- it was hilarious!!

More expression!

And another one!

Later Christmas Day at Raun's mom's house.

December 26th in Ankeny.

And that is enough for one post! It was a great few days :)

Merry Christmas!!

2010-12-24T06:49:00.000-08:00

Question: Input needed please!

2010-12-22T17:03:00.000-08:00

So if you are reading this, please offer up an opinion!

Last month, I was going to pay for Autumn's gymnastics, and while doing so, realized that the cost of gymnastics this year was doubled what it was last year. I didn't realize that when we signed her up at the start of this school year.
I had to pull her out right then; we just didn't have that extra money! She was disappointed, but she is okay... she has no other option!

She really loved it, though. She once told me that Tuesdays were her favorite days, because she got to go to gymnastics! Cute right?

I like it because she gets really active for 1 hour 15 minutes each week, learns new things, tries her best, and she truly enjoys it.

Here is my question. I clean a few days a month, a few hours each day. The money I make could pay for her gymnastics. However, I do know that in a few years, she'd probably have to practice more (at higher levels, they do more), and that would cost more money then.

Do I put her back in now, maybe telling her that in a few years, we would just completely be done with gymnastics? Or do I leave well enough alone and continue to not do gymnastics?

She is 7 1/2... Closer to age 10, would she be so much more disappointed to have to stop doing the extra activity?

Thoughts? Thank you!

"The toytaker" by Autumn

2010-12-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

Autumn made Raun a book for Christmas, and I wanted to post it here. It was complete with illustrations but I'm just posting the words, just as she wrote them (so there are some errors of course!)
Where there is a space, it's a new page.

The toytaker!

Once upon a time a little girl was sleeping and her toys became alive.

The toys went up the chimmny and went up the air balloon of the toytaker.

Rudolph and the others where having a party. Then Rudolph and Clrece went outside to play.

At the party some little girl randeer shouted disco ball! disco ball! They wanted to have Rudolph shine his nose to make the disco ball glow.

Finily Rudolph shines his nose and makes the disco ball glow.

The toy takers next stop was the island of misfit toys.

Rudolph and Hermie thoght the toytaker went to the island of misfit toys. So they went into Hermie's big boat. But they got shipwrecked. They needed someplace warm and dry. The gards of the queen lead them inside and Rudolph and Hermie talked with the queen.

After the talk with the queen Rudolph wanted to change his nose.

When the toytaker went to find a new home for the toys Rudolph and Hermie and the snow monster and Yukon Cornelius dressed up as toys and went up the air balloon of the toytaker.

Rudolph and the others went up the air balloon and rescued the toys.

They made it back to toyland just in time for Christmas day.

And just because, a recent picture of Autumn!

The Lion: On Disney..... (By Austin)

2010-12-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

Austin wanted to make a book for Autumn (for Christmas, but he gave it to her already!)
He drew what he wanted, he told me to write exactly what I wrote... such a silly-almost 5 year old boy!

He told me to write... "The Lion. On Disney.

The left page (which shows as top), "The hyena dropped and kicked the Lion King."
The right page, "Simba tried to throw Uncle Scar."
(sideways, not sure why)

The left page (top), "Uncle Scar tried to fight Simba."
The right page, "The hyena walked to find Simba."
(sideways, not sure why)
The left page (top), "Uncle Scar was fighting the Lion King."
The right page, "The Lion King kept saying "Peekaboo" to Nala, and Nala said, "Please stop doing that." (LOL!)
(sideways, not sure why)
"The hyena was walking to find Uncle Scar to play with him."
(sideways, not sure why)

A downright masterpiece, I'd say :)

Organization

2010-12-02T07:45:00.000-08:00

Little thing throughout the house that keeps things more organized, I keep trying to find! When we walk in our house every day, we are walking into the kitchen.
Those 3 hooks on the wall just weren't cutting it for all of the things we have that needs to come off, put on for school, backpacks, etc...
This shelving unit was $19 (Lakeside Collection), and had lots of space for hats, scarves, gloves, purse, shoes, etc!!
And the kids can help keep things cleaned up by just putting their things away themselves. Coats and backpacks go on the hooks.

And just for fun, some of the cookies I made (on Thanksgiving)
They are an 'amazing sugar cookie' recipe that I found on other blogs, and the frosting recipe with them, is perfect for decorating. It hardens up and looks and feels so smooth, so I have found my new favorite sugar cookie recipe!

Blue

2010-11-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

For years, we have had the same Christmas tree. One with already-attached colorful lights.
This year, I thought it would be nice to have a change.
I got a ($20!!!) tree, bought white lights, put them on myself, and all blue ornaments. The kids did most of the ornaments and I really love how it turned out! White lights, blue ornaments!

Playing Catch-Up

2010-11-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

I have lots of posts/pictures in my head to write, but just haven't gotten to it!

Pumpkin carving.... I hate to say it, but they have never done it before! They have painted pumpkins, but never carved them....
We definitely helped them, but they enjoyed the process.

And I roasted the pumpkin seeds; they were SO yummy!

Now forgive me for all of the sunsets/sunrises that I post, but when I see a beautiful sky, I just can't help myself! God makes beautiful things :)
Ready to trick or treat!
Autumn was a unicorn, what she has wanted to be all year.
Austin initially wanted to be an octopus, but when we were in the store and I showed him all of the costumes, he chose spiderman, and it is his new favorite thing!

A few weeks after, I found costumes on clearance. This one was initially $19 I think, and we got it for $4.75! Then there was one more costume I got for $3, but am saving it for her for next year.

Soft warm nightgown.

And that is enough for one post!

A photo site review: Shutterfly

2010-11-18T15:17:00.001-08:00

A photo site I have used often in the past for photo books, prints, cards, etc... is Shutterfly.
The photos turn out beautifully, perfect for displaying in our house.
The photo books we have used; our kids love to get them out and look through them often!

And I have already made a few Christmas Card projects and saved them; waiting to decide which one I want to order; it's such a hard choice! Here is one of the options I'm deciding on!

For blogging about Shutterfly, I can get 50 free cards! I am thrilled to be able to receive that, while letting others know about a site they may not know about. I recommend it!!
(To receive 50 free cards for writing a blog post about Shutterfly, click here)

Recipes: Sweet Fruit and Nut Wraps, Three-cheese french onion soup, Velvety Vegetable Cheese Soup, Sour Cherry Crumb Cakes

2010-11-06T06:28:00.001-07:00

Okay here are recent recipes I have used, and they are all so good!

Sweet Fruit and Nut Breakfast Wraps

4 8-inch flour tortillas
4 ounces Neufchatel or regular cream cheese
2 cups prepared fresh fruit (pick 1, or a mix of the following)--strawberries (hulled and sliced thin), blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas (sliced thin), peeled peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums (pitted and sliced thin).
I used bananas, strawberries, and raspberries.
2 tsp. honey or agave
1/4 cup roasted chopped nuts (pick 1 from the following)--Roasted chopped pecans or walnuts, roasted sliced or chopped almonds, roasted chopped hazelnuts. OR use granola or grape nuts (we used grape nuts because of allergies, and they are SO good in this!)

Place a dollop of cream cheese on each tortilla and microwave on high about 15 seconds, until they can be spread easily. Spread over tortilla. Mix fruit and honey, arranging a portion down the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with a portion of nuts. Working one at a time, fold in sides of tortilla, then roll into a tight cylinder.

Three-Cheese french onion soup

2 large red onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) chicken broth
3 cups water
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worsh. sauce (don't have to spell that out for you do I?!)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (we used minced garlic)
7 slices french bread, sliced 3/4 inch thick
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozz cheese
1/4 cup grated parm cheese

In a dutch oven (we used a big pot), saute onions in butter until tender. Add the broth, water, soup mix, pepper, worsh, and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, place bread slices on an ungreased sheet. Sprinkle with swiss and mozz. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Ladle soup into serving bowls; top each with a toast slice. Sprinkle with parm cheese.

Velvety Vegetable Cheese Soup

1 pkg (16 oz) frozen brocolli, cauliflower and carrot mix
2 cans (14 oz each) fat free low sodium chicken broth
12 oz velveeta, cut up

Place vegetables and broth in large saucepan, cover. Bring to boil on medium/high. Reduce to low; simmer 10 minutes. Mash vegetables with potato masher to desired consistency. Stir in cheese; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Sour Cherry Crumb Cakes

Topping:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Cakes:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup buttermilk

1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups frozen dark sweet cherries

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9-inch square dish and dust with flour; tapping out excess.
Stir together butter, flour, sugars, salt and cinnamon.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
With a mixer, cream butter and sugar in another bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Working in alternating batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mix in flour mixture and buttermilk. Beat until just combined. Pour into dish and smooth with an off-set spatula.
Dot top with cherries and sprinkle with crumb topping.
Bake until golden and toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool before cutting.

Michael W. Smith

2010-11-04T06:50:00.001-07:00

(If others are reading this that are not Michael W. Smith, feel free to click out of it! No need to read it)
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This morning on my way to taking my 7-year old daughter to school, I had the "Freedom" CD playing in the car. After the 1st song ended, my daughter said "Play that one again, I like it!" I obliged; she hummed the whole song through. Song number 2 came on and she hummed along with that one also. I absolutely love that my daughter loves to hum and sing, and that she knows many "Michael W. Smith" songs from all of the CD's that I have.

A scene like the car one is not uncommon in my house. When my daughter wasn't even 2 years old yet, she could sing a few words from "Agnus Dei" and do around-the-tune it was supposed to be! And when she was about 4 1/2, she asked for the "Going through the Motions" song over and over! And age 5, her favorite CD was "Go West Young Man".

See, her life is impacted from all of those previous CD's, and I am more than happy to play any of those CD's that she wants, for her!
My life has also been impacted by the CD's you have made. I am 28 now, so I was 10-12 in the early 1990's and absolutely loved the music you made from that time. Each CD holds special memories from my childhood, and that really means a lot to me. I can hear music, and be transported to when I listened to it as a child, and have those memories come back to me.
I remember learning the 'rap' to "Love Crusade" and years later, can still do it :)
The "Project" CD -the memories for me when I hear it are playing my game boy (about age 11) while listening to it!

I have a 4 year old son too. They both ask for "Stand" and "Healing Rain" a lot.

And "Freedom" completely brings me back to my dorm room, age 18, Faith Baptist Bible College. I have loved it since I first heard it.

I am in Iowa, so I was able to see your concert at the state fair. I thought our seats were right in front, so I was disappointed when they ended up being in the front of the big bleachers, not right by the stage!
Also, that cruise is a dream for me! My husband someday wants to take an Alaskan cruise and if we can somehow do that in the next few years, I'd love to be on your cruise-- that would be surreal!

I have never written a 'fan' letter to anyone before. But for months I felt I really wanted to just let you know how my whole life is impacted because of what you do! There would be a void without all of my CD's, to be sure.
And Christmastime; don't even get me started! Ha.
All 3 Christmas CD's are played often throughout December. (I would year-round, but my husband isn't fond of Christmas music year-round!)

I set up a twitter account for the sole purpose of trying to get this letter to you. In an absolute way that you would see it- I didn't want to send it somehow and have others see it but it not get to you.
So with technology nowadays, I hoped that you would be able to click on the link and just read this! Just to know that I am not a person to buy certain people's every CD they do, everything they are in, etc.... EXCEPT for you I think! I will always buy your new CD's. I will always love listening to your previous CD's. My memories can't be erased- there are many that hold ties to your music, and I do just want to thank you.

Oh and my sister (a pastor's wife) got to meet you backstage last year at a concert--- I saw her pictures on facebook and when I saw the picture of her meeting you, I must admit, I kind of screamed! To meet you would be, a shock! But I wouldn't be able to say all this face to face, so I think it's the best way to let someone know how much they mean, through a letter really expressing why.

Thank you for your music!

With high regards,
Summer

Conferences: An Autumn Brag

2010-10-27T06:27:00.000-07:00

I just have to share about Autumn's conferences this year! First, on her STAR (comprehension of what she reads/grade equivalence), she tested at a grade 3.3... that would be 3rd grade, 3rd month!! WOW.
And her reading fluency (words per minute) --152. 152 words in 60 seconds! And she understands what she reads; she doesn't just read fast.
Her entire report card has no 'needs improvement' in any areas; most 'very good' and just a few 'satisfactory's.

Her teacher (ironically, also was Raun's 1st grade teacher 22 years ago too!) told us that she enjoys having Autumn in her class; there are no negatives at all! She is just a good kid :)
She and another teacher who sees their artwork are amazed at Autumn's drawings; they have never seen a student her age who does so much detail in them; they are very impressed with that!
It's just one of her hobbies; she loves to go in her room and color, draw, and read.

Socially she is right where she should be, so as for pushing her ahead a year, right now it's not needed. Next year there are programs she can go to, to learn more and not be re-learning things she already knows, etc... so in the coming years, we'll see if she should be pushed ahead a year, but I wouldn't want her to go ahead a year and not be ready in all aspects! (socially) She does well with other 7 year olds. (or 6 year olds)

Shameless brag, I know. But I am proud of her!

An Auction Adventure: #3

2010-10-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

Last year, we went to a few auctions...
I blogged about what we found. It was fun!
We went to an auction a few weeks ago. We were there for hours. Not fun waiting for them to get to the items we wanted to bid on, but that is how it works!
We saw quite a few things we were going to try to win. We lost them. But then...

We got to the china hutch. Ethan Allen. Fabulous. I held my breath.
It started at $100. No one bid (not even us). They lowered it to $50. Our paper goes up in the air. For about 45 seconds, I was hoping and praying that no one else would bid. A high hope- this hutch was amazing!

But, no one else bid! It was OURS for $50!!
What made a great deal even better was seeing online how high the prices of those things are- in the thousands. Wow!

Buuuut, Raun did not mention to me that his reason for buying it was to try to sell it and make a profit. My goal in buying it was to get an amazing piece for a steal of a price!

Anyways, we'll list it on Craigslist for $800-$1,000 or best offer. I suppose if someone were to pay $600/$800, I would reluctantly let it go! Raun would make me ;) haha!

But I reallly hope we get to keep it!

Give them sticks, leaves, a yard...

2010-10-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

.. and they are good to go for hours!

An outing for Fall

2010-10-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Autumn Acres (did it last year, too), and I took a few pictures (not as many as last year!) Just wanted to share some pictures!

The goat literally stuck its' head out trying to reach the kids! It was right before I took this picture, so he's not out quite as far as he had been.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-10-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

(on our hallway wall; reminders of our kids when they were babies!)

For Free

2010-10-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

When you are offered something for free,

and it's a cute

playhouse

that the kids would love,

accept it!

The people who live down our road (and they are the parents of the people who lived in our house before us a year and a half ago) came by and asked if we would want a little playhouse that they were getting rid of. It had been stored in their garage; their grandkids were too old to use it now, and they thought of asking us!! I said, sure!

After a little cleaning, it was ready to be played in!

They spent hours in it the first week it was here; so great!

Memory

2010-10-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

We connected the laptop (screen doesn't work) to our regular computer (doesn't let me load pictures to my blog) to make them both work together as of now....

So I wanted to post about a few things from last week.

I really wanted to post pictures of the bouquet Laurie (Raun's mom) wanted at the funeral instead of a big arrangement on the casket.
She wanted a bouquet of 3 daisies, one for each grandchild. They had a patch of daisies in their yard and Larry always mowed them down; he didn't like them. But for the grandkids, he left some up and it really meant a lot to Laurie to have this bouquet. The grandkids' names were on the ribbons, and there were a few pictures we found of the girls in the daisies years ago.
I just wanted to share that memory.

We all had seen him at the hospice the day that he ended up passing away. I came home and put the kids to bed, Raun's mom headed home and Raun stayed a bit. It was then that Larry passed away, with Raun there. He called me; a couple from the church came to stay at our house while our kids slept, and as I was a few minutes from getting to the hospice, the song on the radio that came on was "I'll Fly Away". Unbeknown to me, that was one of the songs Laurie had chosen for the funeral. Pretty amazing.

Raun and his brother were so helpful and loving with their dad. The thought that stays with me is when Raun told me how he had to lift his dad (he had no strength left), and his dad's head just rested on his shoulders.... such a sad, sweet image that I have of that.

He had a sense of humor right until the very end. That last day, we joked about the cinnamon rolls there and he said weakly "I'll take 2." I loved that he joked like that!

I just wanted to conclude this time in our lives with a post and those pictures. We will always miss Larry; we are thankful he is HOME!

Raun's dad

2010-10-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Larry McMahan, Raun's dad, passed away last Wednesday. It was expected for the last 4 months (he had cancer for 2 years), but it is still hard of course.

I wanted to post the obituary for anyone interested in seeing it.

http://www.hardenfuneralhomes.com/index.cfm

-----------------

I have had posts to blog about but our computer is on the fritz and I can't upload pictures to my blog posts, etc... so until our laptop gets working again, blog posts with pictures will have to wait. And I haven't felt like being on much with all of this happening too. Very long weeks we have had but I can't imagine Raun and his brother not having been there for Larry and Laurie (their mom). They were there until the end, and that was so comforting.
I will post more later.

Recipe Boxes --the simple pleasures in life

2010-09-15T07:09:00.000-07:00

Now, you may think it's silly for me to get so excited about these: Recipe Boxes. But I am excited! All of the recipes that I have are mismatched, not very organized, and just not pretty. So I wanted something that I could make pretty.
I looked online and found something great! And before I paid, I looked up 'coupon codes' for the place I got them from, and saved about $8 right then, just from looking up a coupon code to use on my purchase!! I couldn't wait for it to arrive in the mail.
It is personalized to say my name on the box and on the recipe cards that came with it.

And I have spent hours picking the recipes I wanted to redo on these cards, carefully writing them out in cursive (does anyone younger than 35 write in cursive anymore?!)

And it just makes me happy to see my recipes organized and written in nice penmanship.

Even while I ordered these, I had bookmarked another recipe box with matching recipe cards to order soon after that one.... one perfect for Christmas recipes!!!
(which I have a lot of)

It came with a few clear recipe covers (to keep spills off), that I used to put pictures in of recipes, and staple it to the recipe. It can be lifted right up to see the recipe, and I just like that I can have the picture and recipe attached together!

Ahh, it's the simple things! And I've brushed up on my cursive after all those hours, definitely!

I introduced Autumn to....

2010-09-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

...tracing paper. I remember putting tracing paper over anything as a kid, and tracing it- I loved it!
Autumn loves it as well.
And I think she did well at it for just learning how!

she has colored some of them too (probably after I took pictures)
It's fun introducing her to things I did as a child!

First Day

2010-08-25T18:39:00.000-07:00

\

Of First Grade!

Of Preschool!

And they loved it! Autumn loved school so I knew she would continue to do so this year...
Austin kept asking me if it was lunchtime yet so he could go to preschool! :) (He is 12:15-3:15 Mon-Thurs)

Those pictures of them before school were pure sweetness; she just hugged him and gave such sweet looks to him! LOVE the love!

Randomness

2010-08-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

So this post is full of bits and pieces of random things...

------------------------------
13 more days until school!
-1st grade for Autumn
-4-year old preschool for Austin!!

We've got all our school supply shopping done, which was fun. And I got Autumn a bigger lunchbox for this year; aren't those animal ice-packs cute? I make her lunch except maybe for a few times a month, so her lunchboxes get used a lot.

Austin is set to go in the afternoons (12:15-3:10) Monday - Thursday... such a big step for my boy!
------------------------

I found a blog that a mom did all about how she does her girls' hair, ideas, etc.. and I love it! I tried a few hairstyles on Autumn already --

---------------------------

There have been many nights lately of awful awful storms! So bad that it caused me to think, and I thought when I was little, I never saw storms to the extent that they have been lately. Literally, there wasn't 2 seconds in a 10 minutes period that there wasn't lightning. Lightning that covered the sky... it was scary! Maybe I don't remember well, but were storms as bad back then?!
-Speaking of that, one of Raun's work friends (not real close, but they talked occasionally), was found dead in the night (before he got in his car to head to work) It was one of those nights where there was lightning constantly. They assumed he had been stuck by lightning- awful!! But actually today just found out it was a blood clot that went to his lung. Another thing I've worried about! No way to know about clots until they kill you? :( So sad -he had just been married 7 months.
-----------------------------

I thought it was quite time to get a few new things to spruce up our couch area. For years, there have just been 2 red pillows and a blanket that's seen better days.

I like the colors! Looks good with the color of the couch.
-----------------------------

Austin has been on more medicines lately, and then threw up in the night and then 1 day later (no other symptoms of the flu; he was playing afterwards), so I wondered if he was possibly reacting to the new medicine or the combination of all he is on? Definitely not a good feeling; so I just stopped them except for his normal acid reflux medicine. And once in a while Miralax, because his X-Ray showed his colon completely backed up and they couldn't believe what they saw! So this has helped him get quite a bit out day by day!
Anyways, before he threw up, I weighed him the day before and he was 30 pounds!!!!!!!! Now, he has never been that much, ever! It's been between 26-28 pounds for a year, really, so this was exciting!
Since he threw up and can't quite eat as normal, it's down again, but I have hope to get it back up!
----------------------

Raun and I have liked playing a few new card games: Monopoly Deal and Scrabble Slam.

The Monopoly one, we love it!

A cute story about the scrabble slam one; Autumn and Raun were playing it and I happened to walk into the room when the cards showed "C O A M".... I asked, "What is COAM?" (laughing to myself because I think I knew what he would say) Raun says "Coam, you know, you coam your hair?"
Seriously, I busted out laughing!! I couldn't help myself! I said "No honey, that would be C O M B!!"
Stories like that are just so funny, so cute! Ah I love my husband!
------------------------

Autumn and Austin have decided what they want to be for halloween.
Autumn chose a unicorn and Austin is set on an octopus. (watching too much "Little Mermaid"!)
Wonder if I'll be able to get those?!

------------
Lunch today:

Salad made with things from Raun's parents' garden: kohlrabi, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and then I added more carrots, shredded mozzarella, parmesean, crutons.
Lunchmeat, and peaches and kiwi.
--------------------------
Autumn and Austin 'made up' a game that they have played for hours over the last week! They are firefighters. They have their hats, fire hoses (swords), they ride big animals to each fire, and after each fire, one of them needs the other to help the burn they got!

Hilarious!

And that about wraps it up!

Summer Play

2010-07-31T08:51:00.000-07:00

Slip'n and slid'n

First squirt guns

Fruit Pebbles Marshmallow treats

Silliness

Summertime

Ramblings and Reunion

2010-07-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

So, we've been busy!

Last week was VBS. Each morning for almost 3 hours, I helped in the 4-6 year olds (Austin's class) and Autumn enjoyed her class. I was ready to be done by the end, though. It was tiring! And since it took up every morning, by the afternoons, I was too beat to try to go to Pella for the pool, so we missed doing that too.

Then on Saturday we drove to LeClaire for the annual Bleeker Family Reunion. We enjoyed our time there, seeing people we see only once a year! Autumn spent a lot of time in the pool (floaties on), and it was nice to know she was safe and I didn't have to check on her often.
My cousin Troy. Thanks Troy for giving her a fun time!

I didn't get any pictures of Todd in the pool, but he was in there a lot playing with the kids, and I know Autumn repeatedly asked him for rides, etc.. and he was very patient and fun with her and the others; thanks Todd!

They set up a huge makeshift slip and slide (tarps) down their big hill, and literally, the kids kept climbing over and over for a turn, 1 1/2 hours! They would have kept going too, but we just said it was time to be done for the day. So fun!

(this last picture taken by Troy)

Betty brought everything for a hawaiian themed party for the young girls, and it was such a hit! Each year Betty does fabulous things for them! They made grass skirts, got a gift bag, did the limbo, got a lei necklace (not sure how that is spelled).

After we got to the hotel that night, I got the kids to sleep, and Raun was asleep and I headed back to the reunion to play some games; didn't want to miss out on extra fun!
I played Nertz (like Dutch Blitz) with my sister in law Tiffany, sister in law Rachel, and cousin Kathy. It was fun! And near the end (I hadn't won at all), they let me start a few seconds early and noticed I had only put out 3 cards, when it should be 4 cards, and we all were like, oh! So that's why I didn't ever win; I didn't play the right way and it hindered my ability to win! It was really funny!
Right then, once I played 4 cards like normal, I won that round!

The whole group, 41 people plus I unborn! (some weren't there at the time of this picture)
(taken by Troy)

(taken by Troy)

We left Sunday around 7 pm. We had a great 2 days and as always, it's hard once I get home and reality smacks me in the face.

I don't realize how lonely I get sometimes. I mask it, find things to do at the end of the night when Raun is gone... But really, when he's gone half of the week and I'm here with 2 kids, that is lonely. I don't have friends around. I don't share my days with neighbors, friends, family. I am the only adult around. I keep up on facebook, blogs, etc... but after weekends like this one, I realize that those things can intensify my lonely feeling instead of 'connect' to others. It's through a computer. It's not face time, having a conversation with a family member or friend, it's almost not real!
That's hard. It's a hard adjustment to make from being around loved ones, to being home alone with a computer if I choose to get on it.
I don't have meaningful friendships around me. I miss that. I need that. I try to be involved in our church that we joined recently, but in some ways that is also lonely.
It feels like I'm not good enough.

I know that God is always here for me. Just in an earthly way, with relationships here, is what I mean.

See, I knew this would be 'ramblings'!
I would just love to live close to many people, and we just don't. But I'll be okay! Just feeling down at the moment.