Bemidji Retreat

The weekend was warmer than usual, and we enjoyed a great time in Bemidji at their annual retreat. There were games, food, singing, fellowship, and preaching. We managed to get little sleep and had a wonderful time with Ken and Abbi and other old friends.

I caught this photo of Malia and friends during lunch at the retreat. It truly was beautiful outside!

Good times with friends!!

I love this picture! The boys enjoyed their doughnuts over a game of Candyland. How appropriate!

Malia whooping them in Dutch Blitz. (Actually, I have no idea who won, but I know my girls can be fast...it's dangerous!)

DJ is 7!

DJ celebrated yesterday with four friends from the church. We've always had a family birthday party until this year, but Grandma Carol still made it. Construction was the theme. We started with lego building, then took a trip to Home Depot for their kids' Saturday projects. Lunch consisted of lots of chunks of food that could be used to build (toothpicks included). Kent took them all on a hike outdoors to search for a geo-cache (each of them "found" a screwdriver and candy bar to take home). What fun! Seven and eight year olds can be sooo creative and have great attention spans (sometimes! anyway).

Yum, yummy bread

I've discovered a wonderful bread recipe for Oatmeal Sun Bread in a cookbook that features whole grain bakeries. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture, but if you like nutty, hearty bread, you'll enjoy this!

Oatmeal Sun Bread

Makes - 2 Loaves

Make sure you have:

3 cups warm water
1 Tbl. yeast
1/4 cup honey
3 cups hard whole wheat flour
1/3 cup rye flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup corn meal
1 Tbl. soy flour (I've never had this on hand so I skipped it)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 Tbl. safflower oil (I used canola)
1 Tbl. salt
3 more cups hard whole wheat flour

1. Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add the honey. Mix in the 3 cups whole wheat flour and beat 100 times (I think this is the reason the bread isn't super heavy) Let rise 20 minutes.

2. Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1 cup of the whole wheat flour. (Tonight I had to put extra in)

3. Knead the dough until it is elastic, adding the remaining flour only if necessary. Cover and let rise to double.

4. Punch down and shape into 2 loaves. Let rise to double again in oiled bread pans. I shaped mine into round loaves on a flat pan, brushed them with beaten egg yolk and sprinkled sunflower seeds on top. This gives them a nice brown, glossy? appearance.

5. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Winter highlights

Tana turned 17 this month! We had a few friends over and celebrated her life.

I managed to get library passes for a trip to MN Zoo. We had a great day and saw lots of animals...while staying inside most of the time! I love that about this zoo...all the indoor stuff is perfect for our cold winters.

We took a trip to see Kent's mom and Bud. This saddle was in a Sunday school classroom and it was a favorite seat for our boys!

When Kylee was here we made gingerbread trains. The trip to the bulk candy section at Cub was almost as fun as decorating the trains!

Stuff from life

I do have a photo with them all smiling normally, but I liked this one's aspect of DJ better. :)

Levi has a thing for his stuffed animals. At nap and bedtime, there's roll call and then when I get him up from his nap, we need to bring each animal with us wherever we are going!

Kade was about three months here. He's not sleeping quite so much anymore.

Bridgett told me about a free kids' craft day at Home Depot, the first Saturday of every month. We finally made it this month and they had a great time while I browsed the paint aisle. I love dreaming up what colors I'll paint all over my house, and I always pick up a few samples. That's all I ever get done though!

Love this little guy! He has a more intense personality than Levi, I think. He tends to voice his opinion very quickly and has quite a temper. But when he's about to cry, his lower lip begins to stick out and quiver. It's quite convincing! We're hoing he's going to keep his blue eyes...like Daddy's and Kalai's. Everyone else has brown.

I'm really enjoying the tidbits on Facebook...seeing friends' new pictures, hearing a recent update, etc. But I enjoy blogs a little more, mostly because they're usually more personal. We're anxious for spring, but at the same time marveling at the beautiful snow this morning. It settled on the branches and covered up the muddy, bare brown. Really, how can we expect spring in February when we live in MN?

Guests

Esther, Josh, and Kylee came for three days after Christmas while my parents were still here. We crammed as much as we could into their visit...sledding, tea party, gingerbread trains, trip to Lookout Ridge, and lots of playing together. My mom bought the younger four matching t-shirts. They call them the "cousin shirts." Kylee and DJ play Leap Frog World games

I went out sledding and Kent was caring for Kade. This is where I found him when I came back. :) Dads can be so creative.

The night Grandpa and Grandma left.

Kade is three months old now and smiling now and then. The time at Children's Hospital seems almost like a dream. It only lasted 8 days but at the time it seemed an eternity!

Thoughts on the New Year

I'm thinking that this year I want to grow and change. With God's help I will remember...



-To realize my list of "to-do's" can wait while I stop to take care of my children in numerous ways

-To realize that my baby will only want to be held like this for about a year and then I'll mostly be watching them walk all over the place...so I will relish these moments

-To realize that even though I don't have long periods of quiet and uninterruption, there are many moments throughout the day to pray and meditate on Scripture

-To realize that I should not desire to control life's circumstances and other's choices. I will love others and accept God's control in my life.

-To make memories and be more spontaneous...hide and seek, notes for my husband, "just because" surprises for the kids

-To cast ALL my cares upon Him, because He cares for me. Why be anxious?



When all is said and done, what really matters is that my children are walking in truth and that I've loved God and others. All the rest is okay....but I'm going to work on not getting hung up on it (like I've struggled in the past)...clean house, organized storage room, scrapbooking all our memories, journaling, cooking lots of meals, learning new skills, finding cute clothes, staying in touch with Everyone in numerous ways, completing all homeschooling goals, etc.

Just wanted to share. No pictures though. I can't believe it. :)