Books and crafts

We love books at our house, as you can see from the extensive children's collection in the background...and that's only part of it!

 Sometimes, when I look at my children, I think I may need to evaluate my stance on evolution. Not descended from monkeys? Hmmm.

We also love crafts. Judah usually doesn't do much more than color, although he does love Bendaroos (wax covered strings that stick together) and Mercy's pop beads.

 Grandpops helped Judah build a wooden racecar. Judah even hammered one of the pieces on.

Mercy worked on a picture frame and dry-erase board for Daddy, with Grandma's guidance.

Summer fun

Trying out the new kid-sized chairs from Grandma and Grandpa.

For some reason, these pics of Zion lounging in the chair crack me up.

Taking a walk with Grandma and Grandpa...

...sort of.

This is why it takes 45 minutes to walk a quarter mile.

Father's Day Blessings

A Father's Prayer

Benjy wrote this prayer on February 12, 2007. Mercy was due on Febrary 14, and these are his thoughts on becoming a father

."As I sit here tonight, it is hard to fathom the expected events of the following days. Today it is still just me and Lisa as it has been for 7 1/2 years.

Tomorrow, maybe our little one, Peanut, will come into our lives. How long have we waited and prayed for this day, and yet there is some uncertainty about how it will feel afterwards.

 It's like turning a page in a book, except this book only goes forward. I am looking forward to this chapter and yet feel I need God's strength and security as I face new experiences and challenges in life.

My Lisa is still my most precious treasure in this world. She is more beautiful now than ever. To see her pregnant and glowing has been a great joy to me. Thank you God, for giving her the gift that I could not give her, thank you Lord, for fulfilling her need to be a Mother. Thou art worthy to be praised.

 I know that I will go on loving Lisa, and I know I need to strengthen and renew my love and passion for her.

So often life seems to take so much out of my heart, and the cares of the world and perplexities of the mind can drain the life from me.

 

Lord, I pray that Thy Spirit will restore my heart and mind and soul, that I may daily lean on You for strength and grace to be the man, husband, and father that would be pleasing to Thee.

May this child and these children yet unborn that You would be pleased to give us be held in Thy arms, overshadowed by Thy Spirit, and brought to the fold of the Good Shepherd that Your Name may be praised.

 Jesus, may Your love and presence be in our hearts and home so that our children will early learn to fear Thy Name and love Thee as You have loved us.

Lord, whatever the future may hold,

 whatever may come of our dreams and plans,

  may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, so that at the end of our days,

  Lisa and I may look back and give You thanks for accomplishing Your purpose for us,

and may our highest joy be that we have known Thee, known the love of each other, and raised children to fear Thy Name.

May we be able to stand before Thee with joy.

 I am humbled that I have been given so much. I know therefore that my responsibility  is great.

 So, help me Lord Jesus to love and serve Thee in simplicity and truth all my days. Amen."




Do you wonder why I love this man?

Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart!

My favorite video of Benj with Mercy and Judah:

Mischief

I have been holding my sneezy, wheezy children hostage in the house for the last week and a half. The result is that my active, high-energy kiddos are wild with pent-up energy. It's a shame to stay inside, as the weather has been more like fall, with the daytime temperatures in the high 60's and the nightime lows in the 50's. But everyone had pretty severe allergy/asthma attacks two weeks ago from Benj and me rather immoderately allowing them to play outside for hours on end nearly everyday. Mercy and Judah had runny noses for a few days, but Zion began wheezing and became tight and junky, so we had to start his breathing treatments as
well as allergy meds. We're not crazy about the steroids and pharmaceuticals, but we're rather attached to breathing, as shallow as that may sound.

Earlier today, Mercy and Judah were racing around the house shouting "AAAAAAAHHHHHH! IT'S A BEAR! RUUUUUUNNN! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" and Zion followed them, screaming just because they were. Even that's not enough to run off the extra steam, though. Rest times are a joke. They carried on, laughed, screeched, and talked for over two hours. Then, within 5 minutes of getting up, I found them in the living room:

They dragged Benj's pillow and the couch pillows onto the floor and were all snuggled under their blankets drinking milk. Why they couldn't do that at rest time is beyond me. Even Zion, who had barely taken an hour nap and had been motoring around the house all day joined in and sat still for a few minutes:

Wow, Zion looks rather skinny in that picture. I assure you that he is NOT skinny. It must have been a flattering angle. I don't know why MY pictures are never at flattering angles. Hmph.

Here is the boys' latest project:

That's our screen door. Notice how Zion's elbow is resting OUTSIDE the screen. Judah finally succeeded in pushing the screen out, and he and Zion take great delight in hanging their heads out, with the screen flapping open.

And then, I discovered that their heads weren't the only things they were hanging out the open window:

I found sippies, balls, cookie cutters, food, all thrown out onto the porch and in the flower bed. Oh, what the UPS delivery man must have thought when he drove up. Sigh. Isn't anyone watching these kids?

Then Judah decided that rest time was a good time to mulch a book. As rambunctious as all three of my kidlets are, they are rarely deliberately destructive, so I was just a tad shocked when I walked into his bed and found the book that had looked like this when I put him to bed:

...looked like this when I got him up:

I don't know the last time Judah has destroyed a book. In fact, I don't think he ever has. We've had books that have been well-loved to the point of falling apart, but I don't remember him ever ripping a book apart. And of course, it was a library book. So not only did they charge me $14.95 to replace it (I rarely buy new books for my littles, so that was apalling), but they also charged me a $5 processing fee. Seriously? It takes 45 seconds to jump on Amazon and order a book. Five bucks seems a little spiteful to me. Anyway,  that 20 bucks is totally coming out of his college fund.

Mercy has directed her energies into less annoying activities. I admit that I'm kind of lazy about fixing her hair when we're just around the house, so she's taken matters into her own hands:

What she lacks in skill, she at least makes up for in being completely color coordinated. Notice the orange hairband is the exact color of the owls, and the fuschia is the same color as the owls's wings on her nightie. Turns out she does have some of my DNA after all.

Foodie Friday Saturday: Gluten-Free Aebleskivers

I haven't done a Foodie Friday for a long time. This morning for breakfast, I made gluten-free, soaked Aebleskivers, a traditional Danish puff pancake. I adapted my recipe from Kimi's recipe over at The Nourishing Gourmet . Visit her site if you'd like a dairy-free or gluten-containing version (or a slightly different gluten-free option).  The texture of these is between a traditional (whole-grain) pancake and a popover. In Denmark, they were originally filled with apple slices (which is where the word aebleskiver comes from, according to Wikipedia). The Danish aebleskivers are not sweet but are usually served with a sweet jam or, in our case, with maple syrup. In typical American fashion, these nutritious, hearty pancakes have been turned into a sugary dessert, so if you look up a recipe on allrecipes or other recipe sites, you'll find chocolate and powdered sugar versions, more like donuts. If you would like a nutritious version, read on. I've typed out the recipe first, in case anyone wants to copy it, but I follow the recipe with pictures, tips, and explanations. Don't be put off by the complicated-sounded instructions. Look at the pictures for clarification. This is a quick and easy recipe, especially if you do the prep the night before. The first time I made them, it took me a little extra time to get the hang of how much batter to use and how to turn them, but the second time, it took me no longer than making pancakes.

Soaked, Gluten-Free Aebleskivers

2 1/2 cups gluten free flour: 1/2 c. amaranth flour, 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, 1/2 c. arrowroot, all freshly ground, if possible
1 cup water
1/2 cup (heaping) plain, whole yogurt or kefir
1 Tablespoon chia seeds, ground
Mix together, cover loosely, and allow to sit at room temperature for 7-24 hours (this reduces the phytic acid , an anti-nutrient, in the grains, thus making them more easily digestable and and the nutrients more absorbable).

3 eggs, separated
3 Tablespoons Rapadura, or other whole, natural sweetener
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
The next day, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form and set aside. Add the remaining ingredients to soaked flour mixture and mix well. Fold in egg whites. Time to cook!

Spray an aebleskiver pan with olive oil, or grease with butter or coconut oil. Heat the pan on medium-low heat. Fill the hollows most of the way to the top with batter (I leave about 1/8 of an inch, as they do puff up. Probably why they're called puff pancakes, huh?) . Cook until set and browned on the bottom. With a skewer, toothpick, or two-pronged fork, turn a quarter turn. After the bottom browns, turn a quarter turn again. Repeat until you're left with golden spheres. This recipe makes about 28 puffs. Serve with butter and maple syrup, applesauce, or jam. For leftovers, roll in a little melted butter, then roll in organic cinnamon sugar.

Notes:
You'll need a special aebleskiver pan. I have the Lodge version, which I bought on Amazon. There are less expensive varieties, but when it comes to cookware, I generally prefer to spend a little more to get something that works and will last a long time. It was pre-seasoned, but I still recommend greasing it with each use to eliminate frustration, especially if you're new to using cast iron.

I filled mine all but full. If you don't fill them full enough, they don't look as pretty, but if you fill them too full, they puff over the edge (think muffin tops), and don't fit in the hollow when you turn them. There's a slight learning curve, but I keep the batter about 1/8 inch from the top. This is how the batter should look after it's cooking and has puffed up. These were perfect.



The instructions for turning sound complicated, but it is truly easy. I don't have time for complicated. Here's what the aebleskivers look like when they've been turned a quarter turn:

There's a rumor that when the aebleskivers are turned like this, the centers can be filled. I'm thinking chopped apples and cinnamon, whipped cream, cream cheese sweetened with maple syrup. Mmmm. The possibilities are endless.

And this is what they look like turned the final time, cooking the bottom:

Ready to serve:

That's the idea, Zi!