Learning to Live Evermore

February has flown by and has only a few days left. This has been a month full of emotion. Makes sense when you consider it includes Valentines Day. And this particular Valentines Day I was surrounded by those I love and who love me - my husband and children and both my parents. How blessed I am to have these persons in my life who reflect the love of Christ to me! Truly the greatest love the earth has ever known is that of Christ and his sacrifice. And how fitting it has been this year to have Ash Wednesday fall the day before this “National Day of Love” full of Hallmark cards and candlelight dinners. It was a chance for me to witness in my own life how much easier it is to pay more attention to a secular holiday than the time in the church year where we stop and reflect on Jesus’ great love and grace towards mankind. What greater love is there? 

Earlier in the month, we enjoyed an evening of opening up our home to the group of families we traveled to China with while adopting our daughters. Those little bundles of joy and screaming are now 7 year olds. The bond they share is extremely special as is the one we share with the fellow parents. Our backgrounds and interests may be varied, but the experience we share with them is heartwarming. What a blessing this group is! Zanna sees that other families are like hers and she loves to get together with her “China friends” as she calls them. The dads were bold this evening together and took the kids sledding at a nearby hill. Seven girls and Will kept the dads busy by challenging them to races down the snowy and somewhat hard, icy slope. The guys came back with some sore behinds and the kids were ready to attack the hot chocolate bar I had ready for them! 

Chinese New Year was not far behind and we enjoyed a quiet meal at home with some homemade beef stir-fry and specially made egg rolls made famous by a local restaurant! 

Mom and Dad’s visit in honour of Zanna’s birthday was a fun filled 9 days full of activities that included a Beatles’ Tribute Show with the NAC orchestra downtown. We sat in the box seats in the mezzanine level and enjoyed a perfect view while tapping our feet and biting our lip to keep from singing along and embarrassing ourselves!  We kept up our normal activities for the most part with Oma and Opa tagging along sometimes - soccer, ballet, a field trip on honey bees to the Agriculture Museum. And we spent Family Day in Watertown, New York for a change of scenery and a visit to the aisles of Target. Amid the days included discipline issues and naughty behaviour - the kids too:) I wish these special times wouldn’t be tainted by bad attitudes and rebellion but they were. Often bringing to light issues that have been there all along and have finally reared their ugly head until we can ignore them no more. It’s exhausting. Parenting is exhausting. Especially when I see myself in their bad behaviour and I am reminded of my Heavenly Father’s grace towards me and I am moved to extend some of that grace to my children. Humbling. 

This month I have run the spectrum of emotion - joy, happiness, sadness, guilt - and I am brought to my knees by an email and a phone call. The email - news delivered that a dear friend and sister-in-Christ, fellow pastor’s wife my age has cancer. I think of those days back at Seminary and the budding of our friendship. Our boys the same age - little 1 year olds that final year of Sem and us new moms enjoying the fellowship we had with one another. Now a mom of five, she lies in a hospital with leukemia. My heart aches. I think of her pastor husband we just saw last April. I think of her children. I think of her mom and dad and family members and the church family she has in Florida. I think of evermore and what this means. She is a child of God. Her husband faithfully teaches and preaches God’s Word in it’s truth and purity. Her children have been baptized into faith, the cross of Christ marked on their foreheads in the name of the Triune God and doesn’t God “work for the good of those who love him”(Rom 8:28)?  This is evermore. This moment falls somewhere in eternity and yes, God does work things out for his children. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord. (Jer 29:1-14)  This world is so temporary and things change so fast! God has healed us of the only thing that matters for eternity - our sin that damns us to an eternity of suffering. My friend will be healed of this cancer - maybe in this life but for certain in heaven because Christ has healed her of the one thing that can truly harm her. I pray for strength to be given to them and hope to endure the trials and for His will to be done and remember Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and didn’t he pray for that? Our God knows and endured much worse on our behalf and I pray she and her family will be comforted. 

I’m praying for another dear friend and fellow pastor’s wife on a mission trip to Nepal. As she teaches a group of Christian women there to teach their children about Jesus, encourage their husbands to evangelize and to properly understand their roles as women, I know my friend will return home a different person.  I wonder what her eyes will see and what perspective she’ll bring back. I look forward to seeing how God uses this experience in her life to glorify his name and unite sisters in faith across a globe. Evermore.

And finally, a phone call. I can’t say anymore at this point. We're all OK, no worries. Only that it’s shook our world and brought me to a very vivid awareness of my weakness and need for a Saviour.  Prayers, please?  May His will be done. Evermore. 

Our Homeschool Day in the Life - 2013

Yeah! It's that time again where I record a random day of our life for posterities sake and to link up to Simple Homeschool as others do the same. It would be interesting to be a little "fly on the wall" in different homes to observe this crazy lifestyle we call homeschool. This is the next best thing! 
My children are 6 and 12 - grades 1 and 7 respectively. This is our 8th year of educating at home and it's been working for us. On this Friday, the first of February, our day begins:

Will is up at 6:30am to spend his first half hour of the day lounging in bed and listening to "the Sword in the Stone" on CD. Hey, whatever works! I'm up at 7 to wear a head weight on my head (ask my chiropractor) for 20minutes before I jump in the shower and get ready.  Zanna comes down shortly after and gets herself some breakfast.

Will finishes his breakfast and gets to his assigned reading. He's currently reading a biography on Louise Braille. After he finishes, he watches his Saxon math lesson on my computer. It's an Investigation (if you're familiar with Saxon) so it goes fairly quickly.

He's on a serious roll this morning and keeps going on his own with his confirmation homework and his Bible History lesson. This book used to be mine in grade 7! 

Meanwhile, Zanna has a Saxon 1 math assessment I've put out for her and she works on that. 
8:45 Math meeting with Zanna (calendar, skip counting, etc)

9am - Devotion together and memory work - we're working on the Sermon on the Mount

9:15 - Will is way ahead of schedule and works on my computer to rewrite his writing lesson from the day before. He got a little lost in the creative process and strayed a bit from the assignment so unfortunately he's got some touching up to do. (Institute for Excellence in Writing) Meanwhile, I work with Zanna on her handwriting. 
9:30 - Since Will's already sitting in front of the computer he does his Eastern Hemisphere Explorer worksheet using World Book Encyclopedia. We're finishing up Core F in Sonlight and studying Africa. Meanwhile, I teach Zanna her Bible lesson using NPH materials. 
10 - Zanna "Explode the Code" and Will "All about Spelling". You can see the enthusiasm for spelling Will has in his face. Despite the good start to our day, his attitude sours a bit here and the whining starts. Oh, well. We had a good run!

After Zanna finishes her phonics work, she moves over to the rocking chair to work on her new book "Oliver". It's an easy read version. We had seen the musical last December and visited London later that month so she LOVES this story! 

10:30 - Time to get our groove on. We review our Africa songs - the countries set to music. 
10:45 - watch an African Ancient Civilizations video borrowed from the library. Meanwhile, I get supper in the crockpot.
11:30 - Will runs to the nearby grocery store for me to get a few items I forgot when shopping the other day. I work on getting lunch ready and Zanna practices her violin. 
12 - eat and clean up
12:30 - Will studies for Science test. I tidy up and set the table for dinner. I leave a note with last minute instructions for dear husband to finish up dinner. 

Why he's hanging upside down to study in beyond me but hey - whatever floats your boat.
1-2pm- Quiet time. Yeah! Will studies a little more and then plays in his room. Zanna plays in her room. I have my Bible time and then work on a presentation I'm giving in April at the local homeschool conference on organizing. Better get my act together!!

2:15 we have to leave for soccer. Also picking up a friend on the way. Soccer goes until 4:30 and we're home by 5:15. 

Walk in the door and dinner is ready! I made Crockpot Chicken tacos and Wayne's got everything ready to go. 

5:45 - Wayne takes Will and they're off to church for Confirmation class. 
Zanna's in bed by 7:30 and Will is 8:30. I don't do much of anything the rest of the day. I'm tired, man! You can find me on the couch watching Duck Dynasty and playing Boggle on my iPhone. 
Each day's a bit different depending on the activities we have  scheduled for the day but there's a daily rhythm that allows everyone to know what is expected of them. I try to leave the school/play room tidy before I turn in for the day and set out stuff the kids can start working on when they're ready. We school from Tuesday - Saturday because Wayne's day off is Monday and we want to enjoy that together so it's not our "weekend" yet. But we're getting there! 
That Crockpot Chicken Taco recipe? Works great in a pinch - 
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/4 oz package of taco seasoning mix
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup sour cream
tortillas, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese to serve with

Place chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle seasoning mix over. Top with salsa and cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours. Remove chicken to plate and shred  - set aside. Add sour cream to salsa mixture and stir in chicken. Serve with tortillas and sides. Serves 4.

January is for ....

January is known for it's new beginnings and resolutions often broken before the month progresses very far. The only resolution I make is to stand up/sit up straighter and even as I write this I find myself hunched over. So there you go. 

The last few years I've preferred to jump on the bandwagon and go with a word that defines the year ahead. This is less overwhelming to me and forces me to contemplate life at a level that makes me pause and take notice. While recently researching and writing a hymnology study on "Of the Father's Love Begotten" (CW 35), I became quite taken with the repeating line at the end of each verse "evermore and evermore".  If I live this year with this in mind - that this evermore that defies human logic and comprehension but is and always will be, with no beginning and no end and continues on into eternity - and that I am part of this evermore through faith in Christ who is Alpha and Omega, along with a creation seen and unseen that is made to praise and adore him every second of every day? That's some kind of eternal perspective in light of eternity that I could use in 2013! While I don't want to miss out on the gift of here and now or fail to treasure the day to day grace he gives me, what difference might this awareness make in knowing that this year is finite in a very infinite reality!? So that's it - my word for 2013 - evermore. 

January fits so well into what I need by the time I get to this point in winter and life. The cold days are good excuses to find indoor, brain activities to do. Ours didn't start so well with the flu passing from one to another with Wayne managing to avoid it altogether. When my kids start falling asleep in strange places in the middle of the day, I know something is off! But even those days are good in that they force us and give a good reason to hunker down and rest our bodies and souls. 

I've been reading a fair amount lately and it feels good to rock in my wicker rocking chair with a hot cup of tea at my side and soak up some wisdom. Reading Lyle Lang's "God so loved the World - a study of Christian Doctrine", recommended by a sweet friend from church, is not light reading! But good. So good! It's funny when the reading of something fits so well into other things that come up elsewhere and give you insight that you wouldn't have had otherwise. I've also been reading "Margin". Oh, yeah, I could use more of that. Like the margin around the page of a book or newspaper, that's what our lives need to keep sane, happy and healthy. Why do we live overloaded lives and wear it like a badge on our shoulder as something to be proud of? I want to have time for relationships. I want to nurture friendships. I desire to extend hospitality. Loving this read! After all, if I'm living evermore than a lack of time is not the problem. 

I drive around a fair amount too whether it's as mom taxi to get the kids to whatever field trip or extracurricular event I have them in or running needful errands. I find these little trips can really add up and are the perfect opportunity to listen to more interesting and worthwhile things. I'm now an issues,etc. talk radio junkie. If you're WELS be warned this is LCMS but it has some pretty decent stuff. In my defence, I also downloaded the WELS app and will patiently wait for them to "cool it up". I also love, love, love booksshouldbefree.com and download books from this website. 

We continued our home studies in the new year with a study of Africa. We're currently working on memorizing all the countries on this continent to song. It's a rather embarrassing display if you had the opportunity to witness it. Which you won't. There's interpretive dancing and booty shaking and well, I've said too much. We're also memorizing the Sermon on the Mount. I'm wouldn't go so far as to say that memorizing is a new years resolution but something we could definitely do more of. Works the brain, you know? 

And there are plenty of times I shut my brain off and watch TV. I'm thrilled that January has brought new episodes of Republic of Doyle and Murdoch Mysteries. And my newest favourite reality show that makes me howl with laughter every. single. time? Duck Dynasty. happy, happy, happy!

These hibernation days also bring lots of cooking - stews, casseroles and soups - lots of soup! And of course baking. I tried the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls that make me weak in the knees and it makes such a big batch that now I have 4 pans of rolls waiting in my freezer. I did half traditional cinnamon and the other half orange rolls. Yum - oh.  I've also done some granola and some jam filled oat squares. Maybe I should also start working out in the new year? Nahhhhhhhhh. 
The children are hibernating a bit too - but more active than their mother, thankfully! Will's been working on his Lego NXT - 

He was also responsible for dinner one night - he picked out Fish Pie to make (an English favourite) - and it was quite nice having an evening off (more or less). 

Zanna has been playing with her Barbies and Playmobile she got for Christmas.

Hard to believe this month is almost over and I hope to take it's many lessons into the rest of the new year. Evermore!

Loving the great ideas for a life on purpose found here!

Off with the old, on with the new!

As I wrap up the final hours left of 2012, I'll reflect on the last week! We so enjoyed our time with Wayne's parents and we kept  busy with a trip to the museum, several trips to the Quebec church and time spent indoors watching the snow fall outside.

The kids played Farkle with Grandpa and Grandma along with Monopoly and Zanna's newest game, Mousetrap. We made fun memories like an evening of rum and eggnog drinking while watching a silent Charlie Chaplin movie (which is funnier with rum and eggnog).

Here's my little angel and shepherd. They did a great job on Christmas eve with their memorized parts and music singing! We had great attendance at church that evening breaking our record - 124 jammed into our tiny church - praise God! 

For Christmas Eve dinner this year I tried something different - Shepherd's pie. To be fair, we learned in England that real shepherd's pie is made with lamb (duh). So if it's made with beef it should be called cottage pie, but that just doesn't go with my theme, OK? 

I love my Christmas Eve table - Grandma's retro tablecloth dressed up with some flea market finds and a center piece of ornaments.

Christmas Day's table is a bit fancier using my fancy dishes and gold silverware - 

And here we are eating after opening our Christmas crackers! Do we look like we're having fun?!!! What on the menu? Well, let's see..

Our tradition for Christmas dinner is to keep me out of the kitchen as much as possible so it's IKEA Swedish meatballs and gravy! We love it! Once a year and everyone's happy. I try to spruce it up by having some lobster tails on the side with melted butter. Yum! And I'm not even going to show you Jesus' birthday cake for this year. Let's just say, it was good to eat but not the prettiest cake you've ever seen. 

We've continued to get dumped on so the kids have been working on a super cool fort in the front. We've also been sledding and attempted a family outing of ice skating. We realized we're stupid parents. You know the ones - who don't love their children enough to bring helmets for them to wear? You've seen them - they can't even spring for some decent skates for their poor children? One kids got some hand me down "training" skates that strap on to her boots only to have them constantly fall off. The other child has been forced to wear his grandfather's skates from 1975 and is flopping all over the place - with no helmet, may I remind you. Yep, that's us. We lasted 5 minutes and spent just under $7 for this family friendly outing. We will not give up! We went directly to Sports Check for their after Christmas sales and purchased some decent skates for both children. We may even bring helmets next time. 
And on a personal note, I've decided to go with a new look for the new year.  You know, spice things up a bit? What do you think?

OK. Before you say anything, let's just all take a deep breath. The story is this - it's a wig and I got it for a Christmas present from one of our members. What?!! Lutheran pastor's wives don't usually get a wig for Christmas? The gal that got it for me is super fun, super cute and quite frankly, I'm honoured.  The fact that she would think I'd be groovy enough to try something like this is now pressure - where I am going to wear this?!!! "Off to choir, kids, and mommy's going to put on her hair!" or "I need to clean my floor. Maybe it'll be more fun with some hair?" or "I think I'll wear it to my home school support group tonight and see if anyone notices." 
I'm also thinking that the likelihood of ever having a conversation with another pastor's wife that would include something like "Oh, I remember the time I got a wig for Christmas..." is pretty slim. Yep. This'll be a hard one to top! It's really a gorgeous colour and I wish my hair would grow that long and curl in those lovely waves! So if anyone has any suggestions as to the appropriate time and place for me to wear this, or if you have a wig and wanna come over to just hang out in them let me know! Happy New Year!!

Snow Days

We're buried in snow here in our little part of Canada! Wayne just busted out the snow blower and cleared off our driveway. The kids have made a couple of snow men and I've got a bowl out back collecting the fresh fallen snow for a treat of snow ice cream for later. 

My mother in law and I ventured out a bit this morning to do some last minute shopping. Thank goodness for snow tires!

We're happy to have family visit for Christmas and the kids love having Grandpa and Grandma to play with!

I had intended to do some school at least for a few days this week but instead opted for doing some much needed baking, cleaning and crafts with the kids like decorating oranges with cloves and cutting out paper snow flakes.

Every year in his stocking, Will receives a nutcracker for his collection. He's up to quite a few!

My brother has a nutcracker collection also but apparently they freak his wife out. Guess it wasn't a question he thought to ask until it was too late... haha!

And on the baking front this year, I haven't done my usual nor did I participate in any cookie exchanges but I did do the wreath cookies - they're always a favourite! I also discovered what will be a new tradition - Eggnog Rum Bread.

 As I was scraping the last of the batter into my bread pans, I snuck a taste just to make sure it was all right. I don't usually do this to be honest - I let the kids attack it. But since this batter included rum I thought I better take this one. At first taste I started groaning enough to make Wayne peak around the corner to see what was wrong. What he witnessed I can only imagine was a most unfortunate sight of his lovely wife licking her mixing bowl clean with the grace of a cat. My point is this - go make this right now. I mean it. Right now. I have never.... Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go make this RIGHT NOW. I managed to give some of mine away to my neighbours but kept the big one for myself. I hide it in the corner and sneak bites of it for a treat. 

I love how the snow covers up the dirty ground and covers it with it's clean white. The snow covered evergreen cathedrals remind me of how baby Jesus didn't stay a cute baby but lived a perfect life for lost mankind, grew up to suffer and die and proved his victory of sin, death and the devil by his resurrection. The dirty ground of sinners is covered with his white perfection through faith in Jesus. This is the gift.

Advent Tidings

The first Sunday in Advent has passed, the calendar has been turned to December, we've had our first snowfall - is it that time of year already?! 

Our choir debuted with "Prepare the Royal Highway" and we continue to practice more songs.  Choir practice starts at 6:30pm and goes to at least 7:30pm but has been going later due to the amount of music we're trying to learn for Advent by Candlelight on top of everything else. The problem for me is this - my uselessness after 8pm but sometimes a little before. I'm not a night person. I'm not a morning person. I regret to discover of myself I'm about a 10am - 1pm kinda gal. Not ideal. Anything asked of me outside these peak hours is really a crap shoot. Crap. 

We thoroughly enjoyed (I was enraptured) with our visit to the theatre to see Pride and Prejudice. We had FRONT ROW SEATS! Zanna was swooning by the time Elizabeth and Darcy declared their love for each other, Will was hiding behind his turned up collar so as not to witness this embarrassing scene of affection and I was willing to go on the road and be the cast's groupie. 

Also included in the same busy week was a field trip to the Aviation Museum for workshops on "air". Zanna and I also attended a local ballet schools version of the Nutcracker.

Last year, we didn't put up our tree due to our England trip. I admit to missing the ornaments and the memories we recall of obtaining many of them. I also admit my delight in not having to take down the tree and wrap up each individual ornament after returning from our trip! So I was excited to get all 200 ornaments (or so) out this year. Most of them are mine from childhood, having collected them since birth. I entered my marriage 14 years ago with enough ornaments to fill up a tree by myself. My husband brought nothing - except his witty personality and you can't exactly decorate a tree with that now can you? So many of them say Rachel 1988 or Rachel 1981 or Rachel 1979 .... you get the point. So fast forward 14 years and in an effort to tip the ornament owner scales, everyone in the family has gotten at least one new one every year. 

New additions include Big Ben in memory of our England trip.

From our trip to Quebec City last fall

An oldie from our honeymoon

Earlier this week, my friend Ruth and I made a run for the border and shopped our brains out for a day. It was totally worth it for several reasons. 

1. We got lots of Christmas shopping done - much cheaper. 
2. We got carded at Olive Garden for the complimentary sip of wine they offered.
3. We ate lunch at Panera. Sigh. 
4. We wandered up and down the aisles of Target. She freaked out in the candy aisle and I lost it when I found the perfect tablecloth for $14. 
5. I mailed my US addressed Christmas cards and packages from the US Post Office there. I saved a ton of money on this and I've already heard word that the package made it in 2 days. Score.
6. I may have screamed in the grocery store as I read the signage for the price of turkey per pound at $.49. I don't really remember, I think I blacked out for a moment. Ruth tells me I screamed. 

Tomorrow I will be declaring a day off of school and naming it a PB day - parent baking. Tis the season for church bake sales and I'm on coffee hour. If you need me tomorrow you can find me in my kitchen with my William Sonoma red apron on and covered in flour. 

This year for Advent our family is using the book "Celebrate Jesus at Christmas" along with our advent wreath in the evening. Also rereading "Martin Luther's Christmas Book" which I find profound yet again! A free resource offered online and written by my Mom is called "Advent Ponderings". A free audio book from christian audio is "God is in the Manger" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In a season often rushed and stressful, it's important to take time daily and contemplate the Saviour that is to come! 

Scenes from Thanksgiving (and a recipe!)

The kids work on a craft to keep them busy

We add the last leaves to our Thanksgiving tree

Zanna makes Cranberry bread from the book "Cranberry Thanksgiving"

The kids table is set for the evening meal

The table is set for our soon to arrive guests!

Bring on the turkey! Note to self: next year buy turkey in States for  $.69/lb as opposed to the $2.99/lb I spent.

Looking for a way to reinvent turkey dinner leftovers? Remembering last years trip to England, I was inspired by a soup I had from Marks and Spencers - a seasonal variety called Christmas Soup. Since our family doesn't usually have turkey for Christmas, I've renamed my version "Thanksgiving Soup". The result was yummy!!!!

Thanksgiving Soup

Chicken broth - enough to fill your stockpot to about 3/4'ths full

1 onion, carrot and celery finely chopped

1 cup (or more if you want meatier) chopped leftover turkey

Let this come to a boil and simmer covered until veggies have softened (about 30 min)

Add to pot:

1 cup leftover stuffing

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp savoury

2 tsp Bisto turkey flavoured gravy granules

Simmer another 20 min.  Salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!

What to serve with this? Try a baguette spread with warmed brie and leftover cranberries on top. Viola!