Rashes, and sniffles, and coughs, OH my!

Germs are tenacious little critters... at least with the little ones in our family.  Mary really struggled with this respiratory bug.  Since the sisters love to love her - they came down with it too.  Lots of sleepless nights for us all as the croupy type cough kept them from sleeping and kept the parents on "alert". 
The item in my little arsenal I used most this time was elderberry syrup.  It really helps stop the coughing and also boosts the immune system.  I bought mine from the naturopath in town.  You can buy it at the local health food store, but do read the labels as some have quite a bit of alcohol in them. 

Abbie got this weird mystery rash.  It started on her chest and tummy.  A bit of it was on her legs too. Sort of like teeny tiny red bumps.  A result of a fever, maybe?  I didn't really want to put anything on it because I wasn't really sure what I was dealing with and I didn't want to mask any symptoms.  The part on her trunk seemed to fade within a few days, but the back of her legs just looked angry.  Eric suggested I soak her in a bath of Epsom salt.  Then it hit me!  I could do better than that.  I had some Anderson Family Farm goat milk bath salts.  The combination of sea salt, Epsom salt, baking soda and lavender essential oil would really help soothe and heal her tender, irritated skin.  Guess what?  After just two baths with it - it was MUCH improved! 

In addition to their regular line of wonderful goat milk skin care products they are so well known for, Anderson Family Farm has just launched their Baby B line.  They are introducing several products in this line, but there are two that I am especially excited about! 

• Baby B Comforted ~ Simply Breathe

Peppermint, lavender and eucalyptus smithii essential oils are mixed with sweet almond oil in a gentle baby ratio that when rubbed on their chest, back or even the bottoms of their feet will help give relief to congestion and help them breathe easier.  This is WAY better than V--- rub that we all grew up with.  To tell you the truth,  I would readily use this on myself, my husband or my older children as well.   I only wish I had this product last week!!

• Baby B Soothed ~ Diaper Salve

This is the other product I am so happy about!  Their formulation is so nice - it's not ooey-gooey like the kinds that come in a tube.  Theirs is in a tin and it's more solid.  But the reason I am so thrilled will surprise you.  Since one of the ingredients is zinc oxide - it is a natural SUNSCREEN! 
I've been looking for natural sunscreens every summer, but to no avail.  It's always been a big concern of mine.  I don't want my littles to burn, but I don't want to put the harsh toxins that are in all the sunscreens on the market onto my children.  (Did you know that 60% of what you put directly on your skin gets absorbed into your blood stream!?)
The ingredients in this diaper salve are good for little cuts too.  The grapefruit seed extract is anti-microbial, the lavender and tea tree oils are anti fungal, antiseptic, and anti-bacterial!  This little gem is going to be my go-to cream for a miriad of things.  A must have in my purse ~ AKA Mom's med kit!

I just want you to know, that I am not "selling" their products...I am just SOLD ON their products.

One

This day one year ago, I was cherishing the fresh scent of a newborn, delighting in holding and nursing a new baby girl, and contemplating with utter amazement the grace of God in the safe delivery of healthy Mary Anne at home. 

This year has brought the usual milestones for baby - growing, crawling, sitting up on her own, joining us in her highchair at the family dinner table, eating solid foods and now table foods, using a cup on occasion.  I am so thankful that she is healthy and achieving those things on schedule.

Some other fun things about Mary Anne...

• Her eyes are still blue.  Our only blue-eyed babe in the bunch.
• She has anisocoria.  That is where one pupil is larger than the other.  She was born that way. We, of course, had it checked out as that can be a sign of/result of serious things, but yet again, by God's grace, it is just a physiological trait for her...perfectly fine. 
• Her blond hair is growing - but mostly in the back.  Some days she looks a bit like Alfalfa from The Little Rascals. 
• She is standing on her own and cruising along the walls and furniture, but not walking without holding on yet.
• She LOVES to play Peek-a-boo.
• She smiles and laughs A LOT!
• She would rather be held than anything else.  {Who wouldn't?!} But...only by family.
• Carrots are her favorite food.  I gave her a sip of some juice from my Ruby Red grapefruit ...she cried.   Not thinkin' she liked it!
• She's 18ish lbs. and wearing 12 month size clothes.  (just like all my other girls...on the small side.)
• She still takes a pacifier...with great pleasure.
• She is a lickety-split fast crawler!
• She has 6 teeth, 4 on top, 2 on the bottom. 
• She has begun to take an interest in Otis.  He is so patient with her.  {What a good dog!}

Today she will have her first taste of cake and ice cream.  {Vanilla ice cream and white cake with chocolate frosting...that ought to make a splendid mess!} Good thing she loves bath time!
We don't have any particular plans for the day since she is not feeling well.  What timing to get a super bad head cold and bronchitis! 

Thank you, God for the blessing of Mary Anne and your providence to place her in our family.  I can't imagine our family without her.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Mary Anne. 

St. Patrick's Day Replay

The girls were so excited for their tea party. I was too.

sweet girls looking forward to tea sandwiches, scones, grapes, cookies and tea!

We kept it simple ~ simple is good!

Lemon Raisin Scones with lemon curd and jam

festive cookies

We also had grapes and gluten free brownies for Hannah.
Hannah showed us the proper way to pour tea.

 First, you pour your cream; next add any sugar, if you like.

Then pour your tea.  

Being St. Patrick's Day, we had Irish Breakfast tea, of course.

I believe that even little girls need their very own special tea cup and saucer.  Abbie's I found at an antique shop.  It was made in Germany.  Ellie's I found at the Goodwill.  It was made in England.  Both were each under $5.  Memories for them...priceless. ("Mama, do we get to use theeeese?")

We sipped tea while Mary slept and dreamed of sipping tea, and the men were on their own excursion.

and feasted on corned beef with horseradish, carrots, cabbage and potatoes, and Irish Soda Bread.

Daniel was so excited to be included in this outing.  He must have told me a dozen times how much he liked the corned beef, and that the horseradish wasn't too hot, and how much fun he had.

 As if this wasn't enough, Hannah wanted to cook an entire authentic Irish supper for us.  Celtic music played all afternoon while amazing aromas filled my kitchen. She made

beef stew

coddle

 Irish soda bread

 and apple pie.

All from scratch -  

All on her own.

She out-did herself!  It was amazing.  Everything was perfect.  It was so good, that I forgot to take pictures of the meal, but I remembered before we sliced the pie.

 Grampa, you'd be proud of that apple pie!

and then, there was this... crazy sour Yoda Soda.

It was a really fun day making memories, enjoying one another and learning a bit about the Emerald Isle and their traditions.   

Dia Duit

Dia Duit!  ("Hello" in Gaelic, which is the official language of Ireland.)
With a budding voice actor in the house, who is always speaking with some sort of accent, and another who can't acquire enough information about Ireland...our house is all abuzz about St. Patrick's Day.

To the secular world, St. Patrick's Day is about leprechauns, good luck, and beer, but the day does have a deeper meaning.  Did you know ... 

At 16, Patrick was kidnapped, taken to Ireland, and enslaved, forced to work as a sheepherder.  After six years he escaped and returned home to his family in Wales.  Not much else is known about St. Patrick and his teachings (mostly Catholic, I suspect), but it is said, that he returned to Ireland as a missionary and used the 3 leaf clover to explain the Trinity.   Love that symbolism.

It's fun to take advantage of holidays to learn about other countries.  Last year, Eric took the older boys out for corned beef and cabbage.  Unbeknownst to him, he started a new tradition.  The boys are really looking forward to going out with Dad again and this time, Dan will be going along too.  It's the "man thing"...just some fun with Dad.

While they are out enjoying their Irish feast, we'll have our tea party that didn't happen on Leap Year Day.  Some girl fun...enjoying Irish Breakfast tea and 3 leaf clover cookies, of course.

Hannah thought it would be fun to serve an traditional Irish dinner that evening.  She's been researching recipes and will be cooking it for us.  :-) I am sure it will be accompanied by some great Celtic music too.

To top off the day, Caleb's contribution will be a fun, frothy green drink for all the kids to enjoy.  It's called Yoda Soda from the Star Wars cookbook.

I hate to make blog posts without pictures, but I promise to post them afterwards. :-)

I never really knew about food allergies and sensitivities until recently.  Seems like so many people have issues with dairy or with gluten. 

Let me tell you (or if you are a fellow sufferer, you already know!) it's hard!  I'd like to just ignore the whole thing...because afterall, life is a sandwich...a sandwich with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sprouts, sliced meat, luscious melt-in-your-mouth cheese and delicious gluten laden bread...but I digress....Seriously, it really is challenging when the sensitivities are to both gluten and dairy. 

I thought I'd start occasionally posting some great recipes that are both dairy and gluten free.  Even if you don't personally have trouble with this, chances are someone you know does, and you would have a recipe or two that you could make, if ever the need should arise.  Most "cooking" recipes are easily adaptable to substitute or eliminate the dairy and gluten.  The "baking" recipes are a whole other ball game.  Still working on finding those little gems.

First up - this delicious soup.  I found it here, while reading a friend's blog.  I have tweaked it a bit, but I will post the original recipe and then just note what I do.  It's one of those extremely forgiving recipes and so delicious! 


Suzanne's Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. beef broth
2 c. chicken broth (or use all of one or the other)
2 (29 oz) cans diced tomatoes
4 large chicken breasts, fresh or frozen*
2 c. corn
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed well
2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 c. minced jalepenos (optional)

Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add remaining ingredients (chicken can still be frozen).
Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken, shred with two forks and return to pot.  Simmer 10 minutes more, or until ready to serve.
Serve with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese, cilantro and avocado.

My tweaks:
{I buy whole chickens, roast them, and put the cooked meat in Ziploc bags (1 whole chicken per bag) and freeze so that I have chicken ready to use.  After I have picked off all the meat, I boil the bones to make homemade broth. When I make this soup, I pull out one of those bags of chicken and use that - it's already cooked and in pieces, and I use chicken broth that I have made not the combo of beef and chicken broths.}

The corn, diced tomatoes, black beans, and corn chips I buy organic from Trader Joe's.

I do not add the jalepeno peppers since I still have young children who eat this soup.

Those in my family who can have dairy can top the soup with cheese.

O Happy Day!

Hannah was baptized yesterday!

It's March and cold, but the day was beautiful!  Five people in our church (Hannah included) decided it was time to be baptized and make that outward profession of their inward committment to Christ Jesus their Savior.

Hannah shared her testimony of what God has done in her life - calling her to Himself and growing her in His Word.

No one put a thermometer in the water, but suffice it to say, wetsuits were in order instead of shorts and t-shirts! (We surf, we have wetsuits...the four others were mighty cold!)

Pastor Cary asked Eric if he'd like to be there by Hannah's side.  Eric considered it such an honor and privilege.  Hannah's eyes sparkled at the idea.

Baptism is a beautiful picture of what Christ has done for us.

Water...the universal symbol of cleansing.

We are dead in our trespasses and sins {Ephesians 2:1}

Through His death

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. {1 John 1:9}

Through His burial

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. {Romans 6:4} 

and through His resurrection

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. {1 Corinthians 5:17}

A new creature in Christ!

 Pastor Cary congratulating Hannah.  Mr. Luse giving Hannah a new MacArthur Study Bible.

Hannah, Collin, Jon, Sarah, and Isaac.

After the baptism the families all went to Pastor Cary and Lois's home to celebrate and share a warm meal and sweet fellowship.

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A treasure

What a treasure!  My Aunt Barbara recently sent a package in the mail containing birthday presents for the next ones in line.  Mary's first birthday is coming up in March and Matthew's is in April.  I know, right, she is ON. THE. BALL.
Along with those packages, to my surprise was something for me...this pillow.

You already know that I am a handwork fanatic!  This embroidery was done by my Great Grandmother Caroline.  She was accomplished in all types of needlework.  Can you believe that she was taught at the age of five? 

This particular piece was part of a luncheon cloth.  My Aunt Barbara found this in a hope chest of my Great Aunt Lillian (Great Grandma Caroline's daughter).  It dates back to about 1900. The hem and edges close to the hem were spotted due to age. The monogram, however, is in perfect condition so Aunt Barbara had it made into a pillow for me.

I feel so privileged to have this piece of family history.  I feel so blessed that my sweet aunt would think of me and make the effort to take that partly damaged linen and make it into something beautiful for me. It makes me think of this verse...

Psalm 16:6  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Indeed my heritage is beautiful to me.

I am so thankful for family and heart strings tied together with love!

Birthdays - round 2

It's crazy-busy here!  If only time were like a stop watch where I could hit the stop button, catch up, and then resume again. 

There are quite a few women in my church expecting babies so there are quite a few baby showers.  I've been sewing up some cute burp cloths to give as gifts.  I happened to hit a pretty good sale at a local store for baby clothes.  Sadly, they just don't make very many little girl dresses - mostly pants or tight leggings seem to be the "style".  Well, I just don't like that!  I picked up an easy pattern so I can make a simple dress with bloomers.  I think I'll just make those for my "signature gift" for baby girl gifts.  I'll just keep my eye out for sale fabric and pick it up when I come across some that is cute.

I'm also planning one of those baby showers.  That will be fun.  I'm really looking forward to it. I gleaned some cute ideas here.  I really like her blog. 

When we have had a baby arrive, it has been such a blessing to receive a meal.  Not that Eric can't cook (he is way better in that department than me!), but it's so nice to have that break and just be able to enjoy the new baby.   Since I've been so blessed, I love to bless others in that same way.  So - we've made several "new baby" meals lately too.  In fact, I'll be making one today to deliver tomorrow.  A simple menu of hamburger vegetable soup, home made Spelt bread, sugar cookies in the shape of baby carriages with blue frosting (super cute!) and Martinelli's sparkling cider.

Eric recently discovered that the tractor had a blown head gasket.  I can't help but think of this Green Acres episode.  So, the Mister has been busy taking apart the motor, delivering said motor to the machine shop, and putting it all back together again.  It's our work horse, for sure.  We hope to finally put in a garden this year, so he is working hard to get it running for the work ahead.

And then...in the midst of life...more birthdays!

We celebrated Abigail's 3rd birthday. She's still too young to count down the days, but she counts down the birthdays. "First it's Daniel's, then Daddy's, then it's my birt-day!"

Birthday girl in her new birthday dress made by Mom.

Eric was able to take the day off from work. We went to the Imagine Children's Museum in Everett.

It had been many (like 15) years since we had been there. They have renovated it completely. They have done a really nice job.

Not only did the little ones have a great time, but the older kids did too. In fact, I'm not sure who had more fun?!

Dr. Matt, DVM for a day 

The theatre stage complete with lights and sounds

Abbie in the glow in the dark room

Crazy bus driver!

Abbie

Ellie, the milk maiden (should be a goat!)

Hannah and Ellie

Farmer Eric and Lil Mary

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Ellie still loves octopuses

2 crazy drivers!

Just think...he's just about ready to get his driver's license.

Sweet sisters

Voice Actor, Caleb

Back at home. Hannah had made yummy cupcakes with butter cream frosting and pink sprinkles.  We didn't have quite enough frosting for all the cupcakes so on a couple of them she just made smile faces.  That's the one the Birthday Girl chose.

~~~
A while back Caleb had mentioned that he had never had a surprise party.  (Like that wasn't a hint!) Since this was a milestone birthday, we thought we'd try to pull it off.  Matthew helped me by secretly talking to all the peeps.  We decided to have it the day before since he wouldn't probably suspect anything - especially since we stayed for potluck at church.  Dad took Caleb "driving" to give us the time we needed to get the people here and decorate. 
Surprised?  Yep, he was!

All the things guys like - Dew, dogs on the grill, chips, chocolate

What a great time singing and jamming

and talking

even Mary enjoyed all the melody and merry making!

The next day...

Modeling his Scottish flag belt buckle

Now THAT'S a mug o' coffee!