Toasty Toes

I remember when

2011-10-19T10:22:00.002-05:00

When I was in 7th grade I attended a private Christian school in McHenry, IL. That has it's own memories saved for another date. THe fact that I rode a bus home comes with it's own set of stories, which I am also storing in a special spot to unload later.

On this particular freezing cold Chicago suburb day, my bus driver dropped me off two streets early and I began to walk home. About half a block down I noticed two doberman pinchers who at the same time noticed me.

I think they owned that street.

They for SURE thought they owned that street. They took off after me and I took off into a nearby yard. Without thinking, I opened the first door I came to and ran inside the house.

An elderly woman in curlers came into the living room.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

I explained about the dogs and she looked out the window to see them panting at her door. Those dogs wanted to eat me for dinner!

The lady, who seemed awfully nice gave me some lemonade and called animal control. It was the last bit of niceness I ever saw in her.

She proceeded to curse at the person on the other end of the phone and when the dog catcher finally arrived (too late for her approval) she cussed at him and threw a house-shoe at his head.

I was a determined little missionary even at that time in my life and I promptly invited her to church, which brought on a new onslaught of foul language all aimed at me.

She called me "Nasty-Girl" every time she saw me after that, and every time I saw her, I asked her to church.

She never did say yes.

I remember when

2011-10-18T11:53:00.003-05:00

I can remember the time my sister sheared off her tongue with a popsicle.

We lived in Illinois, in the cottage on the Fox River. Renee would lend us all money (she was the family banker) and we would all buy popsicles.

One day she tried to take a lick of hers and her tongue was stuck fast. That popsicle was so frozen that even when we ran water over it, it would not come unglued from her tongue.

Eventually she just pulled that sucker right off. And there we saw part of her tongue hanging from the side of the cherry popsicle.

Serves her right for charging us 50% interest.

I remember

2011-10-16T18:17:00.003-05:00

I remember when I was a little girl and was living in Memphis and my mother would hand my sister and I glasses of ice-water to bring out to the garbage men.

It was hot in Memphis, and my mother appreciated having the smelly bags of trash removed. She showed her gratitude for this often thankless job by offering ice water.

I think it was my first taste of what compassion tasted like.

Recipe Link List: Part Three

2011-09-20T13:36:00.002-05:00

We'll call this recipe category: "OTHER". It will include, sauces, side dishes, and maybe a few nibbles for the sweet tooth.

Coconut Apple Pudding

Sweet Potato Fries (leave off the sugar) (You don't need it)

Salty Sweet Broccoli Salad

Mashed Cauliflower

Creamed Chard

Twice Baked Cauli-tots

Peleo Recipe Link List: Part Two

2011-09-20T12:10:00.003-05:00

Let's get these beef recipes out of the way. I have a TON of them.

Purto Rican Beef with a Thai Twist
Gluten Free Peleo Meatballs
Tex Mex Meatza
Meatza Pie
Dry Rub Burgers
Shredded Beef Sandwiches with cabbage and Apple slaw
Mexi Salad with fresh Guacamole
Smokey Roast
Seriously tasty Peleo Meatloaf
Cottage Flower Pie
Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers
Creole Roast

Special Notes: I have had to substitute seasoning quite a bit because of the lack of seasoning available in Ecuador. However, these recipes are tasty enough they stand up to adjustments.

All of these recipes are either kid approved or kid tolerated

I often used my crockpot instead of the oven. i have yet to successfully make an oven roasted roast.

The mexi-Salad, meatball, and meatloaf recipes are a family favorite. The Puerto Rican beef recipe is Dustan's all-time favorite.

The meatloaf recipe is bizarrely lacking in veggies. I always add whatever veggies I have on hand. The recipe is a perfect jumping off point though.

We do not eat the Shredded Beef Sandwich on bread. We just pile it all on a plate and eat it with a fork. This is one of our go-to company recipes.

There are several recipes out there that I have NOT included. This is either because we have not tried them yet, or because they did not work for our family. If you try a beef recipe that is grain free and dairy free that you think I would like, please post the recipe or a link to the recipe in my comment section. As I add new recipes to my rotation, I will come back and add them here.

Peleo Recipe LInk list Part One

2011-09-20T11:39:00.002-05:00

I have recently lost enough weight that I am finally in the "healthy" weight range. I spent 10 years being obese and then 2 years in the overweight range.

This year I changed my eating habits to closely follow a Paleo themed eating regimen. I won't go into the description all that much, there is a TON of info online, but I will say I started with a 30 day eating plan outlined on Whole 30. This was tremendously successful for me, and as soon as I see any weight creeping back up, I immediately revert to this very strict eating.

Anyhoo, I wanted to post a list of recipe links that would work for anyone. No need to be trying to lose weight- these recipes are chock full of healthy ingredients and are delicious.

Because I have so many in my rotation, I will break them up into different posts.

Let's start with chicken shall we?

Crockpot Chicken Carnitas
Whole Roasted Chicken
Warm Chicken and Bacon Green Salad
Mexican Crock Pot Stew
Chicken Almond Mole
Best Chicken Fajitas
Piña Colada Chicken and Calypso Confetti Cauliflower

Special Notes: I have had to substitute seasoning quite a bit because of the lack of seasoning available in Ecuador. However, these recipes are tasty enough they stand up to adjustments.

All of these recipes are either kid approved or kid tolerated, with the exception of the Chicken Almond Mole which they found to be too spicy. This would be easily adjusted, except for the fact that this is Dustan's and my favorite recipe written as is. I refuse to adjust the heat, because I am cruel that way. They eat fried bologna when I serve this meal.

The Best chicken Fajitas Ever, are another all-time favorite.

There are several recipes out there that I have NOT included. This is either because we have not tried them yet, or because they did not work for our family. If you try a chicken recipe that is grain free and dairy free that you think I would like, please post the recipe or a link to the recipe in my comment section. As I add new recipes to my rotation, I will come back and add them here.

My Oscar Speech (of sorts)

2011-05-31T08:26:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, I just KNEW I would one day stand before an audience of millions and thank everyone I knew for my great honor of achieving the gold statue of acting. I started practicing when I was 8. At that point in my life I didn't have very many people to thank. But every year I rearrange my speech. I add, I take away.

One year I was so tired and the Oscars had gone on so loonnnnngggggg, and that one dude practically had a heart-attack screaming his gratitude that I decided when I won MY oscar I would say only "Thank You." and then get down. I think that was when I was 25.

So today, at the age of 36 I woke up and decided I was never going to win an oscar. Crazier things have happened, but when I got out of bed this morning I noticed I suddenly (SUDDENLY) had jowls. My back made an audible creak. My knees tried to give out. It was time to stop hanging on to impossible dreams. I think I may have become an adult this morning.

So, feeling a bit melancholy about giving up my annual planning of my Oscar speech (seriously I think I have finally outgrown it) (It's time dontcha think?) I am going to give you my speech. But without all the movie and acting stuff, because the only thing I have accomplished in my life is... well LIFE. And frankly, that is an accomplishment deserving of a speech. Get ready, because ain't no music gonna cut me off.

I can't go any further without thanking the ones who made all this life stuff possible. Mom and Dad, thank you for loving each other enough. Not sure I should go anywhere else with THAT train of thought. But seriously, without your love for each other, I would be a distant nothing of nothingness, my life, not even a thought in all of eternity.

And thank you for not throwing me out a window. I know you were sorely tempted at times. But, well, look at what happened because of your patience! LIFE! MY LIFE! Gracias mi padres, del bajo de mi corazon.

And I want to thank a few incredible teachers who told me I was not stupid and who gave me the ability to FLY. Mr. Smith, Mrs Solan G Freeman, and Mr. Popovich. You all deserve this mention in my achievement of life speech, because of you, I love learning, I love experiencing life through education, and I am pretty sure it is all your fault I never graduated from college. How could I finish when there were so many other interesting things to study and learn?

I want to thank Christina Moon, the Burns girls, Michelle Sass, Brittany McFarland, and Tara P and Gwen W for making sure every era of my life was filled with friendship. Michelle, you get a special note of thanks for making sure my teenage self did not park her car in front of a train.

I want to thank Seth and Renee, two of the best (and worst) siblings a girl could have ever wanted. You made me successful in parenting. No way would I have been able to achieve my level of obnoxious parenting without having had all the practice you provided me with.

Now I want to thank a few nameless or partially nameless people. Missionaries from 3rd grade GA camp, Missionary from Russia from the GA mother daughter banquet, Missionaries in all those stories I read. Marion or Miriam- I am sorry I forgot your name, and Mrs Smith? Thank you for bending a teenage heart towards missions.

Listen carefully, you did not just change MY life. You have changed the lives of every person I have ever shared my faith with. You have touched the lives of countless children in Florida, teenage girls in East St Louis, un-wed mothers in crisis pregnancies in St Clair county, single teenage moms in Granite city, and young people, children, and adults in Loja, Ecuador.

Dustan. Ummm, thank you for not throwing my moody self off a bridge. Thank you for loving me in a way that makes me better understand Christ's love for me. Thank you for encouraging me in my every endeavor. Thank you for being the weight to my helium ballon personality.

Heavenly Father, Savior, Creator of my being. To you all thanks belong. The very breath I breath comes from you, every person in my life, every opportunity, every blessing, is your gift to me. My life is the best birthday present ever, and THAT comes from you.

Thank You. Thank you all!

A Letter to my Mom on Mother's Day

2011-05-08T09:19:00.001-05:00

Dear Mom,

When I was a little girl you used to say such things as, “When you grow up, I hope you have a little girl just like yourself.” and “When you grow up, you will be terribly sorry for how you acted as a child.” and “One day you will thank me for this.” and “One day you will wish you could take naps.

So on this Mother’s Day of 2011, as I sit staring out my window, at 9:00 in the morning, and already longing for a nap, I have a few things to say to you.

First off. In answer to your “One day I hope you have a little girl just like yourself”. I got one. Only he is a boy. And I will never wish himself on himself. You need to write me a letter of apology. NOW!

Secondly, I am sorry. Remember that time I stole Dad’s antique coin collection and spent it on popsicles and pencils? Remember how embarrassed you were when the school called to tell you had had been buying penny erasers with coins from 1800? I am sorry.
I am also sorry for the call that sent you to the school after I walked into the boy’s bathroom, the one that sent you running when I tried to pull out another girl’s hair, and that time I played my Rhino bowling game in the school hallway (I bent over and ran down the hallway and counted how many kids I knocked down.)
I am kind of sorry I finally got the boot from school. I am definitely sorry for all the embarrassment you had to feel over my misbehaviors.

I am also sorry for being a brat as a teenager. In fact I AM SORRY FOR BEING A TEENAGER at all!

I am sorry for changing my major 18 times in college.
I am sorry for telling you that you were the worst mother on the planet. I am even more sorry for all those times when I made you FEEL like the worst mother on the planet. For all those times you wished I would run away or wanted to slap a “For Sale” sign on my back... I am sorry.

I am sorry for bickering and fighting with my brother and sister. I am sorry for locking Renee out of the house and for slobbering on Seth. I know now how miserable that had to have made your life. I am oh so very sorry. (Can you please call my kids and ask them to stop now? I am pretty sure justice has been served)

Thirdly, THANK YOU.

Thank you for loving me even in those times when you thoroughly disliked me. Maybe even hated me. But you still loved me.

Thank you for homeschooling me, even when you didn’t want to. It made a huge impact on my life, and I am successfully educated because of it. You did not deserve to make that sacrifice, but because you did, God blessed my life in great ways.

Thank you for teaching me to read. And for loving everything that I write. You are my biggest fan and I LOVE that about you.

Thank you for teaching me about boys. And about Men. Thank you for pushing me towards patience when it came to them.

Thank you for being funny even when you were angry.

Thank you for filling my parenting tool box with such things as “I will hang you upside down by your toenails” and “Would you like me to lock you in the whine cellar?” and “Let’s clean the baseboards! With toothbrushes!!!” Those tools lighten up every one of my tense mothering moments.

Thank you for valuing education and seeking yours even into my adulthood.

Thank you for all the memories. For cows in cars, for powdered milk covered walls, for egg yolks on daddy’s head, for Swat team investigations, for after school spankings, for piles of books, for thumb twiddling lessons, for mornings spent under the covers of your bed, for hair brushing torture sessions, for half a trip to Granny’s house, for a year’s worth of groundings...

I thank you for all of them.

And as a token of my thanks, I post the following touching video:

Grace Explosion:

2011-04-08T10:03:00.004-05:00

So this blog here is not where I talk about my walk with my Savior, or my Spiritual growth. It's about housekeeping, and such stuff like that. A place that you used to be able to come to read pithy tales of my life as a homemaker, to find badly written recipes, and funny stories about my hilarious kids. Lately, it's been a place you could come and hear the crickets chirping.
Today I am breaking from all of that. Today any readers I have left will see in full force that which drives me. My God. I have no idea what the future of this blog holds, whether it will be a place for more similar musings or if it will return to the way of the chirping crickets, but I do know this:
What I say today, is what I have wanted to say for a long time. I just couldn't hold it in any longer. It exploded.

You know what I love? I love when Christians embrace grace so hard that it explodes and oozes out all over anyone who stands near them. Try it today.

Do you have a load of dirty dishes, a mountain of laundry, and children who would rather be chasing each other around with knives than singing Koombaya? Did you homemade yogurt curdle? Did your homemade laundry soap leave your clothes smelling sour? Does your garden have more weeds than carrots? Are you a housekeeping failure?

Did your child get seriously ill from a vaccine? Did your son get hepatitis from your lack of vaccinating him? Did your 15 year old daughter come home and tell you she is having a baby? Did you have to place your parents in a nursing home? Did you two year old paint his walls with peanut butter? Or worse? Is your 8 year old hanging upside from a tree, his arm in a cast from when he fell last week? (You might want to go get him down.) Are you a mothering failure?

Do you have a husband who comes home and sighs because his personal time is interrupted by you handing him a stinky baby, his son handing him a notebook of unsolvable math problems and you giving him a list of all the ways your day SUCKED? Are you a wifely failure?

Did you forget to read your Bible today? And yesterday too? Oh, and last week? Was the last time you touched your Bible on Sunday when you carried it to church? Did you forget to pray for your kids today? Did you let an inner curse fly into your head when your neighbor’s dog wouldn’t SHUT UP at 3 am? Ummm.... was that curse actually a bit less than an inner mental one? Are you a Spiritual failure?

Did you hear the phone ring and then ignore it because, well, you just couldn’t deal with her today? Did you avoid opening an email from the church children’s worker leader so that you can later say. “Oh, I am sorry, I never got that email?” Did you eat that package of snicker bars that were meant for the food pantry? And the cans of tuna too? Are all that you have left those 15 cans of Rutabegas? Are you a ministry failure?

Did you start ANOTHER diet today? Which is different than the one you started yesterday? Did you gain 5 pounds on the “eat the snickers that were meant for the food pantry diet? Did you skip a shower today? And maybe yesterday too? Have you skipped shaving you legs for over a year? Did you throw out your fat jeans because they were too small? Are you a personal failure?

I have some news for you. Sit down, because it will blow you away. Today I embraced God’s grace for myself, and it’s about to explode all over you!

Guess what? God loves you. He doesn’t care that you are a failure. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS ARE FAILURES.

All that stuff above? It’s pretty bad (especially if you kids are chasing each other with knives. I would put a stop to that if I were you). It’s REALLY REALLY BAD. It’s selfishness, it’s manipulation, it’s lying, it’s... well, if you really ate those snickers bars, it’s stealing. You are a BAD person! Yay! You are a FAILURE! YAY!

Cause guess what? Everything I know about God says that every single person he loves is a PRETTY bad person. A failure.

God is a lover of people failures.

I don’t know how it is. I can’t explain it. It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t have any analogies that even come close to describing it. Fathers don’t love this way. Mothers don’t love this way. God is different and he FRIGGIN loves me.

People. Do you get it? Even while I am mired in sin (which will be the rest of my ever lovin’ life) God LOVES ME.

So. You are a failure. Good. Means you are human. Like me.

Oh, and guess what?

GOD LOVES YOU!!!!

So, accept it and then go explode yourself all over someone with all that pure joy you have.

Disclaimer: I KNOW that God doesn’t want you to keep cussing the neighbor’s dog out every morning at 3 AM. I know He wants you to dig in His Word more than Sundays.

But He also wants you to embrace HIS GRACE! And He wants you to do that first.

So, tell me. What will your grace explosion look like today?

A letter to a former me:

2011-01-28T15:44:00.003-06:00

I was flipping through an old Australian magazine today (I read whatever gets sent the cafe's way), and the 'zine had a revolving feature of famous people writing letters to the former self at the age of sixteen. I was intrigued by both the letter and the concept. What should my sixteen year old self know that I know now? My sixteen year old self was pretty dumb, I think she needs a manual of sorts!

Anyhow, here is what I think she needs to know, boiled down of course, since I don't think you all want to read her manual. She did pretty well, that sixteen year old girl, especially considering what an idiot she was, but there are a few things I think she should know:

Dear ~~Rebecca~~ ~~Rebekah~~ Rebecka (To begin with you should know that know matter how many time you respell your name, it won;t help you become an actress),

You are thirty five now. That should mean something. It means you found life worth living! And let me tell you, you might be feeling a wee bit depressed soon, but chin up. It’s gonna get good!

First off, that boy is no good. You know it, your friends know it, and your sister is right. He is horrible. You should get over it now so you don’t waste your heart. Cause that heart is gonna be needed, oh yes it is! Your thrity-five year old self will be married for 13 years to a former computer programmer! Don’t be so shocked you teenage goon, I promise, it isn’t boring.

Secondly, I admire your courage to be crazy. It won’t be as easy when you get older, so have fun trying to be everything you want to be. You won’t regret trying to be a poet, actress, novelist, teacher, psychologist, historian, or sign language interpreter. What you will become is pretty cool though. I am kind of afraid to tell you. I am afraid you will hide your head in a pillow and cry tears of shame for your future self. But, frankly, that is because you are an idiot. Sorry, but you should know the truth now, it will save you heartache in the future. You don’t know everything. You especially do NOT know what is best for yourself. You are gonna be a mother.

See? I knew you would cry because you don’t have even half a brain yet. Don’t worry. Your life is full of adventure, and your kids are spunkier, funnier, and crazier than you could even imagine yourself to be.

Thirdly, lose the temper. It isn’t as cool as you think it is. In fact, it isn’t cool at all. Save yourself some major life hurdles by working on it now. Why wait till you have already ruined your reputation, hurt your friends, and become a habitual pain mongerer before trying to change? Point number one will help with this.

Next up: Your sister is really awesome. So is your mom. Don’t get all sweaty, they are still living, you don’t have to lose them before realizing how much you love them. They will both become your best friends. I know they aren’t really that great right now (well, your mom actually is, you just don’t know it), but they both change. So do you.

Lastly, you are pretty awesome. Your thirty-five year old self remembers that 16 year old you with great fondness. You are full of color and life, and though it doesn’t completely go away, it does dull a bit. Keep being yourself, because you are pretty dang awesome.

Oh, and one more thing. God will be even more important to you as you grow older. Your relationship will hit some rough parts, but hang on to your faith, one day it will be the most important thing you have. And with that comes the following warning, Your love for people is a gift from God, but never, ever, ever let it take place of your love for God Himself.

Love Beckita. (your name given to you by Ecuadorian friends) (see I told you your life would ROCK!)

Still Relevant

2010-12-07T07:12:00.003-06:00

wrote the following post a couple of years ago and want to repost, because I think it is timely. I also want to add that even though most of the world (who am I kidding: my 20 readers) were worried about my children, it turned out to be the second best Christmas the world has ever seen. I will post an update link at the end of the post.

And it starts:
The count down for Christmas. Except this year I won't be party to it. I don't really care how many days there are until Christmas.

Last week I cared. But this week I don't care.

This week I am already ready for Christmas.

You see, at first I thought, "This year I will make everyone's gifts." I hoarded links, and how-to's, and tutorials. I made a mental post it note list of everyone who "needed" gifts, and what I could give them.

A Christmas checklist. Like every other year. Like every other family.

And then I had a better idea. Why spend all this time frantically trying to make gifts that will never get completed? Just like every other year, I would be forced to run to the store- buying high priced, over priced crap for everyone. Why? For what reason? Did everyone really enjoy last years dollar store lotion?

So, my new idea was just to buy the stuff now. I would shop ahead, and therefore put thought into each gift. I would think about the person, and buy gifts that they would really like. It was a good idea, right?

But, then I had a better idea, helped out by a certain video I saw on youtube.

Why not buy nothing at all? Seriously? I don't even remember what my husband got me last year, much less his Aunt so and so. The gifts I so carefully picked out for my children now sit neglected on a shelf. What is the purpose of all this gift frenzy, the money spending, the debt building, the guilt induced fear of not adding up to everyone else's generosity?

So. I am opting out. No one is getting store bought gifts from me. No one is getting handmade gifts for me. Not my mother, not my pastor, not my son's Sunday School teacher... Not my children.

And I can hear a worldwide gasp. "What about the magic and awe of Christmas for the children?"

My response, " Under Control." My children will not open a single battery operated, plastic, hair growing, gun toting, miniature sized anything.

Nothing they open will have a price tag, a return receipt, or those nasty little screws that drive parents nuts every Christmas day.

They won't make a list, and if they do, I doubt their list will coincide with what they receive.

Because Esther is NOT getting a white horse with a horn out its head.
And Weston is NOT getting the entire Star Wars Lego set. No matter how much he begs for it.
And Marcus- actually, I don't have a clue what he wants. But it probably is long and shoots bullets which he most definitely WILL NOT GET.

As I travel to Ohio to spend Christmas with my parents and siblings. With my sister-in-law Carrie, and with my brother-in-law Jesse. With my little nieces- and my mischievous nephew, I will load my van with gifts wrapped in festive paper and tied with ribbon. Just like every other year. But this year, the gifts that I add to the tree will be far different than any other year.

My Christmas revelation has not turned me into the grinch. It has, rather made me a bit more Claus like. And far more Christ like.

Throughout the day, we will unwrap these gifts. The fist one will be a rectangular one. Under the paper and ribbons, our family will find my father's old black Bible, and he will open it and read the Christmas story. I will hold Esther on my lap and Marcus and Weston will be snuggled under my arm, and together we will have anew, the awe of that very first Christmas.
The Christmas story will remind us what Christmas giving is all about.

And in that spirit, the children will grab another package. Inside the gift bag filled with confetti will be a bag of chocolate chips. Together we will make chocolate chip cookies. And Marmie will have to swat at the children's hands when they try to eat all the cookie dough.

Maybe later, they will unwrap a movie. Not a new one from the store, but an old one. A favorite. Probably Star Wars because I am the only one who hates Star Wars. And we will pop corn the old fashioned way and have a family movie time.

I will have wrapped our well worn games; the ones that we already know the rules to, and the ones that everyone loves. When they are unwrapped we will play them. Grandma too. We will even make her play Bang. If I have to watch Star Wars, she can be forced to sit through a rousing shoot em up game of Bang.

I will wrap up a pair of socks for each kid, because we will need to keep our toes warm for our Christmas day walk, and maybe someone will stay home to make us hot cocoa for re-warming our frozen noses.

This is not a new idea. It's one I learned a long time ago, but the video reminded me of it.

On Christmas day, God gave me His heart. And I plan to celebrate that gift by giving mine.

Want to join me?

As this post gets read by more people and passed around, please comment and add your ideas of what could be wrapped and placed under the tree. Together, we can make this the second best Christmas this universe has ever seen.

UPDATE ON THE GREAT CHRISTMAS EXPERIENCE

Extraño Mucho

2010-11-22T07:34:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago, with the help of my oldest son, I realized something:

No matter where I am, for the rest of my life, I will be missing something.
Right now, what I miss is obvious. Dr. Pepper, chats with my best girls, marshmallow dipping parties, my church, my mommy, holidays spent with families...

When we go back to the states, I will have a whole new set of "missing". My best gal Vivi, my new church, The smiles of my kids in Sunday School, the cafe, chifles, empenadas, Gloria and Irma (my grandmas away from home).

I have a new life now. One of welcoming back those things I missed and saying goodbye to things I will miss again.

And I wouldn't give it up for the world. Not at all.

But, today, I will chat a bit about that thing I am missing the most in this moment.

Thanksgiving with family. You see, Dustan has a HUGE family and Thanksgiving is just not Thanksgiving unless they are all in one place. It's loud, it's laughter, it's young ones crying. It's Aunties holding babies so mommies can play games, and people eating. And eating. And eating. Until the men have a contest with all the pregnant women to see who has the biggest belly. The men always win.

Every year there is a gingerbread factory. Tables for miles filled with bowl after bowl of candy. Sticky fingers. Mouths dripping with red hots. Creativity and cooperation. Big cousins holding walls for tiny cousins. Uncles giving prizes hidden in paint cans. Chimneys with Ivy. Logs made of toostie rolls. Candy horses. Candy puppies. Children sucking on bottles of frosting. SWEET goodness of fellowship.

It's amazing stuff. Outrageously amazing. It's stuff of fairytales and novels. But, every year, for the Hester family, it's just plain real life. Hours of games. Snacking in between. Showing off those gingerbread houses. Big cousins doting on baby cousins. Great Aunts rocking great nieces. Children dancing. Adults playing dominoes. And cards. And Catan. Children joining in.

And I miss it this year. Something terrible. A bit of an ache, that I have learned to deal with. My kids have learned to accept as normal, that constant missing of things once normal has become a new normal. But, we all, every single one of us, are full of joy in the midst of this "Missing".

Because, we know. We know that the year after next, when we are in the middle of a candy house frenzy, a whirlwind of games, a house full of people...

That our hearts will be missing our home in Ecuador. A house in Gonzonama filled with missionary friends from all over the world who have gathered together to fill our hearts full of love. To give our hearts, missing home, a shot of pain killer. A dose of friendship, fellowship, games, and good food.

Even a turkey. And outrageously expensive turkey. But a real honest to goodness Thanksgiving turkey.

So. My heart is full twice over. Full of missing what usually is, and full of joy for what is now.

Gracias mi Dios por mi vida en este momento. Gracias para mis amigos en Estados Unidos, and en mi hogar nuevo. Gracias por todos. GRACIAS en este tiempo pr gracias. Gracia siempre.

(My spanish leaves much to be desired.)

Visual Complaining

2010-11-19T07:36:00.002-06:00

I have complained to several people about the dust here. It's not a real complaint. I have a floor. That is dirty. I could have a floor that WAS dirt!

Anyhow, I thought I would snap a pic of my daily sweep. This was done on a morning after our housekeeper swept and mopped AND I had swept the night before.

Nothing is airtight here so dirt and dust blow in through the windows and doors.

I have a confession: I like this. It almost feels like we are living in a tent. Anytime there is a breeze, we feel that breeze. It smells like the outdoors. Like the bakery down the street. Like the cows. Like the wet dog. Like the river. I love it.

Despite all the dust/dirt that is impossible to get rid of.

Today

2010-11-09T06:32:00.002-06:00

Today: (Is my day off)

I am going to move my furniture. AGAIN. (To the set-up in this pic, because I like it this way.)

I am going to listen to a sermon. In English.

I am going to watch the last two episodes of Burn Notice. They took me 48 hours to download. (season 3)

I am going to re-cook the granola. It came out chewy instead of crunchy. My children have informed me that they prefer crunchy.

I am going to bring all my laundry off the line before it rains on my clean clothes.

I am going to organize my linen closet. There is a tower of towels in there, waiting to kill anyone who opens the closet.

I am going to read some more of my book. "44 Scotland Steet" (At least I think that is the name).

I am going to drink a capuchino during my meeting today.

I am going to send an email to Chandra to remind her to send me an email with the recipe for cookies that are made with baby formula. These are to give to beggar children who come to my door for food.

Max Denson is a Winner

2010-09-14T13:41:00.003-05:00

Who is Max? I think I know, but since I am not sure, PLEASE pretty please shoot me an email at bs king 75 @ yahoodotcom

Of course, you might want to reformat that email without spaces and change out that dot for a .

Also, because of regulations, I needed to change my prior post.

Some people should stop growing. It costs me too much money.

2010-09-13T19:07:00.003-05:00

I bought Marcus a new pair of pants three weeks ago. They were so long on him that the vendedora told me about a tienda that would hem them for me for just a couple of dollars.

I never got around to having them hemmed, and when he put them on for church, I noticed that not only did they no longer need to be hemmed, but they were a tad short!!!!

Me: Marcus! Ar you crazy?????!!!!!

Marcus: (pops his head up in surprise) Huh?

Me: You REALLY need to stop growing. It costs too much to clothe you.

Marcus: Easy solution mom. Feed me cola and let me stop eating my vegetables. You'll save money on clothes AND veggies.

I love him. But I guess we will let him grow. cause what kind of bad mother would I be if I let him get by drinking soda and not eating veggies????

PS. Tonight he asked to talk to me. (second talk in two nights. The first one was so deep it was disturbing).

"I have decided that I want to be a writer when I grow up. I think I really want to write Christian books to help people understand God. Oh, and I decided I don't want to wait until then to serve him. I want to start now. I think the best way to do that will be to help out around the house or at El Sendero if I am needed. So. If you need anything, just ask. Except dishes. I won't do dishes."

My Marcus. The growing boy. In more ways than one.

PS #2: Some Ecuadorian life:
We visited a small finka (farm) where there were about half a dozen cows. The farmer allowed the calves to suckle a bit and the shooed them off, squirted some fresh milk into a cup, added a spoonful of sugar and gave the kids some to drink.

It was warm, sweet, and the only way to get fresher would have been... never mind. bad image. Haha.

And, after he had filled his bucket, he allowed the calves to return to be fed. It was a sweet kind of day for us.

A to-do list from the equator:

2010-08-28T10:39:00.002-05:00

1. Wash some of the filthy windows. August was a WINDY month (to put it lightly) and the windows are a muddy, messy, blechy brown mess. This will prove to be much more difficult than thought because my windows have bars. The bars have spikes. No one will want to steal the grime on my windows!!!

2. Clean out the green garbage. Loja has a great garbage system and it requires multiple cans. The green can is for organic waste, and in order to keep it separate, I have a small pail with a lid that sits on my counter for all the food scraps. Its a compost container of sorts. and sometimes it gets rather... disgusting. Today is the day to clean it out.

3. Haircuts for the boys. A haircut here is about 2.00. But, Dustan insists on saving the money and taking a razor to the boys hair. Last time I razed them, I made their ears bleed, so I am now without a hairdressing job. Dustan has taken over. I can hear Weston crying upstairs. Dear grandma, please send 2.00 for haircuts.

4. Move my furniture. Last Saturday I woke up and declared "This is the day I will change my furniture." It never got done. So, it must be done today. MUST. See, I get in a funk if my furniture is too stable and unchanging. I NEED change. My very soul needs to spice things up by moving things around. After being married to me for 13 years, Dustan has finally given up on coming home and finding his living room, bedroom, or kitchen dishes in the same place. So... today... I will move my furniture.

5. Walk to the store, tienda, or market and find food for my family. We have just returned from a week at our annual spiritual life conference and we ate ourselves to the bone before we left. Unless we want to eat Marshmallows for diner (leftover from smores), I had better get us some food.

6. Jerry-rig clothes line. Since we spent a week away from home, our laundry is... well... bigger than the mountain in front of my home. My lines are full and I have several loads left. Whenever this happens, I use brooms, pipes, misc sticks, prop them up on chairs and wipe my hands, pant myself on the back, and congratulate myself on my ingenuity. Little things. Right?

7. Make granola. Because my boys (including Dustan) think that they will experience daily death without granola for breakfast. I make six gallons at a time, and it lasts far too short a time.

8. Call my mother. Because I miss her.

Taste the Rainbow: Hannah's story

2010-08-21T11:27:00.013-05:00

Hannah Banana. She was something else. When she was little, I was a teenager, and she liked to follow me around, chattering like a monkey on steroids.

One time, I just needed a break. People often needed a break from Hannah. Like I said, she was something else. When she wanted something, she wouldn’t let go. What Hannah wanted more than anything else was attention, devotion, and love. Anyhow, I was saying... I needed a break. So, I found a closet in Granny’s house. And I squeezed in with all the shoes, bags of brand-new underwear, slips, and who knows what else (my grandmother collected things for emergencies. You never knew when someone would need a slip), and just sat in the dark and quiet.

It wasn’t long. Maybe thirty seconds, before my solitude was interrupted by a curly headed boy. Hannah’s brother Matt.

“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Hiding from Hannah.” I answered with utmost honestly.
Matt climbed on my lap and declared he also needed a break.

Hannah kept up that intense energy throughout her childhood, but she blossomed into a gorgeous young girl, eager to be loved, and devoted to making the world a beautiful place.

The one thing that strikes me most about Hannah is how much she loved to make things beautiful. She loved hair-dos, she loved makeup, she loved fashion.

But Hannah wasn’t artificial. She was just simply gorgeous, and she wanted to share that beauty with everyone.

One time she told me I should always wear bangs. “Here.” She said, after taking a pair of my kitchen scissors to the front of my hair. “Here. Isn’t that so much better?” “And you really shouldn’t leave the house without mascara. It makes your eyes so beautiful.”

I was an adult when she gave me beauty advice. Married already, with two children, and broiled over with the fugliness of early motherhood.

Hannah was 15. High-strung, slighty flightly, but with an inner kindness that sought out prettiness wherever she could find it. Hannah, made me feel beautiful. And I wore my hair with bangs for years afterwards.

Hannah tried to make everyone feel beautiful. It’s what she did. It’s who she was.

Hannah loved sparkly things. She loved rainbows, and music, guitars, her family, me, my children, and life. Because those things were beautiful to her.

I would venture to say that now her life is so full of beauty that she can’t even stand it. I bet she is downright blinded from basking in the glow of her gorgeous new home.

Because Hannah lives in a mansion now. Built for her by her Heavenly Father. She is prancing (because that is what she did- prance) down streets glowing with gold.

Hannah was killed in 2006. She was in an automobile accident and she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Seatbelt promotions are not new. But “Buckle up for Hannah” focuses on teenagers. Because teenagers don’t think about that one time they slip the seatbelt off to root around in their purse, look for something under the seat, or scootch over just a bit to snuggle with a boyfriend.

Teenagers need a reminder of the importance of buckling up, not just for “almost all of the time”, but for every second they are in a moving car.

The one time Hannah did not buckle up, she died. And her family wants to help other families, by telling her story.

Buckle Up For Hannah has been able to pass new safety laws for teenagers, put reminders in the form of bumper stickers on cars across the nation, and raise awareness to teenagers by telling them Hannah’s story.

Now, my family has another opportunity to raise awareness. It’s through a contest and we need votes.

Here is the link. Please vote everyday! EVERY day!

CLICK RIGHT HERE TO VOTE TODAY AND EVERY DAY
For some reason, the link chooses to be difficult sometimes. While I try to fix it. Hannah's car is under causes and is on the second page of most popular. It is easily recognizable with a rainbow seatbelt!

Vote away.

And please, buckle up.

Feeding my skin

2010-08-10T14:08:00.004-05:00

That's me. In my bathtub when we first moved in. I don't usually wear clothes in the bathtub. However, I also don't usually post pictures of myself on the web while in the tub.
I can't tell you how ecstatic I was to find out our house had a tub. Tubs are unusual in Loja. In fact, I don't know of a single other person who has one.
So... I am grateful, even if I have to kiss my knees while taking a hot bath (also incredibly grateful for hot water. Many houses do not have it).
Because bathtubs are rare, luxury bath items are non-existent. Bubble baths, bath oils, and the like are no where to be found.

So I made my own. I altered (slightly) a recipe I found online. It was like taking a bath in food. Really nice smelling food that made my skin ultra soft.

Peaches and Cream bath oil
Mix in a bowl

3/4 cup of plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp vineger
3 large eggs
2 TBS melted butter
1 cup of milk
1 cup of peach juice

Paula Dean

2010-08-09T14:43:00.006-05:00

Dustan: I don't even know who Paula Dean is.

Weston: What IS a pualadean?

Me: It's some kind of fruit. (I learned my parenting skills from Calvin's dad)

Weston: I think you are wrong. I thinks it is a kind of soldier. I wish I was a pauladean.

A cookbook for the Dad

2010-08-09T13:55:00.003-05:00

Dustan is having to do far more cooking than he used to. Because my work at the cafe is in the evenings, he almost always needs to make the dinner meal, and I often need help for the lunch meal as well.

Dustan, bless his heart, is not a cook. He is, however, willing. And more than that, when he isn't overwhelmed by all the decisions, he actually enjoys cooking.

So, in an effort to help us both out, I am compiling a photographic journal of our meals. I am using Picnik.com to edit the photos and to add simple recipe instructions.

My plan is to have them printed and then to add them to a scrapbook page with helpful tips. Like:
"Weston won't touch corn with a ten foot pole"
"Marcus would rather eat bunny eyeballs than swallow a small piece of avocado"
"You don't really have to add every ingredient. If you don't have cheese, just leave it off."
"If you don't add cheese, Esther will see no reason to eat at all."

You know- that stuff all mommies know. I will add it to the page, just so he has a reference until he figures it all out.

I also figure that it will leave me space to add alterations when I can. I make alterations automatically. If I am out of mayo, I add yogurt. If I don't have taco seasoning, I know that I can use a variety of other spices to make up for it. Dustan hasn't been in the kitchen to figure all that out.

Without further ado, here are my first two recipes for our book, glamorously named:

Wash the Dishes When You are Done! (It truly is a book of helpful hints)

Rainy Day= Cooking Day.

2010-08-05T15:39:00.010-05:00

Loja is a cold city. One wouldn;t think it- but it is truly very cold here. There are no heaters in Loja. we just dress warmly and suck it up. However, last night was the single coldest I have ever been. I laughed when I was lying in bed thinking that if I had been in the US and my heater had been broken on a night like last night, we would have gotten a hotel room.

Living without options has changed the way I think about living. Period. No heater? Live with it. Shoes falling apart? Take them to be repaired. Short full of holes? try not to look at yourself after you get dressed. Clothes still wet after three days on a line? Wear the same dirty clothes until they finally dry. City having a shortage on gas? Cry while taking a cold shower in the frigid morning (or night) temps. (I didn't have to do that. I forfeited my showers instead. Peeeuuuwww)

Anyhow... It's raining today. No sun makes for a cold day after a long cold night, and because I didn't have Spanish class, I decided to declare it a cooking day.

Tomatoes taking a boiling hot bath. I was jealous. I soaked them for a minute or so and then transfered them to cold water. The skins peeled right off. Easy Peasy lemon Squeezy. (My Spanish tutor LOVES when I say that.)

After being frustrated with my broken budget after making granola, I kind of made up my own method. However, it is amost identical to THIS ONE. Scroll down for a budget friendly method. I do exactly like it says, use what I have and can afford.

For the Pasta Sauce, I used Val's recipe for inspiration. Next time I plan to make it exactly as written. Mine is yummy, but IMAGINE that roasted tomato taste! I don't have a blender (or the 100.00 that they cost here) but the next time I spend the day making pasta sauce, I will barter to borrow one. One blender for a jar of pasta sounds reasonable to me!

I only have two small quart sized bags left (and they are as valuable as gold here) so I froze the diced tomatoes on old butter containers. We save EVERYTHING. And what I don't save, someone picks out of my garbage. One of these days I am going to do a blog post on the Ecuadorian version of recycling. They have a tremendous understanding on the re-use portion. Anyhow, I plan to use the diced tomatoes in soups.

I will use some of my precious gallon sized bags (because I have more of them) for freezing the sauce.

Next freezing cold day, I am hoping to use all the black bananas in my freezer. Any ideas?

Learning Spanish is hard. REALLY hard!

2010-07-26T10:24:00.002-05:00

But I have found a few things that are invaluable in helping, and many can be used with youngsters. i thought I would leave a review in case some of you would like to learn Spanish. you know. SO YOU WILL COME VISIT ME!!!!

Coffee Break Español: This is a series of podcasts done by Mark and Kara who are actually from Scotland, but who are enthusiastic and capable teachers. Actually, Kara is a student of Spanish and learns right along side the listener. My kids have picked up a TREMENDOUS amount of Spanish.
Bonus: FREE You can't get better than free. We are on lesson eight. Hurry and catch up.

Easy Spanish: Step-by-Step: This book is also a great workbook functions as a building block mechanism for learning spanish. As you learn how to use articles, you also build your vocabulary by practicing with nouns. The next chapter adds adjectives and by chapter three you have some verbs down which allows you to make functional sentences.
I would say that a child would be able to use this from age 10 and up. But, it is highly effective for adults as well. Dustan and I are both using it and filling in some gaps that we have.
It's a great book and I highly recommend it.

Live Mocha: This is an interactive community of language learners. It's like facebook for people who want to learn a new language. The benefit of this is that if you learn a language in a vaccum you will get all dusty. Haha. No, really, it is helpful to communicate with native speakers and this allows you to do that.
It also has lessons that will help you build on what you are learning from the podcasts and from the workbook resource.
Bonus: IT'S FREE (they do have a paid membership that gives you more resources that i am highly tempted to pay for)
This site has better reviews than Rosetta Stone (which I don't recommend), and it is WAY WAY cheaper.

These will get you started, but I plan to come back with some other reviews and tips. If you have any questions, be sure to ask and I will make sure to feature them in a future post.

Guess what we have?

2010-07-24T10:45:00.003-05:00

Auggghhhhh.

Okay, so we don't have THAT one anymore. And hopefully our new cat will scare off any others that might want to join in on the fun.

BTW, that is a RAT trap. Ugghhh, yuckkkkk, and eeeeeuuuuwwwww.

Also, Dustan made me post this. If I had any readers left, I bet I don't anymore.

And as another side note, we are now overrun with animals. We have Scooter the rabbit, Daisy the dog, Skywalker the parakeet, and now- Scout, the kitten who better eat rats or she gets to move to the mountain and find her food there.

The story of the not-so-ugly-plant

2010-06-09T12:12:00.004-05:00

My missionary friend Anna went with me to the marketplace.
I saw the plant.
I fell in love.
I told myself "no". It was a pretty expensive plant...
But then I kept thinking about it. Eventually, we found our way back to the plant.

"Isn't it a beautiful plant?" I asked Anna.
Anna tried to be polite. But, Anna is a very honest person. She looked at me and said, "Well, it is not my taste, but I can see you like it." (read this in an Australian accent)

It was true. I did really like it.

So I bought the plant, the pot, the dirt and with Anna's help I hauled the whole load into a taxi. The whole way home, I kept thinking how much I loved my new curly-headed plant.

When Dustan saw us, he raised his eyebrow. "What's that?" he asked.
"It's a plant", I responded. "Don't you like it?"
"Well...." (I must interrupt to say my husband lacks the tact that Anna has) "It's ummmm.... interesting."
Anna laughed. "I tried to tell her."

My poor plant. So unloved by everyone but me.
Dustan curled his lip and wrinkled his nose. "It goes outside? Right?"
Anna just laughed. Again.

Our discussion brought on the curiosity of Irma, the lady who cleans my house twice a week. In Spanish, Dustan tried to tell Irma that the plant was not very pretty and should be outside.

The whole world was ganging up on me and my plant!

Only, Irma declared the plant was VERY BEAUTIFUL, and started to drag it inside.

Dustan gave in, and picked it up.

Irma and I stood back and inspected its radiance and glory. "Muy Bonita", she declared. "Si. A mi me gusta!" I said back.

Dustan thinks we are both loca and Anna still laughs when I talk about how she tried to squirm her way out of telling me I had purchased a very ugly plant.

So, what do you think?
Ugly?
Unique?
Gorgeous?
Perfect for Becka?

Plant: 8.00
Pot: 8.00
stand: 2.50 (was 3 but she gave me .50 off. What a bargain!)
dirt: 1.50

More pay-outs.

2010-06-02T13:54:00.004-05:00

Here are the things we paid for the last couple of days:

One 7up and one bottle of water: .65 We went to Malacatos yesterday with the kid's school. Yesterday was Dia de Niños and to celebrate, the school planned an outing at a Finka. what is a Finka? Good question. Literally translated, a finka means a farm. Here in Loja though, it is used to refer to a vacation home in the outlying villages.
They can be very rustic (camping with walls and a dirt floor), or they can be very opulent. The one we visited was somewhere in-between.
It had very rustic shelter, but it also had a swimming pool and a hot tub. Haha! Hot tub is funny because it is more like "lukewarm bath" tub.

Anyhow, we went. And because I didn't fully translate the instructions, we went without something to drink. Hence the need for something on the way home. (also, I was rather motion sick and was prayerful the 7up would settle my stomach.)

Two packets of corn tortillas: 5.00
Want to hear something shocking? Torn tortillas are not a common food in Loja. However, a small tienda opened up a few weeks ago. The owner is Mexican, his wife is Italian and so they have a small stand (two point five tables) that sells tacos, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. The corn tortillas are made on the spot, and are frankly, "to-die-for". Since Marcus and I can not have bread, we like to use corn tortillas for things like sandwiches. Dustan bought us 24. Ooooh, they are so good.

One donut, one spirol, and a bag of coffee: 2.50
While I fried the eggs this morning, Dustan walked around the corner to get me some coffee. (1.50- don't kill me. I know you are paying 10.00 for a good coffee in the US) He couldn't resist the donuts and felt guilty, so he bought me a spirol as well. Since a spirol is basically just sugar and egg whites, I couldn't stomach it for breakfast. Maybe I will have it later.

One refresco, one bottle of water, one emendada de verde, and one tamal: 3:00
I took my friend Stellamarise for a snack at "Mimo's". Refresco is a Tang drink that has thousands of flavors. Stellamarise had Maricuya which is an Ecuadorian fruit. She could also have chosen coconut. We serve the orange flavor at El Sendero. Emenadas de verde are one of my favorite Ecuadorian foods. Basically, they are fried pies the dough being made from green bananas. The insides are stuffed with chicken and peas. But, this morning, I chose a tamal. Which is corn flour steamed in a banana leaf. Oh how I love tamals!!!!!!!! Sometimes I order two, and everyone thinks I am a pig.

Household goods from another missionary: 500.00
We had not completed setting up our house because we new we could buy some things when the Bacon's moved back to Australia. Used items hold their value in Ecuador. I am amazed at the used prices of things. I spent 15.00 on a used set of sheets, but because our only other option is 40.00, I snagged them as fast as I could. No garage sale or the prices that come with them, here in Ecuador.
We bought books, rugs, sheets, chairs, and several other items. The big purchase was the ping pong table which was 150.00. This is something that we will use for ministry. We hope to have the young people over often, and because Dustan and I are neither "hip" or "young", we will bribe them with a ping pong table. Our purchases from this missionary family pretty much wraps up our set up here in Ecuador. We still need a couple of things (like a blender, and another knife, and a pair of scissors), but for the most part, we now have everything we need, and even a few things just for fun (like books and a ping pong table)
As a side note: the rule of thumb for reselling in Ecuador is 50% less than what you paid. Because imports are both expensive and hard to come by. Since I bought 40.00 sheets for 15, it is actually considered a bargain! But, I guess it all evens out since I only pay 1.50/pound for my coffee!

Phone bill: 9.00
Dustan tried to pay this bill last week, but when he went to pay it, he found that the place had closed down. He found out that he could pay at the bank and so he went today. Downside, the bank lines are incredibly long. Paying bills here is VERY different than the US. If we paid them all on the same day, it would take us the entire day.

Meal at El Sendero: 10.00 Each Wednesday we have a family meal at El Sendero. Becka is working, and Dustan has English Club, so we find it easier to eat at the cafe. Becka's meal is free, But since Dustan and the kids are not working, they pay for their meal.

Aggravated beyond belief...

2010-05-31T20:42:00.004-05:00

That is what I would change my facebook status to if I wasn't so attached to my current one.
Current status:
Esther: Look mommy!
Me: At what?
Esther: At the raindrops. Aren't they beautiful?

Holy petals batman, she makes my heart puddle into a pool of sunshine.

BUT-----
I can't find the kid's scissor, so I am feeling a bit more stormy than normal.
Why do I need the kid's scissor? Why don't I just use mine?
Good question. Hilarious answer.
I broke mine.
While using them to cut my lawn. Really.
There is not a single lawn mower for sale in all of Loja. Quito is a day's drive away.
So----
The scissors worked. Until they broke.

Okay----
But why do I need scissors so badly?

Because I was perusing the "World of Momcrafts" (That is my made of name of the collection of internet resources that make me want to craft. Quick! Someone trademark it!) and I found the following:
Apron made of T-shirts.

I doubt you will read the rest of my post. You are all already lost in ruffles... and stuff.
But----
Just in case you come back:
I have a stack of t-shirts that have mysterious holes. Knit does not last long in Ecuador. It's a true mystery. Really. I hired Nancy Drew and she told me it was the fault of the clothespins. I quickly fired Miss Nancy. The holes are all on the front of the shirt, where no clothespins touch.
Then I hired that one lady who solves all those crimes in those books that use the alphabet for titles. (I forget her name) and she said it was my laundry detergent. Ding Ding.

Dong... I thought it worked. Two weeks later... more holes. Dingly dangly. Another shirt in the holey pile.
Agatha Christie (I don't care for Hercule Peroit OR Miss Marple so I went directly to the source), says it is because the buttons on my jeans are wearing holes in the shirts. Seems reasonable I guess. But why did it not happen in the States? I am still unsatisfied as to the cause of the mysterious holes... but back to the problem at hand.

The previous link gave me the immediate desire to turn my pile of holey shirts into an apron. Right now. This second! Ahora! Rapido! (I had café italiano tonight).

So--- Up I ran to get my shirts. Had to root around in the dark to find them because the light in my bedroom takes about half an hour to turn on. But I found them.

Found the needles I bought. (I bought them at a small hole in the wall fruit store. The guy stored them with buttons and matches. In a cookie jar.)

Couldn't find the thread, but decided that dental floss would be stronger anyway.

Everything was ready. Except that I realized I had broken my only pair of scissor.

No problem----
I would just use the kid's. It would be interesting. The kid's scissor are safety scissors, and it would probably be easier to just use my teeth... But I want to make an apron. Now! Right this second! Before I even post this blog post! (I don't think I will be sleeping tonight).

Okay--- so instead of making my apron, I decided I would torture you with this very long missive of nothingness that leads to no where.

Sorry.
But at least you have the link for an awesome blog. (not mine silly. The ruffles and stuff one.)

PS. It is my birthday. Someone send me a pair of scissors and a lawn mower. A human lawn mower is the best sort.

Shopping in Ecuador: part 1

2010-05-31T14:39:00.001-05:00

I thought I would keep track of a month's worth of expenses, I think it will be a good portrait of what life is like here.

Monday is the day we shop at Supermaxi for El Sendero. Supermaxi is a large supermarket (I will try to get a picture next week), that is very modern. It reminds me of the grocery stores back home. Except that some praices are much better, and some prices... WOAH NELLY, I am lucky if I don't get a heart attack. Do not try to buy peanut butter or tabasco sauce in Ecuador.
We take a taxi to supermaxi, then take a taxi back to El Sendero we we unload the food and haul it up to flights of stairs.
After we put it away, we usually take our two market bags of food and walk home.

Today we took a taxi because we had to buy paper plates and wood chips (not pictured) and the wood chips were heavy and bulky.

Since we didn't walk home, we also did not stop at the local tienda where we buy our fruits, or the market where we buy our veggies.

Anyhow, here are the pics of what we did buy:

We spent 65.00 which is about what we spend at supermaxi each week. We have a challenge though to only buy things there that we can not buy at the tiendas. Sometimes, for convenience, we ignore our challenge. I can get brown sugar almost anywhere!

See anything interesting? Have a question? Want to know how much a specific item cost? (The snickers were a STEAL! Normally 10.00 they were only five! That made them about what we would have paid in the states! Now I am wondering if I should have bought an extra!) Just ask away.
Today was a boring shopping day. Not all that different than what we would have done back home.

Future blackmail?

2010-05-18T08:20:00.001-05:00

Elizabeth Greenwood is 15 now, and presumably too old for Polly Pockets. (I bet she still played with them when no one was looking.) So, in an act of extreme generosity she gave the entire collection which included no less than a bajillion microscopic shoes, to Esther.

I like to complain about them a lot.

I mean, they make a HUGE mess. H.U.G.E. You can not even imagine how long it takes to clean up that many itsy bitsy shoes. Not to mention the four hundred and fifty thousand kagoogle shirts, pants, skirts, hats, and purses.

Polly Pockets are the stuff that crazy mother's are made out of (and legos- but that is another post).
(When no one is looking, I sneak into Esther's room and play with them.)

But, Esther loves them, and so, I take a deep breath, and try not to curl up and die when I walk past her room and see "Polly Pocket Mall" look like polly pocket tornado after-effects.

Sunday afternoon when I went upstairs (and no, I wasn't going to sneak into Esther's room to play), I noticed a strange sight:

Yep. That's my boys, playing with Polly Pockets. I had to sneak to take a picture because...
Well, what boy would want his mom taking a picture of him playing Polly Pockets????

Apparently this one.
"Look Mom! Cute, right?"

"You realize I have a camera, right?"

"Take a picture of this one!"
"You are a strange child."
"What? Esther plays with my hot wheels."
"You better clean up those its-bitsy-teeny-weeny-drive-your-mommy-crazy-shoes."

Una pequeña rincón en mi casa.

2010-05-14T13:48:00.004-05:00

This is a little corner in my house.
It isn't awesome...
Or interesting...
But I thought I would post it anyway, to prove that in some way, I am carving out a home in our little mud hut (which is neither made of mud, nor little).

The shelves are on loan from some missionaries on their way to furlough. I can't really paint them but I am considering wrapping the bricks in paper, and maybe using some more substantial fabric to wrap the shelves in.
Have any ideas? (This shelf is the first thing we see when we walk in the door.)

I am remember the good old days (no so good really) when I tried to turn our 1970's home into a cottage. Hahahaha. What a crock. One thing I learned through that experience to to be content with all things. Hey- I think that is even in the Bible!
Every woman longs for a beautiful home- to be sure, but in the states, I was inundated by beautiful places. Magazines galore were everywhere galore, just sitting around waiting to show me how "ugly" my house was.

There are no Better Homes magazines here. No Martha Stewart (save an old Halloween edition from 2007) to show me all the things I "need" to make a beautiful home.

Frankly, I think it is easier to be content here. No one else has more than me. Not even far off people in a magazine fantasy land of staged photographs. People here wrap their sofas in old sheets to keep the dust off and the decorate their homes with knick knacks my granny would adore.

The other missionaries have modest furnishings with decorations that they find around them. A piece of pottery that cost 2.00 in the market, a piece of original indigenous fabric weaving, a tourist token from their travels...
No one would take a photo and place it in a magazine, but I must admit, I admire each of these homes. There is something there that makes me want to sit...
It is definitely not in the carefully chosen wall colors (though I admit my love for the Ecuadorian LOVE of color), or the arrangement of the conversation area (some homes don't even have a sofa! They sit around and chat at a table).

The difference is in time. In Ecuador, relationships are built on time. In the States, we would always say time is money, and then we would buy things with that money to strengthen relationships... (well, maybe not you- but I fell into it plenty of times).
Here there is no money. At an hourly wage of 2.00 a day, there is not much hope for money. And for those who do have money, it is still so ingrained in the culture, that they will ignore everything else for the chance to sit down and build relationships.

I didn't mean to say all this, but I caught myself being embarrassed to post my exposed brick bookshelf (which is actually ingenious and incredibly functional- not to mention FLEXIBLE) because it does not look like something that anyone would want to show off.

When, in fact, I am very happy that I now have a place to show off our family picture (we brought with us), a stack of favorite books (brought with us), and my case of wooden tulips that I fell in love with and bought at Todo Hogar for myself as a Mother's Day gift.
My scarf is Ecuadorian, and I love the color.
And well...

I have learned to be content.

One of these days I will be so content that I will show off the ugly 1980's, and much too small, bedspread I have on my bed. Until then, I will just enjoy my new, my free, my rustic, bookshelf.

And as an aside, The Greenwoods (bless their hearts) let us borrow a tremendous amount of bricks and shelves and we have these located throughout the house.
One in the office houses all the games that we also borrowed from the Greenwoods (love them- and are really gonna miss them!)
One in Esther's room holds her puzzles and bottlecap collection.
The one in Weston's room holds his stuffed animals, lego, and geometric building set.

If you need storage in your house and can't afford the Ikea system (which is uber cool) then this system might also work for you in the states. (or elsewhere, if I happen to have readers in Timbuktu, Ireland, or Argentina) (I don't. I checked.)

Simplicity

2010-05-13T19:51:00.004-05:00

I made this simple meal for dinner tonight. Pork is is ready supply here in Ecuador, and the chuletas (pork chops), are outstanding. I hated pork chops in the states, but somehow I just can't get them wrong here. This is good- because the rest of my family loves pork chops.

I simply cut onions into rings, added largely cut up tomatoes, a bit of tomatoes, some garlic paste, and olive oil.
I added the chuletas on top of that, added some agua, covered and cooked on low heat.
I checked frequently and added water if needed.

THe kids all declared that I could "not have cooked them any better", and that they were "just as good as Irma's".
Anytime irma cooks for us, I am reminded by my children of how much better a cook Irma is than I am.
So, bravo for me! A+ for mommy.

I didn't make the rice however, because, everytime I even try, I am told "not to even bother." I have such kind worded children. I think they need a lot of prayer.
And obviously, they think I need cooking lessons.

Anyhow, this was uber easy to make, took almost no prep time, and it wasn't much of a bother except to add water every now and again.

Everyone else LOVED it, and I liked it pretty much (which is high praise for a pork chop from me)- so, you should try it.

Simple sometimes is the very best.
Marcus became less bored once the picture taking stopped and the eating began.

And, since Thursday nights are family night at the mud hut- we had desert as well. Ice box lemon pie, almost exactly like my sister used to make when we were growing up. The only change I made was to use a coconut crust instead of a graham cracker one in order to make it gluten free.
It's is also...
S.I.M.P.L.E.
1/2 cups of lemon juice (I used fresh, because lemons are 3 for a dime- can't get anything cheaper than that)
1 can of sweetened condensed milk.
Blend with a mixer until thick
Pour into pie crust and refrigerate until set.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy

A post about hair:

2010-05-07T23:09:00.002-05:00

Esther's hair to be exact.
It has gotten long enough since the fun days when she thought it would be fun

I have promised several people that I would post the blog links to where I find instructions for our hair dos, and since I finally have a wee bit of internet access, and because it is almost midnight which means it is far to late to respond coherently to emails, I am finally making good on my promise.

Girly dos by Jen is perhaps the one I reference the most.
The Princess in her Hair is another good one.

Please check the blog roll on both these blogs, you will find many more blogs just dedicated to little girl's hair.

As a cultural side note, hair is a big deal in Ecuador. Every little girl sports a hairstyle each morning. I am so glad I started working with Esther's hair before I came here because otherwise I would have felt overwhelmed trying to help her fit in.
As it is, we have had several comments and requests for instructions.

Animales para Pasqua

2010-04-05T10:51:00.002-05:00

Esther's friend Gabby had two rabbits. two boy rabbits who spent far to much of their time arm wrestling with their teeth. Lightning here needed a new home, and Esther was thrilled to provide him with one. Lightning was dropped off on the Saturday before Easter. Sort of an accidental Easter bunny.

and while you are meeting our Easter pets....

Meet the chicken yet to be named.

Our pastor and his wife brought me this sweet little fluff ball as a gift. It arrived on Easter Day.

How appropriate. An Easter bunny and an Easter chick, all in one year, and neither was intentional as an Easter gift.

Hooray! I have a chicken! And Rabbit the size of Godzilla!

PS. My chickie-doo has taken to Weston like hot on a dog.
PS #2: Do you have any idea how much poo a baby chick and a giganterous rabbit can create. Hint: It is more than you would think.

preparing for Easter- Toasty-Toes mudhut style:

2010-04-02T14:36:00.002-05:00

This blog has seen:
Toasty-Toes mansion
Toasty-toes guesthouse
Toasty-Toes cottage
...and now...
Toasty-Toes Mud Hut. All missionaries live in mud-huts don't they?

Our home here is far from a mud hut, but it makes me smile to think that after three years of hard work preparing to come to Ecuador- that we are FINALLY here. Although I am spending most of my time learning Spanish, doing ministry, and taking care of the family, I do still have some time for homemaking.

I have always wanted to make a big deal out of Easter, but every year I procrastinated and most years we spent with family. This year, if we were to have any celebration at all... it was going to up to me.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Eggs: I can not tell you how eggcited I was to have the combo of peanut butter and chocolate. Everyone who knows me knows how much I love this combo. I once ruined my credit rating over a Reece's Peanut Butter Cup. They were offering free candy bars at college for anyone who signed up for a credit card. What can I say? I was enticed. And then I wracked up a very large bill buying Reeces cups.
Anyhow, Reece's Peanut butter cups are not available here (I did find a Mar's Bar for 2.00), so I tried to make an Easter version on my own.

However.

These were a disappointment. I came home late from El Sendero last night, after having slaved in my kitchen all day, and worked at the cafe all night, and sat down to munch on these eggs. They just are not peanut-buttery enough. I used the peanut butter (mani, in Spanish) that I use for all my baking here. It is just ground peanuts. It can't be the fault of the peanut butter.

Fortunately, I also made bird's nest cookies. THESE, were, delicious! Yay!

They were also a hit with the El Sendero staff. I made up a little Easter basket for each of them and found them exclaiming over the cookies. I think they said something like:

"Oh my great goodness. How wonderful are these cookies? These cookies are beautiful. Becka is a genius. I don't even want to eat mine. Oh, it is so sweet, these little tiny bird eggs."

There are some advantages to not knowing the primary language being spoken around you. One of those benefits is that I can just make thing up that people say.

Gloria frequently says what a great worker I am and Susi says all the time that they just couldn't get on without me. (They are probably actually complaining about how often I break the dishes. I am known as the "person who breaks things". Dustan is known as, "the person who burns things".)

Preparing anything here, is VERY, VERY, VERY different than in the United States. I went to five different stores for ingredients for the treats and Easter dinner. It took me about 6 hours of shopping. Then I had to make sure I soaked my fruits and veggies in a solution meant to kill the bad bugs that want to eat my intestines. I had to hand wash all my eggs because they still had mud and chicken poop on them. I am adjusting, but I admit, I took all my conveniences in the US for granted.
I leave you with this very messy view of my kitchen. After spending all morning shopping, making treats, and assembling Easter baskets, we dyed Easter eggs.

(By the way, this kitchen is AWESOME. It is bright and airy, large and functional. It is still very different from what I am used to (the faucets are crazy and move in two different directions, so that it takes me ten minutes to figure out how to get the water turned off), but- I love it.
The yellow labels are part of my effort to learn spanish. Step one: label everything in your house.

Saying Goodbye: Again.

2010-03-23T08:22:00.002-05:00

I am including this post on my personal blog instead of my missions one because it is... well... personal. I seriously thought that I had said all my goodbyes when I flew out of St Louis. I had no idea that God was going to place someone in my life that I would love so dearly, and be with so shortly.

Tanya and her husband Everett arrived in Quito at the same time our family did. We all moved into the same temporary quarters when we arrived in Loja. I didn't have a coffee maker, so each morning I bummed a cup off of Tanya, and we chatted as I had my coffee. I knew that her family would only be in Loja for 2 months, but at that time 2 months seemed like forever.

And now that forever ago seems like 10 minutes ago. Tanya and her family leave this afternoon to travel back to Canada. I am overwhelmed with the probable permanence of this. I have never been to Canada. I am not likely to go to Canada. This separation is likely to be a veryyyyyyyyy long one. So, my heart is heavy with this.

Tanya was a gift to me when I needed it the most. I had just said goodbye to my two best girlfriends. I had said goodbye to my sister and mom. I had said goodbye to my pastor's wife and my cousin Lindsey who had become like sisters to me. My world was recently full of goodbyes, and God gave me a wonderful HELLO.

Tanya was brave. She was contagiously brave. I did things with Tanya I never would have tried with anyone else. She dragged me into the shops and we fumbled our Spanish as we tried to find things for my new house. Because she was so willing to venture out without the "tried and true" missionaries, I was able to move into independence so much earlier.
Tanya would try anything new. "What is up those steps?" She would wonder, and then up she would go. Tanya is a natural born explorer and I loved tagging along.

Tanya was seemingly fearless at new things and at new relationships. She would make friends with the Ecuadorian young people with complete abandon. Last night the cafe was flooded with young people who had come to say goodbye. She gave of herself so freely. She prayed so freely, laughed so freely, hugged so freely, and cried so freely. She taught me to be a better person. She taught me to be a better missionary.

And I will miss her.

But I won't forget what she gave to me. I won't forget that the God who sent her to me at just the time I needed her, will not leave me hanging. I will remember that God will continue to meet my needs, and not just the physical ones.

So. I love Tanya, and the goodbye is hurting like crazy, but I will remember that God is good, and although goodbyes are terribly hard, that I will hang on for the new hellos that are coming my way.

I refuse to harden my heart and grow crusty in order to avoid future pain. Like Tanya, I will throw myself into new relationships with abandon, because there are good things in store for me.

But...
Today...
I am going to cry.

Fruits and vegetables...

2010-03-03T08:31:00.004-06:00

Fruits and veggies are in constant supply here. Every day I go to work across the street from a wonderful market. I have access to the most wonderful exotic fruit in the whole universe.

And my cabinets are stocked with fresh eggs (I mean really fresh) and all kind of other great choices.

But...

I am going to eat icecream for breakfast.

Fresh Lemons + Sugar + Water= Resfreshing...

2010-02-27T15:54:00.002-06:00

Today was a hot day here in Ecuador. For those who are facebooks friends, I posted some pictures of our morning activity and by the time I got home I felt half baked. Not only are we on the equator but the altitude places us closer to the sun and today it felt that the sun had a desire to torch us.

Add that fact to a dozen lemons that wanted to go bad and you have a need for lemonade! Our lemons here are tiny and green. I have no idea why, but they are incredibly cheap and in constant supply.

While I boiled water on the stove I juiced my lemons. Then I added 2 cups of sugar in a glass measuring cup and added enough boiling water to equal 4 cups. Then I added my squeezed lemon juice. Because my only pitcher is holding the flowers of everlasting life (seriously- they are THREE weeks old), I decided to just make a concentrate that we can add to a glass of water whenever we want.

When I want some lemonade, I pour some lemon syrup in the bottom of the glass and add water. This also lets us vary the strength. I like my lemonade light and barely there. Dustan likes his strong, sweet, and tart. You can see he approves.

Some things to hope for

2010-02-26T22:28:00.005-06:00

That she never becomes a fashion designer.

That she never changes.

That these precious moments never-ever end.

Yo cocino crepes (I cook crepes)

2010-02-18T08:17:00.002-06:00

One of the things I love about living in Ecuador is the availability of gluten free flours. For Valentine's day I dreamed up a crepe breakfast. By dreamed up, I mean I actually dreamed it. In my dreams I was making crepes out of banana flour. When I woke up, I decided that I didn't have much to lose by trying out my dreamed up recipe.

I don't think anyone loses out on this, except maybe you folks that don't have access to banana flour. Sorry. I guess that would be most of you. But yay for us! We can have banana crepes anytime we want!

You can however make your own recipe of crepes and stuff them like we did. One crepe has peanut butter and chocolate inside, and the other has mora berry jam and is drizzled with chocolate. I served it with the icecream from the previous post. Everyone deserves ice cream for breakfast!

Banana Crepes:
1 cup banana flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS sugar
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1/8 tsp baking powder
2 TBS melted butter

Just mix and add about 1/4 a cup of batter to a hot, oiled skillet. Twirl the pan a bit so you get a nice thin surface. When the crepe is almost dry on top, flip and cook for another minute or so.

Ice Cream in Ecuador

2010-02-14T10:39:00.004-06:00

My children have declared the following Ice-cream the "THE BEST IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD" Marcus wonders why anyone would ever eat any other kind of ice cream. I can't ever understand what Weston thinks because his mouth is so full of ice-cream that it drips out the corners of his mouth.

It is definitely not a typical ice-cream. It has a more subtle sweetness and a much more "in your face" creaminess. It is definitely worth making.

I flavored mine by adding Tang!
Tang? Yes, it still exists. Here in Ecuador it comes in several flavors including our family's new favorite fruit: Mora Berry.

You could add any kind of flavoring you wanted. Play around with it and make sure you tell me how it turns out.

Thank you to Lucinda, the Brazilian missionary here in Loja. We missionaries are a diverse sort of folk, which will provide me with many different foods to try. YES!

PS. You can see my new dryer outside the window. I give it five stars for energy efficiency but only three stars overall. Unfortunately its consistency in performance is about as consistent as the weather in Loja. Which is to say- not consistent at all.
(However, I must admit that I LOVE hanging my clothes and think that they look very pretty hanging out on the line.)

PS # 2- Yes, those are bars on my windows. I have found the Ecuadorian people to be a very honest lot. Whenever I try to over-pay for my goods (which is all the time, because I can't understand money in Spanish), they always laugh and work diligently to make me understand that they said .30 cents and not 3 dollars. However. They ALL want my icecream and I have to protect it somehow.

Weston vs. the Toothfairy

2009-12-24T19:31:00.002-06:00

Weston is pretty po'd at the tooth fairy. She refuses to seriously consider his requests and he just does not understand why.

Several months ago Weston pulled a tooth by himself and wrote the following letter to the tooth fairy:

"Dear tooth fairy,
I pulled this tooth out all by myself and didn't even cry. I am hoping for at least 50.00."

He was greatly disappointed when he only received a couple of dollars.

Now, the tooth fairy has crushed his dreams yet again, and if she keeps it up Weston is bound to declare war on her.
He lost a tooth at Grandma's and grandma told us about it. When we saw him we had the following conversation:

Mom: Weston, I heard you got a visit from the tooth fairy.
Him: No.
Dad: I heard you got some money.
Him: Yeh, she brought me some change, but she didn't bother to stop and talk.
Mom and Dad: (bust a gut laughing)
Weston: You know why I don't like the tooth fairy? I wanted a credit card and all I got was change.

I have a feeling the toothfairy is stuck in the middle ages around here and until now has not even THOUGHT about leaving credit cards in exchange for teeth.

Ten very random things I am thankful for:

2009-11-24T08:22:00.003-06:00

1. That many Spanish words look like their English counterpart, which made filling out our Visa application MUCH easier.

2. My son who can play the guitar and is like a David-boy to my King Saul soul.

3. That I don't have the madness of King Saul and would not in a million years try to kill my musician.

4. Leggings to keep my legs warm when I wear dresses.

5. Lamps to light the house on dark dreary days. (Thank you Marta)

6. Indoor Toilets. Nothing more needs to be said.

7. Coffee. Again, I need not say more.

8. Three years with my Heidi-girl. She has been such a wonderful doggie friend for our family, and though we are sad to say goodbye this weekend, we are grateful for the time God gave us with her, and God-willing, she will be healthy and well in two years when we come to get her back. I know she will still love me. She is just that kind of dog.

9. A roof over my head. It's cold and rainy out today.

10. Friends who are coming over today to help me pack up my house.

What random things are you thankful for today?

It's starting to look a lot like Christmas

2009-11-23T08:42:00.007-06:00

I thought it might be time to re-introduce last year's Christmas Experiment. As the craziness begins, consider doing Christmas differently this year. Many of you will remember my post last year about how we did Christmas without the normal gift-giving. For those who do not remember it, I will add a link at the bottom of this post. For those who do, here is an update.
I
From discovering treasure on a scavenger hunt, to playing old familar games, to listening to a Christmas concert, to giving a Christmas concert at the nursing home, to baking cakes, and cookies, to just hanging out and laughing- IT WAS THE MOST WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS WE EVER HAD.

Not one single child asked where the toys were. Not one single adult wished we had forgone the experiment and instead went with the traditional.

Are you ready to look at Christmas a different way this year?
Start by reading THIS POST.

http://toasty-toes.blogspot.com/2008/11/and-it-starts.html

A Mystery in "jello-like" form

2009-11-09T09:03:00.005-06:00

When I was a teenager, an elderly Mrs Drachenberg, immigrant from Germany, invited my family for Thanksgiving dinner. That dinner would stay in my thoughts for more than 15 years.

Oh, her company was good, her stories of nazi Germany were spine-tingling- but her jello like dessert was the stuff of fairy-tale dinners. It was like a jello. Kind-of. But not really. It had fruit, and was topped with something that was very surprising to me as a teen.

Cream. Not the sweet kind from a tub. But THICK, milky stuff that came from a porcelain cup. I had never had cream before, and it was an immediate love affair. I must admit that every time I saw cream in the store, or used some in my coffee, or made a quiche, I thought it would be far better paired with that ever elusive dessert.

You think I am kidding- but I am seriously NOT. I have looked for this dessert for years. When google arrived as a gift to the universe, I immediately put it to use.

"German Desserts"
"Desserts that use cream"
"jello-like dessert that is not Gelatin and is German"
"German dessert with fruit and cream"
"Please oh magic googler, find me the dessert of my dreams"

and I came up empty.

But all great stories have good endings:

SERVES 8 1 (or 5 if you are really feeling like sharing)

2 1/4 lbs currants or raspberries or brambleberries or strawberries or sour cherries or plums (assorted red fruits, in any combination)
1/2 cup sugar (or more to taste, depending on the tartness of the fruit)
1 quart water
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup rum (optional)
milk or cream, to serve with the dessert
Wash fruit and pick through for stems (reserve 3/4 cup).
Combine the remaining fruit with water (reserving 1 cup), and sugar in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil and cook fruit over medium heat until done but still holding its shape.
Sweeten to taste with more sugar, if needed.
Stir corn starch into reserved water until dissolved and stir into the juice.
Bring to boil, cook until thickened, and remove from heat.
Blend in the rum if desired.
Mash reserved, uncooked fruit in blender and stir into the thickened juice.
Eat Rote Grutze either hot or cold and serve with cold milk or cream.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T20:48:00.004-05:00

Just like last year (it's a tradition now), we waited until the last minute to pull together costumes. But- unlike last year, Marcus got to carry weapons.

And like last year, Weston stole the show. And- yes, we did indeed shave the boy's head. It was his idea. He begged- we obeyed. We have to respect our elders you know.

Esther, at the very last moment decided that instead of being the sheep that was already planned out, would, instead be Maid Marion. I just used Marcus' costume for inspiration. Both costumes were made using adult sized T-shirts as tunics and some slits here and there with a pair of scissors finished the job.

These were no sew costumes except for Marcus hat, which could actually have been made with staples. Trust me- I thought about it.

I hope your Halloween was more sweet than frightful, and that your tomorrow will not be filled with dentist appointments.

Be still my heart.

2009-10-22T12:11:00.002-05:00

I have to admit that selling my world possessions was a pretty difficult thing to do. Going to Ecuador is something that we dearly want to do, but I am not kidding when I say the sacrifices have been great. Sometimes they have been downright overwhelming. Just this past week a new sacrifice cropped up that has me choked up.

So, it might be silly, but in browsing a blog of retirees who have moved to Cuenca, I followed a link to a local Ecuadorian pottery company. And I was comforted. New dishes will not diminish the value of all I have sold or am leaving behind, but it reminded me that good things are yet to come.

Artesa

Nancy and Chuck

A work in progress

2009-10-21T08:56:00.003-05:00

My internet is so testy (as in almost never available) that I needed something to occupy the time that wasn't spent in housework, schoolwork, or SIM work. I saw some cardboard dollhouses on Crafty Crow and decided to give it a try. Remember that I am NOT a perfectionist. Plus, I have three kids that were helping me out (Marcus was very particular about the wallpaper...).
Anyhow, here is the kitchen and living room. I have the paper to do a bedroom but I do not have an extra box. One will show up soon, I am sure.
Marcus has a book on paper crafts that includes a page on making paper furniture (like the white chair and tootsie pillow) and we plan to make some furniture out of nice cardstock. Meanwhile, we will practice with white paper.

Since my oldest friend, Jerusalem, (seriously- she is OLD. White hair, cane, minty breath, and runny lipstick kindof old) featured me on her gorgeous blog, I thought I would make a public apology for the point and shoot/unfocused pictures- and the project that was only 1/4 done. Of course, now I see the edges weren't glued very well, and the corners don't match up. I also really wish I had finished those few touches I meant to do. I was just so excited I posted it. Haha- I guess Jeru was excited to!

Please come back again to see some of the other things we have planned

Like stringing those lanterns
and hanging tiny hooks along the kitchen wall to hold baskets
A large mirror will hang on the back wall- using the back of a mason jar lid
and of course, we hope to get some furniture in those rooms
That chandelier in the kitchen (which is actually a lone earring will hang on a wire instead of a black pipecleaner
We plan to cut out pics from magazines for wall hangings, prints, and anything else that inspires us.
We have a princess bedroom planned as well as a nursery. Just wait to see what that princess BR looks like- everything was color coordinated by Esther's brother! LOL
So- come back, ya hear.

Good grief (the efforts they will take to drive us nuts)

2009-09-22T16:56:00.003-05:00

Weston is trying hard to get out of his schoolwork. It is a simple assignment. He looks at the different habitats and writes one reason why he would want to live there. He says it is too hard. he doesn’t want to live in any of those habitats.

I say, “Come on Weston, surely you can come up with a single good reason why living in the desert would be a good idea.”

Weston: “Ummmm. No. I can not. Why’da wanna live there? It has cactus to stab you. You would die of heatedness and you would get hot sand in your shoes. And what are you gonna eat? Big spiders?

Then he went on to explain that if the assignment was to say why he did not want to live in any of the environments it would be an easy one.

Grasslands: Oh, yuck. It’s all dewy, which makes it muddy. Where would you live? In the mud? What would you eat? MUD?

Jungle: This stuff is just crazy. No one wants to live there except naked people. That is why. Cause they have no clothes and can’t leave or people would make fun of them.

Arctic: Penguins? they want me to live like a penguin and eat yucky fish. No way. I do not want to die of blue freezing cold. No way would I live there. It would mean being a penguin or an icicle.

Woodlands: See. Another stupid one. Where ya gonna live? A tree? Would you even live? NO! You would get killed by an animal, animal, ANIMAL. Or by a bullet. I don't want to die, so I don’t want to live there and get killed by a hunter. What would I eat? Bullets? And double reasons, the animals WOULD EAT ME.

Frankly, if Weston moved to my neck of the woods, I would eat him too.

(This is his reasoning- word for word)

Duct tape and bobby pins. A must have for all new homes!

2009-09-10T09:12:00.002-05:00

Funny story:

First night in our house we noticed that the bedroom door was locked, and could not be unlocked. It couldn't be unlocked from the inside- or the outside. "Don't close the door." we told each other.

That night, with kids tucked into bed, Dustan and I lie in our own bed, discussing the niceness of having our own place for the next few months. "I should check on the kids", he said.

Only, when he tried to do so, we found that we had forgotten and closed the door.

So. We were locked inside our room.

"We can climb out the window", I said.

"And what then?" said Dustan. "The house is locked up, the kids are upstairs and won't be able to hear us." (The doorbell is also broken)

"Well, we have to do SOMETHING".

"No kidding. I will try to take the door off the hinges."

Unfortunately for us, the door hinges had been painted, and that didn't work.
Neither did using a credit card on the latch.
Neither did trying to remove the doorknob (we were prepared to unscrew the thing with our fingernails)- only, there were no outside screws.

So, in a state of hysteria, we considered kicking the door in. We live in a duplex, and it was almost midnight. I was worried about waking the neighbors, but what could we do?

If only we could pull that latch in. If only... (If only we hadn't closed the dang door!!!!!)

And so, I looked for anything I could use. I considered my hair, but how would I get it wrapped around the latch? I needed something stiffer. Maybe I had a piece of jewelry that would work?

And there, in my jewelry basket was the answer. A bobby pin. So out of place, and so ready to be unfolded and twisted into a hook.

After a couple of tries we were free! And fortunately maintained a good sense of humor throughout the entire thing. It took the rental agency a few days to fix the problem. meanwhile, duct tape kept it from happening again.

Toasty-Toes mansion has become Toasty-Toes cottage

2009-09-03T18:32:00.003-05:00

...or to be more accurate, it's a duplex. But it's lovely, and it's private, and for however long it takes us to fly away to Ecuador, it's mine. Living with friends was a wonderful-fun adventure. But six months is a long time, and I think we are all happy to have some space to roll around in and call our own.

Not to mention, I can homemake and decorate, and tell you all about it. Fun for me- fun for you.

What I can't do is play Blogger on the internet because the internet I have hardly works. I can't really complain, because, it's not mine.

So, look here for some sporadic posting. Unless of course, I take better advantage of the free wi-fi at the city park (whose internet I suspect I can almost pick up at the house), and post more often. The kids would love that. Fresh air, swings, and a great battlefield for Nerf wars.

Okay, now for the good stuff (at least for my curious family), here are some Living room pics. I still need to hang some art work and I have another chair that will be moved in. I love it. Oh, and right now it doubles as a dining room because as of this morning the dining room table was still in pieces.

Don't you just love Heidi girl's morning routine? Stretch girly, stretch!

Just a heads up

2009-07-10T13:42:00.004-05:00

Toasty Toes Mansion has sold! Which is outrageously good news. Keep up with our adventures at:

I will occasionally be posting to Toasty-Toes to share the antics of our children but you won;t see me much here. I need to focus my time on other endeavors for a while.

Once I set up house in Ecuador, you will see me back. I will need a way to show off my lack of homemaking skills in a foreign country.

For some reason the link is refusing to show up. I will come back later to edit. Until then, copy and paste into your browser:
servantsinecuador.blogspot.com

Esther on her future:

2009-06-24T16:06:00.002-05:00

untitled event

I took Esther to see Annie last night. "Tomorrow" has been running through my head marathon style ever since. Esther had a blast and as we waited through intermission she tried to get a grasp on the difference between story telling and real life. After she gave up on that she engaged me in a discussion about who the people were on stage.

Me: I used to be an actress you know.

Her: You did? What did you be?

Me: (I simply ran down my impressive resume of community and college theatre performances)

Her: Why don't you be an actress anymore?

Me: i found out I was a better mommy.

Her: Oh.

Silence ensues as she processes this

Her: Mommy, I decided that when I grow up I am going to be an actress. I want to be Annie. If I am good at actressing then I will just keep doing that. But if I am bad then I will just be a mommy.

Well, I guess she gave up on her career as a shoe fixer, clothing designer, horsey rider.

Esther thinks she can fly:

2009-05-05T21:21:00.003-05:00

(Esther is learning to ride a bike- she can go about two feet after Grammy Pammy lets go)

Anyhow, sweet litle Essie might not be able to fly, but she does happen to think her butt works as well as a birds fluffyness. Today she found an intact robin's egg. She brought it to the meanest mommy in the world (me) and told me I needed to put it in a safe place for it to hatch. The meanest mommy in the world informed her that the egg was already cold and that the baby bird inside was rather... dead.

And Esther did not believe me. She insisted it was still alive and that I needed to help her. The meanest mommy in the world (me) insisted that she take the egg outside and leave it for the animals to find and eat. "It's the circle of life", I told her.

"It's still alive", she told me.

And she walked outside.

Ten minutes later she came back in.

With egg yuck all over the seat of her pants.

My five year old child tried to hatch an egg. It didn't work- obviously.

She was okay- at first.

"I have egg on my butt", she said.

I responded as only the meanest mommy in the world could respond:
"Nope- you have dead baby bird on your butt."

And, she wasn't okay.

I've been busy:

2009-05-04T11:06:00.004-05:00

Here and there and everywhere. Right now we are at Grammy Pammy's where Marcus is busy learning his multiplication tables, Weston is learning to read, and Esther is wrapping two elders right around her little finger. It helps to have a teacher as a grandma- it really does. Just when I am ready to give up she steps in with a new idea that gets us over the hump.

Anyhow, we are having a great visit and since grammy has the kids either in her arms or in her lap, I had the time to watch this cute little video my dad sent me.

Enjoy the geniosity ( yes I made up the word).

The talk

2009-04-21T07:50:00.005-05:00

We finally buckled down and gave "The Talk". You know which one I mean, right? THAT ONE TALK? The one where we explain to our son that part of a daddy and part of a mommy is needed to make a baby?

Yep, THAT one. I wish I had some advice for all of you yet to have to experience this. I can say, we had planned it out. There was to be no awkwardness, no embarrassment. And then it all went to pot as mommy died of embarrassment. I'm quite literally dead from having to talk about the birds and the bees.

I don't know how the end of THE TALK went. I got all the way to the part where something goes somewhere and I ran out of the room. Daddy had to finish. I don;t know how it went. I didn't ask. I am assuming that Dustan told the boy all kinds of crazy stuff.

It would have been far easier to just show him this video

(Thank Val)

A wedding, A trip, and a one room home.

2009-04-08T10:34:00.005-05:00

We are still alive. I thought I had better post and let everyone know, just in case you thought we might have croaked. Sometimes we have wanted to, but we are still hopping around.

Lindsey married Nick, and is now a Greenfield. I played at photographer. These two are my favorites. I tried to take the pictures in a story form, and since I succeeded, I am naming the story- "And the Bride was Sassy". Almost every picture was full of attitude.

Right after the wedding, we took a two week trip to Ohio where we had the opportunity to stay with my mom and dad as well as to speak at two churches. I also gave the worst speech of my life, and will never live it down. Really. Dustan won't ever let me live it down. Fortunately I have a great since of humor, and though I am mortified at speaking FAR too long, and saying such ridiculous things as "The dirt was REAL dirt- not fake dirt..." (don't ask)... I can still laugh. We all have to have an off day. Right?

Anyhow, I was also able to spend some much needed time with my sister, nieces, and nephew. Danny taught me how to play Zelda, and I stole his DS for two weeks. I almost put it in my bag and took it home with me. But, I left it there and am hinting around that I have a birthday coming up. hint, hint.
Karist

Ellianna (Or Ellie-monster)

Danny-boy

Devonae

And, now, we have arrived back at home. A place that is not ours, but is still becoming home. It's a place to lie our heads at night, to share in good (meatless) foods, and a place to make good memories with good friends. I have been busy carving out a spot I can call home and I will bring back some pictures soon. I also want to share a great recipe for Gluten Free peanut butter cookies.

Homeless

2009-03-02T05:44:00.002-06:00

Toasty Toes Mansion is closed. (bawl). THe kids and I are leaving so that all the work we have done to get the house ready to sell does not get undone.

We have a couple of thing left to do, but not with the kids- so we have packed our bags and left. Daddy gets to stay, because, in the words of the kids, "Daddy can keep things tidy". And he can. His mama raised him well. However, he is relegated to one bedroom (not the mater), and one bathroom (also not the master).

We will be traveling around here and there quite a bit. We are currently looking for churches and groups of people we can connect with who might support our families mission to Ecuador, so if you know of one of those- hook us up!

I'll keep posting here and there, keeping you updated on the latest happenings, and maybe sharing a recipe cooked in another kitchen, a garment sewn in another home, and hilarious antics of children that are displayed in front of other families...

An interview with my hooligans

2009-02-26T17:20:00.002-06:00

Marcus is nine

Weston is seven

Esther will be five next month

I interviewed my kids one at a time (the other two were out of ear shot) and these are their perceptive and entertaining answers (all in their words).

What is something mom always says to you?
Marcus: “I love you.”
Weston: “I love you.”
Esther: “I love you.”

What makes mom happy?
Marcus: Me.
Weston: When I do stuff for her.
Esther: When I do this. (she says I love you in sign language)

What makes mom sad?
Marcus: I don’t know
Weston: When somebody is being mean to her like in a time when someone gets in a fight. Or, you could erase all that and say, when one of her friends die.
Esther: I don’t know

How does your mom make you laugh?
Marcus: Her stories make me laugh.
Weston: By smiling
Esther: By saying what you just said, because that made me laugh. (apparently, this question is hilarious)

What was your mom like as a child?
Marcus: bad
Weston: I remember her doing something bad.
Esther: I don’t know.

How old is your mom?
Marcus: 31? 32? 31.
Weston: 31?
Esther: 14. (definative)

How tall is your mom?
Marcus: I don’t know
Weston: fourteen feet (he used his feet to measure me)
Esther: (shrugs her shoulders)

What is her favorite thing to do?
Marcus: Play on the computer
Weston: Doing computer
Esther: Play on the computer

What does your mom do when you're not around?
Marcus: How would I know? I am not around!
Weston: Lays down on the bed.
Esther: Do work.

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Marcus: There is nothing you do that is so good you would be famous.
Weston: Doing the computer. Dadahdauhduh: the famous person who is good at computers! Yay, a person who knows how to do the computer! DunDunDuh!
Esther: I don’t know.

What is your mom really good at?
Marcus: writing.
Weston: Doing the computer (he breaks into hysterical laughter)
Esther: Playing that ball game

What is your mom not very good at?
Marcus: You are good at everything. But... not so good you can be famous.
Weston: Not loving people. She is so bad at that. She never not loves people.
Esther: Candy Bash. The hard Candy Bash. With the bean. When it says stuff.

What does your mom do for a job?"
Marcus: Watches me
Weston: Teach us
Esther: Working

What is your mom's favorite food?
Marcus: Pizza
Weston: Pizza
Esther: Salad

What makes you proud of your mom?
Marcus: I can’t think of anything.
Weston: That she is a good mommy!
Esther: When she gives me food that I like.

If your mom were a cartoon character who would she be:
Marcus: She would be a good character but no one has made her yet.
Weston: Princess Leah on Star Wars
Esther: princess Leah.

What do you and your mom like to do together?
Marcus: We just like to hang out.
Weston: Cuddle
Esther: Say “I love you” together

How are you and your mom the same?
Marcus: There are many similarities...well...in looks. And in behavior.
Weston: Our noses are the same. At least I think so
Esther: We are not.

How are you and your mom different?
Marcus: Well, you are a girl. I mean a woman. I am a boy.
Weston: She is bigger. I am littler.
Esther: Cause she does work and I don’t do work very much.

How do you know your mom loves you?
Marcus: Because she says, “I love you”. I don’t believe that she is lying.
Weston: Because she loves me! She does love me. I know she does. Or why would she do all those fun stuff for me if she didn’t love me?
Esther: Cause she always says I love you.

What does your mom like most about your dad?
Marcus: I don’t know.
Weston: He does work and she doesn’t have to do anything. All she has to do is lay down. Except when mom has to do a lot of work. But when she doesn’t have to do a lot of work then dad can do her work and she can CUDDLE with ME! I like that when my dad does work my mom can lay down and cuddle with me. What was the question?
Esther: His hair.

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Marcus: To Tara’s house.
Weston: Tara’s.
Esther: To the store. Clothes store. To buy clothes for a present for somebody. Me! and sometimes herself, and Weston, and Marcus.

Things I learned about myself: I am on the computer FAR too much. And...I am rather good at loving.

Ten (again)

2009-02-19T14:41:00.003-06:00

Ten things I will miss when I move to Ecuador: (in random order)

1. My dog. I will really miss my Heidi-girl. I would take her with us, but she has a bad knee and it would be rough on her to have to live in the mountains.

2. Fall leaves. Can I even survive without a Fall season?

3. A Bathtub. I take at least one bath every single day. Ecuador has showers. No tubs. I am going to DIE.

4. Camping every year with my favorite peeps. I bet I can fit one more trip in before I leave, but I know that soon- they will be camping without me.

5. Dr. Pepper.

6. Access to good books, written in English.

7. English.

8. Tara. Can't write more. My vision is blurry.

9. My house/home/place I live right now.

10. My king sized bed. Ecuadorians are small people and King sized mattresses have to be custom made. Which is for rich people. Which will not be what I am.

I because I left you all hanging for so long in great anticipation of my next random TEN- here is another:

Ten random things I will NOT miss:

1. Slush/Freezing rain

2. Starbucks

3. Cookie Cutter Subdivisions (and being greatly annoyed everytime I see fields being turned into yet ANOTHER one)

4. Feeling purposeless

5. Having to drive everywhere I want to go.

6. Bananas (cause there will be an abundance there)

7. Constant ringing of my telephone

8. Mega sized grocery stores

9. Dentists (I might regret this one)

10. People burning Fall leaves

And now, I tag ten of you to fill my my big head with lots of love. Tell me ten things you will miss about me when I leave you here to deal with freezing rain and urban sprawl without me.

A Solution

2009-02-16T08:31:00.002-06:00

It's to late for me to use this solution, but perhaps other moms of boys will appreciate it. I am pretty sure the purpose was not meant to be practical, but come on, we all know how much easier it would be to clean plastic walls.

Contact Paper Bathroom Walls

Four down from Ten

2009-02-12T21:28:00.002-06:00

Ten random adjectives that start with P:

1. Putrid

2. persimmony (I can make up a word. Afterall, I made up the game)

3. Pleasant

4. Precarious

4. Pretty

5. Precocious

6. Periwinkle

7. Plausible

8. Plodding

9. poor

10. Pooped-out

I randomly assign the following ten following letters to ten random friends.
Gwen- H
Renee- K
Tara- X
Carrie- L
Devon- B
Dawn- F
Random friend number - A
Stacey- C
Sarah (from the Sarah and Jack fame) -S
Sarah (the artsy fartsy colorful lady with the singing husband)- Q (and I think she can handle it)

10.3 (and not the one I promised)

2009-02-11T16:51:00.003-06:00

Ten Random thoughts that are rolling around in my brain.

1. I am done.

2. Finished.

3. So very done.

4. I am NOT kidding

5. If I were a cake, and you stuck a fork in me, the cake would come out with the fork. Because it was a burned up piece of rock.

6. If you asked me to take a long walk off a short pier; I would. Then I would drown, because I am doner than doner than done.

7. I quit.

8. Some worlds will end. Most will continue to turn. the planet Beckasan has blown into tiny shards sending shrapnel into the entire known universe, making everyone else wish that they too, were DONE.

9. I think it is cool that I have have my own planet. I just wish it had a cooler name. Maybe Beckawsome? Or Rebappy? Or just BecDONE!

10. I don;t have any more random thoughts. My brain quit just a few milliseconds after I did.

And I can't tag anyone. I'm too done.

Ten point Two

2009-02-10T08:31:00.002-06:00

Ten (random) things I am grateful for:

1. Colorful socks. Especially the 1.00 Target ones. Nothing beats cheap and colorful!

2. Coffee. Duh.

3. Peanut butter. (the kind that is not laden with poison)

4. Spring (because it's coming. I can smell it.)

5. My sister-in-law Carrie and brother Seth, who are braving the Foster care system to take care of children who need a home and a family. Right now they are my heroes.

6. A working toilet. Although, the more my boys pee on my walls, the more I think outhouses were a pretty good idea. (I am sorry for the complaint that worked its way in here)

7. WIBI radio, which I can get streaming online, and which allows me a chance to worship while I do my morning chores.

8. Raymond Paving Rabbids Wii game, which has kept my three children VERY entertained for the past three days. It has been quite a pleasure to not hear, "mommy....I'm bored".

9. My laptop, which allows to to browse anywhere in the house.

10. jalapenos- because the world would just be a duller place without them.

And I am still tagging the same people I tagged yesterday plus I am adding Tara and Murali. And Gretchen. And Splayneo (I think I spelled that wrong) (I am too darn lazy to find all the links for those.

Tomorrow will be ten blogs I LOVE to read, which will not be fun because
a. I will have to not be lazy. Blogs need links.
b. I read over 100 blogs. How will I narrow it down?

Ten (part one)

2009-02-09T10:46:00.005-06:00

Ten Random Categories of Ten Random Things (in ten days)

II. Ten Complaints:
1. My house. My poor house. We have to practically give it away. All my lovely trees are apparently worth nil in a nasty economy.

2. I am fat. And I exercise and eat well. I am sick of working hard and seeing nothing. At the same time, I think I look good. So why do I care? I am complaining that I care.

3. My couch is full of dog hair.

4. I have sores all over my head from being mysteriously glutened. I think someone is trying to poison me.

5. I am really missing some of my old friends. Facebook made me uncharacteristically sentimental. I really want to see
Brittany, Michelle, and Stacey. I want to sit with them and laugh about melting sporks over candle flames, dodging scissors, and watching bad movies.

6. I have too much stuff I have to read. I love to read, but not the stuff I have to read. The stuff I have to read puts me to sleep. And I don;t have time to sleep because I have too much stuff to read.

7. I hate the carpet in my house.

8. I hate my skin. I used to have beautiful skin, which I assume I should be grateful for. But it's a tough pill to swallow when I look in the mirror every morning to red, rough, nasty skin.

9. I want a grilled cheese sandwich. With real bread.

10. I have boys who pee on the walls. There is no other complaint as big as THAT one.

And I tag ten friends to play along (Marmie, Carrie, Renee, Gwen, Dawn, and five other people who might also read my blog)

Tomorrow will be Ten wonderful things I am grateful for. Unless I randomly decide to have something different.

Consider the ant...

2009-01-30T11:22:00.002-06:00

Years ago I wrote a little piece on my "Ant thoughts". And, for your reading pleasure, here are those very thoughts:

Two things:

#1. My dad always told me to look at the ant. See how hard he works? He works all day and never complains. He lifts twice his body weight and doesn't say a word about an achey back. He works with his co-workers and doesn't get in fights and squabbles.

All this pert advice supposedly comes from scripture, and was supposedly supposed to make me clean my room without grumbling and without fighting with my sister.

#2. My cabinets are overrun with tiny ants, scrambling for homemade bread-crust crumbs and the big red splat of strawberry jam. I noticed their ever-moving line as I was trying to find a half dirty glass to get myself a glass of water.

These two things got me wondering, thinking, and trying to make excuses for why I am not like an ant.

And here is what I came up with. Really, how do we know that ants are not complaining? They are tiny. If they made complaining noises we
a.) might not hear them, and
b.) they would be in a foreign ant language that is not understood by the common housewife or even an educated scientist. I doubt even a linguist could tell us if the ant was making sounds of pleasure or grumbling about the wicked queen who turned him into a slave.

How do we know there is not a tiny morgue lined with tiny ant parts from ants who have been slaughtered by other over-worked ants who have gone postal?

Oh, and another thing...we don't see what is going on under those any hills. Maybe there are rooms full of drunken ants watching all the other ant men carrying in jagged leaves and all of my homemade bread crumbs. Perhaps there are hundreds, maybe THOUSANDS of these lazy ants who sit on their third body part all day -dreaming of watching soap operas and eating bon bons...
AND, on top of THAT, ants are indistinguishable. They could be carrying one load back and taking in easy in a leaf hammock for the rest of the day for all we know. They COULD have a 2 hr work day and a 2 day work year, spending the rest of the time dreaming of soap operas and bon bons.

And one last thought. Ants are annoying.

They somehow worked their way into folkloric heroic proportions. They serve very little purpose (Leaves are capable of decomposing on their own), except to make me feel guilty. After all, they are such hard workers AND they wouldn't be in my house if I was more fastidious about cleaning up all the homemade bread crumbs off my counters.
They are simply a perky, little, crawling conscience.

So, I have considered the ant. And I have decided that I am not one. They have a thorax, an antennae, six legs, and seemingly super-human strength. Until God blesses me with six legs to help me do all my work, I am going to continue on as I have. Reading the online newspaper, doing dishes when we run out of clean ones, doing laundry when Mt. dirty clothes explodes, and having fun chasing my kids around the house whenever I feel like it. Oh, and I will spend a good amount of time dreaming of soap operas and bon bons...

(My ant study was not a scientific one. I manipulated my observations to create the theory I needed to salve my guilt)

(also, the constant reference to homemade bread was also an attempt to salve my guilt.)

That said, this video is FASCINATING! Watch and enjoy (and clean up your bread crumbs)

I am still alive.

2009-01-28T15:29:00.001-06:00

But I don't have anything to say. I know you all just died of shock, and since I no longer have an audience, it doesn't matter that I have nothing to say.

We educate

2009-01-16T08:12:00.002-06:00

Weston is learning the value of money. For a school project we set u a play store (with real food) and Weston received 35.00 to shop for the family.
For lunch he bought pancake mix and all the ingredients that went with it.
Then he bought peppermints for desert.
Dinner was noodles and sauce. No meat. He ran out of money after spending it on a gigantic number of salad ingredients and a box of chocolate granola bars.
"We need meat Weston. Maybe you could put the granola bars back and then you will have enough for meat."
Weston looked at me quizzically.
"Is it my money to spend however I want?"
"Yes, but your daddy does not like spaghetti with no meat."
"And I don't like peas." he responded.
I thought to ask him what his dislike for peas had to do with the cost of meat or granola bars, but then I realized how many time daddy had made him eat peas.
He made his purchases, all very thoughtfully, including his steadfast decision to forego the meat.

when daddy came home, he said

"Where's the meat?"
"You made Weston eat too many peas," I responded.

And, I assumed incorrectly that this little activity taught him a good lesson about the value of money. What it really taught him is, that if you run out of money, you can just cut some out of paper.
And a previous activity, which had explained that you need to earn money, by getting a job, to get the things you want and need?
He took that lesson and learned that if you don't want to do a job, you can always pay someone else to do it.
He tried to pay his father SIX dollars to unload the dishwasher for him.

And of course, if he doesn't have six dollars, he can always make some more. But, not by working.

A cozy winter corner

2009-01-14T19:31:00.001-06:00

It's freezing cold in our neck of the woods. Stay warm blogger friends.

And that's a match:

2009-01-13T15:22:00.005-06:00

Remember THIS?
http://toasty-toes.blogspot.com/2008/01/hospitality-is-not-gift-i-have.html
Look down at the last paragraph. All the way at the end. The rest of the mumbo jumbo is inconsequential.

Now.

Remember THIS?

Those are wedding invitations.

And she won't let me be a bridesmaid. She said I could give the toast. Which would make me a toaster. And I am allergic to bread. Oh, yes. That WAS the lamest joke in existence. BUT... if you want a laugh...

A boy's point of view

2008-12-31T13:39:00.002-06:00

Here's a tiny tad of a conversation I heard on the long (9 hr) ride home from Christmas in OH.

As we pass the Indiana sign, Dustan hollers to the kids, "Hey, We're in Indiana now. There's the sign."

And Weston pipes up.
"Yes. Indiana. That is the place where Indiana Jones was born. Only his real name is not Indiana. They just call him that because he was born here. And it's not Hans Solo either. I just can't remember what it was."

Great stuff. And I am recording it all here because I will forget to tease him about it when he is a teenager.

Here are some more Westonisms in case you get bored:
Meet Albert

A really weird conversation from a couple of years ago

A little something to melt your heart

And my own personal favorite glimpse inside Weston's head:
Bad Thinking

Some Christmas Eve Baking

2008-12-24T20:14:00.000-06:00

My Dream House is a Green House

2008-12-18T08:05:00.003-06:00

And apparently it is made of gingerbread and covered in candy. Who wouldn't want THAT kind of house?
It's lighted by candle light, and just outside the back door is a garden, with a garden gate. Oh, it makes my heart wiggle with desire. You can't see it, but it also has a compost heap. Oh, how I have always wanted a compost heap.

Stained glass windows and a teeny tiny well for water supply. How adorable is that itty bitty bucket?

My dream house is heated by a vine covered fireplace and has a pile of wood just waiting to be used for a cozy fire.

It has a teeny tiny clothesline with teeny tiny clothes- made from bubblegum. That way you can wear your clothes and eat them too!

Every year at the Yorkville Family Thanksgiving, there are about fifty (or more) gingerbread houses that are baked and decorated. there isn't a contest, but I won anyway. I judged the non contest myself and though I have been told that judging an imaginary contest and giving myself an imaginary prize is rather unethical, I had to do it anyway. That house just deserves to win.

My kids made one too. But I am showing you mine. I am just that kind of morally debased person.

Come visit Death Island

2008-12-11T13:47:00.002-06:00

For those not in the know- I homeschool my demented children. The title of demented is well-deserved, as you shall soon see.

The curriculum that we use is Moving Beyond the Page. At the end of each unit, there is a big final project. This unit was on the land and for his final project he had to create a tri-fold brochure about an Island that he created. he had to include landforms, weather, location, natural resources, and all sorts of other interesting facts. And when I say "interesting", what I mean is, "demented".

We used ipages to create his brochure and he has a blast playing with the fonts.
Here is Marcus' third grade project on our "Land" unit.

Read it and DIE!!!!
PS, it's a tri-fold, so you have to imagine how it would look folded up.

Death Island Brochure

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

I sometimes take dictation for my children,

2008-12-08T11:36:00.003-06:00

Especially for my oldest who loves to write stories and poems, but hates to actually WRITE them down.

Today was the first time that Esther asked me to type something up for her.

"Mommy. I have a book to write. Can you type it for me on you puter?"

Me: Sure baby, what is it?

Her: Well, it's a book has a title. Type this up now. "Kids know everything, and adults know nothing"

Me: Umm, I don't think so. That sounds like a not so nice book.

Her: See. You don't even know what a nice book is.

I kind of feel bad for nipping it off at the title. Maybe it could have been one of those shrinky dink self-help books and been a best seller. What do I know?

Apparently, nothing.

A Day to be Grateful

2008-11-27T08:08:00.002-06:00

I am going to repost an old one. It was originally written in July, 07 but I think it has some nuggets that are worth reviewing.

As and update for the following post: We are now over a year outside of the "Rice Event" and I must say, it is still a resounding success.

RICE: GOOD FOR GRATITUDE :

I left my camera at a friend's house (after a tea party) and since I hate blogging without pictures, here is one of my three children, right after Esther's birth. This is before they became spoiled brats. Did I just call my children brats? Why yes. Yes I did. See how sweet they are here? Little Esther was content to nurse her days away and Marcus thought we were heroes just for sharing our french fries. Weston was always a bit of a whiner, but lately, oh my! Lately it has snowballed into something very unpretty.

If I give them a cookie, Weston will cry, and call me a liar, because he will say that I did, in fact, promise him ten cookies. Which is completely untrue. Esther will cry because her cookie only has three billion chocolate chips and she wanted fifteen gazillion chocolate chips. Marcus will pout because...well, actually, I have no idea why Marcus will pout. He has been in a constant state of poutiness lately.

If I fix their favorite dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches with granny smith apples, mayo, and green olives (don't mock it, they LOVE it), Weston will complain that his has a brown spot on it, Marcus will cry because I only had enough to give him four full sandwiches, and Esther will suddenly decide she hates bread.

If I take them to the park, they will throw a fit because I ask them to put on their shoes, because we have to walk, and because I didn't know they wanted to go to THAT OTHER PARK.

If I take them swimming, the sun will be to hot, or they will be too cold, or we will stay too long, or we will not stay long enough.

If I bake them a surprise cake, someone will cry because they wanted lemon, not chocolate.

And on and on and on to kingdom come. Do I sound as if I am complaining? My dears, I don't know any other tone of voice. I have been surrounded by whining and complaining for so long, I have forgotten how to converse any other way.

BUT. But, I found a solution. It hit me one night just like a lighbulb turning on and illuminating the deep recesses of the parenting brain I had shut off. We were in the van listening to Weston and Esther whine because we were not going to the restaraunt THEY wanted to go to (which happened to be two different ones). Marcus did not whine. Rather, he gave this deep sigh and rolled his eyes. the sigh ended with a deep disgusted grunt.
Something inside of me snapped. I am not sure when the last time I have heard my children say thank you, but I can gaurantee you it was so long ago that we might as well consider that they never said it. I told them, "you have this weekend to learn gratitude because by Monday, if you haven't learned it, I am going to start feeding you rice with every meal. I am going to feed it to you until you will bow down in gratitude to just see a boiled egg.
Let me just say that their response was... Well, I don't know how to describe it. Bad. We are talking screaming. And kicking. More screaming. Calling us names. Remember now, that I have only threatened this course of action. I look at Dustan, he looks at me. The looks says, "What did we do wrong? How did we raise these monsters?"

And so we went home. We did not go to any restaraunt at all. We had rice. No one said thank you. So we had rice at dinner. Weston gave me a very feeble "Thank you for the rice, mommy." By breakfast, Marcus, who can't stand rice at all, and who has now missed two meals, tells me that he "will be grateful for whatever I feed him." I say, "Good, cause we are having shoes." Marcus says, "Thank you for the shoes mommy."
I feed them all their favorite cereal. I recieve three hearty thank yous and some help in cleaning the kitchen. These children do NOT want another meal of rice.

But I have the container sitting in the middle of the counter- just in case. I think the visual reminder will be enough.

So. I heard some famous person on tv said that home-schoolers were demented.

2008-11-23T23:42:00.004-06:00

I only heard that a famous person said this. I didn't follow the link to find out what the context was, or who this famous person was- because:
a. I don't care
b. I really, really, really don't care.
c. because I wouldn't know a famous person if they slapped me upside the head and stuck a straw in my nose.
d. I just really can't make myself care.

I feel as if I should make a defense for myself. In the year of 1983 my mother (who is undoubtedly demented) pulled me out of school to homeschool me. So, if anyone has a right to speak on behalf of demented home schoolers, It's me. Right?

Oh, and I home school my kids. My kids are second generation home schooled, which makes them an extra special form of demented.

Here's the deal. I want to type out this really cool coherent post in response to this un-known famous person. Alas, I can not.

My fingers are in my ears, my head is wagging back and forth, my eyes are glowing red, and my tongue is hanging out. Bliggity bloggity bloogity blubber blug.

It's all I can seem to get out.

If anyone thought I was going to disagree with the well known famous person (except to me), they would be mistaken. I am definitely demented. I am pretty sure that anyone who knows me agrees.
And the poor clerk at Starbucks tonight agrees. Poor guy. My friends tipped him extra because I made him so distraught. One friend dumped all her change into his tip cup.

And I am SURELY not going to argue about how my children are not demented. Have you met my kids????? They are s.t.r.a.n.g.e AND demented.

However. I don't think it was the home schooling. I think it was genetics. But, maybe it was home schooling. I should definitely leave that option open.

And it starts.

2008-11-23T17:01:00.004-06:00

The count down for Christmas. Except this year I won't be party to it. I don't really care how many days there are until Christmas.

Last week I cared. But this week I don't care.

This week I am already ready for Christmas.

You see, at first I thought, "This year I will make everyone's gifts." I hoarded links, and how-to's, and tutorials. I made a mental post it note list of everyone who "needed" gifts, and what I could give them.

A Christmas checklist. Like every other year. Like every other family.

And then I had a better idea. Why spend all this time frantically trying to make gifts that will never get completed? Just like every other year, I would be forced to run to the store- buying high priced, over priced crap for everyone. Why? For what reason? Did everyone really enjoy last years dollar store lotion?

So, my new idea was just to buy the stuff now. I would shop ahead, and therefore put thought into each gift. I would think about the person, and buy gifts that they would really like. It was a good idea, right?

But, then I had a better idea, helped out by a certain video I saw on youtube.

Why not buy nothing at all? Seriously? I don't even remember what my husband got me last year, much less his Aunt so and so. The gifts I so carefully picked out for my children now sit neglected on a shelf. What is the purpose of all this gift frenzy, the money spending, the debt building, the guilt induced fear of not adding up to everyone else's generosity?

So. I am opting out. No one is getting store bought gifts from me. No one is getting handmade gifts for me. Not my mother, not my pastor, not my son's Sunday School teacher... Not my children.

And I can hear a worldwide gasp. "What about the magic and awe of Christmas for the children?"

My response, " Under Control." My children will not open a single battery operated, plastic, hair growing, gun toting, miniature sized anything.

Nothing they open will have a price tag, a return receipt, or those nasty little screws that drive parents nuts every Christmas day.

They won't make a list, and if they do, I doubt their list will coincide with what they receive.

Because Esther is NOT getting a white horse with a horn out its head.
And Weston is NOT getting the entire Star Wars Lego set. No matter how much he begs for it.
And Marcus- actually, I don't have a clue what he wants. But it probably is long and shoots bullets which he most definitely WILL NOT GET.

As I travel to Ohio to spend Christmas with my parents and siblings. With my sister-in-law Carrie, and with my brother-in-law Jesse. With my little nieces- and my mischievous nephew, I will load my van with gifts wrapped in festive paper and tied with ribbon. Just like every other year. But this year, the gifts that I add to the tree will be far different than any other year.

My Christmas revelation has not turned me into the grinch. It has, rather made me a bit more Claus like. And far more Christ like.

Throughout the day, we will unwrap these gifts. The fist one will be a rectangular one. Under the paper and ribbons, our family will find my father's old black Bible, and he will open it and read the Christmas story. I will hold Esther on my lap and Marcus and Weston will be snuggled under my arm, and together we will have anew, the awe of that very first Christmas.
The Christmas story will remind us what Christmas giving is all about.

And in that spirit, the children will grab another package. Inside the gift bag filled with confetti will be a bag of chocolate chips. Together we will make chocolate chip cookies. And Marmie will have to swat at the children's hands when they try to eat all the cookie dough.

Maybe later, they will unwrap a movie. Not a new one from the store, but an old one. A favorite. Probably Star Wars because I am the only one who hates Star Wars. And we will pop corn the old fashioned way and have a family movie time.

I will have wrapped our well worn games; the ones that we already know the rules to, and the ones that everyone loves. When they are unwrapped we will play them. Grandma too. We will even make her play Bang. If I have to watch Star Wars, she can be forced to sit through a rousing shoot em up game of Bang.

I will wrap up a pair of socks for each kid, because we will need to keep our toes warm for our Christmas day walk, and maybe someone will stay home to make us hot cocoa for re-warming our frozen noses.

This is not a new idea. It's one I learned a long time ago, but the video reminded me of it.

On Christmas day, God gave me His heart. And I plan to celebrate that gift by giving mine.

Want to join me?

As this post gets read by more people and passed around, please comment and add your ideas of what could be wrapped and placed under the tree. Together, we can make this the second best Christmas this universe has ever seen.

Learn from my mistake

2008-11-07T09:18:00.003-06:00

Don't try to freeze bean soup, in jars.

It makes a bean bomb.

bean bomb
n.
1. An explosive weapon of great destructive power derived from the rapid release of energy in the sudden expansion of small pebble like frozen beans.
2. A bomb deriving its destructive power from the release of gaseous energy.
Also called stink bomb, forced window bomb, run and barf explosion. Often seen in public places like a library or grocery store.

History. His Story.

2008-11-04T12:15:00.005-06:00

My father challenged me to read this today. How relevant and how beautiful it is. Nothing I could write today would equal the value of these beautiful simple words.

Psalm 146

1 Praise the LORD. [a]
Praise the LORD, O my soul.

2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.

4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.

5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,

6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.

7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,

8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.

9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.

Weeks ago, I read a blog post that resonated with me. It's like she jumped inside my head. I saved it and link it here today. Those who read my blog and align themselves with Christ- Do not forget who you are. Those who read my blog and are not Christ followers- please know that not all of us have lost our mind or our hearts.
For Christian Voters

Another last minute "Pull a costume out of nowhere" success

2008-10-31T22:25:00.004-05:00

"Onward Christian Soldiers...ladeedadeda.."
Costume was a 3.00 find at goodwill, which was rather providential since he had decided prior to finding the costume that he wanted to be the armor of God. It was missing a shield and sword. We found a sword for another 2.00 at the toy store, and if I was a good mommy, I would have made hm a cardboard shield. But today was not good mommy day. Today was busy mommy day. I told him he lost his shield in battle.

Sweet Essie was insistent that she would be Rex. Rex is a dog. A stuffed dog. A stuffed Webkinz dog.
I paid 1.00 for the skull cap that I stapled construction paper floppy ears to. I'm just that kind of lazy mommy.

And Weston is a soldier too. Or maybe he is a hunter. He can't decide. Either way, he is pissed that he doesn't have a gun OR a bow and arrow.
FREE. I had to buy the face paint for the fall festival at church anyway. I guess I could have bought him a gun. Or made him one out of cardboard. But, I think we already covered that.

Happy Belated FALL!

2008-10-31T15:10:00.002-05:00

Fall is Coming

At first it was sunnier
And brighter
And shinier
Bluer

And then it got chillier
And darker
Very much
Earlier

by: Marcus King September 2008 (age 7)

The quiet is like a roar inside my head

2008-10-28T11:24:00.004-05:00

My house was full. FULL. My Granny and Papa came up from Arkansas and brought my Aunt Brenda along with them. Or maybe Aunt Brenda brought them. She drove. And despite "Tom Tom's" bad directions, they were able to pick up my cousin Leah along the way.

Add that to my sister and her four kids who along with my mom traveled down from Ohio. And my brother Seth and his wife Carrie came down from as well.

FULL. And noisy. My mother's family is the noisiest family on the planet. 4 millions decibels of utter chaos and craziness.
And love.

Now, it's quiet, and empty. And I am lonely.

2008-10-20T09:14:00.002-05:00

Update on Dustan's grandfather:
He is still living, but at this time, is still not expected to pull through. The Hester family is a strong and vibrant family, they value your prayers.

And here is a little something to ponder as we gear up for another frantic holiday season.

Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

2008-10-19T16:15:00.002-05:00

Dustan's grandfather is dying. Not likely to make it through the night.

Saturday Messes

2008-10-11T17:44:00.006-05:00

One destroyed kitchen equals

Gluten Free Garbage Loaf (times three)
2 lbs ground beef
3 eggs (which I forgot with my first posting)
Mushrooms
Carrots
All the leftover onion pieces in the fridge plus one onion
the two almost empty katsup bottle plus part of another
Puffed Rice cereal
corn (which I also forgot with my first posting.)
Make into a loaf (or put in muffin stoneware) and bake at 350 until cooked all the way through. This is important because raw meatloaf is disgusting.

Crockpot Applesauce
Cut up a whole bunch of apples. Add a small amount of water. I used half of one of my small plastic cups (don't you LOVE my recipes?) Add some sugar. I was mad at Lindsey because she slept in. I wanted her to make the coffee because I am sick and wanted someone to pamper me, and so I used the rest of her coffee sugar. Muhahahhaa. Joke was on me. She didn't even know how to work the coffee maker. anyhow, I would say, 1/4-1/2 a cup will do you. Turn the crockpot on and cook it all day. Wait! Do NOT forget to add a dash of cinnamon.

Alton Brown's Hot Chocolate Mix (It's your lucky day- you get a real recipe!
Ingredients
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
2 1/2 cups powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
Hot water
Directions
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

BTW- I was out of cornstarch and so I skipped it. I did NOT however skip the cayenne. Yehaw! THat was a spicy and surprising touch. Also, I used dark cocoa. Delicious. It beats out every other mix recipe I have ever used. Try it.

An explanation on my garbage loaf. It is not a brain o (like a typo- but instead of a typing mistake you make a brain mistake) Brain o's are fun. Once, I heard someone (ahem- I won't say who) say that she though pre-marital sex was a good idea. What she MEANT was, that she thought pre-marital counseling was a good idea. Hahaha
Anyhow. THis same person thought maybe my brain had fritzed and I said garbage loaf instead of meat loaf.

I call mine garbage loaf, because I toss in every leftover tidbit I find in the fridge. Stuff that if not used up, would get tossed. It was delicious by the way. I was worried about the the puffed rice cereal- but it worked wonderfully. My kids griped about the onions, but cheerfully ate an entire serving of other veggies without even knowing it.

Some people's trash

2008-10-10T17:44:00.004-05:00

I admit it- I like garbage day. Free STUFF! And I love Stuff. I love FREE!!!! And I love keeping stuff out of landfills
Can you believe someone was just going to throw this chair away???? Were they crazy???? I could not believe my luck- I mean, it's in perfect condition- and so, for the first time ever, I actually knocked on the door (usually, I just toss my find in the truck and giggle giddily over finding a treasure before anyone else). The guy said it was being tossed, and he smiled that I would want it. "It's a nice chair", he said. No kidding.

My girlie blanket was an el cheapo find at the thrift store. I don't think I have ever found anything so wonderful before. It didn't have a price tag and I hauled it, lovingly, to the checkout counter, telling myself I would pay even 20.00 if I had to. But, I didn't. 4.00 and I had a whole new pack of woven friends.

My kids pored over it for hours before deciding that this one is me. What do you think?

And would it be crazy for me to pull this chair inside? I kinda love it and want to bounce in it while laptopping.

"Mom, I have a lot of guilt."

2008-10-08T09:14:00.002-05:00

That's what Marcus told me yesterday.
I bet you will never, ever, in a million years guess where his great burden of guilt came from.

Did he perhaps cut my apron strings?

Or maybe he broke into my hidden stash of dark chocolates and devoured them. (impossible, because that crime had already been committed by me.)

No. What he really did was to break into Esther's webkinz account and steal her really good stuff and sell everything else. He completely wiped out two of her rooms.

How do you deal with a child thief in cyber form? He is grounded from his own account. He has to play on her account until he earns her enough money to re-furnish both those rooms, and he has to send back the rare item he stole, plus an additional one.

I feel kind of bad for the guy. He committed his first crime and was so burdened by the guilt of it that he confessed before anyone even knew there was a problem. But, saying "I'm sorry" does not make restitution, and even though it seems like a silly thing to us adults, those little webkinz worlds are quite important to our children.

So, anyway. In case I was ever wondering if Marcus had an active conscience (and I was, I had a foster sister with Reactive Attachment Disorder) I need no longer to fret.
At dinner, he asked to pray.
"Dear God. Please heal my body (he is sick)
But most of all, I think I need you to heal my heart.
Amen"

Camp Treats: Gluten Free Style

2008-10-07T20:58:00.003-05:00

My bestest girlfriend ever felt bad since I had to forego smores and made this hobo pie. Let me tell you, this was out of this worl wonderful.
Just spread bread with peanut butter, add some squares of dark chocolate and put it in a pie iron. Since Tara made it for me I was able to avoid being burned. Actuall, I somehow avoided that for the entire trip.
Anyhow, after it came out, she spread it with cream cheese icing. As if it weren't already decadent enough.

I want another one. Right now.

Nature is...ummm... interesting.

2008-10-05T12:48:00.006-05:00

I find it humorous. Sue me.
More camping pictures to come.

She sews some more

2008-09-25T10:58:00.002-05:00

Nothing much. Just a cowboy skirt for Esther (a cowboy PRINT skirt. NOT a skirt for cowboys! Haha!) and a pair of purple jeans. The skirt will eventually have an matching appliqued shirt and a corduroy vest. When I say eventually- I mean never. What I really mean is, it really should have those things, I have deamt them up in my head, but I will never get them done.

Also made her a very wrinkledy pair of jeans. These are a fantastic fit on her, unfortunately, these were made with a friend several years ago when we were part of a stash game (goal is to use as much fabric as possible in one month). They were made for her daughter who is now half grown. All they needed was elastic to be finished. We had a ton of those. UFO's. Unfinished objects. When I say a ton, what I really mean, is a literal ton. Two large rubbermaid containers worth of stuff in various stages of unfinishedness. Many that just need elastic. Or hemming. or buttons. Oh no! That does not bode well for Esther's coat.

She sews.

2008-09-24T08:17:00.006-05:00

A sweet little coat from Esther. She loves it. I love that I bound it in fleece from her old baby blanket. How sweet is that. Hmm, I may have enough fleece for a pair of mittens!

Oh, it still needs toggle buttons. I haven't found the perfect ones yet. If you find any, let me know.

Nine Years and three days ago

2008-09-23T15:12:00.004-05:00

I found myself trying to squeeze into a booth at Denny's. "Auugh<" I said to the waiter. "I don't think I can fit." Which was the truth, and a great embarrassing shame. I had recently gained 77 pounds and was fatter than fat could even be. My poor feet were pouring themselves out of the only pair of househoes I could find to fit.
The waitress moved us to a table, which was good because I could scoot the chair back. Way back, in order to fit.

Just a few hours later and I found myself in the hospital; victim of labor induced pre-eclampsia. It was a good day to be expecting a child. Sept 21st, my sister-inlaw's birthday. My water broke and we began to expect the birth of our first child.

Sept. 22nd. It would be a good day for this little boy to be born. On Sept 22,, 1990, I decided to follow Christ. It was, in a sense, my re-birthday. What a lovely day to give birth to my first child- a boy I had already named Marcus.

Sept. 23rd. All I can remember thinking was that, if this child was waiting to be born on his father's birthday just three days more- I would KILL him. And speaking of KILL. Dustan thought day three of labor would be a good time to munch down on donuts. And the doctor finally decided that a c-section would be an option. And he and Dustan quarreled. I had not, afterall, according to the father of this ever patient baby, been in labor for three days just to have the baby cut out of me. I had pushed for EIGHT hours, and all I could think of was strangling the both of them.

Everything else was a blur. The bad kind of blur. The unconscious kind of blur. But. We made it. Both of us. A very wounded mother soon was holding her almost grown 10 pound son. He was so serious. So old, even in those first few moments. And as I held him, as I snuggled him into my breast and smelled his newborn self, I could never have imagined the years that would follow.

I could have never imagined the stress, the joy, the weeping, the call to Social services to pick him up because I "had HAD it", the eventual diagnosis of aspbergers. I could have never imagined that that child would one day have the heart of a poet. passionate, and quiet, Stewing about the world and all it's contents. I could have never imagined that he would struggle to speak and then write songs and stories that would bring my heart to it's knees. I never would have thought that he would be so quick to anger, so slow to say sorry, so afraid to look others in the eyes.

And just a few years later, as he began to grow, and emerge into the child he was becoming, I would have never imagined that at nine years old, I would have a fellow worker in the early morn. Someone to clear the dishwasher as I loaded it up, someone to chatter with me about what would happen "if". "If". The word of his life. Everything in his mind, begins with, "What if."

And his eventual answers thrill my spirit. They come out through his fingers, and his thoughts. Answers beautiful.

Nine years ago today, as I held Marcus Wade King for the very first time, I could not have even imagined what Sept 23rd, 2008 would be like. Beautiful, joyful, and still so very serious.

By the way: This child, who in the past has shunned public exposure, begged for a birthday dinner at Chevy's. He practically fell over with giddyness when they came out singing and placed a sombrero on his head. When we asked him if the reason he chose Chevy's was the hat, he responded, that he just wanted everyone to look at him and know it was his birthday.

I'm kind of proud of him. I can't help it.

New

2008-09-19T08:44:00.003-05:00

I have alluded to it before, but not made an official announcement.

The Toasty Toes Mansion is moving.

To Ecuador.

Yep. I am not sure Ecuador is ready for us, but we are super excited, and if you want to be part of our journey, you will have to add my new blog to you read list. Don't complain. I read over seventy-five blogs.

Anyhow Go over here to read of our adventures.

How to make a million meals out of one canceled Sunday School Fellowship

2008-09-17T11:30:00.004-05:00

Step 1: Boldy declare to your Sunday School that in an effort to learn hospitality (a much needed skill on the mission field of Ecuador), you will now have a standing invitation for Sunday meal.
Step 2: Freak out. What will you fix? How will you keep it ready? You will be at church all Sunday, not at home able to spend all day cooking.
Step 3: Make a plan. First meal will be taco salad.
Step 4: Prepare enough taco meat, and all the taco salad fixings to feed a small army of college and career age young people. (Don't forget those young men can eat their weight in chips)

I had it under control. I was patting myself on the back. "Good job, Becka. This is not so hard." Everything was done and it was time to leave for church.

And we had to take an alternate route out of our neighborhood. The road was emerged in water.

Step 5: Turn on the radio and realize that Ike made it's way through your town and you slept through the whole thing. Feel rather sorry for the people in U-city who were not sleeping through anything, but, were, in fact, being rescued from their neighborhoods by BOAT.

Step 6: Worry about your friends on the West side of the Mississippi who do not have power. Are they having to leave their homes by boats too? Begin to worry about you own home when your friends calls to let you know about water coming into her basement. After all, there is a CREEK running through your backyard.

Step 6: Cancel fellowship, in anticipation of spending the afternoon hauling water out of your basement.

Step 6: After realizing that Ike pretty much left you alone, look in your fridge and wonder what you will ever do with all that food.

(Hahahahahaha- I just realized I had THREE step 6's) (I TOLD you I was bad with numbers- and I have decided to leave it, because the fact that their are THREE 6's has me cracking up)

Anyhow, we have made use of all the leftover.
Meal number 1:
Taco Salad (of course)

Meal number 2: Taco Pie
Layer the following ingredients and cook at 35o until hot and cheese is melted.
Strip of corn tortillas
taco meat
salsa
cheese sauce
tomatoes
onions
REPEAT and top with cheddar cheese

Meal number 3: Nachos (you know how to make these, right?)

Meal number 4: Taco Soup
Put all ingredients in a soup pot and heat until hot:
Taco meat
Onions
Canned of diced tomatoes
Can of chili beans
Top with shredded cheese and sour cream. Eat with corn chips- which make a nice substitute for crackers when you can't have wheat.

Cookies and Chex Mix

2008-09-11T10:21:00.003-05:00

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies (Bob's red Mill)

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 cups Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
3 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1 cup Butter (softened)
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 large Eggs*
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 cup Raisins (Unsulfured)

Preheat oven to 350�F. Beat butter and sugars together until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. In a separate bowl, blend flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and Xanthan Gum. Stir flour blend into wet ingredients. Add oats and raisins and mix well. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 � 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool one minutes then transfer to wire rack. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Eggless Option: Mix together 2 Tb. Flaxseed Meal with 6 Tb. of water and let sit for a minute. Add to recipe as you would the eggs.

But, I used chocolate chips instead of raisins. Dustan abhors raisins. And I was feeling kindly towards him, so I added chocolate chips instead. These turned out wonderfully and I was glad I made two recipes worth, as I had plenty to put in the freezer. If you make these, watch them CAREFULLY. I burned a TON of them. And I ate them anyway, because the burned ones have no calories. It's a fact.

Chex Mix, as made by Weston Hilarious King (no, his middle name is not hilarious- but it should have been.

9 cups of rice chex (gluten free)
a handful or three of walnuts
the rest of the bag of raisins (I wasn't feeling kindly towards Dustan)
Most of the rest of the bag of pecans
1 1/2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup of brown sugar

Mix chex, nuts, and fruits into a large bowl. Melt the brown sugar and butter, bring to a boil for three minutes (or until you get sick of standing there) and pour over chex mix. Pile onto a baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for however long you want to. I cooked mine about 10 minutes, but I should have stirred halfway through. The bottom pieces were overdone, which worked out well, because I ate all the burnt ones, and since they are calorie free, I actually weigh LESS today.

Anyhow, take them out, let them cool (this takes forever) and then, if you feel very extra super loving to your kids, add some chocolate chips. I did not feel extra super loving towards my kids, and so, I waited until they had theirs, and had gone to bed before adding chocolate chips. I was feeling evilish.

I was tagged. Like half a year ago. I'm a procrastinator.

2008-09-10T19:55:00.002-05:00

Murali tagged me. It was so long ago that I don't even remember the rules. But. i think I am supposed to name six quirky things about me, and then tag six of my friends. Ha! Like I have six friends. I do, however have at least six family members, who we will pretend are my friends.

Quirky things about me:
1. I am the ultra conservative daughter of a Baptist preacher who has a decent start in covering her body in art (tattoo). I also have some socialist leanings, but unlike the rest of Christian America, I blame that on the Bible.

2. I shut down when politics are discussed. Which makes me a bit of a recluse at the moment. I have a really awesome theory that God is in charge of the universe, and that there are far more exciting things happening in the world than this election for me to both worry and get worked up over. This is a very freeing theory (although- I happen to hold it as fact)

4. I am really bad with numbers. My parents used to joke that my brain would shut off when they read me the story of the Three Little Bears...as soon as the number three was mentioned. However, I have an uncanny memory for telephone numbers and addresses that are not my own.

5. I always have to be doing something with my hands. Preferably rolling tape between my fingers.

6. I like to sneeze. I think it's fun. Oh, and I like to fart too. When I was a child, my mother washed my mouth out for saying the word fart. Now I fart as often as possible, just for an excuse to announce to the world, "I farted." My two little guys are frequently delighted by my skills. And, as if I was seen as the most talented mom on the planet for my awesome air passing skills, I can also say my name, or any other name, in BURPS. How awesome is that? I was a hit as a preschool teacher when I sang "Row Row Row your boat" all in burps.

I tag:
Carrie who has a lovely and very inspirational blog
My Mom, who cracks me up. Oh. and I love her.
My childhood friendJerusalem (yes that is really her name), who I think has been tagged way recently, but what can I say? My friends are few, I am desperate, and go to her blog anyway, cause she has really neato stuff. You will want to move into her house. Trust me.
hmmm, How bout- Sara because I like to pretend she is my twin, separated by birth. Have you seen her art work?
My sister, who has the funniest kids on the planet.

And Brittany Who I do not know. It's a random blog. But, it appears she is in highschool, and likes to play basketball. I told you I was hard up for friends.

I have a lot of stuff to tell you. And show you.

2008-09-02T19:55:00.003-05:00

But, right now, it's hard to breathe and type at the same time.

Be back later with lots of stuff including a tag from Murali (and a link for her later), a recipe for GF choco oatmeal cookies, and something else that my snotty brain has already forgotten about.

Oh, wait, the snot cleared momentarily. I made something. Wintery. For Esther.

Wanna hear a dirty Joke?

2008-08-23T18:10:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time, there was a family

And they all fell into the mud. Even the dog.

We went hiking today. Followed a creek. Swam in the creek. Watched the minnows and the crawdads. Got lost. Talked to a stanger who let us know we were way lost. Way way lost. Followed the creek back. Found a skunk. I mean, Heidi found a skunk. And now the whole house smells. Yuck.

Curiosity killed the cat.

2008-08-21T16:34:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it's another post about my kids. Sue me. Ever since we put the house on the market, it has completely disinterested me. Who wants to write a post about decorating walls in white paint? Not me.

"Today I painted my walls white. Then I wiped down the bathroom mirror and made sure the garbage cans were empty. Oh, and I made sure the medicines in the medicine cabinet were obsessively lined up, just in case some nosey buyer opens it up to see what ails our family. Midrin, Tylenol, Advil, Aleve, Relepax. Hmmm. It's a headachey sort of family."

See. THAT was BORING. And my kids aren't. Maybe I should change the subtitle of my blog to "Toasty Toes: the adventures of surviving the insanely insane antics of my insane children"

Case in point: Weston just brought me this really cool picture. "Stop typing." he says. "Stop typing and look what I drew."
I took a blogging break and looked. He may need a shrink. I saw airplanes. And people. Very dead, very bloody people. All shot down by the firey rockets that were exploding from the belly of the planes.

How do you even respond to something like that???? "Very cool" just does not seem to do it justice.

Anyhow. That bit of insanity was just an interruption. The real insanity started this morning.

Marcus: What makes the fog?
Me: I don't know.
Marcus: Well can't you look it up? Get off your message board and find out what makes the fog.

Marcus: Wow, it sure rained suddenly. I wonder why? Oh, and what is salt made of?
Me: Sodium.
Marcus: What's sodium?
Me: Salt.
Marcus: You are unreasonable.
Me: ummmm.
Marcus: What does unreasonable mean?

Marcus: What is this? (he hold up a spoon)
Me: (cocking my eyebrow) A spoon.
Marcus: No I mean, it's metal. What kind.
Me: sil... (and the I realize I'm not sure I have even SEEN a real piece of silverware, much less OWNED one). It's just metal.
Marcus: I KNOW. Metal. yeah, Yeah. What kind?

Marcus: Why do we need to know how to write. And what makes the moon look white? And what is dog hair made of? And if I chew this piece of wood up can I make paper out of it? And does farts count as wind? What would happen if I drank pee? When will I die? What would happen if I dropped my pillow out of the window? What would happen if I droped Weston out of the window? What would happen if I rode on the roof of a car? Why do cars have roofs? What would happen if I rode on the roof of a car that did not have a roof?
Me: ummmmm.

Marcus: You are a bad teacher. Good teachers know stuff, or at least want to find stuff out. You are just lazy and don't care what stuff is.
Me: ummmm
Marcus: (Through peals of laughter.) Did I drive you nuts? Did I? Did I? I was trying to drive you nuts with all my questions. Did it work? Did it work?

We will be holding a memorial service for Marcus later this evening. All are welcome.

Oh so random.

2008-08-19T14:20:00.002-05:00

I have a jumbledness of thoughts today. Let me vomit them out at you.

We have a new housemate. My cousin Lindsey has moved in after my oh so very successful attempt at matchmaking was oh so very successful. Since she lived two states away from the oh so successful match, she has moved into the toasty toes mansion. It smells in our house, very much like a young lady in love. Which, in case you didn't know, smells like room fragrance and perfume. Add in some hairspray and you have the smell of love. Or, maybe that is just the general smell of teenage/young adulthood.

I have rediscovered the joy of peanut butter balls. The food rage of 1980 government issue food has now arrived at my house. Equal amounts of peanut butter, powdered milk, and honey. Yummy. I was going to take a picture, but my kids ate them all, and besides that, I was feeling to lazy to find my camera.

I have two good friends who are grieving loved ones. Tara lost her doggy, Stan, yesterday to what was most likely a brain tumor. It was heartbreaking.

And my friend Becki, who coordinates the TeenMops group has lost her daughter. Kari was young. My age. With two young boys. It is a sobering thought and my heart aches for Becki, as well as those two little boys. I would ask the question, "Why"? But the answer seems to futile, so I don;t even bother asking.

Esther wants to know when our Heidi dog will die. Weston wants to know if we can wave a magic wand over Stan and make him come back alive. All of them are now worried that I will up and die at any moment.

Homeschooling has resumed, and is no fun at all for anyone at all. I already want to quit. Marcus already has quit. He is a third grade drop-out. I keep reminding myself how many times I was a third grade drop-out myself. And how many times my own mother wanted to quit teaching me. And yet, here I am, with a great education (bad spelling and penchant for sentence fragments not withstanding...) and there my mother is, sitting in Ohio, looking at her vegetable garden and sipping hot tea.
I bet she does not miss the yelling, the constant search for the ever-lost pencils, or the chewed up erasers. I bet she is relived that she will never have to argue the value of multiplication tables or clear steady handwriting again.
Which is reassuring. I am only going to be a teacher for so long. One day I will have my own garden to sit in. one day I will never again have to hear two hours of whining about what would amount to thirty seconds of work.

And when I think of Becki, whose daughter has just gone to be the Lord. i feel guilty for wanting to speed along time. I think about all these random moments of peanut butter balls, new housemates, screaming and crying and ripping out of hair over the requirement of writing two sentences...and I decide to relish them.

At least for right now. At least for as long as I write this post.