Health Kick

We (meaning me) are trying to eat healthier. It's motivated by a few things:
1) Mike's been sick and I can't help but believe a healthier diet would help him resist all the gunk he is exposed to at the Mission. It's not necessarily the healthiest of places to work, given the crowd he works among.

2) I have some really great people in my life who are inspiring me to eat better. (only one of them ever reads my blog, so Thanks Mel!)

3) I'm trying to figure out how to feed a family of 7 more affordably and efficiently.

Here are some of the major problems we've encountered so far:
1) Eating healthy is not affordable. Good golly. Saturated fat and high corn syrup content are cheap. Whole grains are not. Someone explain to me why processed food, which takes more labor and machinery, costs more than whole grains. . .

2) The kids do not adjust well to change. Now really, it's not like they live on corn dogs and mac and cheese (well not very often anyways) but they are completely suspcious of anything new. Yogurt that is pink and in a plastic container: no problem! Yogurt that is homemade and comes in a glass jar: ugh!

3) Mike is not thrillllled about the idea. He agrees I can eat however I want and feed the kids whatever I want- but he's not convinced yet. He did love the whole wheat pitas Sasha and I made!

I'm offering one of the successful endeavors thus far: a breafast bar with NO sugar and whole grains. It's easy and actually tastes really great. I tried another one that Mel swears by, but am inept when it comes to making it work.

Apple Breakfast Bars
1 1/2 c. oats (quick or whole)
1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. chopped dried fruit (I like apricots)
1/2 c. chopped nuts ( I like pecans)
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. orange juice
1 1/2 c. shredded apples (peel and all)

Mix all, let sit for ten minutes. Press into an 8x8 pan, cook for 25 minutes on 375.
Loosen with spatural, cut into bars while warm, serve hot or wrap individually for on the go.

Trust me- even Mikey likes it. :)

These are good moments!

This is Sasha at her sweetest! She is reading the "truck book" to Gabriel- his all time favorite.

I didn't even ask her to do this! She just climbed in the chair with him and they spent some nice time reading and snuggling.

This is when I feel successful as a Mama- when my kiddos are loving each other.

Leaning cheerfulness is not as easy as it sounds- but I'm realizing I miss a lot of cheerful moments by not appreciating them for what they are.

I took out the camera ASAP because I just knew I'd forget this kind moment and be back to grumbling instead of resting in gratitude for a moment.

Thanks, God, for digital cameras!

Advertising Ideas

Here's an ad I'm going to run in the local paper, The Des Moines Times. Sounds fancy, eh? It has to be tiny so I can afford it, but I think this covers the bases. Any input? I'm relatively new to this desk-top publishing thing.

Don't know why the outline is geeking, but you get the idea.

This is what I am doing instead of grading the 250 papers I have remaining...Nothing like misappropriating a little bit of time!

Ch ch ch ch changes!

It seems with spring cleaning comes an opportunity to evaluate the clutter in my life as well.

Here is where I am cluttered:
1) Too many chores that others can help with.
2) Too many "to-do's" that don't really need done (after all, who really needs to make yogurt?)
3) Too many people I should have had over for dinner vs. time spent with folks I truly miss and cherish.
4) Too many outside responsibilities on my plate. That's really the big one, and the one that motivates this post.

So here's my news: I've resigned from being a teaching assistant at Mars Hill Graduate School. This is a bitter-sweet choice for me. Bitter, in that, I love being in the academic community and environment, and I love Mars Hill as an institution. Sweet, in that, I do not have the time to grade 2000 pages of graduate level assignments in my "free hours" any more. I've noticed in myself that my resentment over run-on sentences and comma splices has really escalated this term. When I begin to feel violent about incorrect APA formatting, you know I'm not in a good place. :)

So my next fall schedule looks like this: Counseling on Tuesday evenings, maybe add Wednesday evening, and counsel on Saturday mornings for a total of about 10 hours each week.

I've joined a homeschool co-op for the first time as well. This is a really big change for me. After 6 years of homeschooling, this will be the first time I've attended any kind of a support group or co-op. We'll attend on Thursdays from 9 to 3 and do Bible, Science, and History classes. The rest of the week is spent finishing up assignments around those classes, as well as doing our other subjects which will be: Spelling, Grammar, Vocabulary, Handwriting, Math, Latin (for real this time) and dance/piano/swimming, etc.

With Sasha in 6th grade, Lily in 4th, Chloe in 1st, Isaac in kindergarten, and Gabriel in preschool, I feel like I can definitely use the help and the extra time from quitting at Mars Hill.

So, as for other clutter that I am cutting out:
1) expectations that are too low for my children: they CAN be kind and cheerful.
2) expectations that are too high for my husband: he CAN just chill once in a while without me handing him a to-do list.
3) expectations that are too demanding of myself: I CAN do a less than perfect job and still feel adequate.
4) expectations that are too unvoiced for my friends: If I want you and need you in my life, I should really let you know that and not expect you to read my mind.

Happy Spring Cleaning!

Happy 70th Birthday, FIL!

FIL: Father-In-Law.

Richard Johnson is my father-in-law, my FIL. I'm his DIL (get it?)

He just celebrated his 70th Birthday in Yorba Linda, CA with a great group of friends and family present. I was unable to attend. . . but Mike made it and had a super visit with his family. (It snowed in Seattle every night he was gone. He slept on the beach. Not even fair.)

He made his Dad an amazing portrait in pencil of himself and his Dad about 20 years ago. Both Mike and his Dad were wearing their uniforms (Richard: Navy. Mike: Army). As Mike was working on the portrait, I was amazed at how realistic and exact the portrait of his father looked. When it came to his own face, however, I kept saying, "Something's just not right." I finally figured out what it was: Mike's face was WAY to young and it just didn't look right. I told him to add some more wrinkles around the eyes, and "voila!" There he was! 20 years makes more of a difference in the 19 year old than in the 50 year old. That, it seems, it both good news and bad news to those of us on this side of 50.

I really love Richard and I have been blessed to know him for about 17 years now. He's been a really consistent and present source of Fatherly love in my life. He's honored me with his respect and he's challenged me with his example. I once said about him, "Wow! You can teach an old dog new tricks!" (Sorry FIL!) But he is a man who continues to grow, mature, submit his heart and life to Jesus and change more and more into that which God has called him.

And puppy makes 8!

This is J0-Jo Sparky Johnson, latest addition to the family! We've said no for years and years and years, and finally, Lily wore us down. This is largely her fault, um, I mean, her puppy.

He's 1/8 Border Collie, 7/8 Austrialian Shepherd, and he's cute as can be. He's just 8 weeks old, and is really such a baby.

We're trying to do this right: train him, crate him, take him to classes, etc. I've always said dogs are more work than most kids! I keep telling myself this is the joy of homeschooling: we can incorporate the care and training of puppies into our curriculum. This is important learning!

Catching Up

Hi friends!

Well, we have been busy around here!

We moved into the new house in February and spent the first 3 weeks getting the previous owners stuff out! 2 industrial dumpters (20X10X10) filled with stuff they left behind. What a mess.

Since then we have been cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. And then finally, starting to paint a little, add some character, and make plans for what comes next.

When this house is finished (if? When!) we will have over 3,000 square feet of home on almost 1 acre. Pretty amazing. What a blessing. What you can't see is the big gully off the back with a creek at the bottom. The kids are haivng a ball with the mud and Mama is trying to keep her cool about the amount of laundry and wet shoes it generates.

I've added a picture of the exterior to give you a feel for what this place is like. The interior have 1,500 square feet of an unfinished addition: 2x4's and plywood is all there is. So! Bring your hammers come help us finish out the place. The good news is there is plenty of space for you to come visit, even if it means sleeping in an unfinished addition:)

We're so grateful to be in this home. I love the community of Des Moines and I am really so pleased to live here, work here (I leased a new office in Des Moines), and have friends here.

So, we're back to "normal" and I hope to catch up with all of you soon. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement through this process.

Dena