When Church attendence seems like an episode of Survivor

Keeping three small children quiet and obedient during church is a daunting task!  Getting them ready for church on a school night, feeding them, getting to church on time is even more daunting!

In our first year back to Maryland, we resolved to attend Sunday morning church service and that is basically all we managed. We had good intentions for Sunday night and Wednesday night but frankly speaking, the amount of energy it takes to get 3 kids ready for church on a school night and keep them up past their bedtime was simply too overwhelming. 

Recently I had the pleasure of speaking with two of my childhood friends who are sweethearts and had children 20 years ago so they've already been through this.  They encouraged us to persevere for these reasons:

1. Consistent and regular attendance shows your children this is important.
2. The effort is worth it in terms of meeting with other Christians mid-week and getting that spiritual boost that comes from fellowship.
3. It becomes easier over time.

So with year two in Maryland, I'm resolved to attend Wednesday nights for these reasons:

1. They have children's church on Wednesday night so I can dispose of the 2 oldest for 1.5 hours!  Violette will probably stay with us until she's 3 but that's only one more year.
2. We did one Wednesday night recently and despite having Violette cry all day from shots and a bee sting and worrying about how she'd do - she simply fell asleep in church and we had a most enjoyable evening!  This just goes to show most of the anxiety pre-church is just worries for nothing.  Doesn't Philippians 4:6 say "Do not be anxious about anything"?  Maybe it's time to put this to use and see what Wednesday church can do for our family.

So there, it's in writing!  Now we must make it happen!

I've lost my sense of wonder and don't know where to find it...

Reading "The Girl Who Came Home:  A Novel of the Titanic" I couldn't help but notice how in awe of the Titanic people were before the big accident.  The book describes the simple wonder and jaw dropping shock over the sheer size and assumed safety of the boat.  It was the talk of the town in Ireland and England and considered an honor to ride on this magnificent boat.

I've never been in awe of any man-made form of transportation.  I've lived in Fort Lauderdale and cruised on my bike past giant cruise ships without batting an eye.  Watched while they built a new giant bridge that was so tall, medium sized yachts could still cruise under without waiting for it to be opened twice an hour.

I've flown from the US to Asia and Europe, never once stopping to consider what an amazing feat that is.

Is there any wonder left?  Have we become so accustomed to modern technology that we no longer marvel over achievements?

Sense of wonder lost. 

Last year my husband remarked that we get strawberries year around, even during winter due to the NAFTA agreement.  It is remarkable to get fruit out of season in the grocery store - right?  Why haven't I gotten excited about this before? 

Watching Cranford, a mini series that takes place in 1840's England.  The women get so excited over new fabrics.  When have I gotten excited about fabrics?  And I even work in a textile industry!

I've traveled the world and stayed in 5 star hotels, eaten at renowned restaurants and flown first class - often with the thought of "that's it?  What's the big deal".

It doesn't help that our news tries to dramatize every little thing and turns simple weather patterns into big splashy logos and names like "Polar Vortex in the SUMMER"!!!!  It gets exhausting, and we as a public become numb to what is really a big issue.

Our Congress doesn't help matters at all, taking every little thing and blowing it out of proportion until the common man can't think for themselves without going to the root of the issue and digging past the gnarled roots of the vast opinions that rock every single news article.

Take the Hobby Lobby contraception issue, Hillary Clinton and other feminists writers actually had me convinced for several days that Hobby Lobby was against every single form of contraception and it wasn't until I actually looked deep into the matter that I found they already covered 17 options!  It was only 4 that were being contested - oh but the news twisted it so severely that you'd have thought Hobby Lobby wanted us all to become part of the  Quiverfull movement!

Well, I can't very well blame the news for my lack of wonder at the world, although they certainly put a dent into things with the over dramatization.  No, the lack of wonder is mine and mine alone to deal with.  I need to become a more dynamic person with the joy and enthusiasm I recall my dad once had.  I need to get out of the doldrums of life and ignite a passion for the wonderful things in this world.  If I don't, then I risk raising children who will not get excited about anything.  If they don't get excited, then who is going to be the next great thinker?  Who will be left to push boundaries and create wonderful things?

Thank you Food Lion clerk, for showing me what a great family I have!

This week at the grocery store I used my debit card only to have it immediately declined.  "Oh dear", I told the clerk, "I had to report that stolen last night.  Let me use another card."

She quickly listed the many ways she protects her funds including a receipt email for every purchase because you never know when someone might "borrow" your card and bring it back without you knowing it.  I must have looked confused because she added, "brothers, they've been stealing from me since I was old enough to get birthday cards".

Wait, what?!?  Your brothers STOLE from you and still do on a regular basis?  What kind of crazy family did you grow up in?!?

I grew up with two brothers and both are meticulous and honorable with money.  We were so respectful of each other's piggy banks that we wouldn't even dream of taking from each other or our mom's wallet. 

Unbelievable, yet another persons reality.  So thankful for my smart honest brothers!!!

A tale of "Unintentional Gardening" and Acorn Squash Bread

In the spring I made a batch of acorn squash bread and in thinking the seeds might be a good add for our summer garden, I left them out to dry.  After a few weeks they looked moldy so I threw them into the compost bucket because my husband declared that any seeds would be destroyed by the intense heat created inside the compost bin! 

The below photo is our compost dumping zone.  Apparently squash LOVES compost!  So much that they've grown, thrived and completely taken over the compost zone so that we've had to start a 2nd compost location!

We call ourselves "Unintentional Gardeners" of squash and next year Mike plans to build a trellis so the squash has a place to travel because it's quite a space hog - you can see it's literally spilling over the sides!  

I may have picked it a bit early, the inside was more yellow than I'm used to seeing and the seeds were quite soft so we will let the remaining squash stay on the vine for a few more weeks. 

Now for the amazing bread!  First I slice the squash in half and bake for 1 hour at 350, bottom down so it can steam itself.  Second I puree the squash about one hour after it's cooled.  Third, make bread!

I used this recipe for "Whole Wheat Applesauce Loaf Cake" from "Eat, Live, Run" and substituted the applesauce for pureed acorn squash.  I find that squash has far less juice than applesauce so the mixture was too stiff.  I added 1/4 cup of buttermilk and it was perfect.

This bread is amazing.  It's got a hard outer shell and soft chewable bread on the inside.  The flavor is so mild and yummy!  I love it! 

Now what am I going to do with the 50+ squash growing in my compost zone?!?  Recipes welcome!  Donations of squash will be granted, first come first served!

Introducing our very own canoe!

Our last family canoe ride was February 5, 2012 where Sam fell into the water.  Prior to that was May 31, 2011 - that one stands out as the most horrific ride EVER thanks to a hot day and miserable kids.  So what could have caused my husband to have obsessed over canoe's for the past two years to get our very own? 

 

Let's see, prior to children and blogging, we had some good times canoeing with our dear friends Brett & Shelly.  The first time was in the Everglades where we nearly paddled straight into a nest of three of the biggest alligators I've ever seen in my life!  After that, husband and I took several vacations in the Keys and west side of Florida and every single time rented kayaks or canoe's so I guess you could say the fondness was built up before children arrived with attitudes and opinions! 

 

We did get quite tired of having to pay rental fees every time, maybe that was also the spur that drove husband to troll Craig's listings for two years straight. 

 

Regardless - we are now the proud owners of our very own canoe!  We took it out for an inaugural ride and since Charlotte is still in Texas, it was just the two younger ones.  After a few initial mishaps like Sam trying to get into the boat while it's still on dry land and knocking Violette down in the process, we all managed to have a very good time.  No one cried!  We stayed out for almost 2 hours, ate snacks, I paddled the entire ride which is a good sign that children were not demanding my attention and no one fell in!