My Grandmother's Sewing Machine

A baby blanket made by my grandmother in 2003...

To be entrusted with my grandmother's sewing machine is both humbling and motivating. Caring for others was one of her defining characteristics. The blanket in the photos is probably one of the last things she was able to stitch on this machine. In recent years, physical limitations have made it too hard to keep sewing for others. Thankfully, her prayers continue. And with every stitch, I hope to continue her legacy of kindness and love in some small way.

According to the owner's manual, my grandparents bought this machine in 1966.

The first project I plan to tackle is making some baby mitts. I'm not sure how photo-worthy the results will be, but I intend to reveal them next week. I hope they turn out!

Today I'm linking up at Try New Adventures Thursday.

10 Things I'll Suddenly Be Glad to Do

Waiting is hard.  Waiting patiently is an even greater feat, which I believe takes supernatural grace to manage.  I'm not there yet.  Right now my two-week-old daughter is still in the hospital recovering from surgery.  Once she starts feeding well and gaining weight, we should be able to go home and rejoin the rest of the family.  We just don't know when that will happen.

It's amazing how one's perspective can change with an unexpected turn of events.  Once we do finally get to take her home, I'll be seeing certain tasks differently.  Hopefully I can remember to give thanks in the midst of it all.  Because if I'm doing these things, it means my daughter is home with us to stay!

 I'm looking forward to:

1. Changing lots of dirty diapers.
2. Being awoken in the night to feed my crying baby.
3. Having more laundry to wash.
4. Going about tasks with only one hand available.
5. Feeling like I'm never alone.
6. Needing to buy more diapers.
7. Having a full-time job feeding my newborn.
8. Lugging extra baby gear around with me.
9. Taking my daughter in and out of her infant seat.
10.  Staking out a quiet nook to nurse my daughter when we're out and about.

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..."

Psalm 37:7

An Unexpected Tale of Two Cities

We are walking down a path we did not forsee.  Instead of being with my newborn daughter 24/7, I am visiting her in the NICU at a Children's Hospital 50 miles away from our home.  Here's an overview of the first week of her life:

Monday:
In the wee hours of the morning, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at the local Catholic hospital.

Tuesday: 
We went home.

Wednesday: 
"Blueberry" had her 2-day checkup.

Thursday: I took my too-sleepy daughter back to see the doctor.  And then:

• she was admitted to the local hospital for tests to be run.
• our little girl was transported to Omaha by ambulance to await surgery.

Friday: 

• We held our daughter in our arms and in our prayers before she went into the operating room.  And we waited. 
• Three hours later, the surgeon came out to let us know that the surgery on her intestines went well.  The sun literally broke through the clouds just moments before. 
• We rejoiced in the good news and shared it with those who had been praying.
• My husband drove back home to be with our other three children.

Saturday: 

• Three grandparents and our three children drove to Omaha to see "Blueberry" after her surgery.  Several friends came to visit as well.  We were relieved and happy that our daughter was doing so well. 
• I went home with my mother and the kids. 
• My husband and parents-in-law stayed in Omaha.

Sunday: 
I had the odd experience of going to church less than a week after giving birth.  I had thought I would be staying home with my new baby girl.  Yet I had so much for which to give praise and thanks to God, how could I keep from singing?

Monday: 
I returned to Omaha and my husband returned home.

Before our littlest girl was born, I was anxious about the tasks I'd left undone, and wondered how we would cope with the transition of adding another child to our family.  Now I look forward to our family being reunited, chaos and all.   And I actually long for the chance to be awoken in the night to feed my newborn child. 

Until then, I trust that not only is she in great hands here with the expert hospital staff, there are greater hands which are holding and preserving her life as she recovers. 

He's got the tiny little babies in His hands...
He's got you and me sister in His hands,

He's got the whole world in His hands.

Chocolate Covered Banana Slices: An Easy Ice Cream Alternative

Recently I've been trying to eliminate dairy from my diet (temporarily) because of MSPI.  After watching the other four members of my family indulge in ice cream for dessert, I resolved to find something I could enjoy alongside them.  The frozen chocolate-covered bananas that I used to order at Swensen's Ice Cream shop in Thailand were becoming quite an unfulfilled craving.  How I wish Dairy Queen would carry them!  But recently I found a bite-sized dairy-free version at Trader Joe's (imported from Thailand no less!).  So I splurged and bought this box:

Then I made a more budget-friendly version at home, with the following results:

To make about 8 ounces of banana bites costs less than a dollar, versus $1.99 for the store-bought version.  While the Ghiradhelli dark chocolate chips I melted are not entirely dairy-free (since they contain milk fat), vegan chocolate chips cost twice as much.  Hopefully our fourth child will not notice any small trace of milk.

 For more dairy-free ideas, I also have a list of 7 Surprisingly Good Ice Cream Alternatives.

I'm linking this post to Pennywise Platter and Try New Adventures Thursday.

Speckled Snowflake Cards

Supplies Used:

• White paper snowflakes
• Tape
• Cardstock
• Blue paper
• Purple Koolaid "spray paint"
• Spray bottle
• Watercolor brush
• Watercolor paint set
• Water
• Glue stick

How we made the designs:

1. Fill a spray bottle with unsweetened colored Koolaid mix and water (or use food dye).
2. Lightly tape a snowflake onto cardstock.
3. Spray lightly with Koolaid dye.
4. Throughly wet a paint brush and use an index finger to flick a coordinating color of watercolor paint onto the snowflake and background, creating a splattered paint effect.
5. Allow snowflake to dry before removing it from the background.
6. Glue the snowflake onto a contrasting paper background.

This project was inspired by the following:

• Watercolour Spray Inks
• Watercolor Cross Cards
• DIY Pick Up Sticks Game: Colored Chopsticks

Find more fun ideas at Show & Share Saturday at I Can Teach My Child.

The Snowflake Stomp: A game to learn sight words and more!

We developed this snowflake word game last winter.  Today's frigid temperatures prompted me to set it up again for my 4-year-old son, who is now a pre-reader, and likes to move.

How to play:

1. Set up the snowflakes and secure with tape.   Decide what version you'd like to play--sight words, letters, pictures or numbers.
2. Call out or say a phrase that includes one of the words/ targets.  The child should step or stomp on that snowflake.
3. After he or she has stomped on all of the targets, ask the child to choose a target word/ letter/ number and stomp on it.  Or the child can be a "caller" to instruct someone else where to stomp.

Helpful tips and options:

• Tape page protectors lengthwise so that the opening is available to slide paper flashcards in and out. 

• If using zipper bags, tape around the edges except for the opening, so you can insert and remove what is inside. 

• Electrical tape or masking tape are probably superior to painters tape, which we used.

• If your tape is not sticky enough, reinforce it with clear packing tape.

• At first we wrote on the plastic with wet-erase overhead markers.  The ink rubbed off after playing the game, so I switched the text to paper flashcards placed under the clear plastic. 

• We taped our plastic covered "snowflake quilt" onto a fleece blanket, which can be folded and reused, but you can also tape the snowflakes onto the floor/ carpet directly.

I'm linking this idea to Show & Share Saturday , Show and Tell and It's Playtime.

More snowflake-themed activities:

Snowflake Flying Disks
Snowflake Window Clings
Crystal Snowflake

A Time to Finish and Keep Things Simple

0ur holiday travels ended last week and we are finally starting to get back to a more normal routine with school resuming again.  Meanwhile, I'm wondering how much I can accomplish before baby number four arrives (later this month?)!

Being realistic is not a strength of mine, but goals do help me stay a little more focused.  My main goals for this month (and beyond) are simple: to finish things that I've started and to let go of what is not essential.  Here are 10 things this procrastinator needs (or wants) to do between now and whenever Baby Blueberry arrives:

1. Clean and declutter the whole house.  Yes, it's an audacious goal, but it will make life so much better when it's done.
2. Pack my bag for the hospital.
3. Sort through the baby clothes I've been given.  I am so thankful for generous friends who've stepped forward to meet that need!
4. Turn in hospital paperwork.
5. Finish putting away Christmas decorations.
6. Purchase and prepare supplies for MOPS creative activities this month and next.
7. Plan a dairy-free menu for the rest of the month.  One of the midwives I saw advised me to cut out dairy now in an attempt to avoid another colicky baby with MSPI.
8. Finish several books I've started to read.   I'll put them in my hospital bag in case I don't finish them all before arrival day.
9. Make breakfast foods ahead of time.  On my list: granola, muffins, maybe waffles...
10. Cook a meal with my daughters.  We will use recipes from a book I found at the library, Wrap-N-Bake Egg Rolls: And Other Chinese Dishes.

After making progress on these high-priority items, I'm looking forward to doing some fun things too, like scheduling some craft projects to do with my kids.  And since the weather is supposed to get cold again soon, we can do several out-of-the-ordinary winter activities that we enjoyed last January.

I am linking this to Anti-Procrastination Tuesday.

No Baking Powder? 10 Recipes You Can Bake Anyway

When we go to Canada in the summer, I enjoy using a spacious kitchen for a change.  But since we can only stay for a couple of weeks at most, we try to stock the pantry very simply.  This past summer I purposely did not buy baking powder, so as to curb my tendency to go overboard with baking projects.  Another reason I chose to do without baking powder is that it is significantly more expensive up north than in the U.S.  Still, I managed to find a number of new recipes to try.  And while my husband was urging me to get outdoors and use my sketchpad, I was scheming which recipe to try next.

In everyday life, I do keep baking powder on hand.  But if I happen to run out of it, I would rather not pile everyone into the minivan and make a special trip to the store.  Instead I can opt to bake something that doesn't require baking powder.

Here are 10 kitchen-tested ideas:

1. Farmer Cupcakes
After a failed batch of yogurt, I was able to salvage and use the liquid whey in place of buttermilk.  These were a delightful, not-too-heavy version of pound cake.

Cupcake Recipe:

• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 1-1/2  c. flour
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup liquid whey or buttermilk
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

To softened butter add sugar and eggs, blending well.  Add vanilla.  In a separate bowl, mix whey or buttermilk with baking soda.  To egg mixture add 1/2 cup flour and salt, blend, then add part of whey/buttermilk; continue alternating additions and blending until all is added, ending with flour.

Pour batter into paper-lined muffin cups and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, until cupcakes test done with a toothpick.  After cupcakes have cooled, frost as desired or enjoy plain.

2. Date Squares
Widely available on the local menus of St. Joseph Island, my Canadian grandmother introduced me to her homemade version many years ago.

3. Banana Bread
I prefer plain yogurt instead of the sour cream that most recipes call for.

4. Gingerbread muffins
Loaded with mineral-rich molasses, these muffins are also a great way to use up sour milk.

5. Zucchini brownies (which can be made into Penguin Cakes)

6. Apple Crisp
Fruit crisps are among my husband's favorite desserts.  And they're easier than pie!

7. Baked Rice Pudding
I like to eat this after it has cooled and chilled.

8. Oatmeal cookies
If I'm running low on butter (which is pricey up in Canada) and have plenty of almond butter, I substitute half almond butter for real butter.

9. Cinnamon Sugar Cookies
Also known at Snickerdoodles, this recipe only calls for baking soda.  Furthermore, these are one of my husband's very favorite kinds of cookies.

10. Pumpkin Spice Snaps

Recent Christmas Crafts for Moms and Kids

This fall I took on two new roles.  First, I became the creative activities leader for our new MOPS group at our church.  Second, my husband and I have been filling in to teach Sunday School to five-year-olds.   I'm still learning and working on how to get the timing right when it comes to preparing and executing crafts for a group.  But turning ideas into a finished product remains a fun and inspiring pursuit.

Here are some of the projects we've done so far:

`Seven Bean Soup and Gingerbread Cookie Mixes
 (for MOPS moms)

We ate our soup last week, so I just have the cookie mix left to show.  The soup recipe was adapted from this Lucky Bean Soup recipe from Taste of Home.  I halved a gingerbread cookie recipe from Martha Stewart's website.  We put the dry ingredients in plastic bags, then put that in paper sacks, and tied it up with a ribbon.  Moms then had the option of giving the mixes as a gift to someone else, or keeping theirs to make with their family.

When it's time to make the cookies, one has to add butter and molasses. One of the moms said that the cookie dough turned out well, save needing a bit of extra butter.    Soon I hope my kids and I can try making some gingerbread cookies of our own!

Paper Sleighs
(for MOPS moms)

The sleigh pattern came from About.com, though I made a few modifications.  Below are the steps we followed.

WINTER SLEIGH ASSEMBLY

1.  Trace and cut out 2 sides and bottom of sleigh.

2.  Decorate edges of sides with metallic marker.

3.  Fold tabs of sleigh bottom inward.  Curve to follow the shape of sleigh.

4.  Carefully glue tabs to insides of sleigh, holding until mostly dry.

5.  Optional: Add seating.

6.  Decorate with ribbon and fill with any of the following: nuts, small gingerbread people, photo cutouts of kids in winter attire, tea etc.

 Christmas Birth Announcements
(for 5-year-olds to make)

My husband and I are delighted to be using the Children Desiring God kindergarten curriculum with the kids in our class on Sundays.  The idea to make a birth announcement for Jesus was part of last week's lesson plan.  Exactly how to create it was up to me.   I needed more prep time than I allowed to make my sample announcement, but this was the eventual result:

I'm sharing this at Try New Adventures Thursday and A Handmade Christmas.

10 Ways to Enjoy Elderberry Syrup and Boost Our Immune Systems

One big reason I am giving thanks is that I have not gotten sick lately.  Everyone else in my family has come down with one minor illness or another in recent weeks.  But I have been graciously spared, despite my undisciplined sleep habits.  I have had people praying for my health and have been consuming elderberry syrup. I recommend both.

My kids don't mind the flavor of the syrup, but they dislike taking it straight, protesting that it's much too sweet and/or sticky.  They also gag on liquid Tylenol for the same reasons.

So I've come up with ten ways to enjoy elderberry syrup mixed with other edible delights.

1. Elderberry apple cider.
This is my oldest daughter's favorite way to have elderberry syrup.  I prefer cider without chemical preservatives, and I can find it at Trader Joe's.


2. Elderberry herbal tea.

3. Elderberry mixed with fruit spread.

Delicious on toast, it also works in a nut butter and jelly sandwich.

4. Elderberry lemonade.


5. Elderberry mixed fruit smoothie.


6. Elderberry mixed with blueberry kefir.

7. Elderberry oatmeal.

8. Elderberry applesauce.

I've once made elderberry applesauce from whole berries that we picked locally, but the syrup also blends nicely with homemade or store-bought applesauce.

9.  Elderberry maple syrup.

10.  Elderberry sparkling juice.

So far we've tried two different brands of elderberry syrup.  One has added herbs besides elderberry (horehound and wild cherry bark) that make it unwise for me to take during pregnancy.  Thus, I've been using plain elderberry syrup from Nature's Way.

Have you ever tasted elderberry syrup?

I'm sharing ideas this week at 

Top Ten Tuesday, AP Tuesdays,
 Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, and Pennywise Platter..