The Summer that Was and Wasn't

Kids are back in school, Labor Day is behind us, and leaves are starting to fall.  I am simultaneously feeling:
1) wistful that we did not have a "real" summer vacation,
2) guilty that we never got into a good routine for our summer days together, and
3) relieved that the burden of structuring my time and that of my children is no longer mine alone to bear.

Rather that obsessing over what I did not accomplish or what was not feasible, I want to cultivate a spirit of gratitude.  There were a lot of very good things that happened this summer, and some of them were even on my summer "bucket list."  Here are the things that come to mind.

In July:

• My husband's parent's came for a visit.
• We explored the Saskatchewan Science Centre for the first time.
• Grandparents babysat while we went out for a dinner date in the big city.
• I got my official Canadian passport!
• I was able to switch my part-time work schedule and get to know some fascinating co-workers.
• We found and picked a pitcher-full of local Saskatoon berries!  I've been itching to do this since our arrival in Saskatchewan last summer.  With the fresh berries we picked we enjoyed Saskatoon berry applesauce bars and berry topped pancakes.

In August:

• My parents came for an extended visit.
• We went out to celebrate our 13th anniversary while my parents babysat. 
• We went on a family history tour to see the area where my mom and grandparents were from.
• My husband got to teach new EFL teachers in Cambodia.
• The kids and I went strawberry picking.
• Friends let us tend and harvest the produce in their garden while they were away.  I've missed having a garden of my own. 

• We made lots of yummy jam.  My mom brought us more delicious jam from her kitchen.
• My mom also helped us catch up on laundry.  Yes, we can actually see (part of) the laundry room floor now!
• My husband finished the first draft of his Ph.D. dissertation!  We started this grad school journey six years ago, and now the end is in sight.
• I got a second-hand (or third or fourth-hand, more likely) bike that works--and it was free!
• We finally got an offer on our house in Nebraska!  It's been 12 months since we packed up and headed north.

There are still a few question marks in our lives right now.  When will our house deal finally close?  Will we continue to rent here or will we dive into the local, more expensive real estate market here in Saskatchewan?  Will my husband graduate in December?  If so, will we risk traveling in December to attend the ceremony?  Should I keep working part-time after the house closes?  We need wisdom and patience from above.   Seasons of waiting and uncertainty are hard.  I am ready for closure.  Nevertheless, God is good, all the time.

Top 8 Craft and Recipe Posts of 2012

Certainly the 3D highlight of our year was adding another child to our family.  After a tense first month of life, our little girl is doing well and been growing fabulously, as you can see.  What you cannot see are her delightfully chubby thighs under all that gear.

Somehow I managed to share some unique ideas here on this blog as well.  What posts attracted the most readers?  Here are some of the year's most-read entries, split into 2 categories:

Crafts and Games:

Cardboard Mini-Plinko Game

Rainbow Games

Snowflake Stomp Game

Homemade Baby Mitts

Recipes:

Cane Sugar Marshmallows

Chocolate Covered Banana Slices

Dairy-Free Caramel Apples

Sausage and Egg Casserole (Dairy-Free)

What were your offline & online highlights of 2012?

Reflecting on the Day of my Mother's Birth

On this day more than sixty years ago, my grandmother went into labor with her first child.  She and my grandfather drove their truck to the nearest small Saskatchewan town with a hospital.  Unfortunately, when the doctor arrived, she smelled alcohol on his breath.  And then he gave her something (ether? chloroform?) to knock her out before he delivered her baby.  So it is likely that no one but a half-there doctor and a nurse actually witnessed the amazing moment that my mother was born.

Soon after her birth, my mother was "put on the bottle," my grandmother recalled.  And what was the reason?   Her milk didn't come in soon enough (it usually takes a few days the first time around I've learned).  So my grandmother's chest was wrapped tight instead of being encouraged to nurse her baby.   She told me this story of my mother's birth about ten years ago, when her memories were more lucid than now.  And it is a story I treasure, shocking though it seems to me, that she endured such a rough start into motherhood.

Nevertheless, she and her newborn daughter lived on.  My grandmother cherished children and had four more that after that.  But it was her firstborn that grew up and became my mother.  And so I celebrate my mother's life this day.  My mother is someone who prays, gives generously, stays in close contact with her relatives, and is eager to help others whenever she can.

Earlier this year, my mom came to stay with us for a little while after our fourth child was born.  Neither she nor I knew the extent to which we would need her help.  But God did.  So when our little girl was rushed to Omaha in an ambulance for surgery, we left three sleeping children in my mother's care.  She stayed for three weeks, serving our family and loving my children, while my husband and I took turns with the baby at the hospital.

My mom and my daughter

Thus I marvel that the same God who watched over my mother's birth here in Canada kept her in his care and knew she would one day become my mother.  I am impressed by her example that I should also pray for the children He has given me to raise.  And I must rely more on His love, that my children may know they are deeply loved, and grow up with the same assurance of their mother's love that I had.

10 Things I Miss from the U.S.A.

Summer 2012: We set up a lemonade stand and yard sale in the blazing heat.

Our impossibly difficult summer move from Nebraska to Canada was not a triumphant experience.   Yet we slogged through the shedding, packing, and painting and made it north somehow.  We are resolved to never again allow the forces of chaos overwhelm us to such an extent.  By necessity, much of the extra clutter we I had amassed and stuffed in closets is gone from our lives, and I am glad.

Such a complicated summertime transition has meant less time for other pursuits, like kitchen experiments, crafts, and social media.  Hopefully as we settle in we can have space to breathe and live at a sustainable pace.

As we adjust to life in a small college town on the prairie, I am missing some of the blessings we had to leave behind, such as:

1. Extended family being a day's drive away

2. The friends we made in Nebraska

3. Delving deep into the Bible with other women at BSF

4. Lower cost of living

5. Eligibility for recipe contests

6. Nebraska farmers markets

7. Bike paths and the various wild foraging opportunities we had along them

8. Grocery stores in our neighborhood

9. Owning a house

10. Relatively mild winters (I've heard former Canadians talk of "summer coats" up here!)

That being said, we are happy about the Canadian approach to health care and education.  I am looking forward to finding a solid church this fall and going berry picking eventually.   Very soon I intend to connect with one of the local "mom and tots" groups.

After living in Vietnam, Chicago, and Nebraska as a growing family, we get to adjust once more to living in this semi-foreign part of the world known as Saskatchewan.  We've enjoyed a very warm welcome here; now it is time to expand and deepen the connections that have begun.

Saskatoon berry tart from a local bakery

Jungle Smoothie Recipe + A Menu Plan

My baby girl has now been home with us longer than she was in the hospital.  Relatives have come and gone.  Now it's just the six of us.  This will be our first full week of "normalcy" with a newborn (who is now five weeks old and thriving!).

On weekday mornings, we have to get off to a running start, and so today I made smoothies.  My second daughter christened them "jungle smoothies."  I even put some jungle leaves in them.  My eldest daughter didn't even balk at the fact that these smoothies contain bananas.  Anything with the jungle mystique must be too good to pass up.

Ingredients for Jungle Smoothies:

• Coconut milk
• Pineapple
• Banana
• Fresh spinach leaves

Other smoothie recipes we enjoy are Black Cherry Berry and End of Summer smoothies.

Menu Plan for the Week:

  Lentil Soup + Russian Salad  

  Fried Baked Chicken + Asparagus + Rice   

  Ham and Broccoli Ring + Pumpkin Soup  

  Fish Tacos + Fruit Salad   

  Lamb Chops + Israeli Couscous + Salad    

  Shrimp Gumbo + Pumpkin Cornbread     

For more menu inspiration, head to Menu Plan Monday.

“You can do it, Mom!”

Enthusiasm, wonder, and dental appointments--these are a few of the reasons I am thankful for the blessing of my children this week.

My two-and-a-half year-old son cheered me on this morning.  While riding on my back as we trudged hurriedly to my daughter’s school, I was thankful for his encouraging words that I “can do it!”

However, when I  first I opened the door this morning, I was caught by surprise by the thick blanket of snow covering the driveway.  Great.  We would have to walk in this.

Off went  my daughter’s sneakers and we lost several minutes struggling to push her feet into her purple boots.   We rushed to preschool late, and I returned to collect my other two children so I could take my other daughter to kindergarten.

My haste and annoyance on the first drop off expedition caused me to miss any beauty in the snow.  But my oldest daughter could not help but stop and notice, despite my proddings to hurry.

“Hey, it’s a woodpecker!”

I heard the tapping too, and quickly  scanned the tree to try and spot the bird.

“Look, there’s a cardinal!”

I did manage to sight the bright red plumage that my daughter was pointing out.

 “Those branches look like reindeer antlers.”

Yes, I agreed, but we still had to pick up the pace to have any hope of arriving before the bell rang.

How alike I was to the harried subway riders who missed the masterpieces being played by the violinist in their midst!  I went back later to snap some photos of the snowy path we’d traversed earlier in the day.  The snow was still beautiful, but some of the pristine exquisiteness had begun to fade.  My daughter was ready to stop, observe, and take in the moments that would never come again.   I urged her forward.   Who’s instructing who here?

Besides the lessons I am learning, I often find my children to be quite useful.  My daughter reminded me of her dental appointment last night. Thanks to her, we arrived at the office just in time.

As I work my way through the tasks of today, I pray that I will have a reverent heart for God and be better at appreciating all his wonders.   From frosted branches to three pieces of his handiwork he began weave within me three, five, and seven years ago, there is much beauty to celebrate.

Image by Tammi

Providence and Thanksgiving

Good morning, Company Girls! I've been enjoying the change of pace this week with my daughter home for fall break (five days off!). We're trying to do some special activities that have dropped out of our regular routine, like baking, visiting the library, and playing at the local children's museum. I've also been doing a bit of reflecting as another change of season is here.

Providence

Two years ago, an elderly gentleman came to our door. He explained how he was connected to a family we knew before our move and gave us a copy of a sermon, plus he added a tip about the local food distributions he visits. As providence would have it, we later joined the daughter church of the one where the sermon originated. And I began to frequent these free food distributions since our income was so uncertain for the first year of my husband's graduate program.

Then, one year ago, I began my blogging experiment. After taking an unsuccessful stab at work-at-home assignments, I wondered if a blog would provide an outlet for ideas and other things I had to say--on my own terms. In some ways, I've been happy with the outcome. I enjoy having one "place" in the world where I can arrange things "just so", and they stay that way (unlike my carpet). On the other hand, going online can also be my guilty pleasure, as I tiptoe over to my laptop like Meg Ryan did in "You've Got Mail." My oldest daughter calls me on it too. "Why do you like working on your computer so much?", she inquires. Why? Well, it's complicated.

I appreciate SteadyMom's advice about limiting time online. Now to apply the wisdom is my daily challenge.

Thanksgiving

My husband and I strive to make a big deal about celebrating Thanksgiving, especially since the trend is to sweep this holiday aside. Halloween "advent" calendars are a ridiculous demonstration of how people are trying to supplant Christmas (and Thanksgiving) with something less significant. So when I came across the idea for a Thanksgiving countdown this week, I knew I must take it and make it our own.

As difficult as the last two years have been, I also realized recently that God has actually granted many of my longtime desires. I have an intelligent, diligent husband who takes his faith seriously. I've been blessed with three adorable children who are eager to learn about the world. We even have a tiny house that doesn't require a great deal of upkeep. Furthermore, for the first time in our adult lives, our residence includes a fairly spacious backyard for our outdoor play, and a bit of gardening. Our student loans are paid off in full. We have no car payments. And the list continues. God and the rest of the world owe me nothing, but I've been given so much.

And how about you? What desires has He graciously given to you?