Christmas Baking

I have not written in a long while, I know and my excuse is not busyness, but rather the lack of it. Daddy has had off of work for two weeks and so we have dropped our normal schedule and allowed a much more lax routine to take place of our usually demanding one. I have spent probably less than a 30 min. in total on the computer since Daddy has been home and so my blog has fallen by the wayside. We have simply enjoyed the privilege of having Daddy and Jonathon at home for two whole weeks and have eaten up every minute that we have together.

As Christmas time approached, we began to do our Christmas baking which is divided up into two parts: baking and making up plates for the neighbors and baking for our family. It was amazing to cram 6-8 people in the kitchen at a time. We split up into teams and had about 3-4 baking projects going on at a time.

Lynnae baked some delicious sweet breads that we have been enjoying throughout the holiday season. Cosette, Leisel, and I made Spritz cookies and decorated them with red and green sprinkles, adding variety, color, and a Christmasy touch to our plates for the neighbors.

Even after all that time crammed together in the kitchen like a can of tuna, we still managed to retain our smiles and goodwill toward each other.

Lissy came over during her break from college and helped us bake for one of the days. We had a wonderful time and accomplished a lot in a short time and small space. Jonathon made his delicious toffee and we made some dark chocolate fudge among other things.

Meanwhile, Mommy took Annalise and Austin and set up a storebought Gingerbread house with icing as the glue. Annalise and Austin were thrilled to get to decorate the house and had a great time doing it

Daddy's Little Elf

When I was younger, bedtime was bedtime and there was no arguing with it. It was an inescapable fact that at a certain time we were supposed to be in bed with our heads on the pillow and, at least attempting, to go to sleep. Of course, Jonathon and I were probably the two most difficult children to get to bed that Daddy and Mommy have ever had. Getting us to bed was difficult enough and to actually get us to stay in bed was an entirely different proposition and quite an accomplishment when achieved. So, needless to say, the exceptions to our bed times were few and far between.

Yet Ania, the 9th little one, seems to have figured out and mastered the technique which none of the rest of us ever quite perfected. She has got Daddy's number and when she is put down in bed and, for some reason, does not quite feel like being confined there right at the moment, she calls for Daddy...not Mommy.

On the night that we were decorating the Christmas tree, Daddy was summoned from the festivities by a sobbing voice calling out most pitifully from the wooden cage where she was immured, doomed to hear the sights and sounds of the merry festivities, yet unable to partake, separated by wooden bars and a staircase from the place where she wanted most to be. Her complaint was real enough, after all, Christmas only comes once a year, and she was missing out on the very greatest enjoyments of the holiday, the decoration of the tree. Well, Daddy could not resist the tearful pleading with which she pronounced his name,the eloquence of her very crestfallen face, and the scalding hot tears that raced each other down her plump cheeks.

And so, this is the result...

The tears were replaced by dimpled smiles, the idle hands were busied about the embellishment of the tree, and Daddy was the hero of the hour, her liberator from the unhappy prison in which she had been confined. Altogether, I think that the Christmas tree was improved in appearance by the deft adjustments made by those chubby little hands.

And I don't suppose that the little pixie will soon forget the Christmas that she was able to stay up long after her older brother and sister, Austin and Annie, were put to bed and assist in the decoration of the Christmas tree.

Deck the Halls

Christmas time is finally here with all of the hustle and bustle and to and fro that attends it every year. With Thanksgiving being later this year, it seems that there is even a greater rush in Christmas preparations. On Thursday night of last week, we retrieved all of our Christmas decorations and began the process of decorating. Leisel and I wound the garland up the staircase and strung it with lights (a very delicate process which required great skill).

...While Mommy and Lynnae worked on bedecking the fireplaces with branches and birds and all those wonderful things that bring the wintry outdoors right into your home.

Then on Friday, Daddy, Jonathon, and Austin went out and got a large Christmas tree. They chopped it down themselves and, in fact, it is reported that Austin's muscular arms dealt the final blow that brought it crashing down from it's proud upright position.

Then the decorating of the tree began. Crushed bows had to be removed from boxes and straightened, glittering glass balls were hung gingerly on the tree branches (I don't think that we broke any this year), and ornaments were unleashed in large numbers from their year long hibernation.

In fact, we got so carried away with decorating that we began to decorate Leisel. She almost got placed under the tree with all of the rest of the presents.

We lacked a sprig of mistletoe, but Jonathon and Ania just closed their eyes and imagined that it was there anyway.

Lynnae and Jonathon took on all of the decorating jobs in the kitchen which was very altruistic of them, only the bowl of M&M's which we placed on the counter as a energy boost for the decorators, belies the purity of their motives.

Thanksgiving Day

Imagine a center for disaster relief where large groups of homeless people crowd into a small area, with pallets and mats spread out on the floor; a place where even moving around requires intricate chess-like maneuvers. If you can imagine that, you about have the idea of what Grandpa and Grandma's house is like when we invade it. The living room becomes a bedroom for four, utilizing over half the floor and both of the couches. The den is wall to wall mattresses and Daddy and Mommy's room is even worse with a crib, a mattress, a queen sized bed, all of the luggage and a strip of walkway 6" by 2'. Even Grandpa and Grandma are forced to take one little resident into their room. Then imagine 11 people sharing one bathroom that has only enough room for one person to comfortably stand in front of the sink. We have to line people up all the way into the shower just to wait their turn to brush their teeth.

Thanksgiving day we fit 23 people into Grandpa and Grandma's 2,200 square ft. home. The tables stretched out for the entire length of the dining room and half of the living room, but at least, we all got to share the same table (even if you did have to shout to be heard at the opposite end). Despite the crowded conditions, we all had a wonderful time.

The dinner was delicious and we had plenty for all. Everone worked together to make sure the process ran smoothly. Mommy prepared the candied yams and the gravy, Grandma did the stuffing, Andrea did the cranberries, and Annalise helped to peel the potates in preparation for our sumptuous Thanksgiving feast. Uncle Jeff is our official turkey and ham slicer; he earned the job years ago and has regretted it ever since, but somehow has not managed to talk anyone else into taking his place. He just does it too well. Uncle Kevin is usually our professional potato masher, but, as he was not here this Thanksgiving we were obliged to recruit somebody else. Brooks stepped in and did such a good job, producing an enormous mountain of creamy potatoes (with just the right flavor and no lumps) that he and Uncle Kevin may have to fight for the job next year. In fact the entire dinner was a success from beginning to end.

We had an added blessing this year in the addition of Brooks and Andrea's newest little baby. Jack is only about a month old and is such a precious little bundle. How wonderful it was to get to hold a newborn baby again; it has been two years since Ania was that small. What a blessed little bundle of life babies are, each one a unique miracle of God's creation. The tiny fingers and toes, the small cry that sounds like the bleet of a lamb or whimpering of a kitten*, seems to awake in everyone a sense of the wonder of a little child, a new life, another soul to be raised up for God.

*(Jonathon adds "or the yowl of the hyena")

Cohen and Ania made instant friends; they even tried to plan an escape together out of the back door, but were foiled in their attempts by the troublesome screen door and its strong magnetic hold that was beyond their muscle power to move.

And yes, the closeness of the space evidently did get to people because Jonathon and Uncle Kregg got into a desperate wrestling match. It involved several different bouts carried on in a record amount of space between the door, the ottoman and the couch. I am not going to reveal who won because Jonathon would probably never forgive me. Suffice it to say that he is planning on doing some serious working out this Christmas break.

The day ended with the celebration of Grandma's birthday which fell exactly on Thanksgiving Day this year. It was the perfect ending to a special day.

Looking back on it, I think how different our Thanksgiving feast must be from that of our forefathers on the first Thanksgiving. I think of how He has richly blessed our nation since then and how much more we have to thank the Lord for. How insensible we are to His bounties as a country and, even as Christians, it is so easy to forget. The Pilgrims probably had more true thanksgiving in their hearts for the meager fair that they shared in the midst of a colony that was facing another long, cold winter with minimal shelter and illness staring them in the face than most Americans today have with all of our health, beautiful homes, and bounteous feast. The Lord is so good to us and we must be careful never to fall into the sin of ingratitude. As Christians, every day, every hour should be for us a day of thanksgiving; a day to thank the Lord for His blessings to our nation, to our families and most of all to us through the salvation that we have in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Random Snapshots of A Day

Mrs. Twinkle Stop Stop, Mrs. Twinkle Stop Stop, Twinkle Little Baby Brother, Twinkle Little Baby Brother. The old familiar Suzuki rhythms have begun again. Annalise has been learning doing violin for over a year now, but is working slowly she started out with only 10 min. lessons each week and now she has moved to a little longer lessons. Lynnae teaches her violin during the week which is doubly beneficial as it gives Annie a wonderful opportunity to learn and solidifies for Lynnae everything that she has been learning thus far. Annalise is talented and has the potential to do very well; her struggle is focusing, which at six is an understandable problem. Lynnae has been playing violin for several years now and performs a wide assortment of music, from classical to Celtic (her favorite is Celtic fiddling and she would spend all of her time on that if she was allowed). She has improved considerably over the years and has even occasionally accompanied music for some of our church functions.

Huckleberry, Huckleberry, Mulberry, Mulberry. These are the common rhythms heard from the budding pianists in our house; we manage to employ the piano for over 2 hours worth of practice every day; that does not include the time that people sit down and play for pleasure which is quite often. Jonathon and I quit taking piano lessons several years ago, but we still love to play. I don't practice as often as I should, but I do play the piano for Sunday School and that helps to keep me accountable for getting in some amount of practice. Leisel is still taking lessons; some of the composers that she is working on include Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Mendelssohn. Cosette has been taking piano for two years now and is making rapid progress; she is very talented in music and has a gift for playing by ear. Kayleen has been taking for about a year and is doing very well, enjoying challenging herself on pieces aside from her regular practice.

One important item of the day I neglected to put up on my other post A Day in the Life, was one of Leisel doing her schoolwork. She does Alpha Omega's computer school curriculum and is doing very well. In fact, she seems to be sailing through Algebra with only occasional help from Jonathon, whereas, it took me over a year and a half to finish Algebra and it was stop and start all the way. Anyway, Leisel does all of her work in the Den on Daddy's computer; she is by herself, but at least she is downstairs where everyone else is.

Finding something to amuse Ania and Austin before and after school can be somewhat of a challenge. They are both a bit of a "loose cannon". We do have a craft drawer that they love to get into, but sometimes their way of playing can be very messy. Somehow play-do never manages to stay on the table where it is supposed to be.

When I have a free moment I love to knit. Right now I have been making several scarves; I made one for Leisel that is a ribbed scarf 6 feet long, I am making a fancy cabled one for Jonathon, and am working on another one with a feather and fan pattern.

Jonathon comes home from college about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and his routine is usually to lay down on the couch and go to sleep until dinner time. :-) I'm just kidding, that actually has happened one or two times, but usually Jonathon does have homework that he needs to complete and so he works on that between his looooong blinks.

Another routine, which must be mentioned, pertains to our baking crew. Lynnae is our coffee cake, elaborate lunch, dessert maker all wrapped up in one spunky, red haired ball of energy. She loves to get the young ones wrapped up in her enthusiasm for baking and together they come up with some delightful concoctions.

I make the plain, uninteresting evening meals that everyone must eat, even though they would rather feast on Lynnae's delectable desserts. This picture is of me making dinner; it look as if I just tasted whatever it was that I was making and is not a great commentary on my cooking. :-)

What's In a Name?

Ania probably has the most nicknames of anyone in our house; almost everyone in the family has a different name for her. Poor girl! she will probably end up with permanent psychological damage just from trying to remember who she is and what her name is.

Mommy calls her her little ladybug, or "lagybug" as Ania pronounces it. I wonder how Ania feels about that title; true, ladybugs are probably the cutest member of the bug family, but there must be some aversion to being linked with the insect family. I call her Scout (a.k.a. Jean Louise Finch), because I thought she shared the same spunk and tomboyish vivacity as the little heroine in To Kill A Mockingbird, but, as we know some dogs named Scout, I fear she might again feel some amount of consternation in being linked so closely with the animal kingdom. Leisel calls her Fee Fee (where she got the name I have no idea), but whenever I think of that name I picture a small French poodle prancing down the sidewalk beside a Paris model.

Jonathon, well, his names are more numerous than all of ours put together. Ever since she was born, it seems that Jonathon has considered it his duty to come up with a new name for her every couple of months. A couple of his names for her, Hunky and Chunkable, though they separate her from any association with the animal realm, they yet leave her open to people's undo speculation about her proportions. Bipsy was another of his names, and it would be very apt if she had a twin who could take on the corresponding title of Bopsy, but as there is no other to bear that appellation, Bipsy seems rather incomplete all alone. His latest title for her, however, has finally raised her not only to the human realm, but also to the special grown up world. His current name for her is Girlfriend. She, in her turn, has awarded Jonathon with the correlating name of Boyfriend (although she sometimes forgets which title belongs to who and calls him girlfriend). They are best buddies; he has her picture on his cell phone and several more in his college folder and is proud to show off his "girlfriend" to all of his college friends. I think that she has already gained a crowd of admirers among people that she has never met. She, in her turn, loves to pick Boyfriend up at college and has become his greatest cheerleader and fan club.

A Day in the Life

Chiming bells break the tranquil silence that reigns throughout the house and I dazedly reach out to turn off my alarm clock; it is 7'oclock in the morning and a new day has begun. Wearily I sit up in bed; it is still dark outside and, though the heater is on, the moderately warm atmosphere beyond my blanket and quilt is not nearly as inviting as the enveloping warmth beneath them. Reluctantly, I slip out of bed; it is the start of another day. I hear the front door open and the sound of hushed voices in the entry way; Mommy, Leisel, and Lynnae have returned from their brisk walk around the neighborhood and I am once again reminded how blessed I am to have my extra hour of sleep.

This is one of the first sights that I see every morning. I am forced to be the villain and awake them from their peaceful slumbers. Usually, by the time I arrive, the alarm clock in their heads has begun the awakening process and all that is left for me to do is to finish process. Occasionally, despite my attempts to impress upon them the necessity of rising out of their slumbers and beginning the day, they allow themselves to become once again engulfed in the inviting warmth of the bed and their overall feelings of drowsiness prevails as they drift off into dreamland again. Then I am forced to come a second time to recall them to the real world.

Downstairs, Daddy and Jonathon are preparing for their prospective days, Daddy for work and Jonathon for his studies at Clark College. Armed with imposing backpacks and energy maintaining sandwiches, fruit and extra goodies, they say a hasty goodbye and set off.

There is an immediate rush for the den windows so that they may be sent off with all the good wishes and heartfelt kisses necessary for their day.

Then the morning really begins, everyone is downstairs and people start to separate for their individual activities. Some find the needs of the stomach greater and begin the day with breakfast, others begin their devotions, dispersing to the living room and family room. I repair to the den where I seat myself in Daddy's comfortable armchair, the Bible in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

This is what happens when Annalise does her own hair styling instead of Mama (beauty school is not in her future). After devotions people start to gather around the table set up in the family room and begin their school day.


The students get busy and attempt to make the most productive use of their time. Peer pressure sometimes works in my favor as they challenge each other to be the first to finish school for the day. I sit at the desk nearby, grading the subjects as they finish them and trying to hush up small talk that will come up no matter what I do to prevent it.


About the time that I start school, Mommy takes the three little ones upstairs to the bonus room and has a Bible study with them. They memorize our Sunday school verses which are Psalm 107:1-2,8-15. Their favorite verses are 12-14 where they enhance the recital with dramatic actions; their favorite part is the "and brake their bands in sunder" where they melodromatically break the invisible chains that hold them captive. Then they sing our Sunday School theme song Our God, Our Help in Ages Past and a few others (Ania's favorite is Hallelu, Hallelujah). Many times Mommy likes to add the nonsensical Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes song along with all the rapid actions that accompany it just to get the wiggles out of their system before they begin the devotional and prayer time.

Though she is too young for "big girl" schoolwork, Ania exercises her share of creativity with markers and pre-drawn pictures.

Austin is in preschool and Annalise is in 1st grade (actually she is almost done with first grade). She reads at a furious rate and has finished several abridged children's books (i.e. Robin Hood and the Prince and the Pauper, which she read to Austin).

School day endings vary, some days the children are done before noon and other days they finish about when it is time for me to start supper. Each day presents new challenges and new opportunities, chances to deal with others attitudes and personalities, at the same time as dealing with my own sinful propensities to impatience and frustration. Each day is a blessing from God and I cherish this time that I have with my family influencing and investing in young lives and learning lessons and growing in my own life.

Ania

In Sunday School we have been going through the story of the Exodus. Ania just recently graduated from the nursery to Sunday school and has been learning a lot, in fact I think that she has picked up almost as much as most children 5 or 6 times her age. Anyway, I have posted a little clip of her that I thought was cute.

Maid or Sister?

The other day while I was busy making dinner, Austin sat in the family room watching me and, after a few moments, queried, "Charae, are you a maid?"
"No," I answered, "Why?"
"Because you make all of the dinners," was his honest reply.
My attempt to elucidate for him the complex differences that exist between a maid and a sister was only moderately successful. I explained that a maid does her work as a means of employment and I do mine out of a desire to serve my family, but he still seemed dubious. I think that he still retains his belief that I must be the maid of the Spafford family. I am hoping that this confusion arises out of a misunderstanding of a maid's position and not out of any doubt as to my standing as his sister.

The Loecken Family

The Loecken Family



Last week we got a call from the Loecken family, whom we had never met before (Mommy knew Mr. Loecken in high school, but had not seen him since then) and they said that they were coming through Washington on their tour around the country in their RV and they wanted to stop by and see us. They came for dinner on Saturday evening and we hit it off right from the start. After about 10 minutes, mostly spent in introductions, we began to feel like we had been friends forever. Since then we have gotten together several times during their stay here and every time we have more fun than the last. It is amazing the fellowship that there is between believers. It is such an encouragement to spend time with likeminded people who are on fire for the Lord, love His Word and share the same passion for the home and family. The Loeckens have been a great blessing to our family and we are enjoying every minute that we get to spend with them.



Multnomah Falls


On Sunday afternoon, after church, we all went on a hike to Multnomah Falls. The day was beautiful, the sky was clear, the fall colors brilliant, and the air was only chilly enough to make a brisk walk feel good. We decided to do the 1 mile hike up to the top of the falls. "One mile there and one mile back," I thought, "nothing so easy, this should be a cinch." What I didn't calculate was that it would be 1 mile uphill the entire way (a fact I should have considered as we were hiking to the top of the falls). We all made it to the summit at last, but in four different groups (I was in the second group, but my excuse is that I was walking with Annalise). Mommy, Mrs. Loecken, and Austin were the last group, but what can you expect? Mothers can't talk and walk at the same time. :-)

Kayleen and Cosette made instant friends with Becka and Abi Loecken and all week we have heard about nothing else. We listened to accounts of everything that was done and said when they were together and finally, we had to interrupt them with protests that this was the third time we had heard the same story. Then they move on to discussions about the future and the next time that they will get to see each other. Oh well, I think all of us older ones have had just as much fun, we are just a little more staid in our expressions of enjoyment. The Loeckens have become very special friends.

Proof that we made it to the summit