Family Reunion '08

For the Witts...

You were missed.

Gifts of Goodness

There's something undeniably good about shelling black-eyed peas. You tear off one end of the pod pulling part of the spine with it. Then the pod opens easily to reveal those little, perfect, black-eyed globes of edible goodness. The repetitive, monotonous nature of shelling peas frees your mind and calms your soul. It takes me back to my Grandmother and Grandad's farm and the summers I spent there learning about gardening and goodness.

I learned about gardening from my Grandmother. To a kid, her garden seemed enormous. I'm really not sure how big it was but I know that I shelled two brown grocery bags of peas every evening along with snapping two more of green beans. I didn't really like picking the peas or beans but I loved to shell and snap them. I think I liked opening them. It was as if I was waiting for a surprise. You cracked open that faded and worn exterior and inside were these bright, shiny gems. My brothers and Grandmother were surprised by my tenacity as I always finished my bags. I wanted to see what was inside.

I learned about goodness from my Grandfather. My, he loved the Lord. He also loved to sing. His voice was deep and clear and he always had a hymn on his lips. I would beg to stay near him as he went about the farm just so I could hear him sing. I think that is why I'm always singing around our house and why Miss G can be heard belting out "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof while she plays with her baby dolls.

Grandad constantly talked to me about the ways of the farm and of nature. He talked even more about right and wrong. He talked a lot but the way he walked, his Godly walk, said even more. His skin was worn but worn a rich, tough wrinkly brown. His hair was gray and thin. He wore glasses and had a big nose and ears and I thought he was the greatest thing I'd ever seen. He was my gem and I loved him so.

I hope that I caught some of his goodness to pass along to Miss G. What a joy it will be to walk with him again someday listening to him sing enveloped in his goodness.

Swimming Lessons

My focus/organization has been less than stellar lately. Recent tests have shown my hormones to be less than balanced and I'm blaming all my dysfunction on them. So there.

Because of this lack of focus, I've been trying to be prepared early. As a result of these efforts we were ready for swim lessons 30 minutes early today. Early is normally a good thing unless your child is chomping at the bit to go. I tried to stall as long as possible taking this opportunity for some photos.

As you can see, all I got was cheese in her impatience to GO SWIMMING!





I like to think that this pucker was a kiss of love for me, but alas, it's truly a face of impatience.



And this is what you get when you leave for the pool early and arrive 15 minutes before class begins and your child can't get in the pool.



Ahh....bliss.



She won the backstroke race across the pool.



Victory!

The Garden Update

Despite our complete inexperience at growing fruit and vegetables, our garden is thriving. It just shows you the perfectness of God's design. We planted things at the wrong time and way too close together and they are still growing strong. He knew how wrong we'd get it and designed it to grow anyway. There's a lesson there but I'll let you dig that out.

Speaking of digging...Miss G loves dirt. Do all children love dirt or is it just mine? She rolls, sifts, rakes and wallows in it. She can't get enough.



She doesn't just go out back for a quick swing. She always ends up looking like this.



Thank goodness for the great equalizer...soap & water.

We have a very robust crop of black-eyed peas. For those of you who have never seen a black-eyed pea bloom, here is one. It almost looks like an orchid bloom to me. No detail is too small for God to make it beautiful.



Miss G is very excited because the cantaloupe are about ready too.



Yum!


P.S. The cats were no where to be found this morning. Someone let the cat out of the bag! **Oh...that's funny. I crack myself up!**

The Great Cat Hunt

We have kittens.



They were harmless enough when they were first born...but they've grown. At first, they were extremely shy and would hide at the least sound. Now, they have grown less and less leery of us. It might have something to do with the tuna fish I've fed "Mashed Prunes" (the Momma cat) but all the same we have grown on them. They now feel quite at ease eating my strawberries and playing in all my plants. They poop at the end of the deck steps and I think they have fleas...which Miss G, catching only half of the conversation at a restaurant tonight, announced loudly to the whole room "We have fleas in our house!?!"

Just a little factoid about me...I turn completely bright, beet red when embarrassed. It's Texas. It's 94 degrees and I was wishing for a turtleneck sweater. But enough about me...

Miss G and I would love to adopt those kittens but Mr. Reserved's allergies can't tolerate them. So we have found a home for them but we have to catch them first. The hunt has been set for tomorrow morning.

I've never been cat hunting. Actually, I've never been hunting at all. Mr. Reserved is bringing a cage. I'm bringing my tuna fish. Miss G is bringing her glorious self in all her safari attire.




Wish us luck.

Photo Opportunities

What a great week this has been!

Only one girl will mug for the camera and that's Miss S. The other girls have started ducking out of the pictures. I'll admit it...I like to take pictures and they are such wonderful subjects that I can't resist. I did manage to capture a few of the cousins...

The Blue-eyed Girls

The last three children born into my side of the family have all been girls. All three of these girls were born with amazing blue eyes. I have a particular fondness for brown eyes, but it's hard not to notice and appreciate the clarity and vividness off their eyes. Miss G, the oldest girl, has a deep, rich blue color. Miss N, the next oldest, has a deep aquamarine color and Miss S, the baby, has a liquid blue color with a hint of gray.




Miss G


Miss N


Miss S

God made their eyes as unique as their personalities. They are full of life and love and possibilities.

The baby, Miss S, and I have already settled into a routine. She has me sit on the couch and slowly, very slowly reach to tickle her feet. She says "Ready!" and is in hysterics before I even touch her.

Mr. Reserved had them all lined up after bath time last night brushing their teeth. He told them to make sure they brushed all their teeth even the ones in the back. Miss S smiled and took her toothbrush out of her mouth, reached around behind her and began brushing her back. Everyone fell into giggles and smiles.

I love having them here with me. God has truly blessed us.

The Greatest Things About Daddy

I asked Miss G...

"What do you like best about your Daddy?"

She said...

"He's handsome. I like it when he reads to me. I like it when he splashes me in the pool. I like it when he colors with me and he helps me play my computer games. He's silly and I love him all the way to Pluto and back."

I love him all the way to Pluto and back too.

Happy Father's Day, Mr. Reserved.

Amy's Cilantro Cream Sauce



"This cilantro cream sauce can be used as a dip, or as a sauce for fish or chicken. Taste and add additional seasoning if necessary. Tomatillo sauce is usually spicy, so be prepared!"

INGREDIENTS
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 (7 ounce) can tomatillo salsa (green)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

DIRECTIONS
Combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, pepper, celery salt, cumin, garlic powder, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place in a serving bowl.


*I modified this recipe some. I cut the cumin from 1/2 to 1/4 teaspoon. I also added several tablespoons of sour cream and a 10 oz. jar of tomatillo sauce instead of a 7 oz. jar.

It was delicious! It would be good on a burrito or a chip or ......your finger.

Thank you, Amy!

Silly Sentence Challenge

Miss G loves books. Any story to engage her already rampant imagination is welcomed by her. The picture above was taken at 15 months and by the carnage inflicted upon the spine you can tell that it was well loved.

I know I'm not the greatest conversationalist but it's hard to hear at lunch,

"Mommy, may we eat in the school room so I can listen to a story? Please!?!"

We do love stories from Audible.com.

Today she did her best giant stomp and said,

"Feet, five, fo, thumb. I smell the blood of an Englishmum."

She pointed her broken light saber at me and said,

"I've stolen your golden egg and now you're going to starve."

I raised my eyebrows as high as I could muster and summoned my superior wit and said,

"Oh yeah?"

and she said,

"Yeah! And my favorite food is grilled boys on toast."

"Well...I guess it's a good thing for me that I'm a girl."

As she stomped off down the hall I felt like I'd escaped a close one. I only have to be a half step ahead of her...right? I have the study of logic planned for her future curriculum. I'd better cross that off the list.

But...I digress...

Miss G is learning to read and Mommy is learning phonics. I grew up in an area and age when phonetic reading/spelling wasn't encouraged. We memorized words. Those that know me well know that my mind is like a steel sieve and for my mind to hold a memorized anything is near to impossible. I am hoping that as I learn the spelling rules, by teaching them to Miss G, I will finally be able to put some logical order to spelling.

Miss G has learned all the sounds of the alphabet and the short vowel sounds. I write "silly" sentences so she can sound them out and read them to me. Example:

The red dog sat on a big hot cat.

And now for the challenge...please send any and all "silly" sentences that you can think of to Miss G. She would be delighted to hear from everyone and read their sentence.

Also, if anyone has recommendations for first readers, please pass those along too. A person can never have too many books to read...or eat.

The Phone Prank

Right after 9-11, when flying was very restricted and there were uniformed men everywhere holding assault rifles, my younger brother flew in for the holidays. We had been assigned to pick him up from the airport which was no easy task since you couldn't park and wait and you couldn't go inside so you drove in endless circles until your target appeared. Our parents had directed us to bring him home for the holidays. We dutifully pick him up and began to drive to our parent's home.

My Mom, who worried about these sorts of things, called me as we were heading over.

"Have you got him?"

I'm not sure what possessed me but I said,

"Who?"

"Your brother, of course!"

I said,

"I thought you were picking him up."

With doubt creeping into her voice she said,

"Didn't we ask you to pick him up?"

I repeated,

"I thought you were picking him up, but it's okay. We'll turn around and go get him."

"Oh, thank you. Please hurry. His plane should have already landed."

I hung up my cell phone and without hesitation or discussion my brother, from the backseat, called our Mom from his cell phone.

"Mom, where are you? I thought you were going to pick me up."

"You thought we were going to pick you up?"

She was completely confused at this point and said,

"Well...Mr. Reserved and Mrs. Dabbler are on their way and should be there soon."

"I've been standing here awhile and the guards are starting to look at me funny. I think they want me to move on."

"Oh, my...well...yes...of course...just stay out of trouble."

She hung up and began to harangue my poor father who was already in bed asleep.

"They thought we were suppose to pick him up and now he's in trouble. Were we suppose to pick him up?"

My poor father got up and began to quietly dress, preparing for some future "trouble".

I called my mother.

"We're almost there, have you talked to Brother B? Has his plane landed?"

"Yes, his plane has landed and please hurry because they've started looking at him funny."

"Who's looking at him funny?"

"Those policemen"

"The policemen are looking at him funny? Why? What did he do?"

"He didn't DO anything."

With desperation in her voice that only a mother can feel when she thinks policemen are looking at her baby funny she said,

"Please find him!"

Since the new report was that we are almost to the airport and the crisis had been averted, my father undressed and went back to bed.

My brother waited a couple of minutes and called her again.

"Mom, I still don't see them. Are you sure......hold on Mom......the policemen want to talk to me. I'll call you back."

Mother panicked. Dad dressed...again.

"Hi, Mom. We can't find him. Has he called?"

In an unusually calm voice she said,

"Yes, he called. The policemen wanted to talk to him because he'd been standing there so long."

"Really?"

"Yes, really!"

"Okay. We'll keep looking for him. I'll call you when we find him."

Brother B laughed and then called her.

"Mom, tell Mr. Reserved and Mrs. Dabbler to park because they have taken me inside to question me. They want to go through my bags."

Mom continued to panic. Dad began to pace.

Brother B waited a few minutes and called Mom back.

"Well...the policemen don't believe my story so they're taking me downtown. I'll call you when I can."

Mother, in a tither, called me and said,

"THEY'VE TAKEN HIM TO JAIL."

Barely able to stifle my laugh, I said,

"To which jail?"

"The downtown one. I think your father and I are going to head down there."

And as we walked through their front door I said,

"No, no... we'll find him and bring him home."

The three of us fell out laughing as my parents glared unappreciatively at us and our elaborate hoax. Needless to say, we were in trouble. It was several minutes before my parents could laugh but eventually they did.

At that moment I couldn't fully appreciate their angst for their baby boy. Even though he was a college graduate with a job and "on his own" he was still their baby boy and whatever happened to him happened to them.

Parenthood changes everything. Mr. Reserved and I were married 12 years before God blessed us with Miss G. We were grown but I'm not sure that we were mature or at least we weren't selfless. Children cause their parents to be servants which in turn makes you selfless. I know I didn't fully appreciated how wonderful serving could be until Miss G rocked our world. God commands us to serve in whatever work situation we find ourselves just as if we were serving Him. Sometimes your rewards for service aren't immediate but God promises that you will be rewarded. Watching Miss G's smile as she thanks me is reward enough.

Will I think that her future pranks are rewards? Probably not at that particular moment. I do pray I will always be thankful for the blessing of her life joined with mine. She is such an amazing reward to me that I pray I can be thankful even at the worst of times, even if it is just an elaborate prank.

Ahh...Water

A few fun water facts...


-Water is the only substance found on earth in three forms solid, liquid, and gas.

-A person can live more than a month without food, but only about a week, depending on conditions, without water.

- 66% of the human body is water; 75% of the human brain is water.

-Ancient Egyptians treated water by siphoning water out of the top of huge jars after allowing the muddy water from the Nile River to settle.

-Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine, directed people in Greece to boil and strain water before drinking it.

-The first United States water plant with filters was built in 1872 in Poughkeepsie, New York.

And...

You can swim, splash and dunk in it as Miss G and her Daddy did this morning.










Miss G & Mr. Reserved

Do you like chocolate and mint?

Do you like them together?

There is only one person in our house that likes chocolate and mint together and that's yours truly. I made this recipe for a gathering the other night and they are wonderful! The recipe follows and comes from here...



Chocolate Mint Candy Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp. water
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 (4.5 oz.) packages chocolate covered thin mints

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a large bowl, and beat in the eggs, one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut sized balls and place 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes* in the preheated oven, be careful not to over bake. When cookies come out of the oven, press one mint wafer into the top of each cookie and let sit for 1 minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green filling of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies, break mints in half.


* I used a large cookie scoop and needed to bake them over 13 minutes. I also used parchment paper instead of greasing my cookie sheets.

P.S. I'll bring them to to family reunion at the end of June. Yum!