Pink or Blue??

Emily Gets Published

Emily and Megan subscribe to Clubhouse, Jr. magazine, which is published by Focus on the Family. It is a great magazine full of Bible stories and value-building stories. Emily usually reads it cover-to-cover before letting Megan's little fingers flip the pages. Each issue sponsors a joke page, with jokes submitted by readers. Emily mailed in a joke months ago, and this month her joke was published. She is so proud!

18 Weeks, and Growing!

Popcorn Day

Yesterday we celebrated Popcorn Day with a big bowl of popcorn. We grew this popcorn in our garden this summer, and it has the most tender kernels. The girls added white cheddar popcorn seasoning to the popcorn and we ate every last bite!! 

Snow Measurement

We are studying weather this month, and talking about precipitation. So, our most recent snowfall was perfect for a quick experiment. Matthew brought us 2 cups of fluffy snow in a measuring cup, and we allowed it to melt. We were amazed that it melted down to about 1/4 cup of water!!! Wow! 

Plum Crisp????

The girls and I were getting groceries last week and Emily spotted canned plums. She wanted to get them, since she likes plums. Never having tried them, I hesitated, and then decided not to spoil her enthusiasm for the tasty fruit. So, today, at lunch I put the canned plums on the table. They smell JUST like plum baby food. They looked less than appetizing, and nobody could guess what they were. But we were brave and tried them. Megan first. She stated that she did not like it. Next was Emily. She said it was good, although she did not want a second one. So, Matthew, our bravest food tester, gave it a try. He ate it, although not without some entertaining faces. I was last to try. The taste was pretty good. The texture and appearance were less than desirable. 


So, Matthew and I were discussing what we could do with all this leftover fruit. He suggested pureeing it, and I thought it might add nice flavor to applesauce. Then I suggested making it into a crisp. Matthew said that might be pretty good -- with a lot of crisp on top. So, tonight at supper we will be trying plum crisp. It may be a bust, but I think it will be a new family favorite, don't you??

Winter Run

Make-overs!

Megan and Emily got out my make-up and decided to "beautify" themselves. They had a blast. The funniest part is that Emily took some dark brown eyeshadow and used it to darken her eyebrows! Some day, she'll be plucking those stray eyebrow hairs, but for today, she is accentuating them!!! 

Sledding in a Winter Wonderland

We had so much fun this weekend sledding in Peoria with some good friends. The temperatures were perfect to be hanging out outside, and no wind!! So we sledded for an hour and a half and I think the kids would have stayed out all night if they could have. Here are some snapshots of our day at the "slopes!"

Benjamin!! LOOK OUT!!!

"I CAN'T LOOK!!!"

Natalie and Samuel

Sometimes, it is easier to crawl back up the hill rather than walk!!

Willis and Rebekah

Megan and Daddy

Launching Emily . . .

Emily got creative one morning this week with toothpicks and marshmallows and constructed this church! Not bad architecture skills for a 7-year old!!

SWEET ornaments!!!

Every year Emily, Megan and I try to come up with a new and different Christmas tree ornament to make. Thanks to a friend for the "recipe," the girls and I made these beautiful, simple and very inexpensive ornaments this year. Just thought I'd share since they turned out so nicely!

2010 Family Photos

No More Icky Medicine!!!

FINALLY, Megan polished off her Amoxicillin. Last night she took her last dose. In the beginning, each dosage was a struggle. One morning it took me two hours to get her to take it!! We soon learned that we could not reason with her, explaining that if she doesn't take her medicine she could get an infection and have to go get more medicine -- or, even worse, a shot! No, that would not work with her. Matthew finally figured out that she liked a little sugar mixed in with it (even though it is bubble gum flavored) and that worked for a while. But, she soon wanted more than a little sugar -- she graduated to an entire Reese's peanut butter cup. So, the past two days, every time she had to take medicine, she requested a Reese's peanut butter cup to cleanse her mouth of the medicine taste. I know, this seems crazy, but it worked every time. For those of you parents out there who have a child who refuses to take medication, you might understand where I am coming from. : )

Winter Wonderland

The snow and frost has made everything beautiful. Winter is not my favorite season, because I don't prefer the cold. However, when we wake up to this beautiful sight, it is a reminder that God has been creating beautiful landscapes all around us while we were warm and cozy in our beds. And it all looks perfect.


Once Matthew gets a break in his work we are going to get out the sled. Lately he has been loading grain trucks until after dark, so we haven't gotten a chance to hit the "slopes." So, here are a few snapshots I took from the porch. Hopefully some good sledding photos to come!

Soup to Chase the Chill Away

Here's a recipe that'll warm you on these cold winter nights. It is a family favorite, although I have to tame it a little for the girls because they don't care for their soup as spicy as Matthew and I do. : ) 


Taco Bean Soup


1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground sausage
1 envelope taco seasoning
4 c. water
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans Mexican diced tomatoes
1 jar salsa


1 bag of corn chips (optional)


Cook sausage and beef. Add taco seasoning and mix well. Put meat in a slow cooker, adding remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 2 hours. I serve this soup with corn chips instead of crackers.

Raspberry Ribbons

They are fast and easy to make, and so delicious. Several friends have asked for the recipe, so here it is!

Raspberry Ribbons

1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup raspberry jam

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 Tbsp evaporated milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Divide dough into four portions; shape each into a 10-in. x 2-1/2-in. log. Place 4 inches apart on greased baking sheets.

Make a 1/2-in. depression down center of each log. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Fill depressions with jam. Bake for 10-15 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes. Remove to cutting board and cut into slices. Place on wire racks. 

In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over warm cookies.

Friday Night Game Night

Game night is always a favorite night at our house. As the girls get older, they are learning more and more games. Just last month we got a new card game, one that I played growing up. It is called Skip-bo, and Emily and Megan have both beaten me at it. So, on Friday night after stuffing ourselves with tacos and apple crisp, we got out Skip-bo, Uno, Jenga and Mancala and played until bedtime. We were excited to have Grandma Kathy join us for the fun. Matthew (a.k.a. Mr. Competition) won our big game of Skip-Bo. : )

Here are a few random photos!

Back to Work

Today, Megan felt well enough to help Matthew take a load of corn into the LaHarpe elevator. It is so good to see her with energy and enthusiasm again. She says her throat is "medium sore," but her tongue has been sticking itself out of her mouth again, so it seems to be less sore. And, she took her antibiotic in record time today!!! So, back to work today, back to school on Monday!! : )

Not-So-Speedy Recovery

Well, Megan was up and around a lot on Tuesday, so I thought her recovery would be a breeze. Yesterday, however, Megan was not very active at all -- just wanted to sit on the couch and watch tv, or lay in her bed and read books or have me rock her. She didn't eat much at all, and didn't drink as well either. Morning medicine only took 5 minutes to give her, but in the evening we had to struggle to get her to take it. She complained of stomach cramps and had a slight fever in the morning. She looked pale and her eyes were droopy all day, looking like she could fall asleep at any moment. And she didn't talk much -- just point and grunt for things because her throat was sore. It was a long and exhausting day, and just as she was crawling into bed and I was glad that she would be getting a good night's rest, she got sick. After cleaning her up and cleaning up the floor we read a Berenstein Bear's book and she fell asleep quickly. Praying that today she will feel better than yesterday. I miss our little girl who is usually full of life, joy and energy and never short on smiles and giggles. And I am sure she misses feeling good too! Today, we plan to relax again and watch some of Little House on the Prairie (thanks to a friend for loaning us Season 1!!!) and hopefully have energy to play some games. Thanks, again, for the prayers.

Good-bye Tonsils!!! Hello Tongue!!!

Megan's surgery day finally came. She had her tonsils and adnoids removed, and her tongue clipped since she was born tongue-tied. The day started early, since we had to be at the hospital in Burlington at 6 a.m. So, we woke Megan at 4:50 a.m. and jumped in the van for the 40-minute drive. She wanted to take three special stuffed animals and a special blanket that was made by her great-grandmother. I hoped she would take a short nap in the van on the way to Burlington, but she was wide awake.

We checked into the pediatrics unit, where she was prepared for her surgery, which was scheduled for 7:35 a.m. To kill time, she played with Dora paper dolls (thanks, Aunt Mary). Soon, we met the anesthesiologist and loved her. Megan sucked down some medications and we were off to Day Surgery. Grandma Kathy met us there while we waited for the nurses to take Megan to her procedure.

Finally, she took off for her little adventure. About 40 minutes later, her physician said she did great, and the anesthesiologist said that she got the "Patient of the Day" award. She said Megan held her mask on herself and put herself to sleep. After about 10 minutes a nurse came and got Matthew to meet her in recovery. That was the hardest part -- the waking up. When she got back to her room in pediatrics, she was crying for me and after about 5 minutes she calmed down. It probably took about an hour before she was herself again, giggling and smiling.

I kept asking her to stick out her tongue. After about an hour, she finally did and we were shocked at how far she can stick it out now. As soon as she stuck it out for the first time, her face lit up and her eyes got huge. For the rest of the day she would stick her tongue out, then giggle. And she was excited to be able to feel all of her teeth with her tongue. 

Megan's breakfast of choice was an orange popsicle, apple juice and orange jello. She was pretty irritated with her IV and couldn't wait to get that out. As soon as I called the nurse to tell her that Megan was ready to go to the bathroom she said the IV could come out and she would get the discharge papers!! Yea! We were ready to go. It was 11 a.m. and I hadn't had anything to eat or drink, so I was anxious to get home and have a bite to eat. After a quick drive through Walgreens pharmacy (thanks to Grandma Kathy for dropping off her prescriptions earlier) we came home.

Megan was great through the whole experience, except for taking her medications. She has NEVER been good at taking medicines so it has been a challenge. Tuesday morning it took 2 hours to convince her to take her antibiotic. But each time we have to give her medication, it gets a little bit easier. Tuesday evening it only took 15 minutes.

Thank you to Aunt Mary for the basket of soup, pudding, juice and popsicles, and for Baby Peach and the Dora paper dolls that kept her occupied while we waited. Thank you, Grandma Kathy, for visiting Megan, for dropping her prescriptions off at the pharmacy for us, for the pudding and popsicles and the nice coloring activity tin that has kept her busy. Thank you Emily, Grandma Mary and Grandpa Gene for the applesauce and sucker. Thank you, most of all, for all of your prayers because she has definitely had a smoother recovery than I anticipated and she is seeming more and more like herself. God is good!