Child's play

I've been reading a book lately that has reminded me of the ways of children. Not that I have to look to far with a 2 year old of my own. But, still, the beauty of childhood is always a wonderful reminder.

As I look into Evee's room tonight as she sleeps, the beauty of children and childhood is sweeping over me.

I'm amazed at how little ones can love so easily, even those who can be difficult to love and even when we are difficult to love. They are so forgiving, so honest, so innocent. Kids say it how it is. Hold nothing back. Get so excited. Are so easily excitable, sad, surprised. Nothing seems to get old. Mistakes are easily forgotten. There is no worry about the future, no regret of the past. They live now. They give all of themselves to this moment.

At 2 years of age, Evee's life, and all of who she is, is being revealed to us each day. We are seeing aspects of this little person that we are, in some ways, just getting to know. And yet, it seems as if she's been with us forever.

May I love, hold, embrace each moment with this precious one that God has given to us. May I know how to love others (little and old) who have little love in their own lives.

Bulk cooking (to swap)

Sunday 5 friends and I gathered to exchange meals.  I know I talked a bit about exchanges last year (oddly around this same time of year), but nothing everevolved...the idea must have just gotten lost in the midst of life.

Thankfully a friend was on it this year and is making it happen.  What I like about the kind of swap we started is that any group of people can make it happen.  It doesn't have to be a group that is in close proximity to each other.  The only real commitment is once a month making the meals and gathering to exchange - so easy!

I meant to take pictures while my friend and I cooked, but of course forgot.  I really need to get better at remembering to take pictures.

For those who want to know the basic plan we followed...

• We started with 6 families.  
• 3 meals were chosen and we divided into groups of 2.  Reasons behind this...
  
• Then you have a couple of people to brainstorm recipe ideas
• You are technically only responsible to make 3 meals (since the pair is making the same meal for 6 total)
• You get to make a new meal (depending on who's recipe you used)
• You can choose to cook with your friend or not - whatever works best
•  Each person keeps one of their own dishes and brings 2 others to swap
• Put those meals in the freezer and then you have 3 meals to pull out whenever is most helpful to you!  

We talked about adding 2 more people at some point.  That way, you would have 4 meals to pull out (one a week, if that is how you distribute it).

Some things to think through...

• Allergies and/or strong dislikes to let others know about
• Figuring out a good time/day to swap
• Dishes to use...using your own, using disposables, plastic vs. glass, etc.
  

Even though it does take some effort - my friend definitely had to plan it out and get the ball rolling - it is also simple in a lot of ways. 

I love that you could do this with one friend or a group of friends.  Just adding a bit of ease to the rest of your month by cooking a bit extra one day.  The ideas from this are endless. 

peace

My sister recently wrote a poem on peace.  I think it shows a lot of what peace looks like and how it affects us differently.  I love that so much starts with inner peace and that is what I strive for.  As I read it, so many people and situations come into my mind.  I love the last line especially right now... "Peace that comes from life in the midst of death."

I wanted to share it here, but you can also find it here at her blog of her writings. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Peace.

And I don't mean world peace.

I mean inner peace.

Peace that comes from acceptance in the midst of uncertainty.

Peace that comes from understanding in the midst of chaos.

Peace that comes from hope in the midst of pain.

Peace that comes form love in the midst of despair.

Peace that comes from roses in the midst of thorns.

Peace that comes from options in the midst of instability.

Peace that comes from trees in the midst of a city.

Peace that comes from bikes in the midst of cars.

Peace that comes from flowers in the midst of a desert.

Peace that comes from a smile in the midst of blank faces.

Peace that comes from Ghandi in the midst of injustice.

Peace that comes from Mother Teresa in the midst of the poor.

Peace that comes from friends in the midst of strangers.

Peace that comes from laughter in the midst of tragedy.

Peace that comes from evergreens in the midst of winter.

Peace that comes from no answers in the midst of the questions.

Peace that comes from life in the midst of death.

Today, after reading a section in The History of Love: A Novel I started thinking about fun little things.

Here is a glimpse at the book (the particular part I was reading)

("If I had a camera," I said, "I'd take a picture of you every day.  That way I'd remember how you looked every single day of your life." "I look exactly the same." "No, you don't.  You're changing all the time.  Every day a tiny bit.  If I could, I'd keep a record of it all."... 

So, I started thinking...

How fun would it be to pick one thing and do it consistently and just for fun.  It would be something so simple, but over time, would be something remarkable because of follow through and longevity.

Random (and some possibly worthless :)) things I thought of

• Collect scraps of paper that you find on the ground and make a collection (very random, I know, but it would be interesting)
  
• (like in the book) Take a picture of Clint or Evee or all of us once a day or once a month.  Or I've heard of someone taking a picture of their child once a year with the same toy to see how different the picture looks each time
• Write one thing each day on the same topic... i.e. something your happy about, sad about, highlight of that day, etc.  
• Something that you do each year, once a year.
• End the day with something that you are thankful for

I know some of these are completely unrelated to the book I was reading, but it's fun to think about things that over time could be great family or friendship treasures.  All can be sentimental.  Like, for example, I've been thinking about starting up some letter writing (real letters, with pen and paper).  Now to pick one thing and stick with it. :)

Baking

Today, while driving, Evee and I listened to Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia (Book and CD).  As I was listening, I somehow got motivated to bake some cookies when we got home since, after all, that is Amelia Bedelia's most redeeming quality.

I was trying to decide if I should make a big partial batch (like I usually do) to store in the fridge, and then I saw a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe that I thought I'd try instead (since it is very similar anyway).  The other reason I wanted to do a smaller batch was because I noticed a comment in my favorite cookbook that I always mention on this blog (but I truly love it!), More With Less. 

Anyway, the comment was

"Applesauce or pumpkin can be substituted for up to half the shortening in many cookie and cake recipes."  (from Jocele Meyer)

What better time of year to give this a try!  Plus I have canned pumpkin waiting in my cupboard to be used.

So, I nixed the shortening and did half pumpkin and half butter.  I know that this doesn't magically make it healthy, but it does help a bit and they turned out really well.  I also modified the flour a bit, didn't use peanut butter or nuts, and added extra oats.   

Here is the recipe modified from the "chocolate chip oatmeal cookies" recipe from More with Less (pg. 287)...

Cream together:
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Add:
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half whole wheat, but bet you could use whole wheat flour for all of it)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup of chocolate chips

(you can also add nuts, but I decided not to)

Mix well.  Drop onto cookie sheet (and I pushed them down a bit with a fork).  Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Hope you enjoy this delicious treat! 

Tonight I overheard a coversation between Clint and Evee.  It went like this...

"Do you know that you're my favorite girl in the whole world?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know that you are so beautiful?"

""Yeah."

The dialogue continued like this as they waited for me to sit down at the dinner table.  Along with questions like this were bits of beautiful exchanges of a loving relationship.

I thought, if Clint was saying this to any adult (or anyone was saying this to any adult), it would probably bring tears.  So tender of words and so heartfelt.

As we age, we stop believing or make it hard to believe that anyone could love us like this.  With such pure love and truth.

But as children, we believe these things 100%.  And, I know, listening to Clint as an adult, that he means what he said to Evee 100%.

It makes you wonder about all the little things that come along in life that affect us so deeply and make beautiful things hard to believe.

Food I'm loving right now...

This past week I started making this amazing breakfast of

• potatoes, sliced thin
• homemade whole wheat toast
• avocado
• salsa

For the potatoes, I just boiled them a bit to get them a bit soft.  Then fried them in a pan with olive oil, some basil and garlic.  Waited till they got a bit golden brown.

Then toasted the bread, smeared avocado on it, and salsa on top.  Not sure why, but it taste so good!

I actually took a picture of it, but it doesn't look nearly as good in the picture as it is, so I decided to hold off on that.

I'm also loving the crockpot.  It's still amazing that you can throw a few things in, come home later in the day and enjoy great food.

Homemade bread.   I think I talked about a recipe from More-With-Less Cookbook that I've been using.  It uses white and whole wheat flour.  This past week, I made it with all whole wheat flour and it was SO great.  Next week, I will make it without sugar (substitute 100% apple juice and honey).  I have high hopes.  If works well, I'll pass along the recipe here.

If you want to hear more about food, Meal Plan Monday is over at the other blog.

The beauty of a blog

The beauty of this blog for me is that it shows me bits of our days.  Even though it may sound funny to write on here to show myself  bits of what we do, it is true that this has been much of what's it's become for me.

It shows me and reminds me about what I love about our lives.  It's the reminder of what I desire our home to be and some things that are coming to fruition.  It's snapshots of places we've been, things I've read, things we've done and are doing.  It helps me capture moments and plan for others.

It's a place to record thoughts that are running through my head about life, our home, social justice, peace, food, and who knows what else.  

The downside (and I'm sure much of it is my personality), is that I also see what I'm not doing, but wish we were doing.

Although, I guess this is not fully a downside as yet another reminder of things I really do want to incorporate into our lives, but are having trouble doing or are thinking about how to go about it.

Patience.  I'm learning this right now in many ways.  I will continue to be patient (with myself, with others, with God).

See how this helps me :).  I've just come full circle.

More on apples

Yesterday a friend and I made another pie (one for each of us).  I had some dough left over from mine (decided to use a crumb topping this time).  So, I decided to make 4 personal pies (with the crumb topping) and 2 personal pies that basically have the crust wrapped around them (see below).

So, these are the ones with the crust on every side.  I wrapped them in plastic wrap and then in foil.  They are waiting in the freezer for a perfect time to bake them up!

Here is the progression of the 4 with the crumb crust.  And, it worked out perfectly...I was just finished baking them and a friend called about meeting up for lunch.  Then they came back to our place for some yummy mini apple pies.  

 

 

 

 

The always happy eating-as-we-go.

 

Reading that I'm loving right now

Here are a few fun &/or interesting reads that have been particularly good for me sometime in the last couple of weeks.  As much as a reminder for me of their names or whereabouts as it is passing these links (or book names) on to you.

The Perfect Day - how we envision our days going and reality

Green & Frugal Lessons Learned From Mom - a post on simplemom and full of great reminders/ideas

New School Thinking along with this youtube video - so much to think about with educating our children and how that happens

Kid's books we've been enjoying from the library:
In a Blue Room - a great going to bed book...so sweet

On My Way to Buy Eggs - just a simple book about buying eggs, but so tender as well

and Evee's new favorite from our last lot of library books is I Stink! as well as a Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush (cd & book)- which we have heard many a times in the last few days!

Apples

Yesterday some friends and us picked apples.  This is one of my favorite memories growing up...especially special when I think of my dad picking me up from school and going for an apple picking date.  It was always such a special treat. 

This is, sadly, the first time I've done it with my own little one.  Lots more apple picking times to come, I'm sure!

 

 

 

 

Later a friend and I baked a beautiful pie using this recipe and the crust that is included. 

 

Beautiful Days

We've had a couple really amazing days recently.  Beautiful, sunny, semi-warm :).

Yesterday Evee and I road bike downtown.  Nice exercise and then wonderful to be hanging out together (even though a good portion of the way there she was complaining that she wanted to walk and on the way back that she wanted her friend who was still downtown...the in-between was very nice). 

We had a great lunch of hummus on pita with lettuce, tomato, and onion.  I never think of making a sandwich with my hummus when I'm at home.  I only ever think of using it to dip into with veggies, chips, or pita.  Good to know now...

We sat outside and ate our lunch.  We walked to a shop that I've been driving by for a few weeks now and always wanting to meander through.  Today we did.

Pins & Needles.  I would have taken a couple of pictures because it was very pretty inside...just rows and shelves of yarn.  But, I don't know what the rules are on that so I just took a picture of the outside.

I love our downtown.  We walked, spent a not-long-enough amount of time at the library (since it's never enough time), and met friends for a "special treat - Evee's special coffee" (aka Evee's kid hot chocolate for $1.10). 

I hope you are having beautiful days and enjoying them where you are.

Containers

Sometime this summer I decided that I wanted to move to glass or stainless steel containers (instead of the plastic containers we use all the time).  Even though we have quite a ways to go, I'm happy to be making some small changes in that direction.

I just picked up some ball (brand) jars - 2 sets of smaller sizes - that are great for storing beans, popcorn, lentils as well as snacks (today it was nut mix and grapes).

Obviously, I can't use these particular jar containers for everything since they are not air tight, but I've been really happy with the small change.

The balance

Since this past summer and now with shopping at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, I've been thinking of a balance when purchasing that I'm trying to settle in my mind.

I'm finding that it's a weird balance of saving money and supporting companies that are wonderful in so many ways.  It's been great the last couple of weeks shopping at TJ's and WF and sticking to our budget.  We've eaten great and I know I'm supporting 2 great companies too!

Where I am thinking through this balance (mostly) is with coffee and diapers.

With coffee, I can get some that we like for approximately $5/lb.  It's good stuff and I just haven't looked into the company yet (but that's really what I should do next :)).  Then, at Whole Foods I can get coffee for approximately $12-13/lb. and support a guy who is helping coffee farmers start and be successful.  He is local and sometimes does tastings at the store.  He brings pictures of the farmers he has helped get started (before and after pictures of their farms).

So, do I save money to help others (i.e. buy cheaper coffee and put that money toward supporting a compassion kid) or spend a bit more and help this guy help others?

With diapers...in Evee's 2+ years we have gone back and forth between cloth and disposables.  The first question in this balancing act is, shouldn't I just be so committed to cloth?  But, we spend $2/load (to wash and dry) and it definitely takes more time.  Plus I'm hoping to potty training soon (which I've been saying for about a year now!).  But, it would be environmentally better and help the earth.

With disposables...I can get a very workable diaper at Target (I'm loving their new brand of stuff, by the way) or I could go with a company that strives to be more environmentally friendly (like Seventh Generation) or the 365 brand at Whole Foods. 

Anyway, stuff I've been thinking about.  More so with coffee than diapers.

Fasting & Social Justice

(From Wikipedia - Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time.)

A wise friend, talked about fasting this summer and there was one line that I won't soon forget.

He shared about having a vision of giving, not getting.  Taking a look at Isaiah 58 where fasting is for a purpose, our friend Dave said this...

"Fasting is about when you are at the last of your resources and you don't have anymore.  You say, 'I will take less so someone else can have some.'"

I love this.  This has come to my mind time and time again.  It has helped me make some beautiful decisions in the last couple of months.  Whether it is fasting for physical or spiritual help for another - "I will take less so someone else can have some."

Living faith (again, thoughts taken from our friend)

• chooses the poor
• shares with those who have less
• uplifts those who are humiliated
• gives food
• gives clothes
• gives wealth

And whatever we do to the least of these,  we do for Christ.