Posts from — December 2009

. . .things that changed my life in 2009:

1. Preparing and eating real food. Although my interest in the real-food movement actually began in 2008—when I first encountered such books as Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma—my personal journey began in earnest this year. I read more books, including Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions and Nina Planck’s Real Food. I looked for and found local sources for grass-fed beef and lamb, pastured chickens and eggs, raw dairy, and in-season fruits and vegetables. I learned how to sprout grains and beans, as well as soak and dehydrate nuts and seeds; I tried my hand at making butter and cheese; and I converted the recipes for many of my family’s favorite dishes to meet real-food ideals. My husband and children went along—warily but willingly—on the journey with me, as we cut back on the refined flour and sugar in our diet and incorporated such new and strange (at first) staples as fermented cod liver oil and kombucha tea.

2. Reading some great books. Clearly, I’m a believer in the statement “You are what you eat.” And by now, you’re probably getting the idea that “You are what you read” would be another suitable credo for me. Simply put, books are—and always have been—a big deal in my life. I can recall at least one engaging novel I read in 2009—The Girls, by Lori Lansens (a diary-style portrayal of the life of conjoined twins)—but for the most part it was a nonfiction year for me. Aside from the above-mentioned food titles, the rest of what I read mostly revolved around marriage and parenting. Favorites here include The Mission of Motherhood and The Ministry of Motherhood, both written by homeschooling mom of four Sally Clarkson. I can so relate to the personal challenges she recounts—from the physical and emotional strength required to be a 24/7 caregiver, nurturer and teacher, to the doubts and feelings of inadequacy that often creep in from a culture that places almost no value on those roles. What I so appreciate about Clarkson’s writing is her ability to transcend all of that—and to help me do it, too!—by putting those roles into an eternal perspective. Her books gave me a renewed sense of purpose that I continue to cling to on those difficult days when I desperately need a good answer to the question, “Why am I doing what I’m doing?” Another author who struck a similar chord with me this year is Gary Thomas, whose book Sacred Marriage has garnered him speaking engagements at churches worldwide. Shawn and I were able to attend one here in Arizona in September, and since then I’ve added a few of his books (including Sacred Influence and Sacred Parenting) to my list. Sacred Marriage (subtitled What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?) intelligently and thoughtfully exposes the ruse of romantic love as a means to (elusive) fulfillment and instead challenges those of us who choose marriage to see the difficulties it inevitably brings as a way for God to shape our character and for us to demonstrate our commitment to Him. I haven’t delved into Sacred Parenting yet, but from all indications, the theme continues on its pages. In a particularly powerful essay Thomas uses to open a book of devotions based on Sacred Parenting, he writes: “I’d like to suggest a motto for Christian family life: ‘God is in the room.’ While God is always there, so often we act and think and behave and speak as if he were not. . . .Think of how differently we might treat our children in those frustrating moments if we responded to them with the knowledge that God is in the room. If we truly believed that the God who designed them and who is passionate about their welfare was literally looking over our shoulders, might we be a little more patient, a little more understanding?. . .Tell it to yourself, every morning, every noontime, every evening: God is in the room. Tell it to each other, every time you’re tempted to yell, or to criticize, or ridicule, or even ignore each other: God is in the room. Tell it to your children, throughout the day: God is in the room. Let’s keep telling it to ourselves and to each other until we practice it and live it, until we live and breathe with the blessed remembrance: God is in the room.”

3. Having a homeschool room (where I especially need to practice the above-mentioned motto!). When we added two bedrooms and a bathroom onto our small home last year, we decided to convert one of the existing bedrooms into a homeschool room. It meant that our four children would have to double up and share the remaining bedrooms, but we were all OK with that. Shawn outfitted the room’s closet with plenty of shelves to store books and supplies, and he built new cases to replace the broken ones on three cast-off desks from the charter school where one of my sisters works. A bulletin board, dry-erase board and world map later, we were in business! And we haven’t looked back to the days when books, papers and manipulatives almost always covered the living-room floor and the dining-room table. Sure, we sometimes still “do school” in those other rooms, but having a place to put everything away when we’re finished—and a door to close when we haven’t had time to tidy up the mess—has gone a long way toward keeping me sane (see No. 2) and all of us organized and on track.

4. Finding financial peace. No, we didn’t win the lottery, receive an unexpected inheritance or invent the Next Big Thing and suddenly become fabulously wealthy. (I’m sure I would have remembered if any of those things had occurred this year!) What we did do was solidify our financial philosophy as a single-income family with a tight budget and a desire to live relatively simply and to be completely debt-free. Toward both of those ends, we’ve begun a serious campaign to get rid of things that we don’t really need or especially love, and to pay off everything we owe (which is really just the mortgage, a car loan and a credit-card balance). Our champion of sorts in the process has been Dave Ramsey, author of The Total Money Makeover, host of radio broadcast The Dave Ramsey Show, and creator of such catchphrases as “Sell so much stuff the kids think they’re next,” and “Live like no one else, so that later, you can live (and give) like no one else.” Shawn and I completed his 13-week Financial Peace University course at our church this fall and discovered that we were actually in decent shape with regard to some areas of our money, but that we needed to make a few changes and do a better job in other areas. Above all, the class helped us talk things through and agree on some goals to keep us focused. We’ve even gotten the kids on board, switching their “allowance” (which implies entitlement to free money) to “commission” (which solidifies the concept that money is earned).

5. Receiving an iPod Touch. As a lover of all things Apple, I’d had my eye on an iPhone for awhile, but because the only cell-phone carrier to offer it doesn’t provide good coverage in the areas I travel most frequently, I’d pretty much ruled it out. As a second choice, I liked the iPod Touch, but without the phone functionality I couldn’t really justify buying one. “Sure, it’s cool, but would I really use it?” I wondered. Shawn surprised me with one on Mother’s Day, and that question was quickly answered in the affirmative. The marketing lingo “There’s an app for that” became a reality for me as I started to use the iPod Touch for all things usual (checking e-mail and Facebook, surfing the Web, and keeping the kids entertained with movies, music and games) and unusual (recording Kellen’s first piano recital and watching TV—mostly late-night online streaming of current episodes of The Office and Parks and Recreation). And sometimes it’s an absolute sanity saver: It makes multitasking a cinch, as I can use it while I’m cooking (see No. 1) or folding laundry. And at the risk of sounding like a really bad homeschooling mom, I occasionally use it to tune out the constant din created when 2 Bigs + 4 Littles almost always occupy the house under 1 Midsize Roof (see No. 2). Whenever I need a little break, I simply pop in the ear buds and download a podcast of The Dave Ramsey Show (see No. 4) or listen to my current playlist faves (the cast recording from the Broadway musical Wicked, or the new Sidewalk Prophets album, These Simple Truths. To hear the Sidewalk Prophets song Just Might Change Your Life—which is, after all, the theme of this post, click the play button of the audio player below.)

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6. Starting this blog. I’ve only been a blogger for half of the year, but the impact of finally finding my voice—I’ve never been much of a first-person writer—as well as the guts to share it here—I worried whether I had anything relevant to say—has been huge. I’ve “met” so many other bloggers who are living inspired—and inspiring!—lives, and I’m writing more frequently than I have in a long time. And I can’t leave out the incredible learning curve I had to conquer just to set up the blog and publish a post! When I first started, I didn’t know a tag from a category or a plugin from a pingback—and HTML code? Forget about it! (Click here to find out about the Beginner to Blogger course that helped me get up and running.) Not that I’m all super tech-savvy now. I have much more to learn, for sure, but I’ve come a long way since I began, well, at The Beginning (my first post).

Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on any of the book or CD covers above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the items—and if you do buy them after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here, as well as my own book-buying habit. Seriously, though, I’d be just as happy if my recommendations inspired you to check out the title from your local library or borrow it from a friend.

While a white Christmas is never in the forecast for us desert dwellers, we did get to see some snow—and even play in the powder—during a short post-holiday visit with family in northern Arizona. Following are a few photos of the fun:

Kellen carries some cold ammo for a snow battle.

Kerrick is ready to fire back.

Kennah is sitting pretty.

Keillor is sitting, er, handsome?

Kennah and Keillor enjoy a cousin-powered tandem sled ride.

Keillor chills out with cousin Brandon.

Kennah leans on cousin Kayleigh.

The littlest snowman: Keillor surveys his snow-covered surroundings.

When Shawn and I got married in 1995, my sweet friend Mary Velgos gave me a recipe titled Simon and Garfunkel Chicken—a name inspired by the singing duo’s 1966 album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. (Even if you’ve never heard the lyrics to the song Scarborough Fair, I’ll bet you can guess at least four of the ingredients in this recipe!) At the time, we had no idea that it would become the go-to special-occasion dish for our family. But that’s exactly what it is. So it wasn’t a surprise when I asked Shawn what we should have for Christmas dinner and he requested Simon and Garfunkel Chicken.

While I have been able to alter the recipe to make it gluten-free, dairy-free and egg-free for Kellen, I haven’t yet made it using pastured chicken. That’s because I’d have to separate and debone the breasts from whole chickens myself, and I haven’t yet tackled that task—although I hope to someday. The other main ingredients—homemade mozzarella cheese, pastured eggs, bread crumbs from a sprouted-grain loaf or batch of tortillas—have been easy to fit within real-food parameters. I typically serve Simon and Garfunkel Chicken alongside corn (organic frozen kernels, in this case) and garlic mashed potatoes.

Our Christmas dessert was a real treat (though decidedly not a real-food one!) that the kids and I put together on Christmas Eve. Using a gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free recipe for sugar cookies and a set of star-shaped cookie cutters in five sizes, we baked about 50 stars and then stacked them into five Christmas-tree towers using green-tinted royal icing as our “glue” and multicolored sprinkles as “lights.” To make each tree, we used two stars in each of the five sizes. We iced each cookie individually and added it to the stack, varying the position of the points and sprinkling the edges with every layer. They were fun to make—and even more fun to eat!

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.

All year long, Kellen and Kerrick each worked to fill a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, a mission project coordinated by the Samaritan’s Purse relief organization. Every December, Samaritan’s Purse delivers the boxes—containing fun things such as toys and candy, as well as essentials like toothpaste and soap—to impoverished children all over the world.

This was our first year to participate, and the boys kicked off their efforts in January by purchasing plastic shoebox-size containers. (We debated at length about whether to use plastic or actual cardboard shoeboxes—favorable because we’d be recycling and the box would be biodegradable. But in the end, plastic won out because we thought the recipients might appreciate a more durable, waterproof container that could later be used for another purpose.)  Kellen and Kerrick each opted to fill a box for a boy in their age group (5 to 8 years old) and—following the guidelines outlined on the organization’s Web site—they made lists of the items they wanted to include. The next order of business was planning their purchases. (I need to explain here that anytime the boys earn or receive money, they are required to divide it into “save,” “share” and “spend” categories. With this year’s project in mind, their “share” money quickly became allocated for shoebox items.)

Our shopping excursions provided plenty of lessons in budgeting (the boys learned to make their money stretch by looking for sales and by buying some items—pencils, toothbrushes—in bulk that could be split between their boxes). And, with a little coaxing, they even turned their joint birthday party into an opportunity to draw their friends into the fun, requesting voluntary donations in lieu of any gifts.

By November, Kellen and Kerrick had filled the shoeboxes to the brim with the following items:
• Clothing (shirts, underwear, socks)
• Candy
• School supplies (pencils and sharpener, erasers, crayons, paper)
• Toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap)
• Toys (Hot Wheels, LEGOs, Playmobil figures, tennis ball)
• A letter from—and photo of—each boy

Kellen’s shoebox stuff. . .

. . .and Kerrick’s.

When we discovered that the church we attend would serve as a collection place for shoebox donations this year, we scheduled an afternoon when we could both drop off the boxes and volunteer to help with collection efforts. The day we were there wasn’t a particularly busy one, but Kellen and Kerrick still got to help put rubber bands around all of the boxes that came in and load them into larger cartons that were packed into 40-foot semi-truck trailers to be hauled to regional sorting centers. The highlight for the boys was getting to climb inside one of the trailers and pose for a photo. (Kennah even got in on the action, and has decided that she wants to fill her own shoebox—for a girl her age—next year. Of course, knowing Kennah’s fascination with footwear, chances are pretty good that her shoebox will actually contain at least one pair of shoes.)

Several days before Christmas, we learned that our shoeboxes were both delivered to children in Peru. So the learning experience can continue as we find out more about that country and what life might be like for the boys who received Kellen’s and Kerrick’s gifts. And a slim possibility exists that we might actually hear directly from the children who opened our boxes. But even if we never do, we know we helped make two Christmases a little brighter, and we can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

Last night, as we completed our advent season readings (from Bartholomew’s Passage, by Arnold Ytreeide), we were discussing God’s appointment of guardian angels to surround and protect each of us from harm. Kerrick asked (in the way that only a Star Wars-obsessed 7-year-old boy can ask), “You mean, like a force field?”

Exactly, buddy.

Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the book cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the book—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here, as well as my own book-buying habit. Seriously, though, I’d be just as happy if my recommendation inspired you to check out the title from your local library or borrow it from a friend.

A new holiday tradition for our family this year was an advent tree—a small prelighted, artificial tree to which we added an ornament every evening of the advent season. The idea was inspired by an event hosted the Monday after Thanksgiving by a friend and fellow homeschooling mom, Tamara Dirks. (Click here to see her blog.) She invited friends, friends of friends and even strangers to come hear storyteller Darlene Danninger talk about the idea that inspired her book, Let’s Make a Jesus and Me Tree. (Darlene, also the author of numerous other self-published books, proved to be an energetic, entertaining and engaging speaker. She’s been called “a one-of-a-kind encourager” and serves as a chaplain at one of the municipal police departments in our area. Click here to visit her Web site.)

Darlene explained the significance of various aspects of such a tree in teaching the message of Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection—and of His desire, expressed throughout the Bible, for a relationship with every human being:
• The tree itself should be an evergreen, she said, to demonstrate that God’s love is not seasonal, but unconditional and everlasting.
• The tree’s triangular shape (narrow at the top and wide at the bottom) represents the Trinity—God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• All of the ornaments are tied onto the tree with red ribbon to symbolize the redeeming blood shed by Jesus on the cross.
Beyond those three symbols, which Darlene described as “essential,” the possibilities for ornaments are limitless. Her book lists 100 ideas—from angels to watches—and includes Bible verses that can be attached to each one to explain its significance. At the end of the evening, Tamara sent each guest home with a complimentary book and a complete set of 25 ornaments to start their own tree.

My kids enjoyed taking turns each evening before bed selecting an ornament to put on our tree. Following are their favorites, along with the Bible verses that accompanied each one:
• Kellen—lamb: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” —John 1:29
• Kerrick—calendar: “ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ”—Jeremiah 29:11
• Kennah—heart: “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”—1 Samuel 16:7
• Keillor—styrofoam snowball: “ ‘Come now and let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be as wool.’ ”—Isaiah 1:18

I waited until our tree was complete to share it here and show its full effect. Next year, we hope to make a few more ornaments to add to our initial collection. Thank you, Tamara and Darlene, for the inspiration!

By now—if your house is anything like mine—the stockings have been unstuffed, the presents have been opened and everyone is enjoying the day we’ve been anticipating all month. It’s been fun counting down to this time with a “carol a day” from my collection of Christmas CDs. I hope you’ve found a new favorite or two among the songs you heard here. As I ponder the countdown possibilities for next year—I’m thinking ornaments!—I thought I’d share a carol that captures a sense of winding down before the new year comes and we start all over. Here’s Amy Grant, with Til the Season Comes ’Round Again from her CD A Christmas to Remember:

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!

2009 was a pretty typical year in the Hemmings household—which means that it included some incredibly fantastic times (such as our first-ever family trip to Disneyland!) and a few challenges, too (like trying to carve a somewhat orderly life out of the chaotic “remodel-recovery mode” in which we continue to operate). We survived—and thrived, as revealed in the “firsts” and “favorites” of each of us listed below:

KELLEN, 9

Firsts: piano lessons and recital, pet guinea pig (Root Beer), swim team (Kiwanis Piranhas), weekend campout (with his Webelos pack), magazine article assignment (for Living Without, about having food allergies).
Favorites: Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyland ride), backstroke, French Children Sing (piano piece), “Oh, snap!” (catchphrase).

KERRICK, 7

Firsts: Ebay purchase (a Webkinz lava dragon), pet guinea pig (Prairie), swim team (Kiwanis Piranhas), overnight campout (with Kellen and Dad), top tooth lost (knocked out on accident by his friend with a bungee cord).
Favorites: Tower of Terror (Disneyland ride), freestyle stroke, Scout-o-Rama event, trading Pokemon cards, rock-climbing/rappeling (at an indoor gym).

KENNAH, 4

Firsts: bicycle (with pink training wheels), Webkinz (a pink pony), manicure/pedicure (with pink polish, of course), Broadway-scale musical (Little House on the Prairie).
Favorites: Cinderella (whom she met along with ALL the princesses at Disneyland), Pinkalicious and Purplicious (books), girl time (with mom, friends or cousins), babies (real and toy), shoes (all kinds).

KEILLOR, 2

Firsts: tricycle (he can steer, but not quite pedal), true trick-or-treating experience (he wore his “punkin’ suity”), haircut (NOT! He’s never had one, as mom can’t bear to do it yet!).
Favorites: It’s a Small World (Disneyland ride), “Super high!” (way to be pushed on a swing), “Beary, Doggy, Froggy” (stuffed animals), cars (real and toy), balls (all kinds).

SONYA

First: www.hemmings.com (blog!).
Favorite: Splash Mountain (Disneyland ride).

SHAWN

First: Cub Scout den leader.
Favorite: Thunder Mountain (Disneyland ride).

Wishing you all many firsts and favorites in 2010!

Keillor, the youngest member of our family, has gone without a Christmas stocking his entire life. Luckily, he’s only 2, so it hasn’t been all that long, and I think the risk of emotional scarring is minimal. Still, I figured he might notice this year if he didn’t have one. I know what you’re thinking: “So what’s the big deal? Get the kid a stocking!” And, of course, if it was as easy as that, I’d have done it long ago. But no. I couldn’t just run out and grab a fuzzy felt little number and scrawl his name across the cuff at the top with colored glitter glue. I had to create one that matched the handmade, lined, double-sided flannel stockings with cross-stitched personalization that the rest of the us hang each year.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to make the stocking. In fact, I had cut out all the pieces awhile back. Instead, it was a matter of finding those pieces—as well as the time to sew it together. Finding things has been a challenge in the midst of our as-yet-unfinished remodeling project that began more than a year ago. And finding time? Well, let’s just say there’s nothing like a deadline to get my adrenalin pumping. Shawn located the bag of half-done craft projects that I had strategically—but forgetfully—placed on the top shelf of a bedroom closet. (Whew!) Two nights ago, I sewed the stocking together. And last night I cross-stitched Keillor’s name on one side. (The other side might have to wait until after Christmas, but hey, at least Santa will know which one is his!)

I started with this. . .

. . .and finished with this.

And here's the full line-up.

In the process of working to check this task off of my to-do list, I rediscovered my love of sewing—something I once did a whole lot of, but that I haven’t had much time for in recent years. The plaid fabric I used in our stockings was actually left over from a Christmas shirt I made 13 years ago for my nephew (who is now 20). My sister passed the shirt back to me for my boys to wear, and I still have it for Keillor to try on in a couple of years. That same year, I made a Christmas dress and pinafore for my niece (who is now 16). Miraculously, I found the dress a few weeks ago (in the same closet where the stocking pieces were tucked away!) and was able to get it ready for Kennah to wear to church on Sunday. It fit her perfectly, and she loved spinning around to make the extra-gathered skirts flare out.

Kennah’s Christmas dress: still life. . .

. . .and not-so-still life.

I’m hopeful that in the new year, I might be able to sit down at the sewing machine now and then. Maybe Santa could leave that wonderful gift called “spare time” in my stocking tonight. . . .;-)

It’s Christmas Eve! Tonight’s the night! In light of that, I’m sharing Welcome to Our World, performed by Michael W. Smith on his CD Christmastime.

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Please note: It is my goal to provide a top-quality, content-driven, ad-free blog. That said, I do occasionally include affiliate links in some of my posts. For example, if you click on the CD cover above, you will link to Amazon.com, where you will have an opportunity to purchase the CD—and if you do buy it after clicking through from my site, I will receive a small commission to support my work here. No pressure—just a fun way to share resources and ideas!