August 01, 2007
Resurrection
Peter Paul Rubens, Daniel In the Lions' Den
Daniel is praying to God the morning the stone was rolled away from the lions' den, depicting the glorious Resurrection of Christ. In the face of death, we grieve, but with the Hope that Christ has conquered the grave.
Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ, rising again from the dead, dieth now no more. Death shall no more have dominion over him.
Posted by lhyink at 07:33 PM | Comments (0)
July 28, 2007
Google this
I learned something today that answers a burning question I've had for a long time. I'm not a picky eater, but any recipe that calls for cilantro just turns me off. It tastes funny. I've never been able to put my finger on it until today. Did you know that some people carry a gene that makes cilantro taste like soap in their mouths? That's it! Try googling something like "cilantro soap gene," and you'll see what I'm talking about.
Do you have the gene? Can you imagine eating cilantro pesto? Yuck!
Posted by lhyink at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)
July 13, 2007
New take on bathroom reading
This is ingenious. I hate throwing books away. Here's a way to decorate your walls on a dime and at the same time recycle books you'd otherwise throw away. It's a little time-consuming, but I love the result.
I saw this on one of my favorite blogs Bluelines.
Posted by lhyink at 08:23 PM | Comments (4)
June 25, 2007
Benjamin's First Braves Game, I mean, Tigers Game
Joe, Benjamin, our pastor, and a friend of Joe's all went down to Atlanta last night to see the Tigers play the Braves. If you aren't already aware, Joe is a die-hard, through-thick-and-thin Detroit Tigers fan. He's stuck it out through quite a few dreary seasons. He's definitely not a fairweather friend. It was quite a late night, so I haven't been able to ask Benjamin about his experience yet, but it sounds like it was a pretty swell time. His first major league game!
Can I just put a little plug in here about how proud I am of my husband. He spends so much time playing with our children, talking to them, and reading to them. It was so special that he took our oldest along last night. I know that will be a memory forever cherished for both of them.
Posted by lhyink at 09:46 AM | Comments (0)
June 09, 2007
To Danny and Melanie
Danny and Melanie,
Congratulations to you on this momentous day. Melanie, you were beautiful today, and we are so glad we were able to be a part of your celebration. This toast is for you.
Here's to the dinner table
to lots and lots of good food
to slurps, spills, bites, and burps,
to bacon, eggs, oatmeal, syrup,
to pb&j, beans, rice, and Ramen noodles,
to beer, (lagers and stouts) and wine,
to sharing, discussing, correcting,
to laughter, giggling, guffawing over meals,
to family worship, singing, and praying,
to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and midnight snack,
to the lady and her olive plants,
to years and years of growing, then visiting children,
to the dinner table, its stains, its bumps, and its gouges,
and to lots of celebration, joy, and feasting
all around the table for years and generations to come.
We look forward to the years to come!
Posted by lhyink at 10:32 PM | Comments (1)
June 05, 2007
Camping Trip
Last weekend we took a camping trip to a couple different campsites in Georgia to be with Joe's family. His dad and brother are just beginning their "Big Ride" across the United States on their bikes. They were passing through Georgia, so we couldn't help but take some time off to go see them.
Dad and Ben are riding bikes while Mom and Ben's family (Abby, two kids, and a dog) go ahead of them with the camper. Mom did an incredible job cooking for 7 grandkids and 7 adults on her tiny stove in the trailer. I just have to brag on what a great mom-in-law I have. Not too many people would so joyfully labor for the enjoyment of her husband and son. Thanks, Mom. You are an inspiration.
Here is a picture of all the grandkids on Joe's side, except Elizabeth who somehow got left out of the photo. My apologies. They are all wearing the shirts advertising "The Big Ride."
I can't forget to mention the incredible views we enjoyed of Cloudlands Canyon where we camped the second night. It's not so far away from Greenville that we couldn't take another weekend to go again. There's nothing quite like camping to build family unity.
Posted by lhyink at 12:53 PM | Comments (1)
May 29, 2007
Playing with my food
I had to chuckle when I was peeling this potato. Doesn't it have a realistic face? Or am I going crazy?
Posted by lhyink at 09:48 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
Family Outing
Doesn't matter where you go for family time--it's the being together that counts, right? And the children will remember time spent as a family, no matter how ordinary the destination. For us, a trip to the grocery store isn't much more than a field trip with all four kiddos along. We're quite a sight, and we get lots of looks and stares. There's the baby in his seat in the back of the cart, the two-year-old in the front, one child riding underneath the cart, and one walking with me. And we have so much fun (well, usually...).
Last Friday we took a little jaunt over to our alma mater, Bob Jones University (strange name for a school, I know), to have a picnic and let the children run around. They have a nice gazebo there with tables and chairs, perfect for a rainy weather dinner outside. I love picking the kids' brains days after an event to see what details they remember, and to get their child's-eye-perspective on what we did. Micah remembered "the race car that went backwards." Bear in mind, much of what the boys talk about has something to do with the Cars movie. So to Micah, a speeding car backing up really fast is a lot like Lightning McQueen. One of the boys remembers that we had "no water," even though it was raining torrentially that night. That's exactly why we had nothing to drink. I didn't want to brave the raindrops to go find a water fountain. The gazebo was shaped like a hexagon, as most of them are, and that's a detail Benjamin will always notice. If you know him, that's no surprise, is it? They remember our simple supper of rice and beans--not the usual picnic menu, I know--with no idea that eating beans every night is not supposed to be normal. We could hardly stifle our chuckles when Micah said we were at "Bomb Jones."
I love kids. The most mundane things can become treats to them, and they don't know the difference. When you don't have a lot of money to spend, it seems like there's a lot more love to go around. The dinners of beans and rice seasoned with thankfulness and love are indeed so much sweeter than a table bowing from the weight of food mixed with bitterness and strife.
Posted by lhyink at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)
May 10, 2007
This one's for you, Kim
Here's the recipe for Bean Burgers we have been enjoying. Gotta love those beans! Serve with homemade mayonnaise, and good whole wheat buns, and it's a meal you'll love.
A fried vegetarian bean burger made with great northern beans. This recipe makes a lot, so stock up the freezer unless you are feeding a crowd. Serve in pitas or on hamburger buns with your favorite burger toppings.
Prep Time: 1 Hour
Cook Time: 2 Hours
Ready In: 3 Hours
Yields: 15 servings
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dried great Northern beans, soaked overnight
2 large onions, chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 teaspoon pepper sauce, such as Franks(R) Red Hot(R) or Tabasco(TM)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 (16 ounce) package herb seasoned stuffing mix
6 eggs
3/4 cup whole wheat flour, or as needed
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place the soaked beans in a large pot, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 1 1/2 hours, until tender. Pour into a colander and let stand for a while so they drain very well.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and fry until nicely browned, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, mix together the eggs and seasoned stuffing mix, and let stand 10 minutes to soften.
3. Use a food processor to puree the beans in batches, and transfer to a mixing bowl. Puree the onions, and then the stuffing mixture, and stir them into the beans. Season with garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper. Mix until well blended. Stir in whole wheat flour a little at a time until the mixture is stiff enough to form patties.
4. Spread the cornmeal out on a small plate. Grab a handful of the bean mixture, and pack lightly into a ball. Press into the cornmeal to form a pattie. Gently turn the pattie over, and coat the other side. Repeat with remaining bean mixture.
5. Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry patties until browned on both sides. Remove to paper towels to drain. Serve in pitas, or on hamburger buns.
Homemade Mayonnaise
Once you taste this, you won't want to go back to the store-bought kind. And you can jazz it up with lots of flavors--garlic, mustard, lemon juice, pickles, and the list goes on.
1 egg
1 cup oil
2 T lemon juice, or 1 T vinegar and 1 T water
A squeeze of prepared mustard, or you can use ground mustard (1/2 t)
Salt to taste
Dash cayenne pepper
Combine egg, lemon juice, mustard, pepper and 1/4 cup oil in a blender. Blend to mix. Add remaining oil in a small stream. You'll have to turn the blender off after each small addition, or you'll have a mess. After you've added about half the oil and the mixture has thickened, you can just dump the rest in. Blend it in, and, voila, you have mayonnaise! If it tastes a little oily, just add some mustard or salt.
Posted by lhyink at 01:49 PM | Comments (1)
March 01, 2007
Hummy Days
"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best---" and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn't kow what it was called. And then he thought that being with Christopher Robin was a very good thing to do, and having Piglet near was a very friendly thing to have; and so, when he had thought it all out, he said, " What I like best in the whole world is Me and Piglet going to see You, and you saying 'What about a little something?' and Me saying, 'Well, I wouldn't mind a little something, should you, Piglet,' and it being a hummy sort of day outside, and birds singing."
A.A. Milne, from The House at Pooh Corner
Isn't it true that the greatest pleasure isn't when you actually get the thing you've been wishing for, but in the wishing itself and the expectation? I love the feeling I get when I have $100 to spend however I want to and deciding what I'm going to get. And I love "hummy" days. I feel a lot like Pooh.
Posted by lhyink at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2007
Schedules
It's official now--we are a big family. We have four kids and have outgrown the sedan. The grocery bill is getting bigger. The laundry pile is reaching mammoth proportions. And the dishes! Well, lets just say we're thanking God for our new dishwasher. It came just in time. The dinner table has become a joyfully noisy blend of all kinds of conversations. We adults struggle to be heard, but with thankful hearts that that is the way it is. Souls are growing fat as well as little bodies, so we don't mind.
The days of flying by the seat of my pants to keep up with daily duties are also officially over (at least, that's my goal). We are now servants of the schedule. I do not use the word "slaves" because that implies we are strictly bound without any moving room. That's not it at all. Having the schedule on the fridge is kind of like having someone there to remind me what to do, to keep me on track throughout the day. It's not good enough any more to have it in my head. Honestly, it makes such a difference to have it written on paper. And when I come to the end of a day in which I haven't stuck to my agenda, I see I haven't gotten nearly as much done, even though I've been "busy" all day. One of my favorite times of the week is Sunday afternoon when I get to sit down and set goals for the coming week. I don't always achieve them, but it feels good to have a map for the journey anyway.
One of the most helpful pieces of advice I've recently heard is that you have to choose what you're not going to do as much as you have to choose what will get done. I'm not going to do laundry on Wednesday if that's not laundry day. I'm not going to mop my floor instead of loading the dishwasher. Focus, Laurie, focus! I've had to resign to the fact that my children are really more important than clean floors and folded laundry. All that stuff will get done, and the house isn't going to be perfect. But that's OK! We are going to do our best and leave the rest alone.
I'm learning a lot about how to kill two (or three or four) birds with one stone. You can do a lot while you're nursing a baby--like read to the children, blog (thank goodness for Boppy pillows!), write notes or journal, make important phone calls, etc., etc. Setting a timer does wonders when you're cleaning house, too. You really do get more done.
I've also started giving the children individual playtime in their rooms. It's about 30 minutes a day, just enough time for me to gather myself in the middle of the morning and do something without interruptiions. They enjoy getting special things to play with by themselves.
We rarely go out anywhere during the day, but it's a real treat when we get to. Staying home keeps me focused on what needs to be done, and it keeps the children content. Oh, did I mention it saves a ton of gas?
Reading self-help books was never very appealing to me, but I've actually been enjoying them and am trying to apply the principles to my home as well as my business. I would highly recommend this practice for moms as well as business people. It really makes a difference. And it's interesting to observe how they mesh with Scriptural principles. That's not a coincidence.
A few thoughts on how my life is going right now...I need to get back to the schedule.
Posted by lhyink at 01:07 PM | Comments (1)
February 21, 2007
Pooh Bear
I was never really able to "get into" A. A. Milne until just recently. I've been reading "The House At Pooh Corner" to the children recently, and it is a delight. Of course, I see things differently than they do--I see a father telling stories to his son, and stuffed animals, and a world in miniature. My children see a huge forest, tigers, kangaroos, you know...I really want to get the readings by Peter Dennis, the only ones "approved" by Christopher Robin Milne himself.
I see myself in so many of the characters. Unfortunately, I am too much like Eeyore sometimes. Man, does it really sound that bad when I complain? It's interesting to compare all the characters to the way we are as humans, and I can't help but think Milne had that in mind.
Posted by lhyink at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
February 18, 2007
The Bug
We've got the bug. No, I'm not talking about some sort of inspiration to do something great, and we didn't get a new car. Hope was the last of us to come down with the stomach bug this afternoon. I say last because hopefully Alexander is exempt from such a thing. I was on my back all day Friday, and let me tell you, there's no experience like taking care of four little children while you're sick! I take refuge in the fact that God doesn't give us more than we can handle. We made it. The nice thing about having sick kids is that they sleep. You can actually get a lot more done than on a normal day. I'm looking forward to a new week with everyone healthy again.
Posted by lhyink at 11:36 PM | Comments (1)
Recent Purchase
Anyone out there have boxes of photos stashed away like I do? I'm excited about my recent purchase from Creative Memories. Did you know you can organize a Rubbermaid bin full of photos in two hours? My consultant teaches a very simple method that I have begun. Basically, you just start making piles, not worrying about time sequence. You're just concerned about grouping the pictures according to subject, labeling each group with sticky notes. It's rewarding to see all my photos beginning to be in some semblance of order. And I know that if I need to find one picture, I'll know where to go. If I need to grab all the pictures at once (heaven forbid, if the house is on fire), I can easily do that. I'm getting inspired to start journaling albums for my children, just very simple ones. Imagine what fifteen minutes, three days a week, would accomplish! I think I'll try that as soon as I get my photos filed away.
Posted by lhyink at 11:24 PM | Comments (0)
February 15, 2007
Balance
This is one of my favorite paintings by one of my favorite artists, Jan Vermeer. I don't claim to know a whole lot about art, but I really appreciate Vermeer's attention to his subject matter. His paintings of women capture the essence of femininity--modesty, motherhood (I love his emphasis on the beauty of a pregnant woman), serenity, and quiet contentment in daily household tasks. In this particular painting, you will notice the woman holding a balance in her hand and costly jewels on the table in front of her. She must be contemplating the balance between material wealth and the child growing inside her. There's a lot I know I'm missing, but this one intrigues me. I want to do a collage on my wall someday of all his paintings of pregnant women--I think it's just beautiful.
Posted by lhyink at 11:22 PM | Comments (1)