Babies

We've been living in North Salt Lake for about five months now.  We're starting to feel a little more established, and it is wonderful.  Henry has become a little sumo baby.  Seriously.  He is a big fatso, and I love it.  I can't get over it, and it makes me really happy.  That may be a silly thing to be excited about, but since Gabe was tiny and sick the first month of his life, it's really awesome to have a healthy baby, and not have to worry about that kind of stuff.  The first picture is Gabe when he is about two months old.  The second picture is Henry right now (5 weeks, 3 days).  No, the squares on the blanket did not get smaller.  Henry is just that much bigger.  Count the squares down and across.  Gabe's foot would be about the same place that Henry's leg starts.

We've started calling Henry "Rolly" after the puppy in 101 Dalmations.

Anyway, it's awesome, and we love Henry.  Gabe can say his name, and he is very proud and protective of his new baby.  When we were in the hospital, and Henry was taken out of my room to get his hearing tested, Gabe was real mad at the lady for trying to steal our baby.  Oh man, the wrath of a two-year-old.  Haha.  It's tough love around here.  Gabe loves him so much, he sits on him, pokes him in the eye, and tries to force toys in his mouth and hands.  Gabe has gotten really fun to play with lately too.  We went to the park yesterday, and he was so excited.  There were a ton of other kids there, and the giggling echoing through the slides was contagious.  It was really cute.  Gabe loved the swing, and wanted to go higher.  He's really good at tricky ladders, and likes to show off. :) Here are a few pictures from our outing: 

This is a close-up of the swing.  It made me really happy! :)

This was right as he was coming down the slide.  My camera was just slightly too late, so it's a little silly, but you can still tell how happy he was.

Weather has been really nice here.  It's been in the 50s and 60s the last few days.  It's something that I'm told is unusual for Utah, but I'm not complaining.  

And... here are some more pictures of Henry and Gabe.  Enjoy. :)

I hope everybody is doing well!  It would be awesome to get the blog going again.

Love,

Emma, Evan, Gabe and Henry :)

Things I Learned in September

Ah, Glorious September.

You make me so happy.

From your sunny days to your

cool and breezy evenings,

you are a true friend.

So, things I learned  this month.

1. Change is hard for me.
Change and I are not good friends.
This is not a new concept, but one that I am reminded
 of continually as my children grow up,
 the shape of our family shifts and grooves in new ways,
and life works its' wicked wiles on me.

2. I am not as strong as I thought I was. I need to be more gentle in

my judgement of others as they pass through hard things. I was always

 of the "Just suck it up and do what you have to" camp.

And sometimes you can't.

Life is dang hard and just not that simple.

3. I learned (again!) that I have been blessed with the most

extraordinary

family in the world.

I wouldn't trade any kind of security for the sheer

 awesomeness

 that is my family.

4. I learned (again) that we are never too old for our parents

company, wisdom, and advice.

I miss my dad.

 I miss him more now than I did a few months ago.

I think it's the flocks of ducks and geese flying overhead and

the beauty of all things fall. I heard shots the morning of 

duck opener, and instantly flashed back to 

sitting in the duck blind with Dad.

First day of tenth grade

5. The beginning of school is always exciting.

Even if it is (much) less so two days later when we get up for Seminary.

New clothes, new shoes, new notebooks and pencils.

There's just something about it.

6. You should always keep learning new skills.

I knew this, but had a little reminder. I feel like I'm 19 again,
figuring out what to do with my life. It's a scary and exciting place to be!

I wish I could take credit for this darling mug cozy.

Alas, my skillset is more of the irregular shaped dishcloth.

But I'm practicing.

Mandy made this adorable orange one while she was home.
She forgot it here and it is being loved by me.

7. I have been reminded of my worth. In fact, 

the worth of all souls being great.

Seems like something that should be obvious, but there you go.

We're all in different places with different strengths and weaknesses.

It's great that we can all compliment each other in our abilities. 

So, I am just trying to pay attention to what is going on, and learn something.

I just want to keep growing. 

I hope you have beautiful things in your world.

Love you,

Kim

Things I am thankful for

1. Family

2. Autumn colors

3. Yummy fresh apples

4. Sunny skies

5. Cute mug cozies! 

6. My snuggly bed when I'm tired

7. Dragonflies

8. Crazy Morning glories

9. Purple Cabbages. Who knew they were so awesome?!?

Honey Wheat Bread

Hey All! How are things in your world? 

Things here are feeling pretty calm

 after the madness that is eight adults and a busy two year old, plus

 a dog, a cat, and the stomach flu in our little house.

Madness, I tell you. Gah. With a capital G. 

Still and all, it was mostly great. We played awesomely at The Stockade,

which, after all, was one of the main purposes of getting everyone together.

I wish I had some pictures of The Stockade. Evan took a whole bunch,

but I haven't been able to preview any yet.

We did some wonderful music together. 

It is so cool how the music pulls us together.

My favorites are:

No One Stands Alone (Seriously epic. Man!)

Come Thou Fount

and

In The Old Church Yard

(2010- Old and a bit goofy, but it gives a little taste of The Stockade)

 I am so ridiculously grateful for the gift of music in our lives.

I don't know why we were so blessed, but I accept!

We had some growing pains this time, adjusting to being together

 after so much time being independent. It was a little tricky,

but I am still happy to have been able to have my family all (minus Kerry)

under one roof. Awesome!

Anyway, on one of the last days that the kids were here we went to 

go see Grandpa and Grandma's house. It is, sadly, on the market.

It might sell before they get to see it again. We moved so much 

when they were growing up that G and G's house was kind of their stable place. 

We walked through the house and then went out to do "The Tour" in the yard.

So freaking many memories were flying thorough my head. Pretty much all of my

childhood memories are from there. It's a hard thing. I sure miss my dad

and think about calling him at least once a day.

While we were there somehow the subject came up of grinding wheat.

I can't explain it. Weird, right?

Joan got out her grinder and some wheat and we went to town. It was 

so cool. We were absurdly excited.

I've been dying to try our beautiful fresh ground flour.

And today I did. 

And Yum.

Just yum.

Honey Wheat Bread

2 1/2 C Buttermilk

1/2 C Honey

1/3 C Butter

Heat together until very warm. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl mix

3 1/2 C flour

1/2 C Oats

2 T Yeast

3 tsp Salt

and beat three minutes. Mix in

2 Eggs

Then Stir in by hand

2 1/2- 3 C Whole Wheat Flour

Put in greased bowl and let rise until doubled.

Stir down and shape into two loaves. Place in  greased pans.

Let rise until doubled again. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 Minutes.

(Before I baked mine I brushed them with honey and sprinkled them with oats)

Delicious.

It's funny, because it is so crazy when everyone is here, and I

long for peace and quiet and my clean house,

but they leave and I miss them so much.

Love you to the moon and back y'all!

Kim

Things I'm Grateful for Today

Just a few things I am thankful for on this lovely Sunday:

The Sweet Gabe on his second birthday,
Who took blowing out his candles very seriously

A bonfire on a beautiful summer night,
with perfectly toasted marshmallows

Aaaaah! the beauty that is Minnesota,
and the abundance of water

My Sweetie and time together,
heck yeah!

The handsome Sammy and opportunities for growth.
Looks sharp, right!?!

and the best kids in the world and the good choices they have made, including
 wonderful son's in law (that I can't lay my hand on a picture of at this moment. Grr).

And there is no picture for this, but I am so grateful for free agency, for the ability to choose. I guard this right fiercely in my life and would do the same for you. What a gift.

Anyway,
life is mostly really good right now.
What are you thankful for?

Love, Kim

Hi Again Family! And 10 Minute Dill Pickles

Hello My Awesome Family!

I am excited to be here at our family blog that has been so neglected.

(And yes, Awesome Family should be capitalized)

I am pretty pumped that we will all be together soon

I found this fabulous recipe for practically instant pickles.

And I am trying them out as we speak.

They smell so good!

And the smell of dill is just plain amazing!

They are in the fridge just waiting for me to bite into them. 

I thought you might want to try them too. 

Go for it! 

It's super easy!

10 Minute (sort of ) Dill Pickles

½ cup vinegar (apple cider or white)

1 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon black peppercorns

Fresh dill to taste 

2 large cucumbers or 1. pounds small pickling cucumbers, sliced

In a quart Mason jar, place the vinegar, salt, sugar, garlic, mustard, pepper and dill. Add the cucumber slices and fill with warm water to within ½. inch of the mouth of the jar. Put on lid and shake. Place in the fridge for 24 hours, then enjoy. Refrigerated, these pickles keep for three weeks, but we guarantee they won't last that long.

Be happy

And eat pickles

And see you soon!

Love you,

Mom

Five Minute Friday

REST

I am learning to rest.

My body.  My mind.  My spirit.

I've always had this idea that I should just keep plugging along and push through it.

Whatever "it" is.

"I'm strong."

"I'm tough."

"I can handle it."

Until I couldn't.

Until I was so tired and beaten down from the hard things in life,

that I couldn't even enjoy my life.

Everything, even the good things, just felt like too much.

And then I had to rest.

That meant sleep, of course, but also time just being quiet.

Saying no to even good things.

Music!

Finding (remembering?) my talents again and actually using them.

Even Christ rested.

And remember the story of Mary and Martha?

Rest.  Find rest.  Heal.  Rest.