The Knight Life

Cute Vegan Website

2011-11-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile since I have posted anything. But this seems like an appropriate post, it being Advent and all. I found this cute, and potentially good, vegan website. I especially like the drawings accompanying each recipe.

www.theveganstoner.blogspot.com

Bad Words

2011-11-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

Levi is in the process of writing a story. He usually asks me how to spell words and if I think a particular plot is a good one. Today he asked me if he could put bad words into his story.

"What kind of bad words?" I asked.

"Well," he replied "not the real bad words like 'idiot' or 'stupid.' But maybe just the kind-of bad words like 'nincompoop' and that kind of thing."

A Solution?

2011-11-08T19:28:00.001-08:00

Want to know how I spent my day today? I will give you one guess, based on my last post. That is right! Re-arranging!

Thank you for all the constructive criticism or praise in regards of switching the breakfast nook and dinning room. Ultimately I liked it, but not enough to defend it to the husband or to make the necessary changes to make it work (changing the light fixture, etc.)

So I switched it back today and also rearranged the family room. I am really liking the new arrangement! I moved some shelves into the dining room, trying to make the room a bit more functional.

Here is the new set up:

I bet you are wondering what I did with the breakfast nook, right? Well here is that photo:

Bwah ha ha! Those BIG plans are being started tomorrow so stay tuned! You're gonna love it!

I Need Help!

2011-11-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

I have often heard, that the first step is admitting that you have a problem. So I will accomplish that and profess that I have a problem that has, until now, not been much of a problem. My problem? I love to rearrange. I love to reorganize. I love to redecorate.

Notice that there is a predominant prefix in the above sentences. Yep, the initial decorating, or organizing is not that much fun to me. What I really love to do is tackle problems. Clean out the cupboards and find a better way of storing things.

The same can be said for rooms. I love to rearrange furniture in any room. We have only lived in this house for a bit over a year, and I have already rearranged the family room about four times. The living room three, dining room twice and the bedrooms about half a dozen.

Normally I just use whatever was already in the room (furniture, art, etc) to come up with a new layout.

Not yesterday! I got this crazy idea. Hear me out.

We have a dining room. We also have a nook next to our kitchen that we were using as a breakfast nook. I had some big shelves in their for storage, but they always got cluttered and messy looking. Here is what it looked like:

We also have a dining room, it looked like this:

So I got to thinking... do we really need two eating areas? It seemed kind of wasteful. So I did the ultimate rearrange. I moved the dining room table into the eating nook and then moved the breakfast table (now more of a desk) and shelves into the dining room.

I thought it looked great! I was totally excited to show Hurricane when he got home! But, I had to take Slim to taekwondo and Hurricane got home when we were gone. I got the following text from him last night:

"Why did you do this to the house. Does NOT work. Needs to go back to how it was."

The next text said: "I need salsa."

Ok. So the hubs doesn't approve. We debated a bit and ended with him saying "nobody in their right mind will think it is okay to turn the dining room into a catch-all junk area."

So that is where you come in my dear friends.

I have included a few pictures to show how the two rooms look now. I do know that a couple adjustments need to me made to the former dining room. For one, the light fixture needs to be moved to the new dining room. Also, I think a rug (circular?) needs to be on the floor. Those two things will really improve the room, and make it not look like a dining room.

Also, give me your honest opinions! I can handle being told that it looks terrible, that I should put it back, or that (gasp!) the husband is correct. It will not hurt my feelings, promise.

So, first the new dining room:

And the new office/junk/catch all area:

One thing I already know that I love is this:
It is a fabric art wall hanging that I made this afternoon. Ikea fabric baby!

The Love of a Podcast

2011-11-02T21:33:00.000-07:00

Once both my my kids entered school I became slightly obsessed with something. Podcasts. I am hooked and addicted.

My previous addiction, NPR, has slowly faded and has been replaced by the constant "refreshing" of my i-tunes podcast page, anxiously awaiting some new episodes. Of course, a lot of those podcast are from NPR. Go figure.

Podcasts are great for a variety of reasons. You can listen anywhere and while doing anything. I listen when I clean, fold laundry, run, and mindlessly search the Internet. With the house being quiet four hours a day, having somebody talk to me, whether it is about politics, religion or in french, is a welcome addition.

I have been wanting for a while to post my favorite podcasts, just because I love them so much. So here we go!

Freakonomics

Did you read the book? Well, the podcast is another amazing and extremely interesting economical view of the world. One of my recent favorites is about hitchhiking. The stories are fascinating, the facts are astounding and the production is entertaining.

Left, Right & Center

A political podcast which discusses various current events from all political spectrum's. This show is only produced once a week and my only complaint is that I wish it were longer. The 30 minutes allocated for the show never seems to be enough time to adequately hear all sides, but still a good program.

To The Point

I love this podcast. It is hosted by Warren Olney who is such an intriguing interviewer. Luckily for me, it is a daily show so I get to listen to Olney's gruff and sexy voice often. This is a must on any i-pod.

Live Wire

Portland quirky-ness, meets Saturday Night Live, meets radio theater. Throw in some funky and current musical artists and you have Portland's equivalent of A Prairie Home Companion.

Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me

I kind of think this show does not need an explanation. Am I right?

Real Time With Bill Maher

Don't hate me because I like this show. It is a total guilty pleasure. If you don't like cussing and making fun of everybody under the sun, this show is not for you.

Science Friday

Who doesn't love Ira Flatow? He has a voice that was made for radio and I love his quirky-ness and laugh. This is a weekly show (duh, on Friday's) that deals with all things science related.

Slate Magazine

Ok, so Slate publishes a variety of podcasts, of which I enjoy most of them. I love the Culture Gabfest and the Political Gabfest, but one of my favorites has got to be a new one called Civil War Stories. It is freaking amazing. They only produce one a month, so you have got to be patient. Everything about the Civil War Stories podcast is great: the music, the narrator, the stories. Totally worth listening to.

Search the Scriptures

I got hooked on this podcast about six months ago and shortly after, found out that the author was coming to our church for a lecture. She is such an intellectual and gifted woman. I love her frank and honest talks. Her research into the Scriptures, from the Father's point of view, is so refreshing and interesting. I only wish she did not work, was not so busy, and only had time to podcast. My life would be better if hers had more free time.

What is great about this podcast, is that Presvytera Jeannie started her Biblical review from "In the beginning." Amazing. VERY worth listening too.

Teach Me Thy Statues

Another Biblical overview, but with the New Testament.

Worship In Spirit & In Truth

Who knew Fr. Hopko was so funny? He is wildly entertaining and I love listening to him explain the Divine Liturgy so clearly. A wonderful listen.

Food, Faith & Fasting

The author of this blog covers a lot of basic information, but with an Orthodox twist. I also like her sweet voice; it is a fun and short podcast with good information.

***

All Done! Now you all know how I spend most days: cleaning and listening! All these are free podcasts, I am not sure I could bring myself to pay for one!

If there are other great podcasts out there that I should be listening to, let me know! I would love to add them into my rotation.

November 2010

2011-11-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is what was happening last November.

Visiting Grandma Kay in the snow

Peaches was still obsessed with purple hair

Peaches' God-family came down for Thanksgiving (& cleaned)

Slim lost his first tooth

A trip to the zoo and a rare family photo!

Indroducing...

2011-10-22T09:23:00.001-07:00

The newest member of the Knight family... Pippin! Yep, we took the bold step of getting a puppy. He was eight weeks old when my brother and his wife shipped him from Alaska down to us. The kids were SO excited to have a pet, and, for the most part, have been really great with him.

Pippin is half black lab and half weimaraner. His mother, Katie (weimaraner), belongs to my brother and his family in Alaska. They typically breed her, but this one time, she got loose and well, she met the wrong breed of dog. A couple months later, bam! Eleven mixed puppies. My sister-in-law is basically a dog freak, so she knows everything there is to know about them. She watched the litter, kept her eyes open for the best mannered dog, and reserved him for us.

So far, I think things are going great. This is my first time having a puppy and they are definitely a lot of work. Basically like having another baby. Except this one I can leave at home unattended for a couple hours at a time!

Since Pip is half lab, he is very active. He LOVES going on hikes and long walks, then comes home and crashes. It is so cute! He is extremely soft and cuddly, sometimes falling asleep in my lap on the couch. He is getting very attached to Claire, following her every move on our walks. If she walks circles around a tree, he does. If she has to balance on the curb, he is mimicking her perfectly.

Since he is a puppy, he tries to eat everything. Seriously, everything. The good thing about this, is that it is really encouraging myself and the kids to keep things off the floor and put away. I have not had Legos all of the living room for a week now! My feet love it!

The above pictures were all from the first couple of days with Pip. He has already grown since then! We have only had him a week and a half!

This picture is from Forest Park, one of our favorite places to hike. In fact, it is where we are off to now!

SO Much Better Than Last Year

2011-10-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Exactly one year and three days ago, I was standing in church listening to the massive rainfall that morning. It was October 10th, 2010. I remember being amazed at the pounding and pouring that morning. I also remember not paying too much attention during Liturgy that day; and feeling very sorry for myself.

You see, a few weeks before that, I had developed a stress fracture in my left foot while I was training for the Portland Marathon. The stress fracture was so bad, that my doctor instructed me not to run the race and to basically stay away from running for 2-4 months. I know my inconsistent training is how I developed the injury. Training for a marathon requires a lot of 8+ mile runs, something I could not do with children and Hurricane's unpredictable work schedule. So, I ran on the weekends and then ran more consistently when the kids started school in September. My foot obviously did not like that, and protested the best way it knew how.

So that fateful Sunday morning, while the rest of the competitors were running in the massive downpour, I was bemoaning the fact that I spent $140 on a race that I would never run. I stared at the shirt and bag that falsely advertised my athletics. Humph.

In January 2011, things started feeling better. I did a 5K race with my sister-in-law and started running low mileage about twice a week. I registered for the Portland Half Marathon at the end of the month and by the middle of summer was in a consistent training schedule.

And boy, did it pay off!

This past Sunday, the 9th, I did the half marathon with my girlfriend who flew up from Utah. It was amazing!

Speaking of amazing, I have to brag a bit about Nicole. So, Nicole. She is pretty much the funniest person you will meet. Not only does she have a wonderful personality, she also has a positive attitude and a lot of courage. You see, she only started running this year. That is right! This year! Like me, she signed up for the half at the end of January. Like me, she started with a consistent training in the summer. However, unlike me, she did all her training on a treadmill! She only ran outside 4 times before coming to Portland for the half! She even did the longest training run, 10 miles, on a treadmill! How crazy is that? Pretty crazy!

But wait, maybe it was not so crazy when I tell you how much she rocked the half. Her first one. Ever. Well, here are her stats:

Half Marathon official time: 2:01
Official Pace: 9:18/mile
Overall Results: 443 out of 2272 (top 19%)
Women Results: 210 out of 1668 (top 13%)
Age Group Results: 29 out of 205 (top 14%)

I am SO proud of how well she ran. It was so much fun having her here for the extended weekend. I loved running with her and I cannot wait to do the next one!

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Claire loved having someone around who actually knew how to fix her hair:

Hanging out with Claire at the LDS Portland Temple grounds Friday afternoon:

Another Build

2011-10-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Remember Slim's room? It was literally a sea. Dark blues, browns, and light blue on every wall, with various sea animals painted everywhere.

Here is what it looked like the first time we walked into this house, back in January 2010.

Cute, but not almost seven-year-old-boy cute.

Finally, back towards the end of August, I was ready to tackle his room. I know what you are thinking. "August? The end of August? You mean immediately after you were physically, emotionally and financially drained from finishing your back patio and tree fort?"

Yes. You are correct. A mere days after we totally finished our back yard projects, I started feeling that feeling. That feeling you get when you want something changed and you want it changed now. This seems to be a constant struggle of mine. Finish one major project only to start another.

But this one was fun. Slim was ready for his room to be painted and I also promised him a bunk bed.

Since starting to build earlier this year, I have been dying for a bigger project. My desk was fun, but I wanted a more complicated challenge. A bed for Slim seemed perfect. This summer, in Alaska, Slim and his cousin slept on his newly build loft bed that my brother had made. This seemed like a great option. Only, unlike my nephew's bed, I did not want Slim's bolted into the wall.

Also, since my kids still like to sleep together, a loft bed seemed like the perfect fit. Peaches' bed would just go underneath, then, in the event she is ready for her own space, her bed can move and Slim still has a ton more space for Lego building.

I found some decent plans online and modified them to fit what we would need. Since I am cheap, I also bought build-grade lumber, which is only sanded with about 80 girt. Since this was a bed, I had to hand sand (also 'cause I am cheap & did not want to invest in a sander) all the wood for the bed three times. That is a lot.

Then I had to prime and seal the wood before I could paint it.

So, in between sanding, sealing, and painting I worked on the room itself. I primed the walls. I primed the ceiling (yes, they painted the ceiling! WHY?) I put up new trim and base boards. Because I wanted Slim's room to match Peaches', I hung chair rail and decided to paint the walls two colors.

Total the room took 10 days from start to finish. I also painted Slim's desk chair to match the bed and re-upholstered it with fun fabric. I bought individual shelves from IKEA and painted them to match the walls. They each have a reading light by their bed.

All in all, I think it turned out perfect. The only thing left to do is curtains. I have the fabric (a duvet cover from IKEA's 75% off bin) I just have to sew them!

Take a look at the progress!

Here you can see where I sample colors. You can also see the blue ceiling that I had to paint over!

Decided on blue and grey!
Ready for chair-rail, trim, and base:

Base, chair-rail, and trim up!

And voila!

Future fixes? Wood floors, new windows, new light fixture and the closet! But that will just have to wait...

Japanese & Rose Gardens

2011-10-04T15:32:00.001-07:00

On what now is to be considered our last sunny summery day in Portland, I decided to take Peaches out to have some fun. Since she is most likely going to start full-day school in January, I am trying to make a conscious effort to spend quality time with her in the short time we have before Slim comes home.

Some days are better than others. This day, was perfect.

We got our Cultural Pass from the Library which covers admission for 2 adults and 2 children to various places in Portland. We decided on the Japanese gardens, and we invited a friend. Since the Japanese Gardens are right next to the Rose Garden, we enjoyed that too. Portland is the Rose City after all!

Here are the pictures:

October 2010

2011-10-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

I thought it would be fun, at the beginning of the month, to take a look back at the previous year. I just might try to do this consistently! Might, is the key word in that sentence. Consistence is something rarely found on this blog...

Anyway, looking back at October 2010, it seemed that we were doing a lot of exploring! It is fitting though, as we had only lived in Oregon for three months.

Here are my five favorite pictures from last October:

Musicals

2011-10-03T09:14:00.001-07:00

Do you enjoy musicals? I do. One of the best?

This musical came out when I was in junior high school. A good friend of mine had a VHS copy and we would watch it all the time. We had the songs memorized and loved the mash up of various fairy tales.

Imagine my surprise when I ran across this on Netflix! SO EXCITED!

I let the kids watch it with me and they got annoyed at my singing and laughing. It is amazing how much you can remember after 20 years!

So, I highly recommend it. Not only for Bernadette Peters' magnificent voice and acting, but just because, musicals are fun!

Tongue Twisters

2011-10-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Remember those?

My kids are into playing games at the dinner table. We have evolved from the "Number Guessing" game to more elaborate thinking games.

Our current one we call the "Place Game." The first person names a place (county, state, city, etc.) Then the second person has to name a place that begins with the last letter of the first persons place. The third person names a place that starts with the last letter of the second persons place and so on.

Example:

1st Person: New York
2nd Person: Kansas
3rd Person: South America
4th Person: Afria...

There are a lot of places that start and end with the letter A! It is fun finding or thinking of A-places that end in another letter.

My kids love it! Slim will get out his globe and try to look for new places and the Montessori education is really showing on Peaches when we play.

Last night, for reasons still unknown, last night they decided to play a rhyming game. Well, that eventually morphed into doing tongue twisters, which eventually lead to creating our own twisters.

Here are the best ones:

How much alligators could Allen avenge if Allen could avenge alligators?

How much garbage could Gavin grab if Gavin could grab garbage?

How much lunch could Levi launder if Levi could launder lunch?

How much candy could Claire carry if Claire could carry candy?

How much nickles could Nicole nibble if Nicole could nibble nickles?

How much junk could Josh jump over if Josh could jump over junk?

How much could a goat float if a goat could float on a boat?

How much orchids could an octopus open if an octopus could open orchids?

Memory Eternal

2011-09-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

Christ, All-merciful Judge, vouchsafe Thy servant Russell the sweetness of Paradise.

My Journey to Orthodoxy

2011-09-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

I wrote this article for my church's monthly newsletter:

My journey to Orthodoxy began before I was born. It began before my parents were married; before they had even met. My journey to Orthodoxy began with a man in Anchorage, Alaska named Harold Dunaway.

In 1971, Mr. Dunaway was able to buy a large piece of property, a former Catholic Monastery in the growing town of Eagle River, Alaska. Mr. Dunaway was only able to purchase the property because of a very generous and unexpected donation. He fondly remembers that this was “how we found our home.” That home became the gathering place for a group of Christian seekers.

Soon that home established by Mr. Dunaway, now Fr. Harold, and his wife was where my parents dated and later married. A little over a year later, I was born into this evolving Christian community. Gradually we established a school, newly married couples built homes, and eventually a graveyard was needed. In 1984 every member of this large community donated their Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend check towards the building fund. We needed a cathedral.

Three years later, on April 1, 1987 this growing group of Evangelical Christians made the ultimate leap. En masse we were received into the Orthodox Church by Metropolitan Philip. That spring, I was one of about 2000 Evangelical Orthodox Christians in North America chrismated into Orthodoxy by the Metropolitan. Metropolitan Philip’s words to all the faithful on that day were, “Welcome Home.”

Although the decision to become Orthodox was made by my parents, by the time we were officially accepted into the church, one of my parents was not there physically. Six months before we were chrismated, my father, Russell, was flown from Anchorage to Seattle for emergency surgery. He never recovered and died a few days later.

One of the last things my mother remembers my father telling her was that he was going home. She looked at him, holding his hand and agreed. “Yes!” she cried, “we will go home. You will see the children soon.”

“No, Annie. Not that home. My real home,” was his reply. My father knew he was leaving this life. He knew he was going to see his Creator soon. And he fully accepted that. It took me much longer to accept.

Home can mean many different things to different people depending on personal circumstances. To Fr. Harold, a home meant a place to educate young people, to teach people about God, and to begin a life-long journey. To my father, home was his final destination. To Metropolitan Philip, home was the church that he was introducing to hundreds of families. In my life, I have come to associate church, specially the Orthodox Church, with home. Throughout my short life, I have seen that the church has given me what I needed, whether I realized it or not, which is the exact meaning of home.

Many converts to Orthodoxy—and I do consider myself a convert—mark their chrismation or baptism as a focal point in their life. Many people see their life changing on the day they married, or on the day their first child was born. Not me. My life is separated into two parts by one day: September 30, 1986. This was the day my father died.

Losing a father at an early age was not easy. I was the oldest of four children. I was old enough to remember my father and to rebel against my new one, but young enough to still need a father. Two years after my father’s death, my mother met a man at work who had recently read about the Orthodox Church on his own. When he discovered that my mother was Orthodox, he immediately was drawn to her. Not long after their first date, they were engaged.

When my mother and step-father were dating, my priest, who also happened to have been my father’s best man, took me on a drive. We went to McDonald’s and just talked. He was very frank about death and about how strong a man my father was. We were all new to Orthodoxy, so looking back, I imagine that many of the things he was telling me were just as new to him.

When my mother married my stepfather I protested as good as I knew how: I refused to stand during the entire wedding. I was a mean and harsh daughter to my new father. I set a horrible example for my younger brothers and sisters, as well as to my two new brothers. I struggled during the rest of my childhood.

Gradually the layers began to melt away. I slowly learned that life resumes, good things continue to happen. I learned how to pray for my father. I learned how to timidly ask him to welcome newly departed friends and family into the Kingdom of God. Asking him to pray for my family and me was a powerful lesson. When I graduated from high school I was given an Orthodox Study Bible by all the faithful from St. John’s in Eagle River. My priest had taken the time to highlight one passage in my Bible. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4. This verse still gives me comfort.

My husband, Joshua, and I were married at my home church in Eagle River. The next day we packed all of our belongings into an ocean freighter and moved to Everson, Washington. Over the years we have attended four parishes.

Joshua’s job soon took us to Everett, Washington where our son, Levi, was born and Joshua attended Western Washington University. When Joshua was accepted to the University of Washington Medical School, we decided to move to Seattle, where our daughter, Claire, was born. About three months before graduation, Joshua’s residency schedule was revealed.

The process for applying for residency is a bit crazy. Basically each medical program ranks the applicants in the order that they want them, while the medical students rank the programs they want to attend. On one day, every medical student in the country finds out where they are going. Joshua and I fought a lot during this ranking stage. We both wanted different things out of residency. He wanted a reputable hospital while I wanted to buy a house. He wanted the Pacific Northwest, I did not. Thus, we did what most couples do, we compromised; we spent long hours battling over the ratings of each program, over each city’s merits and potential lifestyles until we both felt that at least some of our desires were represented in our final ranked list.

In March 2009, we found out we would be spending one year in Spokane, Washington and four years in Portland. Let’s just say this was NOT what I wanted! But upon hearing our assignment, a deacon at our church in Seattle came up to us beaming. He said his two favorite parishes were in those cities! How blessed we were to be going to these two magnificent places! He was the catalyst behind our family finding St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church.

Time and a positive attitude, but most importantly faith in God, has shown me just how right our deacon was. After a year in Spokane, we moved to Portland in order for Joshua to continue his residency at Oregon Health & Sciences University. We chose a home relatively near the church and enrolled our children at Agia Sophia Academy. The community of St. John the Baptist shares so many of the positive characteristics that I idealized and romanticized about my home parish in Alaska. Qualities that I thought could never be duplicated or re-created.

In short, I have found a new home.

All He Wants for Christmas...

2011-08-11T20:40:00.001-07:00

This Totally Works

2011-08-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

Tree Fort & Backyard

2011-08-07T16:58:00.001-07:00

I promised pictures soon, didn't I! Pretty impressive with my timeliness, if I do say so myself...

Anyway. Tree fort first, since the pictures uploaded that way.

Here is the view from the porch (newly finished, I might add! Pictures to follow)

The windows: (again, from the ground)

Inside the fort portion:
And, finally, the crow's nest. Here are the stairs going up, and then the kids at the top:

Impressive right??

On to the patio/backyard. It was actually really hard to find pictures of what the back patio looked like before our version of extreme makeover! These pictures are from when we first started to do the project. You can clearly see that we used to have a plain concrete slab. Take special care to notice the pole.

And here is the totally finished project!:

YES! That is the pole! We basically enclosed it with 2x8's stained the wood and then built a concrete block structure as high as we wanted the base to be. We covered the concrete blocks with real rock panels and viola! A totally kick-booty drink holder!

Here are more pictures of the area: (note how impressive the grass seed has come in)

A cute purple bench that I built:

And, my favorite views: (this is coming in from the side gate)

I did manage to find this picture from when I came down for the house inspection in February 2010.

We basically eat outside for every meal. These past two weeks of to-die-for-summer-weather has been heaven. We are definitely getting our use out of the patio!

I am eagerly awaiting your comments announcing your arrival for summer bbq's, fires, and margaritas!

An Overdue Update

2011-08-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

Good morning faithful readers!

As you may note on the date/time stamp of this post, I am writing this at 9:30 on Sunday morning. Any other Sunday the computer would be off, the children would be dressed nicely, coffee would have not been made, and we would be heading to church. Alas, Hurricane had to work today and Slim was throwing up in the middle of the night. I had brief visions of sending Peaches to church with friends, but all our friends have young children. I thought it would be particularly cruel of me to add one more child to any of our friends brood for them to keep an eye on during church. Especially my hard child. So, we three are home. The house is particularly messy (more on that later) and the kids are playing nicely today. In fact, they have been playing nicely for the past four days... I wonder why? Oh, right, that is the exact amount of time that Slim has been sick!

He got this virus from me actually, so I can totally empathize with how miserable he is. Basically it is a very severe sore throat. The reason the kids have been getting along so well? Slim cannot talk. That is right! It hurts so bad, you just shut up. That was me last weekend. I survived on Starbucks frappuccinos. Slim has been requesting Costco berry smoothies. Something about the coldness of those drinks makes the pain bearable when you swallow.

Last night, at about 11pm, Slim woke up, stumbled out of bed all groggy-like and came into the living room. He coughed and then threw up. It was pretty sad too, he is just miserable. We eventually made it to the bathroom for the rest of the discharge. (Part of why the house is a mess)

But, since I had this exact thing last weekend, I know that he is on the mend, and should start feeling a lot better tomorrow.

So, let's detail the other things that are going on in our lives.

In Alaska, Slim went with his cousin to a Taekwondo class. Love was instantly formed. The first thing that he wanted to do back in B-town, was find a Taekwondo place. There is one a mile from our place and we are now proud parents of a Taekwondo enthusiast. Slim begs to go each night, concentrates super hard and puts forth tons of energy and effort and comes home super sweaty but happy.

I have to say, I really like the style of Taekwondo too. Each child addresses the teacher and other students as "sir" or "ma'am". They are expected to be polite, quiet, focused and obedient. During one class, they were practicing flying jump kicks (yes! Slim totally did it!) and one child was having some difficulty breaking the board. The other students started laughing and the instructor immediately told them all do to push-ups. Six-year old push-ups are pretty cute and funny and not technically good, but the point was instantly made that laughing and making fun of others in simply not tolerated.

We are also back into swimming lessons for the summer. We go Tuesday's and Thursday's and FINALLY Slim graduated enough to be with his sister in the 'C' class. Peaches is still a total fish and loves, loves, loves being in the water. Slim tolerates it. At least we have left the fear stage of water for him, though.

I started my half-marathon training this week too. Only two weeks behind schedule! My girlfriend from Utah is flying up and we get to do the race together! So I have some wicked good incentive to actually train and not slack off.

After living high off the hog for June and July, we are back into super strict budget mode. I swear, it is SO easy to spend money. A little too easy! I am seriously considering a cash-only budget, and Hurricane is totally willing, but the thought is very daunting.

Summer, thus far, has been a bit disappointing.

Don't get me wrong, we had a fabulous time in Alaska, we have been having fun hiking and playing. I guess I just have this nostalgia about summer being care-free, easy, and relaxed. I dream about sunny days, my kids running through the sprinkler, eating Popsicles, laughing. Ahh, summer. But summer is actually a lot of work! Who woulda thought? Somebody actually has to wash those towels, clean up the grass clippings that eventually make it inside the house, open up those Popsicle packages, make snacks, and pack lunches. Who? MOM!

But I have also been sick twice, just in July. Slim is now sick, our backyard has totally consumed our lives, we drastically overspent on our vacation, Hurricane's new work schedule is very demanding and my summer activites plans are harder to implement than previously thought. I have been pretty dedicated to manners though. Especially dinner manners. We have made tons of progress in that area!

I find it hard to get 'normal' activities done. By that I mean anything I want to do: sewing, knitting, reading. You know fun things. When does school start??

Finally, a back yard update. And a moment to brag about my husband.

We finished the patio. We built an incredible fire pit. We added a post to the patio that looks structural and elegant. We laid down grass seed. Hurricane completed the best tree fort imaginable. It even has a crow's nest that you access with a winding staircase and rope rails. It is pretty freaking cool.

My hubs has been working on this project since January. This past week he was on total complete mode. Yesterday, his ONLY DAY OFF for eleven days, he spent working and completing the fort. Like most of the projects my husband wants to start, I was less than enthusiastic about this one. I liked the "elevated porch" idea of a fort, but not so much the enclosed structure or the crows nest. Especially not the spiral staircase! But, like most of the projects he completes, he did a fabulous job and I stand corrected. The kids love it. Peaches wanted to sleep on the crow's nest last night and went so far as to bring her pillow and blanket up. Yikes, now there is a scary thought!

We will let them sleep in the house part, but Slim is still too sick to even entertain the idea. I guess the throw-up mess could have been avoided right? Better to hose off a fort then clean up toilets, carpet and towels.

I will add pictures soon. And not two weeks soon, hopefully later today.

Okay, I think that is enough of an update! Off to tackle the kitchen and laundry!

More Homer Antics

2011-07-17T19:37:00.001-07:00

This blog has been a plethora of photos lately. But hey, this is easy! And if you love pictures, this post will definitely not disappoint!

So the next million pictures are all in Homer. Last Saturday (the 9th) we all left Homer and drove to Anchorage to pick up my bother and his wife who live in Southern California. We did Moose's Tooth, church and Point Wornzoff. Then, Tuesday morning, my brother, his wife, Slim & Peaches loaded up and drove back to Homer.

In Homer we went to an art studio, the spit, went wine & mead tasting, did some hiking, saw some baby eagles on the side of the road, visited the church, watched the boys play pirates, took the kids to their first bar, visited a homestead, played scrabble, walked the beach, visited quaint bookstores, ate crepes, and went to the Homer Visitor's Center. All and all, it was an exciting and fun week.

My Birthday

2011-07-15T19:09:00.001-07:00

When you go to Homer, you go halibut fishing. I had never been and Josh had a miserable time six years ago when he last went (no halibut, only salmon). We decided to give it a go again, and this time we had enough people for a full boat, six people. My mom, my aunt (mom's sister), my cousin (aunt's daughter), sister-in-law (AK one), Hurricane, and myself were the lucky ones. It just so happened to work out that the only day we could all go together and could get an empty boat, was on my birthday.

We left the house early: 5:45 am. It took about 20 minutes to get into town from my parents house, so these first pictures are taken a bit after six am.

The birthday girl!

On our way to the fishing grounds: We had to drive two hours from Homer harbor to where we were going to fish. It was very long. After we got over the beauty, we mostly slept.

Getting our fish on! My mom caught the first halibut. But I caught the biggest! HA! Birthday luck?

We also caught LOTS of Pacific Cod, skate and one shark. We threw all those back.

Here is our catch!

My halibut was the biggest of the day, estimated to be about 65-70 lbs. I will say 70 lbs. I could not even lift it! The deckhand had to assist. But, it was a fun day!

Homer Spit, Alaska

2011-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Cemetery

2011-07-06T00:31:00.001-07:00

This poem is hung at the church cemetery. I loved it.

Death, be not proud (Holy Sonnet 10)

By John Donne

Death be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,

For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,

Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,

Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, warre, and sicknesse dwell,

And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,

And better then thy stroake; why swell’st thou then;

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,

And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

The grandchildren "kissing" Grandpa Russell:

The First Day in Alaska

2011-07-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we made it! We had an hour long train ride to the airport, then a three and a half hour plane, then another 45 minute drive till we arrived at my brothers house. Alaska is just as beautiful as I remember and my nieces and nephews are simply adorable. This was the first time visiting my parents house in Homer and it is unbelievable. The view is golden.

I accidentally uploaded the photos to blogger backwards, so the photos are going from Homer to Eagle River. In actuality we drove from Eagle River to Homer. We made a pit-stop on the way at the Wild Animal Conservatory.

This is the view from my parents back porch:

Grandma's worms:
At the Wild Animal Park:

Taken from the car on the drive down:

Playing at the school playground:

The church, school, & Monastery Drive:

At Uncle Ben's house:

Ahhhhlaska

2011-07-04T08:17:00.001-07:00

Today we are leaving this...

For this....

Call me crazy, but I'm still excited!

From Their Point of View

2011-07-03T20:03:00.001-07:00

It is done!

2011-06-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Our patio is kinda finished! Yes! The flagstone is finished, grouted, cleaned and sealed. The ceiling is done, along with new trim. The fire-pit is pretty much done (just needs to be cleaned) and we had our inauguration fire last night. The new patio set has been cleaned, painted and two chairs have been re-upholstered. The hanging flower baskets are out and look great!

There is still some more to do: finish removing all the dirt from the digging we did, lay sod, built the post, finish the stairs, lay some sort of base... but it is usable right now. And do we use it! We have eaten dinner out there, breakfast, morning coffee, desserts at night, and now we can have fires.

I am still bitter at how much time and work went into building everything, so, if you don't mind, I will just post the finished pictures. Bar-b-Que anyone?

Summer... thus far

2011-06-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

My Garden

2011-06-01T08:54:00.001-07:00

2011-06-01T07:37:00.001-07:00

I really should be getting my kids ready for school (they are still sleeping and we need to leave in 20 minutes) but I was checking out this blog, Elle Apparel, and she posted a give away.

I LOVE her blog. She is super creative and takes marvelous photos and I really want to win this skirt that she makes. So, in order to get entered twice, I need to link her blog on my site.

DONE!

Keeping my fingers crossed...

My Children

2011-05-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

They are driving me crazy. Seriously crazy.

Today I think Peaches cried about 80% of the day. Not a whimpering pouty cry that can sometimes be considered cute. But the ear-piercing screaming cry that totally drains a person. And causes minor hearing damage. She did most of this type of crying at Home Depot. Thus, this also resulted in a lot of impolite stares from other shoppers.

This afternoon, while the kids were playing outside right before leaving for Home Depot, Slim cut off one of Peaches' irises with a sword. She was devastated and decided to show just how mad she was by stepping on the blossom and smashing it into the cement sidewalk. This made Slim angry. So he retaliated by taking his plastic sword (he was Captain Sparrow today) and slicing his sister on the arm. He drew blood.

In retrospect, I guess this means he would make a fantastic pirate.

I digress...

My children have been causing me a lot of grief lately. Peaches is, for lack of a better and more appropriate word, a brat. She is loud. She is obnoxious. She is always right. She pouts. She screams. She cries. Loudly. In other words, she is me. I cannot believe the arguments that we get into already. The girl is only four, yet she has the manipulation skills of a teenager.

Slim hasn't been that much better. Generally, he is a kind and gentle boy. He has a deep and genuine love for people that is very admirable. However, he is extremely pessimistic. He is negative. He is contradictory.

I don't know if this is a phase or if these are the traits that my children will struggle with their entire lives. But, I also do not know how to handle them. Complaining and negativity drive me bonkers. Laziness and sarcasm are not things that I admire.

Today, as Peaches was lying in her bed banging the wall with her feet she screamed "I guess this just means I have to hate everybody! Even Mommy and Daddy!"

The fact that she threw Daddy into her hate-pot is amazing. Daddy is her hero, her life-saver, her rescuer.

Tonight, I made Peaches go to bed at 6pm. She ate dinner and then went straight to bed. She gave all the classic tiredness signs throughout the day: crying for no reason, whining, complaining, pouting, crankiness...

However, once we put her in bed, she failed to fall asleep. She ripped her Ikea pink bubble lamp off the ceiling decrying the stupidity of having a light on the celling. She kicked the wall, which butts up to the living room wall thus knocking picture frames askew. She screamed that she needed water, that there was a fly in her room, that she was scared. But what she screamed the most, was that she hated everyone. Everyone was stupid. She did this for two hours.

Just ask me. I dare you. Ask me if there was even a sliver of sympathy in my heart for her. Want to know the answer? Really?

Well, there was none. Not a bit. She was a pill at church and she wasn't letting up anytime soon.

But Daddy, dear Daddy. He did have those sympathy pangs in his heart. Her crying got to him. So what happened? He agreed to let her come out. He told her that she had to apologize to me. He let her know that her attitude was deplorable.

I got my apology. I got the sweet look from her gorgeous brown eyes that will fool any man. She gave me hugs and cuddled next to me. Then, Hurricane decided to go for a run. Left me with the monsters. He was gone for literally two minutes when the fighting started. AGAIN!

Well, this no-nonsense Mama was done. Bed for both. And that is where they remain. Slim is reading but Peaches is out. Finally.

This is going to be a long summer break.

Coptic Christians

2011-05-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

** This article is from The Australian. **

TWELVE Christian were murdered in Egypt. Two hundred and thirty-two people wounded. The death toll will surely rise as victims succumb to their injuries. And that's just in the past few days. In the same time period, more Christians were killed in Egypt at the hands of Muslims than people killed in Syria or in Libya as a result of protests, riots and resistance.

Two churches in Cairo were burned in recent days. Over the past few months church property has being gutted, vandalised and violated with graffiti. Churches have been blown up.

An entire community - the Christian community in the new Egypt - is under attack. And the world remains relatively silent. There has been no significant religious outcry, political redress or diplomatic pressure to stop the attacks. There has been almost no media coverage as Egypt's Muslims systematically, over the past few months, set about massacring Egypt's Christians.

The world is not only standing idly by, it is enabling the massacre. The US naively expects that a new era, begun in new Egypt, will ripple to the rest of the Islamic world. So in the midst of these monstrous mass murders in Egypt, the US has decided to send an extra $US1 billion to help the Egyptians ease the economic crisis that emerged as a result of the ousting of Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Muslims in Egypt are on the warpath - on the religious warpath - and the US is feeding them money.

This most recent round of Christian murders began with the rumour that Christians had kidnapped a Christian woman who had converted to Islam. According to the rumour, the woman was being held in the cellar of one of the churches and Christians were brainwashing her back to Christianity. Egyptian Muslims set out to find this woman. Along the way they murdered, pillaged and burned.

The rumours were not true. There was no kidnapping. But there are two burned churches and 12 murdered Christians.

Threats against Christians have become a near daily event since Christmas. On New Year's Day 21 Christians were killed in a church bombing in the ancient port city of Alexandria. Alexandria has a long history of multiculturalism, it should have, and could have, been a model city where Christians, Muslims and even Jews lived together harmoniously. Statistically, there are no longer any Jews in Egypt, but there are still seven million Christians. Instead, Alexandria has become a symbol of attacking Christians. Do not for a moment think that the date January 1 was an accident - the church was bombed in the middle of holiday mass. No one has been prosecuted. .

A year earlier, on January 7, Coptic Christmas, seven people were killed as they left mass. Six were Christian worshippers, the seventh victim was a Muslim guard. In this case someone was actually arrested.

The ugliest of all Muslim attacks against Christians took place on March 9. On that day 1500 Muslims stormed the Christian community in a modern pogrom. Thirteen people died, 45 were seriously injured, 150 moderately injured. The Egyptians put a military blackout over the material, but the Assyrian International News Agency reported the carnage.

Egypt's Christians are a minority living in a Muslim majority. Coptic Christians are a very successful minority. When Gamal Abdel Nasser took over as ruler, the Copts were 10 per cent of the country and owned 50 per cent of the wealth. In Alexandria, where the Copts still own 50 per cent of the businesses, attacks on Copts are perpetrated by Muslims. Fear of the unknown feeds these murders and fuels the mob that unleashes a fury of hate.

Why has the new Egypt done almost nothing to prevent, protect or prosecute?

Because in their culture, no wrong has been committed. In many of the cases the army was actually present when these attacks took place and the perpetrators took refuge behind army tanks.

In Egypt there exists a cultural norm that sometimes seems to permit killing someone with whom you disagree.. The Western world must insist that if Egypt wishes to get foreign aid, that norm must change.

The history of Christianity in Egypt dates back to the birth of Jesus. Matthew 2:13 describes Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Egypt to escape the "massacre of the infants". Egypt has historical and religious significance for Christians. And now Egypt also has blood libels against Christians.

Micah D. Halpern's latest book is Thugs: How History's Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder (Thomas Nelson).

Seaside, OR

2011-05-02T15:45:00.000-07:00

I know there are a lot of pictures, but we had so much fun!

Grouted!

2011-04-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is not much to look at right now, but I think the general idea is easy to see! Hurricane and I finished up the grout this morning and started the cleaning process. Just imagine the whole thing clean. And sealed. With a table and chairs. Lots of plants. Maybe some party lights.... Looks great, huh!

The Whole Name Thing

2011-04-29T07:44:00.000-07:00

So I have been thinking a lot lately about Internet security, privacy, and all the crazies out in the world. I do not want to make this blog private, but something just rubs me the wrong way that ANYBODY in the world can look here and find out some basic information about my family.

Of course, I realize that those crazies can only do that because I choose to post a blog with all that information. But I am sure there is a way to minimize our exposure, while keeping an open blog.

Looking at other friends blogs, I noticed that there are quite a few who do not use first names. They use the first initial, or some sort of a cute nickname. I am not a fan of the plain ol' initial approach (no offense), but had a hard time coming up for nicknames for my family.

So for a couple of weeks I have been mulling it over... what word describes my baby girl? My big boy? My husband? Myself?

And I think I have come up with the answer.

Baby Girl will be Peaches
Big Boy will be Slim
Husband will be Hurricane
I (of course) will be Red

Naturally, it will take me awhile to go through all my past blog posts and reflect this change. I may completely forget and this whole post will be mute. Oh well.

On another note, tons of stuff has been happening at the house lately.

Our patio is totally mortared in place and about 90% grouted. That part should be completed this morning. The next step is to clean it really well and then to seal it.

We adult-ized (not sure what the term is) our main bathroom. I was sick of the frog soap-pump and the tropical shower curtain. Plus, the lovely folks that we bought the house from, did not have the greatest styling taste. The towel rods and toilet paper were in a gold and silver combination. Ugly. So a new shower curtain, towel rods, light fixtures and some touch up paint, makes for a completely new and modern bathroom!

My brother and his wife are coming tomorrow for a week so I have been cleaning and organizing in anticipation of their arrival. They get Slim's room, so I am transferring the important toys (legos) to Peaches' room.

The day after my brother leaves, our good friends from Spokane but now from Utah are arriving. They are driving a motor home here! My kids are SO excited to see our Spokane neighbors!

Finally, we decided it was time to enter the two-car family world.

We bought our Toyota in September because the Dodge needed some massive work. Well, we finally got enough money to do some repairs. Hurricane (Hubby) did some, but the dealership and the brake shop did the rest. It will be nice to have the second car especially with company coming!

Pictures coming soon!

My Fashionista

2011-04-27T08:07:00.000-07:00

Pascha Photos

2011-04-26T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is what my kids did the ENTIRE service.

You know you are Orthodox when you give candles to four year olds. At 1 in the morning!

These next ones are from our feast:

Greek dancing!!

Here is the only picture from the day of Peaches and I. We had matching skirts!

60 Minutes

2011-04-24T19:48:00.001-07:00

St. John's Homily

2011-04-24T18:37:00.001-07:00

This is read aloud at every Orthodox Church on Pascha Sunday. It was written by St. John Chrysostom, and is simply beautiful.

Is there anyone who is a devout lover of God?

Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival!

Is there anyone who is a grateful servant?
Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord!

Are there any weary with fasting?
Let them now receive their wages!
If any have toiled from the first hour,
let them receive their due reward;
If any have come after the third hour,
let him with gratitude join in the Feast!
And he that arrived after the sixth hour,
let him not doubt; for he too shall sustain no loss.
And if any delayed until the ninth hour,
let him not hesitate; but let him come too.
And he who arrived only at the eleventh hour,
let him not be afraid by reason of his delay.

For the Lord is gracious and receives the last even as the first.
He gives rest to him that comes at the eleventh hour,
as well as to him that toiled from the first.
To this one He gives, and upon another He bestows.
He accepts the works as He greets the endeavor.
The deed He honors and the intention He commends.

Let us all enter into the joy of the Lord!
First and last alike receive your reward;
rich and poor, rejoice together!
Sober and slothful, celebrate the day!

You that have kept the fast, and you that have not,
rejoice today for the Table is richly laden!
Feast royally on it, the calf is a fatted one.
Let no one go away hungry. Partake, all, of the cup of faith.
Enjoy all the riches of His goodness!

Let no one grieve at his poverty,
for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again;
for forgiveness has risen from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free.
He has destroyed it by enduring it.

He destroyed Hades when He descended into it.
He put it into an uproar even as it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah foretold this when he said,
"You, O Hell, have been troubled by encountering Him below."

Hell was in an uproar because it was done away with.

It was in an uproar because it is mocked.
It was in an uproar, for it is destroyed.
It is in an uproar, for it is annihilated.
It is in an uproar, for it is now made captive.
Hell took a body, and discovered God.
It took earth, and encountered Heaven.
It took what it saw, and was overcome by what it did not see.
O death, where is thy sting?
O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is Risen, and you, o death, are annihilated!
Christ is Risen, and the evil ones are cast down!
Christ is Risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is Risen, and life is liberated!
Christ is Risen, and the tomb is emptied of its dead;
for Christ having risen from the dead,
is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be Glory and Power forever and ever. Amen!

Orthodox "Easter"

2011-04-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to an article written by Rita Wilson. She gives a wonderful and simple explanation of what Easter is to millions of Orthodox Christians around the world.

My favorite line:

(explaining what Orthodox Easter, or Pascha is)

"We don't do bunnies. We don't do chocolate. We don't do pastels. We do lamb, sweet cookies, and deep red."

Have a blessed Pascha everyone! Christ is (almost) risen!

Now we are off to church!

Update

2011-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

Things have been uber-busy around here lately. I attribute all that hecticness to myself, as I foolishly decided to take on lots of large projects.

No witty writing tonight, folks. Just picture updates of all my latest projects!

A couple weeks ago I finished this knitting project:It was supposed to be a shawl for me, but stupid me, did not check the gauge on the pattern. So now Peaches has a shawl. She looks super cute though!

I thought it would be fun to make one article of clothing for everybody for Pascha. I got Peaches' dress done, (I am too lazy to get up to take a picture, sorry) and started Hubby's. Too bad I won't get it finished in the next five days.

Here is the yarn:And here is what I have so far:
Super cute right? I love it! Here is what the finished product will look like: I really hope that Hurricane will sport that goofy smile too!

I tackled two building projects lately. First I built myself two elevated planter boxes.

Then I built myself a new desk:
I am totally hooked on woodworking. Can't wait to tackle my next project! But that will have to wait until the patio gets done!!!

And here are those pictures: Our first load of stone. That is 600 lbs. We did four loads total.
Laying out the stone...
We also built another stair, since someday we would like french doors leading out.
Well, Hurricane just got back from Home Depot, so I gotta go help unload the car! Another big day tomorrow!

Patio Update

2011-04-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Despite the rain, we have been making progress on our new patio! Here is what we have done since the last patio post.

Lots of playing:

The pea gravel was delivered:

We hauled the pea gravel to the back and laid down about three inches of the stuff:
The ground had to be super compact, so we did a lot of this:
Next, Hurricane framed in the patio, making sure it was even and level:

Then cut rebar for the inside sections:

Laying rebar:Ready for cement! This was actually cheaper than our normal mode of operation: going to Home Depot and doing it ourselves. Saved our backs from hauling all those bags of concrete mix too!
Getting the first load:
Quite a few wheelbarrow loads later:

Here is a huge THANK YOU to our friend and neighbor, Herman, who helped us with the massive wheelbarrow loads of cement and making a smooth and even patio. We totally could not have done it with out him!

He also came up with the ingenious idea regarding the wheelbarrow full of leftover cement:BRICKS!

Now we are ready to pick the flagstone and lay that down. We really like the center, called Gold Quartzite...
or, this one, called Lone Pine Gold Flagstone.
Opinions are welcome!

Opening Day

2011-04-05T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ever since Slim found out that Hurricane loved Little League as a kid, he has wanted to play. He patiently waited till he was old enough to join a team, however he was never interested in practicing. Hurricane would try to get him to play catch in the yard or practice batting. Slim never wanted to. He would, interestingly enough, love to play with his cousin Eleanor and Uncle Christian. Months ago, in September, came the time to register with the league in Beaverton, and we did, despite the disdain for practice.

Practice started in March. They met twice a week for about three weeks. Of course, since we live in the Pacific Northwest, it rained every practice. Not only every practice, but every day in between too. In fact, February and March were the rainiest and coldest months on record for Oregon. EVER. It rained all the time. Due to the rain, practice was always held on a concrete slab, under a covered roof. They never got field time.

Saturday was the opening day for the Beaverton Little League. The ceremonies started at 1:30 and Slim's first game was at 3. It was a cold and windy day, and the hail that poured down on us for about five minutes during the game, somehow felt appropriate. For April. In Oregon. Do not be fooled by the sunny pictures. They are very deceiving. Instead, listen to the wind in the videos.

Little league at this age is totally non-competitive. Each kid gets about five to seven chances to swing at pitches before they bring out the T. Each kid also can only run to one base. Slim had a blast playing. Peaches, not surprisingly, was not too enthusiastic about watching and cheering.

For the next two months his schedule is pretty tight. Practice on Mondays, games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Yikes, that is a lot for a six year old!

Enjoy these videos! And sorry for the sideways shots; I always forget that I can't do that in video-mode!

J'Adore

2011-03-30T07:44:00.001-07:00

All these photos are from the online magazine, Adore.

LOVE IT.

Here is a link to the magazine so you can drool on yourself, just as I am currently doing.
http://www.adoremagazine.com/

Week Four Menu

2011-03-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Monday: Josh and I were so tired that we just ate out

Tuesday: Spaghetti

Wednesday: Tofu veggie stir-fry over rice

Thursday: Lentil soup, bread, spinach salad

Friday: Waffles, fruit salad, fried potatoes

Saturday: Sweet potato chipotle soup, quinoa, salad, bread

Sunday: Garden burgers, sweet potato chips, baked beans, green beans

Signs of Spring

2011-03-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

It is almost April, and there are some sure signs of spring at the Knight house! We have daffodils blooming...

plenty of muddy mud boots...
cherry trees blossoming...

and mysterious bulbs emerging.
But the best sign of spring at the Knights is this:

That is right! It is time to tackle our home improvement projects! I could not find any pictures of the before, but, just outside our dining room sliding doors was a covered patio. It was just a concrete slab. Kinda boring! We had been entertaining the idea of framing it in, putting in electric, heating, etc and creating an addition. We figured out that that project had the potential of costing us about $10,000. Yikes! Way too much!

So instead, we thought it would be fun to extend the patio and make a kick-booty outdoor area. The first task was to dig out where we will be extending the patio out too. Because we decided to lay flagstone on top of the concrete slab, we have to pour concrete on the rest of the new patio area. Which means we have to dig tons of dirt, lay about 3 inches of gravel, about 1 inch of sand, and then pour about 3 inches of concrete. Did I say fun? What I meant to say was back-breaking, time-consuming, dirty, and tiring.

Josh and I basically dug non-stop for about four hours Saturday, and we are pretty much done. Just a bit of leveling and raking and then we can pour the gravel.

Also, I got my garden area planned out, dug, and almost lined. I have to wait till after we complete the patio till I can pour my dirt and plant.

Here are some more pictures from the day.

And here are some Internet pictures of what a flagstone patio looks like.

And Another One Gone

2011-03-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

It Doesn't Get Any Cuter Than This:

2011-03-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

Rest of the Week Menu

2011-03-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

We just got back from spending the weekend in Seattle with Josh's family, so I did not have to plan Monday's & Tuesday's meals.

Wednesday: Haystacks
Thursday: Tofu Curry (Thai)
Friday: Salmon, couscous salad, some sort of homemade bread
Saturday: Aloo Matter, Naan, Rice
Sunday: Roasted Vegetable Pizza

The Easiest (& Tastiest) Vegan Cookies!

2011-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Thumbprints

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cups oat flour (I did not have and used bread flour instead. worked fine!)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup maple syrup or brown rice syrup
1/2 cup sunflower oil
1/2 cup fruit preserves (I have used strawberry and apricot)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Place almonds in a food processor and grind to a meal. Place oats in food processor and grind to a meal. Add flour, cinnamon, syrup, and oil. Pulse to combine.

2. Wet hands and form dough into walnut-size balls. Place on an oiled cookie sheet. Press an indentation in center of each with your thumb. Fill with jam. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden.

~The American Vegetarian Cookbook by Marilyn Diamond

Your Wish is My Command

2011-03-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Easy Corn Chowder

from The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit for Life Kitchen

by Marilyn Diamond

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups diced white onions

1 1/2 cups celery

1/2 cup diced carrot

3/4 cup diced bell pepper (any color)

4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes

1/4 teaspoon ground sage

8 cups water

2 tablespoons light miso

3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 tablespoons minced green onions

1. Measure oil into a large soup pot. Add onions, celery, carrot, and pepper and saute until vegetables begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add potatoes and sage. Mix well and saute an additional 3 minutes.

2. Add water, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender but not mushy.

3. Remove 1/2 cup of broth and dissolve miso in it. Add to soup and mix well. Cook soup an additional minutes, stirring continuously.

4. Remove 1/3 of soup with lots of vegetables in it and set aside. Blend remaining 2/3 of the soup until smooth with hand blender or food processor. Stir in reserved soup, corn, and green onion.

5. Bring soup to a low boil, stirring frequently, and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat, continuing to stir so soup does not stick to the bottom.

Mujadarrah (Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions)

from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

by Deborah Madison

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 very large onion, sliced into rounds 1/4 inch thick

1 1/4 cups green or brown lentils, sorted and rinsed

salt and fresh black pepper

3/4 cup white or brown long-grain rice

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until it's a rich, dark brown, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, put the lentils in a saucepan with 1 quart water and 1 teaspoon salt, Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Add the rice, plenty of pepper, and, if needed, additional water to cover. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is done, about 15 minutes. Stir in half the onions, then cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Spoon the lentil-rice mixture onto plates or platter and cover with the remaining onions. (I don't do this, as my kids hate onions, but love lentils and rice!)

Another Attempt at Menu Planning

2011-03-14T16:45:00.001-07:00

I think each Lent/Advent I have the best of intentions of posting our weekly menus. I like to see what others cook for these seasons, and perhaps, somebody will be interested in what I make. Our family rang in Lent with strep throat, ear infections, sinus infections, rashes and colds. So last week we were in pure survival mode.

But today, I did sit down, plan my weekly meals and go grocery shopping before I had to pick up C from preschool. I only spent $107! And that includes alcohol! Whoot!

Monday: New York Goodwiches
Coleslaw
Tuesday: Sauerkraut Dogs
Roasted Potatoes
Fruit Salad
Wednesday: Potluck @ church
Thursday: Corn Chowder (yes! this is vegan and delicious!)
Bread
Green Salad
Friday: Mujadarrah (a Indian dish: caramelized onions over lentils, over rice. YUM)
Naan
Green Salad

The Sunday of Orthodoxy

2011-03-13T21:56:00.000-07:00

Confession of Faith for the Day of Orthodoxy

Second Nicene Ecumenical Council: 787 AD

"As the prophets beheld, as the Apostles have taught, as the Church has received, as the teachers have dogmatized, as the Universe has agreed, as Grace has shown forth, as Truth has revealed, as falsehood has been dissolved, as Wisdom has presented, as Christ Awarded, thus we declare, thus we assert, thus we preach Christ our true God, and honor as Saints in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in churches, in Holy Icons; on the one hand worshipping and reverencing Christ as God and Lord; and on the other hand honoring as true servants of the same Lord of all and accordingly offering them veneration.

This is the Faith of the Apostles, this is the Faith of the Fathers, this is the Faith of the Orthodox, this is the Faith which has established the Universe."

Basic Update

2011-02-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile since I last posted anything. Like most things, once you get out of the habit of doing something, it just gets harder and harder. Things have certainly not died down in the home front. But I also have not been feeling inspired enough to sit down and do some serious posting. I still don't, so this will be a pretty brief.

The big news in the household is that Slim finally learned how to swim. Anybody who has known us for a lengthy amount of time, must know about how deathly afraid of water Slim is. He never liked baths, lakes, or sprinklers. He finally worked out the sprinkler fear this past summer, so that was nice.

We paid for several swimming lessons, but nothing progressed. In fact, with this session that he is in now, things definitely regressed. Listening to the advice of others, I decided to take Slim to open swims, just him and I, to work on his fears. It only took three times of this for him to swim. Last week he has lessons on Monday, Tuesday night he and I went to open swim for one hour, lessons on Wednesday, Thursday with me at open swim, Friday open swim with the family, and open swim with the family again on Saturday. By Saturday he was a total fish. I made the mistake at the beginning of these lessons that if he graduated from B class to C class, I would buy him a huge Harry Potter lego set. Oops.

Peaches is Peachey. She loves to talk, sing, and yell, all at volumes the human ear was not intended to hear. She is really loving school lately and she has not been complaining in the mornings about how annoying school is. This was a common occurrence rather recently.

About two weeks ago, she came up to me and told me she wanted to read. So we got the first Bob book, Mat, and she totally rocked it. It was freaking amazing. We got the second book, Sam, and again, she read it without help. I was so impressed. We are up to book seven in the Bob book series and she loves reading.

Hurricane and I have implemented a very strict budget and February is the month we designated our "trial" month. We are not spending money on anything except emergencies. I am being strict with our menu planning and grocery shopping. We are not eating out, not buying clothes, no lattes, nothing. Should one of us want to buy something, we have to discuss it with the other one, thus to help determine if it is a real emergency.

So far, I know that this month we will spend about $100 more than we make. All because of stupid medical licensing. Next month, March, we already know we will spend more than we make again. And again, all the thanks goes to medical licensing. This time for some ridiculous radiology society thing-y he has to belong to.

The good news about our budget is that I buy scrip gift cards through Slim & Peaches' school, so I have a pre-determined amount for groceries and random household essentials. I am experimenting this month with $500 worth of gift cards to Fred Meyer. I am hoping that this will encompass groceries, office supplies, cleaning supplies, and whatever else comes up in the month.

I do my menu planning on Sunday, then go shopping right at bedtime. There are several wonderful reasons for this. One, nobody else is out shopping, and two, Hurricane is forced to put the kids to bed, and three, they are asleep when I get home. I was super excited when, last night, I only spend $70 for our weeks worth of groceries.

I am also back to running. My foot seems to be healing, but I still taking things really slowly. I started running on January 1st, and this week is the first when I will run 3 times in one week. I am only doing 2 miles each day and most likely will start to increase that next week. I still swim at least 2 days a week.

Our household fixing projects have been most likely moved to next year, as I decided I would rather go to Alaska. Kind of stinks that for the same price I could really fix up and modernize our house, I can buy four tickets to Anchorage. Oh well. I have been feeling homesick lately. A childhood friend got married recently, the matriarch of the community I grew up in passed away, I have still not met my two nieces, and I would love to see my parents new house.

Well, I am on bed-time duty tonight. Our kids are getting harder and harder to wake up in the morning, so we are starting the routine at 7 with the goal of having the kids in bed by 7:30. We shall see.

Sorry about the boring post, but it feels good to keep some sort of record of our lives and the things that we do daily. This blog is as much for me as it is for my mother!

Yikes! Ten Years!

2011-01-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

On a cold Friday night in January, Josh and I did something crazy. We got married. We had only known of each others existence for about eight months and he had only been in Alaska for four of those months. He was tall, had a deep voice, worked with his hands, loved and respected his mother, a Christian, self-employed, and very athletic. All high marks in my book.

But he was also an oldest child, opinionated, stayed up late, played practical jokes, and did not let me win every argument.

Like most couples, we did pre-marriage counseling. I remember, during one session, our priest joked, that since our wedding invitations had already been printed, it would not be too difficult to change the date of our wedding: with a easy pen-stroke, January 12, 2001 could simply become January 12, 2004.

Remember your 'chill-pills'; forgiveness; relax a bit; try not to make a mountain out of a mole hill, were several other things I remember from marriage counseling. One of the many wedding toasts that January night went like this: Josh, there are only seven words that you will need to remember for the rest of your life. Those are "yes dear", "I'm sorry", and "I love you."

And here we are, ten years later.

We have moved seven times, had two children, graduated from from college and from medical school, been on food stamps and state medical assistance, bought a house, been sued in court, had two surgeries, traveled to sixteen states and five countries, and have owned four vehicles.

We have professed our love for each other and our unhappiness in each other, sometimes in the same sentence.

Throughout these ten years, a revelation has taken place within me. There are many times when I get angry or upset with my husband. He may forget to take out the trash cans on trash pick up day, or leave his dirty socks on the floor but he is the most determined and accomplished man I know. He is intelligent, full of respect, enamored by his children, and proud of his wife.

I have learned just how important the children and I are to him. Not only has he worked full time as a resident, but he spends countless hours repairing our house. He manages to study each night, but also to build a tree-house for the kids, read with Levi, or conduct science projects with both kids most nights. He builds them fires, makes popcorn, and arranges their sleeping bags in the living room for camp out night. He plays dress-up with Claire or has lightsabor fights with Levi. He admires my sewing, compliments all my meals (good or bad), and tries to make me feel special. And he makes the best margaritas and chicken fajitas in the world!

He may not always be what I want, be he is always what I need.

In technological years, we were married ages ago. Our wedding was the first one that our photographers shot digitally. I have all the photos on a disc, but we have switched to macs, and now my computer says it does recognize the format. So I scanned a few of my favorites. Not the best quality, but they will do!

This is just easier...

2011-01-11T19:19:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning & Afternoon:

Mom of the Month

2010-12-29T07:15:00.000-08:00

Like most families, our lives get pretty hectic around Christmas time. Perhaps the argument could be made that our lives do not need to get any more busy or stressful, but they usually do. So, like those families, December is spent thinking of ways to make the loved ones in our life feel special. Little gifts or goodies to make and send to family far away. This year, while I did not make goodies, I did do a lot of hand-made gifts. I also stepped up the Christmas letter this year.

But, unlike most families, ours has an added little stress. Birthdays. That is correct. Plural. Both of my children are fortunate enough to have their birthday's within a week of each other. However, they are unfortunate that Christmas is right in the middle of their birthdays.

Our odd year solution is wonderful, I think. Family Vacation. Every other year we will skip all the presents for Birthdays and Christmas, and instead, go on an awesome family trip. Last year we went to Disneyland. It was amazing! The kids had a blast, the parents had fun and it was warm. 'Nuff said.

I think our 'even year' celebration will still be a work in progress. We will try new things, and find unique ways to celebrate their birthdays. But this year, I did what most normal moms do for their normal birthday-ed kids. I let each of my children have a birthday party. ON THE ACTUALLY DAY.

Wow. I know. Pretty freaking cool Naomi. You are.

I did have to put a few guidelines down though. Each kid was only allowed to invite three friends. No cake, ice cream, candles, decorations, or goodie-bags. Two hours maximum. Geez. After writing that, I feel like Scrooge. Maybe I am only slightly cool now. But I let them each choose a fun 'dessert decorating' activity. Claire chose to decorate cupcakes and Levi chose to decorate gingerbread men. Except, that turned into gingerbread animals, since I waited till the last minute to get gingerbread men cookie cutouts and Fred Meyer was sold out and I did not feel like driving to Target, K-mart or Walmart at 1o pm.

But whatever, all the kids had fun. Especially Levi and Claire. And for that, I do feel pretty good.

Here are some pictures.

Thing #2's b-day party (hers is first, after all)

Here she is surrounded by her loot:

And thing #1:

It is hard to tell from the pictures, but the girls were all dressed up. Either dresses, or skirts, or fancy shoes, or jewelry. They also were pretty meticulous about their decorating. It probably took them a good half an hour to decorate three cupcakes each.

The boys, however, all have Jedi capes on (I made them put all light sabers on the floor.) They, also in contrast to the girls, slathered on the frosting and really dumped the decorations on. They were done, 10 minutes tops. And there were a lot more cookies than cupcakes.

Six Years Ago Today...

2010-12-28T07:13:00.000-08:00

This is what was happening. I had just given birth to my first baby. A beautiful, healthy, long baby boy. We knew his name instantly. Levi's personality manifested itself very early and has always been strong. Unfortunately for him, for the past four years he has been overshadowed by his little sisters loud and demanding ways. But he deals with that very well; he loves his sister, he adores his baby cousins, he is a generous child.

Since moving to Portland, Levi has truly blossomed. He is a fantastic reader and his new favorites are the Magic Tree House series. Legos are still a favorite activity. Dressing up is huge around here. Levi floats between being Indiana Jones, an Army guy, anyone from Star Wars, an angel (his Christmas play costume), and Harry Potter. He is super excited to start Little League this April and not so excited to continue swimming lessons in January.

He is still timid and shy, but those characteristics are slowly fading. He makes friends easily and plays will with any child and of most age groups. When we are around babies, he is very attentive and caring, especially with his baby cousin, Ivan.

Levi lost his first tooth in November, he grew 1/2 an inch just in the month of December, he loves travelling by somersault, he recently discovered his love of singing (although usually in a high-pitched voice), he is definitely the goof-ball in school, and he loves doing science projects at night with Joshua. Any art activity possible, Levi loves to do. I am constantly buying paper and deciding which projects are keepers and which are not! He has learned the fine art of sarcasm and uses it well and often. He constantly, it seems, disagrees and questions my decisions. Basically, my baby boy is growing up.

But that is only my opinion! Here are what his friends and family think of him:

Mom: generous
Dad: curious
Grandma Ann: diligent
Grandpa Jim: brave
Grandma Kay: inquisitive & gentle-hearted
Grandpa Randy: discoverer
Christian: erratic
Veronica: nurturing
Eleanor: loving
Lora: considerate
Nicole C: imaginative
Nathan: ubiquitous
Kari: nice
Joachim: Star Wars
James: goofy
Cyprianna: smart
Paul: miniature soldier
Aaron: intense
Harley: serious
Trina: creative
Jabran: Boba Fett
Tina: clumsy
Khalila: fun
Katie: cute
Susie: cuuuute

Last night Claire fell asleep very early, thus giving Josh and I some time to spend just with Levi. We were joking around that this was our last time seeing him and talking to him as a five-year-old. We took some pictures and so this is what I will post. Some pictures of his first few hours and some pictures of his last hours before he turned six. He is such a handsome little guy!

Way Behind & Winter Hike

2010-12-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded over 300 pictures from our cameras to my computer. As I was looking through them, I realized that I am super far behind at blogging! I just know that the world is dying to know exactly what the Knight family has been up to this past month!

So, in order to play catch up, I have decided to do a blog a day. That is right, one blog post each day until I have caught up with all the adventures going on down here. I know that I will get at least two days done. Today, since I am doing it now, and tomorrow, since Levi turns six on that day. Beyond that, no promises.

So here is my post for today:

Lake Serene in December

The first weekend in December, Josh, the kids, and I drove to Washington do to a Thanksgiving meal with his family. My sis-in-law and I know that Thanksgiving dinner at the Knight family means a lot of sitting down, a lot of football, a lot of crying/whining/fighting/complaining children, a lot of stress, and a lot of fattening (but delicious) food. We thought we would deal with all that negativism by doing a early morning hike up to Lake Serene. Our friend Jule joined us.

For those of you not in Washington State, Lake Serene is properly named. Round trip the hike is a bit over 7 miles. It is also a 2000 foot elevation gain, hence, it is also not an easy hike! For all three of us, it was our first time hiking to the lake in the winter, and it was totally worth it. For starters, it was a beautiful day for a hike! Sunny and cold. We had snow then entire hike. The first 2/3 was hard, compact and icy snow. But the last 1/3 was the fluffy powdery stuff. It was also way past our knees!

There were quite a few other brave hikers that we passed; going up and down. But I have to say, we were the burliest of all hikers. No walking aids, no falls, and no pansy-slow-walking. Yep, we are awesome. Here are the best photos of the day:

The Nativity of Christ

2010-12-24T13:20:00.000-08:00

On the rare occasions that I get to fully listen in church, perhaps the part that I enjoy the most are the hymns. The melodies are beautiful, the words are inspirational and the meanings are profound. One can gather most Orthodox theologies simply from the hymnography of the church.

The songs that we will sing tonight at Liturgy are perhaps the most amazing ones we sing all year. They constantly remind us about the "reason for the season." God became man. The Incarnation. It is a mystery how this can happen, but it did, and these hymns do their best to describe such an indescribable occurrence.

The Kontakion:
Today the Virgin, gives birth to the incomprehensible One.
The earth offers a cave to the unapproachable One.
Angles and shepherds glorify Him,
and Wisemen journey with a star.
Since, for our sakes, is born the Eternal God, a little Child.

The 9th Ode:
Magnify, O my soul, the most glorious Theotokos,
more honourable and more glorious than the hosts on high.
I behold a strange and wonderful mystery,
heaven is the Cave, the Cherubim thrown - Virgin,
the Manger the Place in which Christ lay,
the God whom nothing can contain. Whom we praise and magnify.

Thy Nativity:
Thy Nativity oh Christ our God
Has shone upon the world the light of knowledge:
For thereby they who adored the stars,
though a star were taught
to worship Thee, the Sun of Righteousness.
And to know Thee the Dayspring from on high.
O Lord, glory to Thee.

One of my favorites, The Hymn of the Nativity:
Today is born of a virgin, He who holds the whole creation in His hand.
Today is born of a virgin, He who holds the whole creation in His hand.
Today is born of a virgin, He who holds the whole creation in His hand.
He, whose essence none can touch
is bound in swaddling clothes as a child.
God, who in the beginning established the heavens,
lies in a manger.
He who rained manna on His people in the wilderness,
is fed on milk from His mother's breast.
The Bridegroom of the Church summons the wise men.
The Son of the Virgin accepts their gifts.
We worship Thy birth O Christ.
We worship Thy birth O Christ.
We worship Thy birth O Christ.
Show us also Thy Divine Thoephany.

I found this hymn on youtube. It is a Byzantine song sung in Arabic. This is perhaps the most amazing hymn. It is totally worth listening to; so beautiful.

Happy Birthday Claire!

2010-12-22T07:50:00.001-08:00

My baby girl turns four today. What a character that kid is! We did the word game again this year with friends and family and Josh and I laughed as we noticed peoples impressions of her have not differed much from two years ago.

Naomi: loud
Josh: mischievous
Grandma Ann: persistent
Grandpa Jim: eccentric
Grandma Kay: frolicsome & dynamic
Grandpa Randy: pushes the limit
Christian: litigation
Veronica: independent
Eleanor: angry
Lora: headstrong
Addison: I love her
Nicole C: nut-loving
Nathan: original
Kari: vivacious
Joachim: cute
James: adventurous
Nicole P: silly
Aaron: precocious
Katie: spunky
Susie: play
Vasi: fun
Harley: busy
Tina: spunky
Jabran: climber
Khalila: active

Here is the list from 2008, the last time we did this. She was only turning two then!

Claire is certainly every one of those above words. I love how her cousin Eleanor described her as 'angry'. This is definitely the impression that Claire leaves when playing with others! Once again, these words are signs of her extremely strong personality. She loves playing with others, but most of the time would rather play by herself. She is independent, yet is willing to ask for help when she truly needs it. She is willing to take both calculated and uncalculated risks, and often cries, loudly, when things do not end her way.

She truly loves Levi. He is a wonderful big brother for her; letting her boss him around sometimes, while other times simply ignoring her bossy commands. She loves clothes, and changes her outfits, or wears several layers, daily. She has no sense for matching, and for that I am grateful.

We love our little girl; happy birthday, Claire!

Levi's Point of View

2010-12-15T16:18:00.000-08:00

Apparently Levi loves taking pictures. Here are some of my favorite shots of his.

Pictures

2010-12-13T16:21:00.001-08:00

I know, it has been awhile since I have posted any pictures. Not because we have not been busy, on the contrary, things have been rather hectic around here! But I did have time to pick four pictures from the past four months that I thought did a wonderful job of representing what we have been up to.

August:

September:

October:

November:

Old Testament Fathers

2010-12-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today is Levi and Joshua's Saint day. The second Sunday before Christmas is when the Orthodox church remembers all the Old Testament Forefathers and Foremothers. There are some incredible stories and inspiring people that many people are blessed to be named for. Our priest gave a fantastic homily this morning highlighting a few of them. Click here to be taken to the website and the link to his homily is in the lower right corner.

Anyway, both my boys have Old Testament saints. (I do too, but Ruth is remembered the Sunday before Christmas because she is part of the genealogy of Christ)

I got Levi this book of saints because he has recently been expressing a lot of interest in the lives of saints. I really do need to educate myself too; so that I can answer some of his questions!

Anyway Levi loves this book so far! I would recommend for any 'active' boy!

Crazy Stuff Claire Says:

2010-12-12T19:18:00.001-08:00

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past four years, you know that my baby Claire has quite a personality. She makes me laugh, yell, cry and smile daily. Sometimes hourly. That is not a joke. She can be the most affectionate girl, and then turn around and punch her brother in the stomach. Again, not a joke. She has her own unique style and instantly attracts other people to her. Lately she has been saying some pretty crazy things and I always want to document them, so, here they are.

When playing at a friends house:
Some kids were turning the lights on and off and she did not like it. She finally said, in a loud voice, "Hey, I am allergic to the dark you know!"

Her favorite songs to sing: (she knows all the words, except Carmina because it is in Latin!)
Forever in Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond
Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
Magic Dance by David Bowie
I Got A Feeling by Black Eyed Peas
16 Military Wives by The Decemberists
Carmina Burana

While playing with Levi:
"Levi, you have to listen you maniac!"
"Levi you are not being very appropriate."

At the dinner table:
"Mom, I only need to eat three bites, since I am three. But Levi has to eat five! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!"
"My best today was going to school. And my worst was going to school. Sometimes I just don't like school. It can be so annoying."
"Mom, sometimes I tend to get confused."

While trying to sleep in our bed:
"If I don't sleep in your bed I will have a nightmare! I want to go in your bed, Levi gives me nightmares!"

2010-11-22T20:19:00.000-08:00

FYI

The kids got their school pictures done earlier this year and I finally got around to posting them. See? Just a bit to your left! They are darn tootin' cute! Love those two!

New York Goodwich

2010-11-20T09:16:00.000-08:00

Perhaps one of my favorite Lenten dinners, and, simultaneously, one of Josh's least favorite. Maybe it is the bbq'ed onions? I don't know!

This recipe comes from "The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit For Life Kitchen" by Marilyn Diamond. She is totally vegan. She is not Orthodox. I love this cookbook.

Marilyn writes: "the goodwich is actually an edible plate. Whatever your heart desires goes in layers on a soft, hot whole-wheat tortilla or chapati, which is then rolled burrito-style and eaten end to end."

In her cookbook she give lots of variations of goodwiches, I just happen to like the New York style.

First job is to prepare all the insides of your goodwich. The New York has:

mayo

steamed broccoli & cauliflower

shredded carrot and red cabbage

dill pickles

1 onion sauteed in bbq sauce

Once everything is ready, you make your goodwich. Heat your tortilla, spread mayo down the middle and then pile everything in like a burrito. Super yum!

**Josh just read over my shoulder and said his disdain for this recipe has nothing to do with the bbq onions. It is "the awful combination of onions, pickles, and mayo." Hum. Looks like that's what we are having for dinner tonight! Bwaha ha ha!

2010-11-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hello Advent!

Here is our weekly menu for the first week in Advent:

Monday: Farfalle Pasta with Tuna, Tomatoes & Olives
Tuesday: New York Goodwiches (these are SO good!)
Wednesday: Stewed Tomatoes with Potatoes & Green Beans (served over rice)
Thursday: Baked Salmon (served with bread & salad)
Friday: Lentil Soup with Bread
Saturday: my favorite: Leftovers!

Recipe request? Just leave me a comment and I will be happy to oblige!

My Latest Project

2010-11-08T11:37:00.000-08:00

Our new house has three bedrooms. Between the two rooms that could belong to the children, only one was painted. Since this happened to be the larger of the two rooms, and Levi inherited the queen bed, that room became his. Thus, Claire was left with a plain white room. With pink curtains. Just to jog your memory, this is what it looked like:

Well, I was feeling rather crafty and adventurous, so I decided that it was time to tackle Claire's room. She said she wanted a pink and purple room. Well, we all know those colors won't fly in my house, so we (I) decided on a green, yellow, and purple room. With pink accents.

Sounds terrible right? Well, have a look and see for yourself!

I started with the closet. First, I painted the entire inside and all the trim white. I then painted the one shelf in her closet a deep purple. I also added another shelf, which was painted purple too. I placed this one much lower, in order for her hang up clothes to be accessible.

I also decided to put a chair rail in her room. Here is where I started painting the top color, yellow. Actually, in the sunlight it looks real yellow. However, at night, and with unnatural light, it tends to look bright green. The color is Pear.

Ahh! The green has emerged!

Here is a more complete view. Since we were adding chair rail, we also changed the trim and base in Claire's room to match the rest of the house. Those are all painted white.

Another view...

Here is the first corner that was completed.

I even painted her bed! It was surprisingly easy and I am definitely glad that I decided to do that!

And here is the final project!

What do you think? Claire loves it. I totally love it. I do have some finishing touches to do. Like filling in the nail-gun holes in the trim and base and touch up painting. But otherwise, it is such a fun, bright, and warm room. It is impossible to find sheer purple curtains, so those are ordered and that should complete the effect perfectly.

By the way, the wall with the tree is actually stickers from Ikea. Super fun and super cheap. All those stickers (plus about five more which we did not add) only cost $8!