Lake Pueblo

Recently we escaped for 24 hours to Lake Pueblo State Park . The tots adore going to the 'beach' and had a blast with their buckets and shovels. Hopefully next summer they will get to experience a real beach! The tots were convinced that they could 'fill up the lake' by pouring their hefty buckets of sand in to the lake.

Caleb lugged around this piece of drift wood wherever he went. He threw it time and again enjoying the large splashes of water.

Uh oh! Carissa got stuck in the sand and she couldn't get out! No worries, Daddy to the rescue!And moments before leaving the state park we got to experience very large hairy spider, aka Tarantula.

Good times.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes

These Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes are delicious!
They are loved by both big and little people in our family.

I snatched this recipe from Keeper of the Home - a blog I follow.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancake Mix

4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup packed brown sugar (or other dry sweetener)

1 cup instant dry nonfat milk

3 Tablespoons baking powder

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

5 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Mix these ingredients together in a large bowl.

Use hands to mix in brown sugar well.

Store the mix at room temperature in an airtight container or gallon-sized freezer bag.

Yield: 10 cups of pancake mix.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes

2 eggs

1/3 cup applesauce

2 cups of Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancake Mix (recipe above)

1 cup water

Optional: one mashed banana or fruit of your choice

Beat eggs in a large bowl. Gradually beat in applesauce. Alternately add mix and water to mixture. Blend well. Preheat and oil griddle. Pour 1/3 cup batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form around edges, flip and cook until done.

Yield: about 10 pancakes

(Alternative: Leave out the powdered milk when making the mix. Substitute with 1 cup of milk or buttermilk for the cup of water when mixing with the wet ingredients.)

(Make Ahead Idea: I have mixed the wet ingredients with the dry the night before. I like how the flavors meld together)

ENJOY!

Kelli-O

Hello Everyone,

Meet Kelli.

Lover of:
life
learning
books

writing
hiking
people

good times
and muffins (little people)

She has come and gone and we miss her already!

Kelli was a part of our family this Summer. She lived with us, ate with us, worked alongside Jeff as an Intern at our church and shared life with our small family on Old Farm Circle.

Kelli and I have a wee history.

Back in the day when I was the Vocal Music Director at a High School in WA, Kelli participated in choir for a year. I also worked closely with her as the vocal coach in the musical productions. And, I knew Kelli through her mom Christy, one of my good friends and colleagues whom took me under her wing as a young teacher. Her mom was one of the people who interviewed me, a fresh graduate ready to take on the world of Choral music. I was pretty gung-ho then but that's another post.

It has been wonderful getting acquainted with who Kelli is now. I have so enjoyed our many adult conversations about life, love, theology and food.

In addition to Kelli doing an internship at our church, hanging out with friends, hiking (go 14ers!)etc... she also spent time regularly with Caleb and Carissa. This was a huge blessing to our family. In addition to scheduled outings on my own, Jeff and I savored weekly date nights which gave us an opportunity to connect on deeper levels without the interruptions of little people. (not that our little people are interruptions!)

In these moments I experienced a sense of 'space' that I had been longing for since becoming a mother of two. I experienced God working within that space and in every square inch of me.

It was a wonderful and a strong reminder that in these hectic times slowing down and creating 'space' cultivates a deeper relationship with God and with others. When I slow down I find that I am a healthier and happier wife, mommy, friend and servant of God.

Refreshing.

Here are a few pics of Kelli with the Muffin Heads.
One of the things that Kelli made-up is the 'Muffin March' - a fun way to get the Muffins to march up the stairs to bed, out the door, in the car, wherever. The 'Muffin March' is definitely here to stay!

Kelli is awesome. (one of her favorite words!)

We love her and are thankful for slice of time that she was able to spend with our family and our church community in Colorado.

Thank you Kelli-O!

Celebrating Life part 2

Tonight I joined 'Greg's Lymphoma Phyghters' and hundreds of others in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 'Light the Night Walk' - a night to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer.
The event raises funds for patient services, lifesaving research for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Pictured here is the greater part of 'Greg's Lymphoma Phyghters'. A fighting team!I participated in the walk for several reasons.

1. to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

2. to support our friends Greg and Nancy. Greg is currently in treatment for Lymphoma.
3. to celebrate my mom's life - she is in remission from Leukemia - today marks one year since her diagnosis Sept. 17, 2008.
Everybody carried illuminated balloons during the walk.(me and my friend Nancy, Greg's wife)

Celebrating Life

Today, 9-17-09 we celebrate life for my mom Sharon.

Sharon is a one year survivor of Acute Leukemia.

We celebrate this year of life with great joy and give thanks for the many memories yet to come.

"Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits"

I Chronicles 16:34

Best Friends

Caleb Jackson &

Carissa Joy

are like two giggly peas in a podthey love each other more than anything else in the world

brother. sister. twins. best friends.It makes my heart glad

Bonatoes & Basil

Its Harvest time and more tomatoes are ready for the picking! We've been picking the basil all Summer. Just yesterday I made another batch of pesto and froze it. Carissa was my little picking helper. She loved it! Carissa calls tomatoes 'bonatoes'. It is the cutest word morph ever. I hope she says 'bonatoe' until middle school. seriously.
I am happy with my tomatoes and basil this year. Unfortunately my other vegetables did not produce well due to the heavy hail storms late in the Summer.
Next year, I want to try the Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomatoe Hanger in addition to my potted tomatoes.

T-Ball

Baseball.It all started a few months ago when a good friend from church watched the tots when Jeff was out of the country. Her middle school aged son (a baseball star himself) set up a make-shift T-ball set in their backyard.

For Caleb it was love at first sight.

And since then Carissa has become pretty fond of it as well.

During our trip to AZ Jeff created the game of 'imaginary baseball' (video to come...) but in recent days we have turned the imaginary into reality...a new T-Ball set.

So, here is the new T-Ball set and Daddy coaching Caleb on how to hold the bat.the look of concentration...the look of determination...the look of a little girly girl with her first t-ball set...the look of a baseball bunny-love...and the look of Caleb and Carissa with their Daddy-O.According to Caleb and Carissa it doesn't get much better than this.

Good times.