Conversation with Drew

Jerry was talking to Drew about why he was smashing rolly-poly's outside.  Here's how it went:

Jerry: Should we be nice to rolly-poly's?

Drew: Yeah.

Jerry: Is it nice to smash them?

Drew: Yeah, it is.

Jerry: It is?

Drew: Yeah, if you do it slowly. (He slams his hand down on the ground to illustrate.)

We might have a bit of work to do with this one...

The new "cheese" pose...Not my favorite!

Marshmallows

Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of your bag of marshmallows? With all of our food allergies, I sure have.  This is the list:

Corn Syrup, Sugar, Dextrose, Modified Corn Starch, Water, Gelatin, Tetrasodium Pyrophosphate (Whipping Aid), Artificial Flavor, Artificial Color (Blue 1).

Because of our corn allergy, this is obviously a food we should not be eating. Plus, no one really needs to be eating chemical binders, modified food, and artificial flavors and colors. Anyway, it is not a food we ate a lot, but every now and then, a marshmallow or two would be nice in some hot chocolate or rice crispy treat, you know? So I set about to figuring out how to make them myself.  Of course, my first stop in a recipe search was with Alton Brown! His recipe for marshmallows can be found here. I'm sure they turn out great, but they still have corn on top of corn with a side of corn. ::sigh::  Then across my blog reader came this post from The Nourishing Gourmet! I got excited about trying these right away.  Not only is there no corn or artificial anything, I like using honey instead of refined sugar when I can.  I had never made marshmallows before, but I decided to dive right in!

First I assembled my cast of characters:

And of course, I gather my helpers, too!

Then we put the gelatin in water to soften.

Then we put the honey, water, and salt in a pan to start to boil it together.

It takes a while to get up to 240 degrees, but me and my helpers kept a close eye on it knowing it would have to come off right at 240 on the dot.

After it gets to 240, start the mixer on the gelatin and slowly drizzle the hot liquid into the gelatin until it is incorporated.

Then turn the mixer up to high.

After about 10 minutes, it looks like marshmallow fluff!  I'm wondering if at this point it could be used for a fudge recipe that calls for a jar of marshmallow fluff...

Pour it into a greased pan lined with greased wax paper, then let it sit for 3 -18 hours.  It took all night for mine to get firm enough to slice.

Of course, you have to let the littlest helper lick the beater!

I cannot wait to try these in all kinds of things!

Cousins!!

Last week we had the privelege of having my sister-in-law, Stephanie, and my niece and nephew, Elise and Ian, here for the day! We don't get to see them as often as I'd like to, and we didn't get to spend much time with them this summer, so we were extra happy to spend the day with them.  They had a lot of fun playing Wii and Apples to Apples. I sure wish they lived next door instead of 4 hours away!

Andrew hasn't figured out how to do silly pictures yet!

Mini Post Monday

Welcome to Mini Post Monday, "First Day of School" Edition!! I *LOVE* the first day of school! And yes, I know I am a geek. I've come to terms with that a long time ago! And this year I have been looking forward to it in a way I haven't in previous years since my children are old enough to really, truly get on each other's nerves! Summer's lack of structure really needed to end...

Aaron, ready to go!

• Is it possible that Aaron starts the 3rd grade this year? I had my very first crush on a boy in the third grade.  I sat next to him at our "table" made from four desks pushed together, and thought he was so cute.  Boy am I thankful there are no little girls in Aaron's "class" at school for him to crush on...I am *so* not ready to deal with that! 

Ethan, excited about 1st grade!
• Ethan has joined the ranks of "real" school in 1st grade this year.  He continues to amaze me with his zeal for life and love of learning.  I cannot wait to see what he does this year!

Does this look like a future 3rd grader to you? Where did the time go?

Close brothers from the very beginning.  How much joy it brings me that they can continue to develop their bond every single day doing school together at home! We are so very blessed.
• I am wondering how Andrew will do this year with school.  Last year he was really in the way, wanting to be involved with what we were doing and sit in my lap the whole day or look at our school books without us.  I am hoping that the maturity he has gained since the end of last year will allow him to play independently at least a little bit during our school day.

I know it must be very hard to picture him causing any kind of trouble during the day...
• I am going to attempt to be a bit more scheduled with my days this year.  I started on this path last year, but Andrew made it hard to stick to it much.  However, with more detailed subjects to teach, I think it will be important if we want to actually get everything done.

A first day of school family tradition.
• The boys made it through one more allergy treatment last week.  After this, they still have a treatment in early November, but after that one, they get to wait until March! Woo-Hoo! I cannot wait until we are down to only 2 treatments a year!
• I have been thinking about traditions, and realizing that we don't have very many fall traditions prior to Thanksgiving.  What are some of your family's fall traditions?

Chuckle

I stole this from someone's Facebook status, because it made me laugh and we can all use a good laugh now and then, right?

The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail. CEO's are now playing miniature golf. Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen. Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America. Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore. A picture is now only worth 200 words. They renamed Wall Street " Wal-Mart Street". Finally, I called the Suicide Hotline and I got a call center in Pakistan and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck.

Tee-Hee-Hee!

Patient

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."  Ephesians 4:2 NIV

Gee, that's not a tall order or anything! When I think about how I react toward and how I treat my family, one thought that comes up often is how I am not very patient.  I have to wonder, can I be truly loving toward my family without being patient? Unfortunately for me, I'm pretty sure the answer is, "No."

In their book The Love Dare, Stephen and Alex Kendrick propose that love is built on two pillars: patience and kindness. It is not their original idea - we are all familiar with the verse beginning, "Love is patient, love is kind." But knowing something and applying it to everyday life are two very different things.  This has made me think about how to show more patience with my family.  How would that look? How would I have to change? Again, the Kendrick's have much to say that resonates with me.

First, being patient means staying positive in a negative situation. Negative situations are part of life! Any time more than one person lives in a house, spending time together every day, negative situations abound! How will I react? Earlier today, Andrew was being his normal, very talkative self.  I was trying to read something very important (Well, Facebook can be important, right?) and he just kept saying the same thing over and over and over to me.  This isn't something that has to be a negative situation, but I quickly turned it into one with my lack of patience.  I became frustrated that he was interrupting me and annoyed at his repetition.  My lack of patience made it impossible for my son to see my love for him in that moment.  This is also an important thing for me to remember right now while Jerry and my older boys are going through an allergy treatment. No one would dare argue about whether that is a negative situation! Probably because so much prayer has gone into these three-day treatment periods over the last two years, I am able to be very patient with the negative aspects of these treatments.  When my children whine, vomit, and refuse to eat, I am saddened and I do get frustrated because I want them to do what they should to not suffer, but I also am patient knowing that it will end in a few days.  That patience allows me to have an internal calm regardless of what is happening around me.  Without it, I would have a hard time showing my family love in the way they need it on these days.

Second, patience makes us wise.  If I am not quick to rush to judgment, but allow myself to truly listen to the one I love in a difficult conversation or situation, I am able to respond in love. Proverbs had much to say about this, such as, "He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly." The Kendrick's put it well, "Patience is where love meets wisdom."

Finally, patience gives our loved ones permission to be human.  Everyone makes mistakes, falls short, and fails at times. I don't have to look very far to find numerous examples of this human nature - I can just look in the mirror!  When I am consistently patient, my family knows they doesn't have to be afraid to make these inevitable human errors in front of me. They can be confident of my love!

Patience doesn't come naturally to me, but it is a quality worth striving for. This is something in which the Lord has been dealing with me. What has he been showing you lately?

It's Kind Of Like That

Ever have one of those days that despite everything you do, you just cannot stay awake?  I was tickled to find Aaron in our school room one afternoon, sound asleep! He had been to day camp that day and the poor kid was just plumb tuckered out!

It's okay, Aaron.  I totally understand! ::yawn::