When did you begin blogging, and why?

Hm.  I think it’s been about four years.  It began as a way to keep family and friends updated on what we were up to, particularly since we were beginning our farm venture and most of them thought we had surely gone off the deep end.  I hope it served to offer them a shred of comfort.  Either that, or just confirm their suspicions, while at least giving them something to talk about.  Ha.  At that time, it was mainly pictures and short tidbits of family life.
It soon morphed into a writing outlet for me.  I’ve always written - not because of any huge talent in that area, but because I have to.  It’s an outlet for me.  I can’t rest sometimes until I’ve put thought into words.  Then I read it and either think, “Wow, that’s screwed up” and delete it or “Wow, that’s screwed up” and hit publish.

Last week when you were talking about your date nights, you said you and your husband talk a lot.  What if you have a husband that doesn’t talk, or even like it?

Hey, then YOU can be the one talking the whole time to a forced audience - at least until the meal is over. Ha.
Some people don’t talk as much.  That’s okay.  I used to think that I had married a ‘non-talker’.  Wrong.  Because it’s also true that men talk differently than women.  Yes, really.  Groundbreaking, I know.
If you talk to him like you do your girlfriends, or even respond to his conversation like you would to your girlfriends… you’ll do a great job at clamming him up for good.
The first step to a great conversation isn’t talking.  It’s listening.  No interrupting.  Lots of eye contact.  You know the drill.  The next time he nonchalantly mentions something, even if its about the fact his car needs an oil change, look him in the eye and express interest.  Then shut up.
Don’t ask fifty questions.  Don’t try to solve anything.  And, above all else, don’t ridicule.  What?! I don’t ridicule him!  I didn’t think I did that either.  Until I paid attention.
So, listen.  And smile a lot.  Nod your head.  Look at him as if he is the most interesting thing to you in the world.  He should be, you know.

New Year’s is coming up.  Do you make resolutions?  If so, will you share them?

Riiiight.  And hold myself accountable to all who read this blog?  Are ya kiddin’ me?
Robb and I have a running joke right now, since I told him I resolved to love him even more this coming year.  (Okay, you can quit gagging now. And I saw you roll your eyes!  Hey, I figured that it’s been true for the last fifteen years, so I have a pretty good chance of meeting this resolution.)  And I can’t tell you the part that’s a joke between us because, well, it’s just a joke between us.  Sorry.
I actually don’t make New Year’s resolutions.  I could say that it’s because I resolve stuff all year ‘round, or some similar annoying thing.  But maybe it’s just cuz I’m lazy.

I should know better than to ask this, but do you plan on having more children?

You’re right.  You should know better than to ask that.  But I will humor you.
It would be stupid to not “plan” on having more, especially if going by our personal statistics and historical precedence.  If that’s what you mean by “plan”.
There is much debate over ideas such as open womb, personal responsibility, and planned conception.  Bring into that mix the morality of certain contraceptives, and there is a lot to wade through.  Through our years of prayer, research and Bible study, we could probably make a case for either way.
The point is, we view children as a blessing, heritage and gift from God.  That’s it.
What that means to married couples is between them and God.  Groups in both of the opposing sides (ie full quiver vs planned parenthood) make my eye twitch.  Gah.  All the what-ifs, what-abouts, and whys are too numerous to get into here.
Bottom line?  It is something that should be taken very seriously, with much honest thought and prayer guiding our choices instead of fears, cultural norm or social acceptance.

You seem to do most of the work on the blog.  How much input does Rob have?  Does he work on it too?  Does he read it?

Yes, he reads it.  And complains if I miss a day in posting.
The blog is mainly my thing.  He has written a couple things, and I wish he would more. But most of what I write is from a recent conversation we’ve had, so it’s mainly putting what we’ve talked about into something readable.   In that way, it’s just as much his material as mine.  If it’s a controversial topic, I’ll often have him read it first before I post it so he can make suggestions or additions.

You can read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.
And send me your questions.  The worst that can happen is that we answer ignore it.

Tags: blogging, children, date night, family, marriage, questions

Any suggestions on how to train your [young] children to get along with one another?

(You’re asking me parenting questions?  You must not have read this post!  Ha.)
Duct tape and leashes work well.
Kidding!  Yeesh.
Well, we have good days and bad days here with this one.  Most of my parenting tips come from reading To Train Up A Child by the Pearls.  Highly recommended.
Most battles seem to revolve around toys.  My first suggestion is to rethink the whole idea that all the toys belong to everyone.  Real life just doesn’t work that way.  I think the quickest way to train your child to resent the other is to force them to constantly hand everything over to their whining sibling.  Socialism stinks.  No, Child A has their toys, Child B has theirs, and so on.  They have first dibs on their own toys, and each must ask the other if they want to play with something that isn’t theirs.  The flip side is that they are also responsible for being sure it’s put away.  (No matter who was playing with it!)  This teaches children to be good stewards of what they have and to respect other’s things.
When they do fight, take the time to remind them they are best friends and that they do love each other.  Have each one say to the other that they’re sorry for what they did (specifically) and that they love them.  Insist on clear speaking (no mumbling because that usually equals a bad attitude) and eye contact.  Have them hug each other.  They are usually giggling at this point!   If there is constant bickering over a specific item, it is taken away and ownership falls to Mom (or Dad) to be reintroduced at a later time.
When you notice them playing together nicely, comment on it.  Make a big deal about when they are doing the right  thing.  Admire how grown up they are, how they are getting to be just like Mommy or Daddy.  Children want to please their parents, so make sure you tell them when they are!

What about getting them to help when you need them to and not only when they WANT to!?

This one made me laugh!  I know the feeling!  They pester to ‘help’ you roll out a pie crust, but view picking up their dolls as cruel torture.
Again, I don’t think I’ll ever have this one nailed.  Remember this post?
There is one thing I’ve noticed about young children about when they want to help. It’s not usually the activity they’re interested in, as much as just wanting to do whatever Mom or Dad is doing!
So when they are young, include them in your daily chores (even though it slows you down and the end result isn’t quite as nice) and be present when there is something that they need to do.  Most young ones will have trouble with carrying out commands like “go clean up the blocks”, but if you go and sit on the floor with them while they pick them up, just your ‘being with them’ makes it doable.  Toss a block in every now and then and encourage their tidying up, by praising loudly their strong muscles, speed, and ability.  They will want to impress you.

I answered a question last week about how I find time for everything (which made me laugh, since around here more gets left undone than done) but someone asked a similar question with a slightly different focus…

I am just amazed at all that you do and accomplish. How, pray tell, do you do it all and still have time for you and your hubby?

*blush*  All through my blogging years, I’ve been honest about my shortcomings, mistakes, failings, and struggles.  I’m blessed you still think there is something to admire!
I want to start by saying, if I was doing so much that I didn’t have time for my husband, I would stop.  There is nothing, NOTHING, more important than being sure you are spending significant time with your spouse.   Even the children know that Daddy comes first.  A strong, healthy marriage is the best gift I can give my children.
(A quick side note on this before I continue. Sometimes husbands have jobs that keep them away from home for significant periods of time.  While its not ideal, I think usually this is a necessary season and wives should be respectful and appreciative.  It’s important to enjoy the time with your husband when he is home, and not punish him with your resentment, especially when you have children around learning your habits.)
I try to have all my stuff done before he returns home in the evening.  If I am particularly busy, that means planning supper ahead of time (crockpotting!) so that I am available to him.  The only chores I do in the evening are finishing preparing supper and dishes, which the children help with.  Evenings, whenever possible, are for relaxing together.
This also means that I try to do as much around the home as I can myself.  Greeting him at the door with a Honey-Do list is not a great idea.
I make a conscious effort at making our home a place he wants to be.  A place he yearns to be!
Now, I try not to confuse the importance of ‘making time for my hubby’ with forcing him to meet all my emotional needs!  What I mean is - Most husbands want and need a little while to unwind when they first get home.  I recognize this and after we greet each other (please make an effort to greet your husband with a kiss, no matter how busy you are!) I give him time to do his own thing, and wait for him to come seek me out.  He usually plays bass guitar for a little while as I finish up making supper.
We also, almost without fail, set aside one evening a week for date night.  Which leads to our next question…

I am interested in what date night is.

For us, date night is about having fun together and reconnecting.  Usually, it is a long dinner where we do a lot of talking.
Sometimes we go out with another couple, but that is not the norm.  We want to make sure we have time for just the two of us.  After dinner, we usually return home, but sometimes we’ll watch a movie or get in some live music.  Sometimes we split a coffee somewhere and talk even more.
What we don’t do is shop or run errands.  It’s important to us to make it an enjoyable, relaxing evening where we are husband and wife, not just Mom and Dad. (even with a nursing baby in tow!)  He does his best to ignore his phone, and I make a special effort to dress up a little.

Do you miss the goats?

Hahahahahahaha!  No.
I do miss the farm a little. I miss seeing the pasture, trees and animals out my window.  I miss having awesome chores for my children.  I miss the wide open space.  I miss the sunsets and watching storms come in.  I miss being able to walk out to May’s little grave and think. I miss my herb garden.  I miss my rocking chair next to the wood burning stove.  I miss baking homemade bread and pizza in that stove.
But I don’t miss the goats.

Why did you ever move away from the farm?

a. Because an opportunity presented itself and we took it.
b. Because I was plumb worn out from handling most of the goat farm duties single-handedly.
c. Because Robb had ants in his pants.
All of the above.
If you chose d, you were correct.

I know you have a question for us.  Shoot it over and we’ll answer next Monday.

Tags: child training, date night, farm, marriage, questions, time management

I recently read the following:
“I’m not having warm and cozy feelings toward alcohol and the effects it has on people who consume it. It is a drug — a poison. Long term effects of consumng alcohol can lead to permanent damage to vital organs, and several different types of cancer. Impaired drivers kill someone every 30 minutes. One of my relatives was on a waiting list for a liver transplant because of alcohol consumption. Another relative spent a year in prison because of DUI. Women are abused, children are beaten, people are killed…because of this LEGAL accepted substance. Don’t say anything bad could never happen to you — it all starts with the first drink. Please think twice…three…four times before taking that drink next time you have the chance. Getting drunk is freaking stupid.”

This was written by someone in a public forum and therefore open for comment.  There are several things I’d like to address.

I have to agree with the author that “getting drunk is freaking stupid”.  What I don’t agree with is the implied opinion that alcohol should be illegal and that the fault lies in the substance itself and not with the sin in our hearts.

The same tired comments are made about alcohol over and over.  “It destroys lives, families, and bodies.”  “It does absolutely no good for anyone.”  “Alcohol is a drug.”

Let’s use the arguments many make with alcohol, with sugar.  Sugar is a drug.  It tremendously affects our bodies (weight gain, serious health issues, children’s behavioral issues, etc).  Sugar is addicting.  Sugar has absolutely no good use.  It is simply for pleasure.  It is directly related to the heinous sin of gluttony.

Good thing there’s that one Bible passage where Jesus turned the table salt into sugar or we’d have absolutely no basis to indulge ourselves in it.

Or internet.  The use of internet has caused pornography to skyrocket, especially the worst, most horrific type of porn, child pornography.  Chat rooms have led to inappropriate relationships that have led to divorces.  Hate forums have led to killing sprees.  Online bullying has led to suicides.   Instructional downloads like how to make homemade bombs and open safes have aided criminals.  In a nutshell, the internet has caused the devastation of hundreds of families, and thousands of individuals.  Shall it be illegal as well?

Many who say it is unwise to go near alcohol are the same ones who joke about their addiction to coffee, chocolate or soda (especially diet sodas that contain the neurologically damaging drug, aspartame).  Sin is not about the inanimate, morally neutral substances that are being abused.  Sin is the act of abusing those substances.  It is the heart condition.  I believe that God takes very seriously what many Christians make jokes over and attempt to minimize.

“But coffee and soda can’t compare to alcohol!” they say.  “That’s preposterous!”  Is it?  “Those things don’t destroy families like alcohol does!”  And then they go on to tell a story of someone they know who was an “alcoholic”.

Hear me - Sin is NOT based on how many people that particular act of sin harms.  Every act of sin, whether it be a murder or a white lie, is equally damaging.  They ALL bring death.  Period.  If you can’t agree with that, you simply do not understand the Biblical definition of mercy, grace, and well, sin!

There are and there have been devastating effects of alcohol abuse in my extended family.  And yet, it would be a huge error for me to state “Alcohol has damaged my family and several people I know.”  How evil of me to overlook the sins of substance abuse, lack of self-control and drunkenness, and instead blame the substance itself!

Alcohol itself does not destroy, and removing it will not cause devastation to cease.  No, the person lacking self-control will find something else to dive into, because it is the ever-hungry sin nature within, longing to be fed, that is the problem.

While I must respect those who take a vow of abstinence, be it from sex, alcohol or even certain forms of cultural norms like music, jewelry or clothing… It is an entire matter altogether when those vows are zealously turned into laws for everyone else as well.  The weaker brother who has chosen to not partake because of conscience’s sake is free to do so, but he is not free to bind his fellow brother’s conscience as well.

Parents, if you encourage your children to take vows of abstinence, take heed that they do not add their personal conviction to the gospel message, that they do not trust in themselves for righteousness, and that they do not fall into feasting on the rottenness of pride that eats at their bones far worse than the thing they are abstaining from!

How sad that Christians themselves have been manipulated and deceived into no longer recognizing sin for what it is!

Shall we proclaim our own self-righteousness proudly, when Jesus sits upon the throne?  Have we forgotten how any little good thing we do is just a filthy rag, literally a used tampon?  Do we make the mistake so many people make that are raised in God-honoring homes – tending to view ourselves as basically good and almost deserving of His grace?  How dare we!!  Has the sheer awesomeness of His saving mercy ceased to startle us?  Have we so easily started on the slippery journey of trusting in our moral uprightness, formulas and fulfillment of petty edicts?  Thank God Almighty that His blood can cover the sins of pride and pharisaical pronouncements…

Tags: Christianity, presuppositions, worldview

We started Monday night off by eating like pigs.

The kids didn’t know what to think when I dumped the whole pot of spaghetti noodles and homemade meatballs in the center of the table.

They were still taking it in when I returned with the bowl of broccoli and dumped that on the table, too!

We did use forks, but ate directly from the “trough”.  Too fun.

After supper was cleaned up, we played a couple games.  First, a relay race where each person on each team had to take turns putting on a hat, scarf and gloves, walking around a chair, then removing the winter gear.

Spence was soooo slow that we all had a good laugh!

The next game was the No Smiling game.  Whoever was “It” had to try and make all the others smile.  If you did, you were out.  The last person to left won, and was the next to be “It”.

We ended the evening with some quiet storybook reading.

Tags: Family Night

How long [were you together] before you and Robb got married?

We waited almost exactly two years.  We wanted to marry long before that, but I was still in high school.  We married within two months of my graduation.  I was eighteen, he was twenty.

Does the [family you get chickens from] sell to the “general public”? Also, how often do you buy them?

They just sell to people they know through word of mouth.  They have regular purchasers, but if they have enough birds, anyone is welcome to purchase some.
I usually buy several  (as many as I have freezer space for) from them a couple times a year.

Do you and your husband ever do double dates for date night?

We do!  While we keep them to a minimum so that we have our time to really connect and talk with just the two of us, we really enjoy going out with other couples.

You had mentioned that you drink some kind of smoothie in the morning.  What does that consist of, and do your kids drink it as well?

My daily shake is called Balance Complete, and its sold through Young Living.  It is really tasty.  They also have Protein Plus for those who need more protein.
Usually I just add it to water.  Other times, if I want to replace lunch, I add it to yogurt and fruit (and kefir if I have it) for a more substantial smoothie.
My children also love it (especially Cruiz and Spence) and ask for it almost daily.  Spence says “ban pete, pease!”

I love smoothies. We make all kinds, especially in the summer.  A really easy one that everyone loves (especially my one child who doesn’t like fruit) is yogurt, peanut butter, raw blue agave, and raw milk.  I have also added a handful of almonds or a bit of cocoa.

They’re so versatile.  You can add pretty much anything.  I almost always use yogurt as the base, then start throwing in fruit, nuts, or juices.  Frozen fruit is great.  Bananas that are getting a little ‘past’ are great to use in smoothies.  Just peel and freeze.   You can also add flax oil or coconut oil for added nutrition.

How do you lose weight after each baby?

It’s always an effort for me.  It was especially difficult after Carmen, since I had never lost my pregnancy weight from Cruiz before I was pregnant again.  With the last two, it came quicker (not easier!) because I’ve somewhat figured out what my body needs when.
When baby is about 2-3 months old, I go on a strict sugar-free, grain (starch)-free diet for 2-4 weeks.  During this, I am sure to continue to eat lots of good fats, protein and omega 3’s so that I remain healthy and make yummy milk for baby.  After this, the weight comes off by itself, without any major need for exercise besides normal daily activity.  Once I am in balance, I gradually add natural sugars and grains back in with no trouble.

I think most people trying to lose weight make the mistake of simply cutting calories.  But its not so much how many calories we eat as the type of calories.  My body needs good fats and oils - they aren’t the enemy!  The point that is so often missed is that the fat in a Hot Pocket (ew) is a far cry from the fat in a homemade roll made with whole grain flour slathered in real butter.  Oh, heavenly.  Eat REAL food, and you can eat well.

It seems like you do a lot. How do you find time for everything?

Well, that’s all I have time for today.  We’ll answer some more questions next week!

Kidding.  I don’t find time for everything.  There are a lot of things I don’t do.  I don’t have a paid job out of the home.  I don’t drive my children to sports and other activities.  I don’t have a weekly massage.  I don’t sew my own clothes.

In choosing how I fill my day, I end up having to not do some things, even those that I would love to do.  Well, duh, you say.

With that said, I have put a lot of effort into training my children to be… self sufficient?  I don’t know if that’s the right word.  What I mean is, they can make simple meals, do laundry, dress themselves, change diapers, clean the house.  Basically, I have worked to put myself out of a job.  Now, don’t go flipping out that I am some kind of slave driver.  I am, but I am a nice slave driver.

Okay, seriously.  My children can do all those things, and they do.  With constant help and guidance from me.  I’ve had to put up with a bowl of sticky dough falling to the floor in a floury heap (think added mess, time and energy) for the long-term blessing of having my children know how to make pie crust from scratch.

Also, we try to stick to a rhythm.  When activities, school and household duties follow a routine, the children know what to expect and things go much more smoothly.   Mornings are for getting dressed, tidying bedrooms, eating breakfast - all in time for Circle Time.  After that is learning work.  Then lunch, followed by free time before quiet time - naps for little ones and no talking with a quiet activity for the older ones.  Then free play till supper. Laundry is ongoing throughout the day, and the 3 oldest take turns helping me with that.

All right, this is long enough.  The other questions will have to wait till next week.
Go ahead, and add yours.

Tags: date night, health, marriage, meals, questions, time management

ALL RISE, for the coming of the King of the Jews
Sixteen saints salute for Him, bringing the truth
Hold up for a minute, put your focus on Him
Then selah for a second to catch more than a glimpse
Of the One placed higher than the angels in heaven
Pre-eminent. So, [friend] that means He never comes second
Nothing should ever replace or overshadow this God
Ever reduce or lower his position as God
He’s holy, plus diving with all splendor
It’s time Jesus Christ became your life’s true center
The focus of your life so that your life be permanent

And, friend, this God that made the world and the firmament
I’ll put this on my momma, He’ll blow that mind
Watch as I paint the picture for you, its kodak time
If you ever wondered who He was, then know that now
No interruption take the sweets and heats and throw that down

How can you hear about this God and not get impressed?
The one that gave the sky its height and the ocean its depth
The one that hung all of the planets plus the moon and the sun
And let you hear this song that you might commune with the Son

So tell me what you seeing when you looking at God
Is it Yahweh the indescribable, unspeakable God?
Or is it Elohim, all sovereign and majestic
The provident creator with a six day checklist
Or maybe the King of Kings up on the side of the Father
With nail prints in his hands ‘cause He decided to bother
Or do you look and see someone who ain’t no better than you
Well if you’re the focus, I suggest you better your view
How you going to act like you compare to Him?
You don’t compare to the seraphim that cherish Him
Man, you got two lungs that still need air in them
The bottom line, friend, when you looking at God
You should see the King of Glory not a midst or a fog
Not Father Time with the long beard and clock
and not this passive Jesus that you hear in hip hop
But the God of the Bible Isaiah saw in Chapter 6
Who got a glimpse and said “God is Holy, I need to repent”

Man, I’ve been looking for a minute how we impressed with things
Plus ourself, so we came to address this thing
We came to rep Him so you would bless the King
And be impressed like Froto was with the ring
Like the Phanatik, take time and think on these things
Think about how you’re a sinner and you need to be clean
We sons of Adam fallen sinners and deserve to be killed
Man, we couldn’t keep the standard ‘cause perfection is His will
He is coming back for all of the cats
That allowed Christ to be their ransom and satisfy God’s wrath

But, we’d rather think the Bible’s all about us
Instead of Jesus whom God said put all of your trust
Man stop coming up to God ‘cause you think He’ll bless ya
Man stop coming up to God ‘cause you want something extra
Its time he impressed ya, and not because of all that He’s done
But because of who He is, the Glorious One

—————————————————————————

Not quite everyone’s favorite taste in music…
But we’ve been blessed to meet some guys who grew up in Flint.  They’re street rappers, and their music is similar to this.  They aren’t afraid to preach the gospel in music, or talk about it on the local radio station.

Amazing stuff, to meet young guys who are excited about reading the Bible.  Who are more concerned about souls than their image.
Who aren’t afraid to speak the truth, in the most un-reached and forgotten parts of the city.

Even if rap/hip-hop isn’t your cup of tea, it’s impossible to not be challenged by those who are doing, not holed up in their house.

Tags: Christianity, music, spirituality, worldview

You know what’s funny about the way we think?

When we look at someone, we automatically see them the way they are only at that moment.

If they are eighty, we can’t really picture them as twenty.  We just put them in a file labeled “Old Person”.

If someone is in a bad mood, we tend to categorize them as “grumpy” without considering that perhaps they are a happy person having a bad day.

A homeless person isn’t seen as a business owner who lost it all when his child died and he drank till his wife left him, leaving him with debt and no will to live.  No, he’s just a bum.

It’s a funny thing.

I hate it when people do that to me.

When they think I’m a “saint” because I happen to be responding sweetly to my child at that moment.

When they glare at me sideways because I snapped in irritation to my child at another moment.  I’m a “bad parent”.

When they comment that “people like me” can eat whatever I want.   The days of cleansing, mindfully planning healthy menus, and abstaining from foods that call my name… They don’t exist to them.  I’m just “thin”.

It’s funny.

I do the same thing.

The mom at the playground with an adorably cute outfit is “trendy” and perhaps a bit “vain”.  I don’t know that she never got out of her pajamas the day before and that she had to change out of her first outfit that morning because she had a lap full of spit-up.

The cashier is “rude” because she didn’t greet me with a smile and seemed irritated when the card reader didn’t work.  I don’t know that her boyfriend of two years just broke up with her.

It’s funny.  We always make allowances for ourself.  We view ourselves through our best intentions, but everyone else through present perception, no matter how brief the encounter.  What we see in a moment of time isn’t the full picture.

We know this to be true.  But still.  It’s funny, the way we think.

Tags: presuppositions, worldview

I was recently reading some interesting things about family grocery bills.  The moms writing all strived to eat as healthy and organic as possible, and the food budget ranged from $200 a month to over $1000.

You would think that most of the larger budgets would be for larger families, yet I was amazed that the moms who spent the most usually had only 2 young children!

I also hear a lot of people complain a lot about how expensive healthy eating is.  I disagree strongly, but while reading about other family’s grocery habits, I realized something about those who complained loudest about the high cost of ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ foods.  The reason their bill was so high seemed to be due to the large number of prepackaged and ready-made foods they purchased.  I would agree that the ‘natural’ alternatives to pre-packaged food is much higher!

There are some prepackaged organic foods I use, like ketchup and other sauces (and I love the Annie’s Mac-n-cheese for an easy lunch my children can make!) but for the most part we make things from scratch.  It really isn’t difficult and the little extra time it takes is well worth it.

I make use of a local natural food buying club for most of my groceries.   This saves quite a bit, especially when I purchase things by the case.  Even if some items did cost more than at the grocery store, it ends up being so much easier to just pull up and load my boxes instead of spending 3 hours shopping with 6 children.  And if I’m worth just $10 an hour, then I’m $30 ahead regardless.  Ha.

I have fresh fruits and vegetables brought right to my door once a week thru Door To Door Organics.  I am impressed with how good their stuff is.  And did I mention they deliver it right to my door?!

One of my favorite ways to stretch our food budget is chicken.  I get whole chickens from a wonderful family (Kisslings!).  Juicy, HUGE chickens, raised naturally.  On Monday I roast the chicken.  Just place a whole chicken (thawed or frozen) in a baking dish, rub down with oil or butter if you want, add any herbs and spices (Pepper, salt and thyme are great), maybe a little water in the bottom of the dish to keep it moist, cover with foil and bake at 350 for several hours.  The last half hour I remove the foil to crisp up the skin a bit.  (Did you know eating that tasty, crunchy chicken skin is actually good for you when the chickens are raised right?!)

I usually just set the entire chicken on the table and cut it up as we eat it.  It’s one of the children’s favorite meals.

After dinner, don’t throw away the carcass!  Keep it in the fridge, along with leftover meat.  In the morning, I pick all the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the fridge.  Place all the bones, skin and fat (everything!) into a stock pot, fill with water, add a bay leaf and other herbs as desired, cover, and simmer all day.

Just before supper, remove all the stuff from your chicken stock broth.  To do this, I just place a noodle drainer thingey over another large pot and pour it through.  All the bones and skin stay in the strainer and I throw them out.

Now you have a very yummy stock.  You can keep part of it, storing it in the freezer if you have a small family.  I just keep ours in the fridge because I use it right away.

Place chicken stock back on the stove, add some of the leftover chicken meat, some vegetables, noodles or rice, and more seasoning.   Some ideas are carrots, peas, potatos, beans, fresh garlic, minced onion, celery, etc!  That makes soup.  One chicken, two nights.

On the following nights, I add some leftover chicken meat to a basic sauce and serve over hot noodles.  Or add chicken to a basic sauce and cooked egg noodles, spread in a baking dish, top with stuffing and bake for a chicken casserole.  Or chicken with a homemade sesame ginger/curry sauce over hot rice. (I make this for guests a lot and everyone raves!)  Or if I don’t have any chicken left, I use the stock to make any kind of soup like lentil or vegetable.  If it’s summer, I like to make chicken salad sandwiches instead of a hot dish.

By Thursday we eat the last of it all.  Friday is usually date night, so we don’t have supper here, anyways.

This is just one way to stretch a grocery budget.

What are your secrets?

Tags: budgeting, family, meals

I sometimes have this moment when it suddenly hits me how quickly time passes and I think, “Am I going to miss it?  Am I going to be standing in an empty house, with my children all grown and moved away, and mourn?  Will I yearn to redo this all and really live it?”

So often throughout the day, I will be specifically noticing and appreciating something about a child and think, “I want to remember this moment forever.”  The look on their face, or the funny thing they just said.  Or just the feeling in that few seconds where nothing really seems important except that connection.   I wish that I had a camera in my head that I could just *click* blink my eyes and capture it forever.

Perhaps more often though, I am busy and distracted.  My mind is preoccupied with the task at hand and full of all there is yet to do.  I’m not even taking note of the treasured snapshots around me, let alone enjoying them.

How easy it is to allow one day to slip into the next, without consciously basking in the blessings.

With that in mind, Monday evenings in the Klaty household are now Family Night.  Sure, we’re a family together here almost every night, but not always mindfully.

We kicked off the evening with a fun meal of fondue.  We had cheese fondue with 3 kinds of bread, broccoli, kielbasa, shrimp, and apples.  This was followed by chocolate fondue with pears, raspberries and butter cake.  We were stuffed.

After the meal was cleaned up, we all played hide and seek.  It’s amazing how such a simple thing like that makes a child cheer.   And if there’s one thing this house is made for, it’s a good game of Hide-n-Seek.

A little helpful tip for those of you, like me, who haven’t played in a while.  Remember to use the bathroom before you attempt to remain quiet and still for several minutes.  Trust me, that will be all you think about.

After we tired of that, we played Simon Says.

I am really, really bad at that game.

Tags: Add new tag, Family Night