Eclairs

A while ago we had dinner with a dear friend from my past. She said she was getting too old to do all the things she use to and wondered if any of my kids would be interested in learning from her. I love projects like this so we said yes. We set an appointment and got the grocery requirements. I remembered to purchase the said ingredients and we kept an eye on the calendar as the date approached. 

Teresa Hopman came to our house and instructed Millie on the fine art of eclair making. Millie did all the dough prep and piping herself. 

It was so delightful to visit with Teresa I had babysat her kids when she was a young mom and she has been part of my family circle of friends for a very long time. We have enjoyed her tasty creations for years. 

The second part filling the eclairs is not for the weak. We each took turns with this as the combined motion of squeezing the cream filling and holding the eclairs is really quite stress inducing. We will have to become stronger and more skilled at this. 

The end result of perfectly creamy with rich chocolate frosting bites were of course divine. This is a bad recipe to know. Thankfully we don't have all the tools or we may have made several batches more. Teresa said the most she ever made was 74 batches! That was a fundraiser and oh my that would have been though.

In the middle of the baking a package came from Aliza. She sent individual cards and bracelets to each person in the family and piles of candy and gum. The kids were thrilled! She has been very thoughtful her entire mission making sure to monthly send something to each person showing she is thinking of them and is still a tangible part of our family. With the exception of Andrea everyone remembers her well and is anxiously looking forward to being reunited. 

And the kids getting dad ready to go do Sunday chores. They each in turn love to be with their dad. It may help that Aunt Alena lives at the farm too and lets them jump on her trampoline. But the kids do adore time with their dad. I'm so thankful for the strong example of working and including children in all he does all the time. 

It was a special delight to spend time with this special lady who is so generous, kind, and talented. I sincerely loved visiting with her and watching my daughters also experience some of who she is. And we were successful and filled with such a heavenly treat. A great day all around. We are blessed. 
 

Addie track meet

Addie worked hard to prepare for this meet. Pre-hydrating and fueling carefully so she could have a pleasing experience. Her stomach troubles from the fall made her cautious and determined to feel better when done. Happily that was exactly the case. This is the first race the 1500. She won.

This is the 4x400 they won! She loves this race!

There are many choices in team sports. Is it just about the individual, is it about sacrificing some personal preference to help the team achieve more, is it a lot of patiently waiting on others? Yes and so much more. There are some decisions being made by peers selfish decisions that made Addie pause and ponder. She likes things to be smooth and happy. But we can't always force that especially when other people have agency too. So we tell her keep working hard, be obedient to coaching instructions, and find joy in the experience not only the outcomes. With this refreshed mindset Addie had a sincerely successful day, one to build on. 

And with the new season is some new gear! 

As the spring springs and summer descends this will be less bulky but for now it had room for a layer of sweatshirt and t-shirt over the uniform. I'm pleased with her ability to adapt to reach out and to build. This is her season. Life is good. 
 

Alia reading progress

We have chosen to homeschool kindergarten for all our children. In the beginning this was very challenging. My first was mildly dyslexic, the next strongly a busy boy, the next I was busy with babies but she was pretty ok, the next slight dyslexic highly imaginative  boy, on and on. To say it is a wind of relief to have this lady cruising through her kindergarten year is an understatement. Now there are no baby distractions, the other responsibilities are still there but prioritized differently and she just gets school. So it was no surprise in a short month Lia finished this entire primary reader. I am very pleased with her progress. 

To celebrates we had ice cream cones and burgers at the local McDonalds. Thank goodness for a reasonable store that we can still afford a treat for 4 people. The economy is hot right now very volatile and changing enormously we shall see where this re-Americanization push takes us. 

We try to do school 5 days a week at least 4. We do reading and math and read lots of books from the library. Kids love to be read to and that helps break some of the resistance to doing the rest of the work. Lia says she hates math but she seems to understand it pretty well. 

In between school and home chores I have delights like this when I get to talk to my two oldest sons together for just a moment. Oh the tears that fill my eyes when I think they are forever gone from my home, but in the next breath how thankful I am that they are so completely capable to live their lives, to lift others, and be men. The world needs strong men and I believe these two fit that bill completely. I was planting seeds while we talked. HArold was between classes and John was headed to top golf after a session at the temple. He said it was the first time in his life he had been early for an endowment. 

And a surprise snack after dinner. We were given 4 gallons of postdated milk. I hunted my brain for milk heavy recipes. Pudding sounded like a different treat. I had also been given some eggs so pudding it was. 

It didn't take too much effort to use that extra 4 gallons- I had just bought our week supply of 8 in town the same day. Too much is a blessing and challenge to be creative with. We also had cinnamon rolls, and crepes. 
Life is good and we are blessed. 

Family treasures

I was most humbly delighted to be gifted another year of this blog. This one was year 2016. These kids were able to remember bits and pieces of the stories and pictures shared. I am so thankful for the generous hours that are put into correcting, formatting, and creating these precious books. There is no way I would remember life from back then. While I may have the pictures I wouldn't understand what they were or why I had taken them. It is a quick eternal experience to be a parent and I'm thankful for this space to digest and process the journey. I'm thankful for my parents encouragement and engagement. And mostly I'm thankful for the huge trust and gift it is to be the mother of this family Greg and I have created and been given. 

Millie was such the cutie in this book a  very curious two year old she and Livy made my days full and hectic. She is fast becoming my right hand go to girl at our house. She  is capable and willing, she nutures, and is dependable. How thankful I am we survived the multitude of messes to get to this point of enjoyment and gratitude for her skills.

This was general conference weekend. We gathered at home and pulled out the hide-a-bed. The kids think this a magical very fancy treat. They all pile on for a spot on this wondrous bed. Before long they are skuffing for who gets what spot and how much of a spot. They are teetering to stay on the bed and are walking or bouncing around to get on or off the bed. But alas they think it cool so as we watched and strove to tune-in our hearts and minds we enjoyed being together- albeit very close together! 

It has not been easy to craft this family. Honestly I read those old entries and I think Amanda slow down stop expecting so much. I honestly marvel and smile. At a women's conference the question was asked what stops you from studying as a woman? The answer is falling asleep and being too tired to focus. All this activity and responsibility isn't without cost. I know Greg and I are strengthened above what we should be able to do and I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful for the health and strength of our children of the completely normal kids each one is. I'm  thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that inspires hope and love from our Savior and His Father and in turn for each other. I'm thankful for a supportive and generous family that encourages and beckons us on. I'm thankful for sweet siblings of our own and watching our children who teach and share and bring richness to our lives. 

We are incredibly blessed with so much, and we struggle with mortality time to get everything done, never ending clean-up, dead calf today everybody failed to mention was having a hard time, eyes weakening and changing etc, etc. But overall we are just so blessed. Family is a gift. My patriarchial blessing says my family will look to me for many good things throughout my life.... this has made me wonder- Like what?" My generous long suffering sisters who format and create these books making them look good and cleaning up my typoes and wonky pictures are such a blessing to me. I so appreciate their time and patience. And to my parents who support my wanderings and strong-willed do what I want approach to life. I'm so thankful for their enduring patience and love. They are such a strong resource of wisdom and encouragement. I have been very fortunate to have such a team. My life is very good. 
 

Lotsa Work

Oh how the younger kids delight in being deemed responsible enough to drive the four-wheeler by the older kids. Or maybe they are just given the job out of necessity but it is good. Bruce and Livy have a lot more work responsibility this year. They are both growing quickly. Both have become more confident and self-aware knowing they are needed to keep our family going. 

The new to us tractor was put to work and served the needed purposes of rolling miles and miles of wire from winter fencing. 

One or two days Lia stayed with Addie while I was off searching for a washing machine replacement. Few are stocked locally these days so it was a multi-day task to finally buy one to bring home to use. They both came in a little more freckled but better for the time outside together. 

Oh a blessed cab! So much safer than open cab. I preach and preach no extra passengers on the cabless tractor. Sometimes I'm obeyed and sometimes not. The boys got all that wire rolled. They are amazing in their strength and energy. 

We are renting some ground to a carrot scientist who asked us to get the field worked. Mark spent a few nights on this project. Merle of course was tucked into the buddy seat happy to be co-pilot again. 

We also got the 4-H pigs. All the kids were excited to have our barnyard full again. 

Well it was fun to get hte pigs not so fun to do all the preparations cleaning, and refurbishing the pens. There may have been some tears and name calling. And laughing by the older kids watching. All part of the lessons, learning to work together and share. 

The last big little pig getting a ride to its new home. 

Here we go again. The kids spent hours Sunday afternoon in the pig pen working to befriend the pigs. It's a real thing. And it's another way to gain confidence and worth. And so much dirt and mud in my house. But its all part of the deal real materials make real memories, real time, and real lessons. We are blessed and life is good. 
 

One more State Convention story

As the buses resumed their journey after a rest break in Burns on their way to state convention Mark spotted a green piece of paper on the road. Then he saw a zero and implored Mrs. C to stop the bus. He hopped out to find a $20 bill on the roadside. His farmer eyes for details served him well this day. 

He of course was happy to share his spot with Mrs. C's son and to be in front of the bus. 

This was Reed's first solo trip from home, well solo with siblings. I'm so thankful for the willingness and braveness of Mrs. C to take my children and give them independence to care for themselves for a few days. To be obedient, respectful and to see and experience new things and places. These trips are foundational to their confidence as young adults and to learning how to interact and handle many different personalities for more than a few hours. These are good lessons to learn. 

Part of the Ag Marketing presentation was a strawberry lemonade drink. They were tasty and refreshing. I'm very pleased with my kids willingness and acceptance of doing extra work to learn more and experience more of what FFA has to offer. 

The kids passed time on the way home playing uno. They had a great time. I credit their grandmother for taking the time to play games with them. 

More life experienced. How thankful I am for their opportunities. We are truly blessed by so many kind and good people. Yesterday in church the discussion turned to how we just have to trust our kids and let them figure life out. In our home we don't exactly follow that. We keep our kids close, having high expectations for work, learning, service, and faith. They spend most of their time on those things. Yet we work with intention to surround and introduce them to adults who will foster more experience, and depth of understanding of the good things in life. Mrs. Worley, Mrs, Chamberlain, Mr. Barnes, Coach Aldred, Mr. Bentz, these are people who have helped develop my children's' personalities and skills. We are very thankful for their service and integrity. Life is good and it happens fast. 


 

Spring Break

Nowadays many people go on big vacations and or cruises for spring break. After reading about a new decadent dessert I realized we could do that at home. So Addie bought the supplies and we made lava cakes for 12 on Friday night. Andrea and Merle were very sad I wouldn't let them just eat the melted chocolate. But they were happy with the  results when baked. 

Everyone voted these a do again dessert. 

Livy and Millie participated in a play with their mutual girl group. The generous leaded provided flowers for all the girls. They brightened our table for a few days.

Much of our spring break was reading. We read a lot! It makes me happy and makes my heart happy that the kids love to escape into the pages of books to go on adventures, learn new thoughts, and live in different times pages at a time. 

Addie lets the little kids comb her hair. She is patient with them generally and they adore her. She was working on her college class that is almost complete. Although she has learned a lot she will be thankful to have it finished. 

The saga of spring break was the washing machine or lack there of. I had two. Neither hekld water. Somehow the seal got torn badly on the replacement. And the top of the line super expensive speed queen waiting to be put back into service leaked water like a fully turned on hose! Knowing how long it takes to repair the speed queen I needed another washer. So I bought this. Only to find it also has poor reviews. Once Mark got it leveled it has washed the many loads that had piled up in the week waiting for a solution. 

And the thing that makes me happy everyday watching these seedlings grow more and more leaves. These basil leaves are pretty big for the slender stems. I'm not sure how viable they will be for the entire year. 

But these Roma tomatoes are looking so good! It is a delight to watch them bend toward the sun and then turn the tray around and watch them move the other direction. 

I'm thankful for life all around. For time to dream, learn, and relax. We worked on catching up over spring break. Mostly catching up on some peace and personal care. The boys of course worked rolling wire and farming, we cooked, we cleaned, etc but we mostly just rested and replenished hopefully enough to be strong in our final months of school. We are very blessed life is good. 
 

The little kids

These two hard workers are stretching after a run. Merle took it up a notch adding lots and lots of pu shups for he and Andrea to complete ever 10-20 steps they ran. She kept up with him. 

Addie always encourages working hard and exercising. The kids are always up to the challenge. 

Of course after years of exercise videos Andrea knows the proper positions to really get some good stretching to happen. 

Their bath water was a lovely brown color after all the up down and roll around in the dirt. 

Andrea is getting bigger and more independently creative. She is tracing her hand in these pictures. She does her hands pretty size appropriate but Mark's larger hand was a real challenge. 

Merle worked as much as he could with the boys. He packed them a lunch one afternoon. Oranges and jam sandwiches on hamburger buns. We got the leftover food from state convention the kids really enjoyed the cheese crackers and so many buns for jam sandwiches everyday. 

Merle also worked with Addie on gopher trapping they got a few everyday. Merle's job is to cut off the tails and put them in the collection bag then feed the gopher to the chickens who love them. 

Out checking traps. See the jam on his face. I do make nutritionally correct meals, my children we not so interested. So I mostly eat alone and watch/listen to them tell me how much they don't like what I make. Then discover them snacking at other times. Thankfully I think most of the snacks are consumed so back to just mom cooking we go. 

More discovery at the farm. This may be the same day or a different one Merle really loves his flag shorts. 

We are so thankful for these youngest kids who bring joy, smiles, and kindness to our family life. They are eager to please, so anxious to be part of whatever is going on, and curious. We love watching them grow and become. They are shaped by the many older opinions and talents above them. We are grateful for each in our family. We are blessed.