I want to take some time to share what God is doing for our family and in our lives, but I really want to do this post justice, and I'm not sure I have the necessary time at the moment. My brain is spinning (in a good way), and I am trying to process all the amazing ways that God has answered our prayers.
For those who have been (and are still) praying for God's deliverance and blessing: Don't stop praying. Don't stop hoping. He listens. He waits for the perfect time. He changes you through the process. He answers.
But be careful, because His answer may not be what you expected.
It may be better.
Much love from our family, and more details to come!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Pierogies
This is my family's homemade pierogie recipe--I am half Ukrainian and half French, and this recipe comes from the Ukrainian side. It takes a lot of work, but is well worth the effort. Because it's so labor intensive, when I make it, I typically make a large batch--about 11 dozen pierogies. If you want to pare the recipe down, you'll have to attempt it yourself. :)
Now, there are lots of different types of pierogie recipes out there--potato, meat, or cabbage/sauerkraut. This one is your traditional one, filled with potato, cheese, and onions. It also happens to be my favorite. The techniques that follow were developed by my loving mother, who made and sold about 300 dozen pierogies one year to make money so we could have an awesome Christmas (I think I was 11 or 12?). She's the master!
Here are the ingredients. Detailed instructions follow.
Filling (makes 11 dozen pierogies)
5 pounds russet potatoes
1/2 pound (8 oz) grated cheese, typically Farmers Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds medium yellow onions, finely diced
1 stick butter
Dough (you'll need to make 5-6 batches worth of dough to equal 11 dozen pierogies)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp melted butter
The first thing I would recommend is to prepare the onions. You'll need about 2 lbs yellow onions and 1 stick of butter for this part. If you have a food processor, the easiest thing to do is to peel your onions, slice into quarters, and pulse them a few times in the processor. This saves your eyes...you can definitely do it the old fashioned way with a knife; it will just take you a bit longer. Once you get all the onions diced pretty finely, add them to a large saute or frying pan along with the butter. Cook over medium heat, until the onions caramelize or turn brown. Watch them carefully so they don't burn. I usually add up to 1/2 cup water to help keep them from burning. Depending on how many onions are in your pan, this could take 20-30 minutes.
Once you get the onions cooking, peel and quarter your potatoes. You'll need 5 pounds of russet potatoes. Don't use any other kind of potato (red, large baking, etc). Russet only. Just trust me. Place the potatoes in a large stockpot along with a bunch of water. Boil the potatoes until tender and drain. Add a couple Tbsp butter, mash them well with a potato masher, or use a potato ricer if you have one of those (I don't, but it's on my wish list!). You don't want lumpy pierogies. Whatever you do though, don't use an electric mixer--this makes the potatoes too fluffy.
Add about 2/3 of your onions to the mashed potatoes. (Save the remaining 1/3 onions to use for topping the pierogies.) Make sure to salt and pepper your potato mixture to taste...these need lots of salt. Grate 1/2 pound (8 oz) cheese and add to slightly cooled potato-onion mixture. (If it's too hot, the cheese will start to melt and get stringy. Not a pretty sight.) Traditionally, the cheese used in this pierogie recipe is farmers cheese, a soft, mild cheese similar in texture to mozzarella. Cheddar cheese also works well, but I'm picky. If I go to the trouble to make these things, I want them to be GOOD. So I use farmers cheese. You can usually find it in the specialty cheese section at your local grocery store. (TN residents--I find this fairly easily at Kroger.)
Because this is such a large recipe, I typically make the onions & potatoes a day ahead of time, then refrigerate for use the next day, when I make the dough, fill the pierogies, and cook them. It breaks it up, especially if no one else is helping you prepare them.
When you're ready to start assembling the pierogies, make a doubled dough recipe (4 cups flour, 2 eggs, etc). Do not try to use an electric mixer to make the dough. It's fragile and just take it from someone who's experienced. Use a regular old bowl and wooden spoon. Mix all dough ingredients until well blended but try not to overmix. Let the dough stand for 30 minutes, covered with a damp dishtowel. Then take about 1/3 of the dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until you get a thickness of about 1/4-1/8 inch. Not too thick, not too thin. Don't be afraid of the dough...it doesn't hurt. Take a round biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, lightly floured, and cut out dough circles. Take up the pieces of the dough left, re-roll and cut out more circles. When you sense the bits and pieces of dough getting tough, discard it & start again with the remaining dough in your bowl. Always keep dough you're not working with covered with a damp towel to keep it fresh.
Next, you'll want to fill these dough circles with the potato/onion/cheese mixture. In our house, we take it a step further and roll the potato mixture into small/medium balls with our hands. This makes it a bit easier to work with and works well when you're cooking "assembly line style." Put the potato ball or small spoon of mixture in the center of the dough circle and bring the round edges of the dough together, pinching as you go along to form a seal, keeping all the potatoes inside. You can use a commercial "pierogie maker" or ravioli maker if you want to, but we find that wastes a lot of dough.
Bring a large stockpot full of water to a boil; place filled pierogies into water and boil for about 2-3 minutes until the pierogies float to the top. You can cook up to 10 pierogies at once this way. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie sheet with edges (to catch any drips of water).
Now your pierogies are cooked and ready to eat. They're yummy this way, but not super attractive. A great finishing touch is to fry your pierogies in a bit of butter until golden brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Serve with remaining caramelized onions and sour cream.
**You can freeze pierogies after they are boiled. Simply allow them to cool, then place in freezer bags. They'll last several months this way and taste just as fresh when they defrost and you fry them up. You can also freeze any remaining onions for topping. Do not freeze any leftover potato mixture, though. I tried that already and trust me, it doesn't work!
I know this seems like a lot of work, and I won't lie to you. It is. But the end result is so worth it, so much better than any pierogie you buy from the freezer section of your grocery store....you'll never want to go back. I promise!
Now, there are lots of different types of pierogie recipes out there--potato, meat, or cabbage/sauerkraut. This one is your traditional one, filled with potato, cheese, and onions. It also happens to be my favorite. The techniques that follow were developed by my loving mother, who made and sold about 300 dozen pierogies one year to make money so we could have an awesome Christmas (I think I was 11 or 12?). She's the master!
Here are the ingredients. Detailed instructions follow.
Filling (makes 11 dozen pierogies)
5 pounds russet potatoes
1/2 pound (8 oz) grated cheese, typically Farmers Cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 pounds medium yellow onions, finely diced
1 stick butter
Dough (you'll need to make 5-6 batches worth of dough to equal 11 dozen pierogies)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 egg
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp melted butter
The first thing I would recommend is to prepare the onions. You'll need about 2 lbs yellow onions and 1 stick of butter for this part. If you have a food processor, the easiest thing to do is to peel your onions, slice into quarters, and pulse them a few times in the processor. This saves your eyes...you can definitely do it the old fashioned way with a knife; it will just take you a bit longer. Once you get all the onions diced pretty finely, add them to a large saute or frying pan along with the butter. Cook over medium heat, until the onions caramelize or turn brown. Watch them carefully so they don't burn. I usually add up to 1/2 cup water to help keep them from burning. Depending on how many onions are in your pan, this could take 20-30 minutes.
Once you get the onions cooking, peel and quarter your potatoes. You'll need 5 pounds of russet potatoes. Don't use any other kind of potato (red, large baking, etc). Russet only. Just trust me. Place the potatoes in a large stockpot along with a bunch of water. Boil the potatoes until tender and drain. Add a couple Tbsp butter, mash them well with a potato masher, or use a potato ricer if you have one of those (I don't, but it's on my wish list!). You don't want lumpy pierogies. Whatever you do though, don't use an electric mixer--this makes the potatoes too fluffy.
Add about 2/3 of your onions to the mashed potatoes. (Save the remaining 1/3 onions to use for topping the pierogies.) Make sure to salt and pepper your potato mixture to taste...these need lots of salt. Grate 1/2 pound (8 oz) cheese and add to slightly cooled potato-onion mixture. (If it's too hot, the cheese will start to melt and get stringy. Not a pretty sight.) Traditionally, the cheese used in this pierogie recipe is farmers cheese, a soft, mild cheese similar in texture to mozzarella. Cheddar cheese also works well, but I'm picky. If I go to the trouble to make these things, I want them to be GOOD. So I use farmers cheese. You can usually find it in the specialty cheese section at your local grocery store. (TN residents--I find this fairly easily at Kroger.)
Because this is such a large recipe, I typically make the onions & potatoes a day ahead of time, then refrigerate for use the next day, when I make the dough, fill the pierogies, and cook them. It breaks it up, especially if no one else is helping you prepare them.
When you're ready to start assembling the pierogies, make a doubled dough recipe (4 cups flour, 2 eggs, etc). Do not try to use an electric mixer to make the dough. It's fragile and just take it from someone who's experienced. Use a regular old bowl and wooden spoon. Mix all dough ingredients until well blended but try not to overmix. Let the dough stand for 30 minutes, covered with a damp dishtowel. Then take about 1/3 of the dough, roll out onto a lightly floured surface until you get a thickness of about 1/4-1/8 inch. Not too thick, not too thin. Don't be afraid of the dough...it doesn't hurt. Take a round biscuit cutter or the rim of a glass, lightly floured, and cut out dough circles. Take up the pieces of the dough left, re-roll and cut out more circles. When you sense the bits and pieces of dough getting tough, discard it & start again with the remaining dough in your bowl. Always keep dough you're not working with covered with a damp towel to keep it fresh.
Next, you'll want to fill these dough circles with the potato/onion/cheese mixture. In our house, we take it a step further and roll the potato mixture into small/medium balls with our hands. This makes it a bit easier to work with and works well when you're cooking "assembly line style." Put the potato ball or small spoon of mixture in the center of the dough circle and bring the round edges of the dough together, pinching as you go along to form a seal, keeping all the potatoes inside. You can use a commercial "pierogie maker" or ravioli maker if you want to, but we find that wastes a lot of dough.
Bring a large stockpot full of water to a boil; place filled pierogies into water and boil for about 2-3 minutes until the pierogies float to the top. You can cook up to 10 pierogies at once this way. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a cookie sheet with edges (to catch any drips of water).
Now your pierogies are cooked and ready to eat. They're yummy this way, but not super attractive. A great finishing touch is to fry your pierogies in a bit of butter until golden brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Serve with remaining caramelized onions and sour cream.
**You can freeze pierogies after they are boiled. Simply allow them to cool, then place in freezer bags. They'll last several months this way and taste just as fresh when they defrost and you fry them up. You can also freeze any remaining onions for topping. Do not freeze any leftover potato mixture, though. I tried that already and trust me, it doesn't work!
I know this seems like a lot of work, and I won't lie to you. It is. But the end result is so worth it, so much better than any pierogie you buy from the freezer section of your grocery store....you'll never want to go back. I promise!
Turkey Tetrazzini
This is not your cafeteria style Turkey Tetrazzini....it's so yummy! I freeze leftover diced cooked turkey (from Thanksgiving or other), and make my own broth from the turkey carcass. Homemade turkey broth/stock makes all the difference!
To make the stock: Remove as much turkey meat as possible from your carcass. Dice the meat & freeze in ziploc bags. Place the remainder of the carcass (bones & skin) in a large stockpot. Add water so the pot is approximately 2/3 - 3/4 full. Add 2 whole bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer on med-low heat for about 2 hours. Drain in a large colander over a large bowl to contain stock. Freeze cooled stock for later use.
Turkey Tetrazzini
Yield: 6-8 servings
4 cups cooked pasta
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup hot turkey stock or canned broth
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2/3 heavy whipping cream
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 cups diced, cooked turkey
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp dried bread crumbs
**Cook pasta 1-2 minutes less than suggested time. Drain and toss with 2 Tbsp butter. Set aside.
**Saute mushrooms with 2 Tbsp butter; cook til butter is absorbed and mushrooms' liquid is evaporated. Set aside.
**Heat turkey stock or broth in one saucepan; melt 2 Tbsp butter in another. Add flour to butter, making a roux, stirring to blend for 2 minutes over medium heat. Gradually add hot turkey stock and simmer sauce on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring as it thickens. Pour in cream and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then fold in diced turkey and mushrooms. Set aside.
**Butter a 2 quart shallow baking dish and layer the bottom with half the cooked pasta. Spoon half the cream sauce over pasta. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and cheese, and dot with remaining 2 Tbsp butter.
**Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.
{I don't like mushrooms, so I omit them, and this is still very flavorful. But my friend June who gave me the recipe, loves the mushrooms and says they add terrific flavor!}
To make the stock: Remove as much turkey meat as possible from your carcass. Dice the meat & freeze in ziploc bags. Place the remainder of the carcass (bones & skin) in a large stockpot. Add water so the pot is approximately 2/3 - 3/4 full. Add 2 whole bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer on med-low heat for about 2 hours. Drain in a large colander over a large bowl to contain stock. Freeze cooled stock for later use.
Turkey Tetrazzini
Yield: 6-8 servings
4 cups cooked pasta
8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, divided
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup hot turkey stock or canned broth
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2/3 heavy whipping cream
Salt/Pepper to taste
2-3 cups diced, cooked turkey
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp dried bread crumbs
**Cook pasta 1-2 minutes less than suggested time. Drain and toss with 2 Tbsp butter. Set aside.
**Saute mushrooms with 2 Tbsp butter; cook til butter is absorbed and mushrooms' liquid is evaporated. Set aside.
**Heat turkey stock or broth in one saucepan; melt 2 Tbsp butter in another. Add flour to butter, making a roux, stirring to blend for 2 minutes over medium heat. Gradually add hot turkey stock and simmer sauce on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring as it thickens. Pour in cream and heat through. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then fold in diced turkey and mushrooms. Set aside.
**Butter a 2 quart shallow baking dish and layer the bottom with half the cooked pasta. Spoon half the cream sauce over pasta. Repeat layers. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and cheese, and dot with remaining 2 Tbsp butter.
**Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.
{I don't like mushrooms, so I omit them, and this is still very flavorful. But my friend June who gave me the recipe, loves the mushrooms and says they add terrific flavor!}
Friday, September 11, 2009
Stillness
It's quiet here. Kids in bed, Marc just left for work. I'm winding down myself. I love the strength that is found in the quiet. It's enough to remind me that I am only me. And He is God. And that is enough.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Domesticity
I love those days when you go to bed really tired, but you know you've accomplished a lot.
Today, we had a beautiful sunny day. This is awesome because since we've moved into our new house, every weekday has been rainy. I love the rain, especially on the heels of the drought the past few years, but it's been so sad to see Zachary have to be cooped up. He just got his brand new yard but couldn't use it yet! So today, we got to play outside....we love it!
Marc has challenged me (and himself) to speak only positive things this week. I thought it wouldn't be too hard, but now I'm realizing that I've been more negative than positive these days. It's eye-opening when you have 2 ways to present something, and you have to actually stop to think about how to express yourself in a positive manner!
I feel like I've spent most of the day in the kitchen, although I really only spent a few hours. It would have been easy for me to complain about this, since it was such a pretty day, but instead I found myself being thankful. Thankful that I had so much extra food that needed to be put up today.
Today, we had a beautiful sunny day. This is awesome because since we've moved into our new house, every weekday has been rainy. I love the rain, especially on the heels of the drought the past few years, but it's been so sad to see Zachary have to be cooped up. He just got his brand new yard but couldn't use it yet! So today, we got to play outside....we love it!
Marc has challenged me (and himself) to speak only positive things this week. I thought it wouldn't be too hard, but now I'm realizing that I've been more negative than positive these days. It's eye-opening when you have 2 ways to present something, and you have to actually stop to think about how to express yourself in a positive manner!
I feel like I've spent most of the day in the kitchen, although I really only spent a few hours. It would have been easy for me to complain about this, since it was such a pretty day, but instead I found myself being thankful. Thankful that I had so much extra food that needed to be put up today.
- Free tomatoes that were about to go bad...got cut up & made into a great little sauce to be frozen. 2 meals worth of it.
- Muffins made for my moms' group tomorrow. My favorite, lemon poppyseed!
- Yesterday, I got some meat on super-sale at the grocery store. I always look for the markdowns and got our favorite italian sausage and some ground turkey for half price. The use-by date was only one day away so I had to cook it fast. 3 pounds each of sausage & turkey. I got to make 60 meatballs and browned up 1 pound of turkey & 2 pounds of sausage for using in other meals. That makes it so easy for me to start a meal off on busy nights...
- We ate a rotisserie chicken the other night. Today, I put the bones & bits of meat into a pot, added water & some bay leaves & made my own stock.
- The stock got made into homemade chicken soup, and I made homemade noodles out of pierogie dough. Yum, yum, yum! Marc had to force himself to save some for his lunch for work tomorrow. :)
And I got to clean up my laundry room area, did 4 loads of laundry, went through Zachary's fall clothes, and emptied a few random boxes. SO much to be thankful for today! I laughed because tonight I caught Marc just wandering around the house with this funny look on his face. I asked him what he was doing, and he said, "just enjoying my new house....it actually looks like a house now and not a storage unit!" It sure feels good.
A few years ago, I would have laughed at "this" me. The "me" that enjoyed staying at home all day, enjoying the kids' laughter and the smell of good things coming from the kitchen. But now, I'm just smiling at how much God knew the desires of my heart, and He gave them to me. "Every good and precious gift...."
Freeze and Bake Yeast Rolls
This recipe is from one of my "moms." :) Janet, this is your mom's recipe! I bake these rolls a lot, but the secret is I only have to "make" them once. You get the convenience of the store-bought frozen rolls, but the goodness of knowing exactly what's in the rolls. No crazy chemicals...
Freeze and Bake Yeast Rolls
2 pkg active dry yeast (equivalent to 4 1/2 tsp, if you buy in bulk)
1 & 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp sugar
Put the above together in a large bowl & let sit for about 5 minutes. You'll see the yeast start to work.
Add:
1 & 1/2 cups warm milk (not hot)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tsp salt
7 & 1/2 to 8 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Add enough of the flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead until smooth, 6-8 minutes. (**Krista's note: If using a mixer with a dough hook, let the mixer do the work for about the same amount of time.) Place in greased bowl, turning dough once to grease the top.
Cover and let rise (about an hour), punch down and form into shapes or balls. At this point, you can form the balls into any shape you'd like. I make them fancy & place 3 smaller balls in each cup of a muffin tin--this makes a cloverleaf shape. You can also roll a larger ball into an 8"-10" rope & tie into a knot, pinching the ends together (do this on a floured surface).
Place rolls onto a greased baking sheet (or greased muffin tin), brush with melted butter, and let rise again until double (again about an hour).
To serve immediately, bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
To freeze for later, bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool, freeze in ziploc bags. Bake frozen rolls at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until browned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This may seem like a lot of work, but the most time is spent waiting for the dough to rise. Don't be afraid of yeast--give it a try! Hope you enjoy.
Freeze and Bake Yeast Rolls
2 pkg active dry yeast (equivalent to 4 1/2 tsp, if you buy in bulk)
1 & 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp sugar
Put the above together in a large bowl & let sit for about 5 minutes. You'll see the yeast start to work.
Add:
1 & 1/2 cups warm milk (not hot)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
4 tsp salt
7 & 1/2 to 8 & 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Add enough of the flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a floured surface, knead until smooth, 6-8 minutes. (**Krista's note: If using a mixer with a dough hook, let the mixer do the work for about the same amount of time.) Place in greased bowl, turning dough once to grease the top.
Cover and let rise (about an hour), punch down and form into shapes or balls. At this point, you can form the balls into any shape you'd like. I make them fancy & place 3 smaller balls in each cup of a muffin tin--this makes a cloverleaf shape. You can also roll a larger ball into an 8"-10" rope & tie into a knot, pinching the ends together (do this on a floured surface).
Place rolls onto a greased baking sheet (or greased muffin tin), brush with melted butter, and let rise again until double (again about an hour).
To serve immediately, bake at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
To freeze for later, bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool, freeze in ziploc bags. Bake frozen rolls at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until browned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This may seem like a lot of work, but the most time is spent waiting for the dough to rise. Don't be afraid of yeast--give it a try! Hope you enjoy.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
And she walks!
Kenna surprised us last week by taking her first step (at 10 1/2 months). It was a sweet time & it was neat because I happened to be talking to Marc on the phone at the exact moment she did it. So he got to be part of it, too!
It took Zachary about a month from the time he took his first step til the time he really tried to walk everywhere, so I thought I had some time with Kenna. But it looks like she's going to be as stubborn and strong-willed as I think (and not just in the bad ways...) and she is walking. Zach will run by her in the house & she gets right up, starts laughing, and for a minute, you think she's going to run after him. It's ridiculously cute, because she's so small and it looks like this 6 month old is walking around the house!
Speaking of house, we are in the new house. Marc & I have decided we're never moving again, so the landlords may have to kick us out of this house before we choose to leave. I have revised my stance about the ease of moving when you've done it almost 30 times, and I now believe that moving with children involved is a nightmare. Especially when you have a very high-maintenance daughter who also happened to be cutting 3 teeth at once. Enough said.
So, we're in, the new house is painted, and I am unpacking. My favorite part about unpacking is seeing stuff I haven't seen or used in the last 5 years & putting it in the "garage sale" pile, a pile which is growing by the day. (We also moved our storage unit, which hasn't been touched since we moved here 2 yrs ago, so I am shocked by the things you "collect" over 10 yrs of marriage.)
Pictures will come at a time when I actually remember to take them during daylight hours, and when there are no boxes on the front of my wonderful, covered porch, and when the lawn gets mowed, and the house is clean. And all that stuff. But, it is lovely. Old house meets new paint, big yard meets happy children, tired mommy meets comforting white porch swing. Enough said.
Zachary starts "school" in a little over a week (his birthday falls too late to enter true preschool this year so it's sort of a Pre K 4 program)...he is excited. I am excited, not to get rid of him, but because I realized I have never had a day or even more than an hour with just my daughter. So I'm looking forward to hanging out with her all by myself.
It's hard to believe that it's almost September again. New milestones coming for our family this fall--Zach starting school, Kenna turning one, Marc turning 30, and we celebrate 10 yrs of marriage. Lots of new pages turning, and I am thankful that I know the One Who Writes the pages, and Who Knows the Endings, and Who Holds my Heart in His Hands. Do you know Him?
It took Zachary about a month from the time he took his first step til the time he really tried to walk everywhere, so I thought I had some time with Kenna. But it looks like she's going to be as stubborn and strong-willed as I think (and not just in the bad ways...) and she is walking. Zach will run by her in the house & she gets right up, starts laughing, and for a minute, you think she's going to run after him. It's ridiculously cute, because she's so small and it looks like this 6 month old is walking around the house!
Speaking of house, we are in the new house. Marc & I have decided we're never moving again, so the landlords may have to kick us out of this house before we choose to leave. I have revised my stance about the ease of moving when you've done it almost 30 times, and I now believe that moving with children involved is a nightmare. Especially when you have a very high-maintenance daughter who also happened to be cutting 3 teeth at once. Enough said.
So, we're in, the new house is painted, and I am unpacking. My favorite part about unpacking is seeing stuff I haven't seen or used in the last 5 years & putting it in the "garage sale" pile, a pile which is growing by the day. (We also moved our storage unit, which hasn't been touched since we moved here 2 yrs ago, so I am shocked by the things you "collect" over 10 yrs of marriage.)
Pictures will come at a time when I actually remember to take them during daylight hours, and when there are no boxes on the front of my wonderful, covered porch, and when the lawn gets mowed, and the house is clean. And all that stuff. But, it is lovely. Old house meets new paint, big yard meets happy children, tired mommy meets comforting white porch swing. Enough said.
Zachary starts "school" in a little over a week (his birthday falls too late to enter true preschool this year so it's sort of a Pre K 4 program)...he is excited. I am excited, not to get rid of him, but because I realized I have never had a day or even more than an hour with just my daughter. So I'm looking forward to hanging out with her all by myself.
It's hard to believe that it's almost September again. New milestones coming for our family this fall--Zach starting school, Kenna turning one, Marc turning 30, and we celebrate 10 yrs of marriage. Lots of new pages turning, and I am thankful that I know the One Who Writes the pages, and Who Knows the Endings, and Who Holds my Heart in His Hands. Do you know Him?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
