Tuesday, December 6, 2011

All I eat is vitamins...

... all I drink is juice.

Well, not quite. That's a line from a Patch the Pirate song that came to mind when I sat down to write this post.

I often am asked what kind of prenatal vitamins and/or other supplements I take, or if I can recommend any certain brands.


Monday, November 28, 2011

Monsters, Incorporated

In the news last week, I read a story about the "wrong twin fetus" having been "terminated" in Australia. The staff "treating" the woman accidentally killed the healthy baby, not the one who had a congenital heart defect. Notice the demented wording to make more palatable the fact that a mother KILLED her own CHILD in her WOMB, which should be the safest place on planet earth for any baby, but is the most dangerous.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Recipe for Hashbrown Casserole

This tastes a lot like the one at Cracker Barrel. You can prepare it the night before, leave it covered in the fridge overnight, and pop it in the oven to bake in the morning. This is my adaptation of this recipe.


Amber Necklace Review

Some time back when Anna first started teething, I purchased an amber necklace for her out of sheer desperation. She was the first of our children to have a hard time teething, except for maybe Solomon who ran a fever for one day when his first tooth poked through.



Monday, November 7, 2011

Snail Mail to the Rescue

It's been a rough day around here today, as well as last night, but I will spare you the details, 'cuz they ain't pretty. Life with lots of little kids is never boring (and nights are never quite long enough).

But, wouldn't you know it, we received not one, or two, or three, but FOUR packages in the mail today from various people around the country and around the world who all listen to my husband's sermons online, and each of them wrote such kind, encouraging words. It really helped make my day a lot better, even though two of the packages were actually for my husband, not me. 



Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Recipe courtesy of my local Trader Joe's.

We tried a sample of this while grocery shopping today, and were instantly hooked, as were all the other people around us sampling the food while oohing and aahing. 


Ingredients


Monday, October 3, 2011

Watch "Food Matters" online free

Through Saturday only, watch the documentary "Food Matters" for free HERE.

This is the trailer:


Saturday, October 1, 2011

No Regrets


Yesterday, I was shopping with only Miriam and Anna. As I was waiting in the checkout aisle, an elderly lady from one lane over left her cart to step over to where we were and admire the girls. She especially loved the baby, and joked that she wanted to take her home. In passing, she mentioned "I was never able to have any children of my own" before heading back to where she had left her husband with the cart. 


Monday, September 26, 2011

Q & A answers, part IV

My apologies for still not having answered all the questions from the Q&A back in May. To see my previous posts on this, please click the Q&A label.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The fixer-uppers

Yesterday, as I was yet again dealing with a mess caused by one of the children, I was trying to figure out why taking care of children can be so wearisome even though I love them so much and would never rather do anything else. Then it hit me - as mothers, we are always the ones fixing everything, getting it back in the "right" condition.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Maximizing your time and increasing your energy

Sometimes people ask me where I get all the energy I seem to have, or how I have time to do this or that. Personally, I don't think I have unusual amounts of energy, nor do I get everything done that I need or want to. But, working slow and steady, I often find myself surprised at all the stuff I got done once night comes around. Of course, there is always more that DIDN'T get done than what did. So I am not writing this because I am some sort of authority or source of special wisdom on this question. These are just some tips that someone else might benefit from.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

How we memorize Bible verses

Did you know it was my 4-year blog anniversary yesterday? No? Well, that's okay, because I forgot about it, too. 

Today, something new and never seen before: a VIDEO tutorial! My apologies about the sound, because it came out much too quiet, but if you turn your speakers all the way up it should work. Maybe later I have time to fiddle with it and figure out how to amplify the sound.


Tuesday, September 6, 2011

New year of home education

NOT Back to School for us is tomorrow. I refuse to start a new school year before September. It's just not right. Starting any sooner would be like celebrating Christmas in November.The kids are excited. Miriam kept telling me today, "I'm so nervous! I don't know if I can do it! Maybe it's too hard!" She is going into K-5, for crying out loud, and she has a very gentle and slow-paced curriculum. She has a tendency to agonize over little things. Thankfully, she is learning in the safety of our family. 

Today, the last day of summer break, I finally finished writing the lesson plans for this year. That usually takes all my spare time for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, I spent a solid two hours agonizing over just what new German books to order the kids from Amazon in Germany - does that count as planning? Oh, what would I do without access to books and materials from the Old Country???


Click on image to enlarge, click again to enlarge even more. 


Friday, September 2, 2011

Recipe for Taco Seasoning

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1/4 cup paprika
  • 3/4 cup ground cumin
  • 1/2 cup sea salt
  • 1/2 cup black pepper
  • if you like it spicy: up to 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes (I use none)
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 4 cups - 1/4 cup equals a packet of store-bought taco seasoning. 

Tastes great for making tacos, taco soup, fajitas, burritos, etc.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Swimsuits, take II

On a recent post, there were a few comments regarding the swim suit I sewed for Miriam, so I wanted to elaborate a bit more on it.



Sunday, August 28, 2011

Procrastination

Did you know that I am a procrastinator? I am. The bigger the task, the less I even want to think about it.

Put it off for a day and ten will go by. - Chinese Proverb

Two projects I have been dreading were organizing our bedroom, and the school room. 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Recipe for granola bars

Our family likes granola bars, particularly Chococonut and Peanut Choco. Since we go through one box just for everyone to get one bar, but most of us usually want a second one, I have been looking for a good recipe to make my own.


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Christmas in August

For your viewing pleasure and a little (okay, a lot) of comic relief, please enjoy this absolutely hilarious, albeit entirely extrabiblical, banter by none other than Dr. Jack Schaap.




Oh, I love this clip! It makes me laugh tears every time I watch it.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Read at your own risk

Caution, reading this blog may be injurious to your health. The author assumes no liability.

I realized I didn't make it clear what I meant by "canning cantaloupe" - unlike most fruit, cantaloupe cannot simply be canned in syrup and then processed in a hot water bath. I won't go into the specifics, but basically it is not acidic enough and would need to be processed in a pressure canner. Since cantaloupe is so soft, that would turn it into mush, so there is no effective way to can cantaloupes.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Kitchen day

Today, I have a bunch of stuff that needs to be done in the kitchen. Mostly, because there is so much produce available this time of year - more than we can eat fresh.

At 6:45 this morning, me and five kids left to go pick up our produce share basket with Bountiful Baskets. My husband and Solomon were gone on a business trip. From Bountiful Baskets, we went straight to the Phoenix Downtown Farmer's Market, because I needed some more pickling cucumbers. The stand where we bought them also had organic watermelons and cantaloupes for cheap, so I bought 2 of the first and 9 of the latter, plus some apples because the kids eat those like crazy.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Martha vs. Mary

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
(Luke 10:38-42)

This is the famous story of Martha and Mary. Martha is worried about getting the chores, housework, and cooking done, while Mary is more concerned about the spiritual matters.

To be quite honest, I do not like reading this story. It seems like some sort of cruel joke, even though of course I know it isn't. I think about it often. Especially at 5 am when I'm getting up to tend to a needy child, after what seems like 5 minutes of sleep that night. What do you chose when you stayed up until midnight the night before pairing socks so everyone would be able to find a pair the next day? The extra hour of sleep you know you need to make it through the day without losing your sanity before breakfast, or a quiet half hour to read your Bible? 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Amber Grail of teething relief

As I have mentioned before, Anna has been having the worst time teething. It's been hard on all of us. Our usually happy, smiling, content baby that had fallen into a wonderful sleep pattern has been cranky, irritable, fussy, restless, and generally MAD. She has not gone to sleep before about 11 PM but twice this whole month, and on those two nights she woke up again and kept us up until well past midnight. Both her and I are a bleary-eyed mess.

A nectarine popsickle - yummy, but didn't help.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

From bored to board (game), and a giveaway

Have you ever wondered what people who do not have a television do for entertainment?



Sunday, August 7, 2011

Recipe for Partybrot

These traditional German rolls are quick and easy to make, inexpensive, perfect for entertaining, and absolutely delicious!


Thursday, August 4, 2011

The letdown post, plus a kitchen tip

For those of you who were excited about a special giveaway to celebrate this here 700th blog post of mine, I am sorry. My 1-year menu plan is not quite finished, and short of not blogging again until it is done, I decided to do the giveaway next month for my 4-year blogging anniversary, which should give me enough time to finish up.


Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Nectarine Smoothie

This recipe was born out of a need to quickly use up a 15-lb case of organic nectarines before they would spoil. It has become an absolute favorite in our house! Nectarines, like peaches, are on the "dirty dozen" of conventionally grown produce, so look for organic ones. In the summer, our local Sam's Club carries 4 lb boxes of organic nectarines for about $6.50 - maybe yours does, too. Peaches make a great substitute for some or all of the nectarines.



Monday, August 1, 2011

Unnatural parenting

There is a somewhat modern movement out there called "Natural Parenting", or "Attachment Parenting". Really, all that is modern about it is the name, as the concept of being a failure of a parent and not raising decent kids is as old as humankind itself. Anyway, I am here to pick apart "Natural Parenting". Buckle your seat belts.


Microwave no more

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, my health goals for July were to never use the microwave, or any processed sugar.


Monday, July 18, 2011

Kitchen challenge

At the end of June, I resolved to not use two things in my kitchen during the month of July: sugar, and the microwave. While we try to eat as healthy as we can, these are two areas that had been hard for us/me to give up. I had predominantly been using "raw cane juice sugar" (basically, a less refined version of regular sugar) for baking. The only time I used the microwave was to reheat leftovers quickly, which was not every day, but it was almost daily. 


Sunday, July 17, 2011

Why have all these children??!?

Some people accuse "large" families of the stupidest reasons for having "so many" babies. I'm here to disprove them all.


Thursday, July 14, 2011

One-year menu plan

Wow, this has been some project! 

Here is the menu for the month of July. Click on the picture to see it large enough to read. (This is a screen shot of the document I made in MS Word)



Saturday, June 18, 2011

A goodly heritage

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. - Proverbs 13:22 

The Bible speaks often about leaving an inheritance for our children - not necessarily as a command, just as prudent advice. Applying this principle to material things, it is easy to see how helpful it would be to have the parent generation jump-starting their children's generation with sound financial teaching and the means for them to start their own families with tangible goods rather than debt. This second generation will then, in turn, be able to help the third generation so much more, and so on. I am not talking about amassing and hording money. Rather, I was thinking along the lines of how in the old days, families would pass part of their land on to each of their children, and help them build a house/farm on it, or how the family business would be passed down from father to son for generation after generation. 

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. - Psalm 16:6

Regardless of your financial standing, this same principle can be applied to the spiritual realm, which is also infinitely more important than the physical/material. 

Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.  - Psalm 119:111 

When we think about the importance of passing on to our children a heritage of godliness, living a life that strives to be in line with Bible principles becomes a much more urgent responsibility. There are more areas than I can list here, but I will give a few examples:

  • Marriage: What are you passing on to the next generation about marriage? I don't mean having a perfect marriage, because nobody has one since we are all married to, and are ourselves, imperfect people. I am referring to just how you deal with these imperfect unions that God says are to last a lifetime. If you throw in the towel and get divorced, do you realize that you are making it so much more likely that your own children will one day grow up and have one dysfunctional relationship after the other? If, however, you ride out the bumps (great and small) in front of your children, they will learn that marriage truly is "for better, for worse, till death do us part", and they may themselves are likely to make a more prudent choice of spouse than the parent generation did. Few of us were afforded a chance to see such commitment in our parents' lives ourselves, but the buck needs to stop somewhere, so it might as well be with us. If you look around families that you know, you may notice that couples who stay married usually have children who themselves are even more happily married.
  • Birth control: Life in an ever-growing family is very different from a "statist" family, regardless of the total number of children. Growing and stretching to uncomfortable new levels physically, mentally, and spiritually is a MUST if the non-birth control family is supposed to stay sane and maybe even succeed. There is no such thing as permanently "finding a groove" and growing comfortable, because just when we do, a monkey wrench in the form of an adorable but very needy baby is thrown into the mix, and suddenly we're back to square one. I always think it's funny how I think "Wow, this is so much work, I can hardly handle this!" only to one baby later think "Wow, my life was SO easy back then!" It's all perspective, and allowing God to control family size will really expand your perspective beyond what you ever thought possible or maybe even wanted to experience. If I were to stop and think about how many more children I might be having in my life time - children that haven't even been born yet, and that need to be helped from infancy to adulthood, it can really be an overwhelming thought. As much growing as I still have to do in so many areas of being a mother, I can at least see how I have grown in certain areas already that I would not have grown in had it not been for the ever-growing number of precious children. Children are a blessing, and God uses having them to teach us as much as we teach them. Even just growing up in relatively "large" family with 5 kids helped me so much to have a jump-start on raising my own children. I hope that our sons are learning what it means to provide for a large family, and that our daughters are learning how to sustain it from the inside. If they know everything we parents know at the point when they are getting married, they will have a 20+ year lead on what we knew when we were in their situation as newlyweds. THAT is the kind of heritage that we all should be fortunate to have.
  • Homeschooling: Much along the lines of the last point. Again, this will pick up momentum as one generation passes the torch to another, because children whose parents make their education their personal responsibility are so much smarter and well educated (haters, hold your comments - it's a fact.) I wish I had known even one tenth of what our children know when I was their age, or have their mental agility. The human mind is absolutely amazing, especially when it is cultivated rather than lulled and sedated.
  • Homemaking: Being a homemaker, I am ever aware of trying to pass everything I know on to our children, especially the girls (although if I succeed at teaching all of our boys to put their laundry in the hamper and their shoes in their cubbies I think my future daughters-in-law will love me to pieces). All of our children learn to cook and clean, because I firmly believe that learning ANY productive skill is worthwhile regardless of gender. As they get older, I truly hope and even pray that our sons will be taught my husband's line of work by him, so they can work in the family business as young adults even if they later choose a different line of work. It will give them an edge not only financially (a family business can employ their children at younger ages than outside businesses are allowed to hire them), but also professionally. My husband learned like that from his own dad, and I know it has helped him in his job many times. If our daughters leave home knowing all the tricks and shortcuts that it took me years and decades to figure out, they will themselves be able to build on this foundation and reach heights I would never be able to reach myself. The Bible calls children arrows, and it is so true, because we have the opportunity to shoot them beyond what we ourselves could accomplish.
  • Health: Not so much a direct aspect of "godliness", but since "all that a man hath will he give for his life" (Job 2:4) , this point still has great bearing on our everyday lives. Maybe laughable to those who frequent the Golden Arches regularly, this is actually very important to us. I wish I myself had not been formula-fed, vaccinated, and had my health permanently interfered with on so many levels. In some ways, trying to navigate through the maze of mis- and disinformation out there is like trying to reinvent the wheel. I sure would have loved to be taught all the traditional wisdom that used to be passed down from mothers to daughters about how to be (and stay) healthy, naturally, or to not fear pregnancy and childbirth as a deadly disease, or how to use herbs for healing, just to name a few examples. While I am starting from square one, our own children won't have to. In a world where in one century we have gone from the majority of people dying of old age to 1 out of two men and 1 in three women suffering cancer in their lifetime, in addition to a whole host of other entirely preventable modern illnesses, I would love for our children to be able to break out of this mold and not have to struggle with poor health their entire lives.
There, I have just run through all my favorite "hobby horses", but you can probably think of many more and better examples yourself. I hope this post encouraged you to look beyond your own generation and consider the benefits that we can bestow on those who come after us. The next time your spouse is acting unreasonable, or you get questioned at the store as to when you are going to stop having children, or people hate you for homeschooling because it pricks their own conscience, or you stay up late researching a new topic you are trying to learn about, or you get challenged for not injecting your child with toxic substances and aborted fetal tissue in the name of Franken-health - just think of it as laying up, little by little, a better heritage for your own children.


For thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name. - Psalm 61:5 



And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. - Isaiah 58:12 

Monday, June 13, 2011

Burzynski the Movie

Update: Free viewing has been extended for an extra week, until 11:59 PM on Monday, June 20th!



Available for FREE viewing only through the end of today (Monday).

The Great Cancer Hoax: The Brilliant Cure the FDA Tried Their Best to Shut Down...





Friday, June 10, 2011

Q & A answers, part III

Please excuse me for taking this long to answer these. More to come still!


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Jessi said...

I forgot to ask this in my first comment, what do you think of only giving the rabies and tetness vaccination when kids are older. I am not vaccinating my kids but have thought of only doing thoes two. Kids could easily get bit by a lose dog with rabies, or step in a rusty nail.

I am not a medical professional, and cannot give any medical advice. We do not vaccinate against anything, but some people who do not vaccinate still do the tetanus shots. You will need to do your own research on this and come to a conclusion you can have peace about.

If our kids got them, deep puncture wounds would be cared for with hydrogen peroxide, and closely monitored for infection, but none of our kids has ever had anything like that. My husband stepped on an old, rusty nail once that went all the way through his boot, through his foot, and out the top of his foot. In spite of not being "up to date" on his "shots", the wound never got infected or anything because he was vigilant about treating it with hydrogen peroxide. The tetanus bacteria can only thrive in anaerobic conditions (such as deep wounds that scab on the outside before the inside is healed, with little to no exposure to oxygen in the air), which is why it is so important to use hydrogen peroxide on the wound.

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Anonymous said...

Dear Zsuzsanna,
can you recommend any good parenting book?
Thanks for your answer,
Babs
 
Hi Babs, without trying to sound like a smartypants, I must say, the Bible. Even if that were the only book I had in life, it would have the answers to all the important issues and questions. Besides that, most modern parenting books are just a joke. In fact, I am currently working on a blog post called "Unnatural Parenting", in which I am taking apart the whole "Natural/Attachment Parenting" trend. Not that I am at all against being attached to my children, this particular style of parenting is just misnamed. There have been a handful of books that I have gleaned bits and pieces from along the way, but no single one stands out. Readers, please share any suggestions you may have in the comments below.

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Kelsey said...

What would be the #1 piece of advice you would give to teenage girls striving to live a Christian life (especially to girls who do not come from Christian families)?


Hm, good question! How wonderful to know you are striving to live a godly life even if you yourself had a different sort of upbringing. I would say that you would do well to find godly examples (both in real life, as well as in the Bible), and pattern your life after them as much as you can. In other words, to have what they have, do what they do. And remember that with God's help, you can overcome any hurdles in your way. It will make it so much easier for your own children to live righteous lives if you start them out on the right path from infancy. Be faithful in the areas you have control over, pray about the rest, and God will bless your efforts. Best wishes!

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Anonymous said...

Not a question, however, I'd love to see more authentic German recipes in the future!

Thank you, I will keep that in mind. The metric conversion of the ingredients is always a real pain :(



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Muliebrity said...

You've said that the complications with Anna's birth have led you to believe that God is blessing your home births, but how can you be sure that that wasn't a warning for the future?


Well, it was only a single complication, not complicationS. I guess I don't look at it as God saying "Okay, here is a warning, don't have another baby or else!" We all could die any single day if it were not for God keeping us alive, and often have near misses. I don't look at those encounters as God warning me, either.

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Jessica said...

Are you against dancing? I know some Christians are.

No, not as long as it doesn't involve dancing with members of the opposite gender (my husband excluded, obviously), or is something sensual. You won't see me doing the Tango even with my own husband in public.

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Anonymous said...

Could you talk about how you discipline your kids? Tips on toddler management would be particularly appreciated. Thank you!


The most important bit of advice I can give on toddler management is this: win every battle. They need you to be a parent, not their psychologist or BFF. I'm not saying to micromanage them - most days, there is no reason why they can't pick what clothes to wear, for example. But if you say something, mean it, and enforce it. When you say "come", he/she needs to come right away. When you say "don't touch!", they ought not touch the forbidden item, and so on. If you are not willing to enforce the rule, it's better to not even say it, than to make a rule and then not enforce it. Also, never give them what they cry/whine for, unless you like listening to them whining and crying.

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jake said...

I would like to know why you believe that you will be rewarded in heaven for just taking Jesus as your savior. You said in an earlier post that you do not believe good works will get you into heaven.

I also don't understand why you only stay involved in church activities and never talk about outreaches for the homeless or helping out local charities/ groups to show gods love and kindness

I don't think I will be rewarded just for believing on Jesus - rewards are extra things we get for serving God. Salvation, however, is free, because the Bible says so.

And does helping the groups you mentioned through our local church somehow mean less than helping them through a national organization? 

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jankatcla said...

Love your Q&As! Here are a couple of questions that I would like to have answered:

1) Your written English is nearly flawless. How is your spoken English? Do you have an accent?

2) I believe you once said that you drive a minivan. With 6 kids, you must be about to outgrow it. Do you have plans to get a bigger vehicle?

3) Do you plan to encourage your kids to get a college education? What would you consider good career paths for them?

Thanks!

(1) I have a slight accent, but people can't necessarily put their finger on it and say it's German.

(2) Our van has 8 seats, so if we are all riding in it, all seats are taken up. If and when we outgrow it, I would LOVE to get a Dodge Sprinter, but that is rather quixotic. I hate the typical 12/15 passenger vans because they seem like death traps and are really, really uncomfortable.

(3) I am all in favor of "higher education", which is partly why we homeschool. However, I think modern colleges are more about social agendas and raking in tuition money than learning. Knowledge is available for free to anyone who wants it. These days, even to get a degree in something like engineering, one must sit through lectures on "diversity" and other garbage. Having a degree and being educated have little to do with one another.

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Sunday, May 29, 2011

Recipe for Cookie Pizza

Just in time for your holiday get-togethers this weekend (or maybe a bit late...), here is one of our family's very favorite summertime desserts ~ Cookie Pizza.

  • Start by setting a block or tub of cream cheese out on the counter to allow it to soften while you prepare the "crusts".
  • Next, whip up a batch of basic sugar cookie dough:

Ingredients:

2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar
2 3/4 cups flour (use all-purpose, or whole wheat pastry flour)

1. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla and egg, continue to beat until creamy.

2. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Dough should stick together nicely without being too stick or crumbly.

  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; sprinkle with flour.

  • Shape half of the dough into a ball, set it on the baking sheet, sprinkle with more flour, and roll into a circle. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle with more flour.


  • Bake at 325 degrees for 8-12 minutes, until the edges of the cookie are barely starting to turn golden. Slide the cookie off the baking sheet onto the counter or a chopping board and allow to cool. Repeat with the second half of the cookie dough.

  • While the cookie pizzas are cooling, prepare the frosting:

Ingredients

8 ounce block or tub of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
about 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1-2 Tbsp of milk, just enough to make frosting easily spreadable

Beat all ingredients in a mixing bowl on high speed until smooth and creamy.


  • Spread half of frosting onto each of the two cooled cookie pizzas.

  • Top each pizza with an assortment of fresh fruit. Our favorites are strawberries, blueberries, bananas, kiwi, and grapes - but any fruit will taste fantastic on it! Finish each pizza off with a sprinkling of shredded coconut flakes. 

Prepare to be asked to make this again and again. There is something absolutely addictive about the combination of sugar cookies, cream cheese frosting, and fresh fruit.

If you try this recipe, please leave a comment below with your feedback and any tips you may like to share. 
Enjoy! :)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Q & A answers - Part II

Diana J. said...

I've been waiting for this!!! (1) How do you deal with picky eating? (2) What homeschool curricula do you use, and does it vary by child? And gosh, I've had so many other questions and now I've forgotten them! I'll have to try to recall them. :) 

(1) Hm... I put up with a little bit, such as not liking just a couple of certain foods. Each of our children has a few items that they just don't like, such as pickles, mustard, etc. But I don't allow the kids to not like many different foods (i.e. "I don't like eggs, strawberries, gravy, melted cheese, ..."), or to not like staples, such as "I don't like fruit". How do I deal with it? I try to prevent it by giving them lots of different foods when they first start eating. I also act like "Of course you want to eat that, it is so good!" if they seem unsure of what to think of a meal. If push comes to shove, I plain force them to at least try everything they are served that is a normal, everyday food.

(2) Every child is on their own level for Math and English (which includes reading, spelling, grammar, composition, and penmanship). I use Harcourt Math for all of them, and different curricula for each child for English as their learning styles differ greatly. For all other subjects, we use "Cantering the Country" together, but they each read books and do activities on their own level.


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Chilly said...

Lookikng back through your previous blog posts I saw a bunch about the grocery game. Are you still doing this? If so, I read something, somewhere, that there were people who combined coupons and sales to get stuff for free, which they would then donate to food banks. Is this something you do or have done in the past?


No, I no longer do, just because we switched to eating 100% organic foods almost two years ago. When I did, I only bought as much of something as we needed. If I got stuff for free and we didn't need it, I gave it to others in church.

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Anonymous said...

I'd love to see a tour of your house!

Unfortunately, we have a lot of mentally unstable people reading this blog, who like to write us menacing emails. For safety reasons, I will not be able to share such a "tour". 




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~SALLY~ said...

I know your husband has the "Repentance Black List" and am wondering the reason for this. My pastor is on it and I have yet to meet a man who studies, reveres and knows the Bible more than him. (No, we don't worship him...LOL!) The Bible does say to "Repent Ye and believe the Gospel". So, I am wondering why you are so strongly against Biblical Repentance. I believe that if one does not repent of their sin they are not truly saved...so what are your thoughts on this issue?

The Bible is clear that the only requirement for salvation is "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved". Repentance is never one time in the Bible equated with "turning from sin", a phrase never even found in the Bible. Repenting means changing, or turning. The person repenting most often in the Bible is God. If it meant turning from sin, it would mean that God sinned, which we know is not true. The only repentance necessary for salvation is to turn away from whatever else a person was trusting for salvation. For instance, a Catholic might have thought that good works was the way to heaven, but he repented and now believes it is all by faith. He was trusting works, and is now trusting Christ. It doesn't even make logical sense to say that repentance is turning from sins - nobody is trusting their sins to get them to heaven! To say that one must stop sinning, or at least give up some sins, in order to be saved is works salvation. 

Jonah 3:10  And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

I could go on for much longer, but there is a ton of information on this on our church website, such as this sermon.




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Karen said...

Along with what Chilly wrote, I would like to know more tips about how you can afford to eat organic food at bargain prices, and what stores you frequent to get some of these deals. Thanks! 

We do not eat organic food at bargain prices. If we were eating conventional foods, I could feed us all on half of what we are currently paying, or even less. The post on this subject is almost finished, I promise!


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Albie said...

A couple personal ones, hope you don't mind!! I notice your girls in dresses. Do girls not wear shorts or jeans in your faith? Do you wear them? Ummm, trying to put this nicely...in your marriage and faith, are couples supposed to enjoy sex? Maybe to put it better, (since men always enjoy it) are women supposed to like it?

We do not wear pants of any sort, which includes shorts, except as undergarments for certain activities. I have nothing against denim, but I personally never wear denim skirts because they are so not flattering on me.

Women are certainly supposed to enjoy the marital act, which is why God designed it the way He did.

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Jessi said...

Yay another Q +A! I love pictures, so I was wondering if you could post some of your wedding and dating pictures? 

We do not have any wedding pictures because we eloped, and they wanted something like $40 for just one snapshot. No, I would not generally recommend getting married that way, but it was what was the most practical solution at the time. 

There are pictures of us dating, but that was before the digital age, so I'd have to scan them individually. Maybe I'll post those for an anniversary post. 

Here are a couple that were taken within the first month of us being married. The first, from a reception that our church had for us. The second, from portraits that we had taken in lieu of a wedding photo. Wow, I used to be young AND skinny. 


 


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Anonymous said...

How can I get my husband to lead his family spiritually. He works about 60 hours a week and all his waking hours at home are watching tv on the couch. I can't even get him to eat meals with us at the table. I am sure all I can do is pray and keep my attitude in check but I struggle with this because I just want so much more for my family. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

The truth is: You can't. That is a decision he must make for himself. The more he feels pressured or cajoled, the less likely he is to want to do it. After all, who wants to be pushed into being a leader, when the whole point of being a leader is to decide for oneself what to do and when? I know this is frustrating.

Kids do not have to have a dad who sits at the table (my husband doesn't unless we eat in the dining room, but we prefer to crowd the kids around the counter, and he eats on the sofa), leads Bible time (my husband rarely does - it is me who reads the Bible to the kids most days. He already preaches to them in church.), or does whatever else  you think he should do. They need parents who love them and each other, and who are a unit rather than trying to undermine the other. You can teach the children from the Bible yourself, and make sure that the TV stays off when he is gone. If you are faithful in trying to do right when you are in charge of the kids' time, God will answer your prayers.


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Renee said...

(1) I know you are into healthy and natural living. Do you also use "green" cleaning supplies, toiletries (soaps/shampoos), etc? What is your approach to these kinds of things? (2) Are any of your kids anxious/nervous types? My oldest child has a tendency to get anxious and worry. For example, when I take him to swimming lessons, he worries if he doesn't see me the whole time watching him in case I may have left. Have you ever had to deal with this and, if so, what was your approach?


(1) Yes.

(2) One of our kids is very cautious, and worries about everything from eating healthy, to natural disasters, fire, and the like. We just try to be reassuring. They will grow out of some of it, and the rest is just a difference in personality and temperament.

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TheCanuck said...

1) What kind of music do you enjoy? Religious, secular, etc. 2) What do you think of the Westboro Baptist Church (the one that pickets the funerals)? I know you're not affiliated with them. Where do you stand on their theology? Their actions? 3) I recently attended a service where the pastor stated that married couples should not have sex when they cannot get pregnant, eg when the woman is already pregnant, has reached menopause, or if they cannot have children. Furthermore, it should be serious, with the focus on getting pregnant and nothing else. The gist of it seems to be that marital relations are just for procreation (I mean 100%), and not for strengthening the relationship of a couple. Where do you stand on this?

(1) Hymns, and classical music. I love to listen to my husband or Solomon playing the piano. The next three youngest kids are just learning to play the piano.
(2) I think they are freaks, and most likely undercover government agents with a goal to make people like us look bad by grouping us in with them. I think that everything they do is despicable. 

(3) Sorry to be negative yet again, but that pastor is sadly mistaken at best, and perverted at worst. There is no verse in the Bible to support his opinion. The Bible makes a point to tell us that Joseph and Mary did NOT have marital relations while she was pregnant with Jesus because that is what he had been commanded by the angel, because Jesus was to be born of a virgin. It obviously made the point of telling us that because normally, married people can and should engage in such actions.




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Spooky said...

I too am curious to learn more about your life in Europe and how you met your husband and how you like living in America. I hope I do not come across as nosy, I am just interested

I blogged about that here


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Andrea B said...

I would also like to know how you handle picky eaters... My son has roughly 10 things that he eats. It is NOT junk. Cheese/yogurt/apples/chicken etc. I do not allow him to "get full" with junk food. He is very polite when he turns down food and will even try new things. He just doesn't like anything else. I do not want to make eating a stressful time for him, but it's hard when he never eats our planned family meals. UGH! Thanks.

Well, as long as it's not total junk, and at least somewhat balanced (dairy, produce, meat), I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep encouraging him to try new foods. One thing that I have found helps a lot is to have kids help with the cooking, or to let them pick out something new at the store that they'd like to try.

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Leslye Romero said...

When do you stop nursing if it is not when you get pregnant? 

I have breastfed every baby until I got pregnant with the next. Then I encourage them to self-wean within about one to three months.


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Anonymous said...

Hair Is there a rule on how long it must be for the girls and how short it must be for your boys in your household?? And also do you think it's wrong for a women to dye her hair?? And How do you feel about makeup??

No set rules, just long for the girls and short for the boys. I do not think that dyeing hair or wearing makeup are sinful/wrong, but I don't do either, nor would recommend others do.


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Anonymous said...

Oh, I forgot one - when you pray, is it in German or English? If German, do you use du or Sie for God?

I think, dream, and pray exclusively in English. If I were to pray in German, I would say du.

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Anonymous said...

1. What are your thoughts on pacifism? 2. If a new neighbor moved in next door and was a gay couple with a small child would you still witness to them? Would you allow your children to play with theirs? 

1. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. There is peace in heaven. Peace is a wonderful thing. I believe we should only engage in wars to defend our own country when under attack. I am against pre-emptive strikes, offensive wars (as opposed to defensive), and meddling with other countries' issues.
2. We would move.

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Anonymous said...

I know you believe in letting God determine the size of your family but what if subsequent pregnancies would put the mother's life in danger? Having faith is one thing but standing in the middle of the highway and saying you trust God not to let you get hit by a car is foolish, so would becoming pregnant after being told it could kill you. What is your opinion on this? 

Becoming pregnant is a natural life process that one has to make an effort to interrupt. Standing in the middle of a busy freeway is not. In fact, one would have to make an effort to do it, not to prevent it. Every single pregnancy puts the mother's life in danger. I don't really think well in hypotheticals.


To be continued...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Q & A - Answers, Part I

Karen R. said...

YES! ok...Thoughts on courting vs. dating and what you want for your children? -and- What age and how to tell the kids about the birds and the bees. (Anything biblical on this? I am already having cold sweats over this one!)

The whole "courtship" vs. "dating" debate is one of my pet peeves. In short, I believe that the purpose of dating is to find a spouse. Therefore, anyone too young to be thinking about marriage, or "disqualified" from marriage by a previous divorce, need not date.

I also believe that dating people should not be physically engaged other than normal, everyday gestures that they would be comfortable doing around anyone. My husband's advice is always: if you would not feel comfortable doing it with someone of the same gender, don't do it with the pposite gender. Physical intimacies are to be reserved for marriage only. Furthermore, I think young people would do well to only date either with other people present, or in a public place (i.e. meet at a restaurant for dinner, at a park, etc.)

As far as "courtship", to some people it means the same things as what I just called dating. Our job as parents is to function as a gatekeeper - we can control who is allowed within our boundaries, but obviously the child gets to pick whom they want to marry.

But as far as arranging marriages for our children - I am 100% against that. Any prudent child will seek the advice of their parents if they are godly Christians, but the decision and responsibility is theirs, not ours. Hopefully, if we as parents have done our job right, our children will know how to make important decisions on their own as adults. Parents should not control the lives of their adult children. I am also 100% against this new thing of "not falling in love until marriage". True, young people should guard their hearts, but they would do well to be in love with the person that they are wanting to get married to. To say otherwise is insanity, and will only lead to marital problems later on.

Birds and bees: I don't think we'll have some big, isolated "talk". Our kids ask questions here and there, and I answer them honestly and on their age-appropriate levels, using terms that I would feel comfortable about them repeating. It is not a shameful subject, only a delicate one, so I am not afraid of answering their questions appropriately.

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Anonymous said... Favorite scripture verse and favorite "Bible story," please.

My favorite verse is John 12:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." That one verse, for me, really sums up what life as a Christian mother is all about: dying to self for our children. I have thought long and hard about my favorite Bible story, but I really don't have one. I like both the books of Ruth and Esther a lot, and of course Psalms and Proverbs which I try to read daily. I like reading about all the things that Jesus said and did, and his miracles. How about my favorite hymn instead? It is "Be Still My Soul".

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Sarah said...

Brilliant I love Q&A posts! I would like to know how else you encourage your children in their faith. I would be particularly interested in any materials you use (I think I asked this in the 'One Year Bible' post) Thank you...looking forward to your post!

Hm, not really sure. I just try to be real with the kids. They know both of us parents have faults and are far from perfect, but they know God is real, and that we love Him and them and try our best. I just have faith that God will make up for our shortcomings and "fill the gaps". Our children love listening to sermons, holding their own preaching services, acting out Bible stories, making related crafts, and playing with their Bible felt set. They also earn prizes for memorizing Bible verses. For penmanship, Solomon is copying the book of Proverbs right now, and although he initially was not always excited about writing in cursive, he did enjoy getting the deeper understanding that copying the Bible gave him. He tells me stuff he learned from it all the time. I will have Isaac start copying a book of the Bible of his choosing next school year.


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Anonymous said..

Do you have any brothers or sisters? What did you think of college life for the short period of time you attended? How do you choose your children's names? Do you go on biblical significance or simply the ones you like the sound of?

I have two older brothers that have the same parents as I do. One is one year older than me, the other two and a half years older. I love and miss both of them, as I go for years without seeing them (or any of my relatives, for that matter, since they all live in Europe). Sadly, my parents divorced, and both remarried, so I also have a (half) sister and brother on my mother's side, and a stepbrother and two (half) brothers and one sister on my dad's side. Confusing, huh? My family tree is like a tumbleweed... 

College was interesting. I took cultural anthropology as my major, and political science and journalism as my minors. I did some things I regret doing or would not condone any more today, so "fun" didn't always equal "right", but overall I was one of the "good" kids and just enjoyed being a young adult and living in one of Europe's most beautiful cities (Munich), traveling, and living a carefree life. Being a mom is so much harder, but so much more wonderful!

We pick our children's names based on what we like, and think sounds nice and fitting. We usually toss around a few ideas while I am pregnant, and don't "name" the child until we settle on a name after birth. A couple of times, once the child was born, we picked something entirely different from what we had been considering (John, Anna).


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Deana said...

I have a question about polygamy, how would you tell someone it's wrong, from the Bible. I think it is wrong and disgusting, but just wouldn't know what Bible verses to refer to. If you could explain it please. 

Well, for starters, God gave Adam only one wife: 

Mat 19:4-5 (4) And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, (5) And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 

I think that the only reason why some condone polygamy is because the Bible talks about people who had multiple wives. However, it is important to distinguish between the clear teachings of the Bible, and the stories. Just because the Bible records people doing certain things, does not mean that they were right in doing so.

I should add that today's wife-swapping (i.e. divorce and remarriage) is no better than polygamy. It means having multiple wives one after the other, as opposed to concurrently, but it is still against God's plan of one man, one woman, until death separates them.


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Liv said...

I'm wondering how much, if any, computer teaching you do with the children. Personally, I think it is highly unnecessary for children below high school age. Even then, I question the necessity. When you do introduce computing, what skills will you teach first? Typing, using a specific program, educational games....? 

I agree with you that young children should not spend much time on the computer, if any. That is one of the many reasons why we do not enroll our children in free public school online/distance learning classes, which are often wrongly considered home education. Kids, even in preschool, are required to spend hours a day in front of a computer screen.

So far, only our two oldest (who are 9 and 8) are allowed to use the computer, but it is rare. I don't even think that either one of them has even spent an hour total on the computer in the last month. Solomon learned how to type using a teaching software for kids. He likes writing stories on the computer, so I thought knowing how to type would help him. Isaac is just starting to learn typing. Other than that, I detest most "educational" games - they are just too loud and zany. We have "Rollercoaster Tycoon" and "Zoo Tycoon" for the kids to play on very rarely - they usually go months without playing at all, and then have a week of building on a certain project every day.

I will admit that the kids like to sneak off and play games on my phone, but that is a different story...


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Mikayla said...

I believe in God being in control of my family size, but something I have always wondered about is your stance on birth control, when you use co-sleeping to prevent your cycle so you can't get pregnant for around a year. It seems like that is still taking steps to prevent children. People who don't use this method have more children. Co-sleeping makes it so you have children when its more convenient for you, not just God giving you them when he sees fit. To me it doesn't seem much different than natural family planning method. Co- sleeping is purposely doing stuff just right, so your cycle doesn't return. I'm not tring to be rude or disagree. I really just would like to hear what you have to say about it, and if you have any Bible refences to back it up. 

Well, I wouldn't say that I use co-sleeping to prevent my cycles. That's almost like saying that I use breastfeeding to prevent my cycles. Obviously, if I wanted to, I could just feed the babies formula and have a baby every 9 months instead of every 2 years (give or take), but God designed breastfeeding as a natural way to space pregnancies at healthy, safe intervals. Allowing God to be in charge of how many children we have does not mean that I need to crank out babies like an assembly line, as long as I stay within the means He designed for naturally spacing pregnancies.

Anna right now only nurses once or twice a night, and usually snuggles up against my husband the rest of the time and only sticks her feet into my rib cage. My delicate milk supply would probably if I did not have her in bed, not to mention all the sleep I would lose. Many mothers would benefit similarly from having their baby in bed with them, and I think feeding our children enough, and having energy to care for the rest of the family, should be high priorities for moms.

As far as a Bible reference: I do not believe it is a Biblical mandate to have children sleeping in their parents' bed. That is just what works best for us. The Bible story that comes to mind is when a man goes to borrow bread from his friend at midnight, and his friend answers: "Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee." (Luke 11:7) Since the "friend" represents God in the story, I think God must be okay with cosleeping if that is how he portrays himself in this parable. 

All that aside, sleeping with my babies is one of the greatest joys of motherhood. I look forward each day to getting to snuggle up with my husband and baby every night after a long day of work.


To be continued...

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Gardening update

This morning, as every day, I spent some time watering my plants and looking at them. The boys like doing the watering for me, but I try to do at least one of the two times daily myself just so I can keep tabs on how everything is doing. Today, I enriched some of the beds with more compost, and sprinkled a natural fertilizer around all plants.

 Bell peppers


cherry tomatoes

tomatoes


 banana peppers 


all the peppers and tomatoes


 Remember I tried growing three kinds of corn? 



Well, for some reason, only four stalks came up. I read that melons make good companion plants for corn, so I put one watermelon and one cantelope in the spots where the corn should have been. There is tons of room for them to spread into in front of the planter.

 


I had also put out four different kinds of bush beans:


Becky plucked a few of the seedlings, but mostly, they are all thriving and going into bloom now. I have NEVER before gotten to the flowering stage with my beans, so this is success for me! 




I had started some zucchini, melons, and cucumbers indoors:


 After a couple of weeks, they were ready to go outside, where they have been thriving ever since. To accommodate them, I built two of these 4x4 ft planters which I hope will be large enough as these plants spread like crazy. There is lots of growing room all around the planters, so hopefully this will work out.


 



In the planter right in front of the house, we put out some flower seeds that are not in bloom yet. We also bought some flowers to put in the window planters on the playhouse:


In the fall, I am hoping to put a little picket fence around the front yard, and remove all grass (really, it's all crab grass and weeds we have left). Instead of the "lawn" (haha....), I would like to put in more planters, but this time make them recessed into the ground, and also recess the ones I have already built. Basically, the only thing I want to have left in the front yard is just planters in various shapes and sizes by using edging, wood planks, pavers, etc. around our trees and other plants, and cover the walkways in between them with mulch. I so badly want to be successful at gardening, but my skills, time, and finances are limited. One can dream, right?

Anyway, just wanted to share how things are growing so far.