Reading

Andrew reading Richard Scarry to his brother at Aunt Andrea's.

Aaron's prayer

Daddy:  Lord bless...
Aaron:  Lord bless...
Daddy:  my meat...
Aaron (hesitating):  my fruit snacks...

I guess he knows what's important!

Wisdom from Ryle

"Do not wait, because you feel unworthy. Wait for nothing: wait for nobody. Waiting comes from the devil. Just as we are, go to Christ. The worse you are, the more need you have to go to Him. You will never mend yourself by staying away."

- J.C. Ryle

What's Cookin'

Mon~Chicken Enchiladas, salad, chips n salsa
Tues~Mom has girls night, french toast and eggs for boys and dad
Wed~Overnight chicken, brown rice, green beans

Source: bakedbree.com via Heather on Pinterest

Thurs~Ham and Cheese potato skins, applesauce, veggies

Source: tastykitchen.com via Heather on Pinterest

Fri~Chili, brown rice, cornbread
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Chicken noodle soup, rolls


And here's a couple pictures of my two babies.  I'm starting to find them together more and more.



Aaron likes to tattle on Joel (and the other boys).  Say this in a voice filled with 2 year old indignation:  "Bommy, Do-do gwabbed fwum me!"



Yup, behind the couch is a good place to eat our bananas.  Monkeys!  :-)

Our Fun Friday

Yesterday the boys had a field trip for the first time in a long time.  We met some friends at the museum.  The boys were so excited to go to "the city!"  I ended up getting a membership pass so I'm sure we'll be going lots more.

Noah and his friend Stuart.  Noah said this was his favorite part of the museum.

Watching the player piano in Gaslight Village.

The print shop was open for business.  Everyone got a printed bookmark on the way out.

 

Probably the biggest perk with the membership pass is unlimited carousel rides.  :-)

Vivian and Andrew in the Civil War camp.

Astronauts.

Friday evening we went to the gym for pizza and some volleyball.  Here are some fine volleyball forms:

Aunt Aimee trying to save the game by kicking the ball.

Aunt Ang

Look closely at the next two photos of Chris.  There's some shenanigans going on in the background!

Cousin Corinna

What's Cookin'

I didn't get to any of the chicken meals last week because we ended up having no chicken in the house.  Good thing it was on sale Fri and Sat at Meijer.

Mon~Baked chicken penne pasta, carrots
Tues~Spaghetti and meatballs, green beans

Source: lisaroy.ca via Heather on Pinterest

Wed~Chili, corn bread
Thurs~Dinner with friends
Fri~Potluck: Chicken Enchiladas (a variation of these) with this sauce, Cranberry Cake
Sat~Pizza, cold veggies
Sun~Beef vegetable soup, rolls

Kitchen tip: Cooking Bulk Ground Beef

I bought 10 lbs of ground beef at Aldi last week and I was really looking up against browning it all.  So I googled "browning ground beef crockpot" and found a really easy way to do it.

I was able to put 5 lbs at a time in my crockpot.  I crumbled it up, added about a cup of water and turned it on high.  I tried to mix it up with my Pampered Chef Mix n Chop every 45 min to an hour because it would start to really brown around the edges.

About 3 hours later, I had 5 lbs of browned beef with no splatters on my stove!  I stuck the beef in a colander to drain and then added my other 5 lbs to the crockpot.  It takes longer than browning it on the stove, but I think there is less mess and I don't have to stand and watch it, just stir it occasionally.  Today I've made 6 lbs into taco meat and sloppy joes (all in the crockpot!) and am going to make chili and shepherd's pie with the rest. 

Overnight Apple Pie Oatmeal in the Crockpot

I saw this recipe on pinterest awhile ago and have wanted to try it.  I happened to come across steel cut oats at Aldi last week so I tried it out Friday night.  Andrew didn't like it because of the apples in it (He says he likes raw apples, not cooked apples.)  Chris didn't like it because he says he was forced to eat too much oatmeal in his youth.  :-)  But I thought it was great and it keeps in the fridge so I will be able to have a quick, healthy breakfast for a few mornings.

Here's the recipe with my changes:

Apple Pie Breakfast

Cooking With Jax

Ingredients

- 1 cup of steel cut oats*

- 3 diced apples (I had some frozen ones in the freezer.  I don't think mine totaled 3 apples, I probably used about a cup and a half of sliced apples.)

- 1 cup apple juice 

- 3 cups water 

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

(I added 1 cup of skim milk, 4-5 T of brown sugar, and a dash of salt also.)

Directions - Slow Cooker

For Best Results:  Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like.  Be sure to stir every hour or so.

* You can also cook longer without stirring, but you have to add more water liquid and it does come out a bit mushier.  Add an extra cup of liquid for 7-8 hours in the slow cooker.

Here's what it looked like before it was cooked.

The whole reason I was attracted to this recipe was because I could do it overnight.  So I added the extra liquid (milk) and set my crockpot on low.  I happened to be awake at 5 in the morning so I went to check it and it was done, so I just set my crockpot to warm and it was perfect when I went to eat it at 8 AM.  Next time, I think I will make the recipe x 1.5.  I only have a 6 qt crockpot.  A smaller one may be better for this recipe if you want to do it overnight.

Here's what it looked like when we ate it in the morning.  Looks like the edges got a little overdone.

Yum!  I think it would be good with peaches or cherries too.

Some pics from last week

We laid pretty low last week due to sick kids.

Aaron, wrapped up after his bath and in his favorite chair.

Aaron's new trick:  Holding food he doesn't like in his mouth until its finally bed time and he has to spit it out.

Noah pretending to be asleep.  I checked on him during quiet time and I think he actually was about to sleep in this position.  So I went to get the camera and as I'm taking his pic, he kept grinning with his eyes closed.

 

 Aaron helped me unload the whole dishwasher the other morning.

Walgreen's Online Diaper Deal

Just saw this on Saving Addiction.

Products

Price

Qty

Total

W Premium Diaper Size 2 Jumbo 42s Size 2 
by Walgreens
 ea.

$8.79

2/$10.00 or 1/$5.99

2

$10.00

W Premium Diaper Size 1 Jumbo 50s Size 1 
by Walgreens
 ea.

$8.79

2/$10.00 or 1/$5.99

2

$10.00

W Premium Diaper Newbrn Jumbo 42s Newborn 
by Walgreens
 ea.

$8.79

2/$10.00 or 1/$5.99

2

$10.00

Items arrive in 2-5 business days.

Standard Shipping: FREE

Order Summary

Promotional Savings:

$5.00

Item Subtotal:

$25.00

Shipping:

FREE

Sales Tax:

$1.50

Total:

$26.50

I just paid $26.50 for 268 diapers, size newborn-2.  That's less than 10 cents per diaper.  I think that's a pretty good deal??  Plus they are shipped to my front door.

Book Review: Fighting for Dear Life by David Gibbs

Fighting for Dear Life:  The Untold Story of Terri Schiavo and What It Means for All of Us by David Gibbs

I found out about this book after reading this pro-life book list.  I requested it from the library and could not put it down.  Terri Schiavo was a young woman when she was unexplainably deprived of oxygen in February 1990.  Initially, her husband, Michael, planned to take care of Terri and get her rehabilitative help.  However, after winning a substantial medical lawsuit in 1993, Terri was placed in long term care and per Michael's orders, was given no more therapy.  In fact, Terri wasn't even allowed to be taken from her room and her visitor list was extremely limited, again per Michael's orders.  Terri had left no end of life directions and her husband Michael petitioned the court in 2000 to remove Terri's feeding tube.  Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, fought tirelessly to reverse the court's approval of this request, but with limited resources and court system that seemed decidedly against them, it was very difficult.  The feeding tube was first removed in 2001, but the Schindlers were able to get it reinserted.  In 2003, shortly before it would be removed a 2nd time, the Schindlers met with David Gibbs, whose firm decided to take Terri's case pro bono.    Gibbs tried every legal maneuver in the book, including getting Congress and the President involved, but finally, in 2005, Terri's feeding tube was removed for the last time and she died.

Michael Schiavo's whole cased rested on a couple of casual conversations that he claimed to have had with Terri.  He says she wouldn't have wanted to live in her condition with a feeding tube.  He had a doctor testify that Terri was in a vegetative state.  That however, is highly dubious, considering that she responded to her parents and seemed to track people when they were speaking.  She even attempted to say some words.  Who knows what would have happened if she was given rehabilitative services.  But the court and Michael Schiavo wouldn't even allow a reevaluation.  It seemed there was a rush to kill Terri, which is baffling to this day.  Even more interesting is the numerous cases Gibbs cites of patients who were in worse states than Terri and went on to almost fully recuperate.

I don't know what Michael Schiavo's motives were in pushing to have Terri's feeding tube removed.  I'm not inclined to think charitably towards him when he obviously had moved on with his life (he had a girlfriend and children) and Terri's parents had asked him to just walk away with the money and let them take care of Terri and he refused.  Maybe he truly believed that that was what Terri wanted.  But its not our place to make these decisions.  Gibbs argues that we should be more concerned with the sanctity of life than the quality of life.  This is no easy decision for any family to make.  I would urge you to read this book about Terri because I don't think the issue is as cut and dried as we like to think.  

Winter Vacation to Shipshewana

My parents took us on vacation to the Essenhaus Inn this week.  We had a great time!

We went to the pool 5x in 2 days and each time we had the whole place to ourselves.

Joel LOVED the water, especially with his puddle jumper.  He wore it so much he had raw spots on his arms.

The first night we went to dinner at the Essenhaus.  Chris got the turkey Manhattan.  It must've been good because it disappeared very fast.

I had the beef and homemade noodles over mashed.  I know, carb overload, but it was delicious!

The boys all had grilled cheese and fries.  I think Noah ate 1 1/2 sandwiches by himself.  

Someone is having fun!

Aaron didn't eat much grilled cheese, but he loved the rolls with Amish peanut butter.  I loved the apple butter.

Noah, the boy who told us he didn't like going to hotels and swimming pools.  Whatever.

Andrew showing me how he can swim underwater.

Aaron on "Franklin."  They had a little 1 ft kiddie pool inside the enclosure.

Joel's turn.

Tuckered out!  

Joel sampling one of the cookies the hotel puts out every afternoon.  Hot coffee and tea is available all the time too.  They also had a continental breakfast in a beautiful breakfast nook on the 2nd floor.  Highly recommend this hotel.

Attempt at a family picture outside the inn.  I should've had Andrew stand in front of me.  :-)

Attempt at a boy picture outside the Bluegate restaurant.

On Fri, we visited the local cheese factory and I attempted to take some pictures of the countryside from the moving car.  Didn't work so well, but I did get a picture of a house with a bunch of carriages out front.  It was a bit rainy but that didn't stop the Amish women from doing the wash, they just hung it on their front porch.  

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma!