amid the stench

Note:  it is not my intent to hurt or blame anyone with this post.  This is simply me working through my own feelings.  

My house smells like peanut butter this week.

If you aren't aware, I loathe peanut butter.  I can't stand the taste.  I despise the gloppy texture.  And I abhor the smell.  

I don't usually keep it on hand.  But the girls have had it elsewhere, and this week they requested peanut butter from the store.  And since it's something of a rarity around here, they have been eating it every day.  Sometimes for more than one meal.

The smell of peanut butter seems to permeate my kitchen.  I think it stinks.

But it fits with this week.

We got heartbreaking news on Sunday.  Our beloved pastor of ten years is leaving.  I don't even have words for what he has meant to our church and to our family.  It's hard, and it hurts, and I have more emotions than I can process.  I cry, and I pray, and I cry some more.  Even just going about normal daily tasks, I have this kind of hollow ache.  

It stinks.  And I hate it.  

But my girls are loving their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and their peanut butter on banana bread breakfasts.  Natalie is a terribly picky eater, but this week she's getting good protein and healthy fats.  So something good is coming out of that wretched smell that lingers in my kitchen.

A core doctrine of biblical Christianity is that God is sovereign.  He is in control.  He gives beauty for ashes, and He works all things together for the good of those who loves Him.  And as Mark Lowry put it, this situation has not shocked Him off His throne.  He is more than capable of working His will through it and bringing something good out of it.  

I am clinging to that right now.  Even as I wrinkle my nose against the stink.  

summer fun

I have been fighting with my phone for a few days now, trying to make it give up these pictures.  It didn't want to do it.  But I finally managed to convince it.  I win.  HA!

I think I'll take photos on the iPad from now on.  It's much more cooperative in the picture-taking department.

Anyway, we had gift card credit (I LOVE gift card credit), so the girls wanted a pool.  They wanted a big pool. 

They have had a blast already.  :)

Sarah the chef

Sarah has been able to make herself a simple bowl of oatmeal for breakfast for awhile now.  She simply measures the oats and the water into a bowl and cooks it in the microwave.  She usually adds brown sugar once it's done.

She had really hoped to have waffles for breakfast this morning, but I forgot to mix up batter last night. Oops.  She asked if pancakes were a possibility.  But I was in the middle of changing a diaper and warming a bottle and would soon be feeding a baby.  I knew that there was no way I could do something as hands-on as pancakes.  I asked her if she would just make herself a bowl of oatmeal this morning, and we could do pancakes or waffles another time.  

Sarah asked if baked oatmeal would be possible.  I knew I couldn't make it for the same reason I couldn't make pancakes--diaper, bottle, feeding--but I stopped to think for a moment before I said no. The recipe itself is pretty simple.  And I have it memorized, so I could talk her through it.  I turned the oven on to preheat, and told Sarah to grab a bowl.  She could make the oatmeal herself.

And she did.  I told her what to do, step by step, but she did it all.  All I did was take it out of the oven once it was done baking.  

It was good.  Tasted just like baked oatmeal.  ;) 

You can see her oatmeal behind her on the stovetop. 

I've posted the oatmeal recipe before I think,  but I'll go ahead and share it again, because I've changed it from the original anyway.

Baked oatmeal:

1.5 cups old-fashioned oats

0.25 cup brown sugar

hefty shake of ground cinnamon

freshly grated nutmeg to taste (Sarah skipped this step, so feel free to do so as well)

0.75 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 cup milk (or vanilla almond milk, which is what we use)

0.25 cups melted butter (sometimes I use melted coconut oil instead)

1 egg

If using regular milk rather than vanilla-flavored milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine the "dry" ingredients.  In a separate bowl or container, combine the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla (the "wet team").  Mix the two thorough and put the mixture in an 8x8 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes (it's usually closer to 25 in my oven).  Serves 6 (theoretically).  

To serve, you may add milk to your bowl if you like.  Nelson and Sarah tend to do this.  Natalie and I prefer it without. So try it both ways to see which works for you.  

Enjoy!  :) 

P.s. Pardon any typos--I'm on the iPad, sitting outside in the sunshine.  So it's totally worth any mistakes that show up!  

Father's Day

I don't have too many male readers, but I do wish a happy Father's Day to any fathers who do happen to land here.  :)  

We are visiting my parents this afternoon.  I baked my dad a pie for the occasion.  

One of these days, I should write a tribute to my dad and all the ways he's influenced me and the things I admire about him.  But for today, I'm going to use a post I had planned for earlier in the week but never got written up and published.  It fits the theme of the day pretty well.  

Sarah will often sit on the bed right before bedtime and want to talk with Nelson.  She'll ask him some science or technology type of question, and it usually leads to a lengthy discussion.  I find it fascinating to listen in, because Nelson always answers in great detail.  He talks to Sarah like she's a little adult, and Sarah hangs onto every word.  

I'm sure much of it goes over her head, and I don't pretend to know how much she'll remember of what he tells her.  But I do know she'll remember that he took the time to answer her questions and that he was never condescending about it.  Honestly, that's more important in my opinion anyway.  

Thanks, dear.  :)  I think you're doing good work there. 

another Natalieism

The baby's mother took a day off, so I had a day off today as well.  We headed to my parents' house for a visit.  Along the way, we hit a bump in the road.  

"Whoa!" exclaimed Natalie.  "That bump almost made me lose my brain!  But it's back in my head now!"  

So I guess it's all fun and games until someone loses a brain.  

Watch out for those bumps in the road.  They can be pretty rough.  

Natalie the songwriter

Sarah has a doll that is Jessie from the Toy Story movies.  Natalie was playing with Jessie yesterday morning and started singing while she played.  This is the little ditty she composed:

I fell in love with Woody!
He starts to kiss me,
And I'm going to faint.

And at this point, Jessie indeed splats down on the couch.  It must have been some kiss.  Literally swept her off her feet.

Sarah's e-camp

I mentioned that Sarah wanted to do an online science e-camp over the summer.  A part of me finds it amusing that Sarah's favorite subjects are art and science--I can't claim I was ever overly fond of either.  But she loves them both, and she has been excited about starting this e-camp. 

The idea of an e-camp is somewhat funny to me as well, actually.  It really highlights how everything is available in electronic form--books, mail, businesses, science camps.  I'm not naive enough to think this takes the place of a "real" camp (and we're really hoping to send her to a real camp next summer--I'm working on it now), but it is a neat program.

It's through a website called Supercharged Science, and it's taught by Aurora Lipper, who is a former NASA scientist.  The camp covers astronomy, rocketry, flight, electricity, chemistry, lasers, robots, and more.  Yeah, it's an extensive course!  It runs from June 1-August 31, so she has plenty of time to enjoy the offerings while still having a relaxing summer. 

The program is set up with videos where Ms. Lipper explains and demonstrates the activity or experiment.  Everything is very hands-on.  Sarah even has a notebook to log all that she does and the results she gets.

The site offers a program for the school year too, but that isn't feasible right now.  However, we do take advantage of the occasional free teleclass she offers to her email subscribers.  Those have been fun. 

I may update more throughout the summer as to what she's doing and learning.  But so far, so good.  Today she even got a brief math lesson from the e-camp.  :)