Career ambitions

Help settle our debate

K has been begging me to cut her hair short for several weeks now. She hasn't cut her hair since May so she thinks she's way over due. Matt and I love her hair long and have been trying to stall another haircut, but she won't stop pestering us about it. A few minutes ago she came downstairs (where I was making skirt patterns for the little girls) wielding scissors and asking again if I'd cut her hair. She wants an angled chin-length bob in the front with the back cut in short, spiky layers so she can make it "funky". She almost never wears it down and was surprised to see how long it 's gotten when she saw these pictures. Anyway, we all decided to bring it to the rest of you and ask for your votes for or against K cutting her hair. (This really isn't that big of a deal, but we thought it would be fun to involve the rest of you in our ongoing debate.) So...what do you think? Should she grow it or cut it? And no fair giving a cop-out answer like "It's K's hair, she should do whatever she wants."

We have a new niece!!

My little brother Scott and his adorable wife Anne welcomed their first baby into the world Wednesday evening. We've been eagerly anticipating the news of her arrival, so we're just bursting with joy for them! Her name is Mackenzie, no middle name has been announced, and she's darling! Anne's dad flew out just in time for Mackenzie's birth and took a bunch of fabulous pictures and a video that he's posted on their family website. Here's the link to little Mackenzie's first moments...http://beanland.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/mackenzie-arrives/#comments

We've now had two nephews and one niece born since we've been overseas and I'm dying to get to the States for a visit so I can get my hands on them! I even had a weird dream last night that we were shopping for a German bunting bag for Mackenzie and found a newborn baby girl tucked inside a hanging bunting bag in a baby boutique. We took her home and were so happy to have another little baby without having to go through the *fun* of body bloating and labor. How strange! (I've been dealing with insomnia for the past many months and often have weird dreams when I finally get to sleep.)

All that to say...Welcome to the world, Mackenzie!!

"Where's the beef?"

After talking about it for quite awhile now, Matt and I are finally ready to make some major changes in our family's eating habits. Over the years we've tried eliminating all sugar, refined sugar, refined flours, white rice, and red meat at various times and with greatly varying success, but nothing really "stuck". Seeing the health issues in both sides of our families and the chronic congestion/allergy symptoms our kids suffer from has led us to revisit our food choices. And visit to my darling brother and sister-in-law's blog (looking for an update on their now one-day-over-due firstborn daughter) has provided the impetus we needed. My little brother, Scott, is a fabulous cook and a recently converted vegetarian to boot. The dishes he's come up with lately have opened my eyes to the wider variety of menu options out there, and I'm starting to get excited about it. Most of my hang-ups with vegetarianism stem from being raised in Oregon where "vegetarian" means tie-dye wearing, barefoot, unshaved, pot smoking, rarely bathed, liberal wacko, throw-back to the 70's, hippie. Eeek!

Everything we've read says that the easiest way to make sure teenagers get the nutrients and vitamins they need is to include some dairy and eggs in their vegetarian diet. We're fortunate to live overseas where growth hormones and antibiotics aren't fed to the cows and chickens, although food on the German economy is more expensive than it's American counterpart.

The *fun* challenges for me will be: maintaining my Wunder Cook/Baker Extraordinaire status and decreasing our food budget. I usually do a great job of feeding us well without spending too much money. Our monthly food allowance is $350 which includes dog food, tp, etc. We eat well and we eat a lot; too much from the looks of us lately! I know $350 is a lot less than most families would spend to feed 8 people 3 meals a day, 30 days a month, but a fair portion of that amount is spent on sugars, butter, chocolate, eggs, and other baking supplies. We bake a lot! I think it'll be fun to see what happens to our food budget when we're only buying fresh produce, dried beans and fish. (Most of us like fish and the rest will learn to.) I'll still probably use fresh turkey breast now and then and maybe the occasional fresh chicken, but again, animals aren't injected over here. All this to say if any of you have some tried and true, great family-friendly vegetarian recipes you'd like to share I'd love to try them.

Is it Sunday, yet?

My kids have completely fallen in love with Jesus and love going to church. Banana and I were cleaning her room this afternoon and she stopped working and asked "Is tomorrow Sunday, Mom? Please tell me tomorrow is Sunday! Please, please, please!!" I told her tomorrow is Thursday and asked why she wanted it to be Sunday, and she answered "I know today isn't Sunday, so I was hoping tomorrow was. I just really want to go see Jesus again!" I told her we could call tomorrow and see if there will be daily Mass sometime this week, and if so we would go. She gave me one of her world-class grins and said "Thanks, Mom! That'd be great!" The funny thing is that we've been to church three times this week already; this is the first day we haven't gone and she's already wanting to know when we get to go again. It's not uncommon for me to have to settle a squabble over how many more days it is until Sunday, and several of the kids would probably mutiny if we ever opted to skip an additional service. But they've robbed me of my right to complain about their pestering! Who's going to fuss about their kids wanting to be in church more?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Germany! What a wonderful day we had together. M & Joffa were up whispering LOUDLY at 5:30, convinced it was really 6:30 (still waaaay too early!), so they had to be chased back to bed. By 7:30 Schmabbers and Banana (I'm referring to the kids by their nicknames before resorting to numbering them; if numbers would be less confusing let me know.) were waking us up with hugs and kisses and pleas to go downstairs and check out their stockings. A & K were dragged from their beds and stockings were plowed through while I warmed up a pan of ooey-gooey sticky buns to go with our yogurt and tangerines for breakfast. Yummy! We had just enough time to open gifts and clean up before getting dressed for church. We give three gifts to each of the children and they each draw a sibling to give a gift to. We decided long ago that if three gifts were enough for baby Jesus, it should be enough for us, too. I never tire of seeing their faces as they open their gifts and find something they were really hoping for. Matt totally surprised me this year and bought me the camera I've been drooling over since seeing Papa Gene and Grandma Gail's when they came to visit. I'm so excited! Now I just have to figure out how to use all the cool features so I can get the most out of it. On the down side, I can no longer claim anything other than user ineptitude for cruddy pictures. The rest of our day was spent relaxing and hanging out together. Little boys challenging each other to silly video games. Teenage brother and sister playing with the little girls and their Polly Pockets. Hysterical laughter as we played Apples to Apples. Singing "Happy Birthday" and eating Jesus' Birthday cake. Happy, tired children curling up on their beds with their new books. We have been blessed so abundantly and are truly grateful from the depths of our souls.

First Corinthians 13 - Christmas Version

I wish I'd found this earlier so I could have posted it before Christmas...


If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strings of twinkling lights, and shiny balls, but do not show love to my family and others, I am just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family and others, I am just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all I have to charity, but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crystal snowflakes,attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata, but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child, or kiss the husband or bless the needy.
Love is kind, though harried or tired.
Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love doesn't yell at the kids or other family to get out of the way, but is thankful that they are there to get in the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things.
Love never fails.

My Belated Wish List...

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always,

MOM...

Spreadin' a little Christmas cheer

Due to my success in keeping everyone out of the kitchen yesterday, we ended up with stacks of Christmas goodie plates to deliver to our German neighbors. We walked down the street all dressed up in our holiday finery and knocked on doors to share our wishes of "Frohe Weinachten!" before hurrying to church this evening. Two of the families who live behind us don't speak English, which is great for my often floundering German. I love realizing I'm understanding more and more. One of our neighbor ladies came over yesterday with a huge bag of chocolates for us and a gift bag of doggy treats for Otto. Not sure who was happier, the kids or the dog. The chocolate over here is unbelievable! No self-respecting German would ever consider including cheap chocolate in a gift bag. (They probably don't even realize there is such a thing as cheap/bad chocolate.) Instead, they give large quantities of Lindt and other fabulous brands of Swiss chocolates. I almost ran down the street to propose to our neighbor when I realized what was in the bag! Should I mention again how much I love the tastes of this season? The cute little Opa and Oma who live behind us had a huge platter of cookies and chocolates waiting for us when we rang their bell today, complete with a little German tag from their family to ours. We love it over here! Christmas pajamas have been opened and donned and the kids are all sitting together to watch "Christmas With the Cranks" while I make cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast. We wish you all a peaceful and blessed day as you prepare to celebrate our Lord's birth.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

Oh, how I love this time of year! The lights, the sounds, the smells, the tastes...I love it all! Cups of hot cocoa with sticky, melted marshmallows dripping down the sides. Candles in the windows and colored lights softly twinkling on the tree. Pans of cookies and fudge and peanut brittle and truffles. Did I mention I love the tastes? Yesterday Daddy and the kids spent the afternoon building "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers. What a mess! The boys thought it was great fun, Daddy groused about "whose brilliant idea was it to use frosting for glue?", and the youngest girls ended up in tears because their "stupid" houses wouldn't stay up. Another great memory making moment brought to you from Mom! The idea was to keep them all (from Daddy on down) out of my hair while I spent the day baking and making candy while lending my breathtaking vocal counterparts to Johnny Mathis and Steven Curtis Chapman, and it worked!

"Can we keep her?!"

Such a nurturer! Here's how this conversation went:
"Can I see if we have any mail, Mom?"
"Sure, honey."
(Front door opens and closes.)
"Oooooh! Mom, look what was out on our front porch! Can we keep her?!"
"Where do you think she came from?"
"Her parents are probably too poor to buy food for her and want us to take care of her."
"H..."
"Oh, Mooooom! Feel her! She's so cold! Her parents probably didn't have any heat either."
"W.."
"I'm warm so I could warm her with my body!"
"Th..."
"What should we call her?"
"W.."
"I know! Let's call her Theresa. That's a pretty name. Can we call her Theresa, Mom? Mom? Moooooom!! Are you listening to me?"
"Just a second, honey. Mommy's feeling a little dizzy."

The wheels on the bus...

George thought we should post a picture of our new digs. He realizes it's not much, but we're on a government salary, so it's the best we can do.

I naievly thought that homeschooling again would somehow simplify my life. What was I thinking?! I'm on the run more now than when I had 6 separate school classes to keep up with. Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids home. I'm one of those nutty moms that would be happy as a lark settling down on a big piece of land with enough room for all the kids to build homes for their families in our back yard. But somedays it seems I get lost in the shuffle. I find myself wearing so many hats that when the day is over and the kids are all settled and I'm finally able to slow down and spend time with my Prince, I almost feel lost without a hat on my head. The rapid shifting of gears between Mom, friend, nurse, confidant, counselor, teacher, nutritionist, personal shopper, barber, toenail clipper, and nose wiper doesn't always go as smoothly as it should. Maybe it because I'm getting older, maybe I just used to fool myself into thinking I was a great juggler. Either way, the constant demands on my time and energy serve to keep me very aware of how much this bus needs daily maintenance. My gears grind when I don't make time for daily prayer and Scripture study, and the longer I put off my personal time the louder and rougher the shifting. I'm been trying to gently teach the kids about "doing everything as unto the Lord", and have been thinking about my own attitudes about my responsibilities. Are all the little tedious things I do offered up as a prayer of obedience? Does the condition of my home reflect a heart focused on pleasing? Does the spirit in our home reflect the Holy Spirit living in each one of us? It's so easy for my eyes to stay trained on the stresses and drains of life rather on the Giver of my wonderful life. And how quickly I forget that the "stresses and drains" seem to evaporate when I choose to turn my eyes Heavenward again. So at the end of this very busy day, I offer up a prayer of thanksgiving. Eternal thanks for the miracle of marrying my soul-mate, for the 6 nutty kids that always fill my heart with laughter, for our extended family and friends scattered around the world, and especially for our Lord Jesus Christ, without whose unmerited sacrifice I would be lost forever.

My Flagship Post

Wow! I've finally entered the Blog Age! After much berating and the occasional pitiful plea, I've made the plunge. Living overseas makes keeping in touch and maintaining Stateside relationships difficult, so I'm hoping this will help those we love feel more involved, if only in short, highly-edited bits, in our lives. At the very least I'll no longer be deserving of the title "Worst Communicator on the Planet". I can now join the growing ranks of those who badger and manipulate the few remaining hold-outs. I love this already!!