Buenos Dias!

Hosea, Andrew and i are currently in South America for a close friend's wedding. It was a long trip to get here, Buenos Aires, Argentina, with stops along the way in Miami and São Paulo, Brazil. Nevertheless, we are happy and so in love with Argentina. 

I have probably said it before, but I love setting goals. I love setting goals almost as much as I love achieving the goals I have set, which is A LOT. But man, when I feel discouraged, or feel like I may not be able to accomplish what I want to, it's hard to push through and make it through to the other side. 

I have some personal things I would like to accomplish in 2016, but there is also a pretty big thing that needs to get done fairly soon- and it's driving me nuts. There isn't a deadline per se, but there are people waiting on me. And it's hard. It's hard to do work while I am home with kids. Some moms can do it, but I have a hard time with it. It's hard for me to switch modes. That's why doing in home child care was awesome- because I was able to stay in mom mode all day, even though I was technically working. 

Anyway, my prayer for all of this is that I can lean on the cross. Forgive myself for my shortcomings, Lord knows I have many. And that I can continue to ask for help as I need it. And that I can just suck it up and get my stuff done! 

Note to myself, and anyone who may need it: you can do it. 

We spent the last week in Wisconsin with my mom's side of the family. It was so wonderful to spend each day outside, soaking up lots of sun. Eve and Elliot overcame any fears or apprehensions they had about the water, and were almost immediately jumping in the pools (with their mini inflatable tubes, of course). I can't believe I have kids who aren't afraid of the water! It is absolutely thrilling. My sisters and I are still awful swimmers...

More photos after the jump >>>

in the garden, july 2015

I'm sort of amazed that anything is growing here, considering I was, like, giant and pregnant all spring. And now I have a newborn who loves to be held---and would rather me hold him than pull weeds. Doesn't he know how much I love to pull weeds?! No, really, I do. There is no better stress reliever, I've found. Anyway.

There are things I wish were further along, and there are things I wish I had planted but didn't. But whatever the case, the garden(s) are looking good.

A few more photos after the jump.

the fourth

I was too busy chatting with my grandparents to take many photos on the Fourth of July, but it was a fantastic day. We had perfect weather, and were at the perfect place to enjoy it. 

My grandparents house is one of the only, if not the only place that really feels like home to me. We moved every few years growing up, so this is sort of a big deal. Each year there is talk of my grandparents selling their home and moving into an assisted living center, so we try and spend as much time over there as possible. I was Eve's age when my grandfather built the house with his bare hands. He is an amazing man. 

It is an interesting time to be bringing children into the world---into this country. There have been so many changes in the past few years, it's almost too hard to keep up. I am so thankful God has blessed me with family that encourages and prays for me, without ceasing. Where would I be without their wisdom?

Hope you had a lovely 4th. 

life lately

On May 26, we welcomed our third child into our home. His name is Hosea John. 7 lbs, 13 ounces. 20.5 inches long. He was born at 12:57 am in our tiny bedroom, assisted by two midwives and my dear friend, Michelle.

He is a perfect, smile-y, happy little boy, and we are thrilled, to say the very least.


It feels almost unfair to be joyful during times like this... on the heels of the devastating shooting in Charleston, the terror attacks occurring virtually everywhere, etc. But we are thankful. We are feeling so very blessed, and certainly do not take these blessings for granted. We certainly do not take our lives, or his tiny & precious life, for granted.


xoxo

comfort food: creamy wild rice soup

It's that time of winter where the days sort of drag on. The sun hasn't made an appearance in days, and it's usually dark here before dinner is even ready. Blah. Don't get me wrong, I love winter, but our winters are long in Minnesota. I can send the kids outside most days, but there are times when we can go days without breathing in any fresh air. 

One of my favorite things to do while we are stuck inside is to make a giant pot of soup. I love to let it slowly cook on the stove all day, filling up the house with the aroma of comfort... It makes being indoors all day seem less like torture. If anything, we actually have something to look forward to---eating the soup. 

This recipe for wild rice soup turned out so good, I actually made it twice this week. I can't get enough of it! Someday I will update this post with nice photos, taken with my actual camera, of the soup & cooking process (I took these photos with my phone), but until then, this will do. 

What foods are comforting to you?

Creamy Wild Rice Soup with Chicken

Ingredients:

*3 bone-in chicken thighs (about 1.5 lbs---omit if you want the soup to be vegetarian)

Approximately 3 cups cooked wild rice/rice blend of your choice

1/2 c chopped carrot

1/2 c chopped celery

1/2 c chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced (more or less, depending on your preference)

1/4 tsp thyme

1/4 tsp parsley 

dash or two of cayenne pepper

1 quart (32 ounces) of chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian soup)

For the roux:

2 Tb melted butter

2 Tb flour

1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream

*you could also use chicken breasts---this is just what I had on hand. The dark meat did however add a nice richness to the soup.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place chicken in a pan, and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken. Bake until cooked through, but still juicy, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

Side note- this unfortunate pan is like, prehistoric. And gross. I promise it was actually clean, contrary to its appearance. 

While your chicken is roasting, prepare your rice according to the package directions. I had on hand this rice blend from Trader Joe's that was AWESOME in this soup. Set rice aside when it has finished cooking. 

Chop carrot, celery, onion, and garlic. Cook in a large dutch oven/soup pot over medium heat in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add seasonings listed above, and also salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until vegetables are cooked through. 

While the veggies are going, take chicken out of the oven and let cool. Pull the meat off of the bones and place in a bowl. You can do whatever you want with the skins and chicken bones---My husband and kids usually like to clean them off before I discard them. 

When the vegetables are cooked through, assemble your roux. Melt the butter in a microwave safe dish, then add the flour. Combine with a fork until it forms a paste. Add a couple of tablespoons of cream until it reaches a more liquid consistency. Pour roux into the vegetables and broth, and whisk in until combined. Add the rest of the heavy cream and let the soup thicken. 

After the broth and the cream have fully combined, add the rice and the shredded chicken into the soup. Stir together. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

 Enjoy!


P.S. This soup would be great with mushrooms, fresh herbs, etc. You can easily add your own twist to it, using whatever you have on hand. Let me know if you try it out, and how you decided to make it.

Today I took the kids to our local zoo/conservatory. We didn't tackle the actual zoo---it was pretty cold today---but the animals weren't really a part of the plan, anyway. I had Eve take a camera along so she could get pictures of different plants and flowers in the conservatory. Later, we printed the photos out, and recreated the images as paintings. She is really into painting, and also loves flowers, so I thought this would be a great home school activity, and a fun way to wrap up the week.

We don't get many days with just the three of us, so we soaked this week up like crazy.

Don't let the face fool you. She was having fun. She just didn't want to give up the camera, of course.

We love the conservatory.

Happy weekend! xo

lately

I don't have much to say, but wanted to share these sweet faces.

Life is good.

our trip to Banff

We had such a great time visiting Banff. It was, hands down, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Waking up every morning to the sun rising over the mountain tops was heavenly. It's hard to believe we left frigid Minnesota and went somewhere even colder... but it was so beautiful, we didn't even think about the cold. Okay, we thought about the cold a little. But still. Mountains!

#3

I sort of slipped this in at the end of my previous post, but decided later that it might be worth a post of its own. ;)

Baby #3 is due on Elliot's birthday, May 15th.

Poor Elliot. As if being the middle child won't be challenging enough, he may have to share his birthday with another little one. Extra prayers for that boy...

We are all getting a little more excited by the day. It is still feeling a bit surreal, though!

The Merriest Christmas

Happy, happy holidays, and merry Christmas to you. I feel like this is already the merriest Christmas I've had in years. Maybe the merriest ever? I actually feel bad typing that because my family---my sweet, enduring, patient family---has seen me at my worst and grouchiest lately, but I really do feel this has been a wonderful season.

Andrew and I decided to not exchange gifts this year because we will be taking a trip the weekend after Christmas. The kids will each receive a couple of things... nothing fancy. I stuck to this idea: something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read. I actually didn't even get the kids books because they each received one from one of my uncles. 

We didn't plan anything for Christmas Day that will involve driving, leaving the house, or even getting out of our pajamas. I'm pretty excited to spend the day having coffee, cookies, and snuggling up with my babies. And cooking a big fish. Mmmmm. 

Like I mentioned earlier, we will be leaving for a couple of weeks, so I wish you all the merriest Christmas! We will be back with photos and stories from our road trip to Banff. I am so excited to spend New Years in the mountains! It's also our 5 year (engagement) anniversary on New Years Day. Who could have guessed where we would be 5 years later---two kids, & a third on the way. We have been blessed so abundantly.


Merry Christmas.

2015: the year

I am a very goal oriented person. I thrive on deadlines. Like most people, I may procrastinate from time to time, but I really love the process of checking things off of a list. This probably explains why I love New Years. The feeling of leaving one year and entering the next is soooo good. It's like an automatic fresh start! To quote Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it." I love that.

I was thinking of things I would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. Not necessarily even goals, but things I would like to do. I decided to narrow the mental list down to just 30 things---some just fun activities, and others, personal goals. Here is what I have come up with:

1. Exercise more

2. Plant a tree

3. Volunteer somewhere new

4. Invite a stranger to dinner

5. Send snail mail

6. Paint a self portrait

7. Study another language

8. Give generously

9. Knit a sweater

10. Go on a picnic

11. Write a short story

12. Read (at least) one book per month

13. Make donuts 

14. Save money

15. Take a road trip

16. Go camping 

17. Visit a new state

18. Don't buy any new clothes (for the entire year)

19. Maintain the current in one-out one policy for everything in the home

20. Host a dinner party

21. Have a lemonade stand with the kids

22. Build a snow fort

23. Memorize scripture

24. Grow more produce

25. Bring a neighbor cookies

26. Take a community ed class

27. Swim in a lake

28. Conquer an old fear

29. Forgive people

30. Read the bible every day

Seems doable, right? Guess we will have to find out. Yay, 2015! And p.s. 2014, you haven't been so bad.

when things don't go as planned

I can admit, our decision to move halfway across the state was a bit rushed. It really felt like the timing was right! Andrew's job had relocated, we had found the perfect new home, and had a lot of interest in our current home, meaning it would be easy to sell. But things didn't work out that way.

I've been sort of contemplating how to even phrase it all... the series of events that led to this moment. There's not a lot to say. The timing wasn't right. God had something else in store---something very unexpected, and very challenging.

We took my 19 year old sister in and began to work with her, not really knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Now she has left, and is, hopefully, going to truly begin her life, free of the past.

The story is long. Emotional. Painful. And still a little too fresh to dig into. We are praying for her, and trusting that all of this---all of the changes, dreams put on hold ... all of the sacrifices---were for her benefit. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him.


More soon.

Minnesota State Fair

Yesterday night, I took Eve to the Minnesota State fair. I have brought her to the fair three, maybe four times before? But this was definitely the first year she enjoyed it. She's finally old enough to participate in things! She wanted to go on pretty much every ride in the midway, but has, like, 20 more inches to grow before that's going to happen. She also wanted to eat pretty much everything there, and it was fun having her decide what she wanted to spend her money on. We bought this giant ice cream after being at the fair all of ten minutes. Priorities! Sprinkles! My friend Heather accompanied us to the fair, and while we were walking around I realized we actually met at the fair 5 years ago. So we had a little friendiversary moment.

A few more photos after the jump.

our independence day

Elliot woke up early (like, really early) and I decided to just stay up with him. Of course, he is already back to sleep and I'm alone now but... blog post!

Yesterday we went to my grandparent's house in Stillwater, MN for the evening. Their house is my absolute favorite place in the world. My grandparents are in their mid eighties, and aren't sure how much longer they will be able to stay in the house, so I am over there as often as I can be, just absorbing as much of the place as I can. I never really thought I would have children of my own running in that back yard. It's a great feeling.

We all had dinner, sat out on the deck and just talked all night... nothing fancy. The kids ran around, my dad set off a lot of fireworks (he is kind of the biggest kid out there), and Eve was loving it. She held a sparkler at one point, but that was about it. Eve is a very delicate creature. Doesn't like to be sticky, doesn't like to wear anything that isn't a "ballerina dress", ... we butt heads. A lot. But man, I love that kid. She lights up a room.

Being at my grandparent's place made me feel really excited to move to the country. I actually kind of wish we could move into their house. Having moved around so much growing up, I don't really have a place I consider 'home', so I guess coming back to this place during the summers & whatnot is sort of the closest feeling to home I know. My grandpa built his house with his own two hands---people just don't do that anymore. He is pretty incredible. Who knows, maybe that is a possibility? It's definitely worth praying about.

Hope you all had a happy 4th of July!

xo

life lately

just a few photos of our summer, so far.

Our summer days have been filled with ruffly swimsuits, evenings at the playground, bunnies in the backyard, and other things. So far, so good.

P.S. Those buns are brioche, and the recipe is from the fauxmartha. They are TO DIE FOR.