My daughter heard someone talking about apple pie on the radio over the weekend, so we had to make a homemade apple pie… crust and all… and boy-oh-boy was it delicious!  Everyone must do this sometime – the easiest pie to make with just apples, a little flour and sugar, some cinnamon and nutmeg, and there you are.  Yummy!  We all enjoyed it, and Autumn had a blast rolling out the dough for the crust.  She’s such a big helper!

Then we got the bug for homemade potato chips during the OSU game (GO BUCKS!!!)… so I sliced up a bunch of potatos very thin, deep fried them (gasp – yes I deep fried them, and they were GOOD!), then separated them out for different tastes.  We sprinkled plain salt on some, chili powder and salt on some, a mix of garlic and onion powder on some, and yes, some cinnamon on others (um, yukky).  The gang decided the overwhelming favorite was the garlic and onion ones, so I finished off the batch with just those.  We all finished them off while watching the Bucks clean up and get another victory!

Autumn loves to cook with me, and I let her help doing everything from “spilling” (pouring) the ingredients into the bowls to operating the buttons on the food processor.  We’ve decided her big gift for Christmas will have to be a deluxe kitchen set so she can learn to bake and cook homemade like mama!  She’s very excited to ask Santa for a kitchen.

Ah.  Nothing better than baking with the whole family and then snuggling on the couch together to enjoy the results!

http://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2008/11/fabulous-fragonard-giveaway.html

I keep forgetting to give a shout-out to the wonderful artist and owner of Mother Art.  Susan is truly talented.  I ordered a beautiful “mother and breastfeeding child” pendant from her a few months ago and haven’t taken it off since.  I receive so many compliments on it – I supposed I should have her send me some of her business cards so I can ensure people can get connected to her!

Anyways, thank you Susan, for your fantastic work, and I hope you continue to share your art for many years to come.

http://michellemalkin.com/2008/11/14/ayers-on-gma-putting-the-unrepentant-in-unrepentant-terrorist/

I suggested yesterday on Fox that those families should be offered equal time to rebut Ayers’ self-whitewashing.

Here is equal time:

Sergeant Edward J. O’Grady Jr.
Nyack Police Department
New York
End of Watch: Tuesday, October 20, 1981

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Tuesday, October 20, 1981
Weapon Used: Rifle; Automatic
Suspect Info: Paroled in 2003

Police Officer Waverly L. Brown
Nyack Police Department
New York
End of Watch: Tuesday, October 20, 1981

Biographical Info
Age: 45
Tour of Duty: 15 years
Badge Number: 19

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: Tuesday, October 20, 1981
Weapon Used: Rifle; Automatic
Suspect Info: Paroled in 2003

Peter Paige, Brinks security guard, killed October 20, 1981

Sergeant Edward O’Grady and Officer Waverly Brown were shot and killed by heavily armed members of a domestic terrorist group, the Weather Underground, who had just robbed a bank and were attempting to escape. The suspects had just murdered an armored car guard and wounded two other guards before loading themselves into the back of a rental truck to be driven away by accomplices. The truck was stopped at a roadblock manned by several Nyack officers.

One of the female occupants in the cab of the truck told the officers their guns were making her nervous. Thinking they had stopped the wrong truck, the officers began to holster their weapons. Almost immediately afterwards several of the heavily armed men exited the back of the truck and opened fire with automatic weapons, fatally wounding Officer Brown and Sergeant O’Grady. The suspects fled the scene in different directions but were all eventually apprehended and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. One of the suspects was paroled in August 2003.

A suspect convicted of killing Police Officer John G. Scarangella of the New York City Police Department, was a prime suspect in the murders of Sergeant O’Grady and Officer Brown. When he was arrested for the murder of Officer Scarangella, he was in possession of a gun linked to the murders of Sergeant O’Grady and Officer Brown. That suspect was never charged in these murders.

Sergeant O’Grady was a Vietnam War veteran. He was survived by his wife and three children.

The Weather Underground was also connected to the Black Liberation Army, which was responsible for the murders of at least one dozen other police officers throughout the country. The Weather Underground is believed responsible for the unsolved bombing murder of San Francisco, California, Police Department Sergeant Brian McDonnell on February 16, 1970.

The Black Liberation Army was a violent, radical group that attempted to fight for independence from the United States government in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The BLA was responsible for the murders of more than 10 police officers around the country. They were also responsible for violent attacks around the country that left many police officers wounded.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2008/11/17/081117crbo_books_acocella

Will the child be permanently affected by the fate of the hamster? Did he touch the corpse, and get a germ?

As children explore their environment by themselves—making decisions, taking chances, coping with any attendant anxiety or frustration—their neurological equipment becomes increasingly sophisticated, Marano says. “Dendrites sprout. Synapses form.” If, on the other hand, children are protected from such trial-and-error learning, their nervous systems “literally shrink.”

As for children’s safety, Honoré makes what will no doubt be the controversial recommendation that we stop fretting about it.

Allergy rates in children are rising throughout the industrialized world. Honoré blames this on oversanitized environments

Reason #72 why I love a big family. 

Only two more weeks before we prepare for the trek to visit the relatives.  My wonderful husband has six brothers and sisters, all married, all with children.  Some with grandchildren.  Add to that close friends of the family, their spouses and children, and anyone else that happens to be invited, and we have quite a gathering at his parent’s home.  We ready for the nearly three-hour drive with pillows, books, handheld games, DVDs, coolers, thermoses, and snacks, then head out in the mid-morning for a drive.  Mama always has to drive, it’s a control thing – I think hubby likes being the passenger, he can engross the kids in driving games, help with the baby, or just read by himself and enjoy the relaxation. 

When we arrive with our clan and our contribution to the feast, we’ll be greeted by dozens upon dozens of joyous faces.  The hugs take an hour to complete, catching up will take all day.  Pictures will be taken, games will be played, football will be watched.  We will all gather in the huge kitchen (yes, we manage to fit, somehow!) for a prayer, and line up for the bounty.  The children will grab their share and dash to the lower level, where tables are set up around the video games and board games, and they can be as loud and as silly as they want.  Adults will light wherever an available seat is – and often move several times during dinner to talk to others and catch them up to date on their lives. 

We’ll gather later to watch the teens play some ball in the yard, or wander over to a neighboring home (a sister or brother’s home, several live close together) to see a new litter of kittens or a new rabbit.  We may take a walk down to the barns to see the livestock, or just to walk off some dinner.  The countryside is so calming, so beautiful.  The girls love watching the cows and horses roam the grassy hillsides.

The noise, ruckus, and chaos is music to my ears.  Never have I seen so many people in one place (that wasn’t a movie theatre!) so happy, so full of love for each other, so pleased to share this holiday, or ANY day, together with the ones they cherish.

 

Someday I hope to be Matriarch of my own chaotic holiday celebration.  I can envision hours of cooking, then the start of the children arriving… Brett lumbering up on the porch with his wife and five children (this is what mama wants!), Justus with his wife and only child, Autumn and Ayla proudly carrying their babies in slings with their toddlers afoot.  Husbands bringing in the crockpots and platters with food, children toting bags of toys.  My brothers and sister will arrive with their family, their dishes, and we will spend hours laughing and joking and loving. 

What else in life matters as much as family?

 

Ah… back to current day.  Then we will do a headcount of our own children late in the night, gather our belongings and head back home.  Why?  Well, mama can’t sleep in another bed except her own!  Every trip “down home” requires a morning trek and a nighttime trek – I have no problem with the drive, I love to drive.  And it’s always nice to wake up in the morning in our own home.   The children can sleep in, while I make a big breakfast feast like I do every weekend, and our day can begin anew right here, laughing and cherishing our little branch of the huge family tree.

 

http://jamesparmis.blogspot.com/2008/11/harvest-always-comes.html

We will always reap a harvest on what we sow.

 

http://jamesparmis.blogspot.com/2008/11/set-blessing-in-motion.html

Give, and it will be given to you.

Than a 3 year old trying so hard not to cry, when her little world is turned upside down…

Autumn came out of the bathroom yesterday with her bottom lip sticking out, tears welling in her eyes, and that sweet puppy dog look that makes a mama melt… after she ran over to throw her arms around me and sob, she told me that

“Ayla put my crayon in the potty!!!!”

This is one of the moments a mom has a hard time with – it’s so cute and sad and a little funny, and I have to resist the urge to chuckle, because I know Autumn is truly devastated.  So I told her it was okay, we could get it out.

She said no… “I peed AND poopied and I flushed already!!!!!  *Sniffle sob sniffle!!!!*  And it was my GREEN ONE!!!!”

After I assured her that we had plenty of green crayons, and proceeded to get them for her, her little world was again restored to order.  Tragedy over.

Ah.  Just as I was seeing an end to the sibling battles with her big brothers, I just had a picture painted of what my future holds in store with two little girls, much closer in age, and much more sensitive! 

Lord knows my life is anything but boring.  And I wouldn’t trade it for the world, no sirree.

This week was probably the last beautiful mild week we are going to have here in the Midwest, so I took advantage of the fall weather and got the girls out to the park for some pics… I guess the next photos will be snow ones!  Yaay!!

 

 

 

© 2008, photography by sandra

• You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

• You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

• You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

• You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

• You cannot build character and courage by taking away man’s initiative and independence.

• You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

• You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

• You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

• You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

• You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves.

http://the-conservative-underground.blogspot.com/

 

In case you were wondering, these pearls of wisdom were written by a man who saw them in action before our time. William J. H. Boetcker was born in Hamburg, Germany in 1873. He is well-known as one of the first motivational speakers, regarded as a forerunner for Tony Robbins. He was also a Presbyterian minister, and regularly used his morals and values as solid frameworks for his political ideas. He gained a reputation as a conservative speaker when he published the above “10 Cannot’s” in 1916. You may recognize them from Reagan’s 1992 Republican Convention speech.

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