Family Night

With my husband working long hours much of the time, several months ago (under the guidance of a friend) we instituted Family Night.  Oh, how the boys LOVE family night. 

On Wednesdays, everyone must be home by 1800 to enjoy supper together.  We reminisce about the days events at school and at home.  Everyone must say something good and something bad about their day.  During supper, we have The Luthi Family Jar.  This jar contains many questions that everyone has to answer.  They range from, "if you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go" (Noah responded, "to Tokyo," and Abram said, "to work on the farm") to "if you had a million dollars, what would you do with it."  It is very interesting to hear what the boys, including dad, have to say to these prodding questions.  The way their minds work is so fascinating.

This has become a sacred night to the boys.  They look fore ward to this night all week.  When I pick them up from school on Wednesdays, the first thing out of their mouths is, "Tonight is family night!"  They chit-chat the whole way home in the back of the car about what we should have for supper and what we should do.  Should we have steak or grilled cheese or cheesy potatoes?  "Abram, would you like to watch a dragon movie?"  Noah asks, gently persuading his little brother.  When we arrive home, they hurry to get their homework done while I begin to make supper.  It is an exhausting night, but completely worth it. 

 

This is a night that the boys will remember for the rest of their lives. And maybe, just maybe, if they have their own families, they will institute a Family Night for their children.

 

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind,"  Dr. Seuss.

A Family Gathering

What is life without family?  I am not just talking about our spouses and children.  I am talking about our family members that live far away, that we rarely ever talk to (but are really only a phone call away.)  These people are also important people in our lives.  Our aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents that help to mold us into the people that we are (or show us the people that we do not want to be.)

This weekend we had a large birthday bash, at our house, with Aaron's entire immediate family (and a few extras.)  All in all, there were over thirty people gathered to celebrate "Fall Birthdays."  This is nothing new.  We are used to the noise and chaos that comes with such a large family. 

Amidst all of the disarray, I felt truly blessed to be a part of such a large family.  Even when the phone rang (and all eleven children were running through my home, screaming, with helmets on their noggins and guns in their hands) and I could not hear a single word that the receptionist at Gillette Children's Hospital was saying, I sincerely felt blessed.  Because not everyday do we get to enjoy the company of all of our family members gathered together.  Not everyday do we get to talk and laugh and eat with everyone we love.  Not everyday do we get to see our mother-in-laws dressed up like this:



This is going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

 We were lucky enough to attempt to get all of the grandchildren together to try a picture (all nine of them are under 11 years old...)



I think that this picture says a thousand words.

Whatever the occasion and however difficult it may be, it is important to gather the people that we love.  Because our days are numbered (kind of a grim thought, I know) we need to show the important people in our lives that we love them every chance that we get.

 "We love because He first loved us-"   John 4:19



"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family-" Anthony Brandt

Conquering Fears

If there is anything on this beautiful planet that I loath the most (more than world hunger, war, sickness) it is round steak.  UGHHH...oh how I dislike round steak.  I would rather eat leather or maybe that would be comparable.  When I cook round steak, I have to beat it to a pulp because it is SO TOUGH and grissely ( is that the right word?)  You beat it, marinade it, slow cook it, and it is still tough to chew.  Who invented round steak anyways? 

But, I found a solution to this ongoing problem of disliking round steak.  We had to find a solution because when we order A COW we get a never ending supply of round steak (yuck!)  So, anyway, my genius solution (which housewives centuries ago figured out, I am sure) was to cut it up into cubes and pressure cook it.  It sounds so simple (and genius) but there is only one problem, I have a profound fear of pressure cookers.  In the past, my husband has always pressure cooked all of our canned goods that could not be hot water bathed.  But, now that I am a farming widow, I cannot wait for my husband to "get around to pressure cooking."

So, I will conquer my fear and do it myself.  I man handled the pressure cooker out of its cozy cupboard and set it on the counter.  It stared at me everywhere I went.  It was stalking me with its eyes (I know it sounds psycho but that is how afraid I am of pressure cookers.)  But there was more work to be done, the round steak was ready to be butchered again.  I cubed it and stirred up the ingredients.  Then I placed them gingerly into the quart jars.  I reread the pressure cooking manual and followed all of the directions exactly.  It is like carefully building a bomb.  A huge bomb, on my stove, with my little ones snuggled in bed upstairs.

-----Pause for a panic attack----- 

I added the three quarts of water and a dab of white vinegar to the bomb.  Then, carefully placed the quart jars inside the belly of the beast.  Next, the lid slid on without a problem and locked into place- CLICK.  Oh crap, it's time to start.  The bomb is ready to be detonated.  I carefully turned the burner on and the process began.   

I stared at the pressure cooker for 20 minutes with a dishrag in my hand and knots in my belly.  Then the gauge started to gain pressure...5 lbs...7lbs...10 lbs...12 lbs...Perfect.  The cooker was singing its praise.

It worked, it really worked.  Forty five minutes passed and nothing exploded.  Nothing caught fire.  I did not have to call 911.  I conquered my fear.  And with this fear, I actually have something to show for it.  Tender round steak that I can use all winter long in soups and casseroles.  My husband will be proud.

"Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something"- Frederick Smith

A Fridge Isn't a Fridge Without a Fire Helmet

Abram has always had an obsession with refrigerators.  When he was small, he was kind of a crabby baby (that is a topic for a different post.)  I noticed early on that whenever we were in front of the fridge, he calmed down. So, in a futile effort to keep him calm, I would stand in front of the fridge with him snuggled in my arms.  This sounds weird, I know.  But, when you have a crabby kid that cries A LOT you will do just about anything to help him calm down.  Even, if it means standing in front of the fridge for hours, opening and closing the door to see the light turn on and off.  We would look at the rainbow of different colors and shapes on the shelves.  He would quietly think to himself, "If only I could move...I could crawl into the fridge and help myself."  While, I rocked him in my arms he always felt more peaceful.  And, to this day, he still has an obsession with playing in the fridge.

This is Abram when he was almost 2.  He would "scoot" over to the fridge, crawl in it, and take everything that he could reach out. 



It always seems like Abram is looking for buried treasure or a surprise treat.  He is never disappointed when he is rummaging through the fridge.

So, this morning when I opened the fridge, this is what I found:


Notice the fire helmet



There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure.- Mark Twain

Fun Fall Projects

Keeping two boys occupied on a frigid October day is not for the weak of hearts.  Their attention span is...ummm...two minutes on a good day.  So, to solve crappy weather dilemmas, we have to come up with projects that are simple but fun for a 4 year old and an 8 year old to do together. 

Noah and Abram like to do EVERYTHING together.  They sleep together (they do have their own bedrooms but choose to sleep together) in a twin sized bed, they shower together, watch movies together, eat together, and they play really well together.  They are best buds.  This is something that I hope they never lose because their relationship is very special. 

So, we filled a morning with making Scary Ghosts.

We started by cutting up old dish towels...

...and turned them into Scary Ghosts...

...which we then hung them outside in the tree (which I am sure that our conservative Apostolic neighbors loved.)

There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother.

-- Astrid Alauda



The Fall Sun

It is a lot of work trying to get decent photos of the boys outside.  It took a lot of coaxing to get them to cooperate to go out into the frigid morning air to take some "fall photos."  Noah, who has always been a negotiator, said, "Alright, you have 15 minutes."  I am so glad that they gave me 15 minutes because it will last the rest of my life.

Happy fall!

Home-Grown Goodness

We are very fortunate, here in the Midwest, to have fertile soil and close knit families. Gardening brings our family together in the spring, summer, and fall.  And as ridiculous as it sounds, we begin gardening in the winter by starting seeds in our home.  It serves as a science projects for my boys.  Then, when the time comes in the spring we usually plant our delicate seedlings in the soil.  Usually, our seedlings end up dieing and we purchase new plants anyway. 

We have been completing the cycle of planting, growing, tending, and preserving our bountiful vegetables and fruits for many years.  Today, as I was making supper, I pulled cauliflower out of our packed freezer. It occurred to me...why in the world do I preserve all of this food?  Our freezers are packed with farm fresh meats and produce.  Our pantry is like our own Luthi Family Grocery Store.  Our basement storage area is packed with a myriad of shelves full of canned goods that I personally canned.  Why do I do this?  I spend hours, weeks, and months in front of the sink and stove making spaghetti sauce, salsa, glazed carrots, and countless other things.  I cut my fingers, burn my hands, and hurt my back hunched over the delicate work of skinning tomatoes, dicing onions and peppers, peeling carrots.  Is it worth it?  Groceries have never been a burden on our budget.  Why do I put myself through more additional stress?

The process of turning freshly picked produce from our garden....

...into something that takes hours (sometimes all day) to cook...

...and turn it into some delicious that will last our family at least an entire year...

...is very rewarding, addicting, and stressful.

I look at my children quietly playing (two young boys quietly playing...it occasionally happens) with their toy farm equipment on the living room carpet.  They are busy planting and combining make-believe corn and beans.  Then I realize there is a simple answer to my question.

A wise old Book reads, "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment."

I guess that is the answer to my question.  And, I have learned a very important lesson by being the only girl in our house.  The key to a boys heart is a home-cooked meal.  That's it, that is all my boys ever want.  It is as simple as that.

"You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients."
-Julia Child