A Quick Recipe

I am not a food blogger but I have had several requests for Grandma Bernice's Strawberry Salad Recipe.  My husband loves this recipe because it is reminiscent of those days when they had cattle.  Every time they loaded/sorted cattle, grandma Bernice would make this recipe.  Keep in mind that she never measured out anything and used what she had on hand.  So, you could make many variations of this salad.



So here it goes...

(It is also in the Apostolic Christian Cookbook---page 42.)

Strawberry or Raspberry Salad

2 pkg of Tapioca pudding
1 small package of Jello (Any type of red Jello will do---raspberry, strawberry, whatever)
2 1/2 cups water
10 oz strawberries or raspberries
8 oz light whipped topping, thawed

Combine pudding, Jello and water.  Cook over medium heat until thick.  Chill 1-2 hours. Then add berries and whipped topping.  Chill again prior to serving.

Variation:  I have also layered this in a trifle bowl...layering whipped topping, angel food cake, grandma's salad and so on ending with whipped topping and garnishing with fresh berries.  It is a beautiful and delicious summertime treat!

Have a great weekend!

Decisions Decisions

Life is full of decisions.  What am I going to make for supper?  My hopes for making a new recipe of  pot roast and garlic potatoes were foiled by an alarm clock that did not sound, a mom that did not get up early enough after a night shift.

BLT's. That'll do.  Grandma Bernice's strawberry salad.  A never fail recipe.  Even better.

Grandma Bernice's strawberry salad...mmm...good to the last drop!

Those are easy decisions. 

Do two moms brave taking four kids to the zoo? What if those children were itching from lake itch---well, only two out of the four were still itching and borderline miserable---do you still go?

Does the other brunette blogger cancel plans to sit at the lake on a beautiful day?  One of the few beautiful days that we have had this summer.  Well...heck yeah!  Nothing is going to stop these girls.

 

Who would have thought that this beautiful lake was infested with parasites waiting to burrow into our baby's flesh and complete their life cycle?  Who. Would. Have. Thought?

My grandma used to tell me that when you are young, you have little decisions...little problems.  Then, you grow older, the problems get bigger...the decisions get bigger. 

When Aaron was in the hospital and I had to decide if I should take him home or stick him in a rehab facility, it seemed like such an easy decision.  Even though it was one of the biggest decisions in my life that I had to make on my own, there were absolutely no questions in my mind.

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A decision that I have been struggling with for the past year is whether or not to stay at the current hospital that we doctor at for Abram.  I believe in continuity of care.  That is one of the blessings of working at a small town hospital.  Everyone knows everyone.  You cannot get the care that we offer at a larger facility.

Abram knows his doctor and his PA and he loves his TLSO specialist.  But, is that facility the best place for my son?  Is he a little boy to them or a science experiment?  Lately I have been feeling like he is more of a science experiment.

Wrestling him back into a back brace routine has shown me that we need a place closer to home that we can have adjustments made to his brace.  No more four hour car rides one way to sit for an entire day in an office having adjustments made to his TLSO.  We have braved this path for three, almost four years and I feel...well...just done with this path.

It was almost as if a light was shined on the answer for me. One event lead to another and then...as quick as a snap of my fingers...everything had been arranged to start Abram at a new facility. 

But it was a huge decision.  Will Abram be treated well?  Will the new people that we will be dealing with actually listen to us?  Instead of driving four hours...two will be the maximum.  And I think that this decision is what is best for my son and for our family.  This is best for us at this point in our lives.  His first appt is in August and I guess we will see if this was really the best decision.

I will write my worries in the sand and let God take care of them.

Aaron

I know that I am a little late to post a blog dedicated to Aaron for Fathers Day but this weekend was busy and I did not get a chance.  So, here it is...

Noah, Abram, and I badgered Aaron to tell us what he wanted to do on Father's Day.  "It is your day and we can do whatever you want to do!"  He was kinda quiet about it at first but finally spoke up and this his how he chose to have us spend his day... 

First we he mowed the lawn...then tilled/weeded the garden...then fertilized/mulched the garden...picked up his brush mower to mow the brush by the creek in our back yard...then bike rides...then work work work work.  Yep.  That is his dream day.  Working.  Sounds like loads of fun---I know.

But, it honestly and truly was an amazing day.  Aaron, Noah, Abram, and I worked side-by-side all day.  And we could not have gotten as many tasks completed without the help of our boys.  There was minimal fighting and complaining and parents noticing a big change in the boys from last year. 

It is crazy to me that the guy who I met in our little local grocery store parking lot is now my wonderful husband and one of the best dads that I know.  Our wedding vows have held true, keeping us strong in good times and bad...sickness and health.  The most trying time for him has been the past six months.  Since his accident---being broken and then repaired. 

He has made miraculous leaps and bounds in the past six months.  Defying the odds.  Proving doctors wrong.  Getting back on his feet.  Having to relearn life and adapting to a new normal.  Our old normal is now a distant memory.
   
 

Aaron is not only my husband but also my best friend.  He is my partner and I will always be by his side.  He was my rock and now I am his.  I honestly feel that God brought us together.  To be life partners. 

Photo taken by Cassie.

Happy Father's Day!  We love you!

(Happy Father's Day to some of my other favorite dads---Grandpa Dan, Ryan, Caleb, and to my own dad who I hope is watching from above.)

Broken

Our family is something like a typical boring nuclear family...I think.  Aaron and I have been married for eight---almost nine ---years and in that time we had our two children, two dogs, and an assortment of cats of which we have only managed to keep one alive.  I think this all sounds pretty darn normal.  We have had our share of trials and tribulations but we have never EVER spoken of the "D" word...Divorce.

My niece, Annika (the only niece that I will ever have from my side of the family) stayed with us for a few days and it was almost like a culture shock for me.  She is from the city and is very...ummm... citified.  What I mean by "citified" is she is nine years old (Noah's age) and has a cell phone that she texts on constantly. She also has a Nintendo DSI and if I allowed it, she would be glued to 24/7.  Her life is pavement with traffic noise constantly.  A faster pace than what we are used to.  There is no digging in the mud for worms or rock pickin' in the field or goin' for tractor rides or searching for birds nests for hours on end... Her life is locked house doors and car doors, computers and video games, after school programs and constant activities.

Annika can sit and read books for hours on end.

A topic that we have tried to be very open with our children about is the fact that Annika's mom and dad are divorced.  Our kids see the way that she is pulled from one household to the next.  She lives out of suite cases and cannot wear the clothes that are from her dads at her moms (they have a lot of stupid rules.)  Noah and Abram used to ask lots of questions about the custody of Annika.  Why do people get divorced?  Do her mom and dad love each other?  Did they ever love each other?  Noah went through a stage that with every little disagreement that Aaron and I had, he would voice fears about us getting divorced.  But their questions and comments have simmered with time and maturity into understanding.

I just cannot imagine living the way Annika and her parents live!  Sometimes when I look at her, she just seems so broken.  Like her parents, who can barely be civil to each other, have torn her into two pieces.  This is her everyday life.  Squabbling parents.  Listening to her dad continuously complain about her mom.  Living by a judges order of when she can be with which parent.  It is really sad.

~~~~Now, I know that everyone has their own life's circumstances and over 50% of the population are divorced.  I am just saying how this affects my niece.  I am not trying to pass judgement on anyone.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

But she seems to have adjusted well considering this is the only way of life that she has known.  And although it is not a way of life for my family, I continue to try to have understanding why they chose this for themselves.

Anyway, in the time that she had here...with our normal family...we tried to include her in some of our normal family activities.  Like going to parks...

Or just having a lazy day and vegging out in the grass...

You cannot tell by this photo that the boys were just beating on each other moments before laying in the grass.

By the end of her adventure of staying with us (we shared her with grandma Pat) she usually asks to stay longer.  Once she even asked me if she could live with us.  She brings such joy to my boys and is such a blessing to have around.  But, I know the life that she is returning to.  I just pray that she has strength while she gets pulled from one place to the next.  I hope that she does not get too broken.

Piles of Things

Piles of Fabric...

It has been many months since my mom and I have spent any time alone...just her and I.  But when she gets something in her head, I reckon it's stuck there until the task is complete. 

Her new favorite past time is quilting and I will have to say that she is getting really good at it.  So, she requested that just her and I take a day and go on a fabric hunt to try to find quilting fabric to make me a quilt.  Off we went in her little cruiser to several different towns, quilting stores, and vintage shops with the hopes of finding fabric that would fit my dreams of having a modern-vintage style, light gray, and butter-cup yellow with a splash of red quilt.

Now, I know nothing about fabric...cotton is cotton to me.  I can pressure cook some mean round steak or can a wicked jar of spaghetti sauce but Lord help me to sew on a button.  But mom has been at this quilting hobby for long enough to guide us through.

We happened to stumble across a table cloth that was PERFECT in a little vintage shop.  Then we built the rest of the fabric palette off of this amazing table cloth (I never thought I could fall in love with fabric.)  How lucky could we be? 

At the end of our excursion, mom's cruiser was full of piles of fabric...a good start for making a king size, butter cup yellow and light gray with a splash of red, vintage-modern quilt.  I will try to continue to post her progress with this insane project as the months go on.

Piles of Bikes...

"Let's go for a bike ride mom.." my kids have said over and over during the past few months.  They love to ride bike.  But I am not the most athletic person and I simply do not have the drive to be.  I work out enough to feel healthy...and...well that is about it.  A walk here, a stroll there, squats while picking up toys----yep----that is about the end of it.

So, time after time I have given them the same excuse to not go on a bike ride---"I do not have a bike."  How easy is that?

The thing about excuses is that sooner or later...a person is going to run out of them.

Especially when the husband is on a health kick and surprises me (in front of his entire family) with a REALLY nice bike and a trailer bike. 

Abram hits everyone up for a bike ride.  We have been diligently going for bike rides everyday.

So, now I do not have any more excuses looking at the piles of bikes that now grace our garage.

Piles of people...

Last weekend we hosted my brother-in-laws graduation party at our house.  I worked...literally...for three days preparing for this event.  My mother-in-law was too flustered to even function.

There were salads to make and places to clean and tables to set up and yadayadayada.  It was a lot of work.  But I love my brother-in-law, Braden, so it was worth it.

As a last minute ordeal, we ended up having my favorite brother-in-law and sister-in-law (Ryan and Heather) stay with us (this includes their three children.)  It was so much fun that I was really sad to see them go.

 My sister-in-law, Heather, makes the most amazingly delicious cakes.

This weekend our lives were filled with delicious cake, loving family members, and piles of people coming and going to and from our house.

Ahhh...brotherly love!

I am not usually the type of person to keep piles of things around but, these piles of things are priceless to me. 

"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life."-- Richard Bach

Preschool Graduate

Last week my boy graduated preschool!  Yah! 

You have to understand that this was a huge endeavor for him.  He literally cried for the first three...maybe four...months of school.  And then, one magical day, I recieved a phone call from his teacher.  "Abram is having a good day."  She will never know what those words meant to me. 

So Abram went from a potential preschool drop-out to a graduate.  Equipped with a cap and everything!

Now, our summer begins.  I will have to say that I am more excited than ever to spend the summer with my boys.  Our winter/spring has been rough and things are looking up.  Thankfully kids are very resilient.  But I am also very nervous for this summer because the boys have an endless amount of energy.  Like, I wish I could harness their energy and use it to fuel the entire planet Earth.  There you have it----no more energy crisis. 

Or, selfishly, I wish that I could abduct a portion of their energy for my own personal use.  Imagine what I could accomplish in a day!

But, unfortunately I am unable to solve one of the largest world problems (energy crisis) and I haven't invented a machine to transfer energy....yet.  So, I am working on ways to reign in their energy and channel it into anything that is useful. 

On top of our own little energy crisis (to much energy and not enough outlets) Noah---who is also a third grade graduate but is way to old to have a graduation pic taken of him--- declared that he only wants to participate in swimming and piano this summer.  Last summer I think he was in too many things and got a little burnt out.  He  is currently more interested in other hobbies like rollar blading and bike riding and he has been helping out his dad a lot.  So, I was agreeable in him only being enrolled in two formal things this summer.  Plus, we love to go to the beach and to parks and to the pool.  If the weather ever cooperates, we will still have a busy summer.