Tuesday: Winter! Snow storm with enough snow in the back yard to make footprints, then lots of rain, then thunder and hail.

Wednesday: Summer! 65-degrees, and I’m ready for it with my new swim-suit!

I am playing with some new looks for the blog . . . so it could very well change several times in the next few days!  Although I love the picture I had as a header, it was taken almost a year ago and Matthew has changed a lot since then!  I’m having trouble finding the right picture to use as a header – so any feedback would be welcome!  . . . . and if anyone is really good at this kind of thing, I would love some help!!

Update:  To hear us tell Matthew’s story, go to the West Side Baptist Church website.  Click on “Sermons,” then click on “hear audio” for the January 18th sermon titled “Drifters.”

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Yesterday was National Sanctity of Human Life Day, a day, declared by President Bush, set aside to “recognize that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world.”

We had the honor of sharing Matthew’s story during church services yesterday.  It went very well, and was well received and appreciated.  Matthew did his part by putting on a great show while we were talking – waving, smiling, doing his “Soooo Big,” and doing everything he could to grab the microphone!  During the second service, the congregation broke out into applause when I talked about his miraculous healing.  Matthew knew everyone was clapping for him (because, aren’t they always?), and clapped right along.  It was great.  Afterwards, many people expressed their appreciation to us, and of course, stopped us to say just how CUTE Matthew is!

This week, I want to share some more posts regarding the sanctity of life.  For now, here is the full text of President Bush’s proclamation.  We have appreciated so much having a leader willing to stand up for human life.   As a new administration takes office, the fight for life is going to need more warriors, a united front, and renewed strength.

National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

We had a really nice Thanksgiving holiday.  My brother and his family came to stay with us Wednesday and Thursday, and my parents joined us on Thursday as well.  We had a fun visit, with lots of time to play, relax, and catch up.  We kept the meal simple, but good and filling as always!  Ham in my over-sized crock-pot, Mom’s twice-baked potatoes and rolls, Salad and relish tray, Homemade applesauce, Mom’s homemade cranberry sauce . . . topped off with pumpkin pie, cookies, and brownies!  Mmmmm!

We certainly had a lot to be thankful for this year.

However, with 7 children in our house, age 8 and under, there were some “Unsolved Mysteries” over the holiday.  Anyone want to try to help me solve these??

Mystery #1:

Who made this mess?!

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Mystery #2:

We suspected there were monkeys here . . . is this proof?

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Mystery #3:

How does Aaron quietly entertain 6 kids?

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Mystery #4:

What’s in here?

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Mystery #5:

Why do my nieces always remind me so much of their aunts (of corresponding birth-order)?

Mystery # 6:

How does a baby go from this . . .

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. . .to this . . .

. . . in just one short year?

Thank You, Lord, for Your Mysterious Ways!

We have had a whirlwind of activity lately, but things have finally calmed down.  As Micah is fond of saying, ”Pheuf!”

The decision of “what’s next?” for our family has been weighing heavily on Aaron and I for a long time now.  We hoped to find the right place for Aaron to practice medicine after residency, in the right location for our family, with the right financial compensation.  Our worry, of course, was that these things would not all fall into place, or that we wouldn’t agree on what was ”right.”  Our prayer was that God would make things very clear for us, leading us to the place He wants us to be.  We were really hoping that another difficult, stressful decision would not need to be made.

Our prayers were answered once again!  God did make this decision easy and clear.  (You would think that, by now, we would have learned to trust God, and not bother with all that worrying . . .)  Aaron has accepted a position with the St. Mary’s Physician Group in Walla Walla, WA.  He will start August 3rd, 2009.  We are both very excited about this, and eager to start shopping for our 1st house and planning for our move.  We’ll be taking 6 weeks off between residency and starting the new job, and are very much looking forward to some relaxing family-fun time.

We had a lot to be Thankful for this week, and I’m looking forward to sharing more.

Just in case you need a last-minute dessert for your Thanksgiving meal . . .

I served this dessert, which received many compliments, at our the company dinner that we hosted last Tuesday.  Many people asked for the recipe, so I thought I would share the recipe and directions here:

Start with a recipe for Apple Bundt Cake that you tasted at a friend’s house.  Have your dear friend write it down for you, and scan the ingredient list before going to the store.  At the store, realize that your dear 3-year old managed to get in the car without shoes on.  Oh well, he can shop in his socks today.  Pick up some OJ, along with the rest of the groceries for your dinner.  Then, realize that you don’t own a bundt pan.  Stop by Value Village to look for a used one.  No bundt pans, but they do have a used pressure-cooker for only $15!  Resist the temptation to buy yet another kitchen item that would only be used once-a-year or so.  Go look at the kid’s shoes so you won’t have to be (as) embarrassed in the next store.  You’re in luck!  They have a nice pair of gently-used hiking boots in dear toddler’s size for $5.

Head across the parking lot to Linens ‘n’ Things going-out-of-business sale.  Get distracted by all kinds of other really neat kitchen goodies *on sale*!  Again, resist the temptation to a) buy yourself something right before Christmas, and b) buy more kitchen gadgets that would only be used a couple times a year.  You’re in luck, though!  They have a very pretty bundt pan *on sale*!

Return home.  Finally get two boys in bed, and clean like crazy! You have lots of people coming tomorrow! When kids wake up, figure out something for dinner.  After making, serving, and cleaning up dinner, have your 3-year old “help” you make the cake.  (He’s really good at fetching apples from the garage!)  It turns out it’s a little more involved than you  planned, but it looks like it will be a beautiful cake.  Pop it in the oven.

Mmmmm.  It smells really good, and the top is perfectly golden-brown.  Let it cool enough to touch.  When turning it out on the counter, accidentally dump it all over the place, so it lands in one big crumbling heap instead of the nicely shaped pretty ring-of-fancy-cake.  Resist the temptation to cry – it’s just food.

Ok, now gather yourself together.  Good thing you just cleaned the counter.  Scoop up the mess and put the whole thing into an ordinary 9×11 baking pan.  Finish the crumbling job by breaking up any big pieces.  Call Becky desperately for her caramel sauce recipe.

Look back at the recipe, and notice that it says, “cool for at least one hour.”  The way it was hand-written, it was hard to tell if that part came before or after the “turn cake onto rack.”  Hmmm.  Next time try letting it cool longer.

Shortly before your company arrives the next day, pop the 9×11 into the oven on “warm” for about 45 minutes.  When it comes out, drizzle the caramel sauce over the top.  Serve with a smile.

When dinner is over and guests have gone home, collapse from exhaustion.

Here are the recipes for you to enjoy!

Apple Cake:

• 4 medium apples (1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 5 T. plus 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon (plus a little extra for the batter.)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup Vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
• 1/4 cup Orange Juice
• 1 T. Orange Zest
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 3 cups Flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• Preheat Oven to 350.  Grease a 12-cup Bundt Pan
• Mix the apples with 5 T sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.  Set aside.  Combine 2 1/2 cups sugar with eggs, oil, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Blend on medium.
• Measure dry ingredients, sift, adn add to batter.  shake in a little cinnamon.  Beat until blended.
• Spoon 1 1/2 c. batter into bundt pan.  Top with half apple mixture.  Cover with another 1 1/2 c. batter, then top with remaining apples.  Mix apple juices into remaining batter, and spread batter on top.
• Bake until top is golden and tester shows moist crumbs (about 1hr, 15 min to 1hr, 25 min).  Cool 15 min in pan, loosen edge.  Cool for at least one hour.  Turn cake onto rack. Dust with powdered sugar.

Becky’s Caramel Sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup brown sugar
• Melt everything and stir together, then boil 3 minutes.

We’ve been very busy these last couple weeks!  Here is a quick overview:

-We hosted 3 big events at our house:  a dinner for Aaron’s work, a “Discovery Toys” party, and Micah’s 3rd birthday!  It was all fun, but exhausting!

-Matthew started pulling himself up to a standing position.  Like most of his other motor skills, he tried it out in the bathtub first.  Saturday night, Aaron was giving the boys a bath, and I heard, “Aaaaammmyyyyyy!”  Thinking it was the usual bathtub disaster, I rushed in to help clean things up, but instead found Matthew standing up, holding on to the edge of the tub!  Aaron said, “He got there all by himself!”  Since then, he has pulled himself up on many other things – he especially likes the laundry basket and Bubbi and Papa’s hearth.

- We left for Spokane after Aaron got home from work on Wednesday.  He interviewed Thursday, and we had an area/housing tour on Friday.  We enjoyed staying at the luxurious Davenport hotel for 2 nights, then came to Aaron’s parents house for the weekend.

We are still in Spokane, and will enjoy an early Thanksgiving dinner with Aaron’s family tonight.  I’m not on my usual computer, so I don’t know how to change the orientation on a couple of these pictures.  I thought I would include them anyway, and can fix them when we get home.

Blowing out the candles

Licking the frosting off the candles is the best part!

Jack enjoying his cupcake

Monday morning, wearing birthday jammies and playing with new toys

My dad gave us some fun new cookie-cutters.  When Micah opened them, he immediately wanted to make cookies.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time for that, but I was able to make his quesadillas into fun shapes for lunch.  That will do until we have some cookie time. 

Not cookies, but a fun lunch nonetheless

 We had a lot of fun staying at the Davenport hotel in Spokane.  We finally got a much-needed evening to relax and have fun as a family.

You see a big, fancy shower . . . I see a place to make funny faces!

Both boys loved the pool!

Swimming at the Davenport

That’s all I have time for now!  We’ll share more soon!

A couple quotes from G.K. Chesterton.  His words speak so clearly to the issues of today, it is hard to believe he was born in 1874.  (Thanks to Shannon and Nami for sending the quotes!)

“Tolerance is a virtue of a man without conviction.  Conviction is the state of being convinced.  If there is no truth that is ‘more true’ than any other ‘truth,’ then there is no truth worth defending.  If there is no truth worth defending, there is no room for conviction.”

And . . .

“Every one of the popular modern phrases and ideals is a dodge in order to shirk the problem of what is good.  We are fond of talking about ‘liberty;’ that, as we talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good.  We are fond of talking about ‘progress;’ that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good.  We are fond of talking about ‘education;’ that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good.  The modern man says, ‘Let us leave all these arbitrary standards and embrace liberty.’ This is, logically rendered, ‘Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to decide it.’  He says, ‘Away with our old moral formulae; I am for progress.’  This, logically stated, means, ‘Let us not settle what is good; but let us settle whether we are getting more of it.’  He says, ‘Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education.’  This, clearly expressed, means, ‘We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children.’”

If you have others, please feel free to share.

I have recently added a lot of links to my sidebar, so I thought I would let you know what they are, and why they are on my site!  (It feels like I’m introducing you to my new friends, and in some cases, I am!)

By the way, anything that is written in red anywhere on this blog is a link you can click on.  It’s not the conventional underlined-in-blue, but that’s the way this blog design does links.