Now You See Him...Now You Don't

P.K. has been gone off and on since early May. He came home last night after three weeks away only to pack up and leave today for four more days. What a tease. I don't think I have ever cried when he has left before. Today I did. I was standing in the driveway thinking about crying. He was in his car, ready to drive away. He stopped and got out to give me one more kiss good-bye. I couldn't say anything because I was trying not to cry. I'm not sure where the emotions came from. I have told him bye before. Too many times to count, in fact. I've even seen him off more than once while pregnant and very hormonal without shedding a tear. I've been home alone with three children who were only 4, 2 and newborn! We have done months apart. This is only four days. I guess I'm just tired from too many restless nights, I woke up with a slight sore throat (Aaron and Hannah have colds. I guess they want to share) and I'm a bit stressed over the upcoming move (Watch for a post with more details once we have them firmed up. That is really what has me stressed out. Not the actual moving part, but not having details. We are experts at the actual moving part.). I really don't need intervention, so don't worry. I just needed to vent for a minute. I have friends who have watched their spouses leave for war zones, not knowing when they will be back. I think I can pull it together for four days. Enough venting from me. I am going to go get busy with the kids. But first I will leave you with a couple reunion and departure pictures.

Hannah ran out to meet P.K. at his car. He looks so sharp in his uniforms although the whites are my least favorite. To quote a line from my favorite movie, A Few Good Men, "Nobody likes the whites." I think I will watch that tonight once the kiddos are down.
And he's off...

Kumbaya

Is church camp music more contemporary these days or do they still sing Kumbaya? We will soon find out. Rachel left for church camp this morning. She will be gone for four nights and I can hardly wait for her to get home and give us every detail. She was so excited. She was up and dressed by 6:00 a.m. We didn't have to meet the other campers at our church (which is only 2 miles from our house) until 10:15. This is a picture of her this past weekend when we were setting out all of her stuff to pack.

I was given the privilege of helping to drive the girls to camp. It was fun to see where Rachel will be staying. Actually, the way it worked out the thirteen girls from our church who are attending camp this week road in the fifteen passenger van.

I drove their luggage.

All the parents prayed over the kids before we left for camp. I know that isn't all that unusual, but the way we did it was awesome. The parents held hands and formed a circle, but instead of the girls being a part of the circle they stood in the middle. My friend and I recently completed a Bible study called Joshua and the Call to Live Victoriously by Faith by Jan Wells. The study included lessons on the Armor of God found in the sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians. Ephesians 6:16 says, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." The following is a quote from the study.

"While Paul was kept imprisoned in chains he saw many Roman soldiers and the armor that the Roman Empire supplied for their soldiers. The Roman shield was a large, oblong or oval piece of leather-covered wood, often backed by metal that was designed to protect the soldier from arrows. The arrows were often tipped with a substance that could be set aflame. In battle, soldiers often fought while standing side-by-side forming a 'wall' of protection because the shields were made to interlock with each other."

It is a slightly frightening thing to send your oldest child off to camp for the first time. Her protection and safety have of course been high on my list of prayer concerns for the week ahead. Isaiah 49:15-16 has been a great comfort. It says, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." God is not going to forget my child. During the times I began to feel a bit anxious the past couple days I would remind myself of that fact.

As we were driving to camp, I couldn't help but feel a bit anxious about leaving Rachel. I don't have an actual picture of the prayer circle because I was a part of it, but God gave me a mental picture of not just one momma but 13 parents gathered in a circle with their spiritual shields linked together forming a wall of prayer surrounding their children as they prayed for their safety and spiritual growth this week. You can bet I had peace from that moment on.

Balloon Art

We ran into a balloon artist today. I think I was just as amazed as the kids watching her twist and manipulate the balloons into whatever the kids requested.

Aaron chose a wasp. The balloon artist thought for a minute and said she didn't know how to do a wasp, but she could make a bee. She had special balloons with black tips for the stinger. Then she tied black balloons around the body to add the stripes. She said she use to draw the stripes on with a marker, but the stripes would come off on the child's hands. I appreciate that.

I was a bit puzzled when Rachel requested a guitar. She doesn't have a passion for guitars, so when we got home I asked her why she requested a guitar. Of course, Hannah Montana.

Hannah has a love for all creepy crawlies, so I wasn't surprised when she requested a butterfly.

Jammin' With Jody

A couple of my followers (let's face it a couple is a good percentage of those who actually check in on my blog) have requested my strawberry jam recipe and any tips that worked for me.

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled (enough to make 4 cups mashed berries)
4 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process any unsealed jars in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

My bloggyland friend, Kristy, requested any tips or helpful suggestions I learned from my first jam making experience, so here are some things that may help out any newbies.

-The recipe says to use a saucepan, but I used a large pot as you can see in the pictures from that post.

-Some people use pectin to help thicken the jam. I think it makes it too thick. If you make sure it reaches 220 degrees when you boil it, it will thicken to a nice consistency. I purchased a candy thermometer at WalMart. I don't remember exactly how much it cost, but it was probably less than $5.00.

-Sealing the jars-I don't have a canning processor or bath canner which is basically a large pot with a rack to hold jars in place. Once you fill the jars with your jam, you will need to put on the lid and ring. Then you place them in the hot bath to properly seal and preserve. The water should cover the jars. Boil them for ten minutes. I used my largest pot I also do not have a jar rack which keeps the jars off the bottom of the pot and prevents breakage. I placed extra jar rings on the bottom of the pot. This worked well.

-While your berries are cooking, bring the jars to a boil to sanitize them. Place them in the large pot you are going to use to seal them. Fill the pot with water to cover the jars. The jars should be filled with water as well. Keep them hot until you are ready to fill them with jam so they don't break when the hot food touches them.

-You will also need a small pot to use to heat the lids. You can purchase a jar lifter which is a long stick with a magnet on the end. I found that my regular tongs worked well.

-I did not purchase jar tongs. I will before I make jam again. These come in very handy when placing the already hot jars back into the water bath to seal them. And they are even more helpful in removing the jars from the water bath. I used regular tongs and a pot holder which was rather tricky. My friend said you can purchase these at K-Mart.

-I also purchased a canning funnel. It has a large mouth that sits right in the mouth of the jar. It made filling the jars a breeze. Again, I purchased this from WalMart for not too much.

-Once you have processed the jam, let it sit overnight. Be careful not to bump or drop as this may break the seal. You can make sure it has sealed properly by pushing on the middle of the lid. If it is firm it is sealed. If it gives, it is not.

-I was asked if making my own jam was cheaper than buying it. If you grow your own berries it is cheaper once you make the initial investment for equipment. Otherwise, I probably spent what I would have on jam/jelly on berries. For me, this was a fun project to do with the kids. I am big on traditions. This is one we will do every summer as a family to create memories and have a fun activity to look forward to each year. The kids loved giving away our finished product and our neighbors were excited to receive it. If we were to do this at Christmas time or save the jars we made for gifts it is much less expensive than buying presents. They would be great gifts for teachers or neighbors.

Something for Aaron to Journal About

Hannah came downstairs today and announced that she was ready to have her ears pierced. My mom was in town this past weekend and had bought Rachel some new earrings. One pair happened to be butterflies. Hannah is crazy about butterflies. When she asked Rachel if she could borrow them, Rachel told her she couldn't because she didn't have pierced ears. So she decided it was time. Rachel had her ears pierced at 10 months. She was the first child and I had time to take care of her ears. P.K. and I decided with Hannah we would wait until she asked.

I am helping Hannah decide which earrings she would like to have. When I got my ears pierced about 20-25 years ago (that makes me sound really old), my choices were gold balls or silver balls. Her choices included birthstones, gold or silver balls of many different sizes, diamonds (real and not so real, actually the real ones weren't an option because I'm not buying her real diamonds) and the ones she chose which are flowers. Each petal is a different colored stone. I am showing her my diamonds in this picture. P.K. bought me diamond earrings several years ago and those are all I wear now.

Hannah is having her ears cleaned.

We took her favorite blanky. She is waiting patiently for the second employee. I had them do both ears at the same time.

Rachel told her if she made this face, it wouldn't hurt as much.

1...2...3...

She was so brave. Didn't even shed a tear. When we were leaving the mall she said she would remember this day forever and asked Aaron if he would write about it in his summer journal. Too precious.

We Be Jammin'

Well, not that kind of jammin', but we did make some delicious homemade strawberry jam. A friend and I bought some fresh strawberries from a local fruit stand this past week. We talked about how it would be nice to make jam. She had done it before. So I went back the next day and bought more strawberries and last night the kids and I made jam. I have some memories of watching my grandmother make jam and my mom and grandmother canning vegetables, but I still needed to do some research. Thank goodness for the internet. Once I had all of the equipment and ingredients together the process was much easier than I had anticipated. That isn't to say it wasn't a long process. The only thing I would do differently is finding a place to pick our own strawberries. We made two batches last night and we have enough strawberries to make one more batch today. We will be adding this to the list of family traditions. Didn't I feel like June Cleaver, Martha Stewart or Caroline Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie) watching my kids have toast with homemade (can't say that enough) strawberry jam for breakfast this morning. Another great summer memory.


Mommy hulling the strawberries.


Hailey measuring the sugar.


Hannah mashing the strawberries. I read that using a blender is much easier, but I knew the kids would really enjoy this step.

Rachel mashing the berries.

Aaron stirring the berries. We did a lot of stirring.

The berries boiling. There was a lot of boiling.

The finished product after putting it in jars and going through the proper sealing process. A couple have a bit of foam on the top. That won't hurt anything, but I will make sure to skim that all off the next time.

The kids are excited to make some deliveries to the neighbors this afternoon.

Frog vs Toad

We headed outside one night and my niece found a tiny little frog or toad hopping near a bush. The kids started finding more and more. We grabbed Hannah's bug catcher so we could observe them more closely before setting them free. I have searched several websites trying to identify our particular catch, but have not had much success. However, I think they are toads. According to my research, toads are not as slimy as frogs and their skin is more bumpy. I have found more criteria on which I can base my decision, but I will have to wait until we catch some more so I can observe in more detail. I am open to opinions (all three of the opinions from my vast readership). When we let them go, we counted forty-two. The kids have been talking about looking for more frogs. They have even spread the word and invited friends to come hunting with them. I know I've mentioned it before, but I love when they are so taken with God's creation.

The little spot by Hannah's hand is one of the toads.

*** No toads were harmed in the process of capture or release.***