Peter and Rebecca Bradshaw

I thought I would give you an update on each of my children.

My oldest daughter, Becca, has now been married for three years! 

I just love knowing that she is being well taken care of by her husband, Peter.

Peter is working for the Coast Guard in New Jersey.

He has had quite a year of training and duty in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, Becca's year was filled with schooling as she was training to be 

a massage therapist.

She graduated the first week of January and promptly started working

for a local chiropractic clinic. 

Both Peter and Becca are always working on staying healthy.

They are always learning and exploring new ways to incorporate 

whole foods and natural remedies into their lives.

It has been so much fun to converse with Becca as she learns about 

essential oils, homeopathy, foods, etc.

The only problem is that they live on the other side of the country from us.

We are very thankful for FaceTime which allows us to chat via video.

Miss you, Becca!

I Love you both!

~Mom

~Heather

Africa

For the past couple of years we started giving our family one big gift instead of small individual gifts.  

We still buy them a book for their own personal library and the pajamas continue to be a yearly tradition (really the only time they get new pajamas!) along with stockings on Christmas day.

But, as for individual gifts?  

A family gift is much easier on me, the shopper. 

It is usually something big that we could not otherwise justify spending money on.

The family gift is usually something that will make family memories which last a lot longer than a toy!

This year we bought tickets to go see the broadway version of

The Lion King.

It was playing at the Orpheum in San Fransisco during the months of December and January and so I bought us seats in the Mezzanine and enjoyed a night on the town.

So, why the picture of rice at the top of this post?

That is no ordinary rice!  

That is a traditional Liberian (actually well known throughout West Africa) dish called Jollof.

My recipe is a variation of a few different online recipes that I have found for Jollof.

It is mainly rice that is added to a simmering pot of tomatoes, veggies, spices, and meats.

Very easy to make and very good when I tell you what makes it so beautifully orangish-red.

But, first, let me tell you what we liked about The Lion King!

The Lion King was not my first choice.  I really wanted to take the kids to see Wicked but it is so 'popular' (pun intended!) making the price to see this musical way out of our budget.  

Did you not get the pun?  Well, visit here and find out what I'm talking about!

So, The Lion King was our next choice and Foley and Brown Sugar in particular really wanted to see this musical.  

Have you heard about it yet?  Have you seen the pictures of the animal puppets?

AMAZING!  

That pretty much sums it up.

I walked away from the production having an appreciation for the art of puppetry.

These actors and actresses not only sang and danced, which is hard enough, but also had to move around with a puppet attached to them.  

The sets were beautiful and very African.  

Of course, the experience of taking BART under the bay to San Francisco and walking up to the street level and seeing the Orpheum marquee is quite fun in and of itself.  

Enjoying the architecture of the old building is another treat.

But, when the stage fills with 'animals' of every shape and size and you hear familiar music you can't help but get excited and be amazed at the artistry before you.

I like themes.

I like staying within a theme and creating a fun event for my family.

So, I was looking for all sorts of creative ways to keep the African theme going for our special trip.

I tried to find some African restaurants but we have a limited budget and 

with the cost of the tickets and BART we decided to forego spending money eating out.

So, I made a big pot of Jollof rice and as a snack during intermission we had dried mangos and bananas. Plantains would have been preferred but I couldn't find any already dried.

Here is the recipe for the Jollof.

By the way, I use Red Palm Oil from Liberia.  

Here is a link to Tropical Traditions where you can find out more about the benefits of this particular oil.  Red Palm Oil is a rare (in the U.S.) but beneficial oil.

So, if you are wanting to add a healthy supplement to your family's diet please go and read.

JOLLOF

2 lbs cooked meats (chicken, fish, smoked pork, shrimp, or a combination)

1/4 cup Red Palm Oil

1/2 cup yellow onions, finely chopped

1/2 tsp fresh ginger

1/4 cup Red Palm Oil

1 16oz can diced tomatoes (at least 2 cups)

2- 6oz cans tomato paste

2 quarts water

1 Tb salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 thyme

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 cups white rice

5 cups chicken stock or water to cook rice in

Sauté cooked meat in 1/4 cup of Red Palm Oil

In a 4 quart pot saute' the onions, peppers, and ginger in a 1/4 cup of Red Palm Oil.

When onions are soft add tomatoes and simmer for five minutes.

Add tomato paste, water, salt, black pepper, thyme, crushed red pepper, and meat.

Simmer for twenty minutes or longer.

In a 2 quart saucepan cook rice in stock until tender.

Combine meat sauce with rice when rice has cooled a bit.

Add seasoning if needed.

I will add that the fish really adds a wonderful flavor to this dish.

I made it with chicken, fish and bacon combined for my meat choice.  

Such great flavors.

Obviously, for our family, all of the above were organic.  

It was not hard to find all of these ingredients although Red Palm Oil isn't just something you find on the shelf of your local grocery store.  

Your health food store might not even carry it!

Before we brought Foley and Brown Sugar home we met a Liberian woman who lives in our area. 

She made us a Liberian feast and used Red Palm Oil in almost every part of her cooking.  

She said that when they are not using it for cooking they boil it down, cool it off, and use it as a moisturizer for their skin.  

The shelf life of Red Palm Oil is pretty much indefinite if it is kept in a cool, dark place.

I am still using some from six years ago! 

It has a very interesting odor to it and is an orangish-red color.  

I hope you will try it out sometime...it is a great way to add some spice and color and vitamins to a dish.

~Heather

Merry Christmas!

~Heather and family

Irish Lamb Stew

I buy lamb at least once a month now.  After doing some research I found that 

Australians only sell high quality meat. 

"100% free-range Australian Lamb is all-natural, grass-fed, pasture-raised and free of artificial additives and hormone growth promotants—a pure product of its pure environment. Lambs graze on natural Australian grasslands throughout their lives. (If a regional drought occurs, local feeding may, by necessity, be temporarily supplemented with grain, usually wheat and/or oats until the drought is alleviated.)" - -from the Meat & Livestock Australia website

In our area, Costco carries lamb boneless roasts and because lamb is so tender it is easy to cut into smaller chunks and freeze for multiple meals or cut up for recipes like the one I made last night.

It just seemed like the perfect day to make a stew and this Irish Lamb Stew was easy to put together without heading to the store for extra ingredients.

The lamb is what gives this stew its great flavor.  

Here's the recipe!

Irish Lamb Stew

1 1/2 Lbs of sliced bacon, cut into small pieces

 (I ONLY use Applegate bacon because it is not only nitrate free but also their hogs are fed organic feed so no GMO corn!)

4-5 lbs of boneless lamb, cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup all purpose flour 

(I didn't substitute this with almond flour to make it GF but I will probably try that in the near future)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 large onions, chopped

1/2 cup water

4 cups of beef stock

(I do not have the ability to get organic beef bones and so I rely on Organic Beef Better Than Bouilion that I purchase from Costco) 

2 tsp white sugar 

(of course I didn't use anything but organic Cane sugar...need you ask?)

6 cups of diced carrots

6 potatoes, cut into bite size pieces

2 tsp of dried thyme

3 bay leaves

1 1/2 cups of dry white wine

Place bacon in a large, deep pot or dutch oven.  Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.  

Remove bacon from pot.  Add onion and garlic to bacon fat and sauté until golden.

Combine flour, salt, and pepper and then toss with lamb until coated.

Add meat to the pot and brown.  

Remove meat and onion mixture.

Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup of water.

Add meat and onion mixture back into the pot with bacon pieces, beef stock, and sugar.  cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Add carrots, onions, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and wine to pot.  

Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Please note that stew just gets better and better as it sits on the stovetop.  

Just keep it warm and you will notice it thickening.  

And the flavors are enhanced as it "brews".

This recipe makes twelve nice size bowls of delicious eating.

Hope you enjoy this good-for-a-cold-winter's-night stew.

~Heather

Tis the Season

A friend on Facebook stated in her status that she had just watched 

"White Christmas".

This started quite a dialog with much of it being shocked friends encouraging her to keep on the journey of enjoying holiday films.  

I grew up in a home where old films were valued for their content and creativity.

My mom still collects old films and loves to show us her latest finds.

She has an overwhelming collection of greats all stored in silver colored boxes.

Each movie has its place in her catalog of films.

My mom is my credentials when it comes to recommending older movies.

I come by my love for it naturally and have also passed down that love to my daughters.

(I'm sure my boys like them as well!)

I thought I would share with you my top ten Christmas must see classics.

This will not include newer movies that we watch yearly but good old-fashioned 

black and white lovelies.

These are in no particular order...

1.  Christmas in Conneticut

2. Shop Around the Corner

3.  It's A Wonderful Life

4. White Christmas (this is in color but it still is a classic)

5.  Holiday Inn

6.  It Happened on Fifth Avenue

7.  Miracle on 34th Street

8.  Holiday

9. Bells of St. Mary/Going My Way

10.  The Bishop's Wife

We have a few holiday traditions that include some of the movies above.  We always watch #7 on Thanksgiving weekend.  

Our Christmas Eve celebration ends with #3...a great movie to remind us to be thankful going into Christmas morning. 

And while I'm wrapping presents I enjoy #9 every year.

If you are a Facebook kind of person, our friends the Wintons have created a page called 

Inspire:  Rediscovering Classic Family Films 

where Randy and Lisa give details about films that you might want to share with your family.

So, do you have any to add?

Have you seen all the above?

You have 23 more days to find and enjoy before times up and your Christmas movies have to go back into storage (that's if you play by the holiday rules...who made them up anyway?)

~Heather

From My Kitchen

The rain is pouring, the hot cocoa is simmering, and the music is lightly playing in the background.

And, best of all, I am in a blogging kind of mood!

My mind is spinning with all kinds of writing possibilities.

While I was contemplating what to write first I was enjoying a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie that I had made for the family.  

I love to cook (put up with baking) and thought I would share with you some of the delicious foods we have been enjoying.  

I'm not an original sort of gal...no Martha Stewart or Ree Drummond here.  

But, I do like to experiment and with our change of diet around here I think that some of you might find some of these recipes useful....and hopefully, good tasting!

 Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

1 cup of kefir or plain yogurt

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 medium fresh or frozen banana or 2 pitted dates (we like the dates!)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup of walnuts or pecans or almonds

3 1/2 Tbs sweetener of choice (we use maple syrup)

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup ice cubes (adjust to reach desired consistency)

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

We make our own dairy kefir.  Every other day we blend it up with either organic strawberries or the organic mixed berry bag at Trader Joes.  But, having this option has been wonderful for the autumn/holiday season.  Hmmmm...that gets me thinking.  Maybe an eggnog kefir smoothie for Christmas?  I say yes!

I also roast my own pumpkin.  Yes, it can be a long process but the pumpkins are such a bargain when you cook them up yourself and roast the seeds.  Those seeds are expensive and yet such a great afternoon snack.

By the way, this shake is so stinkin' good for you!
You get the additional probiotics that the kefir adds to the recipe and then you get magnesium, zinc, protein, and Omega 3 oils when you munch on pumpkin seeds.
And, don't forget the vitamin packed pumpkin itself.

You should feel good while drinking this yummy drink.

So, I've set a goal for myself to share with you one recipe that I have successfully experimented on per week.  I promise not to share my flops!

Let me know if you try the above and if you like it!
~Heather

Food!

I like to eat.  Who doesn't?  But, over the past couple of years I have decided that I would rather forego eating if it isn't good quality and good tasting.  A food snob?  Maybe.  

About this time last year I had some blood work done.  That blood work showed that I had some major inflammation going on and I was quite deficient of certain vitamins.  My Doctor asked me to consider a gluten free diet since there are some links between gluten intolerance and inflammation (if you would like to know more, please check this site out). 

Now, understand that I have been the gal who has said "The streets of heaven are gonna be lined with warm garlic bread".  The thought of giving up everything gluten would have been unthinkable only a couple of years ago.  But, when your joints start hurting and you start dealing with gut problems, you realize quickly that gluten is just not as important as feeling well.  In fact, years ago I gave up eating ice cream and sour cream because of the nasty effects on my stomach. 

This was just the beginning of our journey.  It was also about this time last year that Sweet Pea started eating table food.  I knew I wanted her to eat good, quality food so I started to do some research and watching a few documentaries.  There has been a full on reformation of our eating habits going on in our home because of all that I have learned and continue to learn.  

In a nutshell, we are not only eating gluten free but as dairy free as possible and if we do eat dairy it is raw...yes, non-pasturized and non-homogenized goodness.  Organic is usually what I put in my grocery basket.  I will buy other than organic but only if I know where it comes from.  I have spent the last year calling and emailing companies asking them what are they doing to make sure their product is not made with GMO products or that the farmers are taking care of their animals and that they are feeding them non-GMO feed.  

Here are a few of the things that we have changed in our eating habits...

1.  We only eat organic meat (exception would be when we are eating out or visiting someone else's home).

2.  The Dirty Dozen veggies and fruits are always bought as organic or not eaten.  

3.  As much as possible we eat organic.

4.  We strive to eat more veggies and limit our meat to once a week, poutry to twice a week, and seafood to once a week.  

5.  We are drinking dairy kefir and/or kombucha daily along with eating other fermented foods.

Can I just say that organic fruits and veggies actually taste amazing?  They actually taste like it came out of your garden.  And, of course, edible goodies coming out of your garden is the best for you and your pocket book. But, we also have an amazing 'free' market that supplies us with healthy, nutritious real food year around.  Organic meat is as tasty needing very little seasoning.

It does cost more...yes, this is hard on the budget.  I have cut back on how much I serve for meals.  We eat now what is considered a reasonable portion.  And, our bodies are not craving food as often...we just aren't as hungry.  Here's the deal...our bodies tell us we are hungry because it needs nutrients.  If you are eating food that is stripped of its nutrients your body is hungry more often.  When you begin to eat food that is heavy with what your body needs it does not crave as much.  

In the long run, you are paying more for the over processed food.  You are paying more in grocery bills because you are eating much more.  You will also possibly pay much more in health care costs in the long run. Your body's immune system can not handle the pressures of viruses and bacteria when it isn't given the nutrients it needs to be healthy.  It's like fueling a gasoline engine with diesel.  It looks the same and comes out of a pump that looks similar to regular gas but your car will eventually not work well and need some major help if you fill it with the wrong product.  

So, there's some food for thought!

~Heather

Les Miz or The Miserable Attendees

Buying birthday gifts for our kids seems to get harder each year. I really like consumable gifts or gifts that make memories.
Last year we decided to take Daisy to go see the Broadway production of Mary Poppins. It was truly supercalifragilisticexpial...well, you get the point!
This year we surprised the two older girls with tickets to see Les Miserables. Our little created package included taking BART (the local rail transportation) into the City (that would be San Fransisco), have a light dinner at a local French Cafe and great seating at the Orpheum.
After our trusty babysitter arrived (thank you, Amy!), we drove to the closest BART station and headed under the Bay for Union Square. Our dinner was delightful and except for a drama on the streets starring the local police and a bunch of angry pedestrians, we had a great evening. We made it to the Orpheum theatre early and anxiously awaited to hear and see the beautifully written redemptive story of Jean Valjean in musical form.
This is the 25th anniversary of this production and I can't help but think that it must have seen some changes over the years. As our culture has accepted more licentious behavior, so our different modes of entertainment have done the same.
You can probably tell, by now, that my critique of the musical is not altogether favorable. I will say though that most of the music and the performers were wonderful. This musical's dialog is all done through song. I enjoyed that...even when the orchestra and singers were not quite tracking with each other. The choral parts were absolutely amazing...full, strong chordal structure that made my heart melt from the beauty. The gentleman who played Jean Valjean had a stunning falsetto and the gal who played Cosette continued to amaze me with her high B flat while in an embrace with her beloved.
But, amidst the beautiful music was a crassness that was incredibly disappointing. The sexual innuendos were rampant and some being down right disturbing. Of course, I knew that prostitution was a part of the story but the body language during the 'prostitution' song and the 'Master of
the House' song was disturbingly explicit.
As we were driving home, I thought of how beautiful the music was and yet I had this sinking feeling...disappointment. I sure didn't feel this after seeing Mary Poppins or Wicked! The prolific use of Jesus' name, homosexual references, and crude sexual gestures left me feeling dirty as I walked out of the auditorium.
It was as if I was sitting in front of a fabulous plate of food at a Michelin rated restaurant and there is a small portion of dog poop sitting smack dab in the middle of the plate.
My husband said "As you could see, many people had a taste for dog poop." And, he was right. There was not only laughter at the crudest parts but thunderous applause. It doesn't surprise me...pagans will be pagans. Dogs will be dogs. But, I feel rather disappointed that I didn't know what was coming. There are many, many musicals that I will not ever, ever watch because I KNOW the content is not worthy of my time or money. But, man, did this blind side me. I am sure Victor Hugo would have been very disappointed.
The best part of the evening was spending it with my man and two of my daughters.

I Just Don't Fit In

Do you ever feel this way?  Recently, I have felt it more and more often.  

As Jennifer P. and I were getting our nails done we started talking about our older daughters.

Now, I am going to walk out on a limb and probably surprise some of you on either side of the aisle by saying that I don't necessarily fall into the "girls must stay home and work for their dad until they get married" group. 

I mean, really, wouldn't this be grand?  

But, is it realistic?  

My girls do not have a dad here on earth...how would this play out for them?  

And, always we must ask, is it Biblical?  

Now, let me say, I do not fall to the opposite side of this issue either.  

I am not in harmony with those who think that it is quite okay sending our young gals away to some University with the grand conclusion of bucket loads of debt and the indoctrination of feminist notions.

So, where do I fit in?  Are there others out there that feel like they are living in some kind of 

"no-man's land"?

I guess, if there was a pendulum on this particular issue I would fall a tad bit closer to the conservative side but much closer to the middle.  

I would rather my girls all stay here until they were married...in fact, that is what we ask of them.

Even if they don't understand that we are trying to protect them, we do have the practical, financial aspect on our side.  

But, if I have learned anything in the past twenty-three years of parenting, it is that I had no idea what I was talking about when my children were little!  

When my girls were little we did think that they should stay home and help their dad out with the family business and until there were gents asking to court they needed to help out their mom and other stressed out mothers in their spare time.

Now that my children are growing up and the next two are quickly becoming adults as the first have already done, I find that I have changed my tune a bit.  

I have always taught my girls to be godly wives and loving mothers.

But, I have also taught them that they should have something they can do, job wise, that would allow them to help out the family economy.

For my oldest it is becoming a massage therapist.

For Miss M it is becoming a midwife.

For Daisy it will more than likely mean putting together international touring groups or traveling with families to other parts of the world (as she will be doing this coming fall...more on that later).

I want them to spread their intellectual wings and fly away from the nest...but not too far! 

*That (but not too far) was a selfish remark based on the current situation of my oldest, Becca, living on the other side of the Continent!*

I want them to continue to learn and not just sit around waiting for Mr. Right.

I want them to grow through experiences and especially while they are home and I can help them through it all.

But, most importantly, I want them to do what God has uniquely equipped them to do.

That is going to look much different for each gal which means each family will take different approaches.

For the longest time I didn't want to tell people around me that Miss M was planning on going to school in the Philippines.  First off, she is going away to school (big no-no in the first group) and second of all she was headed to a foreign country, living outside our home for two years (another big no-no in the first group).  After a while though, I realized that this is not only what she wants to do but she has done the research and the place is the best place to learn the art of midwifery.  

Have you looked at the title of this blog lately?  You know, as I was sitting here writing the key word that came to my mind was deliberate.  

Here is another issue that shows us a great example of how to live deliberately.  

For me, living in the "no-man's land" without worry of what others might think will only happen when I continuously remind myself that every situation, every decision must ultimately be a decided deliberately and biblically.

~Heather

When One Miscarries

We were on our month long trip to Colorado when I noticed that I was suddenly free from morning sickness.   I was ten weeks along and it was just gone.

At first we were very thankful because I was dreading the long road trips ahead...hours and hours of driving while feeling yucky.

But, our thankfulness turned into prayers of protection over the baby that was growing in my womb.

A few weeks later I began to spot....nothing crazy but definitely something that made me a bit worried since this was something I had never experienced before.  

So, I went on bed rest for the rest of our trip and laid low while the family went out hiking and enjoying the many wonders in creation.

When we arrived home I made an appointment with an OB/GYN that someone had recommended.  When she performed the ultrasound she could not find the heartbeat.  But, she wanted to be sure that she was seeing things right so she sent us to the hospital where we confirmed that there was no heart beat and although I was at 14 weeks gestation the baby died around 9 weeks.  

The doctor sent me home with some medicine to induce labor.  And, on June 29th at 11pm our little baby was born.  Our baby was perfectly formed with little fingers and toes, two sweet eyes, and the mouth wide open.  It was quite amazing and really shook me.

I have been pro-life since the day I found out what that meant.  I have always believed that a baby is born at the moment of conception.  I have seen all the pictures.  I have mourned along side many friends who have miscarried before me.

But, that moment I held our baby in the palm of my hand, was life changing.  

Our baby was given 63 days of life (or somewhere around that number) on this earth.  

But, that little one is an eternal soul that will someday be given a new, perfected body.

So, why don't we celebrate that life? 

I'm not saying that we should have a full on funeral or memorial service...

but, what I am saying is that it shouldn't be such a private matter.

Our church prays for those who are pregnant...I want to ask that we add to the list those who just miscarried their child.  

It is in the face of death that we need the support of our church community, family, and friends...no matter what the age of the child.

Do we truly believe that every single conception is a child?

And, yes, I know all too well how hard it is to be vulnerable.

I know all too well how hard it is to cry in front of others.

I know all too well how hard it is to be happy for others when you have faced such a loss.

But, it is in that vulnerability, those tears, and those struggles that we find growth not just for us but for the body of believers.  

It bind the hearts of believers together like nothing else can.

~

I have eight children...one that is no longer on this earth.

I have two grand children...one that in no longer on this earth.

I am blessed...and I know it.

Another Little Blessing Coming Our Way

Lord willing, we will be adding a new Olsson to the family 

this coming December.

I'm not sure we could be more excited than we are.

The kids are equally as excited...although I don't think Sweat Pea understands the coming earthquake in her life!

She is doted on quite a bit around here so I'm not sure how she will take to the competition.

Although, she is smiling away at her nephew as he and my daughter-by-love, Carrie, are staying with us for a few days.

Anyway, there will be a special present this Christmas for the Olsson family!

~Heather

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise Him all creators here below

Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Every Sunday we sing this corporately to end our service.

I've been singing this for....forever!

This is the first song that our children learn to sing.

But, for the past few years I have been struck by the beauty of this chorus.

We visited many churches on our travels across the U.S.

There were quite a few where the doxology was sung while all in the congregation lifted their hands.

Oh, how beautiful it is to see a congregation full of young and old raising hands together while singing the above.

The words are so moving when you reflect on them more deeply.

Praise God from WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW

All blessings come from the hand of God and because of this He deserves our praise.

Praise Him ALL CREATURES here below

Now, here is the beautiful part....

we, the Church, are calling on all the creatures that God created and placed on this earth

to praise Him.

Praise Him ABOVE ye HEAVENLY HOSTS

And this? Oh, the beauty of this phrase. Now, we, the Church, are calling on the heavenly hosts to praise their Creator.

What I love about the above is the thought that all those of the Church that have gone before us are praising God with us.

This means that my late husband, my aunt, and so many others are praising their King.

The One who conquered death!

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

The Trinity...after spending a few long minutes talking to a Jehovah's Witness the other day, I find this portion of our beliefs to be so important...so foundational to our theology.

Praise Three in One!

Sing it loud, sing it often.

Repeat.

~Heather

There is a Doctor in the House!

Our Spring has turned out to be as busy as I thought it might be.

We have been on the road quite a bit...

In fact, by the end of June we will have stayed in eleven hotels!

This is Miss M's last year of debate and speech.

We told her we would try to get to as many tournaments as possible.

She is having a wonderful year debating the resolution at hand and working on her

extemporaneous and interpretation skills.

We will be headed to Nationals in Colorado Springs this June because

she is qualified for all her events.

Congrats Miss M!

We also needed to make a trip down south with Phil to

Claremont Graduate University where he was able to defend

the dissertation he finished this past January.

It took a year to write his almost 400 page book.

He was successful and so we are now able to call him...

Dr. Phil Olsson!

He has an area in his dissertation (his Aquinas chapter) that needs some revision

but otherwise has been given the distinct honor of being awarded his PhD.

The robe is being ordered for graduation and we are making preparations for

a grand celebration with family and friends.

The rest of us are just getting older (and hopefully wiser).

We are learning to live and love together.

~Heather

Four

^{Joshua 4...
20} And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. ²¹ He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ²² tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ²³ For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea^[b] when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. ²⁴ He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”

I am no Joshua. But, I am a part of a long, rich line of incredible men and women who have raised 'stones' in honor of the One who had delivered them from pain, sorrow, grief, struggles, etc.

Today marks the fourth anniversary of Eric's death. But, as I was thinking through the past four year's events I realized that this day should not just be a sad anniversary but could be, no, should be turned into a milestone to look back on and marvel at God's goodness.

Of course, building a stone altar might look a bit strange now-a-days. But, there is no reason why, in our minds, we can't pile our stones on this particular date to remind us of His wonderful right hand.
We do this a lot.
We create special dates using the calendar on our wall.
We celebrate all kinds of frivolous things along with all those important marriage anniversaries, birth dates, and holidays.
But, so much more important are those milestones that remind us of God's faithfulness.


So, here I raise my Ebenezer.
I publicly dedicate it as a monument to God's help, God's faithfulness, God's eternal covenant.
And, as we go on with our lives, the 'stone' will stand there,
visible to me as a reminder of God's faithfulness to our family.
May people always see that the 'hand of the LORD is powerful' through His working to complete in us what He started out to do in our lives.
And, may I regularly share this milestone with you so that you may rejoice with us at God's faithfulness.

~Heather

Goals

Recently, our church had a woman's encouragement day where we enjoyed a wonderful brunch and listened to a good friend of mine talk about the importance of making goals..realistic goals.
Writing down goals not because it is the first of the year and everyone makes unrealistic resolutions but BECAUSE it is the first of the year giving us a fresh start.
At first I thought "yeah right, okay, goals...my main goal is to get through each day."
But, I know myself well enough. I know that I resist implementing new plans. I actually like planning but have a hard time getting going on the said plans. Maybe its due to years of making unrealistic New Year's resolutions that I just could never keep.
I sent away from the gathering truly encouraged...and, with a long list of small goals to work on for ninety days. Yep, 90 days is doable. Then I will reassess and either add more to the list or change things around a bit.
We were also asked to find an accountability partner. This past year I was blessed with a surprise friendship. Jennifer and her family moved to the Oakdale area recently.
They all showed up at church one Sunday and while greeting them she informed me that we were Facebook friends. I thought I had recognized her!
This was our first time meeting each other but we do have a lot of friends in common.
A quick friendship developed and now she is my accountability partner.

So, Colleen, the friend who was speaking to us about goals gave us eight areas to work on:
self-care, spiritual, intellectual/emotional, relationships, life/time management, nest management, financial, uniquely you

I thought I would share with you the different goals that I made. These are goals that I am working on until the end of March. So far, I am doing fairly well.

For self-care the decisions were made for me. I had actually taken a blood test and my Chiropractor, who is now practicing Functional Medicine, gave me the results. I was severely dehydrated and lacking vitamin D and Bs. I also had other things to deal with but those I can save for another day.
So, for self-care I am going gluten free and drinking three 24 oz bottles of water a day. In the meantime, our whole family is working on eating as much organic, whole foods and cutting out sugar and refined foods. We have done this before but since Eric died it has been hard to actually care. I can tell that my period of mourning is coming to an end as I am able to manage these things now without being so overwhelmed.

Spiritual - I plan on memorizing one song from the Psalter and one worship song that we sing in our church. I have such a hard time memorizing lyrics so I want to deliberately work on memorizing Mercies Anew and Psalm 54.
My second goal in this area is to keep a prayer log. I pray a lot. When I can't sleep I pray. When I am up with Sweet Pea at night I pray. I need to pray more but I also need to keep a log of those of whom I said that I would pray for. When I say I am going to pray for you, I mean it. But, sometimes my brain does not remmber as well as I would like so the prayer log will help me in this area.

Intellectual/Emotional - Although reading is one of my loves, it is also one of those loves that most frustrates me because I have a hard time making time to do so.
Did you notice that I didn't you the excuse that I don't have time? The thing is, we all have the same amount of time in a day to creatively fill with what we think is important. If reading is important to me I will find the time. So, this goal is one I am most excited about because I am purposefully making time to read something that is educating.
This book was brought to my attention by, I believe, Dr. George Grant and it helps that it has an acknowledgement from Ravi Zacharias. The book above was written by an Indian philosopher and so far the first part of the book is dealing with aesthetic philosophy which is something I have always wanted to study.

For the emotional part of the above section I am trying to create a new habit. Every time I am frustrated I will count to ten and say a quick prayer for wisdom. This is in hopes of controlling my tendency to speak louder when I get frustrated.

Relationships - I have a lot of relationships that I need to work on continuously. But, for the next 90 days I had purposed to work on my relationships with my older girls: Rebecca, Miss M, and Daisy. I was able to spend some great time with Rebecca while she was down here for a week and I have some ideas of how to encourage her over the next couple of weeks (although I can't explain them here because I know she reads this! :).
As for Miss M and Daisy, I will be traveling with them over the next couple of months for debate tournaments. It is not easy to get one on one time with them with Sweet Pea around but I sure hope to make some milestone memories with them that they can look back on.
I have very little time with them left at home. I am telling you what...those years of high school and early twenties go by so quickly. Before you know it they are off on a new adventure and your sole communication is by phone.

Life and Time Management -I had begun making a new chore list before hearing Colleen talk about goals but I was kind of stuck in the planning stage and wasn't sure how to implement it all. The Chore chart is almost complete because of the encouragement of Colleen and others. As your kids age, you find that chore charts, lists of things to do, and goals need to change with them. Since moving to the new house I had seen the need for change but had never put it down on paper. Now I am catching up and making sure that I have chores listed for weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. And, next to them will be a dollar amount of which I will pay for these things to be done. Some of the items will be normal chores that you just do because you live in the house but we also want to encourage our kids to go above and beyond and be able to make a little money on the side. Nothing big...learned that a long time ago. Kids are happy with just enough to be able to save for something big or use to buy their favorite gum. A worker is worth his wage though so we try to be fair.
The second thing I am working on under life and time management is making better use of the children in helping maintain the house.
With the birth of this newest one I have found myself more frustrated with the inability to get it all done. It has been five years since I last had a little one in the house and I had gotten use to getting so much done. Well, baby doesn't let me get as much done...this means I have time to work on management and encouragement skills with my children. This is good!

In the area of Nest Management I have been lacking. But, then Pinterest came into my life! Pinterest is this amazingly fun way to keep and organize great ideas. I have been doing this manually for the past twenty years....instead of keeping magazines I would clip the idea out of the magazine and file it away for future use. Pinterest is the same thing except it is digital AND I don't have to have a special box to store all the info. Yes! So, now I have all kinds of great ideas stored online and guess what...it's inspiring me to make my house more of a home.

Another area that I am working on is creating new memories, new traditions for my new family. Of course, I need to keep some of our old traditions for my older girls but I need to create new ones for everyone. So, I'm trying to come up with unique birthday ideas and other creative ways to make memories with my new family. I know the value of having years of memories and how it helps solidify families.

Financial - I rarely even looked at the finances before I became a widow. That means that for two years I have learned the hard way how to manage our finances. I highly doubt that my oldest daughter and son had much training so I have a goal of helping my other children so that they know how to manage a budget, how to deal with extra expenses, and how to work credit to your advantage. I am not an expert but I just don't want them to have to such an uphill climb. My goal for the next 90 days is to work with Miss M and Daisy.
Secondly, I plan on passing the financial stuff to Phil. It is one less area that I need full control and one less thing on my plate means more time to work on some other project.

So, in the Uniquely You category I decided to spruce myself up a bit. First off I have made a commitment to always have make-up on and have my hair done when I go out of the house. I have kind of let this area of myself go ever since I got pregnant. Well, no more! And, honestly, I like it when I have my hair done, my eyebrows waxed, and my make-up on. The toes, well, the toes will have to wait until the warm weather comes and I begin to slip on my flip flops again.

And, last but not least, I made a goal to complete a photo album for 2010. For our wedding I created one of those online photo albums and the results were amazing! I love it. So, I was inspired to create one for each year putting the best of the best pics in from that year. I am starting with 2008 but decided to work on 2010 before the end of March. Sad to say, this goal just might not get done but it will have been because I got more important things done.

There you go. You now know more about me than you probably wanted to!
I hope this post encourages you to make some goals for yourself.
~Heather

Merry Christmas...um, I Mean Happy New Year!

Yes! I am actually writing on my blog!
In this new year I have so much to be thankful for.
I look around me and see the beautiful, warm, cozy home that I live in and give thanks.
I sit at the dinner table and look into the eyes of each of my children and my loving husband and thank God for His bounty.
When I wake up with my husband on one side of me and our beautiful 11 month old on the other I praise my Creator for His sovereign plan.

This past Christmas season saw a continual busyness that I have still not learned to like.
I personally to stay home....unless I am traveling.
I have always enjoyed getting out on the road but I dislike the busyness that sometimes can creep into the lives of moms who school the children at home.
I did try. I did try to slow things down and enjoy a few moments reading books with the kids on the couch. And, we even worked on our Jesse Tree project.

I thought I would share some photos of my attempts in decorating.
This year we bought little, fake trees for each child so that they could decorate the trees the way they wanted. It has been fun to see each child's creativity come alive.
Miss M is using some of the old favorite ornaments with a silver and red theme.
Daisy is as funky with her tree as she is with everything else in life...orange and other bright colors along with old favorite ornaments.
Foley has decided to collect beer caps and wine corks. He came up with all kinds of creative things to make with both and then added some baseball stuff to his tree.
Brown Sugar and Sweet Pea share a tree and it is decorated by me! I have all these fun stuffed hearts made with the fabric of my old dresses and these cute shaped felt ornaments that my mom made for me years ago. Added to that are some snowflakes and some red hearts. It has a Mary Englebert flavor to it just like their room.
This meant that the family tree would finally be the way I have always wanted the tree to look. It is white and red in flavor with snowflakes and red tin stars and red beads and white lights.
I love it...I so enjoy sitting in front of it in the evening and just think about life with no other lights on except the white twinkling lights.
Ah...pure delight!

I have found Pinterest! For the past four years I have done very little in the way of crafts. I gave up quilting because of my eye sight. I gave up on scrapbooking because of how time consuming it is.
I do still knit because it is a great stress reliever and I can take it everywhere I go.
But, it was Pinterest that stirred up those creative juices again.
So, here is my attempt to decorate with little time on my hands.
It was refreshing...it made our house more like a home.

My mom started the tradition of making stockings for me and my siblings when we were young. She has kept up the tradition by making them for all of our spouses and children. The only problem? They are so big that it is hard to fill them!

I have wanted to complete Anne Voskamp's Jesse Tree Journey for the past four years. I bought it the Christmas before Eric died. He had been in the hospital the month before and so I really didn't do much with it that year. I have not been able to do it since. Last year I tried but I allowed our schedule to get to booked up. This year I worked harder to make it happen...even with a very needy baby.

Thanks to a friend of mine, we used some peach branches for our tree. We did get about half way through the book. Next year we will get all the way through it.
What I loved about this year was that I made new traditions, gave placement to my decorations, created a homey atmosphere for this big house.

My daughter, Miss M is quite the photographer. She has made a little business out of it and is doing quite well. She has been the assistant photographer at a few weddings and has taken quite a few family groups. Well, our family was one that needed a new family photo and here is the collection.

Love this one of Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea has a proclivity to tearing our lips off with her death grip.

Brown Sugar is growing up...sniff, sniff! She is a very precocious six year old. Thankful that she is showing reading readiness...this girl needs something to do and I believe that reading will help her with her adventurous spirit and keep her away from the scissors!

Foley is such a handsome young man. Learning some hard lessons lately but man, that smile just gets him through so much boyhood craziness! Foley still loves to bike around, skateboard and if we had the money he would be the best dressed kid around! He has great taste in clothing (although he didn't think it was cool to have his shirt tucked in for this picture!).
He is a great reader and has more friends than he knows what to do with. I believe he is going to be an amazing young man with a powerful voice wherever God places him.

Daisy is as funky, quirky, sweet, and loving as ever. This girl can get down on the level of little ones so easily...she reminds me of her dad when she does this. I love her adventurous spirit. Part of that spirit is what drives her to learn Spanish, French, and ASL all at the same time. She wants to be able to speak clearly with when she travels the world.

Miss M is ready to face all of lifes darts. She is an intelligent young woman who can't wait to tell you all about this years Debate resolution (it happens to be on Federal revenue generation) or why you should vote for Ron Paul. She is still looking at all the possibilities of becoming a midwife which I hope she will be successful at...she has only dreamed of being one since she was a little girl!

Phil has officially, as of last week, finished his dissertation. He now has to prepare the bibliography and a small conclusion. He should get the rough draft of the last chapter back this week so that he can work on it and get it sent to the editor.
A defense of his dissertation is what is next on the list of things to accomplish before he can walk the aisle for his PhD. Yep, come this spring we can all start calling him Dr. Phil!
I am trying to keep up with everyone. Sweet Pea has turned out to be a high needs baby. She has no physical problems that we know of but she just does not like to be very far away from neither her mother or father. Its just in the last month that she has finally attached to her sisters giving me some breathing space and a chance to get back to shopping without it taking all day!
Between debate season, errands to run, homeschooling, and a house to keep up with, I am one busy momma. I love it. I love my life.
I thank God for this incredible journey that He has seen fit to set me on.
And, I am incredibly thrilled that I actually got this post done...even if it is an hour past my bed time! I hope I can keep journaling my journey for you and for my family this next year.
~Heather