King Family

Feeding The Freezer

First of all, hellllooooo........I have been asked by a few people about updating the blog.  I really have no excuse, time just seems to get away from me.  I will try to do better about keeping you updated about life around the King home.

We have been reminded by a few of the children that if we were going to Indiana for Thanksgiving we would be leaving this day, if we were going to Indiana for Thanksgiving, we'd be at Aunt Beth's right now, etc. etc.  We are trying to make plans for being around here for the Thanksgiving holiday.  One of the pluses is that we have more time than we usually have to prepare for the holiday season.  (Can you tell I'm trying to look at the bright side?)  So, today, we fed the freezer.  I keep a notebook about each Christmas making notes to myself for the next year.  One year I got the revelation about feeding the freezer and wrote real big, "REMEMBER, THE FREEZER IS YOUR FRIEND!"

The girls and I made 2 pumpkin pies, a dutch apple pie, a sugar cream pie, a huge batch of cranberry sauce, peanut butter fingers, and homemade mayonaise (nothing to do with the freezer, but I made it for the first time today so thought I would list it in the accomplishments!).  Jordan made the pie crusts and Jaimee helped me fill them.  She loved using the apple peeler, corer, slicer to prepare the apples for the apple pie.  One of the pies is for Christmas, but I figured since we were doing pies, we would do ALL the pies.  I think we are set for Thanksgiving, so we will take a break and enjoy some time off.  But after Thanksgiving, we will start the Christmas meal and feed it to the freezer.  Last year one of the boys lamented to me that 'the freezer was the best fed thing in this place'.   The next thing on the list will be Aunt Sally's rolls and Jaimee's butter stars.  We will plan another day for baking more things for here, and another day for baking for others.  Mostly I'm trying to focus on doing things together.  The girls and I have some good times in the kitchen.  I have a few simpler things planned for Miss Jennifer to help with.  She will mostly want to eat it all though!  (She doesn't quite get the feeding the freezer concept yet.....)  

We are going to be stocked on cranberry sauce for a looooooong time.....I think I was trying to do too many things at once.  We were supposed to make a triple batch of cranberry sauce so I was telling Jaimee how much of everything to put in.  I told her too much water.  I didn't realize it for a while, but it just wouldn't thicken up like it had in the past.  So, I went back to the recipe and sure enough I had told her to put in DOUBLE the amount of water that we ACTUALLY needed.  Soooooo, we had to make the adjustments and now instead of making 3X the regular recipe, we will have 6X the amount in our freezer.  That is no problem and will actually be nice to have, but not quite what I had planned. 

We got an old fashioned holiday radio show cd to listen to this year.  It has Thanksgiving themed shows as well as Christmas themed ones.  We had a nice fire in the fireplace and the girls served snack mix and warm apple cider.  After a while, the younger ones started getting a little antsy and moving around.  We have seen the Walton's listen to radio shows and I said, "You don't see the Walton children hopping around when they listen to radio shows."  Jaimee replied, "They didn't have M & M's."  (The snack mix had M & M's in it.)  Speaking of M & M's, Jordan turned the package over and was reading on it.  Jaimee saw her and said, "DON'T read the ingredients....she probably will never buy them again for snack mix!"

I will include a few recipes that work great to make ahead and freeze for the holidays or anytime. 

Cranberry Sauce

Jaimee makes this by herself.  It is very simple, but good.  This is a basic recipe, you can add nuts, oranges, etc, but we just eat it plain.  I will spare you the 6X recipe, this is our regular one.  I think it makes around a quart, maybe a little more.

2 C Water

2 C Sugar (Raw Turbinado is what we are currently using)

4 C fresh cranberries

Mix the water and sugar with a whisk.  Bring it to a boil.  Add cranberries and stir.  Bring back to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.  Continue to whisk about every minute or so for 10 minutes.  Cool to room temperaure, then refrigerate.

Ok, this one has nothing to do with the freezer, but it is very quick and easy to mix up.  I am planning to have it for Christmas Tree Day.  

Popcorn Cake

Melt together:

1 Stick butter

35 Large Marshmallows

Pour the above hot mixture over:

2 Quarts Popped Popcorn

8 oz Bag Regular M & M's (seasonal colors)

8 oz Bag Peanut M & M's (yes, there will be more hopping around....)

Mix well.

Press into a well greased angel food cake pan or Bundt pan. 

Remove onto serving platter once it has set up.

And here's one that is in our freezer now.  I am planning to pull it out on Christmas Tree Day so we won't have to cook a meal the day we decorate. 

Lasagna Rolls

1 Package Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles, cooked

2 10 oz packages Frozen Spinach, thawed and squeezed OR 1 10 oz package plus about 2 Cups fresh chopped vegetables-whatever you have on hand, I usually do carrots and cabbage.

Approximately 2 C Ricotta Cheese

1 Egg

1 t Dried Basil

1 T Oregano

1/2 t Garlic Powder

1/2 t Salt

1/3 C Mozzerella Cheese

1/4 C Parmesan Cheese

Pasta Sauce

Mix spinach (and vegetables), ricotta, egg, spices and cheeses in food processor.  Process until smooth and creamy.

To Assemble rolls, lay cooked noodles out and use spoon to spread some filling into each one.

(We freeze them at this point, but to bake....)

Put some pasta sauce in bottom of 9X13 baking dish.  Put the lasagna rolls into the baking dish seam side down.

Cover with sauce, probably about 3 C.

Cover pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Remove cover.  Sprinkle with some extra mozzerella and parmesan.  Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted. 

Jordan especially likes these.  She helped me put a bunch of the rolls in the freezer and make a huge batch of pasta sauce the same day.  Feeding the freezer is a good thing.

18 Years

John and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary yesterday.  We celebrated Sunday by going to see the movie, Fireproof.  ( www.fireproofthemovie.com)  Janna (7 1/2 months) went along for that date.  We consider it a date if only one child is along.....  She was perfect the whole time.  We did a little shopping before the movie, then went out for a quick lunch.  She slept through the whole movie.  The movie was very good.  Mom came and stayed with the other kids--we appreciated it.

Then, on our actual anniversary (Monday), the children decided to cook a meal for us.  They went all out.  They set up a table in our room with a tablecloth, candles, the works.  Jeremey made white lasagna (at John's request), Jordan made homemade rolls.  They also served salad, and mixed vegetables, grape juice in crystal champagne flutes and ice water in a crystal pitcher.  They even had a cd player playing Kenny G music because they knew we had that music in our wedding video.  They lit a bunch of candles and laid out our wedding album for us to look through.  When we wanted something, we would tap our crystal glass with a spoon and the younger ones would come running.  They were the servers.  They were really excited to find a nice tip on the table when they were clearing the dishes.  After our dinner, we all ate ice cream for dessert and watched our wedding video.  It was so nice and everyone decided they'd like to do it again.  I'm all for that!

A funny....When we were sitting down at the table and were served our food, the other children were getting their food to eat in the 'servant's quarters'.  Jennifer (3) was given her food and all the sudden, our door opened.  There was Jennifer coming in with her plate.  She said, "I have my food.  Could you get me a chair?"  She sat herself down at our table.  The older kids figured out where she was and came and got her.  They were going to watch Curious George while they ate dinner so they wooed her out with that.  But she was all set to enjoy the candlelight dinner, and was probably wondering why there were only 2 chairs?!

It's Been A While.....

Time has gotten away from me....the last post was a July update.

Since my last update, we have celebrated 3 birthdays.  Mine and Jennifer's in August, and Jeremey's in September.  Janna also turned 6 months in August.  She is kind of crawling now...it is mostly an army type maneuver that she does by using her arms to pull her body around. She does actually crawl a litle bit, but after a while reverts back to the 'army crawl'.  It works well for her.  She also has cut her bottom 2 teeth.  It is so cute.  Jennifer turned 3.  She took a while to transition to holding 3 fingers up instead of 2, but she has it down now.  She is our firecracker--BURTSTING with energy and spunk.  It takes all the rest of us to keep up with her, but we wouldn't want her any other way.  Jeremey turned 13 on his birthday.  He is still playing guitar, quite well, and has a new interest--karate. 

We got Jeremey a 'ripstik' for his birthday.  Grampa Bill and Grandma Debbie along with the Bickle's got Jason one for his birthday.  Jason let Jeremey try it out and he really liked it, so we decided to get him one for his birthday.  He says it's great exercise.  I wouldn't know because I am sure I would fall off and break something if I attempted it.  It is like a skateboard, only it only has 2 wheels.  Your feet stay on the board at all times, well they are supposed to.....and you kind of swivel your body to make it go.  They have let the girl's try it too.  It was so funny...Jaimee tried and tried and finally decided to go get the crutches to hold her up and get her started.  I wondered if people who drove by wondered "what is that poor girl with crutches doing on that board?!".  But in no time, she was going down to the stop sign at one end of the road with no crutches.  Jordan, also, has been working at it.  I was videotaping Jeremey the day he got his.  Of course, he had already had his slow time learning when Jason had let him use his, so he was able to hop on and enjoy his right from the beginning.  Anyway, as I was taping I got tickled because Jeremey is just swishing all around the road and on the side you can see Jordan.....she didn't fall or anything, but I wouldn't call what she was doing 'swishing'.  Her arms were flailing all around and she was going very slow.  It was funny seeing Jeremey glide by her all fast and looking all coordinated.  But she has improved too.  It just takes a while to get used to it.   They are definetely enjoying them. 

We also helped Gram move to her new townhouse in August.  The boys moved everything and the girls helped with the final packing.  Jordan and Jeremey ended up staying overnight and helping with the last minute things, like cleaning the old place and moving the last little bits.  They all worked hard and had a good time. 

The boys began karate lessons this month.  The sessions are once a week for 3 months.  They have had 2 lessons so far and are loving it.  The biggest problem is making sure they don't practice on all of us.  Rules have had to be laid down in that regard.....Of course Jaimee likes to get in on the action and does her "karate moves" quite a bit.  That's always fun. 

July Update

We enjoyed a visit from the Hoover's over the 4th of July.  Aaron, Marla, Liz, Gaven, and Reese were vacationing at Siesta Key.  We were able to spend some time with them while they were here, including having a cookout and watching fireworks on Siesta Key Beach.  John really enjoyed spending time and reminiscencing with Aaron, who was his best friend since 1st grade. 

Jason bought a guitar this month.  It is an Epiphone.  He informed me Grampa Bill also owns an Epiphone.  He already was familar with some of the chords by watching Jeremey play.  I've noticed he likes to play around with it, like he does with the piano.  He will sound out a song and then play it.  Jeremey is more serious and plays whole songs using chords and picking, Jason is happy to play a whole song he sounded out using one string.  He may want to do more later, but for now he is happy with playing around with it. 

John and I also enjoyed a "date" this month.  My mom (usually referred to as "Gram") offered to watch the kids for the afternoon.  We took Janna along, of course.  But hey, a date's a date!  We took a picnic lunch and went to a nearby park with a lake.  It was nice to actually talk with no interruptions, well ALMOST no interruptions.  John's phone rang and it was Jason reporting some offense he had endured--I heard John say not to call back unless someone was bleeding.  I thought that was funny.....

Janna turned 5 months old this month.  She is rolling all over the place.  I like to put a big blanket down on the floor and watch her go.  She is beginning to sit up unassisted for a little bit.  But still-no teeth yet!  I think she is the latest one to get a tooth so far.  She smiles and laughs a lot, and of course has all of us in love with her.

John has been taking the kids to the YMCA most weeknights.  They have been swimming laps.  Jeremey is currently working on learning the butterfly.  They measure their swimming in how many MILES they swim.  For example, Jordan and Jeremey swim about 1/2 mile or more each time.  That is 36 laps (he informed me a lap is 25 meters).  Jason has swam about 2 1/2 miles since we started going.  Jeremey has swam about 11 miles so far.  I have been staying home for the past few weeks with Janna and listening to some homeschool seminars that I need to get through.  In the time that I haven't been there, little Miss Jennifer is learning to swim.  I am looking forward to going back and seeing her going under and swimming around.  On the weekends, they have been going to a water park that is included with the Y membership.  The older ones love the high dive and Jennifer loves the little slide.  The boys have been doing flips off the high dive--Jordan said she tried to do a dive off the high dive but it wasn't pretty...and it was pretty painful too. 

They also have been going to Christian Skate Night at a local skating rink for the 2nd summer.  It is a 10 week thing, every Tuesday during the summer.  Jennifer and Janna don't go.  It's WAY too loud for Janna.  Jennifer gets to go sometime, but she isn't as in to it as the older kids and she is quite a handful even without wheels! 

I've experimented this month making homemade vanilla extract.  Also, working on some sourdough bread that someone asked me to make.  I know our children aren't fond of it, but I am attempting to make it for others.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  I am excited about having some successes making homemade yogurt this month, too.  Here is a funny from the kitchen....I made some "zesty split peas" for dinner one night.  John LOVED them, but apparently Jason wasn't as big as a fan.  Jason has dinner clean up with me this week--one of the jobs is to label the leftovers and write down where it was put.  I was out in one of the refrigerators this morning and saw this big label on something, so I picked it up to see what it was.  It said (in Jason's writing):  "old liquified 1855 Back to the Future manure (pea soup)".  Guess he won't be asking for that again anytime soon.......

The Bickle's Were Here

We enjoyed a week long visit from Beth, Renae, and Bradly.  They came to Florida and spent part of the time with us and part with Gram.  Gram spent some time here too, so we were all together for part of the time.  That is always fun. 

We packed a lot of fun things in...we took them to the YMCA and showed them where we go exercise (swim mostly), went to a water park a few times (Bradly loved the "pink slides"), spent a day at the beach, went to the beach another time for a sunset, saw lots of movies (we had a movie marathon at home and watched all of the Back To The Futures, and a few of the Rocky movies at Aunt Beth's suggestion), went to the movie theatre and saw Horton Hears A Who and Nim's Island, played at a park, played games, and other fun things. 

It's always sad when they leave, but it is so nice being together.

Locks of Love

While my sister and her children were here, Jaimee decided to have Aunt Beth cut off 10 inches of hair to send to Locks of Love.  Locks of Love provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.  Beth was participating in "Relay for Life" in Rochester when she got home, so we sent Jaimee's cut off braid with her to send it with the others.  But anyone can donate at any time---here's how:

~Braid hair or put in a pony tail at the nape of the neck.  (It has to be 10 inches from tip to tip.)

~Cut off the braid/pony tail above the pony tail holder.

~Place the braid/pony tail in a plastic bag and seal.

~Fill out the hair donation form (can get at www.locksoflove.org) or just write your name and address on a sheet of paper.

~Put everything in a padded envelope and mail to:

Locks of Love, 2925 10th Ave N, Suite 102, Lake Worth, Florida, 33461-3099

Jason Is 10 Today!

Jason William King hit the double digits today!  He had a fun birthday.  He was the first one up, other than John who, unfortunately, had to go to work.  He even helped me make his birthday breakfast.  He picked homemade monkey bread, breakfast casserole, and fruit salad for breakfast.  Gram came and took him out to lunch--and then shopping for his presents.  He is currently in to super heros, so he had a super hero birthday.  Gram helped him out in that department.  Jordan made him a pillowcase with material that has super heros all over it.  Jeremey bought him a SpiderMan tablet and pencils.  This has nothing to do with superheros, but I have to fit it in somewhere!  I made him a t-shirt pillow.  I had saved a favorite t-shirt of his for a couple of years.  I knew I wanted to do something with it, and decided to make it into a pillow.  It is a very simple project, but I was still proud anyway!  Of course Jordan had to help me with her sewing machine, but I managed to finish the project with not too much help from her.  He loved it.  I loved it too and decided I would like to make something for all of their birthdays--it's very rewarding.  Anyway, he had a fun birthday.  He is working on his super hero activity book right now and we are going to watch Scooby Doo meets BatMan in a little bit to close the night out.  Oh, to be 10.....

Happy Birthday, Jason!!

Jeremey Is Seeing The World Through New Eyes (sort of....)

Camping Trip

We survived, I mean....enjoyed another camping trip.  The weather cooperated as far as no rain...but it was VERY hot.  I think we saw a temperature reading of 95 degrees on Friday!   I told John that if we go camping on MOTHER'S DAY weekend next year just to remember "cruiseamerica.com".  (That is a place to rent RV's--we saw a bunch of them at the campground where we stayed.)   

We did enjoy the pool, the bicycles, and the playground.  The little girls also enjoyed taking a pony ride.  We spent all day at the campground on Friday, and then went to Kennedy Space Center Saturday and Sunday.  Jeremey played guitar music for us around the campfire. 

Unfortunately, Jason began feeling sick on Sunday and by Monday most of the rest of us were feeling bad too.  I thought maybe he had gotten dehydrated, and that was probably part of it, but he is just now starting to feel better today.  We are all feeling better, but not 100% yet.  Camping was hard on us this year! 

"Much More Fun Than A Baby Alive!"

In an earlier post I mentioned that Jaimee made this statement when referring to helping with Janna.  "This is much more fun than a baby alive!"  As we downloaded our recent pictures, I came across these and thought I would share a few pictures of Jaimee having fun taking care of Janna.

May Day--May Day--Jaimee is 7 years old!!

Today number "4" is 7!!  (We use numbers instead of initials since all of our initials are the same!)  Jaimee has a big day planned....a birthday brunch with homemade doughnuts, breakfast casserole, and fruit salad.  After John gets home from work, she chose to go to Mr. Mei's, a favorite Chinese restaurant.  She chose Grandma Downey's Chocolate Whipped Cream Cake for her birthday cake.  But that's just her FIRST party....she invited Gram over this weekend.  For that party she chose a stay at home meal and Gram is bringing a cake Jaimee special ordered! 

When we did our newsletter, I usually included a "funnies" section.  I had a list of some funnies in my binder that never went in the newsletter.  I was reading through them the other day and realized almost every one of them involved Jaimee--so I decided to put them in her birthday post.  She is one funny gal--usually unintentionally......

~I had introduced even and odd numbers to Jaimee during math.  We moved on to Phonics.  I told her to turn to page 57.  I asked her if 57 was an even or an odd number.  She quickly replied, "Odd."  I was impressed and asked her how she knew that (since we didn't spend a lot of time on it that first time).  She replied, "I just guessed."  (guess she had a 50/50 chance of being right--why not take a shot??)

~I heard Jaimee say to Jordan, "It seems like everybody is being rude to me."  Jordan said, "I asked you to dry the dishes--how is that rude?"  Jaimee replied, "You know I don't like to dry dishes!"

~Jaimee was asking me about driving.  She said, "So you keep the wheel straight when you want to go straight and turn it when you want to turn?"  I said, "Yes."  She said, "I understand all that.  I just have to wait until my arms and legs get longer."

~Jaimee wanted to watch Wizard of Oz after Jennifer went to sleep because she was afraid it would scare her.  She said it used to scare her.  Then she informed me, "You know how little kids are....I used to be one."

~Jaimee asked if she could use my lotion.  I told her she could.  I figured she would just put a little bit on her hands.  I looked in and saw her slathering it all over her legs.  I said, "That is my special lotion fthat I got for Christmas from Grampa Bill and Grandma Debbie" thinking if she knew that she may use it a bit more sparingly.  She looked up, not missing a beat rubbing the lotion up and down her legs and said, "You can tell them I like it!!"

~Jaimee was changing Janna's diaper for the first time.  She was loving it--she loves to help with her any way she can.  She was telling me how fun it was to help.  As she was changing her she said, "I think I am going to be a good mother."  I said I thought so too.  She went on..."Just like you."  I asked, "You think I'm a good mother?"  She answered without missing a beat, "Yeah, but you work like Cinderella."

~Jaimee and I were doing math.  I read her a problem that said, "Tina buys a gumball for 10 cents and a jawbreaker for 25 cents.  Altogether, how much did Tina pay for the candy?"  Jaimee said, "That is NOT worth it!!"

~Jaimee was holding Janna while standing up (a new thing for her).  She smiled real big and said "This is much more fun than a Baby Alive!" 

~~~~~Happy Birthday, Jaimee!!~~~~~

A Camping We Will Go....

It has become sort of a tradition for us to take an annual camping trip over Mother's Day weekend.  The tradition started a few years ago when we became cardholder's with KOA--they offer a buy one night, get one night free of camping over that weekend each year.  We decided that this would be an economical way to explore Florida while we are here.  So far, we have camped and explored The Keys and Titusville area (Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Beach).  We had thought we were going to try Marco Island this year, but other circumstances are taking us back to Titusville this year.  (We bought an annual pass to Kennedy Space Center--because with our size of family it is almost ALWAYS cheaper to get a pass than to just pay for one day).  Well, we intended to make it back there several time, but "life" happened, like morning-noon-night sickness with my pregnancy with Janna for a few months, and just other "stuff"...so, we knew we wanted to get back there before our passes expire.  It works out great, the free camping weekend is May 10-11, our passes expire May 12!  Plus, everyone loved this campground--they had the fun bikes to rent, the kind that have no handlebars, and a nice pool and play area.  So, we plan to head back there in a few weeks.  It's kind of funny because I am not a natural camper, as most of you would already know, but I think it is a good learning experience every time we go and the children all really enjoy it.  Personally, I'd prefer to have some ac and a private shower in a camper, but for now we will happily continue on our tent camping adventures......

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

Today John and Jason went to Tropicana Field to see a game between the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Chicago White Sox.  John won 2 tickets on a radio contest and he picked Jason to be his companion for the day.  They had a good time.  They tailgated their lunch before the game.  Here is a description of the day from Jason.....

"We went in and a security guard gave me 2 wristbands.  It's autographed by one of the players "Aki".  We found our seats and watched the game for a couple of innings, then took a bathroom break.  We got back to the seats and I was getting thirsty.  So we went and got a water bottle.  Then we went back to our seats and watched the game.  Daddy said we could go explore around the stadium, so we did.  We went up an escalater to the 2nd floor and looked around.  We got a view of the game from there.  We also saw a ray petting area.   We went up to the highest seating area (that is where this picture was taken).  Daddy made me hold on to the rail.  After the game, I got to run the bases.  That was fun.  After that I got 4 baseball cards.  I also got a shirt that says "Rays" on it.  Daddy asked me what my favorite part was.  I said it was running the bases and going up to the highest seating.    I had a fun day."

The final score......White Sox 6 --- Devil Rays 0

Pizza Night

Well, family movie night has rolled around again--and tonight it's homemade pizza for dinner.  We are planning to watch a Roy Rogers DVD that my Dad brought to us when they visited in February.  I am including our recipe for the pizza -- it is pretty easy to make.  Jordan made the dough for me and we had the sauce in the freezer.  We don't have as many pizza stones as we need to make a bunch of pizzas (they have broken over the years), so we had to get creative to use the rest of the dough.  I rolled it out like for a cinnamon roll and sprinkled one with mushrooms and jalapenos (with Jordan in mind) and swiss cheese, the other one with peppers and onions and swiss and parmesan cheeses.  I cut them like a cinnamon roll and they are rising now.  The pizzas are in the oven and smelling good!  Here are the recipes:

Warning:  This recipe makes enough for 6 pizzas.  I didn't even think to mention it because most people know we have a big family and cook big!  I always like to make enough for leftovers, or use the dough for rolls, breadsticks, etc.  So, be warned and adjust the recipe down if you don't want that much--our friends who made this and only ate one pizza and had dough coming out there ears made me think I better state that so you'll be clearly informed before you fire up the mixer! 

Pizza Dough

(we use a revised version of our basic bread dough-with less honey and some herbs added)

4 1/2 C Warm Water

1 1/2 C Coconut Oil

2 T Honey

Approx. 13 C freshly milled flour (kamut, spelt, or hard white)

3 T Yeast

2 t Garlic Powder

2 t Oregano

~Place warm water, oil, honey, and salt into mixer.  Mix on low speed.

~Begin sprinkling in about 1/2 the flour by the cupful and let it mix.  Add garlic powder and oregano.

~Add yeast.

~Continue sprinkling in the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Mix on high speed for 10 minutes.  (This can also all be done by hand, these are just the directions for using a DLX Mixer.)

~Let sit in bowl for 30-45 minutes, until it is doubled in size.

~Punch the dough down and divide into 6 sections.  Roll out for pizza, rolls, or breadsticks. 

~Top with your favorite toppings.  I sprinkle the finished pizza before putting it in the oven with garlic salt, oregano, and black pepper.

~We bake them at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until they are browned and bubbly.

Pizza Sauce

2 15 ounce cans Tomato Sauce

1 6 ox cans Tomato Paste

4 T Oregano

4 T Dry Onion Flakes OR couple t of Onion Powder

4 T Honey

2 t Garlic Powder

~Mix all ingredients.  We sometimes put it on stove and simmer it for a little while to thicken it. 

~Use for pizza topping, or to dip breadsticks.

Someday I hope to tell you I have mastered making mozzerella cheese.....but not yet.  For now, I'll just stick with the dough and the sauce, but someday.....

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today is Grampa Bill's birthday.  We want to wish him a happy day.  He and Grandma Debbie came to visit us shortly after Janna was born.  We enjoyed spending time with them.  Jeremey got some more guitar tips, which he loved.  We went to the beach one day and they took us out for dinner one evening - which was Janna's first outing.  We wish we could see them more often, but for now we just look forward to the times we do get to spend together.  Happy Birthday!!

Here is Dad and Debbie:

The Enchiladas Were A Hit!

The children loved the enchiladas.  I wanted to share the recipe here because it is so easy to make--and tastes good too!  I try to make everything from scratch, so canned enchilada sauce is out.  I have tried other homemade sauces before but I would say this is the easiest and the least expensive to make too. 

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

6 T Oil (I used coconut oil)

4 T Chili Powder

6 T Flour

4 C Water

1 t Garlic Powder

1 t Oregano

1 t Salt

~Heat oil in pan and whisk in flour and chili powder.  When well combined, slowly whisk in the water. Add the spices and stir well.  That's it! 

~To make the enchiladas, we just filled tortillas with refried beans and a little cheese, poured the sauce over them and baked at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or so (until it is bubbly).  Then top with more cheese, cheddar or mozzarella, and bake until it is melted, about 5 more minutes. 

~To serve the enchiladas, have each person put one on plate and top with sour cream, chopped onions, chopped bell peppers, black olives, tomatoes, salsa, lettuce, etc.  (The sauce is enough for about 15 tortillas--that would take 2 9 X 13 pans.)

Homemade Refried Beans

Also, here is our recipe for homemade refried beans.  I put it in our newsletter before but this way you will have a quick reference.  We make these once a week, they are so good and easy!  We always do them in the crock pot. 

~The night before serving, soak 5 cups pinto beans in water.  The next morning, drain water and cover with fresh water.  Put all in crock pot and cook on high about 5 hours.  Drain the bean water, being sure to save the water.  Put the drained beans in a big bowl and mash with a hand mixer. 

~ Add the following spices:

3 T Chili Powder

1 heaping T Cumin

1 T Salt

1 T Garlic Powder

1 heaping t Onion Powder

~Mix spices in with hand mixer, adding bean water as needed to make the right consistency.  We put them back in the crock pot on warm until it's time to eat!

Janna's Stats/Getting Ready for the Weekend

Today we took Janna for her 8 week check up.  She weighed in at 12 pounds 1 ounce, and measured 24 inches long.  She is doing well and obviously growing well too! 

While we were gone, the boys worked in their zones (cleaning areas they are assigned to each day) and things were looking good around the house.  (The older girls went with me to the appointment.)  I worked on organizing all of Janna's clothes into bins separated by sizes.  She is going to be one well dressed little girl--partly thanks to Cousin Kathy who blessed us with a bunch of clothes that Eliza had grown out of, in addition to all the nice gifts of clothing she has received.  So, she is all organized and ready to go, as is Jennifer.  Now to work on Jaimee--she is growing like a weed and I am pretty sure we are going to have to make a shopping trip for her soon!  We can't "shop from the bins" any more for her! 

Tonight is family movie night with enchiladas and all the toppings, guacamole, salsa, and chips for dinner.  We love the weekends!!

Town Day

Today was town day.  The children and I go to "town" every Thursday after John gets home from work.  They each have their own lists for the health food store--some of them even like to get their own carts.  Thankfully it is a small store where we have come to know most of the workers--sometimes I think the younger ones act like they own the place!  Jaimee gets all her things into her cart from her list then goes visiting with her favorite workers.  She sometimes asks questions and I've seen I think all of them ask for someone to check the back to see if there is more of something they are looking for.  They are learning to be good shoppers.  Well, today I was especially pleased that we had cut back the amount from what we normally spend.  In conversation in the van afterwards, however, it was discovered that one of the children left an entire cart unchecked at the store!  So, I called the store and said we'd be back by and someone would be in to pay for the 2nd cart.  Too bad, I thought I was going to come in under budget for once!         

Our Trip to Indiana

 We are settling back at home after a busy trip back "home" in Indiana.  Our Janna Grace was born February 15 and John decided we would make a trip to Indiana so a lot of our extended family could meet her.  (Gram, Grampa Bill and Grandma Debbie had already met her here in Florida.)  He especially had his parents in mind.  So, we began planning a 1200 mile trip with a newborn!  I have to say Janna did very well on the trip, of course we had to make a few  more stops than normal so I could nurse her, but all in all, it was a good experience.

We started the trip by visiting Great Grandma Pea and also got to see Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Dexter.  We stayed at my sister's house and had a great time with them, as usual.  Janna enjoyed her time with Aunt Beth, Renae, and Bradly.  We spent a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa King as well.  Our trip included a pizza part with Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy, Nicole, Alana, Davis, Grandma and Grandpa, Gretchen, Aunt Sue, Braeden, and Grant; a get together will John's side of the family including everyone mentioned above plus Uncle Doug and Aunt Vicki and Uncle Rick; a visit with Aunt Sally and Uncle Max, Viola, Cousin karen, Josh, Allie, Cousin Kathy, Toby, Eliza, and Uncle Chris; a visit with my best friend back home, Julie; and a visit with our friends, the Huff family in Tennessee, on our way home.  It was a quick trip, but we fit a lot in!

We feel good that Janna has been introduced to all those people who are so important to us.  It's always hard to leave everyone and transition back to "normal" life--but that is what has to be done.  So, I am now concentrating on getting things back up and running here.  I'm working on tweeking our daily schedule to include a new baby and also reworking our chore schedules as well.  I'll post about that in the near future when it is complete.  I'm almost there!

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