King Family

Extreme Home Makeover

Getting Ready To Experience Fall For The First Time In 7 Years!!

We are busy packing for our "on again-off again" trip.  It has finally sunk in that we are actually going to be going and so now we have realized how much we have to get done in a short time.  For those of you who don't know, someone who works with John had an accident and crushed his heel.  He had to have surgery and is going to be off work for quite a while.  We were told that we wouldn't be able to go on our trip.  Then, after many people were praying, things changed and now we can go.  However, it had to be delayed a week and we may have to come back earlier than what we had planned.  We feel really bad for Mike, who got hurt and has been through a huge amount of pain.  We pray he is recovering and will be up and around soon.  I also pray that John gets to have some down time and have his whole vacation because he NEEDS it.  We are looking forward to being able to see our family and friends that we have not seen for a year and a half.  It has never been this long between visits. 

In September, we celebrated Jeremey's 14th birthday.  He decided he wanted to go fishing with John on his birthday.  They scoped out the perfect spot and spent pretty much the whole day there.  They had a really good time.  He works really hard so I thought it was nice for him to have a nice down day....and John too.  He and Jason just completed their second DVD for Grampa Bill -- "King Boys Unplugged, Volume II".  Jeremey really loves playing the guitar and is getting better all the time.  He also is a great cook.  He was going to make some hummus and I didn't see the recipe where it was supposed to be.  I told him I needed to find the recipe and he said something like, "Well, what?  It's garbonzo beans, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil......I'll wing it."  He went on to put it together and it was actually BETTER than the recipe!  He cooks dinner for the whole family a lot of the time.  I really appreciate him and enjoy being around him. 

We visited a new church since my last post.  John visited first, then took all of us the next week.  It was quite an eventful visit.....Janna threw up.  Thankfully we were in the "cry room" so no one else was around.  She has had a touch of something for a few weeks since then, but I think she is on the mend now.  Anyway, because of that, we didn't get to go the next week.  A few of the family went today but I am keeping the little girls home as a precaution.  Hopefully when we get back from Indiana we will be able to be more regular.  I have a good feeling about it.

John and I celebrated our 19th anniversary in September also.  The kids got us some DVD's of the Duggar Family tv show.  We had a steak and salmon dinner and watched some of the show.  The girls made a raw carrot cake for dessert that was pretty good.  Jordan and Jaimee also stitched a few of our family's favorite quotes and the boys are going to make frames for them.  One is, "Failure Is Not An Option" (a quote from the Apollo 13 mission).  The other is, "Prepare For Rain" (from the movie "Facing The Giants").  We had a really nice evening -- they helped make it special.

I think that about covers all our news.  Better get back to planning this trip.  I'll be in touch again!

Influence of Brothers

August Update

Summer is winding down....well for some of us, that is.  It will feel like summer for quite some time around here.  We have been staying inside a lot more.  I noticed that Jordan and my walks have diminished.  We'll think about taking those up again maybe in the late fall.  Yes, we are wimps. 

John and the older children are about to wind down with their summer skate nights.  There is one more week left.  Janna got a blow up pool that the younger kids have been enjoying.  The older ones are known to get in it every once in a while.  Even John has.  I'm sure it feels good after working outside all day.  Still don't know how he does that, but remember what a wimp I am with hot weather.

We've celebrated 2 birthdays since our last post.  I had a good birthday.  No one let me do any work.  We played some games during the day while John was at work, I took a long lavendar bath while I actually got to read a book, then went to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.  It went well until the "evil cookie man" kept coming to our table asking if we wanted some cookies.  Jennifer didn't understand that we had agreed not to get any junk.  Then she kept seeing people walk by with their big bowls of ice cream.  So that part wasn't so pleasant.  When we got home I made them some raw ice cream, and that made her happy!  It is really easy to make.  I just put some frozen bananas, a little water, and some vanilla bean (you could use vanilla exract) in the food processor and whipped it up.  It takes on a consistency of soft serve ice cream.  Jordan had made me a few other raw treats.  My mom invited me to spend the night at her house over the weekend for my birthday.  I hadn't been away by myself for a long time.  I hate leaving everyone and miss them terribly when we are apart, but it was very therapeutic being there.  I have never heard such QUIET.  We did our running around the first day, went out to eat, saw a movie, got a massage, then came home and went straight to bed!  The next day I took another bath (a favorite thing, you can tell) and we did NOTHING except read and watch a few shows from a dvd the kids had sent for us.  Then the rest of the family came and we went swimming and had dinner.  It was really a nice birthday.

Then, Miss Jennifer turned 4 one week after my birthday.  She had a good day, swam in the pool, watched some movies, etc. but really had fun after John got home and her real party started.  She had fun opening presents and having her raw ice cream.  She got 2 different kinds, strawberry and vanilla (banana).  I wrote down a few funnies that Jennifer has supplied us with and thought I would share them here in honor of her birthday. 

~When I was asking her what she wanted to eat for her birthday meal, she wasn't real helpful.  So I tried to reword it and said, "Well, what's your very favorite food to eat?"  She replied, "I really have no idea, Mommy."

~I was talking to the boys about making sure they were getting enough water.  I asked them if they remembered the way to tell is by the color of their urine--if it's real light, that's good, if it's darker, they need to drink more water.  So I asked Jeremey what color his had been.  He replied, "It varies."  Then I asked Jason.  He answered, "It varies."  Jen was in the room, too.  She asked me if I was going to ask her.  So I asked her what color her pee had been and she answered proudly, "Berries!"

She's really something--always keeps us hopping and smiling.

We are celebrating another birthday today--a half birthday.  Janna is 18 months old today.  She is outside now in her pool.  She starts smiling when she sees us get her swimsuit out.  She loves it. 

John, Jordan, Jason, and Jaimee spent a day at Ichetucknee Springs State Park this month.  They went with a group from the boys martial arts class.  They rafted or swam down a river.  The water was very cold (probably in the 60's) and clear.  Jason liked to get up on the logs and jump into the water.  They saw fish and turtles and Jordan said "thankfully no snakes".  Mr. Bob, their instructor, has been going there for 20 years and has only seen 1 snake.  There made 3 1 mile trips.  They got an underwater camera and took some neat pictures.  They had a good time, but were exhausted.  The park is about 3 hours north of us, so they had to leave around 5 a.m. and didn't get home until around 10 p.m.  Jeremey stayed home with me and the little girls.  They kept us very busy all day.  We had a good time, too.

I think that is about all the news for now.  Leave us a comment and tell us how you have been doing. 

Love,

Jackie

Cool Summer Recipes

You know how some days it's just so hot that you don't feel like eating or especially cooking?  It's that kind of weather here in Florida most of the year, but even up "north", you know what I'm talking about during the summer.  

John works outside all day and I started noticing that he wouldn't be eating some days because he just wasn't hungry because of the heat.  One day he even got dehydrated.  So I set about figuring out a way to get him to get some nutrition during the day and hopefully help him to cool off and get through the days easier.  Also, he needs to stop losing weight because now that I have lost weight, I am under the amount of his NORMAL weight.  But he informed me that he has lost some weight too so I'm STILL weighing more than him, so something has to change with that.    No, just kidding, these recipes won't make him gain weight, I'll have to figure something else out with that!!

The first one is for a raw soup.  I'm not usually into the cold soups, but tried this one that Lori, a friend of ours here, made.  When John commented that he liked it, I made sure to get the recipe.  It really is good.  I sent some with him today in his cooler for lunch.  It will be light enough that he won't feel gross after eating it, but will give him some nutrition (and hopefully some calories....)

Raw Cream of Celery Soup

1 large bunch celery

4 cups water

1/4 cup olive oil (can use less, according to taste)

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey (I left this out)

1-2 teaspoons sea salt

Spicy pepper to taste

Blend these ingredients in a blender until well blended.  Pour into bowl and then add:

1 chopped avacado

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped (I left this out because we didn't have any, but it makes it really good)

2 carrots, grated

If you don't like the chunks of avacado, you can add that to the blender mixture.  It will make it creamy and add good fats to the soup without you being able to tell it is in there.

I also sent him with a quart of green smoothie.  I've talked about the benefits of green smoothies before.  Greens are the healers and most people don't get near enough of them.  Making a green smoothie is very quick and easy, so anyone can do this.  And a bonus to some of the recipes I'll be sharing is that some of them don't look "green", so people who have a problem with the color should be able to drink these just fine, maybe not even knowing there is anything "green" in there!  Right now I just have 3 basic recipes that I'm doing on alternate days, but hoping to expand my repitoire soon.  I use less fruit in mine than in John's because I wanted to make sure he liked it.  So I made his "happy" as Jordan would say.  I'm trying to eat as low glycemic as possible now, so I only use 1/2 banana in mine--you can experiment and see what you like best.  Here are the recipes for the 3 I have been using lately.

1 cup mixed berries, frozen

1 frozen banana

1-2 cups water

Several handfuls organic lettuce (like Romaine, Green Leaf, or Red Leaf)

Put the fruit and water in the blender and blend it up.  Then add the greens and blend until it is completely smooth.  You can drink it throughout the day.

1 C blueberries, frozen

1 banana, frozen

1-2 cups water

4-5 stalks celery

Blend the fruit and water in blender.  Add the celery and blend until smooth.

1 C strawberries, frozen

1 banana, frozen

1-2 cups water

Several handfuls organic spinach

Blend the fruit and water in the blender.  Add the spinach and blend until completely smooth.

I also have everyone in my family taking Barley Life with me now.  So, there is another serving of green.  If anyone is interested in getting more information about this or ordering some, let me know.  I can get it for wholesale price.  I have my neighbor taking it now, and Mom and her friend Patti are also.  You can do a google search and find lots of information about the benefits of the barley leaves.  Or let me know and I can email you some information.

Hopefully you can try some of these recipes this summer.

Free Vitamin D

There has been lots in the news recently about the benefits of Vitamin D, and the problems that can arise when there is a deficiency.  My mom works in a pharmacy and she said that Vitamin D supplements have been flying off the shelves.  I'm sure a synthetic supplement isn't the best way to get the vitamin D that we need. 

One bodies convert ultraviolet B rays from the sun to vitamin D.  We always tried to avoid being in the sun from 10-4 thinking that that was the time the sun could cause sunburn, etc.  So we would go out in the evenings and try to get our vitamin D from the sun then.  I recently learned that the time to get Vitamin D is right at noon.  That is when the sun is at it's highest and the good B rays are able to burn through the atmosphere.  We now go out around noon every day for about 15 minutes.  The boys take their shirts off.  It is good to have as much of the body exposed as possible.  It's important not to get burnt, but to stay out long enough to get the vitamin.  It takes longer for darker skinned people.  I've noticed that everyone in our family, even Janna who still has senstive baby skin, can stay out longer than me!  15 minutes is plenty for me, so probably people who aren't so sensitive could definetely use longer.  This is to be done with NO SUNSCREEN.  Sunscreens have toxic ingredients in them.  We have managed to avoid using them so far this year by going out like I described, and then not again until the evening.  So far that is working for us.  Oh, and one more thing--I don't know how to explain all the details of how the rays get converted to the Vitamin D, but I know it takes awhile (like 24 hours I think).  You can actually wash it off with soap, so if you have to take a shower after being out for your 15 minutes, don't use soap on your arms, shoulders, face, etc. (basically the parts you had exposed).  I didn't get the impression water would cause the same affect, but I'm not an expert.  I'm not sure if one has a deficiency if there would still be a need for to supplement, or if being in the sun every day would balance everything to where it needs to be.

If there is a need for a supplement, I would recommend high vitamin Cod Liver Oil from Peaceful Pastures.  It is a great way to get Omega 3 fats in your diet, plus it has not had the Vitamin D stripped from it.  It is a must in the winter months up north when you get no sun.  I know some people who get depressed in the winter months (I think it is called Seasonal Affective Disorder?), anyway Cod Liver Oil helps with that, among other things.

I know it may not be practical for some of you, but if at all possible, it would be great to get outside on your lunch hour and get at least 15 minutes of sunshine.  It's free Vitamin D!

Update from the Kings

Here I thought I was getting better about posting and see that another few months have past since the last post.  It is actually scary to me sometimes how the time seems to fly by.  I want to make an effort to stay more in touch with you all, so it is one of my goals to continue improving in this area.  Also, we would love to hear from you as well, either in the comments, email, etc.  Also, remember to check the homeschool blog.  The kids have taken that one over.

We enjoyed the cooler weather of the winter here, but it is now over and officially hot and muggy probably until next winter.  I understand why "snowbirds" come here in the winter.  We are thankful to at least get one change of season.  We have been going to the beach on the weekends.  Also, John and the older children go roller skating once a week during the summer.  They also enjoyed a great fireworks display on the 4th.  They watched them near the water at Sarasota Bay.  They said that they kept thinking it was the finale, but it kept going on and on.  They could also see the fireworks from Siesta Key in the background.  I kept Janna at home, and Jeremey decided to stay home with us.  We watched a DVD about a homeschool family with a Dad that plays guitar.  Jeremey really enjoyed that.  We also played some card games.  We used to do that all the time, but hadn't played in a really long time.  I was quite rusty on my speed skills.  I reminded Jeremey that I taught him everything he knows as he was beating me game after game.  One other milestone this summer....we have officially been in Florida for 7 years now.  We left Indiana on June 30th 7 years ago. 

We continue on with our school year year round, taking time off a few weeks at a time when we want to.  I love the freedom of doing that and it also seems more like real life.  John doesn't get the summers off.  Plus it is sooo hot that we wouldn't be outside doing much during the day anyway.  So we like to take our time off for our trips and nice days in the cooler weather, or just when we want some time off.  We are excited to be going back to our favorite curriculum--Sonlight.  We tried a different one at the beginning of the year and didn't care for it.  It is actually a great curriculum, it just wasn't good for us timing wise.  So, we are making plans to sell that to some friends who love it and then get back to the one we are familar with.  We also do a 4 day week with the "book learning" and then take Fridays to organize and do a deeper clean around the house.  That is all part of learning too.  (Although some of them have been known to be "caught" doing a math lesson on a Friday).  We tried the 5 day week, but it was just too much and we didn't like the way the house got out of hand, so especially going year round, we have the opportunity to fit it all in. We figured out with this many people living in a small space, we have to make an organized effort to keep on top of things. That's what works for us.  Jordan will actually probably be doing 5 days a week for high school, at least for some of her subjects, but she has the flexibility of when to get it done.  It seems like we are always making little tweeks in the schedule because things change all the time.  I'm learning to go with that instead of letting it stressing me out. 

Jordan has added a new addition to the family.  Yes, we have another bunny.  Another female bunny came up on freecycle and she got it.  We thought it would be good companionship for Jaimee's bunny, but they don't seem to be pals.  We think Jaimee's bunny is trying to show her dominance.  Jordan's bunny is younger and lots more active.  It was HILARIOUS the first time Jordan put her little harness and leash on her to take her for a walk.  The bunny was actually walking, or I should say running, Jordan.  We walk to a nearby park in the evenings and I thought we were probably quite a site.  We had 2 strollers, one with Janna and a bunny, the other with a bunny, 2 ripsticks, a scooter, and 8 people.  I'm sure Jordan will post more about her new pet in her next update on the homeschool blog.  It all started when John wanted me to ask for rabbit droppings on freecycle.  I said, "You want me to ask for poop??".  So instead, we now have 2 rabbits that are supplying him with a steady supply of poop for his compost.  Plus the girls are learning a lot, so it is good for everyone.

The boys finished up their martial arts semester and promoted to the next belt level.  They are both gold belts now.  They are looking forward to starting the next semester soon.  Jeremey and John have been fishing a few times.  They have been using fresh shrimp for bait and caught a bunch of fish last time.  They always throw them back, they just like to fish and be together.  John won some tickets to a Rays baseball game, so he and the boys went to that.  They had a good time. He is also working on a budget.  He has been earning money juicing for me, and he does jobs for people as they come up.  Recently he and Jason pulled weeds for Ron, John's boss.  He occasionally mows yards for people as well. He is looking into saving for a car and even for buying land someday.  Jeremey is continuing to enjoy playing his guitar.  He loves it.  He and Jason are working on a second recording to send to Grampa Bill. 

Jason turned 11 in June.  He is supposed to be posting on the homeschool blog soon so he will talk about that, I'm sure.  He is still playing guitar and sounds better all the time.  He is interested in a lot of different instruments.  He is into dirt biking again.  He got a different bike and is always making ramps and doing all sorts of tricks.  Jason also continues to draw a lot.  He has also been reading lots of books.  He just told me he read Around The World In 80 Days and 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in one day.  They were bigger print books, but still I thought that was impressive.  He also has read Gone Away Lake, Return To Gone Away, Nothing To Fear off of our shelf (all Sonlight book), plus a couple little mysteries and some motocross books from the library.

Jaimee turned 8 in May.  She loves school and even helps me teach Jennifer.  I learned a long time ago that the teacher usually learns as much as the student, so I figured that was a good way to reinforce some things she had already learned, plus she LOVES teaching her.  She has been busy taking care of Floppy Joanne, her bunny.  She is learning a lot and is excited to have her first pet.  She is really wanting her to have babies, but we aren't quite ready for THAT many bunnies yet.  But I think that would be a great experience for them sometime.  She reads a lot of Dr. Seuss books to the little girls.  Her favorites are One Fish, Blue Fish, Hop on Pop, and Green Eggs and Ham.  Jaimee, unfortunately, had a few cavities and recently got one of them filled.  She was really scared at first.  John stayed in with her the whole time.  She ended up not being so scared after all.  She did bite the inside of her cheek/lip area because the numbness hadn't quite worn off when she was eating some blueberries later.  She has to go back to get the other one taken care of soon.  She said that Daddy can sit in the waiting room this time. 

Jennifer is about to turn 4 (next month).  She is a whirlwind and keeps us all hopping all the time.  She and Jaimee are going to a birthday party for Jennifer's friend, Micah, this month.  It is so cute to see them play together.  They ride scooters and just talk and play.  Jennifer keeps asking when she is going to get HER bunny.  She likes to open the cages and pet them.  Recently she opened Jordan's bunny's cage and picked her up by her ears.  Since then, we have put locks on the cages, but she can still stick her hands in and pet them.  Like I said, she keeps us on our toes.  Jordan is doing Before Five in a Row with her and she enjoys that.  They do different crafts and lessons to go along with each story.  She is always excited to show John what she has done at her "school" and is real proud to tape some of her work up on the mantle with the older kid's stuff.

Janna is almost 17 months old now.  She did finally start walking a few months ago.  Now she is all over the place.  She LOVES looking at photo albums.  She will say "baby" and do the sign language for baby.  That means she wants to look at a photo album.  She also loves to be read to.  She will get a book and walk over to one of us and hold it up and say, "ME?".  We know that means she is asking us to read it to her.  She loves our neighbor, Betty.  Well, we all do.  The kids call her their adopted Grandma.  But Janna will look out the window and say "BE E" (basically Betty without the t's).  She loves dogs, too.  There are always people walking their dogs in the neighborhood and she stops and says "doggie" and makes barking sounds.  Once someone rode a horse by.  They stopped because all the kids were excited to see a horse up close.  Someone else was walking by at the same time with a dog.  Here was this huge horse in front of our house with all the kids around it, and then there was Janna pointing over to the tiny dog walking by and saying "doggie". 

John has been keeping busy at work.  They hired another person recently.  I imagine they will be hiring again soon if things keep going like they are.  He has been experimenting with his bucket gardens.  The herbs are doing pretty well.  He has several other plants going now, but I'm not sure how they will do in the summer heat.  We are trying to learn more about heirloom seeds and saving seeds before the real planting season in September.  He still loves the beach.  We got him a good boogie board for Father's Day so he can play in the waves. 

That's about all the news from here.  We would love to hear from you!

Love,

Jackie

Some Raw Recipes

I mentioned last time I wrote that I would start including some raw recipes in some of the posts.  You that know me know that I have been researching and learning about nutrition for a long time now.  I get so frustrated with all the totally conflicting information claiming theirs is THE way with research to back it up and the other side claiming the same with the research also.  (I think I ranted about that in my last post.)  Anyway, I decided to look at the things that most of them AGREE on.  Things like:

 no white flour

no white sugar

no hydrogenated or any other bad oils

no pop (soda for the Floridians)

no regular salt that you buy at the store (Celtic Sea Salt is recommended by a lot of people--salt should not be white, it should be a grayish color and have minerals left in it)

eat whole foods as close to possible as the way God made them, (which takes out processed foods)

and they ALL agree to eat as much faw food as possible. There is also a lot of information about the healing power of greens. (juices, smoothies, salads, etc.) 

Grass fed beef and farm fresh eggs, raw milk, etc are food that our family feels can be part of a healthy diet, although some wouldn't agree.  But all those foods are acid forming and have NO fiber.  Disease cannot grow in an alkaline environment.  So I started looking into foods that are alkalizing.  Greens are at the top of the list.  And they need to be raw.  The enzymes are active when they are raw and you get all the benefits.  I have been taking BarleyLife, which is a raw powdered juice of the young barley leaves, which I have learned is one of the most nutritious foods available.   I mix it into my vegetable juice that Jeremey makes for me, but you could also get the benefit from it by just mixing a spoonful with water.  I won't tell you it tastes the greatest, but I learned to cut off my taste buds a long time ago and I use that trick.  You could always plug your nose.  The benefits are worth it.  If you would be interested in trying it, I can get it for you at wholesale price.  Let me know if you are interested.  That is one very easy way to add healthy greens to your diet with very little effort. 

Another way is with green smoothies.  I think I posted some green smoothie recipes either on the blog or in a past newsletter, but if not on the blog, I will post some soon.  They are a great and easy way to get more greens in, especially with kids, and the only equipment you need is a blender.

Another easy way is to sprout.  Anyone can do this.  You just need a quart jar and some screen material or a cheese cloth and rubber band.  Broccoli sprouting seeds are really good.  You just put 2 T in the jar and soak in water for 12 hours.  Then you drain the water and set it at an angle with the screen on top secured with the rubber band.  From then on, all you do is rinse them, right through the screen every morning and evening.  When they have grown into sprouts, move them to a sunny place so they can 'green up' to increase the chlorophyll content.  Then you just dump them in a bowl of water and get all the hulls off the top and drain the sprouts.  These are very easy to eat alone or in salads. 

But the one I want to tell you about today is kale.  I had never really eaten it before, but we found a recipe online for Raw Kale Chips and tried it out.  Jordan made it for me a few times.  My Mom tried them and loved them.  All of the girls in our family love them.  Even Jennifer (3 year old).  Jeremey actually likes them too, I think he ate almost a whole jar one time!  They are crispy and salty like a chip, but are full of all the enzymes and nutrients of the raw kale.  You do need a dehydrater for this recipe--one that you can set the temperature on.  I never dehydrate anything over 105 degrees, I've heard different opinions on the correct temp, but that is in the safe range.  We have an Excaliber.  It has been running almost constantly lately.  One of my friends (Rebecca) and my sister in law (Amy) have huge ones that have I'm guessing 20 trays or more.  Mine has 9.  I think Excaliber also comes with 5.  Anyway, it earns it's space on the counter.  Like I mentioned, Jordan made these for us a few times, and I just put my first batch in the dehydrater.  Here's the recipe:

2 bunches of kale, broken into chip size pieces (if you juice, you can save the stem for juicing)

Blend in blender:

3/4 C Raw Tahini (can find in most stores and health food stores)

(or you can make your own if you have a Vita Mix:  4 cups frozen sesame seeds, 1 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.  Put the olive oil in the blender first, then add the sesame seeds and salt.  Blend until completely smooth.  You need to use the frozen seeds so they will not heat up too high to kill their enzymes.)

1/4 C Soy Sauce (Nama Shoyu is a raw brand, but it is made with wheat.  I am avoiding grains right now, so we are using Tamari which is made without wheat.)

(Update:  We left this out recently to save $$ plus to avoid the Tamari, which I think feeds yeast.  It was still really good.  I think we just added some sea salt to it.  No one complained.)

1/4 C Nutritional Yeast

1 Lemon, juiced

2 Green Onions

1 Clove Garlic

1/4 C Raw Apple Cider Vinegar (Bragg's is the brand we use)

Blend everything but the kale in the blender.  Pour it over the kale pieces.  Massage the liquid into the kale.  Put it on the dehydrater sheets and sprinkle with a little sea salt, if desired.  Set the temp at 105 degrees.  We usually check them after 12 hours, we wait to take them out until they are really crispy.

Here's another recipe using kale.  It is a salad called Mediterranean Kale.

2 Small Bunches Kale, stems removed

2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 T Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 t Sea Salt

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1/4 C Raw Pine Nuts

1/4 C Sliced Raw Black Olives

Dash Black Pepper

Stack 2 kale leaves with stem end facing you.  Fold in 1/2 lengthwise and roll tightly like a cigar.

Slice crosswise into thin strips.  Repeat with remaining leaves.  Cut them crosswise so they won't be too long.

Place in mixing bowl, along with the olive oil, lemon juice, and sea salt.

Toss well with your hands, working the dressing into the greens.

Add the red pepper, pine nuts, and olives and toss gently.

Season to taste with black pepper.

Keeps for 3 days.  (Jordan LOVES this)

****Try to get as many greens into your diet every day as possible.  I have read of many people getting off their medications for high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other things, simply by using the BarleyLife.  Plus, with all the current talk of flu epidemics, etc, it's important to have a strong immune system.  Greens are a great way to build your immune system and protect you against sickness and disease.****

Love,

Jackie 

Update From Us

Well, let's see.....lots has been going on since we've been feeding the freezer.  I seem to be doing a horrible job of keeping up with keeping you all updated!  I am hoping to include the children, especially on the homeschool blog.  I have realized it is important to stay connected with people, and I have done a poor job.  I will do my best to come out of my little hiding place, at least every once in a while, to visit with you all! 

One of the reasons I've not been on the computer so much is I have been going through some health issues.  I really haven't felt good for such a long time, it just started to feel normal.  I won't bore you with all the details, but to make a long story shorter....I have been to more than just a few doctors and everyone said I was fine.  I remembered seeing a natural doctor about 5 years ago who told me my adrenal glands were "exhausted".  I ended up connecting with someone who had a similar but worse condition online through a group I was on for moms.  That started  major anxiety because as I learned more about issues with the adrenal gland, I didn't realize how serious it could be.  I decided to try the conventional doctors one more time.  I basically told the doctor some tests I wanted done and she had them done.  We found out that I had a very high c-reactive protein (it was 5 times the normal level).  I had been tested for that before and it was high, but it had over doubled since then.  I began researching that and that led to all sorts of scary information about being a precurser for heart problems among other scary things.   (C-reactive protein is an inflammatory marker--it does not show where the inflammation is, just that there is inflammation going on).  Anyway, that led to tests at the cardiologists, which led to me having to stop nursing Janna, which led to more anxiety and depression, etc.  Thankfully the tests were all normal.  My friend, Rebecca, had recommended a doctor to me in Lakeland.  We decided to try again.  This doctor has a family practice with his father.  They recommend using food as medicine and trying natural things first.  They believe that God made our bodies to be self healing.  They acknowledge there are times when a medication is needed, but most times, the body will heal itself with time and good nutrtion.  Medication never heals, just masks the symptoms of the root problem.  He said we would get to the root.  I was so excited and couldn't believe to have found a doctor who was on the 'same page' as we were.  So, I went on a totally raw diet for a few months.  I began juicing vegetables again (well, I should say Jeremey began juicing vegetables for me--I do pay him!), I'm taking BarleyLife, which is one of the most highly concentrated nutrients available.   I am working on building my immune system and learning to de stress life as much as possible.  I do eat some cooked food now, a couple times a week, but I am trying really hard to stay as much raw as possible.  I don't feel like I've explained it all very well, but it gives you all a little idea of what's been going on basically since the end of January around here.

Jordan and Jeremey stepped up and have really helped a lot around the house.  I am learning not to be a perfectionist and learn which things to let go.  I am learning more about how God made our bodies to heal themselves with materials He has made.  Oh, and I haven't spoken in detail with my doctor about this, it was just a quick phone call, but he did some bloodwork at my last visit and he said that my c reactive protein was 3.57!!!!  I want to make sure we are comparing apples to apples because I know different labs have different 'interpretations' of what is normal.  But I am believing that is a HUGE decrease.  The adrenals just take lots of time to heal.  Lots of rest.  Lots of good nutrition. Gentle excercise.   And as little stress as possible. (don't have that one figured out so well yet other than we are trying to simplify things as much as possible)   So, that's what I've been up to. 

During this time, Janna turned 1!!  We can't believe it.  Then Jordan went and turned 16 on us!  The nerve......  Jaimee is about to turn 8.  We gave her her birthday present a week early (yesterday), I will let her tell you all about it on the homeschool blog. 

One thing that has come out of this is that I have found out that Jordan is very creative in the kitchen.  She has made some good raw dishes for me.  Another good thing is that all of us are eating more raw.  I don't expect everyone to be all raw, and I don't expect I will be forever either.  This is a cleansing time for me, but I do know that I will always eat as much raw foods as I can.  It's much easier to prevent getting so run down than to claw your way back up.  And the nutrition from raw foods is one way to do that.  No preaching, just hoping maybe to help someone who hasn't made the connection between what we eat and our health.

I'll close for now.  You'll be hearing from some of the kids soon, too.  Also, I will post some raw recipes soon. 

Love to all!

Jackie and 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!!~~~~~