Misery loves company

Spark sat holding his finger until past 9 o'clock last night. Then he goes in the bathroom, comes out with the blue finger nail polish (Dancer loves polish and we have almost every color available to man) and sets it gingerly on the table. "Mom, you can make your finger blue too" he says while making an incredibly cute face. So to make him feel better I paint the middle finger on my left hand. Dancer also joins in the pity party and paints hers as well. Dad gets home from work this morning and Spark tells him, "I don't recommend slamming your finger in the door, just use the polish". Now we are all sporting a blue fingernail. It seems to be working as his finger is much better today. If the nail ends up falling off he will have to endure that on his own!

Good Day Bad Day

Dancer had a good day. She went to her first Girls Club at another homeschoolers house. It is for homeschool girls from 7 to 12 years old. The mother is gracious enough to open her home every month and plan activities for the girls. She is braver than I am. Dancer made a quilled angel, played games, sang songs, had snacks and hung out with the other girls. She had a marvelous time and can't wait to go again next month.

Spark had a bad day. He was out sledding when I came by on my way to the barn and asked him to shut the side garage door. It is an old, heavy, unforgiving, solid wood door. He slammed his finger in it when shutting it, or should I say slamming it. I went to give him a hug and let him cry a bit thinking that would take care of it. When I hugged him he was shaking, not a good sign that it is just a little injury. His fingernail on the finger he slammed was already red. A few minutes later it was black. He cried and cried for over an hour and has been whimpering ever since. He said it is going bump, bump, bump without making any sound. Thankfully, he has been able to be distracted some by t.v. It is at times like these that I am glad they don't get to watch a lot of t.v. because then it is so exciting when they do get to. It looks horrible, but if we went to the doctor I don't know what they could do for him. We will reassess it in the morning.

The Jesse Tree Day 9 - Moses in the reeds

Day 9 - Moses. We choose to focus on his birth and how all little boys at the time we suppose to be killed. Moses' mother was able to keep him a secret for 3 months and then put him a basket before setting him adrift in the dangerous Nile river. He was then rescued, given back to his mother to be taken care of and later raised by the most predominate family at the time. He goes on to do great works for God. We decided to make a baby Moses in his basket. This will symbolize for us that, even as a baby, God can have great plans for our lives, plans we are being prepared for and we don't even know it. We want to be reminded to always do our best and take each opportunity that is given us assuming that in some way it is readying us to fulfill our jobs for God.

Using a small jar lid for the basket structure, cut out a circle of felt that is big enough to cover the edges of the lid and overlap into the middle of the lid. Glue the lid down to the felt. Fill the middle of the lid with tacky glue and fold the felt inward so that all parts get glue on them and it sticks securely. A little bead with a face drawn on it works well for the baby. Tuck the bead into the folds of the felt so he looks comfy. Cut a little square of felt in another color felt and glue it on for his blanket. Glue a ribbon on the back for a hanger. This was super simple and cost almost nothing.

Chirstmas foods from around the world - Germany

Pfeffernusse. An expensive audio system? The name of Volkswagons new mini van? A European vacation destination? No, it's the name of the German Christmas cookie we baked today. And as if that wasn't exciting enough, we also made a tradional German Christmas drink called Gluhwein. It would be made with wine, but since minors don't drink in America, we used grape juice.

Pfeffernusse - Germany

2 C. brown sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp hot water

1 C chopped nut - ground very fine

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

3 C. flour

1 C. powdered sugar for rolling cookies in

Beat the eggs well and mix with the sugar. Dissolve the soda in hot water and add. Sift together the spices, flour and nuts. It need to make a dough that can be rolled. If it is too wet add more flour, to dry add a bit more water. Roll out the dough about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into tiny rounds about as large as a quarter. Bake at 400 degrees about 10 minutes. Do not over bake or they are very hard. Take out and roll in powdered sugar at once.

Beating the eggs until they were fluffy. The dough rolls out really easy.

Rolling the powdered sugar.

Gluhwein (non alcholic) - Germany



1 orange
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 quart unsweetened pure grape juice
1/4 C. honey
2 cinnamon sticks


Cut the orange in half and put the cloves into the skin of one half. Pour the grape juice into a pan. DO NOT use an unlined metal pan or a metal spoon or it will ruin the taste. Use a nonstick pan. Add the orange with cloves, lemon juice, honey and cinnamon sticks. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Slice the other half of the orange into thin slices and serve in the mugs.

Boiling in the pan. Our only nonstick pan was a fry pan but it worked fine.

The Jesse Tree Day 8 - Joseph and his brothers

The story for today was about Joseph. The kids know the story very well and we have studied it a couple of times before. To avoid the same old, same old focus on his coat that is usually thought of when Joseph is mentioned, we choose instead to focus on the sacks of grain he gave to his brothers when the came asking for grain, not realizing it was their brother they were petitioning to. The kids had some great insight on what may have taken place for the brothers, Jacob, Reuben, Simeon, and Joseph. The ornament they made today was sacks of grain. They decided that the sacks would represent humility, forgiveness, guilt, fear, honoring parents, and living and dealing with the retributions of past sins.

Dancer whipped up these little bags on the sewing machine quickly. She had a rectangle piece of fabric and folded each end down the make a casing. Folded it in the middle to make the bottom and sewed up the sides.

Spark threaded a ribbon in the casing with a large upholstery needle.

Next he stuffed them with batting,

and pulled the tops tight.

All that was left was to hang them on the tree.

Fa la la la la la la la la

The 4-H club our kids belong to went caroling last night at a local nursing home. This simple activity was so much fun. We strolled up and down the hall in our unrehearsed voices singing a vast array of Christmas songs and hymns. The people there were so excited to see the kids. Many of them sang and clapped along with smiles lighting up their faces like children on Christmas morning. One woman gleefully joined us in singing and meandering the different wings of the building. When we were moving out of her unit and into another, she said we hadn't sang our whole book yet and we shouldn't leave. Several people came out of their rooms and asked us in to sing for them. The staff were putting their arms around residents and singing with them. One man commented how romantic we sounded. He was alone, but he looked like in his mind that all his loved ones over the years were there with him in his memories. This very well may become our favorite Christmas memory this year.

Jesse Tree Day 7 - Jacob's ladder

The story of Jacob and his dream about the ladder that went from heaven and earth is the story we focused on today. Dancer read from Genesis 28. This is such an exciting story! It lets us know that if we have God as our God he will be with us where ever we are, providing us with what we need and that angels travel between heaven and earth. Just the message we need in the difficult world times we are facing now and what is sure to come.

The kids made a ladder as the symbol to remember this story by. They used the little pony beads and strung them on a ribbon. By weaving the ribbon back and forth between the beads they made rungs on a ladder. Angel stickers complete the symbol. Spark hung his over his world and along side the stars he made last week.

Chirstmas foods from around the world - Egypt

Last year we spent a lot of time studying ancient Egypt so we were excited to make these. Like all good shortbread recipes they are laden with butter. I had a couple and went right down to put two miles in on the treadmill. They are good, but definitely a once a year treat.

Ghryba Shortbread - Egypt

1 cup butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

12 -15 peeled, halved almonds or pine nuts

Melt butter in pan. Add powdered sugar to the melted butter and mix well. Add the flour a little a time stirring well. It will make a soft dough when all the flour has been added. Roll into balls the size of marbles and flatten into small rounds. Put an almond on the top. Bake 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. They should be creamy in color, not brown.

We were not able to get the almonds peeled or halved so Spark just put them on whole.

Chirstmas foods from around the world - Sweden

This recipe took us across the ocean to where our families came from - Sweden. The recipe was Jansson's Temptation. Swedes have white sauce, cream, butter, potatoes and fish running through their veins and this dish was no exception with it's ingredients.

Jansson's Temptation

1 lb. potatoes

1 onion

2 tbsp butter

8 anchovy fillets

pepper

1 cup heavy cream

Peel and cut potatoes. Butter baking dish. Layer potatoes, sliced onions, and few anchovy fillets. Continue layering ending with a layer of potatoes. Pepper the top of the dish. Pour cream over the potatoes. Cut the butter up into small pieces and scatter over the top of the potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes at 325 degrees. Bake another 30 minutes at 350 minutes until top is golden brown and potatoes are fork tender.

Putting in the anchovies

Adding the cream

This got mixed reviews at our house. The vote was two yes, one maybe, and one no. It has a distinct fishy flavor from the anchovies. Spark loves anything fish and he loved it. Dad was the no vote. He had just gotten up to go to work, so perhaps five minutes after waking wasn't the best time to serve him this! That said, I don't see this surfacing again on our table.

Victory At Last!

Hello, this is Spark live on Once Upon a Family news. Today 3:20 p.m. central time, I unlocked Toad and Toadette on Mario Kart Double Dash. Thanks for tuning in.

BUSTED!!!

Here is our outside cat Vidalia curled up on our bed taking a little snoozer. She has sneeked in before but never made herself so much at home.

The Jesse Tree Day 6 - Abraham, Isaac and the Sacrifice

Day 6 - Abraham and Isaac and the Sacrifice. We read Genesis 22:1-19. This passage tells about Abraham trusting God so much even when it seems that God wants him to kill his son as a burnt offering. What God wanted was obedience. When Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, God sent a ram to take the place of his son. We made little sheep to remind us just how difficult it can be to live for God and how God sacrificed his own Son for us. Our little sheep were made out of a heavy yarn made into a pompom. The legs are a brown pipe cleaner cut in two and rolled up at the ends to make feet. The eyes are buttons. These were super simple but the symbolism is immense.

The Jesse Tree Day 5 - Promise to Abram

Day 5 was about the call and promise to Abram. Dancer read aloud Genesis 12:1-7 and 15:1-6. These verses tell us about how God made promises to Abram, one of which was that he would have more heirs than the stars he could see in the sky. To symbolize this promise we made tin star hangings. Here is how we did it. Using pie pans draw a star on the bottom of the pan using anything blunt that will leave a pattern of a star but not any ink on the pan. We used the non writing end of a Sharpe. Then using a kitchen shears cut out the stars. First we tried a utility knife, which worked well, but the shears seemed safer and made a nicer cut. Next was to get holes in the tin to be able to attach the stars together with string. To do this we used a needle, put the star on top of a tissue box and pushed the needle through the tin. To save her fingers from a poke, Dancer balled up a tissue and then pushed down on the needle. It was a bit hard to get through the tin. Once all the holes are in the stars, tie the stars together with thread. We used a light blue so that from a distance it is hard to see the thread and it looks like the stars suspended in mid air. These were a bit more difficult than we thought they would be, probably just because of our choice of materials. Spark needed a lot of help but Dancer was able to do it on her own.

Spark brought his rabbit Creamy in the house today. Creamy will open an envelope if you hold it in front of him. He just starts at one end and gnaws his way to the other. Creamy is a pretty big rabbit. If he had long legs he would be about the same size as the dog Nikki. He probably even weights more than she does, he is quite round. Here he is as a baby. This is the only rabbit that comes in the house. Spark became attached to him so he gets played with a lot and is quite tame compared to some of our others.

Chirstmas foods from around the world - South America

We took our taste buds down to South America today and what a treat it was! Both of these recipes were excellent. This is a bit fancier than we usually would eat but it was well worth the extra prep time. The rice is especially moist and rich from being covered in the oil before boiling.

Ninos Envueltos - Argentina

The name means "babies in blankets"

Two 4 oz. rump or sirloin steaks

salt and pepper

1/2 C. cooked spinach, chopped

1 hard boiled egg, chopped

6 oz. ham, chopped

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. olive oil

8 oz. can of chopped tomatoes

Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible. Combine finely chopped spinach, egg, ham and butter. Lay out the pieces of steak and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon the spinach mixture (baby) into the middle of the steaks, wrap the steak (blanket) around the mixture. Secure with a toothpick. Roll the bundles in flour and fry in the oil for 1 - 2 minutes until brown on all sides. Add tomatoes after they are brown, put a lid on the pan and cook on low for about 20 minutes. If needed add extra water to keep them moist during the cooking time.

Savory Rice - Brazil

1/2 chicken stock cube

1 1/2 C water

olive oil

1 onion

3/4 C rice

2 tbsp. chopped canned tomatoes

salt

Combine 1 1/2 C. water and chicken stock base in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Chop onion and fry in olive oil until translucent. Add rice and stir until all grains are covered with oil. Add rice, tomato and salt to the stock and boil. Reduce heat and cover until rice is cooked.

The Jesse Tree Day 4 - Noah and the flood

The fourth day of the Jesse tree is about the flood and Noah. The kids orated the story of the world being so sinful that God brought the great flood to wipe out all living things except he saved Noah and his family. To know when they could come back off the ark and start life again Noah sent out a dove. When the dove didn't come back they knew the water was receding off the land. To remember that God gives second chances we made doves to symbolize the dove that Noah sent out. The doves we made were just a simple outline of a dove cut out of white felt. Using sparkly glitter glue, each side was thinly covered to make the felt stiff. A hanger attached completes the project. This was very, very simple except that it took a long time for the glue to dry on the felt.

Ice luminary

Many mornings the goat water hasn't frozen in the middle by the ground, or Dad pours hot water on top of it for the goats to get a quick drink before dumping it out. This morning when he poured out the water, the hole it was really big from the goats sticking their heads in there. Usually Spark goes out there with a hammer and smashes it to smithereens, that must be some boy thing. Today he spared it and brought it up to the house. The hole in the middle of today's was the span of his hand. He tipped it out and put a candle in there tonight to make a this beautiful luminary. Do you think that is how Martha Stewart makes hers?

More excitement in the barn - a rabbit finally took care of some babies! Oreo is the mother, who is either a wonderful doting mom and has raised many successful litters, or she pushes them out of the cage to their death which she has also done to many litters. These bunnies are 11 days old and it is the first we have pulled one out of the nest in hopes of her staying interested in them. It is about 8 inches long and 5 inches around, the eyes look like they are just about to open in the next day or two at the most. They are growing fast as they start out about the size of a breakfast sausage. As far as we could tell there were four of them. The fact that Spark loves eggs is an understatement. He would eat them every morning if I would make them for him. However, I don't appreciate messing up a big pan to make one egg. At the store yesterday he spied this cute little pan. Now he can have one of his hard shelled beauties (that is what he calls eggs) every single morning if he so desires.

The Jesse Tree Day 3 - Adam and Eve sin

The third day of the tree is about the fall of Adam and Eve and how sin enters the world. The reading for this day can be Genesis 2:4 - 3:13. We made felt apples to help us to remember to keep our eyes open for sin and stay true to God's word.

Here is how we made them. Draw a simple apple and leaf pattern on paper. Cut out the pattern and pin the apple on two layers of red felt and the leaves on two layers of green felt. Pin the pattern down and cut it out. Pin the two layers of apple together to keep them even when stiching. With embroidery floss make little running stiches around the outside of the apple. Leave a small spot to insert the stuffing. Sew the rest of the way around the apple. Sew the leaves on the top with little stiches so as not to show to much of the red floss. Make a loop in the floss and tie it tight for hanging on the tree. These were really quite simple and took about 10 minutes to complete.

Chirstmas foods from around the world - Poland

Mushroom Soup - serves 4

This soup would be eaten on Christmas Eve before the Midnight Mass because the tradition is to not eat meat at this meal.

1 1/2 C. portobello mushrooms - about one mushroom

1 large onion

olive oil

1 quart water

Liptons onion soup mix

2/3 C. sour cream

2 slices of toast

Chop onions and mushrooms. Fry the mushrooms and onions in olive oil until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms are cooked. In one quart of water empty a package of Lipton's onion soup mix. Bring to a boil. Add the mushrooms and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes or until it smells so good that you can't wait to eat it any longer. Take the soup off the heat and add the sour cream and stir. Cut the toast into little squares and plop in the soup. "The Polish eat really good," said Dancer. We will definately make this again!

The Jesse Tree Day 2 - Creation Adam and Eve

The second day of the Jesse tree is about the first Father and making the earth. The kids orated the story of the creation and Adam and Eve. The ornament they made was the world. First, they drew the land masses on a Styrofoam ball with pencil. Dad and Spark were really getting into this part, especially over in Europe. Then using blue and green sequence the pinned the sequences into the ball. Not to be out done, Dancer added a blue sequence for the great lakes. They used two packs of 600 pins and several packs of the sequence so it took a lot to get the balls covered. To spare their thumbs they used pencil erasers to push the pins into the balls. To hang it on the tree we will attach a ribbon on the top. The earths turned out really cool and sparkly. They should look great at night with the lights of the tree.

The Jesse Tree Day 1

It has become a tradition that we make a Jesse tree for Christmas and have a daily devotional along with it. The first day is from Isaiah 11:1. For this day we used parchment paper and wrote the verse on it. Then in the kitchen sink we burnt the edges of the paper. This is perched at the very top of our Jesse tree. This year our Jesse is tree is our old 4 foot Christmas tree because the kids also put the decorations they made last year on it and the little tree we used wouldn't have held them all. For the devotional we talked about how Jesus is related to Jesse through his family tree and how we are born into God's family.