School is in for the YEAR!

Summer is over. Well the weather is still hot but our schedule sure has changed. School has been underway since around the middle of August. Life's pace has picked up in the measure of speeds and our calender is full. I miss the summer but I'm happy for the school year to be going. There are so many wonderful things happening on campus and I'm excited about this year. Andrew is really good at his job and has a great staff and superintendent. I don't think most of you know how unique and diverse his job really is. I see him passionately work with teenagers and school staff everyday. He is in charge of residential aspect at school and takes care of some of the principal duties as well. It is a big job. I am in awe and I'm very proud of him. He has a lot of responsibility but he doesn't complain and is very patient. You have to admire a man like him. I like to hear him speak to the student body. He has great quotes and occasionally I use them on him. "Do you know that attitudes are contagious? Make yours worth catching!"

A picture I took out in CO and added our marriage date.

Daraby turned 4 over the summer. Our little girl is growing up. Nuts!

This is at her birthday party. No picture is complete without Cinderella.

The girls love their cousins and it is fun to see our girls blossom when they are with kids they trust. They act crazy and love each other. I love it.

Are they related? No! Can you believe it? This is Zoe. She is the daughter of Andrew's high school best friend. We saw them in MI this summer and ate some wonderful pizza in a great A/C building. It was amazingly hot outside.

We've spent a ton of time on the beach this summer. Our children finally love the water and I like laying on the beach. Andrew came back from sea dooing with a great afro. The girls like to ride on the sea doo much to their mom's surprise.

Our summer has been full of this as well. We bought a wonderful horse this spring and we've been putting some miles on him. I'm so glad for the girls to experience the fun of riding a safe horse. The feed him and lead him around as well. Andrew and I's first conversation was about horses. I'm glad this will be an integral part of our family life.

I've had a lot of time during the summer to work on some of my own projects- painting, sewing, making cards and re-doing furniture. The picture above and below is a sample of the baby blankets I've been making over the summer. They are a wonderful weight and texture. They do take a lot of time but I feel handmade gifts are a labor of love and are completely worth it. Every time I make one of these I am so excited for the family to receive it. I hope this will be a blanket to treasure for many years. I pray the entire time I make it. I pray for the special baby who will be wrapped up in it. I pray that the child will know and love the Lord who created her/him.

I made my own pattern and messed around with it until I got a bag/purse that I really like. I like pleats and ruffled fabric. I am happy with it.

This was another summer project that I'm incredibly happy about! I found this solid wood vintage desk online and went to town right away to pick up. My gracious husband only grumbled a little bit about another project to collect. He did well and he was thrilled with the turnout as well. It took me just a little bit to decide to paint only  the top and add one of my favorite quotes. I wrote the quote out and then painted it by hand and added a solid poly. The top is butter smooth and so pretty. The bottom I left the natural wood color and added a poly coat as well. This desk went to another vintage lovers home and I'm so happy for them to use it. Another success!

There was a lot of changed on our campus this summer. They tore down two buildings and a garage. On of the buildings was a duplex and the other was the elementary/middle school building. We were able to watch them being torn down and I ran the loader one day. I had a lot of fun. It feels so good to connect with my construction roots. Our kids kept asking when our home was going to be torn down. They were fascinated and worried at the same time.

It looks so good to see the campus cleaned up and the new building coming together. The new multi-purpose building- gym/classrooms etc- is coming along. The elementary kids have classes in there now along with the band/choir room, and weight room. We are waiting to finish the gym as the funds come it. I hope they get finances this year so we'll have some games in their this winter. This will be a huge asset to the campus and kids here.

This is an aerial shot of the campus. Last week I went up in a beautiful 4 seater plane. Kendra the pilot and owner of the plane graduated from SBA and flew Tammy and me over the campus. I love to fly and we took some great photos. Our home is on the RHS in the middle of those trees. It's hard to point out.

The three brothers all have birthdays in August and we were able to celebrate by going out for pizza in CO. Andrew and Joel's birthdays are exactly 10 years apart. Joel is 20 this year and that means Andrew is 30. Oh yeah Andrew, we are becoming those people.

We taught Daraby about Coldstone. "Mommy used to work here and Daddy waited for Mommy to get off work so he could eat leftover ice cream." Daraby loved it and ate the whole thing. WOW! 

We were able to see Susan and Michael. The girls are super excited about Susan's baby belly. They asked her everyday about the baby. They continue to ask me if Susan had her baby yet. We told her that having a baby takes time and then it is painful to have. She replied, "Mom I'm not going to have a baby in my belly when I get old. I am going to adopt like you and I want a girl." My sweets!

A good photo of Mom and Dad Boersma out in CO.

  

 I've always wanted to ride on a gondola and that dream came true in Breckenridge, even though I'm scared of heights. Those things wiggle and sway but I was so excited. This is my kind of climbing. Take me to the top baby. The girls loved it and had no worries. Huh?

Good friends are essential in life and we are so blessed. Over the summer we spent some time at Grace Adventures with our good friends Scott and Alicia and their three children. We love them and really love connecting and relaxing. There are those people in life that you can connect with instantly and start off right where you left off. It is a summer thing. We are so thankful to connect but wish we lived next door. Just not like we did in college- in teepee's and tents. We all worked at the camp together. Who says camp counselors don't date. 

 Another special friendship is with Aaron and Jess who just had their first baby, Lauren. The girls were so enamored by baby Lauren. Jess was so good and loves our kids so it is easy to connect and hang out with Jess and Aaron. We are thankful for their relationship. We are excited for them! They are great parents.

This summer we stopped by Nick and Delores' home on the lake. The girls enjoyed swimming and we had some great laughs. I couldn't have imagined our college years without them. They are like a set of grandparents for me and really influenced Andrew's and I relationship. We spent many hours at their home playing games, staying up late and eating food. They are so joyful and I'm so glad for their love. I can't tell you how many times I would worry over something and Delores in her sweet way would say, "Well let's just pray about it." She would grab my hands and say a sincere but short prayer. She taught me a lot about living out my faith. It is great to share them with our children.



Over the summer we also took the long one lane road to our (former) home in the Nebraska sand hills. My heart still aches over not living there but I am content with where God has brought us. The beauty there is amazing! I really feel like that I was born there in my heart. My souls was so full every day. I'm so glad that we lived there even though it was so short. I grew so much in those years. Someday I hope we'll return- only if God says yes. In the meantime, I will be patient and enjoy my summer trips.

Of course we stopped in at Alice's home and enjoyed playing with all her pets and chatting it up. Dakota was named in honor of my home state, my Mom and Alice. I'm so glad to have photos of Dakota with Alice. Dakota is accurately named: Dakota Joy Alice: Dakota means friend and she is friendly, Joy and she is very joyful and Alice- strong and tough. Names have meanings and I'm glad she fits hers.

Some friends of ours took us out in their boat to do a bit of fishing this summer. Andrew didn't catch a fish but our friends' little guy did and that was fun to watch. This was Andrew's face as he watched little Spencer reel in his big fish. This is the heart of the man I married. He is excited for kids to accomplish things. This is the face I see him have at work. 



It is true our year, as as a family, will be a bit different. Daraby started preschool this year and this is a picture of the girls in the car right before we got to school. They are having a hard time being apart for 2.5 hours -three days a week.

Dara was so excited about school but clams up as soon as she gets there. She is very shy at school. She is having a hard time adjusting but wants to go every time. I know she will blossom throughout the year. She is learning her letters and tells me about everyday she comes home.

This last weekend we went to the state fair and Daraby's highlight was holding the bunny. My daughter has a gift with animals. I believe she got it from her parents.

She also loves all dolls/babies. We are dressing and re-dressing dolls a lot around here. I've never played with dolls so much in my life. They are set up in cradles, pack-n-plays and wrapped in blankets. I am constantly being told to, "Be quiet Mom. My babies are sleeping!"

It is time for me to be quiet and go since I just spent their entire nap time writing this blog. You see if I blog I don't get to nap and naps are critical for my line of work. Now you know that I do care enough to skip my nap to write this blog for you! Hope you enjoy!

Summer Come and Gone!

 Well, I guess the summer is over already.  I noticed that our last post was from the end of May and we've sure had a lot happen since then.  We visited MI at the end of June for almost 2 weeks.  While there, we enjoyed a lot of time with family including a memoriable fishing trip with Joel where I caught an 11 pound salmon.  It was taller than Dakota!  We also had a wonderful experience at Grace Adventures family camp over the 4th of July.  It was a time of spiritual refreshment for us as a family and also an awesome opportunity to connect with some of our close friends. 

 The girls actually spent close to a month in MI with mom and dad.  They spent a lot of time on the beach and are loving the water and sand.  We are grateful for the opportunities they have had and they are at an enjoyable time in life to do family vacations.

 We wrapped our summer break with a trip out to CO with the Boersma family.  We stayed at a beautiful place outside of Breckenridge.  We spent quite a bit of time hiking and hanging out together as a family.  I think we are one of the only families to almost complete the seemingly impossible task of sinking a pontoon boat (there is a good story here that needs to be told in person). 
Anyway, on the way back from CO we were able to stop in NE and see many of our friends and former co-workers.  We dearly miss the sandhills and it was a huge encouragement to visit and pick up relationships right where we left off.  They are in a severe drought and constantly on the lookout for wildfires.  There was a fire on the ranch we used to work at that burned over 15,000 acres. 
In the above picture, Daraby is holding a kitten from Alice Cotton's place.  Many of you who visited us in NE know Alice and have seen her "diversified" ranch (she has many different types of animals).  The girls also loved riding some of her goats and catching them.  Dakota led one young goat around by his horns and wouldn't let him go. 

 The hiking and scenery in CO was beautiful and the girls were good troopers!

 Here's a picture of this year's residence life team at SBA.  They have been a wonderful crew to work with so far.  We picked up two new staff from Grace Adventures (where we went to family camp-Darcy says that I had alterior motives) and they have jumped in with both feet.  They are getting accustomed to life out in SD and we spent an evening playing games on horseback.

Darcy had the chance to go flying last week and she took some great photos of the campus.  The big building with the brown roof is the new multi-purpose building that has new classrooms up and running for this school year.  We praise the Lord for his faithfulness and pray that he would provide the remaining funds to finish the gym part. 

Speaking of God's faithfulness, we rejoice in sharing that we have recieved 2 adoption grants totaling $7500 to go towards our adoption!  These letters have brought tears of joy as we marvel at how God provides in his way in his time.  There is not any new news as far as a potential child, however, we feel like we are making small steps while "waiting".  We have Daraby sleeping in the top bunk of her bed and will soon be moving Dakota to the bottom bunk to free up the other bedroom.

Another big milestone is that Daraby is starting preschool tomorrow.  She is very excited.  We'll see how mom and dad do tomorrow as we take her to her first day.

This is a very short recap of the last 3 months and we are so glad that we were able to see many of you over the summer.  Pray for us as we enter the busy school year and if the school year goes as fast as the summer break has gone, we will soon be writing about next summers adventures!  Thanks for staying tuned into our lives even when we only update every quarter!

Granola Bar Cookies

This week I've been baking and hanging out with the kids. As school wrapped up last week it has been great to hang out more as a family. Andrew comes home for lunch and we all eat together. He is also home at night and we are loving all the time! What to do with ourselves? It is nice and chilly here today but this is a change from the continual rain we've had.

We live in gumbo country where the mud sticks to you. I push the buggy (double stroller) and the wheels just get more and more mud. Last year Andrew and I put in drain tile and used shovels in this terrible mud. That was an intense work out. I had to push the mud off the shovel with my foot and then the mud just stuck to my shoes. I felt like I was weighted down. I found with shoes it is best to let it dry and then beat it. Anyway enough of my mud woes.

With Andrew coming home for lunch I've been trying to cook and bake more. If any of you know me well know that I don't really care for either. I can do them well when I do since my mom was a great teacher. She is an incredible cook/baker. I know how much don't really like to do it. I would much rather be sewing or making cards. But everyone has to eat so I push myself to do it. Most times our meals are very low key. I eat gluten free. A lot of what we eat is gluten free. Andrew and the girls still eat some gluten but not nearly as much as we used to. We eat rice pasta and I make a homemade sauce. In the last three years we've switched to all natural cleaning and personal care products. I make most everything we use. I've learned a lot along the way! I am happy with where we are with all that and am so much more comfortable knowing that it is gentle, fragrance free and no toxins. Now I am starting to tackle the food issue. We are moving away from processed foods and trying to eat real foods.

Most of you know that I hate getting up in the morning. I hate getting out of my nice warm soft bed. Ironically God gave me a very early morning rising daughter. She thinks the world is most alive at 6 AM. Really? Nuts! After 3.5 years I'm getting used to it. It has made me a better morning person and I get up and make a homemade breakfast nearly every morning. This is something I said I would never do. My kids love breakfast. Eggs are a great! We run out of eggs all the time and so we walk over in the morning to the school's cooler (in our PJs) to buy eggs.

Slowly we are moving toward foods with less sugar and more natural carbs. However I do still make some snacks. Andrew couldn't live without snacks. He eats more food than anyone I've ever met. This man can eat and eat and eat. I wish I had his metabolism! Out of his need/desire for snacks I found this recipe and he loves it! He says that it is more like a cookie. I will continue to take out the carbs as I continue to make it but for now here it is. I don't remember where I got it from.

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

1 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1 cup rice crispy cereal

1 cup crushed salted pretzels

1/4 cup ground or whole flax seed

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup chopped nuts - we used almonds

In a large bowl stir the above ingredients together.

1 cup peanut butter

   Add the peanut butter to the dry ingredients. Break up the peanut butter with your spoon and continue to mix, mix and mix until you get it all mixed. Takes a while.

4 tbsp butter (melted) or coconut oil (melted)

2 tsp vanilla extract

      Add melted butter and vanilla to the mixture and stir some more.

1/3 cup honey + 1tbsp honey

     Add the honey and mix some more!

1 cup Chocolate chips

    Add the chocolate and fold them in.

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan and pour in the granola mixture. Pat down. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Top will be golden brown- be careful not to over bake. Honey will burn quick. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Cut bars once the are cool. May crumble some- perfect for putting on ice cream or eating with milk. You may put them in the refrigerator to chill further before trying to cut.

Our pup loves water! So much so that she leaps in the tub with the girls at night. The girls think it is great and pour water all over her. Audi loves the attention. Audi likes to stick her entire face in the water and little bubbles come floating up from her nose. I always think she will take on a lot of water but she doesn't. I've never see a dog swim or play in the water like her. So many dogs like water but I think Audi could be part fish. She dives in the pond out back and at home I find her standing in her water dish-splashing water all over the floor. Good thing there are 2 ponds on the property. She swims until I call her out. She is a dog that could kill herself running or swimming. She doesn't quit. I wish I could bottle her energy!

I don't remember if I ever shared this but I found this chair in the dump out back. A great metal chair with peeling paint. It needed some help but I fixed that. It took me some time that was for sure but I'm really happy with how it turned out! I did put vinyl on the seat - which I don't love- but it keeps it clean from messy hands. I love the blue color I painted it. I found the vintage fabric at a thrift store. The pillow is also one of my creations from a while back. Very eclectic and very me!

Banana Bread Recipe etc...

I am more than excited for the first time in my life I have found a perfect banana bread recipe! I mean it cooks up perfectly and everyone loved it! Andrew took it over to school for the retired couples, who volunteer during the summer, and it disappeared. I got this recipe from www.whatmegansmaking.com and she got it from http://www.food.com/

Isn't it pretty? I mean it pretty? I am bragging here I know. But is more about the recipe than my baking skills. You can have this beauty at your home too.

Ok here it is: CREAM CHEESE BANANA BREAD

3/4 cup butter- soft- I used Coconut Oil which is great!

8 ounces cream cheese - soft

2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 cups flour- I used whole wheat/buck wheat

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups mashed banana- about 4 medium bananas

1 cup chopped nuts- almonds, pecans or walnuts

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy. Slowly add sugar- beat until fluffy. Add 1 egg at a time- beat after each. Add in the bananas and vanilla, mix until combined.

In another medium size bowl: combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat at a slow speed until just combined. Stir in the nuts if desired. Spoon batter into 8x4 inch loaf pans. I used three pans.

Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with moist crumbs. The sides will pull away from the pan. I did cover the bread with aluminum foil the last 25 minutes or so. Cool bread in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before slicing.

I've been a baking fool. I bake food when I know that I can't eat it. Andrew says I get it all mixed up. I can't have any gluten etc and so I say the next best thing to eating it is making it. The house smells great, I'm losing weight and we've got tons of food to share. I'll share some more great recipes in the following days.

A while back we got flowers from a neighbor to celebrate our adoption profile being approved. That was really sweet and we enjoyed the reminder of the months of hard work. Our neighbors have adopted two children and so they understand the process. It is exciting to think that families may be looking at our profile and considering us.

Audi is our wired dog. Always on the go but this picture makes her look mellow. She sleeps in the craziest positions. She usually sleeps on her back. She is a real cutie and that keeps me from killing her most days. She is very hyper unlike her mom. We had the compliant dog first and now we have our strong willed pup.

When the girls aren't in the car Abby claims the padded car seat!

Get ready, set, go riding!

YAY! The girls love to ride!

On our way to pick our new horse we stayed in a camping cabin. Epic Fail! The girls got all stuffed up and had major reactions to the cabin. It had some water damage and by the morning Dakota's entire face swelled up and her eye was swelled shut. We didn't get any sleep and then a storm passed through during the night with really high winds. The girls were in turmoil! There was no sleep! Did I mention I'm not much of a camper? The girls' must have gotten my genes. Abby and Audi loved it though!

I've been busy making/sewing toiletry bags for the graduating seniors. I really liked the look of the bags and was proud of my accomplishment. I still have several orders to finish up though.

The weekend Andrew was home and took a walk all by myself. "All by Myself!" That rarely happens and I really enjoyed myself. The dogs ran ahead of me and I enjoyed the wind and crisp air. While walking I noticed these two dark specks. They were so small that the dogs ignored them. I heard their soft little peeps and got down to take a closer look. I believe they were little Kill Dear. They are so soft and light as can be. That was the frosting to my walk. (See when I'm on a diet- I think in food terms.) I was thrilled!

We've been seeing the most fascinating birds around here. They are all kinds of colors and sizes. We don't know the names of many of them and some of their calls are very unique. This bright orange bird showed up in the tree next to our home. His head looked more blue than black. This photo is pathetic to what he actually looked like -it was taken through the double pane window. Anybody know what kind of bird this is? We do not.

Andrew is making fun of me right now since I'm writing about the birds. But I will have you know that he was just as excited as me. I will forgo talking about the bees: "birds and the bees."

 I hope to have a few more etc... posts in the following days. Nothing exciting but a little bit of this and that. Come on back!