For the Record

I am a happy mommy.



Even when I find surprises such as this. Keeps life exciting.
Caden is a very busy boy. A very busy boy who apparently wants to be Don Aslett when he grows up. That, or else he inherited Aunt Kylie's randomness.

They are Happy

In June's visiting teaching message, Julie B. Beck's conference talk from October 2007 was quoted. She said, "...We have faith that with the Lord's help we can be successful in rearing and teaching children. These are vital responsibilities in the plan of happiness, and when women embrace those roles with all their hearts, they are happy!"

The dear sisters that visit me wondered about that "they are happy" part and we had a good discussion on it.

I believe Sister Beck's statement with all my heart! I think that the part that many women are missing is the "when women embrace those roles with all their hearts" part. We must believe that the work we are doing is the most important work we can do in this life. We must also remember that motherhood is WORK. It's not for slackers. "Why should we think to earn a great reward, if we now shun the fight?" No one can mother my children better than I can. No one can mother your children as well as you can. The secret here is God's will, not my will or anyone else's will, God's will. ( Alma 5 is making a lot more sense to me as time goes on.)


I know that God's plan is the plan of happiness. I know that His blessings are always here for all of us - He never takes those blessings away. However, we must do His will to receive those blessings. I hope and pray that mothers everywhere will embrace that role with all their hearts. Please fill your role well and encourage and bless others as they fulfill their roles well. I have a vested interest in mothers embracing their roles, my children will need spouses someday.

It takes a Family

I am not sure why, but someone needs to listen to/ read this lecture. Maybe it's you. I can't go to sleep until I post this.

The lecture is titled "It takes a Family to Raise a Village: The Significance of the Family for the Free Society" by Jennifer Roback Morse.

It is very interesting and I say, "Amen." If you watch the video, it lasts about 37 minutes. You can also download the audio to you IPOD and listen while you work or print out the 23 pages and read them as you have time. In my opinion, it is well worth the effort.

Anyway, make the effort. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I am grateful for the Gospel and the emphasis we place on the family. I have a strong testimony of the work that I am doing in my home. I know that I can impact the world more by mothering my own children than I possibly could in the work force. This phase of life is so very short, there will be time for other things later. I claim my right to enjoy, raise, and nurture my children, be the helpmeet my husband needs, gain a liber education, and be who God sent me here to be.

Good night. :)

Quick update

1 weekend + 700 miles = visiting with lots of family.
Grandma's bounce house is always a hit with the kids.
The bows Aunt Katie made are AWESOME. I have incredibly talented sisters! (Not to mention incredibly beautiful daughters - they definitely take after their aunts.)


Caden turned 1 = Happy Birthday, baby boy!


Van's fixed. 1 rock chuck = $1700 worth of damage!


Sour dough experiments = complete success! Go me!


Jeremy + Shannon = a new aunt for us in August! Go Jeremy!


Last year's jam = 1 jar left + 26 new from this year's crop. Talk about good planning!

3rd week of June = National Old Time Fiddler's Contest. Colin, Robyn, and Grace played with the Jr. Jammers as entertainment during the evening contest last Tuesday. Fun Stuff!

Rock Chuck Removed!

Randy caught the Rock chuck tonight - Hooray!
It climbed up underneath the insulation covering the hood and Randy caught him in a bucket. He put the bucket over the hole the rock chuck made and then pushed him gently into the bucket and slipped the lid on it.
My part in the rescue was to drill holes in the lid while he was removing the rock chuck. I'm still a pretty darn good lovely assistant. :)
We took the little fella to a lady who does wildlife rescue. She put him in a pet carrier and said she would release him tomorrow.
Now all we have to do is fix up the car. It is considered undriveable because the stuffed insulation is a fire hazard. Uggh!
Maybe Randy will check that oil while he is removing the junk.

New Pet?!!

Today when I went to check the oil in the van, I got quite a surprise. I opened the hood and saw what looked like a giant squirrel dive under the engine - About. Wet. My. Pants!
I let out a squeal and dropped the hood.
After I finished my little surprise dance and the car finished filling with fuel, I finished driving the kids to fiddle lessons. When we got to lessons, I opened the hood (one of the hardest things I have ever done - reopening the hood knowing what was in there). I was hoping he would decide to hop out and go live somewhere else. He didn't. He likes the van. So I brought him back home. I did not park in the garage - still hoping he will hop out and find a new home.
Randy invited him to leave the van with the hose, but he still wants to live in the van. So we looked him up in the encyclopedia and then got a movie of him instead.
Any ideas on removing rockchucks from vans would be appreciated.

Never did check the oil.

Sourdough Success!

The sourdough project has been successful at last! I told you this was my year.



Ok, so I haven't actually made any bread with it yet, but I made the most delicious sourdough pizza for lunch today.


I divided the original culture in half and made one with white flour and one with spelt.
This pizza dough is from the white flour half. It was easy as pie! It was the most awesome dough I have ever worked with.


Beautiful!

In case anyone was wondering why I care so much about things like gardens and sourdough, I submit these links for you to visit.

GWC - Georgics - I love George Wythe College. The people there have done more to help us in our educational pursuits than anyone else. They are fabulous mentors and they are changing the world for the better.

Classic Food - I just found this web site while researching sourdough and I found Mike to be a kindred spirit.

And one more link from Mike that I loved about food.
Mike's Food Philosophy

SourDough Revisited

I have noticed that my hobbies and interests run in cycles. It is now June. The garden is all planted and I am not having a new baby; so we are back to sourdough.


See - garden all planted.

See - Caden is still little enough that I do not need a new baby, but big enough to play with the big kids. Perfect.
Time to move on to sourdough.


I have attempted sourdough in June 2004, June 2005, and June 2006. It has never worked. At least it has never worked very well. However, this is my year. I'm sure of it.

Why am I so sure, two reasons.

Reason #1 - This year I actually bought sour dough culture. Yes, I did. I know that Caroline Ingalls can capture her own yeasts and bacteria "by putting some flour and warm water in a jar and letting it stand until it sours", but I have given up on being Ma. (I wonder how different those stories would have been if Ma had been the mother of boys instead of girls.)
Anyway, this year I bought culture from Sourdough International and I've got their phone number if I have questions.


Here is the Tasmanian Devil Sourdough Culture in a wide mouth canning jar mixed with 3/4 cup spelt flour and 1 cup water. Tasmanian Devil culture is supposed to be good with spelt, which is my grain of choice.

Reason #2 - Today I constructed me a "proof box." On our field trips to Fuddruckers and to Krispy Kreme Donuts, I took special note of their proofing cabinets. A proof box is the difference between professional and amateur. Of course, their proofing "boxes" are a bit large for my needs and quite a bit fancier than I need, but the science is the same.
Even temperature is essential to success. Critical to success. It is, shall we say, highly important! This year, I will have even temperature!

TA DA!

Classy, huh! I know you all want one for your kitchen counter. Don't worry, you too can build one. Oh, and also don't worry because my hobbies go through cycles - remember. Next month it will be moved to the garage and replaced with canning jars.

Here is the inside view.



There are some directions to building a proof box in the book that came with my culture which I modified slightly to come up with my own creation.

Items used:
Simple styrofoam cooler ($1.98 from Walmart)
cleaned up "chicken light" with a 25 watt bulb
dimmer switch for lamps (Lowes about $11)
probe thermometer with alarm feature to alert me if the temperature gets to high.

How does it work? Simple. The cooler is placed upside down over the jar. The light is turned on. The light produces heat. The heat is retained by the styrofoam of the cooler. The probe thermometer is inserted through the styrofoam to monitor the amount of heat produced. I use the dimmer switch to adjust the amount of light/heat given off by the light bulb to maintain the temperature between 85 - 90 degrees. The alarm is set to go off at 90 degrees to alert me to adjust the switch to avoid killing the culture. Fabulous! I love it!

I can think of a million uses for my new creation - raising my bread dough in it, keeping Randy's dinner warm on days he works late, maybe trying my hand at incubating ducks again.... The possibilities are endless! Happy Days!

If it works out, I'll keep you posted. If it doesn't work out, forget that I brought it up. Okay?