First One to Double Digits

Monday the 25th marked my oldest son's entry into the world of double digits-Austin turned a whopping 10 years old. I just can't believe it has been ten years since I entered the world of motherhood. He was my first child, the one who began it all for me, and I honestly don't know where the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was holding his tiny little body and sparse head of blonde hair in my arms. Oh, how he has grown in so many ways!

Austin's Requested Birthday Menu:

Breakfast: Bacon, hash browns, and eggs

Lunch: Spaghettios...YUCKY!!!

Dinner : Steak, mashed potatoes, salad with blue cheese dressing, homemade biscuits

Cake: Mint chip ice cream cake with a fudge/oreo layer and whipped cream frosting.

Our day was pretty uneventful, since it was a weekday. The gifts we ordered him online did not come, and still have not come (Walmart is on my hit list right now). So poor Austin has still not opened his presents. But I did take him over to the store to pick out something he had his eye on for a while (just so he would have something exciting happen on his B-day)! It was a plug in Wheel of Fortune game that you play on the TV. He just loves that game. He is very interested in all kinds of game shows.

Austin is such a unique and wonderful son, and we have been so blessed to watch him grow over the last ten years. TEN YEARS. I still can't figure out how that happened!!! I love you Buddy, Freaky Pete, my special froggy lover! You are a blessing and joy to me (and your Dad).

My little fishies.....

Well, now that it's summer, the season has begun for shriveled up fingers and toes, sunburns, and bleached blonde hair in my family! My boys are all water babies, and love to swim tremendously. I was a little fish as a young girl, and they have all inherited my love of the water. Tuesday, we went to Zuma beach, and they enjoyed swimming and boogie boarding for several hours. Nevermind lunch, just "can I go in the water now??" Gosh, just give me a minute to get the sunscreen on!

Yesterday, we visited the Santa Clarita Aquatics Center, which we visit several times each summer. It is a great place. They have a large waterslide, large shallow beach entry swim area with water guns and waterfalls, and then an Olympic sized pool with two regular diving boards and a high dive.

Last summer, Vance was the last of the boys to learn to swim. Phew! Now that they are all water safe, the pool is a lot less stressful for me. At the Aquatic Center, if you are under 13, you have to take a "swim test" (swim one entire length of the pool without stopping-25 yards) if you want to use the diving boards. This year, Vance was given the first opportunity to do this. So the story goes like this....

I walked with Vance over to the swim test area, where he waited in line for about 15 minutes. While he was waiting, I told him he could use the lane closest to the wall, because I had seen the previous lifeguard allow the kids to use this one. Well, Vance started swimming, and the life guard told him he needed to use the next lane over (I am assuming so they will not be given the opportunity to grab the wall). Well, Vance was very upset over this, crying and going on how he could not get under the rope to go into the other lane. I explained to him that all he had to do was lift it up and go under it. But, nope, he was convinced he COULD NOT do it. And so he walked away disappointed, crying, and utterly hopeless. I could not convince him to try again. After all, it was just too hard. End of story. He is funny that way.

About an hour later, it was time to check up on how the boys were doing, so I walked around and spotted, Austin, then spotted Luke, but no Vance. I could not find him anywhere. Karen and I were looking around together, and she looked over to where the kids were in line for the swim test, and she said to me "Is that Vance in line for the swim test?" Lo and behold, it was him. He was going to try again, without even telling me. So I pretended to not see him, watched him swim underneath the rope and across the entire length of the pool without a problem. He came running up to me, proudly displaying his green wristband (the symbol of his huge accomplishment). Is that not the funniest thing? It had to be on his own time, with his own personal motivation, and without the pressure of me watching him. The kid cracks me up. So Vance spent the remainder of his afternoon jumping off both the low and high dives, over, and over, and over again, until there was just no more jump in his step. I was so proud of my little fuzzy. Ah, the simple pleasures in life. It is my joy to watch them grow and learn something new each day.

A joyful moment....

This morning I enjoyed a sweet and joyful moment with one of my children. It was worthy of mention just so that I can remember why I am training these children and to look back and see how much fruit we have reaped in the process. Some days I wonder if my boys have heard or comprehended a word we have taught them over the last years. Some days when I find their pajamas on the floor, I wonder if they will ever catch on...after all I've only been teaching them to pick up their clothes since they were old enough to walk! But I have learned to not look to the results, but just to be faithful to keep training them the way God has asked me to in His Word.

Well, back to the story. This morning, we had a little bit of two kinds of cereal left that needed to be finished off. It really was just enough for the four of us to have breakfast. Of course, there was 3 servings of the kind they didn't want, and one serving of the kind they did. Austin was the last to the table, and Luke and Vance had already been served, so I asked Austin if the other kind was good for him. Austin paused a minute (which really meant, "No I really don't want that kind"). Before I could even wink an eye, Luke was handing his full bowl of cereal to Austin with a huge smile on his face. I think tears came to my eyes. He had actually sacrificed what he wanted for his brother, and he did it on his own and with a joyful heart. Precisely the way God calls us to sacrifice and think of others as more important than ourselves.

Philippians 2:2-4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

I was so proud of my son this morning. It is these little things that give you hope that in the future, all the hard work, training, and love will someday pay off. All I desire is that someday he will really and truly understand Christ's love and sacrifice on his behalf, and see his need for the Savior's forgiveness and turn in repentance towards him. That is all I want for all of my boys. Academic success, having their own family, being able to live a full life...these are just icing on the cake in comparison to that. The eternal state of their soul is what really counts, for the soul lives forever.

John 10:18 Jesus said "No one has taken it (my life) away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."

John 14:6 Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life;
Nobody comes to the Father but through me."

John 15:12-14 "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do what I command you."

It's a Beef Jerky Kinda Day....

My husband's culinary appetite doesn't quite need the quenching that I need. He is a simple eater. Meat and potatoes, nothing with "cream of anything soup" in it, and some good "man snacks", and he is quite happy. Dave does like to eat and we enjoy eating a variety of foods together, but he won't go out of his way for a good bagel, for instance (I won't mention who demanded we walk 7-8 blocks from our hotel in NYC to get one...) Is that too much to ask??

Anyways, I say all this because Dave does like BEEF JERKY! His mom used to make it for him (yes, homemade) regularly while he was growing up. In fact the first time I went to his house when we first met, he had a stash in a ziploc in his dresser. After we got married, I know he longed for that homemade beef jerky again. So I searched and searched for recipes, and talked to my mother-in-law, whose painstaking process including laying out each individual piece onto the oven racks, and cooking it on low for hours on end. Laying it out isn't as painstaking as washing the oven racks, I might add.

I was going to go for it, after all, my husband was (and still is) worth it! Even if it took me all day, I was going to make some of my own beef jerky. Well, I think the first batch turned out well, and put me on a course of searching for the ultimate beef jerky recipe. I have since tried out probably half a dozen recipes, and I am still trying to nail it down. Sometimes it comes out too salty, sometimes not salty enough, too spicy, not spicy enough.....Never has it not gotten scarfed down within the first few hours of it's completion, however.

I have since upgraded a couple of years ago to a food dehydrator. Something that makes jerky making a lot easier, I must say. It has about 8 circular "shelves" to place the meat on, and it's much more manageable to wash. I have not made jerky in a long while, as I have been lazy and just bought it. But there is really nothing like the taste of that homemade jerky like you get at a roadside stand (for the price of gold). So today is a jerky making day! I decided to make a batch for Dave for Fathers' Day. He is worthy of every effort. It takes a long time to cut the meat, marinate, and then cook. But in the end you have a big beautiful batch of unbelievable jerky. Happy Father's Day to Dave, and to all the Fathers in my life!

So here's how you do it, for you adventurous at heart:

Start with your meat. I have previously used london broil, and beef brisket. Today I used an eye of round roast. It's all good. Partially freeze your meat to make it easier to slice. Slice it along the grain into 1/8 inch-1/4 inch slices (whatever you like).

There are many ways to marinate your meat. I have used soy and worchestershire based sauces with added spices, as well as bottled teriyaki sauce. You really can't go wrong. Find a recipe with ingredients you like, and go for it! There are two schools of thought for marinating. One is to marinate it overnight. The other is just to briefly marinate (10 minutes or so). It really depends on if you prefer that saturated flavor, or a more natural meat flavor.

Now, if you don't have a food dehydrator, just use your oven. First you will want to lay out some foil on the bottom of the oven to catch drippings from the marinade. Then, lay out the meat in a single layer onto your oven racks. You will want to cook it at the lowest oven temperature, and leave the door cracked open just a tad. After an hour of cooking, flip your meat. From here on out, just check your meat ever hour, pulling out pieces that are done cooking. To test for doneness, bend the meat slightly. It should bend a bit, but not break. It should look dry, as well. Don't worry, it will continue to dry out after it is removed from the oven as well. The process can take anywhere from 3-4 hours for the smaller and thinner pieces, up to 8-10 hours, possibly even longer. Just try to be patient. You will be rewarded at the end with your very own delicious beef jerky. Give it try, it's well worth the wait!

A camping trip to remember....

This was our second annual camping trip to Yosemite. It is by far, THE best place to camp! It is well worth the 2 + hours I spent on the phone and internet in January trying to secure a campsite. We went with 5 other families this year (Brooks, Harasicks, Hoyers, Berggrens, Tubbs), which gave us a group total of 28 kids and 12 parents. All of our sites were centrally located to one another, which was nice, and allowed us to enjoy many things together as a group. We kicked off our first day's events with a bike/hike to Yosemite Falls. Since the water levels were much lower than last year, we were able to hike in places that were literally underwater last year. We enjoyed climbing up the rocks to Lower Yosemite Falls. The views were breathtaking. We also swam in the Merced River, Mirror Lake, and hiked the Mist Trail to the top of Vernal Falls. This is always my favorite activity, since you can view beautiful rapids, trees, and wildlife on the way up to the falls, not to mention get some great leg burn after climbing 200 + steps carved out of rock to get there. Is is quite an accomplishment and feels exhilirating when you reach the top! In addition, we took a drive up to Glacier Point, where you can look down thousands of feet into the Valley floor, and get a bird's eye view of Half Dome and all the falls.

Every evening was spent eating dinner together as a group, and of course, roasting marshmallows for s'mores. The kids love being with all their friends, riding bikes, playing games, and getting dirty! Sunday morning, Rich taught all the kids a Bible lesson, complete with coloring and cookies, along with a couple of songs of worship to God led by Courtney Brooks and Lindsay Tubbs. What a perfect place to worship the Creator!

Yosemite is such an awe-inspiring place. With the granite mountains the size of, well, mountains, the animals, the birds, the trees, the waterfalls, the fresh air....You get the picture. It is a place of serenity and beauty unimaginable. It is a small foretaste of heaven for me. I could have stayed another week to see it all. Thanks be to God for His gift of beauty for us to enjoy! Until next year's trip....