For Kimberly

Kimberly, Nick took these pictures just for you...

And for a closer look...

Christmas

Due to work schedules and extended families, we celebrated Christmas together on Christmas Eve morning.  Nick, Jenn, Bradlee, Cameron, and Serena gathered at our house around 8am and exchanged gifts.   

Bradlee gained experience opening presents thanks to Nick and Jenn wrapping several and putting them under their tree a few days before Christmas.  Their front room is small and Bradlee didn't have to squirm far to reach the pretty paper.

 A few years ago I started a tradition of finding some off-the-wall gift for the kids still at home, wrapping it up and giving it to them a week or so before Christmas.  They were allowed to handle it as much as they wanted and if they guessed it, they could open it on the spot.  Otherwise, they had to wait until Christmas.  The first couple of years, I fell into the 20 Questions trap and they had the gift in hand in a matter of minutes.  This year, I faithfully stuck to the "You must ask specifically" rule and Richelle couldn't guess it.  It was killing her with frustration after six days of wrong guesses so I let her open it with her other gifts Christmas Eve after everyone else made helpful suggestions.  Only Cameron knew what it was and he was giving broad hints.

 Richelle loves all things earth science and I'd gotten her a set of BuckyBalls.  There are 216 extremely strong magnets the size and shape of BBs.  As you can see, she was thrilled with the gift.  It's amazing what you can make with 216 magnetic BBs!  We first saw and played with BuckyBalls at my brother Steve's house last June.  Richelle wanted to go right out and get some immediately.

My favorite part of the entire day.  We all worked together to put on a breakfast feast:  Cameron made Belgian waffles, Serena manned the bacon, Jenn saw to the biscuits and gravy, I whipped the cream, sliced the strawberries and assisted with the scrambled eggs, Richelle arranged the table and ran errands, while Nick and Mike entertained Bradlee.

I think we're going to make it a tradition.  

Masala Chai

     I love masala chai.  It is, hands down, my favorite beverage.  Unfortunately, it is expensive to purchase, either as powdered instant, concentrate, or from Dutch Bros (I don't buy from Starbucks; they water down the concentrate and then add the milk.)
     So I went to my favorite source of recipes - the internet.  I found several and tried them.  Then I took the one I liked the best and tweaked it.  Hard.  In fact, what I ended up doing was create my own recipe.  For those who don't like masala chai, this recipe isn't even close to what you buy at Starbucks or Dutch Bros.  It's a lot less sweet and a lot more flavorful with a hint of heat from the peppercorns.
     Here's the recipe:

Masala Chai

6 cups water

36 peppercorns (I like the mixed variety)

12 cloves, whole

6" cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp ginger, ground

1/2 tsp cardamom, ground

1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

6 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

7 teabags

5-6 Tbsp vanilla syrup

Pour water into medium-sized kettle.  

Crush or grind the peppercorns, cloves, and cinnamon bark and add them

 to the water along with the ginger and cardamom.  

Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, nutmeg, and milk.  Bring to boil again.

Remove from heat, add teabags, cover and let steep for 15 minutes.

Remove teabags but only squeeze them enough to keep them from dripping.  If squeezed too hard, you'll get an undesirable 'stewed tea' flavor.

Strain into heat-proof container.  Add syrup, stir, and enjoy.

Makes about 7 cups

Approximate cost per cup:  40¢

     I'll make up a batch, store it in the fridge, and re-heat it as I want it.  I'm not going to post how quickly I can go through a batch but it will keep in the fridge for a few days.  I tried using vanilla extract but wasn't happy with the flavor.  I didn't try a vanilla bean...the price gave me a heart attack.

     I do wish to point out that if you intend to use your coffee grinder for the spices, make sure it's completely cleaned of the coffee oils.  I suggest you have one dedicated to coffee and another one for spices and whatever else you need to grind.  I use a mortar and pestle.  The cinnamon was a bit of a challenge for me at first.  It takes a lot to reduce six inches of cinnamon bark to splinters, let alone anything close to powder, in a mortar and pestle.  So I break it into fourths, fold the pieces into a paper towel and take the flat side of my meat tenderizer to it before finishing it off in the mortar and pestle.

     

Bradlee's First Haircut

     It was more of a hair trim than a haircut, really.  His long newborn hair was mighty uneven with the new growth coming in.  I figured I'd hold him while Jenn cut but she wasn't feeling confident with scissors and comb, having used only electric barbershop trimmers, so I did the honors.
     Richelle was handed the camera but quickly assumed the pressing role of Baby Entertainer.  I scratch my head over the fact that it took three people to cut the boy's hair:  One to hold him, one to entertain him and snap a photo here and there, and one to do the cutting.  At barely five months, he's not sitting on his own although he's getting pretty steady, so the holder couldn't really be the entertainer, too.
     His duck-down hair was so light!  Usually, I dampen the guys' hair and then give my wrist a flick to send the cut bits to the floor instead of onto my arm and up my sleeve and between my fingers.  Bradlee's hair dried so fast that when I'd flick my wrist, a little puff of brown smudge would launch softly into the air, hover a bit, and then lightly float down.  I think if I'd inhaled deeply at any point, I'd have had Bradlee-hair in my mouth.
     I know he looks big enough to go kick around the soccer ball and at twenty pounds and measuring twenty-seven inches, he is.  However, he hasn't learned yet how to crawl and one must walk before one can run.
     I felt quite privileged to be the one running the scissors.  How many grandmas get to give their grandsons their first hair trim?

Thanksgiving

All of us seemed to be going in different directions for Thanksgiving so we had our family Thanksgiving on Monday.  I managed to get a few photos for once.

Nick helping Bradlee model his new cap.

 Grandpa amusing the baby while supper is being prepared.

The girls chatting.

Full tummies make for sleepy boys.

It was a wonderful thing to have the kids around the table again with Bradlee adding his own sweet notes to the gathering.  We visited long after the meal was over and played a few board games before they had to leave for home.  

I love watching the kids knit the family ties together.  I love seeing memories being made.  I love the obvious affection between all of them.  May we be able to do this for many years to come.

Month of Thanksgiving

I'm thankful for the spouses my sons have chosen.  They are both loving, caring young ladies and meld well with our family.  I have long known that both of my sons have quirks to their natures and have spent time in prayer that they'd meet the girl who is unique for them.  Nick needs someone strong enough to help lovingly direct his fierce sense of loyalty and duty while Cameron's high level of intensity requires someone naturally calm and even-tempered.  Jenn and Serena are everything I could have hoped for my boys.

And then there's little Bradlee!  We get to see him often and delight in watching him grow.  Something he loves is for a person to get nose to nose and talk with him.  He gets so excited talking, cooing, laughing, blowing raspberries, grabbing your face and ears (and hair ouch!), and kicking his feet.  I was doing this with him yesterday with him on his back and the drool was dripping from his chin down the sides of his jaw from all the raspberries he was blowing.  At one point I told him, "I'm going to kiss your nose, (smack!) and your forehead, (smack!) and your cheek (smack!) and your other cheek, (smack!) but not your chin because it's awash with spit!"  He squealed, grabbed my ear, and blew more raspberries, sending another wave of spit over his chin.

Thankfulness in November

A local homeschooler challenged us to post on our group page once a week about something for which we are thankful.  She went on to say that she was going to post something on her blog once each day of November.  Well, I'm already two days behind so I thought I'd just post twice a week or so.  Maybe.

I can say the typical things about thankfulness for health, job, home, children, etc. but I don't usually do the typical thing.  Today, however, my topic is health.

Richelle and I were in town Monday evening and finished up at the grocery store.  Richelle pushed the cart from the store to the truck as another attack of paralysis came on.  This one was a little worse than the last one (10/23) both in intensity and in type.  There was maybe 20% loss of use but the disturbing thing was the tingling feeling she had as if her thighs had gone partly to sleep.  Up until now, the nerves affected have been the motor nerves - the ones that make your muscles move.  The tingling indicates something going on with the sensory nerves.  However, the herxheimer reaction typically occurs at two days and at four weeks after starting treatment and Monday was four and a half weeks.  Was it a coincidence or the cause?  I don't know.

We discussed this new development on the way home and Richelle expressed her thankfulness for the paralysis because who knew how long she'd have gone without treatment if she hadn't had that first attack back in September.

I echo her thankfulness.  There's a lot of speculation out there that Lyme is the true reason behind so many nebulous conditions such as fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.  So thankful we didn't have to travel into that fog of uncertainty.  The road we're traveling isn't all roses and singing birds but at least we know what we're dealing with instead of simply treating symptoms.

I will add my deep gratitude for a sister who thinks outside the box and has given us several hours of her precious time in advise, encouragement, and treatment and for an excellent chiropractor who also thinks outside the box and attended a conference on Lyme disease last July as part of his continuing education this year.