Sometimes our "intellectualness" astonishes me;)

Last week after our super amazing family home evening lesson (sarcasm intended;) we all filed down to Abby's room which she had recently converted into an Art Gallery.    It was perhaps the most sophisticated and intellectual activity this little group has participated in to date.     (unless you count that time we took them with us to go vote.   But that only resulted in Sam throwing a tantrum and me removing him from the building in some sort of half nelson / headlock way.  WHICH happened to be photographed and ended up on the front page of the local paper later that week!) 

   Yup,  We are a classy bunch.    

And this post is all about our super classy evening at "Abby's Gallery of Fine Art."        

I should add that before we were even aloud to enter her room, Abby first set the mood by turning on some Taylor Swift music.    Because nothing sets the mood at an art gallery like a little bit of "Fireflies" and "You belong with me"  right?

While we walked through her room we stopped at every piece to admire it and we made all sorts of fancy and smart comments.    John commented on this picture and complimented Abby on the style of it and the dancer's pose, which made abby blush.  

I thought this one was cute, and I really liked the way she chose to use more then one medium.  

 See?  That sounds smart and artsy eh?

This one makes me wish I was in Waterton right now.   Abby was sure to point out that this whole  picture was done with only pen.    A pen, I say!!!;)

Unsurprisingly,  this morbid little scene was Sam's favorite, and I instantly made a mental note to not let the kids watch Percy Jackson anymore;)    Actually, Abby is almost finished reading this series which she has clearly enjoyed.   Perhaps a little too much?

Luckily, I have one more picture to post, which will hopefully erase any memory of the previous image.   Here is one of my happy (undisturbed) little eight year old holding her most recent (and dagger free) depiction of a female orca whale.   

Abby wants to be a Marine Biologist one day.    

Or Taylor Swift.   

Naturally, her fall back is to become a world famous artist.     

 It's funny, I totally remember when those were all things that I wanted to be when I grew up.

   (Only instead of Taylor Swift it was Reba McIntyre, but whatever.)    

Of course, I really have no clue what this girl will actually end up doing when she's older.   For now though-  give her a book, a pen, paper, and a few adoring fans....and she's pretty much fulfilled! 

Why I don't homeschool

I've sometimes wondered if I could ever "home school" my kids the way other parents do.   I certainly love the teachers that my kids have, and I've got nothing against the public system- it's just that I really admire these mom's I know who do home school.  So much so, that I kinda wish I was like them.  

They are so creative, and calm and...motherly.    

The other day, I decided to tap into the "home school" mom in me, and do a little project with the kids.    

We got the idea from a book that Jessica had brought home from school titled, "Let's grow things."   

We carefully followed the directions, and tried to grow a carrot plant, potato vine, bean sprouts, and an onion green.    Jessica was super excited and she was determined to be the first to note any change or growth.   She would check these vegetables pretty much a kazillion times a day.

This is what things looked like the day we began this little experiment:

And this is what things looked like, two weeks later, when we finally gave up on things:

Not much changed, except for the fact that the carrot shrivelled up and fell into the bowl, and the onion turn the water a rancid shade of orange that left the grossest permanent stain, but that's pretty much it.  

So much for the flourishing green plants we were expecting.  

Basically, it was a complete and utter FLOP,  and that's when I realized that it's probably best if I leave the "experiments" up to the professionals.    Still though,  this failed project did give me the chance to teach my disappointed kids the whole concept of "finding joy in the process regardless of the outcome."

   And that's an important life lesson, isn't it?

A week of carbs

There is nothing yummier then a fresh hot out of the oven loaf of bread, no?

Add a little butter, or honey- and it is pretty much the coziest taste in the world.  

My family loves fresh bread too- only problem is that I can not for the life of me make it.   My sister Jewel makes the best bread/rolls EVER and don't get me started on her homemade cream puffs!

I think I've just grown content to let her be the expert.  (so long as she shares with me;)

This year though- I have resolved to learn for myself how to make it bread, and I'm beginning to wonder how many practice loaves it will take;)

Last Sunday the cold weather sunk in (we're talking -40 degrees) and I decided to make a yummy chicken and rice soup with fresh homemade bread.   Considering John's Dad would be joining us, I think this was a quite ambitious endeavor on my part.    When I pulled this loaf out of the oven and placed it on the table it looked PERFECT!    Even the first slice looked good.   I started freaking out and taking pictures of my successful loaf of bread.  (John and Max both thought I was overreacting a bit, but that's only because I wouldn't let anybody eat until I'd finished rejoicing.)

Sadly though, after the first slice, it all went down hill.    The core of the bread was only half cooked and was still completely doughy.    Even worse though, was the huge hollowed out pockets of air.   A couple of cuts into this loaf, and it looked more like a doughy hunk of swiss cheese.   

On Monday, I decided to give it another try.    After our previous fiasco the night before, Max had given me a few tips, which I was sure would help.    So, for family home evening we tried making CTR pretzel bread.    The kids shaped it themselves, were proud as punch when it came out of the oven, and gobbled up every last piece, so I really should call this one a success.   The truth is though, my kids would eat anything if it was smothered in honey butter, and well...just look at it!

Later in the week I decided to try one.more.time to make some bread that I could be proud of.   

I tried another pretzel recipe and actually think these little morsels turned out looking pretty darn good.   Only problem is that I'd sprinkled them with salt (they were pretzels after all) and a little too much of it!  

When enjoyed with a VERY tall glass of water, they weren't that bad:)  

I'm pretty sure I've made every mistake in the book when it comes to making bread, but I'm determined that sometime this year- I'll get it figured it out. 

Fourth time's a charm right?

Because my kid is like, so super spiritual;)

Yup.  That's right, this is just my two year old enjoying his scripture study on a typical Tuesday morning;)

Meh.  Nothing new.  

Oh, and for the record, (despite the same woody pajama's this boy is sporting) this is a photo of his THURSDAY morning scripture study.    I'm starting to think he joined some type of 30 day challenge without me knowing it.  It's getting weird.
Awesome.   But weird.

Oh and I've got to record this story of Jessica, which perfectly illustrates a child's perception of time.    

(Because I've always found a child's perception of time to be particularly entertaining;)

The other day I stopped at my sister Jewel's house to drop off a few things.  Not wanting this to become a 1 hour stay (including tantrums when it's time to leave) - I left my kids in the van and told them that I would be back in just 2 seconds.  What?  It was warm out, the van was not running, and they had an entire bag of cheesy to scatter around the van.  I knew they'd be just fine;)

Anyways,  I chatted with Jewel for only a brief moment and then visited with my niece Ava only long enough to hear that she wants a puppy.  (nothing new there;)     Oh, and I perhaps sampled a bowl of delicious soup that they had just made for lunch.      I admit, I possibly took a wee bit longer then the 2 seconds that I'd originally promised, but I'm still sure that I only made my kids wait for a few minutes.  

  (...maybe 5)  Tops!

Well, when I returned to the van, Jessica pointed her finger at me and said emphatically and impatiently, "Mom!   You said that it would only take one HOUR and instead you took 5 MILLION!!!"

Man, I just hate it when I take 5 million hours doing something;)

A Balmy 1 degree makes all the difference!

It's been a week of -40 degree temperatures, which means- not too much of note happened;)

I for one was quite disappointed to go the week without getting a single "snow day" out of it.   

So, while the kids and John braved the cold and went to school - Nate, Jess and I stayed home and considered every day a "snow day" - just for spite!    We cuddled lots, read a little, made valentine decorations, watched movies, and drank a year supply of hot chocolate in a few short days.    

(I know, this Motherhood stuff is a tough gig-but somebodies got to do it;)   

John, on the other hand was thrilled that a snow day never happened as he apparently needed every last minute of teaching time to prep his students for finals week.    (I hardly call that a reason to wish away a snow day, but who am I to say?;)

Luckily, by Friday night a beautiful Chinook rolled in that caused the temp to rise 20 degrees in just a matter of minutes!    And just like that we  we were back to enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures on the plus side of 0!   Yesterday,  I opened all the windows in our house for the first time in ages and let the fresh air and sunshine come flooding in!   Beautiful!!!

The kids were happy to get outside Saturday , and I even ventured out with them.   We built three snowmen, and went sledding on a hill in the alley by our house.    Nate surprised me the most by LOVING the GT snow racer!   He squealed every time, and flat out refused to let his older siblings take a turn on it.     When I tried to ride with him once he fought back with his favorite phrase of late: 

 "Go away!"  ;)

I unfortunately called it quits to sledding much sooner then the kids would have wanted, but then again they weren't the ones who had to continually haul a 2 year old, a 4 year old and two snow racers up the hill.    Over...and over ...and over again;) 

By the time we got home our little snow family had already begun to melt, and our front lawn is looking more brown then white now;)    

Is it too much to hope that that was it for Winter?

Loving this thought right now

"Do not be deceived by your senses,

 your feelings of fear and uncertainty, 

for even as the tempest may howl,

just beyond,

lies a serenity,

that you may not find otherwise."

There are days when this thought enters my mind and fills me with such sweet calm anticipation.   
I love how just a few words can do that;)

9 Bean soup: Perfect for a cold day like today

Weeks ago, I had stopped by my sister's house for a moment to drop something off.   She had me try a bowl of delicious soup that her husband (Kendall) had just made their family for lunch.     

It was AWESOME!!!

Last week Jewel gave me a container of this 9 bean mix and I made the soup the very next day!

I followed the recipe on the side of the container, only I took Kendal and Jewel's advice and added salt, pepper and sugar as well.   

John LOVED it.   Max (my father in law;) liked it.    And the kids tolerated it.

(for my kids to tolerate a 9 bean soup- believe me- that's saying a LOT!)

I served it with some cheese bread, but I think a fresh slice of homemade multigrain bread would have been the best!    I'm definitely going to learn how to make bread this year.   Just wait and see!

Anyways, I'm planning on grabbing half a dozen more containers of this as it is pretty cheap and would be great for food storage.  In the meantime I'm sure this warm and tasty soup will grace our kitchen table a few more times before winter is through.     

If you want the full recipe feel free to check it out on our new family RECIPE blog:

Hardy Cooking!

I know.   Such an original title;)    It's filling up though with some of our favorite recipes.    

Be sure to try Luci's Magical (browned butter) Brownies.  They are amazing!

Oh, and thoseGrilled Chicken and Pineapple Quesadillas are next on my list of things to try;)   

One week in and I need a holiday!

Wow!   This has been a lo-o-o-ong week!   There is something about enjoying a long Christmas break that makes returning to routine so painfully difficult.   John was back at work bright and early Monday morning and I was left on my own to fend for myself and ...make bag lunches and stuff;(    

(I know, I know.   I whine.    As the wife of a school teacher - I guess this is just my cross to bear;)

Some good things came out of this week though, the first being that we started our family chore program.    Can you believe it?  My kids and CHORES!   I never though I'd see the day;)   

It's actually going quite well, and I'm starting to feel optimistic that they might end up being well adjusted kids after all.    Every day they are expected to make their beds and help with dinner in some way.   (ie: menu plan and cook, clear table and dishes, or set table.)  Saturdays they all have extra chores to do.    It's been absolutely dreamy, and I've been asking myself all week why exactly it took us 8 years to teach this concept to our kids?   

Here's a picture of Sam slaving away on the dishes.   

(I love the way he makes everything fun. )  He's a comedian this one!

*********

The kids got some funky curly straws for Christmas from their Aunt Luci, and it didn't take long for them to teach Nate how to "blow bubbles" in his milk.    Now every day Nate insists on milk with a straw so that he can do this:

Problem is though, that he has no understanding of when to STOP blowing bubbles and he's perfectly happy to make bubbles until the milk runs out.   

It's a mess for sure, and I'm not entirely sure why I put up with it.   I must be awesome or something;)

(Not awesome.   Just lazy;)

********

Abby has seemed a little too teenager(ish) for my liking this week.    One night I was trying to get the kids to bed at a decent hour   (Oh, hello school routine - We hate you!)  and I told Abby to go brush her teeth.   When she asked why she had to go to bed, I replied with my favorite response:   

"Because I'm your MOM and I said so."   (It works every time;)

Well,  Abby thought that over  for a second and then said:

"Um... mom?...If Heavenly Father is ALL of ours Father...then really, that means that well... technically...you are actually... just my sister."

 Believe me, I sent her to her room tout suite!

This is the same girl that came home from school Thursday afternoon with a nice little boy from her class, wondering if he could play at our house for a bit.   They had decided to be partners in the science fair and they "really needed to begin working on their project."    The only thing is that they are in grade 3,  and science fair entries are only open to the grade 4-6 students.   When I pointed this out to Abby she looked at me like I was from another planet or something and said (with a whole lot of attitude,) 

 "Yeah i KNO-OW.   But we have to get started on it now, if we want it to be good for next year!"  

Oh, of course.  Silly me.  

What do I know though?   I'm just the dumb ol'  mom  "sister.";)

******

Luckily, my other daughter is still sweet as honey.    Earlier this afternoon after her Saturday bath, she told me that she was going to go lay out her clothes for church the next day.  (Let me just point out that she is the only child we have that willingly prepares for church)   Anyways, just before dinner we noticed her Sunday dress laying on her floor,  and John and I both got a kick out of what she'd done:

I love the way she arranged her shirt sleeves so that they are holding her scriptures AND her quiet book. And the bracelet around her sleeve?  

Nice touch. 

I'm pretty sure this girl will be the first one ready for church in the morning;)

Bless her heart!

Because life is meant to be Abundant

I was recently reading a talk by Elder Wirthlin entitled, "The Abundant Life" and it has inspired deep within me a desire to create, as he states, "a masterpiece of my own life."


I think to often I fail to see my life as that.   As a "Masterpiece" in the making.  
That's probably because I am usually too busy noticing all that I do not have, or can not be, not to mention the time I spend fretting (yes fretting;) about what others think of me.
With all that to worry about, who would have time to think about something like potential? ;)


     However, as soon as I stop to think about all that I CAN do as well as all that I DO HAVE, I realize that I am already living the abundant life.
  My Abundant Life.
The trick is- to see it as that.


So my word for 2012 is:

ABUNDANCE
1.  an extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply
2. overflowing fullness: abundance of the heart.
3. affluence; wealth; the enjoyment of abundance

I realize that this isn't a very pretty word all on it's own, but I love the definition.  It is a definition that makes me think of all the GOOD in my life, as well as the good I still want to achieve.   

In essence, my plan for 2012 is to more often see
 "the abundance" that is my life.  

And not only exist in it- but add to it!!! 

Because, after all, life is meant to be ABUNDANT!

Illuminate: Recap of 2011

Last January I set a goal for 2011 to "ILLUMINATE".    Here is the story behind that word, and the reasons why I chose it as my focus this past year.     I remember last year at this time, feeling a deep need to draw out the positive and good things about my life and bring them to light.   This blog has helped me this year as I've tried to journal many of the experiences in the past twelve months that were definitely worth highlighting.    Just a recap of some of my favorite things about 2012:

1.  Freeze out Lake, Montana

In March we met up with John's sister Sarah in Choteau Montana for what I will likely always remember as the Best Weekend EVER!!!   After hearing Sarah describe the bird migration that occurs every year at Freezeout Lake- we knew this was something we wanted to see for ourselves.    To say it was amazing would be an understatement.  Inspiring, breathtaking, ...and transcendent almost comes close to describing it. To see all those thousands of snow geese and trumpeter swans take off, land and fly together was something that I will never forget.    Click Here to see the video footage!

2.  Kid's crafts/experiments to the Max!

I caught my kids (a couple of times this year)  embracing their creativity with crazy little antics like this!
I had lot of opportunities to practice my underdeveloped skills of "letting it go" and just "going with the flow."    To my credit though, I think I calmly sat back and watched more then I ever interfered, and I hope their little brains have learned a bit through all their mess making this year;)
(Coincidentally, this also happens to be the year we disconnected our cable television;)

3.  A visit to Aunt Crystals!

Towards the end of August, we left the kids at my sister Crystal's house for a week while I had my surgery.   A whole week!   It was the first time we'd ever had to leave our kids before, and I'm sure Crystal was more tired out then she has ever let on, but it was such a treat for my kids, not to mention a huge blessing to me.    Even now, months later the kids will occasionally break out in a song they learned from her, or ask me to make Crystal's home made pizza pops.    I am convinced that their is no place more magical for a kid then Aunt Crystals charming little farm house!

4.  I Learned how to Preserve!!

This was a busy summer and fall as we had lots of yummy goodness to preserve.    In the summer, I made my first batches of Rhubarb, Raspberry, and Strawberry freezer jam.    I must have enjoyed that well enough because by the time September rolled around I felt ambitious enough to do peaches, pears and beets!!   Best of all though, was that Jewel and Betsy joined in the craziness.   Now when I look at the bottles lining my storage room I always feel a sense of fulfillment form learning something new.    More importantly though, I am reminded of that fun couple of days with the two of them, when work didn't really feel like work at all!  

 5. A summer full of Fishing (minus the fish;)

 John was determined that this past summer we do all of our fishing outside of the national parks.   That meant that every one of our Family fishing trips happened at a nearby lake.   Romeril,  Payne lake, as well as various points along St.Mary's all proved to be difficult locations for us.   Somehow, we managed to make it through the summer without catching a single fish!!   We did however, have some great picnics, find some favorite family spots and make great memories in the process.

    Fish Schmish - that's what I say!

There it is.  A few of the highlights, for me, of this past year.    It was a year of change, some minor challenges, and lots of growth!   Over all,  it was a beautiful 12 months in which I fell in love with John and this little life that we have together- over and over again!

I'm not entirely sure I deserve to be this blessed-but I'll take it!

Ringing in the New Year

What a Fabulous start to the New Year!  

For starters, we had a smashing party with some of John's siblings, and I even managed to stay up to ring in 2012.   THEN we woke up Sunday morning to learn that (due to a water main break) Church was cancelled.    So, after a relaxing afternoon of reading and watching church movies with the kids- we had Jewel and her family over for dinner.    Perfect way to spend New Years Day if you ask me.

Today we woke early and got right to work.    Our house is in serious need of a deep clean    It's time to clean up the Christmas clutter, set lofty goals, and start fresh.

I'd heard that burning a branch of your Christmas tree will bring you good luck in the New Year, so that is exactly what we did.     I'm thinking John wanted a little extra luck- because he decided to burn the whole darn thing!    Don't freak out - it was a controlled burn.   (Notice the hose in hand.  Plus, today happened to be surprisingly un windy;)

I'm excited for this next week before school resumes.  John and I have lots of plans.   Our week long "Lord of the Rings marathon" begins TONIGHT.   We're introducing our 'until now spoiled children' to the concept of chores this week, which should be fun.   And if that wasn't exciting enough,  we're going to clean out the van tomorrow and buy it a new battery.    

After that....

well?   I suppose we'll see what happens after that!

I've been thinking hard about what it is I specifically want to focus on this year as a goal.  

So so many words keep coming to my mind, and I'm realizing how very difficult it will be to condense all that I want to be and do this year into just. one. word.    

Luckily, I've still got time to set my resolutions, because we are still totally on holidays around here;)    I've got another week to narrow it down!!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year! Grant that I
May bring no tear to any eye
When this New Year in time shall end
Let it be said I've played the friend,
Have lived and loved and labored here,
And made of it a happy year.
~ Edgar Guest

Holiday Bash at my Sister's house

It was a little bit difficult to get together with my family this year for Christmas, as many of us had other commitments, work shifts etc.    Thankfully, Jewel found a day this week that worked for all of us, and made the annual Rausch family "holiday" bash happen:)!    

The cousins always love getting together and I always feel so happy when surrounded by my siblings and their spouses.  

The girls made chocolates (Jewel is always prepared with something fun)  and painted our toes with nail polish and glitter, while the boys ran around the house with Laser guns!   It was great!

Occasionally Kendall would pull out the remote for their helium filled shark and the kids would fly it throughout the house- which was always funny to watch.    

Of course the food was over the top and in excess, our traditional game of mafia with the kids was it's usual crazy event, and we even learned out to play Fruit Salad.

It could not have been a more enjoyable time and I'm so glad things worked out so that we could all be together!     Man I love these people!

Happy New Year!!!

I'm excited about all that 2012 will be.  Happy Goal setting!