i have to say...

that's my girl!

The other day in church I looked over at Aubry and noticed that she was pouting.  She walked over to me with her face fallen and her eyes downcast and I asked her what was wrong, to which she replied, "Josiah said that the picture I am drawing is ugly".  I put on my angry eyes and looked over at Josiah to quietly let him know that he better knock it off, but before he received the full effect, Aubry had second thoughts and told me, "Well, that is what he was thinking!"

Five years old and she is already judging the motives of the men in her life. 

That's my girl!

Hi, everyone! This is Danika. This post is to thank everyone for all the help that they gave to help me get to Africa. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help. I also wanted to thank everyone for helping out my Mom and Emily by making or buying skirts to give to the girls in Kenya and Uganda. I cannot tell you how much the kids needed them.

While in Africa, I learned  how blessed I am. I learned not only to be thankful for the running and clean water, electricity, and availability of food; but also for the way God has blessed me and most Americans materially. It is easy to go to a country like Africa and feel guilty for all we have. We tend to do one of two things. We either try to forget about those who live in poverty, so we don't feel guilty. Or we complain about the complacency and selfishness of Americans. I think a better option is to be thankful and joyful for the ability and responsibility that comes along with the blessings God has given us. He blesses us so that we may bless others. I appreciate everyone using their resources to bless me and orphans in Kenya and Uganda.

I encourage everyone to continue seeking God for ways they may use their material blessings to bless others. It doesn't have to be in a foreign country, but maybe God will lead you in that direction. There are many opportunities with different organizations to sponsor orphans. I have seen firsthand what a need this is. There are so many orphans being fed and clothed, but there are also so many more that the leaders in Africa have no resources to care for. They are forced to give them the food they can and then send them off at night to find places to stay. There are more than 230 orphans at an orphanage in Nambale that one couple attempts to feed, but is unable to give a place to stay at night. Please pray about sponsoring an orphan, going on a trip yourself to love on these kids, offer your God given talents to bless others, and anything else God might lead you to do.  Who knows...maybe you will be led to adopt one. Just don't adopt Osiemo. I reserve him. :)

my girl is back!

My girl returned from Africa with tales of adventure! She had a wonderful time with the kids in the orphanage and she wished she could have brought a few home with her.  One in particular touched her heart, a little boy named Oceamo, and leaving him was difficult.  For now she has to be content with browsing through the 30+ pictures that she took of him.

The skirts for Sewing Seeds were a huge hit!  Girls from 4 different orphanages were blessed by the efforts of the sweet ladies here in the blogosphere.  In the picture above it was hard to get the girls to sit down because they didn't want to get their lovely new skirts dirty.  I will be posting more picture of the skirts as soon as a friend of Danika's emails them to her.  You can check my sidebar and browse the Africa Photo Album to see the photos we have so far.

The conditions of the children are good compared what Danika saw around the village, but the kids in the orphanage are still underfed and lacking in medical care.  Their hair is cut close to the scalp to reduce the incidence of head lice and many of them have skin rashes from parasites.  Their food consists of potatoes, beans and rice with very little fresh produce or meat provided.  If you desire to help further, you may click here to read more about sponsoring an orphan.   I know the people who run this project and they have assured me that all of the money given to the orphanage goes straight to the kids, for their daily needs.  Please pray about being a part of this wonderful ministry.

My gal is back and my heart is at rest. 

It is an amazing thing to watch your child go out into the world and affect it in such a beautiful way.  I could never have imagined that God's leading in her life would take her in this direction.  Raising kids is certainly a "long-haul" venture, but the dividends of watching your kids go out into life and make a lasting difference is the reward that makes it all worth it!

***This little one doesn't look all that excited about her skirt or getting her picture taken, but I think she is simply adorable:

Ooops!

I forgot to tell you her name. 

It's Bubbles, Allie Bubbles.  (Read that in your best Sean-Connery-does-James-Bond voice!) 

But all of her friends call her "Kitty".

introducing: my cat

Inspired by The Woman's cute kitten photos, I am posting a picture of my beloved cat, who is otherwise known as "Keeper of the Jeans".  Isn't that a cute face?

On my computer I keep her photos in my "Favorite Picture of People" folder, right next to those of my sweet children and hubby.  I love her in spite of her bad attitude.

My husband is not so enamored with my cat as she has the habit of, how shall I say this?, throwing up hairballs on the carpet at least 3 times a week, and making hearty attempts to open bedroom doors in the middle of the night which, believe me, makes more than just a little bit of noise. 

Ever since my oldest daughter has moved out, he has engaged in a "Give the Cat to Danika" campaign that I am launching my own effective campaign against.

My talking points in our campaign debate include such goodies as "I didn't try to give the dog away when he stole the whole pork roast from the counter, did I?", or "We kept the dog in spite of his habit of not listening to anything I say, right?".

I am pretty sure I am going to win this one.  And if the tide starts turning towards my husband's side, I will bring out the big guns:  The tears.  Crying gets him every time!

Have a happy Friday and don't forget to hug your kitty!

under construction

Looking through the Garnet Hill catalog recently, I came across the most fabulous linen dress.  It is one of those crossover/wrap dresses that do so much to hide figure flaws, and the color--sage green--was calling my name.  The hang-up was the price, $98.00. What can I say?  I am a cheap-skate at heart, even though I did consider buying it for about 10 seconds.

Fast forward to my fabric store trip where linen (real linen!) was on sale for $2.99 per yard and it came in the exact same color!  So for less than $10.00, that dress is cut up and in line for completion using New Look pattern 6674. (I am making the red dress in the bottom right corner in the second picture.)  Take a peek:

The scary thing is that this dress has many more pieces than the patterns I usually try.  For clothes I don't progress any farther than Sew Easy or Sewing For Dummies patterns, but for this dress I am scaling that mountain.  Hopefully I will be posting some successful dress pictures soon!

The last items to be made for my craft show at the end of the month are these handbags:

Getting ready for this craft show has been much easier than my last since I already have lots of things made.  That, of course, is another way of saying that lots of goodies didn't sell last time!  Oh well, I am hoping for better luck this time!

Have a wonderful day!

some like it hot!

My hubby is one of those people!  Hot foods are his favorite and he is always adding sauces and peppers to the dishes that I make since no one else in the family can tolerate the heat.  Recently when I was talking to my grandma, I mentioned that Craig loved jalapenos and, low and behold, she had a wonderful recipe for me--well, for Craig!  This, as usual with my grandma's recipes, is one of those " a little of this and a pinch of that" types of foods, so feel free to add other spices or even use peppers besides jalapenos.

A couple of suggestions before you start making this:

---I always wears gloves or baggies over my hands when cutting jalapenos, because they have something in them that burns when your hands are exposed to it too long.  I do this even if I am cutting just one jalapeno!

---When you are sauteing the jalapenos and onions, it is a good idea to open the windows otherwise your throat will start itching and you will cough a whole bunch.  I am not sure why this happens, I just know that it does.

Here is what you will need for the recipe (this will make 2-3 pint jars):

10-15 fresh jalapenos, cut into 1/4 inch slices
4 TB. oil
one cup of coarsely chopped onion (one inch cubes is fine)
1 clove of garlic per jar
1 bay leaf per jar
1/2 tsp. mustard seed per jar
2 cups white vinegar
6 cups water
3 TB. Salt

Saute jalapenos and onions in oil until they begin to soften (approximately 5 minutes).  During this time, place garlic, bay leaf and mustard seeds into your clean jars.  In a saucepan, stir together white vinegar, water and salt, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Divide the jalapeno mixture among your jars and pour in the brine (vinegar mixture) until you are about 1/2 inch from the top of the jar.  Put lids on the jars and let these cool completely on the counter before you place them in the refrigerator.  The longer this sits, the more flavorful it will become.  You can keep this in the refrigerator for about 1 month.

You can eat this straight out of the jar or you can use it on sandwiches, tacos, hamburgers or, my husband's favorite, cottage cheese.  He swears it tastes great!

Enjoy!

learning new things

o This weekend my hubby and I were able to get away for a couple of days.  Denver was our destination and we spent lots of time having fun and learning some new things.

The first thing we learned was that we were going the wrong way down a one-way street.  At the precise moment that a guy on a bicycle yelled something along the lines of, "Hey, wrong way, dude!", my hubby and I were trying to figure out why the intersection we were driving through had no signal lights.  The light bulbs above our heads sprang to life as soon as the guy spoke, and my hubby whipped the quickest u-turn I have ever experienced and, lucky for us, made our way back through the still green signal that was now facing us.  This was one of the those we-are-from-a small-town-and-we-don't-understand-the -big-city moments that I always hope don't happen in front of everyone, but all is well and we eventually made it home safely to our tiny town packed with two-way streets.

The second big event didn't involve any traffic violations on our part, but it is exciting as well:  I figured out how to use the ISO speed on my camera.  This is the setting that controls the speed of the shutter and it allows you to let more light into a picture in low-light situations.  I found this out quite by accident while I was messing with the controls at night trying to get a good picture of downtown.  Although I never got a good downtown picture--apparently you need a tripod to do that!--I noticed that the pictures that I shot in the morning of a shaded building (with the same settings as the day before) were washed out and colorless, as if there was too much light.  After messing around with the camera for a while I was able to get some decent shots, even thought the building was completely in the shade.

The reason I have never been able to figure this out?  I have always tried changing the ISO setting in the bright sunlight.  No one ever mentioned that the shade is a better place to get a handle on this.  Better late than never, I always say!

I suppose that I learned something else as well:  My hubby is a great guy to hang out with.  I have always known this, but it is always good to be reminded of what a blessing he is to me.  He is funny, smart, kind, honoring, and darn good-looking, even though he can be quite scary while driving the streets in downtown Denver. 

I am so happy that he is my man!

friday awards day!

Our Co-op day at the farm was actually quite enjoyable.  Hot?  Yes!  But we ended up staying an extra two hours to do some weeding because it was obvious that help was needed.  The farm is organic which equals weeds everywhere---I had to hunt through the foot tall weeds carefully to find the cucumber plants lurking beneath.  Even though the work is hot and sweaty, it feels good to be involved in something like this.  The owner of the CSA, the daughter of a local farmer, is running it all be herself simply because people in the community requested it.  So far our pick-ups have been great and delicious, and I expect them to get even better as the summer moves forward!

A couple of very sweet friends have sent some love my way in the form of an award.  This puts a smile on my face and happiness in my  heart and, for that, I say "thank you"!  I am also blessed to be able to continue this by giving each of these to five bloggers.  Here we go:

Bethany at Picturesque Life has given me a "Reflection Award".  This is described as follows:

"make you reflect on five bloggers who have been an encouragement, a source of love, impacted you in some way, and have been a Godly example to you. Five Bloggers who when you reflect on them you get a sense of pride and joy… of knowing them and being blessed by them."

1. First on my list is the sweet blogger at Berlin's Whimsy.  Even in the midst of some trying times, she leans on the One who is able to sustain and who leads her.  This is an encouragement to me and she inspires me to trust in Him even more.  She is also fabulously crafty!

2. The Woman is a gal who loves, laughs and encourages, all while being honest about life's challenges.  I want to be more like her when I grow up!

3. Kimmie is one of the sweetest gals that I "know" in this blogosphere.  Her kindness and joy shine through as she raises her brood of 6 (5 adopted and 1 homemade!) and waits for a couple of little ones from Guatemala.

4. Pam is my real-life friend who has a listening ear and a sweet-heart full of good counsel.   She wears her heart on her sleeve and it is a lovely one to behold!

5. Lani has a beautiful writing style as well as an obvious love for family and home.  She is a consistent encouragement in keeping my eyes focused on the right things in life.

Thanks, girls!

Next up is the Rockin' Girl Blogger from The Woman and Iowa Geek.  I love to know that as old as I am, someone still thinks that I rock!  ;)

Now I get to share it with five bloggers who rock!  Here goes:

1. Jill is THE most adorable expectany mommy EVER.  That is, of course, until her dear hubby straps on the belly himself and gives her a little competition!  She is in the final countdown of her pregnancy and I am so excited to see her new little one!

2. Kate has been blogging for a long time, even though she blogs a little less these days.  She is inspiring, encouraging and happy, and I love that in a person!

3.  Erin has a fun and inspiring blog and I LOVED it when she posted about her daughter's artwork in her "My Favorite Artist" post.  Very sweet, for sure!

4. Heidi's blog is crafty and fun!  Her sweet spirit shines through in every post!

5. Karyn's craftblog is one of the best.  She is the queen of the adorable totebag and she has inspired me to "Use What I Have" before I buy.  Not only has she saved me money, but she is also a librarian, which if you ask me, is a really cool job!

Well, there you have it!  A bunch of wonderful ladies, for sure!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I hope that there are smiles to be had in abundance!

how does my garden grow?

Very well indeed!

So far we have lots of lovely green things popping up and some have even made it to our table.  I have discovered that you have to pick a ton of peas in order to feed a family, and just because the pile looks big, it doesn't mean that everyone will be able to have more than a couple of forks full.  Even with the tiny servings, they sure are good!

Today is our day to volunteer at our local farm for the produce co-op we are involved in, so we are donning straw hats, long-sleeved shirts, water bottles and a whole bunch of sunscreen to go work in the fields.  Somehow this seemed like more fun a few months ago when we were signing up, which I suppose stems from the fact that is was approximately 30 degrees cooler at that time, but I will consider this an adventure since I have never been on a farm before except to visit a pumpkin patch or a corn maze.

We are off to connect with the land!

I hope your day is a good one!