Coughs

I hate coughs, especially in children, more so in infants. Liam has been coughing for the past three days now. The poor guy can't seem to catch a moment of peace. Humidifier is going, thief's oil is boiling on the stove and suction tube thing is nearby.
He's finally getting a few moments of peace.

The floor

While the Dad was away the children played. We finished a flooring project for Dad while was away. The company was grand and the out come marvelous!


The kids and I supervising....

Lights? Kyle has it under control!

Randy taking a break to check Football scores.

Son of a....!!!!

Stephie entertaining the puppy and Randy measuring.

Let me see...

Just look at that nasty floor before we finished w/ a nice wood!

Pancakes

A comfort food. A fluffy yumminess. A tradition. It started in 1999. My first experience of a family member's passing. My Gramp Art lost his fight with lung cancer. Dad broke the news to us. Complete and utter heart break wailed from our hearts. Gramp Art was a father figure. Along with Nana the glue to the Von Fange family. And now he was gone. Dad packed us into the car and we found comfort as family, with shared memories and with the fluffy pancakes at the local McDonalds.

Papa Lawrence was next. I had just started to get to know him. I mean really get to know him as an adult. Then we got the phone call. Papa is in the hospital. It's "pneumonia". Somewhere inside me I knew it wasn't pneumonia. Lung cancer had struck again. I made pancakes that morning and explained to Randy..why pancakes.
We had a memorial six months later. On his birthday, a day before mine. On the flight back home, mom realized it was my birthday. Oops. :) no party for me that year, or so I thought. My wonderful husband had not forgotten. Nope he had pancakes ready for me...with a candle and a small gift. I remember breaking down at his thoughtfulness.
June 21, 2011...Nana went home to dance with Jesus and Gramp Art. The second part to the "glue" to our Von Fange Family. By now, we have formed deeper more mature bonds that she helped nurture. After her passing I believe we came closer, if that's possible! After Nana's passing we gathered as family around a table for pancakes. Memories flowed and tears were intermittent but the love was strong.
October 27, 2011, our first baby, Maestro passed away. He may be a dog and seen as a pet by most, but he was our child. Part of our family. He too lost a battle with cancer. He was the first immediate family member that we lost. It has been rough not having him under my feet and ready to go for a walk. Our routine has been affected dramatically every day. We had pancakes as a family.
Exactly six months after Nana's passing I lost my second Grandma. On January 21, Grandma Sandra lost her battle with Parkinson's. Her selfless servant's heart and unconditional love for everyone will forever be in my memory. There are many memories and not enough time to write everything she did for me, let alone everyone she crossed paths. As hard as I try, I cannot remember a single childhood, teenage or adult activity she missed! Grandma was always there. I pray that I can live a life that she would be proud. I made blueberry pancakes on the 22nd for my family. Grandma would have loved them.

Liam

One more post for Dad...:)
Someone is sleepy...

Self Portrait

I just started the "homework" portion of "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain". This is to document my very first self portrait. It looks NOTHING like me...lol. Oh well thats why I'm reading the book, right?

Crayons & an Iron

This may have been a little bit above my children's skill level, but they still loved it!
Use a pencil sharpener to shave some crayons. The twisting and waxiness of the crayons made it a little difficult for the children--practice makes perfect!

Put the shavings between a few sheets of wax paper and iron. Throw in some ribbon if you want to hang the beauties when they are done.
After the wax dries allow your babes to cut out shapes. I drew hears in favor of V-day this next month.
Beautiful!

60 in January

I absolutely love where we live. Colorado is beautiful with un predictable weather. As they say here, wait 15 minutes and the weather will change. We went to my Mom's house today and spent a good 2 hours outside in light jackets. Fabulous!

Fitting In

Looks like Little Ms. Z is fitting right in...

Sun-visor

Crying babies are never fun. We didn't have the W kids today so poor Liam had no one to entertain him or block the sun while waiting for Keira. Mama had to get creative and climb to the back so he had someone to watch.

New Family Member--Temp Named Rusty

My Dad found a steal of a deal on Craigslist while he was in Haiti. Yeah, I know...Colorado is quite a ways from Haiti, what can I say? He's an addict. :)

Anyways, it has always been Randy's dream to rebuild an old Ford Bronco. Unknown to Randy, Dad alerted me to a 1969 Ford Bronco with a 302 engine. I called the gentleman to see if it was still available--yes!--and scheduled a time to look at it.

By now, Randy was aware of my scheduled appointment . He also knew that it could be a potential purchase for himself or a flip for Dad. After looking it over and hearing its history--30 yrs owned by a mechanic and then this guy who never licensed it--we were in love. Of course we ended up buying it as a life long project for randy and I!

Welcome to the family Rusty!

Taking It Easy

This week has been exhausting: mentally, physically and emotionally. First a house full of sick bugs--colds and a flu, then an opportunity for extra money completing some administrative work and a sickly grandma back in Indiana. All on top of working out at the gym, taking care of the puppy, crib training, normal mommy chores and now a cold for myself and baby Liam (last night was NOT fun). Wow! Its definitely a "take it easy" kind of day. :)

Babes are all fed and cleaned up, dog is running like the road runner, baby is quietly playing with his boat he got from Miss Liz and banana bread is baking away--thanks mom for the old bananas--yeah that was me who took those! Lol

I hope you too can find the time to "just say no" and take an easy day.

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word

Fitting In

Little Miss Zoe has started to find her place in our home. She loves the children to pieces. Keira is finally earning her respect and Zoe is learning to obey Keira. While its great watching the process it can also be painful. Keira is still learning she has to move quickly, sometimes physically moving Zoe so she doesn't trample in her own "accident" and track it everywhere.
Tyler has learned that if he goes to pet Zoe during nap time that she won't bite--she's usually too tired to play.
Liam has yet to learn that puppy teeth are sharp and that its not nice to pull on the puppy's face. I was sitting close by when I noticed Zoe checking out little man in his bouncer. She gave him kisses, which led to Liam putting his hand in her mouth, which led to more kisses, which led to Liam grabbing on to her face and not letting go! To my surprise Zoe just whined and did bot resort to biting! Talk about shocked! I quickly came to her rescue, freeing her furry cute face from Liam's grasp and immediately praising her! What a good girl! Now she sits at a safe distance gnawing on her bone--her favorite past-time.

What a Day!

Today has been a lazy sick day. Tyler is vommitting-sick, the W clan are recovering from a cold virus, Liam is mommy-crazed and fighting his naps and Zoe is full of life and wanting to play!
All of that and I must say, it hasn't been as horrible as I thought it would be. Although fighting colds the W kiddos circled around Liam singing and dancing. Liam loved the attention and happily joined the excitement--well, as much as a seven month old could.
Tyler is quite content in his room, yelling for me as needed. He's only missed the bowl once when on his way to the bathroom. Every once in a while I'll peep in and he is playing video games or sleeping soundly. Bless his heart.
Zoe has been an absolute angel: trying to play with the kids, letting me know when she has to potty, coming when called and curling up next to my feet where ever I may be. She has gone outside to potty three times now without a leash and only a single word needed from me--potty!
Keira will be picked up by mom in a few hours. Randy will be home in 4. So far my "sick and icky" day is completely tolerable and full of cuddles.

My First Recipe--Alfredo Sauce

This isn't my first "made-up" recipe, but it IS my first semi-measured and documented recipe. My husband, Randy, always says, "I've never eaten the same meal twice". You see, I'm not one to measure ingredients or follow another's recipe to the "T". I just chop, toss and enjoy the moment. With that said, I'm always trying to find a great alfredo sauce recipe, but alas, can never find one I thoroughly enjoy. After much frustration and searching, I started whipping together a recipe tonight! I documented--as closely as possible--for future reference. I hope you find it as delightful as we did!

Christina's Alfredo Sauce*

3 small garlic cloves chopped/diced--however you like it

1/2 small onion diced

2 handfuls of spinach-chopped

2 T butter

12 oz Pacific Condensed Cream of Chicken

10 oz Whole Milk**

4 oz cream cheese

3/4 C Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 of a small lemon zested***

Dash Red Pepper (Optional--but highly recommended)

Saute the garlic and onion for 2 minutes on Medium High. (If you use fresh red peppers--diced/chopped--now would be a great time to add them.) Try not to cook the onion much longer than 5 minutes.^

Toss in the chopped spinach, watching it carefully so it does not burn. Turn down the heat to Medium and add the Cream of Chicken and Milk. Cut the Cream Cheese into the mixture, stirring until creamy.Turn heat down to Low. Add your spices. You may need more or less depending on your taste. Zest your lemon directly into the sauce. Let simmer for 5 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add your Parmesan Cheese. Let cook at low heat for an additional few minutes.

Place on top of your noodles and enjoy! Nom Nom!

*I use as many organic ingredients as I can find. The closer to natural it is, the better it is for you.

**We use Whole Milk because it's closer to it's natural state: more vitamins, more protein, more how God created us to eat it. Plus, it keeps you fuller longer. If you choose to use a different type of milk you may want to add a thickening agent.

***I simply take a lemon and use a zester to scrape the peel directly into the sauce.

^Randy and I have discovered that if you cook certain foods too long, they naturally release a chemical that can give you migraines! Go figure!

Hair brushing

Tyler was brushing my hair. When he stopped, I asked, "Tyler are you going to brush my hair some more?"
Tyler puts his hand on my shoulder looks into my eyes, tilts his head and says, "I'm going to save it for a little later, ok mom?"

Tyler's Epiphany..

After complaining about the sun in his eyes, and several minutes of frustration, Tyler says, "Mommy, Jesus forgot to shut off His light!"

The Past Few Days

The past few days have been interesting. We have a new puppy and with six kids, one who is nursing, life has been-to say the least-chaotic. We can even add two nights of minimal sleep to the mix. This mama has been stressed to her max. Here are a fee photos of our week.

Tyler

I turned to Tyler, see him lookibg at me with one eye closed and he says, "Hey Mom! There's only ONE of you!"