The Annual Christmas Picture

No, this isn't our annual family Christmas card picture. It is a tradition far older than that--it is the "Laura and Amy are home for Christmas so let's take a picture" tradition. We gathered with some other friends on my parents' couch in May 1994, before leaving for college, and have taken some sort of group photo every December since then. Who would have thought that, 14 years later, we would have six little ones between just the two of us??? Maybe I should dig out the other photos... (maybe our mothers can find some from when we were in Toddler Tumblebugs at the Y together 30 years ago--eek!)

Dancing Reindeer

Sarah had a fun dance recital a couple of weeks ago at Family Wellness (like a YMCA). Her teacher, an actual former professional ballerina, is just so nice and does a great job with the bouncy little girls. Here they are, warming up before the recital. I think they are jumping and doing "passe," but I am not a ballerina. :) Anyway, we enjoyed watching our little reindeer dance to "Rudolph" and "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas."

Our Little Angels

We had a big day on Sunday! The children were all angels in the Sunday School Christmas program during church.

Their job was to yell, "Surprise!" whenever something unexpected happened in the story--like God promising a savior to Adam and Eve, Cyrus freeing captive Israel, and, of course, God coming to earth as a baby in a manger. Their favorite part was when the angels appeared to the shepherds and the children got to yell, "Multitude Surprise!" and flit around the big kids saying, "Glory to God in the highest!"

At the end of the program, one of the church members gave each of the children the traditional paper bag of treats, which they thoroughly enjoyed. The older ones were happy to pose for a picture, but Michael just said, "I tired of being an angel. I not want to be an angel anymore."

It was a good thing we had a potluck lunch to fill our hungry tummies right away!

Strangeness in the Parsonage

You never know what you'll see in our house. There could be pirates at dinner, an explorer ready to search under the dusty stairs, or even an Auntie tipping the cat off her chair on Thanksgiving. You just never know.

Michael in a Basket

The other day, Sarah and Michael were playing "Miriam and Moses." Here you can see Baby Moses, all tucked into his basket to keep him safe from Pharoah and the crocodiles. He also has Elmo to keep him company. Our little Moses was pretty tired, so he stayed in his basket for much of the morning while Miriam flitted around the house, checking on him and bringing him more blankets.

Not our Christmas Picture

We decided to take some pictures after the Advent service tonight. (Maybe before would have been better....) There were a couple of Christmas card possiblities, and this isn't one of them. It captures the family pretty well, though! Thanks to Ruth for doubling as organist and photographer.

Recital time!

Sarah and David just played in our fall violin recital in Vermillion last Friday. Sarah played The Flower Song, and David played Lightly Row. They both did a great job!

After the recital, we all enjoyed a reception with cookies and lemonade.

On Friday morning, Sarah, Michael, and I cut out flowers, stars, and violins for our cookies. David and Sarah frosted them with chocolate buttercream and yellow almond frosting in the afternoon. One of the other moms brought delicious brownie mix truffle-like treats. We made some of our own yesterday!

The Politeness Plan

David has developed a new code of laws in our house to encourage politeness. Rather than just yelling at people, he now has assigned a helpful task as a fine for each infraction. The three main categories he thought needed to be addressed were "Being Destructive" (Sweep the floor), "Not Sharing" (Dust something), and "Snatching Something Away" (Vaccuum the floor). He wrote them down as the picture shows and keeps it handy where everyone can see.
Last night the kids were playing in the basement, and I heard David shouting at Michael and come stomping upstairs. I asked what was going on, and David stormed over to the closet, grabbed a broom, and shouted, "Michael destroyed my truck, and now he must pay the penalty!" I had forgotten about the politeness plan, so I followed David downstairs to make sure that the penalty wasn't a broom upside Michael's head. David thrust the broom toward Michael and shouted, "You have been destructive, now you must sweep!"
I guess it's far more productive than temper tantrums and hitting!

Our own Lolcat

Here is our very own lolcat (funny cat picture with silly caption, like on icanhascheezburger.com). He is a silly cat who likes to sleep on the stairs where he can guard everyone's rooms as we sleep.
David wanted me to take this picture and then make a caption for it so that Hello could be a lolcat, too.

Reformation Pumpkin

Here is the prize-winning Redhage family entry for the 2008 Community Library Pumpkin contest! Our entry won "Most Creative" in the group category, with a cash prize that paid for the tools Dan bought to make it.

Dan used a woodburning tool to put Luther's Seal on the front of the pumpkin and the Roman numerals for the 95 Theses on the back. He thought it would be a fun way to commemorate the 491st anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation.

There were a lot of good entries, so we were happy and surprised at the results!

Michael

Michael is quite a boy. Tonight, after going to bed pretty nicely, he and Sarah tiptoed downstairs. Sarah said that she needed to use the bathroom, and Michael whispered, "My bed is all wet." Quickly, I reached for the soaked jammies, only to find that they were dry. I asked how the bed had gotten wet. Michael answered, "I tooked some water out of my sippy cup and put it there."
Later, he appeared at the top of the stairs and silently stood there with something that looked like a white beanie. He whispered, "There a bowl on my head. Can I have-a a snack?" I tried to control my laughter, and got some Marshmallow Mateys for him to munch.
Finally, after a stern talking-to from Daddy, he had been staying upstairs for a while when we heard crying. Assuming he was still upset that he could have no more than 3 snacks in one night, we waited for him to settle down. Between cries, though, he was saying something. When I got closer, it seemed like he was saying, "There a yucky in my throat." When I got to to the stairs, I could hear him say, "There a penny in my throat." I quickly checked to see that he was breating all right, and then he forlornly said, "Oh. Now there a penny in my tummy." He said that it only hurt a little, but we will keep an eye on him and his piggy bank. That boy.

Easy Bake Oven

Sarah wanted to bake some cakes for our lunch today, so we got out the Easy Bake oven. She and Michael did a great job of mixing, scraping, and putting the pans into the oven! Sarah even set the timer herself so she could check on the cake at the right time. She ate one cake for a snack, then shared the other one for our lunch dessert. It was delicious!
Here is her Cherry Cake Mix recipe (makes about 12 mix bags)
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cherry Kool-Aid (one packet)
1/3 c. vegetable shortening

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Spoon 1/4 c. mix into each snack bag, zip up and store for up to 6 months on shelf.
To prepare: Mix 1 bag of mix with 1 T water. Stir until smooth. Bake in greased pan in preheated Easy Bake oven for 12-15 min.

Mount Rushmore

First, thank you to Grandma and Alicia for figuring out what our Mystery Bird is! (You both came up with the same answer, so we'll assume that it is a yellow-shafted flicker.)

It turns out that the Mystery Bird Sound was not being made by that bird, though. The sound that woke Dan up and startled me was an Eastern screech owl! The eerie sound we were hearing was the "B song" on that page.

As you can see, we went to Mount Rushmore last week! The fall pastors' conference was in Rapid City, and Dan had Tuesday afternoon off, so we took the kids to see the big presidents. It was a lot of fun, and now Michael can say "George Washington." If you click on George's picture, you can see the workers inspecting and filling cracks in the granite.

Loud Mystery Bird

Do you know what this bird is? We think it is the bird that makes strange, loud calls at night and lives in the trees by our garage. On Monday, we saw 2 or 3 of them hopping around the yard with a bunch of sparrows (see blurry picture for size comparison with sparrow). The mystery bird has a pink tint on its head and a yellow color on its back and under its wings. The bird itself is more substantial than a mourning dove or robin, and has long wing feathers that are distinct when it flies. If you have any ideas about this bird, please let us know! (you can leave a comment as "anonymous" if you don't have a Blogger account)

Silent Snow

Tonight David was telling me about rest time at school. He said that when it is time to rest, he is extremely quiet. Like snow. Like falling snow. Of course he cannot talk at rest time.
Then he sang this song: (tune of London Bridge)
Snow is falling silently,
Silently, silently.
Snow is falling silently.
I am silent.

Worker Bats

We have a Worker Bat in the house! He is quiet, quick, and nocturnal. He will do whatever work I don't get done during the day because he just likes to work. This afternoon he said, "Mommy, you deserve a break today. It's just so calming with the rain and the comfy futon."
Our little Worker Bat ironed shirts between our after-church dinner meeting and the Christmas Cantata rehearsal this afternoon. I was just supposed to rest (and do the tricky sleeves!).
He is a helpful little Worker Bat!

Applesauce

We made applesauce!

Sarah Likes to Spell

Sarah has been experimenting with how letters work! Today she figured out how to turn "zoo" into "coo" and "foo" and "moo" and "woo" and "roo." She also likes to memorize the spelling of important words like "Michael." She even pointed out a mistake that big brother made on his reading log for kindergarten.

Bedtime Rhyme

No pictures right now (it's late), but I wanted to post a little poem that David came up with at bedtime tonight. He's been reading The Adventures of Sammy Jay by Thornton Burgess today, after finishing The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk yesterday. I always enjoyed The Adventures of Old Mister Toad; maybe that one will be next! They are all hardback chapter books from around 1915, reprinted in the 1950's. I think Old Mister Toad was one Grandma got for Christmas from her grandfather when she was 5.
Anyway, here is his little rhyme:

Peter Rabbit is powerful,
Sammy Jay is stout.
Chatterer is cute,
and all about.

Making the Alphabet

Sarah is very interested in the alphabet. One day, after David came home from school, they decided to use the toothpicks from their snack to make the entire alphabet, one letter at a time. David made big letters, and Sarah made little ones.

Sarah is also very interested in spelling. She likes to spell the names of all the members of our family as well as important words like "the," "zoo," and "spiral."

Little Firefighters

After trimming the shrubs behind the garage, we had a lot of sticks that needed to be disposed of, so we had a fire in the firebowl. If there is a fire, you need to have plenty of firefighters on hand to take care of any problems, of course! Sarah couldn't find her fire hat, so she wore her bike helmet instead. We used the green sticks to roast marshmallows, just like my grandpa used to do when I was little. I really like the cleanup on those compared to skewers!

Homecoming and Sunday School

We've had a big couple of weeks here in the parsonage. David's kindergarten class marched in the homecoming parade Friday. The parade had "Video Games" as its theme, and his class dressed up as Guitar Heroes (rock stars). David made the red and black cardboard guitar to carry in the parade. Dan helped him put a tie on his head and safety pins on his vest so he'd really look like a rock star. It was cute! Two other moms carried the sign, and I helped the teacher and aide keep the little ones all together in the back. David's teacher is wearing a pink shirt, and I am hidden behind her.
We had a good time! You can see our church in the background.

Sarah is enjoying Sunday School this year. She got herself all dressed this morning before the boys were awake. Here she is, wearing our friend Ella's mom's dress. We think she looks like a little doll!

Summer Bounty

We are enjoying a bountiful harvest of summer produce! Several church members have given us sweet corn (hooray!), which we have been eating fresh and freezing. All of the children like corn on the cob, and they each have their own ways of eating it. Michael takes random bites all over it, then offers the mangled cob to other people at the table. He is a generous boy. Sarah likes to eat a row at a time, saying, "Nom, nom, nom, TURN! Nom, nom, nom, TURN!" David tries to make the empty cob into different shapes, like hexagons, with the way he eats the kernels.
So far, we have frozen 17 quart bags of corn for the coming winter. Here are pictures of just some of the corn ready to be cut off the cob. This kept us busy during the late-night Olympics on TV.

Next, we have peach preserves (really syrup) and dill pickles.

Finally, pickled beets from our own row of beets and salsa made with our friend Gretchen's help and produce contributions. We had a good Saturday making those 6 pints of salsa together! The children entertained each other very well, and we felt quite productive. We have already eaten the jar that we did not seal.
We thank God for the delicious harvest so far!

Sarah's Birthday

Sarah wanted a Hello Kitty birthday party this year, so we made her an eggless chocolate cake and decorated it using a template off the internet, Jordan almonds, and black licorice. It took two layers of frosting to hold it all together, but was delicious and cute, we think!
Actually, Sarah said that she would like My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, or Hello Kitty for her birthday; then she asked if Hello Kitty might be the easiest to make into a cake. We thought that was very considerate of her!

Sarah received many nice gifts for her 4th birthday. Here she is, showing Michael how to use the school supplies and table that she got from all of her grandparents.

David the Scientist

David got up one morning recently and decided to be a scientist. He picked up a "Fun with Chemistry" book at a garage sale and found an experiment that we agreed he could do safely, even though it involves explosions. He followed the directions and was able to make vinegar and baking soda blow the end off a closed tube! We also discovered that you can use those same ingredients to make a plastic Easter egg break open and spew foam on the sidewalk. Wrapping the baking soda in a Kleenex gives you time to get the lid closed before the reaction starts. Now we all know about how an acid reacts with a base. It's fun!
Notice that David is wearing his safety goggles. All good scientists are conscious of safety.

The Cicada

We've had cicadas in our yard! The children found a cicada shell clinging to the house, then noticed a damp, green buzzing thing crawling nearby. It was the cicada! We were very excited to see both the bug and his shell together.

Mulberries!

We had a good crop of mulberries this year, and decided to make jam. Everyone enjoyed picking the yummy berries. I think we ate as many as we saved!
Here you see pictures of the mulberries boiling on the stove. We may have boiled them a bit too much, as the jam is very crunchy. Oh, well. It is fine if we microwave it first!

Lemonade Stand

Today David and Sarah decided to have a lemonade stand in our front yard. David has been talking about someday owning a store where everything is free, so he wanted to sell his lemonade for free as well. He made signs, mixed up a gallon of lemonade in the sun tea jar, and set up his desk on the front sidewalk to wait for customers. Sarah wanted to sell chocolate milk, so she mixed it up and stored little plastic cups of Ovaltine milk in the refrigerator until someone asked for it. The sign on the desk said, "Chocolate milk also available."
They actually had about 8 visitors to the lemonade stand, and it kept us entertained for the entire afternoon!
We finished the last of the lemonade tonight. It was a good day.

Sparkler Fun

We enjoyed little fireworks in our backyard on July 3rd and 4th. Here you see Sarah and Michael drawing with their red sparklers. They liked them a lot! We were afraid that Michael might set someone on fire, but everyone survived unscathed. Sarah even enjoyed an egg-salad sandwich while sparkling away.

Good meals

We've had a few good meals lately, and wanted to share them with you.

Bratwurst Spaghetti
Cook bratwurst in a pan with some apple juice or other liquid.
Drain and slice into thin circles.
Add onion, black pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with 1-1 1/2 teaspoons white sugar.
Pour Aldi spaghetti sauce over bratwurst in original pan and heat through.
Serve over cooked Barilla pasta.
The children will ask for seconds!

Barbeque Chicken Pizza
Cook pre-cooked chicken bits (we roasted a whole chicken in the crockpot the day before) in good barbeque sauce until warm. We like Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce.
Mix more barbeque sauce into an equal amount of spaghetti sauce.
Spread mixed sauce on mostly cooked pizza crust.
Spoon warmed chicken bits over sauce.
Sprinkle onion slices over pizza.
Cover with shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses.
Add sliced jalepeno peppers if you like.
Bake at 400 until cheese is melted and crust is done.

Doctor Sarah

Sarah has been taking good care of her stuffed animals lately. Here is Baby Yellow Bunny receiving her night time medicine from Doctor Sarah. Sarah made a soft pink bed with a blanket she can pull over Bunny's eyes to keep the light out as she carries the bed around. Sarah also cooks Bunny's medicine fresh for every dose, so she has some pots and pans handy right at Bunny's bedside. We are sure that Bunny will be feeling better soon with such a caring doctor.

Napkin Dancing

Have you ever experienced Napkin Dancing? My old friend Lori taught it to David at a wedding dance this weekend. David kept saying that he just didn't know how to dance, and Lori, the former PE teacher, found a way to make dancing fun for all. They started with Fork Dancing, which is simply waving a fork in time to the music, and progressed to Napkin Dancing with cloth napkins taken from unused glasses at the reception. Napkin Dancing caught on with the flower girl as well, bringing much joy to the dance floor.

David and Lori also discovered how to fold their napkins into babushka scarves. A good time was had by all.