Popcorn!

I grew up with popcorn.  Dad always loved his popcorn and I can remember having it as a staple in our home growing up.  Sunday nights seemed to be popcorn nights a lot, as well as nights that we had a babysitter.  Mom used to use her Farberware skillet to pop the corn and we loved hearing the popping kernels bang away on the lid, steam seeping from under the lip.  When it was done, the warm popped corn was dumped into the large, green Rubbermaid bowl and then salted.  Sometimes we had the treat of melting bacon grease and pouring that over the top first.  We are all convinced that Dianne made the best popcorn and somehow talked her into making it for us all the time!

I guess traditions like this don't change much.  Our family today is growing up with popcorn, too!  One of my favorite Christmas presents every year is a 12.5 pound bag of popcorn from Dad that he gets from Dannemillers in Norton.  That usually lasts us until spring when we somehow have to get another bag from him.  Around the middle of July we get another bag that we try to make last until Christmas again.  It's not always easy, but seriously, there is no better popcorn than Dannemillers so I try not to run out of this precious commodity.

Since I babysit several children after school, one of their favorite snacks to have is a huge bowl of popcorn, too!  I usually just use Watkins Butter Salt on it, but unfortunately, it's been discontinued, so I'm just getting the generic stuff from Bulk Barn now.  When we want a treat, the boys will sprinkle Watkins Seasoning Salt on theirs or maybe even cinnamon sugar, but my all-time favorite lately has been to sprinkle Watkins' Jalapeno Dip Mix on mine!  OH YUM!  It's sooo delicious, and no extra calories.  Bonus!

I also make several popcorn snacks for the kids that we all love and I'll rotate them to make everyone happy, but usually, just a plain bowl of popcorn makes everyone smile!  I think I am making popcorn at least five days of the week, if not more, and we never get tired of it.

Here are some of our favorite recipes.  Feel free to share yours, too, because chances are, we'll try them!

Cinnamon Popcorn
4 qts popped corn
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. Watkins cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
Mix ingredients together, pour over popped corn and toss.  Bake at 300F for 10 minutes.

LuAnn's Party Mix (I have no idea who LuAnn is, but I love her recipe!)
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning mix
3 qt. popped corn
12 c. Crispix cereal
6 c. tiny pretzels
1 c. peanuts
Candy corn or M&M's optional
Mix together and bake at 325 for 5 minutes or microwave 2 batches for 1 minute on high.

JELL-O Rainbow Popcorn
8 c. popped corn
1 c. peanuts
1/4 c. butter
3 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar (or white)
1 pkg (4 serving size) JELL-O strawberry or lime
Over low heat, cook butter and syrup in small saucepan until butter is melted.  Add sugar and gelatin; stir until completely dissolved.  Bring to boil over medium heat.  Reduce to low and simmer 5 minutes.  Pour over popcorn, tossing to coat.  Spread into foil lined pan.  Bake 10 minutes, cool, remove from pan and break into small pieces.

Baked Caramel Popcorn
1 c. margarine
1/2 c corn syrup
1/2 t. baking soda
2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
20- 24 cups popped plain popcorn
Melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil stirring often at medium heat. Boil without stirring for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and soda. Pour over popcorn which has been placed in a huge bowl. Stir until well coated. Turn onto 2 large shallow baking pans. Bake at 250 for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes while baking. Pour into a bowl and toss once in awhile while it cools so that it is not all stuck together.

Store in a airtight container.

Mom's Caramel Corn
6 qt fresh unsalted popped corn
2 c sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/2 c. boiling water
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c salted, skinned peanuts (optional - added to corn before pouring syrup on top)
Mix sugar, tartar and boiling water thoroughly.  Over moderate heat, boil gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, cover pan.  Uncover and continue cooking w/o stirring, but watch closely until syrup takes on a bright caramel color.  (If too dark, it will have a bitter flavor.)  Remove from heat at once and stir in butter and soda. Mix thoroughly.  It will be foamy.  Pour immediately over the top of the popped corn, covering as much corn as possible.  Quickly lift and mix until all corn is covered with the candy.  Spread onto waxed paper to cool.  Do not press together.  When cooled, break into smaller pieces and store in a closely covered container.

Ouch

All I did was cough!  That's it!  Honest.  I coughed a few weeks ago because I had a cold, one of those really bad ones where you cough and cough and cough until you just can't cough any more... and then you cough again.  I think it was one of those 'again' ones that did it to me.

Ouch!

Something really, really hurt in the vacinity of my ribcage!  Within a few hours, I couldn't sit, lie down, laugh, sneeze, or cough!  To be honest, sometimes I could hardly even breathe!  It hurt so very badly! 

No, I haven't seen a doctor.  No, I haven't gone for x-rays.  No, I haven't gone to a chiropractor.  I HAVE taken ibuprofen and I've iced and heat packed it.  I've also "Ouch! Yow! Eech-oochie-oh"-ed my way through all my tasks as well.  That seemed to help the most.  If I could express the pain out loud (mostly when I was alone because, seriously, who wants to hear all your gripes and moans and groans anyway?) then it seemed to be easier to endure. 

Now it's been two full weeks of this and I've had a hard time sleeping because I can't lie on either side, can't lie on my back and for sure I can't lie on my stomach!  I struggle sitting through a day at church because the angle of the pews is just a tad bit off and the pressure is too great.  I can't sit on our couch, recliner or rocking chair.  I also found out that I can't really go skating with a five year old who is still learning to skate!  I can, however, stand and walk with no problems whatsoever!

I've heard that these types of injuries can take a long time to heal.  That's not good, but I am thankful that I'm feeling better now this week.  I still can't sneeze without screaming in pain, but I can at least bend over to help pull on a stuck boot of that same five year old and I can catch a deep breath every once in awhile.  I can sweep my floor again and I can carry the laundry basket upstairs.  I was kind of hoping I'd be able to get out of shoveling the snow because of this, but hey!  We haven't had any snow to shovel  anyway so I'm already getting out of it!

I'm not sure how long this will be a pain in the side for me, but I'm so thankful that it's not worse than it is.  If you think of me, pray that it will heal fast.  It's hard for a mom to be slowed down by things like this!  Oh, and try not to make me laugh or sneeze in the meantime.  Thanks!

Kaitlyn Clarisse

Kaitlyn Clarisse Weinhardt December 14, 2011

This is my newest niece, Kaitlyn Clarisse.  She was born on December 14 to Fred's brother Henry and his wife, Jo.  She came early and captured all of our hearts and certainly all of our attention for the sixteen brief days that she was with us.  I'm so thankful that I got to meet her when she was only 2 days old, but unfortunately, she had just come out of surgery and I wasn't allowed to even touch her beautiful baby hair.  Katie doesn't know it, but she was used as an instrument of God in her short life.  She has taught us all so many lessons: total dependence on God, the power of prayer, the importance of practical support during a trial, the freedom of peace from above, the healing practice of rejoicing with those who rejoice and of weeping with those who weep.  Katie has had more of an impact on many of our lives in sixteen days than most people have in a lifetime!  My book of a thousand gifts is FULL of thanks from those two weeks that she was here with us.  God is good, even when there is deep sorrow.  God loves even Kaitlyn, even Henry, even Jo, even Elyssa, even all of us.  God is good ALL the time!

 

Jo, Henry, Kaitlyn

December 30, 2011 

It is with deep sadness that we share the loss of our dear Kaitlyn. She died peacefully in her mother’s arms and daddy’s hands at 4:50pm today. Her 16 days with us were each filled with all our love and already we miss her. In our sadness we also have joy knowing that she is now completely well and someday we will meet her again.

Her life was a precious gift to us for which we are truly grateful. We are also thankful to you all for your love shown in so many ways.

With all our love & gratitude,

Henry, Joanna and Elyssa



Mommy was right there to comfort her!



Kaitlyn peeking out at Daddy




Mommy singing during a special cuddle time



 Kaitlyn had to endure so much in her short life.  She was dependent on machines and monitors and respirators and tubes.  She even had surgery!  She endured much, but she gave much and we will be forever changed because of her life.  Thank you, God, for blessing our family with your precious little princess!  What comfort to know that she is now in the hands of the Great Physician!





One Thousand Gifts

My dear sister-in-law gave me a book for my birthday that is slowly changing my life.  The book, One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, is one that I probably would not have picked up on my own, simply because I don't really have time to read for pleasure these days.  Oh, am I so thankful for this gift, though!  It is not an easy read for me.  The author's writing style is not one like mine and I found that I had to keep rereading what she wrote because I was never quite sure where her emphasis was intended.  This, however, became a blessing because I was forced to read and reread certain phrases and paragraphs and therefore the truths that she penned became more apparant each time I read them again.

I will not give away the details of the book, but I encourage you to find a copy of this if you have the time to read.  And if you don't have the time to read, I encourage you to find a copy and MAKE the time to read!  Ann Voskamp shares a personal, spiritual journey after accepting a dare from a friend to name one thousand gifts in her life.  As she keeps a running list of her gifts, she is drawn closer and closer to the Lord and discovers that in giving thanks, her eyes are opened to a life of gratitude and to the relationship with God that she has been searching for.

After starting this book, I let a friend of mine borrow my copy because I know that she is going through some difficult life experiences and I felt God wanted me to share this with her.  The two of us remind each other often that it is in thanksgiving that we can fully live in Christ.  Eucharisteo - the Greek word for "he gave thanks", speaking of Jesus when He broke the bread and shared communion with His disciples.  The author refers to this word often, and reinforces the grace, thanksgiving and joy that are entwined in this word eucharisteo.  My book-sharing friend and I are growing in our desire to practice and learn eucharisteo - giving thanks in all things.

This past week has brought some very difficult events into our extended family and there has been both rejoicing and weeping.  There have been fears and sorrows and questions and ... peace... yes, peace in the middle of this gut-wrenching storm.  Throughout this trial of 9 days so far, peace and thankfulness are carrying me through.  My heart is breaking because of the unfolding events, but as I take out my own notebook of One Thousand Gifts, I can list my thanks and my blessings and see that God is good and that He loves me and each one of us who are suffering.  He has given such perfect provision in these circumstances that at times, despite my weeping, I run to my notebook and chronicle yet another "gift". 

Hard eucharisteo, giving thanks when it is difficult, brings joy and peace.  It does not discount sorrow nor shame our emotions, but it reminds us that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!  God is good, and He loves me.  I am His beloved.  I hold my hands out empty, to be filled.

A Day With My Sons

What a great day I had today!  I was at school all day long and I loved every minute of it!  Today was my day "off", but I was at school longer today than I have been in years and years and years! 

I started out first thing in the morning in Stephen's class.  I helped the kids get their art projects finished and then up on display for Arts Night, where all their work would be displayed for their parents to view.  I also got to help the kids with their math work and truly enjoyed it.  They're working on symmetry right now and their "work" today was to take a mirror and draw different pictures in perfect symmetry.  Now, this may not seem like fun to you, but would it change your mind if I told you that Stephen's math classes are all in French and that his teacher is French and therefore speaks French?!  Even to mother volunteers?!  The kids and I had a good laugh because she would tell me what to do and I'd look at them with a panicked face and they would translate it for me.  They thought they were being so helpful...and they were!

Soon it was time for the first nutrition break, so I surprised Timothy and told him to go get his coat because I was going to take him to Tim Horton's for lunch.  Oh, the look of joy on his face was incredible!  He was beaming so brightly that I thought the whole school would know about our little date today!  Not only was he thrilled to leave school to go have lunch with Mommy, but he even got to have a vanilla dip donut with Christmas sprinkles on it for dessert!  Joy, joy, JOY!  I could have sat there all day watching his face as he ate his lunch with such excitement!  To top it all off, our server somehow prepared two cups of coffee for me by accident and had both of them sitting on the counter in front of us.  I asked her what she was going to do with that second cup and she replied that she was going to give it to me.  I wish I could have captured Timothy's facial expression just then!  He burst out, "Mommy!  Mlle Campbell drinks Tim Hortons!  We could give it to her!"  So we accepted the free cup of coffee and when we got back to school, he so proudly handed her that free cup of coffee and told her it was just for her, once again, face beaming!  Oh, how I wish my eyes were a video camera!  I want to remember those moments forever just watching pure joy on my son's face as he had Mommy all to himself for a lunch date, and then to watch him share that coffee with his teacher - thrilled to give a gift to her!  May my memory retain this day for many, many years!

After Timothy and I finished blessing Mlle Campbell with her coffee, I left Timothy in his class and headed down to Room 1 to spend the afternoon with Christopher.  Unfortunately, my time with Christopher was not initiated because of a pleasant experience.  About two weeks ago, his teacher, Fred and I finally put two and two together and realized that Christopher was being bullied at school so I was invited into the classroom to not only provide some emotional security for Christopher (oh, that just tears my heart to pieces just typing that!), but to be a second pair of hands for the teacher whose hands are way too full right now.  It was Christopher's day to take the afternoon attendance chart to the office and he was supposed to pick a girl to go with him.  He turned around and walked straight over to me and said, "I pick Mommy."  Because of what all my little boy has been through the past few weeks at school, Mrs. W. and I glanced at each other and then quickly looked away because I think we were both ready to lose it.  He held my hand the entire two hours that I was with him today, except when he was at the art table cutting out pictures of an Easy Bake Oven (because that's what he keeps asking for as his Christmas present!).  By the time I left his room, he was comfortably sitting with the class ready to start music class.  We blew each other good by kisses and I left, but not before I made a plan with Mrs. W.

We've arranged that I come in at least every other Thursday, but more often if I can, just to be that emotional support for Christopher.  His class is a tough one this year.  There are two ESL children in there who have anger issues, most likely because of the lack of understanding, and an extremely immature whiner who cried every time something went the opposite of what she wanted, and then there's the bully ... and the rest of the class.  The rest of the class who has to sit there while Mrs. W. has to stop the fighting, quiet the whining and reign in the runner (one of the ESL kids who bolts out the door whenever he feels like it!).  I feel for her.  She's doing the best she can, but she really needed an aide in there!  Thank God, after these incidents with Christopher and a few others in the past few weeks, the principal has finally arranged for her to have some classroom aides assigned to her class!  She told me that things have improved tremendously in the past week because of the extra eyes and hands that she has in there!  While things may be improving, can you please join us in praying for Christopher?  He used to love going to school and now he complains of stomach aches, refusing to get dressed on school days, cries all morning and at the bus stop, etc.  It makes me so sad to see that his joy in attending school is gone.  Pray that it will come back and that he will forget those moments of bullying that have taken place.  We pray every night for the little boy who has punched and kicked him, and we talk often about how it's important to love him despite the hurt he gives Christopher, but I don't want this to affect him long term.

And after that adventurous day at school (oh, did I mention that I also spent about 45 minutes with the art teacher refilling glue bottles?), we headed back there tonight for the Arts Night - a new idea for the annual Christmas program.  I won't dwell on that much because I seriously am trying to establish a heart of thanksgiving in everything, but I will say that it was CRAZY and I do believe that the administration needs to reconsider how they planned things for tonight!  I was thankful to get home after that stressful evening - does that count for my attitude of thankfulness?

It's been a long day, but one I wouldn't have traded for anything!  It's such a blessing to be able to go into the school and work with my sons' teachers, the librarian, the art teacher, the principal.  I want my face to be known in that building and I want the teachers to appreciate my presence instead of dreading it. I want to be a help and a support in their classrooms and to add joy and thankfulness to the days of my sons, their classmates and their teachers.  What a gift this is for me!  What a great day I had with my sons!

First Day of School 2011



My "baby" getting ready to start Senior Kindergarten!



Timothy wanted to decorate his Grade 2 sign.

Stephen, looking so grown up as a Grade 3 student!

I'm not exactly sure what Timothy is doing with his eyes, but this was the best shot of him outside ready to head for the bus stop.

I know I'm way behind in posting the first day of school pictures, but hey, it's ONLY November 7!  I can't believe how grown up these boys are this year.  I remember asking Mom one time what age she enjoyed the most while we were growing up and she told me that she enjoyed them all because each one brought new joys.  I didn't quite understand that at the time because Stephen was only a baby when I asked that, but now I get it.  I'm LOVING having a third grader who comes home with the most fascinating facts that he learned that day (plus, third grade was always my favorite to teach, so I'm a bit partial here).  I love having a second grader who is so very into writing stories, so much so that I feel like I'm an audible dictionary at times, spelling every other word for him.  And I so love having a kindergarten student who is old enough to enjoy going to school, but who is also young enough to be home every other day with me!  We're off to a good start here in 2011, and I know it will only get better!

Flex Time

In a conversation with my friend the other day, she said, "Martha, you always seem to be so busy!  You are always talking about how much you have to do and you're always doing something for someone else.  When do you do something for yourself?"  I told her that I didn't usually have time to do things for myself because I have so much other stuff to do.  I rush all day to get things done before the kids come home from school and then when they're home, I have to give them all my attention.  Then there's supper to get on the table once the babysitting kids are gone and then supper clean-up, homework time, tidy up time, bedtime snack, pajama time and off-to-bed time.  Once the kids are in bed I have to clean up after the whirlwind of disaster that has been left behind.  And this is usually all done with a very negative spirit.  It's a never ending cycle.

That's when she threw out the lifeline comment:  "I work on flex time."

I felt like I just smacked myself in the head!  Duh!  Of course!  Flex time!  She said that when her family gets home from school and work, that's when her job starts up again so she works on flex time by taking some time off during the day to do what SHE wants to do before her afternoon/evening shift starts up again.  She said, "It cut out the resentment when I was the only one cleaning up after supper and everyone else was lounging around.  They finished their jobs and have earned their free time, but my shift starts up again when they get home."  

Now, why in the world did I never see this before?!  I do NOT have to run around like a crazy woman trying to cram everything into my days, thereby burning myself out and causing resentment to flare up, uncontrolled.  Even Christ went out in a boat to get away from the press of the people and to be ALONE and REST!  He even took a nap!

So, I've been trying this flex time method the last few days.  WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!  My attitude has improved tremendously because I know that I have already had a break during the day and now cleaning up the supper mess and packing lunches and directing traffic is not done with constant griping and (ouch) whining anymore.  I'm quite cheerful, if I may say so myself! 

I've also found that I've been getting a lot more done in my day because I KNOW that my free time is coming up and I want to finish my projects before I stop everything to take a break.  I've been focused and, yes, even more organized if you can believe that coming from me!  Haha!

Is it working perfectly?  No.  My to-do list today was very long and my tasks were not all quick ones that could be killed off in a matter of minutes, so I started to panic this afternoon and was rushing around trying to do as much as I could in the little time that I had left.  When I realized this was happening, I just set the timer for 30 minutes, grabbed my book and plopped on the couch.  When the timer rang, I went back to my work and kept going, but with a much more relaxed feeling.  What a difference.  And guess what?  I DID get it all done before the kids came home so I could sit and talk with them, listen to Christopher read his Green Eggs and Ham book to me, watched a little Peanuts video with the boys because they kept telling me to "watch this, Mommy" anyway so I just went in and sat with them and I got supper finished and ready to serve in no time!

So maybe most of you are reading this saying to yourselves, "But of course!  I've always done that!"  Well, I'm a slow learner, I guess.  I also want to be a quick learner because I'm sure loving this new attitude toward my "job"!  Flex time.  Who knew?!

To my friend:  God bless you for sharing this wisdom with me!  You have given me fresh wind for my sails.  And thank you for holding me accountable for my rest time every day.  You are a blessing to me more than you realize!