Got Coffee? Winner! (Updated)

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my contest. We randomly chose Betsy to receive a pound of Viridian Coffee. Hope you enjoy it Betsy! 

Rocks in my Dryer is hosting a bloggy giveaway. There are hundreds of blogs giving things away, and, just by leaving a comment, you will be entered to win. She's done this before and this time I thought I'd join in the fun! I'll be giving away a pound of my husband's fabulous freshly roasted coffee to the winner. We'll roast it up and ship it right to you. All you have to do is leave me a comment and you'll be entered to win. (Unfortunately, I have to limit this to residents of the USA- shipping to other countries at this time is pretty spendy. However, if you live elsewhere and want to enter I will be glad to ship it to someone in the USA as a gift from you.) If you don't have a blog, leave me your email address so I can get in touch with you! I will draw a winner sometime on Sunday, November 4th.

Where I'm From

(Several months ago people in the blogging world were doing this, and I thought it was neat. But, until this morning, I never had the motivation to do it myself. You can find the original poem here, and a blank template to write your own here. I've included links, some to photos and others to explanations. I think this would be a neat thing to do with kids, to hear their perspectives on their life so far. I know some of you have done this before, but if you choose do it, please let me know so I can come read it!)

I am from steaming terra cotta cups of masala chai smashed on ancient cobblestone, from freshly baked bread and simmering soups, from canned peaches and freezer jam.

I am from mountainside log cabins, farmhouses and city houses, from wherever my family is.

I am from golden wheat fields and arid deserts, from sledding hills and six-foot snow drifts, from rainy winters, from mountains beautiful enough to make me cry.

I am from brown station wagons filled with brothers and sisters, from Tesseract the Datsun, from rickshaws and tuktuks, from boats and airplanes and camels and elephants.

I am from fragrant lilacs in the springtime, crocus blooming in the snow, calla lilies, marigold garlands and baby gardens (for babies who flew away too soon.)

I am from Charlie Brown Christmas trees in ice cream pails and loud, happy gatherings, from immigrants and explorers, from settlers and survivors. From Erik my true love, and my children, from sleepy morning kisses and fierce bear hugs.

I am from loyalty and love.

I am from verses of comfort from Isaiah the Prophet and shooting Gospel Guns while hiding under covers.

I am from the family of God, the people of Jesus, from hymns and choruses (on Sunday nights), from dancing and joy, from flickering flames, golden icons, and incense rising before the Throne.

I am from a mountain town in Canada, from temple squares in Nepal, orphans in Liberia, from tropical beaches and Ganges River sunrises, from long train trips, and First Street in Ensenada, from pignoli cookies and baked zitis, homemade tortillas and refried beans, thali plates eaten with fingers, from massaman curry and pozole and fresh roasted coffee.

I am from stolen kisses on immigrant ships and daring sea rescues, from dreams of utopia in Mexico, from tomato fields and orange orchards.

I am from black and white photographs, from tattered children's artwork in a manila envelope, The Museum, and love letters written on birch bark, from the journals of my Gramps and those who went before him, from heavy photo albums and yellowed pictures.

I am from too many places, my heart left in pieces all over the world.

I am from heaven, my true home, from the saints gone before me, from my waiting babies, from my Savior, and from every tear wiped away.

A Boy Named Woodelson

In a faraway broken land there is a home for children, a three bedroom house with fifty little ones. Fifty brown faces left by parents too impoverished to care for them. Fifty little hearts waiting and hoping that they will soon be taken to another land, a strange land, to live with their forever family. One of these little boys is named Woodelson, and he was just visited by the family who is waiting and hoping and praying that they can bring him home very soon.
Woodelson is just two years old, and it's my friends Shelley and Corrigan who are in the long process of adopting him. While visiting Woodelson in Haiti, they also met another boy named Denilson who they are praying about adopting as well. Denilson is older, 7 or 8, and Shelley knows she'd need to homeschool him when he comes home. He doesn't speak English yet, and doesn't know how to read or write. She asked me if I knew of any resources for beginning to homeschool a child like this, so I thought I'd throw it out there and see if anyone else can help. I know there are many people who have adopted older children and who've adopted internationally; if you know of someone like this who'd be willing to share their experience, would you put them in touch please?
Also, please join us in praying that God will expedite the process of setting these children in their forever families. It could take another year or even two, and that's a long time in the life of a child; it's also a long time for the waiting families who love them! Shelley has written about their experience in Haiti on her blog. I'd encourage you to go read it and send up some prayers on behalf of these little ones.

October Days

Another couple of weeks have gone by without me sitting down to post anything. Life is happening, and I'm living it. What more can I say? Here are some various things that have been going on in our busy lives these days:

• Erik and I got to go away overnight for our fifth anniversary, which was only nine months ago! We figured we'd better squeeze a trip in before our sixth comes around! We went up the river and stayed in a cabin in the forest. We also did some hiking and explored an old logging road where we had magnificent views of the Sisters' Mountains. It's amazing how just getting away overnight can refresh you!

• We've been getting involved in some activities with a local homeschool group. Every other Friday the kids get to have open play time at a gymnastics place, and on the alternate weeks a local pool has a homeschool swim time. We're enjoying both the physical activity and the making of new friends.

• We decided to take Peregrine to AWANA this year, and he's absolutely loving it. He just earned his vest and is busy memorizing verses to earn his first badge. I've wanted to have him memorize Scripture more regularly and this is giving us the structure to do that. It's been kind of hard for me to let him do this, but it helps that they like the moms to come help out in the classes!

• Speaking of Peregrine, his fifth birthday is coming up in just a few weeks! We always have a costume party for him, so in some of my spare moments I'm working on costumes for the kids. There's also the cake and pinata to be planned! (For those of you who are doing the math about when we got married, yes, he's a honeymoom baby!)

• And speaking of babies, we are overjoyed that my pregnancy is going well; I'm almost seventeen weeks along and am beginning to feel the first little baby flutters! Thanks so much to all of you who remember us in your prayers.

• In four weeks we'll be leaving for some family time in sunny Mexico. We're all looking forward to this very much, and I'm already making lists and trying to get things together for our trip.

• And finally, I'd like to introduce you to my two newest creations, Mrs. Acorn and her little son, who are gracing our fall display (set up by Peregrine) with their presence. I hope to make some more members of this little forest family when I have the time! (Maybe next fall?) I'm still debating on whether or not to give them faces; what do you think?

When I put this all down, it's no wonder I'm tired! And also why I haven't taken the time to blog lately!

(Not Quite) Wordless Wednesday

One of these days, or weeks, I may get back to posting a bit more regularly. In the meantime, life is happening and here are a few pictures to prove it:

In spite of the fact the summer already feels like it was too long ago, we're still enjoying the harvest from our garden. This is a frittata I made the other night using fresh eggs (thanks to our lovely hens, Stella, Janie, Marigold, and Penny), onion and bell pepper, tomatoes and basil. The only thing from the store was the cheese. We had it with baked potatoes on the side, also from the garden! It makes the homesteader in me quite happy to serve a meal such as this!

Some kids are bit odd, if you know what I mean. Our dear little Alethea, methinks, is one of these. Erik jokingly asked the kids the other day who wanted to cuddle with a gallon of milk. She did, and as you can see took it very seriously. This is also the girl who takes to bed with her the typical stuffed animal, a sippy cup of water, and a wet washcloth. Yep, a wet washcloth, and she cuddles with it, and sometimes reads stories not only to Bear, but also to Water and Washcloth. Like they're entities or something. Female ones, of course, because all inanimate objects and animals are in her world. Do any of your kids have a security Washcloth?

And this is what happens when you have too many baskets of laundry waiting around to be folded. You find creatures inhabiting your laundry and hope you pulled out the things that tend to wrinkle. (You probably didn't, but the creatures are rather charming, so you don't really mind the wrinkles.)

Someday soon I hope to actually sit down and write a little something. I think about it, but for some reason haven't done it. Soon, perhaps....