Easter Is So Special!!

It's time to update on here I know. It has just been to lovely outdoors to be here on the computer! I was only up here a few times in the past few days to post and just ended up leaving again because I had other things I rather wanted to do...

We have so enjoyed our Easter weekend! The school vacation is so nice and it is giving me fever for the "no school" days ahead! We are looking so forward to our Summer without so much of a routine!
I was able to run six miles this morning before taking Javon to school since the other kids are home today! I can't wait to do morning runs again! Javon has a snow make up day today so it seemed strange to take him to school with the others still home! The big boys went to the shop to build a dog house for the dog they are dreaming about getting one of these days, so that leaves Jenika and I here for the moment...:)

We had two new baby goats born up at the barn yesterday so that is where Jenika has been for the past hour!! She will spend hours at the barn if we let her! And even in our stinky chicken coop! She has this one chicken she hangs out with that will sit on her arm as she walks around with it! She thinks it's so cute!! She needs to live on a farm I'm convinced!!

Backing up a bit to our Thursday... The kids only had school until lunch then we spent the rest of the day outdoors! I took Jordan and Mark over to my old neighborhood to fish along the creek for an hour. While they fished I ran, (six and a half miles). It was fun running in a different neighborhood...:) We played outside and dug in the dirt later on in the afternoon, I loved to hear the kids play around me as I planted the garden.

Good Friday we had a special morning as a family. We had fasting and prayer along with sharing and reading the scriptures of Jesus death and resurrection. We enjoyed lunch together and helped each other clean up then we again headed outdoors to enjoy the lovely warm day!! We did some yard work with Papa's tractor and we are making progress in the garden... Yay for manpower!!

 

Jordan helped me in the garden while Justin helped his dad man the tractor...:)

 

 

Saturday I again spent to much time outdoors! The garden got many seeds put into it and the wildflower seed packets were emptied out on the one end of the garden!! I can't wait for those fresh cut flowers on my kitchen counter!

A few pine trees got planted to. They were so heavy that the nursery would only sell me two when I asked for three! They said three would load my mini van down to much! Dave says he thinks he would fire that sales person!...:) Anyway we made two enough for now.

We planned to have my family for an Easter party here Sunday evening so after spending most of the day outside Saturday I still had much house work to do! The guys had Mark Andrew over to play a game of "Cash Flow". The guys in the house are so into this game these days! I was doing house work until way to late while they played there game and the Little's went to bed since they were exhausted from all the hard outdoor play!!

Having my family over yesterday was so worth the effort! The kids so enjoyed every minute together! We had supper... Ham, Mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, salad, homemade bread then cheesecake and pretzel bark with coffee for dessert... Yes we are extremely BLESSED!

 Dawdy D's and my grandma Beiler came along over with my dads to. It was great to have them join us! Mummy Beiler only asked Jordan the same question like six times before he came to me in a huff saying "that was number six now!" She was more relaxed here last night though then she sometimes is. Alzheimer's must be the cruelest disease out there! One time Mummy D was telling a story about a squirrel that was at her bird feeder,  Mummy B was like... "A WHAT???" Mummy D said again "A Squirrel" I could tell Mummy B was clueless!?? Either she forgot what a squirrel was or she just forgot what they were talking about in a matter of seconds! It is sometimes hard not to laugh when she give those clueless expressions... Prayer for her and her caregivers are very much appreciated these days... It takes so much patience to care for someone with Alzheimer's.

The Easter egg hunt was a huge highlight for the kids and they had way to much candy when I wasn't looking I'm sure!!...
Here are all the kiddo's after the egg hunt... The day was so sunny and pleasant for this outdoor fun!... The campfire was burning until late in the night and the kiddos were so happy to sleep in a bit longer this morning!

What was that person thinking when they hid this egg??  Jenika is up for the challenge when it comes to climbing a tree!...:)

Today is again lovely and since the garden is going to be an ongoing project for a bit yet I'm itching to get outside to soak up the sun as I work... The fresh mulch is ordered and coming this week to so the outside fun is only beginning around here...:) My poor husband gets no rest these days! Thanks Hon for helping me with all the hard stuff!...:) The big boys are a blast to!! They pitch right in and help!  I was planting garden the other evening and Justin and Dave were planting the new pine trees, the Little's were jumping on the trampoline... Soon we hear this call from the back porch from Jordan... Supper is ready!!! The grill smelled amazing from where we were working and we all came up to the back porch to the great meal that Jordan had prepared!! Yes I think I'm loving this stage in life!!...:)


I will share the pumpkin muffin recipe that we made for Jordan last week...

Muffins...
1 3/4 cups Silvana's All Purpose Flour... this is what this four is made of... 6 cups white rice flour, 3 cups tapioca flour, 1 1/2 cups potato starch, 1 Tbsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. xanthum gum (preferably Bob's Red Mill) I make a batch at a time and label it "Jordan's flour"
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs (duck here)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar (we used 1/2 cup stevia)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (we used coconut)
1 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
confectioners sugar for sprinkling

Also a topping if you want to add before baking...
Topping...
1/4 cup Silvana's All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
4 Tbsp. all vegetable shortening
 
Bake 350' 20-25 minutes
Jordan loved them.

We did not add the topping because I don't feel Jordan is ready for that much sugar yet. He had a nasty nose bleed last night before bed time, he knows by now that I watch him like a hawk! I try to read his body daily. I have been doing this for the past few years now and feel I'm getting pretty good at it...:) His arms get checked daily for breakouts and when he starts to snot or get red eyes I know something is not right!

 Example... The other morning he was getting his sweatshirt on before school. All of the sudden he started to snot and his eyes were watering a bit. I started with trying to think what he just ate?? I saw a few cat hairs on his sweatshirt and asked him about it? He said yes when up at uncle Jonathan's last night Bryant kept insisting that I hold the cat!! His sweatshirt was the reason for his snotting since he has a cat allergy! He took off the shirt for a good washing and all was fine again!!

I hope he will one day read his own body but it seems to be taking time for him to do so!? Until then I will try to do it the best I can and cook and bake for him according to what I'm reading by looking at the surface. When trying new foods for him I find it's harder for me then it is for him because I'm afraid of what it might do to his insides. He just wolfs it down and says how good it was then he'll say "Yes it agreed with me just fine Mom, you worry to much!"...:) I'm not sure he would tell me if he would not feel good on something I fed him just for fear that he can't ever have it again!...?? We have come a long way but we are still working on figuring his body out!??

We spent the afternoon yesterday after Sunday School making a supper for him. It is tough when we have guests or a party invitation away from home. It means we have to cook something different for him then what the rest of us will be eating.  I like to make it special for him if we are having something really yummy. We had a mess until we were done but we made chicken bites, brownies and some mashed potatoes were made for him with rice milk even though he only had a teeny bit of them.


The Summer Camp sign up sheet made it's way to the church foyer again yesterday. He of course got all excited about camp and signed himself up. On the way home we got to talking about this. How could he go to camp for five days?? How could I cook his type of food and have it served to him for five days away at camp?? Last year he was in a younger then him, rowdy group of kids and he didn't enjoy the night time routine to much! I ended up picking him up one evening just so he could get a good nights sleep. (we have also learned that Jordan's body does not function to well when losing to much sleep!) So we have decided he will probably not be going with Justin and Jenika to camp this summer. He is so disappointed yet I think he understands better then some kids would... So I tell him it's just another part of his bravery that he lives with...:)

I'm off to enjoy the sunshine outdoors!... I love this time of year!! I can hardly go fast enough outdoors!! Things are so green and popping up everywhere! Some of my geraniums did not appreciate the snow the other night! I hope they snap out of it... It's what I do every year... Push the limits with the frosty cold nights... Oh well I just can't wait to plant stuff and sometimes being early gets me in trouble but I still do it again and again... I just can't wait to see all the color and I think surly it will stay warm now yet it just never seems to until some of my plants are dead... :{


Have a great day...