mourning today

I think it's part of the inherent curse Eve cast on all women to mourn the good days before they're already gone. In all those special little moments too precious for pictures pasted on social media, I am guilty of not enjoying my kids because I am already grieving they day they're not little anymore.

~riding their bikes in the driveway in their underwear;
~making shadow puppets on the wall at bedtime;
~pretending they don't want to be tickled but running just within my arms' length
~overhearing giggles at dusk while they soak up every minute on the playground before bed

I could go on and on. I cherish these everyday moments so much that it's hard to think of these little happenings not happening.

In my head, they're grown, independent (let's hope, anyway), and waving goodbye in their rear-view mirror. Can we just breathe in and out, smile, and enjoy these moments for what they're worth? And pray God give us more of an eternal focus, that by teaching and praying for our children, they might know Him and we will enjoy eternity together? After all, we should...

"...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34


What are those "too precious moments for pictures" moments with your family, friends, or loved ones?

IL Home Part I

The mothership has landed! After a very long month of transition, travel, and visiting family, we are happily planted in western Illinois near the Quad Cities. We love the house we'll call home for the next few years, and the kids wasted no time in making memories we'll take with us when we go. Josiah is officially training wheel-free, and Micah is rolling over (5 1/2 months). There is always something to do, whether it's swimming, playing in the driveway, riding the four-wheeler, or with all their new (again) toys (it's like Christmas to open their packed boxes!). 

Here's Part I of the tour...upstairs, except for bedrooms we are still unpacking. We feel more than blessed to live here, be in the country, and have room to stretch our legs! 

    

    

    

    

Backyard Blackberry Pie

Back Yard Blackberry Pie

What do you do when you’re up to your ears after a military move this week? Why, bake a pie, of course! After all, it is Friday and the eve of our nation's independence. (Like I need some excuse to make a pie!) So, here's the part where the kids try to help but eat all the blackberries, and we realize 4 cups is a LOT of blackberries. But we kept our eyes on the prize. 

Here's the part you use the previous homeowners' last two pie crusts in the fridge, just because you can. Add the flour, sugar, and lemon juice to the blueberries and mix. Here's the part where you remember you saw a bug in the blackberries when you were picking them, and you really hope they were washed out. Then you go dry your hair because the pie crusts are too cold to roll out...

Back!! Next comes the part where you lay your first pie crust in the dish, then have a little person help you scoop out the blackberry mixture into the dish, preferably who has grimy fingers from picking blackberries and playing outside all morning. Cube the cold butter and dollop on top. 

Are you still with me? You're almost done, and remember, eyes on the prize. Have the same grimy-fingered little person carefully brush the extra edge of pie crust with a little water. Next, break out the never-before-used decorative pie crust cutters you were supposed to use at Thanksgiving but either couldn't find at the time and/or you were too busy running around like a turkey with its head cut off to worry about adding little leaves and pumpkins to your pie. Yep, now is the perfect time to use that. Add four slits in the pie and bake on a rimmed baking sheet, pretending to wait patiently until you hear the timer ding. 

I can almost taste it! Let the pie cool for 4 hours (yeah, that's not happening), and enjoy with some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! 

Backyard Blackberry Pie

Ingredients

2 prepared pie crusts

1 ½ pounds blackberries (around 4 cups)

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cold, unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.  In a bowl, stir the blackberries with the sugar, flour and lemon juice, lightly mashing a few berries; scrape into the prepared pie crust and sprinkle the butter cubes on top.

2. Brush the overhanging pastry with water and carefully set the top crust over the berry filling. Press the edges of the dough together and trim the overhang to 1 inch. Fold the edge under itself and crimp decoratively. Cut 4 slits in the top crust. 

3. Bake the pie in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the bottom crust is golden and the fruit is bubbling. Sprinkle with sugar the last 10 minutes of baking and, if necessary, cover the edge with foil for the last few minutes of baking. Let the pie cool for at least 4 hours before serving.

Adapted from Marilyn Batali’s Blackberry Pie

Happy New Year 2015

Some things are just too precious to post on facebook.  It’s convenient to post there, and I keep it as a sort of scrapbook for our family/my kids’ milestones, but I have been wanting to get back to blogging for a while now.  I started the blog to connect to family far away, so when the military moved us closer to home, I not surprisingly slowed down on posting.  It’s hard to believe it’s almost time to move again-saying two years goes fast living life with a 4 and a 2 year old is an understatement. 

In 2014, John had two shoulder surgeries, one in March and one in October.  The first was to repair much damage due to injury, and place 4 anchors.  The recovery was rough, to say the least.  He was immobilized for a few months, his shoulder locked up, and they had to go back in to do a manipulation under anesthesia and, thankfully, the second surgery was much less painful, pardon the pun.  He has completed 21 credit hours this year and is two classes shy of finishing his Masters degree in Logistics Management. He is loving his position at UD teaching some bright Army cadets.

Brooklyn turned 2 in February and Josiah 4 in May.  We took our first family vacation to Disneyworld this summer, and my first time ever going.  They are getting along and it makes my heart sing to hear them play in and giggles fill the room.   They remind each other they are each others’ “favorite friend,” yet at times I still feel like a referee.  I cherish these days and if it’s possible, I already grieve the days they are little and under our roof.  I am more and more aware of how fast time is flying.

Josiah started preschool, Awana, and had his first season of soccer at the Y. Josiah’s favorites are Paw Patrol, and he’s recently very interested in drawing.  He is a smart little kid, reading emergent readers and writing and reading numbers that are beyond his years.  He started hunting with Daddy this year, got their first buck together and mounted the rack on the wall with a plaque that reads, “Dad and Josiah’s first deer-5 October 2014.”  Since that day, all he has wanted is a bow and arrow, and was his favorite gift from Santa this year. 

Brooklyn continues to show her sweet personality this year, talking early and acts a lot older than an average 2-year old.  She still loves to make us all laugh, and we wonder where she learned all her animated faces.  Let’s just say she is her mother’s daughter with being silly.  She loves to give hugs, kisses, and being mommy to her babies.  Her favorite things are watching kids’ videos on Youtube, singing and dancing to music, and helping mommy with whatever I am doing.  Cooking, cleaning, or going out and about, she is my little helper. 

The kids will be big brother (again) and big sister in 3 weeks, when we welcome baby #3 into our family, another baby BOY!  I am so grateful to God for the blessing of 3 healthy kids, and feeling new life inside me.  Saying that, we are all anxious for his arrival!  I have had some issues with this pregnancy, more sickness and a bulging disc that I treat with physical therapy.  But overall, this pregnancy has flown by, especially enjoying all the activities the other kids are involved in.

I (Kristin) started using Young Living’s essential oils in January last year and quickly saw victories with allergies, asthma, and sleep (now the list is much longer), so I decided to launch my very first attempt at a home business and decided to become a distributor for the company.  Little did I know how much I would enjoy it, and have a lot of success with it!  It combines things I love-taking better care of my family, and helping others with something I believe works.  I believe it’s just the tip of the iceberg and look forward to starting another year at my new “job.”

Looking forward to 2015, John and I discussed our New Year’s Resolutions.  More on the subject later, but with the big ADDITION of a new family member and the prospective military move, my main goals are to remove things from my life and live simpler.  Most importantly, my goal each year is to grow in grace and be more like my Lord, Jesus.  One of my favorite things to do each year is to open my dear Grandma Perry’s words she left us as a legacy in many journals and devotionals.  On January 1, 2003, she wrote these timeless words that will remain my prayer for this, and every year of my life on earth:

“Lord, this year is to Thy glory: this journal is dedicated to my growth in grace toward a gentle spirit, one that leans on the Holy Spirit, constant in prayer, rejoicing in faith over every blessing, returning praise/thanks/adoration for my great God, and the theology of love in every day permeating all I do, say, think & meditate upon.  I shall keep my eyes on “the city of God” which is my destination, my everlasting home, my reward after my sojourn here below.  –Amen, JEP (June Ellen Perry)”

Hiatus Complete

These last 10 months have been virtually update-free, because they happen to have been some of the busiest 10 months of our lives.  John graduated his captain's logistics career course in May, so we moved our things from VA to OH into storage while we were in transition for about 2 months.  We found a house to rent in OH, John went to WA for 2 months with his new job, and we began settling in Buckeye territory, which happens to be quite a nice place (other than colors red and grey everywhere...Go Blue!)  We found a church we love, and I have joined the worship team and am getting to know several of the many great ladies who attend.  John is enjoying his instructor position for the UD ROTC program, who received the 2nd place program in the country earlier this year.  Josiah and Brooklyn are both doing great and adjusting well to Ohio life, seeing grandpa/ma's and cousins a lot more.  I'll update you more on the kids soon.  Here are a few pictures I was finally able to upload to our computer.  I hope you're all enjoying this holiday season as much as we are.  XO, us

 

March to August Catch Up

(Pics to come...experiencing technical difficulties)

Posting five months of updates in one blog entry is a bit daunting, okay, it's overwhelming.  So, I'll keep it simple.  Here's a few recaps:

* We moved to Ohio and John started his job as an ROTC instructor at University of Dayton.  He traded his truck in for a Hyundai.  He was gone most of June and July in Tacoma, Washington with ROTC cadets from across the US.

*Josiah is growing up, bigger, sweeter, and more like his Daddy than ever.  He's showing a big interest in sports, and recently went to his first baseball game with John to celebrate Josiah's graduation from his binky.  

*Brooklyn is in discovery mode, and she continues to be a very happy, loving little girl.  She is thoughtful, always wanting to take a snack or toy to "Jesiah," as she affectionately calls him (100 times a day).  She loves to look at family pictures, show off her language skills, and greet strangers in the aisles of grocery stores.  She loves to run, play with her baby dolls, blocks, and dance in her tutu.  She understands waaaay too much and most comment on how smart she is.  But Mommy already knew that.;) 

*I got my hair cut, joined the YMCA, and I'm taking an online course to receive my certificate in teaching English as a second language (TESOL).  No, I'm not going through a mid-life crisis, just enjoying the ages of my kids and enjoying a bit more time to do things that I love.  It feels good.  

We are meeting neighbors, finding a church, settling in a bit before the school year starts for John.  We miss old friends, but love that you're all a phone call or FaceTime away.  Thanks for joining us on the journey.  God bless, 

The Germanceris     

Metro Richmond Zoo

We have been so busy this spring, cramming in lots of visits to places we may never see again, like this place.  It's a scene out of the movie, "We Bought a Zoo," as it is privately owned and run.  We loved it because everything was close together and they had a lot of neat animals and fun things to do.  I accidentally deleted most of the pictures, but our favorite was taking a safari train ride and feeding the birds in the aviary.  

If Brooklyn looks excited, it's because she tried to grab every bird and I'm sure would've tried to stuff them in her mouth.