Our family's website, PeacefulHome.net, is in the process of changing hosting companies and is currently inactive. Our plan is to move this blog over once construction is complete. Please stay tuned for updates!
I was so excited to discover the wealth of crafting patterns at the Coats & Clark website! Hundreds of projects to knit, crochet, emboider, sew, etc.
Now, I'm sucked in...I'd been thinking about making a shawl for a while (am I a shawl girl? Not sure.). They had a pattern that I fell in love with. The yarn should be here later this week (a wool/bamboo blend - yummy!).
I made this Barbie-pink fluff of a scarf over the past couple days to help pass the time till the UPS man shows up. Michelle, this is some of that yarn you gave me - Thanks!
Here is a glimpse of our Christmas morning. Brigitta disregarded the "Don't even think about waking us up until 6 am" rule when she came to my side of the bed at 4:45 am saying, "It's just too hard to sleep!"
 |
| Christmas Eve Jammies |
 |
| And the goofy shot |
Hoping that your Christmas was a joyous celebration of the birth of our Savior! We're still in the bits-of-wrapping-paper-all-over-the-house mode. I keep having to suppress the desire to get everything back in its place and just enjoy the sounds of happy children playing.
Bryan is on a reduced work schedule this week, and we are all loving him being home. Ted has a serious Nerf gun battle planned for his friends tomorrow, and we'll see some friends from Michigan later this week. Friday we'll have our almost-annual New Year's party. In between those events will be a whole lot of jammie time!
This week we'll be enjoying:
Monday - Open-Faced Sandwich Supreme
Tuesday - Amish Breakfast Casserole
Wednesday - Sweet & Sour Sausage with Rice or Noodles
Thursday - Baked Hashbrowns & Peach Cobbler
Friday (New Year's Eve) - Baked Stromboli Sandwiches
Saturday - Bean and Ham Pasta
Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Find more menus at:
Hunter started wheezing again this afternoon. :-( He's had a slight cold, and that's enough to set the boy off. I think this makes his fourth asthma attack in the past three months including visiting the ER on our way home from Florida a few weeks ago. Not to mention his hospital stay last spring.
Time to get proactive! I've been surfing tonight trying to find some natural treatments that can keep him off the inhaler and steroids (a grumpy, amped-up two year old is never pleasant).
Here are some of the interesting things I've found so far:
- Increase intake of tomatoes, carrots and leafy vegetables
- High consumption of apples may protect against asthma (This one made me laugh because Hunter managed to take a two-bite sample from everyone's Christmas stocking apple!)
- Vitamin C, the major antioxidant present in the lining of the respiratory tract, appears to act immediately to combat inhaled oxidants (I gave Hunter and Brigitta some Emergen-C to drink and noticed reduced coughing in both!)
- Licorice as a potent anti-inflammatory that may have beneficial effect for asthmatics (I also made a tea from anise seed that I made them drink. Brigitta didn't like it, but even she said it helped.)
- Capsaicin, the active (hot) ingredient in hot peppers is a proven potent anti-inflammatory that may have application in asthma (Not sure I can get peppers down them, but I'd like that treatment!)
- Turmeric also has proven anti-inflammatory effects
Emelie and I were just talking about how shocked, yes shocked, that this Saturday is Christmas. I'm mostly ready, so it's not a stressed out state of shock. Just more like "Ummmm, isn't it still October?"
Last Friday night our Small Group Bible Study met at Pizza Hut and then toured the Frankfort park lights. An incredible display and worth the drive from anywhere in Central Indiana. We were challenging the fire codes at Pizza Hut with 56 people - 38 were our children all 14 and younger. Those poor folks couldn't keep up with all the hungry boys emptying the buffet quicker than they could fill it! I need to send them a Thank You note in hopes they let us come back next year!!
Here's a quick and yummy dish that we enjoyed for dinner last night. On the table in only 20 minutes!
Pasta Carbonara
3 cups uncooked tube pasta
6 bacon strips, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/4 cups milk
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove to paper towels. In the drippings, saute garlic until tender. Add the milk, cream cheese and butter; stir until smooth. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and bacon; heat through. Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Yield: 4 servings.
Stumpf Notes: I used a 1 lb. box of pasta with the same amount of sauce. Probably not as rich, but still yummy and it fed all of us. I also threw in a handful of frozen peas when sauteing the garlic.
We'll do school a couple days this week then prepare for our Christmas festivities. This week we'll be enjoying:
Monday - Tortellini Alfredo
Tuesday - Carrot Pancakes
Wednesday - Pinto Bean Casserole (family favorite)
Thursday - Tamale Pie (family favorite)
Friday (Christmas Eve) - Cheeseburger Soup (This is sooooo good! It's our tradition to have it after going to see lights every Christmas Eve.)
Saturday - Christmas Feast!
Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Find more menus at:
A few years ago, the children began expressing the desire to give each other gifts. We thought it would be a great way to encourage giving rather than receiving.
Since only the oldest two have any real source of income, Bryan and I were looking for a way to keep the cost down and still let them have the fun of shopping and wrapping.
The children draw each other's names about a week before Christmas. We then all make a pilgrimage to the Dollar Tree where they can pick whatever they want for their intended recipient. This process requires much thought and deliberation because they take it so seriously. The juggling of who's in the store with whom can get quite comical in the gymnastics of the no-peeking game.
The anticipation and delight that these little gifts receive rival any others under our tree. I love that they can still tell who bought their gift the previous year. It's $8 very well spent!
Below are some of the highlights of our recent, spur-of-the-moment road trip to Florida.
First, a little background:
A few weeks ago our Bible Study folks were talking about helping out a family that had outgrown their mini-van. Bryan and I got to thinking about our van and how we've been looking at buses for years! With our children getting older, and our hope to grow our family, a more spacious ride would have it's advantages.
We found a bus we liked on ebay. Location: Melbourne, Florida. Why not? What better place to go in December than Florida? Especially when a snowstorm was heading to Indiana.
A few days later, we were on the road. Due to our over-estimating the Saturday hours of credit unions in South Carolina, we ended up needing to stay over in Melbourne for an extra day. Tough gig!
Along the way we were able to squeeze in super-quick visits with friends, old and new (more on that later), and my wonderful aunt and uncle in North Carolina. We arrived at home, worn-out but happy, with a cool, new ride!
 |
Heidi barely made it out of the driveway before crashing!
Note the tight quarters and the heavy coats and blankets... |
|
We crashed the first night in the dorm at Johnson Bible College. The children thought dorm life way too cool! Thanks Wes & Melanie! |
 |
The view from our hotel balcony. Meanwhile, our farm was
receiving 4 inches of snow! |
|
| The children had never seen the Atlantic Ocean before! |
 |
| Hunter loved the sand! |
 |
| Swimming while looking inside at a Christmas tree! |
|
| Here she is! S.U.E. for Stumpf University Express! |
 |
Inside is soooo roomy! We need another road
trip to really try her out! |
Whoo Hoo! The Internet is back up! It cost way too much money to fix our radio antenna (during which the service guys explained about the optional insurance we could have purchased). I'm a little too verbose to blog with the 121 character limit on my phone!
We've had an exciting couple of weeks that I can't wait to share, but for tonight, we'll keep it to the food. Below is an easy crock-pot dish that Emelie put together for dinner. We actually used deer roast in place of beef. A hunting friend encouraged us to try one of his prizes. Never thought I'd eat deer, but it's very tasty and lean!
Roast Beef and Gravy
1 boneless beef chuck roast (3 pounds)
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken or mushroom soup, undiluted
1/3 cup sherry or Beef Broth
1 envelope onion soup mix
Cut roast in half; place in a 3-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over roast.
Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until meat is tender. Yield: 8-10 servings.
We've got a crazy week ahead of us. It will make us enjoy the holiday next week even more, right? We're relying on some family family favorites to make dinner easier. This week we'll be enjoying:
Monday (Bryan Night Meeting) - Roast Beef & Gravy, Mashed Potatoes
Tuesday (Bryan Night Meeting, Horse Judging) - Baked French Toast
Wednesday (Homestudy #2, AWANA) - Cold Cuts, Popcorn
Thursday (Bryan Night Meeting, Karate Tournament) - Franks n' Beans
Friday (Ice Skating, Bible Study Christmas Party) - Pizza Hut!
Saturday - Cheese Enchiladas
Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Find more menus at:
I'm watching my family swim in an outdoor pool while looking into the hotel lobby at the Christmas tree. Awesome!
Officially on the road to Florida! Go Stumpf Team: from jammies to loaded in the van in under an hour!
So we were leaving, then we weren't, then maybe at noon today, now we're not sure. We are all getting a lesson patience!
Here we go again! A "what are you thinking," Stumpf-style road trip. Follow the adventure on facebook starting tomorrow!
| |
 You have a Picture Mail from bryanstumpf02@pm.sprint.com
| |
| | | | Message: | | | | | | |
| Please be aware your friends can forward your picture, video, and album share invitations to others or post the unique Web link to your share invitation on any number of sources (e.g. blogs), through which others could also gain access to your online photos. If you have private or sensitive photos you are sharing, please share them only with those you trust. | |
| |
| |
| | | © 2010 Sprint. All rights reserved. | | |
We've been experiencing technical difficulties with no internet since Monday, Nov. 21. Sorry for the silence, stay tuned!
Over the past several months our family has been taking baby steps towards adoption. We've been fairly quiet about this decision (until now!) because we don't know what God has planned for the outcome. As I'm going through the mountains of paperwork that is involved, I felt convicted to "go public" even though the outcome is still not clear.
Why would we complicate our already hectic lives by welcoming additional children who may or may not come with issues we're not prepared for?
At the core is our sadness for the number of children that don't have a Mommy and Daddy to make sure they're safe and cared for. We want to give them that love.
Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Psalm 82:3
We feel passionately that the Lord didn't put the Stumpfs on this earth only for our own happiness. We are very happy, but that is not our goal or purpose for life.
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Isaiah 58
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25
What's next? The aforementioned paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. A homestudy next week. And then approval, or not.
We are trusting that God knows the outcome of this journey. If it is His will for us to adopt, we pray that He will prepare the children for our family. If you think of us, will you send up a prayer for our family, too?
I thought I'd give a quick shout-out to the free download program Homeschool Tracker.
We've used this program in our homeschool to keep track of attendance for several years. A couple years ago, I began entering our educational extra-curricular activities and field trips to count toward our school days. Now that Emelie is a freshman and we need to be thinking about a transcript, we track her grades as well.
I can easily update the information for all my students in about 10 minutes a week.
The program does much more than I use it for, and if you buy the deluxe program, I think it might make bread and brush your teeth for you. However, I use it as an easy-to-use organizational tool to help keep our homeschool on track!
An example of how Emelie handles being the leader of a pack of rug-rats while maintaining her sense of humor.
Last Friday, I found out that my beautiful, hard-earned gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous camera was missing. I was pretty sure I had put it on the top shelf of my bookcase, but it wasn’t there now. Hmmmm…..
The one obvious clue was the metal folding chair with a blue bathroom stool on it. It was the perfect height to enable a midget or a trained monkey access to my top shelf. Or my two year old brother. Since Hunter’s been known to steal electronics (he sends texts that look like this “sdgsrgghfgsrdgghrdl” to people I don’t know) I figured it had to be him. No one else would steal my camera.
But just because I knew Hunter had taken the camera didn’t necessarily mean I knew where it was. You can’t interrogate a two year old, and he could have hidden it anywhere. I spent an awful awful two days without a camera.
Fast-forward to last night. I had been studying for a biology test in the guest room (the quietest room in the house 
) when I suddenly remembered when Hunter had taken my grandma’s phone and hidden it under the table in the guest room. It’s got a quilt draped over the top, so you can’t see what’s under it. Inspired, I checked under the table and *ta-da* there was my camera.
I was scrolling through the photos I had taken, making sure none of them were missing, when I realized that Hunter had evidently figured out how to take photos. A lot of photos. 24 photos. All of him.
Just a couple…
 |
Picture #1- Action shot of baby touching
the camera lens |
 |
Picture #7- Hunter figured out how to put
the camera on film grain |
 |
Picture #12- He calls this one
“Study in a Pacifier Leash” |
 |
Picture #20- He figured out how to put the
camera on Baby mode, which is funny, because
he could have put a digital stamp with his name
and age in the corner. |
We decided to make today a planning, organizing, cleaning day. After a wonderful time with a houseful of friends yesterday, I had no desire to clean-up and school plan last night (It was mainly the fault of one friend in particular. You know who you are!). I love the freedom that homeschooling gives us to be the master of our schedule!
On Saturday we completed our every-two-month grocery run. We took the four youngest children and filled up five grocery carts. The freezer and pantry are bursting. Today I made eight batches of granola which will hopefully last us until January.
Emelie just made this yummy dish for dinner. The house smelled so good while it was cooking, everyone was asking how long till dinner!
Italian Pineapple Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can (8 ounces) sliced pineapple, drained
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese, optional
Flatten chicken to 1/2-in. thickness. Pour salad dressing into a shallow bowl; dip chicken in dressing. In a large skillet, heat oil. Add chicken; cook over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm.
Add pineapple slices to the skillet; cook for 30 seconds on each side or until lightly browned. Place a slice on each chicken breast half. Sprinkle with cheese if desired. Yield: 4 servings.
Notes: We changed this up a bit to fit how we like to prep and serve. We only used 2 chicken breasts (yes, for all 10 of us, and we had leftovers!). We doubled the rest of the ingredients. Emelie just threw the frozen chicken into the pressure cooker with the dressing and 1/2 cup of water. After it cooked, she chopped up the chicken, returned it to the sauce, added the pineapple, and topped it with cheese. Then we served it over rice. Sooooo good!
This week we'll be enjoying:
Monday - Italian Pineapple Chicken, Salad, Edamame
Tuesday (Horse Judging) - Pancakes, Sausage
Wednesday (AWANA) - Hot Dogs, Popcorn
Thursday (Homeschool Group, Karate) - Pepperoni Dip, Fresh Bread
Friday - Bible Study
Saturday - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes
Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.
Find more menus at:
Since I'm in the process of moving into my basement craft "room," I'm trying to tidy-up and weed-out as I unpack. I've been blessed with multiple donations of fabric over the past couple years, but haven't been able to really see what I have with it stored in totes and bags.
Here's a tip for folding fabric of all sizes to make uniform stacks:
Use a 6″ by 24″ quilting ruler and roll your fabric on it.
Lay your fabric out on the table. This works for new fabric as well as larger leftovers. Place the ruler on one end and roll away. Slip the ruler out and fold the roll in half.
All fabric is the same width, some of the stacks are thicker. I have been working at my stash, sorting by type of fabric. The stacks sit neatly on the shelf. I'll post some photos when I get a little further in the process...
I just finished the first project from my new favorite sewing book
. (Actually, Meg finished it for me since she was anxious to get on with the wearing.)
We are truly in love with the finished product! It certainly took longer than most of the projects I take on. I can't even count the number of times I had to change thread colors! It wasn't difficult - just a lot of steps.
 |
| Yucky photo - sorry! |
I'm also pleased that except for the rickrack and the heart ribbon, everything came from my stashes of supplies! I've got some knit that I'm thinking of using to make her a t-shirt to go with the skirt. Every time I look at the book I get so excited to start something new for my girlies!
and The How-To Herb Book
. I've had my eye on them for years (something like 8 years). I found a good used price and snapped them both up for just over $11, including shipping.
and anise seed tea to go with his breathing treatments. All together, what I've spent so far is less than one trip to the pediatrician - hopefully we'll be able to avoid a visit!
Posts
