We've been experiencing technical difficulties with no internet since Monday, Nov. 21. Sorry for the silence, stay tuned!

Our Next Big Thing

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?

WFMW - Homeschool Record Keeping

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!

Guest Post - The Case of the Missing Camera

An example of how Emelie handles being the leader of a pack of rug-rats while maintaining her sense of humor.

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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.

Menu Plan Monday - November 15, 2010

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:

WFMW - Organizing the Fabric Stash

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...

Meggie's Crazy Gypsy Skirt

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!

Menu Plan Monday - November 8, 2010

Bryan's not feeling great this weekend, which is such a bummer. He still insisted that I spend the afternoon and evening scrapbook yesterday with my buddies. We had such a wonderful time! More giggling than scrapbooking, but excellent therapy all the way around!

I'm working on yet another big grocery list. One of the biggest up-sides to grocery-ing for two months at a time: We only have to do it in the cold once or twice a year! I'm hoping for decent temps this weekend with no wind!

This list will also include most of our fixins for Thanksgiving. The children have started their pie list. I'm beginning to think we should just skip Turkey and the trimmings!

Here's a recipe for a quick and easy dinner that we made and enjoyed in the hour between homeschool group and heading off to karate last week.

Hot Cornbread Sandwich
2 (8 ounce) Jiffy corn muffin mix
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 C milk
12 slices American cheese
6 slices deli ham

In a bowl, combine muffin mix, milk and eggs. Pour half of mixture into a greased 7x11 baking dish.  Carefully place 6 slices of cheese, then ham, then remaining cheese. Spoon remaining cornbread batter over the top. Bake 25 minutes at 400, or until cornbread is golden brown. Cut into squares and serve hot. Serves 4-6.

Notes: I upped it to three boxes of mix, 3 eggs, and 1 C milk to put into a 9x13 pan. Most was devoured, so I'll go to 4 boxes next time so we have some leftovers for lunch the next day.

This week we'll be enjoying:

Monday - Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tuesday - Mexican Casserole


Wednesday (AWANA) - Nachos

Thursday (Homeschool Mom's Meeting, Karate) - Teriyaki Chicken

Friday - Potato Beef Bake

Saturday - Big Grocery Day!

 

Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.

Find more menus at:

Snow on November 5!

As we were awaiting our Friday Night Bible Study buddies to arrive, it started snowing. Snow had been predicted, but no believed it. The weather men always predict snow for weeks before it really happens.

Friday it began to flurry, then sleet, then really snow for a bit! We couldn't believe it when early November started looking like a winter wonderland. The dusting even hung around until Saturday morning.

Has anyone read their Almanac? Are we in for a doozy?

Bible Heros and Pollsters

Last week our AWANA Club hosted their annual Dress Like a Bible Hero night. The children always get so excited that they don't even care that I trot out the same costumes every year and just put a different prop with it.

Brigitta as Mary
Jacob as David (holding a guitar - the closest
thing we had to a harp!)
Heidi as Deborah
Caleb as Noah (animals are in the ark)

Being a little goofy!

We tried to train Heidi to say, "I'm Deborah. I sit under a
palm tree and tell people what to do." Instead
she would say, "I'm Deborah. I sit on the potty
and don't know what to do." Priceless!

Tuesday we helped out a local candidate by passing out fliers at a busy polling place. Ted really drew attention with his promotion style. He even tried to juggle the signs! Most of the children (in the background) spent their time playing "Mother, May I?" and "Red Light, Green Light."

WFMW - Craft Table for Cheap!

We recently decided that Bryan needed a home office where he could lay-out plans from work. Preferably a place where there is no concern for jelly or crafting residue (which nixed out dining room table!). We'd talked before about him taking over my small craft room, and this past weekend we made it a reality.

He thought the most economical way to get a layout table would be a cheap door on simple legs.

I got to thinking, "Hey! This has possibilities!" So he picked up one for me too. We bought two bookcases at Walmart to support the door (which he attached with screws). The table is about kitchen counter height, perfect for cutting out patterns and scrapbooking standing up which I enjoy for some reason. Total cost for mine was around $50.

Bryan is already reading books about how to finish this corner of the basement for my dream craft room, but for now I'm just giddy about my big table!

Guest Post - It's like missionary week...

Just couldn't resist a little Veggie Tales humor!

Last night we were blessed to have Murray Uomoto from Japan at our church for a fellowship meal and talk. We all enjoyed hearing from him, but here is Emelie's own unique take on the evening....

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Tonight, we went to hear a missionary from Japan speak. Always the photographer, here is my documentation through photos.

And to start of my photos....SQUID JERKY!! I was willing to taste
it (but it was about three years old). I was the only one.

The back of the squid packaging. Ted insists that one package will be enough!

Japanese letters and the sounds they make
at a glance. Dig the pictures. Awesome.

A close-up of my favorite little Japanese character thing.
While we uncreative Americans would pick something like "open" to represent O,
the Japanese card thing picked a monster-ish creature! I'm honestly
not making fun of the monster I luv it :)!

Here is John Calvin as we know him....

...and John Calvin in Japanese!

The inside of John Calvin in Japanese

You know you're a book freak when you get excited
that there's less than 2000 copies of this book in
the world and you have one of them :D. It's in
Japanese. I couldn't read it. I didn't care.

A picture of a poster of the most famous tenor in Japan.
I took a picture, mainly for posterity. _Inigo Montoya: I do not
think that word means what you think it means_.

More English/Japanese translations

It was so weird, because the English books
opened the way books do. Japanese books
opened backwards. So wild.

I even learned cool things about America. This marker
shows the first recordings of Christianity in America. I'm
gonna research that later, I know I will.

Here's the rest of the non-photo story. I learned to sing "What a Friend We Have In Jesus" in Japanese. And if that's not an accomplishment, I don't know what is! *clears throat* *belts out a horribly off-key song*:

Itsukushimi fukaki tomo naru lesu wa

tsumi toga urei wo tori sari tamoo

kokoro no nageki wo tsutsumazu nobete

nadoka wa orosanu oeru omoni wo.

It's actually really easy, because it sounds just like it looks.

Menu Plan Monday - November 1, 2010

Time for a little honesty... Due to our crazy schedule this week, we're not having a "normal" menu plan. But, after all, this is our reality - rarely neat and tidy! It's going to be a roller coaster week, but full of experiences that I hope the children will remember for a long time!

But first, here's a little number that I whipped up after church yesterday. Had it on the table in about 10 minutes! Pretty tasty, too!

Asian Beans & Noodles
1 Can Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb. Frozen Broccoli
2 (3 oz.) Packages Ramen Noodles (oriental or beef flavor)
1/2 teaspn Ginger
3 Tblspn Thinly Sliced Green Onions

In a skillet, combine 2 C water, broken up noodles, both seasoning packets, and ginger. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes or until noodles and broccoli are tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans and green onions, heat through. Serves 6-8.

Notes: We doubled this recipe and it was perfect for our dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day. The original recipe called for 1.5 lbs. of ground beef, but cooked beans are what we had plus most of my children prefer them. Chicken would also be tasty. Try substituting a frozen stir-fry mix for the broccoli if you're feeling adventurous!

This week we'll be enjoying:

Monday  (Missionary Night) - Pitch-In at Church

Tuesday (Whole family working at the polls for election day, Horse Judging) - Probably McD's on the Road


Wednesday (AWANA) - Hot Dogs, Chips

Thursday (Homeschool Group, Karate) - Tater Tot Casserole

Friday - Bible Study (I think we'll serve these recipes)

Saturday (Scrapbooking Crop - Whoo Hoo!) - Broccoli Cheese Soup, Cornbread

 

Our menus for last year can be found at our website. Breakfast menu is here; lunch menu is here.

Find more menus at: