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!"
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| Christmas Eve Jammies |
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| 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!
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Heidi barely made it out of the driveway before crashing!
Note the tight quarters and the heavy coats and blankets... |
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We crashed the first night in the dorm at Johnson Bible College. The children thought dorm life way too cool! Thanks Wes & Melanie! |
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The view from our hotel balcony. Meanwhile, our farm was
receiving 4 inches of snow! |
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| The children had never seen the Atlantic Ocean before! |
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| Hunter loved the sand! |
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| Swimming while looking inside at a Christmas tree! |
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| Here she is! S.U.E. for Stumpf University Express! |
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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!
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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!
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