Happy Reformation Day!

I came across this website from David Murray's blog and found the mini-documentary very informative.  If you have a few minutes and are interested in learning about the humble beginnings of the Reformation, please watch!

Out of Darkness; The Story of the English Bible is a four-part mini documentary, produced by Truth Remains, that tells the story of God's careful preservation of Scripture through the centuries. The men who gave their lives to translate the Bible into English are not household names, yet the bloody price they paid fuelled the Reformation and shaped the modern world, enabling countless Christians to enjoy the privilege of owning and studying God's Word in English.

I also enjoyed reading this article about Ulrich Zwingli by some guy on another blog.  Definitely worth a read!  I am amazed, humbled, and so thankful for these brave men who challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and stayed true to the Word.

Autumn - a wrap-up in photographs

Reading.

Since we've been having such chilly weather lately, it feels like Fall is already over.  It doesn't last long around here, though!  It was beautiful while it lasted and we got some great walks in.  We've been puréeing pumpkins and shredding carrots the last couple of weeks to store in the freezer for future incorporation into baked goods.  School is going well for C-note, but we've all been fighting virus after virus since it started!  A-team is enjoying staying home with mommy yet, and gets along well with his little sister, until she cracks him on the head with something.
Life is busy, and full of snotty noses, but it's good.  We have much to be thankful for.

Drawing

Making sock puppets...and putting on a show!

More reading...

Playing with leaves...

Watching a video 

Playing with cloud dough

Going for walks, and seeing the last of the insects...

Baking!

Fifteen Months

Gramma's red hair  

Strawberry loves to read books and will often imitate reading a story, babbling away as she turns the pages.  She's got the walking thing down pat, and even figured out how to go down the stairs all by herself.  She knows all her body parts "Where's your ear?" and understands and complies with simple phrases like "put it back," or "close the door" but every time we ask her a question she answers "no."  Unless it's something she would like, such as going outside or having a snack, then it's answered by a huge grin and "Eeee!"

Daddy's toes

She understands (or copies) communication well and likes having a conversation with me in her own language, complete with intonation.  She also can say lots of real words too, like shoes, bubble, cheese, cracker, baf, cookie, apple, and that a cow says moo and sheep say baa.  It amazes me how bang-on she can be with pronunciation.  Once I was buckling her in her car seat and told her so.  "Buh?" she said.  "Yes, buckle."  "Cuckle?" she answered.  "Almost!  Buckle." I say, not thinking she would quite get it. "Buckle!" came the triumphant reply!

Our littlest blessing. :)

Still only has two teeth, which finally showed up at the end of her first year, but two are about to push though at the top as well.  Still wary of others who are not her family, she reserves her smiles for us only.  Still hates the nursery but will tolerate it for a little while if held constantly.  She frequently goes through phases of independent play to being clingy.  It's the age of opposites.  And separation anxiety!

Walkin'

Snow in Summer

I don't think I've ever needed to use the furnace in June before.  Nor have I seen snow in that month either, as far as I can recall!  But in the first week we actually had some snowfall, and needed some extra heat.  Unfortunately our furnace was broken at the time so we lit all the candles we had.  And baked just for the warmth of the oven.

Well, now it's September, still summer (technically) and now we are experiencing some more chilly weather as you can see...

At least our furnace is repaired.

And it's supposed to warm up again by the weekend.

Welcome to northern Alberta!

My poor lilies.

Watching the flakes fly.

Seven

Seven years ago we had our first "little man."  It's hard to believe sometimes that it has been that long since he came into our lives, kicking and screaming!  We love our sensitive, loving guy who is smiling more often than not, and gets along with everyone, making friends easily.  He's also getting pretty good at jokes, still loves to draw and reads lots of books.

To celebrate his birthday we went to the mall in "the city" and bought tickets for the sea lion show/marine life exhibit.  The aquariums were underneath the grandstand and we could see nurse sharks, sea turtles, and various other fish inside.  On the other side we could see African penguins diving in the water in their tank.  We were just in time for a penguin presentation where an employee talked a bit about African penguins and welcomed questions afterwards.  

Brownbanded bamboo sharks.  These were in an open tank where you could actually touch them.  There was also a tank that usually housed some bullnose stingrays you could pet as well but it was under renovations.  I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful sea anemones, which you could also touch!

Nurse sharks.

After lunch we came back to watch the sea lion show, which was pretty entertaining.  Callum was chosen as a volunteer (but he only volunteered after he saw someone else take a turn!) to throw a basketball for the sea lion to carry back to the edge of the tank on her nose.

Mugging for the camera.

After that we came home and whipped up a huge (atari-inspired) birthday brownie we had with ice cream (after a healthy supper of course!)  

It was a fun day!

Our Community

One

This post is a little late in coming, but it's summer and the days have been very family-oriented as we are making up for lost time during the school term!  We also took a trip to Ontario to see all of our family.  It has been three years since we've all been back and it was so wonderful to see everyone again!  It was very sad to leave, though.  After spending three weeks with everyone it felt like we were moving away again.

More on our trip later, though.  Here are some photos of Strawberry in her twelfth month!

She loves books, just like the rest of us.
And goofing around with Daddy.

Anticipating birthday cake.A card in the mail from Gramma!

Boyhood

Knee abrasions sustained over three days.  Friday he fell off a skateboard and Saturday he tripped on the sidewalk walking to the street festival.  The freshest ones were from falling on the walk from the van to church.  Mr. Tough barely cried, though....

Fresh Pasta

It's been a few years since I've made fresh pasta.  I used to make it regularly when we were first married - you know, when I had nothing but time - mostly ravioli with a cheese filling.  A-team likes taking the pasta machine out and cranking paper through it, so finally I decided it was time to show him what it's really used for...
I found this recipe online at The Cooking Channel.  I used half all purpose flour, half whole wheat flour. After scraping the remains of the dough off the counter, I decided to use a bowl next time!
After forming the pasta we cooked it in boiling water for about five minutes.
We ate it with homemade pasta sauce and pesto.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups flour

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides. 
Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape. 
With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour. 
Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out.
Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface. 
If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta. 
With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting. 

Fresh pasta is superior in flavour and texture to the boxed kind, and it's actually really easy to make. (Plus, it's cheaper, bonus!)  

Eleven Months

Still no teeth...yet...
She is a little chatterbox, and knows quite a few words.  She loves to sing and listen to people singing.
She loves to imitate our actions, and now folds her hands to pray at mealtimes.
Has a temper. ;)  

Ten Months

Our little Strawberry has already reached the ten month mark.  She loves to give hugs but also lets it be known when she doesn't want one from her brothers by protesting loudly.  She doesn't have teeth yet, but is enjoying a variety of "big people" food like oatmeal, bananas, cheese, bread, soups and casseroles.  Her first word is her brother's name - "Aaaashjou, aaaashjou," she calls him when she sees him.  Her second word is Daddy. :)  She enjoys imitating different sounds, and when she hears the word "bath" she grabs the front of her shirt and pulls, trying to get it off so she can take a bath!  She waves "hi" and claps.  She doesn't crawl, rather, she prefers to scoot around on her bum.

 Goofin' around with her brothers.

Watching the birds...hooray, spring has finally arrived!

Stitched

"AHHH, THERE'S BLOOD!"  C-note came running into the house, wailing loudly, and indeed gushing blood.  He had fallen against the side of our house out front, which is finished with decorative stucco.  And, just for the uninformed, decorative stucco = sharp, stoney protrusions all over the wall.  I wonder how much worse it would have been had he not been wearing a winter hat!
Thankfully it was March break so both of us were home at the time.  Three stitches later it was all over.  The nurses were very nice and held his hands while the doctor sewed him up.  I don't think they were very busy at the time. ;)

Now it's just a wee scar, and he's got bragging rights as the first kid in the family with one.