Grown-Up Reading Report (January 2019)

I’m sad that Five Minutes for Books is no longer hosting the monthly “What’s on Your Nightstand?” roundup – but I completely understand, especially given how my own participation has waned in the past several years.

Nevertheless, I have valued these monthly reminders of what I’ve read – and hope to continue them.


Books for Loving:

Our Triune God by Philip Ryken and Michael LeFebvre
Our Triune God by Ryken and LeFabvre
When I determined that I would study the Trinity this year for my own personal spiritual formation, I was a little worried that it would be mostly an academic pursuit and that I would have to work hard to find cause for worship in the doctrine of the Trinity. Ryken and LeFebvre’s little book (114 pages long) was the perfect start to my project, helping me to clearly see the glorious truth of the Trinity and to worship God as a result. Rather than setting out to give some sort of comprehensive analysis of the Trinity, or a historical background on the doctrine, the authors take a main text for each of their four chapters. They exposit each of those texts to help their readers understand the work of the Trinity in salvation, the mysterious doctine of the Trinity, the activity of the Trinity in sanctification, and the work of the Trinity in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. I heartily recommend this book as an introduction to the doctrine and worship of the Triune God.


Books for Growing:

I chose Matt Perman’s Do More Better as my first book for growing this year – but it’s too long to fit into one month. So I read just the first 13 chapters this month and will be finishing up next month.


Books for Knowing:

The Why Axis by Uri Gneezy and John A. List
The Why Axis by Uri Gneezy and John A. List
Why do we do what we do? Plenty of economists try to answer the question – but generally their observational methodology means they can only observe correlations, not causation. Gneezy and List are pioneers in the use of “field experiments” randomized experiments on the unknowing public that attempt to tease out causation. The Why Axis describes several of their experiments into discrimination, the gender gap, getting kids from hard places to graduate high school, raising money for charity, and more. I found this a fascinating book, although perhaps not quite as fascinating as say, Freakanomics (although that may well be because Freakanomics was one of the first “economics for the public” books I ever read.)


Books for Seeing:

Utopia by Thomas More
Utopia by Thomas More
More is clearly an intelligent and witty man – and I enjoyed reading his little fiction. Utopia is made up of four parts – an introductory letter (full of witicisms), a first part that describes the author’s first acquaintance with the man who told him about Utopia, a second part that describes Utopia, and a final letter. I enjoyed the letters best, the first part next, and the actual description of Utopia least. The island of Utopia is a little too… utopian… for my tastes. For a Catholic saint, More shows little awareness of the doctrine of original sin.


Books for Enjoying:

A Common Life by Jan Karon
A Common Life by Jan Karon
I’ve been making slow but delighted progress through Karon’s Mitford books. They are exactly the sort of books suited for a mother (who wants something to read but still needs to sleep at night.) This book goes back in time a bit to learn more about the lead-in to Father Tim and Cynthia’s wedding.

Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel adapted by Mariah Marsden and illustrated by Brenna Thummler
"Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel"
I enjoyed this much more than expected. Follow the title link for my review.

Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery
It’s been far too long since I last read this. It was like visiting an old friend, grown more mature by life’s passage but just as sweet as ever.



Book Review: Anne’s Colors and Anne’s Numbers by Kelly Hill

I am an absolute sucker for embroidered illustrations.

"Anne's Colors"

Not that I knew these books were illustrated in needlework when I requested them from the library to read as part of Carrie’s L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge.

All I knew was that they were board books based on the Anne books – and that I hadn’t read them yet.

"Anne's Numbers"

Now that I have read them, I want the original needlework from each page framed in my bedroom. They’re great. I’ve flipped through the pages time and time again, wondering if I could trace the designs onto fabric and replicate them. Is that a violation of copyright? Even if I’m just intending to use them in my own home?

It really doesn’t matter because I don’t have time to embroider myself a set of Anne illustrations. But I still wonder.

Someday.

"Pink cheeks" with image of Gilbert pulling Anne's hair

For now, I’m thrilled to be able to use the illustrations to share my favorite Anne-ecdotes with my children (who are as yet much too young for the real thing!)

Tirzah Mae is utterly delighted to hear of an orange-headed girl who smashed her slate over a teasing boy’s head – and of a friend who accidentally made her friend sick by giving her WINE instead of juice!

"Red cordial" with image of Anne and Diana at a tea-table

“Remember the girl who made her friend sick by ACCIDENT?” she’ll ask me. “She wasn’t trying to make her sick, she just accidentally gave her the wrong drink.”

If you can only obtain one, choose Anne’s Colors which illustrates specific stories from Anne of Green Gables. Anne’s Numbers, while charming, consists mostly of Anne in non-specific nature settings.

L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge


Recipe: The Best Ranch Dressing

When Daniel and I were first married, he affronted my frugality by declaring that he preferred refrigerator case ranch dressing to the off-brand off-the-shelf stuff I had been used to purchasing.

This was an affront because, not only did it cost about three times more, it also had a shorter shelf life (therefore increasing the probability that it would go bad in the fridge before we had a chance to use it all.)

So I began a quest to make a cheaper refrigerator case ranch dressing – that would still not be too much work.

This is what I’ve come up with…

Pour 2.5 cups buttermilk in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup.

Ranch dressing, step 1

Add mayonnaise to make 4 cups (that’d be 1.5 cups if you’re counting).

Ranch dressing, step 2

Add 6 tablespoons of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix.

Ranch dressing, step 3

Whisk together until smooth and then pour through a funnel into a 40 oz ketchup bottle. Refrigerate and use as desired.

Ranch dressing, step 4

(Do you struggle to get your ketchup jars clean? Try filling them half full with hot water and shaking up thoroughly immediately after finishing the bottle. Empty the bottle and pour in a little white vinegar to cut the red stuff out. Shake and empty. Shake again with hot soapy water then rinse. Voila!)

The Best Ranch Dressing

  • 2.5 cups buttermilk ($0.80)
  • 1.5 cups mayonnaise ($0.77)
  • 6 Tbsp Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix ($1.02)
  1. Pour buttermilk into 4-cup liquid measuring cup.
  2. Add mayonnaise to make 4 cups.
  3. Add ranch dressing mix.
  4. Whisk together until smooth and then pour through a funnel into a 40 oz ketchup bottle. Refrigerate and use as desired.

Prices listed are non-sale prices at my cheapest stores (Walmart for the buttermilk and mayo, Sam’s Club for the ranch dressing mix.) Ranch dressing mix frequently is eligible for “Instant Savings” at Sam’s Club, so my usual price is even lower. My entire recipe costs $2.59 for a little over 32 ounce – or $0.08/oz. Marzetti costs $4.98 at Walmart for a 24 ounce jar ($0.21/oz). Great Value brand non-refrigerated dressing (which is vastly inferior in taste) costs $0.06/oz. So I consider this quick recipe to be a real deal!


Lest I Get Cocky

Going from four children to three (in a good way) is a strange experience.

In a life that generally just gets harder and harder (as we add new children and new developmental stages), things suddenly get that much easier.

The kids all fit in one row of the Expedition, allowing me to enjoy the full back for groceries. The number of children is only one more than my number of hands. It’s that much easier to coordinate nap times.

I start to feel like I’m on top of it all, like I’ve got strength in myself to handle anything, like I don’t need anyone.

And then we do weekend respite for a two-month-old on the same weekend Daniel was volunteering for something and we were having people over and have a Sunday night meeting at church.

I’m exhausted.

And I’ve been disabused of any secret thoughts I’d been harboring of my self-sufficiency.

“I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior!
I come to Thee.”


What I Spent/What We Ate (2019.01.25)

What I Spent:

Tuesday, January 22

Sam’s Club – $18.92

Sam's Club Pickup 2019.01.22

Walmart – $73.74

Walmart Grocery Pickup 2019.01.22


Friday, January 25

ALDI – $34.12

ALDI trip 2019.01.25


That’s $126.78, which is $11.78 over my budget of $115 per week.
So…
Week 1 – $143.28 ($28.28 over)
Week 2 – $144.90 ($29.90 over)
Week 3 – $126.78 ($11.78 over)

This next week will be Week 4 of our winter menu cycle and then we’ll start over – hopefully I have enough in the freezer that I can catch up to my budget then!


What We Ate:

Saturday, January 19
Chicken and Broccoli Gravy over Baked Potato with Grapes
Chicken and broccoli gravy over baked potatoes with grapes on the side.

Sunday, January 20
Oven Beef Stew with Bread and Cheese
Lunch – Oven Beef Stew with cheddar cheese slices and homemade bread

Buffalo Chicken Dip, Lettuce Salad, and Grapefruit
Supper – Buffalo chicken dip with chips, lettuce salad, and grapefruit

Monday, January 21
Loaded Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup with all the fixings – and chocolate cake with Lazy Daisy topping (for MLK Jr’s birthday!)
Chocolate cake with Lazy Daisy topping for MLK Jr's birthday

Tuesday, January 22
I forgot to take pictures for the rest of the week :-(
Chicken enchiladas with spicy corn and canned pears (I think?)

Wednesday, January 23
My “emergency meal” of fish fillets, french fries, and …some sort of fruit?

Thursday, January 24
Great Grams’ Spaghetti with parmesan and green olives (of course) and canned peaches

Friday, January 25
We’ll be having West Virginia Soup with bread and butter and cheese slices and probably grapes


Unless the Lord

I was in church leadership somehow, so I was supposed to watch the DVD on church growth strategies – but I was also a college student on spring break.

I’d decided to take my spring break at my grandparents’ farm, so I sat on their living room floor and took notes as I watched the DVD on their television.

If I remember right, the basic gist of the DVD was that you needed to identify what your church’s greatest weaknesses were – and bring them up – and then you needed to identify what the new weaknesses were and so on and so forth. Kinda a “you’re only as strong as your weakest link” idea. Or something like that.

Honestly, I don’t really remember much at all from that far ago DVD.

What I do remember is what my grandma said after I was done.

She’d been doing little household tasks in the background while I’d been watching, and had clearly been paying attention.

And she said, “You know, what strikes me is that they didn’t mention prayer at all.”

I recognized the wisdom of her gentle rebuke then – but I realize it much more now that I’ve lived another decade or so.

There are plenty of good strategies out there. There are things we can do to make ourselves better. Things we can do to improve our communication skills or our parenting skills or our connections. There are things we can learn about how to evangelize or study the Bible or create a welcoming environment.

But ultimately, what we do isn’t even half the picture. It’s God who changes hearts – ours and those of the people around us. It’s God who heals relationships. It’s God who saves. It’s God who transforms. It’s God.

Prayer reminds me that all the strategies in the world are useless unless God is in an endeavor.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”

~Psalm 127:1 (ESV)


Celebrating MLK Jr. Day

One of my bookish goals this year was to check out a book from the “Holiday” section at our library for each holiday of the year.

Holiday #1 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

The kids and I read four books about Martin Luther King, Jr. – and I learned just how very little I knew about the civil rights movement.

I’ll fix that further as time goes by.

For now, we’re rejoicing in the gains the civil rights movement has made – and praying for an end to the continued malice and distrust between races.

Because we agree with Dr. King’s dream.

It is our dream too.

Our kids' new wall art

“I have a dream… that one day right here… little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

~Martin Luther King, Jr.


The Snowy Day

A couple of weeks ago, we checked out a DVD of Ezra Jack Keats stories from the library. First of them all was the 1963 Caldecott winner The Snowy Day. In it, young Peter goes out in the snow and does the sorts of things a young child does in the snow. He played with his footprints, he made snow angels, he made a snowman, he declined to get into a snowball fight with the big kids. And he hit a tree with a stick so that snow fell from the tree’s branches.

Making tracks

Yes, that’s right. He hit a tree with a stick.

Almost the moment the “show” was over, Louis was asking me if he too could hit a tree with a stick.

I made some tracks of my own

I sadly informed him that we don’t often have snowy days and so it wouldn’t work for him quite like it did for Peter.

Nevertheless, Louis kept on asking. I told him that maybe we’d have a chance to hit a tree with a stick some Christmas when we’re at Grandma and Grandpa’s house (where they more often have snow in winter.)

Tirzah Mae making a snow angel

Grandma and Grandpa told us on our monthly video call that they’d had snow the past weekend, snow that fell in great clumps from the tree branches once it started to thaw.

I felt for our boy, who would likely not have the chance to hit a snowy tree with a stick – at least, not while he would still consider it fun. After all, we’ve only once had a snow that’s stuck around longer than a day in my six years in Wichita.

Immediately post snow angel

And then Friday night, I walked through the dining room after dark and was shocked to see snow on the ground outside the patio doors!

Here was Louis’s chance.

Beth-Ellen loved the snow!

The temperature was hovering around 19 degrees Fahrenheit, but we stuffed the kids into their winter clothes (including their fleece Christmas jammies over their regular clothes – not enough cause here to buy snow pants, so we had to make do!)

Helping papa shovel the patio

We played with our footprints in the snow, made snow angels, and attempted to throw snowballs (the temperature was too low for them to stick together!)

See our pretty snowflakes?

And yes, Louis hit a tree with a stick to see if he could get some snow to fall off its branches.

Hitting a Tree with a Stick


What I Spent (2019.01.19)

Tuesday, January 15

Sam’s Club – $32.29

Sam's Club 2019.01.15

Aren’t these milk jugs from Sam’s trippy? I just ran a price check and discovered that 1% from Sam’s Club (where they differentiate price by fat level) is cheaper than at Walmart (where they have the same price for all fat levels.) ALDI remains the cheapest for 1% milk, but their stock doesn’t seem to move as quickly and I often feel like their milk tastes off even before its expiration date.


Wednesday, January 16

Walmart – $34.27

Walmart Grocery Pickup 2019.01.16

I put everything in my online cart on Monday, intending to order pickup for Tuesday after Sam’s Club. But when I hadn’t received notification that my order was ready after my Sam’s Club pickup, I checked my app…and discovered that I’d never checked out. Fail.

So, I went out for pickup on Wednesday. Thankfully, Walmart is relatively close to where we live, so it wasn’t a terrible nuisance to go out again.


Friday, January 18

ALDI – $78.34

ALDI 2019.01.18

Not shown: a three pound bag of mandarin oranges (for $1.99) that we’d had for lunch and which I forgot to take out of the diaper bag in time for a picture, and a bag of entirely forgettable “Penguin” crackers (knockoff Goldfish). The children enjoyed the Penguin crackers. I ate two and decided they weren’t worth it. The remainder are stashed in the car console for emergencies when we’re out and about. I won’t be getting them again.


That’s $144.90, which is $29.90 over my budget of $115 per week.

I emptied out my freezer and fridge over the holiday when we were gone for so long – and I’m busy filling the freezer up since we’re on a new menu cycle (I put at least three extra meals in the freezer this last week). And I did buy a pork roast (for the freezer) and a couple family packs of chicken breasts (one to shred for the freezer and one to make multiple batches of crockpot orange chicken). So that’s probably where my overage is coming from. Hopefully I can work to bring it back down next month when we’re doing round two of our menu cycle.


Snapshot: A diaper-folding contest

Tirzah Mae is no longer napping, but in the new year, I’ve decided that my sanity requires mid-day time without kids. So she gets “rest-time”.

I put the younger two down for their naps at 1:30 and Tirzah Mae stays up for the next hour working with me on household chores.

Today, we raced to see whether Tirzah Mae could put away the play dishes before I could put away the play food. (She won, thanks to a tomato that was hiding inside a jacket draped across the little table!)

Then we put laundry in the washer (Tirzah Mae pulled the knob to turn the water on), Tirzah Mae sorted yesterday’s (clean) diaper load, and we had a diaper folding competition.

Tirzah Mae and my piles of diapers

I won, narrowly, having given myself a handicap of snapping and folding all the diaper covers.

And then she went to bed with some books, to stay in bed for an hour until the pink noise (we use this app on one of my old smart phones) turns off.

And while she’s in bed, I blog or do my physical therapy stretches or read a book or eat a piece of chocolate (no sharing!) or knock out a few seams on my next sewing project – or just do whatever. It’s lovely.