Your tip for the day

Well, I have no pictures to share today, but I do have an interesting tip brought to you by the one and only Abigail. When I was drying her off after her bath this evening, she looked up from under the towel and said, apropos of nothing, "Mommy, purple bears are NOT kind."

There you have it.

I tried to question her further, but apparently that was the limit of her knowledge. I guess she just felt that she had to share it with me.

I hope we've all learned something today. I'm not sure what we've learned, except that maybe I better keep an eye on Abigail to see what kind of hallucinogenic drugs she's taking. :)

Mama's Race Day and Jackson Being Cute

Good evening everyone!
Well, I ran my 5K today, and contrary to my very skeptical husband's opinion, I did very well. :) I came in under 30 minutes, which was my goal. It remains to be seen what my actual time was, because I was wearing a timing chip. It's a device that you strap to your shoelaces, and it automatically starts timing you when you cross the start line and then stops when you cross the finish line. It's handy for races like this where there are so many people that it took about 3 minutes just to get to the start line from where we were in the field of runners. Running is so high-tech these days! :) I really had a great time, because the course was beautiful and it was a great day to run. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm - just the way I like it when I run. We ran right beside the water of Tampa Bay next to the multi-million dollar homes. The wealthy folks were all out in force to cheer us on, which I thought was rather nice of them. :) The course volunteers played music to motivate us every so often along the run, and that was inspiring. Everyone knows that you run 5Ks for all the free stuff you get, and they offered plenty of free stuff after the race. The problem was that I lost the people I came with, so I couldn't enjoy any of the free stuff while searching for them. We finally met back up at the car. All in all, it was a wonderful day. The kids had a great time over at a friend's house, and they were exhausted when we got home. I think the next one I'm signing up for is the first weekend in April, if there is not one sooner. I just love the camaraderie of these races, and I love the diversity of people...some are there as a warm-up run to the marathon they'll do the next day, and some are there to challenge themselves in a way that they have NEVER challenged themselves before in their lives. I saw one lady with her personal trainer encouraging her every step of the way. I hope she made it. Oh - don't be alarmed at the photo of me; this is a phenomenon I like to call "running hair" which is similar to "Oma hair" in its crazy wildness. The hat is a pathetic attempt to tame its wildness. No offense to any Omas out there.

This evening, I had quite the comedian on my hands during dinner. Jackson was in rare form entertaining everyone, and I caught a couple of good shots before he quit. He's learned to say cheese for the camera, so he was trying to do that. He also learned that sticking out his bottom lip when I tell him no makes the girls laugh, so he tried that a couple of times. I tried to get a picture, but he switched into entertainment mode when he saw the camera. What a ham.

Beautiful flowers

So I know it's more than a week since Valentine's Day, but I wanted to show you a picture of the lovely flowers that my dear husband ordered for all the ladies in the house all the way from Iraq. We had problems getting all four of them due to some miscommunication between USAA and Teleflora. Poor Cora and Abigail had no flowers for almost a week. The flowers also came in the same teacup, but Cora and I have arranged a deal where I will switch with her. The roses in the last two actually smell good, so we've been enjoying them.

Funny Abigail story unrelated to flowers...
She often asks questions where the answers are glaringly obvious or she has just asked the same question two minutes earlier. She will also ask questions that she knows are silly just to laugh when I make an exasperated noise. One day I told her that I would start giving silly answers to her questions. So two days ago as we're riding along in the van, she asks what I would qualify as a silly question. (I know, I know, for you better parents out there, there's no such thing as a silly question, but then again, you might not have met Abigail.) I was about to respond when she said, "I know, I know, green beans on my head." I said, "WHAT?" She said, "Well, that's silly, isn't it? Green beans on my head? That's a silly answer, Mommy." So now the standard answer for silly questions is "Green beans on my head." You might try that one on your kids and see the looks you get.

Also unrelated to flowers...
As I was chatting with the other moms after homeschool co-op yesterday, I heard the dreaded scream that no mom wants to hear: "MOM!!! COME QUICK!!" I know that this is no time to correct their grammar, so I go rushing to see what has happened. There is Shiloh, with blood dripping from her mouth, down her chin, and into her cupped hands underneath. Then Cora says, "Don't touch her!! She's bleeding!!!" Hmm...I'm not sure she would make a very good nurse or EMT. Anyway, I whisk Shiloh off to the nursery where I can wipe her down and see the extent of the damage. I also discover that her leg is scraped from hip to foot, and she has a very bloody knee. She bravely submits to my first aid, and we start to leave the parking lot. I ask her if she's okay to run the errands that we had planned for the day, and she says, "yes," but all at once she starts to bawl saying, "I NEED DADDY!" If there's ever a time when a mommy feels helpless, this was it. I just stopped the van, got in the back, and hugged her. Daniel, I know you already know what happened, but if ever you feel that you are not missed around here, remember this story. You are very much missed, especially by the mommy who knows that sometimes a girl just needs her daddy.

p.s. I thought about getting a picture of her two fat lips, but then I thought that social services might pay a call if I posted that, so I'll refrain. :)

Race Day

Well, today was the Junior Gasparilla Distance Classic in Tampa, also known as "the dreaded day" for Shiloh, who wasn't too sure she wanted to run in her race. She was tense when we got there, and then almost backed out at the last minute, saying "I just don't want to do it. I don't want to." I was just praying I was making the right decision as a parent to make her do it. I told her that we would pray about it, and then she was just going to be strong, run the race, and finish. She took a deep breath, we prayed, and then she calmly walked to the starting line. She was incredible. She ran the whole way (half a mile!!!), and she finished in the top 1/4 of the runners (not that this competitive mom noticed! :) ). She was smiling as she ran, and I made sure she heard me yelling for her. I was almost crying when she finished because I was so proud of the guts it took for her to do it when she was so scared. She was relieved, and she enjoyed the rest of the day very much. It was a good thing she went first!! Cora took her race in stride, as you can see from her photo. She also ran well, ponytails flying and a grin on her face. Abigail Emma...well, Abigail does things a little differently. I pointed out the Chick-fil-A cow mascots waiting near the finish line to give her an idea of where she had to run. I told her, "Run as fast as you can to get those cows when they say go." So she did indeed run as fast as her little legs could carry her, all the way to the finish and beyond where I had to scoop her up. I was telling her she did an awesome job, and she was protesting, "But I didn't get the cows- I didn't get the cows!" She literally thought she had to tackle the cows as part of her race. Because of her motivation, she got second place in her race. :) She was quite impressed with her medal, and even more impressed with the water bottle she received.

Jackson took everything in calmly from the stroller, and he was very impressed with the flight-for-life helicopter there for show. Apparently, all of the girls' running exhausted him since he fell asleep in the van on the way home.

What a great day. What a blessing to be a part of these kids' lives. We've had a couple of wonderful days together, and the only thing that's missing is you, Daddy! We love you!

Have a good Lord's Day tomorrow, everyone!
Love,
Casey
p.s. the photos are in reverse order - I'll do better next time!

Our trip to the State Fair

We had such a wonderful time at the Fair yesterday!!! It was a perfect day, with sunshine, warmth, and a nice breeze. It was cold the day before, so we hit it just right. We "milked" a fake cow, we squeezed oranges to make juice, we gathered eggs, we pet a bunch of dogs (Shiloh got to see a poodle, so she was thrilled), we fed some goats, and we saw a chick hatching out of its egg. Cora said, "Boy, that looks like a lot of work! He must be exhausted!" I was hoping to see a calf being born, but none of the mommas cooperated. Shiloh was just as glad. :) We brushed a cow, visited some "stinky pigs" as Shiloh said, and saw some adorable newborn goats. We saw some ladies square-dancing, and the girls loved their pouffy skirts and cowboy boots. In the craft building, I was pleasantly surprised to see how interested the kids were in the paintings, wood-working, and photographs. Congratulations go out to the son of a friend of ours, who got two first place ribbons for his photographs! I think his sister also got a ribbon, but I didn't see her photograph. We needed a break after all that walking, so we grabbed a spot underneath a shady tree to have a picnic, and we ended up having a wonderful view of the parade that got underway shortly after we started eating our lunch. There were marching bands, Shriners in little cars, farmers in huge tractors, Army vehicles, clowns, and lots more. We were also sitting on a small hill, so rolling down the hill became the main attraction after the parade was over. We set out for the horse barns after lunch, and we were able to see the mounted police, some Haflinger horses (I think they're from Australia or New Zealand), a Belgian pulling a fancy cart, and a team of six pulling a wagon. Shiloh got to pet a lot of horses. In the kid's section, they rode a saddle on a sawhorse, saw some donkeys with hats on, and got to groom a beautiful horse named Bourbon. All in all, it was just one of those days that makes you glad you have kids so you can see these things with them and see the wonderment on their faces. They were EXHAUSTED, and I don't mind saying I was, too! I put them to bed at 7:00 since we had another big day today with co-op, and I had to teach! :) That went well, so we did some errands afterward and then stopped at the park for a picnic to enjoy the beautiful weather. Well, that was our trip to the State Fair. Enjoy the pictures. Jackson looks a little hesitant about the goats in the picture, but he actually LOVED them getting so close. He was squealing and grabbing their ears. I guess he smelled good, because they kept trying to nibble his neck. That's a tickle spot for him anyway so he was really giggling. It was adorable.
Cora was the only one brave enough to have her picture taken anywhere near this Watusi. I tried to get her to hold onto his horns while my friend held her up, but she decided that was the line she would not cross.

This One's for You, Mary

Hello everyone!
I've been silent for awhile as we've had a hectic week this week. But I'm posting a recipe for a friend and anyone else who might like to try it, and I'll post some pictures from our outing to the State Fair yesterday. First, here's the recipe:

Butternut Barley Risotto

6 servings (although I think it would make enough for a family of 8 if you have little ones that don't eat that much like I do!)

1 butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), seeded, peeled, and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces (you can also just bake it and scoop it out instead of peeling it, and I cut the pieces smaller for my kids to handle)

3 TBS olive oil
1 small onion, cut into 1/4 dice
1 cup diced (1/4 inch) plum tomatoes
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup pearl barley
4 TBS chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1. Blanch the squash in boiling, salted water until just tender, about 3 minutes.
2. Place the oil in a pot over low heat; add the onion and cook until tender, stirring, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, simmer the broth with the cinnamon stick in a saucepan, partially covered, for 5 minutes.
4. Stir the barley into the onions and tomatoes, coating well with the oil. Raise the heat to medium.
5. Stir 1/2 cup of the broth into the barley mixture; cook, stirring frequently, until it has been absorbed into the barley. Repeat, making sure each addition of broth is absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup, until the barley is tender and most of the broth has been used, about 45 minutes (or less if you take shortcuts like me and add 1 cup at a time! :) ) Discard cinnamon stick.
6. Carefully fold in the reserved butternut squash along with 2 TBS of the parsley. Cook until the barley reaches the desired consistency, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately in shallow bowls with parsley garnish.

I served with steamed green beans. I liked it, as well as Jackson. The girls weren't too keen on it, but then again, they're not too keen on anything, so I didn't judge the success of it by their reaction. :)

Miscellaneous, aka "I Hate Coming Up With Titles for Things"

Well, we've had a great week getting back into the routine of school, chores, outdoor stuff, and reading Little Women. The girls were outside the other day pretending to be the poor Hummel family, huddling up to one another for warmth because they had no fire and there were cracks in the windows. I thought it was cheating somehow to play this down in Florida where they have not the remotest chance of actually freezing to death. :) Well, they had a good time anyway while Jackson walked up and down the backyard searching for just the right place to put the sprinkler. He never found it. I'm beginning to see some motivation from this boy who didn't walk until 15 1/2 months. He had his pajamas on the other night, and he wanted to go out onto the lanai. I said "No, you don't have your shoes on." So he babbled something at me, went to his room, and came out with his shoes. Then he attempted, with much grunting, to get them on. He was pretty mad when he realized that the reason I'd given wasn't really the whole truth; I just didn't want him out on the lanai to get dirty again after his bath, and I never thought he'd go get his shoes. Note to self - never underestimate the boy.

I've posted two pictures of Cora's latest sewing project, which she just completed. (I hope you can see the stitches in the first picture). It's a four-square potholder, and I think it came out nicely. The picture of the stitches is for her Daddy, who told her that she needed to rip out the first set of whipstitches because she hadn't done her best on them. I figured she had done her best and that the second attempt would turn out like the first. Well, I was wrong. Cora was determined to make Daddy proud, and she set to it like only Cora can. Although the stitches are big, and Ma Ingalls would probably disapprove, they are even, and she was quite proud of herself. I was proud of her attitude when she gave it another try. I think it just goes to show you why kids need mommies and daddies. I would have given her encouraging words and let it slide. Daddy said "do it again," she did, and she learned something in the process. God sure knew what he was doing when He set up marriage, didn't He?

The following story is also for Daniel (who is following daily life through short phone calls every day and through this blog) but I'll explain it for everyone else. All three girls love these books by Kathy Appelt focusing on characters named Bubba and Beau. Bubba is a baby and Beau is his hound puppy. Daniel recorded one of the books, Bubba and Beau Go Night-Night, onto an audiotape along with many others so that they could listen to them at night in bed. Abigail can now quote the book in its entirety - in a redneck accent- because she loves it so much.
She came to me with a plea the other day before dinner, "Mommy, please put on Bubba and Beau because - Sister, those napkins came in handy," and then she walked off laughing hysterically. Bubba and Beau had made an awful mess with some raspberry swirl ice cream cones and the author was informing the reader that those napkins did indeed come in handy. I don't really know how Abigail's mind works, but I think it's pretty funny. Some kids are quoting Shakespeare by the time they are three, but it takes a special talent to be able to deliver a line like that with a redneck accent. I love this child. I just hope she passes one standardized test in her homeschool career. Please comment with hilarious stories/comments your children have made - I think kids are the funniest people in the world. My niece who is five does stand-up comedy, and I think Jerry Seinfeld could learn from her. Her favorite joke (which my girls now love to do) is the following:
Dyani: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Dyani: Interrupting cow
Me: Interrupt-
Dyani: MOO!! and then falls over laughing
I mean, what can be funnier than that?

Hope this brings to mind something that makes you laugh...
Have a great night-
Casey

This smiiiile's fer you, Daddy!

Try Again if at first you don't succeed

Here are some pictures of the girls' combined birthday party. The one of Abigail in sunglasses is referred to by my brother as her "Bono look." :) She loves the sunglasses, and she wore them in the car all the way back to Florida.

Home Again Home Again

Hello everyone!
We are now back home in Florida, and we just had a wonderful morning getting back to the routine of schooling, taking the dog for a walk, riding bikes, and weeding. Our yard only seems to grow weeds, but at least they're green! :) I need to buy some weed and feed, and I need to mow, I think. It still seems weird mowing the lawn in February. Well, I won't be doing that next February, Lord willing, since we'll be up in North Carolina. We hope to be settled there by the beginning of hurricane season. I don't really want to stock up on canned goods again, although we still have several cans of pork and beans; they proved to be a bad choice for the kids. :) I guess I need to sell our generator - the one we just bought for last season. We really should settle down one of these days! My dad said we're moving more now that we're out of the military, which is true. :) Maybe this will be the last one before we get to our land in Tennessee, but somehow I doubt it. I really will miss the friends we've made here and the Florida sunshine, but I won't miss hurricane season. We also look forward to joining a more like-minded church in North Carolina.

I hear from Daniel most every day, and he's doing well. We can't talk about much over the phone, which makes for one-sided conversations, but it's wonderful to hear his voice. He recorded a videotape and two audio tapes for the kids before he left, and they've just about worn it out already. They can already quote the library books he recorded onto the tape. :)

Jackson's getting back to normal after being so fussy on the trip. I don't know if it was having four teeth coming in at the same time, not having some "down time," being sick, or just plain irritability, but he was not the most fun person on the trip. He was a happy little man today, though, and it was a pleasure seeing his personality again. I have to wean the girls off of marshmallow cereal - thanks, Mom! :) -but otherwise they settled right back into the routine.

We celebrated Shiloh's 7th birthday and Abigail's 3rd birthday in Tennessee, which was a wild party. We had 17 people there, and my aunt and uncle were so kind as to travel up from South Carolina at the last minute to attend. They only found out about the party that morning (we couldn't decide what day to have it) and they jumped in their van to make it. It was wonderful. Shiloh was a little unsure about having that many people, being naturally shy and quiet, but Uncle Duncan made it all right. He's like having another kid there, except I think he's louder. He's older than I am. My mom was stuck at the table with Shiloh, Cora, my niece Dyani, and Duncan, and she said she felt like she was at the kids' table.

OH! And one more thing...I got to meet our adorable NEW niece Micah Marie, whose cheeks are truly kissable. She was doing the cutest cooing, and it was wonderful to meet her. Her big brother Caleb seems like he's a year older than Jackson instead of just three months. He is speaking very well, running all over the place, and he's HUGE. I think he wears 3T or 4T clothes. Wow. He did really well with four loud cousins, and Cora took to Micah, bouncing her like a pro. She's going to be a wonderful mommy to six boys, which is her plan for her family.

I'll post again soon now that I'm home.
Love,
Casey
Okay, I meant to post more photos, but it won't let me for some reason, so I'm going to post this message and then try again on another message.

Houseworth family minus one

Hello everyone-
The Houseworth contingent (Mama plus kids) is now in Tennessee visiting with Oma and Opa. It's COLD here! :) Daniel's plane arrived safely in the big sandbox, after an unexpected layover in Germany partially due to the European Union rules about "quiet zones" with no takeoffs after 10:00 p.m. I don't know why I find that funny, but I do. We're enjoying some down time, although I am trying to do some bare bones schooling while we're here.

Our last few days as a family were much busier than we wanted them to be, and in hindsight, we should not have tried to do househunting while we were there. It made for unhappy children who would rather have been playing with Daddy. (Well, it's not like the weather cooperated with that, since it was cold and rainy almost the whole time.) Part of our frustration came from finding the perfect house, only to realize that our timing was all off - there is no way we can get that house because of when we would be moving.

OH!!! How silly of me not to say up front that Daniel got the job he applied for in North Carolina!!! I had complete confidence in him, but he started to become negative after he didn't hear for awhile. Still, he found out within a week and a half, which I thought was pretty good. It's nice to know the outcome before he left, so that we know how to prepare before he comes home. We'll be moving shortly after he returns. It's exciting to think of new beginnings. We must really like beginnings, since we've had so many of them! :)

I have much more to write, but I need to get the children up from their naps. It's actually warm enough today for me to brave going outside with them, so we'll be heading out for some fresh air.
I hope you all are well!
Love,
Casey
p.s. no pictures until I return from Tennessee!

A New Houseworth Record

We are packed, the van is packed, the fridge is clean, the laundry is done, and all of this was accomplished BEFORE 12:00 a.m. the night before a trip. It's some kind of record, at least in our household. We're now contemplating whether we'll drive straight through to Ft. Bragg or stop in Savannah as planned.

In any case, we covet your prayers for a safe journey. We'll have several days together as a family before Daniel leaves, so we're all looking forward to that.

I plan to take lots of pictures on the trip, and I'll post them upon our return. Thanks for all your emails and comments; it's been wonderful to hear from all of you!
Much Love,
Casey

p.s. Thanks again, Mom - the comment about my grammar is now making me paranoid about my sentence structure when I'm supposed to be blogging from a stream-of-consciousness perspective. You're quenching my creative processes!!

Comments anyone?

I've been informed that our blog may not be allowing you to post comments (thanks, Mom, and sorry!). I hope this problem will be resolved, as I don't know how to fix it. :) Did I mention I'm new to blogging?!

Well, we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off today trying to get ready for the trip up to North Carolina to say goodbye to Daniel. We did get everything done, though. The girls are looking forward to the trip, especially Abigail, who LOVES to stay in hotels. Being Florida girls, they naturally thought that they would be swimming at every hotel where we stay. Ha! They are in for a rude awakening when they feel the first draft of cold air.

And good news! Our adoption is now back in progress. We were waiting, and waiting, and WAITING for a response to an email we sent to the director of the orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Daniel finally just called him today, and he told us he's been able to read his email but not respond to any messages. Phew...I thought we offended him or something. Anyway, our dossier will be sent to the Miami Haitian consulate tomorrow for "authentication" (whatever that means other than costing us more money) and then sent down to Haiti to begin the LONG process of going through their system. We should know who the kids are in about two months, though!!! This is so exciting. For those we haven't told, we're expecting to adopt a boy/girl sibling set from Haiti. From the time that we receive the referral (when we know who our kids are) the wait time until we can travel to pick them up is about 9 months-1 year. The Haitian government is not...um...entirely stable, so the wait time has been extended by about three months because of their problems. I think - I hope - I PRAY - it will be worth it. It will be hard to know who the kids are without being able to go get them! :)

Well, I have more laundry to do before we can call it quits tonight. I do have a bowl of Moose Tracks frozen yogurt waiting for me right now, though.

Hope ya'll have a good night!

More practice

I will be posting more up-to-date news, but right now I'm just playing around while figuring out this whole blog thing, so I thought I'd post some pictures from the older girls' trip to the Nutcracker with Daddy. They had a wonderful evening. Cora was slightly disappointed to find out before they went that she wouldn't actually be getting on stage to dance with the ballerinas.

And one more...

I still haven't figured out how to post a picture beside our blog title (without downloading something that I don't really want to download), but I'll try posting a picture of the kids, Daniel, and Roscoe the basset hound on steroids as they sat on our lanai yesterday eating lunch. For those of you stuck in the frozen hinterlands up north...just don't look at the picture. Better yet, come visit us!

Red letter day

Well, we made the self-imposed deadline...just barely. Daniel decided that Shiloh should really learn to ride a bike without training wheels before she turned seven (at the end of this month), but we didn't think it was going to happen since he leaves shortly for Iraq. He wanted to be the one to teach her. However, he had a couple of days off since he didn't attend a conference in Colorado Springs as originally planned, so he decided to give it a try and at least get her started. He ran around the block about five times yesterday, but things were not looking any more promising at the end of the session than they did at the beginning. Shiloh was discouraged. Today, he put her on her old (smaller) bike with the training wheels off, gave her a push, and off she went!!! It just "clicked." After that, Daniel didn't have to run around the block with her; he just had to watch from a distance to remind her not to run into trashcans. All in all, it's an exhilarating and sobering experience to see your firstborn taking such a huge step in life.

Hello Family and Friends!
Well, we still don't know how a telephone works, but hey...we have a blog! :) We thought this would be a good way to periodically update everyone with pictures and anecdotes about our crazy, chaotic lives. Since we've moved so much in our ten+ years of marriage, we've left so many friends behind all over the world, and we would love to keep in touch with all of you. Please feel free to write in with comments and notes. There will be no thought-provoking, profound dissertations on life and theology (unless Daniel gets ahold of the blog), but it will be fun and (hopefully) filled with pictures.
Much Love,
Casey and Daniel