In which this is my bit for the Saturday Evening Blog Post

Elizabeth Esther (an honest and beautiful soul) is hosting the usual Saturday Evening Blog Post with our Best Post of March and April. I love this idea because it's interesting for me to go over everything I've written over the past month and think it through again.

It's been a busy month for me. I finished up the Whole Food Challenge (thank you, Jesus) for one. I also gave my opinion about spanking and the USA's healthcare system. I took some gorgeous photos at the Mercy House because new life is coming. We had a very interesting discussion about raising kids in Christianity. My husband paid $35 for my wedding ring and I couldn't be happier about it. My daughter had a little miracle over a Berenstain Bears book.

But my favourite post of the past two months is one that I wrote recently about my mornings with my tinies. Really, this is my life and this is Shalom, this is peace and wholeness as God intended, to my way of thinking. I'll look back on this little essay when my tinies are not-so-tiny, grown-up and gone and think, "God, I was the luckiest woman in the world."

You can head over to her place to read more "best of the month" posts or to link up your own. It's a lovely community.



Also, I'm up for Ultimate Vancouver Mom Blog. You can vote daily - Care to go cast a vote for me?
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In which it's whole foods & a whole life

This week, I am concluding our family's Whole Food Challenge. You can click here to enter the giveaway.

Learning to Nourish, Body & Soul

The Spiritual Aspects of the Challenge

Eating isn't meant to be a battleground. It's not supposed to bring shame or set up camp in my soul, judging my worth as a mother and a woman. I don't want battles at the table with my tinies and I don't want battles in my soul. I don't want to sing along to terrible, self-defeating, shame-based songs about my weight and my worth.

I want to be set free. I want wholeness in my relationship with food.

Ridding myself of the the repetitive songs might be a bit like fighting addiction: you're always fighting the battle, always laying it down at the feet of Jesus, always pouring the balm of Scripture and truth and grace over those sources of shame, whether it's how you look or your past or your present or what-have-you.

It's all part of my journey to be the woman I am, just as I am. I didn't do this to lose weight. I didn't do it to look hot. I did it for my health, sure. I did it because I felt like it was time for my consumption to line up with my values.

Sometimes eating right can become just as much of an idol in my life: look at me! I'm such a good mother because my tinies eat organic! I fit my skinny jeans! We like to say grace! Aren't I a good mother?

It can be tempting, you see? Whether you're eating right or eating wrong, it still is a source of finding my worth.


It is best that we don't go to McDonalds and that we eat veggies and plant a garden and simplify our meals and bring rituals to our home. It is best to not eat sugary cereals and learn to cook and use a knife and fork. It's the right thing to do. It makes you healthier and happier and stronger. Of course. Just like it's right that we run too fast outside, learn to ride a bike, draw with chalk on sidewalks, jump too high, read books for hours, drink water and go to bed early.

But I can't find my worth there anymore than I should find my worth in the food that I eat or the number on my scale.

My worth is always, must always, be in the simple truth that I am Papa's girl. I am a woman enthralled with Jesus, following him with my whole heart. My worth lies only in that I am loved. These things? They're wonderful and good and reflect the heart of God that I know. But they are not the whole me or the whole Him or the whole anything.

They are just whole foods.

But the wholeness went beyond the food. The wholeness fell over into the other areas of my life.

For instance, I used to toss the food on the table with the kids, just to get them eating. Then once everyone was eating, I would start to clean up because it's always easier to clean up the kitchen without everyone underfoot. Most nights, I didn't hardly get a bite and wound up, at 9 o'clock at night, starving and stuffing my face with processed food, feeling shame.

Now, no one sits down until the entire meal is ready to go. Together, the tinies are falling in love with cooking. It's becoming one of my favourite things to do with them. We don't scoop out food from the stove. I put the food into nice bowls, like my mother's Pyrex, and we serve each other at the table. We light a candle. We say grace. And of course, we always do our "one big happy family!" still. We talk. I leave the kitchen a mess for a while, even if I don't get to cleaning it up until after the tinies go to bed.

It feels right and good to be making food and the eating of it together a priority.

The first night, on a whim, I put a big green candle in the middle of the table and lit it right as we were getting ready to eat. Now, every single meal, they ask for the Breakfast Candle.

I'm amazed at how deeply, even as children, we yearn for ritual. So now, the last thing we do before saying grace, is light that candle for our meals. There is something calming and centering about a candlelit family meal.

Food - the cooking and eating of it - is no longer something to cross off our list; it's something that binds us together. It's something simple, something with ritual, that is weaving the fabric of our family together.

Whole foods made me become more mindful of our bodies and our pace of life. It made me want to slow down and open up, to become more present in these moments.

It brought wholeness to much of our life.

The Final Verdict

So now where do we go from here? We are going to keep it up. There will be some processed food re-entry into our life but for the most part, we can't go back. It's almost impossible to go back to eating hot dogs and Jell-O, to go back to mostly burgers or throw together cream of chicken casseroles. None of us like it anymore. We've changed the habit and our family.

We won't just keep the actual food values - local, organic, sustainable, ethical and whole. But we'll keep the family values - simplicity, wholeness, being mindful and present, nourish your soul as well as your body with what you eat.

But I confess I am glad to see the end of the blogging of the Whole Food Challenge. I'm not usually this practical in my writing. It's been an adjustment and I don't know that I'll do something like this again. Just doesn't feel like me, I suppose. I'll be back to my usual rantings and ridiculousness next week.


What about you? What are some ways you've found a connection between your spirituality and your eating?



Also, I'm up for Ultimate Vancouver Mom Blog. You can vote daily - Care to go cast a vote for me?

In which your bookmarks tab is about to be very full

I'm wrapping up our family's 12 week Whole Food Challenge this week. Click here to enter the contest.

My new best friends and cheerleaders:
Resources and Inspiration

I'm a learner and student in all of this Whole Food world, this natural, organic, sustainable, organic blah-blah-blah world.

So here are my favourite places to learn:

Websites & Blogs

• Jamie Oliver
• The Simple Living network is useful, to-the-point and inspiring: Simple Mom, Simple Bites and Simple Organic in particular.
• Michael Pollan's exhaustive links to resources are here.
• Canada's largest listing of farm markets
• Local Harvest (directory of farms and CSAs, primarily USA but some Canadian farms as well.)
  

Most Useful Articles

• 11 Tips for Eating Healthy on a Budget (from Simple Mom)
• Snack Food Makeover - Real Food Style (from Sorta Crunchy)
• How to Help Your Child Embrace Food (from Simple Bites)

TV/Movies

• Food Inc. (Americans can watch it online for free right now). Here is the trailer (RSS readers, click through to watch.)
• 
  
• 
  
• Food Revolution
• Jamie Oliver's TED talk (just 20 minutes)

Must Read Books

• Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver
• Feeding the Whole Family: Cooking with Whole Foods by Cynthia Lair
• In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• Food Rules by Michael Pollan
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
• 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Alisa Smith
• The Family Nutrition Book: Everything You Need To Know About Feeding Your Children from Birth to Age 2 by Dr. William Sears

*Amazon affiliate links used.

What about you? What are your favourite links related to the food?

Coming up tomorrow: The spiritual aspects of eating well and our road ahead.

Also, I'm up for Ultimate Vancouver Mom Blog. You can vote daily - Care to go cast a vote for me?

In which it takes more time but it's worth it

I'm wrapping up our family's 12 week Whole Food Challenge this week. Click here to enter the contest.

Can I do this and still have a life?
The Time & Convenience Aspect

When we started the Challenge, I was primarily a stay-at-home-mother, working just two days a week. Then, a few weeks into the Challenge, things got very busy with our upcoming Grand Opening and my husband lost his job, so I started working full-time temporarily.

Suddenly, the convenience and time aspects mattered a lot more.

I knew going in that it was going to take more time. It does. But it doesn't take as much time as I thought it would.

Tips for Making it Work

• Narrow your options. Instead of cooking a different thing every night of the week, have just 10 go-to recipes. You always have the ingredients in the house and can throw it together in less than 30 minutes. If they're family favourites, even better.
  
• Have the same thing for breakfasts or lunches most days. I had to do this with the tinies and was surprised to discover that I am the only one bothered by repetition. They don't mind having a sandwich or soup every single lunch.
• A few winners I've found for our quick lunches:

Of course, reheated leftovers.

Veggies and hummus with applesauce.


Honey and/or peanut butter (natural) on bread.

Pancakes with (real maple) syrup or honey.


Pita bread pizzas (just put some tomato sauce on a pita, put some cheese on it and toast it in the toaster oven).

Oatmeal with blueberries.

• Plan your meals. On Sundays, I'd just make a list of whatever I planned to cook that week, bought the groceries we needed and then we cooked from it. It made things very easy for my husband to help out in that arena. It's not fun to be staring at the refrigerator at 5:30 musing "What should I feed these children?"
  
• Save the meals that take longer than 30 minutes to make for the weekend.
• Plan for snacking. We do like snacking in our house so I had to include those in our weekly plan. Baked once a week - healthy cookies or applesauce muffins - to toss in my purse along with the water and apples.
  
• Realise that ordering in or going out will take just as long as making a good meal. By the time you get done ordering and take-out is delivered, it's usually the same amount of time it takes to just cook it. Save yourself the money.

Ultimately, there were days when I simply didn't feel like cooking or food prepping. I didn't cook every night. So those there the nights when we had oatmeal or pancakes for supper. There is no shame in that. Not every night was an amazing pot roast.

The truth is that eating healthy does take more work. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar or a Super Mother.

BUT - it is worth it. It's worth it to plan your meals. It's worth it to take the time to cook. It's also worth it to teach your tinies how to cook. It's worth it to teach them how to use a knife and fork instead of their fingers for everything (this is ongoing). It's worth it to sit down at the table, as a family, at least twice a day. It's worth it to light a candle. It's worth it to say a prayer or blessing before you eat. It's worth it to do "cheers" and clink your glasses a few times. It's worth it to empty the dishwasher two times a day (also, Joseph is my biggest helper in this regard). It's worth it to go to the grocery store together. It's worth it to have to clean up the table after supper. It's worth it to line up your eating with your values.

It's also worth it sometimes to kick it all to the curb and just order a pizza and use the paper plates from the shop.

Conclusion: It does require more planning and time from you. Not as much as you think it will but it is worth it in the end.

What about you? Any tips on saving time or making being healthy more convenient?

Coming up tomorrow: My best finds on resources, links, recipes, inspiration, books and movies.

Also, I'm up for Ultimate Vancouver Mom Blog. Care to go cast a vote for me?

In which I lost 10 lbs and spent about the same

This week, I'm concluding our family's 12 Week Whole Food Challenge. I'm hosting a lovely giveaway as well, so click here to enter.

Today: Physical/Body and Financial Aspects

I hate to exercise and my head hurts

Part of my motivation for embarking on this challenge was related to my body. I have my share of wobbly bits after birthing and nursing two babies (well, I can't really blame it on them entirely since I have a supreme aversion to exercise and proclivity towards chocolate but still). The bigger things were quality of life issues. In particular, I have very sensitive skin that often turns to eczema, my energy levels were in the pooper and I suffered with dull headaches coupled with mood swings.

At the conclusion of 12 weeks, I have lost 10 pounds. Which feels nice particularly since I didn't actually work that hard at it.

I have realised something about myself: I don't like working out and don't care too much about being incredibly skinny. There. I said it. I am comfortable with being a reason for Boobquakes and I'm pretty sure that 6-packs are not a naturally occurring feature in most women. I'm okay with being a bit squishy (and even a few pounds overweight) because I'd rather play outside or go for a slower walk with a friend to chat or sleep that extra thirty minutes or eat the cookie and just RELAX. So eating in a healthy and sustainable manner has meant that I did lose some weight but I didn't deprive myself of anything really.

All sorts of win right there, folks.

My skin conditions have cleared up. Like, completely. When I cut out refined sugar and white flour, my eczema on my hands started to clear up and within three weeks was nearly gone. I can't tell you how nice it is to not feel itchy.

My headaches are gone. I don't drink a lot of caffeine so I knew it wasn't a caffeine headache. Maybe it was a sugar headache? And my moods stabilised rather significantly. That is certainly saying something because these past twelve weeks have been rather stressful with Brian losing his job and all. So if ever I was going to have an Attack of the Grouch-Mama, it would have been these weeks. But instead, I wasn't angry. Not even in that seething-just-below-the-surface-but-I-won't-talk-about-it-because-I-know-it's-ridiculous way. Honest.

I had wicked withdrawals for the first week of the challenge - headaches, cravings, mood swings. By the time the week was up? I felt fantastic. Is that what withdrawal feels like? It felt like my head was a bit clearer and my energy levels were phenomenal (which is coming in handy right about now when I'm run off my feet). But I won't lie. That week coming off it all? SUCKED BIG TIME.

There were other benefits related to digestion (and that's all I'll say about that. I do have some limits in my TMI-life).

Conclusion: I lost weight. My skin cleared up. My moods stabilized. My headaches are gone. Evidently, I'm also easier to live with. Eating whole foods had a big benefit for my overall health (and apparently the entire family is happy).

Are we going to go broke being healthy?

We wanted to cut our food-related costs by embarking on this challenge. The final verdict is complex. On one hand, we did save money because we weren't eating out as much any longer and we stopped purchasing most convenience/processed foods. But on the other hand, organic food is usually more expensive. Organic, free-from meat, in particular, costs significantly more. (There are potential cost savings in other areas as well - for instance, health care related costs go way down as certain medications may become unnecessary.)

Ultimately, if we wanted to continue eating the same way - processed convenience foods but organic - it would have blown our budget to smithereens. The only way to eat fresh, local, organic, sustainable food was to change a lot of our eating habits.

For instance,

• Meat was no longer at every single meal. Even if we did have meat, it wasn't as large of a portion. Instead, we learned to use vegetarian meals, heavy on grains and legumes for the "bulk".
  
• We didn't buy the pre-mixed pancake mix but instead made our own from scratch.
• No more bags of chips gone in a day or store-bought cookies. We made it ourselves or went without.
• Frozen dinners to be heated up in the oven, toaster waffles and processed foods are budget killers.
• Dried beans are cheaper than canned ones.

Whole foods are just that - whole. Nothing much done to them. Just eat the food as God intended without much mucking around. It's usually cheaper than processed regular food and processed organic food.

Once you get past the idea that a meal has to weigh at least 5 pounds or be in a casserole dish or the freezer section, your options swing wide open. Some of our suppers were rather plain and simple - just chicken with a bunch of raw veggies. Other times, we had (real steel cut or rolled) oatmeal. Funnily enough, those nights were the tinies favourites - and mine.

If I could only choose organic for two things, it would be meat and dairy (ironically, the ones with the biggest price difference between organic and non-organic). We all noticed a big difference in taste but our primary reasons actually have more to with steroids or growth hormones and factory treatment of animals. Once you know that stuff, man, it's hard to go back. My sister (who is vegetarian) always remarks that if all of the slaughterhouses or dairy farms in the world had glass walls, most of us would be vegetarian. So we try to make sure that our tinies aren't ingesting anything disgusting and that we are buying ethically raised products.

We found that buying produce at farmers markets meant that we were buying more in season and the food was fresh. It's nice to meet the people that grow your food. Now we're planting our own garden to grow our own veggies for the summer - tomatoes, peas, carrots, onions, beans and so on. That will help keep our weekly grocery costs down as well.

The truth is that whole foods don't cost much more. It's the processed food that is more expensive.

I learned this truth from my friend, Gina. She has four children and their income can be irregular. She is a true frugalista and has been keeping her family healthy and strong on a small budget for years now. (Of course, she also bakes her own bread and I'm not quite convinced of her sanity. So there is that.)

We didn't save any money because of our switch to organic meat and dairy. But we didn't spend anymore than usual either. In the end, we probably spent less overall because of the reduction in our eating out.

Conclusion: If you make adjustments to how/what you eat, you can eat whole and organic whole foods affordably.


Tomorrow.... Can I do this and still have a life?: The Time and Convenience Aspect

Also, I'm up for Ultimate Vancouver Mom Blog. Care to go cast a vote for me?

In which I end our Whole Food Challenge with a giveaway

We are finished with our Whole Food Challenge! 12 weeks went very quickly.

Our eating habits have been completely transformed.
We have gone from eating fast food to cooking almost every meal.
We've gone from edible food-like substances to real, whole food.
I can pronounce every single ingredient.
There is hardly anything in my house that my great-grandmother wouldn't recognise as food.
We eat vegetables at last. And whole grains. And a lot less meat.
My children are eating better and we all have more energy.

We are even starting our own garden.

It has not been a particularly easy road. There has been the occasional cheat - Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bars are my undoing! - but overall, we've been very consistent. I've learned so much....and still have so much to learn.

This week, I'll be summarising everything from budget to convenience to weight loss as it relates to our journey of eating fresh, local, organic, sustainable food.

Tuesday: Physical/body changes and Budget (also known as "how do I do this without going broke?")

Wednesday: Time and Convenience - Making it work for your schedule

Thursday: Best finds for books, links, recipes and resources

Friday: Where do we go from here as a family? And the spiritual aspects of eating (because you know me - I find Jesus everywhere, even in my food. Can't help it!)

And a fun giveaway, of course.

What's the fun of ending this whole thing without giving something away?

I'll be giving away three prizes to three readers! So spread the word and enter to win:

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution: Rediscover How to Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals

or one lb of ONEbean coffee (organic and fair trade)
or a custom made recipe box by Gifts and Talents.


Simply leave a comment related to the whole food challenge (a favourite recipe? favourite cookbook? writing about it on your blog? any changes you've made over the past 12 weeks? got a question? think I'm nuts?) and you'll be entered. Only shipping addresses in Canada and the USA, please.

I'll draw the winner randomly on Saturday night and post the winner shortly afterwards with the final round up post.

EDITED TO ADD: The contest is over now. No further comments will be entered to win. Thanks! (2 May 2010)

Note: Amazon affiliate links are used in this post. All prizes are purchased by myself.

In which these caught my eyes and my heart this week

A collection of links for your weekend wanderings.

Quote of the Week

"We have all known the long loneliness, and we have learned that the only solution is love, and that love comes with community." -- Dorothy Day.

Parenting

When your to-do list is done.... Most of us had a life list that ended with "and then I'll have kids." Well, now what? Amber Strocel has a thoughtful and interesting take on it.

I'm a mommy-blogger and dang proud of it! A manifesto from Elizabeth Esther about being proud of our interests.

My friend, Gina, is all sorts of win and she's finally returned to blogging. She'll be worth adding to your Reader to keep an eye on. She's wise and funny.

Simple Living

Have I ever told you why I hug trees? Megan at Sorta Crunchy crawls into my head and writes out (much more eloquently) the reason why I am also a tree-hugger.

5 Great Reasons to Not Watch Much TV via Simple Mom

Faith and Church

Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution. (via Tony Jones)

Julie Clawson hosted a synchroblog about What is Emergent? I found it inspiring reading. Lately everyone - even Sojourners - is taking shots at the EC so this was a good read.

Is telling the truth more important than selling the truth? Donald Miller is of the opinion that "If you were to put a group of modern, leading evangelicals in a room and ask them to write a book about God and the church, formalizing a message to the world, I doubt you’d end up with anything like the Bible."

In which {this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual, hosted by the inspiring Amanda Soule of SouleMama. No words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

In which I review week 10 & 11 of the Whole Food Challenge

Week 10 and 11

Overall Summary:

My schedule has proven a big challenge to the Challenge (get it? huh? huh?). I'm adjusting to make it work but it's meant giving up some "purist ideals" of the Challenge. I've fallen wildly in love with red peppers and include a recipe for some chocolate-y goodness in the form of healthy brownies.

Also, next week will be my final week of the Whole Food Challenge so I'll have a wrap up including some prizes/giveaways.

Physically:

I've stopped losing anymore weight. This is likely a result eating more in the evenings again. My schedule with work is rather busy so I'm working right through lunch most days. So then I end up snacking quite a lot after the tinies go to bed because I'm ravenous.

Plus I'm not getting much exercise or time outside right now. I really miss it and need to make more time for this, not just for the Challenge but for my own sanity.

I feel better in many ways still (eczema, digestion, headaches etc.) though.

The Budget:

Normally this would go down in the Links section but because it's the number one reason people email me about the challenge, I thought I'd put it here.

11 tips for eating healthy on a budget from Simple Mom.

Convenience and Time:

This has taken a big hit since I've returned to full time work. As a result, things like soaking beans and prepping meals days in advance has fallen to the wayside. I've returned to canned beans and quick meals. Brian is cooking more often and we are having many suppers of those whole wheat banana blueberry pancakes or oatmeal.

I haven't found it impossible but it does mean that I have to plan the week better.

The big adjustment from before though is that we are still cooking the majority of the nights. We're not running out to Wendy's at the slightest sign of running late or being tired anymore.

And that's a win, right?

Favourite Recipe of the Week

I'd like to write an Ode to the Red Pepper for this week.

We all love

to eat red pepper

grilled on the barbecue

because it tastes so sweet

and crunchy.

The end.

So in addition to halving a red pepper, scooping out the seeds and just throwing it on the barbecue, I also have rediscovered baked veggies.

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Red Pepper Baked Veggies

1 head of Broccoli

1 head of Cauliflower

1-2 red peppers

3-5 tbs of olive oil

sea salt

real Parmesan cheese (about a cup)

Wash and chop the veggies roughly to bite sized pieces. Put them into a casserole dish or pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until they are tender. DELISH.

Favourite Website/Video of the Week

Eat Well Guide is a tool that helps you find local, sustainable, usually organic food in your region. They also host the Green Fork Blog which features several well known contributors in this genre about a vast array of topics.

This Week's Link Round Up:

As someone who typically bought sanitized, pre-carved white chicken breasts, I find raw, whole chickens wildly intimidating. But when you switch to organic/free-from-everything chickens, usually, your only option is the whole bird. This helped a lot: Whole Chickens - Less Waste, More Mouth-Watering Goodness via Keeper of the Home

My cousin, Sharon, is an absolute mother warrior. She runs (and wins) triathlons. Her blog about TriLifeStyles is just getting started but might be a good resource if you are interested in competitive running, particularly if you are a mother balancing family, life and now health. Also, the recipe for Marty's Almost Fat Free Brownies is gold.

In which these are the instructions for the morning

Stretch out in your bed, the one with the Ikea duvet and expansive depression right in the middle, beside the husband of your youth. Remain at the thin place between sleeping and wakefulness, watching the dawn come in. By now, you've somehow managed to be grateful that you're sleeping while you are still sleeping (and you've learned to count dozing). Move into the duvet and turn over right at the same moment that you hear your youngest start to stir. Listen to him laughing to himself in his crib, babbling and hollering.

Keep your eyes shut and pray that he'll go back to sleep. Consider the fact that those who claim to have children that sleep past 6:00 AM are clearly liars.

Feel the breeze from your always-open window. Listen to the sound of the creek just outside and congratulate yourself yet again for it, like somehow you had something to do with the smell of trees and sound of birds and running water, just outside your window.

Drag yourself from your warm bed and stumble, straw-haired and mascara-bleary, to the boy's room. Try to be quiet-quiet-quiet so that your daughter will magically keep sleeping through the boy's laughter but look, there's the door opening and a blonde pixie is blinking out at you, wondering if she can get up too? Change the baby's nappy and carry them both back to your bedroom.

Toss them into the bed. Be careful to aim for your husband so that he has to wake up too.

Crawl back into the bed and pull the covers over everyone. Laugh when your daughter scoots over to your side of the bed with the report that Daddy is stinky and she doesn't want to smell him. Let your boy lay down right on top of you, his wide mouth buried right into the nape of your neck, kissing and giggling and burrowing.

Curve your left arm around your daughter so that you can stroke her baby-fine hair while holding her tight and use your right arm to trace circles on your son's back lightly with your fingernails.

Smell their heads and swear to yourself that you will never forget how they smell when they are sweaty and sleepy and yours.

Lock eyes with your husband across the expanse of babies in the middle of the bed. Chuckle at how you've both changed since you were a couple of skinny punks planning to change the world. Hear him say good morning, beautiful.

Wonder if your daughter has taken a breath since she woke up and if she will ever run out of things to say, plans to make. Adjust the koala bear masquerading as your son because he keeps crawling up closer and closer, trying to wrap himself around you. Roll him off and onto his sister whose skinny arms are outstretched, asking for her turn to snuggle him.

Let them hold each other for a while. Feel your heart skip a beat when he chirps her name a few times, in that high octave only reserved for her, and she laughs, calling him "such a clever boy" like she has suddenly grown up.

Cling to the side of the bed while your husband clings to the other side, curved like a parenthesis to hold them between. Navigate the transition from sleepy snuggles to puppy-dog wrestling matches before they all fall out of the bed to start the day again.

Later in the afternoon, when nap time rolls around, your daughter will ask to sleep on your side of the bed. She'll tell you that it's because it's her favourite place in the world, because it's where she snuggles with you. She'll call it The Family Bed.

(tone inspired by How to Make an American Quilt by Whitney Otto.)

In which this is for Tuesday Unwrapped

Today, my heart is laughing over a

funny,

weird,

beautiful

3-and-a-half year old girl

that looks most like me

when she's making her face

look ridiculous.

In which there is irony at the pro-life demonstration

I am driving down a busy road in Abbotsford. I hear them before I see them. More than 50 teenagers and children lining the street for more than a block on both sides of the road. It's a blur of white smiling faces, emerald green polo shirts paired with alternately navy docker pants or navy-and-emerald plaid skirts.

Every single one is holding a white placard with big black letters:

ABORTION KILLS CHILDREN

ADOPTION IS A LOVING OPTION

STOP ABORTION NOW

LIFE IS PRECIOUS

They aren't homemade signs but professionally printed by a shop. These bright and beautiful children line the streets, waving and screaming and smiling, brandishing their placards into traffic.

They are clearly enthusiastic, egging each other on to be louder and wave their signs higher. It's obviously a school project on the school's time so maybe they're as excited about missing Science as they are about defending the sanctity of the unborn. Who knows?

No one driving by honks to encourage the demonstration.

There is a man, standing in the median.

His clothes are monochromatic with dirt and filth. Who knows how old he is? It's impossible to tell.

He stands in the gauntlet of privilege protesting with his own sign. This one is weathered cardboard, clearly folded often. Written in a wavery hand with heavy black marker is his own plea for life:

MY LIFE IS HARD.
HUNGRY & BROKE.
HELP ME?
GOD BLESS U.

I wonder if, when they got back to school, their teachers congratulate them on saving lives and changing the world?

In which these are catching my eyes and my heart this week

These caught my eye on the Internets this week. Hope you enjoy them this weekend (if it's raining! If it's sunny, then get thyself outside!)

Parenting

I've noticed that I can't do a weekly link round up without including Megan at Sorta Crunchy. I love that woman. Her Open Letter to Breastfeeding Advocates about backing off of women that can't/don't breastfeed is right on. No more guilt!

Always, Ann Voskamp gives voice to beauty and struggle in graceful, honest words. Her post at (in)courage, What Every Family Needs to Be Strong, is one of her best. How can a mother be frustrated her child is not as she longs him to be, when she herself is not as she longs to be?

Amber Strocel is a new discovery for me. She's one of Vancouver's best bloggers and her guide to maternity leave in Canada is a must-read for mothers. But her post this week about her 20 month old son really made me nod my head in agreement. Joseph is just like this right now with the hitting. Oh, I get it. The boys and the hitting.

Faith and Church

If you missed it (and are living under a rock apparently), Jennifer Knapp recently came out of the closet. She was one of my favourite singer-songwriters in university and we still listen to her albums. (Funny story: Brian worked security at one of her shows and bounced her from her own show because she didn't have credentials.) She disappeared for 8 years and has now re-emerged with a new album. This isn't the place (not enough space) for me to share my thoughts but I will say, that it took guts for her to do it. She has reconciled her sexuality with being a follower of Jesus, not choosing between them. You can read her interviews with Christianity Today and The Advocate here. A couple of hopeful responses from the more conservative Christian community are Ed Cyzeweski and Amber Haines. I'm getting more optimistic that the Christian community will be more graceful towards our homosexual brothers and sisters.

Stuff Christians Like is one of my favourite websites. It's always hysterical but this post about Believing in Logic jumped from ligers to sin and stopped me in my tracks.

A white guy and a black guy in the emerging church. This is a small story about the way that church is changing across the world. Beautiful.

Simple Living

10 Simple Ways to Love Your Community from Anne Jackson at Flowerdust.net


The Benefits of Non-Toxic Cleaning over at Simple Media this week. We made the switch to non-toxic cleaners two years ago because of skin irritation. Also, my tinies love to help me clean and I didn't feel good when they were up to their elbows with chemicals. So we switched and it's been fantastic.


Along those same lines, Safe & All-Natural Beauty Products You Can Make at Home from Keeper of the Home.

Good Stories

A new feature in the weekly link round- up, I'm going to try to feature churches and Christians that are reminding me of the good. If you know of one or come across one, please send it my way.


I've followed Dave of Big Ear Creations in Brantford, Ontario for a few years now. There aren't enough Canadian pastors blogging in my opinion. He's a pastor at Freedom House and I've found him to be honest, humble and funny. His church is one enormous good story but recently, they decided to contribute to the solution for the housing crisis by creating Freedom Gate Apartments. What can people do with vision and guts in a city? Evidently a lot.

Just for the Fun of It

In which these are 7 Quick Takes

The 7 items of the week that occurred to me but didn't warrant their own blog post.

-1-

Out and about the Internets: I have started to contribute to New Parent. They picked up Joseph's birth story and I'll be submitting posts now and again about parenting. If you get a chance, please head over and drop a comment.

-2-

I joined the Fraser Valley Pulse, our fabulous online lifestyle magazine for the FV, as a features writer for kids & family. My first article, 8 Family Friendly Ways to Welcome Spring in the Fraser Valley, just went up this week.

-3-

Recently I tweeted the following: "I would be very happy if the phrase "just sayin'" was completely removed from society. Just sayin'."

(I hate that phrase. So. Much.)

Anyway, it spawned a listing of other phrases we'd like to see retired from general use.

• Just sayin'. The new "I'm kidding!" after a terrible remark that you know people will find offensive.
  
• Love me some ____. I'd love me some proper grammer.
• Redonkulous (as a replacement for "ridiculous")
• Use of the "f" word as an adjective. That's just effin' redonkulous. Just sayin'.
  
• It is what it is. Anything that was repeated by Donald Rumsfeld that many times is suspect.
  
• At the end of the day.
  
• Let me unpack that for you. Nothing like being patronized to make you feel spectacular.
  
• Whatever happens, happens. Well, yes. Yes, it does, genius.
  
• Six of one, half dozen of another.
• Chillaxin'. It was cool for about 46 seconds four years ago. Now it's lame. Stop it.
  
• LOL. Are there really people that say that? Out loud? L-O-L?
• Uber as an adjective. It just sounds like a bowel movement.

Any others you'd like to contribute?

-4-

I'm a bit behind on the Whole Food Challenge weekly posting. Our last week starts next week. I'll have a catch up post early next week for Weeks 10 and 11 and then the final verdict as well as "where we go from here".

-5-

Since the Calgary Flames were eliminated before the Stanley Cup Playoffs even began (on that note: bye-bye, Sutters. Nice knowing you.) I have switched my allegiances for the west to Vancouver. My husband is devastated (as a true Flames fan, he despises the 'Nucks) but I like them. Our east team is, of course, the Bruins.

-6-

As an update, I am working full time right now as we lead up to the Mercy Home opening. We announced our grand opening. We've got a lot on the go right now to get that home open in just 7 weeks. In addition, I'm working on our big Benefit Gala and Online Auction.

Please pray that all goes well?

My heart breaks a little every time the girls call, waiting waiting waiting, to come. It can't happen soon enough. We have beds for 20 girls, a waiting list that far exceeds that and only funding for about 10 girls now. I am absolutely shameless in asking for money at this stage of the game because I want every bed in that house filled with a girl that needs a rescue.

So while I work full time, Brian is home with the tinies. He's not working yet and hopefully will find something by June 1 which is when I go back to two days a week. He's really enjoying the extra time with the tinies and has taken over the bulk of the home management.

He's also earning the money the government is currently giving him because the company he worked for went bankrupt. So far, he's repurposed a hardwood floor and laid it in our entrance, painted the so-ugly-it-was-glowing blue washroom, painted ceilings, built shelving in the garage, lifted our floor that was sagging in the tinies' bedrooms, redrywalled the ceiling in the garage, painted the hallway and repaired most everything he can get his hands on. Next up, he's laying baseboards and putting up door casings. Then he will rest, so he tells me. I'll believe it when I see it.

That man is not lazy.

He's deciding about next steps with work. The career counsellor recommended that he consider a couple of different careers so he's praying about that. His heart is still in vocational ministry but since that door doesn't appear to be opening, he's still committed to using his gifts (the man is an incredible friend, pastor and teacher) within the community.

-7-

Speaking of that good man of mine, it's his birthday today!

Happy 31st, baby. You grow wiser every year. I love living life with you and am so thankful that we can journey together.

These are the years we dreamed of all those years ago - we are living the dream.


MTB.

Have a great weekend everyone!

In which visions of homegrown tomatoes are dancing in my head

We just signed up for a plot at the Abbotsford Community Garden! Oh, I've got visions of dirty tinies and homegrown tomatoes.

For just $20 a year (a year!), we rented a 20' by 10' plot of rich dirt in the Sumas Prairie. Brian is our Gardener and I am our Eater. This is because almost every single house plant I've ever had, including kitchen basil, takes one look at me and shrivels into blackness.

Brian's dad is a tremendous gardener and manages to feed almost their entire church, particularly the families of recent immigrants from the Sudan, with tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, spinach and green beans all summer long. I still attest that the finest tomato I've ever had in my life came from that man's garden. He's not stingy with planting and spends most of his summer and fall, puttering about his garden now that he's retired.

Store bought tomatoes are mealy and tasteless. But Ed's tomatoes? Oh, heaven. I could eat tomato and bacon sandwiches every day of the summer. EVERY. DAY.

I grew up around gardeners. Nellie, my dad's mum, was a farm kid that turned half her backyard into an enormous vegetable and flower garden including strawberries and raspberries. My cousins and I turned brown as beans in the summer time, trotting back and forth from the garden to the green hose to wash off the carrots and strawberries straight from the ground and vine. We wedged bouquets of sweet peas into jam jars and watched bees drift through the daisies and lady slippers. My parents had a few veggie plants as well - tomatoes, peas, carrots and so on. I actually grew up in a primarily whole food sort of way (by the way, week 11! Almost ready for the wrap-up verdict on the Whole Food Challenge).

But as I said, the green thumb has skipped me entirely. I love the concept of gardening, the simple living aspect, the environmental benefits, the ideal of gardening, even the theology of gardening, but evidently that ain't enough.

So Brian and the tinies are in charge of our garden. They are dreaming and planning, poring over library books and debating seeds vs. seedling plants.

The community garden is a great thing for those of us without much of a yard. Plus we don't receive much sunlight in our semi-attached home. We are right against a forest with northern exposure. So for just $20, we can plant our tomatoes and beans.

The community garden only requires 6 hours of labour in the communal orchard, strawberry patch or corn field but then you also have access to the produce there. There is a green house and a garden shed with tools.

Tomato and bacon sandwiches ahead.

There isn't a website for it but if you're interested, the email given is abbycommunitygarden@gmail.com. It's located at 1786 Angus Campbell Road in Abbotsford.