Why I Love Having a Daughter

There are many reasons, but one stands a bit above the rest. I can sum it up in one word: Clothes!

That is the truth! She is sweet and fun and such a blessing to our family. And so were all of my four boys! The main difference is, I can dress her up like my own living, breathing baby doll! It started early. Here is our first example:

This was taken in the hospital. And, truth be told, she was gorgeous! All 10 pounds, 4 ounces of her! I especially loved the pink nubby blanket.

The fashion show continued on, as each new outfit had me whipping out the camera to record it. She only wore some of these once or twice before she grew out of them! For example, this one:

Clearly, she wasn't happy, but she looked so sweet in this shirt!!! This was the one and only newborn sized shirt she was able to wear! It must have been for a HUGE newborn! Next!

This was one of her two adorable fourth of July outfits! I just loved this one, and she grew out of it soooo fast! (She always seems to have an admirer nearby!)

This one just kills me! Oh, I wish we could make the clothes grow with the child!

Truly, there are no words. None.

Finally, yesterday, she entered the "blouse" phase of her life. Oh, it was a happy moment in my life to place a peasant blouse on my baby girl. Again, I followed her around, took pictures, ooo'ed and ahhhhh'ed all over her! I could die a happy woman! Not to mention, the pants have a belt that matches the floral print on the blouse. (Happy sigh!!)

This picture is the perfect example of why I love having a daughter. The only thing that will be better is a wedding gown!

I would like to make one clarifying statement! If all this little girl had to wear was brown sack cloth, I would still be so thankful to have a daughter. There is a gentle sweetness to her that isn't present in my boys! I am so glad, though, that we have more than brown sack cloth because this is FUN!! Thank you so much, Lord, for giving me this sweet little angel to dress up!!!

So How is It Going?

Sugar's Got Nothing on Me

Update time! I am now on day 3 of my sugar-free life, and so far, so good! I am really surprised how well it is going. I have to admit, though, that I have done this before, and it always seems to unravel about week 2. I am going to have to just stay super busy to try to keep my mind off of this!!

We've Got the Blues, Because We Don't.

On another front, my lovely garden seems to be growing a nice crop of.....wait for it.....weeds. Well, I guess it is true, there really is no place like Texas, and if you happen to be a bluebonnet, you are quite adamant that you must NOT be found in the Midwest. All I can say is, from one transplanted Texan to another, you don't know what you are missing, little bluebonnets! It is nice here! Granted, everything was covered in a frosty blanket this morning, and our soil has been soaked thoroughly by all the rain lately, so we haven't made it easy for you. Alas, I may be destined NOT to have bluebonnets as long as a Midwesterner I remain. We sure can grow beautiful clematis, though!!!

So, I'll console myself with these beauties!!!

Love, Hate and Sugar

Well, folks, today is the day. Today is the day I am heeding the voice of the Lord that has been nagging at me for some time, and I am giving up refined sugar. There. I said it out loud, so now it is real.

For a person like me who loves baking and dessert almost more than anything else on earth, this is horrible. A catastrophe. It is practically a Greek tragedy! People will write books about this. Historians will lament this day for centuries to come. (Well, maybe not, but they should.)

So, what led up to this, you ask? Simple. My body has decided it doesn't like sugar any more. Probably because I have fed it too much over my long life! I am not diabetic, but I am headed there. I have been praying and asking the Lord to identify the things in my life that need to be changed so that I can reclaim my health and lose weight. Through many different sources, the Lord pointed out to me that the sugar had to go. Man. That is not the answer I wanted.

However, here I stand, determined to follow. I mean, I asked, right? I wish that following God's leading was easy! Sometimes it is, but on this one, no way. This is not going to be easy.

I'd love some help here, folks. If any of you have given up refined sugar and have some great survival tips, I'd love to have them. It is not even noon on the first day, and I am already dyin', folks! I'd also love some prayers, because this is HARD!!!

Thanks!! I'll let you know how it goes. That is, if I don't die first. (Oh, the drama of it all, the absolute Shakespearean tragedy!) Don't worry, chances are best that I will be back!

Bread, Part 2

Okay, so today I really needed to bake bread. I thought, what better time than today when we are not busy to have my 11 year old Jeffery grab the camera and record the process. If you are a hesitant bread baker (cough, cough, KELLY, cough) hopefully this will give you a visual as you embark on this fun and really rewarding activity!!

Since I am such a student of The Pioneer Woman, I'll start with the ingredients. I have already posted them, so I won't go over it again, other than to say that the container with the blue lid is salt, the clear round container is yeast, and the big plastic container is my wheat flour. For your info, this was the King Arthur flour. Lastly, you can't make this bread without your sweetener and oil, so I have out honey and the last (sniff, cry, sniff) of my coconut oil. Time to order some more!

So, here is what it looks like with 6 cups of warm water, honey and a lovely blob of coconut oil.

Now I've sprinkled on the yeast...

and added in 5 cups of flour.

You can see, it is mixed, but it isn't smooth at all. That is okay.

This lovely mixture sat for a half hour while I whipped my son's tail at "Flinch". If you haven't played it, you should! Fun card game. But I digress.

Okay, here is my secret tool so that I do not forget to put in the salt! I put the salt on top of the flour container so that I cannot possibly add more flour without moving the salt! Works wonders for me, anyway!!

So, now, after 30 minutes, our mixture is lovely, large and bubbling like a boiling pot of water! I took a moment to have a mini science observation with my camera man, and then I got busy.

Ta-Da!!! The salt is added!

Okay, so now I have added most of the flour, and we are letting it go to knead. However, as you will see next.....

my mixer has some trouble with this volume of dough, and it climbs up the hook. I almost always finish it on the counter.

So, I flour my counter...

dump out the dough, still fairly wet,

and use my kitchen scraper thingy to flip it for me until it has enough flour in it to make it easier to manage.

I add more flour when necessary....

and voila!! A HUGE lump of bread dough!

Here is how you check to be sure your bread is ready. You should be able to pull a little lump of it a bit and make a "window pane" effect without it falling apart. This wasn't our best picture of it, but it was the best lighting!!

Now, for all you anal retentive bakers like me out there, this food scale creates peace of mind, and even loaves! We weigh it all, and divide by four!

Here are my lovely loaves...

and my lovely loaves rising!

30 minutes later, and having been slaughtered by my son/photographer at "Phase 10", we have.....

four lovely and unbelievably fragrant loaves of bread!

"You know you want to try making my mamma's bread!!"

Once they are cool, I wrap them in plain old food storage bags, and freeze them. They thaw beautifully and are as fresh tasting as they can be!

Okay, so there you go! If you need help or some hands on tutoring, come on by on a baking day, and we'll roll up our sleeves! Happy baking!

Bread!

I have had many requests lately to share the bread recipe I use for my family. This is my trusty, tried and true wheat recipe that makes anywhere from 4-5 loaves depending on the size pan you use. Since I use a good sized 9 inch bread pan, I get 4 very large loaves from this recipe. It comes from Denise Fidler at www.countrybaker.com. Her cookbook, "WildFlour" has a bunch of amazing whole grain bread recipes. Just amazing!!! I highly recommend it!

And to answer your question, yes, I do now grind my own flour! So, I can finally follow her directions exactly. But this is very recent, and before now, I bought the King Arthur White Wheat Flour with a great result!!! I also use SAF Instant yeast. Now that I have tried it, there is no going back. It is amazingly easy!!

Here is her recipe, adapted to the way I used it BEFORE I bought the grinder!

Start with having 18 or so cups of white wheat flour available, the majority of a 5 pound bag.

6 cups warm water (120-130 degrees)
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup oil (I use coconut oil, but any oil will do.)
5 cups of white wheat flour
(She calls for 4T of dough enhancer, but I have never used it. I plan to in the near future, though.)
3T. SAF instant yeast

In a heavy duty mixer bowl with a dough hook attachment or a large bowl if needing by hand, mix slightly until blended. Cover and allow to sponge for 15-30 minutes. This develops more flavor, but is optional.

Then add: 2T salt.

=>=>I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Without the salt, this bread is flavorless, over-risen and a waste of calories, in my humble opinion! I know, because I have forgotten this more than once. Ugh. Not good.<=<=

Now, add another 11-13 cups of flour, mixing in quickly, until the dough cleans the sides of the bowls. At this point, add enough flour just to keep it from being too wet. All totaled, I rarely use more than 17 cups of flour.

If needing with a mixer, need for 5-7 minutes, if needing by hand, it will take at the very least 10 minutes. Probably more. You want it to be a good, smooth, well developed dough. Divide evenly into your greased pans, whether 4 or 5, and allow it to rise, covered, to about an inch over the top of the pan. In my warm house, this takes about 30 minutes.

Put the bread into a 350 degree oven for about 30-35 minutes, and you have what for us is about a week's worth of bread! I allow them to cool on a wire rack until fully cooled, and then I freeze all but the one I am planning to eat next. That way they are "first day" fresh when we get around to them.

Okay, if you have questions, let me know. One of these days I'll do a pictorial on this whole process, but at least now you have the recipe! Enjoy!!!

Gardening in Indiana, Texan at heart

For several years now, I have had a special packet tucked away in the drawer of my bedside table. It was sent by a friend of mine, and I have longed to use it. Year after year, though, something has always stopped me. Sometimes it was an overly full schedule. Sometimes it was a pregnancy that had me so uncomfortable I didn't want to do anything at all. Not this year! Not this spring. I have finally used it!

I know you are DYING to know, "What was in the packet, Julie?" Well, I'll tell you! It was a packet of Texas Bluebonnet seeds. If you have never seen a field of Texas Bluebonnets in the spring, you have truly missed one of God's most beautiful creations on the earth! In April, the state of Texas is temporarily the most breathtaking shade of blue you have ever seen, like it has been covered in a giant, blue carpet!

I have had my doubts, however, about the ability of our heavy clay soil here in Indiana to grow a flower that thrives in the dry, sandy soil of the Lone Star State. With good reason, too. Here is what I found today on the internet about it. "Bluebonnets cannot tolerate poorly drained, clay-based soils. Seeds planted in poorly drained soils will germinate, but plants will never fully develop. Seedlings will become either stunted or will turn yellow and die." Sigh.

This year, since I am not pregnant, and I have carved out for us a very calm Spring, the seeds are in the ground. So far, they are just beginning to pop up. At least I think they are. Little green leaves have appeared recently, giving me hope that I may have a bluebonnet garden yet. However, some of the sprouting leaves appear to be weeds. And some appear to be the Japanese Spurge I have been trying to get rid of for the last 3 years. A few look unfamiliar, and my hopes are that these will be Bluebonnets.

So, the boys and I are on Bluebonnet watch. And we are anxiously awaiting Mother's Day, after which we can plant our veggie garden, according to our local gardening experts. We purchased a whole bunch of non-GMO heirloom seeds this year, and are so excited to plant them! In my heart of hearts, though, I just really want to see one, two, maybe a whole bed full of Bluebonnets!! I'll keep you informed of what happens with my sprouts!

I can honestly say that I don't miss much about Texas. I grew up there, but I appear to be a midwesterner at heart. There are two things I do miss about Texas: My family is there, and so are the Bluebonnets! Well, this summer my family is visiting. Let's hope the Bluebonnets will, too!

New Home, New Direction!

Welcome to my new home!!! Formerly "Bucketloads of Boys", this new blog will be a place where I can share the happenings of my very interesting and highly entertaining family!

I'll introduce myself for those of you who are new to my blog. My name is Julie, and I'm a Christian wife, mom, homeschooler and musician. These 5 words, (minus the "and") are the best descriptors I can use to give you a little snapshot of me. They are "me", listed in order of importance.

First, I am a Christian. There is nothing in my life that is as important to me as this. You'll probably see this as we go along! Hopefully you will see in my life a picture of a woman who passionately desires to follow Christ with her whole being!

Second, I am a wife. I have been married to my beloved husband, Jeff, for almost 13 years, and it is truly getting better every year. For sure, he gets better looking every year!

Third, I am a mom to four handsome, crazy boys and one precious, sweet little girl. (They are pictured above with me and Jeff.) They bring a lot of joy, excitement and angst to my life! Just keepin' it real, folks. They are my heart and soul and every day with them is an adventure to say the least!

Fourth, I am a homeschooler. Thankfully I am surrounded by a wonderful community of homeschoolers in my midwestern state that support and rally around each other, so we have a very fun, full life as home educators! The boys do so well in school, and are learning and growing at an alarming rate!

Lastly, I am a musician. At this stage in my life, I currently sing in my church as often as possible. This has been a very fulfilling ministry for me, and it fits in with my busy mommy life. In my past life, pre-children, I traveled and sang with a christian music ministry, and had quite a wonderful time at it. I gave it up to stay home with my kiddos, and while I would like to say I never regretted it, I cannot honestly claim that! Every mom has a hard day, right?? I can honestly say it was the best decision I ever made, and that God has given me a great outlet for the talents He has given me in the worship arts ministry of my church! He is so good to fulfill the desires of our hearts!

All right, there is the overview of this particular blogger and her life! From here on out you will be getting to look into my weird, wacky, fun, exhausting, blessed life! Aren't you excited??

More to come soon!