Baby Ducks, Baby Chicks, Baby Cats

Ok, everyone. I've got to keep it real. I'd love everyone to believe that I live an always happy, sinless, organized life with an adoring husband and clean obedient children. But you've read this blog before and you know that's not the whole truth. Life is not always very beautiful or exciting. And I have a confession.

Our cat, Buster, ran away.
Last January.
I didn't want to tell you because that's not very flattering.

Anyway, we have all been sad that Buster left that fateful Monday night, never to return. The kids have cried and cried and asked about him and prayed for him, but we never saw him again.

Tim told the children that if we ever heard of any other free kittens being born to friends from church that we could adopt another kitty. Well, the email came on April 5th (which happened to be our 8th wedding anniversary). Our friends who live in Elizabeth, CO, had a litter of 4 kittens, 1 female and 3 males. (Tim laid the ground rule that we'd have to get another boy cat~ I guess he doesn't want to start our own kitten factory.) Well, this past Sunday we were able to stop by our friends' house and claim a kitty.

It must truly be spring because they also had baby ducks and baby chicks, all ready to explore outside in the beautiful weather.

Once the box with the kittens was brought out, one by one, the baby cats began to emerge...

The first two were practically identical.

Then this guy popped his head out, and we knew there was something special about him.

Adam was more interested in studying the ducks and baby chicks.

We finally decided that kitty #3, with his beautiful blue eyes and tan coat with black stripes, was the one for us.

It was love at first sight.

We'd been tossing some cat names around for a few days and Dabney and Josh had their favorites (Josh was set on re-naming our new cat Buster) but as soon as we looked at that adorable fella, we knew one of them was perfect.

We've named him Shasta.

This midnight kitty was the sister. She was very shy.

This is the mama kitty. We weren't too popular with her and she did not pose for the camera.
Maybe because we keep talking about taking away one of her babies.

January Pajama Days

Joy to the World!

Ok, I admit it. I have severely disappointed myself with this blog, by not posting as much as I thought I could since Adam was born. I still like to write and post pictures, but things have been pretty slow-moving around here. I like to think that the old locomotive train is still in it's first moments of sputtering and starting and jolting before it can pick up speed and roll smoothly. Anyway, I meant to write a Thanksgiving post about 2 weeks ago, and here it is December 17th. So what I decided to do is write a Thanksgiving /Christmas letter hybrid. It turned out kind of long. I'd apologize, but it's my website. You might want to settle in with some hot chocolate and a cookie or two. Here it goes~ the mother of all blog posts for 2009.

This year 2009 was a great year for us Giedds.

In January, we had our loft converted into a fourth bedroom for our burgeoning family. A good friend at church did a fabulous job at a very good price. We are so thankful for the new and better used space. In mid-January we had our ultrasound and discovered that God was giving us another son, due in late spring. We were shocked and thrilled that God would entrust us with another little Giedd man.

Dabney turned 5 years old in February. We cannot believe our first baby is so big. She is a sweetheart and a huge help to her Mama. She loves her brothers dearly and plays kindly with them. She loves to read by herself and also to read to the boys. She helps me cook and clean and she is an expert sock matcher and folder. And even as she is approaching 6 (!), we see her growing in godliness every week. She has a servant's heart and she is an enormous blessing to our family.

I must confess, we hibernated awhile in spring. We homeschooled and read together and rested and prepared and organized in anticipation for our little guy. Also in April, Tim and I celebrated 6 years of marriage together.
On June 10th, 2009 (at 1:24pm) we welcomed our Sweet Timothy Adam into our family. He has been nothing but a joy to all of us. He smiles constantly. From his early morning grin to his sleepy smile in the late hours, our Adam is the most cheerful baby we've seen. He's growing like a weed and thoroughly enjoys watching and playing with his brothers and sister. Now, at 6 months, he moves incessantly. He bounces whenever he's awake. He kicks his legs when he nurses, and loves to move in his exersaucer. Recently, we put up the doorway jumper and he had a blast!

Also in June, we had a great visit with the Lloyds who came to meet the newest Giedd. We had so much fun, but visits like that never last long enough. We were so thankful that they were able to come and visit.

July brought our Joshua's 2nd birthday. Even though he's still pretty young, Josh been acting more and more grown up lately. He's speaking right on par with his brother and sister and it is such a treat to hear what's on our little guy's heart. He is rarely seen without a book in his hand these days and you will be his best friend if you sit down to read him a story. He's also taken up his brother's pattern blocks and worksheets (as you noticed in the last post, no doubt) and he does really well with them. He also excels with puzzles, appreciates organization, and on occasion raids my wallet (with permission) for small coins for his bank.

In August, we set up bunk beds for the boys. These beds are pretty close to my heart, because they are the very beds my brother and I slept on when we were in elementary school. David of course is the king of the top bunk and we're still trying to convince Joshua that the bottom bunk is more fun than his crib. More on that later.
In October, we switched the kids' rooms around and painted and played musical bedroom furniture for a while before we found a configuration that works for us.

Last month, Tim and I had a long expected date night, and we had a great Thanksgiving with delicious food and fabulous friends. Tim was also able to go back to Bismarck for a few days to visit his folks before Thanksgiving. He had a wonderful and very blessed time with them.

As I write this, our David James will turn 4 years old in exactly 1 week. Four years old. Unbelievable. My Christmas Eve baby. We've seen such growth from him in this past year. Tim and I joke that he's a 3 year old, but could pass for 8 any day of the week. This kid meets his goals undeterred. This is good news, we think. We know he will do well in sports eventually. Of course, if he sets his heart to superglue his brother's hand to the counter, he could do that too. (David doesn't sleep as much as I would like, but lately I've been thinking if we enroll him in some extreme martial arts class it might give him an extra hour or so in the morning. But that also might give him the ability to inflict terrible harm and destruction... Nevermind.) He still has a joyous heart and sings loudly and often and he wears that heart on his sleeve, praise God. David is a whirling dervish of smiling excitement.

As you can see from lack of excitement in this years update, we have slowed down our pace of life. We have 4 kids, ages 5 and under. We've decided to take it easy and focus on the kids. To not have them in life's periphery, but front and center. Our kids are small now, but one day they will not be small. One day we might wish for these days back. I look at our this year's family picture and rejoice in the fact that Tim and I can physically hold them all, at the same time. In 10 short years, we will have 2 teenagers and 2 preteens in the house. By that time, most of their "cement" will have set. These are the days to focus on character building and foundation laying. So, this year we've been enjoying the slow, less exciting times when we can do simple things together. Like going to the park, all 6 of us, as a family. Like making Christmas cookies and reading books together and coloring pictures and having popcorn and movie night.


We are so thankful for the myriad blessings showered upon us. We cannot even name them all; they permeate our lives.

We are especially thankful for a job this year. After that almost-crash with the stock market last year, we are mindful of the blessing of employment. It was a tough year for us financially, (did I mention that the stock market directly affects Tim's job every day?) but we are still employed and God has met every need and so many of our desires. Like the 4th bedroom. Warm socks for all of the 40 small toes, and 20 bigger toes in our house. Like a nice steam iron that makes my life much easier. Like a treadmill so I can exercise and still watch the kids.We are so thankful for our health and our children's. Even when we have colds and coughs, we are still incredibly healthy. We try to remind the kids of this~ I never want them to take that for granted. We have still never missed a mortgage payment when there are so many thousands of foreclosures around us. We have money for good food, and good food to share. We have fudge on the counter and lights on the front of our warm home. I even splurged last week and bought a remote control for the outside lights so I don't have to open the door when it's 4 degrees outside to turn them off. We had no broken bones or stitches this year, and only 1 concussion. We have 3 boys! Those statistics are wonderful! We are thankful for phones and the internet and this blog because my family lives across the ocean. We are thankful for the freedom to homeschool and kids who love to learn. I'm thankful for online shopping so I don't have to drag my children all over creation to find what we need. I'm thankful for treats like Starbucks lattes.

I heart my space heater.

I'm thankful I live near a Costco. I'm thankful for my freezers that allow me to cook big one day and keep the rest ready at a moment's notice. I'm thankful for my kids' help around the house. Every Monday they help sort and deliver the laundry to the washer. Then they help bring the laundry back upstairs and fold it with me. I never have to put the silverware away anymore~ the kids love that job. I'm thankful for my parents and siblings. They support and encourage me every day. I'm thankful for my wonderful husband. He's always been faithful to me and the children and he spends his extra time finding ways to provide well. I'm thankful for such a great dad for my kids. He's so thoughtful and he takes his responsibilities very seriously. I love him more today than I did in April '03. I'm thankful that God saved me out of the mire of sin and redeemed a dirty, worthless girl. I don't deserve adoption.

So, with all of these things in mind, I say "Merry Christmas from the Giedds". May God be kind to you in the new year and may you remember with gratefulness the multitude of blessings he has spread over your family and all of His creation~ far as the curse is found.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had Thanksgiving dinner this year On the Corner of Here and There this year with our friends Brian and Tracy and their kids and a few other guests. As you can see, we feasted! Dinner was delicious and the hospitality and fellowship was impeccable.

This is a thankfulness tree that the kids and I made a few weeks ago. I made the trunk and branches out of posterboard and for the leaves, we took those little foamy sheets from the craft store and used cookie cutters to cut out leaf shapes and wrote different things that we are thankful for on them. The kids had so much fun doing this project, and I'm so glad they had to actively think about all of the blessings God has given to us. I hope to do this again next year so I think I might write the year on the back of the leaves and keep them and compare them with next year's.

Kennett Square Apple Cake

Um, this picture is awful. On top of not being a photographer, this was a spur of the minute photo towards the end of the last Bible study hosted at our home. I had been meaning to post this recipe, but by the time I remembered to take a picture of the cake, there was only one last lonely piece left. I'll try to post better picture when I make it again. I am in love with this cake. It is on my list of "Top 5 Things I love about Autumn".

Although I live in Colorado, I grew up in the Delaware Valley and this cake reminds me of home. The cooling days and the crisp nights, especially after Daylights Savings Time. I love to remember our gorgeous crabapple tree and the most extraordinary yellow mums you've ever seen lining the front of our house. Remember the night we went to that community meeting in that ancient Shaker Church to learn about the history of New Garden Township, Mom? So much fun. I thought for sure we'd see the headless horseman on the way home on those back roads. Ah, my beloved Landenberg.

Anyway, I digress. Back to the cake. You will be so happy that you've baked this cake. It will fill your home with the smell of comfort and warmth. Your kids will smell it's goodness from down the street and be so thankful that they live in your house. Your husband will take a bite, sigh and tell you that he loves you.

It's possible to make the cake without the caramel sauce but I wouldn't recommend it.

1.5 c vegetable oil
1.5 c sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg (fresh, of course)
1/2 tsp salt
3.5- 4.5 c. apples, peeled cored and chopped
2 tsp vanilla
1 c. chopped walnuts (opt.)

Mix together oils and sugars well in a stand mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl, then add to the sugar and egg mixture. Mix well, the batter will be very stiff. Fold in apples, vanilla, and walnuts (if you wish). Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes in a 10" tube pan.

Caramel Sauce
Combine 6 Tbsp butter, 6 Tbsp brown sugar, 6 Tbsp white sugar, 6 Tbsp heavy cream, and 1/2 tsp vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir constantly. Boil 2 minutes. Allow to cool and pour over cake, or slice the cake and pour over the individual slices.

Savor the gorgeous autumn.

Butternut Squash Soup

I am a fall food fanatic. I admit it. When that hint of chill in the air hits my senses in late August or beginning of September, I immediately begin thinking of food. Apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin, kale, squash. Before summer is even over, I get itchy just thinking about apple and pumpkin picking at our favorite orchard. I get the urge to make huge vats of soup and hearty stew and stash it in the freezer for my family. I guess it's another form of nesting for me.

So the other day I had Tim pick up a few good whole butternut squash on his way home from work. I was craving this soup, and since we had snow on Monday and Tuesday, I felt entitled to some warm fall food simmering on the stove. This soup is easy and delicious and healthy and delicious. In fact it might be my favorite soup ever. Here's how you make it.

Split open 2 butternut squash (about 2 lbs each). Scrape out the seeds and place cut side down on a sheet pan drizzled with olive oil to prevent sticking. Quarter 2 onions and peel, core and slice 2 good firm apples and also place on said sheet pan. Roast these vegetables in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the squash is easily pierced with a knife. While it's roasting, add 4 cans of chicken stock to a large stock pot and add 3 bay leaves and 1/2 tsp thyme. Keep it warm until the squash, apples, and onions are ready. When they come out of the oven, add the onions and apples to the stock. Peel the squash skin away and also add the squash to the pot in small sections. Boil on the stove for 30-40 minutes. Let the soup cool for a little while, and remove the bay leaves, then process in your favorite food processor in batches until it is smooth, velvety and delicious.

There you have it. An abundance of gorgeous, easy, seasonal, and very healthy soup with no sugar, butter, oil or preservatives. Go put a pair of socks on and enjoy!

Excused Absesnce

I’m back!

Ok, so I took a little vacation from the blog, but I’m glad to be posting again. Things have been a whirlwind around here lately. I told a friend yesterday that we’re creating a new normal, and that’s exactly how I feel. We’re settling into a groove with our new bundle of smiley sweetness. Speaking of little Adam, he’s growing bigger by the minute. Babies don’t keep, that’s for sure. He’s sleeping like a champ and recently started sucking his thumb or fist, although he’s not crazy about pacifiers. He’s my constant shadow and his huge grin lights up my day.



We’ve also begun kindergarten in earnest in the past few weeks. Although Dabney and David love their schoolwork, I still have to “encourage” them to focus and pay attention. Dabney is halfway through Math-U-See Primer, beginning her Writing Road to Reading notebook (she’s mastered her phonograms and loves to read Bob Books), and we are slowly beginning Shurley English 1. The English is a pretty rigorous course (which I like) so we’re easing into it. We’re continuing with Drawing for Children (I need to be more consistent with structured art this year ~ my children are addicted to what David calls ‘projecks’.) We also found a good Colorado state history book with a fabulous teacher manual that will make state history for kindergarten through 3rd grade a breeze. I’ve got quite a few more great books on their way and boy do I love to get books in the mail. I’ve mastered a great system using Half.com to get wonderful books for way cheap. I wish I could buy books all day long.

Another reason I’ve been so delinquent with the blog, is that I’ve been successfully working off the baby weight during the kids’ naptime. In fact with diet and exercise, I’ve lost 46 lbs since little guy was born. Not bad considering I gained about 27 lbs with Adam. I’m not usually a huge fan of exercise, but I’ve been enjoying my time alone while the house is quiet, with my iPod cranked up loud. Ironically, I can think freely with my earbuds in and I feel so much better after I go for my run. Actually, I’ve gotten quite a bit faster in my few months of running~ I’ve gained a whole mph.! (I’m not going to tell you exactly how fast I run because I know a few of you ladies out there could wipe the floor with me and my weak pace!) By taking the very few spare minutes of my day, I know I’m doing something good for myself and for my family.


I think we really are getting more comfortable in our routines and I think the fall has something to do with that. Life is becoming slightly more predictable and structured. I think the kids have security in their routines, not to mention myself.


Autumn is starting to show itself here in Colorado. There’s a crisp in the air in the evenings and when the kids wake us in the mornings. Our largest tree out front has hints of yellow around the edges of its leaves and almost all of our mums are ready to burst forth in bloom. We all enjoyed dinner al fresco a few nights ago, but I think that will be the last of the season. I’m looking forward to sock weather.

Making the Best of April (Snow) Showers

It began as a romp in the newly fallen snow..

then Daddy came outside and it erupted into a good-natured snowball fight...

Finally they decided to build a snowman.

And what a snowman it was!