foundation for a legacy

 

This past week we celebrated at the annual SpringHill Christmas party.  It is always such a treat to gather all Michigan, Indiana and Daycamp staff and volunteers together and fellowship, something that doesn’t occur often as we are usually the ones serving from several location.  I love this group of people, for the shared vision and commitment to Jesus and kids.

This year our party coordinator/detail extraordinaire Dina, included us on the fun!  All the centerpieces were made by staff/volunteers and were part of a game.  Guess that Christmas Carol…  Mine I  bet will be obvious to you.  I was so excited to put my ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ votives together I was literally the first one to decorate my table, and one of the first ones to the party.   I tried to leave my hands open as to who would join us at our table and prayed that Jesus would bring the right people to the spots.  Well you can imagine my disappointment when after 35+ minutes of mingling not a single person sat at our table!

 

A little crushed and dinner almost ready to begin, two couples discreetly entered in.  Chuck and his wife, one of our creative duo at Site and Enoch and Joan, our Camp founders.  My fears aside, He brought just the right people, I am so thankful.  Even though we were the closest to the buffet line we were the last table called.  I didn’t mind,  I was in awe of the conversation taking place with Chuck and Enoch talking shop about the dining hall renovation.  Of all the conversations I hear around camp about kids, numbers, revenues… these two were talking about details of the building, specifically floor tiles.

Enoch recounted the 8000 tiles he personally laid in the original dining hall and still exist today in the space.  Talk about laying a foundation for a legacy!  I love that such a dynamic and personal leader was willing to get on his hands and knees to serve a place that reaches so many.  What a great example of humility to all who aim to serve.  Being willing to do even the most redundant lowly projects, that get walked on every day, not for recognition because it’s what needs to be done!   Not delegating just doing.  Something both of these men know a lot about.

I don’t think I could have hand-picked two better couples to sit with.  What a delightful evening it turned out to be, plus the girls crushed at family feud!   To pass on the fun, can you pick out some of the carols?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the  donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night,  God gave the world his wonderful gift.  The baby that would change the world was born.  His baby son… And they gazed in wonder at God’s Great Gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.  Mary and Joseph named him Jesus, “Emmanuel” – which means “God has come to live with us.”   – Jesus Storybook Bible

the exchange…

The annual cookie exchange with my SpringHill ladies – always one of the best parties of the year.  I exchanged ice cream for cookies this year the choices were; gingerbread, peppermint, mint chocolate, cannoli and caramel egg nog.  I loved these sweet little pint containers, so convenient!

One of the best exchanges of the evening though was the sharing of hearts as we are able to catch up with those in town for the holidays and friends separated for weeks by busy schedules.  I love these ladies, who they are, what the do, what they believe in and certainly for what they make!  Those moments of exchange as we mingle around the room will last much longer than the temporary sweet treats, and nourish the soul.  Thanks ladies for another great tradition!

right side up.

This is what I am loving these days, blue skies, boundless energy, bubbles, beach time, and my babies.  Kids they know how to do summer right, playing outside in the sun, covered filthy in fun, and end each day completely exhausted from their escapades, fully satisfied.  Happy July – hope all have a patriotic weekend!

Reflection by Shel Silverstein

Each time I see the Upside-Down Man

Standing in the water,

I look at him and start to laugh,

Although I shouldn’t oughtter.

For maybe in another world

Another time

Another town,

Maybe HE is right side up 

And I am upside down.

fluffy snow & salty breezes

With 4+ new inches of snow and still falling I am wishing we had different spring break plans… somewhere warm and tropical like Mexico or costa rica.  Today there were giant fluffy flakes, the kind you dream about days before Christmas, covering the ground and turning the top of your head white the moment you walk outside.  Now that it is march, those dream are long gone and open floodgates for oceans, vibrant colors, salty breezes.   Just to see the ground would be beautiful, not to mention bulbs sprouting, green, temperatures warm enough to bare even your wrist to the outdoor elements.  I spent a few moments today window shopping on Etsy, after storyhour.  This little collection  warms me up and encourages me to enjoy the pure white backdrop, spring is coming.  There are just some great and talented artists out there, I am always inspired by browsing others handy work.

need a retreat? yurt on.

My husband has this dream of building our own home, a beautiful timber-frame home.  I love when he draws home plans and researches, and pray that one day it may become a reality.  I truly love the look of exposed beams and large windows. Perhaps it makes smaller spaces seem more open.  He has great ideas, not that I don’t have a few of my own to contribute…

I am drawn to the idea of a handmade home, beautiful and functional and serves as retreat surrounded by nature.  I dream of land for a decent garden, room for gatherings, and a studio,  ooh and being water too, is that too much to ask?

A while back I stumbled along a story of the Farrells who built a little respite of their own.  They gathered fifty of their closest friends to help them build a yurt in the Adirondack Mountains.   They finished in 10 days and have been visiting the site for the last 30 years, adding a sauna, stream powered hot tub and several other buildings along the way.  Check out more of their great story and pictures here.

While this is not a timber-frame home or their primary residence I love that the basis of this place is quality time and community.   When put that way, I realize I am part of a little community just like this, SpringHill!  I think this is what draws people to camp, are the memories associated with being around nature, a common faith, campfires and unique housing (but we call our yurts, wigwams…)  No hot-tub or sauna yet but we have plenty of lakes and streams.  As the snow melts our winter retreats are finishing up and the landscape begins to look a little more like this… oh summer, come forth, we are ready!

I am thankful that no matter how much I can dream up, I have a maker who created the heavens and the earth and has already blessed me beyond my imagination.

game night & strawberry ice-cream

Great way to celebrate Valentines, last night we invited another family over for game night with decadent desserts.  Which was a bit tricky since our oven decided to stop working but we managed to whip up  a fresh batch of strawberry ice-cream, molten-lava cakes (sorry no pictures), strawberry-rhubarb pie, last weeks peanut butter banana ice cream, fresh berries, and chocolate whip cream.  What a treat!

I am so thankful to live in a community with great friends who have kiddos the same age as ours.  It is a pleasure to see them play and love on each other.   The adults enjoyed a round of Ticket to Ride (best game ever) and I can’t believe I lost.  I feel a little rematch in the making….!

Strawberry Ice-cream

2 cups whipping cream

1 cup milk

1 cup strawberries puree

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

I used frozen berries that we picked last summer.  They still taste just as sweet and fresh, it makes me look forward to this years season.   Puree the berries with milk, mix eggs and sugar together with a whisk before adding the rest of the ingredients.  Pour all into the maker, freeze according to your machine’s instructions.  I found that it solidified a bit faster in the ice-cream maker when using the frozen fruit.  So delicious and Pink!

May this be your warning… I feel like I needed to get a grasp on my base recipes before I start adding crazy flavors into the mix.  When I start posting frozen yogurt recipes you’ll know the heavy cream has caught up to me.

 

 

 

little friday love

Valentine’s day is almost here, which is very exciting in a house full of girls. Without much choice being a mother of two girls is all about sparkly things, laundry loads of pink clothes, barretts scattered about the house, and hours upon hours of playing dollhouse. Nut and I had  a little crafting session this morning, an event we both heart.

First up felted rocks (or rock sweaters as we call them) – which are just fun to have around, I have yet to find a “useful function for them,” how many paper weights does one really need!  The we followed it up with a bit of festive coloring.  Tater has her class party on Monday so I am sure there is more in store for this weekend at least valentines cards and class treat.

{this moment}

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. Find out more about this ritual at soulemama.com

I have to write a few words… Just want to give a heads up, next week I am posting a series of working in clay – reflections from a potter.  I am so excited to share about what has been laid on my heart.  Also I will be posting more pendant necklaces and hosting the first sale in my shop all next week, stoneware pendants will be 20% off.  I am looking forward to this weekend and enjoying the sun glistening on the snow!

tarte aux pommes & vanilla bean ice-cream

Did I mention I got an ice-cream maker for Christmas?  Like all kitchen tools, I think it is really for my A instead of me , since he’s the ice-cream lover but it is fun and super easy to make.  The girls love helping – making & eating!  This is our fourth recipe in as many weeks…  somehow maple walnut, mint oreo, and starbucks coffee have vanished before I could dish about them.  Lets see how many weeks we can go without repeating a recipe…perhaps this will be a new tradition in 2011.

Vanilla Bean Ice-cream

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 vanilla beans, split lengthwise
• 2 large eggs
  

Combine cream, milk, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan. Scrape seeds from vanilla beans with tip of a knife into cream mixture, then drop in pods. Heat cream mixture just to a boil.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour mixture into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and registers 170°F on thermometer (do not let boil).

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean metal bowl, then cool, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold.

Freeze custard in an ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer.

* the scrumptious tarte aux pommes is from Julia Child’s Mastering the art of French Cooking.

practically perfect

We took our girls to see Mary Poppins this week at the Detroit Opera House.  It really is not what you expect and perfectly wonderful at the same time.  Did you know there are eight Mary Poppins books  written by P.L Travers?  The play wove together different scenes and characters of the stories as well as music and scenes adapted from Disney’s movie version.  There was quite a bit of new content for me.

I was caught slightly off guard by the storyline, but the excellent stage and second act sold me.   The set was gorgeous, especially the house which opened like the page of a pop out book or more so like a storybook, fitting for a drama highlighting a children’s book.  The step-in-time scene was magical in its own right, the dancing and set pieces were whirling in and out of sight, additionally the dancers threw in elements that acoustically reminded me of stomp.  My girls were entranced, H leaned over “Mom, this was a really good idea.”

After more research online I really am amazed with the details in the production, and the depth of the story.  I think I need to see if our little local library has the collection.  There were costume changes, kites, a bit of magic, and of course flying.  The best was saved for last when she flew literally over us.  We were in the front balcony on the left side, yup there went Mary right over the audience, right over us.  Amazingly magical!

My girls were all decked out, because if you don’t dress up to go to the theater what do you get dressed up for?  My mom and sister gave them these beautiful dresses for their birthdays, which I am thankful (that takes care of all holiday wear). My grandmother loved the opera and theater being a bit of a performer herself.   When she passed away I inherited a number of her costume jewelry pieces.  I thought this would be a perfect occasion to share them with my girls, one with faux emeralds, and the other faux sapphires.  We were talking about how auntie E would most likely cry when she saw the whole ensemble, “why” they asked.  “Oh, because she is sentimental, which means you cry easily.”  Sure enough, center theater, E enters with tears, “ See” I told them “sentimental.”