Leben

City Seminary of Sacramento publishes a quarterly biographical journal called Leben: a journal of Reformation life ( http://www.leben.us/ ). Though probably not everyone's cup of tea, this history major finds it quite interesting, and I think even those who are not history buffs would enjoy going through and looking at the historical art and photographs. I am currently taking advantage of their free introductory offer.

Don't know much about the seminary itself (except that it is small and committed to its students going through without debt), but if the publication reflects the institution, it would seem to be of respectable quality. The most recent issue contained the first half of an engaging article on Katie Luther. I intend to share bits and pieces of that article, perhaps along with a few of my responsive ruminations, in future posts.

Creation 101

Conversation during a coloring session this morning:

Lewis (3): "God can color even better than we can."

Ian (7): "Yup."

Anna (5): "He colored everything we see."

Maternal Instincts

There was some excitement in the master bedroom last night . . . though not the kind one would normally expect in such a room. It was the middle of the night, and I was in the middle of some sort of dream involving a baby when lo and behold, my husband rolls over or shifts around or something, and I think the baby's about to fall off the bed. (This makes even less sense when I ponder the fact that we have never kept our baby in bed with us at night.) Anyway, I did what any caring mother would do and threw my arm rather violently around the "baby" to keep it from plunging over the side. Titus let out the sort of yell you'd expect from a man who thinks he's being attacked. The unexpected maturity of his noise-making quickly brought me to my senses, and I laughed my apology. Thankfully, Titus saw the humor in the situation, too, and we laughed intermittently for about the next five minutes--which is a long time for my husband to stay awake in the middle of the night.

Catechism

We have a little booklet containing several different catechisms for small children. Our favorite work from this booklet is "The Child's Scripture Catechism" because each answer is merely a portion of a verse and its reference--very doable for our young children. And as we have only one copy, I was relieved to learn I could purchase more copies of this useful work at http://www.triviumpursuit.com/ for only three pesos.

Just Hangin' Around

Being the mother of five small-ish children, I don't tend to run in the direction of every cry I hear. There are far too many of them, and I'm generally content to let the problem come to me. This morning it was a little different, though.

Anna (5) and Lewis (3) were in the bathroom finishing a session with the toothbrushes when I heard a somewhat alarming cry, a bit of commotion, and then Anna directing in excited tones, "You stay there; I'll get Mom!" That was enough to bring me running.

When I arrived upon the scene, I observed the top half of Lewis clinging diligently to the top of the vanity, while his bottom half was in a contorted position due to the fact that the knob to a drawer had somehow made its way though the bottom of one leg of his jean shorts. His shorts had no holes that I was aware of before he put them on, but they definitely had one now.

Best I can tell, Lewis was in the process of falling off his toothbrushing perch on top of the vanity when plucked out of mid-air by the heroic drawer. The way I envision things happening, Anna kindly helped him get right side up before calling in reinforcements. Anyhow, what I do know is that the now perforated leg of the garment was so tightly wound around the drawer knob, I had to take Lewis out of his shorts in order to rectify the situation.

Evangeline Mobility

Eva is now almost 8 months, and she is officially mobile. As in, you set her down, turn your head for just a sec, and she's halfway across the house in search of the nearest trash can or door stop. Eva has the funniest mode of locomotion we've seen in this household. Rather than assume the traditional crawling position, she puts one foot flat on the floor and tucks the other leg under so she's sitting on her hip. Using knees for crawling is entirely too conventional for this creative little one.

Healthy Cookies

We've finally found another Nourishing Traditions recipe we really enjoy
--meaning it tastes great and is very simple.

Rasin Nut Cookies (makes about 2 dozen)

1/2 c. whole yoghurt
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/4 t. sea salt
1 1/2 c. freshly ground whole wheat, kamut, or spelt flour
1 c. Rapadura
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins
3/4 c. crispy walnuts or pecans, chopped

Blend yoghurt, butter, flour and salt. Place in a bowl; cover and leave at room temperature for 12-24 hours. Beat in Rapadura, vanilla and cinnamon until dough is very smooth. Blend in raisins and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls on buttered cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let cool completely before removing from pan. Store in refrigerator.