Kid Quotes of the Week!

We all know that some of the greatest comments come from the mouths of children, it is no different here!  While on our way to pick up some of the kids friends some of the following were overheard from the backseat...

"Mom's paddle's gonna be HOT!"  ( Andrew in reference to his prediction of Deborah's attitude and Mom's reaction to it!)

"Bugglegum" instead of "Bubblegum" (Hannah)

"Albaga" instead of "Algebra" (Deborah... and no matter how hard she tried she could not make it come out right)

"Ummmm does anyone mind if I change the subject?" (Dan, when tired of girl talk)

"I'm so excited they're comin' so we don't have no school!"  (Multiple kids...)

Not to mention the liberal and regular use of "ain't" and amazing country accents and draws that continually pop into conversation!

They usually do have better grammar than mentioned above, and in spite of the grammar issues that do occur we have had lots of fun conversations.  I think everyone should talk with a third grader once in a while to be reminded of the importance of the little things in life... you might just get to hear "You're the bestest in the whole world!" on occasion too!

Newest Little Brother

For those of you who don't know, my parents are in the process of adopting again!  This is really cool and really crazy for me.  I am happy my parents adopt, and my four youngest siblings are no less my siblings because they are adopted, in fact I couldn't imagine our lives without them right now.  The really crazy part about this adoption is the circumstances surrounding the child they are pursuing this time.  They are considering adopting an older boy!  Had you told me this would be happening a year ago I would have called you a liar but some wild things have come together all at once.

After a mission trip to Ukraine this year my parents were made aware of some older children (9-12) who still wanted to be adopted.  After listening to this story they really felt a burden that they should adopt again and quickly started the adoption process (they are really thinking a boy).  The kids soon joined in on the excitement and are continually seeing what they can do to help.  During this process the boy's room has been remodeled (carpet taken up, wallpaper down, and painted) and Mom and Dad have gone through countless paperwork.  They were hoping to have their approval and send their paperwork with another mission group leaving this weekend.  Sadly they have not received all of their paperwork back as soon as they were planning and will need to send it at a later date.  Despite this fact their paperwork has progressed much more quickly than I remember in any of the previous adoptions and they are hopeful to have a new child before Christmas.

Some crazy hoops have been jumped through this time around that did not exist before (like the fact that the postal service changed Mom and Dad's address but the address on their deed-which they need a copy of- was not changed), and it has really made me question if Chris and I will have the fortitude to go through this process should we choose to adopt.  I am so happy we have been here to help Mom and Dad out since part of the reason that the process is going quicker is that mom has been able to travel more than usual... and she has been traveling a lot.

Well, moral of the story, Mom and Dad are in the process of bringing us home another sibling and it is harder than I remember, but of course always worth it!

Classes at UF...

I have been trying to register for classes for a week and they still aren't quite right.  It has been quite a trip the last week and a half!  Following is all I learned through the course of at least twenty emails.  In order for all of my paper work at UF to continue smoothly I need to be registered for classes.  Unfortunately, their online registration process is a bear to navigate.  Fortunately, Mr. Smyder in the Hort. office is awesome and offered to sign me up until I get the hang of it.  Unfortunately, their isn't a list of specific classes that I need for my PhD.  Fortunately, Mercy is really cool and willing to work with me and the stuff I am interested in along with what she thinks will be useful.  Unfortunately, most of the classes she thinks I need require Biochem as a prereq at UF.  Fortunately a Biochem for Grad students who have never had Biochem is available.  Unfortunately, it conflicts with several other courses I would like to and could take, but I need this one.  Fortunately I can take a lot of research credits over the course of my PhD. because I am already signed up for three since Biochem conflicts so badly.... and so my academic life begins again.

Mail Order Chicks!

Little meat rooster...

Yep, you read right, we ordered chicks through the mail!  Another sign that the new year is in full swing is at least one box of Chicks in the mail!  Unfortunately, the company sending them shipped them on a Sat. and we didn't receive them until Tuesday.  This is an issue because the chicks are already a day old when they ship them and the yolk them absorb before hatching only last about two days.  So these little chickies went without food and water for 3 days.  We have only lost two, the rest look like they will be healthy despite being quite stressed.  It is always so much fun opening the box and watching the little fluff balls settle in.  This year we purchased twenty some Cornish Crosses (meat birds) and ten Anconas (white egg layers).  In addition to these guys mo has been purchasing eggs for hatching from Eggbay.  It is always so amazing to see the eggs hatch, but I get really impatient during the process!  I am so anxious to see them out of their shells that I am tempted to help them break free... but mom helps me remember that their struggle gets their blood pumping and strengthens their muscles... I still want to help...

A chick hatched from incubator..

The incubator with colorful eggs!

Cracked spot on middle egg, called pip, Chick's first crack!

Asparagus Season!!!

So to those of you who are in the no-greens-are-good-greens category this post will seem odd, but I am SOOO excited by Asparagus today!!! It is finally in season and not being shipped in from Chile and you can tell! I found some in the store yesterday for 1$ per bunch and had to get it to share with the family! It has such better flavor and texture than the bunch I was tempted to buy a month ago that was still out of season. I was re-introduced to Asparagus two summers ago when the couple I was working for (B&P) sent me home with enough for a couple meals. I hadn't eaten Asparagus since I was very young and Mom had a patch. She hasn't had the time or space to grow more and I never liked the canned option. I forgot how much I loved it! Last summer B&P weren't able to share as much but I found a good source at the local farmer's market, what we got there was so fun because they came in so many different sizes than you see in the store. We don't have a market here so I am settling for the best I can find in the store while it is in season, and it's pretty darn good!

In case you are curious in the picture below I sprinkled garlic salt over the spears with thinly sliced butter and broiled them until the spears were tender (about 7-10 minutes), if you are not a butter fan olive oil will substitute but I adhere to Julia Child's theory that a half pound of butter makes everything better! Delicious!

Gardening...

Good Friday always marks the beginning of gardening season in the Garland household. My Father and his father and his father before him have all insisted on getting potatoes in the ground on Good Friday.  When I asked Granddaddy once (it was probably an icky Good Friday) why we HAD to plant them on Good Friday, he responded that Christ went into the ground on Good Friday and HE rose from the earth so if we plant potatoes on Good Friday then THEY will rise too! 

Whether that always works or not it marks when our Garden gets started.  Inevitably it tries to rain on Good Friday even if the ground is in perfect shape before then.  This year was no different so Mom and I were frantically marking and digging rows before rain and wind interrupted us.  Some of the potatoes had to wait until Saturday to be planted along with our cold crops, peas and some lettuce plants (but I don't think it has hurt them too much!).

Last week we direct seeded more lettuce (so it will come in waves and not all at once), radishes, onions, carrots and spinach.  They are poking their heads out this week and I can't wait to make a spring salad from the garden!   The ground was trying to crust over, so the boys set up some sprinklers to keep the new babies from breaking their necks while pushing up through the soil.

I can't wait to get the rest of the garden out, even though we won't be here for all of the harvesting.  I'm not sure why, but I find so much satisfaction in growing and storing our own produce.  Part of it is knowing where our food comes from and what methods and chemicals had been used in its production.  Part of it is the superior quality when you grow on high quality soil, are able to grow unique/heirloom varieties of vegetables,  pick them at the peak of freshness and store them in ways that preserve flavor.  There is also the joy of looking out your window and seeing the neat rows of plants and different shades of green.  All of these things combined contribute to my enjoyment of gardening, but beyond even this there is a wonder I experience every year as the seed push up through the soil, flowers pollinate to form fruit and we enjoy the bounty.  I know these things will happen, and they have happened every year in the past, yet the fact still amazes me when the new year comes. 

It is such a comfort and wonder to me that God has embedded some of His characteristics in the world He created, like His faithfulness.  He will never fail, He always follows through, He always keeps His promises, and He always watches out for His children.  He can be depended on, just like Spring.

Beautiful Blooming Spring

This is a week or two late but I wanted to share some of the beautiful sights this Spring has been offering us here!  I have been waiting a week or so for the apple trees to bloom, I love bringing them in and letting their fragrance fill the house!  Dad has commented several times how nice it has been to really have a Spring the year, I feel like God is giving Chris and I a treat!  Bowling Green often goes quickly from Winter to Summer with a very short Spring, I don't know if we will really have a Winter in Fl., and so it is wonderful to experience a prolonged Spring during our sojourn in Indiana!  Here is some of the beauty we have been treated to lately, I hope you get a chance to enjoy the beauty in your area this week!

Yes I know it a weed, but its also a flower!

There are violets all over but only one spot with white ones.

This Apple Tree has been here as long as I can remember.

Old Apple Tree

Crab Apple

Not sure what this is...

Lovely Red Bud

Pretty Dogwood

Easter fun!

So excited about our new way to color eggs!

We had a wonderful Easter weekend that started on Sat. when my next youngest sister came in to color eggs!  We are always trying to up the stakes and find new techniques to color but haven't been super successful until this year!  I loved our eggs and it was so hard to throw them away when we were done! We got the technique off of Martha Stewart's website and the only major investment were some craft/scrap-booking punches.  We used the regular old egg dye that comes in the kits and punched out designs in vinyl sticky sheets.  We applied the vinyl to the areas that we wanted to keep white, or a particular color before dipping in the next color.  It was kind of time consuming but soooo fun and worth it!  Below are some of the pictures. 

On Sunday we celebrated my sister's b-day before church with an awesome ham dinner and carrot cake.  It was so great to be together with all of my immediate family! Hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend too!

Mom and Dad's basket with extras from Beth and I!

Beth was braver than me and her work paid off!

Beautiful munchkin eggs!

More girl eggs.

Boys eggs (can you tell?)

I love having younger siblings b/c I still get candy 

 

from the Easter bunny!

Happy Birthday Sis!

Are you smarter than...?

While staying with my family our main job is helping Mom home-school my four youngest siblings who are still at home.  It is amazing how much I have forgotten from my elementary years, how much I am remembering and also how many things they learn that I never thought about at their age!

For example, did you know any Latin when you were eight years old? or ten? or twelve?   My munchkins do!  Of course they are not fluent but they have a really good start!  Mom has been really impressed lately with a language arts program that reasons one of the best ways to learn English grammar, vocabulary and semantics is through learning Latin (or another dead language).  We have yet to see the fruits in their English, but the logic seems sound to me.  If you learn the parts and functions of language from a language that has consistent laws and form, it makes transitioning into English, with its inconsistencies, a little more doable.  I know the rules in Greek made so much more sense than those in English and it seems to be the same with Latin.

Just for a brain teaser I have included the prayer they have been memorizing.  In addition to this they have been learning vocabulary, about the appearance and function of verbs, and about different genders in nouns.  Part of why I think this is so cool is that while you are learning vocabulary words you are also learning what English words are derived from the Latin words!  Knowing these word roots sooo would have made the vocab on the G.R.E. easier!

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus

Dominus Deus Sabbaoth.

Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria Tua

Hosanna in excelsis

Benidictus qui venit nomine Dommini

Hosanna in excelsis

It means:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Lord God of Hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of Your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed if he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

More Flowers!

Just wanted to share some pictures of flowers from my wonderful husband!  They did wonders to cheer me and continue to bring me joy!

I chose the shot...

I recently discovered that in order to register for classes at the University of Florida I have to have an updated record of my vaccinations and some of them are mandatory before they will allow you to register... Who knew?!?  I really thought I was done with shots unless I step on a nail or something unfortunate but apparently not!  This should have been a simple thing to resolve, but unfortunately the Murphy gene expressed itself and made it much harder than necessary.  My Mom has not been able to find her copies of my medical records, they are in storage somewhere but we aren't sure where.  This shouldn't be a problem since there should be at least two other places that have my records, the public school I attended for several years and our old pediatric office.  It just so happens that the pediatric office disposes of records if the patient hasn't been there with/in the last five years.  Mom tried the school and after searching through several vaults they were only able to locate an Evelyn Garland.  This is really disturbing b/c they are supposed to keep your records for like twenty to thirty years, Mom has an unconfirmed suspicion however that they got mad and thew our records out when Mom and Dad decided to home-school us.  Last resort was the health nurse, who only had record of one MMR vaccination, I had to have record of two...  It's not like I've never had these shots but in order to prove it I would have to run a titer which is exceptionally expensive.

So I was facing three options.  Pay for a titer (which involves needles), claim that vaccines are against my religious beliefs (which it really isn't a conviction for me so I didn't feel comfortable doing that), or get another free MMR shot to complete the two dose record (which also involved a needle... oddly enough this is the only vaccination that was really required since I'm not going into a health field or an international student).

I chose the shot.

It hurt, but was over quickly.  The whole experience made me really think about what I would choose for my kids, whenever they come along, though.  I made it through all the shots that Mom and Dad chose to give me as a baby, and the one I took last week, but the list of possible side effects they hand you before those vaccinations is terrifying, especially when you consider all of those things happened to someone in order for them to be on the list.  Not to mention the fact that unless you request otherwise they prefer to give children like five at once instead of one at a time.  Mom was also saying that unless you request (sometimes demand) otherwise nurses are ready with vaccinations as soon as you baby is born!  What a welcome to the world!

I'm also odd because I feel that some vaccinations have been developed because it is considered a social norm to sleep with more than one person before you are married, if this is happening then maybe you would benefit from HPV and Hep vaccines.  But if you are trying to live a clean, God-honoring life these are not normally needed.  Before I get jumped on, I'm not saying its wrong to get these vaccines or that no one should have them, in fact if you are traveling abroad without some of these you are putting yourself in danger.  I am saying that some serious consideration should be implemented on the parents part before allowing the M.D. to poke your baby... What am I going to do for our children?  I'll get back to you on that!