A Sugar-Free Holiday

Our eating habits have changed drastically over the year as we have cut back the amount of sugar and starch we consume. Although we don't remove carbohydrates completely from our diet, they mostly come in the form of nut butters, veggies, and the occasional whole wheat products. You can see how that would make Thanksgiving a bit of a challenge. Sugar doesn't keep her carb counts as low as I do (I max out at 20 a day) but I am worried that the drastic increase in junk will throw her on a glucose rollercoaster and leave behind tummy troubles. With her recently fighting a pretty nasty cold, I didn't want to take any chances.

The Bird. I have the huge twenty pound turkey defrosting as I type. My husband is planning on smoking it this year. I didn't argue since everything he grills/smokes is delicious. It didn't hurt that it was one less thing that had to go in my tiny oven.

Deviled Eggs. They are on the menu no matter the occasion. (Yay! and already low carb!) The recipe came from my mother-in-law and is the same one that she and her mother used to make. They include bacon - and are addictively awesome. I usually make several dozen and the plate is always clean.

Mac and cheese. This one is a bit more tricky given the macaroni required for the "mac" part. Luckily, I found a pretty amazing Cauli-"mac" and cheese recipe from the boards over at Low Carb Friends. We have eaten it several times over the past months and the kids love it. I plan to dress it up with a good sharp cheddar, gruyere, and fontina cheeses.

String Bean Stacks.  Green beans. Wrapped in bacon. Yum!

Brussels and walnuts.  Yummy 'sprouts roasted in (sf) maple syrup and walnuts. These are so easy and so good!

The Stuffing.  This is actually the first year that I have made stuffing. Usually it is my much beloved dressing and while there are low carb cornbread variations available that we've tried (and really liked!) I wasn't sure how the almond flour would soak up. Instead we are making a sausage based stuffing with low-carb bread that I found on Youtube.  Review to follow.

Pumpkin Pie. This will be the real deal on special request from the hubs and Tater. I will probably remove some of the sweetener and make it a tad lower in carbs in case Sugar decides she wants a piece.

Almond Crusted  Carmel Cheesecake. The coup de gras. This is my favorite. I had to make a practice one a couple of weeks ago just to make sure that I got it right :) . A large slice with a cup of coffee will end our feast.

Those are the bones of our meal! It is considerably smaller this year since it will mostly be immediate family and my mother-in-law. I may even change my mind about using real dishes and go for the paper plates... It would make getting to the hot chocolate and Christmas tree decorating a lot easier!

Missing You This Thanksgiving

Today is the last day of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. Everyone has been a bit on the sick side, especially Sugar. Since her diagnosis, she doesn't spring back quite as quickly as the boys. Their couple of days of a cough and runny nose has turned into a monster for her. I was planning on making a trip to the doctor today if she didn't show signs of improvement but she was a bit more perky when she awoke.

All of their kids are taking the morning to go through their grids and make sure everything is caught up for the term. My daughter is finishing her last bit of a four day exam session (eek!) and soon the fun will begin.

Normally, the house is filled during Thanksgiving. We have quite a large family. My great-grandparents were in attendance until just a couple of years ago when their health finally kept them home during the festivities. We have been alternating hosting for the last couple of years and who shows up largely depends on the location. There are a few who always seem to slip in for at least a piece of pie.  It will be a bit more quiet this year.

My brother, who is a sucker for any holiday revolving around food, has rocketed to China to become a stuntman. Seriously. He has been deeply missed this year. As you can see, he is quite the character and brings a lot of joy to the table and much needed "boat rocking". We are a family of unapologetic teasers and debaters - he being the most brutally honest and funny. He is off following his dream in another country: flipping from buildings and practicing photography to his heart's content.

(I'll eat a piece of pumpkin cheesecake for ya, bro!)



Then we have the baby of the family. (Even though she is technically not the youngest...

she is by far the biggest baby.)

My sister married recently and moved a couple of hundred miles away. She wont be able to make it this year either. Growing up, I have fond memories of the three of us in the kitchen getting ready for the holidays. As we got older and my mom would work part of the day, sometimes it would be just she and I in the kitchen getting the last bit of the meal together. We tend make a good team on most things. (I would never tell her that.)
She is the peace maker of the group and brings everyone together. She is planning on cooking a Thanksgiving meal for her husband for the first time this year.
I hope he has a strong stomach. Ahem.

And finally... dressing.

Yes. Corn bread dressing. Covered in cranberry sauce. Maybe not completely on par with the people who wont be there -- but pretty close. I have been low-carbing with Sugar since April and her Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis. Normally, I don't mind the diet at all and have stuck to it almost religiously to help her make better choices and not feel like she is the only one having to miss out. I plan on doing the same through Thanksgiving and skipping out on the cornbread dressing. Sigh. I have found some pretty good substitutes though and am planning on sharing our menu with you tomorrow.

The holidays can have a different feel to them when family is missing. No matter where your family is this Thanksgiving, bringing the rolls, across the country, or awaiting in heaven, I genuinely hope that you have a wonderful day. Full of memories and love.

A Season of Giving

In just a few days the smell of turkey and pumpkin pie will be wafting through our homes and those that we love will gather around our table. Talking and laughing (and more than one awkward family moment) will make our homes vibrate with festivity.

The holidays are among us. We are ushering in the season of giving.
 

Already as you browse your favorite stores, carols are in the air. Bell ringers have taken their positions at the entrance ways. Garland and poinsettias grace the storefronts and display cases.  Christmas has a way of railroading you at this time of year. I get it. I have four children and our Christmas shopping starts close to January 1^st! I love Christmas - it is by far my favorite holiday. There is nothing like secretly stowing away treasures for my lovely children in anticipation of Christmas Day when they will tear into those delicately wrapped packages, their faces alight with joy. My excitement is often greater than theirs as they uncover that special “something”.

However, I made a promise to myself last year. Somewhere between the cranberry sauce and the stocking stuffers, I had found something. It wasn’t satisfaction. It was stress. My kids are getting older and the gifts that they are asking for are getting more expensive. In addition to that, our family is growing. We added a brother-in-law, a long lost sister, her husband, and a newly found niece into the mix of an already large family.  I found my focus skewed. Instead of concentrating on making memories, I was worrying about my bottom line and making everyone happy with the wrong things. I got everything done (with a huff and a checkmark) but my joy was gone. Somehow I had traded my joy for mere activity. Come Christmas morning and I felt tired – more than tired – physically and emotionally exhausted and I made a vow.

In my season of giving, I would give more wisely.

I would give more wisely of myself. The weeks following thanksgiving can be nothing short of chaos. Everywhere you look, there is a new sale. A new “must have” thing. Another “must attend” party. Before you know it, you are the frazzled person rocking in the corner of another White Elephant gift exchange with a wrapped tchotchke swiped from your shelves because you couldn’t face another trip to the store and endless wait – praying earnestly that no one will notice that you forgot to dust it before cramming it into a wrinkled bag from under your bed (not that I have been there). This is the season of graciously saying no when I am overextended. I can’t show joy when I am overscheduled and overstimulated. My neighbor’s cousin’s grandmother will just have to understand that I won’t be able to make it to the cookie exchange though I am grateful for the invitation.

I would give more wisely to those in need. There is nothing like the reality check that comes with taking a good look around you. I have a wise family member who says, “Honey, no matter how bad you think your situation is, there is always someone that has it worse than you.” In our small town, poverty abounds. Every day I get on social media and see the pleas for help. Someone that can’t afford a tree this year. Pleas for help before electricity is disconnected. Requests for their children, anything, so that they will have a bit under the tree. That is just locally. Our world is in need. There are children going hungry this Christmas. Countries at war and refugees displaced. We aren’t rich and we can’t save the world but we can help one family. Personally.

I would truly give thanks. Thanksgiving can feel like the warm up prior to the real game. Black Friday ads come out with the pecan pie and coffee. Not this year. This year, I want to take a few minutes to savor. So much has happened in 2015. My nine year old was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic and almost slipped into a coma. We have suffered through one of the roughest financial crises. Most of my family has moved (some out of country). My marriage almost took a fatal blow.

Our foundations have been shaken and tried but they have not faltered.

 I am thankful.

 We have made changes to our lives that will take time to get accustomed but I still have four smiling healthy faces looking up at me.

 I am thankful.

Eleven years of marriage and we have faced one of our biggest trials, hand in hand, and came back stronger.

I am thankful.

Though my family may be far apart, the love is stronger than ever.

 I am so thankful.

 If you have family and friends – if you have people around you that love and care about you - hold them close and be truly thankful for abundance. When you are truly grateful for the many blessings that you have, it becomes much harder to give your joy away in the midst of chaos. Let that gratitude for the things that really matter, and joy that can’t be shaken, anchor you through the holidays – and through life.

Wishing you a blessed and joyful Holiday season.

 

One of "Them" Days...

We are from the South. And I mean SOUTH. The kind where the word South is capitalized, everyone owns a gun, and being called a redneck is considered a compliment. People up north have "these" days, I am sure. We had to start the day off with a mad dash to the store to pick up Prince a new pair of pants to wear to karate tonight. I thought I had this covered at the beginning of the week, but of course, I bought the wrong pants, the ones with out a draw string, and he ended up having to attend his first karate class with one foot doing a high kick and the other trying to keep his bottom from showing. Why in the world they make children's pants with out some form of elastic in them is completely beyond me. It never fails, my tall and slender children (who absolutely take after their father) are constantly either "floodin'" or trying to keep their pants up. Sometimes they really do look like homeschoolers. I should just break out the old denim jumper and go with it like it was on purpose. Sorry, I digress.

Anyway, after a frantic search for the right pair of pants, and a leisurely stroll around every clearance aisle in the store ::ahum::, we ended up making it back to the house just a few minutes before lunch and about 4 hours after our typical school day starts.  As much as I hate to do this during the week, sometimes it just isn't possible to avoid, and it is hard to get our groove back going for the day. No one is willing to sit and work, Mom included. So here it is, 1:30, and one subject has been covered after many trips to the bathroom, many glasses of water, and infinite dawdling.

"Them" days have stages.

Stage one: everyone is tired and distracted, but half way cooperative. The kids get out their school work, get to the table, and open their books to get started. If not overly excited, at least willingly.

Stage two: Fidgeting. Up and down, to the bathroom and back, dropping pencils, dropping books, peeking at television. ANYTHING other than what they are supposed to be doing.

Stage three: Melt down. Four hours into it, and you are on number two. Mid sentence into your teaching about plants, your daughter interrupts and asks why the Emperor has brown hair, and she is met with bugged eyes and impatience.

Stage four: End of the day. Everyone is alive, hopefully with minimal emotional scarring. The books have been put away, nothing retained, and everyone is in a grump.

Oh yes, we have had our share of "them" days. They don't always come with a change of schedule, sometimes you can see them coming and sometimes you can't. It is a hard place to be as a homeschool mom. On one hand, we need to be teaching hard work and perseverance. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes we don't want to do what is required of us. Not everything is going to be fun, and we have to do work. On the other, the whole reason I homeschool is I wanted to teach a love of learning to my children. I wanted them to be inthralled by literature, thirsty for knowledge, and goading them with a proverbial prod isn't exactly what I had in mind. It is so hard to find that balance when we get our mind off of our real goal.

In reality, the lessons aren't the problem. I used to think that. I would switch curriculums every few months thinking that if we tried something newer, more fun, more colorful that everything would change. It didn't. Now I have bookcases full of curriculum because we never addressed the heart of the problem.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us.." Hebrews 12:1

Oh.. the sin which so easily besets us. Days like this and impatience abounds. Hateful tones, sharp looks abound, from both sides of the table as much as I hate to admit it. These situations have a way of going from bad to worse quickly. Attitude builds on bad attitude. About the time my 2nd grader starts saying she doesn't remember what 2+2 equals, I start feeling my head wanting to spin. So what does God want us to do?  What does it mean to "lay aside every weight"? Surely, He doesn't expect us to just give up. To walk away like it doesn't matter...

"...and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the Right Hand of the Throne of God." Hebrews 12:1b-2

Ah, there it is again. The Author and Finisher. The same God who gave you the task will provide the means. And isn't that what, truly, is important that they learn? Sometimes, even as Christians, we forget how absolutely powerless we are. We could not save ourselves, we could not better ourselves. No matter how hard you try, how many books you read, how many prayer revivals, how many hours of meditation, NONE of it matters if we are trying to do it in our own strength. Our best efforts are ruined just by us touching them.

So what is the answer? Look to Jesus. As simple as it sounds, look to the Cross. Claim full dependence on the grace of God. What a lesson taught there! Our earthly flesh is weak. We give up easily and much too soon, it is only by His strength, His grace, His love that we endure.

These are the lessons that matter.

 

 

Giving It All

We have all had that moment in time. We are laying there in bed, and thinking about our day, not pleased with the way it went. I have been having a lot of those moments lately. In case you are a new homeschooler, let me share a truth with you. Homeschooling is hard. Really hard. In the last three years that I have been teaching my children, I have realized so many of my strengths. I am great at explaining. When I was growing up, I wanted to be a teacher, so in a way, this was a fulfillment of my dream. I love to talk to my kids about the Lord. I am passionate about reading. I love to organize curriculum and make lesson plans, it is something I am good at. I am crafty.

However, I have also realized that homeschooling is like a magnifying glass. It doesn't just bring the good up for closer inspection. We are imperfect, even if we don't like to admit it. Yes, I am one of those homeschool moms that like to bake homemade bread and makes my own Christmas gifts. But, I am also the one who loses patience, can have a sharp tongue and be selfish with her time.

Lately, every time that I have had one of those "bad" moments, I am condemning myself. But, last night, as I was praying, I had a revelation. His Grace is sufficient. It covers our failures. If He has forgiven us, how can we choose to keep condemning ourselves? Today is a new day, and I give it to Him. I know that there are going to be times that I mess up, but I know that He is still in the process of molding me. I am not there yet. Maybe you are in this place too. I just want you to know, you are doing the most important job in the world.

We are learning (and teaching!) one of the most important lessons. We have to depend on Him for EVERY need. In those moments, or even afterward, pull the kids to the side and apologize. Pray together. Show them that we are not perfect, we mess up, and we have a Father that loves us right where we are, and He forgives us. This is one of the biggest lessons we can teach our children. Our relationship with the Lord is not dependent on the things that we do or don't do, it is about what Christ did for us. He doesn't love us more because we homeschool. He doesn't love us less because we lost our temper. We have to use those moments to show how to humble yourself and how great forgiveness can be.

 

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9