The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

Here's a great recipe I got from today's paper. An Amish lady writes a column every week on Monday. I modified it for sugar free and made it up tonight for tomorrow night since I have a busy day tomorrow. Of course we had to taste test it tonight and it is absolutely delicious!

RHUBARB SALAD

3 cup rhubarb cut into small pieces (1 to 1 1/2 inches)
1 c. water
1 pkg. raspberry sugar free jello
(or 1 pkg. regular raspberry jello plus 1 cup sugar)
1 cup diced celery

Cook rhubarb in 1 cup of water until soft (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat. Add jello (and sugar if using regular jello), mash together, and stir until jello is dissolved. Stir in celery and nuts. Pour into a pretty glass bowl. Refrigerate until set.

I think next time I might include the juice of half a lime just to experiment.
1 cup chopped nuts

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

GOOD NEWS!

Mike Ponstein, Jill's husband finished his degree in special education this spring. He was offered a job with Forest Area Schools and is taking it. They had hoped to be able to stay up here, and we hoped so too -- so we can see Annie.

Baby Karleigh is home and doing well. Big Sister McKenna hasn't let having a new baby in the house slow her down at all. She's almost potty trained and pretty proud of herself.

Annie is doing well after her surgery. She has adapted well to her elbow straighteners (to keep her hands away from her mouth). She only has to wear them one more week. She is a little more attached to her mom than before the surgery, but I think that's to be expected. It makes her daddy sad though.

We finally got some warm weather -- but we went from 70 to 90 in 2 days. Kinda hard on us, but it's good to have summer to warm up the lakes.

More later.

Momma K

Ahhhh, SUMMER!

I just had to post that crazy Mentos video! I cannot believe those guys! That is so awesome! The two guys really reminded me of folks that we knew back in Idaho. Chemistry really is fun!

Anyhow, just wanted to update everyone on how we're doing here...

Jared has been really busy at work, but is getting a lot done. He has been getting home in plenty of time to enjoy dinner with us (when Ruby allows it to be enjoyable, that is!) and is loving his garden. He has been the mighty "Slug Hunter" this month, always trying something new to keep them from devouring all of his precious sprouts. After trying lots and lots of methods, it seems that the old beer in a cup method is most useful. The first night the cup was out it got about 30 slugs and is now just heaping with them. Don't worry, I won't post a picture of that--way too gross! I will post a picture of his favorite flower though--a passaflora (passion flower). I can't remember if I posted this on Ruby's site, but I don't think that I did. He's counting the days left before vacation and we are all sooo excited to have this time off and bakc home.

I have been doing really well. Moms & Tots has been small, but the impact has been huge for those of us that are participating. The book that we are discussing, What Every Mom Needs, is really great, but the discussion is the best part. Just having that support from women who are going through (or have gone through) the same things is just great. It is the combination of being a mom, not working outside the home, and living in a foreign country that is quite difficult at times. It really has forced me (and all of us in the group) to look at ourselves again to see who we are and why we are significant. Anyhow, I'm just so thankful that God brought this opportunity up and that he helped me follow through with it and make it happen--what a blessing! We've also been doing LOTS of entertaining, so I've been cooking and cleaning a lot, but I love that we're able to do it (even though I do complain to Jared a fair bit when I'm in the frenzy of getting ready while chasing down Ruby). The hospitality and friendship that we experienced when we lived in Idaho made such an impression on me. It made such a difference in feeling like we were loved and part of a community. I hope that we can do the same for others.

Ruby is splendid, as always! She is quite the little character and loves our time outside. She really brings home the saying, "take time to stop and smell the roses", because she really does! We'll walk only a few steps at a time and she'll have to sniff something. Even if it's just a leaf, she's just gotta figure out what it is. It's so neat to see her discovering new things. I'm really enjoying this stage. Even though she is into absolutely everything, she curious and learning, which is so fun to see. Her other obsession is stairs. Any step in sight, she's got to get to it and go up and down and up and down and up... you get the picture.

Well, we're just looking forward to seeing everyone so much. Keep us in your prayers as we're travelling. We'll be flying out of Copenhagen at midnight Eastern time on Tuesday and will arrive around 4pm in Chicago. It's a LONG trip with two layovers, so pray that Ruby copes with us and that we cope with her and that somehow, we actually enjoy it!

Love, Bethany

Where Diet Coke and Mentos have never gone before!

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

Just a quick update -- Windy and Andrew are the proud parents of a new baby girl, Karleigh May Babcock, born Sunday morning, June 11 (on Bethany's birthday) about 8:45. She weighed 7 lb 2 oz and was 19 3/4" long. She is just beautiful and already has nursing down to a science.

They came home this morning (Monday). Her mom and dad are here for a few days, so it will be good for Windy to have a little extra help for a few days.

Also, Scott & Michelle Babcock found out Friday June 9 that they will be having twins. Pray for a healthy pregnancy. Things look very good so far. Michelle's not having much nausea, but is sleepy and hungry most of the time. Her email is mbabcock@mhc.com.

I received my replacement drapes. This time I ordered two different colors -- sage and crimson. I love the crimson, but I'm afraid it would seem too dark in the winter. I really like the sage too and feel it would be more of a "neutral" so that's the ones I'm keeping.

We heard today that Craig & Kenni and their 4 children and Jason & Amy and their 4 are coming to Michigan. They will be in this Friday evening. They had talked about it, but we hadn't heard any more, so Mom's phone call this morning from Craig was a bit of a surprise, but of course, we will all be thrilled to have them up for a visit. I think Craig in particular is wanting to spend some time with Mom before time runs out, as it inevitably will.

That's a quick update for now.

Momma K

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

Just a quick update -- Windy and Andrew are the proud parents of a new baby girl, Karleigh May Babcock, born Sunday morning, June 11 (on Bethany's birthday) about 8:45. She weighed 7 lb 2 oz and was 19 3/4" long. She is just beautiful and already has nursing down to a science.

They came home this morning (Monday). Her mom and dad are here for a few days, so it will be good for Windy to have a little extra help for a few days.

Also, Scott & Michelle Babcock found out Friday June 9 that they will be having twins. Pray for a healthy pregnancy. Things look very good so far. Michelle's not having much nausea, but is sleepy and hungry most of the time. Her email is mbabcock@mhc.com.

I received my replacement drapes. This time I ordered two different colors -- sage and crimson. I love the crimson, but I'm afraid it would seem too dark in the winter. I really like the sage too and feel it would be more of a "neutral" so that's the ones I'm keeping.

We heard today that Craig & Kenni and their 4 children and Jason & Amy and their 4 are coming to Michigan. They will be in this Friday evening. They had talked about it, but we hadn't heard any more, so Mom's phone call this morning from Craig was a bit of a surprise, but of course, we will all be thrilled to have them up for a visit. I think Craig in particular is wanting to spend some time with Mom before time runs out, as it inevitably will.

That's a quick update for now.

Momma K

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

It's been a busy, but laid-back kind of week with Bobby, Amy, Luke and Tyler. We had our Luau Monday evening and it was great. The only "fly in the ointment" was a few too many mosquitoes. They don't spray for them until June 15 -- at least it will be better while Jared, Bethany, Ruby and guests are here.

Luke turned 11 yesterday. That is so hard for me to believe! He's a great young man and has lots of enthusiasm for life in general. He ended the school year on the "A" Honor Roll. We are very proud of him. Tyler had one B, but still made the "AB" Honor Roll. Both boys seem to be thriving in the Stephenville school system.

I heard through the grapevine that Kevin got to go on vacation with Sarah and Caleb (with Sarah's mother, dad, sister and family) after all. Last we heard they were in San Diego and going to the zoo today.

Windy Babcock is in late pregnancy and very, very miserable. She's having some hard contractions, some as often as 4 minutes apart, but they don't sustain. She's been to the hospital 2 or 3 times, but sent back home each time. The baby is a "low rider" and even lower now that it's almost delivery time. She's not really due until the 22nd, but had McKenna about 3 weeks early. She had a regular Dr. appointment today, so we'll be anxious to hear how that went.

Mom seems to be doing pretty well. She's definitely better!

Will close for now -- not much new -- just enjoying a beautiful day here in northern Michigan.

Oh, I almost forgot -- I got a new mixer today. It's a DeLonghi and it's as beautiful as it is strong. Guess I can finally retire Bob's Mom's 50 + year-old Sunbeam. Hooray!

Bye-Bye

Still coughing

It's 10pm after a long, but great day!

The weather was just beautiful today--clear blue skies, not very warm, but really nice. Our friends, the Danfords, are back in Denmark after a month in the US and it was so fun to see how much their little guy, Carter, had grown. We also are realizing just how fast Ruby is changing. She's really using her sign language a lot more now and played SO well in nursery this morning. She's also learned how to go down the kiddie slides all by herself--what a big girl! Anyhow, I'll save all that Ruby stuff for her blog...

There were several really great things at church today. First, we got to meet Calie, the worship leader intern who will be housesitting for us while we are in the US. She's a really sweet girl and we're looking forward to getting to know her. We're having her and the Nielsens (our pastor's family) over for a BBQ nest weekend, so that should be really fun. Then, there was a group of four students from Wheaton College visiting (my alma mater)! They are doing Wheaton's YHM Project (Youth Hostel Ministry) this summer and will be spending 6 weeks in Norway running a hostel there and witnessing to travelers. The really cool thing was that I knew the older brother of one of the kids--not a close friend, but a really cool guy. So, it was kind of a "small world" moment.

This weekend is yet another Danish Holiday (Pentecost), which they are celebrating with a day off of work (Monday) and a big carnival. The Danfords invited us to go out to it and we had a pretty nice time. Unlike all of the fairs, etc. I've been to in the US where there are trash cans every four feet, here it was impossible to find a trash can and so people just threw it everywhere. It was a real mess and not all that fun to walk through. Even so, it was nice just be to out in the weather. Jared's buy of the day was a crate of cherries (~6kg/12lb) for 85kr (~$14). He's chowing down as I type! Tomorrow we're having the Danfords over for a small BBQ and I'll probably have to spend most of the day cleaning and cooking to get ready. Hopefully my nose will stop dripping long enough to make it possible!

I hope that Bobby, Amy, Luke, and Tyler are having a blast with Nana and Bobo! We miss you all and wish we could be part of the fun! Hugs and kisses...

Bethany

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

Hi - Amy's here with me and I'm showing her how easy it is to do this.

The Old Oak Tree

The Old Oak Tree

Good morning all!

Here's the latest --

Aunt Cheryl had cataract surgery this morning. I haven't heard anything yet, but it was supposed to be routine. Things will be looking much brighter for her.

Annie is doing as well as can be expected but quite pathetic. We will all be glad when she is healed and back to normal -- truly normal.

Amy and Bobby, Luke & Tyler will all be in sometime tomorrow. We're looking forward to their visit -- although as usual, I'm not ready (house-wise, and garden-wise). We're planning on having a birthday party while they are here for Amy's (May 15), Tyler's (April 7) and Luke's (June 7) birthdays. I was going to try for Tuesday, but we may have rain all that day, so maybe Wednesday will be better.

Beth, Zack Ryan's wife, has been in the hospital. The diagnosis was stress -- made her heart do some "funny" stuff. She's doing better and going to try to tone down her Type A behavior. She finished law school at Texas Tech a couple of weeks ago, so maybe that will help. She has a good job lined up and they will be living in Roswell, NM. Zack got his teaching certificate.

Hunt and Hannah, Sam and Maddie are moving to Amarillo. Hannah is a wonderful teacher (English and drama), and Hunt's mother wants to babysit for them. Sam (age 4) has been diagnosed with autism and there are a lot more resources in that area than there were in Childress.

Randall is now officially retired and thrilled he can now work on his farm full time. His dad helps him some. Cheryl plans to teach one more year and then retire. Hope she makes it. She has been sick a lot the past 2-3 years. Her immune system isn't all that strong and she takes every "bug" that comes along with student contact every day.

It's a beautiful day here in northern Michigan. High supposed to be 72-75, sunshine all day. Wish I could order those kind of days for all our company -- we'll do the best we can.

I got my curtains in, Bethany -- they're awful -- have to return. We may be hanging sheets on the windows!!!

I'll leave you with these words of wisdom:
Old Chinese Proverb: "He who goes out of his house in search of happiness runs after a shadow.

Love to all
K