3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party

This is our 4th year carving pumpkins in Grand Rapids, and our 3rd annual Pumpkin Carving Party! We have food (chili & corn pudding this year) apple cider and tons of treats, as well as pumpkins to carve and their seeds to roast and eat.
Here are a few pictures from our party...

Jadon and his scooper - no, he's not licking it, contrary to what it looks like - though he really loved the squishy sliminess of the seeds... hmmm, my boy!This year we also got to celebrate Uncle Lonnie's birthday...

Aunt Pat getting the cake ready with Elie's help.

Uncle Lonnie & Uncle Nathan roasting seeds... well, actually, Uncle Lonnie did the master work of roasting - blanching them first before seasoning them to perfection. Seriously, we all agreed we have never tasted better pumpkin seeds!!!

Everyone hard at work.

Aunt Bethany's pumpkin - whoohoo!

Bryce's masterpiece...

Thanks to the Eaton family and Aunt Pat we got some amazing pumpkins carved this year - Thanks guys!!!

Elie Ballerina

We are giving Elie Ballet classes again this year, but privately with a teacher from a professional troupe, through the home schooling program.
The teacher is so good with the girls, and makes a lot of the really boring parts fun for them. The mom's share turns sitting in with the class, and this week was my turn!
There are only 4 girls in the class, one of them being Grace, our next door neighbor. Here are some pictures.

Gracie getting help... Elie waiting her turn.Jumping over the "mud puddle"

They are doing an actual dance routine! It's so cute!!

Following the teacher in ballet steps

Just checking in with mom:o)

Watching her teacher very closely

Counting steps

First position

Doing her own ballet step walk

Taking turns...

Elie is loving it so far & can't wait to perform.

Half Marathon

In the car at 6:15am... we're really doing this...At the YMCA & it's still so dark out! And COLD!!!

We did it! We actually made it through!!!! Boston here we come... syke!

And we got these really cool space blankets:o)... but wow, they helped!

I can't say it is something I'm excited to jump back in and do again, but it was a really neat experience. We got to run with a friend of ours from our house church group, and as far as weather, it was unbeatable!!
There were people who's sole job was cheering us on all along the way, plenty of water & energy drinks, potties and even a gummy bear stop.
The course was really flat (a few hills for Michigan, but having the bulk of our training take place in Portland, these hills were nothing at all), and totally beautiful, following the Grand river most of the time & with a ton of fall foliage it was spectacular in places.
I made it strong through the first 6 miles, then hit a half way wall. I worked through that pretty well & went strong until mile 11... then it got really hard. My toes were numb & my legs were a jelly/led combination. I had to walk for about 30 seconds at mile 12. Once we made it back onto the street where we could the Finish banner I was in pain! But, the whole street was lined with people cheering and ringing bells... it was a surreal feeling. I totally made it strong over the finish line & even avoided collapsing - Yay me! Not really, it was a lot of fun walking around behind the finish line with total stranger congratulating total strangers & volunteers handing you space blankets and praising us & offering food and drinks.
Oh, and Bryce could have run circles around me, the entire run was a breeze for him... I have the best hubby in the world, who could easily have run the whole marathon & is even competitive enough to do it with a really good time, but will keep my pace & encourage me the whole way... You're the BEST Babe!

Oh yeah, our time was 2 hrs, 47 minutes and 38 seconds!
(Okay, so that actually isn't very fast, as we had people who ran a whole marathon come in way before us... but it was good for me!)

I'm still basking in the reality that I did this!!! I can do pretty much anything now, I think:o)!

When the GR Marathon pictures are up I'll post the link.

Fall Playdate

This week we had a chance to get together with our friend Rachel and her son, Collin for a nature walk. Here are some pictures!

Elie's perspective.Knocking for squirrels

Swimming bugs

A cool wigwam type thing in the forrest

Hiking

Trip to Indiana

We just took a quick trip down to Indiana, about an hour south of Indianapolis, for Bryce's work.
Aside from amazingly sunny and warm weather, the fun part of this trip was that we got to take our neighbor, Gracie with us!
The kids and I played around while Bryce worked hard... poor guy:o).
See more pictures here.We found this incredible park that had about every piece of play equipment you could think of. It was the size of a city block, with huge covered BBQ areas and hardly anyone there! We had a pick-nick lunch there.
We also took advantage of the hotel pool, did school work & the kids played in the "pool in our room" or jacuzzi tub :o) - it was great fun!
I think my kids were spoiled by having a friend along with us:o)! It will be hard to travel w/o her next time...

Thanks for coming Grace!!!

Corn...

upon request, here is the corn instructions...

We got ours farm fresh, and in bulk, so we had to husk it, then wash it.

After that, place it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes.Then in cold water to cool for handling

Then we cut the corn off the cob & bagged it up in quart size freezer bags.

One bushel made 13 quarts - and we have farm fresh sweet corn for the rest of the winter!
It's great in soups, chili, stews & as a side.
All credit for this goes to my neighbor, Sheila - thanks friend!!!

Apple Orchard Pictures

Here are a couple pictures of our time picking the apples we sauced...

Here we are!Jadon's prize!

Elie, the hard working apple hauler...

We picked Jonagold, Gala, Ida Reds & Mutsu to make sweet apple sauce with a bit of tang.
More pictures will be on Facebook soon!

Oldfashioned Chunky Apple Sauce

Okay, so I have been a huge blog slacker these days... or months... And all of that will change soon, promise.

In the meantime, it's apple season in the Paulson home!

We've been making old fashioned chunky apple sauce. The house smells of cinnamon and apples - YUM!!!
Here's how...

Wash the apples...

Peel, core & slice, place in pot, add just enough apple cider to cover the bottom of pot plus some.
(the cider is a natural sweetener and reduces the amount of sugar needed - if any - and we use a fresh milled cider w/o any preservatives)

Sprinkle cinnamon (and for the very brave, a dash of allspice) over the top of apples...

Cook until really mushy, so much so that you mash most of them just by stirring. Use a potato masher to mash the rest & add brown sugar to taste.
(about 1/4 cup to a 5 quart pot... more if you have tart apples or like your apple sauce really sweet. I like to use dark brown sugar because you get more sweetness/taste with less sugar.)

Scoop into freezer jars and away you go!

A bushel of apples makes 16 32oz freezer jars, 1/2 bushel makes 8... and so on.
Bryce calculated that we will save $62 in apple sauce this year - and the whole venture only cost us $25! Plus we have already sunk the cost into the freezer jars, so next year we will save a tiny bit more!
The best part is that the kids got to pick the apples themselves!

(Our next adventure will be to freeze our own corn & pureeing veggies like squash, zucchini & cauliflower to freeze & use(hide) in meals such as meatloaf, lasagna, spaghetti and casseroles. we'll save ourselves close to $40 dollars in frozen corn and only have spent $13 for the year!)

We are Home!

We are Home!! After 3 days of driving, one all nighter and more junk food than we hope to see in one year - we pulled into our drive way Tuesday morning. After a change of clothes and a quick potty break we jumped back in the car to drop Bryce off at work.

Elie started ballet class the next day, as well as Sparks (AWANAS). Jadon started Cubbies too!!

It's hard to believe that we are home. It's hard to believe that we're in Fall now - full force! We're just jumping in with both feet, and scurrying around to catch up. We'll start school next week, Elie can't wait... neither can Jadon. We may be doing a bit of preschool with him after all.

Sneak Peek

Oregon Coast

"Hunting" Buffalo
(That small dark spot in the field behind us)

Hot Springs, Yellowstone

We are on our second day of driving home... made it all the way to Keystone, South Dakota after a fun drive through the Yellowstone National Park where we hunted buffalo, saw a fox playing the the field and explored hot springs & geysers.
Tomorrow we are going to take the kids through Bear Country & visit Waldrug before we start the long haul home driving through the night. We hope to be in Grand Rapids, Michigan very early Tuesday morning!!!

Latest Lifeline

So in all that has been going on in our lives lately I have felt a huge need to refocus on God's faithfulness and presence. These are a few verses and prayers that have helped and become my lifeline of late... If you are going through something tough, just trying to survive the mundane, or waiting on prayers to be answered - you aren't alone!

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Romans 8:26-27
"So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer." Ezra 8:23
"The power in our prayer life flows out of God's presence with us. It's not our power, it's His." Stormy Omartian
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"If you remain in Me and my Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." John 15:7
"Dear God, Help me to have faith enough to believe You will answer my prayers. Give me the patience to wait for the answers to appear. Keep me from giving up and taking matters into my own hands. Instead, enable me to trust that You have heard my prayers and will answer in Your perfect way and time. Help me to rest in peace during times of waiting and weariness." Stormy Omartain
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
"Lord, I praise Your name. You are almighty and far above all things. Your presence in my life is greater than anything I fear. I know faith in You and Your Word will conquer all opposition in my life. With Your help I will not dwell on my problems, but instead I will praise You and Your name continually." Stormy Omartain
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." 1 Corinthians 14:33

Smelling home

Elie had a cranky day yesterday, with a few melt-downs... When I went into her room to "talk" she burst into tears and started listing off all the things she misses about Michigan and her home. For nearly an hour (I think even longer) she cried and spilled her thoughts on traveling - something she "never wants to do again for a very very long time" - missing her bed & having to share a big one with her brother all these days, missing her school, friends & Sparky's class at church... and on and on.

Finally she said, "and Mom, most of all I just miss the smell. Oregon smells so different and I just want to smell Michigan again!"

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Our favorite Jadon quote for this trip... "Where's the sanitiser - I need to sanitize my hands, again."

Winding Down

Wow, it's been a wild ride these last few weeks. I, once again, have no pictures downloaded yet, so nothing to show for all the fun we've had. We are tired. Very, very tired. And ready to get home. We have been gone from our beds and routine long enough. The kids are missing Michigan immensely, as are Bryce and I.

I'm sorry I've been such a lame blogger, but when it comes right down to it, I just haven't had the energy at the end of the day! It will pick up again when we are back home and life returns to "normal" again.

We send our love to everyone we haven't seen in a really long time - we miss you! See you soon!!!

Eureka!

During our latest adventures we spent time with our friends in Eureka, California for Labor day weekend. One of the things we did was to visit the zoo - during our visit we were able to view this show... enjoy!

Bedtime

Putting the kids to bed tonight we each took our turns with the kids. Both were unusually affectionate and overly tired, so things got a bit goofy. While I was snuggling with Jadon he started asking silly questions. I tried to answer them to the best of my ability eliciting peals of laughter from him - until finally, mimicking my adult tone of voice he said, "Oh, just hug your son!"

Which I gladly obliged... of course!