Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times

It's interesting how good gatherings often center around food. We love to eat when we enjoy fellowship with friends and family. Last night was no exception. We enjoyed a very nice evening with some friends (the Walhofs and Lemstras) as we all got to meet Joel Renkema (our new pastor), and his wife, Alison, and daughter, Indira. We're all very excited to welcome the Renkemas and we pray the transition to a new community goes well for them!

As I was thinking about the connection between food and fellowship, I thought back to some of the times I've made the following recipe. What good memories I have of gatherings where I've made this salmon... last night as we met the Renkemas, a surprise birthday party for our dear friend, Sarah Zylstra, dinner with my family in February. I hope some of you enjoy this new recipe, but even more importantly, enjoy your own good times as you gather around the table.

Indian Glazed Salmon
2-4 lb. salmon fillet
2 sweet onions, (red or white) slivered
2 T. butter, melted
3 T. firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne (or 1/4 tsp, depending on how much heat you like!)
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Rinse salmon and pat dry. Line a 12x18 inch baking pan with foil and set salmon, skin side down in pan. Scatter onions on and around salmon. In a small bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Brush mixture on salmon. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn oven to broil. Broil salmon until top is bubbling and well-browned and fish is done but still moist looking in center of thickest part. Transfer to serving platter. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

(I'll keep this recipe in the side margin until the next time I feel inspired by good food!)

A Random Collection of Events

To be honest some of the following don't quite qualify as "events", rather random "musings"...


I took this picture of Norah and Ella (our friend/neighbor) a couple of weeks ago while we were babysitting the Boersma kids one evening. Of our combined 7 kids, Ella and Norah are the only girls, and they really stick together. It's interesting that at a young age, Norah has developed such an affinity for another girl (and even more so for Ella's mom, dear Tante Jennifer, who is Norah's absolute favorite person in the world right now!)


On a recent stroll through the Kaweah Oaks Preserve, Calvin decided he was too hot (it was 95 degrees that day!) and tired to walk, so he spent a majority of his time perched on Scott's shoulders. As you can see, Scott wasn't thrilled with the situation. The smile pasted on his face is a little half-hearted, but who can blame him!


Near the end of our "hike" Daniel decided he needed a break, so he marched several yards off the dusty trail and parked himself on this bench for awhile. When Daniel gets an idea in his head, it all but takes an act of God to persuade him otherwise. We're praying that someday, God will really be able to put his tenaciousness to good use!

Why, you ask, have I posted a picture of my vacuum on my blog? Actually I feel like this picture is a good representation of my week. On Monday, I thought that I would get some of my work done right away in the morning, and then we could go on to fun things like walks to Sierra Village, visits to the Learning Center, reading books, and playing games... alas, this was not to be. On Monday evening, that vacuum was still taking residence in my kitchen instead of being put away again after a fast and efficient cleaning. It literally took me all day to vacuum and mop the floors (for those of you who haven't been in our house, it's not a big house!). And the rest of the week seems to have following suite... I guess some days, or weeks, you spend most of your time spinning your wheels!

It's a little hard to see in this picture, but Norah had a lot of fun splashing her cream-of-wheat all over this morning. Her fun times at breakfast required a bath for her and another mopping of the floor, which, from my previous picture, you can guess I wasn't too excited to do again! (Have I mentioned that Norah can be a tad feisty? :)

The Camping Trip

Daniel still loves the campfire!

Helping Uncle Jason build the fire


Calvin and Daniel had fun riding bikes at the campground.

Another favorite activity was throwing rocks into the lake... it's amazing how little it takes to entertain the boys sometimes!

The camping trip the boys got to go on with Uncle Jason and Aunt Ashley was a success! At least it sounds like it was a success. No one fell in the lake, no one fell in the fire, no one fell off a bike, and everyone got a relatively good night of sleep. Thanks to Jason and Ashley for being so brave... I hope they're still willing to have kids someday!

Unexpected Freedom

It's Saturday morning, I just finished an enjoyable jog (with a stop or two along the way to check out a garage sale), with only one child in my stroller. Even better, last night, Scott and I enjoyed a quiet, peaceful dinner, again, with one child who went quietly to bed, without any fuss or arguing or attempts to get just one more drink of water or go potty one more time. How, you ask, can this be? Did I finally give in and auction off my beloved boys to the highest bidder? Actually, yesterday around 4:00, my brother, Jason, called and offered to take the boys camping overnight. It didn't take much arm-twisting for me to agree, so at 5:45 Scott, Norah, and I were waving goodbye to the boys as they drove off for a night of adventure with Jason and Ashley. Stay tuned for an update... in the meantime, I'm planning to enjoy a peaceful morning!

Easter

"He is not here; he has risen!" Luke 24:6

Our best picture of all the kids.... check out the other attempts!

Attempt #1

Attempt #2

Attempt #3

Easter dinner at the Walhofs -- Our group this year included Sharon, Kevin, and Emily Fikkert (and Sharon's brother), Matt, Kristi, and Noah Fikkert, Jason and Ashley, Katie Talsma, the Walhofs, and us-- 12 adults and 8 children

Calvin looking intently for Easter eggs

Daniel's find

Nathan, Anna, Daniel and Calvin enjoying their candy

The guys had fun playing basketball

Calvin wanted Aunt Ashley to go with him to the far corner of the yard so she could help him with his candy... or maybe he wanted to get away from the other kids who were pilfering his!

After a fun afternoon of playing, the kids decided they wanted to brave the cold water and go swimming... you sure can't do that in the Midwest on Easter Sunday!

It's a Zoo Day

Today was our 4th annual trip to the Fresno Zoo with the Hiemstra family. (I almost feel like we need to start capitalizing this... "The 4th Annual Trip..."). Anyway, I have to say, I think it was probably my favorite trip thus far. To start off, neither Carla or I had a newborn to feed or try to keep on a nap schedule for the morning. Secondly, we had cooler, cloudy weather for our trip, which us fair-skinned folk of northern European descent really appreciate. It was also nice because the cooler weather kept the crowds down a bit, so we almost felt like we had the place to ourselves for the first hour or two. Another reason that made today very enjoyable was the kids -- they're all at perfect ages for a trip to the zoo. They're all young enough (and old enough) to think that activities such as petting the goats, watching the tiger prowling in his cage, and listening to the monkeys hooting at each other are as exciting as life gets. We all had a great time, and now I get to enjoy a couple of hours of peaceful quiet since my sweet little munchkins are tuckered out from their exciting day.

Here we are -- the family picture -- the only one we got with everyone looking in the same direction!

Scott and Blake pushing our youngest offspring -- what good daddies!

The kids had fun brushing the goats. Kenna looks delighted to have done such a good job!

Norah and me

The whole crew looking at the giraffes

Scott is trying to convince the kids to touch the stingrays. Norah and Daniel were quite leery of the whole situation, but our brave little Calvin loved it!

All 7 kids -- Jacie, Norah, Kenna, Carter, Calvin, Daniel, and Avery -- their wingspans are growing!

Daniel is wishing those kangaroos would do something... anything!

Calvin had almost as fun at the playground where we ate our lunch afterward as at the zoo.

Sweet little Norah -- she enjoyed the whole day!

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow...?"

My little worker bee -- Daniel is really very helpful! There is nothing more exciting for him than telling him we get to work outside for the morning!

Calvin's little worm -- he's the only one of the kids brave enough to pick them up.

Calvin's big worm





Our sugar snap peas -- they sprouted about a week ago.

Our carrots and lettuce

Another gorgeous day -- what better way to spend it than getting your hands in the dirt? The kids "helped" me this morning pull weeds, rake leaves, water and fertilize. We're having fun watching our snapdragons, tulips, and daffodils bloom. It's also been quite rewarding planting beans, lettuce, carrots, peas, and cilantro from seed and watching everything come up. Let's hope we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors!

Whisper Love

Tonight I just want to write a quick note about my sweet, spunky Norah. It's amazing how a 17 month old, who really isn't saying many decipherable words, by the way, can so clearly communicate. For example, when I dropped her off in nursery, she pulled her typical shriek and throw herself on the floor routine to express her displeasure at being left there (It usually only lasts about 30 seconds... just long enough so I know she's not happy about it). Here's another example: when Norah spotted our dear friend, Jennifer Boersma, she made it apparent that she wanted to go to Jennifer... and snuggled closer when I tried to take her back. And then shook her head "no" and said "uh-uh" when I tried again. Tonight, though, I got to experience a sweet, tender moment with my girl. As she finished her sippy cup of milk and I was snuggling with her before I laid her down for the night, I whispered some of the sweet nothings a mom whispers to her baby... and she started whispering back in her little baby gibberish talk. Amazing how they can say so much without really saying a word.