Today he turns 33...

Today is my husband's birthday. And I think that is a good enough reason to sing his praises. The following are 33 reasons why I love Jeff. (Feel free to add your own.)

1. He is the spiritual leader of our home.

2. He's very funny.

3. He is a hard worker.

4. He is devoted to me and I can trust him completely.

5. He loves theology and he understands it (and is able to explain and discuss it) better than many seminary grads I know.

6. He thinks I'm the best cook--even when I've only made a pot of mashed potatoes.

7. He encourages me to try new things and take up old hobbies like painting and field hockey.

8. He's the most handsome man around.

9. He loves Joost and Grace with all his heart (and reminds them of that regularly).

10. He is a good, talented, honest and smart lawyer and other attorneys want him to work with them.

11. He plans for the future and yet rests in the sovreignty and goodness of God's plan.

12. He's been willing to watch every version of Pride and Prejudice with me (including Bollywood's Bride and Prejudice.)

13. He looks great in preppy, plaid shorts.

14. He likes boxy cars.

15. He looked death in the face with me and stood strong.

16. Our children's spiritual maturity is one of the most important things to him.

17. He thinks I'm the most beautiful woman in the world--even with only half a head of hair.

18. He's happy and content that we moved to my home town.

19. He's never been addicted to video games.

20. He has life long friends.

21. He thoroughly enjoys God's creation and is teaching our kids to do the same.

22. He enjoys dressing up and looks great in a suit and tie.

23. He enjoys the same movies and tv shows that I do.

24. He provides for his family.

25. He is the best travel companion.

26. He treats my family as his own.

27. He secretly loves our 3-legged cat, Noah, although he will go to the grave denying it.

28. He is always ready to encourage me about being a good mother and the importance of my job.
29. He's okay with the fact that Friday night date night involves an obsessive-compulsive detective and a pretend psychic.

30. He taught me how to swing dance.

31. No matter how tired he is after a long day of work, he always has enough energy to play with the kids and continue the daily "tickle fest".

32. He prays with and for his children.

33. He chose me to be his wife.

Stick with field hockey

One of the great things about being back in Harrisburg is that I have the time and the means (ie, available babysitting) to be able to do some of the things I really love. This past spring I was able to take an oil painting class. This fall, I am an assistant field hockey coach for my alma mater's varsity field hockey team (Harrisburg Christian School). It's wonderful to be back on the field (I played for ten years in school and college) and an honor to learn coaching from my old coach, Debbie Bassoff (she's next to me in the picture--yes she looks young. She just came out of college when she started coaching at HCS my senior year.) The girls on the team are great and I'm glad to be able to do this. God shows His kindness to me in so many ways.

Whole Wheat Bread

Many of you know that over this past year or so, I've tried to change my eating habits to accomodate a more natural, organic approach. It's a tough change to make--especially to our wallet--since organic foods are more expensive and a little more difficult to find (especially in Central Pennsylvania...hurray for Giant grocery stores. Their organic section is a life saver.) But the difference it has made in our over all health makes it worth it.

One of the major ingredients I'm trying to eliminate from my family's diet is high frutose corn syrup. It's in so much, though--even all the healthy looking loaves of bread in my grocery store's bread isle. So I've started making my own bread and I've found a fantastic recipe that I wanted to share with anyone who might be interested. I found it on the side of the King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour bag. It's a dense bread that works well for the sandwhiches I send daily in Jeff's lunch.

Classic Whole Wheat Bread
2 1/2 tsp. instant yeast OR 1 packet active dry yeast dissolved in 2 tbsp. water
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
1/4 cup honey, molasses or maple syrup (I like using honey the best, although the sweetener is not a dominant taste in the bread and it won't change the final outcome greatly)
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup nonfat dried milk
1/4 tsp. salt

Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and suple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine programmed for "dough" or "manual".) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 60 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in a lightly greased 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for abouot 30 to 60 minutes, or until it's crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.

Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes. Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cool it on a rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room tempurature.

The Pride of the Susquehanna

This weekend we were able to take a summer cruise on The Pride of the Susquehanna--an old fashioned paddlewheel boat that runs on the banks of downtown Harrisburg.
We've been wanting to take Joost on this boat all summer and this past weekend our schedule and the weather worked together and provided us a perfect afternoon for the ride.