back to school

This has been such a week...one to remember.
Outside of each day's moments to remember there have been a few that I am sure to never forget.

Ethan started second grade on Monday. He was anxious to go back to school but not overly so...we had a great summer. I did a little interview on the morning of his first day back. He was most looking forward to friends (no surprise there), happy to ride the bus, hoping to eat chicken nuggets and chocolate milk once and a while and still ready to walk away without saying good-bye or a "see you later."

The first day was a bit of a shock to his summer system. He told Mark he had some trouble with his teacher...she wanted him to do an activity or two...Of all the nerve! But, true to form he was raring to go the next day and even more excited this morning when his little brother would join him.

The school asked that parents drop off kindergartners for the first day at the door to there classroom...as if there is another way to get your ever present 5 year old off to their first day of school and without the complete meltdown of all mothers involved. Did they really need to ask? I don't know if I could have added "put Owen on the bus" to the day's to do list and still kept my heart in functional pieces. However, dropping him off at his classroom was still one of those moments...the kind where reality smacks your heart so hard you remember you are alive...because liquid starts running down your face!


Owen was excited in a subdued way and only had about 15 seconds of visible nerves...he sat close, took a deep breath and laid his head on my lap (as he has so many times in his 5 years)...but this passed quickly as I prayed in his ear for Jesus to help the strength He has put in Owen's heart to rise up and help him to face all the new things he would experience today.

After his teacher welcomed them he found his spot in the boy line and barely looked back before heading off to the adventure. I wouldn't have expected any different from this wise boy.

And, along for the ride (in many ways), are my precious girls...

Once we got home I could tell Audrey was a little misplaced. She sat at the table very quietly (anyone who knows her is aware that this is nearly impossible). After about 10 minutes of writing on a wipe board she turned a very sad face to me and on the verge of tears said, "I don't want to wait so long for the boys to come home."

We had our moment together and have enjoyed a wonderful morning together ever since. This will be very different for her and a complete do-over for me...girl-style! The last time I spend significant time with a 3 and 1 year old like this it was Ethan and Owen. What a blessing to have these days with my girls now.

What great expectancy I have for this school year...
what a wonderful husband and children to enjoy it with...
what a good God to bless us so richly.

i just gotta say...

I am crazy about my children and I am SO pleased to be able to spend my day with them!

impromptu family photo

saying goodbye to summer

visitors

We enjoyed a lovely break from reality with Mark's parents this last weekend. Because of the incredible weather we were able to enjoy a few of our favorite hikes. The kids were especially delighted by the invitation for individual sleepovers with Papa and Nana at the "hooteal" (Audrey's incredibly cute way of saying hotel).

Here are a few of the 600+ pictures that were taken...

denver valentine's day

my little lovelies

happy to be here

special delivery to neighbors

our valentine tradition...chinese and fancy drinks

Ethan-son enjoying his dinnermy littlest valentine

merry christmas

Our hearts are full of Christmas as we celebrate the arrival of Elyse Noel Hostetler. Our girl arrived on Sunday December 21st at 5:51pm. She was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. She has the loveliest pink skin and we think she may have one dimple on her right cheek. Siblings are delighted and instantly older.

Life slows down and in lots of ways stops for us for the short-term. We covet your prayers for the moments and days ahead. The word/place we feel the Father has invited us to during this time is "savor". Pray for the moments when this is opposed and all of what we face seems to be set against this precious place/time He has for us.

Thank you for all of the precious words/thoughts/prayers you have sent our way as we welcomed her. We are loved and we know it.

highlight

Although we have enjoyed our Christmas tree for about 2 weeks now it was our experience of getting it that makes it so special. We took a day, the first weekend in December, and headed to the mountains to cut down our tree with our beloved Kirk and Kathy and new friend Megan. We went to the national forest in Fraser/Winter Park because they didn't require you to purchase the permit ahead of time. We decided quickly that the drive alone was worth the price of the permit - although $10 for a Christmas tree is quite a steal if you ask me - especially since it wasn't dead when we got it. And, our day ended up being priceless so the $10 is a wash and the Christmas tree is bonus.

giving thanks

Just 4 short weeks until our little darling's due date meant we were home for Thanksgiving. However, "home" for these days was with some dear friends of ours who manage the Rocking R Ranch in Longmont, CO. We had a leisurely morning and brunch at home and then headed to the ranch where we feasted. On Friday we enjoyed the wonderful weather with some good old cowboy-ing and a wonderful Christmas parade on Friday evening in the mountains. During the parade it started to snow and after a deep sleep in our own beds we woke to a white-blanketed world which called three little Hostetlers to come and play. Saturday evening we joined some friends for a brew party (Dwayne brews his own beer in his garage) and it inspired Mark to make his first holiday "mulled beer". Sunday we enjoyed our launch into the advent season at church and a quiet afternoon of football and snowfall.

So much to give thanks for...

Getting in the mood

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

celebrating fall

We are finding all kinds of ways to celebrate fall. We have had such a lovely week of weather and have taken advantage of any time we could be outside. We also enjoyed a great fall hike and picnic, carving pumpkins and some trick-or-treating.

fall fun

Enjoying one of our favorite fall activities and particularly that we have the "margin" to do so...

family camping

We spent last week camping with the fam in the mountains. We had a great campsite, great food and great fun! The pictures tell the best story...



And when it was all done, we felt like this...

peaches

I am thankful to have the canning season under way and already looking forward to it being over! It is one of those things that is extremely satisfying and a whole lot of work. Also, it comes at a time when I find myself fairly worn out. Thankfully, yesterday, for a 2nd round of peaches, I had some of my favorite helpers...

summer baking

I love baking...I think it is in my blood...and around my thighs and hiding my ripped triceps. But, the summer is a hard time to bake when you don't have air conditioning and it is 94 degrees. Despite this, we have a camping week with family ahead and I wanted and needed to bake. I figured if I got started early enough it wouldn't be too beastly. It is 3:36pm and I pulled out the last thing and was able to shut down the oven for today...it is still beastly but worth it!

A fellow baking-fanatic friend of mine has been sharing all of her summer squash recipes since we are up to our eyeballs in zucchini, yellow squash, and q-ball squash from the farm. I have been messing around with one she shared and I am most pleased with the outcome of today's experiment. So, if you have some yellow squash around, grate it up and give this a try...

Original Recipe:

Summer Squash Bread

Beat 3 eggs until fluffy

Beat in:
1 1/2 c sugar
1 c oil
2 tsp vanilla

Sift together in another bowl:
3 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Gradually mix flour mixture into egg mixture

Fold in 2 cups shredded yellow squash

Pour into 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes.

Or this can be poured into a 9 inch x 13 inch pan and baked for 45 minutes.

(This version - I am told - is very cake-like.)


My new version (you gotta start somewhere right?):

Blueberry Squash Bread

Beat 3 eggs until fluffy

Beat in:
1 c turbinado (or raw organic sugar)
3/4 c oil
1 T vanilla

Mix together in another bowl:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg (I use more like 3/4 tsp because I am not a huge nutmeg fan!)

Gradually mix flour mixture into egg mixture.

Fold in 2 cups shredded yellow squash.

Fold in 1 1/2 c blueberries (mine were frozen)

Pour into 2 prepared loaf pans. Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes.


I plan on continuing my experimentation with this recipe. I would like to eliminate the wheat flour (including the white) and use an oat or barley flour instead and I would rather use butter than oil so I will figure that out at some point. If you have any suggestions, please share.

Baking is going to be part of what I enjoy in heaven. I am sure of it!

addition

I got a new addition to my kitchen this weekend and I am pleased as a peach about it! If you have ever seen my kitchen you may not have noticed the counter space...because there is none! Okay, that is a little exaggeration. There is approximately 3 feet. 1 foot to the right of the sink beside the refrigerator and 2 feet to the left of the sink before you run into the corner beside the stove.

So, at some point at the end of last week I got an idea and Mark made it happen. Now, I have 6 ADDITIONAL FEET of counter space AND another cabinet. I look ahead to the days of canning and fall/winter baking with much delight!

In other news on additions, my midwife this morning had me laughing. At my last appointment, she listened to the baby's heartbeat and said, "Well, if I go by the old wives tales, I would guess it's a boy." Today, she listened again and said, "Well, if I go by the old wives tales, I would guess it's a girl." I said, "Last time you said it was a boy." She said, "that is why I don't go by the old wives tales!"

swimmers

This is incredible...




Untitled from vaporlife on Vimeo.


Untitled from vaporlife on Vimeo.

i knew the day was coming

farmies, like roadies, but farmies

We are loving our farm days. They are early mornings...we have to leave the house at 5:45am...and we are really tired at the end of them but we love it! I wasn't able to get any pictures of Ethan because he was off on adventures: catching crickets for Quentin's bullfrog, feeding the cows, visiting the pigs, finding the cats, playing in the dirt, harassing the chickens, smashing squash, eating green beans, peas, carrots or whatever looks good from the share baskets or just general meandering about the farm with a small and extremely cute gang of boys and girls covered in dirt. But, here are my two other farmies...

Audrey sticks close to gather any stray veggies she can scarf down

Owen and part of his posse negotiating over shovels and buckets just outside the barn

st. mary's glacier

Yesterday, about mid-morning, we packed a lunch and headed to the mountains for a hike. Our destination was St. Mary's Glacier. It was one of the hikes listed in the kid's "passport to adventure" books that we are working through this summer from REI. All of the hikes/bike trails are "kid friendly" and we are finding them pretty "adult friendly" too. After we accomplish 5 hikes/bike rides the kids get a compass/whistle tool to hang on their backpacks.



On our way there the sky began to get darker and very foreboding. We drove through some heavy rain but I think our short time away from this glorious place had us very thirsty for the beauty and "space" of the wild we knew we would be enjoying. So, we kept going even if it meant we only picnicked in the high country. The sky cleared somewhat and even though Mark took some coaxing (the weather was VERY unpredictable and there was plenty of thunder to warrant his caution) we decided to go for it and make the ascent to the glacier. It was beautiful and rugged and wild. We did get rained on but no one cared. And our van and the picnic lunch that awaited us when we returned were a great comfort!






One thing I took notice of in my heart yesterday was that I am very prone toward thinking "larger and a bit more rebellious" thoughts after I have been in the wild. I find that I have a little more space to consider life in a different way. This happens nearly every time. I just finally noticed it yesterday. I love this place to be.