I love their answers

A friend on Facebook posted the responses one of her little ones put to a survey on "Mom".  His answers were really cute so I decided to ask the three little boys the same questions.  It's always fun to see what they say.  I asked them individually so they didn't know what the others were saying.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
S: I love you
M: Be good
A: Sit down and read for an hour (our afternoon reading hour)

2. What makes mom happy?
S: When I’m good
M:When I’m good
A: Doing what she says

3. What makes mom sad?
S: when I’m bad
M: When I’m not good
A: Not doing stuff for her

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
S: Joking
M: Play jokes
A: Telling jokes

5. What was your mom like as a child?
S: Being a kid
M: Playful
A: She was a worker

6. How old is your mom?
S: 3
M: 30 something, I think
A: 22 or 25 or something like that

7. How tall is your mom?
S: Almost as tall as Dad
M: I don’t know
A: 20 inches or 20 meters

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
S: Make dinner
M: ???
A: Work & play w/ us

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
S: make lunch and dinner
M: sometimes makes cakes for us
A: Work

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
S: Loving
M: Thirty-One
A: Thirty-One

11. What is your mom really good at?
S: Cleaning
M: Teaching kids
A: Thirty-One

12. What is your mom not very good at?
S: Being mad
M:  ???
A: ???

13. What does your mom do for her job?
S; Cooking and cleaning
M: Thirty-One
A: Thirty-One, work and stuff

14. What's your mom's favorite food?
S: dinner
M: Ice cream
A: Ice Cream

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
S: Cleaning and other stuff
M: She loves us and cares for us
A: Plays with us and stuff

Baby #8 --- boy or girl?

In true Linder fashion we had our big and fun "gender reveal" this afternoon.  The time had come, very quickly I might add, to have the much anticipated ultrasound and see the new life growing inside.  The new life that had yet to be seen and only felt; very rarely felt at that.  I was especially looking forward to today, more than with the other kids.  Why you ask?  Well, I will be honest here.  After Rosalia I was DONE, at least for a good solid 3 years.  I don't know why 3 years, but that was the number I picked and I actually dreamed about how nice and calm life would be with a 3 year old as the youngest.  You see, life is crazy around here some days, a crazy I wouldn't trade for anything, but crazy none the less.  Fun yes, most of the time, but crazy too and I was ready for a break from babies.

You see, even those of us that are open to God's will for our lives and to the number of children God has planned for us get tired and there are times when we really feel done and ready to move on from the baby stage.  I was very vocal about my desire to be done, it wasn't a secret.  So the day I took the pregnancy test and it came back positive I cried.  I have never done that before, but this time, I wasn't happy about being pregnant.  I asked Brad how in the world I were going to do this.  How was I going to be a mom to all these kids, especially with so many so close together?  When this baby comes there will be 6 kids under the age of 8.5 years, three of those in 3 years.  How was I going to be enough for everyone?  How would I be able to be a good mom and wife?  How would I continue to run my business with another baby and so close to Rosalia...only 13.5 months.  Brad told me we'd figure it out and I knew that we'd figure it out and be alright.

For weeks we told almost no one.  Finally, about a month later we told our parents.  I hoped it would make it easier to be excited.  I wasn't excited and that bothered me.  I think to be excited you have to be able to wrap your head around something, and I had yet to wrap my head around how this was all going to work.  I would have been devastated if we'd lost the baby, but excited wasn't the right word to describe my feelings.  As the weeks went by and I spent time praying about everything and asked God to help me accept this change of "my" plans and for acceptance of His, my feelings slowly changed.  I know, and always have, that God has a plan and this baby is included in that plan, even if it wasn't MY plan, it was God's and God's plan is infinitely better than mine.

We arrived for our appointment today and I was excited.  Excited to get a first glimpse of this baby that has surprised me and made me surrender my plans to God.  I normally don't "enjoy" the ultrasound because I am so anxious to find out boy or girl.  Well today was different.  I was relaxed and enjoyed every movement and at the perfection of this new baby.  The perfectly formed hands that kept waving and touching the head, of the perfect view of the feet, of the 4 chambered heart and the yawning mouth.  I was amazed at the perfection of this new gift and really for the first time was excited about this new baby, this blessing for all of us.  A wonderful friend and mother of 8 told me one day a few weeks ago that this baby was going to be one of our biggest blessings and I believed her then and I believe her now.

So now for the news you have all been waiting for; I know I am dragging this out and you've probably already scrolled down to the bottom just to see the pictures.  The big reveal...in typical Linder style.  I headed to Target and picked out the sleeper, onesies and blanket all in gender specific colors and then picked out a gender neutral bag and tissue paper and wrapped it up without showing the kids.  Then when Parker got home from school the time was finally here to share.  The pictures are from my phone b/c I couldn't find the camera, but you get the idea.

The girls were napping, so I went ahead and let the boys open the gift.  Here they are waiting for me to finally hand them the bag.  They were all so convinced it is another girl I think they were even more anxious to just get going with the entire thing.

The big red bag...Parker told me he just knew that red meant girl.  He makes me laugh

The paper is coming out, what color is inside????  Matthias got a peak and you can see a knowing smile

Finally, it's a GIRL!!!!

I was way off.  I was convinced we were having another boy.  The boys are thrilled, they were hoping for another girl to help even things out.

So, with God's grace I know that we will not only survive, but we will thrive and this new baby girl will be a huge blessing not only to us as family, but to everyone that is blessed to meet her.  Now we need to figure out the name God has chosen for her.

Homemade Yogurt

I've had a few people ask me how to make homemade yogurt.  My mom was the expert yogurt maker so I asked her for step-by-step directions.

Supplies
Large Pot (for heating milk)
1/2 gallon to 1 gallon of milk (depending on size of batch)
Candy Thermometer
Yogurt Starter/Culture
Powdered Milk (makes yogurt thicker)

All ready to start

Container to insulate yogurt while it "thickens".  We use a gallon pickle jar and a large beverage thermos; all things we had around the house.  You can buy a "Yogotherm" or use a yogurt maker, but this works just as well and is cheaper.

Thermos and Gallon Pickle Jar

You will need some type of starter/culture to make your yogurt something other than just warmed milk.  You can buy a small container for plain yogurt at the store, but I've found that it doesn't work as well as buying an actual packet of yogurt culture/starter.  We buy ours from the New England Cheesemaking Company.  www.cheesemaking.com

We buy several packets at one and then just store in the freezer until we are using them.  It's fun to try the different types of starter as they all make slightly different yogurt.  Today I'm making the "Sweet" yogurt; I've never made it before and can't wait to try it.

There are directions on each packet of started, but the basic directions are as follows...

1.  Measure milk into pan --- if doing a full gallon and using a gallon size jar, reduce milk by 2/3 of a cup to ensure you can fit it in the jar after adding powdered milk.

2.  Add powdered milk (generally 1/4 cup for every 1/2 gallon) if you want thicker yogurt.  Wisk in so it dissolves before heating.

3.  Using a candy thermometer heat milk slowly until it reaches 185* F, wisking/stirring frequently so it doesn't burn on the bottom.

4.  While the milk is heating, I make sure the jar and thermos are clean and then fill the jar with HOT water and put it inside the thermos.  I then fill the thermos (to the top of the jar neck) with HOT water and put the lid on.  This heats both the jar and thermos. 

5.  Remove from heat and let it cool down to 110- 112* F and then add culture packet(s).

6.  Empty the water from the jar and thermos.  Fill the jar with the hot milk with starter added and place the jar in the thermos.  Close the lid on the thermos and let sit for the length of time stated on the starter packet.

The sweet yogurt says 6-12 hours or until thick.  The starter I used the other day said 5-7 hours.

Once it's set, remove from the thermos and if you want to use some of the new yogurt as starter, simply scoop some into a clean container before eating.  Then store the yogurt in the fridge...mine never lasts long.  My kids love it with honey or home made jam in it.  I like it plain.

The Sweet Yogurt was a success.  In 2 days we've eaten almost the entire gallon.
----------------------

I have filled the jar with hot water and set it inside the thermos.  Now I'm filling the thermos (with jar inside) with hot water and will put the lid on to heat it while the milk heats.

 

Milk heating on the stove