My Son Has Returned

My son has returned!  Seth made the drive back from Ohio and arrived last night.  Sometimes you just don’t know what your kids are capable of and he did surprise me.  He seemed to handle the drive well; we made sure that we called him quite frequently to see how he was doing.  The first day he drove 8 hours to my mom’s and stayed overnight.  The next day I think he drove 12 or 16 hours and still wanted to go on but Russell booked him a motel room so that he could get some decent rest – and because he knows how dangerous it can be to drive when you’re tired.

The next morning Seth left at about 5:30 a.m.  An hour or two later, as he was driving, he saw on the opposite side of the freeway a car flip from end to end.  He parked (about 200 yards down the road), grabbed his knife and ran back. 

For a little background as to why he grabbed his knife.  A year ago as our family was driving down the freeway to Louisiana a van went off the road right in front of us and rolled.  We stopped and the boys all ran to the van.  The van was still upside down and there was a man trying to get out of his seat belt and having trouble.  This incident made Seth think about what he would if he was ever in a situation like this again.

Back to the present.  Seth grabbed his knife and ran back thinking that if the car caught on fire and they needed help getting out, he would be able to assist.  (I was impressed with his quick action.  But I guess this is what they say you should do.  Think through how you would react in an emergency so that if the time comes and you need to act, you are not paralyzed wondering what to do.)

When he arrived at the car there was another man there already.  It was a lady and two children.  One child was in a car seat and the other had been thrown out.  The child in the car seat was fine.  The mother crawled (she couldn’t walk) over to her little girl who had been thrown out and kept saying, “I’m sorry my babies, I’m so sorry.”  After she reached her girl she was in terrible pain with her legs.  Seth thought her legs and 1 arm was broken and that the little girls arm was broken.  It really touched Seth to see this mother so obviously concerned for her children.  That’s a mothers love isn’t it?  I know all us mom’s can relate.  We would give our lives for our children in order to spare them.

Seth stayed until the ambulance and police arrived (about 25 minutes), holding the baby for a little while and covering them with a blanket.  The police officer told Seth when he was leaving to be careful.  Seth was thinking, “I sure will after seeing this.”

What was the cause of the accident?  The lady bent down to pick something up from off the floor.

I’m thankful that the Lord brought him safely home and that the accident he saw was not even more horrific.

A grateful mom…

Photos of a Cowboy Kid

Probably inspired by Serenity’s photo shoot with Audrey, I decided to try one myself.  Usually, I take the children to a professional photographer but with funds being tight, I’ve been hesitating.  Too long as a matter of fact.  I like to get a picture of them when they turn 13.  That didn’t happen with Wesley and he’s now 14.  Oh, dear! 

I also like to get a picture of them at age 6.  Since Justus turned 6 in April, it was time for him.  I had the clothes I wanted him to wear and so one day this past week, we decided to just take the pictures.   Getting pictures of children is no easy task.

First it started off with the slouch and little to no smile, “because I’m a cowboy” .

Then it was the stiff as a board look.

We got rid of the stiff look but the smile still isn’t right and the head is too tilted.

Because the smiles were minimal, mom, (that’s me, folks ) decided to help out a little.  I grabbed his mountain man “necessary bag” in which he had a few pieces of candy and pretended I was going to eat them.  Instead of the big smile because mom is so funny, I got the stunned and distressed look. :( Okay, forget that! 

Okay, time for some fun…

The serious, contemplative cowboy.

But then we started making progress towards getting a few good ones.

Until finally we got this one.  And guess what?  This picture and the composition of it was all Justus’s idea.

Off to C*stco online we went and ordered all the pictures I wanted, 8×10, 5×7’s and some 4×6’s.  All for about $4 for a grand savings of over $140.  Fantastic!

Can I show you a few more?  Here’s one that Serenity set up.  She wanted Justus in the foreground and Audrey in the background.  Cute.

And finally, Daddy and his little girl.  (I have a similar picture of Serenity when she was the same age (3) wearing the very same outfit. It’s one of my favorite photos and I always wanted to get the same picture with Audrey.)

The Varied Pursuits of Children

Isn’t it so delightful watching your children explore their interests?  You never know what will grab their attention.  Although all of my boys love the outdoors & boy things, their interests are varied.  Even if they all enjoy the same activity, the levels of their intensity may not be the same.

Here are a few things that I have thought of that my boys have shown enthusiasm for over the years:

boxing

fencing (this was peaked by our Middle Ages Study)

hunting

archery

rock climbing (be still my pounding heart!)

hiking the Grand Canyon (one of my sons has now done it twice; he went down & up in one day, one time hiking out with a nasty sprained ankle)

gardening

math

horses

walleyball (since we have our own court, they play often and know all the rules – beware! if you should break one)

G.A. Henty books – still a favorite

living in the woods

plants and their uses

 

My daughter has her own interests.  Although hers are not as varied, they’re just as absorbing to her as if she had a whole page.  She enjoys:

crafts

sewing

writing letters (oh, the stamps she’s gone through)

cooking

art

piano

dogs/cats

But then just the other day, she decided to take herself and her sister Audrey (3 yrs.) outside for a photoshoot.  She set up the tripod, composed the setting and using the self-timer, took the picture. 

I thought the composition of her photos was really creative.

I was really impressed that she was able to get Audrey to cooperate.  It seems that every time I’ve tried to get a family picture one of the little ones always end up crying.  Everyone just wants to goof off and poke the person in front of them, etc.  I get exasperated and it just goes downhill from there….  and well, we won’t tell you the “rest of the story”.

So what are some of your children’s pursuits/interests?  I’d love to hear about them.

“It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.”

If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind…for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour.”

                                                                                                                                                            – Fanny Crosby

                                                                                                                                                                 1820-1915   

Chicken & Potato Packets Over Coals

At our elk hunting camp everyone joins together in the evenings for supper.  I plan the menu and assign each person what they need to make/bring.  If the husbands come without their wives I always assign them foods that require no last-minute preparation. 

This year I decided to try grilling one night.  Now I’m the type to try new recipes on my guests but since I’m making an effort to change that habit, I did practice this at home – once.   It turned out so well that I felt confident we could do it at camp. 

I was a little concerned about wrapping the chicken in aluminum foil because of all the negative things I’ve heard aluminum does for you, but then my niece recommended I use parchment paper first, followed by the foil.  An excellent suggestion!

I was forgetting one little detail in all my planning and that was we had over 60 people at camp.  When I realized that I would be making 91 packets, I swallowed  hard and had to really think about the logistics of the whole operation.  My first plan involved using some extra oven grates we had around here to set on the fire but I realized that with 91 packets I didn’t have near enough oven grates.  So that idea was thrown out when my husband came up with the clever idea of using hog panel fencing.  So that’s what we did.  We took 2 panels and overlapped them, making for the most part, small openings that the packets could not fall through. 

Here is how we cooked the packets.

Russell had some boys, who were full of energy, to dig/pick a trench for me 12′ long and 2′ wide.  The depth was about 1′.  Then a fire was built using pine wood which worked okay but if you have hardwood around, I think it would be preferable.  The problem I had with the pine wood was the coals were already starting to die out in some areas.  Not what I wanted when I had so many packets to grill!

Here is the trench.

After the fire died down, I spread the coals into a thin layer.  Those coals are very hot so only a thin layer is needed for the duration of the cooking time.  I placed the hog panel on the fire trying to overlap them properly.  Then came the chicken packets.

As you can see from the picture we still had areas of flame that we tried to avoid.  All it does is burn the chicken and you don’t want that!  As it was, we had a few pieces that did not escape the blackened effect. 

We flipped the packets every 10 minutes to try and avoid any burning.   If we were cold when we started cooking, we weren’t when we finished.  Those coals are hot! 

I was very pleased with the results.  I’ve always wondered how to cook over coals and now I found it’s nothing to be intimidated by.  For me the main thing is to be sure you have coals and not fire.  Secondly, to spread them in a thin layer.  They don’t need to be deep.

Here is how we prepared the chicken packets.

I made a rub from How to Grill by Steven Raichlen.  It is a tasty rub that I definately recommend.  I did not follow his measurements exactly since I thought it sounded like a lot of salt but I’ll type it up just as he has it in the book.

Basic Barbecue Rub

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sweet paprika

3 T black pepper

3  T coarse salt

1 T hickory-smoked salt of more coarse salt

2 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. celery seeds

1 tsp. cayenne pepper.

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir.  Store the rub in an airtight jar away from heat or light; it will keep for at least 6 months.

1.  Lay a piece of heavy duty foil down, followed by parchment paper

2.  Place a pat of butter on paper (I thought this might help it to brown the chicken but it may not be necessary.)

3.  Place piece of chicken on butter pat and rub some of the Basic Barbecue Rub on.  (Since I had so many pieces of chicken to do, I placed several pieces of chicken into a bowl, sprinkled the rub on and just kind of mixed it up so that all the pieces would get coated.)

3.  Place a small to medium potato in each packet.

4.  Fold the sides of the parchment first, followed by the bottom and then the top. 

5.  Repeat the same step with the foil.

6.  Cook for 1hr. 15 minutes. 

You will have a delicious chicken piece and a perfectly done potato.  Add to your meal some salad and a hot roll and you’ll have a complete meal.

Elk Hunting Camp 2009

I survived our annual elk hunt.  Dirt, dust and campfire smoke was the worst of it.  The best of it was making good food for hungry hunters, spending time with friends and getting to know new ones.  Our family, as well as my sister’s family, were there to the bitter end (an entire week!).  It was so good to spend time with them. 

I didn’t get this dirty but I felt it.

 

The kids have the best time and really look forward to the hunting camp.

 

Slamwich & Dutch Blitz were the favorite games this year.

 

We had over 60 people this year.  What happened to going to the woods for a little peace and quiet?

 

Russell was only getting about 3-4 hours of rest each night  due to the fact that some elk were shot in the quiet area (where no vehicle can go) in the evening time and had to be packed out.  He also did locating at night (driving the roads and playing an electronic elk call to see if he could get a response) so that he could direct people where to go the next morning.  He is such a people person.  This is such a joy and delight to him to be able to serve people this way.  Myself?  Well I prefer a bit more rest than that.  

Here is my hunter girl.  She got her elk again this year with 1 shot. 

 

Developing muscles and accuracy

 

I experimented with my Dutch Oven.  No briquettes just live coals from the wood.  I was really hoping it would work because this was the main part of their breakfast one morning!

 

It worked; it wasn’t even burnt.  I, of course, was thrilled.

 

Wesley, having a good laugh with his cousin.

 

There’s that bearded man who showed up at my house a week ago.

 

Half man, half beast.  Another one of my interesting, slightly strange, dare I admit(?), sons. 

 

Finally, when it was time for some to depart we just couldn’t handle it and had to try and stop them.  It didn’t work.

One by one everyone left until it was just us and my sister’s family.  Hunting season was over and we had to pack up, too.  The food supply was almost gone and showers were desperately needed.  Good reasons to head home.

Reduce

The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.                           

Taken from the book The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda

Welcome Home, Son – for Awhile

My son left home 3 1/2 months ago clean shaven; yesterday, when I picked him up at the airport, I received a big surprise!  I don’t think it’s just for the hunting season either!

It’s good to be together again.  He’ll be here a week and then flying back to Ohio.  Goodbye for now.   We’re off to hunting camp…

Free Movie at BlueBehemoth

BlueBehemoth has now been on the ‘net for 1 year.  To celebrate, for this week only, you can download A League of Grateful Sons by the Vision Forum company for free.

Visit BlueBehemoth.com to download.

Time for our Annual Elk Hunt

The elk hunting season is upon us and so the conversation at our house has centered around camping and hunting for the last few weeks.  Wesley is trying to get his hunting gear in order.  He was referred to a site called CamoFire and he faithfully checks it when he wakes up.  They offer new deals on hunting gear at least once a day.  If you have an avid hunter in the family, you might want to check it out.

Seth is coming home from Ohio for the occasion. He’ll be here a week and then he returns to Ohio for about 3 weeks and then he’s coming home!!  He had his 19th birthday last week and so we had to mail him his birthday gift.  We gave him anything we could think of that would help him on his drive back to Arizona:  a gas gift card, sunflower seeds, trail mix, beef jerky, & homemade granola for the 3 day drive.  We also included a picture of a big Kaibab buck and wrote, “Awaiting YOU in Arizona”,(he’s hunting Ohio deer right now, so we wanted to remind him of the big bucks Arizona has to offer), and included a picture of an elk and then one of his own dear family. 

Hunting camp is a big deal in these parts.  It’s the only time a lot of us get away to go camping so we like doing it once a year.  This year we have about 62 people going, 18 of them are hunters.  You usually go to the woods to get away from the noise and hustle and bustle of life but I have more quiet here at my house than I think I will at hunting camp!   But it’s a good time even if you do come home smelling like a campfire.

All of join together for an evening meal and I do the planning of that.   This year I’m making chicken & potato packets one night  and grilling them over wood coals.  Others are bringing sides. I don’t think I had really thought it through when I sent the menu out to everyone.  Originally I planned to take some oven grates we have around here and dig a shallow area in the earth just wide enough for the grates.  Our grates would have only held 36-40 pieces of chicken.  I’m doing a lot more than that – about 90!  Clearly I needed another plan.  The latest idea is to take some hog panel fencing, cover it with chicken wire and put my aluminum packets on top.  It will be a most interesting grill since it will probably be 6-8′ long and setting on the ground.  I’ll try to remember to get pictures and post next week.

We have a travel trailer that I’ll be sharing with another lady and her girls.  Most of the men will be sleeping in a wall tent that has a wood burning stove in it that keeps them warm until the fire burns out.  The rest of the group have trailers, although there will be a few regular tents.  Those are the really tough campers!

You won’t be seeing me here at Treasuring the Moments for a few days but I’ll be sure to catch up with you next week. Oh, if you have never heard an elk bugle you really have to see this.  It’s video footage of elk bugling in Rocky Mountain National Park .  Elk bugle the most during the mating season (the fall of the year).  It’s an awesome sound to hear when you’re out in the woods.