Remembering....The Day After

Nine years ago today we woke up to world that was completely different.  Nothing seemed as safe, nothing was as simple and nothing seemed ok.  On the day before we had witnessed planes crashing into buildings and fields, strong buildings falling to the ground and nothing would ever be the same.  As I rocked my two month old little girl, I wondered what kind of world is this?  I tried to explain to my 5 year old and 3 year old why that plane flew into the building.  I had no answers for that.....

On September 12th though, as the dust was still clearing and we waited with our breath held to see if they would find anyone alive.  Hope with every passing minute that there would be miracles.  I remember feeling very disconnected from the rest of the country during those days, weeks, months.  Thankful that I lived in rural Kansas.  But what was replaying over and over on my TV seemed too unreal to be real.  Was it really the same country?

Almost 9 years later, I finally fulfilled a dream to visit New York City.  That day,  9/11 became real to me .  The buildings, people and tragedy found depth and sadness in my heart.  I grieved 9 years ago, but understanding came 9 years later.

 But hope came too.  This looks like a piece of modern art but is really a mangled sculpture that was underneath the rubble of the World Trade Center.  It used to be a perfect globe.  It reminds me now of how we felt the day after.  Mangled, bruised and beaten.  Out of the ruble this was pulled and out of the ruble we stood up.  The scars are still visible, but that is what makes us stronger.  It is a monument to all of us that remember that day that we dust ourselves off and stand proud once again, scars and all. 

Plaque that sits with sculpture in Battery Park, NYC.

Freezer Cooking

Ok so for the month of September I am challenging myself to cook out of my pantry and freezer.  For some reason I have let these two places of my house get out of control.  I am ssssoooo sick and tired of throwing out freezer burned food lost in the black hole of the chest freezer and the two-years-past-expiration date  food from my pantry.  So in this challenge, my rules are simple....1.  The main ingredients for dish must come from one of these two places, 2.  Only main staples (flour, sugar, salt), milk (I have three growing kids), and produce will be grocery shopped.  I foresee that we will eat like kings the beginning of the month and by the end it might be some slim pickin's.  This will definitely stretch my culinary creative skills and my families flexibility to try new things! 

It was kinda cold and rainy here today and it just felt like a good soup day.  Here is a recipe that I came up with from two other recipes from the internet tonight:

Shrimp & Potato Soup

1/4 cup onion (finely chopped)
3 TBS butter
1 clove minced garlic
Salt & Pepper
6-7 med Yukon Gold potatoes diced with skin on
1 32 oz box of chicken stock
1/2 package real bacon bits
1 8 oz package cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
1 cup milk
1 cup frozen corn
1 14 oz package RAW shrimp (peeled, deviened & tails removed) (I had med size about 60 in package)

Melt butter in stock pot.  Add onions and cook until soft, add garlic cook for 1-2 minutes then add bacon, salt & pepper to taste.  Add potatoes to the pot and cover with chicken stockand cover.  Cook until potatoes are fork tender then add cream cheese and milk and corn.  Bring to simmer but do not boil, add shrimp and simmer until shrimp are pink.  Serve with grated sharp cheddar cheese on top, chopped green onion, and or chives.

Milestone

Misty Scmidt Photography

Today was a major milestone in the Geesling house.  Kayley, my oldest daughter, is growing up right before our eyes.  You see just a few short weeks ago she was determined and adamant that she was a tomboy.  I would beg her to comb her hair, wear something other than shorts and ratty t-shirts, take a shower more than every three days, and she would roll her eyes and say, "but I am a tomboy mom!"  But something has happened in these first few weeks of 6th grade.  It started with the hair....she was combing it and putting it in a messy bun.  She said, "mom how does it look?".  Then last night, she announced she was getting up early this morning to curl her hair before school (breaking out the hopeful Christmas present I bought last year).  She coordinated her outfit, shaved her legs and set her alarm to get up early.  WOW!  My tomboy is still there, but is slowing fading as this beautiful girl is blooming.  As she left the house this morning, my husband Eric turned to me and said have you noticed how much she has grown up??  I replied, "yes I have, you know she is going to be asking to wear makeup soon."  He groaned and shook his head as he walked out the door.  Yep, he is in BIG trouble!

New School Year Resolutions

So this week marked the first week of school here.  Some of us were more ready than others.

This one was so nervous/excited she threw up.

This one would have liked to just stay in bed. She is more of a 10 o'clock in the morning girl than 7 o'clock.

This one's life is ruined. His fun filled tractor days of summer are over.

   

 

All in all it was a good day. I always make a few resolutions at the beginning of each school year, kinda like New Year's resolutions. They usually don't even make it to September, but I still try. Here are a few for this year:
1. Bedtime by 9 o'clock
2.  We will eat breakfast at home.

3.  I will not go back to bed after kids leave for school.  (Ok, this is such a nice thought but doubtful.)

4.  We will have all homework and papers signed before the bus is in driveway.

Might have to go back to the drawing board on some of these.  A girl can dream....

This one is consoling the said ruined life one and mourning the loss of his tractor driver. 

Technology and Farming

Ok so I just said to my husband, "Look I started a blog for the farm."  He says, "ok. I don't know what I am looking at but looks good."  Not exactly the glowing praise I was looking for....you see, he is not techie kind of guy.  He was literally born in the wrong century.  He may be a child of the technology age but he just didn't get wired for it I guess.  He would much rather be out on his horse gathering cattle.  The cattle and horses don't ask for passwords or give error messages.  They don't ask for verification or require spam filters.  If you ask him for any of that stuff you will get a look that says, "huh?".  The man is amazing though, he can tear apart a tractor engine and completely rebuild it, put it back together and it will run but he can't for the life of him figure out how to get into email.   Alas he cannot hide from the 21st century forever, because he discovered how wonderful it can be when we upgraded to GPS and auto steer in our tractor last year.  Yes, I said auto steer.  The tractor will steer itself thru the field and all you have to do is sit there and be bored.  (as an editorial: He has informed me that it is not time to be bored, it is rather the time to check the progress and focus on the job. )  He has decided that not all advances are bad.  Maybe he will join us in the 21st century soon.

A new adventure....

Well, I have been thinking about trying this blogging thing for awhile and well, it is 2:12am and I can't sleep so I guess there is no time like the present! So here is my life in a nutshell...I married my high school sweetheart when I was 19 years old. We live in a very rural area of south central Kansas and farm with his family. We have 3 kids that are pure farm kids thru and thru! John Deere is not just cool hats that we wear when we are feeling retro, they are the kings of our fields. We raise crops and cattle on land that my husband's family homesteaded over 100 years ago. You could say farming is in his blood and the only job he has ever wanted. But here is the deal about me....while I love our farm and family, I still long to see the world. I want to experience all that God has created and sample all of it's culture. Let's just say this is not exactly my husbands dream too!! He loves me so he puts up with me and my crazy dreams and I live on the farm and have crazy stories to prove it! Between crazy momma cows, weird weather, parts runs, breakdowns, tornadoes, broken fences, flat tires, and a whole host of other problems on the farm, life is interesting. So while being a farmers wife sounds so nice and simple to many people, let me tell you, it is not so simple!