a week farming with bapa rog...

The 2nd week of October Hudson and I spent at my parents home in NW Iowa.  With fall harvest going on, Hudson got to do lots of "work" with his Bapa Rog.  Combining was of course a highlight, but as you can see from the pictures, they did several other things too.  If its possible for farming to be passed down through genetics, our son certainly got the genes.  I guess that is what happens when both your grandpas love farming so much.  :)  We are grateful for God's provision, protection, and faithfulness displayed during this time of year, an abundant harvest of blessings.  

thirty-three

On Thursday, October 3rd, I celebrated my 33rd birthday.  Wow!  Another blessed year!  Roy had the day off of work so I got to spend it with my two favorites.  We started out with Panera breakfast, like we often do on special days around here, followed by a beautiful morning walk, and then gifts at home.  Later we headed downtown to do some shopping and then enjoyed lunch at Gusto Pizza Co.  Delicious!  During Hudson's nap Roy and I watched the previous weeks episode of The Amazing Race and then I read and relaxed.  No need to be productive on your birthday, right?!  After nap time Hudson and I had some quality play time together, laughing, building, racing, and tickling.  Roy had a XC meet that evening so no date night, but a wonderful girls night with several sweet ladies.  Overall, it was a wonderful birthday.  It was filled with MANY of my favorite things!  I am so grateful for the love and friendship of so many.  

Ten highlights from my thirty-second year were….

*trip to Mexico with Roy in May

*spending my days with Hudson, being a part of all the "little moments" together 

*Bible studies with sisters in Christ

*new friendships

*God's favor upon my Thirty-One business and the relationships I've developed through it

*the purchase of my computer and phone 

*trip to Canada with my family in August

*becoming an aunt (just 9 days after my 32nd birthday)

*celebrating and preparing for Hudson's 2nd birthday in February 

*naming the "gifts" and blessings everyday, the small moments to give thanks for

Breakfast date with Roy and Hudson.  Perfect!  

Hudson helps me with everything, so of course he helped me open my gifts too!  

We did some shopping and browsing at some fun shops in Des Moines that we don't get to very often.  

 Hudson was excited about the pizza, can't you tell?!

A birthday just wouldn't be complete without singing the Happy Birthday song (which Hudson knows most of the words to by now) and blowing out a candle.  

Dinner with friends at On The Border!  Grateful for the friendship of these sweet ladies and how they love, bless, and encourage me.  

 

Oh yes, and I can't forget to mention the ice cream cake.  Roy always makes sure I get one since its my favorite.  We enjoyed it on Friday night with family.  

i created :: apple crisp

Here it is...my favorite apple crisp recipe.  Along with the African Yam Soup I love to make, this apple crisp is one of my fall favorites.  It originally came from my mom's good friend, Nancy Hauswald, as she shared it in the good old northwest Iowa church cookbook.  You just can't get much better than that, right?!?  :)  

Nancy's Apple Crisp

6-8 cups apples, peeled and sliced (making a thick layer to cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan)

3/4 cup white sugar

1 T flour

1 cup water

2 T white corn syrup

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup brown sugar 

1/2 oleo

Mix sliced apples, sugar, and flour.  Place in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish.  Combine water, corn syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Bring to a boil and pour over the apples.  Mix topping ingredients until crumbly.  Cover apples and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until apples are tender.  Served warm and with Blue Bunny Cinnamon ice cream is my personal favorite.    

Apple Days

With the entrance of fall brings some of my favorite flavors, scents, holidays, and activities.  Hot chocolate, colorful leaves, trips to the pumpkin patch, candy corn, combine rides, jeans and sweatshirts, all of these things warm my heart.  Yet, probably my absolute favorite thing about fall (beyond the fact that its my birthday) are APPLES.  They are everywhere and especially abundant this year.  Making a homemade apple crisp and sharing it with others brings me great joy.  And served with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream is even more delightful.  :)  My Grandma Dorothy shared my love for apples, or maybe I got it from her.  Over the years she planted 5 different apple trees on their farm, each specific with a different purpose (eating, baking, making into sauce).  Even though she has passed and is not around to help pick and bake the apples this year, I can only imagine how proud she would have been of the abundant harvest and all of the hard work we did to make good use out of the produce.  And I must not forget to mention my Grandma Ann, when writing about this topic.  She had the perfect touch for making applesauce and always came up with the right combination of cinnamon and sugar to add.  It seems as if my mom inherited that magic touch too.  I have many memories of eating Grandma Ann's applesauce and Grandma Dorothy's apple pie during my growing up years.  It was so yummy!

I captured several photos of our "Apple Days."  We actually had more than one "Apple Day," on two different trips that we made to my parents farm.  It was a family event, everyone got involved.  We made fun memories, worked hard, and made LOTS of applesauce to enjoy in the year ahead.     

Hudson, Dad, and Ryan, picking apples together.  Grateful for an abundant harvest.    

 

Hudson was good at taste testing and helping, as always!  

 Cherilyn, a good family friend, came over to help on Saturday.  With her she brought along this wonderful machine for making applesauce.  It literally cut our processing time in half.  Amazing machine, and its only $57 on Amazon.  :)  

 Evidence of our hard work.  When it was all said and done my mom and I made about 85 quarts of applesauce together.  Awesome!  Next I plan to post my favorite recipe for apple crisp, in case you want to give it a try yourself.  :)      

 

 

NWC Homecoming

The weekend of Sept. 28th we made a trip to NW Iowa to spend the weekend with my parents.  Since we were there, we took in a few of Northwestern's Homecoming events.  It marked my 10 year college reunion so it was a good excuse to get back on campus.  Much has changed, yet many things have remained the same.  It was a cold and blustery Saturday morning, not great for being outdoors, but we still made the most of it.  We toured some of the new buildings, let Hudson play a few carnival games, enjoyed a tailgate lunch with the Govig family, while sharing stories and reflecting on the memories from our time there.  I am forever grateful for the education and training I received at Northwestern and strongly value the Christian environment that was present on campus.  Maybe Hudson will want to be a Northwestern Red Raider someday (if Daddy is ok with him not being an Iowa State Cyclone).  :)      

Fun in the bounce house!

Our attempt to get a picture of Kyler, Kale, and Hudson.  Cute boys!   

Having fun with the white board, drawing circles and writing "letters," just like the college students.    

I purchased a new NWC sweatshirt from the bookstore (where I had my work study job for 4 years).  We also toured the new Learning Commons on campus.  Impressive!    

Tailgate lunch with Hudson's buddy Kyler.  

Tiffany and I grabbed a quick picture by the "Class of 2003" sign.  :)  It was fun to look at the pictures and remember how young everyone was.   

ADM XC MEET

Roy is in his 6th season of coaching Cross Country for the ADM Tigers.  Not only does he get lots of free ADM tshirts out of the deal, but he gets in a workout every night after school with the kids.  I am proud of him and the example he is to the youth.  Hard work and perseverance pay off.  Running is something he enjoys and does well at.  

We went to their home meet on Sept. 23rd in Adel.  It was a beautiful evening, perfect to be outdoors supporting and talking with those you love.  Hudson got his first ride on a big yellow school bus (they shuttled us out to the golf course) and Nana Sue joined us for the fun.  Hudson did great!  My favorite memory was that he asked to take his cow bell along to the meet since he knew there would be runners there.  He wanted to encourage them on, just as he has done for his Daddy at road races.  Love it!  Have I mentioned before that Roy and Hudson play "race" at home?  Hudson runs around in circles wearing a medal while Daddy rings the cow bell.  Fun!    

Coach Swinger tracking the runners times. 

Ringing the cow bell with Nana Sue.  "Go runners!"  

Hudson and Daddy cleaning up after the meet.  Hudson thought he was pretty cool riding on the golf cart.  

Buddies and two of a kind!  Love them!  

Thomas the Train

On Saturday, September 21st, we took Hudson to "A Day Out With Thomas" at the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad.  Hudson had a BLAST and it was a perfect fall evening.  Below are a several pictures from our time.  It was a memorable event, but not something we will make an annual tradition.  :) 

 

Our first stop was the train tent.  There were lots of trains to play with, of course.  

Reading a Thomas book in the passenger car with Daddy.  

Playing in the train bouncy house was so silly that Hudson did it over and over again.  

Using all the train stampers to make a picture.  

Hudson said playing with the bubbles was his favorite part, go figure.   

The train conductor let Hudson punch his own ticket before boarding.  

 

"All aboard."  

Sitting back, relaxing, and enjoying the ride.  

We had to get lots of pictures with Thomas.

Showing off his Junior Train Engineer certificate before heading home.