pumpkin pudding

pumpkin pudding is a staple around our house throughout the year, but in this season there is a certain festiveness to it!

{my sous chef}

pumpkin is a superfood packed with alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, high in fiber, vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium and low in calories.

and its delicious.

pumpkin pudding

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs

one 15oz can 100% pure pumpkin *

one 12oz can evaporated nonfat milk**

* you can also use fresh pumpkin but after preparing the pumpkin, you'll have to strain most of the water out before using it for this recipe.

** coconut milk and almond milk are also good substitutes.

mix sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger and cloves in a small bowl. beat the eggs in a large bowl. stir in the pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. gradually stir in the milk. pour into a shallow over proof dish and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes. the center should be slightly wiggly when done. cool and enjoy at room temperature or refrigerate for later use {or do like we do and keep a spoon handy and just take big bites of it every time you walk by it}.

xox

FALL-ing in love!

we love the fall around the wiley house!

and we've been having fun...

we got silas the awesome ekkore swing from ikea from we have all been loving it!

...and silas started riding a bike! he's a pro already! and already tim and i can sit on the front porch and drink coffee while silas stays within the boundaries {back and forth between the mailbox and fire hydrant...and back again...}

we also got to explore the pumpkin patch on one of our beautiful days. "exploring" the pumpkin patch mostly consisted of jumping off the huge pile of hay bales over and over and then pulling the wagon around the field of pumpkins loading and unloading the wagon in search of the perfect pumpkin! you found a GREAT pumpkin silas jack!

then of course a little trick or treating with the cousins! the UPS man was in rare form and went running up to each house yelling "what can brown do for you?"

 poor tim, he never saw it coming...

 and then a break on the curb {ie break from collecting more candy}to play with some leaves and relax!

i love this season. 

being outside. 

excuses to bundle up. 

lots of time with family and friends.

good things.

i am so grateful!!!

xox

its not too early to start thinking about christmas presents...

or any time, just because presents. 

and here are a few really good ideas...

the samaritan's purse chirstmas gift catalog is a really good place to start.

for $9 you can feed a hungry baby for a week

for $75 you can rescue a child from exploitation

for $15 you can teach a child to read and write

for $250 you can transform the life of a disabled child

for $45 you can buy 10 fruit trees for a community

for $50 you can help stock a fish pond

for $70 you can buy a community some dairy animals

for $35 you can provide a community honey bees and all the starter equipment and training to start a successful honey business

for $75 you can furnish a weeks worth of hot meals to a child

for $10 you can provide a treated mosquito bed net

for $4 you can provide a weeks worth of milk for a child

for $14 you can buy a starter brood of a dozen chicks

for $130 you can buy an emergency shelter

...clean water, emergency medication, care for AIDS orphans and widows, family survival kits, help sending missionary doctors, build a house for a family, household water filters, freshwater wells, shoes, clothes, blankets, and so much more...

buy some toms shoes and a child gets a pair, too.

world vision is another great organization that i wrote about here that gives you the opportunity to bless people with the things they need...

trade as one is a fair trade organization that empowers people to create sustainable business and break the cycle of poverty in the developing world.

you can empower a child and get to know them through compassion international.

so many opportunities to stay connected, show Jesus' love, and save lives. we are powerful in each others lived and in the lives of people we don't even know.

we are supposed to take care of eachother.

so...happy early christmas present shopping......

xox

happy birthday silas!!!

dear silas, today you are three!

so three years into your beautiful life...

• you have lived in russia longer than you have lived in the USA
• you LOVE regina spektor and ingrid michaelson and you sing all their songs
• you throw a frisbee like a pro
• you are so empathetic - you teach adults how to care for one another
• you love kai
• you love thomas the tank engine {and thanks to thomas you use many "british" terms}
• you dance
• you still like to use a lot of the sign language you learned before you could speak
• the way your face lights up when you see your daddy is priceless
• you prefer almond milk or soy milk to regular milk

• you drink pomegranate juice like its going out of style
• you love pete the cat, anything eric carle and move over rover!
• i think you would live outside if we would let you
• you know all your letters and you count to 20 - you are a learner!
• you have a lot of questions but a true desire to understand - that is admirable.
• you say "hello" to everyone you see, and you have been able to elicit a smile from any stranger since you were a little baby on the moscow metro
• you eat salmon but not tuna, you love fresh mozzarella and avacado
• you would be happy if we had a picnic dinner in the backyard every night
• you are a good friend
• you do love your blanket
• you have always been a good sleeper and you still are {you have spoiled us!}
• you love to paint
• you love your family and friends and talk about them by name all the time
• you are cautiously adventurous {a really good balance}
• you love kayaking

silas, you have lived a lot of life in three years...from way back here to all thats in between and now you are three. what a joy to know you. we love you and look forward to many more years!!!

{many many many more pictures and videos from these last few years here!}

happy birthday buddy! we love you!!!

{you took this picture a few days ago...photographer in the making!?!?!}

xox

happy saturday!

oh how i love that lovely pile of pillows.

happy saturday!

{we're headed out to play!}

xox

dear silas,

i love the way you love the sky.

you are so interested in the colors, the clouds.

you understand {and explain to people in the grocery store} that when the sun sets, its the people on the other side of the worlds turn to have some daytime.

you teach me and i am grateful. 

thank you.

i love you so much!

xox

learning how to rest

in 1882 a cabinet maker named peter mcguire suggested the idea for a new holiday to celebrate american industry and give workers a day off. that idea was later signed into law by president cleveland and is now what we know as labor day.

but resting wasn't a new concept even then.

it was originally introduced as the sabbath.

the author of a book called "breath" reminds...

"we are created in the image of God, and he modeled for us a way of life that makes sense for how we are created. Here's how to dance the dance of life, he said: work, be creative, use your imagination, throw yourself into it, whether you are washing dishes, reading to your kids and running a household, or trading stocks, reading corporate reports, and running a business...at the end of each day, stop. take a rest, eat a good meal, get enough sleep, and refresh yourself. take time to think about your day, to notice where God was in it and where you were blessed, and to say, "it's good." then go back at it the next day. and after six days, take a whole day off. and say "it's really good." spend a whole day just pausing, just reflecting on how really good it is, and then start the dance again, at a sustainable pace."

i think that is not only a good idea, its what we are designed to do.

some of my favorite moments include but are not limited to...

...those that happen on a long weekend!

happy labor day weekend!

 

 

this weekend we are...

 

flying high...

 

 making pancakes...

and admiring the sky...

{this picture was NOT posed! silas was out after dinner playing with kai and we looked out and this what we saw. simple deep breaths and admiration. we can learn a lot from him.}

{just too good not to share!}

many many more pics of these days are almost posted on picasa.

also this weekend...

 

celebrating hunter and madi! {pics on the way}

 

happy birthday ken and jen and ben and hunter {and madi a few days earlier!}, happy anniversary corbin and christy, and always thinking of zach and joey and jared, always...

xox

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

tim and silas and i had a great adventure a few weeks ago at re-store, an awesome place here in tulsa. as the website says, recycling at its best. 

reduce, reuse, recycle...please.

re-store helps keep usable items out of landfills. doors, door knobs, handles, trim, windows {as seen below}, cabinet doors, tools, everything...even the kitchen sink.

so it was a fun adventure for all.  silas got to run and play and talk to everyone who would talk to him and tim and i got to dream and be inspired about how we could use some of these fun treasures we were finding!  plus all proceeds go to habitat for humanity. meeting a basic need, i think that is a great place to start.

one of our exciting finds was this window.  just a little scrapping, mixing up a green i like, a light coat of new paint and some hanging brackets...voila!

{all of these pictures are a little different to me, and i love them all, so i'm sharing them all with you!}

something old...the window

something new...the window {to us}

something borrowed...everything on this earth

and...

something blue...those eyes!  look at those eyes!

my beautiful butterfly

yesterday silas and i were hanging out with my aunt at her house and as silas swung in her string hammock from the yucatan {circa 1978} he recited the very hungry caterpillar saying...

"i built a small house around myself called a cocoon that i lived in for more than two weeks, then i pushed my way out and i was a beautiful butterfly!"

and indeed he is.

we watched a sesame street this morning and they talked about bicycles and tricycles and the importance of wearing a helmet, so he's now insisting on wearing his helmet as he rides around inside the house...not a bad idea...i guess?

silas, i love knowing you.

hello moon, goodnight mittens and goodnight kittens

because someone else is getting some good out of our camera somewhere in france, we got a new camera {thanks to insurance and overstock.com}.

with a 80X optical zoom.

thats a lot of zoom. 

yes, that is the moon as seen from our backyard the last few nights {at an 80X optical zoom advantage}.

the moon is in synchronous rotation with the earth and is the earth's only natural satellite. the moon's gravitational pulls produce the ocean tides and have an effect on the length of minutes in a day.

the moon is an amazing thing that we have the opportunity to bypass or be thankful for every night. the truth of the moon reminds me of my favorite song and the reason i named this blog the color green when i started it a few years ago before russia...

...and the moon is a sliver of silver
like a shaving that fell on the floor of a Carpenter's shop... 

be praised for all Your tenderness by these works of Your hands
suns that rise and rains that fall to bless and bring to life Your land
look down upon this winter wheat and be glad that You have made
blue for the sky and the color green that fills these fields with praise ...

and tim took a great video, for a little perspective...

soul food

i am grateful for my husband who brings me a beautiful blue hydrangea flower, a fun drink, and a redbox movie just for fun!

...and i am grateful for my amazing artist who makes beautiful creations for us to decorate our walls...

i am grateful that we just celebrated the 7 year mark of the day tim came home from the war...

that was a good day.

and the first moment was captured...

we stood like this for a long time...

as of august 19, 2010 all combat troops are out of iraq, and we were a part of that so for us too its a closing to a certain chapter.

i'm grateful that while tim was there he had good friends who took care of eachother...

and he took care of these...

{can you see him in that crowd?}

i love these faces.

we have so much to be grateful for, and its good for the soul to stop and consider that often. take time. its rejuvenating, refreshing, restorative. don't let it pass.

my smoothie king

...really, he's a pro.  

silas' perfect everyday smoothie:

apple juice

a few huge spoonfuls of vanilla or greek yogurt

wheat germ

whole banana

a few handfuls of frozen strawberries

blend to perfection and enjoy!

this is what i love...

i think its really sweet, the way i seem to go invisible to silas once tim gets home....

he loves his daddy. and whats not to love?

{happy weekend!}

a few full weeks in a few words

because someone in paris is getting some good out of our camera {hopefully!  the least they could do is take some great pictures!}, this will be a "word picture" post.

the last few weeks have included...

silver dollar city {or hundred dollar city if you ask silas} adventure with my parents, tim, silas and myself {including silas riding his first "rides" ever, and me and tim riding roller coasters like kids {and then getting back in line immediately to do it again}}

splash park.

surprising a dear friend for his birthday{the surprise also included a bunch of marine buddies reunited...truly priceless, high unpredictable} {we love you brian!}

great time with friends...

seattle.  wonderful trip.  for tim's work conference but i got to tag along. seafood while literally sitting on the dock {could have just jumped out of the water, sprinkled some seasoning on itself and landed on my plate}...pike place market. fish throwing. fresh flowers. honey sticks. just-picked raspberries. finding a fun tiny little town nearby and walking in each little shop. finding a great resource on how to home-make dog food.

more great time with friends...

new wood floor {thank you warranty dept}.

splash park.

new carpet in one room {again, thank you warranty}. 

friends...have i mentioned that?

splash park.

i am so thankful that i have gotten to travel the world as much as i have so far in 31 years.  but i love tulsa, and i'm always glad to come home to you.

31 was a good birthday...

monday july 5 was my birthday and it was a great one.  tim and i took silas to his first movie ever {toy story 3} and was a sweet several moments there sitting in the dark, sticky-floor-popcorn-smelling room.  did you know they have booster seats for the theater seats so little ones don't get sucked into the crack in the chair as it threatens to swallow them?  so cool.  silas' arm stayed shoulder-deep in a bucket of popcorn for the whole movie as he peered barely over the top edge of the bucket.  a sip of coke every now and then.  i don't think he blinked the whole time.  and i love movies, and i think movies are overpriced, but this one was priceless, truly.

when they steal your camera, buy a disposable and keep having fun

this probably should be a post about the amazing trip that tim and i just had the opportunity to take to france, and we were beyond words blessed to get to experience. 

and it will be about that some...

but mostly it should be about my amazing husband and best friend.

if ever you are looking for tips on the right perspective and attitude and heart to maintain when on the first day of your international trip your bag, including all your clothes and camera, your only suit and tie, your four favorite pairs of shoes, favorite running shoes and shorts, favorite undershirt {you know, the things you can't replace easily} and everything else that is your favorite that you take on a special trip...is stolen...talk to my husband. exemplary. model. jesus-like. he is amazing.

for the rest of the eight days he wore what he left our house in bixby wearing.  he did get to borrow a pair of jeans for a few days from a friend we had there.  {and he honestly did smell great}.  otherwise, he rinsed his clothes in the sink and hung them to dry. he borrow a suit from someone we know for the wedding he was officiating in the french countryside. he wore a pink dress shirt for a fancy dinner {because that was all our friend had} and i think i've convinced him to buy a pink one for himself - he never would have done that otherwise, but even he agreed...he wears it well.

we bought a disposable camera and took pictures we couldn't look at right away.  that was an adventure.  we did it like we used to in high school...got our pictures developed at walgreens when we got back to the US and being impatient we flipped through the stack sitting in the car in the parking lot.

i see how amazing and selfless tim is on a daily basis, but in situations like the ones we walked through in france, its hard to take my eyes off him, the peace and patience he holds onto when its tough. it was even fun and adventurous filing a police report in the little office in the train station in lyon. the police officer practiced his english on us, and we all laughed as he told us a few stories about when he was a kid. priceless moments.

oh, and france was amazing. 

train ride to lyon. preparing for a wedding. making new french friends who {thanks to facebook} we've already re-connected with from our internet connection to theirs. kissing once on each cheek. picking flowers in the fields in the french countryside for the wedding later that day. a wedding at a castle. a party at a castle. learning the customs. train ride to paris. celebrating. melding french and american ways and people. paris. montmartre. french art. sacre coeur. eiffel tower at night, watching the city wake up for the evening. iced coffee outside a cafe in the art district, reading our books. 

our hearts did break to miss silas.  that was hard. but he was blowing bubbles and building with clay, and at the jenks aquarium, and taking walks, and making art from the leaves he picked up while on his walks, and watching thomas the tank engine, and being loved on so much by his noni and pop and bono and daddad, no kid could ever want for more.  but the reunion was truly reuniting and like letting a breath you'd been holding out...

so an amazing time had by all...even the guy who is wearing tim's favorite clothes now, somewhere in france....

noyvecheremyshkinskaya at 3am one year ago today

one year ago today, in the darkness of the early morning, we said a bittersweet goodbye to our russian neighborhood and all the little details that had become our home for a few years...

...the first home silas had known...

...a home that grew us in more ways than we know even now...

we said goodbye to some dear friends, and see you later to some others...and hello to others...

i love that season of our lives and i am forever grateful for it.

often the view from our kitchen window, looking down on our greenbelt, watching moscow go by...

...thank you moscow...