hearty sweet potato & cinnamon soup

I love soup. Riggs loves soup. Steve's gone a lot. So we have a lot of soup around this house.

When I say soup, I'm not talking about something that comes from a can, either. I'm talking about hearty, homemade soup with lots of veggies and mouth-watering flavor. Mmm, so good!

Often I don't use a recipe, I just whip together whatever we have. We always have onion, carrots and celery around - the base to pretty much any soup. Earlier this week I was in the mood for a hearty soup, and I had some left over cabbage and spinach from dying the easter eggs last week that I wanted to use up too. It turned out so good, especially with a little parmesan cheese to top it off.

.............................................................................................................

Hearty Sweet Potato Cinnamon Soup
serves 4

2 TBS oil (I use organic unrefined extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil would also work great)
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped (leaves too if there are any)
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 cups chopped red cabbage
1 russet potato, cubed (I leave the peel on, you can peel it if you want)
6 cups vegetable broth
1.5-2 cups sweet potato chunks (or these sweet potato puffs from Alexia)
1 can red kidney beans
1-2 cups spinach
1 tsp cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

1 | heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, I add a little salt while oil is heating to take away any coconut flavor. add onions, celery and carrots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2 | add cabbage to the onion mixture and cook down until starting to wilt. add potato cubes and cook about 3-5 minutes.

3 | in a medium soup pot, add vegetable stock and start heating over medium-high heat. add onion mixture to broth.

4 | add beans and sweet potatoes, then cover and simmer until broth thickens a bit, about 30 minutes.

5 | add cinnamon and spinach, stir until spinach is incorporated. let sit about 15 minutes before serving. add parmesan to each serving and enjoy!

ps - I just made this up as I went, so feel free to tweak this to fit your family's needs. I love soup!

the case for homeschooling

Last week when I was at the Anchorage Museum (read about our visit, here), I noticed a small group of kids with quite a bit of variety in ages. I noticed that there were nearly as many adults with, both men and women, and they didn't seem to be affiliated with any school. I was pretty curious, so I was happy when one of the moms commented on how cute Riggs was - it was the perfect chance to learn more about her little group.

Turns out they were a homeschool group, and long story short, they meet two or even three times a week to go swimming, go to the zoo, visit the Loussac Library, or in this case, visit the Museum. Chatting with her about their little group brought the whole school question back up for me in regards to Riggs. Public school? Charter school? Private School? Homeschool? How am I supposed to decide which option will be best for him and any other, future children?

A friend shared an article on Facebook the other day that listed 18 good reasons to homeschool your children. You can find the article here and read over it for yourself if you're interested. I found all eighteen reasons to be pretty substantial, but one stood out to me in particular.

"16)   Better socialization, less unhealthy peer pressure and bullying.  Our kids no longer beg for video games we don’t want them to have or clothes we don’t like, or junky snacks they saw at school.  One of our children struggled socially in school, and his schoolmates were ruthlessly mean.  Despite a school anti-bullying policy and our best efforts to work with the teacher, nothing changed.  Last year he played alone on the playground everyday.  Now he’s organizing playground games at our homeschool co-op, and he’s smiling again.  No one has ever said an unkind word to him at our co-op, because every child is there with his or her own parent.  Our kids have plenty of time with friends, but without  the unhealthy peer pressure and bullying." source

The introduction of unhealthy influences has always been one of my biggest concerns about public schools, and even charter and private schools. I want Riggs to like something because he really likes it, not because 'everyone' else likes it. I want to be able to control who he spends the majority of his day with and for him to spend time with other children whose parents are responsible, loving, and similarly-minded when it comes to the major issues. And when I say similarly-minded, I'm talking about what they expect of their children, not politics or religion. Some people disagree with this approach, with the idea of 'sheltering' their children too much. Personally, I think that it's my job to protect and shelter him, to let him be a child as long as possible. 

What are your thoughts on this issue? Were you home-schooled and if so, what was your experience? If you read the article, what did you think of it? I realize that it might seem somewhat premature to be thinking about school when my child is only 14 months old, but there's so much to think about and research and prepare for! I also want to prepare him a year or two ahead for which ever schooling option we decide on, especially if we decide to send him to school away from home.  

an emotional day

I haven't gotten much sleep over the last two weeks. The worst thing is, there's not any real reason that I haven't been getting sleep. I just can't sleep, it's so frustrating! Either I can't fall asleep or I when I wake up in the middle of the night I can't go back to sleep. Last night Steve was so sweet and rubbed my neck and back to help me fall asleep, and I slept so well for about six hours. It was the longest stretch of sleep I've gotten in at least two weeks, and it felt so good!

I felt amazing when I woke up, and got dressed up and even had my hair curled and some make-up on before Riggs woke up (that is a true miracle). I had to run a few errands in town, so I decided to eat breakfast with Riggs at Turkey Red in Palmer. It was fun to have a date with my little man, and we were the only ones sitting down to eat so it was really quiet and relaxing.

It was a great way to start the day, but I was nearly worn out by the time we got home. I got on my computer to look for a recipe, and to check our local news. I was devastated by what I found there. Early Sunday morning an Alaska State Trooper Rescue Helicopter went down after picking up an injured snowmobiler near Talkeetna, Alaska. I had heard about the crash Sunday evening, but they hadn't released the names yet.

Today I found out that the pilot of the helicopter was Mel Nading, a man whose daughters I went to school with from kindergarten all the way through high school. I can't imagine what they are going through, and my heart is just hurting so badly for them. I remember Mel from elementary school mostly, when he was always so friendly and involved in his daughters lives. His had three daughters, each the same age as me and my sisters, and as a result we've all been sort of inter-connected for as long as I can remember. I haven't seen any of them (in person) in years, but I follow Nichole's blog regularly and I know they are a very close family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this hard time!

I had to get outside and go on a walk in the sunshine to clear my head. It was a pretty emotional day, with lots of highs and lows, and I just feel so tired. When I was putting Riggs to bed this evening, I couldn't keep the tears from flowing as I thought of the families of those killed in the helicopter crash yesterday. And I just prayed and prayed that Riggs won't lose his daddy too early. Steve's job is such a big part of our lives and I'm so proud of him and how hard he works, but it can be very dangerous. I try not to think about that too much, but it's at times like these that the statistics do start to creep into my mind.

pictures Steve texted me from work today

On my walk today by the river I just let the sunshine soak into my soul and warm me all the way through. There was so much beauty all around me that it was hard to remember all the ugly things that happen in this world, that there are so many people hurting very deeply. I'm so glad to have a heavenly Father that loves me and comforts me even when I'm at my lowest.

'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble'

 Psalm 46:1

Easter Recap

I'm pretty exhausted from the weekend, so I don't have many words to write today. We had a wonderful Sunday, it was just one of those perfect days you get every once in a while. We gave Riggs his Easter basket and did a little Easter egg hunt, it was so fun! I was surprised that he actually got it! He's such a little smarty;)

Then we went to church where we had breakfast and a great time of fellowship. After church we went to our friends Sarah and David's house to hang out before going to eat, again. It was such a fun day, and the sun made it even better!

I took lots and lots of pictures of Riggs, but managed to narrow it down to just twenty-three...you're welcome;)

easter basket

he was so excited!

 easter egg hunt

Daddy helped him put the eggs in his basket when

he couldn't hold them all anymore:)

 easter eggs

he figured out how to open the eggs after the hunt

and was excited to find bunny fruit snacks and his favorite cereal

ready for church

he dressed up so nicely for being so sick

my little handsome man!

fun with friends

we hung out with Sarah, David and little Lyla

she is sooo cute, such a little fashionista;)

last year

I can't believe how much changes in a year

here is Riggs at Easter last year:

I hope everybody had a lovely Easter! 

I'm so thankful that Jesus died on the cross and then (more importantly)

rose again, he loves us so very much!

ps here's one more picture for you

it's not very good quality (the lighting was off)

but it just cracks me up:)

pps happy April!