On becoming a soccer mom

Christmas traditions...gotta love 'em!

2006-12-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

In reference to the last post, I thought I'd give you a mini-tour of the slightly scarey, 30 year old Christmas decorations at Grandma Weezy's house...

cookies and egg nog

2006-12-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Oooooh, I love the holidays! I love that my Mother In Law plays round-the-clock Christmas music on the radio, that there are a million Christmas decorations all over the house...even the scarey ones at least have a cool story (they are 30 years old, what Christmas dolls wouldn't have chunks of hair falling out at that age?). I love that Mieke tours the decked out tree every day with Grandma and Grandpa. I love that Jack-the-dog (as opposed to Jack-the-baby) even gets new Christmas toy bears to play with these days. The tree swells with presents and the Gingerbread tea has become a regular brew. These are the days that I love. Making memories with family, new family and old. Making new traditions with Marc and Mieke. I'm cherishing these days. And thanks to my daughter, picking out gifts for Marc has become much easier this year!

...Mmmmm, I don't know if Dad will like that one...

Let me see that other one again...

Oooo! Definitely not that one!

Yea!

2006-12-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

Finally, my blog seems to be functioning normally again! And that is not the only good news in the Hall family today...I'm pretty sure I'm safe to write this here because likely all family members will hear before they read this...

MY BROTHER AND SISTER-IN-LAW ARE PREGNANT!!!!! Yes, this is their first baby and they've successfully been doing Fertility Awareness as a birth control method for a year now, but as many of us know ;) it doesn't work if you cheat! But they are happy. Ethan will be graduating from Notre Dame's Grad School program in May and hopefully have a job lined up by then. So, it seems babies are popping up everywhere...Marc's brother, Tim, is having another boy and his cousin, Debbie, is having a boy soon, too. It's such an exciting time in life!

And, I'm almost afraid to say this, but after having Mieke I've realized that I absolutely adore being a mother. That's not the scarey part...here it is: I want more babies. I mean, I would like to get back in shape again before the next pregnancy. And, yes, I know it's good to have about 2 years between babies, but I simply love having another little person in our family and I can't wait to see what the rest of them will be like.

Ok. There's a little something else. I'm hesitant to write this because we've only just begun this journey of building a family, but I've been thinking a lot about the Gents and the Brodeurs. For those of you who don't know these amazing families, they are huge, ranging from something like 7-11 kids. The kids adore their parents as well as each other and they are such godly people. I just love watching them in action. Oh, I could write an entire blog about these families, but I won't now. You know what's funny, we're watching the movie 'Cheaper by the Dozen' on TV. Ironic. Oh well, God knows how many kids we'll have.

We miss you all, Land-ites!

but, we're all geared up for Chicago

a challenge to all computer teckies:

2006-12-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

we're experiencing technical difficulties with Megan's blog.

here's the sitch:

megan tried to switch over to the new "google" account on blogger. but she doesn't have gmail, so she tried to use my gmail address. and now it has our two blogger pages confused. that's pretty tolerable, but I think it has caused a bigger problem:

now she can get to her login page, and it looks new and everything. she can edit her blog and add new posts, but after every edit, when you click on "view blog", it reverts to her old blog. and if you click on her profile picture on the old blog, it comes up to MY log in page.

so for now, to view Megan's new blog, we have to link from someone else's page.

anyone got any ideas? (oh, i don't know,...hmmm.... possibly.... NATHAN????)

this dyslexic child is waiting...

Megan's new post

2006-12-09T22:50:00.000-08:00

we're suffering technical difficulties, so i as the husband am trying to sort it out.
here's a picture to go along with this post:

My husband went to work today for the first time since our wedding...

2006-08-14T19:18:00.000-07:00

and I'm getting a taste of what life will be like soon...

Ok, so Marc works. But we definitely have a unique lifestyle-living and working in community together. I love it. We've barely spent a day apart for the first 9 months of marriage. We see each other day and night. I think it's a good thing for a couple who only "dated" for 2 weeks and were engaged for 2 months. We're still dating each other, really.

But today Marc went to work for our friend, Scott, who's doing a roofing job about 45 miles from here. Sure, we're still on vacation, but why not try to make a buck or two (or maybe 50) when the opportunity arises? So this morning Marc packed up a lunch and took off for the worksite while I remained in Tahoe, lounging in the sun with the fam.

I think there's something I've been missing in the experience of being a stay-at-home wife and mom and I just realized that I've been looking forward to this for a long time, like, all my life. Don't get me wrong, i have absolutely loved my roles at Prodigal Project and Emmaus Ministries. They've been very fulfilling and I'm so thankful that God has used me to show His love to the poor and outcasts of society. But now that I'm on the brink of motherhood, I'm ready to jump into this entirely new role.

I'm sure some of you moms out there will warn me that it's not all I'm imagining it to be, but I can't wait to have our own home to cook in, clean, and organize. I can't wait to have my very own kitchen to prepare healthy, delicious meals for my family. I can't wait to decorate, to get together with my old girlfriends from Chicago who've just had their first babies, and to have my parents over for dinner.

I don't want to start living a conventional suburban life, untouched by poverty, suffering, and the gritty life of the city. I still want to choose to love those who are hard to love and to lay my life down in ways that are uncomfortable. But I am confident that our Dad has a nitch for us back in Chicago, even if we don't know what it is yet. I'm excited and really ready for this adventure in motherhood to begin...in more ways than one!

Crawdaddy fishin'

2006-08-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Last night's dinner catches tonight's dinner. Who knew Crawdad's liked chicken and salami? I guess anyone who's fished for them...

Sandwiched between my beautiful twin sisters-in-law (and looking like a whale next to them...gotta love the last weeks of pregnancy!)

Would you push your mother into Lake Tahoe for $50?

2006-08-13T18:22:00.000-07:00

Let me set the scene...

Our nephew Jackson is enjoying a peaceful boatride with his daddy, so Louise decides to wade in for the perfect photo. Meanwhile, the rest of the family is lounging on the beach when Steve offers $50 to anyone who will go push Louise into the lake. Stacey ups the ante by asking $100 when Marc decides $50 is enough for him. He darts into the lake to sneak up on his poor unsuspecting mother. One minute she's getting this shot...

and the next moment Marc's snatching her camera and dunking her...

Mom Brackley, beware. I did not know Marc had it in him...Then again, I can't see him turning on his mother-in-law for $50. Too big a risk.

$100...maybe.

No time for creativity...

2006-08-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

but at least I'll write a quick update on our first week of vacation. My mom was just here for a week, which was spectacular. We did a whirlwind tour of the Bay Area including staying at the lovely Chaminade Hotel in Santa Cruz, Steve and Louise's house, the Holiday Inn at Half Moon Bay, and the Hilton at Oakland Airport. (Thanks for making it all possible, Priceline.com!) We did a lot of relaxing things like picnic at the beach, sit and watch surfers, putz around seaside towns, and shop (of course).

Last weekend my incredible Mother-in-law and Aunt-in-law(?) threw me the biggest and nicest shower I've ever attended. There were about 27 guests (half of whom I met that day) and they literally showered us with gifts! After a few returns and exchanges we now have every imaginable item necessary for bringing a baby into this world (including about 300 diapers). Our munchie has the most extensive wardrobe of any infant I know and WILL be cute even if she is one of those alien-like newborns, thanks to baby Gap's adorable jeans.

We've done lots of running around, but i'm happy to announce that we are officially ready for the birth of our baby (6 more weeks and counting). Marc even installed the car seat tonight.

So, the Subaru is packed up and ready for the second half of our vacation adventure: the Hall family vacation in Tahoe. Departure is at 12:00 noon tomorrow and we are ready to roll. I'll wrap it up for now. It's definitely time for some R&R at the end of this errand-filled day...

8 months & still smiling

2006-07-28T23:17:00.000-07:00

CRAZY!!!

2006-07-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

Why does it seem that my life is CRAZY these days? It's not a bad crazy. It's just a really busy crazy. And a good crazy, really. This week we've had the fabulous return of the Jared and Candace family and the arrival of the Matthew and Rachel Ray family (with a 4 month old baby girl in tow). It's been absolutely wonderful having more people around...oh yes, Todd Will is visiting too, after just returning from a 6 week missions trip to Brazil (with New Tribes Mission). So I'm loving the company, catching up with old friends and making a couple of new friends. It's just that there's so much going on these days and the work load seems to loom a bit more.

We've been having some good community meetings lately, talking about issues such as -- dun-dun-dun -- the Vision of the Ministry, roles and responsibilites, new scheduling...These are all very big issues that take lots of thought and much discussion time. And we've also been starting to do outreaches again. Last week we went to Garberville to check out the Farmer's Market and cruise the town to see if there were any hippies around. Seeing as how we picked the hottest day ever, 110 degrees, there weren't many people out. But we've got some people going up to Arcata tomorrow with Iced Chai and homemade cookies (thanks to my dear husband who baked them in a 115 degree kitchen this afternoon).

Anyway, there are 3 lovely girls in my cabin now, ready and waiting to watch a girlie movie...The bottom line is, we're busy but really happy and my apologies for not blogging.

familiar droppings and an odd smell

2006-07-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing to wake up to on a Saturday morning is a dead, rotting mouse in my storage bin under the bed. He must have led a somewhat contented life nestled in there because there are grains buried all throughout my clothes. I can imagine how nice it would have been, lying amidst my cozy winter scarf, storing food in my undies...and taking his last breath nestled in between my woolie socks and my soft cotton tee shirt.

Time to do some laundry.

figurine family

2006-07-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ever seen the movie "What About Bob?" Well, it has been suggested, after discovery of our first family figurine, that each member of the Marc & Megan Hall family have his or her own figurine so that when we have heated arguments it will actually be our figurines doing the talking...

This is Marc's figurine, a cutout picture from his high school football days. (For those of you who don't know, he went on to play college football at Georgetown and was apparently quite popular. I've seen pictures of him signing autographs for wee fans.)

I'll let you know how this goes. If Dr. Leo Marvin believed it to be a useful method for conflict management, it must be good.

Why don't pregnancy hormones come with an "Off" switch?

2006-07-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's funny, just the other day, as I was remarking that I haven't had any PMD's (pregnancy melt-downs) for a while, I felt it coming...like I was jynxing myself. Knock on wood. It came in full force: an onslaught of hormone-driven emotions. Only this time around, it's a little different. I'm definitely more sensitive (as usual) but more than that, I just feel blue. Whenever I'm not doing something, this feeling of sadness comes over me and I can't figure out what is causing it. Except for the alien that's taken my body hostage and is changing my brain chemistry.

In the meantime, Marc is still the best husband in the world, putting down whatever he's doing and listening to me talk about being sad for no reason (that is, after I stare at the wall with a really depressed look on my face for a while). I'm thankful for him.

I'm also thankful for my friends, who have so much grace and understanding. I just talked with my old roommate, Deb, from Chicago, who gave birth to her first baby 2 weeks ago. It's so nice to have friends that are experiencing exactly what you're experiencing at the same time. I have to give her serious props though, because Sam was 9lbs. 12oz. and she had a grueling labor (including back labor and pitocin, eeek!) I digress. My point is this: pregnancy hormones aren't my best friend in the world, but I'm so glad that I have great friends and family with whom to share this time in my life.

Marc's baby

2006-07-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

We are so proud to say that the hostel renovations are coming to a close! Almost all of the detail-work is done and the only remaining project is to install the kitchen. You might think that this is a major step to renovating a house, and, it is. But we are just excited to see everything else finished up. We've all lived in one-room cabins without kitchens for so long that I'm sure Chinua and Rachel don't even mind that little missing detail. I'm proud of all the hard work that our guys have put into it, especially since none of them are professional builders. They've spent hours reading 'Do-It-Yourself' manuals and talking to hardware store employees. And now, their work is paying off! Chinua and Rachel have a hot shower and three rooms, 900 sq. feet, waiting for them. Yea!

The real reason why we have a new computer...

2006-07-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well, if you've read Marc's blog lately you might be thinking that we are fortunate enough to have a computer because of my budgeting diligence. It is true that for the past 5 months or so we have been carefully budgeting, and because of my structured personality, I love it. But it's been harder for Marc to live within the confines of a budget, since he's more of a generous and free-spirit. So he deserves more kudos than I do for that reason alone.

Furthermore, we really wouldn't have this computer if it were only for my budgeting. Yes, saving money has helped, but in reality we have this computer because of the generosity of our Papa. God has used so many of our amazing friends and family to bless us with birthday gifts (beyond expectation!) and continued donations toward our ministry here at The Land...

But the real kicker is this: Picture it with me. (It won't be hard to do since so many of us have traveled this road) Marc and I get married last October. We register at BB&B and REI so we can acquire the type of wedding gifts that one-room cabin-dwelling, traveling couples need. Most of the gifts we receive from REI are for Marc: a hiking backpack, lightweight down sleeping bag, sleeping mat, and a lightweight 3 man tent...all of these things, plus all the other supplies needed to hike and backpack, became ours. We were so excited! I had been on many backpacking ventures with my dear friend, Laura, but Marc hadn't been yet. We could hardly wait till the spring so we could hike the Lost Coast together.

Then...pregnancy. Hey, we're flexible! We're excited. Of course, we'll gladly become parents (a little earlier than we'd planned, like 3 years earlier).

So this summer hits us. My belly is growing an inch a day, I'm eating every 10 minutes and laying down to rest every 20. It becomes apparent that we are not going to be using all that top-notch hiking gear. Not only are we not using it this summer, we're moving to Chicago this winter and we certainly won't be using it to hike around Lake Michigan anytime soon. So, sadly, and after a bit of mourning, Marc decides to return all the unused gear. This was a big deal. It wasn't just about cool stuff we'd gotten for our wedding. It was about huge changes in our lives, in a sense, the loss of freedom and mobility. For a man, giving up his sense of adventure and trading it in for stability and family is a complex and often difficult transition. Now, I KNOW that Marc is absolutely overjoyed at the fact that he is becoming a daddy. It would be worth trading in an entire REI store to hold his little princess for the first time, but I just want to acknowledge his selflessness and love for us girls.

Now, thanks to Marc and the REI return policy, we have a computer and the beginnings of our "moving stash." And that's the real reason why we have a new computer.

A shout-out to Elena and Rene'e

2006-06-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Now you can see why the belly is so big this week!

So, Elena and Renee, don't be jealous but this is what you think it is... homemade ice cream. You're familiar with Grammie Fraser's stellar down-home cooking, since most of the popular dishes I make originate from her, so you can just imagine what her homemade ice cream tastes like: pure heaven. And that's not all. The flavor, you ask? Coffee. Yes, coffee. This is the creamiest ice cream you've ever tasted and traditionally the whole family gathers 'round to "lick the paddle" when it's done. Marc is definitely enjoying many of our Fraser/Brackley traditions this week.

Not only have we indulged in homemade coffee ice cream, we've had homemade brownies, tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, oatmeal raisin cookies, homemade MAINE blueberry pie (Maine blueberries are the small wild ones that are far sweeter in taste than those big Michigan blueberries), blueberry muffins, homemade cinnamon rolls, the list seems to go on and on. Now, for fear of creating jealousy I pause to contemplate whether or not I should even mention the rest. I'll just say lobster rolls. That's it. We've had much more than that, but I don't want to cause a brother to stumble.

And tomorrow is the day that this sweet vacation is ending. It's been great to be with the family, especially seeing Marc my Aunt Valerie, Uncle Scott, and cousins Heather and Cody since Marc hadn't met them yet. We've had a lot of fun together and it'll be sad to leave, not knowing the next time we'll return. But next time will be very different!

Going back in time

2006-06-09T11:57:00.000-07:00

Bear with me. I tried to post these pictures of Marc's birthday at the beach 2 weeks ago and Blogger wasn't cooperating...

The belly has grown significantly since May 25...

Marc's belly has grown significantly as well (just kidding)

Our first baby shower

2006-06-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

Could I come up with a more boring title for a post? I think all this food and relaxation is destroying my creative writing skills. Or perhaps I didn't have many to begin with, but anyway, that's not the point. The point is: my Grandma is the best! She threw me a surprise baby shower this week! It was the sweetest family baby shower I've ever had (thus far) with relatives that I haven't even seen for a few years in attendance. And gifts in abundance! I think my Mom packed a whole suitcase full of gifts for the wee girl. I can't even express my sentiments regarding all of the gifts we got...I'm realizing that I AM turning into one of those proud Mommies who thinks that every little outfit is going to be the cutest thing in the world once it is adorning their precious baby. But, really, she will be the cutest thing in her new little Robeez (picture below) and baby Gap outfits. For those of you who don't know, Robeez are the most adorable little baby shoes ever invented. I haven't figured out how to put links on my blog, yet, but maybe I'll try to figure it out so you can all see what I'm shoutin' about. I thought about taking a picture of all the gifts spread out on the bed, but that's the moment I realized I'm turning into one of those Moms. So, I'm showing restraint and I'll post pictures of the Munchie IN the clothes.

Gram and Mom especially, thank you for treating us like the Queen and her Princess. We are so thankful for the amazing family we have and we don't take you for granted!

Great-Grammie Fraser, Grammie, Mama, and Auntie Heather

The Hostess with the Mostess

Proud Daddy reading "Pat the Bunny" to all us girls (don't tell him I told you, but he was at the shower the whole time, loving every minute of it-what a guy!)

I told him this stuff was for the baby, but...

The famous Robeez (which I did exchange for the purple ones with snails)

Eskimo Papa

2006-06-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

This picture has nothing to do with our summer vacation in Maine (except maybe that this jacket used to be my Grandpa's), but I found it and just couldn't resist sharing it.

Sweet Potato Stew

2006-05-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

The credit goes to my father-in-law, Steve, for this gem...

2 T. olive oil
2 c. finely chopped onion
2 T. minced fresh ginger
2 t. chili powder
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 lbs. red-skinned sweet potatoes (2 medium yams), peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces
2 c. orange juice
2 T. minced garlic
2 15-16oz. cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 poblano chilies, seeded and chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped

sour cream
avocado
orange wedges for toppings

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add ginger, chili, cumin and stir 2 minutes.
Add sweet potato, orange juice, garlic and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, cover and simmer until sweet potatoes are almost tender, about 10 min.
Stir in beans, poblano chilies and bell pepper.
Cover and simmer until chilies are tender, about 15 more minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with avocado slices, orange wedges, and sour cream. Polenta goes great with it too. Serves 4.

Canadian Oatmeal Bread

2006-05-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited recipe:

Boil 2 c. water on stove.

Dissolve in 1/2 c. lukewarm water 1 t. sugar and 1 2oz. package cake yeast (or 3 packs dry yeast).

In a large bowl, mix:
1/2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. unsulfered molasses (Grandma's is best)
1/3 c. butter
1 1/2 T. salt
2 c. dry oatmeal
Add your 2 c. boiling water and dissolve butter.

Add 2 c. cold water. Let cool until lukewarm (lest you destroy your yeast).

Add yeast (which should have been growing).

Add 10 c. all-purpose white flour (2 c. at a time), stirring until you have to knead. Flour your counter-top for kneading and knead in 1/2 c. more flour. (You may need even more flour than 10 1/2 c., depending on the flour you're using. Grammie Fraser only uses Robin Hood...) Knead until dough isn't sticky anymore, but don't over-knead. (This is a delicate process!)

Grease the same pan you mixed the dough in (you don't even have to wash it) and allow the bread to rise for 2 hours or until doubled. It should be in a warm place to rise, preferable a warm oven (but not too warm) and cover it with a warm, damp, breathable cloth or towel.

After 2 hours, punch the bread down then flip it over. Allow it to rise another hour. (Covered and in a warm place)

Pull dough away from sides of bowl and cut into 4 or 5 sections (or do 3 loaves side by side in 9x13 pan). Shape the loaves and put them into 4 or 5 greased loaf pans. Cover with cloth again and allow them to rise 1 hour.

Pre-heat oven to 350F. Bake 35 minutes or until medium-brown on tops. Remove from pans immediately. Butter tops and allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating.

As many of you know, this bread is at its absolute best straight out of the oven, slathered with lots of butter. But it's also great toasted with butter and jam. Enjoy! ...and don't be bashful about spreading the addiction! (We can all thank Grammie Fraser)

Lasagna

2006-05-23T18:32:00.000-07:00

You'll start to notice a theme in the Brackley recipes...everything tastes better with a little cream cheese...

6-8 strips noodles
2 15-16oz cans Hunts tomato sauce
1 small can tomato paste
1 heaping T. Italian Seasoning
1 clove garlic
1 red pepper
1 large onion
1 1/2-2 lb. hamburger
2 8oz. cream cheese (soft)
1-1 1/2 lb. mozerella cheese
parmesan cheese

Chop the onion and saute it in butter or olive oil until transparent. Add minced garlic and chopped red pepper at end, then add to sauce. Fry hamburger on high heat until brown and add to sauce. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Mix about 1/2-1 cup sauce to cream cheese to make spreadable.
In pan layer: sauce, noodles, mozerella slices, cream cheese mixture, sauce, noodles, mozerella, cream cheese, sauce. Make sure the last layer is sauce and sprinke generously with Parmesan cheese.
Bake 30 minutes at 350F or until cheese is bubbling on sides and browning in middle.

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

2006-05-23T18:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you who were around for Land Thanksgiving 2 years ago, these were the Cheesy Mashers...

6 potatoes (large)
1 16oz. sour cream
1 8oz. cream cheese
1 stick butter
milk
16 oz. cheddar cheese grated or chopped

As usual, boil your potatoes until soft, then add all the fattening stuff that makes it so yummy-carbo-liscious! You can sprinkle some of the cheddar on last for a cheesy top layer if you so desire.

Corn Casserole

2006-05-23T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is one of the easiest and ever-popular recipes in history!

1 can creamed corn
1 can corn (drained)
1 stick butter (melted)
1 16oz. sour cream
1 box jiffy cornbread mix

Mix all ingredients together in pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. The top should be golden brown.