Veni, veni Immanuel

It's Beta Day around here, the third one we've celebrated.

"Celebrate??" you may ask. Yes, we celebrate.  We celebrate what we have.  We celebrate what God has taught us.  We celebrate what a good God He is.  And we celebrate in anticipation of the renewal of all things.  It's not a skipping and jumping kind of celebration, but one of thankfulness, remembrance, and waiting.

Waiting 

by Eric Oglesbee

We wait.
The world is not as it should be.
We wait for when everything will be made new,
when our bodies no longer bear the scars of our sufferings.
We wait.

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.

Clean toilets make me happy

Yes, I'm really talking about toilets today.  I have a fabulous toilet bowl cleaner recipe I want to share with y'all, and well, there's just not much else going on around here right now.  Both boys are down for naps, and I have some free time to myself (gasp!).  So I'm using it to get all excited about how clean my toilets are!  My friend Betsy found it hilarious how stoked I can get about this, and some of you may think I'm downright weird, but I'm going to share anyway!  This toilet bowl cleaner will not only disinfect (but not sanitize) your toilet, but it will also save you money and ease your conscience about pouring nasty chemicals down the drain and releasing toxins into your house.

So without further ado...drumroll please...here's what I now use to clean my toilets:

Lisa's Toilet Bowl Cleaner
6 oz. (3/4 c.) hot water
1/2 c. Borax
6-8 oz. (3/4-1 c.) liquid dishsoap
8 oz. (1 c.) white vinegar

Dissolve the Borax in the hot water completely.  Pour the water mixture, the dishsoap, and the vinegar into an empty 24 oz. toilet cleaner bottle.

Voila!  Easy peasy, healthy, and oh-so-cheap!  Just use the same way you use your store-bought toilet cleaner, but let sit for 10 minutes in the toilet bowl so that it has a chance to disinfect things in there.  And enjoy your clean toilets!

My, oh my, life is different now...

...Mostly because of this adorable little dude:  

 

Photo courtesy of Brian and Sheri Beall

But, even though I hate change, different is not bad in this case.  Tobin is a blessed addition to our family and is settling in quite nicely.  He's a good eater and a relatively good sleeper (for a 2-week-old) -- what more can a mom ask for at this point?  As proof of his good eatin' skills, he showed up at his doctor's appointment today 2 pounds heavier and an inch and a half longer than 15 days ago when we left the hospital!  Sheesh!  No wonder I feel like a human bottle!

This week has seen the return of most of our normal day-to-day happenings.  After two weeks of floopiness, Ian and I were in sore need of some normalcy.  So we went grocery shopping on Monday, to Bible study on Tuesday, and to play group today.  Our afternoons have been blessedly calm and relaxing around the house, and our evenings have been filled with yummy meals (mostly brought in by loving people from our church) and Star Trek:TNG viewings as a whole family.

It's nice being a family of four.

Gamma = Tobin

Meet Tobin Nathanael Oglesbee:

He was born yesterday at 4:36pm, and was 7 pounds 6 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long.  Labor and delivery went incredibly smoothly, and he is a very healthy boy.  We have much to be thankful for.

His name has a Hebrew lineage and a Scotch/Irish usage, and means, "God is good."  We felt it was the best description of his life and how he came to be.

We're praising God for this great blessing!

This and That, Fall 2010

Yeah, so I haven't posted in over two months again.  Back around Labor Day, we were just beginning the fall semester and things hadn't started really piling up yet.  Then this massive snowball of work rolled into our lives and was exacerbated by the exhaustion accompanying the latter part of my pregnancy...and well, blogging took a back burner to lesson prep and trying to get enough sleep to get through the day.  Thankfully, the class I taught at Bethel encompassed only the first 7 weeks of the semester, and I've had some time to catch up a bit.  (Eric, on the other hand, is still completely swamped.)  And with Baby Gamma's imminent arrival, I'm betting this blog won't get much attention over the next month or so as well.  Such is life. 

So here are some fun/interesting things that have happened in the Oglesbee household in the past two months:

We were blessed by a nice visit from our Wisconsin friends the Borkes back in the third week of September.  They were making a goodwill tour of Indiana and stopped at our place for two nights to play video games and catch up on life. They have three rockin' little girls who kept Ian more than entertained and were even able to put him in his place a time or two.  It's always nice to spend time with their family, and the time is always too short with too much time in between.  We're looking for a date when we can pay them a visit as well.

The next weekend, my best friend Andrea lovingly and thoughtfully threw us a shower in book party form.  Instead of bringing only regular baby gifts, which we didn't need a whole lot of this time around, people showered us with books!  I was totally geeked out by the stacks and stacks of good children's books we received from friends and family:  popular classic board books like "Goodnight, Moon" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," fun educational books like a Baby Einstein art book, and even classic chapter books like "Peter Pan" for older kids.  I was overwhelmed by the generosity and support of the people we know.  Add to all of that Andrea's fabulous finger foods and delectable coconut cake, and it was a real party! 

Ian refusing to smile for the family photo

 On the first weekend of October, we took a quick one-day trip down to Bloomington for the IU vs. Michigan football game.  We got super-cheap season tickets this year, thanks to a "Young Alumni Special" IU had going on, and were hoping to make it to up to three games this fall, but life (namely, pregnancy and a crap-load of school work) got in the way of those plans.  As always, though, it was a fun day of football and friends, even though IU couldn't pull out a last-minute victory and began their season slide into oblivion.  Sigh...it's hard being an IU football fan.   

Ian with his friends AJ and Jillian

Conked out in the car at a gas station on the long, dark drive home

Jars of Clay in Gates Gym @ Bethel

On October 12th, Bethel's Student Council hosted the band Jars of Clay, with Brandon Heath as the opening act.  Since Eric is the faculty advisor to StuCo, a lot of the planning and coordinating fell on his capable (but tired) shoulders.  Overall, it was a great experience for him to oversee something of this magnitude, and I think he scored some points with the staff and administration at Bethel for how well things were carried out.  The concert itself was fun, and I was surprised at how good Jars of Clay still is -- they know how to put on a good show and they really are quite talented. 

View from the balcony of the cottage

A couple weeks later, some dear friends from church invited us to go to a lake cottage owned by some previous members of our church (whom we have never met).  The cottage is practically suspended over a large dune overlooking beautiful Lake Michigan.  Spectacular views, lots of lounging, taking several walks a day, and eating fabulous food comprised our weekend there.  It was a time of much-needed rest and good company that we are even now extremely grateful for, as it helped prepare us for this last push to the end of the semester and the major transition of adding a new member to our family soon. 

Ian's camera skills at work.

On one of many walks; Ian and his best friend J-man

That just about brings us up to today as far as interesting things go.  As of this point, we're just waiting until Gamma decides to join us and trying to enjoy each day that we have.  My due date is less than two weeks away now (November 22nd), but if my doctor and Eric are right, this dude will probably be here sometime before that.  We'll see.  :)

Thanks for reading!

A Nice Rest on Labor Day

This weekend has been everything a weekend should be:  relaxing, rejuvenating, and full of good food and good people.  After a fairly crazy week, we all needed a rest and some diversion.  On Saturday, we hosted a football party for 18 of our friends and their kids in our living room, during which Eric smoked and grilled the most aMAZing ribs ever.  Sunday was spent at church, eating lunch with friends, and enjoying the afternoon: Eric and Ian went to play ultimate frisbee while I took a much-needed three-hour nap on the couch.  Then today, we spent the entire afternoon at Warren Dunes, our special Labor Day spot, where we took a picnic supper of PBJs, carrots, watermelon, and homemade cookies packed in my great-grandma Lulu's picnic basket that I just recently acquired from my Aunt Judy.  We sat on the beach, splashed in the waves, dug in the sand, and just generally enjoyed each others' company.  A truly stellar day capping off a truly stellar weekend.  I'm so thankful for my little family and the fun we can have together.

Eric and Ian during a lull in the waves of Lake Michigan

Ian and I sharing a cookie (with Gamma popping out in my tummy)

Digging in the sand with his little friend

The Oil-Cleansing Method

Twenty-three days ago, I began an experiment that I felt was fairly low-risk based on the testimonies of people I trust.  Still, it was a little scary.  Using oil to clean my face at night was a completely foreign concept to me, and one I was still a bit skeptical about.  "What if my face turns into a mass of hideous blemishes?" I thought to myself.  But I figured that was a bit dramatic, and I really didn't have that much to lose.  So I gave it a shot. 

I started out with a 25%-75% Castor oil to sunflower oil ratio.  Night #1 left me pleased:  my face was instantly soft, my makeup came off effortlessly, and my skin had less redness than usual after a deep cleansing.  I was feeling confident. 

But by the day after Night #3, I had two pimples on my left cheek and a patch of dryness on my right cheek.  What's up with that?  So I trusted in my knowledge of my skin (which is usually dry) and added more sunflower oil, figuring that the blemishes were an effect of things being purged from my skin.  I think I was right.  By the day after Night #5, my pimples were gone, and the dryness was still there, except it was everywhere.  So the next night, I added more sunflower oil to the mixture, making it about a 15%-85% ratio.  I also mixed a tiny bit of sugar in with a little bit of the oil to act as a scrub to clear away the dead skin.  This seemed to work, and I haven't had to do it since. 

So seventeen days later from the dryness issue, the skin on my face is soft, clear, nearly devoid of redness, and quite happy.   You should know that I usually don't have the best skin:  it's typically patchy, dry, and blotchy-red, and I have hereditary dark circles under my eyes. But take a look at me sans makeup: 

This was taken using Photobooth on my iMac (because our camera is broken), so it's not the clearest shot in the world, but there are obviously no blemishes, the skin is soft and shiny without looking tight, and my cheeks don't have patches of dry redness.  I have a little mascara on (because even with relatively dark brown hair, I have blonde eyelashes...go figure), but that's it.  Hopefully you get the picture: this method works. 

The only thing I've had to be careful about is completely rinsing my face at night.  After a week, I noticed that my pillowcase was looking quite oily -- not cool. But since then, I've done a double rinse (once with the cloth, once with warm water), and I haven't noticed any problems. 

So there you go!  Success!  I know a few of you have also been experimenting with me.  If you would care to leave a note in the  comments as to how it's going for you, I'd love to hear about your own experiences.  And if others of you have questions or reservations, feel free to voice them as well. 

A Prayer of Stillness

There has not been a lot of stillness in our lives lately.  Classes at Bethel started this week.  Eric's teaching a more-than-full load as usual, and I'm embarking on a new adventure with my first "real" college class (to native speakers - ack!)  in an intensive 7-week format.  Ian's been....well, let's just say he's been very four lately:  testing boundaries like they're going out of style (at which point I assure him, they're not) and just generally being a pill.  Add to that a visitation/funeral for Bethel's former president, community service with the school, a fireplace cleaning that turned into kind of a mess, and catering an art show at church -- well, it's been a doozy of a week.

So when Eric wisely suggested I take a morning to get some work done and do whatever I wanted to, I really couldn't argue.  Since it's yet another absolutely gorgeous day -- can't believe the fabulous weather we're having --  I hopped on my bike with my Bible in tow and spent an hour at the Mishawaka Riverwalk this morning.  I picked out a park bench on Kamm Island on the south side of the river, just across from the spot where Eric proposed to me over 10 years ago, and I just sat.  I took time to notice the things around me:  the cool breeze, a brilliant blue sky, the lazily meandering river, geese taking a ride backwards and sideways on their own personal aquatic thoroughfare, the scent of grass and water.  Eventually, I retrieved from my backpack a book of prayers written by Richard Foster, and quickly came across this one:

"I wait now in silence, Lord, that the good may spring up and the evil dissipate.

May the ocean of your light continually overcome the ocean of my darkness."  

After meditating on this for a while, God began to give me a true sense of peace.  Not just that feeling that you get when things are hunky-dory and nice.  But true, deep, supernatural peace.  The same kind of peace I felt in the days and weeks following Beta's death.  The unexplainable, transcendent calm that can only come from the Creator of the Universe and the Redeemer of our hearts.  And I felt thankful and truly alive.

 

Leaf Hunt

What to do on a cool Indiana August afternoon?  (Wait, is there such a thing? Apparently, this year, there is.) I try to mix things up for Ian so we don't get stuck in too much of a rut, but the other day, he helped me out by coming up with an idea himself:  a leaf hunt!  So we walked all around our front yard and picked individual leaves from every tree, bush, and flower bed plant that we could find, naming as many of them as I could for him (there are still some things in our yard I'm unfamiliar with).  He then lined them all up on the front porch and spent the next half hour "organizing" them into different piles, declaring himself to be a "leaf scientist."  While he sorted and resorted, I had a chance to sit next to him and paint my toenails.  Double bonus!

Eggplant-Zucchini-Tomato Casserole

The summer harvest is in full-swing, and even though our garden is suffering from terrible soil and a lack of water, we've been able to enjoy fresh, seasonal, local produce through our co-op.  With the end of summer comes a plethora of eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes, all begging to be incorporated into our daily menus. Thankfully, last summer, Food and Wine Magazine provided our family with what is now a tried-and-true favorite (worthy of The Cookbook), which uses all three of these estival crops.  I've made it twice in the past week for two different potlucks -- which, interestingly enough, were both "locally" themed -- and both times, I had no leftovers to bring home. This recipe can be used as a veggie side, but we usually give it main dish superiority and have a salad on the side, and sometimes it stands by itself.  I've adapted the recipe a bit from Food and Wine's original recipe since we like more tomatoes and cheese than it calls for.  I think I also use more bread crumbs on top.

© Quentin Bacon, Food & Wine

Eggplant, Zucchini, & Tomato Casserole


Ingredients:

• 4 T. olive oil + more for brushing
• 3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4” thick
• 2 long, narrow eggplants, peeled and sliced lengthwise, 1/3” thick
• kosher salt and fresh pepper
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 2 lb. roma/plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2” dice
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
• 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbed (2 c.)
• 1 c. panko or coarse dry bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425F. Oil 2 large-rimmed baking sheets. Put the zucchini slices on one sheet and the eggplant on the other, arranging the slices in slightly overlapping layers. Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 min., until tender. In a large skillet, heat 2 T. of olive oil; add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 3 min. Add the tomatoes and cook over high heat until slightly softened and bubbling, about 1-2 min. Season with salt and pepper and add the basil. Oil a 9x13” baking dish. Lay half of the eggplant in the dish and layer half of the zucchini on top. Spread half of the tomatoes on top and scatter with half of the feta. Make another layer of eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, and cheese. Mix the panko with the remaining 2 T. of oil and sprinkle over casserole. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 20 minutes, until bubbling and crisp. Let stand for 5 min., then serve warm or hot.