Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 15
July 6, 2020
Our Reunion
The gang is back together again!Like everyone else in the entire world, the newest strain of coronavirus has thrown everyone for a loop. For the most part, our family has been extremely blessed--we've been healthy, have plenty of space, animals and things to do at home that we're all still sane, and managed to finish the girls' online schooling with minimal tears. Still, there are things we've been missing, the biggest of which have been our regular visits from family.
We had several family visit...
June 8, 2020
O'Henry Bars
If you're in need of a soft, chewy, sweet-and-salty treat, look no further. These are one of my go-tos and my kids share my affinity for them (especially Henry...he's so honored they're named after him
June 3, 2020
Mission for Morels
Success!Ever since the weather started warming up this year, we've been on a mission to find morels. When we lived in Iowa, we had several friends who'd go mushroom hunting but we never heard of anyone having much success. Since moving to Indiana, mushroom hunting is sort of been taking to a new level. The variety we can find here is amazing and the places we can go seem unlimited.
Don't mind if we do!When the conditions were right and Jack had heard of people having luck finding the tasty little...
May 27, 2020
Evelyn is Eleven
Ever since Zoey and then Peter joined our family, it feels like we have a month of nonstop birthdays in late spring. Our oldest rounds off the birthday extravaganza and this year, Evelyn is eleven (say that five times fast). It's amazing how quickly time has flown. It seems like only yesterday we were wondering if we were ever going to be able to have children then the next, Evelyn came and made us parents. She has been with us through the desperately poor Iowa years when Jack was in school, int...
May 18, 2020
The Baby's Not a Baby
Our blue-eyed boy.About a year ago, we were celebrating Jack's birthday in the hospital, waiting for our next baby to be born. Like all my deliveries, it was slow, despite all the tricks I've learned over the years having six babies. I knew perfectly well that none of it was going to help..and it didn't. So Jack's birthday came and went and a half an hour into May, Peter decided he was good and ready to start his life on earth.
Fast forward a year and the baby's not a baby anymore. Despite...
May 10, 2020
My Hero
Happy birthday to my hero!I have tried--started and stopped, started, then stopped again--to write something celebrating Jack's thirty-fifth birthday. It's not that I don't have feelings of gratitude, love, and appreciation for him. It's that I have no idea how to sum all those feelings up into something as confining as words.
Real men change dirty diapers.As long as I've known Jack, he's always been one of those genuinely good guys. He's always found happiness in serving others, is never...
April 30, 2020
Thoroughly Spoiled
And just like that, in the blink of an eye, Zoey is already three! She showed up on Stoney's 21st birthday and has been a joy to watch her grow from an adorable, chunky, bright-eyed baby into a sassy, clever, sweet, beautiful girl.
Loves her plants, flowers or not.As with all of our children, it feels like Zoey has been a part of our herd for as long as anyone can remember. Her vivacious spirit and infectious laughter harmonize perfectly with the rest of the chaos.
Zoey is not a complicated...
April 26, 2020
From Scratch Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Since we are trying to stay home as much as possible, we've been looking at our pantry and seeing what we can make with what we have. I love making things from scratch, and these enchiladas hit the spot. They come together easily and can be done even faster if you have leftover chicken. Super yummy, enjoyed by all...give them a try!Ingredients:
Enchilada Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons flour
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic...
April 19, 2020
Earthen Oven
The kids were super excited at the prospect of having some extra time off of school even before their spring break started in late March but less than twenty-four hours later, I heard it: I'm bored.
April 17, 2020
The Chocolate Cow
Babies are so sweet!Last year, we bought another Jersey cow to be Dolly's pasturemate. The goal was to be able to stagger the cows so we can milk one or the other the entire year. Daisy (I've always wanted a cow named Daisy) came to us sick and with a calf, even though she looked like she was barely two years old. Long story short, her calf didn't make it, it was clear she'd been mistreated for a long time, and she was just tired. We got the vet out to see her and gave her a nice long...
