Rachael Eliker's Blog, page 61

Spring Is In The Air!

Our very first peach blossoms!Spring is in the air! The flowers are blooming... Stoney is shedding profusely, a sure sign of spring. ...the horses are shedding like crazy... ...the bees are coming out of hibernation... ...and the hens have started playing their own version of an egg hunt.

(Seriously girls, could you get any lazier?! The nesting box is ten feet away!)
Happy Spring!

Henry's Turn

Everyone's enjoying the warmer weather and longer days and now that my leg has healed, I'm back to running on the road. This time, it was Henry's turn to go with me.
He looked around for about two minutes before falling asleep from the rocking motion and snuggled all nice and warm in his blanket. When we got home and I had to wake him up to take him inside, he gave me a sleepy-eyed smirk...obviously, running in the stroller was enjoyable. For him. I'm still getting to that point.
Since it was a...

Hallelujah

We were blessed with a beautiful Easter Sunday and we celebrated with our typical family traditions: finding our Easter baskets, dying eggs and an egg hunt, a picture among the small white flowers that seem to always bloom the day of, family dinner and of course, attending church.
There is so much that we enjoy about Easter--we are always grateful for the end of winter and the promise of warmer weather and all of us enjoy what the Easter bunny brings, but Easter is much more than candy and fun...

Two Things

 Every boy should have two things:A dog and a mother willing to let him have one.
(That goes for the girls too. And luckily, I'm willing!)

Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole

So easy!I wasn't in the mood to cook but our fridge was looking pretty bare, so leftovers were out. I found this recipe and am in love--and so are the kids. Win!
Ingredients:
1 package (about 16 oz) uncooked rotini pasta1 jar (about 25 oz) spaghetti sauce3 cups water1 package (14 oz) fully thawed/cooked meatballs2 cups shredded mozzarella
Preheat the oven to 425F. In a large baking dish, stir together uncooked pasta, sauce, water and meatballs. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 mi...

A Little Bit of Childhood

Feeding the koi together!A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.
Marion C. Garretty Atop a roundbale--always a favorite photo spot.

Indy Author Fair

Getting set up!I don't like to do things outside of my comfort zone, but I try to do them anyway, because they're usually good for me. Like attending author fairs and book signings.
Setting up with my friend, Jennifer.It's not that I don't like seeing what other authors have been up to, it's that I'm horrible at pitching my books, my inner introvert makes me want to escape to the nearest cave and the thought of meeting new people admittedly makes me nervous. Thankfully, there were a few friend...

Embrace the Mud

Embrace the mud.The mud princess is at it again. I strongly dislike Indiana mud.While I'm busy fretting and being frustrated about the mud, Claire has embraced it for all it's squishy, lumpy dirtiness. And now, she's recruited Kate. Muddy freckles.While waiting for Evelyn to be dropped off by the school bus, I was feeding the animals. One minute, they were playing with the cats, the next, they had stripped off their shoes and socks and were slathering on the mud.
It had to be in their new clothe...

Made Room

The girls have made room for Henry on the swings!
If his enjoyment in the hammock were any indication, it's no surprise he loves swinging too!

Glories of Creation

Thomas S. Monson said, "God left the world unfinished for man to work his skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to man the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted and the music unsung and the problems unsolved, that man might know the joys and glories of creation."

Well, that explains a lot about why we do some of the th...