The Artisan Home

A Labor of Prayer

May 13th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Happy Mother’s Day! Since it is such a special day, I thought I would share the birth story of our newest little one!

A week and a half ago, I labored long to birth our third born, Elliot. It was the longest childbirth I’ve experienced. I call it my “labor of prayer”. A 20 hour long prayer conversation with God; a very intimate experience with my Savior and my husband. We were a cord of three strands bound together in love and dependency on Christ. I labored at home for 14 hours with my husband and midwife by my side as we were trying for a home birth. Since Jadyn’s birth had been quick, and Oliver’s birth had been so simple and quick, we thought this one was going to be even faster! But as the labor was not progressing through the night after 14 hours, my continual prayer throughout was for wisdom. It was early Wednesday morning and as exhaustion and lack of sleep was wearing me down, I asked Craig to take me to the hospital for an epidural. My loving husband drove me quickly to the hospital fully supportive and taking care of all my needs. The hospital staff were amazing and we were given the sweetest and kindest nurses and doctor. Our team was amazing. I was so happy and so full of peace. The epidural was given with my team standing around and supporting me. They tucked me all in with pillows on every side. A sweet and encouraging doula (labor coach) offered her service and came in spontaneously to speak words of affirmation and give me leg and arm massages. Finally… we could rest. The baby’s heartbeat was loud on the monitor and it was comforting to know that I could listen to Elliot the whole time that I rested. A few hours after I arrived, it was time to push. Elliot came out in basically 3 pushes, about 5 minutes! And the excitement and exhilaration of seeing my blonde-haired son for the first time overwhelmed me with love and emotion. I said out loud, “I love you!!!” They put him on my chest and we named him Elliot, “The Lord is God.”

It was a long day and we were thankful and giddy. We didn’t know that there was one more obstacle to overcome. Around 6pm that evening, I was about to eat my dinner when I noticed I was bleeding more than I should be. Suddenly about 10 nurses and my doctor were rushing all around me in a flurry. They lowered my bed, put an oxygen mask on me, started hooking me up to IV’s, fluid, pitocin, calling in to prepare for a possible operation and blood transfusion. I didn’t know what was going on and my vision was blurring. My prayer this time was that God would allow me to live and be a mommy to my three children. All I could do was surrender.

They finally stabilized me and I didn’t have to have an operation or transfusion after all. But they wouldn’t let me eat for 12 hours just in case I would need to go in for surgery. The doctor was quick to tell me it was a life threatening emergency. My body was depleted and exhausted from the last 24 hours, I was already nursing, plus running on a lack of sleep. But God sustained us. We had experienced a “labor of prayer” and our God did not forsake us. He did not leave us. His provision was everything we needed and His wisdom and guidance throughout was our lifeline. We were so thankful!

This conversation of prayer and dependency carried us through each obstacle we had to face. Our God is Sovereign. Our God is good! There is trust, peace, love, and… joy!

“The Lord is God!”

Elliot Hudson Harris

May 8th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

We joyfully welcomed our son, Elliot Hudson Harris, into the world on
Wednesday, May 2nd at 12:20pm
8 pounds, 3.5 ounces, 22 inches

The name, Elliot, means “The Lord is God”; and the name, Hudson, is in honor of the missionary Hudson Taylor who founded the China Inland Mission.

Our hearts are overflowing with joy & love,
Craig & Jen

Nesting

April 30th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

My little birdie is still inside. We’re sitting at 40 weeks plus 5 days. Full term is anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks. I like to look at that 5 week period as the time when baby will most likely make the grand entrance, rather than focusing on a specific “due” date. I like focusing on that window of time instead. So while we’re waiting, I’ve been nesting! I love to nest and I don’t think I’m ever not nesting.

This morning I’ve been vacuuming our couches and wiping the dried milk drops that have been there for the last 3 months, organizing the toy shelves and books, thinking about what to pack away for long term storage and what we’ll need available to us when we move. I’ve been daydreaming about how I’m going to decorate our bedroom and the kids’ bedroom. And so to inspire me, I went on over to visit the Nester on her blog, Nesting Place, where “it doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.” She creates beautiful spaces that inspire delight and simplicity. She also writes at a Christian women’s blog network called (In)Courage as she seeks to encourage women in Christ.

As well as daydreaming about our next nest, last week, I finished knitting the baby blankets! Since we don’t know if the baby is a boy or a girl, and since I really wanted a colorful blanket this time, I decided to make two! I started last fall and worked on them when I could. With every knitting project, I try to learn a new stitch or technique. This time, I learned the raspberry stitch! Its a very pretty stitch that creates a bobble effect. I was inspired by this simple yet colorful baby blanket and decided to create my very first knitting pattern! Its basically a border of the raspberry stitch and the middle is all knit stitch. I calculated out the size, number of stitches, etc. I used 3 different colors for each blanket and learned how to connect new colors, another new technique to add to my knitting repertoire. Besides a few mistakes I made on the first blanket and having to restart it 3 different times as I got used to the new stitch and working out the kinks in my own pattern, both blankets turned out beautiful! I washed and dried them and they are tucked away in the baby’s dresser awaiting the grand entrance of our little one. I’m really excited about how they turned out. A lot of thought, time and care went into each one.

So we’re waiting and nesting! And perhaps if the sun comes out again this week, I might just decide to mow our lawn like I’ve been contemplating for the last few days! We enjoyed a visit from some friends for dinner last night and it felt good to host again and have company. We started organizing and cleaning up the garage this weekend. We’ll be getting some boxes and starting to pack up our books and odds and ends while we wait for Baby. And maybe that will be just enough to get this labor started! Little boy “animal rescuer” is taking a nap and little girl is all dressed up fancy in her flower girl dress and freshly painted fingernails… just because! Today would be a lovely day to have a baby!

Trust In Him and He Will Act

April 23rd, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

At the beginning of this year, God gave me a verse…

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:5

Its been amazing to look back over the last four months and see what God has done. I wouldn’t be able to explain it all in words here on this blog; there are just so many things God has taught us and ways He has worked, plans He has made and revealed over time as the tapestry of His design has come together. That’s the way it is in each of His children’s lives, isn’t it!? His loving care, His leading and guiding, as we pursue Him and lay our lives down before Him for His use!

For a couple years now, my husband has been working two jobs to provide for our family as I have been working hard at home taking care of our little ones. Last summer, we came to the realization that we needed Craig to be full time at just one job. We started to pray and think about where God might lead us into just one job for him. Our desire of course was to stay living in Bellingham, but we were open to wherever God might call us, whether staying in the US, going back to Canada, or serving overseas. Our hearts were set on continuing to serve in church ministry in a full time capacity. Our desire was to stay serving in our current church in Bellingham where Craig has been employed as a part time Worship Pastor. We wanted to grow old there! We love our church family so much and our hearts are knitted to this church! But with the economy the way it is, we knew we’d probably have to look outside of Bellingham.

We prayed for wisdom and guidance. Over the course of the last few months, God led us to apply, interview, and candidate at a wonderful church in the Yakima Valley, very similar to our current church. It has been a very good and encouraging process. We have sensed God’s blessing, His purpose, His orchestrating to bring us to this new place of ministry. Craig has accepted a position at Sun Valley Church as Director of Worship & Discipleship where he will also be overseeing Small Group ministries and the Missions ministry. We are so excited to start this new adventure and are amazed by God’s obvious care and love in guiding us there, and the outpouring of support from both our current church and our new church family.

Its been exciting to reflect back on how God has led us both individually over the years and together as a married couple to serve in worship music, discipleship & missions in various churches. And now to bring Craig to a position serving in these very same areas of ministry full time is an incredible blessing!

We have loved living in Bellingham and will miss many things about it! We will miss our amazing church family! And we will miss living so close to my family! But at the same time, we know this is where God is leading us and we are excited at what He is going to do in this new chapter of our lives! The next month will be a busy month as we welcome our newest little baby any day now and transition to packing up our belongings and moving to the Valley as a family of five!!!

This has been a season of “trust” in God! We have committed our way to the Lord, trusted in Him, and we have seen Him act! It always amazes me to hear of people we don’t even know who are praying for us, our baby, and this new move! We are aware of our complete dependence upon God which is both humbling and comforting at the same time, because He is so good and He is our Great Shepherd! Waking every morning knowing that I depend on God for everything is a wonderful thing to be aware of. There is so much grace there and a “letting go” of trying to be “in control” of things. God has taught us much in this season and it is good.

We would love your prayers for this next month, especially, the safe arrival of our precious Baby, and the move to the Yakima Valley! We are excited! God promises to supply all our needs and never leave us or forsake us. He sovereignly chooses where He places His children. He calls, leads, guides, and provides. With those promises in hand and looking back on His faithfulness throughout our lives, we’re stepping out in faith to continue to pursue the calling He has put on both our hearts from a young age… to serve and love His church.

With love,
Jen

Ranch Chicken & Rice Casserole {Gluten & Dairy Free}

April 10th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Yesterday, I packed up the kids for a shopping trip to the local natural food store, the Food Co-op. Its easy to shop there for gluten free items cause they are stocked full. It was an experiment trip to really look at prices and which items are affordable for us to purchase and which food items we will avoid. There were certain items I know we won’t be purchasing based on cost, so then I have to reorganize how I plan to bake and cook and with which ingredients. I was surprised to find that there were a lot of affordable options. This surprised me because I was just under the impression that living gluten free would stretch our budget too thin, but as we’re replacing certain foods for others, I’m finding its not as much of a stretch… especially as we focus on fresh fruits and veggies and really look for the items that are on sale that week.

I tried out a new dinner idea for my family. My sister Michelle makes a delicious gluten/dairy free ranch dip from scratch. There is usually a group of us just standing around the ranch dip and veggies at our family gatherings. Oftentimes, she and my mom will use this dip to add into other casseroles or to spice up some chicken. I had been looking for goat yogurt which seems to be a rarity, and knew I would find some at the Food Co-op! I picked up the Grace Harbor Farms brand. Since it was my first time making this dip, I accidentally made the dip too runny. I think my version of goat yogurt was probably more liquid than the brand my family uses in Canada. So next time I will just stir the ingredients by hand and maybe put a bit less yogurt so it retains its form for a dip. No bother though! It was more of a sauce this time around. Then I remembered I could use it in a casserole. So I cooked up some rice and some cut up pieces of chicken and poured the sauce over the whole thing, mixing it together. I cooked it at 350 F for about 45 minutes.

Here is the link to my sister Michelle’s Gluten/Dairy Free Ranch Dip

Craig L-O-V-E-D it! And so did my kids! Jadyn kept saying, “I love this food mom!” And it didn’t make her tummy hurt! I can hang up my apron strings at the end of the day and know that she is sleeping happy (even though I don’t really wear my apron, its more of a decoration! hee hee!)

Blueberry Muffins {Gluten & Dairy Free}

April 10th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Alright, so you may find that some of my new blog posts are focusing around the theme of gluten and dairy free recipes. Today I tried out a muffin recipe, made some healthier substitutes regarding sugar and oil and came up with some very delicious blueberry muffins. Both my kids said, “Another one please!?” The muffins turned out great, but if you are the type who also likes to sample the dough (like myself), I would recommend not with this recipe. The dough did not taste good at all and I was really nervous how it would turn out. I spread on some Earth Balance buttery spread (non-dairy) for the kids and real butter (Tillamook) for myself and we had a pleasant lunch! This was originally a “Morning Glory Muffin” recipe but my husband doesn’t like raisins, nuts, or coconut, so I skipped those ingredients and made it all about the blueberries so he could join in on the yummy goodness! I’m sure you could add any type of fruit or nut to make it into a Morning Glory Muffin!

Blueberry Muffins {Gluten & Dairy Free}:

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free all purpose baking flour mix
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups honey
3 large eggs
1 cup melted coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350° F
Line 2 muffin tins with paper muffin cup liners.

In a large mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Fill the muffin cups. Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Poke a muffin with a toothpick or fork to see if it comes out clean.

Gluten Free Paska Bread

April 6th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Photo Credit: Mennonite Girls Can Cook

For the last few years, I’ve been baking Paska bread for Easter. Its a Mennonite tradition to make this delicious sweet bread with a lemon/orange zest, icing and sprinkles on the top! This has been my go-to recipe for this amazing bread at Mennonite Girls Can Cook: Paska Bread Recipe. I didn’t think I would be able to make it this year because we are taking the kids off of wheat & gluten to see if our little girl has an allergy. But then it dawned on me to check and see if they have a gluten free version on their website since so many people are allergic to gluten. And voila… there it was!

Gluten Free Paska

The girls at Mennonite Girls Can Cook really do think of everything! Will I attempt this recipe tomorrow? We’ll see if I have time and energy! Swollen ankles, clogged sinuses, leg cramps and contractions may prevent me from trying this recipe this year, but its nice to know its there! And if a sudden burst of energy and nesting instincts kick in (which they often do), the smell of fresh baked paska might be wafting from our kitchen windows tomorrow! No promises though!

And Happy Easter to all! He is risen!

Easter quote:

Jen says, “Jesus is the best Rescuer!” and Jadyn says, “Just like a fire truck is a rescuer!”

Worship in the Season of Childbearing

April 6th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Its Good Friday. We remember the cross. We remember the sacrifice of Jesus. How great and awesome is our God that He would offer this grace, the most amazing gift to humanity. As I was reading our women’s Bible study book this week, Prayers of the Bible by Susan Hunt, I was reminded of the significance of the temple curtain being torn, and the presence of God now indwelling disciples of Christ instead of dwelling in a temple building. That very same presence that dwelt there now indwells God’s people individually and corporately. This was awesome to meditate on and very powerful.

I was telling a friend earlier this week how in this season of childbearing and raising little toddlers that God has been teaching me to meet with Him in a new way. It looks different than it did when I was single and could spend a few hours at a coffee shop journaling and praying, taking long walks by the ocean, spending long periods of time at the piano or on the guitar writing songs to Jesus, focusing on an entire sermon on Sunday morning. I’m not complaining here, let me make that very clear… I’m so thankful! I wouldn’t trade this season of motherhood for anything in the world. But the reality is that it is challenging too and by God’s grace, He is teaching me a new way of meeting with him…

He meets me in the busy, the messy, and the mundane. There is beauty in that.

For example, a baby suddenly cries because he or she is hungry, then proceeds to throw it all up as you’re leaving the house for errands. You have to change your clothes, the baby’s clothes, check on the other child or children to make sure they are still in their carseats and once everyone is locked in place, you smell a poopy diaper. The smallest of changes in conditions can create a very intense period of time. But all of these pieces of the puzzle need attention to meet the needs of little humans and make sure they are well.

Beautiful. Challenging, difficult… yes. But beautiful because it is a provision for them. “Let the little children come to me,” Jesus said.

Last Christmas was a great example. I was so excited to get to our church’s Christmas Eve service. My husband prepared all the music, liturgy and decor for the service. Being pregnant and watching my 3.5 year old and almost 2 year old would prove to be a challenging event. (Usually the youngest goes to nursery, but it was unavailable for the Christmas Eve service). We are working at getting them to sit quietly in certain situations but they are toddlers and toddlers move. Never judge a parent based on how much their toddler moves around! Toddlers are toddlers are toddlers! Training takes time! So as we were singing and going through the liturgy, I eventually moved back from the 4th row where we were sitting to the back row, to the foyer, back to the back row, back to the foyer, etc. We eventually came back to our seats and I was trying to get the kids to sit quietly with me when Oliver threw up!

In that moment, it was as clear as day, God spoke to me and with a sense of His smile upon me, said, “I will meet with you here.”

Peace. Surrender. Worship.

Jesus was reminding me through the Holy Spirit’s gentle impression on my heart that we can still have fellowship, worship, communion together in the busy moments of this blessed season of child-bearing and child-raising. Serving my children, training my children, cleaning up messes are all part of worshiping God. It was in this moment of helping my son and cleaning up throw up in the back row of the church sanctuary that my heart was raised in worship to God. It was a truly worshipful moment. I felt so blessed for God to speak that way to me on Christmas Eve, for us to have that moment.

There is grace for every season of a woman’s life and Jesus is in it. I can picture the smile of Jesus upon His women as He meets their needs, pours His grace so lavishly upon those who follow Him and seek Him. Worship and fellowship is waiting there for each of us as we turn our eyes upon Him and receive the grace that awaits.

A verse that I found years ago while studying at Capernwray Bible School in Texas follows. This verse was a confirmation of my heart’s desire to know God and love God so intimately. This verse applies to all the seasons of our lives.

“If you seek him, he will be found by you.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

As a side note, I recently listened to a sample of Christy Nockel’s new album “Into the Glorious” which is all about meeting God in the regular mundane moments of our lives and worshiping Him there… glorious! We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and His presence is with us here and now. All these thoughts and more have been ruminating in my heart and mind this week. From writing this blog post, God has brought all these pieces and thoughts together into a whole.

Gluten & Dairy Free

April 1st, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

Sometimes huge life changes happen all at the same time! A new huge change that I decided to take on with full force is a whole new way of cooking for our family. For a while now, my little girl’s tummy has been hurting. This brought us to the doctor’s office several times with no clear answer on what it could be. Sometimes she would say this constantly throughout the day, every day and I would just want to cry because I felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. I prayed for wisdom and guidance to figure out how to help my little girl.

I have been thinking of taking her off of gluten and dairy. I know several people in my family and church who are allergic to these foods and it makes them very sick in different ways. Our church even bakes fresh gluten free bread each week for communion so we can all take the same bread as a church body and experience unity and sacrifice in that. Its beautiful! I was at a loss to know what to do for my little girl, so I thought, the only other thing it might be is a food allergy, something so common among children these days.

My sister has been gluten and dairy free for several years so I went straight to her for advice. She already has a repetoire of breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, dips & sauces recipes and has posted some of them on her blog. She also just recently bought this recipe book which I’m hoping I get a copy of for Mother’s Day this year (wink wink)… Eat Like a Dinosaur. There are different versions of this diet, but basically we’re just going gluten and dairy free.

It can be overwhelming when thinking about where to begin, but with tasty kid-approved recipes, lunch boxes and projects that will steer your child toward meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and healthy fats, Eat Like a Dinosaur will help you make this positive shift.
With an illustrated children’s story describing the paleo diet, and colorful, mouthwatering photographs of recipes without grains, dairy, soy and refined sugar, this book is written for children. For those with food allergies, the top 8 allergens have been visually marked on each recipe for children to self-identify recipes that may contain eggs, nuts, fish, or shellfish.
-Book Description of Eat Like a Dinosaur

A couple years ago, I was contemplating starting a gluten free diet but it seemed so overwhelming at the time. I didn’t know anything about it. But perhaps over the past couple years and getting to experiment with some gluten free recipes, adding more healthier foods into our diet, and helping to make the gluten free communion bread at our church, has made me ready for this new season of cooking. I’m actually excited about it!

This first week of switching to gluten and dairy free options for my kids has been a little challenging simply because our cupboards and freezer are not stocked with the right foods yet. So since I had a bag of my own brown rice flour and xanthan gum for making gluten free birthday cakes and cupcakes for my nieces and nephews, I thought I would use the flatbread recipe we use at church this week. It worked great with peanut butter and jam. The kids devoured it each day and it only takes about 20 minutes to make from scratch including baking time. We also ate a lot of veggies and fruit, made our usual blueberry smoothies, made a delicious roast with rice and steamed broccoli, made a sweet potatoe/apple/carrot/lentil soup, taco dishes, etc. Even restaurants have good gluten free options these days. Its really not as hard as I thought it would be to adapt. For breakfast this morning, I used this recipe for gluten and dairy free waffles, using our coconut oil and coconut milk with fresh strawberries on the side. The kids, again, devoured their waffles! Now I just need to find a healthier, natural pancake syrup! Baby steps!

There are some baking items you do need to keep stocked in your cupboard or fridge like brown rice flour, almond flour, xanthan gum, etc. We’ve tried out almond milk (favorite) and coconut milk (I like this one and sooo healthy) and we’ll also try out rice milk again. My sister has done so much research and talked to so many people, she is a wealth of wisdom!

And the best part of all of this, Jadyn barely said, “my tummy hurts” all last week! Instead of her saying it all day every day, she said it just a handful of times throughout the week. I know it takes a few weeks for wheat to get out of the system, but I think we have found our answer and it has relieved a lot of stress for me… and made my daughter so much happier!

Baby in 5 Weeks!

March 22nd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

As of 1:14 am Tuesday morning, Spring officially arrived! The sun is shining golden yellow on a backdrop of clear blue. The warm rays shine down on us as I watch my kids ride around on their bikes on the porch, play with baby goats at a friend’s house, and chase around at the park. It is a good thing to be outside and I think they know this too. They play outside and wander to the backyard. The windows are wide open as I prepare lunch. The wind is still cold but fresh… today feels like spring!

Well along with Spring comes the arrival of our new little baby! Today I am 35 weeks, and I feel ready. No everything is not set up and washed and prepared. We still don’t have the names completely picked out. But I feel so ready. In just a few weeks, we’ll finally be able to hold our little “Poxo” in our arms (J & O’s nickname for Baby).

I’ve been nesting and hibernating those last weeks of winter, and with the arrival of Spring am feeling refreshed and energized. We’re in the home stretch. I’ve been knitting, dreaming, planning, reading, preparing. I want to make a big batch of Morning Glory muffins packed full of healthy ingredients for our family during that first month after birth so we can have quick healthy snacks. I want to create a few new preschool activities for our kids to keep them busy during nursing times or mama’s-resting times. And with the sun shining outside more often these days, I am hoping to spend a lot of daylight hours outside watching the kids run around and explore in our yard. Both J & O are pretty independent on their bikes and scooters so it will be nice to just relax with Baby and watch them.

As Jadyn said, “We’ve been waiting a long time for Baby to come out!”

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Psalm 127:3