Madeline, now five years old, and Savannah, three, just had their first haircuts! Here are some before, during and after photos:
Category Archives: Madeline
Molasses-on-Snow Candy
The fresh snow gave us the perfect opportunity to make a favorite treat of Mary and Laura Ingalls–molasses-on-snow candy. Here’s how we made it:
1) We mixed one cup molasses and one cup brown sugar in a large cast iron pot. We then boiled it until the mixture reached the “hard crack” stage–300 degrees F.
I didn’t get a picture of the mixture boiling, because my hands were full as I stirred constantly and held the thermometer.
2) Kayla scooped fresh, clean snow in two 9 x 13 pans. We then dribbled spoonfuls of syrup onto the snow.
3) Once the syrup was hard, we lifted it off the snow and set the candy on wax paper.
4) Time to eaat–if you dare! We’re not huge fans of molasses around here, and it’s also slightly possible that the molasses mixture began to burn while I was cooking it (though I never let it get above 300 degrees). The girls sort of liked it, but I tried it and thought it was horrible. The smell drove Aaron nuts, but overall we had fun experiencing life as Mary and Laura did.
Lumpy the Snowwoman
The girls were thrilled this morning when they inspected last night’s snowfall and found it was packing snow! Together we created this beautiful snowwoman and named her Lumpy.
You Wouldn’t Believe How Far We’ve Come
For all who have been praying for Madeline, thank you! I can’t show you a picture of what her legs looked like a few weeks ago–it would make your stomach turn. Here they are now, looking the best they’ve looked in 1.5 years.
Madeline wants you to know that the two red spots on her knee are not a result of eczema. She fell while riding her bike. :)
Trick-or-Treating
Trick-or-treating is fun, but giving out candy is even better. We do a little of both, but the latter is always preferred.
Prayer Request for a Princess
This is a special prayer request for our darling four-year-old, Madeline Joy Kerr. Some of you may know Madeline has experienced problems with her skin over the past couple of years. Her legs are the main problem point; she has had eczema breakouts on a regular basis that leave her legs red, itching and inflamed. We’ve tried several approaches: more traditional approaches with steroid-type creams and medications, natural approaches focused on Madeline’s diet and potential reactions to foods, and of course…lots of prayer.
We’ve had ups and downs. A natural doctor in Grand Rapids has been helping us make progress by removing certain foods from Madeline’s diet that may be causing the problem. A few weeks ago, we seemed to be on a clear road to healing. But she’s experiencing another set of flare-ups. We’ve had many times over the past few weeks when Madeline comes up from bed crying, having scratched her skin to the point of bleeding. Her legs are inflamed and covered with scabs from being opened. I have a picture of her skin at its worst that would break your heart. It breaks my heart every time I see it.
We know God is capable and willing to heal Madeline. Would you please join us in praying for her? We’ve felt very close to a solution a few times but still need to make a final breakthrough. Whether that healing comes through the wisdom of a doctor or the powerful touch of The Great Physician, we seek it desperately and long to rejoice over healthy skin for our daughter. Thanks for praying.
Words to Cherish
This morning I was looking through Madeline’s baby book notes to retrieve some information for a healthcare form. (Notice I said “baby book notes” instead of “baby book.” This indicates her baby book is yet to be made! My hope is that one day Aaron and I will create our own baby books for the girls, designing them ourselves instead of using the standard ones you can buy.) As I was reading through her milestones, I came across some of the cute phrases she has said over the years as her speech has developed. I thought you would enjoy them as well.
11/15/07: want my mittens on
1/4/08: My Meow shirt dirty
1/14/08: Go turn my light on, Mommy
1/18/08: oh Mommy sing “knees toes” me
2/4/08: oh watch Dora please Mommy; that make me happy
2/11/08: Daddy, time eat, Daddy
3/10/08: I like Miles so much. He is my favorite friend.
3/19/08: Do you know where my fuzzy blanket is?
3/21/08: You wearing Grandma’s shoes, Daddy?
3/24/08: Why was Abraham happy when God said “stop?”
6/25/08: Mommy, we forgot Savannah! (when we were going to Doozies and Savannah stayed home with Daddy)
6/28/08: sausageseseseseses
7/14/08: Mommy, you are the best mommy of all.
8/11/08: That green grape stayed still, but that purple grape rolled away from the green grape.
9/29/08: Can I please may be excused?
10/8/08: Ok, yep! (at the end of sentences)
10/21/08: Maybe you can take your tools from the basement and fix it.
10/29/08: Mommy, my pancakes don’t understand me.
11/11/08: I have an idea! It’s really crazy. We could go to Daddy’s work to pick him up.
12/1/08: Now we have to make slider time!
2/11/09: Did Dora have to ask her Mommy before she went back to the time of the dinosaurs?
2/23/09: I was just going to say that I wish this cold weather would go away.
5/22/09: It doesn’t mind.
1/14/10: Daddy, I want you to snuggle with me, because I want to be with you always.
2/10: We’re not in our own home now; we’re just staying here. Heaven is our real home.
2/26/10: I don’t think she (Savannah) knew I wanted a cup. I think she thought I wanted a slap in the eye.
Madeline’s “Wedding”
Recently Aaron and I unpacked my wedding dress. It had been preserved after the wedding, and we were planning to take it out this year for our ten-year anniversary. During the move, however, two boxes got wet. It’s a good thing I spent the money to preserve it, because the box holding my dress was soaked. We opened it and found layer upon layer of boxes with a perfectly white dress inside.
As soon as Madeline saw it (on moving day), she wanted to try it on. We waited a couple weeks until we had time to fully appreciate such a magical moment. So here is Madeline, the beautiful bride.
Here she is again with her daddy walking her down the aisle and her bridesmaid fixing her train.
