Everett

I am going to post this on both my blog and on the Hall family web page.

Just to let you know, we went down to Salt Lake last week so that Everett could have a sedated echocardiogram done to check the progression of the narrowing of his arteries. Almost immediately after that was done, the doctor rushed in to talk with us and told us that he thinks something should be done at this time to fix the narrowing. He wanted to do it that day because of a cancellation, but we talked it over and decided to wait a few days. We are scheduled to go in early Tuesday morning for a Heart Catheterization, and they will be trying to stretch the narrowing in his pulmonary arteries by using a balloon. If this works he should be OK for now, but if not then he may have open heart surgery in his future.

I just hope that anyone reading this will keep him in your prayers this week. Thanks.

Organic and happy

Look how big this guy is getting. Isn't he so cute. One of the kids took this picture. They all wanted to take pictures of Everett, but I picked out the best and I can't remember whose it was. We also tried taking pictures of a few of us together. Cora took this next picture.
It's not the most flattering hairstyle for me! After I took this picture, I was trying to get a picture for my blog profile, so Cora took some more photos of me. But then I realized that I had purple lips from drinking my "Green" smoothie (which was really more purple because I added lots of blueberries to it.)



See? This is my Berry-Chardy smoothie. It has red chard in it, and lots of berries. We have been doing green smoothies this month because we have had so much sickness in the house that I am trying anything to get healthy again. I have actually developed a taste for green smoothies. I like the flavor of the blended greens and fruit.
I think it is working to make us healthy too. We have not had a sickness for a while, and all the kids finally stopped sniffling and coughing. Whatever we have had has dragged on and on forever. But Greens have so many vitamins-- including more vitamin c than oranges-- that I think we are on the mend, and I use a lot of greens in my smoothies. I don't even have a powerful blender. I just do it in my little Waring Pro. (Sometimes my smoothies are a bit chunky) I've looked up some recipes, but mostly I have just made them up with things that sound good and look good together. I made one out of romaine lettuce, oranges, fennel fronds and olive oil that was really good. It tasted like a salad.

Here is one recipe that turned out great. We call it Green Ambrosia:

Green Ambrosia

4-6 Dates

1 Orange

1 bunch curly endive (frisée)

1 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

The coconut oil gives it a tropical flavor, and the dates sweeten the endive just enough. When I add oranges I peel them with a knife just barely under the orange part so that I can leave most of the white pith on. That part of the orange has a lot of bioflavinoids which help to assimilate the vitamin c better into your body.

I had an interesting experience the other day. I have been doing Bountiful Baskets which is a produce co-op that orders large quantities of produce and you can buy it at wholesale prices. I usually only buy the organic basket which comes every other week, but this week they had Organic mangoes for sale by the box, and I wanted to get some so I ordered the conventional basket because I had to buy that in order to get the mangoes.

Well, I noticed a most interesting thing. When I brought the box into my house it smelled like the fertilizer aisle in the gardening store. Yuk! I thought things would be better if I washed the produce, so I filled a bowl with soapy water and washed all the food. After it was washed I realized that it still smelled like fertilizer. I think that because it is fed on chemicals that it smells and tastes like them too. I never realized it until now because we have been eating mostly organic for so long. The apples smelled the worst!

I am glad we eat organic-- and even more glad that we can raise some of our own food! And make it too.

Because I am such a foodie I have to show off this picture of some homemade sourdough cinnamon raisin bagels I made.



Oh, YUMMMMMMMMM!

This is definitely one of those foods that are so much better fresh and homemade!

On Hearts and Valentines

Everett had an appointment with the cardiologist yesterday. I thought it was a little ironic that Valentine's day was the day his doctor chose to come up from Salt lake. The news isn't great. His Pulmonary stenosis may be progressing a little, so the doctor wants us to come to Salt Lake for a sedated echocardiogram. We were told not to worry too much, but still, I would rather the news be better.

My mom reminded me (via her blog) about how Valentine's day is my great, great grandfather's birthday: William Valentine Walker. We re-read his story last night for Family Home Evening. It was fun to hear my grandfather's written voice telling his remembrances of his Grandpa.

I've been wanting to post a lot more, but with a babe in arms I do not always have my hands free. But I have been keeping busy. Cora is going to take part in a Shakespeare play that will be performed at the end of the school year. They are performing "A Comedy of Errors," and she will be Aemilia the abbess. I am working with the younger kids in our homeschool group to put on a puppet show as a pre-show. We will be performing "Heckedy Peg." It is a cute little story about a mother and her 7 children who get kidnapped by a witch. My friend Jane built the whole puppet show and all the puppets for it years ago when her kids were young. They used to go around Denver and perform it to raise money for their music camp. It was wonderful for her to let us borrow it.

I will have to post pictures later.