A Day with Creme Brulee

This is a long overdue post.  Forgive me.  You know the drill.

But meet "Creme Brulee".  This is one seriously amazing lady.  Way back when I was a wee little lass... ok, maybe I was 22, fresh out of college and embarking on a grand adventure in China... I met "Creme Brulee".  She was serving there with her husband and 3 children and had a particular knack for ministering to the myriad of single women there.  I wasn't there when the original "Creme Brulee" talk was given to the bulk of my young, single predecessors, but I heard about it. 

 The "Creme Brulee talk" was that, as God-created women, we're not Jell-o, we're creme brulee.  We're not K-mart, but Niemann Marcus.  She always had a way of making us feel good.  Maybe that's why we all always wanted to be around her.

 But she didn't stop with just speaking.  She prayed for us.  And she continues to.  She prayed that we would find Godly husbands and raise Godly children.  I took a camping trip with her and another wonderful woman of God to a vacated and unrestored section of the Great Wall (wish I had that picture... anyone got it???).  On that trip they both prayed for me.  I was heading back to the USA soon and Mrs. Creme Brulee said she saw me surrounded by boys.  The very next year I was teaching classes where 75% of my students were boys and thought that was what she meant.  It wasn't.  Now with 3 boys (and a girl too!), I can agree.  I'm married to a wonderful Christian man with a beautiful family, blessed beyond measure.

 She lives in America now but made a trip to Florida for a conference recently.  We met at a favorite place of mine and spent some precious time together.  She got to meet my kids and see the fruit of her prayers in person.  This summer she may be able to meet my Mr. Wonderful as well.  When I'd tell him stories about her, he always remembered the creme brulee story so I "named" her Creme Brulee for his sake.

Let me tell you, she's the Creme de la Creme Brulee!

Thanks for a wonderful day and for all the wonderful memories! 

Well, this isn't exactly a picture of the 3 of us on the Great Wall, but we do look a touch nicer. 

Christmas Memories

I'm sorry I've been so horrible about posting lately. Life catches us with me, I guess. I've been thinking about my dad a lot as I'm sure anyone who's lost someone knows, holidays carry a lot of memories.

I remember way back, more than 20 years ago, our Christmas morning tradition was that my sister and mom would stay home and prepare eggs benedict breakfast and my dad and I would go to the laundromat, open it up and ready it for business. Those were the days when a laundromat didn't need to be attended and so was open 365 days a year. I LOVED going with him. The roads were empty, the sun just up, quiet with anticipation of the fun the day would hold. And I always loved time alone with Dad. I don't even remember what we did, probably just wiped down machines, loaded the change machine and soap machine. Probably picked up trash. We were always picking up trash. Then we'd go home, eat breakfast, open stockings and wait for Grandpa and Grandma to come over. So much fun.

I also remember Dad whining to no end about putting up Christmas lights. Every year he would gripe and complain. So much so that I made him a "Bah Humbug" sweatshirt. He wore it faithfully every year. It was still in his drawer after he died. And once "the kids" were out of the house and he no longer had an excuse to do something he hated, you'd think he'd quit decorating, right? WRONG! Anyone who saw his house at Christmas would see it from miles away it was so lit up! The neighboring airport would mistake it for the runway!

We used to have 2 really rough looking fake trees. Once they were forbidden inside the house, Dad and I would set them up outside among some painted wooden carolers my uncle made for us. I remember taking them down after Christmas and playing "Spartucus" (aka: sword fighting) with him, each of us taking a tree as our sword. I'm not sure how long we played, but I remember wishing we could leave them out of the attic and play Spartucus all year.

My sister and I were never very present-happy. Some Christmases, my parents would have to wake us up to get the show on the road or we'd be all day opening presents. We never went snooping or poking in closets before Christmas. We never were shaking wrapped gifts under the tree. But still Dad insisted, every year, on hiding things in places we'd never dream of looking. Every year, without fail, we'd get to the end of the pile of packages and he'd sit there with a puzzled expression on his face. After a moment, he'd jump up, run out (usually to the garage) and bring in a few more packages he'd dutifully hid. A few times he would completely lose them. I remember opening a package where the paper was faded and soft, and he confessed that he found it in a hiding place while stashing that year's presents.

The year my parents gave me my piano (the same one my children are playing on right now), they didn't know how to hide it. They arranged for us to spend the night of the 23rd at some friends house and picked us up for Christmas Eve service without us going home first. Then they drove and drove after church, looking at Christmas lights, as was our tradition. But they drove way longer than usual. They were waiting for us to fall asleep so they could carry us in the house and we'd never see anything. Too bad my sister had to pee. So we went home, they carried me in and when Laura asked what that big thing under the sheet was, Mom told her she was seeing things and to just go to the bathroom. She believed her and all was a surprise Christmas morning.

All day on Christmas, you'd see Dad with various bows stuck to his head. Every bow he'd pull off a package got stuck on his head until it lost its stickiness. Then there's the hats... my kids now have a grand time playing with his Christmas hats. There's a classic santa hat, an elf hat with pointy ears, and puffy red, furry number, and of course a Bah Humbug one too.

And the food. Dad loved to eat. He could fit an insane amount of food in his belly if it was good. And then, after eating at least 3 pieces of pie, he'd find a comfy chair and sleep it off.

A number of year ago, Dad learned about Heifer International, an organization that gives farm animals to needy families across the world. That first year, he gave me half a water buffulo! I remember it distinctly because I loved it so much. We joked about which half I got... frankly speaking, you gotta feed the front half but its the back half that gives back. :-) Every year since, he's given me some animal who another family enjoys the keeping of. This year, we remember him with a gift of rabbits through Gospel for Asia. Since we will begin raising rabbits ourselves in the coming months, we feel this is a great way to connect with the gift all year. We chose to use Gospel for Asia rather than Heifer International because GFA shares the gift of faith along with the gift of animals, with an eternal result. I don't think Dad will mind. I think he understands the value of the Gospel better than any of us reading this right now.

Merry Christmas, Pop. I love you.

10 Things I Love About My Dad

10. The way he answered the phone "Yeeeeellow."

9. Composting was innate.

8. He made sure his love of gardening was genetic.

7. His sense of adventure.

6. Every bow from a wrapped present made it onto his head.

5. He never said, "You can't do that." (though I heard plenty of disciplinary "No"s!)

4. The way, when he laughed really really hard, he didn't make any noise.

3. Every family vacation had to be educational.

2. He never listened to our "good sense" when it came to opening his home or not.

1. He was mine... and always will be.

I love you, Pop.


Alan Stedman- March 30, 1944 - March 30, 2010.

Decade in Review

Aaahhh. Floors are clean and kids sitting calmly watching "Storykeepers" thanks to a dear friend having mercy on my chicken pox-ed children. And while I wait for the floors to dry, I shall do what another friend did, reflect on a decade. (though acknowledging that the decade doesn't officially end for another year, but no one pays much attention to that!)

2000- Having returned from a few months in Europe, I had my wisdom teeth yanked and returned to college in NY. Graduated in May, worked for a few weeks on the farm where I had spent my other college summers, traveled to MN and CO for visiting and training then moved to China in August.

2001- Continued to teach in math, chemistry, drama, computers and creative writing in China. Returned to America in July for my sister's wedding.

2002- Finished my 2 year contract and signed another, this time to work in the library- one of my favorite jobs ever! Spent some summer vacation time with my dad treking southern China and Vietnam. Back to America for the rest of the summer. Spent Christmas in Singapore and Chinese New Year unexpectedly in America visiting my sick grandma.

2003- Continued to enjoy working in the library. Went to Mongolia for a couple weeks in the summer then spent the rest of our vacation fostering a wonderful Chinese boy, Wu Luan and training for a marathon. Ran the Beijing marathon in October. Came to FL for Christmas.

2004- Spent Chinese New Year in Thailand. Left China in June expecting to return 2 years later and intending to study at a Bible college in TX. God corrected me and I settled into a house church and a job teaching English as my old high school. Spent Christmas grading papers and lesson planning.

2005- Continued to grade papers till my eyes practically bled. Heard from God that Randy was my husband in February. Waited patiently (well, at least silently) until May when he finally figured it out (:->). Got married in July. Started teaching a new engineering program at the same high school 2 weeks later. Found out we were pregnant in October. Had a fabulous post-wedding celebration in November (as many weren't able to attend our wedding after attending 4 others in the Coslow family that summer). Found our house on a whim on Christmas Eve.

2006- Closed on our house Feb 2. Moved in Feb 3rd (my mom's birthday- quite the present considering we are only a few blocks away). Got chickens in April. Finished teaching in May. Spent 2 weeks bored and emotional feeling like a burden on society. Had Gloria in June. No longer felt like a burden on society but someone charged with the most important of tasks! Started the plant nursery in August. Started selling baby slings in October. Slaughtered our first round of meat chickens around Christmas time.

2007- Planted a ton of fruit trees. Got pregnant in May. Closed the nursery in October realizing I bit off way more than I could chew. Got goats in October. Experienced our first goat birth Christmas Eve. Spent Christmas ENORMOUS.

2008- Waddled for a month. Lost the birth race, to Annabelle, our other goat. Had Aaron Feb 3. Milked goats and loved it. Put in our first garden in May. Started a second in October. Slaughtered our first goat in Dec (due to an injury).

2009- Learned in early Jan we were pregnant again. Bought a meat goat in Feb. Had 4 goat kids in April. Slaughtered the meat goat in August. Lost 2 goat kids to snake bites. Traded Annabelle for Copper, the sugar daddy. Lost a third goat kid to parasites. Expanded the gardens. Had Nathan Sept 25. Spending Christmas with dear family who aren't afraid of chicken pox.

Funny... the first half of the decade I spent traveling. The second half I spent pregnant. I call that an upgrade, don't you?