The Long-Awaited Blog on Seth

I'd hate to forget Seth. For all of the obvious reasons but mostly for the reason that all mothers of more than two children children fear. Number three always seems to be getting lost in the mix. It's what well-meaning but unthinking visitors say to you when you're still recovering in the hospital with #3: ""You'll never be able to do for three what you could have done for two." Or how about what I could have done for one? I mean, I certainly can't do for THREE what I would have done for NONE. Where does the logic begin and end in that statement? Who has decreed that "One is good. Two is best. Three's a crowd!" I say "well-meaning" because I know that they don't actually realize that in your postpartum state your few precious hours of sleep are already subjected to vicious nightmares of what MIGHT happen. And now that I have four, I know that there were no "ifs" or bad dreams involved: incompetence and insufficiency are inevitabilities! There just aren't enough eyes or arms or laps to make all four of them kings & queens for a day. But that's not to say that Seth doesn't try...

Seth has never been the child to get lost in a crowd. Even now, at the grown-up age of four, he'll beg me to hold his hand in the store. Yesterday we were downtown in a parking lot and he refused to get out of the van on his side. I asked him why and he said "Because I might get hurt by those cars zooming down the road." The kid really is street smart! He seems to have his eyes and ears everywhere and, much like his older brother Brandt, he's inevitably searching for The Big Picture. He doesn't just ask when Daddy will be home. He wants to know the schedule and the menu that follow. For this reason, his least favorite hymn is "Trust and Obey."

Seth also has incredibly sweet moments. The grandmothers at church are thoroughly smitten by him because they rarely see him dig in his heels or blow me off. All they see is this enormous blonde head and eyes sized to match, hugs and kisses at the ready. He looks at them when he's telling a story and nods his head with a VERY knowing look--honestly a look of perceptiveness that you might see on an average 30-year old. And then he says something like "Yes. YES! I don't mind at all. I PROMISE I'm pulling your leg!" Never mind that most of the language is entirely inappropriate to the situation at hand... His look and his manner will convince you and all grandmothers that he is fully cognizant of what he's saying.

Seth loves to do puzzles, read books, and do heaps and heaps of math workbooks. Don't worry; he gets even weirder. Connect-the-dots seem to be the discovery of the year and have followed hard on the heels of coloring with markers, the results of which would provide a thesis for Freud. He doesn't color with multiple colors. Nor does he skip around coloring different characters on the page. Nope! He picks up the black or brown markers (his two favorites) and proceeds to cover the entire page ... METICULOUSLY! No amount of pleading that he try a different color will do. He is going for the prize: Most Painstaking 4-Year-Old Artist Ever!

The most delightful development in our family to include Seth is that The Boys (a.k.a. Brandt and Gresham) have found the grace and motivation to include him in their games and their imaginings. Whereas just a few months back his entry into the room elicited groans of "Can't we save this to play later Mom, when little ones are asleep?" Now they all tear around the house together with their knights and pirates, legos and paper airplanes. Part of this is a notable maturity in our little boy so that he is mostly able to deal with conflict in a more peaceable way than piercing screams. But moms everywhere know what I really mean: It's a work of God. A tiny, everyday miracle that would perhaps be lost on most people if they hadn't been around two weeks ago to hear the howling as it began to abate.

Do I have enough of myself to go around? Never! But I have a Savior who does. The Bible says that His love is "an everlasting love." It never runs out. And He has condescended to entrust our imperfect family with a body and soul in Seth. He most certainly will give us whatever we need to cause this breathtaking soul to bloom and thrive.

Brandt's Reading List

I'll try not to rant--not that I don't do that, huh Mom & Dad? It's just that I've tried to guard from it on this blog. Okay, so I'll just give you a little background (read hobby horse here). Every year some new series of books comes out. Lately it seems to be books that either flirt with or dive right into the occult. "Fringe" seems to be in on book runways for spring 2007--and has been for about ten years now. And often I'm left speechless by the persisting argument, "Anything that causes a child to love reading is worth reading." Now let's never mind the completely illogical "cart driving the horse" problem with that statement and admit the real assertion that people are dying to make: "Everything new is best." But here in the Bergeron household, we tend to think that everything new is ... just new. It may be noble, true and new or it may just be the same philosophies (pragmatism, humanism, logical positivism, relativism) repackaged. But I don't bother much with questions like "Should Christian children be reading Harry Potter?" because I have a 150-book list that we've simply GOT to wade through before our sons, enamored someday with the novelty of the novel, come to us and ask to read Harry Potter. And then it won't be Harry Potter probably (how long can Rowling string this out, I wonder?) To be sure, it will be the same ends-justifies-the-means all-power-comes-from-the-same-source-it-just-depends-on-you philosophies; but we can afford to put that off for a few more years. In the meantime, we've got a world of tried-and-true mind-expanding reading waiting to be explored!

Arguments aside, I've promised some of you a list of chapter books that Brandt has read over the past three years. I have not personally read every single one of these. If they were on a friend's booklist or from another trusted source, I did not deem it necessary. If you want to know what is future on our reading list, you can check out Veritas Press's new interactive online catalog at www.veritaspress.com unless perchance you have my Amazon password and can hack into my shopping cart! I know I've probably forgotten a handful of books. Although some of these we have used as read-alouds for our whole family, I'm astounded at how much one child can read when he's at home for a good portion of his day with many books at his disposal. Thanks Mom, Dad, and Nana for buying so many of these and thank you Lord for providing in the book budget even when it should have long since run dry!!!

Natural History
On the Far Side of the Mountain - Jean Craighead George (more in this series)
Frightful's Mountain - JCG
My Side of the Mountain - JCG
There's a Tarantula in my Purse - JCG
Gentle Ben by Walt Morey
Minn of the Mississippi -Holling Clancy Holling (more in this series)
Paddle to the Sea - HCH
The Call of the Wild - Jack London
Where the Red Fern Grows - Wilson Rawls
Shiloh - Phyllis Reynolds Naylor


Historical
The Witch of Blackbird Pond (New England Witch Trials)- Elizabeth George Speare (see more by this author)
The Bronze Bow (time of Christ)- EGS
Ten Boys Who Made a Difference - Irene Howat
Ten Boys Who Made History - IH
Ten Boys Who Changed the World - IH
Outcast (Roman Occupation of Britain)- Rosemary Sutcliff (see more by this author)
The Shining Company (British fighting Saxons in 600 A.D.) - RS
Why Not, Lafayette? - Jean Fritz (see many more by this author)
The Great Little Madison - JF
Twenty and Ten (WWI)- Claire Huchet Bishop
Caddie Woodlawn (Frontier) - Carol Ryrie Brink
The Children's Homer (Iliad & Odyssey - Padraic Colum
Hittite Warrior (Israel's Battle Against Sisera) - Joanne Williamson (see more by this author)
God King (Hezekiah's Battle Against Assyrians) - JW
The White Stag (Huns & Magyars) - Kate Seredy
A Place Called Heartbreak (Vietnam) - Walter Dean Myers
Turn Homeward, Hannalee (Civil War) - Patricia Beatty
Castle Diary: The Journal of Tobias Burgess - Richard Platt
Son of Charlemagne - Barbara Willard (see more by this author)
True Stories of the Second World War - Paul Dowswell
Rifles for Watie (Civil War)- Harold Keith
Adara (Israel's War with Assyrians, time of Elisha) - Beatrice Gormley
Esperanza Rising (Immigration from Mexico, 1930s) - Pam Munoz Ryan
From Wales to Westminster (Martyn Lloyd Jones ) - Christopher Catherwood
Beric the Briton (Roman Occupation of Britain)- G.A. Henty (see tens more by this author ... warning: a trifle verbose)
Hostage Lands (Roman Occupation of Britain) - Douglas Bond (see more by this author)
Duncan's War (Scottish War Against England) - DB
King's Arrow - DB
Rebel's Keep - DB
Daughter of the Mountains (Tibetan Girl's Journey - Buddhism) - Louise Rankin
All-of-a-Kind Family (turn of century Jewish family in NYC) - Sydney Taylor (see more by this author in this series)
South Sea Island Rescue (story of Scottish missionary John G. Paton) - Kay Walsh
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (mid-19th century South) - Mark Twain
Bull Run (Civil War) - Paul Fleischman
Hadassah: The Girl Who Became Queen Esther - Tommy Tenney
The Apple and the Arrow: The Legend of William Tell - Mary & Conrad Buff
Sarah, Plain & Tall (Frontier story) - Patricia MacLachlan
Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie (true story of Abbie Burgess, 1856) - Peter & Connie Roop
Shades of Gray (Civil War) - Carolyn Reeder
The King's Fifth (Conquistadores in New World, 1500s) - Scott O'Dell (see many more by this author)
I, Juan de Pareja (story of Diego Velasquez) - Elizabeth Borton de Trevino
The Golden Goblet (Ancient Egypt) - Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Tirzah (the Exodus) - Lucille Travis
Little House on the Prairie Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Detectives in Togas (Ancient Rome) - Henry Winterfeld
The Door in the Wall (Middle Ages) - Marguerite D'Angeli
Adam of the Road (Middle Ages) - Elizabeth Janet Gray & Robert Lawson
Mr. Revere and I (Revolutionary War) - Robert Lawson (see more by this author)
The Red Keep (France, Middle Ages) - Allen French (see another by this author)
Almost Home (Mayflower Puritans) - Wendy Lawton (see more in this series called "Daughters of Faith")
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (Revolutionary New England, Classical Method) - Jean Lee Latham
The Boy in the Alamo (Mexican-American war) - Margaret Cousins
The House of Sixty Fathers (Occupied China, WWII) - Meindert DeJong (see more by this author)


Science
Archimedes and the Door of Science - Jeanne Bendick

For Fun and Imagination
The Adventures of Pinocchio - Carlo Collodi
Misty of Chincoteague - Marguerite Henry (see more by this author)
Misty's Twilight - MH
Stormy, Misty's Foal - MH
Sea Star: Orphan of Chincoteague - MH
Chucaro, Wild Pony of the Pampa - Francis Kalnay
Ginger Pye - Eleanor Estes (see more by this author including The Moffat Family Chronicles)
Pinky Pye - EE
The Hundred Dresses - EE
The Bears on Hemlock Mountain - Alice Dalgliesh
...And Now, Miguel - Joseph Krumgold
The Railway Children - E. Nesbit (see more by this author)
Chronicles of Narnia series - C.S. Lewis
The Tower of Geburah - John White (see more in this series)
The Milly, Molly Mandy Storybook - Joyce Lankester Brisley
The Wheel on the School - Meindert de Jong
The Cricket in Times Square - George Selden
a few in the Boxcar Children series
a few Hardy Boys and a "few" more in future, I'm sure

Photos of the House

Without further ado, some pics of the house (for those of you who have been waiting patiently--and even for those of you who have NOT!).



This was taken a month ago when we still had a little snow left - first story external walls were complete but no internal framing is evident. Taken from the great room looking out down the street.



Looking through the future den and mudroom toward the driveway.



Now with internal framing - the den/schoolroom.



Half of the trusses are in place.



Looking toward the master bedroom, bath, closet (standing in the great room).

Triolet on Ezra

Since I just finished blogging about the two older boys, I thought I'd include a sample of some of the poetry they've written during this past school year. A triolet is an 8 line poem with the rhyme scheme abaaabab. Line 1 is repeated as lines 4 and 7 and line 2 is repeated as line 8. This was a really fun one and, with the exception of my helping them to find rhyming words and steering them a bit, this is all Brandt and Gresham's work.

Triolet on Ezra 9-10
In astonishment I've torn my beard;
God's Israel has pagan wives!
They're free but from the truth they've veered;
In astonishment I've torn my beard.
Our children are not properly reared;
The time is now to live new lives!
In astonishment I've torn my beard;
God's Israel has pagan wives.

Gresham

What can be said about Gresham as he approaches seven years old? Or, more appropriately, what can't be said about Gresham? He's Jim Carrey and Maurice Chevalier in one. He's the believer of the best in everyone--so trusting of others despite the many times we've burned him that sometimes he makes me want to cry for shame. He has never met a stranger yet strangely is the most reserved in our branch of the Bergeron family--yet strangely is capable of the most unexpected and very loud noises at any given moment. If you can't find Gresham, he is most likely in some "scuddly" (his word, not mine) corner of the house talking to . . . his shadow. You'd think that two brothers and a sister might be enough, yet Gresham never seems to have enough friends. "Shadow" apparently makes the fifth child in the Bergeron household.

Gresham is the first child who made me understand why most parents like to send their children away to school; yet he is also the child who would fare the worst in a school environment. Either that or it's his teacher who would fare poorly. It's not that he doesn't like school and it's not that he's a troublemaker. Correction: it's not that he means to start trouble. He just has a knack for drawing himself and everyone else into whatever spontaneous version of a party that he has invented for the moment. As his parents, it's a huge challenge for us to both train him toward self-control and yet still enjoy him as the amazingly creative blessing that he is. Gresham is a child who revels in being enjoyed. Despite his aversion to books and lined paper, he loves learning. Science experiments, sculpture, drawing and painting, inventing poems, memorizing extremely long verses, inventing complicated stories--these are all Gresham's strengths. Yes, we still require that he sit still during Latin and during family worship and that he write out his spelling words and participate in the reading; but we also try to give him ample time for less "bookish" stuff. Gresham's learning theme: "If you can build it, I will come!" Nevertheless, he is slowly acquiring a love of reading, thanks in part to the Hardy Boys. Being a girl myself, I'd have never guessed that's what it would take. We tried Ramona books. We even tried Nate the Great--but it was The Bears on Hemlock Mountain that did the trick during the week that Daddy was the teacher . . . "because that's a REAL book, Mom (i.e. like what my big brother is reading)." Gresham really enjoys soccer, football, rollerblading, street hockey--but he only seems to understand one speed . . . FAST. We're cringing a little as we contemplate what that may mean on the slopes this winter!

Gresham is one of those children with a tender conscience who, I think, will never have a "crisis of conversion." He is being raised in a covenant home. He knows the promises and capacities and characteristics of the Lord and still he chooses simple trust. He is sad about his sin--sometimes even deeply sorry--but it's never expressed in the passionate way that we sometimes project upon repentance. There is obstinacy in him and, of course, ample evidence of his sin nature, but he is one of those children who always desires the nearness of Jesus. It doesn't ever sit well for him to stand outside "the city of blessing" (Revelation 21)--even for a little while. He is constantly seeking restoration with his God and never doubts the power of Jesus to keep him in that relationship of blessing. He forgives readily and, I trust, is therefore forgiven much (Matthew 6:14-15).

Cabbage & Carrot Stir-Fry with Toasted Cumin & Lime

Serves 6
from Fine Cooking January 2007

This dish can be served warm or cold (like cole slaw). I served it cold at the squadron. It can also be used as a filling for enchiladas--although I haven't ops tested that one yet?!?

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 Tablespoons canola oil (I use grapeseed oil instead)
a few drops of chili oil if you have some (my addition)--chili oil is available at Trader Joe's
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked peppercorns
1/2 jalapeno or serrano, finely chopped
6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 2/3 of a medium cabbage)--I use a cheapy "mandoline" from Pampered Chef to do this step but you can also use a food processor
2 cups julienned or grated carrots
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar or honey
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro sprigs, finely chopped
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (I wish I'd cut this back to 1 or 2 Tablespoons but it's obviously your preference)

Toast the cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until deeply browned and beginning to smoke, 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool and then pulse in your blender or spice grinder until you have a fine powder.

Heat the grapeseed and chili oils with the coriander and peppercorns in a large skillet on your biggest burner (or in a wok if you have one). Add the jalapeno and cook until sizzling and just starting to soften, 1 minute. Then add in the cabbage and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has wilted yet is still al dente, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the freshly ground cumin, salt, and sugar and cook for 30 seconds more. Stir in the cilantro and lime juice and taste for seasoning.

Chicken Tikki Masala & Chicken Tandoori

This is the Indian chicken dish that I made for the squadron during night flights last week. It seemed to be a bit hit so I thought I'd include it here. I will note dairy substitutions where necessary.

One note on the spices: It really does make a difference if you use fresh spices. If you've had the same cumin sitting in your pantry for 2 years, throw it out and place an order with Penzey's. When we had to get rid of dairy and processed sugar and wheat, we took refuge in really wonderful spices and I'm convinced that fresh spices are one of the secrets of excellent cooks. You won't pay anymore at Penzey's (most times you'll pay a lot less if you order in bulk) but it does take a bit more planning to assure that you have the appropriate spice at the right time. Try to combine your order with other friends as the shipping is a pain if you're only placing a small order. You'll find garam masala and a myriad of other glorious Indian curry powders (try the Rogan Josh and Vindaloo mixes as well--highly recommended by Brian and the kids) under the headings "Spices, Herbs, and Seasonings A-E" and then click on "Curry Powders." And just in case you don't like what we white bread Americans always call "curry powder," do not despair. Curry, in my amateur opinion, is just another word for "really great mix of spices." This dish does not taste of boring yellow curry powder.

First, you have to make Chicken Tandoori. You don't need a tandoor to do this, contrary to what I'd heard previously--just an ordinary vanilla oven will do.

Chicken Tandoori
from Fine Cooking, Oct/Nov 2006
Serves 6

12 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
1 cup plain yogurt (I used plain soy yogurt)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I used lime juice because we had limes in plenitude)
1 Tablespoon peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 lemon, cut in half

Marinate the chicken:
With a sharp knife cut slits into the chicken thighs almost to the bone. In a large shallow bowl mix the yogurt, lemon juice, ginger, and garlic, coriander, cumin, garam masala, salt and cayenne. Add the chicken, turning to coat completely. Make sure that the marinade gets into all of the slits of the chicken. Cover and marinate in the fridge at least 2 hours but up to 12 hours.

Roast the chicken:
Position a rack in the center of your oven and heat to 425F. Transfer the chicken to a large baking sheet (I love my Nordic Ware "Natural Bakeware" Half Sheet), discarding any remaining marinade. Roast until the juices run clear or an instant-read thermometer measures 170 in the thickest part of the thigh--approximately 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and squeeze the lemon juices over the thighs.


Chicken Tikki Masala
from Fine Cooking, Oct/Nov 2006

1 2-in long hot green chile (preferably serrano), stemmed & chopped
1 1-in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter or Earth Balance
1 recipe Roasted Tandoori Chicken, meat removed from bone in large pieces (try not to shred)
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 Tablespoons cumin seeds, toasted lightly in a saute pan and ground fine in blender or spice grinder
(yes, it does taste better when you grind the spices yourself)
1 cup heavy cream (I omitted the cream for my family and it was still delicious)
kosher salt to taste
2 teaspoons garam masala
3/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

In a blender or food processor, pulse the chili, ginger, and tomatoes until pureed. Set aside.

Melt 6 Tablespoons of the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. When the foam subsides, add about 1/3 of the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken absorbs some butter and begins to brown, 3-4 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate. Repeat with remaining 2 batches of chicken.

Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons butter to the pan. When it's melted, add the paprika and cumin and stir until pieces just begin to darken, 10-15 seconds.

Immediately add the tomato mixture. Simmer vigorously, stirring frequently, until the sauce has thickened slightly, 6-8 minutes. Add the cream (optional) and 1 teaspoons kosher salt and stir well.

Add the chicken and stir gently to mix. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the garam masala and remaining cumin. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.