Home Made Bread/Domowy Chleb

Home Made Bread

March 8, 2008

Today is Women's day in Poland.  It's probably like Valentine's Day in
America, though in Poland they are starting to celebrate American
holidays now, so they have a Valentine's Day too.  If i  remember
correctly on Women's day in Poland, women got flowers from loved ones;
it wasn't quite as extravagant as Valentine's Day here.

Well, today on Women's Day I decided to write about making bread, a
womanly chore in the old days.  Though, the first person that I saw
make bread on a regular basis was a man, Steve White, my surrogate dad
during my teenage years.  Ever since living at his home, I've always
enjoyed home made bread, but I didn't have the motivation to actually
do it myself.

In Utah and in Iowa there was a bakery called Great Harvest that made
100% whole wheat natural bread, so I always bought my bread from them.
 When I moved to Georgia I looked and looked for a natural bakery but
there isn't one here.  Either the bread was not 100% whole wheat or it
had 20+ obscure ingredients that probably should not be in bread.

Bread may be 50% of what my children eat during the day, so I want it
to be natural and healthy.  So I finally decided that if I wanted
natural bread I would have to make it myself on a regular basis.  I
dreaded this solution, but I could not stomach store bought bread no
matter how expensive it was.

I decided to buy a Bosch bread mixer, one that I saw Steve White use
years ago.  I found it online and I began to experiment.  My sister
Kinga sent me a pretty good bread recipe, but the bread came out well
only 25% of the time.

My sister Kinga also recommended that I grind my own wheat and
suggested a K-Tec Kitchen Mill Grinder because there are 2 kinds of
whole wheat: red wheat and white wheat.  White wheat is just the
albino form of red wheat.  It doesn't have the 2 naturally occurring
chemicals that give it the red color and make it bitter. Those
chemicals are a natural pesticide that the plant developed over the
years to make it not taste good to pests.  White whole wheat doest not
have these ingredients, it tastes delicious, but it is hard to find
already ground.  It can be found in some health food stores or in some
Indian markets because white wheat is used in Asia. Just ask for
Chapatti flour if you don't want to grind it yourself.  Whole white
wheat tastes wonderful and sweet and has the same amount of fiber and
vitamins and minerals as red whole wheat.

So I bought the grinder and ground some white whole wheat and
experimented with my recipe.  After tweaking and changing it, I
finally came up with the perfect whole wheat bread recipe and I wanted
to share it with everyone.  It makes the most perfect whole wheat
bread if you use whole white wheat, but it will work well with regular
red whole wheat too.  The King Arthur brand of flour carries 100%
whole white as well as red wheat.
Well, here is the recipe:

The Best Whole Wheat Bread That I Have Tasted So Far

The Sponge:
4 1/2 teaspoons Active Dry Yeast or  2 packets
3/4 cup warm Water
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour

mix 3/4 cup warm water and yeast, then add 1 cup of whole Wheat Flour,
mix vigorously

Let it sit for 45 minutes. It will reach a peak of expansion and then
settle back down a little. That's when its time to do this:

while mixing add:

The Dough:

2 1/2 cups of warm Water
2 cups of Whole Wheat Flour
stir very well and add
1/2 cup of Wheat Gluten
2 1/2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/3 cup Honey
1 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
mix very well and add slowly:
3 cups of Whole Wheat Flour or a bit more until it's a good bread consistency

knead 10-15 minutes

Place into greased pans and let it rise in a warm place or a slightly
warm oven for
1 hour if using regular yeast or,
40 min if using quick bread machine yeast

Bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes depending on your loaf size and how your
oven works.  It should be a very light golden brown, not a dark brown
like you see in stores.

I hope this helps those of you who have a desire to make delicious
bread at home.

I now make bread 3 times per week.  It only takes 2 hours and most of
that time I'm doing something else. I just have to listen to the timer
to do the next step.  Of course this bread can be made by hand, the
appliances are not necessary.

I'm sending a couple of Family Home Evening pictures of when we went
on the fitness trail here on Fort Gordon.  It was a really fun
activity and very good exercise.  We're still enjoying our "winter"
here in Georgia.  There are also a couple of other pictures.  One is
of Nephi sleeping on the stairs with his head on a rag.  It looks like
he is praying like a Muslim.  He is even facing east toward Mecca.  A
very funny way to sleep.  Oh, and one of Nephi wearing my skirt and
posing like Merlin Monroe…

Sylwia

Domowy Chleb

8 Marzec 2008

Jesli dobrze pamietam to dzisiaj jest Dzien Kobiet w Polsce.  Na dzien
kobiet pamietam ze kobiety dostawaly kwiaty.  W Ameryce nie ma dnia
kobiet ale jest swieto Valentine's.  To prawie to samo co dzien kobiet
bo najczesciej meszczyzni kupuja cos kobietom—czekolady,perfumy, zadko
kwiaty, i ida razem do restauracji na obiad.

Wiec w ten dzien kobiet pisze o starodawnej kobiecej pracy pieczenia
chleba.  Choc pierwsza osoba ktora znalam co piekla chleb to byl
meszczyzna--Pan Steve White,  z ktorego rodzinom mieszkalam jak bylam
nastolatka.  On piekl chleb dla calej swojej rodziny na caly tydzien.

W Ameryce chleb w skepach jest nie naturalny i ma bardzo duzo dodanych
chemikalji i cukru.  Nie dobrze smakuje i jest nie zdrowy.  W Utah i w
Iowa byla jedna piekarnia z naturalnym chlebem i ja tam zawsze chleb
kupowalam.  Ale tu w Georgia nie ma zadnej takiej naturalnej piekarni.
 Wiec ja sie zdecydowalam zaczac sama chleb piec.

Pieczenie chleba to nie jest latwa sprawa.  Pewnie tez dlatego nawet w
starodawnych czasach byly piekarnie.  Jest wiele recept na pieczenie
chleba.  Trudno z nich wybrac.  Kinga mi dala dosyc dobra recepte ale
chleb nie byl doskonaly i nie zawsze wychodzil.

Kinga mi tez powiedziala ze powinnam sama mielic ziarno na make.  Bo
sa rozne ziarna pszenicy in nie wszytkie dobrze smakuja.  Tu w Ameryce
mamy czerwone ziarno i jasnozolte ziarno.  Czerwone gorzej smakuje, a
jasnozolte ma takie same wartosci zdrowotne ,ale duzo lepiej smakuje.

Wiec ja kupialam mielarke do ziarna i zaczelam sama make mielic.  Tez
zmienilam te recepte troche po trochu az wynalazlam doskonaly chleb.
Jest naprawde wysmienity i ja piecze chleb 3 razy w tygodniu.  Tez
kupilam sobie maszyne do mieszania chleba niemeckiej firmy Bosch.
Bardzo dobrze mi make miesza wiec nie musze tego robic rekami.  Piecze
5 bochenkow w piecu i moje dzieci bardzo szybko cieply chleb zjadaja.

Dzile sie maja recepta z wami jesli was to interesuje.  Ale ja wiem ze
w Polsce i Niemczech jest bardzo dobry zdrowy chleb z piekarni, wiec
pawnie was to nie interesuje za bardzo.

Najlepszy Cheb Pszenny Jaki do Teraz Wynalazlam

1.  Pomieszaj 4 ½ male lyzeczki drozdzy z ¾ kubka wody.
2.  Dodaj jeden kubek maki z otrebami (naturalenej nie bialej) i
dobrze razem wymieszaj.
3.  Daj tej mieszance siedziec 45 minut.
4.  Po 45 minutach dodaj:

2 ½ kubki wody
2 kubki naturalnej maki
2 ½ duzej lyzki oleju
1 ½ dzuej lyzki soli
1/3 kubka miodu
½ kubka gluten z pszenicy
Jeszcze 3 kubi naturalnej maki

5.  Mieszaj wszystko przez 10-15 minut.
6.  Wlorz w blachy do pieczenia i daj chlebu rosnac przez godzine w
cieplym miejscu.
7. Piecz w piecu 163 celciusza przez 20-30 minut. Chleb bedzie zloty a
nie ciemno brazowy…

Przesylam kilka zdjec z wieczoru rodzinnego jak poszlismy cwiczyc tu
na bazie na takiej zdrowotnej scieszce.  Co kilka metrow byly
instrukcje cwiczenia.  Bardzo fajnie sie bawilismy. Fajna jest "zima"
w Georgia.  No it tez pare innych zdjec przesylam.  Na jednym Nefi
zasna na szmatce na schodach w naszym domu.  Wygladalo jakby sie po
arabsku modil; nawet byl sklonienty na wschod w strone Mekki; bardzo
smieszne tak spac.  A na ostatnim to Nefi ma na sobie maja spodnice i
o pozuje jak Marlin Monroe.

Sylwia

Joshua Hardman News/Wiadomosci o Joshua Hardman

Joshua Hardman News

February 26, 2008

Our plans for Josh to become an ER doctor have been put on hold.  Josh
applied twice for an ER residency in the military and both years ER
has been extremely competitive and he did not get in.  ER is usually
is not a very competitive specialty.  Usually Orthopedic Surgery and
Dermatology are the most competitive specialties, though in the
military competitiveness is very random.  Every year there is a
different amount of slots for each specialty and every year a
different amount of people apply for those spots.  Josh was told that
last year ER was the most competitive specialty and that Dermatology
had 4 slots and only 4 people applied.  ER last year was even more
competitive than Orthopedic Surgery.

Josh has no interest whatsoever in becoming any other kind of doctor.
He does not like the continuity of care that goes along with most
other specialties and he falls asleep doing radiology. So ER is still
his ultimate goal.

One of his options in the meantime was to become a General Medical
Officer for a couple of years and then apply again.  When one serves
as a GMO, he becomes a very competitive applicant and has a very good
chance to get into any specialty that he wants.

Neither Josh nor I had a good feeling about this option, however.  We
felt bad about moving our kids around every couple of years especially
since in this new house they are very happy and they have close
neighborhood friends.

We felt like we needed to stay here, so we prayed for guidance and for
other doors to open.  Josh felt inspired to inquire about doing a
Family Medicine residency here.  Not all of the FM slots had been
filled here, but they had all been closed because the funding had been
pulled.  The residency director was very eager to have Josh in the
program.  He negotiated for a few weeks with the Office of the Surgeon
General, and a Family Medicine slot was reopened for Josh.  So Josh is
now a FM resident at Eisenhower Medical Center.

We were very glad about the news that we can stay put here for 3 years
and I can definitely say that we have gotten used to Georgia weather.
As far as I'm concerned, in Georgia, its spring or summer all year
long.

After a Family Medicine residency Josh can still get a job in the ER
in the civilian world or maybe he can start a "Kwick Klinic" at
Wal-Mart and become a millionaire.  I'm just kidding, because I
probably don't want Josh to ever run a business; I like having him
home.  But those clinics are such a good idea for both the doctors and
for the consumers.  It's a cash only business so there is no overhead
for the doctor to pay for, and the price to see a doctor is much
lower.  It's all walk in, so the patient does not need an appointment
and does not have to wait very long.  They come in, they pay their 40
dollars and they get a prescription and they are out the door in 15
minutes.  It's a win-win for everybody.  We Americans like our
services to be done fast, for a good price, and with good customer
service.  Regular doctor's offices don't fit that mold; often the
staff, nurses, or doctors are rude, slow, and apathetic.   "Kwick
Klinics" are the way to go for minor aliments such as strep and
earaches.

In other news, Samuel was goofing around with his friends crashing
scooters and bikes and he broke his toe.  Surprisingly, he had his
shoes on, but the impact was so great that the skin punctured anyway
and bled profusely.  I took him to the ER because Josh was working and
I didn't quite know what to do because the skin on his toe looked all
gray and dead.  It pinked back up at the ER and the X-ray revealed
that Samuel broke the growth plate in one of his toe bones.  He is
limping around but he'll be fine except for the fact that he may end
up with a shorter toe when he is an adult. That's toe accident number
two for Samuel.  Maybe Josh should have been a podiatrist….

I've attached some favorite pictures.  The first is from my mom's
visit, then there are a couple of our cute Gracie, and then there are
a few from the carnival that came to Fort Gordon.  One carnival day
was family day and for 10 dollars the kids got to have unlimited
carnival rides and there were NO LINES!  So my kids spun around and
rode roller coasters for 5 hours straight; no breaks.  There was even
free pizza.  The kids had the time of their life!

Sylwia


26 Luty 2008

Wiadomosci o Joshua Hardman

Od poczatku mojego malrzenstwa moj maz chodzil do szkoly.  Tu w
Ameryce mamy troche inny system szkolny niz w Europie, lub w Azji.  W
innych krajach jak ktos chce byc lekarzem to po szkole sredniej robi
egzamin aby dostac sie na studja medyczne.

W Ameryce jest innaczej.  Po szkole sredniej idzie sie na studja.  To
trwa okolo piec lat aby skonczyc studja.  Po skonczonych studjach
idzie sie do pracy albo mozna isc na wyzsze studja, robic magistra,
lub zlozyc aplikacje do szkoly medycznej.  Nikt nie moze isc do szkoly
medycznej po maturze, ale tylko po studjach.

Moj maz skonczyl studja w dziedzinie mikrobiologi.  Po skonczeniu tych
studji o poszedl do pracy jako naukowiec.  Bardzo go ta praca nudzila
bo sam siedzial w laboratorium z chemikaliami.  Wiec on postanowil
zmienic karjere i poszedl na wyzsze studja biznesu i po 3 latach
dostal dyplom magistra biznesu.  Byl gotowy zaczac szukac pracy w
biznesie, ale w tym samym miesiacu on dostal opowiedz od skoly
medycznej ze jego przyjeli.

Wiec Josh sie zdecydowal isc do szkoly nastepne 4 lata.  Szkola
medyczna tu trwa 4 lata plus 4 lata praktyki, wiec caly trening trwa
okolo 8 lat.  Szkola Medyczna kosztuje 30 tysiecy dolarow na rok, wiec
120 tysiecy dolarow razem.  Tez zycie kosztuje okolo 30 tysiecy na
rok, wiec z szkola z wyrzywieniem przez 4 lata kosztuje okolo 240
tysiecy dolarow.  To dla nas bylo troche za drogie i mi tez nie lubimy
brac tak duzo pozyczek.

W Ameryce jest mozliwosc aby wojsko zaplacilo 120 tysiecy za szkole
medyczna, i 60 tysiecy za zycie.  Wiec zdecydowalismy sie ta droga
Josha dalej wyksztalcic.  Za te pieniadze wojsko wymaga ze ten 4 letni
trening bedzie robiony w wojsku i ze po treningu zolnierz bedzie
pracowal dla wojska nastepne 4 lata.  Wiec od poczatku do konca
cywilny trening medyczny trwa okolo 8 lat, a w wojsku okolo 12 lat.
Do tego dodaj 5 lat podstawowych stujow, wiec w ciwilnym swiecie to
zajmuje 13 lat aby zostac samodzielnym lekarzem, a w wojsku 17 lat.
Zostac lekarzem to bardzo dluga droga w Ameryce.

7 miesiecy temu Josh skonczyl szkole i zaczol trening ogolny.  Josh by
chcial byc lekarzem na pogotowiu, ale nie bylo w wojsku miejsca na
trening w pogotwiu, wiec teraz Josh zmienil specializacje aby zostac
lekarzem rodzinnym.  Rodzinni lekarze tez moga pracowac na pogotwiu,
wiec moze w przyszlosci bedzie on na pogotowiu pracowal.

Wojsko nam powiedzialo ze przez nastepne 3 lata bedziemy tu w Georgia
mieszkac.  Cieszymy sie tym bo juz przyzwyczailismy sie do tej cieplej
pogody. W Georgia sa tylko dwie pory roku, lato i wiosna.  Zapraszamy
was tu. szegolnie w zime aby odpoczac od mrozu.

Moj syn Samuel pare dni temu zlamal sobie palec od nogi.  Bawil sie z
kolega na rowerze i na "scooter".  Probowali sie razem robijac i choc
Samuel mial na sobie buty to i tak zlamal palec.  Lekarz powiedzial ze
trzeba tasma owijac palce, ale nie trzeba sie martwic o palce od nog.
Moze ten palec bedzie troche krotszy niz inne jak Samuel bedzie
dorosly, ale to nie wplynie na jego ruwnowage.   To juz drugi palec od
nogi ktoremu Samuel zrobil krzywde.  Moze Josh powinien by zostac
lekarzem od stop…

Zalanczam pare ulubionych zdjec.  Pierwsze to z moja mama.  Nastpene
pare to nasza kochana coreczka Grace.  A ostatnie kilka to jak
przyjechalo wesole miasteczko do bazy wojskowej i jeden dzien byl
poswiecony rodzinom.  Przez piec godzin moje wszytkie dzieci jezdzily
i sie krecily i nawet byla pizza za darmo.  Nie bylo zadnych kolejek,
wiec dzieci biegaly od jednej karuzeli do drugiej.  To byl ich
najbardziej ulubiony dzien w ich zyciu!

Sylwia

Grandma Nancy!/Babcia Nancy!

February 29, 2008

Grandma!

Last week Joshua's mom Grandma Nancy came to visit us and to celebrate
3 birthdays with us.  It was Grace's 2nd Birthday, Samuel's 9th
Birthday and Grandma Nancy's Birthday!

It was so nice to have Grandma with us for a week.  I think that like
my husband, my mother is law is perfect.  She is always hardworking,
helpful and kind, and fun to spend time with.  I hope that one day
when Grandma Nancy gets old that she will live with us. But I suspect
that she will always be healthy, energetic and independent like her
mother.

Samuel and Isaiah took a day off school to spend some extra time with
Grandma Nancy.  We took a long walk in our forest and together found a
hognose snake, a turtle, a snail, and a caterpillar.  We examined them
for a while and then returned them to nature.  Hognose snakes are a
really fun species.  They are harmless but they act fierce and
dangerous.  When scared, they flatten their head like a cobra and
hiss.  At first, I was a bit scared but Samuel informed us not to be
afraid because it was a hognose.  Samuel is often smarter than the
rest of us.

Samuel, Isaiah, Josh, and Grandma went for a horse ride together.  I
tried to pull Nephi around on the cranky pony but Nephi fell off the
pony and wanted to go home after a few minutes.  I was really happy to
be relieved of my cranky pony pulling duty.  Ponies are so overrated.
Never get a pony, stick with a horse.

Nephi and Grace and I took Grandma sightseeing to the swamp and to the
Riverwalk.  We saw some turtles and many kinds of birds, but alas, no
alligators.  When are we going to see these alleged alligators in
Georgia?

On President's Day on Monday night Grandma Nancy told us the life
stories of President George Washington and President Abraham Lincoln.
Samuel and Isaiah were riveted and listened for a full without
wiggling.  Usually when we try to teach our kids during Family Home
Evening they start bouncing off the walls within two minutes.  Not
this time.  They were fascinated and enthralled the whole hour!  Thank
you Grandma for teaching and inspiring us with the history of American
heroes.

On Saturday Grandma took Samuel and Isaiah for a special outing to the
Enterprise mill museum and on the Augusta canal boat ride.  She even
gave them ten dollars each to spend at the gift shop.  They thoroughly
enjoyed a whole day alone with Grandma and they were especially exited
about the gift shop because I never buy trinkets or souvenirs for my
kids.  What a treat!

And last and definitely least, on Samuel's birthday Josh and Grandma
Nancy took the Samuel and Isaiah to an arcade called Planet X-treme.
I have no idea what is so fun about an arcade, I personally don't even
like to step foot in such dingy, dimly-lit, loud places.  But the boys
apparently had an X-treme time.  Josh and Grandma didn't seem to mind
the place too much; they had fun watching the boys have fun.

Sylwia

29 Luty 2008

W ostatnim tygodniu mojego meza mama Nancy przyjechala nas odwiedzic.
W tym tygodniu obchodzilismy mojej coreczki Grace drugie urodziny,
mojego syna Samuela dziewiate urodziny, i mojej tesciowej urodziny!


Bylo wspaniale miec maja tesciowa u nas.  Ja uwazam ze tak jak moj maz
jest doskonaly tak tez jest moja tesciowa doskonala.  Ona zawsze
ciezko pracuje, jest pomocna, spokojna, mila, i bardzo fajnie sie z
nia czas spedza.  Mam nadzieje ze na stare lata ona by chciala z nami
mieszkac.  Ale wydaje mi sie ze ona zawsze bedzie zdrowa, enegiczna i
samodzielna tak jak jej mama.

Zwolnilam Samuela i Isaiah ze szkoly na jeden dzien aby mieli wiece
czasu spedzic z Babcia Nancy.  Chodzilismy duzo po lesie dookola
mojego domu i znalezlismy weza, zlowia, slimaka, i gasienice.  Pare
godzin je obserwowalismy i potem zwrocilismy spowrotem do natury.  Ten
waz byl bardzo interesujacy.  Nazywa on sie Hognose waz i on nie jest
grozny ale groznie sie zachowuje.  Jak sie czuje zagrorzony to robi
swoja glowe plaska i syczy tak jak waz kobra.  Napoczatku to nas
przestraszylo ale Samuel nam powiedzial jak waz to jest.  Samuel
czesto jest mondrzejszy od nas wszytkich.

Samuel, Isaiah, Josh, i Babcia Nancy tez poszli jezdzic na koniach.
Ja probowalam prowadzic Nefiego na kaprysnym kucyku ale po pieciu
minutach Nefi spadl z kucyka i chcial isc do domu.  Ja tez chcialam
isc do domu bo ja nie lubie kucykow.  Wole normalne konie.

Innego dnia Nefi, Grace, i ja poszlismy z Babcia Nancy zwiedzac
interesujace miejsca w miescie Augusta.  Poszlismy do parku zrobionego
dookola bagna i tez poszlismy do centrum miasta nad rzeke.
Widzielismy zlowie i wiele ptakow, ale nigdzie nie bylo widac
krokodyla.  Kiedy zobaczymy te krokodyle co niby mieszkja w stanie
Georgia?

Na swieto prezydenta w poniedzialek, Babcia Nancy nam opowiedziala
zyciorysy prezydenta Georga Washingtona i Abrahama Lincolna.  Samuel i
Isaiah tak byli tym zainteresowani ze przez cala godzine sluchali i
sie nie ruszali.  Najczesciej jak ich uczymy podczas wieczoru
rodzinnego, to po kilku minutach zaczynaja sie krecic.  Ale nie tym
razem.  Tak byli zafascynowani ze caly czas babci sluchali.
Dziekujemy Babci Nancy za nauke o histori Amerykanskich bohaterow.

W sobote Bacia Nancy wziela Samuela i Isaiah do muzeum starodawnej
fabryki i na przejazd sie na lodce po kanale Augusta.  Mieli bardzo
przyjemy czas razem i tez bardzo sie cieszyli jak babcia im dala po
dziesiec dolarow zeby mogli sobie kupic pamiatki.  Ja nigdy moim
dzieciom nie daje pieniedzy na takie drobiazgi.  Wiec to im sie bardzo
podobalo.

No i na Samuela urodziny Josh i Babcia Nancy wziela Samuela i Isaiah
do takiego miejsca gdzie jest bardzo wiele gier komputerowych.  Ja nie
lubie takich miejsc.  Jest tam ciemno i jest tam glosnia muzyka i po
prostu atmosfera mi sie  nie podoba.  Nie rozumiem dlaczego innym
takie miejsca sie podobaja.  No ale Samuel i Isaiah dobrze sie bawili,
a babcia i Josh sie cieszyli aby spedzac czas z wesolymi dziecmi.



Sylwia

Spiderman

February 10, 2008

I have a costume "box" where I keep a bunch of dress up clothes for my
kids to play with.  They play with them year round.  I add to the
collection as I find cheap costumes at yard sales or in thrift shops.

For some reason a few months ago Nephi decided to worship Spiderman.
I don't exactly know when this obsession started.  It seems like
around the time that Nephi started to talk, he mostly talked about
Spiderman and spider webs.

I normally don't buy costumes for Halloween, but last year I decided
to give in, and buy Nephi a Spiderman costume.  Oh, he was so excited
and started wearing it the very day I got it.  And then he wore it the
next day, and the next, and the next, and the next.  He even wanted to
sleep in it.  This became a problem because I had to wash it and that
would mean that Nephi would have to do without it for a couple of
hours at a time.  Every morning Nephi would become frantic if he could
not find his costume.

This started grating on my nerves, but luckily my father came to visit
and he bought Nephi 2 sets of Spiderman pajamas.  This pacified Nephi
a bit and he enjoyed changing his clothes three times per day while
remaining Spiderman.  It was out of the question for him to wear
anything else.

This became a very big problem on Sundays when we insisted that Nephi
wear a white shirt and dark pants to church and not his costume.  We
had to hold him down to dress him, but our efforts were fruitless
because on the way to church Nephi would scream and undress himself
anyway.  At the church parking lot we had to redress Nephi, but by the
time we got into the chapel Nephi would be half naked, popping the
buttons off his Sunday shirt…

School wasn't much better.  I put Nephi in a little preschool a couple
of times per week.  I'm attaching a picture with his teacher.  At
first Nephi enjoyed school a lot, but later he started having tantrums
if he could not find a Spiderman outfit to wear to school.  I went to
Wal-Mart and bought every clearance Spiderman outfit I could find.  It
pacified Nephi for a time, but then came the Christmas concert…

Nephi was supposed perform at the concert in his Sunday's best but of
course this was not a viable option for Nephi.  He screamed and cried
and hyperventilated and resolved to never come back to his school due
to this injustice.  I'm sending a picture from Nephi's preschool
Christmas concert and reception.  Can you tell which one is Nephi?

After much persistence and tribulation I canceled Nephi's preschool
and let him relax and wear whatever he wanted at home.  For some time
he continued to only wear Spiderman attire, but then one day a miracle
happened…Nephi decided to dress himself in a regular striped shirt…in
all, it only took him 3 months to get over his Spiderman obsession.
Now that he is over it, I feel the need to write about it for my
personal therapy.

I'm sending some pictures from our last Halloween when Nephi's
Spiderman obsession first started.  Here in Fort Gordon on Halloween,
the military police closed off all of the streets leading to our
housing community.  No cars except for military police were allowed to
drive from 6 to 8 pm, and it was wonderful.  The weather was very warm
and there were hoards of kids trick-or treating.  Most candy givers
sat outside on the street in front of their houses and many of them
were dressed up in costumes.

We took our bikes and rode around the neighborhood.  It was so safe
and fun.  We saw some great costumes.  Of course Isaiah's bat costume
was the best, but my other favorites were: a kid dressed as an
outhouse, our neighbor Frankenstein, and a man dressed in a real gully
suit that is worn by real army snipers.  In case you are wondering
Gracie was dressed as Peter Pan, Samuel as a doctor, and Nephi as the
one and only…..Spiderman!

Sylwia

10 Luty 2008

Moje dzieci lubia sie przebierac w rozne kostjumy, i nie tylko na
swieto Halloween.  Wiec jam am dla nich miesjce na te ubrania dla
przebierania.  Od czasu do czasu ja kupuje jakies urzywane kostjumy i
dodaje do naszej kolekcji.

Kilka miesiecy temu Nefi zachwycil sie charaktrerem Spiderman.  Wiec
na Halloween ja mu kupilam nowy kostjum Spiderman.  On tak byl tym
ucieszony ze odrazu sie w to ubral.  I nawet mial to na sobie w
nastepny dzien, i w nastepny, i w nastepny.  Nawet chcial w tym
kostjumie spac.  Nefi byl bardzo zly jak musialam ten kostjum wyprac i
nic innego nie chcial na siebie zalorzyc.

To zaczelo mnie denerwowac ale okolo w tym czasie moj ojciec nas
odwiedzil i kupil Nefiemu dwie Spiderman pizamy.  Nefi sie bardzo
cieszyl ze mogl sie trzy razy dziennie przebierac i nadal byc
Spiderman.

W niedziele mielismy najwiekszy problem, bo Nephi nie chcial sie ubrac
w biala koszule do kosciola.  Nadal chcial byc Spiderman.  Na sile
musielimy go ubierac, ale w samochodzie on zdejmowal wszytkie swoje
ubrania i krzyczal i plakal.  Musielimy go znowu ubrac przed samym
kosciolem, ale nawet to nie pomoglo bo on wyrywal guziki z koszuli w
kosciele i sie rozbieral.

W szkole tez nie bylo lepiej.  Zapisalam Nefiego do przeczkola dwa
razy w tygodniu.  Przesylam zdjecie z Nefiego klasy.  Na poczatku
szkola mu sie podobala ale potem Nefi nie chial chodzic do szkoly jak
nie mogl znalesc Spiderman ubrania.  Poszlam do skepu i kupilam mu
wiele Spiderman ubran na przecenie.

To pomoglo na jakis czas, ale w grudniu Nefi mial koncert w szkole.
Musial byc na ten koncert ladnie ubrany, ale Nefi tylko chcial byc
jako Spiderman ubrany.  Byl zly i plakal jak go ladnie ubralismy.
Przeslyam zdjecie z koncertu.  Zgadnij ktore dziecko jest Nefi.

Od tego czasu Nefi nie chcial wrocic do przeczkola.  Wozilam go do tej
szkoly jeszcze przez miesiac, ale potem zdecydowalam ze ta wojna nie
byla warta mojego wysilku.  Dalam Nefiemu byc w domu i ubierac sie w
to co chcial.  No i po 3 miesiacach Spiderman obsesji Nefi sam
zdecydowal sie ubrac w normalne ubranie.

Przesylam zdjecia z naszego ostatniego Halloween kiedy Nefiego
Spiderman obsesja sie zaczela.  Tu w Fort Gordon na Halloween policja
zamknela nasza ulice od 6 to 8 wieczorem.  Nikt oproz policji nie
mogli jezdzic po naszym osiedlu bo bardzo duzo dzieci tam biegalo od
domu do domu po cukierki.  Bylo bardzo cieplo i dorosli siedzieli na
dworzu i rozdawali dzieciom curkierki.  Tez wiele doroslych bylo
przebranych na Halloween.

Moje dzieci jezdzily rowerami i zbierali cukierki.  Bylo wiele fajnych
kostjumow.  Isaiah mial najfajnieszy co mu babcia Nancy uszyla, ale
tez nam sie podobaly jak chopiec by przebrany jako ustep, i jak nas
sasiad byl Frankenstein, i tez jak inny sasiad byl przebrany w
prawdziwym ubraniu strzelaca w armi.

Moje coreczka Grace byla przebrana jak Piotrus Pan, Samuel jako
lekarz, no i Nephi oczywiscie jako Spiderman!

Sylwia

The Sunny Side of Georgia/Sloneczna Georgia

The Sunny Side of Georgia

February 8, 2008

For those of you living at the "north pole", I really have to admit
that there are some nice things about living in Georgia.  It has been
so warm and pleasant here during the last few months.  Yes we have had
some days when it dropped into the 40's, but most of the time it has
been in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80s.  I can count on my fingers
how many days my children elected to wear shoes while playing outside
this "winter".

In early December my mom came to visit us from Utah.  It was so nice
to have her here.  We celebrated an early Christmas with her.  She
made each of the kids a fancy magnetic bracelet.  Making bracelets is
her new hobby.  They are really fun to play with because they can be
made into many different shapes thanks to the magnets.  They are also
to fun to stick on the fridge.  I'm sending a picture of my mom
staying up with Samuel and Isaiah in the storage room making
bracelets.   Notice Samuel sleeping on the table…

The first couple of days that my mom was here it was in the 50's so we
did some hiking around the forest and lake the surrounds my
neighborhood.   Even in the winter the forest here seems colorful
because some of the leaves stay on the trees and because there are a
lot of pine trees.

When the weather climbed to the 80's the next few days, we took a boat
ride on the Augusta canal where we learned about the nature and
history of Augusta.  One of the reasons that the city of Augusta
thrived and stayed on the map is because one man had the idea to build
the Augusta canal as well as fabric mills.  He reasoned that it would
be a good idea to have manufacturing in the south and not rely on the
north so much.  Many opposed him but eventually the canal and mills
were built.  The mills gave great economic advantage to the city of
Augusta as well as to the south during the civil war.

With my mom, we toured a mill museum and we were reminded of the
terrible long working hours and conditions people endured for so many
years.  It is good to be reminded how easy our lives really are
compared to our progenitors.

During our boat ride it was fun to see turtles and blue herons, but we
were disappointed that we did not see an alligator.  Nephi wanted to
swim with the alligators, but it was not that warm!  Enjoy the picture
of Nephi standing by the alligator warning sign.

One of the highlights of my mom's visit was going horseback riding
here on post.  Fort Gordon has beautiful riding stables and gorgeous
trails.  Samuel, Isaiah, my mom, and I went on an hour horse ride
through the forest.

Josh pulled Nephi around on a stubborn cranky pony. Nephi had a great
time, while Grace and Josh suffered.  Grace is deathly afraid of
animals.  She loves animals in books or as stuffed toys, but as soon
as a live animal comes near, she panics.  We have no clue why.

It was really relaxing and fun to have my mom here.  We had a great
time sightseeing and she got to rest from the cold and snow of Utah,
in the sunny state of Georgia!

Sylwia

Sloneczna Georgia

8 Luty 2008

W tym roku na polnocy USA jest bardzo zimno i jest bardzo duzo sniegu.
 Ja zato mieszkam na poludniu i tutaj cala zime jest cieplo.  Kilka
razy temperatura spadla do 5 stopni, ale najczesciej jest 10, 15, lub
nawet 20 stopni tu zima.  Tylko w kilka dni moje dzieci zakladaly buty
aby sie bawic na dworzu.  Najczesciej cala ta "zime" lataja na bosaka
bo tu jest tak cieplo.

Na poczatku grudnia moja mama przyjechala z Utah nas odwiedzic.
Bardzo milo spedzilismy z nia czas.  Urzadzilismy z nia wczesne swieta
Bozego Narodzenia.  Mama zrobila kazdemu dziecku taka magnetyczna
brazoletke.  Te brazoletki sa bardzo fajne do zabawy bo mozna je
roznie ukadac bo maja magnety.  Przesylam zdjecie jak mama te
branzoletki ukladala z Samuelem i Isaiah jednego wieczoru w takim
malutkim pokoju kotry jest naprawde szafa.  Samuel zasna na stole na
ktorym babia pracowala…

Pierwsze pare dni jak moja mama tu byla to bylo troszeczke zimno wiec
poszlismy na spacery dookola jeziora i lasu przy moim domu.  Potem jak
bylo 20 stopni to pojechalismy na lodke na kanale  Augusta.  Tam pani
nam opowiadala o naturze Georgia i o histori miasta Augusta.  Ten
kanal byl bardzo dawno zbudowany aby poludnie Ameryki tez mialo
fabryki a nie tylko polnoc.  To bardzo pomoglo poludni w czasie wojny
domowej.  Tez ten kanal pomogl miescie Augusta ekonomicznie.

Z mama zwiedzielismy muzeum o starodawnych fabrykach i o tym jak dlugo
i ciezko ludzie w starodawnych czasach pracowali.  Dobrze jest nam
zawsze przypomniec sobie ,jakie my to latwe zycie w tych czasach mamy.

Jak bylismy na lodce to fajnie bylo ogladac zlowie i czaple na wodzie,
ale smutno bylo ze nie widzielismy zadnego krokodyla.  Tu sa krokodyle
i ja Nefiemu przeczytalm tabliczke ktora nam kazala byc ostroznym.
Nefi oczywiscie chcial plywac z krokodylami ale bylo za zimno.

Tez bardzo fajnie bylo pojechac z mama moja na konie.  Tu na bazie
jest wielkie miejsce gdzie mozna wypozyczyc konie i jezdzic nimi po
lesie.  Tu nawet w zime lasy sa kolorowe, bo niektore drzewa nie traca
wszytkich lisc, i tez jest wiele choinek. Dzien byl bardzo cieply i
sloneczny.  Samuel, Isaiah, mama i ja jezdzilismy sobie fajnie na
koniach, a Josh musial Nefiego prowadzic na bardzo kaprysnym kucyku.
Grace tez sie bala kucyka bo ona lubi tylko zwierzeta w ksiazkach lub
jako zabawki.  Ona sie bardzo boi prawdziwych zwierzat.  Nie wiemy
dlaczego.

Bardzo byly fajne krotkie wakacje z moja kochana mama.  Dobrze sie
bawilismy i mama odpoczela od sniego i zimna tu w slonecznym stanie
Georgia!

Sylwia

Politics/Polityka

Politics

December 27, 2007

One of the things that I loved about living in Iowa was how
politically active the city of Des Moines is.  Because Iowa is the
very first state that chooses the political candidates for president,
all of the politicians flock to Iowa to campaign.

I was fortunate to live in Iowa during a year of political excitement.
 Every week I got calls from different candidates asking for my
support and inviting me to a political rally.  Because I had a
favorite candidate, I decided to attend one of the meetings so that I
could get a picture with hopefully the next president of the United
States—Mitt Romney.

I was very determined to get that picture, so I wanted to sit in the
very front row.  I saw a seat in the front and I sat on it, even
though the seat had an umbrella on it.  Right as the meeting was about
to start an old lady approached me and asked me to give her, her seat
back.  I refused.  I wanted the picture too much.  When one of Mitt
Romney's campaign people heard about it, he invited the old lady to
sit on the stage right behind Mitt Romney with other distinguished
guests.  The lady was very happy by this resolution and I was happy to
keep my front row seat, though I still felt very guilty about stealing
the old lady's seat in the first place.

After the meeting I asked Mitt Romney if I could have a picture with
him and he cheerfully obliged me.  I even got to take a picture of
Josh with him.

Now that I have the pictures I feel obligated to help elect Mitt
Romney, so in Iowa I volunteered at his campaign headquarters.  My
friend Nancy Lowman and I made phone calls one afternoon encouraging
people to watch a debate on TV and to vote for Mitt Romney in the
straw poll.  I even donated 25 dollars to Mitt Romney's campaign.

I learned a bit about the political process as well.  I vaguely knew
that before the general election, there was a primary election where
one candidate was chosen to represent his party, though I have never
voted in a primary before.  This time I was ready to vote in the
primary so I asked one of the campaign workers when the Iowa primary
is held.  It turns out that Iowa does not have a primary election.
Instead, they have a caucus and it will be held on Jan 3 this year.
Voting in a caucus is much different than at the booths.  For one, it
is probably held at a different place than your regular voting
location.  Also, you have to be there right at 7pm.  The voting is
over very quickly, so one can not be late to the caucus.  If you live
in Iowa and would like to participate in the Jan 3 caucus, here is a
link to find out where your caucus is held
http://www.iowagop.net/inner.asp?z=4

As for the rest of states, they hold primary elections, caucuses, or
conventions on different dates ranging from January to June.  Here is
a link to an article with all of the GOP election dates:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)_presidential_primaries,_2008

I hope all of you will exercise your right to vote in the next few
weeks or months, depending on where you live.  I especially hope that
my friends in Iowa(Jan 3), New Hampshire(Jan 8), Michigan(Jan 15),
South Carolina and Nevada(Jan 19) will vote because that sets the tone
for the rest of the country.  I will be voting Feb 5 here in Georgia.
If you recently moved you can pick up a voter registration pamphlet in
most libraries or post offices.

I also hope that you will vote for Mitt Romney in the primary
election.  I have read a lot of articles about him in the last year.
Almost everyday I visit a website called http://www.mittreport.com  It
has both negative and positive articles about him.  The more I read
the more I'm convinced that he is the best hope for America and the
best hope for me having a picture with the president!

Check out the pictures!

Sylwia

27 Grudzien 2007

Za pare tygodni beda wczesne wybory tu w Ameryce.  Bedziemy wybierac
kandydata ktory bedzie reprezentowa swoja partje.  W Ameryce sa 2
glowne partje.  Teraz okolo 8 roznych kandydatow w obydwoch partjach
walczy aby byc tym jednym kandydatem ze swojej partji.

Stan Iowa w ktorym nie dawno mieszkalam pierwszy glosuje trzeciego
Stycznia na kandydata.  Z tego powodu wszyscy kandydaci tam
przyjezdzaja i organizuja spotkania wyborcze.  Kadzego tygodnia ktos
do mnie dzwonil zebym poszla na takie spotkanie.

Tym razem ja mam ulubionego kandydata--Mitt Romney, wiec poszlam na
takie spotkanie bo chcialam sobie z nim zdjecie zrobic.  Chcialam
siedziec z przodu zebym miala lepsza szanse poprosic o zdjecie.
Zobaczylam wolne siedzienie z przodu wiec tam usiadlam choc na krzesle
lezala parasolka.  Jak sie spokanie mialo zaczac to starsza pani do
mnie podesza i poprosila abym jej oddala siedzenie.  Ja nie chcialam
jej oddac siedzenia bo za bardzo chcialam to zdjecie.  Jeden czlowiek
co zorganizowal to spotkanie o tym sie dowiedzial wiec poprosil ta
pania aby usiadla na podium zaraz obok kandydata i obok innych waznych
gosci.  Jej to sie bardzo podobalo wiec bardzo sie ta rezolucja
cieszyla.  Mnie tez to ucieszylo ze moglam nadal siedziec z przodu,
ale nadal zle sie czulam bo nie powinnam byla jej zabrac tego
siedzenia.

Po spotkaniu Mitt Romney dal mi zrobic z nim zdjecie i nawet zrobilam
mojemu mezowi kilka zdjec z nim.

Po otrzymaniu zdjecia zmobilizowalam sie pomoc temu kandytatowi
wygrac wybory.  Raz poszlam z kolezanka dzwonic do ludzi i prosic ich
aby na niego glosowali, i nawet dalam 25 dolarow tej kampanji.  Duzo
czytam ostanio o polityce i o procesie wyborow tu w ameryce.  W tym
pierwszym konkursie kazdy stan glosluje w innym dniu od Stycznia do
Czerwca.  Nawazniejsze sa wyniki ze stanow Iowa, New Hampshire,
Michigan, South Carolina i Nevada, bo te stany sa pierwsze i reszta
kraju idzie w ich kroki.  W stanie Iowa glosowanie odbywa sie innaczej
niz w innych stanach.  Trzeba przyjsc glosowac dokladnie o 7 wieczorem
i glosowanie bardzo szybko sie konczy, wiec nie mozna sie spoznic.  W
innych stanach mozna glosowac caly dzien.  Ja bede glosowac 5 Lutego
tu w stanie Georgia.

Mam nadzieje ze moj kandydat wygra bo duzo o nim czytalam i bardzo mi
on sie podoba.  Tez mam nadzieje ze wygra bo wtedy beda miala zdjecie
z prezydentem Stanow Zjednoczonych!

Zalanczam zdjecia.

Sylwia

Merry Christmas Traditions/Wesole Tradycje Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

Merry Christmas Traditions

December 24, 2007

A couple of days before Christmas I asked Samuel and Isaiah what
Christmas traditions they enjoy and what traditions they would like us
to start incorporating into our Christmas celebrations.  Here is what
we came up with:

Traditions that are already a part of our Christmas that we will continue:

1. Cook Polish food as a family on Christmas Eve morning.

2. Eat a festive Christmas Eve dinner with Polish food, pierogi and
beet soup and Polish potato salad.

3. Drink sparkling cider with our meal.

4. Break bread and tell each person, one on one, what good fortunes we
hope will befall them. (This is a Polish tradition.)

5. Listen to and sing Christ Centered Christmas Music on Christmas Eve.

6. Read Luke II as a family in the evening of Christmas Eve.

7. Let the kids sleep by the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve.

8. Buy some presents for someone less fortunate.

9. Open our presents Christmas morning.


New Traditions that we started this year and that we plan to continue:

1. After Christmas Eve dinner, build a ginger bread house for baby
Jesus together as a family.

2. After reading Luke II, hold a family testimony meeting where we
bear our testimonies of the Savior.

3. Eat cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

It seems like after 9 years of marriage and having kids we are finally
figuring Christmas out.  This year we had the most peaceful and
memorable Christmas ever.  I hope your Christmas was filled with joy
and with more faith in the Savior, more sense of His care, more joy in
His service, more purpose in prayer…

Sylwia


Wesole Tradycje Swiat Bozego Narodzenia

24 Grudzien 2007

Pare dni przed Swietami Bozego Narodzenia, zapytalam sie Samuela i
Isaiah jakie tradycje Swiat im sie podobaja i jakie oni by chciely
abysmy zaczeli obserwowac.  Tu sa nasze listy tradycji:

Tradycje ktore mamy i zachowamy podczas Swiat Bozego Narodzenia:

1. Rano w wigilie gotujemy Polskie jedzenie wszyscy razem.

2. Wieczorem w Wigilie jemy Polski obiad z pierogami, barszczem i z salatka.

3. W Wigilie podczas obiadu pijemy sok jablkowy z bombelkami.

4. Dzielimi sie Polskim oplatkiem.  (Bardzo prosze cala moja Polska
rodzine o przyslanie mi oplatka w kazdym roku.)

5. Sluchamy i spiewamy koledy.

6. Wieczorem w Wigile razem cztamy z Pisma Swietego Ksiege Lukasza
drugi rozdzial.

7. Dzieci spia przy choince w Wigilie.

8. Kupujemy prezenty dla kogos kto jest biedniejszy od nas.

9. Otwieramy nasze prezenty rano w Swieto Bozego Narodzenia.


Nowe tradycje co zeczelismy w tym roku i co nadal bedziemy obchodzic:

1. Po obiedzie w Wigilie, budujemy razem domek z piernika razem jako
rodzina, dla dzieciatka Chrystusa.

2. Po czytaniu drugiego rozdzialu z ksiegi Lukasza, kazdy z rodziny
daje swoje swiadectwo swojej wiary w Chrystusa.

3. Rano w dzien Bozego Narodzenia jemy takie wielke ciastka zrobione z
maki i cinamonu na sniadanie.


Po 9 latach malrzenstwa i po 4 dzieciach wreszcie zrozumielismy jak
obchodzic Swieta Bozego Narodzenia w naszej rodzinie.  W tym roku
mielismy napiekniejsze i najbardziej spokojne swieta.  Mam nadzieje ze
twoje swieta byly pelne szczescia, pelne wiary w Chrystusa, wiary ze
On sie o Ciebie troszczy, pelne pomocy innym, i pelne modlitwy…

Sylwia