Monday, December 31, 2007
Pictures I Meant to Post Weeks Ago
1 & 2 - Keith, shorn and shaven! I'm so glad he grew it back!
3 - The truckload of stuff we took to the second-hand store and Wendy. That felt good! I hope no one sees anything in the picture that they gave me. :-)
4&5 - Iris and me carrying on our crazy sweet tradition of making Christmas candy. Isn't an apron flattering on a largely pregnant woman?!?
I'm Free!!
My sister says I'm anal. I say I'm obsessive compulsive. Sadly, we're both right. I usually tell myself that as long as it doesn't put pressure on other people, it's okay. Well, last night it got the best of me. I love traditions, and I decided long ago that I would make the same birthday cake for the boys for the same number birthday. Make sense? So, when Caleb turned one, he had a sheet cake with balloons on it. So have all the others. And that started because I'm not that great at decorating cakes and I can do balloons in cool colors! So, for Caleb's second birthday, we upped it a notch and he had a puppy cake made in a shaped pan. This involves 3 - 5 colors of icing, 100,000 drop flowers, and some training and experience. In retrospect, I'm pretty sure that my sister (who has much more training and experience than I in decorating cakes!!) made that cake. I think I fumbled through making one for Logan and it was okay. Now it's Josiah's turn. (He's two today!!) So last night I dutifully mixed up a yummy carrot cake and baked it in the puppy pan - while sort of dreading the decorating part. Alas, I forgot to flour the pan, and the durn thing stuck like crazy. Ruined. At 10:00. That's when it hit me. I don't have to do this!! Just because I've always done it, doesn't mean I can't quit! Oh bliss! So now there's another carrot cake in the oven. It will also be a puppy, but the easy kind where you cut it into pieces, arrange them, ice them, and make eyes, etc out of candy. Much easier! Much more within my realm of possibilities today!! Oh, and the ruined cake... It tastes really good! :-)
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Another Christmas Come and Gone
I was just going to post a bazillion pictures to make Rhonda happy, but the PC is not cooperating. :-( So, I'll just type a bit here and see what comes out. Then I'll go to bed like I should have a half hour ago!!
I feel like I"ve been living in a bit of a whirlwind around here. I have to admit that, even though Christmas was really fun, I'm glad it's over for this year. I guess it's because I'm pregnant and don't have the energy I usually do, and that I'm trying to home-school as well. Anyway, there were lots of things that just didn't get done this year and I did learn to be okay with that. Really! Like that fact that there was a pile of clean laundry on my bedroom floor all through the holidays, and it just got folded today. For the last few days, I've been sleeping lots and slowly working my way through the house (with the help of Keith and the boys!) restoring order from chaos. And it feels good! I don't know when I'll tackle taking down all the decorations. I'm not ready for that yet, and we have to have a birthday party for the little guy first...
So, here's a run-down of our Christmas activities, and I'll try to be brief. (hahahahaha) Last week I finally gave in and admitted that I couldn't get ready for Christmas and still do school, so we abbreviated it for a few days, and then scrapped it totally. My out-of-town family arrived Friday evening/early Sat. morning (except for the Malagasies, whom we missed!!) We all just met at Jeff and Wendy's this year and it went really well. We really did have a fun time. Talked, laughed, ate (duh!), played games, slept, etc. On Sat. night we had a catered Christmas meal at the Rec. Centre then went bowling and swimming - all under one roof. Pretty cool. I opted out of the bowling, but did go swimming. Some people stayed at Jeff's overnight, but I wanted my own bed! :-) Logan stayed over there with his best friend, Alabama. We had fun getting to know Rachel's boyfriend, Dave. I hope we didn't scare him off too much! Also, Alicia's boyfriend, Aaron was there. How can I be old enough to have a niece seriously dating?? When I stop and think, I realize I am old enough to be her mother... Oh well! Sunday after lunch we opened presents. That was fun, of course. We had exchanged names, and we supposed to spend $5 - $10. It's amazing what you can come up with for that price! One sad thing was that Dad ended up having to be on-call for the snow-plow and it snowed a pile. So he worked Friday night and part of Sat. night and didn't get to be there as much as we wished. By Sunday night I was pretty much toast, but it was a fun time.
Monday I don't remember much about except a bit of cooking, and preparing for the evening. We once again we pretty involved in the Christmas Eve service so that was a bit stressful until it was over. But, I think it was a really good evening - one of my favorite parts of Christmas!! One really neat thing was a video of Matthew and Rhonda talking and Derek put video and pictures with it. They talked about God's grace in their lives. It was so neat to hear their voices and see the pics of them and the girls. And the girls sang "Angels We Have Heard On High" at the end. Makes me excited for next Christmas when they can be here!!
Our dear friend, Debby R. came Christmas eve and spent three nights here! Rachel and Dave were here too. So, we had lots of fun. After the service on Christmas eve, we ate a bunch of food and then watched a movie, "Scrooge" that Dave's family always watches on Christmas Eve. We let the boys stay up as late as they wanted. Caleb went to bed at 12:30 or so and Logan stayed up until the end of the movie - about 1:00!! The only good thing about all the late nights is that the kids slept in so we could too!!
Christmas morning we were pretty slow to get moving! Keith and I made our "traditional" gut-buster brunch of pancakes, eggs, sausague, etc Debby brought a cinnamon roll wreath so we put candles in that and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And we also lit the Christ candle in the Advent wreath. After brunch we finally got around to opening presents. It was a little chaotic and took a long time. Dad and Dru stopped in around 12:00 and we still weren't done. I didn't get very good pictures this year. I was too tired and out of it, I suppose. But I'll post some when the computer decides that I may! Anyway, the rest of the day was pretty laid back. Some went for walks, Josiah and I had naps, we made a fairly simple dinner - sweet and sour chicken, etc. Our friend, Bobbi and her Dad joined us for that. After the kids were in bed, Debby taught us how to play Battleship on paper. That was fun! Of course, we got to bed late again!
On Boxing Day we headed for Grandpa and Grandma Grabers. That was another laid back day - big breakfast, opened some presents (Caleb got a Swiss-Army knife and life will never be the same again!), crotcheted, slept, went with Rachel and Dave over to see our house where we grew up, Debby joined us for dinner (prime rib roast!), made home-made ice cream, went home and crashed!! :-)
Since then, we've been slowly recovering. :-) On Thursday I told the boys we'd do something fun (play a game, read, etc) and then clean up a room, then repeat. It worked pretty well. Yesterday we did some more of that. The house is starting to look normal again, and that MOUNTAIN of laundry is folded, at least - but not all put away. This morning Keith took the two oldest with him to get a load of firewood and I managed to get Josiah's hair cut while they were gone. I don't know how my parents ever did that without movies to distract their kids!!! This afternoon Caleb went to a birthday party for his friend Taylor. They went sliding and, unfortunately, his face connected with another kid's face. I had to go get him because he was crying and crying. He said he doesn't remember what happened, so I guess that means it was a pretty hard hit. :-( He has a big fat lip and one side of his nose and eye is swollen. Keith is predicting a doozy of a black eye. I feel bad for him, and for me because I really was hoping to get someone to take family pictures of us this weekend. I guess I have to leave the tree up until Caleb looks normal again. :-)
Okay, this is geting really long (surprise!) but I really have to list a few blessings from the past few weeks.
* Remember me complaining about my back hurting?? It was pretty bad at times and really was affecting my life! I was praying about it and was trying to slow down and rest more. Then we went to a Christmas party at the home of some friends. She "happens" to be a physio-therapist. She and I were chatting and I asked her if she treats pregnant women with lower back pain. Before I knew it, she took me in the bedroom, gave me a treatment, and showed me a simple exercise/stretch to do whenever it hurts. My back improved dramatically over the next few days, and it's been feeling great ever since! Yesterday was the first I've done the exercise in awhile! And I can walk on the treadmill without pain. Thank you, Lord (and Deanna!!)
* Awhile ago, some friends gave us some boxes of apples. We've been eating them, but not fast enough keep them from spoiling. I really wanted to slice and freeze them, but it just wasn't happening. I had borrowed my Mother-in-law's apple peeler/corer/slicer, but hadn't done anything with it yet. Keith picked it up today and started slicing apples and he and the boys had a blast doing all of them!! Here's a hint ladies: If you need your hubby to help with something, have a cool tool on hand that will do the job!!
* I'm not a big jewelry person, but I do usually wear a necklace. Usually the same one for about 6 months at a time. :-) Well, one of my two pendants that I usually wear lost the stone, and I was actually wishing for a new pendant for Christmas. But I didn't get one. (Yes, I know this isn't really a big crisis! But God cares about the little things too.) So, yesterday I got a box in the mail from two dear friends who forgot that my last birthday was a "big one". I guess they felt a little badly about that. :-) Anyway, they gave me a beautiful pendant from Greece. (They were there on holidays this summer and so they ordered one for me from Thessolonika!) How cool is that!?! Maybe I can post of picture of it soon. Thanks, Brenda and Karla!!
It really is time for bed! Since tomorrow is Sunday and I'm leading worship, I really can't sleep in like I've been doing! So, more later, and hopefully a bunch of pictures soon!
I feel like I"ve been living in a bit of a whirlwind around here. I have to admit that, even though Christmas was really fun, I'm glad it's over for this year. I guess it's because I'm pregnant and don't have the energy I usually do, and that I'm trying to home-school as well. Anyway, there were lots of things that just didn't get done this year and I did learn to be okay with that. Really! Like that fact that there was a pile of clean laundry on my bedroom floor all through the holidays, and it just got folded today. For the last few days, I've been sleeping lots and slowly working my way through the house (with the help of Keith and the boys!) restoring order from chaos. And it feels good! I don't know when I'll tackle taking down all the decorations. I'm not ready for that yet, and we have to have a birthday party for the little guy first...
So, here's a run-down of our Christmas activities, and I'll try to be brief. (hahahahaha) Last week I finally gave in and admitted that I couldn't get ready for Christmas and still do school, so we abbreviated it for a few days, and then scrapped it totally. My out-of-town family arrived Friday evening/early Sat. morning (except for the Malagasies, whom we missed!!) We all just met at Jeff and Wendy's this year and it went really well. We really did have a fun time. Talked, laughed, ate (duh!), played games, slept, etc. On Sat. night we had a catered Christmas meal at the Rec. Centre then went bowling and swimming - all under one roof. Pretty cool. I opted out of the bowling, but did go swimming. Some people stayed at Jeff's overnight, but I wanted my own bed! :-) Logan stayed over there with his best friend, Alabama. We had fun getting to know Rachel's boyfriend, Dave. I hope we didn't scare him off too much! Also, Alicia's boyfriend, Aaron was there. How can I be old enough to have a niece seriously dating?? When I stop and think, I realize I am old enough to be her mother... Oh well! Sunday after lunch we opened presents. That was fun, of course. We had exchanged names, and we supposed to spend $5 - $10. It's amazing what you can come up with for that price! One sad thing was that Dad ended up having to be on-call for the snow-plow and it snowed a pile. So he worked Friday night and part of Sat. night and didn't get to be there as much as we wished. By Sunday night I was pretty much toast, but it was a fun time.
Monday I don't remember much about except a bit of cooking, and preparing for the evening. We once again we pretty involved in the Christmas Eve service so that was a bit stressful until it was over. But, I think it was a really good evening - one of my favorite parts of Christmas!! One really neat thing was a video of Matthew and Rhonda talking and Derek put video and pictures with it. They talked about God's grace in their lives. It was so neat to hear their voices and see the pics of them and the girls. And the girls sang "Angels We Have Heard On High" at the end. Makes me excited for next Christmas when they can be here!!
Our dear friend, Debby R. came Christmas eve and spent three nights here! Rachel and Dave were here too. So, we had lots of fun. After the service on Christmas eve, we ate a bunch of food and then watched a movie, "Scrooge" that Dave's family always watches on Christmas Eve. We let the boys stay up as late as they wanted. Caleb went to bed at 12:30 or so and Logan stayed up until the end of the movie - about 1:00!! The only good thing about all the late nights is that the kids slept in so we could too!!
Christmas morning we were pretty slow to get moving! Keith and I made our "traditional" gut-buster brunch of pancakes, eggs, sausague, etc Debby brought a cinnamon roll wreath so we put candles in that and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. And we also lit the Christ candle in the Advent wreath. After brunch we finally got around to opening presents. It was a little chaotic and took a long time. Dad and Dru stopped in around 12:00 and we still weren't done. I didn't get very good pictures this year. I was too tired and out of it, I suppose. But I'll post some when the computer decides that I may! Anyway, the rest of the day was pretty laid back. Some went for walks, Josiah and I had naps, we made a fairly simple dinner - sweet and sour chicken, etc. Our friend, Bobbi and her Dad joined us for that. After the kids were in bed, Debby taught us how to play Battleship on paper. That was fun! Of course, we got to bed late again!
On Boxing Day we headed for Grandpa and Grandma Grabers. That was another laid back day - big breakfast, opened some presents (Caleb got a Swiss-Army knife and life will never be the same again!), crotcheted, slept, went with Rachel and Dave over to see our house where we grew up, Debby joined us for dinner (prime rib roast!), made home-made ice cream, went home and crashed!! :-)
Since then, we've been slowly recovering. :-) On Thursday I told the boys we'd do something fun (play a game, read, etc) and then clean up a room, then repeat. It worked pretty well. Yesterday we did some more of that. The house is starting to look normal again, and that MOUNTAIN of laundry is folded, at least - but not all put away. This morning Keith took the two oldest with him to get a load of firewood and I managed to get Josiah's hair cut while they were gone. I don't know how my parents ever did that without movies to distract their kids!!! This afternoon Caleb went to a birthday party for his friend Taylor. They went sliding and, unfortunately, his face connected with another kid's face. I had to go get him because he was crying and crying. He said he doesn't remember what happened, so I guess that means it was a pretty hard hit. :-( He has a big fat lip and one side of his nose and eye is swollen. Keith is predicting a doozy of a black eye. I feel bad for him, and for me because I really was hoping to get someone to take family pictures of us this weekend. I guess I have to leave the tree up until Caleb looks normal again. :-)
Okay, this is geting really long (surprise!) but I really have to list a few blessings from the past few weeks.
* Remember me complaining about my back hurting?? It was pretty bad at times and really was affecting my life! I was praying about it and was trying to slow down and rest more. Then we went to a Christmas party at the home of some friends. She "happens" to be a physio-therapist. She and I were chatting and I asked her if she treats pregnant women with lower back pain. Before I knew it, she took me in the bedroom, gave me a treatment, and showed me a simple exercise/stretch to do whenever it hurts. My back improved dramatically over the next few days, and it's been feeling great ever since! Yesterday was the first I've done the exercise in awhile! And I can walk on the treadmill without pain. Thank you, Lord (and Deanna!!)
* Awhile ago, some friends gave us some boxes of apples. We've been eating them, but not fast enough keep them from spoiling. I really wanted to slice and freeze them, but it just wasn't happening. I had borrowed my Mother-in-law's apple peeler/corer/slicer, but hadn't done anything with it yet. Keith picked it up today and started slicing apples and he and the boys had a blast doing all of them!! Here's a hint ladies: If you need your hubby to help with something, have a cool tool on hand that will do the job!!
* I'm not a big jewelry person, but I do usually wear a necklace. Usually the same one for about 6 months at a time. :-) Well, one of my two pendants that I usually wear lost the stone, and I was actually wishing for a new pendant for Christmas. But I didn't get one. (Yes, I know this isn't really a big crisis! But God cares about the little things too.) So, yesterday I got a box in the mail from two dear friends who forgot that my last birthday was a "big one". I guess they felt a little badly about that. :-) Anyway, they gave me a beautiful pendant from Greece. (They were there on holidays this summer and so they ordered one for me from Thessolonika!) How cool is that!?! Maybe I can post of picture of it soon. Thanks, Brenda and Karla!!
It really is time for bed! Since tomorrow is Sunday and I'm leading worship, I really can't sleep in like I've been doing! So, more later, and hopefully a bunch of pictures soon!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Recent Adventures
* On Monday, Grandma Graber came over and helped us make Christmas cookies. We made four kinds, and I think it was that day or the next that I heard from God about not over-doing it. :-) I just can't be on my feet all day like that anymore! But the cookies were very yummy and I was so thankful for Grandma helping us! The boys had great fun with the cut-outs - and I forgot to take pictures.
* A couple weeks ago, Keith shaved his goatee. He didn't even ask me! :-) It was quite shocking to say the least. I don't think he's been without facial hair since before we were marrried. Anyway, it didn't take much at all to convince him to grow it back. It's almost back to normal already. But, I must say, there's something quite nice about kissing a smooth-shaven man! I guess that's the first time I experienced that! :-)
* Keith started training Josiah to sleep with the boys in their room. It's not working so well. We're not sure what to do next. He just has a terrible time relaxing and going to sleep.
* Last Sunday evening we had our annual joint-church Christmas Sing. It was so good. I always enjoy that so much. I was thinking as I sat there that I really need times like that to focus my heart and mind on what Christmas really is! This afternoon we have our ladies Christmas Tea and I think that will be another time of "re-focusing". I'm so thankful for the Gift of God which is our salvation through Jesus Christ!!!
* I'm in the second week or so of my Worst Cold Ever, I think. It just hangs on and on, although I can tell I'm getting better slowly. I've had a hard time sleeping at times because of coughing and a stuffy nose. Thankfully, my nights have been more restful lately!
* And, on top of that, lower back pain has set in for me. The weird thing was, it hit both Keith and me the same day. He's much better and I"m up and down with it. It seemed the other day like God was saying to me, "You are over-doing it and need to slow down." So, I'm willingly taking that to heart!
* Awhile ago, I promised the boys we'd make gingerbread houses and have some of their friends over too. So last Sat. was the day. Unfortunately, it was the day I felt about the worst with this cold. But, the kids had a great time and us Moms enjoyed it too. There was lots of sugar everywhere, both inside and on the outside of the kids! We made the houses out of graham crackers, which works quite well and is so much easier than making the gingerbread!! Now my challenge is finding a place to put their creations where Josiah won't help himself to all the "tandy" he wants! (Josiah was "un-invited" to this party! He went to Grandma's!)
* I'm not sure how to make this long story short... We got a treadmill from some friends this summer, but we lost the "key" in transport. It won't go without that key (basically a little rectangular piece of plastic). I tried to make a key but the treadmill only worked sporadically, and finally not at all. We finally concluded the treadmill just didn't work. We just kinda never got around to doing anything about it because I didn't really need it in the summer and fall. Now that I'm huge and it's very cold outside, I want to walk inside. I prayed a little while ago and asked God for a treadmill. Finally, last week, I asked Keith if he would make a key out of wood for it. (This had never occurred to us before.) He made one, and the thing works just fine! It was just that my "key" wasn't right. I'm sure it was God that prompted me to ask Keith to make a key! Thanks, Lord, for providing for us again!
* And speaking of provision... I've always wanted to change the carpet in ours and the boys room. What's there is gray - which is really not my favorite color - and worn. I didn't decorate at all around the carpet, so both of our rooms are painted some shade of tan/brown. Anyway, some friends of ours just replaced their carpet and what they took out is a medium brown. It's not the newest, but the color is so much better and the price is right (free!) So, last week, Keith started working on putting it in our room. Last night, Jeff (my carpet-laying-wonder-brother) came over and helped him finish it up! Or I should say, Keith helped him. Anyway, it's done in our room and it looks so much better. Once he does the boys' room, we'll (meaning Keith) steam clean them both, and then I'll feel really good about it! Oh, and then we're getting base-board in those rooms, which have never had it! Yay!
* We've been so busy the last few weeks (why did we add carpet installation to the Christmas season??) with various things, that we haven't had a chance to go cut a Christmas tree. (For those of you not familiar with our area, we can just go out in the bush (woods, if you're an American) and cut one down and no one cares!) I actually talked Keith into just buying one this year. Gasp! Heresy! We've never done such a thing before, but this time, even Keith was okay with the idea. Then, when we went to get it, the man (who goes to our church) wouldn't take any money for it! Wow! We picked out a white pine (I think that's what it is) with long needles. It's really pretty, but the funny thing is, the ornaments slide off very easily! So, I have a little pile of stuff to put back on the tree one of these days!
* Keith has been hauling loads of free, easy-to-get firewood this week. We're really happy about that!
* I've been faithfully checking my blood-sugar, and it seems that with a few changes to my diet, I can easily control it. I've even been able to eat my share of cookies, dessert, etc sometimes. In fact, I've wondered sometimes if God has healed me. I've definitely asked Him to! I'm really thankful that I don't have to say no to ALL off my favorite Christmas goodies!
* I guess that's all for now. I really need to sit at the desk for awhile and sort through receipts and bills. I have the ominous feeling I've let some bills go overdue again. Duh! Merry Christmas everyone!!
* A couple weeks ago, Keith shaved his goatee. He didn't even ask me! :-) It was quite shocking to say the least. I don't think he's been without facial hair since before we were marrried. Anyway, it didn't take much at all to convince him to grow it back. It's almost back to normal already. But, I must say, there's something quite nice about kissing a smooth-shaven man! I guess that's the first time I experienced that! :-)
* Keith started training Josiah to sleep with the boys in their room. It's not working so well. We're not sure what to do next. He just has a terrible time relaxing and going to sleep.
* Last Sunday evening we had our annual joint-church Christmas Sing. It was so good. I always enjoy that so much. I was thinking as I sat there that I really need times like that to focus my heart and mind on what Christmas really is! This afternoon we have our ladies Christmas Tea and I think that will be another time of "re-focusing". I'm so thankful for the Gift of God which is our salvation through Jesus Christ!!!
* I'm in the second week or so of my Worst Cold Ever, I think. It just hangs on and on, although I can tell I'm getting better slowly. I've had a hard time sleeping at times because of coughing and a stuffy nose. Thankfully, my nights have been more restful lately!
* And, on top of that, lower back pain has set in for me. The weird thing was, it hit both Keith and me the same day. He's much better and I"m up and down with it. It seemed the other day like God was saying to me, "You are over-doing it and need to slow down." So, I'm willingly taking that to heart!
* Awhile ago, I promised the boys we'd make gingerbread houses and have some of their friends over too. So last Sat. was the day. Unfortunately, it was the day I felt about the worst with this cold. But, the kids had a great time and us Moms enjoyed it too. There was lots of sugar everywhere, both inside and on the outside of the kids! We made the houses out of graham crackers, which works quite well and is so much easier than making the gingerbread!! Now my challenge is finding a place to put their creations where Josiah won't help himself to all the "tandy" he wants! (Josiah was "un-invited" to this party! He went to Grandma's!)
* I'm not sure how to make this long story short... We got a treadmill from some friends this summer, but we lost the "key" in transport. It won't go without that key (basically a little rectangular piece of plastic). I tried to make a key but the treadmill only worked sporadically, and finally not at all. We finally concluded the treadmill just didn't work. We just kinda never got around to doing anything about it because I didn't really need it in the summer and fall. Now that I'm huge and it's very cold outside, I want to walk inside. I prayed a little while ago and asked God for a treadmill. Finally, last week, I asked Keith if he would make a key out of wood for it. (This had never occurred to us before.) He made one, and the thing works just fine! It was just that my "key" wasn't right. I'm sure it was God that prompted me to ask Keith to make a key! Thanks, Lord, for providing for us again!
* And speaking of provision... I've always wanted to change the carpet in ours and the boys room. What's there is gray - which is really not my favorite color - and worn. I didn't decorate at all around the carpet, so both of our rooms are painted some shade of tan/brown. Anyway, some friends of ours just replaced their carpet and what they took out is a medium brown. It's not the newest, but the color is so much better and the price is right (free!) So, last week, Keith started working on putting it in our room. Last night, Jeff (my carpet-laying-wonder-brother) came over and helped him finish it up! Or I should say, Keith helped him. Anyway, it's done in our room and it looks so much better. Once he does the boys' room, we'll (meaning Keith) steam clean them both, and then I'll feel really good about it! Oh, and then we're getting base-board in those rooms, which have never had it! Yay!
* We've been so busy the last few weeks (why did we add carpet installation to the Christmas season??) with various things, that we haven't had a chance to go cut a Christmas tree. (For those of you not familiar with our area, we can just go out in the bush (woods, if you're an American) and cut one down and no one cares!) I actually talked Keith into just buying one this year. Gasp! Heresy! We've never done such a thing before, but this time, even Keith was okay with the idea. Then, when we went to get it, the man (who goes to our church) wouldn't take any money for it! Wow! We picked out a white pine (I think that's what it is) with long needles. It's really pretty, but the funny thing is, the ornaments slide off very easily! So, I have a little pile of stuff to put back on the tree one of these days!
* Keith has been hauling loads of free, easy-to-get firewood this week. We're really happy about that!
* I've been faithfully checking my blood-sugar, and it seems that with a few changes to my diet, I can easily control it. I've even been able to eat my share of cookies, dessert, etc sometimes. In fact, I've wondered sometimes if God has healed me. I've definitely asked Him to! I'm really thankful that I don't have to say no to ALL off my favorite Christmas goodies!
* I guess that's all for now. I really need to sit at the desk for awhile and sort through receipts and bills. I have the ominous feeling I've let some bills go overdue again. Duh! Merry Christmas everyone!!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Here It Is, Rachel!!
I really am alive! Maybe you’ve guessed that my last month or so haven’t been exactly filled with free time, peace and tranquility! Besides being Very Busy, we’ve also had our share of emotional/spiritual struggles. I do find it really hard to write when I’m not feeling “on top” of things, maybe since writing isn’t my preferred form of communication anyway. So, without any more excuses, I’ll try to update you on what’s been going on around our house…
Some words to describe my life (with apologies to Rhonda for stealing this idea from her:
Fragile: This fourth pregnancy has been the hardest for me emotionally. I don’t know if it’s because I’m older or because I have more children than other times and I’m home-schooling two of them… At any rate, I find that my emotional and mental energy are so quickly depleted and I can very quickly slide into crying, feeling overwhelmed, yelling at my kids, etc. I feel pretty fragile and haven’t been too impressed with my behavior many times. But I do have to say that God is faithful and when I cry out to Him for help, He does help me!!
Grateful:
-Caleb pulled our 4-drawer filing cabinet over on himself last week! (That’s what happens when you pull out the top three drawers at the same time!) I couldn’t get it up by myself and he was pinned under it. I panicked, of course! Then I remembered that my friend, AnneJisca was here. She heard the commotion (to put it mildly) and came to my rescue. Together we were able to set it up. I was wondering how many bones were broken, but he ended up with two little bruises – one barely visible. Amazing! Thank you, Jesus for your protection!
-My kids have two Grandmas who like to take them for part of a day almost every week. (One of them gets two kids and the other one gets one.) It’s a great way for me to have a break and get some other stuff done!!
-When our stuff was stolen in the City, one big disappointment was that I had bought a denim shirt for Caleb at Value Village. I was so excited because all three of them would have one then and I like to dress them alike sometimes. (See, you can still have some fun dressing little boys!) Anyway, it was gone, and I said something to God like, “Well, you provided all these things once, I wonder how you’ll do it again?” Then I gave up on Caleb having a denim shirt. Last night, Keith brought in from the van two garbage bags of clothes a friend had given me a week or two ago (I don’t get things done fast around here, remember?) :-) One of the first things I pulled out of them this morning was a denim shirt in great shape that fits Caleb! I was floored and so thankful that God knows exactly what we like and want and sometimes He just hands out little special blessings like candy!
Anticipation: In only 7 weeks (give or take!) we’ll have a precious new baby to hold and take care of!
Confusion: What in the world should we name the precious little baby??
Validation: The other night I was talking to my dear sister. I mentioned that I feel like absolutely all I get done is home-school, and just the basics at home. She replied with “well, of course” and explained that she thinks that’s pretty normal for my situation. That made me feel so good, because so often I feel like I should be more of a super-woman and “get more done” or educate my boys more adequately. It’s hard not to feel like a failure lots of the time. Thanks, Rachel! And the same day another friend who home-schooled 4 (now-grown) kids assured me that you do what you can and don’t let Satan steal your joy by always telling you you’re not doing enough. Thanks, Debbie!
Excitement: Christmas is coming!
Wondering: How in the world will I get everything done by then? I’m having to lower my expectations big time. Really, I should be happy if we get a tree up and decorated and the presents bought and wrapped. Plans are already made/in the making to make candy on Saturday with Iris (yay!) and gingerbread houses with the boys and some little friends next Sat. I really want to do the advent wreath and calendar again with the kids. Other than that, I hope I’ll have some time to make a few kinds of cookies, but who knows??
Fun!: The presents are bought!! Well, almost all of them. Last Saturday, Kendra, Logan and I went to the “Big Town” to shop and have Logan’s picture taken. (And I just have to insert that Logan my have a future as a model. He was such a little cheeser and had so much fun having his picture taken!) That was a very successful shopping trip and we got to eat at Pizza Hut and get bagels from Tim Horton’s for on the way home. Then yesterday morning I spent an hour and a half on the internet and crossed lots off of my list of gifts to buy (two of the boys were at Grandma’s!). In the afternoon, Caleb and I did some more shopping around town and got a bunch of stocking stuffers, etc. Last night the boys helped me start wrapping some stuff. That was fun!!
Disappointment:
-Why does God answer some prayers – big or small – “easily” and others just seem to take forever?? There are things I’ve been praying for and it seems like so long and sometimes I think my heart will break if they’re not answered soon. I just started (again) the book “Believing God” by Beth Moore and I hope that helps answer some of my questions and bolster my faith!
-The day Josiah was born, they discovered I had high blood sugar. We don’t know how long it had been going on. So, of course, this time, I’m having to check it periodically. I had been forgetting for awhile, but the other night when I checked it, suddenly it was quite high! Sigh. Since then it’s been high sometimes but not always. We’ll see what the Doc says on Monday! In the meantime, I know I shouldn’t be eating any sugar, but I’m rebellious on that one right now. And we’re making Christmas candy tomorrow!
Health: Thank God for health! Keith went through a week or more of a really nasty virus. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so miserable. We’re so thankful he’s better! Then Josiah got pink-eye and had to have antibiotic ointment for that. Other than that we are healthy. I’m just so thankful for how good I feel. I can still sleep pretty well at night, I’m not retaining fluid yet so no carpal tunnel when I sleep and my feet don’t hurt, my back rarely hurts, and I’m just now starting to feel a bit like an elephant, if you know what I mean. :-) Thank God for His goodness!
Cold: It was -30 C (you Americans can do the math) this morning!
I’m sure I could write more, but I need to just get this posted so you won’t all think I’ve died or something! I wonder if anyone is checking my blog anymore! Happy December!
Some words to describe my life (with apologies to Rhonda for stealing this idea from her:
Fragile: This fourth pregnancy has been the hardest for me emotionally. I don’t know if it’s because I’m older or because I have more children than other times and I’m home-schooling two of them… At any rate, I find that my emotional and mental energy are so quickly depleted and I can very quickly slide into crying, feeling overwhelmed, yelling at my kids, etc. I feel pretty fragile and haven’t been too impressed with my behavior many times. But I do have to say that God is faithful and when I cry out to Him for help, He does help me!!
Grateful:
-Caleb pulled our 4-drawer filing cabinet over on himself last week! (That’s what happens when you pull out the top three drawers at the same time!) I couldn’t get it up by myself and he was pinned under it. I panicked, of course! Then I remembered that my friend, AnneJisca was here. She heard the commotion (to put it mildly) and came to my rescue. Together we were able to set it up. I was wondering how many bones were broken, but he ended up with two little bruises – one barely visible. Amazing! Thank you, Jesus for your protection!
-My kids have two Grandmas who like to take them for part of a day almost every week. (One of them gets two kids and the other one gets one.) It’s a great way for me to have a break and get some other stuff done!!
-When our stuff was stolen in the City, one big disappointment was that I had bought a denim shirt for Caleb at Value Village. I was so excited because all three of them would have one then and I like to dress them alike sometimes. (See, you can still have some fun dressing little boys!) Anyway, it was gone, and I said something to God like, “Well, you provided all these things once, I wonder how you’ll do it again?” Then I gave up on Caleb having a denim shirt. Last night, Keith brought in from the van two garbage bags of clothes a friend had given me a week or two ago (I don’t get things done fast around here, remember?) :-) One of the first things I pulled out of them this morning was a denim shirt in great shape that fits Caleb! I was floored and so thankful that God knows exactly what we like and want and sometimes He just hands out little special blessings like candy!
Anticipation: In only 7 weeks (give or take!) we’ll have a precious new baby to hold and take care of!
Confusion: What in the world should we name the precious little baby??
Validation: The other night I was talking to my dear sister. I mentioned that I feel like absolutely all I get done is home-school, and just the basics at home. She replied with “well, of course” and explained that she thinks that’s pretty normal for my situation. That made me feel so good, because so often I feel like I should be more of a super-woman and “get more done” or educate my boys more adequately. It’s hard not to feel like a failure lots of the time. Thanks, Rachel! And the same day another friend who home-schooled 4 (now-grown) kids assured me that you do what you can and don’t let Satan steal your joy by always telling you you’re not doing enough. Thanks, Debbie!
Excitement: Christmas is coming!
Wondering: How in the world will I get everything done by then? I’m having to lower my expectations big time. Really, I should be happy if we get a tree up and decorated and the presents bought and wrapped. Plans are already made/in the making to make candy on Saturday with Iris (yay!) and gingerbread houses with the boys and some little friends next Sat. I really want to do the advent wreath and calendar again with the kids. Other than that, I hope I’ll have some time to make a few kinds of cookies, but who knows??
Fun!: The presents are bought!! Well, almost all of them. Last Saturday, Kendra, Logan and I went to the “Big Town” to shop and have Logan’s picture taken. (And I just have to insert that Logan my have a future as a model. He was such a little cheeser and had so much fun having his picture taken!) That was a very successful shopping trip and we got to eat at Pizza Hut and get bagels from Tim Horton’s for on the way home. Then yesterday morning I spent an hour and a half on the internet and crossed lots off of my list of gifts to buy (two of the boys were at Grandma’s!). In the afternoon, Caleb and I did some more shopping around town and got a bunch of stocking stuffers, etc. Last night the boys helped me start wrapping some stuff. That was fun!!
Disappointment:
-Why does God answer some prayers – big or small – “easily” and others just seem to take forever?? There are things I’ve been praying for and it seems like so long and sometimes I think my heart will break if they’re not answered soon. I just started (again) the book “Believing God” by Beth Moore and I hope that helps answer some of my questions and bolster my faith!
-The day Josiah was born, they discovered I had high blood sugar. We don’t know how long it had been going on. So, of course, this time, I’m having to check it periodically. I had been forgetting for awhile, but the other night when I checked it, suddenly it was quite high! Sigh. Since then it’s been high sometimes but not always. We’ll see what the Doc says on Monday! In the meantime, I know I shouldn’t be eating any sugar, but I’m rebellious on that one right now. And we’re making Christmas candy tomorrow!
Health: Thank God for health! Keith went through a week or more of a really nasty virus. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him so miserable. We’re so thankful he’s better! Then Josiah got pink-eye and had to have antibiotic ointment for that. Other than that we are healthy. I’m just so thankful for how good I feel. I can still sleep pretty well at night, I’m not retaining fluid yet so no carpal tunnel when I sleep and my feet don’t hurt, my back rarely hurts, and I’m just now starting to feel a bit like an elephant, if you know what I mean. :-) Thank God for His goodness!
Cold: It was -30 C (you Americans can do the math) this morning!
I’m sure I could write more, but I need to just get this posted so you won’t all think I’ve died or something! I wonder if anyone is checking my blog anymore! Happy December!
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Noah's Ark Party
The Baptist Church has a "Noah's Ark" party on Halloween. The kids are supposed to dress up as a Bible character or animal. So, we had fun with that again this year. I just shifted Caleb and Logan's David and Goliath costumes from last year down to Logan and Josiah. I just had to hem up Josiah's robe 4 inches. :-) I tried and tried to convince Caleb to go as Lazarus, but that was just a bit too "outstanding" for him, I think. So, we settled for King Solomon. (I got a robe from the kid's costumes at the church. I had no time to sew one!!) Anyway, it's a fun and wholesome way to spend my least favorite holiday!!
You Know You've Been Busy When...
October was such a crazy, busy month! The boys' hair was getting longer and longer and there was just no time to cut it. It was starting to really really bug me. Anyway, here's the proof that it really was long! And this is after I trimmed Caleb's bangs and "side-burns" just a little so he wouldn't look like a dork in his King Solomon crown.
So, we finally got it done on Friday, and I'm much happier with the way my boys look. I know I'm biased, but I think they're pretty cute.
Look, Ma, No Teeth
When we came home from Winnipeg, Caleb had lost one tooth. The other one followed a few days later. Keith was having fun teasing him and not telling him who the tooth fairy is - although Caleb really does know, I think.
He has little bit of a "lithp". :-)
Friday, October 19, 2007
The Promised Pictures
Top picture: The birthday party that Connie brought along. It really is just grape juice and Keith really isn't sloshed.
Middle: At the Ethiopian Restaurant. I don't think the guys really knew what they were eating. Sheldon will correct me if I'm wrong.
Bottom: Pretty obvious, I guess.
Here's a little van update. Our "new" used window arrived today and Keith put it in this afternoon. Yay!! It's so nice to be able to see. Here's the fun part though. Keith also asked them about a radio when he got the window and they threw in a radio/cassette player for nothing. (Our cassete player doesn't work, and it's a bummer when the kids can't listen to stories when we're traveling!) Also, our rear defrost didn't work, which is also rather unsafe up here in the north. So tonight when I drove, I turned it on, and wouldn't you know, it works. I'm so excited about that! I guess that's the silver lining in our little cloud.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Old Fogies in the City
Well, the big trip was here gone. But the good memories linger. Do you want me to share them with you? If not, then don't read on, I guess. Otherwise, you're in for a play-by-play...
We arrived in the city shortly before 6:00 on Thursday evening. We didn't make great time on account of construction, getting behind a funeral procession, my, um pregnant bladder situation, etc. But we made it. We stopped at one store quickly, then went to Olive Garden where we were meeting the others at 6:30. We thought maybe we could get our names in early and not have to wait so long. But, they had the same idea and were there and waiting. They only waited about 15 minutes and we got in soon after we got there. They, of course, felt a need to make a big deal of my age, etc. There was a balloon bouquet and a goofy pin that said I am 40 and "old, old, old" which they expected me to wear during dinner. We had a great dinner and good time starting to get caught up. We wondered if we might get kicked out for being so loud. :-)
During dinner, Sheldon brought us all up to speed on our plans for eating the next day. It was a revelation to me that a recent interest of his is finding little one-of-a-kind and ethnic restaurants rather than big, "boring" chains. Well, there went my hopes of eating at Perkins. Which really was fine because we had way more fun this way. Anyway, at Olive Garden they were telling us how he had pages of info printed off the internet about all of these restaurants and spreadsheets for all of us to vote on where we wanted to eat. Oh, and he had the ladies opinions weighted higher than the men's and mine weighted even a little higher. I guess there are some advantages to being the birthday girl. We all had some good laughs at/with Sheldon, but it really was fun.
After dinner we headed for Value Village. (We are high-class, big spenders, after all!!) I was tickled to find a bunch of clothes for Caleb and Josiah and a few things for Keith and me - all for $40. :-) The others found some bargains too, and of course, that made us all happy. (We are a bunch of tight-wads, for sure!) :-) Then Keith and I headed to "Eddie Wal-Mart" to knock some necessities off of my long list and the others headed back to the hotel. When we got back there around 10:00 or so, they had a table set with goblets, sparkling grape juice, candles, chocolate and presents. So, we had a little party and, would you believe it, Connie made me an apron!!! I hadn't even told her I wanted one. So now I am sufficiently aproned for years to come!! We stayed up late talking, laughing, and voting on Friday's supper destination.
Our room was quite warm and I didn't sleep the greatest. Maybe because I'm old now, I'll have more trouble sleeping in new places. (I slept great the second night, though!!) We were up and at 'em relatively early because Keith had booked a tour of the Mint for us at 9:00(!?!) We had coffee and muffins in our room and thought that should get us through the tour and then we'd get some real food. :-) When we got to the Mint we found out that our tour was actually at 10:00. Hahaha. But they had one at 9:15 so that was okay. It was very interesting, of course, to see how our coins are made. If Keith were blogging, he'd write a whole essay about it. But since it's me, I'll just say it was pretty amazing. After the tour was over we ladies sat on a bench and had some serious "lady talk" while the guys wandered around and looked at guy things. Finally our stomachs urged us to hit the road.
Sheldon had picked out a Danish restaurant for lunch so we headed that way and made a couple of "quick" stops at stores that we saw along the way - some supplements for me and a Mac store to drop off Keith's computer to get the CD/DVD drive fixed. (Good news, it's under warranty!) We finally arrived at the little cafe and it didn't disappoint us! The highlights were the fresh crusty bread, and the cream puff we all shared for dessert. A bunch of us had veal or chicken schnitzel and it was good! Connie was very impressed with her soup and Keith's sweet and sour cabbage was very good too! It was like a mild and sweet sauerkraut.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and we tossed around going to the Forks or something like that. I finally piped up and wondered if I could just go back to the hotel and have a little nap. I am pregnant, after all! Turns out all of us women were in favour of a rest and the guys rested a little and/or went shopping and walking around the city centre. I had a wonderful nap!!! Then it was time to get dressed up and head out for dinner. I guess the theme of the weekend was good eating. :-) The voting for dinner headed us to an Ethiopian/Middle Eastern Restaurant. It was unique and very interesting. The falafels were very good except they mis-communicated and put the hot sauce on them. Connie and I had to order milk. :-) It didn't seem to bother Darla much. She's a tough one, I guess. :-) The guys all had more Ethiopian dishes. No one was raving about how delicious it was, but it was good and interesting. The owners were really neat people and very friendly. When we were done, they brought us tea "on the house". I think it was black tea with cloves or something like that. It really was good.
After that we scurried off to the symphony. Wow, what fun that was! It was an open dress rehearsal for the "real" performance on Sat. night. So, it was less formal and the conductor talked to us in between pieces. We got to hear him give directions to the orchestra and hear them practice things a bit. We had quite good seats, so that was really fun too. The conductor was funny and Michael thought maybe his parents had wondered if they should put him on Ritalin when he was young. :-) It was really amazing to hear Beethoven's Fifth live. I was only familiar with the first movement, but the last one was really good too. I'd like to get a recording of the whole thing, and also Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony which was the first one they played.
After all that we really had to head to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Mmmmmm. Good! Then back to the hotel. Of course, we couldn't go to bed since it wasn’t midnight yet, so we hung out in Mike and Connie’s room. Sheldon treated us to some crazy songs and other songs from his computer and transferred pictures from his computer to our flash drive. The others had a time of prayer for Keith and me (how did we get so privileged?) before we headed to our rooms for the night.
Sat. morning we had to pick up Merv T. at the airport at 9:15 (he’s a counselor from Edmonton who’s here at Stormer Lake for several weeks). The Minnesotans thought they should sleep in since they didn’t have any such deadlines. So, we packed up and when Keith went to load the van, he discovered that ours and Sheldon’s vans were both broken into during the night. Sigh. Our rear window was broken and Sheldon’s driver’s side window. Sheldon’s Oakley sunglasses were taken, and we had various small things gone – my jacket, my bag from Value Village L, a few Wal-Mart purchases. So, that kinda put a damper on the morning. We zipped over to the airport with our “air conditioning” and found that Merv’s flight was delayed a bit. We were early anyway, so we headed out to look for cardboard. After a few unhelpful stops, we went to Lee Valley (they’re such a great place, surely they’d help us, right?). When we stopped there, Keith looked across the road and there was a dumpster with a bunch of cardboard in it. So we went and helped ourselves. Thank the Lord Keith’s Leatherman wasn’t stolen or the tool bag with the duct tape in it. We cut and taped and then ran out of tape, so Keith ran back to Lee Valley to get more. They were very sympathetic and helpful and offered to let us use their shop vac. Yay! So we headed back over to their loading dock and vacuumed and swept up the glass. The guy even gave us some heavy plastic in case we needed it. It was sure a blessing to experience some human kindness after being violated like that!
We got to the airport just in time to get Merv and then spent the rest of the morning finishing up our shopping. I hadn’t noticed yet that my Value Village stuff was gone, or we could have gone to a different one to look for more stuff. Oh well! We headed out of the city by 1:00 or so, and as we were cruisin’ down the TransCanada, suddenly a van full of waving, smiling people passed us. It was Sheldons and Michaels! We all pulled over at the next road and had a little chat. They already had their window fixed and had eaten at a cool little Italian bakery. :-) So we had a nice chat and then headed for home.
All in all, it was a really good trip. I guess it’s not so bad to have a “major birthday” if you can have a fun trip like that! I’m glad the break-ins didn’t happen the first night, since that could have messed up our day on the town. I think Keith and I are over our anger and frustration. (There was some forgiving and accepting to do there!) Now, I’m just wondering what God has in mind for a coat for me to wear this fall/winter. The one that was stolen was the outer shell that a fleece zips into. And it’s about the time of year to start wearing them together. The good news is that Keith found a used window from a place in T. Bay and it should be arriving here tomorrow. He thinks he and his Dad can install it themselves. I’ll be really grateful for a window, since it’s rather scary driving without being able to see behind you!!
Well, if you’re still with me, you are now definitely informed!! I’ll post pictures as soon as Sheldon sends me the one of all of us together. (No pressure, Sheldon!) That's all for now!!
We arrived in the city shortly before 6:00 on Thursday evening. We didn't make great time on account of construction, getting behind a funeral procession, my, um pregnant bladder situation, etc. But we made it. We stopped at one store quickly, then went to Olive Garden where we were meeting the others at 6:30. We thought maybe we could get our names in early and not have to wait so long. But, they had the same idea and were there and waiting. They only waited about 15 minutes and we got in soon after we got there. They, of course, felt a need to make a big deal of my age, etc. There was a balloon bouquet and a goofy pin that said I am 40 and "old, old, old" which they expected me to wear during dinner. We had a great dinner and good time starting to get caught up. We wondered if we might get kicked out for being so loud. :-)
During dinner, Sheldon brought us all up to speed on our plans for eating the next day. It was a revelation to me that a recent interest of his is finding little one-of-a-kind and ethnic restaurants rather than big, "boring" chains. Well, there went my hopes of eating at Perkins. Which really was fine because we had way more fun this way. Anyway, at Olive Garden they were telling us how he had pages of info printed off the internet about all of these restaurants and spreadsheets for all of us to vote on where we wanted to eat. Oh, and he had the ladies opinions weighted higher than the men's and mine weighted even a little higher. I guess there are some advantages to being the birthday girl. We all had some good laughs at/with Sheldon, but it really was fun.
After dinner we headed for Value Village. (We are high-class, big spenders, after all!!) I was tickled to find a bunch of clothes for Caleb and Josiah and a few things for Keith and me - all for $40. :-) The others found some bargains too, and of course, that made us all happy. (We are a bunch of tight-wads, for sure!) :-) Then Keith and I headed to "Eddie Wal-Mart" to knock some necessities off of my long list and the others headed back to the hotel. When we got back there around 10:00 or so, they had a table set with goblets, sparkling grape juice, candles, chocolate and presents. So, we had a little party and, would you believe it, Connie made me an apron!!! I hadn't even told her I wanted one. So now I am sufficiently aproned for years to come!! We stayed up late talking, laughing, and voting on Friday's supper destination.
Our room was quite warm and I didn't sleep the greatest. Maybe because I'm old now, I'll have more trouble sleeping in new places. (I slept great the second night, though!!) We were up and at 'em relatively early because Keith had booked a tour of the Mint for us at 9:00(!?!) We had coffee and muffins in our room and thought that should get us through the tour and then we'd get some real food. :-) When we got to the Mint we found out that our tour was actually at 10:00. Hahaha. But they had one at 9:15 so that was okay. It was very interesting, of course, to see how our coins are made. If Keith were blogging, he'd write a whole essay about it. But since it's me, I'll just say it was pretty amazing. After the tour was over we ladies sat on a bench and had some serious "lady talk" while the guys wandered around and looked at guy things. Finally our stomachs urged us to hit the road.
Sheldon had picked out a Danish restaurant for lunch so we headed that way and made a couple of "quick" stops at stores that we saw along the way - some supplements for me and a Mac store to drop off Keith's computer to get the CD/DVD drive fixed. (Good news, it's under warranty!) We finally arrived at the little cafe and it didn't disappoint us! The highlights were the fresh crusty bread, and the cream puff we all shared for dessert. A bunch of us had veal or chicken schnitzel and it was good! Connie was very impressed with her soup and Keith's sweet and sour cabbage was very good too! It was like a mild and sweet sauerkraut.
By this time it was mid-afternoon and we tossed around going to the Forks or something like that. I finally piped up and wondered if I could just go back to the hotel and have a little nap. I am pregnant, after all! Turns out all of us women were in favour of a rest and the guys rested a little and/or went shopping and walking around the city centre. I had a wonderful nap!!! Then it was time to get dressed up and head out for dinner. I guess the theme of the weekend was good eating. :-) The voting for dinner headed us to an Ethiopian/Middle Eastern Restaurant. It was unique and very interesting. The falafels were very good except they mis-communicated and put the hot sauce on them. Connie and I had to order milk. :-) It didn't seem to bother Darla much. She's a tough one, I guess. :-) The guys all had more Ethiopian dishes. No one was raving about how delicious it was, but it was good and interesting. The owners were really neat people and very friendly. When we were done, they brought us tea "on the house". I think it was black tea with cloves or something like that. It really was good.
After that we scurried off to the symphony. Wow, what fun that was! It was an open dress rehearsal for the "real" performance on Sat. night. So, it was less formal and the conductor talked to us in between pieces. We got to hear him give directions to the orchestra and hear them practice things a bit. We had quite good seats, so that was really fun too. The conductor was funny and Michael thought maybe his parents had wondered if they should put him on Ritalin when he was young. :-) It was really amazing to hear Beethoven's Fifth live. I was only familiar with the first movement, but the last one was really good too. I'd like to get a recording of the whole thing, and also Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony which was the first one they played.
After all that we really had to head to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. Mmmmmm. Good! Then back to the hotel. Of course, we couldn't go to bed since it wasn’t midnight yet, so we hung out in Mike and Connie’s room. Sheldon treated us to some crazy songs and other songs from his computer and transferred pictures from his computer to our flash drive. The others had a time of prayer for Keith and me (how did we get so privileged?) before we headed to our rooms for the night.
Sat. morning we had to pick up Merv T. at the airport at 9:15 (he’s a counselor from Edmonton who’s here at Stormer Lake for several weeks). The Minnesotans thought they should sleep in since they didn’t have any such deadlines. So, we packed up and when Keith went to load the van, he discovered that ours and Sheldon’s vans were both broken into during the night. Sigh. Our rear window was broken and Sheldon’s driver’s side window. Sheldon’s Oakley sunglasses were taken, and we had various small things gone – my jacket, my bag from Value Village L, a few Wal-Mart purchases. So, that kinda put a damper on the morning. We zipped over to the airport with our “air conditioning” and found that Merv’s flight was delayed a bit. We were early anyway, so we headed out to look for cardboard. After a few unhelpful stops, we went to Lee Valley (they’re such a great place, surely they’d help us, right?). When we stopped there, Keith looked across the road and there was a dumpster with a bunch of cardboard in it. So we went and helped ourselves. Thank the Lord Keith’s Leatherman wasn’t stolen or the tool bag with the duct tape in it. We cut and taped and then ran out of tape, so Keith ran back to Lee Valley to get more. They were very sympathetic and helpful and offered to let us use their shop vac. Yay! So we headed back over to their loading dock and vacuumed and swept up the glass. The guy even gave us some heavy plastic in case we needed it. It was sure a blessing to experience some human kindness after being violated like that!
We got to the airport just in time to get Merv and then spent the rest of the morning finishing up our shopping. I hadn’t noticed yet that my Value Village stuff was gone, or we could have gone to a different one to look for more stuff. Oh well! We headed out of the city by 1:00 or so, and as we were cruisin’ down the TransCanada, suddenly a van full of waving, smiling people passed us. It was Sheldons and Michaels! We all pulled over at the next road and had a little chat. They already had their window fixed and had eaten at a cool little Italian bakery. :-) So we had a nice chat and then headed for home.
All in all, it was a really good trip. I guess it’s not so bad to have a “major birthday” if you can have a fun trip like that! I’m glad the break-ins didn’t happen the first night, since that could have messed up our day on the town. I think Keith and I are over our anger and frustration. (There was some forgiving and accepting to do there!) Now, I’m just wondering what God has in mind for a coat for me to wear this fall/winter. The one that was stolen was the outer shell that a fleece zips into. And it’s about the time of year to start wearing them together. The good news is that Keith found a used window from a place in T. Bay and it should be arriving here tomorrow. He thinks he and his Dad can install it themselves. I’ll be really grateful for a window, since it’s rather scary driving without being able to see behind you!!
Well, if you’re still with me, you are now definitely informed!! I’ll post pictures as soon as Sheldon sends me the one of all of us together. (No pressure, Sheldon!) That's all for now!!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Happy 40th to Me!
Top picture: just so those of you far away can really believe that I'm pregnant.
Middle: pancakes in our pajamas.
Bottom: Helen and me with our cake. The 40 is for me and the extra 8 candles are for her. You can do the math. :-)
Well, it's officially here and (almost) gone. I'm really 40 and I just can't seem to wrap my mind around that. It just seems sort of impossible or surreal. Old people are 40, you know. And I don't feel old. Just tired. :-) So, now I need to adjust my brain to this new reality and it might take a little while. I was reading an essay about turning 40 the other day and it changed my perspective a little. It's our worldly culture around us that hates to get old. But there are a lot of things to look forward to: wisdom, maturity, more to offer other people, a deeper, closer relationship with my heavenly Father, etc, etc. And getting older is sure a lot better than not!
The other day I read about a bumper sticker that said, "I'd rather be 40 than pregnant!" Somehow I didn't find that too amusing. :-/ How would you like to be both?? When we were married 9 years ago, I really hoped I'd be done having children by the time I was 40. Well, I guess we didn't quite make it. So, here I am 40 and pregnant! And it really doesn't seem any different than yesterday when I was 39 and pregnant. :-)
Thanks to family and friends, my birthday was celebrated in fine style. Kendra hosted a birthday party for me last night at her house. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. There were 10 or 11 of us ladies there and lots of yummy food. I got really cool presents too. I got two aprons!! I've really been wanting one, since I'm such a sloppy cook, and Lisa knew that, so she made me one! Elise didn't know I wanted one, and she didn't even seem to know that the package of hot pads she gave me included an apron. But there it was and it was really a nice one too. So now there's no excuse for grease spots, etc. on my clothes!
This morning I slep in a little. At a little after 8:00, Keith was making pancakes and I was showing him my presents. Suddenly I heard singing outside and there at the door were Wendy and her kids in their pajamas with flowers, balloons, and cards! Wow! Of couse they all stayed for breakfast and we had a great time. Then Keith left to cut firewood and took Caleb, and Wendy took Logan and Josiah with her for the rest of the morning. So, I had a quiet, refreshing morning. You can hardly get a better birthday present than that!
Tonight my family was here for Thanksgiving dinner. Dru made a cake for me and for Helen whose birthday is in a week. My boys gave me a good can opener (yes!) and Keith gave me a new Philips, Craig, and Dean CD (yes! yes!!). So, I feel well-celebrated and I still get to go to the city later this week. Okay, maybe I'm a little bit spoiled - or very much blessed!
The other day I read about a bumper sticker that said, "I'd rather be 40 than pregnant!" Somehow I didn't find that too amusing. :-/ How would you like to be both?? When we were married 9 years ago, I really hoped I'd be done having children by the time I was 40. Well, I guess we didn't quite make it. So, here I am 40 and pregnant! And it really doesn't seem any different than yesterday when I was 39 and pregnant. :-)
Thanks to family and friends, my birthday was celebrated in fine style. Kendra hosted a birthday party for me last night at her house. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. There were 10 or 11 of us ladies there and lots of yummy food. I got really cool presents too. I got two aprons!! I've really been wanting one, since I'm such a sloppy cook, and Lisa knew that, so she made me one! Elise didn't know I wanted one, and she didn't even seem to know that the package of hot pads she gave me included an apron. But there it was and it was really a nice one too. So now there's no excuse for grease spots, etc. on my clothes!
This morning I slep in a little. At a little after 8:00, Keith was making pancakes and I was showing him my presents. Suddenly I heard singing outside and there at the door were Wendy and her kids in their pajamas with flowers, balloons, and cards! Wow! Of couse they all stayed for breakfast and we had a great time. Then Keith left to cut firewood and took Caleb, and Wendy took Logan and Josiah with her for the rest of the morning. So, I had a quiet, refreshing morning. You can hardly get a better birthday present than that!
Tonight my family was here for Thanksgiving dinner. Dru made a cake for me and for Helen whose birthday is in a week. My boys gave me a good can opener (yes!) and Keith gave me a new Philips, Craig, and Dean CD (yes! yes!!). So, I feel well-celebrated and I still get to go to the city later this week. Okay, maybe I'm a little bit spoiled - or very much blessed!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Home Improvement
It’s always fun to do a few little (or big) improvements around the house. I just thought I’d share a few with you. We recently had the top of our table refinished. Let me just say it pays to hire a professional sometimes. I wish I had taken a before picture, but those of you who have been at our house might remember what bad shape it was in. It was embarrassing! Now it’s so nice. I think the finish is better than the original because you can see the grain and color of the wood better. I’m really enjoying it!
Then I hung some plates above the doorway in the kitchen that I’ve had for years. They were a gift from my Grandma M. Thanks to Iris for the idea of where to put them. And, yay ebay, for the plate rack!
I just took a little trip down memory lane when I was looking at the picture of the plates. Way back when, my cousin Sue and I had some rivalry going on for whatever reasons. Well, when Grandma picked out plates for us (we are the two oldest granddaughters), I was jealous of hers. She got four (!) plates and I only got two. (Insert childish whine.) Hers had pink flowers as I recall, and mine were orange, yellow, and black, of all things. At that point in time, pink would definitely have been my pick over orange and yellow. If I remember correctly (and I might not) she liked mine - maybe because of the cool, octogan shape. We were pathetic. So now, many years later, I'm finally hanging my plate up and I'm so glad I have the orange and yellow ones! I've actually developed an affinity for yellow and orange - in the right places and amounts. Pink wouldn't look nearly as nice in my kitchen and two plates is just right for that space. And I love the octogan shape. There should be a moral to this story, right? I guess it's that we need to trust God to give us what's best because He see the end when we're only at the beginning.
And lastly, I finally made a curtain for the “pantry/misc. storage” shelves in my entryway. I always felt like they were an eyesore. That’s what you can see when you look into the entryway from the kitchen. So, now it looks much better, I think!
And lastly, I finally made a curtain for the “pantry/misc. storage” shelves in my entryway. I always felt like they were an eyesore. That’s what you can see when you look into the entryway from the kitchen. So, now it looks much better, I think!
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
The Fans are Clamoring
Well, actually, Iris was just wondering if I'm stuck in the freezer. So, instead of doing my before-bed routine, I'll type out a little morsel here. I've had things in mind to post, but no time. Can anyone else relate to that??
Homeschooling is proving to be quite an adjustment. It seems like it takes so much of our day. I think part of it is that I'm also now responsible for Logan's piano practice as well as Caleb's (Keith did it last year). Caleb is more independent with it, but I have to sit with Logan for most of it and help him. Add to that some discipline/relationship issues between Logan and me, and it can mean a stressful, long practice. Gotta pray more about that one!! Also, we sort of mix our chores right in with school and piano, so by the time we get all of that done, it can seem like the whole day is gone. So, we continue to work at it and I'm praying about my attitudes and parenting style, and we plug along!
As my dear sister has pointed out in the comments on the previous post, next week is a big milestone for me. Rhonda had asked me what it was going to take to numb the pain, or something like that. Well, this is what it will take: a trip to the city! Next week, Keith and I are meeting my brother Sheldon and his wife Darla, and our mutual friends Michael and Connie (who also hit the big 4-0 a little while ago) and we're going to just have some fun in the city! I'm looking forward to a little shopping (the men don't want to do much!), a nice hotel, a tour of the mint, Olive Garden and Perkins (hopefully) and the Symphony on Friday night. Yay!
Wendy and her kids are going to be at Stormer Lake for a couple days (Jeff is working up there somewhere) so tomorrow we're heading up there for the day. We asked Marvin to have a little "field trip" for the kids - show them how the generator works, or something. And we're going to make soft pretzels. And hopefully relax and just hang out with Yvonne for awhile. That should be fun!
I've really been enjoying the CD "Let the Worshippers Arise" by Philips, Craig and Dean!! Their lyrics and music are both so powerful!
And in the "things-you-really-must-know-or-your-life-will-never-be-complete" department:
-It seems like for the last month or more, every time I do laundry, it rains so I can't hang it out to dry. But inevitably, it seems, the day before or after is beautiful and sunny. Why??? I'm a cheapskate and it bugs me to have to dry it all in the dryer. Grrrr.
-We tried on snow pants, coats, and boots today to see what we need for the winter. So, of course the boys had to go all-out and dress to the teeth. They tried to play outside that way, but it didn't last long. It was beautiful outside!
-Josiah has had gooey eyes for the better part of a week. His eyeballs aren't red, but underneath his eyes it's red and swollen. Should I take him to the doctor? The others had a milder case of the same thing and they've all had runny noses...
-I got a little extra spending money so I bid on a place setting of my china on ebay. I got it for $20.50 which is really cheap for Old Country Roses. Then I got the invoice and the shipping is $22.54!! Huh! It's still a good price over-all, but it kinda makes me disgusted that the shipping is more than the price! And I'm sure that's more than the actual shipping will be. Oh well!
-I also bought Logan a dress shirt and tie on ebay. He often begs to wear a tie on Sunday (!?!) and he doesn't have anything that works right now. So I got him something. It might be a Christmas present. Not sure yet. We'll see how much of a problem Sunday mornings are for awhile! :-)
-I'm going to post soon about the on-line course I'm doing now about food addiction. It's been really good! I'm telling you this now so that I have to actually post about it.
-On Monday I'm going to be 40. That's just crazy. How did that happen??
Okay, I'm going to go now before you're all bored to tears!! Night-night!
Homeschooling is proving to be quite an adjustment. It seems like it takes so much of our day. I think part of it is that I'm also now responsible for Logan's piano practice as well as Caleb's (Keith did it last year). Caleb is more independent with it, but I have to sit with Logan for most of it and help him. Add to that some discipline/relationship issues between Logan and me, and it can mean a stressful, long practice. Gotta pray more about that one!! Also, we sort of mix our chores right in with school and piano, so by the time we get all of that done, it can seem like the whole day is gone. So, we continue to work at it and I'm praying about my attitudes and parenting style, and we plug along!
As my dear sister has pointed out in the comments on the previous post, next week is a big milestone for me. Rhonda had asked me what it was going to take to numb the pain, or something like that. Well, this is what it will take: a trip to the city! Next week, Keith and I are meeting my brother Sheldon and his wife Darla, and our mutual friends Michael and Connie (who also hit the big 4-0 a little while ago) and we're going to just have some fun in the city! I'm looking forward to a little shopping (the men don't want to do much!), a nice hotel, a tour of the mint, Olive Garden and Perkins (hopefully) and the Symphony on Friday night. Yay!
Wendy and her kids are going to be at Stormer Lake for a couple days (Jeff is working up there somewhere) so tomorrow we're heading up there for the day. We asked Marvin to have a little "field trip" for the kids - show them how the generator works, or something. And we're going to make soft pretzels. And hopefully relax and just hang out with Yvonne for awhile. That should be fun!
I've really been enjoying the CD "Let the Worshippers Arise" by Philips, Craig and Dean!! Their lyrics and music are both so powerful!
And in the "things-you-really-must-know-or-your-life-will-never-be-complete" department:
-It seems like for the last month or more, every time I do laundry, it rains so I can't hang it out to dry. But inevitably, it seems, the day before or after is beautiful and sunny. Why??? I'm a cheapskate and it bugs me to have to dry it all in the dryer. Grrrr.
-We tried on snow pants, coats, and boots today to see what we need for the winter. So, of course the boys had to go all-out and dress to the teeth. They tried to play outside that way, but it didn't last long. It was beautiful outside!
-Josiah has had gooey eyes for the better part of a week. His eyeballs aren't red, but underneath his eyes it's red and swollen. Should I take him to the doctor? The others had a milder case of the same thing and they've all had runny noses...
-I got a little extra spending money so I bid on a place setting of my china on ebay. I got it for $20.50 which is really cheap for Old Country Roses. Then I got the invoice and the shipping is $22.54!! Huh! It's still a good price over-all, but it kinda makes me disgusted that the shipping is more than the price! And I'm sure that's more than the actual shipping will be. Oh well!
-I also bought Logan a dress shirt and tie on ebay. He often begs to wear a tie on Sunday (!?!) and he doesn't have anything that works right now. So I got him something. It might be a Christmas present. Not sure yet. We'll see how much of a problem Sunday mornings are for awhile! :-)
-I'm going to post soon about the on-line course I'm doing now about food addiction. It's been really good! I'm telling you this now so that I have to actually post about it.
-On Monday I'm going to be 40. That's just crazy. How did that happen??
Okay, I'm going to go now before you're all bored to tears!! Night-night!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Eating Out of the Freezer
Awhile ago I told you about the cooking day we did. Several (well, two) of you wanted the list of recipes we made. So, here they are. And I must say, it has been wonderful pulling supper out of the freezer!! So far nearly everything has been a success. Not that little Mister Picky has liked it all, but that's just normal for him. I'm not sure if we'll have too much soup at the end of the month or not. It seemed like we made an awful lot of soup for one month. So, we'll see how it goes for next month...
Soups:
Chili
Lentil Stew
Potato Chowder (made without the white sauce. I'll add that when we eat it.)
Hamburger Barley
Cicken Wild Rice
Vegetable Beef
Cream of Broccoli/Pea (not a milk base. It's a pureed soup - mostly broccoli, peas, onions, celery, spices. I love it and Keith tolerates it.)
Casseroles/Main Dishes/Side Dishes:
Curry Chicken
Chimichangas
Mashed Potatoes
Burritoes
Yumzetti
Chicken & Rice
Tater Tot Casserole (made with a gravy base, not mushroom soup)
Lasagne (my vegetarian, tofu recipe. It's really good. Really.)
Chickenetti
Pakistani Kima (a hamburger, vegetable curry that you put over rice)
Breakfast Casserole
Rice & Veggie Casserole (sort of a Mexican Beans and Rice deal)
Chicken Gumbo
Sauce-baked Meatballs
Meatloaf
Taco Meat
That's 21 different main dishes, but some of them made LOTS. I love leftovers for lunches! I'm looking forward to doing it again, but I think I need some more chicken recipes. It seems like most of them were beef. Does anyone have any good freeze-able chicken ideas?? Or anything else? I don't want to make all the same stuff every month.
So, what are you having for supper tomorrow night? We're having potato chowder and I think I'll try to make bread sticks. Anybody wanna come over for supper?
Soups:
Chili
Lentil Stew
Potato Chowder (made without the white sauce. I'll add that when we eat it.)
Hamburger Barley
Cicken Wild Rice
Vegetable Beef
Cream of Broccoli/Pea (not a milk base. It's a pureed soup - mostly broccoli, peas, onions, celery, spices. I love it and Keith tolerates it.)
Casseroles/Main Dishes/Side Dishes:
Curry Chicken
Chimichangas
Mashed Potatoes
Burritoes
Yumzetti
Chicken & Rice
Tater Tot Casserole (made with a gravy base, not mushroom soup)
Lasagne (my vegetarian, tofu recipe. It's really good. Really.)
Chickenetti
Pakistani Kima (a hamburger, vegetable curry that you put over rice)
Breakfast Casserole
Rice & Veggie Casserole (sort of a Mexican Beans and Rice deal)
Chicken Gumbo
Sauce-baked Meatballs
Meatloaf
Taco Meat
That's 21 different main dishes, but some of them made LOTS. I love leftovers for lunches! I'm looking forward to doing it again, but I think I need some more chicken recipes. It seems like most of them were beef. Does anyone have any good freeze-able chicken ideas?? Or anything else? I don't want to make all the same stuff every month.
So, what are you having for supper tomorrow night? We're having potato chowder and I think I'll try to make bread sticks. Anybody wanna come over for supper?
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Hilda the Housewife (and Schoolteacher)
Thanks for the home-schooling ideas! This started out as a comment on my post, but it got too long, so I’ll just post it. You'd think the "after-lunch-while-he's-sleeping" solution would be a no-brainer. I hadn’t really considered it though because I was thinking I want to get it all done in the morning or something. And, that's my nap-time too. Thankfully, my naps are much shorter than they were and sometimes I can even skip them! So we're going to try that. Also, this morning, Caleb took his "table-work" that he can do mostly on his own to the basement and we shut the gate. That worked quite well! Less distractions for him too. As far as Daddy is concerned, he is doing the Bible stories and also the science activities. So that helps a lot. Anyway, today was a better day.
I also had the idea to insert regularly scheduled chores in each morning in place of the school work that we'll be doing in the afternoon. That feels good too. It was okay that Caleb and I were doing language at 3:00 because we had already folded all of the laundry in the morning. I’m thinking of the following schedule: Monday – swimming lessons, no extra chores, Tuesday – clean bathrooms and either dust or change sheets (those last two might not always happen. tee hee.), Wednesday – fold laundry, Thursday – send the kids to their Grandmas – no extra chores, Friday – vacuum and mop.
While I’m on the subject of housework, I’ve been meaning to ask sometime…. What is a favorite “routine” or household tip that really helps you get something done, stay organized, make a job you don't like easier, etc.??? I’d like to hear some good ideas from lots of people. We all have little things that we do that make housework more efficient. I thought it would be neat if we’d share some of our favorite ideas. So, let’s hear it for – and from – all the Hilda the Housewives out there!
I also had the idea to insert regularly scheduled chores in each morning in place of the school work that we'll be doing in the afternoon. That feels good too. It was okay that Caleb and I were doing language at 3:00 because we had already folded all of the laundry in the morning. I’m thinking of the following schedule: Monday – swimming lessons, no extra chores, Tuesday – clean bathrooms and either dust or change sheets (those last two might not always happen. tee hee.), Wednesday – fold laundry, Thursday – send the kids to their Grandmas – no extra chores, Friday – vacuum and mop.
While I’m on the subject of housework, I’ve been meaning to ask sometime…. What is a favorite “routine” or household tip that really helps you get something done, stay organized, make a job you don't like easier, etc.??? I’d like to hear some good ideas from lots of people. We all have little things that we do that make housework more efficient. I thought it would be neat if we’d share some of our favorite ideas. So, let’s hear it for – and from – all the Hilda the Housewives out there!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Logan's Birthday
I guess it's been a month since Logan's birthday, so it's time to post the pictures, eh? Since he turned five we did a bigger party than usual. We planned a beach party since, well, it was August. Makes sense, doesn't it? It was So Cold! Oh well, the kids had fun anyway! We had the party at 3:00 and then had the Grandparents over for pizza in the evening. You can see how Logan felt by the end of the day. The funny thing is, since he turned five, he finally doesn't take a nap most of the time. Just once in awhile.
Friday, September 14, 2007
School Daze
Yeah, I know it's a lame pun, but I haven't the talent to think of something truly witty. We’re getting into the swing of home-school around here. I think it’s going pretty well. Then I remember that neither of the boys is doing their Language Arts yet. So, there are more challenges to come!
My biggest challenge right now is what to do with Josiah!! I’m asking all home-school Moms for advice. He’s 20 months old and just LOVES to do everything his brothers do. This doesn’t work so well when they’re writing/coloring/cutting at the table. He’s all over and into everything. Aarrgghh! Yes, I’m very willing to use purposeful swats to the backside and I do, but it seems to have no effect at this point. He spends a good chunk of time in his room with a gate across the door and toys to play with. He does well with that, but I can’t leave him in there all morning!! This morning I put him in his high-chair with crayons and a paper – and soon he was just eating the crayons. Later I tried the high-chair again and gave him playdo. That worked well for a little while, and then the playdo ended up all over the floor. Sigh. Is this just something we have to put up with?? Or do any of you have ideas for how to occupy and train him?? When we’re not doing school-work, he’s quite good and happy most of the time.
For those of you familiar with Sonlight, we’re doing Core C this year with both Caleb and Logan. It’s better for Logan, but I find it's not too challenging for Caleb. I’m thinking of what I can do to give him some more to do, but not just “busy work”. Several options I’m thinking of: some really good Canadian History books for kids (anyone know of any?) and/or ACE Science or Animal Science PACEs. Right now he’s finishing up a couple of Sonlight Science books that we didn’t do last year.
On a happy note, we’re really enjoying “The Boxcar Children” right now. That is a book I read many times when I was little, and it brings back memories for me! Also, I’m looking forward to Caleb’s Language Arts (Sonlight). I’ve hardly looked at Logan’s yet so I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it or not. And here's one little funny. We were reading some "Mother Goose" rhymes today. After I finished one Caleb remarked, "That was lame!" And he was right! :-) Okay, enough rambling. I’d love to hear from you home-school Moms out there that I know read my blog and never or rarely comment.
My biggest challenge right now is what to do with Josiah!! I’m asking all home-school Moms for advice. He’s 20 months old and just LOVES to do everything his brothers do. This doesn’t work so well when they’re writing/coloring/cutting at the table. He’s all over and into everything. Aarrgghh! Yes, I’m very willing to use purposeful swats to the backside and I do, but it seems to have no effect at this point. He spends a good chunk of time in his room with a gate across the door and toys to play with. He does well with that, but I can’t leave him in there all morning!! This morning I put him in his high-chair with crayons and a paper – and soon he was just eating the crayons. Later I tried the high-chair again and gave him playdo. That worked well for a little while, and then the playdo ended up all over the floor. Sigh. Is this just something we have to put up with?? Or do any of you have ideas for how to occupy and train him?? When we’re not doing school-work, he’s quite good and happy most of the time.
For those of you familiar with Sonlight, we’re doing Core C this year with both Caleb and Logan. It’s better for Logan, but I find it's not too challenging for Caleb. I’m thinking of what I can do to give him some more to do, but not just “busy work”. Several options I’m thinking of: some really good Canadian History books for kids (anyone know of any?) and/or ACE Science or Animal Science PACEs. Right now he’s finishing up a couple of Sonlight Science books that we didn’t do last year.
On a happy note, we’re really enjoying “The Boxcar Children” right now. That is a book I read many times when I was little, and it brings back memories for me! Also, I’m looking forward to Caleb’s Language Arts (Sonlight). I’ve hardly looked at Logan’s yet so I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it or not. And here's one little funny. We were reading some "Mother Goose" rhymes today. After I finished one Caleb remarked, "That was lame!" And he was right! :-) Okay, enough rambling. I’d love to hear from you home-school Moms out there that I know read my blog and never or rarely comment.
Who Turned Down the Thermostat??
In honour of the snowflakes we saw yesterday (someone forgot to tell us about global warming!), I'm finally posting pictures of us picking blueberries - in much warmer weather! :-)
We were so thankful for the blueberries this year! After quite a few years of not-so-many berries, they were plentiful this year. Thank you, Jesus! It was also very special to pick berries with good friends from out of town. Carolyn S. and Jennifer M and her kids were here right over blueberry time. We had one little trip out to the bush together. That time Glenda M. and Mary Elaine P. were there too, as well as Lisa's Mom and Grandma! Lots of foreigners in the blueberry patch! That was when we almost had to pry Glenda’s fingers off of the bushes so we could go home. :-) She could hardly stand to leave those beautiful berries there. Jennifer and her kids stayed with us and it was so good to see them again. Iris and I went out a couple times as well and did all the damage to the berries we could!! The picture of the four boys is them having a "moose poop fight". Boys will be boys, after all. In case you're not from the North, this moose poop is hard and dry, not soft and gross. :-) Well, it's still sorta gross, but hey, they were having fun and not bothering us while we were picking! :-)
We were so thankful for the blueberries this year! After quite a few years of not-so-many berries, they were plentiful this year. Thank you, Jesus! It was also very special to pick berries with good friends from out of town. Carolyn S. and Jennifer M and her kids were here right over blueberry time. We had one little trip out to the bush together. That time Glenda M. and Mary Elaine P. were there too, as well as Lisa's Mom and Grandma! Lots of foreigners in the blueberry patch! That was when we almost had to pry Glenda’s fingers off of the bushes so we could go home. :-) She could hardly stand to leave those beautiful berries there. Jennifer and her kids stayed with us and it was so good to see them again. Iris and I went out a couple times as well and did all the damage to the berries we could!! The picture of the four boys is them having a "moose poop fight". Boys will be boys, after all. In case you're not from the North, this moose poop is hard and dry, not soft and gross. :-) Well, it's still sorta gross, but hey, they were having fun and not bothering us while we were picking! :-)
Saturday, September 08, 2007
God of the Little Things
I have a little story to tell you, just to brag on my God a bit. This past spring we had what seemed to be a rash of technological breakdowns. The VCR and CD player both quit around the same time. (Well, "quit" isn't quite the right word for the VCR. It was more like a victim of a murder at the hands of a cute little toddler!) I know our desktop computer also died but I'm not sure of the timing of that one. At the time, God had been speaking to me about living simply, being content, spending less, giving more, etc. I determined to pray for these "needs" and not just rush out and buy all new stuff.
I don't remember what all happened with the computer, but Keith talked to a friend who "builds" computers and we ended up getting one from him for nothing. Since we have the Mac as well, we just needed a basic PC to run a few windows-only programs we use... Thank you, Lord for the computer!
I was praying for a cheap VCR and CD player - although the CD player seemed a bit more of a "stretch" for God. Y'know what I mean? I want a decent little stereo with at least a 3-CD changer. I looked at garage sales, etc, for a VCR, but found nothing. I waited and prayed. Then one day a friend stopped in (I think she was dropping off one of her kids). I had asked to borrow a few DVDs since we don't have many. She kindly brought some and also added, "You said you don't have a VCR. Here's an extra one we have. You can borrow it." I wondered if they wanted to get rid of it and she thought they would part with it for the $15 they had paid for it at a second-hand store. There you go. Answer to prayer, #2.
Now the CD player. That's another story. We waited. I prayed. An "expert" told me that no one fixes that kind of stuff. We looked around and considered buying one. We couldn't find exactly what we wanted. I put the stereo down in Keith's shop since it was dead anyway. I reminded God that I wanted a CD player. We waited. One day Keith came home from work and said he had sold one of his kayaks. I had nearly forgotten he had it since he's never used it since we're married. Hmmm, $200 of unexpected cash. "Say, honey, do ya think we could buy a stereo with that when we go to Winnipeg?" Maybe. So, when we were there last month we looked around. We almost bought one that was on sale but it wasn't exactly what we wanted and we just weren't ready to do it. Then I really wondered when or how we would ever get one.
On Labour Day, Keith was putzing around in the shop. At the supper table he calmly announced, "I fixed the CD player." Get this: he took the cover off and it had a CD jammed in it! That's all that was wrong with it!!! Wow! Thank you, Jesus. I was so excited I could hardly stop sputtering. And that explains that missing CD as well. And guess what it was?!? Jungle JAM! Teehee. So, I guess the $200 goes to a Third-world country!!
This whole thing has been such a good lesson for me! 1) God knows and cares about the "little" stuff! 2) If I don't rush off to meet my own "needs" God has a chance to show me what He can do. 3) Sometimes it's good to go without stuff and realize our "needs" might just be "wants". So, that's my happy little story for today. We serve a wonderful, amazing God who can do anything and loves us each individually and intimately! Wow!
I don't remember what all happened with the computer, but Keith talked to a friend who "builds" computers and we ended up getting one from him for nothing. Since we have the Mac as well, we just needed a basic PC to run a few windows-only programs we use... Thank you, Lord for the computer!
I was praying for a cheap VCR and CD player - although the CD player seemed a bit more of a "stretch" for God. Y'know what I mean? I want a decent little stereo with at least a 3-CD changer. I looked at garage sales, etc, for a VCR, but found nothing. I waited and prayed. Then one day a friend stopped in (I think she was dropping off one of her kids). I had asked to borrow a few DVDs since we don't have many. She kindly brought some and also added, "You said you don't have a VCR. Here's an extra one we have. You can borrow it." I wondered if they wanted to get rid of it and she thought they would part with it for the $15 they had paid for it at a second-hand store. There you go. Answer to prayer, #2.
Now the CD player. That's another story. We waited. I prayed. An "expert" told me that no one fixes that kind of stuff. We looked around and considered buying one. We couldn't find exactly what we wanted. I put the stereo down in Keith's shop since it was dead anyway. I reminded God that I wanted a CD player. We waited. One day Keith came home from work and said he had sold one of his kayaks. I had nearly forgotten he had it since he's never used it since we're married. Hmmm, $200 of unexpected cash. "Say, honey, do ya think we could buy a stereo with that when we go to Winnipeg?" Maybe. So, when we were there last month we looked around. We almost bought one that was on sale but it wasn't exactly what we wanted and we just weren't ready to do it. Then I really wondered when or how we would ever get one.
On Labour Day, Keith was putzing around in the shop. At the supper table he calmly announced, "I fixed the CD player." Get this: he took the cover off and it had a CD jammed in it! That's all that was wrong with it!!! Wow! Thank you, Jesus. I was so excited I could hardly stop sputtering. And that explains that missing CD as well. And guess what it was?!? Jungle JAM! Teehee. So, I guess the $200 goes to a Third-world country!!
This whole thing has been such a good lesson for me! 1) God knows and cares about the "little" stuff! 2) If I don't rush off to meet my own "needs" God has a chance to show me what He can do. 3) Sometimes it's good to go without stuff and realize our "needs" might just be "wants". So, that's my happy little story for today. We serve a wonderful, amazing God who can do anything and loves us each individually and intimately! Wow!
Friday, September 07, 2007
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