This Week's Insanity Brought To You By...

Well, hi there!  Yes, I'm still alive.  Soon, very soon (after we get through Josiah's birthday and New Year's Eve, which happen to be the same day, and how's that for family planning?) I will post about why I haven't been posting, and hopefully also some pictures from Christmas.  But for now, this little story which amuses me and hopefully will you as well...

Tonight, after the day was basically done, I glanced down at my clothes and realized my shirt and pants didn't really match.  I remember thinking this morning as I threw on my clothes that I would wear this shirt because it goes with my light blue sweatshirt.  And the color of my jeans never once entered my mind.  Good thing today wasn't tomorrow, when I'm having three different shindigs here in one day!  Am I losin' it, or what?  :-)  

Oh, shoot, and while I'm here anyway, I'll just give you one little picture of our youngest cutie on Christmas day.

Of Chocolates and Friends, There Shall Never Be Too Much

I know these pictures are almost two months old, but that's just kinda how my life is these days.  :-)  A little behind.  So I thought I'd post them anyway, since I just want to.

The day after my birthday, I had a chance to fly up north to see my dear friend, Iris for the day.  (Well, for about 5 hours, actually.)  We took the opportunity to do our annual tradition of making Christmas candy.  It was fun, but the time just flew by and it seemed sort of like a dream that it even happened.  

I took Logan along since there was another seat in the plane.  He had fun playing with the kids and having a plane ride.  (Although he got a belly-ache when we were up in the clouds and he couldn't see the ground.)

Enjoying the ride.

The bush in the fall.

Our fearless pilot, my brother Matthew.

Co-conspirators in the production of much chocolate and sugar!

Yum!  Peanut butter balls.  Or buck-eyes if you're from Ohio.

Blankets and Buckets

It seemed like such a good idea at the time...

Josiah had an appointment with the pediatrician in a bigger town about 3 hours from here.  (Yeah, we live at the end of the world and that's how far we have to go to see a pediatrician!)  Anyway, we decided to make a little trip out of it and take all of the family and stay overnight with our friend, Debby.  We'd go shopping and have a nice visit with Debby.  And I could even go shopping by myself a bit while Keith stayed with the kids at the house.  And it wouldn't be such a long, exhausting day if we stayed overnight.

It was such a good plan.

Until.

Before we even got out of town, Hannah erupted.  And she barfed most of the way there.  Oh gross.  If you've ever had the experience of a child puking while strapped in a reclining car seat, you know what I mean.  And of course, I wasn't prepared with cleaning supplies and I didn't bring that many clothes along for just one night.  We stopped along the way and bought paper towels, and changed her clothes a few times.

She was fine by the time we got there and even ate lunch.  Later in the afternoon we headed out to Debby's to put the little ones down for a nap while I went to do more shopping.  

Well.

Before I left, Josiah started throwing up.  When I came back a few hours later, Logan had joined in the fun.  Those of us who were still standing sat down for supper and it just didn't taste good to me.  Oh No!  I just didn't feel quite right and as the evening progressed, I got more nauseous, chilled, and achy.  So, we sat and layed around Debby's living room, wrapped in blankets and staying close to the buckets.  Logan and Josiah got quite good at knowing when they needed a bucket.  The poor little guys couldn't even keep any water down.  

When it was bed time, Keith told me to go sleep in the bedroom with Hannah (who had thrown up after she went to bed, but didn't even wake up.  I was too tired and miserable to care and just left her.  Can you believe that!?!)  The boys slept on the floor in the living room and Keith slept out there with them to help with the buckets.  I think they quit barfing around 2:30 am. Some time during the night, I started peeling off blankets, so I knew I was getting better. 

In the morning, I was still tired and achy, the kids were in varying degrees of listless, no appetite, and diarhea.  And Keith was pale and had no appetite!  We left in the afternoon and before we left town, Hannah started barfing again.  Is it a special thing she likes to do in the van??  Anyway, we were so glad to get home.

Josiah is finally better today and I think Hannah is just about better.  (I'll spare you the rest of the details.)  The washing machine has become my best friend!! :-)  And somehow, Caleb has escaped the whole thing.  Bless his heart!

I must add that Debby was very gracious about the whole disaster and willingly shared her buckets, blankets, washing machine, etc.  She and I did get to go out for lunch on Sat. too.  Oh, and I did get a lot of necessary shopping done so all was not lost.  

And on a totally unrelated topic.  Hannah had her mouth open last night for some reason (crying perhaps?) and I saw something white.  The little turkey has a molar through.  I had no idea.  And it's only her third tooth.  Isn't that kind of odd?

My Little Men

Lately Hannah's been taking more than her share of bloggy publicity.  So here are my awesome little guys...

Josiah - on the way home from camping Labour Day weekend.

Who needs Wal-Mart?  I decided to do my own portraits of Caleb and Logan this fall.  I was pretty pleased with the results!

Logan - six years old

Caleb - 8 years old

Randomness

*I cleaned out the drawer under my phone.  Yay!  Now that's something worth shouting about!  Dumb thing is, it's not completely done, but it's SO much better that I'm not sure I care.  I even found the lab requisition for my blood sugar test I was supposed to do when Hannah was 6 months old.  Oops.

* Last weekend my friend, Iris, came to for the weekend.  We had fun and stayed up late.  She had shopping and stuff to do and couldn't get everything done.  She was hoping to update her blog while she was here (since their internet doesn't work), but didn't have time. :-(

* Hannah had roseola last week.  I couldn't figure out why she was so cranky when her teeth were already through.  Then she got a fever.  When that went away, the rash appeared.  She's doing much better now.  Whew!

* I just ordered Keith's and Caleb's Christmas presents, and paid for one for Dave.  :-)  I really like shopping on-line!

*  I've been trying to buy a Playmobil gas station on ebay for Logan and they keep slipping away from me.  Either I don't bid high enough or I forget to bid at the end.  I'll keep trying, but I'm ready to pay a wad right now just to Get It Already!  

* A friend told me yesterday that her sister and family don't open presents on Christmas.  They do that several weeks before Christmas day.  Then Christmas is for going to church and doing family things.  Isn't that a good idea??  I wonder if we could really pull it off...

* The other night the boys were messing around in bed (when they were supposed to be sleeping!).  Josiah hit his nose on the bed and got a doozy of a nose-bleed.  Much weeping and wailing followed!

* I damaged and possibly wrecked two good/casual shirts in the last week or so.  :-(  The first one was my beloved black shirt that Rachel gave me.  It was in the dryer with an orange crayon!  Aaarrrggghhh!!!   Tonight I tried just a little bit to get it out by ironing the orange spots onto another cloth.  It looks like it just might work.  Any advice??   The second one - my beloved light blue shirt (that Rachel gave me, notice a pattern here?) - was a victim of the above-mentioned nose-bleed.  Crud.  Blood on a powder blue shirt.  I soaked it in cold water right away and then washed it.  I didn't dry it.  The marks are still there, but not too obvious.  Any advice on that one?  

* This week is the first in a long time that I feel like the school-work and schedule is mostly under control.  Next week doesn't look so promising...

* I'm starting a weekly "lunch bunch" for young (and others like myself) :-) women - mostly from church and some others.  It's been fun.

*  Next Friday we're heading off to the "small city" for an appointment with the pediatrician for Josiah.  We're going to get his "seizures" or whatever it is, checked out.   He did it again the other night, but this time he hit the front of his head, not the back.  I don't know if it's hitting his head that does it, or holding his breath from crying.  Anyway, we'll see what the Dr. says.

* Next week looks a little too busy.  :-(  I need to decorate the church for Christmas, get ready to lead worship on Sunday, go to a home-school lunch/literary performance shin-dig, and leave first thing Friday morning.  Oh, and we're all going and staying overnight with our friend, Debby.  So, we won't be back until Sat.  Yikes!  Why do things always happen all at once like that?

* Tomorrow Keith is taking the afternoon off and he said I can do whatever I want.  Sadly, it doesn't look like it will be a relaxed afternoon of scrap-booking.  But, I want to take the boys to finish shopping for our Compassion shoeboxes and that will be fun.  And I'm helping set up for a baby shower for my nieces which is tomorrow night.  Maybe that won't take too long and I'll have time for a cup of coffee and a muffin.  I'll take a book along just in case!

* And now it's time for bed!!  Toodles!

Thought for Today

My friend, Priscilla sent me this recently:  from Streams in the Desert on November 5th:  "The only thing 'too hard for the LORD' is our deliberate and continual disbelief in His love and power, and our ultimate rejection of His plans for us."

I needed that!

Out With the Old...

Shoes!  Did I ever mention that I hate buying shoes?  So many questions:  What, pray tell, is in style right now?  Are these cute?  Are they for an old lady?  Am I an old lady?  Will they be comfortable?  Should I buy the cheap ones, or the more expensive ones that will last a really long time??  Do I really like these?  And the list goes on and on.  

So.

When I manage to buy some I like, it's a really big deal! (To me, anyway.)  I don't expect everyone else to be as excited as me, but, since I have a blog, I can subject you to my joyful ramblings about my shoes. (It's a free country.   You don't have to read it if you don't want to.)

Anyway, I give you exhibit A.  I bought these shoes on our trip to Jeff and Wendy's wedding. That was in 1999/2000!!  And I've been wearing them ever since.  (When you don't like to buy shoes, you can wear the same ones for a very long time!!)  But, this fall I started to be embarrassed by their scruffy appearance and maybe even their out-dated style (that part bothers me less.)  These shoes, my friends are going in the garbage to make way for...

... these cute little numbers.  (Exhibit B)   Did I do okay?  I'm anything but an authority on the subject, but I think these are kinda stylish.   And cute.  And leather.  And comfortable.  And they were on sale.  Yay!
Now, a couple questions, since I'm style-challenged.  Can I wear these with skirts or pants?  Panty-hose or socks?  I'm thinking yes, but I'd like some confirmation from someone who knows more than me...

Thanks for sharing my happiness.  (I'm assuming something there, eh?)  :-)

Life

It was a wild week!  Last weekend we were at Stormer Lake for a weekend of encouragement, worship, listening to God...  It was a good time.  Then...

We came home and hit the ground running.  Cell group on Sunday night.  When we got home, Sheldon called and said an old family friend had passed away.  Mrs. Hausmann was always special to us.  By Monday morning, I was thinking, I really should go down for that funeral.  Keith agreed and we started to make plans.  Unknown to me, my friend, Karen, was also making plans to go.  We connected sort of at the last minute and found out our plans were almost identical.  So, she and her boys went down with us.  What a blessing.  I took Logan and Hannah with me and left Caleb and Josiah with Keith, Grandma G., and other friends.  

I was really glad I went.  While funerals are never fun  it's always a good thing to say good-bye. And, I got to connect with people I haven't seen (or not very often) in 25 or 30 years.  It leaves you with a really odd feeling.  It was like being in a time warp.  Some things have changed so much and still so many things are the same.

While we were there, we got in on some of the U.S. election madness.  Enough said!  :-)

We got home Thursday evening in a bit of a snow-storm.  People were concerned about us, but the roads really weren't bad until about 40 miles south of here.  Now, winter is here for real, it seems.  The boys are having a blast playing in the snow.

I decided to (hopefully) start a new tradition - making donuts when it snows the first time.  I invited Karen to join me and we had fun doing that yesterday.  They were SO yummy!!

Hannah has been very cranky.  I'm starting to wonder if she's getting sick.  She got her first two teeth this week, so I thought she'd be happier.  Instead it seems like she's fussier.  Hmmm.....

The last month or so, we've been singing with a little inter-church choir.  We "made" Caleb and Logan go with us and sing with the choir at least for part of the practice.  They grumbled sometimes, but went and seemed to enjoy it.  We sang in church this morning, but we didn't make them join the performance.  Now, I'm sitting at the computer and I'm listening to them playing with lego in the basement.  They've been humming/singing parts of two of the songs we sang.  :-) 

Stay tuned for my post about me and shoes...  

And Some More Pictures For Rachel :-)

As Our World Turns

I've been so focused on posting pictures and getting caught up on my blog from the past few months, that I haven't really written anything about what we're up to right now.  I've been sorta obsessive compulsive about posting pictures and blogging about the summer and fall.  I can't just not post pictures and leave a big gap in my blogging!  :-)  Oh my, no!  Well, actually, yes I can.  So, here they are.  Real, actual words about us!

* I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Josiah is now POTTY-TRAINED!  (Pardon me while I yell a little!)  He still wears a diaper for naps and night-time, but I wonder if he'd do pretty good if I just put underwear on him.)  Anyway, it's really, really nice.  He's younger than either of his big brothers were. :-)

* Hannah is now cruising around furniture and standing alone for a few seconds at a time.  I think she's just itchin' to walk.  She's also started trying out a few words here and there.  Or, maybe I should say, making obvious attempts.  That just amazes me!  As Rhonda (mother of 4 of my nieces) would say, with a knowing, almost smug look, "That's how girls are!"  And, her first two teeth are about to pop through - late just like her brothers!

* I've been going to physio therapy for my back and feet.  I don't know what's wrong with my feet, but I'm supposed to be "massaging" them with a little ball and it hurts like the dickens.  And for my back, we're strengthening my almost-non-existent abs.  Fun.  The therapist showed me how to exercise abdominal muscles I never knew I had.  And I would never have found them by doing crunches.  It's very interesting and gives my some hope for some day having a flatter tummy and no lower back pain.  

*  I have a Dr. appt. for Josiah on Monday to check out his little "seizures" that he gets when he hits the back of his head.  

*  We went to the dentist a few weeks ago and found out that Logan has 5 cavities and Caleb has 2.  Caleb also has a receding gum by one tooth which is either caused by crowding (sorry for the genetics I passed on there, Son!!) or plaque build-up.  Sigh.  So we're beefing up the brushing routines.  Instead of getting the cavities filled immediately, I'm going to get a second opinion at the suggestion of a friend.  But, that means another dentist visit and bill.  It seems like we've been in a "season" of appointments lately and it sure makes the schedule challenging!! 

*  Yesterday Logan was drawing worms in his "Do You Doodle?" book and he said (loosely quoted):

Logan:  Look Mom, these worms are girls.

Me: How do you know they're girls?

Logan:  Because they have eyebrows.  Pretty eyebrows!

* Yesterday I spent about three hours talking on the phone with two friends.  That was so much fun, because it hardly ever happens.  But, it's frustrating too, because at the same time I'm feeling a little bit guilty for "neglecting" my kids and house.  I guess that's just one of the tensions of my chosen schedule and life right now.

* A quote from one of the aforementioned conversations:  "I love Math in theory.  It's the actual numbers that mess me up."  Oh, really, Becky?!?

* Yesterday Caleb was reading "World", a Christian news magazine.  Suddenly he piped up with, "Mom, what's abortion?"  Ugh.  I told him and watched the flicker of pain that went over his face.  It's so sad to see their innocence slowly be chipped away by the rawness of our fallen world.  Did I make the right decision in telling him?

* I've been very fed up lately with my "brokenness" and the junk in my heart.  I'm so longing for a real and lasting change.  "How long, Oh Lord, how long??"

* And along those lines...  We're heading up to Stormer Lake this afternoon (as soon as I'm done with this post?) for a weekend of encouragement and fellowship.  There will be about 10 of us getting together to share and pray for each other and worship together.  I'm hoping this will be another good step along the journey of life.

* In the past few months, Josiah has gone from "stinker" to "the sweetest thing around" to "Challenging"!!  Help me, Lord!

* Oh, and speaking of brokenness... I've REALLY been struggling with my eating lately.  I just want to eat what I want and when I want and hang the consequences.  (Well, actually, I'm wearing the consequences.)  I was thinking about a whole post about "hunger", but here's the abridged version.  When I'm "hungry" for comfort food, what I really need, I know is to feel loved, safe, comforted, etc.  And I know in my head that food doesn't bring a lasting satisfaction.  It just makes me want to go back for more.  Recently I was reminded of the verse, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.   It's a promise.  So, do I need to re-direct my "hunger" in the right direction?  To hunger after God, to long for him to fill my heart with his love and to love him in return, to hunger to be clean and pure in his eyes.  That's what I really long for underneath the "felt need" for chocolate.

* Keith has gone moose-hunting a few days with no success yet.  Last Sat. he took Caleb and Logan with him.  They actually saw a cow, but it was right when they parked the truck and Keith didn't even have his gun loaded yet and she took off right away.  He was pretty disgusted about that one!

* Oh, and I did have a birthday sometime not long ago which was well-celebrated.  I celebrated by signing up on facebook.  Haha.  Not really.  But I did join facebook around that time and I can attest that it's fun but it can be a real time-waster.  I still like blogs and blogging!

* And now it's time to close this sucker down, give Hannah a bottle, and hit the road.  And when I come home, I'll have 12 comments, right?  :-) (That's what ya call shameless begging!)

Fun with Friends and Relations

One of the things that's been fun this fall is spending lots of time with Matthew and Rhonda and their girls - and other cousins and friends along the way.  Iris was here for awhile in August/September so we got to do some fun stuff.  

Here's a whole bunch of misc. hooligans enjoying a meal of smokies and corn on the cob.  Yum.  
Matthew and Rhonda's girls had a sleep-over.  Even Larissa stayed.  The funny thing was that by morning, Caitlyn and Larissa were on either side of me in our bed, and Keith was on the couch.  I was just glad we didn't have to take them home in the middle of the night!

Okay, this has been so much fun.  Wendy, Rhonda, and I did a couple of "school" afternoons together.  Wendy is teaching them art, I did some science activities, and Rhonda did "home-ec" (yummy snacks).  Wendy and I are going to continue with just our kids when Rhonda is gone.  The kids love it and so do we (as long as the babies co-operate!)

Tia and Caitlyn making quesadillas for snack.

Working on a science activity.

Caleb's (top left and bottom) and Logan's (top right) artwork.

The Final Hurrah of Summer

The rest of the trip was interesting.  I won't say much about the alternator trouble.  Let's just say we had some changes in our plans and a big bill on our Visa!  We also spent a night at my Aunt and Uncle's, Ruthie and Dwen, in northern MI.  And I forgot to take a picture of them!  But it was really nice to be at their place again!

When we got home on Sat. afternoon, all of Keith's siblings were already here.  So we jumped directly into a week of G. family partying.  What fun.  It felt like Christmas without the snow and the other busyness that comes in Dec.

Family portrait.  Logan messed up every one on my camera!  But Sandra got a good one.

Shania and Hannah

The boys had a total blast playing with Uncle Neal.  Josiah was pretty sad to see him go at the end of the week!!

"One, two, three..."

After they all left, we had fun spending time with Matthew, Rhonda and girls.  It's so fun to see the cousins all getting to know each other and making good memories with each other.  Labour Day weekend we went camping with my family.  Well, with those of us who could make it.  Unfortunately, Dad and Dru had to work and Mike's had something else going on, I think.  And of course, Rachel and Dave are a million miles away.  :-(  But, we managed to have lots of fun anyway.  The weather was beautiful, but windy.  We spent a bunch of time at the beach and sitting around the fire.  The kids just played and played.  It was a reminder too, that camping isn't generally relaxing with little kids.  But I'm expecting that each year now, things will get a little easier.  Sunday afternoon it was actually warm enough that I went swimming.  Darla and Rhonda came in too and our hubbies and a bunch of kids, of course.  That was a relaxing afernoon and it was so much fun to just play!  (I'm not so good at doing that normally!)

Hot babes hangin' out at the beach.

Goofy kids.

Playing with play-dough.

Scotty.

Dylan - all tuckered out.

Like I said, it was windy!

Matthew and Sierra - cheers!

Summer Re-visited. (Rachel wanted pictures!)

After Rachel's wedding we had a week to "mosey" home.  That was so nice.  Our first stop was a Y. family reunion.  We were just there for a few hours, but it was really nice to see family again.

Hannah with Great Grandpa and Grandma Y. 

Then we headed to MI to spend a bit of time with our friends Jeff and RoxAnne and their family.  It's always so good to see them!

Next stop - Lake Michigan.  We rented a house near the lake for two nights with my dear friends Karla and Brenda.  It was fun catching up and introducing them to our kids.

Next we met Keith's child-hood friend Dan, his wife, Juanita and family.  We spent a day together and went to the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo.  That was a lot of fun for the kids.

Snack time in the parking lot!

Some of the kids beside a real Blackbird.  (The world's fastest plane, or something like that.  Caleb could tell you all about it probably.)  

To be continued...

Fall

It's been a beautiful fall here.  We've had lots of sunny, crisp/cool days to enjoy.  But, I find I have a hard time enjoying it to the fullest because Fall mostly evokes in me a dread of winter.  Sad, isn't it.  Winter here is so long and often comes so early.  I find that hard to deal with.  Some day, I'd like to live somewhere - even if it's just for one year - where Fall is a really long, beautiful season and the winter that follows doesn't strike terror to my heart.  And where there are lots of hard-woods that bust out with red and orange leaves.  Here were mostly have just yellow leaves.  But, in the meantime I'll try to soak in the beautiful days we have.  And this year I've been thoroughly enjoying my maple tree that has Red Leaves.  It's been wonderful!  Happy fall! 

Oh My Goodness, I'm A Great-Aunt!

My niece, Kayla just had a baby girl this morning.  Her name is Serenity Marie, and she is a precious, little cutie!!  Kayla did a great job!  Now we're waiting for Samantha to have her little boy soon.  When it rains, it pours, eh?  :-)

Is It Too Late To Post Pictures From The Wedding?

It's almost Dave and Rachel's two-month anniversary.  But I still want to post about it.  If I can remember it. :-)

It was one of the most beautiful weddings I've been at.  (Of course, I'm not biased, or anything.) It was a truck-load of work, and I hardly had time to scratch my ear all week, but there were some really good moments too.  Here are some highlights:

* On Wednesday evening we (Dave, Rachel, and our family) went out for supper at a really nice restaurant right on Winona Lake.  We sat outside on the screened porch overlooking the lake.  It was a beautiful evening, and for some reason, I was able to not think about wedding stuff and we just relaxed and had a wonderful time together.

* Late Wednesday night, Matthew, Rhonda and their girls arrived, jet-lagged to the max.  But it was SO good to see them!!!

* Friday morning all of Rachel's friends and relations who were around went out for brunch.  It was like a big, 'ol, "back home" reunion.  So many who used to live here and now live all over the globe, all coming together because of Rachie!  We made quite a ruckus in the restaurant, and had a blast.

* The wedding ceremony was so meaningful and beautiful.  And I didn't have to do anything else, so I could just relax and soak it in.  (And try to forget that there were 240 people behind me.)  The music was beautiful.  She had piano, trumpet and cello for the prelude, processional and recessional.  Wow.   A definite highlight was when a group of our Yutzy aunts, uncles and cousins sang an amazing benediction.  Oh my!

* The reception was lovely.  It was in a tent outside Rachel's church and the weather was absolutely perfect.  Amazing.  

Sadly, I don't have any really good pictures.  But, here are a few anyway.

Logan and Alabama were flower-girl and ring-bearer.  They were so cute!!!

I'm a Nerd

Last night I stayed up late (getting my new computer organized). :-)  So just before I headed for bed I went in Hannah's room to cover her up.  I turned off the closet light which I had left on when I put her to bed because her night-light is not very bright. (Bear with me, I think that detail is relevant.)  Then, with my eyes not adjusted to the new level of darkness and with a sleepy brain, I headed out of the room and WHAMMED into the edge of the door with my forehead.  PAIN.  MUCH PAIN.  I stood there for a bit wondering if my glasses were perhaps broken and just feelin' the pain.  When I went into the bathroom and looked, I already had a nice goose-egg forming above my right eye.  So I got a bag of frozen vegetables and sat with that on my head for awhile and read a book and wondered if I should take Advil before I went to bed.  But, the pain did subside and I was able to sleep fine.  I can't believe I did that.  

Monday!

Why are Mondays so.... Monday-ish??

As far as Mondays go, today was pretty much a bummer.  Sigh.  So, now I'm going to complain a bit, and then I'm going to be thankful, so hold on for the end of the post...

The "badness" started in the middle of the night when Hannah was awake and fussy off and on for an hour or two (it's hard to keep track in the wee hours!).  Keith and I took turns trying to get her settled down.  I finally thought maybe it was her ears or teeth and Keith gave her Advil.  That finally seemed to do the trick.  But the damage was done.  I was tired!  On top of that, I had a bad dream that pointed out some unresolved crud in my heart.  :-(

So, I slept in, which I guess I needed, but that put our day behind schedule.  Then, I made the (rebellious) mistake of checking the weather and email before spending any time with Jesus, and then it was too late.  Duh.

After that it was a series of mis-haps, mistakes, and mayhem...

- Logan woke up with the sure conviction that he, in fact, was in charge and I definitely wasn't.

- I was feeling grumpy and out-of-sorts.  I ended up getting angry at the kids and yelling and it was pretty ugly around here.  By the time we were done with breakfast and chores, I knew we had to back up and take care of stuff.  So we spent some time talking, repenting and praying.  After a discipline session with Logan, I sent him back to bed and told him we were going to pretend that we were starting the day all over. 

- Logan and Caleb were HYPER.  Made me want to never feed them another gram of sugar again.  Ever.

- It was raining and cold today.

- I tried three times to start a fire in the stove and it never did take off - until Keith came home and dumped something very flammable and stinky on it.  So I was cold a good bit of the morning.

- Caleb has a runny nose and his first instinct is to snort.  Gross!  Then when he does blow, he leaves dirty tissues everywhere.  Grrr.  Tomorrow I'm going to charge him $.10 for every snort and every tissue laying around.  Money talks to that boy!

- Caleb "shared" his runny nose with Josiah, who is taking it to another level and is pretty miserable tonight.  More on that later.

- Logan broke a stapler and I found a section of staples - sharp side up - on the dining room floor.

- Caleb broke a cool little car we just got at a garage sale on Sat.

- Keith had a rough morning and then took a night shift at the ambulance tonight.  We hardly had any time to talk, which left me feeling rather dis-connected, but we did talk on the phone tonight, so that's good.

- Josiah didn't take a nap today.  (I gave up around 3:30 or so.)

- I had to discipline Josiah a bajillion times today for a particular behaviour that we're trying to irradicate.

-I dug a small piece of plastic out of Hannah's mouth tonight - I'm guessing it was from the broken car.

- I sent Josiah to go pee this evening and when I went in there a bit later, I found pee All Over the floor.  He claimed he was trying to go in the potty, and I think I believe him.  Not 100% sure.

- Josiah has already been half awake and crying three times tonight.  I feel like just not going to bed at all because I'm afraid I won't get any sleep anyway.  He did this about 3 or 4 weeks ago when he had a cold.  He woke up crying and inconsolable about 9 times during the night.  And, ironically, that was also a night when Keith was doing a night shift and I hardly got any sleep.  

So.  That's the garbage.  As I was thinking about this post earlier this evening, I realized that even with all the junk today, I still have a long list of things to be thankful for, if I just stop and look for them.  So, here's the good stuff that I'm thankful for:

- Hannah didn't choke on anything today.  (That girl puts Everything in her mouth!)  Of course, I have no idea what all she ate off of the floor! :-)

- My boys forgave me for my anger and harsh words.

- Supper was delicious (and came from the freezer, so it was very little work!)

- No one stepped on the staples!

- For the first time since Thursday or Friday, every dirty dish was either washed or in the dishwasher tonight.  (We came close a few times over the weekend, but never got around to that one pan that was soaking...)

- Kisses.  From my handsome hubby and precious little boys .

- I was finally able to start the laundry tonight - after wanting to do it all day.

- Josiah is actually having fewer accidents and starting to tell me when he needs to go.

- And, he hasn't pooped in his underwear for a few days.  He's been going in his diaper when I put him down for a nap.  Works for now I guess.  

- Hannah really is a good baby.

- Caleb was very willing to lay down with Josiah tonight so I could get Hannah to bed.  

- Caleb can be a very compassionate big brother.

- Logan got himself and Caleb a bed-time snack without any help from me.

- Logan and Caleb willingly cleaned up toys, etc. while I was getting Hannah to bed.

- With the two "littles" asleep, we were able to do some reading that we didn't get done today.  And we were in a much better frame of mind than when we tried this afternoon.  Instead of "I don't like this book!", I heard, "Read more!"

- In spite of hyperness and bad attitudes, the boys actually did quite well on their school work today.

- I was able to sweep the floor and put away some miscellaneous stuff this afternoon.  Yay.  Let's hear it for sweeping!

- This afternoon, Keith and I watched part of a Beth Moore video that we watched in our ladies' Sunday School class yesterday.  (I got there late and didn't get to see the whole thing, so I borrowed it.)  It is So Good!  It's from her Bible study series called, "Breaking Free" and the session is titled "God's Unfailing Love."  I think I should write a whole post about that, but we'll see.  I have so much growing to do, but she offers so much hope!

- My Father God, loves me!!!!

- Yeah, there's a small mountain of laundry, but hey, we have clothes to wear! And I have four precious kids to make them dirty!

- Caleb and Logan can do chores!  Today Caleb sorted the laundry and Logan cleaned the bathroom counter and sink.

- Tomorrow we get to start swimming lessons.  We're all excited.  And I'm a little nervous about getting us all out the door by 9:10!!

- Any day now, "my" new computer (a refurbished MacBook) will be arriving.  And I won't ever have to use this stinking, old, dinosaur of a PC any more!  Oops, this was supposed to be the thankful list.  Let's see...  I've been very thankful for it's years - or was that months - of somewhat faithful service.  And for the friend who put it together and gave it to us!

- Tomorrow night I get to go to a Stampin' Up party.  Just me.  No kidlets.  Just grown-up ladies, who can carry on grown-up conversations.  And after that, a prayer time with some ladies from church.  What could be better!

So, as you see, I really do have many things to be thankful for!  I just need to remember them and thank my Completely Gracious and Good Heavenly Father!  

Now, my question is, do I go to bed and try to get some sleep, or just sit here at the computer and work all night.  Josiah has already been awake and crying 4 - no, make that 5 - times and it's only 11:45.  He "barks" like a seal and his nose is all stuffy.  He's been laying on the living room floor for the past while.  Poor little guy!  

If you've read all the way to the end, congratulations.  You're a true friend - or very bored!  :-)  And now I will quit rambling!!

Confessions Of An Intrepid Home-schooler

I want to tell you a little story and give all kinds of praise and glory to my “Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.”  

For a long time I've thought that I would want to home-school my children – at least for the first few years (when it's the “easiest”) Haha. That goes to show what I knew way back then. Anyway, when the time came to start educating Caleb, there was no longer a Christian school here, and public school wasn't what we wanted to do.  So the only option I was left with was home-schooling.  I wasn't always sure if I was doing it because we really wanted to, or because it was our only option.

Up until this year, it was fairly easy to be low-key (and half-hearted) about the whole thing since Caleb learns easily and was ahead, and Logan was pretty young yet. But, with this school-year looming ahead of me, I knew it was time to get really serious. As I mulled over my feelings, I had some disturbing revelations. 1) I don't really like home-schooling.  I guess that wasn't actually a new thought. I just freely admitted it to myself. 2) I have this nagging feeling that I'm not really “accomplishing” anything when I'm spending so much time doing school. This feeling that I really should be doing something else. 3) I've never really become whole-hearted or “given myself” to home-schooling.  

I have to take a little rabbit-trail here to explain a bit. For a long time I've been goal-oriented, achievement-driven, and very fond of having a clean and organized home. And I'll quickly admit that I've often taken that to an unhealthy extreme. Not that my house is too neat or clean. Ha! But my task-focus and drivenness too often have taken priority over my children's and husband's needs. I'm very happy to spend lots of time at home, taking care of my home and my children and “accomplishing things”.  

What I've discovered is that home-schooling takes a lot of time away from “housework” time and I sorta resent that. As we were approaching this school year and these feeling were crystallizing in my mind, I realized I really, really don't want to go on this way. I started praying and asking God to please, Please, PLEASE help me LIKE this home-school business that we've gotten ourselves into. And I told Him I accept this task He's given me and I commit myself to it.

So, now, a few weeks into school, suddenly I'm realizing that I'm having fun! I'm actually enjoying our learning time together. And the funny thing is, this year it's more demanding and time-consuming than ever before. And I don't resent it. I'm so excited about that I could just, uh, well, I don't know, but I'm really excited. Along with that, I'm enjoying my kids more than I ever have before, I think. Another huge answer to prayer.

Yes, sometimes it all makes my head spin: keeping a toddler occupied, the baby happy, and the older two motivated and focused. And I'm still trying to figure out how to get the necessities done around the house and get enough rest and exercise, etc. But I mostly have joy through it all. Mostly. :-)  And please don't take this to mean that I've pretty much got it together now.  I'm just saying this feels like a victory.  Even on the days when I'm asking forgiveness for losing my temper at someone.

I'm just so thankful that I have a God who is willing and able to work in me and change me. As I write this, it encourages me to ask Him to change some other areas in my life that need a serious make-over. If you think about me, you can pray for me/us. I'm always kinda nervous to share a victory story like this, because I'm afraid I'll just crash in a few days. So, I'm resisting the Enemy and standing in the victory that Jesus has given me.  

In case you're interested, here's what we're doing for school-work this year:

Caleb:
Math – Abeka, Grade 3
Language Arts – Some Sonlight, MCP Phonics, Wordly Wise, Sequential Spelling (that is so cool!), and some of Mom's ingenuity for Creative Writing (because he hates it and I'm trying to help him not hate it!)  (Does anyone have any good ideas??)
Science and History – finishing up Sonlight Core K and soon moving into Core 1. We actually did Core 1 two years ago, but it was way ahead of Logan so we backed up and will hopefully catch Logan's interest this time around.  I'm thinking of supplementing him with lots of good library books. He loves to learn by reading, so I think I should capitalize on that.
Electives - An art appreciation book for kids that we haven't opened yet this year.
       - “Do You Doodle?”, a fun drawing book I got from Sonlight. Hopefully Wendy will be doing some art with the her kids and mine and I'll do Science activities with them all.
       - “Mavis Beacon teaches typing”. I think he's anxious to start that, but we're having computer issues right now – and I'm not sure right now how we'll fit it in time-wise...

Logan:
Math – Math-U-See, Primer level. We're having so much fun with this! I'm thinking I'll switch Caleb over at some point this year or next.
Language Arts – Abeka, K-5. He did some Sonlight Language last year but I'm switching back to Abeka. It's easier for me. Since he already knows most of his letters and is blending simple words, I think we'll follow the curriculum loosely and probably go through at least the first part of it fairly quickly.
Science and History – the same as Caleb, but without any supplementing.
Electives – the same as Caleb, but without the typing.

And, of course, there's still music. We put Logan back in the same level as last year. At the end of last year it was getting to be overwhelming for him. He's having a lot of fun this year. I think it helps that Keith is practicing with him most of the time. Caleb was dragging his feet this year with the piano thing, but this week he got a song he really likes and that has piqued his interest much more. Whew!

And next week we start swimming lessons, so that takes care of Phys. Ed.  Well, that and all the running, jumping, and riding bike they do anyway!

I really didn't mean to "talk your ear off like that."  You don't have to read the whole thing...  :-) It's time to head for bed...  Oh, ugh.  I told Caleb I'd order some shoes for him from Sears before I go to bed tonight.  The poor child has no shoes - only sandals, dress shoes, and rubber boots.  Sometimes it's not so good being the oldest.  There are no hand-me-downs when you need something now!  Okay, I'm signing off!

Hey Ya'll, I'm Alive! (Is Anyone Still Checking Here??)

Hello? Is anyone still out there? I'll have to see if I remember how to do this blogging thing still. Oh my, where do I start. See, this is the problem with me: The longer I wait to write, the more there is to catch up on and the more daunting it seems. So I procrastinate some more. Nasty cycle!

So... Hmmm.... It's hard to get started here. Some day I will post a whole photo album, but for now I'll just write for a few minutes. Here's a quick overview of the last month or so.

* Wedding madness - lots of fun, friends, and family.

* A little vacation on the way home - more time with friends and family and a few days close to Lake Michigan. Ahhhhh....

* Home again - recovering from the trip and all of Keith's family was here for a week. Party time! It was like Christmas without the snow and presents!

* Iris and her kids were in town and, of course, Matthew and Rhonda and family, so we did a bunch of stuff together.

* Oh My It's Time To Start School! It took me a bit to get organized and started, but we're getting into the swing of things now. It's like learning how to juggle! I'm learning how to teach Logan to read while giving Hannah her bottle, keep Josiah occupied while helping the others, keep Caleb encouraged and motivated, and just now I even gave Caleb his spelling words while working on this blog! Please dont' take this to mean that we're just doing just peachy, though. We are definitely a work in progress!!

I have much more to say about the above subjects, and many pictures to post, but we'll see how and when that happens. I'm really hoping to post more now that we're getting into a routine. Hoping.

Now, I'll hold my breath and see if anyone is still checking here, and willing to comment. Someone just said the other day that they read this, but never comment. That was you, Yvonne, right? :-) Hint, hint...

I Don't Have Time To Post But I'm Going To Anyway - Quickly

*  We made it down here in 22 hours straight.  Ugh.  But the kids did really well.  We left at 3:15 am Sunday morning and got here at 2:30 (eastern) Monday morning.

* Since then we've been going full tilt.  Baking cakes, making bulletins, gathering up "stuff" we need, etc.

*  Tonight Matthew and Rhonda get here and maybe Derek's.  We're all going out for supper.

* Last night Rachel was having her trial run with her hairdresser and the lady who's going to do my hair was looking at my hair and asking how I want it.  I had been baking cakes all day and had no time for a shower.  My hair was gross.  They had said that we should come in with clean, dry hair, but not "too clean".  The lady who was looking at my thin, greasy, stringy hair blurted out, "but don't come in with it this dirty!"  We laughed and laughed.  I was embarrassed to be seen in public like that anyway, but then to have a hairdresser looking at your hair...

*  Weddings are a huffin' lot of work!  But fun too.

Big Trip Comin' Up

Lists are made.

Dress is sewn.

Boys' hair is cut.

A few fingernails got trimmed - but not all of them.

I'm real tired.

I found something to wear to Emily's wedding on Saturday.

I had to alter it.

I learned how to bake wedding cakes today.

The laundry is almost done.

Tomorrow is Packing Day.

I feel like I'm running a marathon.

In three and a half days we'll be in Indiana.

In six days Matthew and Rhonda and the girls will be there too.

That's very exciting.

I'm going to bed.

Potpourri

We had a great time at my little reunion two weeks ago.  We used to be just four young girls – 30 years later we’re 4 ladies, 4 husbands and 24 (soon to be 25) children!  It was hard to know whether to reminisce or catch up from the last umpteen years.  We hadn’t all been together at one time for about 20 years.   Thank God for friends!

 

As soon as we got home, we dove right into VBS.  It went quite well, I’d say.  There were anywhere from 31 – 41 kids.  It was exhausting though, and it’s good to be done for anther year.

 

Overheard at Sheldon’s late at night: 

Sheldon (nagging Alicia about chewing her fingernails):  “I read that chewing your fingenails reduces life expectancy the same as smoking a pack a day.”

Sara:  “But it’s cheaper!”

I howled with laughter, but it was pretty late.  Not sure if it’s funny now…

 

The ratio of sunshine: rain has finally tipped more in favor of the sunshine!  Yay!  It’s an absolutely gorgeous day (and I need to go to the basement and sew!)  (That was yesterday.  Today it rained most of the day again.)

 

My dress for Rachel’s wedding is about 65% done.  Maybe more.  Tomorrow I’m going to sew the bodice and skirt together and then wait for my friend Phyllis to put in the invisible zipper.  (I never learned to do those things.  I always had Mom do it.)  It’s looking really pretty.

 

It’s only 9 days until we hit the road for Indiana and Rachel and Dave’s big day.  Mercy!  It’s gonna be a marathon until then!

 

I’m convinced Hannah has/had another (the fourth?) ear infection.  This happened two weeks ago and again this week.  She was fussy about drinking her bottle and would usually only take a 3 – 5 oz. at a time.  So, I started in on the onion/garlic/olive oil treatment and also did vinegar for good measure.  I started yesterday and today I could already tell a big difference.  She’s taking 7-8 oz. at a time.  Two weeks ago I did the same treatment and it seemed to work then too.  Craziness!

 

I’m trying to start exercising again.  It’s so hard to get back into the routine – especially when I’m still so tired that I rarely get up early.  I miss my early morning walks…

That's all for tonight.  It's way past my bed-time!

Rhonda's Got A Hankerin'...

... for pictures of Hannah.  Here you go!  Enjoy.

Five months old!  (Oh my, she's almost 6 now!)

At church camp-out with Justin P., Andy and Amanda's little guy.

Having fun with Daddy.

Logan wanted to make a dandelion chain.  I did most of it, really, but aren't they cute?
Hannah's dedication, several weeks ago.

After a walk at camp-out last weekend.