Scenario One
Problem: They didn't like the turkey/potato/green bean casserole. (Too much thyme, perhaps?)
Solution: Add broth and some milk and call it turkey chowder. (I might have even poured off some of the original sauce, hoping to make the flavor milder.)
Problem: They recognized it and still didn't like it.
Solution: Put it in the freezer and get it out a month or so later. Add more milk and thickening, and cheese so it's a thicker, richer turkey chowder.
Result: They didn't seem to recognize/remember it and although it wasn't a great hit, they ate it. Score: Mom - 1 Kids - 0
Scenario Two
Problem: Little Mr. Two-Year-Old is still really picky about what he eats. If he doesn't like it, he would often rather just go to bed hungry. :-( And, now that I'm so busy with Baby and all, I sometimes even forget to offer it to him later. And, he's a bit on the scrawny side.
Solution: If he doesn't like what we're having, I offer him a bowl of oatmeal (I sometimes even keep some cooked in the fridge to heat up when he needs it.) He's been eating it with great enthusiasm. When I tried this awhile back, it seemed like after eating oatmeal for a few meals, he was more ready to eat what we were eating. I guess we both win on this one!
I'd love to hear some of your challenges and victories (or defeats if you want to share them) with feeding your family.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Thoughts on Worry
I've known for a long time that I have the propensity toward worry, anxiety and fear - oh yeah, and a desire to try to control people and circumstances, which is closely related! It's something I fight/confess/repent of fairly often. Lately I've been "worrying" again. Just stewing over problems and issues in my mind a lot. What a waste of brain power! Anyway, I had lunch with my sister-in-law, Wendy, today and she reminded me of some important truths:
1) God hears and answers prayer!
2) I can and should prayer anywhere and anytime, or maybe I should say, everywhere and all the time.
I was convicted because I know if I have time to "stew", I have time to pray!! Keith said recently, "If you know how to complain, you know how to meditate." (He can't remember who he was quoting.) I'd like to paraphrase that a little: "If I know how to worry, I know how to pray!" I just need to turn those anxious thoughts into petitions to my wonderful Heavenly Father, who is completely powerful and good!
Then I came home and read this:
"So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this confilict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law." Galatians 5:16 - 18, NLT
So, my desires to worry, fear, and control are from my old, sinful nature. And I know that I have good desires, from the Holy Spirit - desires to pray lots, trust my Saviour completely, be filled with His peace, joy, and love, etc. Apparently what makes the difference is my choices. And it's good to know that "my choices will never be free from this conflict." It's a daily thing and when I forget that, I fall into the enemy's trap.
"Change me, Lord, and help me to make the choice to pray, not worry, every moment of every day!"
1) God hears and answers prayer!
2) I can and should prayer anywhere and anytime, or maybe I should say, everywhere and all the time.
I was convicted because I know if I have time to "stew", I have time to pray!! Keith said recently, "If you know how to complain, you know how to meditate." (He can't remember who he was quoting.) I'd like to paraphrase that a little: "If I know how to worry, I know how to pray!" I just need to turn those anxious thoughts into petitions to my wonderful Heavenly Father, who is completely powerful and good!
Then I came home and read this:
"So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this confilict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law." Galatians 5:16 - 18, NLT
So, my desires to worry, fear, and control are from my old, sinful nature. And I know that I have good desires, from the Holy Spirit - desires to pray lots, trust my Saviour completely, be filled with His peace, joy, and love, etc. Apparently what makes the difference is my choices. And it's good to know that "my choices will never be free from this conflict." It's a daily thing and when I forget that, I fall into the enemy's trap.
"Change me, Lord, and help me to make the choice to pray, not worry, every moment of every day!"
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
In Case Anyone Is Still Checking
Hi Everyone. I really am still alive. But whenever I think about blogging, it just seems like too much work! But, I have a few minutes here to at least say hi and try to figure out what to tell you all about ourselves.
Hannah's doing pretty well. Growing like crazy. She doesn't sleep great during the day, much of the time, so I spend a lot of time holding her. Any suggestions?? She's gracing us with smiles now, which makes us very happy!
We're managing to get some school-work done and so far we've had food to eat and clothes to wear! What more could anyone ask for?? I'm really surprised sometimes how well it's going. It might be because my expectations are so low. :-) (Oh, you mean toilets and bathtubs are supposed to be cleaned??) The boys are doing well at helping out - which reminds me, I was going to get Caleb to water the neglected plants tonight, but I forgot. Bummer.
God has been working on me in the area of mothering. I need it. I've been a lousy mother in some real ways (And don't comment and tell me how that's not true. I know what's been in my heart and I've lived with the consequences in myself and my children!) But, God is good and He's changing me - and my children - by His grace!! Where would I be without Him?!?
That's all for now. It's time for another feeding and then blissful sleep under a poufy down duvet. (Remember when we got them, Karla?) Once in awhile, Hannah even lets me sleep until 5:00!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I'm One Month Old!
* We’re getting up only once at night most of the time.
* Hannah gained 1 lb. 11 oz. in 2.5 weeks.
* She often doesn’t sleep great during the day.
* Feedings still can take a long time (with waking her up, diaper changes, etc.)
* The boys have all had or still have the flu. The two that are getting over it now have a cold.
* Keith is taking time off from one of his jobs right now.
* The last month is kind of a blur.
* We made a few Valentine cookies today (leftover dough in the freezer from Christmas).
* Josiah was an emotional wreck today.
* I wish someone could’ve taken a picture of me and all four kids on one chair tonight, with me nursing Hannah and reading a book to them. I was rather proud of myself.
* Moments like that are not common!
* Dr. Z. made a favorable comment today about my weight/how I look. If you know her, you’ll understand the significance of that!
* I take naps as often as I can. On Sunday, I slept for 1.5 hours! Sweet.
* I’ve read all but one of the Chronicles of Narnia in the last week or two – mostly while nursing.
* That’s all for now!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
In Case You're Wondering
Hi from the land of diapers, round-the-clock feedings, and my four walls!! I have just a few minutes before my little "master" will need to eat again. So, I'm going to try to peck out a few words to let you know how we're doing.
Huh, I hardly know where to start. It seems like I've crammed 3 months of living into the last week and a half. Maybe that's because I've spent so little time sleeping. :-)
The first days/week were rough in some ways. My milk was slow to come in so the poor little girl was quite hungry and nursed for hours on end, it seemed but still wasn't content. Neither Keith nor I got much sleep those nights!! The good news is, I didn't really get that stressed out or anxious about it. And for me that's what you'd call a major miracle!! By Tuesday night, I did sorta lose it though and then (finally!) Keith and I spent some time really praying about my milk coming in. When we were done praying, I fed Hannah and, wouldn't you know it, I had more milk than any other time! After that, she would nurse and then was contented. And I think once my milk came in she slept for about 36 hours, only waking up to eat. :-)
A day or two later, I was getting very sore, um, well, you know. Keith prayed about that too and since then, it's gotten much, much better. So, we were starting to get the idea that God really is listening and caring about our lives!! So, when I started to not have enough milk again this weekend, I knew what we needed to do! We prayed some more, and now I seem to have LOTS. I'm just so thankful for our wonderful, compassionate, and personal God! Nothing is too big or too little to bring to Him!! Last night Keith read a story of Jesus healing a blind man. And Jesus asked the man, "What do you want me to do?" Huh? Seems like sort of a no-brainer, right? But Jesus obviously wanted him to ask. So we were discussing why Jesus wants us to ask Him for things. I think one reason is so that we can give Him the glory when He answers - and we know for sure that HE did it, and it wasn't a coincidence. Also, I think it helps us to be humble when we have to acknowlege our needs. What do you think? Why does God want us to ASK??
In other news... The boys seem to be really happy with their sister. I see some small signs of us all "adjusting" here and there, but nothing too major yet. I think it really helps that we have lots of help, so I'm not stressed out and I can give the boys my attention. I didn't mention this before on here - I think I was afraid it wouldn't work out... But, it did, and we have a wonderful young lady named Anita N. (Michael and Connnie's daughter, in case you know them) here helping us out for several weeks. She's doing a great job - cleaning, laundry, getting meals on, helping with the boys, etc., etc. I called her Cinderella today! But, I'm not the wicked step-mother because I do tell her she can stop and she just keeps going. :-) She's been a huge blessing. It's so wonderful in the morning when I think Hannah is going to sleep longer and the boys are up, I send them downstairs to get Anita to feed them breakfast, and I go back to bed!!
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to post a few pictures to keep Rachel happy. Oh, one more thing. Here's a typical converstaion with Josiah right now...
Me: "What's the baby's name?"
Josiah: "Two!"
Me: "It's Hannah."
Josiah (emphatically): "Hannah Baby!"
Huh, I hardly know where to start. It seems like I've crammed 3 months of living into the last week and a half. Maybe that's because I've spent so little time sleeping. :-)
The first days/week were rough in some ways. My milk was slow to come in so the poor little girl was quite hungry and nursed for hours on end, it seemed but still wasn't content. Neither Keith nor I got much sleep those nights!! The good news is, I didn't really get that stressed out or anxious about it. And for me that's what you'd call a major miracle!! By Tuesday night, I did sorta lose it though and then (finally!) Keith and I spent some time really praying about my milk coming in. When we were done praying, I fed Hannah and, wouldn't you know it, I had more milk than any other time! After that, she would nurse and then was contented. And I think once my milk came in she slept for about 36 hours, only waking up to eat. :-)
A day or two later, I was getting very sore, um, well, you know. Keith prayed about that too and since then, it's gotten much, much better. So, we were starting to get the idea that God really is listening and caring about our lives!! So, when I started to not have enough milk again this weekend, I knew what we needed to do! We prayed some more, and now I seem to have LOTS. I'm just so thankful for our wonderful, compassionate, and personal God! Nothing is too big or too little to bring to Him!! Last night Keith read a story of Jesus healing a blind man. And Jesus asked the man, "What do you want me to do?" Huh? Seems like sort of a no-brainer, right? But Jesus obviously wanted him to ask. So we were discussing why Jesus wants us to ask Him for things. I think one reason is so that we can give Him the glory when He answers - and we know for sure that HE did it, and it wasn't a coincidence. Also, I think it helps us to be humble when we have to acknowlege our needs. What do you think? Why does God want us to ASK??
In other news... The boys seem to be really happy with their sister. I see some small signs of us all "adjusting" here and there, but nothing too major yet. I think it really helps that we have lots of help, so I'm not stressed out and I can give the boys my attention. I didn't mention this before on here - I think I was afraid it wouldn't work out... But, it did, and we have a wonderful young lady named Anita N. (Michael and Connnie's daughter, in case you know them) here helping us out for several weeks. She's doing a great job - cleaning, laundry, getting meals on, helping with the boys, etc., etc. I called her Cinderella today! But, I'm not the wicked step-mother because I do tell her she can stop and she just keeps going. :-) She's been a huge blessing. It's so wonderful in the morning when I think Hannah is going to sleep longer and the boys are up, I send them downstairs to get Anita to feed them breakfast, and I go back to bed!!
I guess that's all for now. I'll try to post a few pictures to keep Rachel happy. Oh, one more thing. Here's a typical converstaion with Josiah right now...
Me: "What's the baby's name?"
Josiah: "Two!"
Me: "It's Hannah."
Josiah (emphatically): "Hannah Baby!"
Sunday, January 13, 2008
The much anticipated photos
Since all of the adoring fans are SCREAMING for pics, here you go. Ain't she sweet?
Saturday, January 12, 2008
If you haven't figured it out yet....
....it's a girl! Hannah Joy arrived at 11:37, she weighed 9 lbs 3 ozs, and was 20 1/2 inches long. I have too many things to do right now (like get back to the hospital and see my DAUGHTER) to give you lots of gory details about the labour and delivery. I can tell you that Jenni's labour was 5ish hours, with the first 3 hours being rather light. Although far be it from me to suggest any woman's LABOUR is LIGHT. She pushed for six minutes.
Oh, and she has red hair!! Imagine. Two redheads out of four kids.
Keith, for the SIX of us. (THAT sounds strange.)
Woo Hoo!
Oh, and she has red hair!! Imagine. Two redheads out of four kids.
Keith, for the SIX of us. (THAT sounds strange.)
Woo Hoo!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
1 & 2 - Elise took some "Christmas" pictures for us.
3 - The boys in their "Christmas Duds". Isn't Josiah's vest cute?!? Rachel got it for him at her Special High Class Place for Good Deals! And isn't it cool that the boys' bubble gum matches Caleb's shirt?
4 - The Magic Apple Machine that inspired Keith to do a bunch of work for me. (Available at Lee Valley. Think I could get a commission?)
5 - My new pendant. Ain't it purty??
6 & 7 - The bedroom carpet - before and after. Now I want to figure out a way to make the blue chair turn red. And there will be baseboard before the winter is over - I hope.
8 - Caleb's black eye. It got just a little worse, but didn't last too long.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Josiah is Two!!
Where has the time gone?? Josiah is Mr. Talkative these days. He's venturing into 3 - 5 word sentences which never ceases to amaze me when I hear it. I can't remember for sure, but I think he's our best talker so far. He's really a barrel of fun these days. He understands and communicates so much and he's been really happy most of the time. He can be a real tease/show-off. I'm not always sure when we're supposed to laugh. I can hear my Mom's words so clearly regarding my little brother, "Don't laugh at him when he shows off!". But many times he's truly funny and not being naughty.
I still haven't adjusted to the reality of having a birthday to celebrate on New Year's Eve. But we managed. It's a good thing I simplified the cake, though!! (See previous "I'm Free" post). We ended up having a pizza supper with the grandparents, Jeff and Wendy's kids (Jeff's were off celebrating their anniversary) and Derek, Elise, and Scotty.
Josiah was quite impressed with the Happy Birthday song as you can see in the second picture. It was a fun evening. And after the kids were in bed, Keith and I watched "The Nativity Story" and went to bed around 12:30.
Friday, January 04, 2008
38 Weeks - And What That Means For Me
* I'm officially as big as a barn. The Dr. said today that I'm measuring 41 cm and she keeps muttering ominously about "big baby". Oh yay!
* One day I'll feel great physically and emotionally and have lots of energy, and then the next day I'm tired, uncomfortable and grumpy. I never know what's coming! My poor family!
* Sleep is a Precious Commodity!!!! I'm thankful that I can get comfortable, but the challenge is I can't breathe well. I don't know if I'm still fighting a bit of cold or if it's all just pregnancy related congestion. Either way, it's annoying. But, I'm finding some ways to cope.
* On a similar note, I spend a lot of time in bed! I'm trying to get all the rest I can right now.
* Night-time "rest" involves 2 - 4 trips to the bathroom.
* My feet and legs are swelling, but my hands are pretty good. I'm still wearing my ring and that's never happened before!
* I get to spend lots of time in the Dr. office. It took two hours today. :-(
* I'm in full-blown nesting mode. Any extra time/energy is going into cleaning, organizing, getting baby stuff ready, crossing things off my to-do list, etc.
* I'm ready for this to be over!!! And really excited about the new baby we're waiting for!
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!!
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