Can You Relate?

We get a joke every day from Good Clean Funnies.   I just had to pass this one on to you!  I hope it brightens your day!  :-)

We had this great 10-year-old cat named Jack who just recently died.

Jack was a great cat, and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on the mat in our bathroom.

We have three kids, and at the time of this story, they were 4 years old, 3 years old, and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loved Chapstick. LOVED it. He kept asking to use my Chapstick and then would lose it. Finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my Chapstick and explained he could use it whenever he wanted to, but he needed to put it right back in the drawer after he finished.

That year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys were fighting over the toy in
the cereal box. I was trying to nurse my little one at the same time I was putting on my make-up. Everything was a mess, and everyone had long forgotten that this was a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood.

We finally had the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I was looking for Eli. I searched everywhere and I finally went into the bathroom. There was Eli. He was applying my Chapstick very carefully to Jack's ... rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said, "Chapped." Now if
you have a cat, you know that he is right -- their little bottoms do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. The only question to ask at that point was whether it was the FIRST time Eli had done that to the cat's behind or the hundredth!?!

And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your Chapstick on the cat's butt.

Received from Pastor Tim.

Popping My Buttons

Caleb and Logan were in Music For Young Children again this year.  A part of the program is that every child writes a piano composition that is then entered in a competition with all MYC students around the world.  Sunday night we had our end-of-year recital.  Of course, I was about as nervous as the boys when they got up to play, but they did very well.  And then, big surprise!  Pastor Brian announced that there were two finalists in the composition festival - one in Mrs. Diane's class and one in his.  Then he announced "Caleb Graber!".   What a shock!  I just about bawled.  He explained after that he was a finalist in Ontario for his class (Sunbeams II in case you're familiar with the program).  So, we were pretty excited and honored.  Today I got a call from our little local newspaper that they want a picture of Caleb and the other little girl to put in the paper.  Cool!  I had Caleb practice the song again so I could tape him playing it.  I was just going to post the video, but I'm having no success.  When I click the "add video" button, it does nothing...  huh.  Anyway, I just had to share our little story.

I'm So Glad She's Sick!!!

As many of you know, nursing my babies has been a struggle more often than not.  Things have been up and down with Hannah, but we were doing okay.  Well, for about two weeks now, she has been nursing terribly.  She got to the point where she would only nurse if I put her to sleep or almost to sleep first.  Or stood to nurse her (not terribly comfortable at her size!), or sometimes both.  It was getting really bad.  I cried, I prayed, I trusted God, I cried, I prayed, I stressed...

Last week at our small group, my friend who's a nurse suggested I take her to the Dr. to see if she has an ear infection.  I thought that was a pretty long shot since she had no other symptoms.  But, if this kept up, I was going to have to wean her, and I thought I might as well get her checked before I did that.  I didn't have time to take her in right away,  so on Friday I put olive oil in her ears - my standard treatment for earaches.  She nursed like a trooper that day and I was so excited.  But the next day she was back to her weird ways, but not quite as severely as before.  So, yesterday morning I braved the walk-in clinic and took her in.

Guess what!?!  She has an ear infection!  I was floored.  And so thankful!  There's actually something wrong that we can do something about!!  So, for the first time in my life, I'm putting my child on antibiotics for an ear infection.  She's already doing some better.  Thank you, Jesus!!!  I talked to a friend today who said to put onion juice in her ears.  Huh!  I might try that to for good measure.  

Just had to share my happiness with you all!  

Revenge

You wanna see what scissors can do to hair, I'll show you what scissors can do to hair!! Josiah really, really needed a haircut, so I finally did it tonight. And it was another reminder of one reason why I procrastinate on haircuts - it's a pain in the neck! :-) I think Josiah (like Caleb) looks better with longer hair, but at this stage in life, I'm gonna cut it short so I can do it as seldom as possible!

The back of my head isn't worthy of a photo, Sheldon - you can hardly see the damage. But here's the lock he whacked off. I'm trying to decide if I should throw it away, or keep it for my scrapbook. :-)

Hazards of Toddlerhood

Oh. My. Word.

I'm sitting at the computer reading a very interesting blog.  My two-year-old angel is standing on the chair behind me and of course I'm engrossed in my reading...  Suddenly I hear "crunch" and realize Little Mr. has just Chopped! My! Hair! with a big pair of scissors!!  This is a rough re-stating of the ensuing converstation.

Me:  Josiah!!!!!!!!!!  No!  No!  Oh my word!!  You cut my hair!

Josiah:  Fowwy (sorry) Mom.  Fowwy!  (Puts his arms around me and kisses the back of my head to make it better.

Me:  Oh my word!  Oh my...

Josiah:  Goodness!

Me:  (trying not to let him see me laughing and pulling a big wad of hair from the back of my head).  Oh. My. Word.  That's no no, Josiah.

Josiah:  Daddy fix it!

So, I haven't even left my chair yet to go survey the damage.  I don't know yet if I'm looking at a new hairstyle or creative hair-dos for the next 6 months.  I'll give you an update soon.

Edited to add:  I checked the damage and it's not too bad.  He took out a little chunk about 6 inches long.  I think someone could blend it in so it's not really noticeable (any volunteers for the hairdressing job?)

Sigh!

And it's still coming down!!  Big, sad sigh!  I'm gonna go make pancakes!! (Drown my sorrows in syrup!)
And I have no idea why this thing is underlining.

I'm Gonna Blog Tonight Even If It Kills Me!

I hope it doesn't though. Well, the silence is finally over and I hope it doesn't take me that long to blog again! Life really has been insane in some ways, but I know that's probably true for most of us. Anyway, I'm now officially ignoring the laundry, dirty entry-way, the large stack of papers to go through, various messy corners, and numerous desk/computer tasks.

Keith is working his second night shift in a row at the ambulance. So there's no one here to tell me to go to bed. But I'll try not to stay up too late!

Where in the world do I start?? I really wanted to write about Easter, but that was so long ago, it seems really stale now. I'll just say that I really love to celebrate Easter. My favorite things this Easter were the two joint-church services we had: Good Friday at the Pentecostal Church and Sunday Evening Music Celebration at our church. It's just so good to worship together and celebrate what Jesus has done for us. What an awesome Saviour we have! Our church was decorated on Easter with candelabras and Easter lilies. Someone said to me, "It looks really nice. Are we having a wedding today?" I replied, "Yes!" Then later I thought, "No, not a wedding, but a rehearsal!" Isn't that what our gatherings are? Practicing for the marriage feast of the Lamb? Makes me excited about Heaven!!

Keith and I have just come through an especially busy time. I guess that's why it's been so long since I've posted. Two weeks after Easter (if my memory is working, which it might not be...) we had a 5-day seminar at our church. Merv Tuplin was the speaker and the theme was "Biblical Solutions for Damaged Hearts". He's a counsellor that does the type of counselling that is done by John Regier. So, he did a bunch of teaching in the evenings and then he and two other counsellors that came for the week had counselling sessions with people during the day-time. It was and incredibly intense week but so good. God answered our prayers in many ways. As the week went on, I realized I had so many fears and worries about the week: "no one will come", "there won't be enough for the counsellors to do", "the week will be a bust", etc., etc. I'm seeing how I was so bound by the lie that we can't accomplish anything good. Well, I guess that's true in a way, because only God can really make things happen. But He does choose to use us to make the phone calls and write the emails, etc. So, when the first night came and there were about 75 people there, I was floored. I didn't expect nearly that many! There were a lot of people from other churches as well, and that was good to see too. It was a really good week and I know lots of people were blessed and impacted.

On the Sat. after the seminar, Merv did a one-day training seminar for counselling training. That day one of the ladies was telling me about the deep healing God did for her in the counselling sessions. I listened with tears in my eyes and realized it was worth all the work, effort, and tiredness. Our deep desire is to see people (ourselves included) be free from the pain and sins that tie us down and be free to give and receive love - both with God and other people. We want to be free to be the people that God intended us to be when He created us! It's been so wonderful to hear of people making big and little steps in that direction. Thank you, Jesus!!

The weekend after the seminar (this past weekend) we took off and headed to Landmark, MB for a weekend conference at the Landmark Christian Fellowship. It was a wonderful time of teaching, worship, meeting new people, hanging out with some old friends, eating, etc. We were privileged to hear Wayne Shenk from BC speak three times. God is using him in amazing ways. It was very challenging and refreshing!

Now, I'm trying to get back on my feet and get this house and myself in order a little bit. Today I finally started thinking through our daily routines again. We've been sorta short on routine around here since Hannah was born. Now it's time to change that at least a little bit. And, in less than a month, Hannah and I and our friend Rita N. are making a trip down to IN to help my little sister plan her wedding. What fun! We got a good deal on plane tickets so we don't have to drive the whole way down there. Yay!! Life doesn't seem likely to slow down much for a good while!

Okay, it's getting really late and I need to hit the sack! Part of my new resolve to have better routines is to get up earlier! So, I'm off to feed Hannah again, and then to bed, and I'll try to write more before too long.

Winter Fun

We had some wonderful, wet snow (if you can call snow in March wonderful) a few weeks ago and Keith and the boys had fun playing in it.

Hannah, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it so much! Poor girl!

Caleb Is 8! (How in the world did that happen?)

For Caleb's birthday this year, we had the Miller family (who have five boys!), and another friend of Caleb's over for supper. Pizza, cocolate cake, ice cream, and Legos. What more could nine boys ask for? :-)


We found this race-track cake on the internet. It was awhile before it dawned on me that it was a number 8 as well. Duh!

Pizza!!

A stack of boys. We were just missing the littlest one for the picture.

And, of course, Legos!

Cooking Marathon!

I finally took the plunge and asked my friend, Debbie, to help me do a cooking day again. I think it went pretty well, considering the little ones we had with us. This was about three weeks ago, I think, but I thought I'd still post the pictures. Man, I love having food in the freezer!!!




Debbie wore Caleb's swim goggles to keep the onion fumes out of her eyes. It worked! :-)

Debbie had a foster baby at the time, so we had two babies to take care of! They did really well.

Caleb was home this time and proved to be a good helper. He peeled carrots, put veggies through the food processor, ran lots of errands, etc.

The mess we were faced with at the end of the day. But it was worth it!!

More Randomness - This Time Pictures

Keith has been ski-ing home from work some days, and this is the view he gets!

"The girls" on Easter Sunday.

Keith was telling the kids a story as part of his sermon. He almost always does that when he preaches.

Our "Easter Saturday" breakfast: coffee cake, hard-boiled eggs, and hot chocolate.

Plinking away at the ivories. This is a rather rare moment, since it's usually not too peaceful when Josiah tries to join in the fun at the piano.

I've started taking Josiah's clothes off when he plays with play-do since he tends to get it ground into his clothes. It works great!

Caleb in his little corner in the dining room - and having a barrel of fun! :-)

Caleb and Hannah, just being themselves! See the new tile!

Two months old (and pretty happy about that, apparently)!

I just had to post this and ask those of you who knew me when I was two, or have seen pictures of me - doesn't Josiah look like me in this picture?

"I love my Daddy!!"

Random Bullet Points!

* Josiah is now sleeping with the big boys in their room! It’s been a bit of a challenge but he’s doing pretty well now.

* Hannah is very free and generous with her smiles!! And she has an adorable dimple.

* The boys have been diagnosed with “molluscum contageosum”. (Not sure how to spell it.) For a long time they’ve had randomly appearing and disappearing little spots on their faces, and bodies. When one of Logan’s got infected I finally took him and Josiah to see the nurse practitioner. She said it’s a very common pox virus that comes and goes and is nothing to worry about. It’s contagious and very common in children. That’s one I hadn’t heard of before!

* Hannah’s evening and night-time schedule is still pretty erratic. A few times she’s slept until 6:00. Other times she still wakes up anywhere from 1:30 to 4:00. Oh well!

* The other day, Logan informed us that his favorite color is “bright brown”. Upon further questioning, he changed it to dark brown.

* I’ve been feeling fairly overwhelmed lately with housework in general and laundry in particular. It seems like we barely get one “batch” folded before it’s time to start washing more!

* I think one reason I’m feeling overwhelmed is because I’m almost out of freezer meals, and I’m having to cook meals most of the time. So, I’m planning another marathon cooking day on Monday. I’m not really looking forward to it, but I’m looking forward to the results!!

* Hannah is apparently sensitive to dairy and possibly a few other things. When I eat dairy, she doesn’t nurse well the next day – gassy, etc.

* You could all write your names in the dust on my piano.

* Caleb told me yesterday that he prays every night for a soft heart and a compassionate heart. That blessed my heart so much. It’s a confirmation that God does hear my prayers!

* Yesterday Josiah ate three bowls of cereal, two slices of orange, and a piece of toast for breakfast. In retrospect, I don’t think he ate much supper the night before. Oh, and the other day for lunch he had two bowls of peas, about 6 perogies, and ½ of a hard-boiled egg. Then he wanted a piece of bread but I wouldn’t give him one because he wouldn’t finish the egg. And many times he eats almost nothing! What a kid!

* Last night at small group, Hannah screamed if anyone but me held her (including Keith)! She often has fussy evenings.

* I spent lots of the day Saturday sewing a new blouse for myself so I’d have something nice to wear for Easter.

* When you don’t sew much anymore, sewing even a very simple blouse can be fraught with much frustration and many mistakes!!

* Caleb and Logan have been blowing out the knees of their jeans left and right! Never mind abs of steel! Someone find me some jeans of steel!

* Last night on the way home from our small group, we stopped to look at some great northern lights. When Logan got back in the van, I asked him what he thought of them. He replied that they were “cute” and then added “cool”. I wonder what the Creator of the northern lights thought of that? :-)

* I want to write something about Easter weekend, but I think it deserves it’s own post. I’m not sure when or how, but I’ll try to do that soon.

* That's all for now!

Please Don't Insult My Intelligence!

The following was found on a cereal box at our house:

Directions for use

Place 55 g (300 ml, 1 1/4 cup) of VECTOR* in a bowl.  Add 200 ml (3/4 cup) skim milk.

Then what??  They didn't tell me to get a spoon and eat it, so how am I supposed to know that??  Needless to say, my "ducks-in-a-row" eldest son had to get out the measuring cups this morning and try it!

Meal-time Solutions For A Harried Mom

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.

Something to Make You Smile

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!"

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!

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!