10 Years Together

I did say I’d tell you more about our anniversary, so here goes. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married 10 years. That’s ¼ of my life! Keith asked me awhile ago what I wanted to do for our anniversary. Well, since we still had a nursing baby, I knew it wouldn’t be anything big or far away. But I told Keith that in about a year and a half when Hannah’s old enough to leave for a bit, I want to go on a nice little trip to somewhere fun – like maybe New England in the Fall. Oooo, that sounds really nice!

So, for now, we stayed close to home. On our anniversary I made a special supper. I was planning for it to be really nice and then in the afternoon, I realized that Caleb’s cast was really moving – or rather, his arm was bending a lot – so I had to quickly take him in for a new cast. I thought that might trash my plans for a nice supper, but we managed. (Keith helped). At least we ate on china and had chocolate cake!

The next day, we had a really nice treat. My Dad gave us a coupon he had for one night at the executive suite at a local motel. (Dad had worked there last year.) The room was recently remodeled and was really nice. Glenda came about 2:30 to stay with the boys (Hannah went with us), and then Dad and Dru came a little while later and stayed overnight with them.




We checked in by about 3:00. I felt like I was in the city (until I looked outside!) . We napped, watched TV, went out for supper, sat in the hot tub, watched a really fun movie (National Treasure), played a game of Settlers, ate… You get the picture.

The only drawback was that it was on a Sat. night, so we couldn’t really sleep in. We had to get moving in order to make it to church on time, but it was still really nice and relaxing. A really nice little break from “normal” life!

Oh, and we got each other gifts. This is what I got:

This is what Keith got:

I’m not so swift in the gift-giving department lately! But, it is a pretty funny shirt.

Anyway, I’m thankful for my dear husband, and all the good memories of the last 10 years. It was good to celebrate together!

A Good Weekend, A Plan For This Week

It was a busy, but good weekend.  Friday was officially our last day of school.  In reality, we're going to continue a few things through the summer, but it will be some of the "fun" stuff and Logan's language arts.  (Maybe he'll learn to read this summer!)   I thought we should have some kind of celebration - so we went out to Subway for supper.  Yay!  I didn't have to cook!  :-)   Afterward, I went to the church to look through some garage-sale stuff from our school that closed.  I got a microscope for the kids and the boys had a blast looking at stuff in it that night and Saturday.  

Saturday morning I zipped over to the church where they were having our annual garage and bake-sale and bought some fresh donuts.  Oh my goodness, were they ever good!  After bringing the donuts home, I went back to the church to help clean up, etc.  After that I did a few errands and hit another garage sale (all by myself!).  I found a few really cute things for Hannah.  It's so fun to buy girl clothes!

The rest of the day was busy with odd jobs, going shopping with Caleb and Logan for Father's Day presents, making pizza for supper, and making food for today.  Dad and Dru stopped in for a bit to get Dad's Father's Day can of mixed nuts.  I was Bone Weary when we went to bed!

Today in church Keith led a special time of blessing and prayer for all the fathers there.  He had them all go to the front to be prayed for and it was really touching.   Josiah and Anne Jisca came today to have baby Korban dedicated.  Then they and Derek and Scotty (Elise was gone for the week, coming back tonight) came over for lunch.  We had our traditional Father's Day strawberry pie and it was delicious!  (Dog gone it, I over-ate!)  :-(

In the evening we had our Father's Day ball-game and potluck.  Unfortunately it was cold and rained part of the time.  Anne Jisca and I got there just as it was starting to rain, so we just went to the church.  I think the die-hards who played ball had a good time, and the food and fellowship was good.

So, that was the weekend.  Now I'm looking ahead to this week.  I was talking with Iris last week about the vacation they just had and I realized again that I'm a workaholic and hardly know how to relax.  Sigh.  But part of me just longs for some rest.  We've been so busy for so long! Iris challenged me to take a few days at home and just have a "vacation".  So, that is on my agenda for this week.  Here's my plan:

* We're not doing any school this week at all - unless we feel like doing some reading.

* Tomorrow I'm going to work hard at a few projects that seem rather pressing:
     - Wash windows and put up the rest of the screens.
     - Wash and dry the laundry - folding is optional.
     - Fertilize the trees that we planted last year.
     - "Round-up" some weeds in the driveway, and grass around the trees if it isn't raining.
     - Start catching up the budget, check-book, etc.

* For the rest of the week, I'll work on the budget for 20 minutes/day.  (I'm really behind.)

* Here's the hard one:  Tuesday and Wednesday are Vacation Days, with only the minimum amount of cooking and housework allowed.  We're going to play games, visit people, go to the park and hopefully have some friends over for lunch.  I'm going to read(!!!) and maybe even crotchet!  Oh, and take naps!  And blog.  Now that I think about it, maybe we'll need Thursday for vacation too!  I grabbed "The Atonement Child" and "Unspoken" by Francine Rivers from the church library tonight.  :-)  So, that's what I'm up to!  Hopefully you'll hear from me in a day or two.

My Sister, My Friend

There’s a picture frame sitting on my desk that says, “You have always been my sister, but you’ve been an even greater friend.” There’s a picture in it of Rachel and me in the Canadian Rockies. The frame is actually broken, but I won’t throw it away because it was from Rachel and it expresses my heart so well. I’ve been so blessed to have a wonderful sister, a true kindred spirit.

We’ve gone through many stages in life. When she was born and I was 10, she was a novelty – a novelty who threw up all the time. :-) I think I was scared to hold her because of it. I remember when she was around two, or even younger, I decided it would be fun to have her sleep with me (it turned out to not be all fun, since she wasn't completely potty-trained!) About 6 years later, I was ready to do anything to have my own room! At that time it meant moving upstairs to an unfinished bedroom with orange tarps and pink insulation for walls. Anything to have my own space away from that little sister!

But the older Rachel got, the more we connected and became best friends. I remember when she was so excited to wear my cast-off clothing – even when it was still too big for her. Then came the time when I accepted her old clothes. And now I get her to shop for me and get her opinions on clothes because she’s way more hip than me!

Here are some pictures in honor of my dear sis, and her "big" birthday today.

Three years old. Isn't she cute??

I think she's five on this picture.
When she was about twelve, we spent Christmas at the Holiday Inn in Goshen with some family. I told Rachel I'd give her five dollars if she jumped in the pool with her clothes on. Of course, she did it!
Thirteen years old!! With her friends, and Murphy, the dog.

Rachel came to see me when I was in Russia. It was so much fun to show her where I was and what I was doing!!

Of course, when I got married, she was my Maid of Honor. Made her so nervous she almost tossed her cookies! :-)

Rachel has always been a very good Auntie and my kids love her! This is her with Caleb.
Did I mention her brains? Here she is, making us all proud as the first one in the family to earn a bachelor's degree - and with "something cum laude". (Sorry, Rachel, I can't remember exactly which one.) Anyway, she did really well and I'm so proud of her.

And now, there's Dave. I have to share her with him now, but I'm so happy that she has someone to share her life with!

I admire many things about you, Rachel: your quirky sense of humor, your ability to write, your passion for justice, your brains, your love for kids (mine especially!), your creativity, to name a few! You are one of my favorite people in the world to be with! You can make me laugh like crazy.

There are so many memories, good ones and hard times, and it’s so good to know that a sister is forever. Rachel, you are my very dear, sweet friend and I love you very much!

Happy 30th Birthday!!!

Remember Me?

I hardly know where to start. If only all the posts I've had in my head for the last few months, could have just written themselves... Anyway, I really need to feed the baby and go to bed, but here are some pictures to tide you over until I can write more. That is, if anyone is still reading this blog! If you are, can you leave me a comment to encourage me to post more? :-)



Iris and four of her kids spent a few days here a couple weeks ago. We had a wonderful, relaxing time. Wendy and her kids came for lunch one day. So that made, let's see, um, 12 kids - plus a neighbor. :-) Fun times!
All of the little munchkins except the babies.
I decided the other day that I have three favorite days of the year: Christmas Eve, Easter, and Going To The Greenhouse. Glenda went with me and it was so much fun to buy flowers and dream of summer. They're actually all planted now, and that was fun too!!

Olivia and Evan enjoying Hannah.

My sleepy-head with his morning watermelon.

Ready to get the cast off! (He wasn't so happy when they yanked the pins out. Several days later I still wanted to punch the Dr. in the nose!)

Logan, the drama king!

Yes, it's been ten years!! More details on that celebration later...

Now What Do I Do With Myself?

Here's an unexpected twist in my life:  Our dear friend Kendra is heading south today on business and offered to take Caleb along with her to see my brother Sheldon and his family.  Caleb was going to stay with them when I went to Indiana but didn't because of having surgery on his arm two days before I went.  So Kendra thought he might like to go along and play with his cousin Emily for a day.  Good idea, but we thought maybe Logan should go too, since he sometimes gets left behind too much.  Kendra and Darla said sure, so today at 1:00 we sent our big boys down the road.  How strange!  I said, "At least it's not for a week of camp yet!"  So now, my other two "littles" are sleeping and I need to decide how to use my free time!  (It's amazing how only having a toddler and a baby feels like a major vacation!!)

Should I:

- Spend an hour Putting Things Away (the toys are a mess and the horizontal surfaces need some serious help!)?

- Blog and post pictures about our trip to Indiana?

- Spend some blissful hours in the sunshine, digging in my flowerbeds getting them ready to plant?

- Fold a mountain of laundry?

- Pay bills and update the budget?

- Finish writing a letter I started last night?

- Re-arrange and organize Hannah's room (it's a total disaster and still has extra furniture in it from when we had a guest a month and a half ago)?

- Bake bread?

-Take a nap?

- Read a "Birds and Blooms" that I got at the library this morning?

-Get organized for my cooking day on Thursday?


So many options.  I guess I should quit rambling and go get busy.  I think a 15 minute Nap followed by Putting Things Away, and then Digging In The Dirt are the first things on my list.  Hopefully Blogging will make it on my list for tomorrow!  I'm pretty sure the laundry and bills are on the bottom of the list.  :-)  I'm outa here!

Just a Few Lines...

Hi everyone!  I really should be heading for bed, but...  Keith is working a night shift, so it's really easy to stay up too late.  I just want to say that the big trip happened and we all survived.  Hannah did pretty well and actually did great on the long trip home on Tuesday.  I didn't wean her yet - that's a longer story that I don't have time to write now.  She's nursing weird again like she did when she had an ear infection.  I took her to the Dr. yesterday and she couldn't see her one ear drum because of wax.  So now I'm trying to get rid of the wax.  Oh, and Josiah has pink-eye.  Now Hannah's asking for her late-night feeding, so I must run.  More news and pictures soon, I hope.

Caleb's Song

Here it is, finally. The title is "A Happy Song".

Rolling With The Punches

I guess we all know it in our heads at least that life often throws us unexpected curve-balls. But they still take us by surprise, somehow. Right? Well, here's our latest curve-ball. Caleb tripped and fell on Friday - and broke his arm. Yup, you read that right. He landed on his hand or arm and bent it back. It's a smallish break in the growth plate. Actually, the growth plate is separated from the bone a bit. (Oops, I hope this doesn't make Heather faint or throw up!) It's not as bad a break as the one he did to his other arm 4 years ago - but it still needed pins put in so that it for sure heals right. So... Yesterday afternoon Keith and Logan (oops, I mean Caleb!) headed for Thunder Bay. They admitted him right away when they got there and said the surgery would be this morning. Then this morning they said it would be this afternoon. So, he went in around 6:30. :-) I talked to Keith after and he said Caleb was in quite a bit of pain afterwards but they were going to discharge him as soon as he could eat some solids successfully. They will stay overnight with some friends and head home tomorrow.



I didn't think to take a picture of Caleb before they left, but here's a little bit of cuteness from when he did the same thing to his other arm 4 years ago.

So, of course in all of this craziness, Logan had two birthday parties to go to on Sat., I'm trying to get ready to go on a big trip, I'm getting a cold, and we had a potluck and talent show after church today. It's been sorta stressful, to say the least. But God is still good and He faithfully shows His love to me in little ways!

Then, the second big curve-ball this week - nursing (again!). Hannah's been doing really well since she's on the antibiotics and her ear isn't bothering her. And then, a few days after she started the medication and things were going well, I started noticing that my milk supply is quite low. What!?! I haven't had much problem with that for quite awhile. Hannah just started consistently sleeping through the night, so I thought maybe that was the problem. So, I've been getting up at about 5:30 to feed her. Ugh. But it's not really helping. So today I started taking a medication that has a side-effect of increased milk production. I took it for awhile when I was nursing Josiah. Unfortunately, it also has a side-effect of head-aches for me. I thought I could just tough that out and make it through the trip. After having a head-ache most of the afternoon, I'm not so sure. So, now I'm leaving on this trip in 36 hours. I guess I might be weaning her when I'm at Rachel's. That really wasn't what I wanted, but I'm sure God still knows what He's doing!!

In other un-related news:

- Logan can ride bike without training wheels. He's SO happy about that!

- after our big snowstorm almost two weeks ago, the snow is finally gone today - I think. But it’s still pretty chilly.

- I saw a mosquito the other night.

- I hung the laundry out on the line for the first time on Tuesday. That was fun!

- As of May 5, you can only take one 50 lb. suitcase on the airplane! Just one for me and Hannah! Yikes. But, I get to have a diaper bag in addition to my regular carry-on, since I have a baby. It’s gonna be a big diaper bag!

- I can't think of anything else and I MUST go to bed! Good-night.

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!!