Hello Out There

thoughts on a drizzly day

2011-11-28T13:29:00.004-05:00

This rainy, gloomy Monday isn't gonna get me down. Today is a good day to finish finishing the laundry, etc....

We have lots to be thankful for here at the Fitz farm, including the tuff stuff that teaches us to "get right" and softens the hard spots in our hearts.

I still need SO MUCH WORK!

Father of Heaven, don't give up on me, I beg!

P. B. & J Granola Recipe

2011-11-09T15:30:00.004-05:00

My friend made some of this granola at sukkot this year. It is so good! Her recipe is slightly altered here because I didn't have a couple of the things it called for (ie. wheat germ, peanuts, or pecans) so instead I upped the amount of oats a wee bit. It turned out great anyway!

You'll need:

4 c. oats (I used 2 cups steel cut and 2 cups old fashioned)
1 and 1/4 t. salt
1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. honey
1 c. peanut butter
1 and 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. extra light, extra virgin olive oil (I used coconut oil- did not have extra light EVOO)
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. dried cranberries (or just put in extra raisins)
*Optional* chopped or whole peanuts and/or pecans

In a large bowl combine oats, cinnamon, ginger, and salt (and optional nuts). Mix well.

In a sauce pan mix honey and sugar over med-high heat until bubbly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla.

Pour peanut butter mixture over oat mixture and mix well. Pour oil over all and coat well.

Spread evenly on cookie sheet and bake at 300 for 30 minutes- stirring well every 10 minutes.

Cool and return to large bowl. Mix in raisins and cranberries. Store in air tight container.

*The original recipe called for baking at 325 for 35 to 40 mins. (stirring every 15 mins.), but this caused my first batch to be overly done. It depends on your oven. In my case, reducing the heat and bake time resulted in toasted and crunchy, yet not burnt tasting granola.

I think it would be very tasty with the nuts. Maybe next batch I'll throw some in.

On a High

2011-10-04T13:50:00.002-04:00

Okay, it could be from the cleaning supply fumes, but this girl is so high- floating on a cloud today! ALL of the laundry is done and our problem areas are clean and purged. More purging is in progress and I am feeling ready for the remaining fall feast days; Yom haKippurim and SUKKOT! It's the most wonderful time of the year, y'all!!!

My boys

2011-10-03T12:26:00.004-04:00

Oh, how they love each other!

Clinging to Bubba

Chillin on a lovely Shabbat afternoonGood morning!
the brother he always wanted

May they love each other this way for all of their lives.

Psalm 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!

Yom Teruah! Leviticus 23:24-25

2011-09-28T19:17:00.004-04:00

Warming up dad's shofar for the Feast of Trumpets or Yom Teruah 2011.

Micah's turn

Sunny's turn

"Give it to me, Sissy. I'm GOOD!"......
Eliana's turn
(Wow! She IS good!!! :-D)

The Story of The Perfect Baby Bib (if I do say so myself)

2011-09-14T13:07:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time a young mother was browsing at her favorite local thrift store when she found the perfect baby bib. But, alas, as the years went by, the baby bib became worn out from overuse and was cast into the trash. Lamenting her foolishness for not making a pattern from the perfect baby bib before tossing it out, she began searching in all the land to see if such a pattern existed. Many years passed and the sought after pattern eluded the now, not-so-young mother. And then, one day, there it was! A free tutorial for the "Bapron" (also known as the perfect baby bib) flashed upon her computer screen, ending her search and filling her heart with glee.

The End

http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/2011/05/bapron-tutorial.html

But wait! There's more...
While mind planning this sewing project I had a genius moment: Why not make the bib adjustable (not to mention easier to sew), by making a casing at the shoulder for the ties to slide into? And furthermore, why not line it with the same fabric (or some cute coordinating fabric), making it reversible, thereby eliminating the worry of stains ruining your masterpiece!! HA! By jingo, I think I've got it- the PERFECT baby bib!!

Ta-Da!! This was my prototype made with *blushing, hanging head, and mumbling* store bought bias tape. Future bibs will be made with totally adorable and custom made bias tape. Hopefully.

*in Barry White voice* Awwwww, yeahhhh. Reversible in case of staining. Perfect.

Ties slide into casing, making the "pbb" fully adjustible for any size baby or toddler (or preschooler)

Making Stuff

2011-08-28T22:32:00.012-04:00

Ever since I can remember creativity has been in me. The best thing, when I was a little kid, was a blank sheet of paper on which to draw and a pen. The back of junk mail, bank envelopes, the inside cover of coloring books, and even the inside of gum wrappers were my canvases. Art was my favorite class in school, by far. All my life I have loved to draw and make stuff.

But for the last couple of years that creativity has been all bottled up. Being a mom has kept me very busy and even overwhelmed at times. The best I have been able to manage is an occasional, little sewing project here and there.

Apparently all that craftiness and creativity could be contained no more and has bubbled over, because I have been making stuff and working on projects left and right lately. It is good to be back at it and making things again.

If you have a creative bone in your body, an itch to make something, paint something, sew something, draw something....Do it! Make time to create.

Here is a small sampling:

Favorite sewing project- my new cute apron

Painted for my girl's room at a painting class I took with my friend. What fun!

Eliana's Weather Window

3 in a Row

2011-08-25T15:02:00.009-04:00

Our week started off so gloriously! Three happy, wonderful school days in a row is kinda rare and we had pulled it off. Not that most of our school days are horrible, but there is a good amount of chaos with all that needs to happen in a day, plus a busy 3 year old and a clingy 9 month old. Most days I am on constant chaos/task master partol. But this week we had managed 3 lovely, wonderful, low-stress, productive days of enjoyable learning in a row! Rare. And, like I said before, glorious.

As for day 4?.....let's just say our record stands at 3 in a row. ;-)

Scrap Skirts

2011-08-22T14:06:00.002-04:00

An idea has been forming in my mind for a couple of days, but no time to stop and really plan it out or actually make it happen. Finally, yesterday afternoon, I had some free time so I headed out to my fabric scraps and grabbed a stack to make these skirts. There were lots of scraps from other sewing projects piled up. Each piece was too much fabric to throw out, yet not quite enough to make anything out of. I started by making a simple, wedge-shaped pattern piece on wrapping paper. Then I cut out several wedges from any fabric scrap that was big enough, pinned them together, sewed them together, added a waist band and threaded ribbon through to make a drawstring waist, then hemmed the skirt with double fold bias tape. Each skirt took less than 2 hours. My first plan was to add patch pockets, but then the girls and I decided we liked the option of spinning the skirt so that any part of it could be the front. The bow (from the drawstring) can be worn in the front, back, or on either side. These are so cute and colorful and comfy and, perhaps best of all, just about ANY shirt will match!

Vacation

2011-06-23T20:34:00.003-04:00

You just don't even know how long and how much I had looked forward to this trip. We planned and saved for it for months, but dreamed and talked about it for the last 2 years. All of the tough stuff life has thrown at us lately just made our vacation that much more desperately longed for. So the day finally came to get on the road to the beach and our very special family vacation.

The ocean was beautiful. The campground was wonderful. The kids had a blast...all except for little Mr. Asher Daniel who decided that this vacation was a major cramp in his stay-at-home style and cried endlessly and refused to nap or sleep at night for more than a couple of hours. The amount of crying, fussing, screaming, and squealing we endured over those six days was traumatic. The lack of sleep was horrifying. Oh my!

There were wonderful moments and memories on this trip which I will enjoy thinking back on. However, I have probably never been so happy to get home and put that baby in his own crib where he badly wanted to be and where he slept for 12 hours straight.

100 Things

2011-06-05T23:03:00.008-04:00

A blogging friend challenged her readers to think of 100 things they love about their husbands and blog it. Pssshhht. You call that a challenge? It's on...

100 Things I Love About Scotty:

1. He is a fox, of course.

2. He loves funny movies.

3. He acts out scenes from his favorite movies or events to entertain us at family gatherings.

4. His ears are cute.

5. He is a freak of nature in a good way because he never smells! No bad breath (even in the morning), no stinky feet, no B.O.

6. He doesn't think I'm weird for sniffing him to see if he stinks.

7. He doesn't think I'm weird for any of the weird stuff I do.

8. His eyes are the most lovely, unusually beautiful color of light, ocean green or blue... depending on what he is wearing.

9. Everyone (almost) he meets likes him right away.

10. He is a people person.

11. He is not quick to judge.

12. I can depend on him when it really counts.

13. His feet are really nice looking when he trims his toenails.

14. He looks great in flip-flops.

15. He never, ever missed a single one of my ob appointment with all 4 of our pregnancies.

16. He will go shopping for clothes with me and doesn't seem to hate it too much.

17. He loves to give gifts, small and big.

18. His laid back-ness is a good balance to my overly anxious tendencies.

19. He has never hesitated to change a baby diaper- no matter the filling.

20. He fell in love with our first baby in a way that surprised me and made me fall in love with him even more.

21. He never complains even though, Lord knows, there would be plenty to complain about!

22. He shares whatever he has.

23. He gives money to bums.

24. Kids love him, although some fear his beard.

25. He's tall.

26. He writes poems...but only for me.

27. He doesn't mind cooking dinner when I don't feel like it.

28. He NEVER badgers me. Even though he probably should sometimes.

29. He kindly and lovingly will not let me get away with being mean/wrong/bratty, thus saving me from myself.

30. He puts us before himself. ie: He is the last one to get new shoes.

31. He couldn't care less about other people's opinion of him- good or bad.

32. He is amazingly self-confident without even a hint of conceit or vanity.

33. He usually laughs at the hilarious things I say.

34. Sometimes his eyes twinkle.

35. He was the cutest baby!

36. He lets me pick the paint colors.

37. He never gives up until the job is done.

38. He is the hardest worker I know.

39. He takes a sincere interest in our children's interests.

40. He encourages them to do their best.

41. He is all about giving the benefit of the doubt.

42. He will return things for me if I really, really want him to.

43. He always drives.

44. He buckles the baby in and out.

45. He wears the baby in the front carrier because he likes to.

46. He will carry a pink diaper bag without thinking twice about it.

47. He lets me sit in the office chair when we are looking on the computer together.

48. He like to do puzzles with me on the computer.

49. He likes to play games like Connect 4, Guess Who, and Uno with me after the kids go to bed.

50. He jumps on the trampoline with the kids and has even been seen jumping on it alone.

51. He tries to get me to jump on the trampoline with him.

52. He vacuums.

53. He will clean the tile in the shower as a surprise.

54. He will remove all the toys and rinse out the tub so I can take a bath.

55. He's athletic. (I had to put this for #55)

56. He handles the bills.

57. He once stopped by a thrift store and bought me a hospital grade breast pump for $15.00.

58. Every year for my birthday he takes me shopping at my favorite thrift stores , even though he does NOT like to go.

59. He always finds the best things while we are there, even though he does NOT like to go.

60. It was his idea to take each child on a trip for their 10th birthday- just them and dad.

61. He won't let you give up.

62. He is an emotional rock.

63. He is kind.

64. He has an easy swagger.

65. He has an internal GPS.

66. He lets me hold the remote. Usually.

67. He can be very tender hearted.

68. He is unusually unselfish.

69. He holds hands with me all the time.

70. He still likes toys and has no problem taking one away from a kid to try it out.

71. During a meal, he will gladly hold the fussy baby and eat with one hand so I don't have to.

72. He has never once complained about having to go to work even during periods of heavy over-time.

73. Breaking the stereotype about sick men being the biggest babies- he never, ever complains when he is sick.

74. He RARELY gets sick. This is one healthy man.

75. He loves to clean out the kid's ears.

76. He has never slept on the couch because he absolutely refuses to allow us to sleep apart.

77. He can type really fast.

78. There might not be a mean bone in his body.

79. He is stubborn in his convictions and won't back down from his beliefs.

80. He calls me and our daughters his girls.

81. He is strong, yet gentle.

82. Providing for his family is important to him.

83. His patience abounds.

84. He loves music.

85. He LOVES to sing- anywhere, anytime, all the time!

86. He is calm in a crisis and knows what to do.

87. He has beautiful skin.

88. He is trustworthy.

89. He trusts me.

90. He can break it down and always dances at weddings. If the wedding has dancing, that is.

91. He can and will fix almost anything around the house.

92. He watches over our elderly next door neighbor and helps her in any way he can.

93. He truly cares for the people he loves.

94. He has math skills.

95. He finds all the good bargains. This manly man once came home from Target with a bunch of clothing for our daughter that he carefully selected from the clearance rack in the little girl's department.

96. He is predictable, yet occasionally does things that really surprise me. (See numbers 20, 26, 57, and 95.)

97. His life is a good example for his sons.

98. He loves the truth, prays for us, and seeks his Creator.

99. He reads the Bible to us each week and teaches his children to know the One, true, living God.

100. Yeshua's love shines in him because he loves his Savior.

Bitter/Sweet

2011-05-17T23:22:00.003-04:00

Somewhere in the whirlwind of getting used to new things- a new baby, gymnastics twice a week, Scotty's work schedule- and moving through everyday life- school work, chores, childcare/rearing, nursing, NOT neglecting my marriage....something happened....my little tiny newborn baby somehow turned 6 months old. It happened a tiny bit at a time, day by day, as he napped and when I wasn't looking. And now he is half of a year old! Wow! As sad as it is that he's no longer a tiny infant, it is fun to watch him learn and thrive and be loved by his siblings and smile and play and discover his feet, his toys, his thumb, his voice... I just love those big cheeks and that happy smile. He is over 18 pounds of wonderful person.

Almost there!

2011-05-03T15:19:00.002-04:00

The school year is winding down....FINALLY! Only 8 more school days and we are out for the summer. Who is more excited? Probably me, although the kids are pretty dang happy about it too. We are so ready for a nice, long break.

Still Here

2011-04-26T14:52:00.001-04:00

Bloggidy Blog Blog....having blogger's block. Will return soon.

Spring has Sprung, Pollen is Fallin'

2011-03-24T11:40:00.004-04:00

The sun is shining on our freshly cut back yard as I look out the window on this lovely day. Spring must be here since the boys allergies are revving up and the summer clothes have come down from the attic. We've been flip-flopping around for over a week now and turning on the a/c at night. Spring is in the air.

Handy Little Cones

2011-02-09T12:37:00.012-05:00

These go over a baby boy's "spout" while you change his diaper, to protect you from getting sprayed. SO SO easy to make! Also, they didn't cost me a dime since I used fabric scraps and a washcloth. Here is the tutorail: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2009/08/wee-wee-wigwam.html (I cut up a washcloth to line mine because it seems like it would be more absorbent than fleece.)

When my baby wakes up from his nap I will ask him if he minds modeling one of his cones for my blog...

He agreed ;-)

Unwanted Facial Hair?

2011-02-07T14:16:00.006-05:00

Ever since my youngest daughter was two years old she would mention my "mush-tash" from time to time. It was funny, but also kinda hard to hear. I mean, I know I have some peach fuzz on my top lip, but if a baby is noticing and calling it a mustache then maybe I need to look into a waxing procedure.

Today she drew a picture of me. I pointed to a circle at the bottom of my face and asked what it was. She told me it was my mush-tash. :-( Great. Now I'm thinking she means beard and I must not be noticing the apparently large quantity of unwanted facial hair I must be sporting. Kids notice everything, so I'm feeling really insecure for a second....
then, come to find out- "mush-tash" is what she calls a CHIN! Just a smooth, flesh chin.

Whew! What a relief.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-02-03T18:23:00.003-05:00

Change is usually scary to me. I don't like it- no, I don't! But lots of changes have happened lately in our lives and still more yet to come. So far I'm coping pretty well and have learned something: life is change after change. Better get used to it, Self.

Roots

2011-01-31T12:52:00.011-05:00

The best times of my life, growing up, were spent in a small town in west Tennessee. My great grandparents farmed there and my grandparents owned (and still own) the town barber shop. A WWII airbase was the scene of my best childhood adventures and the address of my kin folk. Both great and grandparents lived on that airbase only about a quarter mile apart. No other houses were there and my Gramp's farm land lie on either side of our wide, cracked, concrete playground. Twice a year we got to visit and spend time in our own little paradise, playing with beloved cousins and being spoiled rotten by our Nanny. It seems like, if I try hard enough, I could reach back in time and do it all again. So many precious memories are there and it seems impossible that three out of four of those grandparents have passed and the two houses on that airbase are no longer the loving homes of my kin folk. In my heart and in my memories it will always be the same: Nanny's drippy window unit, climbing the cherry tree, swinging in the yard, wandering back and forth between houses, riding bikes as fast and free as you like, dress ups, black eyed peas with ketchup, playing board games with grown-ups, getting our hair washed in the kitchen sink, tea parties with Grandmama's mini tea set, gazing at her look-but-don't-touch curio cabinet dollhouse, watching Pink Panther with Grandaddy, gold Dial soap, a special book Grandmama always read to me and my "best cousin" (we never got tired of it), Grandaddy's organ music concerts, the turtle foot stool, old photo albums, Nanny's candy tin, green panelling, fruit salad, happiness...the list is endless. What a blessing that I got to be there and enjoy life and be loved by those wonderful people- my grandparents.

Gramps and Nanny's house and farm. You can barely see Grandmommy and Grandaddy's house in the distance.

Micah and Sunny walked just like we used to from Grandmommy's to Nanny's on this dreary summer day in 2009.

Life, Recently

2011-01-04T15:30:00.006-05:00

It's been nearly a month since my last post and I could blame it on the new baby, except that it's not his fault. I've sat down to blog several times and couldn't get my thoughts together to make it happen. But right now we are having a rare moment of silence. Both little ones are asleep and both big ones are working quietly and diligently to finish their school day. Only now I can't think of anything interesting to blog about so I'll just record some about our life recently.

First, the baby: Asher is an easy little fella to take care of. He doesn't cry much and has very few digestive issues to speak of. He gets hungry every 3 hours during the day and sleeps a 6 hour block at night. His bladder works very well as we go through many, many diapers per day. Lately he has been staying awake more and checking us out. We even get smiled at now and then. At 7 weeks old (which he is today!) he is so big- already outgrowing his 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers! His name means "happy and blessed"....and we are by his presence.

Second, Eliana: This girl has a huge personality in that little body! She keeps us laughing. We were relieved at how much she loves the new baby and hasn't shown any jealousy at all. She has been a pacifier addict all of her life and quitting can be tough. But she is doing a great job of only using it at sleep time. Soon she will move from her crib to her big girl bed and then we will throw her pacifiers away forever. At a recent (huge) family gathering I was pleased to see that she is one of the more mature 3 year olds- being fully potty trained. Then, she proceeded to wet her pants in front of everyone- something that NEVER happens. We had to laugh because that's life.

Next up, Sunny: She is about to embark on an adventure that she has been hoping for and looking forward to and waiting on for 5 whole years!! (And when you are only 8 that is a long time!) Soon she will start gymnastics! Ever since she was 3 years old and took a summer ballet/gymnastics class she has been asking to take "just the gymnastics part". Due to the high cost of this activity we haven't been able to make it happen for her, but recently daddy got some overtime at work to pay for her first 3 months. We took her for a trial class which she loved. So her dream is about to come true. She is a little sporty girl and did awesome at the try out. Sunny is also Asher's second mommy. I don't know what I would do without her help...and best of all she loves helping with him.

Last (but not least), Micah: Mr. Imagination is still a wonderful big brother. We just keep adding siblings and he just keeps loving them and being awesome. He isn't in the baby's face all the time like the girls are, but he occasionally wraps him in a blanket and goes to the rocking chair for some brother bonding. Micah's calm, cool, and collected-ness soothes the baby to sleep every time. He loves rocking his long awaited brother. The latest excitement for him was when we visited a home school co-op in our area. He was in classes all day with other 6th grade homeschoolers. They go once a week for academics and then school at home for the rest of the week, getting their assignments from the teacher's websites. Then, one evening a week they can go for electives. He absolutely loved the co-op and would like to attend regularly. We'll see if it works out for us.

As for the grown ups around here, we are just taking care of business one day at a time. I struggle with staying positive and grateful and he struggles with being WAY too laid back about everything. Some post partum depression got a hold of me for a while there, but the worst is behind us now- I hope. It was awful! But I think I have climbed out of the pit. Last week we even got to go on a little date when my sister offered to keep our older 3 kids for the evening. Asher slept in his baby seat while we shared a burger and a giant piece of cake and chatted and laughed without interruption. It was wonderful! We have so much to be thankful for and try to always remember to bless the One who made us, brought us together, and blesses us in abundance. Even when He takes us through the rough times- it is only to show us what is in our own hearts. Yikes! That has been a scary lesson for me at times. This verse expresses my desire perfectly, however He will be faithful, and it is not always what the flesh might want to hear/do/or go through as He leads. My guts are crying out: Less flesh, more Spirit!

Psalm 139:23-24 "Search me, O Elohim, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

3 weeks

2010-12-08T17:01:00.004-05:00

We've had our new baby for 3 weeks now and a new schedule is beginning to take shape. So far, everything has gone well. Asher is a good baby, rarely cries, and only wakes up every 4 to 5 hours in the night. He is starting to stay awake longer during the day, but still sleeps a lot. Sunny and Eliana are his little adoring mommies. They want to hold him all day! Unfortunately, they have had runny noses and have had to "stay out of the baby's face" for most of the past 3 weeks. They still stare lovingly at him from a distance and kiss his feet and the back of his head often. He is loved!

We've been blessed by my mom, sister, and sister-in-law bringing us meals. Mom also has picked up loads of laundry and brought them back to us clean and folded! How awesome! The recovery from my unplanned c-section has been much better than I expected. I have healed faster and had an easier time than I did after my first c-section 11 years ago. I am getting around fine now and have been off pain meds for a week now.

Monday morning we plan to get back to our normal school schedule again. We have all enjoyed this little break, but it will feel good to get back to life as usual.

Introducing Asher Daniel

2010-11-21T11:25:00.007-05:00

He's here!!!

Polyhydramnios

2010-11-15T09:14:00.003-05:00

During this last trimester I have developed polyhydramnios which simply means I have extra amniotic fluid. In this case, a WHOLE LOT of extra amniotic fluid. Like as in twice the normal amount. So far it has only meant that I measure ahead of my dates. But the last few days I have begun to feel like a water balloon that cannot hold anymore water! When it breaks it's gonna be a tidal wave! Although this condition can indicate certain birth defects, in our case the baby looks to be just fine. My first baby had extra fluid as well, and he was healthy and fine. Many cases of polyhydramnios are of an unexplanined cause. So, basically I have an extra huge and round belly (I feel like the girl from Willy Wonka) and my baby has a big pool to swim in. I hope he comes soon because I'm starting to feel like I'm slowly being suffocated from the inside.

On the up side, all this fluid makes for some GREAT ultra-sound pics! Our doctor's office recently got new u/s equipment that is capeable of 4D imaging. However, it costs something like $150.00 for a 20 minute scan. So we were shocked and happily surprised when they gave us a good long 4D peak at our baby (including pics) during a rountine non-4D scan to measure fluid levels and check on baby. The high fluid made me the perfect test subject for them to practice their new equipment on! :-) I was happy to be their gunea pig in this case. It is amazing to see our baby that clearly while he is still in the womb! Check out these chubby cheeks>

WHY?

2010-11-04T12:29:00.007-04:00

This was taken 2 weeks ago!

Trying not to be in panic mode is proving to be a challenge. With each passing day my baby is getting bigger and bigger and still there are NO signs of labor starting. Why? Why did I lie around for 6 weeks on bed rest, taking pills around the clock to stop contractions? Dang it! I even gained 12 stinkin pounds during those 6 weeks!! And now that bed rest is over....nothing. I've been on the treadmill everyday. Nothing. No pains to speak of. I've never wanted to be in agony so badly in my life. Baby Asher needs to come on and be born before he gets any bigger, causing more suffering than is necessary.

You might think I am being ridiculous or just plain impatient. But for a mom who has had a very large baby that caused horrific damage which almost cost me a trip to the O.R. to have it repaired, 2 hours of stitches, and weeks and weeks of VERY painful recovery, I never wanna go through that again!! I don't wanna be a Frankenbooty again- all stitched up in places you never thought would see a needle and thread. Places that never SHOULD see a needle and thread. YIKES! The thought of it makes me wanna go run on the treadmill again...

So, come on out, baby Asher! We wanna see you before you outgrow your newborn clothes and diapers.

Bordem, Bed rest, and a Loving Family

2010-10-12T15:45:00.006-04:00

My last blog entry was quite a while ago. But I have a good excuse: Two Mondays ago I ended up in the hospital in preterm labor. Just one day shy of being 30 weeks pregnant and they found me to be 3-4 cm and contracting regularly. After torturing me with various needles in the forms of a huge IV and several meds that had to be given by injection, plus a foley cath in my bladder they were able to stop the contractions. I stayed for 2 days and then got sent home on bed rest and medication to keep the contractions away. Now the only excitement in life are homeschooling from the couch and my weekly doctor's appointments.

As a mommy of 3 this could be a very sticky situation. But my loving family has been so helpful. My mom, sister, and sister-in-law have formed a team to deliver meals to us 3 times per week. My best friend also made us a scrumptious lasagna dinner and one to freeze for later. Scotty has been flexing his mom muscles, trying to keep up with the laundry, shopping, and other various chores. The kids haven't complained once about having to wait on me when I need something. And my mom has been wonderful to keep the kids for us every week for my appointments. I am blessed indeed.

The curtains for the nursery that I planned to make will have to wait. For now I will have to suppress my nesting instinct and just be satisfied to sit/lie on the couch and be lazy....and bored. After walking on the treadmill 10- 20 miles per week for the last several months I am very surprised that exercise is one of the things I miss the most. As soon as they take me off bed rest (in 3 more weeks) I plan to get right back on that treadmill and walk like crazy!

It is overwhelming to have a family that is so thoughtful and loving. I feel so well taken care of and blessed and loved.

Documenting day 1: bored already.

My baby is sad that I can't lift or carry her. But we can still snuggle.

Scotty borrowed a wheelchair from an elderly neighbor so he could take me outside for some fresh air this weekend. A kind gesture, but he got a little too much enjoyment out of how ridiculous I felt.

Fancy Nails

2010-09-24T15:14:00.010-04:00

Today we went to the salon to have the birthday girl's nails painted for her party. She absolutely loves to have them painted, but the polish never lasts very long (sometimes not even an hour before it has chips and scrapes in it). Having them painted "professionally" seemed like a good plan since their polish stays on for days. She felt like such a big girl and was so excited about this trip!

Sitting very still admiring the perfect pink she selected.

The lady added sparkles!

Waiting for them to dry.

Waiting is hard!

This purple light helps them dry better.

For many years my 8 year old has been a nail biter. She has been wanting to break the habit, but usually does it without thinking while her mind is on something else. About 2 months ago I told her that if she could conquer her nail biting by her little sister's birthday that she would get to have her nails painted at the salon, too. Since she and her younger sister have a jealous rivalry thing going I was hoping this would do the trick...and it did! She is so proud of herself for kicking that bad habit and having nice fingernails. She selected a lovely pink and then the lady added silver sparkles on top!

My non-nail biter! SO proud of her!

And the ever patient big brother waits on the couch wishing he had brought some masculine toy to play with. He is a sweet boy and even took some pictures for me. We were only in there for about 20 minutes altogether, but waiting is still hard...especially for a boy in a nail salon.

Daily Exercise

2010-09-21T13:04:00.005-04:00

It is no secret that I do not enjoy exercise. Never have. Ever. But during this pregnancy it has been necessary, so I began by trying to get out and take walks at least once a week. The weather was still cool enough in early spring, but as the heat set in I started jogging on a mini-trampoline for 10 to 15 minutes each day instead. Then, I moved up to jogging on it more than once per day. Gradually, I began to get a little stronger and ended up borrowing my mom's treadmill which I started using 3 times per day for 10-20 minutes at a time. Finally, I was able to walk at a good pace for one mile- three times per day. It felt awful while I was actually doing it, but when I was done I felt great!

However, the more bulbous I get near the end, the more difficult it has become to make my 3 miles per day goal. Some days I even skip walking altogether:-( Recently, I have begun to get some really tight contractions that don't feel right while I'm walking. Slowing down and taking it easier will usually make them go away. But now I feel like i am failing at my goal. Of course, this is not important compared to the health of my baby, but the perfectionist in me is disgruntled about it.

I'm trying to feel good about any amount of exercise that I am able to accomplish in a day. Not only is it really good for me in so many ways physically, but it also makes me feel better mentally. Somehow it cured the lower back pain that was plaguing me early on and it makes me feel more calm and relaxed throughout the day. Exercise really is good! (But, unfortunately, I still don't enjoy it)

Packing for Children- Our Sukkot Nightmare Solved!

2010-09-16T18:21:00.008-04:00

Almost 5 years ago we set out on an adventure. It was an 8 day camping trip to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot. It was exciting and we couldn't wait! But my joy was slightly and quickly infringed upon by the nightmare of the clothing issue. I had packed for cooler fall weather and made neat stacks of matching outfits for each of my (at the time) 2 children. They were sharing a large suitcase and it was nicely organized when we arrived. I had also packed 3 pair of pajamas for each of them and socks & undies for each day plus an extra pair or two. I thought we were all good. Knowing how NOT neat they can be, we decided to keep their suitcase in our tent and dole out clothing each day. By day 2 I could see that this wasn't going to be as simple as all that. First of all, there were the unforeseen clothing casualties like wet socks & jeans and muddy pajamas. We stayed busy all day and there was no laundry facility, so once something got really dirty or wet- it went into the dirty clothes. Also, once their outfit got wet or muddy they had to change- quickly putting us into a clean clothing deficit. Then, there was the "I don't wanna wear this shirt with those pants" complaints. They began to dig through what was left to find what they wanted to wear. By the end of the week this made for a crazy clown mix of whatever was left...the rejects. (Although Sukkot is no fashion show, I still can't stand for my children to be running around in totally crazy looking, mix matched clothes!) Another major issue was the weather. Even though it was October, the days were really warm and the nights got down right COLD! I had packed for cooler weather which meant we sweated all day and froze at night.

Since we weren't the only family going through this clothing crisis and many moms were fretting by day 3 or 4 because we were dangerously close to becoming a nudist camp, a few dads got together and took trash bags of dirties to a local laundry mat and spent all day washing. Who wants to spend a day of their feast doing laundry? Oy vey!

So ever since then we have used a method that has restored order and simplified the packing process. This method can be used for any type of trip and is especially great for families with many kids and/or sloppy, not neat kids who make a shambles of their suitcase, duffel bag, or whatever.

First, I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased several 2-packs of zippered mesh laundry pouches* (which are surprisingly durable for Dollar Tree merchandise and have lasted us several years now!) Next, I laid out an outfit for each child- for each day (plus a couple of extra days), including socks and undies. ~If you have a picky dresser they can even help make the outfit choices at this time. We have an understanding of NO mixing or switches once we get there.~ Then, I stuffed a neatly folded outfit into each pouch. That way I could just toss them a pouch each day and they have everything they need! They could even put their dirties into the empty pouch. No more suitcase rummaging for anyone!

Now since we go out of state, it is hard to anticipate the weather with exact accuracy. We try to pack mostly jeans and short sleeved shirts since the days can be really warm. Also, each person brings a sweatshirt, warm jacket, and a winter coat- since the nights have been known to get C-O-L-D! We always pack warm pajamas and plenty of blankets. One or two of their outfits is usually shorts or skirts in case a day gets super warm- which it does every year.

For shoes we bring a pair of hiking boots for each person and a pair of flip-flops to wear in the shower. The flip flops can be worn on any hot days that might be. A great place to buy hiking boots is the thrift store. Since the kids feet are ever growing, and new boots are expensive, the thrift store is my hiking boot supplier. We have found great name brands and have never paid over $5.00 a pair (usually more like $1 or $2.00!!). I have to start looking in advance, of course, but it is so worth the savings!

The mesh pouch method has made such a difference for us!
*Plastic grocery bags would also work, but the pouches allow you to see what is inside and they are re-usable year after year.

Smoothies

2010-09-03T10:52:00.005-04:00

All this week the kids and I have been enjoying smoothies. They are cold and refreshing and very delicious- with NO sugar added! My two year old cannot get enough and often goes around finishing off everyone else's glasses.

So what is in these smoothies? Well, they vary a little, depending on what fruit is in the house, but the typical recipe is:

banana or 2

about a half cup of raw kefir (or milk or yogurt)

a drizzle of o.j.

a big hand full or 2 of fresh organic baby spinach leaves

*blend until very smooth and spinach specks disappear- about 1 or 2 minutes*

frozen pineapple chunks

frozen strawberries

frozen blueberries

*blend until smooth*

I don't measure anything- just eyeball it according to how many people will be served.

One day this week I had 2 peaches that were a little past their prime. No one wanted them so I just threw them in the blender with our morning smoothie and they added a wonderful peachy flavor. The kids even noticed and commented. Also, when bananas start to get bruised or freckly and undesirable they are even more perfect for smoothies. You can peel and freeze them especially for smoothie making.

This has been a great way to get raw fruits and leafy greens into their bellies everyday. The spinach is invisible to the eye and to the taste buds, yet it's vitamins and minerals are still doing their thing!

Oh Happy Day!

2010-08-27T12:44:00.004-04:00

This is a happy post from a mom in a really great mood because it's Friday and the end of our third really great and really smooth week of school. In fact, I am so proud of my students that I made them a smoothie and popcorn party during reading time today. Simple things like this are a thrill and they were very pleased with their treat. Their hard work over the last few weeks has made mom's job so much better. They have already learned their first 2 memory verses for the year way ahead of schedule and my grade book is already sprinkled with quiz and test grades for each of them....most of which are good! ;-) I'm not holding my breath, but if the rest of this year could continue on as it has been thus far it would be a dream come true.

Awwww, Nuts!

2010-08-26T12:21:00.006-04:00

(Please excuse the terrible picture which does these no justice)

I saw this recipe on a friend's blog last night and jumped up to try it. Ever since learning about how healthful walnuts are I have been trying to get my children to eat them. No one cares for them except for me. So I had a big bag of raw walnuts in the cabinet that had been dwindling very slowly. When I saw how easy this was and how delicious my friend said they were I knew I had to make these and try them out. The recipe seems so simple, I wondered if they could really be as good as she claimed they were. They are, my friends! They are!

First of all the smell of these glazed walnuts cooking is scrumptious. Every one of my children came into the kitchen to find out what smelled so good. Then I had to shoo them all away until the nuts cooled enough to try them. They were a huge hit! 2/3 of them got eaten last night and the only reason 1/3 remain is because I put them away. Now I know a way to get them to eat nuts. I realize that raw, uncooked, unheated, unsweetened nuts are better, but this is a start to get my youngsters to begin enjoying nuts. And maple syrup is a more healthful sweetener than sugar for sure.

I will be making a big batch of these to put in our basket that we take to Sukkot. I'm sure most people will love these- maybe even nut haters.

So here's the recipe:

Glazed Walnuts

2 c. walnut halves
1 T. butter
pinch of salt
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/3 c. pure maple syrup

Melt butter in a skillet or sauce pan (stainless is recommended for a better glaze) over med heat.
Add cinnamon and salt. Stir in maple syrup and walnuts.
Stir as syrup gets bubbly.
When the glaze thickens on the nuts they are done.
Remove from heat and cool on wax or parchment paper.
Try not to eat them all at once.

This recipe and many others that have become family favorites can be found at http://www.tammysrecipes.com/

If you like walnuts (or even if you don't) you must take a few minutes and make these. They are SO worth it!

Coming Soon: Camping Season!! :-)

2010-08-23T12:35:00.004-04:00

After a loooong, booooring, hooooooot summer we are SO READY for the fall and our upcoming camping trips! YAY!! In my mind I am already planning and packing.

First, we are going for the weekend with family. There is a really great state park that is not too far from where we live and has lots to do. We went there last year and had a great time. Lots of campfire laughs, each family makes a delicious meal, and we all leave with happy memories. Sometimes a giant tree might even get cut down by our overly zealous guys, who are overcome by the call of the woods and the feeling of campy survival, that lands in the middle of one of our campsites and crushes a few things yet spares the lives of all. The tree might even rip a tent. But hey- you can never have enough fire wood! And we all survived. That is the important part. This will be our first time camping in our "new" pop-up camper. Okay, so it is 14 years old, but it is new to us :-) Besides having fun with family and the kids having a blast with their beloved cousins, this trip will give us a chance to get a feel for our camper and work out all the wrinkles before our BIG camping trip---- Sukkot 2010!!

This is an 8 day adventure with our congregation of loved ones from North Carolina. We all get together to celebrate the Biblical feast of Tabernacles/Booths. This will be our 5th year participating in the fun and our 4th year with BondServant Ministries. They host a week of great teachings, music, dancing, home cooked meals, warm friendship, and so much more. This feast is a blessing beyond what words can explain. For all the planning it takes to camp for over a week, it is soooo worth it! In fact, planning, packing, and making our offering basket (each family brings a big basket of snacks, foods, and treats to share with everyone throughout the week) is all part of the fun and I wouldn't want it any other way. And if the anticipation is big for the adults, you cannot imagine how excited our kids are. They absolutely LOVE sukkot!!

More blessed and more welcomed than the cooling weather and crunchy leaves of fall are the feasts of YHVH (the LORD) which He has given to His people to bless them and teach them about Himself.

End of the Rope

2010-08-19T12:02:00.005-04:00

We are a family of messy people. :-( Unfortunately. Neither myself or my husband kept our rooms clean as children, nor did we pick up after ourselves. Neither of us have ever been neat and tidy. This has always been a huge burden to me. Oh how I longed to have a lovely and tidy room, to be organized and perfect like my brother, to make my mom proud with my neatness (or at least avoid infuriating her and kindling her rage with my sloppiness). It just didn't seem to be in me. No matter how much I wanted to be a tidy person and no matter how much effort I put forth, it just wasn't happening. It would take all day to clean my horrific room and then only minutes to mess it back up. This has been my life long struggle. And, although I seem to be improving with age, I still deal with the beast.

The fact is, a little clutter doesn't really bother me, personally. Now it definitely bothers me for others to see my clutter. But a dust bunny here and there, a pile of mail, laundry waiting to be put away, a pair of flip flops by the couch, some one's empty glass on the end table.....while these things might drive the average person mad, I (and everyone who lives here) hardly notice them if at all. Why? Why? Why?

Is it motivation that we lack? Or something in our DNA? Are we all really just lazy bums? What is the deal??!!

Now Scotty and I may be comfortable with some clutter, but our children have taken it to a whole new level.

While a bit of clutter doesn't bother me, a mess does. A mess makes me CRAZY and there are always many messes all over the house. The kitchen is a constant struggle. From crumbs on the floor to the bread and peanut butter being left open and out all the time- I could scream!! It seems the second generation of "Messies" are twice as bad as the first! They leave drawers and cabinets open, don't flush the toilet, leave their dirty clothes all over the house and their toys and shoes in the van. I could go on and on... It is just beyond frustrating! Picking up after them is not going to help them OR be good for my sanity. How will they learn?? How will I teach them?? I have been trying since they were two!!

Everything I can think of has been implemented around here -from charts to rewards and punishments of every kind. Sometimes something seems to be working for a while, but it all fails in the end. These people live like animals and I'm ready to build a pen for them in the backyard!

It's time for the mess to go! I'll never stop trying to overcome it! Now I'm off to google for some more help....more ideas....more advice....more things to try.......anything!!!!

First day of School!

2010-08-09T18:42:00.004-04:00

1 down. 179 to go.

School days keep us busy, busy, busy around here. Over the next 36 weeks we will memorize scripture, learn more about the Bible, do math, science, seat work, history, art projects, experiments, spell, take tests and quizzes, play games, go on field trips, read lots of books, review, visit the library, write, and be very creative. Hopefully it will all be done in an orderly fashion. If we don't have a schedule we don't get as much done and it is way less fun for everyone. Today was the start of our academic year.

My preschooler made a book all about herself. It has her picture on the front and her hand and foot prints inside, along with her current height and weight. She also colored pictures and joined in big sister's phonics lesson with enthusiasm. She had a very good day.

My second grader adapted to her new schedule with a positive attitude, used her best cursive handwriting, and finished all of her lessons and seat work quickly. She had been nervous about starting a new grade, but now she is looking forward to this year. She had a wonderful day.

My sixth grader frustrated both of us with his slowness and gloomy attitude. This really surprised me because he had been so looking forward to starting school. He has a big desk all to himself this year and we have done some modifications to his curriculum which give him more independence. The independence thing didn't work out so well today. Hopefully, he will do better as we go along. His day wasn't awesome, but it ended well.

Now that starting school is accomplished we will pick up some momentum and just keep going strong, lesson after lesson. Time will probably seem to pass by much faster as we look forward to cooler weather, camping trips, and then the birth of our new baby! My goal is to pre-plan and strategize so that this event doesn't throw us in to total chaos and bring our well oiled school machine to a screeching hault. 2010/2011 school year- Let the fun begin!!

Bummer of a Summer

2010-08-09T16:23:00.005-04:00

This summer was a bummer. There were no trips or vacation get aways. No beach fun, no ocean waves to replenish the soul. No sand castles, or sunburns, or seashells. Just these 4 walls and stifling heat. All summer the heat held us captive. Scotty stayed busy at work with extra training and over-time, so we didn't even get to see much of him during our break from school.

On the bright side, a new member of our family has been forming and growing all summer long. We got to find out it is a baby boy and have been blessed with a healthy pregnancy so far. No one went hungry. No serious injuries or illnesses plagued us. And at least Scotty has a job to go to, and the option of over-time which gets us through the tight times.

Focusing on and being thankful for the blessings is the only way to get through the crumby times of life. And we have so much to be grateful for!

A Potty Training Tale

2010-08-03T16:39:00.007-04:00

Last winter, when my baby was not yet 2 and a half, the plan to begin potty training in the spring sounded good. We would be nearing the end of the school year and the days would be warmer- perfect for our bottomless method where the trainee spends all day in only a shirt or dress. She would be nearing 2 and a half and everything would work out fine. I was confident in my plan and hadn't really mentioned it out loud. It was settled in my mind and I had put it on my mental "to do" list.

But my 7 year old had other ideas. She decided in her heart that it was time for her sister to use the potty. So, after school, she started taking the baby into my son's room where we had a tv/vcr hooked up for them to watch videos. Her brilliant plan was to put the baby on her potty, juice cup in hand, and play "Once Upon a Potty" for her over and over everyday. It had been my older daughter's favorite training film. When I found out this was going on I smiled at the big sister's sweet efforts to help her sibling, but doubted her plan would work and hoped it wouldn't interfere with the "real deal" when springtime came.

However, to my great surprise- it actually worked! Maybe it was the low pressure approach. Or maybe it was that the baby wanted to be like her big sis. Whatever it was, I was so glad and so proud of my girls! We sorta took over the process and brought the potty out into the main living area and started rewarding her for using it at that point, but to this day my big girl gets all the credit for potty training her baby sister. In fact, this trainee was even sleeping through naps and all night in panties within only a month or two. She has been our easiest and fastest success so far. It worked out even better than I could've planned and my girls have a special bond and a good story they will be able to tell their children some day. :-)

Bragging

2010-08-02T19:24:00.004-04:00

Today's post is just to brag on my husband. He's not perfect or anything, but he sure does have a lot of good qualities that I admire. He is never lazy when it comes to providing for our family. He never complains about having to get up early and go to work, even though he rarely gets enough sleep and has to work ten hours a day, often in unbearable heat or chilling cold. On his day off he cuts the grass, deals with outdoor issues like treating the dogs and grass for fleas and ticks, moving the chicken tractor around, or having the tires changed on my van. He is always meeting needs and never complaining or keeping count of all he has done for others. We needed a place to spread out and have our school day, so he enclosed the back porch and made us a schoolroom. Our central heat and A/C went out, so he took a week off work and instead of going on vacation or relaxing around the house has been in the ridiculous heat building a deck in trade for a brand new system. If our elderly neighbor has a need he is there to help her, day or night, no matter what. She often declares what a blessing he is to her, making her feel safe and cared for. He is always willing to stop by the grocery store on his way home from work to pick up whatever we may need just to save me from having to take the whole crew with me. Even though he may not seem very compassionate on the outside, whenever anyone gets sick or has to have a prescription filled he is usually the one to take them to the doctor. He sits and waits, and goes to pick up the required medicine. He has gone to every single OB appointment I have ever had with all 4 pregnancies- just because he wants to. And when the babies are born he wakes up with newborn and me in the night just to admire the little one or make sure we don't need anything before going back to sleep. Speaking of waking up in the night- he does that, too, if the dogs are barking or if a child gets up for any reason he is the first one to check things out and take care of any needs. His sense of humor keeps me laughing. He is a kind dad, slow to get angry, and one of the most patient people ever born on this earth. He is a fun dad which sometimes gets him in trouble because he is just as wild as they are and tends to get them even more rowdy. But to them it is awesome and they will remember all their lives how dad wrestled with them and did flips on the trampoline. No, he isn't perfect, but it is a blessing to have such a husband and I just had to brag.

Kids Cooking

2010-07-27T17:57:00.003-04:00

My 8 year old daughter has always shown interest in cooking, so recently I taught her how to brown ground beef. She did very well and enjoyed it, too. Now she is an expert taco salad maker. It is great to have a break from cooking dinner every now and then. She enjoys doing it and really feels proud of herself.

Today my 11 year old son was asking to cook dinner! I took him up on it and taught him how to brown ground beef also. He is currently in the kitchen making spaghetti sauce. It smells really good so far.

I figure I can teach them each a meal or two and they can make their speciality whenever they feel like it- giving me a break from kitchen duty. Hopefully they won't get tired of cooking every once in a while because I'm sure it will be even more awesome after the baby is born.

Doin it all for my baby!

2010-07-23T10:44:00.008-04:00

This has got to be my most healthy pregnancy of all. Just before we found out about this pregnancy I made a giant decision to go off of sugar, my life long friend. At first it wasn't so bad, but some days are much more difficult than others. There have been occasions of falling off the wagon and the hardest part is getting back on. I am not using any sweeteners at all, so the goal is to defeat the addiction to sweets. The sugar cravings are worse some days and the funny thing is that they come out of nowhere. If I ignore them (which I do) and don't indulge the craving (which I don't) then it goes away! The next day, whatever it was I was wanting the day before, doesn't even sound tempting anymore. But then a new craving emerges, raring it's ugly head. So the battle rages on! My fight against the sweetest enemy will continue and I refuse to surrender! Here is a list of a few of the sugary cravings which have come and gone. Some items are totally random.

Reese's peanut butter cups (who can blame me??)

lemon bars

fruit snacks

lime juice bars (with salt)

lemon meringue pie (ok- I did indulge this one :-( but only one time and only one piece)

double fudge cookie co. cookie

banana taffy (???)

bubble gum

Starbucks mocha frapucchino

yogurt with granola

swedish fish gummies (???)

cinnamon toast

peanut butter and jelly sandwich

those mints from Cracker Barrel with the candy shell

and lots of different fruits

Carbohydrates are also off the menu for me. These are a bit easier to resist except for biscuits, pasta, and corn chips. So far, this new way of eating has been paying off as I feel better than I have in years and my baby is healthy and big! My hope is to not have to contend with gestational diabetes or birthing a giant baby.

Celebrating

2010-07-14T12:50:00.005-04:00

Monday was our 13th wedding anniversary. We kicked off the day with a good old fashioned 3 hour glucose test at my doctor's office where I had to drink 10 oz. of sugar syrup and have blood drawn from my arms 4 times. It wasn't fun, but my precious husband went with me and waited the whole darn time, holding my hand for each blood draw. After that we had lunch at home and just hung out while the 2 year old napped. At 5:00 we got to drop our children off at my mom's house so we could go out on a date! This is a rare treat. We really couldn't think of anything fabulous to do and there was a crazy thunderstorm going on that night, so we just wandered around in Target and a couple other stores until we got hungry for dinner. Then we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant where we each ordered our favorite dish. It was nice just taking our time eating and talking. After that we picked up the kids who had a great time at their grandparent's house. When they went to bed we did our anniversary tradition of looking through our wedding album. Then we remembered that we hadn't taken a picture. We always take a picture on our anniversary. So, even though we were already in our pajamas, we snapped a few shots. Nothing fancy, just a record of what we looked like this year. It was a low key kinda celebration, but relaxing and nice for Scotty to be off work for the day. And now it is back to real life for the rest of the week.

I Wanna Hold Your hand

2010-07-08T11:37:00.006-04:00

....but when I can't this just might be the next best thing! Any mom with more than one child knows this feeling: you're in a parking lot, gathering the little ones, diaper bag/purse, keys, floppy seat*, or whatever else you need to take in the grocery store with you. With only 2 hands this can be a challenge. It is scary not to be able to hold on to each small child's hand as you cross the parking lot, install the floppy seat*, and finally make it inside. In the past I have designated a pant leg or pocket for each walking child to hold onto. This way I could feel them at my sides as we crossed the lot (or made our way through a crowd). But recently my friend sent me a link to a brilliantly simple way to keep them close and safe during these "I don't have enough hands!!" moments. It is a toddler handle. It only took me about 10 minutes to make and maybe $3 in supplies. This smart yet simple idea is perfect for my cautious two year old who will gladly hang onto her handle- as parking lots and such make her nervous. After I made it and showed it to her she got a big, proud smile on her face because it is something just for her- her own handle! When our new baby arrives it will be an extra hand for mom. I do realize that not every child will oblige, but if it will work for you I highly recommend the toddler handle. It's cheap, it's easy to make, it's fast and simple to slip onto the handle of your bag or stroller, it tucks in when not in use, and it's a great way to keep that little one safe when you can't hold their hand!

Here is the easy tutorial I used

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/06/toddler-bag-handle.html

*I might be a bit of a germophobe, but I swear the Floppy Seat has kept my child from getting sick many times! Plus it makes the cart more comfy for them.

Naming Baby

2010-07-06T16:07:00.004-04:00

We make a pretty good team in the game of life, the challenge of parenting, or whatever else we set our minds to. So why do the Mr. and I have such a difficult time naming our offspring? The firstborn son was 3 days old before we were forced to settle on a name. They would not let us leave the hospital with the baby until the birth certificate was officially filled out. My sister ended up selecting his name from our (short) list of agreed upon faves. Then, our second born was named at birth and then re-named at 2 weeks old. Number 3 was the only one who had her name while still in the womb and it was so nice! But here we are again, struggling in a sea of names, desperately searching for the one. It's like the perfect name is in the back of my mind and I just can't make it come to me. The criteria is stiff and we might be a little picky. But this is a major decision! A little pickiness is in order.

1. First, common names are ruled out off the bat.
2. Second, trendy names are a definite no-no. So if a name has been in the top 10 in the last 5 years it will not be considered.
3. Of further importance: the meaning. It has to be good. For example, if the name means "obnoxious one" or "bringer of intense pain and sorrow" or "chronic liar" or "son of Lucifer" well, that's just not good.
4. It must also go well with the middle name- which was a no brainer since we decided to carry on Scotty and his dad's middle name- Daniel. So, like Manuel Daniel would be a no (not that we would consider Manuel in the first place)
5. Also, it can't be a fake, weird, or made up name like Huntwell or Kensingdell or Peyxton.
6. No one likes a copycat, so "stealing" a friend or relative's recently selected baby name is out. (However, flattering a friend or relative by naming the child after them is o.k.)
7. Associations. Must a expound on this one? Okay, for example: let's say your husband coached a soccer team with a child who was so exasperating that it made the coach want to snap off his pencil in his own eye socket at every practice, game, and even on picture day. That child's name will most likely get a thumbs down from the hubs.
8. Finally, and most dauntingly, we must both agree that we like, or better yet, LOVE the name. This is not easy since we have very different taste. His idea of a great name is usually my idea of lame. And he scrunches his nose at most of my suggestions.

*sigh*

We've really got our work cut out for us. The little fella is too important to pick just any old name. So, even though I have already been through the 3 name books we own, plus at least 4 more from the local library, plus the entire Bible (twice) the search must go on!
P.S. Would you believe we had a girl's name already picked out this time?
P.S.S. Spell check picked up the 3 fake, made up names. hee-hee-hee

Drumroll, please....

2010-07-01T11:53:00.003-04:00

Waiting

And Mippi came too!

Yesterday morning we went to our much anticipated ultra-sound. Our little baby is healthy and happy and wiggly and sweet. As the tech measured the brain and recorded the heart rate, looked for the 4 chambers of the heart and took the length of the leg and arm bones, Scotty and I were watching closely. We smiled and "Ahhh"ed at our little miracle. But mostly we squinted and concentrated, trying to catch a glimpse of the most important part we came to see: between the legs! Would we see something there or wouldn't we?? At first I thought maybe it was a girl because every time that wiggly baby flipped around and flashed it's bottom end I didn't see anything there. But then we caught a glimpse and there was no doubt!

It is a BOY!!!

The fun so far

2010-06-16T18:28:00.015-04:00

I have this friend who happens to be my best friend. We've both been a little bored now that school is out- cause once the laundry is done and the groceries are put away and the house is clean(ish- in my case)- then what else is there to do?? So one day last week we faced the heat and went to the zoo. The kids enjoyed spending all day with the animals and so did we. Her 12 year old, who happens to be man-sized already, pushed the stroller for me all day, patiently waiting for a two year old who climbed in and out a good bit. Not having to push the stroller made the zoo trip much more enjoyable for me! And he never complained once. What a gentleman! Plus we had lunch at the Varsity.
This week we planned another fun-filled day. A while back her husband got a grill with a smoker on it and since then she has smoked up some delicious meats. Yesterday, we decided to get together and smoke some turkeys and try our hand at a dipping sauce recipe. Despite the fact that it was 100 degrees outside and we were babysitting a smokey hot grill and withering in the humidity, we enjoyed ourselves. Really, we've been through a lot together and we usually make the best of it and laugh our way through the toughest of times. Therefore a little scorching southern heat wasn't gonna stop us from having fun. She is the kind of friend who goes out and buys a big baby pool and a freezer full of popsicles for my kids cause she wants them to have fun and not be hot and just because she loves them a lot. Water splashed, popsicles drizzled, ice melted, and savory smoke blew across the sky all afternoon. They swam for hours and even her big kids got in that baby pool! Finally, a thunderstorm rolled in and cooled off the evening as we perfected our dipping sauce recipe in the air conditioned kitchen while her husband took over the turkey babysitting job. They turned out juicy and delicious. It was a successful day of good memories. I hope there are more to come as these hot, lazy days roll by.

Feelin' hot, hot, hot

2010-06-14T17:15:00.003-04:00

When the weather got chilly last winter we turned on the heat only to discover that it was broken. When the weather got warm this spring we turned on the a/c only to discover that it, too, was broken. Fans and a couple of small window units have been getting us through so far, but now the heat is getting for real. It will be in the mid 90's this week with an index over 100. Now we've gotta get serious! Our entire heating and cooling system has to be replaced including all the duct work- since it was so old and energy inefficient (and parts had even fallen down into the crawl space!) This is gonna be quite a summer as we try to beat the heat while looking for the right company to do the job and figuring out our budget. In the meantime we've added a 3rd window unit and, if necessary, I am prepared to freeze washcloths and fill feet soaking buckets with cold ice water. Hey, a pregnant girl's gotta do what she's gotta do! At this point I am very thankful for an ice maker, window units, and our fans. ;-)

What a day!

2010-06-09T20:33:00.004-04:00

My sister and I decided to take the kids to lunch and to play at the park today. It was fun, but SO hot outside! Just as I was contemplating packing up and heading home my son informed me that he accidentally locked my keys in the van while getting his ball and glove. I had to call Scotty who had to leave work early and drive 45 minutes to rescue us. Then, as he was turning into the park, he got pulled over and issued a ticket for "failing to yield". Dang it!

Oldest Boy

2010-06-02T18:28:00.004-04:00

My son turned 11 last week and I wasn't ready. He is getting way to close to teenage hood for my liking. But we celebrated anyway, because we sure are grateful for his life!

This boy is our only son (so far) and the sweetest kid ever. He is a loving and protective brother to his younger sisters, a talented artist, and his imagination knows no limits. He's laid back as the day is long, doesn't have a mean or jealous bone in his body, and has never met a stranger. He is truthful, kind-hearted, smart, and brave.

Some of his favorite things to do are ride bikes, build forts, make things out of discard, swim, draw, climb trees, and go on varying adventures of his own creation. Least favorite activities are chores and schoolwork. He loves the beach and hates tomatoes. He loves his grandparents and will talk their ears off. He loves his cousins and especially his "mud bud". He loves our elderly next door neighbor and visits her several times per week just to chat and give her a hug.

He is our firstborn blessing. Not that my son is perfect, because he sure isn't, but he is proof that children are a gift from YHVH (the LORD).

The HIGHLIGHT of his 11th birthday was getting to order off the adult menu when we took him out to eat since the kid's menu was for 10 and under.

Magic Beans - an update

2010-06-02T18:02:00.005-04:00

For anyone having gallbladder issues I highly recommend eating beans. Eat all the beans you can stand to shovel down your gullet. Since my attack I have had absolutely no pain or problems! They prescribed me some strong pain meds and told me to eat a low to NO fat diet which would hold the attacks at bay until they could decide if I needed surgery. Taking the pain pills made me nervous since I am only just entering my second trimester. And my diet already contains only healthy fats which I feel are necessary and important. So I tried the bean eating instead and it worked better than great! In fact, I have even cut back from about 5 servings per day to only 1 or 2 and still I feel fine. The low fat diet puts a band-aid on the gallbladder, but the beans heal it and make it all better. No need for surgery on a healthy gallbladder!! I owe a BIG THANKS to my sister for finding out about the bean cure and passing it on to me!

P.S. To make it easier I have made chili, butter beans with beef brisket, and other delicious forms of beans instead of just eating them plain. Just get them down however you can!

What a relief!

2010-06-02T12:49:00.006-04:00

First ultra-sound at 7 weeks along

When I was in the ER for my gallbladder they did an ultra-sound. I told the lady I was 12 weeks and 3 days pregnant and asked if she was going to check on my baby and she told me she was, but couldn't tell me anything. She said the doctor would give me the results and she wasn't allowed to talk about anything she might see. That was fine with me as long as I got the info from someone. The u/s wasn't fun because I was in so much pain and lying on my back made it much worse. After checking on all my guts she began the u/s on my baby. She looked for quite some time and then asked if I had been bleeding. I hadn't and thought that was a strange question. She continued looking until I had to vomit from the pain and she asked me to empty my bladder while I was in the restroom because she needed to do an internal u/s as well. I wondered why, but didn't ask because I knew she wouldn't tell me anyway. The internal took some time and she asked if my OB had done an u/s on me yet. They had at 7 weeks and everything was fine then. These questions were unsettling and even in my intense pain I knew I wanted answers.

After some more suffering in my little room the doctor finally came in to tell me I had gallstones. I asked about my baby and he told me he didn't know anything since he never even looked at that portion of the u/s results. He told me he had no reason to believe that my gallstones would affect my baby. He ordered morphine through my IV and left. I thought he would surely come back with the info I had asked for, but he never did. It took 3 doses of pain meds through my IV to begin to ease the pain somewhat and at 2:30 a.m. we were finally on our way home. I never got any answers about my baby.

A few days later, when my bean eating was in full effect and my pain was all gone, I couldn't shake the feeling of worry. Why had that tech asked those strange questions? My next OB appt wasn't for 4 weeks and I didn't want to wait that long to find out if my baby was ok. I called the ER and they told me I could go to the hospital's records dept and get the results of my test. So I did. When the clerk handed me my 2 page u/s report I read the finest words I could've hoped for. It said, " Single living intrauterine fetus is noted in variable presentation with fetal heart rate 150 to 167 beats per minute." It went on to tell the position of a healthy placenta and normal amount of fluid and measurements of the baby. What a huge relief! I still don't know why that lady asked those serious questions, but it sure is good to know the little one is doing fine in there!

Beans, beans, beans

2010-05-24T13:36:00.003-04:00

I feel like I'm on a wagon train, a cowboy camp out, or a cattle drive with all the beans I've been eating morning, noon, and night. On Friday I had what turned out to be a gallbladder attack and ended up in the ER. The pain was really bad! My sister told me that if I will eat beans several times a day for the next few weeks it will get rid of the gallstones and help my gallbladder get better. Something about the soluble fiber... So I have been eating beans for 3 days. This is not an easy thing to do. Pintos are not so appetizing first thing in the morning...and then for lunch...and then for a snack....and then for dinner...

Apparently, these attacks are rather common during pregnancy and especially around the 12 week mark when the placenta kicks in and there is some kind of hormone dump into the mom's system. Sometimes this can clog up the gallbladder. As my sister put it, the beans are little scrubbers that go in and clean everything out.

So what's on the menu here at the chuck wagon? That's right! You guessed it, partner. Beans. Beans as far as the eye can see. Yee-haw.

Saying "Good bye" :-(

2010-05-03T11:58:00.010-04:00

Nothing was better than visiting cousins when I was growing up! I had a few cousins close to my age on both sides of the family and none of them lived in the same state as we did, so getting together was a rare and special event. In fact, it was way more exciting than birthdays or any holiday (to me). We would play and play- squeezing every moment of fun out of our visits- knowing it would be way too long before we would see each other again. Then, when the sad moment came to say good bye, it was so hard to do.

My children are blessed to have their cousins living right down the street. Even then, they get sad when it's time to go home. But this past weekend Sunny got a taste of a truly difficult good bye. Her second cousin was in town. They are only months apart in age and had great fun together. But, of course, the visit was too short and before we knew it, it was over. I know exactly how they felt. Watching them hug and try to plan for the next visit brought back all those memories of not wanting to let a dearly loved cousin and true friend go. It's so speacial to have each other and now they can look forward to future adventures- matching outfits and all!

Works for us!

2010-04-27T12:53:00.006-04:00

Eczema has been part of our lives ever since our first born was only a few months old. He was born in the spring, so as the days grew hotter and hotter I thought he was having heat rashes from riding in the car and being too hot in his car seat. I started putting a big cold pack that came with one of my casserole dishes behind the infant pad in his car seat which made for a nice cool ride. But he still had a rash! It was mostly on his back, but would sometimes come up on his belly and chest, too. So finally I asked the doctor about it. He said my son had eczema and that he might out grow it. His eczema would flare up in the heat of summer and during the dry winter days. It would itch and burn and it looked aweful! The ointment our doc prescribed was a steroid cream with lots of warning labels about using a very tiny amount and washing your hands after applying it. I was not too sure about putting in on my infant son, but I hated to see him suffer, too, and the cream really did work to soothe the flare up. None of the oatmeal baths or over the counter creams did any good.

>>Fast forward 8 years>> to the birth of my third child. Much to our sorrow, she, too, began to have flare ups of eczema. Hers were mostly on her feet and ankles. Sometimes the patches of eczema were so inflamed they would keep her awake. The areas were always dry and scaley even when there was no flare up. So we began to use the ointment on her also.

I would very much prefer a natural remedy to a chemical treatment, but I had no idea how to help my eczema sufferers. I tried taking them off of gluten for a few weeks to see if that might have been the problem. It wasn't. They have always taken a mulit-vitamin and they drink lots of water, but still the eczema flared on.

Recently I happened across a sweet bit of info on the web. I read that adding omega-3 fatty acids to the diet can cure eczema and dry skin! I was excited to give it a try. My children take a liquid multi and I began mixing in a teaspoon of lemon flavored cod liver oil with their daily vitamin dose. Two out of three LOVE to take their dose and the third is just picky. After a few weeks I noticed their skin was looking much better AND so far we have had no flare ups! :-)

P.S. I have been taking a teaspoon everyday, too, and my dry skin is gone!

Monday

2010-04-19T11:30:00.002-04:00

We're back at it today, working hard in our schoolroom. Only 3 more weeks left until summer break! Now that there is a light at the end of the tunnel we're unstoppable! The children have worked hard this year, learned a lot, and are ready to have a nice break and then move up to the next grade. Eliana is ready for them to start their summer break, too, so she will have someone to play with all day long. It's getting harder to keep her occupied while bubba and sissy finish up their work.

During this time of year we are counting down the days in the Biblical Feast of Weeks. It is so hard to believe we are almost half way to Pentecost already! Time has been slipping by so quickly. It seems like we just started the month of April, but somehow it is already more than half over. Hopefully the summer will be a little more lazy and last a little longer. Hopefully.

Our Crew at the Zoo

2010-04-16T16:15:00.009-04:00

My mom, my sister, and I packed up a picnic lunch and took all nine kids to the zoo. We had such a fun and tiring day. The only exhibits we missed were the tigers and the pandas, but we got to see all manner of wildlife and even got to pet and brush some goats and sheep! We had two 10 year olds, one 8 year old, one 7 year old, one 4 year old, two 2 year olds, one 1 year old, and one newborn. They were all worn out by the time we left. I love fun days like this!

I've Got To Move It, Move It

2010-04-16T15:06:00.005-04:00

People who like to exercise baffle my mind. Even when I was a kid I did not like to get hot and sweaty. Things I did not like to do included relay races at Awana, walking home from school everyday, p.e. class (especially when it took place outside in the hot sun), running, and yard work. I don't think it is the actual moving about that was so bad because I loved to go swimming. I think I just hated to get hot and sweaty. Still do! Okay, so I guess I'm not an out doors type of girl and I never have been.

Recently I have begun jogging for 15 minutes twice per day. At first I didn't like it and I was checking the timer every 30 seconds. But the more I do it the less I dread it. My sister-in-law loaned me her little exercise trampoline and that is what I have been jogging on. It is supposed to be way better for your joints and it is even a little fun. I'm starting slow as I try to make friends with exercise. It is so good and healthy and I feel better afterwards. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even venture outside and find other ways to get my cardio on. Baby steps...

Counting the Omer

2010-04-04T13:31:00.005-04:00

When we celebrate the biblical Feast of Weeks we are counting 7 weeks up to the feast of Shavuot (also known as Pentecost). The first few years we had trouble keeping track of the days, so my bff and I got together and made this handy craft to help us visualize. The children take turns moving the bread from one day to the next. We sewed little pockets and numbered them. Then we made bread out of craft clay which you bake in the oven. We made a piece of matzah to use during the feast of unleavened bread and then we made a loaf of challah to use after that. Also, for day 50, we made a second loaf of challah as 2 loaves are to be presented on that day. This is a fun way to help us count the omer during the Feast of Weeks.

Lottsa Matzah

2010-04-02T15:41:00.009-04:00

One of the children's favorite time of year is during the feast of unleavened bread. They love the home made matzah. Here is my first and only recipe that I have used for the last 5 years. It is easy to make and tastes great.

Unleavened Bread

3/4 cup scalded milk*

1 egg

1/2 cup softened butter

1/4 cup honey

1 teaspoon salt

3-4 cups all purpose flour

Combine milk, egg, butter, and honey in mixer and combine well. Mix in salt. Add flour until smooth dough forms. With buttered hands, remove from mixer and press out onto greased cookie sheet. Pierce and stripe with a fork. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden. Cut with a pizza wheel.

Put out dough on floured surface. Roll out to desired thickness. Pierce and stripe with a fork. Cut into pieces with a pizza wheel. Place pieces on cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until lightly golden.

*The first time I made this recipe I did not know what scalded milk was. It just means heated to a near boil.

Today we decided to try a different kind of matzah. It turned out so delicious I just had to share the recipe!

Cinnamon Raisin Matzah

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup softened butter

1 beaten egg

1 teaspoon orange zest

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup milk

1 cup plumped raisins**

1 cup chopped cranberries (optional)

In your Kitchen Aid mixer combine flour, sugar, and salt. Mix in butter until crumbly. Add egg, orange zest, juice, and milk. Stir until evenly moist dough forms. Fold in plumped raisins and optional cranberries. Put dough out onto greased cookie sheet and press out to the edges. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and brush with butter then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

**To plump raisins- place them in about a cup of hot water and let them soak for 10 minutes or until plump and juicy. Drain off soak water.

This scrumptious matzah reminds me of a cross between coffee cake and scones. It is perfect for breakfast! I hope someone enjoys these recipes as much as we do.

My Sunny Girl

2010-04-02T11:25:00.008-04:00

Eight years ago today I was in labor with my second child. A repeat c-section was scheduled for April 3rd, but I woke up in the wee hours of the 2nd to labor pains. Sometime during the process I decided to go ahead and skip the c-section and my daughter was born that evening at a whopping 9 lbs. 12.3 oz. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.

One reason she is so special is because we had it in our heads that we would have only boys. My husband is one of 3 boys and we both thought we would have all sons too. I wanted a daughter so badly and she has been more precious than I could have imagined.

She was the easiest baby. She is kind and usually gets along with everyone. The outdoors is her playground and her imagination takes her wherever she wants to go. Although she loves fancy dress-ups, she prefers comfort over style any day and would wear raggedy play clothes all the time if possible. On a daily basis she must be told to wash her dirt-stained hands and brush her hair since these are not priorities in her life. She loves to be silly and make others laugh. If playing a game, she loves to win and absolutely hates to lose. She is loyal, kind hearted, and sensitive to other people's feelings. She loves animals. Usually we can depend on her to do her chores. She is her big brother's perfect side kick and her little sister's second mom. Learning usually does not come fast or easy to her, but she is diligent and tries until she gets it. Rarely does she share what she is thinking and if asked, she has a hard time putting her thoughts into words. She is even tempered- usually in a good mood. She is a heart stealer and has been ever since she was born. The one word that describes her the best is lovable.

And So It Begins...

2010-03-28T15:27:00.004-04:00

The time of year to prepare for the first feast of the Biblical calendar has come again. This will be our family's fifth Passover. Every year we are blessed deeply as we celebrate the feasts our Creator has designed for His people. In observing Passover we recognize our redemption from sin through the sacrifice, life, death, and resurrection of Yahshua the Messiah, the perfect Lamb of God. This feast kicks off the cycle for the year. Passover-->First Fruits-->Feast of Weeks-->Pentecost-->Feast of trumpets-->Yom Kippur-->Feast of Tabernacles. Each one is a treasure, revealing part of His beautiful plan.

Yay! So here we go again. May Yeshua return quickly!

Anticipation

2010-03-25T10:18:00.003-04:00

There seem to be many things to look forward to on the horizon as the end of the school year inches closer and warmer weather is rolling in. I am hoping for a peaceful summer break with lots of long, fun, uneventful days. I dread the miserable heat, but we'll make do like always. There are no plans for a vacation this year, no swim lessons scheduled, and nothing really exciting to anticipate from May 'til August. Just a long, lazy summer. It doesn't get much better than that.

When I was a kid...

2010-03-16T16:24:00.006-04:00

Talking to my best friend today gave me a good idea for a subject to blog about. We were talking and laughing about our childhood memories of being at our grandparent's houses.

I told her my grandparents, who lived in Florida, had no air conditioning (or at least if they had it they never ran it) and we always visited in the summer. It was stifling! Trying to sleep in that heat was nearly impossible, but Grandma would put a big box fan in the room with us which blew hot air around. The covers were wet with sweat and we slept very little during our stay.

Also, they had no toys or kid games at their house and their yard was full of sand spurs. Sometimes the ice cream truck would come down their street, and if we were able to convince mom to let us raid her coinage fast enough before it got away, we usually had to suffer several vicious wounds to get to the curb and back with our frozen treat which would melt quickly in the sun's rays as we picked the spiny spurs from our soft city soles.

They only got about 2 channels on their TV and, since Grandpa was a Baptist preacher, we usually got a lecture if we tried to watch TV anyway.

Their water was really, really stinky sulphur water that smelled strongly of rotten eggs. I remember thinking that bath wasn't really getting me clean since the water was so stinky.

They had weird food we had never seen or tasted before like sardines and they drank powdered milk.

We all shared the one bathroom and the toilet couldn't flush, -um, *solids*-shall we say? unless you filled the old brown glass Creamora jar in the sink and poured it into the bowl to assist.

Usually, we would go out for a game of putt-putt golf which was our one and only outing of the entire visit. Sure, it sounded fun and exciting, but quickly lost it's lustre as we spent most of our time waiting and earning new freckles as our large group slowly meandered through the course and putted our putts one by one in the vicious heat of the Florida sun. My fair skin never made it home without a nice, bright red sunburn for a souvenir.

Needless to say it wasn't exactly a dream vacation for a seven year old, but the highlight of the trip was in the evenings. The oppressive heat would let up a bit and the stinky sulphur water showers we had taken left us wet-headed and temporarily relieved from the sweltering stickiness we had endured for the last 24 hours. We would all gather around the dining room table and play Uno and Skip-Bo for what seemed like hours. Everyone looked forward to it. Watching Grandma shuffle cards like the fanciest dealer any Vegas casiono ever saw was fascinating to us since she was a quiet, coo lots wearing preacher's wife. Round and round the table we would go as the night grew cooler and more enjoyable. Pretty soon the sting of the sunburn and the misery of the hot night's sleep ahead were forgotten as we tried to win a hand or two. That is what I remember the most about going to Grandma and Grandpa's house- besides the upside down eagle on their living room light fixture, and of course, the brown glass Creamora jar.

The Sound of Silence

2010-03-10T07:58:00.005-05:00

Sore throats and sinus congestion have made for a peaceful, quiet morning around here. This house has been full of children for the past week and a half because my sister had her baby and I have been picking up her older kids in the mornings and homeschooling them at my house so she can rest and recover and focus on her newborn. Also, our dad flew in to see his ninth grandchild and has been staying with us. So this house has been full, noisy, and busy lately. However, today my dad is working on some projects for a friend and we woke up with sore throats, sinus pain, and congestion which are not good things to expose the siblings of a 2 week old baby to. So my nieces and nephew are staying home today. My classroom is empty for now, since I sent my children back to bed to let them sleep in. It is so peaceful and serene. The only sound is the pitter-patter of the rain falling outside. Although my sinuses ache and my throat is raw, I am enjoying this morning for all it's worth!

This morning- All is quiet.

Yesterday- Working hard so they could go outside and jump on the trampoline. Not pictured: The two year olds who slap, push, bite, snatch, squeal, and generally don't get along. But we're working on it!

Special Delivery

2010-02-25T21:32:00.009-05:00

I'm feeling tired and achy and a little delirious from the whirlwind of the last 24 hours. This time yesterday I was running a bath in our huge, gigantic bath tub for my sister who thought she might have been in labor. Although this is baby number 4, she has never gone into labor on her own. Last night she began having regular, yet non-painful, contractions. She decided to soak in the tub for a bit and I offered our big triangular corner tub, thinking she could relax better with plenty of room. She took me up on it and showed up at our door around 10 last night, had a nice peaceful 30 minute soak, and then proceeded to have regular contractions- every 5 minutes. With cautious excitement she went home to call her midwife who told her to go to the hospital. So off we went! Our mom met us there and we were a team again. With my sister's other 3 deliveries we have been her birthing team- her husband, our mom, and me. Once she got all settled in we tried to get a few winks....until someone set off the fire alarm TWICE during the 4:00 hour which sounded for over 15 minutes with alarms and a BLINDING strobe light flashing in our room. So we were wide awake and a 20 minute nap in a chair was all we were getting. From there she progressed quickly and did a great job dealing with the pain. Her epidural didn't really give her much relief, so she ended up having to make it through a lot of painful contractions. At 7:10 a.m. she delivered her beautiful, chubby cheeked miracle. I was the camera man and got to capture a modest top view of the sweet moment. Welcome to the family Collin!

Oh, sugar!

2010-02-23T13:12:00.006-05:00

*mysterious detective music plays*
I've known about this for some years now. Although it's serious, it's never been addressed. I didn't want to face the truth. But the time has come to admit and confess....*music climaxes*......I am a sugar addict! There! I said it! (or typed it) The cat is out of the bag.

Now that I have stared the problem right in the face, what am I gonna do about it? I don't know. Yesterday I went cold turkey. It wasn't too bad. I expected the withdrawal symptoms and cravings to hit hard, but they didn't. Maybe they will come today. I hope not. Rumor has it that if a person can make it for 2 weeks without the glorious white crystals then the worst is over. I gotta do it.

Once I found out what sugar does to the body I had to let it go. I have loved it all my life. It's always hard to say goodbye to a dear friend. Even if that friend is killing you slowly.......secretly.......sweetly.......from the inside. Like the most dangerous of evils- deceptively good, yet truly wicked. So, goodbye, my friend and worst enemy. May we part ways gently and NEVER meet again!

Do you smell hair burning?

2010-02-17T18:53:00.010-05:00

We really love our wall mounted heater that I blogged about before. It is a great little efficient appliance that has kept us nice and toasty this winter. The only problem with it is that it gets really hot to the touch! So far my two year old daughter and niece have touched it and learned the hard way what HOT! means. A month or so ago my baby even backed up too close to it and singed a good bit of her already thin and wispy hair. Then, today, just as her hair was starting to grow back, she did it again and this time it was an even worse singe than before. So I got out my comb and scissors and gave her a short bob cut. It looks cute! But I cut off over an inch and it is very short now. I guess if she singes it again we will be looking at a buzz cut for her. :-) Enjoy the following BEFORE and AFTER pics.

Flurrious!

2010-02-12T09:09:00.005-05:00

It's Friday AND a possible snow day! How are we gonna handle this much excitement? It looks like the winter storm is gonna hold off until about noon, so that means we have another three hours to get as much school work done as we can. Then we are going to do a little bit of baking, cleaning, and preparation for dinner and tomorrow's lunch. After that we can enjoy the snow! Beautiful, rare, delightful snow!

P.S. It DID snow! Cooking and baking with a winter storm swirling outside the window was the best!

The pizza stuffed pretzels Sunny helped make for dinner turned out really good & pretty too!

Bye, Bye, Birdies :-(

2010-02-05T09:55:00.016-05:00

Because I was a sensitive child I have always tried to protect my own children from things that might scare them or make them sad. I don't know how many nights I would lie awake, terrified, as a child because of some scary thing on tv or some scary story I heard. And we couldn't pass a bum on the street without my heart going out to them. I felt sorry for the under dog and sad movies always made (and still do make) me cry.

Of course you can't protect your children from everything and earlier this week something happened that is a perfect example of that. Sometimes in life bad/sad/scary things happen. Instead of just trying to shield them from all of that, I guess I need to also teach them how to deal with things that can't be prevented. Stay calm. Think fast. Act smart(ly). Use wisdom.
On Monday my nieces and nephew came over for a couple of hours while my sister went to the doctor. They were all clamouring to go to the backyard and have a look at our chickens. After finishing their morning school work they got to go out. Sunny is the egg collector girl, so she proudly lead the way to show off her chickens. She opened the small door on the back of the hen house to check for eggs. All of a sudden our large and 14 year old dog, acting like a crazed puppy, jumped through the egg door! It is hard to believe that she could even fit through that opening, but that shows how badly she wanted to get at those birds. Panic broke out and the kids began screaming and crying, while our dog attacked one of the chickens and nearly killed it in front of their eyes. Our chickens live in a chicken tractor, which is a long wooden frame covered in wire with a small hen house with roosting and nests at one end. It is on wheels so that we can move them around the yard. There are only two ways into the tractor and that is through the small egg door, or to lift it up and crawl under on your belly. But it is very heavy to lift! So Scotty has decided to put a gate at the other end for times we might have to go inside of it. He hasn't gotten around to doing that yet, so when the dog jumped in there she was trapped. I didn't know what to tell them to do! I yelled from the window for Micah to lift the tractor so he tried- he got it about 10 inches and then set it back down- right on the injured (and now dead) chicken. Our dog had a second chicken trapped inside the hen house. I had no idea how we were going to get that dog out of there. In the meantime we were watching her excitedly kill our poor chickens one by one. Sunny was traumatized! She has been caring for those birds and checking on them several times per day. Now they were being mauled before her eyes and there was nothing we could do about it. (This whole scene was happening very fast) My 10 year old niece, who apparently has her mom's head for quick thinking and calmness in a crisis, went around to the back of the tractor. She reached in through the egg door, seized the dog by her collar, and some how yanked her out. This saved the day, the rest of the chickens, and Aunt Heidi's sanity as I was completely freaking out. I do not know how that child managed to yank that dog out through the egg door. She is old, but big and very strong. Scotty has a hard time managing her on a leash. I figure it wasn't so much Claire's physical strength that did the job as her determination to save those chickens. As determined as that dog was to attack them, she was even more determined to save them.
After the damage was done and we all calmed down, then the attention turned to Sunny. She was heart broken not only that her chickens had died, but also because she felt it was her fault. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. All I could do for her was hug her and tell her it wasn't her fault. Eventually she was comforted. When we first got our chickens she chose one of them to be her own pet and, after careful observation of it's behavior and much thought, decided to name it Pecker. We were relieved to see that Pecker was not among the dead.

Two days later Scotty came home with a couple of new chickens to replace the victims of our dog's instinct to kill birds. Sunny named one of them Layla and the other one Laylee. We should have known she was a bird dog. In her younger years she once jumped straight up and grabbed a bird right out of the air. We couldn't believe our eyes. She's got a whole lot of spunk for a dog her age.

Quick Update

2010-01-31T19:00:00.005-05:00

There is a magnetic calendar hanging next to my desk which we use everyday in school. It seems like as soon as we start a brand new month and clear off all the magnets it's full again in no time. The months have just been passing so quickly.

We are over halfway done with our school year and the new classroom is nearing completion. Soon we will be moving out into our lovely, sun-lit space. The children have been working diligently and learning a lot.

In a couple of weeks the kids are going to the circus with their grandparents, then Aunt Gwen's baby will be born, then Sunny will turn eight, then we will observe Passover which will begin the calendar of God's feasts for this year. There is a lot to look forward to and it doesn't look like life is going to slow down anytime soon.

Turning old

2010-01-13T16:18:00.003-05:00

Scotty is another year older as of yesterday. If this keeps up it won't be long before he turns old! The kids and I kept asking and asking what we could get him as a gift, but since he never told us anything we just decided to skip a day of school and clean the house really, really well. He loved it and said it was the best thing we could've done and better than any gift we could have bought! That was great to hear. Now I would love to be the kind of super woman who everyday can teach school, entertain and potty train the little one, shop for and cook nutritious meals, and keep a lovely, clean house- with a smile on my face all the while. Not only does reality not allow time for all of those things, but I have never been a neat and tidy sort of girl :-( This gift was a sacrifice of love for sure, and I hate to admit, but we had our work cut out for us. This place was a mess. Not to mention that today we are trying to catch up on the school work we skipped yesterday which is never a fun, stress-free adventure. However, the clean house makes it better.

P.S. This weekend I will make him his favorite pineapple upside-down cake.

Potty training and a trampoline

2010-01-08T12:23:00.004-05:00

That's what is going on around here. At two years and three months Eliana is about to master this potty training thing. We take a fairly laid back approach, talking about using the potty for a few months, thereby easing the trainee into the idea. Then, when the time is right (which is now) we put the little potty right out in the living room since that is where most of the action takes place at our house. The trainee goes bottomless for a week or two so that they can easily get on the potty when the urge hits them. So far Eli is doing well and earns a mini m&m each time she makes a deposit. However, she has a recent aversion to going number 2 and cries at the mention of it, even though it pays double m&m's. We have been through this before with our previous trainees. Pretty soon she will be pottying all by herself and even wearing big girl panties. (I hope!)

The other bit of excitement at our house is the new addition to our backyard. Our best friends are moving and giving us their trampoline! They bought it a couple of years ago and then their children suddenly turned into teenagers who are too big and too cool for it. This is great news to my children. The people whose backyard meets ours have one, so Micah and Sunny often see other kids jumping on it and having fun. This one has safety nets so even Eliana will be able to play. Good times are ahead!

100 inches of snow

2010-01-03T14:27:00.008-05:00

We recently visited my Dad in Washington state and got to go sledding on Mt. Baker. It was amazingly beautiful. My dad, or Abba, as the kids call him.

Eliana's feet were cold and she wasn't so sure about all this snow.

Feel the heat

2009-12-30T14:34:00.009-05:00

It seems like something is always broken or in the process of breaking, doesn't it? If a tire isn't needing to be replaced then the stove goes out, or the toilet won't stop running, or an old pipe behind the kitchen wall cracks and leaks under the floor slowly, until your sub floor is all wet and your tile starts to pop up and your lower cabinets are warping and your insurance company doesn't cover slow leaks that are hidden in walls. I guess it is all part of life- learning to take the good with the bad.

Our latest life lesson was when the weather began to get cooler and we went to turn on the new-ish furnace in our crawl space. Nothing happened. So my very handy and do-it-yourself husband figured it just needed a new ignitor since the old one crumbled in his hand. He bought one and installed it and...still nothing. An hvac man came out and gave us the bad news. We needed a new furnace.

So, after weighing all our options (and being rather chilly in the process), we decided to install a wall-mounted, blue flame gas heater. If it warms the whole house- great! If not, we will make it through this winter and then try something else.

In the first picture is the infrared heater Scotty bought at Lowe's for almost 300.00 which required a plug and a gas line. It went back to Lowe's after he found a new and better heater on Craig's list for much cheaper.

This is our new "fire place" as the kids call it. It warms the whole house and I even had to turn it down on low today cause it got a little too toasty in here. It is SO great to have heat again!

A Better Covenant

2009-12-29T07:50:00.004-05:00

Growing up in a non-denominational church, raised by parents who both attended Bible colleges, and going to a Christian school for many years, I was in deep. Sunday school, church, youth group, Bible class at school everyday... So with ALL that religion how come there was SO much I didn't understand? I have believed in Jesus for as long as I can remember and have never wavered or questioned that He is God in the flesh. That He died for my sins and that He arose from the grave. That He is coming again. I know that is true. But I wonder why, in all my years of religion, I was never taught the new covenant. Where is the new covenant even found in the Bible? Is it actually laid out for us? Or do we just piece it together and rely on ourselves to figure it out? Or trust some people with seminary degrees to explain it to us? Following after what is right in our own eyes? No! Our God is a loving Father. He is a God of order and truth. Of course He has laid out His plan of redemption for us. Of course He has made His covenant known- the terms of the new covenant- and what it actually is. Really? YES! In all the many years of Bible class and Sunday school no one ever turned in the Bible to Jeremiah 31:31 and began reading the actual new covenant. I would say that is a pretty important thing to understand. Especially since we are taught that we are under the new covenant. Well then, what is it???

I was taught that the law was the old covenant and that people used to try to be saved by obeying the law. But when Jesus came and died that He did away with the law and now we live under grace. I was taught that since His blood covers my sin the law is no longer needed. There are even scriptures that SEEM to back up this way of thinking. After all, didn't Paul say that the new covenant made the first old? That the old covenant was decaying and vanishing? Hmmm. Is that the law of God he is talking about? Ready to vanish? If so, then WHY would our Messiah tell us that not even one jot or tittle of the law would be done away with until heaven and earth pass? Maybe Paul wasn't talking about the whole law of God which he himself calls perfect. Maybe he was talking about the covenant of the Levitical priesthood being replaced my our High Priest in the order of MelecTzadik (King of Righteousness) This order was indeed vanishing and is now no longer able to practice because the temple is gone. Our new High Priest is better because He is the perfect Lamb of God, spotless and sinless. He can go before the actual throne on our behalf. The Levitical priesthood was limited by their own flesh and sin.

People used to obey the law because they loved the One true God. Their sins were covered by the blood of sacrifices brought to the altar by the Levitical priests. Laws for the Levitical priesthood are contained in the law of God. Now that the perfect Lamb of God has come and shed His blood for our sins we are no longer under the old system of that priesthood, but are now under our new High Priest- The King of Righteousness- who shed His blood for our sins.

Sins? What are sins? Who defines right and wrong? God does. It is called the perfect law of God in the book of James. What is the law of God? Where is it found? None of these things were taught in all my years of religious training. Each church or denomination decides what is right and wrong? All we have to do is look in the Bible for the truth. Just open to the first page...

The books of Moses, the Torah (meaning law in Hebrew), are the first five books of the Bible. This is the perfect law of God. It is also called the Word of God since it is from His mouth to Moses. It is called LIFE to those who take hold of it. Our Messiah is called the living Word. He was God's Word made flesh. He walked in the righteousness of the Torah, never sinning. In 1 John 3:4 we learn that sin is transgression of the law. Our Messiah came to fulfill- or show us how- to walk in righteousness, perfectly. He is our example. 1John 2:6 "He that saith He abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked."

Then we can just learn the Torah, study the first five books of the Bible, obey all the laws found there, and save ourselves! Right? May it never be!

By looking at the new covenant in Jeremiah 31:31 we can begin to see God's plan. Is it to obey the law to save ourselves? NO WAY! Is it to believe in Jesus and throw out His Torah (teaching and instruction for walking in righteousness) and live, each man following after what is right in his own eyes? NO WAY! God's promise and His new covenant with us is that HE will put His law within us and write it on our hearts and that our sins He will remember no more. He said He will do it. He keeps His promises and His covenants are everlasting.

Our Messiah is our salvation. By the shedding of His blood He has saved us. He has brought us into the new covenant by His blood. He will write His laws on our hearts. He will give us His Spirit to lead us in His righteousness. It is His work and none of ours.

The precepts of men are like sinking sand.

Luke 6:46-49 "And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to Me, and heareth My sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a Rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a Rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."

Stitches

2009-12-15T16:00:00.006-05:00

If your brother ever tells you to kick a piece of scrap wood down off the tree house with your bare foot- don't do it!

Hamsters

2009-12-15T15:16:00.009-05:00

One day, during our 5th grade Science lesson on Rodents:The Gnawing Mammals, Micah's text book suggested that the student acquire a pet rodent of some kind to observe. (Thanks, A Beka!!) Micah thought this was an excellent idea and started a campaign to get a hamster. He appointed Sunny as his campaign manager and the two of them commenced to beg and reason with us for a week or two. We wavered and considered the cost of a cage and all the accessories which was really the main reason we were objecting.

One day we stopped at a small thrift store to browse around when lo and behold- there sat a cage stuffed full of all the things you need to make a hamster comfortable and keep it alive. The price sticker of $5.00 was just too good to pass up. After calling dad and texting him a picture of his find, Micah walked out of there one happy boy. Scotty took Micah and Sunny to Petsmart that evening and came home with not one, but TWO hamsters.

They are cute little balls of fur, but they bite which is a big bummer. Sunny wants to hold them so much. As is normal with kids, Micah lost interest in them after the novelty wore off and Sunny has become their main care giver, advocate, and mother. She watches over them and keeps their food and water full. She loves to get them out and let them walk around in a box or in their hamster ball (which was included in the $5.00 cage!). After suffering five or six hamster bites on her fingers Scotty brought her home a pair of thick work gloves that she now wears because she just can't resist...she has to hold "Fat-man Piggy-cheeks" and "Fluffy".

Our gnawing rodents have provided hours of enjoyment. Even Scotty has grown a little fond of them despite the fact that he ends up being the one to clean out their cage lately. And just think- it all started with a science lesson. (Thanks, again, A Beka!!)

Woe, Woe, Woe! Merry Mithras?

2009-12-08T11:45:00.019-05:00

My heart has overflown onto my blog page, so anyone who cares to know a little more about why our family is not so merry during christmas anymore read on...

This time of year is kinda tough for me. Not for the typical reasons that most people who struggle with the "holidays" have, but for a much different reason. This will be the fourth year that our family has not participated in this crazy mess that people call christmas. We have not observed it in four years! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would NOT be celebrating christmas! I loved it! I thought it was a religious celebration bringing honor to God. I had many nativity sets and displayed them proudly, talked to my children about the "true meaning" of the season, generously gave gifts while teaching my children it is better to give than to receive, and made sure to include lots of religious christmas carols in with the rest of the delightful mood lifting music of the yuletide season. I loved the shopping, wrapping, decorating, baking, special family time and good cheer feeling that christmas brought. I thought that the only thing that could be wrong with christmas was the commercialization of it all. The greed and the lies about Santa were wrong, right? Following the example of my parents, we never told our children that Santa existed as anything more than a make believe character. Also, it was SO wrong to call it x-mas! How horrible to "take the Christ out of Christmas"!! After all, HE was the reason for the season, wasn't He??! As long as I put an emphasis on the religious aspect of all this then everything was okay. Not only okay, but a good thing- a wonderful thing- in fact, the most wonderful time of the year!

So why do I no longer observe this magical time of year? Because, for some reason, God has given me a heart that longs to know the truth. My prayer has always been for His truth to break through at any cost. As much as I loved this season and all the fun and feelings, I love Him more. I wanted to know the truth. So, as a start, I went to the library and sat at a table with a stack of reference books, encyclopedias, and historical studies of holidays and customs. Upon learning the origin of this celebration, I found out that it has NOTHING to do with our precious Savior. He is not the reason for the season. It was being celebrated long before He was born in a manger, in Bethlehem, in the fall, during the Biblical fall feasts of God. He spoke through the prophet Jeremiah saying not to learn the way of the heathen. Upon studying the origins of what we call christmas I was appalled and ashamed at what I had been participating in. Today, the depth of the deception surrounding this "holiday" is unbelievable.

This time of year is hard now. It is hard to know what to say to a kind cashier wishing you a merry christmas when she doesn't really know what she is saying. It is hard when people pity your children because they miss out on all the gifty greed and other "at least do it for the kids" aspects of the season. It is hard when people actually get angry because we do not observe it, or instantly assume we are atheists or no longer believe in the Messiah. The irony of it all!

So here is the sticky part- here's the part I can't wrap my heart or my mind around- here's the kicker- the big question mark: How do I cope with loving the people- friends, family, and even strangers- who are happily celebrating a season that I DETEST, LOATHE, and ABHOR? It hurts. I get an ache in my heart seeing a tree in the window of my loved one's homes. How can I be angry with them? I was doing the same thing just a few short years ago without remorse or shame. They are not ashamed. They do not understand. I keep loving, keep praying, and keep clinging to the truth of His Word. What else can I do? In Him is the only true peace.

Quite the character

2009-12-04T17:28:00.004-05:00

Micah's spelling words are of a common theme and this week's theme is personality. As we went over his new list he began to claim certain traits saying, "that's me" or "I'm that". I was happy to notice that all of the character/personality traits that he thought described him were positive. He was right on with many of them, such as compassionate, generous, considerate, individuality, and especially creative. Others are more like personal goals, such as responsible, diligent, and organized, even though he thought they, too, described him to a tee. I am glad he has a healthy self-esteem and am proud of all the wonderful personality traits and character qualies that make up my darling son!

Beard blog

2009-12-01T13:15:00.010-05:00

Watching the game.

Right now is my lunch break between teaching 1st grade handwriting and 5th grade spelling. So I thought I would post a short blog about my husband's beard :-) Never thought I'd be blogging about his beard, but...

He grew it over 4 years ago just to see what it would look like. All my life I have thought that beards were so prickly and crunchy looking and have wondered why anyone would want a mass of dry, course hair growing all around their mouth. Sorta like super-gluing a bird's nest to your chin. Needless to say I've never been a fan of facial hair. It took a little while to get used to Scotty's new addition, but eventually I did and even had to admit he looked better with a beard. It had "grown on me" so to speak. ;-)

In the time he has had that beard he has become quite fond of it. He enjoys not having to shave and somewhere along the line he decided it would be a permanent fixture on his face. A few times I have asked him to shave it off, just for a little while, so I could see his cheeks again. He has always declined. So I was happy to hear of a bet he made with a friend from work just a few weeks ago. It was suggested that Scotty, being a GT fan, would shave off his beard if UGA won, but if Tech won his Bulldog fan buddy would have to shave his mustache (which he has had for OVER 30 YEARS!) So the bet was on and the waiting began.

Three nights ago the big game came on. There were moments of hope where he thought he might get to keep his beard, but in the end all was lost- the game, the beard, and his bragging rights for another 12 months.

Off came the beard exposing his baby smooth face. I better enjoy seeing those cheeks while I can because that beard is already starting to come back.

Remembering Kawasaki's Disease

2009-11-29T13:44:00.028-05:00

One year ago today we were sitting in the E.R. at Scottish Rite (for the second of four times in two days) with a VERY sick baby girl. Eliana was a tiny 14 month old and wasn't even walking yet. She had begun to run a fever just before Thanksgiving and, even though we were alternating Tylenol and Motrin like our doctor taught us to, it just wouldn't break. She was sleeping a lot and when she was awake she was lethargic and just wanted to lie in my lap. Scotty took her to the doctor the day after Thanksgiving and he diagnosed her with an ear infection. I was doubtful because she had never had one before and was not touching her ears. She didn't seem to be in pain. Two days after Thanksgiving we were at my mom's house having dinner with the whole family and Eliana slept right through the meal. When I finally got her up mom and I noticed a rash on her belly and legs. It wasn't that bad and she has always had a bit of eczema, so it wasn't really cause for concern. We couldn't get her to eat anything and she hadn't really eaten much for the past four days. That was cause for concern. Luckily I was nursing her two to three times per day so I still had milk and that is the only nutrition we could get her to take because of the comfort it brings. So I went and nursed her. Shortly after she began to vomit. So we headed home and called the doctor. He advised us to take her to the hospital.

Scotty loaded her up and off they went on the almost hour drive to Scottish Rite. They were there all night and got home around 5 am. The ER doctor called just as Scotty was walking in the front door and said the nurse was NOT supposed to send them home. He said Eliana was dehydrated and needed IV fluids and to bring her back. We dropped off the older children with my sister and headed back to the hospital. They took a urine sample and diagnosed her with a urinary tract infection, but said her ears were fine- NO ear infection at all! I knew it! But again, I was skeptical because she has never had a UTI before. So they put an IV in and begun to give her fluids. The doctor said she would "pep up" within and hour and be ready to go home. I wanted my baby to pep up so badly. She had been pitiful for days by now and I was ready to see her smile again. Well, one, two, three hours went by and no pepping. So finally they gave us a prescription and sent us home with a NOT pepped up baby (despite my objections) She was lying there on the stretcher not moving and looking just awful and the doc walked in and said, "Wow! She's looking MUCH better already!" I looked at him like he was crazy because I was just thinking the opposite! I told him she was looking even worse to me. But he sent us home anyway.

By the next morning a new symptom had begun. Now Eliana's lips were cracked and bleeding. I called our pediatrician and the phone nurse was a life-saver. She had worked at the children's hospital for years and as soon as she heard of all the symptoms she said that my baby probably has Kawasaki's Disease and we need to get her back to the hospital right away. She went to check with the doctor and then they sent us back. We had to rush out. I had never heard of this disease and it was SO scary to hear that your baby has a disease! We called family and everyone started googling it like crazy.

When we got back to the ER they took us back right away- no waiting this time. Eliana had lost two pounds by now. Her heart rate was very high and her fever was still raging. The doctor came in to see us (a different doctor) and explained to us that she did NOT have a UTI, but that one of the symptoms of KD is white blood cells in the urine which usually means UTI, but that no culture had grown in the urine sample. So there was no infection there. He explained that Kawasaki's Disease is difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to other common illnesses in children, but when all the symptoms are present they can finally diagnose and treat it. This can take several days. The symptoms include a high fever that does not respond to medication, rash, white coating on the tongue (she had this too which had me baffled), cracked and bleeding lips, white blood cells in the urine, and listlessness. She had them all. They explained that the treatment is called Intravenous gamma globulin or IVIG. It is purified blood antibodies administered through iv. Because of the KD Eliana's blood vessels were swollen and inflamed, so it took over TWENTY needle sticks before they finally got an iv in. Scottish Rite brought in their iv team. They used an ultra-sound machine to find a vein. They were about to shave a patch on her head and put the iv there when they tried one last time and finally got one in her arm. That was terrible to watch. She was in so much pain and could barely open her eyes, but she was crying pitifully as they stuck her over and over in her little arms, hands, and feet. In the end I was crying too. So finally they took us up to a room and checked us in. I was anxious for the treatment to begin because she was getting worse by the hour. They told us that all of her joints were inflamed and swollen which is why she was lying perfectly still. It was painful to move her, so we didn't want to hold her because it caused her pain.

The treatment began around 1 am and the doctor told us she would improve through the night. They administer it for 12 hours. We watched her for awhile and she began to look worse and worse. Her face and eyes were swelling so much that she was unrecognizable. I expressed my concern to the nurse who found the doctor (this was at 3 a.m.) who came in to talk with us. I was in tears. By now we had had so many misdiagnoses that I was beginning to doubt this one too. Why was she still looking worse even after two hours of treatment? But this doctor was very kind and she explained that she had seen this happen before. She assured us that Eliana was going to improve. We reluctantly tried to believe her.

It took two days for Eliana to begin to improve. Because I still had milk I was able to feed her. It was the only nutrition she was willing to accept and this seemed to be a huge relief to all our nurses and doctors. She wanted to nurse every two hours or so like a newborn, but I was glad because I got to hold her. It was painful for her to be picked up and moved, plus she was hooked up to so many cords and tubes, but we managed to nurse somehow- every two hours or so.

Scotty and I slept on a tiny couch/bed that was designed for one person and ate hospital food and stood by that metal hospital crib for five days. We watched our baby get worse and worse and then better and better together. We tried to comfort her the best we could. Scotty comforted me when it got so hard that the tears over flowed. One of those times was when they had to do an ultra sound of her heart. The lady rolled her machine in and flipped the baby onto her back. Eliana was in pain and afraid and tried to cry the whole time. It was taking so long and it was just so hard to see her very upset and in pain. Scotty leaned to my ear and whispered, "Why don't you walk down to the lobby." I did. When I came back she was in Scotty's lap drinking from her cup!! I was SO glad to see her drinking!

Her heart was looking good, but she would have to be on HIGH dose aspirin therapy in the following weeks to protect her heart. Finally, she began to look and feel better. We even loaded her up in a wagon a few times and rolled her down to the lobby to see the aquarium. My mom and sister came to see her and Mippi was able to get her to take some bites of a banana- her first bite of food in a week! She couldn't lift her head, but she followed us with her eyes and nibbled her banana if we put it to her mouth. Micah, Sunny, and Mippi made her some colorful decorations to look at which we hung from her crib.

Day four after treatment she was feeling quite perky and spoiled. By then she was having a hard time getting to sleep because we were in the room with her. We ended up rolling her up and down the halls in a hospital bassinet trying to get her to doze off one night. By the time we took her home she was quite spoiled. The only thing she wanted to eat from her hospital trays was the dessert and because we just wanted her to eat- we let her! After five days in the hospital they let us go home.

They told us that if her fever begins to return to bring her back in because some children need two IVIG treatments. Sure enough, the day we got home, here came the fever again. This time it was much lower, but we didn't want to take any chances. We called and they told us to bring her back. She got a second IVIG treatment that night. It was a Sunday and the Infectious Disease specialist was not there so they went ahead and did the treatment anyway. This time they put the iv in her foot- which was SO much better. The next day the specialist told us that she hadn't needed the second treatment . The fever was most likely from a virus that she had picked up from the hospital. She said the second treatment couldn't hurt her and on the contrary it was an immunity booster. So we went home again, this time after two and a half days.

Eliana slowly got better, began walking shortly after, and had a great big growth spurt- gaining 8 pounds in just 3 months!! She completed her high and low dose aspirin therapy and went for her follow up EKG six months later which was normal. On cold mornings her joints seemed a little stiff and sore for awhile. But today she is a healthy girl. We don't see any side affects from her ordeal.

None of our children have ever been sick like that before. We have never even had any one's tonsils out. So we felt helpless and afraid as we had no choice but to put our child's best interest in the hands of the doctors and nurses at the hospital. It is hard to trust strangers who don't even love your child. But they took excellent care of all of us. We are forever grateful to them. We saw many people there whose children were very very sick and we felt humbled and blessed to be going home, after only one week, with a healthy child who was on the mend.

Feeling bad before we knew how sick she was. This was a few days before her first trip to the hospital.

Lying in the ER getting her iv fluids. This was before her lips started to swell and bleed.

During her IVIG treatment. She doesn't even look like herself.

This was taken during the ultra sound of her heart. She was very uncomfortable lying on her back.

Mippi visiting her sweet baby.

Mippi got her to eat some of a banana- her first solid food in a week!

She was starting to feel a little better. Looking at pictures of Bubba and Sissy. She really missed them.

The swelling had started to go down and her mouth finally stopped bleeding.

Looking at the fishies. We were here in the middle of the night a couple of times.

I couldn't believe she would keep her mask on! She wore it for her wagon rides- whenever we left our room.

All better! Here she is healthy and happy a few months after getting out of the hospital.

My little squirrel

2009-11-24T14:33:00.005-05:00

The baby of the family sometimes wants to be a big kid like her brother and sister. She has been asking to do school work since she was eighteen months old, so when I ordered our books for this year I added a 2 year old curriculum for her. It came with an arts & crafts and a numbers book. She enjoys having her own box of crayons and work sheets. This squirrel hat is one of her crafts. She colored the tail and I cut out the ears and then she glued them onto the headband. While I was stapling it together she went to her toy basket and dug out this little squirrel doll. She cradled it like she was the mommy squirrel. It was so cute I had to get some pics. We went outside in the crunchy leaves to take some, but Eliana does not like to have her picture taken. She never has. Now that she is old enough to tell us why I understand it is because of the flash, but even when she was just a couple of months old she would always turn her face away from the camera. Now she shakes her head no and says, "light, light" pointing at the flash. But I did manage to get these two. I love how she is holding her baby squirrel so lovingly.

Towel Troubles

2009-11-19T12:53:00.004-05:00

For the first few years of our marriage I folded towels by the basketful. Even though it was just my husband and I, and we tried to use the same towel more than once before tossing it into the dirty clothes and grabbing a clean one, it still seemed like I was folding every single one we owned every time I did the wash. Then one day we found the answer to all our towel woes- the terrycloth bath robe! Not just any old terrycloth bath robe, but nice, thick, absorbent ones. We use our robes all week after each shower and then just hang them on a hook to dry for the next use. Each of our kids has their own robe as well. Scotty has mounted hooks in their bathroom and on each of their closet doors in their bedrooms so there is no excuse not to hang up their robe. This has cut the towel usage down to hand towels and wash cloths only. Now bath towels are only used to clean up the occasional spill, dry up the bathroom floor, or for guests. I wash the robes once a week or less and they don't have to be folded. Just hang them back on their hooks. A really good absorbent robe isn't cheap, but we have had ours for years. They hold up and really don't wear out. The kid's robes were $30.00 each from Costco, but we bought them 7 years ago and they are still in great shape! We have just passed them down the line as they grow.

Another issue in our house has been sour towels and robes. Last year one of my kids threw a wet beach towel in their hamper. Since I only wash clothes once a week it was pretty stinky by the time I found it. Their robes were also a little sour from the times they didn't hang them to dry. I washed them a couple of times and they still weren't fresh out of the dryer so I decided I would try bleach- even though it might ruin the look of the brightly colored robes and towel. If bleach freshened them it was better than throwing them out. So I washed them in hot water with about 1/2 cup of bleach. They were as good as new if not slightly faded. They have smelled fresh ever since.
Today I decided to use bleach one more time on a pile of less than fresh dish towels. They are all brightly colored, but again, I'd rather they have bleach spots and be fresh than have to throw them out. They weren't cheap. I can't stand towels that aren't absorbent enough, so I shelled out the extra cost for some really good dish towels. I set the machine on hot water and added my usual detergent as it was filling, along with a scoop of oxy clean and about 1/2 cup of bleach. They all came out smelling lovely, without even a hint of stink, and the bright colors still look as good as new. I guess the bleach is diluted enough not to fade the towels, but still strong enough to kill the mildew or whatever the lingering stink is.

So, for now, my towel troubles are over.

Fabulous fall recipe

2009-11-18T15:02:00.010-05:00

A few weeks ago, while waiting at the dentist office, a recipe in a magazine caught my eye. It sounded really good, so I filed it away in my brain. Things have been known to get lost in that filing cabinet, but I managed to remember this one. The recipe was for butternut squash ravioli. My husband stopped by the store for me with a short grocery list and purchased the largest butternut squash I have ever seen. I finally got around to making something with it. Last night I washed it (since my kids had been playing with it like it was a baby doll for a week or so) cut it lenghtwise and then again, making 4 slices. Then I scooped out the seeds and rubbed it with some butter, put it in a glass casserole pan with about an inch of water, and roasted it at 350 degrees for an hour- until it was tender. This was all in preparation for a special fall lunch. It was so tasty I decided to share the recipe.

Butternut Squash Ravioli with butternut squash and basil cream sauce:

"Here's a fun recipe that begins as an afternoon cooking project and ends as a wholesome dinnertime treat. In the kitchen, kids can take turns cutting, filling, and crimping each squash- and cheese-filled pouch. At the table, they'll be introduced to the delicious appeal of freshly made pasta. It's a simple, hands-on lesson that proves good things come in small packages.

Ingredients

FOR THE FILLING:
2 cups cooked butternut squash
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup mozzarella
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

FOR THE PASTA:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs

FOR THE SAUCE:
remaining squash filling
1/4 c. milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup water
fresh basil leaves

Instructions
Blend the squash with the milk, cheese, nutmeg, and salt & pepper until it has a smooth, mashed potato–like consistency. Note: The squash can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated in an airtight container.

Make the pasta. On a clean work surface, mound the flour and make a well in the center. In a small bowl, use a fork to lightly beat together the salt and the eggs. Carefully pour the egg mixture into the well. Using the fork, gently incorporate the flour into the egg mixture, a small amount at a time. With your hands and a spatula or dough scraper, work the dough until it pulls together into a smooth, pliable ball.
Halve the dough, then form each piece into a 1/2-inch-thick disk. Cover the disks with plastic wrap and set them aside to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Lightly flour your work surface and halve each dough disk. Roll out one of the dough portions as thinly as you can (to about the thickness of a dime), then use a 2½-inch-diameter drinking glass, biscuit cutter, or cookie cutter to cut rounds from the dough. Arrange them in pairs. Repeat with the remaining dough. Each half disk should yield about 7 pairs of dough rounds.
Further thin the dough rounds by pinching them between your thumb and forefinger. Each round should increase in diameter by about 1/4 inch.
Use a pair of dough rounds to make each ravioli. With a pastry brush or your fingertips dipped in water, paint a 1/2-inch perimeter around one of the dough rounds. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of the squash filling into the center.
After filling the ravioli, press the other round of dough on top of it along the moistened edges. Use the tines of a fork to seal the edges.

Bring two large pots of water to a boil (using two pots allows all the pasta to be cooked at once).

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat with any remaining squash filling. Add milk and stir. Then add water and blend. Add the basil and continue to cook the sauce until it's light brown and has a nutty aroma, about 4 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat. Remove basil leaves from the sauce.

Line a large plate with paper towels. Add half the ravioli to each pot of boiling water. The pasta will float to the top after 2 or 3 minutes, but continue cooking it until tender, about 15 minutes more (take one out and test its tenderness before draining an entire batch). When the ravioli are done, use a slotted spoon or spatula to scoop them out and transfer them to the paper towels to drain. To serve, place the ravioli on individual plates and drizzle them with sauce. Sprinkle on more Parmesan, if you like. Makes about 30 ravioli."

This recipe got 4 stars in our kitchen. It lost a star cause it's not fast to make, but the kids plates were all but licked clean. This is very tasty!

Smooth Sailing

2009-11-17T13:41:00.008-05:00

"Ahoy! I'm sailing! I sail!..." I just love days like today when everything goes smoothly. We have had no school issues, no bad attitudes about assignments, no slow poking, and no texts or phone calls to the principal. It has been a lovely day, so far. Now if we can just make it through chores we will be doing really great!

Not everyday goes this way. In fact, smooth sailing days are rather rare. Some days a storm comes up, rips off our sails, sinks our boat, and we are splashing around in the waves just trying to keep our faces above water until we can make it to shore. But not today. Today, even though the forecast calls for cloudy skies and rain outside, inside it is a beautiful day to home school. All attitudes are sunny and the sea is calm.

Sew many projects, sew little time...

2009-11-10T11:56:00.002-05:00

I only have 8 more half rows to go on Micah's quilt. Then all that will be left to finish it is the binding around the edge. I can't believe I am finally going to finish it. My goal is to be done by Thanksgiving. He has waited so long for his quilt. Scotty's Granny turned Eliana's baby blanket over to me to hand quilt for her. She can no longer do it with her shoulder injury. So I vowed to finish what she started to the best of my ability. She did a beautiful job and it is so beautiful now. Hopefully it will turn out okay after I am done with the quilting.

I have a few other sewing projects that are ready and waiting, including a dress for each of my girls and a some really cute stuffed animals. They will be made from a Simplicity pattern that is a replica from one of their vintage patterns from the 1950's. The animals are so cute and it looks like they will be easy to make. I also got a pattern to make a baby doll with clothes for each of my girls. There was a .99 pattern sale at one of my favorite fabric stores so I sort of stocked up on projects for awhile. Sunny will begin learning to sew this year so I got her a simple apron pattern. She is very excited to get busy on that.

When life slows down for us a bit (and the quilts are finished) I will start some of these and post pictures of our progress.

Psalm 118

2009-11-09T11:36:00.002-05:00

Some days are hard. My goal is to do my best, but I don't always succeed. Sometimes I get pressed down and depressed. But He always lifts my head again. I am so grateful and thankful that He knows His children. He knows where each one is in this world full of wickedness and sin and His hand is mighty to save. Blessed be The Name of the Creator of heaven and earth!

Graham Crackers

2009-11-03T18:05:00.012-05:00

When I offered my toddler a graham cracker she nodded and said, "Graham-mama cracker". How cute is that? (Grandmama is what I call my grandmother) Here is a super delish recipe for

"Graham-mama Crackers":

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to incorporate.
Add the butter and mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract.
Add to the flour mixture and mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator.
Flour the work surface and roll the dough about 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick. It will be sticky, so flour as necessary.
Cut out crackers with pizza cutter. I cut mine into 3X3" squares.
Gather the scraps and add to other half of dough still chilling.
Place the crackers on parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough and scraps.

Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker with the back of a knife. Then prick the dough on each side of the dividing line with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Watch them carefully so that they don't burn.

I had never made crackers before and this was the only recipe I could find that didn't call for special flour like graham or whole wheat. I only had unbleached all purpose on hand that day. So I gave these a try. Make sure you don't roll them out too thin unless you want them to be very, very crunchy. These are a little crunchy, a little chewy, and oh so tasty! I don't know how long they will stay fresh in a zippy bag because they only lasted 2 days in our house. They are so good! I will make these again.

*Update* I did make these again to take on a camping trip and we made s'mores with them. Recommended!! (Also see my homemade kosher marshmallow recipe)

Marshmallows- delicious and kosher!

2009-10-27T14:44:00.007-04:00

These home made marshmallows are scrumptious. I wanted to share the recipe for anyone who is having trouble finding kosher marshmallows like I did for so long (by "kosher" I mean containing no pork, pork products, or other unclean ingredients according to the scriptures). They are fun to make and you might never go back to store bought again. There were 2 things I wouldn't normally have in my kitchen/pantry to make these. First, you'll need unflavored kosher beef gelatin powder which you can purchase at vitaminlife.com upc # 322654002118. One can has lasted me over a year and I have made jello several times and 3 batches of marshmallows and it's still not gone yet! It goes a looooong way. (You can make jello with it by heating up 2 cups of fruit juice and dissolving 1 TBSP of the gelatin in it. Then just let it set up in the fridge. It is so good!) So if you enjoy jello, but not the kind made from pig snouts, then unflavored kosher beef gelatin powder is a must for your pantry. Second, you'll need a candy thermometer which I did not have. I borrowed one from my sister's well stocked kitchen which is like a museum of gadgetry containing anything you could ever want or need for cooking. Later I bought my own at Kroger for 3.99. Once you have these items you should be good to go. Okay- back to the marshmallows...

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup ice cold water

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

Nonstick spray or butter

Directions

Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup ice cold water. Leave it to "bloom" while you make the syrup.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F (soft ball stage), approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the hot sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping.

While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows:

For regular marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly spray a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with nonstick cooking spray or lightly butter. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use. When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly buttered spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container.

For miniature marshmallows:

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Line 4 half sheet pans with parchment paper, spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray or grease with butter and dust with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Scoop the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round piping tip or a zippy bag with the tip cut off to create a 1/2 inch opening. Pipe the mixture onto the prepared sheet pans lengthwise, leaving about 1-inch between each strip. Sprinkle the tops with enough of the remaining cornstarch and sugar mixture to lightly cover. Let the strips set for 4 hours or up to overnight. Roll the strips to coat them then cut into 1/2 inch pieces using a pizza wheel or scissors dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining sugar mixture and store in an airtight container.

These mallows stay fluffy and soft for at least 2 weeks (maybe longer, but ours never last longer than that so I haven't been able to see just how long they stay soft) My kids enjoyed watching and helping and all our family and friends who have tasted these have really enjoyed them. No one has eaten just one. Not even people who aren't marshmallow lovers! They're all lovers once they try these.

Don't liiiiike it!

2009-10-21T12:01:00.003-04:00

"Don't like it! Don't Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike it!" That is what my 2 year old says whenever she hears a loud noise or has food on her plate that she doesn't want to eat or any other undesirable circumstance in her life.

When I remember that my birthday is coming up this weekend that phrase goes through my mind. Birthdays used to be so fun! I remember waking up , even days before, feeling so light hearted and excited. There was so much to look forward to. I never had a big fancy party, but I always felt special and loved. Mom always asked us what kind of birthday cake we wanted. As busy as she was, she would always make a cake and a meal of our request. I always got cards from my grandparents and great grandparents in the mail. And what kid doesn't look forward to birthday presents? My parents never went overboard with gifts, but I got a few special things and I always loved what they gave me. One year I even got to have 3 friends spend the night. I remember sitting on the porch swing, waiting for them to arrive, with butterflies of excitement fluttering around in my stomach. Getting older is great when you're a kid. Each year is a badge of honor.

Now, as my birthday approaches, I don't feel the least bit excited. It could just pass on by for all I care. Mom still makes each of us a cake of our choice and hosts birthday dinners for all her kids and grandkids. But for some reason getting older is no longer fun, happy, or exciting. Birthdays are no longer exciting. Needless to say I am no longer excited about getting older. As Eliana would say- Don't like it! DON'T LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE IT!!!

A stitch in time

2009-10-14T10:45:00.007-04:00

For Micah's 9th birthday I decided to make him a quilt. It was my very first time making one. Scotty and I had a great time going to different fabric stores and choosing the patches (or blocks, as real quilters call them) He remembers going with his Granny and picking out the colors and fabrics for the quilt she made him when he was a kid. His Granny is an amazing quilter and has made- I don't know how many- beautiful quilts. She has made one for each of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She has had so much joy from quilting and has wanted someone to carry on after her. I like a challenge and I sew, so I decided I would be the one to pick up the needle where Granny left off when her shoulder wouldn't let her enjoy her favorite past time anymore. I chose the simple design and Scotty and I planned the block size and overall quilt size together. This one is called an "Eye Spy" quilt. We looked for the funnest and most colorful fabrics we could find. The kids can lay on it and play I spy for hours...that is, when I finally finish making it.

After we picked out dozens of different fabrics and bought a quarter yard of each I brought them all home and washed them. Then I had to iron each piece and cut out each block. That took a day or two. Scotty helped me with the ironing and cutting and even bought me a nice rubber cutting mat and sharp wheel to make it faster and easier. Then I pieced the quilt on my sewing machine. That went fast and only took an evening. After that I sandwiched the cotton batting between the block top and the backing and pinned it like crazy. Then I basted it with lots and lots of huge stitches. Granny told me to be sure and baste it a lot so it would be easier during the quilting process. I decided to hand quilt instead of trying to do it on my machine. Granny was glad. She knew something I didn't. Hand quilting takes hours and hours. Dozens of stitches slowly turn into hundreds. Hundreds slowly become thousands. Each stitch becomes and act of love. You spend a lot of time thinking about the person you're making the quilt for. She usually takes a year to complete a quilt for someone and she does the entire thing by hand. She won't admit it, but her stitches are perfect and tiny. Mine? Not so much. But still stitched with love. From the planning to the final knot- I never knew how much work and time is involved in creating a quilt.

So a year and a half later I am still quilting away. I'm getting closer and closer to finishing this thing. Micah will be so glad when I'm done. I'll be so glad when I'm done. The craziest part of all is that I'm planning to make one for each of my girls when I finish his. I better give myself at least 2 years this time.

Slowly but surely

2009-10-13T15:34:00.003-04:00

A week long camping trip means mounds of laundry and lots of equipment to put away when we get home. I usually get overwhelmed when there is so much mess and extra work to do on top of our regularly scheduled day of homeschool and chores. But I am trying to stay calm and get things done little by little- one thing at a time. So we are just following our normal daily routine and I am finding moments here and there to work on the aftermath of our trip. Eventually it will all get cleaned up and put back where it goes. The laundry is now done except for the last sleeping bag tumbling around in the dryer. I would say that is huge progress.

8 days

2009-10-12T11:38:00.010-04:00

We survived our camping trip! This was our fourth year celebrating the Biblical Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Booths or Sukkot- which means temporary dwellings) In the past we have traveled to North Carolina to join a congregation there. We have made many good friends and have always had a good time. But in the spring my best friend's brother got married and his wife's family invited us to join their group in South Carolina this year.

I will dwell on the positive parts of our trip. Some things I enjoyed are as follows: meeting some fun and sweet new people, the smell of campfires, holding a puppy, the drive to Charleston, the sweet- sweet air conditioning in our van, the beach, watching my children play and have a great time, roasted marshmallows, smoked turkey with Mr. E's b-b-q sauce, good laughs, Eliana's ponytails, tossing kids on the parachute, Aunt Gwen's green salve, watching the little girls wash dishes at the spigot, wading in the river, helping plan a scavenger hunt, hearing how much the kids enjoyed the hunt, lemon cello, and being together with no t.v. or internet for 8 whole days.

My favorite part of the whole trip was going to the beach! We didn't know until we got to the state park where we were camping that it was only about 30 miles to Charleston and the beach. So one hot day we decided to load up and make the short drive. Our kids love the beach and we didn't get to go this summer, so this was an opportunity too good to pass up. We took our three kids and a few others, too. They all swam and played and had an absolute blast while we relaxed and enjoyed the wind and waves. It was wonderful!

We survived the crazy heat, a yellow jacket infestation, mosquitoes feasting on our flesh, barking dogs at 3 a.m., poisonous ivy, rain, rain, and more rain. Micah got to make a breakfast hobo, Sunny made a new friend, and Eliana got to enjoy the beach for the first time. We learned a little, grew a little, and made it home safely. Overall we had a nice trip. But I have never been so happy to pull into our driveway as I was last night when we got home sweet home.

A scary way to start the day

2009-10-02T00:29:00.004-04:00

At 8:00 this morning I was sitting at my desk teaching math to my 5th grader. My 2 year old was in her highchair in the kitchen and my 1st grader was unloading the dishwasher. I could see both of them from where I was sitting. Suddenly, I glimpsed "someone" coming up behind me out of the corner of my eye. I was terrified for a moment because all of the people in our house were in my sight and I knew no one else was here. I didn't want to turn around and was frozen with fear for a split second, then flooded with relief, then overwhelmed with laughter when I realized that a half deflated helium balloon, left over from my baby's birthday party and floating about shoulder high, had drifted in from the parlor and was hovering behind me. WHEW!!! That was a close one :))

Party animals and Terrible Twos

2009-09-28T20:41:00.001-04:00

Eliana in her animal crackers party dress mommy made.
Ready to party!

Ready for a nap!

Eliana had a zoo animals party on Sunday afternoon to celebrate turning two. This year we only invited family and still we had 10 kids- all first cousins! (plus another cousin on the way) The activities were blowing bubbles outside, a candy hunt inside, the Hokey Pokey, and then cake and ice cream after Eliana opened her gifts. It was crowded and noisy and hot- much like an actual zoo. All of the children seemed to be having fun....except maybe the birthday girl.

Now I'm not a first time mom. I've already been through the "terrible twos" twice before, but I was still very embarrassed when my daughter acted out and started crying when we tried to get her to open gifts. She has always been a little bit timid and takes time to warm up to new people and situations so I'm sure that having a house full of people wasn't exactly putting her at ease. But it was still embarrassing, in front of a room full of people waiting to watch her open their gift, when she started acting like fire ants were attacking her. All she wanted was cake and m&ms and she was willing to pitch a fit to get them! We are now on high alert that the "TTs" have started and we must go from awwww-she's-just-a-cute-little-baby mode to nip-it-in-the-bud mode.

Eliana might not have had a total blast at her party, but she has been playing with her new toys all day and I know she felt special on her day (maybe a little too special). We would like to thank all of our guests who came to her party and who love her- tantrums and all.

Two years ago today...

2009-09-24T09:37:00.001-04:00

This date two years ago was one of the sweetest memories of my life. Oh sure, I had to go through the agony of labor and delivery that day, but just look at the reward. Eliana Israel was a blessing and a surprise. We had finally given up our dream of more children when in January of 2007 two pink lines appeared heralding her eminent arrival. Shocked, surprised, elated, we went through the next nine months until she made her grand and gentle entry into the world at a tiny 7 lbs and 3.9 oz. (a preemie sized baby by our family's standards) On that day she was welcomed into a family that had been longing for her and waiting in anticipation to meet her. Her name means "My God has answered".

Eliana is a wonderful person. She makes us all laugh everyday with her spunky attitude. That same attitude tests and tries Scotty's and my parenting skills, forcing us to stay sharp and united. She is her big brother's pet and Sunny's little tag along. Micah, in particular, is totally smitten with her and spoils her rotten. He teaches her funny little things and she is his preforming monkey, doing all types of "parlor tricks" that he has taught her. He thinks that she is hilarious and the cutest thing he's ever seen. She is eager to learn and wants to do all the things the other kids are doing. Her favorite activities at this age are playing toys, watching "toons", taking showers or baths, playing outside, riding around on Micah's shoulders, and coloring/writing/drawing. When it comes to good sleepers we are 3 for 3. Eli takes one or two good naps each day and sleeps all night in her own bed. She has a good appetite although she can be a bit of a picky eater sometimes. Her vocabulary is growing and she is talking more and more these days. Two years have gone by pretty fast since that day when I first held my little bundle. They have been a challenge and a whole lot of fun.

Every year, when any of my children's birthdays rolls around, I get a little (or a lot) sad. I usually cry a little (or a lot) the night before. I guess it is because time keeps moving us further and further from that very precious day when they were born. But I am happy, too. They are growing up to be the special people God created them to be. I love getting to be their mom and watching the miracles of their lives unfold.

Best shelf ever!

2009-09-23T18:29:00.001-04:00

My 10 year old son spent the night with his grandparents last night and when they brought him home today he had a surprise for me. He had built me a set of shelves for my laundry room!!! He even painted it and carved my name in the side. The shelves slide out and everything. What a thoughtful and creative boy! He told me he "wouldn't have made it for me if he didn't love me." I told him I will keep it forever.

First day of fall

2009-09-22T06:32:00.000-04:00

Waffles for breakfast

I really love the fall. It has always been my favorite time of year and I look forward to the cooler weather and crunchy leaves. Of course, it's still hot outside here in the deep south until about late November and we've had so much rain lately that the leaves won't be crunchy anytime soon. But today is the official first day of fall, so I'm making soup for lunch anyway, even if it is eighty something degrees outside.

There is lots going on around here this week. Projects will be happening and I will try to post pics. Scotty has been working on enclosing our backporch to make us a spacious and much appreciated schoolroom. That project is coming right along, but is currently in rain delay. I'm planning on doing a little sewing for my baby girl who is turning 2 on friday. I will also be making her a giraffe birthday cake and finishing up the plans for her little family party.

My First Blog!

2009-09-21T15:59:00.001-04:00

Hello out there! After reading the blogs of friends, friend's friends, and friends of friend's friends I was inspired to make my own. Finally, today, I found the time to start it up. It's like an on-line diary that anyone can read, right? Kinda weird- but fun! People are so interesting and I really enjoy reading about how other moms manage their days, their kids, their responsibilities, and whatever else they want to share. So in case anyone out there wants to take a peek into our daily life- welcome to my blog!