Diagnosis?

Poor Grace. It seems like she's usually the one to get hit the hardest when the flu's floating around our house. And this time is no exception. Well, maybe. The doctor isn't sure what's wrong with her. So my brave girl got to endure being pricked & almost passing out from giving so much blood. Hopefully we'll know more by tonight or in the next few days.

Blech

I think we have the plague at our house. At least it seems that way. I plan to Clorox every surface in the hope that it prevents me from coming down with it, though I doubt whether it will help much. Noah was up off & on last night trying to hack up a lung. Grace is running a fever, so they both are home from school today after a long night. Abbie is at school despite a cold & sore throat, and I'm trying to convince Daniel why it's not a good idea to play outside in 40 degree, damp, rainy weather. So, for today, it's Nurse Mommy to the rescue. I come fully equipped with Kleenex, nose drops, cough drops, Vic's, and other sundry items. We'll see if my "patients" cooperate!

April...in a nutshell

Yay for Spring and beautiful days! Daniel loves to be outside & always finds plenty to keep him busy. (That's an understatement!)

It seems like I've been out at school several times this past month. It's fun to see the kids during the day, and to see them interacting with their friends. Here's a rare picture of Abbie with her best friend, who usually runs from the camera. I even got her smiling...may miracle never cease!

Here is my silly toothless son celebrating his birthday. He asked for a cookie cake & I was happy to oblige.

Speaking of toothless, would you believe that my 7 year old asked her dad to pull two teeth with pliers?!?! Believe it. She wanted to cash in with the tooth fairy.

My good friend got married this past week.

She is a beautiful testimony of God's faithfulness & I couldn't be happier for her.

"You give and take away, my heart will choose to say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord!"

Read this

I love this blog. I couldn't have explained this phenomenon better if I had tried.


That's all I've got for ya. I'm just trying to survive Monday.

Some people's worst nightmare

Confession: I'm afraid of the dark. I know everyone is afraid of something. And though fear is not always rational, I'm pretty sure that my fear is justifiable. A couple of my friends are afraid of their teeth falling out. I have to admit, that one doesn't make sense to me. But it's their fear, so who am I to argue? After the weekend he had, Noah had a nightmare last night that all his teeth fell out. (Another member for your "club", L!) ;)

His tooth that got knocked out on Friday was doing okay...until Sunday night. He played soccer on Saturday & did just fine, so I wasn't too worried about dropping him off for small group childcare at church. I had a moment of hesitation because there isn't much adult supervision, but he assured me that he would be careful, so my mind was put at ease. An hour later, I got a phone call. One of the older boys was being rough & swinging/pushing him in the gym on a little scooter cart. He was pushing it so fast & hard that Noah went flying off & into the wall...and knocked his tooth back out (halfway) again. We brought him home & proceeded to take it out the rest of the way, per a dentist's instructions.

He's feeling lots better this morning, even though he's talking kind of funny. Now if the tooth fairy could just get her act together & remember to do her job!!!

Not blind, but toothless

Last night, while playing baseball...

I've got you hooked, huh? :) You know if the word "baseball" is involved, chances are, there is some sort of tragedy soon to follow.

So, last night, while playing baseball, Noah was trying to catch an incoming ball. It went above his glove and hit him directly in his mouth. After a cry, he proceeded to spit out his front tooth, root & all. I was away at a bridal shower and Phil was home with our kids, plus two more. He had the presence of mind to care for our son & read up on what to do in the event of a tooth loss. He put it back in, and though it's pretty loose, it looks like it should hold alright. There wasn't much more a dentist could do, besides charge a sizable sum to do the exact same thing. Noah played his soccer game this morning & did just fine; he was careful with it & held it in place with his tongue the entire game. :)

Abbie fractured her arm, Grace sent us to the ER for several stitches, and Noah knocked out his tooth...now I'm just preparing myself for when Daniel breaks a bone. It's a fairly high probability that it's bound to happen...one of these days.

Easter weekend

As much as I love getting away and going on vacation, it was nice to be at home this time. The kids had Thursday & Friday off from school. Our time was busy, but not hectic. We colored eggs, participated in soccer, watched movies, played with friends, and enjoyed being a family. The best part of my weekend was reading The Adventures of Jimmy Skunk to my boys. They are finally at the age where a story (without pictures) can capture their attention, and they are able to follow & understand the story line.

Saturday night before bed, the kids helped make these Resurrection Cookies. They each got to eat one Sunday morning. Daniel was wide-eyed listening to the story & the first one up Sunday morning, anxious to see what had happened to the cookies. It was a fun, hands-on way to talk through the story of Easter with them.

Sunday we invited friends over for lunch. They brought eggs for the kids to hunt, and despite the rain outside, we had a lot of laughs hiding over 100 eggs around the house & watching the kids find...and walk right past countless eggs.

All in all, it was a fun weekend, and a wonderful Easter.

Resourceful

I found one of Grace's school pages yesterday & was laughing my head off. She was supposed to write a short story with these guidelines: "At the beach one day you decide to catch a crab for a pet...tell how you would do it. Tell how to find a crab, how to catch a crab, how to keep a crab, and what you would name a crab." Here was her response:

"I would go to a farm. Then I would get some horse hair. Then I would make a net. I would go to the shore and throw the net out. I will wait till I feel a tug. I would name it ted."

It's definitely not what I would have ever thought of, but you've got to give it to her. That girl sure is resourceful!

Deeply rooted

It's still hard to believe we have lived here for almost 7 years. For a while we were on a "3 year track" - moving every 3 years. It's never easy to say "good-bye" to old friends, or to venture out & build new friendships. But in 2004 we decided to join a small group, and our lives haven't been the same since. :) They've been blessed. We went on our 1st camping trip on Mother's Day '05 - 8 adults & 10 children. It was a little hectic at times, but the work was worth the fun.

May 2008

By '08 our numbers had increased a bit

12 adults & 16 kids!

May 2005

Almost four years later, our small group has become a support group & a second "family". And over time close friendships have been built over laughter, conversation, and bonding (suffering) together on those camping trips! But lately, as our kids grow older and are involved in more activities, and as our lives grow more busy, it has become increasingly difficult to carve out that time together. It makes me sad to see things changing.

But last night we did just that. And though it was slightly crazy - with 22 people in the house, it was a blast. (At least it was for us; we don't mind the chaos!) There was way to much food & not enough room to sit, but no one seemed to mind. We played a game while the kids watched a movie (they kept hollering @ us to quiet down!). And after everyone left, the house was too quiet, and we didn't want it to end.

I'm glad we've put down roots here and that this group of friends is helping us to become deeply rooted in Christ as we share laughter, encourage one another, and live life together.

Waiting on God

I don't know why, but I worry about money. It's a silly thing, really. It's just money. But I worry about it. Too much. And I waste my time fretting over the lack of it, and sometimes longing for the abundance of it. Despite my roller coaster relationship with money, God has always been faithful to provide what we need, at just the right time. We've never gone without a meal, a home, water, or electricity. It's true that we've had to "sacrifice" other things, that fall under the category of "immediate gratification", but that's not a bad thing.

These past couple of weeks, I've watched the funds in our checking dwindle & I wondered if & when we would have payments come in from customers. The more it dropped, the more I worried, and the more I pleaded with God to send some soon!

I shared my fears with a couple friends & was blessed to receive a gift on Thursday with this verse in Galatians "...as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (6:10) I was on my way to deposit the money in our account when I got a call from Phil telling me a payment had just arrived in the mail. I could feel God reminding me tenderly, "Oh, you of little faith. Don't you know I will take care of you?" He is faithful, and he continues to provide for our needs, big & small.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3:22-24

Lesson learned

Well, after a worried call from my mother this morning, I decided I had better not play any more April Fool's "jokes"...or should I say "lies"? I should just stick to the kind of "jokes" the kitchen staff used to pull on April 1st. As kids, we anticipated what kind of prank they would come up with. They thought of all sorts of fun things. One time we walked into breakfast, only it was a lunch menu. They served up our food "family style" - 8 servings to a table. One meal, as we anticipated biting into a juicy hamburger, one sorry soul found a slab of cardboard instead. Sometimes the tables were "set" with all cups or all plates, or the chairs had all disappeared. Now those cooks were serious ladies & very "down to business", but once a year, they let loose & made the first day of April a lot of fun. I found an idea in Taste of Home for a mixed up meal - a "cake" made of meatloaf & mashed potato "frosting", glasses of "juice" (jello), and a dessert that looks like a taco salad. I've learned my lesson. I'll stick to silly pranks & mix-ups instead!

Surprise, surprise

Baby #5 will arrive in October. Let the fun begin!

(Someone want to tell me when the crying will cease?)