More than "Mom"

Busy doing nothing.

2011-02-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

For the last several weeks I feel like I've been 'going' constantly, but when I look back, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything! I suppose this is part of the season I'm in right now with little ones at home. I can spend a whole morning doing nothing but making chocolate milk, nursing the baby, picking up toys, carrying the baby, finding requested cartoons, rescuing puzzle pieces and barbie shoes from the baby, searching for a nukey, setting up the baby gate, moving the baby gate for the big girl, resetting up the baby gate, refilling milk cups, saying no to requests for candy, fishing pieces of soggy paper out of the baby's mouth, wiping snot, changing diapers..... and then, realize it's lunchtime, my kindergartner is home, it's time to feed them, and I still haven't even gotten dressed! Most days I'm tired by noon, and have nothing to show for my exhaustion.
I think that's why I like 'projects', because I can focus my attention on one, visually satisfying task while feeling justified that there's still dirty dishes on the counter and mounds of laundry to be folded.
To be honest, I have actually accomplished things in the last couple weeks that I'm very pleased with, but sometimes I just get overwhelmed by what still needs to be done, that I'd like to just curl up and cry.
And, to wrap up the whining, I didn't intend to be a Negative Nancy.... These were just the things floating around in my head as I have been being challenged by my desire to be more intentional with my days. At church, we've been challenged to 'do the hard thing' and press in to find out what that particular thing is for us right now. And, that's one of the two things I've felt the Lord calling me to in this season - to be more intentional. And as I've been contemplating this idea, I'm having to realize that being 'intentional' isn't quite what I originally thought. My first thought was that I need to be more organized and use my time better, in turn, getting more accomplished. An overwhelming thought, yet exciting at the same time, because I desperately desire to be more organized. But as I pressed in to the father's heart on this matter, I'm realizing that being 'intentional' has very little to do with time management. It has everything to do with seizing moments. Recognizing teachable moments for my children and myself. Discovering new truths about God in my everyday tasks. Learning more about who my kids are and what their hearts look like, and how I can encourage them in who They Are, and not just what I want them to be. And, to me this is a hard thing right now. I tend to so easily get caught up in what needs to be done - homework, cleaning, laundry, etc.
But I'm praying for new ears, to hear what's on my girls' hearts, new eyes to see their giftings, and a new filter on my mouth, to encourage more and scold less. So, my 'hard thing' may not be an amazing evangelical effort, or discovering new witnessing opportunities, but in my way, it's changing the future by shaping these little women, and I pray for much grace in doing it to the best of my ability.

Hello February!

2011-02-01T11:47:00.000-08:00

The last two weeks in our house have been a complete flurry of activity, mostly focused on dealing with sickness. Each of my girls took a turn with the stomach bug that was going around, one right after the other, mostly in the middle of the night. Even Joe was taken out one day by it. I thought I had tiptoes my way through it with little effect. Unfortunately, I took my turn with it at the marriage retreat weekend. And, apparently that puke fest can overload your throat with acid, triggering irritated vocal cords which results in no voice. And, lets just say that having no voice, while having 5 children, makes life a little interesting....or difficult...or gosh darn it, plain old frustrating! I whistle, clap or psst to get my kid's attention...I hope they don't feel like they're cats....
Sickness aside, we did have a fabulous time at the marriage retreat. We watched a series called, "Laugh Your Way To A Better Marriage", and boy did we laugh. It was very entertaining, but also very informative. I still feel like I'm processing. The retreat was held at this beautiful house called Creek Haven Retreat, and the house alone was enough to make me feel at rest. But Jess had put a ton of effort into making the weekend flow smoothly and be enjoyable for everyone, and we so appreciate it.
This week could prove to be rather interesting as Anna and Elley are involved with a Children's Theater production at their school and are supposed to have rehearsals every night. They're putting on 'The Tortoise and the Hare'. Joelle has a small part as part of the fan club, and Anna is one of the 4 Assistant Directors, so unless someone gets sick, she won't be on stage, but judging by the binder she brought home last night, holds a lot of responsibility! I'm not sure how things will work out in regards to the weather this week, but it will be a fun experience I'm sure. Oh, Lily did also audition for the production, but didn't get a part. She was rather disappointed initially, but has readjusted her attitude and seems happy to be home to help me with the littles. I have such good girls, and I couldn't be more proud of them all.

Jan 20

2011-01-20T10:56:00.001-08:00

Confessions.
1. I'm lazy. I've had my Christmas decorations down for several weeks now, but I only just put them in the attic today. Why? Because it's freakin' cold up there - and it took several trips, and I'm lazy and just got used to seeing the bins in my closet for the last month...
2. I love physical, visual change - like moving furniture, getting a new hairstyle or making crafts. I hate circumstantial (is that the right word?) change - like friends moving away, children growing up, grandparents dying, moms and sisters getting jobs so we can't shop or have tea whenever the mood strikes...
3. I would really like to be thin enough to wear leggings. I love the trend right now of tunics and leggings and boots - but my hips, not so much.
4. I really want to lose some of this baby fat, and get in better shape - but I really, really don't want to change my habits. I guess this kinda refers back to #2.
5. Unless I know someone is coming over or I have plans to go out - I don't get dressed. Like I could stay in my jommies for days. You know it's bad when, in an effort to motivate myself this morning, I got dressed first thing and my preschooler says, "Ooh - where are we going?!".
6. I seriously think I have cleaning ADD. I started tidying my computer desk this morning while Lu and Eva played together. An hour later, we ended up rearranging every piece of furniture in my bedroom. And my computer desk is still a mess...
7. I'm utterly random - this post is proof.

January 19

2011-01-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

I've been busy that last few days trying to work on some projects I've started and just trying to maintain some semblance of order amidst a holiday weekend, birthday parties, little people visiting overnight and another snow day! Poor Lil had a friend over on Sunday night and ended up getting sick in the night and her friend went home at 1am. I think we've weathered that sickness and currently all in our household seem basically healthy - Praise the Lord!
I was soundly scolded about not posting pictures of my craft projects, and so I'm hoping to finish some things in the next couple days and take and post pictures of those. Specifically for Ang.
My goals for the year have gotten a very slow start. I started my workouts with gusto, and then my knee started really acting up, so I've slowed that down immensely, and added in some of my rehab exercises. I'd like to actually weigh myself and post a picture of my 'before' self to hopefully give me a kick start with a bit of accountability. I'm doing really well with my commitment to drinking more water and I'm rather proud of myself there.
As for my goals regarding laundry.... I've not made any headway. None. I may have even regressed some... It's bad, folks. I'm a little frustrated as I try to figure out what works to get tasks done with a tiny, attention-seeking crawler who seems to be phasing out one of her three naptimes.
So, that's my last couple of days in a nutshell. Yes, I know, my life is so exciting. Oh well.

Jan. 12

2011-01-12T11:31:00.001-08:00

I've spent the last several days in a bit of a funk, and let the blogging go by the wayside. I do believe that this current funk is due to a hormone shift heralding a visit that I haven't had to deal with for 17 months. Alas, as cranky as I am right now, I hope there is some relief in the near future. Anyhoo...
Yesterday I had a great morning having a tea party with my Eva while Baby Lu slept. It never ceases to amaze me the joy I find in setting out my teacups and teapot. It's been a while since I used my pretty things on a regular basis, as I've migrated more to sticking my chunky mug in the microwave for a quick cup of cappuccino. But yesterday reminded me that I should get back to my teatime. The whole spirit of a tea party is soothing to me. It's quiet and delicate and feminine and refined - a lot of things that I dream of being and fear I may never achieve. Teatime is a special gift that I love to share with my girls now and hope will be a continued event as they grow up.
Also, yesterday all the weather reports were preparing us for quite a little snow storm, and with thoughts of a cozy snow-day ahead, I decided to build a tent in our living room. Original plan: build a warm nest of blankets, snuggle down with all the little people and enjoy getting snowed in. Actual experience: Tent attempt #1 - blankets and clothespins - FAIL. Tent attempt #2 - real tent borrowed from Aunt Beth, got it set up but couldn't get it to stay in one place and wasn't big enough for all of us, and I was afraid it would scratch the hardwood - FAIL. Tent attempt #3 - An old roll of plastic tablecover from the shed, a roll of painters tape, some twine and a stapler - 3 hours later - success! I gathered cushions and pillows from the basement and we had our cozy plastic dome. We enjoyed our movie (Despicable Me - great movie!), hot dogs, pierogies and baked beans and broiler smores - all while the snow piled up outside. Realization at bedtime - woops, where's the baby gonna sleep?! Eventually got Lu settled in the pack and play in the office, and lay down on the couch to join the rest in peaceful slumber..... and then realized just how loudly my children snore. After a restless night, the phone rings at 5:30 with the long awaited phone call from the school! Hopes dashed as the recording announces a delay rather than the dreamed off cancellation. Pooh. But at least we get to sleep in. Or not. All children awake before normal time. Cranky. The oldest sobbing as she put her coat on for school. *Sigh* The best laid plans.....
And now, finally the three littles are napping and maybe I can lay down for a bit!

January 6

2011-01-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

Wow - Happy 8 month birthday to my sweet Lulu-bird! Time is flying! I can't believe that my littlest girlie is growing so fast. She is crawling around the house like a speedracer, pulling up and creeping around furniture, scooting right up the stairs if we forget the gate.... She also is constantly amazing me with her ability to communicate. Last night I tried feeding her mashed peas mixed with rice cereal - she DID NOT like it. There was faces and coughing and gagging.... I kept trying to sneak in a spoonful here and there while I ate my dinner, and she was not enjoying it. Then, she convinced me to let her off the hook by signing, "All done" for the first time! It was adorable and amazing, so she won that battle. (I'll be trying the peas sans cereal tonight tho!) I am grateful every day for the gift that my Lu is to our family.
As for how my projects are going...
I am still plugging away trying to catch up with the horrible mountain of laundry that accumulated over 'vacation' - I've gotten almost all the laundry washed and folded, but I'm stalling putting it all away so I can sort through and pack away out of season or wrong size clothing - it's a big job.
I"m a little disappointed that I didn't get to work on my shelf yesterday, but I realized that I can't move forward til I get the curtain rod to know what size to cut everything and I can't paint till I cut it out - so tonight we run to Home Depot again... And I'm going to use my Christmas gift card to Joanne Fabric to get what I need to make the curtains too - thanks Aunt Beth! I will also be taking Lil to get her haircut tonight, and she convinced her daddy to let me put some pink highlights in her hair - cause she's Lil and pink highlights suit her. I love my girls.
One project I did get to yesterday was the hutch! I carefully took apart the glass doors and removed the grids, used my Dremel to cut off the cross pieces and put them all back together. I love the change. Of course, once I put it back together, I realized I needed to tidy (ie. redecorate) the whole hutch. This is how I function - I have housekeeping ADD.
I also am proud to say that I successfully made it through my second workout and am not hurting nearly so bad today! Wondering if I could drop 2 dress sizes by the summer....

Jan 5

2011-01-05T07:18:00.000-08:00

I started my workout program on Monday, using the EA Active for Kinect, and tried out a "pre-fab" workout. By Monday night, my knee was swollen and sore, and I woke up Tuesday barely able to walk. So, after resting yesterday, today I plan to get back to it with a much easier on the knees, customized workout. It was so easy to look through the list of exercises and put together something I think will be very low impact and yet hopefully effective. I'm still feeling pretty positive about it!
Also, last night, Joey picked up some supplies for me to start my first building project for 2011 - my custom designed curtain rod/shelf for my dining room window! I'm just a wee bit giddy about that - can't wait to get started! I've also been having a hankerin' to take out the 'grid' panels in the windows of my hutch, but couldn't quite figure out the best way to go about it. Joey suggested using the cutting head on my new Dremel tool - so I think I'm gonna try that out today too.
Unfortunately, Luci has been sleeping terribly this week and I'm feeling rather worn out this morning, so I'm really hoping my morning cappuccino kicks in and gives me the boost I need to even get started on these exciting plans for my day!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T08:17:00.000-08:00

I'm gonna commit to not feel guilty about not blogging, and just pick up and move on, rather than worry about 'catching up'. I'm going to try to keep this more as a personal journal about my everyday life, rather than attempting to be insightful, inspiring, or humorous. I want to keep track of my struggles, and my accomplishments. I plan to use this as a place to keep an account of things that God is doing and saying, to me or through others. I'm sitting with my red pen, expecting God to speak. And, I'm also planning to have a visual account of my physical goals for this year. I'm committing to doing some form of exercise at least 3 days a week. I will not drink juice or soda during the week (this seems minor, but I really don't like water - so it's a big deal for me). I'm aiming to lose about 15 pounds and 2 dress sizes. I'd like to be more intentional about my use of time. I'd really like to figure out a better plan of attack regarding our laundry situation, which seems to continually overwhelm me. I'd like to make over my laundry room, to make it more functional and hopefully more inspiring to spend time in! I'd like to get in a habit of making my bed every day! I'd like to work toward setting up the 'office' as my craft central, and be able to enjoy crafting without creating a disaster on my dining room table. I want to scold less and enjoy my children more. So - here's to a healthier, cleaner, more organized and happy 2011!

Awesome giveaway!

2010-08-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Jess got me hooked on several blogs over the last year, most of which are decorating, crafty, DIY themed. Today, one of them, A Soft Place To Land, is doing a giveaway for one of those craft cutter things. I've been seeing so many amazing projects that you can do with them, and I would so love to have one! I was especially excited when I saw the adorable bird designs that would go so great in Lulu's nursery! Check it out!

HOME

2010-07-19T12:31:00.001-07:00

Overwhelmed by my thoughts, feelings, worries, exhaustion. Trying to focus on being thankful for the now..... Settling my mind to thank the Father for the things he's given me to enjoy: The sunshine beating on my head, the warm bundle resting quietly now against my body, the whirring and chirping of birds and insects, the rustling of the breeze through the corn, the smell of dirt and life with the heat rising in waves from the fields, the creaking of the rocker on the porch planks. This is my home, these are my blessings, this is my life. And I am thankful.

I was tagged...

2010-06-10T15:09:00.001-07:00

Jess tagged me on her blog and challenged me to a 'Like, Love, Hate' post. I know I should really do a post on what's been going on here, and post some pics of our newest princess, and maybe I'll get around to that soon. But for now - I have to come up with 12 likes, 1 love and 8 hates - which is harder than you'd think....
12 Likes:
*fuzzy baby sleepers *fresh flowers *skinny pens *fresh notebooks *open windows with sheer curtains fluttering in the breeze *big earrings *painted toes *porches with big potted ferns, ceiling fans and a swing with pillows *a perfectly medium cooked steak *beautifully wrapped gifts *long eyelashes (even if that means mine are false!) *little girls with braided hair

1 Love:
*My handsome hubby, shirtless in my clean kitchen trying out a new recipe for Chicken Marsala (yup that's happening right now!)

8 Hates:
*Falling down (or up) the stairs *My lack of patience with my children *The shortage of a wardrobe that fits my post-pregnancy body *Mice *Budgets *Mushrooms *My lack of motivation *Baby acne

Phew - now my brain hurts... I'll try to make a real post soon!

Nursery is complete!

2010-04-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have thoroughly enjoyed preparing the nursery for the arrival of our newest little one (who I affectionately call Squirmy). And, other than the actual baby to put in it - the nursery is officially complete! I did attempt to keep it gender neutral, and thought I did a pretty good job... but according to Bryce - it's a little girly, so I may have to consult him and work at adding in some more masculine elements if Squirmy is a boy! But, I love it as it is right now, and think it's perfect. To top it off, I love the fact that I spent less than $30 for the entire thing! I'm really not a very good photographer, so I'm afraid these pictures don't do it justice - but I'm thrilled to share it none the less...
I got this lamp base at Goodwill - brand new (from Target!), it was just missing the top plastic ring to balance the shade (I ended up using electrical tape. Got the plain white shade at Target. A little modpodge and....

Got the cute little nest on clearance at Marshall's after Easter - the eggs were bright pastels and broken off, I painted them and glued them back together. The bird was one of my treasures from Jessi's swap party - forgot to take a 'before' pic, but it was bright turquoise with handpainted (aka ugly) flowers all over it - nothing a little modpodge can't fix...

This was a creepy bear picture that I picked up months ago at the thrift store because I liked the size of the frame. Joe was a little freaked out by some of the bears and couldn't understand my attraction - but I took it apart, spray painted over the bear picture and made it into my own 'canvas'. I printed out the verse and placed it under the glass and hand painted the letters right onto the glass; then hand painted the birds on the branch for behind it (which I had to do twice to make it light enough to still see the words). I love how it came out!

I altered the pattern from my mobile birds to make some larger ones hang from the ceiling, and sewed them right onto twigs from the backyard - again, gotta love free!

I had this peg shelf for years, it used to have tea pot wallpaper stuff decorating it, but it was peeling - so I pulled it off, sanded it and created a little modpodge bird scene...

These little birds I found at the dollar store, but they were peach, so I painted them white and added a little stain to pick up the swirly design on the wings. The shelves were from when I was newly married and obsessed with ivy - they used to hang in my bathroom in the old house and I was going to get rid of them, but thought they'd be great with the vine design in the nursery - and free!

Oh - and I'm linking up at this party again!

Nesting!

2010-03-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

I'm down to about a month or so until Baby #5 makes its' appearance, and I've finally had some time and energy to work on some things for the nursery! I've been trying to pull together some sort of gender neutral 'theme' for the nursery, but had to work with a very limited budget. I discovered that the mobile I had, a gift from Anna's baby shower 10 years ago, still worked fine, but was a bit discolored and just didn't coordinate - so I decided to make a new one! I found a pattern online for these cute little birds, dug out some great fabric from Bessie's attic and whipped some up! I was so excited to find the little nest and eggs at the craft store for a buck a piece - cheap and adorable! I also found some great scrapbook paper to cover the little unfinished bin that I scooped up for $2 at the thrift store a while back. Now, I'm loving my little birdie theme and am searching for more things to add in!
Oh - and for the first time ever - I'm linking this post up to

Thoughts for a snowy day....

2010-02-11T08:19:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY
February 11, 2010...
Outside my window...the sun is glaringly bright against the mountains of wind-swept snow.
I am thinking...about Valentines plans and ideas.
I am thankful for...disposable diapers, electricity and public school (yeah, today it's the basics that are priceless).
From the kitchen...dishes that need to be loaded into the dishwasher, and a pantry that needs to be replenished.
I am wearing...yoga pants and a tank top - don't be misled, I was NOT exercising -these are my jommies....
I am creating...a home - a place that is not perfect, but is cozy, encouraging, usable, welcoming and full of reminders of the love that is lavished on us by our God, our family and our friends.
I am going...to work this afternoon, so I can have tomorrow to prepare for my Valentines date!
I am reading...'Priscilla and Aquila' - eh.
I am hoping...to have a fairly stress-free afternoon at work and be able to go to the grocery store soon!
I am hearing...the skid-loader, Eva playing Barbies and Elley watching 'Joseph'.
Around the house...is yet more laundry that needs to be folded, craft supplies to be put away, and somewhere I'm sure there's some energy to do it that I apparently mislaid....
One of my favorite things...watching my daughters curtsy - seriously it can't be beat.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Valentines date with my wonderful hubby tomorrow night; Glick family gathering on Saturday; kid's V-day party on Monday!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing... Anna's finished Box Turtle Habitat - she did such a great job and I'm so proud of her!

Thoughts for today...

2010-01-28T06:53:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted in a while, but I figure most people keep up with me on facebook these days, so rather than catch up here, I'll just move on. Jess posted something this morning on her blog that I thought was neat and I thought I'd join her. She found a blog called The Simple Woman's Daybook, with 'starter' journal thoughts to complete - simple and a great way to settle and focus for the start of the day!

FOR TODAY
January 28, 2010...
Outside my window...all is covered in white - which I find refreshing and frustrating at the same time.
I am thinking...about how quickly my children are growing up.
I am thankful for...my precious family and friends, our warm house, Joe's flexible and stable job.
From the kitchen...a cappuccino is calling my name.
I am wearing...my bathrobe - in the process of getting ready for the day....
I am creating...a life, how awesome is that?!
I am going...out once the roads clear - I'm itching to get supplies for some little projects.
I am reading...'Miriam' - a novel, but interesting perspective.
I am hoping...for a successful day and cooperative children!
I am hearing...'The Land Before Time' and sweet chatter between the littles.
Around the house...is bare walls taunting me to create something!
One of my favorite things...snuggling with my hubby and watching the show put on by the dancer in my tummy.
A few plans for the rest of the week: Some Valentine crafts, gobs of laundry, helping Anna work on her box turtle habitat....
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...Part of my goofy gang - just because it makes me smile!

It's beginning to look a lot like..... openhouse!

2009-11-30T05:55:00.001-08:00

Glick’s Greenhouse Poinsettia Show

Friday Dec. 4 9am-9pm
Saturday Dec. 5 9am-5pm
Closed Sunday
Monday Dec. 7 9am-9pm

The drawbridge is down,
the gates flung open wide,
a Christmas Celebration
awaits you inside!
10,000 poinsettias, a wreath display,
There’s even a drawing for prizes on the way.

Gather into the great hall for music by the band -
Perhaps you’ll hear strains from a Celtic land.

You ask how much food and drink are worth?
You’ll find them completely free at our hearth.
So celebrate with us in a castle of stone,
As we look to the King upon His throne.

2009 Music Schedule

Friday December 4th

10:00-11:00 Keri Houp (piano)
11:30-1:00 Conestoga Christian School (choir)
1:30-2:00 Park Family (Scottish dancing)
2:30-3:00 Park Family (Scottish dancing)
3:15-4:15 Leonard Stoltzfus (accordion)
4:30-5:30 Andrew Uchida (vocal/guitar)
6:30-7:15 Beyond the Pale (Celtic music)
7:45-8:30 Beyond the Pale (Celtic music)

Saturday December 5th

10:00-11:30 The Inglin Family, vocal/guitar/piano/trumpet
12:00-1:30 The Hamer Family, Celtic music/Irish dancing
2:00-3:00 Cammi Glick, piano
4:00-5:00 Cammi Glick, piano

Monday December 7th

10:00-12:00 Keri Houp & Heidi Martin (piano)
12:30-2:00 Berks Christian School (choir)
4:30-6:00 Damien Drago (vocal/guitar)
6:30-7:15 The Martin Family Band (Celtic music/dancing)
7:45-8:30 The Martin Family Band (Celtic music/dancing)

Old becomes new!

2009-11-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been on a decorating, refinishing, repurposing kick. I've been having a great time and am quite pleased with my efforts, so I thought I'd share some pics here! (Edited to add that I'm terrible at adding pics, so they're a bit out of order - do your best with figuring out the before and afters!)

Health update

2009-10-03T11:49:00.000-07:00

I am praising the Lord! I went back to see the dr again to follow up on the treatments prescribed; and we were all disappointed to find little improvement. So, he decided to prescribe an antibiotic on the chance that I could have "an a-typical bronchitis or walking pneumonia". Unfortunately, I apparently don't tolerate Zithromax very well, so I had a rough couple of days. But, after that I have noticed an amazing improvement in my breathing and coughing! So much so that I have stopped the nebulizer treatments all together - about which I am very pleased. The Zofran seems to be helping still and has backed off my 'all-day-sickness' to a constant nausea with very little throwing up. Because I thought the tylenol with codiene was upsetting my stomach even more, I've also cut that out almost entirely, and am just taking ES Tylenol for the rib pain. I've gained back about 2 pounds and am starting to see my tummy pooch out a little again. I've felt an amazing peace too about the safety and well being of our little one, which I really count as one of the more important answers to prayer. Thanks to all who have been holding up my family in prayer!

Caution - long explanation of health!

2009-09-29T08:31:00.000-07:00

As most of my readers know (because probably 6 out of the 8 are family!); I've been suddenly bombarded with some rather frustrating health issues. At the end of August, we were very excited to learn that baby #5 is on it's way! Thus far, all seems to be well with the little growing one; I saw the little peanut in an ultrasound and heard it's heartbeat -what a blessing! About the same time, I started with a deep chest cough that never really turned into a cold or anything, but I just couldn't shake it. I did see the NP at my dr's office who thought it was allergy induced asthma and gave me an inhaler. I didn't use the inhaler much because #1 I was worried about the effects on the baby #2 I didn't like the shaky feeling I got afterward and #3 it didn't seem to have that much good effect to make it worth while. Then last week, my constant 'morning sickness' took a turn for the worse and I couldn't keep anything down for 4 days. After the continual coughing and throwing up, I also developed a rather severe pain in my side. So, off to the dr again. After spending over an hour with the dr, he prescribed four different things. A medicine to control the throwing up - which is great. And some tylenol with codeine for the pain in my side, which seems to be a fractured rib. An inhaled medicine; and a nebulizer treatment every hour. My major concern was the nebulizer, because when my heart races after a treatment, the baby's does as well. So, by the second day, I'd cut the nebulizer back to a coupla times a day. I've been praying for safety for the baby and peace for myself very much over the last week. Sunday, I asked for prayer at church and Denise had a word of comfort for us. She said that she saw a picture of hands wrapped around our little baby; and felt the word "filter" - that my body is doing it's job of filtering the medicines before it reaches the little one. What an answer - as that was exactly what I'd been praying for! Then at my follow up appointment yesterday, the dr was very understanding about my concerns with the nebulizer and suggested I do half treatments to cut back some of the bad feeling afterward; and is also trying an antibiotic (safe for baby) to treat what may be "an a-typical bronchitis or walking pneumonia". I'm still a bit frustrated at the very slow speed of recovery; but feel that my dr's care and concern have been an answer to prayer as well. I'm still in quite a bit of pain, as my rib will take several weeks to heal and I'm still coughing from the tightness in my chest- but the dr assured me that my pain meds were ok for baby, so I don't need to hesitate to take them. So, right now, I lay and watch a lot of the DIY channel, and nap quite a bit too. I hate not feeling like I'm contributing to my family, but my kids have been wonderful and we've been getting a lot of extra snuggles. I'd appreciate continued prayers for my recovery, the health of the baby, and some rest for poor Joey, who has been Super-dad. I apologize if this came across as a long complaint; but Denise challenged me to blog through this tough time, so I had to start somewhere!

Spiritual Metabolism

2009-07-31T13:15:00.000-07:00

There's been this vague picture that's been rattling around in my brain for the last couple of weeks and I'm hoping that putting it here may help me clarify the idea. I've been contemplating lately the idea of God's word being my 'daily bread' and the lessons I've learned about what it means for God to by my 'portion'. Years ago, after my first miscarriage, when we struggled for months to try to concieve again, that experience bottomed me out. I struggled with depression, fear, and disappointment. Through that dark time, the foundational truth I received from the Father was the reality of what God being my 'portion' meant. When I first thought about it, the word 'portion' seemed so small, so exact, rather disappointing - like a Weight Watchers allowment! lol But, I felt like God revealed to me that it was exactly what I needed to get through each day. I had this picture of a refugee camp type place where each person had a certain ration; an exact amount that certainly didn't seem satisfying, but would be sufficient to make it another day. And in that time, God showed me that when I felt I had nothing else to lean on, to help me through another day - He was my portion. And for many years, and through many trials, I've returned to that revelation.
Lately, God's been taking it a step further. Looking back on the refugee camp picture, I thought about a person rescued from such a camp and the process of recovery they'd have to go through. It's kinda a reverse weaning process. After being undernourished for so long, you can't just take them to a buffet and let them stuff their faces. Slowly, you'd introduce more and more while their body adjusted.
Naturally, my train of thought turned to food, which we as a family - love! Joe can eat. Like few people I've ever met - he can put away a serious amount of food. But, he stays slim. Irritating to any person who struggles with their weight, but amazing none the less. I figure that it's his metabolism and how busy he is. Because of his job - he is constantly on the move. He takes in an incredible amount, because he's constantly using it up! Through that, I felt God challenging me to jump start my spiritual metabolism. I felt like God was reminding me that it's not good enough to take in as much of Him, His presence, His word, His grace as I can. I have to use it up too! Don't sit still and get fat on this spiritual meat - burn it off! Use it! I struggled with this - thinking, "what, I'm not at a place to do missions or evangelism or leadership", and I kinda stalled. Then, last night, at small group, we were talking about (amongst other things) not underestimating the little things. And, God brought this back to my mind in relation to my spiritual metabolism. Even little things burn calories - like laughing, walking - even kissing! So, even little things can be accomplished using the energy from the spiritual meat I'm consuming. Having patience with my children, quietly serving those around me, listening and encouraging my family and friends - all of these things are only accomplished when I'm being fed! If I neglect a health diet - physically and spiritually - everything around me feels the effects! I want to be able to take in more, so I need to up my activity level! I still feel like this is a slightly fuzzy picture, and I hope that it wasn't terribly confusing to read; but I also feel like I'm being challenged and encouraged!

2009-06-25T06:32:00.001-07:00

In case anyone didn't get to see the pictures from our Birthday Celebration Circus and Carnival - you can see them here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2016050&id=1224232508&ref=mf (You have to copy the address and paste it, I can't get the link thing to work!)
I think our party was a great success. We were a little disappointed to have it inside because of the weather, but it was fun regardless. The girls (and Joe) did a great job with their circus performances; which we had to do on the bar in the kitchen. Then there was games and lots of candy prizes at the carnival set up in the basement. Pin the nose on the clown; Knock down the milk bottles; Ping Pong ball toss; Toss the lion into the rings of fire; Feeding Henrietta the elephant with peanuts; and tossing frogs onto lily pads. Joey had done such a great job of building me the games out of scrap wood, and I had so much fun painting it all! All of the girls had a fabulous time (I do believe they enjoy being the center of attention!). Eventually the weather cleared up and the kids went outside to play and discovered a good sized black snake in our rock pile that entertained them for a while too. And we all got to enjoy a huge rainbow over our back yard too! It was a busy, blessed day

Pretty girls

2009-06-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

Our friend Nathan Desch is a gifted photographer, and he had some lovely subjects to work with recently! Also - the newly updated pictures of the girls in my sidebar were thanks to him as well!

2009-06-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

We're planning a big birthday bash for Saturday, celebrating all three of our summer birthday girls. And then, my three little ones suddenly got hit with crazy fevers and sore throats. So, we lined them up on the counter to annoint them all with oil and pray for them. After that, they went to get jommies on, and then came back to the kitchen when they decided that they should pray for us so we don't get sick either. So, they held hands around us on the kitchen floor while Lil prayed. How awesome was that?! (Lest anyone think we are too super cool and spiritual; this prayer circle was then sealed with an all hands in, "Gooooo Glicks - Break!") I am so blessed by my children.

Things I'm re-learning...

2009-04-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes lessons I've known for seemingly my lifetime, turn around and look brand new. I find that it's no coincidence that the struggles that I've been dealing with over the last several weeks, happened to rear their ugly head around Easter. Fear, worry, depression, self depreciating attitudes.... How can any of those things stand in the light of the work that was done on Easter? Something that was brought out again on Easter was the simple fact that Jesus CONQUERED THE GRAVE. Duh, right? But, realizing the depth of what that means was new to me again. Jesus didn't remove death. He put it in it's place. In a place under His authority. Yes, we still have to deal with death, everyone does. But as a believer, and through the authority that comes with His blood - we are not conquered by death. And not only death. Any life-robbing thing - like fear, worry, depression.... They're not gone - but they are defeated. I still deal with them, but I need to remember to deal with them from a place of authority in Christ, from a place of hope. They are sneaky little buggers and I often 'forget' that I don't have to struggle under the load that they lay on my shoulders. But there is a certain freedom in knowing that I don't have to fight those fights - they've already been won on a level that I can not even fully comprehend. The only thing I have to do is accept the victory that is offered and continue to lay those 'losers' at the feet of the 'champion'.

Joys of teaching..

2009-04-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Conversation in the car....
Lily: I can spell 'the' - t.h.e.
Mom: very good.
Lily: I can spell 'he' - h.e.
Mom: very good Lil!
Lily: I can spell 'me' - y.o.u.
Mom: oh dear....*sigh*

Easter

2009-04-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

We held a Jewish Seder meal here on Maundy (sp?) Thursday - what a great learning experience for our kids - and what an awesome reminder to us adults - so intense!

Easter day festivities were held at our house too! Church on Easter morning, then our family dinner.

Some things that make me smile....

2009-04-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

2009-03-30T07:27:00.000-07:00

I've started this post multiple times, trying to make it amusing and interesting to read; but have been unsuccessful. I just wanted to share a few things that happened this past week with my children that is making me hold them all a little tighter.
Monday I got a phone call from my sister asking for prayer because she had a tick bite that is looking rather scary and has to have blood work done to see if she has Lyme's Disease. After that call, I remembered that I had pulled a tick off Lily's head on Thursday and called her over to check on it again. AFter 4 days, it was still very swollen, red and sore - so I called the dr. Fortunately, they think she's fine, but has to take antibiotics for a month. (Prayers are still appreciated for my sister, as we won't know her results for about a month.)
Then, Wednesday, the girls were all sitting at the bar finishing lunch. When I went to the sink, Eva decided to get herself done from the stool, but apparently slipped. I turned in time to see her flip and do a direct head dive onto the tile floor. I immediately scooped her up and set her up to check her out. She was groaning and not crying and struggling to breath. I called Joe and he came home within about 2 minutes to find her still grunting and pale, and wanting to go to sleep. He called a worker from the greenhouse to come stay with the other girls and we took off for the drs office which normally is about 7 minutes away, and I think we made it there in less than 4 minutes. By the time we arrived there, Evie was starting to breath normally and still wanted to go to sleep, but was able to talk to me. After checking her out thoroughly, the dr said that she had gotten the wind knocked out of her and was stunned, but perfectly fine, not even a bump on her head. We kept her awake for a couple hours and she's been fine since.
Then, Friday night, we were having a family night. Evie and Elley were watching a movie and Joe, Anna, Lily and I were playing Scrabble. At some point, Lily went upstairs to get something, and we heard what sounded like someone falling down the stairs. We took off running, expecting to see Lil on the landing. Running up the stairs, we discovered that that was not the sound we heard. But, right inside the girls' bedroom we saw the tall chest of drawers toppled. Apparently, Lil tried to climb up the dresser to get in the top drawer and it fell. She says she tried to hold it back when it started to tip (she weighs about 35 pounds!), but managed to get out of the way, except for getting her fingers pinched in the drawer. I just held her and thanked the Lord for His protection, because I absolutely believe there was angelic intervention that kept that incident from being much much worse. Lily was very shook up and will NEVER try that again and will be very cautious to make sure her sisters don't either!
Finally, last night, we were in Ephrata at an international worship service at another Dove church. We had only done one song, when we heard a loud noise and the power went out. People scurried for candles and flashlights and they continued the service, despite the loud pounding, which we discovered was golf-ball-sized hail. After the service, people were heading out,still in the dark, when I discovered Evie missing. She had been sitting with Jess' boys at the other end of the row, and when Jessi went up front to retrieve Kate's ring that she forgot in the bathroom, apparently Eva followed her without anyone seeing. Immediately we fanned out, looking and calling for her and after a few minutes, she was found being "detained" by two guys in the front of the church trying to figure out where she belonged. It was heartstopping, considering it was dark, and the doors to the parking lot were propped open to allow some light in. She was oblivious to my fear and was content to be stuck right back into my sling. When all was said and done, we also discovered that apparently, it was not just a hail storm outside the church, but also some tornado activity, that shattered the church sign, tore down the steeple and destroyed a barn across the street, as well as poles down, roofs blown apart and other random damage all around where we were. We are very grateful for our safety!
All this to say, I think God must be pulling out all the stops lately to get me to deal with some issues! I'm feeling a bit battered dealing with the identity thing, and now adding the fear thing on top of it! I'm about ready for a break!

2009-03-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Ahhh! I screwed up my facebook account and had to start all over again! If anyone was my friend there, could you please add me again, so I can rebuild my friend list? I just don't know what I'll do without my connection to the outside world through facebook!

2009-03-25T07:16:00.000-07:00

Normally, I try to refrain from posting unless I have something good to share - something funny that happened, something uplifting that I'm learning. But, I've been feeling less than amused or uplifted for a while. Maybe it's the time of year; I definitely struggle when I'm not getting quality time with the hubby, and get to feeling restless waiting for the warm days of spring. Maybe it's just that I was really enjoying feeling a bit of peace for a while and God decided to rip me a new one to shake things up. I don't know. I'm not yet to the point where I can clearly see the lesson. Still at the point where I just want to hide and cry. Having to come back to basics - who God says I am. This seems to be a recurring theme with me - struggling with my identity, my value; apparently I'm a very slow learner. Where does this come from - this feeling of being unaccepted? My poor husband doesn't know what to do with me, when every time he comes home, he finds me crying. So, just putting it out there - kind of a warning to those that may be unfortunate enough to cross my path right now.

2009-03-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Joey was cleaning up around the outside of the house today, and Evie was watching him move things on the back deck. He threw some dead plants in the garbage and Evie said, "Good girl Daddy!". Hey, a little encouragment goes a long way - even if it's slightly gender confused!

He's a true romantic

2009-03-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

Since I started back working at the greenhouse, twice things about my husband have come to my attention that make me sigh with love. One day, the women that Joe works with informed me that they had asked Joe at some point what his favorite color was. His response? "Hazel, the color of my wife's eyes." Awww.
And then, later we happened to be working in the office at the same time and he was logging into some account of his online - credit card, or cell phone or something - and I happened to see that his safety question/password that he had chosen was, "What is the last name of your best friend?"; and he typed in glick. He could've chosen any of those other questions, like the name of your first pet, or the town where you were born. But he picked the best friend question - and put me as the answer. It may not seem like a big deal, but I found it seriously touching. Because, after being married for almost 10 years, I'm still so in love with this man, and I really really LIKE him too; and it's nice to be reminded that he still feels the same.

Frog leaves

2009-02-25T19:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight, we were sitting at the bar and commenting on how surprised that our flowers from Valentines day are still lovely. We were all talking about what we liked in the bouquet. Lily mentioned that she liked the "one with the frog leaves". You'd think with Joey and I both being in flower businesses, we'd know which was the one with "frog leaves"; but we were both stumped. She said, "the one with the long stick in the middle and frog leaves on both sides". We took a closer look. Ah yes!

Sure enough, there was a couple stems of eucalyptus in the bouquet. And the leaves on the eucalyptus certainly do look like lily pads. And lily pads are what frogs sit on. Thus - frog leaves. The thought processes of a 5 year old are astounding.

Anna's belated birthday party

2009-02-23T20:44:00.000-08:00

Anna turned 8 in July, but had asked to have a sleepover party instead of a traditional birthday celebration. So, we agreed to wait until we were in the new house to hold the sleepover so she could have several girls over. Unfortunately, between getting settled in the house, dealing with the business of the poinsettia show and Christmas, and then my period of being laid up with my knee injury - it got reeeaaallly pushed back. But we were finally able to pull it off this past weekend. And it went over quite well I think. She requested that they play a bunch of games, and so as not to be sabotaged by little people, I made arrangments for Joelle and Eva to stay at their auntie's overnight. It was kind of strange to not have to do a whole lot though! It was all (except Lily) bigger girls, and they didn't need (or want) much input from us! Anna did request a scavenger hunt to find the favors, but otherwise, just wanted to play board games, Wii, and watch movies - so easy! They made personal pizzas for dinner and later we set up a make your own sundae bar. They were having such a good time entertaining themselves, that Joey and I actually played a game ourselves and then watched a movie! Anyway, they all seemed to have a good time - though not much sleep was had! Here's some pics!

We had fun picking out girly favors - hairbrushes, lotions, hair things - and then personalizing their little shower caddies!

Update

2009-02-18T20:11:00.001-08:00

I haven't updated in quite a while, and I apologize to those of you who log on regularly - waiting with bated breath while my page loads, only to sigh in disappointment to discover I still haven't blogged anything new. The last several weeks were difficult, as I struggled through physical therapy and my regular life that was rather impeded by my lack of mobility. But the therapy paid off and I am now fully walking! They released me from the physical therapy last week on the condition that I would buy weights and continue my excercises at home at least 3 times a week. So, now Joey gets the joy of watching me doing leg lifts and squats. But, my leg is definitely improving - so praise the Lord for that.
In other news, we'd (meaning me and Jessi) been busy helping to plan a Valentines event with another church. It was a dessert and dancing party - which was a great success. Jess and I did all the floral arrangements, which turned out lovely and yet once again, we didn't get any good pictures. But I also made some new desserts - which turned out awesome! I'm very excited to have some new recipes to pull out for company and parties! I made Mini Java Cakes, Cheesecake Cookie Cups, Smores Cupcakes (which I had made before - yum), Mini Lemon Tartlets and Dulce Le Leche Cream Cake. Unfortunately, there was tons of left overs and I've been having to take care of those over the last several days - oy. I had great intentions of wanting to don my adorable new apron over my dress and get some pics of my lovely desserts to post here - but unbelievably, was running late and didn't get a chance to do it. Story of my life. *sigh*
On Monday, we threw together a little Valentines party for our kids. We weren't going to do anything, but they kept saying, "when are we doing our party with the pink pancakes?", so it looks like we started a tradition! Turned out to be a great time for all!
We've also been working on plans for my mom's wedding coming up in May. Overall, it's going well. It's an adjustment, and there's a lot to deal with in that situation - but God is good.
So, other than getting back into the swing of regular life, with schooling, and catching up on the cleaning that lagged for weeks - not much else exciting happened lately. Sorry to disappoint ya'll! But, we are throwing Anna's long-awaited birthday sleepover this weekend, so I'll be able to post some pics of that soon.
In the meantime - here's some random pics from the last couple days.

2009-01-19T20:48:00.000-08:00

As much as I despise being helpless, I think I could get a little spoiled by Joey's new found confidence in the kitchen! He has been in charge of all food shopping and preparation since my "incident" - and he's gotten quite adventurous! He has wowed me (and sometimes the girls) by making things like roast beef, snow crab legs, bacon wrapped scallops, mashed potatoes topped with lobster cream sauce, chicken picatta and broiled scallops! He's been so great to me while I'm laid up - though he is beyond tired - having to tend to me, the girls, the house and the woodstove is really wearing him out, and I can't wait to be better so I can give HIM a break. I am just reminded again and again what a wonderful husband I've been blessed with.

I"m a wimp

2009-01-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

I have been terrible lately at updating my blog - but I claim the excuse that I'm injured and therefore have been spending more time on the couch and less time at the computer and when I AM on the computer, I'm usually a little dopey from my medicine. So, for those of you who haven't heard - I fell UP my stairs - twice, and ended up with "micro-tears" on my tendon, which equals a lot of pain and a major inconvenience to my lifestyle. I had my first ever experience with the legal and morally approved version of torture that I'm told is called "physical therapy". Joe, cruel husband that he is, sat by quietly and watched as some brutal Amazon woman held firey torches to my thigh and jammed spikes into my knee. Ok, so, it was more like an average sized woman, older than my mom, doing stretches and ultrasound therapy - but it felt ugly. Apparently - I was horribly disillusioned to think I have a high pain tolerance. Tears dripped onto the table while I did heel slides; I wimpered my way through the ten repetitions of leg lifts. Ultimately, I discovered that I'm a big baby. And, lest I forget what a spectacular wimp I am - I have to go back and be reminded three times a week.

Crazy December...

2009-01-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

The month of December for us is usually busy, and this year was probably even more so. Starting off the month we have our annual Poinsettia Show Openhouse; this year the theme was Route 66, and was another great success. This was the first time in 10 years that I was not part of the preparations for the openhouse, which was a much needed break, and yet felt very odd to be left out. If you'd like to see pictures of the show, you can visit Aunt Beth's blog here:
After the openhouse - Joey helped transform my house into holiday loveliness in time for hosting my family's Christmas Tea. Jess and I had started this tradition years ago and loved hosting it, until she moved and we ran out of room. It has been 3 years I think since we had the joy of holding this event, and I was thrilled to be able to open my new home for our Holly and Ivy themed gathering this year! Here's some pics of that!

After the Christmas tea we had several other gatherings in celebration of the holidays! We had a good time with my sisters in law baking Christmas cookies.

I even got to host my entire family for Christmas Day! Here's some pics of Christmas here. Cliche Christmas eve scene: The sign on the basement door before Christmas - and then pics of the girls gifts that were the reason I was spending so much time downstairs!

The girls waiting patiently at the top of the stairs:

And the whole gang here:

2008-12-13T19:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to corral all four of them for a picture yet, but I had some time alone with Evie today and we had some fun!

Thirteenth (and final) day

2008-11-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

On the thirteenth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I'm thankful for God's amazing patience with me.
2. I'm thankful for God's provision.
3. I'm thankful for a husband who's a giver.
4. I'm thankful for the Christmas season.
5. I'm thankful for the internet - without which I would lose touch with the world.
6. I'm thankful for my ears to hear the joyful sound of my children's laughter.
7. I'm thankful for my eyes to see my children learning and growing every day.
8. I'm thankful for my arms with which to embrace my family and friends. (and they're extra long arms too - I give good hugs)
9. I'm thankful for my nephews, through which I have learned that boys can be boys, with all their rough and tumble ways - and yet still be sweet, kind, caring and well behaved little men - they give me hope that I might be able to handle it if God blessed me with a son.
10. I'm thankful for freckles. It was one of the first things about Joey that I fell in love with; and now I'm thrilled that Elley's got an abundance of them from her daddy! But best of all is when Elley climbs in bed with me in the morning, pets my face until I am fully awake and announces "you have to pick your favorite freckle for today!", and I pick one out and then have to find and kiss that particular one all througout the day! Precious.
11. I am thankful that in 10 days, the stress level in my household should drop drastically.
12. I'm thankful for the person who invented toothbrushes - seriously.
13. I'm thankful that I made it through my entire thankfulness commitment! When I started it - I was silly enough to not realize that 1-13 blessings, on 13 days adds up to 91 things to be thankful for! I realize that it probably seemed that some of those days I was really scraping for things, and that I was so incredibly random about it all; and for that I'm sorry. But I really think that making this commitment forced me into an attitude of thankfulness in a whole new way!

Twelfth day

2008-11-28T14:17:00.001-08:00

On the twelfth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. Cookie dough in a tub.
2. Peppermint lip gloss.
3. 24 hr SuperWalmart
4. School vacation days
5. Poinsettias
6. On-line shopping
7. Children who get as excited over Christmas lights as I do - alright - almost as excited, they at least refrain from clapping.
8. I'm thankful for my wonderful church family who is bringing a potluck dinner to my house and is going to prayer walk through the greenhouse before the poinsettia show.
9. Tissues with lotion
10. The open relationship with my mother.
11. Frozen pizza.
12. Comfortable sneakers that help my feet hold up through a lot of shopping!

Eleventh day

2008-11-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

On the eleventh day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I am thankful for paint supplies - I got some crafty type gifts to make for Christmas and I'm so excited to start them!
2. Slippers
3. Though I know it sounds terribly shallow - I'm thankful for my jewelry - those lovely sparkly things remind me how valuable my husband thinks I am.
4. This week I put up my Uppercase Living phrase that says, "Happiness is being married to your best friend" - which is cool, but the best part is that Joey picked it out - and it thrills me that he feels that way!
5. I'm thankful for my very thoughtful inlaws, who are always happy to babysit the girls for me - and even now just offered to keep them overnight tonight so I can get an early start on shopping tomorrow!
6. I'm thankful for my dear, dear sisters-in-law. All three of them grew up without sisters - and I enjoy getting to show them the joy of the relationship that sisters can share!
7. I'm thankful for easy, nutritious breakfast bars - mornings are usually pretty busy here!
8. I'm thankful for toilet paper - sounds silly, but just think about how it'd be without it, and you'll be thankful too!
9. I'm thankful for nail polish - it makes me feel so feminine!
10. I'm thankful for cell phones - I'm spoiled by being able to talk to my hubby several times throughout the day and it's wonderful!
11. I'm thankful that I've got at least one kiddo big enough to shower on her own!

Tenth day

2008-11-26T06:29:00.000-08:00

On the tenth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I am thankful for the period of time that we spent as youth leaders years ago. Besides being a real learning and growing experience for us - we created some great frienships that are still thriving!
2. Dustin - we just received a video update from this particular "youth" - who is now in his twenties and working with YWAM in Texas. What a blessing to have been part of his life and to have seen him grow and mature and get to the point where he is now, working full time in ministry. He is incredibly talented and it will be exciting to see just how far he goes!
3. Ashton - she was a teeny-bopper when we first started with the youth; and to see how far she's come is awesome. She stuck around PA for awhile and was part of our church, but now she's back down in Texas at YWAM as well - being obedient to what she feels God called her to. She has really become a dear friend (despite our age differences) and I'm very blessed that in the very short time that she's home for Thanksgiving break - she's making a point of coming to visit me!
4. Laura - she was one of the older girls when we started with the youth - and we formed a strong relationship early on, and it has grown, and strengthened over the years. She is like family! She was even with me through my labor and delivery of Eva - we played Settlers - it was a good time. Through youth group - we also began a friendship with Luke - and got to watch Luke and Laura's relationship grow and then were blessed to be part of their wedding last year!
5. Rachel - she was also one of the older ones in the youth group - and since high school, she started traveling with a missions organization, and through them, met her current boyfriend and moved to Texas. We miss her dearly - and my kids are beginning to think that all the people we love move to Texas! But I am so blessed that through that time of being youth leaders - which we felt totally unprepared for, but felt that it was a need we could fill - we gained some truly wonderful lifelong friends - and for that I am so thankful.
6. And as I'm thinking about my friends from different aspects of my life - I have to include my "on-line" friends. When I was on bedrest with Eva for nearly 6 months - I spent a LOT of time on the computer, and I found the website 'What to expect when you're expecting', which has message boards for your due date month. During that time, I got to know a bunch of other ladies who were due in June 2007 - and we really formed a bond - we sent each other baby gifts when our little ones arrived and we still send Christmas cards. I have now been part of this message board for over 2 years! I have formed some really great friendships - Annette, Jenn, Deb, Denise, Amy, Angela, Tamra, Danae, Cheri and more! - girls from all over the US that I never would've met if it weren't for my difficult pregnancy with Eva. And I'm so blessed to actually have the opportunity this year to meet a few of them in person! So, I'm thankful that God took something as difficult as bedrest to bring me some very special blessings!
7. I'm thankful for the friends I made like 18 years ago when I switched to a private school in fourth grade. Anita was my Best Bud - though a somewhat odd couple we still make - since there's about 9 inches height difference between us! Our lives have gotten full, but I can count of getting a phone call about once a month, and catching up and talking and laughing like we just hung out last weekend. We've weathered college, dating, marriage, babies, new houses - and we stick. She was one of the people I called when my dad died. I know I can count on her for support, prayer and help if I'd need it at any point. This is what true friends are.
8. Another sweet friendship that I developed back in elementary school was with Mindi - apparently I felt some sort of draw to very short friends, as she too is more than a head shorter than me. But we too have maintained a sporadic, but strong friendship over the years. She too got married shortly after high school and we have daughters only a few months apart in age! Though she lives nearly an hour away - she was such a support to me when I was on bedrest during my pregancy - she came and brought food, entertained my children with a living room picnic, offered all sorts of help like babysitting and cleaning - and in general was a big encouragement. We rejoiced with them last year too as they added a little boy from the Ukraine to their family! We are so blessed to have their whole family in our lives.
9. Since this turned into a friends post - there's 2 more that I can't neglect. Miranda kinda happened into our lives about 8 years ago. Just out of high school, she had just gotten engaged to our pastor's son - and our pastor suggested that perhaps we could spend some time with Luke and Miranda, as another very young married couple. I can't remember which was first - them coming to Joey's birthday party or our after church pizza lunch - but after that we were hooked. During their engagement, they spent almost every weekend at our house. They are such a part of our life now! We've shared new babies, new houses, new jobs - even Luke working for us for a while, which was great fun. I was blessed to be able to be with Miranda when she delivered her first baby the day before my birthday this year! And I'm so blessed that their little Elliott will call me Aunt Bets (I'm not even sure if they know how much that means to me!).
10. One more friend to finish out my 10 blessings for today. Ang - I met Ang when we started going to Catacombs church about 19 years ago, and with our gangliness and glasses - we became fast friends! Our lives have taken some round about roads over the years - she went to college while I stayed home and had babies - but in the last like 6 years or so, we have had a closer relationship than ever. She is my art buddy - for several years now, she and I have worked together on the art projects for the greenhouse openhouse - and it's always a special time of laughing, teasing, and using our God-given talents together. This year, I had too much on my plate, so I am not working at the greenhouse to prepare for our poinsettia show - the first time in 10 years. And Ang has taken over with the artwork. I am so thankful for her. And speaking of which - she's here to drop off her kiddos so she can go paint!

Ninth day

2008-11-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

On the ninth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I'm so thankful for Jessi today. I had a fun day helping her rearrange her furniture and hang some things on the walls - and it never ceases to amuse me how well we work as a team. We joke that we are each only half a brain, and we need to "engage" the parts into a whole to function well - but it really is amazing how much more we accomplish together! If she weren't soooooo much older than me - it'd seem that we were twins! ;o)
2. I'm so thankful for the opportunity that we had this year to launch our flower business. I feel so blessed to be able to use the talents that God has given me in such a great way that I enjoy! And it's really been a stretching experience for me as well - because I'm sooo not a people person, and it's really forced me to grow in that area.
3. I'm thankful for Aunt Beth - who is not an aunt by blood - but treats me as one of her own regardless. She came to see my Christmas tree tonight and ended up hanging out for quite a while just visiting and it was such a treat to catch up with her. It's awesome to have people in your life that are such 'constants'.
4. And speaking of 'constants' - I also want to include Mama and Livie. In the season of life where we each are right now, it's hard to maintain the regularity of visits, phone calls and whatever; but when we do get a chance to get together,there's joy in the relationship of family. I know some families don't communicate well, and don't have close relationships with their parents and siblings - and though we certainly have our rough patches - it's such a blessing to know that nothing breaks our family. I don't know many other families that laugh when they're together like my family does - we've cornered the market on laughter.
5. I'm thankful for the peaceful season that I'm in right now. I feel like I actually have time now to relax, and I'm really enjoying it! I don't think I've ever enjoyed staying home as much as I am now!
6. I'm thankful for the wonderful new holiday tea I found - it's called Candy Cane Lane - and it brings me joy
7. As hard as homeschooling has been this year - I'm thankful that I have the freedom to educate my children as I see fit. I'm so blessed to have this time with them, and seeing them grow, mature and learn so much is worth the blood, sweat, and lots of tears that has gone into schooling them at home!
8. I know I mentioned in an earlier post that I was thankful for my family's health - but I just want to say again, specifically that I'm thanking the Lord for the health of Eva and Lily this year. Lily had been 'diagnosed' with some allergies and we were told that she'd probably have to be on a daily medication - we had her prayed for, and other than severe ear wax issues because of her tiny ear canals - we've had no more problems with the allergies - and in general, she's been particularly healthy! And as we come up on December, I can't help but think about Eva's scary episode last year - and I have to praise the Lord again for my growing healthy little girl!
9. I'm thankful that the Lord blessed me with creativity. I'm enjoying doing things to make my house more 'homey', and I am aware now that not everyone has the ability to do that, and certainly not everyone enjoys it - but I do, and I think that's a gift.

Eighth day

2008-11-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

On the eighth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I am thankful for my kind and understanding hubby, who lets me start my Christmas decorating super early - my house is 90% decorated, including the tree!
2. I am thankful for the wood stove, though it keeps my husband extremely busy, and causes him to be extremely tired - it is wonderful to relax in a 70 degree house.
3. I am thankful for the little step stools that I'm continually stubbing my toes on; because it means my precious ones are still little, yet learning to accomplish things (like reaching light switches and faucets!) on their own.
4. I am thankful for the sharp little toy crowns of all shapes and sizes that I regular cripple my bare feet on; because it is yet another reminder that I have beautiful, girly girls with great imaginations.
5. I am thankful for the Erdvig family, the family that moved into the area this summer, and found our church; they are a joy to be around - they're challenging, encouraging, and fun; and the fact that they have a sweet little girl about Anna's age, when Anna really needed some girl friends - is an added blessing.
6. I am thankful for my dear friends Luke and Miranda; who are like family, and are so relaxing to be with!
7. I am thankful for my sweet niece, Kaitlyn, who is growing into such an amazing young lady - and is such a great influence on my own daughters - besides being a great babysitter!
8. I am so thankful for my wonderful church family, and when I say family, I really mean they're my family - they know the good, the bad and the ugly about each other and love each other through it all. It's good to be part of that.

Seventh day

2008-11-22T20:40:00.000-08:00

On the seventh day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. Today I helped move my dear friends Luke and Laura into their "new" house - and I am so very happy that the Lord provided such a great opportunity for them!
2. Joey pretty well got the house hooked up to the woodstove today, so I am thankful that we can have the thermostat set at a wonderfully toasty 70 degrees!
3. Since starting this year of homeschooling, I think I'm more grateful for weekends than I've ever been in my life!
4. After helping my girls shop for gifts for "Operation Christmas Child", I'm so thankful that I have such sweet and tenderhearted children who are so kind and giving.
5. I'm so thankful for Uncle Dave's understanding; he was happy to tend the fire tonight to allow Joey to have a much-needed family night.
6. I am so thankful for the health of my family!
7. I am so thankful for the babies that have been added to my family this year - Isaiah, Rosalee, Rinna and Elliott (who is not related by blood, but holds this "auntie's" heart in his grasp none the less!).

Sixth day

2008-11-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

On the sixth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I am thankful for the person who created fleece.
2. I am thankful for the person who created pillow-top mattresses.
3. I am thankful for the person who created scented candles.
4. I am thankful for the person who created decaff. tea.
5. I am thankful for the person who created ibuprofen.
6. I am thankful for bedtime.

Ok - it was a rough day for the thankfulness blog commitment....

Fifth day

2008-11-20T19:02:00.000-08:00

On the fifth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee....
1. I am thankful for Joey's job - crazy as it gets at certain times of the year (like now!) - it's such a blessing to have him right here all the time, and to have Uncle Dave as his employer - it just doesn't get any better than that.
2. I am thankful for Joey's handiness with pretty much anything he puts his mind to - he can run operate heavy equipment, build stuff, wire stuff, figure out better ways for things to work, and so many other things that he can do with his incredible brain and talented hands.
3. I am so thankful for Joey's incredible patience with the girls and often with me.
4. I am thankful for Joey's silly sense of humor; and he's such a good sport - as evidenced by these pictures!
5. I am just so very thankful to the Lord for blessing me with such an awesome husband - he's my very best friend, and I personally think he's pretty much the best man all around, not to mention, incredibley attractive as well.

Fourth day

2008-11-19T19:53:00.000-08:00

On the fourth day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee....

This is pretty obvious too - but thinking about 4 things that I'm extremely thankful for was pretty easy!
1. Anna - she is thoughtful, gentle, smart, silly, mature, graceful, creative and kind.
2. Lily - she is energetic, funny, inquisitive, graceful, sweet, out-going, and snuggly.
3. Joelle - she is silly, squishable, cuddly, caring, encouraging and freckled!
4. Eva - she is caring, helpful, entertaining and so adorable you want to just bite her!

Third Day

2008-11-18T18:07:00.000-08:00

On the third day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee...
1. I am so very thankful for little girls who love their sisters. Today, Evie was not feeling well, so at naptime, I sat down to rock her, and sent the other girls up to bed. When I went to put Eva down in her crib later, I found Lily and Joelle snuggled up together in Elley's bed. When Lily got up, I told her I saw them sleeping together and she said that apparently Elley was "scared of something and I wanted to be a good big sister". Precious.
2. Candles - it amazes me how calm I feel when I have candles burning - I need to take out stock in the Yankee Candle Company...
3. Two words - whirlpool tub. Amen.

Second Day

2008-11-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

On the second day of Thankfulness, my blessings to share with thee....
1. My precious dishwasher - truly and honestly I thank the Lord for this wonderful appliance at least once a day - it has seriously been a life-changing addition to our lives.
2. An oven with a broiler. I spent years longing for a chance to make tuna melts at home, though I did enjoy them immensely at Jessi's house - and I now can make melts to my heart's delight!

Thirteen Days of Thankfulness

2008-11-16T19:45:00.000-08:00

On the first day of Thankfulness, my blessing to share with thee....

Not to be pitifully boring, but I have to go with the obvious - our new house. As I sit here typing in my warm, and quiet house - knowing it's freezing and awfully windy outside; how can I not count that as one of my biggest blessings?! So, to be specific - I am thankful for thick solid walls and heat!

{I was going to post 1 - 13 things every day for 13 days of Thankfulness up till Thanksgiving - I was supposed to start 2 days ago, but our internet has been acting up - so I'll just go for 2 days after Thanksgiving then! :o)}

picture pages, picture pages....

2008-11-10T14:19:00.001-08:00

I realized today that I had not posted updated pictures of the house for quite a while! I looked back at my blog posts and found that I had finished quite a bit more "decorating" since the last pictures, so I thought I'd add some for those of you who read my blog and haven't been to see my house in person.
In order - Lily and Joelle's room; my bedroom; Anna's bedroom; the school room; and the living room.

Playing dress-up...

2008-10-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tonight we helped at our church event, "Light the Night", and we so love to dress up! Joey and I got to re-use our pirate costumes, and I had great fun doing the little girls' outfits too. Anna was creative all on her own and dressed up as ME! Too funny! Elley was an adorable scare-crow, Lily was a LILY, and Eva was the Energizer Bunny which is very appropriate in my opinion - cause she never stops going! Here's our goofy family!

2008-10-21T19:14:00.000-07:00

Eva looks so much like Livie in this picture!

Lily said...

2008-10-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

During our post-naptime snuggling with Joelle and Lily:
Dad: Did you have any dreams during your nap?
Lil: Nope - I just saw black.

We are the pirates....

2008-10-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

who are trying to do everything....argh is right. We've been so busy just trying to get back to normal life; still slowly "moving in" to the house, getting back on track with school, recovering from a stress fracture in my wrist, preparing flowers for and attending my grandmother's funeral, Joey's back to regular work hours and the wood stove is requiring lots of attention and time, getting ready for my first home demonstration parties in the new house, and already thinking about the upcoming holidays and the openhouse. Oi - I'm tired. Anyhow - last night we went to a pirate themed birthday party for a sweet friend, and of course, we had to go in full (homemade) costumes - because we really just love to dress up. I had a great time putting our outfits together and we had a great time at the party - we did a lot of laughing watching the karaoke gang!! And since I was told that I needed to blog - there you have it - what the last two weeks have been like in a nutshell, with pictures!
Joey's outfit was created from a shower curtain I found on clearance that turned into his tunic and boots - isn't he a handsome pirate??!!
My outfit was a blouse and a dress from Goodwill; I cut off the dress and wore it backwards and hot glued ribbon to the front to create the corset effect - and Joey particularly liked the wild red wig!
And here's some other random pictures from the last 2 weeks; all of Jess' gang was here for dinner; Eva gets very upset about being sent to the corner; Evie loves to hide in the kitchen cabinets (and stays very quite and giggles when I can't find her!); the girls had fun painting one family night; and Eva's other new trick is trying to stand on her head - obviously Eva has been entertaining us a lot lately!

Some new pics...

2008-10-04T19:06:00.001-07:00

Here's just some of what's been accomplished the last couple days:

And these are my birthday present from a dear friend who knew how much I wanted something new and pretty to go in my glass front cabinets...

Too funny...

2008-10-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

There's this funny thing online that you can see what you woulda looked like if you woulda graduated in different time periods. I did mine and Joey's and we laughed till we cried. Joey's were way funnier, but some of mine looked like relatives! Like this one - totally reminds me of Aunt Linda - don't ya think?
1972
And here's some other one's just to make ya chuckle....
1954
1956
1966
1968
1976
1980
1988
1998 - if you ever wanted to know what he looked like if he gained like 75 pounds
1950
1958
1962 - I think I look like Grandmom
1968
1976
1980
1984 - ahh - it's Jessi's junior banquet!!
1986
1998
2000

2008-10-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy the last couple of days getting a lot of stuff moved over from the trailer, and things are really starting to look quite homey. It was seriously enjoyable for me to assemble the girls' bunkbeds, their bookcase and to do my first loads of dishes in my dishwasher!
But, today ended up being a bust for the most part, cause now I'm sick, and apparently sprained my wrist. Yuck. But, we did finally get the schoolroom mostly set up and let me say how much better things are when the girls can work at the same time and have all their materials accessible! So, tonight we're taking a break and having a family movie night and getting a little rest.
I'll post new pics tomorrow!

Ahhhhh.....

2008-09-30T20:34:00.000-07:00

We're in, we're in, WE'RE IN!!!! I can hardly believe it! Right now, here I sit typing - in my new master bedroom! The inspector came this afternoon and only had 3 issues for Joey to take care of, and he'll be back in the morning to check them and then sign off! Yay! So, we asked if we could start to move in and he said to go ahead. So, we spent all evening trucking stuff over from the trailer, and now all the girls are in bed in their new rooms. Eva had no problem going down, and all is now quiet from the others as well. This is truly unbelievable, it still has not sunk in...
Anyway, here's some pics!

Warning: whining alert!

2008-09-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

Alright, I'm going to sound completely ungrateful; but I've gotta vent, and as a result give some friends and family a head's up regarding my Queen Cranky-pants funk that I'm in. As much as I'm excited out of my head about my lovely house; I'm just really tired of the transition period. I held it together while there was work for me to be doing, though it was tiring - I at least felt like I was accomplishing something. But, now I feel rather stalled. I can only go so far with the "packing" thing because there's only so much room here for boxes and it already is becoming quite a hassle to move boxes just for the kids to get to the toy closet, or their beds for that matter! I'm frustrated with the carpet guy not getting the work done when he said he would. I can't get the girls' schoolroom set up and more organized so I can actually crack down on the schoolwork, which also has been rather difficult when our internet doesn't work in bad weather and we've had a lot of rain lately. We have a mouse issue again. Our schedules have been so crazy and the girls haven't gotten regular naps and their attitudes are really starting to show it. 'Aunt Flo' is overdue, surely due to stress, but therefore I'm not getting a break from the hormones either. I've had a stress-induced tic in my right eye for 4 days that is driving me batty. I haven't had a chance to really thank the people who've been helping so much. I haven't had a chance to connect with anyone in a general way at all lately. I feel totally not myself - and frankly, I miss me!
So, for you - my dear and precious friends and family who are faithful readers of my blog - I love you all dearly. You have been such a blessing to me with your encouraging words, your shared excitement, your prayers, your babysitting, your hardwood floor laying, your sharing of your husbands for hard labor, in general your servant's hearts. And - as my gift to you - I give you this warning - I am horribly cranky and stressed - and I ask for grace. :o)

9-26-08 update

2008-09-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics of the latest accomplishments at the house! The front steps are in and lovely, the back porch is on - the grass is seeded; the living room floor is about halfway done, but as of about half hour ago, the nailer had broken; the vine in the nursery was done on Monday by Ang - and I love it; more work was done involving the heating and electrical - man stuff; my furniture arrived this morning and is staying wrapped till we move it up to the living room, cause there's dust everywhere; and my bathroom upstairs is finished. This afternoon we officially began getting some things ready to move over; we'll be putting stuff in the attic till the rest of the flooring upstairs and downstairs is done, but it's a step closer! Lots going on....

2008-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Upstairs bathroom is done. Curtain rods hung upstairs. Upper hallway 90% painted; almost ready for carpet which might come Monday. Appliances in kitchen. Downstairs ceiling done being spackled and sanded - now there is dust EVERYWHERE. Schoolroom hardwood done, 3 ft wide section of hardwood done in living room. Railings almost done on basement steps. Basement door insulated. Cold running water.
We're getting there!

2008-09-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was feeling truly awful and afraid that my cold had turned into a sinus infection. But we had a good night's sleep and woke up feeling much better. We got school done early this morning, and Beth offered to keep the girls after lunch. So, I got the master bedroom painting finished. After supper, the girls played outside while I tidied up some in the 'big house', and then around 9, I set them up with popcorn and a movie and left Anna "in charge" and with my cell phone, while I went back out to finish cleaning up. I cleaned up and swept the whole upstairs and helped Joey clear out the materials and junk from the living room, cause my favorite USDA lady is coming bright and early tomorrow for our first inspection and financial disbursement. Anyway, I got tuckered out and we came in around 10:15 to find that Anna had put Eva to bed and she was asleep already, Lil was snoring away on the couch, Anna was getting Elley jommied up and she had tidied up the living room. All on her own with not a word from me. I nearly cried. I am so blessed to have such a kind and thoughtful child!

new pictures

2008-09-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

We've been busy! Here's some pictures of what we've been working on. In order; the siding completed, the kitchen tiled, ceiling fans hung and knobs attached; Lily and Joelle's pinky-purple room; Anna's room - pink and green; nursery; and a picture into the master bedroom closet, not that anything's been done to it yet, I just love it!; and the view from the master bedroom.

I HAVE BEEN BLESSED!

2008-09-11T20:17:00.000-07:00

I cannot even fully express how overwhelmed I am today by my blessings. Besides the awesome miracle of our actual house that was "built" today, the love of our family, friends and neighbors that was displayed all day brought me to tears more than once. We had people here excitedly watching our progress bright and early this morning and were flooded with helpers and well-wishers through out the whole day. My brother-in-law showed up at 8:30 with donuts and coffee, which went over huge with spectators and workers both. Then tonight Aunt Beth, and a dear family that joined our church this summer, the Erdvigs, totally blew me away by providing a HUGE home-cooked meal for everyone here! (Lasagna, Ziti, tossed salad, and garlic bread for almost 30 people is an unbelievable gift!) And the sweet young girls taht were here today (Kaitlyn and Heidi) even helped clean up my house (the trailer- how will we distinguish the difference in the next several weeks?, perhaps call the new house "the castle"?!)AND did my dishes (which most people who know me know that few things bless me more than doing my dishes). Speaking of gifts, my birthday was certainly not overshadowed by the house-event either - I received birthday wishes every time I turned around, and my father-in-law even had the workmen place a huge orange ribbon bow on the roof of the house for me; and friends brought a birthday cake to share this evening as well. I even got a special birthday/house day phone call from the new mommy in the hospital! Many aspects of this event were bittersweet as we knew how much my dad would've enjoyed being part of it all; but Lily was quick to point out that "Pappy has the best view" of the building.
So, emotional aspects aside - here's the details:
The set crew arrived and started unwrapping the sections at 5:15am, the crane arrived by 8, they started moving the pieces by 10 and placed the last piece right around 12, they finished all the connections and the roof and were out of here around 5pm. They'll be back to finish the siding next week. Joe and some of our guys put up the basement steps so we could all go in. We prepped the nursery and got the first coat of the first color on that room. Any cracks that appeared in the drywall from the placement were fixed. The painters tape was finished in Anna's room. Got the flooring ready for the seaming strip thingy. Electrical wiring got connected in the attic (which is huge!). And, mostly I gave people tours and fawned over my kitchen. Anyway. It's been an incredibly long day - and there are many more long days to come - so I leave off with some pictures.
*Edit - blogger is giving me some problems with uploading pictures tonight, so I'll try to add some more tomorrow! *

3 of 4 pieces!

2008-09-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

The first 3 pieces of our house arrived today - yay! What a rush! It was a bit nerve wracking actually watching it arrive, what with how each piece took up most of the road, and then had to squeeze around the corners to make it to our yard. Oi - I literally had to look away when it was coming into the driveway. But here's some pictures of the major event!
Here's a shot of how much of the road was taken up by each piece.

These two are right before and after I got my very first peek into my kitchen through the back door - notice the pure joy wound up in my shoulders after seeing it!

Then here's some shots of the scary sharp corners they had to maneuver - let me say that those were some very experienced truckers! Notice between the second and third pictures that the stop sign and several field posts disappeared temporarily, but they've been returned - though they'll probably have to move tomorrow too...

And here's just one of the pieces, this is the bottom rear piece which is our kitchen and dining room.

And here's some pictures of my favorite part, the part that has made me cry tears of joy several times today, the part that still has me so excited that I don't know if I'll be able to sleep - my glorious dream come true - my kitchen!

taking a poll for Anna...

2008-09-04T20:31:00.000-07:00

Anna's been taking some great pictures with the camera she got for her birthday and we decided that she should enter some into the Oley fair this year. But she can only enter one in the 'scenic' class and we can't decide between these two shots, so she thought it'd be a good idea to take a survey, and I suggested I do it for her here! So, here's the two we're debating between, I think if you click on them, you can see them full size. Please leave me a comment with your opinion on which she should enter, and I'll be sure to let everyone know how it rates at the fair!

Oops...

2008-09-04T15:48:00.000-07:00

I think since I was on such a roll today and threw out 3 posts right in a row, most of my "regular" readers may have missed reading some! So, be sure you check out my post about Evie today - cause it's a cute picture!

just a good picture...

2008-09-04T09:56:00.001-07:00

I just really like this picture and wanted to share it, cause I've got cute kids and a really handsome hubby. And yes, he is sporting a "faux-hawk" in this shot, which was just for fun, but I actually think I like it and it may be reappearing soon...

4 generations

2008-09-04T09:40:00.000-07:00

Monday we had a family get-together at Joe's parent's; and what a joy to see the new babies! We thought it'd be a great opportunity to get a picture of the 4 generations of Pollocks that were represented there, with my mother in law's parents, down to our newest edition, Baby Rinna Sage.

In the picture from left to right,
Front Row: Joelle, Great-Grandmom P (who happens to share a birthday with Joelle), Great-Grandpop P, Lily
Middle Row: Aunt Michelle, me holding Eva, Anna, Grandma, Aunt Cammi holding Baby Rinna
Back Row: Uncle Tim holding Baby Rosalee, my Joey, Grandpa, Uncle Steve

"uh-oh"

2008-09-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

This morning, I'm running through my daily ritual of checking email and my regular blogs. And then I hear Eva trucking down the hall saying, "uh-oh", "uh-oh", "uh-oh". So, she's standing on the other side of my bed, and I say, "what's uh-oh?", and she points toward the living room and says it again with a little grin. Then she takes another couple steps around my bed and I suddenly see why she's saying "uh-oh"; for she has once again demonstrated her new favorite trick.

Yep - her new activity for when mom isn't looking is to remove her diaper. And more often than not it's a freshly wet one, like she knows it needs to be changed and she's helping.

So, I asked her, "where's your diaper?!", and she responded with her new favorite phrase: "I no know". She is too cute.

It's coming!!

2008-09-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

Talked to our house guy today who informed us that the first 3 sections of our house will arrive on Monday; the last will arrive Tuesday; the crane will arrive Wednesday - and the set crew will be here at the crack of dawn (literally) to assemble it all on Thursday! Ahhh - it's for real! Only 8 more days!!!

Lookie what we got!!

2008-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

We've been watching this set for a while, cause it was my favorite, but cost a bit more than we wanted to pay. I checked online this morning and found that the price had dropped again quite a bit for a Labor day sale; so I called to see if they still had it in stock and the only one left was the floor model and it was even cheaper! Yeah!!!! Anyway, we're going to use it in our bedroom rather than as patio furniture for the time being, because our bedroom is rather large and the only thing going in it is our bed since we have a big closet and won't even be having dressers. I've been wanting to make "an area" for Joey and I to have some alone time, maybe share devotions or whatever and didn't want to pay for 'real' furniture - so this was a perfect compromise! I'm just so stinking excited! 11 days till I have a house!!!

First day of school

2008-08-27T20:20:00.000-07:00

Welp, today was our first day of school - 3rd grade for Anna and Kindergarten for Lil. I would not say it went well. Understandably learning a new system is difficult - so I expected that it'd take a while to settle into the actual school program. But I was completely astounded with how consuming it is. It basically took the better part of my day to accomplish 2 subjects with Lily and 3 with Anna. Right now, I have no idea how anything will ever get accomplished around my house until about June. The set up we have for the girls - sharing our home computer in our bedroom - is not going to work well. I did try printing off more of their work for tomorrow, so hopefully we can split them up a little and have them both working at the same time. Add to the mix, that tomorrow is Joey's birthday and I have to run to the store for the ingredients to make a fantastic meal, and clean up the house for our dinner company, and wash and clean the car for my "acts of service love language" man. It's a good thing that there's a holiday next week, so hopefully we'll catch up with the schoolwork that I'm struggling to accomplish this week. And hopefully I'll get the rest of my materials soon too, cause that's creating yet more difficulty in following the lesson plans. I am so not cut out to be a teacher. Public school is looking better all the time. I'm feeling pretty discouraged - (pms not playing a factor at all I'm sure!).

Some flower pictures...

2008-08-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

The last week has been pretty busy; we had a wedding on Saturday, I did a friend's hair on Sunday, visited some friends for dinner Monday and we start school tomorrow. But before I get too lost in the shuffle, I wanted to post some pictures of some of the flowers we've done this last week! The first two are of the actual wedding flowers; the next one is what I did with the left over flowers from the wedding; the next one is some of my garden flowers that I put together for a friend who was throwing a bridal shower; and the last one is an arrangement I made for my mom to give a sick friend! Busy, busy, busy!

Growing up...

2008-08-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Anna just turned 8 this summer, but she is a very mature 8. She is very aware of everything around her, and I can often see her little mind cranking away; sometimes with understanding clearly dawning and other times with questions in her eyes that never cross her lips. We've touched on the topic of "maturing and developing" briefly over the last year, and lately she had really latched onto the idea of spending some quality time with mom and having some "girl talk". I've been planning on setting aside a day for our mother-daughter date, but it just hadn't worked out yet. But today, I was going to finish up some school shopping, and pick up some groceries and my sister was going to watch the 2 younger girls. When I dropped Eva and Elley off at Livie's, Lily got drawn into playing right away and asked if she could stay too. Liv was happy to keep the three, so we decided to have our special day today! We headed to the Gilbertsville Tea Room, where we were thrilled to find that it was so empty - we had a room to ourselves! We ordered our lunches, and over our scones and iced tea, we flipped through an American Girl book that focuses on a girl's changing body, laughing at some of the illustrations and talking about appropriate ages for leg shaving and makeup, as well as the more *delicate* details of a maturing female. To be honest, I was expecting more blushing and giggling, but she handled herself like quite a young lady. Over our quiche and grilled cheese, we also talked about boys, ("I want to marry a boy who wants kids, cause I want to be a mom like you; and it wouldn't be good if he didn't want to spend time with the kids too."), and college, and even love languages. After lunch, we did the rest of our shopping and running around, just the two of us. I was continually amazed at her maturity and thoughtfulness. And, just so I didn't get too teary thinking about how grown up she is - I was quickly reminded that she's only 8 when she was picking out all Hannah Montana school supplies! She has grown into such a beautiful and sweet little lady, who I am very very proud of and who I enjoy immensely. I am feeling so blessed to be a mother today.

New life

2008-08-16T20:40:00.001-07:00

Tonight Luke and Miranda came over for dinner and a nice long visit. We've been close with them as a couple for about 8 years I think, they're like family. They've been around to watch our girls grow, Miranda was at Eva's delivery. And now they're preparing to welcome their own little one any day now. Seeing her beautiful round tummy, and watching and feeling those squirms and kicks made me really miss being pregnant. I am really looking forward to having that experience again - I love being pregnant; feeling that life, wondering who that little person is.... it's fantastic. But, right now, I'm so very excited to be watching one of my best friends get to experience what I've enjoyed over and over. I'm so anxious to meet this little one too - almost like my own little niece or nephew! Though, I'm putting my money on a boy..... we'll see soon!!! Motherhood is such a precious gift.

2008-08-16T08:14:00.001-07:00

We received our first shipment of the girl's school stuff yesterday! So, now we have one computer that needs to be stored somewhere for a month. Oh well. I am starting to feel a little more relaxed about the whole school thing. I'm really anxious to get the rest of their supplies though, to get an idea of how the first couple of weeks will look, and hopefully the girls will be so excited about it that maybe they'll want to work ahead and put some hours on reserve for when the house stuff takes over for a couple days/weeks. I have to say though, that after helping Jessi set up her school area the other day, I'm really looking forward to creating our own school room in a few weeks too!

Happy Birthday to me!

2008-08-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

So we FINALLY got a set date for the house - September 11th, my birthday! Though it's about 2 weeks later than we had expected, at least we finally have a definite date. So, the girls should be able to get in a good 2 weeks of regular schoolwork, and get a good feel for the system, before things will get totally crazy with the house. So, September will end up being our wild month, but at least it will be a little cooler while the work is getting done. And, let's face it - bottom line - I'M GETTING A BRAND NEW HOUSE FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I am definitely seeing the silver lining here....

Busy Busy!

2008-08-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't fall off the edge of the world - just got a little overwhelmed with life last week. But, here's some of what we were doing:
Radiant heat is down and ready for the concrete to finish the basement floor.

(Yeah - I think he's hot stuff)

We also threw a baby shower for my sister in law yesterday, which went really well. I had a great time putting together the game and decorations; and my mother in law took care of all the food - so it was a win/win situation! We decided on a candy theme - "Welcoming our September Sweetie". Here's the centerpieces:

And here's the silly fill in the blank game that I made:
Once upon a time, Cammi met a Big Hunk and fell in love. He promised to cherish her, both Now & Later, and when he leaned in to give her a Kiss, Cammi was sure that she heard a Symphony play and saw Starbursts in the sky. When they wed, kisses and Hugs were Good & Plenty in their home.
After a while, Cammi began to suspect that Steve was going to be a Sugar Daddy. Not sure if Steve would be a Jolly Rancher or if he’d go Nutrageous, she prepared to give him the news. “Honey, how do you feel about adding some Sugar Babies to our family?”
Happily, Steve took the news in Stride. “Cammi, if we were computer Nerds and lived on 5th Avenue, we could afford to go on shopping Sprees for the baby, but we’re not, so we’ll just have to watch our budget on PayDay and get the necessities for our little Sweet-tart.”
When they started discussing baby names, Cammi quickly vetoed Steve’s suggestion of Whatchamacallit and they agreed on Baby Ruth for a girl and Oh Henry for a boy. If they were to be blessed with twins, they chose Mike & Ike, but if triplets surprised them, they would require some Extra time to name the 3 Musketeers.
Friends and family enjoyed watching the Mound of Cammi’s tummy growing, and their predictions of baby’s gender and size often brought Chuckles and Snickers. They also offered the parents-to-be much advice; like “Epidurals are Lifesavers”, and laundry secrets for all the MilkDuds that she’d be dealing with.
The summer heat is always hard on pregnant women and Cammi’s feet swelled until her once feminine piggies looked like big Mentos. But Steve always knew he could Skor some points by offering a foot rub.
With only a few weeks left till delivery, Steve knew it was Crunch time and was a little nervous that he’d be a Butterfingers when handling the baby. But we all know that Steve and Cammi are both Smarties and they’ll figure out their parenting style without a problem. The years will pass quickly, and soon their little Kissable bundle will be able to declare what a cool mom he (or she) has and that his (or her) “Pop Rocks”!

I am freaking out....

2008-08-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd sit down and try to get a handle on how this school thing was gonna play out. Uhh - who said this was no problem?! Good glory, I am feeling totally overwhelmed, and really rather stupid! I am so confused by the set up, and it's totally flipping me out. Jess, Kristine - am I completely simple-minded?! Do you get this stuff?!

2008-08-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Joelle came across one of my wedding photos today and we had this conversation:

J: "Mama, when did you get married?"
M: "A long time ago."
J: "Was I there?"
M: "No."
J: "Aw, man, I missed it...."

Smore cupcakes

2008-08-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe for yummy smore cupcakes and tried it yesterday for our fellowship picnic. They were super easy, and mine looked just like the picture when I was done! But then I had to transport them to Jessi's house in my van with no air conditioning, and they ended up looking a bit more like a melted marshmallow with a smear of chocolate on top, and I nearly cried. BUT, they were a hit none-the-less. They are truly yummy - but would definitely not fit into a "healthy" category! Here's the recipe: You can use any chocolate cake recipe for the cupcake part - I used a Devil's Food Cake mix.
For the icing:
1/2-3/4 lb. (2 or 3 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 lb. (2 cups) confectioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. tub of marshmallow cream (I recommend Fluff)

Cream the butter on high until it's light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, and beat until fluffy each time. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated. Then dump in the Fluff and mix it up 'til it's all creamy. Transfer to pastry bag (if desired) and pipe onto cupcakes! (I cut the corner off a Ziploc bag and used that instead.) Dust with crushed graham cracker crumbs and top with a square of chocolate.

Dentist

2008-08-01T06:35:00.000-07:00

Part of the girl's enrollment for school requires that they have a dental exam. I have not been to the dentist in about 10 years, and so my kids have never been either. I've been dreading this part; mostly because we don't have dental insurance and I was afraid to find out how much it would cost us. But, I could avoid it no longer. So, this morning I found a dentist that I am really pleased with. We do have a sort of savings plan thing, so I was looking through their participating dentists and chose a couple to call. The first one I called, I got the machine. The second one I called because it was a woman and I thought that might make the girls more comfortable. I was able to talk to a very friendly woman on the phone, who went over the cost involved with their check-ups, and was able to get them an appointment in 10 days! I was really put at ease by her, and feel a huge relief to have this done. AND the cost involved is not nearly what I'd expected! Praise the Lord! If it goes well with Anna and Lily, then I'll also plan to take Joelle and myself back too. This is really something I've been stressing about for a long time and now I'm rather excited to get it taken care of!

Today!

2008-07-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

We just found out that we're having closing today! It's really official! yeah!!!

We have a basement!

2008-07-29T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well, basement walls at least - but it's a big step!!! The crew got here around 9 this morning, and they were done at about 12:30. It's very very exciting. Here's some pictures:

(That's our window that we are standing in!)

My Elley

2008-07-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Since both of her big sisters got their hair cut, Joelle has been asking to as well. Since she's never had a real haircut, I figured it was time to get rid of the baby fuzz and encourage some good new growth. This request has also been fueled by Anna, Lily and Kaitlyn's comments about how much Joelle looks like Kit, the American Girl doll, but she "just needed shorter hair". So, I took her today. Here's Elley before:
And here's Elley after:
And here's Kit:

Successful shopping

2008-07-28T19:10:00.000-07:00

The other day, I got to go shopping with Jess (and gang) for some sneakers, which were much needed. I've been wearing flip-flops nearly every day since about May, and my knees have started bothering me, so I figured it was time for some sneakers. I tried on several pairs, several kinds; and Bryce was helpful in informing me that "the white ones aren't cool". But I found some that are super comfy and were approved by the "style police". These are my awesome new sneakers that I'm totally loving:
Also on this shopping trip, I happened across a dress (on sale!) that I loved - very 50's style, but in a size smaller than I usually wear, but I tried it on anyway. It fit and Jess said that she loved it too - so I bought it. Now you must understand that I am not a frivolous shopper - if I don't absolutely LOVE something, I just won't get it. But I do really love this dress; and the fact that it's a smaller size just thrilled my soul as well. So, I brought the dress home and quickly tried it on for Joey. Here's the dress:
What I found amusing was that since I was "quickly" showing Joey the dress, I didn't take off my new shoes; and Lily was quick to inform me that I can't wear the sneakers and the dress together, because it's "too hip-hop". Am I too old to be "hip-hop"? I can't pull this look off?
I've always thought I was pretty style savvy, but now I'm beginning to wonder, cause even Laura told me that my shoes made me look like an emu, or some such thing.....:o)

Our first wedding...

2008-07-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am still recuperating after our crazy weekend, but wanted to post for those of you who haven't already seen Jessi's blog...
We started working on the rest of the wedding flowers at 8 am on Saturday morning. Things were going really well, we finished the final touches on the centerpieces, and the buffet table arrangments, and put together the brides and 3 bridesmaids' bouquets. It was about 12 when we decided to start on the 5 little wrist corsages. It did not go well. By 2:30 we were finally done the wrist corsages and were scrambling to put the final touches on the bouquets and try to pack everything for transport. We were running about 1/2 hr. late, which was still in plenty of time. We got to the wedding location, and set up, and the bride was totally thrilled. And, today the mother of the bride actually called me, just to gush over how happy they were with the flowers, and tell me that so many people asked about the flowers! So, all in all, I consider our first official job to be a success! And, now we know for the future - we need to charge more for wrist corsages! The one sad thing was that we were so flying around at the end, that we didn't have time to get pictures; but the wedding planner and the bride both said they'd email us some of theirs.
When we got home, there were quite a few flowers left over, so we threw together a couple arrangements - one for each of us, and one for my mom and other sister, who kept the kids for us. Here's some pics of those:

So tired....

2008-07-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is our first wedding flower job as an official business. 3 large buffet table arrangements, 21 centerpieces, 4 bouquets and 5 wrist corsages. We got the table arrangements and centerpieces done today and we'll do the bouquets and corsages in the morning. And silly us, since we're not stressed enough, we thought we'd add another event. We also did 14 centerpieces for a friend's baby shower. So, we did 38 arrangements in about 7 hours. The kids were quite cooperative today and Kate and Laura helped a lot too. But, since we started our day at 8 with running all over creation to get the flowers, then prepping the flowers, feeding the kids, doing the shower arrangements, getting them picked up, then doing the wedding arrangements --- we are beyond exhausted. But here's a peek at what we accomplished today!

I love Ikea!

2008-07-24T13:32:00.000-07:00

I had previously only made one trip to Ikea. With all 4 children; in the evening; after getting lost on the way. It was not enjoyable, to say the least. But, I kept hearing that Ikea sells organization and it's cheap. Organization is my joy. Organization makes me so happy I could cry, or squeal, or squeeze my fists and grit my teeth and do a little jig. So, in a quest for organization for the new house, we made another attempt at visiting Ikea. But this time we went with no children, and with dear friends who are Ikea regulars. And I am now in love with Ikea. How can you not love a place where you can buy organization for $6.99?! Does a normal person get this absurdly excited about buying curtain rods? Certainly, they are COOL curtain rods - but do other people feel that these sticks with pretty bubbly balls on the end are worthy of giddyness? I'm pretty sure I'm officially in a class of my own. After 2 hours of joyful shopping, we left with curtain rods, curtains, night lights, a bookcase, a bathroom shelf, pillows and love of all loves - organizers! I was literally almost dancing as the guys loaded up the car. Now we have to find a place to put these wonderful items for the next month - but it will hopefully be someplace that I can occasionally pull them out and admire them.... I do so love Ikea.

Postured for change....

2008-07-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

I was really challenged by Jessi talking on Sunday about being "postured for change". It's really easy for me to get going with a plan, even if it's a seemingly God-willed plan; and then get so into the momentum of it all that I can't handle when God decides to throw in a sharp turn. Without a doubt, I believe that our building this house, through this particular process, with these particular people, and at this particular time - is God's plan. Over and over again, we've seen His hand at work, and have felt such peace and seen such confirmation through so much of this process. But, now, that there was a "sna-fu"; I am having a hard time readjusting MY OWN plans.
Yesterday our builder guy called and told us that it looks like we won't be able to have delivery of our house until the last week of August - which is a good 2 weeks later than we originally had thought. 2 weeks doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it was a disappointment to me because that's also the week the girls are supposed to start school. I know - with my head- that we'll be able to work it out; we have a lot of people offering to help with stuff, and I can probably adjust the girls' school schedule to allow for the work we'll need to be doing on the house and getting ready to move. But, in my flesh, my initial frustration and disappointment, was more than I can handle right now. I will admit that I had a melt-down.
But now, after a fairly good night's rest - I'm trying to look at the situation in a different light. My heart truly wants every aspect of our house building process to be glorifying to the Lord. It has been awesome to watch God orchestrate the details of this experience, when on our own, none of it would have been possible. This is not MY house, it's something that God has entrusted to us, for His purposes; and I need to get my focus back on that. It's not a surprise to God that the girls need to start school that week. It's not a surprise to God that someone else ordered a bunch of condos built before our house. And, so I need to readjust my stance, so I can be "postured for change". Like a Gladiator (or maybe Elasti-girl!); I need to be light on my feet, flexible and nimble, ready to duck, sway or jump to handle whatever comes at me.

But I am also so very grateful that the Lord is gentle with me, and loving and encouraging even in His correction. And I witnessed that this morning, when the furniture store called to tell me that our furniture was delayed and won't be available until....you guessed it - the last week of August. See - I know that God loves me.

Who's in a hurry?

2008-07-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it very interesting how it seems everyone else involved with the building process right now is in a hurry! Last week, when Joe called to get the inspection set up - they came right out that day. When he called to get the concrete - they came right out. Then when he called about the stone - they said they were ready with all the loads right away. Now today the basement wall guy called and asked if we can be ready to have them delivered on Tuesday instead of Wednesday! This is certainly a change after the struggle we've had up to this point. But, we're still waiting to hear back about a delivery date for the house - it'd be pretty nice if they were in a hurry too!

7-21 update

2008-07-22T07:11:00.001-07:00

Stone for basement:

Busy and hot day...

2008-07-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

I thought today was going to be kind of a lazy Saturday; stay home with the girls, do a little cleaning while Joey worked on digging trenches or something very important for the house. I did debate about taking the girls to Passionfest, but decided I just wasn't up to braving it on my own. But at lunch time, Joey decided he'd take a break from the very hot work, and we could all go to Passionfest together. So, once everyone was outfitted with baseball hats and lots of sunscreen and plenty of cold drinks in our cooler - we headed out. Now, let me explain - Passionfest is a very cool Christian outreach hosted by a bunch of churches in Pottstown. It's awesome to see all sorts of different people pulling together with a common vision. It's a collection of kid's games, fair food, a few vendors, and some amazing entertainment - professional skateboarders, stunt bike riders, both regular bikes and dirt bikes (I am told this is called BMX and Motorcross - as if I should know what that is) and several concerts. Honestly it's not my kind of thing. Let's be real - most events that involve Porta-potties are not my kind of thing. BUT I must say I actually had a lot of fun today. The kids had a fantastic time playing the (free!) games, I got to have funnel-cake, I got to show off my babies to some people I haven't seen in quite a while, and I'll admit it - I really enjoyed the dirt bike show. Though it was unbelievably hot, we came home this evening very tired, sweaty and happy. All the girls collected a bunch of goofy little prizes from the 'kid-zone' and Anna even won the drawing for a brand new skateboard. Which she has no idea how to ride. Or do you not "ride" a skateboard.... Anyway - a good day was had by all, and Joey was still able to dig for a couple of hours when we came home.
As a side not - I am amused with Eva's growing vocabulary, as we discovered today that she can say "Elley" and "I do it". Her new favorite phrase is "little man" - which she sings as she pushes the buttons on the tv, trying to turn on her current favorite video which features "Zacheus was a wee little man". She is - in a word - adorable.

Weaning update...

2008-07-19T07:38:00.000-07:00

Although Eva went to bed no problem without nursing; when she woke in the night, she was not at all happy when Daddy offered her a bottle instead of snuggling up to Mama. I kept my distance; until I couldn't take her crying anymore and rolled over to find that Joey fell asleep holding the bottle and Eva's laying between us screaming. I tried to give her the bottle then, but she just kept scooting down and laying her face against me and letting me know without a doubt what she really wanted. So, I gave in. Obviously she's not ready to give it up, and I'm not really either. So, I think I'm gonna hang onto a few feedings yet. I will just trust that the Lord knows each child's needs; if Eva's is to nurse a while longer, then I will trust that the Lord will take care of strengthening my body when there's the demands of a pregnancy added to the mix.

Happy Sad...

2008-07-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

My baby is getting big. 13+ months old. So, we've decided to wean to allow my body some time to recover before trying to conceive again. So, no bedtime nursing session. So, very emotional mama.

The wise man built his house upong the rock...

2008-07-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

My husband is very wise. Joey found quite a bit of rock in his digging, but it is at such a level that it actually worked in our favor, so that some places we didn't even need much concrete because it's already a solid "footer" foundation. Granted - this is written from my very uneducated and feminine understanding of Joey's explanations. But, we had our first inspection today for the footers, they passed and it worked out that Andy could come pour the concrete already this afternoon! So, Joe said he actually feels like we're going the right direction now that it seems we're "going up" since the digging is done. Here's some pictures of today's progress.