Our Road Home

And so it begins...

2012-01-12T20:32:00.000-06:00

I truly have nothing against playing sports. I played ball. I loved watching Tony play ball. I thought years ago that sports would be a big part of our lives. But our life has changed a lot over the past few years. God has replaced the world. Home has replaced school. I think way too much emphasis and time and importance is placed on kids sports. And they start so young! This is Erin's second year and she's in 4th grade.

But, she's loves playing ball. And the exercise is so good for her. As is working as a team. So I support it. I let her dad take her to practices...I think they should have special time together, as I'm with them 24/7. Saturday was their first game. Barry was the coach. I planned on sitting down and staying quiet. That didn't happen. Go figure. :) I was just helping. And my voice carries lots farther than Barry's. Go figure. :)

Anyway...it went much better than we thought it would. Erin was... awesome. Fearfully so. Now we'll have to face decisions regarding school and sports, blah blah. For now, I'll relax and enjoy watching her play.

I'm still feeling tired. Apparently it's supposed to take a while and I need to learn patience. :) I saw the doctor again and had a LOT of blood sent to the lab. I should know most of the results by tomorrow, except for the test for celiac disease. That's a possibility that may be causing the iron absorption issue. So, I continue to rest and learn to delegate.

Not much else is going on. We had our first snow storm of the season last night and today. Finally, some snow. And cold. Nice.

2011 In Review

2012-01-04T10:11:00.000-06:00

Wow! It's been so long I don't even know where to start! One of my resolutions (if you want to call it that) for this year is to start blogging again. I'm really not sure why I stopped. Life just got away from me I guess, and blogging fell to the bottom of the priority pile. I'm finding that my memory isn't what it used to be (just like everything else!) and I appreciate having the blog to reference, so I'll give it a go. Obviously, there's no way to unearth all that's happened since I last wrote, so I thought I'd share a few highlights of the past year, good and bad.

And now, 2011, in no particular order...

The saddest and most traumatic event was the loss of our cherished friend of over 7 years, Cassie. She had had bladder issues for a few months...I tried antibiotics, better food, supplements...everything. Then one day she woke up and couldn't use her hind legs...she had blown a disc in her spine. Our vet practices animal chiropractic, so we tried that 3 times with muscle relaxants, with no improvement. She couldn't walk, couldn't control her bladder, and sometimes she would totally lose her mind with pain. That was no way for my best friend to live, and so I made one of the hardest decisions of my life. The girls and I were with her when she left us. She knew how loved she was...and so did we.

On a much cheerier note, Tony graduated from the U of M in May with a major in Sports Management. We are so proud of him!!! He has since moved out of his "college house" into an apartment shared with friend, Joe, in Fridley. He has a job at Aldi's while he continues to search for employment in his desired field and/or consider another direction.

The girls had agreed to a 6 month wait before looking for a new dog. Of course, they failed. :) Soon they were scouting Petfinder on a daily basis looking for our new companion. It was Barry who was attracted to Beagles...probably because Cassie was the first dog he had really bonded with. And they have such sweet, friendly faces! The girls spotted a couple of Beagle sisters in Clark County before they were even eligible for adoption. The three of us made our way to Neilsville on a Friday in June, and came home with the "brown one" who we named Molly. Long story short, Saturday we made the trek again to bring home the "white one", Maggie. And I've been running ever since!

It seems they may have had a rough first year because Molly is scared of everything and everyone! Maggie is so laid back you could call her lazy. They are crate trained (mostly) and are attached at the hip. They sleep together, pee together, wrestle together...you get the picture. :)

This summer Polk County had one heck of a wind storm. Mom and Dad lost a ton of trees on their 4 acre property. By the hand of God, none touched the house. The were truly blessed. And now have lots of firewood. :)

Barry, in answer to many prayers, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior early in the year. Praise God! He's REALLY not a "get up in front of people" person, so being baptized in the faith really wigged him out. In answer to this prayer, our dear friends, the Prissels, opened up their home and pool to those wanting to be baptized in a more "casual" way. Barry, Alana, and Erin each decided the time was right. What a blessing!

On August 1, Barry began his new job at Chippewa Sand Transport. Ruan had been downsizing its Eau Claire office, and we just didn't feel secure. CST hauls sand to and from a sand mine and processing plant located in Chippewa Falls. It is a Christian company which I love! They are family friendly and everyone seems to give 100%. Ironically, it is located on the north side of Chippewa, near the lakes that Barry loves to fish. We had wanted to live in this area, but there were no jobs in the area. Well, now that this prayer has been answered, we're just waiting for our house to sell so we can move north. Right now Barry's commute is about 45 miles each way, which takes too much time away from our family.

Ok, this is a little silly, but in August we visited a truck show in Eau Claire. Alex Debagorski, from Ice Road Truckers, was there. We waited almost 2 hours in line to meet him. I don't think we'd do that again, but it was neat. He's a Christian man, and we enjoy him on the show.

In September, we joined a Christian homeschool group that meets in Eau Claire once a month. We thought it would be a good way to give the girls classroom experience and maybe give us all an opportunity to meet new people. So far, the girls aren't loving it...and the social part is not really something I "need" at this point, but we'll see. I like the field trip opportunities that the group affords.

We really enjoyed one such field trip in early November. We visited a Christian ministry farm in Whitehall to see how honey is extracted from the hives. Because it was so cold, the bees were moving slowly, allowing us to get very close without much threat. We had a great time! And really enjoyed being "beekeepers".

Happy Birthday! This year, Barry turned 51, Tony 23, Alana 12, Erin 10, and me, 38.

Erin learned how to mow the lawn. She loves it! And takes her job quite seriously. Dad enjoys the break. :) We also put a LOT of work into our landscaping. Brother-in-law, Rick, decided one day that we should rip up all of our dying bushes. Ugh. It DOES look much better, but we pray we never have to dig up, wash, and replace landscaping rock ever again!

And that about covers it, although I'm sure I'll have to come back and edit because I forgot some huge thing! 2011 did end on a bit of a stressful note regarding my health. A couple of weeks ago, while I was making lunch, I experienced a minute or two of double-vision. This, combined with an evening of world-spinning dizziness three weeks before, had me worried. I got into see the doctor that night, and he shared my fear of MS or brain tumor. He sent me to the lab for a blood work-up and then would schedule an MRI the next day. Surprisingly, the next morning he called with news that I was "alarmingly" anemic. My hemoglobin was in the 7's and shouldn't be lower than 12. Well, that explains a lot: my fatigue, headaches, high & low blood pressure, dizziness, heart arrythmeas, etc. I just thought I was getting old, out of shape, and don't sleep well.

I had an ultrasound to check for bleeding, in case that was the cause of the anemia...which came back negative. Because double-vision is such a serious symptom, and not automatically explained by the anemia, we went ahead with the MRI. Not such a fun experience. I prayed the ENTIRE time. God was with me. Before dinner that night I got the call saying everything was fine. Praise God! He
So, until something else happens, we're assuming that all symptoms were caused by the anemia. And that the anemia is probably a combination of not enough iron/B12, and malabsorption. I'm now hitting the books to figure out how best to treat myself as naturally as possible. And I've been trying to rest more and "take it easy". It's been very hard for me to "let go", but I'm learning to delagate more to the girls...which is good for them anyway. Obviously God knew who he was dealing with...He knew I'd never go to the doctor to find the anemia unless I was scared by something as big as a brain tumor. He's so good! Healing me of the anemia may change my life...I just might have the energy to do all of the things I want to do!

Well, life is calling. I'm hoping I stick to it and see you back here within a couple of days. I pray that 2012 brings you all health and blessings.

Summer Laziness

2010-06-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

I guess that's my only excuse for not writing. It's amazing how quickly I can get used to the summer schedule! No piano lessons. No school on Monday or Friday (well, besides normal Bible devotions and reading). Afternoons at the pool on sunny days. Naps on those that are not. :) We've been pretty active on weekends, though. Barry's been doing lots of fishing with the kids. Last weekend we visited the Farmer's Market in downtown Eau Claire. The weekend before, we took a trip up to Wissota State Park (it was free state park day). And then we have church and church softball on Sundays. It's been nice. I'm still hoping to "play" more with my creative pursuits. But lately, reading has taken priority.

Yesterday, Barry went fishing, alone, for his Father's Day treat. To console the girls, I took them to the park. They wanted to go to the volleyball courts to make one of their "nature" houses. They are so creative, they blow me away! While they were working, I walked the dog and then took some pics of the local beauty.Which, of course, includes my girls! Isn't this "house" cool?!?!?

The girls have also taken a sudden interest in learning to mow...with the rider, of course! Erin is still too little...she's not tall enuf nor heavy enough to keep it running. But Alana should be helping out Daddy very soon! Did you know that I've NEVER mowed the lawn? I know, funny. My dad never taught me (we grew up with a not-so-great lawn...lots of rocks, twigs, weeds....and I don't think Dad wanted us destroying the mower. :) So, I never learned. Then I got married. Geez, I mean, he needs at least ONE job around the house that's all his, don't ya think?

A long, long time...

2010-06-04T12:14:00.000-05:00

Wow! Where have I been??? Good question. I guess May is always busy...just like every other month, I guess. But, hey. I'm back in under a month! Whew! :)

Ok, we have officially finished up piano lessons for the year with the girls' recital. They are already way better than I ever was, even after just a few months of lessons. They can read notes and play with both hands...at the same time! (way beyond me!) I'll miss the music of their practicing and our afternoons outside at the farm...the girls will miss the baby kittens who recently entered the world. But it will be nice to have that afternoon back...and not have to harass the girls to practice every day!

This month we also discovered the Chippewa Valley River Bike Trail. The girls and I had looked at a house for sale in Meridean, and noticed the Bike Trail there. So, one evening when Tony, Dad, and Erin went fishing, I surprised Alana with a trip to the bike trail. We loved it! Talk about nature galore! Peaceful, quiet. Awesome. We brought Dad and Erin back for an afternoon ride a couple of weeks ago. And we'll be back several times this summer, I'm sure!

No action on our house. We had an open house on the 14th of May and had one interested visitor, but nothing since then. I've been focusing on being content where we are...which really isn't that hard. We like our house a lot...there's nothing wrong with it and it has plenty of room. Maybe God is keeping us here for the summer to enjoy the nearby pool...or even to reap the harvest from the garden. Or, maybe we were never really intended to leave, but to just get our house cleaned out and to simplify. Either way, I'm ok with following God's plans...they always turn out better than my own! In the meantime, we keep an eye on houses that come on the market, and go to open houses when any look interesting. We're working on narrowing down what we really need & want and what we're willing or unwilling to compromise on.

We spent a couple of days up at my mom & dad's for Memorial Day Weekend. My sister and her family were there, as they were inbetween houses. (They sold their house and are renting a cabin on a lake for the summer while their new house is being built.) It was nice to see everyone. My niece and nephews are growing like weeds!

Not much happening in the creativity department. I'm not sure what my problem is. But then, maybe it's not a problem afterall. Just feel like I'm drifting...without a purpose. Well, I guess I have purpose...it's not all as dramatic as that! My main purpose here & now is to care for my family and teach my children...and trust me, that keeps me plenty busy!!! (And we homeschool year-round...no breaks here! And yes, my kids are not fans of mine right now!) But every so often, I feel the nudge to do more...whether it be creating art to sell, writing...something. And then other days, like today, nothing. I stopped at Michael's yesterday to buy myself a little something to try to jumpstart my creative mojo. We'll see if it works. After school, laundry, lunch, vacuuming....and a nap. :)

A Rainy Friday Morning...

2010-05-07T11:18:00.000-05:00

Being a house hermit, I kinda like rain. Makes me wanna snuggle in even more! The house is VERY quiet at the moment. The dog and cats are all snoozin, Erin's reading her book, Alana's at the table working on her homework, and I'm checking in here after catching up on making some Latin and French matching cards for vocabulary practice.

Barry has left to go fishing up north with his cousins. No, I'm not sure why DADDY gets to go have fun on MOTHERS DAY weekend. But that's ok...I kinda like it with just us girls. Seems like less work for some reason. :) Not much planned today until this evening...we're going to help set up for the annual library book sale. I figure it's a good place for me to volunteer, as I use the library so much. However, there is a selfish reason...after setting up, the volunteers take part in a little "early bird shopping". And for a book geek like me...well, that's just too good to pass up! I normally don't like to buy books...unless they are resource books that I'll use over and over. But the prices are so good, that it's an innocent little treat. This is the first time the girls will be with...I think they're old enough to help now, and to learn to give back. And then they can pick their own books out.

I'm hoping to do some kind of creative play tomorrow. Maybe even later today. Wish me luck. With this raininess, I may fall victim to the temptation to nap the day away!

In case I don't make it back before...Happy Mother's Day to you all!

New Work

2010-04-30T12:37:00.000-05:00

Now that my house is much, much emptier than before...of clutter, anyway...when I'm not cleaning for showings, cooking, teaching, etc, I can create again. This is the stockpile of cards I've done over the last few weeks. They need to get put into the etsy shop (which is currently empty).

And here is my new project... wall art. To "stage" the house for sale, we needed to remove all family photographs (which is basically the only art I had!) and homeschooling maps, kids artwork, etc. So, I kept thinking of what I could make... these are a couple of my ideas. They are done on canvas paper, 8 x 10 to fit frames. They are made with patterned paper, ink and stamps. I'm going to list them at $25, unframed (to ease in shipping, and so that people can choose their own style of frames). Eventually, the goal would be to sell prints of the originals...also as packs of notecards. I really want to push the "Christian" in this venture...quotes, lyrics, Scripture, etc. I want this work to be for Him. My thought behind doing them is that I view my handmade cards as ART...whereas most people see them as trash after taking out the check! :) So, here's my version of art that most people (hopefully) would see as art. :) Hope you like them. Feedback would be great!!!

More Busyness...

2010-04-30T08:13:00.000-05:00

I know that excuse is getting old...really old. Will I ever log on here and say, "Hi guys. Me again for the 5th time today...just bored again." Is that possible? Ever?

Well, let's see. Last Thursday we had a showing. It went well. Saturday, we decided to take a road trip to drive by possible houses to cross them off the list. I think we're pickier about the location/setting of a house than the inside, so we eliminate most of them. Out of five houses, only one stayed on the list. And we haven't gone to see it because it is the farthest away from Barry's job...about 35-45 minutes, depending on weather and traffic (currently, it's 20 minutes). BUT, it appears to be a very good house for what we need, AND in the budget. Anyway....

When we got home, the girls and I went to take pictures of Miss Morgan before her Junior Prom...she was on the court. Isn't she gorgeous? And all grown up. Sad.

Ok, then Tuesday night, we had another showing...the same couple from Thursday night. They were bringing the parents and possibly writing an offer. Panic. We have no where to go. AND, neither of us want to face the "offer acceptance decision". You know, how low do you go? Well, they decided not to write an offer at this time. First time buyers...big mortgage.

On Wednesday night, the girls and I went to look at a fsbo house. We loved the old house character. That's what I want. They liked that it was on a creek. Barry didn't like the idea at all! In his mind, old equals junk and work and money. So, we keep looking. I still want my character house...

Another showing set up for Saturday morning. We were going to have an open house, but Barry decided that he wanted to go fishing on the opening weekend. Guess I'll be cleaning anyway....

Hopefully, I'll be posting again today. I have lots of new cards and wall art (my new project) to show you.

Here's a teaser...

But for now...it's breakfast and school! Have a great day!

Lambs & Easter & Birthdays, Oh my!

2010-04-16T11:45:00.001-05:00

On the Saturday before Easter, we went on a field trip with friends to Govin's farm in Menomonie. We visited last year and the girls loved it. If you're lucky, you get to see baby lambs being born. They also have chicks, goats, puppies, piglets, and horses to see. We had a great time and will probably go next year again!

Alana, Mckahl, Erin, and Hannah (friends from church)

We celebrated Easter at Mom & Dad's, as usual. Barry stayed home to do some last minute house projects, but the girls and I drove up on Friday afternoon. We then went with mom & dad to Minn to Avery's 4th birthday party at a bowling alley, followed by a picnic lunch at a park, church at Eaglebrook, and then a little hike along the river at Taylors Falls.

And then a delicious Easter dinner on a glorious spring day, enjoyed with family. What a wonderful way to celebrate the Lord's resurrection!

Erin & Alana after hunting for eggs.

Easton (2) in his new boots!

Cousins in their Easter finery! Alana, Avery, & Erin

Grampa Videen with Baby Everett. Adorable!

Busy, busy, busy...

2010-04-16T11:40:00.000-05:00

I know, I know. It's been like 20 years since I last wrote. Here's the deal. We finally have our house on the market!!! After years of talking about it, and thinking about it, and dreaming about it...we finally did it! Before that could happen, though, some major work had to be done. We had to paint our basement (please don't ask what it looked like before!) and in order to do that, lots and lots of stuff had to be sorted and thrown and donated. Actually, there were piles and closets and boxes of stuff all over the house that needed to be dealt with. So, that's what I've been doing for the past month. Now I'm pretty much done (exept for a couple of small baskets of misc stuff that I need to go through...but am too burnt out to attempt right now) and just need to maintain the clean.

I've never worked harder in my life. Really. And our house has NEVER looked better! It feels SO good. Why didn't I do this before? Because I'm a "keeper" and because my kids inherited my disease. Now we're on the road to establishing new habits and patterns. I tell my kids often that God's plan may not have been for us to move (although, I still feel that it is), but just for us to clean out and simplify.

We've had one showing so far. I guess that's not bad for the first week. Especially in this down market. It's ok, really, as we have no where to go as of yet. I just really feel that God wanted me to step out in faith...to prepare and list the house, not knowing where we would go, or when. I've obeyed. Finally. So, now I wait for His perfect plan and timing to reveal itself. At least now I'm waiting in a clean house!

Family Matters & Happy Spring!

2010-03-13T15:39:00.000-06:00

As I'm writing this, I'm looking out my office window at GREEN GRASS (well, as green as is to be expected in March) and chirping birds at my feeder...mostly sparrows I believe, but I just saw a red cardinal and think I saw an interesting finch earlier today. For those of you familiar with Wisconsin weather, this is one step from Heaven! In fact, one of my favorite email forwards is the "You Know You Live In Wisconsin If"... like as soon as the temp goes above 40 deg, everyone is in t-shirts and flip-flops? :) Well, so far we haven't broken out the flops, but the girls have been sneaking their jackets off when playing hoops out in the driveway. Last week we had sun, which raised are tired, March spirits immensely. This whole week, however, has been cloudy, rainy, and dreary. But, still above 40, so I'll take it.

The pictures below spotlight another happiness in my life. My daughter, Alana, has always been a reader/book-lover like her mom. Never fighting me during reading time, and always reading before shutting off the light in bed. Erin, however, was a different story. Not interested. I've struggled to find a subject, author, or series to spark her interest, to no avail. Now, suddenly, it's taken root. Mostly, I think because she's sharing a room with her sister again, and thinks that reading might help her fall asleep.

Anyway, earlier this week, Erin got up early....a little after 7am, versus the usual 8am. I was sitting at the table doing my God Time/Study. She came up the stairs and stopped at the top to pet Zack. Then she spied the pile of books I had piled near the banister (I have books piled everywhere!) The next time I looked, there she was with a book open, reading on the top step, petting the cat. :) Joy.

I recently finished a book called Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense. I know why it makes sense for us, of course, but this author has a unique point of view...he's a public school teacher, and he and his wife homeschool their 5 sons. It was very interesting, giving a good history of public schooling...how it came about, why it's changed, and where it fails and succeeds. Here are just a few of the points I found thoughtful...

*the inherent rigidity of schools...children were not predisposed to long hours of physical inactivity

*schools were basically joyless institutions, serving an education almost entirely divorced from daily life

*In Massachusettes, the literacy rate was higher before compulsory education (possible 98%) than it would be any time after...due to being schooled or tutored at home

*the bureauocracy of the public schools was probably its biggest downfall...when the vision and control shifted from parents and communities to bureaucrats and "professionals"

*homes are no longer the "educational vacuum" they may have once been...we have internet, tv, books, libraries, globes, maps, magazines, homeschool curriculum, etc. Schools, to a certain extent, have become a waste of taxpayer dollars. Let parents teach...

*and finally, towards the end, this one really hit me hard. The author presents human beings (parents) as natural teachers of their young. And in most cultures, this education is reserved for the elders when they are no longer best suited to be out "doing," but have the knowledge and experience to pass on to the next generation. And since we have this "need & desire" to teach our children, a hole is created in our souls when we send the kids to school. He points out that parents quickly become selfish with their time and desires. How many times have you heard moms repeating all summer, "I can't wait for the kids to go back to school!" And we become totally focused on serving our own needs, seeing our kids as an intrusion on our time. This hit me very hard. Pre-homeschooling, I was an obsessed scrapbooker. That's what I did...that's who I was. I recently realized that I didn't NEED to do it daily...weekly...or even monthly, as I had to before. I don't normally feel the need to "get away from my kids." Could it be that my "teaching hole" has been filled now? Wow. He also mentions sports and dads. How many dads find that the only way they have to fill their need to teach is to teach junior how to throw a ball or swing a bat. This is where they bond. How true is that???

Anyway, the book did nothing to make me want to send my kids back to school. :) Family matters...and mine is home where I want them. :)

Have a blessed weekend!

By Grace Alone

2010-03-03T15:43:00.000-06:00

Why a blurry school bus picture???

Well, you see, as a kid, whenever I'd stay home from school (due to sickness, or what my mom called much-needed "mental health days") I'd feel so guilty and regretful when that bus passed by. Was I really sick enough to be home? What was I missing? How far behind would I be? And then in high school, add to that guilt the pressure from missing basketball or volleyball practice. Seriously, people, I didn't even skip class in college! Once a geek always a geek, I guess. But I digress.

I became a mom. And all too soon I was putting my first little girl on that bus. And I cried. Then pretty soon, there were two on the bus. It took me 4 1/2 years of kids on the bus for me to finally have the courage to bring them home (for reasons that I won't get into now). But as I'd watch that bus go by each morning, I'd wonder, was I making the right decision? Would I ruin my kids? It was the same old guilt...the same fear I'd end up regretting this decision.

I still have days of questioning. But now, each day, as I sit over my Bible in the quiet before the kids awake, I thank God that my girls are NOT on that bus. They are home with me...where they belong. Where God has called me to keep them. And I am thankful. And humbled...that He has entrusted me with these precious lives.

And then the precious ones awake, and before long I'm wishing I would have put them on the bus. I might even threaten to put them on it tomorrow! :) Some days are bad days. Really bad. With the words from Ann at Holy Experience, whom I admire greatly,

"Raising your own flesh and blood is this exercise in seeing how dirty your flesh is and how dire you need the blood of Christ. "

It is by grace alone that I'm forgiven of my sins. My mistakes. And it is by His grace that I am entrusted with these precious souls, day after day. And it is by His grace that tomorrow I'll do better. It is through His grace that the bus goes by each morning, just to remind me...

A Case for Creation

2010-02-06T14:20:00.000-06:00

It was early last week...Monday morning, I believe. As I sat with God, watching the world wake up, I witnessed the most beautiful thing. It was really foggy. And cold. And the combination created a white world...similar to a fresh snowfall, yet different. Individual frost flakes coated every surface. And the air was white with a frozen fog. It was, in a word, magnificent!

Then the girls woke up, breakfast had to be made...my day began and the spell was broken. I kicked myself all day for at least not trying to take pictures. Well, I got my chance the next morning...I was greeted with the same picture. So, as soon as I could, I trekked out into the yard and started clicking. However, there was so much light...so brilliantly white, that the pictures were all whited out. So, I wandered out for a second attempt. These were the pictures I got. Like most things in life, the copies don't do the justice to the original.

For many days after, I pondered the beauty I was blessed to witness on those early mornings. It felt like a personal showing of God's greatest art. Each night I thanked him for his creativity, and I couldn't help but think, yet again, how obvious the Creator is through His creation. How can people not see Him?

This made me think about beauty itself. I guess, if you really wanted to, you could make a case that "beauty" is really just a natural survival instinct. We are "attracted" to those of the opposite sex so that we are willing to propagate our species. We see "beauty" in a newborn babe so that we determine it necessary to care for the young until they are able to survive on their own. And, I guess, I case could be made for us seeing "beauty" in nature...as it would tell us "good place to make camp".

I finally determined that one could say that "beauty" is not art presented by a creative God, but just a perception on our part (dictated by the "big bang," I'm sure!) But there was an idea that could not be explained away. How are we moved to tears by words and music? What makes us see beauty in a grandparent interacting with a grandchild? An elderly couple sharing a smile and holding hands? The first words of a child? The miracle, I've decided, is not just what we see that He creates, but that we even see it...feel it. He gave us that gift. To see beauty. Wow. Can you imagine life without that?

Can a worm see beauty? Can a tree? Can an amoeba (that we apparently came from)? The ability to see and feel the beautiful. That's my case for creation.

Introducing Everett Allen

2010-02-04T19:58:00.000-06:00

First, I must appologize for being awol for so long! I really don't know what my excuse is this time. Just busy, I guess. Between school, cooking, and cleaning...seriously, it really shouldn't keep me that busy, but it does. Anyway, we've begun the "we're really going to try to sell this house" cleaning again. But I'm serious this time. :)

On a much happier note, my sister finally had her baby. Last Thursday, January 28, Everett Allen Abrams entered the world at a whopping 11 lbs, 4 oz!!! (At least now we know what took so long!) You go girl! Everett was born at home, as was Avery and Easton, and everything went very smoothly. We visited on Friday, and let's just say, 11 lbs sounds much bigger on the phone than when he's in your arms (of course, we Videen girls don't mess around with those "average-sized" babies...we only produce 9+ pounders!) He sure still seemed tiny to me. And beautiful. And if I could just bottle up that baby smell...!!!

And this one's my favorite. I can totally see Grampa in this one!!!

As always, I have more to say...but, as always, I'm just too wiped to do it! :) Hopefully, I'll be back again tomorrow to bore you to tears. Until then, God bless, and have a fabulous end to your week!

Alone Time

2010-01-16T09:50:00.000-06:00

My life just drove away in the truck. Any other mothers think of that when their hubby and kids drive away? That in a split second my life could be gone? I know it's not my place to worry about tomorrow... or even an hour from now. That belongs to the Lord. He giveth and He taketh away, and He will hold my hand through it all.

For those of you who don't homeschool, you may not be able to appreciate a day to one's self. I don't actually remember the last time we've been apart for more than a couple of hours. Barry thinks their going to fish all day...like into the afternoon. I wish him luck. Ice fishing is boring. Especially for Alana. We were actually surpised she chose to go with.

And as usual, she got clingy with me before she left.

As she was hugging me on the stairs by the door, she said, "Mom, how come I spend half of my life trying to run away from you, and then when I have the opportunity, I don't want to leave you?" How very astute for my 10 year old dear girl. I told her that I felt the same way. And we bonded yet again.

I remind myself daily as I'm doing their laundry, washing their dishes, cooking their food, picking up their stuff...that even in my selfish irritation...I wouldn't want to spend my life doing anything else.

That said, I'm going to try now to enjoy the day alone....

Oh, Baby, Where Art Thou?

2010-01-16T09:47:00.000-06:00

We're still waiting for baby. Do you like how I say "we" even though I'm not the one who's big as a house? :) My sis just had the thought the other day that maybe she's not as far along as they thought...but carrying twins. What a thought!

Contentment Catch Up

2010-01-15T18:45:00.000-06:00

I promised an update yesterday....but I got too tired. Sorry. The girls and I went grocery shopping, which took WAY too long, and ended with Erin dropping to 40 in Walmart and speeding home to make dinner. Don't worry...I did treat her before we left the parking lot. Anyway, shopping totally exhausts me, and after my second day of no nap, writing was absolutely out of the question!

Now, after a day of cleaning, laundry, cooking, and looking up treatments for guinea pigs with bald spots, I think I'm ready to go!

Since my last "Contentment Catch-Up"...

The three barriers that keep us from experiencing contentment: greed, lack of purpose, and anxiety.

The greed part is pretty simple to figure out, and although I've never considered myself a materialistic person (in fact, I'm pretty darn cheap!) I know I've been convicted. Did you know that Scripture contains more references to money than to salvation?

Some key points...
*materialism has become a god in our country
*when we purchase more than we can afford, we are discontent with what God has given. We no longer trust that God knows best and that He will supply our needs.
*greed builds a barrier between us and God

And remember...
*"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt 6:21)
*"No one can serve two masters...You cannot serve both God and money." (Matt 6:24)

Then we move on to not having a life purpose or focus. Not knowing why I'm here or where I'm going. Living without direction...living on hold, waiting for something or someone to give life meaning. We we live directionless, we are swiftly propelled by the winds of circumstances.

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." -Goethe

"For my determined purpose is that I may know Him - that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly." (Phil 3:10 AMP)

And then worry..."worry is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere."

*"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." - George Muller
*We commit sin when we worry because we are not trusting God
*So, faith is the foundation:
(I love this!) Faith raises us above our circumstances. Faith enables us to be content even when life doesn't make sense. Faith is the bulwark that keeps us strong even when we're assailed by agonizing thoughts about what might happen or by what has happened.
*Faith is walking in the dark with God, holding His hand.

Of course, there are a TON of Scripture references to having faith and trusting in God, and casting our worries on Him. But you get the idea.

Today we discussed the spiritual diseases of "What If" and "If Only". The first deals with the future and leads to anxiety (I suffer from this one daily...thanks, Glenn Beck!) and the second relates to the past and leads to anger. Here is a verse and a quote that sum these up...

"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord....Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord." (Jer 17:5&7)

"I am always content with that which happens, for I think that which God chooses is better than what I choose." -Epictetus

What makes this book extra meaningful is the personal stories and profiles she adds. Linda Dillow was a missionary, mostly, I believe in Eastern Europe (when communist) and China. The women's stories that she shares completely put me to shame...and help prepare for our possible future. She worked with women who had nothing...and risked that nothing, as well as their "freedom", safety, health, and life to serve Christ. What excuse do I have not to? And am I prepared to do the same if this country goes the same way?

The girls and I are currently reading "The Huguenot Garden" by Douglas Jones. If you're a Christian and have kids, this is a must-read! It is about a 17th century French Protestant family being persecuted by a Catholic king. It discusses faith, standing up for one's beliefs, and the role of government and religion. Awesome!!!!

We also talked about William Penn this week, and I'm reading a bit extra. I want to know more about the Quakers and how their beliefs jive with my own. He's one of the few famous men we've learned about that we had no problems with liking! :)

Well, I'll stop boring you now! Hope you all have a safe, fun and productive weekend! I'm hoping to get some creative juices flowing in my scraproom tomorrow (I've been in a dry spell here for a while). And who knows...maybe I'll become an auntie again this weekend!!!! :)

Christmas Pics. Finally.

2010-01-13T19:02:00.001-06:00

The Bible story tradition...
The cousins. Easton wouldn't sit still long enough...

He did like Avery's new dress-up hat, though!

Grandma knit bears for all the kids. She's so talented! She even got Avery's to look like her!

Anything "horse" makes Alana smile...

Erin loves art and drawing. Thanks, Santa!

Mommy got a new Bible cover! (Picked it out herself and everything!)

Daddy managed to smile at the camera for once. Christmas miracle!

Tony just loves the camera...

Isn't my niece, Lexi, beautiful???

There are more pictures, of course, but I'm just too lazy to post them all! :)

I had to start off my morning today with a mini-physical for my new life-insurance application. The nurse came at 8:30...which really is early. (That way I didn't have to work at fasting!) At least that's what I thought til I figured out that I shouldn't have my morning java at 6:30 when I start my God time cuz of the sugar I have to have in it. Ummm...not the best way to start off the day. Ugh. I just never managed to find my groove. I guess I'm just too much of a routine-azoid. That, and I need my coffee at 6:30 in the morning!

I'm behind on my contentment study updates, but I'll be back with them tomorrow. I'm just too tired right now. I know that we've hit on materialism discontent and worry. And yes, I'm guilty of both...but I'll get to that tomorrow.

Until then.... God bless and enjoy the sunshine!

Random Things to Share

2010-01-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a brilliant day in my quest for contentment. Linda Dillow certainly knows how to reach a body! Friday's chapter was "Content to Be Me," and the fact that God made us exactly how we are...our body, mind, personality, gifts, etc. for a purpose. To be displeased with who we are is to challange our Lord...and who am I to do that?! He has a plan for us, a plan created before we were, and we need what the Lord has created us with to fullfill His plan. Well, duh! Sounds so simple when you put it that way!

Here's a quote from Rev. James Hufsteler that really hit home for me...

"You will never really enjoy other people, you will never have stable emotions, you will never lead a life of godly contentment, you will never conquer jealousy and love others as you should until you thank God for making you the way he did."

Wow.

More thoughts...

too often in our lives, accomplishment and doing overshadow growth and becoming...God wants us to focus on becoming like Christ, shaping our character into His image...however we tend to focus on the frame (our physical attributes, talents, personality...)

and then there was the attention paid to the Proverbs 31 woman (whom I'm well aware of, thanks to my mom!) Dillow says, "The Poverbs 31 woman was not controlled by her circumstance and demands of her family, her household, or her home business. She was ruler of her attitudes, her time, and her schedule. Her relationship with God was central. All that she became was a result of her yielding to His sovereign control."

Today's focus was contentment with our current role...as our roles in this life are always evolving. Quit waiting for our next role to come to bring happiness...enjoy where you are now and make the best of it.

I need to share a thought from my new favorite site, Holy Experience.

Homemaking is about making a home --- and a home is a safe place, a refuge, a place to be real and alive and truest true.

Homemaking is not about making perfection.

Seriously, I LOVE this woman! For all of the times I get angry with my family for not picking up their messes, saying no to new messy projects, complaining about the state of my house...that's not what it's about. And really, that is how I live my life...perfect imperfection. It's about time I start reminding myself of that!

I also haven't shared any new layouts in a couple of months, so here's what I've created...

Have a great weekend, try to stay warm, and God Bless!

My Baptism

2010-01-06T17:43:00.001-06:00

As I told you last week, I finally got baptized on Sunday. Saturday was a little nerve-wracking for me. Little things, though, like what to wear and how the logistics would go are the things that bug me. Sunday morning brought excited anticipation, grins, and giddiness! Wow, was I ready! I actually felt a little like I was going to get married again. My tummy was just in knots!

I had been working on what I would say for my testimony...silly, really. Anyone who knows me knows that I'd start bawling the second I opened my mouth. And I did. So, I kept it short and sweet...something about proclaiming my faith in Jesus Christ and wanting to obey my Lord.

I was deeply moved by others afterwards. I was warmly welcomed into the family of Christ with many hugs and congrats...including a couple of men. I love a man who will hug...and cry! I know that my baptism did not in any way earn me salvation...but I do feel better having obeyed. Another wall brought down between my God and I.

On another note, I found a new website to enjoy...

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

This woman is a Christian mom, wife, writer, homeschooler, and fantastic photographer! I am awed by her spirit, her words, and her photographs! Oh, and I have NEVER been so drawn to one's playlist before! Beautiful music! I know that whenever I'm on the computer (like right now) I'll have her playlist playing. In fact, I'd have already ordered the cd's if I wasn't restrained by this budget thing! :)

Barry has been on the payroll at Ruan (his new job) for a week now, but doesn't officially go into the office til tomorrow. I'm glad he got a couple of days off (although he did a ton of tax and bill work) but I'll also be glad to get down to our new routine when he's back at work. It will be a change having him home at night instead of all day. He's nervous, as expected...his first new job in over 22 years. But, I have every confidence in his abilities...and I'll be praying for him all day!

School is going well. I think I've finally convinced the girls that it's the better thing to do school throughout the summer (at reduced times) as they forgot lots of stuff just during the week and a half they had off! Now, they get it! And I'm trying to kick off the new year more organized and dedicated to school...me and my "new beginnings," you know! :)

And for my year of "Contentment," I've started a book by Linda Dillow, "Calm My Anxious Heart." So far, it is totally worth my time. Some notes to share:

*I need to keep an eternal perspective, viewing my life and evaluating what's important from His perspective.

*Most of us base our contentment on our circumstances, on our feelings, or on other people. Contentment is a state of the heart, not a state of affairs.

*Paul said, "I have learned to be content..." (Phil 4:11) ---so we can still learn this skill!

and, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13)---Christ gives us the strength to be content through all

*Never allow myself to complain about anything - not even the weather (I really gotta work on this one!)

*Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else

*Never compare your lot with another's (guilty)

*Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise

*Never dwell on tomorrow - remember that tomorrow is God's, not ours (this is probably my biggest issue)

I've got a lot to chew on so far! Hope some of this was helpful to you, too!

New Year's Resolutions

2009-12-31T18:10:00.000-06:00

So, here's the thing. I like making lists. Not only to keep me on track...but so I can feel productive when I cross things off. :) AND, I love new beginnings. I love Jan. 1, because it's a new year. I love spring because it brings fresh, new life. I like September as it brings a new school year. Get the idea? So, obviously, a New Year's Resolutions list is right up my alley. I'm ultra excited this year cuz I don't have to put "lose weight" at #1. :) My list this year got kinda long, so I divided it up into sections. Here goes...

Health:
-exercise daily (besides my daily dog walk)
-lose 15 lbs. (I know, I said I didn't have to do this, but I do really have more to lose)

Spiritual/Personal:
-get baptized (I'm only puting this on the list so I can cross it off on Sunday!)
-get deeper/longer into my morning Bible studies
-give more to charity
-keep a prayer journal (I just finished altering one today!)
-play with art more
-be nicer to Barry
-keep up better communication with friends and family (like actually using the cards I make!)
-consistent blogging
-personal development with my 2010 theme (more to follow)

Domestic Engineering:
-less time on the computer
-stick to our newly developed/needed budget
-keep house "showing ready" (we're hoping to move to the country and closer to Barry's new
job)
-start composting
-take gardening more seriously
-learn to can
-better menu planning
-try one new recipe a month

Homeschool:
-read aloud to kids more consistently
-keep a better & more consistent records/schedule/plan
-more science & art

So, how's that for keeping busy? I know, I overdo it sometimes...

Ok, my 2010 theme. I've seen other bloggers choose a word or theme to focus on for the year, and I thought I'd try it. I recently decided on "Contentment" as mine for 2010. Then my wonderful friend (and pastor's wife) Martha, wrote her Christmas card letter about contentment. I took that as a sign of God's approval. :) So, I'm going to work on being content this year. This will be big for me. I am happy. I am at peace (God's peace, that is). But generally speaking, I'm always wanting more or different. Not in a materialistic way...more like in a "grass is greener" way. I know this keeps me from truly living in the moment, for today...always being distracted and focused on where I'm going instead of just enjoying the journey.

Well, guess I'll finally end now....and curl up with some books and watch my girls play Wii. The goal is to see the ball drop in New York, but we'll see. Barry's at work...his last day at Marten. Hoping he'll be home in time for the ball drop. Funny how different my life is now, compared with just a decade ago. Wow. Much better. :)

Happy New Year everyone...and God bless!

Post-Christmas Catch Up

2009-12-30T19:08:00.001-06:00

I know, I'm WAY behind on posting. I had great intentions of writing before Christmas, but just didn't make it. So, let's get caught up on all of the pre-Christmas goings on.

Erin got to be Mary when the kids sang in church the Sunday before Christmas. That was cool, because last year, Alana played Mary at our old church's program.

And the girls were, once again, in the church's Extreme Christmas Musical. And this year, I was, too...behind the scenes anyway. I was part of the costume/prop team, and then helped backstage during the performance. Boy, did I learn a lot! Especially when Elvis had a hard time even getting into the building! (Don't ask!)

But I digress...the girls, and all of the kids, were fantastic! Alana & Erin were "poodle skirt girls" and each had a little duet. Each year the performance gets easier for the girls...which is why I "urge" them to do it. :) I think this year was even easier for them as they're more familiar with the church and the people there. We all had a great time!

The "poodle skirt girls"...

Alana singing her duet....

And Erin singing her duet...

The girls also had a piano recital at their teacher's house. They each played solos, duets, and one song all three girls played together (with Claire, Erin's bestest friend). They were fabulous, and I think they even had fun!

Well, that pretty much sums up pre-Christmas. I haven't even begun to touch my Christmas pictures yet....hopefully, I'll have those up within a couple of days. It was a good Christmas though. The weather looked like it was going to really mess things up, but God was good and got us to mom & dad's safe and sound (although, not up the driveway!) It was definitely one to remember...Dad having to pull us up, and then down the driveway. :) I didn't even really miss the cookies and candies...and I never heard the girls complain. I think we all probably felt a lot healthier this year without it.

We do have some very big news, though. After 22 years at Marten, Barry has moved on to a new job. This was a VERY big deal for him...and us. But, I at least, feel very happy and at peace with the decision...even though we're taking a 25% paycut. Barry will finally be back to working days, so we might be able to have a normal family life. It sounds as if they really want his opinion of the status quo...and will value any changes he makes. I think just having new challenges will be good for him. I'm excited. My prayer is that he might actually LIKE his job...that would be a huge change.

I plan to start off the new year right...I'm getting baptized on Sunday! I'm SO excited. I've wanted to be baptized ever since being born again...about 4 1/2 years ago. But my old church doesn't believe in "believer's baptism", so I guess I just put it off. But the excuses are over. Sunday I will obey my Lord...He said to "believe and be baptized," and I will.

Here's to a fabulous new year!!!

Celebrating Life!

2009-12-08T15:51:00.000-06:00

A year ago today I woke up in a hospital room with a new life. December 7, 2008, Erin was taken by ambulance to Mayo in Rochester with a blood sugar number around 1300 (70 to 120 is good). She probably should have died. In light of that, the diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes was pretty insignificant...yet, it still drastically changed our lives.

I thank God everyday for the time I have with my kids. I thank Him for carrying me through the struggles and frustrations of the past year. I thank Him for directing us to people and ideas that have helped us live healthier lives. And I'm truly thankful for this "thorn in our side," as it has brought our family closer to each other and to our Lord.

For all of this gratitude, I thought it would be fitting to "celebrate" surviving our first year with the disease. Erin has been begging for earrings for over a year. I had intended to be one of those "mean" moms who made her wait til she was in her teens...but I thought that in spite of all that she's endured and matured through, she probably deserved them. So, last Friday we took a trip to Eau Claire to get earrings. The girls were very nervous, but no tears were shed.

AND, we found some pretty cool headbands that will help immensely with their "growing out the bangs" pangs. However, some tears were shed by mom & dad when we got the bill! Prices have gone up a bit since I was in Claire's last!

And not to leave out child #1, here is the picture of Tony's big buck that I promised. Nice job, Babe!

This is our busy December week. The girls' piano recital is scheduled for tomorrow night (although we're in the midst of our first snowstorm of the season, so it may be rescheduled), and our Extreme Christmas Musical at church is this weekend...dress rehearsal Friday nite, and performances Sat and Sunday. Whew! After this week I should be able to relax and enjoy Christmas! :) Well, at least after I write out Christmas cards, which I finally ordered last night. Plus, I certainly won't be doing any baking this year, so that saves me TONS of time and money!!!

A Month?

2009-11-29T15:46:00.000-06:00

Seriously, I know it's been a long time...but a month???!! Actually, it's been more than a month. Wow. Time flies, eh? See, what happened is that I paid for a booth at a craft fair thingy in town here on Nov. 7. So, up until that day, all of my free time went into preparing for that. Then, after that day, I was just plain burned out. So, that's my excuse. :)

The craft fair thing wasn't so great. The organizer didn't advertise. Really. So, I guess my booth fee went right into her pocket. And those that did show up, just weren't interested in what I had to offer. I really thought that my prices would scare them off. But they weren't even stopping to look. Oh, well. I gave it the old college try. I still have no sales in my etsy shop. Of course, I STILL haven't advertised to friends and family. I know...loser. Here's a few of the Christmas cards I've put together...

It's been a while since he got it, but here's my hubby's buck. He got this with his bow...it's a 12 pointer, I believe. He's currently in the woods, as I speak, on the last day of gun hunting trying for another one. Tony got his on Friday (the picture will come on a later date) and his was a 10-pointer...pretty nice. Me? I'm just glad that hunting is over for the year as of sunset. :)

Back in time again, on the day of my craft fair, I had to have my mom & dad babysit the girls (thanks Mom & Dad!) cuz Barry was at the Gopher game with Tony. Tony had had his seat # called the week prior at a Gopher hockey game, and he won $50 from TCF Bank. Well, his name also got put into a drawing to participate in the TCF Bank/Cub Foods Goldy's Gridiron Challenge at halftime of a Gopher football game...his name was selected. So, he had to start at the 10 yard line, punt the ball, and from where that landed he had to throw the ball, and from where that landed he had to kick a field goal. Now, he's totally physically capable of doing this. But being a Crowell, he tends to get a little flustered under pressure (he gets that from his dad, not me!). So, I was a little worried. But....HE DID IT! He was the first person so far this year to do it. Cool, huh?! He won a $500 gift certificate from Cub Foods and a year's supply of Coke.

These pictures are out of order....this is Tony after he made the field goal.

This is him preparing to kick the field goal...

I like the sun in the background as he's shaking his fist in victory. :) Nice photography, Dad!

This is him getting ready to throw the ball...

Whooo hooo!!!!!!

And then, a week later, while he's still on top of the world, his nose was broken playing basketball. :) Yep, that's pretty much how life goes, eh? A week after that, he had his nose rebroken and a "cast" put on for a week. He was back to pretty this past week, though. :)

As for the girls, they've been busy practicing for the Extreme Christmas Musical at church in a couple of weeks. And last week they were given their Christmas carols to learn for their piano recital in December, too. Christmas might seem relaxing after the first half of December! Especially since I have no baking to do for Christmas. Although we lose out on a lot of enjoyment because of our limited food choices, it does cut down on a lot of work. And it serves to put our focus back on Christ, rather than our tastebuds.

Life is pretty good right now. Other than the girls being disappointed in the lack of snow. :) We are truly blessed, thankful to God for all he has given us.

Hope you all had a healthy and safe Thanksgiving!

Something's Going Around

2009-10-22T19:23:00.000-05:00

You know how when people get sick...you start to "feel" sick, whether you really are or not? I think we've got that here. That's when I start trying to quickly "get things done" before I drop. Not that it matters much...things quickly go to you know where when mom is stuck in bed!!! Anyway, that's my motivation tonight for getting my blog updated. Whatever works, I guess.Tony was home this past weekend for his birthday...and just to check in since we haven't seen him since before Labor Day. It was VERY good to see him. And he was a trooper...no cake and ice cream to celebrate. Just one meal of my "famous homemade pizza" and another of steak and potatoes. He even went to church with us, which thrilled me to no end. It was his first time at our new church. I got to spend Saturday night and Sunday afternoon watching football with him. :) Good times.And, I got a kid picture taken...so I'm set for the Christmas card in case I don't get another opportunity. Don't you love their fake smiles? (They get that from their father!)

Monday was a gorgeous day...unfortunately, the pumpkin farm place we go to for pumpkins is closed on Mondays. So, we went Tuesday....quick! Before it rains! It was chilly, too. Pumpkins used to be important to the girls...now it's the animals. They have corn in gumball machines so they can feed them. Nice.

The goats were the worst...greedy little spoiled things! They were climbing the fence and each other's backs....

And Barry actually thought to take a picture with Mommy in it, which was nice. But I still hate having my picture taken...

I've still been adding cards to my etsy shop...but still no sales. www.melissakaydesigns.etsy.com
I'm being patient...and trying to figure out how to bring in traffic. I'm working on ideas for advertising and using my art blog. I could start with advertising...like letting friends and family know what I'm doing. There's a concept, eh? :) Here's some new stuff...the bookmarks I did a while ago, just haven't taken pictures before now. The cards are new this past week.

The girls and I are possibly going to Eau Claire tomorrow for shopping. We'll see. Tomorrow night we'll be at Morgan's volleyball game...it's tournament playoff time. Hopefully, Barry will be able to hunt tomorrow. Saturday, he works...so maybe I'll get in some play time. And we have Extreme Christmas Musical practice. This year, I have a job...costumes...as it's my church now. :) I'm sure housework will crowd out play time. Ugh.
I'm working on having more of a "servant's heart". I do plenty of serving...at least for my family. But is my heart always in the right place? Oh! Speaking of hearts...someone I love dearly got saved! She's opened her heart to Christ and I am so giddy with excitement...as is she! It gives me hope for some others that I constantly pray for.
Ok, that should be enough of my boring life to tide you over for now. :) Have a fabulous weekend and God bless!

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-10-16T16:09:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, I've been slacking. But, really, it's been busy. And, of course, now that I stop to tell you about all of the things we've been busy with, I can't think of a thing! :) That must be old age....or lack of sleep! Ummm, well, the girls have started piano lessons...they've had two so far, and like it very much. We drive WAY out in the country (it's a gorgeous drive right now, but not looking forward to winter!) to her old family farmhouse. Now, we just need a piano. Add that to the list! The girls are really liking our new church and Christian Ed on Sunday mornings, as am I. Tomorrow we begin practices for the Friendship Christmas musical that the girls have participated in for the last 2 years.

Oh, remember I told you that my Grandma had inspired me to FINALLY get over my fears and open a shop on etsy? Well, I've been working on that for a week...I am now up and running. Now I just have to relax and not think about how long it's taking to make my first sale. :) If you wanna take a look, I'm at http://www.melissakaydesigns.etsy.com Below is my banner in the shop.

I'm absolutely HORRIBLE at selling my own stuff. It's a little confidence problem I'm working on. So, I'm going to have to rely on my family and friends to put out a good word for me. Thanks in advance! Besides checking out my little shop, please have fun shopping...there are so many people making beautiful, neat things out there.

We've had some "welcome to winter" weather around here the last few days, today being the exception. Here's a picture Barry took of Erin enjoying the snow she's waited so long for...

We're impatiently anticipating tomorrow evening when Tony's coming home for a visit...his first since he went back to school. We miss him. We'll be celebrating his 21st birthday (sans cake, of course). I can't believe he's that old. Ugh.

Here are a couple of cards that I created for my Grandma. I really like them. And based on the views on etsy, others do, too. :)

Since I can't think of anything else interesting, I'll leave you now. Hope you have a fabulous and healthy weekend!

Finally Home!

2009-10-02T21:16:00.000-05:00

Skipped yesterday... didn't want you to get too used to me posting daily!

Well, besides doing 5 loads of laundry, sweeping, vaccuming, and unpacking...it truly is good to be home. The animals missed us. Cassie hasn't been off of my heels all day. And she, along with both cats, slept on top of me all night. :)

We came straight home yesterday...no stops except for potty and food. I guess once you know you're on the way home, you don't wanna stop. Sunday, as we traveled East, we watched the clouds of rain follow us. Yesterday, we drove into the rain. It hasn't stopped raining since. Welcome home.

I had one of those "God works in funny ways" moments today. I had done a custom card job for someone, and ended up getting jipped on the payment. It was really my fault...I was too trusting. I have a confidence problem anyway... I hate asking for money for what I do. I know that my work is worthy, but I truly doubt myself. Anyway, I had mentally decided I was done trying to sell my work (even though I really don't try to sell it at all). Then I got a surprise call from my Grandma. She loved the thank you card I had sent her and wanted to order 12 cards. This means a lot to me, as my Grandma is a very creative person (a wonderful quilter) and makes all of her own cards. I think this must have been an example of "the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." It was a huge boost for me.

In fact, it spurred me into calling for information on having a booth at our town's annual Christmas Walk sale thingy in November. Generally, it's people selling Tupperware and Mary Kay and such, but I could sell my art there, too. I'd like to have my etsy shop up and running by then. Thank you, Grandma, for the confidence and motivation to keep on. :)

Speaking of art, here are some layouts I did for my friend Jenn's etsy shop
www.boysmamaXtwo.etsy.com (if you click on the pictures, they should get bigger)

I had a meaningful quiet time this morning, too. I'm currently reading Beth Moore's "The Beloved Disciple," which is about John. Two points stood out to me today:

1. Beth suggests that Christ's appointments are never haphazard - He can accomplish anything He desires by merely thinking it into existence. That He assigns men & women to certain tasks implies that the experience of the servant or beneficiary is often as important as the accomplishment. So, the things he leads us to do are often for our benefit....or for the benefit of those we affect. A good reminder that we should pay attention and be open to what we can learn...always.

2. This might get confusing...

(Psalm 25:14) "The Lord confides in those who fear him." The KJV says, "The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him."

Beth's thoughts: these hidden treasures are not secret because He tells them onl to a chosen few, but because not many seek to know him & tarry with Him long enough to find out.

(Ecclesiastes 3:11) says God makes everything beautiful in its time

Beth says, "I truly believe that if we're willing to see, God uses every difficulty & every assignment to confide deep things to us and that the lessons are not complete until their beauty has been revealed. I fear, however, that we have such an attention deficit that we settle for bearable when beauty was just around the corner."

Wow, how many times have I just "gotten through" something, when had a really been present and open and with Christ, I would have reached the beauty meant for me.

Have a fabulous weekend!

More Vacation Pics

2009-09-30T20:07:00.000-05:00

So are you completely sick of pictures of my kids with water in the background? You probably should be...they're all starting to look alike. Ok, today, on our way to pick up the kids' art projects, we stopped at the tiniest farmers market in the world and at a "real" art gallery. At the farmers market, we got a bar of handmade soap and a "bug off" soap type of thing...I believe it was made with lemon eucalyptus and is supposed to keep the bugs off without all of the chemicals.

Not only was Barry bored to death at the gallery, but I truly thought he was going to have an annurism watching our girls walk around art with multi-thousand dollar price tags...including glass. :) But it was cool...and educational. They got to see firsthand how different mediums that we've talked about (oils, pastels, watercolor, pencil, etc) look on different surfaces. And how you can start to tell different artists apart by their style. And how they can make a LOT of money if they are really talented. :)

After we picked up their glass art (which turned out really cool!) we headed for Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek. We started out by driving to the far side of the park and having a picinic lunch. Of course, I had to stop at the first overlook we came to for pictures!

Next stop, climbing Eagle Tower...it's 75 feet high and 350 feet above Green Bay...so, pretty dang high! And it easily cover our exercise for the day! The views were priceless...or as Erin would say, "sweet!" We could see 360 degrees. This is my favorite picture...

The girls looking toward Michigan...

This is Sister Bay, where we're staying...

Next, we drove to Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. We were too cheap to pay for the tour, though.

The girls had begged all day to rent bikes, so we did. It was a fairly expensive venture, though, so we only had them for an hour. But the trails were awesome, so the riding was both adventurous and smooth. And beautiful. We had a lot of fun, and wish we had a place near home to do that as a family more often.

We were actually back to the hotel well before dinner tonite. The kids were able to chill out with some ping-pong and Legos before we sat down to a roasted deli chicken dinner. After dinner, I whined until the others were willing to join me down at the Bay for sunset. It was worth the whining!!!

Wow. Vacation is nearly done. We leave in the morning. We don't have any "plans" to stop on the way home, but we did have to skip the zoo stop on Monday, so we could possibly make that up. I'd like to stop at Door Peninsula Whinery on the way out...we stopped there on our honeymoon 11 years ago. Or, we could just boogie home as fast as possible. We miss it. We miss the animals...well, maybe not Barry. :)

More Vacation Pics

2009-09-29T20:26:00.000-05:00

I'm barely keeping my eyes open to post these pics. I need a nap...bad. But I can't waste vacation time in Door County on naps. But seriously, my bed will be calling my name...screaming my name...on Friday! :)

We began our day at a couple of shops here in Sister Bay...not really exciting, nothing fun. Then we drove outside of Fish Creek (two towns down the peninsula) to Hands On Art Studio. If I ever win the lottery, I'm creating this kind of place. Here's how it works: each "artist" pays a $7 studio fee, and you can "play" all day, but each project has a fee. Let's put it this way: for the girls to make two small glass "plates", the material fee was $47. Ugh. Otherwise, I woulda joined them! We could either do mosaic glass on wood bases, paint ceramics, weld with metal, or create glass stuff (it gets melted in a kiln). And yes, Mom, if I ever get such a studio, you can join me!!!
Here's the girls working...we pick up their finished products tomorrow.

Then we headed to Jacksonport (with a late picinic lunch in the van) to visit Whitefish Dunes State Park...this the first time we've been to the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. We were hoping it would be a little less windy on that side. It may have been, but it was still freezing...and we were under-dressed. This park is known for it's huge sand dunes. We tried going on a 3 mile hike (although it was basically a walking/biking trail) and everyone wanted to quit before we made it half-way. :) The trail had been thru the woods, but we chose to walk back along the beach. I figured we could walk in the woods anywhere, but a Lake Michigan beach was a rarity for us! It was cold, but enjoyable.

And this is why I'm always on the otherside of the camera! Jeez...I'm bundled up in two bulky sweatshirts and the wind was just killing my hair! Ugh.

Now, back in the van, the kids were whiney and tired (Barry, too) but I convinced Barry to drive into the connected Cave Point County Park...just for a picture. :) But it was very cool...and pretty!

Now, I'm probably gonna have nightmares tonite. See my daughters? See how it looks like their standing on a rock right by the water. Well, they are, except that the rock is actually a cliff with huge waves crashing into them below.

Once the girls got a look at the rocky beach, they took off running. So much for being tired! Barry's comment? "One rocky patch is the same as another!" :) Hiking on rocks is much more "their thing". I loved the sound of the waves coming in...very loud. Very cool.

On the way home, I talked Barry into swinging by Cana Island Lighthouse. The girls would have preferred to just go back to the hotel and swim. But jeez, it was a long drive up here...I'd like to see as much as we can. So we went. The bad thing was that we couldn't go to the top of the lighthouse cuz of the high winds.

And then....we went back to the hotel. Wow. Once I went thru all of these pics, I realized just how much we had done today. No wonder I'm tired. A hot dinner was much appreciated. And then we took a soak in the hot tub. Life is good here in Door County! I still miss my dog, though. And my bed. And my naps. :)

Not sure what's up for tomorrow. It'll be cold again, but supposedly the wind will be down and the sun will be out. We're going to try Peninula State Park for sure. Maybe a couple of shops...I'd like to go into a gallery or two. And we had planned on doing a fish boil for dinner....but they're really expensive (at least for us common folk). And it seems even worse when you're not supposed to eat half of the meal...potatoes, bread, and cherry pie. We'll see. I'm pretty sure the girls won't be so impressed with boiled fish, having had Grampa's fish fries their entire lives. :)

Ok, gotta hit the sack. Thanks for making it this far!

On Vacation!

2009-09-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

Barry brought our laptop so that "I" could check email and stuff. That's code for he wanted to be able to work from vacation. Nice. So, I took it away from him, thinking I could get a headstart on downloading pictures and blogging about our adventures. We left home on Sunday morning. We already miss our animals, and hope Morgan is taking good care of our babies! I can already predict that Cassie won't be out of my sight or off my heels for at least a month!

It was a boring drive to Green Bay...being Sunday, Barry made us listen to football the entire way...pre-game, game, and post-game. Our first stop was Bay Beach Amusement Park. Way cool! It's a permanent amusement park set right on the lake, and rides are 25 or 50 cents. Cool! We had fun, even though the wind was blowin like a South Dakota blizzard and rain was threatening.

Then, we got settled into our hotel and ran to the grocery store for dinner. After a dip in the pool it was pretty much time for bed. We were out of the hotel this am by 10 and on our way to LAMBEAU FIELD (you have to imagine me saying that like a football game announcer...it's way more dramatic!) We pre-shopped in the pro shop and then went on the hour-long tour. It was very informational and fun...at least for a Packer Fan. :) We got to see inside a luxury suite, walk on the field and we even got to go thru the tunnel that the Packers run thru. Now, it was doubly cool cuz they "announce" the Packers and have recorded fans cheering when you go thru. I know, I'm a quack, but I got goose bumps and tears in my eyes. Cool.

Unfortunately, the rain didn't hold off for us today...it started pourin' while we were at Lambeau, which totally messed with my photo plans...

After our Lambeau tour and spending waaaaayyyyy too much money at the pro shop, we stopped at Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. Then we were off for Door County. Seriously, you'd think we were on the Gulf of Mexico and a hurricane had caught us! It's nuts out there!!! We stopped twice on the way up to Sister Bay to take pictures on the Bay side of the waves and wind blowing in. We even got turned around just outside of Sister Bay because of a down power line. When we checked into our hotel, we were told that phones were out and some of the rooms were out of power, and we were given a flashlight. :) What an adventure!

The girls are absolutely THRILLED with our suite. We got a 2 bedroom, which means the girls get their own private room (with a TV!) and bathroom. There's a full kitchen, dining area and fireplace in the living area. The pool is nice, too.

We're not sure what we're gonna do with tomorrow, as most of my "plans" had revolved around nature, state parks, hiking, beaches, etc., and the "hurricane" is scheduled to continue thru tomorrow at least. I'll keep you updated.

Have a good week and God bless!

My Uneventful Eventful Weekend

2009-09-21T16:24:00.000-05:00

Huh? Well, you see, Friday was my 36th birthday. And Saturday was our 11th Anniversary. Sorry to those who were expecting some sort of reminder...I don't do that. These days I try to forget about birthdays. Well, except that I should get to do whatever I want on that day. :) And I sort of did...did some scrapping, and I was able to attempt a nap anyway (not much luck on that front lately...not sure why, as I'm exhausted). Barry grilled steak and shrimp for dinner...yum! We watched football Friday night...yes, I'm a geek that way. Football is the one sport I enjoy watching on tv. Saturday, Barry had to go into work after lunch (happy Anniversary?), so I was mostly on my own. I did more scrapping (did 3 more baby shower invites for a job done for Barry's cousin, a few cards, and a couple of layouts...pictures at bottom).

Last fall, when the girls asked me how old I'd be, I had a bit of a panic. I first had to do the math to figure it out (see, I told you I'm not big on my birthdays!), and then I was greatly relieved that I'd only be 35. That seemed much better than 36, which seemed like so much closer to "over the hill". But I must have matured over the past year, because I really didn't have a problem with 36 this year. Either that, or I had just had enuf time to resign myself to the number 36. But really, I'm pretty happy in my skin, so to speak. I'm more confident spiritually, emotionally....even physically. I got back on the scale the morning of my birthday (I know, scary). But it made my day to realize that I'd "fallen" off the plateau and had lost 5 more pounds...38 in all. I guess that helps a bit to make this birthday better...to realize I've lost more pounds than my age. :) Happy birthday to me!

Oh, Friday evening, as we were in the process of booking our South Dakota hotel rooms online, we both decided to save the trip for next year. Basically, we just didn't feel peace about it...too much money, too much time, etc. It was planned a little last-minute, and if we wait til next fall we can save up for it. I threw out that maybe we could take a mini-trip to Green Bay and Door County, and he was all for that. So, if I ever find a place to board Cassie, we'll be on our way Sunday. The plan would be to arrive in Green Bay on Sunday afternoon and go straight to the Bay Beach Amusement Park, which is only open til 6 pm, and only on weekends. Then Monday morning we'll take the Lambeau tour, visit the NEW Zoo, and then head up to Sister Bay. We're actually going to stay in the same hotel that we stayed in on our honeymoon 11 years ago! I'm excited...I liked Door County, and I'm hoping it will be a beautiful, nature-filled and relaxing few days.

I have to share something I read in my current Beth Moore book, "Believing God". On Sunday I woke up to this sunrise (I'm up by 6:30 every morning for my God-time, and it just so happens to coincide with the current sunrise time).

Beautiful, isn't it? Trust me...the picture didn't do it justice. Anyway, a few minutes later, I was reading in Beth's book about the "boring", day-to-day fundamentals of our walk with Christ...prayer, being in the Word, attending church, giving, etc. Our God is a God of order, of repetition. She quotes G. K. Chesterton, "It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon." Beth goes on to say, "God likes order. He likes repetition. A God of fundamentals, He brings up the sun every morning and the moon every evening, but His creativity within that order is gorgeously displayed in the changing sunsets and sunrises surrounding them."

It makes me smile to think of God, the most creative, fantastic artist in the universe, saying to the sun & moon, "Do it again!" like my giggling kids being thrown into the air by their grampa. Why do I get up early every day to spend time with God and in His Word? Because I NEED that time with Him. But also because God likes it. Beth Moore suggests that perhaps we can think of God saying, "Do it again, Child!" each morning when I wake up to be with Him. I like that thought. I hope you do, too... And I think the beautiful sunrise He greeted me with Sunday morning was His way of making these words and thoughts meaningful and memorable to me...

Here are those cards I whipped up...

Newness

2009-09-14T18:31:00.000-05:00

Before I touch on the "newness" stuff, I should update on our visit to Mayo for Erin's check up (it's been about 9 months since diagnosis...and we go every 6 months). I knew it wouldn't be a pleasant visit, with me working with Karen Hurd and all. In addition, her blood glucose numbers have been nuts for the last month.

In a nutshell, the dietician didn't really even try to argue with me...she just said she was concerned that Erin wasn't getting enough carbs, as a child, for "proper brain development". I will for sure address this with Karen, as well as do some research on my own. Our doctor was not happy with me...in fact, he sent the girls out to the waiting room before he began our chat...ever been to the principal's office??? When I explained to him my purpose for seeing Karen...that their ADA diet was, in effect, killing Alana, and that I had to find a way of living that satisfied the health needs of BOTH children...and that I wasn't just a rebel without a cause. (Of course, those of you who know me well, know that I do, in fact, tend to rebel against "wordly" or "mainstream" ideas, but they don't really need to know that!) He said that although he couldn't condone what I was doing, he understood why, and did NOT want to be in my position of making these decisions. And luckily, he was much nicer than I thought he'd be, and not demeaning. So, although VERY stressful and exhausting, it went pretty well.

But I did go through a few days afterwards...you might say a depression of sorts. Back to my knees. Helpless. Humbled. Confused. These are my children...my greatest blessing from God. And I have to basically choose the side of one lone woman, who, as I was reminded at Mayo, is not "mainstream" (really????), or go with the flow, the doctors, and the ADA. Am I nuts for thinking I could be right in all of this? This "diet" we're on no is truly NOT what I want to do for the rest of my life. I want to be healthy...eat healthy...fresh veggies and fruit, whole grains. I just want to pass on the chemicals and processed crap. But I'd like to make my kids an apple pie in the fall...a homemade pie with just a handfull of ingredients, that even I can pronounce. I'd like to have some berries on oatmeal in the morning...with maybe even some pure maple syrup on it. I don't know...I'm back to prayer. This is simply too big for me.

This is us at a park in Rochester during our lunch break... See how Barry looks? That's pretty much how we all felt...

The kids are sick. Nice. Erin got sick the morning of Rochester, Thursday. She woke up high (as in blood glucose numbers), which happens when you're sick. Mostly just cold symptoms, with a low fever thrown in, just to totally mess with her numbers! Sunday, after her insulin shot, before her breakfast, she threw up. Great. This is her first puking since diagnosis. Vomiting can be deadly when you're diabetic as there's insulin involved...you have to eat to balance the insulin. But, because you're sick, you go sky high.

By lunchtime, she was in the high 300's, but more importantly, her keytones were very high...which they never have been. I put a call into Mayo and luckily heard back from our own doctor...nevermind it was over an hour later. He said to give her extra insulin to help bring her down, drink lots of water (which we were already doing) and if she pukes again, take her to the ER. Now if that ain't exactly what a mother loves to hear....

She's felt fine since about 10 am Sunday am. She did make it down to good numbers last night, but has been a little high again today (but we have been trying to readjust her numbers, which is tough in the middle of an illness). Unfortunately, she missed our first day of church at Friendship and Christian Ed hour. Alana had to go to class alone...she was so nervous (so was Erin), but I think it went fine, because she wasn't mad at me anymore after class. :) I got to go to class, too, during that time...basically just a small-group Bible study. It was good. I mean, I hate being a newbie, too, but I can tell it will be a "good thing". Alana and I went to church, and then rushed home to check on Erin (who felt fine by now) and then I had to whip up a tomato-cuccumber-pepper-moz cheese-Italian dressing salad for a family reunion at 1. It turned out good....lots of compliments! :)

Today was our first day of school. I wasn't ready. But, I don't think I'll ever be truly ready. I try so hard to be so organized, but it usually falls apart before the first week is over. As usual, I've thrown in some new curriculum, you know, just to make my life harder. :) Here's their first day of school pics...which, honestly, I didn't take til about 6 pm tonite. Otherwise, they both would've still been in their jammies (not that Alana got much further than that today). Now Alana's sick with a cold, too, so neither of them are really in the mood to smile much....

So, now I officially have a 2nd and 4th grader. We'll again be doing Bible, history, and science together. Erin will try a simpler version of Latin. And they're both doing Abeka math and language, which is pretty tough. There's also copywork and spelling. I'm sure I'm trying to fit too much in again, but we'll see how it goes....

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-14T17:53:00.000-05:00

Yep, been avoiding again. This time mostly due to exhaustion. And self-imposed busyness.

Anyway, we left for Mom & Dad's after lunch on the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Made a quick stop at Target and Best Buy, where I spent an embarrassing amount of money (about 3 times what I had intended to spend) on a new DSLR. Ugh. I still feel guilty. And Barry says well I should! But he was there and didn't stop me, so he really doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Anyway, made it up there in time for dinner (have I mentioned how much I LOVE going to my Mom's, if for no other reason than to be taken care of? Pathetic, I know. Wonder when I'll grow out of that?) My mom is a rockstar with food...she makes it possible to not only stick to our "bean diet" but to actually gain weight in the process. Can you say "yum"? But, I digress...

My sister and her family made it up on Saturday, so the cousins were treated to a rare full day of togetherness. And I had lots of practice time with the new camera! :) Easton is growing like a weed, and nearly every picture I have of him is blurred cuz he doesn't stay still! I guess that means he's good practice!

And Avery is a doll. Still trying to figure out where she got that from? :)

Saturday afternoon, we tried out our tube for the first time. Barry was nervous about Erin being scared. It turned out I was right...it was Alana who was apprehensive. Erin is our speed girl. And yes, these pictures stink because I had forgotten I had manually set the ISO (please, don't ask me what that means because I don't know yet) instead of just using auto (trust me, this camera is WAY smarter than I am). So, they stink...

But, you can still see the smiles...not to mention their glorious beauty. :)

Blogging Avoidance

2009-09-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

Is that a real syndrome? It should be. Yes, I've been avoiding my blog. Why? Well, basically lots of emotional stuff mixed with plain ole busy.

Most of the emotional stuff comes from the church thingy. Change is never easy. What I wasn't prepared for was the negative response from people. Family, friends... and it put me on a major emotional rollercoaster. First, I found myself constantly trying to appologize for my decision. Then I got angry...what business was it of their's anyway?!?! When I expressed this frustration to Barry, he suggested that maybe I wasn't sure of my decision. So I stopped to think, was I? Yes, as sure as any decision I've ever made. But this was between me and God, really. So, then I had some repenting to do. I was putting my "people-pleasing" ahead of "God-pleasing". Not a good thing.

So, then I was positively sure of my decision, but I still had a couple of roadblocks to get through...a couple of commitments at my church. I could have "bowed out gracefully," but that's just not how I operate. I was nervous at how I would be treated/reacted to, but everything worked out fine.

Once again, a trial in my life has worked out for the best. I believe I'm ending up in a church that is more in line with my beliefs, and will be more supportive of my faith journey. It helped me become stronger and more confident in my beliefs. And it strengthened the bond between my daughters and I. They've been SO fantastic. Never once have they questioned why we're leaving...they totally get it. They're just sad at leaving friends.

The other things stressing me out? Well, first we have our 6-month check up at Mayo next week...at which I'm anticipating being hassled over our new diet. And Erin's BG #'s have been nuts the last week, which makes me even more nervous (I'm thinking that all of the bug spray use is making her high?).

Then we start our new school year (officially) on the 14th. So, I've been ordering books, organizing and planning. I do this to myself every year, determined to be organized. So far, I've fallen off the wagon every time...but this just may be the year I succeed!

And lastly, we're trying to do a trip to South Dakota the last week of September. I've been busy researching the "must-dos" and ordering library books to prep the girls. I know S Dakota doesn't seem like the most exciting place to visit, but there are surprisingly a lot of things to do. And my goal is to have a new camera in time for the trip...so I have to research that, too. I had intended to upgrade to a digital SLR with a telephoto lens, but have recently discovered that they make point and shoot "mega-zooms" that zoom out as far as those telephoto lenses (for a few hundred $ less, which is very important in my world!)

Yes, I realize that much of what I stress over is self-inflicted. That stresses me out, too. :) I stay sane by sacrificing sleep to have my "quiet time with God" each morning. It's my favorite part of the day. I also have my Wednesday night Bible study. And now church will be starting up Christian ed hour on Sunday mornings...finally, I get to go to Sunday school!!!! Yeah! I know, I'm a geek. :)

Tony left for school on Monday. We're all sad. Although I will have to cook less. :) And Friday we're going up to spend a couple of days with my mom & dad. I'm hoping they have less mosquitoes than we do since they're still suffering from a major drought. The skeeters have been insane here since we got the 10 inches of rain in less than a week. I guess everything has its plusses and minuses, eh?

Ok, I'll stop babbling now. I've broken the cycle of avoidance at least. :) Have a very happy Labor Day everyone!

So tired...

2009-08-20T18:44:00.000-05:00

It could be stress...it could be no nap this week...it could be the rainy weather today. Who knows. I'm just pooped. The girls had dentist appointments today and then we did the grocery shopping. No cavities...which should be a given seeing as though they haven't had ANY sugar in 4 months! But braces may be looming in Alana's future. Ugh.

And I also picked up my new glasses. Mine were from early 2001 (before Erin was born, I believe) so I thought it was about time to get my eyes checked again...that, and my lenses were pretty beat up. Well, my bad side had stayed the same, but my good side had made a slight move to catch up with the bad side...so yes, my prescription had changed, but just a tiny bit. I hate doing anything that involves me and mirrors, so the girls had to help me pick them up. You can all blame them if I look like a dork! :) I'm excited cuz this time I actually paid for the transitions lenses (I have very sun-sensitive eyes). Can't wait to try 'em!

Life feels a little chaotic lately. Over the past couple of weeks, we researched and soul-searched over two opportunities to purchase scrapbook kit website stores. I'd like to be able to help Barry in supporting the family, without taking too much time away from my family. We decided that in this economy, any financial risk, no matter how small, was too much. That, and I wouldn't truly have any control over my time demands. So, we've decided that I will FINALLY pursue selling my cards on etsy www.etsy.com I've put it off so long...mostly due to fear of failure and rejection. But, I'll never know til I try. So, we're in the prep stages...I'll let you know when I go live! :)

Also on the stress-o-meter is a church issue. Our church is a member of the ELCA, which just last night voted to adopt a social statement that totally conflicts with my beliefs. It was just the final straw, so to speak, as I had been struggling for a while with "am I a Lutheran?" So, we'll be changing churches. It's sad, really, as most of my local friends are there...same for the girls. But, luckily, God has put a support system in place for me, and I have a church to go to. What appeared as God answering a prayer for needed spiritual support with a group of women to share Bible study with, has actually become "a soft place to fall". I am truly blessed. It still won't be easy. I'll have to leave "the known", comfort and familiarity, friends...and may face persecution for my decision. Luckily, I have by my side my Savior...and several translations of His Word for support! :)

On the lighter side...since every blog post needs a picture...here's one I did of our fat cat, Zach. The pic doesn't do it justice...there's glitter and bling galore! He's so beautiful.

Well, I'm going to attempt some card-making. I'll see if I can keep my eyes open! Have a great weekend, and God bless!

Welcome to our family!

2009-08-16T12:58:00.000-05:00

After a "way too short" night's sleep, we were off to Eau Claire to finish off our birthday celebration...to Petco to get new pets. Alana wanted a guinea pig and Erin wanted a gerbil. But after "trying" to hold a gerbil, Erin decided on a guinea pig, too...they're a lot calmer. Their main purpose in life is to hide and cuddle. My kind of pet! :)

So far, the cats are bored with or scared of them...and Cassie wants them...bad! So, Cassie is banned from the room. I'm hoping she "gets over" the excitement soon so that the pigs can join us around the house. So, the white one on the left is Daisy (Alana's) and Buttercup (Erin's) is on the right. I have to admit, for rodents, they're pretty cute!

I'm hoping life can get back to normal now for awhile! I think we're all looking forward to school and our normal routine tomorrow. My second and (hopefully) final curriculum order should be here tomorrow, so I'll spend a lot of the week organizing that.

Ok, I'm hoping to get in a quick nap (who knows how long it will take me to catch up from the last couple of weeks!) and then I'm gonna try to get in some "play" time. :) Hope your weekend was fun, restful and safe! Oh....and Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

But the day wasn't done...

2009-08-16T12:35:00.000-05:00

After eating a quick dinner, we headed back up to Eau Claire where the Abram's had a hotel room at the water park. We've never been there, so didn't know what to expect. There was a lot to do. The kids could easily spend a day there...on a less exhausting day! :) So they had a ton of fun, plus we got to spend time with family we rarely see!

Phew!

2009-08-16T12:15:00.001-05:00

Finally! The "busy" of the summer is over! And we survived!

The girls had VBS (vacation Bible school) this past week, from 9-2:30. It was rough on the first day, but then they started to have more fun. Alana was dishing out hugs to the counselors on Friday so it obviously was a good thing! :)

Friday was a killer. After vbs was done on Friday, we quick ate lunch and then picked up all the kids to head up to Irvine Park in Chippewa Falls. Alana had two friends, Megan and Michael...and Erin brought Claire. I couldn't ask for a better/easier bunch of kids.

It was a HOT day, so the kids looked pretty droopy walking around looking at the animals. I was worried the party would be a flop. But we ended up at the fountain. Very cool! The kids jumped in with their clothes on and everything! They cooled off and had a blast!

Looking at this smile, I KNOW the party was a success! Alana is so tight with her "real" smiles...this one just makes me giggle.

We took a break in the water fun for a snack and presents, and then they were right back in. I'm SO glad the party was a success. I know Alana had a good time. Happy Birthday, Baby!

Two Down, One to Go.

2009-08-11T11:48:00.001-05:00

Birthday parties, that is. August is jam-packed full of them at our house. We've got Erin, Barry and Alana...then my mom, Barry's sister, and my brother-in-law. And at least one friend of mine. Crazy.

So, Friday we had Erin's kid party. She didn't want to do anything special. Just wanted to invite 3 girls (only two could come) and play outside. Well, it rained all day...but I think they still had fun just hanging out, being silly. And have you ever seen a cake like this? Probably not. It's a "Crowell Original". :)
And yes, that's Erin's diabetes supplies right in front of the cake (good job clearing the clutter, Mom!). But, it is pretty fitting. Diabetes will forever dominate her year of 7. And it also symbolizes why she has a cheese & meat tray as a bday cake!

Here are the friends she invited...Claire and Emily...

I let Alana have a couple of friends over, too...Megan and Mckenna...Emilies sisters...so that she wouldn't be bored. They had fun, too, I think.

Then Saturday we had the "Crowell" birthday parties at the Bloom's. My mom & dad were able to come and spend some time with us, so that was extra special. The "cake" for this party was our bean flour carrot muffin with cream cheese on top. Pretty good...if you've been without sugar for over 3 months!!!

I should mention that Alana also got her hair cut this past week, too, and also took off a few inches. She's trying to grow out her bangs (I think just to annoy her mother) so this new style helped to make the growing bangs less obvious. When she had it styled and stuff, I swear she gained a foot in height and about 4 years! You shoulda seen Barry's face when we got home! His little girl is growing up!

The girls have VBS this week (Vacation Bible School). It's a little difficult for them, not being used to loud & rowdy kids anymore. But they always like the camp counselors (college-age camp counselors from Luther Bible Camp). This year is a little stickier cuz of having to deal with shots and special food, but so far so good. Plus, it's my ONLY vacation all year! Yeah! Know what I did yesterday with my couple hours of freedom? Cleaned. Isn't that fabulous?!?! And today? Laundry and catching up on this blog. But it's looking up...really. Right now I'm gonna have some lunch, get my clean sheets off the line and back onto the bed, and then I'm gonna have me a little nap! :) Tomorrow? I'm scrapping! :)

Friday, after VBS, we are having Alana's party. We're going to a park in Chippewa falls...they have a petting zoo, fountains, hiking, etc. She's only bringing 2 friends, and Erin is bringing a friend, too. We've never been there, so our fingers are crossed! I'll be glad to be done with birthdays!!!!

It Finally Happened.

2009-08-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

Of course, I had anticipated it when she was 2, 3, maybe even 4 or 5. But days from turning 8? Yep, she cut her own bangs. Right in the front. In the middle. THE most obvious place. Why? Cuz they were messed up (she just woke up). Duh. Yes, they were too long...because I had been asking her for weeks if I could cut her bangs and she kept saying no. Well, guess what? Now you ARE going in for a hair cut! I prepped her ahead of time, saying she might have to go shorter in order to "hide" it more.

And shorter she went! Kendra (my hair angel) had it to her shoulders, but Erin wanted shorter. And here she is! Adorable, isn't she?

It's Been Crazy...

2009-08-11T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe not for most people. But I don't do "busy" well. I like boring and routine. :) Wow, I sound like a barrel of laughs, eh?

Ok, so we ushered in August as we always do, with the Buffalo County Fair. I hate the fair. I know, that's SO not something a small-town girl from Wisconsin should say, is it? But, when you LIVE a block away from the fair...so that you see, hear and smell all that comes with the fair...trust me, life isn't so "funnel cakes and corndogs" anymore.

We started off, as usual, after dinner on Friday (after spending a couple of hours at the very empty pool - the best thing about the fair!). And of course, we started with the animals, complete with a pony ride. Soon after this, Erin complained that her face itched and she wanted to go home. This is when I notice her eyes are red and watery and her face is red & blotchy. And this is when I remember that she didn't shower after being in the pool (we think she's allergic to chlorine). This is total deja vu from last year...same day, even. So, Erin and I leave our front row parking spot (yes, we drove to the fair even though we live a block away. Why? Ask the lazy people I live with.) and run home for a quick shower and some Benadryl. She feels better, so I pack a snack and we head back...and park 3 blocks from the fair. Nice.

After they eat their snack...ummm, fair food is so totally NOT on our diet...they started on the rides. You can tell they're "growing up" cuz this year the faves were the tilt-a-wirl and the bumper cars.

Saturday morning we headed back over for the horse-pull. It was a nice, cool day and hardly anybody was there. That's the way I like it! Barry was bored (not a horse guy) but it held Erin's attention pretty well, and, of course, Alana was enthralled. Went back home for lunch, and then back to the fair after supper to finish up the ride tickets. Whew!

Happy Friday!

2009-07-24T20:22:00.000-05:00

I have no plans this weekend...besides church, a little cleaning, and hopefully, some scrapping...and that makes me very happy! I'm a homebody, so every weekend that we're gone running, I feel like I never really had a "weekend". Anyway, that's just me...

When I wrote last, I commented that I was worried and stressed. Well, God spoke to me on Thursday morning, and I thought I'd share...

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." Isaiah 43:2

and

"But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

As a Christian, I know that life is not promised to be easy. But no matter how bad it gets, I just need to trust in Jesus. I know that. I just need to remember it, and live it. It certainly helps when he gives me little reminders. :)

I started a new "morning time God-time book" this morning... "The Life You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg. If the first chapter is any indication, it should be good. Just a taste... a quote by Soren Kierkegaard... "Now, with God's help, I shall become myself." When I look back to how much I've changed, spiritually...no, actually, in everything... I realize it's part of the metamorphosis one experiences when they give their lives to God.

In reading the book of Ruth for my Bible study group, a question touched on the divine providence of God...His guidance that keeps us on His path. When I thought about it, I could cleary see how He's taken care of me, and guided me. For example, here's one connection:

1. I was saved...born again in Christ.
2. I made the decision to homeschool...the first decision I made prayerfully, with God.
3. Erin was diagnosed with diabetes. I don't know how I could have handled this trama without God in my life. And I couldn't imagine sending her to school afterwards...
4. Because of homeschooling and the time spent with my kids, I was able to see the physical, mental & emotional problems Alana was having. This, along with my focus on my kids health (brought on by the diabetes) I read tons, researching possible causes and treatments (God blessed me with a love of reading, and a passion for research...how convenient!)
5. When Alana was diagnosed with asthma and prescribed an unending cycle of drugs, I knew from my research that there were better answers and solutions to be had. This knowledge led me back to the Bean Lady (the nutritionist that helped Barry with his inflamation a couple of years ago...another link in my chain).
6. Our new diet helped Alana drastically and immediately (without drugs), helped me to lose weight and become healthier, and has given us an additional way to help Erin.
7. Throughout all of this, I've learned that I am powerless in this life, and that I can only succeed through the Lord. It has created in me a passion to know my Savior and to follow His path for me.

Sorry to bore you with all this. It just does me good to lay it all out in writing. And maybe my experience and testimony can be a light to others.

What else am I reading? My bedtime reading is another Lauraine Snelling series, The Return to Red River... a series about Norwegian immigrants in South Dakota during the 1890's. This week I began reading Little Women to the girls (believe it or not, I've never read it!) and they keep referencing Pilgrim's Progress, which I've also not read yet. The girls agreed that we should read PP so that we can understand the references in LW, so we started a simplified version this am.

And here are a couple of layouts...one very recent, and one older...that I did for my friend Jenn's etsy shop. http://creative-chaos.typepad.com/creative-chaos/ I couldn't remember if I posted the Halloween one yet or not? Anyway, have a great weekend!

Busy Weekend = More Pictures

2009-07-22T19:42:00.000-05:00

Let's see...I'm trying to remember back to the weekend. Thursday afternoon I treated the girls to a trip to the pool. There were no other friends there, so they were stuck with each other...which was a good thing. Trouble comes when there's a "third wheel" and one of them feels left out. But they had a great time...and mama had some quiet reading time! :) The weather was perfect...sunny, warm, but dry.

Friday the boys went fishing and the girls and I went grocery shopping (I totally got the short straw on that one!) Saturday we had the girls t-ball tournament. It was COLD! Well, for July anyway! The girls played really well, and thankfully, their team won their third, and last, game. I think they both had a fun time, and we made it home in time for lunch. (Meals on the run get a little tricky when you're dealing with diabetes AND a special family diet).

Sunday, we were back to warmer weather. After church, we were back to the ball field for the church softball tournament. Luckily, they had enough players so I didn't have to play. :) And I had friends to chat with...while the girls had friends to play with. Our team did very well....we won our 1st, 3rd, and 4th games (our 2 losses were to the same team). Barry was injured in the 4th game....the first baseman missed a throw and the ball hit him in the calf, putting him out for the rest of the day. Tony played very well and had a great time, too. We were very tired by 6pm, to say the least!

We've been unschooling since last week. It's pretty much gone the way I figured it would...besides doing devotions first thing...and them reading 30-60 minutes in the afternoon...they haven't done anything really. Of course, we've watched a dvd on ancient Roman cites, the normal Animal Planet and Discovery shows, and played the new games I picked up on Friday, Boggle (my favorite!) and Scrabble Slam. The problem is that kids usually need time to decompress and get bored before they really dive into independent learning. Surprisingly, Barry is totally on board with this! I'm shocked. I asked him to read a book on unschooling for his thoughts, and apparently, he thinks it could work. He worries about math, though, which I do, too. However, today I found a program/website called "Living Math". It sounds like it's right up Alana's alley.

I'm currently working on deciding what curriculum to order for the coming year. I'm eclectic in that I order different from different companies and programs for each subject. And, like most homeschoolers, I'm always searching for the "perfect curriculum". It's sad that I can't trust myself to lead them on my own. I'm working on it. And driving myself nuts....

Kinda cranky today. My Bible study was canceled, so there goes my much-needed fellowship time. And the state of the nation/government is truly testing my faith. I worry. A lot. I'm learning to hand them over to the Lord. But I fail. A lot. At times I feel like we're being "handed over to Babylon" as punishment for our country forgetting & defying God. And at other times I feel as though we're entering the end times. My friend Martha reminds me, "Jesus is comin', Missy. Jesus is coming!" I know he is, and I know where my eternal home is. But until that time comes, I have children to protect. So, I worry. And then I pray. A lot.

Photos galore!

2009-07-15T10:22:00.000-05:00

Like many bloggers, I feel like a post just isn't a post without at least one picture. That's actually what keeps me, many times, from posting...I don't have a picture ready to go along with it...or I'm too lazy to download and upload. :) But that's not the case today! I'm loaded!

Ok, first, we bought a "new" van this weekend. We had gone to EC shopping on Friday, and I told Barry we could stop and look at some vans. We've wanted a van again for awhile. But I really wanted a Honda or Toyota, cuz they're always ranked #1 and #2 and apparently are very reliable. I was raised to buy used, and pay it off. If Barry had his way, we'd lease a new one...but that's another story! We had convinced ourselves that we couldn't afford a Toyota or Honda, because in order to get it into "my" price range, it would have a LOT more miles on it than Barry was willing to accept. So, we were planning on looking at other makes.

Well, we ended up at the Honda dealership, where we drove two vans...a 2000 Honda Odyssey with 182k miles, and a 2002 with 203k on it. The 2002 was cheaper at $5500 because of the miles (well within and below our budget). After thinking on it overnight, reading reviews, etc., we decided to go back Sat am for the 2002. Yes, it's a lot of miles. But, supposedly, the Hondas go 300-400k, and we don't put many miles on our vehicles. Besides, at that price, we're still ahead of the game. So, we now are happy van owners again! The kids are THRILLED...they have space to spread out, they have plenty of cupholders, they think the automatic side doors are "awesome", and they have their own REAR AIR CONDITIONING!!! Yeah!!! So, here's the new member of our family...

Today starts a homeschooling experiment. We're going to try "unschooling"...otherwise known as "child-led learning". After doing mucho research, I've come to peace with a trial period. Basically, the idea behind unschooling is that the kids decide when and what they want to learn, instead of being "spoon-fed" what some bureaucrat says they should know at what time. Theoretically, everyone, especially kids, have a natural-born curiosity and desire to learn what they want to know. Even though my heart agrees with this thought process, my mind is still "school-trained", hence the trial period. :) Alana has been showing unschooling tendancies for some time. She LOVES animals, wants to be a vet, and really wants to have a farm! So, when she decides she wants goats, for example, she'll read about them. In the picture below, she's looking on Petfinder.com to find a puppy...then uses the map of Wisc to see if the town the dog is in is close enough to go look at. That's unschooling.

Yes, I'm a bit petrified. So, I've installed certain rules. No more tv than they've watched before. They must read an hour a day...30 minutes of non-fiction, and 30 of their choice. And they need to keep a daily journal. And we keep morning Bible devotions as before. Math worries me more than anything...so that may go back to being "regulated". Part of my support for this idea comes from our lifestyle. My kids live a very controlled life currently. They are with me 24/7. They are told when and what to eat...way beyond the limits of "normal" Americans. I feel like they should have some kind of control or choice put back into their own hands...before they burn out or rebel. Besides, if I'm going to try an experiment like this, I should do it when they're this young, so that they don't lose too much ground. And, it IS summer afterall...this could be considered their summer vacation.

This is a picture I snapped of Alana last night at soccer. I think she's beautiful....

Speaking of soccer...it was Erin's last game last night. Her team did not win a game. Poor thing. That's tough for Erin to take, too. Unlike Alana, who's laid back, Erin is VERY competitive and serious about sports. Last year her soccer team won every game. But, I think it's good for her to learn how to lose...and besides having a few episodes of "I made the team lose!", she handled it very well. Here are a few highlights from the season...

By the way....she's SO fun to watch. And she grunts when she kicks the ball (totally reminds me of Serena & Venus playing tennis...I love it!)

And it was extra fun this year because her best friend, Claire, was on her team...and her dad, our friend, Corey, was the coach...seen here doing a very important equipment adjustment! :)

Already half-way gone????

2009-07-08T11:21:00.000-05:00

Summer I mean. Wow. Actually, I'm kind of glad. You see, around here, we're pretty used to moving at our own pace. So June has been a bit crazy for us with swimming lessons, church softball, t-ball, and soccer. Swimming lessons are done, t-ball will be done on July 18, church softball on July 19, and soccer next week. :)

We enjoyed a mini-vacation at my parents' this past weekend. Friday we spent in the boats fishing, swimming, reading, etc. We even enjoyed a little picinic (and some shade) at a little park on the lake.

We always have a camp fire there and roast marshmallows and make smores. Mmmmm, smores. Of course, this year, they were NOT on the menu. So, I wracked my brain for something yummy to replace them...just to give the girls a bit of "fun eats". I came up with roasting little weinies...and it was a HUGE hit. :)

We also had fun with a new bean bag throw game...cheap entertainment. As usual, Cassie ran/explored/played herself into exhaustion....

Saturday morning, Erin went fishing with the boys, while Alana, Grandma and I visited a craft fair and book sale in Balsam Lake (which is also where we go for fireworks). Mom and I both came home with a wooden cross...pics to come soon...while Alana stocked up on trinkets for her and Erin. Saturday afternoon, I walked the girls across the highway to the winery (yes, a whinery in small town Wisconsin) to watch a polo match. (Obviously, my first ever.) :) It was interesting...enough so that Erin decided she definately wanted riding lessons. Anything to compete! Alana just wanted to buy the horses that were for sale.

Saturday night we journeyed back to Balsam Lake for the fireworks. I believe the last time we were there, it rained and we watched, disappointed, from the truck. And the time before that, Erin started screaming immediately after they started...so we watched them while making a hasty exit back to the car. (sigh) But this year we made it through its entirety...and the mosquitos weren't even bad! (For once!)

Here are a couple of recent layouts I did for my friend Jenn's etsy store...her blog is here http://creative-chaos.typepad.com/creative-chaos/ She makes the coolest journaling spots for use on cards and layouts! She's mega talented!

I've been debating and praying about venturing onto etsy to sell my cards online. It probably isn't that big of a deal to most people, but to me, it is. Firstly, I don't wanted to get sucked/trapped into spending too much time with the business...it causes me to neglect my greater priorities...like family and school. Second, it would mean totally putting myself out there, risking failure. I don't like failure. At all. Third, I'm working really hard to live my life according to God's plan. His way is perfect, afterall. I still haven't received a clear answer, so I'll keep praying. In the meantime, I've been creating cards. Below are from a couple of card packs I made up. You can see the entire sets from my other blog http://melissakay-designs.blogspot.com/

Well, gotta end here. It's lunch time...and I haven't started it yet! T-ball after that...hopefully a nap for mama....and then I meet with my Bible study group again this evening. Yeah! Tonites topic: Miriam.

Have a great week!

Yes, It's Been a Long Time!

2009-06-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

I could offer you an array excuses: I had a couple of days of sicknes, a couple of days of sporadic internet (where you just know if I spent any amount of time writing here, it would be lost to the world in mere seconds!), and many days of summer-running. Just like with everything else, the longer I put it off, the bigger the job seemed. So, let's just get this over with, shall we?

The girls finished up their swimming lessons this week. Compared to last year, when we were nervous as heck that they'd pass, this year was a breeze. Alana's teachers actually used her as a demonstrator, and both girls were probably the best in their classes. They both passed this level with flying colors. :) Of course, now this means that I'll have to make more of an effort to bring them to the pool in the afternoons.

Erin is still playing soccer once a week, and they both have T Ball twice a week.

Waaay back in May, at Lexi's graduation party, one of the kids found (and picked up) a bird egg found under a tree. Alana was aghast that someone would pick up an egg (doesn't everyone know not to do that?). But she was intent on saving the baby birdy. So, the egg was immediately placed in front of the electric heater in our basement, and she commenced building a nest in a cage for it for when it hatched.

This many weeks later, I finally had to order her to shut off the heater (as we had the A/C on) and take down the cage. But, we do still have the egg...she still has hope....

My hubby, unlike myself, reads only two things...fishing & hunting magazines and the weekend paper. On this particular Sunday afternoon, the paper contained a couple of articles of slight interest to Alana, too....

Otherwise, let's see...what's new? Well, two Sundays ago, at church softball, Martha, the pastor's wife from another church (where the girls participate in their Christmas musical...directed by Martha...and she also homeschools) invited me to a weekly Bible study/support group they have. As I knew 3 other women involved (from that church) it didn't seem so scary. And also, I had been praying to God a lot about this, as I had been feeling "spiritually lonely"...my mother being my only "go-to" on the subject. Apparently, God heard my need and put it into Martha's heart to think of me. Although a little out of my comfort zone, I sure as heck wasn't telling Him no! So, I went. The women were all gracious and kind. It was a good thing. :) I'll be going back.

Ummm...still no more work on the house. We still have the intent to sell (or try to) but apparently motivation has left the building. Ugh.

I've stayed busy reading (I highly recommend "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World"), working on curriculum decisions for fall, and organizing the new curriculum for our Rotational Sunday School starting in September. Oh, and we are still homeschooling. The girls are thrilled (not) but it's the best way to keep things fresh in their minds, and keep from from getting too bored and fighting. Oh, and it allows us to only work half-days throughout the year! :)

We're still on the diet. I'm close to 20 lbs down. I feel fantastic! Of course, the cravings just never go away.... The girls are both doing great on it...whiney at times, but I probably would, too, if I didn't have to be the "strong mom".

When I get a free minute (and my creativity is still within reach) I still scrapbook and make cards. I'm currently in the throws of deciding whether to push a business selling my cards. Is this the right time? Will I have to sacrifice too much of mom/wife/teacher/homemaker time and energy? And bottomline...is this what God wants from me??? It's exhausting...really.

Looking forward to heading north to Mom & Dad's for the 4th (can you believe it's already here?!?!) Wow.

Have a good weekend!

I'm pleading for your attention!

2009-06-10T17:20:00.000-05:00

You see, I couldn't sleep last nite. I tossed and turned, fighting an unwinnable war in my dreams. It's all Glenn Beck's fault. For those of you who don't know my friend, Glenn, you should. He's got a show on Fox News. Now I know all of you liberals and Democrats are rolling your eyes, preparing to skip right on through this babble of mine. But please listen. You see, Glenn is NOT a Republican. He's a Conservative, yes. But his anger and distrust is focused on the Republicans as well as Dem's...as it should be. Anyway, his show was really bad yesterday...and not much better today. I tend to believe that most people don't know what's going on in this country. Either they just ignore anything political because they don't want to be bothered/distressed by it, or they are too busy watching important things, like American Idol and 24. Or it could be that they trust the old standbyes, like NBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN to report the truth.

If you just don't care....I beg you to try. Things that are happening will affect you. Soon. And not in a good way. And if you trust those other media outlets, DON'T! They are not telling you the truth!

For instance, do you know that when the gov took over Chrysler and sold it to Fiat, it blatently broke the law? Do you know that the secured lenders (the first people that should have been paid when Chrysler went bankrupt) were screwed? See, the govt gave the UAW (an unsecured party) the most, including ownership, while totally dissing the secured lenders. Well, you might be thinking, who cares about those rich, evil rich bankers! But those secured lenders included the state of Indiana pension fund...as in teachers. Those teachers, who all Dem's love, just got hosed on their retirement pensions. It's illegal. That's not what's supposed to happen in a bankruptcy. So, there's checks and balances, right? Wrong...the Supreme Court just today, refused to get involved.

And why would they with the heavy-handed mob-like techniques that Obama has been using. Like with the GM bankruptcy. Gretchen Carlson (an anchor on Fox News) is personally affected. Her parents own a GM dealership in northern MN...it's been in the family for 90 years. It was just terminated. You'd think they were a loser dealership, right? Nope. They met their objectives this year at 103%. They were given NO reason for their termination. Oh, and they need to sign a waiver, by Friday, or they lose all warrenties on the 10+ million in cars on their lot. (By the way, that's illegal, too). And this waiver includes a gag order. I wonder what the govt doesn't want us to know? Oh, and in the GM bankruptcy the same thing happened. The UAW got the lion's share, and ownership, while the secured lenders got ripped. Nice.

And have you noticed all of the czars that Obama is appointing? Yeah, so? Did you know that in our checks and balances system (remember, Executive, Legislative and Judicial)? Well, these czars report to Obama. That's it. Not us, the people who the govt is supposed to represent. And, by the way, if you remember anything about history, you'll remember that "czar" sorta has negative connotations...as in Mussolini, Hitler...you get the idea. Now we have a Pay Czar. Oh, good, now those rich, overpaid executives will know what it's like!!! But truly, this is killing capitalism, what has made our country great all these years.

I'm not pointing fingers. I'm confident that if you voted for Obama and all of these weak Democrat Congressmen, you really didn't think that his change would include killing capitalism and burning the Constitution. BURNING THE CONSTITUTION!!!!!! No, I'm not hysterical. This is really happening. I hope I'm wrong. I pray everyday that I'm wrong. I don't know why I even bother writing about this...I feel like no one listens. But I feel called to do what I can...and this is what I can. Please, please please pay attention! Check out Fox News. Check out Glenn Beck http://www.glennbeck.com/ Just educate yourself. This is important. This is our country, our freedom...our Constitution. Please.

Nature Study

2009-06-10T16:43:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to adopt more of a Charlotte Mason style of teaching. Basically, in a nutshell, this involves shorter lessons, the reading of quality literature and living books instead of watered down textbooks and a focus on nature study. The girls each have a nature notebook to draw in, and we use field manuals and wildlife books to research the things we draw. Most importantly, they learn the habit of slowing down and really seeing, hearing and appreciating God's creation. I love these pictures I got of the girls.

In comparison, there were two boys "fishing" in the creek nearby. They were actually quite busy throwing things into the creek. Logs. Rocks. Branches. It wasn't done in a playful "skipping rocks" way, or experimental "watch it float!" way. They were hellbent on destruction. I thanked God then and there that I had children that appreciated His beautiful creation, instead of being ignorant and destructful.

Memorial Day Pics

2009-06-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

Erin marched with the Girl Scouts in the Memorial Day parade a couple of weeks ago...and I'm finally getting the pictures uploaded. :) She had an OK time, but nothing thrilling...

Now while we waited for the parade to begin, we had a little fun, born out of frustration. To me, it's common sense, in a small town, to NOT park on the streets that make up a parade route...at least not within a half hour of the parade start time. Well, it seems that many, many people do not share my view of common sense. We parked on a side street, walked to the parade route and set up our chairs on the sidewalk. Car after car pulled in front of us and parked. Seriously? So, finally, Alana takes her chair and sits in the parking spot directly in front of us...essentially keeping all of the cars out. That's my girl!!! :)

It rained on my parade....

2009-06-07T10:23:00.001-05:00

Well, not exactly my parade...just my thrift sale that I've been planning for a couple of months. It was cold, too. By the end, I was a popcicle in need of a nap and cup of tea. The good news was that it also rained on my just-planted garden...and we made over $350, which considering I had zero moms with little kids come, was pretty impressive. We're still debating whether to give it another shot this weekend before donating. As long as it's all set up.....

Sadly, on Friday we were in Burnsville MN to say goodbye to my Great Grandma Louise. Although I was not close to her, I loved her deeply due to the love my mother had for her. She was a wonderful woman....a virtuous woman. If you're at all familiar with Proverbs 31, that was my grandma. But I makes it much easier knowing that she went home to her Lord happily and very willingly...she's in a much, much better place. These are the most recent pictures I have of her, taken in Aug of 2007 and 2008...but they are not how I will remember her. I will remember her sparkling blue eyes...her soft, French-accented voice...and loving smile.

Today is a cloudy, cold and windy day...rain is coming, I'm sure. A perfect day for a Sabbath! We have our first church softball game tonite...hopefully it won't rain. I have school prep to do today, hopefully some scrapping or card-making, and definately some reading...I have 3 new, fresh-from-the library books just screaming for me to climb in bed and read! I have "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?" by Peter Walsh (the genius on Clean Sweep), "Christian Unschooling", and "God's Master Plan for Your Life" by Gloria Copeland (I've never read her before...). So, I have plenty to keep me busy today. I should do laundry and housecleaning, too, but I just may gratefully receive the Lord's gift of a Sabbath rest today! :)

Our summer schedule starts tomorrow with tball practice for both girls. Next week swimming lessons and soccer for Erin begin. We'll still have school...I do school year-round...but I do try to make it lighter and more fun. It keeps them from forgetting half of what they've learned...and it keeps the "I'm boooooorrrreeedddd's" at bay! :)

Happy Sunday and God Bless!

We've been busy...

2009-05-28T18:59:00.000-05:00

...and sick. Ummm, last Thursday Erin had her Girl Scouts "Court of Awards"...where all of the troops got on stage and the leaders talked about what the troops had done. Erin wasn't too thrilled, and possibly felt like I did, that it was a waste of time. :) I'm telling ya...when you have to skip the refreshments at the end of everything, it really takes away from the whole thing. :)

All last week I worked on the scrapbook and picture boards for my niece's graduation. I did finish on time, by the way. :) This is a layout I did for her...

The grad ceremony was LONG...and hot. It started a half hour late cuz one of the graduates thought it started at 8 (It was SUPPOSED to start at 7. Ugh.) But it was very nice...and I was so proud of Lexi. Here are some pics from the ceremony and party that was on Saturday.

And this is Erin at her "Court of Awards". I told you she wasn't too excited. :)

I started getting sick on Wednesday of last week...stress, tired, and too many germs floating around, I guess. But, mind over matter, I held off the worst of it til the grad party was done. I kid you not, I got home and almost instantly collapsed on my chair. I was so sick. It took me 3 full days to get back to normal. I was lucky that it was raining the entire time, so that I didn't feel like I HAD to walk the dog. :) I must say, though, that I made a quick recovery. Normally, I'd be in bed with bronchitis by now...or sick at least for a couple of weeks. It must be the "no sugar". Huh. Go figure.

That's going pretty well, I guess. I'm down to 1 cup of coffee in the morning (that's down from 4-5 cups of hydrogenated oil/sugar-filled expensive coffee per day that I had been drinking). I was down 9 pounds at the end of last week. We're still having issues with Erin's blood glucose numbers...they've been a little high because I've reduced her insulin. But both girls are doing well with the food (and lack of carbs and sugar). Much better than I anticipated. And they're trying new things. We're headed up to my mom & dad's tomorrow...and mom has got big plans for food! :) I'm just thankful I have her support...eating this way away from home can be difficult...having her help is a major load off my shoulders.

We finally got the garden tilled up today...still need to plant. And today we powerwashed the deck...we need to seal it tomorrow before we leave.

We're hoping to have our thrift sale next weekend. Hoping. I really don't mind doing it. I just hate setting it up. Ugh. I'm also starting to pick out curriculum for next year. That's always so stressful for me...too many options make for difficult decisions. You would NEVER believe how many choices are out there for homeschoolers. And then as a parent, you feel like your children's education hangs in the balance of what curriculum decisions I make. Fun.

Ok, enough babbling. Have a good weekend!

2009-05-14T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, I talked with nutritionist, Karen Hurd, on Saturday, and we now have Erin on the bean diet, too. I'm guessing her doctors wouldn't be happy...but the "diet" they've had her on has never made sense to me. We were actually feeding her MORE carbs post-diagnosis than we were before it. And as Karen said, that just makes her dependent on the insulin. If we cut her carbs, she'll need less. She talked of a specific 7 year old diabetic who is now completely off of insulin shots because of how she's eating. Erin was all for no shots...until she discovered she couldn't have fruit or her nightly ice cream! :) But it's getting easier every day. The girls still have fits and cry...but so do I. I think they understand that I'm doing it for their health...that's my job...my calling.

Other people, so far, seem to have the same kind of reaction as they do to my homeschooling..."that's great for you, but I'd never do it!" Some have had almost a negative reaction...but I got the same about homeschooling. I know with homeschooling, some feel "guilty" for not doing the same, and so they turn on homeschooling and those who do it. It may be the same with this. I don't know how long we'll make it on this program. But it takes on a whole new meaning when it's your kids' health at stake...not just a few pounds.

It's been a busy week...at least for us. Monday I went to the dentist, Tuesday we went bowling for Girl Scouts, yesterday Erin's friend, Claire, came over to play and then we went to choir, and today I got a much overdue perm. And, yes, I look like a poodle. And I stink, too. :)

We really have a lot of work to do around here. Our basement is still a disaster...piled with boxes of stuff we packed up, tons of clothes to thrift sale, and junk the kids didn't get rid of (yet) but don't want in their rooms. The family is Tony's new "home away from home" and since he's coming home Sunday, we gotta get busy! I was hoping to have the walls painted by then, but I don't see that happening. Barry still says we're going to list the house, so I still need to stay motivated.

Guess that's all for now. I should get busy, but there are too many books awaiting my attention. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T13:22:00.000-05:00

I did this for my dad last year, so this year I wanted to do a photo collage for Mom. (And I know she's gonna HATE this!) In fact, I don't have the abundance of pics of Mom like I did for Dad, and I'm pretty sure that's because she's always avoiding the camera (so that's where I learned that from!)

Anyway, happy Mother's Day, Mom! I know we've been through some rough times. Heck, you've been through some rough times! But as you've grown "into yourself", we've only grown closer. Thank you for always being there to support me, encourage me, and advise me...and find a book to help me! :) I hope you continue to grow and learn and change as you evolve into the person you were meant to be...that God created you to be. I'm grateful to call you my mom...and honored to call you my friend.

I love you!

Remembering Mom...

2009-05-10T13:00:00.000-05:00

On this Mother's Day, I wanted to take an opportunity to remember my Mother-in-law, Delores, who went home to her Lord in September of 2005. I am very grateful to have known her...maybe even more grateful that my kids did. I deeply regret not learning sign language while she was here so that I could communicate better with her. I've realized that I must do more to keep her memory alive with the girls, and one way to do that is to teach them to sign. She was a quiet woman...but stubborn...and was always willing to give us kids her opinion! :) Even in her final years, she was always willing to watch the girls when needed...and I'm so grateful that they had that time with her. God Bless, Mom...we miss you.

Spring Activities...

2009-05-09T10:13:00.000-05:00

Been busy this week being a single mom...Barry finally felt good enough to go to work on Thursday night, but ended up with a fever and headache while there. Yesterday was probably his best day yet. Of course, he didn't do much more than lay on the couch. :) This morning I had my first attempt at baking for Alana. I made Bean Flour Carrot Muffins from Karen Hurd's website (she's the "Bean Queen" nutritionist we're working with http://www.karenhurd.com/index.html ) It was a little dicey as her recipe calls for 3 eggs, and I had to use Egg Replacer, but the girls liked them (seriously, it was just nice to get a texture in our mouths besides beans!)

Today, my goal is to clean house, work on my niece, Lexi's, scrapbook for her graduation on Memorial Day weekend, and, hopefully, nap.

This is a layout I did last weekend for my pal Jenn. In her etsy store, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5367046 , she designs and sells journaling blocks...she made the "flowers" on my layout. So cute! The layout is of my sister and Easton, at 3 months.

I thought this was a cool picture...it's a pigeon roosting on our garage roof. We don't get many pigeon visitors...

And these pics are from our March 29th visit to Govin's Farm in Menomonie http://www.govinsmeatsandberries.com/lambing_barn.htm They have a huge barn with sheep lambing, open to the public. We also enjoyed seeing miniature horses, baby chicks, goats and cows. Alana, especially, was in heaven! They also had fiber artists demonstrating how the turn the sheep's wool into yarn...way cool! We didn't get to see any lambs being born, but there were a couple who were just minutes old!

Well, I better get to work. I have a phone appt in a few minutes with Karen Hurd to discuss Erin this time. So many things to do...the house is still far from ready to list (although the more work we do to it, the more we like it, and the less motivation we have to sell!) Then there's scrapping for Lexi, the garden, learning to cook...Ugh.

God Bless and enjoy the weekend!

Feeling sorry for myself...

2009-05-05T19:57:00.000-05:00

So, when we first got Alana's allergy tests results back, I think I was in shock. Probably how I would've been if Erin's diabetes diagnosis had been a little less "dramatic". Then, I think I moved into "faithful gratitude". I was thankful to God for blessing me... I guess I should explain that, huh? I was thankful that we were homeschooling...cuz I can't imagine having Alana on this "bean diet" and having so many allergies and having to send her to school! I was thankful that God made me to be a research and book geek...first of all, if I hadn't done the research in the first place, I probably wouldn't have known to test her for allergies...and I'd probably have her on narcotics for her ADD and steroids for her "asthma". But not only that, but now I have the ability and tools to care for my family. And then there's my thankfulness for a supportive hubby (most of the time!), and his job that allows us to buy the nutritious food we need. I'm thankful for the great friends who listen to me whine and make bean jokes. :) And for my mom who tells me what a good job I'm doing, when I (and others) doubt myself.
So, today I went on a shopping mission to find gluten-free/casein-free/dairy-free/egg-free/preservative free food. If you're as naive as I was, you might think that sounds fairly easy. Just buy "healthy" food, right? Wrong! Seriously...try it. Not so easy. Or fun. I came home broke, defeated, sad, and mad. Mad at God. Mad at Him for putting us through this. Mad at Him for taking so much away from us. I came home and yelled at my kids. And I cried. For their "sicknesses". For my "failure" as a mother. For the loss of ice cream, and cereal, and Snickers bars.
Funny how He works, though. He's good. I also came home to this month's Home School Enrichment magazine. I turned to an article titled, "The Harvest Lasts a Lifetime", by Jonathin Lewis. Here's where God spoke to me....

"When the storm comes, it's easy to look around us and see only the dark clouds, hear only the ominous thunder, and feel nothing but the strong wind. How easy it is to forget the sunlight when it's obscured by the gathering clouds."

"The storm lasts only a season, but the harvest lasts forever."

"Whatever we sow, we will also reap. (Galatians 6:7)"

The author is talking about homeschooling, of course. But I'm in a storm now with my kid's health. This hard work, "pain", change, and relearning how to cook and eat, what we sow, will reap much better health for us all. We need to treat our bodies as temples, entrusted to us by God...and we haven't been. Lesson learned. But I have to remember that the sun will shine again.

So, after all that, I'm still in rough shape. It doesn't help that Barry is on day 7 of a virus that has tied him to bed and kept him from work. And if you know my hubby, you'll know that he doesn't get sick, and he certainly doesn't miss work. So it's bad. No, it's not the swine flu...he tested negative for influenza. So, I've been on my own for a week. Throw that in with the "health crisis", extra work with meals, my house still in chaos, homeschooling (it's May...we're tired)...well, I'm just not in tip-top shape emotionally. :)

But the Lord has given me gifts to get me through it. He's also kept me physically healthy while my partner has been down. And a reminder that the sun will shine again....

Allergies...

2009-04-29T19:37:00.000-05:00

Well, I've got an update on the fight for Alana's health. A couple of weeks ago, I sweet-talked our local doc into giving Alana the ELISA (blood test for allergies), and Monday night we got the results back...and they weren't good.

Heavy metals: Negative (cool!)

Allergens: Significant reaction to cats (yes, that's a problem...we're still working that one out)
Moderate reaction to mold (so I'll have to start monitoring the air quality)

Food Allergies (this is where it gets interesting):
Significant reactions to: cow's milk, casein, goat's milk, lactose, egg whites and kidney
beans
Moderate reactions to: hard cheeses, beef, gluten, wheat, egg yolks, green beans,
pineapple, asparagus, watermelon, nectarines, peanuts,
almonds, brewer's yeast, corn

Seriously, I feel like I've been hit by a bus. Life is turned upside down...again. So far, Alana's taken it pretty good. But she's already started thinking ahead...like will she ever have a birthday cake again? Right now, we're still on the "bean diet" so we haven't made many changes (except to eliminate some of those moderate reacting foods...cheese, green beans, beef, peanuts...as our goal is to take away every allergen we can to get her to a healthy place. The cats are a whole other deal. Barry, of course, wants the cats gone NOW. I've discussed with Alana that we can take some time to see if we can get her healthy enough so that we can manage her allergy to the cats. It has helped A LOT having her in her own cat-free room, with an air purifier. Then we got another air purifier for the living/dining room. We've discussed having the girls keeping their stuff picked up so I can vacuum & sweep daily. And we're going to attempt "bathing" the cats 2 to 3 times a week (that's supposedly supposed to help keep their dander reduced).

I does help having a place to start from in our attack. We're waiting to see just how much we just spent on this test, and if we can swing it, we'll run the same test for Erin. Who knows...she could have food allergies that affect her glucose levels. Regardless, life has changed for us here, yet again. Our choices are now very limited...but that could be a good thing. A total overhaul will be a good thing.

Right now, as overwhelmed and lost and sad as I'm feeling, all I can do is place my burdens and worries in God's hands. And trust that He really does not give us more than we can handle.

Rollerskating!!!

2009-04-29T19:13:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night we went rollerskating in Eau Claire for Girl Scouts. I was a bit apprehensive, having not been on wheels for a LONG LONG time! :) I still remember going with my aunts, Linda & Lori, back when that was "the thing". They had their own skates with big ole pom poms and everything! Of course, at that same time, Barry was skating at the rink in Eau Claire looking cool and trying to pick up chicks, but we won't get into that! :) And then we skated on and off during our school years...long ago. But we had a great time! (Although I'm STILL feeling the effects of muscles unused!) The girls totally rocked! I guess I thought that all kids had rollerblades at home...we don't have anything fancy, just thrift sale cheapies...but I guess I was wrong. We've never pushed the girls to skate...we've just made them available since they were on bikes with training wheels. Anyway, Alana blew away the competition at the girls skate race (Erin chose not to compete, but would've taken 2nd). They also had a "sock race" which Erin won. So, it was a very successful night for us! And I only fell once! :)

I was extremely happy with Alana. First of all, she was out there skating (not slowly) for at least 2 hours, and although red-faced and sweaty (yep, she gets that from me!) she was not out of breath, wheezing or coughing. Awesome! And secondly, it was good to see Alana kick butt at something. She has such athletic ability...just not a competitive attitude. Barry wants her playing league hockey in Eau Claire. He was even bribing her with a puppy if she did it for 2 years! :)

Overall, it was a very fun night. Although, if you would've heard the 4 of us moaning and groaning afterwards about all of our sore parts, you wouldn't have thought so. :)

Lining up for the sock (foot) race....

Erin with her prize...she whooped 'em!

Alana's skate race....

And Alana totally leading the pack....I swear she wasn't even trying!

And this is my feet. :) (Thanks to my friend, Lori, for the photo idea) Just to prove I actually did it...on my feet....most of the time!

Latest Layouts

2009-04-27T14:45:00.001-05:00

All I can say is thank goodness for my friend Jenn's design team, or I'd never get any scrapping accomplished! I should be doing more for her...but I've been so buried in house work...and she has so many other talented gals designing for her, that I've been slacking a bit. Anyway, Jenn designs and sells journaling spots (the little cards on my layouts that have the date or journaling or other fun stuff). Her blog is here http://creative-chaos.typepad.com/creative-chaos/ and etsy store here http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5367046 . They work wonderfully for quick cards, too!

So, the first layout is Alana at swimming lessons, June 2007.

And this one is pics of our fat cat, Zach. He loves to lay on his back, legs spread out. In these pics, he appears to be stretching...but he's actually motionless, just sleeping. He cracks me up!

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

2009-04-26T20:37:00.000-05:00

(I realize Easter was some time ago, but due to computer problems, I haven't had the ability to get my pictures off of my camera. So, just pretend I'm on time, OK?)

On Easter morning I spotted these beautiful new blooms in Mom & Dad's yard...even though they didn't just pop up this morning, I still thought them symbolic of the Easter celebration. Risen indeed!

This is Mom & Dad's new cat, Gracie...their first since Ben and Wolf died. She's pretty, huh. She didn't think too much of Cassie, though. :) She's pretty independent and typical "cat-like". Nothing like our Zach & TJ, so it was a little hard for the girls to get used to her demeanor.

Easter was a bit different for us this year. Instead of the Easter baskets and plastic eggs loaded with candy, the Easter Bunny was considerate enough to leave less sugary treats because of Erin's diabetes. The girls still enjoyed a fun Easter Egg hunt...this year, snow-free for a happy change!

Happy Earth Day!

2009-04-22T20:36:00.000-05:00

We didn't do anything today for Earth Day...too busy...again. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to come up with something.

Well, I'm blogging on my new puter. It's like the rest of my house...needing organization. I don't know what's what or where it is. Ugh. More cleaning....

Our new countertops are in...and fabulous! :) I'm not sure if they're really that fab (they were the cheapest you can get) but they're not baby blue with pink specks. :) My room is now about done...paint done, new vanity light, new bedding, matching furniture for the first time in our lives (thanks to spray paint on hand-me-down and thrift sale furniture), new curtains (all done on the cheap to be sure!). Now we just have to clean out the closet. Yuck. Today I worked on the dining room. Tomorrow I'd like to get my new office/scrapping room organized cuz I really need a creative break. Soon.

Friday I took Alana to our local doc to see if I could get the blood tests done (the ones I wanted the allergy/asthma doc to run, but he wouldn't cuz she was so "near death"). He did do the tests for me (blood tests so it wouldn't affect her lungs at all) and I'll get answers on heavy metals, allergies, and food allergies. Cool. I just wanna know...

Saturday I went to a seminar given by nutritionist, Karen Hurd, aka "The Bean Lady", before meeting with her about Alana. The seminar was VERY educational. Karen is a major science geek, and so was able to back up her nutritional approach/info with science & chemistry facts. Very cool. She put Alana (and Barry & I for support and our own improved health) on a diet of beans, meats/eggs, veggies, some nuts and LOTS of water. Zero sugar. Zero carbs, besides the beans. I knew it would be tough on Alana...she's a sugar/carb addict (like her mama).

Our new bean diet is going well. Alana has been a real trooper...compliant with all the food rules. She's been a little short on her water intake, but overall is doing VERY well. And she's feeling good, too. Her asthma is barely there. Nice.

Ok, short and sweet, but I'm too tired and it's too close to bedtime. :) Have a great rest of the week!

Yes, I'm still alive...

2009-04-15T16:34:00.000-05:00

Hi Grandma! :) Thanks for being concerned about me being MIA. You should be concerned...cuz I've been working WAY too hard around here!

Long story short...we've been toying around with moving to the country for years. Finally, I just told hubby that we should just get the house ready to sell and see what happens. Knowing how we are, I knew that we'd need to just set a date and shoot for it. Wanting to beat the May busyness, I set an open house date of April 18. Yes, that's this Saturday. And no, we will NOT be ready. :) Now I'm shooting for next Saturday, but Barry still won't let me give the realtor a date. So, we'll see.

We've done so much work and I still feel like we have months of work left ahead of us. We have a split-level house, with 2 bedrooms up, and 2 down. The girls had be sharing the other upstairs room (it was a tight fit, being only 10x11). So, both girls agreed to move to separate bedrooms downstairs....and I'd have to move my office/scraproom up from the basement (yep, lots and lots of STUFF!) I kept the downstairs bedrooms the same color, but I did touch up the paint job. I had to completely paint the upstairs bedrooms (and we're still not done with the vanity area of our room). The basement family still needs to be painted...huge job....and we really should paint the living/dining room, but I'm not sure if Barry will go for it. Or we just may run out of steam. :)

New kitchen countertops are in our garage waiting for us to install. I'm super excited about that! Our current countertops are baby blue with pink flecks. Seriously. I ordered a neutral brown/black granite-looking one. Now our marriage just has to survive the installation. :) Oh, and we got a new (used) smaller dining room table to take up less space, and we were forced into new living room couches (can you say cat pee?) It wasn't TJ's fault...he had a really bad bladder infection. Anyway....

We've also suffered a minor crisis in our lives. Alana has always had a weaker respiratory system, but lately seemed to be wheezing and coughing more. When we started tearing up our dust-filled house and painting, it got really bad. So bad that Barry called and made an appointment for her to see an allergy doctor. I went in prepared and educated. I knew what tests I wanted done. I'm positive that she has allergies and allergy-induced asthma. I also believe that it's the allergies causing her ADD symptoms. Anyway, this doctor did, in fact, diagnos her with asthma...but refused to test for allergies. Instead, he insisted on her taking oral steroids, inhaled steroids, and a "rescue" inhaler. When I challenged him, he quickly (and rudely) dismissed me. Big mistake, Dude. So, I played along til the end of the appointment and gave him one last shot. I asked him, after all of this medication got her stablized, how were we going to address the root problem causing the inflamation. He looked at me like I was an idiot and says, "That's what the steroids are for". So, he wants to ignore the root problem and just treat her with drugs that can do serious damage? No way.

So, now I'm on a mission. Friday I see our local doc, who my lab tech friend says should give me the testing I want (allergies, heavy metals, etc). At least with that info and can make major movement towards solving the main problem (aka, if she's allergic to dairy, and that's what's causing her inflammation, and therefor, her asthma, if I cut her off of dairy I should solve most of the problems...WITHOUT steroids). And on Saturday I go see the "bean lady". She's a nutritionist who can do more good than most doctors...she helped Barry a couple of years ago...until he went off the diet. :)

So, that's my life right now. Lots of cleaning, painting, purging, moving furniture (yes, my back has been out for a couple of weeks) and stressing about Alana. Fun times. Right now I could care less if we move! If we get done with this house I'll be happy! :)

Oh...and if you've made it this far...another reason for my long absence is our computer issues. Remember something happened and I had to do my posting on Barry's work laptop cuz my desktop was messed up for some reason? Well, his laptop died. By the time it was replaced, I was too busy with the house to type. When we moved my desktop to it's new home, it refused to turn on. Nice. It has all of my thousands of pictures...and the only way I have to download those off of my camera (not to mention all of my faves and links and stuff). Ugh. So, we're gonna have to spring for a new laptop. Yuck. Anyway, just wanted to give you my other excuse! :)

Update

2009-03-06T19:22:00.000-06:00

Well, we survived our trip to Mayo. It was exhausting. We tried to get to bed as early as possible...but right at bedtime, Erin said she felt hot and couldn't sleep (which is usually her attempt to stay in my bed). After futile arguing, I let her stay with me, just so we could get to sleep. Soon, she started complaining of a headache...and then she thought she had to throw up. Suddenly, she started shaking like a leaf! We made a run for the bathroom...at the same time I ran for the testing kit to make sure she wasn't super low. At this point she crying, saying, "No, Jesus, please! Not now! Please, Jesus!" Poor kid. She didn't throw up, luckily. And she wasn't low...actually, she was pretty high ( I think because of stress and adrenaline about our trip the next day). She finally slept after 12:30 and I got up at 4am. Not cool.

We made it out the door on time, at 5am. Got to Mayo on time for a fairly relaxing breakfast (although it was mucho expensive and disappointing in it's selection). We met with, Tom, our RN and then the social worker. We were done at 10 and had until 2pm for our next appointment. They hadn't given us an itinerary for the day, so we weren't expecting this break (we would've rather just gotten it over with and gone home!) So, we went to a local mall and killed time at the Dollar Tree store and a pet store. Went back to Mayo for lunch (kids' choice) and then met with our doctor, a couple of psychologists and a dietician. We were done at 4 and kicked butt home to get home for dinner.

Overall, apparently we've done a heck of a job! Erin's A1C was 7.1 was just what they wanted to see. They were very happy with her numbers and how we were working together on this as a family. I did question them about a different program, but was assured that for a child her age, they were quite confident with the program she's on. In fact, one of the studies that I had read of and discussed with her doctor, turned out to be a study he had been involved in! In their experience, the more intense the program they are on as a child, the more likely a kid is to rebel at 11, 12 and above. I feel that my concerns were not dismissed, but were addressed and explained well. She's done so well, in fact, that we don't have to go back for 6 months instead of 3! I must say, diabetes has taken some of the fun out of road-tripping. We don't eat out anymore, just because it seems so difficult with Erin's restrictions. I'm sure in time we'll adjust more. But until then, at least we're saving some cash! :)

I came home to a very happy surprise...Creating Keepsakes wants to publish one of my layouts! For those of you not a member of the crazy scrapping world, CK is like the mother of scrapping magazines. I've been published many times, but until now, I had yet to get into CK or Scrapbooks, Etc. Well, one down, and one to go! I'm amazed and honored.

I took Cassie back in today to have her urine tested AGAIN. She still has a bladder infection (after 3 weeks of antibiotics) but they said it was almost gone, and so this last dose should take care of it. Ugh.

No political rantings today...I don't have the energy. :) I guess at this point, I'm expecting the worse, as is Barry. We both think we're headed for an all-out depression. I have a "calling" of sorts to prepare, but I'm not sure how. Thankfully, Barry still has a good job...and it appears that the company is weathering the storm so far. But what if... Until then, we don't spend willy-nilly...we'll plant a garden come spring... Sometimes I feel like a fruitcake...acting as though the world is coming to an end. However, sometimes I feel that too many people have their heads buried in the sand (or snow, if you live in Wisconsin). :)

And on that happy note, I'll wish you all a happy weekend! :) Stay safe and God bless!

Think Spring!

2009-03-04T18:40:00.000-06:00

Who knows? Maybe it will work. I shouldn't complain...today and the next two days will be in the 40's here...
Of course, tomorrow, we'll be stuck inside Mayo Clinic for the entire day. We have to be in Rochester by 7am...which means we have to leave by 5am. Not a good thing. Not good at all. I've promised the kids no school on Friday so that we can ALL catch up a bit. This trip is Erin's first of every 3-month check-ups she'll have to have. I have no idea what to expect...except that it will take all day (and LOTS of money to eat possibly 3 meals at the cafeteria!).

My very very very good friend, Kari, who's a lab tech at the clinic here in town, made a house-call for us this am to take Erin's blood for her A1C test. Thank you, Kari! :) She's so awesome. Anyway, this test is one we'll do every 3 months to see how well under control her blood glucose levels have been. She scored a 7.1%, which is in the acceptable range (normal, non-diabetics range from 4.1-6.1%). I've read, however, that you can come close to 6% with an intense program (which we are not in right now).

Which is one of the things I want to discuss with the docs. We want more control. Right now, no matter how often we test her glucose, we can't make immediate changes to bring down highs, and it drives us totally insane! We also need to figure out how to get away from her lows during the middle of the night. We haven't slept through a night since she went into the hospital in December, and at this rate, I can't. It's too risky when she often drops into the 40's and 50's.

In church today, the sermon was about the 3rd Commandment (to keep the Sabbath holy). This is something I've been thinking about a lot in recent months. How God created the day FOR us...so that we can have a day of rest. And it's a day to listen and talk to God. I'm not sure how far I could get with my family with taking away technology, tv, SPORTS, etc. But, I'm thinking that if I'm gonna try to make some changes, I oughta do it before football season starts again! At my normal Wednesday afternoon library visit today, I came across a book, "Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives". It sounds kinda like what I'm trying to achieve in my life as a whole, so I'm hoping for some good inspiration.

My dog is still sick. Her frequent peeing is getting out of hand again, despite having been on antibiotics for almost 3 weeks. She even peed on the carpet today...not a normal thing. So, a chat with the vet will be on my agenda for Friday. Yippee!

And finally, I thought I'd share a couple of projects I did for my wonderful and talented friend, Jenn, as an honored member of her blog/etsy shop Design Team. She creates fantastic journaling spots for scrapping and card making. She's super-duper talented!

Now, I must "hang-up" my keyboard before I start in on the economy and the goverment that I'm fighting daily not to hate. Mr. Obama: "We will do away with all EARMARKS". Really, Mr. President? So, those 9,000 earmarks in your SPENDING bill don't really count? Oh, and I think that your really great idea to do away with charitable deductions during a recession/depression is fabulous! I mean, it's not like charities are hurting right now. Nor are they needed by all of those who are in financial straits. And this is personal to me. Forget that I'm a Christian, and I feel that charitable giving is a personal decision...one that is made to feed one's heart. That's one reason for the Liberals to punish me...but I'll save that for another day. But I'm the mother of a diabetic. We rely on charitable giving to fund research. You know, for a cure? Thank you, Mr. Obama, for possibly setting us back YEARS in that research. But I know what your answer (and those of most of our Congressmen) will be....You know so much better than I how to spend my money. Cuz you're such a smart, Harvard-educated politician...and I'm just a dumb hick from some small town. Do you all sense my anger and sarcasm?

See, I told you I should've hung it up. :)

Random Thoughts...

2009-02-26T17:58:00.000-06:00

It's probably not an ideal time for me to blabber...I'm pretty tired and stressed out. So, please forgive me if I wander off the path a bit. :)

Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. Our pastor had us pick out a rock. Just an everyday rock that you'd find in not-fancy landscaping. This rock is to represent our sinfulness during the Lenten season. I like it. We're to carry it with us for the duration. On Maundy Thursday, he'll ask us to lay our rocks at the foot of the rough-hewn cross temporarily errected in our Sanctuary. After choosing our rocks and being marked with the cross of ashes, Erin asked me to trade rocks with her. I did. Then I noticed that her rock was dirty. I'm assuming it's sandstone. It's dirty...and the dirt doesn't go away. My first thought was that I'd trade it for a "better" one out of our landscaping at home. But I suddenly thought better of it. What better reminder of my sinfullness than to carry around a "dirty" rock. I'm hoping this will help keep me humble.

Today was busy. I got my hair cut after lunch. I was way overdue, as usual. I got it chopped, which is a good thing. Unfortunitely, I lost the rest of my perm. So, I'll have to schedule that soon. Regardless, it's still better than it was. Then the girls and I were off to Eau Claire for Erin's dentist appointment. First stop was Shopko. I'm waaayyyy overdue on new tennies for walking. I've taken two major dumps on the ice this past month due to "bald" shoes. So, I got new ones. Did pretty good considering we had only 15 minutes to shop! I found a pair of "my" brand (they make wide widths) on clearance. Whooo hooo! Then I just took a little peep for a pair of "hiking" walking shoes...one with a deeper tread for walking on snow and ice. I found a pair that was on sale, but still more than I like to spend (I'm VERY cheap). So, I called Barry for "permission". :) Permission granted, I splurged. But still, $80 for two pair isn't all that bad.

I was a bit stressed all day because we were heading to Eau Claire at about the same time "the biggest snow storm of the season" was scheduled to hit. And right on time, as I sat in the dentist, the snow started falling. Hard. We skipped the grocery shopping we normally would've done and head home. Very slowly. Most of the time it was 25 to 30 mph, topping off at 40. And for half of the 20 mile drive, I was on my own, with no one to follow. Ugh. I hate that! It took me about 45 minutes (normally it's about a 25 minute drive). But I was stressed and stiff when we finally pulled in. I can't complain though, as God guided us home safely.

I'm not going to go off on a political rant (although for the last few months I think my blood pressure has increased at least by 100%!) The only thing I'll say on my soap box tonight....Please, all of you, get informed and get the facts! A large majority of people have no idea (nor do they care) what Washington is doing to our country. The best (and most balanced) information I've found is on Fox News. And no, for all of you Liberals out there, Fox is NOT a cogg in the Republican Machine. :) Just watch and find out for yourself. And if you can't stomache Bill O'Reilly or Hannity, please just watch the evening news broadcast. And my new favorite show is Glenn Beck. He's on at 4pm weekdays (and also has a Saturday evening show). He's a bit of a drama queen and a smart butt (which I like) but he's a lot more "guy next door". If you don't get Fox News, you can check him out at www.glennbeck.com It's just driving me insane watching the dorks in Washington spend trillions of OUR dollars on PORK. They call it stimulus...but it's really PORK. Listen to this....there's an earmark in that bill with Obama's name on it. But just today, it was announced that his name will be taken off of that earmark. The earmark is still in the bill, but they just don't want us to be able to trace it back to the "no more earmarks" pres. Nice. Great. See, there I go again. I'm on my soapbox again AND my blood is boiling again. I need to take a vacation! :)

Now you've for sure had enough of my random musings. :) Oh, the cable guy came and hooked up our new HD package today. My hubby is in Heaven on earth! Now we have DVR...we are SO with it now! Now he wants to grow up to be a "cable guy". :) I think he's chomping at the bit for the weekend to come so he can play with his new remote. I guess he technically earned it, though. He got a cheaper phone/internet package so that we could get the HD cable package. Must have been important to him.....(he he he)

Ok, I best walk away from the computer now. Otherwise, all is pretty good here. Alana has a bad chest cold. Erin's belly isn't feeling the best. Amazing...I thought we'd all be healthier when we came home from school. Oh well, such is life.

Have a good weekend and God Bless!

New Work

2009-02-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

I just realized by looking over the last few posts that I've been very lax in posting my cards and layouts as I make them. You'd never know I'm a scrapper at all! I appologize if some of the layouts are repeats...I lose track sometimes. Hope you enjoy! (If you click on the picture, you should get a bigger photo to pop up for a closer look)

This one might need some explanation. The girls were roasting marshmallows and Grandma & Grandpa's. The smoke kept getting in their eyes....so my very smart and creative little Erin figured out how to beat the smoke...with her swimming goggles! Nice!

I've been reprimanded...

2009-02-21T11:34:00.001-06:00

by my mother for not keeping up with my blog. :) Well, not reprimanded. She just pointed out that it's been a while since I posted. She's right. I'm lazy.

Ok, what's new....

We are going forward with our home refinance...thru our local bank instead. It seems safer in these yucky economic times...and actually cheaper. So, it was kind of a duh. It will be awfully nice to have a whole half of our house payment freed up. But we'll have to be good, and not waste it.

Cassie was back at the vet for a visit on Thursday. Her antibiotics were almost gone, and she had to be retested to make sure the infection was gone. But she wouldn't pee for me. She's VERY skittish and VERY smart. She's knows when I'm up to something, so there's no chance to get the pee. I took her in to see if they could scare the pee out of her. I ended up leaving her there for a couple of hours. They had given up, and were going to extract the urine from her bladder. But when the rolled her over to do it, she peed. The vet said she was like a "water bubbler". :) That's my girl! She had refused to pee for us all day, afterall. :) However, her infection is still there, so she's on 2 more weeks of antibiotics. After that, we discuss new food (more expensive, of course.) Ugh!

Zach is fine now. I'm still giving him, and the other two, daily doses of yogurt and pumpkin...just to maintain better health. This is Zach up to his old antics...this time, jumping in the dryer while I was throwing clothes in....

Erin participated in a "future dancers" clinic on Sunday afternoon. She had a fantastic time! She loves to dance...and loves to perform! Plus, she got to see some friends. Here are a couple of pics (I hate gym pictures!) from their half-time performance at the girls' basketball game on Thursday night (which they won, yeah!)

Alana, as you may remember is a bit obsessive about some things. Like horses, goats, and most recently, bunnies. She wants a bunny. In the house. Daddy vetoed that, of course. Anyway, she's still researching.... (the book is called "Barnyard in Your Backyard")

About a month ago, I introduced her to the "Christy" book series. I have not read them, but seeing as they were in our church library, as well as our local library, I thought I'd give them a shot. She loved them! Just like her mother...face buried in a book! I told her after she read 10 of them, I'd get the TV episodes on DVD from the library. So, we've been enjoying one or two episodes each afternoon this past week. Erin just finished "The Adventures of Peter Cottontail" and now wants to continue with the other animal characters in that series.

Oh, and my niece, Morgan, just got her driver's permit this week. Congratulations! (Please keep her in your prayers!) :) Love you, Morgy!

I live a glamorous life....

2009-02-09T10:51:00.000-06:00

Really. I do. You should've seen me on Thursday. You would've been so jealous. There I was at the vet, after a long hard day of homeschooling, cleaning and cooking. I have two sick ones. Zach, our fat cat, has had diarreah for over a week. And Cassie, I knew had a bladder infection...as indicated by her peeing on my bed. Twice. Aahhh, yes. So there I was, at the vet. I love the people there...they're great. But they are SO SLOW! I was there for 2 HOURS! With 2 animals and 2 kids. Fun. Oh, and don't forget the sweet smelling diarreah that was dribbling down the front of my freshly laundered sweatshirt. Thanks, Zach. Yep, glamorous.

Except for church and Sunday School on Sunday, and cleaning, cooking, school prep...I took the weekend off this weekend. No going. No people. I had both afternoons home alone. I love my family, really. But when you are with your kids 24/7...well, sometimes a break is good for the soul. And your patience level. I got a couple of cards made (but it's too cloudy and gloomy today for pictures). And I finallly got my order placed at Winkflash, so I can cross that off my list. Hopefully new pictures will get my mojo flowing for some quality projects for my friend Jenn's store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5367046

Other than that, not much new here. Been doing more reading on Charlotte Mason. Did I mention that previously? I'm thinking of switching to her method of teaching. Short lessons...done by lunch. No "twaddle" of cheap books and oversimplified text books...she believed in children reading real, living books. Lots of nature study. And narration, verbal and written, instead of tests and worksheets. Of course, we'd do math as usual.

Ok, we're off to walk the dog. It's been above freezing for a few days now, so the roads are getting cleaner and easier to walk on. After lunch, the girls and I are off to Eau Claire for groceries...and maybe to sneak a peek at the brand new Michaels that opened yesterday! :)

I can't nap anymore

2009-02-03T14:10:00.000-06:00

and it's seriously killing me! See, I'm really not a sluff...although being a nap-taking SAHM (stay at home mom) soundss like sluffing to me. But, we're still testing Erin's blood glucose at 3am EVERY morning...and then I get up at 7am to read my Bible before the girls get up. This wouldn't be such a big problem, except that it ususally takes me an hour or two to fall back asleep after testing Erin. Leaving Mama with not enough sleep. Now, suddenly, I'm unable to fall asleep. I tried Saturday, Sunday, and now today, to no avail. Ugh.

We drove out to look at another house today...that looked perfect (except for the high price), and....it wasn't perfect. Out in the boondocks with TWO close neighbors. Not me. If I'm gonna give up the convenience of living in town, I want to look out my window (every window) and see trees, birds, squirrels, and sky. Not neighbors. The girls and I went to another open house on Saturday. That one had a very nice spot, except that it was farther from town than we'd like (20+ minutes) and the house just wasn't right.

So, that leaves us with one that has been sitting on our "side burner" for a couple of months. We like it enough to have had Mom & Dad come look at it, too. We're just struggling with the price (as it needs at least $20k put into it to make it livable for us...we're not snobs, really. But the current owners smoke, and with my sensitivity and Alana's allergies, we'd need to rip out all of the carpet and paint everything. Oh, and the kitchen cabinets are plastic, so I couldn't get by with just painting them.) Maybe I am a snob. I just figure if we're gonna mortgage our life away, the house should at least be equal or better than what we have now. Anyway.....

The girls had a dentist appointment yesterday...and then I took the rest of the afternoon to shop the thrift stores for used books. Fun times. Really. I LOVE books. :) And then we watched Lexi & Morgan (my nieces) play basketball...they won. Big. :)

I'd really like to get some pictures ordered today. My creative mojo has been MIA for way too long, and I'm hoping some fresh inspiration might get my juices flowing. Besides, I don't think I've even developed Thanksgiving pics yet. Ugh.

Speaking of inspiration, my best buddy, Jenn is kicking some scrapping butt! She's been rocking her shop on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5367046 and has now officially added a Design Team, which I am honored to be a part of! I think she wants me more for my emotional support and friendship than my overwhelming talent...but she's kind enough to fill me with praise, too. What a good friend! Anyway, any scrappers or card makers should check out her shop...she makes adorable stuff!

Busy Days...

2009-01-27T10:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a while since I just talked about life, boring as it may be. But I guess this is the stuff that I'll appreciate looking back on in the future.

Erin's health is good. We do a pretty good job keeping her glucose levels in the norm, but there are days we spend "chasing our tails". Days when we do nothing out of the ordinary, and yet can't keep her levels in range. It is frustrating. We go back to Mayo in March for our 3 month check up, where I will see about changing the care program we're on. I want more control. I want a more hands-on program...which would entail more shots and testing. But I think we are fully capable of handling it, and the tighter control will help to ensure a healthier future for Erin.

We're in the process of having Alana tested for ADD (Attention Deficite Disorder). I'm still struggling with whether having such a diagnosis is better or worse for her or me. And then I'll have to make decisions regarding her treatment, if ADD is indeed what she has, and whether to treat with medication. Those of you who know me well enough can be assured that I have, indeed, check out every book on the topic for my research! :)

Yesterday we cleaned house for the appraiser who came in the afternoon. We're refinancing...for the lower rate, and for lower payments. Life has changed around here. I'm not working...and our medical bills keep going up. And in this economy, the more we can save for a "rainy day", the better. We're just hoping now, in this bad housing market, that our house hasn't lost too much value, messing up our refy plans.

Tonight, Erin has a Girl Scout meeting, and then hopefully we'll be going to my nieces' basketball game. Morgan has been moved up to Varsity, so her and Lexi get to play together. Both have been playing VERY well this year!

It's been a while since I've shared what I've been reading...

Cheating Destiny (Diabetes) The author and his son both have Type 1 Diabetes

Delivered from Distraction (ADD) As with the book above, the author and his children suffer from ADD. It's nice to hear the info coming from people who "know" instead of doctors in their ivory towers. I think the info is more sensitive, compassionate and believable.

The ADD Answer

What Your Explosive Child is Trying to Tell You

Homeschooling the Child with ADD

Honey for a Child's Heart

Essentials of Children's Literature

Charlotte Mason Education (Yep, I'm thinking of tweaking my homeschooling again! I just didn't imagine our days to be filled with "school at home", doing worksheets and tests. Miss Mason lived in the Victorian age in England. She was a promoter of a liberal arts education...music, art, nature study...and a high level of language, math and literature. She believed in short lessons and afternoons free to explore, play, do arts and crafts, etc. I'm already doing a lot of her ideas, but thought I'd study up!)

Pocketful of Pinecones (more Charlotte Mason)

The Wind in the Willows (I've never read this book...and started reading it to the girls last night. We're just in the first chapter and can already see why Miss Mason believes children should be reading these "real" literature books. My girls could probably not successfully read this book on their own, but it does indicate how we've "dumbed down" books for kids. The many "reader" books of today can't hold a candle to the rich language in this book!)

Laurainne Snelling "Dakotah Treasures Series" (she does Christian Historical Fiction...my favorite bedtime genre)

If your next question is to ask if I'm actually reading all of this, the answer is YES. Reading, studying, learning...that's where any free time I get goes to these days. As a mother, I need to become an expert on these things that affect my children. You'll notice that I haven't been posting many scrapbook pages lately. ;) This is why....

Have a good week!

Christmas Programs 2008

2009-01-27T10:31:00.001-06:00

I know, I'm just a TAD bit behind on posting these pics...but as you may recall, my life was a little hectic at that time. :) So, here's how it went. Erin went into the hospital, near death, on Sunday, Dec. 7. We got home after 9pm on that Thursday. Saturday am was the rehearsal for our church's Christmas program, followed by the rehearsal for the for the musical at Friendship Church. That same Saturday evening was the first performance of the musical. (If you're thinking this is an insane schedule, you'd be correct. Now, remember that we're exhausted and walking an emotional and physical tightrope!) Erin chose not to perform at the 1st musical performance, watching with us instead. Alana was gracious enough to cover for her sister during the solo parts.

The musical was AWESOME...just like last year. Martha Konitzer, the pastor's wife and fellow homeschooler, has mucho mucho talent. And all of the kids who participate actually WANT and CHOOSE to be there, which makes a huge difference! I cried...I laughed...I rejoiced. What a perfect way to begin the Christmas season!

This was cool...while all of the "angels" were on stage, they turned off all of the lights, leaving just blacklights on. The angels took on a purple, glowing appearance. All of the younger kids kept looking at themselves in awe! :)

On Sunday, we had our own Christmas program at church, which Erin did choose to participate, thank God. I felt it was so important for her to jump back into NORMAL life as soon as possible. It helped tremendously being with her best friend, Claire.

I teach 3rd grade Sunday School, and every year my class plays the part of the nativity characters. This year instead of picking parts out of a hat (which I sometimes "rigged") I let the kids choose parts in order of best attendance. Alana had (and still does) perfect attendance, and chose to be Mary. This made me incredibly happy, as normally she hates to have any attention on her at all. She was a wonderful Mary...and even handled a couple of prop problems with ease. I was very proud!

After our church's program, the kids had a lunch break before performance #2 at Friendship. I was very proud and relieved that Erin chose to be a part of that one. She's so strong. Again, it was a perfect performance. I can't wait til next year!!!!

Blessed With Friends!

2009-01-21T17:09:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking a lot the last couple of weeks about how important friends are in our lives. Catastrophy seems to bring out the best in true friends...and that has been very true in our lives. The support we've had with Erin's diagnosis has been a true blessing.

This past Saturday, Erin attended the birthday party of her best friend, Claire. Her mom, my good friend, Kari, had brought over dinner for us our first week home from the hospital. Her dad, Corey, had baked Erin diabetic-friendly chocolate chip cookies before Christmas. And for this party, Kari had checked with me beforehand about what Erin could have...she even made Angel Food cupcakes and diabetic frosting! Alana and Erin enjoyed the party...and I was grateful for such awesome friends.

Sunday, the Rennich girls (mom, Kim, Emily (Erin's age), Megan (Alana's age), and 10 yr old McKenna, invited the girls over for an afternoon playdate. Again, Kim was all about what she could do for snacks for Erin. The girls had an awesome time...and I again appreciated the friendship and support.

Last week Erin had her first Girl Scout meeting in a couple of months. It's cookie time, and they were going to sample this year's new cookie. Troop leader, Lori, and good friend of mine, checked with me ahead of time regarding Erin's ability to eat the cookie...and then wrapped one up in an adorable package to take home and enjoy at her snack time. Awesome.

And a couple of weeks ago...Friday, January 9...we took the afternoon off and went bowling. A couple of my awesome friends, Paula and Julia (a fellow homeschooler and supporter) had sent the girls a free game of bowling after our hospital stay. What a thoughtful gift! We had a great time, and it was a great way for us to "celebrate" our first month out of the hospital...a chance to celebrate life!

Then there's my "online" friend, Jenn, who gets to listen to me rant and vent via email! :) She's essential to my sanity!

I have more friends...good friends. And I am sooooo thankful for them all! Thank you, guys!

Here are some pics from our little bowling excursion....

Erin would always carry her ball up to this spot, then squat and set the ball down to get her fingers in the holes....

Nice form, Alana!!!

2008 In Review

2009-01-06T20:21:00.000-06:00

I'm still having problems with my blog...I cannot update from my computer. My computer geek of a husband apparently is really not such a geek afterall, and has so far been unable to figure out the problem. So, I finally gave up and emailed pictures to Barry's laptop so I could post from there. No problem. What's a little more stress and inconvenience in my life? :)

Anyway...here's a quicky review of the most important events of 2008.

Winning over the top spot late in the game (December) is Erin's week at St. Mary's in Rochester and diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes. We are survivors and a weee bit competitive, so we are bound and determined to fight this thing. But it has definitely turned our lives, and sense of security, completely upside down.

At #2 (which would have been #1, if not for the diabetic Hail Mary) is our choice to begin homeschooling one year ago. Although there are many days I fall into bed completely exhausted, and a few days on which you should NOT ask me if I like my precious offspring, I do not for one second question my decision to do this. I love it! I love spending every day with my kids. I love knowing exactly what they're learning...and learning lots right along with them. And I love how we've strengthened our family bonds. And as Erin said the other day, what a blessing to be homeschooling through the stresses of learning to live with diabetes. Amen!

Ok, I'm done ranking events....the rest are just memorable and important to our family.

"The Golf Club Incident". Four stitches caused by a golf club swung by big sis...accidentally, of course. :) Wow. That was soooo not a fun evening.

After 11 years with us, we lost our first furry friend...Colin. He had fought his kidney disease for 2 years. He was a strong, patient, and very loving friend. We miss him every day. Saying goodbye was one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. We love you, Buddy.

Filling in the physical hole left by Colin, we welcomed two orphaned brothers into our family...Zach and TJ. They were about 4 months old when we brought them home in September. And crazy. Absolutely crazy. After living with a mature, calm cat for so many years, these guys were a sight to behold. We've definitely bonded over the last few months, but the craziness (and appetite) hasn't abated much. Our Christmas tree survived, though. Impressive. ;)

We've enjoyed our school field trips over the past year. We saw a children's theatre presentation of "Alexander's Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day", ice skating with a local homeschool group, Como Zoo, Crystal Caves, Pepin, The National Eagle Center, etc.

We welcomed Easton (Amy & Jim's son) into our family on St. Patty's Day (yes, we ARE Irish!). He's adorable. Seriously.

The rest of these pics aren't from any special event...just good pics from the past year that caught my eye tonight.

2008 was a very busy year. We've grown a lot, learned a lot, lost a lot, and gained a lot. We are a truly blessed family. We have wonderful family and friends that are priceless. We have a nice house in a safe and beautiful place, and a good job that provides for our needs. We have lots of love and faith in our Lord. Life is good as we say goodbye to 2008...but we hope 2009 is better! :)

Type 1

2008-12-29T19:50:00.001-06:00

I'm back! I just wanted to give a little info on Erin's disease for those of you who don't know (like me, about 3 weeks ago!)

Type 2 is what we had been a bit familiar with, as Barry's mom had it. Type 2 usually sets in during adulthood (but is increasing in children) and is linked closely to obesity, diet, lack of exercise, etc. Many people need insulin...but many can control their disease with exercise and diet.

Erin has Type 1, or Juvenile Onset Diabetes. It is hereditary, although we cannot find a link in our families. Her pancreas basically shut down and stopped producing enough insulin on it's own to handle the body's glucose. It's very ironic that Erin got this, as she's the healthiest one in the family!

She does have diet restrictions. But, as I had worked fairly hard to give my kids good nutrition, her basic diet hasn't changed much. It's just that she can't have all of those "extras" that we enjoyed before. Well, she can, but she's only allotted so many carbs...and I'd prefer her to get those carbs in the form of whole wheat or fresh fruit instead of, say, candy. :) So, we now bake cookies with applesause and Splenda instead of butter and sugar.

She must take two shots of insulin every day, and we test her blood sugar before every meal, at bedtime, and, until I can relax a bit, at 3am. Along with researching the best nutritional path to take (I'm not a big fan of dietitions and the whole idea of "white bread is the same as whole wheat") I'll also be researching the best insulin program to use (shots vs. the pump, number of shots per day, etc) As you can imagine, I have a LOT of reading and research to do! Ugh. But this is my new life. My baby's future health is in my hands, and I intend to do my utmost. If not, she faces eye deterioration, kidney failure, nerve damage, and heart disease risks.

Anyway, I hope that gives you a quick overview of Type 1. :)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T19:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, I realize I'm a few days behind with my holiday wishes. I just can't seem to catch up with my life. :)

Ok, for those of you who usually receive Christmas cards and letters from us...I'm sorry. With all that's happened this month, something just had to give. I actually called my mom and asked her permission to not do them, which, of course, she immediately granted me. But, alas, the guilt has not left me yet. :) Feeling guilty runs in the family....

Christmas was very good. A couple of days beforehand, I finally came down off of my "high" and emotionally "crashed". I take after my Grandma Dee in that I like to celebrate with food. I usually go all out at Christmas ... bake up a storm and experiment with new appetizers. This year, being under such diet restrictions, my heart just wasn't in it. I admit to feeling sorry for myself...but really more lost than anything. But, I guess with less emphasis on food and gifts (we scaled way back with the yucky ecomomy and the looming medical bills) we enjoyed a much simpler Christmas. I was focused on my family and our health...and the gifts God has blessed me with.

Erin did ok. No major breakdowns, although I certainly wouldn't have held it against her if she had. At my family Christmas, we timed dinner around Erin, and had a sit down dinner, as opposed to the planned "graze on appetizers all night". She said she didn't want to go to Barry's family Christmas. It didn't start until after her dinner time, so she couldn't eat there. She said if she couldn't eat any food there, and shouldn't run around for fear of going "low", then what was the point of going? :) But she went, AND I think she had fun.

I'm still having trouble with my blog on my computer. I just don't understand why I can post and update from Barry's laptop, but not from my computer. (And all of my pictures are on my computer...hence the boring, no picture posts.) So, as of now, I am unable to show you the pictures from the girls' Christmas programs, the pictures of my adorable niece and nephew, etc.

Today the girls and I went shopping in Eau Claire. We needed groceries. I wanted to check out all of the awesome post-Christmas deals on clothes. And the girls wanted to get their much-anticipated hermit crabs from Petco. You wouldn't believe the reading, research and planning Alana has put into this newest venture! When she sets her mind to something, she goes all out! We came home with two new family members...Hermin and Shelly. (Yes, my kids ARE brilliant!)

Other than that, not much is new. I'm currently fighting off a huge headache and sore back...and shopping always puts me in a sour mood. I had originally (pre-diabetes) planned to do school today and tomorrow, but that idea flew out the window. I'm still trying to find my footing. Whereas before I spent all of my free time planning and reading about homeschooling, I now am trying to learn all I can about type 1 diabetes. It's funny to think that a year ago, I was stepping into a new life. Our new journey...homeschooling. And now, exactly a year later, we're taking on a new turn...diabetes. Not that I would ever propose to know what God's thinking, but I have to wonder if God put homeschooling in my heart in preparation for Erin to get sick. I can't imagine sending her off to school now with this disease, so homeschooling is truly a Godsend. He's good...that's all I can say! :)

Hopefully I'll check in before the year is over. (Ha ha..get it?) Hope you all stay safe, healthy, and warm! God bless!