You Don't See That Every Day

I know it has been awhile since Christmas, but this is the first chance I have had to write. We spent the Christmas day up at my brother's house with most of my family. 7 out of 10 siblings and their offspring were able to make it. We had the young -- the "old" -- and the "in-between" -- We ate tons of food and goodies, played some fun new games. New games at Christmas seems to be a tradition here. Speaking of new games ... an earlier post of mine alluded to a present we were getting our kids. Most years, well every year actually, we buy a few presents for each child, plus a book and a little toy and something sweet to put in their stocking. This year we decided to do it differently. We didn't buy individual gifts for each child; so my holiday shopping was quick and easy since my husband picked up this sweet little number at the store:  and I didn't have to do anything but find the books for the stocking stuffers. The looks on their faces...

This is what I get for leaving my camera around and letting small hands use it: Happy New Year to all of our friends and family!

  The kids mentioned s o many times this previous week how much they would like it to snow on Christmas. In our part of the world, this is a rare - very rare - happening. Just because it snowed the past two years, they think it will all the time. But I'm pretty sure not this year. During the week my husband and son went up to Washington to work on some hardware that needed attention. And there was a lot of snow where they went. They had a great time throwing snowballs at each other. So great of a time, that they decided to bring some snow home for the girls! They loaded up the back of the pickup and brought it home last night. So we had a mini-white Christmas today. Snowballs were whizzing. A mini snowman was built; the neighbors came out to play with us. It was a great way to start the Christmas celebrations!

The gauntlet has been thrown. The challenge has been issued. My niece has dared me to a half-marathon! Me, the one who hasn't run more than 2 miles in over a year; who ran 10 miles over 20 years ago; who hasn't ever run 13 miles. She thinks I'm fat. I just know it. She states it so clearly in her challenge, and I'll show you -- she writes: "I just signed up for a half marathon on April 10th in Corvallis. Check out [the link] if you want to do it too!" So there it is.  A blatant duel for all to see. She must have known I can pinch an inch. Do you recall the Special K cereal ad about pinching an inch? Last night I sat on the couch feeding the baby and realized that, yes indeed, I can pinch an inch. But then, if I stand up, oh it's not quite so bad. Oh and then if I reach my hands up in the air, I can't pinch an inch at all! So if I just go around with my hands up in the air all the time, I won't have a muffin top; I might be mistaken for a semaph...

The menehunes are out and about.

It's been awhile since I've had a word of the week to post. And so *Bonus* you get more than one, and they are words relating to the holiday. 1. " shephen " The 5 year old here sings with gusto. Loud and proud. But not always the "correct" words. In a song they learned in church most sing, "The shepherds came to worship" but she sings "the shephens came..." and so now we all sing that way. 2. Activity Scene; "Mom, we saw an Activity scene at church tonight!" - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus must have been moving around a lot. 3. round of suplause - Grammy likes to ask for a round of applause. Little girl has her own take on it. 4. Jackpot vs plain pot. When we go out looking at Christmas lights, the houses with a ton of lights get the honor of being called a Jackpot. Any house with just a simple string along the gutter was called a Plain-pot. 5. "hervahim"; And finally, the beautiful carol, Silent Night. Most of us k...

I've been away. And business around the funny farm here have been crazy. Here are just a few thoughts I wanted to take time to write down. **Ballet has overtaken our life for the past 2 weeks. Our daughter has now had 3 of her four performances, and they were really good. ** I recently watched the first disc in a series titled "Made in America" which chronicles various products made in ... America. Highly recommend it for all ages. ** Our 5 year old came home from Awana ans told us, "We saw an Activity scene tonight." ( ie. Nativity scene) ** I am having a low-stress holiday this year. We decided to do presents for our kids differently this year - more on that after Christmas because I don't want to spoil the surprise! ** That being said, I told my husband I changed my mind about Christmas gifts this year. Usually we say to each other, "Don't buy me anything," and we end up getting each other some thing. This year, all I want is for those...

A rare sighting of the Ambulatorus Coniferis

There's a saying about clouds and silver linings. It came to me this morning that there is a benefit to having the hives like I do.  Yep, you read that right, there is actually something good about these hives! I don't get the sicknesses that my kids and husband get. My immune system is so weirded out and hyperactive that I might get a tickle in the throat, and have a few sneezes, but this 3 week cyclical cold didn't really touch me like it has the rest of the family! So thanks God for that little blessing. In other news, S is teaching baby K to carpet surf. You may have heard of mattress surfing (eg. Princess Diaries 2) and the famous Hawaiian surfing. But here in Oregon when it rains so much, we have to find other ways to do things. So big brother is teaching little sis to carpet surf. She'll catch on to it eventually.

The girls have been begging me for weeks to bring out "Christmas decorates". So today I pulled out the boxes from the garage labeled Dec. 25. Boxes and boxes and boxes. And inside those were more boxes. And inside those - delightful treasures that we see one month out of the year - our Christmas decorations! I set up the Nativity scenes that I have. I really, really, really like Nativity sets/scenes. As of now we have 5. Is it wrong for me to want more of those? village my mom made I set out all the Christmas candles; hung up the wall hanging and snowflakes; found an arrangement for the stockings; set out the holiday books. Ah, the books. I only bring these special children's books out in December.We have been slowly building our holiday library over the years. Included in it are these titles "The Night Before Christmas" (of course!); "How God Decorated Heaven for Christmas"; "Who Is Coming To Our House?"; Norman Rockwell's Chris...

In my corner of the world this past week I watched my girl dance her ballet in front of a large crowd. It was beautiful. I stayed up way too late, too much. I celebrated my son's birthday. I made cookies and pie, and gave some away. I endured hearing baby cry as she got a chest x-ray. I visited my mom. I ate a great tasting baked blueberry french toast. I ran with my kids again. I learned I need to listen to that little voice inside.

I waited all week. Friday night was going to be great! I was so looking forward to it. Not only was I going out with my husband (and baby K, since she is pretty much attached if I am gone more than an hour) but the other 4 children would be out of the house. For. The. Whole. Night.! Now, I love my kids, and the house is not the same when they are gone. But, oh, we were sure looking forward to some time to relax and talk without interruptions. So I dropped the kids off at my brother and sister in-laws house, and came home to an empty house. Baby was napping and I just did not know what to do with myself. I didn't have a whole lot of time to tackle any projects. And I sure didn't want to do any chores! So I read. Oh so nice! We made it to the company Christmas dinner/ party just as the food was arriving. (good timing!) We were able to eat in peace - a friend held and played with baby while we ate. Well, baby K has had cough and runny nose all week. We figured she had a cold and...

Our son turned 12 yesterday. (what?!how?! yikes!) and we had a great time finding him a gift. He is at the age where 'toys' are more sophisticated, sometimes. He did receive a slingshot and a harmonica from his grandparents - which are not high tech items. But he is at the age where his toys can be enjoyed by his parents too. So, I was quite excited when i saw a local store had remote control vehicles on sale for a fraction - a serious fraction - of the regular price. My husband took on the task of purchasing the item and we presented it to S. at his 'birthday' dinner right before he had to go to youth group. So he didn't get to play with until 9:30 last night. And no, G did not play with it before his son got to. We were good and didn't touch it at all. But we all enjoyed figuring it out last night.

In my corner of the world this past week I ate a lot of food. Not enough to feel sick. But a lot of good tasting food. I watched my husband work on and finish the fence for the wood stove. It keeps the baby out of the area, and it is a great place to dry clothes that don't quite get done in the dryer. I put together the first celebration for our son's 12th birthday. He and a bunch of his buddies played football up at the high school for a couple of hours. A great birthday "party" - minor clean up and I got to stay home in a quiet house. I measured   baby K - looks like at 7 months old, she is 27 inches. I pondered the many blessings God has put into our lives. I introduced my kids to the movie A Christmas Story, you know the one with the classic line "You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" I ran a mile with my son. And it felt good! ** For those of you who have posted comments - thanks! I am trying to figure out a better way to reply, but I don...

playing Rummikub Certain times of the year bring out certain traditions. Holidays of course are full of traditions, family ones and cultural ones. A few years back we started a loose "tradition" of game night on Thursday nights. It doesn't always happen, and we often play games on other nights of the week. We really like board games and card games around here. candle night Another tradition my kids often remind me of is Candle Night. On Fridays during the fall and winter months we have (when I remember) supper by candle light on Friday nights (or sometimes Saturday). The kids enjoy the change - like when the electricity goes out and we have to do everything by candle of flashlight. We scrounge up whichever candles we can that fit the criteria: they have enough wick to burn, and they don't have an overpowering smell; because, really, who wants to smell vanilla bean while eating split pea soup? So I guess you could say I get a candle-lit dinner with my husband n...

Let's look at another one of the blogs on My List.  The writer of this blog is a someone I went to school with. Knit Together (Designs) is just one of her blogs! It covers her knitting projects and patterns, and I am in awe of what she does with her hooks and yarn. Maybe one of these days when I learn pick a hobby and learn to knit I will be using some of her patterns. I just love the baby hats she has made! Her other blog, which I just link to from KTD is called Knit Together. Similar I know but the meaning of the title is so cool. This blog is about her family, and on it she quotes Colossians 2:2 " That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love..." I just love this. My friend is a homeschooling mom of (gulp) 7! She is the first - and only - person I know from my past who homeschools a passel of kids like I do.  I hope you take a peek into her world.

After having time to reflect further on my day of thanksgiving, I have more thoughts. Go figure. I have hit the big leagues! After 38 years of life, and 13 years of marriage, I am The One to Cook the Turkey. On the "odd" years when we don't go to a sibling's house from my side of the family, I get to make the Thanksgiving dinner. My mother in-law did contribute to the meal, but I got the main responsibility for the meat. I used a special secret cooking technique one of my friends taught me. It includes 'massaging' the bird with butter (while the girls made gagging noises) and sticking my special digital thermometer into the turkey breast to keep an eye on the temperature. So I go by temp instead of time. And we had a lovely juice turkey to eat! -*-*- A friend posted on Facebook: "No Turkey day would be complete without a burn to the hand." In my case it's to the arm. However I must not have felt it too much when it happened. Later in the day ...

We had a lovely Giving-thanks day here at home. Grammy and Grandpa Norm came down and joined in the feasting. The table, ready for us prepping the appetizers And we had quite a spread this year for just 8 people to eat. Appetizers: carrots, celery and by request, deviled eggs; On the main menu: Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, corn, stuffing, jello, rolls, cranberry sauce, gravy, and dessert - apple crisp and pumpkin pie with ice cream. We are so blessed beyond anything we deserve; we have so much and so often we take it for granted. We have a loving family, relatively healthy bodies, a roof over our head, a stable job, plenty of food and always enough to pay the bills in a timely manner. Thank you God for all of this and so much more!

Today we had the first snowfall of the season. Now I know for some of our family this is not news-worthy, nor exciting. But for us in the Pacific Northwest the first snowfall ... ANY snowfall is cause for excitement and joy. Before bed last night we kept peeking out the windows to see how much more was coming down. Excitement was already building in our little hearts. Each time I got up with the (teething) baby I peeked out again to see what was there. Nothing coming down, but it was sure bright out. This morning the girls were up first and came rushing out with squeals. It didn't take long for the rest of the house to come awake. Thankfully they ate their breakfasts and got dressed before charging out to play. And thankfully school has been on hiatus this week too. The kids played outside all morning, even though there was no more snow and the sun was starting to shine. It was still cold enough though that melting wasn't very much of an issue. Tonight the snow is still t...

I thought I was all set. Lists and lists were made for preparations of this upcoming holiday. I've gotten a couple of items made ahead of time, so I won't have to worry about those on Thursday. I have my tasks broken into certain days so I won't be doing it all on Thursday morning. I even have my weekly menu planned out. Every day except today that is. I drew a blank on what to cook for supper tonight. Usually it's Friday nights that are questionable - and we end up eating pizza. Because why cook when I can go order my favorite bacon bacon bacon pizza a few minutes down the road?! Yes, if we had no children we would support the entire staff of that certain pizza shop! But thankfully for my  health, we don't get to order pizza every night. So I had to come up with something from the cupboards tonight. And even though it is not a 'favorite' of anyone in the family but me, I went ahead and made my chicken rice casserole. It comes from a recipe my mom passed o...

This is what we do on rainy days. Chill on the couch. "Cook" for each other. Put together puzzles. The weather outlook here is rain - rain - rain, maybe a bit of snow, and more rain with wind. Outside it's quite cold, but inside it's rather nice with the wood stove cranked up, and the kids playing quietly!

In my corner of the world this past week ... I felt baby's 2 new teeth; I bought winter gloves and snow pants for the kids; I watched K pull herself up on the edge of the couch; I prayed for a very sick little boy in Texas; last we heard he was recovering; I studied the Proverbs 31 woman in Bible study - a goal to strive for not a yardstick to measure myself against; I finished the Gary Thomas book I was reading, finally. It's called "The Beautiful Fight" and it is a very good book! I highly recommend any of his books. I read our National Geographic magazine; and I learned not to underestimate my kids - today while I was out, my two M girls were in their room ... praying!

A rainbow! Raking leaves is fun! Baby K has learned to pull herself up the shirt says it all.

Friday nights are sure different now, compared to 10, 15, 20 years ago. Ten years ago we had only two children, aged newborn and 2 yrs. Friday nights were usually very quiet - the kids in bed and us finally trying to relax for the week. Thirteen years ago we were newlyweds. Friday nights were for eating out, going to a movie, staying up until midnight. Fifteen years ago G and I were not even dating. Which means we hung out with all kinds of friends, going places, finishing off the work week. Quite a different scene. Twenty years ago we were both still in college. (Go Beavs!) So Friday nights were usually spent having fun with friends, finding a movie to watch, or eating. Lots of eating. And staying up really late, until the a.m. Tonight we had Chinese takeout (and ice cream) and then spent the evening playing games with the kids while baby jumped in her bouncy seat. Noisier than 10 years ago. But I wouldn't change it for anything.

If you look way over to the right side of this blog page you might notice a list of blogs handily referred to as My Blog List . Sometimes I check every single one in a day, sometimes I jump around and pick a few that I regularly read. Today I decided to spotlight one of these blogs, to give you a chance to try something new, and to give the blogger a little exposure, whether they like it or not! So I'll go right to the very middle and tell you about ..... " Nate's Nonsense ". I came across this blog by reading another blog on my list, Old Picture of the Day. The jest and enmity between the two writers struck my funny bone. I found the historic information included in some of the blogs to be fascinating. And then the ability the blogger has to identify old pictures is just amazing. You see, every Saturday Old Picture blog has a Mystery Person contest, and the writer of Nate's Nonsense seems to know the right answer. Every. Week. How?! I'm mystified. So, now N...

I received a quilt in the mail last week. It was actually for Baby K, but she isn't up to running out to the mailbox just yet. (She is however crawling all over, and now pulling herself up to standing if the stool or a person is handy. (yikes)) So the quilt is from one of my sisters-in- law; and it's so special, because it was her first completed quilt. Long ago my grandmother - a very accomplished, much-sought-after quilter - made a baby quilt with this bunny pattern. The cabbages background represent the farm - since I took baby K out there during the summer while we worked. The pink John Deere material - the corners and 'clothing' - represent the the strength from God to help her achieve her purpose; and the heart stitching in the corners signifies the hope she will develop a heart of love for Jesus. The quilted straight lines through the cabbages and edging (which is Old MacDonald material) symbolize the straight paths that are helpful on a farm, and in our lives...