You Don't See That Every Day

 (I wrote this on New Year's Eve but just found time now to publish it.) We've celebrated New Year's Eve in various ways in the past 14 years of marriage. Some years we have gone out to friends' parties - usually pretty tame, like Bunco parties, but still a lot of fun. There have been years when we have been sick, or else some of the kids are sick, so we all stay in and get some sleep. Some years, we have had friends and family over for games. As more and more kids came along, this just became easier for us - we host the party and our little ones can go to bed. Some years all I want to do is go to sleep because I have a nearly-newborn and can't fathom the idea of not sleeping (3 of our 5 children are born in the fall, which means by New Years Eve, they still are not sleeping more than 2 or 3 hours at a time.) Two years ago we spent the evening with a bunch of friends at the church community center, playing games and having a great time. All the kids ran arou...

Another year has gone by. Another year of ideas and things I want to do, and ways I want to live better. In the beginning of the year I called it my "What if" List, Here's a look at the list from 2010 What if... I made G's lunch every day ? Tried it, but it didn't last; sleepless nights and early rising husband don't work together too often. ... I stopped using a credit card ? That has been a great thing! ... went to bed by 10 pm ? Hahahhahahahha ... read my Bible every morning ? I tried. I made it through most, well half of the year. Again .. that new baby .... ... made sure I walked 3 times a week ? Yep, until it started to get really really cold. ... spoke gently to my girls ?Still working on it. I feel I have made progress, but still there is always more to do. And we'll compare it with my What If  list for 2011: What if ... I read through the Bible in a year? ((I'll try again)) ... I ran at least twice, if not three times, a week? (( s...

This is the shirt I went running in this week - both times. Yes, I had more on than just the shirt. It IS windy, rainy, typical Oregon December weather around here. But I am a running billboard now. I make sure to run against the traffic, so that I can see what's coming at me, and so that they can see my shirt. It's bright and bold and beautiful. (side note - I'm starting to love the color orange. I now own two orange shirts, and wear them regularly. I often let my kids wear their orange shirts when we are out in crowds because 1. They are easier to find; and B. We are silently supporting our favorite OSU Beavs.) - back to the story - Does it make you wonder what it's for? What it means? I wondered when I first saw it. Let me tell you a little about it. A couple we know is on the path of adoption. They want to bring home a sweet little baby from Ethiopia. And they are raising money to make this happen - one way is by selling these shirts! The minus one refers ...

Today was spent looking, pondering, playing. We relaxed most of the day, well some of us did. Some of us went upstairs and put up more sheet rock in the afternoon. But others of us had tea and watched a movie and played games. I got some gunpowder this year. (Along with a boatload of other teas! Someone has been reading my blog it appears.) G got some dynamite. Boy, that was a bit of a shock. Until we realized what it actually is. My mom made this ornament for Little K. It's one of her first - K's that is, not my mom's; she's a pro at that kind of thing. And my sister made each one of us a beautiful ornament also! Little K also got a doll for Christmas from Grandma that had matching dresses - I mean the doll's dress and K's' dress from Grandma matched, not that Grandma has a dress that matches the doll. K was pretty much thrilled by that gift. really, she is thrilled, she just doesn't like to sit still for a picture...

Random thoughts from our weekend. We're so in love, even our toothbrushes cuddle. (Does anyone else think like this? Maybe it's just me...) We're going for the Sally Brown look with our youngest. Or we were that day.

The morning started too early. This is a.m. Sigh. Why is it that the children can leap out of bed before 6:30 on this holiday, but it takes an act of Congress to get them awake and out of bed on a school day? Little K opened gifts from her grandma and aunt - new babies! She was so excited; she hugged them and kissed them and talked to them most of the day, carrying them here and there. Our Best Neighbors Ever gifted us with a retro Pac Man game - which the Boy tested out this morning before church. I don't think the girls have yet had a turn on it. And then after church it was time for photo op again. And again - getting the 20 month old to participate on my terms? Nearly impossible. We had to do a little trick photography with my husband helping out in the background. See if you can guess where he is. Finally Little K wanted to take a picture with her sister and their matching dresses. While dinner was cooking the girls played their new game - He...

After a day of preparing for Christmas - shopping, returning certain items, finding the right sizes, colors, shapes; making gifts and delivering goodies - I was able to sit down and relax after our traditional chili and rice supper. And it was photo op time too. The kids were bathed and in their brand new jammies, so we had a little fun with it. Getting 5 kids to cooperate was hard enough; getting a 20-month old to participate was near-impossible. So we tried some funny stuff. . It isn't as easy as it sounds to sit upside down on a couch. But they managed to hold it for a few seconds. And then they turned the camera on us. Of course my husband decided to goof around also. The kids got to pick out one gift to open on this night, and then they were off to bed, a little late, and full of excitement for the next day!

We are getting ready for the upcoming Big Holiday. Christmas is upon us and my scrooge-ish-ness is not being tolerated! We actually went and got a tree. For the past 6 years we have gone to the same tree farm - a tradition the kids look forward to every year. Sometimes we ride the "train" like we did this year, sometimes we just walk out to the field. We took our time finding Just The Right Tree. And actually after hugging one and proclaiming it The One .. we found another which we liked better and took it instead. So the one being hugged here - isn't actulaly the one in our front room today. Plenty of supervisors and helpers to cut the tree and haul it to the truck: The same evening after we got our tree the 4 older kids were dropped at my brother and sister-in-law's house and we didn't see them for 2 days and 2 nights. It was amazingly quiet around our home. I spent the time cleaning a bedroom; shopping for Christmas gifts, and ...

L ittle Kn own F acts #1 I need Christmas music to be able to wrap Christmas gifts. #2 I will run fast across traffic if there are people watching. And then I slow down when I am out of sight. #3 I did not want to get a tree this Christmas. I probably won't even send out cards this time. So now you know ...

And what a way to end the week. I took the kids to home school PE Friday afternoon. We don't go as often as we used to, mainly b/c it is in the middle of nap time. But since the Boy got out of school early, and my dear husband was working from home, I was able to take the 4 older kids in to play. (and Little K got a much needed nap at home.) Part of me wishes I had not. It was sure fun to see my friends again and visit. But what happened next wasn't so fun. Poor sweet girl's head met with another boy's knee. Ouch! See that bump on her forehead - that is not an optical illusion, nor is it her hand on the back of her head. That is the goose egg she was left with! It looked pretty bad, but thankfully she did not have a concussion, and she didn't cry very much either - she has always been a tough one. We monitored her for the evening and nighttime. And she came through with flying colors. I think we I may have 'over' monitored her. I asked her, before...