February 29, 2012

My BFF’s daughters got all gussied up for a trip to the symphony today. Don’t they look gorgeous?!

Blessings:

1. My new phone actually works as a phone inside my house! Yay! I used to have a camera that made occasional phone calls. Now I think I have a cell phone that also takes pictures! Whoohoo!

2. Great co-workers. I know…I know. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. I work with great people.

3. “Free” time. I am going to have some time for sewing this afternoon! Yay!

4. I’m done with my work day and it’s not even 4pm!

5. Those beautiful ladies above and their mama. I love that family!

February 28, 2012

Playing with my new cell phone. I can take an abstracty close up with it!

Blessings:

1. I got my new cell phone! I love new geeky gadgets! (If you’re interested, it’s an htc Rezound.)

2. This phone will actually allow me to talk on the phone in my house!! Yay!

3. Little Man got a clean bill of health at his follow up today!

4. Have I mentioned how much I love having teens that can prepare dinner?

5. Little Man is starting to sleep a bit more again. I’m really hopeful that tonight won’t be a 3+ wake-up night.

February 27, 2012

Oops. Caleb accidentally threw the dog's toy in the tree. He did eventually get it down with that broken rake.

Blessings:

1. My kids are playing math games. On their own. Yay!

2. I’m a babywearing, cloth diapering, homeschooling weirdo. Back in the day (before children) I couldn’t imagine wanting to wear my baby around the house or putting cloth diapers on ON PURPOSE! I definitely would have called it weird. But I love all of it!

3. Easy, mindless jobs at work. Whew. I needed some less taxing tasks!

4. It’s almost bedtime. It’s one of those days when the kid noise is just too much for me. I’m ready for quiet.

5. It was a beautiful day, and the kids spent a lot of time playing outside. Yay for outdoor days!

February 26, 2012

Blessings:

1. Lunch out at Fiesta en Jalisco. No cooking – yay!

2. Our “outside the comfort zone” worship service went well. Whew!

3. My afternoon – “I'm pretty sure the clock just struck naptime.”

4. I learned how to clean and oil my sewing machine, and now it’s working like a well-oiled machine!

5. A peaceful, successful Sunday.

February 25, 2012

Breakfast in Scrivnerburg
Blessings:
1. I can give my kids ice cream sandwiches for breakfast if I want to. I’m the mommy!
2. The best-ever chocolate chip cookies. They are sooooo good!
3. Easy-peasy cloth diapers. I know…I’m kinda obsessed with cloth diapers right now…but I found this site this morning, and now Little Man is almost all outfitted with cloth diapers! (Can you just imagine how much money we will save?)
4. Bountiful Baskets. I know I’ve said it almost every time we get a basket, but this time was especially exciting because I volunteered. I didn’t expect it to be fun! It was great!
5. I got a lot done today. I made progress on a big project, I volunteered at BB, I tended kids, prepared music, made diapers…busy day!

February 24, 2012

It’s National Tortilla Chip Day! We celebrated by having nachos for dinner.
Blessings:
1. Nachos for dinner!
2. Progress at work. I’ve been on special projects so long I haven’t been able to get my normal workload done. I finally got back to my normal duties and made progress today. Whew!
3. Movie night! Tonight it’s Puss in Boots. Fun times!
4. My husband. Yep – him again. He did school with only a half hour nap after his night of work, he straightened up the pantry, and now he’s making chocolate chip cookies. He’s a keeper.
5. Time to relax with my darling beloved. Did I mention that I like him a LOT?

February 23, 2012

Some afternoons are just sleepy.

Blessings:

1. A day off school. There was a combination of factors that caused us to call today an in-service day for Scrivnerburg Academy. Yay!

2. My kids are nerds. My kids are playing a game - Andrew is the "soft g" and Caleb is the "hard g." Apparently the soft g is the good guy and the hard g is a meanie.

3. Finished projects! I have finished up the special projects for work – YAY!

4. Leftovers for dinner. I made Cheeseburger Soup last night, and we have enough to have it tonight. Yay! I love nights “off” of cooking!

5. Time to blog. I am not rushing to post this blog before bed, or even worse, posting it the next morning because my day ran out of hours! Because we took the day off school and I got the work projects done, I have some “free” time to post my blog! Whoohoo!

February 22, 2012

Andrew and I were playing with Pudding Camera again.

 

Blessings:

1. Little Man ate his first non-pureed food! Until now he's completely rejected anything that wasn't pureed, but today he stole my Nutri-grain bar! (smashed up for his eating pleasure)

2. I think these Tushie Ties diapers are so cute. I love cloth diapering – they make cute behinds, and the have so many other benefits – and these are just about the most adorable cloth diapers I’ve ever seen! (I’ve also been having way too much fun shopping online for cloth diapers.)

3. My mom. She comes to listen to the kids read, she offers encouragement, she’s funny (that’s especially helpful on stressful days)…I’m just thankful to have my mom around.

4. Getting stuff done. Sometimes it only take a few minutes, but I just keep putting a job off and putting it off…today I took about 7 minutes to make the laundry room navigable. It wasn’t that hard, but it made a BIG difference.

5. Sleepy baby. Little Man fell asleep in my arms this evening (a rare occurrence), and I just love the droopy, sleepy weight and the soft snores.

February 21, 2012

 

Blessings:

1. An afternoon with my mom.

2. Kids who are easy to please. An egg, bacon, and hash brown mixture is enough to make me the most popular mom in town.

3. Another new and different project at work. Sometimes a challenge is good for me!

4. Watching kids learn. Their sponge-like brains are AMAZING!

5. Pudding Camera – I love this cell phone app! Today’s photo just makes me happy. I’ve been having so much fun playing with Pudding Camera, but I think my kids are getting a bit tired of me taking their picture every 38 seconds.

February 20, 2012

Playing with Pudding Camera for my htc Incredible.

Blessings:

1. Air.

2. Food.

3. Work.

4. Sleep.

5. Babies.

(Can you tell today was a Monday?)

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck

I got to read a new book! I haven’t read for pleasure in waaaaay too long, and my wonderful Kindle has been gathering dust for months. After my last book review for Multnomah WaterBrook I got to choose a new book to review. This time I chose fiction – The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck, by Kathleen Y’Barbo. It’s a period romance, and it was fun!

The book caught my attention immediately because the heroine is a spunky, fun-loving girl-wanting-to-be-a-woman. I remember being that girl! The tension was believable, and the story was fun. A great combination!

The story line took a few unexpected twists and resolved with a satisfying, if predictable, ending – just what one wants from a lighthearted romance. I do wish that the issue of faith had been more deeply explored, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and taking the time to read something just for fun (I don’t do that often enough!).

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

February 19, 2012

Maple Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

 

Blessings:

1. Little Man is finally learning to get himself to the “thing” he wants! Until now he’s just rolled and rolled and ended up where ever the roll ended, but today he purposely maneuvered himself to roll to the toy he wanted. Yay, Little Man!

2. I love this quote from my friend Elle -

When you hear bad news (and there’s plenty of it floating around these days within the sound bytes of life), don’t ask “God, why?”; instead ask, “God, how can I contribute to the solution?”

3. An impromptu taco lunch at Nana’s. I love our family!

4. Sunday naps. (I’m planning on one in the next five minutes.)

5. Friend of God.

February 18, 2012

These footie friends make me smile. I’m sorry this is just a cell phone snapshot, but that’s all I was able to do today. I think I’m going to make an effort to take some real photos tomorrow.

Blessings:

1. The big phase (for me) of the project at work is done. Whew!

2. Time to practice for worship tomorrow.

3. Baby snuggles.

4. Down time.

5. God is good.

February 17, 2012

I have it on good authority that this is the habitat of invisible leprechauns. Apparently they're asleep right now - my 6-year-old tells me they sleep until spring - but they're there. (But since they're invisible it's hard to verify that fact.)

Blessings:

1. Fabulous imaginations. I love the way the kids see the world through their own imagination filter.

2. Sunshine. It’s so pretty outside. I didn’t realize how much I needed sunshine!

3. Movie time with my sweetie. We watched Moneyball. It was a good movie, but there was a lot of language for a  PG-13.

4. Ice cream.

5. Little Man is giggling and smiling again!

February 16, 2012

The desire to control the remote starts early. This 8-year-old ALWAYS wants to be in charge of the remote!

Blessings:

1. Little Man is eating again! Yay!

2. I enjoy my co-workers.

3. Little Man can sit up unassisted! One day he couldn’t and the next day he could. Go Little Man!

4. I have children who are concerned about the spiritual welfare of others. I love their tender, loving hearts.

5. Our friend JoAnn comes and reads with our kids every Thursday. She is such a blessing – and she truly loves her time with our kids.

February 15, 2012

Neb treatment time.

Blessings:

1. A 14-year-old boy who can administer nebulizer treatments!

2. Psalm 35:9-10

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁹ Then I will rejoice in the LORD.
      I will be glad because he rescues me.
¹⁰ With every bone in my body I will praise him:
      “LORD, who can compare with you?
   Who else rescues the helpless from the strong?
      Who else protects the helpless and poor from those who rob them?”

3. Prayer time. With Little Man being sick and not sleeping much, I haven’t been able to find my prayer time. Today was the first time in a week that I had been able to use the early morning hours for prayer. So much more peaceful!

4. I got to be a part of THIS. My friend Elle is really making a difference.

5. My  mom gave us ham for dinner. Yay! I don’t have to create an entire meal! I’ll just add some sides and call it food. Thanks, Mom!

February 14, 2012

A couple of my sweet men got me this adorable ladybug for Valentine’s Day. Isn’t it cute?

Blessings:

1. A Valentine’s gift! I love gifts!

2. Getting done with work before dinner. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve done that, and it’s wonderful!

3. Stuffed mushrooms with dinner. I can’t wait!

4. God sees me through stressful and difficult times. I am thankful.

5. Little Man is feeling better. He’s not all well yet, but he’s started eating again. Yay!

February 13, 2012

Little Man was happy to hang out in the Jumperoo, but he didn’t do a lot of jumping.

 

Blessings:

1. A clinic that will get us in quickly. They have never failed to fit us in on a busy Monday when we’ve needed to see a doctor. (Little Man sounds pretty rough.)

2. A short school day. The reason for it isn’t so much a blessing – this nasty cold is catching kids all over Scrivnerburg – but we only had 4 students (and no helper because she was sick), and the day went fast!

3. A nice afternoon with two of my favorite men. Even if one of them is sick, it was still a nice time in Hamilton. And Little Man is getting some medicine to help him feel better.

4. Quiet time for work. Having a bunch of sick kids means that they go to bed quickly and easily. See? Something good does come of sneezy, snotty, snarfly sickness.

5. Little Man is breathing a little better. After the meds the doctor started him on he’s not sounding quite so terrible with each breath.

Oh – sweetness alert: As I was walking the house with Little Man trying to soothe him I was just talking talking talking to him, and one of the things I said was “You can’t breathe, Baby. That’s no fun.” Nathan heard “you can’t breathe” and started to cry thinking Little Man was going to die. Little Man and I immediately assured him that LM’s breathing problems were relatively minor, and he was going to be fine. I just love how concerned Nathan was though. Sweet boy.

February 12, 2012

Caleb wanted to take pictures of the sky this evening, so we stepped outside and took turns trying to get a shot we liked. This was one of mine.

Blessings:

1. Dale Isaac. Today is our oldest son’s 14th birthday. He is truly a blessing – a sweet, considerate, helpful young man. I can’t believe he’s 14 already!

2. Lunch at Pizza Hut! I love Pizza Hut pan pizza, and that’s the restaurant Dale chose for his birthday meal. Yay! I win!

3. An uplifting time at church. I love going to church and feeling energized by being there!

4. Bakery muffins for breakfast. My husband likes to have something special for Sunday breakfast, but sometimes it just seems like a lot of work (especially when Baby is sick) to get up and make pancakes, coffee cake, or a breakfast casserole. Today my sweetie brought home bakery muffins. It was so nice to just sit down and eat breakfast!

5. I’m watching the Veggie Tales movie Pistachio with Caleb, and I just found my theme song. (I can’t believe I hadn’t ever watched this Veggie before!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nepjrjaia4s

February 11, 2012

After a long, sleepless night Little Man is happily playing with his squishy block.Why couldn't he have done this last night? I could have dozed if he would have played happily. :(

My friend tells me that squishy blocks are only active during the daytime. They are no fun to play with at night.

Blessings:

1. Once again, Bountiful Baskets is on my list. We got some really good stuff today! I can’t wait for the corn!

2. Time to recuperate. Little Man did not sleep at all last night, so I didn’t sleep at all last night. I did get a chance to nap today, and then I spent significant time doing nothing.

3. My mom. I love my mom anyway, but she was a special blessing today when she watched 4 of my boys while I picked up baskets and baskets of produce. I’m so thankful to have people close by who help us with our children.

4. Passing the time chatting with strangers. While I stood in line for the produce for an extra 20 minutes I got to chat with a woman from Missoula. We had a very nice conversation, and it was a great way to pass the wait.

5. God’s provision. He never fails to surprise me with His abundant provision.

February 10, 2011

 

Blessings:

1. I got to make a great kid happy. Our oldest son will be 14 on Sunday. For his 14th birthday we got him a cell phone. He is absolutely thrilled with it!

2. Gathering with friends. We went to a “See You Later Party” for some church friends this evening. We’re going to miss them, but we did have a lot of fun gathering to send them off.

3. Not having to cook dinner. Yay! (We ate at the party.)

4. My fabulous husband. I just love him.

5. Psych. It’s a fun show to watch on Netflix while the baby is NOT sleeping because of his cold.

February 9, 2012

This shot of these cute little rose earrings is the ONLY picture I took today. I took this with my phone so I could send it to my friend to find out if they belonged to her. I didn't even pick up a camera the rest of the day. Shame, shame.

Blessings:

1. A phone call from my dad. It doesn’t happen often. It was nice!

2. A quiet house. There was a short period of time this afternoon when there was only me and a tiny man in the house. That was nice!

3. Another interesting project at work. I like getting special projects – the diversion from same-old, same-old is nice. (Yes, I have “nice” theme going.)

4. Peace. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3

5. Bedtime. I’m ready!

February 8, 2012

Hard at work on spelling words. Shot with Magic Hour for my htc Incredible.

Blessings:

1. Naps. I seem to have some bug that has me completely wiped out – I’ve taken two short naps today.

2. Bread. I love having more bread than we can fit in our freezer. (We share what we can’t use.)

3. Kids who can straighten up. The boys that were home got a bit carried away while I was trying to nap, so I couldn’t nap. I told them that if their sick mama couldn’t nap they were going to clean. So they did! The house looks much better than it did a couple hours ago!

4. Robins! The robins are back!

5. Friends who bring dinner. Praise the Lord!

February 7, 2012

My sweetie brought me flowers...I love having a bit of color in the middle of this drab month! (It must be noted that he brought these home a couple days ago – I just remember to take their portrait.)

Blessings:

1. You Are My King.

2. Flowers. I just love flowers. Especially daisies.

3. Kids who can cook. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I love having boys who are old enough and capable enough to prepare meals. (Even if they can’t focus on meal preparation when the tv is on.)

4. Encouraging words from a friend. It’s always nice to hear that one has been a blessing to someone else.

5. Getting bills paid. It always makes me feel so satisfied to have our bills paid. Much poorer, but satisfied.

February 6, 2012

Little Man loves his Aunt Felice.

Blessings:

1. Flowers. My honey bought me some the other day, and I forgot to be thankful.

2. No bedtime tears tonight. Whew.

3. Prayer time. I’ve been making a point to take the time again each morning, and even if I go past 7:00am Caleb tiptoes out to the living room and waits quietly until I’m done praying.

4. This morning Caleb asked if we could pray together when my personal prayer time was done. Such a sweet, tender-hearted boy.

5. Cake Wrecks. When I need a bit of a giggle I can always count on Cake Wrecks to lift my mood. The ones with the Star Trek references not only lift my mood, they bolster my faith in humanity.

February 5, 2012

Austin doesn’t show up in photos very often – I think he’s usually moving too fast to be caught by the camera!

Blessings:

1. A chatterbox baby. I love all the talking he does! (I keep trying to get a recording, but he seems to have a sixth sense about such things, and he stops talking as soon the recorder starts.)

2. Super Bowl food. Mmmm. I made that Stuffed Wheat Bread and Ken made the best ever chocolate chip cookies.

3. Kristi Rose Toes. It’s been a while coming, but our littlest woman has really started to calm down and settle into a sweet, helpful girl. She’s made so much progress recently that it really shows us how good it is for her to be out of the public school environment.

4. See that happy face on that boy up there? That’s the way he looks most of the time. His happiness is such a blessing. I wonder if he was as happy as an infant as Little Man is.

5. My husband. He’s wonderful.

February 4, 2012

I did a few portraits of Little Man today. I captured a couple superdy cute ones…I wish I could share them! But his two-toothy grin is still cute.

Blessings:

1. A totally lazy day! Yay!

2. A much better outlook than yesterday.

3. Andrew is cooking chicken tenders for dinner – from scratch. I love that he wants to cook for the whole family, even if it still takes constant supervision.

4. My parents still have the ability to surprise me.

5. Hallelujah (Your Love Makes Me Sing)!

February 3, 2012

This is the only picture I've been able to take today. My homeschooled kids had been told that it was time for quiet, and my 6-year-old was eager to speak again.

Some days the blessings are harder to find.

1. I got almost 7 hours of sleep last night!

2. I had a nice afternoon with my mother.

3. Little Man is the happiest baby – and his happy is contagious.

4. It’s movie night in Scrivnerburg.

5. My slow cooker makes my life so much easier!

February 2, 2012

Little Man had a great time scratching and bopping at this box. Babies are so easy to entertain.

Blessings:
1. 1, 2, 3, 4. Now it’s time to Praise the Lord. We play a game in Scrivnerburg when we see a clock showing 12:34. I sing-song “1, 2, 3, 4. Now it’s time to Praise the Lord!” and the kids each share something they’re thankful for. Today the kids who were present thanked God for Little Man, family, and the world.
2. Babies are so easy to entertain!
3. Good friends. I love my good friends.
4. I have 8 kids who think I’m pretty wonderful.
5. Um…in 5 years the things that are weighing on me now will hardly even be remembered.

February 1, 2012

Udderly Peanut Butterly ice cream with chocolate chips. Do you think my husband might like chocolate and peanut butter?

Blessings:

1. My mother. I am so thankful that I have a wonderful mother, and that I still have her with me. And that she has continued to love me even when I haven’t been lovable.

2. Tender hearts. We were watching American Idol and the story about Jessica Phillips and her boyfriend D'Angelo Perry came on. After hearing about this young man who'd had a devastating stroke Andrew asked if we could pray for him. I love the fact that our kids see and feel the needs of others.

3. When the blessings are hard to find there’s always ice cream.

4. Impromptu Coffee Klatsches. This morning Felice dropped by, my mom came for coffee, and my friend Deb called to see if she could visit. The four of us had a wonderful visit!

5. As my friend Elle says, “from rain comes flowers.”