Helping Hands Make for Light Work...

or not....

As Caleb gets older he is just blossoming into a helpful, exuberant child who wants to be with his Mama and pitch in with her daily work as much as he can. So the other day when I was taking a little break I heard the dishwasher being "unloaded." Upon further investigation I realized it wasn't any of the older ones, but Caleb, taking the initiative to keep our kitchen clean!

Now if only he realized that the junk drawer was not the silverware drawer.

Bedtime Snacks

I think it's universal. RIGHT before bed, kids start wanting a snack. Whether it's trying to put off the inevitable, or just getting a case of the munchies, who knows. But I remember doing it when I was a kid.

How my parents dealt with this was to say, "Here's some carrots. If you're really are hungry, you'll eat them." And it always worked. I was always looking for some treat or something fun. Not carrots! So I would forgo the snack and go to bed.

Well now that I have children, I have found myself saying the same thing. "If you're really hungry, you'll eat carrots." Expecting them to walk away and just go to bed. Nope, not my kids. They say, "YEAH Carrots, can we have some hummus with them?!?!" well you can't deny them that! So they sit down with a bag of carrots and hummus and munch to their hearts content.

I guess they truly are hungry. :)

And what's even funnier? I find my husband looking for a bedtime snack every once in a while. And what does he choose?

Yup, carrots...

Sweet Little Tiny Precious

This last weekend we went to visit cousin Angie and her new baby girl. Beautiful Anaka Laurel. What a precious little baby. She was just so tiny and sweet. Weighing in at almost 6 3/4 lbs. She truly looked like a little doll. Sofie's Ruthie doll was bigger than her! I know it's been said many times before, but you FORGET how TINY they are the instant your own baby isn't that tiny anymore. Her little tiny ears, and her little tiny mouth. It's just amazing something so tiny can survive and thrive and grow this big.

I was so excited to share my substantial storehouse of baby goods with little Anaka. And to see the newest edition in the bassinet that I have brought all my babies home to? It was too sweet for words.

To Begin Again

Hello all,

Yes, I'm still here.

No, I have not completely giving up on blogging.

This last month has been an interesting one, but things are looking up, and I am feeling the itch to record my children's childhood once again.

Those "interesting" months pop up so unexpectedly, don't they. Life seems to stay the same for so long that you fall into this false sense of security that it's going to be like that forever. And it's just not.

At a routine Dr. appointment I found out that I needed to increase some medication that I take. ( I take thyroid hormone because I've got a bum one.) No big deal, I've had increases before. But this time proved to be different. I kept getting sent for more tests and more tests until it culminated in a biopsy (where they used FIVE needles) and the "C" word (you know, cancer) started to be volleyed around. Praise the Lord God up above through whom ALL blessings flow, the tests came back benign. But now I get to play the "Watch the Nodule" game for the next 5 years.

Then to really have it hammered home that life is not picture perfect, a great opportunity to lead was offered to a friend of mine. Who knew the "opportunity" would NOT be an "opportunity" to lead and serve, but an "opportunity" to take the high road through character assassination and pettiness. It has been so frustrating and deeply saddening to watch and be helpless.

ANYWAY!

As my thyroid levels are being brought back up to normal, I am starting to feel "normal" again and am starting to have the energy to enjoy the things that I normally do.

This bum thyroid thing is so funny. I can't necessarily tell that I am getting "low" I just get pathologically lazy. Which I can't self-diagnose when I'm in the middle of it. I just berate myself that I need to tighten up those bootstraps a little tighter.

BUT now, on the upswing, I start to be able to see where I have fallen apart and can tackle those big tasks that seemed insurmountable a few weeks earlier.

For instance the space beside my bed. Um, scary, I wish I would've had the where-with-all to take a "before" picture. But suffice to say, if you've seen any of those "compulsive hoarder" shows, I was rivaling the best of 'em. But now, I look like a hoarder of magazines and books, no more.

Also on this upswing these are getting used much more often. I've got a new training schedule and have the days counted to my 1st road race. Let the racing season begin!

And the kids, thankfully they have been oblivious to all the drama and have been napping, relaxing, and just plain enjoying their childhood as much as ever. (Well at least most of the time. :) )

Icecicles

I don't know why, but this year there have been a shocking amount of icicles hanging from our house. It must be from a the thawing and freezing that has been going on.

But instead of fretting about ice-dams and roof damage. I decided to let the kids have fun with them instead. They had been watching them grow for days and were beyond excited to finally go collect some. (And yes, I know that an icicle to the head would be a very bad thing. Before they went out I knocked down all the questionable ones, and then we made a very firm rule that everyone had to be on the porch before anyone could knock them down)

One of the kids would throw the ball at the icicles. (It was usually Sofie. She was the one who could reliably hit them) And then they would all scramble to the indents in the snow and pull them out. They did this for a couple of hours! Who knew some ice and a deflated ball could be so much fun. But these are the kind of activities that make me happy. The kids, working together, playing with found objects, truly entertaining themselves. No TV, computer, or Wii in sight. Aaahhh...

He's Golden

We recently celebrated John's 6th birthday!

I have come to love this February birthday time. When he was born I was a little hesitant about his day being so close to Christmas, and granted, people are sometimes a little "familied out" by the time his birthday rolls around. But I am finding it a great distraction in the middle of the great winter yawn.

I also completely enjoy that my family makes the trek up for his birthday almost every year. (there is usually a motorcycle show that is going on on the same weekend to entice them as well...) It's one of the few times during the year where there aren't vacations and/ or hunting trips to compete with.

I tell ya, it's a great time of year to have a party.

The day started out with pancakes. John's favorite breakfast. Then the guys decided it was time to hit the motorcycle show, to which John decided that he did NOT want to go to. Crazy kid. But it was his birthday, so O.k.

We tried something a little different this birthday. We let him open up the gifts through out the day instead of keeping them all till the party. Which I am really starting to like that tradition. That way they are enjoying each present instead of being overwhelmed at once. Plus, then the whole day is special instead of just the end.

We had a Taco bar for supper and I pulled myself together and made a birthday cake. I guess I'm becoming some-what famous for all my birthday cakes. My neice had been peppering her Mom with question all day about what it was going to be this year. :) Caleb especially enjoyed the cake. He needed a sink bath after that escapade. Fun was had by all.

Oh, and we did manage to infect a lot of people with the cold that had been going around our house. Sorry to everyone who is suffering at this point... They are just little germ factories I tell ya. :)

Homeschool Co-op, Valentine's Style

We are thoroughly enjoying our homeschool co-op this year. Both Sofia and John are in Creation Science, Art, and Gym classes. Sofie says that Science is her favorite class, John says that his is Gym. :)

While Sofie and John are in their classes all morning, Lilia, Caleb, and I have plenty of time for socialization and fellowship with fellow homeschoolers. Truly one of the highlights of my week!

Today was a special Co-op because we were celebrating Valentines Day. We decorated a box and made enough Valentines for our entire co-op. It was lots of work, but well worth it. The kids were so excited about all their "loot."

This year they also had a clown who did face painting and a little show with some "magic tricks." It was very cute.

The icing on the cake for our homeschool co-op day's is that this is all the closer we get to doing schoolwork. :)