Lot's of pic's, not much to say...

The snow is still here, can you believe we haven't gotten a pineapple express yet?

Usually here in the NW, we get snow, just start to whip out the sleds and a dog gone Pineapple Express(sudden warm winds from around Hawaii) come and wooshes it all to flooding in hours. Not this time, yay!

It snowed all day here again, never got above freezing.

Here are some snow pic's I took after Christmas and around New Years.

Branches bowing very low...we almost lost our big white van in all this. It camo'ed quite well!

My husband showing Jacob how a real man hits a snow drift and has to spend 2 minutes working his bike out.

Jake the dog(as we call him to discern between Jake-the-kid) very upset that I would have the audacity to walk off the yard without him.

So pretty...says I.

I didn't have to shovel it.

Then a day or two of thaw and the driveway was mud, but that didn't stop the sledders! Just be thankful YOU are not their mother who had to WASH all the soaked muddy frightful snowsuits.

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Ahhhh...another homeschool moment. If you are from, or affiliated with, the Dept of Wildlife please find another blog to read at this time. So anyways...Paul goes to work and finds this poor barn owl crawled near the entrance to Andgar to find shelter and then died over the freezing cold night. We are thinking he was quite old and near the end anyhow. So he did what any good HS father would do, threw him in the back of his truck. I will spare you the details, but lets say we had fun looking at him up close and personal, part of him will always be with us....oops, did I just say that?

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On to our neighbors New Years party. They rented a school not far from our homes this year as there was a gob of children in their home last year. So we had space with tables of food, games, crafts and more food. Here are the masters pumping out large quantities of oliebollen. They had quite the system in place.

Of the many games, the pinata was a hit(ha ha). Micah is all boy. He beat the tar out of the poor thing. Mr. VB could hardly pull it up fast enough.

There was plenty for the kids to do... Gracie was second up and doing everything she could to climb up Jessie to get away from the UFO.

Emma got a little too *into* it and wound up with her scarf wrapped around her head, lol!

In the end there was candy everywhere!

Micah loved the felt coloring, singing away as he colored.

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So I FINALLY have a dog in heat and brought it over for breeding today. The job was done, I came home to mark the due date and guess what? Her due date is my due date. March 7. Pretty depressing when the dog will go through her entire pregnancy in the 9 short weeks I have left! Oh well, dogs are always on time, I am not. I will have something to look forward to on my due date other than *just another day*.

Oliebollen here we come...

Tonight is our annual trip to our neighbors Oliebollen, I mean New Years, celebration. An Oliebol is pure delight. You must be of Dutch decent to truly enjoy them, o.k., no you don't. They are heaven. Oliebol is literally translated lard balls or oil cakes, not the most appetizing name for a food, but you know anything fried should be good. They are fried cake-like balls with apple and raisins. They are glazed, plain, rolled in sugar(ewe) or sprinkled with powdered sugar(yum).

All over Lynden at the bakeries and most cafes you can pick up Oliebollen 2 for $1 in December. It is a traditional Dutch food that is mostly eaten at New Years. Perfectly simple to make, even the itty bitty ones can get in on the fun. Here is only one recipe if you'd like to try them, we prefer to make them with raisins then slightly overcook them so the raisins get crispy, them pick them out first for a chewy candy-like treat! Oh the bliss.

AllRecipes.com

Today we have had a *first*. We had a couple inches of snow fall overnight, woohoo!, and the children are out sledding behind the bikes...This is the great part and the *first*...Daddy nor I are not riding them! We are warm in the house! Yippeee! I did not have to get all bundled up to go out for endless rounds around the field pulling everyone. Yes, we know about ATV accidents. Yes, they are supervised. Yes, there is a speed limit. What a perfect way to spend New Years...all the kids OUTSIDE!

Our oldest son Jacob 10, is need of physical exertion we have noticed. He got up this morning got dressed went out and rode his bike haaaard in the snow! He rode and rode and I am sure it was hard work! He came in with red cheeks and happy as a clam huff'in and puff'in.

New Year

O Lord,

Length of days does not profit me

except the days are passed in thy presence,

in thy service, to thy glory.

Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,

that I may not be one moment apart from thee,

but may rely on they Spirit

to supply every thought,

speak in every word,

direct every step,

prosper every work,

build up every mote of faith,

and give me a desire

to show forth they praise;

testify thy love,

advance thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,

with thee, O Father, as my harbour,

thee, O Son, at my helm,

thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.

Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,

my lamp burning,

my ear open to thy calls,

my heart full of love,

my soul free.

Give me thy grace to sanctify me,

thy comforts to cheer,

thy wisdom to teach,

thy right hand to guide,

thy counsel to instruct,

thy law to judge,

thy presence to stabilize.

May thy fear be my awe,

thy triumphs my joy.

Taken from The Valley Of Vision

Happy new year!!

I can't believe I just stayed up until midnight. I haven't done that in years!

We ended up renting Prince Caspian and I got so caught up in that movie I never fell asleep. Jessica, Jacob and Daniel were the brave ones tonight who stayed up with Daddy and I. We had a very special night with all the special little touches that make New Years memorable and tomorrow is Oliebollen with our friends...we reeeeally look forward to that! No shotguns this year, we didn't want the little ones waking so we did fireworks. I'm tired. Goodnight.

Year's End

O Love Beyond Compare,

Thou art good when thou givest,

when thou takest away,

when the sun shines upon,

when night gathers over me.

Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,

and did love me still,

in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.

Thy goodness has been with me during another year,

leading me through a twisting wilderness,

in retreat helping me to advance,

when beaten back making sure headway.

Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;

I hoist sail and draw up anchor,

With thee as the blessed Pilot of my future as of my past.

I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.

If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,

thou wilt be with me in them;

If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,

I shall not drown;

If I am to die,

I shall see thy face the sooner;

If a painful end is to be my lot,

grant me grace that my faith fail not;

If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,

I can make no stipulation;

Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,

as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.

- Taken from The Valley of Vision

Thoughts on Babies

Do you see that ticker above? 76 days to go until baby! That is aaaaalmost 2.5 months left. As I sit here typing I am being kicked and punched as I try to convince little one he has to wait for 76 more days. If he is a good baby he will ONLY wait 76 days. His presence is announced every couple minutes now with movements and twisting. I now wake in the night a couple times to his rumbling. He is 15" and 2.5lbs.

Micah(3.5yrs) talks about him daily. He reeeeeally understands there is a baby brother in there for him and soon he will be holding him. He is planning all sorts of fun. The talk is increasing more and more as everyone can feel *little one* kicking their hand on Mommy's tummy. We are all getting itching arms! I have to be honest, I used to think *those* women who had *lots* of children were probably dreading the next one being born(I used to have many other strong opinions about those women with ALL those children, but we won't go there!). Now that I have been enlightened :) I have come to realize the more you have, the longer the wait seems as you really want to get that baby in your arms...For me, moreso than the first the second and so on. I dreaded the sleepless nights, the nursing, the crying the first three months. It still took me several babies to stop this thinking, maybe it is all the help I have now with the older children(10 & 12)? Is it God's grace in allowing me to learn/become content in my role as a godly wife? I really, truly am more excited and anticipating this little ones birth more. I sometimes stop and pause amongst the six children packed in our home and think...am I crazy? Nope, because I am truly having the time of my life.

Believe it or not, these will be my two(Gracie and #7) closest babies at 20 months apart. That is pretty good spacing and not at all close, in my opinion. I should only have two in diapers for 4 months. Gracie is already showing interest in potty training! Yay! She appears to be a smart one who hates poopy pants already and we make a big deal out of her yucky diapers! Before her bath a couple days ago, I let her potty on the floor as I pointed and told her what it was, she stopped and held it and I encouraged her to go again...she did. She controlled it. I am not going to put her on the potty yet, I am not ready for that, she is not ready for that, but as soon as she is two, she will know exactly what it is and train quickly.

We did not go to church today as we still have sickies. I'm still not well and stayed on the couch all afternoon, how about that!? What a treat! My hubby rented a couple tried and true movies for the kids, bought Papa Murphys for dinner and we all settled down. The wind is STILL howling out there. 12 degrees today but rose tonight to the 20's. Snow drifting up as quick as it is shoveled. Weather is keeping us from finishing our shopping but my mother and I will hopefully get into B-ham tomorrow. Sorry for the lame blog. I am not wanting to make myself think clearly. I do need to go water my poor frozen puppy dogs.

Ya'll stay warm now, ya hear?

Nice-n-Cozy

This morning...

This afternoon...

Not a big difference but it is nice. The wind is blowing so hard that you can't play outside.



I love this picture from this morning. Snow falling outside, Christmas music on the piano and Frosty the Snowman on video...too cute.

Fever eyes....still.

This neat fellow found shelter in our garage, but not for long. Daddy caught him and brought him in the house for everyone to watch. It is a Common Flicker woodpecker. We learned they have very long tongues and incredible accuracy when pecking. They don't draw blood and God gave them a fire orange coloring that only shows when they are in flight...or in a cage. We guessed that "Flicker" came from the way they look like a flicker of fire when they are in flight.

And yes, we finally made our bus ride. Lotsa licorice and lights to behold. The bus driver seemed to enjoy our *caroling* that we waited to start until the bus emptied out.

Now lets see if I can get another little chocolate mouse to jump in my coffee cup...

Nope, it's not.

It's not true. Those forecasters. How dare they get us all excited. We have terrible cold high winds but zip for snow. It has been 22 degrees here all day.

We missed church :( Gracie is miserable sick, tonight it appears she has a double ear infection. Paul and I have to literally pin her down to get two drops of garlic oil in each ear and I KNOW just the pressure from her screaming must be so painful. It is bad enough she is still fussy on Ibuprofen! Micah had an ear infection, but the garlic oil cleared it up right away. I don't know what it is with ear infections this time around!

We live right in the valley where the NE winds come ripping through and we are getting pounded. Our woodstove is running with about 3-4 logs in it at a time with both dampers open...pretty much as hot as she'll go! I love this weather. Off to cuddle the sickies.