4:02pm

At this moment...

Paul is at work. He's told he's working 6/12 this week. That is an awful lot of work.

I am in his chair, patiently healing.

Jess is chasing Elijah around on all fours.

Jacob is listening to Jonathan Parks and washing the dishes.

Daniel is somberly reading a storybook, on the couch, in a sleeping bag, wearing a princess crown. Whaaa???

Emma is drying dishes.

Micah is sucking his thumb, reading a book while in the rocking chair. He just woke up.

Gracie is peacefully sleeping. She should be thumping down the staircase any moment, thumb in mouth, pink blanky in hand, looking for a warm Mamma's lap to snuggle in - I can't wait!

Elijah is squealing while he tries to coordinate his little legs to run from his sister as she chases him.

The cat is still missing. :(

It's raining, I hear thunder, I smell Jessie cook'in something yummy.

The Saga of the Cat

1. So, we get this cat from the G family. This will be a nice surprise for the children! We pick out a beautiful calico cat and take her home.

2. Everyone loves said cat. Even I fall for her. Day 2 – cat runs away. Everyone mourns and alerts neighbors.

3. Day 3 – she comes back, decides to stay this time.

4. Callie is her name. Boy, Callie is a great mouser! We find dead moles, rats and mice in her tracks.

5. Callie is well fed. Oh goodness…Callie must catch a lot of mice, we notice her belly is swelling from ….from….food?

6. The food in Callie’s tummy now kicks us regularly. You can even feel their ribs, heads…legs….hmm….the “food” is quite large.

7. Like clockwork, Callie is at the door at 8am meowing to come in. This morning….no Callie. Again. We formed search parties to no avail. Where is Callie? I hope this saga has a happy ending….to be continued. 

The Year of the Hummingbird

Seriously, this was not planned out at all, it was just coincidence. That said, on with the story. Today I am a year older, I turned 36. I spent most of it in daddy’s chair reading, writing, barking orders(as my daughter so lovingly put it) putering and munching. I woke to a hot cup of coffee, a warm cinnamon roll and 8 cheerful voices singing Happy birthday dear Mommeeeeee….Can there be a better start to a day?

I came downstairs and Micah started the game “Oh Mommy, we forgot to buy you presents” I played his  game to the point where he started believing himself and got worried, lol. Then after a second rendition of Happy Birthday,  out came the presents. I got my peanut M&Ms, my Reese's peanut butter cups(frozen, of course)  and my  first real true guitar. Not a cheap, broken, twangy, geetar…but a nice classy sounding guitar(for the money). And it’s pertty too.  

It is a bit gaudy for me, but I will get used to it. It isn’t as BRIGHT as the picture is showing. It is an Epiphone Hummingbird or Epi bird. Paul found it on CL used maybe 10 hours than put away. It looks brand spank 'in new, in a hard case(yay!) with a bunch of fun doodads thrown in. Gotta love Craigslist.  (Caleb, when do lessons start?)

See the little hummingbird? iznt it just ceeute?

 

Which brings me to gift #2. A hummingbird feeder. We have oodles of hummingbirds and I get such a kick out of watching their temper tantrums, their love dances, their sweet parenting, their zippy flights around the yard. Everything about a hummingbird points to a Creator.

   

Then Mrs. vdH comes over today with a surprise meal and gives me this beautiful solar garden light, gift #3. A hummingbird!

A very nice day.

All done!

It is over. It went very well, much better than Monday. I could tell this time was covered with prayer from my pastors and friends. God is so merciful! The pain was manageable and the little details all worked out. They got every last vein, even a little nasty one that wrapped around the bottom of my foot, I was so pleased! AND I left with my cup of coffee in hand. Mrs. vdH  sat with the children all morning and even made sure all their chores were done! I came home to a clean house and everything in order, she has been given such a servants heart! I love her dearly.

On our way home my two nieces, Samantha and Ali, came home with me and took over when Mrs. vdH left. They scooped up the young ones and kept them entertained. 

My legs are very sore and I’d appreciate prayer to get through these next couple days and for the children to behave ;)

Thank you all my sweet friends who prayed for me yesterday morning, the Lord was so kind to answer my requests.

Lazy Days

No school, no structure, just anarchy. Just this week, I hope. I am so amazed at my kiddos, how they are self-providing without me. I think they have me fooled. There weren't supposed to do it this well, it makes me feel like they are...um...growing up maybe? I've been in Paul's chair most of the day, yet my home is picked up, the children are dressed, belly's are full and every time I hold Elijah, he doesn't stink. Impressive.



I'd be on the home stretch if it wasn't for tomorrow. To be honest, I am anxious., "butterflies in my stomach every time I think of it" anxious. I am able to walk about 10 minutes out of each hour today only to be set back to square one tomorrow. Mondays procedure was painful, in spite of the pain prevention..it was painful. They did not paint that picture and I do not like those surprises. But then God reminds me gently He will supply all my needs and go a head of me, so I rest in that. His hands are the best one can rest in, yet I still find my anxious heart bubbling up. What a good thing it is to exercise trust!


The majority of Mondays procedure was pulling enlarged varicose veins from my legs and feet. As I've mentioned before I have dealt with worsening large ropey, painful veins since about my third or fourth pregnancy that no longer go away after delivery. I wear compression stockings everyday, this should fix that. Dr. Jones and his little team extracted several large veins from both legs then sent a laser from my ankle to my groin and lasered(burned and collapsed) the great saphonous vein, of which in me, was totally incompetent. My question was can I really live without it? They said, you already do live without it. So in a nutshell that is what they did. Tomorrow they are pulling the veins that snake down the back of my left leg. A pretty tender area.


Luckily for them, I am a simple person. I am somewhat distracted by their coffee. They make great coffee. They have one of those fancy coffee machines like Chessa has(yes, I covet), that sits arrogantly on an oak table, clearly a focal point of the room. It has a shiny silvery metal front with glossy black unscratched side panels. The buttons are lit with glowing blue lights and a spout that sends forth a blessed dark liquid into my disposable Dixie cup. Mmmmm...Yes. This coffee even tastes good from a Dixie cup. Then there is the creamer. The thick chocolate creamer. You pull back the foil top and a glob of fudgy chocolate plops into the hot black coffee. It is almost enough to get me back in that place.

Surgery update

I'm home and everything went well. I was *on the table*(I have always wanted to say that) for three hours with two doctors and three nurses, I have never had such great treatment! ;) Dr Jones and his team are GREAT and I am so thankful I chose them. It was a little more painful than I had imagined it to be, but after the valium and vicodin things were a little better, but it still was not fun. The doc said I gave them a workout and I need to come back on Thursday to finish the back sides of my legs :( as I hit their limit of lidocain. Tomorrow morning I go in to have the bandages removed. Today I sit in Paul's big comfy chair, keeping up on the Vicodin(which I said I wouldn't need...ha!) and enjoying the role reversal by being served hand and foot by 5 very sweet attendants(my children).

I am glad it is done, at least the majority of it and I just ask for prayer that all heals well and the pain does subside some tonight. Thank you for your calls and sweet words! Oh...an Nana's famous Mac and Cheese.

(I had laser surgery on the veins in my legs/feet and then ligation of some of the big ropey ones)

Picture Catch-up

This has got to be our busiest time of year.  Milking, bottle feeding kids(which is so much more fun that I had thought it would be), oodles of plump little meat chicks, turkeys, the dog business, house building, park days, schooling, birthdays, gardens….ahhh the things that make life so fulfilling, you collapse in bed at night feeling thoroughly productive.

There is a time to blog and time not to blog. There must be more time spent in God’s Word than time on the internet. That is my resolution at least. If I am not blogging, my time is being prioritized. However my blog is my family journal so I really like to get things written down!

So, I married this guy who claims he is from the South. Born in Jacksonville, Florida. I jab him because he wasn’t there that long, but he still loves claiming the fact he’s a Southerner….well, more Southern than most up here I guess. One way to make him smile is to get him to reminisce of those dripping hot bags of boiled peanuts. Something that appeals not to us North Westerners. I happened upon the fact Azure carries bags of raw peanuts, unfortunately shelled. I found a recipe online and tried them in the crockpot. I left a container full on his Dad’s porch with a survey card….then gave my hubby a bowl when he arrived home from work. They were a hit. I have a little improvement to make, but Paul never touched his asparagus soup and garlic bread because he visited the crockpot one too many times. What better feeling than to stuff your man full and make him feel honored?

 

Raw peanuts soaked for 10 hours, then rinsed.  Placed in crockpot and cooked for 7 hours on high in salted water.  Eat hot.

 

Daddy, Micah and Grandpa went fishing last weekend. Everyone got skunked. Micah caught this fish…the only fish…10 minutes before leaving.

You’ve never seen such a thorough fish gutter until you’ve watched my Micah gut a fish. He is smooth with a knife and does a fine job for a 5 yr old. He says he “wikes gut’n the fish more than catch’em.”

 

By the way, did I mention Micah turned 5(!) last week?  He was SO excited we made him this hat and he looooooved the attention he got. If you know Micah, you know he loves attention and talking to strangers who think he’s cute.

 

I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and he said roasted hotdogs, fruit salad, smore’s and chips. The Lord blessed us with a warm sunny evening and we had one great evening.

 

Micah has lived on bikes that were hand-me-downs(after two brothers who beat them) and ditch finds(literally found in the ditch). He loves riding bike and Daddy got a bit of overtime so Miker-T-Biker got a brand spank’in new bike. It isn’t often you see a new bike with the zip-stripped tag still on it around here!

One happy 5 yr old.

 

Here is the fire pit the boys build. Daddy’s usual maintenance has been put on the back burner while he builds the addition(and works 6-11 hr days a week). He told the boys to build a fire pit out back and that is what they did. It is the best!

 

Then there is Callie. I went to a friends house to visit and somehow walked out with a cat.  A beautiful one at that. She ran away, came back and now owns the place. How do cat’s do that? She even has the dog whipped.

The children thought Nana would like to see our new cat as she is a cat lover too, so this is for you Nana.

2010 Walk For Life

We are participating in the 2010 Walk For Life. Jennifer, Jessie, Jacob, Daniel, Emma, Micah, Gracie & Elijah will be walking the two mile Walk For Life for a total of 16 miles. Please click here to make a pledge at our pledge page or email us. If you choose to sponsor our family, thank you!