Don't Worry, Bee Happy

August 22, 2012

My Facebook status earlier tonight:  

Fun at the Fox's.... 13 stings, 5 victims, 3 or 4 hysterical children, about 1,000 bees, 1 cop and 1 mad-as-a-hornet(!) grandpa (Norman D Fox). Maybe I should head back to Idaho.

Junelle Fox Steiner- 6 stings

Ellie Steiner- 3 stings

Levi Nebeker- 2 stings

Rebecca Rae Nebeker- 1 sting

Jim Nebeker- 1 sting

Hysterical children- Ellie and Levi, of course, and Abby and Gabe. Abby was laughing (nervously) Gabe was distressed and over-wrought with the ambient screaming and telling Abby it wasn't funny!

I'm so rattled I almost dated this 19-something or other!! 

My family arrived at my parents' home today for a visit.  My sister Junelle and her family are here too.  After dinner the kids were outside playing.  A couple of the kids were up in the tree house.  We've noticed that there were some bees* around that tree but it didn't seem too bad.  "Don't bother them and they won't bother you."  Yeah, right.

Junelle heard her 4-year-old daughter, Ellie, scream.  She figured, "Great, she got stung." So she went out to help her.  Ellie was up in the tree house accompanied by my four-year-old Levi.  Ellie was SCREAMING and stamping and flailing her arms around.  June climbed up the ladder to coax her down and realized that there were bees swarming all around her head.  She didn't want to climb all the way up and into the tree house and then have to climb all the way down holding Ellie.  (It's a steep ladder)  Somehow, she got Ellie out of the tree house and the two of them ran screaming (both of them) for the patio.  June had bees in her shirt and ended up with 6 stings on her torso, head, and ear.  Ellie had 3 stings on her arms.  Meanwhile, my Levi was at the other exit, a fire pole.  Jim was at the base and told Levi to just jump.  He did.  Right into his daddy's arms.  Levi ended up with a sting on the inside of his upper arm and one on his scalp.

While this was in progress, I was in the house with baby Sarah.  I knew that Ellie had been stung and I was hollering directions to someone to get the Benedryl that I had brought along.  I saw that eight-year-old Gabe, Ellie's older brother, was pretty much hysterical with worry over his mom and sister.  I stepped outside to see what was going on and found my six-year-old Abby nervously laughing and Gabe hollering that THIS ISN'T FUNNY!!  I felt kind of stuck with Sarah sleeping in my arms and I asked Rebecca to go to him.  She brought him into the house and sat down with him on her lap.  Pretty quickly she realized that she had a couple of hitchhikers on her and she unseated Gabe as she stood up.  She brushed off the two bees and sent them flying around the INSIDE of the house.  I didn't even realize that she had been stung at first.  She controlled herself very well.  She didn't want to upset Gabe even more.  Jim and I grabbed flyswatters and went bee hunting.  I got one and the other one disappeared.  I think it may have flown out the open screen door.

Pretty quickly it was calm again.  I think the entire episode lasted about five minutes.  My dad looked like he wanted to throttle some bees.  Rick, June's husband, went to the store in search of bee spray.  I doled out Benadryl and pain reliever.  Mom got the Bactine.  It was fun.

Rick came back later with some spray that he got from a neighbor because the store he went to was all out.  In the dark Jim and Rick went out with a flashlight and a can of spray to kill bees.  They returned. Rick with an empty can and Jim with a sting on his back.  Total sting count 13.

Junelle- 6

Ellie- 3

Levi- 2

Rebecca- 1

Jim- 1

The cop I mentioned in my status is completely unrelated to this incident.  I just included it because it did happen tonight as well and including it sounded more exciting. :)  The story there is that one of the houses next to my parents' is vacant so Jim parked ClifFORD the big red van in the driveway of the empty house.  At one point tonight Jim went out to the van to get something and noticed that someone was taking down our license plate number and then went up to the front door and appeared to be keying in information on a cell phone.  Jim decided to move the van.  A half-hour later or so, a cop showed up at the door saying that someone called and reported suspicious activity at that house.  The caller said that he'd seen the van parked there a number of times.  Whatever.  We parked there when we visited here a month ago and we parked here tonight.  The cop seemed like he thought it was pretty silly and he left.

All in all, it's been a weird night.  Thankfully everyone seems okay.  Don't worry, bee happy!!

Link to original post and comments: 
https://www.facebook.com/notes/10220640048564166

Time is Relative

12-year-old Abby while shopping for new shoes today (completely seriously): "These look like they're from the olden days....like the 90s."

Me: "Ummm, Rebecca and Micah [older siblings] were both BORN in the 90s..."

Abby: "Okay, 80s."

FIFO in the Bible?

Adam just came to me tonight with some biblical support for my FIFO rule. Then he walked away quoting me under his breath, "Put the new milk in the back of the fridge and make sure the older stuff is in front of it."

"You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new."
Leviticus 26:10 ESV

We've got corn coming out our ears!

My neighbor kindly gave us three bags of freshly picked corn.  There's no way we're going to eat it all before it spoils, so I'm processing it for the freezer now.  Yay! for free corn!  Thanks, Kristin.

Simply Complicated!

Why is simplifying so incredibly complicated?!?! While too much stuff is truly an issue, I'm really speaking about the systems I've created or adopted. While I don't mind working hard, I'd like to feel like I'm being efficient in my hard work and that I'm accomplishing and doing well the necessary tasks. Sometimes I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and a slave to the "system". I’m so busy keeping the machine going, I don't have the time to determine if I'm using the best machine... Know what I mean?

A convergence of thoughts

Opening our fists, releasing our hold, and giving financial gifts to individuals and/or organizations becomes really easy if we recognize that it's God's money in the first place. Dave Ramsey says, in his Financial Peace University, that, "You and I are asset managers for the Lord, so if we view it properly, we aren't giving our own money anyway." It's really easy to give away someone else's money! Fun even. I really appreciate Dave Ramsey bringing that principle into focus for me. It's not mine anyway, I can give it away freely. Now hold that thought a moment...

Often I feel stretched to my limit, spread to thin. There's not enough of me to go around. This one needs a diaper change, this one wants me to read a book. That one needs to talk about friendship issues and the other one needs his tail kicked because he got side-tracked from doing a chore. You know the feeling, right? On top of that, I'D LIKE A NAP! Or to read a book, or write this post without interruption! There isn't time to do it all and certainly not time to do all the the things I'd like to do and do them well. So I have to choose. I have to NOT do some things. Then my Sense of Entitlement rears it's ugly head. I get grumpy. I feel sorry for myself. I start thinking that too much is being asked of me, no one appreciates me, and "why can't I just DO this thing I want to do without anyone bothering me?" (stamps foot!) See how ugly it can get?

One day a Scripture popped into my head (thank you Mr. D for requiring me to memorize Scripture in school!). "...you are not your own. You have been bought with a price..." 1 Cor. 6:19b-20. Now I wasn't remembering the Scripture perfectly and the issue being written about was s3xu@l immorality, BUT... I think I can still make an application. Here's where the two thoughts converge. I'M NOT MY OWN. I've been called to be a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). My life belongs to Jesus. SO...it doesn't need to be difficult to give myself away. Now it's not as hard to just put the book down and go meet the need of a child. It's not such an irritation to stop in the middle of a project and resolve a squabble. Why? Because I AM NOT MY OWN. I'VE BEEN BOUGHT WITH A PRICE. I am not mine anyway, I can give myself away freely. It's easier. Fun even.

Hold that thought too.

CRACK!!!

Since I'm a tired and lazy blogger, I will refer you to my daughter's blog to read about our exciting evening tonight...

It could have been a lot worse.

Pregnancy & Cousins' Camp

At my last OB appointment (May 28th) I was 29 1/2 weeks. I haven't been keeping track of my weight very much so I asked what my weight gain had been so far. The nurse looked at my chart and said that I had lost since the last visit and that my total gain was 2 pounds! Cool! I have an appointment this Friday and I'll be 33 weeks. I absolutely expect to hear that I've gained about 10 pounds in the intervening 3 1/2 weeks. It's been crazy!

We went on "vacation" to visit my family in western Oregon June 4-9. I think I gained all the weight then. Vacation is in quotes because traveling 9 hours one way when I'm 30 weeks pregnant is not a comfortable venture for me. It wasn't too bad on the way there but the drive back was pretty miserable! It was worth it though because it was time for the kids to go to Cousins' Camp. My parents grandkids who are approximately 4 years old and up get to go to grandma & grandpa's house (without the parents and younger siblings) for two days of activities and fun times. This year we had three of our kids at camp. It's worth whatever it takes to make it to camp. Yes, even that miserable drive! :-) Anyway, since we weren't at home and we were eating out, I think I ate a lot more than usual. I found my appetite returned when I didn't have to think much about planning meals or preparing them. I'm very curious to see how much I've gained when I go to this next appointment.

I also want to know if maybe the due date is wrong and I'll be having this baby sooner than we thought. Everyone I see is amazed when they find out I'm not due until August 8. A checker lady at Wal-Mart gave me a raised eyebrow when I told her Aug. 8th. An older man at Home Depot looked at me incredulously and asked if I was sure about that date. A man I don't know at my parents church asked me if maybe it was twins I was carrying. The size of my belly coupled with my frequent contractions and sleepless nights really does make me wonder if this can really go on for another 7-8 weeks. Ah, here's a contraction now. Speak of the devil! I have to remember, though, that I have contractions all through my last trimester anyway, so I really shouldn't make too much of this.

BTW, here's a picture that was on the Cousins' Camp t-shirts this year:

Grace Beyond Measure

I know Father's Day was yesterday but, hey, I'm just running behind on everything at this point.

Yesterday I read a great Father's Day post at the Common Room. The Headmistress there wrote so many things that echo in my heart that I wanted to share it with you.

Speaking of her husband she writes:

I wish that I could say that I carefully chose him for all of those qualities that make him an excellent parent, but the truth is that what attracted me the most was his brilliant blue-green eyes, long hair, and his high cheekbones and great tan...

Yes, he was a gentle, kind, and easy going person, I knew that. But that was a bonus. Those pleasant attributes did not strike sparks from my heart the way those astonishing eyes did. I was playing with fire, making decisions of a lifetime based on the heartbeats of a moment. I deserved to be struck by lightening for my frivolity, but instead, I received the gift of domestic fire- a gentle, loving, kind, godly man, a man devoted to his God and his family...

The green heart-flutterings of a silly 20 year old are not be compared with the strong, steady, dependable heartbeats of a 46 year old who knows that her husband will protect her and her children with everything he has. I'll take the sweetness of properly aged and ripened maturity over all the flibberty-gidget heart-throbs of callow youth...

There's more. You should go read it.

Here is my comment on her post:

I, so like you, "was playing with fire, making decisions of a lifetime based on the heartbeats of a moment. I deserved to be struck by lightening for my frivolity, but instead, I received the gift of domestic fire". I wonder why I was so protected in my silliness and others that I know were not. It seems unfair and I have some sense of survivor's guilt. I know not why I'm so blessed, but I am. It's only been 13 years for us but I could echo so many of your words. I'm thankful for each one of these 13 years. I'm about to have my 5th child and I'm thankful for each one of them as well. A wonderful father for my children is a gift beyond my deserving.

In my comment I referred to my silliness but in all actuality I should have said my rebellion. I do not understand how God metes out His grace and mercy. I'm thankful for it but I don't deserve it. Likewise, I don't deserve the wonderful husband I have, but I'm oh so thankful for him.

Happy Father's Day, dear, I love you!!

The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. Prov. 20:7

Spring, Gardening, and Baking

I've been busy the last couple of weeks getting my garden all set up. It seems crazy to me that it's taken that long to get a garden in that is as small as mine. It's just that I can't do much without getting tired out and winded. Pregnancy does that to me. It's also been pretty hot this last weekend that takes it out of me too. Yesterday a fierce wind blew in and cooled things down and brought a lot of spring rain. That means that today I'm happy to be baking bread and cookies. :-)


Later I'll get some pictures of my garden and post them. I always love pictures of my garden when it's first planted. It's so pretty without all the weeds that end up taking over by July!


I'll leave you now with pictures of my youngest cookie apprentice, Abby:

5:45 a.m.

That's when Abby woke up this morning and she didn't go back to sleep. I'm accustomed to sleeping until 7:30 - 8:30 depending on the day. This day isn't going so well for me!

So what did I find Abby doing at about 12:45 p.m. today? See below!

notice how her babies sleep face down like her!

Thirty-nine

My mom says she can't believe that I'm that old. Sorry, mom, but it's true, whatever that says about you. :-)

I had a pretty nice day. My daughter, Rebecca, was pretty excited about my birthday and she did all kinds of things to make it special. She rigged up a sort of balloon net outside my bedroom door and when I came out balloons cascaded down all around me and the kids sang "Happy Birthday". She was so pleased that her idea worked! She put up decorations in the kitchen and made a "Happy Birthday Mom" banner with Micah's help.

Later in the day Jim and I took the kids to the rec center to go swimming (which they've been begging to do for a while now) and they had a really good time. Abby (2 years) was begging to go down the water slide but no one could go down with her. They only thing allowed was for someone to catch her at the bottom. Jim walked her up the steps and put her on the slide and let go. At the first turn in the slide Abby flipped around so she was headed down head first on her back. Rebecca was waiting at the bottom to catch her and took Abby's head right to the stomach. From my vantage point it just looked like appendages flying out of that slide. It was so hilarious. Abby disagreed. She was crying but had stopped by the time Jim got her back to me where I was watching from the edge of the kiddie pool. Abby never asked to go down the slide again.

We picked up dinner for the kids on our way home and left the kids at home to eat while Jim took me out to dinner at The Olive Garden.

(note to self: don't let them seat us in the bar area again. It's too noisy (even early on) because of the coffee grinder and the blender for drinks. It's also pretty cold there and the waiter... ugh. The waiter was SO inattentive and talked on and on with another customer about the great party he was going to later where he was going to drink all night long. His goal was to drink in such a way that he would last the entire time until the party ended at 2 a.m. No mixed drinks or shots, he said, because I'm determined to 'last' until 2 a.m. "It's gonna be so great.")

Anyhow, the food was great as usual (I had Eggplant Parmigiana) and I didn't have to cook it or clean up and I didn't have to tell anyone to "sit down - on your bottom - IN your chair - take another bite - use your napkin, not your sleeve" or any such thing.

When we came home Rebecca had the table looking festive with presents all set up. Adam was so pleased that I was FINALLY going to open the presents. I received a lot of nice and very needed things and the kids were so happy to see me opening it all up and Adam asked right away if I would share some of the chocolate with him. (yes, I did)

Then Jim asked if I maybe needed to go to the bathroom. ? Oh, yes, I guess I probably do! I figured they needed me out of there to bring out that ice cream cake I discovered in the freezer when I got out the pork steaks earlier! So I gave them plenty of time while I got engrossed in a Reader's Digest article. Then I came out to more "Happy Birthday, Mom" and got sung to again. Then Abby helped me blow out my candle. Yes, candle. Just one. 39 candles on an ice cream cake would not have been a good idea.

I got several e-cards and snail mail cards and then at the end of the day I got a surprise phone call from a very special friend. It was very unexpected and quite a treat. I got a call from JanD. She was my mom's best friend while I was growing up and she is such a special lady. Her husband was my teacher from the time I was in third grade until I graduated from high school. After I graduated they moved to Taiwan as missionaries for 17(?) years. I visited them there once and helped teach in a summer school they were doing. They've been back in the States for 6 years or so. It was so great to get to talk with her. A spectacular end to a very nice day.

Bustin' his britches

My husband, Jim, works really hard so I was happy to accomodate him this morning when he called from work and asked for a special delivery. The kids and I went to his workplace this morning to take him a pair of pants. He had a wardrobe malfunction! He has had a small rip by his back pocket and at work this morning he bent over and the pants gave way! When I showed up, he was wearing his t-shirt and jeans with a flannel shirt tied around his waist which was exactly how I envisioned I would find him!! :-)

Thanks, honey, for working so hard for our family.

We made 'em too

Now Rebecca and I have joined the fun and made Funnel Cakes too. Thanks to KimC at Life in a Shoe for the recipe and tips and to Donna at Handsful for reminding me that I wanted to make them. It was easy, fun, and delicious!

Where I've been

WARNING: I change tenses all over the place in this post. Sorry.

Yes, I know, I disappeared again. As if this isn't already a busy time of year and as if I wasn't trying really hard to get myself established back at home after being gone for 2 1/2 weeks, we just had some more "fun"!

---

Monday - 4 p.m.

Micah (9 y.o) started complaining on Monday afternoon that his belly hurt. All day Sunday he had been pretty, uh, gassy, much to his amusement and his sister's dismay. When he complained on Monday afternoon I figured that he had more gas trapped in his system which can be pretty painful.

Monday - 5 p.m.

We gave him some anti-gas medicine and just watched him. He didn't eat dinner very well and spent most of the evening on the couch.

9 or 10 p.m.

Got out of bed and vomited 5 times. He felt much better, acted pretty chipper, and I thought we were done.

Tuesday - 1 a.m.

Micah's up again in more pain. I talk to Jim and decide to call our family doctor.

1:34 a.m.

Dr. calls back, suspects appendicitis, and says he should go to the ER. I get dressed (and made-up because I'm vain!), start the van to warm up, and make a snack for myself because I'm starving.

2:20 a.m. - 7 am

We arrive at the emergency room. There are 3 other kids there with the same symptoms. Strange. Micah gives a urine sample, get hooked up to an I.V., gives a blood sample, and starts drinking contrast for an upcoming CT scan. He didn't like it at all and it took about an hour for him to get it down. He's the fourth one of four kids that are getting CT scans so we have to wait a while for our turn. Meanwhile, his pain starts subsiding. The lab work came back and they said it looked okay. After for-ever he gets to go for his CT scan. He loved that part. He thought it was very cool! He even loved the feeling of the IV contrast entering his bloodstream. Weirdo! But I'm thankful for the small pleasantries along the way. It takes an incredibly long time for the doctor to get back with us. The other kids start going on home and I figure we're probably next...soon...sometime? The nurse pokes her head in and asks if the doctor has talked with us yet. I say, no. Later she reports that he is consulting with another doctor. Hmm. Interesting. then the nurse comes in and put a NKA (no known allergies) sticker on Micah's ID bracelet. Hmm. Also interesting. She leaves. I inform Micah that I think we are staying here and NOT going home. He starts getting a little upset at the prospect of surgery. I try to calm him down. Really, he's doing great and he's so brave. The doctor finally comes in and tells me that he's been consulting with another doctor and was waiting for a call back and he really wanted to wait until they had a complete picture before talking with me but it was becoming an embarrassing long wait and so he was there now to talk. The other doctor called back during our conversation, of course! Yes, it's appendicitis. They need to do surgery soon the only question is where. They were trying to find an open operating room at the St. Luke's in Meridian (where we were) or in Boise.

7:30 a.m.

Eventually we were admitted to the Meridian St. Luke's to await surgery. We were gurneyed to a way cool room in pediatrics. Awaiting Micah was a stuffed bear and a Sorry! game on the nightstand. There was also an extra hospital bed for me to sleep in, YEAH!!! I unpacked Micah's things from the bag they had given him, ate the other half of my sandwich, called Jim and other family members to update them and then laid down. Then the surgeon came in and introduced himself. We weren't supposed to have been admitted in Meridian. The surgery has to happen in Boise unless we wait until late afternoon which isn't a good plan at this point. He said that he told them not to admit us anywhere until he knew where he had an OR. Oh well, here we go again. He said that Air St. Luke's will transport us by ambulance (for free) to the other hospital. We will be delayed a bit by the paperwork necessary to extricate us from the Meridian hospital and get us into the Boise hospital. The 9am surgery he was shooting for may not happen until 9:30 but all is good. I've always been VERY happy with the service I receive at St. Luke's and I continue to be. I call Jim to tell him of the change in plans.

8:00 a.m.


Air St. Luke's people arrive and start moving IV poles and Micah onto yet another bed and get him all strapped down and get paperwork from the nurse. Jim calls back to remind me to take pictures with my cell phone! :-) I hadn't thought of that. I'm glad he reminded me. I'm offered a ride with Micah but I need to drive me van and not have the trouble of being at a hospital in Boise with my car in front of the ER in Meridian. Plus, the ambulance isn't stopping at Mickey D's. I am. I ask the nurse if we can take the bear and the Sorry! game. She says no problem! It's a good thing we did because the other St. Luke's didn't have that perk for him. I almost didn't take it because I figured we would end up with two. I'm glad Jim told me to take it. :-)



8:24 a.m.

Micah is loaded into the ambulance and I follow along behind with a slight detour to grab breakfast!






9:15 a.m.


I meet up with Micah again in pre-op. I bring him the blanket he left in the van. They give him drugs to make him not care a bit (even though he wasn't really acting nervous at this point.). Though he does remember this room with the Winnie-the-Pooh winter screen saver on their computer and the movie CARS playing, he doesn't remember leaving it. I remember him leaving. Good-bye, Micah, I love you.... Take care of my son, Lord....

9:18 a.m.

The screen in the OR waiting room reminds me of an airport arrival/departure screen. It states that he's in the OR as of 9:18. the surgery should last about one hour and recovery another hour. I will get to see him once he's assigned to and in a room. The screen will say when he's in Recovery I and then Recovery II and then at his final destination. I eat my breakfast, make phone calls, read and then sleep for about 10 minutes on a bench until the doctor comes out.

10:05 a.m.

It was less than an hour. Yeah! He has a good report. It WAS a nasty appendix and it's good they got it out. He showed me "lovely" pictures. They did the surgery laparoscopically which makes for a faster recovery.

11:30 a.m.

Micah is in his room where I've been waiting since shortly after he got out of surgery. He's sleepy and in and out of consiousness.

---

Rebecca & Adam visiting Micah

Well, that's probably enough to give you a really good idea what we've been up to this last week! Micah had lots of visitors, bearing flowers, candy, toys, and comic books. He didn't eat the candy until he was at home because even after they lifted the "clear fluids" diet he wasn't interested in eating. Popsicles, though, that was different. The first time they got him up walking was very unpleasant for him. He turned a dusky green and got really hot, sweaty, and nauseated and almost passed out. Each ambulation, though, was easier than the previous one. He rarely took pain meds after the first 12 hours or so, he got up and walked when they told him to (even though he would have preferred not to). He was a real trouper.

Jim stayed off work and on the home front keeping it together and I never left the hospital until I took Micah home Wednesday afternoon. I was very glad to get a shower and clean clothes!

I'm so thankful for: (in no order of importance!)

medical advancements
knowledgable doctors
antibiotics
pain meds
friends
nurses
nurse's aides
electricity
clean water
hospital cafeterias
extra toothbruses
pain (without it we wouldn't have known there was a problem)
insurance
sick days
my husband
God's hand in our lives
cell phones
popsicles
sterile hospital conditions

There are many places in the world where this little hiccup in our lives would have meant the end of my son's life. Does that make sense? It's really late and I'm expremely tired. I guess that is a combination of extremely and supremely. It fits so I'll leave it. In any case, I'm very thankful to live WHERE I live and WHEN I live. There is more to God's provision than I can go into at this time but it will suffice to say that God is good. All the time. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

MIA

You may have noticed that I've been missing. While I have been missing I've certainly been in action! Here's a little recap.

My family and I left town early Tuesday morning, November 20th, to head to western Oregon for 5 days for Thanksgiving. I didn't return until December 8th! While we were on our way to Springfield I got a call from my mom that my sister, Junelle, who lives 1.5 hours north of Springfield was going to be hospitalized. She was in her 23rd week of pregnancy and her cervix was opening. Her midwife wanted her to go to OHSU in Portland for a cerclage. We suggested that she come down to Eugene as she would be closer to family for any support that she would need. Plus, her husband works in Eugene so it made even more sense for her to be there. Her midwife drove her all the way to Eugene and waited with her for HOURS! Midwives are awesome! Jim and I continued driving and got to town in time for my mom and I to go to the hospital. We listened as the doctor described to June and Rick (her husband), what the procedure would entail and the risks involved. Since the bag of waters was beginning to extend through the cervix it would have to be pushed back a bit before the stitch could be put in and could end up being ruptured which would end the pregnancy. If she didn't have the cerclage she would have to be on very strict bedrest to stave off labor and the doctor said she wouldn't last more than a month which would put her at 27 weeks. Still too early to deliver. They opted to have the cerclage. It was successful! Thank-you, Lord! After two days in the hospital she was allowed to come "home" to Mom and Dad's. On Thanksgiving Day! Bedrest was still part of the equation and she has a 3 1/2 year old son. Saturday, the day Jim and I were supposed to leave, only Jim and the two older kids went home. I stayed behind with the two younger ones to help out June and her son, Gabriel. Boy, I was busy!

I'm so thankful I have the flexibility to have been able to stay and help. I'm so thankful I have willing in-laws and friends to help out with the kids who returned home. I'm so thankful for a great husband who was willing to make the 8-9 hour drive last Friday to come back and get me and then turn around and do it again the next day to take us home!

Pray for June as she continues to take it easy and watch other people do the jobs she's "supposed" to be doing. She's to be on modified bedrest for about 9 1/2 more weeks. At that point they'll take out the cerclage and let nature "take it's course". Pray for Rick as he supports his wife though this trying time. Pray for Gabe as his world is upside-down and will continue to be until it's turn upside-down again when the baby is born. Pray for my parents as they continue to have extra people in their home and colds bouncing around from one person to the next and back again! Finally, give thanks with us that June is still pregnant and that God is so very good. All the time.

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother's womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
Psalm 139:13-16



Here's a peek at the frame being woven in secret:

Days of Elijah

This is dedicated to (Theodore) Elijah, my new baby nephew, and his parents.



(Double-click play button to start)


Here he is at 4 days old. Isn't he so sweet?
Elijah: "Jehovah is God"

Adam-isms

Tonight while I was gone at a church function, Jim was home with the kids. He heard Abby screaming and hollering in the living room. When he went in there to see what was happening he saw Adam lying on his back on the couch with Abby lying on her back on top of him. Adam had his arms and legs wrapped around her, restraining her. Jim asked what in the world was going on and Adam replied, "Abby was doing bad stuff and I am taking her sin away."

Apparently Abby didn't want her sin taken away. Sometimes it's hard to let go of our sin, isn't it?!

There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Prov. 16:25

(Near as Jim could reconstruct, Abby's sin was standing up on the arm of the couch and turning the light off and on. Thanks, Adam, for keeping her from hurtling to the ground!)

peanut butter, paws, & predicaments

Updated*

Okay, Internet, I've got a question for you.

First I have to tell you that I've been doing a pretty good job of transforming my life into a frugal lifestyle. Okay...I've made a few positive changes. Not a major transformation, yet. But it's happening. It's mostly in my head but a frugal lifestyle IS mostly about attitude and how you view life. To quote the DeputyHeadmistress in her latest article on the new Frugal Hacks website,

"the most important frugal tool you have is the way you think about things. All the frugal buys in the world won’t help us live within our means until we change the way we think about what we need and what we want."

So, to get to the point, I bought a new jar of peanut butter. We had used it once. It was left on the table after breakfast (we gotta have peanut butter on our pancakes!), and the @#^!%$& cute, loveable cat got to it.

Here's the question: What would you do? Go ahead and vote. I've already made my decision. I'll tell you what I did later.




*For some reason when I posted this voting thingie, a strange color bar appeared at the top and bottom of my blog. I don't like that color! It doesn't belong but I can only make it disappear when I remove this post. Strange! I guess it will just have to stay there until this post is archived unless someone out there can tell me how I can fix it....

Homeschooling - Ages 3 and under

What do we study when I am teaching a one-year-old and a three-year-old?

Why, fluid dynamics, of course!

And what do you do once you have filled the bucket? Pretend you are Georgie Russell from Davy Crockett - King of the Wild Frontier!