Wait a minute!

Who is this grown-up looking guy?



This can't be Big E,
my sweet little baby boy......

but it is!

Big E got glasses yesterday.
He just has to wear them for reading
and computer time and the like. I can't believe
how he is looking less and less
(every day, it seems!) like a little boy.
And he's only seven.
What is he doing growing up on me so fast?

You will go a very long way
before you find another boy
as sweet and tender-hearted as Big E.
Oh, I just love this kid so very much.

P U

Hello, Dear Reader.
How are things with you?

At the risk of sounding like my usual whining self,
I'll just tell you that things here are stinky.
Stinky in a way that affects basically
every area and aspect of my life
and it's a large cloud of stinkiness that could be
settling in for a long time. We don't know exactly
how big the stink is or how long it will last or
if it will stink up our lives for a long time.
It's a big stink.
A very stinky stink.
Not good times.

AND I've had a cold.
It seems like a long time since I've had a cold
or any sort of illness (not a pregnancy symptom)
that has made me want to take some medication.
But earlier this week I would have loved to have
guzzled down some Nyquil and settled in
for a long winter's nap.
Well, that's not happening.
I can't guzzle the Nyquil because I'm nursing
and I can't have a long winter's nap because
I have a two month old son who isn't sleeping
through the night yet.
But good news on that front!
He's getting better and better.
Last night he slept until about 4:30am.
So that was great.
Progress.

And did you notice
that I said my beautiful boy is
two months old?
Because he is.
Two months.
He hit that milestone on Sunday.

Has it really only been two months?
It's like looking back over this vast span of time
to remember going to the hospital on that Sunday
evening, the week of Christmas.... leaving the
big kids here at the house with my mother-in-law
....all the drama of his birth.....the recovery
.....the drugs.....the pain.....Christmas was in there
somewhere.....constant feeding.....
...surely it's been more than two months....

But what a sweetie pie he is, this lovely baby.
He's getting more and more interactive.
I have noticed a sudden perk in the interest
of the big kids because they realize they can now
get a response from Baby J. They can make
him smile now. He will coo at them.
It's like they've realized he really is a
little person. Imagine that.

So that's the cool thing about being in this very
stinky situation---I am still surrounded by my beautiful
blessings, my lovely children. They are oblivious of
the stink (for the most part), as they should be.
They are still trying to learn about factors and
multiples and adjectives and punctuation
and coloring inside the lines.
They help keep perspective on things.

Well, my little friend is calling for the milk wagon.
I must go.

Hope the world smells better
in your neck of the woods.

Don't Squish My Squashes!

That's what Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus'
grandmother told everyone in the
Hannah Montana Movie....which I watched
several times recently with my daughter.
We are always late on....well, everything.
But I finally let her watch this movie
and it was okay.
It was basically as silly and simple as one of those
beach-bingo movies from the '50s
with those people who used to be
Mouseketeers.

But speaking of squash,
we had some zucchini squash tonight for dinner
(with our spaghetti and garlic bread).
I was supposed to make a salad and it was time
and I just didn't feel led to make a salad.
You know how it is.
But I saw the zucchini laying there, looking forlorn,
so I thought I'd invite it to dinner. Everyone liked
this new way that I cooked it tonight so maybe
I'll start fixing it this way, but the thing is,
I will have to call it something like "Heart Attack Zucchini"
(I like for everything to have an official name).
Not because it is so good it will give you a heart attack,
but because it is like 50% zucchini and 50% butter.
That's all it was
(with a little salt
and pepper,
of course).
And it was good.
Even the kids
had to admit it,
after the initial
turning up of the noses.
They had to try it, and when they did,
they had to confess that it was good.
And they ate it and lived happily ever after.

So go get yourself some zucchini
and a pound of butter
and start sauteing!

"A glob of butter now and then
is relished by the wisest men."

Hee Haw salutes my hometown....

I don't know if anyone noticed
the change in the juke box lately
that reflects what is happening in my life right now.
Struggles. Difficulties. Trials.
And I find myself wondering what it truly means,
what it looks like "with skin on" to "count it all joy"......
But the music, did you notice?
That first song was just the first thought that
came to my mind when I thought about
making the music line-up truly pertinent.
That's what I'd like:
for hard times to come again no more to me.
But that wouldn't be life, would it?
Anyway, Lloyd Dobbler and I were sitting here
by the computer earlier and that song came up
and it only took a minute or two for us to get sick of it.
You can skip right over the ones
you don't like, you know.
(I'm sure you know that very well.)

The second song cheers me up.
It's so corny, so dumb,
but it just reminds me of Hee Haw.
You know, I don't remember ever sitting down
and purposely watching Hee Haw in my life,
but I must have watched it because I remember
things about it. I remember that song.
I remember that one that starts out
"Where oh where are you tonight?"
and ends with the singers spitting on each other.
I remember me and my little friends singing these
silly songs when we were kids.
And hearing Archie Campbell's voice at the end just made me laugh out loud the first several times I heard it. It made me go to youtube and find clips of him from Hee Haw to watch. If you've never heard his messed up stories (like Rindercella), you need to find them on there and hear them. Of course this lead to me watching other clips of all those corny jokes and skits they did on Hee Haw. And sometimes it's something like that, so silly and dumb, when you are chin deep in the ugly realities of life, that just seem to be the best stress reliever. I always find myself seeking a laugh when "the world is too much with me." That's how my family always dealt with stuff. No situation was too bad that we couldn't find something to laugh about (well, there were a few, but that's how you knew it was really bad).

Song #4 is most reflective
of my thoughts in general right now.
That is all I have to say about that.

I hope you are pickin' and grinnin' my Dear Reader.
I know we all face big stinky problems in life
now and again, things that we cannot control
or even do anything about.
Isn't it great to know that the message
of Song #4 is TRUE?
It's nice to feel the solidness of that foundation
underneath you when storms come roaring by.
"You are loved with an everlasting love
and underneath are the everlasting arms."
(Did I quote that right?)

Snow What?

You can tell it when the morning light is whiter and brighter. I can tell as the sun is coming up, before I ever look out, if there is snow by the way it reflects the light. Our kitchen is always sunny and bright in the morning (unless the morning itself is not sunny or bright),
but look how white the light is on these children who can hardly eat their cheerios:

Even Baby J, from one of his favorite perches,
could gaze out at the snowy landscape:

That is total extent of his snow adventure.
Next year might be a different story.

And then they get out in the snow.
For some reason, this picture with the play set
makes it look like we got much less snow than we
actually got. Maybe I took it a day or two
after the initial snowfall.


Kids running around in the snow
---that's what pure joy looks like.

If you make the next picture larger,
you will see the radiant smile on
Sweet T's little red cheeked face...


I might have better pictures
if I had actually gone outside.
Some of these pictures I took through windows.
A couple of times I actually went out on the porch.
I am content to watch my children have fun in
the snow; I have no desire to participate.
The boys especially had fun this week.
They were funny to watch, running all the way
to the end of our property as fast as they could,
puffs of frozen breath rising from their distant figures.


I have so enjoyed seeing the bond between Big E and
Sweet T as they have both grown older. Sweet T works
so hard to keep up with his big brother in every way
and he is usually not far behind.

Here's a good thing about home schooling and snow: we have the best of both worlds (cue Miley). The kids can play out and enjoy the snow and we can still get our school work done for that day. The public schools missed some days recently that seemed very unnecessary. Of course the kids are all excited about missing school at the moment--remember the thrill of seeing your school's name on the snow bird report. "We're out!" you would shout with triumphant joy. But it's not so fun when those days are taken away from your spring break or tacked onto the end of the school year.

I hope these are the last snow pictures I take
until the other end of the year. I have had my fill
(but that doesn't take much).
I have even heard some of you snow enthusiasts
saying enough already with the snow.
Don't worry.
It's almost March!
We're headed toward spring.
That's the best time of the year,
so inspirational and invigorating
and full of the beauty of God's creation.
And it's coming!
Woo-hoo!

Oh, remember that I said I have no desire
to participate in the snow activities?
That is true.
But let's face it, I get to participate whether
I want to or not. And I'm not talking about making
the hot chocolate (though I did that).
You know what Mama's role is in the whole
"can we play in the snow?" adventure:

I really don't mind though.
A pile of wet winter clothes means
that I have children healthy enough to play outside.
For that, I am thankful.

Another One Bites the Dust

This is all I am going to say....

Of Mice and Men

Apparently I don't have the heart of a hunter.
I set the traps again last night
(sounds like something Pa Ingalls would say,
doesn't it?),
but I have no dead rodent
to report about this morning.
I used peanut butter this time because I was told
that was supposed to be fool proof.
Evidently they didn't know what kind of a fool
they were dealing with here.
Oh well.
Tonight I am turning over the death traps
to Lloyd Dobbler and hopefully he will be able
to kill the beast.

Hey, Dear Reader,
it's actually NOT snowing here today.
Can you believe it?
I am so glad. I was beginning to think
somebody has secretly moved me to Alaska.
I thought I'd be able to see Sarah Palin from my house
(or is that Russia?).
But no.
Still Middle TN,
still God's country.


I started to tell you
what a good start we are off to this morning,
but I didn't want to ruin it.
Or "jinx us," if you are familiar with that term.
How good of a start can we be at, though,
since every single one of us is still in our jammies?
But I am pleased with this morning so far,
compared to the last eight weeks.
We've already had a bit of schooling done.
I caught up on grading math which was getting
ridiculously behind. Baby J has been placed in his bed
for his little nap....something I have got to get back
to doing. I used to be the Queen of putting a baby
on a schedule and with him I have not even been
in the royal family. But I'm taking steps in the
right direction with that.
We're starting to get all these ducks in a row.


It just seems like it has been so crazy here lately.
There's the normal craziness of life with four kids and
home schooling and adjusting to life with a newborn again when you've forgotten all that already.....but we've just had other craziness that has been, well, it's just been a lot. The thing about that is that it helps me put things in perspective.
What else can you do?
I have just been doing the things that had to be
done and not stressing about the rest.
It'll be this way for a few weeks more
(and then who knows if it will settle down!?!?)
and then it'll hopefully be
spring
(I can't wait!)
and that will help the world to be a better place.
The craziness may be here forever.
I just have to learn how to deal with everything,
keep all those plates spinning. It won't always be
like the way it is now. Baby J won't always be so small
with so many needs. Everything that is crazy
won't always be like this---hey, it may
get crazier, who knows?
But we are holding on
and putting one foot down after the other
and welcoming those new mercies every morning.

On the medical front,
I think I have decided
NOT to post pone
that sugar test any longer.
They told me
anytime after six weeks
it could be done.
My OB wanted it done
when I went to
him recently.
I have the paperwork.
All I have to do is show up at the lab one morning
having not eaten anything since midnight.
I have checked my blood sugar in the mornings
a few times and they are good.
I don't know why I dread having this test done,
but I do.
But I am thinking tomorrow will be
the day to do it
and just get it over with.

Okay...so instead of messing up
this productive morning myself
by getting sucked into
the computer wasteland,
(Isn't that what they sang at the Superbowl half time show?)
I think I will get off of here
and get back to productivity.

Later, DR.

Heebie Geebies

Have you ever had the heebie geebies?
I have them right now.
Oh man, do I ever have them.

For the first time that I can think of in my married life,
I have a mouse in my house.
HEEBIE GEEBIE!!!
And where else would this critter be but in my kitchen?

Ugh.
It just makes my skin crawl.
I discovered this guest yesterday
(by what he left behind--and oh,
how I hope there's only one of them!).

I set two traps last night.
Now....I have never set a mouse trap before. I was so wary of snapping my own fingers off that I must have set it really well. So well that it didn't work. After talking to my dad about it this morning, he said that basically I fed the mouse, I didn't really set the trap. Something about the way I put the cheese on the trap.

Good grief.
So what I found this morning
was a decorative display
of droppings around the
cheese-less traps and
no dead mouse.
My dad is going to come over and
set the traps some time today.
Why am I thinking right now of the way
W.C. Fields would say
"Nevah send a boy-ah to do a man-ah's job" ?

I hope to report to you tomorrow
about the death of a rodent.

Say Cheese!

Did I mention
that I love my family?
I really do!

The Groundhog was right.

It's Monday morning again, people.

And guess what?
The world around me is covered in snow.
Again.

What is with
all the snow this year?
It just can't stay away. Does it have a crush on my hometown or something? We just can't seem to go a couple of days without snow. Even if it's just a dusting. I am thinking maybe the snow has gotten off course, lost its way. Maybe it thinks we are the Northeast. Or Canada. Maybe it thinks we are Canada---because Canada is having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave (think Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye).
And what a time to have unseasonably warm weather! When you are hosting the Winter Olympics.
Not good.


Did you have a good Valentine's Day yesterday?
We did. My whole family had lunch at my parents' house. Mama cooked the big meal like she always does and we ate it like we'd never be offered food again in our lives. My mom made this cake that she has made for many, many Valentine's Days. It's a big heart shaped cake with white icing, the heart outlined in red and it just says "I love you" on the cake. There's a picture of me and my brothers with one of those cakes years ago---I was probably about 10, which would make them 13 and 6. So yesterday we made another one of the three of us and the cake...only my dad didn't tell us when he was taking the picture. We thought he was still messing with the camera, so we're not really smiling, just standing there. Oh well.

I love getting together with my family. And not just my immediate family like yesterday, but both sides of my extended family. My parents both came from large families. My mom is #7 of 9 children and my dad is #6 of 6. So we have a lot of family. And both families are from here in Tiny Town where I was born and raised. I have always had the experience of running into a great aunt at the grocery store or seeing my uncles stopped at a yard sale as I drive by. And my kids are used to us "running into" family often. I'm glad they are. I want them to know their relatives.


Last week we buried one of my great aunts. She was the sister of my maternal grandmother. It has been very sad to watch her failing health in recent years. This particular aunt was one that always seemed so youthful and spunky compared to her sister (my grandmother). She was a WAC in WWII. She was an interesting lady. But like all her siblings, they were getting very old and their days are coming to an end. It saddens me to see this. Like I said, I have been around these people all my life. I have known these great aunts and uncles in much the same way that some people know their aunts and uncles. Lovely K went with me to the viewing on Wednesday evening. There was a sweet moment where she was walking around, looking at the flowers, with this one great aunt of mine who is such a neat lady (retired school teacher, always an interesting person, always popping up around town when most women her age would be sitting at home being careful and bored). Several people commented on that scene, this woman in her eighties and this child of nine walking around together, talking. I wish I had a picture of that. I am so glad that my daughter has the opportunity to know her great great aunt.

I actually went to the funeral with all four of my children. I started not to and I hesitated many times. It was a cold rainy day and, face it, the kids have me out numbered. But my two oldest are getting older and well, I just felt like I should go. I want my kids to see these family members. I wanted them to hear their grandfather (my dad) speaking at the funeral. I wanted them to go and learn from the experience. So we went and it was fine. They were very well behaved. They are learning "funeral behavior." After the funeral we met at a restaurant with my parents and two of my mom's siblings. After that, we all came back here to my house and had an impromptu little birthday celebration for my lovely aunt whose birthday was the next day. It was just a nice evening. I just love little gatherings with my family like that. We just love each other and have a good time. I am so glad my children are getting to experience this as I did growing up. I hope they will appreciate "family" as much as I do.


So Lloyd Dobbler called. You know he drives all the way from Tiny Town to the far side of The Big City to work each day. It usually takes him about an hour. It took over two hours today because of the snow. He just pulled into the parking lot when his boss called him on his phone and told him to just work from home today because of the weather. What timing.


Happy Snowy Presidents Day!

Hold it right there!

I have found
THE PERFECT SONG
for my friend's wedding. I was just listening to it
and it made me cry because it is so perfect and lovely
and I can just hear my other friend
(with the LOVELIEST voice)
singing it. I am so excited!!!!
You can listen to it yourself if you want.
Cast your eyes over to the juke box.
It is #3.

Go on.
Listen to it.


I have added some other songs that I find
so fun and amusing
for a wedding. How about "When I'm 64"?
Surely I'm not the first person who ever thought
that would be a sweetly funny song for a wedding.
Not like at a serious part....but you can have
FUN
at your wedding, you know.
My best friend from childhood had "Going to the Chapel"
played during the seating of the mother's at her
wedding. It was great. The world's greatest babysitter,
a girl I love dearly, had "Happy Together" played at the
end of their wedding; she's a great musician and
had written a special arrangement of it herself.
That was really great.
Everyone loved it.
And remembered it.

What about #4 to start playing as
the bride and groom start to walk out?
I know what my parents would say with a big frown:
it says something about getting drunk.
Yes, I know. But it doesn't mean you have to
get drunk if you hear it. It's a cute and fun song
about being totally committed to a person.
It would leave your wedding guests all happy
and tapping their toes.

I still want to hear your ideas and suggestions.
I'm getting plenty of the fun, silly songs on my own.
Imagine that.
But I probably need help picking out a great old hymn
that would be perfect and I don't know the names
of any classical pieces.....I have to hum them to
someone who is better educated so they can tell me
what it is that I am thinking of.
So let me know what you are thinking!


And what do you think of
Grow Old With Me?
I think it's beautiful.

Sunshine On My Shoulder Makes Me Happy

The sun is shining today
and it's just that kind of
sunshine that warms
you up inside and out.
I have just felt like doing
the dance of joy
most of this day.
I know it's still winter
and it's still cold out
(just ask the people a few
hours north of here
who are literally
covered up in snow!),
but how lovely it is to see beautiful
sunshine pouring through the windows
and to know that spring is on its way.
Oh, I can wait.
The arrival of spring is such a gift from the Lord.
I love to see the new life and blossoming growth of His creation.


Another ray of sunshine
in my day was our
lovely Mr. Popsicle coming
over today to get the
big kids and take
them to lunch at
McDonalds. And of course
that's not all he did
---he always does so much!
He brought me my
lunch too and then when
they returned, he had
brought me a frappe. Yum!

(I told you about these, didn't I?
If you love frappacinos at Starbucks,
you need to try McDonalds frappe.
They are just as good, if not better,
and about half the price.
I can't really justify going
to Starbucks anymore....)

The kids had a lovely time
and I had a nice time at home
in peace and quiet,
just me and Baby J.

I always think of a million things I am going to get done when I have opportunities like this. I mean, an hour or two seems like a long time without your three extra pairs of hands to tend to. But in that time, I had to eat my lunch and feed Baby J and deal with him.....But I did manage to get some laundry done and finally put away the Christmas CDs (I counted them---I have sixty. Hello, my name is Bell and I am addicted to Christmas music.) and took the big Christmas picture down from above the fireplace. I think I have been watching too much HGTV while nursing the baby because I just want to do so many things to this house! We haven't done anything to the interior (decoratively) in a long, long time. Many things didn't get done when we moved in or just had a "this'll do for now" something thrown at them. And now I'm just wanting to make things look more attractive and be more functional. I'm kind of getting into getting rid of stuff. At least thinking about it. I even had time while the kids were gone to go into the dreaded dining room and start throwing away some of the kids' junk and picking up and organizing some of the school mess that seems to explode in there on a regular basis. So I am working on stuff, people.
"I'm doing the work! I'm baby-stepping!"

So a big fat hug goes out to Mr. Popsicle today
for giving the kids a day out
--and me a couple of hours of reprieve.
They are all bubbly and excited now that they
are home. I thought we'd get a chapter of History
and some map work done this afternoon.
Don't know if that's going to happen or not.

I hope the sun is shining on you today, Dear Reader.
And I hope that it feels just as invigorating
and inspiring to you as it does to me.

Big Fat and Wide

A friend of mine is getting married.
I am so excited for her, so very happy for her.
She is my age (a few months older actually)
and I think she has wondered if these days
would ever come for her.
Well, they are here.
And I am so glad she waited for
the great guy that God had for her
all along.

So this friend asked me to help her
pick music for her wedding. She kept saying that
she knew how I just loved all kinds of music
and how important music is to me
(I was surprised to hear her say this.
Is this something that people know about me?
Other than you, Dear Reader,
who gets regularly subjected to my musical selections.).

I am supposed to be getting together a list of ideas of songs.
This is where you come in.
Do you have any helpful suggestions?
Anything that you ever thought of as
THE perfect wedding song?
Any tips?
I don't mind stealing your ideas.
I have already stolen an idea from one of the 1.5 of you.
I wonder if I ever told you that. We had the same
pianist at our weddings (now you know who you are)
and that pianist told me you had used
Tarah's Theme from Gone With the Wind
at your wedding. I thought that was such a lovely idea
(as well as a lovely song) that I stole it.
That's what they played as my wedding party entered.

So I would love to hear your ideas
....and quickly steal them and claim them for my own.

I'll tell you an idea of mine that I won't be telling
my dear friend about for her wedding.
Not everyone would find this interesting, but I do.
This is something I have thought of for years,
ever time I hear this song.

Okay, do you know the song "Layla"
by Derek and The Dominoes?
(And if you do, don't freak out--hear my idea first!)
At the end of that long song, it suddenly slows down
and this piano starts playing. That's where
I would start it--cut off the front of the song.
From that point on, it's just this pretty, happy, alternative
instrumental and I can just see that starting
to play as soon as the preacher says
"I now pronounce you man and wife" and the
happy couple turns to face the world.
It would be such a lovely piece for them and the rest
of the wedding party to walk out on.
I always picture it being played live
at a wedding in a garden.
(I just went and added this song
to the juke box. It's the bottom of the list.
But it's a seven minute song and the first part
is SO not wedding material....but if you are not familiar
with it and you can make it through until
the piano kicks in
[at about three minutes and fifteen seconds]
and it gets pretty...well, then you
can see what I am talking about.
You might still think I am crazy though.)

What a day I have had here.
A good day.
Just an ordinary day, the kind I like.
I feel like it should be night time by now, but it's not
even three o'clock. I have gotten stuff done today.
It snowed this morning. Lovely K and Sweet T went
out to play in it. Big E was not interested in joining them;
he stayed in his room listening to his multiplication
tables and playing with his Star Wars men.
But now the sun is sort-of shining and all the snow
is melted. That's my kind of snow!
Now you see it, now you don't.

I am waiting on my hamburger meat to get
adequately thawed out so that I can make
Salisbury steaks for supper
(to go with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole).
Oh, and guess who is screaming again?
Is this his new midday activity?
I hope not.

I'm looking forward to
any musical suggestions you have for me, Dear Reader.
Let's try to stay away from Kool and The Gang.

Cry Me A River

So glad to have this day behind me
(wait, there are a about two hours left
---surely they will be better than
the rest of this smelly day, right?).
Don't you love the roller coaster of emotions you get from me? One day we're climbing every mountain, forging every stream, praising God and telling jokes. The next day we're playing a dirge and slumping in the depths.

I had a minute this morning, before the crying marathon, on the computer here where I went back to look at my posts last February. I was wondering exactly where I was at then. That was pre-pregnancy. I believe that was even pre-medical issues. And what was I doing? The same thing that I do most of the time. Being happy one minute, and griping and whining the next. At least I am consistent about that.

Actually, last year on this day I was all happy about the spring-like weather we were having. Not the case today. We had a spurt of snow at some point during the day. I think that's when I was cat-napping this morning. I was SO TIRED all day. And you'd think I'd be LESS tired now that the nights are getting better. But no. I could hardly get going this morning. And then as soon as I did get going,
I needed a snooze.

It actually happened like this:
I read a couple of chapters of a book
to the kids and then they got sent off
in different directions to do this and that.
And I was still sitting there where
I was reading....and the next thing I know,
I was waking up.
I had just dozed off.
Or else a vase fell on my head
and rendered me unconscious....

But there was a crying marathon this afternoon.
It started just after two. There were actually periods of quiet when the crier, exhausted from his efforts, fell asleep. But he was able to rouse himself again and again. And I'm telling you, he really put effort into this thing. He gave it his all.
Don't start asking me if this or that was wrong with him.
I checked everything I could think of and
I don't know what the deal was. I wish babies came
with codes (like your car, you know) where you
can just plug in some tool to find out what the
problem is. At least until they can talk.
Wouldn't that come in handy?

So I'm going to go to bed now
instead of lolly-gagging around on the computer.
Must stock up on all the sleep I can get.
I can't keep snoozing off in the middle of the day.
Too much to be done!

Is It Raining Men?

Something is happening outside.
I don't know if it's sleet or frozen rain or
just regular rain wearing tap shoes.....but there's
a noise out there in the dark.
Something is happening.
I hope it isn't going to be much, whatever it is.
I have been cold for days
(or for about seven weeks----ever since
Baby J stopped being my built-in heater)
and I'm so ready for some unseasonably warm days.
Wouldn't that be lovely?
An early spring?
Oh, yes! Sign me up for one of those too!

This little short month of February may end up
seeming like a very long month. It's going to be
a crazy time at work for Lloyd Dobbler.
Lots of long days. He got home at 9:30pm Friday
night. He told me on the phone he has to be
there by 6:00 tomorrow morning which means he'll
need to leave here by 5:00am.
We knew there would be a lot of craziness
while they are working on all the new stuff they
are working on. I just hope it will settle down once
all of that is in place and working.
That'll be in a couple of months.
When the warm weather really is here.

We had a good day today.
Got some school done.
Got some clutter sorted through,
thrown away (though heaven knows not enough
of that was done! I could spend days on it
---I need to spend days on it!).
Went to the store and to the library.
Made ham and cheese quiche for supper.
Read a couple of chapters to the kids.
Nothing major. Just basic stuff.
One step in front of the other.
And now the kids are watching the Charlie Brown
movie that they got from the library today.

Big E has been dragging all day.
I hope he isn't coming down with anything.
But he spent the night with his buddy on Friday night,
had a busy day on Saturday, full day on Sunday.
If he gets overly tired, he just drags. He has to have
his sleep. He's got bags under his eyes right now.
We've avoided sickness for so long.
I'd really like to keep avoiding it.
Oh yeah--Lloyd Dobbler also told me on the phone
that one of his co-workers went home with some
kind of stomach thing. Like a stomach bug or flu.
I'm hoping that it was food poisoning
('cause that's not contagious)
and I am really hoping that whatever it is,
Lloyd Dobbler does not get it or bring it home to us.

Although I love the quote I read somewhere that said:
"I'm one stomach virus away from my goal weight."
Only that's not true for me.
I'd have to have limbs amputated
to hit my goal weight right now.

Progress

Just thought I would update you
on the latest in Sleeping News.

Last night I fed Baby J around 8:30 pm
and put him down.
He slept until about 3:30 am
(and there was much rejoicing!).
I knew he'd be able to make it until 6am after that
--but it was actually 6:30
when he woke me up again!
This is wonderful.

So it's Monday morning....I'm fixing to jump into
the shower and set this week into motion.
Wish me well.
I hope you had a lovely weekend,
Dear Reader---unless you are
Peyton Manning, and then it's understandable.
(But chin up, Peyton Manning,
you'll have other chances.
....and what are you doing reading this blog anyway?!?!)

This is the day that the Lord has made for us;
let's rejoice and be glad in it!
Let's do what brings honor and glory to God.
The phrase that is stuck in my mind this morning,
especially after listening to the news on the radio
while feeding the baby, is
"as you see the day approaching."

Signs of the times are everywhere.

Chicken With Its Head Cut Off

I feel like I have been running around like

the title of this post for several days.
(Speaking of that,
our rooster was
murdered by some
varmint this week.)

Right now I am
so very glad to be home
with all of my little family
snugged in for the night.
It's just so nice to be able
to sit down for a moment.
This day is done. This week is done.
Most of the things that I needed to get done are done.
I just folded three baskets of laundry....and I think
I am done for the night.
I feel like a toy with a dying battery;
I'm moving slower and slower,
winding down,
running out of steam.

But that's okay.
It's Saturday night.
It's time for everyone to unplug and sit down.

This afternoon
I participated in a
surprise
40th birthday
for one of my
favorite people
in the world

(hello friend!).

Her sisters threw her
the party and
I'll tell you exactly
what it made me think
when she walked in the door and
we all yelled "surprise"
and her sisters were right
there at the door to greet her---I just
found myself thinking, "I wish I had a sister."
But I have always wished that.
Those of us without a sister
missed out on something. Those of you who
have them, appreciate them.
Throw them a surprise birthday party.
Anyway, the party was a lovely time
and I think the 40 year old friend enjoyed it.

I can't believe my close friends are turning 40.
My own husband is turning 40 later this year.
And I've told you throughout this past pregnancy
that I can see 40 from here.
I never could before,
but this past year,
it has appeared on my horizon.
It's getting closer every day.

And remember when 40 seemed so old?
I mean, someone in their forties.....that was just like
somebody who had already done all the exciting
things that they were ever going to do. They
were just along for the ride for the rest of their
time (or that's what I thought when I was
much younger). The older
you get, the more you realize
that the joy of living doesn't
stop at any certain age.


And our lives are what we make of them.
I have come to see that so much recently.

Just tonight my father was telling me
that he talked on the phone to a cousin of his
who has cancer and back in the fall was given 10 months
to live---but he said she was cheerful and just saying
that God would take care of the family she'll be
leaving behind and she was just so joyful and positive.
You would never know what she was facing by
her attitude. What a lesson for us all.
Especially me, the big fat griper and whiner.

I hope you have had a lovely weekend so far.

Are you all geared up for
some wild and crazy
Super Bowl experience?
When did this ballgame
become a national holiday?
It just seems like every year
it becomes a bigger
and bigger deal.
I think it just shows
how people are
hungry for an opportunity
to celebrate and get
together with their people
and have a good time.

I don't have any Super Bowl plans.
I may watch it....but you know, the last part of
Jane Austin's Emma comes on tomorrow night on PBS.
The ball game may be done by then;
I don't even know what time that thing is.
Emma comes on late, after church....not that I've made
it to Sunday night church much since
Baby J appeared on the scene.
I haven't returned to "normal life" in many
ways yet. I think this addition to our family has
been the biggest adjustment of the four additions
so far. Maybe it's just the place I am at in my
life. The last few years have just been
one big crazy thing after another.
I often wonder when life will settle down
and we'll enjoy smooth sailing without some
crazy issue to deal with, but maybe it never will.
Maybe that's just how life is.

I was talking to my pastor and he asked me
about a crazy situation in our life and
I just kind of shrugged it off.
He said it was amazing to him that I wasn't
worried, more of a basket case about the constant stream
of things we have had to deal with in the
last few years.

Maybe that's the one thing
I have learned, that I can't worry and
stew over things. I can't control the outcome.
I can't control much of anything.
I've just got to keep doing the things that I am
responsible for
....keep "doing the next thing"
as our beloved Elisabeth Elliot says.

And as Keith Green sang,
"He'll take care of the rest."
I'm so glad I can
trust God with the big things
as well as the tiny details.

Talk about being in good hands.

These Days

This woman's words ring so true.
They have caused me to see my surroundings
with new eyes and a heart more full
of gratefulness.

Undeserved Favor

Somewhere I have a copy of that poem
called "My Mission Field."
Do you know the one I am talking about?
It is written by a woman who talks about how
when God gave her children, He called her to
the mission field. Those children He gave her
are her mission field, her own little tribe
of heathens that she is to be a light and
a witness to. I was thinking of this a minute ago
while I was singing an old hymn to Baby J as I
walked around the kitchen with him, waiting on Big E to
bring the dirty clothes downstairs to the laundry room
and for Sweet T to finish the directions he was
following so we could move on to the next ones.
Actually, it is very convicting for me to think of
my assignment as "missionary" to these four little gifts of God
of mine. Sometimes I am the worst possible missionary
in the world to them, I am sure.
It will only be by the grace of God that any of them
overcome the obstacle of their crazy, inconsistent,
undisciplined mother.
But praise the Lord for His GRACE!

Today In History

Today was the first day of February. Did you flip your calendar page? I flipped mine yesterday when I was doing all my planning and plotting for this new semester. My daughter thought this was so inappropriate --to flip the page on the day before. Lovely K is reaching that age where she has an opinion about everything. Sigh. Isn't it odd that I have one child wearing braces and rolling her eyes and another in diapers wanting to eat every ten minutes? So when my oldest is going off to college, my youngest may be losing his first teeth.

Today was also the six week mark: Baby J is six weeks old today. He is getting more interactive, and that's a good thing because if he has another day like today where he fusses all. day. long. he is going to have to be interacting with someone else. No, of course not, but you know how you have those thoughts when you are reaching your limit. Six weeks seems like a long time in a way. I go Wednesday for my six week check up with my OB. I should be released from all my restrictions. I'm sure I'll blaze a trail to the gym right after that appointment...with a Moo Latte from
Dairy Queen in my hand...

Today was also Sweet T's first day of officially doing his preschool work. I have told him for some time that he'd be starting this after Christmas, after Baby J was born, when he turned four. He had not forgotten. He was ready. He took it so seriously. It was so sweet when he was sitting beside me, coloring this page in his new workbook with great care and singing the theme from Scooby Doo. He would have done things the whole time that Lovely K and Big E were doing school work. What a change to have a child asking what they could do next rather than
"Can I have a break?"
After lunch I had him go get his Legos and bring them to the kitchen table. He didn't like this idea until I told him this was part of his school work (and hey, it's preschool--that's manual dexterity and all kinds of cognitive skills) and then he was excited about it and "worked" at it for quite a while. That child is a sponge. Eager to learn, eager to advance, eager to be "big" like his big brother and sister. He works so hard and everything. And I have to say, things come rather easily to him. He's just such an interesting little person.

So we jumped back on the school wagon and the day went well. It wasn't a day loaded down with heavy, vast plans however. We shall see how the rest of the week goes. There's nothing like a Science lesson (from which I can no longer hide) to stop the momentum. But we stayed on course today. Chores got done. The house got picked up. Chickens were tended to. We got several chapters into the new read aloud (the second book about The Borrowers). Supper was fixed. I think all the necessary things got done.

And guess what?
Tomorrow is going to be another day.
What was it that Anne Shirley
(in the Anne of Avonlea series) would say?
"Tomorrow is fresh with no mistakes in it."
Let's see if we can keep from
screwing it up, shall we?