Saturday....

Took Anna to work this morning and Matthew to Port-a-pit and made it back to church for the last half of the service. Phew. Then enjoyed a lovely shower for Pastor's daughter. When my day comes I will call upon the Mrs. for help. She does a bang up job of feeding people.

Came home and left soon after to pick the kids back up. Took Anna over to babysit and have come home long enough to make dinner for the kids and then go out again.....for the cub scout derby race/blue and gold banquet. I am already ready for bed..... Hopefully no will notice if I take a nap at the banquet.

The kids and Charley are cleaning up the tree debris this afternoon from all the fallen trees this winter. It looks A LOT better already. No more tree cutting activity today.

Exciting post as usual........

mysterious someone

A mysterious someone ate all my licorice that my mum gave me on Sunday. No one seems to know where it went.....hmmmm......did Stefan eat it? I don't think so. They all stare at me blankly when quized. Very interesting.

Then a mysterious someone removed all the scoops for measuring Stefan's formula. No one knows anything about it. I have since found a few in the diaper bag so at least I have one. But I am afraid we will never solve the mysteries of this house.

We are going to Ag days this afternoon for the first time since Anna was Cecilia's age. You would think we would go to this thing but I guess we have enough animals right here.

Exciting times......

Gentleman at church part three

So another cool thing that I observe of young boys practicing gentlemanly behavior at church is their perserverance in serving coffee and doughnuts between the service and Bible class. No they are not church basement women (and neither am I!) but they do their best and serve politely and quietly. They also stay after and do their best at cleaning up when they are done. They do not do this 'church basement women perfect' either but far be it from me to complain. I am just happy they continue with little grumbling. I personally feel that when these efforts are made they should be praised for their efforts and not criticized. If we see something wrong then we can shut up and cheerfully help make it church basement women nice. Yes, a few complaints have been raised to these young boys and they seem to take it respectfully, but quite honestly I have NEVER been to ANY church where young boys help in this way so I might come to their defense. They can be encouraged and patiently worked with to make improvement and truthfully, young boys take any 'criticism' far better than ANY girl (including myself) would take such remarks. They don't quit serving and they don't seem to get defensive. Try that out for size ladies! Can you tell I am proud of these boys?

A similar way these groups of boys have served is at funerals. They cheerfully give of their time to help the ladies at church with serving and especially clean up. This is especially appreciated.

So 'Gentleman 101' is.......young and older men alike.....there is nothing that makes a young or older lady beam more than to see cheerful, willing, uncomplaining service on the part of the men. Serving in this way at home has the same effect on your mother or wife. Amazing and truly rewarding - har, har.

Happy serving!

Today's adventures

I slept till 7:30am which was a treat. No one up (except dh who was amazingly quiet getting out the door). I have been waking up every two hours on the average which is a little agravating. It 'goes' with the territory though.

I left the sicko home with Benjamin who also slept in this morning and the rest of the kids and I took off for church. There were I think nine of us total in attendance including the pastor. We even had an organist and the service was nice. He waited for our small crowd to get back from communion so we could all sing the hymn together. That was genious of him. Anna sat in the back with Stefan so I actually sat in the pew. Sigh. THat was nice too. At the end of the service, a fine young man jumped out into the aisle to usher us out. We all sort of giggled, as nine of us didn't HAVE to ushered out but he offered.

School went pretty well considering it was a late start. We are plotting and planning for next year in our spare time. Juggling the schedule and who is teaching what. Planning sure is fun.....

I almost stole something from the drug store this afternoon as I forgot it was in my hand. If I only had a brain......

Matthew went to the ortho again today. He only needs his teeth cranked till Sunday evening. Phew. That is a relief. After his appt. we went to finally pick up Stefan's baby pictures. It was nice to see visable evidance that he has grown. He is a busy kid.

I've included a picture of how Charley entertained himself between services this weekend.

Charley is not dead

Aren't you relieved? My apologies to the grammar Nazis for my post on Pastor Peters. Apparently my first sentence was a bit awkward and implied they had both died. Oops....
He is very much alive.

My many deep thanks to the grammar Nazis in my life who did not post and correct my poor use of the English language. I am sure that took a lot of restraint. A blog reader pointed this out to me right before service this lovely Easter morning and I must admit that there were a few times when I was struggling not to giggle.

Oh......Pastor Stuckwisch caused the congregation to laugh this morning during his sermon. Please don't write him emails telling him jokes are not appropriate. It was an unavoidable congregational giggle...... It woke me up anyway. His sermon didn't put me to sleep. Lack of sleep had me struggling......

Till later......

Home Wreckers

So Charley was wandering around our ever randomly cluttered with every kids stuff home and he declared, after seeing Stefan wander through making a mess, "Ah! Soon we will have another home wrecker". "Yes, dear." I replied, "and just think we invite other people's home wreckers regularly to our home as well!" What a hoot. I do really believe that despite the frustration of constant messes that someday we will miss this battle. Then we can steal our kids kids so they can come mess up the house too. ;o).

Back to panic cleaning..........

Sleepy

I am a bit frustrated by a constant sleepy feeling. I am sure it has something to do with the baby but being as month five started yesterday, you would think this would be my bright and perky time. Perhaps it is the weather but I do find it difficult to make it through the daily tasks and not drown in what is not done. Anna and Erik,I think, are feeling a little guilty about that as they have been slaving away at Heavenly Ham this week.

Charley is in his element chopping down a tree in our front yard. I was watching him while holding Stefan and Matthew was holding the rope to keep his dad from dropping off the tree to the ground while Charley was sawing into this old tree. Suddenly a big old fat coon came out a hole in the other side of the tree where Charley couldn't see it. You see Charley was WAY up on the tree to chop this section down so I thought for sure that thing was going to go around and scare the you know what out of him but instead it scurried down the tree and off into the woods someplace. That was exciting.

Now I need to go on a church clothes hunt and make sure things are ready for the rest of the weekend. I will try to stave off the temptation to sit down and take a nap.......

Gentleman at church continued

I took note this morning of a gentlemanly act. A young man willingly took his youngest sibling into the library (what I call the rubber room) so his dear mother could attend the service and actually participate with everyone else. A mother of very young children spends a lot of time in rubber rooms and at times leaves wondering if she heard anything. So I see this gesture as VERY gentlemanly and I compliment the young man on his service to his mother. He wondered out loud to me if his mother was getting more out of the service and I assured him she did. He was not complaining, just wondering.

My dear husband does this for me now as he knows my days are numbered again in being able to stay in the sanctuary. (Baby due in September) I DO appreciate it. I feel a little guilty about it really as I want him to be able to be in the sanctuary as well but the dear one year old is not cooperating usually. The one year old crowd has been remodeling the library and as they gradually destroy the mismatch of books (of no real value) the library is looking much better. Are they being gentlemanly????? Doubt it. Just curious and helpful in a non intentional way.

So young men......if you are fortunate enough to have younger siblings, you too can take a hand at giving your mother a rest, a literal rest at services. And it occurs to me if your older sisters have young ones in toe you can do the same for them. It is a refreshing opportunity that is not taken lightly.

Gentlemen for Dummies

I have been 'inspired' to get going on this endeavor. I have thought a lot about writing a book in honor of my five sons (and perhaps my dear husband) that outlines proper etiquette for young men (or older) when dealing with the dear ladies in their lives. This book comes up often but where to begin???

Since I am supposed to be responsible and get my children and myself ready to go out the door in a half an hour I will begin with a little portion that warms my heart. So the sign of a young gentleman in the making would start at the church door. Many a time I have witnessed three to fifteen year old (and perhaps older) young boys stopping at the church door to hold it for their mothers. There is nothing sweeter than seeing the older generation standing behind them ready to greet people and then have a son standing holding the door. I have seen it of other sons for their own mothers and I would say this is a sign of hope that they are learning something. I think starting this writing on a perky positive note is a good thing. The boys are sporting big grins and holding the incredibly heavy door waiting patiently in all sorts of weather. This is a good start.

So begins......."Gentlemen for Dummies". Stay tuned.......

I'll miss him

Charley and my first pastor, Rev. Edmund Peters died last night. He retired from our old church in 1992 I believe, and has remained active helping with another church so I am not sure he really retired. He is someone who I don't think I will ever forget his style of conversation, his good sense of humor, and his passion as a pastor. It is sort of bittersweet that he died this week. I remember him most for lent and Holy Week services. Even his sermon two years ago, at a service at Redeemer, is the sermon I remember most. I won't go on and on about him but he was my pastor years ago and I am glad. He faithfully preached the gospel to me and my family, he was a pastor who the congregation knew where he stood and he wasn't going to change things because someone wanted to do things differently. That may not sound good to some but I appreciated that nothing weird was going to suddenly start happening. I do also rejoice with him that his suffering is over and look forward to seeing him again. I think it will take me awhile to stop looking for him at local functions though. The area will miss him too.

Weird idea

So my bedroom has been driving me insane and I had a crazy idea. When someone moves they have to remove everything from their room and it goes in a new room. I thought that I could do the same thing. Literally remove everything from my room; closet stuff, under the bed stuff, stuff that has been dumped in there since people don't know where else to put it. Then I would only put back what I want to go in there and not let anything else come back in. Sounds divine. Of course I would clean it from top to bottom before the stuff went back in. The Ft. Wayne Seminary will probably get a nice donation as the clothes that don't go back in the closets would need to go somewhere.

The first trick will be to get the energy to remove it all then clean it all. The next trouble is that people still like to eat and we have been eating a basic pbj diet for awhile that comes from desperate living. When I do cook, the food is gone in a twinkling of an eye and we are back to not having food again. I set my goals too high I think.

The next problem will be that Monday is on it's way and wherever I put the stuff from the room in the meantime can't be out on Monday morning. And mouths will still want to eat. I am trying to solve Holy Week eating by cooking a big turkey today and then making turkey this and that for the rest of the week. Our turkeys are 27 plus pounds on the average so that SHOULD get us through the week. Then of course it will be ham time on Easter Sunday. The perk of the kids working at Heavenly Ham is we get a 'no brainer' spiral cut ham every holiday that removes all that preparation from my plate. Yay!

On to the project. Energy donations anyone??????

A Warmer Day

Overall it has been a good day. The kids seemed to apply themselves more in school and the school day itself was actually somewhat interesting. It is much warmer out and Anna and I took a walk when I got home. The fans are off from the woodstove and I even opened a window. There is water bubbling in the creek down the road which will dry up later this summer (unless we keep getting more moisture like we have been).

So.....what is my problem. I see a lot of stuff that needs to be done and I still lack the energy to attack it and make it go away. My walk was good but I can see that I will not be Mrs. Energy for awhile. Sigh. This makes me a little bit down as it seems as hard as I am able to work that either mentally I get worn out and don't feel like tackling work when school is done or I do some work and it makes me really tired anyway. The kids seem to be studying pretty hard with progress in places which is good but they too don't feel like working when they are done with their studies.

I enjoy time to just talk about things other than work that needs to be done but that seems unlikely as that is my main thing in life.....to see that stuff gets done. Then I wonder why I have a short supply of patience and perhaps it is because talking about work just isn't very brain stimulating to me. I just want the work to be done and over with so I can have a moment or two to unwind. Perhaps too spring makes me restless and I just want to get outside and hope the mess inside will just disappear.

Stefan the dry skinned baby is finishing up one of his daily spa baths and hopefully this batch of cream applying will make him look less like a lizard and feel less like one as well.

Hopefully I can switch on my happy switch and get something done switch and not feel so overwhelmed in the morning. Sorry to complain but it is what is running around in my head.

Dog seems better

I am not sure what his problem was. He was following us around and not drinking. Charley thinks it was the fire alarm beeping the low battery signal. I guess since that noise makes me mildly crazed that it would and could make a dog really crazy. I'm glad he seems better. I was just wondering on his tenth birthday Monday how much long we would have him.

Sick dog

So our dog is acting very oddly this morning. Sigh. I am here today so will keep an eye on him. He doesn't seem to be drinking. He is a dalmatian who has had urinary problems/kidney stones before but it seems to me he drank too much then. I am suspicious he ate something disgusting in his romping around. Dogs can be so pitiful. He can be a pain in some ways but I think any dog would get on my nerves a little. This is really wonder dog as far as he listens, doesn't get into things and is very good around the kids. I have never met a calmer dalmatian. Hopefully this will not turn into a bad scene. Stefan is currently in love with Chip and that is the clearest word he says. Sigh again.

We have to remember a lot

I am AMAZED at how much we have to remember. Ugh. There are the bills and when they are due. There are appointments and whether we rebooted the laundry this morning. There are the MANY rashes to keep track of and treat. What is for dinner? I don't know. What week is it? Is everyone keeping track of their responsibilities? Have I reviewed everyone's memory work? Probably not. Have I done reading and spelling with the kids who need extra help? Have I gone to the bathroom lately? (sorry, but I do actually have to think about that every once in awhile?). Have I eaten much today? How about my vitamins? Has my allergy kid taken care of his allergy meds? (Usually not). Did I fill out the 4-H papers yet? No. Have I returned people's phone calls? Have I checked the babies diaper lately? Have I said anything to Benjamin in the last 24 hours? (I do have to remember him as he is a house flopper - happy and content to entertain himself - doesn't seek attention......ugh). Are the bathroom doors shut to keep the babies from swimming? Why am I in the basement anyway? Ok, I will shut up now.

Back from Stephen's

So we spent four days in Columbia, Missouri investigating the college there. For the most part it looked very good. There is one art class that we will have to find an alternative here if we decide that Stephen's is the plan but otherwise the school itself seems very professional and the professor/student ratio is such that 'everyone knows your name'. I personally think she would be challenged yet do extremely well with the skills she already has. She is considering fashion design as a major with a marketing minor.

To be fair we should really check out IU Bloomington which does not have a major there but the church there would work out better I think. I am not sure the scholarship opportunities are as great there and I do have some program questions that are related to the art class problem at Stephen's. Oddly the head of the fashion department at Stephen's agreed with our accessment of the art class and has asked that the program be changed but to no avail. Sigh.

Then there is reverting back to music as a possibility if none of this works out. Ahhhhhh!!!!! This is a lot think about. Considering her upcoming younger sibling I need to do as much as I can with this right now. She has a lot to think about.

I think I am also in denial that my stomach is growing. It seems too early to change wardrobes but.......then there are the obvious problems of using my regular wardrobe. Perhaps you didn't want to know that.......smile.

I still do not have all my babies back. Matthew and Stefan are returning this evening and Benjamin is with my mother and returning this afternoon. It will be nice to be back together. It is incredibly quiet around here.

Are we home yet?

So staying in a hotel is certainly better than camping, I am not good at going out to eat many times in a row. Yes, I have the same problem my daughter has that the excess salt and fat starts to get to me. We are off to have a little portion of eggs and toast here in a few minutes. Then we are going to church here in Columbia.

I am also grateful that we don't have tv reception. I am clearly very sheltered but not the worse for wear for it. I am happy to stick with peace and quiet most of the time. Well.....I am not sure about the quiet but five boys I am amazed at the nature of most of tv. I am also happy to just listen to country music.......not watch it........the five boys again........

We have a had a very nice time though despite missing the comforts of home. I am sure Anna will elaborate on her blog but our talks have been realistic that most of the things that might bug us i.e. people making bad choices or dealing with other's opinions will be found anywhere. The school itself seems like a very good match as well as the faculty. I will have to have her chat with some of her college age friends for some reassurance.

Weird dreams

So I dreamed the baby was a girl. As in I dreamed the baby was born and it was official, it's a girl! The weird thing was that I couldn't find the baby and it turned out Anna took the baby! No one would let me have her. The other weird thing was the baby was very tall and skinny. Hmmm........my oldest baby IS tall and skinny but I have never seen a really tall and skinny baby. I was wandering around the hospital looking for baby and found Anna in a closet feeding the baby a bottle. I am glad dreams don't come true. I could phsycho-analyze this dream......someone else is watching my current baby this weekend and Anna has told me that if the baby is a girl she won't want to leave for college. Maybe this will be a way to keep her around? I think I miss my baby.....and will miss my other baby........

Wednesday night again.....

So it was another Wednesday night Lenten service. The young people sang again which was nice. Dinner was nice. Only one moment of excitement when Benjamin apparently had been choking on an ice cube. I had no idea and it suddenly, loudly came out of him. It sounded suspiciously of someone getting sick but he in his Benjamin style pronounced that this round thing in his drink was stuck in his throat. Yikes. I am certain none of us were paying attention to him so I have no idea how stuck it was or how long he struggled with it. Ugh. Mother guilt.

Then Stefan and a friends little one year old girl played together. Stefan has a ball he likes to throw and he threw it a little to impress her and then offered it to her. Then......it appeared he was going to smooch her. He was holding her hands and gazing into her eyes. We were all amused. She didn't let him. Smart girl.

During the service there was only one moment of excitement from our pew where I was again unaware that Benjamin was looking at Stefan's ball which had been sitting behind me and then suddenly it flew out of his hands and rollled under all the pews to where the acolyte (my son) was sitting. All this during a hymn and there was this squeal from Benjamin that the ball was gone. Church is full of surprises.

The kids are all over the place tomorrow while we check out a college. That will be weird. I am not totally ready and should just go to bed. I am incapable of staying up late working so that is the plan at the moment.

Oh, I forgot. We read a good portion of "Grossology" this afternoon and it seems it should be required reading as it really has a lot of practical information in it. We are up to athletes foot and various fungus of the body. Yum, yum. I would think it would help encourage some young folks I know to change their socks every so often......... The book is completely about the body and all it's lovely functions. We are enjoying it anyway.

Grading

So I have NEVER been one to give grades. But, I have come to the conclusion that those cute little math students will never become more careful if they do not see the result of their 'work'. There are some who are careful and slow, some who want to 'get er done' and some who need to study the concepts a little more. The little people thought it was pretty cool to get a grade. One wants to know what it will get him/her. Hmmm......no pizza that is for sure. I am just afraid that the older kids will not be ready for the realities of college for those that go, if they do not know how to work carefully for a grade. I don't love doing this but I don't see any alternative.

The kitchen is sort of caught up again until this next meal is done. The ironing is out of control again. Too bad I don't like t-shirts very much any more. I have grocery shopping to get done before the weekend so I am prepared for next week and other reasons.

Ahhhhh!!! It is getting late so better go feed the crew.

She done good

So I am a proud mommy. Anna played the whole divine service this morning and in my humble mommy opinion, and considering it was a Pastor Stuckwisch service, complete with 7 hymns and many of those with 7 to 10 verses.......she done GREAT! She plugged right along with no obvious fumbles and seemed totally confidant and prepared. Yay Anna! I do hope she will have more opportunity on a more regular basis to do this again.

We did manage to get to church cheerfully and with no mishaps. Charley and I are suffering cold feet for leaving Stefan with a friend, not for lack of confidance in the caretaker but more because he screams so much that I am not excited about torturing her. She stole him this morning during Bible class and he seemed cheerful enough. Her daughter who had/has eczema as well and I was telling her my hesitation and she said "Oh yes, our daughter with eczema did that till she was four." Ahhhh!!!!!!!!! Well......perhaps we will have to have her take him more often just for a break from the screaming.

As usual I am hungry and need to go feed the masses so off I go. Just wanted to share my dear daughters success.

Long day not over yet

We are currently on a hunt for Sunday clothes in closets so that we don't either show up like clowns, or show up late, or show up grumpy, or whatever dreadful thing might happen on a Sunday morning. Perhaps we will show up all smiles and they won't have been recently plastered on our faces but will have been cheerfully beaming for at least an hour. Sweet. I won't be too optimistic though........negative attitude. There are always those toddlers who might decide to put their feet up on the seat in front of them annoying their siblings, or the bottle that gets forgotten or the mom who didn't find some clothes that fit the night before.

Anna chopped her finger at Heavenly Ham today. She is playing for the service tomorrow but claims she is fine. Ok.

The boys and Charley were MUCH too long at Port-a-Pit sales. Thank you to those who tried to help get them home sooner. I flopped around with the little people at home and got a little of this and that done again. Oh, Cecilia of course got a lot done. Scrubby doo two to the rescue! I think her grandma tried to call her but I can't be sure to congratulate her on her new position.

I hope I can stay awake long enough to do something without Stefan screaming at me. When he is tired he screams and screams. When he sees me he screams and screams. I think he may be a more talented screamer than Anna was when she was a baby.

Better go mash the potatoes.......

Obsessive cleaning

Cecilia and her friend have a game where I think they are some sort of super heroes and the super heroes are the Scrubby Do Two. So.......she has been scurrying around the house cleaning obsessively. This sounds like a trick a parent may try on their kids but they came up with it themselves. I don't know if the other half of the duo is cleaning at their house but our floors are getting swept daily and she would not go to bed until she decluttered the living room and straightened books and such. I suppose I can not convince the other kids to join this game as they would not find it as much fun as their sister. We shall see how long this lasts.

Stefan is cutting many teeth and seems discontented a lot. He is over his creeping crud though which is good. No one else has fallen prey to the plague but I am not holding my breath that they will make it and not have someone at home from church tomorrow.

Charley and the Scouts are off at Port-a-pit (a chicken fund-raiser) and who knows when I will see them again. It is hard for Charley to make much progress around here with the weekends occupied with activity. Sigh. Perhaps I should take Anna to Stephen's college on my own. Hmmm.......