Happy birthday Mom

Friday was my mom's 70th bday. Since we were in Wisconsin we celebrated on Saturday with a picnic at our house. I am hoping to get a picture of the family on here so we will see how that goes.

The things I remember most about mom which are also my favorite things. She fostered a love of reading in me. Growing up if she wasn't talking to friends on the phone she READ! She doesn't read so much now but I do remember she had a voracious appetite for books. So.....I thought that would be a good idea for me as well. Thanks mom. I'm trying to pass on the gift.

My mom is a GREAT cook! I can't say that I am necessarily as good but the only meal I can remember not liking growing up was liver and onions. They gave us a few token pieces of bacon with this meal. My brother and I were sure glad of that as we would usually wait until my parents gave up on us and then Steve and I would slink to the trash can with our yucky liver. I think they knew....... Anyway, we never ate anything that was processed and pre-prepared so I guess I passed the food snobbery on to my kids as they don't eat those things either. Meat, potatoes, and veges with a nice little salad on the side. She cooked most of the time and my most visual memory was of her ability to cook a great steak. I am not sure how they pulled off getting steak for us back then on a humble income but hey, THAT was my favorite meal. Steak, baked potatoes and some fresh veges - yay! I cooked a little bit as a teenager to give mom a breather or just because she asked me so my learning to cook was driven by a desire to continue to have great food. Real food is cheaper anyway. OOOoooOOOO, chicken noodle soup, ham and bean soup.....goulash.....pepperkoker (sp?) cookies......soft molasses cookies......lamb chops on a rare occasion.....fish chowder......sigh.

Another favorite memory was trips to Maine. We had a great summer on Little Sebego Lake in a cottage they rented. We went fishing and raced mussels in the sand and of course went swimming. I think I remember the most of that trip. THere is nothing more romantic for a little kid than getting to sleep in a bunk bed and digging holes to China in the sand. I also remember dad helping us learn to clean fish - yum. Lobster......raw oysters, sword fish, steamed clams (yes mom, I like them again), fresh blue gill (no we didn't catch these we bought everything but the blue gills). I loved going to the beach, collected stinky shells to drag home, swimming in the ocean, and walking and walking on the rocks with my brother. I also loved going to Old Port and going on the Ferry through Casco Bay as a family. Grandma and Grandpa were of course a whole different blog post and great memories too. "Can you wistle my son said the Comyonmon Son (spelling mom?)" Oh, oh......I almost forgot all the treats of Almado's (spelling) sub sandwiches - mom you lived a great childhood I am certain!!!!!!!!! Thanks mom for those great trips to Maine.

My mom also played French Horn which she still does. She plays for church now. She didn't while we were growing up but she still could if she tried. It was fun to help her get a new horn a few years back.

Ok mom, here is another favorite memory.....sitting beside you at church at Augsburg as a very small child and listening to you sing. That was one of those times when we actually sat still, you held me and I listened. THAT is a great memory. I also remember another church memory of purposely writing in the hymnal and I suddenly was departing from the church - thanks for sticking to your guns there mom.

These are just a few of my favorite mom memories from growing up. She is now a great friend, confidant, genorous person to many, knitter of many mittens etc, and loved by seven little and big grandkids. Happy Birthday mom. Hope you had a great day.

What's new

I haven't posted in awhile. We went to CCA last week and loved it. The Rhein's, the Kavorous's, the Kavorous's (spelling) (Naomi and Saranita), and Horner's piled into our van and went. Oh, Benjamin was with us for about an hour before we dumped him off at Grandma's and left to battle Chicago.

My favorite part of CCA was perhaps unusual for most. It was at the second Divine Service when Pastor Bender came to direct the choir. Wow. I had a bird's eye view from the back of the church and I was so struck by a man with such passion for the church and his passion for music. I can't exactly explain what I mean but the gift to minister was screamingly obvious and it was not a 'show' of musical talent but a true contribution to the service. I especially loved the time he was trying to get one section to sing louder and the look on his face hearkened me back to my times in symphony with great directors. What fun. It did give me the brief temptation to dump my kids and daycare and run back to the symphony. I told Charley that and he said "OK dear whatever you say". That would of course be contradicting my previous post so we won't go there.

I will have to make other posts of other things that are new......

grammar nazies

Perhaps I spelled Nazies wrong but......suffice it to say I make grammar and spelling errors while thinking out loud.......it is ok. I see the mistakes too....

This message is provided by the sometimes challenged mom society for people striving to relax about such things as grammar and spelling.

Pride

I am musing on my own pride that perhaps can be wounded. I used to be VERY involved at church in a hands on sort of way. I was very involved in other areas as well. Now I am VERY happily not involved in the same way and I guess I would say I would rather not be any time soon. Here are my reasons. I used to think that I had all the answers and could just make things happen. I knew what materials I liked and knew what I wanted for my kids and family so I basically forced the issue. I was a woman with all the answers. Then......while expecting my seventh child I realized that all the right answers for another organization was not God's plan for my brain. The more that I read about the call of a pastor to his congregation the more I realized I was trying to usurp the pastor and his call. (This is a bold step to put this on my blog). My brain was needed at home in helping my dear children on their own paths of life. I also have realized that some of the smartest women I know are at home moms, multi-tasking the many needs of their kids. How could I effectively multi-task at home and try to solve the problems of the church and still do a good job at both. I couldn't. That is what my boundary became. I had to put up a fence to saying yes to anything. Yes, we switched churches as well but that was a whole different story. Whether we stayed or left our previous church I was going to have to step down.....again. I stepped down from teaching years ago for the same reasons and then when Benjamin was getting older and there were no new babies to attend to I was tempted into thinking I could say yes to an outside job or imagine that by stepping forward I could reduce other people's stress etc. What?????? My pride sure had a foot in that thinking. Will I remember this as life treads on and I am still called to care for my family? I pray so.

The smartest women I know: What I mean by that is that the ammount of organization and fore-thought and trouble shooting, money management, house management, planning, juggling of kids talents, academics, jobs, responsibilities is obviously HUGE! If anyone naively assumes that a stay-at-home mom is not utilizing their brain then they have NEVER TAKEN CARE OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING BEFORE! Taking care of people is a mental gymnastic exercise. When we care for only ourselves we get selfish, lazy, indulgent etc. My little weekends alone (yes, I did have still have to use my brain) enlightened me to how relaxed life could be but would I trade my hyper husband and many kids for that boring life?????? No! "Retirement" scares me but I assume Charley and I will remain busy as at that point our youngest will be 'leaving the house' age when we are 60. Hopefully we won't be totally burned out from raising them that we will roll our eyes at taking on responsibility at church etc. What does a mom who has taken care of people all her life do with herself when there are far fewer to take care of. I suppose I will figure that out.

These are my current musings as I sort the too small for Stefan clothes from the soon to grow into clothes.....

Hoeing

I love to hoe the garden. There is nothing more fun than watching the sun go down (at 9:30pm) and getting rid of weeds. The soil looks nice afterwards and I think the plants say thank you too. (don't send the white coats out) It is sort of odd to be able to hoe that late.

Anna should be home within the hour. I was hoping to watch a movie with her but I think she will be sort of wiped out. There is a car wash tomorrow which I am sure will add to her need to sleep. I wish I could help with that but I won't take Stefan out in that heat and Charley is doing his Habitat stint tomorrow too. Everyone will need to crash on Sunday. I hope to declutter some more tomorrow and perhaps hoe some more too.

We had a nice visit with Cheryl and Joshua at the pool today. I almost forgot to mention that part of the day. It was great to see her and catch up. She is the one who is having the miracle baby from a previous post and it was so wonderful to revel in her need to break out a new wardrobe. Hip hip hooray!

I better go make Anna's bed. I changed her sheets so I am sure she would appreciate finding some on her bed when she arrives.

Losing sight of summer goals

I was hoping my kids could keep up with math this summer but am wondering if we will be able to get back to math before August. Perhaps next week a few of the kids could spend a week in math. Summer camps and family trips are in full swing and between recovering from one week and preparing for another, it seems we keep up with the lawn, the dishes, the laundry, the chores and that is about it. Yes, we run to the pool every day or so but I think I would go crazy if we only worked. Stefan's skin seems completely better with just a little head itchiness and a little eczema or heat rash behind his little legs. He is even starting to look a little chubby again. Yay!

Anna comes home this evening. It will be nice to have her home. I think she had a great time. I will be glad to have the chance to really talk to her. I talked to her briefly this afternoon. It was somewhat stressed as a turkey decided to kick the bucket right before she called. Chaos always seems to break out when investigating the untimely death of farm animals.

I think I have summer depression as well. How is it that a person can get depressed in the summer???!!!! I look forward to summer when we aren't doing school but then I think recovering from juggling Stefan all spring with his health issues put me so far behind that it is hard to keep slow and steady wins the race in perspective. I am greedy and want it all done now and by gosh by golly why don't the rest of you want house beautiful too!!! I am neglecting my friends somewhat for the clean house prize. Sorry about that folks. I am neglecting the all wonderful blog too. Getting rid of stuff is fun though and I can't believe how much stupid stuff we have. I sifted through the game cabinet and the books this morning and got rid of a ton of books and games. Anybody want some never cracked books on being a super wife/mother? How about a few on overcoming anger etc? There are a few fix the husband books too. Then there are the host of religious books people gave us because we are so religious and of course we might want them. Ugh. Why can't I fling immediately. Someone keeps reminding us of being finite and I have kept all these books that NO ONE in my family will ever read.

I have also thought to myself that I should just "BE POSITIVE!" Wouldn't I feel better if I could just be positive? Then I am not great at that. Sometimes I think other people think I am not too positive or perhaps I am depressing to be around. Is it when my eyes glaze over when I can't explain to them why I can't do something or handle anything else? I just can't explain the need to set boundaries because perhaps few people know what boundaries are? I am not ALWAYS good at setting boundaries either but I do know that when I limit the running around I am happier and so are my kids. Oh yeh, the cute husband is cuter too when I don't run around. I went to the bulk food store the other day to limit my running around going to the store picking up small amounts of things and even that was overwhelming.

Uh oh. I feel the sensation of needing to go get rid of more stuff coming on. Will I be able to go do it? Or will I have to go feed my family. Hmmmm.....feed my family.......get rid of stuff......which should I do?

Strawberry picking

We went strawberry picking this morning. The three oldest boys did the picking. First they were picking strawberries and I thought they would be done in no time. THen they were picking on each other and the picking slowed down. Oh well, we have the strawberries we wanted even if it took longer than I thought.

Charley is on his way to Canada this evening. I think he can use a break from family life anyway as flying, being bored in airports and on flights is a great time for him to process this crazy life we lead.

We are going to eat waffles, strawberries and whipped cream tonight. I really want some strawberry short cake as well. Greedy guts.

Oops. I forgot to call a lady from church back. I better get on that.

Cleaning the garage

Today is clean the garage day. Scary....... The carrot of going to the pool is still there for the afternoon but it should be interesting to see if we can make it through the sea of junk without killing each other. We'll have to put on the Taliban song so that we focus on why killing each other is not recommended. The little kiddos are not charmed by working today and I am once again sleep deprived. Stefan has a little gizmo/detector thing that makes him clue into the fact that his mother is thinking about sleeping. Hmmm.........actually he seems to be having some difficulty adjusting to digesting his love of oatmeal. I think I may try to soak the oatmeal longer before I feed it to him today to see if that helps his digestion. He has been basically happy otherwise and I am trying not to be cranky. Perhaps I should go hunt a piece of chocolate.

Anna is at the Sem at the organ workshop. I am excited for her and her friends who are going as well. She was nervous that she was somehow not worthy of such a week but I see it as a week of exploring the possibilities for her future. I assured her that I didn't care if she went, had a great time, learned a lot and then still decided not to study the organ in college. I don't want her to feel trapped one way or the other. I think she understood. She seemed very excited to leave when I said good-bye to her yesterday. It was one of those good-byes that I had to remind her that the mommy wanted a hug even if she thought it was no big deal for her to leave for a week.

Back to the garage project......

Sewing depression

I don't know why anyone sews. This is America for pete's sake and you would think these people would want to flatter the vain public called America. They sell patterns for people who are crazy enough to sew clothes for themselves and then........you read the measurements and you come out a size 20!!!!!!!! I know, I know. It is just a number but good gravy! That is not my normal clothes size so what lady would want to tote home a size 20 pattern so they could feel good about themselves. Sewing is so cerebral (sarcasm) that we need to have women buying patterns and feeling like cows. I hope I don't look half as fat as I feel right now. How is that for negative thinking and depression???????

I told Anna to have A LOT of fun now and she should. Turning 40 and having 7 kidlets is VERY humbling. Karin the ex-runner/athlete who can't shake the weight.

Script for dear husbands "Honey, you look beautiful no matter what. Pay no attention to that silly number, that can't be true!"

Eliminating stuff

Today Anna and I finally got to the container nightmare from the storage area. We eliminated 11 steralite containers during this ream out. Wow. Ok, everyone, we have enough boy clothes to outfit an army of boys. How many worn out sweat pants can one family hoard???!!!!! THen there are the cute outfits that would never stay on my boys tiny toddler hineys (spelling?) so seminary families look out - there are some cute suits coming your way. I am also struck by how many teeny tiny pairs of underwear that we hoarded. Duh, Karin, no child of yours would ever be potty trained at the age those would fit anyway! Not even Stefan! Perhaps those pairs should have jumped in the trash. Car polishers. So, the kids are dreaming of going to the pool now and it is hot and very windy. We drink a ton of water, go outside and then we are thirsty again.

Perhaps next week we will get to the girl clothes.

What would Mary and Martha do?

They would not have worn nylons that is what they would have done. My poor mom is off to some sort of pastor function and was lamenting sweating during a church service so......I asked her the awful question "You're not going to wear nylons are you?" and the answer was "Of course! What would the ladies think if I didn't?" Personally I pay zero attention to what people have on their legs especially during the summer. I am SOO glad my generation finds it hip to not wear them. I have this memory of going to the Chapel at Valpo as a young person and nearly fainting because it was incredibly hot and my mom insisted I wear nylons. I grew to dread the kneelers in summer because that is when it would happen. "Karin, why are you tipping over?" "It's the nylons mom." I will not put my daughters through that torture. I don't recall ever looking at another woman and thinking "Is she wearing nylons?" I think I have looked at a person wearing nylons in the summer and thought to myself, "The poor dear was born too early. She is shamed into wearing them." Skirt length is a different issue entirely.

So there! That is my deep thinking of the day.

More Stefan news

I took Stefan for a weigh in this morning and for once I got to leave with a smile on my face. He has gained a pound and a half since May 25th. I thought he had been getting a little heavier. He still resists anything that tastes like formula but between the pool and Benadryl he seems to have gained an appetite. So in a little over two weeks he is catching up to where he is supposed to be. That is stress relief.

Today was full of work. THe boys helped with the landscaping this morning till noonish. We didn't manage to get there until close to nine o'clock. I was happy to get some sleep and I figured it wouldn't make a whole lot of difference if they were a little late. The little kids and I went to the grocery (oh, the biggest kid too) and discovered that milk was cheap and the limit was 6 ! There's a switch. THe limit is normally 2 and then you get scowled at if you have your kid buy two. I objected to that as I am sure the parents of two leave the store without feeling like they are committing a crime for providing milk for the kids to drink.

THe afternoon was about stuffing our faces, doing chores and getting ready for church. I took the little kids to the pool so Stefan could have a soak. It was a little cold but we had fun anyway. Benjamin made a friend.

Charley went to pick up the Grobeins at the airport after church. It will be nice to have them back. I am sure they are glad to be home. They have the smiliest faces and brighten our day. They inspired the phrase of the month here. Regina is always telling her family members she loves them so I figure we could all practice saying that as neither parent is very good at that. It has helped! THanks Regina! I thought of the phrase of the month because of the verse of week. There is always a verse of the week at church. It occurred to me that there is much that we are not accustomed to saying to each other in this family like 'I love you'. Other months we may pick something like 'thank you for helping me' or 'good job' or something. These phrases just don't flow naturally for us so I figured if we practiced it would be MORE natural. I think I thought of all this after the sermon two weeks ago about how the yuckiest words flow from the same mouth that receives the Lord's supper. Yikes. I know that is true daily - sadly.

I mowed two fields this evening. The pigs seemed happy to see me. They are pretty cute even though they do smell. In the other field a barn swallow chased me around catching bugs as I mowed. That is so cool. Having this beautiful creature swooping around me makes mowing all the more fun. I think I am almost caught up. The turkeys are already huge. It is definately summer.

Stefan is out for the night so I think I will hit the hay.

Three posts in a day

Yikes. This must be therapy. I got to part of the lawn, phew! I am not sure how many miles I walked but part of the lawn looks much better. I will probably feel dehydrated later which is not a good thing for Stefan but who knows, given a little blogging I will get refreshed. I think I tend to hit bottom and then the next day I am able to get a bunch done and feel much better. I gave the boys each a list after catching them watching a movie in the basement. I love lists but forget to make them. The kids can accomplish an absolute amazing amount of stuff given a list.

The chickaroos come this afternoon. The coup has been repaired and all is set up for the little chick/pigs to move in. Broilers must be related to pigs. I can't believe how fast they grow. THis also means that the fair is about 8 weeks away. There are so many things to do that thinking about them may make me hit bottom again so perhaps I will focus on whacking off what needs to be done today. What an idea.

Spacing off during Catachesis....

Yes, this happens from time to time. It occurred to me (during one of the readings) that two years ago we would take an hour a day and clean one room thoroughly. So.......that is what we are doing to recover the house. I am not going to try to fix everything in one day and given a week or two I may stop pulling my hair out. What an improvement! My kids do know how to clean given the time and a challenge.

The kids are downstairs finishing up and the goo goo is maybe thinking about a nap. He needs a trip to the pool but I think the high for today is going to be 70 degrees. Benjamin's shirt is still inside out and backwards. Erik and Martin are perfecting the fine art of bickering. Cecilia is hiding and coloring (smart girl). Someone just made mention of breaking the 5th commandment (shocking we are). I just saved his life (opps I revealed it was a boy who was in danger of losing his life).

So, on to math and maybe mowing the lawn. Oh, happy day.

Juggling life in the summer

I feel sort of Romans 7 this morning although I don't think the way I feel is what that chapter is getting at.

There are many things that need my attention but I don't give them my attention. My goo goo baby needs my attention and he gets my attention. The stuff that needs my attention besides goo goo goes out of control. My other kids could use my attention and they don't get my attention. I want to pay attention to them but the stuff that is spiriling out of control makes me not be able to focus on anything.

The list is huge. Do some math every day. Finish going through all the containers of clothes for which there are too many clothes and GIVE THEM AWAY. The dust bunnies and spider doo doo on the ceiling need to leave - NOW. The bugs in the light fixtures that everyone notices also need to make an Exodus. Should Exodus be capitalized.....hmmmm......

12 miles of lawn need to be mowed. Dear hubby figured out that with the walk behind (which I do love by the way) I have to walk 12 miles to complete the lawn once. Lawn mowing keeps me out of the white suit and it is also my post pregnancy weight loss system. It is getting TOO HIGH!

So I could go on with this list but it may freak you all out and have the people in the white coats show up to pick me up. My four year old just breezed through with his shirt on backward and inside out.

Time to go try hard to get something done........

Stefan loves the pool

We have done something very 'un-Hornerish' and became members of a local pool. It was sort of my idea as many a summer has passed and summer is translated to the kids as another word for work. This particular summer we have kids going hither and yon and I wanted something near by that the kids who were left would really enjoy, remember and still benefit from. Thus a pool membership.

Stefan has not had to have any spa baths this week and his skin looks great. He remains sock free despite a little head digging every once in awhile when frustrated. He is adorable tooling around the pool with me or any other child who takes him for awhile. His little blue eyes peak our from under his 'Matthew hat' (Matthew used to have security hat and wouldn't go to sleep without it) and he looks around him very intently. HE seems to do that anyway. He is also not very Hornerish in that he is the first Horner baby not to adhere himself to his parents head when going near a pool. He absolutely loves being in the water. It is nice for me as well and who could beat the excuse of 'well honey, Stefan hasn't been to the pool today - gotta run'.

He comes home very hungry and eats a load of oatmeal and fruit. This has created a new problem of waking in the night to do his business........Mom needs a nap!

We are going back to the pool hopefully this afternoon with my mom to celebrate Martin's bday with the grandparents. Stefan is cheering.

Martin's Bday

Today Martin is nine years old. His middle name is Philip which was my dad's idea. Martin Luther, Philip Melancthon (spelling?). There are also a great grandpa of mine named Martin. Nine years ago Martin was born on Pentacost. He came sunny side up (ouch) and it took three kids later for me to get over the fear of child birth. Screaming is another form of pushing is the line I came up with after that experience. Anyway, he has a souvenir from his coming into the world. He formed a hematoma on the back of his head as his head never turned like it is supposed to when he was born. The bump later calcified and if you feel his head it is still there. It has grown with his head and is not quite so obvious but I always said that I should foot the bill if he goes bald and needs cosmetic surgery. Listening to the doctor is a good idea you gals.

Martin's grandparents were in a tornado the day he was born as well. THey lived in the hills of Pennsylvania where you least expect a tornado. It is also recommended that if a tornado alarm goes off that you should seek shelter. God loves my in-laws also (of course) and after they were trapped on the third floor in their apartment they stood in the corner by the door and a piece of sheet metal flew in the window. A floor lamp blocked it from hitting them. It was miraculous to me that couches and such things were destroyed but their china cabinet and the shelves that held family pictures etc were unscathed. Anyway, they waited till evening to call us and let us know and the bonus was that Martin had his grandparents living with us and helping out for a few weeks. THey were homeless for several months and bumped between kids till they could move back in. So.......Martin was nicknamed 'tornado baby'. Anna later took note that his initials are MPH - miles per hour. This is somewhat appropriate.

Martin is a sweet heart. He is my cuddly boy and his big smile and brown eyes have already attracted many a girl to hang on him. Hmmm........he even had a set of twins dragging him around at a very young age. He has his grandma Martinson wrapped around his finger and she is convinced that he is the poorest of things. There are benefits to this thinking you know.

He takes his first communion this evening so today is a big day for him. See Pastor's blog for more info on this one. He is very excited about this and I am amazed that my nine year old son has a better grasp on the preciousness of the sacrament than most people I know. I think he will have a great bday. He is my cute boy.

Another fond wedding memory

I remember my grandma commenting that she had the same hymn at her wedding -"Holy God We Praise Your Name". That just sticks out in my memory for some reason. That hymn in the chapel is awesome. One of my favorite organists played our wedding as one of his last things he did in Valpo.

Our 20th Anniversary

Well, we made it. So far so good. So here's the thing. Wedding anniversaries make you think back on what got you together to begin with. Here are a few thoughts. I had been friends with lots of guys and not too many dates. In fact hardly any at all. Now I say, thanks be to God for that! I recall walking on campus one day, sort of disgruntled that I must be chop liver as my girl friends had boy friends and I just had friends who were boys. Some of these friends were quite odd and if they had expressed interest I think I would have run like the wind. I even remember one odd friend from the camp I worked at writing me a letter saying God had told him he was to marry me. I vividly remember this too and thinking, yikes, God hasn't said a word to me! So, while walking on campus I decided that I was writing off guys and gee God there must be something else in store for my life. Perhaps I was going to solve world hunger or become a famous horn player or something. The next week I met Charley. Clearly I wasn't up for the jobs of world hunger or symphony member. We both knew it was twitterpation for us. Of course we didn't mention to each other but in retrospect that was the way it was.

I remember dawdling to the last minute to catch a glimpse of that cute guy zipping by on his bicycle on the way to Gellerson Hall. I would even stand outside Niles which was pretty far away from where he was biking to see him zip by to another class. Isn't that cute?

We went out to eat ONCE before he and his buddy Eric biked home to PA and NY for the summer. It was to Around the Clock in Valpo. My memories of that were: Not believing he called, he wore a jean jacket, he did something odd that you would have to have us over for a drink to tell you (just something farmerish), he drank A LOT of water, and I didn't want the evening to end. The next day I went to the fraternity to say good-bye as they biked off on their journey.

We wrote letters back and forth all summer and once he called me at the camp I worked at. We should get those letters out and read them. They are sitting in the filing cabinet across from me.

My mom liked him and the first day she had him over for dinner, she whipped out her wedding pictures and told him her daughter was going to wear her wedding dress when she got married. Ahem......that was embaressing but she must have known what she was talking about. She must have been pretty smart too. She always told me pre-Charley, that I should marry a Lutheran, Engineer, fraternity boy. THe first two were the more important and I balked at her suggestions but.....that is what happened. See, these parents DO know something afterall. I think the only joke my dad ever pulled off well, was when Charley took him in the basement to ask him if he could marry his daughter and dad said no. HA! I was impressed he said it with a straight face. He quickly told him he couldn't think of a better choice.

I was attracted to Charley because of his charming looks, brains, sincerity, obvious adoration of ME (smirk, smirk) and he had THE best head on his shoulders of any boy I had ever met. He was innocent, sincere, hard working, respected, polite, and cute and loved by many of my friends as well. (this hasn't changed) Mary and Phil were tickled that we were seeing each other. Phil also biked home with Charley to NJ one summer and Mary was my good friend. Rob Franck was his roommate freshman year and a good friend of mine (not one of the dorky ones Rob).

So, not much has changed with Charley except I am the only one who called him Charley. He was Chuck to everyone else at school. Chuck......yuck. Charley - much better.


Happy 20th anniversary Charley!

A Fiery Pentacost

My family was out of town over the weekend and I stayed home with Stefanopolis. I'm glad I did as he was the ultimate eczema case over the weekend. Anyway.....friends of the Stuckwisch's needed a place to stay Saturday and Sunday night. Nick was very excited to stay and be the farm hand and help with the chores so he and his buddy Ian beat it outside Sunday morning. I was talking to Lauri inside when the boys came back inside, sat down on the couch and announced that the chicken coup was on fire. They had big smiles on their faces and we moms were a little perplexed. So I passed the baby and headed out the door in my pjs and robe. The boys were casually walking in front of me so I asked them if they minded if I scooted by them (so I could run). So with bathrobe flying behind me I ran to the coup and the coup was indeed burning. It wasn't big flames but at some point there must have been some. The hood that held the heat lights had broken from the ceiling. I suspect the birds were getting too heavy to be jumping on it and it fell onto the wood chips below. At that point there must have been a fire and after lifting the hood off the ground we discovered a hole about 4 x 4 ft clear to the ground. This building is a movable building so there is no cement bottom. The edges of the hole were still smoldring.



Just then (read like an action comic book) who should appear but Tim, Lauri's dh, in his pj's and church shoes. He was also sporting some lovely bandages from an injury earlier in the week on his legs. His sons came to help too and we pulled the hood off and out with the help of some wire snippers I ran and got (superwoman robe flying again). The chickens and turkeys, by-the-way, were all standing around the edges staring at the hole. It was much like a scene from Chicken Run. I don't think any died or got roasted. At this point I went back up to house leaving Tim and sons to put out the fire and cover the hole.



My dh called later and asked how it was going and I said "oh, ok....." "What's the matter?" asks dh. "Not much, the chicken coup caught on fire" Dear husband replies "WHAT????!!!!!" and we were promptly cut off. I am sort of glad he wasn't here as between Tim, his sons, Nick and I we were cool as cucumbers as if it was totally normal to be putting out fires in our pjs before their Godchild's first communion. Charley isn't good at crisis and actually I think crisis is my forte. It is the little stuff like children picking their noses for the 100th time when asked not to that make me come unglued. Scenes from Chicken Run are really quite entertaining as long as the fire doesn't spread to the Wood Sanctuary otherwise known as the Wood Kiln. THat would be bad. Dh and kids will be home very soon so it will be interesting to see his reaction to the hole.



At any rate we all got to church early to boot and the service was incredibly awesome and Stefan cooperated and slept through most of it. Ah......that was so nice. I am thankful for God's providence in protecting us while we were sleeping, for young boys leaving hoses on and flooding the underneath side of the coup which I am sure helped lessen the fire, and for friends of friends just happening to stay the night while I was home alone. See, God does care about the little things y'all! He is SOOOO good to me.

My daughter's bday

Anna is sixteen today and I didn't get to spend the day with her. Snif. She was sniffing too this morning as she and the family prepared to go on a camping trip in northern Michigan. Her great friend (they are all the best) Maggers got sick and couldn't go with. I felt so bad for them both. If you ever saw mom's with puppy dog eyes then that would describe Sandy and I as we expressed our saddness for them both. Major bummer.

I am staying home with little Stefanopolis as he is the eczema baby. I can't imagine juggling his skin issues up there in a tent, not to mention the cold. So I went out to breakfast with a dear friend and her little guy, had an appt for Stefan to get his picture taken (we have to go back), worked around the house and yard and then........went to dear, cute friends for dinner......then went to a neighbors for a glass of wine and a donation to Anna's sewing craze. Phew. It has been a busy day.

If Anna were home I would probably have made a trip to the fabric store with her and taken her to lunch. In light of her disappointment perhaps I will when she gets home. We did have a party for her on Sunday but it always seems her actual bday gets messed up somehow.

I have also been thinking about when she was a baby as I look at little Stefan and know that my 5 ft 7 daughter used to be a tini-tiny baby. She was the sweetest of babies. She slept well, had big curious brown eyes and she was absolutely beautiful. When she graduated to the walker (yes, we used one of those dangerous things), if she heard the water running in the tub she would come a running in her walker to see if it was bath time. She never liked to be carried facing in but always wanted to be facing out to see the world. She was and is the apple of her father's eye whether she realizes it or not.

At age four I remember her cutting out everything from her coloring books and repasting them on paper. The most remarkable cutting feat was when she got a Disney toy with a little tag on it that had a picture of Tinker Bell on it. She cut that tiny little picture out perfectly! I should have known what was coming.

Yes, she cried, whined and was scared of talking to anybody but she was pretty content at home, loved her grandparents and of course her little brother Ick Ick or Baby Nice ("Be nice to the baby Anna."). I can't get that back but I am sure I will be wanting to call her on the phone everyday just like my mom does to me. So.......I miss my daughter and I miss my family but clearly I am keeping busy and my social calendar is full.

The baby is asleep

What does this mean??????? You should fear and love God so that we do not scream at our siblings, call loudly over and over again for our mother, play loud music, stomp up the stairs, try to discipline our siblings, pet the baby and tell your mother how cute he is, or argue with your mother when asked to be quiet.

Where is this written?

On my blog and the hearts of all mothers of many children with a baby in the house.

side tracked again....

Packing is a test of endurance

I HATE packing. Charley is taking the kids camping and in a way I am wondering if I am preparing them for the the 'trip from.......' The weather prediction is looking bleaker. They are calling for cold evenings and chances of rain. Then there is the gas price to consider. We are spending how much money to go freeze in Northern Michigan????? Their consolation I guess is that they always eat like kings when they are camping. We make food that we never make at home. I think I do that because there has to be SOMETHING to look forward to if the conditions go south.

The kids seem pretty focused at the moment so I better not get too sidetracked in writing about not getting sidetracked. Eyes rolling.

Poppies

I have always loved poppies and FINALLY I have some blooming in my yard. Anna is trying her hand at capturing them on camera so I thought I would share a few of the wonders of God's creation. The reason I love poppies is they were everywhere in Italy when we went there seven years ago. We bought a few paintings which included poppies to have around the house and give away to remind us of beautiful Italy. Too bad poppies have seeds that cause some problems.....oh well, they are still incredible. We are hoping they will spread. There are some people not far from here that have a garden that always has something blooming throughout it and I can't figure out how they accomplish that. They have poppies of course.

The one on the left is of the poppy after the shell fell off. (Yes, they're backwards.)

I know what I want to say but can't say it

There are many times that I try to explain myself and I just can't seem to get my brain out of my head and make myself clear. There are times I say things just because it is sort of fun to talk about. There are times I do that and totally lose the person I am talking to. I am not sure this is common for everyone but it can cause me to get depressed. Then I so want to stop the conversation and say "Look, don't take it so seriously" like the old song 'Pack up your troubles and smile, smile, smile.' I think I just talk outloud or think outloud and then later wish I hadn't said anything. For anyone reading this it is not pointed at any particular conversation really but just an observation about myself. I do know that I am NOT good at expressing myself in theological/faith terms but that may be a paranoia of 'saying it wrong'. If someone else explains something theological or I read it I think "that is amazing! How do you do that" and then I remember that it is usually someone who is trained and called to do that so why does it surprise me. So for what it is worth, I am lamenting my inability to explain this thinking that goes on in my head - maybe even here it doesn't make sense. This is not really a 'poor me' but an observation.

My sewing maniac is growing up......

In the oven downstairs is the cake for her 'surprise' birthday party. I don't think she knows what is going on. She is maddly sewing her latest dress in her room. It is from her 'latest' pattern aquisition. The whir of the machine drew me upstairs to see how it was going. Right now I hear the snip, snip of scissors.

While she is sewing I have been listening to the latest cd music collection while throwing together food. THose songs can inspire other blog posts about the hubby and I from YEARS ago. We have that anniversary coming up so bigger anniversarys make you nostolgic I guess.

I think in this picture she is promptly and properly putting away the pattern pieces. She is incredible. Earlier today she weeded our 'gate gardens'. Doesn't that sound glamorous? They look fantastic! She wouldn't believe it but I do get teary eyed knowing the clock is ticking. Sigh. I am looking forward to spending some fun time together despite having to work some on 'summer school'. We are going to try to make that fun as well. The dress she is wearing she whipped together in one day between other house hold stuff - I think it is a 1955 era dress. Oh to be so skinny, I mean slender.....again.

I was just reminded of what else is maddly going on right now. My sweetie and eldest son are attempting to remake the picnic table in the dark. THere just was a big bang and a 'are you alright?!' coming from the back yard. I think we all need to go to bed but knowing Charley the picnic table will get done in the next few hours.......Erik is on the way to bed.

Hard at work

Here are two of the younger boys hard at work laying mulch in the garden paths. I think one was working harder than the other but there is nothing wrong with a willingness to try. I am grateful my kids are not afraid of hard work. It makes taking care of the ten acres a lot easier and keeps them out of trouble.

All of the gardens are looking pretty good and the budget has been pretty low this year. I am stealing Narstursium volunteers from one bed and throwing them in a new place this year. I love volunteers.....usually. Trumpet vine volunteers are bad, bad, bad. I can tell the battle is on with those already this year.

That is all for today!

My husband likes to build with blocks

Charley gets teased a lot about wood but here is my latest insight. It came to me while I was mowing the lawn and looking at piles of wood. I will elaborate on other grown-ups another time but I think most of us are still kids. Of the grown ups I know, I know a lot of kids. So I spent time thinking about how each of my friends have obsessions that are sort of kid like. Charley's is building with blocks. His blocks have changed size since he was a boy. If my picture works, this is a picture of the house Charley built for his blocks. I guess it is sort of like a big steralite container but it is a BIG CONTAINER. The piles of wood are like my little boys piles of blocks etc that get scattered around the house. Charley's piles are just scattered around the yard. Just like a kid but his toys are a lot bigger! They require their own homes. WHile I mow the lawn it is like vacuuming the living room. I have to move my little boys blocks to make sure I don't clog up the vacuum cleaner but in the yard I find stray pieces here and there that cause really loud noises and sometimes I have to turn off the mower - just like the vacuum that sucks up an army guy. Interesting. So.......I also thought about how most of my friends who act kiddish are male. Isn't that cute. I won't elaborate at the moment but if I stop and think about it, it is true.

Oh, also my biggest boy (Charley) also likes to make big impressive buildings with his wood. Like a little boy with Lincoln Logs, he dreams about the next structure he can make. I see my little boys dreaming up little buildings to build with their blocks and then the biggest boy does the same. Does that mean when he spaces off he is dreaming up another building block design?

The picture did come through and it is filled with blocks before it was even done. It now has all the exterior walls and like a little boy, he shows all his friends his latest creation. He really is the cutest person I know. Our 20th anniversary is coming up so perhaps we should go to a lumber yard and take a picnic. I bet he hasn't thought of that idea! Or........we could go to a forest and have a picnic and he could dream of all the building blocks he could make out of the trees. He loves trees though so he would wait till they fall down.

Ok, so I suppose the women I know are like little girls and our dolls just bigger and don't sit quietly on a blanket waiting to be fed. Such deep thoughts.

Antiprocrastination day

Today is antiprocrastination day in our house. I know it should usually be Wednesday but we procrastinated till today to celebrate antiprocrastination day. Say that three times fast. We hope to get our 4-H papers filled out, buy cake supplies for a job of Anna's, clean out the camping trailer, renew liscense plates, pay some bills, fill out some medical forms, mow the lawn (some parts for the first time) and clean the house. Hmmmm......that doesn't seem possible so we will do what we can and procrastinate to another day. Later today I hope to post a sweet quote from Martin. I will have to write in his scrap book too! Hope you are all having a productive day. OH.....I forgot about hoeing the garden.....I will have to get right on that.

Swarm of today

It was hard to capture the image but you can see the bees above the hive. Normally they shoot in and out of the front and you wouldn't see so many above and on top. They shot into the top white super after Erik set it aside. I thought it was cool and interesting. They made two splits and then got this freebe hive, queen included to boot. The other two Erik is raising queens from young brood and bees/honey he placed in with. I think he used a queen cell from one of his other hives in this so technically the one may not need to raise a queen. Yay!

I figured it out!

This is a swarm from last year that flitted off into a near by tree. We thought we had bagged this one but failed and as usual didn't have the right equipment or the time to mess with retrieving it. This was in late July so "A swarm in July, is not worth a fly". There you have it.

A swarm in May....

I love beekeeping! If I wasn't wrestling a baby I would be more involved. We had a fun morning and to my great relief actually caught a swarm that was happening before our eyes. We have lost swarms before so this was truly a relief. Erik was making a split from another hive when I mentioned that a hive was looking angrier than normal so.......the bees got busier and were showing the tell tale signs of an imanant swarm. Erik took the honey super off of it and a few minutes later they settled into it. He didn't take the super off for any other reason than to try to get into the hive and tell them to stop (ha ha). He really said that "don't swarm, stop it!" I called the beekeeping president and he said "cool, put a brood chamber on top and shut her up. You can retrieve the honey super in a few days." So there you have it, we have another hive with little effort. A swarm in May is worth a load of hay. THis year it may be worth a lot more!

The last few swarms we experienced in previous years were lost to tall trees and hollow trees. Bummer.

I love the critical thinking involved in beekeeping. How do we psych these creatures out and get a honey crop! Last year's crop was so/so. It was a year of clean up which needs to continue this year as well. Hopefully we can find enough time this summer to do this. I wish I knew how to post pictures as the bee pictures are pretty cool.

A breath of fresh air!

Yesterday was the best day I have had in a LONG time. I didn 't really think about the effect of attending to the cute little blub, blub till he had a good day. He ate food like a little birdie, smiled frequently, played happily and took several long wonderful naps! Wow. Charley was also able to really hold him and interact with him for really the first time since he was born. He was thrilled! There is nothing quite like the little birdie mouth opening when you have been fighting to get a little baby to eat so he can gain weight. Hopefully this keeps up and he does gain weight. That would be huge relief.

A small portion of my house got cleaned too! Another miracle. My kiddos can clean and do clean but they don't see the dust bunnies hopping around under chairs etc. Perhaps today the couch can be yanked out and the floor cleaned. Who knew that I would ever be ecstatic to be able to wash a floor.

A year after cute husband's 20th anniversary at Bosch, we finally made it out to eat with his boss and wife. Thank you Robert! We went to the Morris Inn which I think is relatively not known but I would say is one of the best restaurants in the area. The food was great and we had a nice time discussing Charley's obsessions. So there again I had two hours with the hubby and the baby was reported to be cheerful and happy while I was gone (even though his eight year old brother had a few bad moments.....).

My cute husband also fixed my other baby, the lawn mower. It purrs like a......lion? definately not a kitten but it does run smoothly and.......I can turn it on without jumping it.....and the blades actually can be turned on and off without monkeying around with it. Do all people get such joy out of a tool that works? The lawn should be looking pretty spiffy again and the winter blues will melt away. Or are the blues my personal hyper need to exercise? .....one of those.

We shall see what today holds but thanks be to God for one good, perky day yesterday.

Proud of my kids

From the top

Anna played her second service this evening and played the hymn this time (only one hymn can you immagine?). She said it was pretty hot up there and wondered where the pastors hid their water. Things went well and I think she is gaining confidence. She is not ready for 7 or 8 hymns....yet.

Erik is working hard on his math, reading etc and also catechesis seems to be going a little better - yay! Then another surprise happened last night. He came home from scouts and he had been elected Senior Patrol Leader - wow! I hope he can handle that but in a way it is a good thing as he realizes he must read up on what to do to be successful. He had the dad strut going on when he came up the driveway after the meeting. "Wow Erik, SPL!" he replies "yeh, thanks" very non-chalant, aloof. He proceeded to go work on something as if having his dream come true happened every day. He's growing up.....snif, snif....

Matthew.....uh, he is working hard at school as usual but I don't think he has anything new to report. Oh, he did give a pretty thorough report of the his art project so that was good.

Martin acolyted tonight and as far as I can tell did pretty well. I am not sure if he lit them in the right order or anything but he did get them lit, the church is still standing, and nothing else caught on fire - phew. He has been wanting to do this for a long time so I am proud of him and happy for him. He is also paying very close attention to his reading and daily catechesis so again I am amazed at this blosoming boy. (Ever read "Leo, the late bloomer?" that is Martin but he made it too).

Cecilia is reading!!!! What a relief. She is eating up a chapter book already so yes, I am proud of her (and her wonderful teacher, God bless her, LaRena). I think we will soon have another book addict on our hands.

Benjamin.....uh....ok I got it.....he is trying very hard to say the Lord's prayer and the Creed with us so yes, I am proud of him too.

Stefan.....slept till 7:30am this morning....ate a few bites too - yippee. I think he said Ma Ma tonight but it may just be the sound for the day.

That's all for this week in the Horner kid news

Miracles do happen!

Dear friends came to tell us this evening that they are expecting!!!! They will remain nameless for now but no one they know reads this as far as I know or can tell. So anyway, they have one other little miracle who is five and they had basically given up hope from what I could tell. We had all stopped talking about the possibility and the docs were pretty grim about the whole thing. So.....out of the blue she was suspecting that something was going on and it was!!!!! Christ be praised!!!! I am so excited! This goes to show that the only person who can surprise me is Jesus. No one else (ok one person did surprise me once but not family) has ever surprised me - not like this. Picture people jumping up and down in the front lawn hugging and crying. We are so very happy for them words can not express. So.....if you are guessing who this is but don't really run into people they know keep it under your hat for now. THis is not a very public blog that I know of so I think I am safe to journal this out here.

Oh, here is the kicker. Their son said to them before they knew, something to the effect of referring to 'the new baby'. Some little guy has been praying for a sibling I think.


Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of Love!
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, Praising Thee, their sun above
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness, Drive the gloom of doubt away.
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of day

Christ be praised!

Benjamin

Benjamin says the oddest things. It is cute of course. When we went to the grocery the other day he was so excited about everything he saw. I hardly ever take him with so you would think we were in an amusement park. He was singing with gusto and announcing everything that might be great to buy and then he said......"don't forget the beer". I don't think anyone heard him. What a hoot. A budding Lutheran.

Then a few minutes ago he was arguing with someone and he said......"I'm going to tell Pastor Stuckwisch on you!!!!" Interesting.......seriously I have never heard anyone even imply that they would tell Pastor anything like that!!! So where does he get this stuff anyway?

Benjamin is also a little sneak. He can be found raiding the refridgerator with great skill. One time he had poured himself a bowl of granola and had opened a container of cottage cheese (he thought it was yogart) and was preparing a little feast. We must not feed him enough.

He feels when I leave to go somewhere it is movie time. I think he was hoping I would go somewhere yesterday as he asked if he could watch a movie while I was gone. I wasn't going anywhere.

That's all the cuteness for the day.

Deep conversation

Cindy and I went walking again. Today's topic was as usual deep and humorous at the same time. The other day she called me to see if she was having a normal reaction to a weird encounter. She had come out of the doctors office with her girls and was waiting for the parking lot shuttle when.....a man in a car started waving and smiling at her girls. So they put on their little smiles and waved. THen......the man kept waving and seemed to be getting annoyed that they weren't waving anymore. His wife got out of the car and asked Cindy if she would please just wave at him. SO......Cindy asked me if she was off her rocker or was that odd. I assured her that was a little unusual and that the wife really jumped out of the car so her dear husband would be satisfied by them waving thus leaving her alone.

So.....why does this sort of event make us think about how others are different. Who knows. Shouldn't we be able to just LET IT GO!!!!!!! Of course not. I did try not to giggle too much when she asked me about this incident. Of course that is a little weird and the mind can then wander to what that woman goes through driving around with her husband. "Ugh, he is waving at kids again. Honey, just let them cross the street, they already smiled and waved". Perhaps he had alzeimers on a more serious note so kept waving.

So.....again if someone says something odd to us why do we ruminate about it forever. "Gee Karin, the baby has a little rash, that is too bad." I really don't have to waste time thinking about those sort of comments. THere just wasn't anything else to say. Cindy was just asking at what point do we just stop worrying about such silly things and I guess the answer is probably.....never. I do think as we get older it is getting easier to just sort of laugh and think "that was cute".

Stefan aerobics

Stefan is eye popping up. It is no wonder he has difficulty gaining weight. His banana inhaling has given him gas with the major wiggles. I suppose he weighs more now since he can't seem to do his business.. Just what you all want to read. I'm glad my family doesn't snore as I think I might be jealous. I know this little guy is growing as he IS outgrowing his clothes. He is just not gaining weight well. Is it possible little Horners are wound a little tight and/or have high matabolisms???? No Campbell soup babies here.

Friends

I have had a GREAT time with friends lately. Conversations have been meaningful - very - and it has been good to spend time with all my buds lately. THat is ever so refreshing. Cindy and I are walking in the morning I think and then I think......LaRena and kids may come over to sulk and I will do my best to cheer them up. We can eat fresh eggs and bacon and just sulk. I will certainly miss having Zach around. One less tall boy toting candles, crucifixes and bibles around. Sigh. I will certainly miss seeing him tote Fredo around too. (Not meaning to make anyone cry - this is my blog - smile).

Another friend's son is 18 as well and in the process of figuring things out for the future. I am thinking he will be hanging around in the area at least for another year. He will probably be working somewhere so he and Erik won't be as free to go on a bike ride on a whim. Sigh.

I hope everyone will hold my hand when my turn comes.

THe Stefan update is he seemed to suck down his bananas with gusto today. Charley observed he wasn't using his high chair but said he didn't care if I hung him from the ceiling to get him to eat something if it worked. I think that meant......we spent money on that lovely, wondrous high chair and you are feeding him in your lap dear. What's up with that but I am glad it works.

Nothing more earthshattering happened this week that I can think of. Matthews bee split died with that cold snap so he will have to start over. Martin went to the firehouse and loved every minute of that. I mowed a lot of lawn and it is growing fast........grass, grass, and more grass. The mower is misbehaving and does not like to do what it is told to do. That translates to another honeydo. I guess that is easier for him than having to mow the massive amount of grass around here.

Time to hit the hay.

Anna played her first service!

I have kept pretty quiet with dd about her playing for church as I didn't want to make her nervous. I personally feel she did great! For her first time I would say it was remarkable in my totally biased opinion. An older gentleman of the congregation asked who was playing the organ. He doesn't know us that well and didn't realize she was our daughter. Charley was proudly informing him she was HIS daughter. Pretty cute.

Stefan looks much better lately and I am actually having to remember to bathe him. I do not have the constant feeling that he looks like a lizard and MUST be bathed as many times as I can get to it. He seems a little happier. I think he was really 'talking' to me during his last bath. He said a little sound repeatedly that sounded like 'hi'. How cute. THis would be the earliest I can remember something like that happening. Matthew distinctly said MaMa at 9mo which was sweet.

We are making angel food cake and having fresh strawberries to celebrate Anna's first service. I hear the mixing bowl going downstairs.

60 plus pounds of potatoes

I just got back from getting another 50 pounds of seed potatoes. Hopefully that will be enough to fill the plot! Last year we missed out on buying Kennebecs, my favorite variety so I am excited to have pleanty this year. I love a home grown potato. (Boy I can see why Dan Quayle couldn't remember how to spell potato. I stare at that word and am still not sure).

Yesterday was my good friend Cindy's bday. We took a great walk in the country and saw all sorts of spring flowers. I am sure she found it odd when we walked down the road next to our house and saw part of one of our ducks laying there. YYYUUUUKKKKKK!!!!!!! Those Horners are so weird. It turns out my dh tossed it there after finding it in the field. Toss farther Charley!!!!!! YYYUUUUKKKKK! Anyway, it was a nice walk despite weird things happening.

Rick and LaRena came over after that - party animals. It was May day so a nice fire in the back yard and good friends did seem appropriate. I am sort of amused by fears of ticks.....although that is not a totally unfounded fear. The bats (butterflies) flitting around were interesting too. Hopefully there are a lot more opportunities in the warmer months to either hide from ticks in the city or broaden certain people's horizons in the country. Smirk.

Today is way too busy so I better shut up and go retrieve my art students. Time flies fast when you are buying potatoes.

My daughter is addicted to making dresses

I think she is absolutely obsessed. Today she managed to squeak out a dress and I have no idea how she managed it. It is beautiful of course. Her favorite blog is 'dress a day' and she loves the humor and everything else that goes with it. She should probably consider being Miss Frizzle when she grows up as it would give her something fun to do everyday - make a new dress that coincides with what she is doing. She doesn't really have any of those yet. She ransacked my old fabric stash and is making good use of some of it. I'm impressed and my sewing skills are shameful at this point. Like I said I am amazed.

Dustin Farnum

The little guy who I used to babysit died last week. I went to his visitation yesterday. He was 29, married with two little girls - not so little any more. The lines were huge and the disbelief on their faces. I was glad my brother came with as it sort of lightened things up for me. Dustin's mom seemed to choose her words carefully and avoid any conversation that would send her in a tail spin. I can't blame her. I wanted to tell her my fond memories of him as a little boy but I didn't. I told her I loved her and was praying for her. There was no mention of Dustin having faith so that was a little odd to me as I don't think I have ever attended a non-faith visitation before. I feel for his wife and kids and will keep them in prayer. He died of Sepsis and went very fast so I don't think he had time for any contemplation. It does not seem real to me but I know it is. The memorial service is today and I chose to avoid it. It would just remind me of what wasn't talked about. I will ask my mom later what was talked about at the service. I will keep sharing my faith with my kids and I think I will be more likely to talk about it more with others. THere are no promises.

tired

I think I need a break from whining. Why is it kids can be asked to do something then they just have to whine. Ugh. The legalist would tell me that I just haven't disciplined them well enough or they wouldn't do that. I know it is hard for these kids and some adults I know to realize that it is difficult for me to filter all the demands placed upon me. I can cheerfully accept that duh that is my job but......sometimes it would be nice to hear "Karin, how are you today? Is there anything I can do for you?". So this is my martyr rant this morning I guess. Perhaps I will try reverse pyschology.

Stefan is supposed to have an antibiotic but I can't get it in his cute face.....blurp, blurp.....

This post is nice and negative. I don't think anyone reads this anyway so it is a venting area.

Sit and Knit closed so I would go there to escape but I guess they were too nice and they didn't make any money and went out of business.

Charley and Erik are going camping with the Scouts this weekend. I want to tackle the storage area and get rid of stuff. Too bad they can't leave earlier - ha ha.

Off to 'try harder' to be cheerful.

An allergy day

I took Benjamin to the doc today to get him set up with allergy meds. He coughed all night and so far all today. We went to Lake Michigan yesterday and whatever is there sent him into fits. He volunteered to take a nap just now. His friend Justinian is here to play also and he still volunteered to take a nap. That is tired.

I weighed Stefan at the doc's and he gained 4 oz last week. He sure is a project in learning the scientific method. There were too many variables going on last week. He does seem much better without dairy and the soy didn't seem to agree with him so I am going to stick to bananas and rice cereal for now. Perhaps when his little insides get used to eating solids he will do better with other things.

With Benjamin and Stefan both sleeping I better go run around like crazy and whip this place into shape.

2:00 am

Well, the battle with Stefan goes on. This time it is gas in the middle of the night. At least at the moment he is wrestling happily with a toy in his crib. Opps, spoke too soon. I think his mommy is getting as cranky as he is. I thought he was merrily on his way in the eating solids department but seemed way too fussy yesterday and not too interested in food. Now he just has gas. His skin looks pretty good but is still dependant on all his creams. It is too soon to tell if my giving up dairy will help.

Charley took the day off work yesterday and watched the kids and Regina's kids so that we mom's could go out for lunch free with his 'frequent flier mile' lunch cards from Brunos. It was LaRena, Sandy, Regina and I. It was nice and relaxing. Stefan had been napping so I actually went without him so didn't have to wrestle with the baby. Charley apparently is famous as the hostess sent her greetings and then also ran into a co-worker of his who recognized me from a picture in the Tribune years ago.

We sorted through storage containers in the afternoon. We found (not kidding) 12 sterilite containers labeled shoes and paired that down to 7 containers organized by type of shoe and girl/boy categories. We were able to sort out over a container of shoes that were doubles that had been given to us and never worn. Bless someone else so says the FlyLady! Tomorrow Anna wants to go through my old fabric stash. That will be a relief. Perhaps the ladies at Redeemer could use some of it for quilts.

It is a good thing I went to bed early......I guess I can go read some blogs.

eczema adventures

I must admit I am sick of dealing with eczema but of course persevere. Stefan has good days and bad days and some days that are both good and bad. Skin is strange really. I never knew how odd skin could be. In the morning his skin can look just horrid and by the afternoon with his regimin he can look SOO much better. I was next to tears this morning as I thought things were on the upswing the last few days and he looked so bad this morning that I think my emotions caught up with me.

My deep thought of the week with Stefan was inspired by the funeral sermon last week at Emmaus. It IS comforting to know that despite how hard I work at helping Stefan that Christ cares so much more for him. Wow. That is humbling. It is also hard to remember as I jump from one aspect of his care to another, not to mention the rest of the kids. THey seem to be weathering the storm though and Charley has helped when asked or reminded that help would relieve stress.

I have given up dairy and wheat. Stefan has started some solids as well. He seems to enjoy his bananas. Another monkey boy. I am finding it an adventure to make foods that fill me up and taste good. I am open to suggestions.

I think it is time to post and go read more of my book - "Katherine" about Katherine Swynford. I read it in high school and we only read half of it so I thought it was high to time to finish it.

Stefan is in bed already too so that is another reason to go to bed!

Fridays

Why does it take me half the morning or more to realize that I am just tired on Fridays? Stefan got up at 5:30 this morning and I debated if I should 'make' him go back to sleep or just get up. I think I should have made him.

I have been thinking about the 'duh' fact that when someone offends you or frustrates you, you just need to 'duh' forgive them. We get so fed up at times that we forget this little (BIG) part of our lives. Of course we need to forgive people who push our buttons and repent of our impatience etc. I think I struggle the most with this with my dear kiddos. It is just easier to be tired so I forget. It is easier to play the martyr and blame my impatience on them. THose immature kiddos. Don't they know that the dirty kitchen needs to be cleaned???? Sigh. With another situation it was SO great to be gently reminded to just forgive and the reminder did not even hurt. It was an encouragement to know that the giver of the reminder was not going to let me wallow in self pity or griping. God is incredibly gracious to place these people in my life to be an encouragement in the faith.

The sun is out and I NEED A WALK! Maybe the grass will need to be mown soon. I also wou ld love to have a big sock sorting party and clean out the mudroom/laundry room. Stefan wears four socks and they all seem to be missing. Ugh. Perservere for the morning with school and ATTACK in the afternoon.

Time for Stefan's spa bath!

1st week of Easter

THis morning pastor gave a little chuckle when he turned around and there sat the Horner's and the Rhein's. We laughed (a little laugh) too. What will we do without our daily services? After church we had piano lessons and everyone seemed to do a good job. THey have a recital of Sunday (which I just realized I forgot to tell my parents!!!!). Oh well, I guess I need to call them.

Anna did not sew a dress today. She and Maggie and I had another 'deep' discussion of 'Brave New World'. They seem motivated to keep up the speed in their reading.

Justinian did a funny thing today. He must have asked me if he could come to my house some day this morning and I said yes. Well.....he took that to mean today. So when I packed everyone up from their reading lessons at LaRena's I was pulling out of the driveway and there sat smiling Justinian. I have heard of forgetting a child but picking up extras? It was humorous.

Erik worked hard on school today and I think is anxious is use his draw knife soon. The weather has been THE PITS so I guess I forget he wants to be done with school so he can go off and do whatever he plans to do with that knife. I need to remember that tomorrow. I am sure that is why he has been less than enthused to be enlisted to do 'chores' around the house. I better find time to fill his draw knife fix.

I found a collection of Norman Nagel's sermons in the church library today. I read a few and I think I am hooked. He does have a gift with words. I am also still reading the "Spiritual Care" book.

Matthew is busy working on his art project and listening to "THe Voyage of the Dawn Treader". I am hoping the art students can get their homework done early this week.

I guess there is nothing else too exciting. Stefan should have gotten a second bath but zonked for the night before I could get to it.

Great day

Church was wonderful as always this morning. We then traded kids and took Nick and Maggie home to work on school with some of our kids. Anna and Maggie are working on "Brave New World" in their literature and it has sparked some very interesting conversations. At the same time I am reading Deitrich Bonheffer's (spelling?) Spiritual Care and loving it. Wow. That is one interesting and eye opening book. I am thinking about having the girls read one chapter of it to continue our discussion of the effects of psychology on the world and on the church. Bonheffer had some definate opinions on that and his arguments make a lot of sense to me.

This afternoon Tyler Benke came over with his daughter Emily to see the 'farm'. We just got some more chicks so that was a nice treat for her to see two day old chicks. Cecilia may be going over to the Benke's tomorrow to play with Emily but we need to check that out with the grandma first. The sun came out and it wasn't so depressing this morning. Tyler and I talked about the old topic of 'how to get rid of all the stuff we don't need!'. I am moving more towards becoming a 'better minimalist'. TOO MUCH STUFF TO TAKE CARE OF! "I better 'try harder' with that!" Smile.


Erik has standardized testing next week and I think I am the one who is nervous. It is not required but I am curious if there is any difference from last year.

Stefan enjoyed being outside this afternoon for awhile. I am hoping the sunshine and warmer weather will help his eczema. That sure would be nice for both of us. I think oatmeal is also on his horizon as I can't seem to keep up with him. He will probably love it.

Anna made another dress from my stash. She has come to the realization that my old stash in storage may feed her sewing addiction without spending more money. See, I saved all that stuff for some reason - cute dresses! Har har.

Off to diaper changing land.....

Traveling white eggs

The white egg saga goes on. I stayed home with the youngest kids last night and everyone else went to church. Soon after everyone got home the phone rings and it is LaRena.....laughing. She knows all about the egg adventures and she called to let me know that when the boys got her eggs yesterday (she bought brown yummy eggs) that they had given her the bag with the frozen white eggs in it!!!!! Ahhhh!!!!!!! Her oldest ds had gone to make a few eggs after church only to discover strange broken white ones in a bag. How embaressing. Everything in life does seem to boil down to eggs or wood.... I wonder if we will ever successfully dye the good white eggs we picked up yesterday.

White eggs

Matthew, Stefan and I went to the grocery this afternoon to replace the white eggs that I bought the other day. The first batch, an anonaymous person had placed in the freezer. The slightly humorous part of that was that dh was having an anxiety attack (exageration) that I had bought white eggs to begin with seeing as the hens have been laying more eggs than we can handle. I told him to think of the white eggs as a craft project and not to sweat it. So.....while I was searching for the ice cream that I promised some friends, I discovered a mysterious bag in the freezer and upon looking inside found three dozen white eggs frozen and exploded. Ugh.

So.....off to the store we went to get more eggs for our craft project otherwise known as dying Easter eggs. They were on sale at Meijers for 66 cents a dozen. Well everyone had gone to Meijers for eggs and the carts were coming from both sides of the not very big isles. So.....I said "Hey Matthew. Scoot up to the front of the line and help those ladies get their eggs! Be sure to check for cracked ones and perhaps this line will clear out." Matthew always gets a charge out of surprising people so off he went and asked each lady how many dozen they wanted and he whipped through those eggs getting what they needed. The shoppers were all smiles and the line cleared out. Phew. Matthew then asked if he could get a job helping people. His dad has trained the little entrapranuers (spelling?) well. I am sure he could get a job shopping for people.

Matthew also took driving lessons at the store. He manned the cart while I carried the screaming Stefan (yet another reason we needed the line to go down). He forgot to 'look in the rear view mirror' before backing up once and I prevented a near collision with a quick warning. I love shopping with my kids. It is so educational.

One time there was a man with his elderly father in the vege section who totally lost his temper. My kiddos heard words they didn't know existed and silence descended all around. THis episode started a conversation about what the man and his father's life must be like and how they probably struggle with this approach to life all the time. Even though it was shocking it made me sad for both of them. THe kids did learn something that day also.

I better go throw the clothes in the drier. Charley and the kids went to Good Friday services while I put a sick child to bed. I have Luther's Catechism lulling them to sleep on that great hymn/catechism recording. I think I need to play that every night and maybe they can learn it gently and easily.

frost

Bummer. My perenials look pretty dead as well as the daffidils we did not cut. I don't know what this means for the long haul on those perenials that are wilted. And I thought I had made some progress in filling out the perenial bed. Oh well.

Hubby is getting restless so that is a good sign. Now to keep him from overdoing it. He is getting a taste of the business of each day by being home this week. Ironically we are getting a lot of school work done despite it being Holy Week. Who would have thought.

Stefan's eczema is a mess again today. His bath wasn't long enough this morning so will have to revisit the tub this afternoon.

Had a great discussion with Anna and Maggie about "Brave New World" this morning. They seem to be enjoying 'thinking' about what the author is trying to get across. I am amazed at how much history I know and remember. I wonder if it is just because I enjoy history or if it has more to do with cognitive development that helps you remember people and dates and how they are significant.

Time to go snarf some food and continue to crack the school whip.

My baby book

My mom brought us dinner and also gave me my baby book. That was interesting. Apparently I didn't think well of myself and didn't turn assignments in on time. Interesting.......
I also wasn't very coordinated.

The other thing I discovered was that my whole life I thought I was baptized by my dad (he's a pastor) and then come to find out I was baptized in Portland, ME by my grandparent's pastor. Wow. I wonder why no one ever told me. I guess it makes some sense that it was in Portland as my Godparents were from Springfield, MA and we lived in South Carolina so this must have been a Christmas event or something. That way my grandparents could be there as well. At least I didn't discover I was adopted or something or that I had never been baptized! I find this all quite a revelation and makes me wonder how much I forget to tell my kids.

Dh is doing well. He is going to attempt to go to sleep and so am I.

Progress

So dh is recovering. He and medicine do not mix so it is slow and steady win the race. He is a cute patient. If he wasn't as cute as a prepatient he is making up for it now. Yippee. Stefan and I hung out till just a little bit ago and he is really not ready to come home. I came home for a little bit so he could rest and then he called me to tell me he was trying to stay awake.....hmmmm....

My mom is here with dinner. Better scoot.

Weirdness

Helping other people deal with challenges sure can be a challenge. If they don't tell you they are struggling you can't tell that they are struggling. If you don't know what they need to feel better it is hard to know what to do for them. Then.....if you care for a whole bunch of other people it doesn't even occur to you to think about someone needing help if you don't receive signals and are busy caring for the needs of the rest of the crowd. So......needless to say, helping dh get ready for his outpatient surgery has been a learning experience. When I have a baby I have nine months to prepare and mentally process not knowing when the baby is going to be born. Dh knew his date but didn't process much that the rest of us were aware of. I have never thought much about what other people think about as the few people close to me who have any difficulty seemed to 'handle' it or were in such need that there wasn't time to process. I think I have discovered that I am not a mind reader. I can take care of people but am not good at considering other's feelings if they are not the type who processes outloud.

Well, Stefan and I are off to the hospital to see how things are and bring 'da dad' home. It is a good thing my friends care enough to stick with me through my overprocessing tendancies.

Visiting with friends

I think I am becoming addicted to visiting with friends. Does that mean I am co-dependant? We went over to the Hubbard's house today and Alisa and I sat around and talked about everything that has happened in the last few weeks. Her little Maureen is adorable. It is fun to have all these little babies around. They are getting bigger though.

At church the children processed with palms this morning. That was nice. The whole service was great as usual. Stefan cooperated through most of the service. He did not cooperate through Bible class. I did so want to hear Pastor's take on the fleece and the dew and if anyone mentioned how people still do this sort of thing. It sort of seems like testing God and I have never heard or read the story in the Old Testement to see what that was all about. I will have to ask sometime.

Charley and I went out to eat tonight to hash out some things. I am hoping that the structure of the summer will be predictable. That is the goal anyway. Charley has outpatient surgery on Tuesday so we talked our way through that as well. He is just nervous. I asked him what we can do to help him get over it (like go to friends homes and socialize while he stays home) and he wasn't really sure.

The TV is returning to the basement and I better get the squirts to bed so they can be perky enough for Matins in the morning.

My Life in Advertising

I think I made my dad's day by remembering he knew this family who invented Puffed Wheat. The author of "My Life in Advertising" helped Prof. Anderson become successful. Anna was reading the book and mentioned Puffed Wheat and I remembered how fascinated Dad was with visiting the home of the inventor. I think he had been to the factory as well. So sure enough there was a section about the inventor and I called dad to ask the fellow's name and it was one and the same. Interesting. Dad has written some short stories for the kids about what he remembers from childhood They have sort of a "Little House" feel to them. He said he would work on writing his memories of this family. I told him not to make the language too simple as he thought he needed to with the previous ones and he said he would give it a try. Dad has a remarkable memory.

Stefan is busy crawling around his crib and getting stuck in a corner. The boys, Zach and Nick are out chopping wood......WOOD! Matthew, Erik and CHarley sold Port-a-pit all day and are sort of pooped so I might send Charley out for a movie.

My mom tried to buy tickets for a Chicago Symphony Brass concert in December but they won't sell individual tickets until August 17th. How odd. A high school classmate/fellow horn player is a member of the CSO and there was supposed to be a time to go and greet the player so perhaps Dave Griffin and Karin will meet again after....a few years. That would be interesting.

Anna observed I carried my horn mouth piece around in my purse. She asked if that was in case we ran into any horns laying about? Ha-ha.

I stayed up WAY too late last night reminicsing with LaRena but had fun. We should find some chick flicks to watch next time.

Erik wants me to look up something on Ebay. Better run.

Waking babies up

I need to make a great big sign to put on all of the doors that says something about assuming the baby is asleep. LaRena and I had traded kids to get some school done again and Stefan was asleep so, sensing the 'baby is asleep miracle', LaRena and kiddos scooted out the door to go clean the church. I rushed to the back room to start decluttering and was making wonderful progress. I then proceeded to get very excited about getting the dinner started as well or possibly even washing the kitchen floor. That is when it happened. One of my dear children was heard screaming up the stairs (where the baby sleeps) "MOM!"....."MOM!". I bodily removed the child and hoped the baby would not wake up......he woke up. Ugh. This baby never gets to take a nap. I made the dear child come and hold the baby while I did a few more things.

Stefan's eczema is in the flare up mode again. I will have to give him a good long bath and slather him up. I wish I could figure out what makes him get irritated at certain times.

I realized something this morning. My oldest dd and I sometimes knock heads (that is not the deep thought) and I have been trying to figure it out. Well, I think this is part of it. I am a very relaxed person in reality (even though great big clutter messes make me nuts) and my dd pointed out to me that my sandle was not buckled all of the way. In her mind she was 'helping' me and in mine I try to figure out why people point these things out to other people. Of course I knew it was unbuckled and I did have a plan to buckle it when I sat down in the van. She is trying to be helpful but my impatient self sees it as she thinks I don't already know this and I need help. I just do things differently. She is VERY put together. She dresses perfectly and her hair is done perfectly etc. That is who she is. So.....to make a long story short I explained to her these differences and that when she tells me these things (often) to help me it comes off as sounding like some particular relatives who point out that there are toys in the return air vent. That stopped her in her tracks.....for today anyway.

Enough rambling.

Blogging again

Wow, I think this is two posts in one day. I was chatting with Sandy at church tonight and discussing the time old subject of kids not noticing details in life. I know I never used to see details either when I was a kid so in this chat I was trying to remember when I figured out details. I thought it was when I worked a summer job and was responsible for other kids but......that wasn't it! It was through playing music, especially in the symphony that I started paying attention to detail. I will have to be sure to mention that to Sandy. That was an aha moment (not sure that is how you spell aha). I am not sure music has that effect on everyone but it did on me. Perhaps it helps us to figure out how to focus on the details we need to or want to in life. Particular musicians I know aren't necessarily tuned into some details that may seem important to some people but they are tuned into the details that are most important to them. Interesting......

So.....perhaps my kids will remember things like turning out lights, reading directions, turning on the washing machine, hearing the dog barking to get in, etc. if they practice more! Here's hoping that is true.

Rain and art class

Today it is raining, raining, raining. Fortunately the kiddos were in art all day and playing in the gym/doing homework when they weren't in art. LaRena took Martin and Cecilia to help Martin with reading and Cecilia could 'sit in' while this was going on. I have been thinking Martin is getting bored with his reading curriculum and a change of scenes (and mommies) would do him good. We are so much nicer to other people's children.

Art class was good but found out the church secretaries where class meets are very hyper about noise and what they perceive as misbehavior. I plan to take all the short people home to my house the next time so they won't disturb anyone. THeir reaction disturbs me so it will be better for my psyche anyway to get them out of there. We don't want Gloria to lose her meeting place for art classes.

Back to working with Erik......

A good school day....again

We got quite a bit done today. I can see that Martin is making some progress. It seems that Martin may be bored with the Teach Your Children Well work right now so I am having him build words with letter tiles.

Stefan took a marvelous nap this morning and everyone was able to get their work done without a lot of interuption for the mom. We ate leftovers for dinner which was a relief as well. THe boys went to Scouts and I went on a walk with Cindy Berryman. I am working on decluttering again. THe little people clutter faster than I can declutter but I am making some progress.

Church was great last night. I don't know what else to say in this here blog. I don't think I am too good at blogging but will post every so often.

Spring has sprung and I could literally see the leaves coming out on the Japanese Tree Lilac in our back yard. Daffadils are everywhere and trilium is sprouting as well. I am sure the blood root is also up. I can see the Poppies and other perenials coming up. It will be hard to perservere in school.

Stefan is also on the move now. He rolls all over the place and is thinking about scooting. It is time get all the little toys out of the living room.

Hopefully tomorrow will go as well.

A good school day

I am trying to just do the next thing lately. The boys struggle with math so we are going over skills again and drilling, drilling, drilling. I am drilling Martin in reading as well and he finally passed his reading tests today. What a relief. Stefan is more agreeable every day. He likes to play and look at his mobile and he takes wonderful naps. Who could ask for more? Anna keeps plugging along as well. She has a bunch of sewing to get done for her booth at the convention so I am trying to free up some time for her to do that and not go completely crazy. She announced today that she would like to take Gloria's next art class. That will be four kids taking art and two taking gym and swim. Wow. Better save our pennies now to pay that bill.

It is cold and snowy. I love it. The only down fall is my eczema is going a little nutty but I think that is mainly from changing diapers.

Benjamin LOVES coloring and drawing. I was impressed by his scissor cutting skills but I do think he may run with scissors as well so that is not a good thing. Perhaps we will get the whole school thing down so well that I will actually find more time to spend with Benjamin. He wants me to finish his sweater for him and is rather peeved at me that I am frantically working on a sweater for Stefan. I wanted this baby sweater done for Stefan's three month picture. We shall see if I can pull it off.

Anna is making quiche for dinner tonight. Yum yum.

I better go check up on the rest of the kiddos. THey are supposed to be doing their barn chores so we can get to catechism on time for once. I think Erik has some of his memory work done for tonight. I have accepted the fact that neither Erik or Matthew are going to be confirmed this year from what I can tell. It is more important for them to spend more time with the pastor than for me to get Erik successfully confirmed by a specific date.

I love snow!!!!!

Christmas thoughts

We all had a very nice Christmas. Stefan is nearly two months old and is growing and getting more settled. Since I last wrote, which may be before he was born, my friends have been through various trials and are surviving them. My life seems to comfortable in comparison.

The kids exchanged gifts by drawing names this year and that worked very well. It was far less stressful for everyone. My favorite gift of the year was the Chagal stain glass from my mom. The strangest was from my mom as well.....a japanese like printed diaper bag. The diapers are nice of course but the bag pretty loud. Wow.

Charley is working on drywalling the basement which is great. He waited till his vacation was nearly over to start but once he gets going he gets on a roll. Erik is helping.

Cecilia and Benjamin's hobby is bouncing off the walls. Cecilia does enjoy the lap harp we got her and Martin. She plays it all the time. She is playing it now.

I hope to start school back up again next week. It will be a challenge as Stefan has an appointment Tuesday that will break up the day. We will try anyway.

I guess that is all for today.

Waiting

I know it is not even my due date yet but.....I hate waiting. I have been getting up every other night with contractions that tend to go away after I wash some dishes and fold some laundry. Then.......when I lay down they come back. I hardly ever post but thought that this may be worth posting. THe suspense is killing me as to whether it is a boy or a girl. Cecilia said that if it is a boy that we could have a girl next time.......interesting.

It is 9:30 and I haven't tackled catechism with the kids yet. We shall see what sort of work we get done today.

Knitting addict

It has now become a weekend ritual to go and retreat to the knitting store to get lots of knitting done, meet interesting people, and drink cappacinnos (spelling??). It is ever so relaxing and nice to look forward to.

Musing on the gas prices......I personally think the great gas prices will all disappear after November 7th, the election, as the gas prices are reflecting well on the Republicans so.......once the oil prices get their politicians in office this will all go sour. THat is my pessimistic view for the weekend.

Charley and I commucicated more than we ever had in making a major decision last night over a bowl of Ritters ice cream. The tough part is following through. Help!!!!!!!

Time to go throw dinner together so that is all for today's thrilling post.

Karin

Life

It has been since July since I have posted anything. The last few days have been great. My dh has finally realized he needs to help the kids with their upper level math and being accountable to getting their schoolwork done. This is fantastic. I don't feel so exhausted and overwhelmed and it is a relief. I also quit my Sunday School responsibilities last night which also brings a lot of relief from trying to make everything 'right' for everyone.

Since July, we have experienced 100 degree fairweek, dh trimmed out two rooms of the old farm house, Anna painted the stairs and we ripped the wall paper off. Anna also painted the front porch which was long overdue. I painted the back room and Charley sanded and finished the dining room floor. Phew, that isn't even everything that occurred in August.

In September we started school and so far so good, we may be a little behind but things are moving along. The baby keeps me up at night but not as much the last few days which is a relief as I was getting very sleep deprived. I discovered a knitting store which I love where I can go to retreat and spend time quietly with other knitters on the weekend.

We shall see how long it is untill I post again.......7 weeks untill baby.