You don't have one? Get one!

A bottle of Zout stain remover, that is!

C had a bloody nose at school a couple of weeks back. Due to some miscommunication with his teacher, said shirt spent nearly three weeks looking like CSI: evidence. Last Thursday night I wrote a note to his teacher asking if she could help C find his shirt; he seemed to have no idea where it went.

Friday after school, I am informed that the shirt has been in the very front compartment of his backpack the. entire. time. Really? The entire time? We'd each checked his backpack on several occasions.

Oh, well. No matter. Said shirt is now home, and that's what matters. How to get the nearly 3 week old blood out, is the question.

The answer? Why Zout, of course! And I am SO not kidding. Lieterally, a few sprays to cover the stain, a little rub, a toss in the wash and voila- a clean shirt! I was so happy! And, yes, I know there is more to life than that, but it really was exciting!

**On that note, I'd love to hear your "back from the brink" stories on stains and any removal tips you have!**

One more thing. This is the last post for this week as I am headed out of town this evening and won't be back until Sunday evening. Annual Ladies Retreat for church in Eau Claire- can't wait!

Wordless Wednesday

Attitude of Gratitude- One Thousand Gifts

“Every good and perfect gift is from above; coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17.

It's been a difficult last few days. On Friday, I found out that my friend C suffered a miscarriage. What do you say at a moment like that? I told her I was sorry and am here if she needs to talk. That's all my brain could muster. Fortunately for me, she and I have been friends long enough that she understands everything that I couldn't say.

And then an online friend's nephew passed away over the weekend. I had followed this little boy's story for almost two years, through his premature birth and the death of his twin brother to every big milestone that boy had reached. And for God to call him home just a few days short of his second birthday...right now it is frankly unfathomable to me.

But I trust that my Heavenly Father has a plan. I'm reminded again that there isn't a single thing happening to any of us that He does not see. That He loves each one of us with a love that we can't grasp and in that love, He sees the BIG picture. He wants what is best for each of us- not what *we* see as best, but what He sees. And we can trust Him to bring us through the good, the bad and the ugly.

Right now, I cling to that with everything I am.

Two Little Boys

After a hardy rainstorm filled all the potholes in the streets and alleys, a young mother watched her two little boys playing in the puddles through her kitchen window. The older of the two, a five year old lad, grabbed his sibling by the back of his head and shoved his face into the water hole.

As the boy recovered and stood laughing and dripping, the mother ran to the yard in a panic. 'Why on earth did you do that to your little brother?!' she asked as she shook the older boy in anger. 'We were just playing 'church' mommy,' he said.

'I was just baptizing him.....in the name of the Father, the Son and in...the hole-he-goes. '

Picture of the week

C, listening to my Ipod after dinner while wearing Poppa's hat.

I want candy.

M has a big opportunity coming up next spring. The middle school band is taking a trip to Disney World over spring break of 2010.

In order for him to be able to go, he needs to raise over $600, so he has been participating in fund raisers that the instructor set up. The fundraiser right now....candy bars for $1.

Of course, Jon and I have to do our part, and we have each purchased (and eaten) several bars. And we have even given C permission to purchase a few.

Here's where the problem lies. We let C keep his candy bars in his room. He'd done well restraining himself from a random sugar attack until two evenings ago, when just before bed, I noticed that he had a brown smear on his mouth.

When I asked him how that happened, he tried to lie, thinking that it was his only option. After cautioning him that lying wasn't wise, he started to cry and fessed up. So I calmly ordered him to march upstairs and bring down whatever remains of the candy there were.

He comes down with the remaining quarter of the bar with a big bite out of it. *groan* He handed it to me and I handed it to Jon. True to form, it went straight into Jon's mouth.

You should have seen the look of dispair on C's face.

And since my opinion was that it wasn't enough, as further punishment for his crime, he was without dessert last night and will also have to obstain tonight.

Which is torture since I just baked brownies.

Every little thing she does.

Yep, that's right. I finally joined '06 and got an ipod. A second generation, hot pink magical little device.

Why magical? Well, when properly charged and loaded with only the greatest music, there were things happening here that were only on the schedule to be done just prior to the second coming.

The first of what I hope is many examples....when we moved in here two months ago, all the boxes, once they became empty, went to the front porch. And that's where they stayed. And stayed. Oh, yeah, and stayed. Until yesterday. Suddenly, I had the energy of ten grinches PLUS two and after the better part of an hour, the porch was usable again. For what, no one is quite sure yet, but it doesn't matter.

What's next, you ask? Who knows. But the possibilities are nearly endless and it's exciting.

Friends

I can't believe that I forgot to post this........

Back a couple of weeks ago, or maybe now it's three, Caleb's former classmates and teacher sent him letters wishing him a Happy Birthday. They were so cute! Here are a couple of my favorites.



From his former teacher:


My personal favorite, due to all the questions:


Big gifts on this boy's mind!

One that made me smile:

Of course, I had him reply with a letter of his own, but I forgot to get a picture of that. Duh.

It's all in how you look at it.

After finding this over at The Mommy Diaries, I thought I'd give Caleb, who just turned 7, a chance to answer these questions. Let's just say that for a child who never shuts up, he was really stumped by most of these; with the possible exception of the answer to number 21. DO NOT PEEK!

Enjoy!

1. What is something mommy always says to you? that you love me

2. What makes mommy happy?me listening to you

3. What makes mommy sad? me not listening to you (are you sensing the pattern here?)

4. How does your mommy make you laugh? you make funny faces

5. What was your mommy like as a child? you behaved

6. How old is your mommy? I don’t know (Good job, kiddo!)

7. How tall is your mommy? 7 feet tall (hahahaha, I'm 5'2"!)

8. What is her favorite thing to do? watch tv (um, okay.)

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around? do dishes and laundry

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for? that you look nice

11. What is your mommy really good at? helping Daddy

12. What is your mommy not very good at? lifting weights (just because I can't bench as much as Daddy!)

13. What does your mommy do for a job? helping people find what they need (that *is* part of being a parent, so I give him that one!)

14.What is your mommy's favorite food? green beans

15.What makes your mommy proud of you? when I help you

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? barbie (again, laughable!)

17. What do you and your mommy do together? play memory

18. How are you and your mommy the same? we both have eyebrows

19. How are you and your mommy different? your eyes are green, mine are blue

20. How do you know your mommy loves you? hugs and kisses

21. What does your mommy like most about your daddy? he can reach high things. (so true!)

22. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go? the park

Go there, now!

There's a great giveaway happening at one of my favorite blogs, Scary Mommy! Cleaning products! Who doesn't love those? And the best part, they are eco-friendly.

Click here to enter- winner chosen March 22nd.

Good Luck!

Nope, not gonna do it.

I love my husband's family, really I do. And I love that it takes us nearly two hours to get to most of them for a visit.

But the thing that I love most? My husband is such a sucker for his own bed that he will invent almost any excuse in the world to have to come home after a family gathering. This is a good thing.

My sister-in-law just graduated from nursing school. We are all very proud of her and her kids are throwing her a party tonight. While I look forward to the party, I look forward to the drive HOME afterward- even if it is almost two hours and will be quite late.

Jon has spent most of the week compiling his "reasons to come home" list and I have had the privilege of hearing all of the reasons at random.

The best one, in my opinion? First thing this morning, he says to me- "We can't stay tonight, we have our date tomorrow."

Whew!

Something to think about

Do amazed crickets ever look to one another and proclaim "Jimminy Human!"?

Twenty-four hours

Think about it. It’s a short amount of time if you’re talking about a visit with family or friends that you hardly see. It can be a long amount of time if you have to be anywhere you’d rather not. But either way, it can be a learning experience, can’t it? It’s all in how you look at it.

Our congregation has been called to a 40 day fast, which started yesterday, March 3. Not that our pastoral staff expects us to fast for the entire forty days, but to participate as much as we feel lead to stretch our faith, bring us to our knees and ultimately closer to God and His plan for our life and future as a church.

We’ve known that the fast was coming for a few weeks. And there was something about God’s voice speaking to me on Sunday that I couldn’t deny. I kept hearing “TV….TV.” Now, that can only mean one thing- I was being challenged to exchange some of the time that the television consumed in my life for more important things, such as studying the Word. Okay, I can agree to that.

But it didn’t really end there. See, my boys, the youngest especially, are addicted to cartoons. We try to keep a tight reign on that because we know that he would watch until his brain started to ooze out of his ears. And forget getting their attention during commercials- those are nearly as captivating as the shows themselves!

So, we as a family agreed to a fast from television. And before you think that we are crazy, let me just tell you that we already broke that last night- for Biggest Loser. That’s a show, albeit not “reality” that we all enjoy and so we agreed that we’d break the fast for BL but that would be all. Fortunately for me, it isn’t college football season.

I’ve discovered in the last 48 hours that I have the television on as much if not more for the background noise as anything. Jon’s suggestion for that was for me to turn on the radio. It isn’t the same. LOL But no TV has given me time in the Word and also time to read books that I always wanted to (I’m reading In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado right now) and given me extra time to practice my praise and worship music for ladies retreat coming up.

And then we’re back to the 24 hour thing. I decided that personally, I would take a 24-hour fast from food from Monday supper to Tuesday supper for each of the six weeks of the fast. Doable, I thought, since I’m not a big breakfast person anyway and then I can still eat what I fix for family dinners.

I won’t lie….it was difficult. I started out strong, but my stomach was in very angry protest by 10 am yesterday. So I drank more water and juice- even hot chicken broth- and prayed. And as I did so, I started to feel like it was doable. Pastor told us to pray when our stomach starts to growl- let me tell you that yesterday afternoon was quite a prayer time for me. And it was amazing. I felt at peace about everything that had concerned me over the last several days and I was able to better identify with those in our country who are as hungry on a daily basis as I was yesterday.

And the best thing- from a mom’s perspective…Matthew expressed all on his own an interest in fasting. I had to talk him down to a breakfast fast; he had wanted to do like a 72-hour thing. I have given him the suggestion that if by next Tuesday, he feels he can do more than just breakfast, he’s encouraged to try and fast from lunch to lunch the next Tuesday. But since he’s still growing, I didn’t want him doing anything more than that- for now.

If you have any suggestions for next week’s fast for me, or any experiences of your own, I’d love to hear them.

Twenty four little hours…I look forward to seeing what a difference it makes for myself and for my family.

Attitude of Gratitude- One Thousand Gifts

“Every good and perfect gift is from above; coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17.

I have been blessed with much, and challenged by a fellow blogger to share that with you. My hope is to dig a bit deeper into my blessings and maybe learn something about myself in the process. Maybe in this, you’ll be inspired to develop your list of 1000 gifts- let me know if you do!

1. My very existence past the age of 7 is a gift from God. I had a seizure at school and almost quit breathing twice on the way to the hospital. Mom says that she knew at that point (again!) that God had great things for me to do.

2. My voice. I was blessed with vocal talent. My husband, who does not sing, will tell you that. He doesn’t sing, but he tells me that he knows bad vocals when he hears them. Some American Idol auditions make him run screaming to the other room.

3. My mother taught me to love singing early on. She taught me enough piano so that I could learn to read music, so it makes it much easier to sing parts also. And I like singing second soprano and alto when I get the chance, just for the challenge sometimes.

4. It’s hard to see now that we’re in March, but the snow is a gift. I’ve heard that it will do its part to keep us from needing so much rain this summer.

5. My mother in law’s love of all things that grow is about to be a gift to me. She has big plans for my yard and flower boxes this spring and summer. I just hope that whatever she plants can be neglected to a point, because I tend to do that.

6. I love to read, and I think that Mom deserves some of the credit for this too. And I have been lucky enough in recent years to be able to borrow books from her that she has read that she thinks that I’d enjoy. It’s always fun to hear her say “Oh, I’ve got a book you might like to read.”

7. I saw a little bird in my backyard yesterday. While I don’t know what type it was (my mother-in-law is good for that too!) I do know that it wasn’t a robin or a crow. And that has to mean that Spring is coming, doesn’t it?

8. My brother celebrates his birthday today; he’s now a quarter of a century old. That seems impossible…but that’s just all in my head. While we didn’t have much if any relationship when he was growing up (I’m 9.5 yrs older….) I have been blessed with being able to have relationship with him now. That means a lot to me.

9. My relationship with Jon has been a blessing to me. While we have had our share of hard times and difficult moments, I am really fortunate to have him beside me on this journey. I look forward with great anticipation to what that will mean for our future.

10. Being the mother of sons is interesting. On one hand, I have no idea what I am doing and I am scared to death. On the other hand, I don’t worry so much as I do the best I can and leave the rest up to God. I sleep better that way.

On the Menu Monday

This week.....Pasta e Fagioli with Sausage. It was really good! I asked for the votes at the table and all were "Make it again!". I had the leftover bowl (!) last night and while the pasta was past its prime at that point, it was still very good.


And now...the recipe.

Pasta e Fagioli with Sausage

1 T. olive oil
1.5 pounds sweet or hot bulk Italian sausage
1 large carrot, finely chopped
2 to 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 t. dried Italian seasoning blend
salt and pepper
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (trust me on this, you'll get plenty of salt later!)
one 15 oz. can cannellini beans
½ cup small pasta, such as ditalini (I used macaroni..it's what I had..worked fine)
grated parmesan cheese for serving

In soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage and cook, stirring until browned. Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf and dried seasoning; season with salt and pepper. (I used 1t. salt and ½ t. pepper.) Cook until vegetables are softened.

Add the chicken broth, beans and 2 cups water, cover the pot and bring soup to boil over high heat. Stir in the pasta, lower the heat and simmer to al dente. Discard the bay leaf.

Serve soup with a drizzle of olive oil and lots of cheese. Serve with crusty bread.
Enjoy!

Oh and it's giveaway time over at Meanest Mom. She's giving away some great stuff! Click here to see more.

More Than Wonderful!

You like me, you really like me!

Earlier this week, I received an award from my blogger friend Esther at The Mommy Diaries. Thanks!
{bowing to the wildly cheering crowd.}
{wiping tear}


"I promise to pay it forward, so that all people everywhere can benefit from the generosity of others."

(Okay, okay.....give me a break; it's the first full night of sleep I've had in four days.)



Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.


Without further adieu, the nominees are:


Hilary
JoAnn
Linda
Amy
Helen for her blog Mom Revolution


Thanks ladies, for keeping me challenged and inspired. Keep up the great work!

Cake and Presents!

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday!

My dearest Caleb,

Today marks your seventh birthday. Where has the time gone! Seems like only yesterday your Daddy and I were so excited for your arrival.

I didn’t have the easiest time carrying you, but you have made every struggle worth it. The minute I held you, I was in love.

You had to stay in the hospital an extra two days after my doctor let me go home. I spent that first night without you wide awake, anxious and scared that something would happen to you when I wasn’t there. But your Daddy reminded me that the nurses were taking good care of you and better yet, God was watching over you.

Matthew has always loved you. When you were tiny, he’d do anything he could to make you smile and you loved it. He was very helpful to me in the early days when Daddy was in classes and at work till late and it was just me and the two of you. Be kind to your brother and you’ll always have one another.

I am more proud of you than you will ever know. You test me, but Grandma says that I deserve it. :) And that’s okay, I’m sure she’s right. You make me smile every day with the things that you are learning. Never stop laughing, it’s good for you. Your Daddy and I will always be here for you, no matter what, you can come to us. Remember to see the good in people and to put Jesus first in your life and you can never go wrong.

Happy Birthday my son!

Love you forever,
Mom

Free hugs!

Matthew presented me with this certificate yesterday afternoon. I know that you can't read what it says, so let me tell you.....

" This coupon is good for ONE FREE HUG. This coupon is meant to be used at any time. Taking the coupon means that it is possible to exchange it for something that you want me to do for you, including a hug.

This coupon is also good for double hug and other things; double hugs are on Fridays and Saturdays only. Sundays are good for double hugs and one kiss.

(Double hugs are also good for me to exchange with you for time at the Player's Choice complex in Appleton. Single hugs don't get anything for me. Also please make macaroni and cheese casserole.)

This coupon can be exchanged for anything of your liking and can never be turned down and will never expire. Please choose wisely."

But wait.....there's a small disclaimer.....

"This coupon CAN NOT be used in cleaning my room or the playroom."

I *knew* it was too good to be true. :)

But then there's good news...."This coupon can be copied anytime you need another one."

That IS good news!

"On the Menu Monday" Review

While I'm awake for unacceptable reasons, I thought that I'd give you my review on yesterday's recipe as well as a few pics of the process.


For starters, I made a few changes to the ingredients list. I used black beans rather than red beans, the boys prefer those. And I added 2 teaspoons of chopped garlic with the spices also.


Here's a pic of the chili before it starts the 20 minute simmer.
( all the pics are sorta blurry, so I apologize. I need to check my camera settings.) Matthew reported that the chili smelled good; he said that he could smell it all the way upstairs.


Next comes topping said chili with hash browns and cheese. What could be wrong with that, I ask you? The answer- absolutely nothing. Although we did increase the cheese by nearly fifty percent. That's how it works in this house.


And finally, a "finished product" pic. I left the chili in for 5 minutes longer than the recipe stated and also turned on my broiler for about 5 minutes to get some color on the hash browns once they were cooked through.

Overall, it was a winner. Matthew declared it from the first bite; Caleb was much more interested in the cheese on top, but did eat the chili also. When I asked Jon for his thoughts, he said that it was good, but he was starving and would have eaten dirt. LOL *I* thought that it was just okay.

Other changes that I made or will make next time are that I used a 9x13 pan rather than the 8x11 size specified. It just seemed that there was entirely too much "stuff" and would overflow the smaller pan.

Also, I'd brown the beef first and then do the step with the onions, spices and tomato paste. But that just stems from a deep seeded paranoia of undercooked meats. (Or is it deep seated? Anyway...) No biggie.

I'll make it again, but probably not unless it's specifically requested.

On the Menu Monday.

**Disclaimer: This recipe comes from the March edition of Everyday with Rachael Ray. It comes from the "$10 Spot" where every recipe in total is under $10. We have not tried the recipe as of yet, but it is on the menu for tonight. And I have to say that I can't wait! Look for a review of the recipe tomorrow.***

Cheesy Hash Brown Chili
Serves 4 Prep 40 mins Bake 35 mins

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 T. chili powder
2 t. ground cumin
1/4 c. tomato paste
1 pound ground beef
Salt and pepper
One 15oz can red kidney beans, rinsed
One 15oz can diced tomatoes
One 1lb. bag frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add beef and cook, breaking up the meat, for 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Add the beans and the tomatoes, with their juice and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, partially cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Transfer to an 8-by-11-inch baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes and cheese. Scatter the potato mixture over the chili. Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake until the potatoes are cooked through and the chili is bubbling, about 35 minutes.

The Receipt according to the RR kitchen.
evoo $.32
onion $.40
chili powder $.27
ground cumin $.20
tomato paste $.30
ground beef $2.94
canned kidney beans $.79
canned diced tomatoes $.90
frozen hashbrowns $1.60
cheddar cheese $1.16

total $8.88 or $2.22 per person

Picture of the Week

I'm Mean.

Somebody call CPS right now. Clearly, I'm the most unreasonable mother on the planet. It's imperative that my children are given a home where they are the boss, so as to allow them to live out the remaining days of childhood happy and free.

Why am I being unreasonable, you ask? Well, it's a long list, but it boils down to these things right now:

I won't let Caleb watch cartoons from the minute he's home from school to the minute his head hits the pillow in the evening. Why? Trust me when I say that he gets enough brain rot on the weekend around here.

That's unreasonable to him.

Video games are another area of contention. And this little monkey has even tried the "Mom, if Matthew wants to play, can we play?" route. Matthew knows that doesn't work, Caleb just frustrates himself by thinking that it will and then being disappointed.

It's unreasonable for me to not allow them hours and hours of game competition. Which, by the way, I had done the night before, even though it was a school night.

Give Caleb an inch and he'll take Lambeau Field.

There are 4 rooms on the upper level of our home. Jon and I use the one at the top of the stairs as sleeping quarters. That gives those boys three- YES, THREE- rooms to use at their hearts content.

As they are upstairs right now with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads, they are unaware that a new unreasonable rule is being instituted tomorrow.

The world's largest atomic bomb hit the playroom in the last few days. And I am going to unreasonably require that they clean it up. I am sure that there will be bickering and tears, but it has to be done. I'm no longer letting them live in filth- for the sake of the poor sap that will get stuck with each of them in college.

Oh, and I make them read. And shower. And be ready for the bus on time. And treat each other with respect.

Obviously I have no idea what I'm doing.

25 Things…..about my kids.

I know that I did this meme about myself on Facebook and I have also done it here. But I was tagged by the blogger at The Mommy Diaries, so I thought it’d be fun to play along. There won’t be 25 tags with this one though; just two: Helen and Missy. Come on, ladies- play along!


Here goes…..

1. Matthew David was born on his great-grandfather Hancock’s birthday.

2. He was born 4 days early and weighed 6lbs, 6oz at birth.

3. Caleb Nathaniel was born on his great Auntie Margaret’s birthday.

4. He was born 30 days early and weighed 5lbs, 10 oz at birth.

5. Both births were scheduled inductions. Matthew’s because my bp was going up. Caleb’s because my bp had been up since the 20th week.

6. Matthew is so like me that it is scary sometimes. Most of that is good, but some of that causes us to disagree.

7. Caleb figures that there isn’t a rule on the planet that actually applies to him. Imagine his dismay when he is informed that his information is inaccurate.

8. Matthew was 22 days old on my 22nd birthday.

9. He and I had our “golden birthdays” the same year.

10. Matthew is a slow poke in the morning. He’d enjoy school much more if it started at noon.

11. Caleb is 100% awake from the minute his eyes are open. Doesn’t matter if it’s 2am or 5am, he thinks he needs to get out of bed.

12. When I had the lunch supervisor position, Matthew would always come and give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek before he went back to class. Even in front of his friends.

13. Caleb couldn’t have cared less if I was there.

14. Caleb didn’t think twice about putting a pink, glittery Bratz tattoo on his hand yesterday. Jon was thrilled.

15. Matthew loves to read. He started reading the Harry Potter series in 2nd grade and has read the series through five or six times.

16. Caleb sleeps with so many stuffed friends that he fell out of bed last week. I think that the current number is six.

17. Matthew was given a giant stuffed rabbit by my grandmother when Caleb was born. He named her Anna.

18. Anna still sleeps on Matthew’s bed to this day. She’ll probably go to college with him.

19. Speaking of college, Matthew has already narrowed down his choices to my alma mater, Olivet Nazarene University, or the University of Michigan.

20. Caleb tells me that he plans to live here forever.

21. Matthew will one day think I hung the moon and the next day look at me like he wants me dead. The teen years are going to be a blast. NOT!

22. Caleb is mischievous. You can see it in his eyes.

23. Matthew loves science and math. He excels at them also. He gets that from Jon.

24. Caleb will be seven next week and his belief in Santa and the Tooth Fairy are still going strong. I am in no hurry for that to change.

25. I didn’t think that I really wanted to be the mother of boys, but I can tell you that it is the best gig in the world!!

Hair

From over the summer:




To this week:

Spring? Think again.

You'd think that after spending the majority of my 30+ years living in the upper mid-west, I'd be used to the weather. Nope. We were getting so excited for spring and now time has seemed to reverse itself.


Here's one of Caleb's activities this past Saturday.



It was somewhere around 25-30 degrees outside (I can't remember exactly). He's in a jacket in February! And see how the snow banks are receeding? Spring is coming!!

Nope. These are pics that I just took while standing on my back deck this morning. While beautiful, there is a small sense that maybe we will once again skip over spring this year and go straight to 80 degrees. {groan}

Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!

Thankful Tuesday!

I love my sister. She was born when I was one day shy of being 3 and a half, so I've never known life without her.

Don't get me wrong; our relationship was *very* typical. She bugged me and we fought, but I can also tell you that over the last 15 years or so, she has become my best friend.

This morning, I'm just sad that she doesn't live closer. It's really hard some days to realize that for the forseeable future, she and I are stuck seeing each other only a couple of times a year. I wish that she lived close enough to me to drop by on occasion, or that I could drop by to see her.

She has given me the privilege of being an Auntie three times. That is the greatest gig in the world! I love those kids like I love my own, and it sometimes makes me sad when I think about all the daily stuff that I miss out on with them being 400+ miles away.

Thanks sis, for putting up with me even when I don't deserve it. Thanks for always being my best friend. I always loved you, even when I didn't act like it; thanks for understanding that it was just a (very) bratty teenage phase and had nothing to do with you. Thanks for still being here for me on the other side of all that junk.


Thanks for giving me Sean, Katie and Emily. I know that they test your patience and sanity sometimes, but they really are worth it. :) Thanks for allowing me to be a part of their lives.


I love you (and miss you!) very much!

My Valentine!

I don't have any idea what Jon has planned for today, and it doesn't really matter. When I got home last night, Caleb was asleep, but he'd left me a note on the dishwasher. And I wanted to share it with all of you.



Happy Valentines Day!

Picture of the Week.

Oh baby!

I like surprises. So much so that when given the option to find out the gender of my second child, I passed.

My sister, on the other hand, knew the gender of each of her children months in advance. And whether I wanted to know for the first two or not, she told me. So when she got pregnant a third and final time, I begged her to keep the gender of the baby to herself. It was fine that she knew, fine that Mom knew, but I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW.

It almost worked.

Just a few days before H delivers the baby, she and I are talking on the phone. I don't even recall what I asked her about the baby, but I know that the response contained the word "she". Stunned, I try to convince myself that I heard her wrong. Then she stammers and tries to cover her tracks and as we both start to laugh she confesses that indeed the baby is a girl. Fine, now I know. But keep her NAME to yourself, for the love of God.

And she did.

I found out last week that my best friend is pregnant with her first child. I plan to inquire as to whether she and her husband intend to find out the gender of the baby. And if she says "yes", I also plan to ask her to keep that information to herself. I want to be surprised, dang it all.

Call me selfish if you want, but I tend to think that the birth is sort of anticlimactic if months have been spent planning for a specific color of nursery bedding. And I know that ultrasound technology leaves room for error, but come on. If the tech asks if I want to know and then she tells me, then I know. That's it. Some of the anticipation is gone.

There are so few surprises left in life.

BTW, congrats again Missy, on the news that your little one is a BOY! That one I *did* want to know. ;)

Brought to you by the number 100.

This is the 100th post for this blog.


Starting this blog, back in August of 2008, I wanted to consciously spend more quality time with my boys and husband. I don't blog about it much, but I think that I have done that. The blog has also given me an outlet for my thoughts, crazy though they be, that I never thought of using before then.


In the last 100 posts:


**We've seen another summer and fall pass. And we're a good portion through winter and are on our way to spring!







**Matthew started sixth grade, played his seventh season of soccer, began playing the trumpet for band.


**He also joined a new youth group and got to go on a 3 day winter retreat.


**He was placed in a seventh grade math course and so far his lowest grade has been a B-. He also was recently moved from 2nd trumpet in band to 1st.


**He got his own room, decorated it himself, keeps it relatively clean and makes his bed every morning without prompting.


** I've also released some of my control and let him grow out his hair. It kills me, but it's good for me to start letting go, ya know? The kid is almost 12.5, LOL. (I need to get a pic of the hair for you to appreciate it.....)





**Caleb started first grade. My baby....in first grade....where does that time go exactly?


**He's coming a long way with his reading. Every day, he surprises me with words that he can sound out today that he couldn't before.


**He got his own room too. He wasn't too excited about the separation at first, until I told him that it meant that he could be the boss of his very own space....then he was all over it.


**He makes me smile every day. Something he's done is silly or exciting and every day I smile.


**He tests my patience too, don't get me wrong. But as frustrated as I get sometimes, he teaches me how to be a better parent and ultimately, a better person.







**We looked at...let's see...six or seven houses in our "price range" before we stumbled upon this one. And this one was the best of the bunch, I'll tell ya that. Okay, maybe 2nd best..but the price was more what we could afford on this one. It's all good.







**We celebrated our last Christmas as apartment dwellers. We moved in here on December 27, 2008; that made Christmas a bit chaotic, but fun at the same time. We'll always remember it, that's for sure.


**I had to quit my supervisor job at the school because of the commute costs. They were willing to let me keep it, but the 45 minute drive one way for $8.25 a day was too much. I miss it almost every day. But being home full time has given me a chance to focus a bit on myself, which I've been told I don't do nearly enough. So, maybe it was okay.


**Jon and I recently started going on a Saturday morning breakfast date. Now that Matthew is old enough, we let him watch Caleb for small stretches and they seem to be doing okay with that. Just a couple hours of alone time with my husband makes my week, I'll tell ya that!


**We junked one car and bought another. Wait...there was almost a month between...that left me here in my tiny village with no transportation. Made me really happy when Jon called me to tell me that he purchased a car. I felt like a freed bird!



**I've seen my family once, at Thanksgiving.


**I found out that two of my closest friends are expecting babies, along with my baby brother and his girlfriend. (He's 24!) That will hopefully mean a lot of baby snuggling in my future!


**And most importantly, my faith has been stretched. I'm learning all over again the phrase "not my will, but Thine". And it's bringing me such peace.


Thanks for embarking on this look back with me...here's to 100 more posts!!

Thursday Thoughts

I have developed a serious addiction to diet Mt. Dew. I *know* that it isn't good for me but I really don't care.

J bought a "new to us" Honda Civic this week. It was built the year we had our first child. ha ha.

I haven't seen my best friend since before Christmas. She changed job locations and we moved and it's just been really difficult to connect. I hate that.

She and I do hope to meet in town tomorrow night for dinner.

I haven't seen my other best friend since summer of '05. We hope to change that this spring if she can come to WI to visit her sister. I haven't ever seen her youngest son except in pictures.

I was so ticked yesterday when I left the salon. How can someone spend 20 minutes cutting my hair and then decide that it needs the blow dryer? Can you say "frizz city"? I looked like an over-blown chinchilla when I left. Hopefully, after a wash and *air dry* today, it won't be so bad.

I miss my family.

My brother and his girlfriend get the chance to find out the gender of their baby this month. I want to know, but I don't. J said that if I cave and let D tell me, I'm to keep it to myself. He wants to be surprised.

It wasn't so bad playing "hostess" for my in-laws last weekend. As a matter of fact, don't tell them, but it was kinda fun. I'm actually looking forward to next month when they come for M's band concert. [gasp!]

I get to spend time today covering a Wheat Thins box in red construction paper for the first grade Valentine party. After I had been into town to pick up my car *and* run all my errands, C informed me after school that he needed to decorate a box for the party and it's due Friday. When I asked him how many days he knew about that, he's reply was "Several, Mom. But the noise on the bus was so loud, I kept forgetting."

He's lucky that Daddy could stop in a neighboring town to get construction paper, since the last "last minute" project killed my supply.

He's also lucky I love him.

No, Dad. Let me!

Thankful Tuesday!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1Thessalonians 5:16-18.

The Lord brought this verse to my mind on Sunday during corporate worship and I admit, I have struggled with it ever since.

Be joyful always--okay. Dictionaries define joy as "feeling, expressing, or causing joy; glad." Um, I don't know about you, but I would guess by that definition that I spend more time than I should *not* being joyful.

I wasn't joyful when the hot water heater blew. I wasn't joyful when J smashed in his car windshield trying to clear off what a freezing rain storm had left behind. I lacked joy when C cut his bangs, I'll tell you that. And I have found it incredibly hard to be joyful knowing that my friend will never again hold her baby boy here on Earth.

So, joyful always is one that I need to work on.

Pray continually--that one stung this last week too. I can tell you that as much as he was on my mind, I prayed for baby C and his parents. I prayed for healing for that boy. That his parents would just have the story to tell him at a later date of how he came into the world. And in my human estimation, God dropped the ball on that one. Maybe I didn't pray specifically enough, I don't know.

Give thanks in all circumstances? Can't say that I have. It's hard when someone you love goes through pain to give thanks. I'm honestly not seeing my way clear on this one either.

But isn't God good? At the same time that He knows that I struggle and question, He gives me a way to ponder His faithfulness. He never said that we as Christians would never experience sadness or hard times or suffering. As a matter of fact, as Christians the opposite seems to be even more true as there is so much evil around us.

But God gives us His grace, free and without limits. 1 Corinthians 12:9 says "MY grace is sufficient for you, for MY power is made perfect in weakness."

For that I am thankful.

Little Liar.

I trimmed C's hair a week or so ago, then just a few days afterward noticed that a section of his bang was shorter than the rest.

When I asked him about it, he very innocently told me that he had no idea how his bangs came to look as though they were hit and miss with a weed wacker. While disturbing to me, it isn't something that needed taken care of right away, especially since that *may* mean a summer haircut during a cold Wisconsin winter. And I let the matter drop, rather than resorting to hours of police-type questioning in order to get him to crack.

So, I just continue to ponder how the incident happened and wonder how long it'll take my little liar to confess.

He confesses to his grandmother over the weekend.

The story he told her was that he found some scissors in the bathroom and couldn't resist.

She was amused; I was just relieved that the truth was finally out, ya know?

I'm still contemplating a summer haircut for that child. And I put up the scissors. LOL

Picture of the Week!

For a few minutes this week, our boys played together nicely. No fighting, no whining, no hitting, pushing or shoving. I *had* to get it captured; who knows when it may happen again!

On, Wisconsin!

Being born in Michigan to parents who were born and raised there, I've grown up to be a University of Michigan Wolverine fan. GO BLUE! But being that my Dad entered a call to ministry when I was 7, I have also had the opportunity to cheer for the Kentucky Wildcats, Nebraska Cornhuskers and the University of Illinois.

My parents accepted a call to a church in Wisconsin in the spring of my one and only year away at college. Prior to that, my only exposure to the great land of cheese and brats was coming through with my parents on a few vacations to visit my grandparents, you guessed it....in Michigan.

Now, I *love* college football and basketball, especially anything Big Ten Conference related. Even when the teams that I love aren't doing well; if I have a chance to watch a game, I'm gonna. Seems in recent years that I am more of a Wisconsin Badgers fan than I ever knew. They're growing on me. (After almost 15 years, haha! Don't tell my Mom.)

So imagine my surprise at myself yesterday when it dawns on me that I haven't a clue what the words to the UW-Madison fight song are. Can that be? Can I have been a true fan and not have known the words to the fight song of one of the greatest teams in the Big Ten?? Shocking!

Off to Wikipedia I go.....(I freakin' love that site!)

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!

Plunge right through that line!*

Run the ball clear down the field,*

A touchdown sure this time. (U rah rah)

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!

Fight on for her fame

Fight! Fellows! - fight, fight, fight!

We'll win this game.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!

Stand up, Badgers, sing!

"Forward" is our driving spirit,

Loyal voices ring.

On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!

Raise her glowing flame

Stand, Fellows, let us now

Salute her name!

* Sometimes these lyrics are altered to say "Run the ball clear down the field, boys--touchdown sure this time!"

I like it! Dare I say that I think the words are even more interesting than I'd hoped? (I know, I'm a geek. I'm okay with that.)

And here are even a few facts that Wikipedia provided me that I found interesting:

**"On, Wisconsin!" was the cry that Arthur MacArthur, Jr. used in the Battle of Chattanooga at Missionary Ridge, in the Civil War. He seized the regimental colors, and rallied his regiment with "On, Wisconsin!", for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

**"On, Wisconsin!" was regarded by John Philip Sousa as "the finest of college marching songs".

**It is featured in the Beach Boys' 1963 hit song, "Be True to Your School."

**An instrumental version of the song was used in the 1973 Disney animated film Robin Hood. During the fight scene where the music is played, Friar Tuck (portrayed as a badger) is cheering loudly.

**The tune was composed in 1909 by William T. Purdy, with the intention of entering it into a competition for a new fight song at the University of Minnesota.
Carl Beck, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison student, convinced him to withdraw it from the contest at the last minute and allow his alma mater to use it instead. Beck then wrote the original, football-oriented lyrics, changing the words "Minnesota, Minnesota" to "On, Wisconsin! On, Wisconsin!"

**And here's a bit of trivia that my sis will appreciate: The first few bars of this song are sung near the beginning of episode 72 on M*A*S*H.

Now, isn't that everything you wanted to know??? (Humor me...c'mon!)

Frustrated.......

The comment feature still isn't working......I've been through the blog with a fine toothed comb *and* been through Bloggers instructions and still nothing.

I appreciate your patience.


****Okay, maybe now.**** Geez.

Disappointment According to Google

First of all, a couple of things. I apologize if the comment feature on this blog has not been working for you. I made some adjustments yesterday, and hopefully the problem is taken care of.

Next, we are up to seven for Comments for Cans this week! Thanks!

Also, it's a small world, even in the big blogging world! I have discovered this week that the author of one of the blogs that I read and I are practically neighbors!! That's pretty exciting and I hope that she and I would get a chance to meet very soon! (If she wants to, of course. ;) )

Wait....that was three things. Oh well.
Anyway, with those things out of the way.....on to my post.

One of the blogs that I regularly read had an interesting suggestion the other day. I could type my name into Google and get an interesting, although not entirely accurate accounting of myself.

Now, when you have a name like mine, it is so popular that there isn’t much left to Google’s imagination by the time you get there. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) [eyeroll] So, knowing that I'm sure I've seen what Google comes up with for my first name before, and don't need to see it again, I type in my whole name and Google comes up with several web hits that all include my last name and have it spelled INCORRECTLY. My husband's nemesis- the correct spelling of his last name.

That won’t work. Hmmmm, what now?

So, I go with just my first and my middle name, which by the way, isn’t Lynn. (Thank goodness for that!)

Google’s infinite wisdom [right] takes me to a popular social networking site to the page of a person who I always [thought I] wanted to be. You know, in high school- land of self loathing and self centeredness? Blech.

She’s blonde, tall……wait. That’s all that I saw that I ever wanted to aspire to. The rest was just a barrage of things that I wish I hadn’t had to see…..and I didn’t even scroll down the page.

Blonde won’t work for me. Thanks to a failed attempt at being blonde in seventh grade (read: obnoxious, not-good-at-all strawberry blonde...Mom did try her hardest to talk me out of it...and I hated it, btw), I know that will never be.

Tall? Nope, wrong again. My Dad is all he can be at six foot tall and my Mom is most recently five three and a half. I’m all of five foot two on my very best day. My siblings got what height there was to be had at 5’7” and 5’10”. And they are both younger.

I guess that leaves me not at all interested and a little disappointed in what Google has to say about me.

Because it’s too late to change my name to something like Princess Consuela Bananahammock.
Yes, I know....I couldn't help myself.

An Angel

I didn't sleep well last night, so if this gets to be a jumbled mess....please forgive me.

On January 21, a high school friend of mine gave birth to a little boy. He was delivered by emergency c-section and immediately taken to Childrens Hospital in Chicago for surgery on a heart condition.

The next few days are a roller coaster ride of good and not so good. Surgery for the little guy went well, but he was still at great risk for complications. Doctors placed him on ECMO with the hopes that after a few days, he would be strong enough to wean off the machine.

C does well and friends all over the country are giving thanks to God for His protection of this little guy and the comfort that his parents feel. My friend left several FB messages about how she and her husband could feel the power of everyone's prayers.

Yesterday morning, C developed bleeding in his brain and he had to be taken off ECMO. Friends, myself included, pray even harder for baby C and his mommy and daddy.

That sweet baby breathed his last breath around 4pm yesterday. I received a call from a mutual friend last night around 8pm; she didn't want me reading about the baby without telling me first.
My heart is broken. For M and K, for C's big sister, for the whole family. I can't even imagine.

Please, I know this is vague for privacy and the details are sketchy at best, but could you just lift up my friend and her family? This pain is nearly unbearable, but I have faith that the God we serve will see them through.

I appreciate your prayers and I know M will too.

Hug your babies tightly.

Give Thanks!

(I woke up this morning with this running through my head.......LOL)

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.

who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

who made the great lights-
His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder
His love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

to him who lead his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.

who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings-
His love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.

and Og king of Bashan-
His love endures forever.

and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.

and inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.

to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven
His love endures FOREVER!

Last Words

(Don't forget, a new week begins today for Comments for Cans!)



Yesterday afternoon, as we were waiting for the Super Bowl to begin, M and I got sucked into a CSI: marathon on Spike TV.

One episode that aired was where Nick Stokes is kidnapped while collecting evidence on a case and is buried alive.

He is unaware that the CSI: team is tracking his every move via webcam and gets to the point where he thinks that he will not survive. So he pulls out a tape recorder and starts to speak to people in his life that made a difference to him.

This part of the episode always makes me tear up and seeing it yesterday made me think.

If I knew my life would end tomorrow, what would I say to those that I loved?

How much more important is it to always tell your loved ones how you feel because you never know which minute could be your last?

Not that we need to live life paralyzed by fear of losing those we love. Just to make the most of every opportunity to tell them how we feel.

It’s important.

(In case you've never seen the episode, Nick is rescued just in time.)

Comments for Cans, Week 2.

I'd say Comments for Cans was fairly successful in week 1.

Wait, what? Oh, okay. In case you haven't the foggiest idea what it is I'm talking about, I will give a brief recap.

For every comment that my blog posts receive this week, my family and I will donate one canned good or non-perishable item to our local food bank.

We had 12 comments last week (thank you!!), so yesterday afternoon with our regular shopping, twelve extra items found their way into the cart. ("That's a lot of macaroni and cheese, Mom.")

For the record, it wasn't my idea, but a fellow blogger, at Mom Revolution. It was suggested as just a small way to give to those in need. And a great way, I might add.

Hungry families in my community thank you.

Let the commenting begin!