4th of July in pictures

Here's a kewl link for patriots - http://sagebrushpatriot.com/america.htm

4th of July

Our 4th of July party is coming together.
This website helped get my juices flowing.

#1 on my "smart idea" list : We've invited friends who don't care how the house looks.

The house actually looks fairly decent, but I'd feel obligated to make it look great if we had a different crowd of people coming. Dave did TONS of yardwork last night. I think he was out there past dark! It needed done soooo badly. I'm just no help at all this summer. He said he only got about 20% of it done. I'm so thrilled for what he got accomplished, though.

We've got flags out everywhere. The dollar store was sold out when I checked, but Wal-mart had a good price on them (2/$1.86) for the hand-held ones.

A few activities for the kids planned (3-legged race, water balloons, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sparklers). On the 3rd, I had them take the black styrofoam trays from the trayed corn on the cob and make fireworks by blowing red, white & blue paint through a straw. We hung them on the bathroom door. There's really no point in over planning -- they'll just want to run through the house screaming and chasing each other all day, anyway.

I thought I'd have them watch the America Rock portion of Schoolhouse Rock. That set of 20 minutes worth of cartoon songs tells the story as succinctly and memorably as about anything I can think of..."and the shot heard round the world, was the start of the revolution..."

The food is bought and prepped, including the Rocket Popsicles we made last night with Jello & Whipped Cream. I've come to LOVE Aldi's supermarket.

If we can stay awake that long, we're going to try and take the kids to the fireworks. Believe it or not, we've never made it to watch the fireworks since we've had kids.

It should be a relaxing, easy-going, flag waving, Sousa-playing day...of course, I'm awake at 4:30am, so I may be a tad-bit tired for 9am Mass on the 4th. It sounds rediculous, but I'll just go upstairs and take a short nap while our friends are here ... ANOTHER advantage to celebrating with good friends.

I pray for America that we may be made worthy to live out the freedoms and responsibilities we've been granted by God.

Pasta Salad

Do you know I can't make a decent pasta salad to save my life? The ones from the box come out just fine. I can make a homemade one "look" like a pretty pasta salad. It sure doesn't taste like one.

I've tried recipe after recipe -- and I can't come up with one that tastes right. My problem is that no matter how much italian dressing I put in, after a few hours it tastes like...oil...tasteless. Even when I put more italian dressing in a second time ... after a few hours it tastes really oily. I don't know how to get the taste to stay.

How hard can this be??

I need to put this one under "cooking failure" (except that I don't have a category for that and I'm hoping not to have tooooo many cooking failures).


There's a trick I'm not privy to...


Does your pasta salad turn out?

Saving Money

For years, our family has been praying to get out of debt. So far...it hasn't happened. We're still praying. We're also stepping up our efforts.

I know it's a cliche to say "make a game out of saving money," but I do feel like it's a challeng we can meet with God's help.

We've recommitted ourselves to getting out of debt. Some of the ways we're modifying our lives to accomplish that are :

• Trying to go out to eat very rarely
• No paying overdue fines at the library
• Dave said he'll pack his lunches for work
• I'm going to spend less this year on curriculum *ouch!* (see how committed I am?)
• I'm going to try and spend less for groceries
• We're going to try and make presents rather than buy them all
• No vacation this year

Things we've already been doing tword that end:

• No cable TV
• Not paying for news (newspapers online, etc.)
• Buying as many clothes as we can at Salvation Army & Goodwill
• Doing 30-day cooking
• Cheap vacations
• Taking advantage of as many inexpensive or free family activities as possible (civil war reinactments, park days, family zoo pass, etc.)

If you can think of other ways we could make a dent -- let me know! I'm on the hunt!

Bunco

I don't like Bunco. So, when it was my turn to host it -- I said we weren't going to play. My favorite part of playing Bunco with my friends is seeing my friends...and eating. So, on my night, I decided we'd just visit and eat. I asked everyone to bring a dish plus the recipe. I'll make copies of the recipes for everyone. And we'd chat. I told them they could bring a craft they were working on, if they wanted. These are the recipes I fixed :

Hot Beef Dip

1 – 8oz pkg Cream cheese, softened
½ Onion, minced
1 C sour cream
½ t Garlic powder
½ Green pepper, minced
1 pkg dried beef, cut in 1” squares

Mix everything together and bake ‘till bubbly, 30 minutes @ 350. Serve with crackers. When I bake this in my stoneware loaf pan, it stays hot on the way to a party covered with foil, even in winter.

Isaac, you do not bear
The wood alone,
For on your father’s heart
It weighs like stone.-Charles L. O’Donnell

Cheese Cake

4 – 8oz pkg Cream Cheese
Grated zest of 1 lemon, 3t dried or 1T fresh
½ C Heavy cream
Grated zest of 1 orange, 3t dried or 1T fresh
1 ½ C Sugar
1 t Vanilla
4 Eggs, lightly beaten

Mix cream cheese, sugar & cream until smooth. Add eggs & beat again. Mix in the zests and vanilla. Pour into a buttered 8x3 inch round pan (I use a springform). Place this pan in a slightly larger pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan to come two thirds up the side of the cake pan (I used tap water). Bake until firm, approximately 2 hours, adding more water when necessary. Turn off the oven, open the door, and let sit until cooled. Invert onto a platter. Garnish with strawberries.
[Her actual recipe calls for ¼ lb finely ground blanched almonds to be placed in the bottom of the cake pan before you pour in the cheese cake so that when you invert it, the almonds are on top. I don’t do this step.]
I bought grated zests in the spice isle just for this recipe – a great investment!

A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on. – Carl Sandburg

Summer Reading

We've done the summer reading program every year at the library. Some of the kids do better than others. This year ALLLLLL of the kids are super excited about it. The prizes aren't all that wonderful (some are cool), but they kids are soo psyched! It's really fun to have all of them trying to squeeze in as much reading time as they can.

This is turning out to be a terrific summer, maybe even BECAUSE of my limited energy. I can't push everyone (including myself) as hard as normal and we're definately enjoying things more - even the small amount of school we're accomplishing! Last year I remember praying about getting back some of the easy-going school times we had when the girls were little. God answered my prayer by allowing me to get knocked up. (4 1/2 months left and counting)

I saw this in an advertisement. I didn't know they had this!!

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

The kids are also liking this site that encourages reading

Book Adventure

Crochet Headband

Using #3 cotton thread and an "F" needle, I whipped this up last night in preparation for the 4th of July. The main band is 2" wide (about 10 rows) and 10 1/2" long (about 50 stitches across). Each tie is 12" long (about 55 stitches). To make it just a little bit fancier (I know it's pretty basic), I took 5 stitches of the ties and made them into a "V". It would have been better if I tapered off the last 2 edges where the "V" comes together so that it's only 8 stitches wide, instead of 10 -- but it doesn't noticably pucker.

Godparents

Godparents are really important in our family. We wait until the baby's born to ask a couple to be Godparents and ask them to prayerfully consider before they agree. We consider it a big responsibility. Those people need to be involved enough in the child's life to determine when things may be amiss or have a good enough relationship to talk to the child when they may not be as open to us. We write Godparents into our will. If anything should happen to Dave and I we don't want money to keep a set of Godparents from including our child to a trip to the icecream store or whatever they deem in the best spiritual interest of our child. We have our children pray for their Godparents and anytime they ask, they mail them school papers, or cards, or whatever strikes their fancy. That is their special relationship.

Ds#3 hasn't gotten to see his Godparents in about a year, and he's felt it. While he still keeps them in prayer, he has lamented the distance in time. Today was a particularly special day when we got a chance to get together with HIS Godfather!!! It doesn't take much to please a kid. While Dave and I had a fabulous time visiting with him for hours, Ds#3 only needed a few minutes of time to feel really special!

Park Days

Park Days are a HUGE part of our homeschool in summer. We look forward to park days all year and relish every moment. While some busy moms come for an hour, we come early and stay late and love every minute. The moms sit together with all the lunches we've brought, and the kids come to us when they need us. It's a near perfect arrangement!! (One of the benefits of bringing the camera is that I don't have any pictures of ME in them!!)
My kids are in orange. Many of the larger families choose a color so they can find their kids easier. I just have to count to 4 when searching the playground. Every Thursday of the summer, you'll find our family at a local park.
On a particularly hot day, the kids found a shady tree

Sometimes the moms have to intervene.... Today they fought over whose turn it was to use the straw they found on the ground to dig in the dirt. At least they're past the stage of putting things in their mouths.
The kids are sure to come home filthy!
But they come home filled with friends and fun ...and EXHAUSTED from all the play!!! What a perfect summer day!!

Homeschool Goals

Not the soccer kind - the "what do I need to accomplish?" kind.

We -set -goals -in -our -school.
We -set -goals -how -'bout -YOU?

I have 3 sets of goals.

1. Long term goals for each child (Ex : we'll get through all of history 2-3 times before graduation / or Each child will know how to do all chores in the house by age 13.)
2. The ones I set (goals) -- My goals are based on my "perfect homeschool dream" year.
3. The reality I'm willing to live with (actual expectations). -- My expectations are based on the child's abilities, strengths, weaknesses, and the knowledge that life happens, but school has to stay at a certain priority level throughout the year.

I set both for each child & each subject.

Math - Goal : finish MUS Gamma for DD#2 by the end of the year / Expectation : that she'll work diligently at her own pace and understand what she's doing before we move on. So, I want to finish the book...but if she goes through it faster than a year or takes 1.5 years, I'm ok as long as she's doing her best.

History - Goal : To cover the ancients in one year / Expectation : That we'll mostly cover all that this year and work through the summer if we don't make it, so we can start next year on track.

Reading - Goal : That the 1st grader will learn to read this year / Expectation : That he'll do his best, but knowing it may take him 2 years to really "get it."

With our priorities that the needs of the family come before any preconcieved druthers of what school will look like (for example my pregnancy or a sick relative or a family vacation) it's neccessary to ward off feelings of failure for me to have these sets of goals. In my book, I may not get an "A" as a teacher this year, but I kept our priorities, I tried my best and I didn't fail. If for some reason (a pregnancy or a sick relative) keeps us from even attaining our expectations for the year -- I need to reassess my priorities, my goals and my expectations and see what has to be reevaluated for next year so that I'm not failing my child's education.

It's a delicate balance that we all attempt. With God's help, we may not please ourselves (in a "perfect homeschool year"), but we can please God by putting His priorities over our own. These sets of goals help me do that. It also keeps me from beating myself up about all the things I didn't get done because if I fall somewhere between the two sets of goals...we didn't do so bad!

Guacamole

Dd#2's Godmother gave her a new recipe to try and she loves it. You start with fresh Avacado, which I'd never been brave enough to buy before.

1-Avacado
1/4 tsp cumin (or more to taste)
1 tsp or so lime juice (substitute lemon juice if you don't have
lime)
pinch of salt (Dd#2 used 1 Tblsp to suit her taste)
1 tsp finely chopped onion (DD#2 used 3 TBLSP to suit her taste -- it did
turn out good!)
tomato, chopped (she used about 1/4 cup)
*Some people add cilantro, but we didn't have any and Dd#2's godmother didn't recommend it. However, Dd#2 LOVES cilantro, so she would have put in lots if we had it.
Serve with a dallop of sour cream on top

Avacado is fresh when the peel is black & a little soft to the touch, but not smooshey. Cut in half width-wise (as opposed to length-wise). Spoon the seeds out & throw away. Spoon out the flesh into a bowl leaving the peel intact. Throw away the peel. Smoosh up the flesh with a fork, but leave it a little chunky. Sprinkle cumin ontop. Sprinkle lime juice. Sprinkle salt, onion & tomato. It wasn't in the directions, but Dd#2 stirred it up. Chill before serving. Dd#2, always desirous of instant gratification, put it in the freezer for 10 minutes. We ate it with lime-flavored tortilla chips. It was VERY good.

Warning:
It turned black in the fridge, but we were told to expect that when not eating it the first day. The Fairy godmother said it was fine to eat unless it seperated and water was on the top. It was not pretty, though, and Dd#2 refused to eat it black.

My Books Came In

I got more than half my books for next year's curriculum last week!!! It's such an exciting feeling. They're waiting on 10 more to see if they come in, and there's another 20 or so that I'll have to order new online. But it's so exciting to get new books. Dd#1 is NOT overly happy, though. She keeps begging me to let her read them now. She even told me I was a mean mom to order new books before she was allowed to start on them. She told me they're taunting her just sitting there, brand new, unread. I have caught her sneaking into them twice, now.

I think she'd even be ready to start regular school days if she could only read some of those books. The other kids though.....do not have such strong siren songs coming from the books at them!

Well, I'm excited, even if no one else is!

Matt Kelty Addresses Campaign Contribution Issue

As many of you know, Jenn & I are avid supporters of Matt Kelty for Fort Wayne Mayor. In the video clip below, Matt addresses the legal and political aspects of campaign contributions he received...



Click here to learn more about Matt and how his architectural vision and principled leadership will provide new direction for our great city.

Swingset Maintance

We have a plain A-frame swingset. The kids are almost too big for it, but they're not growing out of enjoying it. Thankfully, they also have a tree to climb in the back yard, so that extends their play area.

5 months pregnant, I borrowed our neighbor's power washer -- it was a fun toy!! All the neighbors who got a view of my ever-larger rear end while up on the slide platform thought I shouldn't be up there doing it . However, it was serious instant gratification. The swingset was grey from weathering for 8 years. I thought the wood was that color throughout. I washed it for about an hour and it washed away the grey and got that wood color back. The neighbor's was 12 years old and he did his for 4 hours (serious perfectionist). His wood looks brand new. He's going to sand his. I didn't bother (I'm a serious NOT perfectionist). Besides, most of the splinters I saw were on the top bar and the kids aren't supposed to be up there, anyway. So, if they come in with splinters, I'll know where they've been.

Then we bought a gallon of deck sealer and brushed it on. The kids used brushes & I used a small roller. The first coat took about an hour to put on (Ds#3 & I worked on it together - the other kids pooped out after 10 minutes, the wimps). It soaked in right away. So Ds#3 & Dd#1 put on a second coat, that took about 40 minutes. It dried quickly, but not completely in the hour we waited. Then, the girls & I put on the a third coat (over the not dry 2nd coat - you're not supposed to do that) in about 30 minutes - that finished off the gallon. If you don't need to put on that many coats, it would have only taken 1/2 gallon for the first coat.

We were told to seal our swingset every year. We do it every 3rd year or so to keep down the splinters.

Demanding / complaining child

--what would you do?

I've got one of these. It's an incredible emotional drain. This child is a serious the-glass-is-half-empty kind of person.

I use 2 strategies : 1 - swift non-emotional consequences 2 - huge amounts of slathering love & compassion. For a disrespectful tone of voice or words, she gets sent to her room until she shows me a submissive attitude. She's spent whole days up there with me checking every so often to see if she's "ready" - and she's not "ready" for a long time. Some days she doesn't go up at all. Progress is measured in years, not months or weeks. The key with her is that I can't show much emotion at all when I discipline. She considers it a "win" if I loose it either in anger or frustration.

The other key is that I fake compassion. Before she comes down from her room we sit on the stairs and discuss what was the trigger that set her off, what she could have done differently, etc. I express tremendous empathy (weather I feel it or not) for her frustration. We hug and I show her I'm not the enemy, but her advocate. I even sit below her on the stairs to allow her whatever dignity she needs to be able to see things through my eyes. I've told her 137,276 times in a very loving voice, "Sweetie, I love you so much and your maturity in Christ is so important to me that while it puts me in pain to fight you -- you are worth the fight. And until you're willing to fight yourself, I will continue to fight you -- but what I really want is to show you how much I love you."

If she complains, she gets more work. Period. Saturday school for any child who didn't finish their school during the week is a huge punnishment (for me, too) -- but it drives it home that your work won't get done by someone else if you don't do it. It took almost a full year of consistently doing these things until we saw any improvement and she'll still have really bad days (or weeks). I just take heart in the knowledge that this was God's choice for our family so I'll just do the best I can and pray and pray that He'll parent her in the ways that I'm incapable.

Discouragement & being worn down are the tools the enemy uses -- guard yourself from them. And, although it goes without saying, sometimes I still need to remember, to pray constantly for that child and my own heart to be conformed to the heart of Christ.

May is a birthday month

At our house, May is the birthday of both of our sons!! One is at the beginning of the month and the other at the end. This year they turn 5 & 7. It's the simple pleasure they ask for. Pancakes for their birthday dinner. A BIG baby pool. Enough squirt guns for everyone to get one. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOYS!!!

Normal Life

I lost my voice late last night. I had some wicked sore throat come on pretty suddenly, yesterday. It hurts to rasp any sounds/whispers out at the kids. Even the little ones have been having to sound out words I write down for them.

Ds#4 was sooo excited when I wrote down "shoes" and he read it as "shows".

"Mama said we could watch shows on TV!!"

he ran screaming through the house. I had to grab a kid who could read so they could fix the screaming, excited, frenzy that was occuring with the younger ones.

Dave was shocked that I cancelled hosting a Bunco night & wasn't going at all tonight. He knows I have to feel pretty bad before I cancel a night out with friends.

The Tylenol is helping quite a bit with the pain. My throat just burns & is scratchy & hurts if I try & rasp any talking out. It's so funny not being able to swallow saliva without a lot of effort -- but I can eat anything and it feels good on my throat!

I am soo thankful that my progesterone levels are working for me. I ran out of cream during the weekend (poor planning on my part) and so I had to take one of the older progesterone (the stuff I hated) that I had left. I tore a large hole in the top of it and tried to dump out 1/3 of the powder. I was up much of the night and felt like I had too much caffine (although I'd had none). The cream has been helping me sooo much.

I had to pick up more cream this morning as soon as they opened. Dave told me to stop at Auto Zone and get my battery checked. I printed out my request on a piece of paper. The guy kept yelling at me -- I guess he thought I was hard of hearing. He wasn't supposed to change batteries on my kind of car -- too involved (he had to take part of engine off of it???) He must've felt sorry for me because he spend almost 40 minutes changing my battery. This morning I spent over $200 on car stuff, gas, progesterone & Subway for lunch (I was pooped.)

A local Catholic bookstore e-mailed me that most of my $1,000 of books were in. (I tried sooo hard to find them used, but so many Catholic books just aren't available used.) I'm sure they're clogging up his storage space. He said he'd be in contact this week about my picking them up. After the car repairs, we don't have $1,000 for books.....just all normal life.

Praise God for Progesterone!

And a very responsive midwife! I wanted off of it. She was understanding and was very slowly weaning me off after she checked my levels and they were quite high. GREAT! Except that my body, apparently, really likes Progesterone. So after each decrease I got feeling worse and worse until I was almost as sick as when I found out I was pregnant and thought I had a TERRIBLE flu for days and days. I couldn't get out of bed. I was barely functioning. I couldn't think....

After a long talk with my midwife's nurse who suggested that it's almost like I suffer from post-partum depression during pregnancy (my body is very weird, I guess) and come to find out -- the protocol for post-partum is...progesterone.

So, we bumped me back up (not all the way when I felt blechy on it) -- and I've had several good days!! Thank you, Jesus, for not completely abandoning the needs of my 4 children to have a mother who can actually act like a mother!! The idea that I was letting my other children down was really working on my emotions.

Has anyone else ever experienced anything like that?? Post-partum depression during pregnancy????? My body is such a weird-o.

First Friday Fun

Our Catholic homeschool group gets together once a month to celebrate First Friday Mass and has an activity aferwards. The activity varies, but we try to keep it free, easy & of wide appeal. Some months the activities are the same year to year.

• June is a highschool graduation ceremony & party.
• July & August is just a park day after Mass - bring your own picnic.
• September is some sort of Field Day activities, although last year, it worked out better to do this the following Saturday when the Dads could participate.
• November is usually an All Saints party.
• December has been an Advent play.
• January is caroling at a Catholic nursing home (other places think you're crazy to sing Christmas Carols on January 4th).
• We usually book a rollerskating rink for a winter month.
• A local homeschool family opens their gymnastics' facilities to us once a year.

Here are some of the activities we've done in the past in the other months :

Square Dancing Class, Spiritual Bouquet banner, zoomobile, rosary making, Gym Day, Creating craft decorations for an upcoming activity, Advent Art display, Bowling, Pre-lent Carnival, & Winter Olympics coinciding with the President's Physical Fitness Day.

In May, the First Communicants crown Mary, every child has an opportunity to bring her flowers, and this year we did a sidewalk chalk rosary. Sometimes, there are miscommunications, so not very many people stayed...but the girls were dedicated - the boys mostly wrestled in the parkinglot after each doing their own cross or some religous symbol in chalk. The girls' huge creation says "Pray the Rosary."

Dd#1 is on the left squinting because of the sun.

Quick Book Meme

This is SERIOUSLY quick! From Cay Gibson, author of Catholic Mosaics.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open it to page 161.
3. Find the fifth full sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around looking for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

Here's mine (I didn't cheat. This book was the first book at my side):

The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia

When all the steam has evaporated the salt from the solution remains in the base
of the flask that contained the solution.

Well, THAT was seriously BORING! Now, I'll cheat. This book was on my nightstand.
Back to Virtue, by Peter Kreeft

God, too, hungers and thirsts.

That was good enough to expound upon...

What about God? Does he hunger? Yes and no. God has no needs
and therefore no need-loves. The reason is not that God lacks love, but
that God is love. Water can't get wet because it is
wet. God can't "fall" in love because he is love. This love
is agape, gift-love, love based on excess, not defect. God is
like an overflowing fountain, not like a receiving bucket. But this
fountain is not less dynamic, demanding, active and alarming than our most
passionate need-loves. The Hound of Heaven hunts for us more assiduously
than a starving dog hungs for a steak.

God too hungers and thirsts. He told us so, from the
Cross. It was not vinegar he thirsted for, but for people to enter his
Kingdom. Lovers thirst for other selves, not to consume but to give
themselves to.

WOW!!

A Trifle of a problem

I'm helping with a baby shower today. Last night, Dd#2 made a trifle for the party. She was sooo proud of it. We put it in a beautiful glass bowl and in the fridge. She spent the night at homeschool friend's house after the poetry recital last night.

She'll be soooo disappointed when she comes home to find that her Daddy ate half of it in the middle of the night......

Trifle
*Bake a chocolate cake. Don't ice it. Let it cool.
*Cut it up in small squares (1"ish).
*Make up 2 pkgs of pudding (we used chocolate).
*Layer half of the cake squares in the bottom of a glass bowl with half the pudding and 1/2 small tub of whipped cream. Then do another layer of the same using up the whipped cream. *Sprinkle with chopped candy (we used frozen penut butter cup, but the recipe called for Heath. You could also chop up cookie (choc. chip or oreo...).

PUT A SIGN ON IT IN THE FRIDGE SO IT DOESN'T GET EATEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! (Awesome the next day, too!)

Farm Fun

Between baby chicks, baby ducks...

...sheep, chickens, pigs, dogs...
(the girls were sooo excited that they got the chicks to fall asleep on their laps)
and kickball...the kids had a WONDERFUL afternoon last week!! What a joy to homeschool and an even greater blessing to have friends who share their lives with us!!

Kelty for Mayor video

Our family is proud to support Matt Kelty for mayor...



(see any familiar faces at the 6-8 seconds mark?)

Matt Kelty for Mayor

Jenn & I submitted the following letter to Fort Wayne Newspapers on Tuesday...

Dear Editor,

We've seen Mr. Peters' TV commercial touting his "experience." While we applaud his commitment to serving the people of Fort Wayne the past 20 years, we can ill-afford more of the same.

Recent actions by those with "experience" have been hostile to area businesses. Harrison Square was passed against the will of the people because those with "experience" assumed they knew better. The Smoking Ordinance cost local businesses untold thousands of dollars. Those with "experience" forced area restaurants to create separate smoking areas, only to change their minds a few years later with more restrictions and regulations. What a waste.

How many more employers must leave our area before we realize the current approach doesn't work? How many more jobs must be lost to better corporate opportunities in other communities? If "experience" means continuing to do the same thing but expecting different results, we believe another word is more appropriate.

Matt Kelty's vision is the prescription for what ails our great city. Fort Wayne will attract new business by streamlining its infrastructure, empowering corporations and new ventures with less regulation and red tape, and most important - getting out of the way. Matt Kelty brings fresh ideas, perspective and leadership to the mayoral office. On May 8th, join our family and vote for Matt Kelty, a True Conservative.

David A. & Jennifer MacDonald

What a difference a haircut can make!

On Saturday, Dd#1 and I woke up and went to Great Clips to have a change. I'd been letting my hair grow out for 2 years because Ds#3 loves long hair. It's not often it's OK to please a fellow whom I adore (who isn't my husband) just so he can look at me with loving glances. It was sooo sweet. But sweet or not, all that hair was driving me crazy. I finally decided to take my head back and get what I wanted.

Dd#1 has been having a hard time keeping her hair brushed throughout the day. The longer it got, the more she just wore it up to be easy.

Since we got it cut she's told me about 27 times a day "Mama, I LOVE my haircut!!" She says she feels like a different person. It can be so much fun being a girl!!

Thirteen years ago today, I returned with my "girl" to the place where I proposed to her (the altar at St. Jude Catholic Church). She is my soul-mate and perfect life partner. She completes me.

Joined in marriage these many years, we've shared the joys and sorrows life brings. What has been the secret of our success? We pledged to Christ and each other that He would be the center of our life together. We've tried our best, often falling short of the mark, but constantly supporting each other through good times and bad. We are each other's biggest fan, cheerleaders one to the other to live life "on purpose" as we journey toward the ultimate heavenly destination and eternity with Him.

I love you Jenn, and give thanks to God above for placing you in my life. I'm grateful for what you bring to our family. Our children are truly blessed to have you as their mother and teacher. I am blessed that you said "Yes" all those years ago.

We heard the baby's heartbeat

It sounded like woshwoshwoshwoshwoshwoshwosh...you get the idea. The midwife told the kids that unlike the lub lub lub lub of a regular heartbeat, which is made by the sound of the valves - the baby whosh is the sound of the blood going through the heart. Hmmm.....interesting.


Dd#2 has made me breakfast in bed the last 2 mornings. She is just the sweetest little girl!! (when she's not being otherwise). She's really been wonderful since I found out I'm pregnant and been so needy.

I just can't get enough sleep!! I'm tired all the time!!! I'm officially past my 1st trimester, but ... I guess I'll have to wait a little longer to feel better.

I've really been doing a bad job blogging. I'd rather not complain all the time and I can't think of much else to write about (other than complaints....) Poor me. I've got just what I've been praying about for the last 5 years....

What a productive day!

On Friday, thanks to God's grace, we got our 2/3 of our seeds planted in seed pots. We've never started our garden from seed, so I hope it turns out.

Then on Saturday, my WONDERFUL children helped weed and prepare one of the smaller beds. It was caked with ground cover weeds, so it was a big job digging up everything in that bed. I pooped out after about 20 minutes. They kept on going and worked for another 30 minutes without me until it was done! What nice children.

Dave didn't get out of bed until 1pm (it was 2pm the day before) with that nasty stuff the kids had the previous week. Once he got up, though, he mowed the front lawn. It was the first mow of the season for us (the 3rd for the neighbors). I think we'll have to wait until we don't have kids at home (or until the boys are old enough to do the job) before our lawn will be as perfect as it used to. The dog, cute though she is, has torn up much of the back yard -and the kids have destroyed all possibility of grass under their "climbing tree" and around their swing set. Oh well.... it's not as pretty, but well loved just the same.

We bought the kids new swings to put on their swing set. My dad bougt Dd#1 that swing set 10 years ago. I guess a decade is a pretty good time frame for a swing to last - particularly considering how the kids use and abuse their swing set - again, well loved. It still needs treated with deck sealer to keep the kids from getting splinters. I guess that will have to wait for another Saturday...

Consipiracy Theory

Icons - Not the cultural kind - the little pictures on my computer that I click on. Ds#4 started it. Last year when he was 3, one Saturday morning while Dave slept in, Ds#4 came to me snickering to himself (holding his hand to his mouth while his head bobbed up in down in delight) telling me that he changed Daddy into a frog.
"You what?"
"I changed Daddy into a FROG!" (huge laughter)
I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. He showed me.
Since we have XP (that we don't like), Dave has a different log-in for his side of the computer than I do. Our sweet little boy was becoming quite computer literate.

Sooooo... when Dave got up that morning, we all pointed and laughed at him walking into the room telling him he was changed into a frog. Ds#4 got great delight from this. Dave asked him to show how it was done - he didn't believe a 3 year old could be a hacker. Dave learned a new way to change icons that morning.

all this is background

...shhh....they're sending me subliminal messages. through my
icons. last week, my internet explorer icon said "daddy day".
yesterday someone tapped into my computer and it says "igf". they're
trying to tell me something...

YESS!!! Sleep is gift from the gods

or rather the One True God who I was praying my butt off to this week. Thursday night through Wednesday night of very little sustained sleep -- but last night...ahhhhhhh. All the kids slept through the night and so did I. What a WONDERFUL gift!!!!

Abortion

This was such heartening news in a frustrating week. Partial Birth Abortion Law
As I described to the girls (9 & 11) what partial-birth abortion was - they were of course (as any sane person would be) horrified that anyone could think that was ok to do a baby. I told them that their prayers to end abortion had contributed to the Supremem Court's Decision. So has the prayers of all of you.

Sick kids, tired mama

After a title like that, I really don't need to post anything.
I've been up for the last 6 nights with all the kids have fevers, sinus infections, bronchitus & a terrible cough.
I've been dosing and making tiny meal after meal of whatever sounded good so they could keep something in their stomach to counteract the stomaches from phlem & tons of medications.

I'm down to a few bad coughs and one really sick kid left and he won't take medicine. I've bribed, punnished, cajoled, demanded, been patiently tenacious. He refuses. I'm tired of fighting. I'm just tired.

....I know, I might as well get used to sleepless nights with a newborn -- Nighttime parenting has always been a weak area in my nurturing skills.