Friday, January 30, 2009

If I Had a Million Dollars, Part 1

I would have enough bedrooms so that each of my kids could have their own. Then, when I told them to go clean their rooms, they wouldn't try to blame their messes on each other. They would each have their own space to go when sent to their rooms. And Micah could have his own room instead of using up the space in the master bedroom closet. Our closet has a window, regular light, and a heating/cooling vent. He is not neglected or locked in a traditional closet. I just don't like it when he messes his diaper while playing in his crib. Pretty sure all of my clothes smell.

I would have two washers and two dryers. One set could be for clothing and the other for towels, sheets, and other things.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

"I Told You...

...that you kids were going to turn Micah into a little monster!"

It is official. Micah has begun to have fits, temper tantrums, and spazzoids. This week, suddenly, the tide has turned. Months of giving into his cute cries and fusses have lead to an almost 2-year-old boy who is spoiled by his siblings. He doesn't want to share his lap space or his toys. Little Dude yells the words MEAN and MEANIE liberally. You had better not look at him the wrong way.

He is particular about how his food is served. The following video clip was taken this morning when he said his Raisin Bran was "cold". Go figure. Cold cereal being cold???!!!

WARNING: Turn the volume down. I mean it.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Last week I decided that I should do an occasional list of things/people/ideas/whatever I am thankful for. Then I had the idea that I could do a "Thankful Thursday". I am sure that it is not an original idea. It is even a little dorky. I still want to do it. I like dorky things. And I love the alliteration in the title. When I decided to do a "Thankful Thursday" it was a Friday. My plan is to post what I am thankful for during the time period that I am posting.


Today I am thankful:

*For beach towels. They make an amazing carpet covering during a bout of stomach flu.

*For anti-bacterial wipes. So great for cleaning sinks and bathrooms during a bout of stomach flu.

*For homeschooling. It provides us with a flexible schedule during a bout of stomach flu. Homeschooling also enables us to avoid many germs, making this our first virus of any sort during the 2008-2009 school year.

*For empty ice cream buckets during a bout of stomach flu.

*That this will pass. A promise that I cling to during a bout of stomach flu.






Sunday, January 18, 2009

40 Years Ago

40 years ago today my father was on an airplane on his way to Vietnam. He was a young 18 year old boy. A man by government standards. A boy in the eyes of his family. A young man ready to fight for his country. A brave boy who volunteered to fight. A son who didn't know what was to come.

We haven't spoken specifically about how he was feeling on the airplane. I can only imagine the range of his emotions. Excitement, fear, nervousness, curiosity, and anxiety. Maybe it was his first flight. Who was there to see him off? What were his parents and other family members doing when he left? I have so many questions about that time.

So many answers are clouded by the memories and pain of his Vietnam experience. Someday I would like to write it all out for him. I would be honored to chronicle his time spent in the military. But now is not the time. It is still too difficult and too painful for him.

He wasn't in Vietnam very long. He was shot and nearly died. He saw things and heard things and felt things that no eighteen year old should have to come across. He lost friends and fellow soldiers. He was changed forever.

Fast-forward 40 years. He is a father of six. A grandpa of 11, soon to be 13. A friend to many. Tomorrow he will go on another plane ride. This time for a vacation with my mom to Mexico. I am sure he is going to taste some of those same emotions on the plane. But my prayer is that he will bring back wonderful memories. And maybe a suntan, too. :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Miss Independent

Glory was being especially cute and sweet this evening. I felt the need to comment on how adorable she is. Our conversation follows.

Me: Can I keep you?

Glory: No. I want to live in a different place.

Me: What??? Where do you want to live?

Glory: I want to live in Monticello.

Me: Can I come and visit you?

Glory: Yes, you can visit. Is this Monticello?

Me: No, it is Big Lake.

Glory: Well, I don't want to live in Big Lake. I want to live in Monticello.

Monticello is where we head out for groceries, doctor and dentist visits, Target, Walmart, the library and community center. No wonder she wants to live there. It must seem like Monticello is the entire world to a 3.75 year old. Good to know she doesn't plan to live too far away, lol.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I have to be honest. The cold weather conditions don't affect me a whole lot. I actually haven't even gone further than the door of the garage since coming home from church on Sunday. (It is Thursday today.) Even then, we have a heated garage so heading out to church was no biggie.

We don't have a snow day from school today. I don't have to worry about my truck not starting to leave for work. I haven't had to bundle the kids up to get them to school this week.

I am so thankful for all of these things. I was even more thankful when I saw the actual air temperature here at 8am. -25 degrees Fahrenheit. I don't even have a clue what the wind chill is right now. I really don't even need to know.

I am perfectly content to sit with a cup of tea in front of the fireplace and read with my kids.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Not Just Another Load of Laundry



As you can well imagine, my laundry room is constantly busy with sorting, washing, drying, and folding. Today just happened to be sheet day for the kids. (Just keeping it real here...I only actually wash their sheets every other week, or earlier if a need comes up. Six kids with bunk beds, twin beds, and cribs makes for a lot of work.)

Today I decided that everyone needed their snugglers and lovies washed in hot water and Dreft. Usually I just throw those in with whatever load of laundry I can, but today I threw all the blankies in at once. We have two Gymboree blankets, Micah's crib blankets and his 3 silky/nubby blankets, Maggie's four blankets, and Glory's 4 Little Giraffe blankets. (If you know Little Giraffe, you know their stuff is EXPENSIVE. I did not pay retail for her blankies but bought them from a wholesaler on Ebay. Just thought you should know.)

As you can see here, they make an entire load!!

This was the first time ever that there was no drama over the blankies getting washed!!!! Granted, we had to conduct a secret operation to get Micah's stuff into the washer. And then again to get the load into the dryer.

In the end it was so worth it. I wish I would have taken video of them all taking their warm, clean blankies out of the basket. Lots of smiles all around.

What could be better than a warm and clean blanket on a day when the temperature has yet to make it to zero degrees?

Friday, January 2, 2009

Vacation's Over



The past two weeks have gone by in a flash. Aaron took almost two weeks off from work and we had our Christmas break from homeschooling. It was wonderful, but we all know that all good things come to an end. So today was spent gearing back up for school and work. Before we get back to the routine, I thought I would share a bit of our break.



Lots of snow in MN during the month of December.






Some of Aaron's nieces and nephews at the Dee's home on Christmas Eve.



Skinny Santa made an appearance at Aaron's family celebration. We totally do NOT do the Santa-thing. But Glory got into the spirit and gave him lots of love. Ellie even gave a polite curtsy in her poofy Christmas dress.





The kids received toothbrushes in their stockings. Micah preferred to use it on his head.




Glory thought the toothbrush did wonders for her skin.



Caleb loves building and thinking and gaming. Perfection.



A keyboard for the budding worship leader. Carlie can plug headphones in to this piano!!


Glory was sharing her "joy" over the birth of her Savior with Grandpa. Note his earplugs. Not just for Glory, but for everyone.


Cousins. Too cute.




Cousins. Wrestlin'.



Handsome men.



Time for a de-stressing massage. See the skinny one in the front? Anna is pregnant and wise. She took the front so that she wouldn't have to rub someone else. See the dude in the back? BIL Gavin. He is from Canada. He isn't getting a back-rub.


Anna, Kelly and dear, sweet Carlie.



What's so funny?





No. Really. What is SO funny?




The perfect place to play. Underneath the stools.

Okay. So I went a little crazy with all of the pictures in this post. But I just wanted to give the world a small taste of how incredibly blessed we are by family and friends. (We also spent a super-fun New Year's Eve with church friends. Thank you, Jim and Julia, for being brave enough to invite our entire family over to your lovely home. You are one of the few who has!!) Our time off was spent with people we love and getting to know Jesus better, as a family. It was wonderful and memorable. But vacation's over.