"In Other News..."

Here is just one of the many reasons that I am glad we no longer live near the armpit of America, Ga*ry, IN. My heart broke when my mom told me about this. After I got off the phone with her I looked up some more information about Josiah on the local papers website and found a horrifying article about a father carjacking a mother, the mother of his 7th child, shooting the mother, and taking the car with the baby in it. The car was later found down town with the baby still in it. He was shot twice, once in the face and once in the groin. He died in the emergency room. The mother lost her lung from the shooting, not to mention her son. I was in tears before I finished reading about it. How could a father do such a thing to his own child? And even worse, had that child lived, can you imagine the life he would have had, knowing what his father had done to him?

The worst part about it is that I get angry about the situation and automatically think that someone has to pay but the I realize that these people need Jesus. They don't know Him so they don't know right from wrong. In a way it makes me sad because I wish I would have done more while I was there. We lived so close to G*ary that I shopped at the same grocery stores as these people. I took my kids to the same mall (not that I went there very often) and the same movie theater. I even went to church there on occasion. Now I know that all I can do is pray. Things may be hard in other countries but I don't think people realize what it's like living in such poverty and hopelessness right here under our American flag everyday. We assume that the government takes care of them or the schools or at least some social worker has them on their list so they must be ok. We choose to see the poor staving kids and families in third world countries but what about the ones that we see at the park, playing with our children, starving not only for nourishment and love but for the only One that can really make them never hunger or thirst again?

"He ate my sock!"

The other morning I was just waking up and something was itchy on my leg. I thought it was dry skin or something but when I went to itch it with my foot I felt a bump there. I had no idea what it was so I left my foot there and pulled the covers off to see what it was. It was one of my little friends, the Chinese beetles, that came in through our air conditioner last fall. I was horrified! I flung the thing off with my hand only to mash it in my haste and ended up with that nasty smell they emit all over my fingers! Yuck!

They are few and far between because I employed my vacuum cleaner several times in the chopping up of these little critters into orange dust but I guess this one little guy decided to crawl into bed with me since all his buddies - whom he would have normally sought out for warmth - were gone in a suction of wind.

So, I was telling this story to Jozie right it happened and she felt my pain! She hates them as much as I do and said that she saw one on her wall that same morning...what a coincidence! And when she tried to squish it it got away into her bed and the darn thing ate her sock! LOL We had a pretty good laugh over that one! I don't know where she came up with it but I suppose she had to come up with something better than having one crawl up her leg in her bed! :)

"I'm not thinking straight today!"

...Says Luke when I told him he has a math test today. Like that's going to get him out of it! LOL

I am a Lazy Blogger...

Yes, for the first couple of weeks of my blog absence I had good excuses:

1. I was on vacation visiting Bob's family....we had a WONDERFUL time, like always!
2. I had company - my mom was here visiting for Christmas. It was nice to see them - the kids were sad to see them go!
3. I watched the first 3 seasons of Lost...well, most of it anyway. I've seen season 1 so I skimmed through it and then watch seasons 2 and 3 all the way through! It was a lot of time on the computer but not spent blogging!
4. I have been reading a lot! I've started reading Lonesome Dove - for some reason I have been reading a lot of historical fiction and have wondered into westerns a bit...it's been good but time consuming - I think it's about 800 pages, probably the longest book I have ever read - besides my Bible!
5. I have been making my own knitting needles in preparation for some yarn that I ordered at KnitPick*s because our local yarn shop is way too expensive to go into and the only other place that has knitting stuff within 50 miles is W*Mart...and their craft department is very sad. I have 5 projects that I am eagerly anticipating getting to work on!
   
6. Outside what I have just told you, my life has been totally void of anything worth blogging about...except my kids but I'm sure you guys get tired of hearing about them on a daily basis. Although I realize that they are the reason that some of you visit. :)

School is going pretty good, we are plugging along. Some days are better than others, but then again, isn't that life? :)

Luke has really taken off with his Royal Rangers badges. I think he has earned like 10 or so and we have 5 or 6 more that he is currently working on. At this rate he will be finished with the merits from Ranger Kids and onto Discovery Rangers before the school year is out! We will be working on the God and Me medal as soon as the materials come in the mail.

Luke has also been to visit the dr's this week for a full check up, even more than his normal yearly check up, for stomach pains. They start after supper and last until he goes to sleep. He also usually has some rotten egg burps along with it. Bob thinks that Luke is just making it up because he figured out that mom takes pity on him and lets him stay up late and watch TV. I don't know what to think. He has had them off and on for at least a year now and just over the last week they seem to have gotten worse. The dr couldn't find anything physically wrong with him and thinks it may be acid reflux...it runs in the men of Bob's family... but can't say for sure because it only happens at night. He prescribed Zy*cam twice a day and said to see how things are in a month. That's all well and good but in the mean time what does a mom do when she sees her son in pain and can't do anything about it? He keeps a bucket by his bed "just in case" but has yet to use it. If things don't change within the month I am going to insist that they retest his allergies (which we will have to travel to Sou*ix Falls to have done) and take some x-rays.

Jozie is my Miss Belle. Sweet as ever and growing up. She had a hard couple of days when her Amma left from her visit with us but she got over it and seems to miss her a little less. She does call her at least once a week though!

Jozie has been having an exceptionally hard time with her attention span for school lately. She hates the repetition in math and doesn't like to read ANYTHING! She does love cursive and she uses it all the time even when she isn't doing school work. She takes her time at it but she has pretty good penmanship for a new cursive writer.

Bob started a new job at school this semester. He has work study for his financial aid and has a job out at the aviation building where he goes to school. He is working on a helicopter with one of his classmates. He doesn't get paid much - a whopping $7.25/hr - but at least it is a job (well, a second job) that he is getting experience on and not just sitting in the library shelving books.

So, now that y'all are caught up on what's going on with us here in SD, I will do better on keeping it up to date.

Oh, #7, I just kept putting off updating things because it was such a daunting task! :)

We're On Our Way

We are on our way to see Bob's family for Christmas. We will be gone for about a week but when we get home my mom is going to be here for a visit so who knows when I will get back to my posts...I will be on a bloggy break for the next couple of weeks.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! (Like how I made it more festive with the word coloring? :) LOL

I leave you with this...check it out and remember what Christmas is really all about.

Yep...

...All he wants for Christmas is his 2 front teeth!

Luke pulled out his second front tooth a couple of days ago...and from the look of it, not a moment too soon! The new one was already poking through under the baby one.

Moo Part III

Some of you may remember my Moo post from when we first moved here...how lovely it was to have cows mooing in my back yard instead of sirins blairing and horns honking. Well, I may have been mistaken. It seems now, about once a week or so, I get wakened in the middle of the night by the sound of moo. I've never actually gone out to hear it outdoors...who wants to go out in the middle of the night in their PJ's in the middle of the night to investigate a abnormally loud "moo"? Sometimes it's so hight pitched I think it's one of the kids crying that woke me up and then I sit there and listen just to realize that it's only our friendly neighborhood stock yard. So I sit there and listen, just trying to block it out and not to imagine what all the racket could possibly be all about....

And that smell that I talked about not being so bad? Well, it's worse now that it's winter...one would think that with the frozen p00 it wouldn't be so bad but one forgets that occasionally here in the frozen white northern prairie, the temp. gets above freezing and that frozen p00 turns a rather pungent stench that can be smelled for miles...or blocks in our case.

Oh yes, I think I have changed my mind about my "Moo".

It Makes my Stomach Churn!

Just thinking about all the time that Bob has spent in hotels over the last few years when he was driving a charter bus just makes me grateful that he never got more than the stomach flu or a cold when he was traveling...now it makes me wonder if it wasn't from the glasses at the hotels he was staying at! There were several times that he would bring sick passengers home that weren't sick when they started and even once that I got sick on a trip with him!

If you travel a lot or know someone who does, you might want to check out the title link and make sure you watch the follow up video too!

Jamie, you might want to bring your own glasses with you on your trip to the UP to use in your hotels along the way!

Jozie's Gift

Jozie has a friend who lives a few doors down from us. She's a tiny thing that's in Kindergarten and she loves to play outside with Jozie. In the nicer weather - even when it was cold with no snow - you could count on a little knock on the door and know it was her with her smiling little face asking if Jozie could come out and play. An adorable little girl to say the least! Jozie looked forward to it everyday and most days worked hard at her school work to get it done before her friend got here to play.

Things have changed though since we got snow. Her little friend has only been here one day and she came with only a little winter coat to ask if Jozie could come out and play. Jozie was having a bad day so I had to say no...I always feel so bad saying no because the little girl goes away without her pretty smile. Since then, Jozie has been out almost everyday in the afternoon with her other friends to play and goes to ask her little friend to come out only to be told no.

Last night Jozie came to me with an excitement she could hardly contain. She told me that she knew what she wanted to give her little friend for Christmas. I was a little afraid to ask her what that was, being that I don't even have the money to get her much for Christmas, not to mention every one of her friends. But, so as not to upset her or make her feel bad, I asked her what and she told me that her friend doesn't have any outside cloths to play in the snow and she wanted to give her friend her extra ones - snow pants, gloves, mittens, a scarf, and 2 hats, along with some homemade rock candy that we made for Christmas - she doesn't use them anyway. I was proud of her for making such a loving decision. Though her extra show clothes are used and the snow pants are hand-me-downs, what could I say? She feels bad that we don't have any boots that would fit her - and to be honest, the snow pants will probably be far too big but still wearable - but she is excited to give her "gift" none the less. I am so proud of her for thinking of her little friend, Jozie has such a big heart for giving. I just hope that her little friends' parents don't take it the wrong way and understand that it was all Jozie's doing just because she wants to play with her little friend again.

Menu Plan Monday

I just have to say that I haven't forgotten about my weekly menu plan, I just have taken a temporary leave from writing them because of all of the company I have had and the traveling we have been doing. It's not that I haven't really been planning meals, I just haven't planned them for a specific day - just depending on what pops up that day with family being here what I have time to make.

I will try and resume my weekly menu after the first of the year when things settle down and we aren't so busy.

Giants and Unicorns

We just finished The Li0n, The Witch, and The Wardr0be by C.S. Lewis yesterday and we plan on watching the moving again this afternoon to see what differences we can find. I'm sure there are a few! :) These are the pictures that the kids drew that were inspired by the story. Notice Jozie's rainbow - I don't remember that in the story but what 8-year-old girl can draw a unicorn without a rainbow? (she got her talent for drawing from me, can't you tell?!) LOL Luke went as far as to put a little man under the giants foot that he was stepping on in the Battle. He was enthralled by this character and found his coming back to life from stone quite comical! :)

Jozie's Unicorn

Luke's Giant Rumblebuffin

My Favorite Royal Ranger

This week our church had the Royal Ranger Counsel of Achievement on Wednesday night. Luke was the proud recipient of his Antelope Badge and his Royal Rangers Kids Badge plus he also got his Rangers vest. He was one proud boy! And we are 2 proud parents. He was so excited about it he wants to start working on badges at home.

The picture isn't that great - again...something about that flourescent lighting in there that just doesn't like to give good pictures! Oh well, Bob got the whole thing on video again so maybe that will help. The poor kid looks like he's being reprimanded instead of rewarded in that picture! :)

Found II

I got a call from my mom yesterday and she kindly informed me that she reads my blog, "Hi, Mom! Thanks! Tell others at church if they ask about me!" :)

She said she remembered reading my first lost and found post and was excited that I found my sugar bowl...we unpacked everything in the kitchen in anticipation of finding it and never did! She also said that she was down in the basement at her house the other day (where we used to live) and was looking through some boxes of jars and other things that we had stored down there and found a box that I had forgotten...it had some keepsakes from my grandma in it and....(drum roll, please)....there were my salt and pepper shakers! I was having a bad day and she knew it would make me smile.

Thanks Mom! It did. :)

Becca! I didn't know my last lost and found post title was a quote! I've never read Sense and Sensibility. I g00gled it and found various different versions of it used in different places but none of them poetry quotes. It is very close to Amazing Grace, "I once was lost but now I'm found...", maybe that's what you were thinking of? :) Anyway...I didn't want you to think I was trying to steal someone else's words! :) Thanks for pointing it out though! :) I also had to laugh at your reference to your proof reading...I am horrible for that too! And to think what we went to MTU for! LOL I usually have to go back and fix my posts after I have posted them only to have my wonderful husband point out to me that I made some other mistake! LOL I guess that's what happens after you've been away from the books for a while - although I don't usually have a very hard time seeing other peoples mistakes - it's just my own that I overlook...isn't that how we usually see things even in life?...huh...

Well, now I'm rambling...I'm off to administer math and spelling tests today! :)

Outside my SD Window

These are what I woke up to a couple of days ago when my dad was visiting...I wish I could have gone out and gotten them with a better background and not through my window but they are what they are and the moment was captured...they are beautiful, dispite the Ter*ex factory we see from our living room window....Someday we will have a better view *sigh*, someday.






This one is from this morning. It doesn't very accurately capture the frost that was still in the air sparkling like tiny flecks of diamonds that floated in the frosty air. You can see the frost on the trees across the street if you look close enough...

This One is For Bob...

I laughed so hard when I saw this one the other day...I had to share it!

Goodness! It's Been Long Enough!

We've been keeping busy lately with a lot of different thing...dentist appointments, flu shots, school, the church Christmas program practice and visits from my dad and Bob's Dad and Marge. We've had a wonderful time with all of them here! My dad came twice because the first time he left his tools in the trunk of his car when Bob took him to the airport and didn't realize until he was looking for them in Flint at the baggage claim! So he made another quick trip out here the next week to come and get them. Only to have the handle torn when he got back home with it...Luke thinks he should have just left them here for him!

The kids dentist appointments went well, Jozie has to go back tomorrow for her last crown and filling. (After seeing where their crowns and fillings are I'm pretty sure they weren't over doing it...I feel like such a bad mom for letting their teeth get so bad!) She was so brave and I was so proud of her! She didn't even have me come back and sit with her. She is growing up! When we had their second flu shots last week we needed no extra help! She sat on my lap and cried a little but when it was all over she smiled at the nurse through her tears and said that it didn't hurt at all! Hopefully her time of fear is beginning to subside!

The Christmas program went well yesterday afternoon. Jozie was a dog in the skit they did, "Twas the Fight Before Christmas" and they were both "Wise Guys" - as Luke called himself - in the manger scene. Luke got a little bored while he was up there and to my horror started making faces and crossing his eyes while we were sing "Joy to the World"! And of course we were sitting right in the front row - right next to Grandpa (Bob's dad) - well, second row to be exact because the little ones were sitting in the front - so I couldn't even hide! What a goof ball! At least he got up there, I will give him that, because he fought even being in it from the beginning! When I too them to practice on Sat. I parked in the back of the church. I didn't stay because I wanted to go and get a few groceries but as I exited the front door and walked around the back where the car was still running, Luke was running around the other side of the church and was ready to get back in the car when I got to it! I wasn't happy to have to march him back to the front (the back door was still locked) and take him back inside for the second time. He did stay put then though!

We got our first big snow last weekend (the first of the month) and it's here to stay. I thought I would be kinda shell shocked because we haven't seen much of it over the last couple of years when we were in IN but it has actually been nice. I look forward to having a white Christmas this year - or at least what bit of Christmas we will have...the kids are thrilled, of course, and I can hardly keep them in the house except for the cold is so bitter that steam forms outside the front door every time it's opened - kinda like your freezer on a hot summers day! They can only stand it for about an hour and then they are back in. The beautiful blue sky and bright sun are very deceptive! Thankfully they have discovered that they can play a couple of games together without fighting too badly so that occupies them for some time instead of the TV - which I hate!

Oh! And Jozie lost another tooth - I think that makes it number 8 for her! She was excited when she discovered $1.02 in change that I - er, the T00th Fairy - left in place of her tooth!

Here are some pictures that I have been meaning to post but never got around to and some of the Christmas program. Those didn't come out the greatest - I have fiddled with the settings a bit and figured out how to help that but when you are trying to pay attention to what they are saying it's hard to change settings on a camera - or even remember to do it. I will have to take a few test shots the next time and get it fixed before the program even starts.

When my dad came to visit we went to school with Bob one afternoon to see the 737 blow the safety slide...oh boy, what a thrill! It was COLD that day but was excited to FINALLY get up close and personal with the plane that he has been only able to see from the car since it arrived in like October. You can't see it through the hood over his face but he is excited!


Here's my dad, Bob, and the kids inside the plane. The slide was kinda small (not like the big ones you see in the movies) and I didn't want the kids to go down it because I was afraid they would fall off the side. All the "big kids" in Bob's class went down it though. After they inflated it they found out they have to send it to MS or something like that to have it deflated and inspected! It had to be about 3 feet wide and 12 feet long...I wouldn't like to the be the FedE*x guy who had to deliver that thing!


Here's a picture of the actual plane - Bob took this picture a few weeks ago when we still had green grass though...this wasn't the day we were there! :)



This is the kids and their rowdy bunch of cousins at Thanksgiving with Bob's family. They are all quite a handfull but mostly a big bunch of blessings!



Luke and Dakota making a fort at Grandpa and Grandma's on Thanksgiving...of course Luke was mostly going around fixing what Dakota - who will be 3 in Feb. - pulled down. I must admit he kept his frustration to a minimum with his younger cousin but fumed every time he turned around and had to "fix" something! LOL


After not-so-careful review, this was the only picture of the Christmas program worth posting, the rest were so dark you could hardly see them. At least Bob got the whole thing on video. Jozie is the middle "Wise Guy" - strategically placed between Luke and Andrew who like to be boys and wrestle or fight constantly - and Luke is on the right.

I Got A Chicken?

We had a pretty good day as far as the kids not fighting today. They played in Luke's room on the bunk beds and listened to TobyMac, one of their favorite singers. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what they were doing until they came down singing the song J-Train only instead of singing, "I got a ticket," they were singing, "I got a chicken"! I had to laugh because they think they are so grown up listening to TobyMac but they still add in their own childish lyrics - and not even on purpose! It kind of surprised me because Luke knows the words - or at least sings - all the other songs on his CD and I've never really noticed him singing the wrong words before - I guess I will have to start paying closer attention!



This isn't the best video but you can still hear the words and get the gist of the song...it was even taken at S0nshine Fest - some of you might have some fond memories of that wonderful event...

What Was Once Lost, Is Now Found

Today I was cleaning my bread machine because I was going to start a loaf bread. I haven't used it since I moved from MI so it needed a good scrubbing. I opened it up to get the loaf pan out and there, in the bottom of the loaf pan was a newspaper wrapped item that must have been missed when I unpacked...we were so tired I decided that I would just clean my bread machine when I was ready to use it. My surprise package today was my sugar bowl! I was so excited I washed it right out and put sugar in it! It was one that matched the rest of my glassware I got when we got married so now I have 2 because I went to WalM8art and got a new one when my old one was lost.

Now I just have to find my salt and pepper shakers!

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't post a menu for last week because we were gone for most of it. We ended up eating mostly left overs on Monday and Tuesday. I still haven't figured out how to go back to cooking for 4 after almost 3 years of cooking for 8!

This week we will be eating a lot of wild game since it's that time of the year (hunting season!)

Monday: My new recipe of the week was today in 6 Layer Dinner. It didn't go over well esp. with the kids. Bob didn't care for it much either because it had rice in it. I also had to alter the recipe slightly because it called for a quart of canned tomatoes. I had 1 jar left but when I opened it to put it in it looked funny - it was a very dark - slightly brown color of tomotoes and the seeds in the top third of the jar were black. I know it can be like that from using extra-but-not-quite-over-ripe fruit but I didn't want to take any chances and end up getting everybody sick. I used spaghetti sauce instead. It wasn't a good thing. I was really upset - Luke doesn't like store bought canned tomatoes and neither do I - yuck! So chili this winter just won't be the same! Anyway, this meal was definitely a bust...I won't be using this recipe again!

Tuesday: Either Rabbit or Venison - probably both. I'll probably pan fry the venison since it's steaks and I will probably make rabbit and dumplings - we have only 3 jars of rabbit left (when we lived in MI we raised rabbit for meat and I canned some with my grandma)! But my dad is coming to visit Tuesday night so it will be well used with him here with us!

Wednesday: Crockpot Pork Roast - I will be using this recipe which we all loved the last time I made it. I don't have any red wine so I used something (I can't even remember what it is!) we had left from our honeymoon over 7 years ago! LOL Just goes to tell you how much we consume alc0h0l!

Thursday: Chicken of some kind - probably baked somehow.

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Surprise Birthday dinner for Bob's dad - Jozie will be cooking this day!

Sunday: Probably more leftovers again!

Check out Laura's blog for more menu ideas!

Home Again

We got home early this morning - about 12:30am - so we are a bit tired this morning. The kids actually slept until about 8:30! I was amazed! :)

We had a nice relaxing trip and it was nice to see Bob's family again. Of course there was lots of food and sweets and I probably gained 10 pounds! It's a good thing I have to get groceries - I didn't get much before we left last week so that means there isn't much to snack on right now! Thank goodness! Like any of us need it! :)

Of course, I took my camera and didn't take it out except for last night before we were leaving and Luke was making a blanket fort with his cousin, Dakota. I've been so bad at taking pictures since we moved...probably has to do with the fact that I don't care for our new home - it's little and cluttered and not very appealing, and I just sorta got out of the habit of taking them when we go anywhere else. I'm also not as thrilled with my new camera as I originally was. It just doesn't take wonderful pictures like it should. I don't know, maybe it's just user error. It's an Olympus Stylus so it's not a cheap camera but It's still just a point and shoot little thing and I want more...maybe someday! :)

Well, I'd better go and get my stuff from our trip put away. We have company coming this week - my dad is going to be here tomorrow and Bob's dad is coming over the weekend - which means I have to do laundry and clean...sounds like fun!

So, as exciting as this post has been, I'm going to end it before I put you all to sleep! :)