Where the Heart Is

Waiting

2007-12-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

A good friend was due with her first child last Friday. Each day since I've been getting more and more excited and anxiously awaiting the news that her precious baby had been born. I've restrained myself from calling every two hours to check in just in case, but I have been obsessively Facebook stalking her. ;) She has so many friends checking on her Facebook status that she started re-entering the same line ('So-and-So is checking in for all her stalkers...I'm still here!') every time she was on the computer just so we would all know when she was last online.

Yesterday morning I got the great news that they were heading in to the hospital, but after a few hours of pacing by the phone, I heard that she was only 1-2cm and had been sent home. This morning she was scheduled to go to the hospital at 7 and if they weren't too busy, was going to be induced. I haven't heard anything yet, and neither has anyone else in my network of stalkers.

Time is a funny thing...it seems like we've been waiting forever for this baby to be born (I can only imagine how she feels!) - and yet it's strange to think that a few years from now, we'll likely be sitting around wondering where the time has gone and how Baby has gotten so big!

You know it's going to be one of those days when...

2007-11-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

...you open the cupboard to get yourself a Tylenol and see your daughter's antibiotics sitting there. Which are supposed to be refrigerated.

Oops.

Tackle it Tuesday - the office!

2007-11-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

Our house is not that large (I think around 1100 sq ft upstairs) but one of the features we really liked about our home when we bought it was that it had five bedrooms - which is getting more and more rare! They are mostly quite small, of course, but we figured we'd rather have more rooms if we were planning to have lots of kids rather than a couple of large rooms.

The most neglected room in the house has been the downstairs office/craft room/storage room. For probably the first two years we lived here, it was filled with boxes that we just hadn't gotten around to unpacking yet. *Ü* We finally cleaned that out, and set up the room as a craft room when I got into sewing. But over time it filled up again - it's the farthest room away in the basement, and it's just way too easy to put things there 'just for now,' which of course ends up being far longer.

When I was working at home after Miss A was born, I cleaned it up a little bit again so I had room to work. But since I've been on mat leave this time, the clutter has magically multiplied and I'm finding it hard to imagine working in there when I go back to work this month!

I'm posting these embarrassing pictures to inspire myself to GET IT DONE! I measured and discovered, to my great delight, that the wood bookshelf will actually fit behind the door (the door is hinged slightly away from the wall so there's about a foot behind it)! I am probably way too excited about that piece of information, but any time I can use some previously unusable space and hide things from view, that's a good thing in my eyes!

Here is the office before:

First tooth!

2007-11-16T14:45:00.000-07:00

While we were away for our District Pastors' Retreat, we noticed that Baby R had sprouted her first tooth!

I went back and checked Little G and Miss A's baby books, and strangely enough, all of our kids got their first tooth at almost exactly the same age - Little G at 5 months 8 days, Miss A at 5 months 2 days, and Baby R at 5 months 5 days. So much for each kid being different! ;)

Yes / No...Don't Know?

2007-11-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I enjoy doing surveys, so I've signed up for the 'advisory board' (aka people we can trick into doing our research for free) for our phone company, cell phone company, energy providers, etc.

I just finished a survey which included the following question: "do you use a mobile phone?" The possible answers were: "yes, no or I don't know."

I don't know?

First of all, wouldn't you know it if you used a mobile phone? And second...if someone really doesn't know, do you want them helping to shape your company's future products by participating in your research?

Maybe that's the verification question to ensure that automated programs aren't completing the survey or something...

A digital photographer's best friend

2007-11-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.idimager.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=39&cntnt01origid=15&cntnt01returnid=32

Version 4 of the amazing program IDImager was released yesterday after a huge amount of work and testing on the part of Hert, the creator of the program. Version 4 contains numerous improvements on V3 and will make this program much more accessible to anyone needing help with digital asset management - from the casual family photographer right up to multiuser studios.

I've been using IDI for about a year and a half and still haven't realized all of the amazing features this program offers, including:

labels (similar to 'tags' offered in some other programs) - includes several methods for assigning any type of custom labels to your images, unlimited number of labels per image
with just a few clicks you can search all images in your catalog using any combination of criteria - pictures of your husband and son taken in the last six months with a keyword of 'sports,' for example
versioning - one of the huge strengths of this program; it allows you to keep various versions of one image together and change labels and other properties all at once (i.e. the original RAW image, a JPG copy, a black and white version, and a resized version for web use)
batch functions that can be applied quickly to any group of images
collections, albums, and galleries can be customized endlessly for however works best for your workflow
built-in HTML templates to publish your images on your website
archiving capabilities - to CD/DVD or another folder or hard drive
slide show editor - including music!

Honestly, I can't say enough about this program (and I'm not even a paid spokesperson, lol!). The price at $69 is very comparable to similar products and I believe it outshines the competition in all areas. The customer service is second to none: the message forum is very active and supportive, and Hert replies personally to nearly all questions.

If you are looking for a way to organize those hundreds or thousands of digital pictures sitting on your computer, I would encourage you to check out IDImager!

Wordless Wednesday - ready for solid food?!?

2007-11-14T22:05:00.001-07:00

It's not fair!

2007-11-13T11:45:00.000-07:00

The Canadian dollar has been performing exceptionally well over the past several months, rising to a 47-year high of $1.05US recently. I'm feeling old remembering the days when it was $0.65US - not so long ago!

This should be great news for us Canadians, and we certainly are able to stock up on great deals from American retailers, both online and at brick-and-mortar stores if you're lucky enough to live close to the border. However, for some reason (and the blame is flying in all directions) the prices at Canadian retailers have not nearly adjusted for the stronger dollar.

For example: The Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera body (of course I'm going to use a photography example!) is $725.70 online at Camera Canada. The same camera is $585US at Beach Camera. That's $557 Cdn, for a difference of $168.70, or 30% more at the Canadian retailer. The Powershot S5IS? $483.80 at Camera Canada and $341.90Cdn at Beach for a difference of $141.90 or 42% higher at Camera Canada. Yes, shipping would likely be a little more from the States, but there is no duty on electronic devices as long as they are marked correctly, so why in the world would you choose to pay 40% more just to buy in Canada?

Like I said, everyone seems to be blaming everyone else for this problem - retailers, suppliers, government. I don't really care whose fault it is so much as I hope someone can fix it - both for my sake wanting to save money on the things I buy every day, and for the sake of Canadian retailers who will and are losing business to American companies as we're heading into the busy Christmas season.

5 going on 25??

2007-11-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get the feeling it won't be too long before Little G will be outsmarting us in so many ways...

I was sitting on the floor yesterday when Little G ran over to tell me something and dropped right onto my lap with his bony sharp knees. After recovering from the pain ;) I explained to him that he must not jump on people with his knees like that because his sharp knees were digging right into my leg bone.

He raised his eyebrows at me. "You mean your femur?"

I've got the reading blues

2007-11-11T21:33:00.001-07:00

I love reading. Always have. My parents used to bemoan the fact that buying me a book for Christmas was hardly worth the cost since I would dive into the pages immediately upon receiving it, and proceed to read it straight through, with a possible pause for a brief moment to shovel in some food. :) I rarely had a Christmas book gift unread after Boxing Day. (Um, that's December 26th for those who don't celebrate that Holy Shopping Day!)

There is a but, however. I love reading but...I have a very difficult time separating reality from fiction while I'm in the midst of a book. I am extremely emotionally affected by the characters and situations I read. Today I just finished My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok - a wonderful book. Yet tonight I am on edge and 'cranky,' in my darling husband's words. ;) I am too 'in my head,' if that makes sense to anyone else: I am mulling over the story, feeling the protagonist's passion and anguish myself. I even become a little bit unaware of what is actually going on around me; all the noise feels as though it's crowding out the more important thoughts and feelings inside.

I'm at a loss for what (if anything) to do about this. I don't know that I could make myself be less emotionally invested in the books I read. And I don't think that quitting reading would be the solution, either, since it's something I really love doing. I'm not keen on explaining to Big G the reason for my moodiness - I'm afraid he may cut me off from my books!

Do you get overinvolved in what you're reading? Are there certain types of books you have chosen to stay away from to protect yourself emotionally?

We're home!

2007-11-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Finally. After almost 11 hours of travel.

Lesson learned: never travel with a vehicle full of pregnant women.

I love them dearly and we did have a lot of fun chatting on the walkie-talkies while we drove, but oh my goodness, I think we stopped at every blessed bathroom along the highway. One momentous stretch of driving was almost an HOUR long before we got the 'bladder alert' call from the other car. ;)

The retreat was great - lots of fun and relaxation as well as an excellent speaker. Unfortunately we came home to a few serious crises in our church family...Big G has been running pretty hard today. Our kids did well without us and I've been enjoying just cuddling them today!

You know that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach?

2007-11-04T20:36:00.001-07:00

The one you get when you accidentally back into your friend's mother's car as you're leaving your friend's house?

Yeah. That's what I've got right now.

And the winner is...

2007-11-03T08:14:00.000-07:00

By random number generator, the winner of the custom-designed Christmas photo card is Tammi at ValleyGirl!! (And she's a fellow Canadian, too!) Congratulations Tammi - I'm really looking forward to working with you!

And for the rest of you...I promised a special deal, so here it is! Like I mentioned in the original giveaway post, I am hoping to develop more card designs and open a store in the not-so-distant future. I just love designing cards to show off people's beautiful families! So in order to help me build my 'portfolio' so to speak, the first FIVE people who contact me will be eligible to purchase a custom-designed photo card for just $15! Same deal as the original giveaway - you will receive the digital file and can print as many as you need. This is a steal of a deal (I can assure you, that doesn't even cover my time, lol) so act quickly!

Why, Lord?

2007-11-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Every November our area holds a youth conference put on by a group of youth pastors from various churches, including ours. It's an awesome example of different denominations working together for the good of the Kingdom. This event has grown over the last few years and this weekend we're expecting around 600+ kids (I know, that's nothing compared to some large youth rallies in bigger cities, but for our area, it's amazing!)

Big G is on the steering team that puts on the event, and for the past four years I have played/sang on the worship team. It is an amazing group of musicians and worshippers and I have so enjoyed and been blessed by being part of this team.

Last year, I was around eight weeks pregnant and felt awful, and then by the Saturday of the event, both my kids were sick. I spent Saturday night basically up all night going back and forth between throwing up kids. And then had to show up at 7 or some silly time Sunday morning for sound check, leaving the very sick kids with a college-aged friend (who was very gracious).

The week immediately following this youth conference eveyr year is our district's pastor's retreat, so right after finishing this busy weekend, Big G and I run home and pack ourselves and the kids and take the kids to wherever they're staying for the week. We leave early (like 6) on Monday morning. Last year the kids were both sick the whole time we were gone. We sorely needed the break (my niece was living with us at that point) and yet it was incredibly difficult to be away from my kids, knowing that someone else was caring for them while they were so ill.

I thought last year was just part and parcel of our whole crazy fall, but last night Little G spent a good part of the night crying that either his ear or his tummy hurt. By 7 this morning he was throwing up. He's currently conked out on the couch in a total deja vu of last year.

I'm feeling so frustrated and upset and guilty - is this a 'sign' that I'm being selfish wanting to participate in this weekend in worship and I should just stay with my kids every moment? Is it an attack from the Enemy? Little G hasn't been sick once in the last year, not once, until today. I've got soundcheck at 1 and that kicks off the whole crazy week. And I can only guess that Miss A will be getting whatever it is too - probably right while we're gone next week.

I believe that the Lord, in His great love for us, has plans for us that are good. I do. It is just very difficult to trust and understand sometimes. I am the mom, the last line of defense, I'm the one that needs to be here for my kids when they're sick, and yet I have to be there this weekend. If only I could split myself in two...

How could this happen?

2007-11-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Amber Alert issued after newborn taken from Sudbury hospital

I don't know how this could happen in this day and age of high security - Sudbury is a fairly large city, not a tiny rural hospital or anything. Very frightening - it makes me want to not let my baby out of my sight at the hospital if we have another one!

I will definitely be praying for this family and for the precious baby.

I'm giving it a try!

2007-11-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

November is National Blog Posting Month (aka NaBloPoMo) out in the blogosphere, and this year I'm signing up and giving it a try.

The idea, of course, is to post to your blog every day during the month of November - there are various groups and forums on the NaBloPoMo homepage as well and you can get involved as much or as little as you wish.

In the interests of honesty, I will say right up front that I'm going to have to 'cheat' to accomplish the posting goals - we will be away for a few days next week and I won't have internet access (gasp) to post. So...there will be a few back-dated or forward-dated or some such creative-dated posts in there. ;) But you can look forward to reading something from me at least 30 times during November!

I'm planning to discuss homeschooling and my hopes for that, including my reasons for wanting to homeschool and my thoughts on curriculum. I'd like to work through some of my recent thoughts on popular media and children, and alcohol - to partake or not? I hope you'll join in the discussion!

More contests!

2007-10-31T08:57:00.000-07:00

As if you don't have enough to do entering all the great giveaways in the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway - here's a couple more you might be interested in entering. If your hands aren't all cramped from so many entries already, you know.

Rookie Blogger is giving away $50 in Paypal credit - if you don't win them, you could buy some of those great products being offered by the talented ladies in the Fall Giveaway!

How would you like to win an iPod Touch, or a Dell laptop? Next2friends is a new social networking site set to launch in December - I don't think it will replace my beloved Facebook, lol, but with prizes like this, it doesn't hurt to register, right?

Enjoy the contest and good luck!

All grown up

2007-10-30T08:49:00.001-07:00

Big G and I have recently come to the realization that with three kids, two vehicles, and a mortgage...we're, um, all grown up now! Sometimes it's hard to remember that we're not two carefree college kids anymore, and that we really need to be thinking about life insurance, wills, and the like.

I am fortunate that my parents took out a life insurance policy for me when I was born, so I have a fully paid up policy in my name worth a fair amount. Big G has a policy at work worth two years' salary, but we've gotten to wondering if that's really enough. That amount would just be enough to pay off our house mortgage, but if, heaven forbid, something did happen to him, we would need more than just the house paid off - I wouldn't want to have to go to work right away in order to feed our family.

We've started to look into the different options - whole life or term policies, what amount, and how to get the cheapest insurance rates. We're still looking around, but I feel like at least we're working on it. It's something that's kind of uncomfortable to think about, but if the unthinkable did every happen, we don't want to make an awful situation worse by the survivor having to worry about money.

Next up...wills. I have NO idea who we would name as guardians of our kids (parents too old, sister doesn't even have custody of her own kids, all our close friends have a lot of kids of their own, etc) so that's really the thing that's holding us up there.

This being an adult is hard work! ;)

It's Here - the Fall Y'all Bloggy Giveaway!

2007-10-28T13:00:00.001-07:00

(***Comments are now closed - watch for the winner announcement along with a special offer you won't want to miss!)***

This summer's Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway at Rocks in My Dryer was so much FUN, that Shannon is graciously hosting a fall edition of the bloggy giveaway carnival this week. When you're finished entering my drawing, go check out the rest of the amazing giveaways over at her site!

This is the Fall giveaway, but we all know that shortly after fall comes...Christmas!! So this time around I'm going to give away a custom-designed photo Christmas card, either 4x6 or 5x7! (This is something I love doing and hope to do more of as I have more time - birth announcements, Christmas cards, etc, so this will also be good experience for me!) I've included a few samples of recent designs I've done at the bottom of this post, but the winner's card will be completely custom designed.

This is how my drawing will work: I will notify the winner by email, and include a few questions to get an idea of what style of card he/she is looking for. The winner will then need to send me several high-quality digital images that they would like included in their Christmas card (the number will depend on what style of card they have chosen). I will work on a design for the winner based on their preferences. I will allow up to two 'change sessions' - where the winner can email me back with suggestions for a color they would like a little different, a change in the picture arrangement, etc. The reason I am setting a limit on this is so I don't get stuck adjusting a design 47 times over and don't have time to get my own family's Christmas card done, lol! When all the changes are made, I will forward your card design to you by email and you can get as many printed as you need!

This drawing will close Friday, November 2 at 11:59pm and I will draw a winner soon afterwards by random number generator. I will contact the winner right away, but I will be away for a few days next week so work will begin on your design when I return - that will give you some time to pick your favorite pictures! Since this prize will be delivered electronically, this drawing is open to everyone!

If you aren't lucky enough to be the winner on this one, but you're interested in having a Christmas card designed - contact me for a great deal!

Good luck everyone!

***Check back here Saturday for a special offer along with the announcement of the lucky winner!***

Not my finest moment

2007-10-27T13:20:00.001-07:00

We had a rough night last night. Big G was out for the evening and a combination of whiny kids, an overtired and preoccupied mommy, and trying to do too many things before bed ended in disaster. I'll spare you the details, but kids were crying, mommy was crying, and many apologies had to be given before finally tucking everyone in for bed.

At one point when I actually screamed into a pillow to try to release the frustration I couldn't seem to calm, I heard Little G quietly praying "Dear Jesus, please help mommy have patience..." I wasn't sure whether to cry that he felt I was so out of control that only God could help me, or rejoice that he knew to turn to the Lord in times of trouble.

At moments like that I wonder if I'm really cut out for this parenting gig. And I think I'm going to homeschool?!? I start to doubt how we have raised our kids so far - WHY are they so whiny and ungrateful 'all' the time? Behaviors that I logically know are just occasional problems blow up into massive problems and everything seems wrong.

Thankfully, I don't get like this very often, but when I do it makes me question everything I normally think and feel about parenting. I wish I knew how to avoid these meltdowns - are they an attack from the enemy or just a normal thing that all mothers experience??

Somebody wants to homeschool!

2007-10-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Little G said to me this weekend "Mommy, do you think someday we could live in a different house?"

"Why do you want a different house, honey?"

"Like one that is a house and has a school in it too, like [friends of ours who homeschool]."

:) I told him that perhaps we could someday have a school in the house that we have now, and he got all excited about deciding where we would put the school part.

I think Big G would assume I had brought it up if I told him this story, but it's pretty cool to know that Little G thinks homeschooling is so COOL he would change houses!

WFMW - cloth diaper stains

2007-10-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, anyone else notice that a lot of my posts recently are about laundry stains of one sort or another?? Clearly I'm doing way too much laundry these days. :)

We have used cloth diapers (mostly just chinese prefolds and Prorap covers) at least part-time with all of our kids. I'm all for the convenience of disposable, but I just can't handle spending that much money on things that literally just get thrown away within a few days.

Starting back before Little G was born and I was doing my research on cloth diapers, I remember reading that sunshine was great for removing set-in stains. At the time I remember thinking how silly that was that plain ol' sunshine could get something out that my stash of laundry soap and pre-treaters couldn't.

But you know what??? It's true! I'm embarrassed to admit that it took me until my THIRD child to actually try it, but I've been line-drying Baby R's diapers lately and within a few hours of being out in the sun, they look cleaner than they have in years!

It works for me - don't wait as long as I did to try it! :)

Oh, dear.

2007-10-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've discovered Web Sudoku. I may never leave the computer again.

Completion time: 8:57. 81% of players are faster than you.

81%?!?!? Must practice more.

The Abs Diet for Women

2007-10-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Anyone read this book? I reserved it from the library after a recommendation for it...somewhere (probably from one of you!) and finally got it last week after the other 16 people in line ahead of me got their turn with it. :)

The book claims pretty amazing results in six weeks, and includes many testimonials of women that have indeed had great results (as well as some with what appears to be minimal weight loss, but success in firming up their abdominal region). Six weeks doesn't seem like a lot of time, and I'm skeptical of any program that promises incredible results that quickly, but I think if you went into it with reasonable expectations, you would do well.

I haven't read the whole thing yet, but it seems like a pretty reasonable and well-balanced plan. The food component consists of eating six small meals a day, with each meal including at least two of the 'power foods' - things like almonds, beans, eggs, berries, lean meat like turkey, etc. It seems pretty high protein, but not to the extent of really limiting carbs, just that by eating some of these power foods at each mini-meal, you will feel fuller (more full?) and be less likely to crave the carbs. One meal each week is a cheat meal to eat anything you want, and once you've achieved your goal, you can have one full day a week where you eat whatever.

There is also a specific exercise component to the program, involving light cardiovascular exercise and weight training/ab exercises on alternate days. There are instructions given for all of the exercises, and variations for home use if you don't have access to a gym. The author discusses how building muscle can give your weight loss a great boost due to the fact that muscle burns more calories even at rest.

I'm not planning to follow the diet strictly, partly because I just don't have the time/discipline right now with three little ones to eat differently than the rest of the family, and partly because I'm still nursing and am a little wary of 'dieting' while breastfeeding. I am trying to add in some of the power foods to my diet each day - and the six small meals is pretty much how I eat anyway, so no problem with that! I am doing the weight routines, which are pretty easy to fit into my day because I can just grab my dumbbells and the book and do it while the kids play around me.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fairly easy diet/exercise plan, particulary if traditional 'diets' have failed for you. The book doesn't recommend calorie or portion control, so I think you would be able to follow it for some time without feeling really deprived.

Has anyone else tried this method? What did you think?

WFMW - Kids' clothing stains

2007-10-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

I guess this is sort of 'DOESN'T Work for me Wednesday' this week over at Rocks in My Dryer. Instead of offering advice or tips on something that does work for us, this week all participants will be asking for advice from the collective blogging community on something that doesn't work for them.

I am asking you all for your advice on dealing with laundry stains. We are blessed with an active five year-old who comes home from kindergarten most days with a combination of grass stains, paint, and markers on his clothes; a two year-old who ends up wearing the majority of what she eats; and a four month-old who, like most nursing babies, has the occasional blowout diaper. Add it all up and you get a lot of clothing stains!

What seems to end up happening here is all the clothes get thrown in the laundry basket, and by the time I get around to doing laundry (probably once a week), I have totally forgotten which clothes have stains. So I have to spend a lot of time in the laundry room inspecting each piece of clothing carefully for any stains. And since my laundry room is downstairs, the children could be getting into who-knows-what while I'm down there examining their pants with a magnifying glass. Of course I miss some the first time around, so I repeat the examination as they come out of the washer. And somehow I'm still surprised by a couple of set-in stains when the load comes out of the dryer.

I don't want to pre-treat the stains with spray n' wash as soon as the kids take them off, because it very well could be several days before I wash them, and I think stain remover eats or stains your clothes if you leave it on that long. So what do I do? Wash a load every night with the clothes they've worn (and dirtied) that day? What is the best way to get stains out consistently (and with the least intervention on my part) - OxiClean? soaking?

I'm looking forward to hearing what Works for YOU!

Book Review - Rob Bell's "Sex God"

2007-09-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

I know there's been a lot of controversy about Rob Bell and his teachings on the internet, and when I heard about his newest book, Sex God, I went online and reserved it from the library to check it out for myself.

I have to say that I'm not a huge fan of Bell's Nooma series, and I think I went into the book expecting to not like it. Or maybe I was just cautious.

First impressions: The subtitle of this book is 'Exploring the Endless Connections between Sex and Spirituality.' 'Spirituality'? I would expect a Christian writer not to use words that have the connotations this word does. Spirituality to me (and most other people I've asked about it) is referring to things like Eastern religions, meditation, New Age, etc. Right off the bat it seemed to me like he's trying to appeal to everyone who is interested in any kind of 'spirituality.'

Bell's writing style is much like his speaking style in the Nooma videos. He's quite conversational, which makes the book fairly an easy read. However, he writes in what I call the 'artsy' style of writing, with very short paragraphs and often leaving spaces between individual words which

drives

me

nuts.

Like that. It felt like every couple of pages he had some point that apparently could only be made by separating the words in that way. I was going crazy by about page 30. I'm sure it appeals to some people, and as much as I think it should be, page layout style is not a moral issue, so I'll leave that alone for now. ;)

I thought he did have some interesting thoughts on a few issues. His discussion about lust, for example (pg. 72-84), I found very helpful. He discusses Ephesians 4:28 ('Those who are have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands.') in terms of the need to replace the bad with something good, rather than just trying to stop the bad and fighting the craving.

The writer of Ephesians understands that to tell the thief not to steal and
leave it at that doesn't have a very high chance of being helpful. The
thief will be left with a battle on their hands that will pit them against their
craving.

Whatever it is that has its hooks in you, you will never be free from it
until you find something you want more. It's not about getting rid
of desire. It's about giving ourselves to bigger and better and more
powerful desires.

I also appreciated several of his comments on marriage in chapters six to eight. He seemed to have a fairly balanced view overall on submission in marriage. I found the chapter seven discussion on the chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy) and the significance and application of this symbolism in Christian marriages particularly useful. He talks about the exclusivity of the marriage relationship and how too many couples today take their issues out from under the 'chuppah' or bring too many people under the 'chuppah' with them - discussing things with other people that really should stay within the marriage relationship, telling everyone else about their problems with their spouse rather than trying to work them out with their spouse as they should.

However, throughout much of the book I had a vague sense of unease at the way he seemed to go out of his way to make the book 'inclusive,' to appeal to those who were not Christians. Even the way he puts all Scripture references in the footnotes at the end of the book rather than immediately following the quote bothered me. Clearly there's nothing inherently wrong with references in footnotes, but it just felt to me like he was hiding it, you know? Obviously I don't think there should be two categories of books: those for Christians and those for non-Christians, and never the two shall meet, but it felt like he was hiding or watering down the Christian beliefs.

His choice of words in several sections also concerned me. He spoke of 'life force' and 'channeling your energies' in a couple of places, which sound very much like New Age, mystic terms. I suppose it's possible that he used these terms quite innocently and didn't mean them in that context, but I can't imagine that neither he nor his editor realized how these and other phrases sounded and didn't change them.

At one point in the book where he is discussing creation and how Eve was created to complete Adam, Bell refers to Genesis 1 as the 'creation poem.' Poem? Sounds to me like he's not taking a literal view of the creation narrative.

One final issue that I had a big problem with. In chapter seven about the chuppah, Bell gives some history on how Jewish weddings were celebrated, including all the wedding guests waiting for the marriage to be consummated before the party really began. Bell says

Which is a bit different than in our culture. Sometimes when a couple
is living together, one of their friends tells them they should make things
right in God's eyes by making their relationship a legal marriage. But
maybe it's already a marriage in God's eyes, and maybe their having sex has
already joined them as man and wife from God's perspective.

This isn't a low view of sex. It's a higher view of sex. It's a
higher view of marriage. It's people living in the reality of the
decisions they've already made.

Again, I think it's possible that he's trying to point out that by sleeping with someone you are giving part of yourself away that is only meant for your marriage partner, and that God only intended the sexual relationship for within marriage. But...that certainly doesn't sound like what he's saying. And there's no disclaimer after this paragraph saying that he believes in marriage and isn't saying that people don't have to get married. He just leaves it. Which can only make me think that maybe he doesn't think people need to get married if they're 'married in God's eyes.'

Overall, this book made me uncomfortable despite it's few thought-provoking sections. It all felt very 'out there' and universalist to me. I do admit that I sometimes have a hard time critically evaluating this type of book and separating the writing style from the content. I am much more a concrete type of person and really don't like the 'airy-fairy' or 'post-modern' style - but that doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong.

Have you read the book? What are your thoughts? (Let's keep it constructive, though, please!)

Who's the boss?

2007-09-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

We have a large pantry cupboard in our kitchen. In an attempt to keep the kids from attaching themselves to my legs while I'm making supper, we cleaned out the bottom shelf of one side of this cupboard which gave them about a three-foot high little 'fort.'

The kids were playing in there yesterday, and I could hear the door slamming, which usually ends in somebody's fingers or toes or head being squished, so I went to investigate. Little G was the culprit this time, so I reminded him of the rule of no slamming the door when someone's in there.

Moments later, I heard the door slamming again (I know, shocking, they ALWAYS obey the first time, really...). I reminded Little G in a slightly stronger voice that he was not to slam the door. 'But A wants me to!' he protested.

I asked him who was the boss in this house. Right as he's hanging his head and saying "Mommy," I hear a little voice from behind the closed cupboard door:

"I boss!"

I think we're going to have our hands full with this one! ;)

In which I lose my mind

2007-09-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

We've all heard of pregnancy-brain, the condition on which many expecting women blame all their memory lapses and forgetfulness. But unfortunately the problem does not go away upon giving birth. On the contrary, I think sleep deprivation just serves to enhance the lingering hormones and makes you even more crazy!

I have been feeling really good, almost strangely so, since Baby R was born. Granted, she is a very 'easy' baby generally, but she's still up every three hours at night to eat. I think I would have every right to be exhausted, being a SAHM to three kids and up at night that often, and yet I'm not. I haven't napped since she was maybe eight weeks old, and I can't remember the last time I went to bed before eleven. I quite seriously am claiming this as a miracle and thanking the Lord every day!

However, I think my brain is making up for how good my body feels. I don't feel sleepy or 'foggy' or mentally impaired, but I have been doing the dumbest things lately!

Exhibit 1: I was visiting a friend and was getting all the kids ready to go out the door. I said goodbye, walked out the door holding A's hand, and she balked at going over the doorstep. Right before I was about to drag her along with me, my friend spoke up "ummm, she doesn't have any shoes on..." Right. Shoes.

Exhibit 2: I lead the youth worship team at our church that sings each Wednesday night at Bible Study. Several ladies take turns watching the older kids at our house while I go to church to lead practice. This Wednesday A was having serious problems letting me go, and I had to practically pry her off of me, crying, to get out the door. I got into the van, put it into gear, and realized...I don't have the baby with me! People, she was sitting right by the door! I literally stepped over her to get outside. So then I had to go back into the house and sheepishly grab the carseat and leave once more. (Oh, and of course A was perfectly fine two minutes after I left!)

Exhibit 3: Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting at work and wasn't going to be back in time to pick up Little G from school, so I had another mom pick him up and keep him at her house for a little while until I was back. When I went to pick him up, we ended up visiting in her entranceway for a while. Suddenly in the middle of the conversation I realized that it was my cell phone in my hand, not my keys, and oh my gosh, I think I locked the baby in the van. I practically flew out the door, already trying to remember the number for CAA, calculating how long it had been since she had eaten and what would happen if she woke up crying and pulled the blanket down on herself and suffocated, etc, etc. I got to the van, which was running with the doors unlocked, keys in the ignition. Because I was just picking Little G up. Didn't need to bring the keys in. I went back inside, got Little G and left, quite embarrassed at my very charming display of total panic in front of this woman I hardly know. I can only hope she's been there herself (she does have four kids, so I'm thinking probably!).

I won't subject you to any more examples, lest someone call Child Services on me. Suffice it to say that despite how good I am feeling physically, my brain is clearly not functioning quite up to par. I can only hope it wakes up before I start back to work in November, or I'm afraid there's going to be some funky-looking financial statements coming out of my office!

I think I'm a runner!

2007-09-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am determined to get back into shape (i.e. the weight I was before having my first) and avoid the common scenario of permanently gaining five pounds with each baby. Which so far I'm right on track for.

We bought a treadmill two Christmases ago, and I've definitely used it a bit, although not nearly as much as I would have liked since I've been pregnant or immediately post-partum for about a year of the last year and a half!

This summer I started on the Couch to 5K running program and I'm on Week Six out of nine already. The other day was my biggest challenge yet - the schedule called for jogging for 20 minutes straight with no walking. I was trying to remember the last time I had ran for that long, and came to the conclusion that it might have been never! I know we did the twelve-minute run in junior high, but I don't think I'd ever done more than that. But I did it! I was so proud of myself, and I'm starting to understand the 'runner's high' that people talk about.

I am losing a little bit of weight...it feels like it's very slow, which is probably good since I'm nursing. But my husband encouraged me this week by pointing out that I'm probably building a lot of muscle, which of course weighs more than fat. I know that I'm definitely feeling more in shape, which I guess is the most important! I'm just hoping I can fit into my old jeans sometime soon - I think this pregnancy totally changed my shape or something because I'm only about five or six pounds above what I was before I got pregnant, and yet the button and buttonhole on my jeans are still so far apart they can hardly see each other!

WFMW - Reading library books

2007-09-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

I love to read - I always have. My parents would joke that buying books for me for Christmas was a waste of money because I would start reading immediately after receiving the book (sometimes having to be forcibly removed from the book in order to open other presents!) and just keep on reading until I was done...usually sometime Christmas evening!

As my life has gotten busier as I've gotten older (and had three children), I find I have less and less time to read. The days of leisurely browsing through the library shelves looking for something that grabs my fancy are long gone, let me tell you!

These days I have to do my browsing virtually - I see what others are reading (either IRL friends, or blogger friends), and then visit my local library's website. I think most libraries are part of a regional library system like ours is here - I simply enter the name of the book I'm looking for, and as long as at least one library in the system has a copy, I can request it. I get a call within a few days that they have books on hold for me, and I can run over and pick them up in just a few minutes. Even if there is a copy at my local library, I do the same thing, saving the time it would take to look for the book on the shelves (and risking the kids getting into things they shouldn't be!).

By using the online library catalog and reserve feature, I can keep up with my reading even though I don't have the time to spend looking at books in the 'actual' library!

Until my kids are old enough to browse quietly alongside me...it works for me!

Five year-old outsmarts parents

2007-09-18T04:55:00.000-07:00

Scene: Just a regular house in a small town. Could be yours. Or mine. (But it's not...really.)

Five year-old: Let's play Simon Says! Do you know how to play that game?

Mom & Dad: Yes, we know how to play.

Five year-old: OK, first you need someone that stands here and says...

Mom & Dad: Little G! (oops, I mean 'Fictional Boy made up for the purposes of this story'!) We really know how to play already!

Five year-old: Simon says jump up and down.

(Mom & Dad start jumping)

Five year-old: Stop!

(Mom & Dad stop)

Five year-old: (giggling) I didn't say Simon Says - you're out! I knew you didn't know how to play this game!

Doh! ;)

Kids' chores carnival

2007-09-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

Chilihead is hosting (make that was hosting since it's already Friday, I'm nothing if not prompt) a great carnival about kids' chores and allowance. I certainly can't claim to have this all figured out, especially since my kids are still so young, but I do have a few thoughts on this topic.

My main opinion about kids' chores is start them young - helping out the family should be expected. My just turned two year-old sets the table for dinner regularly, and helps clean up her toys most nights (although I admit, sometimes I just don't have the energy to enforce this and do it myself after she's in bed). Along with this is that kids should be responsible for their own things and actions - when something gets spilled (which happens more often than you can imagine, I think they've inherited my clutziness), both the older kids either help me clean it up or clean it on their own - not as punishment, but just as a being responsible for your own actions type of teaching.

Generally I think kids are capable of doing far more in the area of chores than we give them credit for. Yes, it takes some time (and a heap of patience) to teach a two year-old to use the dustbuster or put away cutlery, and yes, it would certainly be faster to do it yourself the first ten times or so, but eventually it will pay off and you will actually be saving time, as well as teaching your kids responsibility and a good work ethic.

Now, in the area of allowance I'm clueless, lol!!! Little G just turned five, so we're just starting to think about this topic. We've mentioned several times in the past year or so that we really need to start doing something to teach him about money and stewardship, but we just haven't figured out what our method will be - I'm hoping to get some great ideas from all the other carnival participants!

They know more than we think

2007-08-04T12:13:00.002-07:00

A friend came over this week and brought A a little pop-up Bible story book (she's always so sweet this way - bringing presents for not just the baby, but the older kids too). Big G was looking through the book with A, and pointing out what was underneath each of the pop-up flaps. They looked at all kinds of different animals (Noah's ark), a giant (David and Goliath), and baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary in the Christmas story.

A little while later, A was sitting by herself with the same book, and I heard her asking 'where God is? where God is?' She flipped through the pages until she found baby Jesus, exclaimed 'there God!' and laid her head down on the book to give him a hug. :)

I've been loving watching Little G work through some spiritual concepts for himself this year, and it's amazing to see that even at barely two years old, A is also absorbing these ideas and has already figured out that God and Jesus are the same. I think she might be a little advanced for her two year-old Sunday School class this fall, lol! ;)

You know you're tired when...

2007-08-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

...all night long, your dreams consist of trying to take a nap!

Small Victories

2007-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to get serious about losing my 'baby weight' (yes, including the extra 5lbs from the first baby who is now five years old). We may very well have a fourth child some time in the future, and 5 extra pounds times four children equals a whopping 20 extra pounds which I do not need! I figure it's better to try to get back down now rather than wait until I'm totally done with having babies...as depressing as it will be if I lose what I want to and then get pregnant and start all over!

Anyway...Little G did amazing at his swimming lesson today (more on the swimming later) so I took the kids to A&W for lunch as a treat. BUT I didn't get anything for myself! Okay, I stole a ~~few~~ several of their fries and a (couple) bites of A's hamburger which she didn't finish, but I think that's still far better than having a whole meal to myself. I came home and made a salad for lunch.

Hooray for small victories! It's hard to keep motivated when the weight is very slowly trickling rather than falling off, but I'm trying to be encouraged by other kinds of successes rather than just the number on the scale.

WFMW - Timeouts with folded hands

2007-07-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

This week's Works for Me Wednesday is the Great Parenting Advice Edition! I'm hoping to pick up some much-needed pointers and helpful hints from all of the wise mommies out in Bloggityville!

My contribution to this group parenting manual is our method of time-outs. And to give credit where it's due, we copied this idea from some good friends and mentors of ours (we actually used her name for Baby R's middle name).

When we need to send our kids for a timeout for whatever reason, we ask them to 'fold their hands.' If we're at home, it is usually 'go to your room and fold your hands' or 'sit on the chair and fold your hands.'

The beauty behind this is that it can work anywhere - I remember arriving at church on Sundays and coming into the pew where these friends were sitting and seeing one or more of their kids with their hands folded...and we'd know they were being disciplined. We've used this at other people's homes, at soccer practices, and even when we're out for a walk as a family and we feel immediate consequences are needed for (usually) an attitude problem. Little G can keep walking with us with his hands folded, but he knows he is being disciplined.

This has enabled us many times to be consistent in our discipline wherever we are - and we all know consistency is the most important thing when dealing with our little ones! It works for us!

The giveaways just keep on coming!

2007-07-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know we all had a blast with Shannon's Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway last week, but the fun and free prizes aren't all over - not by a longshot!

Over at 5 Minutes for Mom they are giving away - get this - a 37" flat-panel LCD HDTV from Best Buy!!! All you have to do is leave a comment...the draw will be made August 17th. Can you imagine the look on your husband's face when you tell him you've won a TV from your bloggy activities?!?

And then at Love Shak, Baby, up for grabs are two $250 gift certificates to Gymboree! Just think of the great clothes you could get your little ones for back-to-school! You know, I almost didn't even share this one with you so I could have a better chance to win!! ;) Leave a comment before August 10th to win this one.

Good luck, everyone!

There's loving, and then there's liking

2007-07-27T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ah, the beautiful lazy days of summer. The sun is shining, the birds are singing...and the kids are out of school for two months.

For many parents it seems that the mere thought of the kids being home, all day, every day, is almost enough to ruin the summer for them. In the days leading up to that fateful last day of school, mom's coffee groups everywhere are filled with moans and commiserating about how they will survive two months being with their children 24 hours a day.

Not so for my mom. She, too, counted down the days until summer, but with excitement rather than dread. She could hardly wait to spend time with me and my sister, and she made sure we knew it. Instead of trying to schedule summer camps and activities in order to get time away from her children, she filled the calendar with fun things for us to do together.

When September arrived and we prepared to head back to school for another year, I can remember mom nearly in tears because she was going to miss us so much.

I do believe that nearly all mothers love their children. But my mother genuinely liked us and liked to spend time with us. That made such an impression on me; made me feel important and valued, even at a young age.

Thanks, mom.

** This post submitted to the July Group Writing Project at MamaBlogga **

Drum roll, please...

2007-07-27T09:01:00.001-07:00

LOL, this is too much fun - my heart was pounding as I was generating the winning random number!!

The lucky winner is Leia from Who Said Anything About Common Sense?! Congratulations, Leia - I've emailed you through your profile as well!!! And thank you to everyone who played along this week, I know I sure had a blast!

It sounds like Shannon's going to be doing this again in the fall, so start thinking about what you'd like to giveaway next time!

The Hair Patrol report

2007-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Baby R's little bit of hair on top has just about all fallen out now (although the fringe around the bottom stubbornly remains...it's a very classy old bald man style). In my continuing quest to have a child with my dark hair (what, you thought we kept having kids just for fun?), I've been carefully inspecting the new hairs that are growing in and am pleased to report that yes, I think they might be dark. Possibly. It's hard to tell when they're only a couple of millimeters long and fairly sparse. But it could happen.

Stay tuned for further updates from the hair patrol.

Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway day!!

2007-07-23T02:01:00.000-07:00

Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer had this great idea for a simultaneous giveaway week, all across the Blogosphere - thanks, Shannon! I can't wait to check out all the other giveaways being offered this week!

My giveaway will likely mostly interest those of you with small children, or who know someone with small children. Which is probably most of you. Anyway. I will be drawing this Friday, July 27, for a size 2 Hotslings reversible pouch in the Eren cotton sateen stretch fabric. This sling has been washed once and tried on a couple of times, but is in excellent condition. These slings are a lifesaver for anyone with babies or toddlers - I have one that I have been using lots for both A and Baby R (the one I'm giving away is the wrong size for me, unfortunately). This sling would retail for $56.

If you want more information on Hotslings, or to check out their size chart, visit them here. I have a couple of pics of the sling here.

Good luck and I hope to be visiting all the other Bloggy Giveaway sites this week - see you there!

***Edited to fix the time of the draw...should be 10AM Friday, not 10PM***

The small print: Draw will be made at 10*A*m MST on Friday, July 27 from all comments made on this post - you don't have to have a blog to win. I will pay shipping anywhere in Canada or the U.S. Please leave contact information (either your email or blog address) so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. If I don't hear from the winner within 10 days with their mailing info I will draw another winner.

**COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED...WATCH FOR THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT COMING SOON!***

Fabutan irony

2007-07-22T12:32:00.000-07:00

irony: an event or result marked by incongruity

Does anyone else find it, um, ironic that at an outdoor festival this weekend there was a representative from Fabutan passing out sunscreen? And giving little public service announcements on the radio about protecting yourself from the sun?

Isn't this the same company that exists solely to get people to lie down in coffin-like compartments and intentionally expose themselves to UV radiation??!?

Just seemed strange to me, that's all. ;)

My Childhood Home

2007-07-20T11:41:00.001-07:00

Mary over at Owlhaven is hosting something fun today - everyone's posting their memories of their childhood home. It's been fun reading everyone's thoughts so far!

My childhood home is still my parent's home - they bought it shortly before they were married, and live there still, some 30 years later. Until I went to college and got married, I had slept in the same room my entire life.

I remember playing in the front yard under the branches of the birch trees in the winter time, trying to make toast by holding bread over the steam from a thermos full of boiling water. Obviously my mom knew it wouldn't work, but she filled up the thermos all the same.

I remember swinging on the swingset in our tiny backyard (which I never realized was small until I was much older), the posts coming up out of the ground a bit every time I swung upwards.

I remember planting the vegetable garden every spring with my dad, carefully making the hills to plant the seeds in, each year the exact same order of which seeds went in which hill.

I remember letting my room get really messy and then doing a giant cleaning day all at once, taking everything off my bookshelf and then reorganizing...usually getting distracted several times reading a book I hadn't seen for a while.

I remember waking at night to hear my parents yelling again, and promising myself I wouldn't be like that when I grew up.

I remember riding tricycles around with my best friend in the basement before it was developed. (But strangely, I remember nothing about the process of finishing the basement - it was unfinished one day and finished the next, in my memory.)

I remember not being allowed to eat or drink in the living room because we might spill and get the carpet dirty. Except on Christmas Eve, when mom put out a giant spread of appetizer foods, just for our little family, and we sat in the living room with a roaring fire, and ate all evening.

I remember eating rice pudding or scrambled eggs and peas with my mom and sister on nights dad was working late. I remember mom getting so frustrated trying to make pie dough that we were forbidden from coming near the kitchen, and just listened to her getting angry at her inability to make it work. And I remember learning to bake in that little kitchen, often making a new kind of cookies or squares for my family.

I remember writing my parents a note (complete with 'circle yes or no') asking if I would be allowed to ride my bike to school. (Clearly my aversion to any kind of confrontation goes waaay back...)

I remember much about my childhood home, and I am thankful for the stability that still being able to visit it has given me. When the day eventually comes that my parents sell the house, there will definitely be some tears shed by this child.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Mary, for hosting this!

Booking Through Thursday - Just Wild About Harry

2007-07-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first Booking Through Thursday post - thanks to Katrina at Callapidder Days for pointing me to this site that's right up my alley! Here we go!!

Okay, love him or loathe him, you’d have to live under a rock not to know that J.K. Rowling’s final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, comes out on Saturday… Are you going to read it? Somehow I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books. Seriously. None. I think I've only seen part of one of the movies. I know, hopelessly out of touch with popular culture. Two reasons I haven't read any of them: #1, I am not a fantasy fan at all, I just find I can't get interested in things that aren't, well, human; and #2, I haven't yet formed an educated opinion on the whole mystical aspect of the books and what that means for me as a Christian.

If so, right away? Or just, you know, eventually, when you get around to it? Are you attending any of the midnight parties? Well, I don't think I'll be reading it, so definitely no on the midnight party thing. :)

If you’re not going to read it, why not? Oops, I got ahead of myself. See above.

And, for the record… what do you think? Will Harry survive the series? What are you most looking forward to? There was an article in Macleans news magazine recently discussing what would happen to Harry, so I do at least feel sort of informed on the issue...and I can't decide! I'm kind of leaning towards him surviving, but some of the author's comments seem to imply he won't...

Hot, hot, hot!

2007-07-12T13:39:00.001-07:00

It is hot. I've just come in from reading on the deck, and I have rivulets of sweat dripping down my body in all sorts of obscene places. I hate sweat.

Those who live further south will probably laugh when you hear how (not really) hot it is here, but remember that we're not used to this - I think we're setting record highs this week. And we have no air conditioning. To keep cool, we rely on covering up all the windows until you can hardly tell from the inside if it's day or night, and planting ourselves in front of electric fans which at least blow some of the sweat off of you. Then at night (which isn't that long, considering it's not dark until 11:30pm and it's light before 5am) we throw open all the windows, relocate the fans to in front of the windows to draw the cool(er) air in, and try to get some sleep before the next sweaty day begins.

It's 88 right now, with highs of 89-91 forecasted for the rest of the week. I know, not really that hot compared to some places, but more than enough for me! I almost found myself wishing for winter (sacrilege!) when I keep sneaking down the hall to the thermostat to notch it up another degree without Big G noticing. :) Almost.

I'm off restriction!

2007-07-11T09:04:00.001-07:00

Hooray!! My six weeks of rest after my c-section are now over...and there's so much to do! I think I did really well over the last several weeks not worrying about housework and other projects that I wasn't able to get to, but I'm starting to get antsy and wanting to clean, organize, and paint! Big G's dad and stepmom were here for the last two weeks, so I didn't get anything at all done while they were here, even though I was feeling much better.

I'm now A's favorite person since I'm able to pick her up again. :) She's been very much a daddy's girl since R was born, and they had some really neat bonding time, but the last couple of days she's been all about MOMMY! I guess she's just making up for lost time!

There's so many things I want to get done around the house, I'm flitting from one task to the next and still not getting anything accomplished! I need to sit down and figure out what is most important to me and then just concentrate on that one thing...not my style, but we'll try!

She's here!

2007-06-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

I know, it's been forever! I want to post here more regularly, and now that I'm not working I'm hoping I'll have time, but I just wanted to let everyone know that our third child, Rachel Wendy Elizabeth, arrived by c-section on May 28th at 8:01am. I was definitely disappointed that things ended in a c-section, but at least I went quickly this time!! I didn't really start having contractions until we went to bed around 11:30pm, and I just couldn't fall asleep. I woke Big G around 3:00am, and we headed to the hospital shortly after.

When we arrived around 4:30am, I was already at 6cm, and things kept progressing quickly after that. I started pushing around 6:00am, and after an hour or so, they decided that she was just not descending and a c-section was necessary. I was having awful back labor again and was just happy to see the happy little man who gave me the spinal so the pain would go away! Rachel's heartbeat had been going down during contractions and pushing, and although the doctor didn't seem overly worried, it was definitely concerning me, and I was glad to have her out safely.

I've been healing well and doing well emotionally for the most part. I am starting to get very restless with the physical restrictions of the surgery, and am trying hard to keep taking it easy, even though I feel great (mostly because I know Big G will have a fit if I hurt myself doing something I wasn't supposed to do!). I'm also starting to want to do...something, anything. The bigger kids go to bed before 8, but Rachel's fussy in the evenings, so I can kind of play on the computer with one hand while I nurse/hold her, but that's it. I can feel myself starting to despair that I'll never scrapbook, quilt, etc, ever again!

Here are a few pics of our newest blesing, I'll probably take them down in a few days, but just wanted to show her off for now. ;)

Help!

2007-05-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm calling on all the collective wisdom of the blogging world today to help us solve a dilemma - where will all our children sleep when this new baby arrives (very soon!)?

We have three bedrooms upstairs - right now obviously one is ours, A is in the baby room in her crib, and Little G has his own room. The original 'plan' was to put Little G and A into Little G's room in bunk beds, where they would stay for a few years until the two girls are big enough to share a room, and then Little G would probably move downstairs. When A was born, we moved Little G into his new room a few months before she was born so there would be no feeling like the baby was kicking him out of 'his' room.

But as the reality is getting closer I am realizing that there is no way I want to put A in a bed right now - yes, I know kids can surprise you (as my darling husband keeps pointing out) but she is not even two years old yet, and with her personality I absolutely cannot imagine she would stay in a bed. She naturally wakes up quite a bit earlier than Little G does, and right now she very happily stays in her crib and sings and plays, for as long as 45 minutes. My thought is that those 45 minutes could be almost as much sleep as I may have gotten all night with a newborn, and those precious minutes are going to be of the utmost importance to me!

We can't really put her in Little G's room in her crib as our bedrooms are tiny (it technically would fit but would be very tight and result in hardly any floor space), plus she would still wake him up when she woke up, so I'd still end up having to get up then.

The big thing is that we feel like we need to have the 'new' arrangements set before baby arrives to avoid the jealousy thing - I made a big deal out of that when A was born, so Big G is trying to just go with what I've said before and get everything done before baby comes. We do keep new babies in our room for the most part for the first three months or so, so we could leave A in her room for now and deal with it in the fall - but if she has a big issue with the baby taking her room I feel like I'm going to get the 'I told you so.'

What do you all think? At her age when she basically just sleeps in her room (her toys are out in the main room) is she liable to feel 'kicked out' of her room if we wait a few months? We do have an offer to borrow a second crib and I could put it in one of the rooms downstairs for her, since she doesn't really need a room for anything other than sleeping. Just another option to complicate things!

HELP!! We only have three weeks left and are no closer to figuring this out than we were three months ago, lol!

Birthday boy!

2007-05-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY TO LITTLE G!!

It's hard to believe our little boy is already five years old! I'm feeling like I'm not old enough to have a five year-old child - somehow having babies and preschoolers I still felt young, but five years old somehow makes me old! We had his party on Sunday after church since Wednesdays are very busy for us here (youth group night), but I made cupcakes and went and helped in his class at school this morning for his birthday.

We're so proud of our five year-old! He's working really hard at school and loves to play with his friends there. He's practicing riding his bike (still with training wheels) so he can ride his bike to school one day. He reads practically everything he can find and loves to draw and color and make crafts. We're watching his knowledge and understanding of God increase every day and feel so privileged to guide him as he tries to figure all these things out for himself. We love you, (not-so) little boy!

I just have to add a picture of his cake (firetruck at his request) that I decorated for him, since my carpal tunnel is still acting up from it, lol!

A boy and his...cat??

2007-04-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

Little G has mentioned a couple of times recently that he thinks we should have a pet. The other day at the dinner table he brought it up again, pointing out that we don't have any pets and that we really should get a dog. Since I refuse to get an animal until I am finished dealing with human, um, excrement, I launched into this long explanation about all the work you have to do for a dog (take him for a walk even when it's cold or rainy, clean up his business, etc, etc). When I was finished, he sat there and looked contemplative for a moment.

"What do you do with cats?" he wanted to know. :)

Choice is good...

2007-04-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

But too much choice, not so much.

I just got back from the local grocery store on what I thought was a simple errand - buy a chocolate cake mix. Sounds simple. But when I got there, not only did I have to decide which brand of mix to purchase, but just in one brand, there were FIVE different types of chocolate cake mix! I had to pick between chocolate fudge, milk chocolate, devil's food chocolate, german chocolate, and chocolate chocolate chip.

Maybe it's so-called 'pregnant brain,' but I literally couldn't make a decision...I was frozen right there in the baking goods aisle of our small town IGA, totally incapable of making this monumental choice.

In the end I shook myself out of my stupor and went with the german chocolate...because it's a black forest cake I'm making, and the Black Forest is in Germany, right? Oh, and then got home and realized the recipe actually called specifically for Devil's Food. Too bad - I'm not going back!

Feeling better...

2007-03-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen those advertisements for hearing aids where they ask questions like "do you avoid going out in social situations because of your hearing?" I can say right now my answer would be a hearty "YES!"

I am feeling much better than last week - I ended up going to the doctor Wednesday evening (we don't have any walk-in clinics here, so they have 'outpatients' time at the local hospital morning and evening) and by the time I saw him, my eardrum had burst already! No wonder it was hurting so badly! So I'm still on antibiotics, but I feel 100 times better than I did...except for my ear which still feels like it's just got a little bit of water stuck in it. Not painful, but very irritating, and when I'm around a bunch of people it just sounds like swirling voices underwater. And forget singing, lol - we had worship team practice last night and everything is echoing and tinny-sounding in my head, and my voice echoes the loudest of all, so I just gave up with the singing part and just played piano for the night. :)

Big G was away for the weekend, and I didn't really start feeling better until Sunday or Monday, so it was a difficult few days. But God continued to be faithful and gave me friends right when I needed them to give me a little boost to get me through the next few hours at a time - I laid on a friend's couch Friday morning while Little G was at school, which made the morning with high-energy A much easier; the other pastor's wife brought supper over on Saturday; and I sort of invited myself over to another dear friend's house for lunch (and all afternoon) on Sunday - A napped there (as did I!) and her college-aged kids played with Little G outside to run off some of his energy.

I'm now frantically trying to catch up on work and everything else that is showing signs of neglect from me being horizontal for a week! My family is coming up this weekend, so I need to get the house clean-ish for them, and Big G is at a coaching clinic tonight, tomorrow, and all day Saturday, so I won't have much help unfortunately! Now, if I could just get my ear unplugged...

WFMW - thankfulness in ALL circumstances!

2007-03-14T09:05:00.000-07:00

We're all sick here this week - little G woke up Saturday morning and immediately asked for his bucket (this kid is amazing, he has never thrown up anywhere except buckets or toilets!), then as he was starting to feel better, A woke up throwing up on Monday morning. I crashed on Sunday night - I haven't had the stomach flu part of it yet, but have an awful head cold/cough/and now earache.

I'm sleeping downstairs to try and get better sleep and not disturb my husband as much, but last night consisted of brief periods of sleep interrupted by either coughing fits or waking up panicked because I couldn't breathe. And of course, being pregnant, I can't take anything except a little bit of Tylenol.

Yes, I am miserable. Yes, I wonder how much worse I will get and how I will be able to handle it without piles of cold medication! But...I am consciously trying to make the effort to be 'thankful in all circumstances.' Big G was supposed to be in Guinea, West Africa these first two weeks of March, but the trip was postponed due to instability in that country. I am so thankful that he is around to help me a little bit and take Little G to and from school still. I am thankful that the kids were mostly done the throwing up part of their illnesses before I started feeling so horrible. I am thankful for a dear lady who (without knowing I was sick) brought lunch over for us on Monday, which lasted for two days. I am thankful that A still naps most of the afternoon and Little G is pretty self-sufficient and will let me nap.

I try to keep repeating these things over and over to myself every time I'm on the brink of tears because I feel so yucky. Things could be so much worse. God is so good. No, it's not magically making me feel better, but my attitude is certainly much improved, and I know that I am doing my best to honor God even in this situation.

Getting in the mood...

2007-03-10T09:27:00.000-07:00

...for the Spring Reading Thing over at Callapidder Days! I saw the Fall Into Reading challenge too late to join (and oh yeah, I was in the throes of morning sickness all fall), so I've been excitedly waiting for the promised spring challenge! March 21st is the start of the challenge, so mark it on your calendars and get working on your list of books you'd like to read this spring!

Following along with the reading theme, I thought I'd do this meme - inspired by Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer:

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Paperback of some type - holding up those heavy hardbacks makes my carpel tunnel act up!

Amazon or brick and mortar? I like Amazon (or Chapters.ca here in Canada), mostly because we don't have any big-box bookstores near where we are. I do have a hard time just walking past an actual bookstore, though, if we're visiting somewhere else. ;) But yes, could be hard on the wallet.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Um, I don't think we have either one up here, or at least not anywhere I've been - probably in Toronto or Vancouver. Chapters is pretty much the big bookstore up here.

Bookmark or dogear? I usually just make note of the page/chapter I'm on and then assume I'll remember when I come back to it. Right. When I'm actually being realistic about by mental capabilities, I bookmark with whatever scrap of paper happens to be around.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? In theory... No, I'm another one that does well to keep my book pile off of the floor. :)

Keep, throw away, or sell? I actually very rarely *buy* books. Growing up, my parents (somewhat jokingly) said it was a waste of money to buy me books for birthdays and Christmas because I would immediately start right into it and usually finish before lunchtime. On a per hour basis, the cost of buying new books is just too much! I have given away a bunch of books that I inherited from my Grandma that I knew I wouldn't read and re-read.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? I have very few hardbacks, but I've kept the dustjackets on the ones I have.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Read with.

Short story or novel? Novel. I think short stories remind me too much of 'assigned' reading in high school/university or something.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Is there an option 'C'? The one thing I can't stand is fantasy. Movies, books, whatever. There's just something about the fact that it's not 'real' that I just can't get involved. I watch Lord of the Rings (at the theatre, even) and I'm looking around at the walls, wondering what kind of speakers they use, how often they vacuum the curtains, etc. I'm just totally disconnected. I have watched one of the Harry Potter movies and it was...okay.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Chapter breaks, definitely. Usually about five chapters past where I was totally exhausted and should have put it down. And all bets are off if there's only a third or less of the book left when I'm tired - it will be finished that night.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Hmmm...probably dark and stormy night, once upon a time sounds too much like the beginning to a fantasy, and we know how I feel about that!

Buy or Borrow? Almost always borrow. As I said above somewhere, I read too quickly to make it seem worthwhile to buy. Although I do reread often since I don't remember much (maybe I should just slow down!). I borrow from the church library when I just feel like reading (light fiction), and a while ago I was in a big reading kick where I reserved and read a ton of recommended books from the library.

New or used? There is something special about a new book...the smell, the way they lay flat before anyone's bent the covers back... But the frugal me says used.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? I usually read something friends have recommended to me, particularly friends whom I know have the same taste in books! I don't mind browsing either, if I have the time and no children are pulling on my arms and legs!

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? I'm conflicted...I do like things to end the way I want them to (strange that the authors never call to ask my opinion, isn't it?) and yet I don't like the formula writing of some authors where you know way back at page 17 where the story's going.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Usually at night, curled up in bed. But once I get into a book, then it follows me wherever: making the kids' breakfast in the morning, bathroom breaks, walking up and down the stairs to do laundry (which, incidentally, is not the safest reading posture), and propped up on the kitchen counter as I prepare dinner.

Stand-alone or series? I have read a lot of series, particularly by Christian authors. For my 'light' reading, I like that I don't have to think very hard about what to read next. Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of my reading has been 'light' reading since I had kids, with the exception of a period of a few months after A was born where I read a ton of stand-alone fiction. I think some good 'stand-alone' books will be on my list for the Spring Reading Thing! (Any suggestions?)

Favorite series? I loved the Zion Chronicles and the Zion Covenant by Bodie & Brock Thoene - my mom and I were reading them while they were still being written. We'd both read the newest one within a day or two, and then have to wait months for the next one!

Favorite children's book? I love Goodnight Moon, of course, and had such fun buying Harold and the Purple Crayon and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day for my son, since I remember them from my childhood.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? This is hard - the first one that comes to mind that none of my friends had heard of is Five Quarters of the Orange.

Favorite books read last year? Time Traveler's Wife was interesting...and maybe the first 'fantasy' book I've ever enjoyed. I liked Memoirs of a Geisha as well.

Favorite books of all time? I finally read Pride and Prejudice a while back and really enjoyed it (which surprised me, for some reason). I have reread The Peacemaker by Mark J. Livingstone several times - the ending gives me chills every time. I'm sure there are tons more, but again, I forget books so quickly so the titles are all gone from my ever-shrinking mind!

Least favorite book you finished last year? Clara Callan - recommended to my dad by my aunt (a former English teacher), but was a little, um, liberal for me.

What are you reading right now? What am I coming to? Nothing - unless you count a little bit of Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mother's Soul, or the Sears' Pregnancy Book! I need to get some good ideas!

What are you reading next? I'm not sure - stayed tuned for my Spring Reading Thing post, coming March 21st!

Blessings

2007-03-08T17:08:00.000-07:00

My husband's been away this week at a camp about four hours away, just spending some time by himself fasting and praying and just refocusing. He was supposed to be on a trip to Guinea, West Africa during this time, but due to some instabilities in that country (union strikes, martial law, missionary evacuations, etc) the trip was rescheduled for this fall. Since Big G had pretty much cleared his schedule to accommodate this trip, he was able to take this chance to get away.

He left for home late this morning, and I got a call from him around lunchtime saying that he was going to be stuck in a certain town near the camp for a while...his car had broken down. Yes, this was unexpected and obviously inconvenient, but he had such a cool story of how the power in the car suddenly cut out just as he was leaving town, and he just had enough momentum to coast onto the service road...right into the Ford dealership parking lot! (Yes, it's a Ford vehicle.)

He had to wait until the servicemen were back from lunch, but they looked at it right away, told him what it was (the alternator) and that it would be a couple of hours to put a new one in. And almost exactly two hours later, he was back on the road. To us, that is such a miracle - where we are living in the midst of booming oil country, it is sometimes a month-long wait for an OIL CHANGE! I can't imagine any dealership here accommodating an emergency that quickly!

My husband will be home in an hour or so, $400 poorer, but having benefited from yet another experience showing us how much the Lord really does take care of us and provide for us. Oh! And as a result of a large tax refund and a few other circumstances this month, we were able to pay off a couple old loans, plus having some money left over - this is the first month in a long, long time that we actually have money right at the moment to pay for an unexpected car repair like this! Usually when something happens to one of our vehicles, we end up playing 'catch-up' for a couple of months. But God knew that we were going to need the extra funds this month, and we will be able to pay it right away without having to 'figure out' how we will be able to do it.

Just rejoicing in His goodness today amidst a situation that could have been so much worse!!

Inertia

2007-03-06T17:35:00.000-07:00

Inertia: the tendency of an object at rest to remain at rest, and of an object in motion to remain in motion

Currently best applied to my relationship with work - once I get down there and get going, it becomes habit to do so whenever the kids are quiet/in bed. Last week I worked 20 hours (I'm 'supposed' to do about 10) just because once I got in motion, I tend to stay in motion. This week...well, I rested on Saturday, and here it is Tuesday and I pretty much haven't done a thing relating to work since. I just can't seem to make myself get down there and do it.

Maybe it's all the weight I've gained with this pregnancy increasing my inertia...

Party time!

2007-03-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Typical me - late to the party because I couldn't decide whether or not to come!

Hi there - are you enjoying the party so far? I'm having a great time meeting new people and visiting. Of course, I always do end up having fun even when I'm scared to death beforehand! That's me, I tend to be way too concerned with what people might think of me in a new situation and get myself all stressed out and worried, and 99% of the time, it turns out to be a lot of fun and I'm glad I made myself go!

I'm sure you're anxious to hit the snack table, so I'll keep my introduction short! I'm Dawn, a 20-something mom to G, my 'four years and ten months' loves-to-make-noise and loves-to-read firstborn son, A, my talking-like-crazy 19 month-old daughter who has more twinkle in her eyes than we know what to do with, and #3 (another girl, they tell us) due the very end of May! My husband's a youth pastor, so that tells you that our life operates around the youth group schedule, and we live in fairly northern Canada, where it is nothing at all resembling spring yet! (So I don't want to hear about the crocuses out in your neighborhood!)

Hey, how about I walk over to the food with you, okay? I'm sure we'll meet some new friends along the way. :) And come back and visit me anytime!

Help, I've fallen!

2007-01-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

It was 10:59am on Sunday morning. Most of the congregation were in their seats, waiting for the worship singing to begin. The youth worship team that I help with had just gone up on stage and were getting ready to start. One of the singers whispered to me to ask if I could grab her forgotten water bottle off the front pew for her. I went up the couple stairs on the stage and handed it to her, then turned to come back to the piano so we could get going.

Something went terribly wrong.

I'm still not sure whether I tripped on something or just had an episode of pregnant brain and forgot how to walk, but suddenly I somehow found myself launched forward and sliding down the stairs on my right knee, coming to land in very ungraceful fashion at the bottom (only after knocking over a small table, of course).

The church collectively gasped and I heard several "are you alright?"s as I quickly tried to regain my composure. I felt every eye on my back as I made my way to the piano as quickly as possible - I knew I had about five seconds to get there while the adrenaline surged through my veins before the pain kicked in. I sat down on my bench and, ignoring the anxious looks of my team, started right in to the first song.

I did manage to make it through the worship set, although there was a searing pain in my knee every time I depressed the pedal - and I tend to overpedal, so that was a lot! When I got up from the piano, my pants were kind of stuck to my knee, which upon investigation I learned was the result of a pretty serious oozing scrape. I didn't seem to have any other visible injuries, so I rejoined the service, again feeling everyone's eyes on me as I walked up to the front to sit with my husband (who hadn't even seen me fall and was confused why I was limping!).

I'm feeling much better today, although my knee is definitely bruised (on the inside, apparently, since I can't see much on the skin). I was worried yesterday that it was going to be a fairly long-term injury because if I sat down for even a few minutes, my whole leg was just throbbing up and down. Fortunately it vastly improved overnight and I think I'll be back to running (well, if I wanted to) by our trip to Breakforth this weekend!

God has no in-laws, either

2007-01-18T08:33:00.001-07:00

"God has no grandchildren."

Those of us who grew up in a Christian home have likely heard this statement before. It means that no matter who your parents are, even if they are pillars of the church and examples of faith for thousands, you won't score any points with God because of them. You have to make a personal decision to follow Him and choose for yourself to give your life to Him, not just hang on the coattails of your parents' faith and think that will be good enough.

People who have been raised in the church and prayed 'the prayer' at a very young age often speak about a time in their lives when they had to make their faith their own. During childhood and even into adolescence, it is easy to do the 'right' things when that's just what your family does. It doesn't take much strength to choose to attend church faithfully and have daily devotions when such activities are part of your family's routine. But there inevitably comes a point when you have to choose for yourself who you will serve.

This concept came to my mind last night as I was listening to my husband speak at our weekly youth Bible study. It was questions night, and one of the questions was something about how you knew if you were living the 'proper' Christian life. In the process of answering the question, Big G said something to the effect of that you need to know in your own heart that you are truly following after God with all you are and not just going through the motions.

And something occurred to me. I don't know if I ever actually did make my faith my own.

I was the oldest child in my family, the 'good girl' - at least as far as my parents were concerned! I certainly did my share of stupid things, but for the most part managed to keep it secret and still played the role of the perfect daughter.

I went to Bible school for a year after high school planning to get myself back on track and establish my faith. I did a lot of stupid things that summer before I went away, fully believing that it was 'okay' because I was going away in a month or two to Bible school and would straighten everything out then.

And in a way, I thought I did. I came back from that year having learned a lot and grown a lot. Oh, and with a fantastic new boyfriend (that would be Big G, lol). We got married a couple of years later, and here we are now, eight years down the road, a pastoral family expecting our third child already. And they lived happily ever after.

Except last night it occurred to me that maybe I just swapped one thing for the other - my parents' faith for my husband's faith. That maybe I'm now relying on him to carry me. It was an uncomfortable thought, and one I'm still working through.

God has no grandchildren...and you know what? He doesn't have any in-laws either.

WFMW - digital picture organization/storage/sharing

2007-01-17T14:05:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it's really only been a few years since 'everyone' has had a digital camera! Can you believe that only ten years ago, hardly anyone had even heard of such a thing?!? Now I think the question is really what kind of digital you have, rather than whether or not you have one.

We got our first digital about two and a half years ago, a Canon A70, and last summer I was ecstatic to finally get a digital SLR to continue my photography obsession - a Canon Rebel XT. In the two and a half years since we've 'gone digital,' I have taken something in the neighborhood of 3,500 photos (well, that's how many I have on the computer...I'm sure I've actually shot a lot more than that).

I realized very quickly after getting the digital camera that regular folders on our hard drive were just not going to cut it. Sure, I could sort them into folders based on the month and year they were taken, but then what happens later when I'm looking for that cute picture of Little G at the park and I have no clue whether it was taken during that warm spell in April, or in September? And even if by some miracle (and it would take a miracle, let me tell you) I do remember the correct month, I still have to sort through all kinds of cryptic 'img2846729209.jpg' names and squint at the little thumbnail pictures to figure out which of the 50 pictures I took that day is the one I'm looking for.

What usually happens? I'd just give up on finding it at all.

But thankfully I found a program that has saved me from this predicament many a time - Adobe Photoshop Album. They are on version 3.0 right now, but from what I can tell I prefer my v2.0 - the newest update doesn't seem to have the same backup capability as mine does. The key to this program is 'tags' - basically the equivalent of little sticky notes put on each photo to categorize them. You can set up however many tags as you wish, and sort them into categories (I have 'people,' 'places,' 'events,' etc.). Then all you have to do is click and drag the tags that apply to your photo on top of it, and they are labelled with that category or categories. Searching for just the right photo later on becomes easy - I just check the boxes for 'Little G' and 'Outside' (I have a lot of categories based on the kind of scrapbook pages I would do) and voila, up comes all the pictures that have those tags assigned to them, regardless of where they happen to reside on my hard drive. I can even take older pictures off of our computer and archive them on CDs, and the program still retains a thumbnail of the picture so I can still search for those photos.

As I mentioned, the program has a great backup utility (although it doesn't seem to be as complete in v3.0), and the ability to create and share pictures and slideshows with others. One of my favorite things is that is automatically resizes your photos to whichever size you choose (small, medium, large) when you share by email - something I'm sure your friends and family would appreciate if you've been clogging their inboxes with giant photo files!

The other decision digital camera users face is the question of how to share their pictures online - one of the main reasons for going digital, if my friends are any indication. There are a myriad of options available today, which makes choosing one very difficult. I think I probably have accounts at at least five different sites that I tried before finding one I was happy with!

There are several free options, which may work for you for a while, but let's face it - nothing is really free. There is always a catch - either your photo page is covered in ads, your friends have to give a lot of information to set up an account to even see your pictures, or there's a limit on how many pictures you can upload and store in your account...or usually all of the above.

After all my experimenting with various options out there, I finally heard about Smugmug. Out of all the choices on the net, Smugmug received the Editor's Choice recognition from PC Magazine as 'the best.' And it is. After a free trial so you can check it out, it will cost you ($39 a year), but what you get for that price is pretty great - and I'm a cheapskate! You get:

no ads
unlimited storage (like no limit...ever)
your friends and family don't have to go through the bother of setting up an account to view your photos - just visit your homepage (which will be yourname.smugmug.com)
the ability to password-protect all or just some of your galleries
online ordering of prints and gifts (at prices very similar to our local Walmart - and great quality!)
email support from REAL people - I've emailed them a couple of times and I couldn't believe how quickly they responded and how helpful they actually were
if you're a bit of a photographer wanna-be like me, you'll love how the default black background make your pictures stand out and look their best (but there's lots of choices for those who like to change things around too!)
they have their own forums with lots of opportunities for photo sharing, asking questions, etc.

I have been thrilled with Smugmug, even though I was admittedly a little reluctant to part with my hard-earned cash! It works for me - maybe it will for you too!

For Kelli

2007-01-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

There's something very special going on in the Blogosphere today. If you haven't yet read about Kelli, take a moment and read Boomama's original post here. Boomama has felt led to help this friend who is in desperate need of a kidney transplant and is struggling with the costs going along with that.

If you feel led to do so, please visit Boomama today and make your donation, whatever size, to help out Kelli. And if you don't feel led to donate (which is fine!), please do pray for her and her family.

The wonderful Susie over at Bluebird Blogs (who did my blog design) is also getting into the action and donating 20% of all her blog orders between January 11th and 21st to this cause. If you've been thinking about maybe getting a blog makeover, now would be a great time to do it - and help someone else in the process!

We've got some 'splainin to do...

2007-01-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

Heard at yesterday's ultrasound...

Little G: Mommy, do I get to come with you when it's time for the baby to come out?

Mommy: No, sweetie, but after the baby is out you can come visit us at the hospital, okay?

Little G: (puzzled look on his face) Oh. But I wanted to see how they're going to get your tummy off.

Where MY Heart Is

2007-01-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

I started blogging several months ago, without a clear purpose in my mind about what I wanted to talk about or where I wanted to go with my site. I started off with the name 'Things I Think About at Night,' which was appropriate at the time, as I was still in the nursing my baby at night stage. (Now I'm in the 'please stop singing E-I-E-I-O in the middle of the night stage,' but that's another story...) As I've read more and written more over the past year, it's become clearer to me what I want this blog to be. Hence the name change... to Where the Heart Is.

"Home is where the heart is." I'm sure you've all heard this phrase before. This has come to mean a lot to me over the last year as I made the decision to not return to working outside the home when my maternity leave was over. I know many people thought (and several have told me as much) that I was wasting all my years of education, that I could still be a good mom if I worked outside the home, and that I would feel happier and more satisfied if I worked. I did struggle with the decision, but in the end it just came down to the fact that my heart told me I should be at home with my family. I don't love my job, I love my kids.

The internet can be such a cold and impersonal place - you can read some blogs, which are sort of like a person's diary in some ways, and yet come away not really knowing anything about the author. I want you to read my blog and feel like you're sitting down for coffee with a friend...and so I feel like I should introduce myself and share a little more information than you get from my Blogger profile. :)

I'm Dawn, I'm within a couple of years of 30 (yikes!) and I'm married to a wonderful man of God (who we'll call 'Big G' for our purposes here). He's a youth pastor and definitely young at heart! We've been married for seven years and have been blessed with two children - our son Little G, who is four and a half already somehow, and our daughter A, who just turned 18 months. We're also getting excited about #3 who will make his/her appearance probably in late May. We live in a small town (like less than 5,000 people) in a fairly rural area in Canada - it can be cold and snowy, but we know it's where the Lord has called us to be and we love it.

Where is my heart?

My heart is...with the Lord Jesus Christ above all. I grew up in a Christian home and have grown in many ways as I learned to make my faith my own. I struggle and sin daily, as we all do, and am learning each day to rely on Him more.

My heart is...with my family. I can't believe how many parents have children and then want to get rid of them as quickly as possible - can't wait for them to be in school all day, enroll them as many lessons and classes as possible so they don't have to be with them for hours after school, and speak of their blessings from GOD as if they were inconveniences at best. I believe that after my relationship with God, my husband and my children are my highest priority. I believe we as parents are responsible for bringing our children up in a way that would be pleasing to Him.

My heart is...with our church family. We have been so blessed to have our first church be such a wonderful experience. We have been here for four years (way longer than the average youth pastor stay of 18 months) and can't imagine leaving without the Lord really changing our hearts. We have grown to love our church family so much and have formed beautiful friendships here.

So there's a little bit about me - and I'm sure you'll find out much more as I post here! I hope that this blog will be a blessing to others in some way...I don't feel like I have much to give, but I have been so blessed by the writing of others and pray that someone will be encouraged or amused or inspired by something I post here. God bless you, and stop by and say 'hi' if you're visiting. :)

Tada!!

2007-01-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Welcome - how do you like the new place??

My blog design from the wonderful Susie at Bluebird Blogs is complete and I couldn't be happier! I'm just settling in here to my new digs but I'm sure it will feel like home before I know it (I'm still a little surprised each time my site loads, lol).

Hope you're able to visit often!

WFMW - Eating well

2007-01-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

In keeping with a lot of people's New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, get in shape, whatever you choose to call it this year...the theme for Works-for-Me Wednesday this week is eating well.

My tip isn't really a recipe, but just a way that I've found to eat a little bit healthier without feeling too deprived: salads.

I know, boring, boring. But wait! What works for me is to add things to your basic pile of shredded lettuce so you don't feel so much like, well, a rabbit or something.

Some of the toppings I like to add to my salad (obviously not all at the same time, although usually a few together) include taco meat, flaked ham (or turkey or chicken), leftover chicken breast, hardboiled eggs, shredded cheese, nuts, raisins, cut-up apples or dried fruit. Adding some of these to my salad makes me feel like I'm eating something substantial, yet still healthy.

Oh, and skip the creamy dressings - it's frightening how quickly they can transform a healthy salad into a fat-laden feast!

Oh my.

2007-01-05T13:23:00.000-07:00

I don't even know what to say in response to this recent NY Times article, 'Middle School Girls Gone Wild.' You know what I did for my school talent show when I was ten years old? Sang 'I Can Sing A Rainbow.'

I understand that things do change, and I don't expect children today to be wearing feedsack dresses and eating lard sandwiches whilst stoking the wood stove, but not even a generation has passed since I was in school! It was 'only' 18 years ago that I was in fifth grade. The massive change in that short a period of time scares me to death. I can only imagine what schools will be like as my children grow up - girls wearing nothing but their bras and thongs to class? (There is the slight problem of the -30 weather up here...) School-sponsored seminars on intercourse techniques? It sickens me. I almost don't know how it could possibly get any worse.

Lord have mercy on our children.

WFMW - paper organization

2007-01-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

The 'brain center' of our home is on the counter beside our phone, as in many homes. I have a daily planner calendar there, and this is where all the incoming mail, letters from school, etc, end up. The amount of paper that enteres our home is staggering!

Up until the other day, these papers just got stuffed somewhere within my calendar - any statements that needed to be filed downstairs usually got stuck near the front of the book, until that side of each week was leaning at a precarious angle from so much paper stuffed behind it! Anything else that needed to be dealt with ended up somewhere a few weeks ahead of whatever week we were on, and often just kept getting shuffled further and further ahead as the pages got turned. Sometimes there would be so many things piled on top of the calendar that I didn't change the page for weeks at a time - what was the point, since I couldn't see it anyway?!?

But the whole new year, turn over a new leaf attitude has got a hold of me this week and I've set up a new system. It's not very fancy, but it works! I took three regular file folders - labelled 'IN,' 'OUT,' and 'FILE' and taped the edges so they would act as pockets. Then I pinned them to the wall behind the counter where my calendar sits. Now I actually have a place to put all the paper that threatens to overtake the counter! And I don't put off the filing forever and ever anymore because only so much will fit in the folder!

Works for me!

The first step is admitting you have a problem...

2007-01-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

So here I go!

I can't believe I'm posting these, but A's room has gotten way out of hand the last few months and I'm hoping by admitting my problem to all of you that I will get motivated to do something!

It's a fairly small room to start with, and at the moment it is being taken over by various piles and bags full of clothes - the result of a couple of generous people who handed down some wonderful high-quality clothes to A. Most of it has been sorted (honestly) but there wasn't a lot of room in her dresser at the time because I didn't have any more big boxes to put the clothes that were too small in, so I couldn't get them out of the drawers to make room for the new clothes... Plus I was taking care of an extra baby and had morning sickness! Really, none of these are excuses, and I just need to get to it! I have figured out that if it's going to get done, I'm going to have to put A down for her nap in the playpen in another room and do it then. Have you ever tried to make orderly piles of clothes with a 17 month-old around?!?

I hope to report back soon that this project has been successfully completed!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year everyone!

We are back from our Christmas vacation and ready to get back into the swing of things. We had a huge answer to prayer with a calm and virtually conflict-free Christmas at my parents', even with all four grandchildren, Big G and I, and my drug addict sister staying under one roof for a week! We went through some awful weather on the way home yesterday - pouring rain which of course immediately froze on the highway, turning the road into the rough equivalent of a very large skating rink - but we got through it safely (we saw many vehicles flipped in the ditches as we were travelling).

Stay tuned for my new blog makeover, coming soon, and (hopefully) lots of fun posts this year! May God bless you and your families in 2007!

Thursday Thirteen #2 - What I Want for Christmas

2006-12-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

With Christmas coming in just five days (what, you haven't finished your shopping yet???) I thought I'd do a Thursday 13 on what I want for Christmas. These are all non-material items that can't actually be purchased, and I'm not including 'givens' such as world peace, no more poverty, etc. This is just my personal wish list for myself and those in my life. In no particular order, here goes...

1 - My sister and her boyfriend to be 'cured' of their drug addictions and be able to live as a happily ever after family.

2 - An end to morning sickness for my good friend K - this is her second, she's about 12 weeks along and is on ridiculous amounts of drugs which barely take the edge off according to her. They'd love to have more than two, but she says this will be it because of how sick she gets.

3 - My parents to once and for all deal with all their issues and hurts from the past so there isn't all kinds of tension coming up when the family's together. (This has gotten immeasurably better in the last year, but hey, it's my wish list!)

4 - Six-inch width hardwood floors for my friend's new house - it's not that they can't afford it, just that her husband is set on 1 3/4 inch slats... Or at least a compromise around four inches somewhere!

5 - My friend A's boyfriend to propose to her. They've been dating six years and even though he totally breaks down when she suggests spending time apart if he's not ready...he still can't seem to commit and just ask her to marry him. Apparently his dad took eight years to propose to his mom, so I don't know if that bodes well....

6 - Good roads for all the driving we're doing around Christmas.

7 - Happy kids (my two plus my niece) during those six-hour road trips to my parents' and back!

8 - A relatively easy pregnancy and a safe and natural delivery of this baby.

9 - An extra dose of encouragement and strength for Big G as he deals with so much in his job.

10 - A low tax bill for the friends I help with their bookkeeping - it's not a reflection on me, but it's their first year in business and I don't want them collapsing from the shock of the bill!

11 - Okay, this one is sort of material...a better financial situation for our family. We obviously need to make and be more rigid about a budget because money just seems to disappear out of here and we're starting to get a bit behind. It's frustrating because on paper it doesn't seem like it should be a problem to live within our means.

12 - More work for my friend M's husband who is a welder. We're in oil country up here and things are still booming, just not quite as crazily as they have been, so lots of people are having a pretty slow winter.

13 - Strength and no ongoing health problems for a friend's little baby girl who was born five weeks premature. They just came home from the hospital a few days ago - I think baby's up to five pounds one ounce now.

WFMW - Bloglines

2006-12-20T08:20:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm a little late to the party on this one, but it's been such a timesaver for me, I just have to share - even if you're all rolling your eyes and laughing about how long it took me! ;)

I'd heard about Bloglines on various other blogs several times, and even set up an account one day, but hadn't actually found the time to add all of the blogs I read. It just looked like it would take too much time. Clearly I was not thinking straight as at that time I was spending who-knows-how-long every day checking in on all my 'friends' out there. And I'm a bit obsessive, lol, so this wasn't just a once-a-day quick look. No, I had to check several times a day, because who knows, somebody may have posted something important in the last 47 minutes!

I finally spent the 10 or 15 minutes necessary to add in all the links to my favorite blogs, and I can't believe the time I'm saving! Yes, I still check in at least a few times most days, but instead of individually clicking on each of 30 or so blogs in my 'favorites,' now I just go to my Bloglines homepage and can see at a glance if any of you have posted something! :)

It works for me!

Make it last all year

2006-12-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Like most of us, I have wonderful memories of the Christmases of my childhood. The common thread through all of these special memories is a feeling...hard to define, but somehow it just felt like Christmas. Warm and fuzzy, like one of those Hallmark commercials. Everyone was loving and giving and kind, bringing joy to everyone around them.

I often wondered why being with the very same people didn't 'feel' the same at other times of the year. What is it about the Christmas season that causes almost everyone to act so selflessly, and could we make it last all year?

I believe what makes people act as they do at Christmas is the recognition of Christ's love and the miracle of Jesus' birth. Even those who don't yet know Him I believe in some way can feel that there is something special, something real, about this season where nearly the whole world celebrates the coming of a little child sent to save the world from sin and demonstrate love in the ultimate way.

But isn't this true all year long? Christ has still come to save us on February 19th, and June 6th, and October 22nd, has He not? I know I find it easier to do 'special' things for people at Christmas time...and maybe not so much in February and October.

"Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind. To cherish
peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas."
~ Calvin Coolidge, former President of the United States ~

I know a few people who try to make Christmas last all year long with this spirit of goodwill and spreading mercy. They give generous gifts for no reason at all, and somehow that which seems almost common place at Christmas almost shocks the recipient when it comes in the middle of the year with no occasion in mind. But giving so freely and lovingly should be common among Christ's followers, and not just at Christmas.

I'm going to try to carry this 'Christmas spirit' with me all year - will you join me?

Am I going to be "THAT" mom?!?

2006-12-16T12:31:00.000-07:00

Little G's school Christmas program is on Tuesday - he is acting as Joseph in the Junior Kindergarten class' skit of the nativity. The parents are responsible for bringing their kids in costume to the program.

I am sewing his costume.

This seemed to be a perfectly reasonable decision to me - he doesn't have a bathrobe, or anything similar that could be turned into a suitable costume. It would cost me probably $25 to buy a bathrobe just for this program that may never be used again. It cost me $13 for fabric and the pattern to sew him a simple tunic and sash. It seemed like simple economics to me.

But when I told my best friend that I was MAKING his costume (gasp) she seemed quite shocked and sort of mocked me for doing it. Now I'm all worried that the other parents are going to think I'm one of 'those' moms who does everything homemade, you know the type that makes individual personalized favors at kids' birthday parties, that kind of thing. :) And I am SO not that person, lol!

Really, I just thought I was saving a few dollars...

Thursday Thirteen - edition #1!

2006-12-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here it is...my very first Thursday Thirteen!

1. It is almost 11:00 in the morning and I am still in my PJs. Showered, but not dressed. What's the point when nothing fits?!?

2. It is what, 11 days until Christmas and I have almost no presents bought.

3. This is partly my fault since we've been so busy, but my family has yet to send me their lists, so I'm not taking all the blame!

4. I still haven't finished my Christmas letter, I'm just way too hung up on making it perfect and it just doesn't seem to have that 'spark' yet.

5. We've only received about four or five Christmas cards/letters so far, even though we send out more than 100.

6. I really don't care how many we receive, that's not why I send ours out.

7. I really really hate how we lose touch with friends when we move away, despite our promises to stay in contact.

8. I think a lot about when/if we leave here and how I can't imagine not being in touch with my dear friends here, and yet I know it will probably happen.

9. For a woman, especially, I hate talking on the phone. I almost never call friends up just to chat - I think it seems like a waste of time to me.

10. I also screen our calls, even when it's a friend calling, if I'm not 'in the mood' I won't answer it. And if I don't recognize the number, I never answer.

11. My husband HATES that I screen calls. He answers everything.

12. I laugh at him when he gets stuck on the phone with a telemarketer that I told him he shouldn't answer.

13. I had a hard time thinking of my first Thursday 13!!!!

Messing with my schedule

2006-12-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Little G has school in the afternoon rather than the morning today so that both Junior Kindergarten classes can be together to practice their Christmas play (in which Little G got the big role of Joseph, I'm so proud!). The change has really thrown me off! A sleeps all afternoon, so I am basically alone, which never happens anymore (A's up in the mornings when he's usually at school, and Little G doesn't nap anymore in the afternoons).

I keep looking out the window and startling, wondering why it's almost getting dark and where Little G is. I'm about ready to go to the kitchen and make my usual mid-morning snack (aka second breakfast) of scrambled eggs, but then realize that morning was a long time ago! I think the chances of my being ready on time to go to Youth Bible study tonight are about nil, considering it will feel like about naptime by then. :)

I'm brewing a cup of tea and going to enjoy the silence with tea and a sugar cookie. And try to finish our Christmas letter...what is the politically correct way to say that your niece has been living with you for the past three months because your sister's in drug rehab?

2006-12-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I've participated in 'In Other Words' organized by Christian Women Online - I just saw it on someone else's site today and thought it was a wonderful idea. I hope to participate often!

This week's quote is: "I am the one holding the keys to the atmosphere in our home."~ Terry Maxwell ~Author of: Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit

This quote really strikes home with me, as it's something that I've been thinking about often as of late. Saying that we as woman, wives and mothers, have this power to control the atmosphere in our homes is not meant as a boast or a way to lord something over others, but as a sombre responsibility. We have all been in other people's homes or had days in our own where the 'atmosphere' was anything but pleasant! Everything becomes miserable and a chore in a home where the atmosphere is not joyful. And to think that we have the ability to determine what the mood of our home will be - what an incredible responsibility and privilege!

I have been quite sick with this pregnancy, much more so than my other two, and there was a span of six weeks or so where Big G would leave for work with me in my PJs on the couch, and come home at lunch to find me in pretty much the same position. Repeat after work. I was changing diapers as they presented themselves, and everyone got fed at times close to mealtimes, but other than basic needs I was just not able to do anything else. The atmosphere in our home was not that great during this time (not really through anyone's fault, but still).

Over the last few weeks I have been feeling much better - not normal, but tons better compared to a month ago. My husband has commented several times lately how much of a difference it has made to him to have me feeling better - not just because he doesn't have to cook as many meals or dress as many babies ;) but he commented that the house just 'feels' different when I'm better. That's atmosphere.

I am ashamed to say there have been too many times when I abused this precious responsibility and chose to start complaining about my day as soon as my husband walked in the door, rather than showing the love I should. Understandably, when he is assaulted by my bad attitude immediately upon entering his home, he reacts in kind and what often results is a downward spiral that I realize too late that I could have prevented.

But there have also been times when, thanks to the Lord's help, I have greeted my husband with joy and asked about his day, and given him time to reenter the home environment before I start dumping the kids or my problems on him. No, this is not about men sitting in their easy chairs all night long while you bring them their pipe, slippers, and drink, lol! But the difference I have found when I consciously choose to set a positive, loving atmosphere in our home is amazing.

The same principle applies to my children as well, of course. And right now I need to get off the computer to be with them and set a good atmosphere, rather than frustrating all of us by insisting they leave me alone while I'm on the computer! :)

Lord, help me to take seriously my responsibility of setting the atmosphere in my home. May my family treasure our home as a place of love, joy, and fun. Forgive me for the times I have failed and caused our home to be a place of complaining, bitterness, or harshness. Amen.

Christmas card? CHECK!

2006-12-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

It appears there's actually still a hope, however faint, that our Christmas cards will actually get out by - gasp - Christmas! I spent way too much of yesterday sitting on the computer designing our Christmas card in Photoshop (I'm way too picky and don't like any of the Wal*mart offerings, and I love doing it myself). After several episodes of totally starting over, I think we have a winner!

Now...there is still the small matter of writing the actual Christmas letter...

(our real names are behind that black bar, it's not a design element :))

And there was much rejoicing

2006-12-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Well, rejoicing and mini M&Ms. :)

My little tiny wasn't-she-just-born-last-week baby pooped in the potty this morning! She was in her highchair eating breakfast when she tried to get out of her seat, pointing at her, well, poo-poo parts and saying 'poopoo' - which she has been doing lately after she's done the deed. I got her cleaned up from breakfast and after taking a quick whiff, realized that she hadn't actually gone yet. I asked her if there was more poopoo, and she said and signed back 'more.'

Quickly we ran to the living room, where the potty has been taking up space the last little while (being used by the babies mostly as a stepstool to reach things they shouldn't, of course) and sat her down and told her to put the poopoo in the potty. And lo and behold after a couple of minutes, she did. We whooped and hollered and called daddy to tell him (well, she said 'poopoo' and I explained the rest). Oh, and ate some mini M&Ms.

Now I have a little girl following me around the house saying 'mo, mo, mo' and pulling me over to the counter where the M&Ms are sitting.

And THEN...a little while later I was on the phone and noticed she was by the potty again pulling on her pants. By the time I got there and got her ready, she had nothing to produce, but amazingly enough, her diaper was full and warm, so she had obviously just gone.

Is it really possible that she might train this early? Should I start putting her on the potty at regular intervals? Training pants? I feel like a first-timer! Little G was over 2 1/2 when I trained him, and that just seems so much bigger! But 'they' say there's a potty-training window around 18 months...A will be 17 months this week...

Help!

A Christmas thought

2006-11-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

1 CORINTHIANS 13 - - A CHRISTMAS VERSION
Author unknown

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls, but do not show love, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love, I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love, it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child. Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband. Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens. Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way, but is thankful they are there to be in the way. Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

Video games will break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust, but giving the gift of love will endure.

This makes me so angry!

2006-11-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

I found this article today and it just got me so fired up! It is just so ridiculous that kids as young as nine or 10 are carrying cell phones and going on 'dates'! It seems like most parents are just resigning themselves to this as 'the way kids are these days' and refuse to fight against it. It is just wrong in my opinion - these are children, for heaven's sake!

This is definitely a factor in my wanting to homeschool my kids - it is hard to expect them to play with dolls and dress like the children they are when they are surrounded for the majority of their day with foul mouths, silly talk about the opposite sex, and clothes and music that I'm not sure are appropriate for *any* age, let alone elementary school kids. I want my children to enjoy their childhood and not be exposed to incessant influences way beyond their years. No, I don't intend to shelter them from 'the world' forever, nor do I not ever want them to grow up; but I will not allow them to experience those things at an age when they are still cognitively and emotionally children and not able to handle and process those types of ideas properly.

Here's the article if anyone's interested in what's gotten me so riled up today!

Yay for me! I'm a geek!

2006-11-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

Okay, honestly I would have been disappointed with anything less than 100%. My dad's a little bit grammar-obsessive and it rubbed off on me. It wasn't unusual to hear my dad and I around the house growing up catching each other with 'fuzzy reference to an antecedent.'

Um, did I really just out my geekiness to all of cyberspace?!? Please, come back, I'm really fun too!

A holiday meme to get into the spirit of things...

2006-11-28T12:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Katrina over at Callapidder Days for the open tag! :)

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Probably eggnog (light, of course!) - for being a woman, I'm not all that into chocolate things.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We've gone to my parents every year since we've been married, and they still do Santa for us even though I can't actually remember ever thinking Santa was real ;). Wrapped, one for each person and usually a family gift, and we open them first before the other presents. They're never a really big gift, mom and dad want the credit for those I think, lol. We've decided (without much input from me, just for the record) that we won't tell our kids that Santa is real. I'm not sure if we'd still do Santa presents just for fun if we were at our own house for Christmas or not.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored. Although I love the way white lights look - I'm just not organized enough to have everything else organized to be that classy!

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, we never have. I think I should, maybe - Big G would be pleasantly surprised!

5. When do you put your decorations up? I don't have a set time. This year, with all the craziness at my house, it's been really important to me that we do it early enough to enjoy it (did the decorations last night and tree probably this week). I've already baked a couple kinds of cookies with Little G as well. I just don't want to 'miss' Christmas because our lives are busy and stressful right now.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding desert)? What?!? No desert? ;) I think good old turkey (dark meat) and stuffing (my mom's) with gravy....mmmmm.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: I loved all our traditions - I'm a big routine person and like everything being the same! One of the favorites was our Christmas Eve tradition of after church coming home and mom put out a huge spread of food, crackers & cheeses, appetizers, baking, etc, all for just our little family and we would sit in front of the fire and eat. And everyone would get along.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Like I said in one of the other questions, I don't remember ever believing in Santa. I think I was just a typical firstborn too grown-up for my own good.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we always got to open one growing up. We usually stay here for our Christmas Eve service, and then drive to my parents on Christmas morning. We haven't done a Christmas Eve present for our kids yet...we haven't usually bought them enough to spare one for then, lol! I'd like to maybe start a tradition of new PJs on Christmas Eve for everyone.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Little multicolored lights (lots), garland, and a very eclectic variety of ornaments! I've never gone out and bought coordinated ornaments for our tree, but if I did they would be blue and countryish.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Not much choice here! We've already had at least two feet or more this year. I like the snow for the most part, but HATE the cold!

12. Can you ice skate? Sort of. You grow up here in Canada and everyone ice skates at least enough to go once or twice a year with church groups or whatever. I don't love it - my feet hurt almost immediately and get frozen solid!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? That would be hard! I think maybe a couple of years ago when my parents got both my sister and I car starters - it was totally unexpected and I know not cheap as we both have standards!

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? As another one with little kids just getting old enough to participate in and enjoy the holiday traditions, sharing it with them is definitely something I'm really enjoying. Of course I want all of our traditions to focus on Christ, the reason for the whole season.

15. What is your favorite holiday desert? I love butter tarts and venetians, which are a three-layer square made with almond paste and jelly in between layers with chocolate on top. I'm in charge of making it since we've been married since mom thinks it's too much work!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? We honestly haven't really established traditions with just our own immediate family yet, but we're talking seriously this year about what we want to do since Little G's getting old enough to start remembering these things. So many things from my childhood I loved...the Christmas Eve feast, the slooooow opening of presents in the morning (we had to wait until after a fancy breakfast to start, then we take turns and admire each other's gifts...we finish well after noon most years).

17. What tops your tree? Well...one lone mini-light from the top strand of lights that gets draped over the top so there's something there!

18. What do you prefer giving or receiving? Well, there have certainly been some gifts I've been very happy to receive, lol - but I love finding a unique or personal gift for someone and just knowing that they're really going to love it.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I love O Holy Night, I think because I have a couple of absolutely beautiful piano arrangements of it that I like to play.

20. Candy canes - yuck or yum? I tolerate the peppermint ones. I wouldn't ever pick one out of a lot of candy choices, but they're fine. Some of the flavored ones I've quite enjoyed.

Fun! I'm going to go put on my Christmas music now! :)

2006-11-27T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...a quiet Monday morning. Little G's at school, M's sleeping, and the house is peaceful and quiet, a warm sanctuary in the midst of a chilly day.

Uh-oh. Where's A? I almost forgot about her...quiet isn't good, quiet is BAD!

I think I'm coming out of my hole...

2006-11-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a long six weeks, but I think the morning sickness is finally starting to fade - hooray! I honestly feel as though I'm just waking up after being in one of those dreams where you toss and turn all night and keep waking up, but every time you fall back asleep, you're still in the same dream. It feels like I'm just emerging into the daylight after a long hibernation or something...

Anyway, I will be back soon - I had a burst of energy today and spent a couple of hours looking for ideas for a new blog design (I'm going with Susie at Bluebird Blogs), hopefully that will be up in a few weeks, I can't wait!

So tired...

2006-10-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know, long time no post. I'm sorry.

Things are going pretty well here, just busy and the pregnancy fatigue has kicked in so I'm back in bed as soon as the babies go down for their morning naps (Little G has school in the morning during the week) and right back again when everyone's down in the afternoon. And pretty much the same thing once they're in bed at night.

Needless to say, I'm not getting much done except caring for the kids. I know that I've got a bunch of work I've *got* to get done, but I just can't do it. My head is so heavy that when I have tried to go downstairs to work, before too long I find my nose pressing the buttons on the keyboard as I'm falling asleep! I'm normally such a busy and do five things at a time person that I'm really struggling with not being able to get all the things done that I want to.

We did find a family that is willing to take care of my niece in November while we go to pastor's retreat, so I am really looking forward to that - it's a wonderful relaxing time and I think we really need it this year. I may just sleep in my hotel room in the mountains for the whole time!

We're home

2006-09-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

We're back from our whirlwind trip and things are going alright. The meeting with the social worker went fairly well, although there were a few tense moments. The (ex?) boyfriend/father of my niece had to be there as well, so that was pretty stressful as my parents certainly have no love for him. I was sooo thankful that Big G came with me as he was able to do his 'pastoral' thing and calm everyone down and help people understand each other's viewpoints.

The night before we left A was up several times throwing up, so we started off the trip very tired. Fortunately she was okay while we were there, but then she threw up again on the way home and then again last night. Today she is miserable and feverish and just wants to be held. She keeps asking to eat but we're trying to get her to take it slowly so her stomach can readjust.

Today has been hard with A sick and M wanting to be held when A is, but I really think once A is healthy this won't be too awfully hard. M took naps right when A did today, so I don't think it will be too difficult to get them consistently on the same schedule. We've had a lot of support already from our church family, and we haven't hardly told anyone yet. We are so thankful for them.

My kids are waking up...will post later!

Leaving tomorrow

2006-09-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

We are leaving tomorrow morning to go down to get my niece M. We have a meeting with my parents and sister and the social worker tomorrow afternoon when we arrive, then we'll leave Thursday morning to come back here. We're going to leave Little G here (hopefully - we're looking for someone to look after him while we're gone) and take A with us.

Even though I knew this was coming, I still feel very unprepared. Really, there's not much I need...she'll wear the same size diapers as A, and they can wear each other's clothes as they're almost exactly the same size. She's still on formula I think, so we'll need to buy more of that and bring all her bottles back with us. Assuming it fits in our van, we'll bring her crib back home with us and set it up in the spare room downstairs. We have a playpen here which we'll probably set up in the living room and use for putting one baby in while I'm having to do something with the other one. We only have one highchair, but we have one of those plastic booster seats with a tray that go on a regular chair, so I think we'll put A in that and let M use the highchair.

I really hope I'm not forgetting anything terribly important. We still don't know how long this is going to be for, but at least a couple of months I would think.

On the lighter side...

2006-09-26T12:58:00.001-07:00

Things get messy

2006-09-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'll try to make this short, I promise. Everything feels like it has been shaken around and turned upside down all in one weekend.

My younger sister was living with her boyfriend and this summer they were caught doing drugs. There was a sort of 'intervention' done and she and her kids (five and 10 months) lived at my parents for about a month and she wasn't supposed to have any contact with the boyfriend. About three weeks ago she found an apartment and moved in there, and started back to work (she was on mat leave) two weeks ago.

On Friday my parents couldn't get a hold of her at work, and she wasn't answering at home either, so my dad went over that evening to figure out what was going on. The original story was that she didn't go to work because she had a bad headache and then felt better so she spent the day at the mall. Eventually the true story came out that she had taken almost a thousand dollars out of her retirement savings account and spent it on drugs. She's unblocked the ex(?) boyfriend's cell phone and the bill's been run up to $1800. She owes my dad a bunch of money from helping her get settled into her apartment.

My dad finally has come to the conclusion that he's been enabling her and being fooled (they've done this, in varying circumstances, several times). Mom's been at the point of finally letting her go for a while, I believe. The kids are at my parents' right now and they made a call to child welfare on the weekend but don't get to speak with a case worker until this morning.

Mom has asked us before what would happen if the kids ever had to be taken away, and we have said that we would take them. Last night my mom said that she would keep D, the five year-old, and she's just worried about what to do with M, the baby, but as Big G and I discussed it last night with some close friends, we don't feel like she should keep D either. Mom had a nervous breakdown this summer while all the stuff with my sister was going on. She hasn't even gone back to work yet; she's on short-term disability leave. I know she wants to keep him there, but I don't know if it would be best for him. She's really on her last nerve.

So today they will talk to the child welfare worker; I have no idea how this process will work or what my sister is going to decide to do, whether she'll decide to go into treatment or if she doesn't even care. Regardless, we're pretty sure that in the next couple of days we'll be travelling down there (five hour drive) to pick up at least the baby. We don't know for how long. It's hard not to think beyond this day and the trouble it carries and wonder if we will end up with these children forever.

Oh, and we found out on Friday that we're expecting #3.

Please pray for us. We can't do this, we can only trust that the Lord knows the plans He has for us and will carry us through and give us His strength.

**UPDATE**: My parents had a good meeting with the case worker this morning. They have to do an assessment first where they interview my sister, my nephew, probably my parents, etc. This is supposed to take three or four days, but they don't want the kids going out of town while this is happening. So they will stay at my parents' house while that is happening. They are still going to daycare during the day, so my parents really only have them while they're getting ready in the morning and then in the evening, and that seems to be okay with them. After the assessment is done, M will be coming here forsure (the assessment is to determine what the 'contract' will be - if she has to go into a certain treatment center, etc; the kids are not going back with her at this point). Mom thinks she can handle D and that it would be better for him to stay there where he can stay in the same school and see his mom if she's doing well.

So we have a few days to figure out the logistics of this. I understand the argument that it's better for D to stay where he knows and can see his mom, but if this is going to be long-term I think he'd be better off here rather than in daycare. We'll see what happens.

My discourse on homeschooling

2006-09-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sure it's come across in my posts that I am desiring to homeschool our children, at least for part of their education. My husband is not convinced - not that he's adamantly against it, but he does seem to be leaning that direction. And it certainly doesn't help that every time we start to talk about it, I have a very difficult time putting my thoughts into words and more likely than not just start crying! I feel so passionately about this for so many varied reasons that it's hard to articulate it and the feeling that his heart is not (yet?) with mine in this area makes it very emotional for me to try to discuss it.

So...I've spent the last couple of hours trying to put together a 'Why I Want to Homeschool' essay of sorts. It sounds kind of cheesy to print it out rather than just say it, but if I can get my thoughts semi-coherently down on paper, and have Big G read that, maybe it would be easier to discuss further once I knew my main points were out there.

I'm having a really hard time expressing myself, though, which is not normal for me - prayers for clarity would be appreciated! (And if anyone wants to volunteer to edit my essay, as well!) ;)

Everyday Things

2006-09-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

"...For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

Philippians 4:11

"If you want any one thing too much it's likely to disappoint. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk..."-- Augustus McCrae-"Lonesome Dove"

Welcome to Everyday Things, hosted by Everyday Mommy. This weekly feature is designed to encourage all of us to embrace contentment and to appreciate the everyday things which we often take for granted.

Today I am thankful for the quiet in our house in the mornings before the kids wake up - I am a morning person, so I (almost) always get up before them and get ready. My children are remarkably consistent about their waking times, so it's easy to plan this and have a few minutes of silence before the house awakens. Sometimes it is the only time all day where I can hear myself think and I treasure it.

Good friends are such a blessing

2006-09-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

And we are so blessed with many good friends.

I went to a friend's house this morning to help her with her year-end bookkeeping (they just started a new company this year so this is her first time doing year-end stuff). This couple has been very special to us since we stayed at their house four years ago when we candidated at this church. I spent the morning helping her, while she and her husband doted on A, then she went and picked Little G up at school for me. Her husband called Big G and asked him to come over and join us for lunch there. She cooked up a storm for us, a good Mennonite dinner of perogies and sausage. :) It was a wonderful day of fellowship.

I got in the van to go home and quickly noticed that my gas gauge, which had been on nearly empty when I arrived there, was now totally full - she had filled up our van with gas when she went to town to pick up Little G! I called her on my cell to give her a hard time about it, and when I offered to pay her, she said no way (of course), and I just burst out crying! I was as surprised as she was, lol, but I just suddenly felt such deep gratitude for friends who care for us so much. She of course felt awful that I was crying, and was trying to explain that they feel like they never do anything for us and just wanted to help out in a small way. Hello? We feel like they are always doing things for us! Just this week her husband built the stairs for our deck at his place and brought them over and installed them for us!

Maybe it's just an example of how our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ should be - all of us giving of ourselves to each other in love. I can say that it's very cool to have friends like that and we are so thankful.

I feel like I don't fit anywhere in cyberspace

2006-09-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

OK, not the worst problem one could have, but it's been niggling at me from the back of my mind somewhere lately. I often find myself reading the blogs of homeschooling moms, as I really feel like I would like to homeschool our kids some day, and yet many of them seem to be girls all in long skirts and long hair, isolated from the 'world' type of homeschoolers, which I would so not be. In some ways I feel connected with them, but enough things are different to feel like they would not understand me, that perhaps they'd even shun me for not believing all the same things they do.

I read the blogs of several women struggling with infertility, most of whom I found through friends from another message board and links on their blogs. It's easy to get very involved in these women's stories, and I feel very deeply for them, but as infertility is not an issue we have had to deal with, I feel almost guilty for my two children (and hopefully more to come).

Do you think there are any Christian, pro-homeschooling, conservative in doctrine but not in dress/home/cooking bloggers out there?!? I'm sure there are, I just need to find them!

'I don't like school'

2006-09-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Wahh! It seems like each day it's getting harder and harder to get Little G dropped off at school. Today was awful - he was hanging on me and kept saying he didn't want to stay. I stayed for about 15 minutes trying to convince him that everything was fine (during which time A ate a bunch of bright blue paint because I was too occupied with Little G to watch her properly), and eventually I peeled him off me and pushed him towards the teacher and just left. I stayed in the hall for a few minutes and I didn't hear anything, so hopefully he was okay.

I've heard the advice lots of places that that's just what you have to do with kids when they're starting school, but something about it just doesn't seem right to me. Sure, maybe after you do that a couple of times they stay without a problem, but is that because you've taught them a valuable skill or because you've destroyed their security that someone will help them if they protest and they've just given up?

I'm going to talk to his teachers today and see if they have any idea what's going on. I am not doing this all year. He's four years old, for heaven's sake!!

Win a FREE blog design!

2006-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

I've been coveting one of these designs for a long time now - I absolutely LOVE her style and diversity! Right now the only way I'm going to get one is by winning her fall contest, though. : ) Why not hop over to Bluebird Blogs and enter your name and blog for one of two totally free blog designs by Susie? Or you can just send an email with your name and blog address to bluebirdblogs@gmail.com and you'll be entered.

Good luck (I'm cheering for you...as long as I win one of them!!) ;)

School days

2006-09-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

Little G started Junior Kindergarten last Friday at the local Catholic school - it's a half-day speech and language program. I think I had posted before that I was really struggling with the decision whether to send him or not, but in the end I decided not to. Confused? Yeah, me too.

While we were on vacation in August we got a message from the Kindergarten teacher saying she was looking forward to meeting Little G and letting us know when his first day would be, etc. That of course put me in a state since I had already agonized over my decision - and now somehow they thought he was registered!

Long story short (aren't you grateful?), Big G and I talked about it all the way home and decided it was at least worth a try. Honestly I agreed kind of reluctantly, since I couldn't come up with any good reasons why not to, just that I was afraid that deciding to send him now would mean the decision was made for all of eternity to keep him in school. So the 'deal' I made was that we could approach the whole school decision fresh again next summer, and Big G wasn't 'allowed' to use the argument that this year went fine, why change anything.

Little G's really enjoying school for the most part - yesterday and today he did initially say that he didn't want to go, although he had a great time once he was there. The teacher is wonderful and I love that their 'nature' station (birds' nest, different leaves, etc) says "Look at the neat things God made!" and that they pray each day to start and end the class. But still I'm uncomfortable. The thought of him spending the majority of his days there for the next ten years makes me want to cry. I feel like homeschooling has been put on my heart and it would be wonderful for our kids, but there is the nagging doubt that maybe I'm just an attached mother having a hard time with my child starting school just like everyone does and I should get over it instead of 'reacting' by wanting to homeschool.

I don't know. Meanwhile, I'm taking him to and from school in the snow (yes, SNOW on September 15!). It's really not that fun, especially when Big G isn't home and I have to load up A too.

Ü Um, I'm back?!?

2006-06-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

(echo... echo)

I'm not sure if anyone still checks in here - if so, I'm so sorry for being away for so long!! I started a private blog mainly for our family, since they're all spread out so much, and my computer time has been spent over there. I would still like to keep this one going, it gives me a place to post things that all of our family wouldn't necessarily understand (I see those understanding smiles...) :)

I promise to be back very soon!

Swimming lesson update

2006-03-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Little G had his last day of swimming lessons yesterday, and as expected, they suggested that he repeat the 'Salamander' level again. We're now debating if we should register him right away again for the next session (starting next week) or take some time off and go swimming with him a few times as a family and work with him. If we don't register him for this next session, we won't put him back in until at least the summer, since he will be doing soccer in May and June and we don't want him to be in two things at the same time. And by then I might be back at work, so we may not be able to take him to lessons depending on which days they are on.

I think we're leaning towards registering him again for the next session, but hubby and I need to discuss it a little more. I think part of the reason I want to work with him a little bit first is I don't think I can handle 'failing' the level twice in such a short period of time!!! :)

How do they know how to push our buttons so soon??

2006-03-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

I had expected that as my kids got older, there would be times when they would say things to us that would hurt us deeply, and even do so on purpose sometimes. But at three years old???

We've always prayed with Little G at bedtime - sometimes we'll prompt him what to say, but he mostly makes up his own sometimes amusing prayers these days. But the last several nights he's into this phase where he doesn't want to pray, and won't let us either. The first couple nights I just said that was fine if he didn't want to, but Mommy was still going to, and he threw a fit while I stood there and prayed quickly. I tried a different tactic another night; I told him that it makes Jesus sad when he doesn't want to pray (which apparently was a mistake according to hubby). That didn't work either, in fact, the last couple of nights he now says "I don't want to pray, I want to make Jesus sad" with this growly look on his face. It's as if he knows how much that will upset me and is saying it just to hurt me. Is that possible?

I know he's probably just testing out his limits and seeing what we'll do when he says various things, but it's so hard to not want to just MAKE him stop saying that! Our faith is the most important thing we want to pass on to our children, and to have them say that at three years old is very discouraging. Makes me wonder if we're doing something really wrong. Or maybe I just need to calm down and accept that it's just a phase and it will stop as quickly as it started. Couldn't he have picked refusing to brush his teeth or something not so close to my heart, though?!?

You'd think the accountants could get it right

2006-03-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

It is now nearly March 15 and I still don't have my T4 from work. (For my American readers, a T4 is the equivalent of your W2 is it? the statement of earnings from employment.) They are required to be distributed by February 28, and I still haven't seen mine. Despite my pleas to give it up, hubby is still making frequent jokes about how sad it is that a company of accountants can't manage to get their T4s filed on time. (But it's not the actual accountants that do them, I protest, it's head office, it's totally separate...) Regardless, I still have not received mine and thus haven't sent my taxes in yet. And I'm supposed to be getting a refund - I could be spending that money by now! They're supposed to be sending me a duplicate, but who knows how long that could take.