Posted in Daily Life
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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! I haven't had much time to write anything lately, but I figured I could probably manage a minute or two to post some pictures!
One wanted to dress up and the other wanted to wear pajamas. Can you guess which is which? A "Dinosaur Extravaganza" "HA-YAH!!" A little sleepyhead girl on Christmas morning She perked up quite a bit by afternoon though... So much so that she turned into a faerie!! |
Posted in Daily Life
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I have not fallen off the face of the planet. Well, maybe the blogging world, but the whole planet! :) The house closed as planned on the Sept 12th. We were then homeless for over a week (living in an apartment with a relative and her little boy while all of our worldly possessions lived in a storage unit one block from our old house and 10+ miles from the new one). The chickens went to live at my parents' house, but will probably be finding a new, permanent home with someone else (when and who are both to be determined). Just this last Saturday, I got the very last load out of the storage unit (yay!), except now it's all piled high in my kitchen (boo!). But I am making progress, so that's good. It's just a little overwhelming sometimes. And I finally got Internet access about a week ago, so now that I have internet again and we're officially done moving (out of the storage unit), I'm allowing myself some catch-up time here! :) Oh, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my commute. I can even run and visit the kids at lunchtime! So even though I miss my old house and old town a lot, I'm getting used to the new place and really see the bonuses! Well, I've got lots to do, so I guess I should probably go do something! :) |
Posted in Daily Life
Yikes! Our house is supposed to close on Tuesday. Our new place won't close until at least a day later because it depends on $ from the sale of this house. So everything we own will be living in a storage unit, at least overnight! 
While our current house is by no means grand, the new house is shall we say... much more humbling... So, I am struggling a little with my attitude
 , but on the bright side I will be 6 entire minutes away from work!! My current commute takes anywhere between one hour to 1 3/4 hours round trip, so I will be gaining at least an hour a day, that's 5 (or more!) hours extra per week. Plus, I'll be able to pay off all debt and should be able to save a bit while I make long term plans. So I'm very excited about the changes! (Although, I know I'm going to get myself into trouble... I've got way too many plans for what to do with all that extra free time. I know I'm being unrealistic... exercise every day, cook real dinners, learn new hobbies, play with the kids, read, write, etc, etc...)So, besides packing and trying to get last minute details worked out, my sister-in-law persuaded me into having a yard sale this weekend. Really, it didn't take much persuasion, since I had already been thinking about it. But, that leaves me with one very busy weekend... Plans for Friday are inspection at the new place, rent a storage unit, go to work, pick up kids from daycare, get everything organized for the yard sale, and pack, pack, pack. Saturday will be the yard sale, host my sister's baby shower (talk about timing! couldn't we have managed to save one of these.... yard sale, moving, baby shower, for a different weekend?? ), and pack, pack, pack. I'm starting to think that Saturday may involve me attempting to be in three places at once.... The question is: am I really that talented? And Sunday will be more yard sale and hopefully dragging stuff off to the storage unit. And somewhere in there we need to squeeze in a trip to Hazardous Waste to get rid of a bunch of paint in the garage. Ay, caramba!! I'm already exhausted just thinking about it all. And then I have to work on Monday and sign papers on Tuesday. And be homeless Tuesday night. And hopefully, start moving into the new place on Wednesday.
Somebody catch me, I think I might faint......  |
Posted in City Chickens
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More adventures (or shall we say 'egg-ventures'?) in chicken ownership.... Yesterday afternoon, my 4 year old retrieved a farm fresh egg from the nest and was walking toward the house when the inside-but-thinks-he's-an-outside-kitty made a break for freedom. My 4 year old spun, rolled, and slid making a dive for the newly freed cat, and in the process egged himself real good!
 Shoes, socks, shorts, knees, and of course one very gooey hand. It was pretty amusing! After he got over the shock, he had to run and proudly show off what a mess he had made all over himself.  And a couple days ago, I got brave and let all three chickens loose (remember I live in the middle of town!). Up until then, I had only let Josa loose, and she would stay fairly close since the other two were still in the tractor. Apparently, since the two Reds could wander freely about the yard, she became much more confident and disappeared from the yard entirely. I had been keeping an eye on them all day, but she somehow slipped away when I wasn't paying attention. I looked everywhere I could think of and couldn't find her. I kept checking every so often to see if she had returned, but she was gone for hours. Finally, late in the afternoon, a couple houses down the alley in back, I hear "Bark! bark! bark!" from our neighbor's Jack Russell. Immediately followed by a very concerned, "Bawk! Bock! Bock! Baawwwwkkkkk!!!" Immediately followed by a shocked female voice exclaiming, "It's a CHICKEN!!" I cautiously poked my head out back just in time to see one terrified chicken fleeing at top speed back down the alley toward home. Needless to say, one of us has learned a lesson, maybe both. I have not let all 3 chickens loose again, and Josa stays in the yard close to her friends in the chicken tractor. I know I probably bore everyone with my chicken stories, but they are still exciting to us and I just can't help going on and on about them!  Oh, good news! My mom (with my dad's consent, see my last post) has agreed to be a foster mom to our chickens, at least on a trial basis (I promise I didn't harass my dad!  ). Hopefully that will work out, otherwise I will need to find a new permanent home for them. They will probably move this weekend, but I'm kind of waiting until the last possible minute since I will miss having them around! :) |
Posted in City Chickens
I'm back to (temporarily) being an excited first-time chicken owner. My uneducated, best guess is that the death of the chicken was from first-time egg laying internal injuries. The others are doing fine, so I'm happy. Josephine is healing up real good. She's been loose from morning until dark, so the other two won't peck at her wound. So, I didn't think she had started laying yet, but I had been on the lookout for stray eggs just in case. Well, this evening I went outside and looked in one of her favorite spots, a nice shady, secluded corner of the house, and what did I find?? Three green eggs! She's been stockpiling behind my back!!   I swear I checked that spot the other day... I could see her getting away with one or two from today or the day before, but wouldn't three eggs be from three different days? I know I checked over the weekend and there was nothing there! Hmmm... it's a mystery, but an exciting one!
The bad chicken news is that we sold our house, and I so far I can't find anyone to take them. We will probaby be in a rental for 6 months to a year, so I'd like to just "loan" them until we find a permanent place. I was hoping my parents would be willing to take them, but my dad said no chickens (for certain readers, I'd like to point out that he built the best chicken tractor ever and he's the world's greatest dad and if the chickens live over there, the grandkids will, of course, have to come visit much more often, since they'll need to see their beloved chickens that they don't want to give to some stranger, plus we'll be a lot closer, etc... etc... [insert sad puppy dog eyes and bat eyelashes]) Seriously, I'm just kidding!!
 (I love you, dad!!) But I really don't know what I'm going to do with them. LOL P.S. If anybody would like to borrow three sweet, friendly chickens for awhile, I have some that need temporary foster homes! |
Posted in Daily Life
Our house was just inspected and the buyers only asked for a few things. The house is 70 years old, so you can imagine that there was actually quite a bit that they could have asked for (like two recalled space heaters that our inspector didn't bother to point out when we bought the house, and yes, the recall was years before we bought the house  ). But in the end, the only things they asked to have repaired were a leak in the chimney and two plumbing leaks that we weren't aware of. But they also gave us the option of paying $1000 of their closing costs in lieu of the repairs, so I went ahead and took that option since it simplified things, not having to deal with repairmen. After all, my time is still being taken up with two small children, my job, my chicken drama (update: everybody else is doing fine!), thinking about the fact that I should start packing, and trying to find a place to live!!  So, the last hurdle is the appraisal, but that shouldn't be too awful. Closing day is two weeks (plus or minus) and counting!! |
Posted in City Chickens
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Honestly, I was not prepared to have to explain what happened to the departed chicken. The kids spent the night at their Grandparents' last night and went to the fair today, so they had a busy 24 hours. I was hoping that after the day's adventure, no one would notice the missing chicken, but after about about an hour of playing outside tonight, just as we were about to go in, my four year old noticed that we were short a chicken. I realize that since I had nearly an entire day from the time I discovered her until the kids came home, I should have thought about the possibility that they might actually notice. After all, 3 & 4 years old are awfully observant, sometimes too much, to the embarassment of their parents. Anyway, he completely caught me off guard and I told him that she was sick and went to chicken heaven. Which led to a long discussion... including bringing up a recent squirrel incident involving a squirrel that had apparently been hit by a car. It looked like its back end was paralyzed, but it was near a berry bush, so the kids assumed that it was sick because it ate "bad berries". Somehow I managed to avoid the inevitable discussion, but my son remembered it and wondered what happened to the squirrel too. So.... I'm still not sure I said the right thing. I kind of wish I'd said that she was just gone or ran away, but that's not the truth, and while they don't necessarily need to know the entire truth at preschool age, I don't want to outright lie to them either. But on the other hand, chicken heaven isn't really the truth either. So, I'm still not sure I said the right thing, but he seems to be satisfied with the conversation. I guess I'll just have to see if he brings it up again. |
Posted in City Chickens
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Well, the chickens were fun up until yesterday morning. The first thing was I went out to check for eggs and they had smooshed one and were eating it. I was a little disappointed, but I'd heard of that happening. As long as it doesn't become a habit, I think it will be okay.
Then, early yesterday afternoon (I didn't work on Friday), I went out to check on them and one of the Araucanas (Josephine... named after Joseph's coat of many colors) was all bloody and missing feathers right where her back meets her tailfeathers. The other three kept pecking at her and making it worse. I can't figure out how she got injured other than they were fighting. There's nothing in their pen for them to get hurt on. So, I had no choice but to separate her from the others. Unfortunately, I had nothing to put her in and I live in town and was hesitant to let her loose, but decided that there really wasn't any other option. So I took my chances and let her loose. She stayed really close (20 - 30 ft) to her friends in the tractor. I was afraid that something might get her after dark so I put her back in the pen last night, figuring they'd mostly sleep and leave her alone. When I went out this morning, they were bothering her again, so I let her loose and she hung around all day. So, she seems fine now, but I'll probably let her loose again tomorrow, so her injury can heal without the others pecking at her.
But, here's the bad news... today, for no apparent reason that I can tell, the other Araucana up and died!
 Nothing stuck out at the time, but looking back over the day, I think that something wasn't quite right. A couple hours after I let Josephine loose, I was out working on the yard and found a green egg in the chicken tractor. It had to have been the other Araucana, since the other two chickens in the pen are Rhode Island Reds and lay brown eggs. It had some blood on it and was out in the open. Since the chickens just started laying this week and this was only our 9th egg so far, I wasn't sure if that was normal or not (both the blood and the fact that she laid it out in the open). The other 8 eggs (6 brown and 2 green, I think the green were both hers, but not sure) were all laid in the "house" part of the tractor where their nest is. Anyway, so I did see her around a little bit throughout the day, but not much. Then right before dark, I went to feed them and put Josephine back in the cage and when the other Araucana didn't come out to eat, I moved the tractor up and over her and found her dead! She looked like she buried her head in the dirt and smothered herself. So, I'm a little concerned since I have no idea why she died. I don't think it's related to sanitation since they get fresh food and water and bedding and their tractor is moved regularly. There's nothing that she could have gotten into and eaten to make her sick. Plus, other than Josephine's physical injury, the other ones seem to be fine. But still why would a chicken just die like that? Maybe she had an internal injury from laying eggs? Or maybe it was related to her pecking the injured chicken... Maybe she got sick from that? (The injury didn't seem that bad.) Maybe she just wasn't feeling well and accidentally killed herself? I know chickens are too bright, but they don't seem dumb enough to kill themselves like that either. (I'm grasping at straws here!) I just don't know, and the fun of raising chickens is momentarily gone. I'm hoping the others will be all right and that there was just something wrong, like an internal defect or something, that caused her to die.
If Josephine heals up alright and nobody else gets sick, I guess I'll feel better, but this is definitely not something that I expected to have to deal with. |
Posted in Cute Things to Share
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This is so sweet, I had to share.... "Tomorrow morning," the surgeon began, "I'll open up your heart..." "You'll find Jesus there," the boy interrupted. The surgeon looked up, annoyed. "I'll cut your heart open," he continued, "to see how much damage has been done..." "But when you open up my heart, you'll find Jesus in there," said the boy. The surgeon looked to the parents, who sat quietly. "When I see how much damage has been done, I'll sew your heart and chest back up, and I'll plan what to do next." "But you'll find Jesus in my heart. The Bible says He lives there. The hymns all say He lives there. You'll find Him in my heart." The surgeon had had enough. "I'll tell you what I'll find in your heart. I'll find damaged muscle, low blood supply, and weakened vessels. And I'll find out if I can make you well." "You'll find Jesus there too. He lives there." The surgeon left. The surgeon sat in his office, recording his notes from the surgery: "...damaged aorta, damaged pulmonary vein, widespread muscle degeneration. No hope for transplant, no hope for cure. Therapy: painkillers and bed rest. Prognosis“ and here he paused "death within one year."ť He stopped the recorder, but there was more to be said. "Why?" he asked aloud. "Why did You do this? You've put him here; You've put him in this pain; and You've cursed him to an early death. Why?" The Lord answered and said, "The boy, My lamb, was not meant for your flock for long, for he is a part of My flock, and will forever be. Here, in My flock, he will feel no pain, and will be comforted as you cannot imagine. His parents will one day join him here, and they will know peace, and My flock will continue to grow." The surgeon's tears were hot, but his anger was hotter. "You created that boy. He'll be dead in months. Why?" The Lord answered, "The boy, My lamb, shall return to My flock, for He has done his duty: I did not put My lamb with your flock to lose him, but to retrieve another lost lamb." The surgeon wept. Later, the surgeon sat beside the boy's bed; the boy's parents sat across from him. The boy awoke and whispered, "Did you cut open my heart?" "Yes," said the surgeon. "What did you find?" asked the boy. "I found Jesus there," said the surgeon. |
Posted in City Chickens
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Okay, I admit that I have lots of random things on my mind right now! So I'm limiting myself to three topics! So.... I came home today and found a GREEN EGG!!!!! And the third brown egg in three days! One of the Reds has been laying for three days straight and apparently, one of the Araucanas decided that she needed to get in on the action and decided to produce something too!
All four of the eggs so far are noticeably smaller than the store bought eggs, but they are supposed to get bigger (or so I'm told!)
How exciting!
 Yesterday I took the kids in for their annual exam. Their pediatrician is a kindly older gentleman who is great except that I think he's either getting kick-backs from the vaccine manufacturers or has been to vaccination brainwashing bootcamp (or both). He will gently and kindly, in the most non-confrontational way possible, really, really strongly recommend the entire line-up of vaccinations.
Personally, I am in the middle when it comes to vaccinating. Meaning, my kids have the DTP shots, but they were done later than the official government recommendations. In my eyes, tetanus is a reasonable concern, and when my son was born (at a free-standing birth center) the hospital that we would have gone to (if we'd need to) had a whooping cough (pertussis) outbreak that very week, so that one was brought home as a reality also. So, they get the DTP shots. I think the doctor's office also managed to talk me into getting Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) at one point, but since then I've stuck to my guns and said No, Not Yet. But it's still kind of annoying to have to deal with this. The doctor has tried to push the Hepatitis B shot on them since they were newborn. That one really bothers me since you are only at risk because of certain behaviors (same risk factors as AIDS) or if the baby's mother is a carrier or at risk. Other than the mother argument, there is absolutely no reason to be concerned about this at all!! His reasoning for giving the Hep B shot is not to protect them now, but so you won't need to worry about it later on as they become teenagers and adults. That just seems like the silliest logic..... So I'll wait until they're older and might actually be at risk. But even more importantly, if I raise them right, Hepatitis B shouldn't even be a concern at all. Oh, well...
This time he was pushing Polio... "I really think it would be a good time to get them started on the Polio vaccine. You don't hear about it in the US, but if you travel outside the country, there are a lot of places where it's still a concern." Okay, I won't argue that, but I'm not leaving the U.S. If we do leave the U.S., we will most definitely reconsider the entire vaccination situation, but as it currently stands, we rarely leave our county, let alone the country.
That said I don't want anyone to think I'm anti-vaccinations or criticizing people who do choose to vaccinate. I'm NOT saying that at all! After all, I have all my vaccinations (I think). And my kids have some. I do, however, feel very strongly that this is a decision that each family needs to make on their own (hopefully after researching the pros and cons and prayerful consideration). I mostly just wish the doctors would respect the parents' wishes! I've researched the subject til my eyes are crossed. I'm informed. End of story.
(All that, and my daughterdid get her DTP booster yesterday and was an all-star! Didn't even bat an eye!)
The other thing that I had on my mind was a co-worker friend. He has worked at the same company as me for about the same amount of time. I don't see him very often any more, except I occasionally go to a weekly Bible study and he's usually there. Anyway, he and his family are relocating to Singapore this weekend. He has the most awesome testimony that I just had to share a little bit. We (the Bible study group at work) have been priviledged to watch everything unfold and it's just truly amazing what an awesome God we serve!
About a year ago, he and his wife felt called to become missionaries to China. Basically, they answered, "Yes, Lord" and were willing to lay everything down for Him and go. They went on one or two trips, went to missionary training, and got ready to quit his job, sell their house and go. Their hearts were willing, but God has led them down a slightly different path now. I won't go into details, since it's not my story to tell (and I wouldn't do it justice), but suffice it to say that they are going to Singapore instead (at least for now). He is staying with our company and transferring to a newly opened office in Singapore (he found out about the new office the week that he was going to turn in his resignation). In Singapore, the population is 70% Chinese so they'll be able to learn the language, maybe make brief trips to China, and they will feel more confident about the safety of their kids, ages 3, 5, & 7. And who knows, maybe our company will open an office in China in a couple years and he'll be able to transfer again.
It has been truly, truly amazing to watch the Lord directing their steps and to see them so willingly follow where He leads. I just think of them and feel like Wow. Wow, because their hearts are so willing, whether it's to China or to Singapore, which may or may not be a stepping stone to China later on. And Wow, because it's just so amazing to see God's hand and direction in the whole adventure. Things that shouldn't and couldn't happen, have happened. And all in His perfect timing. |
Posted in City Chickens
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The long awaited first egg finally arrived!!!! I went out to move the chicken tractor this evening and opened the door on the house side, not expecting anything, and there it was! A tiny little brown egg. Honestly, from my shock and surprise, you'd have thought I had given up on the idea that my chickens were ever going to produce anything! I think I may have screeched in excitement... I was so excited, you'd have thought I was directly responsible for the egg. But the chickens weren't that impressed, so somebody had to be tripping over themselves in excitement!! I guess that responsibility fell to me. (Remember, this is someone who's never been around chickens, and knows that eggs come from the refrigerator section at the grocery store!) Of course, Murphy's Law states that the chicken(s) will start laying immediately after the owner of said chicken(s) has purchased an 18-count carton of eggs from the grocery store.  Here is the little, tiny first egg and the fresh-from-the-store egg. The store egg looks huge, but it's just normal size. The brown one is just tiny (and cute... can an egg be cute?  ) |
Posted in Daily Life
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Here are some recent quotes and definitions from my fearless 3 year old! Swim soup - The thing you wear when you go swimming. Spongebob - The thing you wipe the counters with, as in "Mommy, can I wipe the counters with the spongebob?". Kitty feathers - The fluff left behind when petting a long haired white kitty, as in "Mommy, wipe the kitty feathers off my dress!" Lady - The dress-like thing that you wear to bed, as in "Mommy, can I wear my lady?" Holder - The 'handle' part of the broccoli, as in "Mommy, I ate the holder!" (a big accomplishment!) And of course, don't forget the Air Porch, which is that place where airplanes land. When galloping her imaginary horse up a rather steep hill and pausing to catch her breath, "My horse is tired!!" The other day I started singing the "Chin Up" song from Charlotte's Web, and my daughter informed me that I was not allowed to sing it, because I'm not a spider. And one from my son, who, for months would constantly refer to "the buddy". For the life of me I could not figure out who the buddy was, and he talked about the buddy all the time. "The buddy fixed our car." "The buddy is on the phone." " I saw the buddy at church." Then I finally had a lightbulb moment when an ambulance passed us, and he said "They're goin' to help the buddy!" The buddy = somebody!! "They're going to help somebody." "Somebody fixed our car." Life made so much more sense after that! |
Posted in Daily Life
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I sold our house! I listed it myself on Craig's List and have a signed Purchase & Sale agreement from the first (and only) week it was advertised. Provided the inspection (which was this morning) doesn't turn up any surprises or the bank tries to make any strange requirements, closing should be in a little more than 3 weeks!!
I'm kind of holding my breath
 waiting for the inspection report/bank requirements before I feel like this is a done deal. I can't think of anything that would be a major surprise, but the house is 70 years old, so I'll just have to wait to hear.Besides the house, it seems like everything else has been busy, busy, busy too, and life is in fast forward right now. It's hard to have a minute to sit back and relax! Hopefully, the dust will settle soon though. However, I still have no idea where we're going to live though!! Call it an adventure...  |
Posted in Daily Life
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I love the cute things that little kids say! The other day we were driving near the local airport, and an airplane had just taken off. My 3 year old saw it and went on to tell me that it came from the "air porch". Which reminded me that not too long ago, my son had been referring to it as the "airplane station". Aren't they cute? |
Posted in Miscellaneous
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This week's Ten on Tuesday is Your Ten Favorite Songs.... (Click on the titles for the lyrics!) 1. When the Sun Goes
Down - Kenny Chesney
2. Next to You, Next to
Me - Shenandoah
3. Fishin' in the Dark - Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
(# 2 & 3 are my all-time favorite country songs... they've held that honor for 10 years! )4. Take Me to Your Leader - Newsboys (This is fun song! Plus I always thought it would be fun to have a sign or something to remind me to "Take 'em to our Leader's Son"! Now you'll have to read the lyrics if you don't already know the song! )6. I Can Only Imagine -
Mercy Me
7. King of Glory -
Third Day
8. One of These Days -
FFH
9. It Is You -
Newsboys
10. You Are So Good to
Me - Third Day |
Posted in Daily Life
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Here are the pictures of our house! (Normally, I probably wouldn't give so much detail on the internet, but since we will not be here that much longer, well, here it is.) This is the outside (which is pretty obvious). I wish I had a before and after picture. When we bought it, it had old faded, tan vinyl siding, the cedar shake roof was falling apart and it had an old cyclone fence around it with no landscaping and a dead apple tree in the front. Not a pretty sight. Pretty much everything you see in the picture (except the sidewalk!) was replaced by us.
Looking at the house, to the left is our swing. I've always wanted a porch swing. This is the next best thing. I sit in it all the time!
Next to the swing is a fountain. It had accidentally got turned off, and within 5 minutes about 15 tiny birds came to drink and take a bird bath. I scared them away when I went to take the picture, so you can only see a couple here.
This is the view from the swing.
This is the view of the living room as you walk in the front door. It's hard to see how big it is, but I wanted to get that vaulted ceiling in there. Our living room actually has a little bit of a cabin feel with the dark red paint and wood panelling (and woodstove).
This is another living room view, we keep the computer desk in the corner.
And last living room picture. This is the built in bookcase. It's the best picture that I have of the loft. You can see the stairs on the right side. The loft is on both sides of the stairs with a catwalk above the stairs connecting the two sides. (We were experimenting with colors on those drawers!
This is the only picture I took of our kitchen, and it's actually our dining room table! (Check back later tonight and I should have a real picture of the kitchen!)
Well, that's it for now! |
Posted in Daily Life
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We will probably be listing our house any day now, so I had been thinking of posting about it already, but then Trixi had mentioned the Tour of Homes. I was going to post on Friday with everyone else, but I just didn't have a chance. I guess, better late than never.. First though, I just have to say that I love our little house and will be very sad to move. I know that God had his hand on us the entire time. We found the house on "accident". Then we made a contigent offer on this house before our condo was even listed. Because of that we had to list our condo before it was finished (we were in the process of re-painting and putting in new carpet). At the same time we made our contigent offer, someone else made a full-price cash offer on our house (which trumps a contigent offer any day). Which meant our condo had to sell that very day or the house would go to the other buyer. Our condo did sell the first day it was listed, even though it was a mess! It actually sold to a renter in the complex who was just waiting for one to come on the market! But, the owner of our house still could have taken the other offer since it was cash and we had to finance through a bank (and the bank required that the house be re-roofed plus other requirements prior to closing). The other offer was much better for the seller, since even though the sales price was the same, they could have bought the house as-is. All that and even the street name is good! And those are just the big things that had to go right for us to get this house, there were lots of little details that had to work out too. I know our real estate agent was amazed when we finally closed! Well, that's how we got our house, now onto why I love it so much. I could go on and on, but I'll try not to (at least too much). Since I can't live out in the country, I think living in town is the next best thing. It beats the suburbs, especially housing developments (for me, at least). I love that I can walk with the kids everywhere! Within just a few blocks, we have two parks, the library, a walking / bicycling / horsebackriding trail, the pharmacy/drugstore, the doctor, bank, hardware store, and farm co-op. All that and our house is on a quiet dead-end road across the street from the river with a view of the farmland below. It's so quiet, and with the view, it feels like I'm in the country. (And we get to watch hot air balloons and skydivers practically everyday!) Our house is pretty small (less than 1000 sq ft), but seems really big. Our living room is huge with a cathedral ceiling plus a loft and catwalk. The living room (and the location) is what sold me on the house! I love houses that have a lot of natural lighting and are very open, and the living room couldn't be better. And the rest of the house is nice too, but I won't bore y'all with the details (If you weren't able to guess by now, I think I'm unintentionally writing most of this for myself, since I will miss this little house!) One last thing, I'm not normally so obsessed with my house, but with the idea of selling my home, it's hitting me kind of hard. Besides all those previously mentioned reasons for why it's been the perfect house, we've also put a lot of time and effort into it. It was as a fixer and has been re-sided, re-painted, landscaped, carpeted, had the bathroom remodeled, replaced the kitchen flooring, etc.. A lot of work has gone into this place! I'll stop rambling for now. Click here to go to Part 2 to see the pictures! |
Posted in Daily Life
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I woke up to a loud chicken-related ruckus outside. I have a friend at work who used to have chickens and she had warned me that they can be a little loud when they're laying their eggs. Soooo, since it could be any day now and I have no idea what sounds an egg-laying chicken makes, I got all excited and ran outside to check, but nope. I was half-asleep when I heard them, so I don't really recall all that well, but I'm guessing something just startled them. Oh, well.. someday soon. But, since I was outside, I got to see something as equally impressive as the long-awaited eggs. First though, let me explain, we see hot air balloons all the time. During the late spring, summer, and early fall, they are a daily occurrence. They take off just about every evening about two miles away, usually two or three of them, sometimes only one. I think five is the most I've ever seen at once. We can see them from our house, but they're always in the distance and floating farther away. Sometimes after work, we'll be driving past the little airport just in time to watch them take off too. That's always fun! Those are the days when I enjoy the stop-and-go traffic jam, we're surrounded by farmland (which is not common in this area), and it's just a beautiful site, very peaceful. Anyway, we do have a tendency to take hot air balloons for granted around here. Back to this morning.. I was checking on the chickens and I heard the distinctive "ssshhhhh" sound of the hot air balloon, and looked up and one was directly overhead. We've been here several years, and I've only seen one float by our house once before (I think the sunrise runs take off from a different location. I'm sure they've probably floated by our house more than twice in all that time, but I've only been awake and outside to witness it once before). The other time, the balloon was a lot closer (I could see the people!), but I think this time was really cool, because it was directly overhead! I got to see the hot air ballooon from the bottom up, which was an interesting perspective. It was overcast today and the clouds were really bright, but I managed to get a semi-decent picture. In case you've ever wondered what a hot air balloon looks like from directly underneath, your curiousity can now rest at ease!
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Posted in Daily Life
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So, things have been crazy, crazy, crazy around here (and HOT). On Saturday, we went to the wedding of one of my co-workers, actually two co-workers (they met at work!). It was a beautiful wedding. It was outdoor on a "rent-a-farm", the kind where they do corn mazes and pumpkin patches in the fall. They rent their old milking barn (now fixed up like a farm-themed banquet hall) for events like weddings, birthday parties, etc.. The wedding was great except for the fact that it was soooo hot and it was outside in the sun at 4 in the afternoon. I think a couple of the guests might have melted. It was so hot and tiring that my 4 year old actually fell asleep at the table!
I was a little sad because the wedding was at the same time as the high point of our town's annual celebration. I was hoping to take the kids to the parade and some of the other things (frog jumping contests, bed racing, etc.), but we missed it all. Oh, well, the wedding was great and I'm very happy for them, so I'm not too sad! So the rest of the weekend involved scrambling around trying to get the house ready to have a real estate agent go tromping through the house. Carpet cleaning had been on my to-do list for awhile, but with an agent coming over in a few days, it turned into a "I need to do this now" kind of thing. So, I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned my carpets. Did I mention that it was 98 degrees? I know in other areas of the country it has been over 100, but 90 is warm for us here, plus we have terrible humidity. I've been told my countless people that our humidity makes it seem hotter/worse than it really is. So, when it's humid like that I just add 10 degrees to even it out. So that would make it 108 degrees. So while I was carpet cleaning, I was home alone with the kids, very hot and grumpy (me, not them). Thankfully, my mom came and whisked them away to the park, a horse show, and the carnival. I know they definitely had a lot more fun with her than if they'd stayed home with me and watched me clean the carpet. And I was able to get a lot more done and not feel so guilty for being grumpy when they walked across the wet carpet for the twenty-second time. Yesterday, I took the day off from work to try to get a few more things done around the house. I also had to meet the refrigerator delivery guy. Remember a month ago, the refrigerator door fell off my almost new fridge? (Click here for a reminder). Well, it was pronounced "unrepairable" and a brand, spanking new one was delivered yesterday afternoon (no cost, as it was under the factory warranty). And, in case you're curious, the door only fell off for the first week And the final news is that the real estate agent did come out yesterday and gave us a recommended asking price. Which was a little low. I realize that trying to put a price on your home is difficult and can be a little emotion-driven, but trying to be realistic, I think it's worth a little more than some of the comps because it has a "unique-ness" factor. I know when we bought it, it was only $4K more than another similar house a block away. On paper they looked very comparable, but in person, there was a world of difference. I thought we got the house for a steal and would have willingly paid more for this one if the asking price had been higher. So, I'm hoping that's still the case. Without trying to take advantage of any potential buyers, I do need to clear as much as possible if it sells. I'm not too worried about that though, since if the asking price really is too much, then it just won't sell. However, I just want to get the price right the first time, for us as the sellers and for whoever the buyer might be. Trixi had mentioned the idea of doing a "Tour of Homes". It was kind of funny because I had already been planning on doing a post on my house similar to what she mentioned, since it's such a cool little house and the Lord really led us to it. To quote the real estate agent when we bought it, "I've NEVER seen a sale squeak by like this and still actually close." She went on to tell us we must have the best luck in the world, and I don't remember our exact answer, but it was basically along the lines that it wasn't luck at all, but the Lord making a path for us. It was really our little miracle house. If it sells, I am sure I will cry. I could be wrong, but I really feel like this is the Lord's will, and it's time to move on now. So, that makes it a little easier. I will try to post about the house on Friday as part of the tour, but with everything going on, I won't make any guarantees! And I would appreciate prayers! This is a huge thing we are embarking on and I really want to make sure my family is in His will! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sorry that this post is kind of rambling. My mind is going a thousand miles a minute, and my fingers don't always keep up! Hopefully everything is coherent! |
)Posted in Miscellaneous
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A couple other people (Martha's Kitchen, Lancelot Acres, and Homestead in the Making) have this on their blogs, and it looked like fun!
Ten things you've done today: Made lunches, dropped the kids off at daycare, stopped at the bank, went to work, called about our refrigerator warranty replacement, looked online for houses for sale, fed the chickens, walked to the library with the kids, called my mom, watched a hot air balloon fly by. Nine things you have to do tomorrow: Eight items always in your pantry Seven things you need to feel "at home": Six things that sum up your childhood: Five items of clothing you wear again and again: Four places you've lived: Three books you've loved reading recently: Two heart's desires: One thing everyone reading this can pray about for you: |
Posted in Daily Life
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Here are some random pictures from the past week or so: I wish I had gotten a better picture instead of just the bottom side... but it's proof that a hydroplane drove by my house. |
Posted in Thoughts
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First, this is really long, and I apologize, but there isn't really much that I want to edit out (sorry! I haven't really thought too much about bible translations until recently. I don't remember what translation I grew up reading (I lost my first Bible!!), but for the last 8 years I've been reading mostly from the New Living Translation (NLT), which is a paraphrased translation, for no other reason than it was given to me as a gift and it's a convenient size. For a while, I wanted to get a New American Standard Bible (NASB) since I had thought it was the most accurate and literal translation available. However, in the meantime, I kept reading my NLT and would occasionally refer to my NASB pocket Bible or my giant family-size King James Version (KJV) when I wanted to know what one of the more literal translations said. Over the years, I have also caught myself writing KJV verses in my Bible because they just seem to sound better and touch my heart more. I also noticed that, while I don't have many verses actually memorized, the ones that I do remember all happen to be King James, even though I was never taught or read from that version. I mentioned in the last post that recently I had felt convicted to start memorizing more of God's word and to help my children start memorizing too. But, that brought me to a small dilemma: which translation should I use? I thought about this a lot. I wanted a literal translation, like the NASB, KJV, or New King James Version (NKJV). On the one hand, I was under the impression that the NASB was most accurate, but I really liked how most of the KJV verses sounded. But I didn't like the KJV because I thought it was too hard to read. When I compared most verses, the NASB, KJV, and NKJV were nearly identical except for minor variations, mostly things like "shall" instead of "will" and of course the "'thee"s, "thy"s, "thou"s. Other than comparing a lot of random verses between the three translations, there didn't really seem to be that much of a difference between them, and so I didn't really look into the differences beyond that. I had finally decided that the New King James was the one to go with. It seemed like the best compromise between the accuracy of the NASB and the style and rhythm of the KJV, but easier to read. Just as I was about to buy a New King James Bible, I stumbled across some interesting information about Bible translations. What is very interesting to me is the fact that I was not looking for any of this to begin with, but the whole Bible translation thing weighed on my heart a lot. It really felt like the Lord knew my heart and how important this was to me, and so placed some information in my path for me to trip over! I can't even remember specifically what it was that I stumbled over that first got my attention, but it piqued my interest, and I started researching more. I found out there there's a lot more to the whole Bible translations subject than I ever thought. To be honest, I am still learning a lot on the subject and reading everything I can. I have not verified all of the historical facts mentioned below, but what I have been able to research does appear to be accurate, and I have looked up virtually all of the Bible verse references and saw with my own eyes, this is really what they say. But I encourage you to look for yourself too, and not take my word for it either. If you don't have a certain translation, the following are good sites for online Bibles: http://www.biblegateway.com and http://bible.crosswalk.com/ Online Parallel Bible - http://www.olivetree.com/bible/Frames/SearchEnglishVersions.htm This only translates the literal versions like NASB, KJV, NKJV and other less common ones, but you can look up verses side-by-side between the translations and compare them. Verse comparisons: These sites compare specific verses from King James against other versions. When you look at them, the other versions often seem watered down compared to KJV. The argument is that more accurate texts have been found in the last 100 or so years, but if that was true, that would mean that 1) God's true, accurate word had been hidden for nearly 1900 years, which I find highly unlikely, and 2) that would also mean that the original version of God's word was weaker; that translators added the stronger wording. I find that hard to believe too. It would seem much more realistic to me that God's word would be questioned, that mankind would take from, rather than add to God's Holy Word. These are some side-by-side verse comparisons. Charts http://av1611.com/kjbp/charts.html.. Scroll to the bottom which has links to several pages. They are all interesting, but the first link (pages 1 & 2) are the most eye-opening. http://av1611.com/kjbp/charts/themagicmarker.html www.avpublications.com/avnew/downloads/PDF/Tracts/nabv_tract.pdf www.chick.com/information/bibleversions/articles/nivquiz.asp Accuracy of the KJV These links are historical information on Bible translations and the discussion of the original texts: James Melton's Handy Reference An Understandable History of the Bible Which Version of the Bible is Most Accurate? The New King James Version http://av1611.com/kjbp/articles/reynolds-nkjv.html http://www.av1611.org/nkjv.html http://www.swordbible.org/NKJVersion.html I thought the NKJV is supposed to be just an updated version of the King James, just more readable. However, from what I can tell, it looks like the translators used some of the more recently found texts used to translate the NASB and NIV, etc, so while it is very similar to King James in many places, some of the key verses seem to be watered down like the other modern versions. The other problem I found with the NKJV is that some of the verses do not appear to be more modern or easier to understand. It made me wonder why the difference? For example, why would the NKJV change "hell" to "Hades" (compare "hell" vs "Hades" in Matthew 16.18 and Luke 16.23) etc..? Isn't the word "hell" clear enough? I realized that the King James is public domain, whereas the NKJV is copyrighted. In order for the publishers/translators to be able to copyright the new translation, it must have enough differences from the original to make it copy-rightable. Is that why they changed some of the wording? I don't know, but it's something to think about. All that said, I really leaning toward the King James Version because of the following: 1) God promised to preserve His Words. Would the Creator of the universe really have allowed these manuscripts to remain hidden until the 1800s? 2) As I mentioned at the beginning, most of the verses between the NASB, NKJV, and KJV are very similar. However, when I did start finding differences, the King James version is always stronger. The other versions just seem weaker and more watered down. 3) The King James Version is not copyrighted. All of other common translations, including the New King James, are copyrighted, which means some publisher somewhere "owns" the rights to God's Word. That just doesn't sound right to me when I think about it that way. 4) The KJV translators highlighted the added words for clarity. If it's not highlighted, it's not in the original language. If it's added, you'll know they added it. 5) In today's English, we use "you" for both plural and singular. In both Greek and Hebrew, they use a different word to differentiate between "you" referring to one person and "you" referring to multiple people. Contrary to what many people currently think, the "thee"s and "thou"s of the King James version were not modern at that time either. They hadn't been used in 400 years (approximately 1200) other than the poetic usage. The translators used them to retain the difference between the plural and singular "you". For example, look at John 3.7. Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and says "Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." He's basically saying "I'm telling you, Nicodemus (thee), you all (ye) must be born again." Otherwise, someone could try to be technical and say that Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born again, but he was only talking to Nicodemus, and not everyone else. But when you see that he uses the plural ("ye"), that argument doesn't stand up. But the other translations could leave a gray area for someone. I know that's probably far-fetched, but still, it's nice to know exactly what was originally said. 6) For those who say that the King James is too difficult to read, the King James has been around for 400 years. In that time, it has been the primary translation used up until the last 50+ years. Were are grandparents and great-grandparents really smarter than us? If they could read it, I think we manage too! As I said at the beginning, I'm not sharing this to try to tell anyone that the King James version is the only version to read (honestly, I'm still reading my NLT. I'm reading it straight through and will probably try the KJV next time 'round). This is just something that I had never thought a lot about, but once I did it seemed that what I did know or had assumed all along wasn't really accurate. And honestly, even after I said point # 6 above, I still struggle a little with some of the passages in King James. I definitely like memorizing King James verses, but as for reading, I think it will take a little while to get used to. I don't think it's too hard to read, but it is a little different than what I'm used to reading. In the meantime, I bounce back and forth between various versions (mostly my NLT and King James, but if I'm near a computer, I'll look up NKJV online too.) I guess what I'm trying to say is whether you agree or disagree with any of this, I encourage everyone to at least look into the subject for yourself and come to your own conclusion and decide for yourself what you are reading and why. Good luck in your search! |
Posted in Thoughts
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In the past few months, I have felt convicted about the need to teach my little ones to hide God's Word in their hearts. And I can't ask them to memorize verses when I don't. I've read the Bible several times through and I know the verses, but I really only have a very few that are memorized. Currently, when I'm in a situation and a verse might come in handy, I end up thinking, "There's that verse about this. Now how does it go." And then I have to dig through my Bible to find it (if one is handy) or rely on my memory for a paraphrased-by-me version which is not the most reliable or accurate method for sharing the Word of God. So, I've been trying to get my act together and start memorizing. Which I really like to do, but I have a terrible memory, so it's a bit of a struggle. But I want to, because I love knowing that no matter what happens to me or my Bible, I'll always have God's Word written in my heart, because I want my kids to know God's Word and carry it with them for the same reason, and because I want to set an example for them. However, this whole process brought me to another question which has been on the back of my mind for several years, but which I've managed to ignore until now. Which translation should I use?? But I'll save that for later.
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. - Psalm 119.11 (KJV) And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6.6-9 (NKJV) |
Posted in Home Organization
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I'm always wondering if I'm expecting too much or too little from my kids, so I compiled this list to keep as a guideline/reminder.
Up to 2
2 - 3 years
3 - 4 years
4 - 5 years
5 - 6 years
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Posted in Recipes
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However this is not a chicken recipe... I'm not sure why it's called Chicken Fried Steak. But, if you like spicy, then it's good! 1 T vegetable oil 2 lbs round or simmering steak 2 onions, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 - 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped 1 t salt 1 t black pepper 1 t paprika 1/4 t cayenne pepper 1 t celery seeds 1/4 c flour 3/4 c condensed chicken broth 1/2 c whipping cream Heat oil in a skillet over med-high. Brown steak on both sides and transfer to crockpot. Reduce heat to med-low. Add onions and cook until softened. Add garlic, jalapeno, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and celery seeds. Cook one more minute. Sprinkle flour over mixture and cook, stirring, for 1 more minute. Add chicken broth and cook, stirring, until thickened (sauce will be very thick). Spoon sauce over meat in crockpot and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours or on high for 4 - 5 hours until meat is tender. Add cream and cook on high for 15 minutes. Serve with hot, fluffy mashed potatoes. Serves 4 - 5. |
Posted in Cute Things to Share
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This is a cute classic counting rhyme/song that I thought I would share. I learned it when I was probably in Kindergarten, but as an adult, all I could remember was the line "Bask, said the mother. We bask, said the..." It would have made things a lot easier if the line that stayed with me was "over in the meadow..." Oh,well, I finally found it anyway. Over in the meadow I'm just happy because I loved the song as a child and now I'm able to pass it on to my kids, and they love it now too! (And our library has several picture book versions!) Maybe someone here will enjoy it also Over in the Meadow by Olive A Wadsworth in the sand in the sun Lived an old mother turtle and her little turtle one. Dig said the mother. We dig said the one. So they dug all day in the sand in the sun. Over in the meadow where the stream runs blue Lived an old mother fish and her little fishes two. Swim said the mother. We swim said the two. So they swam all day where the stream runs blue. Over in the meadow in a hole in a tree Lived an old mother owl and her little owls three. Wh-whoo said the mother. Wh-whoo said the three. So they wh-whooed all day in a hole in a tree. Over in the meadow by the old barn door, Lived an old mother mouse and her little mice four. Squeak said the mother. We squeak said the four. So they squeaked all day by the old barn door. Over in the meadow in a snug beehive Lived an old mother bee and her little bees five. Buzz said the mother. We buzz said the five. So they buzzed all day in a snug beehive. Over in the meadow in a nest built of sticks Lived an old mother duck and her little ducks six. Quack said the mother. We quack said the six. So they quacked all day in a nest built of sticks. Over in the meadow where the grass grows so even Lived an old mother frog and her little froggies seven. Jump said the mother. We jump said the seven. So they jumped all day where the grass grows so even. Over in the meadow by the old mossy gate Lived an old mother lizard and her little lizards eight. Bask said the mother. We bask said the eight. So they basked all day by the old mossy gate. Over in the meadow by the old Scotch pine Lived an old mother bunny and her little bunnies nine. Hop said the mother. We hop said the nine. So they hopped all day by the old Scotch pine. Over in the meadow in a cozy wee den Lived an old mother fox and her little foxes ten. Play said the mother. We play said the ten. So they played all day in their cozy wee den.
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Posted in Miscellaneous
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I got this from Michele and it looked fun!
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Posted in Daily Life
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My daughter's birthday party is this evening. It's so hard to believe that my baby is 3 years old!! Where does all the time go? Let's see, this weekend was busy. On Saturday, my son got to go with a friend to the local children's museum and then to Chuck E Cheese for pizza. He'd never been there before, and it was apparently such an amazing experience that for the rest of the weekend, he would randomly announce, "I love Chuck E Cheese".
Soooo, my daughter and I got to have a fun girl's day and hang out together. We don't get to do that often, so even though we didn't do much, it was still fun! I don't have any updates on the stolen equipment. Other than insurance might cover it, but the deductible is $500, so it would only cover half of the value. Which is better than nothing, but that's still a big loss. Oh, well.. To be continued. Well, I need to go celebrate a birthday! |
Of course, I wasn't there, so this picture was shared with me, but I just love the look of concentration on his face. 
Posted in Newsworthy
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This is just wrong, wrong, wrong…. Besides the thought of this being so yucky that it turns my stomach, it is another reminder of how much we are using technology to corrupt God's wonderful creation.... genetically modified foods, cloning, etc... |
Posted in Daily Life
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Last night, I drove the work truck to Target, and while the kids and I were inside, someone stole the a piece of equipment out of the back. It was tied down and covered with a tarp, so it wasn't really visible. Who would have thought someone would steal something in broad daylight in the middle of a busy parking lot? As we walked back to the truck, I saw that it was gone right away, so I went back inside and asked for the Security Guard. He looked thru the tapes, and sure enough, someone just pulled up next to the truck and fiddled with it for about 5 minutes and off they went. Unfortunately, the tapes weren't clear enough to get any useful details, like a license plate number or anything (So what's the point of security cameras? Just to confirm that yes, someone stole a car from the parking lot or kidnapped a child? Why don't they have cameras that can provide useful details???? I just read a quote the night before. I've heard it said before, but it was fresh in my mind last night; it's something like, 'If money or hard work can fix or replace it, then it's not worth worrying about'. I agree to a certain extent. I am happy and grateful that my family is with me and healthy, that I have a roof over head, etc... but sometimes it's hard to not worry about the 'stuff'. Anyway, if you remember to keep us in prayer, I would really appreciate it. This just seems like one of many things that keeps going wrong, and I'm really having a hard time with it all. |
) I called the sheriff's department and someone came out so I have an official report. But it's not likely that we'll ever see it again. This is an $1100 machine that was only 3 weeks old and used once, AND it was a replacement for one that was stolen out of our backyard a few weeks before that. I'm not sure if insurance will cover one or either of them - that's $2600 worth of equipment. It's kinda depressing!Posted in Daily Life
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I stayed home sick yesterday. I was so tired that I slept until 10:30, well, with little people running around, sleep probably isn't the right word, but I stayed in bed and rested for a few hours longer than normal, while they played quietly and watched a video. And then when they took their afternoon nap, I took one too! I had thought I had a monstrous cold that has been hounding me for the past week, but people keep telling me that they think I have allergies instead. I've never had allergy problems before, but I'm starting to think they might be right! After all, who gets a cold for a week in the middle of 90 degree, June weather? And it does not seem to be going away! So I'm exhausted and really looking forward to my 4 day weekend coming up! The way I feel right now, I'll probably sleep all weekend! :) I made bread yesterday evening. I was making 3 loaves which lasted 7-8 days, but with no preservatives, it's not lasting that long now that the weather is warmer. So, the last few times, I've made 3 loaves like normal and then freeze two and thaw them as necessary, so I'm still only making bread once a week or so. I've been making bread since the beginning of the year and every time, it just gets better! I took the kids to VBS last night. Instead of a week-long adventure, the church is doing it on Wednesday nights for 6 weeks. On the one hand, I get a little nostalgic and remember how exciting it was for me to go to VBS every day for an entire week, but practically thinking, this is probably a lot better (for me at least). I know a lot of churches are doing evening VBS since so many people work during the day, but I'm not sure if I'd even be able to commit to a week of evenings. I can handle once a week for six weeks though! The kids had fun. They are doing a pirate/treasure/island theme, which seems like it's been pretty popular with a lot of churches in the past few years, but it's a great theme. The kids love the "adventure"! Oh, and the other day, my 4 year old threw the 2 year old' lunch bag out the window of our car (at 45 miles an hour). When asked why he would do such a thing, he answered that it was because he didn't like it. They have identical canvas lunchbags with their pictures on them, so it looked just like his, but has her name on it. I had to turn around and go back and fetch it out of the middle of the road (but it had already gotten a tire mark across it)! Luckily this was on the way home, so it was empty. Ah kids! :) |
Posted in Thoughts
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We watch DVDs at our house fairly often, but regular television is rarely on. When it is, it's usually the news or a grown-up show and it's after the kids go to bed. I know the awful state of television programming, but when you rarely see it, it's kind of a shock to your system! We were visiting someone the other day, and the kids were watching the Cartoon Network. I'm not sure what cartoon was on, but it was kind of creepy. They were talking about a "cloak of light" and "cloak of darkness" (or maybe shadows, I can't remember). It definitely didn't seem like a good show for little ones. I've had other similar situations recently that I don't remember as well, but just those brief glimpses of the cartoons just leave me with a really bad feeling. It's no longer good ol' cartoon violence that I grew up with like Bugs Bunny vs Yosemite Sam or Wile E Coyote trying to drop an anvil on Road Runner's head. Now many of them seem to be good/evil, light/dark blurring of the lines (plus just regular cartoon kids that have no manners whatsoever). And speaking of no manners... Last week, we were in a hospital waiting room for almost 2 1/2 hours. The kids did really good, but it was getting late and they were tired and a little bored, so we found another waiting room with a TV and watched that for the last half hour or so. It was on Nickelodeon and they were showing Kangaroo Jack. There some guns and bad guys in the show, which I didn't really want my preschoolers watching, but I dealt with that as best I could. However, it was nearly 10 on a Friday night, so I know the programming was for much older kids (not that that's much better!). So the movie was not the best kids show, but what I could not believe were some of the commercials that were on! They were awful, loud, obnoxious, flashy, and very often disrespectful. But there was one that stood out even more than the others. It was a commercial for bottled water for kids. The bottle was in a fun round shape that kids would supposedly like. So, the first part of the commercial was a cartoon boy (in color) and his dad (in black & white), and the dad was saying "When I was your age, blah blah blah" (the blah blah is a direct quote). The boy obviously did not want to hear what his dad was saying, so he pulled a string and Poof! A fun, cool water bottle appears and dad disappears. Then the same cartoon boy (again in color) is in a messy room and his mom is telling him to clean his room (both the room and mom are in black & white). Of course, the mom is talking in a really obnoxious voice, so the boy pulls the magic string and mom and the messy room disappear and are replaced by the cool bottled water. I just could not believe this commercial. My description of it might not seem that bad, but when you get the full effect of it in person, it had the utmost, blatant disrespect for parents that I've ever seen on TV. If this is any example of what is on regular children's programming (and I'm afraid that it is), it's no wonder so many of our kids act the way they do! They are being taught downright disrespect for their parents right in their own home! Between that commercial and the others, plus the movie itself, it felt like every 30 seconds I was having to explain to my kids why such-and-such was not okay, or what the people on TV were doing wrong, or why they couldn't have this toy or that colored sugar (oopps, I mean "candy" and "cereal"), etc.. It's really hard to guard their hearts when they're being bombarded by such junk! |
Posted in Daily Life
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My kids have a spot in the front yard where they like to play cars, dig holes, get filthy dirty, and all-around have a fun time with. This evening, my 4 year old was digging a pretty good hole in this favourite spot, so decided to I distract the kids and then hid a bunch of pennies and a couple of quarters in the dirt. Then when they came back, I asked my son (the primary digger) if he was digging for buried treasure. He said "yeah" but was not terribly enthusiastic (since he didn't know he was about to find buried treasure!). Well, he started digging, and guess what he found! His little face just lit up. And my daughter, who hadn't been that interested in this round of digging, suddenly became much more interested, so of course we had to find another little shovel for her to dig for treasure too. My son was so sweet too, he gave me his first "treasure" then his sister got the next one he found and the third one gave to daddy. It wasn't until everyone else got a piece of "treasure" that he kept some for himself. He's such a sweetie, he just melts this mama's heart! Here are the pics of our hunt for buried treasure!  You can see the main treasure hole next to his knee.  "X" marks the spot!  "Hey Mom! Look what I found!"  P.S. My refrigerator door still falls off when I open it! Sadly, I could not persuade the repair man to come out today. Hopefully tomorrow. It was amusing over the weekend when nothing could be done, but now I want it fixed!! |
Posted in Daily Life
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Well, I meant to do a catch-up post this weekend, but didn't really have time after all. However, before I run off to bed, I just have to share my funny story and highlight of my weekend. Yesterday afternoon, I went to open the refrigerator and the door fell off. Literally. All the way.
Lest you think this is an old creaky refrigerator, I will mention that it is only a few months old. It had been leaking air since we got it (the hinges or something were crooked). So, under warranty, I had the repairman come out and fix the door. Well, that was two weeks ago and it was working great, hadn't leaked air at all, etc... until yesterday when the DOOR FELL OFF! Of course this happened two hours after they closed down for the weekend, so I can't even call them until tomorrow morning. So, I've tried to keep our use of the refrigerator to a minimimum since anytime I have to get into it, I have to manhandle the door and remove it completely. (It makes me feel like the Incredible Hulk or maybe Super Woman!) How's that for ridiculous? On the positive side, I laugh everytime I think of that stupid refrigerator door falling off (I've never even heard of such a thing!) and I have a funny story to tell..... |
Posted in Thoughts
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Am I training my children or just babysitting them until they turn 18? That question has been on my heart and in my mind since I was probably a teenager, but of course much more since I've had kids, and every day as I watch my children grow that question becomes more and more important to me.
I used to work in a place that was often frequented by families, and one of the things that I noticed about kids was how many times their parents would yell and/or threaten their kids and still not be obeyed. There were many different examples, parents trying to get their kids to be quiet or not run around, etc... but there was one particular situation that was the most obvious example and would happen over and over again. One of the doors to the lobby was semi-automated for the handicapped with a big red button at wheelchair height (which also happens to be preschool height) that would open the door. Percentage wise, I hardly ever saw the red button used for it's intended purpose of assisting the disabled. The majority of the time, there would be children of various ages hitting the button over and over again, while their parents stood at a distance, telling the children, "Stop that." "No, don't touch that." "If you do that again, you're going to be in trouble" "No, I mean it" "You're about to get a spanking" "Okay, you're in trouble" "Come here now" Etc... I worked there for quite awhile, and all those years, it would just drive me crazy. I'd just want to say, "Follow thru with what you say you're going to do!!!" I hadn't read any parenting books at the time, but it was still obvious that they were teaching their kids that they didn't need to obey until 12th or so time (if ever). I made up my mind that if I ever had kids, I was going to be consistent with my children.
Thanks to that job for so many years, I saw countless families come thru the doors. Some were great examples and some reinforced my new-founded beliefs about parenting (or lack of). It's been awhile since I worked there, but as I go thru life now, I am more aware of other examples. Not too long ago, I watched a 3 year old reach across a counter and stick both hands into a cake. He was not corrected, in fact, everyone laughed and thought it was funny. But what did that teach him? That he can do whatever he wants, and not only get away with it, but it's funny too? And when he's older and continues to act that way, it won't be cute. I think of the verse in Proverbs that children are a blessing, but I think it also goes hand-in-hand with train up a child in the way he should go....If there's no training, then what are you left with?
Since I've become a mommy, I've made a mental note of some of the character traits that i want to instill in my children. I also have an idea of the kind of person I want them to be. Of course, I don't mean I want them to be a doctor or truck driver or anything like that. They can do whatever they want, but what I mean is that I want them to love God with their whole heart. I want them to be someone who is trustworthy, dependable, and responsible. I want them to be hard-working, thoughtful, generous, and willing to lend a hand. Also, willing to lead when necessary and willing to submit when appropriate. All those qualities and more, I carry in my heart and when necessary correct and direct my children to the best of my ability. I want to always remember that raising kids is not just about feeding and sheltering them until it's time to turn them loose in the world. It's also about training them and that's a daily process, day after day, from the time they're born until they're grown.
I know training probably sounds sounds boring and dull, but it's not! I only mean keep that I want to keep the end result in mind and correct as necessary. And I need to be consistent! If I say I'm going to do something, I have to follow through... whether it's punishment like sending them to their room or something positive like going to the park or baking cookies. They need to know that I will do what I say I'm going to do. I think the reasons for following through on punishment and correction is obvious, but on the other side of that, on the positivie things, they need to know that their parents' word is good, always. That their mommy is consistent, reliable, and can be depended upon. I want my kids to believe what I say. If I constantly tell them one thing, like we're going to the beach, and I rarely follow through, they would learn to question my dependability.
Because no parent or child can ever be perfect, I sometimes questions where I am in this parenting process, but I think I am on the right track. The kids have been put to the test twice in the last week and I'm happy to say they've passed with flying colors. Last week, they both went with me to a doctor appointment. My son had been up most of the night with a dreadful cough and then didn't take a nap, so he was very tired, but they both sat at the desk next to me and colored quietly, read their books, and talked to the physical therapist while she worked on me. Both the therapist and the receptionist went on and on about how great the kids did and then brought it up again at my following appointment. And yesterday evening, I spent over two hours in a hospital waiting room from just before 8 pm til just after 10 pm, and my kids again did outstanding. Not only did it get late, way past their bedtime, but they hadn't eaten dinner yet, only a snack. Plus, we only brought a couple books and there were no toys. The first hour or so, we read our books and talked, then we moved down the hall to the windows and watched the sunset and looked out the 4th floor window. Later we found a waiting room and watched a bit of TV (oh, my goodness!! but I'll get to that later). So, they were there for 2+ hours with empty tummies, past their bedtimes, with nothing much to do, and they were absolutely wonderful.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- I pray that I will always remember that these children are eternal souls that the Lord has temporarily entrusted to me. And as imperfect as I am, that I will be faithful in my responsibility as a mom and that I continue in His path and raise them for His glory, knowing that they are not just my children, but His children too. "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22.6 |
Posted in Daily Life
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Let's see, a lot has happened this week....
I broke the lawnmower. I had trouble getting it started and I was apparently a little too enthusiastic and ripped the starter cord right off. I was not aware that that was even possible (but now I know better). I think I'll take that as a sign and leave the mowing of the lawn to the professionals. Our power has gone out at the exact same time (just after 11 pm) twice this week, on Monday and again last night. All the lights as far as I could see, several blocks in each direction. It was really weird and kind of creepy since there was no cause as far as I could tell, no storms, no accidents, etc... Twice within three days, and at the exact same time! Weird! Work has been really crazy for the last two days. One thing after another has gone wrong. Basically, I work in internal customer service, meaning I help my company's employees with certain services. I love helping people and I'm more than happy to bend over backwards and do whatever I can to fix something, but sometimes people seem to think that my co-workers and I have magic wands and can whip up a solution right this second when it's just not physically possible. Unfortunately, this recent problem directly affected the vice-president of our own department and did not have an easy solution. For the last two days, it's been "go! go! go!" "No, that's not good enough!" "Fix it, yesterday!" Eeekk! And I was sick yesterday morning, running a fever, and so was late to work (so they called me at home when this problem first came to light... not the best way to find out about it...)  My grandma's house was demolished last Saturday. She's been gone for seven years, and the house has been vacant all that time. It's hurts a bit, another relative owns the house now and just left it with no upkeep. Over time, the yard became overgrown, vagrants moved in at one point, windows broken, etc... just like what you'd expect from a vacant, abandoned house. My grandma had lived in that house since before my dad was born. I have so many good memories of that little house, I can't even imagine all the memories that my dad must have. And then to see it abandoned and abused like that. To me, one of the saddest things about this whole thing is that she had a wall where she had marked her grandkids height as they grew. She had 23 grandkids and I can't even guess how many great-grandkids, and there was at least 20 years worth of those little marks with names and dates and heights. I walked thru the house with my dad and brother the morning before it was torn down, and we thought about trying to salvage it, but couldn't find a way given the circumstances. My brother had the lowest mark... 02-20-83 when he was 4 months old, of course with more markings as he grew taller! At least I got a picture and I will always have the memories. And I saved the best for last... Yay! I finally, finally got to see my youngest sister! It's so good to see her, since it's been soooo long.  She defected out of state eight years ago, and I don't get to see her very often (last time was 1 1/2 years ago). She and her husband flew up here last weekend, but then they pretty much went straight past everyone here and headed to conference a few hours away. But they came back down here on Wednesday and spent a few days visiting. They are leaving tomorrow morning though. Well, I should go to sleep now... Nighty-night!!
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Posted in Daily Life
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I took the day off from work today. It was sooo nice! I can get so much more done around the house when I have just one more day besides the weekend to get things done. Plus it's nice to get things done and not feel so rushed in the process... I had laundry done and put away before noon and 3 loaves of bread in the oven shortly after that.. I had time to get some other things done, made some phone calls, including a call to the refrigerator repairman... which I've been meaning to do for months! Ah, it was nice... all that done, and we still had time to go to the local children's museum this afternoon. Well, here are some pictures of my exciting day! Here is our bread that we made (yummy!)  At the museum.... The three of us in the treehouse  The kids in the hollow log. I caught my son in mid-something, I'm not sure what though... tumble? somersault? roll?  Inside the ferry, aka "the wet room".  Pull the lever, shoot the water.  My little monkey, I mean son...  Outside, up on the roof they have huge play area. In one corner, they have an archeological site where the kids can "dig" for dinosaur bones. My 4 year old loved it and didn't want to go back inside.  |
Posted in Cute Things to Share
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I Took His Hand and Followed
My dishes went unwashed today,
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
We waded in a crystal stream,
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
We watched a robin feed her young,
That my house was neglected,
But that I've helped my little boy |
Posted in City Chickens
Finally! Here are the promised pictures of our chicken tractor!  The chickens can hide downstairs to keep sheltered from the wind and rain, and the upstairs has two spots for nests. There is a door at either end for easy access.  Now I just have to wait patiently for that first wonderful egg... |
Posted in Daily Life
My daughter got her ears pierced last Monday. She was so excited! It's hard to tell, but she got pink earrings to match everything else. Three guesses what her favourite colour is.......  And here's a picture of the chicks from a few weeks ago (I still need to get a picture of the chicken tractor... sorry! ) And here's a picture of our kitty. He thinks this basket is his bed (I had different ideas, but apparently he's more stubborn than I am....)  And here he is again with my son. The cat will willingly jump in the stroller and let the kids wheel him around. The funniest thing happened awhile ago, my son pushed the stroller up to the cat, said, "Blue, get in!" The cat jumped in and off they went, just like that!  |