Family Reading

Well, the left sidebar column of "Family Read Alouds" has been all too quiet for a while. Summer and fall have been so busy that we haven't been able to fit in any book reading. Getting in family devotions was about all we could manage and still get the kids to bed at least 5 minutes before us! BUT, the past few weeks, God has SLOWED us down drastically- due to morning sickness in the evenings! So, we've started a new series that Melanie suggested called The Sword, The Ring, and the Parchment- part of the Terrestria Series. It's an allegory along the lines of Pilgrim's Progress in modern language, but with the thrill of Narnia. So far we're loving it. We are taking a break only several chapters into it though, due to Christmas.
Last year we read the Christmas Advent story Jotham's Journey which I HIGHLY recommend. This year we are reading it's companion book, Bartholomew's Passage. These books are, at present, out of print and selling for ridiculous amounts of money on Ebay. However, they are supposed to be coming back in print. Yay!

Silly Sayings....

This morning as Quinn was laying in bed with me he said (out of the blue, as usual), "Mom, know what Daddad told me? He said that if we suck on our thumb we are really sucking our muscles! (pause) Nathan must have sucked out all the muscles of his thumb!" HA! HA! HA! Kimberly- I thought you'd find that funny!

Grant

I had taken these pictures last month one evening when we were cooking hot dogs over the campfire one night. I just love these of Grant! He's really concentrating on those hot dogs!

Family Pastime-Biking

Brent has always worked out and run to stay in shape for his job. About two years ago the kids and I started to join him and make it a family fun activity- biking and jogging! Cait, Grant, Jake and I ride bikes and Brent jogs with Quinn in the jogging stroller. We usually just go to the bike/hike trail in Susquehanna State Park (convenient!)

We usually bike between 3-5 miles and finish off with the kids getting to play on the rocks in the stream at the end of the trail. The nifty camelbacks they got for Christmas keep everyone hydrated (and just looking cute).

5 arrows

Ready for our latest surprise???

Baby #5 is on it's way! Shocked? Us too! In a good way!

God is good and faithful to give us many blessings we don't deserve. I am so grateful that He sees fit to give Brent and I another gift to love and raise for His glory.

We had a blast telling the kids. I wanted to do it in a memorable way. We looked up a bunch of Bible verses that had to do with "children being a blessing", "olive plants around a table", "we shall not all sleep, but we shall be Changed", etc. Then we wrote the references on slips of paper and stuffed them into balloons. During devotions, they had to pop the balloon, find and read the verse, and figure out "God's message for our family" from those verses. We started with the hardest and most ambiguous, but even by the end they couldn't figure it out. So I whispered in Quinn's ear, "Mommy's going to have another baby". They all laughed. They didn't believe us! Grant even said, "Nuh-uh, Mom's not pregnant. You're just teasing. I can see the twinkle in Daddy's eye!" LOL! After I convinced them that we weren't teasing, Cait just sat there dumbfounded for about 10 minutes! It was funny seeing each of them react in their own different ways. Cait-serious, Grant-disbelief and then talking a mile a minute, Jake- bouncing everywhere, of course, Quinn- just excited that we were popping balloons!

The first week, I felt great. But, shortly after, the "all-day" sickness began. Still going through it. Brent has been fabulous and has truly taken over all the household stuff. Cait's training is really paying off. I'm so glad I put the time in over the past years teaching the kids how to do household chores, because she's able to do just about everything. And the boys are right there to give her a break when she needs it. How did I manage during all the other pregnancies?

Sadie

Well, we have a new addition to our family! Little Sadie the puggle. (Half beagle/half pug) We had been getting closer and closer to making the decision to add a puppy to our family when God tossed her right into our lap!

In our last small group I began keeping a prayer journal. I noticed in my journal that I had started praying last February that if it was God's will give us a puppy that he would provide a puggle for under $300. (A big deal since it is considered a "designer dog" and they run for between $700 and $1200. FOR A MUTT! Sheesh!)
Over the past few weeks I had casually checked a few websites for breeders in MD, PA, or NJ. A lady in PA had a female left but it was still $400- too high for us. Then, I just happened to check back on a Monday morning and saw that she was reduced in price to $250! She was the last to go for her litter and the lady just wanted to find her a home! Amazing! Brent was on his way to the store, so he turned around and we drove 2 hours up past Harrisburg to get her!

She is toooooooo cute. Lots of wrinkles on her face! We're all smitten! She has a wonderful cuddly personality. She loves to be held and petted and will roll over just begging to have her belly scratched.
So far, she's doing fairly well becoming house trained. Still a few accidents here and there, but she's still young. She is learning "come" and "sit" already. She loves to chew just about everything so that's been a challenge to keep our stuff "safe"! I just have to say how thankful I am for the Puppies for Dummies book! I didn't have a clue how to do dog training, so it has been very helpful.
The kids are loving every minute of play with her and are tolerating the potty time rotation schedule! LOL! Grant is having fun as the self-appointed "Pooper-scooper" of the family since he got his own cool tool to do it!
I'll try to get pictures up as soon as my dial-up co-operates!

My Little Daredevil

It was inevitable. We had been spared so long in having any serious broken bones in the family that it was bound to happen soon. Last Thursday, my sweet little Quinn decided to roll headfirst down the wooden basement steps and land squarely on his right arm. It could have been much worse as he could have broken his neck. God in His mercy spared his spine and just gave him a broken arm.
He had stood at the top landing and asked if he could have a cookie, to which I said he could have just one. I heard him carefully take one out of the canister, then carefully close it up and put it back in the kitchen. The next thing I knew I was hearing a thump, thump, thump, thud, and saw him somersaulting down the steps. As soon as I rushed over to him, the arm break was unmistakable. Halfway down from his elbow to his hand was literally bending backward toward his elbow.
Normally, I would feel faint and squeamish, but since Brent was 2 hours away in HAGERSTOWN I knew immediately that I would be doing the emergency trip alone. He was crying, but not hysterically and once I scooped him up and took him to the bedroom, he had finished his tears! Amazing. He didn't have a shirt on (don't ask, it's a long story about boys who would love to go around naked if they were allowed) but I KNEW that he's the kind of kid that would flip out more if he had to leave the house without all his clothes than about a broken arm. I have absolutely no idea how I managed to get it on him, but I suppose that his arm was quite bendable and made it easy.
After flipping out a bit to Brent on the phone, and telling him where we were headed, we made the longest 10 minute drive of my life. Caitlin was an angel during the whole ride. She, too, doesn't handle emergencies well, but she really came through with supporting his arm and telling him all kinds of princess and dog stories along the way.
Thankfully, Mom Trautman and Ryan were home and quickly met us at the hospital to take the kids home for me. After a 40 minute wait we were finally "triaged" and they gave him a bed right away. It really is amazing that from the time I put him down in the bedroom until he had to get an IV he didn't cry. Only a few whimpers. He was even falling asleep in my arms.
Brent finally arrived in time for an xray and then an IV full of morphine. Unfortunately, the tech wasn't the best with IV's in kids and used too big of a needle, so he had to stick him twice. My momma heart was breaking for him. He screamed a bunch, but was quickly quieted when he got to see the "cool" blood in the tube!
We kept talking about how God makes him brave and at one point he asked, "Is I as brave as David when he fighted Goliath?" Too cute. I guess those Bible stories have personal application even for 3 year olds.
After the morphine kicked in, he was wired. He bounced around the bed as much as a broken right arm and an IV'd left arm would let him. He didn't stop talking and attracted MANY sweet onlookers and other patients. At one point the doctor came in to introduce himself and went to shake Quinn's hand and he held out his foot so the Doc could shake it! He thought himself hilariously funny. I think he was loving the attention!
The orthopedic doctor came and looked at his arm and skillfully put on his cast. Quinn did cry a little bit during the setting of the bones, but it wasn't super long. Later he wanted to know, "Why did the doctor have to squish my arm?"
Once his cast was hardened, and another xray was taken, he was so wired and lively I wasn't sure he would go to sleep at all that night. (It was after midnight by then.) Finally, we were discharged and made a quick stop to Dunkin Doughnuts, like Daddy promised.
So far Quinn has been our child that causes our hearts to stop beating- falling off the bed as a baby, having a trailer gate fall on his head, getting lost for half an hour in Dutch Wonderland, and now breaking his arm.
He is so full of life, though, and takes all of the events in stride. Today he is running around like nothing has happened at all! I love his kid so much!

Peaceful Chores

When I found out that BGE was raising our rates substantially, I was trying to rack my brain for ways to cut costs. One way that I decided to give a try is using a clothesline. I've always found them so relaxing and serene whenever we drive past the Amish homes in PA.
So this past spring, Brent, Quinn, and Jake worked together to put one in for me. Some days when it was blistering hot it was very annoying to have to stand out there, but mostly I really have enjoyed it. There is something very peaceful and comforting in watching your sheets or clothes blowing in the breeze. And they do smell so refreshing when you bring them in. AND, you can't shrink your clothes in the dryer like I so often do! LOL!

In some ways it feels like it takes so much longer to get it all done, but in reality, it probably doesn't. I can fit several loads of clothing on my 7 lines without having to wait for the previous load to dry for an hour (old dryers take a loooong time) first. And since I fold everything as I take it off the line, I never have laundrybaskets full of wrinkled clothing sitting and waiting to be put away. Oh, I still have laundry sitting and waiting to be put away, of course, but at least it's folded and I don't have to redry them to get the wrinkles out. (highly annoying!)

Pumpkins

Last Saturday we made a quick trip to Lohr's Pumpkin Farm. Each child got to pick out a pumpkin. They were allowed to pick any size, with the caveat that they had to be able to carry it back by themselves. Pretty quickly Jake found his BIG pumpkin and with great dedication carried it the whole time. Grant, as usual, was full of indecision and changed his mind about 20 times, finally choosing one that looked the same as 5 others before it! Caitlin settled on a medium sized perfect for carving. Surprisingly, Quinn was the most difficult. He had in his mind exactly what he wanted, but had a difficult time expressing what it was! He kept squatting down and saying he wanted one "this big". We thought we were understanding, but each one we suggested was "no, not that one- this big, mom!" Finally, as we were nearing the end of the pumpkin patch, we decided to choose for him since we thought it might be just a battle of wills issue. But, once we decided for him, he says" yes, that's just the one I wanted" LOL! Oh, well.

We've never carved pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns- being against all things Halloweeny. However, in a Family Fun magazine I saw a very pretty variation that was more Autumn decor looking. They carved fall leaf shapes into the pumpkin and tied raffia string on the stem. Very pretty and harvesty looking.
So, one night this past week, Brent sharpened the knives and we all set to work carving. Grant was allowed to use his real pocketknife which enthralled him immensely! Unfortunately, we realized that carving leaves on them were going to be VERY difficult, so we settled on crosses and hearts! LOL! Much easier.
We put little tea lights inside and set them on the front porch. Oooo. How pretty on a dark night like it was. The kids were so excited! I'm glad we did it.

Later we soaked the pumpkin seeds in salt water and then baked them in the oven. Mmmm. They were very yummy.

Venting

I don't want to complain or vent. I really do want to find joy in all things. BUT, I just have to mention 2 things that are driving me crazy today.

1. 90 degree weather in OCTOBER, for cryin' out loud! (I refuse to turn on my air conditioning, so it could be my own fault that I feel miserable. hmm.)
and,
2. Fruit flies. Where no fruit or food is left out! Grrrr. We finally got rid of the teeny ants we had all summer only to be replaced with fruit flies.

Ok, I'm better. 'Nuff said.