dr jeremiah

watch out Doogie Howser!

Dr J is fixing Papa's tummy

his diagnosis?

skicktow

apparently

skicktow makes you want sugar

and makes tummies big.

(maybe I am afflicted with sicktow, too?!!)

If it makes your tummy too big

you can't see

'cause it'll squeeze your eyes shut

the cure?

lemon flavored emergency medicine

~

on a somewaht related note

we got some lab results today

and Lana is extremely deficient in vitamin D

which could be the culprit for much of her troubles.

Now we've got to get her levels up

and figure out why she's deficient in the first place.

I suspect it may have a little something to do with

her developing lactose intolerence while in Puerto Rico

which has resulted in a serious decrease in milk consumption

hmmm

atypical

I'm not your normal mother-of-the-bride

(I'm not your normal 'anything' - but that's not the point)
~

I've always known it

but I realized it anew

as I was sitting on the bed

reading

How To Have A Big Wedding On A Small Budget

(recommended to me by my new friend Meredith)

while playing with

and doing math
with
who was having brain farts

and acting as though he'd never done division before in his life
(he did beautifully on the second set of problems, though!)

while

and

climbed all over all of us

just another monday

didn't plan any major errands today

since I wasn't sure what Lily would be able to handle.

I had some returns at Hobby Lobby

and they had some goodies on sale

so we looked around a bit.

Brandon and I had fun coming up with things

we could use for the reception.

He picked out a lantern he liked.

I said, "Naw, wrong color - the frame is bronzey

we need silver, black or green"

He replies, "when I look at something, I don't see the color

I look at the style - cause you can spraypaint anything"

Is he my son or what?!

(I just can't stand to buy something new, not on clearance,

knowing it needs painting...)

~

we got excited

cause we came up with some great ideas!

then I worked on the budget for awhile

and reality set back in

~sigh~

~

we got a treat on the way home

scrumptious!

~

LilyPie and Daddy had some good play time this evening

he said she was working on her 'people skills'

you funny, Papa

While Papa & Lily were playing
these guys were busy excavating some dinosaur bones

~
today was one of those days
when being a mom
took my breath away.
It just happens sometimes
out of the blue.
all of my kids have done it
- taken my breath away -
on more than one occasion.
maybe an exceptional kindness, or generosity
or a hug - just when it's needed
sometimes
it's just them being them
~
Lily was playing on my bed while I was sorting fabric.
My side of the closet had become a mound of
fleece
PUL
and leather goods - in varying stages of disassembly
so I bought some storage tubs so I could sort and contain the mess.
I sorted and folded
and Lily sat there and played
and
looked beautiful
and she took my breath away!
how, out of all the women in the world,
did I get chosen to be her mom?
I can't fathom!
but I am blessed!
and I never did finish that pile....

a new twist

for dinner tonight

we had chicken salad in spinach wraps

yumm

~

we aren't huge fish fans

but we'd like to be, since it's so good for you...

so

Tyler tossed a salmon fillet on the grill

so we could try it without a big commitment.

Everyone took a few bites.

Some enjoyed it;

some could tolerate it occasionally.

Brandon surmised

"It tastes kinda like chicken;

this would be good with barbeque sauce."

our little trooper

Poor little LilyPie is sick, too, now :-(

she's such a trooper

though;

you'd never know

she emptied her tummy

(for the sixth time!)

just a few minutes before I took these pictures

what a precious gift Lily is to our family!
~
Tony is now the only one in the family who hasn't succumbed
to this tummy bug.
I haven't had it as bad as everyone else;
there is no doubt in my mind that taking Tummy Tuneup
several times a day has kept me at least somewhat functional.

~

words Lily has added to her vocabulary in the past 3 weeks
Luke
(but only after saying Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader first)
Happy Birthday
bird
hair
eye
nose
pretty
(as in pretty baby)
foot
peekaboo
please that
book
yeah
(she kept saying 'book' to Tony, and he said, "do you want a book?"
she responded "yeah".
He gave her a book and she opened it and started 'reading')
~
she also does about half the motions to 'here's a ball for baby'
~
she refuses to ask for milk, though....

no more metal mouth

Tony got his braces off this morning

wohoo!!

(he got most of them off last week

but they left the front four

till he got the retainer)

Love you, Bud

you did a super job taking care of your teeth!

always something

this is what it looks like

when a trash truck runs over your water service line

and breaks it

leaving you with no water

except

of course

all over your yard

~

just in case you were ever wondering

happy (early) birthday

Luke's birthday isn't actually till tomorrow.

Since he was here yesterday

Lana made a cake for him.

well, not technically a cake

it was Oreo Dessert,

one of the many desserts

Luke has enjoyed at our house over the years.

We had planned to make Aztec Chicken

(one of the recipes Lana received from Susie

for Christmas; she gave her a pretty recipe box

with several of Luke's favorite recipes)

but with so many sick

I wasn't about to make a spicy dish!

so

I made some Immune Boostin' Chicken Soup instead.

Had I known that Lana was going to end up sick too

(and I'd have to clean the kitchen on top of messing it up....)

I would have skipped blasting the chicken first!

Sure did make the soup extra yummy

but it was a lot more work, too.

~

I told Luke I could probably get away

with feeding him all sorts of yucky food

for the next few months, since he's feasting his eyes

on the pretty thing sitting across from him

he's not paying all that much attention

to what he's putting in his mouth....

Not that the rest of us would go along with that, though...

~

The kitchen in the house in Fort Smith had metal cabinets

which were often covered with alphabet magnets.

Luke always played with them

when their family came to our house.

For his birthday one year

we gave him alphabet magnets of his own :-)

~

Happy Birthday, Luke

we all love you!!

Won't be long

and we'll be buying magnets

for your fridge!

sick sweeties

Brandon & Josiah are sick :-(

Jeremiah wanted to sleep with Josiah

so he could help take care of him

Thank-you, Lord for making this tough ol' boy

tender-hearted

~

edited Tuesdy afternoon to add:

Tyler got sick, too!

He told me this morning that Jeremiah

was

rubbing tummies & backs

and

dumping & rinsing throw-up bowls

in the middle of the night

~

Jeremiah, that makes momma so proud!

what an awesome

big brother

little brother

and

son

you are!

~

Tony was a pretty awesome big brother last night, too!!

~

Lily and I slept about as good as usual

I almost feel bad about it....

park day

We got to go to the park today -

almost didn't make it

since we got behind schedule looking at suits.....

yep, the little cowboy stepped in a puddle right off

Jeremiah - restin on a rhino

Lily and I stayed in the van for a quick snack.
I'd figured we'd just stay in there since it was pretty chilly
even with the 'bootiful' sunshine
but
once she looked out the window and realized where we were
she wanted out of the car
and in a swing

Brandon enjoys climbing on the outside of the castle

Thanks for being such a great big bub, Brandon!

suit shoppin

We happened upon 3 pc. suits at Sam's today

for only $35 - shirt & tie included!

~

After wearing Lily out

and having the boys try on various styles and sizes

we ended up coming home with only one suit.

But boy is he snazzy in it!

Fortunately, Tony will be wearing a tux

'cause we've let this one out all we can.....

~

Brandon was the winner of the suit today

but

we aren't posting pictures of him in it just yet :-)

leftovers from last week

Lana & Josiah making Snickerdoodles

for Luke for Valentine's Day

~

these other two pictures were taken

(along with about 18 others ?!)

while I was snoozing yesterday.

Jeremiah was sick Friday night & Saturday;

I got up and started getting ready for church

only to end up on the couch feeling pretty rough.

I figured I was getting sick...

so - I crawled back in bed
and didn't get up until after 1:00!

Apparently, I wasn't exactly sick,

I was just exhausted

2 hours of sleep doesn't tend to make one

terribly refreshed - it turns out.

In my defense, my tummy

(and everything else)

really did hurt....

Tyler & Lana held down the fort

kept Lily happy without the momma

made bread & buns

fixed a great lunch

and who knows what else....

while I slept away the day

~

thanks!!

some days it's easier to find joy....

Take yesterday, for example.
Yesterday was a busy day, but there were lots of good moments.

We were gone pretty much the whole day.
Actually, we were only home

long enough for the little ones to take short naps
while I made some cookies (with store-bought dough, at that)
and package them up as gifts for some of our widow ladies.

~
Both times it was time to leave the Playplace,
(yes, we went to McD’s twice…see line 3 above)
the boys were so good!
I was proud of them;
I realize this is behavior I expect out of them,
but still
I have to think it’s hard for them to leave cheerfully
when they’ve been having so much fun!
I have a hard time putting down a book I enjoy…
~
Everyone was happy with the Valentine treats I chose for them.
That brought me joy
because I tried to get them something they’d be tickled with
and I did.
and
I just like to see my children happy
~
We had a good visit with Lana’s new doctor.
It was nice to have her health problems taken seriously
and come up with a course of action.
He wants her well by May also!
We appreciated that so much
~
We were able to bless several ladies

with flowers and cookies and a visit
and the boys didn’t embarrass us
(well, I suppose I was mildly embarrassed

when they walked into a house uninvited
But, I’d not informed them not to.
Usually, when you go to someone’s house, you go in…)
~
Lily has this new way of talking that is just precious!
She says lots of words and adds to her vocabulary almost daily.
But this talking is different.
She jabbers, but it isn’t regular baby babbling.
She holds her mouth differently
She changes her facial expressions - a lot
Her voice inflections change.
Some ‘sentences’ end high - as if she’s asked a question
and sometimes, she’ll give a little chuckle
as if she said something funny.
I have no clue what it is she is telling me
but she’s telling me something.
~
I enjoy it so much
it just about makes me cry.
I’d love to record it,
but I’m not sure she’d talk the same with the recorder on her.
We’ll have to try it anyways
~
Some days finding joy is easy
other days, like today, it’s a bit harder.
~
I woke up sore
but I’d slept plenty.
It’s gloomy outside.
The house was a wreck
(see line 3 above)
I was out of my Momma Tea that I drink every day
and had trouble finding my recipe to make more.

I detest looking for things!
I just made up a new recipe.
It may be the same as the old one
Who knows??
The boys (Jeremiah & Josiah)
have been
challenging
~
I snuck into my bedroom with a cup of tea
(it was good - maybe even a bit better than the previous batch!)
and picked up my Bible
and turned to Leviticus
Why on earth did I choose Leviticus when I’m grouchy??
I finished Nehemiah a few days ago and am still chewing on it.
There are some pretty good parenting tips in Nehemiah.
Back to Leviticus….
I got a headache trying to keep track of the different offerings.
I probably already had the headache and just noticed it…
I’m not really sure why it’s important for us
- today -
to know the who, what, when, where, why, and how
of all the different offerings.
Maybe God will show me someday
maybe I’ll just learn what little I can handle…..
Reading the sins that necessitated an offering was interesting.
and convicting.
Maybe I should have the kids memorize Leviticus!
“If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally
and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord’s commands,
even though the community is unaware of the matter,
they are guilty”
Wow!

ignorance really is no excuse!
and there’s lots more where that came from…
I am so glad we have a merciful Father
and
I’m really glad we no longer have to keep track of the offerings.
that
brings me joy, today

isn't it so much fun to have kids?!

It's dinner time

and a late one, at that.

We're just waitin' on Daddy to get home

The house is reasonably picked up and dinner is on the stove

~

Jeremiah & Josiah are wild

(what else is new??)

~

Jeremiah comes running into the dining room

and says,

"Mom, isn't it so much fun to have kids?"

As I'm taking the picture

he continues (loudly)

"It's so much fun to have kids

in a big house

with a dog and a camera and brothers and sisters

and a mom and a dad!

It's so much fun to have a full house!"

~

yep, it is

the view

It was booty-freezin' cold this morning!

I'm really thankful for the
ugly
can't-see-out-the-window
plastic.
I really am!
It makes the house about 10 degrees warmer
and helps tremendously with the electric bill
but
I sure miss my view

even in the winter
when there's no green around,
the pond is beautiful to me.
~
a few weeks ago
one of the kids said something that made me so mad
I stormed out of the house.
never mind that it took me 10 minutes
to find my shoes and jacket and get Lily in the carrier
before I could actually do my storming....
~
I headed east - towards the pond
but walked around Pine Knoll first.
briskly!
Then
as I circled the field
I looked at it.

and slowed down....
Even in the middle of a gloomy winter day
the water danced.
brings peace to my soul
every time.
~
As frustrated as I get with the inefficiency of this house
(and there is nothing efficient about it)
I do love the land!
Which is, of course, why we find ourselves
in this
drafty
termite-eaten
plastic-covered window
house
in the first place.

no words needed

first letters

I thought it was lost forever!

I was so happy when I found Sunday's bulletin in the diaper bag!

~

first, he wrote a tiny 'h'

and asked, "what is that?"

I answered correctly :-)

then he wrote the 'y', the 'J' and the 'o'.

I guessed all those right, too.

the next letter threw me; was that uppercase or lowercase??

I guessed an 'l'

I was wrong.

As if we have had this same conversation numerous times

(we have not, not that I recall anyways...)

Jeremiah says, "What is a letter that is just a stick?

It's an 'I'."

silly me!

there's also a 'p' - upsidedown - and a 't'

~

These are not actually the very first letters he's written

he copied some names on Christmas gifts last year

and he's done 'a' and 'o' quite a bit

probably a few others, too

but

it was the first time that he's done so many different letters

and

written them on purpose....

~

good job, Jeremiah!!

monday, monday

Mondays aren't really anybody's favorite day
least - I don't think they are..
~
Tony is taking a chemistry class
with some other homeschoolers.
I had planned on Lana being able to drive him
but that didn't work out
so Monday has become 'errand day' for us.
~
It's actually turned out to be better than I expected
although
truth be told
my expectations weren't too high
at all
~
a baby
(who hates being in the car)
a toddler
(who cries for his cup before we're even halfway down the drive)
and a preschooler
(who hates to go IN a store)
~
Running errands on a Monday
is not my idea of a good time
~
Brandon is always such a great helper!
thanks, Bud
I couldn't do Mondays without you!
~
If we don't have a ton of stuff to do
we like to make a quick stop at the Salvation Army thrift store
Lily & I look for fabric
(clothes to re-make into shoes for the little ones)
and
clothes with the 75% off color tags.
(I don't like to pay full price even at the thrift store!)
Brandon & the boys
check out the toys
and look in the housewares department
for 'vintages'
(old orange Tupperware)

todays bargains - $3.25

for Lana, a sweater and an antique sifter - just like mine!
sandals for me - which, won't be shared with Lana this summer...
and a 'workerman' hat for the boys

~

then we do the real errands

~

The boys have figured out that if they really behave,
We can usually manage to squeeze some fun in, too.
Most days we go to the park.
The 12:30 bell from Grand Avenue Baptist Church
is our signal to leave to pick up Ton';
the bell rings & we all run for one last trip down the slide
then its a race to see who can get buckled first.
Usually, it's a tie!
~
Today, it was too cold for the park
so we went to Learning Oasis
to play with the trains.
(I hope they don't mind!)
As we were leaving, Josiah said
"Thanks for taking us to play with the trains!"
Thanks for being grateful, Bub!

~

Mondays aren't really so bad, after all.

work day

Lily helped Papa fix the wall.

~

When we killed the termites

that had been munching away on the house

for about 40 years -

the house went into 'rapid decay' mode.

(we honestly didn't think

things could get much worse than they were!)

Turns out that the little buggers actually keep

natural decay from setting in while they're going about their business.

We'd considered letting them live

but when they started eating our John Bell picture

just a few months after we moved in,

they signed their own death warrant!

Josiah helped paint the bedroom door
while Jeremiah and Brandon painted the bathroom door
all by themselves!
looks great, guys

when they headed to Yeagers
I said, "You do realize they think they get to paint?!"
we're talking $30 a gal high gloss make a mess trim paint, here....
he said, "they do get to paint!!"

Honey, I'm proud of you!
it's hard to let little guys help do big jobs

now the girl is plumb tuckered out!

beading

Finally

started sewing beads on the wedding dress

It's going to take a long time!

p.s.

Tyler is singing to Lily

"sweet little baby girl"

Lily is singing back

"I love you daddy"

so precious

~

I love you both!!

p.p.s.

yes

all pictures

having to do with

anything

the beautiful bride will be wearing

are intentionally blurry

Jeremiah, problem solver

I went in the bathroom awhile ago

and Jeremiah excitedly told me how he'd fixed a problem.

~

He'd noticed that sometimes when he peed

it went through the seat and toilet rim

(aka that little hole)

onto the floor.

So, he had carefully put a towel on the floor to catch the pee.

I told him he could just make sure to point in the toilet...

"Naw, this works great!"

~

I have to appreciate that he noticed the problem in the first place!

what is it with little boys and baby powder?

"Stop putting salt in the water pitcher!"

I said this a few minutes after we'd wound up

- for the second time -

the 15 yards of curly ribbon

that was snaking through the house.

Which was not long after

I found this in the bathroom

There are similar, though smaller, powder piles

in all three bedrooms;

the boys didn't look much better,

but I couldn't take a picture of them

lest they mistake it as approval.....

~

This is actually a mess similar to

- but not nearly so big -

as a mess TJ made when he was about 3.

He had snuck our economy-sized baby powder

into his bedroom

and completely covered himself

his sister

his shoes

their beds...

you get the point.

this happened

not long after he'd poured our 3 month supply of shampoo

in the toilet...

We were livid at the time; we've laughed about since.

~

I'm not sure if we've

mellowed, matured, or turned into wimps

but the boys didn't even get spanked.

I just made them watch me clean up the mess

(not nearly as much fun as 'helping' clean up)

and talked about how much extra work

they make for the family when they make such messes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Momma."

~

oh - kids,

you might want to rinse out the pitcher

before getting a glass of water.

save the date

After a series of unfortunate events
revisions
a big bad blunder (by me)
and a few tearful hours (me, again) & conversations with the Papa
we’ve come to a decision
~
It’s just too late to finish and send out
the save-the-date cards
we finally perfected
~
We were already pushing it.
They should have been sent out before we ever even took the picture
2 weeks ago
but we figured we could pull it together quickly enough
(and they were so clever)
that it’d still be okay.
~
What we thought would take hours,
took days.
Then at the last minute
(of already late)
we changed our minds
because we’d finally found ‘perfect’.
Everyone agreed.
We really weren’t slowing down the process at this point,
since we were going to have to wait on the envelopes anyways….
~
So - we’ve been waiting for a week for this specialized cardstock
to print the pictures on
(it may not sound like it, but they really looked stunning!)

~
When the order came today - I found paper, not cardstock!
Somehow, I had ordered the wrong stuff!!
There is no time to re-order....

~
Since you've been waiting patiently

I'd figured I'd go ahead and share

what would have been

the sweetest

most lovingly created

save-the-date cards

of 2008

I'm sorry I messed up, Luke & Lana!

Good thing your marriage doesn't depend on me!!

just life

peas in a pod, no?!

didya vote?

voted this evening

~

Lana went with us

for the first - and last - time.

~

I love you, my patriotic princess!

Tyler brought me flowers last night

just because

*sigh*

socks & speakin'

Lana made LilyPie a new pair of socks
ooh, they are just so sweet!
thanks, Sissia!

Speaking of'Sissia

I wanted to record some of Lily's words (at 10 months old)

before we forget....

Sissia - is what Lily calls Lana - when she doesn't call her 'Lana'

she calls all of the boys 'Bubba'

but she also calls TJ - 'TJ' & Tony 'Tony'

Mama & Dada

are said often

~

She also says

darling

she refuses to call Luke 'Luke'

he's 'darling'

I kid you not!!

Donor

good dog

dog

tickle

(this actually sounds a lot like 'dada'

but she says it when someone is tickling her feet)

thank-you

uh-oh

yes

no-no

cracker

bite

(she also says the name of who she's offering a bite to)

baby

(the first time she said this was when she got a doll

for Christmas she took one look at it and said, "baby!")

sock

shoe

(she looks at her feet then looks for her shoes while saying 'shoe')

~

she sings 'A la Ru'

(one of Lana's Choir songs)

~

I imagine I've missed a few;

I also imagine I'll be corrected in the comments :-)

~

we were remembering today that Josiah used to say 'hallelujah'

repeatedly

when he was happy

mad

&

sad

~

I so love hearing my children speak!

I talk to my babies all the time

keeping up a running commentary

and telling them how much I love them.

I used to joke that the first words out of my babies' mouths

would be "momma, would you please be quiet?!!"

but, they don't seem to mind my chatter

after all

~

Let your speech be always be gracious...

Col 4:6

happy groundhog day

Happy Groundhog Day!

~

Lily was watching the plate go around the table

and pretty much just expected that she would get a cupcake too.

So, I gave her one.

shocker,

I know.

I still can't believe it myself;

she sure did enjoy it, though!

shhhh

After receiving some very sad news this morning

I went in to wake up Tyler.

~

This is what I found

guess who's still sleeping?

~

When I was pregnant with Lily

one of my favorite parts of the day

was naptime

(duh!)

but not so much because of the nap

(although it was always appreciated, too)

but because of my napping buddies.

~

I would lay down between Jeremiah & Josiah;

I loved the feeling of 'love' as we all fell asleep

ahhhh

Since they snuggle up nice and close

I'd sleep for about 20 minutes or so till I got uncomfortable

(squished)

I could get up, ready to face the afternoon

'cause I'd had twenty minutes of sleep

and

sweet little boy snuggles

just stuff

As a general rule

we drink water around here;

when the boys are tired of water

they make lemonade with lemon juice and stevia.

~

that said,

I do love an ice-cold dr Pepper

caffeine-free, of course in honor of the nursing babe

(we calculated yesterday that I have either been pregnant, nursing,

or BOTH for the past 5 years

27 months of pregancy & 41 months of breastfeeding)

Tyler keeps a stash of the gold cans and 1 or 2 in the fridge

so he can suprise me with my favorite beverage every once in a while.

thanks, babe

I love you, too!!

~

no story here; just 2 sweet bubs playing game-boy

We got snow!

but, obviously
not much.....