I really left everybody hanging, didn't I? I apologize for that. Things have been crazy here the last few days. Our second day of shearing was a disaster, and we didn't finish the job. Chuck had to fly out on Thursday at 7 a.m. which meant getting everybody up at 5:00 in order to get to the airport by six. When we got home, Thomas' face was swollen and he was running a fever. I've been treating a cavity in one of his molars for the past several months, but without success. I took him in to the dentist, and we are waiting for the swelling to go down (which it has) before figuring out what needs to be done with his tooth. Our first lamb was born late Friday morning, but he isn't doing well at all. The children named him Pete. Either his Mama is too excitable or he is too weak, but either way he cannot nurse. It has been very discouraging. To top it all off, Thomas locked us all out of the house while we were outside yesterday! Needless to say, there is now an emergency key hidden outside, out of reach of children and snowdrifts. Sorry this isn't a very nice post, but I'm about worn out! Hopefully things will settle down over the next few days, one way or another. Thomas will be going to the dentist on Tuesday, so please keep him in your prayers.
God bless!
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
One Down, Two to Go!
Our poor little ram was a guinea pig today. We had our first adventures into shearing. I intended to get "before" and "after" pictures, but didn't think of it at the time. Now I'm rather glad. To be honest, he looks downright ridiculous- something like the combination of a wet cat and an unevenly trimmed hedge. On the positive side, we didn't cut him, and we can only get better at it! I'll try to remember to get pictures when we do the other two tomorrow. I am SO thankful that Chuck is here and willing to help! Still, flipping and shearing a sheep is not nearly as easy as the online experts make it look! I admit I am a little nervous about doing the girls tomorrow. I'm not even sure we will get any usable wool out of it this time. Oh, well...
I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
God bless!
I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
God bless!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A Beautiful Sunday
Today was a beautiful day. It started perfect, ended perfect, and in the middle of it I got a nap!
I woke up before the alarm went off. I so much prefer waking up on my own, especially when it isn't late! We were able to have a quick breakfast and got to Mass on time without rushing. When we got home from church, everybody got changed into play clothes and we went for a long walk to the back edge of the property. We got back to the river after going what turned out to be the long way. The kids took off their galoshes and went wading. I thought they had to be crazy, but they said the water wasn't too cold and after all that walking the cool mud had to have felt good on bare toes.
We made it back to the house a bit after one and made sandwiches from yesterday's leftover meatloaf. I think from now on whenever I make meatloaf we will not eat it until the next day! The kids played outside the rest of the afternoon while I napped with Thomas.
Then this evening came the best treat of all. Chuck called to say he will be home tomorrow. He was working nights on this job, and the last two weeks seemed to go by slower than usual. I guess after spending so much time all together while out of town, it still felt like we haven't had him home in a long time. He'll probably have a tricky time converting back to a daytime schedule. Poor guy; I have lots of work for him to do, too.
Looks like tomorrow will be a wonderful day, too!
God bless!
I woke up before the alarm went off. I so much prefer waking up on my own, especially when it isn't late! We were able to have a quick breakfast and got to Mass on time without rushing. When we got home from church, everybody got changed into play clothes and we went for a long walk to the back edge of the property. We got back to the river after going what turned out to be the long way. The kids took off their galoshes and went wading. I thought they had to be crazy, but they said the water wasn't too cold and after all that walking the cool mud had to have felt good on bare toes.
We made it back to the house a bit after one and made sandwiches from yesterday's leftover meatloaf. I think from now on whenever I make meatloaf we will not eat it until the next day! The kids played outside the rest of the afternoon while I napped with Thomas.
Then this evening came the best treat of all. Chuck called to say he will be home tomorrow. He was working nights on this job, and the last two weeks seemed to go by slower than usual. I guess after spending so much time all together while out of town, it still felt like we haven't had him home in a long time. He'll probably have a tricky time converting back to a daytime schedule. Poor guy; I have lots of work for him to do, too.
Looks like tomorrow will be a wonderful day, too!
God bless!
Vacation Pictures
top row, left: It was a long drive!
top row, right: A VERY long drive!!
center row, left: Five Generations (from L to R) Chuck's Grandma, Chuck's Mom, Chuck, and Chuck's Great-Grandma with the children. (Daniel snuck out of that picture, somehow.)
center row, right: The kids got to pose on Great-Uncle Lyle's motorcycle
bottom row, left: a beautiful picture of Chuck's sister, Mary.
bottom row, right: party at Amanda's house... the kids
And finally, my adorable little sis, Melissa, who has a birthday tomorrow!!!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday, God bless you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Edited to add: sorry the captions for the pictures are mixed up, but it is late and I'm tired foolin' with it. Enjoy the pictures anyway!
God bless!
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Today's Check-Up
My midwife visited me today. Yes, she prefers to make her appointments for Saturdays, and she comes to me. We sat around the kitchen table chatting for a while before getting down to "business". For those who are keeping track (and who isn't?) I am beginning the 18th week of pregnancy. My uterus is right where it should be (measuring 19cm), and my blood pressure is good. I gained five pounds according to her scale, and two pounds according to mine- guess which one I will believe. She could just make out the heartbeat with the fetoscope but it wasn't clear enough to get a heart rate. I have a fetoscope of my own, so I'll keep trying. They say you can tell the gender of a baby by the heart rate- girls have a faster heartbeat than boys. That is probably about as accurate as the old trick of suspending the father's wedding ring from a string above the belly to see which way it spins.
I finally made it out to clean up the van. I'm too embarrassed to admit the amount of stuff I pulled out of it. We cleaned it before we left for our trip, too. It sure looks a lot better, and we can get in or out without water bottles, books, and jackets falling out! The van looked so nice that I decided we needed to tidy up the garage. We weren't able to do much since "Daddy's side" of the garage is more-or-less Off Limits, and "our side" is where things that need to go to the dump accumulate, along with the sleds, snow shovels, basket balls, and assorted things-that-might-come-in-handy-someday. At least we got it swept pretty well, so the "van's part" of the garage looks great!
Tomorrow should be a pretty nice day. I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend!
God bless!
I finally made it out to clean up the van. I'm too embarrassed to admit the amount of stuff I pulled out of it. We cleaned it before we left for our trip, too. It sure looks a lot better, and we can get in or out without water bottles, books, and jackets falling out! The van looked so nice that I decided we needed to tidy up the garage. We weren't able to do much since "Daddy's side" of the garage is more-or-less Off Limits, and "our side" is where things that need to go to the dump accumulate, along with the sleds, snow shovels, basket balls, and assorted things-that-might-come-in-handy-someday. At least we got it swept pretty well, so the "van's part" of the garage looks great!
Tomorrow should be a pretty nice day. I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend!
God bless!
Friday, April 13, 2007
Home and Back to "Normal"
No, we are not still drifting in Minnesota somewhere. We made it home Easter Sunday afternoon (Blessed Easter, everyone!) and have been busy catching up with this and that. Laundry is back under control and we are resuming our familiar routines. It is good to be home!
I caught a serious case of Spring Fever down there in Tulsa, and then came home to a couple of feet of snow. So I've been turning my attentions indoors and trying to spruce the place up a bit. A trip to the thrift store led to the discovery of three Hummel plaques. I really like Hummel figures; they are just as sweet and collectible as the Precious Moments, but without looking so depressed.
I also splurged on some maternity clothes. I've made it through the last two pregnancies just rolling my waistbands down under "the bump" but I lived in constant fear of an embarrassing incident. So I now have a pair of pants and a few shirts. Not that I'm really needing maternity clothes yet. It is ridiculous to be four months pregnant for the seventh time and still fit in regular jeans. I have a visit with the midwife tomorrow, so maybe I'll have an update after that.
I've just been reminded that it is story time. We have been reading Lewis' Prince Caspian chapter by chapter for the last two months. It has been such slow going because I often skipped story time while I was sick. Now that I am feeling better (thank you, Lord!) the kids are anxious to finish it.
God bless!
I caught a serious case of Spring Fever down there in Tulsa, and then came home to a couple of feet of snow. So I've been turning my attentions indoors and trying to spruce the place up a bit. A trip to the thrift store led to the discovery of three Hummel plaques. I really like Hummel figures; they are just as sweet and collectible as the Precious Moments, but without looking so depressed.
I also splurged on some maternity clothes. I've made it through the last two pregnancies just rolling my waistbands down under "the bump" but I lived in constant fear of an embarrassing incident. So I now have a pair of pants and a few shirts. Not that I'm really needing maternity clothes yet. It is ridiculous to be four months pregnant for the seventh time and still fit in regular jeans. I have a visit with the midwife tomorrow, so maybe I'll have an update after that.
I've just been reminded that it is story time. We have been reading Lewis' Prince Caspian chapter by chapter for the last two months. It has been such slow going because I often skipped story time while I was sick. Now that I am feeling better (thank you, Lord!) the kids are anxious to finish it.
God bless!
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Heading Home
We left a day later than planned, but we made it all the way to St. Paul. We thought about trying to drive straight through, but the realization that we would arrive around 4 a.m. coupled with our uncertainty about road conditions convinced us otherwise.
Here is a short recap of our visit. We arrived on Thursday evening and the kids and Chuck spent some time at his brother's house while I visited Dad. On Friday Chuck had to take our van to get the front brakes replaced. As we were leaving home, we had noticed some slight grinding noises, and we figured we should probably get them looked at when we arrived in Tulsa. By the time we got there, the brakes sounded horrible enough that visiting the auto shop became our first priority for Friday. It turns out we were incredibly fortunate to have made it to Tulsa with the brakes in such condition- not only were the brake pads completely gone, but the rotors and calipers were terribly corroded. Actually it worked out for the best because having the brakes fixed in Tulsa was probably easier and less expensive than it could have been in the UP. That took all day, but we went to Chuck's Aunt Barbara's house that evening, and I went to the hospital. On Saturday we spent the afternoon and evening with Mom and Amanda. Sunday we spent in Mannford at Chuck's Grandma's house. We took a day "off" on Monday- slept late, had a leisurely breakfast, and pretty much just drove around. That night Chuck went out with his brother Jessie. On Tuesday we went to the zoo with Amanda and the girls. That was so much fun! On Wednesday we went to Mannford again, and Thursday we spent in Siloam Springs with Chuck's Mom and sister. We had originally planned to leave Friday (yesterday) but we needed an extra day to visit my family. We left Tulsa this morning at 7:22 a.m. and spent about 13 hours on the road. Tomorrow we only have about six hours more before we are home.
Dad was released from the hospital on Thursday. Thank you to everyone for the prayers for him, and please continue to pray if you think of it.
God bless!
Here is a short recap of our visit. We arrived on Thursday evening and the kids and Chuck spent some time at his brother's house while I visited Dad. On Friday Chuck had to take our van to get the front brakes replaced. As we were leaving home, we had noticed some slight grinding noises, and we figured we should probably get them looked at when we arrived in Tulsa. By the time we got there, the brakes sounded horrible enough that visiting the auto shop became our first priority for Friday. It turns out we were incredibly fortunate to have made it to Tulsa with the brakes in such condition- not only were the brake pads completely gone, but the rotors and calipers were terribly corroded. Actually it worked out for the best because having the brakes fixed in Tulsa was probably easier and less expensive than it could have been in the UP. That took all day, but we went to Chuck's Aunt Barbara's house that evening, and I went to the hospital. On Saturday we spent the afternoon and evening with Mom and Amanda. Sunday we spent in Mannford at Chuck's Grandma's house. We took a day "off" on Monday- slept late, had a leisurely breakfast, and pretty much just drove around. That night Chuck went out with his brother Jessie. On Tuesday we went to the zoo with Amanda and the girls. That was so much fun! On Wednesday we went to Mannford again, and Thursday we spent in Siloam Springs with Chuck's Mom and sister. We had originally planned to leave Friday (yesterday) but we needed an extra day to visit my family. We left Tulsa this morning at 7:22 a.m. and spent about 13 hours on the road. Tomorrow we only have about six hours more before we are home.
Dad was released from the hospital on Thursday. Thank you to everyone for the prayers for him, and please continue to pray if you think of it.
God bless!
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