Merry Christmas!

Sleep is overrated.

I say this, of course, because I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in many moons. This month, however, has been exceptionally lacking, due to sick children. Ever since Eden got croup, we seem to be passing the bug in circles. Right now it is 0430 Christmas morning and my son, who is well fed, yet has a faucet for a nose, is much too awake to sleep. So, we sit and look at each other. His big blue eyes can win over even the toughest of hearts and the longest of nights. And that toothless grin is to die for. I think God made babies cute so that they live to toddler-hood where they come up with another cute feature to survive until childhood and so on and so forth.

As you can imagine, this past week has been busy. I fully intended to blog all about it on Monday, but I was in the middle of a miserable cold and thought sitting on the couch holding my sick son, listening to my whining daughter would be more fun. With four services in three days, I’m hoping for a quiet, nap-filled afternoon today. (It’s Christmas, I can hope!)

The choir sang on Sunday morning, and as soon as I got to church to warm up, Eden threw up all over herself. She had on such a cute dress, too. We made it through the service, sang our piece, and I fled, only to have her throw up all over the blazer on the ride home.

Yesterday, there was no day care and I was running on one solid hour of sleep. I had two kids who wanted to be held exclusively all day, fighting over my lap, while I held closely to the box of tissue and a bottle of water. And they cried. Both of them. All afternoon. With Sudafed running through my blood, I lasted until about 3:30p, when I called my ever-so-compassionate husband and begged him to come home from work. Mind you, it was Christmas Eve and he’s the pastor. But it’s hard to argue with ‘in sickness and in health’ when your wife is crying along with your kids on the other end of the phone line. He finished his sermon and was home in half an hour.

There was some joy to the week. Watching Eden chase Samson with blinking reindeer antlers, trying to squeeze them on his head, was one of them.

The big highlight of the week was when I heard ‘splash splash giggle’ coming from the upstairs bathroom. I was too tired to comprehend what was going on until it dawned on me that the only thing in the bathroom that can make that sound is Eden and the toilet. By then it was much too late. The entire bathroom was covered in toilet water. With the help of the toilet brush, she dipped and flung it all over the place. I had water dripping from the ceiling, the walls, the mirror, the cupboards and the shower curtain. When I walked in the water was all gone, and she’d just flushed to get more! Clever girl. Even more clever was when I shooed her out of the bathroom to clean it up. While I was cleaning the upstairs bathroom, she was in the downstairs bathroom doing the exact same thing!! You’d think a mother would have more brains than to let it happen twice, in the same day and indeed, in the same hour. But alas, chalk it up to lack of sleep. I was completely shocked, yet amused all at the same time.

It is now 9:00 pm. Both my children are asleep, though I expect Lars to wake up momentarily. After writing early this morning, I decided to disinfect the house. I opened all the windows, pulled out my can of Lysol and got down to business. I sprayed every non-wood surface in this house. Then I went back to bed. I didn’t really get to go back to sleep, but I did doze for 45 minutes while Al was getting ready for church. Eden was still sleeping when we should have been leaving, so I stayed home with them. Guess I was kind of tired of juggling two little ones, the hymnal and the snotty Kleenexes.

When the kids got up, I took every blanket, pillowcase and sheet I could find and put it the washer. (Eden didn’t give her blanket up until much later in the afternoon). When it was blowing snow into the house, I took one last deep breath of fresh air, and shut the windows. Eden, often naked, came out of her bedroom wrapped in her blanket yelling, “I FREEZING!”

Christmas went off without a hitch. Al came home from church and we ate a delicious homemade sausage and egg bread loaf. (Made in somebody else’s home, that is). We began to open gifts. Eden opened her first one, a talking Barbie phone from Uncle Matt and family, then proceeded to play with it for twenty minutes! About a third of the way through, we all took an hour nap. Then, we dug in again until we quit for supper. Eden is exceptionally slow at gift opening. With every new book she opened, she would sit on her daddy’s lap and say, ‘read it’. After he was done, she’d open it up and say ‘read again’.

When we’d finished, the paper strewn house was full of new toys and knick knacks that needed new spots. It was a wonderful & blustery snowy Christmas, with a fresh 4” coat of the white stuff to end the evening.

In a world of sinus drainage, colds and ear aches, we are blessed indeed with the celebration of our Savior’s birth and the endless needs He provides. Merry Christmas, everyone.

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas”…..Ok, that’s not quite true. I haven’t slept long or hard enough in over 3 months to actually dream! However, it is beautifully white here in Western Nebraska. The snow has been falling most of the week, and though it’s supposed to warm up this week, it’s supposed to be snowing again by next weekend.

Nine days until Christmas…..is your shopping done? Once again, we didn’t get anything for our children for Christmas this year. They have enough stuff from the relatives that we thought we’d spend it on diapers instead. I am looking forward to finding some stocking stuffers, however. Last night, Eden and I put the presents under the tree. A bold move on my part, I know. Only two labels got torn off, but no presents were opened ‘accidently’ yet.

We have been flooded with Christmas cards. I love it! Last year, I didn’t have much time to read them, packing and traveling and all that. This year, I’ve been able to catch up on everybody’s lives. All my friends are married with children now and strange to think that I am one of them… Didn’t I just get out of high school??

Eden’s new question of life is, “Who’s that?” From people in line at the grocery store, to the newscaster on TV and unnamed characters in picture books, it’s, “Who’s that?” I have made up more names than I ever thought possible!

Al took Friday off and instead of cleaning the house for the circuit social, we played outside in the fresh fallen snow. Click on the slideshow above for the whole day’s playing. (The pastor’s social was cancelled due to the weather.) Al fashioned a sled out of a plastic garbage lid and tied some rope to it, then took Eden for a spin. It was a bit too wild for her, however, and she was in tears the whole time. We’ll have to try it a bit slower next time. Samson had a great time in the snow, but he kept stealing Eden’s mittens and running off with them. With the snow a foot deep, it was hard to chase after him to get them back.

Lars has Eden’s croupy cough. We thought it was getting better and now he sounds awful. Kids are always the sickest on the weekends, aren’t they?? We’ll see what tonight brings.

On Thursday, I invited a bunch of children over to decorate Christmas cookies. Since I wanted to do a few myself, and give Eden the opportunity to be creative, I thought this would be a fun way to do it. It was a big, messy riot! Everybody had a great time and got to take a plate of cookies home. That’s definately something worth doing again next year. Eden’s favorite color is green, so all her cookies were green. All green. Some with green M&M’s and green sprinkles.

Tomorrow, the Red Wings game is going to be on VS (cable), so I am way excited about this. This will be the 3^rd game this season I’ve been able to watch, which is something new since we’ve acquired cable. I’m not much of a cable TV fan, but there are a few benefits. This being one of them J

Keep enjoying the weather everybody!

December Snow!

December is here and so is the snow! We have a good 5" of the white fluffy stuff heavy laden on the branches of the pine trees & all over the grass. It's also causing fun road conditions. I'm ashamed to admit that I have no sled for my daughter to experience. On the other hand, we really have no hills in the immediate vicinity. I love it when it snows all day and I can listen to Christmas music, stay indoors with my big windows, and not have to go anywhere. Someday, I'll be able to sit on the couch with a blanket and read a good book. However, this past week, I held sick kids and rocked instead.

Looking back over the week, my calendar is all but blank. I don't know how that is, really, because I never have a dull moment. I went to an auction last Saturday, and came home with a winter scene framed picture and an antique chamber pot. Also, as a bonus, a whole set of 1960's powder blue hard back suitcases. Anybody in need?

Eden suffered from her case of the croup all week, coughing and hacking until she was out of breath. She would then yell for her blanket, call for mommy or daddy and say, "ROCK". Needless to say, she missed daycare on Monday, Story Hour on Tuesday, and church on Wednesday.

Friday, I made 8 batches of peanut brittle then broke my really nice candy thermometer. After that, I started out to the garage with the recyclables and slipped on stair number 5 of the back deck, sledding down on my backside without a sled. The tread is years gone on the wood steps and with the icy snow against my house slippers, I was no match. You could see my finger swipes in the snow on the steps all the way down, grappling for something to hold on to. Al rushed to my aide and after polishing my damaged pride, I went back in the house. Saturday, it was Motrin all day. Sunday was more Motrin. Looking forward to the chiropracter tomorrow!

Saturday, Eden went to Douthit's house during the day and I took a long winter's nap. Then, their girls came over for the night while they went to a Christmas party. That worked well. I had entertainment for Eden most all day! We made pizzas to everybody's delight then watched Christmas movies until bed time. Older kids are easier. They are potty trained.

Tonight, Eden, Al & I decorated the Christmas tree. It's had lights for a week, but no ornaments. It's looking a bit top heavy, with all the 'careful' ornaments on the skinny top and all the unbreakable ones on the wide bottom. I understand the concept of this, but it looks a bit silly.

Tis the season for Christmas music...so turn the radio up and enjoy yourself!







Don't forget to vote, below. And read this week's quote for quite a laugh. :-)

In Sickness and in Health....

This is an abbreviated weekly blog. Read slow to get the normal effect.

Very fun week. Kids are a blast. Until they get sick. This is one of those times. Eden has finally fallen asleep, on her knees, leaning her head against Lars' bouncy chair. I moved her to the couch, where she remains with her 103 temperature and seal-like bark. A tell tale sign of croup, but I hope I'm wrong.

Last night, she spiked a fever and ended up on our bedroom floor. Lars' cradle was on my side of the bed, and Eden was on Al's side. The dog also came in to join us at some point. Nothing like having a 4 bedroom house when everybody is crammed into one room for the night. Unfortunately, when Eden woke up at 0300, she didn't go back to sleep. She laid on the floor and talked and talked and talked. By 0400, Al and I were in stitches... too tired to believe this was happening.

Friday was a wonderful day. We headed to Scottsbluff in the morning for family pictures. Lars was awake the whole time and Eden smiled on cue. But when they were done, they were done. We had a quick lunch, then headed to the doctor for Lars' 2 month check up. He is 11 pounds even & 23" long. He had 4 shots and Eden got her flu shot. Then we did our big December shop and headed home for a pork roast.

Wednesday, I forgot about choir. I called Laura part way thru the practice to ask her a question and her daughter answered the phone saying, "no, she's in choir" and I said, "Oh, I didn't know she sang in a choir. Oh wait. That's the same choir I sing in. I'll be right there". This is the reason Al didn't come home at the regularly scheduled supper time. Oops.

If you don't have a two year old and an infant, you really should get yourself one. You don't know what you're missing! Now I need to go take care of them.

Here are some photos from healthier days this week.






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Monday morning early addition:
When mothers are right.... I took Eden to the ER last night when she just couldn't breathe anymore and her temp was going up with Motrin/Tylenol, instead of down. In a matter of 10 minutes, they gave her a breathing treatment and an injection of high dose steroids, followed by two Dora the Explorer stickers. Less than an hour later, we walked home. The 15 degree air helped tremendously. She slept all night and then some, on our bedroom floor. Lars, on the other hand, was up from 0230 until morning, and then some. He's still crying, actually. But there comes a time in every mother's life where you say, "ok child, if you're going to cry whether I hold you or not, then I'm going to put you down to cry". Again, this is one of those moments. Al is in Denver picking up my Christmas present that I picked out and bought :-) I can't wait until he's home tonight! God bless mothers/fathers/grandparents/caregivers everywhere!

How Thankful we are

Well, according to last week's online poll, "Would you leave the country if a woman was elected president?" 50% of you would move out of the country if it were a viable option. 30% will stick around to see what happens and 20% say, "Go Hilary!" Vote on this week's poll below.

"Eden, what does a turkey say?"
"Gobble Gobble"

I love that. Can't get over how much fun Eden is at two years old. Granted, I don't think that every moment of the day, but it's cute to hear her say words for the first time. It also serves as a reminder of what we adults say maybe a bit too much. Currently, that reminder would be for Sarah's phrase of "oh my gosh".... in which Eden repeats it with much exaggeration.

The other phrase would be (upon changing a really poopy diaper), "holy moly!" which sounds more like, "ho-y mo-y". Somebody mispronounced Lars' name this morning in church and she firmly and loudly corrected them with her well annunciated, "EL-E-A-ZER!" O-key-do-key then.

This morning during the sermon, Eden began talking and I said to her, "Shh, daddy's talking. We need to be quiet." And she said out loud right back to me, "Daddy need be quiet". She was either trying to repeat me, or else she was trying to shut him up. I'm still not sure which! Then, during bible class, towards the end, Eden got down off my lap and ran up to her daddy who was teaching and yelled, "LUNCH!” The whole class laughed and he quickly wrapped it up and said a prayer. Man, she's just like her mother.

Congratulations to Tammy, Eden's day care provider, who got her down for a nap last Monday without a pacifier! She has gone to sleep every night since then without one. Still hasn't been able to leave Lars' alone, however, if his is sitting there unused. We ask her if she's just keeping it warm for him and she says, "Yes" and puts her head down. As if this makes it all ok. It's a start, at any rate...

Eden is becoming more of a help for me during the day. For example, when he sneezes, she'll come running from wherever she is, climb up on the island for a Kleenex ("NE NEX") and wipe his nose, telling him, "BLOW". Very cute. Unfortunately, he cries every time.

Tuesday night, Lars was up from 0230 on. Around 0500, Al laid Lars on top of his chest and they both slept like that until 0730, when Lars woke up hungry and refreshed and Al woke up sore, cramped and comatose-like as he staggered to the shower. The next morning, I got Eden out of bed and took her to the window to show her the first snowfall of the season. I said, "Look Eden, outside. What is that?" and she said, "What happened?" I told her that it snowed in the night and she pointed to the back yard and said, "Grass hiding" then calmly climbed up on her stool for breakfast. During the day, Eden and I made 8 loaves of pumpkin bread for friends. I just kept moving to stay awake. Of course, with Wednesday normally being an extra long day, we also added a Thanksgiving Eve service to the mix at 7:00 p.m. The LC-MS should just re-title all evening services to "Fun with children".

Wednesday night, Lars slept a grand total of 40 minutes. Since I theorized that Al would be doing the bulk of tomorrow's driving back to Wilcox and I could nap, I stayed up with Lars.

Thursday morning, we got up early to hit the road. We'd packed the car late Wednesday night (because Wednesday was such a slow day with nothing else to do), so we were ready to go once everybody was dressed. The first two hours of the car ride, Al said, "Maybe we just turn around and go home." and "This is nuts. Traveling with two kids is just plain stupid." and "Whose idea was this, anyway." and "Can you keep them quiet, please?"

I kid you not, for that leg of the trip; I had my head and sometimes whole body in the backseat trying to appease one, and then the other. "Cheerios!" "Water!" "WAAAAAHHH" "book dropped it" "WAAAAAHHH" "Lars is hungry. Mommy feed." "WAAAAAAHHHHHH" "More Cheerios please" "Book dropped it" "Shoe off" "WAAAAHHH" "Shoe on!" "Water" "WAAHHH" When the 96 pound mutt got antsy because he had to poop and jumped over the backseat, parking his enormous body half on Lars, who is now being crushed to death, and Eden, who is screaming and bleeding from his claws, I started laughing, as I thought of what great material this was making for my future best selling novel. "Memoirs of a pastor's wife."

We pulled off on the interstate to let Samson do his business. Which he wouldn't. Probably too much traffic. We load back up. Both kids screaming, and hit the next rest stop. I take Samson for a 15 minute walk with Eden. We have success in 19 degree snowy weather. I change both kids’ diapers and feed Lars. Then we switch drivers. Within 5 miles of the rest stop, everybody falls asleep and I'm prying my eyelids open with toothpicks to stay awake. So much for taking last night's late shift for today's nap...

We arrive at the Jenkins on time (miraculous, no doubt) and enjoy a turkey dinner with all the fixings. Al and I wave to the crowd and climb on the bed downstairs with out our children in ear shot and promptly fall asleep. Two hours of uninterrupted sleep. Wow. That's all I have to say about that. Wow.

Friday, we do some visiting around Wilcox. Take another nap. Jenkins are having a football party and playing cards with a dozen people. Al does some serious 10 point pitch playing, which is the woosey version of Euchre and I dislike it very much. I just kicked back and relaxed. That night, we played Settlers of Catan, which is a German strategy game that we really enjoy. Al won in less than 2 hours and we called it a night. Got up and around on Saturday, and Sarah drove home while Al sermonized. We really did more talking than him working, though, and I was thankful to chat while it was quiet. It was a beautiful clear day, and the kids slept the 1st three hours of the trip. The last hour was a bit longer.

No Neck Eliezer. Or as his Papa calls him, "My future MSU nose tackle"

Today, we backed the vehicles out of the garage and got all the Christmas boxes down. Al is sorting hobby stuff to sell and I got three strands of lights up. I don’t' think we'll do the roofline here because it is very high up and we don't have a tall ladder. I'll see where else I can put lights tomorrow. Eden, Lars and I went to Douthits for pizza and a mini-fashion show with the girls, as they were trying on new clothes. Laura and I visited until it was Eden's bedtime. Came home to see that Al had hung all the new frames on the wall going down the steps. Now, we just need to find photos for the frames!

Thanks to Mickey and Wayne for this adorable toy hamper.
The feature of this week's slide show!

Hope everybody had a blessed Thanksgiving weekend and stayed safe. We are very thankful for the people in our lives and the gifts that God has bestowed upon us, above and beyond our salvation. Friends who are family, children who are given to us to care for, a spouse to share life's daily tasks of living and money to provide. Christ be with you all.

Fun with the Jenkins family in Wilcox

In honor of Veteran's Day

I added a link to a 7 minute "you tube" video. It's pretty neat if you like art in action &/or you're somewhat patriotic. Click on the title to see it. Make sure your speaker is on.

Well, I just sat down to look at my calendar of this past week's events, and realized that we were supposed to be in Gering an hour ago for an appreciation supper. Oops. An hour ago, Eden and I were playing in the leaves. I much more appreciate that!

You have two more days to vote! (see bottom of page) And I demand some comments on our new blog. Everybody else's blogs has comments. What do I have to do to get some, Huh?? Ok, sorry, I'm just grateful that somebody checks it out every now and again :-)

Monday, Eden went to daycare and I worked like a fiend to get things done around here. Spent the morning uptown doing odds-n-ends errands. She was back home before I knew it.

Tuesday, we went to Scottsbluff in the morning. Al had to record at the studio and the rest of us went along for the ride. Naturally, our county had a high wind advisory and we were playing dodge ball with all the tumble weed flying across the highway, laughing at all the people who had it stuck in their grill or under their chassis. It was funny until we hit a big bundle and drug it all the way to town.

Wednesday, I made potato soup and fresh bread. The house smelled wonderful all day, (minus the kid's rooms where the diaper pails are). My newly refurbished carpet cleaner showed up on my front stoop, and I hauled it out of the box, all ready to use it. I got it put together all by myself and realized that the lid to the vacuum part was busted from the gasket. Nice. The broken piece of plastic was in the bottom of the box. I called the company, ready to complain. They didn't even let me get a word in edgewise, they just said they'd send me a new part. I put tape over the gaping hole and said I'd try it out anyway. I'm still waiting for the part....

For Al it was Confirmation class, choir, a quick meal in the office, followed by a longgg evening meeting. I was beginning to think he had fallen asleep at the office. Of course, when he has a long day, so do I. I love my daughter, but it gets old to hear "daddy?" all evening. When I put her to bed, I told her she could lay on her bed and wait for him to come home. That calmed her enough to fall asleep. She really is cute when she sleeps.

Thursday morning, I gave blood at the community center's blood drive. As I was leaving, the tones went off so I got to go on an ambulance call. I put a roast in the slow cooker when I got home, so supper was taken care of and I spent the rest of the day getting the house in some sense of order, as my cousin, Amalea, was coming on Friday.

Friday was full of fun. We got going in the morning with the help of bacon and eggs. The weather was fixing to be beautiful, so Al took the naughty bench outside to stain it. It has been sitting, unfinished, since I bought it at an auction back in Wilcox. After two coats, it's looking very nice. Eden and I played outside and Lars fussed for most of the day. Al also hung up my Ansel Adams black and whites of Yosemite in the upstairs hallway. They add a bit of character. He also hung two umbrellas on the wall next to our new artwork that is now hanging at the top of the stairs. It is very cute. We purchased several frames for the stairwell and now hope to fill them with family photos. That is the latest project forthcoming. I'll post pictures when it's all done.

After lunch on Friday, Lea was still in absentia, so I decided to try out my newly refurbished carpet cleaner. Remember this story from a few weeks ago? Well, I turned it on, let it heat up and pushed the button. Alas, no water comes out. I shut if off, took a deep breath, turned it back on, and tried again. Alas, no water output. As we say in the medical field, the Bissel can't void. Just as I was about to call the company & give them my latest opinion, I saw Lea drive up. So, I put the carpet cleaner away and said I'd deal with it this week.

Friday night was Ladies night at Church and I managed to get 3 pages done, minus the journaling. That was a nice break. Eden looked forward to seeing Alexis and Kyra all day and talked about it from lunch time on. Next time, I won't tell her until an hour before we go.
Lea and Lars lounging

Saturday, the kids and I took Lea to Chimney Rock and ScottsBluff Nat'l Monument. Another beautiful day with balmy weather made it a wonderful day out. We hit Walmart for 20 items or less and it still took nearly an hour. What possessed me to go to Walmart the Saturday before Thanksgiving? What a mad house. There was, like, shopping cart wars. Of course, it's the only Walmart within at least 100 miles.














Lea gives Eden an airplane ride before playing on the floor with Lars

I had help getting the kids ready for church this morning, and we still were late. Walked in right after the preacher did. His stole was crooked the whole service and it really bugged me, but I tried to get over it. Lea left after lunch and we promised to do this 'weekend thing' again. Al put another coat of stain on the bench & then we watched the last Nascar race of the season. Eden & I went outside before it got dark and I raked leaves. Every time I had a pile, she jumped in them. She had a ball and I loved watching her. After a pizza dinner, Eden peed on the floor, then went in the potty an hour later. We're making progress in that department, but oh, how slowly!

Eden atop Scottsbluff National Monument

Welcome Friends

Welcome to our new home...well, our new homepage, anyway. I finally got around to upgrading to the new blogger, so things look a little different. It's been fun to play around with and I welcome all comments about it. Suggestions or otherwise.

November is in full swing in our house. The leaves are falling in the neighbor's yards (we have blue spruce that produce 'pokies', not leaves), days are cooler and nights are cold, All Saint's Day is behind us and it's dark by 5:00 p.m. Way dark.

This week was completely uneventful, really. Things ran smoothly with no major hiccups. I wonder what that means for next week...

I'm really beginning to use Mondays as a work-a-holic day, since Eden is going to daycare. I have been trying to clean and get things done in the morning, work on laundry throughout the day, and then have a couple hours in the afternoon all to myself. Of course, this is all dependent on the boy, who has been somewhat cranky this past week. At any rate, Eden comes home full of stories and energy, then crashes shortly after supper, so Al and I can have a couple hours for each other, as well.

Tuesday was story hour at the library. Unfortunately, they offer it at 12:00 noon, which is about the time Eden usually lays down for a nap. I've been taking her anyway, but maybe not after last week. She sat and listened for about 4 minutes, then wandered around the room, singing to herself. During activity time, she took her cup of apple juice and chucked it at the boy across from her, dousing his color sheet, along with his face. I put her in the corner just in time for Lars to demand a meal, in which case Eden saw it as an opportunity to run away from the time out chair. A swat to the butt didn't do much to help, either, so I struggled through the next 10 minutes until it was time to go. Naturally, she fell asleep in the 1 mile drive home and by the time I got her out of the car, she was no longer interested in napping. The rest of the day was shot.

The first Wednesday of the month is Al's meeting at Runza with the other area pastors, and then doesn't come home until after choir practice at 6:30 p.m. It's also the night I have a fire meeting, so I eat and run. November's meeting is full of nominations for next year's fire and rescue captain, along with all the other spots in the department. Finley, the current ambulance captain and Bridgeport's City Administrator announced that he and his family are moving out of state. He had told me on Monday, and it came as a shock. I was still digesting that news on Wednesday and am sorely disappointed, but happy for them and their new adventure, none-the-less. Of course, this means this his position on the department is open and guess who got nominated to fill it? Hmmm... I have a month to decide. Got back from the meeting just in time to watch a Letterman re-run. Wonder how long that's going to last :-(

On Thursday, I worked at getting the guest room in order, as we had company coming on Friday. The weather was nice and Eden and I played outside. I scooped up dog poop, and she went around the yard looking for it, yelling "dog poop right here!" I'm sure the neighbors were impressed. I tried to funnel her energy into picking up leaves instead, but as soon as she got a handful of leaves, she'd drop them to make room for more. We also set up a cat trap near the alley to catch some of the stray cats that wander around our yard, adding to our poop collection and digging in my garden. So far, no lucky catch.

Friday Al had a day off and we spent it goofing off and playing with the kids. He worked out in the garage for a while, hanging the summer stuff up on the walls and sorting out a bunch of wood I got cheap on an auction. Jason and Lisa arrived shortly after lunch with Tyler, who is 5 months older than Eden. The two reacquainted right away and we all hung out in the fresh air. While we were outside playing, Koozer's showed up with Mitchell, who is 3 and all three kids played in the sandbox while Amy, Lisa and I visited. I was so surprised to see them, and extremely excited. Thankfully, Koozer's are back in Bridgeport for at least a few months while they are house-sitting and still trying to sell their home in Grand Island. We're hoping for the best and praying that their house will sell so they can stay here. That evening, we went to the Pink Palace in McGrew for supper. It was busy and loud, but the food was good.

The rest of the weekend was beautiful and on Sunday, the church had it's annual Thanksgiving Dinner. It was well attended with plenty of food. Eden nearly fell asleep in her mashed potatoes, so I brought the kids home and Eden fell promptly asleep. I fed Lars and he zonked out on the couch. A few minutes later, I followed and next thing we all knew, it was 4:30 and darkness was settling over the land. After our frozen dinner pizza, Eden pooped in the potty and I had my first experience of trying to get sticky poop out of a giant plastic cup. I'm so thrilled about potty training, let me tell you...Now both children are sound asleep, (after finding Eden buck naked half an hour ago on her floor) and I, too, am headed to bed. First, I have to wake my sleeping husband and drag him from the couch. Blessings to you all~

All Hallows Eve

Eden is our little ladybug. She had a pumpkin torch to carry around with her, & was cute as a bug!

Halloween is always a big event in our house. We spend time developing designs for the pumpkins (or, in my case, picking them out of a book), and then hours gutting and carving them. Tuesday night, we put the kids to bed and went to work on our masterpieces. We also watched a TV special on how "trick-or-treating" became such the event that it is. Very interesting. I was getting a bit worried on Tuesday during the day when none of the neighbors had any pumpkins out. I was afraid they were anti-Halloween folk, and feared that we wouldn’t get any trick-or-treaters. Sure, there were a few fall decorations here & there, but nothing too exciting. We plugged away at our pumpkins, none-the-less. I went to bed around 11:00, and he was still carving and perfecting...

On Wednesday, I soaked them all day in the outdoor tub. Shortly before dark, I went to line them on the walkway out front, when I noticed that the neighbor to the north had developed a case of spider webs and goblin decorations. (Later, a couple of witches showed up on their front porch and spooked the fun into trick-or-treaters all evening.) Across the street to the south, another witch was trimming her broom, putting scary music on the stereo and putting out pumpkins. And the neighbors to the east unveiled a dozen freshly carved pumpkins, complete with candles and a strobe light to show the way. Halloween had arrived in full swing on T St!

Because of confirmation class, Al worked until 6p on Wednesday. I was on my own to get the kids fed, diapered and costumed. That was a feat to be had, let me tell ya! He got home shortly after that, and he took Eden around town in the wagon. It was a plesant evening, with little wind, but she was ready for a warm blanket upon their return. Lars & I passed out pencils, tattoos, candy & spider rings.

As children came out of the shadows, dressed in various attire, I noticed how much the town really got into the spirit. LOTS of adults were dressed up along with their kids. Even had two dogs dressed up, one as a skunk and one as a cat! They wanted candy scraps, no doubt.

Hoards of creatures darted back and forth between the houses, smiling as they crossed the yards. It was a lot of fun. I still find it odd, however, that they have no designated time to trick or treat. They start shortly after school gets out and don’t quit until after my bedtime! Two favorite adult costumes that came to my house were a tall skinny guy with noticeable facial hair dressed as Raggety Ann, and a giant Pillsbury dough boy. On Thursday, the hubbie and I went out and bought costumes for next year!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Monday, Eden went to daycare after we finally got the garage door open. I had her strapped in the blazer, but the garage door opener wouldn’t. I am always very excited for Monday mornings, because I have a whole day of mostly peace and quiet. When I couldn’t get out of the garage, I almost put her on my shoulders and rode my bike to town with her! Thankfully, Al came to the rescue and managed to get the door to open. But be careful, it goes up and down at random now!

Tuesday, I got my carpet cleaner boxed up and sent off for repairs. Wednesday, the Maytag man returned to re-fix my washer and I completed 13 loads of laundry in one day. Thursday was my 6 week check-up at the doctor, in which I was reminded that breastfeeding is not effective birth control. I took that as a hint that the doctor didn’t want me to have another delivery anytime soon. When I asked him that, he said, “oh no, I had fun!” Still not sure what to think of that comment….

Friday, Al worked most of the day on a special assignment, so Eden and I hung out and read lots of books. We invited friends over for Mexican and margaritas that evening. I learned how to make homemade tortilla chips, and devoured half the batch before company arrived. At 0230 Saturday, Lars decided that something didn’t settle with him. He threw up all over himself, me, my clean sheets, my floor and my dog. Al heard it in his sleep and jumped a foot off the bed. His only response was, “That sounded disgusting! What was that?!” He was less thrilled to learn he had to help me mop up. I guess deep fat fried chips and alcohol aren’t for babies…

Sunday was church, then a 20 minute video on this summer’s synodical convention, followed by an hour and a half discussion on it. This congregation has been taught well and had many impressive questions. Everybody was hot and bothered by the end, but it was good discussion. Because of the time change, Eden was ready for a nap before we got back in the blazer. She was asleep 10 mintues after getting home. Al had the nursing home service today, so he was gone most of the afternoon. When he got home, Eden and I went out to cut back the gardens under the pine trees. It was dark by 5:00 and she was ready for bed an hour later!

Looking forward to next week’s adventures!

Lars in his 3-6 month Halloween outfit.
So much for thinking it would be 'way too big'

The birthday boy yet again...

The birthday boy gets ready to blow out the candles

Another week has come and gone and here I am writing about it.

Monday was Eden's day at daycare. This week, Al took her on his way to work around 8:00 & picked her up at 5:00. I ran a hundred errands and crossed off at least a dozen things on my 'to do' list. One of which was calling Bissell. In broken English and with not one, but two crying children in the background, I was talked through a trouble shooting program to try and fix the problem on my new carpet cleaner. After following her directions according to her computer, the cleaning fluid was still not coming out. She said, "push on the gasket and turn the bottle upside down. Does the fluid come out?" "Why, indeed it does", says I, as I watch it dump all over the kitchen floor. "Good", she says, "now turn the machine on." I turn on the machine. It is loud. The lady on the other end of the line continues to talk. I cannot hear her, so I turn off the machine. She says to me, "you need to turn the machine on to complete the following directions." I turn the machine back on. It is still loud. The lady on the other end of the line contines to talk. I cannot her hear, so I turn off the machine. She says to me, "you need to turn the machine on to complete the following directions." (Are you starting to see a pattern here?) I turn the machine back on and start laughing. This lady can't really be this stupid, but yes, we continue like this two more cycles, until I tell her to read the directions to me with the vacuum turned off and I will write it down. This is ok with her. It's still not working right. Then, for a finale, she says to me, "can you smell the cleaning fluid when you sweep back and forth?" "Yes, I can. Because YOU TOLD ME TO DUMP IT ON THE FLOOR!". The conversation deteriorated from here and ended with me having to find a big box to ship it back to Michigan in. Supposedly, they will send me a new one in 7-10 days.... I'm still looking for a box.

Tuesday was Al's 33rd birthday. We celebrated with chocolate cake and ice cream. I reminded him that Jesus died at 33yrs after preaching for only 3, so to make the most of it. While the ice cream was thawing on the counter, Eden disappeared and was very quiet. When we found her, she had stolen the top to the ice cream and was licking it clean. Very camera-worthy.

Wednesday was a typical busy Wednesday for both of us. The Maytag washer repair person was here first thing in the morning, replaced the electronics board on the washer and left me with a weeks worth of dirty laundry. Ninety minutes later, the washer refused to give me my first batch of clothes and I had to call the store, pleading for him to come back. Naturally, he'd already left town and wouldn't be back until next Wednesday. In the meantime, I had to call Sears back and re-schedule the repair person to come out. This took an hour on hold and talking to the computer at Sears, trying to convince a machine that, yes, the repair person was there that morning and, yes, I needed repair service. I’m not joking about the time at all and by the end, it was not a friendly exchange in words. I'm pretty sure Eden saw steam coming from my ears. I still couldn't retrieve the clothes (4 of which were Al’s clericals) and since they had partially drained, I was afraid mold would set in. After a valiant duel with the door (and discontinuing the power source), I got it open, wrung my clothes out by hand and dried them for 2 hours in the dryer. I'm still waiting for next Wednesday...

Thursday was a follow up appointment for Lars at the doctor in Scottsbluff, so I braved the New World and took 2 kids Wal-Mart shopping by myself afterwards. Five minutes into the trip, I thought this was going to be Ok. Ten minutes into the trip, somewhere in the health and beauty section, I looked down to see Eden’s eyes as big as moons and her mouth wide open. She was choking on a plastic top to a vending machine toy. In one fell swoop, I proceeded to rip her out of the front carriage toddler seats and turn her around to do abdominal thrusts. The sheer force of me ripping her out of the seat, however, was enough for her to throw up all over the store’s floor, plastic top and all. The crowd gathered, and I grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer from the shelf and decided to buy it after using half right then and there. I calmly walked away from the crowd, as if I do this every day with my child. Two aisles over, in dog food, I was shaking like a leaf. Overhead, I heard, “Clean up near pharmacy…”

Would you believe that Friday was uneventful? We had the day off. We slept in, made brunch, read a dozen books, took a nap, had a snack, played outside, ate supper, then went to church for scrap booking night. Eden played with her friends, Lars was man handled by all the adults, and I got two pages done by 8:00!

Saturday, Eden had a play date with the Douthit girls, and I took my laundry. We were there all day.

Sunday was Sunday.

Eden went to a Pumpkin Patch last Saturday with the Douthit's while Lars was in the hospital

Stay tuned until next week, when I tell you all about the entrapping garage door that almost prevented Eden from going to daycare this morning….

October madness

This past Monday morning was Eden's first day at daycare. I know, I know, what does a stay-at-home Mom need to send her kid to daycare for? And more importantly, why didn't she take her camera for that 'first day of...." shot? Well, here's why:

The week after Lars' baptism, everybody went home. Eden came into the living room one morning looking around, yelling, "Grandmaaaa?!" "Oh," I said, "grandma went back to Michigan". "Papa?" "No, Papa went back to Michigan, too". "AJ?" "No, honey, AJ went back to Wilcox." "Mitchell?" "No, sweetie, Mitchell had to move back to Grand Island." And then she sadly went to the bookshelf and began playing by herself. It broke my heart. I decided to find her some regularly scheduled friends. So, that's how she began her Monday life of daycare. Tomorrow will be week two of the routine and hopefully, she will come home just as tired and sleep just as well! The reason she didn't have her picture is because I was so excited for this day to come, that I set the alarm, woke her up, got her dressed and hustled out to the car all before anybody else was out of bed. A photo didn't seem nearly as important as showering in peace did!

What do I do all day? you may ask yourself. Well, let me tell you: I leave Lars in his swing all by himself and don't worry about him getting whiplash by his sister's rocking him, I'm able to leave him in the bouncy seat on the kitchen table upstairs and not worry about him getting pulled off the table. I'm able to do the laundry w/o Eden playing in the dogs water bucket or running around with sissors from my scrapbook table. I'm able to plan supper, vacuum, pick up toys, fold blankets, play non-child music (though I usually hum those little dittys all day long), iron clothes and work outside, all by myself! I never realized how easy one child really is! Not to mention, I don't spend an hour at lunch time cleaning yogurt and cottage cheese off the counter/chair/child/floor....it's great. And at the end of the day, I'm glad to see her.

Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty routine for us here. Al had a voter's meeting on Tuesday at the same time that I had a class at the hospital. He took Eden and I took Lars and that worked out well. Voice choir has started again on Wednesdays during Al's confirmation class, and I enjoy that. He comes after his class to sing, as well.

Thursday, Lars still was puking a lot, so I took him to the doctor and the doctor put him in the hospital. He'd lost about 8oz in 3 days, so they put an IV in him. He ended up staying until Saturday late afternoon, and we got home yesterday evening after dark. He's on 3 medications, and they seem to be working, so far... Eden had been passed around to different parishoner's for three days and we were all happy to get back together last night as a family. Eden stripped naked and put on a one woman, 3 ring circus for us for nearly an hour. She was so hyper, it was hilarious! Too bad she was still wound up and awake at 0230...I had to peel her off the bedroom floor for church this morning. This afternoon, we all took 4 hour naps. That was an awesome bonus!
















Hopefully this week will be less tiring, yet equally eventful....

Eden and her new baby

It's been a busy week and a half for the Strawn family! Last Saturday, the LWML held a baby shower at the church for Lars. He was well blessed with blue outfits, most of them bearing a football. I must report that at least one was emblazoned with Husker Red, but thankfully, it was not a cheerleader outfit. Eden and Mom also made out quite well, and I'm going to enjoy lots of bubble baths this winter, something that I readily anticipate. Thanks to all!
Making Playdoh babies at the shower

"Guess what the baby had for dinner?" game

On Sunday afternoon, we packed the Blazer and left for Casper, Wyoming for the fall Pastor's conference. What a great town! Casper has a lot to offer for a town stuck in the middle of a virtually empty state. We drove into the church parking lot the first morning and were greeted with antelope snacking on the grass. You can't drive a mile in Wyoming without seeing antelope roaming. Eden, Lars and I hung out while Daddy was in conference, and then we got to enjoy some family time when he was with us. On the afternoon off, we all fell asleep in the hotel for a nap, so the next day after dropping Al off at the church, the three of us took a short drive into the Medicine Bow Mountain Range. How beautiful! (Sorry, I was driving and couldn't take photos).

On our drive back to Bridgeport, we stopped off in Torrington, where Al did his vicarage in 2000-2001. We drove around to his favorite spots, (Arby's, Subway, the post office...), saw his old apartment, and the church of course. It was a quick reminiscing, but nice.

The rest of the week was spent catching up from the beginning of the week. I began cleaning out the flower and vegetable gardens. However, with two young children, I'm going to have to do them in shifts, since a whole day is out of the question. It cold and drizzly all day Saturday and Sunday. Never got above 40 on Sunday. We broke down and turned on the house heat. (I look like a moron in two sweatshirts...)

Daddy pulling double duty as he reads stories...what a guy :-)

Quote of the week:
"You know when you're sitting on a chair and you lean back so you're just on two legs then you lean too far and you almost fall over backwards but at the last second you catch yourself? I feel like that all the time."

God’s grace in new life

Well, after Al’s tearfully eloquent blogspot last week, it’s hard to add anything to the story, but I’ll try anyway.

I was hoping that this childbirth would be different, in the sense that I really didn’t want to be induced again. With Eden, I’d felt slightly cheated out of the midnight scene of waking up and counting contractions, followed by an uncomfortable drive to the hospital, and a ‘normal’ labor and delivery after that. Well, that’s sort of how it happened…without the ‘normal’.

I went to bed restless Monday night, and woke at 0130 with what I thought was more of what Al calls “Tony Brackston contractions”. I paced the floors until I was sure they were consistently 5-6 mins apart, then woke my hubbie up with the line, “Honey, I hate to sound like a sitcom here, but I think I’m having contractions”. He got out of bed and grabbed his watch & we sat on the couch waiting until (as the class teaches) I couldn’t walk, talk, or joke through a contraction.

Well, I should say here that it would be a rare occasion for me not to be able to at least talk, so when the pains were 4 minutes apart, with less humor in the air, I called the hospital & asked what they thought I should do. Since Eden’s birth was 6 hours start to finish, and I was an hour from their door, they said to come on in. I still wasn’t sure this was the real thing and didn’t want to go to the Birth Center once we got to the hospital, in fear that I would be sent home looking foolish, so I sat on the waiting room couch for a while.

The relief came when they checked me upon arrival and I was 5cm and almost 100%, and no, they said they wouldn’t be sending me home.

So now what? We keep having contractions and wait it out.

After 5 very painful IV attempts, they called in the flight medics, who started it smoothly on the first try. (Now this should have been my first sign that all was NOT going to go well, because I have great veins). By 0930, I was 6-7cm, had an epidural & a cup of ice chips. We both took naps. This is a piece of cake.

By noon, I should have had the baby.

“Why don’t we lay you on your left side for a while,” says the nurse. After an hour, she says, “Why don’t we lay you on your right side for a while.” Again, this should have been a sign. “I think we have a nuchal cord,” she speaks again a while later. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, as I begin to realize that the epidural is becoming very ineffective. I start pumping the drug button every 20 minutes, hoping to get some relief. No more to come, I’m afraid, as for whatever reason (confirmed later by the doctor), the epidural quit working.

Onto phase two of this adventure: the birth.

The doctor came at some point around 2:00 p.m., seemingly to take stock of the upcoming delivery. If ever he was worried, he didn’t show it, but they started taking the bed apart. Al got into position by my head and kept me focused. He breathed the ‘HE HEs” with me, which would have made me pass out if I wasn’t in labor.

All of a sudden, I was told to push. So, I pushed. And pushed. And pushed. And nothing happened. The doctor told me I was doing a good job, but after a while, one starts to wonder if he’s just saying that so I’ll keep doing it. Because still, nothing was happening. “The head is right there” means nothing if it won’t budge.

I think I kind of went into shut down mode about this time. You know how when the head comes out, the rest of the body is supposed to slide out after it? Well, this didn’t happen. My not-so-little concrete block has a chest that is a half inch bigger than his head!

It’s fuzzy at best, but I remember the oxygen mask being strapped to my face. People started coming in the room like a line of people at a carnival, patiently but eagerly waiting to get on the ride. Some stood there watching. One said, “where do you need me?” They all kind of found a spot to be and started working. The sound of the vacuum echoes in my head, as I was sure they popped the baby’s head off. A nurse jumped up on my belly and started pushing down (suprapubic pressure), while two others held my legs in a very barbaric pose (MacRobert's Maneuver). It was surprisingly quiet for the amount of things that were happening. Al was heroic at the very least, never letting on that things weren’t going perfectly. He was still counting for me, cheering me on, ever the endearing husband, ready for battle. They call it shoulder dystocia. Baby #2’s posterior shoulder was stuck in the birth canal, but the head was already out. This is trouble.

After a vicious and lengthy fight, the doctor decided to break the baby’s collarbone and pull him out. When he did, there was no sound. No smiling faces, no ‘good job’ or ‘congratulations, it’s a boy!’ Nothing. Al broke the silence with, “what did we have?” I don’t even remember a response, although it may have come. It occurred to me, in my somewhat delusional state of mind, my baby wasn’t crying. They’re supposed to come out crying. Apgar of two?!

All I heard for the next 5 minutes was the preacher’s sweet voice, saying, “He’s God’s child”. As cliché as that phrase may be, it’s absolutely true. I was oddly at peace with that rationalization, though my voice seemed panicked.

After a seemingly endless, yet, successful resuscitation of Baby Strawn #2, he cried in his daddy’s arms for 90 minutes. He cried the whole 6 hours I was in recovery, then, he cried for the next 2 days, until he came home. Eliezer would most certainly have had another name if it weren’t for his eventful birth. And every time I say his name, I am reminded that God is our Help in every need.

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