40 degrees in January??

Another busy week here in the Strawn House, though the desk calendar doesn't show all that much....how does that happen?

Eden, convinced we're still going to be taking a train trip sooner rather than later, has decided to keep a bag packed, complete with toys and books, in case I suddenly change my mind, and we drive to Ft. Morgan to catch one. Today, she and Lars took an imaginary plane trip to Ft. Morgan to catch the train themselves. You can see the photo of all the toys spread out on my unmade bed in the slide show this week.

Except for Friday, the weather has been beautiful here all week and the kids have spent a great deal of time out in the muddy backyard and riding bikes up and down the walk. Friday was dreary and dark, but the sun didn't shine too brightly into the kids' windows first thing and they both slept until 0800. Miracle on T st. After Speech, we all loaded in the car and went up for haircuts, errands & a trip to the library before driving around the State Lakes to talk about all the camping trips we probably won't take this summer. We spent the rest of the day off playing board games, watching cartoons & reading stories in Eden's indoor tent.

I had a defensive driving course for the EMS dept Thurs & Fri night until 10p and honestly, even though my eyes were open, I was asleep in my chair by 9:00. It was, however, nice to get a night off from bedtime two times in a row, even if I was in class. I was sitting by the fun City people, so it worked out Ok.

Doctor's appointment went well this week. Baby's heartbeat is a mellow 130-ish, so I'm convinced it's going to be a girl. Eden said it's going to be a girl even if it's a boy. I'm not sure, exactly, what that means, other than that's not really in our faith, but I hope it'll work itself out when the time comes.

A couple weeks ago, I used some Christmas money and purchased a small 1.5 qt ice cream maker. Now; I like homemade ice cream, having watched Dad make it every Christmas from the time I was born until the time I left home. But today's ice cream makers are SO MUCH easier to use and in 20 minutes with no mess, you can have fresh, rich, thick ice cream. In fact, if you quickly wash out the container and stick it back in the freezer, you can make two batches a day. This has caused something of a freezer shortage in my house, b/c I have made so many delicious batches of ice cream, we're not eating it fast enough. Not to mention my waste-line is expanding at a rapid rate of speed. Yesterday's Mint Chocolate Chip had my name written all over it this afternoon. I need to send some containers up to church for the preacher...

Pastor had evening meetings this past week, as well as confirmation on Wednesday. The Wings played and we watched, faithful fans from far away, one shoot-out loss after another, it seemed, until a faint light shone at the end of the tunnel and the Wings finally squeaked into a play-off spot. Keeping it is going to be the next challenge.

Eden wants to go to preschool every day now, and though we're contemplating sending her to K-garten in the fall, I think another year of preschool and naps isn't out of the question. The K teacher said the curriculum is much more demanding than it was when we were kids, and with all day as the only option, it's likely to be too much. The thought of three kids at home by myself all next year is kind of scary, however. Guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

In Michigan news, Chad & Marie finally closed on their new house, and for pics and details of their progress in renovations, see the link "Kenny Chaos" in the right column of this blog.

Well, it's quiet time here so until next week...Keep Haiti & it's people, along with all the relief workers in your prayers.

Typical week in January

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away....

It's a beautiful day here in Bport and I'm catching up on the things I didn't do over the weekend because the weather was great then, too.

Yesterday, after watching another shoot out loss for the Wings, Lars took a marathon nap and the rest of us enjoyed the outdoors. Al cleaned the garage (Hallelujah!) and I took a shovel and rake to the two months of dog poop in the back yard. We all helped out in raking up the rotting leaves that never made it out of the yard last fall and cleaned up any trash that wasn't stuck in the frozen snow. It was productive all around, complete with fresh air.

When Lars woke up, we loaded into the car and took a drive out into the country until dark. I had a pot of stew on the stove & Eden & I mixed up some biscuits for supper. It was a wonderful day all around.

Spent the rest of the week catching up Lars with his therapys, making appointments, hauling Eden to & from preschool, evening meetings, piano lessons, choir practice, LWML & on Friday, helping Pastor finish building bookshelves for his office. The Wings played a lot this week and all the games were televised, so that was fun.

Also did a lot of watching CNN on the Haiti earthquake coverage. I'm amazed at all the stories, both heartbreaking and hopeful, that are coming out of that rubble. So many people have lost everything, including their family, as well as their livelihood and future. Imagine, though, the fact that this earthquake happened helped so many orphans get to their adoptive parents months and years quicker than would normally take. Almost a week after the quake, still finding people alive in the supermarket. How blessed they were to be with food all around them!

This week will prove to be busier than last, and we are thankful for the ability to do so many different things.

A Christmas Story

Well, it was a Christmas to remember, and Eden and her cousins are officially “best friends forever”, with a special handshake and chant to boot.

We’ve been home just shy of a week now, and I have heard nothing but, “I’m saving this small yogurt container for the train ride to see my cousins.” Or, “I’m going to put this in my backpack for the next train ride to Michigan.” And, “Can I save these crackers for the train ride next week?” …. That’s a hard one to swallow. Needless to say, Eden is ready to go back anytime the rest of us are.

Both kids did wonderful on all the train rides and Lars ran to the window to yell, “Woo Woo” every time a train passed us on the track. There were the occasional threatening glances to each of them when the feeling of naughtiness crept over one or the other, but overall, they were well behaved & good to each other.

The commuter train from Chicago to Michigan was less than ideal, but only because it was late at night with two very tired kids, lots of rowdy (translate drunk) college students heading home for the holidays & a very crowded and brightly lit train ride that didn’t end until 0130 in the morning in a mini blizzard. Other than that, all was well.

The kids and I stayed at my sister’s house in town, due to the fact that Mom & Dad have a full house with my brother & his family living there while they finish their house purchase and some renovations. We liked staying in town, close to the shopping and restaurants, and it was easier to get together with the cousins and with grandma & papa, because they were all in one place. We just packed a few things and went over all the time. It also worked out well because we had Meegan’s entire basement to ourselves, and with Christmas and shopping, we had our fair share of ‘stuff’ to spread out and sort through. She also has a really cool gas fire place that we slept in front of, loving the glow. Eden wants one in her room now.

The girls had a great time together with Josh not far behind the crowd. His “little buddy” Lars played with him somewhat, but Josh is used to the bigger girls and Lars is used to playing by himself, so that’s what happened much of the time. They made pizza together, played house & ‘baby’, read stories, napped together, played in Eden’s new Cars tent, and did a little bit of fighting to complete the circle.

Meanwhile, I went shopping and ate at all the places I haven’t had in eons. Some were worthy of more than one trip, including every place in Lapeer that sells frozen cokes. A pregnant woman needs to stock up on that sort of stuff when she’s in the mood! Meegan and I hit the Salvation Army in Romeo for winter maternity clothes (my first two pregnancies were during HOT Nebraska summers), as well as clothes for my growing children. I had some of Grandpa Strawn’s money to do some Christmas shopping for the kids from them, and I had fun looking for last minute deals at Kohl’s. I hit the jackpot with all the Cars movie toys on sale. I hit a few places just because I had free babysitters in Cousins Zachary & McKenzie, and it was nice to be out all by myself.

Christmas was busier than I ever remember, with parties & food four days running. That about killed me, but Eden was in her glory with all the people to play with. Lars and I retreated with Chad one day for a drive out into the country. After visiting the cemetery, we drove around to the old farms and churches that were of my parents, grandparents and great-grandparent’s generation. I took a couple old window frames out of the barn that is falling down on Dad’s property and carved my name into one of the barn boards. Next time, I’ll have to bring a crow bar for it. History in front of you is a great teacher and it seems like they are all disappearing as the years pass.

A trip home wouldn’t be complete without somebody getting sick. This time was Lars’ turn, and he threw up for a full 3 nights and 4 days the second week. We washed all the bedding in both homes at least twice, so it was nice to help out in some way with the cleaning!

We also watched several slide shows of old photos that were converted from slides to a DVD and placed on my computer for that very purpose. A trip down Memory Lane for everybody, full of laughter and a few, ‘um, what were we doing?’ and laughing at clothes and styles and the lack of child safety we seemed to have in the 80’s. It’s a miracle we children survived, really. The current children thought that Little Chad was Josh, and that Young Meegan was McKenzie and the like. Apparently, my two children look exactly like their father, so Little Sarah was just that, Little Sarah or Little Mommy, depending on who was asking.

Despite the fact that Daddy was left in Nebraska by himself the whole time, we all had a nice time and were thankful that we’re able to travel so easily in this day and age. At Grandma’s, Lars frequently went to the phone, picked it up and brought it to me saying, “hi daddy!’. That was usually my cue to place a phone call. By the end o our stay, the kids were ready to see him, and were ready to board the train. Eden had a hard time saying good bye to her cousins, and now their phone conversations are a full of recent memories, which is fun to listen to.

The return trip to Ft. Morgan was 8 hours late, because of blizzard cold weather wiping out the air brakes, along with a slew of other weather-related delays, but we weren’t in a big hurry. We had lower level, semi-private seating to and from Chicago, which helped immensely. I highly recommend Amtrak to anybody travelling long distances.

The remainder of this week has been spent doing 3 weeks worth of Daddy’s laundry, unpacking, finding spots for all the new gifts, and putting away our Christmas stuff, the boxes of which I am currently looking at! It seems like I’ve been busier than that, but I can’t seem to list out what all I’ve done.

Eden, used to having somebody to play with non-stop, has been very needy in the department of ‘play with me’. So, I have done puzzles, colored pictures, wrote cards, read stories, played house & generally been worn out in a messy house. Lars, too, has been very clingy this week and I’ve had him on one hip most of the time. I’m hoping this is a short phase, and we can get back to our normal life soon.

In good news, Lars transitioned into a toddler bed upon our arrival home with absolutely no fuss or argument. I’m sure he doesn’t know his crib is going to soon be occupied by somebody else, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Speaking of the future, our ultrasound this week went well and baby looks healthy. I’m not real excited that he or she is completely breech, but we have a few weeks for that to turn itself around. Though, I hear when you have a C-section, you get to stay in the hospital 4 days. I could get used to being waited on a bit longer!

Big thank yous go out to friends and family who stopped by to see us while we were in Michigan. It’s impossible to see everyone who is important to us when we’re home for such a short time, so I appreciate those of you who went out of your way to find us. I’m sorry we missed some of you, it usually happens that way. However, there’s always next time and always room for you to visit West Nebraska!

Blessings and enjoy the photos~

Thoughts after the train station

It is strange. Back when I suggested to Sarah many weeks ago that due to the busy Christmas season this year, (Sun: Advent 4; Wed: Midweek Advent 4; Thurs: Christmas Eve; Fri: Christmas Day; Sun: Christmas 1) that she ought to take the kids back to Michigan for Christmas; it didn't really seem like a big deal to me. After all, for pastors, Christmas is really just another "work" day. Yet, two days before they were scheduled to leave, I started feeling a strange anxiousness. It was topped off by the night before, while tucking the kids in and reminding them that they were going on the train and that daddy was staying home, Eden says to me, "Well, why don't we just buy you a ticket and then you can come with us." The simplicity of a four year old.

"Daddy, will you sleep with me tonight?"
"I'll stay with you until you go to sleep."
"Ok, tell me about something."
"What would you like me to tell you about?"
"I don't know. Just talk."

After "talking" for a few minutes, Eden informed me that is was time to stop talking because she wanted to go to sleep. Laying quietly for a few moments, Eden suddenly remembered that she was missing a stuffed animal. I went to get up and get it for her, when she took my hand and just held it. Sitting up, she just looked at me and held my hand.

It was actually then that I realized what was happening. The concept of time and distance was becoming important to my 4 year old. And now I would have to come to grips with it too.

For Lars, time and distance are irrelevant. Ok, he'll miss daddy. But the here and now will easily distract. But for Eden, the wave and the blow of a kiss through a train window now actually mean that something will be missing for two weeks.

Now the idea of them being away for Christmas isn't so simple.