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'