Can't Help It...

March 29, 2010

I couldn't help it. I had to watch this movie. I recorded the 11 pm show, but I started watching it and couldn't stop to go to bed. Stupid probably. It was a great showing on the Amish message of forgiveness....not so good on the media story about the Amish school shooting...not that I was looking for details or anything because that shooting was unforgivable...for us. The Amish...that is what they do. I admire that and wish it came more easily to us. I kind of think forgiveness is easy, but at that same point...no one has ever done anything unforgivable to me directly.

How's this post for a random ramble? :)

We spent the day yesterday in West Salem, WI...coincidentally on the way there we saw an Amish buggy by Rushford, MN. Hmmm. You know, I guess the Amish only have church every other week and they hold it at each other's houses. I wonder if they were going to their church service yesterday. I also wonder if they were, then were they celebrating Easter?

Anyway...as I was saying...we went to West Salem to celebrate the first birthday of our godson, Graham. He actually turns 1 on Wednesday. It was a fun and beautiful day. I love this family I married into. The kids had a blast, the food was great and it's always laughs when we are with Lincoln's family. Lincoln took pictures on his phone...I have to figure out how to get them onto the computer now. Those will probably come after Easter though as this Holy Week will be busy, busy.

Tuesday, as part of the Christian Education board and committee I am going to be helping prepare for the Seder Meal that will take place on Wednesday for our 5th graders and their families in preparation for their first communion that they will take during the Maundy Thursday service. Seder Meal is kinda like the last supper. It looks weird, but is is actually all soooo good. (Lamb, by-the-way, smells horrid while being prepared for this particular dinner...not sure if it just because of this particular prep or if lamb smells like that all the time).

Wednesday evening I will, as part of that same Christian Ed board, be helping serve the meal and I am hoping that I will have some help. Thursday is the Maundy Thursday service and the choir sings...and the 5th graders as I said take their first communion. Good Friday service....then Saturday is like a day of rest for me...I hope, because then there is Easter. I have 4 bulletins to get prepared and copied at church this week along with being gone every night but 1 this week. 1 night this week...tonight...that I will be home. 1 night. Ugh. Not that I don't enjoy church and stuff, but 1 night. I welcome the Easter season and the meaning of Easter is kind of hard not to love...and I love hanging out with family, but every Easter I am just so exhausted I don't have the social capabilities in me. How do our Pastor's do it I wonder. Seriously. (and with the post-Easter week...well, let's just say Holy Week makes it hard to want to go back to the church on Monday and start working again...at least it will be a quiet week, hopefully...) I love Spring Garden. :)

Enough rambling for now. I gotta get the girls ready to go to the farm for breakfast and payroll. I'll post some pictures probably after Easter seeing as I won't be around much this week. Maybe. With Easter brings back face book for me...I may be busy for a couple days. HA! After 40 days, most people probably forgot about me anyway. Ha-ha!

Happy Easter everyone! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

March 2010

March 25, 2010

9 more days until Easter. Which means I will be hanging out on facebook again that evening. Ha-ha. I'm pathetic. I miss conversing with people.

I can't believe that March is just about over. This winter has actually flown by for me. It was a good winter. It wasn't over-powered with days and days of -20's and we got a TON of snow...now this was a Minnesota winter. And all that snow was gone in 2 weeks. I think we still had 4 feet in the front yard and it is completely gone now. And our 8-12 foot piles of snow are finally completely gone. Now we just have to rake the gravel back onto the driveway....our very long driveway. The best part...knock on wood...is that we didn't get teased with nice weather and then have it snow 3 inches after we saw 60's. Luke's birthday was even decent this year...usually we are worrying about snow and ice. Hopefully, spring will stay.

With March and Spring comes March Madness. I am pretty sure you all know what that means in this house. (Does anyone read this blog even?) It's all about the basketball. :) And all the upsets this year are killing everyone's brackets. Oh-well.

We are preparing for the inconvenience of road construction this summer. Our county road will be ripped up this summer and left to be gravel for the winter. They are widening the road and redirecting parts of it. Then next spring they will finish fixing it and tar it. I am excited for the end result, but man is it going to be a pain. We'll deal though...what else can we do? Hopefully they aren't at the height of the mess when my sister-in-law, Bonnie, is ready to go have her baby. By-the-way, Bonnie, I am secretly hoping that you go into labor at a really odd time at night so maybe I get to take Sophie while you go and then I'll know you went which mean I hope you go early because I will be out-of-town that weekend :) )

Chloe started dance class last week. She is in there with her cousin, Sophie, and a couple other little girls we know. She LOVES it as does her cousin. It's really cute. She wears some old stuff of Ashlyn's and talks about dance all day long before she goes. Lincoln doesn't mind that his girls are dancing, but he hopes that they grow out of that and into other sports like...Basketball of course, or volleyball or whatever else...anything but dance. :) Summer sports forms are starting to come home from school. Ashlyn says she wants to do soccer again. I am not so sure. Last year wasn't convincing to me...I am thinking we should stick to one sport. T-ball. We shall see.

We received a form in the mail from the school for Chloe to go to the 3-year old preschool class next year. WHAT? How can she be ready for that already? She is though. I don't know if I want to pay for her to go to preschool for 2 years. I may wait and have her just go when she's 4. I don't know yet. She is totally ready though. I just can't believe that she is about to turn 3. I better get started on losing that baby weight. HA!

No pictures this time....I haven't taken any really. Oops.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Taga

March 21, 2010

I think that these would be fun.

http://www.taga.nl/default.asp?lang=eng

8 Years ago...

March 6, 2010

8 years ago, tomorrow, my first born was born. I can't believe it. It isn't like turning 8 is a milestone age, but he's my child and I guess I think every year is a milestone.

Looking back...

The announcement we sent out.

I rememeber this day very well. We used to go home for lunch everyday from the farm (we were in Kansas at the time) and on this afternoon, both boys ate and then laid on the floor. Luke was in the bean bag chair and Lincoln laid next to him and they both dozed off.


July of 2002. Luke was 4 1/2 months old. Look at that kid. :)

I am so proud of what he has become in the last 8 years. So proud to me his mom! Happy birthday, "Little Man!"

What to do, what to do...

February 26, 2010

This is what I wonder now that I gave up facebook for Lent. It's been going okay...but it is hard when you get rid of one of your main forms of communication with everyone you know. It's sad really in a way...and I feel so out of the loop now. And it is really sad that I live right across the road from my sister-in-law and I don't talk to her now...cuz I am not on facebook. Ha-ha.

You would think that I would be getting a lot of other things done. For instance, re-decorating the upstairs bathroom or spending hours in the basement looking at it trying to figure out how to decorate it (if you wanna come help me figure it out...come on over, please). I could also be reorganizing the office or figuring out where to park all my scrap booking stuff so I can get back into doing that since I am about 3 years behind...even more actually because Ashlyn's is way behind. But instead of doing all this stuff that I want to get done I am spending the time doing something way more fun...playing games with the kids, helping them do projects, laying on the floor with Ashlyn playing light-bright, sitting at a table putting Lego's together with Luke, doing puzzles with the girls...watching Olympics with Lincoln. Not that I didn't spend time with my family before because we did do stuff...just not as often as we do now and watching TV with Lincoln consisted of me watching it over the screen on the laptop. It's been fun!

On a different subject, sort of, I think I made a pretty big decision last night as I was wondering around Joanne Fabrics with my awesomely talented best friend, Amy, last night. I think I may have decided that I want to learn how to sew so I can quilt. Yep...QUILT. I said it. I also said the word sew. (I just shook a little). I have no clue what to do, but I love looking at all the fun fabric and I was looking through books and saw a ton of fun things.....ugh. I have no patience to learn it...I want to just know it. Well, hopefully I can watch Amy and learn a little. So, if you or someone you know have some extra quilting cutter things and mats and stuff that I could buy at a nice price...let me know.

Luke turns 8 next weekend. I may have touched on this before in the last post, but the child had 18 boys on his list of kids to invite. 18!!!!!!!! I let him pick 10. One can't come already so we are down to 9 plus Luke...so 10 total. that is a lot of boys in my house. Weather calls for 35 out that day though...so, I may have to have them start a basketball game outside. 5 on 5? Perfect. :)

The family is coming over the next day to celebrate. Oh, I can probably talk to my sister-in-law then. Ha-ha. I need to start planning the menu, I guess. 8. I can't believe it.

February 2010 (possibly part 1 of 2)

February 20, 2010

So, we are already on day 20 of February (which is about over). I can't believe that March is just about here. March means that my first born will turn 8. 8. Already. He has a list of friends to invite...there are 14 of them. Yeah. 14 boys in my home. I told him that he could only invite 8. Those 8 consisted of his closest friends...all the boys that came last year. He added more because he says, "...but mom, I can't leave these guys out, they invited me to their parties!" How do I say no to that...the kid actually cares that he could hurt their feelings. I don't even know these boys...never seen them before. 14 boys is a lot of energy in my house, especially if it isn't nice to go outside. And I can't afford to take 14 boys anywhere. So, I shall brace myself...and I know it'll be a ton of fun! I may need to have some of my mom friends of these boys stay and keep me sane. And the wine I break into after will taste great.

I decided to give something up for Lent this year. No, I am not Catholic. You don't have to be Catholic to give something up for Lent. I gave up...facebook. Cold turkey. Well, I can't say I haven't cheated. I received a notification on my phone that someone send a private message to my inbox and I felt that I should probably check it today to make sure it wasn't important. It wasn't (I also checked the morning after lent began just to see how many people made comments on my status even though I wasn't supposed to be on there - I don't count that as cheating). It is hard to not be on there. I didn't realize that that was my main source of communication now. And I miss my friends that I could chat with daily. I can do this though. I can. And I am getting other things done...like spending time on the computer anyway, updating this blog. I imagine that on the evening of Easter I will be sitting on my couch with the laptop after the kids go to bed catching up on everything...and I have a feeling that after 40 days there is going to be a lot to catch up on...I may need Monday off. I do hate that I feel so out of touch now though. I feel like I have no friends now. Ha-ha. Pathetic. The good news is, though, that I don't catch myself trying to get on there out of habit when I open the laptop. Whew.

With the lent season comes busier times at work at church. I will also be busier at the farm and this it the time my in0laws booked a vacation and they will be gone for 2 weeks...yeah, during lent, one of two of my busiest times at church. I am not complaining, the world does not revolve around me.....I am so happy and excited for them that they are getting away. They deserve this soooooo much. I am just so totally happy that they are going. I can't wait for the day that my husband and I can go on a vacation...just us...it seems like that time is so far our of reach.

February really hasn't been that eventful. I don't even have any pictures to post of this month yet. I am just feeling good that I caught this blog up. :)

Take care until next time.

January 2010

February 20, 2010

Wow, I am caught up to January now. Impressive.

January didn't bring too much. The kids had a bunch of birthday parties that they attended and we were just doing the usual stuff. We got more snow and more ice and more cold weather. Well, after all, it is winter and we are in Minnesota. This winter has been reminding me of how winter is supposed to be in this state. It hasn't really been too bad. It's just been more work this year than others for Lincoln to keep up with the plowing and for me to keep up with shoveling the sidewalk and front steps. We even had to (or Lincoln had to) get up on the roof and clear it off once...and then once he cleared it off, he couldn't walk back up it to the other side to get to his ladder so he had to call me in the house from the roof (thank goodness for cell phones and that he had it with) to let him in through Chloe's bedroom window. She was in bed and yelled at her dad for getting snow all over her room.

January brought the flu to our family...I am just shocked it took that long. First it hit Ashlyn on a Wednesday night right in the middle of supper. She was back to her self by Friday and no one else was getting it. I thought that was weird. I made the decision to bring the whole family out to see Lincoln play in the alumni basketball tournament. Everyone seemed fine so I only felt half guilty for bringing the kids among other people. At the last minute, after thinking I was just going to stay home, we were able to get a sitter (in-laws) and go out for a bit. The kids stayed over night at my in-laws. Lincoln called me at 6:30 the next morning from the farm (he had to work) and told me that I should go pick them up because Chloe got sick earlier that morning...ugh. I felt like the most horrible person on the planet. I was so afraid that my in-laws would end up with it. I got up and dressing and to their house within 30 minutes. That was a Sunday. So, gauging on time...Ashlyn got it on a Wednesday...Chloe 4 days later. I figured Luke would have it on or around Thursday. I sent him to school Monday. Monday night...he was sick too. 10pm and he was in the bathroom every 5 minutes after that for about 2 hours. On Tuesday, I sent Ashlyn to school and kept Luke home obviously. But...I was not feeling well. Oh, great. Here we go. Mine started very different, but eventually I was losing lunch too. I felt fine by Wednesday evening. The only one left was Lincoln. We thought for sure he was going to miss out. Not so. By Saturday afternoon he was tired and had the chills. He was in the bathroom all evening on Saturday (this is now Superbowl weekend). And he really didn't totally recover until just this past week...I think his digestive system wouldn't recover because he just could not stop drinking milk. Now we are past it and healthy for now and pray that we don't get anything else.

I forgot about some of these next pictures for my December post...

I painted Luke & Ashlyn's rooms while they were way at my dad's house for Christmas break....

Ashlyn picked orange and pink.

Luke didn't pick. He told me green because that is his favorite color. Well, I couldn't do only green and I couldn't do the green he wanted so we agreed on an in between green and a bright/dark blue.


I just added this to show that I painted Chloe's too, but I did hers back this past spring. I am just missing the curtains for her room...my mother-in-law is making them for me.

Ashlyn finally lost her first tooth in January.

January and the beginning of Feb. was foggy quite often so it resulted in the fog freezing to the trees and making a think frost of snow over everything...very pretty.