Last night was fun. We gave up on the candles getting here (they arrived today) and bought votives to use. Oh well at least we won't go through this next year. We lined our votives up in front of the Menorah and began on more traditions. We put together a bag for DH boss. We gave him cookies and coffee. Last night we gave our presents before activities. We are keeping it simple and so gave each child a mug. The cool thing was that they each had a picture of Larry boy (veggie tales hero) on them. The incredible delight on their faces was wonderful. I have never seen anyone so excited by a mug before. In each was 10 small pieces of candy (sweettarts) that they could use to play the Dreidal game. The one I had ordered for the family didn't show up in time but we had a couple small ones that we used. The kids had fun spinning (or trying to) the top and we're very content when they ran out of candy. We then put the candy in front of each and let them trade till they had what they wanted and let them eat it. They have never had that much at once before so it was amazing to them. This morning we again had an unusual breakfast (poptarts) since it is a holiday and opened the second cardboard candle. After school today they made a paper menorah and glued it onto a big piece of paper. I got a little ahead of myself because I forgot we had to give DD2 social worker (till adoption is finalized) her gift today since we won't see her until late January now bu that's ok. We put together a bag with fingerpaint (same ones they got and a doll for her kids (a year older than mine are) and a tin of tea for her. We also gave her a small dreidal and directions (thank God for the internet) on how to play. They were proud to see her open it. The visit went well too, she is talking about signing adoption paperwork next month so it can be filed in early February!! Hurray!

We are celebrating Hanukkah this year instead of Christmas because that is what Jesus celebrated and because we want to stress the gift of Jesus dying for us more than when he was born. So far not so good. Last night we explained the story (to a 4 and 2 year old) and looked at our new Menorah. Of course the candles that I was promised would be here aren't yet. I may leave my first negative feedback on ebay because of it. We lit a different candle. Then we each opened a small present. They each got a set of color wonder fingerpaints (and proceeded to paint a bunch of them) while DH got "yellow arrows" (a waymarking itme he wanted) and I got some stamping stuff. We explained tha twe are giving them a gift because all of God's miracles are a gift to us. This morning we had a special breakfast, chocolate donuts, (that are never in the house usually) and we put up a "candle" in our cardboard menorah (one for each) Wow behind the candle was a small piece of chocolate wrapped in gold. The kids were thrilled. After schoolwork we made our first Hanukkah decoration. I wrote Happy Hanukkah and drew a 6 pointed star on a piece of cardboard with glitter glue while they colored and cut out (I moved the paper for the 2 year old) stars that we decorated with more glitter glue. When they dry we are going to hang the stars from the sign and put it up. We also delivered a present to the first of 8 people we chose to be our "Hanukkah present people."
We know we arent' following th eactual traditions perfectly but we are combining some of them while we build new ones and try to stress the family fun rather than the gifts. Tonight we plan on playing the dreidal game, so I'll blog about that tomorrow.

Chicago tonight and then a plane tomorrow. I am impressed, my 4 yr old went to get dressed this morning and then called down to me and asked what the weather would be like where we are going before he decided what to wear.

My 4 yr old is awesome. He not only wakes up when he has to throw up, he makes it to the bathroom to do it appropriately. It was a long long night for both of us but at least I wasn't washing sheets all night too! I felt so bad for him. No fever, just stomach and later intestinal upset. He's still in bed listening to cds and "resting" Very much not like my little active one. He is keeping things down now so I have to rehydrate. For once his little sister decided to go with Daddy without a big "want mummy "screaming fuss first. So it is quiet here and I don't like it!!! This morning my DH got up with DD2 so I could sleep and just as I got back to sleep called my cell to see what to give her for breakfast... Sleep is for the weak and sickly, both of which I will be when I have time!

It has been hectic with a new 2 year old and a jealous 4 year old. I am on my way this week to GA to help my daughter in law when she has surgery. My son has been sent to Iraq (all prayers wanted and gratefully accepted). When I am down there I will have three sets of "twins" One set is 15, one is 4 an done is 2 plus of course one invalid. The oly time that will change is when she is actually in the hospital, then I will have an extra 3 year old as well since the woman driving her needs to drop him off also. Should be really rocking and rolling for awhile. I am packing lots of craft ideas and paper projects to do while we are there!! Thanks God it is warm there and they can all play outside! This isn't a complaint actually I am looking forward to seeing all of them just concerned about my patience levels and when I will get laundry done and dinner cooked!! The plane trip down with my 2 has me a little 'whelmed as well!

They do still happen. As I type this my DS2 is using his computer and his DS2 is playing with her kitchen stuff. It is the first time in recent memory that I am alone to do something unemcumbered. Not that I object to their "help" right now I miss it but it is nice to type without a little hand hitting other keys and another one whining at my side. I like this once in awhile. We played a game of Candyland Bingo today together. It was really fun to see her play her first game. Shortlived as it was the miracle is over and now I have to go help on the computer! I am glad they still need me.

I've had kids become a sibling by the advent of a baby and now by the addition of another toddler. Baby is easier! Then they vie for Mommy's attention but when the child is already able to walk and reach they vie for the toys as well. DS2 is trying he really is but it is hard now that everything is shared. Today was a good day as was yesterday so maybe we are on the upswing. I am trying to appeal to his "I'm older I get to do more things" concept a bit more. She however is now bonded enough that if he is in my lap she wants to be there as well. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't lost that extra 40 pounds!!

My DS2 ran a car under his kid sized stove and went for another one. I told him to get that one out and asked if he could see it. He said no I don't have "owl eyes". When I stopped laughing I got him a flashlight.
He misbehavied and I took his favorite toy ransom because of it. He asked me for another chance. He'd had two already so I said no.. He told me but we are supposed to forgive. I was delighted he knew that but quickly added the rest of the lesson, forgiveness doesn't mean we don't pay the consequences of our actions. He didnt' like that. I love seeing his mind work.

This was a wonderful morning. I woke up with two kids in the house again. We have to return one a bit later today but we get her back for good on Monday. This morning the first thing my DS2 said was, "Mommy, I don't want to return her today, can't we keep her?
I know just how he feels!

Tomorrow we get to meet our 2nd daughter. I am so excited and so apprehensive. I hope she is as incredible as our oldest daughter but of course don't want to make comparisons. I am so hoping I don't make the same mistakes. I'm sure I'll make some different ones, I just hope I don't compound them!! Tomorrow we face the hardest part of all of this. We get to meet her, hold her, play with her and then leave. It is so hard to watch your child go off with someone else. Hopefully we will find out when she can be ours for good. I fear it won't be until the 7th when the parents have their court date to sign release papers. In the meantime we are trying to get ready frugally. The ladies at church offered to have a shower for us so I need to register. We bought patio furniture yesterday. It was on sale for 50% off. We got a marble table (top) that has a fire pit in it. You can't cook over it but it will be much safer than a pit in the ground when the kids are this little. It comes with 4 nice sized chairs that rock. We are big people and the chairs are a nice fit which is probably why they were still there! They would dwarf most people. The set was $750.00 reduced to $349.00. We have been pricing the stuff but haven't seen anything worth the scads of money they want for it. This set we really like so it is worth the 350. i wouldn't pay full price for it but then I am cheap. Anyway it will be nice to have a place to sit when the kids are playing outside.
Ah well, back to child proofing the house before our inspection!

Believe me I am hoving enough trouble doing it consistently so I know. I am sleeping sitting up and only have a love seat to do it on (I'm over 6 ft tall) and even that is better than trying to lie down. The coughing fits are not pretty. Most people cringe when around. I am almost drowning out my DH coughing (he's been doing it since May) I hope they figure out a way to cure the two of us real soon.

We are home. It is a relief. I loved being there and taking care of everyone but it is good to be home. My DS2 hasn't had a hissy since we left (daily or more occurence there) and the kitten became a cat while we were gone. I left the house a mess because we had to leave in a hurry and came home to a mess, but I will get it kicked this week. I have lots of mail to go through so that is my next project, have to find th ebills and see if they need to be paid!!!

Being in GA will probably wipe out our little EF but at least my DIL seems to be getting better. I am hoping to recover form this quickly. The extra expenses astound me. Feeding a family of this many gets expensive even with cheap meals. Thank god we can do this though and be comfortable in the knowledge that it won't take long to recover.

That one armed paper hanger has nothing on me!!! Our little one (almost 2) has been sick, major fever and nausea vomiting. Meant for some low sleep nights but she is finally on th emend and able to play while I type. Last 3 mornings we have spent several hours (did I say mornings guess thats right if it is after midnight)cuddling while I prayed her fever didn't go high enough to cause a seizure and that the tylenol/motrin would work soon. Makes for a tired Nana but nothing beat the feeling of picking her up (after 6 am!!!!) this morning and not feeling like my hands were in the oven!! Now if we can just make sure the other 2 kids don't get this. My DIL went back to the ER last night, meds are making her really sick. My DS1 is off to school for 2 weeks. We can visit for an hour a couple times a week so we have to figure out how to make her comfortable for a 30 mile car ride. Yesterday afternoon she felt well enough to go to Walmart for a hair cut so we are improving somewhat. I keep trying to make sure she doesn't overdue. Oh well it has ben nice to sit at the keyboard for a few but it is now time to make breakfast for the horde. right now my 1 yr old GD is sitting on the floor at my feet holding a rubber lizard out and saying growl growl growl as she wiggles it. Life is good!!!
I did have a really bad weekend though. We were supposed to go see our other GKs baptism and had to miss because everyone was so sick. I was really afraid to infect their whole church but really really disappointed we had to miss.

The Saga Continues!!
Second surgery down and the leg is casted with a temporary one that weighs a ton. Not sure it is better than before but at least it has no outside screws and bars so it looks less painful. From the amount of pain killer they gave her though I can imagine that it is actually more painful. she was delighted to be able to do her daughters hair and clothes this morning as long as I fetched the stuff. I am glad to be a gofer for my DIL. Her kids are delighted to have her home. This weekend they are finishing everything at the old house so it can be inspected. We are going to our other grandkids baptism (I hope) My DH is really sick I don't know if he can stand the car ride. I am trying to send him to the ER this morning but he is being stubborn.

I am in GA, not for a cool visit but because my DIL was hurt and needed help. She stepped on a skate board that wasn't supposed to be there and has a badly broken lower leg. They have done one surgery and are doing another next week. She has a "robut leg" that the kids think is cool and we adults wince when someone breathes on wrong. I had to change the dressing today and I could feel every time I jostled her which is impossible to avoid. They moved her into handicapped housing (army base) that was two doors down and her 15 yr old twins have spent every non school waking minute bringing things down that i thne put away (hide). It has been really rough on her but at least with me here she can have her kids near and hug them and kiss them instead of having them stay at a friends house the way it was before I got here. DH was able to take off and come stay with us too. He is using all of his available leave to do this so we won't see the grandkids till January now. i hope they send lots of pictures cause we'll be in withdrawal!! I feel badly but as so glad we are able to help. Right now we are also watching a friend of theirs little one as well. We have a trip to Chuck E Cheese planned when she goes in for her next surgery so the kids won't miss her as much. i plan on exhausting them so they go right to sleep without looking for parents. One of th eperks will be (I hope) lots of weight loss, I don't have time to eat!!!

Sometimes too exciting, on the same day both my SIL and DIL had surgery. I so wanted to be there for both of them. I am going to go to my DIL because it is the more serious surgery. They are moving to handicapped housing (army base) and need someone there because she has a 3 yr old and a 1yr old. So hopefully all of us are traveling down to help. If worst come to worst then my DS2 and I are flying and dh will arive when he can get time off. The emergency fund will not be the same because if we fly it comes from there and is we don't he has to take a week of unpaid leave and it comes from there. Either way an expensive summer trip but to quote him, "This is what familiies gear up for"

I bought clothes, new, not at a second hand shop. Now before I get all kinds of comments on how I could find th esame or better at Goodwill let me state I am 6 feet 2 and a half inches, only wear skirts and tops or dresses and am overweight as well. I rarely find stuff for me at second hand shops. I paid a grand total of $31.00 total. I bought three skirts and three sweaters. I figure I will wear sweaters for at least another month and then will have them for next winter. I have summer t-shirts and can wear 2 of the skirts in the summer. So not so unfrugal and very needed. I am going East and would rather not hear that I need clothes from some of the family I am visiting.

This summer we have to do alot work on our new house and yard. Yesterday step 1 was completed. We had 11 trees removed. They are all old pines that were half dead. We paid 350 for two guys to spend 2 1/2 hours cutting trees down. They wanted another 300 to remove all the debris which we were too cheap to pay. So our yard is littered with pine logs and branches. DS2 and I spent an hour picking up a bag of pine cones and a large pile of brush this morning but since I have pneumonia (again) I am not able to do as much as I want. DH is geocaching so will have to get to it later. We're planning on going out again after I rest an hour or so. We are going to rent a chipper (70 dollars) and chip as much as we can in the 3 hours we can have it. The rest we will put out for city pickup. They have a schedule they come around on and pick up brush. The wood chips are going at the bottom of the playyard we are going to put up for DS2 at the beginning of May. The wood we will use when we are camping or having a fire here at night. The next several steps include a garage roof, driveway solution (maybe not paved the estimates are outragous), and a fence. Of course in there we will plant a garden, put up a ramp in the front, a pond (want not need but ...)

I have been selling Veggie Tales at home parties since they started the program last September. They just notified me that they are fazing out the program as of May 31st. I am disapointed that it isn't continuing but I understand it can't if it isn't making money. I am putting one last party on the site but I will be surprised if it goes anywhere.

I haven't logged in for a whole day and look at the blog changes!! WOW someone's been busy. We went to the children's museum in Madison Wisconsin yesterday and spent hours and hours doing construction, building walls, playing house, milking a cow (not real), running a restaurant, gardening, and selling produce at a farmer's market, and having a grand time. We ate at a local coffee shop and then had Ben and Jerry's ice cream. It was a fun day. We had driven down because I bought alot of fabric on ebay from a woman near there on ebay (for the church quilt ministry) and we decided to pick it up to save shipping. DH went geocaching and waymarking so it worked out, except for the part about going to bed in a hotel room, not a fun time for him which made it torture for me.

I haven't written for awhile becasue nothing noteworthy comes to mind. All my ebay items sold at the buy it now price which tells me I sell too low! but I was glad to get them off. I have some more things I want to list but haven't taken the pictures yet. i had to cancel playgroup, everyone seem sto be sick. We had a couple great spring days and now it is snow again.

4 of the 6 sets I put up sold!! Wow I'm impressed and sure that I should have sold them for more money! But they semed consistent with what the others were going for just I think I was the only one who did buy it now reasonably. Maybe I'm on to something. i have more stuff to list as soon as I get pictures taken of it.

I listed a few stamp sets on ebay that I have used enough that I am sure I won't miss them. There were 6 of them and I forgot that one wasn't retired. I am was amazed when someone emailed me to correct my listing. She was right and it was an honest mistake on my part. One of the sets was still in the book but man, she emailed me twice and included page and catalog number. I have found small errors when I am looking at listings but unless I want to buy the thing I don't ask about any information that might be wrong. Even then only if it is pertanent. The cool thing is that 2 of them have already sold at the buy it now price. one of them within an hour of listing!!!

Anyone know anything about the country of Kosova (o)? We are featuring missionaries form there at out conference in April and I just was informed that i need to do a bullitan board, table decorations, decorate a welcome center an dmake an authentic dessert or two or three. HELP ANYONE??!!

Hey all who read my blog, I have a odd question that I don't think is forum postable.
WE received an invitation to a child's "black belt test and reception" OK, we plan on going he is one of my students in the Sunday school class I co teach with our Pastor.
My question is what would be an appropriate present? We do not give cash for any reason. I was considering a Christian CD or ??? Maybe Chuck Norris' biography.

Well, went to the dentist today and found out just how much they want me to spend. He also found out just how much he can't talk me into spending. He even tried the old you want to save your teeth but you aren't willing to put th emoney in them. After I explained (pretty coolly ) that I am a SAHM because we believe it is important for our DS2 to have me home and ... He backed down very quickly. We are going to find out what they (ins) will pay for and go from there. I am shocked to find they pay a different percentage of different precedures. And more unhappy that I didn't find out what percentage they will pay for of the work I already had done. Of course I was in so much pain I probably would have agreed to go with it no matter the price.

Wow the field of dentistry has really changed since I was last stuck in the chair of torture. I had a 2 hour root canal today. He put this thing with a piece of plastic over my mouth and then used it as a "table" for stuff. The next thing that was new (to me anyway) was the bic his aide clicked and then he put his tool in it and from there straight into my mouth. I'm not sure if I have a tooth or a radio receiving station. I am sure he made alot of money today!!! Monday is when he will give me an estimate on what else he needs to do and I will redefine need for him, as in my insurance pays this much, you can only hurt me until that is gone then you have to wait for next year!!!

DH's not mine. His went great. He got high marks in everything and was complimented on his ability to realistically rate his own performance as well. Hopefully a raise comes of this next month. Next month is when the bonus comes out as well. Hopefully it will put a dent in the bill to have the garage roof replaced.
I wonder if I should request a performance review. Let's see should I ask DH for his review of me as a wife, or DS2 of his review as a Mommy, or take a concensus of the GK's on me as a Nana or just ask God how I am doing as His kid? Actually I suspect the whole process would depress me so I dont' think I want a performance review.

Ok I got tired of the lopsided face, not to mention the pain and went to the dentist today. He wants to do a root canal (just the word makes me cringe) I was braced for an extraction but he says it can be saved. OK Then I told him to take a look at the rest of the teeth that need work and tell me again he could save them. He did. So Now I am set up with two more appointments, the first in a long line I am sure to get started on work. The next one is in two days where we will do xrays and see what else needs to be done. We will discuss the possibilities and decide what we can afford on our insurance. We do have insurance thank God! It will pay 2500 dollars this year. So I will have 2500 dollars worth of work done this year. Then he can do another 2500 next year if it is warrented! So far I saved by not letting him use anasthetic today when he started the root canal. (OK how many of you cringed when you read that?) Honest, I am in so much pain from this now the drilling really wasn't any worse (much er only a bit) Now however, it hurts or should I say HURTS!!! AH well that is what ibuprofin is for!! The next trip in is to finish the root canal and then a trip in to cap it off. Then we'll look at the rest of what is left financially and dentally. Needless to say this guy thinks I am nuts already!!