It is time we came to an understanding. I have always said that if there is one thing I wish our family could do without, it's the internet. Not e-mail, but the whole rest of the world wide web. There was a time when we did without, and enjoyed ourselves. Can we get there again?
Today I sat on the couch and informed my daughter that the old run-down house she wants is up for sale. There I was with Sarah on my right, Elijah on my left, and Tom across from me on the chair. We began a conversation about how we could buy this house for Sarah (we can't but it's a nice dream) and it would be a nice dowry for her. (No, you do NOT hear wedding bells yet, don't even think it.) That led to a discussion about what dowries biblically are meant to be (protection for the bride, and something for her to fall back on in case her hubby died or turned out to be a wife-deserting scumbag) compared to what they became in American history (totally turned over to the husband to enhance his estate, leaving her with nothing if he turned out to be that worthless scumbag).
Tom got up, to go do whatever pastors do on Saturday nights (go to bed early), leaving me to supervise the bath/shower routine. Josiah took his place on the chair, then Lizzie snuggled up between me and Sarah, and Abby snuggled in on the other side, between me and Elijah. We continued to speculate on how we could get that house for Sarah, with Josiah adding a half-dreaming plan or two of his own. (Seriously, if I had the money I'd get it, if it were structurally sound enough to be worth fixing--old houses are so much more "alive" than the factory made, cookie cutter houses of today.)
The point of this post is not to discuss the topic of tonight's conversation, but to emphasize the fact that a conversation took place at all. Sarah did NOT have her laptop in her lap, I was NOT on my computer, and NObody had mp3 players plugged into their ears. I was snuggled up with some of my most favorite people in the whole world, just talking.
It was nice.
If, in a year or two, you come back here and still don't find anything new, it's because I'm doing something more important: spending time with the people I love the most.
P.S. In case you think I'm being extreme, here's a good video to watch: A Journey Home. Set aside 45 minutes of your time to watch this with your family. Seriously. I've been praying for a long time for something similar for our family. Tom hardly ever watches a video with us, but he found this one, watched it, recommended it to me, we watched it with some of our children, then I watched it yesterday with the rest of our children.
Showing posts with label Life at our house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life at our house. Show all posts
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Pictures of life at our house
Abby climbed a spruce tree in our yard to get this picture. The brown is our new roof, with new front porch.
A good view of the back of our property. All the trashy junk in the front of the picture has been cleaned up. :)
The whole gang.
Sam, before his haircut. He looks a LOT different now.
After the haircut. This is what he plays with when I'm on the computer. It's a multiple USB port, with coffee warmer.
Digging my garden, getting ready to plant the early crops.
New baby rabbits.
New kittens.
Some of the chickens. They are not as good layers as we've had before, but they're doing okay.
Sarah's little dog, Tomo, saying hi to Snickers, the big dog outside.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Coming back
It's time to get back to blogging. I've been very negligent of it since being on facebook.
It's spring! Today I did some more trash clean-up behind the garage and worked in the garden some. The ground is still too wet, and in some places still frozen, to work the soil, but I'm trying to clean things up and get ready.
This is going to be a busy summer. We have got to find a better way to grow and store garden produce so that we can actually live off the vegetables instead of having them rot on us. :( We tried storing the pumpkins in the barn last fall, but before I could get them processed, they froze. And the tomatoes didn't ripen before frost, partly because of not having much sun, and partly because I planted them too close together.
We're getting the living room redone this year, and installing our new woodstove! The woodstove was a gift from some friends. They had gotten a couple of new ones, so when they heard we wanted to go with wood heat they offered us their old one. We offered to pay for it, but they wouldn't let us.
So another thing to do this year is get wood in. And fence in the back third of the property so that the chickens and ducks don't migrate to the neighbours'. And dig a trench to drain the area we hope to fence in. And get my raised beds ready to actually use. And do a major clutter cleaning inside the house.
And go on a trip! We are going to Maranatha again this July, and then to a family reunion of sorts. My brother, his new wife, his two sons, and their adopted Papua New Guinea son are coming to the States for a visit. I've never met Johanna, so this is going to be a special time for all of us.
I'm also going to get a preview of what life without Sarah will be like someday when she leaves home. She is going to be spending a couple of months with my parents, from mid-April till mid-July. This is going to be fun for her, and I'm glad for her sake, but we are going to miss her.
On the days when we are totally bored and there's not much else to do, we will fit in some school work. That probably won't happen much, but I'm thinking we're going to have to do some sort of year-round schooling just to get a year's worth done in a year.
The four youngest have been trying to recover from colds. I let them go outside today since it was so warm and sunny, but I think at least Sam will be staying home from church tomorrow.
And now it's time to start supper.
It's spring! Today I did some more trash clean-up behind the garage and worked in the garden some. The ground is still too wet, and in some places still frozen, to work the soil, but I'm trying to clean things up and get ready.
This is going to be a busy summer. We have got to find a better way to grow and store garden produce so that we can actually live off the vegetables instead of having them rot on us. :( We tried storing the pumpkins in the barn last fall, but before I could get them processed, they froze. And the tomatoes didn't ripen before frost, partly because of not having much sun, and partly because I planted them too close together.
We're getting the living room redone this year, and installing our new woodstove! The woodstove was a gift from some friends. They had gotten a couple of new ones, so when they heard we wanted to go with wood heat they offered us their old one. We offered to pay for it, but they wouldn't let us.
So another thing to do this year is get wood in. And fence in the back third of the property so that the chickens and ducks don't migrate to the neighbours'. And dig a trench to drain the area we hope to fence in. And get my raised beds ready to actually use. And do a major clutter cleaning inside the house.
And go on a trip! We are going to Maranatha again this July, and then to a family reunion of sorts. My brother, his new wife, his two sons, and their adopted Papua New Guinea son are coming to the States for a visit. I've never met Johanna, so this is going to be a special time for all of us.
I'm also going to get a preview of what life without Sarah will be like someday when she leaves home. She is going to be spending a couple of months with my parents, from mid-April till mid-July. This is going to be fun for her, and I'm glad for her sake, but we are going to miss her.
On the days when we are totally bored and there's not much else to do, we will fit in some school work. That probably won't happen much, but I'm thinking we're going to have to do some sort of year-round schooling just to get a year's worth done in a year.
The four youngest have been trying to recover from colds. I let them go outside today since it was so warm and sunny, but I think at least Sam will be staying home from church tomorrow.
And now it's time to start supper.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
John's day off
John (age 4): Mommy, what's a day off?
Me: It's when you take time to do something fun instead of all the work you would normally do on that day.
John: So when I knocked all my clothes off my bed and played, that was a day off, right?
Me: It's when you take time to do something fun instead of all the work you would normally do on that day.
John: So when I knocked all my clothes off my bed and played, that was a day off, right?
Friday, November 28, 2008
How We Spent Thanksgiving Day
We normally celebrate two Thanksgivings every year: Canada's, in October, at a provincial park with friends and church family; and the US's, in New York, with friends we knew when we lived there. US Thanksgiving was yesterday, and here's how it went...
We left home at about 9:15. The van stalled out a couple miles from home. Josiah was able to start it again right away, so we kept going. It did not stall out again while we were still in Canada.
We dropped off Nate's passport (he went with our friends the Underwoods, so he got to enjoy the day in New York) and stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things and take little children to the bathroom.
We got TO the border at about 10:05. We got THROUGH the border at 10:50. No problem with us, we just got in a slow lane.
We traveled about 20 minutes, with the van stalling out about 4-5 times. As it got progressively harder to start each time, we called our friends to tell them we weren't coming, and were going to try to get the van back home.
Heading back, the van stalled twice before we got to the border. Josiah noticed that it would go into a stall when he pressed the brake, so he drove slow enough through Massena that he got all the green lights and didn't have to stop. Once he got a red light, and he was prepared to make a right-hand turn rather than stop, but the light changed just as we got to it.
Then, as we turned onto the road leading up to the border, the van stalled out. We were in a turning lane, blocking traffic, so the boys had to get out and push the van uphill and off the road. This time we could not start it again. After waiting about ten minutes, it still wouldn't start.
Tom decided to take Sarah, John, Abby, and Lizzie home in the car, pick up his tools, and come back. We sent one of the nut pies home with them, and kept one to eat ourselves. So Tom dropped those four off at home and got his tools. But then when he tried to leave home, the car wouldn't start! So he had to work on that. He got it running and came back to see if we could start the van.
Meanwhile, I was not wearing snow boots, and with no heat in the van, we were all quite cold. I kept getting out and stomping around to keep the blood moving in my feet. By this time it was close to 2:30 I think, and we had been waiting there for about an hour and a half. I was getting more concerned about Timothy. His cough was worsening, and I had forgotten his puffer. I could hear him wheeze more, and wished I'd sent him home with Sarah instead of Abby.
Tom came back, and the van started! I drove, in case we stalled at customs and Josiah would be needed to push. We got to the top of the first bridge crossing the St. Lawrence. Just as we started down the other side, the van stalled. I was able to coast into customs. We stopped at the window, showed our passports and permanent resident cards and answered all the normal questions. I told the guard we were stalled and the boys would have to get out to push. He asked if I needed help. I told him my hubby was in the car behind me, and we'd be okay. So the boys pushed us through customs into the parking lot, and the guard waved Tom through without asking for ID or any of the normal questions.
This time there was no starting the van back up. I took everybody but Tom and Josiah home in the car. At about 3:15 we got home. Almost as soon as we got home, Tom called and asked me to come pick them up, that they were going to have to get the van towed to the shop. Thankfully, the car has not been acting up anymore. But we had just gotten the van back on Monday, after almost three weeks of being in the shop.
We have the money for another van, but we had hoped to replace the CAR not the VAN. The car is not a big enough second vehicle for us.
So that was our day. My feet finally thawed out, and the Underwoods were sweet and brought turkey leftovers to us last night.
Hope the rest of you had a good day!
We left home at about 9:15. The van stalled out a couple miles from home. Josiah was able to start it again right away, so we kept going. It did not stall out again while we were still in Canada.
We dropped off Nate's passport (he went with our friends the Underwoods, so he got to enjoy the day in New York) and stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things and take little children to the bathroom.
We got TO the border at about 10:05. We got THROUGH the border at 10:50. No problem with us, we just got in a slow lane.
We traveled about 20 minutes, with the van stalling out about 4-5 times. As it got progressively harder to start each time, we called our friends to tell them we weren't coming, and were going to try to get the van back home.
Heading back, the van stalled twice before we got to the border. Josiah noticed that it would go into a stall when he pressed the brake, so he drove slow enough through Massena that he got all the green lights and didn't have to stop. Once he got a red light, and he was prepared to make a right-hand turn rather than stop, but the light changed just as we got to it.
Then, as we turned onto the road leading up to the border, the van stalled out. We were in a turning lane, blocking traffic, so the boys had to get out and push the van uphill and off the road. This time we could not start it again. After waiting about ten minutes, it still wouldn't start.
Tom decided to take Sarah, John, Abby, and Lizzie home in the car, pick up his tools, and come back. We sent one of the nut pies home with them, and kept one to eat ourselves. So Tom dropped those four off at home and got his tools. But then when he tried to leave home, the car wouldn't start! So he had to work on that. He got it running and came back to see if we could start the van.
Meanwhile, I was not wearing snow boots, and with no heat in the van, we were all quite cold. I kept getting out and stomping around to keep the blood moving in my feet. By this time it was close to 2:30 I think, and we had been waiting there for about an hour and a half. I was getting more concerned about Timothy. His cough was worsening, and I had forgotten his puffer. I could hear him wheeze more, and wished I'd sent him home with Sarah instead of Abby.
Tom came back, and the van started! I drove, in case we stalled at customs and Josiah would be needed to push. We got to the top of the first bridge crossing the St. Lawrence. Just as we started down the other side, the van stalled. I was able to coast into customs. We stopped at the window, showed our passports and permanent resident cards and answered all the normal questions. I told the guard we were stalled and the boys would have to get out to push. He asked if I needed help. I told him my hubby was in the car behind me, and we'd be okay. So the boys pushed us through customs into the parking lot, and the guard waved Tom through without asking for ID or any of the normal questions.
This time there was no starting the van back up. I took everybody but Tom and Josiah home in the car. At about 3:15 we got home. Almost as soon as we got home, Tom called and asked me to come pick them up, that they were going to have to get the van towed to the shop. Thankfully, the car has not been acting up anymore. But we had just gotten the van back on Monday, after almost three weeks of being in the shop.
We have the money for another van, but we had hoped to replace the CAR not the VAN. The car is not a big enough second vehicle for us.
So that was our day. My feet finally thawed out, and the Underwoods were sweet and brought turkey leftovers to us last night.
Hope the rest of you had a good day!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Quick Update
Since taking the internet off my computer in August, I have been amazed at how much work I've gotten done around here. There is still a lot to do to get the garden ready for its winter sleep-over. Also, we are tentatively scheduled to start on our new roof and front porch this week. Once that's done, we'll be able to start remodeling inside.
I tried to start home schooling after Labour Day, but there's just so much to do around here we haven't had time. We're hoping to start by the end of October. Right now we're experiencing real-life education, which is, in many ways, more important than academics.
I am hoping that by the beginning of November I can start posting on this blog at least once a month. I want to start by putting on a lot of pictures...
Got to go do laundry, rake leaves and finish making supper. We're having chicken leg quarters tonight.
Love to all my friends and enemies! (You know who you are :) ) Anonymous, if you still read this, know that I pray for you, but I couldn't let you communicate with me anymore. Hope you're doing okay.
Cathy for all the gang.
I tried to start home schooling after Labour Day, but there's just so much to do around here we haven't had time. We're hoping to start by the end of October. Right now we're experiencing real-life education, which is, in many ways, more important than academics.
I am hoping that by the beginning of November I can start posting on this blog at least once a month. I want to start by putting on a lot of pictures...
- stuff we do with free pallet wood
- Sam, growing by leaps and bounds (he's six months old already!)
- me, smaller by a significant number of pounds
- the goat barn
- all Sarah's rabbits (maybe two dozen or so?)
- Sarah's ducks (sorry, but the pig went to the butcher today)
- the new roof and porch
- the new bike shed/lean-to we added to the side of the garage
Got to go do laundry, rake leaves and finish making supper. We're having chicken leg quarters tonight.
Love to all my friends and enemies! (You know who you are :) ) Anonymous, if you still read this, know that I pray for you, but I couldn't let you communicate with me anymore. Hope you're doing okay.
Cathy for all the gang.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
No more encumbering
Below this post is the last of the "Servant's heart" series. Now the time has come for me to say goodbye to the internet for an extended period of time. I will continue to communicate with friends and family via e-mail. But there will be no more blogging, no more internet "research", no more Facebook (why, oh why, did I ever sign up for that anyway?), no more home-school or large-family forums, no more frantic searches for the best, most miraculous (the "Christian" word for magical) weight loss secret.
I am not even going to print out my friend Rand's Friday Night Notes for our church bulletin board. I'm going to pass that job on to my son Josiah.
Pray for us this summer. Our church Bible conference runs July 30 - August 3. Our very dear friend Pastor David Dickerson is coming all the way from Georgia to preach for us. We are so looking forward to his coming, and pray that the Lord will bless it and begin to send us the revival we have been longing for (but not longing for nearly enough).
August 11-15 we will be attending the Bible conference at Maranatha in Pennsylvania. Our oldest son Nate was able to get time off from work to go with us. Please pray that God will awaken him.
The Sunday after the Maranatha conference we hope to be in Mount Vision, New York, visiting our friend Chris Ellis' church. I'm looking forward to seeing them again, and visiting with his wife, and his daughter Esther. Mount Vision is just about half-way between our house and Pennsylvania, so we've been sometimes stopping there to break our trip in half.
I am concerned about us living in a neighbourhood setting. On the one hand, I see such an opportunity to share the gospel with our unsaved neighbours. But on the other hand, I see my children more and more negatively influenced by those lost children. Pray for us about this. I don't want to try so hard to win my neighbours for Christ that I lose my children to the world. But I don't want to so close my family in that we neglect our neighbours, either. I don't know where the balance is, but I do know that my first and primary responsibility is to my home and family.
Part of what's hard about living in a neighbourhood is when all the neighbour children congregate in my yard. This is fine sometimes, but often they're all here way too much. If none of the children are outside, they'll come to the door and ask if they can play. I like that. But if the children are already outside, they won't ask my permission. They'll just come into the yard and start playing. I'd like to find a way to stop this so that my children are not with the world's children hours upon hours every day throughout the summer. I don't think it's fair to make my children stay inside until I am able to be out there with them. I'd like for them to be able to go out without having the neighbours in my yard, too. If any of you have any suggestions for how to deal with this, let me know.
As I get the money, I am ordering schoolbooks for this fall (the only other internet use I will justify for myself right now; a money order costs five dollars!!!). I am looking forward to starting up school again. I am thinking of doing home school more or less year round with breaks for gardening, conferences and family days. That way I don't have to try to cram all the lessons into the short months between Canadian Thanksgiving in October and Victoria Day in May like I have been. (That's between the end of harvest and the beginning of spring planting.) And it will help some with keeping my children occupied without the neighbourhood joining in.
That's it for now. Have a great rest-of-the-summer.
I am not even going to print out my friend Rand's Friday Night Notes for our church bulletin board. I'm going to pass that job on to my son Josiah.
Pray for us this summer. Our church Bible conference runs July 30 - August 3. Our very dear friend Pastor David Dickerson is coming all the way from Georgia to preach for us. We are so looking forward to his coming, and pray that the Lord will bless it and begin to send us the revival we have been longing for (but not longing for nearly enough).
August 11-15 we will be attending the Bible conference at Maranatha in Pennsylvania. Our oldest son Nate was able to get time off from work to go with us. Please pray that God will awaken him.
The Sunday after the Maranatha conference we hope to be in Mount Vision, New York, visiting our friend Chris Ellis' church. I'm looking forward to seeing them again, and visiting with his wife, and his daughter Esther. Mount Vision is just about half-way between our house and Pennsylvania, so we've been sometimes stopping there to break our trip in half.
I am concerned about us living in a neighbourhood setting. On the one hand, I see such an opportunity to share the gospel with our unsaved neighbours. But on the other hand, I see my children more and more negatively influenced by those lost children. Pray for us about this. I don't want to try so hard to win my neighbours for Christ that I lose my children to the world. But I don't want to so close my family in that we neglect our neighbours, either. I don't know where the balance is, but I do know that my first and primary responsibility is to my home and family.
Part of what's hard about living in a neighbourhood is when all the neighbour children congregate in my yard. This is fine sometimes, but often they're all here way too much. If none of the children are outside, they'll come to the door and ask if they can play. I like that. But if the children are already outside, they won't ask my permission. They'll just come into the yard and start playing. I'd like to find a way to stop this so that my children are not with the world's children hours upon hours every day throughout the summer. I don't think it's fair to make my children stay inside until I am able to be out there with them. I'd like for them to be able to go out without having the neighbours in my yard, too. If any of you have any suggestions for how to deal with this, let me know.
As I get the money, I am ordering schoolbooks for this fall (the only other internet use I will justify for myself right now; a money order costs five dollars!!!). I am looking forward to starting up school again. I am thinking of doing home school more or less year round with breaks for gardening, conferences and family days. That way I don't have to try to cram all the lessons into the short months between Canadian Thanksgiving in October and Victoria Day in May like I have been. (That's between the end of harvest and the beginning of spring planting.) And it will help some with keeping my children occupied without the neighbourhood joining in.
That's it for now. Have a great rest-of-the-summer.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Cor-Che-Me-Good: A Recipe
This was too good to keep. Servant's heart, part 3, coming tomorrow.
Take one pound (or so, I didn't actually weigh it) of Monterey Jack cheese that really needs used up today. Think about that for a minute to determine the best way to incorporate that into a meal. Remember that when the groceries came today, your husband left the hamburger out, at your request. Think a little more about how the cheese and the meat will go best into some sort of casserole that your family will love, if only because they're tired of the same-old-predictable-same-old that you've been serving. While you are thinking about all this, start a pan of clean dishwater so you can clean as you go.
Ask your 9 year-old-daughter to pull six green onions from the garden. While she's doing that, pour some (maybe about 2 tablespoons) olive oil into a small frying pan. Turn burner on low to heat the oil while you cut most of the stems off the onions (leave about six inches). Realize that you could have saved olive oil and frying pans by cooking the onion with the hamburger. Say "oh well" to yourself, and start browning the hamburger in the large frying pan.
Make sure that you are using the side of the cutting board marked "onions". Clean and slice the parts of the onions that you keep, putting the rest into the bucket for the pig. Stir the hamburger. After you've sliced four onions, look at the pile of slices. Realize that the green onions are getting bigger bulbs now, so you really didn't need six. Put the two remaining onions into a dish for your husband, who loves garden-fresh onions. Put the slices in the frying pan with the hot oil. When it all spatters and spits at you, realize that you have the burner too high and turn it down. Stir. Stir the hamburger.
Pull three cloves off a garlic bulb. Cut the the little bits off at the root ends and remove the papery covers. Stir the onions. Chop up the hamburger to make sure it's all in bits, with no big lumps. Look on the nice magnetic knife holder your friends gave you, for the chopping knife. Notice that it's not there. Glance into the dish drainer. When you don't find it there, say "oh well" to yourself and get a different knife. Chop each garlic clove into bits, pausing after each to stir the onions. After each clove has been chopped, gather all the bits into a pile and chop again. Scrape the whole pile into the frying pan with the onions and stir. Stir the hamburger.
Stir the onions and garlic again. Remember the book you read recently that said garlic does not need to cook very long, or it will start to not taste so good. Turn the burner off and set the frying pan to the back of the stove. Check to see that all the pink is out of the hamburger. Drain fat and juices into glass measuring cup. Not because you want to measure it, but because it was handy. Turn off hamburger burner and set that frying pan on the stove.
Wash all utensils, etc., that you've used so far. Wipe down all counter tops. Call in your 9 year-old-daughter and your 5 year-old-daughter. While they are coming in and washing their hands, melt 1/4 cup butter in stock pot. Measure 1/4 cup flour, and set it aside. Measure 2 cups of milk, and set it aside. When the butter is melted, use the wire whippy to stir in the flour. Slowly add milk, stirring all the time. Occasionally set the milk down and give the mixture a good, thorough stirring, to make sure no lumps are happening.
By the time the milk is all poured and stirred in, the girls should have their hands washed. Have them start making a salad. While they are working, monitor their conversation to make sure it is characterized by peace, love and joy. Correct any speech that does not qualify. Note that this time, most of it does qualify. Smile about that.
Meanwhile, unwrap the cheese and slice it into the milk mixture, stirring till melted and smooth after every 5-6 slices. Be thankful for the cheese slicer: it works much nicer than a knife for this kind of cheese. Try not to remember that you were irritated with your husband for "wasting" money on it, when a knife would work just as well. While you are slicing the cheese, your daughters will crowd around and say, "Mmmm. Looks good. What is it?" Instead of doing the "Food" - "What kind of food?" - "Yummy food" bit that you usually do, confess the truth: you don't have a name for it because you're making it up as you go along. Announce that there will be a contest at dinner to see who can come up with a name for it. Remind your daughters that they are supposed to be making a salad.
After the cheese sauce is done, turn that burner off. Stir in the hamburger, then the onions and garlic. Get an inspiration, and stir in two cups of frozen corn. Wash all utensils, etc., that are dirty, and wipe all counter tops. Notice that the dish drainer is getting full. Draft 9 year-old-daughter to dry and put away. Show 5 year-old-daughter how to cut the "trees" of broccoli off the "trunk" to add to the salad. Be thankful that she has learned to use the sharp knife safely and is being such a big help. Tell her that she is being a big help.
Grease two 13X9 glass pans with butter. Portion the hamburger stuff evenly between the two and smooth it all out. Do the washing up routine again. Get the cookbook out and open it up to the drop biscuits recipe. See what temperature to set the oven for, and do that. Look for the big white mixing bowl. Realize that the girls are using it for the salad. Look for the other big white mixing bowl, being thankful that you have two. When you don't find it, ask the girls if they know where it is. 9 year-old-daughter will tell you that it's in the refrigerator. Ask what's in it. When she says, "Salad. Lots of salad," say, "oh, boy." Look at that salad. Notice that there are white wisps of cottony-looking mold growing on it. Wonder to yourself, "When was the last time we had salad?" Don't bother answering the question because it doesn't matter. You were gone all day yesterday, and before that you don't remember because everybody's been sick--again. Decide not to think about that.
Send the moldy salad out with 9 year-old-daughter to give to the pig. Be thankful that you have a pig, the pig you hadn't wanted because your neighbours went ahead and got it for you without asking, and you had to get your family scrambling to build it a pen for it right in the middle of the Saturday night bath routine, and it got loose early the next morning (which was a Sunday), and set the dogs to barking at 4:30 AM, which woke up your visiting parents, but you didn't know why the dogs were barking until several hours later, and everybody had to go out and chase the pig back into the pen when they should have been eating Sunday breakfast and getting ready for church, and somebody had to wake up those neighbours because their pig was loose too, and....... Decide not to think about that anymore, either.
When the bowl comes back, wash it, and mix up a double batch of drop biscuits. Spoon the dough onto the top of the hamburger mixture, portioning it so there are exactly 12 relatively evenly spaced blobs of dough on each panful. When there is one blob left over, break it up into bits and add them to the other blobs. Open the oven to put the pans in. Notice that you forgot to move the oven rack back to the middle after baking bread earlier. Move it now. Put pans in the oven and set the timer.
Now 9 year-old-daughter will tell you that the baby is crying. Call 16 year-old-daughter in to do the rest of the washing up. Just as she gets there, notice that the baby has stopped crying. Decide not to pick him up just now, but help the younger girls with the table setting, instead. As soon as everything is ready, call everyone to dinner.
As all the children gather around, listen to them exclaim about how good it smells, and what is it, and how good it looks, and can I have two helpings please, etc. Announce about the naming contest. Serve everybody their portions.
During dinner, 9 year-old-daughter will announce the name of this new recipe. Remind her that there will be a vote. She will ignore you, and explain how the recipe got its name.
Cor for corn
Che for cheese
Me for meat
Good because it's really good
Cor-Che-Me-Good.
Only at our house.
Take one pound (or so, I didn't actually weigh it) of Monterey Jack cheese that really needs used up today. Think about that for a minute to determine the best way to incorporate that into a meal. Remember that when the groceries came today, your husband left the hamburger out, at your request. Think a little more about how the cheese and the meat will go best into some sort of casserole that your family will love, if only because they're tired of the same-old-predictable-same-old that you've been serving. While you are thinking about all this, start a pan of clean dishwater so you can clean as you go.
Ask your 9 year-old-daughter to pull six green onions from the garden. While she's doing that, pour some (maybe about 2 tablespoons) olive oil into a small frying pan. Turn burner on low to heat the oil while you cut most of the stems off the onions (leave about six inches). Realize that you could have saved olive oil and frying pans by cooking the onion with the hamburger. Say "oh well" to yourself, and start browning the hamburger in the large frying pan.
Make sure that you are using the side of the cutting board marked "onions". Clean and slice the parts of the onions that you keep, putting the rest into the bucket for the pig. Stir the hamburger. After you've sliced four onions, look at the pile of slices. Realize that the green onions are getting bigger bulbs now, so you really didn't need six. Put the two remaining onions into a dish for your husband, who loves garden-fresh onions. Put the slices in the frying pan with the hot oil. When it all spatters and spits at you, realize that you have the burner too high and turn it down. Stir. Stir the hamburger.
Pull three cloves off a garlic bulb. Cut the the little bits off at the root ends and remove the papery covers. Stir the onions. Chop up the hamburger to make sure it's all in bits, with no big lumps. Look on the nice magnetic knife holder your friends gave you, for the chopping knife. Notice that it's not there. Glance into the dish drainer. When you don't find it there, say "oh well" to yourself and get a different knife. Chop each garlic clove into bits, pausing after each to stir the onions. After each clove has been chopped, gather all the bits into a pile and chop again. Scrape the whole pile into the frying pan with the onions and stir. Stir the hamburger.
Stir the onions and garlic again. Remember the book you read recently that said garlic does not need to cook very long, or it will start to not taste so good. Turn the burner off and set the frying pan to the back of the stove. Check to see that all the pink is out of the hamburger. Drain fat and juices into glass measuring cup. Not because you want to measure it, but because it was handy. Turn off hamburger burner and set that frying pan on the stove.
Wash all utensils, etc., that you've used so far. Wipe down all counter tops. Call in your 9 year-old-daughter and your 5 year-old-daughter. While they are coming in and washing their hands, melt 1/4 cup butter in stock pot. Measure 1/4 cup flour, and set it aside. Measure 2 cups of milk, and set it aside. When the butter is melted, use the wire whippy to stir in the flour. Slowly add milk, stirring all the time. Occasionally set the milk down and give the mixture a good, thorough stirring, to make sure no lumps are happening.
By the time the milk is all poured and stirred in, the girls should have their hands washed. Have them start making a salad. While they are working, monitor their conversation to make sure it is characterized by peace, love and joy. Correct any speech that does not qualify. Note that this time, most of it does qualify. Smile about that.
Meanwhile, unwrap the cheese and slice it into the milk mixture, stirring till melted and smooth after every 5-6 slices. Be thankful for the cheese slicer: it works much nicer than a knife for this kind of cheese. Try not to remember that you were irritated with your husband for "wasting" money on it, when a knife would work just as well. While you are slicing the cheese, your daughters will crowd around and say, "Mmmm. Looks good. What is it?" Instead of doing the "Food" - "What kind of food?" - "Yummy food" bit that you usually do, confess the truth: you don't have a name for it because you're making it up as you go along. Announce that there will be a contest at dinner to see who can come up with a name for it. Remind your daughters that they are supposed to be making a salad.
After the cheese sauce is done, turn that burner off. Stir in the hamburger, then the onions and garlic. Get an inspiration, and stir in two cups of frozen corn. Wash all utensils, etc., that are dirty, and wipe all counter tops. Notice that the dish drainer is getting full. Draft 9 year-old-daughter to dry and put away. Show 5 year-old-daughter how to cut the "trees" of broccoli off the "trunk" to add to the salad. Be thankful that she has learned to use the sharp knife safely and is being such a big help. Tell her that she is being a big help.
Grease two 13X9 glass pans with butter. Portion the hamburger stuff evenly between the two and smooth it all out. Do the washing up routine again. Get the cookbook out and open it up to the drop biscuits recipe. See what temperature to set the oven for, and do that. Look for the big white mixing bowl. Realize that the girls are using it for the salad. Look for the other big white mixing bowl, being thankful that you have two. When you don't find it, ask the girls if they know where it is. 9 year-old-daughter will tell you that it's in the refrigerator. Ask what's in it. When she says, "Salad. Lots of salad," say, "oh, boy." Look at that salad. Notice that there are white wisps of cottony-looking mold growing on it. Wonder to yourself, "When was the last time we had salad?" Don't bother answering the question because it doesn't matter. You were gone all day yesterday, and before that you don't remember because everybody's been sick--again. Decide not to think about that.
Send the moldy salad out with 9 year-old-daughter to give to the pig. Be thankful that you have a pig, the pig you hadn't wanted because your neighbours went ahead and got it for you without asking, and you had to get your family scrambling to build it a pen for it right in the middle of the Saturday night bath routine, and it got loose early the next morning (which was a Sunday), and set the dogs to barking at 4:30 AM, which woke up your visiting parents, but you didn't know why the dogs were barking until several hours later, and everybody had to go out and chase the pig back into the pen when they should have been eating Sunday breakfast and getting ready for church, and somebody had to wake up those neighbours because their pig was loose too, and....... Decide not to think about that anymore, either.
When the bowl comes back, wash it, and mix up a double batch of drop biscuits. Spoon the dough onto the top of the hamburger mixture, portioning it so there are exactly 12 relatively evenly spaced blobs of dough on each panful. When there is one blob left over, break it up into bits and add them to the other blobs. Open the oven to put the pans in. Notice that you forgot to move the oven rack back to the middle after baking bread earlier. Move it now. Put pans in the oven and set the timer.
Now 9 year-old-daughter will tell you that the baby is crying. Call 16 year-old-daughter in to do the rest of the washing up. Just as she gets there, notice that the baby has stopped crying. Decide not to pick him up just now, but help the younger girls with the table setting, instead. As soon as everything is ready, call everyone to dinner.
As all the children gather around, listen to them exclaim about how good it smells, and what is it, and how good it looks, and can I have two helpings please, etc. Announce about the naming contest. Serve everybody their portions.
During dinner, 9 year-old-daughter will announce the name of this new recipe. Remind her that there will be a vote. She will ignore you, and explain how the recipe got its name.
Cor for corn
Che for cheese
Me for meat
Good because it's really good
Cor-Che-Me-Good.
Only at our house.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Family picture
Forgive our facial expressions. We are squinting into the sun.I've not been able to finish the post I promised for this week. Will try for tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Thanks for your prayers
I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me. Thanks especially to my friend and sister in Christ, Lucie, for praying for my back. Please don't stop! My back has been doing great. My mental distress continues somewhat, but I think that will ease off in the months to come. Tom and I have talked about how busy I have been lately. We are in the process of changing some things around here so that I am not away from home so much, that we aren't running to town so much, and that the children take on more responsibility.
I am going to finish what I started about the servant's heart (Mary and Martha) later this week. After that I am going to take my cue from my daughter and take a blogging break for the summer. Meanwhile, we have our own Bible conference coming up July 30-August 3. Tom and I also hope to take the whole family (Nate, too!) to Maranatha Bible Conference (in Pennsylvania) in August (please pray that God will work out the details for this).
We are also building a small barn, Sarah is starting a babysitting job AND a meat rabbit business AND getting goats in the fall, I'm getting a Jersey cow, and there's all the gardening to do. We need to clean out our cellar and build a cold room down there, to use as a root cellar. We have a whole bunch of junk to haul away to the dump, and scrap metal to sell to the scrap yard. Our neighbour gave Elijah a trailer that Tom wants to fix up and get tags for, so that we can use it for hauling stuff. Stuff like several loads of hay, if the rain will stop long enough for the farmers to cut it!
AND, we're getting a new roof put on! We are getting a grant for this, so we had to submit two bids for the job. The inspector who approved our grant decides who gets the job. Pray that our friends Jon U. and Michel C. get the job. They are just getting started in their new construction contracting business, and we want to help them out. Plus we know them, and know that they will do a great job.
I am going to finish what I started about the servant's heart (Mary and Martha) later this week. After that I am going to take my cue from my daughter and take a blogging break for the summer. Meanwhile, we have our own Bible conference coming up July 30-August 3. Tom and I also hope to take the whole family (Nate, too!) to Maranatha Bible Conference (in Pennsylvania) in August (please pray that God will work out the details for this).
We are also building a small barn, Sarah is starting a babysitting job AND a meat rabbit business AND getting goats in the fall, I'm getting a Jersey cow, and there's all the gardening to do. We need to clean out our cellar and build a cold room down there, to use as a root cellar. We have a whole bunch of junk to haul away to the dump, and scrap metal to sell to the scrap yard. Our neighbour gave Elijah a trailer that Tom wants to fix up and get tags for, so that we can use it for hauling stuff. Stuff like several loads of hay, if the rain will stop long enough for the farmers to cut it!
AND, we're getting a new roof put on! We are getting a grant for this, so we had to submit two bids for the job. The inspector who approved our grant decides who gets the job. Pray that our friends Jon U. and Michel C. get the job. They are just getting started in their new construction contracting business, and we want to help them out. Plus we know them, and know that they will do a great job.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
In a foggy place
My mind has been in a fog for about a couple of months. I have been forgetting things a lot, and am not able to think clearly. I will ask a child to do something, and right away forget that I asked that, and ask the same child to do something else. I will start to say something, and suddenly I can't think what it was I wanted to say. I told Sarah she could go home with a friend after church one Sunday night, then later I wondered where she was. I could not recall giving her permission, even though they tried to help me remember by telling me the circumstances and what we talked about.
Tom says I've not been getting enough sleep. I don't know. I go to bed no later than ten, and lately I think I've been sleeping pretty well. Samuel has been sleeping all night, anywhere from 8 to 11 hours. During the day I lie down with him when he needs nursed, and sometimes doze off. I did go through about a week or so of not being able to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. But that hasn't been the case lately.
It is hard for me to stay focused. If I am interrupted while writing, I have to read the whole paragraph, sometimes the whole blog post over again to try to remember what I was writing. Sometimes I totally lose my thought and end up deleting the half sentence I just wrote because I have no idea what I was trying to say. That is why I haven't been blogging lately.
I have not gotten the garden finished yet. I just can't keep my mind on it. I go out to do some planting, and find I can't think what I am supposed to do. Same for a lot of other chores, like laundry or sewing or cleaning.
I've got my children worried. Last night Elijah asked if Alzheimer's runs in the family. And Sarah remembered reading about a woman who began to be easily confused, especially about where she was, when she was younger than I am. I am 42.
I don't know what the problem is, but I ask you to pray for me. I don't think I have anything major on my conscience. Fellowship with the Lord has been sweet lately. I do think I am too busy. I am gone from home a lot, but haven't been able to help it. It's all been necessary, mostly related either to ministry or shopping I absolutely had to do. I did mark on my calendar all the days I want to STAY HOME for the rest of this month.
Tom says I've not been getting enough sleep. I don't know. I go to bed no later than ten, and lately I think I've been sleeping pretty well. Samuel has been sleeping all night, anywhere from 8 to 11 hours. During the day I lie down with him when he needs nursed, and sometimes doze off. I did go through about a week or so of not being able to sleep, no matter how hard I tried. But that hasn't been the case lately.
It is hard for me to stay focused. If I am interrupted while writing, I have to read the whole paragraph, sometimes the whole blog post over again to try to remember what I was writing. Sometimes I totally lose my thought and end up deleting the half sentence I just wrote because I have no idea what I was trying to say. That is why I haven't been blogging lately.
I have not gotten the garden finished yet. I just can't keep my mind on it. I go out to do some planting, and find I can't think what I am supposed to do. Same for a lot of other chores, like laundry or sewing or cleaning.
I've got my children worried. Last night Elijah asked if Alzheimer's runs in the family. And Sarah remembered reading about a woman who began to be easily confused, especially about where she was, when she was younger than I am. I am 42.
I don't know what the problem is, but I ask you to pray for me. I don't think I have anything major on my conscience. Fellowship with the Lord has been sweet lately. I do think I am too busy. I am gone from home a lot, but haven't been able to help it. It's all been necessary, mostly related either to ministry or shopping I absolutely had to do. I did mark on my calendar all the days I want to STAY HOME for the rest of this month.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Hammy
This place begins to look more and more like a little farm. I didn't really want a pig, but our neighbours thought Sarah would love him. They wanted a pig, but couldn't get just one. They bought two for $10 each, and gave Sarah the extra one. The next day, after both pigs got loose and ran around in our back yard (on a Sunday morning), the neighbours decided they didn't want a pig after all. No, we did not take it.
Anyway, Hammy (also known as Porky) is destined to bless our table come fall. Yum.
Monday, May 12, 2008
The virtual mom
The year was 1999. We had six children, and had just moved from Texas to New York state. We had recently acquired internet and were now, for better or for worse, connected to the world wide web. It was all so fascinating: all those websites with information on anything that might interest anyone. And search engines made finding all that information so much easier than using the card catalog at the library. Before I knew it, I was hooked.
I collected and printed all sorts of things, organizing that information into categories: activities for preschoolers, recipes, things to do as a family, gardening ideas, how to care for and then butcher all sorts of farm animals, how to tan hides, etc.
E-mailing was exciting. I could keep in constant touch with all the friends I ever left behind during our many moves from state to state (and later from country to country). No more waiting for the regular mail to come.
Then I discovered forums. What fun! Talking to total strangers about anything and everything. Now I was addicted.
I heard about women who were becoming virtual moms and neglecting their homes. Tom and I even counseled with a couple whose marriage eventually fell apart because the wife was online so much. I thought, those people are crazy to throw away their real lives for a virtual dreamworld.
Can anybody spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E?
All that seems ridiculous to me now. All those ideas? I actually used a very tiny fraction of them. E-mailing is almost as bad as snail mail, for all the replies I actually get. And forums became so much boring gossip.
I am free now. I'm free because God convicted me of sin in this matter, and made me see that my real, flesh and blood family is my priority--and not a drudgery, either, but a great, wonderful blessing. I'm free because I told Tom about my struggles and he very kindly disconnected the internet for me for several months to help me get past my addiction.
And now I must get off my computer. I've gone past my allotted time. We're ready for Bible time and breakfast, then we'll do some quick straightening up, make the beds, and go outside. We're hosting a picnic for Victoria Day next week, and we've got some yard work to do. Also, my garden is calling me. I want to start planting this week.
So if I'm not on here for a while, picture me outside with my children and wish me a happy spring.
I collected and printed all sorts of things, organizing that information into categories: activities for preschoolers, recipes, things to do as a family, gardening ideas, how to care for and then butcher all sorts of farm animals, how to tan hides, etc.
E-mailing was exciting. I could keep in constant touch with all the friends I ever left behind during our many moves from state to state (and later from country to country). No more waiting for the regular mail to come.
Then I discovered forums. What fun! Talking to total strangers about anything and everything. Now I was addicted.
I heard about women who were becoming virtual moms and neglecting their homes. Tom and I even counseled with a couple whose marriage eventually fell apart because the wife was online so much. I thought, those people are crazy to throw away their real lives for a virtual dreamworld.
Can anybody spell H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-E?
All that seems ridiculous to me now. All those ideas? I actually used a very tiny fraction of them. E-mailing is almost as bad as snail mail, for all the replies I actually get. And forums became so much boring gossip.
I am free now. I'm free because God convicted me of sin in this matter, and made me see that my real, flesh and blood family is my priority--and not a drudgery, either, but a great, wonderful blessing. I'm free because I told Tom about my struggles and he very kindly disconnected the internet for me for several months to help me get past my addiction.
And now I must get off my computer. I've gone past my allotted time. We're ready for Bible time and breakfast, then we'll do some quick straightening up, make the beds, and go outside. We're hosting a picnic for Victoria Day next week, and we've got some yard work to do. Also, my garden is calling me. I want to start planting this week.
So if I'm not on here for a while, picture me outside with my children and wish me a happy spring.
Friday, May 02, 2008
He's leaving home today
My oldest son is moving out today. Most of his worldly goods are packed up and piled on the trailer ready to be hauled away to his new apartment this afternoon.
Should I cry? Rejoice? Do a happy dance? Get a longer apron string to tie him with? Send him off with a big shove to make him hurry?
Here are my random thoughts:
**He should stay home until he gets married, and continue being part of the family.
**He should move out and prove that he can stand on his own two feet before he gets married.
**He should move out for now, and then later move back home again. He will have proven that he can live independently, but will have decided he doesn't like living on his own.
Most families go through a transition period called college. The child goes to college, but comes home for breaks and summer vacation. By the end of college, the family has adjusted to life without the child, and the child has gained independence and/or a spouse.
But for us, things are a little more sudden. Last night he was living with us full-time. Tonight he will be living on his own full-time. No transition, no adjustment period.
Okay, I'm happy for him. This will be good for him. But I want my little boy back.
Should I cry? Rejoice? Do a happy dance? Get a longer apron string to tie him with? Send him off with a big shove to make him hurry?
Here are my random thoughts:
**He should stay home until he gets married, and continue being part of the family.
**He should move out and prove that he can stand on his own two feet before he gets married.
**He should move out for now, and then later move back home again. He will have proven that he can live independently, but will have decided he doesn't like living on his own.
Most families go through a transition period called college. The child goes to college, but comes home for breaks and summer vacation. By the end of college, the family has adjusted to life without the child, and the child has gained independence and/or a spouse.
But for us, things are a little more sudden. Last night he was living with us full-time. Tonight he will be living on his own full-time. No transition, no adjustment period.
Okay, I'm happy for him. This will be good for him. But I want my little boy back.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Strange things heard at our house recently
"No, Timmy. Eat your potatoes first. Then you can have more broccoli."
"No, Johnny. Finish your ice cream first. Then you can have more olives."
Those quotes both came from a parent (I won't say which one). The following quote is even better. It came from another child.
"NOOO, Timmy!!! That's MY broccoli!!"
"No, Johnny. Finish your ice cream first. Then you can have more olives."
Those quotes both came from a parent (I won't say which one). The following quote is even better. It came from another child.
"NOOO, Timmy!!! That's MY broccoli!!"
Friday, March 28, 2008
Home again, home again, jiggety jig
Samuel and Timothy came home today. We are all one big happy family again. As I continue to recover, we will slowly get back to some kind of routine. The report on Samuel was that since he was born three weeks early, he had more problems with his temperature and jaundice than babies born later. He is still a little jaundiced, but not enough to keep him in another day. Timothy is now officially considered asthmatic, and has two puffers now. He has a somewhat complicated schedule to follow for the next ten days or so, with puffers and antibiotics.
Altogether the meds cost close to $150, but that's not so big a deal when you consider that our taxes cover the cost of doctors and hospitals here in Canada. The paper said today that the average overnight hospital stay in Canada is over $7000! When we lived in the States, we could not afford health insurance. At that rate, we'd have had bills totaling no less than $91,000 just for all the hospital stays our family has had since last October. Add in the doctor/midwife fees, lab fees, ultrasound, and other miscellaneous things....I'm quite happy to pay $150 for Timmy's meds.
Abby, Ben and Elijah worked really hard these last few days getting caught up in their math. We need to work on history and writing. We never did get any science this year, although I did try to have them do a few nature studies reports related to the geography that correlates with their history. Thankfully, Sarah has been keeping up with her schoolwork on her own, though she has gotten behind some since helping me.
Another thing to work on now that Samuel is born: being active outside. I told Abby that as soon as I am completely recovered I am going to race her to the end of the horse farm driveway that borders part of our property. She says she'll beat me. She probably will--at first. But just let her wait, I'll beat her before the end of the summer. That and biking, gardening and hiking are going to get me back into shape. Last year I wanted to get one of those buggies for children that you hook onto the back of your bike. John and Timmy would love it, but Samuel will still be too small. I'm going to make a sling for him, though, for when we go hiking.
More of the ground shows through the snow. The drifts made by the snowplows are still about three feet deep, and there are mountains of snow piled up in parking lots all over town. Behind the hospital there is a whole field where they dumped the whole winter's worth of snow from the hospital parking lots. That's all going to take a while to melt. But more of the geese are coming back, and the air smells of spring.
Altogether the meds cost close to $150, but that's not so big a deal when you consider that our taxes cover the cost of doctors and hospitals here in Canada. The paper said today that the average overnight hospital stay in Canada is over $7000! When we lived in the States, we could not afford health insurance. At that rate, we'd have had bills totaling no less than $91,000 just for all the hospital stays our family has had since last October. Add in the doctor/midwife fees, lab fees, ultrasound, and other miscellaneous things....I'm quite happy to pay $150 for Timmy's meds.
Abby, Ben and Elijah worked really hard these last few days getting caught up in their math. We need to work on history and writing. We never did get any science this year, although I did try to have them do a few nature studies reports related to the geography that correlates with their history. Thankfully, Sarah has been keeping up with her schoolwork on her own, though she has gotten behind some since helping me.
Another thing to work on now that Samuel is born: being active outside. I told Abby that as soon as I am completely recovered I am going to race her to the end of the horse farm driveway that borders part of our property. She says she'll beat me. She probably will--at first. But just let her wait, I'll beat her before the end of the summer. That and biking, gardening and hiking are going to get me back into shape. Last year I wanted to get one of those buggies for children that you hook onto the back of your bike. John and Timmy would love it, but Samuel will still be too small. I'm going to make a sling for him, though, for when we go hiking.
More of the ground shows through the snow. The drifts made by the snowplows are still about three feet deep, and there are mountains of snow piled up in parking lots all over town. Behind the hospital there is a whole field where they dumped the whole winter's worth of snow from the hospital parking lots. That's all going to take a while to melt. But more of the geese are coming back, and the air smells of spring.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Update
So I am posting for my mom since she is at the hospital. She asked me to write something so that everybody would be updated on what was happening with Timothy and Samuel.
What I know is that Timmy is a lot better and should be coming home tomorrow, Samuel's bilirubin count is too high so he is under ultra violet rays for now. I don't think its anything serious, my mom says that is "normal" for early babies. But he should becoming home tomorrow as well after another blood test. Sorry to everybody who heard his bilirubin count was too low, I was busy when my mom called so I didn't really catch everything she said.
But thats whats up, thanks for your prayers.
What I know is that Timmy is a lot better and should be coming home tomorrow, Samuel's bilirubin count is too high so he is under ultra violet rays for now. I don't think its anything serious, my mom says that is "normal" for early babies. But he should becoming home tomorrow as well after another blood test. Sorry to everybody who heard his bilirubin count was too low, I was busy when my mom called so I didn't really catch everything she said.
But thats whats up, thanks for your prayers.
Samuel update
Yesterday Celine, my midwife, came to check on Samuel. His temperature was down again, so I had to bundle him up with the heating pad again. She consulted with a pediatrician, who said he wants to see him, to see why he's not holding his temperature. So an appointment was made for us for 8:30 this morning. They were kind enough to have us come to the hospital, to the same floor where Timothy is, so I will get to see him today.
Last night Samuel's nose started running, and I listened to him sneeze and snuffle all night. Since he was bundled into bed with me all night, his temp this morning was 36.5 Celsius, which is what it should be. But because his diaper leaked onto his clothes, I had to completely change him. I tried to hurry, but just doing that brought his temp down to 35.7! For those of you who are used to Fahrenheit, that means he went from 97.7 down to 96.3 (measured under the arm) in about 5 minutes.
Tom is getting the van warmed up, so I need to get Samuel ready to go. Will let you know more later.
Last night Samuel's nose started running, and I listened to him sneeze and snuffle all night. Since he was bundled into bed with me all night, his temp this morning was 36.5 Celsius, which is what it should be. But because his diaper leaked onto his clothes, I had to completely change him. I tried to hurry, but just doing that brought his temp down to 35.7! For those of you who are used to Fahrenheit, that means he went from 97.7 down to 96.3 (measured under the arm) in about 5 minutes.
Tom is getting the van warmed up, so I need to get Samuel ready to go. Will let you know more later.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
A little bit of this and that
Once again our son Timothy is in the hospital with bronchiolitis. One more time and he should be "officially" diagnosed with asthma. We find that a bad cold brings on the asthma symptoms, so we've been putting the puffer on him whenever he starts developing cold symptoms. This time, though, things got progressively worse instead of better, so Tom took him into emergency yesterday.
Originally Tom planned to have Josiah stay overnight with him, but decided against that, thinking it better to have a parent there at night. Timothy gets worse at night, which is why he was flown to CHEO the last time. Thankfully that did not happen this time. This morning the doctor said Timothy will need to stay another night, so Josiah is staying with him now to let Tom come home to sleep.
Samuel is doing well. We have to keep him bundled up to help him keep his temperature up where it should be. He is wearing a long-sleeved undershirt, a short-sleeved undershirt, a pair of socks, a light-weight sleeper, a heavy sleeper, and a hat. He is wrapped burrito-style in a blanket and tucked into my bed under a flannel sheet and two quilts. This keeps his temperature between 36 and 36.5 Celsius, which is where it should stay.
John, Elizabeth, Abigail, Benjamin and Sarah all have cold symptoms ranging from sore throat and nasal congestion to full-blown coughing-all-the-time cold. My throat is scratchy. And when Tom called this morning it was hard to tell if he is stuffed up or just groggy from lack of sleep.
BUT.......
Spring is "officially" here according to the calendar, and the snow is melting bit by bit every day. The days are warmer and usually sunny. And although the snow is still pretty deep most places, there are a few bare-ground spots showing through here and there. Give us another few weeks and hopefully we'll have flowers starting to poke through. I planted a lot of daffodils last fall, and also dug up and divided an iris clump. I'm eager to see how they all do this year. I've got other gardening plans in mind that I can't wait to get going on.
We also hope to do our roof this spring, and start getting the inside of the house renovated. Josiah has plans to help with that, including setting money aside to help pay for it, instead of paying rent like Nathanael does. I've actually been setting aside some of Nate's rent to put toward all that, also.
That's it for now. Thanks to all who have been praying for us.
Originally Tom planned to have Josiah stay overnight with him, but decided against that, thinking it better to have a parent there at night. Timothy gets worse at night, which is why he was flown to CHEO the last time. Thankfully that did not happen this time. This morning the doctor said Timothy will need to stay another night, so Josiah is staying with him now to let Tom come home to sleep.
Samuel is doing well. We have to keep him bundled up to help him keep his temperature up where it should be. He is wearing a long-sleeved undershirt, a short-sleeved undershirt, a pair of socks, a light-weight sleeper, a heavy sleeper, and a hat. He is wrapped burrito-style in a blanket and tucked into my bed under a flannel sheet and two quilts. This keeps his temperature between 36 and 36.5 Celsius, which is where it should stay.
John, Elizabeth, Abigail, Benjamin and Sarah all have cold symptoms ranging from sore throat and nasal congestion to full-blown coughing-all-the-time cold. My throat is scratchy. And when Tom called this morning it was hard to tell if he is stuffed up or just groggy from lack of sleep.
BUT.......
Spring is "officially" here according to the calendar, and the snow is melting bit by bit every day. The days are warmer and usually sunny. And although the snow is still pretty deep most places, there are a few bare-ground spots showing through here and there. Give us another few weeks and hopefully we'll have flowers starting to poke through. I planted a lot of daffodils last fall, and also dug up and divided an iris clump. I'm eager to see how they all do this year. I've got other gardening plans in mind that I can't wait to get going on.
We also hope to do our roof this spring, and start getting the inside of the house renovated. Josiah has plans to help with that, including setting money aside to help pay for it, instead of paying rent like Nathanael does. I've actually been setting aside some of Nate's rent to put toward all that, also.
That's it for now. Thanks to all who have been praying for us.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
7 pounds 3 ounces and other details
Here is my new son, Samuel Thomas Newton. He is my perfectly good reason for staying home from church today.
On Friday at noon I arrived at the hospital to meet with the obstetrician. He did an ultrasound which showed Samuel in head-down position (thankfully!) but still high. We decided to go with the induction because Samuel was still moving around a lot. First I was strapped to the fetal monitors for an hour, then moved to the birthing room. My midwife was also with me, although my case had been officially transferred to the obstetrician.
There they ruptured the membranes and started an IV with an antibiotic and oxytocin. Oxytocin is the hormone that starts labour. I lay on the bed, not being allowed to sit up for fear that the cord would come before the baby's head. That would have meant an automatic emergency C-section, the thing we were most trying to avoid. We needed the oxytocin to work to bring the head down more first.
After about 4 hours, they said his head was down enough that I could sit up a little while they doubled the dose of the oxytocin. I think it was about 6:30 p.m. when the obstetrician finally said I could sit fully upright, which is what works best for me to get the most effective contractions. By about 6:45 the contractions were intense enough for me to say they were quite painful. (After ten births I have developed a rather high pain tolerance! :) )
I heard the doctor say to the midwife that he was going to deliver the baby, and to let him know when it was time for him to come back. When he left the room, I asked Celine (my midwife) if I had to have him deliver. Nothing against him, I said, but Celine knows me, I know her, and we work well together. I said I'd rather have her do it. She left the room, and in 5 minutes she came back and said that she would to the delivery, but that the doctor would be nearby.
At just past 8 p.m. I was in transition, meaning that pretty soon I would start pushing. The doctor poked his head in, saw that we were doing fine, and then stayed in the hall till Samuel was born.
Samuel was born at 8:21 p.m. I held him for over an hour before I let Celine take him to weigh him. She guessed his weight at 7 lbs 2 oz while I said he couldn't be more than 7 pounds. He actually weighed 7 lbs 3 oz and measured 21 1/4 inches long. Tom dressed him then, while Celine helped me get cleaned up. I ate my first meal since breakfast, a very yummy (though not very nutricious!) ham salad sandwich, cookies, ice cream, and ginger ale. Nothing was open and that was all they had in the staff refrigerator.
We left the hospital just after 11:00 and got home at 11:30. Some of the children were still up and the others wanted wakened up. Timothy was not at all thrilled with his new brother that night, but the next morning he was pretty excited. He and John both said, "I wike him!" (Well, Timmy said "it"!)
So there are all the details. Samuel is sleeping now, so I'm going to try to sleep, too. I was awake most of the night with him. Just as I finally got to sleep, Timmy came in to snuggle with me. Then about an hour later John came in to sleep with us because the cat was bothering him in his bed. Tom, meanwhile, had taken over the couch. We need a bigger bed!
Actually, tonight we're going to make sure the big cat is outside and shut the little cat in the bathroom. And Tom is going to work with Timmy on having him stay in his own bed.
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