She's a GIRL!

Nils & Katie are having a GIRL in July! Her name is Emery Jewell. I asked Nils what he'll do with a GIRL! He's always been "all boy." He was hooked on baseball at age TWO! I know what he'll do. He'll get wrapped around her finger and treat her like a princess!

We can't wait to meet you Emery!

Waiting for.....Babies, babies, babies

If any of you read my nephew & niece-in-law's blog, you know that it says TODAY was the day for the sonogram to find out if Bean is a baby boy or a baby girl. We are sure it's a baby either way! I've been anticipating this day and telling people today was the day. Turns out, for some reason, the date is actually the 26th! The girls & I have such a fun gift to buy but we need to find out if we have a boy or girl cousin first to determine which variety we get.

Stay tuned as we hope to have that news by tomorrow!

My friend Leona (blog is Stamping with Betty Boop in my blog list) is about to POP with twin girls. She's at 34 1/2 weeks & the doctor is hoping she can hold out at least one more week. I know she'd appreciate prayers as she is on bedrest, is completely swollen (she calls her feet "Cabbage Patch" feet), and is physically ready for these girls to come, but really wants them to stay put until they are ready. She's one of my online stamping friends.

My friend Stephanie is pregnant with her 4th now. One mom at our co-op is expecting her 4th or 5th. And I am expecting, well, just for my babies to go outside to play because I have an unrelenting headache! LOL!

That's the baby report from San Antonio.

A Tale of a Tail

A couple of weeks ago my friend Stephanie posted the funniest story on her blog about her daughter Emma and a question about an animal's tale. I can't do the story justice, so you'll need to read her blog post here for my post to make sense.

I told Bethany about Emma's question, but didn't list the animals. I simply rephrased it like this, "Mommy, which animal is it that loses it's tail?" Bethany got a knowing look on her face and I was all set to share this humorous moment with her, when she replied, "OH! You mean EEYORE." It was indeed a humorous moment, but not the one I expected! Yes, Bethany, Eeyore certainly does lose his tail. LOL!

Getting to Know You

From my niece Becky (at the Kiser's website in my blog roll)

Welcome to the 2009 edition of getting to know your friends. The theory is that you will learn alot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. High heels or boots? Flip-flops
2. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30am first, then 11:30 (I've been sick!)
3. Diamonds or Pearls? I vaguely recall these from before kids. I think pearls.
4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? High School Musical 3
5. What is your favorite TV show? 24 or anything on HGTV
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? Varies: Rice Chex, Gluten Free Muffins, Gluten Free pancakes, Eggs
7. What is your middle name? Anne, with an "e" like Anne of Green Gables
8. What food do you dislike? liver
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment? don't have any cd's at the moment
10. Favorite sandwich? USED to be Fluffanutter back in the gluten days. Now, a Panini with lots of meat, cheese & veggies and a good GF bread (therein lies the challenge!)
11. What characteristic do you despise? arrogance
12. Clothing? Unless I'm bathing, yes.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? Tie: Europe (Switzerland or back to Paris), to see the Dork Sisters, or to Africa
14. Are you an organized person? HA! moving on...
15. Where would you like to retire to? My bed right now, but my child was crying, so I let her get in our bed & I'm letting her get into a good sleep before I move her & I get in the bed
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 41 when I threw myself a birthday stamping party!
17. What are you going to do when you finish this? hit "publish post"
18. Furthest place you are sending this? the world wide web
19. Person you expect to send it back first? No one, as Becky, one of my few blog readers, already did it! LOL!
20. When is your birthday? March 15, the Ides of March (beware) and 4 days after my hubby's birthday
21. Morning person or a night person? Night, unless 1:00 a.m. counts as morning person
22. What is your shoe size? 9 1/2 super narrow
23. Pets? None, but would like a dog
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? I’m NOT pregnant. (Becky said that and I thought it was good)
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A mommy
*I have no idea where 26 went*
27. What is your favorite flower? I love so many: roses, gardenias, hibiscus, Easter Lilies
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? No clue
29. What was the last thing you ate? A "kuki ka no beke" better known as No Bake Cookies, the chocolate & oatmeal kind. YUM! I used quinoa for part of it & Bob's Red Mill Oatmeal that is supposed to be gluten free.
31. Do you wish on stars? No, but I pray
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Blue---just plain blue
33. How is the weather right now? WAY too hot for February, and too dry
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Linda
35. Favorite soft drink? Coke (or any cola)
36. Favorite restaurant? Outback b/c they serve Gluten Free, even DESSERT!!!
37. Hair color? strawberry blonde, and almost the same shades in there somewhere as both of my kids
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? Dolls, I'm sure, but I loved a lot of toys.
39. Summer or winter? What’s winter? (Beck's answer--AMEN!)
40. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate, duh!
41. Coffee or tea? Coke
42. Do you want your friends to do this also? Yes please!
43. When was the last time you cried? Last week when I found out we had to change specialists for the girls after 7 years with the same doctor. I knew Natalie would cry & it made me cry.
44. What is under your bed? NOTHING b/c we have a waterbed frame with boards around the outside.
45. What did you do last night? Finished making some cards.
46. What are you afraid of? not ever having enough money to pay everything we need to pay
47. Salty or sweet? Sweet!
48. How many keys on your key ring? Would have to look & I'm not gonna!
49. How many years at your current job? 12 1/2 years as a full-time mom.
50. Favorite day of the week? Saturday
51. Positive or negative? Is this another pregnancy type question? If so, negative. If not, Postitive!
52. How many people will you send this to? None. They have to find it!
53. How many will respond? You tell me
54. Do you like finding out all this stuff about your friends? LOVE IT!


I tag: Anyone who reads my blog. Please comment on my blog to let me know you've posted. :)

The (almost) Self-Parenting Child

Several years ago, when we were new parents, we were visiting with some friends who had two teenage daughters and a younger son, about 9 or 10 at the time. We asked them how raising him was different from the girls. The dad's answer has always stuck with me and made me giggle. He told us, "He's pretty much self-parenting. He does all his work without being told. He even taught himself to ride his bike."

I've said in the past few weeks that our younger child is ALMOST self-parenting. At least in HER mind. These past 2 weeks when I was sick, she managed to get up and find something to eat before I got up. Then she pulled out her schoolwork and did what she needed to do. When I "caught" her doing math, I went to sit by her, knowing there were new ideas we hadn't discussed yet. She said, "I can do this by myself!" Uh-huh. Okay.

In addition to being "self-parenting" (almost) she tends to be sister parenting as well. Considering that her sister has Asperger Syndrome, or mild autism, the younger child is, in some ways, more mature than her older sister. However, her older sister IS the older sister and wants to have that role. This evening when I dropped them off for AWANA (a church group), I was walking with them to their room. I've always done this. Bethany hates game time, and that's the first part of their time, so I usually stay with them. After we checked in at the desk, Natalie turned to me and said, "Mom, you don't HAVE to take us to game time." Bethany looked at me longingly, and Natalie said, "Bethany, Daddy dropped us off last week and you were just fine." She then reached out to take her sister's arm & drag her to class. Bethany balked at that, but she waved and went without me. Do I sigh or do I shout in jubilation?

Now, about that word, "almost." While Natalie THINKS she is self-parenting, she isn't. She still needs me to teach her much in the homeschooling area. She can heat up pizza rolls in the microwave, but she can't use the stove or oven without me. She doesn't wash her own clothes or dishes (I think she needs to learn to be MORE self-sufficient in THOSE areas!). She still needs to learn a lot about her "Natitude" (the pre-teen attitude that she was born with). She still needs a lap to sit on, a shoulder to cry on, and someone to read to her at bedtime. She still needs hugs and kisses that only a Mommy or Daddy can give.

We'll let her think she is (almost) self-parenting. But, when it's all said & done, we know the truth.

Misspeeling

Remind me not to blog when I'm under the influence of so many drugs. I just noticed several typos. "I NEW an answer." KNEW, I KNEW an answer! "Glad to go to Wal-Mart AT widen my choices." AND, AND, AND!!!! I typically find typos funny, so maybe you were able to get a giggle out of my BUI (blogging under the influence) post.

Some of the typical typos I make are: Dough for the name Doug, New You instead of New York (not that I type New York that much!), poop for pop, and probably the one I do most often now that we have a Chris in the family is to address him in writing as Christ. I am PRETTY sure I've caught it before sending it out! I feel (or pheel, or fill, or Phil) that I am in good company, though, when I read things like church bulletin bloopers or hear of other funny typos. The one that is closest to home that gives me a giggle (and shame on me that it does) was a letter sent out my parents' former church secretary with minutes of a meeting. One of the topics addressed was taking food to SHUT ins. You will have to look at the keyboard to see how she misspelled that!

By the way, I am Pheeling Phar more phunctional today. And you can blame my friend Beth (whose husband is Dough--LOL!) for the phonetical spelling. It all started with Phil and went downhill phrom there!

I will work on my spelling skills. Maybe my kids should give ME spelling tests!

Maxed out on Meds

I must be some kind of druggy. Yesterday the doctor told me I was "maxed out on meds." Okay, she meant I am maxed out on what I can do for allergies with medication. This isn't new news. I take medicine for allergies at night & in the morning, plus some for asthma. But I've had a sinus infection for a couple of weeks now & the antibiotic I took last week didn't do much. I felt better on Saturday & went out with the girls delivering Girl Scout cookies on Saturday. Then BOOM! On Sunday I felt bad again & had fever. So, yesterday I got a steroid shot & she put me on a pack of steroids and Augmentin.

The antibiotics last week made my stomach sick. I know Augmentin does that, too, so am loading up on yogurt. I told the doctor that out of the "BRAT" diet (bananas, rice, applesauce & toast), I could only do RICE all weekend: plain rice, toast made of rice flour bread, rice with chicken broth, pretzels made with rice flour. I can't have wheat (no regular toast for me) and we were out of both applesauce and bananas. I was glad to go to Wal-Mart at widen my menu!

The girls are at co-op today. My precious friend Kathy took them for me. She also taught Middle School cooking all alone (while I was napping). I've been resting & watching TV shows I really didn't know about or just never watch. If it isn't on Disney, Nick, Food Network, or Fox News, or if it doesn't have motorcycles or other action in it, it's likely not on our TV. Well, we DO watch America's Funniest Videos when we catch it on TV. Of course, the fact that we are typically homeschooling this time of day may have something to do with it, too. Today I've seen some show that I'm sure was a series at one point with 5 kids and the mom had twin baby boys in this episode. I've also watched game shows. I actually new ONE answer. LOL! The chemical element in diamonds is .......carbon! Funny that I knew a SCIENCE question, since that's my worst subject.

And that's as exciting as it gets here. I am using the time to crochet & to make cards, between naps. Hope everyone reading this is having a healthy day!

One Year Ago Today

Our Heavenly Dwelling

1Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7We live by faith, not by sight. 8We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. II Corinthians 5:1-8

Do you know what you were doing on February 1st, 2008? Early in the afternoon I was sitting in a movie theater with a group of very giddy girls waiting to be among the first to see the "Hannah Montana/Meet Miley Cyrus 3-D Movie." We were a bunch of silly looking people: a couple of moms and girls ranging from 6 to 16 all in our 3-D glasses. It was a good distraction for me. For the past nearly 3 weeks my father-in-law had been in the hospital, most of it in ICU. We didn't know from day to day what the next day would bring. It seemed on Sunday, when Phil finally came home from Temple, Texas, where the hospital was, after 2 weeks of staying with his mom and daily sitting with his dad, that things could improve. Then, on Wednesday when he talked to his mom, the outlook was much darker. We planned to go back to the hospital on Saturday. But that day, Friday, February 1st, Phil was at work and the girls and I were "be-boppin' " at the movies.

That is, until Miley Cyrus, this teenage pop star, a girl whose star status most people will never experience, came on stage in plain clothes, no "Hannah" wig or make-up, no band, no dancing, sat on a stool and played her guitar. I had heard most of the "Hannah" songs as we watch the show. While I can't relate to the wealth or the teenage star status, I absolutely love watching Billy Ray Cyrus "play" Miley's dad (he really is her dad, which makes it even more fun). I can totally relate to a middle aged man with kids who try to get away with silly stuff! But this wasn't Hannah. This looked like someone's little girl sitting on a big stage. Then either she or someone behind the scenes told that she wrote this song about her grandpa who had died in the past year or so before she wrote it. My mind immediately turned to my father-in-law in a hospital bed. He wasn't gone yet, but somehow when I heard this song, I knew this was going to be what my girls would be going through very soon. I cried like a baby all the way through the song. I gathered my composure, or tried to, before the movie ended.

No sooner were we in the car when my cell phone rang. It was Phil. It was time. They would keep the machines turned on until we got there. We got there, the machines, which were doing nothing more than pumping air in and out of his lungs, and monitoring him, were turned off. As we watched him take what seemed like his last breath, over and over, we wanted to run into the hallway screaming for a doctor to come help him. We cried harder than we have ever cried in our lives. Phil's mom had gone to the hotel. She wanted to remember him alive. We stayed with him for some time, then left.

So, on February 1st, I know exactly what I was doing. I know what I was doing on January 19th, 1978, too. It was the day my brother died in a car accident. Isn't it odd how those days are etched in our memories?

As hard as it was to say goodbye, the Scripture above speaks of this departure. These bodies we are in aren't our true home. If we know Jesus, then we have a glorious home waiting for us. My father-in-law, Bill, isn't dying of cancer anymore. He is "clothed with his heavenly dwelling." That is the hope of knowing Christ as Savior. It is the hope for getting up each morning when things aren't the way I want them to be.

But while we are clothed in this earthly dwelling, we do miss those who've gone before us. If I knew how to get a you tube video in here, I would. I don't though, so I'll share a link with Miley's song, and paste the words here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09GENG8bzLA

Pop Bill, we miss you. But we look forward to seeing you again one day safe in the arms of our Savior and completely whole and healthy!

I Miss You

Sha la la la la
Sha la la la la

You used to call me your angel
Said I was sent straight down from heaven
You'd hold me close in your arms

I loved the way you felt so strong
I never wanted you to leave
I wanted you to stay here holding me

[CHORUS]
I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la
I miss you

You used to call me your dreamer
And now I'm living out my dream
Oh how I wish you could see
Everything that's happening for me
I'm thinking back on the past
It's true that time is flying but too fast

[CHORUS]

I know you're in a better place, yeah
But I wish that I could see your face, oh
I know you're where you need to be
Even though it's not here with me

I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la

I miss you
I miss your smile
And I still she'd a tear
Every once in a while
And even though it's different now
You're still here somehow
My heart won't let you go
And I need you to know
I miss you, sha la la la la