Just some general updates:
Had a great time Friday night. Doing what? Hanging out with my family and our church youth group! We got together and filled shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child (wound up with over 30 boxes though I did have to give several reminders that the goodies were for the underpriveleged kids, not THEM. ~wink~) After that we watched A Christmas Story (a modern-day classic), ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate.
I finally got somewhat serious about trying to lose some weight again, and got past those tough first few days. I'm not following any actual program, just trying to minimize snacking, not eat after dinner and be somewhat aware of the ratio of food I eat that are carbs. Now I'm somewhat in a rhythm; just need to stick with it. I've lost about 5 pounds over the last week or so.
Some big things going on at The School of Scrap...peek in over there often over the upcoming days to learn all about them; I can't share here just yet!
Fall has definitely fallen here in mid-Michigan! Time to change to the flannel sheets and round up the down comforters. Brrrrr! But I guess that is to be expected when you realize that by this time next week we will be putting up our Christmas tree!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
I keep forgetting to post...
gotta make a mom-brag about Julia's grades from her latest marking period. She got 5 As (2 As and 3 A-s) and 1 B. I am especially proud because I see her doing what she can to get these grades...talking to her teachers, etc. So proud of her! (As I am of all my kids of course, but since she is the only one in public school, she is the only one whose grades I get a chance to brag about, and honestly it IS a different situation for her than the rest of them who only have to come to Mom when they have a question!)
And a Lillian story I have to share. The other day I got home from driving Julia to school (missed the bus...gets good grades but loves to sleep a little too long, lol!) Laura was holding Lillian, holding back a laugh, while Lil was holding back tears. Laura fills me in on the story...
Laura was holding Lillian, talking about the people who love her. She mentions that God loves her, too. "And," Laura adds, "God knows what you are thinking." Okay, this could understandably be kinda freaky for a two-year-old who is just getting a grasp of the idea that the sun is NOT God, but was just MADE BY God. Lillian, surprised, asks "In mine HEAD??!?" Laura is not sure exactly how to answer this...does she mean "Is God in my head?" or "My thoughts in my head?"...or what? So she gives the one-size-fits-all answer of "Sure."
Well, apparently she meant "Is God in my head?" and being a typically literal-minded two-year-old was NOT thrilled with that answer and became visibly upset. Laura tried to calm her by saying "Okay, He can come out." Wrong answer. Lillian is then even more freaked out as evidence by her reply: "No! Be owie! Me have BONES!"
This is about where I came in. Laura had tried to explain the difference between BEING in your head and KNOWING what is in your head, but it wasn't quite clicking for Lillian.
If you are curious how it all turned out, I used a small battery for a visual demonstration, showing her the battery and then hiding it in my closed fist so that she knew what was in my hand even though she herself was NOT in my hand. It seemed to work. But it sure teaches you to be careful what you say and how you say it!
One last thing before I close. Our church had a really fun event today, a tailgate party. We grilled hot dogs and people brought side dishes and then we watched a couple football games on the big screen in the church. (And I can't forget the kids vs. adults flicker ball game at half-time of the early game!) Now the first game was Broncos vs. Lions. We are of course in Lion country, but have a son (and husband) who have not forgotten their adopted roots in Bronco country. So, minority as they were, they held strong to their loyalties. And if there is any doubt what I mean by that...
gotta make a mom-brag about Julia's grades from her latest marking period. She got 5 As (2 As and 3 A-s) and 1 B. I am especially proud because I see her doing what she can to get these grades...talking to her teachers, etc. So proud of her! (As I am of all my kids of course, but since she is the only one in public school, she is the only one whose grades I get a chance to brag about, and honestly it IS a different situation for her than the rest of them who only have to come to Mom when they have a question!)
And a Lillian story I have to share. The other day I got home from driving Julia to school (missed the bus...gets good grades but loves to sleep a little too long, lol!) Laura was holding Lillian, holding back a laugh, while Lil was holding back tears. Laura fills me in on the story...
Laura was holding Lillian, talking about the people who love her. She mentions that God loves her, too. "And," Laura adds, "God knows what you are thinking." Okay, this could understandably be kinda freaky for a two-year-old who is just getting a grasp of the idea that the sun is NOT God, but was just MADE BY God. Lillian, surprised, asks "In mine HEAD??!?" Laura is not sure exactly how to answer this...does she mean "Is God in my head?" or "My thoughts in my head?"...or what? So she gives the one-size-fits-all answer of "Sure."
Well, apparently she meant "Is God in my head?" and being a typically literal-minded two-year-old was NOT thrilled with that answer and became visibly upset. Laura tried to calm her by saying "Okay, He can come out." Wrong answer. Lillian is then even more freaked out as evidence by her reply: "No! Be owie! Me have BONES!"
This is about where I came in. Laura had tried to explain the difference between BEING in your head and KNOWING what is in your head, but it wasn't quite clicking for Lillian.
If you are curious how it all turned out, I used a small battery for a visual demonstration, showing her the battery and then hiding it in my closed fist so that she knew what was in my hand even though she herself was NOT in my hand. It seemed to work. But it sure teaches you to be careful what you say and how you say it!
One last thing before I close. Our church had a really fun event today, a tailgate party. We grilled hot dogs and people brought side dishes and then we watched a couple football games on the big screen in the church. (And I can't forget the kids vs. adults flicker ball game at half-time of the early game!) Now the first game was Broncos vs. Lions. We are of course in Lion country, but have a son (and husband) who have not forgotten their adopted roots in Bronco country. So, minority as they were, they held strong to their loyalties. And if there is any doubt what I mean by that...
Poor guy,though...I think the look on his face tells more about the score than I could.
So...I saw my friend Cliff Schrauger today for the first time since the death of his two teenage sons some weeks back. Couldn't say much, just shared a big hug. Talked some but so much is left unsaid. If you could remember to continue holding this family up in prayer, it is still much needed, of course. It is so easy to "forget" about the need after the initial aftermath of a tragedy like this but for the family the days are still filled with just a huge void and many tears.
Prayers could also be used for their son David who is still really struggling with his recovery from an explosion in Iraq several months ago. The infection he brought back from there is apparently not an uncommon one for him to have picked up there but it is one that they simply have no treatment for and it will lie dormant waiting for any stress to kick in again. This prevents the doctors from being able to perform many of the treatments they would normally do with injuries such as his. Even after all this time he is still in what is called "medium intensive care" and it is so hard on the family to spend time with him, seeing his grave injuries and frankly having to face the realization that they still are not out of the woods for losing another son.
Prayers could also be used for their son David who is still really struggling with his recovery from an explosion in Iraq several months ago. The infection he brought back from there is apparently not an uncommon one for him to have picked up there but it is one that they simply have no treatment for and it will lie dormant waiting for any stress to kick in again. This prevents the doctors from being able to perform many of the treatments they would normally do with injuries such as his. Even after all this time he is still in what is called "medium intensive care" and it is so hard on the family to spend time with him, seeing his grave injuries and frankly having to face the realization that they still are not out of the woods for losing another son.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Time for another update...
Item #1: Got some more "blog love" recently over at Scrap the Girls; go check out the current post to see one of my purple layouts with my lovely daughters!
Item #2: Bongo (who, it turns out, is indeed a girl) had a too-close call this morning. You may remember that Bongo is our new kitten, about 7 weeks old right now and maybe two pounds. If you have never been to our house you need to know that we have one of those 2-story entries. Directly in front of you when you come in our front door is the stairway that leads up to the second story of our house. The landing at the top is the hallway that leads to our bedrooms. But it is completely open, no walls to block the view...or a fall. Of course there are closely-spaced dowels a few feet high making it safe for humans. But those dowels are in no way closely-spaced enough to keep out a tiny kitten. And as we all know kittens love to climb and explore and Bongo has been in the habit of weaving around the corner dowel at the top, using the several inches of base sticking out as her walkway. This morning, she wasn't quick enough or sure-footed enough or something but sure enough...she fell. I'm pretty lousy with estimating but I'm going to say it was about 10-11 feet. And yeah, cats land on their feet and all that...but that is a huge fall for a kitten the size of my hand. The amazing part is, after a couple of tense moments she does indeed seem to be fine, if a little gimpy in the back right foot. One down, eight to go, I guess....
Item #3: New month means lots of new fun over at
The School of Scrap and Creativity {Unbound} so I hope you will come check them out!
Item #4: Of course, the picture!
Item #2: Bongo (who, it turns out, is indeed a girl) had a too-close call this morning. You may remember that Bongo is our new kitten, about 7 weeks old right now and maybe two pounds. If you have never been to our house you need to know that we have one of those 2-story entries. Directly in front of you when you come in our front door is the stairway that leads up to the second story of our house. The landing at the top is the hallway that leads to our bedrooms. But it is completely open, no walls to block the view...or a fall. Of course there are closely-spaced dowels a few feet high making it safe for humans. But those dowels are in no way closely-spaced enough to keep out a tiny kitten. And as we all know kittens love to climb and explore and Bongo has been in the habit of weaving around the corner dowel at the top, using the several inches of base sticking out as her walkway. This morning, she wasn't quick enough or sure-footed enough or something but sure enough...she fell. I'm pretty lousy with estimating but I'm going to say it was about 10-11 feet. And yeah, cats land on their feet and all that...but that is a huge fall for a kitten the size of my hand. The amazing part is, after a couple of tense moments she does indeed seem to be fine, if a little gimpy in the back right foot. One down, eight to go, I guess....
Item #3: New month means lots of new fun over at
The School of Scrap and Creativity {Unbound} so I hope you will come check them out!
Item #4: Of course, the picture!
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