Christmas Helpers

I love when the boys help me with fun jobs like vacuuming and watering the garden and helping to stuff Christmas envelopes.   Really, I do enjoy it.  There are other jobs I DON'T really want help with like decorating the cookies or counting the cash after a Watkins open house and Cookie Kitchen sale or actually addressing Christmas envelopes.  Really, I don't enjoy that.  But tonight we had fun.

Timothy, my little computer guru was helping me to get the Christmas letter just right this year.  He fixed the margins, adjusted font styles and sizing, printed the letters on the Christmas paper and then helped me tremendously by folding each letter with the Christmas card and then stuffed them into the envelopes.  We were having such a good time sitting at the kitchen table together, laughing, talking, commenting on the people on our list, etc.  The other boys were watching The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe in the other room, so I thought they really had no interest in this activity in the kitchen. 

Then Stephen came in for a popcorn snack and saw us working.  The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe went off and he plopped himself down at the table and started putting address labels on the stuffed envelopes.  We were all working so cheerfully and peacefully and then "The Question" came up:  "Mommy, are you going to pay us for this work?"  WHAT?!  This is FUN stuff, not work!  Haha!  I had a good laugh at that one as I got up from my chair, walked to each boy, gave them a hug and a kiss and said, "Yep.  You just got paid.  Thanks for helping me!" 

Believe it or not, they smiled back, returned my hugs and went right back to work.  End of discussion.  (Whew!)

Unfortunately we didn't get to finish before bedtime, but I was promised help that would continue as soon as they get up tomorrow morning. If you get a card from us this year, remember that they were all assembled with a lot of love and laughter and dialogue tonight.  I love my Christmas helpers!

I'm Here! Really, I Am

When I first started blogging, I was so excited!  I had so many ideas of things to write about, so many activities that I wanted to share, so many pictures I wanted to post!  I had to hold myself back from posting too many times in a day because I thought that I really should just keep to one per day (some unwritten rule in my head, I guess).  Now, here I am several years later and days, weeks, and yes, even months go by without a post anymore.  I'm so sorry to all of you faithful blog-checkers.  Don't take it personally.

I guess I kind of lost my steam.  I do love to write, and I love to tell stories and I do miss blogging, but it just seems like this whole change-of-life stuff that goes on when you're in your mid-40's (or beyond) has just sucked brain cells from my head.  Half the time I can't even finish a sentence that I'm speaking to my kids so to sit down and try to remember what I thought was so pertinent to share on a blog just doesn't happen anymore.  I could write things down so that I don't forget, but if I go to all the trouble of doing that, I may as well sit right down and type it onto the blog because otherwise I'd probably forget where I put the paper that I had written down my thoughts...so that I wouldn't forget.  Those of you who are right here with me in life, you get what I mean. 

Shel Silverstein wrote the most hilarious poem that the boys ask me to read on a regular basis.  They think it's funny.  I think it's reality.  It goes like this:

The Loser
from the book "Where the Sidewalk Ends" (1974)

Mama said I'd lose my head
if it wasn't fastened on.
Today I guess it wasn't
'cause while playing with my cousin
it fell off and rolled away
and now it's gone.

And I can't look for it
'cause my eyes are in it,
and I can't call to it
'cause my mouth is on it
(couldn't hear me anyway
'cause my ears are on it),
can't even think about it
'cause my brain is in it.
So I guess I'll sit down
on this rock
and rest for just a minute...

 

And of course, he sits down on a "rock" which is really his head.   The boys crack up at this every single time I read it, yet this is how I feel many days.  I hear that once women pass this stage of life, they DO regain some of their brain function back.  I'm looking forward to that day!

 

So my dear, faithful blog-followers, don't give up hope!  I'll be here!  I'll try to be more consistent and faithful in posting anything because I know you do care.  Do me a favor, though.  If I post and you read it, feel free to comment so that I know I'm not just writing to cyberspace alone.  It's always nice to know that someone is on the other end reading what I've taken the time to write.

 

Until the next inspiration hits.....go with God, and be thankful for your day!  I'll be back soon.



He Cracks Me Up!

This morning I told the littlest boy that he had to change into his clothes before he was allowed to use his computer time.  He looked up at me with a giggling face and he said, "I have a surprise for you!" and he proceeded to pull down his pajama pants right there in the kitchen.  Underneath were his jeans from yesterday, complete with a new hole in the knee from crawling on the stiff carpet at church and powdered sugar smears from the mini-donuts he had at Lotsi Unkle's funeral.  His eyes never left mine as he jumped up and down with pure joy, giggling uncontrollably as he shared his "secret" with me!

What's a mom to do with a six-year-old who thinks he just came up with the most brilliant idea in the whole world?!  Well, I guess just what I did!  I threw my head back and laughed and laughed and gave him a huge hug and a tickle and a pat on the bum ... and then made a mental note that I'd better stay on top of things a little more when he's getting his pajamas on in the evening!

That kid just cracks me up!  What a joy he is to this family!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation 2012

(Ok, I have NO idea what is going on with these pictures on here!!  As you'll see, some are completely out of place and some are WAY too big and some are repeated.  I have no idea how they got on there and I have no idea how to remove them so please ignore them and pretend that I know what I'm doing.  Some day if I figure out how to fix them, I'll do so, but in the meantime, oh well.)

We had a busy, busy summer this year!  Nothing new in that, but it just seemed like we never had a dull moment in this family!  This post is mostly just to capture some of the highlights with photos for the benefit of the boys who like to go through my blog and look at pictures and remember the good times!

Here's to our summer 2012, boys!

Main Corn-Husker, right here!

Working on 5 dozen ears of corn



On our way to Virginia, we were stuck on the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, ON.  To our joy, we had to stop RIGHT beside the International Boundary Line where we always joke that we are in the middle of nowhere.  Just HAD to take a picture of it (since we had about 10 minutes to stare at it anyway.)

In the middle of Pennsylvania, we pulled off an exit to get gas and saw this church across the road that was holding an outreach carnival that day.  We were invited to participate and the boys got to play a bunch of carnival games and then trade in their tickets for FREE STUFFED ANIMALS!!!  As if we needed one more animal in this house!  They were so excited to pick out a 'new' animal to take along with them.  We also each got a free hot dog, drink, popcorn and snowcone, so everyone was happy with this little diversion in the middle of Pennsylvania.

Camp wouldn't be Camp without time spent in the Game Room.  This year Daddy got to challenge the boys to ping pong quite often!  Fun, fun, FUN!!

And then there were the weddings...Erik and Rosilda on August 4 in Kitchener and ...

Eric and Emily on August 12 in Cleveland, Ohio.  (And look at my beautiful nieces, Stephanie and Melissa!)



Summer ALWAYS includes some time at the cottage and this year Uncle Henry took the boys fishing for the first time!  Timothy was very patient waiting for that big bite!

Stephen concentrated hard on his fishing skills.



...And he was the first one to catch a fish!



Kayaking was a highlight at the cottage as well.  There were many choppy days where the kids couldn't go out on the water with the kayak, but you can be sure that on the calm days, they were begging to go!  So glad no one captured the moment when Auntie Jo and Mommy came back from a kayak trip and Mommy fell out of hers while she was trying to climb out of it! 

 So these are just a few highlights of our summer.  Now that the weather is turning colder, I thought I'd better post some HOT summer pictures to warm me up a bit.  Good by, Summer of 2012.  We really enjoyed you this year!

And What Did YOU Do Today?

So, what did YOU do today?  Same old, same old, or something out of the ordinary?  Well, I did something today that I've never done before and may never do again, but it was totally worth it!

This year, the International Plowing Match is held in Roseville, Ontario.  That's pretty much right down the country street from us!  I've been seeing signs for it for months now:  Official Site of the International Plowing Match, September 2012.  Hmmm.  Whatever.  Who wants to go watch fields being plowed? 

But then I started checking into it because curiosity got the best of me.  It started to sound like a lot of fun, kind of like a typical Ohio fair, but maybe even better!

I showed Fred the website and thought that maybe he would be interested, but no.  He kind of dismissed it completely when he heard that it would be $17.00 per adult and $5.00 per kid.  "Not worth it," he said.  Oh, I was terribly disappointed, but I knew that if it didn't hold any interest to him, we would certainly not be going.  Sigh.  A once in a lifetime opportunity to go to an International Plowing Match down the drain.

Over the weekend, we got to talking about it again after our prayer meeting and Corina mentioned that she and her girls were going to be volunteering at the IPM so they would be going every day!  They live in Roseville, so it's quite convenient for them to be there.  Then Rick mentioned that maybe he could get a free ticket for me, if I would be interested.  If I would be interested?!  You bet!  WooHoo! 

He shared the free ticket with me and guess what?!  I went this morning!  And oh, what a morning it was!  First of all, there had been thunderstorms overnight, steady rain early morning, and now it was time for me to go (by myself - no husband, no kids!  Best way to do it, in my opinion, so that I could see what I wanted and at my own pace), and it was still raining.  I drove down New Dundee Road to the official parking area and was directed up a very muddy hill in a field across the road from the Tent City, as they call it.  I parked, jacket pulled up close and umbrella already in full use.  The other attendees and I clambored aboard the trailer of a tractor that drove us down a very muddy hill, onto the road, and then down into another very muddy, very hilly, very scary field.  Unbelievable MUD everywhere and so very thick and sticky.  There were no seats on this trailer, so we stood, holding the rails and holding our umbrellas as we drove the 30 minute path to Tent City. 

Sparing you details, let me just say that I have never seen so much mud in my life!  Little boys in rubber boots were having a hay day (there can be no pun intended because there was NO hay - only mud at this point).  Fashionable women were having coniptions because their beautiful shoes were getting sucked into the muck, and the dear elderly attendees were trying so hard to walk without slipping and sliding in the ooze.

I had limited time, so I zipped through as many tents and displays as I could, considering I was slipping and sliding through the ankle deep mire as much as everyone else.  It was not an easy trek and it was actually more of a workout than a leisurely stroll, I'll tell you that much!  Soon, my time came to an end and I headed back to the gate to catch an out-going tractor that would take me back to the van.  I was (un)fortunate enough to be a solo rider on a trailer with a young driver who I think wanted to show off his tractor driving skills.  He warned me to hold on as the ride would be bumpy and then he took off!  Oh.My.Goodness!  It's been a long time since I've been so terrified for my life as I was today!  This guy was trying to go fast so that he could gain momentum on the deep-muddy hills and he was just flying...as was I!  My shoulders were killing me from holding on so tightly and my thighs were burning, just trying to keep my balance and my feet from slipping.  Many times my feet even left the floor of the trailer as he plowed right through the muddy ruts!  A few times he glanced back to see if I was still there, I guess.  I couldn't even respond to him because I was just holding on for dear life and not able to even breathe at times!  All I could think about was all those elderly people who would have to ride these wagons back to their cars in this horrible, horrible situation. 

We finally pulled up to my stop and I let the driver have it, politely of course!  I told him that if he wasn't careful when he brought the elderly people back, he'd be dealing with some serious injuries or even worse!  He apologized and said that he hoped they would have a better plan in place by the end of the day.  Sheesh!  My legs are still hurting me from the torture I had to endure on that wild ride back to the van!

If that weren't bad enough, it was still raining at this point, so the parking field was now a parking mud pond.  I tried to back out of my parking space and got totally stuck in the mud.  I tried and tried on my own, but to no avail, so I set out in search of someone to help push me.  I asked the volunteers standing there if they could help push my van out of the mud and was told, "I'm sorry.  We're only volunteers.  We're not allowed to help you."  Oh.  Then who can?  "Maybe one of the security people."  And they would be where at this point?!?!  Plan B:  I flagged down one of the tractor drivers who kind of looked at me bewildered because I wanted to talk to him.  I asked if he could give me a good push to get me out of the rut and he said, "Sorry, ma'am.  We were told we can't help anyone, but I'll let them know at the gate that you need some help."  Oh yeah, right.  As if I would be willing to wait around to see if that would actually happen. 

I was left to move on to Plan C.  I jerked the van into reverse, shoved one foot out the door and as ladylike as I could, I pushed with all my might into the now calf-deep mud and revved my engine with the other foot, all while the volunteers and the tractor driver stood by watching.  I'm proud to say that I got myself out of the mess and couldn't get out of that place fast enough! 

Despite the rain and the tractor ride of fear and my volunteer audience watching me dislodge the van from the mud, I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the International Plowing Match!  It was totally my type of event and I loved it!  I wished many times that Mom and Dad and Grandpa could have been there, too, but on a much nicer day, of course. I also wished that I didn't have to leave early due to another appointment, and that I could have had a pass for a few days so that I could see it all!  It was so worth the free ticket and the mud and the experience.  I guess I'm just a country hick at heart.

And that was my day.

The BEST Bean Salad

I love bean salads!  My grandma made the most amazing bean salad ever and she knew that I loved it so she would make it especially for me sometimes.  That always made me feel loved by her, because she knew how much I loved her bean salad.  It was very simple, but so delicious.

Grandma's Bean Salad
1 can green beans
1 can yellow beans
1 can kidney beans
(or any type of beans can replace these 3)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, chopped

Dressing:
1/3 c. oil
2/3 c. vinegar
1/2 c. sugar (In my handwriting on this recipe card I have "TOO MUCH!  Even 1/3 is too much!)
1 tsp. salt.

Mix dressing ingredients with onion and pepper until sugar is dissolved.  Add rinsed beans.  Stir and refrigerate overnight. 

So, that WAS my favorite bean salad, and don't get me wrong, I still love, love, LOVE it!  But I was introduced to another bean salad two weeks ago and since then, I think I've made it about four times already!  It is my newest BEST bean salad!

This is from Connie's dad who, I'm told, kind of just made it up on the spot. 

Connie and Robert's Bean Salad
(This is mostly the recipe that I received from Connie)

1 cup dry white navy beans soaked in 3 cups of water in the fridge for 24 hours (the longer they soak the less gassy for you).
Simmer the beans in clean water for 60-90 minutes until tender. Rinse in cold water.
In a bowl add:
3 ears of corn, cut off cob
approximately 2 cups of cooked navy beans (or all of it for a larger salad, in that case you will need 4 ears of corn)
about 1/2 medium onion finely diced
about 1" ginger finely diced + or - depending on your taste
dressing:
several splashes of apple cider vinegar
a splash or two of olive oil
several shakes of herbamare
sprinkle of cayenne pepper + or - as you like
a few shakes each: ground coriander seed, dried basil & parsley (although fresh basil / parsley would be better) (cilantro might be nice also)
Mix into the beans and corn and let sit to marry altogether for at least 1/2 hour.

I personally did use fresh cilantro and no coriander seed, fresh basil and fresh parsley.  I also tried something different with my ginger.  I had purchased extra because I knew I'd be making this salad often and I put the extra ginger in the freezer.  When I needed it, I scraped the skin off with a sharp knife and then used a hand grater with small holes and grated the ginger into the beans.  This was so easy to do!

Try this!  I'm sure you will no doubt fall in love with this just like I have!  It's my newest source of protein staple that I keep in my refrigerator all the time!  I love it!

Introspection and Empathizing

There's a lot of introspection going on inside of me lately.  I find myself examining my thoughts, my motives, my actions, my reactions.  I question whether or not I've made the right choices, said the right things, performed the best actions.  I immediately regret the wasted time, thoughtless words, and unnecessary frustrations.

There has also been a lot of empathizing going on inside of me lately, too.  I'm putting myself in others' shoes and wondering how I would be handling their situations, wondering how I would be reacting, dealing with life, both present and future.

Because I don't know who all reads my blog these days (probably no one anymore since it's been ages since I've written), I am going to be very vague in my details, so as not to disclose information that may not want to be divulged, but I want to tell you what has caused me to be quite reflective these days.

There is a woman in my sphere of influence who is my age and in a similar family situation as I am.  She has children my childrens' ages and is going through the same life stages that I am.  For the sake of giving her a name as I write, I am going to call her Lisa. 

As I said, Lisa and I are very similar in our circumstances, or I should say, WERE very similar in our circumstances until this past spring when she found blood in her urine.  Hoping that it was just a typical UTI, but feeling that it was probably not, Lisa sought medical attention.  Her greatest fear became fact.  She was diagnosed with a rare form of bladder cancer ... and the cancer had already spread to her lymph nodes and her lungs - Stage 4.  Obviously this news was shocking to her, her family and those of us in her circle of influence, and thus began the wave of appointments, tests, consultations and treatments. 

Lisa's friends have set up an account for her at Lotsahelpinghands.com which is a website designed to create calendars, schedules, contact information and well wishes for people who find themselves in situations where help is needed.  I am on Lisa's list as a support person as are many, many others.  As I've participated in providing my helping hands to Lisa and her family, it has caused me to think about my life and my family as well as pulled me into empathizing with her and wondering how I would be handling life if I were in her shoes.

* Is my relationship with the Lord as close as it could be?
* Is He really my rock and my refuge?
* How strong is my relationship with my husband? 
* Would he be ok if I were to die?
* Have I said everything I want to say to my boys? 
* Did I teach them everything I could so far?
* Does that pile of wadded up socks under the bed in their room really warrant barking from me?
* When is the last time that I told my dearest friends how much they have impacted my life?
* Have I chronicled enough memories of the boys when they were younger?
* Have I helped build up my husband so that he is strong enough to handle the future alone, should that happen?
* Did I tell him where I hid the combination to the lock where I store the boys' toys when they "lose" them?
* Do I have ANY accounts unsettled in my life?
* Am I ready to meet my God?

And I wonder:
* How is Lisa's marriage?
* Is she feeling overloaded with information about her own situation that taking care of her family might be overwhelming?
* Is she scared?
* Does she cry when no one is around?
* Does she feel pressure to do 'everything' before she can't do anything?
* Does she pray?
* Is she saved?
* How deep will she let me go with spiritual topics?
* Does she wonder how much more time she has?
* Is it awkward for her to talk about her situation?
* Does she hear and see 'death' everywhere?
* How will she tell her children the truth of her sickness?

Lisa is on my heart and mind constantly.  Today her children spent the entire day in our home and I struggled in keeping back my tears when I saw them playing as innocent children.  They do not understand the scope of the situation as it is too broad for their young minds.  They were enjoying life here, not realizing that their mom was at yet another treatment session for this ugly cancer that is stealing her life away from her.  I prayed today that her children would feel safety, stability, security and love in our home.  We don't know what the future holds, but I know that I want them to know that this home is a place of refuge for them, no matter what may happen.

There's more going on in my mind, but I don't think that I've even been able to put it all into words for myself.  I am affected by the events in Lisa's life and I am drawing closer to the Lord as I realize that it very easily could be me and not her.  These things are hard.  They are not pleasant to go through, but they do refine and strengthen, don't they? 

Please pray for Lisa, her family and her support group as we all walk this road together with her.