The Good Stuff

Melia likes to nibble the crust off her bread first. Not because she thinks the middle is best, like I do, but because she loves the crust.

This morning, Kiera decided not to eat her toast (which is not normally ok, but just this morning 'cause we're taking it easy on her tummy...). I typically give her the end piece if we have one, just because she doesn't know any better, and I don't like them. But I told Melia (who wanted seconds) that she could eat Kiera's toast, and she saw that it was an end piece- Whoa! It was like I had given her a treat :-) I never thought I would have children who would fight over the end of the loaf...

(And yes, Mom, I remember how we used to fight over the end of the loaf. But that was homemade... this is plain ole storebought bread!)

Kiera is better. The noise level in our house has risen back to normal... Pretty good, I'd say. A few hours of vomit, a day of fever. For being sick, it wasn't too long or yucky :-) Thank you Lord! Now if the rest of us can stay healthy! (I've had Thieves diffusing most of the time the last few days, so hopefully it wiped out any lingering bacteria/viruses...)

A little sickie update...

Kiera is moving along. No more puking today, or heaving, but she was running a roller coaster fever. Maybe. She was feverish anyway. Our nice Braun thermometer stopped working, so last time we had fevers Gabe picked up another Kroger one at Fred Meyer. But I got a 4 degree range when taking my own temperature... Not sure it's reliable. Or easy to use. Or... user malfuntion? I won't deny it. But I never had this much trouble with the last one.

Anyway, she sleeping soundly, and I'm off to bed. Good night.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. I had a moment of inspiration tonight at work. I've been wondering what I could contribute to co-op... Lots of subjects are covered, and I didn't know what different I could do.... And then tonight it hit me. I've been wanting to learn Hebrew. So I should teach it! What great motivation. I just wonder if any kids would be wanting to learn it too.... Apparently, if you learn pre-Babylonian Hebrew, (letters have not only a sound, but a meaning to each one) you can read Hebrew and be able to figure out what the words mean by the meaning of the letters. It is so fascinating! The cool thing is- Gabe mentioned this before, just offhand when discussing Melia's Spanish class at co-op- that if he could pick something for her to learn, Hebrew would be high on the list! :-) God is good!

Thank you for your comments!

It made my day. I think a great deal of it has to do with talking to other adults instead of children all day! And you are all right- the blog is for me and things I want to remember, especially since now you can have them printed. Hmm... someday.

Speaking of remembering....

Kiera threw up just minutes after we got home from co-op today, with no warning other than she had been pretty sleepy. She then fell asleep for several hours... then woke up and puked again. And again. And again. And again. And again. Is that 5? I think it was 5. Five or six times. Every 15 minutes. At one point I was handing her a cup of water to rinse her mouth out, saying, "Are you ready to rinse?"

She says, "Rinse the worms out. See, those are worms. And they're in my mouth..."

Oh. Gross. Plus, one time, she was returning to the pot in a hurry, and smacked her forehead on the back of the seat... Glad it's cheap plastic. :-) At least she's using the pot. For that I am inexpressively thankful.

Figuring out the difference

Between Facebook and my blog. More people on facebook. More people means someone out there will probably comment and/or like whatever I put. Or we talk about it in person. :-) Here... sometimes it feels like I'm talkin' to the computer.

Oh yeah.... I am.

Details of our day:

**Kiera bit Melia again. Again.
**Isaac absolutely refuses to "settle" when he's being held. 99% of the time, we have to lay him down for him to go to sleep. It's hard- at some point, isn't being held supposed to be a comfort? He just fussed and flexes himself back and forth, struggling to get free. How many parents have this problem??? Issue: what happens when you can't "lay him down" somewhere??? I would at least like to have the option of having him fall asleep on my shoulder...
**Melia wondered yesterday, as she's holding the phone after trying to call 4 different numbers to talk to someone... "I wonder why no one calls me..."
**I tried to make Hungarian Beef Goulash for dinner. But used venison. And didn't have paprika. Or one tablespoon of tomato paste. (why open a can for 1 T? that ridiculous) Added red peppers instead, and diced tomatoes. And rotelle noodles. Called it soup. It actually was incredibly good, and I will definitely make it again... but without red peppers. Not hot at all, tiny bit of spice, but Melia said it was too much. Sigh...
** Watched "The Proposal" tonight on recommendation. Surprisingly good compared to other chick flicks lately. I'd given up on them...
** I wish we could figure out how to have the stove heat the house up a little less. It's 78* in here now. On low. Low low low.

:-) Life. it just never quits. Need my perspective adjusted. Again.

comedians

I wish my mind was like a recording. The girls have me rolling with the things they say lately! I always think- "I've got to blog that one!" but quickly forget it because along comes the next funny statement. But here's one that had us howling last night at Gramps' house....

We're playing keep away with a bag of candy from the girls. (Mom, Celeste, Chelsea, Mark, Linda and I) Melia suddenly stops with her hands in the air...

"WAIT! EVERYBODY STOP! STOP!.... The chocolate's going to milk!"

(cluch chest, try to breathe.... )

Reformation Day... And PICTURES!

Finally :-) I know. Absent. Busy. Whatever.

A Quick Explanation: I asked Gabe earlier this fall what he was feeling about Halloween and our personal family convictions. Every year I've struggled with it. It's like all year long I feel on the inside that we shouldn't do it, but then as it comes, it's so easy to just go along, plus they have so much fun... blah blah blah. This year, I really wanted to know what his convictions were; something we should have discussed long ago. Sure enough, we felt the same- that this was just something that God was telling us our family shouldn't participate in anymore. Hard part? How to tell the 5 year old who knows exactly what she's missing that we aren't doing it anymore? Simple. God answers prayer before we even worry about it; our church + co-op plans a Reformation Day celebration. So we go and have dinner, the girls still get to dress up 16th century-style, get candy, have a ball with their friends, and learn a little about church history. Isn't HE good!?!!

And here's the fun part... pictures!

Jealous? Yep, I was. I totally wanted to try it too. Isn't she cute? ;-)

Some things that touched me...

On a T-shirt at the SP conference last weekend:
It's against my relationship to have a religion.
Love it.
From Galatians class:
There are only two religions in the world: the true and the false. False religions are alike in that they say, "Something in my hand I bring." The true religion revealed from heaven [Not created by any man!!!] leads one to sing, "Nothing in my hand I bring."

From Galatians
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (13)
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.(16)

Along those lines...
"Go, and sin no more..." John 8:11

Good Encouragement

Here's a link that I found in my inbox this morning. While I appreciate most people saying that it's best to give God your time first thing in the morning, although it's ok to just find what works for you, I didn't necessarily feel that was truly "ok." But after reading this, I did feel at peace. It probably helped that I laid in bed last night praying for a good 20 minutes, and was totally blessed doing so, even though it was the end and last of my day.

:-) He knows just what we need to hear, and when we need to hear it the most!
Finding Your Quiet Time in a Busy Household

Conversations

Melia: I miss Daddy.
Kiera: Me too. I miss Daddy too. Daddy's up on the mountain; he's catching deer.

Kids: Can we go see Daddy?
Me: Yes, maybe when he gets a deer.
Kiera: He's catching a deer RIGHT NOW!
(Like we need to leave immediately.... Not thinkin' she gets the whole "hunting" idea yet... :-)

Melia: Can I have the phone? Mommy, can you make Kiera give me the phone? (old cell phone)
Kiera: IT FELL ON THE FLOOR DOWN THERE AND NO ONE CAN REACH IT. STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, OKAY???

Sad Day

All our condolences and heartfelt sympathy to my parents and sister. Last night I arrived home to the news that Ditzi/Gypsy had fallen ill again, just a few weeks after being sick previously, and they made the tough decision to put her down. This is the filly that has been with our family since her birth at the Joe Miller house so many years ago. She entertained and terrified us with her clumsy antics, and warmed our hearts with her sweet disposition.