Sunday, September 30, 2012

My weekend

On Friday Ram had a funeral in the late afternoon so he couldn't come home early to help me. I hurried to feed the Lambs supper because we had guests arriving at 6:30pm. We had a church member family over to play for a little while with the Lambs and then we served homemade ice cream. Their children are younger than the Lambs so they left pretty early. It was nice to get to know another family a little better.
Saturday Ram had a circuit forum at our church and he found out that he is not going to the 2013 Synodical convention as either pastoral delegate or alternate. I would have liked a trip to Saint Louis! Now we can begin 2013 vacation plans knowing that this is not a possibility to plan with or around.
Then we invited some of the nearby pastors and their families over to our house for a late BBB (Beer, Brats, Princess Bride Movie). We watched the first half of the movie, ate, and then most of the pastors had to go-for some reason pastors don't like to be out late on Saturday night. We plan to watch the second half of the movie next year. It was nice to get to know a few pastors and their wives.
I was glad they left relatively early so we could give baths and get the Lambs to bed on time. Lamb 1 has been especially grouchy the last week and needed the sleep. Then about 4 am Lamb 2 began throwing up. Between 4-6 am he was either throwing up or coming to my room panicking about being sick. I finally woke Ram about 6:15 and sent him for some 7-Up for Lamb 2. About 5am Lamb 1 woke up and begged to leave the room where the sick Lamb was. So he went to the guest room. Lamb 3 and Ram slept through all of that!
Ram had a busy morning of 2 services, Bible class, and Voter's Meeting. I slept as much as I could while Lamb 2 laid on the couch and watched his brothers play. Lamb 1 was very upset that I told him he couldn't play with his neighborhood friends-I didn't want to pass germs to them. Lamb 1 was upset about missing Sunday School and finding out where our offerings are going to go this year. Lamb 1 voted to send money for mosquito nets for children in Africa with malaria. Lamb 2 and 3 voted to send money to buy ducks and geese for families in Africa. Lamb 1 wants his to win because he knows how bad mosquitoes are in MN. We still don't know which one the Sunday School voted for and won. Since I wasn't at church, no one took a photo of the quilts and backpacks filled with school supplies that the church collected to donate.
The day was spent with Lamb 1 and 3 inside because they weren't allowed to play with their friends, Ewe and Lamb 2 laid around pretty miserable and when Ram got home from church then he tried to help everyone-tried to make Lamb 1 and 3 play quietly. Ewe doesn't feel sick like the flu-just tired from helping Lamb 2 in the middle of the night and a sore throat.
I decided after supper that the Lambs should watch some classic Disney movies before our trip to Disneyland. I don't think this has anything to do with Disneyland but the Lambs chose Bambi. It was a good activity to get Lamb 2's mind off of being sick, but the movie was a little scary for Lamb 2 and 3. This is why we haven't watched very many Disney movies. I have a few more on my list that they should see before we go to Disneyland-Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Dumbo. They have already seen Winnie the Pooh and Finding Nemo. After all that perhaps we will watch a few more.
After the movie Ram and Lamb 1 went to Walmart to get some children's Tylenol for Lamb 2's fever. After moving and no one being sick in our house for so long, all we had left was some expired children's Motrin. When they got back Lamb 2 began throwing up again.
Our Lambs rarely get sick so this is quite an experience for all of us. Lamb 1 began crying when Lamb 2 began throwing up again tonight because he knows it means another day that he can't play with his friends. Lamb 2 is miserable. Lamb 3 doesn't understand. Ram is running around trying to help all of us and Ewe is trying to keep up with all the laundry.
As I wrote this blog post I had to go help Lamb 2. I pray that the rest of us are spared from this round of the flu. It may be a long night...

Friday, September 28, 2012

20 years

In 1992 a gallon of gas was $1.05. The Mall of America was built in MN. Ewe graduated from high school.

I am not attending my high school reunion this weekend, but I did find it interesting to look online at my classmates that responded, of where they ended up twenty years later. I did go to my 5 year high school reunion and was shocked that so many of my classmates were parenting toddlers at that time. I know they just give a few sentences describing their lives now, but it is good to see so many of them married and with children. I have not kept in contact with any of my classmates, most of my high school friends were either a few years ahead or behind me in school, not the ones that graduated with me.

It is amazing to me what has happened to me the last 20 years. I'm sure each classmate has a lot that happened to them too. Wow, where did those 20 years go though? Add the thought that in just 10 more years Lamb 1 will be graduating from high school. Yikes!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Ewe's doctor visit

3 miscarriages meant being sent to an OB/GYN for a whole bunch of tests. 6 miscarriages meant being sent to a Reproductive Endocrinologist. I didn't expect the RE to do a whole lot because I already had a whole bunch of tests done a few years ago when they discovered I had Factor II.
My appointment began with sitting down with a nurse practitioner and going through my whole history. I had a headache after talking about the details of 9 pregnancies. (Note to others: EVERY time you are pregnant whether a birth or miscarriage-make notes to yourself of length of pregnancy, any complications, if a miscarriage then how long the pregnancy, if you ever saw a heartbeat, if you had bleeding was it before or after ultrasound, etc. You never know when this will be helpful. It is much easier to write down right after the birth/miscarriage than try to remember a few years later.) I did the best I could do to remember. Between my memory and my records that I had sent from several doctors I think we pieced the history together pretty accurately.
Then I met with the RE and she gave a little lesson explaining pregnancy and tests they can do, I didn't learn anything new. Because I won't do procedures like IVF for moral reasons and they already know I have Factor II so I would do heparin injections if I get pregnant again, there wasn't a whole lot else that they can do.
There are about 5 days a month in your cycle where they will do a special ultrasound to check for abnormalities like polyps or fibroids. I praised God that it was one of those days in my cycle so I was able to have this done today. When I went to check out the billing lady said it saved me $450 to do that today instead of making another appointment. Plus I was able to get it done today and not have to make time to go back again. I praised God that nothing abnormal showed up so no surgery is required.
I did have one blood test done to check for one more thing and I have to wait for those results. So we are back where I started-continue taking baby aspirin daily, if I have a positive pregnancy test then begin heparin injections and take progesterone.
The bill today was almost $400 and I don't know if insurance will cover it. It was worth every penny and the two hours at the doctor's office for the peace of mind to know that I have done what I could do. I don't know what the future holds for our family size, but I do know that God is the one holding our family in His hands. It gives me great peace to know that God determined our family size, not something that Ram and I did. I haven't gone through menopause yet nor have we ruled out adoption, so we may end up with more than 3 Lambs. No matter what, I have a lot to be thankful for-Ram and 3 healthy Lambs.

I thought about this post all day and wondered if it was TMI to post this on my blog. I finally decided to post it because something I say may be helpful to others with recurrent miscarriages or Factor II. Plus I have several friends that knew about my appointment and it is easier to post here to update them.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Supper

My friend, Joelle, gave me some collard greens because she couldn't find anyone else that was willing to prepare and eat them. Our supper was homemade mac and cheese, collard greens with bacon, and watermelon. Lamb 1 doesn't like dairy so he tried the mac and cheese and actually ate a little without the top layer of cheese. He ate lots of collard greens and watermelon too. Lamb 2 ate everything. Lamb 3 had a few spoonfuls of mac and cheese and lots of watermelon. Of course Ram and Ewe had everything and seconds too. Our family ate all the collard greens, all the watermelon, and had one helping of mac and cheese leftover. Only my family would finish the collard greens but have leftover mac and cheese!


Friday, September 21, 2012

Weekly Update

1. I ordered a new math book for Lamb 2 and some other "treats" for school from Rainbow Resource and spent some of our Amazon money from the Be Well Serve Well program. It has been fun watching them come in a few at a time. These are not what I would consider required for homeschooling a first and third grader, but they will be fun extras this year.
2. I have been hard at work unpacking boxes from the garage. I am determined to find a place for what I unpack or give it away. These boxes contain nothing important for daily living, just things Ram and I collected, lots of it was from one of our grandparents. The recycling and trash were full and we'll have a big load to take to Goodwill again. We are especially dealing with all the old computer parts and programs-we only have Macs now, we don't need a lot of that. Also we have so much kitchen stuff-I have a pretty big kitchen and pantry so if it doesn't fit in there I don't need it.
3. We have nothing on the calendar for this whole weekend except for church and Sunday School! Next week is very busy with doctor appointments, piano tuning, Lamb 1 begins piano lessons, and a field trip to the zoo so it will be good to have a break this weekend. I hope to invite some friends over for Sunday afternoon.
4. Lamb 1 finished the first half of his math book so he is looking forward to going with Ram to the hardware store to pick out a wrench for his toolbox. The last few months were a struggle to get him to just DO his math-I wonder if it is too easy for him. The past few days he did several lessons each day in order to finish so he could go get a wrench. I figure he has a whole school year to finish the other half now. So much for being so far ahead! I don't know when he finishes Saxon math 3 what I am going to have him do for fourth grade. I plan on having him complete Saxon math 3 and then just take a break from a math book until fourth grade-just work on math facts etc. We'll see how long it takes him to complete Saxon 3 though.
5. We were back to a regular school day this week. For all-Poem, Bible story, hymn, catechism, Latin, Geography Songs, math fact song, then math for Lamb 1 and 2, and handwriting for Lamb 2 and Lamb 3 when he doesn't have preschool. I still have a little more to add in for Lamb 1 and 2. It has been good to get back into this routine and they won't admit it, but I think the Lambs missed some of the school subjects we didn't do last year. It has been difficult for me to get school done and get lunch prepared before Ram gets home for his lunch break. I must work on that next week-either prepare lunch the night before or begin school a little earlier. Adjustments like that are difficult after moving. Before we moved I didn't have to work school around a preschool schedule, Ram was home almost every day until after lunch, and Lamb 2 was just in preschool so I really only had Lamb 1 to homeschool. I also need to do a little more organizing in the schoolroom to make the school day easier. But overall I'm pleased with how homeschool is going now.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

70

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Thank you to my sister for working so many months on mom's present!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

The toolboxes

My camera is still in the shop or this post would have photos.

Lamb 1 got me going on emptying boxes in the garage because he wanted to set up his "shop" area in the garage. Grandma signed him up to join the young woodworkers club and every month he gets a new project to make in the mail. I was surprised how much an 8 year old can build with just a little help from Ram. When there was room cleared out he set up a little table in there. I caught the Lambs today all sitting around the table talking and watching Lamb 1 putter around with scraps of wood.

When I was single my sister worked for Lowes for a short time in her history of jobs to pay for college. She used her discount to buy a couple of plastic toolboxes for me to organize my craft supplies. After Lamb 1 was born we gave one of those toolboxes to him for his plastic pretend hammer, wrench, saw, etc.

A few weeks ago we purchased a toolbox and a few tools for Lamb 1. He is trying to finish the first part of his math book so he can earn another tool to put in it. Lamb 2 and 3 looked wishfully at Lamb 1's toolbox but knew they had to wait until they were older.

In the past few days of cleaning out boxes I discovered another one of those toolboxes from Lowes. I also discovered screwdrivers that we had bought all the Lambs a few years ago when they were free with a rebate. This is what we did.

Lamb 1 kept his toolbox and tools. Lamb 2 began filling the toolbox I found. Lamb 3 emptied all the "baby" tools out of the toolbox in the play room and started to fill it with big tools. We labeled all their tools and toolboxes with their names. (I think this will be important in a few years since Ram and 3 Lambs all will have similar tools.)

I had to be a good Mama and keep quiet about Lamb 3 even though it stabbed my heart that none of the Lambs are young enough for "baby" tools any more. Those tools have been played with and copied Ram and Grandpa as handymen for the past 8 years. Just a few weeks ago Lamb 3 stuck his play screwdriver inside the stuffing of a chair and we can't get it out-all while he was "helping" me by "fixing" my chair. Lamb 2 ended up taking some of the "baby" tools in his toolbox-of course he said it's just until he's old enough for a real hammer etc., but I bet they will be played with by both Lamb 2 and 3 for a little longer.

All those years ago when I got those toolboxes, I never would have guessed that I would have 3 boys that would love to get them and start filling them. Much of what I'm going through is ending up in the trash or giveaway pile-it hasn't been missed since it was packed last year. But a few items like the toolboxes are being given a new purpose and really appreciated then. That is my ultimate goal with organizing-to have everything in our home used or appreciated.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Check this out

We have far too much stuff for only being married for 10 years. When we moved I really cleaned out things as I unpacked. Those items that weren't favorites of the Lambs or my favorites went into a giveaway pile. Then I went through that pile and tried to decide where a better home for those items would be. I have a friend that I have never met that collects Raggedy Ann and Andy items. So this is what I sent to her.

Mom, don't worry, I did keep my Raggedy Ann and Andy from my childhood, these were pretty new ones. Plus I'm not sure she wants my childhood ones, they didn't survive my childhood play very well.

The last few weeks in my "spare time" I did resume going through boxes from the garage. I made good headway on some boxes that hadn't been opened since they were packed a year ago. My give away pile grew again after just finding a new home for everything on Labor Day. The whole process is one box at a time, continually trying to empty boxes to make more room in the garage for a chest freezer and a bike for Lamb 3 in addition to just having more room in the garage. The Lambs were thrilled to see some of their toys again. Some of their toys went in the giveaway pile since no Lambs asked me about them or missed them while they were packed this last year. Also our church preschool is getting some nice items from when I taught in the classroom and some of the toys the Lambs outgrew for the two year old class.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Applesauce

I worked all afternoon on Friday to can 6 quarts of applesauce from apples we picked at the orchard. There was one bowl of applesauce left over that I served for supper on Saturday. Here is some of the supper conversation.

Lamb 1: "I only like homemade applesauce."

Lamb 2: "I like all applesauce."

Lamb 3: "I only like applesauce that we buy at Costco."

Nothing could convince Lamb 3 to even try the homemade applesauce. This is the same boy that the only apples he ever eats are the ones from McDonalds. I'm just thankful that Costco applesauce is organic, no sugar added!


Tuesday, September 11, 2012

One year ago today

We had a nice church service remembering the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks at our regular Sunday service. We came home for a regular Sunday afternoon of naps for everyone. We realized it was supper time and there wasn't much in the house to cook. Ram went into town and picked up a pizza, something we rarely did when we lived in MN. After pizza we were running late to put the boys to bed. While we were doing the bedtime routine the phone rang. It was the president of this church in ID saying that they extended a Call to Ram. The paperwork would be in the mail soon.
We were very excited, especially with the possibility of moving to the same state as Ram's parents, but I tried to remember that this was the first Call Ram received after his original Call out of Seminary, and Ram might not take the first Call offered to him. Then it took a couple of weeks for the paperwork to arrive. During that time Ram made some phone calls to other pastors in the area and he had pretty much made his decision by the time the paperwork arrived. He announced that he accepted the Call the first Sunday of October and we moved into a rental house here on Halloween and he was installed as pastor here the first Sunday of November.
It is amazing to think back over what we have done over the last year. I am so thankful that now 9-11 has the memories of Ram being Called here in addition to the terrible attacks.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Light Bulb Moment

We moved in our new house in March. There were a few times that we used our front porch light. We looked everywhere we could think of and couldn't find the light switch for the lights on the garage. We noticed that our neighbors usually put their garage lights on when it became dark. At first I thought maybe we had boxes in front of the light switch. As we continued to unpack boxes, that wasn't the problem. I thought maybe they would come on automatically as you approached them, but that didn't work either.
Finally a few days ago Ram called our house builders and asked where the light switch was at for the garage lights. They responded that the lights were photo cell and should work automatically. Ben decided to try replacing the light bulbs. If that didn't work then he would put in an order to the house builders to replace the lights. We have a one year warranty so there would be no charge.
On Friday Ram replaced the light bulbs. It was near dusk time. Amazingly they worked right away! They come on at dusk and go off at dawn.
All of our rooms have overhead lights and the kitchen and bathrooms have several light bulbs and those two outside garage light bulbs are the first ones that Ram has replaced since we moved in in March. After living in a parsonage built in the 60's, this is very impressive to me.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Family Update

1. We tried to get back into a normal routine this week after Jessica went home, especially after 2 weeks of sharing a car on weekdays and because the boys NEEDED to get to bed at a reasonable time again.
2. We had coupons for free goldfish and got them a few weeks ago. So far the Lambs have remembered to feed them every day. :)
3. We did some major furniture rearranging when we got the piano. I really like my new arrangement in the living room. Ram thought we would need to call a friend to help with the rearranging, but Ram and I took the sofa upstairs by ourselves.
4. I completed the summer scrapbook challenge and met the goal of 75 pages so I got some nice treats from my Creative Memories consultant. It is so nice to have one year of each of the Lamb's albums complete. 
5. Lamb 3 begins preschool on Tuesday. He is the first one to bring snacks. I have snacks for Tuesday and have to think about healthy, peanut free snacks for the other two days. He is not excited about preschool at all, but I love that Lamb 1 and 2 will have 3 mornings a week to do school without him. Our church is talking about adding kindergarten next year-not sure what we will do with Lamb 3 if they do.
6. We got a States and Capitals DVD from the library and all 3 Lambs have been learning this. 
7. My friend Elizabeth comes on Wednesday for a week!
8. The September calendar is getting full. We have some fun events planned at church, preschool, and I want to do some things with the family. 
9. Our church had a kickball game last Sunday. It was so much fun! They had it at a park that we can walk to which made Sunday afternoon even more fun.
10. My camera is in the shop for at least a week so hopefully I can use this time without my camera to get caught up on posting photos to my blog and send my photos to Snapfish. There have already been a few times where I really wished I had my camera!
11. We listened to most of the RNC on the radio, so glad that was an option for those of us without TV. It's so interesting to me to be in this time zone and most of the speeches were done by 9pm. I've never lived in this part of the country, I can't even imagine living on the West Coast or in Hawaii.
12. Lamb 2 has gone to speech therapy twice. So far it has been "testing" and evaluation and review of letter "v" from what he worked on in MN. I'm anxious for him to really begin speech. We went the route through our doctor's recommendation and not the school. I'm hoping insurance covers part of it, but he needed to get back in speech so I'm willing to pay if we need to. He will go one hour every week for at least six months. Next will be to get Lamb 3's speech evaluated and we may go the same route with him.