5 year update of 2011 post

December 29, 2001
1 Ram + 1 Ewe 

+ Ram changing from student to pastor
and back to student
+Ram 2 Calls to 4 different churches
+1 major surgery
+First laptop

+Ewe changing from classroom teacher
to Mama to homeschool teacher
+Ewe thyroid removed
+Ewe's first cell phone
+Ewe's first smartphone
+First iPad

 

+ 3 Boy Lambs (2004, 2006, 2008)
+ Surviving MSPI with Lamb 1 as a baby
+ Completing a year of vision therapy with Lamb 2
+1 Minor surgery for Lamb 2
+ Lamb 2 and 3 graduating from speech therapy
+ 3 Lambs getting involved in many different kinds of activities

+Several vacations to IN, ID, CA, SC, AL, MO, etc.

+ Making many new friends from many different parts 

of the country and a few that live overseas

+1 Brother-in-law
+ 5 year anniversary for Eric and Hannah

- 11 miscarried Lambs,
- 1 brother (Tim), 
- 3 Grandmas, -2 Grandpas, 
-7 Great Aunts and Great Uncles, 
and -several family friends going to join the saints in the Church Triumphant

+ 1 Saturn - 2 Saturns
+ 1 Blazer - 2 Blazers
+ 1 Toyota Camry
+ 2 Minivans -2 Minivans
+ 1 Toyota Sienna

+Living in 5 houses in 3 different parts of the country
+ Bought 1 house
- Sold 2 houses
+renting for our first time
+ plus being crazy enough to rent a second time
+3 major moves to live in 3 different states
+Moving from living in the same city as Ewe's parents to live in the same state as Ram's parents and then coming back to live in the same city as Ewe's parents again
+living in a big city
+living in a town of 113,
+living in a growing city of a suburb of the state capital
+back to living in a big city again

= 15 years of holy matrimony for Ram and Ewe!

We thank Christ for being the center of our marriage and being with us through all these changes. We know He will continue to be with us in future years and future changes.

*Baker family, you continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. This is a bittersweet day on the calendar. May we all continue to look forward to the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

You know you are a bargain shopper...

when you pay for your groceries and are amazed when you finish with the cashier that the groceries are bagged and put in your cart already.
Some stores that I shop at have the cashier bag the groceries as they ring them up. Aldi has you bag your own groceries. I forgot there are stores that pay people to bag the groceries while the cashier rings you up!

Recent Grocery Shopping

It has taken me a long time to figure out where to buy what food in our new city. Both to find products that are more Paleo and to find affordable. I had digital coupons figured out at Fred Meyer and expected it to be similar at Kroger. It is similar and then it isn't. I have been so frustrated when my coupons don't work as they are supposed to, but I keep my mouth shut because it is not the cashier's fault and usually not worth waiting in customer service line considering I got other good deals that did work.

I am attempting to get in a routine of going to different stores once or twice a month instead of every store every week. That has been difficult to start a routine as we had to restock our pantry. I'm getting close to a routine though. The pantry is getting stocked.

My mom told me about a family farm that sells chicken and eggs without hormones. We bought a lot of chickens and eggs two weeks ago. We bought more chickens and chicken livers for chicken liver spread this week.

I spent over 2 hours at Kroger yesterday, trying to use my coupons before they expire, trying to get what we were out of, and trying to get what was on sale. It took a long time to find a parking spot, shop in the narrow aisles, and checkout with two people with full carts ahead of me. I didn't even look at my receipt while I was still at Kroger, which is rare for me. I hoped that my coupons worked.

The coupons did work! My "reward" was 12 bottles of Izze sparkling juice for 1.47 total, just 12 cents a bottle. There were some other good deals too. I feel like I am finally getting  how to shop in our new city.

Happy 200th Birthday, Indiana!

One item that turned up in our move was my Indiana history notes from 4th grade. I respect what the public school teachers did for us taking us all over the county and to our state capitol to see historical sites. One reason why I was a history minor in college was because of 4th grade. I never quite got to teaching Idaho history to the Lambs when we lived in Idaho. If I can read my messy handwriting and the mimeographed copies from 30+ years ago, I plan to use this with the Lambs to teach them Indiana history. Mrs. Mosely, your notes are being used for a second generation!

My mom and I did a little small business shopping on black Friday. One store we went to was Mr. Polymath. They sell a lot of items made in the USA and some are even made in Fort Wayne. They had a lovely nativity made out of coal. (Sorry Hannah, I did not buy it for you!)

I heard that the LCMS Synodical office has some church workers that love using Field Notes. I had to see what Field Notes were after hearing this. Mr. Polymath was the only store listed in Fort Wayne that sold Field Notes. Mr. Polymath might be the only store in Indiana that sells Field Notes. Of course I had to buy the Indiana version in honor of the  200th birthday!

Ram enjoyed reading all the facts on the back of the Field Notes. It was fun to be quizzed by him and see what facts I remembered from 4th grade history class. We'll have to see if we can get the ID version for Ram.

Ram and I have watched a couple of episodes of Hoosiers: The Story of Indiana online. We have both enjoyed hearing the history. After growing up in Southern IN, I learned that the state was settled from bottom up, like a glass of water, from the southern counties to the northern counties. In 4th grade I didn't realize how much important history took place in our county. I also bought a used copy of the book this TV documentary was based on. Ram is anxious for me to finish reading it so he can read it.

Indiana had some celebrations and the library did some special Indiana history activities with homeschoolers in honor of the bicentennial that I would love to have done with the Lambs, but unfortunately we arrived too late in 2016. We did take the Lambs to the local history museum.

Podcast of the day

Today I listened to a podcast by two of my favorite authors, Katie Schuermann and Cheryl Swope. I highly recommend listening to the podcast HERE. Segments apply to those with children with special needs, mothers, single women, barren women, writers, and homeschoolers.

Full disclosure: I did contribute to Eternal Treasures by Cheryl Swope. I gained so much from Cheryl from the few necessary e-mails for that contribution. Cheryl was so encouraging about Lamb 2's academic journey. This podcast is encouragement from both authors!

Busy Days

Ram has not begun classes yet. Neither Ram or I have jobs yet. The Lambs are in just a few activities right now as we got here after fall activities began. Yet, our days are full. Here is a peek in to the past few days for us.

Dec. 1-Take my parents to the airport for a visit to my sister
Pick up car after repaired from September accident (a sheriff hit Ewe's car when she was stopped at a red light)
Ram was supposed to do a webinar for school but technical difficulties canceled this for him
Grocery Shopping at one store
Advent supper and church

Dec. 2-Ram lunch meeting
Ewe attended a funeral
Grocery Shopping at one store
CLHS basketball game
Hyde Brother's Booksellers midnight sale (We all went at 10:30pm and then Ram went back by himself at 1am.)

Dec. 3-Ram took the Lambs to Christmas Pageant Practice at church
Ewe attended book club on Frankenstein (very interesting book to discuss!)
Ewe did a little shopping at Barnes and Noble Educator discount day
CLHS Play The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Dec. 4- Sunday School, Church
Bach Collegium Messiah sing-along
Lambs built a snowman with our first snow
Ewe attempted to get caught up on laundry before they come to make some house repairs at our rental this week.

We have attended a lot of activities in this area this fall, because we have missed these activities while we lived away from here and are excited to participate in these events again. We probably won't go to all these every year, but it has been fun to take the Lambs to activities that my family enjoyed years ago even if we just go once.

Ram does have a couple of substitute preaching assignments lined up, but I have been so thankful that we have been able to attend these events as an audience or congregational member, instead of being the chairman or volunteer. Ram has been able to sit in the pew and worship with us together as a family. The Lambs don't need to be chauffeured for practices for all these events. It has been a wonderful season for us to just listen and participate instead of being in charge. After the past few crazy years, I think we really needed this break. I know our busy time of being involved instead of just participating is coming soon. We are joining in on more activities at church. Ram will start classes the middle of January and the Lambs are discussing what activities to join in the spring.

Thanksgiving Dinner Preparations

Appetizers:
Salmon Dip-purchased
Nut Thins-purchased
Olives-in pantry
Pickles-in pantry
Hummus-purchased and then recalled, ready to return to the store

Turkey-thawing to cook tomorrow
Gravy-will make tomorrow when turkey is done
White Potatoes-mashed
Sweet Potatoes-mashed
Pecans-toasted to add to sweet potatoes
Cranberry Relish-blended in Vitamix
Heavy Cream-whipped
Vanilla ice cream-purchased
Pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies-purchased
Wine-in pantry
Juice for the Lambs-in pantry

This dinner was made when there is a broken pipe in the basement of our rental. We were told to use the kitchen sink as little as possible until it is fixed. This is when I am thankful to have a landlord that takes care of what is broken, but I am not the homeowner so I don't have to pay for the repairs.

I am thankful for all my electrical kitchen servants. It is much easier to cook when you have the correct tools!

I will pick some frozen veggies tomorrow from the freezer so we add some veggies to the menu. Ram will make the turkey and gravy and I'll help if he needs me to.

The menu is not all Paleo. It made it so much easier to purchase pies. I figure we can cheat a little on holidays.

It has been many years since we have had Thanksgiving dinner with my parents. We are looking forward to a day of church, relaxing, and eating!

Stonesetters Verse

The Lambs were required to memorize this verse and recite it daily during the month of January. Now that we moved away we won't be able to attend Stonesetters next year, but this verse will always be in our memories.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 1 Timothy 2:1

This verse has run though my head almost every day since we worked on memorizing it even though we quit reciting it as a family after we attended Stonesetters in January. We pray for the American people that go to the voting booth today and for those elected to high positions.

My birthday weekend

We attended three church services. This is some of what we sang over the past two days.

Sunday AM:
Sunday School Choir sang A Mighty Fortress is our God
LSB 670
LSB 677
LSB 676
TLH 470
LSB 938 (Sang twice: once in Bible Class, once in church)

Sunday PM:
LSB 671
LSB 676
LSB 714
(Bach Cantata Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott by the choir)
LSB 944
LSB 880

Monday PM:
Though All Our Life is Like a Scroll (www.lutheranreformation.org)
LSB 561
LSB 515
LSB 556 (all 10 verses!)
LSB 894
LSB 947
LSB 377
LSB 633
LSB 813

After being away for 13 years we don't take a large gathering of Lutherans singing for granted. Thank you to all the choir members and instrumentalists that practiced so much for these services. Thank you to the Seminary for hosting the Good Shepherd Institute on my birthday.

Thankful

When we were in ID our family doctor that we liked left for another job. We did our regular checkups this spring with a new doctor. It was frustrating to do everything with a new doctor and then leave a few months later.

One of my worries about moving to a new town was that it would be difficult to find a good doctor that would accept new patients. There was some urgency to finding a family doctor so that I could have checkups after my thyroidectomy and we also wanted to schedule some more visits for other family members while we met our deductible this year.

My mom gave me a business card for a brand new doctor that she got at a pro-life event. When we first called to schedule an appointment we were told that he will not prescribe birth control. He believes in being your doctor from conception until natural death. That impressed us enough to give him a try.

One of the Lambs saw him last week and I had an appointment today. He is currently in the same building as the midwives while he is building a new office. The office walls are covered in pictures of babies. I particularly liked a photo of a baby with an LSB hymnal open to the order of Holy Baptism. There are religious quotes in the bathroom. I really liked the doctor. Ram will have his yearly checkup with him next week.

I am amazed that God not only helped us to find a doctor that would accept us as new patients, but also one that has values with which we agree. The timing is amazing to me too, he just opened his practice this year after graduating from medical school. I think when word gets out he will be a very busy doctor and it may be difficult to get in as a new patient.

I took blood pressure medication the past few months so that I could safely have surgery. It was my goal to get off of the bp meds as soon as possible. With our crazy welcome to Indiana, I wasn't sure I would ever calm down enough to get off of the meds. I liked this doctor's bedside manner and he is going to allow me to stop taking the bp meds as long as I continue to check my bp at home daily. It is a big blessing to get off of the bp medication!

All mixed up

We moved back to my hometown that I moved to when I was in high school and my parents still live in. It is becoming very clear to me that being gone for 13 years really changes things. Here are a few examples:

• The other night we got gas at a gas station that used to be a Wendy's. During marching band season in high school we would walk down there after school and get something to eat before practice.
• The ice cream store that was another place to meet when I was single and then when I was a newlywed is out of business.
• I am loving shopping at a grocery store that is in the former Borders. That was where I ordered items for my classroom before Amazon. That was where I met friends for a cup of tea when I was single and when Ram and I were newlyweds.  This grocery store has great sales and a great bulk section, but no cafe.
• When I was in high school our school football team rarely won games. Being in band, the halftime show was the most important so I rarely watched the game. But the other night when we were winning, watching the game was exciting! Our team has a good chance of going to state this year.
• Our rental house is not too far from the house I grew up in, a little farther from where I bought a house when I was single, and even farther from my parents new house. Some places in the area we go to take much longer than I am used to and other places we go just take a few minutes to get there from our rental house. I have to adjust my thinking how long it will take to get to everywhere.
• No matter which church we visited in the area, I ran into parents of my former students. I will always remember them as first and second graders, but my last class is now juniors in college and many of the older students are married and have started families.
• The school that I taught at closed by the Lutheran church and recombined with two other Lutheran schools at a different location. This makes me so sad that they can't go next door to the church for daily chapel like we did.
• The library branches were always good here and the new downtown library is awesome now. My boys have gone to a couple of programs at the downtown library and are looking forward to more programs. 
• Our calendar no longer is just for the 5 of us, but my parents are added to the calendar-all for when they can babysit for us, need a ride to something, or want us to come over for a visit/help with a few tasks around the house. I love that we are in the same town to be able to do this.

So it is not all bad changes, it just takes some readjusting in my thinking!

Heat

I turned the heat on for the first time today. We praise God that the furnace works at our rental house!

Great Day!

Yesterday we received this in the mail:

Today we went to the Seminary bookstore and bought this:

Then we went to the library and had a treat from Dunkin Donuts to celebrate that we have library cards. We bought a few books at their used bookstore section for $2 total. The Lambs picked books to check out. We found out about Minecraft time at the library and Ram took the Lambs back later in the day to participate in that. The Lambs loved Minecraft at the library! My dad stopped by to see the piano and visit while they were at Minecraft.
When we got home this was in the mail today:

The months of packing, cleaning, unpacking, and the bureaucracy when we arrived were all worth it to now have an IN Driver's license and an Allen County Public library card in our wallets and be in the same town as my parents for my dad to stop by for a visit!

October family update

The piano is in our house and the boys begin lessons tomorrow morning. It is going to take some adjusting for all of us to switch to morning piano lessons. We still have not found their piano books from last spring. We found their old piano books, but not their most recent ones. I wanted them to show their new piano teacher where they were at in the spring. Perhaps it is better that we just begin where she thinks they should be since we had no piano in our house for a couple of months.

We were finally successful to get driver's licenses for both Ram and Ewe. We also got license plates for both cars. We registered to vote. We spent so much time on all of that the past few weeks. I am so glad that is all finished.

Ewe went for her annual eye exam and the dr. decided to treat it as a medical visit and prescribe eye drops and have her come back for the eye exam another visit so insurance pays all of it. We have scheduled several doctor visits for Lamb 1, Ram, and Ewe while we have met our deductible this year.

Ram, Lamb 1, and Lamb 3 are doing some therapy at the chiropractor during the month of October. It wasn't necessary for Lamb 2 or Ewe. We had to buy some weights for them to use for exercises at home, but insurance is paying for the rest. It is taking time to go there three times a week, but we are glad we are doing this when it is "free" to us.

We have been to all 5 of the churches we were considering to join. We have it limited to 3 now. This is such a good problem to have, so many good churches and pastors, but such a hard decision. I am hoping to have our final decision and start regularly attending by Reformation Day. I really enjoyed seeing old friends at all the churches we visited. This morning we saw my mom's cousin, the parents of some of my former students, the uncle of my flower girl in my wedding, a blogger friend, and some of my parents friends. Visiting and seeing old friends was fun, but all of us need to settle into the routine of one church and get involved in activities at one church. The great part is there are always church dinners and recitals and other activities at all the area churches, so even if we don't join one of the other churches, we can still see friends at these other activities.

My mom had a procedure on her heart on Monday and she did well. She is taking it easy and anxious to get back to her regular activities including having the Lambs over to play card games. This was the first time I could go to the hospital to be with my dad during surgery and text my sister often of how everything was going. I am so glad we moved here for times like this.

Yesterday we went to an apple orchard and got pumpkins, apples, squash, and apple cider. Supper was pork chops with apples and vegetables. Dessert was apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream. I love eating what is in season in autumn!

Prayers for Life

My dad wrote this guide for a day of prayer today at their church. You are welcome to use it for your personal devotions.

PRAYERS FOR LIFE

Today we pray for Life: Life of the unborn, Life of those near the end of time on earth, and Life of our nation. You may want to pray some of these hymns from Lutheran Service Book and read the suggested verses from the Bible.

773 Hear Us, Father, When We Pray
Matthew 6:9-13; Romans 8:25-27; Hebrews 4:14-16; Psalm 141:1-2
588 Jesus Loves Me
Matthew 19:14; Titus 3:4-7; John 15:9; Ephesians 3:17b-19
594 God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It
Romans 6:1-10; 1 Peter 3:18-22; Titus 3:4-7
602 The Gifts Christ Freely Gives 
Ephesians 1:3-7; 1 John 5:6-8
605 Father Welcomes
Galatians 3:26-27; Romans 6:1-7; Mark 16:16; John 3:3-6
725 Children of the Heavenly Father
Romans 8:14-17, 35-39; Matthew 6:26-27; Ephesians 4:25-27
740 I Am Jesus’ Little Lamb
Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; 49:10; John 21:15
716 I Walk in Danger, All the Way
1 Peter 5:8-9; John 10:4, 27-29; John 6:39; Isaiah 51:11
461 I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Job 19:25-27; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 7:25; John 14: 2-3
729  I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus
Isaiah 12:2; Matthew 28:18-20; Isaiah 26:3
730  What Is the World to Me?
1 John 2:15-17; Philippians 3:7-9; Psalm 73:25; Romans 12:2
731  O God, Forsake Me Not
Psalm 38:21-22; Psalm 22:11, 19; Psalm 71; Psalm 27:9
717 Eternal Father, Strong to Save
Genesis 1:1-10; Psalm 3; Matthew 8:23-27; 14:23-33
733 O God, Our Help in Ages Past
Psalm 90; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Romans 8:18; Psalm 46:1-3
842 Son of God, Eternal Savior
1 Peter 1:20-23; Hebrews 7:25; John 13:34-35; 17:20-21
847 Christ, Our Human Likeness Sharing
Titus 3:4-8; Ephesians 2:19; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 12:1-2 

Frustrated

I spent the entire day working with the BMV trying to get an IN driver's license without success. This would be humorous if it wasn't true. It is a vicious cycle, I need an IN license in order to report that I had insurance for an accident that happened in 2002, but I can't get an IN license without clearing up that 2002 accident. I can't register to vote without an IN driver's license or IN identification. We had our house closing so I can't claim ID residency. None of my problems had anything to do with being hit by the sheriff last month, but I suspect when that is processed through the system that will also be a problem.

Ram also had difficulty getting an IN driver's license but his problem should be solved in a few days and was no where near as complicated as my difficulty. It may be a blessing that we don't have to choose which presidential candidate to vote for this year, but this is not the way that we would have chosen.

Tomorrow is a new day and we will try to work with the voter's registration to see what we can do before the deadline next Tuesday. And our insurance agent is trying to clear up the 2002 accident for me and currently I just need to wait a few business days to see if he was successful or what I can do if he was not successful.

No laundry, dishes, unpacking, or other important tasks happened today while both Ram and I worked to try to solve my problem. Sigh. Please join us in prayers that this can be solved for both of us before we have been residents of IN for 60 days and we have even bigger problems.

Happy Joy Cookies

Ram and I were able to get away to a Doxology conference for a couple of days last week. The theme of the conference was "JOY" and it was a wonderful theme for Ram and I to be reminded to thank God for our blessings during our time of transition. I hope to blog about this more, but my post today is a recipe.

On the way home from St. Louis we made a fast stop into the Hodgson Mill store in IL. I have bought their gluten free products the past few years. I did not know that their products were milled in IL and they had a store there right off the interstate. We are starting over on stocking our pantry and thankfully I have found lots of gluten free and Paleo ingredients at Aldi, but I had still not found coconut flour or almond flour at an affordable price. It was such a treat to go into this store and see all their products and receive the discount such as 99 cent pasta. It was close to their closing time and I didn't have a shopping list, but if we travel that way again, I will be prepared to shop there again.

As we were paying they had a few cookies for sale so I bought a few Happy Joy Cookies for a treat for our family. They had a copy of the recipe there. It is gluten free, but not Paleo, but it is acceptable to me as a treat for our family. It was so neat to me that on the way home from a conference on Joy I received a recipe for Happy Joy cookies. Whenever I make these cookies I will have memories of our St. Louis trip.

Happy Joy Cookies

From the Hodgson Mill Kitchen

1 1/2 c Almond Flour

2 1/2 c Coconut Flour

1 tsp baking soda

pinch sea salt

1/4 c butter softened

1/4 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 t vanilla

1/2 c sliced almonds

1/2 c semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 c sweetened coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl use an electric mixer to blend together butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla. Slowly stir in dry ingredients until evenly blended. Fold in sliced almonds, chocolate chips, and coconut flakes. Roll into one inch balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Lightly press down balls into a disc shape. Bake for 12 minutes.

Note: Their cookies were very small, the size of a quarter. They were packaged in groups of 6 for $1.50. I think this recipe would be a great one for bake sales to offer something gluten free. I have not made these yet, but I would sift the coconut flour. I would also experiment to make them a little larger. I will definitely try to make this recipe because what we bought in the store was happy joy!

Ram and Ewe's new bedroom

These first two photos are our bed when the house was staged for house sale. It was my bed and my chair, but not my bedding. Ram's mom suggested that after 15 years of marriage and after seeing the house staging, it might be time for us to buy some new bedding of our choice. We gave away the chair before we moved and also our mattress, but we kept the bed. After we had the new mattress I thought Ram's mom had a good idea that we should go shopping for new bedding.

Last night we went shopping and this is what I ended up choosing at Tuesday Morning. My sister would be happy that it is purple. I didn't try to match the blue curtains at the rental house as they are temporary for us. Purple would not normally be my first choice, but I love what I chose. We do not plan to hang up most of our pictures nor do much decorating at this rental house as it is temporary for us. 

After Tuesday Morning we stopped at Target and couldn't resist getting "Ewe" and "Ram" lamps for our bedroom. We actually did need more lamps for both our bedroom and downstairs so it wasn't a total splurge. Old houses not only don't have enough closets, but they lack built in lighting.

Both lamps were on clearance, but for some reason the Ewe lamp cost more than the Ram lamp. I tried to talk them into giving me both at the lower price, but Target said the clearance price is determined by corporate and no way they can change that. This was the last Ewe lamp they had left so I still got it.

I do not enjoy interior decorating, but I am happy how our couple of purchases came together to be something new at our house that Ram and I both like. Of course the lighting was important so we can read in bed! 

September Update

We are settled in that all of our belongings are either in the garage or our house. We are planning on getting a storage area, especially for our books, but we are still unpacking and trying to figure out how to best organize what is staying at the house to have the smallest storage area possible. Every day I get a little more settled, but no areas of my house are completely like I want them. I think in October I will concentrate on one room at a time instead of working all over the house each day. On Sunday afternoon we organized the garage so we can fit one car in there. We took out a lot of trash from both our landlord and us (bookshelves that didn't survive the move, boxes that were unpacked). The trash man took all of that today.

We took my grandma's cedar chest to a furniture repair man after a DIY repair 15 years ago didn't survive the last move. All the legs are on strong now and he also polished it so it looks almost new. It was so worth the money to get it repaired and I couldn't believe how fast he was. One more area for storage is available now. He was shocked that we not only had the cedar chest, but we also had the key and the lock worked. I estimate it is from 1925 as it was a high school graduation present.

I took part in the Reformation swap this year and I notified the lady that will receive my mug that with moving it will be late, but it will be coming. It was fun to "meet" another Lutheran and I am having fun getting her package together. I look forward to receiving my package.

We had two trips to the doctor since we arrived here. 1. To ER because Ram cut himself. 2. Lamb 2 had the worst case of chigger bites the Dr. had ever seen. That was a big mom fail-my boys that don't remember playing outside before we moved to ID had no idea that you needed to wear bug spray to play football outside in the backyard. I was busy unpacking and didn't remind them to wear bug spray. We have learned our lesson and are extra cautious about going outside now. Lamb 2 is surviving on Claritin, Benadryl, and a prescription cream. The other Lambs have more mild cases.

Ram needed new glasses and he had not bought glasses at his checkup this spring so insurance paid for about half of his new glasses.

We bought a mattress online and there was some delay getting it shipped to our unknown to the credit card company new address, but we have slept on it for a couple of weeks now and Ram and I like it.

House closing was more complicated than I would have liked due to us just getting internet installed, not setting up a printer/scanner yet, and having no idea where the printer paper was packed, but the money from the house sale was direct deposited into our account the day after closing. It is wild to me that you can sell a house by doing almost everything online, getting a direct deposit instead of a check, and not going to a title company nor handing over the keys on the day of closing. We left the keys and garage door openers in the kitchen drawer. Then it was time to notify all the companies to get our final utility bills and house insurance refund. It is so good to be completely done with that house less than two weeks after we arrived here.

We are still church shopping and have one more church to attend before choosing which ones to attend a second time. It has been fun to connect with friends at these churches, but I am getting anxious to get involved in one church.

Homeschooling has resumed. This year I plan to be more academic since Lamb 1 is in middle school and Lamb 2 has some catching up to do. We are off to a good start. Today I gave the Lambs and Ram haircuts, the first ones they had since we left ID.

My parents are retired, but they have invited us/asked us to help them attend several events in the past few weeks. They told us October is even more busy than September. This weekend we went with my dad to the airport to meet the Honor Flight, took my mom out to lunch for her birthday, attended a high school football game, helped my dad shop for and set up a new TV, and attended a high school band contest. We are enjoying being able to attend all this, but hope to get involved in our own activities soon.

When you move to a new area learning how to grocery shop in the new area is difficult. I had quite the time getting my Fred Meyer card transferred to a Kroger card, but I went shopping on Friday and it worked so I could get my Friday Freebies. I also had a difficult time finding a store that sells bulk spices (I miss Winco!), but I accomplished that on Saturday. All of our spices are replaced now. I have enjoyed starting over on my pantry/freezer with fresh food and hopefully purchase more healthy foods too.

The Lambs attended their first choir practice last week and the director and I decided they need voice lessons before they are ready to be part of this special choir. We are working towards getting settled enough to bring a piano in our house so they can resume piano lessons and their voice lessons will begin in October. In the future I hope they can participate in homeschool choir, but for now we will concentrate on the academic part of homeschooling and try voice lessons. Lamb 1 and 2 are signed up for a basketball camp in October. We will look for other activities for them to get involved in here too.

My days are kept busy trying to update our address everywhere. It seems like we get less snail mail than we used to, but it is still a lot of places to contact!

I don't know if anyone still reads my blog after it was so neglected this summer. I am going to try to get back to more posting in October whether I feel settled yet or not.

Big August update

Surgery went well and I am past the 2 weeks recovery time. My thyroid was double normal size but all benign. I am so glad I had the surgery.

I followed Dr. orders to not lift more than gallon of milk for two weeks and we still finished for our target date to list our house on August 16. After discussing price with our realtor it was listed a few thousand above what our realtor recommended at 11:30am. We figured we would try a little higher and we could always lower the price. It was shown at 1:30pm and our realtor called us with an offer at 6:30pm. The offer was slightly above asking price with buyers that have already sold their house and are anxious to have closing and get in soon. We praise God it sold in 7 hours! The few thousand above what our realtor thought pays for the repairs we made this summer before we listed it. The realtor never finished making flyers and never had the scheduled open house. Our neighbor was upset that he never saw our house online before the listing was pulled for "sale pending". God had all the details worked out for us-even with several other houses in our neighborhood for sale and the sale so close to school starting. We are so thankful for this house profit.

We are currently resting at Ram's parents and then will go "home" to pack up the moving truck from the storage area. Then we will drive to IN to begin the new chapter of our lives. We are getting excited about this new chapter!

July Update/Looking forward to August

July flew by and it is time to update you on several things happening to our family.

1. We are getting our house ready to put on the market. This is an excellent time to sell a house in Idaho, but unfortunately it seems that most of our subdivision got the same idea to sell now. I promise that I will eventually share more of how we decided to sell our house, but for now please keep our house sale in your prayers. We need our house to sell fast and for a profit once it gets on the market.
2. I am scheduled for thyroid surgery on Tuesday. July was spent getting the ok from the endocrinologist and hematologist that I could have surgery. There were several doctor appointments to get a green light. Please pray for the surgery and recovery.
3. During surgery recovery I will not be allowed to lift more than a gallon of milk for two weeks. We went to Ram's parents for a long weekend over the July 4th holiday. When we returned both Ram and I have spent every day since then getting our house ready to sell. There have been deliveries to give stuff away and take trash to our city. There has been coordinating handymen, landscapers, house cleaners, window washers, painters, and friends to help us for our move.  There has been coordinating selling appliances and other items to friends and neighbors. We are getting very close to our goal to have most of the work done before my surgery. Most of our belongings are now in storage. The chest freezer and one refrigerator are empty. We continue to try to use up food from our one refrigerator and pantry.
4. One of the Lambs spent several hours the last couple of months having a lot of medical tests. Then Ram spent way too long on the phone trying to get the results of those tests. It turned out that this Lamb does have a medical condition that 5% of the population has but most of that 5% doesn't even know they have it unless it is discovered during a MRI or other medical test. We praise God that it is a mild condition and the results simply meant that he has the knowledge that he has this condition and there are no follow-up appointments necessary.
5. Due to this Lamb and Ewe having so many doctor appointments we are going to meet our health insurance deductible. This means that the rest of the calendar year will be "free" medical care for our family. We praise God for health insurance especially during years like this.
6. After working so hard in June and July, I am looking forward to relaxing during surgery recovery time. During this time I have some books I want to read and plan to turn over the rest of getting the house ready to Ram and then to our realtor.
7. The Lambs have been troopers during this transition time. They try to play with the neighbor boys when schedules for both families allow before they are no longer our neighbors. They have put up with most of their toys being put in storage and helped move their beds to another bedroom so that we can clean and paint their bedroom. They have helped with a big variety of tasks. This transition time has not been without tears and mild behavior problems, but that has meant that Ram and Ewe take a break during this crazy time to spend time with the Lambs. They did complete the summer reading program at the library, go to the pool with their friends at least once a week, and we went to a baseball game. We have some activities planned for August to do one more time in the area that we live in. They continue to check carpeting and vents at this house for Legos.

Declutter Shopping

We have been decluttering all areas of our house and have made several trips to try to resell items at the used kids store, donated a lot to our pro-life center, donated a lot to our rescue mission, sold books to the used book store, and given outgrown clothes and toys to a friend with younger boys.

A few weeks ago we went and spent all our credit at the used bookstore. Yesterday I went to the used kids store to spend our credit there. The pro-life center would not take a stroller that I wanted to donate to them so we had quite a bit of credit at the used kids store.

After going through the Lambs clothes, I realized that Lamb 1 had outgrown almost all his pants. So this is what I bought at the used kids store with our credit.
*6 pairs of jeans for Lamb 1
*1 pair dress pants for Lamb 1
*2 pairs of sweatpants for Lamb 2
*3 pairs of shorts for Lamb 1

I had enough credit that my total out of pocket was 60 cents. It is a lot of work to go through their clothes and then sort out where to donate or resell everything. It really is worth going through your kids stuff and reselling what they no longer use and replacing it with what they need.

June Family Update

1. The boys just finished two weeks of swim lessons. We went to the city pool for the first time this year. The first week was great weather, the second week was cold and rainy. All three boys passed the level of swim lessons they were in. The last day of lessons was a fun day and they all went off the high diving board into 12-13 feet water.

After swim lessons each day then they went to free lunch in the park. The lunches are simple, usually sandwiches, but my boys love them probably because they don't have a school lunch every day. It worked out great to go directly to lunch after lessons and not have to wait in line. I'm tempted to sign them up for another session of swim lessons because they had so much fun at both lessons and lunch. But I signed them up for the first session so that we could have the rest of our summer free.

2. We are in full declutter mode here. We dropped off these items at electronic waste day last week: old TV, 2 VCRs, old computer monitor and various other computer parts (keyboard, speakers, etc.), and several old batteries. I am finally making it to the boxes in the garage that were never unpacked when we moved here 4 years ago. We have several items ready for the pro-life center-stroller, baby gate, maternity clothes, etc. I cleaned out my garage fridge and we are going to sell it and downsize to just one fridge to save electricity and be better organized. We have had so much trash and recycling from all my clean out projects.

3. We are in minor house repair mode here. The boys bathroom floor was replaced. This was necessary after 4 years of little boys going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. We have other little repair jobs planned for this summer.

4. I have a consultation for surgery on my thyroid at the end of June. I am hoping to get surgery scheduled soon so I can get it over with and go on to recovery. One of the Lambs has been having some medical tests for some minor symptoms. We are waiting for results to know if medication or treatment is necessary for our Lamb. Prayers are appreciated for our Lamb and for Ewe during all of this. 

Double Digits!

Happy Birthday, Lamb 2!

The Word today

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. Brothers, pray for us.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-25, 28

Current stats

The Lambs had their checkups on Friday. Everyone was good except she wants Lamb 1 to gain a few lbs. She especially wants him to eat more healthy calories during track season.

Lamb 1: 

Age 12 y 2 m

Height 4ft 11in

Weight 74.6 lbs

BMI 3%

Lamb 2: 

Age 9 y 11 m

Height 4 ft 9 in

Weight 79.6 lbs

BMI 55%

Lamb 3:

Age 8 y 1 m

Height 4 ft 1/2 in

Weight 49 lbs

BMI 16%

I'm still here!

I decided to pop in here with a short announcement that I'm still alive after two friends wrote to me checking after very few blog posts recently.

We had a wonderful vacation to southern CA the last week of April. Maybe someday I'll get to posting about our trip. I need to get started on a Shutterfly book before my code from Legoland expires.

Since we have been back May has been full of regular activities with a lot of extra activities thrown in at the end of the school year. Lamb 1 has a few more math lessons to complete his book and then we are going to take summer vacation. I still plan to work with all of them this summer, but we just won't have official school time in the morning, it will more be likely work during the hottest time of the day when their friends are unable to play and read a little longer at bedtime. The Lambs are getting ready for their last track meets, singing with the Sunday School at church with Lamb 1 accompanying them on piano, and their end of the year piano recital. I still have to sign them up for swim lessons and that is the only activity I plan to put them in this summer after our last few summers have been crazy.

The boys and I had our annual checkups. She had a few concerns about Lamb 1 so she is running some labs before we see if we need to see a specialist. Her concern was actually his thyroid and with a family history (Ewe's) she is taking his symptoms seriously. I saw the endocrinologist and we decided that it is time to get my thyroid removed. I am waiting for a consult with the surgeon to have a date for that.

Lamb 3 recently said that we should get rid of half of our belongings. I don't know if I will make it to his goal, but I am in full decluttering mode right now. The recycling can fills up quickly and the shredder is getting a big workout. I plan to get more cleaned out before delivering to the places that I will donate the rest.

Due to all the end of the year activities and the projects that I'm trying to complete, I will be blogging much less than normal this summer. I will try to occasionally pop in during this summer with our family updates. While I'm gone, check out Driving on Sunday blog on my blog list. It is written by one of my former students. He was in kindergarten my first year of teaching and it is so fun to see him with two of his own children now.  I would encourage you to send him a video of driving on Sunday in whatever area of the country that you live in. It is so fun to see where other Lutherans live and their videos.  It reminded me to take some time to rest together as a family to see God's beautiful creation.

Look!

The past several years the eye doctor has said that Lamb 1 would probably need glasses the next year. Today was the day. He is just like his Mama in that one eye is much stronger than the other one. His brain is getting confused when he tries to play his new video game and he gets a headache. Since he is homeschooled we could have waited on glasses. We chose to do it now so he can play his game without a headache and it will also improve his being able to watch Jeopardy on TV. He won't need to wear them all the time, just when he needs them for reading or watching TV etc.

I had no idea how to choose glasses for a pre-teen because the child glasses were too small and the adult glasses were too big. We ended up deciding regular glasses would be fine, he didn't need heavy duty ones because he won't be wearing them all the time. His favorite color is blue so he chose these. We praise God that insurance paid for the glasses and his exam completely. He is looking forward to picking up his glasses in a week partly because he knows they give chocolate with a purchase, but he also knows these will help him.

The eye doctor is amazed that so far Ram's bad eyesight has not been passed down to any of our Lambs. He would have expected by now especially Lamb 3 to start showing similar. Lamb 1 looks a lot like I did as a child and here's one more example of him being like me. We both have one strong eye and one weak eye. The combination makes me legal to drive without glasses, but it is easier for me to watch TV and drive with them.

The eye doctor also recommended that if the glasses don't help enough we might consider some vision therapy for Lamb 1. (Vision therapy is done with a different doctor than our regular eye doctor.) I think the glasses will be enough. But it is an interesting thought that another one of our Lambs might need vision therapy too. Vision therapy is not cheap both financially and for time commitment. But we saw with Lamb 2 that it really works. So Lamb 1 will also do vision therapy if it is necessary. 

No thank you

We finally got the Lamb with a rash in to the dermatologist. The prescription cream cost $2.94 which will be reimbursed to us from our Health Savings Account. The over the counter drug recommended cost $46 for a month supply after a $4 off coupon. Because it is not a prescription it will not be reimbursed to us from our Health Savings Account. I also had to buy recommended soap and lotion over the counter for a total of $21 after coupons. Thank goodness I went online to get some coupons for these.

Whose bright idea was it to make some prescriptions over the counter? I really hope all these creams and lotions solve the itchiness and rash for our Lamb!

My collection

My friend had an accident with her collection of Willow Tree figurines. I commented about them and she wondered which ones I have. So this post is to answer her question.

The Lambs (with Ram's help) started my collection when we lived in MN. It took a couple of years worth of birthdays and Mother's Day to get my collection. Then it took a couple more birthdays to replace the ones that got broken. In MN we had them on top of our china cupboard in our living room. This was too fragile of a location with 3 young Lambs. They look like they are wood, but they are actually quite breakable. They are like dominoes when one gets knocked you will probably have 2 or more broken ones in the end!

When we moved into our house in ID, I knew exactly where to put this collection. I put it in the master bathroom by the bathtub. Even when the Lambs use my bathroom, this location is protected from them. We haven't had any break since we moved here.

On the faucet end of the bathtub. Left to right these represent:
Ram before he got married (he still loves reading!); 
Ram and Ewe married;
Ram with a newborn; and Ram with an older son.

When we first moved in a friend wondered which picture I would hang in these "cubbies" in the master bathroom. I never did figure out which pictures to hang there, but I did put my figurines on the shelves. I like the "blank" space above them.

On the other end of the bathtub. Left to right these represent:
Ewe with an older Lamb (Lamb 1); Ewe with a toddler (Lamb 2); Ewe with a baby (Lamb 3); and pregnant Ewe (to represent our miscarried Lambs). When these were purchased for me, the Lambs were those ages. 

I don't make time to take a bath nearly enough, but when I do I always smile looking at my collection. I don't desire to add to my collection, but I like the meaning behind these that I have.

Lamb 3's birthday

It's difficult for me to believe that my youngest is 8! Ram's parents came to celebrate Lamb 3's birthday for two days. The first day we went to a wildlife refuge to walk around in the beautiful weather and then we went out for pizza. The second day the boys went to a park/walk along the river while the girls (Ewe and Ram's mom) went to a coffee shop. When the boys got hot and tired we went to a restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. After eating the boys went back to the park for awhile before we all went back to our house. The weather was beautiful last weekend and their visit went quickly.

We had Lamb 3's birthday menu over a couple of days after his birthday.
Breakfast: Monkey Bread
Lunch: Grilled Cheese
Snack: Chicago Mix Popcorn and Orange Floats (used orange pop instead of root beer)
Supper: Pizza and Pop
Dessert: Chocolate Cake with Green Frosting
Drink: Chocolate Milk
(Can you tell from the menu that we don't have dairy, bread, or sugary drinks/treats often?)

Lamb 3's birthday wish list was very simple-he wanted Lego lightsabers to go with his other Star Wars Legos. So his big present was a little larger than a ring box! He received 24 lightsabers in 4 different colors. He also received walkie talkies to share with his brothers. Lamb 2 and 3 have been asking for walkie talkies for a long time. They love the walkie talkies!

It's great to be 8!

I'm ready to stop this trend...

Our family attended another funeral today. Our Lambs were well behaved. This was a long time friend of Ram's family. His mom asked us to attend if possible to represent our family since it was in our area.

Although it was not a Lutheran funeral, it was a beautiful service. Everyone that spoke reminded us that not only was she a kind woman, but she was able to do what she did in her life because of Jesus. On her deathbed she was naming people she knew that were not Christians and encouraged her family to keep working on them so she can see them in heaven some day. Many shared stories of how wonderful she was, but the overall theme of the funeral was To God Alone Be the Glory. We only sang one hymn, Be Still My Soul fit very well.

During the reception the family and friends that talked to us knew Ram and some also knew me (probably from Christmas card photos) and also they knew Lamb 1's name because he is named after his uncle. Then we had to introduce Lamb 2 and Lamb 3.

I did not want to attend funerals two Thursdays in a row and the Lambs wanted to attend even less. But I knew that it was important for our family to go to both funerals. It was a great reminder with Holy Week in the middle. We don't know when our last days on earth are. We praise God that we know that we will see our loved ones in heaven again.

S.D.G.

Blessed Easter!

Now no more can death appall,

Now no more the grave enthrall,

You have opened paradise,

And Your saints in You shall rise.

Alleluia!

 LSB 633:6