January 2018

Finally everyone was healthy so my parents watched the Lambs so Ram and Ewe could go out for their anniversary (a couple of weeks late). We went during Savor Fort Wayne to a fancy restaurant after asking friends for a recommendation. We went on a Thursday so we got all our stamps for our 2 dinners so we could get entered into the drawing. It was a great meal and worth the bargain price of Savor Fort Wayne. 

Photo Credit: Steve Blakey
It was rainy and cold for March for Life, drastically different than last year in t-shirts. We marched with several friends from church and then went to my parents church for cookies and hot cocoa. We had a chance to wear our new hats. Our deaconess student is on the right in her hat from the Washington D.C. March for Life.

One day I worked on cleaning out the basement. I asked a Lamb to bring me my slippers while I was working. I kept noticing pieces of plastic on the basement floor and couldn't figure out where that was coming from. Finally I realized my slipper was breaking! These were a Christmas present about 8 years old. Both slippers went in the trash because what would I do with one slipper and how long would it be until the other one broke too?

We took the Lambs to Debrand chocolate for their Savor Fort Wayne deal for a big treat one day before Ram  returned to classes. It was so good and enough to share with 5 people-I can't imagine 2 sharing it although Ram and Ewe got the drinks and we all shared the chocolate. There were other SAHM doing the same thing with their kids that afternoon.

When Ram was on school vacation we didn't use both of our vehicles very much, but Ram did make sure to go out and run the car that was in the garage a couple of times during his vacation. It wasn't enough and the battery on our Camry died. After trying to get it to go for a day, we were happy when AAA came and towed it and we were back to having both vehicles available shortly after Ram began classes again.

I used some credit to get some Snipp, Snapp, Snurr books from Hyde Brothers before Christmas at about $8 each, but they didn't have very many Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books in stock. I was so excited when this book was on the 20 cent shelf at the public library. I am keeping it for my collection. Since then I keep looking for more Lindman books, but this is the only one I have found. The cover wasn't in the greatest shape, but the pages are clean.

Our church youth group went outdoor ice skating one day. Last year I really wanted to take the Lambs, but we never found time in our schedule. None of the Lambs were very excited about going, but they tolerated it for a couple of hours. I promised Lamb 1 I wouldn't post pictures of him ice skating, but here are the other Lambs. It was cooler, but not freezing the day that we went. I took pictures this time, but next time I want to join them. Lamb 1 took off his coat and when we got home he asked where his coat was? I went back and it was right where he left it! By then it was much more crowded and I was glad we had gone when we did.

I really wanted to see Goodbye Christopher Robin in the theater, but they never came to Fort Wayne theaters. I was #3 on the library hold list and the library ordered 19 copies, so I picked it up the day after it was released on DVD. I have read a lot about A.A. Milne, so I was looking forward to this movie. My dad borrowed it before it was due, I watched it, and the Lambs watched it. Ram didn't have any interest in watching it! Even after reading several reviews, it was different than I expected. If you are going to watch it, read his poem Vespers first and you might want to have tissues handy, but you might not need those tissues depending on your stage of life. I won't give any more spoilers nor any more recommendations. Personally I'm glad I have both read his autobiography and that I saw this movie.

Year in Review-December 2017 Part 3

I spent a lot of December planning the last Advent supper at church. I made supper for 75 people and served it on December 22. Several church families had family home for the holidays and it was a fun evening. We collected peanut butter and jelly for the Seminary food bank and here is some of what was collected. After supper that evening we decorated the church for Christmas and had Christmas cookies and goodies while we decorated. I served the wassail tea that our church in ID served at the Ladies tea every year and everyone loved it. I think it will be a new tradition to serve that while decorating at our church now. I love that our church waits until the end of Advent to decorate the church and it is all ready for Christmas Eve.

One day my parents babysat the boys so they could decorate Christmas cookies with my mom. Our boys had been sick with colds so the date got changed several times until everyone was healthy to do it. Ram and I ran errands while they were at my mom's. It was so nice to be able to go without them. When we got back to my mom's our Lambs monkeys were in my mom's tree in her front yard. I know it is just a few more years until we can leave them alone, but I love days like this when I get a little break, because a homeschooling mom doesn't get many breaks like this.

We ordered our own hats for our local March for Life. It was a major pain to order them,  we could not get the website to work. We finally called the Synod and they were so helpful to place our order for us. Shipping was outrageous because they expect churches to make a big order, not just order 5 hats. After all that we were really excited when they came in the mail and we had to take several selfies. I don't know if we will ever make it to the Washington D.C. March for Life, but we will proudly wear these at our local March for Life.

I really liked how this one turned out. 

Lamb 3 needs to work on his selfies a little bit.

I told you Lamb 2 loves selfies!

On December 23, the day after I served the dinner at church, Ram went to get our tree out of storage. While he did that I quickly swept and did a little cleaning to get ready for the tree. The whole family helped and we decorated the tree quickly. We chose a slightly different spot than last year and I love our tree in this house with high ceilings. I am so glad I purchased it at a church auction last year.

All of the Lambs were acolytes for the first time together on Christmas Eve. 💗💗💗
I think I am done buying Christmas outfits sweaters or dress shirts for them because they will be acolytes for the next several years.

My parents ended up coming to church with us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day even though that was not planned, because my mom did not want to drive in the snow. It ended up being really nice to worship together. Ram assisted with the service so I was glad to have my parents to sit with me. Lamb 2 just can't help himself with selfies when he is given a camera!

Christmas Eve

I bought a skirt for $2.64 including tax at Christopher and Banks after all my coupons. I couldn't believe it really worked. Unfortunately they had very few skirts for sale in the whole store. I found a basic grey skirt in my size that I love. Another unexpected blessing for me while Ram is in school!

I don't have any photos to post here, but a few days after Christmas we went over to a friend's house to decorate gingerbread cookies. The mom was so organized and a fun time was had by all. Lamb 1 took pictures, mostly of the babies at the party, instead of decorating cookies. Lamb 2 and 3 decorated a cookie, ate the toppings, and then decorated it again. They did this with about 3 cookies each.

After the gingerbread party we went to eat lunch at Chik-Fil-A. The Lambs got a gift card as present from a church member. I thought that was a great present for preteens. Lamb 1 and 3 were happy to order whatever they wanted and still had $ left on their $10 gift card. Lamb 2 ordered everything he wanted and needed us to pay a couple more dollars. That's the way it usually goes-Lamb 1 saves his money, Lamb 2 spends whatever money he has, and Lamb 3 spends some of his money. They were glad to order what they wanted instead of being limited like we usually do when the whole family goes-(water or lemonade, no dessert).

Chik-Fil-A was really crowded-what was I thinking to go to lunch during Christmas vacation? So the Lambs wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but I made them pose for a picture outside. 

Grandma spoils our boys so much that we don't buy them very much for Christmas, just small stocking treats for the 12 days of Christmas. I thought this Lego chemist was pretty cool so I ordered it. The company made a mistake in advertising this set, so after it arrived I got an e-mail that they would refund my money. So they ended up getting this set for free.

And that completes our 2017 Review. Happy New Year!

Year in Review-December 2017 Part 1

We took a lot of pictures in December, so I'll post a few at a time.

Photo Credit: Meghan Schultz
The Lambs favorite art class so far was the day they used clay to make boats.

Photo Credit: Meghan Schultz
I ordered a print to remember our babies. Row one is our 3 Lambs birthstones. Row two is the birthstones of our miscarried babies. I got it here. Her work is beautiful and I am so glad to have this to remember all our children. I would like to order more prints from her, but was so pleased to get this one for our family. I framed it and it is one of the few pieces of artwork on display in our rental home instead of still packed after moving.

Our city had a tour of churches night. The first 3 photos are the church where my parents got married. They did extensive remodeling recently to restore it closer to the original. It is beautiful!

This is the church where Ram and Ewe got married 16 years ago. We have so many fond memories of this church.

This is the church that we attend now. It was still Advent so we did not decorate for Christmas yet. We went to a few more churches that night, but I didn't take any more pictures.

The Lambs went to a Science Central class and dissected frogs.

Trying to identify if it is a male or female frog.

I used coupons to get 5 nice greeting cards for $1.56 total including tax.

I bought a necklace/keychain for my sister for Christmas from here. I bought myself one a few years ago. My sister's was larger than mine and it was not her favorite gift. I don't know this etsy shop owner, but I love her items made out of postage stamps and she has wonderful fast service.

This was her favorite gift. I bought it here. I bought her the set of 3 prints from the Anthems of Zion. I also used some of my birthday money to get a set for myself. It was so interesting because they are hand lettered, both sets were different. When these arrived I wrapped and finished shipping all our gifts to far away family. It was so good to have that done early this year and not worry about it near Christmas.

Year in Review-November 2017

While celebrating Reformation 500, we didn't carve pumpkins until November.  Sorry for the poor picture quality. Lamb 2 and 3 each carved a jack-o-lantern, Lamb 1 thinks he is too old to carve pumpkins.

Our church celebrated their 125th anniversary. I made cake toppers and chocolate favors. This is the dessert table with my decorations and other dessert too.

Chocolate Bible favors. Idea was here. The anniversary was really a fun day with both friends that are members and some visitors that day too.

Photo Credit: CLHS Facebook Page
Lamb 1 attended Concordia Day. He wants to be in JROTC now.

Lamb 1 won a t-shirt at Concordia Day. It was perfect for him since he wants to do cross country next year.

I met my mug swap partner. Everyone that sees the necklace she made compliments it.

Only Lutheran homeschooled boys would practice a hymn for Sunday School choir during a play date.

Everyone on Facebook was doing a black and white photo post. I didn't do 7 days of posts, but I did post a photo of our mailbox at our rental house. A delivery man complimented it a few days before I took the photo.

Our public library had an author visit, Laura Numeroff. I was at the end of the line, but she stayed past library closing time and signed everyone's books that were in line. The Lambs came and listened to her talk before signing, but Ram took them home while I waited in line to get my book signed. 

I sold more books to Hyde Brothers. This one surprised me and was worth about $100.

This is the book that got me started on buying books at the library book sale. I thought it would be valuable with the prints inside. It was worth about $25.

I read this biography of Tasha Tudor before I sold it to Hyde Brothers. It is more recent but was still worth about $20. All these books I sold were 20 cents each at the library book sale.

Lamb 1 needed a new coat. I really didn't have time to shop for one and was unsure what size to buy him or where in Fort Wayne to shop for one. A friend messaged me and asked me if we could use a coat that they found when cleaning out their closet. It was Lamb 1's size AND his favorite team is the Seahawks and it was their colors. I am just amazed at when God provides for us, not only just what we need, when we need it, but also when it is absolutely perfect for us! I couldn't have gone to the store and found a more perfect coat for him. Another example of a blessing while Ram is a student!

 

My sister came for Thanksgiving and we remembered to take a picture in our Harvest Raise t-shirts. It didn't turn out the greatest so we'll have to try again next time she visits. I was noticing how much my sister and I look alike in this picture. I have never noticed that before, we used to be so different that I wondered if we were really sisters!

I wanted to buy Lamb 2 a dressy coat for church. When I measured him he needed a men's size M! The sleeves are a little long, but the coat is not that big on him. He loves to dress up for church and was happy to get this coat. I used several coupons to buy it and I think it will fit him for a couple of years.

The pastor asked a question in Bible class about what was on our pulpit. I sit in the front row almost every Sunday and I was drawing a blank when he asked the question. Ram went upstairs and took a picture for me to jog my memory. (John 14:6)

We went to Christmas in the Park which used to be called the Christ Child Festival. The Lambs were a little old for it so we didn't stay long. I just wanted to know what they did. I had grand plans to take a family photo for Christmas, but there was too much in the background that disqualified this photo without a lot of photo editing.