I'm Not Sure Yet...

Hi everyone - it's not everyday that I get the chance to write on here.  It's hard enough to get the pictures on.  Now that I'm using flicker to get them here it takes me TWICE as long to do the chore.  I'm thinking of switching blogs again.  Seriously, should it be taking me one hour to choose, download and then transfer 12 pictures and then maybe write comments underneath them?  To me that's a big chunk of my time that I am not willing to donate. 

Some things are slowing down thankfully.  Like homevisits (Will), catechism (A and E), Piano (A and E and M), Strategic Planning Committee work (Will), and Nursing at Night (Madilyn - yippee!!!).  Then there are some things that are picking up like: School activities, Bible study group work, friends who are moving, gardening work, Saturday soccer with the boys, a special sewing project that has a deadline that is fast approaching (pictures to come soon!) and room re-organizing that led to spring cleaning that led to furniture shopping (for A) that led to moving more things around (sigh...). 

Will and I were actually sad the first night Aleana was downstairs.  We missed her!!! It was more of a

psychological issue than physical though.  We were just really feeling the movement away from us as a symbol of what is to come in the future - wahhhhh - she's not supposed to grow up!!!  It reminds me of the first night Madilyn slept in her cradle at 6 weeks I think it was.  We missed her too.  Now, she is really good at sleeping in her cradle and she has slept through the night for week.  She is vastly different than Nadia - maybe later on I will see some similarities but so far I haven't seen any.  Nadia was a Mommy-suck. Madilyn is happy with anyone who talks to her.  Nadia wanted to be held constantly and Madilyn needs her space.  Nadia cried alot and Madilyn not.  Some nights Nadia still wakes up more than Madilyn.  I feel very blessed to have such a content child at this point in our family and in my old age (ha ha). 

And before I go off on more tangents, there are some things that are staying the same: like the rhythm of sending kids off to school nice and early, of Thursday night meetings, of doing papers with the boys (I used to do papers as a kid and now that I am doing it again - I really love it! - I told Will the other day that the older I get the more I see myself becoming like his Mom. I said this because she has done papers for over 30 years now and mostly enjoys it :) ), playing games with the two older kids on Sunday nights (they get so hyper!! - This past Sunday I was soooo tired that I didn't make any sense about anything and they had lots of fun with that.), going to church every Sunday (what a blessing!!), having a stable husband with a steady job (always thankful for that!!) and ummmm what else???,  children who continue to be healthy and well.

Well, it's not everyday I share so much but tonight I had the time and the energy and it's good for me to reflect on things and take a step back and look at it all.  There just seems to be so many difficult current and personal events happening lately - it really can rattle your faith and ruin your day to hear about some of it.  I'm sure anyone reading this can think of something that has been rattling lately.  The Tim Bosma case is one on my mind and bringing that up reminds me of 4 years ago when Will joined the neighbor in chasing two kids (who robbed and assaulted the boy across the street) and then 10 minutes later they murdered someone else who chased them. Be rest assured I hugged my husband alot closer that night!!   Subsequently, Will became a witness in that case and along with the crown prosecutors did his best to bring justice for the family.  In the end, we comforted our neighbors with our belief that the LORD would provide justice in some way, some day and that we have to trust that.  Hard stuff. 

Some days we (maybe just me??) can get caught up in the finite details of cleaning up the constant messes every where and then other days we can not let it bother us as much as we share a laugh or two with the kids instead.  I like the laughing part better but the obsessive housewife in me has a hard time letting the messes go.  Messes stress me out!!!  Seriously though, should I be sacrificing good relationships with the kids for a spotless home?  Like Paul says - I do the very thing I hate...This is starting to sound like Confessions of a Stay-at-Home-Mom (that's another post) isnt' it??     

Anyway, there is alot more that I want to write about and I think of these great topics when I'm nursing at night - of course right now I can not think of a one.  That's where the title comes from - I started to write without knowing my topic or where I was going.  Sometimes that can be a nice way to write and it works.  

So what do you think the title should be?  

Have a blessed weekend - In God's Hands.

Love, Gloria

   

Peter, Nadia and Madilyn - Can't Get More Creative Than That!!!

This little girl get's lots of pictures taken by her big brother Peter.

Nadia bashed her head on a cabinet - We spent two hours in ER on a Sunday night.  No stitches thankfully - doctor decided it wasn't worth the trauma.  He would have to sedate her for it and the wound had stopped bleeding already.  She remembered too much of when we went in for her toe.  As soon as she saw the dr. she grabbed her toe and started screaming.  Poor girl!!! 

I'm having trouble with aligning everything so this will have to good enough for now!!



Will's Birthday - April 18, 2013

Aleana, Ethan and Matthew decorated Will's birthday cake.  It's some sort of star wars scene.  The guy on the right is lying in a hammock made out of chocalate.  It was all very yummy.



It's not pictured here but Peter made a really scary sword for Will.  He was working on it outside hammering away happily then he comes in and waves it in front of my face so I can see his handiwork.
I look at it after it barely misses my eyes and see that it has nails sticking out of the top like some medival war machine. I think that since opening it Will has placed it in a carefully concealed place so that it doesn't hurt anyone.  Our boys have taught me so much :).

Madilyn's Top Ten.

1) I love to "Coo, coo" to anyone who will listen to me - which is everyone.

2) Watching everyone rush around is quite interesting, I am very happy doing that. 

3) When people tickle me - I will smile and smile and sometimes laugh. 

4) Boys are slightly scary because they think roaring in my face is fun - I think it's rather startling

5) Girls are less scary - the big girl loves to take me to her room which is really cool.  She has different sounds in there and I get to see her do things, that are really fascinating - she really loves me.

6) The little girl loves me too but sometimes she scares me by pushing on my head or stomach, then I cry.  

7) I love my milk and it's great if I can actually get some without lots of other people around - I like it with just Mom and me.  That doesn't happen very often - sigh!! 

8) I love my cradle and will sleep very well if I'm in there.  Sometimes, though Mom falls asleep while feeding me so I have to be happy sleeping with her.  I don't mind, she smells nice. 

9) The big boy, Ethan, thinks that I don't like him but it's not his fault that Mom needs him to hold me when I'm hungry or tired.  He's always very sweet to me.

10) I love my Dad!! He notices things about me that no one else does.  Like the fact that my hair is staying brown like Mom's.  I keep special smiles and hugs just for him.    

The family is pretty cool - once you get to know them. 

Sewing - April 2013

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I've had these pillows for a long time and finally I was able to get around to doing cases for them. 

The flower print was a fat quarter I recieved from Matthew for my birthday.  I love it!!

The butterfly print (lower pillow) and the solid blue are from lots of fat quarters I recieved from Michelle for my birthday.  I was really spoiled and should have enough fabric to last me awhile. If you look really close you can see the butterflies (they are very subtle) and they are so pretty.

I use these pillows at night to nurse Madilyn with and I'm so glad they are covered now.  I was using regular pillow cases before and that didn't look so hot.   Nadia will still climb into bed at night with us and has already claimed that the flower pillow is hers.  She uses it in the middle between us because that's where it always was, only now it's all pretttied up which she loves. 



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Okay so the pillows were a new project and here was something I finished off my WIP list.
A fleece blanket for Peter.  Nothing fancy.  Last time I went to Joann's Peter picked out these fabrics from the clearance bin and asked me to make this for him.  I was glad to oblige.  It's not had to talk Mom into buying fabric.  After I cut the pieces out, measured twice and everything - the two sides still didn't fit together.  This always happens to me!!! Perhaps I have a type of measuring dyslexia???  Or perhaps this happens with stretchy fleece.  Any case, it keeps me humble and my projects always end up being improvised as I go along, to fix my mistakes, ah hem, to feed my creativity. This blanket has an extra border on two sides so that the pieces match up. Peter didn't notice nor does he care and loves his new blanket!!!
Yesterday, I started a new lap quilt and hopefully I can show that more next week.  My children were shocked when I told them it's called a "Strip and Flip" - clearly they are not quilt minded :). I appreciated their propriety.  I will be interested to see where that journey will lead...

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