Really Hearing the Words

Today we were in the van

off to Costco.

Our journey had just started and I politely said

"Peter, do you think we could be quiet on this trip and just not talk the whole way?"

I needed some quiet time and it seemed like every time we got in the van lately

EVERYONE had something to say.

This was not the first time in the van today :) and there were three talkative children accompanying me.

Peter masterfully answered me

"But Mommy I like to talk to you" dramatic pause

"I talk to you because I lub you".

I smiled inside and out.

How can a mother say no to an answer like that?

I gritted my teeth the rest of the way and sweetly answered all the

"Mommy?" questions that preceded more questions and comments.

Smart Boy.

Aleana's Piano Recital

Horseman's Nightride played by Aleana

Whirling Leaves played by Aleana

Mostly Matthew's Sixth Birthday

The night before, Will and I put together some baked French Toast to serve Mattie for his customary breakfast in bed. Turns out - Matthew doesn't like French Toast???? Yah right! ...only when there's no syrup to go on it. Besides the rocky start we moved over to our room where he opened his presents from the family. This year, Will refurbished his old fishing rod from his Grandpa Faber and we gave it to Matthew. As you can see from his face - he was quite entralled. We also bought him a game called Blokus as it is a puzzling strategy game, which is right up his alley. He loves it and it turns out, every one in the family loves it so we have been playing it alot. Highly recommended for left brainers.

Another beautiful cake by Aleana. This was a bowl cake that she decorated as the earth. The sparkler was a hit as you can see from his face. The shipwrecked "reformed" pirate ship in the background is from Grandma and Grandpa Faber.
Matthew used his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Bredenhof to by a lego truck and he is very excited about that too.

The world is on fire!!

Okay, this is totally unrelated but I had to add it. Seeing how Will is so technical he had to grab the level to prove that there was no cheating going on here. We measured and Aleana is only 1 and a half inches from being equal to me in height. Yup she is 5'5.5 inches tall!!! She is taller than a few of my friends already - WOW!! My Mom was just 6' I do believe, so I shouldn't be surprised about these turn of events, but I am. Imagine looking up to your children? It does really happen both literally and figuratively. WOW!!!

Aleana is creating a pinata - nothing fancy, just some fun for Matt's party tomorrow.

Peter was enjoying the craft.

Aleana what are we doing anyway?

This is the first layer drying on the deck.

Not much else to write about that - I bet Peter was very curious about what she was up to!!!

Back Yard Pictures by Aleana

Sooooo Thankful

Today I'm just going to write about how thankful I am for several things - I forget what number I am on for 1000 gifts. I'll catch up later...

Firstly I am thankful for life. I am in my 14th week of this pregnancy and the baby is doing well. I have started to feel little flutterings here and there and it is indeed a blessing. We heard the heartbeat already three weeks ago so we have been very thankful for this little one.

The nausea is not entirely gone and I don't expect it to totally go away (I remain nauseous the entire time) but it is better. Instead of all day long it comes and goes, except if I am extremely tired then it's all day. I am still throwing up but that too is not as often. It may have actually gotten worse but only because my cough has started to act up and that makes me barf. I know - that may have been too much information. But whatever, sometimes I get sick of being sick and just need to express myself :). I see the specialist tomorrow about the coughing and hopefully he'll have a miracle cure for me - tehe.

Back to my point - I am thankful that the nausea is better because that means 1) the number of foods that are appealing to me has increased and 2) I am now mostly cooking all the meals again and enjoying myself doing it!!

Another thing I am thankful for is that most days I feel good mood wise - you know the feeling that even if it's raining you can still sing? I can only give credit to my good Father in heaven for that one!! I have begun to experience that even when I am miserable physically that I can still be joyful inside and happy about everything else in my life. That is a gift and not something I can attribute to anything but the Spirit working healing within. Thank you LORD!!

That doesn't mean I won't have bad days but it gives me hope that they won't last forever - and I mean presently AND looking towards our heavenly home.

Thank you also to everyone who has remembered us in their prayers - it has upheld us and given us strength. We covet your continued prayers and support.

Onto something totally new - any ideas on how to help our 3 year old go through the night without peeing himself? We have a sticker chart and he is progressing but I was wondering if anyone knows of a "technique" or trick that would also help. He seem to struggle the most the first half of the night before we go to bed mostly because he loves water and probably drinks more than he should after supper. I've tried to cut that back but...I just have to get stricter.

Have a great week everyone!!

In the Hands of GOD,

Gloria

Flying Geese Doll Quilt

On Wednesday, Aleana and I spent some uninterrupted time together as Peter went to visit a playmate. Our goal was to create a doll quilt to auction off at Family Fun Night.
This is NOT what we made, but it is the pattern that we used. The fabrics for the flying geese are from a batch that Aleana gave me awhile ago. It's very different from the pattern but the green strips really bring it all together.

Aleana sewed the triangles together (which is really difficult - so good job Aleana!!) while I did the cutting and organizing. Later on, I sewed the strips and columns together while she did the ironing.

The quilt is not entirely done yet as we still have to embroider the ties on to quilt it and sew around the edge. But I don't figure that should take too long.

Aleana made the pillow all by herself. We really enjoyed the quiet time working together and we were both amazed at how quickly it all came together and how fast our 3 hours alone went by!!

We did have to work on it for about an hour with the boys around but we managed.

Thanks for motivating me Aleana - it was lots of fun!!!

I Think This is Cheating..But Oh Well

It is my favorite things Monday and following some fellow bloggers I went to my kitchen to see what I could see. I saw nothing that I would say is my favorite. I asked my family what they thought and this is what they came up with and I totally agree.

My favorite thing in my kitchen is my kitchen sink window!! You can see it in the above picture on the right and when I look out it I can see most of our back yard and here is what is on display right now...
Our rhododendrum looks so full and gorgeous this year!!!

This smaller rhodo (we think) is also
looking very bright and cheery.

Surprise! Surprise! I'm not sure how these got here but they popped up - maybe I can transplant them and put them somewhere more noticeable.

Can you imagine faces on the flowers? Little flower pixies...

These are our cornflowers that haven't fully bloomed yet but you can enjoy the rhodo shouting in the background.

Last but not least...our lilac tree.

Another thing I can see from kitchen window that I can see is right there over that fence and towards the back. Yes, it's the neighbor's yard. It wouldn't be right to post pictures of his yard, but it is gorgeous and he is out there almost every day. We frequently talk to him over the fence and ask him for advice on this and that. Matthew torments him when he is on the trampoline - he'll be bouncing up and down and yelling "Hi!! Mr. S!!!" and "Mr. S. look at this jump!".

We are often reminded of the movie Dennis the Menace when Matthew does things like that - Mr. S is a good sport though and nothing like Mr. Wilson :).

Praise to the LORD the Almighty the King of creation!!!

How We Celebrated Will's Birthday

The children made this big card and displayed it on the fireplace.

The kids found this balloon floating around on the last windy day and managed to hide it until Dad's big day. They were so proud of themselves for saving money!!

Balloons we a definate requirement.

I didn't feel like fixing this photo - you'll just have to crank your head.

We had bought sidewalk chalk only a few days before for a story hour activity.

Nice for Will that the whole cul-de-sac now knows how old he is!!

Very touching though and alot of dedication on Aleana's part to wake up before seven to get it done.

We had some family over - it was Sunday.

Will and his Dad.

Will's two youngest brothers Mitch and Kris.
Nice of them to miss some biking for Will!!

Aleana once again came through with a great cake. It looked better the day before so I guess the lesson is to wait until the last minute or all the icing flops. It is suppose to be a golf course and it says bogey on the bottom. It tasted really yummy. Will would love to play real golf but doesn't have enough time in his day so instead he plays the occasional game on our Wii. He's at the pro level but yesterday Aleana tied him a game - much to his chagrin!!!

Happy Birthday to you!!!

It was a really nice day and it was amazing to me how much the kids did, without my urgings, to show that they loved their Dad. That's really special.

Hope you had a great day dear and May the LORD bless you richly in the years to come and with many more to share with all of us.

You are a great husband and father to our children and the fact that your family is your top prioirity is evident in all you do for me and for the kids. The small things you do every day for me without ever complaining is such a testimony to your love.

I am so thankful to the LORD for bestowing so many blessings in you.

We love you!!!

What else is New?

I have not written about our gifts in a long time. I have been hesitant because I did not want to mention things that I had already written about. Today I think I can wing it in regards to some things that have been going on around here for. So here it goes...

Thank you LORD for...

1) All the kids are outside right now - playing together and not fighting!!

2) It stopped raining long enough for the kids to play outside

3) My good sis brought dinner and it's in the oven! - thanks sis!

4) Good medical professionals who take good care of me (from the MOAs to the doctor)

5) Ethan who has such a nice smile

6) Matthew who keeps me laughing

7) For my cognitive training that keeps my mind calm and imagination from taking over - I really thank the LORD for this!!

8) That Peter has been such a good distraction to me

9) That Will is done his Mon/Tues night course schedule - that was tiring!!

10)That Will is doing his last EVER Tues/Thurs night course schedule that will be less stressful

11) Will who takes good care of me by cooking right now

12) Aleana who has been doing alittle extra of everything to help out

13) A good reliable vehicle that get's us where we need to go

14) For all the prayers of our family and friends - thank you!!

15) For this little person who we've never met but love already

16) For all the love this little person has already created in our family - the kids are so excited!!

17) For the gift of peace about this little person and how long she/he will be with us - the LORD is so good to us!!

18) For the rain that makes my garden grow!!

19) For the 2 rows of strawberries we planted - from last years group

20) For more sunshine and longer days - what a blessing!!

One Big Mean Eating Machine

This is the beautiful "Black Forest Delight" cake Aleana made for my birthday.

She feels that it is one of her best so far and I would have to agree.

Thanks Aleana - you did a great job!!!

One may read the title and wonder "What is this going to be about?". Well, I would venture to say that you thought I was talking about the youngest or perhaps one of the boys in the family.

Wrong!! It is me!!

I feel like that is all I do right now. Eat. As a rare execption to the human species, I must admit that normally I do not enjoy eating - in general. I sometimes will enjoy feasting but rarely do. It's my genes, my make-up, metabolism - whatever you want to call it. It's like those that have curly hair wish they didn't and those that have straight wish it were curly. I really wish I did have a better appetite and other people have looked at me and wished they had none. It's just the way it is.

Right now, my dilemma is that I need to eat approximately every hour and I would really rather not - most food is disgusting at this point, especially proteins. Eating, however, is the one thing that helps with the nausea. For six months I have been trying to gain weight when I should have just tried pregnancy. Will bought $40 of snacks and juices for me the other night and in three days I had consummed all of them!! Like I said - every hour...

I guess this is more of a rant than anything. A plea to be understood :).
Have a great week under God's grace.