We Interrupt This Blog ...

... to nurse a sick girl with strep throat. :( Anna not only has strep throat in the obvious place - her throat - but it has also manifest itself on her hand. What we thought was a mysterious case of poison ivy is also a side effect of having strep, a painful rash between 3 fingers on her left hand.

We have antibiotics - cream - cloraseptic - and sherbert. We plan to baracade ourselves in at home for the next 2 days -and we foresee a full recovery! :)

The Irony of Peaches

Peaches have been on sale around here for the last few weeks - and I can't get enough of them!! There's also nectarines and plums and other yummy fruit right now.

Anyway, today as I am about to begin the 2nd trimester (praise the Lord!) of my pregnancy, I was reading on the internet about being 13 weeks pregnant. The website said my baby was about the size of a PEACH! :)

Otherwise, I have a sick girlie today. She went to play at a friend's house yesterday - and seemed fine - but when the other mom brought her home, she had a fever and a sore throat. Today her fever is a little higher (up to 103!), and she feels miserable. Hopefully we won't have to go to the doctor tomorrow, but if she's not better that's what we'll do. For now we're doing the infamous Tylenol - Motrin routine to keep her somewhat comfortable.

A Visitor & a Surprise!

As I raised my bedroom shade this morning, I caught a glimpse of something in my flower bed! What was this creature scurrying across the mulch?! When it heard the window shade open, it stopped and made eye contact with me. It must have considered me harmless behind a (dingy) pane of glass and across the far expanse of the porch! I think it's a GROUND HOG?! Anyway, I suspect it is eating my (few) green tomatoes that are trying to make it on the edge of my flower bed ... although this morning, the critter was only innocently eating the clover that grows along the edge.

After work, I came home to find a SUPRISE on my door step: a big box from some blogger promotion address?!?!? I guess I had completely forgotten I had WON this yummy set of Macaroni Grill sample meals from Julie's blog Mom2Ways - and a sieve, slotted spoon, and cheese grater! I've only eaten at a Macaroni Grill twice in my life - and honestly, I prefer Olive Garden (don't tell!!) - but I am excited to try these meals which promise to be ready in 20 minutes (you provide the chicken, they provide everything else).

When Little Girls Play

I love it that my daughter has friends who like to play adventures from books like "Little Women" - but everyone wants to be Jo! They must have gotten it worked out because they all three came to me, calling me, "Marmie" (Marnie?) and ran off happily afterwards.

After playing in our little pool for an hour, the ladies had a mini tea party. I was out of MILK - so I gave them canned, evaporated milk - and you know, it was pretty tasty added to hot mint tea. I also had to use it to make my mac-n-cheese and my no-bake cookies, which all turned out just fine.


The tea was good to the last drop!

It's Ok

After my MMM (Minor Meltdown Monday), Tuesday was a much needed reprieve day at home! We cleaned up the house in anticipation of DADDY COMING HOME! Even Anna cleaned her room - with a little help from her brother (who is a SUPER organizer when it comes to cleaning rooms) and a little threatening from her mother (who is NOT tolerant of children who can't get busy & stay busy until the job is done).

And Daddy did come home - around 4 p.m.! It was so good to sit on the couch and catch up in a way we could not do in 5 minute cell phone chats while he was gone. While he took a little nap (he'd been up since 2 a.m. Nevada time), I doctored up some Aldi's spaghetti sauce for our dinner. I like the Aldi's spaghetti sauce just the way it is - but I like it even better when I first brown some onions & garlic in olive oil in a big pan. Then add some ground beef and get it nice & brown. Drain the fat, add the sauce & simmer a few minutes. You can add parsley - OH - and you could even add a few slivers of CARROTS while you are doing the onions & garlic (for some reason they taste really good in spaghetti sauce, trust me! you hardly notice they are there but they add a little "something something").

Today we are having a few girlies over to play with Anna (a reward for getting the room clean!) - and are going to enjoy a HOT summer day at home. I work the rest of the week so I am bracing myself for that since NAUSEA has suddenly & belatedly seemed to have set in :( It's still not as bad as it could be - but it is a little annoying. I'm still not as sick as I was with any of my other pregnancies so I'm thankful. Have a lovely day!

For Father's Day

One amazing part of a marriage is watching your husband become a father. We did not/could not have a child for the first almost-6 years of our marriage. While I was consumed with having a baby, my husband - as per his usual manner - calmly trusted that God would come through when the time was right.

When the time WAS right, in September of 1998, we had a baby boy! One of my favorite memories is of Dan holding the baby in that awful, weird-shaped chair in my hospital room, singing to him in the middle of the night. I knew Dan would be a great dad - and he was from the very first moments. My parents, who were visiting us in Germany, said that they were amazed at how naturally we took to parenting. I think it was because we had been anticipating it for so long, observing other families, talking about how we wanted to be as parents. We were just ready.

Seeing Dan as daddy to a daughter was equally as wonderful. He created a lullaby just for her and sang it her each evening. As she got a little older, he'd pat her tiny back, and her little hand would pat his shoulder in time. She is something I always longed to be - Daddy's Little Girl. I am so thankful my daughter has such an adoring dad!

I will never forget the night I miscarried our 3rd baby. I won't go into the sordid details of that evening, but due to circumstances, I went to the hospital alone. When the doctors finally released me around midnight, having lost our baby a few hours before, I will never ever forget walking into the door of our home - and straight into Dan's arms and crying together over our baby who was now in heaven.

I am thankful for one more chance to see my husband as a father, Lord willing, at the end of this year. There are several reasons I am excited to be having a baby - for one, I think it will give me closure on being able to complete my family. For the last 6 years, I have wondered why we couldn't have our 3rd child - and tried hard to just trust that God knew best. I am so incredibly thankful for the two children I have - and really shouldn't have wanted anything else ever! How blessed we are - and yet ... someone was missing! A new baby will not replace the child we lost; but it is my personal gift from God that He has agreed with me that we should have one more child after all. Aside from that reason, I have always said that my husband should have had a wife who could have given him many children - just because he is so good with children and enjoys them so much. He has always said he would have accepted it if God had not seen fit to give us children at all, and I believe him - but I am so thankful that he is a father - and the father of my children.

Ahhhhh, Friday Night!

I love Friday evenings - especially in the summer! After a long week of work and activities, it is so nice to go home on Friday and REST, knowing that if we want to, we can sleep in on Saturday morning or at the very least won't have to hurry to get ready and rush off to summer school, work, an appointment.

Tonight I initially thought of having some QUIET TIME - you know, ME time, alone time?! My husband is gone to Nevada over the weekend, and I had our room to myself - the lap top to myself - the TV to myself (no baseball game tonight!!).

However, as time went on, my son came by ... he didn't want to be upstairs alone. He asked if he could play his computer game on the desk top computer in my room. So, I said OK. Before we knew it, my little girl was popping her head in - could she watch my movie with me (NARNIA - the first movie - is on TV) ... and so, here she sits/lies/flops on my bed beside me.

And you know what? I'm glad they didn't want to be alone because I just realized that neither do I! :) Happy weekend, everyone!

The "Excitement" Continues

Well, I haven't been the most interesting blogger this week - so if you've stopped by, I apologize in advance for my uninspired writing.

I am fine - just tired. I can't believe I'm in my 11th week of pregnancy - and in 2 weeks, I'll be into my 2nd trimester! Thank the Lord I still haven't been very sick at all, so the tiredness reminds me that there IS something going on!!

I was off today and spent the day at the dentist with my son - NO CAVITIES and NO BRACES for another year or so until he loses more teeth (both my kids are SLOW to get teeth & SLOW to lose them) ... then we went to the park for a few minutes. It was HOT today (mid-90s) so I couldn't stand it too long. We had left overs for dinner - see, no good blogging material any where!!

Our mid-week church service was tonight. It was good - the pastor spoke some about what I am feeling a little of: just because you are working in ministry doesn't mean you are immune to getting hardened towards the needs of others. I sometimes think that if only I could get caught up on MY life and on MY to-do lists, then I'd have more time and energy to devote to serving others. However, I guess there is a fine-lined balance between giving up yourself completely and serving others completely. I don't think God expects us to burn our "candle" at both ends until we are completely extinguished - but I also know He wants us to put others first. It's that whole JOY thing: Jesus, Others, You. I am still working on finding the balance.

Otherwise, my husband is packed up for a trip to Nevada with our pastor and another staff member. They will be gone the next 5 days. I will miss him lots - but after having him gone a whole year to Iraq, this is a piece of cake! He'll miss Father's Day - but we can make that up to him next week.

I also booked our "vacation" today for a few days in the first full week of July - it's not going to be anything exciting this year. I had hoped to get into one of our time share resorts - but we waited too long & everything is booked solid anywhere we'd consider going to. So, we are going to somewhere totally unusual. I've been looking at this quaint little town of Galena, Illinois for a while now. It's a historical town near the Mississippi River, once the home of President Ulysses S. Grant; and it has been voted one of the Top 10 Prettiest Towns in America. It just sounds relaxing - and it's right across the river from Dubuque, Iowa. Since we also plan on seeing Dan's grandparents who live in Southeastern Iowa that week too, I figure we may as well stay on the Iowa side of the Mississippi. Our hotel has a water park in it - and then there is a River Aquarium near by and other sights as well. I'm actually just thrilled to be getting out of Missouri for a while! We so need a get-away just as a family. I can't wait!! It should be relaxing and full of Midwestern charm! :)

What Have We Been Up To?

Not much! Sunday we had a good day as a family.

Monday I worked - and it was quite an "interesting" day ... It was tiring and long (even though it was only 7 hours). Just "one of those days." Thankfully, Dan took the kids to piano lessons so I could go home. I made "Loaded Potato Soup" which is an easy recipe and family favorite not on my Top Ten list but could be #11. I thought I'd posted the recipe once upon a time, but now I can't find it in the archives. Perhaps I'll repost later.

Yesterday and today we were blolted out of our beds with horreciously loud lightening and THUNDER. It has rained and rained! Our garage is flooded, but thankfully we haven't lost electricity.

Today we're at home (well, most of the day) ~ and I'm enjoying every moment.

Through the Eyes of Children

My children have both decided they want to scrapbook. What exactly inspired them, I do not know. I don't really "scrapbook" and do the whole Creative Memories thing, although I think it is really lovely - I just don't have time or money for it right now. I do journal - but that's the extent of my memory collecting.

So, my children figured step #1 to having a scrapbook was PICTURES. So, they borrowed my digital camera and took some pictures around here today.

This first picture is "Jack" - he really should be named "Lucky"! He's a stray who chose our house as his home shortly after our "old lady cat," Samantha died in January of 2008. Samantha was our indoor/outdoor cat who ruled our property with an iron claw. She was NOT to be messed with. Once she passed away at the ripe old cat age of 17 years, Jack showed up to check out if we were truly cat lovers or not. Fortunate for him, my husband and son had pity on a mangy, scrawny cat with no tail and a scar on his side. They fed him ... and soon, I joined in and got a cardboard box lined with an old towel for him to sleep in on our porch. Jack still roams around - but he always comes "home" to us. He is now sleeker, plumper, and a little less mangy since I insist on giving him flea-treatment if he's going to be around my kids!

Penny is our "demon dog" as the neighbor children call her (because of her unusual eyes). She is part Labrador and part Husky (hence the eyes). Her one eye is even half blue & half brown!

And lastly, this is Anna's doing. She wanted to document her room's progress today. This is her "before" picture. Sadly, not much progress was made as bicycles and strawberry shortcake and chasing lightning bugs enticed her to other things ... maybe one day (soon!) we'll get that "after" picture of a clean room?!

And looking at all that clutter reminds me of what I did today. I cleaned out more STUFF to give to Goodwill!! The kids both donated some toys they haven't touched in years to give away. I am so excited to get things cleared out and ready for a new family member. I also did some deep cleaning of my laundry room and kitchen. I didn't even take a nap today - but I did spend some time on the couch, reading, while my husband cooked hamburgers on the grill. Anna and I made strawberry shortcakes with REAL whipped cream :) All in all, a great Saturday!

I Was Tagged!

I have seen this little "game of tag" going around some of the blogs I read - and was tickled to see Bobbie Jo tagged ME in her blog - Just Me - Bobbie Jo.
The challenge is to write a story, incorporating the names of blogs one frequently reads. Hmmm.....this may turn a little CRAZY!!! :)

In the last few years, I have been feeling a little more DOMESTICALLY INCLINED, yet I had high hopes of KEEPING IT SIMPLE. After working full time for a few years, I longed to just be a FRUGALLY OLD-FASHIONED HOMEMAKER again. I wanted my home to become A SOFT PLACE TO LAND at the end of a long day not just a hotel for weary bodies.

And so about a year or so ago, I was introduced to the world of BLOGS - where I could find other woman who wanted to be BLISSFULLY DOMESTIC. I also found women who were CHATTING AT THE SKY and talking about what God was doing in their lives. Reading this variety of blogs was LIKE A WARM CUP OF COFFEE or sometimes like reading the DIARY OF A SAHM, letting me on the secrets of life, good cookin, loving God and your family to the fullest!

As I transform my house into a NESTING PLACE again, I am remembering the role I hold as wife, mother, homemaker - instead of just employee, person in the ministry, someone who is too overwhelmed to enjoy life. I am seeking the balance - but the thoughts of HOME are more compelling as I want to enjoy THE BLESSED NEST of Home Sweet Home. I am such a home body - and though I want to continue to help and reach out to others at church - I long for quieter, more domestic days at home - and am thankful for the chance to once again rock a baby and slow down a little to enjoy the discoveries so important to toddlers. I can truly say, "IT IS WELL."

Slow Cookin Thursday

It's almost too late to join Sandra @ Diary of a SAHM for SCT - but I do want to post one of the EASIEST crock pot meals my family enjoys:

Ham - Cabbage - Potatoes

My friend Tami introduced this simple meal to us when she visited me when I was pregnant with my first child - 10 years ago!! - while we were stationed in Germany. :) Fond memories!

So, you just peel your potatoes & quarter them or slice them up however you wish (bigger pieces seem to work better w/ this meal). Put them in a crock pot.
De-core and quarter the cabbage and add it to the crock pot too. It takes a little re-arranging to make a little "nest" to put in your
PRE COOKED HAM (might need to cut it into pieces to make it all fit).

Add 1-2 cups of water.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

You gotta love the smell of cooked cabbage to enjoy this one - but we find the cabbage delicious with butter & salt on it! I'm 100% German, so cabbage is in my genes! Did you know that the derogatory term "Kraut" used for the Germans in World War II actually means "cabbage" in German??! So, you can call me a Kraut any time, and I won't be offended.

Chicken Divan

There are probably about 100,000 versions or more of Chicken Divan. This is my family's version, courtesy of my Aunt Louise who has lived all her life in East Tennessee and is one of the best "cookin from scratch" cooks I know.

2 pkgs (10 oz) frozen broccoli, thawed & well-drained
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp salt
dash pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded (sharp) cheddar cheese
3 whole chicken breasts, cooked & cubed
paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees and butter a quart baking dish. Parbroil (or just steam) broccoli 1 minute; drain. Melt butter over low heat in saucepan. Stir in flour and seasonings. Cook until smooth, stirring constantly (it may just form a lump, which is ok!). Remove from heat. Gradually stir in milk.
Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil & stir one minute.
Add cheese; stir until melted.
Place broccoli in buttered (or sprayed w/ Pam) dish; layer chicken pieces on broccoli - pour cheese sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with paprika.
Bake in preheated oven 25 to 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

It's A ...

Baby! :)
In this ultrasound picture, our baby is hanging upside down kind of like a little bat.

The baby is measuring at exactly the right size for my due date (1/4/2010), and its little heart is beating steadily. We could see the beginnings of the umbilical cord that is forming even now. I wish I could have an ultrasound every day!

We are just rejoicing that all is well. What a wonderful gift we've been given!

Happy Homemaker Monday

I got an unexpected day off today!! Since I worked every day while my co-worker was on vacation last week, she said she'd work for me today since she is back from vacation! Our church & school is closed on Tuesday & Wednesday because there will be no electricity and water due to construction on our property (new building/gymnasium's utilities are being hooked up). I'll only have to work on Thursday & Friday. (not that I don't like my job - but this homebody sure loves her days at HOME!)

The weather in my neck of the woods:

It's not too hot right now - in the 70s - high of 84 later - with storms forecasted for this afternoon/evening.

One of my simple pleasures:

Enjoying the summer days that I don't have to work - just being HOME - watching the kids play in their pool or ride a bike or throw a baseball. Remembering how carefree childhood can be sometimes - and being thankful for the blessings of a home, food, security, and freedom of living in America.

On my bedside table:

STALKER by Faye Kellerman, a pretty brainless suspense paperback. Perfect for picking up and putting down a million times as I am interrupted while trying to read! :)

On my TV:

Nothing much ... a little Food Network, an occasional TV Land episode of Andy Griffith

On the menu for tonight:

Spaghetti. My husband brought home some reduced price garlic bread from the grocery store that I need to use.

On my To Do List:

After 2 weeks of neglect, I need to clean the entire house!

But I'll probably need to take a nap or two. :)

New Recipe I tried last week:

I didn't cook much of anything last week - I worked every day - and we just tried to get by.

In the craft basket:

I don't have one :(

Looking forward to:

going to my doctor appointment tomorrow. My husband and kids are able to go with me - and since my doctor is located about 45 miles away at the Lake of the Ozarks, we will make a day of it! There are outlet malls, our closest Target, and a few other fun things to do there.

Homemaking Tip for this week:

In re-organizing my house this summer - and making room somewhere for a new baby - I am hoping to find a place for everything & trying to get everyone to keep everything in its place!! I think it would greatly reduce the clutter that tends to just lay around homeless.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

I have read so many blog entries but I can't really narrow it down to just one favorite this past week.

Favorite photo from last week:

Lesson learned the past few days:

Even when the house is a mess, it's ok to ignore it if your little girl says, "MOM! Come watch me swim!" and then get out a folding chair and sit in the sunshine and watch her splash around.

On my Prayer List:

My dad - he was diagnosed with prostate cancer (stage 2) last week.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
Philippians 4:11-13:

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

TOP TEN - FOOD

My East Tennessee friend Lori posted her family's Top Ten favorite meals, which I thought was a great idea! I am working harder on planning meals - and eating at home and liking it. I have been trying new recipes, but the other day my husband and I had this conversation about why I don't make the things I used to make even though we all really liked the recipe. I have this bizarre way of making something A LOT and then forgetting it for forever!?

My Family's TOP TEN favorite meals are:

1. Roast, potatoes & carrots (Dan and Andrew's #1 favorite)

2. Hamloaf (my husband "imports" hamloaf from Iowa each time he visits. I am still not sure WHAT exactly hamloaf is - Google has a variety of answers, but the best I can come up with is that it is part ground ham and part ground pork. It makes good meat loaf or patties - and can be used in the place of ground beef for anything).

3. spaghetti w/ salad and garlic bread (easy!! and we like to add browned ground beef to the sauce)

4. tacos or taco salad

5. loaded baked potato soup

6. frikadellen (a German - and can also be Danish - meatloaf type patty) or schnitzel with red cabbage and fried potatoes

7. hamburgers from the grill

8. corn on the cob - preferrably sweet corn (like peaches-and-cream) directly from Iowa

9. brunch: eggs, bacon, biscuits, sausage, pancakes or waffles, etc.

10. chicken divan casserole - an old Tennessee recipe from my aunt who reminds me of PAULA DEEN! I'll have to post it sometime - if I ever make this again. It's one of those I used to make ALL the TIME and now don't any more.

Where I Came From

I love to hear or read people's life stories; I love to see how childhood and experience molds a person. I guess that is what I like about blogs: people share so much of themselves and you get a glimpse into their lives and hearts.

When my "Tennessee" Grandma passed away in February of 2000, my mother gave a testimony at her funeral. She told the story of our family in a way I will always remember. It is a story of a journey from a foreign country and a city lifestyle to America and a country lifestyle and how those 2 very different worlds came together in the making of our family.

My mother was a "city girl." She was raised in Frankfurt, Germany. She never learned to drive until she already had me, at age 25. In the city, one doesn't need a car - you can walk, ride a bike, take a bus or a streetcar to anywhere you want to go. Though my Oma (her mother) grew up in the country side of East Prussia, my Opa (her father) was a city boy, born and raised in Frankfurt as well. My grandparents lived in an apartment all their married lives, though they did rent a small garden plot where they had a little cottage and kept a few rabbits (it was part of a rabbit breeding/show community) and had a small plot of earth to plant flowers and herbs. My Opa worked for the post office, and my Oma cleaned offices to earn extra money. I visited them every summer from age 6 until age 18. My Opa died when I was 15; and my Oma passed away when I was 19 and in college.

My step dad was a "country boy." He grew up in rural East Tennessee, 60 miles from the "big city" of Knoxville. His parents were tobacco farmers and later kept beef cattle. After my dad was already grown, they were able to build a nice, brick home - and pay it off in 7 years! - and own many acres for their cattle and chickens. My dad joined the Air Force to escape the small town - and he married my mom while stationed in Germany when I was almost 4 years old; both of them had been divorced, and my step dad adopted me. First we lived in Virginia, then we moved to Knoxville so my dad could be closer to his aging parents. We often spent weekends on the farm, and I have fond memories of long walks in the fields, gathering eggs in the barn, and watching the new calves in the Spring.

So, that's where I came from! Part city, part country...and I've retained a little of each now that I am an adult. I guess that explains why I like to have tea in fine china with all the spoons and dessert forks and sugar cubes -- and yet, I love a fresh, homemade biscuit (just hold the gravy - the city-fied side of me can't bear to eat something with that much straight grease in it!). I have been on trains and planes and subways all over Europe and have walked or ridden my bikes for miles and miles - and yet I can't imagine life without my OWN car and not being able to park as close as possible to the entrance at Wal-mart! I love to window shop in a fancy department store and buy bread from a real bakery or sit in a cozy cafe'; and yet I think yard sales and Goodwill are AWESOME and day-old, marked-down pastries are something I look for while grocery shopping. I pretty much have a "black thumb," but I sure do love fresh produce!! I have been spoiled by my Oma buying me 80 dollar (Deutsch Mark, back in the day) Italian-made, leather shoes for school; and now I love to find $5 flip-flops at Payless.

For the first 12 years of marriage I was an Army officer's wife, and though we didn't really care about the whole rank thing, life was truly comfortable, more than it ever had been for either of us. We traveled and spent money withouth giving it too much thought. Now we have been "in the ministry" for 4+ years, and again, a drastic contrast to our previous life. We don't travel much, except to see family, and our budget is tighter than ever, especially anticipating a new baby and me soon not working (as much, perhaps I'll work a little from home, if I can).

Through each stage and phase, I know God was at work! He has been molding me into various shapes, despite my not realizing it at the time; and I am so thankful He continues to work on me still, mending the cracks and removing the dross. Hopefully one day I will realize what His purpose is that I have been through all these phases; and in the meantime, I am still processing where I came from in relation to where I am. Mainly, I want to just enjoy today - though I clearly remember yesterday and am excited about tomorrow.

My goal is to be able to learn to say - like the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:11-13:
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.

Summer Time

Finally - this weekend, we were able to enjoy some of what summer vacation is supposed to be.

On Friday, Andrew taught himself how to ride a bike at our school's parking lot - thanks to being allowed to use another (very generous & patient) child's bicycle. Though I learned to ride a bike at age 6 and spent hours and hours on my various bicycles, we've been quite neglectful in teaching our children. One excuse we made was we really don't have a good place to ride - our driveway is sloped - and gravel; however, we do live on a cul-de-sac which makes it fairly safe to ride on the street. We also have 4 hand-me-down bikes which have been given to us; though they are all in desperate need of repairs & tire-pumping. This bike will be perfect for Andrew to continue his riding practice once we get the tires fixed. Last Saturday on a trip to Big Lots, I saw this swimming pool on an end cap display. Each summer we buy a cheap plastic kiddie pool, but this year, I knew our kids were getting too big for those blow-up pools. After thinking about it all week, I asked Dan if we could buy a bigger pool today. Andrew wasn't too impressed since the picture on the box showed like 4 (small) children in it - with the (short) mom standing at the side of the pool - and the sides came to at least her waist. The pool is, in reality, only 3 feet high (with maybe 2 feet of water) and 8 feet wide; but it still is bigger than the average little kiddie poole. It obviously gets a 2-thumbs-up from Anna! She stayed in it this afternoon until she was nice and shriveled up!

Let the summer begin!

Hangin' in There

I was hoping today was Friday ... but the calendar said THURSDAY. It's been a long week, which followed the long week last week (which was our last week of the school year).

As my "part-time" job has been pretty much full time the last 2 weeks, I am thankful that I've been able to function at work as well as I have! Yesterday I was downright nervous because I just felt too good. I didn't even have a long nap when I came home last night like I usually do - and I managed to load and unload the dishwasher, an amazing feat for me to complete these days! When I started thinking about it though, I began to wonder if something was wrong! Maybe I wasn't pregnant any more?? Maybe something had happened and the hormones were no longer raging. Worry, weariness, anxiety crept in. I had a hard time falling asleep last night - but I did really try to focus on praying for peace no matter what. I tried to remember all the promises God have given us - and just to remember that He is good, all the time.

Well, today, I was rewarded by being absolutely exhausted by the time I got home. I took a 1 1/2 hour nap - and am still tired even now - though it's more like my body is tired but my brain is awake. What an exercise in faith this pregnancy has been - and will probably continue to be.

I have a doctor appointment on June 9th - and am very excited to be able to hear it from a professional if everything is still ok. The future is already determined by the Lord, but some earthly confirmation would be helpful right now. My husband will be able to go to this appointment with me, which is another blessing. He was hardly available when I was pregnant before to go to appointments, so it is an added bonus that he is able to be there with me now, during which will most likely be our last pregnancy. We're just so thankful for this one last chance. God is good...but like Dan said, even if we lost this baby, God is still good.

Finally - Something to Talk About

My life the last few days has been less than exciting. I have to work every day this week as my helper is on vacation all week. I am coping fine, thankfully feeling pretty well - but the moment I get home, I crawl into my bed with my soft throw blanket and take a little nap. Then for the rest of the evening, I am soooooooooooooo tired until my (very early) bedtime! I read a few of my blogs and manage to throw some laundry around, but that has been the extent of my energy reserves.



Today, however, a special event happened that my daughter (and I) has been been looking forward to for a long time! She has been growing her hair for Locks of Love To donate hair for Locks of Love, one's ponytail must be at least 10 inches long. Our hairstylist was able to flat iron Anna's hair out to about 10 1/2 inches! Anna has incredible thick, straight hair. It is pretty, but it has always been a nuisance to comb out! We have tried every tangle spray on the market, but each morning, brushing hair has been close to TORTURE.

We were all pretty anxious to watch the hair-cutting process. Because of the thickness of Anna's hair, it had to be sectioned off into 4 parts, each cut off individually - and with quite a bit of strength on our hair dresser's behalf!

At first, it was a little scary to see the chopped off clumps of hair. I thought for a moment that Anna might cry, though we had really talked up how cute her hair would look in an under-cut.

But she hung with us - and let Stacey, our beautician, do her magic. Though Anna's hair ended up being a little shorter than we thought, I think the new look suits her - and best of all, NO MORE TANGLES! Perfect for summer. And the best news (especially for Daddy, who loved Anna's long hair) is that HAIR WILL GROW BACK!