More Morning Murmurings

Oh, I love that we still have a monitor in the kids' room and can hear what they say! (Okay, we'll take it out -- maybe -- by the time they're teens!)

This morning, Luke woke up first, which is pretty rare, and was mumbling cheerfully to himself. We heard nothing from Susi until Luke said, "Susanna, if you don't stop that talking RIGHT NOW, I'm going down to Daddy and Mama's room!" And a sleepy voice replied, "Okay, Luke." Then lots of giggles.

Pretty soon, "Luke, can I wear some of your pants and shirt? But not your underwear." "Sure, Susanna. And not my socks, either." "Well, Luke, maybe some socks, too." "No, Susanna, it is going to be hot temperatures outside today, so you do not need to wear socks." "Okay, Luke. I love you."

And shortly after that...."Luke, I got pee pee in my bed." "Yeah, Susanna, I did, too. Let's go tell Mama."

Oh, the joys of early morning in our home. At least that wasn't at 3:00 a.m. like one night (morning?) last week!

And how many of you ladies have ever looked in the mirror first thing in the morning and have been very thankful that your guy married you anyway? (Although, he probably didn't see what you looked like first thing in the morning before you were married...and definitely not first thing in the morning after you had kids!)

Or is it just me?

Keep smilin'!

My Dreamers

Sometimes I think we should have named Luke "Joseph." Luke is a dreamer. Not only during the day time with the things he thinks up, but especially at night. There are many times I hear him laughing and giggling in his sleep (hm, maybe "Isaac"?), times I hear some whimpers, and then there are the times he comes downstairs to crawl into bed with us and tell us his dreams. I have to admit, it's very rare that I remember a word he says, as I'm usually trying to enjoy my own dream time....

Susi joined us around 6:30 this morning to share her latest dream...there was a lady monster in the woods who was holding a little tiny baby. She didn't go in the woods, but I did and some how made it out okay after Daddy came in after us and made that lady monster go away.

Tony comes up with some doozies of dreams at times, but I don't really remember my own -- except when I was pregnant and had REALLY vivid and unusual dreams...maybe that's where my kids get their dreams from (or where I got my dreams).

Okay, maybe my musings didn't make much sense this morning, but hey...it's another new blog!

Home at last!

Okay, so this is a few days late...but the first day (night) home, nobody wanted to do much but enjoy being HOME again, the second day we just wanted to enjoy being HOME again, then I started blogging about other things, unpacking (there's still a pile of "extra stuff" in the foyer), and having cousins over.

We set off for Ohio on December 21, half an hour later than we were shooting for but at least an hour or two earlier than I thought we'd manage. I'm still amazed at how much we piled into my little green SL-1 Saturn. The trunk had to be sat on to close (and thankfully not opened until we reached Ohio). The kids had great foot-rests on top of all the things piled on the floor of the back seat, Tony and I sat on our coats (the kids' coats were buried in the trunk...we were all wearing warm clothes so we wouldn't need to travel wearing coats), my feet and legs were crowded out by everything else on the floor of the front seat, and I'm amazed Tony could see out the back window with everything piled on there. BUT, the travel was great and uneventful (notice I said the TRAVEL and not the trip?). The kids did fantastic, keeping themselves occupied with everything I'd thought to pack into their backpacks (which added to the clutter in the back seat, stuffed within reach between their car seats).

We had great traveling weather -- overcast and a bit gloomy so we weren't wishing we were out enjoying the sunshine. It did get a bit foggy towards the southern end of WI and through IL, but nothing too bad. We arrived at our hotel in West Dundee (Elgin) about an hour later than expected, but we also took two hours to play Burger King, too! I posted earlier about Luke hitting his head, his mid-night bout of erps, and our rush to the emergency room, so I won't add more here...except when the nurse asked him where he lived, he told her "Across from Cypren," our neighbor boy who Luke very rarely sees.

Saturday we started earlier than planned, although by the time we attempted to fill Luke's anti-nausea medicine and picked up a caffeine-loaded Starbucks for me to stay awake long enough to drive through Chicago so Tony wouldn't have to deal with the big-city traffic, we were right on schedule -- hitting the highway just before noon. Traffic was great -- we were just about through Chicago when Tony asked if I thought we could make it through all the way without having to deal with the mess that is usually in that area. I am so thankful we stopped for the night and didn't have to deal with Chicago rush-hour traffic on a holiday weekend!

We got to Papa and Grandma's about 7:00 local time, and sat down to a welcomed meal. After cleaning Luke up again, we all settled down pretty quick, not surprisingly. Sunday we went to my parents' church and enjoyed visiting with some of the people who watched me grow up. Sunday after naps, the cousins came over, and we all enjoyed some more good food, opening presents, and the general ruckus that comes with nine children running around.

Tony, however, didn't have a good night and stayed home while the rest of us went to Doylestown to visit my grandma Toth on Monday. He enjoyed a quiet peaceful house and day consisting of not much more than sleep, and we enjoyed visiting with Grandma and more cousins. My cousin and her family from Canada joined us for lunch...her two older boys, one a bit older than Luke, one a bit younger, were highlights of Luke's day. Or maybe it was all the Thomas toys they had brought with them from Aunt Liz's house.....I was just glad to have time with my grandma!

Christmas came with the kids all excited about Jesus' birthday, Luke's "conversation" with Jesus (see my previous blogs), and a relaxed morning. The kids had a blast decorating a birthday cake for Jesus (thanks, Aunt Tammy, for sending over an extra cake!). Then the cousins descended again, bringing more merriment to Papa and Grandma's basement....until Susi's tummy rebelled. After getting her cleaned up, everyone went back to their respective corners for much needed naps before coming back to Papa and Grandma's for more fun in the evening.

On Wednesday, we all headed to Akron after piling up the car again (after Tony gave it a good cleaning). This time it was off to my uncle Julius', Dad's youngest brother. He has a gorgeous new home and I am quite envious of his bathroom. It's at least as big or bigger than our bedroom, has a huge tub, a shower as big as our bathroom, a wide-screen tv to watch while soaking in the tub, two sinks, and a butt-warmer on the toilet seat! (and other contraptions we won't go in to here....) However, the highlight was spending time with lots and lots of family. Oh, and the great food.

That night, we stayed at my aunt Sarika's in Doylestown. She recently got married to a wonderful guy, and we had a great time getting to know Neil, too. They live in an old farm house, and when I say "old," I mean...they aren't sure if it was built as noted in 1803 or what the oldest records show, in 1828.

Thursday we spend visiting with Sarika and getting ready for a Watkins party in the evening. While the turnout wasn't great, the orders have been fantastic, and we had a good time visiting. However, Susi got sick again shortly after bed time, and Tony hunkered down to sleep with her on the floor as she continued her battle through the night. What was I doing? Spending the night in bed, praying "please God, don't let me get sick! Thank you for Tony. Help Susi to get well soon." Yep, I was battling the same thing but thankfully it didn't progress as far as the others' did. Our departure was delayed by two hours the next morning mainly because of my yucky tummy, but I think it was also God's way of making sure we missed the nasty weather in Chicago that we would've run smack dab into if we'd left on time!

All in all, we had a good visit, good trip, with little bumps along the way that couldn't be helped. However, God gave us the grace to get through them all while enjoying the time with family. We're also very thankful for safe travels and good weather. And as much as we enjoyed our trip,

It's good to be home.

The end of another year and yesterday's Voice of Christmas

There is so much stuff I want to write about in today's blog, but I'm going to save it for another time....a wrap-up of our Christmas "vacation" (I never got as sick as the rest of my fam, but I definitely wasn't well towards the end...and poor Susi and a triple bout with that tummy monster!), the hilarious conversation between Luke and Susanna yesterday afternoon about the Christmas story, more Watkins news, etc., but that can wait a few days.

Yesterday's Voice of Christmas at church was one of the Magi. Ron Whiddon did a superb job telling of "his" travels and dispelling many of the myths (not being at the manger). I'm not sure what last Sunday's was about, since we were gone, but I'm guessing it was probably Joseph, since "Zecchariah," "Elisabeth," and "Mary" all had their turn. I was told that the shepherds added their voice at the Christmas Eve services. Although some may not agree, I've really enjoyed the dramatic edge to "hearing" the "first hand" experiences of some of the people involved in the Christmas story. Of course, it is nothing compared to what really happened over 2000 years ago.

Today is the end of yet another year. Since Tony and I have been married, each year that has passed seemed to bring so much new life to our extended families -- babies being born, weddings happening, eleven in our immediate families, even more if you include our cousins -- with an occasional time to say goodbye to a loved one as they went home to be with Jesus. A cousin, an aunt, the toddler-child of some friends.

This year, however, was different. There was only one birth that I'm aware of in our extended families. I was struck at how much "loss" there was. It seems so many of the Christmas letters and notes we received mentioned how one or more loved ones of all ages passed away during 2007. Friends losing parents, siblings, children sometimes to age, sometimes to disease, sometimes to an unbelievable event such as my former boss' teenage son collapsing and dying of heat stroke. They are missed in ways that cannot be explained; there is sorrow knowing they aren't here any more, but wow! They got to spend Christmas WITH the Christ-Child this year! Seeing Him not as that tiny little Baby, but as their personal Savior, their co-heir to God! The eyes filled with love, the scarred hands, feet, and side, the wonderful Lamb that was slain so that we -- I! -- could spend eternity with Triune God!

It doesn't take away the emptiness of not having these dear loved ones nearby, but it does help me rejoice in knowing they are no longer suffering from illness, missing other loved ones that had gone on before. They are no longer here in this fallen world; they are singing praises to Almighty God, circling His throne, and rejoicing as more and more sinners claim the shed blood of Jesus, as more and more believers join them as earthly bodies give way to inevitable death. One day, I'll be with them. I pray that you will, too.

I miss my grandparents; I miss the faces that are no longer worshipping at our church here in Park Rapids; I know many of you ache for loved ones that you can no longer talk to whenever you want to...and I pray that you will be comforted through your loss.

This year also brought continued change with the farm and market -- the responsibilities Tony and I have continue to grow as his parents are turning more and more things over completely to us. It is overwhelming at times, especially as we are raising two young and ACTIVE children during this time, but God gives us the strength and patience needed to get through each day...often only enough, other times even more.

Luke and Susanna continue to cause us both to laugh and me to scream at times, but it is overall such a delight to see them experience so many things first hand. I love especially just listening to their conversations or hearing them break into song. Yesterday they serenaded a full-house at West 40 (local restaurant) with "I'm so happy, so very happy! I have the love of Jesus in my heart!"

My love for my husband continues to grow -- his patience with me and the children amazes me. His love for us, the way he cares for each of us, the times he surprises me with cleaning the kitchen, the countless diapers he changes for Susanna (even the stinky ones!), running around chasing after Luke to help get rid of Luke's ever increasing energy -- even when he's so tired. The things he does to take care of our family. He's the second greatest gift God has given me!

Tonight (he doesn't know this yet), we're going to TRY and get the kids to bed early and have a mini-feast of fondue (beef & chicken, cheese & veggies, and CHOCOLATE with fruit), crab salad, and bubbly. Don't try to call. We won't answer the phone. Hopefully he'll stay awake past 10:00.... (we were up late last night watching "Amazing Grace"). If not, more chocolate for me, yippee!

Thank You, God, for another year of memories. Thank You for the hope of a future yet to come. Thank You for sending Christ. Thank You for a time to reflect on the past.

May each of you have a glorious and blessed new year.

Travel Trials and Joys

Merry Christmas from Ohio! We decided shortly after Thanksgiving to travel to Ohio for Christmas this year. It wasn't an easy decision....it's hard traveling 1000 miles each way with a 2- and a 3-year old, but my last living grandparent was recently diagnosed with throat cancer at age 92, and Grandma decided that, given her age and knowing where she was going after death, she didn't want to have any treatment. So, we decided to make the trek southeast and spend Christmas with my side of the family this year.

Given gas prices and some vehicle problems, we decided to drive my Saturn, a small 4-door sedan (did I mention it was small??). Oh, it's amazing what all we fit in to that car, even before we squeezed ourselves inside! I have a couple photos of how crowded the back seat was with the kids! And poor Tony with his long legs! But praise God the kids traveled well, keeping busy with all the fun things packed into their back packs....stickers, coloring books, snacks, and more! There were many times I wasn't even sure if they were in the car!

Friday night, we stopped at a "resident hotel" in Elgin, IL. It gave us a chance to get out, relax, not deal with Friday night/holiday weekend rush hour thru Chicago! Plus, my brother Tim comped us the room with his hotel points, so that was an added blessing. We settled in, ate supper, then the kids started running around releasing all the pent up energy they had. At one point, Luke jumped on an unsuspecting Tony, causing Tony to rear back and Luke to go tumbling off his back. On the way down, his head was bonked, resulting in tears and a HUGE egg on the back of his head. We kept an eye on him, but within a few minutes he was running around like normal...to the point where we had a call from the hotel manager...the folks in the room below us were complaining about the thumps! By then, it was time to settle down for the night, so we pulled out the sofa, got the kids settled down, and they were out in no time. Tony and I joined them in dreamland from the other room shortly after.

Mothers have extra-sensitive hearing and a sixth sense when something is wrong. At about 2:45 a.m. I heard a noise that no mother wants to hear, especially in the middle of the night hundreds of miles from home. Rushing in to the other room, Luke was sitting up in bed in the middle of his second heave. Poor little guy. Tony came to help and took him to the bathroom to get him washed up and changed while I put Susanna in our room and started taking off the sheets, checking stuffed animals (only Susanna's baby got splattered, and only a wee bit, thank God!). During this time, we were again checking Luke's pupils, asking him questions to see if he was addled, checking his walk, reflexes, etc. Was this a result of finding all the snacks in his back pack and downing half of them when Mama was unaware? The bump on the head? Did another child go to AWANA Wednesday night with the flu and infect a bunch of unsuspecting children? Was he developing travel sickness? A combination of the above? Thankfully, our insurance company has a 24-hour on-call nurse, so I called to see if we should get Luke checked out. Sure enough, she thought we should, so Luke and I started on our next adventure. Thankfully again, the hospital was only 5 minutes away.

We got to the ER and they said it would be just a matter of minutes....however, as they were taking our info, an ambulance came in, so our wait was longer. About 90 minutes later, we finally went back to a very kid-friendly room where he was checked out again with a recommendation of a CT scan. That took another long wait as yet another emergency came in with a very bad head trauma. Thankfully, again!, it came back clear, but he was diagnosed with a mild concussion. He had several bouts of heaves, and they gave him some medication to deal with the nausea and relax the stomach muscles. We ended up filling the prescription they sent with us after getting to Ohio and having him get sick again.

Luke loved the doctor. He was a younger African American man with little braids all over his head. Luke thought that was hilarious! The second time he came in, to tell us the result of the CT scan, he asked Luke if he wanted to touch his hair. Amidst giggles, Luke said yes...then started laughing even more while telling him his hair was very "fuzzy."

We did arrive at Papa and Grandma's house in time for supper Saturday night, and I am again thankful that the kids travelled so well! Susi was fussy about the last 30 minutes, but she assured me she did NOT want us to turn around and go home!

We enjoyed a fun afternoon and evening yesterday with my brother's family (wife and seven children), opening gifts, feasting on steak and potatoes and countless Christmas cookies, and just watching the kids go wild. However, illness struck again...

Climbing into bed after getting everyone settled for the night, I noticed Tony was moaning. He had chills and a fever, aches and a very yucky tummy. (Luke didn't have a fever, chills, or aches.) After tending to him, I settled down with the kids on the floor of their room. Today Tony stayed "home" in bed while the rest of us went to visit my grandma with some additional visitors joining us (cousin Martha and her gang, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Carole, Aunt Sarika, and Uncle Neil). By the time we got back to my parents', Tony was among the living again although he is not quite 100%.

All in all, we've been enjoying ourselves, and we have many unforgettable memories of our 2007 trip before it's even over! Please pray that Tony and Luke continue to be completely healed and Susanna and I don't have a turn in this episode of events!

Tomorrow will be a quiet Christmas day as Ron's family again joins us, along with two family friends (quiet? 9 kids?). We'll be caroling at a local nursing home and enjoying a ham dinner. Wednesday will see us at my uncle's home in Akron with my dad's side of the family (guaranteed it will NOT be quiet!), and Thursday I'm having a Watkins party before we head back to Park Rapids with another stop in Elgin (I hope the hotel welcomes us back!).

I trust and pray each of you have a wonderful Christmas day! Please jot a comment and tell me how you celebrated Jesus' birthday!

Cute and Funny Things My Kids Say and Do

Every mom (and most dads) can tell you funny things about their kids...here are some of mine.

Sunday, as Tony was combing Luke's hair in to some semblance of order (which was totally destroyed after removing his hat at church), I was brushing Susanna's. They looked at each other, smiled, and Luke asked Susi, "Where have you been all of my life?"

This morning as the kids stumbled downstairs and climbed into bed, Luke snuggled himself down and said, "This is the life. I love this world!"

And some of the things that crack me up the most....."Susanna, did you hit Luke (or touch ___ fill in the blank with anything she isn't supposed to play with)?" "Um, actually, oh, yeah!" "Luke, did you pick up your toys yet?" "Mama, you are so lovely. You are so beautiful. You are the most wonderful Mama in the world! I love you so much!" "Great, Luke, I love you, too. Now pick up your toys."

Going to and coming home from AWANA are some of my favorite times. Luke loves AWANA and chatters nonstop, usually about how very excited he is, about how he wants to be a Cubbie leader when he grows up, about how Crystal is always sad at AWANA (unless she isn't there) and about anything else he deems important and newsworthy. One the way home, he tells me all about what he learned, what games he played, and how much he loves his Cubbie leaders ("especially the one in the yellow shirt because when everyone gets noisy, she starts counting and when she counts that means BE QUIET!"). He also tells me over and over again how wonderful I am, how lovely I am, how beautiful I am, and how I am his very best friend, along with Daddy and Susanna and Ruby and Laura and Tyler and Clinton and Uncle Mark and......of course, I like the stuff he says about me best.

Luke also has this habit of just staring at me or Tony for the longest time, often without blinking, before giving us a huge smile and saying "I love you so much!" It makes me wonder what is going on in that brain....(well, I often wonder what is going on in that brain!).

Saturday evening during supper, we decided to watch Wheel of Fortune which comes on at 6:30 here (remember, our prime time starts at 7:00!). However, instead of Pat and Vanna coming on, we instead saw two very old singing sensations from the 50s or 60s or some time before I was even born. Infommercial for TimeLife's "Romantic Songs Through the Ages." Well, partially because we were both too lazy to get up and turn off the tv and partially because it was actually pretty interesting, we left the infommercial on and listened to a half hour plug of romantic songs from the 30s through the 70s. There are so many comments I can make here, but this blog is about "cute and funny things my kids say and do." They were intrigued. They were enthralled. They were mesmerized by the one line music samples of the Romantic Songs Through the Ages. I laughed, asking Susanna if she liked the music. "It is BEAUTIFUL, Mama!" "Yes," chimed in Luke, "it is beautiful!" Well, as you can tell from the above paragraphs, he often tells me I'm beautiful, so I decided to have a little fun with him. "As beautiful as me, Luke?" "Oh, yes!" was the shocking answer! But...after a few seconds he looked at me, smiled and said, "But you are more lovelier, Mama, much more lovelier." Honestly, we've never been to Ireland, let alone near the Blarney Stone.... He did get two helpings of chocolate pudding that night.

It's late. I'm tired. And there's a whole new day of cute and funny things my kids will say and do tomorrow.

Through the eyes of a child (or two)

I love Christmas and just about everything about it. Not just the reason we have Christmas, celebrating the birth of the Christ-Child, but lights, music, trees, giving presents, tv specials, you name it! I even love the look of all that snow on the pine trees outside (although I much prefer to be in doors enjoying the view with a cup of hot cocoa, preferably made with Ghiradelli's dark chocolate mix). When I lived in South Florida and Southern California, I didn't miss living in the cold, snowy weather at all, but something wasn't quite right about see Santa images on water skis, laying on the beach, etc., or seeing all the beautiful Christmas decorations, the nativity scenes, the trees, without snow around...although, if you do go back in history, it is commonly believed that Christ was not born in the winter and that Christmas was put on the Christian calendar to coincide with a pagen holiday, but it isn't my intention to get into the whole history of why Christmas is December 25.....regardless, I am thankful that there is a day set aside to celebrate Jesus' birthday, no matter how commercialized it has become.

ANYWAY!

"Christmas" started for us this year the week of Thanksgiving. I had Tony drag down the big tree one day before he left to work on the farm, and the kids and I worked on bringing down the many decorations. Now, you have to understand that I am pretty picky about making sure the lights are spread as evenly around the tree as possible (well, not so much in the back where people can't see them), that the bulbs are scattered in a balanced way throughout the tree, that tinsel is strung "just right," and the many ornaments that continue to grow in number each year are put so they can catch the Christmas tree lights and glitter and gleam and shine!

Well, this year I had "helpers." They were good and patient about allowing me to put up the lights all by myself, but the moment I started on the Christmas bulbs, there were two sets of little hands eager to do whatever I'd let them...and even more, if they could get away with it. After the fifth or sixth bulb went up, neither were content any more to just hand me the bulbs (and it was working so well!), they had to put them up by themselves. They were again patient as I hung the tinsel...but then the ornaments came out of their boxes. And the hands once again were out-stretched. Suffice it to say, on our big Christmas tree, there are bulbs hanging in groups of two and three (all very low, of course!), Christmas ornaments hanging dripping off the lower branches (although the more delicate and treasured ones are hung quite high out of reach of little fingers), and...truthfully, it is a beautiful tree.

Since our big tree is upstairs, and we tend to do most of our "living" downstairs in the winter (heating bills and all, given our huge living room and no door to close it off), we have a smaller tree downstairs. This tree tends to be a more fun tree with more of the kid-style ornaments...we have a nativity scene comprising of about eight different ornaments, some Dr. Seuss and Fisher-Price ornaments hanging along side the shepherds and wise men, and the ornaments the kids get each year (an inexpensive ornament of something that reminds me of their personality at the time and a Hallmark collectable ornament, too). There is also a huge, glittery cow ornament compliments of my sister-in-law from a few years back (five points for anyone who can guess which sister-in-law!). This is the tree where we hang candy canes and all kinds of other things that collect at Christmas time...pretty bows and ribbons, package decorations, you name it. Well, needless to say, the kids love both trees.

The day after the first tree went up, we heard the kids when they woke up that morning...."Susanna, let's go see if Christmas is still here." "Okay, Luke, let's go." "Look, look, Christmas IS still here!" Okay, we have been reviewing that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, and that we are just making things pretty with decorations to celebrate His birthday... But it's still a delight looking at their faces, seeing their fingers reach out to touch and play with ornaments, the joy and happiness reflected on their faces each time the trees are lit up.

The other night, we watched Rudolf on TV. Well, Tony and the kids did....I slipped upstairs to do some computer work while the kids were occupied elsewhere. I came down half-way through and went into the kitchen only to have Luke come running after me..."Mama, Mama, turn it off! It's scary!" Yep, one of the scenes with the abominable snowman. So as I went in to turn off the TV, he started screaming, "No, no, leave it on!" Yeah, that bad scary guy was gone. A few minutes later, though.... We did make it through the whole show, although I really wish I'd been video taping Susanna's face with her many expressions. The abominable snowman would come on and she'd grimace and snuggle in tighter to Daddy's lap; she'd laugh at some of Rudolf's antics, and towards the end when Yukon Jack fell over the large cliff, tears rolled down her face and she was heart-broken. Of course, within a few minutes, smiles and laughter mingled with the tears and she giggled with happiness when he once again appeared. And when Santa stopped at the Island for Misfit Toys to pick up all the rejected toys, she was delighted.

We have an advent calendar (shoot, we forgot to do it yesterday!) that has little doors to open each day, adding different characters and animals to a manger scene. The kids love alternating...one day one opens a door while the other pulls out the surprise, the next day it's reversed. Today they'll each get to open a door and pull out the surprise....

Christmas music plays during the day and in the kids' room as they fall asleep. Susanna's favorite song is "Jingling bells, jingling bells, jingling bells" which she'll repeat over and over and over. They both love the two songs they'll be singing in the tiny tot Christmas program on December 16, and they both have their lines down quite well...although Susanna still slips and says "We are the shepherds that watched him sleep" rather than "we are the sheep...." After all, who wants to be a sheep when you can be a shepherd? Luke knows his and rattles it off without hesitation "We are the angels that came in great light and brought the good news to the shepherds that night!"

Susanna has started to play again with a stuffed baby doll she received when she was about six months old. She didn't really have a lot of use for it until now, but "Mama's Little Darling," complete with pink dress and blonde hair tied up in a ribbon, is her own "Baby Jesus" and needs to be within eye sight most of the day. Sing "Away in a Manger" and she'll quickly get Baby Jesus to lay on your lap or in your arms.

As much as I love Christmas and all the things that come with celebrating Christ's birth, there is nothing more special that seeing Christmas through the eyes of my little ones. It is refreshing, delightful, and makes me love celebrating Jesus' birthday even more!

Have a wonderful time in this Advent Season. In all the hustle and bustle, don't forget what it's all about.

P.S. Those perfectly stringed lights on both the upstairs and downstairs tree? Well, the first string on both trees died within a week of being put up! How in the world do you replace a string of lights when everything is decorated already? And how can you put a new string up without taking everything down????? Thanks, God, for reminding me that it isn't about how perfect the decorations are!

Thanksgiving

First of all, these photos are NOT from this Thanksgiving....they are from last year. Read on and you'll understand....

I trust and pray each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving; a time of relaxing, spending time with family and/or friends, and reflecting on the many blessings God has given to each of us. My cousin Liz (check out her blog, linked on this page) does a great job of listing three things she's grateful for each day on her blog. From the unexpected to the things we often take for granted to some really great sounding foods, just looking at the things she lists helps me remember to be thankful in and for all things.

It was a hard thing for me to do this Thanksgiving though. Since Tony and I have been married, and even the year before, we have spent Thanksgiving in Iowa (except for the first year we were married when we went to Ohio to visit my family instead) with his brother Paul and sister-in-law Lori. I love spending time with Paul and Lori, whether it is in Iowa at Thanksgiving or here in Minnesota. I greatly treasure my friendship with Lori, especially. And Paul, like Tony, tends to be on the quiet side, but his contributions to conversations and on email are something I truly appreciate and anticipate, along with the wisdom Lori also shares.

This year we had planned an extended trip down "south." We'd planned to head down to Omaha first, spending the night in neighboring Council Bluffs, stopping in at the Bass Pro Shop there (my brother Tim works for Bass Pro and is always getting us all kinds of goodies -- we usually stop at Cabela's, a rival store, since it's on the way to Iowa, but this year was going to be all Bass Pro!), which just HAPPENED to have a class on creating fly fishing lures (and Tony LOVES fly fishing, an activity he has not found time to do since we've been married), and then taking Luke and Susanna to the Omaha Zoo. Years back, a group of Carter relatives headed over to the zoo on Thanksgiving, and Tony still talks about what a great zoo it is. After a busy Wednesday at the zoo, we'd take the 1.5-2 hour drive over to Paul and Lori's, spend the night, visit with them, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving, as usual. Tony's cousin and his family would drive over from Omaha, there'd be laughter, fun, a football game outside with Billy's rapidly growing boys, wonderful food (mostly prepared by Lori, pies by Chris), visiting, and as the day would wind down, board games inside. Time spent with the Thanksgiving history book that Barbara Rainey wrote, seeing what's on TV, Thanksgiving songs led by Paul (since Dad Carter wasn't plannng on making the trip this year), talking about what we're thankful for, all the stuff that so many people do on Thanksgiving.

Well, Tony's trip to the hospital last week changed all that. An unexpected two days out of commission set everything back, and we reached the hard decision that we needed to stay home in Park Rapids this year. I didn't understand why I was so glum Saturday afternoon and on through Sunday and Monday morning until it hit me.

To me, Thanksgiving isn't just a day to remember to give thanks. I do that every day. I am so thankful for even the things I usually take for granted. My Grandpa and Grandma always replied "I'm thankful" when asked how they were. Luke and Susanna always say "thank you" for just about everything, even when they pray when someone is sick ("Dear God, thank You for my owie, and thank You that You will make it all better....).

Thanksgiving, for me, is more about family. Not just my family consisting of my wonderful husband and children, but extended family. Not just my parents-in-law, whom I am truly blessed to have living so close to us (TRULY blessed!), but extended family from both sides of my marriage now -- Tony's family and mine. Those that we don't see often. Those that we see only once or twice a year. Those that I haven't seen since we were married....and some since even before then. Those that are able to join the rest of the gang every so often, like Dad Carter's sister Gloria and her husband Ken (Billy's parents), like Andrew who spent Thanksgiving this year in Iraq. Granted, none of those "extra" blessings were able to join the group at Paul and Lori's this year, but still, us not being able to be there was really disappointing.

Growing up, we spent so much time with family. We lived about an hour away from most of the relatives on my mom's side and several on my dad's side (although quite a few of his siblings lived in California while I was growing up). We spent time with cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles at least two or three times a month, I think. Many of my cousins were my best friends. As we all grew up and started going our separate ways, we still lived within reasonable driving distance to each other, or at least when we were still single, we were able to spend more time with each other. Now, almost all of my cousins are married and have families of their own, like me. We keep in touch with occasional emails and phone calls, and are even able to occasionally connect if we're all in Ohio at the same time (which isn't often). Trips to Ohio now are even more special since two of my dad's sisters moved back, and I'm able to spend time with them after getting to know them so much better from when we all lived in California.

However, this year has been a year of difficult changes for me regarding family. Two of my three grandparents passed away, and my last remaining grandma was very recently diagnosed with throat cancer. They have all lived long (in their 90s) wonderful lives, loving God and passing on that love to their children and grandchildren, but it's sad saying goodbye and knowing there will be another goodbye, whether from the cancer or just from the results of old age (but there will also be a "forever hello!" sometime in the future, praise God). When someone has always been there and no longer is, it's difficult to even think about. One of my cousins moved to Indonesia with his family to work as language translators. There have been several serious bouts with illness, disease, and trauma throughout my extended family, and even closer to home with Tony last week. Tony and I have also been unbelievably busy with the farm and the market this year, and we haven't been able to get away for our 2-3 day family break, which we try to do each September or October. I was REALLY looking forward to getting away from everything here, uninterupted time with my husband and children, just having a break, but most of all visiting with relatives who are also dear friends.

After spending quite a bit of time in tears ("Mama, why are your eyes dribbling?"), talking with Tony, talking with God, and truly examining my heart, I realize even more how important family is to me. If you're family, you're important (okay, if you're "just" a friend, you're still important to me!). Life changes as we get older, and it isn't always easy to accept. However, we are still linked as family, and if you have also given your life to Christ, we are even more importantly part of God's family.

I felt a bit guilty as I was having my little melt down. My sister-in-law had a big birthday this year (on Thanksgiving! Happy birthday Carla!)...and she's half a world away from her family (other than her husband and children...). One of my favorite cousins hasn't spent a Thanksgiving in the States for who knows how long since she lives in Paraguay (Kar, when's the last time you had turkey and all the trimmings?) with her husband and boys. Another dear cousin spent his Thanksgiving even further away in Indonesia (do they have turkey there, Rog?) with his wife and boys...and another was up north in Canada, like the last several years, with her husband and boys. To top it off, those three cousins are from the same family...when's the last time their parents had all their children home for Thanksgiving...or Christmas? My nephew is far away from all family as he serves our country in Iraq and probably didn't even have time to think about Thanksgiving.

Why am I so sad? God blessed me with a new family five years ago when Tony proposed. The two of us grew to four, and I am thankful and blessed we were able to spend yesterday together, as we spend each day together. We were able to have a wonderful dinner at Tony's parents', and while Jon and Julia were unable to join in the festivities as their children were sick, we had a relaxing day with family (but no board games, bummer!).

I love my family, whether I grew up with you or whether I joined your family five years ago. I love spending time with you. I missed that this year, but please know I treasure the times we're able to spend together...and always will.

Thank You, God, for family and friends, even when I can't be with them all. (and for those of you reading this, please post a comment and tell me about your Thanksgiving!)

Update on Tony

Thanks, all, for your prayers and notes. Tony came home from the hospital Friday afternoon after lots of tests; not all results are in, but those that are show great results! The kids were quite excited to see him when they woke up from their naps (even though we'd been in to visit earlier that day).

So many things to be thankful for!

My Tony

Hi all -- I have another prayer request for you; this one even closer to home.

Tony is at the hospital right now, just admitted to ICU from the ER. Yesterday his heart started doing funny things (and I wasn't even in eye sight!), but he neglected to let anyone know until this morning when he informed me he thought he should go to the clinic. Upon calling the clinic, they told him he should go directly to the hospital due to his symptoms (irregular heart beat, lasting more than 24 hours). He told me this has happened twice before when he was in his 20s; both times they could find nothing wrong, so he didn't say anything figuring it would work itself out.

The hospital informed him if he'd have come in right away, they could have given him some medication to see if that would regulate the rhythm, but since he waited so long, there was a danger of clotting and they'd have to give him blood thinner first. He spent about 3 hours in the ER before they finally got him up to a room and opted to put him in ICU because things involved the heart. By the time he got in his room, he was quite hungry and his heart rhythm seems to have regulated, praise God! He thinks they won't let him leave today, though.

We were able to spend a bit of time with him in the ER before the kids got to squirrelly. I was surprised they weren't phased by seeing Daddy hooked up to all kinds of monitors and with an IV in him. Susanna's greatest concern was why the doctor took his clothes and made him naked (waist up); Luke was more concerned with getting back to the lobby to play with all the toys. I pray God will help me to remain calm so that the concern I do have isn't transmitted to the kids.

Right now it appears as if everything is back to normal. They are doing some blood work for Lyme's disease, mainly because he had a deer tick attached in mid-October and want to rule out that possibility.

I'll let you all know more as I know.
Thanks for your prayers.
LindaSue

Tuesday Nights

I love Tuesday nights. Tuesday night is bath night, as is Saturday night (which I also love). After supper, Daddy takes over. I get to spend the time cleaning up, reading, catching up on emails or other work, or publishing a new post for my blog. Daddy gets splashed, ends up close to soaken wet, and gets two very loud and happy children ready for bed.

Tonight my in-laws came over for supper along with our nephew Clinton. Pork chops, potatoes, corn bread, Carter's yellow beans, Carter's beets, and fresh-made applesauce (the latter courtesy of my MIL) were on the menu. Left-over goodies from our last pumpkin party (sugar cookies, cupcakes, and rice crispy squares) made up dessert. There are lots of full bellies and not many left overs.

After supper, Luke introduced Grandpa Carter to the Rescue Heroes while Susanna almost continuously said, "Grandfather, are you listening?" No, she usually doesn't call him "Grandfather." I'm almost wondering if someone substituted children on me today when we were out and about town. Grandma asked her if she was going to be three on her next birthday, to which Susanna replied, "No, Grandma, I am not. I am a, a, a GENIUS!" Luke piped in that since he is three, he will be two on his next birthday....and he is a genius, too. (Okay, maybe he needs to work more on that math thing) We're honestly not sure where they got that idea, or where they even heard the word "genuius"!

You know, since becoming a parent, I've come to understand the Father/child relationship we have with God even better. I am thankful even more at His patience towards me when I pull my "spoiled child" routine, or pretend that I can't hear Him. And while I'm not always successful in applying His patience towards me to my own children in similar circumstances, I often stop and think about how He handles the same situation with me....the times when my children are defiant or ignore me or are just too busy doing "fun" stuff to do what they should and am able to control the situation (okay, my reaction) better than I feel like doing. And I'm even more thankful that Tony and I are not in this parenting thing by ourselves.

Thank You, God, for bringing me into Your family, for giving me my family, and for providing a husband who takes over on bath night!

The Start of My Blog

Okay, so I can't believe I'm actually doing this...I don't have time to be doing this...but I am gonna try. Bear with me (or is it "bare" with me? No, don't take anything off!), and share your thoughts. I'll post and reply when I can.

Let's see....Liz suggested I blog and when I emailed her telling her why I don't have time, she said it could easily be pasted into a blog...so I will!

oh, Liz, I'd LOVE to do a blog, but life is way to crazy to even think about it now. Full responsibility for farm and market is pretty much on Tony and me now...I do all the accounting (bookkeeping, payroll, a/c, a/p, tax payments...still have to do the 3rd qtr MN one tonight before bed), scheduling employees, training employees, covering when they call in sick at the last minute (after scrambling to find a babysitter), planning promotional things for the market, updating the website (which it hasn't been in several months because I forget the password, and when I email to get a temporary password sent, the email never arrives...but I don't have time during the day to call the web host about it), baking for our October pumpkin parties (4 dozen cookies, a tray of brownies, a sheet of rice crispies, two different soups, and two pies every Saturday....only two more weeks to go!), ordering products, and doing inventory -- then there is working with AWANA at church (I've been praying about dropping that responsibility....club secretary for four different groups (each with their own secretary), 85 leaders, and about 225 kids from age 3 thru 6th grade), Christmas program practice just started (I direct, and I love it!), Watkins stuff (which doesn't take up too much time and helps our income which we really need), regular housework (what IS a clean kitchen floor? And when raising a boy, when does the bathroom stop smelling like a port-a-potty regardless of how often it is cleaned? I'm thankful when my four to five loads of laundry from one week is folded before the next round is started...put away? What's that???), raising a 2- and a 3-year old (one of who likes to sit on the toilet grasping body parts while singing "my ***** is a fire hose!," one who is extremely strong-willed, and both who were sick this past week...Susanna is finally well, Luke is part way through -- terrible headaches, very high fever, listlessness, no appetite, stinky toots), and being a wife (to a husband who is also fighting the same sickness and is drugged with Nyquil which is why I can type to you tonight...he doesn't like when I type when he's trying to sleep (computer is in the bedroom...and this is the only time I have to try to catch up on the over 150 emails in our inbox which are NOT spam/forwards/etc.). I was really sick this past week, too, but do moms ever get to take time off, even when battling high fevers, aches and pains, and terrible congestion? Then there's the stress of family....dad and mom just left (they were great helps ....well, not counting the van full of toys they brought -- literally. The upstairs room they stayed in was a total disaster, barely any walking room, due to all the toys they brought on their LAST trip here -- I asked them if they could clean and organize it while they were here, which they did...while adding even MORE stuff to the piles!), almost losing my father-in-law a few times this summer only to find the artery to his new kidney was almost completely blocked preventing it from functioning, and all the other regular family things. Oh, and the farm dog died, too. I haven't really had any time to process Gram and Gramps passing, although I am sad in missing them but happy that Gram's suffering is done and Gramp is finally with her again...and Jesus!

Your blog, as well as Mar's and Kar's, are a highlight of my life....I get such joy when I check them each night after Tony falls asleep (usually around 10:30 or so) and find something new. Mar's reassures me that I'm not the only mother going through the ups and downs of preschoolers/toddlers and yours shows me hope for the future when they get older...but shows me life still doesn't slow down.

Maybe some day...but for now, just thinking of doing a blog gives me a headache.

Okay, so I'm tackling the blog, but after reading the above, be patient with me! Hopefully I'll be able to post during nap times or like now, when Tony is downstairs after having just come home from helping butcher and process the three deer his brother and a friend got last week (venison, anyone?).

By the way, some updates from the above....Liz did tell me that her bathroom STILL stinks (her son is a teenager...same smells? different ones? new ones mixed in with the old? She didn't clarify, and I'm pretty certain it's the last). I've got my answer to prayer about giving up my AWANA responsibilities...same as the last four times I prayed about it. God put me in that position for a reason, and I'll continue to joyfully serve Him there (even if there are times when I have to remind myself that I am joyfully serving!).

And some clarification: This past April, my 83-year-old (now 84) father-in-law had a kidney transplant. He is doing well now, and I'll blog more about that at another time. In June, my Grandma Pavkov (Mom's mom) went home to be with Jesus after going through declining years of Alzheimers and other things that happen when one gets to be 95 years old. I think after her passing, Grandpa survived day to day but had a very hard time living without her. I could imagine he probably asked God to take him home, too, each day...and God answered his prayer on September 23. Grampa was 94...they both lived lives that were wonderful examples to everyone who came in contact with them in any way. I miss them dearly, but I know one day we'll be worshipping with Jesus together, praising God! I also mentioned Liz, Mar, and Kar -- they are three of my most favorite people in the world and I've been blessed to have them as cousins. They're sisters, also having one other sister and a brother, as well. I'm sure I'll blog some about them, too (like how Mar and I are the same age --usually-- she just had her birthday so I'm a "year younger" until June! and we both went through later-in-life pregnancies at the same time...twice...along with her youngest sister who we agreed had it so much easier than us, maybe because she's almost ten years younger! And how growing up they filled a void in my life by being like the sisters I didn't have.) At some other time, when I'm not rambling as much, I'll tell you about our pumpkin parties, post pictures of us, and give you links to Liz, Mar, and Kar's blogs.

Okay, can you tell I'm really tired and not making much sense? We'll see how things go in the future.....and if I can figure all this stuff out (blogging, that is).

Abundant blessings!
and good night....or actually, morning