I am sitting here watching Underdog with my kids. We have already had our Thanksgiving meal, breakfast. It was yummy but I as I sit here I can't help but miss the noodles, rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, deviled eggs, broccoli and cheese casserole, grandma's fruit salad thingy, the pies and cookies.
I understand that this year things had to be done differently and will never be the same. This day is so different! Many things are very different about today.
Instead of a lunch we had breakfast.
Instead of playing games there is target practicing.
Silas hasn't said anything yet but he is so super sensitive today. Lilly just keeps asking where Mama is. I told her she is with Jesus and she said "Mama goodbye Jesus." I think she was a little ticked off when I told her mama had to stay with Jesus.
I don't mind having Thanksgiving breakfast but we do need to eat the rest of the day so I think next year I am demanding, okay requesting, that we have noodles, rolls, mashed potatoes, stuffing, deviled eggs, broccoli and cheese casserole, and pies! I don't care if we have turkey or not, I don't really care for it. But the sides they are another story!
So while this year and all others are different and we are going to miss the presence, time, laughter and love. There are new traditions to begin while we hold onto all the memories of times we have.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
I am loving this season more and more.
Thanksgiving this year isn't going to be huge. We are going to have breakfast with Eli's dad on Thanksgiving morning. But other than that we have no plans. The past three months have been so hectic and family time has been very few and far between. Silas, my little homebody, is constantly wanting to b at home and wanting all of us there with him. So I think that we are going to stay home and have some family time at home. The day after Thanksgiving is typically the day that we put up the Christmas tree.
I am very excited for the Christmas season this year. The day after Thanksgiving we will take down our thankful tree and put up our Christmas tree. I have made an Advent calendar for this year. I am hoping to stick with the advent devotions and such. Instead of the kids getting a gift or us creating a picture or whatever everyday of Advent I am putting things for us to do together under each days flap. Things like Go look at Christmas lights, go get hot chocolate, have a snowball fight, make a snowman, read the real Christmas story and set up the nativity, go buy canned goods and donate them. Those are just a few of the things we are going to be doing.
We are also doing Elf on the Shelf this year. I have a lot of fun and exciting things planned for that. I am excited to see our elf arrive and see what he is up to every night while the kids sleep. I know it's silly but I think the kids will have fun with it.
I am trying to incorporate the Advent Calendar and the Elf on the Shelf as much as I can. I am hoping it will create a little less work for me.
I also saw this cute countdown to Christmas thing on Pinterest that I am going to make with some help from my hubby. It's Santa's face and you put a cotton ball on his beard until Christmas. I am going to have the kids help me count the cotton balls and then put them in a jar and then they can see the cotton balls become less and less in the jar and Santa's beard fill out.
I just hope that this Christmas season we can focus on our family and the celebration of God sending His Son to Earth.
I don't feel like we go overboard for our kids for Christmas. Santa brings one gift and fills their stocking and then we each get the kids something. So they get a total of 5 gifts and the stocking. I try to get 2 family gifts. They are usually a game we can play together and a movie we can watch together.
I have so much baking and cooking that I want to do in December. Here are a few of the things I am hoping to make:
Apple Cranberry Pie
Peppermint Bark
Cookies, lots of cookies
Sea Salt Caramels
Hard Tack candy
Hot Cocoa stirrers
Marshmellows
Enchilada Soup
Lasagna Soup
Chicken and Dumplings
I could list so many more things.
I think that during the end of fall and the winter months I am going to try to make a new soup every week. We will see how that goes. Maybe I will even blog about it very week.
I am very excited for the Christmas season this year. The day after Thanksgiving we will take down our thankful tree and put up our Christmas tree. I have made an Advent calendar for this year. I am hoping to stick with the advent devotions and such. Instead of the kids getting a gift or us creating a picture or whatever everyday of Advent I am putting things for us to do together under each days flap. Things like Go look at Christmas lights, go get hot chocolate, have a snowball fight, make a snowman, read the real Christmas story and set up the nativity, go buy canned goods and donate them. Those are just a few of the things we are going to be doing.
We are also doing Elf on the Shelf this year. I have a lot of fun and exciting things planned for that. I am excited to see our elf arrive and see what he is up to every night while the kids sleep. I know it's silly but I think the kids will have fun with it.
I am trying to incorporate the Advent Calendar and the Elf on the Shelf as much as I can. I am hoping it will create a little less work for me.
I also saw this cute countdown to Christmas thing on Pinterest that I am going to make with some help from my hubby. It's Santa's face and you put a cotton ball on his beard until Christmas. I am going to have the kids help me count the cotton balls and then put them in a jar and then they can see the cotton balls become less and less in the jar and Santa's beard fill out.
I just hope that this Christmas season we can focus on our family and the celebration of God sending His Son to Earth.
I don't feel like we go overboard for our kids for Christmas. Santa brings one gift and fills their stocking and then we each get the kids something. So they get a total of 5 gifts and the stocking. I try to get 2 family gifts. They are usually a game we can play together and a movie we can watch together.
I have so much baking and cooking that I want to do in December. Here are a few of the things I am hoping to make:
Apple Cranberry Pie
Peppermint Bark
Cookies, lots of cookies
Sea Salt Caramels
Hard Tack candy
Hot Cocoa stirrers
Marshmellows
Enchilada Soup
Lasagna Soup
Chicken and Dumplings
I could list so many more things.
I think that during the end of fall and the winter months I am going to try to make a new soup every week. We will see how that goes. Maybe I will even blog about it very week.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
It's 5AM
It's so quiet in my home at 5AM. I was sitting here thinking and found myself praying for God to heal the babies from the Son of God Orphanage in Haiti.
I can't imagine what those babies and children have seen and what they have had to do.
I pray that God would not only heal their wounds from being burned and sitting in their own waste. But that God would heal their hearts, their minds, and their souls.
I pray that they would feel God's loving arms wrapped around them.
I know their are many more cases of trafficking in Haiti and around the world. I just pray that justice would come upon those who do this. No one should ever be sold or taken advantage of in this way, NO ONE! I pray that God would restore those who have been trafficked whether it be by choice or by force into it.
I can't imagine what those babies and children have seen and what they have had to do.
I pray that God would not only heal their wounds from being burned and sitting in their own waste. But that God would heal their hearts, their minds, and their souls.
I pray that they would feel God's loving arms wrapped around them.
I know their are many more cases of trafficking in Haiti and around the world. I just pray that justice would come upon those who do this. No one should ever be sold or taken advantage of in this way, NO ONE! I pray that God would restore those who have been trafficked whether it be by choice or by force into it.
Monday, August 22, 2011
ABC's of me.
I saw this on a blog and thought I would play along
age :: 35
bed size :: queen, we are downsizing!
chore you hate :: cleaning the bath room
dogs :: Oscar Miner wiener Dog
essential start to your day :: advil and pepsi
favorite color :: Chocolate
gold or silver :: silver
height :: 5'3"
instruments you play :: used to play the piano, would love to learn to play the guitar
job title :: stay at home mommy
kids :: Binky Boo or Ellie, Bugga Boo or SIlas, and Little Lilly Lu Lu or LillaBee or Lilly.
live :: Ohio
maiden name :: Rodgers
nicknames :: Thelma, Windmill-but those were both in High School. Haven't had one since
overnight hospital stays :: Ellie's birth, the internal bleeding incident, Silas' Birth, Lilly's birth
pet peeve :: when there are two doors and you are exiting a place and instead of using the other door people just at like you are in their way and wait for you to exit. I want to scream there are two doors use the other one.
quote :: lots of favs but here's one: "I screamed at God for all the starving children, and then I realized that all of the starving children were God screaming at me."
righty or lefty :: right
siblings :: younger brother
time you wake up :: this summer-whenever
once i get a schedule back 6AM
university attended :: University of Rio Grande
vegetables you dislike: cauliflower, Lima beans
what makes you run late :: i try really hard to be 15 minutes early but usually forgetting something and turning around to go back and get it.
x-rays you’ve had :: chest, shoulder, teeth
yummy food :: pizza, roast and dumplings, PASTA
zoo animal favorite :: giraffe's and hippo's
age :: 35
bed size :: queen, we are downsizing!
chore you hate :: cleaning the bath room
dogs :: Oscar Miner wiener Dog
essential start to your day :: advil and pepsi
favorite color :: Chocolate
gold or silver :: silver
height :: 5'3"
instruments you play :: used to play the piano, would love to learn to play the guitar
job title :: stay at home mommy
kids :: Binky Boo or Ellie, Bugga Boo or SIlas, and Little Lilly Lu Lu or LillaBee or Lilly.
live :: Ohio
maiden name :: Rodgers
nicknames :: Thelma, Windmill-but those were both in High School. Haven't had one since
overnight hospital stays :: Ellie's birth, the internal bleeding incident, Silas' Birth, Lilly's birth
pet peeve :: when there are two doors and you are exiting a place and instead of using the other door people just at like you are in their way and wait for you to exit. I want to scream there are two doors use the other one.
quote :: lots of favs but here's one: "I screamed at God for all the starving children, and then I realized that all of the starving children were God screaming at me."
righty or lefty :: right
siblings :: younger brother
time you wake up :: this summer-whenever
once i get a schedule back 6AM
university attended :: University of Rio Grande
vegetables you dislike: cauliflower, Lima beans
what makes you run late :: i try really hard to be 15 minutes early but usually forgetting something and turning around to go back and get it.
x-rays you’ve had :: chest, shoulder, teeth
yummy food :: pizza, roast and dumplings, PASTA
zoo animal favorite :: giraffe's and hippo's
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Save your self.
I was reading this article and I think over all it's a good thing.
Now I really don't want my child to be taught from someone I don't know how to put a condom on at the age of 11. So if I know it's coming I am going to show her/him all about it at home first and talk to her/him before they get hit with it at school.
But let's face reality. Kids are having sex at a very young age and my daughter will probably be in class with some of those kids. There are some kids whose parents will never ever tell them anything about their body or about sex. You say no that's not right. But the hard sad fact is that yes it's true. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had with teenage girls who say their mom has never told them about their body, and this is within the church. Let's think about all the kids who don't go to church and who don't have Christian parents who uphold the moral value of saving sex for marriage. It's going to happen. We can't expect everyone to abstain from sex. Especially when they have no moral issue with it. And some kids it's all they see or hear about and so it leads them to curiosity.
So I would much rather someone tell these precious babies how to be safe and protect themselves and maybe even give them a good reason to not have sex before marriage. I hope and pray that as they put more of these programs in the school they wont' forget about abstinence. Even if we don't all agree with it I feel like it should be taught. We don't all agree about the correct type of protection and other assorted things when it comes to the issue.
Abstinence is a choice just as everything else it.
I pray my children choose to save themselves for that special someone.
Now I really don't want my child to be taught from someone I don't know how to put a condom on at the age of 11. So if I know it's coming I am going to show her/him all about it at home first and talk to her/him before they get hit with it at school.
But let's face reality. Kids are having sex at a very young age and my daughter will probably be in class with some of those kids. There are some kids whose parents will never ever tell them anything about their body or about sex. You say no that's not right. But the hard sad fact is that yes it's true. I can't tell you how many conversations I have had with teenage girls who say their mom has never told them about their body, and this is within the church. Let's think about all the kids who don't go to church and who don't have Christian parents who uphold the moral value of saving sex for marriage. It's going to happen. We can't expect everyone to abstain from sex. Especially when they have no moral issue with it. And some kids it's all they see or hear about and so it leads them to curiosity.
So I would much rather someone tell these precious babies how to be safe and protect themselves and maybe even give them a good reason to not have sex before marriage. I hope and pray that as they put more of these programs in the school they wont' forget about abstinence. Even if we don't all agree with it I feel like it should be taught. We don't all agree about the correct type of protection and other assorted things when it comes to the issue.
Abstinence is a choice just as everything else it.
I pray my children choose to save themselves for that special someone.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The getaway pt.1
Eli and I were able to escape for our 10th anniversary. We took the train from Chicago to San Francisco, what an amazing ride. Seeing the country like that was amazing! My first view of the snow capped Rockies was simply breathtaking. As we were climbing up into the Rockies to look back and see Denver as this little tiny spot with skyscrapers was neat. We went through 50 some tunnels. It was really cool waking up and thinking we were traveling through fields of snow. Ended up it was the salt flats in Utah. What a site seeing the sunrise over those, simply beautiful. I am really glad we did this and my only complaint for the whole train trip was my sleeping arrangements. I was scared to death I was going to fall and didn't sleep much, I got the top bunk.
When arriving in San Francisco 5 hours late we had a bit of an issue with the rental car but ended up arriving at our amazing hotel in Healdsburg around 1AM. This place was great.
The next morning we drove over to St. Helena to meet our friends Rob and Lilly Lewin. We had such a good day with them, one that I will never forget. Lesson learned for the day The Journey is Everything! It was good to be with friends. It was neat hearing Rob tell us about the different regions in the Napa Valley. We drove with them down to Napa. It was a neat little town. We had some amazing food and went into Tyler Florence's shop, his restaurant was closed. Several wine tastings happened that day. I found my favorite Winery of all the ones we went to. A case just arrived at our house, lol. We went back to the Lewin home for dinner made by Rob, the salad he made for us was so yummy! Then due to Rental Car issues we ended up in a 4 hour car ride with them. It was great just to talk.
The next day we discovered Healdsburg a bit and then headed back to St. Helena. We did some poking around and went to several other wine tastings. We had a good day.
The napa Valley was so amazing. Everyone was so nice and talkative. Everyone wanted to know where you were from and why you came to Napa. I love it there.
And then we traveled to San Fran. Not quite like Napa. More on that later.
When arriving in San Francisco 5 hours late we had a bit of an issue with the rental car but ended up arriving at our amazing hotel in Healdsburg around 1AM. This place was great.
The next morning we drove over to St. Helena to meet our friends Rob and Lilly Lewin. We had such a good day with them, one that I will never forget. Lesson learned for the day The Journey is Everything! It was good to be with friends. It was neat hearing Rob tell us about the different regions in the Napa Valley. We drove with them down to Napa. It was a neat little town. We had some amazing food and went into Tyler Florence's shop, his restaurant was closed. Several wine tastings happened that day. I found my favorite Winery of all the ones we went to. A case just arrived at our house, lol. We went back to the Lewin home for dinner made by Rob, the salad he made for us was so yummy! Then due to Rental Car issues we ended up in a 4 hour car ride with them. It was great just to talk.
The next day we discovered Healdsburg a bit and then headed back to St. Helena. We did some poking around and went to several other wine tastings. We had a good day.
The napa Valley was so amazing. Everyone was so nice and talkative. Everyone wanted to know where you were from and why you came to Napa. I love it there.
And then we traveled to San Fran. Not quite like Napa. More on that later.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Looking in her eyes.
When we first arrived in the city it was 10PM and I must say I was leery. I am not sure I had seen so many homeless people on the streets. They were digging through trash cans and fighting over their street corner. I was overwhelmed. Then morning came and things were different. Yes there were still homeless people out and about but not to the magnitude of the night before. They weren't the only ones on the street this morning. I was more compassionate and less scared and leery.
So we went about our day and then the woman stopped me in my tracks. Standing in line for the cable car she came up to us and ask for a dollar. I honestly didn't have a dollar on me. I looked her in the eyes and said sorry. As I looked in her eyes she was desperate. And yes 10 minutes after she ask me for a dollar she ask someone for a cigarette. So she probably wanted to buy a pack. The thing that makes me remember this woman was that she had an infection in her eye. I am guessing she could hardly see out of it. It was swollen and green puss was coming out of it. Yeah it was gross but she probably doesn't have a family doctor that she can go to and make it all better, like I do.
People who live on the street I am sure get sick all the time and get infections and such. They have probably built up an immunity to somethings but when it comes down to it there is something that will probably get the best of them and there will be no recovery. There will be no doctor to go to or family to fight for them.
So we went about our day and then the woman stopped me in my tracks. Standing in line for the cable car she came up to us and ask for a dollar. I honestly didn't have a dollar on me. I looked her in the eyes and said sorry. As I looked in her eyes she was desperate. And yes 10 minutes after she ask me for a dollar she ask someone for a cigarette. So she probably wanted to buy a pack. The thing that makes me remember this woman was that she had an infection in her eye. I am guessing she could hardly see out of it. It was swollen and green puss was coming out of it. Yeah it was gross but she probably doesn't have a family doctor that she can go to and make it all better, like I do.
People who live on the street I am sure get sick all the time and get infections and such. They have probably built up an immunity to somethings but when it comes down to it there is something that will probably get the best of them and there will be no recovery. There will be no doctor to go to or family to fight for them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)