Getting Old

Getting old isn't as scary as you may think it is, when you are a child. In fact, the older I get, the older "old" gets. So I can't see myself getting "old." I had a good birthday yesterday. Joey and Baby Nick got me a new pair of slippers; very soft, warm, comfortable slippers. Nick got me a new pair of flannel pajamas...very nice to have in winter up here in Alaska.

Nick wanted me to stay home from choir last night so we could spend time together for my birthday. At first, he wanted to cook me dinner...but as we had turkey noodle soup, I couldn't wait for him to get home from work before starting it. I did need him to finish carving the turkey in order to add the turkey meat to the soup. And of course, luck would have it, that he got an on-call stop added to his ride home. So he didn't even get home until close to 7pm. Needless to say, we had a late dinner. Plus, Chris called just before 5pm and asked if I could watch Dakota until 9pm as she had something she needed to do after work. So I fed the boys turkey sandwiches (since they were starving and couldn't wait for the soup to be finished) and they got to eat their cake before Nick and I even got dinner! When the soup was finally finished, Joey climbed on my lap and wanted to feed me. After getting half the bites dumped down the front of me, I kindly thanked Joey for feeding me and repossessed the spoon. Then Joey says, "You can feed me now!" What a clever way to ask for a bite. Overall, it was a very good birthday.
Here are a few pictures of Thanksgiving. Of course, they were taken as everybody was finishing eating, so Baby Nick is clearly a happy mess.
Joey loved the sweet potatoes (he ate two helpings) and "apple soda" which is what we call the Sparkling Cider.
Nick looks content. He ate his fill and was astounded at the amount of leftovers we had.
Beneath all the candles you can see glimpses of my cake. I made a spice cake and Nick made the caramel frosting. It was delicious!
Why did my dad have to retire from the fire department before my birthday?!?! Talk about your fire hazard. I made my wish (which I cannot reveal or it may not come true) and in one breath, which nearly gave out on me, blew out all my candles! I don't think I could handle even one more candle. I guess I will have to stay this age the rest of my life!

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. The days are passing so quickly before Nick's trip to Portland. I am both excited for him and envious of him. I will send him with the strictest instructions to take home hugs for everybody from me, and to bring back hugs from everybody for me.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Now that the weekend is over, I feel like I can say "Happy Thanksgiving." Sorry it is a couple days late, but I feel like I can breathe again. Granted, we only had the four of us for Thanksgiving, but I still cooked a full Thanksgiving meal. The turkey turned out beautifully and delicious...the gravy, for some reason, was not as successful as it usually is. Oh well...it still tasted great. After making two double batches of pie crust to get one pie crust, I scrapped them both and ordered Nick to run to the store for a pie crust before the apples browned beyond recognition. Needless to say, the pie was not up to my standard either. The mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and stuffing were all delicious. Needless to say, with just the four of us, we had most of our turkey left over. Once we finish carving it, we will set some aside for turkey noodle soup (which we will eat on Tuesday, for my birthday) and leave some for sandwiches. Throughout the weekend, we have nearly finished off the rest of the leftovers...so we are doing good.

Saturday we spent a few hours at Nick's office to help him file and get things in order for the Regional Logistics Manager who is coming in on Tuesday. He will be auditing the Alaska branch, which adds a bit of stress on Nick. Once this next week is over, Nick will breathe easier and will be able to look forward to his week at home. After working, we did our grocery shopping. We left the house at 11am and didn't return until almost 5pm. It was a long day, especially for the little ones, but they were absolute champs. No melt downs, no fits, no arguments. After getting the groceries in, I had to quickly get dinner on the stove, eat, clean up dinner, and then start on baking my SIX batches of cornbread for the chili cook-off fundraiser for the youth group at church. We don't eat chili here (unless it is canned chili mixed in with cream cheese for a chip dip) so I volunteered cornbread as my contribution. (Nick wasn't exactly thrilled that I made so many, and even less thrilled when I brought three back home with me!) There was a dozen different chili's and a few other people brought cornbread or rolls, but when I asked Pastor Lucas how much cornbread he needed, he didn't really have much of an idea and made a guess. Oh well, we like cornbread. It will be good to eat with soup, for breakfast...and just about any time we feel like cornbread....at least until it is gone.

Baby Nick is such a gem. He has gotten very good at listening. All weekend, he has obeyed after being told only once. He has stayed off the stairs, even though we don't have the gate up right now, he has put things away when asked, and he has "stopped" whenever told to stop. The sweetest thing I have ever seen him do was on Thursday morning. The boys had waffles for breakfast, and I allowed them to eat in the living room on the breakfast tray. I was busy in the kitchen, making sure all my pots and pans were washed (since the boys like to play with them all day long) and then I see Baby Nick coming into the kitchen, carrying his breakfast plate and handing it to me at the sink. Talk about a heart-melting moment! I have never asked him to bring his dishes up to the sink, seeing as how he is only 15 months old. But there he was. He likes to help me now. He loves to close doors. He is usually so eager to close the door for me that he will start closing while my hand is still in the way. He is also in this phase of clinging to Mommy. Even Daddy isn't getting as much time with Baby Nick lately. He wants to be held all the time. I love it, on the one hand, but on the other it makes getting anything accomplished much more difficult. It's almost like he is an infant again! Although, I must admit, I am enjoying him much more this year than I was at this time last year! (Could it be that he was colicky, I had recently been ripped away from my home and family and I was thrown into nearly total darkness?)

Bubba continues to amaze me every day. The things that he learns, that he picks up. He loves to help me in the kitchen, he loves to play the computer. He astounds me on the computer. He knows where to click to get on the Internet, how to get to my "favorites" list, and where in my list are his game sites. He is allowed to play on PBSkids and Playhouse Disney. As long as he is given a warning (such as "this is the last game, then you need to get off the computer") he does really well with obeying without a fit. He adores his brother. He is always telling me how cute Baby Nick is. Whenever he walks by Baby Nick, he pats Nick's head on the way by. Bubba has always been my "lover". He has been asking for a baby sister lately. I keep telling him to talk to his dad about it!

And on that note, I will sign off for the night. I still have laundry to fold and it is now midnight. I've had an exhausting few days and have to work tomorrow. (Even if I didn't have to work, I still have to work...I'm a mother after all.)

Heat Wave In Alaska

Here we are, in Winter Wonderland, experiencing a heat wave as if it were spring. It is currently about 41 degrees outside. The six-or-so inches of snow we had on the ground have mostly all melted away. There are, of course, the larger piles where roads had been plowed and sidewalks shoveled, but for the most part, the snow is melting away. This presents a very treacherous problem. As the roads and walks are wet all day, they freeze again over night. Most of the main roads, which are kept pretty clear are fine, but those side roads (such as what we live down) are sheets of ice in the morning. As much as I would love for the snow to last only a couple months, I look forward to it snowing again to cover the iced asphalt.

Yesterday, the kids made pilgrim hats for a Thanksgiving project. The little boys did not like having them on their heads, and I fought tooth and nail just to get a picture of Dakota and Nick. It would be much quicker, you may think, to have just one picture of all three of them. But don't fool yourself....that is so much more work, trying to get them all to stand still and keep their hats on long enough for one picture. No...it was easier to get individual pictures of each. I also have a picture of "music time" where Maestro Joey is teaching Apprentice Nick how to play a duet. I love that my boys love music.

When I sang in church a week ago, I was there early for worship practice, and Joey walked around the whole time, holding one of the microphones that were not being used, "interviewing" people making his own kind of music. He did not put that mic down until we were all done. We asked Joey if he was going to play an instrument (Nick pushed the piano since we have one of those) and Joey thought through which instrument he would want to play out loud; "How about the trumpet? No. How about the trombone? No. How 'bout I play the saxophone? No. I want to play the guitar."

I just heard the oven chiming that it was hot enough for lunch. I better go get these kids fed. Have a blessed day.

Looking Toward Thanksgiving

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Thanksgiving and Christmas have always been my favorite holidays. I love gathering together with all the family, sharing stories, games, lots of good food, and making memories. This year will be a little different. This year we will spend alone; that is to say with just the four of us. I think it will be just fine and we will make memories even though we won't be with a big group of people. We will have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, yams with marshmallows on top, and a homemade Dutch Apple Pie. We tried finding a nice small 10 pound turkey since it would be just the four of us...which is to say about 2.75 eaters, but the only size they had available when we shopped for one is 18 pounds! So we should have tons of leftovers...which suit us fine. My husband is looking forward to turkey sandwiches, and I'm looking forward to turkey noodle soup!

After seeing his brother all bundled up to shovel the walk, Baby Nick decided that he too, needed to get all bundled. The mittens are far too big, and the thumb wouldn't go in the proper place, and he couldn't pick up a thing no matter how hard he tried. But Baby Nick loved having the mittens on. He would pitch such a fit whenever I took the mittens off. I was just trying to give him a chance to play, or pick up his cup for a drink...but he would have none of it. He kept bringing the mittens over to me to put back on.
Here he is "at work". Sitting at the desk....I'm mean, under the desk. Apparently, he feels it is his to empty out the remaining cards in my yellow card box. They are usually found all over the floor under the desk rather than neatly in the box. But he seems very driven to accomplish his given task as often as he can. As long as he has good work ethic, right?
I love this one. Nick was setting up the computer so that he and I could watch a show that was available online. Seeing Daddy leaning on the table figuring something out, Joey had to join in and offer his expertise. A few minutes later, Baby Nick was found leaning on the table as well, even though the other boys had already left. I love seeing them adore their Daddy, wanting to be just like him. Joey keeps talking about how he is growing up a big and strong as his Daddy.

I'm sure I have more to say, but Baby Nick is in need of a fresh diaper (and the rest of us are in need of fresh air, if you know what I mean.) So I will sign off for now and return when I have more to say.

Worshiping With My Bug

This afternoon, I had an opportunity to sit at the piano for a little while. Joey was playing on the computer and Bug was playing on the floor. For once, my piano time (rare that I even get any) didn't turn into a trio.

I was playing out of my Maranatha Praise music, enjoying singing those "oldies" that are hardly sung anymore...you know, the songs I grew up on. So there I was, playing a very reverent song about standing on holy ground, when I hear Bug laughing on the floor.

Bug was playing with a toy we got out of a Happy Meal...a Shrek figure that says three phrases. It's not my favorite toy, nor my favorite character, as one of the "phrases" is actually a burp. What's worse, is that Shrek doesn't even say 'excuse me' afterwards. But Baby Nick is playing with Shrek, and every time Shrek 'burps', Baby Nick laughs. Not just a chuckle, but a full-fledged laugh.

It was so funny....not that I want him to think that I think that him thinking burping is funny, is funny (try to translate that one!), but to listen to him laughing every time; it cracked me up! And then to listen to it in juxtaposition of my worshiping. Something about it struck me as funny. This is a time when God shows his sense of humor.

Letters From War-Mark Schultz music video

Here is the video of the song I sang on Sunday...and blogged about yesterday. I know half the people who read my blog already know this song and video; please feel free to skip over this post. But for those who haven't seen it, I wanted to share this with you. It is such a moving song and a touching video.

A Bit Scatter-Brained

It has been so long since I blogged last, until today, and I had all sorts of things that I was going blog, but then I went off on a tangent and forgot half the things I was going to say.

I already mentioned that Dakota stayed home from daycare on Friday because he was sick. What I failed to mention, was that Friday night, Joey threw up in our bed again. Then I carried him to the bathroom where he threw up again on me, and a third time in the sink. This time, I did the clean up. I don't know where the strength came from, and even though I was gagging, I made it through. Nick was so proud of me. While the boys and I were at church on Sunday, Nick went through the house and did a thorough cleaning of every hard surface.

Another funny thing that happened while shopping at Costco. We usually get our hamburger at Costco, and get a six-pound (and change, there is never one that is an even poundage.) pack that we freeze in one-pound packages. So Nick picks out the hamburger and says, "Wow! How lucky is that. This one is exactly six...." (At this point, I think he is going to say that it is exactly six pounds.) "point three pounds!" Six point three!?!? Wouldn't that be the same as saying 'exactly six point one-seven, or six point two-four'? Now, I could understand 'exactly six point five' as it is a semi-even weight. But six point three? I laughed so hard. I know he meant that it was as close to an even six pounds as we have seen before, but still, I found how he said it so funny.
It snowed again today, about two inches. So I bundled Joey up and sent him out to shovel the walk with Daddy. He has been waiting all year to be able to help Daddy shovel the walk again. (I must say that I think Joey looks like Jacob in this picture!)
This year, he did a much better job of taking the snow off the walk and throwing it on the side, rather than taking snow from the side and putting it on the walk. He had lots of fun

Well, I better spend some time with the boys before I put them to bed. Then I have got dinner dishes to clean. Have a good night.

Late edit: While I was getting ready for church, I put mousse in my hair and was blow-drying it while hanging my head upside down. As I came back up, my hair looked big and full, as it is supposed to when adding a volumizing mousse. Joey looked at me and said, "You look like a lion!"

Silly Bug

Can you say, "Baby Nick is in the hot seat"? How funny he can be!!
Here is a proud moment.....Baby Nick put this hat on ALL BY HIMSELF!! I love how it is cocked to one side and over one eye. Imagine with me....Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca! (Of course, then it was a fedora.)
And a view from the rear. Makes you wonder if he can really see out from under it! Oh how adorable.

I was just singing to the boys "If All Of The Snowflakes" and it made me remember that as we were shopping on Sunday afternoon, walking through the Costco parking lot while the snow was at a steady fall...I sang that song at the top of my lungs for my kids enjoyment, not caring a lick how crazy I may have looked with my mouth opened wide, tongue hanging out, singing "Aah aah aah aah, aah aah aah, all the time." Reminds me of Josh, Aubrey and I singing that at Dad and Eileen's wedding rehearsal dinner back in '86!

The Snow Has Arrived

Let's see....where did I leave off? Oh yeah. We were all feeling miserably sick and Nick was leaving the next day for Fairbanks. Last Tuesday I woke up feeling a whole lot better and able to handle the next three days without Nick, as long as nobody got sick again. Dakota came back on Wednesday and the boys all seemed to do well. Then Chris called on Thursday night to say the Dakota had gotten the flu and wouldn't be here on Friday.

On Saturday, we got the house ready for an even more thorough cleaning to try and get all the bugs that may be hanging around. Sunday morning, Veteran's Day, the boys and I were at the church early. I was singing for offertory, so I had to be there for worship practice by 8:30am. I sang "Letters From War" by Mark Schultz and had the music video playing along. I love that song, and the video is extremely touching. We have a fairly high percentage of military families in our church as we have two large military bases here in Anchorage. So I was singing this song for those who serve our country and for the families who have loved ones in the military.

If you don't know the song, it is about a mother and son who write letters to each other while the son is "in a war far away." The mother prays every day for her son's safe return, and encourages her son in every letter with how much she believes in him. Then the mother gets a letter from one of her son's comrades who told her that her son had been captured after saving his life and that he promised her son that he would write to her. For two years, this mom prays, believing her son is still alive, but having no proof of it. The third verse is always the hardest to get through, especially while watching the video. Imagine, hanging the wash out outside and watching a military vehicle drive up, with formally dressed officers emerging from the vehicle. Most everybody knows that means you are getting bad news. On the video, you watch the mom fall to the ground, knowing what is coming. Every time I get to this point in the song, I start thinking about my two precious baby boys, and how I would feel if I was waiting from their return from war, and see that dreaded vehicle drive up my driveway. The good news in the song/video, is that one of the officers leaving the vehicle is this woman's son, finally returning safely to her. As I was singing it in church, even though I had practiced it many times without crying, I started crying and couldn't get the words out, letting everybody know that it really was a happy ending.

Afterwards, I had many people come up to me to let me know what a blessing that song was to them and how it touched them. One woman took me aside and told me that her husband, who has only been home from Korea for three weeks, was crying during the song, very touched, and thinking of his fellow soldiers still in Iraq and Korea. The thing is, it doesn't matter what you think of this war we are currently in, whether you agree with what is going on or not. We have men and women in this country who have such an attitude of honor, that they put themselves in harms way for you. The very least we can do, is honor them back, support them, and thank them for everything they do to keep us safe, and to keep our freedoms in tact.

I'm not a very political person, and I don't have an opinion that I share often, so bear with me. It bothers me that Americans, on the whole, are a very two-faced people. We complain every day that if we just stayed out of everybody else's business, there wouldn't be people in the world who want to hurt us and we wouldn't be at war. But then in the very next breath, they ask that we do something to help with the situation in Darfur. So what exactly do we want? Should we "stick our noses" in Darfur to help stop the atrocities that are happening over there, or should we ignore that other people need help, so that we won't have to go to war anywhere? Honestly people...get a heart! (Sorry for my tangent.)

Here's a picture of my two precious cutie-patooties! I love watching them interact, and enjoy each other (for the most part) After all, they are brothers!

Saturday, it snowed some, but it was a very wet, slushy snow. Most of it was melted and slush by the end of the day. Then, of course, it froze to form a solid sheet of ice over the roads. Then it started snowing again throughout the night, and all through the morning, all through church, took a break in the afternoon, then snowed really hard in the evening. All told, we got anywhere from three to six inches on Sunday. I am fortunate that it held off this long. And it really is quite beautiful when it is fresh and covers the world in a pure, clean white.

What precious boys I have. They have discovered the joy of a breakfast tray! They enjoy sitting on the floor with the tray to eat their snack, or occasionally breakfast. It is a fun change from sitting at the table all the time.

Anyway, it is nap time for the little ones. Baby Nick has not handled being awake very well this morning. Let's hope a refreshing nap will help.

P.S. We have baseboard heaters, which Baby Nick has discovered, makes a very good "chair", in case he needs a quick rest on his way around the room. I will post a picture of it later.

Can It Get Any Worse?

Just when I think we are at the tail end of this flu bug, Baby Nick throws up again! I am praying that it was a one time deal. I don't know if I can make it without Nick for three days if we all keep getting sick.

I Wish My Mommy Was Here

As you know, we have been battling the flu around here over the end of last week. Nick brought him home from work, so I am holding him responsible. Baby Nick got it the next day. Over Saturday and Sunday, we had no throwing up, and as Baby Nick worked his way through returning to feel normal, I thought we were over the flu. Joey has only thrown up once in his life, so he hasn't shown the propensity to get sick to his stomach; and although I had been feeling "iffy" I hadn't been queasy. Whenever I am around someone who has been sick to their tummy, it makes me feel "iffy". Am I feeling sick or is it just because someone close to me is? Mind over matter; if I stop thinking I feel sick, then I won't be sick.

The boys went to bed last night and both feel quickly asleep. Then, at about 10:00pm, I heard Joey scream his "scared/hurt" scream. I ran upstairs to see what had happened, and our bed was covered in what had been in his tummy. Both comforters were soaked, the sheet and mattress, and of all things, my pillow and pillowcase. Poor Joey was shaking and screaming and feeling completely rotten. So as I took him into the bathroom to remove his pajamas (which of course means that I got it all over my shirt) and wash him up, Nick came up to change the sheets on the bed. He threw our smaller comforter in the wash, but our large one is too big for the washer and dryer. So we will need to see if a laundromat has larger facilities.

Joey got sick another five times throughout the night, and on the third time, I had to pull the bucket out from under his mouth to use it myself! (Joey was mostly dry-heaving, so I wasn't leaving him in the lurch.) GREAT! This is just what I need. Nick is unable to take any time off because to take care of us, because he HAS to be in Soldotna today to close up that office, and is leaving for Fairbanks tomorrow until Thursday. He felt awful about having to leave me alone to take care of 1 sick kid and 1 kid who had been sick, when I was feeling sick as well.

If my mommy was here, I know she would come over to help take care of me, and help me take care of the boys. I miss my mommy. I have always missed my mommy when I was sick (if she was at work, or after I left the house.)

But I think I have reached a turning point today; although I still have a fever headache, and my whole body hurts, my tummy actually growled when I was making Top Ramen for the boys. I don't feel so sick to my tummy anymore, and may try eating some myself.

Joey has bounced back quickly. He keeps asking for "candy, granola bar, or cookie. Those are my choices." I have risked giving him Jell-O and Top Ramen today since he seemed to completely empty his stomach last night, and so far he has held everything down.

He was so sadly sweet last night. Every time he felt he had to throw up again, he would start crying and try to run away from the bucket. I think he thought the bucket caused him to throw up, and that made him wary of it. At one point this morning, he woke up thinking he was going to throw up, but ended up not having anything left. He laid his head down on Daddy's tummy. I had started feeling like I may throw up again as well, and in an effort to keep myself from doing so (I abhor throwing up) I laid my head down on Daddy's tummy as well, so he could stroke my head. Joey then asked me if I would lay back down with him. When I was comfortable, Joey ran his hand along my face and arm for a couple minutes. He was taking care of me even though he felt sick himself. He has such a sweet heart. What would I ever do without him.

I pray the rest of the day keeps looking up. I really don't want Nick to leave for Fairbanks tomorrow if we are still feeling sick. Not that I have a choice, but that would be a very long three days. I think I will try to eat something now...I'm starting to get the stomach pains that say I'm hungry (which make me feel just as sick.)

Walking In The Dark

I have a confession. Since we moved into the "new" house when I was eleven, and my bedroom was upstairs, I have been in the habit of counting stairs. Crazy, I know. But I hate walking up or down stairs in the dark, not knowing how many steps there are, and tripping over the last one, or trying to step on one that isn't there. Either way, there is a good chance I would end up on the floor! And we all know that I am much too graceful for that!

Anyway; so by counting the stairs the first time I climb them, I can confidently walk up the stairs without tripping every time, even in the dark. Now, during summer in Alaska, it doesn't really matter, because it doesn't get dark enough. However, now that the sun doesn't rise until after 8:30am (since we just turned our clocks back) and it sets before 5pm, it is most definitely dark when the lights are out.

Last night, Nick and I were getting to bed a bit too late, although it was much less late when I remembered to set our clocks back. Nick is always the gentleman and waits for me to make it to the the stairs before turning out the light. So I am on my way up, counting stairs as I go, and I get halfway up when I hear Nick bump into the gate at the bottom of the stairs and grunt out his "ouch". I paused to giggle, it was just to funny to let pass. Then ten seconds later, as he gets to the landing, he crashes again, this time into Baby Nick's airplane, and again grunting out his dismay. This time I lost it completely. The late hour had much to do with my incapability of handling the situation with dignity, I'm sure. But I was laughing so hard, standing just two steps from the top, trying to be quiet as to not wake the kids, and I found I had no strength left to stand. I collapsed at the top of the stairs laughing, unable to regain control. Nick is somewhere in the middle of the stairs laughing at my laughing. I asked him to help me up, so I wouldn't get trampled on his attempt to conquer the flight of stairs, but he couldn't see me. So we are both groping around in the dark, afraid to move and get hurt, when we finally made contact. I was still laughing so hard it took a couple attempts for Nick to heft me up off the floor.

When we were finally at the top of the stairs, Nick set me off laughing again when he said with chagrin, "I suppose this makes more good blog material."

Helping Hand

This has been a fabulous weekend, so far. Nick comes home from work sick on Wednesday, so he stays home on Thursday. It was nice to have him home, but too bad that he felt so awful. Because he had the flu, I called Chris to keep Dakota away for the day. She stopped by late that night to drop off the tuition check (very nice of her) and told me that she made arrangements for Dakota to be watched by someone else on Friday as well. Nick was planning on going back to work, so I didn't think that was necessary....but I appreciated it all the same since I was exhausted after being up most of the night with Nick.

It turns out it was a VERY good idea, as Baby Nick spent most of Friday throwing up! (Whoever said 'it's different when it's your own kid' was lying!) Dinner on Friday was a horrible affair, as we weren't feeding Baby Nick since he couldn't keep anything down, and he spent the time running between mommy and daddy crying and holding his hand out for some food. It broke my heart. Thankfully, he didn't throw up at all over night, and he has kept everything down today. (Not that he has eaten much, but it's a start.) I will keep him home from church tomorrow with Daddy, and Joey and I will go by ourselves.

Baby Nick was helping Mommy and Daddy do the dishes....so I had to capture it in picture.
I must admit, it is a bit difficult to load the dishwasher with Baby Nick's idea of "help." But isn't he cute?!?!?! After I got the picture, we spent the majority of the time in the kitchen chasing Baby Nick off the dishwasher so we could finish.

Please pray that I get some good sleep tonight, and that my slightly icky tummy doesn't turn into anything more! Have a good weekend.