wips

here is one of my wips (works in progress)

i am nearing the end of this one...yay!

had to put the socks away for a while

so that i could finish papaya's sweater, will post on that later

i love making socks!

bugsy is the photographer in this post

winter glory

this afternoon i got some time away

while the big cheese took the kids for a ski

it was a beautiful afternoon and a friend and i went for a hike

it made us realize anew the benefits of where we live

even though it sometimes feels like the middle of no where

as we walked we found this red mitt on a stick

it made us smile, a bright beacon among the white

backyard beauty

might sound impressive

after all my complaining last night

supper this evening actually came together alright

prepped and ready i have

bacon wrapped beef tenderloin

aspargus with bernaise sauce

rice

now, before you start thinking this is a regular meal

sorry...it is not!

we get our beef from a local farmer

and whether it is tenderloin, t-bone or ground beef

it all costs the same

the only difference is I get 50 pkgs of ground beef

and one package of tenderloin

so i guess we can live high class, or at least sound like it,

once a year!

dinner dilema

oh! so painful
i simply couldn't motivate myself to make supper
i wanted to be saved
rotten ronnie's or 1-800-THE-PIZZA sounded really good
so i asked big cheese what he wanted for supper
as he hemmed and hawed
papaya came up with a suggestion
and boo-boo offered her help
she was pretty serious too
she got an apron on, pulled up her chair
and asked "what can i do?"
well....we started making supper, at first i was still pretty cranky
but then we worked together, got it made and enjoyed the time
she was very proud of her efforts, amazing what a 4-year-old can do
as we sat down to a homemade three course dinner
i was truly thankful for the hands that helped to prepare the meal
and that it wasn't take-out

just a day

at least one of our children was having fun outside

all by herself, until her sisters joined her

what a clown!

mia

feel a little like i have been missing in action

we took a few days to get away

went to a hotel for one night, stayed with friends for another two

the change from home was actually quite nice

especially since during the holidays we spent alot of time relaxing around home

now we are back at it

homeschool, book-keeping, laundry, baking

however, when the big cheese reappears we may go for a family ski

as i head into the new year,

i realize that i am not a person for resolutions

they don't work, usually add more frustration then they are worth

but i really feel like i have a heartfelt, unwritten desire to

reduce internal clutter

what does that mean?

not entirely sure...but some things i think are:

pass on things that aren't being used

say "no" when needed

finish projects on the go

spend time in my bible

get sleep

sit, have a chai, chat with a friend

stitch more, knit often

listen to children's stories, laugh

play a game, build a snowman

go to the beach

slow down, i don't want to miss all the beauty around me

beauty in my children, husband and world

beauty and blessing of each day

lovely words

as i picked up boo-boo for a hug, she said

"i'm so glad you're my mommy"

what a little blessing to my heart

how it makes it all worth while

christmas day

well our christmas day was certainly not what any of us expected

boo-boo's sickness kept her up all night

at midnight, bugsy decided to join the party and got terribly sick

somehow papaya slept blissfully unaware of the happenings

as the big cheese and i switched beds, made beds, arranged kids

rinsed out buckets again and again

by morning i felt bleary and weary

and my hands were raw from being washed over and over and over

gratefully, our non-sick child is very patient

and put up with the "ill" and simply tired members of her family very well

if it wasn't for papaya, we might have just cancelled presents till the next day

but i just couldn't look at her and do it

the two other sisters rallied, well barely, to the occasion

but boo-boo had to interrupt the plans for.....

well, a little break

this picture was taken at the end of the morning

you can tell that she was barely hanging on....

and right after the last present was unwrapped

she laid down on the living room floor

and passed out

we picked her up and laid her on the chair

which she didn't move from for most of the rest of the day

a little later in the day, not wanting to miss the festivities

the big cheese thought he would join along with the girls

and found his place on the couch

so papaya and i snuggled, read books

and assembled the toy from grandma and grandpa

all in all, it wasn't awful

except i felt terrible for boo-boo who had it the worst

took her a few days to recover from it too

so many things to be thankful for though

we were still together and could care for one another

we had food (though not many were eating), shelter and each other

as we look at the gift of the manger, we have a reason to hope and keep on

when i see so many who don't or won't

evening of Christmas eve

here is the two older girls on christmas eve

we were just home from the candlelight service at church

our youngest didn't want to be in the picture

we soon realized why

she quickly got sick with the flu

which left her catching bits of sleep in between "the yucky stuff"

her body didn't give her a break from the flu

until at least 7 a.m. on christmas day

even then, she was far from finished