Life is Crazy

Sometimes you just need your own wash basket!

And cleaning out grandma's cupboards is great fun.

I'm hoping this week is a bit more relaxed, last week I over-scheduled and left people down, so I'm hoping this week is better. 

Two weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a lady who wanted to order a quilt for her 83 y.o. grandfather. She needs it to fit on his hospital bed and really other than the size she know that she wants it in the color of blue. AND to help ease my mind (not really) she doesn't want to see pictures of the quilt in progress, she wants a surprise.

Oh, and since he is 83 and just coming home from the hospital....I think I'll work on that this week.

I only plan to teach ONE   CPR class instead of four- what's with that anyway? Why all the classes suddenly....ah well, keeps me out of trouble.

Science Fair project is finished...did you know that ...

these interesting designs are made with sound and water...called cymatics 

not sure  where the pictures are of the salt and sound.

Then...on the day Spring began! we were blessed  with more snow!

The picture is from Saturday afternoon...in the morning our drive was completely covered.

Thankfully even though the township opted NOT to salt the bridges or anything for that matter...Ezekiel and I made it to our destinations without actually hitting anything.

QOTD:  Joe to Zeke: " So why were you taking sermon notes in that weird hieroglyphics?"

Ben: "yeah, you still use that? Is it a 26 letter alphabet?"

Zeke:" No, now it is....32 I think...5 'O's' and then one for that sound the Scots make in the word loch...or like the the Dutchmen make when they say 'ach'.... just in case. 

Ben: " I dare you to hand in your physics homework written in that script" 

So Why? or What?

Did you ever wonder what God is thinking?
Like why does he take one family's young-very-much-needed father?
Why do some families seem to get hit with one thing after another...you know, illness, surgeries, things over which we really have no control.

We stand on the outside and look for the bright spots

"Well it could have been worse."

"At least _______didn't happen."

Then our minds go to...."maybe God is trying to tell them something."

We studied Job in Sunday School recently and Job's friends came to that conclusion too.

God wasn't impressed with their ideas.

Then my mind goes to something else....Job's friends were miserable comforters...

Do you think God is ever testing friends...churches... communities

Yeah, everyone rallies around during the first illness and maybe the second calamity

but what about the next time and the next?

What about people who live every day with high needs individuals?

Do we give them breaks?


Ouch, just stepped on my own toes here.

And just some snow pictures to enjoy....I would be happy to share some with those of you who don't have enough.

Now Let's Analyze

So if anyone was watching Ray and I on Sunday morning, I want to explain
why we were shaking with laughter... Missy Shekinah was drawing.
First she gave me #4 "it's for you mama." Ok how sweet! but more than
that...
this person has a body, hips and all extremities

Then she quickly drew # 1 and 2, this is where we lost it

#1 is daddy singing

#2 is mama jumping (but later she said I was singing too and that was a
hat on my head)

#3 anyone want to guess?

Why it's a caterpillar of course! complete with a chin!


We will have to work on drawing hair and those teeth need a dentist

Birthdays, and Growing Up

The growing up would be this guy, who just swiftly crawled up on the kitchen table this past week. He doesn't even walk most of the time! (He can walk, just thinks it's a bit slow.)

Shekinah thought he was funny...then I looked at the back drop of my lovely children...

Put them down for a nap and cleaned up my kitchen sink.

It's as good as it gets folks.

Then we had a birthday in this house.

He wanted sticky buns "with that good icing on" (he means buttercream with real butter)

I had seen a neat "cake" on Facebook where they used Nut*lla for the spread between the layers

and decided that you probably could do the same thing with the sticky bun recipe...

and you can!

The other thing he wanted was that expensive that he had to combine Christmas and birthday gifts into one....and add a bit of his own (young parents..it is a good idea for them to have to invest something into big ticket items like this)  ---that's your free advice for the day--

and no, he is not allowed to use the wi-fi unless he is supervised....old meanies we are.

I heard familiar music and realized that Faith is playing one of Zeke's old favorite games.

It should help her learn some logic....as long as she doesn't get too much help from the big kids.

Last weekend we visited with the family from OH whose son Tyler had external fixators on both legs. The feedback we got from the children was interesting. Tyler confided in his mom, "mom, that little girl doesn't have many fingers."

Mom: "Are you glad you have your fingers, even if they don't all work properly?"

His mother told me that he had been having quite a problem lately with the idea that he was going to need to be on a wheel chair for some time and was very sure there wasn't a child ANYWHERE as bad off as he was. Then he met my two children and suddenly felt that he didn't have quite as many problems...

THEN:

My children...

Shekinah: "mom that boy , why doesn't he have elbows that bend?"

Me: "Well, that's how God made HIM."

Shekinah: "Well I'm glad God gave me elbows."

A bit of background on this ...Shekinah has been talking about her hands quite a bit lately and wishing she had more fingers...."or hands like yours, mom." She usually comes to the acceptance "God made me this way, right mom?" So to hear her reason this through was interesting.

I mentioned the fixators to Joseph and said, "I looked at those pins and were glad they didn't live in my house. How about you Joseph?"

Joe:" Well his pins weren't as big as mine and they didn't go through the bone like mine, but yeah I'm glad I don't have to do that again."

I realized that the trauma of the ex-fix apparently affected his memory, but we'll let him go.

Have a good week! Rumor has it that the temps might hit the 50's, but as DH said "I'll believe it when I see it."