We're off

I realized that I have neglected my blog here in the last few weeks. I guess the change of routine and days filled with activity kept me busy. I do want to jot down some of our favorite happenings from this Christmas holiday.
1. Extended time with family.
2. Great food: ham and poppy seed rolls (Philip had never had them!), chocolate peanut butter balls, Moravian cake, fruit salad...need I add to the list-
3. Parties and dinner with friends.
4. Warm days with Carolina blue skies - I have no need for a white Christmas!

5. Getting to go on vacation!!!
Which is where our family will head tomorrow morning. We are going to spend a few more days in Charlotte and then head to Boone. We are looking forward to a wonderful time away with lots of hiking, skiing, hot chocolate and relaxing.

Sickness....

We had a wonderful visit to Charlotte this week. I love going to see Philip's family. There is always great conversations, great food, games to play, shopping to do, eating out and this time cookies to bake. We tried a new restaurant this time; Hawthorne's. It was great. The only bad thing is I'll have to drive to Charlotte to get those yummy sweet wings that I can't seem to get out of my mind. Upon arriving home and removing some very tired young people out of the car I noticed that Ryan was a bit warm. Sure enough- he awoke from his nap with a slight fever on Friday night. Without going into too many details, they seem to have all come down with something. Ryan is walking around saying, "I got a beaver". He means fever! So for the first time that I can ever remember, all 3 kids are sick and we are staying home from church.
I'm glad for Sunday morning cartoons and a little extra time to catch up on laundry. Soon I'll break out our Bible card games that the kids just got and we'll have a home church. Peter already offered to preach!

Applesauce Ornaments

I have some fond memories of making these ornaments at some point in my childhood. We made them a few years ago with the kids and I tackled the project last week. I was surprised at how well they all did and how easy they were.
It was really a fun project. One tip for those who might try it. You do need a lot of cinnamon so try to find it cheap. I found some at Walmart for $.50 a container.

Something to be jealous about

Now that's the kind of nap I want to take! That is Emma under that huge book!

A baby spotting

Well, the inevitable has finally happened; twice in one week. Earlier this week a friend was over in the evening and lovingly mentioned, "Oh, I can see the baby". Granted this was one of the nicest ways that I have experienced someone saying, "your belly is getting big!". I agreed that in the evenings the "baby" was good at making itself visible. However, somewhere between then and today the "baby" is making itself visible throughout the day. This morning at church, there was another sighting. So at 14 weeks, I am officially showing! I can't believe it has happened this early.
Although, my first trimester was hardly anything to complain about it is nice to have some energy back. However the indigestion has carried itself through and is helping me to not eat so much. At least, if I would listen to my body, I would know not to eat that second helping. I have yet to really experience any cravings. Well, there was a hot fudge sunday from McDonald's that I really wanted but that was only once! I am sure that even before I would have registered as pregnant, my coffee taste buds were turned off. I can now mildly enjoy a small half a cup of coffee if I really need a pick me up but it is nothing like before. Oh the joys of pregnancy!
I heard the heart beat on Thursday. It was 162! So I can't remember if that's fast or slow or if that means a boy or a girl....either way it's always reassuring to hear that lovely sound.

Bunk Beds

The kids have known for a while that once their dad got finished with this semester we would be bunking their beds. Well, as soon as we starting making congratulations posters they figured out that it was bunk bed time. No rest for the weary- Philip was a great sport. He'd been up since 2am but lovingly put together their beds with the help of a good friend. It wouldn't have been half as challenging if I hadn't thrown away the pieces a mere month ago. Who would have thought that the "broken wind chimes" in the junk drawer would have been the pieces needed to connect the bunk beds. Fortunately, I'm blessed with a very forgiving and creative husband who with the help of Mr. Branden rectified my error!

Needless to say- the kids have spent a lot of time in their rooms this week.

Confessions

I often get this question from friends or people I meet, "What does your day look like?". I think this question is mostly stemmed from the unknown of homeschooling but it also comes because we don't turn our tv on during the week (mostly). Well, I chuckled to myself yesterday when I found this happening under my nose! I just wanted to share what we do....

I'm not sure why but Ryan kept saying, "Gram will be proud of me". I have no idea why but he thought she'd be!

Marriage advice

One afternoon this week, Peter and I were sitting at the kitchen table working on school work. Out of the blue he says, "Do you know what's good about getting married?".
"No, what is good about it?"
Peter answers, " You can marry anybody you want to as long as they aren't sinners."

Isn't that great! I did contemplate whether to leave it as is or to correct his thought process. I chose to remind him that we are all sinners!