Update on Tricia...

Unfortunately, the lungs didn't match, so last night ended up being a "dry run." Hopefully the lungs and the rest of the organs were a match to someone out there and have helped them to start a new life. I continue to pray for the donor's family, that they would find peace and comfort. I also pray for Tricia and Nate...what a totally emotionally exhausting night. The hopes were all so high...and then to have them not match. I pray that the right lungs are found, soon...and that God will comfort the family of that donor. I pray that Tricia and Nate continue to be strong, both mentally and physically. I pray that they continue to be brave, and such a wonderful example of faith in the face of a crisis. I pray that little Gwyneth continues to do well, and starts growing even bigger and stronger!
I found some fabric yesterday that I'm going to use to make them a sling. Slings are so wonderful for preemies who thrive on the close cuddling provided by the sling...she might just be a bit too small to sling right now, but soon she will be perfect sized for "slinging!" I made sure that the fabric isn't too "girly" so that Nate will feel comfortable slinging little Gwyneth...I can't wait to see pictures of them using it!
Thanks, everyone, for your continued prayers for this incredible family.

PRAYERS PLEASE!!

Ok, I just started the "rounds." Checking blogs to see how everyone's weekends were. The first blog I went to was Nate's...Nate is the CF Husband I've told you about before. He has BIG news! They have been called about a possible transplant opportunity. The transplant team is traveling right now to see if the lungs are indeed a match, they will know soon. Meanwhile, Tricia is going through the beginning prep for surgery!!! Yea!
Please pray for the donor's family. Even if the lungs aren't a match to Tricia, they will match someone else, and help someone to lead a healthier life...however, in order for this miracle to happen, someone has died today. Someone's family is very sad right now, mourning the loss of someone they love. Pray for the donor's family, and for all the people who will receive the miracle of life through this tragedy.
You can check his blog by clicking the link above...but I will post an update as soon as there is news!!

Menu Plan...Sunday??

I know, I know, it is not Monday, but that's ok, I'm going to plan my menu anyway.
Monday: Chicken Tetrazinni...or at least my version!
Tuesday: Smoked Sausage skillet dinner (potatoes, onions, corn, smoked sausage, and cheese, YUMMY!) and fresh bread
Wednesday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!!! He will be celebrating with the youth group, so the kids and I will just do pb&j's or leftovers.
Thursday: Andrew's wrestling banquet...I'm taking a taco salad to share.
Friday: Sloppy Joe's and french fries
Saturday: I'm hoping to take Hubby out to dinner for his birthday, just a tad bit late.

At least it was short lived!

Bethany woke up this morning feeling back to her old self. No fever, and only that one puking session...which was MORE than enough! Thank You, God, for returning my daughter's health. I still have a sinus thing going on, my head feels so full, my ears, jaw, and eyes ache. I just feel wiped out. Andrew is at a birthday party, Abbie & Daddy went to the lake for a fishing session, Bethany and I are hanging out here by ourselves...maybe I'll get a little nap! I know, wishful thinking! :o) Thanks everyone for praying for my little one! (This is a picture from our trip to the zoo over spring break...just didn't want to do another post without a picture!)

not again....

About mid-morning this morning, Bethany crawled up into my lap and said she was tired. I felt her forehead, and yes...she was hot. She was asleep about 2 minutes later and slept until 2:30. She's just slept and laid around all evening. About 7:30, I was trying to get her to take a children's tylenol to bring down the fever. She said she was going to puke...I thought she just didn't want to take the meds...I was wrong. PROJECTILE vomiting has found us AGAIN! We have had more throwing up this winter than we EVER have in all previous years combined. At one point, she was snuggling in my lap (this is before the puking) and she looked up at me and said "Mommy will you pray to Jesus to make me better?" Oh, honey, I already am!

Oh, how I love you...let me count the ways...

When Hubby and I were dating we started this silly thing. We would say:

Me: I love you
Him: I love you, too
Me: I love you, three
Him: I love you, four
Me & Him together: I love you MORE!

We still are silly...and continue to say these things. The kids all have picked up on the silly things we say (good and bad) and these "I love you"'s have changed and grown over the years. Here is an example:

I love you
I love you, too
I love you, 3
I love you, 4
I love you out the door!

I love you
I love you, too
I love you, three
I love you, four
I love you, five
I love you, six
I love you, seven
I love you, eight
I love you, nine
I love you, ten ...I WIN!

I love these silly things...all of my silly things!

YIPPEE!!!

I figured it out! Go Me! GO Me! I got it! I even did a tiny bit of "fixing" on the pic to crop it and change the coloring just a bit. I'm so excited! :o) By the way, Andrew and Abbie are very close in height...he might be just a smidge taller than her, but don't tell that older sister that her little brother is taller...he looks much taller in the picture because he was higher up on the hill. :o)
And now we return you to your regularly scheduled blog reading...

More lake pics...my new favorite!

I told you I had some cool pics from the lake from the other night. First of all, the picture of Warren and his first fish of the year. It may look small, but for a croppy, it's pretty good sized (that's what he says anyway! ;o))
The kids weren't too into fishing this night, instead Bethany started collecting rocks. Abbigail and Andrew soon joined her. This is the "rocket" they made out of their rocks.I got a crazy idea to take their picture as they looked out at the water, I think it turned out pretty cool. I took a bunch of pictures, some into the sun, and others at an angle. Which do you like better? Now, if anyone knows how to change the header on these blog things to include a picture...help me out! :o)
Besides collecting rocks, the kids also had a good time just climbing around on the rocks. No snakes came out to greet them like they did last week...now that was good times! Out of my three children, which do you think ran off SCREAMING..."SNAKE, SNAKE!!" Yep, Andrew. The girls just stood there, and backed away slowly. Not Andrew...I think they could here him screaming all the way back in town. Good thing they were just little baby garder snakes.
I am so glad we do this as a family...this is what memories are made of!

Long awaited Lake Pictures!

I've been promising pictures from the lake for quite a while...today I'm delivering! Gotta love this new laptop that I can bring in the living room and post while still supervising the kiddos.
First we have pics of the lake...such a beautiful setting. Can you believe this is in the middle of Kansas? It's so amazing to drive the 10 miles, it goes from flat farm land, and as you go around a curve in the road, suddenly it becomes very hilly and rocky...just down the road is this beautiful lake. Yes, it is a man-made lake with a damn, but still! This is the day Andrew lost his pole. He was feeling a bit 'down' after the incident! He cuddled up in our blanket until supper was ready. We enjoyed a yummy dinner, then SMORES! No, Bethany doesn't usually wear make-up, this was the same day as her dance pictures! :o)
We went to the lake again last night , but went to the other side...different perspective! Hubby caught a fish in the first 5 minutes, but nothing else for the rest of the evening. We gave it to another couple there fishing because hubby doesn't think it's worth it to clean just one fish, not enough to eat anyway! I got some awesome pics last night, can't wait to get them loaded!! So, I guess you'll have to wait for more pictures, but haven't you had enough for one day??? ;o)

Easter Egg hunts, dying eggs, and Easter Sunday....lots of pics!

Here are a bunch of pictures of the recent holiday. What a wonderful day to celebrate and remember what Jesus has done for us. It is also a day for fun. Easter egg hunts (the city one a few weeks ago), coloring Easter eggs, and of course a nice new outfit for Ester Sunday. Ok, on to the pictures!

Here the kids are getting ready for the egg hunt...baskets are empty.Bethany hunting for eggs in the "3 & under" section.Abbigail and Andrew hunting in the 6-8 yr old section. Look closely, Andrew is behind Abbie in the black hooded jacket.Full baskets!

Coloring eggs...so much fun, and Mom only slightly freaks out about all the liquid that will permanently stain anything it touches. My counters have a slightly yellow hue in places due to the yellow splashing out...even the newspaper couldn't stop the stain! Each of the kids did 8 eggs...2 dozen total. Only one of the eggs met with an untimely death before becoming beautiful! But Bethany quickly ate up the "squishy" egg that she dropped on the counter and cracked the shell. Squishy eggs is one of my kids favorite snacks. One of my favorite part of coloring eggs is the beautiful paper towel left from the drying eggs...I think this is just so pretty!
Easter morning was very chilly, but the kids were excited to see what the Easter Bunny brought! The Easter Bunny found a really good deal on MP3 players. He was nice enough to load them up with all of the kids' favorite Veggie Tale music and kids' praise music. Silly me thought we might travel in quiet, not having to listen to the kids' music. However, now we don't hear a kid's song, now we hear three kids singing three different songs! They have fun, though, so that's important. It is so wonderful to hear my 3 year old singing "Shine, Jesus, Shine" and Andrew singing "Amazing Grace" And of course Abbigail sings just about anything!
Easter morning we attended the Sunrise service at 7:00. Bethany joined in saying the Lord's prayer. We say it each night, but she usually doesn't pray it out loud at church, but this morning she did...very loudly! So adorable! We had a yummy breakfast after the first service, then a fun Easter Egg hunt with our Sunday School friends. Then we had another worship service. One thing I love about Easter is that I get to take communion with my husband! Being the pastor, he communes by himself before the congregation communes, and I just wait for my turn like the rest of the congregation. However, on Christmas Day and Easter Day, I go up when he communes and I get to kneel with him, it makes me feel special and like a wife, not a single mom! The kids always go up with me, and they get so excited to be able to go up with Daddy! After church we had a yummy lunch of ham, potatoes, corn, and fresh bread. YUMMY, if I do say so myself! After a quick rest, and cleaning up the dishes, we headed out to Bazine. We decided to attend worship there with Warren. In all it was a very nice, though tiring day! What a wonderful thing to be able to attend not one, but three entirely different services to celebrate Jesus' resurrection! No wonder hubby was so busy, I thought he would just do one service, 3 times, but no, each one was completely different!
I hope and pray that all of you had a wonderful Easter, celebrating the wonderful things that Jesus has done for all of us. If any of my Wichita family is reading this and has pictures of the family gathering at my parent's place...I'd LOVE to see them! Email them to me, PLEASE!!!

Dance pictures

My girls are both in dance class...recital is coming up in two weeks! They each had their class pictures taken a few weeks ago. These are my pics, not the professional ones....hers are MUCH better! Can't wait to see the real ones. Bethany is the short bee in the front row, what a little poser! Abbie is the short one in the pink.

Bullet-point update

I'm tired. Spring break is over, even for me...the childcare kiddos all come back tomorrow. I love them, but just like any job, it's nice to have time off! I'm going to give some bullet-style updates just because I'm tired and don't feel like being overly eloquent tonight...ok, when am I ever eloquent? I don't know!

• I'm typing this entry on my NEW PRETTY GREEN PUTER!!!! It arrived today and I'm so excited. I'm still obviously trying to figure everything out. It's got Vista, so that's interesting. Trying to get some of my programs and my "favorites" from the other computer. If I don't comment on your blog...leave me a comment, I just might not have brought your link over by accident!
• My neighbors are moving. We met this wonderful couple the day we moved into this home. They came over to welcome us, just as they were about to leave town for their son's home in ND...ND?? Hubby grew up in ND! Where are you going? Small Town....WHAT?? That's the SAME TINY TOWN HE'S FROM!!!! What a total coincidence. Their son, grew up here in Small Town, KS. Met a girl from Small Town, ND, married her and moved to her town. Turns out, she was a grade or two younger than hubby...small world! We've been friends ever since. She takes wonderful photos. She's always snapping away at my kids when she has a few pics left on her camera. She always brings them special treats for holidays. Just good neighbors. Hubby is sad...now he will have to go buy a ladder! The husband got a job in Ohio, and they will be moving by the end of April. I'm sad! I will miss them so much!
• Abbigail is getting sad about school again. She still misses Mrs. Wonderful. She is having her treatments, and things are going great, but she won't be returning to school. Abbigail has gotten used to, and fallen in love with the substitute. She's an older, retired, teacher. She did not want to commit to the rest of the year, but committed until the end of March. They are bringing in a new teacher for April and May. The new teacher is a NEW teacher. She did her student teaching here at our school in the fall and graduated in December. I'm sure she'll be great, but this is just one more change for this class that has been through so much this year. Abbigail now is moping around saying "I wish we didn't have to change teachers." She is such a loving girl, she will love the new teacher, but to loose someone else that she has grown dependent on will be difficult for her. Please keep her in your prayers.
• As if Easter and all that entails for a pastor wasn't enough...we have 3...no, 4 members in various hospitals around here. CRAZY! This was a BAD weekend for emergency surgeries. Hubby could really use a day off, but he's off to visit the hospitals. He was not feeling well last week, but seems to be on the mend. He tends to get sick every year right around Christmas and Easter. I think the stress of all the extra services and responsibilities knocks out his immune system so that every bug around can attack him. Just another way the devil is trying to keep the Good News from getting out! It didn't work though...he still preaches, even with a cough drop in his mouth and a frog in his throat! :o) I'm so proud of my hubby. He takes such good care of our family. He loves me, and the kids so much. Sometimes I am just overwhelmed with the love I feel for this man. Thank You, God, for giving him to me!
• I spent Thursday and Friday chasing Abbigail and Andrew on their bikes. We've taken all training wheels off...well, we let Bethany keep hers! So, I was holding onto their sweatshirts and keeping them off the pavement. They are both doing pretty good, but it will take more work! Maybe tomorrow we can get out there some more!

That's enough for tonight. I'm going to bed! Nighty-Night! Sleep Tight...Don't let the bed bugs bite. But if they do, take your shoe, and beat them till they're black and blue! (My hubby's influence, sorry!)

Bethany is funny...Part 2

Today was the first day Abbigail and Andrew went back to school. It was a great spring break, but they have to go back sometime! :o) My one little girl that I was supposed to have had family in town, so her mom took the day off. So...Spring break continued for me! :o) Warren had 2 people to visit in the hospital in the "city" so off we went while the older two were in school. I think Bethany thoroughly enjoyed having the two of us to herself. After the hospital we did some shopping and even went out to lunch, she got to choose where...after mom vetoed McDonald's a few times! When we were going through the check out at Wal*Mart, she was holding one of those toys they always put right next to the check-out lanes. She was playing with it, though before giving it to her I explained that she could hold it for just a few minutes, then we were putting it back, we were NOT buying it! She agreed that she would not throw a fit, and that she would give it up...pretty grown-up for a 3 year old! Well, when the time came to give up the goods, she said "I'm so disappointed." DISAPPOINTED??? What a BIG word from my little girl! At another point, Hubby was teasing her that he was going to buy her a bag of doggie treats, she told him that they were for dogs, not for "HUMANS" What?? Where is this girl picking up such big words? One other example. She was out in the patio playing this evening. She was dancing around and singing "Demonstrate!" I guess she was demonstrating her dance to us! I'm going to have to get a good dictionary to keep up with this one.

Bethany is funny

Unfortunately, Bethany knows where I keep the key to her piggy bank. Now, she comes into the kitchen and opens the drawer, extracting the precious key. We already had to get a replacement piggy bank because I lost the last key! This morning, she wanted to show Andrew ALL the money in her piggy...so she came to get the key. I told her that we aren't going to be emptying little piggy today, and put the key away before we loose it! She started throwing one of her tantrums (she's getting really good at these!) I calmly told her to settle down She settled down and then said something that almost made me fall over laughing. "How come you get to do anything you want to and I don't get to do NOTHING?" (Yes, she uses double negatives, she's only 3!) I told her that I'm the Momma, that's why! :o)
Oh, if only she knew....if only grown-ups did get to do whatever they wanted!

{We've had a fun spring break, just haven't taken time to post. I'll try to get caught up soon}

AWESOME NEWS!!!!

I have two pieces of good news to share.
First...AWESOME NEWS! Mrs. Wonderful (Abbigail's teacher who is receiving treatments for cancer) is in REMISSION! After only one round of treatments, she went back for her second round, and the cancer is GONE!!! She will stay in Texas (where she went to receive treatments) to being the transplant process. From what I understand they will remove some of her bone marrow and the stem cells inside, "clean it up" (I think this means making sure it is cancer-free) and then give it back to her. She will remain there for the next 6-8 weeks. Which means, she will obviously miss the rest of the school year (this was expected already) but she will be coming home just in time to see her daughter graduate from high school. What a blessing! The doctors had previously told her that she would probably have to undergo at least 3-4 rounds of treatment...she just did one! We serve an AWESOME, All-Powerful God!

Second...good news, for me! I was totally stressing out about the amount of paper-work needed to expand the license for the preschool. I must have called our county lady 4 times yesterday morning. She gave me the name and number of the state lady last week. One time I tried to call the local lady to ask a question, but she was out to lunch, so I called the state lady. She was also out to lunch, but I left a voice mail. She called back about an hour later. I explained what I was trying to do and she asked why I was doing so much paperwork. Apparently just to get the new number approved, they need a new director (ME!). My credentials need to be verified. The only other thing we need to do is be approved by the fire marshal. I already had the forms for myself done! The head of the board is taking care of the fire marshal...so I'm done! Praise God! I spent about 5 hours working on the various paperwork yesterday (before I found this out) and was only making a dent in what I thought needed to be done. In defense of the local lady, we are the only preschool she deals with. When they hired a new director a few years ago, they also had to get a new license because they changed the owner (from the board to the church) and a few other changes, so they did have to get a whole new license. She thought this was standard procedure...I'm so glad she was wrong!
Oh, one more "good news" thing. Hubby called Dell yesterday and ordered me a laptop! In honor of St. Patrick's day (and because it's my favorite color) he even ordered a green cover! :o) I can't wait till it arrives...in about 10 days-2 weeks. Thanks Hubby! I love you!!! I just might even let him borrow it once in a while! ;o)

Menu Plan Monday

I know it is Tuesday, but I just didn't get this typed out yesterday...it was in my head, but not on the 'puter! So....just in case you're curious about what the Prochnow's will be eating this week, here it is:

Monday: Pizza pockets
Tuesday: Hubby will be in Bazine, kids and I will have a clean out the fridge night.
Wednesday: Out to dinner...we got great coupons for $.99 meals for the kids.
Thursday: Maundy Thursday...Spaghetti and ooey gooey cheesey bread
Friday: Good Friday...Tortilla bake

Bullet post....

I guess it's been too long since I last posted...my parents just called to see if I was still alive. No excuses for not posting, I just haven't. So...here's what we've been up to...and no, the sunshine isn't keeping me busy, it snowed today! Not too much, but definitely colder!

• Wednesday night around 11:00 Abbigail woke up, and began another round of the "puking nights." Thankfully, no one else has added to the fest. So, Thursday was spent trying to regain her strength, and catching up on a little sleep for Bethany (took almost 4 hour nap!), Abbigail (took 2 hour nap), and Mom (I even got in almost 1 1/2 hours!).
• Thursday I also found out that I will be spending the next WEEK filling out paperwork for my new job. We are trying to get our preschool licensed to enroll more children, and that takes a new license! Tons of paperwork which needs to be completed ASAP!
  
• Friday we didn't do a whole lot. Just enjoyed knowing it was the last day of school/childcare for a week. This is spring break for our schools.
• Saturday Abbigail had a make-up dance rehearsal in the morning. In the afternoon we went to our town park for the city's Easter Egg Hunt. It was fun, but only lasted about 10-15 minutes...you say "GO!" and watch all those kids run off to fill up their baskets...they were picked clean really quick! Thank goodness they at least separate the ages up and have the areas roped off so no one will get a head start!
• After the egg hunt, the kids and I drove to the city to meet Warren (who was at a meeting) for a little shopping. We got Andrew's Easter shirt, and then began looking for a new laptop. I think it will help a lot in my new job to have a computer I can use here or there...so we are looking. Staples has some really great deals right now, so I'm "hoping" that I will have my own puter by the end of the week! :o)
• Today is Palm Sunday...a very long Bible reading in church, and a very large attendance for our little church makes for a long service! We are usually finished with services withing an hour, sometimes shorter...this time it was nearly an hour and a half. With three wiggly kiddos...OUCH! But they actually sat very nicely during the sermon and I got to listen! Thanks kids!
  
• Today after church I was washing up the breakfast dishes while I was waiting for lunch to cook, and a glass broke in the sink...while my hand was inside to wash it. Sliced my pinky open pretty bad. Andrew picked a Spider man band aid to make me feel better. It's a small, but deep and open cut. It bled pretty bad for a while, but then seemed to stop. Until this evening...I finally got the guts up to finish the dishes...now from all day. The band aid got wet so I took it off. Pretty soon my finger was all red again. Now I have a pretty pink Barbie band aid...think this one will work?
• I'm off to do more paperwork...ok, not tonight, it will have to wait till morning!

Blessing to all...I will try to post more pics this week!

The Lake...

I'm too tired to do a full recap of the lake adventure last night...so here's the shortened version...

We arrived.
I started getting dinner ready while Hubby and the kids started fishing.
ANDREW donated his fishing pole to the bottom of the lake.
Many tears were shed.
Supper was eaten.
Smores were devoured.
We came home and went to bed.

A better recap, stories, and great pics coming when I can think strait...it's been another great day, but I'm exhausted! This nice weather is great, but I don't sit down much, too much sunshine to enjoy! :o) Tomorrow it might rain, so I'll hopefully be able to blog a little more! :o)

Going to the Lake...

There have been some questions as to our weather, and going to the lake. Well, outside right now it is 72 beautiful, sunny degrees. When I say we are going to the lake, I don't mean we are going swimming or boating! We enjoy standing on the shore or a dock and throwing in a fishing line (or pole in Bethany's case)...grilling out, running around the quiet lakeside...making it not so quiet! We enjoy listening to the birds, counting the rabbits we see, watching for deer...lots of fun stuff to do. Some days during the summer, we do go swimming in the beach area, but most evenings we just enjoy the beautiful scenery. It is so amazing to look at the surroundings and realize we are in the plains, but the area surrounding the lake does not look very flat. There are bluffs, cliffs, valleys...it is beautiful! If we get out there early enough, I will take lots of pictures!

Hubby is on his way home from a meeting that was 2 1/2 hours away, and he's still about an hour away right now. I'm trying to get everything ready to go. By the 4th or 5th time we go each year, I have all my stuff for the lake all together and it's just a matter of putting it in the car. However, since this is our first trip, I have to locate everything that has been put away since the fall. Hopefully I'll have it all ready by the time hubby gets home and he can just change clothes and we can hop in the car and be off!

Lake...here we come!

Just in case you are curious...here are some pics I took the last time we were at the lake in October...

10 Reasons why motherhood makes me smile

I have gotten two ideas for a post that I am going to combine here...my blogging buddy, Elizabeth, posted "10 Reasons to Smile" last week and I thought it was pretty cool. So that's where the initial idea for this post came. The second idea came from Nate at "Confessions of a CF Husband." He's the husband of Tricia, and the father of little Gweneth Rose who was born at 25 weeks and is now 8 weeks old. Someone who reads Nate's blog came up with a really great idea...listing things that Tricia has to look forward to in her role as Mommy. So...with that background, here are 10 things about motherhood that make me smile:

1. Snuggling with your little ones as they drift off to sleep. Watching those little eyelids get heavier and heavier until they simply cannot remain open...the quiet and peaceful moments when you just get to rock and snuggle with this little blessing.
2. Those WONDERFUL snuggly hugs that you get when you walk in the door, whether you've been away for 5 minutes or 5 hours...they miss you and are just so glad you have come back to them!
3. The "help" in the kitchen...doing dishes, making cookies, brownies, or anything has never been as fun as it is when you have a "helper" :o) (even when they fall off their step-stool!)
4. Hearing "I love you SO much, Mommy." and knowing that they really do mean it...and you are the only person who will ever be in that special place in their heart.
5. Hearing them sing "Jesus loves me." and knowing that they actually take those words to heart...that they BELIEVE that Jesus DOES love them...so very much!
6. When your baby begins being afraid of strangers...that they want MOMMY! It can be stressful, but secretly, down in your heart of hearts, it feels good that they want ME!
7. Being the only one in the world who can interpret the toddler's talk...or identify the "potty dance."
8. Reading books with your little one, instilling in them a love of books, learning, and curiosity.
9. Getting to watch as they grow and learn...becoming more of an independent little person. Making friends, playing pretend, creating, drawing, painting...
10. Knowing that God has entrusted this little soul to you...to teach, nurture, and love. Praising God for this awesome honor, and praying that He will give you wisdom in this most important work.

These are just 10 of the things about motherhood that make me smile. There were many times (months and years) that I didn't think I would ever get to experience motherhood. I thank God each and every day for the three blessings that He has bestowed upon me and my husband. We are honored and privileged to call them our children. 'Mommy' is my proudest title.

(This picture was taken last year on Mother's Day)

Weekend in review...Saturday Sports

Saturday was a big day for two of my kiddos. It was Abbigail's last basketball game for this season, and it was Andrew's last wrestling tournament for the year. Andrew and daddy got up SUPER early on Saturday so they could be at the wrestling tournament (1 1/2 hours away) by 6:30AM(!!!!)...weigh in time. Oh.my.goodness...let's just say I was very thankful Abbie had a basketball game at 10:00 and we had to stay home. ;O)

Abbigail's basket ball abilities have grown throughout the season. She has enjoyed it very much. Abbie played hard at her basketball game. (She's the little one in the middle without her arms up) So did Bethany! One of Abbie's best friends, H1, has a little sister, H2...and Bethany and H2 are also best buddies. H1 was on Abbie's basketball team, so H2 & Bethany had ample opportunity to play and be silly.
After the basketball game, we headed off to catch the last half of the wrestling tournament. We missed the first match...Andrew was pinned in this match. His second match, he pinned the other guy in no time at all! The third match was the most difficult. Andrew kept fighting just as hard as he could! Every time the other little boy tried to roll Andrew onto his back, he would spread his legs WIDE so that he couldn't be turned! He was amazing! The other boy was a bit stronger, an had wrestled for a few years....but he never did get Andrew pinned. Andrew lost by points. However...among his bracket, Andrew got 2nd! The boy who pinned him in the first match won 1st, and the boy who beat him in the last round got 3rd! I am just so thrilled and proud of him that he never gave up! He kept fighting with all he had! He was upset that he lost the last match, very disappointed, but we kept telling him how great he did and how proud we were of him. Now he can't wait till next year! In this picture he's watching the boys wrestling before him...Abbie didn't catch any "action" shots this time. One of these days I'm going to figure out how to post videos...then you'll really get to see him in action!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm very excited about this week...the weather is supposed to be beautiful!! And since the weather is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL, we are planning our first outing (of 2008) to the lake! We LOVE going to the lake for the evening (a nice little state park about 10 miles from home) for a little fishing, grilling out, and smores! So..here is what is on the menu this week, although I don't want to be inside cooking this week!

Monday: Sloppy joes, carrots/celery, fruit

Tuesday: LAKE! Grilling of hamburgers/hot dogs, chips, fruit, smores

Wednesday: Lenten soup supper at church, I don't have to cook!

Thursday: Hubby will be gone, so the kids and I will have either a leftover buffet, or pb&j's...maybe a picnic at the park!

Friday: If the weather is still nice, we will probably head to the lake again! If not, I will make homemade pizza's

Thankful Thursday

Yes, it is once again Thankful Thursday. I have had one of THOSE days. On THOSE days, I find it even more important to look at the blessings in my life, rather than dwell on what made it such a tough day. So...what am I thankful for? I am thankful

• that I have this blog, an outlet for the stories about my kids. A way to keep my parents and other far-away family up to date with my kids. A way to make new friends, wonderful Christian women who encourage me from all over the world.
• that tomorrow is another new day. That tomorrow I will have a girl's night out with some friends.
• that I have a warm home to protect me from the cold wind.
• that my kids and husband love me...and that I am blessed enough to love them.
• that my parents call to say "Hi...we read your blog." Even though they don't COMMENT (come on guys!! :o))
• that the children are all in bed, and apparently already sleeping!! Thank You God!!! The house is quiet and I have a moment to myself.
• that everyone at our home is apparently over the yuck that we have had the last few weeks.
• that even though I didn't get to go to my retreat last weekend (sick kids and a hubby working a wrestling tournament all day Saturday), other women did go, and were blessed. I am thankful that I will get a chance to go next year.
• that I am getting excited about my new position as director and teacher...I'm really looking forward to teaching again!
• that I have a comfy bed, which happens to be calling my name....
• that God loves me and forgives me...even on one of THOSE days!

Blessings to all...

Pictures as promised!

I promised that I would post pictures of Andrew's first wrestling tournament...so here they are! This is the picture Abbie and I took right before his second match. Abbie thought she was taking pictures during the first match, but she wasn't holding the button down long enough, so there are no pics of it, here I was explaining how long you have to hold the button down.

These pictures are all from the Andrew's second match, the one he won! Abbigail was manning this camera and I had the video camera. So...thanks Abbigail! Andrew is in the blue...he's the one on top! Here is Andrew just before he pinned the other little boy.

Here are some cute pictures of my little Bethany. She helped me make the "biscuits and gravy" AKA...chicken pot pie the other night. She helped roll out and cut the biscuits. After the pie was in the oven, she played in the flour while I washed some dishes. She looked so cute I went to get the camera...of course in the 30 seconds it took me to grab the camera and come back, she fell off her step stool. Posing for pictures was not on her list of favorite things at this moment, but the pictures were so precious I couldn't keep them to myself.

What do they want to be?

So I was chatting with Andrew and Bethany this afternoon. Abbigail was finishing her homework...I wish she had been in on this conversation.
It all started out because Bethany was snuggled up to me and I told her I don't want her to grow up, I want her to stay my little girl forever. Then I started thinking about it...no, that is not what I want. I will miss her little girl smile, giggle, and snuggles, but I know her grown up smiles, giggles, and hugs will be equally as wonderful. I asked her if she wants to grow up, and she said "Yes, when I get bigger I'll grow up. I'm getting bigger right now from all those biscuits and gravy." (We had chicken pot pie, and I make it with biscuits on top of the yummy chicken and veggies, she just thinks it's biscuits and gravy.) Any way...I asked her what she wants to be when she gets older and she said she wants to be a mommy with big boobies...only my daughter. She wants a husband (that's good). I asked her if she wants a to have a job that she goes to, and she couldn't think of anything. I started listing off things like nurse, secretary, doctor, chef,etc...and she said she wants to be a doctor.
I asked Andrew what he wants to be when he grows up, and he said he wants to be a husband. I asked who he wants to marry and his answer: "A girl who doesn't have a husband" Ok...good criteria! I asked him what he wants to do for a job and he said that he is going to stay home and take care of child care children like I do...he thinks it's just all playing! He then went on to tell me that he's going to have 10 boys and 10 girls, and "definitely a dog!" LOL!!! I told him that he might mention the 20 children to this non-married gal before he asks her to marry him. I also informed him that his 20 children will probably want to eat once in a while, so he might want to consider a job that pays a bit more than childcare...like being Donald Trumps protogee. :o) (Is Andrew possibly the little old man who lives with the little old woman in the shoe...and all 20 children...and the dog?)

Oh, the things that come out of their mouths! :o) Love their imaginations!

One more thing...while driving somewhere the other day, the kids apparently saw a spider on the outside of their window. They started discussing different spiders, they thought maybe the one on the van was the dreaded "Daddy Long John" spider. LOLLOL!!! :-)

February in review

How did February go...in accordance with my goals you might ask...well, you might not care, but I'm going to tell you anyway because it's MY blog, and I can do what I want to! :o)

I walked on the treadmill 12 days for a total of 31.58 miles. Not quite as far as I had hoped, but I'm still moving, and that's the important part! I finally have started seeing results from my walking and change of eating habits! Yea! I've lost about 8 pounds, but my clothes are fitting different! My pants are all getting way loose, I even went out and purchased a belt this weekend! I have been eating less snacks, and jsut a slim-fast for breakfast. I've been eating smaller lunches, and drinking more water. All of this is helping in my health improvements. I'm proud of myself!

While walking, I have continued my Bible reading. I have now finished Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. I am looking forward to reading Ruth starting tomorrow!

On the home front, I have kept trying to do the menu planning, which really helps during the week. Just knowing that there is a plan in place for dinner helps me not to stress out. I have been trying to fix double of some things and putting the extra in the freezer for a quick meal. For example, I made about 3 pounds of taco meat a few weeks ago and froze them in baggies (1 cup per baggie). Tonight when I got home at 5:30 from a meeting at the preschool I will be working at next year...I just pulled out a baggie and threw it in the microwave. With the other ingredients already ready to go, supper was on the table in less than 10 minutes. I have also made the resolution not to buy anymore sugary cereal. I just feel like a bad mom sugaring up my kids in the morning. Why not just feed them candy and cookies and send them off? The cereal they have been eating can't be much better than that. So...I told them that when this stuff is gone, it's gone. I won't buy anymore. I am buying honey-nut o's (generic Ch**rios) and plain O's, and mixing them together. They still get some sweet, but not nearly as much sugar as they are currently consuming. I'm also trying to make sure that there are always fruits and veggies (carrot and celery sticks...cut up and ready to eat) in the fridge for a healthy snack. I've never been big on serving cookies as a snack, but peanut butter crackers and graham crackers also have a lot of sugar and aren't all that healthy.

On the frugal front, we're doing pretty great. Warren has been very aggressive in paying off some credit card debt, and has paid off one completely in the last two months. OUCH! He has also put a lot in our money market account to cover our taxes and other expenses that are coming up. It has been rather painful, but necessary. We know we can and are surviving on what God has provided. I must admit that I sometimes get frustrated that I can't go get the kids a treat or when I worry about going to the grocery store, but I know that Warren is doing what is best for our family and I try to follow his lead. (Warren, please forgive me when I question your judgement and become cranky.) We have only gone to Wal-Mart once during this month, so that cuts way back on our spending. I do our MAJOR shopping there to stock up on the basics, and then fill in the gaps at our local store when needed. We have only gone out to eat once a week (or none on some weeks). I know I can continue to do better.

Now for March...my goals:

• Continue walking. I want to walk tha majority of days this month, with a mileage total of more than 40. I want to continue to move the scale in the right direction...loosing 10 pounds would be GREAT!
• I want to continue to encourage the children to make better choices in their eating as well...which means I need to be a good role model and offer healthy choices.
• I want to continue to read through my Bible, and talk to my Father.
• I want to make practicing mathc facts with Abbigail a priority. She is a great student, but her math facts are lacking. She is already saying "I hate math." and "I'm just no good at math." which I find very sad. I want to play games with her to help her practice while having fun.
• I want to continue to work on being more frugal...and less cranky when I think Warren is being too aggressive with our debt reduction.
• I want to be more patient with our children. I find myself getting frustrated and yelling a lot more than I want...I want to make an effort this month to be more patient, more loving, and less "monster mom."