Where in the World are We???

346 AM CDT THU SEP 28 2006
...FREEZE WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM CDT
FRIDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GREEN BAY HAS ISSUED A FREEZE
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 8 AM CDT
FRIDAY.
TEMPERATURES WILL FALL BELOW FREEZING TONIGHT ACROSS NORTH
CENTRAL WISCONSIN...WITH SEVERAL LOCATIONS FALLING INTO THE UPPER 20S.
A FREEZE WARNING MEANS SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES ARE IMMINENT OR
HIGHLY LIKELY. THESE CONDITIONS WILL KILL CROPS AND OTHER
SENSITIVE VEGETATION.

This was staring me in the face when I logged on to my yahoo homepage this morning!
The low tonight is 30 degrees!!!  Where in the world are we that it gets this cold
in September?!?

Now he's all grown up!

Yesterday was Daniel's 7th birthday...I made him put church clothes on for all the birthday pictures and did my best to make him look presentable...but he still looked so little! But today I gave him a haircut and I'm amazed at how old he suddenly looks! He's got this strange collick (doesn't every little boy) at the crown of his head so I was trying to get it to stay down for church tonight. I stood him in front of the mirror in the bathroom, moussed him up, and took the blow dryer to him. And then the hairspray came out. I thought to myself, will he not be obsessing over his hair soon enough without any help from me?!? One of those sappy mom moments realizing that he's growing up whether I like it or not.

One of the things that Brent has reminded me of since the day he was born (Daniel, not Brent!) is that we are raising our children to be independent of us...to function as a godly adult without our help (someday!) I had a good cry as I realized that exact thing is happening....he's growing up...it won't be long and he'll be doing his dead level best to get his hair to stand up on end no matter how hard I try to get it to lay down! It's a sobering reality to think that 7 years have gone by...I can never get that time back (I can be really profound sometimes, heh?!?) But it's such a good reminder to be spending each moment I can instilling God's Word into my children and training them to depend on the Lord and not on me!

My baby is growing up!!!

It's so hard to believe that Daniel is 7 years old! It really does seem like such a short time ago that he was toddling around our home in Chicago, but now he's begging me to change this title so he's not being called my baby anymore! It reminds me of that book "Love you Forever" It's a kids' book that talks about the little boy's mom and how much she loves him even as he grows up...It's a goofy story, but sweet and usually chokes me up! My favorite line from it is, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be!" He may be 7 years old, but he still crawls into my lap from time to time (those times are getting fewer and farther between) and loves to cuddle! It's quite sobering to listen to him reason and start to use real logic in his thinking. He's getting to be very observant (just like his Daddy!) and notices so much. I'm reminded now more than ever the importance of showing him a mommy (he would prefer "Mom") who loves the Lord and wants to please Him. I know it's always been true, but I'm struck more and more each day that we're in the big leagues now...we've got a Christian Man in the works here who we are striving to train to grow into a godly man who serves Him with all his heart...quite a sobering responsibility, heh?!?

Daniel loved being outside on our deck talking with Brent while dinner was on the grill!







After 3 pictures with Daniel's eyes closed or half open, he decided to make sure that he had his eyes open for this picture so he could finally eat!






Between both sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parents, Daniel made out with a lot of loot for his birthday! He was so excited to tear into the packages and see what he got! We let him decide if we would have cake first or open presents first...no surprise he chose the presents, while Hannah was wanting the cake :-)!




No trying to bug his eyes for this picture...this is pure surprise and excitement when he saw that Grandma and Grandpa Kelley had gotten him his very own croquet set. Daniel loves to play croquet when he visits Grandma and Grandpa Griffin...now he can play whenever...especially if he doesn't mind playing in the snow!




Daniel wanted steak for his birthday dinner so we splurged! We decided next year he was getting hotdogs since all he really wanted was A1...and oh yeah...he loves chewing on the bones!

We're clearly watching too much TV!!!

Hope this is not offensive to anyone, but I got such a kick out of this I had to share it! Daniel's studying the 13 original colonies and how they got started as part of his school work each day. I was sitting at my computer (in the same room with him) during his Heritage Studies lesson today. You can only imagine my surprise when Daniel started holering out what he thought was the right answer to his teacher's question. He was trying to say "Virginia" but kept saying "Viagra!" I know he has no clue what that is...just a word he's heard on far too many TV commercials, but he kept saying it!!! I obviously corrected him each time, but he could not get Virginia out instead of Viagra! What's this world coming to when 6 year old boys know about Viagra!?! Time to turn the TV off!!!

I need help...what do you think?!?

Wouldn't you know it would be a girl since Brent and I have no girl names that we both really like!!! We chose Daniel and Hannah based on the characters in the Bible, and although this one doesn't HAVE to be a Bible name, I'm thinking it's kind of weird to go against what we did with the first two. And of course we used the only two Bible names we both like on Hannah (Hannah Ruth)! We have teased about naming this girl Ruth Hannah, but Hannah doesn't care for that idea! So I'm trying to narrow it down (at least in my mind!) I've got to convince Brent that either Sarah or Charis (the greek work for grace) is right for our baby...which do you like better?!? I personally am leaning towards Sarah since I love how it sounds...these are our 2 daughters, Hannah and Sarah...both really "sweet" names...but I like Charis, too. Any thoughts? I'd love some feedback!

Well...the big news is...

We had our ultrasound today...and the good news is that they moved my due date up 5 days! So our new due date is Jan 28. And oh, yeah...they are about 85-90% sure that it's a GIRL!!! There was no evidence of "boy parts" but there was only slight evidence of "girl's parts" so that's why they are not sure...the umbilical cord got in the way several times...but they'll never say 100% sure either way. The best they'll ever say is 95%...so 85-90% is pretty good, in my book. The ultrasound tech said to go ahead and buy pink things, just keep the receipts! :-)

Dr. Ryan moved my due date because the baby is much bigger than average. My first ultrasound put me 5 days earlier so he went ahead and moved it since this ultrasound put me 5 days earlier as well. Even at the earlier due date, our baby is still 68th percentile, but this is no surprise since Daniel was 10 pounds 5 ounces and Hannah was 8pounds 11 ounces at two weeks early!

So all in all it's kind of anti-climactic...we kind of know, but not for sure! On the up side of having a big baby, the Ultrasound tech said I'd probably end up with another ultrasound to monitor the baby's size...perhaps we'll see more of our little one then!

I can't wait!

Can I just tell you how excited I am!!! Wednesday is our ultrasound and we're hoping to find out if there's a baby boy or girl kicking around inside of me!!! I'll be sure to post whatever we find out, but the suspense is killing me! And Daniel and Hannah are almost as excited as I am! We plan on making it a family bonding time, perhaps a quick trip to Walmart to buy something girl or boy after! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

It must be a Daddy thing!

It never fails...I'm in the kitchen fixing supper (okay...that part sometimes fails!) the kids hear the garage door open, they go running to meet Daddy as he comes in the basement from work, and the tackling ensues! Well...since he's been wearing suits to work once the new school year began, he changes first...and then the wrestling ensues! What is it with Daddies that make their kids want to tackle them?!? It's turning into a nightly routine. If it doesn't start before dinner, it definitely starts after dinner while I'm washing the dishes (sigh!) but I do have to say it's kind of nice to know they're having so much fun, and I get some time in the kitchen without the "help" of a certain 4 year old girl who loves to be under my elbows constantly! I'm told I'll miss that someday, but most days that's really hard to imagine :-)

It's back....

No picture for this blog (for which I am glad!)

I was just thinking the other day how nice, and strange, that we've not been awakened during the wee hours of the morning (being pregnant...wee hours of the morning have turned into just that !!!) by the howling of wolves. That was a huge adjustment when we moved here--hearing WILD animals close by. Our neighbor tried to tell us they were coyotes, but we've heard both...wolves have very different howls than the yips of coyotes. And then this morning at 4:15, I bolted upright in bed because of this piercing, incredibly loud, sounding like it was right outside our bedroom window, wolf howl! And not long after that some sort of yelp from some poor animal...where in the world are we?!? I know, I know...right where the Lord wants us to be...but come on...do I need to experience the food chain first hand?!? Needless to say, I was awake for quite some time this morning wondering how Brent could ever seriously expect me to camp in a tent after hearing something like that!

Daniel on the other hand was not so excited to start school...He was beggign to wait another week! But once he started watching the DVD's, he was excited that each class was so much shorter than last year. First grade combines reading and phonics so it's a much longer lesson...he hasn't figured out that more lessons, however short they are, actually add up to longer school days! I'm sure it won't take long for him to figure it out! But for now I'm going to enjoy all the excitement about doing his school work!

First Day of School

Yesterday was our first day of school for the kiddos. Hannah was so excited. She's been begging since summer began to start school, and she was disappointed that she only got to do one DVD since Daniel got to do so many more! She's been playing at the desk for weeks making it her little "home." It's amazing to me how much of a nesting instinct she has at just 4 years old! She put her supply box we made in one of the little cabinets, and her special folder (she chose the one with all the fancy shoes on it!) in the filing cabinet. She is so different than Daniel was at this age....he couldn't wait to be done so he could go play, but Hannah wanted to do all of her papers and color the ones that weren't for lesson one! She was so excited to show Brent her work when he came home. He gave her special stickers for her work which was a special treat for her, too! We'll see if the newness wears off any time soon!

Getting Ready for School

Daniel says, "We made a school supply box, and Daddy helped. I put M&M paper on the lid, and I put yellow, red, green, and blue on the sides. We put M&M People on the lid and sides and a string of balloons, and a string of people. It has my name on the front, D-A-N-I-E-L. My favorite part was putting the M&M people on it."
Hannah says, "My box says Hannah on it. I put stickers and buttons on it. Mommy helped me. I smeared the glue with my fingers. It was messy. I did not like getting messy. "
So we went to Wally-world today for our annual buying of the school supplies...We decided to think "out of the box" for our school supplies holder and get crafty. We ended up with paper mache boxes to decorate. It was quite the time, but turned out pretty nice. Now we'll have to see how well they hold up during school...the boxes that is, not the kids! We're set to start on Monday...ready or not...summer is over! We're that much closer to "D-Day!" (Delivery Day)

Goofy Grins!

Well, it's finally happened! Daniel has lost his 2 front teeth! He looks like a 7 year old boy through and through now. We were at my parents' house last week getting ready for church. The first one was so loose it was barely hanging on. I made him let me pull it out so it wouldn't come out in the middle of church and cause a huge scene! Let me tell you, I was missing Brent big time at that moment since I am not one for blood or gory things! But I bucked up and pulled it out. When we got home Daniel started messing with his other front tooth. Tuesday started out with it barely loose and by that evening he brought his tooth to me in his hand asking for a napkin for the blood. Had to post a picture of him since he looks so goofy without his 2 front teeth!

They're back and things are back to normal...well. as normal as we get around here!

We drove back from my parents on Wednesday, and I have to say, "It's good to be home!" We had a great time, but there's no place like home! (I feel like I should be clicking my heels together) The kids were away from home for almost 5 weeks, so it will take some time to get used to a normal routine around here again! Brent took today off and we went bowling in Iron Mountain. We went in the afternoon and practically had the entire place to ourselves! It was great...and we had a coupon/gift certificate so it was FREE!!! Even better, heh? Next week is inservice for the faculty/staff at Northland so that "normalcy" thing will be tossed out the window again! I may just wait until we're empty nesters to try and establish any sense of normalcy in our lives!

Thanks to all our family that we were able to spend time with these past few weeks! We had a great time! We are so glad that Daniel and Hannah got to spend time with Brent's Grandma in Ohio while they were staying with Brent's parents for 2 weeks. Great Grandma, Hannah says, "we miss you and I hope you're having fun." (Thanks for the fabric, too!) They had a great time with their cousins, too! Hope grandma's hillside recovers from the slip n' slide! And Aunt Suzie, Hannah's making scrapbooks for everyone now! She had a great time making one with you, and I love it, too! Will try to post a few pics soon of what's going on!

They're coming back soon!!!

My kiddos are coming back soon! They've been visiting Grandma and Grandpa Griffin in Ohio for the past week and a half or so, and I'm going to pick them up on Friday! Don't get me wrong, it's been a really nice break to have some quiet time around the house, but it will be even better to get them back! Who could have guessed I'd miss those little boogers so much?!?

I've been working hard the past couple of days trying to get work done around the house. I cleaned the garage out yesterday...not something I'd reccommend for the faint of heart! It was a chore, but looks great now that it's clean! I spray painted the ugly 70's door going into the basement...I now understand your spray paint addiction, Carissa! I couldn't stop! I kept looking around thinking..."Okay, what else needs some sprucing up?!?" Now I have to figure out how to get rid of all the junk that was in our garage! Watch out GAD...here I come...loaded for bear! (For those of you who don't know much about living in the middle of nowhere...GAD is the garbage place where we have to take all the extra things that won't fit in the bright orange bags we have to buy to get our garbage picked up...once every 2 weeks)

Next post will probably be all about the kids again...they seem to work their way into the spotlight...and my heart :-) (How's that for sap...I'm clearly missing them, heh?!?)

Having fun on vacation

We've been gone for 5 days now and having a great time! We left Sunday morning after SS to get Brent to the airport in time and then drove down to stay the evening with the Browns, dear friends in Chicago. We got up Monday a.m. and drove the rest of the way to my sister's in the very southernmost tip of Indiana. It was about a 6 hour drive which wasn't too bad--It's the first time I've driven alone with the kids for that length of time, but they are old enough to be able to switch the VCR tape...praise the Lord for modern technology! What would we do without travel TV's and VCR's?!?

My sister, Sheri, and I spent the entire day Tuesday shopping! It was GLORIOUS! I forget how much I love the mall! We went swimming at a friend of their's house on Wednesday--it was a great in-ground pool that my kids said was just like a hotel pool! It's been really nice to be able to spend time with my sister and her family. It's been almost a whole year since we've seen each other.

We're off to my in-laws tomorrow morning where Brent will meet us when he's finished with his conference in North Carolina. It will be really nice to be together again. Hope to blog again from their house. Thanks for all the kind notes about our upcoming baby! It still is almost surreal that we're starting over again--but we know this is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes! (It's even more marvelous now that I'm coming out of the morning sickness!) By the way...I had to go on an antibiotic for something since I've become pregnant. Hannah seemed a bit concerned about why I was taking medicine so I told her it was for the baby (to make it simple for a 4 year old!) She has been worse than Brent is about reminding me to take my medicine! The first thing she does in the morning is ask me if I've taken my medicine! She brings it to me and won't leave until she sees me take it! The other night I told her I'd take it after she went to bed, and then forgot to take it...she crawled into bed with me the next morning and woke me up to see if I had remembered to take it. When I told her I forgot, she said, "Mommy...what about the baby?!?" She's a better mother than I am! She's doing her daddy proud taking good care of me while he's gone!

This cracks me up!

A friend emailed these to me this morning and I had to share it with you all! You can especially relate if you've already gone through this birthing thing before...but it's still hilarious if you can't speak from firsthand experience! Enjoy!

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.

Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.

Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.

Q: My wife is five months pregnant and so moody that sometimes she's
borderline irrational.
A: So what's your question?

Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but
pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.

Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in
labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.

Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.

Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.

Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act
normal again?
A: When the kids are in college

SURPRISE!!!

For those of you who have not yet heard the good news, the Lord has decided to surprise our family with another baby! Yep...we're expecting...again! We really thought we were good with one boy and one girl, but the Lord in His infinite wisdom knows that we need another one...so, here we go again! I had my first doctor's visit today and will be posting the Ultra Sound pics tomorrow (Daniel asked me to wait because he wants to help you decipher the different parts of the baby--but it's beddy-bye for them now!)
Hannah said something on the way home that just cracked us up! I told Brent, "That's one for the blog!" It went something like this: (btw, the kids are so excited about having a baby at our house...as long as it's a boy--says Daniel...or as long as it's a sister--so says Hannah!) So Brent and I were asking if they thought it would be a girl or boy which started a whole conversation about which would be better. I interupted the conversation to make sure they understood that it was God who decided the gender, and to remind them that God never makes mistakes and He would give us what was best. I had just gotten out, "God will give us what is best..." when Hannah piped up, "Probably a girl!" "Girl power" starts young nowadays!!!

And no...it's not twins! We had an ultra sound today to help clarify my due date...I'm right around 11 weeks along...due the first part of February--and there's only one! Phew!!!

We've sunk to a new low!

I have to say I am quite proud of myself and the adjustments to country life that I've made over the last year and a half. There are those who knew me who highly doubted whether or not I'd be able to survive, let alone be happy way up here, an hour and a half from the nearest mall! However I have risen above the adversity and actually come to enjoy our home and our quiet little life in the Northwoods...until last night! I am now ready to move back to civilization. Please...take me back to the city! I came out of a friend's house last night about 10:00 to find a snake in front of our van! A SNAKE!!! And it was rather dark outside and the snake was black so I had a hard time seeing where it was going or if it had not yet left! I'm sure I was a sight to behold stomping around in the gravel, banging on the hood of the van, and almost crying trying to make as much noise as possible to make sure it was far out of the way! I haven't jumped so high or so fast off the ground into the driver's seat of our van ever! I can handle almost hitting a coyote on the way home from the fireworks show on July 4. Staring down a bobcat in our yard--no problem. Having a bear in our yard--tolerable. I can even handle the sighting of a wolf in our neighbor's yard. But get me out of anywhere there's snakes! That's right up there with the dead mouse I found in our garbage can in the garage last spring. I now say more emphatically than ever, "Where in the world are we?!?" And as Brent always answers and I must remind myself, "Right where the Lord wants us to be."