Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Baking day

Today was baking day! Ashlee came over so we could make a batch of keeflies. We probably made about 100 of those so far. We also made around 170 chocolate spoons. After she left I made some brownies, was going to make cookies as well but I ran out of time (had to do dishes and laundry and such in the mean time).

It was a good day, but I did way more than I should have. I'm pretty sore now!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Crunch

On our way home from church today... okay, we weren't going straight home, we were going to the pizza buffet because I didn't want to bother with cooking.. we were stopped at a sign waiting for our turn to cross Clinton Street in Goshen, and a GREAT BIG GIANT ENORMOUS Hummer came sliding quickly into the little tiny itsy bitsy Buick that we were driving. The guy said he was trying to stop, but the impact he made said that maybe he wasn't trying quite soon enough.. granted, there was some ice, but yikes! Anyway, we got crunched.. in my dad's car. We drove it home, but I think it'll probably get totalled. We ended up switching into our new Pathfinder and driving to the ER. I wanted to make sure and have Manasseh checked out (he isn't big enough to tell us if he's hurting, AND I remember that they've said any time a little guy gets jostled a lot, he should be checked out as far as shaken infant stuff goes). Also I got myself checked out, I was pretty sore from my neck to my lower back. I got Xrays, the doctor didn't like what she saw I guess and ordered a CAT scan. Turns out it's whiplash, nothing broken. So I'm on pain medication and on rest and ice. What a time of year for that.. I had so many plans for today and for Tuesday. I'm hurt, but will recover sometime in the next week to couple months. We're thankful, it could have been much worse.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Layoffs

Randy's factory had lay-offs this week. We were fortunate that he was not among them.

I have to quit my job in January, but already have a little bit of income lined up for that month, maybe beyond that.

I'm feeling blessed.

Whirlwind!

Wow it has been a ride this past year and a half. God has blessed Randy and I again and again. We have had good health, a healthy baby, jobs, vehicles, even when ours haven't worked, and a puppy.. how can you not feel blessed with a puppy? (Okay, honestly, that puppy is glad that Randy lives here because she wouldn't still be here if he wasn't... )

Manasseh is now 5 months old, that means we've been married 14 months now. He is strong and loves to be active, he also loves to study things, he will sit and stare at people and objects for long periods of time appearing to be studying. Manasseh rolls, when he wants to. He sits, when he wants to... he thinks he can stand and walk, but he's wrong. He's a joy to us.

We have again been blessed and are expecting our second child. AND, this one comes without morning sickness or stretch marks. He's practically a teenager already. We're looking forward to working through the foster care system as an adoptive foster home so that we can have our next "bundle of joy" in the late spring!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Windows, Doors, Cielings, Floors

...are all parts of the house that need some sort of improvement. We're going to keep working on this stuff through the winter while we're stuck inside, in the spring we plan to make a "container garden" on the driveway, turning it into a patio. Can't wait to see what this place looks like by next summer (if we're still in it)!

Fallen Angel?

No, just human leader. Yesterday Randy and I attended one of our churches and heard a small part of the story about one of our leaders. He resigned to the church yesterday, and shared that he had engaged in sexual flirting with someone other than his wife. We are sad for him, his family, and the other family that is involved. We are praying that he will be restored to his family and to the church. We will pray for the church in its healing from the wounds that have been and will be caused through this. How easy it would be for any of us to do the same, and how difficult to stand in front of a room full of others and admit it.

I see this man as one of great integrity. More than I realized before yesterday, I really admire him in ways he will never know. I'm sure he does not see himself this way right now. Lord bless this man, his family, the other family, and the church.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Babies







Well, we did it. We deliberated for a while, all kinds of reasons not to get a puppy - we want to move, we have a baby, stuff like that... but we kept looking and thinking about it. We found this puppy on Craigslist. She is 6 weeks old and a husky mix. Mom is full blooded husky, dad is... something. We call her Berlap - because it's NovemBER and she was from LAPorte. She's a pretty sweet little gal, Manasseh seems to like her pretty well too!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Surprise

At 12:15 today I looked at the clock and thought, "6 more hours until Randy gets home". This felt like SUCH a long time. And then at 12:45, a knock came at the back door... it startled me like you wouldn't believe... Randy's home. Hooray.

On the health benefits of being home

OKay, I admit it has only been 4 days since I finished my full time job, AND I will continue to work part time for the company, as long as they have a need for me and can work with my schedule. I have, however, already begun to discover some of the healthy benefits to this lifestyle.

First off, I am remembering to take my medicine. Now that seems simple, like anyone can do that, but it's something I seriously get into trouble with. I just forget the dumb stuff all the time, and that's really not too good for my body.

Along with my medicine, I have bee getting more exercise. Sure I had to walk around some at work, but not all that much. Now we take a walk just about every day, get fresh air and exercise. It's been great enjoying the changing fall leaves and the cool crisp autumn mornings. Taking walks has an added benefit - it puts Manasseh to sleep! We do this now just about every morning for his first nap. Another benefit of our walks (which might not be a health benefit, other than mental health) is that we get to see Auntie Lorna more frequently. She works at the Old Bag Factory and it's a splendid place to go walking.

A third benefit is my food. I can better control the carbs that I'm eating. That doesn't mean I always do.. Hey, it's almost Halloween.. there's chocolate in the house! I also have not been making dinner for the family this week, but will be starting that tonight with some tortellini!

I get to sleep more when I need to. This does not mean I always get enough sleep, and I still am sleeping in a bit too much in the morning, but I am certainly able to take a nap when Manasseh does.

A health benefit for the baby is that I feel more able to use our cloth diapers, and he has been really irritated by the disposables, since switching back to cloth he has been free from rash! Now we just have to get rid of the thrush.. and we're hitting that hard this week.

Finally, the house is getting cleaner. Still not all the way clean yet, but it's getting there, and will be easier to maintain since I'm home a lot more.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Ruffians, Rapscallions, Scalliwags, and Hoodlums


I'm not even kidding. I saw these guys while we were on our walk through the neighborhood today.


Okay, let me start out by saying that when I was getting ready to buy this house, a concerned adult (who is older and wiser than I), told me that this is NOT a good neighborhood. She said, "there are Mexicans there". I REALLY wanted to laugh, as I had recently returned from a 4 month trip to Costa Rica. I lived by myself with hispanic people all around. I rode the busses, went to the stores, all that stuff. I never worried about my safety. Somehow though, living in Goshen, it's a problem to be in the same neighborhood as hispanic people. I think it's just fear that people have when they lack education about different people groups.


Now, I have seen some signs of wanna-be gang activities. A few small thefts (including my fire pit.. I loved that thing). Some tagging on the factory behind me. It really didn't look like it was tagging from a gang as much as some neighborhood kid.


Today though, we were out on Wilkonson Street, close to the Merit Education Center.. an alternative school for kids who just can't handle public schools for one reason or another. We were there with the intention of taking pictures of some really cool gnarled trees that I spotted late last week. As we approached the corner near the school I saw them. A gang of them. Like 6 or something.. the closer I got, the more I saw.. in small clusters around the school yard and down the street near some of the houses. Worst of all, they were carrying instruments of destruction. Some had rakes, some had shovels... one EVEN had a wheelbarrel! LOL. Okay, so these kids that have had kind of a rough time in their schools are out raking the yards in the neighborhood. Now I'm really afraid. I think we should move.. can't have anyone raking our yard!