The wheel...Isaiah 28:28

I was just looking at the pictures on my cell phone and decided to transfer these pictures from April and tell the story that goes along with them.

One Thursday we went up to the big city for M's music lessons. We got a rocky start as we were leaving the driveway and I noticed the turn signal sound sounded a bit odd. After a quick check it was discovered that the front left turn signal was not working.* I decided to drive the rest of the way since M still has his permit. When necessary, I rolled the window down and used hand signals, but we were able to get up to the city without further incident. We ran our grocery errands and then went and dropped M off at his piano lesson. As the rest of the children and I were leaving to visit the library, the ABS light came on.** According to the manual, that meant the brakes were still working, we just didn't have ABS capability. OK, I could deal with that as long as nothing else went wrong...

When we arrived back at M's piano lesson to pick him up, I got out of the van to go inside. Hisssssssssss. I walked around the van to verify that I was hearing what I was afraid I was hearing. (sigh) I did a closer inspection and saw a nail sticking out of the tread of the tire. I put my finger on the nail and the hissing stopped. I removed my finger and the hissing started again.

"Hey, boys! Would you like to change a tire?"

They've watched and helped change many more tires than I have. I got out the manual and read the instructions just to make sure they were doing it right.

This is where I'll say I'm thankful for my big boys who actually don't mind getting dirty.
By the time the boys got the tire lowered and released from the underside of the van, M's piano lesson was over and he and his teacher came outside to see what we were doing. Since we figured it would take us several more minutes (at least) to jack up the van, take off the damaged tire, and put on the spare, M's piano teacher graciously offered to drive him over to his violin lesson.

We got all the lug nuts loosened and the van jacked up by the time the piano teacher returned. None of us could budge the tire. Even the piano teacher gave it a tug before her next lesson. I walked across the street where two men were mowing the lawn for the university. They came over and tried to remove the tire. Then they insisted it was the wrong type of rim and it should have never been put on in the first place! Ugh.

I called the tire store chain where we purchased the tires. They said they would be happy to come over and remove the tire...for $80. Since we do have roadside assistance with our auto insurance (which we know to be very, very slow from experience), I didn't want to pay money for them to do it. The man suggested we hit the tire with a hammer to loosen it.

I finally got a call back from The Man. He said what the two men from the university had told me was ridiculous and just do what the tire store man said to do: Hit it!

So, I got the handle from the jack apparatus and started banging on the tire from under the van. Yes! I was finally able to pull the tire loose. Yay! The boys helped me lift the tire down and then they put on the spare. We made it over to pick up M just as his 1-hour violin lesson was ended. Whew.

The tire store fixed the tire for free, although we never put it on the van. It was late enough in the year that we went ahead and took off the studded snow tires and the regular tires went back on. M and J helped change those tires!

*Even though I bought a new bulb the same day, it took us a day or two to get around to trying to change it. Due to some creative auto repairs by the previous owner, it was determined that it was going to take a long, involved process to simply change that particular bulb. It spontaneously started working a few weeks later. Perhaps it was just a loose wire.

**Again, probably just a loose wire as it works fine most of the time now.

Fruit was sweet...Song of Solomon 2:3

I know a lot of people enjoy 3+ day weekends, but it just throws my whole week off. All day today I'll have to keep reminding myself it is Tuesday, not Monday. I like routines. Breaking up my routines tends to just confuse me.

So, I'm sunburned on the lower half of my legs from the afternoon on the lake. It really doesn't look too terrible, and I'm not sure why it is so painful. I know I'm not the only one who got sunburned last weekend. Commiserate with me and I'll think of you when I wake up in the middle of the night to reapply aloe vera gel.

On a positive note :) I added 9 more jars of jam to our apricot preserving count for the year. So far we have 111 qts. canned, approx. 20 qts. frozen, 4 qts. dried, and as of last night, 27 c. of jam. I'll have to get a picture of the cupboard. It is nice and pretty with sparkly orange jars! We still have 2 1/2 boxes of apricots in the refrigerator that we'll freeze and eat fresh. I may try to get another batch of jam done, also.

We would like to at least get some pears, peaches, and blueberries to preserve this summer. This fall (about the time the baby is due) we'll be trying to get as many (free) apples as possible for apple sauce. We ran out last year. I think we have enough jars, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed thinking about where we'll store everything. Right now, the empty jars are in the garage, but I think it gets too cold out there in the winter. I'll have to talk to The Man about possibly storing them in boxes in the well house since we keep a heat lamp on out there to keep the pipes from freezing.

Maybe instead of trying to dig to the Indian Ocean, I can talk the kids into digging a cellar in the hillside. Hmmmm.

Wild by nature...Romans 11:24

Hi! Did you miss us? The past few weeks have been very full. Last weekend we were backpacking (I'm uploading pictures to Facebook right now). G turned 10 months old last week. Yesterday G decided to do more than move one foot and took an actual step. Today I noticed that his first top tooth is starting to push through to join the 2 he has on the bottom. There. Now G's babyblog has been updated!

Our summer is winding to a close. Tomorrow we are starting school! It was supposed to happen last Monday, but life wouldn't allow it. We're still waiting for some books to arrive, but we have enough to start.

We've spent the last two weeks sorting out a schedule for M (10th grade). We've settled on a tentative schedule that we'll try for 2 weeks. After that, parents and student may feel the need to adjust some things.

I spent 2 hours this afternoon making sure everything was in order for the other 3 school-aged children. It wasn't, but a quick on-line order took care of that. If only all our problems could be solved so easily.

We're praying for a very non-eventful first day of school. I'm sure you'll hear about it if it's not.

Just a few pictures of our summer...

This is The Man helping me remove a garter snake from a canning jar. I happened to be carrying the empty jar into the house when the snake was discovered in the grass. I caught it myself. Yes, I did. I really did. I even held it. I don't know why I did such a thing, but I think that I might have enjoyed it.
Sacagawea picked up this preying mantis while she was playing outside.
The Man and J built this raft while they were on a special father-son backpacking trip in July.
G loves books just as much as his siblings. This is M reading G one of M's very favorite books (ok, it was his favorite a dozen years ago)...

"No more pictures, Mom! I want to go to bed!"
Good night!

Not yet...Genesis 15:16

We did make it up to the hospital yesterday to see The Man's assistant's new baby. The attempted induction for a VBAC turned into an early morning c-section. Mom and 8 lb. baby boy are both doing well.

We went to visit the other man who had surgery on Friday, but were very surprised that he had already gone home!

This morning we are headed up to the big city for shopping and music lessons. There is a special group music lesson this afternoon that M's piano teacher wanted him to attend, so we switched days this week. We won't be back until after 7:00 tonight. A long, long day!

Rise up early...Exodus 8:20

These pictures were still hanging out on our computer, so I'll put them here. The Man took the children to the balloon fair a few weeks ago. I stayed home and rested went to the gym, fed the horse, fed the chickens, fed the dog, and cleaned the house.

******

M E M O

Date: October 8, 2008
To: Baby
From: Mother
Subject: Sleeping Arrangements

It has come to my attention that there are lots of other things you would rather do than sleep. At this point in your life, your non-sleeping activities have mainly consisted of rolling, kicking, and punching. That is fine. Actually, it is exactly what is expected of you, and you may continue for the duration of your time within the womb.

However, repeated abuse of these other activities at times in which your mother is supposed to be sleeping (as in the few weeks before you make your out-of-the-womb debut) is not appreciated and will be met with dire consequences. When these activities are alternated with whatever it is you do to make the uterus contract, it makes for a long and sleepless night for me, your mother. 11:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m. is not a sufficient night's sleep for me. No longer will I lie in bed quietly until 3:00 a.m. waiting for you to settle down. I will get up earlier to call your bluff (some people refer to it as "nesting"). Yes, the kitchen floor DID need to be mopped. I'm so sorry if it disturbed YOUR sleep.

Tomorrow morning we can clean the bathrooms if you so desire. I'm sure the rest of the family would enjoy fresh homemade biscuits every morning (they gave me heartburn). Last, but not least, we could be at the gym when they open tomorrow morning also. That leisurely mile on the treadmill certainly kept you kicking and the uterus contracting. Oh, that "whump, whump" you felt was my legs hitting my abdomen while cycling. Either settle down, come on out, or learn to deal with it.

I love you.

Mom

*****

I did get a few minutes of dozing done between contractions after The Man and boys left for M's music lessons. Sacagawea and I will head up to the city after lunch to do a bit of shopping and go to my OB appointment.

Here are a few pictures from the baby shower at the church last Saturday night. We now have pretty much all that we need except newborn-sized diapers. We'll remedy that today.
Our baby and the almost 1 year old that just moved in with his grandma were the recipients of the gifts.

M took all of these pictures. Almost all of the family pictures were "headless." Maybe I should explain to him that I can crop them on the computer for the blog.A knitted blanket and little blue cap.
A pink and white crocheted blanket...with an assurance that a blue and white blanket is all ready for a trade in case Sacagawea doesn't get her wish of a baby sister.

Many, many other gifts plus a nursery monitor as a group gift from the church...
I think it is time for another nap.

And the swallow a nest (part 2)...Psalm 84:3

Sorry it's been so long since my last update. Let's see...the kids had their end-of-year music recital, we took our van back to the mechanic because it was making a rumbling noise, and we're trying to get ready to leave on a trip on Sunday.

What else could go wrong with the van? I am regretting asking that question. We picked up the van last Friday with a diagnosis of failing muffler. We were planning on getting that fixed after our vacation. About 15-20 miles later the van was towed back to the mechanic after it stalled while The Man was driving it. They have replaced the fuel pump and are checking out the "check engine" light that stays brightly lit. I have asked for a decent horse & buggy, but it has been pointed out to me that that would bring a whole new set of challenges.

The Man's truck was also giving me problems yesterday while I was trying to shift gears. Maybe the transmission needs some more work. At least the trash truck is still puttering along.

They're baaaack. I haven't taken as many pictures, because they're just about as exciting as last year's photos. Just click on the link and imagine they were taken this year. I didn't want them to stay, but since everyone else in the family wished them to, I didn't interrupt the nest building activities. I'm not so much opposed to the nest as I am to the mess that I was cleaning up under the nest. Due to my delicate condition, I refuse to do that job this summer. Maybe if the children clean up the mess they won't be quite so eager for them to build in the same place next year. I did show them the documentation from last year, but they still begged for me to leave the nest building activities alone.

The only difference is that this year they aren't building on the hinge side of the door, but the other side. That means that I open the front door and pause before exiting just to give the swallows a chance to fly away before I walk under the nest. I will be laughing at the first person who gets a surprise on his/her head while using the door. I certainly hope I won't be laughing at myself.

Have a good weekend...I'll be back after our vacation!

The pleasant furniture...Nahum 2:9

Last Friday after we left the Civil War, we made a quick trip to the store to pick up some stuff that I forgot the previous day. I did chuckle at an old pick-up truck in the parking lot that had "Redneck" and "I brake for furniture" bumper stickers on it. After we got home, M changed, and I drove him to his job. He could have ridden his bike, but it is so hot on Friday, and I knew we were running late.

I was so glad I drove him because as we pulled out of the parking lot onto the road I spied something across the road. I did a quick (and safe) u-turn and parked in front of the house. I opened the back doors of the van, lowered that back seat, and looked gleefully at my find...TWO DRESSERS! AND THEY WERE FREE! I've been looking for some dressers to accommodate my growing kids' growing clothes for months. Since every piece of furniture in our house (with the lone exception of the boys' bunk-beds) either came from a friend, relative, or some other 2nd-hand source, I haven't been able to justify paying retail for a dresser for the boys' room.

Before I had a chance to load them up in the van, a lady came out of the house and told me that one of the dressers had been part of her son's nursery. He's now 36. If it survived 36 years with only a few missing knobs and scratched paint, then it should have a few more years left in it! She left to go get someone to help load it. I told her I could do it. "Oh, no you don't," she said, wagging her finger at my bulging belly. She went back inside and returned with another lady to help load the furniture into the pregnant lady's van.

I wasn't sure how I was going to get them out of the van with both The Man and M being gone, but I shouldn't have worried. I still had two strapping boys at home with me. J & S pulled the drawers out and moved the furniture onto the back porch for me.

M will remove the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle stickers on the side and sand down the yellow one. We'll paint it for his room, but we're still contemplating the color. He has a similar one in his room already, but it only has three drawers and doesn't hold all his clothes. He thinks it is silly that the top drawer has four knobs and looks like four drawers when it is just one.

I'm not sure if we'll paint or refinish this one...

The top drawer needs to be reassembled. Either this one or M's old one will go in the other boys' room and the other will go in our room for baby. I think. We shall see.

War...Revelation 11:7

Last Thursday afternoon as we were on our way back from music lessons we pulled off the freeway and the kids noticed that something being pulled by the vehicle in front of us was pointed right at us. A cannon! A cannon? We quickly figured out that the Civil War reenactment was happening this past weekend and not next weekend like I thought. Hmmm.

The internet confirmed that it was indeed time for the Civil War, which meant that the School Day was last Friday. I had a lot of stuff planned for Friday morning, and I really didn't want to go, but we did.

A "Civil War surgeon" shows us his tools of the trade. There was a "blood" covered rubber foot in the bucket next to him. It must have been a recent amputation.
One of the "nurses" with her medicinal collection...

Some of the essential tools from the 1800s...She claimed this one was great for shooting squirrels!
Here's Sacagawea holding hands with one of B girls...
Learning about some of the latest fashions...
"Clara Barton" tells the children about her life...
This soldier from Texas presented J with a prize because he was the first one to correctly identify the president he was fighting under...Jefferson Davis. The prize? A genuine fake confederate $10 bill!
The cannon...

Sacagawea didn't care for the loud artillery, so while the boys watched the cannon demonstration, she and I strolled down the road to a Union camp. The officer offered her some of his peanuts. My hands were full with the water bottles and cameras so he had to show her how to open up the shells of the goober peas.

Is all well? II Kings 5:21

Just a quick post to let you all know that everything is fine, for the most part. The Man is fine, I'm fine, the baby is fine, the kids are fine, the Dog is fine (but still tired). The desktop is giving me fits trying to log in to blogger, and I can't post pictures from the laptop (I could if I would get off the couch, retrieve the camera and cord, figure out how to edit the pictures on the laptop so it wouldn't take all night to upload them...) so I just haven't been posting.

Our van overheated on the 15 minute, flat drive home from church on Saturday. The Man's diagnosis isn't good. We're considering just replacing the engine or upgrading to a 15-passenger. I never thought I'd be one of "those" homeschooler families. There are already at least two other 5+ kids homeschooler families in our valley with white 15-passenger vans. It could get interesting. We shall see what our mechanic says about our van. I figure if we just replace the engine it should last us for at least a few more years. We replaced the transmission last year, so what else could go wrong with it? Please don't answer that.

The good news is that since we were down to one functional vehicle, The Man fixed the trash truck this afternoon so he can drive it on the days I'll need his truck to get around. The trash truck has been sitting in our driveway since last winter when it ran out of fuel. M didn't know it was out, so he started it when it was on empty and drained the lines. Since we really didn't need it, fixing it hadn't been a priority. The Dog waited patiently beside the truck until it finally started, then he jumped right up into the back, ready to go for a ride.

Now all I have to do is find the registration sticker that was sitting on the desk.

The sound of the organ...Job 21:12

Are you a potential organ donor? Have you marked your driver's license so if in the unfortunate event something terrible happens to you, someone else can keep on living? Although it is a personal choice, I do think it is a nice thing to do. I thought I would get that PSA out of the way before I move on to the lighter side of organ donation.

If you haven't been to our house lately, you may be surprised to see how much more crowded it is than a few months ago. Last October one of our church members called us up and said that her cousin wanted to give away an organ (the musical kind!). Were we interested? Only if it worked. She said that her cousin said it worked.

I stopped by his place to see it and make sure it worked. Unfortunately due to the storage situation, we weren't able to try it out, but it looked nice! The Man stopped by a few days later and the cousin rolled the pickup that the organ was in out of the storage shed and they were able to transfer it from the back of his pickup into the back of The Man's pickup. The Man drove home with the monstrous organ and speaker/ amplifier/ whatever-it-is-called cabinet, and the bench.

We stood in the back of the pickup for awhile contemplating how we were going to get it down from the truck, up on the porch, up the steps, and into the living room. Old organs are heavy. Very, very, heavy. It took two strong guys to just scoot it a few feet from one pickup to another, we knew it should take more than just The Man and Wife to get it into the house. All the people we knew of that were available also had bad backs, so we didn't even ask. Finally, with the help of M, a furniture dolly, ramps, concrete blocks, and a lot of stuff I probably shouldn't admit to on the blog, we got it into the house and plugged it in. If we ever attempt something like that again, we should have at least 4 or 5 strong men to help out in the move. Those things are solid!

Some of the keys seemed to work, none of the pedals worked, and the speaker noise wasn't pleasant. We moved it to its present location until we could get someone to see if it was worth fixing.

We pulled the amplifier cabinet out from the wall for the service call, but this has basically been what one entire wall of my living room has looked like for the last few months...
With the piano, organ, guitar, violins, recorders, and whatever other musical instruments the kids drag in, this room has been referred to as the conservatory.
Meanwhile...a young man has been attending our church with his mother. A few months ago he inquired why no one ever played the organ at church. We told him that no one at church played, and the last time someone attempted to play, there were some weird noises and it probably needed to be serviced. It turns out that he plays the organ!

The Man called around to find a person to come and service both the organ at church and at our home. The only one The Man could find to service the organ was in the next state and didn't want to drive over the mountain pass due to weather. When the weather cleared he was going to be out of town, then he was sick, then he was still sick. Last week, another person who goes to our church called the manufacturer and got the list of qualified technicians in our area. One was dead, the other was the man we had been trying to get to come for the past few months! FINALLY! He came today!

After servicing the organ at church, he came to our house. He proclaimed that ours wasn't worth fixing. He said it would cost several hundred dollars for him to get it working, but he claims he could get us a nice, smaller one for a lot less. I told him to go ahead and take any parts he wanted since we're probably just going to junk it. He said he could use the amplifier and some cords. I'm not sure what all he took, but he didn't charge us for a separate service call. I'm so glad the organ donation didn't end up costing us anything.

The kids already have plans for the wood from the cabinets. I already have plans for rearranging the furniture. If you want any of the parts, put in your request now! Demolition will begin soon.

Hold fast...Proverbs 4:13

Last Sunday I took J, S and A up to the dog sled place on the mountain where they were giving free dog sled rides to kids 10 and under. The newspaper promised it would be an educational event. Free? Educational? We're there.

I got the kids up bright and early so we could eat breakfast, gather up all the snow gear, and be on the road by 7:00 a.m. We made it to the dog sled place by 8:20, parked, and got in line. We were the third family in line, which meant we wouldn't have to endure the cold for too long!

Sacagawea thought it was too loud with all the barking dogs. I thought it was kind of sad. The dogs that were pulling the sleds were obviously having a good time, but those that were left behind weren't too happy.

Here are some dogs being hooked to the sleds...
Here are some dogs that don't get to go yet...

Ready to go...
J and two others all loaded in the sled...
Mush!
The return...
Trading for some fresh dogs...
I'm not sure how educational the day was since the folks were trying to get the kids in and out of the sleds as fast as possible. They didn't leave much time for photos or asking questions. But, it was free! Right after S & A got back, the kids were ready to go. It was c-o-l-d! They were selling hot chocolate for only $0.25 a cup (When's the last time you saw it for that price?) so everyone got a cup before we headed home by 9:30.

There was one child there...his name was Chainsaw. That wasn't a nickname, but his given name. Really. Now I don't feel so odd about having a child who answers to Sacagawea.

Falls...and rises again...Proverbs 24:16

Spring has arrived! The snow is gone (other than a few flurries that haven't stuck), the daffodils are blooming, and the fruit trees are ready to bud. We hope that we don't get another hard freeze after they bud as we did last year. Another big sign of spring is that the children have put away the snow sleds and have been able to ride their bicycles again. Yippee!

A few weeks ago I looked out the kitchen window and saw S pushing Sacagawea around on her bicycle. I noted that the training wheels weren't on and was trying to remember when they had been removed. I certainly didn't remember blogging about such a momentous occasion. Then, I saw it...the pile of training wheels. S had just taken them off for her!

I watched them play while I was fixing lunch. S gave her a running push and she pedaled down the hill. Just before the bike stopped she would put her feet down and jump off the bike. It would fall over, then she would pick it up and take it to the top of the slope again.

When they came inside I sent S back out to reattach the training wheels "just in case she wants to ride when you're not outside." It wouldn't be good for her to fall when she was by herself. I couldn't believe he took them off all on his own, but M & J could.

A few days later The Man took the wheels off for good. She's doing a great job at riding on her own, even when she doesn't start at the top of the slope. She is also perfecting her stopping technique. She discovered that trying to jump off before the bike hits the ground doesn't always work out as planned.

A dear friend (who really needs to start her own blog) has requested that we remove a certain object from our yard so she won't hurt herself. I can't imagine Sacagawea attempting that, but I will have a talk with her about it.

She is doing a lot of things on her own now, including picking out her own clothes to wear.
Hmmm...short-sleeved tee with snow boots? By the way, she does own a helmet. We'll dig it out of the closet when we put away the snow boots.

The lizard...Leviticus 11:30

A few weeks ago we had a very sad event happen here. Tails (or Scales, we really aren't sure), one of the Green Anole Lizards we got for M before we moved here, finally died. I say "finally" because according to many websites, including this one, they are only supposed to live 1-2 years in the wild and 2-3 years in captivity. We bought Tails & Scales, ages unknown, from a local pet store in October of 2002, 5 1/2 years ago!

They had an interesting start since the kid working at the pet store didn't inform us that two males shouldn't share a cage. We took them home and set up the recently emptied fish aquarium. Since we were planning on moving again in a few months we decided that lizards might be more portable.

After witnessing some impressive and aggressive territorial displays by the two lizards, we put up a partition in the aquarium to give each his own space. The both thrived there until after our move when Scales (or Tails) met with an unfortunate lid accident. His smooshed body was found at the next feeding time and promptly buried under the oak tree out front. His loss was Tails' (or Scales') gain as the partition was removed and the lizard had more room to roam.

When M got his own room about 3 years ago, the lizard cage remained behind for the other 2 boys to enjoy. S is (was) the official lizard feeder. About four Sundays ago (I know, I'm really behind on my blogging) J came into our bedroom in tears. Tails (or Scales) was dead!

They weren't sad for too long. Later that afternoon S found the first lizard of the season outside.

This Blue-belly was a fat one. "Can we keep it?"

"Where?" I asked, "In the aquarium with the dead one?" Yes, poor Tails (or Scales) was still in the aquarium. His body wasn't even cold yet (ok, yes, I know they are cold-blooded, it is just a figure of speech) and S and J were ready to replace him.

I opposed the idea of taking on a new pet, especially a lizard, at this point. We think that lizard thrived on neglect since sometimes it would go several days between feedings. I suggested they plan a lizard funeral instead.

Nearly two weeks later I insisted they plan a lizard funeral. Ick. They finally built a cardboard coffin and buried Tails (or Scales) out front. RIP Tails (or Scales).

Wood to fire...Proverbs 26:21

Last Sabbath our nephew turned 10! On Sunday we went to his birthday party. It almost didn't happen since their power went off Saturday night and, more or less, stayed off. We decided to go anyway. They asked us to bring a bit of wood for their fireplace so we could have some heat. They just moved into the house a few months ago and didn't have a good supply of wood yet.

They also let us know that their driveway wasn't plowed and we would have to park at the road and walk. That didn't seem like a big deal until we got there and realized they were counting the road that only they live on as their driveway! The Man had to stop and put chains on his 4wd pickup in order to get up to their road. Once we parked, everyone got on their snow gear, clambered up over the snow berm, and walked the 1/4 mile to the house. Fortunately there was a path stamped down. In all, the snow was probably about 4 feet deep.

Here is The Man pulling a load of wood from the truck to the house on our sled.
This was certainly a birthday our nephew will never forget! He had requested veggie-hot dogs and french fries. The hot dogs were eaten cold and the french fries were put in an aluminum pan in the fire place. They weren't as crispy as oven fries, but with a few ashes mixed in, it was just like camping!

Since the birthday cake hadn't been made before the power went out, here is the cake replacement my niece made...

Aren't they pretty? They were yummy also. Graham crackers with a vegan cream cheese, tofu and icing, topped with cherries or peaches. There may have been something else in that mixture, but I think that was everything. The cherry ones were really good. I didn't try the peach.

The kids had a great time sledding after the meal and then we had to rush back home so The Man could work in the ER that night.

We're glad they didn't cancel the party just because the power was out!

Apparel of blue...Esther 8:14

Hi! I just took a few pictures for my Sew Crafty Friday project...then the battery in my camera died. As soon as that is charged up I will put the picture of Liesl's dress here:
Finally! Here it is:

It needs ironing, threads clipped, and another snap on the back, but Sacagawea hasn't let me have it back yet. Liesl doesn't seem to mind.

I did it on the machine rather than by hand. The fabric, eyelet, and notions were all in my craft closet so I didn't need to buy anything other that pattern. I'm not quite sure if that is good or bad.

We made it safely to music lessons and back home yesterday. Whew. I almost decided not to go, but when I went out to see about putting the chains on the front wheels, M had already shoveled the snow out of the way. He really wanted to go. Fine.

We went and dropped off the van at the hospital. It took us 45 minutes to get there (usually 15-20 minutes) since we had to go really slow with the chains. Once there, the kids transferred their stuff to the truck while I scraped the 6 inches of snow off the truck's windshield that had accumulated since The Man got there in the morning. The Man saw us arrive and stood out in the ambulance bay to wave to us. Just as I got the windshield clear I could see the snow on the roof start to slide. All the snow from the roof then slid onto the windshield. I had to laugh. After I re-scraped the windshield we were on our way.

It took a bit longer than usual, and we did have to have our tires inspected at the chain check-point, but we made it there and back without incident. I drove the truck on home and The Man brought the van home this morning. He removed the chains before leaving the hospital so I'll have to go put those back on sometime.

The Man is napping. I need to go wake him up for lunch. Have a great weekend!

Chains thou shalt fasten...Exodus 28:25

It is 8:30 a.m., 33 degrees outside and snowing. That means it is a big slushy mess. I'm hoping things improve by noon because the kids really want to go to their music lessons this afternoon. The Man is working in the ER today so I will be taking them (we hope!). The Man drove his 4wd to the hospital this morning. The plan is for us to swap vehicles before I take the kids to music lessons, and then I'll bring his truck home. He should at least be able to get back to our driveway before chaining up. If it is too bad, I'll go get him in the morning.

Here are the current road conditions over the mountain to the city:

CHAINS ARE REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES EXCEPT 4-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES WITH SNOW TIRES ON ALL 4 WHEELS FROM 6 MI NORTH OF [our town] TO 2 MI SOUTH OF [the city where our 4wd is currently]

All four wheels! We do have chains for all four wheels, but I've never used them. I'm up for the challenge!

And this one:

CHAINS OR SNOW TIRES ARE REQUIRED [on the highway to music lessons]

We will have studded snow tires at that point.

Chains are on the back wheels of the van now. I'll take them off when I get to the end of our driveway. I would love to not have to put them back on before we get to the city, but I will if need be. I do have a Sew Crafty Friday project to post tomorrow, but if I don't post you'll know that (1) we spent the night in the city or (2) our power went out.

I just sent J out to start bringing in enough wood from the woodshed to the back porch to last us until Sunday. That snow is coming down fast and piling up quickly!

P.S...I'll take this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to my little brother. 34 years ago my status as the baby of the family was disrupted. Go say hi to him here.

Run to and fro...2 Chronicles 16:9

Hi! Not much new here. It warmed up and our driveway was almost snow-free, but then it started snowing again on Sunday. I put the chains on the van again yesterday just for the fun of it. I didn't need to go anywhere, but I went ahead and chained up just in case I want to go somewhere. I'm getting pretty good at it, maybe I'll start timing myself.

I am ready for spring to come. I've been perusing seed catalogs and (thanks to Ann) hatchery websites. The Man just shook his head and sighed.

The point of this post is that I've been tagged. I don't play tag. I have too many other important things to do like putting chains on the van, or looking at seed catalogs, or....okay...just this once. I'll do it for C, who happens to be one of the most amazing women on the face of the earth. Really.

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).

2. Open the book to page 123.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people.

1. The nearest book... Neighborhood Animals by the baby einstein company (A little rant: Why do so many companies not capitalize their company names? It may seem cute, but I'm trying to teach my kids to capitalize proper names.)

2. Open to page 123... Oh, wait, that one only has 16 pages. Hmmm....I actually bulldozed cleared off my desk a few weeks ago so there aren't many books within arm's reach. Here is one that has 126 pages. The Man chose a quote from it for this week's church bulletin, which I fully plan on doing today.

3. 5th sentence...got it.

4. 5 sentences (edited: I just realized that I was only supposed to post 3 sentences. Sorry, but I'm not changing it now):

The Saviour pointed His followers to the birds of the air as they warbled their carols of praise unencumbered with thoughts of care, for "they sow not, neither do they reap." And yet the great Father provides for their needs. The Saviour asks, "Are ye not much better than they?" Matthew 6:26. The great Provider for man and beast opens His hand and supplies all His creatures. The birds of the air are not beneath His notice.

The full text and audio of this book, Steps to Christ, by Ellen G. White, can be found here.

5. Now, five people to tag:
I'm not going to tag anybody, because I don't play tag. If YOU would like to play, go ahead and jump in here. Leave a comment here to let me know and go ahead and post the rules and your selection on your blog.

Time for school! Have a great day!

No power...Romans 13:1

We are here, not there! Sunday morning I asked The Man to call the retreat center to check on road conditions. No answer. We continued packing. I had all the kids' clothes packed and was starting to pack my things. The Man was ready to take the Dog over to our regular house sitter's place so he could hang out with her for a few days (she wasn't able to come here to care for the horse and chickens...the neighbors were going to help with them). I asked him to try to call again. Still no answer, but The Man started calling some of the alternate emergency numbers. It turns out that the retreat center had no power and the meetings were canceled. Everybody was supposed to have been notified not to come!

Whew! I'm glad we didn't make the 6+ hour drive there for nothing! I was also sort of glad that I hadn't finished packing my clothes...or the bedding...or the food. We called the house/pet sitters and told them we were staying.

After unpacking our clothes, The Man and kids spent the rest of the day sledding and building an igloo. (Pictures will be posted when we get our power back on and I can use the other computer).

Yesterday we went to the big city down south to trade in an unused 3/4 violin for a full-size for M. I will publicly say here that The Man got a great deal on the violins he bought a few years ago. I wasn't pleased when he left the house to buy 1 and came home with 4, but the retail value that the store owner quoted us yesterday was 5 times what The Man paid for it. It only had a trade-in value of 2 1/2 times what he paid for it, but it made yesterday's purchase much nicer. We'll save the 3/4 that M has been using for J when he is ready for it.

The power has been blinking for a few days. This morning it was off for two hours. It just went off again about 20 minutes ago. We have the woodstove for heat and plenty of candles for light, but I hope the power comes back on soon!

edit--4:32 p.m.: Just so you all don't feel too sorry for us, the power just came back on, but I'm going to wait until the snow stops to turn on the other computer.

Whiter than snow...Psalm 51:7

We were supposed to have a blizzard on Friday. The whole state got socked and we were gearing up for it also. Since The Man was supposed to have the day off of work, we were going up to the city in the morning to run a few errands, hoping to be back home before the weather got too awful. His co-worker couldn't make it over the mountain from the big city due to high winds, so The Man was asked to go to the office and take care of the patients. I decided I didn't want to make the trip by myself, so the kids and I just stayed home and cleaned house, did laundry, and took pictures! I was going to record the blizzard for you folks, inch by inch!

I took this "before" picture from the front porch on Thursday night.
Those are the still-red posts that hopefully will be brown sometime in the next five years. It rained all night Thursday/Friday. I didn't sleep too well with the pitter-patter on the step outside our bedroom.

Friday morning right after The Man was asked to go to the office...
It is snowing, but you can see the water dripping off the porch roof.

A few hours later it was starting to stick...

This is the last picture I took on Friday...
So much for the blizzard! I slept well last night. There was no rain to keep me awake, but we did have quite a bit of quiet snow! I really like this picture. It is so blue and wintry.
We got about 10-12" of the stuff during the night. Some of our church members couldn't get to church this morning because they had 16-20".
We plan on leaving in the morning for some pastors' meetings. However, the place we're headed to is several hours away in the Sierra foothills. We'll call in the morning to make sure the back roads we need to take are actually open. If you don't "see" me around this next week, that's where we'll be! We are planning on taking all our snow gear and sleds since the forecast for that area is predicting about 20" of additional snow accumulation there over the next few days. We're taking the pickup with 4wd and studded snow tires. We'll also try to pick up some chains for the truck. The Man tells me he has never had to put on chains. J and I will show him how it's done!

Give earnest heed...lest we should let them slip...Hebrews 2:1

Good morning! I'm sitting here on the couch at 5:30 in the morning with nothing better to do than tell you about the last 24 hours.

Yesterday I decided to go to the big, big city and finish up the last bit of the holiday shopping. J asked to go with me. When all four kids accompany me to any store you would probably pick J out to be the one "least likely to ASK to go shopping with mom." However, when it is just the two of us, we both have a grand time.

Two years ago our December trip to the big city was extended when the freeway was closed due to weather while we were up there. The kids and I spent the night in the home of one of The Man's co-workers (who couldn't make it home himself) and went home the next day. Yesterday morning was beautiful, though, and it promised to be a good trip.

We hit Barnes and Noble first. We could have spent all day there, but Target and the mall beckoned. Then we went to Lowes to get a tub/shower surround similar to the cracked one The Man pulled out of our bathroom Saturday night. The Man bought one last week that was nicer, but then discovered that our atypical bathroom can't handle that one. We briefly considered a full bathroom remodel to make that surround fit, but we opted for just getting a different surround.

J and I did take coats with us yesterday, but they stayed in the van while we went in and out of stores. Even when the slight drizzle developed late in the afternoon (can you see where this is going?) we didn't need our coats. We finished up our trip with a few grocery stores then we finally headed home about 8:00. The trip usually takes just over an hour, but that was not to be.

As we headed south I saw a lighted sign on the freeway. Chains required 9 miles ahead.

We always carry chains...2 sets. I knew they were in the back, buried. I got off at the very next exit, pulled into a gas station and found the chains. J retrieved the wind-up flashlight from under his seat and then I called The Man. He checked the internet for me and confirmed that chains were being required over the mountain pass.

I pulled out the handy instructions that came with our chains and read them over carefully. I had attempted to put them on one other time in our driveway when we had over a foot of snow. It didn't work out well and I ended up using the chains just for traction under the wheels. I noted in the instructions that it said to try out the chains before they are actually needed. Next time. We set out again. A few miles later we came across another sign. Chain up area.

I pulled over and J got out with me to hold the flash light. We both headed back in the van to get our coats. It was getting pretty nippy, especially with the semis going by. I did notice that only a few other folks were chaining up and most were just speeding by. One hour after first calling The Man from the gas station, I called him again to let him know we were all chained up and ready to go over the mountain. I will admit that I was slightly disappointed that I didn't have my camera with me so I could show you my wheels!

We bumped along at 22 mph. Several minutes later another sign came into view. Chain inspection point--Prepare to stop. I was ready! But...no one was there! I called The Man again and he again checked the internet. In the time it took for me to carefully read the materials and chain up, the restriction had been lifted. Chains were no longer required. Hmph. Since it was still drizzling, I decided to keep the chains on anyway.

As we were approaching the top of the pass, it was obvious that I was one of the few people on the road using chains since everyone else was speeding by me. I was planning on stopping and removing the chains once I got over the pass, but right at the summit I could feel the front tires slipping. Hooray! The chains weren't for naught! At that time two other cars came up behind me and decided that my 22 mph was just right for them also. They followed for a few miles down the mountain until the roads weren't quite so slippery. I pulled over to remove the chains, but I noted the shoulder was rather icy. I got back in the van and we bumped down the mountain for a few more miles.

The snow finally disappeared so I pulled off again to remove the chains. A nice man pulled over to see if I needed help removing the chains. I figured if I could put them on then I could take them off. I was right, although I will say that putting them on was a much cleaner job than taking them off.

A few miles later I had cell phone coverage again and I called The Man to let him know we were over the pass. It had been one hour since I'd chained up. Once I made it to the city I called again to see if there were any restrictions over our local mountain pass. There weren't, but I noted that there was a lot of snow up there that wasn't there when I left in morning. We finally made it home at 10:45. I washed the road grit off my arms and hands while The Man unloaded the van and I went to bed about 11:30.

I turned off the alarm so I could sleep in this morning.

At 4:00 J came in our bedroom to let us know that he was sick. The Man got up to clean up the mess. A little while later I got up and started the laundry. The Man went back to bed, but I stayed up with J.

That sums up my last 24 hours. Now it is time to get the rest of the family up and put some quilts in the dryer. Maybe I'll get a nap sometime today. I do need to get 5 or 6 packages in the mail today also.

Notes on tire chains:
-Pray!
-Have chains and rubber tighteners already in the vehicle. Don't wait until you need them to buy them at premium price (if any are available).
-Read directions carefully.
-Practice putting them on before you need them (I skipped that step). Don't assume you can just pay someone to do it for you. In the hour it took me to put them on, nobody stopped to see if I needed help (I would like to think that is because I looked quite capable, but I'm afraid it was just because no one else wanted to do it).
-Read directions again.
-Pray some more.
-Follow directions.
-Drive slow (don't forget the hazard light blinkers to let the crazy people know you are driving slower than they are). The instructions said not to go over 30 mph, but anything over 22 was too bumpy for me.
-Clean them up and put them away carefully so they'll be available for the next time!
-Pack some (fingerless) gloves in the chain box. I wish I had had some gloves with me last night! I am thankful that we had our coats with us. It would have been brutal without a coat.
-Pack some paper towels or something to clean up with afterwards. Trying to drive while covered in road grit isn't fun.