Esther's the Winner!

When Kathy and Nathan brought the children over yesterday, Kathy said that she wondered which child would be the first to need to go to the doctor. Well, Esther was the winner!

Woody got up REALLY early this morning. He said around 2:30...he "claims" that I was snoring so loud that he knew that he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so he went on a walk! Well, all I will say...is that he was snoring pretty good when I got into bed last night and it didn't keep me awake...and for once I had a pretty good night's sleep...snoring or not! When he got back from his walk, he made sweet potato waffles. What I smelled last night when I was blogging was Woody making preparations for this morning...he was cooking the sweet potato. We all seemed to be doing pretty well at breakfast...everyone enjoyed the waffles very much. Then the girls went upstairs and had a bath and got dressed. I noticed when I was drying Esther off that she felt a bit warm. I mentioned it to Woody when she got downstairs and he kissed her forehead and said that maybe she felt a little warm. Well, after I got Elijah bathed and he had played in the tub and gotten dressed and we came back downstairs, we found Esther all cuddled up on the couch under a soft warm throw. Woody said that she had either sat in his lap or cuddled up under the blanket on the couch ever since she had gone downstairs after her bath. So I decided to take her temperature and she did have one. So I headed to the phone and called her pediatrician's office. I called at 10am (the time that her mommy, daddy, brother, and sister were to be taking off for their overseas flight!) and got an appointment for 11:15am and we were back home by 12:30. Her pediatrician was away this week (of course), but we saw the nurse practitioner. She was concerned that she might have the flu (even though she had had the flu shot...the nurse said that the flu shots hadn't been as effective as hoped this year). But she tested negative for the flu. So she emailed in a prescription to the pharmacy and sent us on our way. Not sure what it is (it's not ears), but wants her on medication to help knock out her cough. After a dose of Tylenol and her prescription, she seemed to perk up some.

School got a bit delayed, but Joy still wanted a lesson. So I gave her a pouring lesson...you start out a little one pouring macaroni, then when they can pour that without spilling they pour rice, then when they master pouring rice they get to pour water. Joy graduated to water pouring in one lesson! She also had a good time with the play dough...as did Esther while Elijah took his afternoon nap. Joy figured out how to make a jelly fish. Elijah did a lot of sliding and pushing trucks, cars, trains, buses, etc. around on the floor. He had EIEIO read many times. He does love the cow page the best. He is doing very well with naming lots of animals and also making their sounds. I think that a good time was had by all despite Esther feeling a little under the weather...speaking of weather...it rained quite a bit today and the temperature has dropped. We talked to Kathy and Nathan this morning before they boarded their overseas flight (before Esther got to feeling poorly). Graham and Abigail were really excited...Nathan said that they hadn't stopped talking! They are still in the air as I type this...a very long flight...and it won't be over completely for many more hours. Right now they are just winging their way to Tokyo and they have two flights beyond that get them into the southern hemisphere. All is quiet here in the northern hemisphere in our house...three little cherubs sleeping soundly! And, that ends another busy day!

All's Quiet on the Western Front!

Busy Sunday! Woody got up really early and took his hour walk, as he knew that he would have trouble getting it in later in the day! I started out sleeping in later than planned and Woody went on to early church without me. I woke up in time to get ready to go to Sunday School. Woody taught his Sunday School class and then came home and made pumpkin pudding. I came home after Sunday School and tried to finish up with what hadn't gotten done yesterday. Nathan, Kathy, Graham, Abigail, Joy, Esther, and Elijah came over as soon as they had lunch. Goodbyes were said and then those left behind settled in for an afternoon of "fun and games!" Elijah took a nap not long after they got here and then the girls and I got busy making play dough. Woody went to the deacon's meeting at church. When he got home, Elijah was still napping and the girls were happily playing with the play dough that we had made. When they finished up with their play dough time, Woody took them out for a walk...Woody said that it was a run! When they got back Elijah was up from his nap. Lots of toys got taken out of the toy closet...we have had a circus, lots of cars and trucks driven through the house, we have had girls pretend to be puppies and kittens, we have read lots of stories. We enjoyed grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce for our Sunday supper with pumpkin pudding for dessert. About 6:30 we had them start gathering up the toys and putting them away in the toy closet...they were all great helpers. Then they headed upstairs to get their jammies on. I read to the girls and Woody read to Elijah. Lights were out before 8 and the girls only got up once! I think that Woody may be starting on tomorrow's breakfast as I am smelling food. He plans to be in charge of our breakfasts (sounds good to me!). Well, time for me to go start the dishwasher and then make a cup of tea and flop on the bed with a book...hmmmmmmm wonder how many pages I'll read before my eyes close!

Movin' In!

Here's what it takes to move three little ones to Grammy and Goosey's house! All seven marching over with something that will be needed over here for the three smallest while their mommy, daddy, brother & sister head off to Southeast Asia! If you look really hard you can spot little Elijah bringing up the rear. Tomorrow after church starts the sleepover at Grammy and Goosey's. The little girls are excited and Elijah will just come along for the ride! Graham and Abigail are excited to head off on a very big adventure that will have them going to the other side of the world/equator...they will be 13 hours away from us...not sure how many miles away! They are going to have a busy time going to many schools (all ages) and also to orphanages. Nathan will be sharing a message about making choices...emphasis on good choices. For those who have seen many of Nathan's performances, he will be telling the "Diamond Story." And, I guess that our dear friend Eric (from Tullahoma) who is now living and working in Southeast Asia will be interpreting for him. There will also be unicycling and stilt walking along with many more antics and feats! Can you imagine what the luggage inspectors at the airports will think when they see a unicycle tucked in on the x-ray machines! Of course, I'm sure that they see many strange things!

I have spent most of the day getting the house ready for Joy, Esther, & Elijah's stay. I have been getting beds ready and getting unnecessary things set aside so they won't interfere with our routine (ha! we'll see if we manage to establish a routine!), vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, putting things up high and/or away, putting away all the groceries (looks like we might be getting ready for a party!),etc., etc. Of course the most important ingredient that didn't get put on the list that Woody took (I had put it on a list but not the one Woody took)...SALT! We need salt to be able to do what Joy and I are planning to make...Play Dough!!!!!!!! But then Nathan and Kathy came to my rescue and had plenty...so the play dough cooking can proceed post haste after they are ensconced here at the house! It has been a busy day. Woody ran the errands, which included a stop at Lowes, WalMart, and Kroger. He and Nathan fixed a lamp that had a problem. Woody went on about an hour walk. He also helped me greatly by mopping the kitchen floor. He is now snoozing and watching a DVD. And, I'm off to do something else in preparation. Let the fun times commence (tomorrow)! Who knows what time I will be blogging for the next couple of weeks!!!! (I think that I need a cup of tea!)

Busy Friday

Woody got up early. I slept in a bit longer than he today. After getting up we made a tentative list of meals for next week and then made a grocery list. I went out to lunch with a friend and then went on to do an errand. I came home and headed over to Nathan and Kathy's and took the travelers a couple of treats to tuck into their carry-on luggage. They are all packed and all their bags are under the weight limit. Everyone seems excited...the four who are going and the three (well, Elijah doesn't really know what is in store for him!) who are staying and having a sleepover at Grammy and Goosey's! Woody has read, done crossword puzzles, watched DVDs and TV, and taken a walk today. I am in the midst of getting ready for the sleepover!

Happy New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year, that is. It is the year of the rabbit...thus tonight's picture. This is one of the bunnies that I took lots of pictures of while I was staying at the Safra House in Bethesda, MD while Woody went through his three-week TIL protocol this past summer.

Woody and I both got up super early...make that "souper" early! I woke up about the same time that Woody did and I decided rather than going back to sleep I would get up and make the soup that I hadn't found time to make this week. I wasn't really enthusiastic about trying this recipe so I hadn't pushed at getting it made...but the cupboards were bare and it was time to make something! So at 4:30 I started preparing broccoli and the rest of the ingredients to make Broccoli and Almond Soup with Sesame. It's pretty good...but I just don't consider it a "main dish" soup...seems more like a "first course" soup. It is a pureed soup...though I did keep some of the broccoli florets out and steamed them and then added them to the pureed ingredients. It does have a very good flavor due to toasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds and sesame oil. I just like a soup that has more to chew in it! Woody followed behind and kept the dishes washed up. After soup preparations, I flopped on the bed to read and rest...but the rest turned into a nap...guess I finished out my night's sleep!

After lunch Woody walked to the Post Office to mail a couple of cards. After he got back he has taken it easy. He even admits to having taken a nap this evening after supper. This afternoon Graham and Abigail came over to help me clean up the toy closet for the three little ones who will be staying with us next week. It had gotten pretty jumbled and I thought that it would be nice for them to start out their two week stay with a clean and easy to get into toy closet. Graham and Abigail "raked" out all the toys that had accumulated on the floor and then Abigail and I vacuumed the floor. Then I crawled into the closet (it is a closet under our stairs) and I straightened up the shelves and put the things up on the top shelf that Elijah doesn't need to play with and then they handed me the plunder that they had raked out and I put it back so there is once again a path (for a child) to walk along the length of the closet. A good job done and I really appreciated Graham and Abigail's help. Woody has worked some crossword puzzles today and watched a bit of TV. We have started planning menus and gotten the list started for groceries to feed three little mouths and ours for the coming week. When Woody went over to Nathan and Kathy's this afternoon, he escaped with Elijah. Elijah enjoyed part of a cookie and having EIEIO read to him by his Goosey (Woody). Then Elijah played for a while with some of the toys (prior to the cleaning of the toy closet). He's not usually over here all by himself so he enjoyed his own time here. He and I played with the tea party upstairs for a while. He loves to pull the dolls out of their chairs so he can sit in the chairs! Such a cute age! Once when he was climbing up in Goosey's lap to be read to again, he said this long sentence...not sure what he said...but he definitely knew what he was talking about! I am reading another one of those thriller mysteries...but only have 100 pages till I am finished...hope to finish it in a timely manner so I can get a whole night's sleep tonight!

No shadow

According to the official Huntsville and PA groundhogs...they did not see their shadows so Spring should come earlier (than what I don't know!) this year. I say that it will probably come on March 19th instead of the 20th (official first day of Spring)! Tonight's picture shows tulip poplar (TN state tree) branches in the winter.

Woody took about an hour walk today. He and Graham planted some grass seed. This evening he went to church for the Experiencing God class. I continued to work on Kathy's top. It is finished except for the finishing touches...and what is important...it fits! I went to the church library late this afternoon and got four books ready to be checked out. Woody has read and watched a bit of TV. I read today, too...but in the wee hours of the night/morning...I must start reading books that don't get so exciting that I can't put them down!

Rainy February First

Woody and I both got up really early this morning. He headed down to read and I headed into the sewing room. I figured that since I was awake I would go sew till my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer and then go take a nap! The eyes not staying open any longer happened shortly after lunch...happened to Woody too. We both pretty much slept the afternoon away. Woody walked to the library this morning and then on to pick up our red car. It now has a new thermostat and a new water pump...wonder how many more 100 thousand miles that will add to its life! I am still working on Kathy's top and Woody has now walked to the church for his prayer room time. We have gotten almost a half inch of rain today...it has just been sort of a steady rain this afternoon...nice sleeping weather...I guess! Having taken a long afternoon nap makes today seem like Sunday to me...I will be off on what day it is for the rest of the week!