I didn't have to change a diaper today. My husband handled most of my daughter's care. He had a nasty headache in the middle of the day. He handled it well. It did finally go away.

We went to my husband's dad's house. We went to my cousin's house, where my side of the family gathered for dinner and dessert. Then we went to my husband's mother's house.

We saw our mothers. We got them each a plant. We found hydrangeas and a mum, which were all quite beautiful.

We had a Mother/Daughter Tea today. It was at a restaurant in stead of at our church as it usually is. There was a doll theme. My daughter brought her doll with her. My mom, grandmom, and my husband's mother, step-mother, grammy, and greataunt all attended. It was nice for my husband's side of the family to see our daughter, since they don't get to see her that often.

Every one had a nice time. It was reflective to hear stories of days gone by and about other ladies and their dolls.

The food wasn't all together unpalatable (the sandwich wraps were quite tasty), but they could have provided a few more nonsandwich options. They were also short on the desserts. There were not enough to go around. Actually they had plenty of scone/biscuit things (not very desert-like), but not enough cookies. My mom missed out on the chocolate chip cookies.

The information about the mortgage appraisal for the house we are trying to buy is very, very slow in coming. The appraisal was done last Friday, and over a week later, we still have not heard what the mortgage company's appraised value of the house is. If it is too low, we have some concerns about buying the house. We have heard some rumors that it will be close to what we need it to be, but nothing official, yet.

After dinner, we took some time tonight to look at some houses for sale in the area. No of them worth going into. We didn't like the looks of them at all. Nothing was better than the house we have agreed and want to buy.

We also went out to eat tonight. We tried a new restaurant near us, Bones Grille. It was very tasty food and good service. Our daughter actually ate her food. We had leftovers. It was an all around good food experience, one to be repeated.

I had a Creative Memories Get Together tonight. It was fun. My mom, aunt, and sister were here. My mother-in-law and a co-worker of hers were here. A friend of my mom and aunts was here. I made zucchini bread and peanutbutter cookies. I put out pretzels, peanuts, and carrots. My husband set up the coffee maker. Also available were water, milk, orange juice, apple juice, and iced tea.

If no one had fun with the creative memories part, they should have at least had a good time eating.

I don't understand it, but for some reason my husband felt that he should leave during our fun. He put our daughter to bed, then headed out. He went to a friend's house for a Bible study.

We had my egg casserole again for breakfast. Having it today was just as tasty as yesterday. My friend had never had an egg casserole before. She didn't know what she was missing.

Oh yes, my friend cut my hair yesterday. I forgot that in the morning before we went anywhere, we played outside a bit. Kashi romped after his ball, my daughter ran around, my husband kept Kashi romping by throwing his ball, my friend cut my hair.

Today, she cut it again. I decided to go a little shorter. She did a fabulous job. It is quite cute. It really brings out my curls. She always does a good job on my hair. She also thought her skin needed a trim. She forgets that it's my hair she's cutting and not her finger.

During our visit, I was able to find two things she lost. Her gel for poison ivy, and her exercise cords. Though, I couldn't find her missing keys for her new locks.

After we packed, we ate dinner at Austin Grill. They have great food, but our service was lacking. We had enough leftover for another meal. To let our food settle we walked around the block. During our stroll, we made room for coffee (my husband,) and ice cream (the rest of us.)

On our way home we found more traffic. The Bay Bridge was backed up for 4 miles, causing us an hour delay. We played the alphabet game using car makes and models. My husband won. I won the game we played using signs.

Our last bit of excitement this weekend was when we saw a taxi veering into the other lane. He did it over 7 times that we saw. I called 911. I was patched through to the state police. I reported the taxi, and where we were on I-476. I was asked for my name, and the number from which I was calling. The taxi was in the left lane, going no more than 60 MPH and sometimes slower. He continued to veer, and we continued to watch. No police. We stayed behind him for a while. Still no police. Eventually we had to pass him, because he slowed down to under 50 MPH, while still driving in the far left lane. By this point there were three lanes. He had passengers, too. It at least kept us awake.

We didn't get home until 10:15 pm. Far later than we would have liked, but not as late as other times. Our daughter had a surprise for us. Her diaper apparently holds more liquid when in the vertical position. Her entire bottom was wet. I had to wash her car seat cover. She hadn't even been asleep as long as over night, but yet she was completely wet along her entire backside. When she sleeps at night, she never leaks out the back. We figure it was because she was sitting instead of lying down.

We went Shopping.

At Target we bought our daughter two swimsuits. They are adorable and have a little skirt. And they're pink. I think most everything that girl wears has at least one spot of pink. We are gong to the beach this summer for a week, so she needs two swimsuits. Of course, if it was up to her, she'd probably be perfectly happy in just her diaper.

We also found my EZ slider plastic wrap made by Reynolds wrap. It's purple, too. My friend got green. I highly recommend the EZ slider to cut plastic wrap. It is better than sliced bread.

We also went to Home Depot for some things, namely drain cleaner, also highly recommend by my friend.

My husband tried getting Starbucks coffee at the gargantuan town-like shopping center where Home Depot was, but the line was nearly out the door. He doesn't like Starbucks enough to wait.
We then ate lunch at a favorite little diner - Taco Bell. I ordered my favorite - Chalupas. Since I discovered them, they're all I get. My daughter made a tasty mess with a burrito.

We then headed to a garden store for my friend to pick up a new bowl for her bird bath. Hers is cracked. They didn't have the green that matches the base she has. So, we actually didn't purchase anything there. She ended up using tar to pitch the inside of the bird bath. It looks quite fetching and will act as a target for the birds to find it easier.

Then my friend did something wonderful. She dropped my husband and I off at Mount Vernon and took our daughter home for a nap. We had a few hours to ourselves. We had a very nice stroll around the lower grounds of mount Vernon. George was quite the innovative farmer.

The next stop was, I think, quite remarkable. It felt like stepping back in time. We found a variety store. And "penny" candy. The candy was more than a penny, but it was the same kind you used to be able to buy for a penny. I hadn't seen some since I was a little girl. We of course piled quite a bit of the sugary sweetness into a basket. Than we wandered around the store for a while. My husband found the toy isle with Matchbox cars and other trinkets he liked as a boy, reminding him of the Five and Dime store from our youth. It was a fun store, and we will be back next time we visit.

Our final stop was for pizza and soda. By this time our stomachs were saying things. It was very tasty pizza. We ate while watching a movie. Then my friend and I played Phase Ten. I won.

We drove to Alexandria, VA today. We were later leaving than we thought, but it wasn't mostly our fault. My husband had an emergency at work and needed to take care of some things before we left. The plan was to watch my friends furry and feathery friends for her while she went to helped her Mother in Texas. Instead her Mother turned tables on her and canceled her flight. So, we plan to visit with the animals and her all weekend.

We also hit traffic in Delaware. I am not sure how long it set us back, since I woke up once we were in it.

We stopped at Wawa for some dinner. The plan was to eat at my friend's house, but the work emergency and traffic set us back, so we got some sustenance. I highly do NOT recommend Wawa's new chicken cheese steak with Cheddar cheese on it. They have to improve that one before I pass it past my lips again. They also have to learn how to melt cheese.

Back on the road again, there were no more stops or issues.

I was standing at the kitchen sink this morning measuring the amount of liquid our glasses hold. I am trying to be more mind of what I am eating and drinking and their amounts. As I poured the water from the glass into the measuring cup, it spilled on the counter and some down the cabinets. My daughter, who was standing next to me munching on her favorite food of Cheerios, opened the right side of the cabinet under the sink, shut the door, then opened the left side. Although she is not allowed to go in those cabinets, I let her go to watch what she was doing. After she opened the left side, she took the dishcloth from the bar it hangs on and started to wipe the water I had spilled off the cabinet. She saw a need and was taking care of it. She likes to wipe things. We use to keep a rag hanging on her high chair for her messier meal times. She would occupy herself by "wiping up" the floor, the table legs, the chairs. She now has her own clean rag to use.

Another thing that I have seen her do that is very cute and imitating, is to "feed" her baby dolls and give them something to drink. She sees us feed her and help her with cups, that she does it, too.

I chose an OB/GYN. Though, after my appointment yesterday, maybe I should rethink that.

I sat in the exam room in my paper shirt and paper "blanket," waiting for my doctor to come for half an hour. I think that is too long when one is undressed. When he finally showed up, he asked how I was. I said I was tired of waiting. He apologized and said there was an urgent situation he needed to take care of. I have no problem with waiting if there is something urgent, but I have a problem with no one coming in to tell me this. A nurse should have come into the room and explained that my doctor was taking care of a pressing matter and would be with me as soon as he could be. And if they knew about the situation before they even took me into the exam room, then they should have had me just wait in the waiting room. I will be calling and telling them this soon. I need to update them on my insurance anyway.

My friend said her rule of thumb about waiting for a doctor is 30 minutes in the waiting room and 15 minutes in the exam room. I think I just might adopt these rules too.

~~~~~~~~~

For a while now, my daughter has been very uncooperative on the changing table. I have been quite annoyed at trying to keep her laying still and on her back. Just the other day she grabbed her dirty diaper while I was trying to take it away. I certainly don't need the contents of a dirty diaper falling out.

Well, lately I have discovered that she likes having her diaper changed on the floor. She lays rather still. It is on her terms, I guess. As long as she lies still and lets me change her without wiggling and turning, I'd change her in the bathtub.

I have successfully spent time with God each morning since Wednesday. I know it doesn't seem like a long time, but for me it is. I have decided to get up at 5:40 am, take care of personal needs, then make my way downstairs and pray, read my Bible, and pray. I also do an extra study on women of the Bible. I have found it to be interesting. As I started reading Matthew, I have found some things I didn't realize or forgot about.

Today my little family went shopping. Well, all we did was go to one store, a fruit vegetable and flower stand. We bought our weekly produce and some impatiens and dusty miller. Although we are moving we wanted some color in our flower bed.

After we got home I set to work planting. It looks very nice. Hopefully the rabbits won't find my plants. My husband likes to call our flower bed the local free buffet. I do have alyssum coming up from last year. The rabbits stay usually leave that alone. We like the alyssum because it drapes nicely over our rock border.

I am vacillating between using an OB/GYN and using a midwife. I thought I'd like a midwife, but than there weren't any in my area, hence I didn't even call them. So, I made appointments with the OB/GYN that I went to with my first pregnancy. Today was my appointment with the maternity nurse. Tonight I received some pregnancy magazines, one containing an article about midwives. After reading it, I'd like to at least call and talk with a midwife. Now, I am unsure again.

I have cute things to write about my daughter, but every time I sit down to write, they fly right out of my head. Maybe tomorrow.

I did not have to go shopping today. No, I am now on the two week shopping cycle. My husband gets paid every two weeks now with his new job, so I am shopping every two weeks. I still need to buy milk and produce weekly, but that's not bad. My goal is shopping once a month for the nonperishable items, but I have to wait until we move for that, since my current house can not handle that much food storage.

I made a phone call list for today. I have three more calls to make, though the one to the movers depends on the answer from Kohls. I am trying to save on buying boxes by getting some leftovers from Kohls.

I vacuumed, dusted, and mopped today. My daughter helped me by dusting too. It was very precious. When I finished with the feather duster, I gave it to her to dust. She dusts very well. She made her way around the room dusting. In fact she even picked up a photo to dust underneath it, and I guess she felt she didn't get all the dust, so she picked it up and dusted underneath it again. She also remembered to dust the TV, which I forgot. She is a great little helper. Other household chores with which she enjoys helping is unloading the dishwasher, putting clothes in the washer (though she doesn't help as often with that, because I have to lift her up), putting clothes in the dryer, taking clothes out of the dryer, and turning the dryer on. One thing she could help with less often is unfolding the clothes I have just folded.

I have contacted a few places where I would like to volunteer. I have not heard back. I guess they don't want help. I still need to contact some places that have asked for volunteers.

I would like to do some volunteer work. I have to be somewhat selective, because I will be taking my daughter with me. Some places won't allow that. I contacted and interviewed with a local pregnancy crisis place, but no one ever got back to me. I guess they really don't need someone to wash and organize donated clothes. I called several places in regard to volunteer work, and no one got back to me. I was successful in contacting and getting information to volunteer at the local hospital, but they have a required amount of hours, which is impossible for me to meet, since I can't have my daughter with me. Meals-on-wheels needs people to pack meals and people to deliver them. I thought that I could try contacting them. I haven't yet, because I keep getting rejected to volunteer.

Something seems wrong with not being able to help people. All I want to do is help those in need and teach my daughter that helping others is important, and I am wholefully unsuccessful.

We heard our child's heartbeat again today. This time we recorded it on a digital recorder. Interestingly it sounds quite different than our daughter's heartbeat at about the same gestational age. We also saw our baby wiggle around. He is such a miracle. (We thought we'd root for a boy since we have a girl.) He is only a little over an inch long, but he was wiggling and moving his arms and legs. It was very awesome to see him, even though I can't feel him yet.

We are done at Abington, so we went out to lunch at Macaroni Grill. I now go to see my regular OB/GYN, the one who will deliver our baby. I was contemplating using a midwife, but I think I am going to go with the doctor I used last time. I had a good experience, and I fully enjoyed my hospital stay. The two midwives in my area are not associated with any hospitals in my area. I would have to go quite a distance to deliver at a hospital. I could deliver at home, but I don't want to that.

I am trying to eat better now that I am pregnant. I am also trying to drink more water. I have succeeded a little. I don't like many vegetables, so it's a challenge for me to eat the suggested number of servings. I have no problem with the dairy and grains, and I am usually fine with the fruit. But the vegetables give me trouble. I guess I am going to eat a lot of carrots and green beans.

With this pregnancy, I have felt a little more sick than with my last one. It isn't often and just short periods of time. I usually feel better if I am laying down on my left side. I have also noticed that some tastes linger far too long. Another oddity is toothpaste. I had to change toothpaste. Our regular kind made me gag and I didn't even want to think about brushing my teeth. Lucky for my teeth, I found a brand with which my stomach is alright. The smell of my daughter's toothpaste has also turned my stomach a time or two.

Saltine crackers have been quite tasty for me and my upset stomach. And helpfully water is also a help. I need to drink more of it anyway.

I am so frustrated with my inability to do things I want to do. I want to spend time writing here at least every other day. I usually end up writing three or four posts at once and post them as if I have written them on different days. I want to spend each day reading my Bible and learning what God wants me to learn. I usually end up doing my devotions only maybe three times a week and doing my devotion book all at once. I'd like to not go to bed so late every night and wake up as though I hadn't even slept.

What is my problem? What is in my life that is coming between God and me? Why is time such an enemy? Am I not finding the true problem, therefore not able to see the answer?

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!

Seek Him, and you shall find Him!

This morning I drove my sister to the airport. The poor thing was on her way to the Florida Keys. It is her spring break, and she is visiting our cousin. She plans to rest and relax, pamper herself and go snorkeling. She will be flying back on Thursday.

This afternoon, we relaxed and watched the Phillies. They had a double header, the first they won, the second they lost. We didn't see get to see the whole second game, because we had to eat dinner. And for dinner we went to my husband's mother's house. It was nice not to cook. We had roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. Dessert was applesauce and peanutbutter-chocolate chip cookies.

It was a pretty good day.

I spent this rainy morning at a Creative Memories Get Together. I want to buy all this stuff now to make fun memories with our photos. They have this nifty cutter to trim photos. A punch rounds corners. Cutters that cut photos in ovals, circles, and other fun shapes. They have a rather pricey starter kit that I would like to get. Of course there are no funds for such things.

I am having my own get together at my house. I am even considering being a consultant myself. I have to give it some thought and prayer, though. I want to earn some money, but I still am unsure of how.

And on Saturday night, we went to a game night with our Sunday school class. We had fun. We played Apples to Apples, a game we had never played. I also played Dutch Blitz. Gary didn't care for that game, though.

My parents also came. My dad is in the same Sunday school class. It was nice for them to get out, for they rarely do. My dad's work schedule always changes.

I had the scare of my life yesterday. I am 8 weeks pregnant, and yesterday I started to bleed. In my book, that means miscarriage. But thankfully, my book isn't written correctly. After I calmed down and my sobbing was minimal, I called my doctor. The nurse I spoke with (the nurses seems to know more than the doctors) said that bleeding is not abnormal in the first trimester. My only symptom was bleeding, not cramping and other things associated with miscarriage. She said to take it easy for the rest of the day. I had to wait over an hour to call my husband to tell him, because I knew I would start crying again talking about it.

I put my daughter down for her nap and laid on the couch for the afternoon. I watched a family movie, did my devotions, thought about napping but didn't. My sister came over to help out. She bought us dinner at Boston Market. It was a scrumptious meal of roasted chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, vegetables (they were tolerable) and applesauce. My sister and my husband cleaned up, and I laid on the couch, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.

Today, no bleeding. Praising God for that. My mother took my daughter shopping with her. So, I had the morning to myself. I enjoyed that also. I watched another movie. I was suppose to iron, but I have trouble motivating myself to do that. I need an intervention.

My husband finally didn't have to work this week. But yet, he did. Instead of trying to get a job finished, he had meetings to go to. I know he would rather be home with his family than out at meetings. He is very tired of not being home.

My husband's old and new bosses finally signed papers. My husband now has new employers. He now has a better salary. We are very relieved to have this finally happen. It was suppose to happen at the end of 2005. Than it was the end of January, than February, than March. Well, his boss finally signed last Friday. I won't miss my husband working for him.

I am still blowing my nose way too many times for being on an antibiotic. I am thankful that my throat hasn't hurt for awhile. I am thankful for the many boxes of tissues around the house. I am thankful that I can breath through one side of my nose at night.

I did go to choir tonight and stayed for the entire practice. Perhaps there is slight progress with this ridiculous cold?

I continually think of the things about my daughter I wish to write here. I continually forget to do it. Alas, I did not forget tonight.

Cute thing #1: My husband was reminding our daughter of something she was suppose to do or not do, and her reaction was to hit him, than immediately hug him. Although cute it was, she still got a timeout.

Cute thing #2: She likes to get into things. Once while I was vacuuming, I had to change the bag. I opened the vacuum, took out the bag and threw it out. When I came back to the vacuum with a fresh bag, my daughter had squeezed herself into the spot the bag sits in. I ran for the camera and captured the moment.

Cute thing #3: My daughter reacts to situations usually in one of two ways: to throw or hit. She chose throwing this time and was told to go pick up what she threw or she would get a time out. Her choice was to go sit in the time out chair.

Cute thing #4: During her bedtime routine, my husband was rocking our daughter. He told her one more song, than it was time to go to bed. Her response was to lay her head on his shoulder and put her hands over her ears. I guess if you can't hear it, the song doesn't play?

Cute thing #5: Also during bed or nap time routine, while we rock our daughter, she has a tendency to squirm. We will tell her if she doesn't hold still, she'll be put in her crib. She will continue to squirm, but as soon as we go to stand she plunks her head on our shoulder and stills herself. Sometimes this pattern repeats itself a few times, ending in a crying child in her crib by herself.

I could go on, but that would take 20 months.

You know what's nice about having a pending sale on your house? You don't have to do any more work on it.

Today, we just relaxed. No house projects. We spent the day as a family.

We tossed around the idea of starting to empty out the attic. We tossed it maybe twice, than let it fall. We weren't motivated to do it. We do have until June. And besides, where is all that stuff going to go anyway? We certainly don't have space anywhere else. My parents offered space in their garage. But you haven't seen their garage. It needs to be cleaned out before we would put anything in.

We think we are going to hire movers to move us. It will just be easier to have men who are used to moving to get the timing right. I am still not sure how we are doing it. Both closings are on the same day.

My husband and I had an evening out. We went to a presentation of Answers in Genesis. A fellow talked about the flaws in the Big Bang Theory and how distant starlight is not a problem for a young earth.

The speaker had a PhD, but didn't look old enough to be out of college. I caught up on some sleep during his talks.

We had a good time out, while our daughter spent a fun evening with her grandmother.

Yes, my mucus membranes are still in overdrive. I have not had a free breathing day in over two weeks. I feel that is too long.

We had a good day today. My husband came home from work early. He had been working overtime trying to get a project dome by this morning. Once the plans were plotted and taken to the township office, he came home. He was home around 1:00. Our daughter was down for her nap, so we took a nap, too. My husband hadn't had much sleep the past week. He needed the nap.

We had pizza for dinner. I used my bread machine and made the dough. It never is as good as buying it out, but it was rather tasty.

After our daughter was in bed for the night, we enjoyed just sitting for the evening. We watched Friday night TV.

I did it again. Even though I am sick, I stay up way past when I should go to bed. I stayed up until midnight losing scrabble to my friend. I did manage to squeak out a win on a 3 minute game. She won the other three. I think losing stinks.

I have a sinking suspicion that my clogged sinuses are not a bacterial infection. Nothing seems to have changed since starting the antibiotic. Viral infections are the pits. You'd think scientists could come with something by now to eradicate them. Some sort of nuclear bomb for viruses. Of course it doesn't help that viruses keep changing strains. My cough has wizened up, since I got the cough syrup with codeine I haven't been coughing as much. I've used it both nights.

Tomorrow will be too weeks, (TWO WEEKS!) since I first got this stupid cold.

Last night, I coughed so much my husband and I were wondering if we'd ever get to sleep. We would dose off, but then I would have a coughing spell, waking us up. I'd reposition, we'd settle in and fall asleep, then another coughing spell. This happened maybe three or four times over a 45 minute period of time. I finally tried my left side and made it through the night.

If you can believe it, I am still very stuffy and feeling poorly today, though my coughing has been better. I went back to the doctor and after waiting half an hour with a rammy 20 month old, I left armed with an antibiotic and codeine. I better be better soon.

I did it again. I came home from choir practice early. But unlike last Wednesday, I am going to bed early tonight. I think not getting enough sleep has been my downfall with this stupid cold. Did I mention my daughter is sick, now? My husband is still germ free. Is it only a matter of time for him?

We got to see our second child for the first time, today. He or she is just a little dot on the screen, with it's little heart beating. It is such a miracle. I am only 6 weeks pregnant, but that little heart is going strong. We even have pictures. I go back next week for another ultrasound.

My daughter and finished our shopping today. She got a new hat, new sandals, and new onesies. She is a growing girl. Guess what color everything is. PINK! All things for little girls come in a rainbow of pinks.

I think this summer my daughter will voluntarily wear her hat. Last year it was a fight. She enjoyed her new hat today and her old hat yesterday. The smallness of her old hat made her ears stick out. I got a picture of her when she put it on sideways. Very cute!

I look forward to more sunshiny days outside with my daughter.

It was a nice day today. My daughter and I played outside. She enjoys trotting around the grass with her ball. She has great fun walking up the small hill near our house. At the top she turns and throws or kicks her ball down the hill, than she runs down after it. I catch her, swing her into the air and put her down. She hurries to do it all over again.

We also took a walk to the playground. She didn't want to slide today. She has enjoyed that before. She did swing with me on the regular swing. Since she liked that, I thought I might try the toddler swings. The last time we put her in one, she objected greatly. Probably because she didn't really fit, the swing was too big. However, this time, she had a fabulous time. So much so, that she didn't want to get out. In fact she got a time out, because she hit me when I took her out to go home for lunch.

Still sick.
Still stuffy and coughing.
Been to the doctor.
No medicine, except Tylenol products.
Still tired and not getting to bed early enough.
Need to get stock in Kleenex.
Got my daughter sick.
Husband is still germ free.

Will it ever end?

We had to vacate our house while the buyer had a house inspector come look the place over. We went to Costco with my mom. We tried really hard to find a reason to eat dinner at Houlihan's, but in the end we knew their wasn't any.
We had leftovers.

Why is something so simple, so hard to see?

I could have just said "We are not telling anyone when we decide to try again." That would have been so simple and true. But no, I chose to answer questions with half truths and lies, leading my friend on a farce. She was not "put out" as I had thought. She was extremely hurt.

We talked. I apologized. I asked for forgiveness. She granted it.

She is happy for my husband and me. She is glad I am pregnant. She is a great friend, always supportive, always praying. She gives of herself, without asking for anything in return (except maybe a scrabble game.) She even nearly got her hands stuck for life in a painting position to help us get our house ready to sell. What would I do without her? I can't imagine.

I went to choir tonight. But alas, I went home after practicing just one piece. That was the plan, for I am sick. I decided to just stay to practice the anthem for Sunday and then go home.

I have been ailing since Saturday. It started with a sore throat. It was on and off for a few days, then the stuffiness and coughing started, and it's been downhill ever since. I am going to the doctor tomorrow, but since I am pregnant, I am not hopeful of getting any medicine.

And here is a secret. I went home from choir early because I am sick. I should have gone to bed. But no, I played hookie. I stayed up and played scrabble with my friend. Not that I didn't want to play, but I should have gone to sleep to try to get better. I have been remiss in getting the sleep required to get better. And here I am writing, too. I will be sick forever.

We did it. We signed an agreement for the sale of our house.

I feel a little sentimental about it. This is our first home. Although we never planned on being here forever, it still feels funny agreeing to let someone else live in my house. We worked hard on this house and changed a lot. Over the six years we have lived here, we've made it ours.

It is sad. I have already started to get a little teary about it. I am sure I will cry when I walk out our front door for the last time.

But we will have the opportunity to make another house our home.

We had the inspection for our new house today. It lasted 3 and a 1/2 hours. The house isn't that big, but the guy was thorough. He started in the basement and made his way to the attic. He'd explain what he was doing as he was going. I lost interest in the basement. My husband kept with him, instead. I chatted with the seller, who is also an acquaintance. We followed him and talked with each other instead of really listening to what he had to say. I drew the line of following when he went outside. I think I lasted maybe five minutes. It was too cold for me out there. My friend and I went inside had cocoa and a brownie and talked. Much more interesting than poking one's head in a chimney.

Mr. Inspector-man found four major things that really should be fixed: The garage roof needs to be replaced, the furnace chimney needs to be relined and repointed, the galvanized pipes need to be replaced with copper, and the termites need to be taken care of. It's not a cheap list.

We also met neighbors across the street. They have four children. We only actually met the husband and the two younger children, a boy and a girl (she's several months older than our daughter.) They were very nice. That is an important quality in a neighbor.

By the time we got home, it was rather late. We had spaghetti for dinner. That's one of our standbys when dinner is late or unplanned. It was tasty.

We had a surprise phone call from our realtor, concerning an offer on our house. We have to wait until tomorrow to find out about it, though.

Tonight, I called my brother to tell him the good news of our coming bundle and our upcoming new house. I talked with my sister-in-law first. I told her all about the house but hadn't said anything about the baby yet. When I slipped it into the conversation, she got all excited and said that that was way more important than the house stuff, and I shouldn't have held out. She was way happy and so was my brother. Even my niece said "congratulations" with some coaching from her mother.

By the way, my brother had to get off the phone because he had to go plow the roads. Apparently, in Colorado on the day before Spring begins, it was snowing.

Today we told my family the good news that Ellie is going to be a big sister. I had it all planned out. The plan was to watch old family slides and movies. I made four slides to slip in with the pictures. They said "Ellie" "is going" "to be a" "big sister." I thought it quite a clever method to share the good news. But there was a hitch in the plan. No one could find the slide projector. So, I thought and thought and came up with a new plan. My cousin's six year old daughter could read the slides to everyone. That worked out well, and everyone was happy and excited. It was good to be able to surprise everyone.

I was disappointed at the reaction of my friend when I told her the good news. Maybe I caught her at a bad time, for she was sleepy, but she seemed put out that I hadn't told her that we were going through the IVF treatment. She did manage to squeak out a "congratulations." We have talked several times since then, and she hasn't asked me a single question about my pregnancy. I feel like the subject is taboo. I wanted to surprise her.

My husband and I chose to do it this way. We don't regret our decision.

I am doing laundry. Three loads. I have changed the bedspreads on the two beds to hide the boxsprings, and I am moving stuff into position to go into the attic. I have also taped one side of the steps readying the trim for painting. After finishing the one side, I decided that my husband can have the privilege of taping the other side.

I am waiting to vacuum until we are done with the painting supplies, since they are strune about the downstairs.

Tonight, we signed the papers for selling our house. Our realtor went over all the paperwork and what all of it meant. There is a lot of information in that paperwork. Then of course we had to initial and sign an entire forest of papers.

Friday she will be coming back to take pictures for the listing. Hence, we have to finish painting. Ugh!

Not only do we need to finish painting, we have to tidy up the place. And that requires vacuuming, dusting, laundry, and putting things in the attic.

A boat load of stuff to do. And we start tonight.

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. She and my parents came over for dessert. My parents gave her a beach chair, a beach towel, sandals, a drink, some candy, a puzzle book, and a beach bucket. I had it all set up on our deck for her to find. We gave her clues using definitions on where to find her present - Balderdash, which I sat on the beach chair. I thought it a rather clever method of present giving.

We of course then played her game, while eating mixed berry crisp.

We are buying a house on one of my husband's favorite streets. It has most everything we wanted: a fireplace, a basement, a walk up attic, an eat-in kitchen, a yard, a garage.

Now we have to finish getting our house ready to sell.

I sit here very tired and a bit sore. After two days of painting and all that entails, my husband, my friend, and I are very sore and exhausted. And even with all that we did and staying up till after two in the morning for two nights, we still have to paint two ceilings and do some touch up work.

The bane of my husband's existence is almost finished. The bathroom that looks great, but was soooo much hard work just needs some touch up work to be complete. My husband is looking forward to it being done.

My friend and I oiled an old wood bookcase and brought it back to life. It looks fantastic. It's a changed piece of furniture.

And after all our hard work yesterday, we had to take baths instead of showers. As my husband was putting the bathroom back together, the shower curtain rod broke. So, baths it was.

Today, we didn't do any work on the house. We napped and relaxed. And visited family.

I should say mostly relaxed. I did have to clean the bathtub. Our child thought it a good idea to do her diaper business after we took off her diaper and put her in the tub.

Did I mention I am tired and drained of energy?

My very good friend is here. We are at this moment playing scrabble. I am typing in between plays. She is winning right now, but it is still anyone's game.

I WON!!!!!

Maybe I should be more gracious and give my friend a victory, since she is here to help us paint.

We went to look at a house on Saturday. I thought it was the house. Then on Sunday, we went to an open house of acquaintances of ours.

I was wrong. I think this is the house. The main difference is the location. It is a better neighborhood. It is in a residential area, and there is an elementary school just down the block. The first house was in a more business area.

There is some work we would do, but it is in good living condition.

I was a very busy girl yesterday.

I vacuumed upstairs and downstairs, including the stairs. I mopped the kitchen and dining room. I cleaned the bathroom. I did five loads of laundry, folding only two. I watched a movie. I am not really sure how I fit it all in.

I wasn't even that tired at the end of the day.

But as a reward I am relaxing all day today.

Today I had an enlightenment. Did you know that there is a right and a wrong pitch with which to talk? That's right. And if you talk in the wrong pitch for too long, it damages your vocal cords. Rest assurd, though, that most people talk in the right pitch. I also found that singing is the same way. If you sing in the wrong pitch, you can damage your vocal cords.

I went to a Choral Celebration today at Philadelphia Biblical University. I attended two workshops addressing singing techniqiues. Here is where I learned this valuable information. I have been singing tenor. But now I wonder if I should sing alto. I don't want to hurt my vocal cords. I dared not ask the instructor during the workshop, for fear of standing up in front of everyone and having to sing.

I thought that I would seek out my choir director and ask her opinion. She said I would make a great alto. So, next time I'm at choir, I'll give it a try.

I also heard an applicable lecture on Realizing Unity and Reconciliation in Worship by a man from Wheaton College.

He encouraged us to consider the question: Who inspires you? He talked of the kind of people who were reconcilers; people of courage, people or zeal, people of humility.

Soren Kierkegaard was quoted on worship:
True worship quite simply consists in doing God’s will. But that kind of worship was never to people’s liking. What occupies people in every age . . . is to arrange another kind of worship that consists of doing their own will, but in such a way that God’s name, calling upon God, is connected with it, whereby people think themselves protected against being ungodly—alas, although precisely this is the most definite kind of ungodliness. ~The Moment and Late Writings

He quoted Paul in Ephesians 5:21 "Submit to one another in reverence for Christ." He challenged us to think about if we do this in our congregations. Do we allow for our differences in worship, because we reverence Christ? Do we reverence Christ?

He quoted Jesus in John 17:20-26. Specifically verse 21, "that all of them may be one," verse 22b "that they may be one as we are one," and verse 23 "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me." Jesus is praying for us, that my church be one.

He said that worship is an act of love and devotion to God. It isn't about us and how we feel. It's all about God. Edification and annunciation are byproducts of worship. God is the audience, the congregants are the performers, and the pastors and leaders are the prompters. ~Kierkegaard

We also sang "The Servant Song" by Richard Gillard. http://www.audiblefaith.com/pages/sg852958

There was a time for question, and another attendee brought up corporate sanctification. Do we come to church to sanctify only ourselves or our brothers and sisters in Christ as well? Shouldn't individual sanctification be the means to corporate sanctification?

I have a lot to consider.

My husband's company still has not joined with the new one, yet. We are anticipating when it does, for the pay increase it will bring.

I want to try to do my shopping monthly instead of weekly, except for produce and milk. I also need to get back to planning my meals in advance. I do not like the task of thinking up dinner ideas on the day we are to eat it. I like looking at my meal calendar, seeing what's for dinner, going to the frig and finding all the ingredients. I don't like staring in the freezer and shuffling food around for ten minutes racking my brain about what's in there that we could eat. Especially when I start at 4:00, hoping to eat by 5:00. It just doesn't work for me, and I don't like the pressure. Yet, I find myself doing it way to often.

Therefore, I need to fill out my meal calendar.

Well, our prayers were answered. It wasn't the house for us. Almost all the things we were hoping for were met with a resounding "No!"

Is it really that much to ask to be included in the choice of paint color of the house or for a sidewalk from the driveway to the house? Or a lamp post? And we even offered to pay more money. I feel that they are being a little selfish and overly controlling.

Well, all that doesn't even matter anyway, because the taxes for this house we really like are way to high for us. For some ridiculous reason a 100 year old house is considered new construction, just because it is part of a new subdivision. This house is also assessed at a much higher price than it's worth. So, the taxes are twice what they should be. Did I mention the house now only has a 15th of the land that it originally had? The rest was subdivided off. But yet, the taxes remain the same. But I should be okay with it, right? We asked God to show us His will. He did a good job. Not this house.

Of course, now I anticipate the even better house He has planned for us.

I spent all day reading The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I think the book was great. He stated his reasons for writing, his thoughts on love, the five main ways people want to be loved, and thoughts on what to do about what you've just read.

I like to think that I need all five. Quality time, Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. But he says we have one main love language. We might like them all, but one stands out. He did say that some of us could be bilingual.

I highly recommend this book. Learn how to love others in a way they understand.

My husband loved me by taking our daughter with him today, so that I could have the day to myself. I read up on how to love him better.

How much thought have you put forth thinking about your skin and the amazing organ that it is?

You take things for granted when they are fine. I cut two fingers the other day. Just small little slivers of skin missing, but it hurts as though the entire end of both fingers are gone. They throbbed all the time when I first cut them. Now, only when I bump them. Typing presses on one of them.

Skin is the largest organ in our body. It covers us up. Holds us together. Helps us keep warm and cool down. Here is a nice little picture.

Isn't it beautiful? Our body constantly amazes me. How God made us and planned everything so perfectly. Our body systems work together to do their jobs.

Our eyelashes and nose hairs help keep dirt out. Our lungs take up a small space compared to the amount of surface area available for oxygen absorption. Our eyes see images upside down, and it's our brains' job to turn the images around.

When I was pregnant, I often thought about the developing my daughter was doing each day, and what a miracle she was. She continues to baffle me in what she can do at only 18 months.

We are all miracles, and even though our bodies don't always do what they are suppose to do, we are perfect.

God planned it all and beautifully executes it in each one of us.

My cuts still hurt though.

There goes that time again. Every time I turn around, it's gone.

Valentine's Day was nice and simple. My husband made me dinner. He brought me tulips and chocolate. I snuck a heart cookie into his lunch, with a note. He got more cookies when he came home.

Valentine's Day is a good time to remember God's love for us, and the love He has rained down upon us. The reason we love is because He first loved us.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Time.
Elusive, slipping.
Ticking away, unreachable.
Hard to keep up, always going.
Never waiting, pushing.
Cannot find, hurry.
Time.

We finally made it to the cabin this weekend. I much enjoy this break from the everyday. I packed and got our car ready by 9:10 am. I was quite proud of myself. We usually run over by at least an hour. We have been trying to get up there for a month. The weekends always had something else.

I had to have it done early, since we were going to look at the house again, this time documenting it on video. My parents had a looksee, too. Our plan was to head up after looking at the house, stopping at the bank, and getting gas. We left at a favorable hour and arrived before dinner time.

The heating bill for the cabin is ridiculous, especially since no one lives there. So, to help not run up the propane bill, we used the fireplace to heat the cabin. This is all well and good when you can build a fire and keep one burning. Our Friday night attempt left us a little cold. Our Saturday attempt was nice and toasty. Our Sunday attempt was in between the two. It also helps immensely to have dry firewood and kindling and enough newspaper. I highly recommend dry wood.

Our daughter had a grand time exploring. This was her first trip up since learning to walk. She was everywhere checking out everything, including the inside of a trash can. Gratefully, the cabin is fairly childproof. We only had to move a few things.

She did however find the knobs on the gas stove rather interesting. She liked to turn them, succeeding once in turning a burner on. I knew something was amiss when I didn't hear her anymore.

We also did well in our timing for coming home. We were not unreasonably late getting home. Did I say I always enjoy a weekend at the cabin?

Have you ever heard of the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day?

Well, yesterday could equal it for me.

I am over my birthday selfishness.

My birthday is today. And I am ungrateful. Instead of being joyful for my wonderful gifts, I am bemoaning that which I did not receive. And in the course of my pity party, I have caused my husband to feel that he did something wrong. He did not. His poor wife is the problem.

He wished me Happy Birthday before I even got up. My husband made me a carmel apple crisp. He took me to dinner Friday night. He bought me thoughtful gifts. He changed all of our daughter's diapers. What more could a wife and mother want?

I am trying to be thankful.

My husband was very excited. He is liking conversing with our daughter. She is starting to understand and communicate more.

He was telling me of a night when he put her to bed. Our daughter was picking out the books to read. She handed one to my husband, but when he sat her on his lap, she gave a look that it wasn't really the book she wanted. So, he asked her if it was. She shook her head no. He asked her if she wanted another book. She nodded yes. He put her down, and she picked out another book. The right one.

It still amazes me when she does what I ask. Not so much that she obeys me (not that that isn't nice,) but that she knows what I am asking her. I asked her if she wanted to color. She said she did, so I got paper ready for her. I looked over at her, and she was holding her crayons. She knew what coloring was, that it involved crayons, where they were kept, and that she should get them.

As my friend says, she's brilliant.

When I turn on our kitchen faucet, I usually end up nearly burning myself, once the hot water comes through. We have the style where one lever runs both hot and cold. When it is right in middle, the water is too hot to put my hands under. I think this should not be. I have to tilt it significantly to the right for the water to be balanced. It has been this way for far too long, and it irritates me immensely. My solution has been to turn the hot water valve to nearly shut. I turned it more tonight. I think I have finally accomplished a balance in my water temperatures.

Last night we had a thunderstorm. My husband and I were in the bathroom brushing teeth, when our lights went out. I thought he did it on purpose as a joke or something. I was about to say "Hey, what are you doing?" when he informed me that we lost power. It was very dark. Our bathroom has no windows, not that they would have helped since there was no light outside. We realized this when my husband tried to shed some light on our darkness by opening our bedroom blinds to let the post light in. As the slats turned, we were still engulfed in darkness. It was a little scary, having the darkness surround me, even though I knew exactly were I was, and that my husband was with me.

Makes me think of my sin that surrounds me in darkness. And Jesus is my light that shines through. Depend on Him and there will always be a light for the darkness that tries to seep in.

Titan 5 . . . the car seat from the other place.

Since switching the car seat to forward facing, we have been using it incorrectly. Apparently, we were using the wrong shoulder slots. We were using the lower ones, but if those are used forward-facing, "the harness may not properly restrain the child in the event of a crash." Fortunately, we have not had to test that warning.

To remedy the mistake, we create the problem. The problem lies with the straps themselves. First, the straps have two toddler positions. When in the lower position, they are too tight. When in the higher position, they are too loose. And to top it all off, the seat has a strap to "easily" tighten the straps once fastened around my child. Well let me tell you, it would only be easily for the Hulk, perhaps. All I accomplish when I pull on that strap is to pull the seat out of position, hurt my hand and arm, and get rather angry with the seat. The strap stays just as loose as it was. I have to reach behind the seat, a feat in itself, and pull down on the plate that hooks the shoulder straps to the pull tight strap. This method is no where in the manual, though I have found it the only effect method. But another problem lies in that when the shoulder strap is in the higher position, I can't really reach the plate, effectively negating my method.

This may be confusing, but just know that it is a royal pain.

I am trying to call Evenflo but haven't gotten through yet.

We bought a CD tower. We opened it. A shelf was split. We returned it.

We bought a different CD tower. We opened it. A shelf was broken, and it was missing instructions. We returned it.

We bought another CD tower. We opened it. It was missing the screws to put it together. We returned it.

We searched through three boxes at the store and found a CD tower with all its parts, that were also not broken and had instructions. We didn't open it at home yet.

What might we find when we do? Oooh, the suspense. I might have to make yet another trip to Wal-Mart.


~~The subjects in this story were not actors, but real people. This story took place over a period of one week. Stay reading for the thrilling conclusion of . . . "The CD Tower."~~

Be still and know....
Be still and know....
Be still and know....

Stephen Curtis Chapman wrote a song called "Be Still and Know." My mom and I heard it on the radio on our way to choir practice. It is also one of our choir's anthems. It is a beautiful song.

....that He is God.
....that He is faithful.
....that he's our Father.

In our busy lives and schedules, we must be still and know God, hear God, see His works. We must still our restless souls.

"Stand in awe and be amazed."

Be still . . . .

Yesterday, I discovered that when warning labels on prescription bottles say to take the medication with copious amounts of water (copious is my word - the label actually said "plenty," but copious adds a little something,) they mean it. I neglected to adhere to that little warning, but my stomach was quite aware and rid itself of the offending intruder.

Consequently, my stomach felt poorly all day. Though, I didn't take the full dosage, but that was a different oversight on my part. I somehow missed the part where the label says to take 1 dose twice a day. I was thinking 1 dose once a day. Oops. Oopses with medication shouldn't really occur. I get an extra day now to take my medicine. AND, even if I read it correctly, after my morning experience and my still poor stomach, I am not so sure I would have attempted taking the medication again so soon.

But alas, after a meal and with a large drink, I ventured a swallow today. Nothing was forthcoming. I took my medication with no ill will on my stomach's part. But, I did not realize the twice part until it was too late to take the second dose today. I will remedy that tomorrow.

My grandmother had us over for lunch today. When we bring her home from church, she sometimes has us up for lunch. We had the ole standby of grilled cheese and chili (it's usually soup, but we thought we'd try chili for a change.) It was tasty. She also had made an applesauce of sorts, and she added raisin. It was tasty, too. My daughter fell asleep on the way over, and slept right through lunch. She ate when we got home. Guess what she had. You're right - grilled cheese.

Again already my morning is askew. Being up very early, my daughter fell asleep by 10:30. I guess it's hit or miss with her and her morning naps.

I will take the opportunity to read my Bible now.

Today I accomplished my laundry and had most of it folded before I went to sleep. Getting all the clean laundry folded and put away the same day I wash it is a challenge for me.

For example, to have full advantage of the use of my laundry baskets today, I had to put towels washed last Wednesday away first.

I have not read my Bible yet this week. I am trying to read through I Corinthians. And would you believe that the book makes more sense when you read it all the way through, instead of a verse here and a section there? Imagine that! I suppose it would than make sense to read II Corinthians next.

I was feeling very very poorly this morning and than slightly poorly all the rest of the day. I accomplished close to nothing. Didn't make it to my Bible Study.

Today I had a doctor's appointment at 8:30. Got my food shopping mostly done. My daughter fell asleep on the way home. Lunch was late. Afternoon nap was later.

Yesterday was spend moving furniture. We acquired some of my husband's grandfather's furniture. His apartment needed to be emptied by this weekend. So, now our already full house has some new furniture. We need to move some things around and get rid of some things.

Of course the Christmas tree is sitting in the way right now. We will be spending the week rearranging and deciding on what goes where and what goes to the thrift store.

Today was suppose to be the day we started moving and deciding. But after our daughter was down for her nap, it seemed like a good idea for us. My husband fell asleep straight away, but I lay on my side of the bed in my cozy soft warmness (flannel sheets,) reading my friend's manuscript. After cold arms and many pages later, I joined my husband in slumber.

For over two hours we napped. We both felt refreshed. We did not accomplish our task of furniture arranging, but the sleep was needed.

Our sleep had been shorten last night, due to "King Kong." The movie was apparently three hours long. I wouldn't have known that, except for the time it was when we got out. My sister treated us to a movie. "King Kong" was good. The movie was well done with effects, and Kong looked like a real gorilla. He was very lifelike, with breathing and emotions. There were times that we shrunk into our seats, for all the intensity and suspense. I felt myself having to relax after some scenes. I would see it again.

Did I say how much I enjoy my flannel sheets? I have to go slip between their cozy softness again. I think all things should be made of flannel.

Jim is 16, Jerry is 4.
___________________

My plan worked today. I was able to read my Bible. Go meet my husband for lunch. Get my daughter down for a nap, clean the bathroom and vacuum the living room(a leftover from yesterday,) and prepare dinner.

I am quite pleased with my accomplishments.

I will now go rest between my soft, warm, cozy flannel sheets. Did I mention I like them?

Jim is four times as old as Jerry. In four years, Jerry will be half as old as Jim is now. Two years ago, Jim was seven times as old as Jerry.

How old are they now?

This is the puzzle of the day for yesterday on my desk calendar my husband gave me for Christmas. I am not sure what he was thinking giving me math puzzles. I have trouble doing simple addition. But to his defense it is an all inclusive puzzle calendar. There are also word puzzles.
I much prefer word puzzles. Much prefer them.

_________________________________________________

I got my floor vacuumed and mopped. I am glad for that. Like I said, it really needed it.

I have a plan. I am hoping it will help me be more productive. Here it is.
Get up before my daughter.
Read my Bible.
Get ready if my daughter is still sleeping. If not, get her ready and eat breakfast, than get myself ready.
Do errands.
Eat lunch.
Put my daughter down for a nap.
Do house chores.
If there's time, relax.
Get my daughter up from her nap.
Prepare dinner.

I am still liking my sheets, though my husband has informed me that he is sweating.

Laundry, laundry everywhere.

I have been doing laundry nearly everyday it seems for two weeks now. I finally, finally caught up today. Before, I'd think I'd get caught up, but no, we would go and wear more clothes again. And let me tell you, it seemed like we would wear twice as many clothes in half the time.

I am thankful however, that I didn't have to deal with many stains. We were fairly clean people these past two weeks.

Our rather clean dirty clothes aside, we were however not so lucky with our floors. Specifically, the three foot diameter circle that my daughter's highchair sits in when she eats, and the kitchen floor near the stove and sink. Actually, my daughter has been very good lately at not dropping her unwanted food on the floor. I guess my husband and I have been the messy ones.

I must vacuum and mop tomorrow. The floors are desperately calling out to be cleaned. The carpet is a breeze. Just vacuum the dark brown hue, and it's good to go. It's quite the workhorse of a carpet.

Unfortunately, the dark brown isn't so pleasing to my eyes. I much prefer a different color. If anyone wants to contribute to the replace-the-living-room-carpet fund, let me know. We are taking donations, sorry no tax deductions. We are a for-profit family.

The sheets are just as I had hoped. Warm and cozy.

I bought flannel sheets today. I have been wanting them. I returned some pillows and saw the snowman set of sheets. I look forward to resting my head on the cozy softness.

My husband has been looking forward to his Christmas vacation for months. He was glad he could spend an entire week home with his wife and daughter. He also hoped to work on a house project that has been put on hold.

That's what he planned. But don't you know that plans always get changed?

He needed to cut molding for the bathroom ceiling. But could he find the pieces that needed cutting? No. After we looked throughout the house, they were finally found. But the opportunity for cutting them was gone. The molding did not get finished.

He wanted some quality family time. He didn't feel well on and off all week, and after acquiring a fever of 101, he slept from Thursday afternoon until late Friday morning. He felt better Saturday and even more on Sunday, with occasional bouts of felling rather ill.

It's no fun being sick for your vacation, but it's also no fun being sick and having to work.

Went to bed way too late last night. Had to get up way to early this morning.

Our dinner of pork and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes was as good as I had hoped it would be. The pork was so tender a knife was not needed. The potatoes were whipped to deliciousness. And we had green beans. I only tolerate them, so I have nothing more to say about them. Oh, yes. You have to put vinegar on it all, too. Well, not the green beans. Vinegar gives it a bite. Yummy!

My daughter missed out on her first chance at the traditional German fare for New Year's Day. Oh, she had the chance. It was all there in front of her. But lately she has been usurping her independence and not eating things she likes. She usually gobbles down mashed potatoes. But not this night. No sir.
Last year table food was not part of her food palette yet.

Well, we were busy. Everything went smoothly. We saw most everyone and had a nice Christmas.

Christmas day was the busiest. We got up and opened stocking stuffers, but didn't have time for other gifts, because I had to be at church early to practice with the bell choir. We played three pieces Christmas morning. And for only three practices we did fairly well.

We didn't get to finish up our gift opening until after dinner. Our daughter took the longest to get her things unwrapped. Being only 1, she got distracted a lot. I think it was Wednesday before her last gift was opened and even then, I opened it.

Off to our first Christmas dinner. We are going to my husband's dad's house for dinner and gift exchange. Then to church for the Christmas Eve serivce, where we, the choir, will be performing "One Incredible Moment," this year's Christmas cantata.

Tomorrow is our little family's Christmas and present opening, then church, than Christmas with my parents and sister at our house, than Christmas dinner at my cousin's, than back to our house to finish up with my parents.

Then on Monday we are off to my husband's mother's house for Christmas with them.

Yes, a busy weekend. But we decided one family a day. We didn't get to my husband's family Christmas dinner. We just couldn't do two in one evening. It will be their turn next year. We also should see my husband's mother on Christmas day next year. They rarely see us on the actual holiday.

We are finished decorating. It was hard this year. My husband was not into it like past years. His grandfather's death is weighing on him.

Our daughter helped in the decorating. She put up a few ornaments, with mama and daddy helping. Though, she did get one on the tree all by herself. She has also helped in the undecorating, though she is unaware that doesn't happen for a while yet. She is all too glad to move things and rearrange them.

We are also a little behind on the present wrapping. In fact, I think none are wrapped. I'll get to it sometime, I suppose.

Last night was the final rehearsal for our Christmas Cantata. I very much enjoy singing in choir.

Another favorite Christmas song of mine is "One Quiet Moment," by Glad.

It talks about a woman and man, who accept their part in God's plan. It talks of the joy and pain of their lives.

"He almost had left her, but then chose to remain
Close by the woman he had not even kissed
Who would bear him a son that would never be his."

"And some days the fingers that had fashioned the stars
Would reach out to hold them when the walk was too far."

"They wrestled with knowing that his life would bring change
Their friends would grow distant and shun them as strange."

"Their baby was destined to die for the world."

In one quiet moment, how do I choose to be part of God's plan?

One of my favorite Christmas songs is "Mary, Did You Know?" by Mark Lowry. As an aside, I find it quite interesting that he wrote this song, since he is a comedian. The song is rather reflective and contemplative.

I can not even imagine what Mary went through. Not as a pregnant women, who must tell her betrothed of this impending birth and convince him that it is a miracle and not unfaithfulness. Not as a very expectant mother traveling on a donkey to an unfamiliar place with her husband, the only person she knows. Not as a new mother holding her baby, who is God. Not as a young mother teaching her son about a world he made. Not as a mother witnessing the miracles her son is doing. Not as a grieving mother holding the body of her son, who has now delivered her.

Mary, the favored one of God. Did you know?

We got our tree up. No lights or ornaments yet, though. We have it on a platform, because my husband has his lego trains. Last year we set up our little lego town, but our daughter is not ready for that yet. So, it's just the train this year.

She will be getting a legos quattro bucket for Christmas. They are four times as big a regular legos. We have to start her early.

Today my husband was up at 3:00 to take his aunt and uncle to the airport. The weather wasn't the best, so they were allocating plenty of time. As it turns out, the roads were fine and they made it in plenty of time.

My husband was able to come back home before leaving for work. The past week and a half have been quite draining for him emotionally. This Christmas will be different for him.

The service was very nice. We sang songs, which was a joy for his grandfather. Several people shared touching memories of how his life met theirs. Two of his children shared their love for their father through childhood stories and lessons learned. We heard stories about his grandfather we did not know. We saw a video of his grandfather talking about his time in the navy during WW II. It was good to "see" him again and here him tell some of his experiences. My own grandfather was in the war, but he could not talk about.

It was a hard day. My eyes where filled many times. Touching moments were when taps was played, his flag was folded, and then family members could put flowers on his casket.

It was also a very cold day. The temperature was near its lowest that week. We had to dress warmly for the interment. The cemetery had metal chairs, but they had covers on them (which was somewhat amusing to see.) We also had to be careful walking through the packed snow.

But hearts were warmed by the generosity of church members and family that helped with the busy work. My husband's mother was very helpful in watching our daughter, so that we could give full attention to the service. She also gave of herself to help my husband's family.

We got our Christmas tree today. We'd like to set it up soon, but probably won't get to it for a little while. Christmas decorating is on hold.

The service for my husband's grandfather is this Wednesday. I am making cookies for the meal afterwards. My husband's aunt and uncle are flying in and his cousins are driving up on Tuesday. They all live in South Carolina.

It is nice ot see his southern family, but we would prefer other circumstances.

My husband's grandfather died today. It was sudden. And although there is sadness, there is no despair. We know where he is. He has met his Lord Jesus, and is having a great time. Kicking up gold dust, as the pastor says.

I used my stand mixer tonight to make mashed potatoes. What fine mashed potatoes they were, too.

Using whole milk instead of skim doesn't hurt, either.

Stand mixer.

That's all I have to say.

My husband and I drove to dog and bird sit while my best friend was at her grandmother's funeral. We were driving along in our automobile obviously not paying attention to what exit we were suppose to take. About thirty miles down the road, we realized we had made a mistake. So, off we went across Delaware to get back on track. We took at least an extra half hour on that trip.

Kashi was very glad to see us, though. He is always glad to see us. He wags himself over sometimes.

The birdies . . . I don't know what they feel.

My friend did not have a very good visit. Her family does not appreciate her. They are really missing out.

She likes scrapple. She willingly puts it in her mouth. She likes it plain. No applebutter. She is offended by the presence of applebutter on her scrapple. The next plain piece she receives is scrutinized on both sides before being placed in her mouth.

She likes mashed potatoes. She willingly puts it in her mouth. She likes them untainted. She spits out the pea hidden in a spoonful of the fluffy pile. She scrutinizes the next spoonful searching for a hint of green before allowing it in her mouth.

I am writing of my daughter and dinnertime.

Another Thanksgiving with my father's family. There were 20 of us. The table has grown to accommodate us all. My daughter wanted mama or daddy at first, but by the end of the night she was tooling around not worried about the whereabouts of her parents.

My cousin's husband is a developer and recently bought some land with lake. He mentioned selling off some of it to specific people. Two being us. But sometimes you can't take him seriously. So, we won't hold our breath. Thought it would be great if he did offer us a parcel, not that we could afford it.

The dinner was wonderful, many yummy dishes. The stuffing was tasty, with almonds. My grandmother made her tangy cranberry holiday salad. My cousin made her apple and pumpkin pies. Everyone went on and on about my husband's pumpkin bread. They thought it delicious. He thought when he tried the first bite that it was a flop. I made sure everyone knew he made the goodies. He even got requests for the recipe. He spiced it up a bit. He likes to do that to recipes.

We went home with full bellies and happy hearts.

Preparations for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Thursday - bread. My husband made two loaves of delectable pumpkin bread, one of which we tested. I am making two loaves of white bread using my ever trusty bread machine.

Friday - pies. One apple, two pumpkin. And pie crust from Pillsbury, a great invention.

Saturday - turkey, stuffing, gravy. A turkey breast, boxed stuffing, homemade gravy.

A boat load of family for which I am thankful.

Yesterday, my family went for a little walk. Though, for our daughter, it could be a rather long walk. She likes to make it longer by stopping to discover whatever there is to discover - a small leaflet, a twig, a step to go up, a sound to which she must listen. Sometimes we end up carrying her. We let her discover some things.

We went to get our mail. In that 50 yard walk, we must have seen over 100 geese, comprising over 12 different gaggles.

Our walk went something like this: We'd hear them and look up pointing them out to our daughter. Keep walking. We'd hear them and look up pointing them out to our daughter. Keep walking. We'd hear them and look up pointing them out to our daughter. Keep walking. We'd hear them and look up pointing them out to our daughter. Sometimes several gaggles would fly by at once. And they all were flying in the same direction - west. We wondered about the direction, and I suggested maybe they needed to hook up with some other geese, before they headed south. I know when my aunt drives home, she goes west before turning south. As we neared our front door, some gaggles flew by without honking, and to my amazement we could hear their wings as they flapped. It was short whooshing sounds.

Creation never ceases to amaze me.

My daughter likes her pacifier. We are slowly trying to weaning her off of it. She still gets it at bedtime and cartime, but is without it most other times. Unless of course she's tired, then anything goes. (Not really but to keep our sanity, sometimes we would like "anything goes" to be true.)

We left the house today with a binkie, thinking there was not one in the car, but there was. My daughter will gladly suck on one while holding one. And then for variety, she'll switch, taking the one out and putting the other in. Well, today she had two with her. As I was driving, I heard a strange sucking sound coming from behind me. I look in my rearview mirror, and there she is - two binkies in her mouth. I was cracking up and wishing for a camera.

Back to food shopping, laundry, ironing, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom. All my main tasks for the week.

I have gotten quite good at removing stains. Mostly trial and error. I don't like the error part. Just this past week I successfully got an Italian olive oil stain out of a shirt that had been washed and dried twice. Secret: Dawn, it takes grease out of your way (overnight.) I still have a stain on my jeans that I am still working on. Three or four times now.

While I was away, my daughter learned to walk all on her own. I missed it. I'm sad about that. But what a precious sight she is. Toddling about. Still not completely sure on her feet. Her face and shins attest to that.

In fact the day after I got back, she fell on her face and got a nose bleed and some cuts on her nose. Looked like rudolph.

She is a smart cookie that girl. On Monday (I know exactly which day, because I have my meal planning chart to consult) we were eating scrapple. My husband likes apple butter on his meat and thought maybe our girl would to. She handed that piece right back to him. The next piece she was offered, apple butter free, she inspected carefully on both sides before putting in her mouth. She also had to inspect a spoonful of potatoes before eating it, when the previous bite had an offending pea.

She is quite a girl.

I guess you could say I am back into my Mommy role.

I missed my girl and husband very much when I was in Italy. Though I had a good time, it was hard to not be with them.

Rome was full of history, architecture, and columns. Florence had an art flare. Venice had water.

Rome - colosseum, Palatine Hill, the Forum, Pompeii, metro

Florence - art museum (David), duomo, many steps, bus

Venice - island tour, Doge's Palace, bridges, water bus

Does that sum it up? Not really, but can I say it all?

Ah yes, one more piece of advice about Italy. Beware of crossing streets in Rome. It could be hazardous to your health. Even our guide book warned us. You cannot assume "walk" signs will give you the right or way, you must walk out confidently, glaring at drivers. They will stop or at least swerve. Now Florence was much better with the right to walk when the walk signs were green. And Venice, well . . . remember, it's a carless city. Here you just need to remember to cross a canal where there are bridges, and you'll be fine.

We put in a lot of walking today. We did a 2 hour walking tour in about 7 hours. Maybe a little less. But we saw lots of fun things. We were walking down the via (road) and there it was - a really cool building, columns and all. We saw the Pantheon. I don't remember all the scenes in the movie "Roman Holiday" with Audrey Hepburn, but I think we may have seen at least one today.

We also dawdled at one of the piazzas (squares) where many vendors sat with their wares. We ate dinner at a ristorante on one side of the piazza. Oh yeah, guess what I got? Nope. Nope. No. I'll tell you. A tattoo.

It's a henna tattoo and will last 20-25 days. It is the Chinese symbol for patience, and it's on the base of my neck. My friend got a groovy design around her wrist.

Can I just say we did an awful lot of walking today? A whole lot. Tomorrow is The Vatican Museum and the Catacombs. Then Wednesday, it's off to Florence.

I would like to wash my pants. We have not investigated any laundry facilities, and my pants selection grows dirty. We may have to wait until Florence, where if I read correctly our hotel has a laundry service.

I vowed to be in bed before midnight, so I am off to bed. Bellanotte.

We are here, my best friend and I. Rome is not what I expected, but still a nice city. For a review of our first day in Rome go to www.merelymusing.com My friend has given quite a good rendition of the oh-so-fun day.

And she did write about today too.

I enjoyed my pizza today. In fact I want to get more, it was so tasty. The crust was crisp. The sauce and cheese was hmm-hmm good.

Tonight we will be playing games until we fall over asleep. She brought with us Rummikub, Scrabble, Skip-bo, Quiddler, Uno, Phase Ten, Phase Ten Dice, and a deck of cards. She would like to play several rounds of all games. I hope she doesn't think that is happening tonight.

For the rest of our stay we are planning to visit the Catacombs, St. Peter's Basillica, The Vatican Museum, Trevi fountain, and Pompeii. She has other fountains and sights in mind, but I am not sure we will get to them.

Much better second day.

We fly to Italy today! We leave in a half hour for the airport. It was hard to leave my husband and daughter yesterday to take the train to my friend's house. I cried at the train station. I cried last night. I cried Tuesday night putting my daughter to bed. I cried this morning. I'll cry or get teary eyed every time I think of them. I love them and miss them dearly.

This weekend was very nice. I saw my friends from college, we bought pumpkins, and went to the cabin. They day on Saturday was beautiful, with blue skies, a fall breeze. Autumn is in the air. I also had a surprise visit from my very good friend. She also changed my girl's stinky diaper. Anyone who is willing to do that is okay in my book.

We relaxed at the cabin. We had a fire. I needed to relocate three spider egg sacks, because mama spider thought the fireplace was a good spot for them. I used a leaf blower for the first time, and let me tell you, I could do it again. It was quite fun to watch those leaves blow around. My daughter rode on my back and helped sweep leaves off the porch and gather firewood. I think next time we go to the cabin, she should be able to explore on her own. She is nearly walking all be herself.

After church on Sunday, we headed to the apple orchard and bought cider, apple cider doughnuts, and eating and baking apples. Everything was delicious - we of course had a doughnut in the car and drank some cider with lunch.

My husband took off this morning, so we could stay over last night. I also had us pose for our picture on the rock. I think we be doing that yearly. I always enjoy staying at the cabin. Such great memories.

Today my girl and I went for a walk. She is still learning to walk on her own. She does rather well holding on to something and can go 5 feet or so all by herself. This afternoon she used her walker - a toy she can push while walking. It also has a place to put things.

On our walk she found some leaves and a stick. The stick came home with us, though she discarded once at our front door. She did very well with her walking. The only times being carried were across a drive isle and when she insisted on going up someone else's steps. She has learned to steer her walker, so when she ran into the grass, she was usually able to get back on the sidewalk.

The walk around our court, which would take a me about 10 minutes, took my daughter and me 45 minutes. She walks slow, finds distractions, and does not walk in a straight line.
But we had a good time, mother and daughter.

Thank you God for another day. Thank you Lord for the lessons I learn. May I apply them to my life. May I be a disciple who makes welcoming others, the common mission of Christians, mercy, and Christ's call my priorities. *See Luke 9:46-62* May I not listen to my pastor's sermon and go away the same person I was. I need to change.

Do I practice what I believe? Do I see people the way God does? Not always. Am I getting better at following Christ? Am I maturing as a Christian? Sometimes I think so, and sometimes I feel like a dismal failure.

Satan tells me lies. God shows me truth. Satan shows me failures. God shows me blessings. Satan beats me up. God drenches me in grace and mercy. Satan leads me to sin's door. God leads me to Christ. Satan hates. God loves.

I choose God. Who do you choose?

We are finally getting the rain we have needed for awhile. And since it has been so long, we are getting quite a bit. So far, it's been raining for over 24 hours. It is a bit wet out.

It also has messed up the plans my family had for today. We were going to go to Merrymead, a local dairy farm, to pick out pumpkins, get lost in the corn maze, maybe get ice cream. Do the fall fest things. But it is a soggy boggy day, so we are staying home. Next week we have a full weekend planned. First, Friday night is dinner with friends we haven't seen in over three months, then Saturday morning driving to Messiah College for Homecoming to see friends we haven't seen in a year, then driving to my grandparents' cabin in the Poconos to hopefully see some fall foliage and relax. My husband may take off work Monday morning, so we can stay over two nights. I love staying at the cabin (see my first entry.)