A Wonderful Christmas

We began our Christmas celebration a bit early. Kaitlyn and Chris came up for a visit and we opened our gifts with them on the 18th. It was wonderful to have them home and have the family all together again. Our family had not been together since July, at the time of the wedding. We had a wonderful visit. Here are pictures from the 18th.

Jadyn received a Barbie car from Bryan, and she loved it.

Chris and Kaitlyn

Lauryn and Aaron

How special.

Our wonderful 6. Lauryn & Aaron, Bryan with Jadyn, Chris & Kaitlyn

Their silly picture. See what we have to deal with? :)

Here is Jadyn, by the tree on Sunday the 20th.

Here is Alan on Christmas Eve, clearing snow from the driveway. The snow storm came in waves, and I am not totally sure what the total snowfall may be. It's at least 12", and it was still coming down tonight, even though it was supposed to be done. Very MinneSNOWta!

Here is Jadyn, enjoying the snow on Christmas Eve. She's been out there for a bit of play on most days. She loves it!

We had such a wonderful Christmas and wonderful celebrations with family and friends. What a joyful time. We are very blessed.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Look who got a haircut yesterday!

Merry Christmas Eve! We have tons of snow coming down, and more on the way. There's a fire in the fireplace and Christmas carols are playing. Very nice!

Wow, where has the time gone? December seems to have flown by. I suppose it always does.

I wanted to update with some pictures. I've been needing to do that, plus Jadyn's big sister in Missouri wants to see some pics. - Hi, Kaitlyn!

Guess who had a birthday earlier this month? Jadyn had her 5th birthday on Dec. 7th! We celebrated at home, with family. Here are a couple of pics.

Here is our kitty, Lexi. She always enjoys the tree. :)

I'm off to make enchiladas now. That's what I've come up with for Christmas Eve dinner.

My Talented Girl

She makes me smile, yes she does. Jadyn asked me for paper and a pen to draw a picture. A few minutes later, she handed me the pen, which was clutched between her toes. :)

She handed me her picture and I noticed it had wiggly letters. I said, "Oh, I see you made wiggly letters." She said, "It's because I wrote it with my foot." Ha ha. What a funny girl. Talent, pure talent.

I'm pretty sure I've never written my name with my toes.

What a girl. I never know what she'll come up with next.

This Cracks Me Up

Jadyn's preschool teacher told our group of parents what was said in the classroom today. Here's the story.

It was snack time and they were having the Goldfish Crackers that are multi-colored. They were sorting them into colors, counting them, etc.

Then they talked about how old they were, some were 4 and some were 5. One child asked the teacher how old she was. She told them she is 49. Another child said, "Wow, you're just about ready to go to heaven, aren't you?"

The parents just roared when she told us the story. Pretty funny!

I hope the teacher is writing these things down. I do believe a preschool teacher could probably fill a book with the funny things kids say.

Jadyn's Christmas Card

Things here are busy, busy. Shopping, preparing for this and that. I bet it's the same way where you are.

There are a number of things I'd like to share or post about, but I almost feel I don't have time. I feel behind on the blog, here, there and everywhere. I have pictures from our Texas trip, pictures from Jadyn's birthday, etc.

Hopefully I'll be back to blogging more before long.

Jadyn made this card for me this morning. I thought it was cute. :) Notice the snow falling, and the snow around the house. That is her by the Christmas tree.

By the way, 4 years ago on this date, we received the call that a baby girl was waiting for us in China. What a special day that was!

Safely Home

We are home. The kids and I returned from Texas on Sunday night, arriving home at 1:00 A.M. Alan came home on Monday. I was so glad to have him home.

It has taken several days for me to feel that I have my feet back on the ground. I was exhausted and felt almost disoriented for a couple of days. I'm finally feeling more focused now.

Alan returned with a cold, poor guy. It's too bad that he has a cold on top of everything else he's dealing with right now.

Our trip went well. It was a sad time, but things went well. We were pleased with the funeral. The pastor who gave the message during the service did such a good job. He was a good friend of Alan's dad.

It was a very sad goodbye, and he will certainly be missed.

Sometimes it is still so hard to believe. I wonder how long this feeling lasts? Knowing...yet wishing it wasn't true.

How wonderfully supportive our family and friends have been. This is so appreciated!

We were blessed to see almost everyone in our families during Thanksgiving. This was wonderful.

We put our tree up tonight. It's up, yet undecorated. Jadyn and I will work on that tomorrow.

Thankful

Thank you friends, for your kind words and prayers. We appreciate it so very much. Knowing that family and friends care and will pray is the best!

Have a wonderful holiday with your families.

Sad News, Prayers Please

We received word on Friday evening that my husband's Dad passed away. This came as a complete shock, and was so very unexpected. This is the kind of news that you never want to receive, ever.

My father-in-law was having coffee with a friend and he just collapsed, with a heart attack. The paramedics could not revive him.

Friday night was just surreal. Phone calls in, phone calls out, constantly. After about 5 hours, things settled down a bit.

Stunned, we were just stunned. No other way to describe it.

Alan has traveled to be with his siblings. They have so much to do and plan. Alan's stepmom lives in a nursing home, due to a past acute illness. So it is up to Alan and his siblings to do the funeral planning, go through much personal and business paperwork and try to figure things out. Prayers are needed in this area. So much is unclear at this time, in the area of sorting through paperwork, and where to find this or that.

The kids and I will travel soon to be with family for the funeral.

We ask for prayers for now and in the coming days for the family. Each day it becomes a little more real. I know there will be tough times ahead, and I'm sure we will not feel or know the entire scope of what we will experience for some time.

Thank you so much.

Good News, Bad News

Well, the Good News is that my symptoms aren't just because of my age. That's a good thing!

The Bad News is that I do in fact have the flu, along with Bryan. Not so fun at all. This too shall pass, and I hope it does so quickly.

As we sat under our blankets last night, watching Survivor, I was thinking about what a sight we were. I thought it would be a funny picture for the blog, but didn't have the courage to tell Alan I thought a picture would be fun. That's just a weird idea anyway, isn't it?? If you are a blogger though, maybe you understand. It's all about the photos and blog post ideas. :)

Anyway, I had no makeup on and that's not good.

I've been wondering which kind of flu it is. Bryan told me that he now has some "bathroom

symptoms". Sounds like swine flu to me.

Jadyn has told me 2 or 3 times that she is so, so, so, so sorry I'm sick. That kind of makes me feel better. (mentally anyway)

What to do today, what to do? At home... sick, with 2 kids. Help me! :)

I spent some time looking at around on the LOL Cats site this morning. Along with the cat photo above, I also found this one...

It made me laugh, and that's great right now. :)

The Flu Is Here

Well, I just knew I was probably doing a dangerous thing when I posted about how much hand sanitizer we use.

I seriously thought, "Yeah, I'm probably jinxing this whole thing and now we'll get sick."

When Bryan woke up yesterday morning, he was very sick. No school for him. I suspect it's the

flu. Poor guy, he's been so sick. It's pretty bad when sweatpants, hoodie, and 3 blankets aren't enough to make him feel warm.

Honestly, I don't feel normal in my body right now. I noticed that it hurt to swallow my food at lunch and I'm starting to feel sort of stiff and ever so slightly sore. It seems more of an effort to

climb the stairs. ....or, maybe I'm just getting OLD.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Someone from Bryan's school office said that they have a LOT of kids out right now with the flu. Two of his girl friends are out too, and they all came down with symptoms at almost exactly the same time. I wonder who the guilty party is? Ha.

Yesterday we shopped at Target for a few minutes. Jadyn asked me to take a picture of her on the big red ball. Cute!

Yesterday, Jadyn decided to make a "club" behind the chair. She asked her dad to come join. Gotta love it.

Paranoia and Pictures

Goodness, I almost can't believe it's been over a week since I've posted anything. So what's up with us? Much of the usual. We've done a little of this and a lot of that.

We've been well and that's great. I'd like us to stay that way, but I'm sure our turn with illness may come. Yesterday I did some shopping and errands while Jadyn was at preschool. I realized after the last store (I'd picked up Jadyn by then) that I'd put hand sanitizer on myself and/or my child about 4 times in the space of a little over 3 hours. Just call me paranoid.

Last Wednesday during the parent-child portion of Jadyn's class, we did activities requiring parents and children to hold hands. I had to hold hands with other parents and children. I was thinking, "Oh great, I'm probably going to get their germs." I did manage to enjoy myself very much during the activities though. At one point we played a game which was a mini-war between the parents and kids, throwing about 100 soft pompom balls back and forth. So fun!

When class was over, I of course, needed hand sanitizer. Dear heavens, what is wrong with me? I never used to be this way. Am I becoming Howard Hughes, or am I a product of our germaphobic society? I really do exhibit this behavior only during cold and flu season. :)

My kids would tell you that also I have a love affair with wet wipes. I love the individually packaged ones. This is not necessarily about germs, but about clean hands and faces. Really!

On a totally different note - Jadyn and I met some new friends last week on Tuesday and then we had playgroup families over on Friday evening. It was a lot of fun, and surprisingly I have no photos of those events.

I went to the Ladies Craft Night event at our church on Friday night. We have these once per month. I enjoy going, and visiting with the other ladies. Our daughter, Lauryn attends also, and

it's always fun to visit while we do our scrapbooking. Here's a picture of us.

Here's a fun picture of Jadyn in the tub. She put her feet up and I had my phone handy so I snapped a pic. I thought it would be fun to have just her head and feet in the photo.

Here is my little cookie tucked into the shelf at the store. I was on the phone, and she decided to take a little break. I remember sitting on the shelves at the store when I was a kid too, only my mom didn't have a cell phone to snap pictures. :)

Friends Are Flowers in Life's Garden

Plant a seed of friendship; reap a bouquet of happiness. -- Lois L. Kaufman

To know someone here or there with whom you can feel there is understanding in spite of differences or thoughts expressed - that can make life a garden. -- Goethe

Jadyn and I potted some plants yesterday. Some were needing a bit more space to grow. I planted, and she watched. She was dying to get her hands in the dirt, but maybe we will wait for a warmer day when we are planting things outdoors. I think it would be a bit better for her to dig outside, not inside. :)

Today we spent time with some of our playgroup friends. We were a small group today, just 4 moms, 1 grandmother and 6 children. We had a great visit, and I left there today with my heart just full of joy and thanks. What a huge blessing to be with these friends with whom I have so much in common. We shared much, we laughed much, and a couple of us almost cried, when sharing about some tough experiences.

Friends in life can come and go. Some are only for a season, some are for a lifetime. Oh what a blessing that our Lord planned for us to have friends on life's journey. I appreciate all of you as well. Have a wonderful weekend!

I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heart full of joy. Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun. -- Charles Swindoll

Our Halloween Weekend

We had a great weekend. On Friday morning, we joined our playgroup friends at someone's home for a little Halloween gathering. It was a small group this year, but we had a good time visiting. The children had tons of fun as usual.

Jadyn with playgroup friends.

Our Friday night was pretty quiet. Alan was out of town on business and didn't return until Saturday.

On Saturday morning, we joined our small fellowship group from church for a project. We raked leaves for an older friend who attends our church. It was a chilly morning out, but we had a good time. Many hands make light work, and we had it all done in no time. She invited us in for coffee, hot cocoa, muffins, etc. Yum! What a great way to warm up.

On Saturday evening, we carved a pumpkin with Jadyn.

Lauryn and Aaron came over for dinner. We played a game and also took turns handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. We each had our share of Halloween candy too. :)

Lauryn and I took Jadyn out trick-or-treating for a bit. We really only did about 1 block of homes and she was done.

When we started out, Jadyn wanted to hold Lauryn's hand for the walk. At about the 3rd or 4th house we went to, there were a couple of motion-activated things on the porch. It was 1 small skeleton and a skull and creepy music. That was enough to make Jadyn pretty nervous. After that, she wanted to hold my hand. I thought it was kind of funny that she thought I could keep her safer than Lauryn. I told her that her sister is almost as big as her mom. LOL. She wasn't even brave enough to ring the doorbells after that. Oh well. All in all we had a good time and she brought home plenty of loot for one little girl.

Silly Girl

Our computer area is in the basement, as are Jadyn's toys. We were both down here, and I was doing something unrelated to the blog. I ran up the stairs to get my cell phone, telling Jadyn I'd be right back.

She said, "Okay, Mom. I'll keep an eye on your blog!" This child makes me laugh.

The way that she plays reminds me of none of our other children. She's totally different. I love how she sort of intermixes different types of toys, using them all together. I snapped a couple of

pictures this morning. She had some of her horses in the Kelly doll house. One tiny horse was in

the swing. :)

Then, there's the way she always puts Polly Pocket clothing and shoes on the animals. Yesterday, her tiniest horse was wearing a Polly Pocket skirt. Today, it was wearing shoes and rollerblades. One time, a goat was wearing shoes. Recently, (you may have heard this on

Facebook) an army man was wearing a Barbie shirt and he looked so "fashiony". Oh the fun! When she dresses her horse or some other lucky animal, it's always so unexpected and makes me laugh out loud.

Check out the horse in the swing.

Salon La Momma and Other Things

We spent today at home, just getting some necessary things done. We did laundry, dishes and other chores.

Jadyn went to Salon La Momma. I gave her a haircut, and nail trimming. She has a simple

haircut and I often cut it myself. I'm no pro, but it usually comes out okay.

She asked to have her toenails painted, and so we did that too. She also painted my fingernails.

hair, before (with Pandie)

hair after

Salon La Momma

painting mom's nails

Tonight we went to our pediatrician's flu shot clinic. Jadyn screamed and cried this time. Last year, she didn't even whimper. You just never know how they'll react. Maybe this time she remembered what it's all about. She was excited about her shiny band-aid, and the promised candy at home. :)

Update on the couch situation - Nothing at all would get the urine smell out. So unbelievable. What is the point of an animal's urine smelling so foul? I'm glad I'm not a cat.

Anyway, the last effort is to call the manufacturer and see if there's any chance that they have matching cushions sitting around. After 4 years, probably not.

Help! Something keeps following me around! It's my backside. :) I can't seem to get away from it. I am trying though. I started a diet in August, I believe. I want to shed some of the weight that keeps jumping onto my body. I won't say how much I still want to lose. If I get there, I'll let you know. ;)

It's been going okay so far. Some days are good, some days not as good. You know how it goes.

Isn't it amazing? It's so much fun to eat all that good stuff, but not so fun when you need to lose weight. I don't like to deny myself all of the treats I want.

The good part is that I've lost about 11 pounds. Yay! I just thought I'd share, and it's one more way to keep myself accountable. Now you all know, and I'll have to keep trying.

That Really Stinks

Just had to share our current little problem. It's a small thing, when you think about the big picture of life.

As I mentioned earlier this week, we went away last weekend to MO. Our son was away on a trip with church youth, but returned before we did. He discovered that our cat, Lexi had been shut away from her litterbox for about 48 hours.

Bryan didn't see any pee or poo accidents when he returned, so he didn't mention to us, the fact that the cat had no litter box for 48 hours.

So, we returned from our trip, and returned to the normal business of life. We did notice however, that every time we sat in our family room on the couch, we detected a bad smell. We could not figure it out. It even crossed our minds that maybe the cat had somehow had an accident somewhere.

When Bryan returned from work a couple of evenings ago, we asked if there was any possibility the cat could have had an accident in the house while we were away. He told us how she'd been shut away from her box. He'd seen no reason to tell us, since he'd seen no accidents.

So we then sniffed all around and finally discovered that the cat had urinated on our couch. It's a sectional, and the portion she peed on was furthest away from where we sit the most. Oh Dear! It is such a funky, bad smell.

We checked the Internet, we sponged with vinegar, we bought the recommended cleaner at the pet store and we've treated it 3 times now. No luck, the smell is still there. Alan has talked to a couple of professional cleaners. They don't give us much hope. The next step is an overnight vinegar soak. If the smell doesn't come out, that portion of our sectional will be history.

If you know what cat urine smells like, you know what we are dealing with. Yuck!

So, in the grand scheme of things, this is not the end of the world. There are many folks out there with much bigger problems than cat pee on a couch.

I'll keep you posted.

No miracle for us. :)

I do have a question... WHY THE COUCH?? She could have chosen any corner, carpet, tile, linoleum, a plant pot... WHY THE COUCH??