Gingerbread men

Ah sweet memories of Christmas past....gingerbread men. The girls and I have made a bunch of little men (oh to find a "girl" cookie cutter) and even Gingerbread Bird Houses. So sweet. Now to just make the "mortar' and let the construction begin....perhaps this could be a teaching lesson...blueprints, raw materials, cutting and building! What a yummy project!

Little things like decorating gingerbread men can make a little girls christmas, so I'm trying to do a few things at least in remembrance of what I would have been really thrilled with. Boy, long sentence.

Well, I am tired, but will save a gingerbread men for anyone who happens to pop in!

Pathetic days

I am always amazed at HOW pathetic a child can look when they aren't feeling well...
Case in point: Ruth. Her eyes get droppy, baggy underneath. She looks listless and sorta lies around, whining words that we can't understand. And she complains of being cold (as she sits in a skirt and short sleeve shirt) when she is normally a little heater.
Mei: Her eyes are a pretty shade of red and very runny. She sneezes and boggers run to her mouth. She also whines words no one understands, but she is just 2 afterall. She wants milk, then proceeds to spew it right back up like a milk fountain. Then wants more. She wakes up in the night coughing, then tells me "bye, I ovfe ou" FIRST TIME I love you! so sweeet

The rest of us are feeling fine, thankfully.
I've been working at the hardware and enjoying my time with the regulars...some are so sweet, others, well, whatever! I sold a mermaid from the art gallery, bunch of garden stuff, and some agricultural stuff. stuff. stuff. Good day though.

Personally, I've been wanting to implement the Maker's Diet into our lives more, but still have no real appetite, which may signal that I really do NEED the Maker's Diet. hummmm So today I made real whole wheat and flax buns. And K.D. Hummm once again. We do have homemade chicken noodle soup that Gab finished making for me while she was "aunting" the girls. So nice to have her around, becuz I never worry about the girls and her anymore...no like I really worried, but wanted to make sure she was "comfortable" in her role I guess.

Can't wait for Christmas! Very excited this year again!

"feels like old times Mom..."

As said by Kate, as she was playing and doing school at the hardware.
Feels like old times.
I went to work at the Hardware this morning, Gregg and the girls came after Ruth was done preschool. We had lunch in the lunchroom, Mei napped by the bathrooms, and we ran around and visited and re-organized, and did bookwork, and such. Very weird, but good. Not enough sleep last nite though!
Tomorrow I will go to the store with all 3 girls and see how it goes, and for how long we last. Gregg just went back to the store to set up the electronic babysitter in the girls little play area (the old ticket wicket area).
Made muffins tonite for the girls, and brought some of their little things to play and color with. I will need to bring the camera to get some shots of Mei with the plungers! Funny how all of our girls loved to play with the same things at the hardware! ha ha.
Good night all, and Jesus Bless You. Today Kate read me a little poem that said "hi, it's me, I am in control, all your worries and troubles leave to me. I've got it, don't worry. From God"
So, don't worry, God's got it, and rest easy.
Jo

Fight and Flight Response

I remember learning about the Fight and Flight response in high school and in university. How the body reacts to certain stimuli to either fight and protect itself or young, etc. OR to run like stink!
I have had a few "major" stresses and surprises in my wee little life in the past and I have come to realize HOW I react to the stressors. My first reaction is not to sit and cry. My first reaction is always...okay... "what now?" "what needs to be done right now to get thru this phase?" Later on I may lie down in the fetal position and cry, but not until everything is "done".
We received some news today that actually gave me a slightly different reaction...one of "man, I'm going to puke". I didn't mind you, but I was very nauseous. Funny thing stress.
I find it interesting today how everyone reacts to the same stressor, totally individually. Gregg just wants to sleep, I want to get everything over with.
That's a thought for today. nothing exciting. Nothing fun today I guess.....besides we made more snowmen and snowducks and a snowturtle...that was fun.
Oh, and Mei sat on the potty while I read her a book, and she didn't even scream! That is a praise item! We have to get rid of the fear of the potty, so that was a big step.
Good nite all!

Kidless for the weekend

Wow. What a weird feeling to not have any of the children for a whole weekend at home.
What ever should we do? Should we go to the city for supper, movie? Shoot some pool? Go clubbing? Heck, we have NEVER gone clubbing! Well, after work was done, we decided to save the gas $, stay home and do a movie marathon night. So we bought some chicken cordon bleu, made some hot dip, and relaxed with 4 movies. Ended up at Paul's to watch some on the "big screen", and stayed up until 5 am. The last time I stayed up until past 1am would have to be the moments when I was birthing our children. It's just not something a parent of young children does without bad consequences...ha ha. Ahhhh...slept in until 2 pm! Can't remember doing that recently, except for the time I was horribly sick...but that doesn't count becuz it wasn't fun related.
So now Mom is storm stayed here after bringing the children home just in time for a storm. Gregg & Mom are playing "cribbage" and I just got back from one of my MK desert parties.
It was so nice to have the freedom of doing and being what we wanted...so my thought for the day would be to do something you haven't for awhile.
It sure felt nice!

Snowed in!

We are officially snowed in today. No school for Ruthie, Gregg didn't go to work yesterday nite, and Nana brought the girls back just in time to be storm stayed at our house. So, we've been relaxing and Mom & I watched "Raising Helen", which was really good and clean.
OH, and I bet you're all wondering whatever did we do for fun with a weekend being "kidless"....well...we stayed up to 5 am watching movies at Paul's! Also went dump-running, slept until 2 pm, etc. I haven't stayed up that late since the days I was in labor, birthing children. So it felt like we didn't have any kids for sure. We vacummed the living room and for some reason it stayed clean without paper snipettes for the whole 2 days. Wonder why?
We got pretty lonely though by the time they came home.
SO, this morning we made cinnamon buns, which I am presentally smelling their delicious aroma!
The girls are making snipettes upstairs with Nana, lots of snowflakes. "we need more sticky tac mom!"
I am doing the first nite of "MK Desert Party" and am hoping that with the weather I still have some show up. It is getting lots of good response though. It'll be fun anyhow.
Well, have a great day all!
"christmas time's a comin'!"

Life changing moments

I've been thinking about how one second in time can totally change your life. Like the switch on the railroad track...nope, now you're going that-a-way!
There are things in our life right now that will determine in a way which we shall go. Little decisions, big decisions, all our decisions will affect the direction. The scary thing is, that OTHERS decisions have so much affect too. Look at the person who decides for one moment that they will run a stop sign. In that moment, they decided to take another's life. That is a dramatic example...ummm...but sometimes something small and seemingly unimportant can have a deep impact. A person's words. A person's smile or laugh. Everything.
I'm constantly reminded of how basically everything I do can effect positively/negatively. So today I pray that God will grant grace...i need grace! But think of this...I can in my humaness say something "insensitive" to a person, but then they can decide to let it bounce off! What is grace? They decided to grant grace to me...and for that I will be thankful for.
I think I'm tired and worn out today, praying that Gregg will have a good night shift with only a few hours sleep between. My poor man would solve the world's problem's if only he could by loving them all to death!
Well, right now I will decide to get myself to bed so I will have the good consequence of being rested tomorrow so my dear hubby will be able to hopefully rest up. So wheat bags and monkey, here I come!

Giving up...

Well, last night Gregg & I were both wasted from a hard day at work, and a hard day of Mary Kay. So, I turned out the light to hear Gregg say, let's read the Bible. Well, that meant I needed to turn the light back on and reach for the Bible. I was feeling discouraged with my Mary Kay because I've been meeting new people, having fun, etc, feeling in God's will, but no $$ coming in. So I opened up to Acts 14:19. Paul had been preaching and they actually STONED him, DRAGGED him out the city (thinking he was dead), where his friends surrounded him, prayed, he got up and left the next day and KEPT PREACHING!
So, the lesson on the side of our Bible talked of just keep going. It talked of a young boy going onto a piano stage before the "master" could come out and started to play "chopsticks" on the piano! The crowd was trying to get him off the stage, the "master" hearing this, rushed onto the stage and started a duet with the young boy. As they were playing, the "master" kept telling the young boy "just keep playing, keep going, don't stop son".
What a neat picture that was in my mind.
So, I turned off the light and said to Gregg, "too bad God never speaks to me, I got absolutely NOTHING out of that passage!"
HA HA
So, I will keep going, even if it is to just teach me something. I love making women feel pretty for the moment, so I will keep going.
Gregg helps people if even just for a moment, so he will keep going.

And my dear children will grumpily keep on keeping on with their cleaning of their room! HEE HEE.
Good night All!

Halloween...

As a child, I remember the anticipation of dressing up and going around town with our pillowcases and coming back home with a bag of loot. Sorting each item into piles, and Mom getting any peanuts or sunflowers, Dad trying to steal anything "good"...
It was always a fun day, but then reality sets in and I understood the history behind a hallowed evening...nothing we want to be a part of for sure.
So, Gregg & I have decided that our children don't need to be a part of it either. So, this year, we are again bringing muffins to our neighbours and heading out to the "farm" to hang out. The last few years have been "quiet" mischief-wise for us. No more slashed tires, etc. It seems like just an excuse to go out and be idiots and mean to normal folk and get away with it "just kids having fun".
Anyhow, the girls were excited about their new "hello kitty" underwear instead of candy treats. After reading "The Maker's Diet", we want to try to cut out sugar, but alas, that is hard to do!
Ummm, I also made "Chewy Double Chocolate Cookies" today. :) yummy yummy
Well, friends will be coming over for a play soon, girls are crating cheese for supper, and I should put this piles of clean laundry away...oh the boring life of a housewife. ha ha
Have a good day all, and enjoy some sugar!
Jo

Date Nite with Zorro

last nite was Date Nite! We did the boring stuff first, like going to Princess Auto to look for speaker wire...then to Superstore for softener salt. We then zipped over to Kam lungs for chinese buffet, which we must say was simply delicious. If we would have had more time, we could have really gorged ourselves, but alas, we saved our waistlines and ran over to the theatre. Just in time to see the big Z slash across the screen...Zorro!
The whole time we kept thinking how much my Dad would laugh/cry throughout that movie! Can't wait to watch it with them.
So, we managed to be home by 10 pm and play some 9's with Alex & Gab and Paul. And Gregg mixed up some of what paul called "Strawberry Da-quer-ies" Very funny. Of course, Gab whipped all of our butts in 9's. She gets so stressed, but if she would just stop winning then maybe she wouldn't have so much stress! :)
Enjoyed our time "alone" and being goofy on the way home. SO refreshing.
I HIGHLY recommend Date Nite's!
Jo

Pass or Fail...

Well, Gregg has been waiting for a wee piece of paper to arrive to tell him Pass/Fail. Well, the paper has arrived and we can let out our breath and sigh...yes! Done! Fini!
It feels so good to me that Gregg is done, I can't imagine what it feels like for Gregg!
No more essays, research papers, therap. use of self....oh the joys of all the nonsense involved in getting a degree.
Gregg is very happy at the Virden Hospital, and loves the nite shifts...of course, we always knew he was a nite owl anyways. The ladies seem to be adjusting to him. :) ha ha. He is getting a lot of experience in many different areas, and we're looking forward to the time when he finds more direction. We also thought it would be nice to be able to volunteer at summer camps (TMBC where we met perhaps) or at some point go to missions work or volunteer to go overseas to somewhere needy.
We're feeling like we're finally in a place where we'll be able to start giving back more than taking. So many people supported us in so many little ways, that we want to Pass It Forward.
It Feels SO Good to be done!

My 3 Dads...

Sounds corny.

I was peeling potatoes with my 2 little girls the other day. They wanted to hear stories about my Dad Allan. My dad Allan passed away when I was 8 years old, the age my eldest is now. Many memories have been flooding my mind lately, but something hit me today.

I have been blessed with 3 wonderful fathers. The first, Allan, not only gave me life, but gave me courage and strength. No fear. No fear of wild animals (just respect), no fear of love and laughter.
The second, John, was the answer to my childhood prayers for a Daddy to hold and take care of us. He taught me the joy of servanthood and modelled humility (which I still work on). His gentle way with animals always inspires me.
The third, Ernie, my husband's father, taught me unconditional acceptance and to seek my giftings. He is another awesome Godly man.
I have had 3 beautiful fathers that all loved me, cared for me, cried with me, and encourage me. They are wonderful Grampa's and Papa's to our girls and I was just struck by how each has added to my life.
I love you all.
Jo

Family Time

Last nite we went to Gregg's Folks for a belated "fall birthday" party, and this morning we had Grampa's famous pancakes. Kate and Ruth stayed nite, which was fun for them, and I realized later that "HEY, today is a school day! Oh well, day off with family...you're ahead anyways!" What a blessing it was to not have to phone the school, or say "sorry, you can't stay at Grampa & Gramma's becuz you have school tomorrow." How often do they get an opportunity like that anyhow?

We have always felt so blessed to have this large, happy-for-the-most-part family. Your family and friends are the only things you can take with you.

We love you all.

Sunday morning

It's Sunday morning!

I remember when I was little how rushed Sunday sometimes was. Mom & Dad thought it was the worst, becuz here you are trying to get ready to go to "church", and you're all ready to kill eachother. Tina would be in the bathroom for HOURS, re-doing her hair and make-up numerous times...I would have to go pee. Ahhhh sweet memories of waiting for her in the car.

Now, my girls come downstairs dressed for church, or almost. Ruth needs a shirt and tights. Kate is little miss shiny girl. Mei just woke up now, with the best bed-head and raspy voice ever. Gregg, my dear, is still sleeping soundly.

I've actually broken the rules of no work on Sunday and payed some bills on line. Now I should be in the shower to get ready for the day.

Today we are heading to Gregg's folks for the day. We will eat till our stomach's burst with fresh perioges, bacon and sausage. All smothered with cream sauce, and other cholestrol lovers. Then we will celebrate the fall birthdays that we couldn't before and pick names for Christmas. The 2 oldest will spend nite at Gramma and Grampa's, and we'll enjoy Grampa's famous pancakes in the morning. Feels like Christmas already! yum yum.

To all, I bid you adeux. have a great day.