Merry Christmas 2011!

World Of Joy Christmas

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Caricature

Yesterday we attended Delta's company block party and had this caricature done of the kids.  The last time we had one done was when we only had two kiddos; Abby was 3 & Em was 2.  Can you correctly label who's who, L to R, top to bottom?

I'm still chuckling as I look at Courtney's calm, serene face here...she was far from it at the time...2 hours past naptime, hot,  & sick of waiting in line for an hour.  As she squirmed and flailed & tried to paw the artist's sketch board with her grubby chubby little fingers, I just kept feeding her cotton candy and chips to keep her still long enough for the artist to catch literally even a 2 second glimpse.  I'd say he did pretty good.  :)

Happy Father's Day, Wade...from your 4 beautiful blessings & your adoring wife!

Oddballs?

This was posted on my friend Katie's blog. I got a kick out of it and it got me reminiscing...

My Dad's a taxidermist, and growing up it was not at all unusual to come down in the morning for breakfast and stumble upon a dead owl thawing out on the counter, or a skinned duck on a big meat hook suspended from our kitchen chandelier.

My Dad was also a Mr. Mom of sorts. (He even made front page of the local paper.) With his shop in our basement, he was home to handle the cooking and cleaning as well. (My mom was a public school teacher.) He took care of my sister when she was little, and I remember her playing with a little indoor sandbox made of sawdust. Dad used the same "sandbox" to dry out bird hides and such.

We didn't think too much of this stuff, but when I had friends over for dinner, they were always a little leery as to what they might be eating for supper. :)

Any unique happenings in your family?

10th Year in Bemidji

(White Pines Resort on Turtle Lake, connected to Movil Lake)

Yes, I'm alive. No, not puking either. Not quite, anyway. (Thanks for checking, Lauralynn.) I didn't want to post on my blog that we'd be gone for a week in case some weirdo could track us down and rob all my valuable fake jewelry and huge money stash in the floor boards.

We just got back from our annual week up north in Bemidji, MN. For 10 years in a row now my parents have rented a cabin for all of us to spend a week together up at Movil Lake. My dad spent entire summers as a boy on this lake at his grandparents' cabin.


We had beautiful weather. There was lots of swimming and fishing, lots of eating, a little shopping, a Gilmore Girls marathon, and 3 dates for Wade. Wade took each of his girls on a special outing during the week. He and I went to our favorite Italian restaurant in Bemidji & then saw Batman (which rocked!) Abby & Daddy went out for coffee & a game of checkers, and Emily & Daddy bought tic tacs (Em's fave), gas station treats, and played at the park.



For our last night, we had a campfire with s'mores, my Dad & I played a little B-ball, and Wade and I played that game where you throw the ropes with the weighted thingies around goalpost looking things with 3 bars. (Anybody know what I'm talking about?)

It was a great week, but it's also great to be home. Let the laundry begin!

Which parent is more likely to...

"Mom, I kind of like it when you're gone sometimes, because Daddy spoils me a little...let's me watch TV or gives me a treat."

That's what Abby told me today when she found out I was going grocery shopping & taking Emily along.

At your house, which parent would be more likely to...

1) Give the kids a BOWL of chocolate chips right before supper?
2) Let the kids watch hours of TV so you can get something done in the garage?
3) Suggest either a rowdy wrestling match, or a muddy worm hunt @ 7:45 pm when bedtime's at 8:00?
4) Feed the children oatmeal cookies for both supper & breakfast the next morning while the other parent is gone overnight? (And then try to claim it was "healthy" since there were OATS in them.) My personal favorite.


It's been said that in most families, one parent is more of a disciplinarian, and one is usually more of a softie. Is this true at your house? Guilty here. Can you guess who is which?

Put Me in the Zoo

(The photo is one I took in the butterfly garden. I believe it's called a Cynthia. You can correct me if I'm wrong.)

I am a little ashamed to admit that my children had not been to the Minnesota Zoo since Abby was 1 and Emily was a newborn. (Yes, do the math; that means Nathan's never been there at all.) In my defense, they haven't been completely zoo deprived, though. They have been to the Como Zoo (for those not from around here--that's the free one) a couple of times, and once to the Potowotami Zoo in South Bend, IN.

So today we changed that. My sister Bria is leaving in August to teach in China for a year. (Sniff Sniff.) She wanted to spend a family day at the zoo before she leaves, and insisted on treating everyone--including our folks and my family of 5. (Thanks so much, Bria!) Well, then we did the math, and it wasn't much more to purchase a membership good for a year. Then we even decided to upgrade to the "Household Plus" for just $6 more; then we can bring an additional guest along too each time we go.

Alright. So I'm bound and determined to get good use out of this membership! Those of you who frequent the zoo...what are your favorite things to see? What about your kids?

Anybody else who wants to go with us--either with your own membership, or as our guest (you'd just have to then pay for any kids over age 3)--let us know. We'd love to go again soon!

Evening at the Beach

At 5:00 pm last night the kids and I decided to scrap supper preparation, throw out the schedule, and head for the beach! They've been begging to go since school let out. Wade met us there after work & brought sub sandwiches. A picnic on the beach and an evening swim to boot! Have I mentioned that I love summer?

Birthday love

A few shots from Emily's birthday.






We've got a tradition--Grandma P. makes the birthday cakes each year for the kids' birthdays. We tell her the theme and she gets to work! This year was Scooby Doo. Some other cakes she's done for us have been: a ladybug, a duck cake, a music note, a Barbie bride complete with train and veil, a tractor, & a big strawberry--for Strawberry Shortcake.



We aren't normally extravagant spenders when it comes to birthdays or Christmas, but the girls have been wanting a house for their Barbies for forever. So...ta da! Their wish came true! It was from us, along with Grandma & Grandpa Knutson, and also Aunt Bria (with thanks also to a great online discount.) Emily is standing next to it--it's that big. (It was a bit tricky, however, explaining to the girls that it was Emily's birthday present, but was for both of them to use.) We wanted Emily to feel really special--lavished, as sometimes the second born gets the shaft when it comes to new things.

Planning for & hosting parties tends to overwhelm me a bit--no matter how much I pray about it ahead of time. But this one went really smoothly, actually. I had Wade's help, and I was more relaxed than I usually am. Dare I hope that I've actually made some progress in this growth area? Well, in any case--another party down, and the next one won't be until November when Nathan turns 3. :)

Our trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana

Disclaimer: this may be a long post. I want to record some of the details from our trip. Partly because I want my kids to have the memories recorded, and partly just because it's fun for me to write about. So bear with me. :)


The kids and I flew to Indiana last Saturday to visit my friend Danielle, and her girls, Ariana & Ivy. We met them when we were all living in South Bend. As many of you know, our 2&1/2 years in Indiana was largely a lonely time for me. But a year into our stay there, God provided Danielle--a true friend and sister in Christ. We met through the mom's group at our church in Granger, IN. We were both pregnant, and ended up having our babies (Nathan & Ivy) one day apart. :)

...So the kids and I flew standby through Wade's flight benefits, of course. Thankful to have that perk, but OHHHH can it be stressful. See Naomi's post to see what I mean. Then couple that with the fact that somebody somewhere screwed up & Nathan got taken off the list as an eligible family member--so they wouldn't let us list him for the flight. At all. We almost couldn't go & I almost had a nervous breakdown over it. Not really. OK, kind of. But literally, by the grace and favor of God we encountered some nice NW employees who pretty much tossed the rules aside for us and we made it!)

We spent 4 days together and some of the fun included: water balloon fights, playing dress up, hot fudge Sundaes at McDonalds, a trip to the (free) splash pad, (we really need some of those at the parks here) a visit to Chuck E. Cheese (thanks to Danielle's hubby, Manuel, who took the older ones there while the mommies and 2 little ones went out...intending to check out an old fashioned soda shop but ended up at Cebollas Mexican restaurant.) One day we tried to attend a program on animals at the library but found it full when we got there. Instead we checked out the Little House on the Prairie pilot movie and spent an afternoon snuggling on the couch. The girls were enthralled.

Let's see...one day we hired a babysitter and Danielle (& I) got a much needed break. We visited the Peony Tea House for a beautiful lunch & tea. (My first time at a tea room.) Though I may not decorate my own home with florals and lace, it was such a treat to be in the presence of such lovely and feminine surroundings. We each chose the chocolate decaf iced tea. I also requested sugar and cream for my iced tea. The owner thought this a bit odd, but soon tried it herself and decided she's going to make it a regular recommendation!

A couple photos from the Splash Pad:





During moments when we weren't tending to little ones, we even managed to get a bit of reading in...various excerpts from The Ministry of Motherhood, Elisabeth Elliot's Keep a Quiet Heart, and some fun stuff from Mrs. Dunwoody's Book of Excellent Housekeeping. (I don't think I have the title right...help me out Danielle.)

After the kiddos were in bed, we kept our tradition of watching as many episodes of Gilmore Girls as possible. And of course, we had to get Culver's (Heath concrete mixers are my weakness) during the show--just like old times.

Each of my 3 managed to injure themselves at least once on the trip:
Emily: twisted her ankle while jumping off a mattress. She was down & out for a day
Abby: climbed atop the freestanding porch swing, fell, and scraped her arm up good on the way down
Nathan: (He has two) dropped a toy cast iron pot lid on his face during a diaper change & bruised up his eye just a little. And at the park he climbed to the top of the climbing wall & fell on the way down. Face first. Scraped up his nose. (He looks cute, actually.) I also caught him trying to eat the wooden "pills" from the toy doctor kit. Close call.

Danielle, thanks again for your hospitality. I'm so glad we came. I loved seeing your home, observing how your girls have grown, and just getting extended time to hang out, talk, and pray together.

...I had been praying that we could really be a blessing and an encouragement to Danielle and her girlies, but I think they blessed us more! What a great trip, and a great start to summer vacation. :)

Last Day of School!

Today was Abby's last day of 1st Grade. I'm thrilled that she'll be home for 3 months! She, however, came home in tears--missing her teacher already. She is excited for summer vacation, too, though. Especially trips to Brown's Beach. She's been begging to go swimming, even on the days we're all wearing coats. :)

I'm a simple girl at heart. Though I am detailed and fairly scheduled myself, I don't like life to be as packed full and scheduled as the school year seems to get. I'm looking forward to not having to set an alarm clock (though Nathan will still provide that service anyway) and I'm excited to spend lots of lazy days at the park and the beach with the kids. Truth is, I really love having them around. I love it when they come and snuggle in the morning--especially when they're all in the mood to squish in and be read to. I love hearing the girls play together. I love hearing that Nathan's being included. Don't get me wrong-- there are plenty of times when they fight, bug each other, and exasperate me...but mostly it feels good when they're all here. Or at least that's what I choose to remember. :)

Yesterday we had a little preview of togetherness...a chocolate milk tea party on the front stoop!




I find myself often being nostalgic over how fast the kids are growing up. But I really am enjoying the stages they're at right now. And I'm looking forward to lots more times like these.



P.S. Happy Birthday Jen! And thanks for sharing your cake with us. I know your actual birthday-day this year may not have been as adventure packed as last year's flamingo yard raid...but I'm still just as grateful to be in Hudson to celebrate birthdays and other milestones with you again. Love you friend!

Fend For Yourself!

I grocery shop on Tuesdays. So today, Monday, is the tail end of my grocery week. I plan out my meals each week, but I just wasn't in the mood for the last meal left on my list. (Wade agreed.) And fast food wasn't in the budget tonight. I suggested pasta. Veto. Wade said he'd prefer something light. I rummaged through the cupboards but nothing looked good. I asked God to help me come up with something decent...

After scouring the fridge I had a plan! Gourmet salads with Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, chicken strips, leftover citrus fruits, walnuts, & a yummy raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Honestly, I thought it tasted like something you'd pay $8.95 for at a restaurant. Apparently my family didn't agree.

For the next 20 minutes, I heard nothing but comments such as these:
"This is what we're having for supper?"
"Is this all we're having?"
"Can I just have chicken nuggets?"
"How much of this do I have to eat?"
"Why did you make this, Mom?"
"Um, I should have had you leave the dressing off mine." (That one was from hubby.)
"The fruit is hurting my canker sores." (That one was from hubby, too.)
"The walnuts smell like the chicken." (Hubby again.)

OK people.

This is coming from a family who is used to eating good amounts of fruits and vegetables--and salads often. Guess they just don't like the combo as the main dish. Finally I told them with a smile and as much kindness as I could muster...to fend for themselves. I tried.

Heart Overflowing

Some things I'm thankful for today...




My girlies picked these for me the other day. Lilacs. My favorite. :) A tangible and fragrant piece of God's goodness and beauty.




My sister, Bria, came for the weekend. She stayed with the kids Friday night so Wade and I could go out to celebrate our friend Ed's birthday. Speaking of Ed's birthday--he got the best birthday present ever--the long awaited phone call informing him and his wife Vonda that they've been approved for guardianship for their soon to be adopted daughter Eva !!! Glory be to God for this answer to prayer!

Saturday Bria helped me paint Nathan's bedroom. (Nathan helped too.) Thank you Bria!




Sunday my Mom and sister and I were treated to luxury pedicures together!



They were a Christmas present to us from Dad. This was my first pedicure ever! I was so touched that my Dad would come up with that idea to bless his girls.

Afterwards we did a little shopping at the mall and then went to Panera for supper. I just loved spending time with my mom and sister. Didn't want the night to end!









Also on Sunday...severe storms hit Prairie Farm where Wade's folks live. Their century old farm was hit hard as they lost two enormous pine trees, their silo, & part of the roof on the shed. (The photo shows where the silo once stood.) All 5 siblings went up to the farm on Memorial Day to help clean up the debris that covered the area. We were grateful that no one was injured, as the silo could have easily fallen on the house. (Wade's dad, Marv was also out in the field planting corn when the storm was at its worst!)

Also on Memorial Day we got to spend the afternoon with some of our good friends from church. What a blessing when others open up their home and provide a place where friends can laugh together, share a meal, and encourage one another.

I've also been impacted by the death of singer Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter. The morning it was announced, I put all the laundry and other to do's on hold in order to hold my kiddos. Emily wanted to look at her baby scrapbook. So together we looked through her book, reading over the captions and memories I'd recorded to let her know how loved she is. Time spent like this is never regretted. And it's good to be reminded to be thankful for those things that really matter.

An ongoing prayer request of mine has been "Lord, help me see You as a tender loving Father. I know You are Sovereign, all-powerful, omnipotent. I know You are in control and not a sparrow falls to the ground without your knowledge and permission. But I need to see you also as the God of compassion. The God who knows our needs and truly cares about each detail of our lives." In each of the details I've mentioned above, I have seen God display that tenderness and compassion. I'm not saying that God is only good when He does what we want. I'm just offering thanks to Him today for showing me so many glimpses of His heart this weekend through other people. He knew my need and met me where I was at. What a gracious God we serve.

Huh?

Abby just came and asked me "Mom, every year before Mother's Day, can we have a sick day?"

Me: "A sick day?"
Abby: "Yeah...we can all pretend we're sick. It will be a family tradition!"
Me: "Sure." (Going along with it)
Abby: (rounds up Nathan and Emily) "Guys, we're going to have a sick day! Everyone's going to pretend they're sick except one person--who will take care of everyone..."

I didn't tell her that that's called being a mom. She'll be a great one someday. And it appears that it doesn't take much in the way of family traditions to make her happy, either.

1st Ever Family Getaway

Yup. That's right. To Wade's and my knowledge, we have never taken a family vacation--even for a weekend--with just our family of 5. This past weekend marked our first. One night and 2 days at Wilderness Fellowship. We "camped" Little House on the Prairie style in a log cabin with no electricity (lanterns for light) and an outhouse for a bathroom. The kids loved sleeping in the loft--just like Mary and Laura. Abby admitted to being concerned that there would be no TV but was pleasantly surprised by how much fun she had. In her words, "I was afraid this was going to be the worstest day of my life, but it's not!" (By that, you'd never guess that we usually limit TV to an hour a day or less anyway.)

We all commented on how fun it was to spend this time together. We took a long hike through the mud, stomped in the puddles, played tether ball, read books, had family devotions, played card games, and had cookies and milk around the campfire. Emily also wanted me to mention that she started spelling words all on her own this weekend! We had brought small chalkboards just like the ones the kids on Little House used to do their homework on. Emily really went to town and was so proud to show us her work. (She was gearing up for Kindergarten round-up on Monday.) Way to go Em!

It was just nice to slow down and not have an agenda. Wade and I even got a nap or two. Probably the sweetest moment to me was when Wade was napping up in the loft by himself. As I was heading down the ladder, I witnessed little Nathan kneel down right beside Wade. He folded his hands, bowed his head and prayed, "Jeezus, tank You fo my Daddy." That is the first time I've ever heard Nathan pray without being prompted. Talk about melting my heart.

Thank You, Lord. We needed this weekend.

Spring Break

We had such a great Spring Break! I just loved having Abby off of school for the week. Emily and I took the week off from homeschooling as well. We did something fun almost every day. Thought I'd record some of it, so as the kids look back on this, they'd remember that one doesn't necessarily need to go to Disney or the tropics to have a great vacation.

Monday: Saw Horton Hears a Who at my favorite theater--River Falls, where the whole family can get admission, a large popcorn, and each their own pop and candy for around $20 bucks total!

Tuesday: Wade took the day off. I had "help" grocery shopping, and we played Uno and Old Maid together in the evening.

Wednesday: A trip to the Children's Museum. Wade and Nathan's first time ever. Then Wade surprised us and took us to the new Cici's Pizza buffet restaurant in Edina. This was one of the girls' favorites when we lived in Indiana. We were all thrilled at the news that Minnesota now has one. AND later, Jen and I got to go meet baby Shirley Desvousges!!! What a great day!


Thursday: A playdate with some friends. Abby doesn't get those too often now that she's in school, so this was a special treat. Later Abby got to go to a birthday party and see Horton Hears a Who again with classmates. She felt like the luckiest duck in the world.

Friday: The kids and I spent most of the morning making a homemade carrot cake for my dad's 61st birthday. That's his favorite. Now, I am not a baker. And I was reminded again as to why I hold that stance. The last time I really baked anything was for Dad's birthday last year--a carrot cake then, too. After an hour of carrot shredding I vowed I'd use jarred baby food next time. This year I bought a food processor. Went to use it--didn't work. At all. Tried a blender. Blenders don't blend carrots apparently. So the girls spent 45 minutes shredding baby carrots and avoiding shredding their knuckles. Abby asked if this is what they did in old fashioned times. Next year I'm forking out the money for already shredded carrots. At least everyone liked the cake!

Next the girls wanted to help me by cleaning the bathrooms. I gave them refresher instructions and mostly non-toxic cleaners and set them to work. I came up to check on things after a bit only to find: the mirror cleaned only as high as they could reach (cute), half the paper towel roll gone with used ones heaping over the garbage can, blue toilet bowl cleaner staining the white grout as it was spilled all over the floor and left there, a bleach spot on the otherwise spotless bathmat, and the toilet brush strewn on the floor in another room. (I'm guessing that was Nathan's contribution.)


Saturday: My parents and sister Bria came for the crazy fun Easter egg hunt in town, and then we celebrated Dad's birthday. The cake was enjoyed by all.

Sunday: He is Risen! I missed celebrating with my Grandma Sallie, who passed away in December. But we really enjoyed being at the farm with Wade's side of the family--11 grandchildren age 9 and under. Grandma P. did an "easter egg hunt" outside by hiding sand buckets filled with candy in the snow.



I was sad to kiss Abby goodbye for school Monday morning. Love havin' my kiddos around!
Thanks, Lord, for a special week together. Good memories. :)

Spring Fever and Rocks For Sale

After a seemingly never ending winter, we had our first glimpse of warm weather today. Emily decided a swimsuit would be fitting for the occasion. The weather man predicted a high of 50 degrees. Don't know if it reached that, but for Emily a swimsuit and some snow boots were enough to bask in the glory.

Later when Abby came home from school the girls decided to set up a lemonade stand...only with rocks. They made the rounds and informed the neighbors of the great sale they were having. Their sign said "Grown ups $1, Babies 5 cents." You'd think this meant adults would be charged a buck and kids a nickel, respectively. Nope. Grown up ROCKS cost $1 and the little pebbles were a nickel. With supper time approaching, though, they slashed their prices after a while and put everything on clearance. They made some good cash, too.

Oh so glad for a glimpse of spring! What did you do to take in the warmth today?

Mushy Gushy

A while back, a friend did a fun post on nicknames. That got me thinking...

If mushy gushy, over-the-top nicknames for your children are any indication of your love for them, we must love our kids a lot. Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the love titles we've used on our little monkeys:

1) Abby's: Abba-do, Do-bird, Abba-dooder-hooder-bird, (I said these were over the top) Baby Pumpkin Seed Face (my mom's), Crabby Abbinator, Monkey-Shiner from Caroliner, Schnoodle, Abba-dooby...(and my friend Jen insisted on calling her Peanut Butter in utero...)

2) Emily's: Gracia Baby, (middle name is Gracia) Gracie Girl, Emilady Lou, Rady-Roo, Ema-doozle, Emily-doodly-oozle, (complete with song tune to accompany) Boom-Boom Baby, Eminy-Schnicket...(Jen wanted to call her "Crunchy" in utero--but I had to draw the line somewhere!)

3) Nathan's: Nater-Putt, Bubba-Gump (he was a chubby infant), Gumpy, Gumper, Napers, Naperkins, Butt-bas, Romp-omp-n-stompinator, Crabby-crabbinator, Grabby-grabbinator, Pumpkin Head, Buddies, Ralph Lug-nut & Ralph-Nater (both my dad's). Oh, and my Grandma Sallie also called him Jeremy--we're not sure why; we think she thought that was his name.

All you parents out there...any cute (or even over-the top) nicknames for your little munchkins? What about when you were little...what did your parents call you?

Measurements

Tonight Abby was using a string to measure stuff, namely the width of my arms. When finished she informed me, "Mom, your arms are bigger than Dad's." I murmured that maybe it was because I was wearing a bulky sweatshirt. She promptly went to re-measure. "Nope," she assured, mine were just bigger. Boy was I thankful to have that helpful and uplifting piece of information. Pilates anyone?