Rags to Riches?

As the girls were getting ready for school, Emily asked innocently, "Mom, when you were little, what did you wear...rags?"  Where do they come up with this stuff?

Farmin'

Grandpa Prestrud with all 13 grandkids.  Prairie Farm, WI.  Labor Day weekend.  A photographer from a farming calendar also came out to take pictures...so you may see one like this in a 2010 calendar a year from now.  The Case Tractor (if I've got my facts straight) was originally purchased by Wade's Great Grandfather, sold several times, then many years later tracked down, purchased again, and restored by Wade's Dad, who still farms on this century old farm. 

Sometimes I Just Shake My Head

Over the weekend I cleaned out the art supply cupboard.  In doing so, I found this lovely note.

It reads:  "Emily, you have to clean up my clothes if you want a hug & kiss.  I love you so much.  Love, Abby Prestrud."

Nothin' like a little unconditional sisterly love. 

Hugs

Came in the room to find Nathan giving Courtney a big bear hug.  Knowing he doesn't know his own strength when it comes to babies, I cautioned him to "not hug the heck out of her."

"Yeah, I won't hug the neck off of her," he replied.  Well, that works too.

Where Do Babies Come From?

 

Conversation between the girls today as they came home from school and loved on their baby sister...

Abby:  Ooooooh wejustloveyourbabychub...justlovethatchub...ourlittlechubbers...

Abby again:  All that chub comes from Mama's milk!

Emily:  Naw-aw...her chub comes from dirt.  Daddy says we all come from dirt. 

1st Day

1st day of 1st grade for miss Emily Gracia, and 1st day of 3rd grade for Abba-do. Before the bus picked them up, the 3 of us prayed together over their school year. Afterward I looked at Abby and she had tears in her eyes. "That was just touching," she told me with sincerity. And then she offered up a spontaneous prayer of her own. Oh, my heart. Love those girls.

Praying that God gives them a good year--of good friends, good teachers, and good learning. Praying His protection over them over all that they are exposed to and need to filter through. And praying above all that they grow in their relationship with Him, and share His love and truth with those around them. Lord, may they influence more than they are influenced.

Joy and Pain

It's strange how you can have joy, and yet your heart can be heavy at the same time...but that's how I feel. My heart hurts for my sweet mom who has been dealing with daily pain, and often nausea from the cancer her body is fighting. I just want her to feel better and be able to enjoy life with us again. And yet, as we wait and pray and long for healing, I am also overcome with a joy and peace that only come from God. I am so convinced that He is good, despite how circumstances look. And I know in the depths of my being that He can be trusted with whatever He is up to.

Yesterday my sister, Bria, and I set up a CaringBridge website for my mom. If you are praying for her, I know she'd be encouraged if you stopped by the site to tell her so.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/judiknutson

Happy 40th Anniversary!

It's my parents' 40th Wedding Anniversary today! (If my scanner was working, I'd include a nifty wedding picture of them.)

Anyway, in talking with our children about the wonderful accomplishment of 40 years of marriage, Abby's response was "Boy, I hope you two stay together that long...or live that long." Nice.

Congratulations Mom & Dad! You are an inspiration.

Getting Old

I've been on what feels like a never-ending search for a good haircut and stylist to match. This week I tried again. The young, hip gal did a decent job on the cut itself, but slicked my hair to my head like a drowned rat, and I'm still shaking my head over a few of her comments:

"Yeah... you want something age appropriate." (Age appropriate...since when is 35 old enough to have to worry about being age appropriate?!)

"Wow, do you color your hair or is that all natural?" (I was thinking maybe she just meant I have nice natural highlights, until she added "Because you hardly have any grays." [For my age.]

"You really had what I call the 'meat loaf' going on here in the back--we've got to get rid of some that." (Huh, that was the part of my hair that I liked.)

"If you grow it out a bit, it won't look so much like a mom-style--sorry, did I offend you?"

And when I asked her to style my hair with an outward flip, her response was "Do I have to?...that was like 6 0r 7 years ago."

And lastly, from my hubby: "Hmm...it kind of makes your head look small. And it doesn't really fit with your style of clothes...try a different shirt on and see if that looks better." (What?!)

It's getting old, folks. And apparently I'm getting old, too.

Pray For My Sweet Mom!

This past week my sweet mom, Judi, was told that the cancer she'd beat over 10 years ago had returned. The week prior, we had spent our annual week up at a cabin in Bemidji with my family. My mom had been in such terrible pain that she couldn't do anything all week except try to sleep. She had a terrible muscle pain/bulge in her back that she'd been dealing with for a month or two. She'd been to her family doctor, a physical therapist, and a chiropractor. It didn't occur to any of them to check for a recurrence of the cancer.

We had to wait 3 excruciating days for her to meet with the oncologist, go over the CAT-scan and to know if they suspected the same type of cancer, as well as how advanced it might be. We got good news! The oncologist said he's 95% sure it's the same type of cancer as before--a Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, one they call a "good kind." He said once again that it's very treatable. He started her on Prednisone right away on Friday to begin reducing the size of the tumor pressing on her back muscle and thus ease the pain. (She also has it in several other places). The oncologist didn't feel a biopsy was necessary, and is just starting her on chemo right away on Monday. She'll have it M-F this next week and then rests for 3 weeks. Repeat. This cycle should continue for 6 months, and hopefully no more after that.

Please pray for healing for my mom. For the tumors to shrink to nothing. Also pray for her spirits to be encouraged as she fights this disease. Above all, pray that God would be honored and glorified. Pray that we would trust Him as His ways are not like ours. He sees the big picture and we have such limited vision.

It is normal to feel scared (as, to be honest, I have been and still am) when someone you love faces cancer. But I want to trust in my God--my God Who is big, my God Who is good in all He does, even when what He does is not what or how I would choose.

Our family at White Pines Resort in Bemidji, MN, one week ago.

Finally

It's true. The seemingly impossible has happened. Nathan, my 3 and 3/4 year old has officially christened the pot. This moment was a looooooong time in coming. He's done it folks. Wonders never cease... Please humor me in the play-by-play:


1) Despite many tricks and suggestions, he'd had no interest in the big boy potty. No desire to aim at the Cheerios or dress in big boy underpants. He liked reading his potty book, but wanted no part of acting it out himself. We were starting to think he might wind up the first kindergartner ever to still be pooping in a diaper.

2) A month or two ago we began giving him 2 M&M's for at least telling us he'd gone in his diaper and needed to be changed. It was something. Baby steps.

3) Then two days ago he decided he wanted to wear underpants OVER his diaper. Fine. Great. We'll take what we can get.

4) That night he decided to sleep with his potty, along with his teddy bear. Super. He might not want to pee in it, but at least he was losing his aversion to it, right?

5) Then yesterday out of the blue he informed me that he wanted to wear his big boy underwear with no diaper at all. I didn't care how many accidents we might have--we were going for it. He let me know later that morning that he actually wanted to sit on his potty. I ran to get it. Ladies and gentlemen, you can guess what happened next! I just about peed myself, I was so excited. He went several more times during the day, no matter that 2 accidents were also in the mix.

6) Later that night I was talking to my sister on the phone, telling her of his accomplishment, and added that I had no idea when he might poop on the potty too. No sooner had I gotten those words out of my mouth, then my son walked in the room with something behind his back and a big grin on his face. He then proudly presented me with a stinky little lump of brown from his potty bowl! We had to call the whole family up to see what he'd produced. He beamed.

Alright, there's no turning back now. And I think we're on the road to victory. Only one accident today. And only one more kid left to potty train after Nater-Putt.

Pondering

Wade and I spent some time cleaning out the garage this weekend. We came across an old box with all of our wedding cards--from 13 years ago. I wanted to go through them to find & save the one from my Grandma Sallie who passed away last year. Wade wanted to go through them to see if there was any money we missed :) As we read through them, though, we were both struck by how many of the people who attended our wedding 13 years ago have now either passed away or gotten divorced. We were reminded not to take life--or marriage for granted.

My prayer...Lord, keep us faithful...to one another, and to You. Let us use our lives in such a way that we will have few regrets. And may our highest priority be to know You well, and make You known by the way that we live and love.

Honestly, so often my life falls far short of that prayer. Yet that is still my prayer.

The Things We'll Do!

Emily got a $10 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble for her birthday from her great grandma. She and I went on a special date for her to spend it and pick out a book. I wanted her to be able to pick out whatever book she wanted, within reason. Of all the books in the store, this is what she chose. Walter the Farting Dog. Ever read it? It's a national bestseller. Serious. And it was $17 with tax--so I ended up paying for almost half of it. Can't believe I let her get this book--we don't even let the girls use this word at our house. Oh the things we do to spark an interest in reading in our children!

Great Grandma is going to be thrilled when she hears the title of the book...maybe I won't tell her.

Buzz

Sometimes even Buzz, Bear, and the baseball bat need a nap.

Caption Me

Hehe

Was at the pediatrician's office the other day...(yes, I happened to have my camera with me because I needed a picture of Courtney with our wonderful pediatrician--memento for the baby book)...anyway, saw this advertisement in the hallway and got a chuckle out of it! Yes, those bears on the beach...they need this "gift that will last a lifetime." Hehe. Does anybody else find this advertisement funny, or is it just me?

Happy Anniversary!

Today marks Wade's and my 13th wedding anniversary. 13 years ago today we were married at Faith Community Church in Hudson. In that 13 years we've lived in 3 different apartments, then 3 different houses, 3 different states, and had 4 children. There have been lots of ups and downs. But I can say with gratitude that God has been good. He has been faithful through every mountain and valley.

Wade Matthew, just wanted to take a moment to thank you today...for your commitment to our marriage, for working hard to provide for our family, for the sacrifices you make, for all the millions of things you fix around here, for the home remodeling you do (ie. finishing a whole basement practically single-handed, and most recently, tiling the kitchen floor), for making me laugh with your noodle-dance-Nathan-imitation, for letting me get out by myself while you cover mom-duty, for telling me often that you love me. The list goes on...but I'll stop there and finish by telling you that I love you and am thankful for you. Love, Kara Jo

Emily, You Rock!

Happy 7th Birthday Emily! You are a gem to have in our family. I love your sweet, gentle self. I love the way to get excited about little things, and the way you are so kind and helpful with your baby sister. I love your knack for art, and your hugs that abound. I love the birthday themes you've chosen over the years...bugs, duckies, Cinderella, Bitty Babies, Scooby Doo, and this year...ROCKS! Among the festivities were rock painting, "dirt cake" with gummy worms (your idea) and a scavenger hunt for Pop Rocks. Grandpa K also gave you his rock collection from when he was a kid.

We love it when you feel special, Em...because you are!

Who?

Fortunately we've been blessed with lots of great hand-me-downs for Nathan. I hardly ever need to buy him clothes. Frequently when I get him dressed in the morning, he will ask "Mom, who'd I get dis from?" Typical answers include: "Cousin Amy," "Tami's sister," Julianne's little boy," or "Jodi's neighbor." So the other day Nathan wanted to know where his cute striped jammies came from. "Actually those came from Old Navy," I replied.

"Who's Old Navy?" Nathan wanted to know. He had never heard of her before.

Poop Happens

So we went to the zoo last weekend. My sister, Bria, myself, and the kids. It took forever to get everybody ready and out of the house. By the time we got there it was already time for lunch. Finally we got everyone fed, pottied, and washed up. Got Baby in the Baby Bjorn and we were set to hit the tropics trail. First stop, the turtles, just 10 feet away from the bench we'd been camped on. The kids were oohing and aahing when suddenly I heard a loud, wet "SPLAT." I looked down to see a huge puddle of poop on the ground, as well as spattered on my new running shoes. I immediately looked up to see what kind of animal just crapped on me from the branches above...nothing obvious, and what bird poops that much at once...

Next I hear a rumble in the Bronx...and realize that MY CHILD is the culprit. To my horror, I then see the yellow pooh oozing and squishing EVERYWHERE...down my shirt, down my shorts, all over Courtney's shirt and pants, all over the Baby Bjorn, and--as I'd mentioned, all over the floor and my new shoes. Bria, who gags at the sight of poop, helped me hoist Courtney out of the Bjorn, and there she dangled in all her poopy glory. Time froze. I said I thought I might cry; I had no idea where to begin. We were right in the aisle, too. Mothers were shooing their children to the sides to avoid the neon goo. It honestly looked like puke.

At that moment, Nathan turned away from the turtles and headed toward us. We both warned him of the poop puddle. But Nathan, seeing a great opportunity for puddle fun, STOMPED right in it, now splattering it EVERYWHERE, including on Emily's bare legs and feet. It was all I could do to restrain myself at this point.

Eventually we hauled all of us, poo and all, to the bathroom for a good long wipe down and rinse out. Finally, about 2 hours after we'd originally planned to start the zoo tour, we were on our way. I still had poop stains running in a streaming stripe all down the front of me, but oh well.

It wasn't until later that I realized I never even explained myself when I ran into an old high school classmate that I hadn't seen in 15 plus years. Again, oh well. She's got kids. She's got to understand, right?

I can look back now and find it funny. But honestly, it was not funny at the time. But hey, poop happens. We ended up having a great time, the highlight of which was feeding the giraffes! I'm going to miss our zoo membership when it expires at the end of this month.

So...humor me. Share some of your own best poop stories, please.