MM: February 8, 2010

The Bull was gone for most of the week so I got to be Mama and Daddy for a few days.  I don’t really like that set up much. . . but I try not to complain because I know that many many many families do this all the time.  Besides–we survived. 

555~Kids helping with chores
556~Freshly mopped kitchen floor
557~Low effort meals
558~What Calf #1 calls “Breakfast Bible,” listening while we eat (Thanks for the ideas, Ann and Kendra!)
559~Talking to The Bull on the phone three times
560~Children mostly cooperative today
561~Calf #2 feeling better today
562~This week’s realization of last week’s news:  The position for which The Bull unsuccessfully applied a year ago is now dissolved. . . had he been successful, he would now be unemployed!!  Perhaps a reminder that sometimes it is a blessing to not get what we dearly want?
563~A new cup of Daisy sour cream
564~Listening to music on Ann’s blog–calm, peaceful
565~Calf #3 counting:  1, 2, 3, 6
566~The Bull called us four times today!
567~Learning how to make a heart
568~Deciding to bless a hurting friend with a heart of a different kind
569~Nestle tollhouse cookies
570~Chatting with The Bull, a sis in law, and three other friends. . . all in one night. . . on a day when I felt lonely and forgotten
571~Learning about the Oak Island treasure with the boys

572~The last of four days in a row to stay home with sick children. . . I am quite a homebody and enjoy these home days immensely
573~30 degree days when I go out to attend to the animals (normally The Bull’s job)
574~An OK report from a pregnant friend. . . OK for now
575~An appointment done unexpectedly early which gave us a few extra minutes before the next scheduled item
576~a few more hearts done on the garland
577~Mah Jongg
578~My children. . . the three that I hugged today and the one that I didn’t, can’t
579~My husband, who works hard to provide for his family
580~A chat with a friend from “way back,” and sharing her fond memories of me . . . “I realize that you’ve been through your share of hard times and yet every time I have ever seen you, you have a smile on your face. . . . you are an inspiration” (I don’t think she has seen me often?)
581~Computers, Internet, Cell phones to be able to keep in touch while he’s away
582~Children especially attentive during today’s hymn in circle time
583~Science for lunch
584~Getting the trash to the dump before they closed
585~Steak for me, Happy Meals for them
586~He’s home!!
587~Waking up The Bull with the children
588~Breakfast together, made by him
589~The Bull and the boys helping with dinner
590~The Bull home from work to help Calf #1 with his project
591~A financial blessing in the mail
592~Fresh snow!  Just a light dusting, not too much
593~Cute, warm tights for Calf #3
594~80 minutes to talk with my dear pregnant friend. . . she is so positive in a complicated, difficult situation
595~A calm peace after talking with her
596~Calf #2: “I only had one crazy dream last night. It was pigs and trees attacking and the pigs were bad guys.”
597~Being able to visit with special friends for the first time in a month
598~A family fun day
599~Discount coupons on fun things
600~Running into our midwife at the store and talking about miscarriage
601~Monopoly Jr. with the family
602~A movie together
603~Time with The Bull after the children are in bed
604~Beautiful fluffy white snow
605~Finished the garland for a friend and delivered with a hug. . . good timing, as it’s been a hard week for her
606~”Thankful to be walking through life with you” and hugs from her
607~A ponderable thought that is hard to explain about Jesus, all powerful, not needing to defend Himself after He was arrested, falsely accused, beaten, and mocked
608~Delicious snacks for the Superbowl
609~Friends to come and spend the day
610~Yay Underdogs!  It’s the Saints!
611~A talk with The Bull about making school work better for wiggly little ones.

Does this sound like a good idea to you? Want to join us?

MPM: Week of 2/08/2010

Did we enjoy our Superbowl Sunday?  To speak for myself, Yes I did!  Had a little time to crochet a bit on my current projects.  Along with the traditional fare and other munchies we enjoyed a new tasty treat.  And with a few new friends to boot.  Yum and fun!  Oh, except that I had a head ache.  But it was mostly fun and that’s what counts right?

(And I don’t know why I put chicken on the menu for Sunday evening dinner.  We don’t eat a real dinner after Superbowl treats.)

Here’s what’s on deck for our table this week:

Monday:  Corned beef (a special treat–it was on $ale!!) and potatoes and veggies.

Tuesday:  Corned beef hash (dice up the leftover potatoes and corned beef and fry up nice and brown.)

Wednesday:  Dinner @ church.

Thursday:  Moose roast (not sure how I’ll prepare this yet) with a rice or noodle side dish and random veggies.

Friday:   Kids’ night:  Breakfast: pancakes or muffins, eggs, fruit.

Saturday:  Tamale pie (recipe below.)  Except that I will dice Thursday’s leftover moose roast and use it, instead.

Sunday:   Baked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans.

Check out the Org Junkie’s blog for other recipes and organization ideas.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Tamale Pie (adapted from a recipe clipped from a newspaper a looooooong time ago!)

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound hamburger
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 can corn, drained
1 cup chopped ripe olives
1-4 ounce can chopped chilis (if you like it mild) or jalapenos (if you like it with kick)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons chili powder
Dash pepper
1.5 cups grated cheese

Cornmeal topper:
1 cup yellow corn meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups cold water
1 Tablespoon butter

Brown meat with onion, green pepper, and garlic.  Drain fat.  Add carrots, tomato sauce, corn, olives, sugar, salt, chili powder, and pepper. Simmer for 20 minutes until thick. Add cheese and stir till melted. Pour into a glass baking dish. (The recipe says to use a 10″ x 6″ pan, I think I doubled the recipe and used a 13″ x 9″ pan before?)

To make cornmeal topper: Stir cornmeal, salt, and cumin into cold water. Cook and stir until thick. Add butter. Spread over top of meat mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes.

When I make this recipe, I like to increase it and make two 13″ x 9″ pies. One gets eaten that night and one is frozen. To reheat a frozen tamale pie, bake at 375 degrees for 1.5 to 2 hours or until heated through.

MM: February 1, 2010

A new month.  Already.  Seems like we were just worrying about life as we knew it crashing to a stop with the Y2K bug, and now we’re ten years and a month later.

It has been an especially difficult week for me and I am trying desperately to keep my focus.  I had set a goal to reach my first “one thousand gifts” before my baby Shelomith would have been born (middle to end of March), so I try to squeeze seven or nine from the pulp of every day.

One more week’s worth of blessings straight from the hand of the LORD:

501~Chatting with a friend about “maybe”
502~Spending some time on my novel
503~Having a plan for tomorrow, before it is here
504~Friends who will pray when I’m having a sad day
505~Three moose crossing the road in front of us
506~Boys’ interest in the letter blocks
507~A trip to the library:  the children make themselves at home; we can’t borrow as many books as they’d like to so we have to come back again
508~Mailing a package to a sick girl
509~A bright night. . . I can’t see the moon as it is obscured by clouds, but I can see its light
510~Realizing that I’m not coughing nearly as much tonight as I have been
511~A big tooth growing in a little boy’s mouth. . . Calf #2 has one adult tooth coming in and one beginning to poke through his gum too
512~He also finished the food that he didn’t like, with encouragement bribery of a yummy treat
513~An eagle high up in the tree
514~Arnica and some other stuff from a friend; also hugs and understanding
515~Tea with another friend who understands “I thought I was”
516~Calf #3’s pink fuzzy jammies in the wash; it’s so nice to have a little girl around
517~The Bull holding me while I cry
518~Ending the night with gut wrenching laughter over a co-worker’s joking comments
519~Calf #1 loves his story problems! He was excited today that his math page had four instead of the usual two
520~Calf #2 coloring a picture of kids painting a rainbow (one boy painted blue, a girl painted yellow, another girl painted pink) and says, “God painted the red!”
521~The Bull taking Calf #1 to his meeting so I didn’t have to leave the house when I was feeling under the weather
522~Calf #2 finishing his soup, with yet another incentive
523~Knitting and eating cookies with the kids while watching a movie
524~An earthquake safety discussion with The Bull, inspired by a misguided email
525~Being horizontal after a long and tiring day
526~Starting the computer up fresh
527~Getting in to see a PA at my doctor’s office on short notice
528~Finding out that it’s not strep throat that has been ailing me for two weeks
529~Lunch with The Bull
530~Supplies for science projects that I’m certain that the children will love
531~Boys who are excited about our day’s fun activities
532~The Bull reading bedtime stories to the children
533~A lovely, hopeful email from a dear, busy friend
534~Watching special features with The Bull after the kids have gone to bed
535~Drinking five quarts of tea in a day
536~A moonlit, snowy yard
537~Muffins for breakfast
538~An afternoon to lounge and knit
539~Finished shawls

540~A new project started
541~Calf #2 liking dinner. . . again!
542~The soft curve of her chubby little face
543~She sings to me: “Yesesss Jeee-us oves Mama, yes Jeee-ussssss oves Mama, yes Jeee-us oves Mama, Dye-o tellssss eee so.”
544~20 bedtime kisses and hugs from Calf #2
545~A surprisingly tight hug from Calf #1
546~A hug and a back scratch from The Bull
547~Staying home with a sick calf
548~Watching movies with him
549~A restorative nap for him, right there on the living room floor where he’d laid to watch movies
550~Attempting to encourage a hurting friend with dinner and conversation
551~Drinking soda pop with dinner: a special treat
552~Helping The Bull
553~Folded laundry
554~Hyland’s C + cold tablets. . . again, haven’t I mentioned them already?

Does this sound like a good idea to you? Want to join us?

MPM: Week of 2/1/2010

It is a simple and boring week this time.  Sorry, no links or recipes today!

Monday:  Left o’vers

Tuesday:  Turkey sandwiches, tater tots, random veggies.

Wednesday:  Dinner @ church.

Thursday:   Out and about.

Friday:   Kids’ night:  The Bull requested tacos.

Saturday:  Sloppy Joe’s (or, as my FIL used to say, “Untidy Josephs”) with veggies.

Sunday:   Baked chicken, rice or potato side dish, random veggies.

Check out the Org Junkie’s blog for other recipes and organization ideas.

Winner!

OK, so I intended to close this contest yesterday and pick a winner. . . but the pounding head ache and incredible crashing web browser got the best of me, sorry!. . . anyway.  Without further ado:

That makes our winner this one:

Congrats, Denise! I will email you and get your lovely box purples to you ASAP.

(And did you notice, that random number generator is even purple? How cool is that!)

MM: Halfway There!

This is monumental!  I set a goal of getting to my first 1000 before my baby would have been born near the end of March.  I am shocked that I’m halfway there already!  It’s been a great thing to re-focus my mind on the blessings every day.

439~On a particularly bad day, The Bull came home to rescue the kids from me (or was it the other way around?)
440~The Bull cleaning out the tub and insisting that I . . .
441~take a bubble bath.  I decided instead to use . . .
442~the “dinosaur egg” that Calf #1 gave me for Christmas, and he popped it into the water, and then . . .
443~a stegosaurus–my favorite dinosaur–hatched in my bathwater!
444~A few minutes of NOT coughing while I was in the tub
445~The Bull grilled burgers for dinner
446~Both boys started out dinner saying, “I don’t like this,” but surprised themselves–and me!–by realizing that they DID like it
447~A helpful post about emotions on an emotionally bad day
448~Boys’ excitement about a new edition of their favorite comic strip (Rocket Rooster is what they call it, but it is Rocket Brewster)
449~Finding out as I was heading to bed that Calf #3 had taken off her pajamas and diaper and wet the bed, instead of finding this out at 2:30 am after I’d already gone to sleep
450~Being able to get through the school work quickly
451~Me dealing somewhat gracefully with several very disappointing changes in plans
452~Figuring out what to do with my blogaversary
453~Calf #1 sacrificing Lego money to help others in need
454~Getting a special post finalized
455~Rocking with a little girl before her nap
456~The Bull taking two of the kids for ice cream
457~Getting out the door, almost in time
458~A good talk with a friend while walking
459~Finally introducing myself to a lady I see every week
460~Free magazines
461~A free school book, just minutes after talking with our contact teacher and realizing a need for it!  She said I am lucky today, but I know it is the LORD looking out for Calf #1’s needs
462~Cookies in the freezer to defrost for a quick snack
463~Getting to a special activity time for the littler two calves
464~Seeing animal tracks in the snow
465~A new (to us) computer
466~Two boys and their sister watching Anne of Green Gables
467~Seeing one fox, three moose, and one eagle on the way home
468~Calf #1 having a change of heart regarding finishing his schoolwork
469~”I’m saving the best for last” –Calf #1, about doing his math work before his reading work
470~Calf #1 practically begging me to do his reading work with him, then he went over and got the book and started by himself!
471~Calf #2 enjoyed dinner, even with onions and zucchini!
472~Calf #3 got her jammies on by herself–backwards–she’s so proud of herself!
473~The Bull trying to fix the DVD player so we can watch  a movie with a friend
474~An hourlong chat with a friend; mutual support for pain and pregnancy loss
475~A box of food
476~Calf #1 changing his mind and improving his attitude
477~A friend visiting
478~Prince Caspian
479~The DVD player worked the whole time!
480~The Bull home to watch part with us
481~Watching another movie with friends
482~Calf #3 asking me to leave her door open “a little tiny bit” with fingers indicating the gap
483~A warm bed on a cold night when I am feeling sick
484~Calf #1 getting to go on an outdoor adventure with The Bull
485~Holding and snuggling with a sleepy Calf #2 while reading blogs
486~Playing “peekaboo” while getting her shirt over her head
487~Sour cream and salsa with tortilla chips (it’s a vegetable, right? )
488~A few minutes to talk with a dear friend
489~Her willingness to pick up necessities at the store for me
490~Bowling a strike on the first frame. . . and almost tying The Bull’s score
491~The children excitedly rolling, pushing, and throwing bowling balls down the lane
492~Temps warmed up to about 10 degrees above zero at bedtime
493~A few hours of girl time with Calf #3 while Daddy and the boys head out
494~Her shrieks of laughter when I pretend I’m a cat
495~A cute pattern that I want to make sometime!
496~Calf #1 playing “mama drums,” a game I’d forgotten about (and a nice back scratch!)
497~Seeing parts of the big game
498~Everyone liked dinner!!
499~The Bull cleaning up Calf #3’s mess of bubble bath (half a bottle) and baby powder
500~Dozens of hugs and kisses from Calf #2 at bedtime

(Hey, I’m doing a giveaway for my blogaversary!  Go here to enter!)

Does this sound like a good idea to you? Want to join us?

MPM: January 25

Another week, a few more recipes!

Monday:  Roasted turkey breast, rice or potato side dish, random veggies.

Tuesday:  Left o’vers (which is quite different than, and not nearly as tasty as, hors d’oeuvres.)

Wednesday:  Dinner @ church.

Thursday:   Tacos with friends.

Friday:   Kids’ night:  Breakfast for dinner:  Tea biscuits and eggs and fruit.

Saturday:  Pink Pasta with leftover turkey and veggies.

Sunday:   Mexican skillet.

Check out the Org Junkie’s blog for other recipes and organization ideas.

And be sure to check out my blogaversary party for a chance to win a little box of purples!

BPS: This Beautiful Mess

This reminds me of one of my favorite music groups and one of my favorite songs from this album (although this song is on two different cds, and this video shows the other cd.)

I am NOT a messy person.  Well, I am really, the house is usually a mess.  But I despise cleaning up messes and being sticky and getting my hair messed up, that kind of thing.  So it is a stretch for me to let the kids use play doh or cook or other messy things.  We do it, but it stresses me out greatly!

But when I think of a beautiful mess, this is one of my first thoughts.  This is Calf #1’s first picture after his birth.  He was quite a mess!  Aside from being long, his delivery and birth went fairly well.  The doctor checked him over and Calf #1 seemed to be doing very well with great Apgar scores.  Then the doctor left the hospital.

And then Calf #1 turned white.  There was a bit of panic there in the delivery room for a while.

I was still euphoric about having a son, and did not grasp the enormity of the situation at all!  The Bull talked the nurses into letting me hold him for a few moments, holding an oxygen mask over his face, while they prepared a place for him in the NICU.

Within minutes they had taken him and fitted him with an oxygen hood.  He knocked it off.   So they switched him to a nasal cannula.  IV antibiotics were started fairly quickly, too, into his umbilical stump.

Aside from his mess, the mama was a mess too!  The initial euphoria wore off when the doctor came back in and told us that our little boy was very sick, and they weren’t yet sure why.  I really wasn’t expecting the nurses to need to take my baby to the NICU at all!  So we were not prepared for this separation.  And with his difficulty breathing, nursing him was out of the question.

One day later, he had made a little progress but was still in the NICU and still not allowed to nurse.

Here’s the proud new papa, with his little boy!

This was our first family picture and the second time I got to hold my baby.  Of course I was crying!  We looked so young then. 

Cultures came back positive for group B strep (GBS) and the IV was moved from umbilical stump to hands and feet.  I was amazed and appalled how long it took them to get those IVs started!! UGH!!  The poking, it was not very pleasant to watch and not comfy at all for the poor little calf.  The doctor seemed to be the only one who could get the darned thing in sometimes.

At one and a half days old (which seemed like half of forever!), his breathing had stabilized enough that he was taken off the oxygen and brought back into my room.  And there was no way I was going to let them take him back after that!!  The nursing was difficult, but we persisted and figured it out, with some help from a wonderful, patient nurse.

He spent a week in the hospital for IV antibiotics  It was a very difficult time for us.

But he continued to grow and thrive and soon we were pretty sure that all systems were “go,”

eh, so to speak. 

Our Going Home day was a blast.  I was exhausted and still quite sore (cursed episiotomy!!) so we made only one stop on the way home (to visit some elderly friends so they could meet our little guy–there weren’t at home; later we learned they were at the hospital to see us!)  Blissful, blessed messy home!

It was only later, as I looked back over that week, that I realized how blessed we had been.  It was a difficult week, to be sure, but it ended well: we took our baby home.  I shudder to think of how the story might have gone if his birth had worked the way we had planned.  It’s amazing to be able to look back and say, “The LORD sure knew what He was doing!”

While you’re here, why not leave a comment on my post for a chance to win a little box of purples?

Baby Picture Sunday is hosted by Debi every week!  This week she is also raising money for pediatric cancer research; go here and leave a comment and she will put in $1!

my give away an

TT: Thoughts on Psalm 27

This week I’ve been working really hard on my memorization.  As I lay in bed at night (after I write in my gratitude journal), I use my little flashlight to see the words of this Psalm that I’ve written in my little notebook.  I read each verse over and over and try to “picture” the verse’s message in an attempt to get it firmly planted in my brain.

The first few verses really puzzle me.  Well, not the first one, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?

A great statement of faith, isn’t it?  And in a generic sense, I am so with it.  Who should we fear if the LORD is our strength?  But then David gets a little more specific.  And I, with my little brain, get confused.

2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

Now, The Bull has been reading through the books of I Kings and II Kings at dinner time and let me tell you, the people of Israel went through some really bad, scary things during these years.  Wars. . . Solomon was the only king who did not fight at least one war.  Lots of people died in the wars, and not just the fighting men as entire cities had been destroyed.

Seiges. . . wow!  Several times a city was surrounded by the enemy’s army and the people were literally starving to death, doing horrible things because they were truly hungry and there was no food.

Even in David’s lifetime, people were dying and there were horrible things that happened.  “Devour my flesh” could also be translated “slander me,” and as we know this was something with which David was quite familiar.  As I’m memorizing this passage I am wondering how can he be confident and not fearful??

I am not a fan of the theology that says “if we have faith in God we will never have bad things happen in our life.”  It does not seem to be reality, as bad things happen in everybody’s life, even the LORD’s!  Indeed, these passages seem to be saying something entirely different.  “Even though we have bad things happen in our lives, we can still have faith in God.”

Maybe faith, then, isn’t a solution to the problems of our lives, but a way to endure them?  It’s not the way to a happy, good-times life, but . . . ? (I don’t know what.)

I still do not understand this confidence that David has.  Is he saying that he’s confident he will win the war because he is on the LORD’s side?  Is he saying that he’s confident that the outcome will be “good,” even if he dies in battle or seige?

4 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.

I absolutely love this verse.  I, too, would love to “gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.”  But I’m not sure that I can agree with asking only “one thing.”  Is this “one thing” enough for our lives? I can think of dozens of things that I am and have been asking the LORD.  Maybe this “one thing” is the most important thing.

The next verse is wonderful too:

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

That “day of trouble,” I’m guessing, could be the wars and seiges that David already talked about.  Or any one of the difficulties that he endured.  I’m not sure how one could be hidden “in the shelter of his tabernacle” AND “set . . . high upon a rock” both at the same time.  Under and on?  Maybe it’s a really big tabernacle?  Maybe David meant the foundation or mountain on which the tabernacle was built?

6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Despite the bad things in life, David chose to praise the LORD.  This is so hard to do, although I want to.

Today I am thankful for David’s example of how to handle the difficult parts of life.

One last thing.  Can you help out my friend, Debi?  She is donating $1 to pediatric cancer research for every comment left on this post.  It has almost been a year since  Tuesday died from neuroblastoma . . . I imagine that this week is going to be hard(er than usual) for her family and friends.

(Join Lynn this month to share Thankful Thursday postings.)

Oh, almost forgot!!  Be sure to enter my give away and you might just get a box of purples. 

It’s My Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To. . .

The giveaway is now over!  Congrats, Denise!

OK, sing it with me: Happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to me, happy blogoversary to meeeeeeee, happy blogoversary to me!!

Balloons!  Noise makers!  What a hoot.  Thank you, thank you very much!!  You know how to celebrate with a gal!  Even if it is all in my head. 

It’s been a year now since I started this here blog and I thought we could take a moment to review the past year briefly.

We started 2009 with sad news that a little girl named Tuesday, for whom our family had been praying for several months, had passed away from neuroblastoma.  Such a rare cancer . . . certainly not the outcome for which we had been hoping.  (Later in 2009, her family started on an RV tour of the US to raise awareness of pediatric cancers.) (Please go to Debi’s blog and leave a comment, she is donating $1 for each for pediatric cancer research!)

Not quite two weeks later, we heard of the death of another baby from the same rare cancer!!  Absolutely heartbreaking.  (A happy update to their family: just over two weeks ago they gave birth to a little boy, Levi!  While he brings them great joy, they also are still mourning for their dear little girl, Cora; it is a bittersweet time for them right now.)

February and March also brought us a bit of excitement in the form of our little volcanic friend that threatened to make life messy for us for a few months, but basically blew over without much damage.

There was another little baby, Stellan, and his heart.  Dear LORD, how we prayed for that boy!!  Several times in 2009 he was hospitalized for SVT, a potentially deadly heart condition.  (A thrilling update is that his latest surgery in October after his first birthday destroyed the extra node that was causing his SVT and today he is a healthy, happy little boy.)

March brought more sad news, that my dear sister-in-law, Mel, had endometrial cancer.  After a summer of chemo and autumn of radiation, we received very exciting news in December that they had done their job!  She is now a cancer survivor.  Thank You, LORD!

We survived chicken pox and thankfully, it really wasn’t too bad for the little calves.  We’ve done some school work.  (Actually, we’ve done lots, I just haven’t blogged about it much.)

I got an award and a button and played tag.  We went on a vacation.  And who could forget the hunting trip??

The happiest and saddest events of our year, interestingly enough, were related.  We found out in July that I was pregnant.  After several weeks of debilitating all-day nausea, I had just begun to get back on my feet.  And then . . . in October we miscarried.  This has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever experienced.  Despite only having him with us for about four months, our baby boy Shelomith has been a very big part of our year (and no, I can’t even type that sentence without tearing up.)

Along the way we’ve had some good times.  We’ve relived sweet memories through Baby Picture Sunday and Wordless Wednesday, had a bit of a reality check with Not Me! Monday, and “set our minds on things above” with Thankful Thursday, Multitude Monday, and (a brand new one to me) Walking With You.

I’ve gotten meals organized with Meal Plan Monday and even blogged about housework with Tackle It Tuesday (oh, the depths to which we have fallen!!)

It has been a wild ride, hasn’t it?!

When I started this blog last year, was hoping to be able to connect with people, make new friends.  And I cherish the new connections I have made with folks from Montana and Idaho to Illinois and Pennsylvania and even clear across the world to Australia.   I’m so glad to have had a chance to connect with some sweet, caring people.  And there has been an unexpected benefit to participating in the memes:  somehow, having that little bit of accountability has helped me organize life and household.

As I look ahead to the coming year, I am both excited and afraid.  Excited, because of all the new possibilities!  There are plans to be made and goals to be reached!!  Afraid, because our world view now includes things such as cancer and childhood death and pregnancy loss.  I am grateful for the love, support, and encouragement to continue to cling to the LORD I’ve received from you, my friends.

So we thought we’d give a little back. One of the things that has been on my heart for some time is to find a way to honor our little boy, Shelomith.  we’ve been thinking about this for some time and finally (literally, this evening!) decided to donate in his name to help the children in Haiti through Compassion International.  I’m sure you’ve heard about the horrible situation after last week’s earthquake in Haiti; it is astounding to me how destitute the people are.

As we were discussing this over dinner tonight, Calf #1 said that he wanted to help, too.  He’s been saving up for some cool Star Wars Legos but he thinks it would be better to use his money to help kids in Haiti.    Calf #3, who has been known to say often these days “’bout me?” (meaning “What about me?”) also wanted to pitch in.  “Me too!”  she said. And that makes their mama’s heart swell with joy.

‘Bout you?  Would you please consider donating with us?  There are many reputable organizations who are working in Haiti; here is a list from Charity Navigator.  It doesn’t matter if you don’t have much to give.  If we all put our $5 or $10 or $50 together, it really does add up.  You can also leave a comment on Angie’s blog or on Kelly’s blog and they are adding in money for each comment.

And, oh yes, I want to give you something too. Maybe you, anyway, if you are the one whose name is picked!  I am giving away a box of some of my favorite purple things.  The box contains:

• one bottle of Olay Quench body lotion
• three hand made* metallic purple note cards “imagine,” “believe,” and “dream”
• five Home Inspirations pomegranate mango tea light candles
• six packets of Bigelow Pomegranate Pizzazz herbal tea

(do i need a disclaimer? approximate retail value is $15 and I bought this all myself for this contest)

*handmade = I bought stickers and cards and stuck the stickers on the cards.  

So there it is, my blogoversary gift to you!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post telling how you met me or found this blog.

I will use random.org to pick a name from all those comments sometime on January 27th.