Tigger

My latest cross-stitch block.

Dan and Toys

This is one of Dan's favorite spots. He loves to drag out some toys and play on the kitchen floor.

Whose Bones?

While walking through the garden the other day, I came across these bones. They are actually quite large and at first I thought they were perhaps from a cat. On closer inspection, I think they might be the bones of a Mink that I had to shoot in our hen house a few months back. We had disposed of the animal in the field across the road, but I'm thinking some animal (probably a cat) brought them back into the yard to have a little snack.

You never know what you will find when you live out in the country.

Birdhouses

Even though the temps are still quite cold outside, it is time for me to start thinking of my garden a bit. Well, actually I think of the garden all year, but this time of year there are things that need to be done.

The first thing on the list was to check the Bluebird boxes. Some of them are getting quite old and we ended up taking two of the down for repair and relocation. I like to move the boxes periodically to see if one spot is better suited than another. We also clean out all the old nests and often mouse nests, so the boxes are nice to clean for spring.

February often finds the male Bluebirds scouting out good nesting spots, so the boxes need to be in place and ready to go.

This box is the favorite in the yard and is fought over by Tree Swallows, Bluebirds and the dreaded House Sparrow. It is on a high pole by the pool.

Hmm...this box is a bit crooked, but the birds don't seem to mind.


House Sparrows or English Sparrows as they are sometimes called can be a big problem for our Bluebirds.

This particular sparrow is not native to the US and are a very aggressive species. They will toss out eggs, kill baby birds and even kill other adult birds.

They are a non-protected bird and you are allowed to trap and kill House Sparrows. This has been a tough decision for us as I don't like killing any animal just because, but lowering the numbers of House Sparrows does help the population of Bluebirds.

What we prefer to do is try and deter the birds by repeatedly removing their nests from the boxes. This usually will work and the birds move to another location. This method is only effective in our yard and doesn't really address the overall problem of this invasive species of bird.

Furniture Store

This past Saturday (28th) we went to a local furniture store looking for a new kitchen table. Ours is just too small for our larger family.

We didn't have any success with the table, but we did find a booster chair for Dan so we can finally get rid of the highchair and a small bureau for his room.

I'm sure on another visit, we will find a table that will suit our needs as they are always getting in new items.

Gabe liked this leopard that was on a rug

We also picked up two small rugs that we put in the kids toy room. One is a construction site and the other is a race track. The kids have a lot of fun playing with these.

Christmas Lapbook

Gabe and Rachel have been working very hard on a Symbols of Christmas lapbook. They finally finished assembly the mini-books this past week.

I think they came out great.

Showing Dad the finished product

Losing Wisdom?

Right on the heels of the stomach bug, Bessie had all four of her wisdom teeth out. They had been bothering quite a bit and she was actually looking forward to them being gone, although I'm sure she wasn't thrilled about the actual procedure.

She did great and although she was a bit weepy right after the extraction, she was a trooper and her recovery was quite quick.

The first few hours home were spent sleeping

All smiles again...well, with an ice pack

Clues to Our Weekend

Hmmm....how do you think we spent the weekend of 1/19-1/20. Here are a few clues.

1. plastic basins

2. Mysterious blobs of bedding and other clothing outside the back door

3. Washer running overtime

Have you figured it out yet? Well...here is one more clue.

4. Children and adults alike found sleeping, resting, moaning or basically being quite miserable and glum.

If you haven't guessed, we were all sick with the stomach bug. Within 24 hours, everyone was feeling quite under the weather, except Gabe who was sick earlier in the week.

A one point, I could not handle the amount of linen that was needing to be changed and washed was get ahead of me, so I tossed the offending bundles out the door. When I finally got to wash them, they were frozen blobs. One of the many benefits of a front loading washer was it could take the blocks of frozen bedding with no problem.

Thankfully the sickness was quick and by Sunday afternoon, the worst of it had subsided.

Sunday afternoon was spent resting and recuperating and washer lots of lots of clothes and linen.

Making an Igloo

We have a speech therapist come twice a week to work with Dan. He really enjoys his time with Anne. It is a fun one-on-one time for him. Anne has been working on a lot of different areas, but has come to the same conclusion that we had, Dan does not have any major speech issues, he is just very delayed. This is not to be unexpected with him coming from an orphanage setting. He is making progress very quickly and we all feel that he will take off very soon and make leaps in his speaking ability.

Each time Anne comes, she has some "work" for Dan to do. This can be in many areas and he enjoys these activities. After their work is done, she often has a craft or other project for Dan to do. He love these.

Yesterday, he made an igloo out of mini-marshmallows. This was a huge hit as she let him eat some of the marshmallows.

Dan's speech may be delayed, but he has excellent fine motor skills and this task was not difficult for him.

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day - January

Carol over at May Dreams Gardens, hosts a monthly garden blogger's bloom day. I have not participated in quite a few months because...well, nothing is blooming right now in my cold, snowy northeast garden.

This month I took Carol's advice and bought a new house plant. The store I stopped at didn't have a lot to choose from, but I found this pretty little Primula. It is holding a place of honor our kitchen table.

As I checked my water garden plants (I keep the tender ones inside in a large tub) to make sure they had enough water, I spotted this unexpected flower. I'm not even sure which plant this is (I am terrible about marking my plants), but it is quite lovely.

I think Carol is planning on continuing with this monthly challenge for 2008 and I am going to try and hit every month this year! Thanks, Carol!

Welcome Home

Thursday we headed to the airport to pick up Brian. The kids love going to the airport.

When we got to the waiting area for offloading passengers, there were quite a few military people there. Bessie spoke to one of the men and come to find out, there were two people from Brian's base coming home from Iraq and they were coming in on the same flight as Bri. We were thrilled to be part of the welcome home celebration. One of the women handed the kids flags and Bessie helped hold the large banner. It was so fun clapping, cheering and welcoming these men home.

Brian was laughing when he came through at all the hubbub and made jokes about it being for him.

Flag waving kids

We are so glad that Daddy is home!

Our Week

Brian was on TDY this week. We are used to this, it is a regular occurrence. This week, all the kids decided to get sick while Daddy was away.

The Littles started with gloppy noses, thick heads and coughs that made it sound like a TB ward. We stayed home a lot.

I thought Gabe and Bessie dodged the bullet on this one as they didn't seem to get the same symptoms.

Early Monday morning...3ish, Gabe wakes with a stomach upset and then throwing up. Well, not the head colds that the Littles have, something new and improved. He and I spend most of the day snuggling. He worked valiantly to not throw up again, mainly by not eating for the next two days. I did manage to keep him hydrated. Thankfully, no else acquired this particularly ailment.

Dan fell asleep on the couch...a very rare occurrence...you can tell he was sick

Gabe spend quite a bit of time laying at my feet at the computer

By Wednesday morning, Gabe pronounces that his stomach feels better. I had spent quite a bit of time worrying (one of my favorite past times) about what I was going to do if he was still sick as Hannah had an appointment to get a tooth removed and Gabe does not like staying home unless Bri or I am there.

Gabe, Hannah and I hustled off to the pediatric dentist.

Gabe loves this dentist's office. They have a large screen TV playing kids shows, Nintendo and PlayStation video games and these fun consuls that have many type of games that you can play from card games to sports type games.

They even have a fun house mirror

Gabe decides which game to play

Hannah was awesome. She was such a trooper about the whole thing. The dentist ended up taking out her two top front teeth in addition to a molar that had gotten absessed. They also put some sealants on her six year molars. Because of Hannah's cleft-lip, she will need quite a bit of extra dental work done and I am so glad she takes it all in stride.

She looked so funny when I went in to talk to the dentist. She had on sunglasses, headphones to listen to the movie she was watching, the little gas mask thingy for her "happy gas" and a mouth full of gauze. You couldn't even see her little face with all this stuff.

Hannah, minus her two front teeth!

I was so relieved to have this visit done. The rest of the week we layed low. I canceled all other appointments and visits. We got a little bit of schoolwork in, but not much. We read books, played games and watched videos. By Thursday morning, the Littles were much better. Gabe's stomach troubles had cleared up for the most part. Bessie came down with a sore throat. Oh, well...at least I managed to not get sick....yet!

Family Photo

Back before Christmas, I posted pictures from our photo shoot for a good Christmas card picture. Well, I didn't post the one we liked the best because I hadn't mailed out the cards yet. Here we are on the 11th of January and said Christmas cards have yet to be sent. My best intentions often go awry. Oh, well!

I have everyone intention of sending out some type of 2007 year in review letter or something, but in the mean time, here is our 2007 Christmas photo.

Enjoy!

Secret Sister Thank You!

Dear Secret Sister,

Thank you so much for your wonderful package and awesome letter. I was so thrilled by all the goodies, but your letter was such a treasure to me. It cheered my heart and encouraged my socks right off. The page of encouraging scriptures was the icing on the cake.

I loved the stickers and card making supplies and the cross stitch kit is so lovely. I can't wait to fit that one into my schedule. Bessie has already been memorizing the recipes in the Snack Attack recipe book.

You are a wonderful Secret Sister and have blessed me tremendously. You have set a very high bar of care and love for any secret sister.

Thank you again!

Nativity Lapbook

Hannah and Dan finished their Nativity Lapbooks this week. They were so excited to see the finished product. This is a really good medium for the Littles as they love color, cut and paste activities. It gives them a real sense of accomplishment.

They started a new Lapbook on The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Here they are working on sequencing cards for the life cycle of the butterfly.

Family Celebration

Dad came home late Saturday afternoon. It was so good to have him back home and to have him doing so well.

We got up earlier and went to Mom and Dads and went to church with them on Sunday morning. My youngest brother and my sister were there also. My parents is a wonderful church and they love my folks. There was a standing ovation when they entered the church. It is so heart warming to see such an outpouring of love and concern.

That afternoon, the whole family gathered for a celebration. A celebration of Dad's life and also of our family, the love and closeness we share and the gratitude we feel for Mom and Dad. We also celebrated their birthdays. Dad's was last week and Mom's was this week.

Dad enjoying his guitar and his music

Walt is great with the kids

My youngest brother is a bachelor. Whenever he comes home to visit, he spends lots of time with the kids. The love their Uncle Walt. Mom and Dad had lots of snow and it was a warmer day, so the snow was packy. They began making snow balls and ended up making a snowduck. I didn't get any pictures of the finished product because it was almost dark when they finished, but the kids and Walt had a great time sculpting it

Everyone brought food and goodies. There was lots of eating, talking, laughing and fellowship.

Sally and Aunt Helen (Dad's sister)

Dan having fun with some play money

Enjoying the carrot cake Theresa made (GramGram's recipe)

Dan and Noona

Bri and Gabe

Me and my sweetie (Gabe took this one)

The wonderful carrot cake Theresa made...yum!

Dan helping Dad open his birthday presents

Mom and Dad Back L to R: Glenn, Dave and Walt Front L to R: Sal, Dad, Mom and Me
Mom, Dad and most of the grandchildren (Sally's kids were missing)

It was a wonderful day and such a joy that we were celebrating with Dad among us. I think this whole experience has made us even more thankful for the terrific Godly parents we have and the close family we enjoy.