A saturday at home! Post #2

Hi Amber - Mom misses you! (After I curled my hair:))
Mom and Lyndsay - like the tongue sticking out?
I don't know what this look was?! I didn't get any halfway decent pics of Erin and Isaac - Isaac was too busy playing his computer game and Lyndsay just was kind of ornery looking in each photo so I took a few of myself - aren't you glad?:o) I thought it might make your day or scare you half to death or give you a good laugh! It's hard getting the double chin not to show!

Well, we didn't go anywhere today - got up at 7:30am and started getting tomatoes from the garden ready to make into salsa and can. Inbetween helping my husband do that, I cleaned the floors throughout the house and picked up here and there - that took a few hours - and did much of it while Lyndsay took naps. She's kind of fussy from the teething thing now! She smiles funny sometimes with her lips all pulled back - it's cute! So, now her knees aren't getting dirty while crawling around the house:) That's the only thing about ceramic tile and hardwood floors and crawling babies! Most of the time everyone takes their shoes off, but not always... Around 5ish, I took Erin and Lyndsay to my sisters and my mom and I cleaned stalls, then put 2 wheelbarrow loads of sawdust in each stall (7?) while Heather was getting the horses' feet trimmed. I did most of it with Lyndsay on my back in the backpack. She fell asleep about a third through the sawdust, so I took the pack off and set her on the grain bin! Erin had a blast playing with Maggie as usual, but we had to come home about 7:45pm (felt like 10pm) to get pizza for supper and get baths before bed! Lyndsay is calling me from her crib right now - gotta get her to go to sleep - church tomorrow! Have a great Sunday, God Bless!

Here's a few pics!

A sand hill crane out at our property last weekend
This was the doe and she had two fawns with her as well, but didn't get great pictures of them
This is another doe that comes out in the same spot every night!
This was today - she loves to have her soft blankie by her face!I'm just playing, Mom - staying out of trouble!

Well, well, well...

Wow, is it Friday already?! We are getting out of work earlier now (2:10pm) thanks to 3 shifts going strong at the plant and straight 8 hour shifts with our last break at 2:10pm freeing us to leave 20 minutes early gets us home by 3:30pm most days! Praise the Lord it's great getting home and having more time to get things done, relax, enjoy the kiddos, fight with Isaac about doing homework:) This is his first year for homework and he is having a hard time having to come home and not play right away. Sunday night, he was pouting about having to go to bed and having school again - it is nothing but work, hard work all day long! Get used to it buddy! He's memorizing Psalm 23 and was on verse 4 last week. He said it to me on the phone this morning when I called from work - his test on that was today. Good job, Isaac! I have had to make sure I remember to call home in the morning to make sure everyone is risen! Thursday morning at 7:20am I was about to call the police because no one would answer the phone when Brooke finally called me back - she had fallen asleep on the couch! She is a sound sleeper, so this will be interesting! So far, though mornings have been going smoothly other than that! I just call to make sure they have put the dog outside, let the chickens out, shut lights off, brush teeth, take medicine (Curt), etc. Everything else (bags, coolers, lunches) is sitting by the door for them to grab on the way out. This week we brought the camper home after an enjoyable weekend at the property. The weather was great and saw some wildlife, etc. We went out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Millington for Saturday breakfast and then went to the apple orchard for donuts, cider and apples, then back to the property to mow for a few hours. Then, just relaxed, went for a few walks, visited with our neighbors, etc. Monday night we started working on cleaning out the camper real good - Jeremy's dad borrowed it for this weekend. I clean it out there, but having more things at my fingertips by bringing it home is nice. We have had an ant problem in there since taking it to Howell in July and we bombed it twice, and sprayed, etc. I scrubbed out drawers, washed all the bedding, towels, etc. When we get it back Monday I will clean windows and sills, etc. For how old the camper is (2002) and how much we use it, it still looks great! If only it were a little bigger (as well as our house!). It's hard to believe we only live in 1000 square feet here with 6 children, but we do! I probably won't know what to do with more space if I ever get to build the 1800 sf house with a walkout basement we have plans for! My mom is coming tomorrow for a week that will be mostly spent at Heather's house helping her with babysitting, etc., but my mom may be able to help me by coming over and doing some painting which would get us one step closer to putting this house on the market and me one step closer to Millington!

The kids are all getting so big - Lyndsay is just all over the house - she only gets hung up underneath the kitchen chairs but lets you know it so you can come to her rescue! Erin is enjoying her time with the Foelker kids during the day while I'm at work. Thursday night, the girls and I went over there so Brooke and I could practice our song with Jennifer for Sunday and Erin informed me that I took the wrong way to Miss Jennifer's house! Sorry! Brooke got to take a few nights this week and go and ride Gent and clean stalls. It's getting dark a little earlier and makes it more difficult to get over there, but it's still possible a few times a week! I haven't ridden yet, cuz my leg is still a little sore and bruised feeling, so I'll wait a week or so more before I get back in the saddle. Isaac is doing well in school in spite of hating homework! Curt is doing well also, he never has homework and seems to breeze through... He is quick to do his chores and anything else we ask him so he can earn his computer time! Amber is adjusting to college life and is pretty busy! She does get to go to town (Walmart, shopping, etc) atleast once a week by bus so don't worry - she's not going through withdrawal too bad! I text her or call her every morning pretty much. She gets along with all of her roommates and is enjoying herself! I miss her, but I keep thinking thanksgiving isn't so far away! She's already asked if 4 girls from out of state could come home with her, but I don't know... I haven't even figured out the details of getting her back and forth with my work schedule and if I take all of my kids with me, there won't be room!

Tonight, I took Isaac, Erin and Lyndsay to Birch Run after Brooke and Curt went to their dad's for the weekend. Isaac and Erin needed new shoes so we went to stride rite at the outlet mall cuz I can get them cheaper there than in Saginaw. Erin went from an 8 to a 9.5! She really likes her new shoes. Isaac is a 13 still but his shoes were worn out! So, they were happy to get them. We went to Carters for some jammies for Lyndsay and baby gift for Ava who is already 2 1/2 months old:) I could really blow some money in that store, but held back! So, tonight I've been catching up on emails and next is facebook! I will post some pictures in the next few days when I can get on the desk top computer (I'm using the laptop right now). I have a few funnies I'll post, too. For now, here is a few verses I've been reading a few times a day everyday and thought I'd share them with you!

Phillipians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say, Rejoice

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be carefull (don't worry) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.

Finally brethern, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

In thinking about Danielle a lot with her birthday being last weekend, I really appreciate these verses and others, in dealing with her being gone... I just know God is really enjoying her up in Heaven and in hearing of other little ones going to heaven recently from fellow bloggers who I don't know personally, but still feel their pain, just thought I'd share some verses.

Have a great weekend and look for some pics in the next few days!

Christine

TEETH!

Real quick because I'm late getting to bed and I'm exhausted! I'll post more later, but tonight while giving the girls (Erin and Lyndsay) a bath, Lyndsay grabbed my finger and put it in her mouth and guess what? TEETH! So, I looked and sure enough, 2 teeth poking through! She's growing up too fast, 7 months old now! She turned 7 months on the 19th and on Saturday the 20th, Danielle would've been 8 years old! Hard to believe! This morning, Brooke called me and said that Lyndsay was mowing on a cookie she found under the table and wasn't happy when she took it away! Maybe I can try some cheerios now?!

Have a good day, I'll post more again soon... Goodnight, Chris

Okay, now what do I do?

Can I have some help here please!

Rain Rain go away, come again some other day!

Curt and Jeremy
Big Lungs!
Is he smiling?!
Daddy asked him how his frosting smelled - I don't think he'll fall for that one again!
Aren't they precious? The do's didn't last more than the usual 10 minutes!

So, we didn't go to our property this weekend cuz it's raining - perfect for catching up on things inside! I've got everything pretty caught up except the downstairs (which is started) and the garage. So, I feel pretty good about that! I tackled the boys' room last night and today did the main parts of the house and the pantry. Laundry is an every day thing and never seems to be totally caught up for more than 4 hours at a time:) Here are some fun pictures, Brooke and Curt are gone for the weekend and the little ones have been playing good together! Brooke could've killed me cuz her stepmom came up to the door when picking them up Friday and asked to take a picture of her room cuz she said she was cleaning... So, I told her she was more than welcome to go down and take a look herself - so, she did! Maybe I can embarass her into keeping it cleaner?! I know, that was mean and I'm sorry! Curt had a birthday Wednesday and is now 12 years old! Time sure does fly by! I'm sure you'll see some pictures of his gift (which has to be shared) later! Have a great rest of the weekend!

Chris

Thursday already!

I'm sitting here waiting for Erin to bring me her ice cream sandwich - we are sharing one before bedtime! I don't want a whole one, I have reached another milestone in my weight loss quest! I've lost another 5lbs -YIPPEE! Only 4 more pounds to reach my prepregnant weight and then another 15 more to go, hopefully!

I've been getting the kids to bed at 9:30pm each night and that is such a blessing - I can get to bed earlier and everyone is much happier in the morning! I'm shooting for 9pm, but right now, they stop what they are doing at 9pm and get ready and are in bed by 9:30pm.

My leg is doing better, gets sore after being up and about for awhile, but that's to be expected - it had some trauma and is very black and blue bruised!

Today, I went to town after taking Isaac his forgotten back pack and lunch, he has a paper in there I have to sign every night in reference to his behavior that day in school and if I don't sign it, he will get in big big trouble! So, I went into town and got the truck washed, got my favorite chinese for lunch and stopped at Danielle's grave and dug up the flowers, worked up the dirt and put some fake mums there with Erin's help! I know my daughter is not there, only her body, but she is in heaven, but when we leave, I always say "Goodbye Danielle". Erin was wondering why I said that and I had to explain to her that this is where she is buried, but she is in Heaven waiting for us with Jesus! So, her grave looks a bit better now - it's been longer in between my visits there this summer thanks to and 18yr old and a baby, but I like to keep up on it, it's my way of still taking care of my daughter, I guess. Then, I picked up Curtis and took him to his physical - 91lbs and growing! He has to go to a dermatologist to have the birthmark on his back looked at and measured and then monitored to make sure it doesn't change any. I'm not too worried about it, I don't think it's changed other than looking smaller as he grows. But, it's a good precaution these days. So, it's been a busy day and I'm tired and going to bed! Lyndsay went to bed early (8:30pm), and hopefully won't wake up in a bit ready and raring to go! Brooke was working on her bedroom - needs drastic changes! So, I will check on her progress tomorrow and see what damage I can do on my last weekday home! Have a good day!

Here I am!

Well, here I am, home for the rest of the week on sick leave. I got to work yesterday and after a 1/2 hour or so, my leg was sore. My leg is pretty gruesomely bruised and ugly and it's sore expectantly so! My team leader at around 8:00am asked me if my leg was swollen at all, so I pulled up my pant leg to see that my ankle was twice the normal size. So, off to medical I went. I elevated for awhile which didn't help, and there was edema as well (2+ pitting as the nurse said). So, after calling my doctor that did the surgery and talking with medical they told me that the plant doctor would just send me out on sick leave for the length of my restrictions (1 week). So, I didn't have a way home yesterday because we ride in the vanpool, so I sat on the picnic table by Jeremy's job the rest of the day with my foot on top of our cooler most of the time. That was a long day! So, as long as I can elevate my foot every hour, I have been able to really clean out my fridge, and catch up on laundry. So, I cannot go back to work until next Monday. Sick leave is really a pain with all the paperwork you have to do, and waiting for the money and it's substantially less than the pay I get while I work, but it is also a blessing to have for moments like these and I get to enjoy my kids for the week! So, we had pancakes for breakfast this morning and Erin helped me throughout the day. Lyndsay is so funny - she just loves to crawl around and explore most of the time, every once in awhile bellowing for me to make sure I haven't left her! She loves the bathroom, so I have to keep on eye on her at all times. So, I will hopefully have more pics to post this week and some fun things happen that I can actually remember! Have a great night!

Last of the days pictures

Here is My dad and Teresa and Aunts and Uncles
Jeremy, Uncle Joe taking Dave and Jon for a ride!
Chae and Lyndsay (Lyndsay had pretty much just slept thru the whole reunion)
Erin couldn't take a minute more...

more pics

I told you he was grimacing, Trish:) Aren't they sweet?!
Chelsea, Maggie and KJ
All of the second cousins except for KJ who was getting cleaned up!

All of my cousins except for Darrin and Dave - My grandma would've been proud!

Is the weekend over already?

The ladies hard at work getting luch ready!
Having fun on the playground today

Preston having fun!
Erin and KJ

Well, it's been a great weekend! Yesterday, my husband canned 15 quarts of salsa from fresh tomatoes in our garden. We bought a new, albeit it scratch and dent, microwave cuz ours bit the dust, got chicken feed and sawdust from TSC, ordered some parts for our dishwasher that have been needed for months, and got to bed early to boot!

Today, we had the Bohn Family Reunion and it turned out great. Saw 2 of my cousins (one from Florida, one from Hawaii) that I haven't seen in forever! The weather turned out great and we had lots of fun! Lots of good food and desserts, too! So, you'll see that Erin got really tired out today and the last words I heard from her was "will you put on Dora for me?" Needless to say, Dora never got turned on!

Well, God keeps me busy so my mind doesn't wander too much!

Well, another busy day! I have talked with Amber a few times - she's doing good, food is ok, registered for classes yesterday and started classes today! This morning, after a rough night with Lyndsay who is getting a cold, I stayed up after Jeremy left for work and went to Walmart to get groceries and the rest of the kids' school supplies and belts for the boys. I got home at 6:45am and took a shower, then started cleaning the kitchen floors, swept and cleaned the bathroom when the phone rang at 8am - it was the hospital wanting to know if I could come earlier - as soon as possible. I told her I would try and be there in an hour. I called my mom in law and she said she could come right away. I hurried and called the babysitter, then threw a few things in the bag for the girls, we got them up and loaded in the car. I felt bad for Lyndsay - her nose was all green and I tried cleaning it with a wipie, but it needed a warm wash cloth. So, got them to school and came home to wait for Mom and left for and arrived at the hospital at 9:15am. I was taken to the pre-op room at around 10:15am and surgery at 11am maybe? Times are fuzzy with all the drugs they gave me! So, in the operating room, they put a mask on me and told me to breathe deep and just when I thought I was going to have a panic attack from feeling claustrophic, I was waking up in the recovery room! She said, are you waking up? No, back to sleep I go for awhile. What a nice nap after a bad night's sleep! So, I got home at around 2:45pm today with an ace bandage from my foot to above my knee for the next 48 hours and then I can change it and rewrap it. I was bummed because I have to send the girls to Jen's house still tomorrow cuz I have to elevate the leg and stay off my feet for 24 hours. It does start to throb when I stand up to use the restroom, etc. I will take a peek at it later to see what it looks like. He said he "nicked" it quite a few places and there are no stitches, just the small incisions... So, I am sitting here on the couch with my foot up on pillows, getting to catch up on computer stuff that I've pretty much neglected the last 2 weeks! I enjoyed spending time with Mom Rich today, we had some good laughs with the different nurses and staff. I told them I wanted them to remember me all day long! My husband and Brooke are making pancakes and bacon for dinner and it smells great! Our chickens are laying eggs pretty good 4 a day right now out of 10 hens, so I'm sure we'll be getting more and more til they are all laying once a day. So, there'll be fresh brown eggs for sale soon as well as fresh eggs in the zuchinni bread I will be making for the reunion on Sunday! I will post a picture later and will enjoy catching up on the computer. I plan on laying in my bed all day tomorrow since I'll have no little ones to chase. All the housework I thought I might be able to do will have to wait SIGH! Have a great night!

PS - I forgot to tell you, on the way home, we stopped and picked up the pictures of Amber we had taken at Paetz Photography and the group photo of the kids - they turned out terrific! I am soooo pleased! I can take them to our family reunion on Sunday to show everyone since I can't scan them and post them - against the law, I guess cuz they are professional! He scanned the picture I had of Danielle and put it in the picture with the kids - very cool! Amber is beautiful, of course and both poses I bought are great! I will have to surprise her and send them to her!

Make sure you scroll through the next few posts!

Waiting for Dorm room assignments with girlfriend Rachel
In Amber's room, taking up a lot of space - it was very hot 91 degrees and muggy!

Ok, free advertising for Amy's puppies - ready in 2 weeks
Bye Bye Amber!
Playing at the Pfeiffer's house

Hyles Anderson College here we are!

here they are

Amber and Brooke with her dorm building behind them.
Amber's dorm
Inside unpacking...
A view from the other side

More pictures to come`

I will post more pics tonight or tomorrow - I have to get going to church! Have a great night!

We made it back, one less kid...

College is so tiring, but didn't want to get rid of the gum Amber gave me!
Tiring for Lyndsay, too
Getting ready to say goodbye...
The hallway to Amber's room - that's Isaac
Amber's dorm is in the background - this is down by the lake which was beautiful!

Well, all went well! While waiting for her dad to get here, Erin was already buckled into the van, waiting to "go to college". We left at 11:15am Monday and arrived in Gary, IN at around 6pm. We stayed with the Pfieffer (SP?) family in their basement and Amber's dad stayed in town at a motel with Brooke. Mrs. P made a delicious dinner of shepherd's pie and we hit the hay early so that we could get up early! Had a terrible nights sleep - Erin cried every 10 minutes in her sleep and kept saying she wanted to go to her room. She'd wake Lyndsay up every once in awhile so I had double duty trying to keep kids asleep! Up at 7am and made it to the campus at 9am to get in line for admissions. She waited in line in the cafeteria balcony then outside in two different lines before getting her room assignment. She's in the Rice 2 building, room 289. She was all unpacked by 1pm our time. She was the second girl out of 5 to arrive, so she got to pick a bed by the window. All of her stuff fit! There were people there with Uhauls! She has a wardrobe by her bed with 2 drawers underneath, a place to hang clothes and a shelf above that. Bed risers under her bed gives even more storage. So, we then went out to lunch at UNO's in town, then took her back to her room and said goodbye. I did okay until she said goodbye to the kids and we both started crying! That was hard. On the way home, Isaac had 2 bouts of crying and missing Amber! We left around 3 and got home at 7:30pm. Then I got everyone here ready for school and the babysitter's house and baths done before going to bed. Then, I heard someone crying again and had to go and reassure him that we would see and talk to Amber quite often! The kids had their first day of school today and all did well. So, here are some pictures, so enjoy!

Chris