Kid updates!

What is it about weekends that they fly by so quickly? We didn't do anything particularly special this weekend. We've been in the process of fixing our van this week and we had the last appointment yesterday. We were able to eek out enough for new tires in December, after being told countless times that we needed a new set before the worst of winter. Fun. Then we got hit with a huge laundry list of car repairs but we had to hang on until we, hopefully, could get enough of a tax return to fix it!

Thank the Lord, we did get enough and were able to make our much-needed repairs this week. Our van is now sporting new rear brakes, a new passenger side tie rod, new wheel bearings on our sliding door (that has been out of commission for 3 months since being stuck open in December), aligned tires (which had to be done after getting the tie rod fixed) and minor things like oil change, filters, etc. Whew! It is one happy van and we are very thankful that we were able to make it so long without anything dangerous happening!

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 Eliana got her newest new lenses a few days ago and they were able to raise her bifocal up 3 mm, which seems to be just enough to help her! They can't be raised up any hire or she won't have any room to see over the top. We have noticed an improvement and hope that her eye dr says the same when she goes for her recheck in a few weeks. When I took her to get them, she was really confused and said (with a little bit of an attitude,) "But I already got new lenses!!"

Wearing her new(est) lenses:)

"Listening" to some music....on some unplugged earphones:)

Just having an early Sunday morning tea party with her babies!!

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Zakkai has a cold (again). He gets a million colds a year but thankfully, most don't seem to make him feel very bad at all. Just a nuisance. We always wonder if he has allergies or something. Who knows. He is enjoying using his new dictionary that we got him for his birthday to look up new words. We are still teaching him how to use it correctly but are really glad he enjoys it so much! In the past week, he's learned the meaning of new words like, "jutted," "kerchief," "emblem," "intelligence," "battlement" and more!

Samuel is just really into his new series lately about Greek mythology and we can hardly tear him away to do anything else! We are definitely entering a new realm of parenting with him, figuring out how to relate to this kid-turning-pre-teen. It takes different communication and understanding and more mature discipline, too. Sometimes it's scary for me!

In other news, we would appreciate some prayers for wisdom and guidance about the boys' school. While they have adjusted well to the transition and have friends, the school is disappointing us quite a bit academically and the boys just aren't being challenged or having their needs met. We need to have some meetings and make some decisions soon and would definitely be thankful for any and all prayers!

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And to leave you on a funny note, the other day as I was tucking Eliana in for a nap she said, "Mommy, when I turn a hundred, I want a pink hang glider, a pink skateboard, protective glasses and a watch to tell the time."

Haha, I just love that she is planning a full and adventurous life!!

Ghetto Van and Decorated Tree!

I shouldn't worry that I will run out of ideas to blog about. Just when I think the coffers may be running dry, I have a little adventure! Today it was my car.

We have called AAA twice in the past month (thanks to my mom!) and narrowly avoided a third time today! So, last week I took our van into Honda for some recall work. Gotta love repairs that cost $0!! We all know how often that happens. While I had the van in, I asked them to check out our sliding door on the driver's side, which has been getting harder to use. It squeaks and grates and gets stuck a little bit sometimes. Their verdict? It needs a new center roller bearing (or something like that) and the other door will need one soon and it will cost $218.50 per door.

I said, "No, thanks!" To that, and the other bazillion repairs they came up with totaling over $2000 (seriously) and we have been checking into which repairs we absolutely need to do safety-wise (because yes, we are not stupid enough to get them done at a dealer!) and trying to figure out how to fund them. We figured we could move the door repair towards the bottom of the list.

Until today. When I got loaded up a couple bags of groceries, Eliana and then could NOT get the door to close! I tried with all my might (which, okay, okay, maybe isn't too mighty) to get the darn door to close, to no avail! Then some older man came along, who spoke little English, and he kept trying to find a button to push while I kept trying to explain that we don't have power doors! He pushed and pulled with all of his might, too, with no results.

So, once again, my dearest Mama came to my rescue (she will start to dread my phone calls pretty soon if this keeps up!) We wanted to avoid towing costs so my mom came to pick up Eliana and follow me to the dealer. I had to drive 20 minutes with the door wide open! As the lady at the dealer put it so eloquently, "You might look a little ghetto but....."

Yeah, that's me! I just didn't make eye contact with anyone and turned up the heat for the drive! I went to pull into the service garage door and this guy was like, "Um, your door is open..." ha! Long story short, they helped me close the door and I opted out of them fixing it then because they tried to up the price to almost $400 per door!! Yeah freaking right! I told the guy what they quoted me only last week and he said if they wrote it down then they have to honor it. He looked very sad about that:)

So, we are all banned from using that sliding door until we figure out how to fix it. Hopefully soon! Our poor van that we have loved so much is falling to pieces!

But to end the day on a happier note, we finally decorated our little tree tonight! The kiddos waited anxiously all day! They had so much fun pulling ornaments out and remembered ones they've made at school or were given as gifts.

Our cute little tree:) The guy at the tree lot lopped off way too many branches at the bottom so we did our best to pull the branches down with heavy ornaments and use the tree skirt to cover it up. As Ben said, it kind of looks like a man who got his hair cut a little too short in the back....haha.

We followed up our decorating with our Advent devotions for the night. It's been really cool to do it together. We read the scriptures, talk about what the story means and how it relates to Jesus' birth and then take turns cutting out and hanging up the ornaments. We are really loving this new tradition!

Happy Christmas;)

Birginia.

 We just got back from Awana and finally got all 3 kiddos tucked in bed. I realized that once again I have been neglecting my blog terribly. I feel guilt over it sometimes but I also feel so tired at night lately that the last thing on my mind is sitting down and rehashing the boring business of our day! I did have something really cool happen to me last week and sometime, if I can figure out how to express it, I would like to share:)

In other news, my mom, Eliana and I took our trip to VA to visit my sister this weekend! Or.."Birginia" as Eliana calls it:) It was definitely a longer trip than we'd realized (although in the scheme of things, not too bad!) The rough part was that I got kicked in the teeth from a migraine and felt absolutely horrible for most of the trip. I was supposed to share driving responsibilities with my mom but she had to drive most of the way. I was only able to help the last 1 1/2 hours. The good news is Eliana was a perfect angel the entire almost 9 hours!

See? An angel!

Our sweet niece/cousin "L" was beyond ecstatic to have Eliana there! They are only 7 mos apart in age. This was their "tea time" the first night we got there:)

The James River!

We went on a tour of Richmond Saturday but unfortunately, there was a marathon and most of the roads were blocked off so we didn't get to see a whole lot. The girls were so good in the car!

We did get to see St. John's Church, where Patrick Henry gave his "Liberty or Death" speech. Cool!

Sweet "L." I got to squish in between both girls for our tour on Saturday.

The Confederate White House was another building we drove by. There is definitely a lot of history there!

We stopped to have lunch at a really good burger place! It was good to stretch our legs and fill our bellies:) It was called the Burger Bach and is definitely one to put on your list, should you ever visit Richmond!

"The sun is in my eyes, Mommy!"

L has a really cool playground in her backyard and we bundled the girls up and let them blow off some steam.

Swinging together before we got back in the car for our trip back! We will definitely be going again and hopefully staying longer!

One of the amazing houses in my sister's neighborhood. Wow!

The beautiful scenic highway! I wouldn't mind driving this highway everyday!

E listening to music:) She was so good, once again on the trip home, although much more tired. She had a brief 5 minute meltdown in the car after lunch and promptly passed out for the rest of the trip. She was SO out of it that we could hardly wake her up to tell her we were home again!!

The weather was terrible on the trip home. I wouldn't recommend driving through the hilly, winding roads of W. Virginia in the pouring rain! But thank the Lord, we made it back safely to two happy boys waiting with signs and big hugs:)

AND the best gift of all (besides seeing our favorite three guys) was that they cleaned the house for me!! That is totally my love language these days:)

Next up, our first snow!!

A little Algebra, Leaves and an Answer to Prayer!

 So, you know, there's nothing like a little Algebra in your spare time...

That is, if you pretty much have a genius for a father;) Not my cup o' tea, I assure you! Math and I are not friends. We actually don't really like each other so I'm extremely thankful for a husband who not only likes math (really??) but is really good at it!

We took a little drive after church on Sunday to the library so Ben could pick up something. He took Eliana in with him so I sat in the car and let the boys play in the leaves for a little bit. A much better alternative to having them sit idly in the car and cause trouble!

It was really chilly out so they were pretty cold by the time they were done!

Such a beautiful fall day:)

I remember building big leaf piles when I was younger and jumping in them. A childhood experience every kid should have!

We did something big this weekend!! We cleaned out our garage (which really means that we shoved everything down into the basement~ha!) and squeezed our dear old Odyssey into it! It is a close fit but it works. This is a momentous occasion for Penny (she was newly Christened this week) because it was her very first time in a garage. Chicago was hard on her so she is looking forward to some new-found rest.

Side-note: The name Penny is short for Penelope, who is the mother of Odysseus. Get it? Aren't we so clever?!

So anyways, one of the reasons that we had to clear out the garage is....

Someone new joined our family and his name is Kermit! No, not the guy in the picture (that's Ben:), the car! We FINALLY have a 2nd car! We have been searching actively for about 2 months now and have wasted many a Saturday getting cars checked out and getting disappointed over and over. We met a nice guy at our church who has good contacts in the car business and he helped us find it. It is a 15 year old Honda Accord but only has 115,000 miles and while it doesn't look pretty on the outside (it IS old after all!), the mechanics are good and we are happy. We were able to get away with one car for 9 years in Chicago but unfortunately, public transportation isn't quite the same here so we had to give in.

It will take some time to get used to actually getting to go places or run errands on days other than Thursday only. I haven't driven much in the past 4 months. At first, it was really frustrating for me not to have the freedom to go places on my own time schedule and to rely on others so much. After awhile though, I finally came to appreciate not only the extra time with family members who were so sweet to pick us up each week but also, quiet days at home getting things done and just enjoying time with Eliana. I think I will still continue to make some days like that each week but I do know that we will definitely not take having a car for granted!

Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers!

Car Hunting and Trees.

Another week beginning tomorrow, wow! We have been working hard, one day at a time, to get things into shape here and trying to get routines and schedules going again. I am the type that could keep going and going all day because it annoys me to have so many things left undone. Ben is the type that has to plan everything out each day and has a definite limit to what he can accomplish in a day. I guess we balance each other out:)

We are on the hunt for a second car and it's just about as painful as searching for a home! I forgot what a torturous experience car hunting is. We last went through it when we got our van four years ago in preparation for Miss Eliana joining our family. We swore we'd never go through that again! Ha.

Last weekend we had a strikeout with a car that seemed decent and was a great price. Only to take it to the mechanic and find out that it  needed a new transmission, new front breaks, a timing belt and 3 new tires. Yeah....right.

This weekend we had two duds. The first probably was a great car but was at a really shady dealer. Something was really off with these people and when they couldn't even give us a carfax report because of supposed password issues but just wanted us to take their word that the car was "perfect" we decided to drive away. The next place was just plain annoying because we wasted a few hours getting the car checked out only to have the manager refuse to deal. The car was a good car, just needed a few things fixed. They must've paid too much for it so we said "See ya later, alligator!" The only good thing out of it was that we found a good mechanic and he will inspect the next car for free. I can only pray that the "next" car will be "the" car. It's been hard to rely on other people to help us get around! I get the car one day a week, thanks to Ben's mom being sweet enough to take Ben to work on Thursday mornings. I get a lot of errands done in my one car day:)

We are taking life one day at a time, healing and growing healthier as a family following God together. These past few years have been the years of the locusts for us. Absolutely crushing and life-sucking. We have nothing to show for it and absolutely no assurance of any sort of wonderful outcome or easy answers.  Perhaps ever. Nothing comes easily for us (seriously...nothing) but the good part about it all is that is has and is forcing us to depend on Him in an incredibly painfully beautiful way. We have learned/are learning what the most important thing in this life is. Jesus. Anything that comes after that is simply a gift to be thankful for but nothing to be put in His place.

I'd be lying if I said I was learning these lessons graciously. It's plain ugly sometimes. But I am beginning to appreciate growth, however slow and painful, and that it's okay if I don't grow at the same pace as others. Take Ben for instance. He's like a wild horse sometimes. He'll jump in with both feet (or all four), even if it isn't his comfort zone and have to be reigned in. Down, boy, whoaaa! Whereas, I am more timid and need a push. I don't like to get out of my comfort zone at all. It kind of struck me the other day that it's okay if I don't jump in with my two feet blindly. As long as I keep moving, keep growing,  and stay open to being pushed out of my comfort zone.

I want to be a tree like in Jeremiah 17:8. Slow and steady, that's me!

Our Van visits the Doctors.

Another busy day done ~ check! Today B started out the cold, rainy morning putting on our spare tire. Zakkai was never more than a couple feet away, soaking in every little mechanical detail:)

We had to do lots of walking to and from school today because of our car visiting the "doctors." B took the van over to Discount Tire and they replaced the tire with no questions asked! Definitely a great place to do business.

Then our van went over for check-up #2 where we got the news that the brakes had ground into the rotor and we had a disc brake instead of drum  (whatever that means) which meant we had to get TWO brakes replaced instead of one. Go figure.

So now our pockets are lighter but our van is safer and for that at least, we are glad!

Little Missy was a bit off today and we're wondering if her tummy wasn't feeling too great. She had some signs of tummy-upset and was in bed for the night by 4:30pm! The time change has messed with all of us....well, mostly the younger crowd in the house and sleeping has been off.

Hopefully a good night's sleep will cure the grumpy sleepies in this house!

Zakkai and I did a fun project together after dropping S off at school the other day. I noticed Z was collecting leaves on the way to school (see all the crumpled brown leaves on the bottom of the picture:) and so on the walk home I asked if he'd like to collect colored leaves and make a craft.

My boys always jump at the chance to do a craft so he picked up leaves with great zeal! After watching him pick up all the mottled brown dead leaves and proclaiming them beautiful all I could think was "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!"

We came home and colored a nice big tree and spent lots of time gluing our beautiful dead brown leaves on it:) Z loves glue! And dead leaves.

He also requested a red owl in the middle of the tree. I know it doesn't look quite like an owl but he was happy with it so no judgements!! Now our tree is decorating our door and brings a bit of fall inside:)

Today I am thankful for my Grandma. She is such a wonderful friend to me, offering a listening compassionate ear, a tender sympathetic heart and arms full of neverending love. I couldn't have been blessed with a dearer Grandma. I love you, Gma!

Busy Bees

Today felt like a non-stop day! I know I'm not the only one who has days like this. I left bright and early this morning with the kiddos to get them flu shots. Well, I shouldn't say bright....it was more dark and raining cats and dog or elephants or something:)

We sat in traffic for an hour before finally making it to the doctors. The boys did great! E got hers last week and was obviously still traumatized as she burst into tears when the doctor walked in and cried in sympathy with her brothers.  She actually had a reaction to hers and the doctor is deciding what to do with future shots. 

Both boys refused the nasal spray and opted for shots. Yup, those are my kids! haha. Samuel volunteered to be first, hopped up on the table, rolled up his sleeve and watched the whole process, tense but without a peep. I was SO proud of him! Shots have been so very hard for him in the past and I couldn't believe how brave he was.

Zakkai started out brave with the wonderful example of big bro before him but chickened out when it was his turn:( He had to be forcibly lifted onto the table and the nurse had to literally bear hug him to get him to hold still while I held his hands. I felt bad for him but he brightened up with the magical appearance of stickers. And later they each got their very first pack of baseball trading cards as a prize. Daddy may or may not have had something to do with that;)

Then we rushed back to get the boys to school. On the way back I noticed our tire pressure light came on and started hearing a weird "bump bump" sound as we were getting off the highway. Long story short, by the time all the errands/picking-ups/dropping offs of today got finished and we came home, our tire (almost brand-new tire I might add) was very flat. When B and I went out to look at it a little while ago, it was completely flat so we are trying to figure out how to get it fixed. Yuck.

On top of that, we are having brake issues and have to get that checked out a.s.a.p. And if that weren't enough, B got a call back from his dr and his blood tests came back showing definite signs of gallbladder issues. They want to do more tests, including a ridiculously expensive blood test and an ultrasound.

So. I guess the bottom line is, when it rains, it pours? Literally.

Praying for wisdom, peace and provision!!
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I took some pictures the other day of all 3 kiddos just hanging out together on the floor:) They have all been playing with or near each other lately. It's really cute!

Eliana's been doing a funny new thing these past several days of randomly stopping in the middle of crawling, spreading out on her belly and kicking her legs for a few seconds. Then she gets back up and goes on her merry way:)

She has also really gotten into trying to climb the stairs in the past few days. She is getting awfully persistent and we are having to block her way now!

She thinks she's a big girl these days!

Today I am really thankful that the kiddos and I made it safely to the drs and back in the pouring rain with a bad tire. Thank you, God!!

My Very Bad Day

So, there I was driving along to pick up Zakkai, running a few minutes late when all of the sudden...

BAM!!! If you have ever been in a car accident, you will know the terrible sound that rocks your car and stops your heart for a beat. That almost dreamlike moment when you wonder if it really happened and if you can go back and erase the last 30 seconds of your life.

It happened to me today.

Where my passenger mirror used to be.

Just as I was passing a truck parked alongside the road, the driver flung out his door without looking and hit my mirror. The mirror ripped off, scraping alongside the car as well as his door, causing a lot of damage.

My passenger door that now does not open. Pieces of the mirror are stuck on the edge of the window and there are deep scratches and dents.

I couldn't believe it was happening and glanced over to see the passenger mirror gone. "Oh no, oh no, oh no," was running through my head as I flipped on my hazards and pulled over. I just sat there numb for a couple of minutes before I got the courage to get out of the van.

Continued dent and crack in the sliding passenger door.

Ignoring the passing traffic, I walked around my car only to discover damage along the whole side that made my heart sink. I started crying and my hands were shaking as I called the school to tell Zakkai's teachers what happened so they could keep him there and then called the police to report the accident. I looked over to see the driver of the truck coming towards me. I was so thankful to find that he was kind and thankful that he even stayed to see the damage he caused! He apologized and asked if I was okay since I was crying and shaking.

Dent continued along the whole side.

I opened the sliding door, which thankfully worked, and checked on Eliana to made sure she was okay. She was still sleeping, thankfully. I called Ben, who was so worried as soon as he heard my voice and then we waited for the police. They didn't show up for awhile and my hands and feet were freezing so when the other driver suggested driving to the police station, just down the street, I agreed. I waited until he was in front of me, just in case he decided to run.

He didn't. He waited for me and walked in with me. The report took over an hour to file. Eliana stayed asleep the whole time! I kept tearing up and felt so shaken, as it was my first accident and in our new van!

The other driver admitted fault and I can only hope that his company's insurance company cooperates and covers the damage. Our insurance agent was so helpful and got us into an auto body shop right away. The van will probably be in for about a week while the mirror, door, stripping and handle are replaced and the dents and scratches removed and repainted.

I came home with a pounding migraine and was met with a big hug from Ben and happy smiles from my sweet baby this afternoon. Ben let me go rest for a bit during dinner since I was feeling so bad. Nothing like a day like this to give you a terrible headache!

I am incredibly thankful, despite the damage, that it wasn't worse. That no one hit us and no one was hurt. And so thankful that every person in this situation was so kind from the driver to the policewoman, the insurance agent to the autobody worker and the rental car man.

But it will be awhile before I drive without a little fear when I pass parked cars.

Apple Picking 2010

This year's favorite fall pastime:)

 The usual mouth-watering shot of our very favorite pumpkin and apple doughnuts! Our boys have very much enjoyed this delicious treat!

 My guys! These are 3 of the very best apple-pickers!

 The apple-baker and her little princes:)

 "I don't want to hold this bag, mommy!"

 Daddy lifting up Samuel to pick the juiciest apples!

 Zakkai was a little freaked out by all the branches in his face and opted to pick from safer ground:)

 Enjoying some freshly picked apples!

 The fruit of our labor....no pun intended!

Two happy boys! They had a lot of fun and the whole trip was made even more enjoyable as our first family trip in the "new" van! Ben even let me drive; wasn't that nice?! We love the space so much!

And I must say, slightly begrudgingly and definitely humbly, that the last 6 weeks of car-torture was actually good (sigh) because we wouldn't have been able to get the deal we got without all the experience we acquired. We learned more each time we had a car failure and even though it was really tough and discouraging sometimes, God saved us from buying some really bad cars and taught us a lot in the process. I love that we can grow through challenging times like this, holding tighter to each other and learning to keep our eyes on God.

I sure hope I get the hang of trusting Him before I am 90!

First

Today for the First time:

*We ventured out of Toyota land and into Honda world

*We said goodbye to our trusty, much-loved 4 door sedan

*We can relax

BECAUSE:

We bought a Honda Odyssey!!!!!

Please meet...Van. It has no name yet. Are you a car namer?

My beloved, protective husband, seeing how hard this was on me, took all the papers, left at 10:30am today and came back at 5:20pm with a "new" car!

I cried very happy tears when he called me! I am SO thankful to have this car business behind us!

And we get to take this baby out for a little Apple Picking tomorrow.

What a great start to the weekend!!