Baby, it's cold outside

We may be gender discriminating, but we were hesitant to give Luke a Rainbow Loom; however he was using his sisters' so often and making his own designs that I folded and got him his own kit for his birthday.  He was pretty excited about it, all 4 kids hold their own looming club, with rules and a pledge and everything.

Build-a-bear monkey named Patrick Kane

Justin's sister gave him the Duck Dynasty Christmas cd (which we still listen to a month after Christmas) and that was one of the kid's favorite songs.  We are on our 4th "cold" day of the season here, which means we will be done with school June 10th (if we don't have any more extra days off).  Personally I don't mind, I am not a fan of the cold, plus it means I can sleep in for an extra few days.  Saturdays tend to be "I don't know what to do" kinda days, so by a Monday or Tuesday off the kids have found something to entertain themselves with for a while.  But, this winter has been a stinky one for sure, nothing but cold and snow, and we still have two months left!  So, this post is just an updates kinda post, nothing too exciting here.

Work has been steady for Justin, which we continually praise God for.  He traded cars with a guy he worked with, and unfortunately the car has not liked winter.  Justin missed his first 2 days of work in over a year with the first polar vortex we had because the car wouldn't start.  Then a few weekends ago Justin and Anna went out to his tree stand in the woods and slid off the road.  Thankfully a tow truck was able to get them out, and Anna has a good story to tell her kids.

Speaking of Anna:  she has completed two laser treatments for her birthmark.  Unfortunately, there has been little change, if any.  We go back again next Thursday for what was supposed to be the last treatment, though I suspect the dermatologist will just go ahead and suggest surgery (ideally I would like to do it over spring break, but it will more likely be over summer).

Heidi is really enjoying the clarinet; she doesn't have another concert until late April. 

Luke joined chorus, which means I have three days a week that one child has to be to school an hour early.  He is starting to get nervous about the state testing that starts in March, which I expected from him (he has already had the January blues, where he complained about going to school).

Emily and I spent a day in the city a little over a week ago, doing the kidney test that I really dreaded.  She had two IV's placed and several blood draws spread over 5 hours.  I haven't heard results, though they weren't looking for something specifically wrong, it was more of a baseline test that will better indicate the future health of her kidneys.  I just finished scheduling a few more appointments that need to be done before April (we are hoping to squeeze in another MRI too).  Emily is still enjoying school, though she won't admit it if you ask her.  Her feet have been hurting quite a bit lately, sometimes it's her ankles (they are fused in a spot that shouldn't be) and sometimes it's the bottom of her feet (she has Dr. Scholl's inserts, she never liked the orthopedic ones).

I start Bible study at the beginning of February, we are looking at Nehemiah with a video by Kelly Minter.  The study will run 10 weeks, and I am hoping to only miss the last week.  I am 29 weeks now, so I still have a while to go.  For the most part I have been feeling good.  My legs get sore if I run any errands, but I am sure baby is sitting low (my ligaments don't support anything anymore).  I check in with my doctor this week and then it will be every 2 weeks after that.  He has done scheduled c-sections on Tuesdays and Fridays for several years, but just changed to Monday's, so we are planning on an April 14th surgery, if I can make it that long.

Well, that's about it here, stay warm and healthy (which again, praise God, we have been here)!  

Luke's 9th birthday

I think I have already posted most of my good pictures of Luke, so here he is being silly at Christmas.

Silly string on New Year's Eve

the silly string didn't last long, but the kids were happy to play in the snow, regardless of the cold

There is a song, and I am dating myself, that goes, "Time is ticking away, ticking, ticking away" (I couldn't even tell you who sings it).  Anyway, it is already time for Luke's birthday!  And he is in his last year of single digits.  I am not sure what we all have planned for after school, but I know Build-a-Bear was mentioned.  Luke also requested Outback for dinner and when I asked "why" (he doesn't eat meat), he replied, "for the macaroni".  Noodles and pizza, I have always said that he had better marry an Italian girl.  I wanted to share this email from his teacher upon returning to school last week:
"Hope you enjoyed your break home with the kids! I know Luke had fun, although he was bummed that his aunt [Meg] didn't make it in. I just wanted to let you know how fortunate I feel to have another [...] in my class. Luke is so engaged and invested in his own learning. He's a hard worker and the other kids in our class love being partners with him. I'm so proud of the great work he does. I feel lucky to have him!!
Enjoy your weekend!"
I couldn't sum it up much better than that, so happy 9th birthday to our Luke.  

A collection

This is obviously a newer print, my grandma kept buying me pieces for many years

My grandma and grandpa made these for my mom, unfortunately Ann's head is no longer attached

lots of handmade goodies

lots of collector plates from the 70's

My favorite piece when I was little was the lamp at the back, right; it was a teeter-totter than moved to the music

there are tons of knick-knacks, from soaps to ornaments to squeaky toys to music boxes

just about everything here was handmade

that is a shoe holder on the left

several handmade dolls and a few newer ones too

I know this is an odd post, but several people asked to see pictures so I figured I would go ahead and share for all to see (just a reminder, you can click right on a photo and see it larger).  This is my mom's Raggedy Ann collection.  Actually, it's not all of it, I kept a bin's worth and many of those pieces I packed back up before photographing.  I have 3-4 handmade blankets and many books that are not pictured.  This was my main project over Christmas break, sorting thru 30-plus years of collecting.  Much of this decorated my room when I was young, and some of it was again used in Heidi and Anna's nursery, but for the most part it has been boxed up and moved from one house to the next.  Obviously, many people put a lot of work into this collection, both in making pieces and in buying them.  Part of me hates to move them on, but it is highly unlikely that this collection will get any use again.  It was a big part of who my mom was for many years, but I have many of her other "important" possessions ( like her Singer sewing machine, her thimble collection, her jewelry and many pieces of furniture), so it's time to part ways.  The memories are just as good in photographs as they are in real life.

And on a totally different note, no school tomorrow!  They are calling for -40 to -50 degree windchills!  That is just COLD!  Happy New Year and stay warm.