The daily grind

So, there's not a whole lot to say, but it's nice to have Mike home! I've decided that even having him around to talk to while I'm doing the daily "stuff" is better than being alone! Tonight we went to let Lauren use her "Toys R Us Credit Card" that her auntie Kiki sent her for her birthday. She told us first that she wanted four toys. So we wandered around the store looking for four $5 items...then of course she found the toy of her dreams (a baby cheetah that purrs and takes a bottle and makes sweet noises) and it was NOT $5. So she had to decide between four small items or the one she had fallen in love with. After several tears and a couple of changes decisions, she finally decided to get the sweet baby cheetah who needed a mommy! Of course both girls ran around Toys R Us telling us what they wanted Santa to bring them and how they saw all of these toys in the "Big book" that Toys R Us puts out each holiday season. They're primed and ready to celebrate!

The mural on Madisen's wall is coming along. I think the artist is almost done drawing and will begin to paint soon! It has been a very long process. We may hold off on Lauren's room until after Christmas!

Will write more later!

PS - This picture has nothing to do with my post, but isn't it cute??? It's a picture of me and my best friend Kristin Steckly when we were about four! We were on the farm, out in the pasture! Good times!

Winter Wonderland Already

So, we just heard from our sister (well, my sister-in-law) Katrina, that it's already snowing lots in the mountaiins of Colorado! Of course she and her dog Sisco are loving every minute of it! Our family would love to visit before she moves back home, which she keeps promising to do each year and it's been like seven years!

Sorry it's short, but I got'a run to work!

Pumpkin Patch

Oh how fun it was to do our annual pumpkin patch trip with the Keene's, Wiscarsin's,

Cunningham's and Karns! We always have a great time. From gator rides to picking out the perfect pumpkins to family phohtos and good friends, it was a great time for all.

This year, Lauren was a grumpus! She was not happy that there wasn't room for me to

ride with all the kids on the gator (small green tractor) so she didn't want to go, then

she cried as they all drove away...Go figure! Then she was mad that I stopped pusing her

on the swing because "swiniging is my favorite thing to do!" Ugh!

Madisen was perfect this year! YEAH! What a switch! For those of you who don't know,

we recently (well, about 8 months ago) figured out that Madisen is

intollerant to gluten

(found in wheat, barley and rye). She has gone to several specialists and withstood

several blood draws to finally come to that conclusion. We are thrilled that they finally

figured it out. In addition to the physical side-effects of eating gluten that her body does

not absorb, there are also emotional side-effects. Physically, she gets rashes, upset stomach and didn't grow or gain a pound in TWO YEARS!!! Emotionally, she suffers from "generalized anxiety" which can be tricky at times. We have her on some supplements that have really seemed to help, and now that she is absorbing her nutrients from foods other than breads, pastas and all the other (really good) food, she has gained six pounds! She is growing taller too. If I think too much about it, I feel really guilty for starving my poor little baby! I had no idea...no one did.

Anyway, this year at the pumpkin patch she had a great time. She rode on the gator, played with the kids, chose a pumpkin on her own, and just generally acted as if she was enjoying herself. Last year's trip was a whole different story! I'm so glad things are working out for her!

So, we carved pumpkins, painted faces, roasted seeds, ate good food and had a great time!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

A week of craziness

So this week was pretty wild! Lauren had her 5th birthday, I got pretty sick and ended up in the hospital and all the while, my dear husband is fufilling his Coast Guard duty in Tacoma!!!

I landed myself in the ER on Tuesday with a resting heart rate of 136! It was pretty uncomfortable. I proceeded to get flu-like symptoms and a rash on my left eye! I feel like my body is rejecting itself. Not sure how that is possible, but that's what it feels like.

So this story is pretty ironic...I'm lying on the hospital bed in the ER, just across the hall from the dispatch center where all the calls come in as ambulance drivers are bringing in patients. There were some fairly interesting calls. One came in carrying a 69 year-old woman complaining of chest pains. I could report lots of details, but will refrain and get to the good part. She ended up having to be SHOCKED with the paddles and the whole shabang! Immediately after being shocked, her heart rate went down to around 80 (mine was still in the upper 120s) and when she came in it was at 175. They let her go HOME before I did. She didn't get admitted, she went home. That seems amazing to me that they wouldn't keep her for observation or anything. What a crazy ride!

My in-laws were terrific and took the girls most of the week so I could get over whatever it was that was knocking me out. My church friends were great with calls to check up. It's great to be so plugged in to a community of Christians who care so much about one another. I just love it. They are my family too!

Anyway, it's been a pretty interesting week, still not sure why my heart rate is elevated (currently around 100 or so) but trusting God that He knows best and my family will be provided for.

Thanks for the prayers!

Snack week! Oops!

So, there's nothing like remembering at 8:00 the night before school, that it's your daughter's snack week! I (almost) totally blew it!

Today was super busy: preparing meals for a family with newborn twins, baking cookies for Madisen (gluten-free of course), helping in the church nursery and just general odd jobs around the house. We have a muralist coming to start on Madisen's room now. She's a college-aged girl who I found on Craigslist. She brought over her portfolio of previous work, but has never done a mural before. She started on Madisen's horse-themed room today. It looks lovely! I can hardly wait till it's done! I mean I'm just so excited! Madisen is too of course. Lauren will be getting a jungle-themed room (since she's a little monkey). It's quite a complicated mural we are attempting, so I'm excited to see how it all turns out! The artist can only come over on weekends and some evenings, so it may take a while until all the dust settles and we've got a complete project...I'm just hoping it's all over by Christmas!

So, there's no particular reason I posted this photo, other than that I was thinking of my girls and how fast they have grown! We can't carry Madisen like a baby anymore. Mike tried to carry her to bed after she had fallen asleep in our bed, and it was quite difficult! Gone are the days!

First time blogger

So, this is the first time I'm attempting to blog! I'm totally "green" at this!

Today we had Lauren's birthday party with her BFF Payton! They had a great time! Lauren, Madisen Payton and I (Mike was working a crazy night shift) went to the pumpkin patch and they rode a pony, went through a corn maze, climbed a huge hay-

hut (and jumped off of it!) and chose some "artsy" pumpkins to add to the fall decor. We were there for three hours. I took them out to pizza at Wallery's and then home for cake and ice cream. They are totally crashed out in bed now...it was an eventful day.

Tomorrow I will get my baby fix in the church nursery. I'm looking forward to that. What I'm not looking forward to Mike leaving for two weeks! Single-momming it is not my idea of a super time. He will be missed.