Letters From Africa....

This little guy was super excited to have a letter come from aunt Meag who currently lives in Senegal, West Africa. She is working over there through the Peace Corp and we miss her sooooo much!! Two more years until she comes home. We love & miss ya Pity!!!

Holiday Cheer

Lots of good stuff going on here so of course if something has to suffer, it's going to be the blog. We just returned from a splendid trip out to California to see my older brother & his girlfriend. On the way to California we stopped and visited Nathan's brother & his family. We had a wonderful time seeing everyone and I hope to soon post pics of the trip. The drive was beautiful and the boys did wonderful. We've lucked out with three little road warriors that have an appreciation of mother nature and family time. They watched a couple movies on the trip otherwise they looked outside or yucked it up together. Last minute we decided not to take the van so we packed into Nater's car and I must say, I'm so thankful we did. All the boys were within reach of us which made it easy for feeding and hand-holding. They enjoyed sitting together and thankfully blessed us with little screaming! We saw lots of mountains, the ocean, snow, sand, visited a fun train park, hiked, ate ice cream, gave thanks on Thanksgiving and made it home safely! On the drive I was reflecting on all the road trips we've taken this year and I'm so thankful for all of them! 2011 road trips are already being planned :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and if any of you are like myself, you are already decorating for Christmas (heehee). The boys and I decorated the house today while listening to Christmas tunes. It was such a wonderful day and it's times like these I really cherish with my boys. Happy holidays to all....

The wheels are always turning...

Conner has the flu. He's thrown up five times today but the most recent was over five hours ago so I'm really hoping he's going to feel better tomorrow. Of course he also hasn't eaten anything since the one slice of toast he had for breakfast. So maybe tomorrow will still be terrible. Nathan, being the wonderful father he is, will sleep with him tonight and keep a close watch. I hate when my kids are sick. Hate it, hate it! Conner had pneumonia & RSV at 15 months old and ever since then when he gets sick, it hits him hard. And it always has us on pins & needles until the fever passes. So here's to hoping tomorrow he'll wake up feeling better. And that I can actually catch up on all the laundry waiting for me.

Biruk & Landon spent the day buddied up together since they had strict orders to not stick their face near Conner's for fear of them getting sick as well. They are funny to watch together. The way they get laughing or watching them eat a meal together. Sometimes it's joint play but other times they just sit and play side by side. At one point Landon was flipping through books while Biruk worked through three different puzzles. Biruk has a gift. He can whip through puzzles like nothing I've ever seen. And I couldn't be happier because I love putting puzzles together. He's been tackling the 24-30 piece puzzles and it's so fascinating to watch him. He picks up a piece, studdies it, and then proceeds to pair it up with another. And another. I never knew he had such attention to detail until now. Tonight we sat on the floor and put together a larger puzzle. I am hoping for many more nights of puzzles with the little guy.

Nathan & I have been tackling all sorts of projects. The biggest is the bed for our room. We got our inspiration from Knock Off Wood (farmhouse bed) and we were set on making that one until I read on the comments section about someone using 2 old doors for the headboard & footboard. So that's just what we did. I found 2 old doors on craigslist for $20/piece and we brought them home and I stripped off the old paint (most likely full of lead - oh joy). I eventually exhausted myself off the task and let them sit in the garage. Then the kids & I took a spontaneous trip back to Indiana and Nathan surprised me by building the bed. Fast forward to this weekend when I finally primed & have started to paint them. Hopefully I can reveal them soon!

My sister (with five kids) will soon be moving from Texas to Michigan. I finally live near a sibling and she's moving away (boohoo) so I'm trying to soak up as much time with her and the kids as I can before they move. So this past week we went down and visited some parks and enjoyed our time together. I will be sad to see them go!

Meanwhile, Ethiopia has been heavy on the heart. And every time I sit down to blog about it I can't get the words out. It feels so personal & too private to write about. And I'm struggling with how to help? How to make a difference? Where to give? Thinking of ways we can do without so someone else can live with.... I've got an Ethiopia Jar started so every time I want to spend $ I can instead throw it in the jar. One of the easiest ways to give is when I'm tempted to eat out instead of making dinner. But I have other areas I'm going to try to save on so the pot can continue to get bigger. More on that later...

Being healthy. It's always on my mind and I'm hoping to become more efficient at making meals that are healthy & quick. I need to do the whole cooking on Saturday or Sunday for that weeks meals. It's a work in progress and for me it's been baby steps over the years. I eat less candy, buy less process foods, eat more fruits & vegetables, etc.

We started homeschooling last week. It was so much fun. All three of the boys hopped up on the barstools and I gave them all of their sheets to work on. Conner is working on his writing & reading & art. Biruk & Landon are doing little preschool sheets (Abc's, 123's) and I should be able to teach them together. I look forward to becoming more creative, organized, scheduled and regular with it!

So that pretty much sums up this weeks journal entry. I'm assuming the few readers I have remaining are my family so I've turned this blog into more a diary of my life. I know one day this will all be a distant blur so I'd better hold onto as many memories as I can.

Crafty Conner

After trick or treating I put the kids halloween bags up high in one of our cabinets and I randomly let them pick out a piece of candy. Well Conner was talking to my little sister Kelsey on the phone and while they discussed Conner's candy she told him he better keep it hidden or his mom will eat it. He said to her "Oh I've got it hidden, where no one will find it". She must have asked him where and he said "I'll give you a clue. It rhymes with snore". She then guessed door?? And I hear him say "No, not door. Drawer." At this point I figured out what was going on and sprinted up the stairs to his room to his nightstand. He was chasing up behind me laughing and trying to get me to stop. And sure enough, I whip it open to find his halloween bag and wrappers everywhere. As well as a small pile of them tucked by their overstuffed chair. I grabbed the phone and my sister was laughing hysterically. It was all too funny and even now it still makes me smile. Anyway, tonight while having dinner he said, "mom, there is a candy I got trick or treating that I don't like". I said "It's the coconut one right?". He said "how'd you guess?" I said "Well had you not stolen yours I could have told you that you wouldn't have liked that one". He said "well that seems like a big punishment for what I did". Ahhh... Conner, you'll always crack me up :).