I Shall Not Be Moved

Mackenzie has really become my singer. She loves to sign and can be caught humming songs most all of the time when she is playing, particularly alone. My sister gave us a great CD called One Voice that is all acapella songs that are found in the songbooks we use at church. The kids previously had some Cedermont CDs that I had recorded acapella for them and they loved those and had a few songs they liked better than others. On this new CD however, Mackenzie has become quite opinionated about which SONG she likes best (track 20, I know). I ask one of the song leaders at church to lead it about a month ago and she was amazed that we could sing it at church. Now she goes to the song leader EVERY WEEK and asks "Will you sing MY song" and they of course oblige her, EVERY WEEK. I took a moment to record a simple vidoe with the camera of her singing this song as we hear her singing it several times each and every day and I wanted to save it for her to see. I had to post it here to share as she is so expressive as she sings - I Shall Not Be Moved.

Best wishes to all!

Cold Fall Days

It is definitely closing in on Thanksgiving. The cold weather is definitely an indicator of that. The kids are praying several times a day for snow now as I told them that I cannot make it snow and mentioned that God makes it snow and immediately Chase started his routine praying for snow - first thing in the morning, as soon as he gets home from school and at bedtime. He gets up each morning to check for the answer but thusfar has not gotten what he wants.

Now a funny story about Mackenzie - she ran back to the bathroom the other day to do her thing and I was already in that bathroom. Rather than go to one of the other TWO bathrooms in the house she rushed me out and flushed the potty. I came out to the living room and soon heard her calling me to tell me the potty wasn't working right. I responded that I would check in out next time I got up. Then a little silence and then footsteps running to the living room and her voice beckoning me "Mommy, I need your help, I got the pusher thingy out of Daddy's potty and tried to push, but it won't work". Once these words were translated in my mind to mean that she had gotten the plunger out and was using it, I decided I better check it out immediately. When I got to the bathroom, indeed she had gotten the plunger and there was no mess (surprise, surprise) but she had plunged all of the water out of the toilet and it wasn't filling back up so that is what she was upset about. Upon further investigation, I discovered that she had turned off the water to the tank "so it wouldn't make a mess" - her words - and that is why there was no water. Once I turned the water back on it was all fine. She proudl.y returned the "pushy thingy" back to Daddy's bathroom depositing it prominently on top of the toilet lid for him to see. I guess any further plumping worries we have are solved now.

I did have my MRI yesterday and got results last night the I have a herniated disc and a calcium spur that are impinging on the nerve coming out to my arm. Thus, I am being referred to Dr. Higgins in Wenatchee and will hear from his office sometime next week with info about when he will see me.

Finding out that news and that I will likely need suregery forced Dave to spill the beans about my Christmas present. Come to find out lots of people knew about it but had kept is safely from me. We are going on a 10 day cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line to the Southern Caribbean including stops in St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Barbados, Tortola and Antigua. We will depart from New York City and return to there and then will spend 4 extra days in NYC at a hotel just off 5th Avenue. We hope to take in a Broadway show or two - if the strike is over - see ground zero, the statue of liberty and the like. My parents have graciously agreed to come up and take care of the kids (translated - be taxi service for the kids) while we are gone. I am so excited but we leavong February 5th to fly to NYC so I have to get this neck thing taken care of quickly.

Well, that is all the exciting news I have for now. Hope all are enjoying preparations for turkey day!

Long Time No Type

Well, it has been quite a while since I have sat down to post a few things so I will do the infamous catch-up post.

• I am behind on posts as I have been to two scrapbooking filled weekends in a row with Megan. (see picture with Steph, Lize, Megan and friends of Steph's at CK convention in Seattle) We had a lot of fun but did get tired and behind on things in the process.

• I have hurt my neck somehow and have an MRI in Wenatchee at 7 am tomorrow as the doctor thinks I have ruptured a disc in my neck. I am sitting here at the keyboard in my cervical collar (not the most comfortable accessory but does seem to decrease the pain some). Have to plan to be in bed and asleep early to night as I have to leave the house at 6 am tomorrow morning (most mornings I am still fast asleep at that time).


• Tonight is Kenzie's open house at her school and she is so excited to show off her room. They are having a used book exchange for the kids too so she has been looking at her books to decide which to exchange (as much as I suggest Amelia Bedelia books - since they are a pain to read - she loves them so alas we are keeping those). She loves to be read to and loves to keep up her reading log for school. It is a big deal at the end of the month to take the log to Mrs. Hunter as she gets a treat in her bag for doing the log.


• This weekend is a baby shower filled weekend as I have one to attend on Saturday and am giving one for Heather (Mommy to the next grandbaby) on Sunday. I have started delegating tasks for the Sunday one as I know I cannot do it all.


• Monday was a school holiday so had both kids at home all day. That was a real change as Chase is in school so much anymore, it seemed weird for him to be here all day.


• Dave went to the Seahawk game on Monday and has another to attend on Sunday so he is getting to know the passes well.


• The first signs that winter is close are here as the mornings are COLD and the snow is getting closer. The snow level is supposed to drop to 1500 feet this weekend which means we may see some white stuff before the weekend is up.


• We are planning to go to my parents house in Myrtle Creek for Thanksgiving but that is contingent on the results of my MRI and how I am feeling about traveling 9 hours in the car. Graciously my parents have offered to come up here if I cannot make the drive as I am looking forward to seeing them.


• We are doing our Christmas with the big kids and grandkids on December 1st this year to accomodate everyone's schedule so I am trying to get shopping completed. Nothing like rushing right down to the wire with that type of thing. I am usually done with shopping by now and this year I have just started. :(

I guess that is it for a quick catch up. Best wishes and God's blessings to you all this beautiful time of year.

Football, Fall & Fun

So I got a babysitter last night and got to go to the homecoming Chelan football game with a girlfriend of mine (who also got a sitter for her little one). It was a heartbreaker as we were leading 10-9 up until the last 30 seconds and Brewster then scored a TD and went on to win. What a letdown for homecoming night. It was a crisp cold evening but at least is was dry (since it had rained most of the day). It was a fun big people time for me.

I am working today for my only working day this month. Rachael is taking the kids to Wenatchee and they are excited to go to Rocky Reach Dam. They love the Visitor's Center and the fish ladder, not to mention the big playground. They also get to go to the pet store to get some more fish for the fish tank, since Mommy has kept the last ones alive. We had to start over and have to add a few at a time. I know they will have a good time and be exhausted tonight.

Last night Rachael watched the kids and they had a campout in Chase's room and got to eat dinner and bedtime snack in the fort they made around Chase's bed. They watched the new Surf's Up movie but got too tired to finish it. Kenzie actually went to bed in her own bed without being rocked and the bigger news is that she slept ALL NIGHT in her own bed. She is so proud of herself and I hope that her pride will lead her to continue this habit. Daddy was excited to hear about that news.

Dave is still in Seattle with his mom. She is being transferred to a nursing home in Mount Vernon on Monday. He went up and toured facilities yesterday to help her make a choice. She has chosen and they are holding a bed for her. Dave is going to the Seahawk game tomorrow night and has decided to stay over there until Tuesday morning so he can help get her settled. She is more confused and her short term memory is bad. They hadn't expected that part. She is having some swallowing problems as well so is having to eat pureed food and doesn't like it so she decides not to eat at all. It will be a long recovery but I know she will like to be back in Mount Vernon where her friends can visit her. Socially that will make a huge difference for her.

We all miss Dave but know that he is doing what he needs to do right now and will be home soon.

It is a beautiful fall day today. The sun is out but it is still a little brisk although the weather forecast is for 70 degrees today so that will be nice.

We get to pick up Alura from Granny Nanny's house in the morning and she will go to church with us and then we will meet Megan and Janson to go to Smallwood for pumpkins. They are all looking forward to that.

Happy fall and may you all enjoy the fall traditions as well.

Sights, Smells & Events of Autumn

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

October is bringing lots of fun things to our house. The kids have enjoyed decorating for Halloween and are looking forward to going to the pumpkin patch after church this Sunday with Sissy Megan, Janson & Alura. Today was Chase's first school field trip and I got to go along as 13 preschoolers requires 3 parents and 3 teachers when walking 3 blocks to the fire station. I have included in this post a Smilebox of those pictures.

Last week, a dear friend of mine posted on her blog (which I love to read) http://www.neighborjanepayne.com/ asking what mean fall to you. Well, I started thinking about that and yesterday the sights and smells of autumn came to me as I was making a bunch of homemade rolls and a big pot of Cheesy Potato Corn Chowder for dinner. I love as the coolness of autumn sets in and a big bowl of hot soup and fresh rolls taste so good, not to mention the smell of both cooking filling the house in the hours before. That makes me remember it is autumn. On the drive to and from Seattle last weekend (I was driving with the kids so no pictures to show of the colors), the colors of the leaves on the trees varying form light green to yellow to red was a great topic of discussion with the kids. At the top of Stevens Pass, the combination of the leaves in all colors along with the fresh snow on the ground was a beautiful reminder of what a wonderful God we serve and what he has blessed us with on a daily basis in the miracle and beauty of the world around us. So I guess this is my not-so-short response to the sights and smells of Autumn. Pondering this thought has brought me to take the pictures of the soup and rolls from last night and plan a scrapbook page entitled "My Sights & Smells of Autumn".

She is here

Yesterday was a busy and exciting day. My sister had the baby and it is a beautiful baby girl - Rachel Jeanne (middle name is Melissa's middle name and also the first name of our aunt). She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 ounces and was 18 inches long. Mommy & Baby are doing well and plan to come home tomorrow morning. The kids and I are excited to be able to go over and see her. We are leaving as soon as the kids get out of school tomorrow about noon.

Dave decided he needed to be closer to his Mom for a few days before her surgery so he drove over last evening and is enjoying some one on one time with her and is able to help with getting her to last minute appointments and such that Kevin and Margaret have been doing for so long. He is very anxious about the surgery and I know he is feeling much better being there with her. The kids and I are making it without him but miss him and will be happy to see him tomorrow.

October is here

Somehow it is already October. I don't understand where time goes but it sure seems to fly the older I get. Kids are settled into their school and extracurricular routines. Mommy is getting settled into the idea of some "free" time two days a week. I know that fall is here as Mackenzie and I saw our first sightings of the big horn sheep on the way home from Wenatchee today. They were crossing the road about 2 miles south of Entiat. Boy did Kenzie enjoy that. Between the sheep being down and the first snow on Stormy this week we sure know that fall is here and winter is on the way!

My sister is having her baby tomorrow morning and we are all excited to find out if it is a boy or girl. Sarah has been excited about her new sibling until the last couple of days and now has decided she doesn't want it to come out yet but Melissa is done cooking it and this bun is coming out of the oven tomorrow!

Betty, my mother-in-law, has her brain surgery on Monday to remove a benign brain tumor that is pressing on her speech center and causing her to slur her speech a lot. We are headed to Seattle on Friday to be over there until Tuesday for the surgery. She will be in the hospital for a week and then to a nursing home for a month or so. Dave is quite nervous about it and rightfully so. He is very close to his mom and her health has not been the best so there are certainly risks involved but she made the decision to go ahead. For those who read and are so inclined, please keep her and the family in your prayers for a good outcome to this.

The kids have their Halloween costumes and want to wear them on a daily basis. Kenzie is being a dragon and Chase a ninja turtle (Leonardo to be exact). They have modeled them for anyone that gives them a chance. They will wear them to their respective Harvest Parties and to the carnival at the school on the 27th and then to trick or treat in downtown on Halloween. I have one bag of candy for here at the house although we have had a grand total of 6 trick or treaters in the 4 Halloweens we have been at this house. Most people go downtown and trick or treat with all the rest of us crazies. Dave will hand out candy at the store while I take the kids around. There is a picture included of the kids in costume with a little friend, Rylee, that we were babysitting. She had to get in on the action so I found Chase's Mickey Mouse costume from 3 years ago and it fits her great. She took it home and I guess to wears it nearly everyday as she thinks she is just the greatest thing in it.

Best Fall wishes to all and I am thankful for you all as friends.