Literally 10 minutes ago the For Sale sign went up in the yard. So much left to do in our little world. Pray for the right buyer to come quickly, please.
3 weeks from today, we'll be packing the moving truck. Wanna come and help? We'll provide the pizza and soda. We hope to be very organized, but there are never any guarantees.
Still busy packing. I did not realize until last night that it was not four weeks, but three. Our hope is to have the PODS filled with everything we can in two weeks. I want to have the least amount of stuff to take care of during the last week here. I want to do fun things the last week we are here. Kids going to friends. Going to the Science Center and Zoo. Enjoying our last time of living in Iowa.
Please pray for us. We still don't have a place to live. Its hard to know where to live when I've never been to the city. We may just end up going down there and finding something once we are there. If that is the case, we'll get a po box. Maybe we'll do that anyway.
My heart is still grieving at leaving our friends here; friends who have become so very dear to us. It really is a season of mourning our time here while looking forward to the direction God is taking us in.
Last night I took the big girls to a play and out for dessert. I will have to blog about it later. Gotta get back to work now. Bathroom and our room, here I come!
Four weeks from yesterday, we should be all packed up and on our way to North Carolina. I can't believe we have only four weeks left here. Honestly I can't think about it because it brings me to tears. It is mourning the end of our time here while looking forward to our new adventure down south.
No, we still do not have a place to live. We had a home lined up to rent for 6 months, but found out yesterday they don't rent 3 bedrooms to 9 people. They have a 5 bedroom they will rent to us, for an arm and a leg. Um yeah, we can't afford and arm and a leg.
I need to reserve the moving truck. Today. I need to do that.
We are slowly filling to PODS. Sean is doing most of the manual work.
I have gone through just about every piece of children's clothing we own. We have donated and thrown away a lot of things. I have packed up most of their other clothes minus 15 outfits each. But in going through the clothes, we found more clothes that are sitting on top of Mt. Wash right now. By the end of the week, I am planning on getting the wash done and getting the rest of the clothes packed.
I need to buy bubble wrap so I can wrap pictures and other valuables.
Most of the books are packed. Sean needs to work on his church office.
Sep. 29, 2009 - Life is Always Full of New Adventures
Well, Caleb is now 10 months old, so it must be time for an announcement.So I have a very special announcement to make.
Ready…
What do you think I am going to announce?
I bet it’s not what you think.
We are moving to North Carolina at the beginning of November.
Not what you expected is it.It is honestly something that I never thought I would even think about, much less say out loud.It is one location that never even crossed my mind as a place I may live.I hate basketball and auto racing.I hear both are very popular in North Carolina.
Now you know why I have not been blogging lately.My heart and mind and hands have been busy preparing for this.
I can hear you asking already, why North Carolina?Well, this adventure started in July when Sean came home from work and announced that his employer would be laying off ¼ of the production employees at the beginning of August.Someone asked if they would be recalled and the corporate officer said, no and told the employees the plant would eventually be closing. (well, he did not use those exact words, but the writing is on the wall.)The employees were told they would be able to apply to one of the four other job sites if they wanted to transfer.
At first we were not open to a transfer.Our family is settled here.We love our church family.We all have friends here.We are close to our extended family (if you consider 6 hours close).Sean is a bi-vocational pastor.
Sean had been applying for jobs for the last 18 months and had not even gotten an interview.Jobs can be found here, but they often do not pay enough to support a family.Sean decided to apply for a transfer just to see what they would offer.We began to pray for him to get a job locally as he continued to send out resumes and put in applications.Nothing surfaced.
Soon before vacation, he was offered a transfer.In September he went to North Carolina on a fact finding mission.He toured the area, the plant, the local housing market and even a UNC campus.
When he returned we went out for dessert and asked for my final input.Then it was decision time for him.Before he made the final decision he informed the other Pastor at our church.After telling our church family, we are now announcing it to our friends and family.
It has truly been one of the hardest decisions Sean has ever made in his entire life.There are so many people to consider, our church family, our extended family, our children.The decision caused Sean many sleepless nights and stomach-turning days.He has felt the weight of the world on his shoulders for two months now.It has caused him to turn to the Lord for direction in a way he has rarely had to do before.His time with the Lord has been challenging and encouraging.
Planning a move 1000 miles away is a strange thing.We will move to a new home town with only Sean having seen the location.We are in the process of grieving the end of our time here, yet excited about what God has in store for us in our new home.We are grieving the leaving of our church family and our friends, but trying to be excited about the new people God has planned for our future.We are grieving the end of ministry here to people we love and people who are so like minded to us.We will miss them more than words can even say.
I have a new appreciation of our military families who move every few years.What a hard cycle.Move to a new location.Learn a new town.Find a new church.Make new friends.Learn a new culture.Then get orders to move again.Praying for our military families is so important.
Then my mind goes to families who go overseas as missionaries and the family they leave behind.What a sacrifice for all involved there.But missionaries often feel the sting of leaving when they come home for furlough; they are leaving their ministry they love to come home to the family they love.Then when they go back to their ministry, they leave the family they love for the ministry they love.Their hearts must break on both ends.
Please be in prayer for us as we prepare to move.We will be selling our home here and are not sure what we are going to do once we get there.We will probably rent for awhile but finding a home for us may prove difficult.But God knows.We would really prefer to rent a home, but don’t want to sign a year lease.
Pray for us to find a church family where we can serve faithfully.Sean would love to be able to assist the Pastor and the church family in any way he can.
Pray for the children.They don’t want to move (none of us do).But sometimes God moves us to new places, and we don’t understand why, but we need to remain faithful.Some may fight against bitterness of leaving their friends and activities, but we are continuing to encourage them to do what is right and be thankful we live in a time when they can still keep in contact with their friends here.
We expect that you will all plan your vacations around us now.We will be close to all sorts of wonderful historic things.We will be close to the “mountains” and the ocean.We are hoping to be able to buy a home that will have a guest area so you can stay with us.
I love to get mail. Who doesn't? One day I was going about my day. I went out to get the mail and found, not one but two packages in the mail. Not expecting anything, I excitedly came in and slowly opened each package.
To fully appreciate the full extent of the joy I got upon opening the packages, you must first go back and read this post... Read Me Now!!!
I am waiting. Really you need to go read it.
OK now that you have read it. One of the packages came from my friend Lisa. She send me a card with some Cadbury Creme Eggs. The card was perfect. The Creme Eggs were perfect. It was just fun to get and, yes, I did put the eggs up where no children could get to them.
The card reads...
It seems we have been friends forever
Which is funny because we're both about 23, right?
Well, she was off by a year, but that is what was so funny about the card.
The second package can be better explained with a picture...
Bethany and her new Packer skirt sent by my friend Cathe. She loves that skirt and wants to wear it every single day, irregardless of what she wears it with. It is a sweet skirt and we can't wait until Packer season begins so she can wear it every Sunday after church.
Abigail is seven going on 22. She wants to be like me when she grows up. I hope she is more godly than me and a better keeper of her home. To that end, I am training her early in the art of homemaking. Truth be told, she loves all things about keeping a home. She loves to clean. (Don't ask me where she got that from.) She loves to cook and bake. I know where she got that from. She loves to vacuum. She loves to care for her sisters and her baby brother. She likes to boss people around (I know where she got that from). She is a sweet young lady.
I am hoping one day she can cook a meal all by herself. Here she is helping me make Fettechini Alfredo. She loves it and is so good at helping. Soon she'll be better than me.
I forgot that everyone did not grow up in my family and therefore grew up eating pudgy pies when they went camping. So in my last blog when I wrote about pudgy pies, most people did not know what they are. So, here is a photo demonstration of how to make pudgy pies. The pictures are from our big Colorado trip in 2007. They turned out a little dark. You want a golden brown sandwich. I don't mind my outer crust getting black. I just that as the handle to the sandwich and just throw the black crust away.
What you need.
Pudgy pie iron - This can be bought at Walmart or your local camping store. It is usually close to the hot dog sticks. They run between $10 and $15. The best kind are the cast iron variety, but I have not seen those in years. Now they are mostly made out of aluminum with a non-stick coating. It should feel heavy in your hand. Don't buy the ones that are too light. Also, make sure you buy one that is smaller than a piece of bread so there will be a nice seal.
Food
Bread - We us regular cheapo sandwich bread, either wheat or white. Don't use the fancy stuff, this is not a fancy sandwich.
Pizza fixings - We use sausage, pepperoni, pizza or spaghetti sauce, mozzerella cheese and anything else we want to stuff inside.
Cheeseburger - Browned hamburger, cheddar or american cheese, ketchup. We don't use onions or mustard, but you can add anything you like. I don't like the ketchup cooked so I add it after its cooked.
Chicken - Grilled/cooked chicken, cheese and anything else you want. I like corn and olives in mine. Starnge I know. I also like it with steak sauce.
Brat - My husband's favorite. It has cooked brat, ketchup and onions and anything else that floats his boat at the time.
Dessert - Canned pie filling.
Be creative. Whatever you like in a sandwhich or on a bun, will usually taste good in a pudgy pie. Its fun to try new things.
Let's get started.
So, the first thing you do is build a nice fire. You need hot, but slow cooking coals to make the perfect pudgy pie. A little secret my Dad taught me is to put charcoal at the bottom of the fire. The coals will develop more quickly and they will cook more evenly.
Next, butter the outside of the bread. I prefer butter over margarine. It tastes better and hey, I am from WI and only use the plastic stuff when forced to by lack of money. Put one piece in the iron, butter side down, making sure the gently push the bread into the iron.
Now, the fun part, filling it. Make it pudgy. Fill it with lots of stuff. I like to start by putting the cheese on the outside, just a nice, thin layer, then meat, then extras, then another layer of cheese. I prefer the cheese on the outside because nothing else soaks into the bread and the flavors on the inside blend together.
Then place the last piece of bread on top, butter side out.
We have arrived at the tricky part, puttin the second piece on. It takes practice to do it well, but the pay off is a yummy and juicy sandwich. When putting the second iron on, do it slowly and gently push the top piece of bread towards the top of the pie maker. There should be crust hanging out. You can either cut it off or leave it on. I like to leave it on and then hold onto the nice crisp black edge while eating.
OK, onto the part that requires patience - cooking it. Remember, you want a slow cook to make sure the inside is hot and the cheese gets all melty. Depending on the heat of the coals, you want to let each side cook for 5 - 10 minutes. Check for doneness before flipping it over.
When you take the pudgy pie out, remember its going to be HOT, so make sure to set the iron on wood and not plastic. Keep it out of the reach of children. You also may want to let it cool partway before cooking another one. We cut our sandwiches in half before serving. For our little ones we let them cool for awhile.
Enjoy.
Like I said, the one you see in the iron got too dark. We threw it away (don't tell my Mom) and made another one. Notice the piece of wood under the hot iron. Works great. I made them on top of the Bear Box we had at Great Sand Dunes National Monument.
Any comments, questions or concerns?
A couple more things. Don't worry about cleaning your pie iron. Yes, make sure the food is off the inside, but expect it to get black and dirty. When storing them, losely wrap it in paper towel and secure the towel with a rubber band or twist tie. Use wooden utinsils to get the pudgy pie out if it sticks. Metal will remove the non-stick coating. Be creative and enjoy.
If you can think of any other combinations, please let me know. We are always interested in trying new things. One person has suggested marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and chocolate. I just don't know. And I was counting calories the last time we went camping, maybe next tiem.
May. 13, 2009 - Our First Camping Trip In the New Pop Up
We decided on Monday that we would go camping on Thursday. We decided on Tuesday where we would go camping on Thursday.
Caleb sleeping on our bed during his nap. We brought a port a crib, but he did not like it.
The playground by our campsite. The children would have spent the entire weekend there had we let them.
Miriam enjoying her freedom.
Olivia loving the swing. She sat in that thing for at least an hour each time they went.
Our campsite from the playground.
After we took a walk. Camping is hard work - Olivia.
The inside of the camper in use.
From the door...
To the left, the dining area. Nathan was doing his school work he had not finished before we left. All the sleeping bags are up on the boy's bunk.
Our bed with all our stuff.
Once we get everything organized inside, I hope it won't be so messy while camping.
Our campsite from the camper. I was assembly pudgy pies, Sean was cooking them.
Bethany and Miriam washing their hands. Notice the nice camping box Sean made for me. I love it.
It rained Friday night and on and off on Saturday. We packed the kids into the van and tore down in the drizzles on Saturday. It was fun none the less.
Needless to say, they were all tuckered out and Olivia was asleep before we left the campground.
We cannot wait to go again. There is a campground about 20 minutes away that we can even go to during the week and Sean can still get up and go to work because its only about 15 minutes from where he works.
There is a rollerskating rink that does Homeschool days one Friday a month during the school year. We went in March. Thanks Judy for inviting us.
Sean and I laughed at how much more fun it was rollerskating as an adult verses our junior high days.
No girls wanted to skate with Sean in junior high, but now he did not have enough hands for all the ladies that wanted to skate with him.
The boys were tentative to start, but by the end, they were doing so great. They only fell about 50 times each. They have some bruises to prove it, but no broken bones.
I was so proud of the three oldest, although this was their first time skating, they each tried the speed races. None of them won, but they each tried. It seems that most of the others there go skating very often. Now they all want roller blades. Maybe one day soon, we will check Play It Again Sports.
Skating is hard hard work. We were able to bring the stroller onto the skate floor, that was awesome.
After the races.
Thomas, Bethany and Abigail
Even Miss Olivia got a ride from Daddy
Really it was so fun to go rollerskating. I was surprised how once you learn, you never forget. It was great exercise. The music was fun. The people were kind and gracious. The kids were well behaved. The food was the same. The smell brought back memories of childhood, but this time was so much sweeter.
We are "borrowing" my brother and sister - in - law's camper for the summer.
Wanna see it? To bad, I'll post pictures anyway. Here it is when we got it.
Grandpa giving Sean instructions in how to set it up. Thomas listening intently.
Sean wanted to set it up all by himself the first time. I have no problem with that. I sat back and relaxed and enjoyed watching him.
All set up. Wanna see how clean it is before we "move in"?
The view from the doorway.
Looking to the left. The dining area converts to a sleeping area. The boys will sleep on the bunk. The girls will sleep on the dining area.
To the right, where Sean and I will sleep, with Caleb until he is old enough to go by the boys or until we bring the port a crib. Its a king size bed and it is big and spacious.
Stay tuned for scenes from our first camping trip.
May. 1, 2009 - It All Started After A Trip to the Dr, Office
So the day Caleb got the hair wrapped around his finger, everyone in the Dr. office waiting room looked so sick. I hated bringing the kids in there for fear of what would happen the next week. What bug would we pick up there. Sure enough, the next week, Thomas had bronchitis. The week after him, Olivia got the cough. Finally I took her to the doctor. She too had bronchitis and has since spread to everyone but Nathan and Abigail. Sean and I have a less severe version of it.
The cough got so bad, we needed a nebulizer for Olivia and Caleb and while they hated it, they realized Mommy was not going to give in so the resolved to do it.
Olivia being a good example to her brother.
Mommy, I hate this.
God is good in all things, even when we don't get a lot of sleep.
Its never a good sign when a Mom wakes up after a restless night of sleep to find her 2 month old infant whining in pain. To see his little finger swollen red and deep red lines crisscrossing his finger.
Instead of panicking, I got out my sewing kit and blunt needle and tried to remove the hair that appeared to be wrapped tightly around his little finger. After 10 minutes of trying and some ice, I got one small piece off, but the finger did not look any better.
So I called the Dr. office. They asked me to bring him in.
I brought him and the other 6 with me to the Dr. Office. All the other patients looked sick. I told the children not to play with any toys. We did not want to pick up what everyone else had.
The Dr. tried for about 15 minutes and could not get anything so off the the Children's Hospital we went.
I was able to drop the children off at home for Uncle Ted to watch while I took Caleb to the ER. We did not have to wait too long because the Dr. had called ahead to let them know we were coming.
The surgeon tried for 20 minutes to get it off with no luck. There were three students in there observing because they had not seen such a sight before.
After a rest of 20 minutes so I could nurse Caleb and let his finger relax, the supervising Dr. came in and tried. She could not see the hair. We concluded that somehow it must have come off either in the morning when I got a small piece off or during our travel from the Dr. Office to the Hospital.
They offered to let me just observe him at home and if it got worse to come back in. They suggested next time to use Nair, yes Nair, to remove the hair. It was suggested by a nurse after we had all tried. Now I know, but hope to never have to use it.
We have had a busy few weeks. First, Sean's parents were here. Then Sean's Grandpa died while they were here. We headed back to WI for a week. Then we had a week "break" and my Dad and his wife came down. They left Easter Sunday and my sister and her children came on Monday. They left yesterday and I.am.sad. We had so much fun being surrounded by family and friends. We had a good time just being together. I miss our family so much. It was really just a joy to be surrounded by family. We joke that they love us so much because we are hardly around, so when we are, they put up with us so much better than if we lived there.
It has been a world wind and while I am glad to be "home alone" with our family, I do miss them already. The little ones were crying as my sister and more importantly, their cousins drove away yesterday.
Now, even though I am very sad, I still rejoice that we live in the time we do. Had we lived 200 years ago or even 150 years ago, we may have never seen them again or been able to talk and send pictures like we can today. As a matter of fact, right after they drove away, I jumped on my computer and e-mailed my sister to let her know that Miriam was in full blown sobs as they drove away. It was very sad and very cute all at the same time.
I am so thankful when people take the time to come and visit us. I know its a long and boring drive, but it shows their love for us in a real tangible way.
So I was sitting and playing with Caleb and I look over to the couch and this is what I see...
I just laughed. To which both Thoma and Abigail looked at me without moving their hands and said, "What?" Which made me laugh even harder. I told them to look at each other and they still did not move their hands, just turned their heads. The light bulb went off. They moved their hands.
They both reminded me of Sean and how he sits at times. So, I made them post for a picture.
So last week I got on the scale and was shocked by what I saw. I lose weight while pregnant and then gain while nursing. WOW. So today I was up at 6:30 feeding Caleb and then came downstairs and did Jazzercise on the college station. It felt good to get up and moving. I even did ab exercises when the program was over. Don't fall over dead from the shock.
I am excited to get back into the schedule of life. Grandma and Grandpa are coming this weekend, so we'll get most of the school work in by Thursday with just a few things to do on Friday. The men in the family will be building a fort this weekend. I'll make sure to take pictures and show them off.
Its raining here today, even storming. I love thunderstorms.
I am glad its not snow. I don't know if I can handle the snow.
Mar. 16, 2009 - Happy St. Patrick's Day and We love the Green Bay Packers
You can move from Wisconsin, but the cheese never leaves the blood.
We have a dear friend who sent us some Packer stuff. It was nice because its hard to find nice Packer stuff here. He looks so sweet in his Green and Gold.
Bethany and her new Packer skirt sent by my friend Cathe. She loves that skirt and wants to wear it every single day, irregardless of what she wears it with. It is a sweet skirt and we can't wait until Packer season begins so she can wear it every Sunday after church.
I love that girl!!!!
Thomas, Bethany and Abigail
Steal crackers off the counter, which is just the right height for Olivia.
