There have been so many things that I want to blog about but I keep running out of time in the evenings!  Phil has switched my blog to a different place.  Hopefully this will enable us to add pictures a little more easily.  Here is the new site.

Saturday morning… I know this was awhile ago but it was such a nice morning that I wanted to share it with you.  Both kids slept in until 8:30, which is always a treat for us because we get to sleep in too.  Sawyer crawled into Jubilee’s crib with her and they were delighted to see each other and kept laughing.  What a beautiful sound to start the day with.  Phil wasn’t exhausted from staying up all night doing film breakdowns so we all got up as a family.  Phil and his helpers started a fire while I made a big breakfast.  We had a nice meal together and then the kids piled onto beanbags by the fire while Phil read stories.  One of the stories was about a chimp who wanted a hug.  He was sad so the kids kept kissing him. 

Evangeline was moving so much the other evening that we all gathered around to watch my tummy and talk about our new baby.  Sawyer figured out on his own that the baby was going to come out of mommy’s peepee.  We didn’t elaborate but thought that was very clever beings that we haven’t talked about the difference between boys and girls let alone how babies are made and how they come out! 

Evangeline has dropped and her head is locked into place!        We have 2 ½ weeks until her official due date.  I got the car seat washed and put back together so that is ready to go.  Our van will now have all the seats down and we are going to experiment with everyone’s placement.  I have newborn clothes and blankets washed and put away.  I set up the co-sleeper so that is ready as well.  There is a lot of cleaning that I would like to do but I have been really dragging this week!!! 

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and 4 days off for Phil!  Next week is Sawyer’s birthday, a visit from Grandma Tracy and Grandpa Cliff, and the Polar Express train ride that we signed up to do over the summer.  One week follows and then hopefully Evie will make a quick and painless entry into our family by the weekend!!!!! 

We drove up to Seattle for a surprise birthday dinner for my Gram.  It ended up being an “eventful” trip.

Phil got back from a 12 hour bus ride and the football game in Klamath Falls (Silverton lost) at 4:30 in the morning.  I packed the night before and had everything ready to be loaded up so Phil could sleep in until the last moment.  We had breakfast and headed out around 10:30.  Phil was so tired that we stopped and got him a coffee on the way up. 

We met up with my brother and Tina and had lunch at Dan and Mary’s (Tina’s parents).  We then headed up the rest of the way and arrived just in time to unload the van and then hide it on another street. 

It was a chaotic evening.  There were 11 people and a wound up dog all trying to remain calm and hide.  Poor Phil was soooo tired and a bit overwhelmed.  The kids had a lot of energy after being cooped up and there were a lot of “no-no” plus the dog to carefully watch.  Gram WAS very surprised and after hors d'oeuvre and visiting, we sat down to a seafood chowder dinner.  My uncle (who is schizophrenic) was talking above all the other conversations without ceasing.  Phil and I were contending with the dog under our feet.  During dessert, Gramps started having shortness of breath and chills. 

We ended up calling 911 and they took Gramps to the ER.  He is currently still in the hospital with pneumonia, a urinary tract infection, and possible congenital heart failure.  He is in his 90’s and has had a lot of health problems including the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s.

It was nice that the entire family was there to be a support to Gram and to have a chance to visit with Gramps in the hospital.  You just never know….so the trip was a blessing.

We left after lunch the following day and stopped again at Dan and Mary’s, this time for dinner.  Jubilee fell asleep the entire way home from there so it was a quiet, peaceful trip and Phil and I had a chance to have a conversation (which seems so rare these days).

Sawyer is a great car traveler now days.  He will sit contentedly and watch movies on the lap top.  Jubilee is not so great.  She gets quite cranky and doesn’t want to take her nap.  The first day home always proves to be a difficult one.  Both kids are overly tired and trying to get back into our normal routine can be difficult.  With that being said, our kids overall were fabulous!!!  They minded very well and slept wonderfully that night.  It is not easy to spend so much time in the car, be out of your routine, and get to bed late with only cat naps.  I was very proud of them!

Yesterday was my 33^rd birthday.  It is fun to look at the path that has led me to this spot.  Here I am, a stay-at-home mom of an almost 3 year old and an almost 18 month old with another little one due in 4 weeks.  It is hard to believe that 10 years ago, I was finishing up college and getting ready to start my career as a teacher and still two years away from meeting the most wonderful man in the world! 

Phil took Wednesday off from practice for my midwife appointment so I had him home with me all evening.  He ordered a take-out dinner and got ice cream while I browsed the fabric store.  Then we snuggled up on the couch and watched a movie after the kids went to bed.  What a rare treat.  We haven’t eaten out in a couple of months and we rarely have time to watch a movie.  On my actual birthday, he got up early and brought me an egg nog latte.

My parents surprised me with a load of horse poop for my garden.  They mulched three of my garden beds.  It looks so nice when everything is weeded, pruned, and mulched with rich, dark mulch!  Mulching, I have discovered is the best way to combat the weeds.  I do this every Fall and Spring and only have to spot weed on occasion.  I am very fortunate to have parents who have an enormous garden.  They get free mulch from a horse boarding stable and I always have access to plant starts and veggies!

Phil is gone until tomorrow morning so I have tried to keep busy so I won’t think about it too much.  I miss him like crazy already!  The kids and I went to Goodwill to look for Sawyer’s birthday gift and Christmas gifts for the children.  I got some books, a doll, and a box set of all the Little House on the Prairie books in great condition, and a nice coat for Jubilee (2.99 yeah!!).  My second hand is a treasure for those on a tight budget!!

Just another day….

Funny thing about Daylight Savings Time, children don’t understand time changes.  Both were up at 7:00 (normally, they get up around 8:00).  It made for an interesting start to the day trying to get Daddy breakfast, finish packing his lunch and out the door, and take care of two early birds.  I really missed sitting down with my Bible.  I savor this way of starting my day.

Well, since we were up early, might as well get some extra errands done: 

1. Stopped by and saw Daddy since we happened to be passing by his work during his prep time. 
2. Grocery shopped at EZ Orchards for yummy produce!! 
3. Made a Target run (how on Earth can just a few staple items add up to $20.00 over my planned budget ARRHH). 
4. Picked up some produce items at my parent's and let the kids run around and get dirty in their nice town clothes.  Picked chicken poop off my indoor shoes with a twig.  YUCK! 
5. Dropped off a treat for Daddy during his lunch break.
6. Rushed home, fed children, and put them down for naps (2 hours late). 
7. Changed my shirt!!  It was riding up constantly during our town run – Ooops, how did I put on a regular fitted t instead of a maternity one. 
8. Made Tuscan bean and vegetable soup, croutons, and squash muffins for dinner while cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry, and eating my lunch – all the while ignoring the couch that was calling my name! 
9. Finished dinner with my helpers, ate with the kids, waited for Daddy to get home and have his dinner.
10. Family applesauce making – so much fun.  Sawyer peeled all the apples with the peeler/corer/slicer device with Dad’s help.  Mom, scraped off any leftover peels and put them in the pot.  Jubilee sampled each apple and covered herself with apple pieces and juice. 
11. Kids in jammies and Jubilee to bed.
12. Big clean up, finished the canning, and folded the rest of the laundry (with Phil’s help).
    
13. Sawyer to bed.
    
14. Sat on the couch with Braxton Hicks and a very stiff back!!!  
15. Then, ahhh, bedtime!

As we speak, I am live on the cell phone in Phil’s pocket listening to the last few seconds of the Varsity team winning their last game of the regular season and making the playoffs.  Everyone is so excited.  They were playing well when I left with the kids at half time so I expected a “good news” phone call.  Sigh…selfishly what this means from my standpoint is the season is not over; more late nights, games, and film breakdown over the weekend. 

I have been doing some housecleaning and organizing for my parents.  This is an ideal situation.  I go over at lunch time.  We eat and then Jubilee takes a nap while I work.  Sawyer plays outside with Grammy and Grampy.  I am able to clean without interruption. Sawyer loves to be outside with so much open space to run around.  I am thankful for the opportunity to earn money for those extra expenses that always seem to come up.  This month I have a baby shower to buy for, a coffee house get together with some mom’s from church, and Sawyer’s third birthday plus Christmas gifts to plan for.  Hmmm, maybe I should ask for more hours!!

Thinking of Halloween…  Halloween was my favorite “holiday” when I was little.  I loved to play dress up and would plan my costume months in advance.  I also loved getting candy since this was one of the few opportunities that I had to partake (my mom wasn’t big on sugar).  When I was a teacher, I always dressed up (usually the only one in the building to do so).  I was actually feeling a little bad tonight that I didn’t do anything “fun” with my children.  We didn’t have costumes or make any plans out of the ordinary.  I did decorate the house a bit with orange lights today and my mom carved a pumpkin with the kids a few days ago that we displayed.  We bought candy for the trick or treaters and Sawyer enjoyed handing it out.  I was quite surprised that we only had 4 show up.  Usually we get at least 20 or so.  Unfortunately, that leaves us with a bunch of candy lying around!

I really want to be able to have fun and memorable times with my children.  I personally don’t have a problem decorating with pumpkins and other fall items and having the kids dress up (as long as decorations and costumes aren’t evil/scary).  I am all for Harvest Parties at church and spending time together as a family doing something out of the ordinary!  The exciting thing about being a future homeschooling mom is that I can plan to have days like this whenever I want!!!  We can do a unit study and then dress up, make treats, and celebrate learning.  I think I get so overwhelmed just trying to keep the house clean and get dinner on the table that creativity and being a “fun” mom seems to be on the back burner.  I really hope that I can gain this back!

Our yummy special treat for tonight was carob milkshakes

            Handful or two of cashews blended in the blender until powdery

            Couple of bananas

            T or so of carob powder

            For liquid I used coconut milk (we are out of goat’s milk) and water

            5-10 drops of stevia

Delicious!!  I put shakes in sippy cups with the holes in the lids enlarged – it works great for thick shakes without getting all over their faces!

It has been beautiful here these past few days and the trend is supposed to continue throughout the week.  We worked out in the yard all day Saturday.  Phil put up some siding, painted, and made a wood box.  I planted my bog type plants that the raccoons shredded.  Those pests overturned everything (in a livestock watering dish/pond) and dug up the water lilies.  I decided to plant what I could until I can make a permanent and safe home for water plants.  I paid the price that evening.  My back was so tight from all the lifting, shoveling, bending, etc. that I could barely move.

My niece was dedicated in church today and then we had a family lunch over at my brother and Tina's.  Phil stayed home with the children who both have colds.

This is Phil’s last week of football (unless they make the playoffs).  We are all looking forward to having him home a little earlier in the evenings!!  It will be nice for him to get a regular night sleep Friday as well.  He usually doesn’t go to bed until really late.

I am beginning to get nervous about the big transition we have ahead of us.  I think Jubilee may have a hard time with Evie.  She is still so much of my baby in many ways.  I will have to work extra hard to balance my time and help my two other little ones adjust.  I have a lot of anxiety (ok, down right fear) about the labor itself because my last one was so excruciating.  I have had milk supply issues and this has been a source of major difficulty in the past so I am trying to gear up for this as well.  I have entered that last stage of pregnancy and am quite uncomfortable.  I am having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. We are of course, looking forward to meeting our new daughter/sister.  It is hard to believe that she is due in only 6 short weeks!!  Wow!!  I have much to do! 

Before bed Sawyer and Daddy were looking at a Bible book that had a picture of Jesus at the tomb.  Sawyer pointed to Jesus’ hands and said, “Owie”.  Daddy said, “Yes, Jesus has an owie” so Sawyer kissed Jesus’ hand.  Daddy explained that Jesus had an owie for Sawyer and for Daddy, too.

Daddy went to pray with Sawyer tonight at bedtime.  Sawyer said, “No, Daddy, I pray.”  Daddy said, “Ok, can you say thank you Jesus”.  Sawyer said, “Thank you Jesus, Amen”.

How cute is that!!!

I finally finished Zellee’s (my niece’s) quilt this weekend.  This quilt was a difficult one to sew because I pieced it together before sewing hearts on each square.  Jubilee’s quilt (same design) was “quilted” before being pieced together and was much easier to manage.  I couldn’t get the hearts to come out smooth and I was disappointed with the results.  I made a quilt for Evangeline while I was at it.  At first, I felt a little sad that I didn’t get to go and choose the fabric for it.  Since we are drastically cutting back on our spending, I decided to use the scraps that I had left over.  I ended up using every last mismatching scrap and changing the seam sizes (these are rag quilts and the seams are large so you can cut them and let them fray).  I got the brilliant idea of appliquéing hearts out of some black and white, and blue and white fabric that I had left over.  It turned out really cute and it brought the whole quilt together.  It may be my favorite of the five I have made!

Phil was such a help.  He took charge of the children and the meals so I could sew the weekend away.  It was nice to have two finished quilts to show for the many hours of sewing. 

The mom’s group met at the pumpkin patch today.  It was beautiful the past two days so the copious amount of mud had turned sticky and gooey instead of wet.  YUM!  You had to pay for the royal treatment (hay rides, mini pumpkins, cider and donuts, corn maze) so we just went to the pumpkin patch and the “petting zoo” they had set up. 

Both kids have colds and Phil has had a sore throat (didn’t we just get over a two week bout of sickness!!).  I need to make up some immune tincture and some teas to help fight off the germs.

My parents took both the children up to a museum today giving me an opportunity to do something that I haven’t done in two years:  spend some time ‘alone’ in Phil’s classroom!  I put boarders up around his 4 bulletin boards and took his posters down to be laminated.  I had planned to print out some pictures of the kids but for some reason they didn’t go through in the email.  Now his classroom has a bit more color and some homey touches.  It was fun.  I used to love decorating my own classroom!!

My parents decided Wednesday evening that they were going to come to Phil’s game and dinner.  Oh dear, 4 additional adults (my parents, plus my brother, and Taylor) for a dinner.  Thursdays, we usually do a snack dinner since game time falls right at meal time and the kids get too hungry waiting until it is over.  I went to the store when Phil left for the game and got all the fixings for a big taco feed.  I ended up getting to the game at half time because I had to chop all the veggies and grate cheese so we could eat as soon as the game ended

I was shocked to find it 10:00 by the time we finished our meal, got kids in bed, and everyone left.  Ooohhh, I don’t like dirty dishes and a day’s worth of outing stuff all strewn about late at night!!  This morning will be a big clean up morning

And we end (hopefully) our week and a half bout with the flu with Mommy getting it!  Yesterday was so awful.  Both the kids had diarrhea in the morning and I had the flu.  It was all I could do to just take care of the children and get breakfast on the table.  I was so achy and uncomfortable. My parents were going to take the kids in the morning but didn’t want to deal with diarrhea.  They changed their minds in the afternoon and picked them up around 1:30 or so (Sawyer was cured at this point).  I went straight to the couch and crashed for the rest of the day.  Phil picked them up and skipped the varsity homecoming game so I could concentrate on just being miserable!  I must have had a fever because I woke up drenched in sweat sometime in the night and felt better by morning.  Phil had me eat some crackers sometime in the a.m. because my stomach was rumbling so loudly that it was keeping him awake.  I kept wondering yesterday how I do 10 weeks of feeling this way with morning sickness.  It is a mystery!!  I guess when you have no choice you just have to do it!!

Today, I am better but worn out!  I had a lot to do since I didn’t do anything yesterday including a lot of laundry that was very stinky.  Phil came home for a surprise ½ hour lunch visit.  It went by quickly but the children loved having cuddle time and a story with Daddy before naps!!  I think I will take advantage of this quiet time with a nap myself.

Phil has the flu (second time being sick since I have known him!).  He was achy all over and had a fever yesterday.  He got home after practice and crashed on the couch.  Sawyer wanted to be just like Daddy so he copied his every move (needed tea, shivered, “complained” of a tummy ache, etc.).  Sissy may be coming down with it as well.  She had a disastrous diaper that oozed down her pant legs at nap time and has been quite whiney today.  Come to think of it, I am not feeling so hot myself.  Germs just get passed around to everyone and it seems to take a really long time for the entire family to be well again.

As part of my budget cut back, I decided to try Winco for my groceries.  I packed up the children, drove clear across town, loaded up Sissy in the backpack and Sawyer in the cart.  I was not impressed with the foods and brands they offered.  I checked out the entire store and did find a few things that I needed.  I got to the checkout line only to discover that they don’t take credit cards (we put all our spending on credit to get “cash” back or airline miles).  My debit card had expired and I never carry a checkbook so I had to leave everything at the checkout line and explain to the cashier that I couldn’t pay.  ARRGGG.  So, Winco is a no go for us.

After a day of resting, Sawyer felt much better!  It is always strange to see him lethargic.  He spent a lot of time on the couch or the beanbag.  He was a very good patient and drank all sorts of teas that I made for him.  These included a homemade ginger ale, a tummy tea, and some elderberry tea. 

Phil did some catch up on bills from the summer and we had quite an eye opening about our financial status.  Since buying our home, we have put a lot of money into home improvements and making it our “own”.  What seemed like small, insignificant projects has snowballed into a huge amount of debt.  Even with Phil coaching and doing odd jobs, we still find ourselves needing to reevaluate our spending.  At this point, we have decided to put spending on a standstill.  We have cut our household budget down to the bare bones.  Our goal is to live within our means and then to drastically reduce our dept.  This is going to be a challenge for us.  We have always been frugal but haven’t thought much about where every penny is going and we have done a lot of projects that weren’t really affordable.  Our goal is to live simply, pay cash, save up for projects, and aggressively attack our dept.  It seems like a big sacrifice from where we are at now but we both feel the Lord’s calling in this area!  I am so thankful for a husband who works so hard to provide for us!  I am thankful that he is wise enough to see the errors in our spending and dedicated enough to fix the problem.  I am soooo lucky and blessed!!!!

Sissy is quite the walker now (with the bumps and bruises to prove it)!!  I am excited to put her in dresses now that she can wear them without the fabric getting in the way of crawling or scooting!  I bought a cute little knit dress several weeks ago and I have an old dress of mine that my mom made me that she has been wearing around.  I would like to get her a few more dresses so she has a selection.  Sigh..I need to learn how to sew and then find time to actually do it!

It is 3:00 in the morning.  Sawyer just threw up and I have all the sheets in the wash.  Phil is lying in bed with him while he goes back to sleep.  Poor thing!  I hope he doesn’t have the flu or anything.  Sissy had a really hard time going to sleep (Daddy rocked her until 10:30 after she was in bed for over an hour) and I was a bit nauseous after dinner. 

We had our 3-D ultrasound on Monday.  Evie looked quite adorable.  She was moving around like crazy.  She had her hands up by her face and the umbilical cord was kind of in the way so we didn’t get very many pictures (the technician was a little anal about trying to make them look perfect – she didn’t save a lot of cute images that weren’t “perfect”).  I should have spoken up!  She does have some hair and a chin that looks a bit like Sawyer’s.  She appears to have the pointy upper lip from the Barner side of the family like the other two and Phil!

Phil took Monday off work and it was such a treat to have him home.  We figure he is working close to a 70 hour work week.

We finally have a walker!!!  Jubilee, at 16 months, has decided that walking is a more suitable mode of transportation that bottom scooting.  I am quite relieved.  I was hoping that she would have this down by the time Evie arrived (plus the bottom of all her pants have the seams scooted right out of them)!

My 15 month old daughter loves to drape things around her shoulders.  Today, she got into my underwear drawer, took out a pair of undies, put them over her head, and wore them like a shawl for close to two hours.  Now, buying new undies has not been a top priority of mine but seeing a shabby pair with the elastic showing made one thing very evident…I desperately need to update my under garments!  My daughter could also use a cape or shawl that is a little more, shall we say, appropriate!!

Ah, Monday morning.  How long will I be able to sit here with my tea before I hear pitter patter and “Hi, Mommy” from Sawyer and Jubilee talking to herself?  Beings that Sawyer skipped two naps in a row and Jubilee had only a cat nap in the car yesterday, I am hoping quite awhile!!

I really have only been up about 45 minutes.  I made Phil’s lunch and breakfast, started the laundry, chased Phil down the road when I saw the cereal bowl riding on top of the car, and read my Bible.  The neighbor did comment that I can run pretty fast for a pregnant lady!!  Well, one must do what they must to avoid disaster!  (And yes, a bowl broken to smithereens, the last of the fresh peaches and cereals strewn about the road, and a hungry husband is a disaster!!).  My ankle does hurt a bit.  This is my first sprint on it!!

Today’s agenda:  grocery shop (and bring Phil donuts for a treat), general house clean, laundry laundry laundry, change bedding, vacuum, make “fried” chicken with risotto and green beans for dinner, and baked oatmeal for tomorrow’s breakfast.  And most importantly train children.  That in itself is a full time job!!  It entails having my little ones with me at all times, helping me with everything I do, correcting attitudes, and catching potential behavior issues before they become a full blown one! 

I also plan on making a decision regarding a wrap and/or baby pouch for Evie.  I would like to get that ordered so when she arrives, I will be able to carry her hands free.  She is scheduled to make her appearance in only 10 more weeks!!!

I had a lot planned for the day, mainly to get a good dinner on the table, an apple crisp made for tomorrow’s breakfast, juice some elderberries, and get the bathroom cleaned.  We were out of milk so I had to go and pick some up at my parent’s house.  (We get goat’s milk from their neighbors and my parents store it until we can pick it up).  I knew the hour round trip plus a necessary run to the post office would take up most of the morning.

Spontaneously, my parents decided to take BOTH children for the day.  I wasn’t planning anything of the sort but luckily had a handful of diapers in the diaper bag for both.  So… that left me “free” for the day.  And I made the most of it!!!  After bringing Phil a smoothie and going to the post office, I put on a tape story and tackled the house!!  All the bedrooms were decluttered, dusted, and vacuumed.  The livingroom and kitchen floors were swept and ‘hands and knees’ mopped.  I made chili, cornbread stuffing, salad, and the cobbler plus did a ton of dishes.  I thoroughly cleaned the bathroom.  I did some minor decorating in the livingroom and cleaned the bookshelf.  I cleaned off the table and polished the chairs.  I didn’t sit down even for a minute.  It felt so good to accomplish so much, be so busy, and be completely task oriented!!  I can’t remember if or when I have had a whole day at home alone.  I felt a little guilty for enjoying it so much.

Tomorrow, I will have to be extra patient as I watch the spic and span house turn back into a home that people actually live in! 

My ankle is healing up.  It still hurts when I step on it wrong but with an ace bandage wrap and a lace up ankle supporter, I am able to hobble around.  I like to be efficient and busy so this has been somewhat of a trial for me (and everyone else, it makes me crabby!).

Monday, my SIL came out and spent the day.  It was so nice to have the company.  Sometimes being a housewife with two small children can be very lonely.  There isn’t a lot of extra time for a Mom to do other things.  It is a sacrifice well worth it.  I believe in the Lord’s promise that if I raise my children in the way that they should go they will not depart from it when they are grown.  What an awesome responsibility to have these little ones in my care to teach and train them in the ways of the Father so they will choose Him.  What a character building and molding experience (and long process) as I bring all my selfishness to the Lord and learn to give my life to Him and to serve my family.  Ouch, it is not always easy or painless!

I ordered a bunch of stuff from Michael and Debi Pearl about raising children and homeschooling.  I have been following their magazine for about a year and it has taken some time for me to learn about their style and not be frightened off by their intensity. They have very valuable and wise information and I appreciate that everything they share is Biblically based with scripture references.

The children are doing well.  It is nice to be working on our routine.  It helps me so much to have a “loose” plan for the week.  We have been working through the book Before 5 in a Row which is a pre preschool “curriculum”.  It lays out books and some Biblical passages and activities to do with small children.  We read together and work on basics like animal sounds and recognition, colors, shapes, counting, etc...  I supplement with library books and our own books.  Sawyer loves to be read to and Jubilee loves to be in a lap (what little of it is left!!).  We have been doing mat training which is teaching the children to stay on a mat and play contentedly.  They love it!  We get out special toys like blocks, gadgets, foam alphabets, tools, train sets, etc.  We are also starting up “seat work”.  Sawyer sits at the table and Jubilee sits in her high chair and they have an activity to do.  Yesterday they played with pattern blocks.  We do this right before dinner.  It is a nice time of having us all in the same room and allowing me to bustle around and get last minute dinner items taken care of. 

My hopes for the rest of the week:  pick grapes and make grape juice; harvest blackberries and make jam and freeze some for pies or cobblers; harvest wild elderberries and try making juice to add to teas this winter.  I am hoping to squeeze this into our busy schedule.  It will be a family time which is always my favorite!

Oh, BTW, a delicious find is pear jam.  I had some leftover pears that were quite ripe and I had all my jam making stuff out because I was making plum jam.  I decided to give it a try and Phil and the kids love it.  It is especially yummy on a cashew butter sandwich!  In fact, I only have one pint left!

Well I injured myself pretty good stepping off the deck late Thursday night.  Our deck is built but still needs a step so that first step is pretty big.  It was dark and I was unloading something from the car while Phil was carrying children to bed.  I stepped down, landed in a little hole, rolled my ankle, and wound up on the ground.  My ankle caught my full weight and I think I caught the rest of myself with my hands.  I am pretty sure there was a good pop from my ankle.  I lay there on the ground unable to get up.  I threw my shoes at the door to get Phil’s attention and he carried me to the couch.

About Evangeline..I didn’t really “fall” I more stepped and rolled on my side.  I had no pain whatsoever from anything but my ankle and the palm of my hand where I cut myself on a rock or something.  I don’t even think she got a jarring.  I have no cramping or contractions and she has been moving around normally.  She didn’t get any pain relievers in her system even though Mommy was tempted!  I think I will call the midwives on Monday just to check in.   I am thankful that God made a nice, cozy, padded place for her to grow!!

Phil has rolled his ankle many times plus we had our neighbor (an ER nurse) and a friend who is experienced with injuries and rehabilitation check things out.  We were confident that it wasn’t broken.  The treatment for a sprain is to elevate, ice, wrap, and stay off of it. 

Phil took Friday off but had to be at the First Freshman game to call the defense.  My friend Jen came over with her children and her mother Claudine stopped by in the evening to stay with us while he was gone.  I am not sure what I would have done without them!!!!  The little things that I take for granted like lifting my daughter into her high chair and dumping a poopy diaper in the toilet are huge ordeals when you can’t put any weight on one foot, are trying to handle crutches, and have a third trimester belly to balance! 

I was SO bored on Friday!!!  There is nothing worse than just sitting there!!!! Especially when there are things that need to be done.  I was playing the role of the dictator until Phil finally said, “I don’t need a backseat driver”.  Poor man, I know I can be terribly bossy at times!

The Renaissance Faire is this weekend.  We have gone every year since we met.  I was looking forward to the beautiful drive and a family outing. I am sorry we will be missing it.

Luckily, Phil is here to take care of us all weekend and I am hoping to be able to put a little weight on my ankle and have some better mobility by Monday.

It is official!  Back to real life.  We are starting up our schedules and I am spending this week ironing out the bugs and kinks.  We are getting up earlier, going to bed earlier, and I am planning specific easy-to-make meals for the entire week so I can shop one day and plan ahead for preps.  We are sticking with a bedtime routine best we can with baths, chapter reading, and Bible stories.  The kids have a couple of activities planned during the day so we are more structured in our playing and training.  The summer is quite loosey goosey so it does feel good to work on setting up a routine.

The children (and of course me) miss Phil terrible.  Sawyer asks for Daddy the moment he wakes up.  He asks throughout the day, “My see Daddy?” and everytime we get in the car (which we have done a lot this week), he gets excited because he thinks we are going to see Daddy.  When he gets hurt, he wants Daddy.  When something needs to be fixed, he says, “Daddy fix it”.  Sissy continually says Daddy throughout the day and is VERY excited when he comes home.  Daddy calls and talks to Sawyer to tell him he is on his way and Sawyer runs around shouting, “WHOOOHOOO”.  We adore Daddy!

On the training front….the kids and I (mostly me) had an unfortunate experience at the park with a mom’s group from church.  Sawyer, the ball of energy, had to be continually corrected for appropriate park behavior (staying away from the dangerous toys, waiting his turn on the slide, going down the slide the correct way, not putting bark dust on the slide, letting the other kids play, etc.).  Sissy decided to have little fits everytime she didn’t get her way, particularly during lunch.  She wanted to hold the sandwich, throw things, not share the water, etc.  What an embarrassment.  I went home in complete frustration and tears vowing to never leave the house again!!!  I posted on the parenting message board that I follow and got some great advice for training so we will be doing some outdoors/park training this fall as well.  Dare I try library group today….

Phil took us on a coutryside drive last night instead of doing our bedtime routine.  It was gorgeous!!!  We both LOVE where we live.  Where else can you find the rolling hills, variety of trees, and farm fields backed up to against the foothills!  Where else can you drive an hour West to the beautiful coast line or an hour East to a Mountain range, or an hour North to a big city.  We drove up to Silver Falls State Park and watched the sun go down.  I will admit that on the drive I was salivating over the copious amounts of blackberries just begging to be jammed and frozen for pies.  I was also screeching out at every ripe elderberry tree!!

A cute side note.  I asked Sawyer the other day in the car (as I often do) if he is my baby.  He said quite seriously, “No, Sissy your baby”.  Sigh…