I apologize for my previous post.  I wrote it half-serious and half tongue-in-cheek.   I am over my self-pity party now.  

Physically I am feeling a little better, and the sun is out today, so things are looking up.  I wonder if I should go get one of those lamps for people with Seasonal Affective Disorder?  My attitude really takes a dive when the sun is gone for 5 full days in a row. 

Ryan is feeling better as well.  No one else is complaining of an ailment at this moment, so perhaps we will be able to have a nice weekend. 

We are planning to go up to see Jeff's mom tomorrow.  If the weather cooperates, we may get to take a walk along the beach.  

Sunday after church we hope to put up our Christmas tree.  We've never put it up this early, but I knew it would make my husband really happy if we put it up early this year.  He's so into everything about Christmas. 

I hope you have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing. 

Blessings,

Jenn

There's not much to say on this gloomy day. 

I've not seen the sun since May. 

Well, it seems that way. 

Another child is sick with a cold. 

Being the nursemaid is getting old. 

I think I am catching his cold. 

Oh, won't somebody please leave me a comment to brighten my day? 

~Pathetic Jenn

This old geranium belonged to my grandpa who is now in a nursing home.  I could not bare to toss it out when we cleared out their place.  I remember him being so proud of this spindly thing.  He'd take me aside and show it to me when we'd visit.  He'd remark how he only gave it rain water he collected.  Somehow, I just need to keep this little plant going.  It spent the summer outside.  Now it is getting some sunshine from the inside.  

~Jenn

**  Update, my mom told me last night that Grandpa has to see an oncologist today.  He's had a fever and his blood work came back suggesting something is up.  I am asking for prayers. Thank you. 

Your kids have had the flu for what seems like months now.  Your routines lay shattered around you.  Your heart is sinking with the mess all around you.  Anyone relate?  If you are not there, you will be at one point this winter.  So what are we to do when those dulldroms come? 

The greatest gift we posses as homeschoolers is our opportunity to change.  We can change things up when school starts to get us down.  Change the location where you do school.  Change the books you are reading for awhile.  Change your attitude! 

Remember that quote from Charles Swindoll I posted the other day?  Attitude is in our power to control.  Are you going to see the negatives only?  Or are you going to see what treasures you have laying all around you?  It's up to us, Moms.  We set the tone of our homes. 

I delared this week to be "Serve Others Week" at our home.  We made dinner for friends with a new baby.  We babysat for friends.  We visited our elderly grandparents in a nursing home.  We wrote thank you notes to others who have been kind to us. 

I tell you these things not to brag or make you feel bad about yourself.  I tell them to you because I want you to be encouraged.  The antedote to feeling blah is to serve others and to be thankful for all you have.  It is really that simple.  How that looks in your world will be different from how it looks in mine. 

"You live more fully once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted." 

~Ruth E. Renki

"Happiness is contagious.  Be a carrier. "

~Robert Orben

"What the mind dwells on, expands."

~Norman Vincent Peale

I challenge you to find ways to shake things up next week in your studies if you are feeling blah, take a walk in the fall sunshine, rake leaves together, write letters to others, visit a shut-in, whatever that is for you,  just do it! 

~Jenn

Trevor and his new belt. 

I have to tell the story behind this picture.  It was taken on Trevor's birthday last week.  At the time he had a fever and could not go to karate, which was promotion night, of all nights!  His coach, knowing how hard Trevor had worked for this new belt, made the effort to get Trevor his belt anyway, stopping by our house to give it to him.  His coach said that it was Trevor's birthday afterall.  I was amazed.  To me, it could have waited another week, you know, teaching patience.   But, now I see another lesson was taught, even more powerful:  compassion! 

Good day to you.  It was another whirlwind weekend.  Thankfully, everyone was healthy enough to enjoy it.  Trevor did not have a fever, but was pretty tired.  I am hoping he can pace himself a little more this week.  So far, no one else is sick, either, a major praise. 

Here are some photos of our weekend, starting with a look at the cake I made for Trevor's actual birthday on Thursday, when he still had a fever. 

And Ryan got this on Thursday as well...

Friday we stayed home from our church's harvest party to avoid one more exposure opportunity. 

We had a Meixican pitch-in dinner with friends on Saturday and then walked their neighborhood collecting candy.  Here are all of our darlings. 

Sunday, we celebrated Trevor's birthday with family. (Oreo Icecream Cake) 

He was very excited! 

Have a great week.

~Jenn

"I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude.  It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position.  Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress... It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope.  When my attitude is right, there's no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me. "

~Charles Swindoll

So, how's your attitude today?  

A couple days ago, my attitude was starting to sink into the dumps.  I felt a lot like the cat in the above picture.  The newness of our sick-routine had worn off.  I was growing wearing of spraying, swabbing, washing, and praying.  I was so sad that Trevor was sick for his big week.  I was more than a little worried we would all soon be sick, too.  I was mad that we'd not be able to do all the fun things we had planned for this week.

I had been praying about my bad attitude, when I decided to tell my husband, who as it turns out, knew all about my bad attitude of late.  (Turns out I was not doing a good job of hiding it!)  It took my husband reminding me of our many blessings to "snap" myself back into "the game."  I am so thankful for him!  I feel so silly now, thinking such discouraging thoughts. 

"What the mind dwells on, expands."

~Norman Vincent Peale

All this to say, I want to encourage you today.  If you find yourself getting discouraged or under the weight of heavy trials, please tell someone.  Or better yet, ask them to pray with you.  It just may lighten your burden a little and help you to find new strength to carry on. 

Have a blessed weekend whatever your situation. 

~Jenn

Philippians 4:11-13 (Amplified Bible)

He's the life of the party.  He's the apple of our eyes!  He's the peacemaker.  He's our funny boy who always makes us smile.  He's louder than a locomotive.  He's  the most tender, thoughtful brother.  He's smarter than most.  He's all about things being in order.  He's the one who is always first to pray for our meal.  He's our $100,000 miracle baby.  And now he is 8!   

He will always look like this to me though.

No matter that he looks like this now. 

We love you, dear Trevor Jacob!   

 xoxoxo

Happy Birthday. 

~Love,

Mommy, Daddy, Ryan, and Grace

It looks like despite constantly nagging my family to keep their fingers out of the holes on their faces and diligent usage of hand sanitizer when out and about, my youngest may  have the flu.  He's had a fever and cough for the last 2 days.  Praise God he has no underlying medical conditions, so I am not going to panic. I am going to keep him hydrated and continue doing the things I was doing to help stop its spread. 

My husband emailed this list to me a few weeks ago.  I've seen other lists on other blogs, but thought perhaps it would serve as a good reminder to post this here.  One thing I do not want to do is proliferate the already growing amount of panic as the TV news is making this their pet of the month.  (oink,oink)

"Contact with the flu is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, can  be practiced :"

 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

 2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to
 eat, bathe or slap). 

3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). The flu takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the  throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, > gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't > underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method. 

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti >but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6.* Drink as much of warm liquids as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as
gargling, but in the reverse direction.      They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

If you do get the flu, here is a very good link from theCDC. 

So... with number 6 as my guide, I am off to make myself a little coffee!  (Doctor's orders!) 

~Jenn

We had a whirlwind trip 3 hours north to see Jeff's family yesterday.  The weather sure did not make me pine for our camping days, which was looking on the brightside, because it was rainy and cold. 

First, we spent a little time with Jeff's 91 year old grandmother.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures.    I did get some photos from our next stops. 

We went to a really neat orchard to buy some pumpkins, apples and homemade donuts.  They also had a corn maze, but it was raining and 40 degrees.  Maybe next year. 

Then we had to say hello to our favorite state park, IN Dunes State Park.  We spent some time in the nature center looking at displays, books and playing with puppets.  We also quickly drove by the lake. 

It was not a very inviting day at the beach, so we headed to the main attraction....

CAKE!!!

and PRESENTS!!!

and homemade spaghetti sauce by a real Italian! 

I could say it was another wonderful weekend, and it was, until just a little while ago when I discovered that Trevor has a fever.  We will see what the week brings.  I hope he gets well because his birthday is Thursday and we have a lot of plans. 

Have you met my new friend, Annie Kate?  Oh, she is so wise.  I wanted to be sure to introduce you to her so that you might glean from her as I have.  Go on over and read her latest post about her guidelines for going out.  You won't be sorry!  She put into words what I have been thinking about outside activities, especially this winter.  Thank you, Annie Kate. 

Blessings on your day!

~Jenn

Pictures courtesy of Mamakaren

Hello friends and family dropping by to see what is going on in our household.  Yesterday I was treated to a wonderful birthday party, far more than I deserved!

Just look at that chocolate deliciousness!  Oh, it was divine with icecream on top, of course and a nice hot cup of French roast on the side.  We also had pizza and vegetables, but the cake stole the show!

Here's wishful thinking me and the cake..

But who would really want to go back to being 24?  I'd still have a whole year left until I met my dear husband.  No, thank you! 

The afternoon went by too quickly with games to play.  The boys played Risk while we girls played Chutes and Ladders.  I think there is a Risk rematch in the works.  Trevor and Ryan beat up their elders with their unstopable alliance. 

Here is wishing you a lovely week.  I host Bunco tomorrow, so I will be busy getting things ready for that occasion.  It's back to work for me!

~Jenn

It's that time of the year, my birthday is almost here and that brings with it a little mad money to spend.  So I am here asking my friends, how would you spend a little money on yourself? 

Should I get this dictionary I have been drooling for? 

(Sugar Creek, Turkey Run State Park, October 2008)

Here it is Wednesday, already, the busy part of our week.  Thankfully,our week has been going well.  I hope yours is too.  I am especially appreciative for a return to better health for myself.  I am grateful that the kids are well at the moment, too.  I know so many who are not. (I am praying for you, Jane and Lynn.)

I am wondering if being in so many activities is wise this winter.  We are bound to get sick, being exposed to so many kids in church and other places we go.  When my youngest was born, we were told not to take him anywhere until March.  We followed those doctor's orders and ended up having the best winter ever.  No one had as much as a sniffle.  It was not easy, but it was worth it. 

So I've also been wondering, are your homeschool plans that you made at the beginning of this year still working for you?  As usual, my plans for our school year never match up with what really happens.  Reminds me how true Proverbs 16:9 is.  "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."  Why do I even make any plans?  But this is all good.  I am following His plan this year and trying not to get in the way with my ideas.  

Here's another thing I've been thinking about.  Kindness towards one another is a character quality that is lacking in my children right now.  We are reading through Proverbs, a chapter a day.   Sometimes I wonder if I am reading to the wall, in one ear, out the other! However, I will not give up.  We are going to keep reading, praying and working on this area of our lives. 

I think I will leave you with this quote. 

"I expect to pass through this world but once.  Therefore, if there be any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again."

~William Penn

Good Morning!  It was a blessed weekend.  The kids had fun with their great-grandparents.  Jeff and I managed to stay warm in Michigan despite the windy, cloudy and cooler than usual temperatures.  Here are some photos of our adventure. 

First up is a picture of our lovely camping cabin.  When they say primitive, they meant it!  That is all I will say about that.  It did keep us warm and dry.  And it was affordable.  And now we can say that we've slept in a mini barn. 

Saturday, our first stop was Holland, Michigan.  We found the most wonderful place to have breakfast.  I totally enjoyed the bottomless coffee.  Then we headed for their farmers market, totally amazing place.  We had no idea how many farms there were nearby.  The whole south west Michigan is a fruit growing bonanza!  These Michigan farmers are hard working, hardy souls! 

We got to briefly visit some lovely beaches.  The wind from the lake made it impossible to be on the beach before running back to the warm Jeep sounded prudent.  But, we did get to spend some time with our old friend, Lake Michigan. 

This is "The Big Red"  in Holland, Michigan, the most photographed lighthouse on Lake Michigan, I have been told. 

We also stopped at an orchard and got some divine Honey Crisp apples.  Have you tried one yet?  Oh, they are my new favorite!  It's like a bouquet of flavor when you bite into its crisp juicy sweetness! 

Sunday morning, we decided to take the slower way home, stopping at another of our favorite towns on Lake Michigan, New Buffalo, MI.  This is a trendy high rent district, but a very nice spot for a picnic lunch and a little walk on the beach.  It was still in the 40's at this point and a little windy. 

 View from top of the stairs...

 New Buffalo's lighthouse.

The best part of our weekend was realizing that home is where we wanted to be.  We enjoyed our time together and we enjoy our time as a family.  I came home content and ready to tackle the next few challenges.  I hope you had a nice weekend, too.   

~Jenn

15 years ago today. 

God has been so very good to us. 

Our marriage is a testimony to His faithfulness because it is by His grace that we are able to thrive. 

To God be the glory! 

Good morning to you.  Did you have a nice weekend?  We did not let any grass grow under our feet, that is for sure.  Not in any particular order:  we had friends over, attended "Living a Legacy" at church, went to a party for our friends who are back in town from California, went to church, ran errands, and went to the zoo.  And I spent a little time working on our lessons and plans for this week. 

Speaking of this week, it will be another busy one.  My husband and I celebrate 15 years of marriage this Thursday.  My grandparents from Arkansas are coming Friday to watch the kids while Jeff and I take off for a tiny, primitive cabin in SW Michigan.  (Hey it beats a tent!)  Anyway, as you might imagine, I will be busy this week working towards the goal of leaving 3 happy kids in capable hands for the weekend. 

Here are a few pictures from the weekend for interested grandparents who read this blog.  (Thank you, by the way!)

I have seen this same expression on my cat when she is annoyed.  This llama did not want to be groomed and it was fun to watch the zoo employee try to convince her otherwise.  Reminded me of dealing with my kids. 

These poor girs were trying to get my attention about some snake trouble. 

These two also reminded me of having kids. 

This is Tundra, the zoo's 24 year old polar bear.  The 35 year old bear passed away recently.  I never knew we had 2 bears.  Evidently, they had a morning bear and afternoon bear because the 2 could not tolerate one another, as is a polar bear's lot in life. 

This little penguin took a liking to Ryan, who is smitten with penguins and hopes to be a vet one day. 

Well, that's it from me for now.  I am out of pictures and words.  Until next time...

Be blessed,

~Jenn