Monster

Quinn's Quips...

Quinn told me last night that he thinks he needs to start "trimming the hair on my (his) legs". I said, nahh.... boys don't shave their legs, just look at Dad's hairy legs. He said, "well, it's just kind of scarey" and when I asked him why, he said, "well, it looks like I might be turning into a monster." He also explained that his hairy legs have like 1 inch long hairs and that Dad has 3 inch long hairs. I suggested letting them use my curling iron to keep all that leg hair in check....

The ultimate traveling cooler, AKA Purse

The ultimate traveling purse!

Some of you know that I've been in search of the ultimate purse to take on trips... one that doesn't have the traditional strap to hang on my poor aching shoulders. After a few hours I can't stand it anymore, my shoulders hurt so bad. I have to be prepared for just about anything, especially when away from home, so something small just doesn't work. Jen and I combed Phoenix and Angie and I combed Tuscan. I found some that I thought might "work" but decided to be patient. They were either too big, too small, too thin of straps, too expensive etc... WELL, today I was at Target and thought I would get creative in my search so I checked out the lunch box aisle and wouldn't you know it, there sat the perfect purse, uuum cooler. You wouldn't know it was a cooler unless you see the insulated lining which I've decided won't be too bad anyway because we usually take a water bottle or two with us while we are out on excursions. I just had to include these pictures so you could see my $9.99 traveling purse! I'm getting ready to try it out in 1 week when we head for the Smokey Mountains on spring break! If you double click on the pictures you might be able to see it better. The strap in the back zips together to form a wide strap or zips a part to make two backpack type of straps. COOL huh?
What kind of a purse/bag do you like to take when you travel?

Love to all, Leah

Cake Decorating

I'm back in "school"... this time it's something super fun, a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby. I learned a lot about what I've done wrong in the last several years while attempting to decorate birthday cakes. Tonight we learned how to make perfect frosting and how to get it on the cake without all of the crumbs being mixed in. I feel so enlightened... like, why was this all such a big secret?? Madison went to soccer practice tonight but will get in on the practicing and stuff at the next class (there are 4 classes). We are going to have to be practicing at home so some of you local folks just might get some cakes delivered to you. We certainly can't eat all of it!



Tony is going to coach Madison's softball team again, along with Gordon Bontrager and Darren Miller. They had the draft tonight to make up their teams and Madison is quite thrilled to have some of her good friends on her team. Peyton and Holyn are both on it (and of course Erin and Raeann) and she knows almost all of the other girls as well. Opening day will be here before you know it!

Well, that's all for tonight folks.
Love to all, Leah

PS... Joint Commission never did come this week. ...a week of ...w..a..i..t..i..n..g.. for nothing! Yippee! : )

Keepin' my day job

Well, Annie the CPR mannequin liked me so I guess I'm keeping my day job and putting my dreams of being a grocery check-out girl on the back burner. Cheryl and Addi from work were laughing at me because I was worried about passing this! I told them I didn't want to "wiff" on such an "easy" thing... yes, I've gone through much worse testing in my career! Let them laugh...! They aren't the ones taking it! (Hi guys!) I "noticed" every time our door opened today to our department (let me tell you, it's a lot) because I was sure that JCAHO would come visit today... nope. I guess tomorrow morning is their last chance. It's been a long week of waiting for them to come!

Tonight was CFN at church and I was the substitute for Quinn's class. The teacher got sick today and so I was the "desperation" back-up. Those kids have a lot of energy! It was nice out so we went and played a few games outside. A high school student was there for crowd control but she looked a little too nice and sweet for me so Tony came along as the bouncer for awhile. He always spices things up. I was telling the kids a few rules while outside such as if anyone picked up the (very tempting) rocks next to our grassy area and threw them (after I witnessed this, it caused the rule to be made), they would have to sit out but Tony pipes in, "No, that means I get to throw them at you!" Thankfully most of the 12 kids know how to take his jokes by now.

For those of you that know Chad & Kathy Eberly... her mom passed away very early this morning (3am-ish) after a heart attack last night. She's had quite a few health problems over the last years but I'm pretty sure none were heart related. Keep them in your prayers if you would.

Well, that's all for tonight. We finally are on the downhill stretch to the weekend.
Love to all, Leah

Unconscious basketball player

Quinn's Quips...

Last Saturday Quinn had a great play in his basketball game. He stole the ball from another boy who was dribbling in one place forever (looking for someone to pass it to) and dribbled down to his basket and scored. I was complimenting Quinn on this play after the game and his recollection of the play was, "yeah, I just waited until he was unconscious and then stuck my hand in there and stole it." The dribbling did go on for quite a long time... may be he really was unconscious! : )

If anyone would like to see the footage, this proud mom has it on video!

Forgotten password

Hello faithful readers... I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've written on my blog. I actually couldn't even remember my password... seriously (and it's only been 5 days)! I had to have Blogger email it to me! Pathetic! Just think how many passwords and numbers we all have to remember to get along in this world. I thought I would list them here but there are too many for me to think about right now.

It's only Tuesday but it feels later in the week to me...it should be at least Thursday night by now. It's been busy so far. We have Joint Commission at the hospital this week. They are the governing body that gives hospitals their accreditation and is the whole reason that insurances reimburse hospitals for services. Needless to say, their visit is a little on the important side! We used to know when they were coming but now they are 100% unannounced visits. They showed up yesterday morning and will be here through Thursday. I was hoping so badly that they would visit our department today... just to get the interviewing and inspections over with but they didn't come yet! I also gave a presentation to a cancer support group from 4:30-6pm tonight (which is no big deal... just a longer day than usual) and now "look forward to" renewing my CPR license tomorrow. That is not usually a big deal but unfortunately "someone" keeps changing many of the little steps to take and of course you have to get all of the steps right! I tried watching the updated DVD last week at work but kept getting interrupted and the dept. I borrowed it from wouldn't let me take it home. Oh well... I guess if I don't pass they can send me home and then I could avoid the JCAHO inspection... hey, not a bad idea! Just for you medical folks (and those of you who might care)... did you know that the ratios of compressions to breaths is now 30 to 2?? ... better build up those deltoids because if you are doing CPR you are going to need them!

Madison had Flames practice tonight that Pakka took her to. They are outside practices now. Did I write about that last week?... can't remember, anyway... she pulled a muscle in her back over the weekend by jumping on Heather's trampoline and is having trouble running. I hope that shapes up soon. She went to bed with a heating pad tonight. She is quite excited about her first ever BRAND NEW pair of soccer cleats. Can you believe that? I try to be a penny pincher if I can, our bank account agrees with us better that way. She's played soccer every possible season since the age of 4 and I've always gotten her shoes at Play It Again Sports or garage sales or hand-me-downs. So, after she wrestled her way into her shoes on Saturday and about up set the van from the wrestling, it was time for a new pair. Tony took her and bought this COOL pair that has this extra padding in the back and you take it out as your foot grows and it gives you a whole 'nother size... so it's like buying 2 sizes in one shoe. Pretty awesome huh? They are metallic blue and silver and match her Flames shirt. She even wore them home from the store. Ha!

OK, I really must head upstairs to finish folding the mountain of laundry on my bed. I really wish I was home all day to get this house stuff done. I could be such a good housewife. HA! oh well... not in my cards I guess. Actually my dream job is to be a grocery check-out girl and scan groceries all day. May be if I don't pass my little CPR test and demonstration I can just go and pursue that. Did you know that doctors don't have to have CPR certifications and never take CPR classes?.... Comforting to know that your doctor's last CPR class was probably some time back in med school huh? Sorry to be the one to break it to you but I 100% guarantee that things have a-changed since then!

That's all for tonight; I'm starting to whine and annoy myself.

Love to all, Leah

Church, 4H, Cakes

Hello Everyone,
It's been a busy week... yesterday afternoon I had a meeting at church at 4pm so I went straight there after work. The kids got off at Karla's house. She helped them with their homework and everything... and brought them to church for supper and then CFN. So, it was about 8 or so by the time I got home for the first time yesterday. That's Tony's type of schedule... not mine. He did join us for supper at church though... and then went back to work.

Tonight Madison went to her first 4-H Dairy Club meeting. She is going to show a calf, "Maybelle" at the fair. Maybelle hasn't been born yet but she's hoping for a girl. She had a lot to say when she walked in the door, sounded excited but then said, "That was so boring!" and so I said, oh, so you probably don't want to go back? and she said, "Oh, yeah, I really want to go back!" and was quite serious. So, she really did have a good time but I guess she couldn't keep up with the club's presenter. Mind you, this is for 3rd graders through senior high-ers so the embryo transfer stuff just didn't click. Ha! "They were talking about mucous and stuff."... but she was totally lost. : )

I was supposed to go with Madison to my first cake decorating class tonight (minus Madison) but it ended up being cancelled tonight because the Hobby Lobby (Holly Hobby as Bepee says) lady didn't have enough people. A friend from work and our neighborhood is also going (Michelle & Maddie) but they hadn't signed up yet. She called and told them she was coming and that she would pay when she got there but I guess the lady didn't believe her. Michelle and I think she had something else she wanted to do tonight instead. SO, the first class is now next week.

That's all for tonight. Drop me a line and let me know how you are.
Love to all, Leah

PS... Taylor Hicks is coming to the 4H Fair!

Quinn's thoughts on Tigger's lack of motherhood

"I'm so glad that we never made Tigger have babies.... because she might have gotten diabetes...or... she might have even died if one of her kittens was too big for her."

New Role at Church

Sorry I haven't posted for a few days. This crazy daylight savings time is for the birds and now we are all getting up an hour earlier and feeling tired all day because of it. Last night we tried to go to bed early... like 10:30 so we could get up earlier but I just kept laying there thinking, "it's really only 9:30 and I'm not that tired." Oh... the "problems" I have. (insert sigh here)

I have a new role at church now. Tonight was my first meeting as the congregational vice-chair person and 30 seconds after arriving I quickly put 2 and 2 together and realized that the chair wasn't going to be there and I was looked at to chair the meeting! Well now, that was an interesting experience... I hardly knew what I was talking about! We made up an agenda and went from there. Now I need to put whatever-it-was-that-we-talked-about into minutes (until we appoint a real secretary). (Really it wasn't quite as bad as I'm making it sound to be).

I always have many excuses as to why I can't do something, shouldn't be the one to have to do something, am not qualified, am too busy, it's not the right time in my life, we're gone too much on the weekends etc, etc, and etc. When they asked me to take on this new role of course my mind launched into all of the excuses, ready to pull any one of them out of my hat at the precisely needed moment to decline. I heard myself saying that I would consider it, pray about it and get back with them (who said that... was that me?). So, I did just that and guess what... my excuses just didn't fly with God! Can you believe it?!! So, I said yes to God's will and will try to leave all of the thousands of details for Him to figure out. I found this "poem" and was comforted by it. (see below) I certainly won't be a great hero of the Bible but it helps to know that I'm "probably" not the first leader who has felt a little anxious about new responsibilities or didn't feel qualified for the job. Ha.

When God Sends People...They Make Excuses:

Abraham was too old.
Moses stuttered.
Miriam was a gossip.
Jacob was a liar.
Gideon doubted.
Elijah was burned out.
First David's armor didn't fit, then he had an affair, and had someone killed.
Solomon was too rich.
Isaiah had unclean lips.
Jeremiah was too young.
Jonah didn't like the job.
Amos's only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Naomi was a widow.
Peter was afraid of death.
Thomas was from Missouri (the "show-me" state)
Paul was a murderer.
Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Lazarus was dead.
Martha was a worry-wart....

or so they claimed, before God's Spirit empowered them to rise to the occasion and become some of the greatest heroes of our faith.

Italian Pasta & Bean Soup

Karla brought over this soup one night and it was delicious! She made it with fresh herbs and I think that makes a big difference. Treat yourself while the weather is still cold and try some!

Italian Pasta and Bean Soup

1 medium onion, cut into 8 pieces
2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 rib celery, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ lb. fresh fennel (½ of a small bulb), tall stalks and leaves discarded and bulb cut into cubes
1 large clove garlic
2 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups canned chopped tomatoes with juice
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup cooked or canned white beans (she used the entire can)
½ cup short tube-shaped pasta (ditalini or tubetti)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons each (or more as needed):
Fresh basil
Fresh parsley
Parmigiano cheese

Combine onion and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped (or chop by hand). Heat olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add vegetables and cook until they soften (2-3 minutes). Stir in tomatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add beans and pasta and cook, stirring frequently, until pasta is al dente – about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, stir in basil and parsley. Garnish servings with cheese.

Buck Teeth

"That boy knocked his head right against my buck teeth and my buck teeth just went down into him."

Where he got the term "buck teeth" I don't know but he definitely doesn't have them and he was very serious while referring to his top front teeth.

Quinn's Quips

The dictionary defines the word "quip" as this...

quip –noun
1. a clever or witty remark or comment.
2.a sharp, sarcastic remark; a cutting jest.
3. a quibble.
4. an odd or fantastic action or thing. –verb, "to utter quips"

Tony is always after me to write some of Quinn's comments down. My response has always been, "but it's constant... I can't walk around with a notebook in my hand." His solution suggestions were to carry a note pad in my purse or start a Word file and record them there. Finally Madison said tonight, "you've got to write that down in your precious moments book" (I have no idea what she is specifically referring to). OK, OK, OK... I'll try. I know most of them probably won't be funny to a reader... because it makes a difference with the intonation in his voice, the setting etc... but I've consented to try. I'll keep a list going for a while and occasionally post them on my blog under the "Quinn Quips" and under "Labels" in the blog column.

The reason for Madison's urging tonight was because...Madison, Quinn and I were enjoying our supper at the table which consisted of spaghetti and among other things some corn on the cob. Now mind you... it is March in Indiana and yes, the corn on the cob was frozen and yes, it had been in our freezer for quite some time. First he saw me eating my corn on the cob and suddenly was quite worried that my teeth must be bleeding somewhere... well, I actually have had a toothache lately but no, it was just some of my spaghetti sauce that brushed against my ear of corn. He took a few bites of his corn and then inquisitively asked, "Does this have a paint ball in it?" I said, "What?... what do you mean a 'paint ball'?" Madison started laughing and then interpreted for him... in the movie Dennis the Menace, Dennis accidentally blew a glob of paint onto Mr. Wilson's grilled chicken and the comedy movie showed him trying to chew away at it. Apparently Quinn thought perhaps the same thing happened to his corn on the cob. No, no paint ball... but perhaps some freezer burn. "That's OK Buddy, you don't have to eat it anymore."

Select Comfort Bed

We have a new bed! Saturday was Tony's first day off in 5 weeks and he spent several hours putting our Select Comfort bed together. Just as advertised, it came in 6 different boxes. I bought new bedding...not the Plow and Hearth ones that I was dreaming of a few weeks ago but rather the Target brand of a bed-in-a-bag version. Ha! Actually it matches the carpet perfectly. Hopefully you can make out a little of the design by double clicking on the pictures. So, now we are trying to figure out the answer to the commercial's question of "what's your number?" We've slept on it for 3 nights so far and I'm amazed at how firm I like my side and Tony's side is quite soft. It's the perfect mattress for a couple who can't agree on a regular mattress where you both have to like the same firmness. I'm so excited! We've needed a new bed for a long time. I've promised my bed that I would be back as soon as possible when getting out of it in the morning! ; )

Bluffton Baseball Team

If you haven't heard about the tragedy endured by this baseball team, just turn on CNN or any other news show. Our church, Silverwood, has a lot of ties to Bluffton... actually more than we do with Goshen College and they are only 2 miles away. Our good friend Eliza graduated from Bluffton as did quite a few others from Silverwood. Several of our teens have gone or go there. A tragedy of this type is unimaginable... to try and grasp the pain of these families. This is the type of thing that keeps me awake at night. We will never know on this side of heaven why bad things like this happen... and to such good people. It reminded me right away of Olivet's bad accident and when 3 of my friends were killed... 2 of them close friends, Cindy and Alex. It happened in the Fall after my graduation so we were married and had just moved to Goshen. I remember how difficult the grieving was... to grieve "long-distance" without anyone who knew them. That was tough. I can remember crying and crying in a room with people who weren't feeling any of the things I was feeling. I don't think a Fall has gone by when I haven't thought of that accident and the friends that were "supposed" to be at my stage of life by now. Anyway, this is a round about way of saying that my heart hurts for these families and also for the friends who often are overlooked while going through the grieving process on their own as well. I pray that something good can come out of a tragedy like this.

These verses brought me some comfort tonight. Perhaps you will again be reminded of God's sovereignty as well.

Nehemiah 9:32-33
Now therefore, O our God, the great mighty and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love, do not let all this hardship seem trifling in your eyes -- the hardship that has come upon us. ... In all that has happened to us, you have been just; you have acted faithfully.

Isaiah 45:11-12. 24
Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts. ...In the Lord alone are righteousness and strength.

Praying for a peace that surpasses all understanding,
Leah

Spam Blog?

I'm trying to post on my blog tonight and I'm getting this "Warning" message that my blog has been blocked by "Blogger's spam-prevention robots." WHATEVER! I had to type in a given code but could take 2 business days for them to humanly review it! SORRY! It says I can keep "drafts" of my posts but cannot post them right now. OK, this is inconvenient but there are worse things in life... but I'm locked out of my own blog.

Suet Recipe

Is anyone interested in the suet recipe for birds? Quinn and I made it in Iowa and used Grandma Jo's recipe. I'm told the birds go through it pretty fast and we watched them chow down on it while we were there. It's very easy and Quinn and I loved making it together. Do you have any recipes that are easy for kids (and me too?). Please share by clicking on that little Comment section! ...come on... I know you can do it!

Suet for birds

2 cups Crisco
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
2 cups quick oats
2 cups cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1 cup wild bird seed

Heat Crisco and peanut butter until melted together. Turn off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Form into “cakes” that will fit the suet feeder. Wrap in wax paper and place in the freezer until you are ready to hang it for your birds!

Did I already tell you that I have one of the Peter Pan recall jars?...yep, ate about 1/3 of it already... not anymore though. Thank you Jesus for protecting me from getting salmonella! (The kids only eat the creamy, I go for the chunky).

My Little Girl

Music Video Codes By Music Jesus.com

OK, I'm not usually one for country music (really not) but as I mentioned in last night's post we were getting ready to watch the movie Flicka and I must say that this was an awesome movie!! The scenery and music was just breathtaking! Let's all say together, "we're moving to Wyoming!"... OK, just kidding, we're staying in flat as a pancake Goshen. It wasn't really the acting that was so great (not too bad though) but the story was just a great one for Madison. For those that don't know, it's a story about a girl, Katie, and her daddy (actually played by Tim McGraw). They constantly butt heads and find something to disagree about... this just so happens to occur in our household at times, although I wouldn't use the word "constantly" here. Several times during the movie Madison would say, "I know just how she feels"... after the daughter would yell, "you just don't understand". Like Madison this girl is a horse lover and her horse might have to be put down and Katie said something like, "go ahead and put us both down" (I can't get the exact phrase but you get the drift). The two end of seeing eye to eye and it's just kind of happy-sad. Madison and I had to have a couple of tears over it! Anyway, you all just really must see this movie. It's a buyer for us! Tim McGraw sings this beautiful song at the end that brings me back to the country music topic. At his concerts he dedicates this to his own daughters who are growing up too fast. So, this is for all of you who have daugthers and also agree that your girls are growing up too fast too!
Now that I've said all of that, grab a kleenex and listen to this song again so you get listen to the lyrics without reading my two cents worth at the same time!

Love to all, Leah

Weekend news

Saturday morning the kids both had BB games at 9am. Madison's team won 38-30 and she scored 20 points and played very well. Quinn's team got beat about 38-17 and he had 7 points. I hate it when they play at the same time! Madison had soccer practice from 11:30 to 1pm and after she ate lunch at home she went to Beppe & Pakka's for a couple of hours to work on a quilt that she and Beppe started. Glad she can learn quilting from someone because I certainly can't do it! Quinn and Nate played together for a few hours.

I started sewing some pioneer bonnets for Madison's field trip to the One Room School House. The students have to dress the part... a long skirt, apron, bonnet etc... the long skirt is required! I had to buy the long skirt ($3) and the shirt I found at Stuff in Iowa (used clothing) but I hunted all over for the bonnet and could not find one so finally I bought a pattern and made one. So, now I've just completed the 4th one. I'm on a roll. I figured that most girls won't have one so I'll just donate a few to the 4th grade. The first bonnet took me 2 hours but this last one only took 1 hour... so I've gotten faster over time. They certainly aren't perfect... I bet I haven't sewed anything other than mending in Madison's 10 years of life! Isy got a good laugh at the expense of my sewing machine when I called to ask her a sewing question. I told her my machine is at least 25 years old, probably has never been serviced or oiled and that I had already broke one needle (I'm up to two now... on cotton fabric!). Ha! I'm making due and the fabric is actually miraculously looking like a bonnet when it's been transformed by my machine. Shoot, I'll just give you a picture of Madison wearing the first bonnet.


Last night we had quite a bit of ice... not as much as you got in Iowa but enough to cancel many churches. Well, in 16 years Silverwood has never cancelled a Sunday morning... nevertheless I thought I would check the news this morning just in case... nope, not there as expected. So, we rushed around (like all Sunday mornings) and drove to church early because we were greeters only to find a note on the door that said church as cancelled! Can you believe it? No TV news announcement, nothing on the radio... SO, everyone DROVE to church to find out that church was cancelled... OK, something needs to improve in the communication there. I guess we need a plan in place for the next time. The roads were a little slushy but really not too bad... we've driven to church in much worse weather before. We made the best of it and went to River Oaks Church with Matt & Lisa and met Don & Isy and Chad & Tracy there (they both go there already).

Tonight is our family movie night so I think we're going to watch Flicka... thanks to the Slabach family rental that we are benefiting from. I hope everyone has a good week.

Love to all, Leah
PS... Madison just broke needle #3... practing on a piece of 100% cotton fabric. I think my dinosaur of a machine might be the reason... hmmmm...

FBCU dinner

Last night Tony and I went to the Farm Bureau Credit Union kick-off dinner of their 75th anniversary. He was invited because of being on their Supervisory Board. It wasn't in my top 10 things I wanted to do last night but it turned out to be a very enjoyable evening... rich with history and so that was neat. Apparently the FBCU was started by 13 individuals who were gathered together around a pot belly stove 1932. Seven of those folks agreed to pay the $5 membership fee. Three of them could pay right away, the others made payments. Anyway, the story goes on with the ending being what FBCU is today. To commemorate the 75th the volunteer board members are all receiving a chiminea (a new word for me). That was really nice wasn't it?



Today I went grocery shopping and spent over $100 on groceries! I haven't gone to the store in about 2 weeks and we were out of white milk for a week now. Quinn was complaining because our "refrigerator is bare!" Not any more.

I also went and helped in Madison's class and spent all my time photocopying. It is a time consuming process. I wonder what photocopying will be like in 20 years? Surely faster than it is now.

So anyway, I just thought I would catch you up on our lives. We don't have big plans for the weekend. Tony worked 19 hours last weekend (Sat & Sun) so I'm hoping he won't have to work that much this weekend.

Love to all, Leah

President's Day Weekend Highlights

A winter friend perches close by the bird feeders during some snow flurries at my parent's house in Iowa.
The kids and I sure enjoyed a long weekend in Iowa. Sorry I didn't update my blog over the weekend. Here are the "Top Ten" things of note from the weekend.

1. My health-conscious Rachel Ray meal of mashed cauliflower served over whole wheat noodles was received with a "that was great!" comment from Madison... the other 9 of us thought it was "it's OK... if that's the only thing you have to eat" (a quote from my Dad!). PS... None of the kids knew the sauce had cauliflower in it and we aren't telling!

2. Beating everyone in Call Your Partner- Rook. I seldom win at card games that require concentration.

3. Uncle Jeff took all the kids for 4-wheeler rides in the snow. So fun!

4. Dad's ewes had a set of twins while we were there, putting the proud shepherd up to 7 living lambs so far this month.

5. Quinn and I made homemade suet for the bird feeders. He took literally over 50 pictures of all of the birds in the backyard. "May be I'll grow up to be a person who takes pictures of birds." He loved them.

6. Quinn taking the camera along on the way to the Amish country store to take a picture of "nature... and the mountain ranges and stuff."

7. Spotting a Barred Owl in the backyard and actually getting a fairly good picture of it. (See below).

8. Shopping with Mom and Amy and finding a pair of $80 shoes on sale for $15 ... in the color and style I was hoping for! I also found a Coach purse for $35!!! BARGAIN!

9. Madison went to school with Jenna for most of the day on Friday and was also a pupil for Aunt Amy for the day. We didn't see much of Madison and Jenna for the weekend. They "take-off" and show up for meals only.

10. Quinn and I visited my 93 year old grandma and actually had a nice conversation without 4 other kids and 5 other adults there to compete with. When we left Quinn told me what a nice visit that was and how fast the time went. I hope he'll remember it forever. He actually sat on a chair and visited with us too!

The Barred Owl Quinn spotted in the tree.



Jenna and Madison attempt to smile for the camera on a snowy-sunny day!


4-wheel'in with Uncle Jeff!

Quinn hanging up the homemade suet in Grandma and Grandpa's back yard.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This picture was taken in our yard. Madison discovered a bunch of icicles this late afternoon with water dripping from them. It was beautiful! This was the kids' 4th snow day today. I stayed home with them and it was actually a beautiful cold crisp sunny winter day. The snow was so pretty. Karla and I took our kids plus Nate sledding at Beppe & Pakka's house for close to 2 hours. They had fun. Poor Beppe has a horrible cold so we felt bad for her!

As far as valentine's day... it didn't really seem too different from any other day I guess. The kids' party at school will be tomorrow I guess... at least I'm sending in everything planning for it to be tomorrow. Tony didn't get home until 8:30 so I told him he owes me a romantic evening out some time! He got me 2 CD's and a nice card so that was nice of him.

Well, that's all for now. I'll add some sledding pictures for you to enjoy. The kids and I are going to Iowa tomorrow after work/school until Monday. As far as I know the weather is supposed to hold out.

And in the Valentine's spirit... a special "I love you" to each one of you. I'm blessed to call you family and friends!

Love, Leah



Our view from the windows!



Nate & Quinn threaten me with snow balls.


Katie and Nathan pause for a split second.



Madison heads for the top of the hill again.

"Treacherous"

"Treacherous" is the word Quinn used to describe our roads and our weather today. Eight inches and still snowing! We were wondering how much snow we had so far tonight, so around 7:30 Madison volunteered to run out and measure it. This was near our front door so it had been blowing some but she measured 8 inches there. Our street is close to being blown closed. I can't imagine that they will have school tomorrow. It was canceled today, our 3rd snow day in the last 2 weeks. Thankfully Karla was planning on watching M & Q if they had a delay and by the time I dropped them off for the 2 hour delay she had just heard that school was canceled. She watched them for the day and of course the kids had a good time, playing in the snow and squirting the snow with colored water etc... She is always so creative. So far tomorrow there is a 2 hour delay. The kids and I are planning on going to Iowa for their long weekend (Fri-Mon), like they need any more time off. I hope the weather doesn't put a halt on our plans!

All of my patients canceled today except for one! Tomorrow everyone has already canceled except for one mid-afternoon one. They are just considering closing the office and having us all take a PTO day. It doesn't really pay to have the office open without making any money. I already told them that if school is cancelled that I'll stay home for sure. So, I'm hoping it is I guess... I know it won't be fun to send them to school in June now but I like the instant gratification... plus it's Valentine's Day!

Tony got home around 8:30 tonight and borrowed a snow blower and he is now taking it back... but I just looked outside and it's already starting to blow back over the edges. Oh well, at least we aren't upstate New York!

Well, that's all for tonight... nothing too "newsy" I guess.
Love to all, Leah

Valentine Cookies

Tonight I finished up the valentine cookies for Quinn's valentine party at school on Wednesday. I was assigned 2 dozen sugar cookies. It's been a 2 step process... I made the dough on Saturday and thought I would bake them yesterday afternoon but that didn't work out so I finished them tonight. I have to be honest and say this is not my picture of my cookies but I found this picture at www.flickr.com and this person used the same exact sprinkles that I did. I just didn't put quite as much on! The kids like to decorate them like this though. I like to taste the cookie in there some where. Anyway, I was amazed at how close they looked to mine. I'm looking for the perfect sugar cookie recipe. I've used a couple of different ones but it seems like they crack and break or they stick to the pan. Do you have the perfect recipe? I need it!! I enjoy eating these cookies that's for sure! ; ) And it was all worth it after Quinn finished his cookie up and said, "Thanks Mom, for everything you did for me today... like, you had my snow pants and hat in my backpack this morning and my boots all ready to go". I just love having a # 1 fan. Everyone needs one. He even put a note on my pillow tonight telling me he loved me and he put some XX's and OO's on it. Tony got a note too. Some day he is going to be quite the charmer with the ladies...in about 30 years right? Oh~ what did I need to send in for Madison's party you ask?... a box of Cheez-It crackers! Ha! Was that ever easy!

That's all of the "heart"-warming stories tonight.

Love to all, Leah

Sleep Number Bed

I’m so excited because we are actually getting a new bed!!!!! Our bed is terribly uncomfortable. It’s a waterbed and the frame was made by Don Jr. in shop class at IMS in about 1984 or earlier. The mattress was a hand-me-down from Don & Isy because it was worn out for their tastes. It has LONG since lost the baffles so it is a free flowing bed and every time one of us turns over the other usually wakes up! After months of research and shopping and actually testing (sleeping on Amy & Jeff’s bed) we’ve decided that the Sleep Number Bed is for us! They even tipped us off to the factory outlet so we are getting it for 50% of the mall-selling stores. I’m practically counting down the days until it arrives in the MAIL… (interesting huh?). Now I must have some new sheets and then I’ll need a new quilt to match, (this picture is one I have my eye on...) then we might as well clean the carpet while there is no bed in there and then we might as well take down the wallpaper border because it won’t match the quilt anymore and if the border is down, we might as well paint. This will lead us to need new curtains and a window seat cushion too. We’ll need a headboard and we might as well get a dresser to replace our Sauder version… hmmmm, I think I could write a book, “If you give Leah a new mattress”.

Science Fair and Basketball

Today was the Science Fair for the Concord schools. Kids displayed their science projects that they have worked on and had them judged by "scientists".

If you double click on these pictures they should get bigger for you.


Madison's project was "Which ear plug works the best?" She tested different brand name ear plugs to see which one blocked the most sound from room noise, a mixer and a cell phone ring. Surprisingly a marshmallow worked the best to block the noise of a cell phone ring. She used a decibel meter to determine how loud the sounds were.


Quinn's project was called "Just Cool It!" and he performed different tests to find the fastest way to cool down a can of pop. He found that water, ice and salt cooled a can of room temperature pop to a chilly 37 degrees in only 8 1/2 minutes. Pretty fast huh? We all had fun with the projects and learned about the scientific steps of research.

The kids also each had basketball games today as well. Madison's Upward team lost 18-30. She scored 10 points and played well. Quinn's team won (I can't remember the score) and he had about 8 points and at least 10 steals. He was Mr. Scrappy out there today!

Tony worked all afternoon. Well, that's all the highlights from today. Take care!
Love to all, Leah

Update on Madison's wrist

Madison had her ortho apnt today to check on her left wrist. He said that he thinks she might have a ganglion cyst. It is MUCH smaller than this picture shows! It may or may not be related to the sprain she had previously. She could have possibly had some tendon damage at that time which created some chronic inflammation which led to the cyst. The treatment for now is watch and wait. If it gets larger he may try to drain it. Usually they take care of themselves. We have to do the physical therapy to strengthen her wrist and he laughed quite freely about the 3# weight I started her out with. He recommended a 6 oz start because it is so much weaker than the right!! I just thought since her right hand could easily do the 3# weight that her left hand should too! The only restriction is no push-ups in PE because that movement causes her quite a bit of pain. So, I'm thankful that a fracture wasn't missed on her 1st x-ray and that this should resolve in time.

Thanks for your concern.

Love to all, Leah

Anybody want some cat treats?

I bet no one has as picky of a cat was we have! Tigger has been driving us crazy lately with her incessant meowing! It is all because she loves to go outside at night time and prowl around and then she always comes back in in the morning and sleeps her day away. Well, it's been so cold for nearly a month that she can't go out. I've opened the door for her several times and she gets all "blinky"... she blinks really fast, her fur gets blown back out of her face and her body language reads "nope, not yet!". Tony said she went out for him and she walked 10 steps away and then turned around and sprinted back inside. The poor thing.. Poor us! So, I've been feeling sorry for her and I bought her some cat treats. May be once a year we get her some so they really are "treats". Well, she turned her nose up and walked away! We've tried several times and she just won't eat them... they're tuna fish... something every cat should eat. She's so finicky. So, I've tried babying her a little and giving her milk on a plate. The plate has to be clean (not one we just used).. the milk has to be fresh (not from the open cup that sat in the refrigerator overnight). So, you can see I'm really trying to please her, and get the meowing to stop! Today I bought her 2 kinds of treats. The first one she gave me the "are you kidding?" look. The 2nd one, a chicken one, she finally ate. Whew! OK, at least she was quiet while she was eating it. Anyway, just thought there might be a cat owner reading who understands the effect of cabin fever on cats and have sympathy on us. I've made her take time-outs in the garage but the kids think I'm mean. I just want the meowing to stop....

Routine Day

Today was warmer than yesterday and it's been decided to have school tomorrow... after a 2 hour late start. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have 3 committments outside of my work day... starting with the dentist at 8:10, an appointment after work and ending with a 7pm VBS meeting at church. I'm sure the day will go fast. Dr. P. is gone this week and the RN is on vacation and so I'm left with all of the care myself with no other clinical person to help me and it was quite overwelming today. I don't know why they think I'm a wonder woman but tomorrow at 11:00 I'm waving the white flag with my director!

Tonight was a night to get started on the week's laundry. Quinn was double checking me tonight, to make sure I've started it. I guess he likes clean clothes too.

Sorry, it was a boring day today.
Love to all, Leah

"Get this taken care of before softball season!"

Hello to all of you co-frozen people (except for Doug & Jen in Arizona),

It was minus 8 this morning and no I didn't take this picture but it represents a Midwestern day today.

Here are the highlights from today:

1. We've enjoyed the Super Bowl talks today surrounding the Colts win! yeah!
2. School was cancelled today. Madison spent the night at B & P's. Pakka picked Quinn up this morning.
3. The kids and Beppe & Pakka came and had lunch with me at the hospital. That was fun. I think it's been about a year since I've actually sat in the hospital cafeteria. What a nice break for me.
4. Madison had her left wrist x-rayed again... check-up on Friday.
5. School is cancelled for tomorrow too (Midwestern wimps!).
6. Madison is spending another night at B & P's. Do we need to pay some rent?
7. Quinn is a homebody so he's cozy in his own bed tonight. He's going to play with Nate tomorrow and give B & P a break (my choice, not theirs).
8. Tonight I worked with my neighbor, Darlene, on planning the food for the parent-teacher conference meal next week. A little tricky since neither of us are going to be there but so many parents are willing to help... it's been easy to get another 20 people involved. We are good delegators! : )
9. Madison managed to slip "Dog Obedience Class" in to her busy evening with Karla and Katie. She went along for the sheer joy of it. : ) (with their dog)

I'm a little concerned about Madison's wrist. For your refresher... a year and a half ago (yes!) she fell off her scooter and sprained her left wrist. We had it x-rayed and she was in a splint for a few weeks and that was pretty much the end of the story. Well, very occasionally, or may be I should say, "rarely" she would comment about how it would still bother her sometimes. She was usually trying to do something like a hand-stand or something else kind of rough so I just dismissed it. As of lately, she's made more comments about it hurting in situations that shouldn't cause pain, like pushing up and out of bed with her left wrist on the bed to push. I thought we need to at least get it checked again (hypochondriac mother?). I took her to Dr. Wagner, an orthopod in Goshen who has a special pediatric interest. He found her left wrist to be weaker than the right, gave her PT exercises to do and ordered another x-ray with the hint of possibly an MRI. Well, she can't even do the exercises because they hurt too much. It's simple stuff like squeezing a ball... I had her try it tonight and she quit because it hurt too much. I gave her a 3# weight for her just to use with range of motion exercising of her wrist. I seriously thought she would laugh at these exercises but she actually quit and said she couldn't do them! OK, now I'm really the hypochondriac mother. She goes back on Friday. We'll see what he says. I'm praying that this is nothing but tendonitis or something simple. Here is Tony's concern after I told him about the latest attempt at wrist exercises..."Well, we have to get this taken care of before softball season!" Ha! Leave it to the dad/coach to worry about her catching hand! Anyway, sorry, that was kind of long.

I'll let'cha go. Good-night and stay warm.
Love to all, Leah

"Souper" Bowl and Soup

Hello from 1 degree Goshen! We think it's pretty darn wimpy but they've cancelled school tomorrow because of the cold. Goshen and Elkhart cancelled first which means Concord follows because of peer pressure. Tony and I think it is ridiculous and the real reason is because of some wanting to stay up late for the super bowl tonight. Who knows, may be we'll get the call that says it's too cold for Rollpak to function tomorrow, and may be it's too cold for the hospital too. Anyway....wonder what they are going to do for the rest of the week which is supposed to be just as cold.

Today after church we went to Beppe & Pakka's house for lunch. Terry, Karla, Nathan & Katie joined us along with Darren M. and Rae Ann. The kids and the dads went sledding for 2 hours in the backyard in the afternoon. I think the temp was around 5. (Kids can go sledding for 2 hours but it's too cold for school tomorrow?...sorry). Anyway, it was a fun afternoon and was a great meal. The sledding ended with Rae Ann and Tony sledding into the river. That was quite icy and ended the sledding right away. Nothing that some hot cocoa and smores didn't fix.

So, tonight is the big super bowl. There hasn't been something this exciting around here in a long time. There are MANY fans for the Bears and the Colts in Indiana so the rivalry is intense. It's half-time and for all of the turn-overs the Colts have managed to be ahead at the half. Hopefully they hold on.

So, the potato soup "problem" from Friday night (read back if you are clueless) has generated quite the conversation with my blog readers so I thought I would just give you the recipe and let you decide if Quinn was right to say that "even when I look at it it makes my stomach hurt". Make it yourself and give me some feedback. The other 3 of us thought it was delicious! I've changed it just slightly from the original but I'm still giving Karla all the credit for it (even though she doesn't remember the last time she made it!).

Potato Soup

8 slices bacon, crumbled
1 cup chopped onion
1-2 T butter
2-3 cups cubed potatoes
2 cups water
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 3/4 cup milk (more for thinner soup, less for thicker)
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
2 cups of cheese (like Colby-jack)

Microwave the bacon until crisp. Drain the fat and crumble bacon and set to the side. Saute onion in water and a little butter until soft.
Add potatoes and water. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until potatoes are soft (about 15 minutes or to your liking). Stir in soup and sour cream; gradually add milk. Add salt, pepper, bacon and cheese. Heat to a comfortable serving temperature. Do not boil.
Yield: About 7 cups

The Colts are back on. See ya!
Love to all, Leah

A busy Saturday

This morning was spent at Upward Basketball games including team picture day. We were there by 8:20 this a.m. and the day was a good one! Madison's team, the Lady Tigers, played the Lady Hoosiers and won 24-22. Madison scored 12 points including the winning basket. This picture of her was taken right at the beginning of the game... she was shhhhh'ing Tony so that he wouldn't coach her from the fan section. : ) If you dbl click on the picture it will enlarge but it's also pretty grainy because of the lighting in the gym. Quinn's team, the Sharks, played the Cobras and also won 30-16. Quinn had 6 points and played well defensively. It's amazing how much they improve from year to year.

Madison had Flames soccer practice from 12-1:30. It's now on Saturdays and off of Thursdays. There will be some Saturdays when basketball will conflict but I think it should be OK most of the time. She and Peyton actually weren't looking forward to going today. They were worried about all the running and sprinting they've been doing lately at practice. Ha!

Quinn had a bowling birthday party from 3:45-6pm tonight for Nicholas and Alex Reverman. They turned 8 and he's been buddies with them since pre-school and their mom took Quinn to preschool. He had a good time and said the boys were happy with their skateboards.

Madison and I worked on her Science Fair project this afternoon. Both of the kids are now done... but we have to get them on their display boards yet. She tested several different types of ear plugs to see which ones blocked the sound the best. She also decided to test a cotton ball and a little marshmallow too. We used a sound meter and guess what she found out?? The marshmallow actually lowered the sound level by the most decibles out of all of the ones tested. Soooo, save your money on ear plugs and just go for the marshmallows! That was a fun and very unexpected outcome.

It is still FREEZING and BITTERLY cold! They were calling for more snow but I honestly think it's too cold to snow. Right now it's 2 degrees outside and they say the windchill is around -30. Tony took the recyclables in today and thought he got frostbite on his ears (I guess he forgot his hat?). It's a good evening to stay in and sit by the fire. I made a chocolate cake for lunch/dessert at Beppe and Pakka's tomorrow. The Slabach's are coming for lunch and also Darren Miller and Raeann. The kids are hoping to go sledding in the back yard but I don't know how long they'll be able to stay outside. We'll see...

Well, that's all for tonight. The day went fast and we kept quite busy as usual.

Love to all, Leah

Brrrrrrrrrr!!!!

It is so co-co-co-co-COLD! (That was supposed to sound like my teeth chattering). Wow!... with the wind chill it is well below zero. The high tomorrow is supposed to be 10 but the wind will make it seem like -30 I guess. Didn't stop Madison from playing outside after school though!

Today was my day off from work. It was a busy day. I took the kids to school this morning because I delivered Beppe's party potatoes to Quinn's classroom. They just finished reading "Stone Fox" and part of the setting involves a potato farm. If you don't know the story it really has quite a sad ending and I had to hold back the tears just listening to the re-telling of it at supper last night!! The students had to write down their favorite potato recipe and if they brought a sample in they got $25 extra in mini-economy money (pretend money). So, Quinn quickly called Beppe up to ask her to whip him up a batch for 22 students to sample. (Notice that he didn't even contemplate asking me to make them). I guess they had 10 potato dishes and Quinn had 5-6 "sample" helpings of his own potatoes. He was quite happy with the whole thing.

After that I went to Panera Bread for coffee with Lisa, Eliza, Karla and Angie. It's always good to catch up to them. Then I went back to the school for 3 hours to volunteer in Madison's classroom. I graded their math and spelling papers and took time out for lunch with Madison today. I told her teacher I would come for about 2 hours on Fridays. I'll have to take turns with who I have lunch with. Madison had to buy my lunch today... I had NO money, except for some coins! Luckily she scratched some up in her back pack. Ha! She found that to be quite amusing. It was Colts/Bears Spirit Day today. The kids were to wear their favorite team colors. Wow... there was electricity buzzing today. I think the teachers had to be more disappointed than the students when it was too cold to go out for recess today and all that energy had to stay inside!

Tonight I made Karla's recipe for potato soup. Tony, Madison and I thought it was really good. Quinn on the other hand threw a big fit and "just looking at it made my stomach hurt."... that lead to one irrational statement after another and pretty soon he was saying that, "I should just go live in the homeless center" and that his "heart was broken," "no one loves me" etc... Madison found this conversation quite amusing from her bedroom but we were quick to remind her that she used to throw the same kind of fits in 2nd grade too!! Then, we did some quiet giggling with her. Poor Quinn. He was so tired ("I am not!") and after 1 little pathetic taste he got his precious quesdilla instead and went to bed! Whew!

The kids have basketball and pictures in the morning. We need to leave around 8am so it will feel like a week day. I better go tell Madison to close her book for tonight. Have a good weekend!

Love to all, Leah

Snow

We have a couple of inches of snow on the ground but nothing like some of the surrounding communities which have gotten a lot. It is really, really cold though and the kids haven't even been allowed to go out at recess. It doesn't stop Madison after school though. She was right out there for over an hour... I would have been frozen solid but she and Heather shovelled off the driveway and played in the fluffy snow. We had a quiet evening at home tonight... Tony got home around 7:30, that's better. I'm still working at the laundry and of course supper and dishes. I'm tired... not back on schedule yet.

Short and sweet tonight.
Love to all, Leah

PS... Mom and Dad, using the GPS in AZ was great! We highly recommend it for everyone. We didn't pull out a map once and now we think we need our own (great).

Arizona travel details

We had a great time in Phoenix and Tucson last week! I’ll try and give you the highlights. The purpose of our trip was for Tony to attend some meetings with the Farm Bureau Credit Union board members and some of their executive management. He is a volunteer on their supervisory committee… that’s really my full extent of knowing what that all means!

We flew out on Tuesday night and got to Phoenix around 1:30am (our time). On Wednesday we went out for brunch to the Cracker Barrel and then Doug and Tony went golfing and Jen and I went shopping. It was a beautiful sunny day in the low 70’s… perfect! It was so good to see Amanda (12) and Jay (8), although for a very short time. Jay just couldn’t understand why Tony couldn’t just leave me in Tempe with them and he could go to the Tucson meeting himself! Amanda has grown so much since the last time we’ve seen her. She’s only about ½ inch shorter than I am! The next time I see her I’ll be looking up at her. We had a delicious grilled steak supper with their family and before you knew it our evening was over.

Tony and I left on Thursday morning to head for Tucson. We picked up Sanford and Mary Lou at the airport. We were soooo hoping we could get to the Karchner Caverns that Jen and Amanda told us about but we ended up just not having enough time. The guys’ meeting time ended up earlier than we expected… they needed to “report in” by 4:30. After their meeting the whole group (about 30 or so with spouses) went to a steak house for supper. They had everything very well organized and coordinated.

Friday Angie (yes Angie and Mary Lou were both ther!… how awesome!) and I went shopping at the mall. Friday night we went to this awesome Mexican restaurant. They had mariachi singers walking around and a huge menu selection.

On Saturday afternoon we went to Old Tucson Studios....it was an old western town with a “gun fight” show and all. We didn’t have much time there but we sure drove through some beautiful scenery on the way home through the mountains. We have come to appreciate the variety of colors we have in the Midwest though. Being in the desert reminded us just how many shades of TAN and BROWN there are! Saturday night we went to another steak house and then to see the broadway style production of “Two Amigos” at the Gaslight Theatre. It was a late night… getting back to our room around mid-night or may be a little later. We packed up our room for an earlier departure in the morning. It's been such a great trip though!

We left on Sunday morning at 7am for our long trip home. We flew from Tucsan to Denver to Chicago to South Bend. I had just thought to myself about how smooth the day was going, the flights were on time, thanked God for such a good day… when the day took a bit of a small twist. We sat on board a plane that must have been 85-90 degrees inside for 1 hour before they made us de-plane and get on a different plane. That all set us behind by about 2 hours but I appreciate their detail to safety! : ) …something about a piece of metal that wasn’t secure enough and was near a tire and could possibly rub against it… tires are good things when you have several 100 tons trying to land on them! We arrived back to South Bend to weather that was 50-60 degrees cooler and with snow.

We really had a great time though. The hotel (which I decided really was more like an “inn”) was beautiful and really pretty small... only about 30 or so rooms. I would definitely go back and do recommend it. If you haven’t glanced at it you can find it at http://www.hacinendadelsol.com/ Tony enjoyed learning more about the credit union and I enjoyed the rest, relaxation and shopping! The kids did great with Beppe and Pakka and they said the time went fast. The first full day we were gone Quinn instantly had a stomach ache when I talked to him on the phone which I think instantly improved when we hung up. Tony asked, “Did you get a stomach ache because you were talking to Mom?” and Quinn had to admit with a little homesick sounding “yes”… like I said, I’m positive he forgot all about our separation when he hung up the phone!

So today it was back to the real world. Too bad we can’t go on vacation about once a month to recharge the batteries. It was a busy day at work but not crazy so that’s good. I still have about ½ hour of dictations to do but I’m hoping I can find the time tomorrow.

Well, I need to finish up some laundry. I have a small mountain of it now.

Love to all, Leah

Home safe and sound

Just reporting in that we arrived home around 8:30pm yesterday...about 2 hours later than planned. We had a great time but 6am this morning sure felt like 4am... Tuscan time. Ha! I'm heading out the door for work and will write tonight about our adventures.

Love to all, Leah

Arizona bound

Well, we all made it for full days at work and school today so that was good! Everyone seems to be feeling much better.

Tony and I are leaving tomorrow evening for Arizona. He is a volunteer member of the advisory board where we do our banking... Farm Bureau Credit Union. They are having a planning meeting over the weekend in sunny Tucsan so I'm going along for the ride. We are going to spend a day with Doug & Jen in Tempe (late Tuesday night to Thursday sometime) and then on to Tucsan for his meeting which starts Thursday evening and then we return on Sunday. We are staying at www.haciendadelsol.com which looks pretty spiffy. We are both looking foward to the break. The kids are staying with Beppe and Pakka for the next 5 days. It was a big packing job tonight!

That's all I have time for tonight. I really need to finish packing a few things and get myself to bed. I must remember the last minute things in the morning... one of them being Madison's basketball T-shirt. They have their first games on Saturday. After she went to bed I looked high and low for that thing...needing to pack it. I finally glanced at her as I'm combing through her room and realized that she wore it to bed!! Well, at least I found it!

I'll try to report in from Arizona. I'm not sure how the Internet access will be once we get to Tucsan.

Mom, the GPS came today. Thanks for letting us borrow your Christmas present. We'll let you know how it works!

Love to all, Leah

Homebound

Quinn and I were homebound today. He never got out of his PJ's and went through the variety of fever and sore throat and then feeling good while the meds were working. We played another game of Horseopoly... I was waving the white flag after 2 hours of playing on the floor. He beat me again and so he enjoyed that. I got all of the week's laundry done and put away as well as spent time "puttering" around. Quinn fell asleep in my bed tonight around 8:30 while watching TV. I was really hoping we could all go to church tomorrow... our SS class is really good but I don't think that will happen. Tony is running the sound booth so it looks like tomorrow will be a lot like today for the Q'ster and I. He started Amoxil today so hopefully in another 24 hours he'll be much better.

Tony had a basketball game at 10am today and Madison went along. She spent most of the afternoon with Karla and Katie in Mishawaka... shopping and playing some games at the putt-putt place. I'm glad she had a good day at least! : ) Quinn and I had a long day and he also added "and hard" to that comment earlier. Tony went to work around 2pm or so and is actually still there. Oh.... these new hours don't work very well for our family. : (

Well, that's it. Nothing really even worth mentioning today.

Love to all, Leah

Quinn's turn...

Today is usually my day off but since I missed Monday and Tuesday of this week and I also had a meeting at work from 7-8:30am I decided I should work at least until noon and plow through the stacks on my desk. Those were good intentions anyway. At 10am the school nurse called and said Quinn had a fever of 103.7 so I left to go rescue him from school. What a week we've had indeed! We got the ibuprofen started right away and while that was working he actually acted pretty normal. He went through his baseball cards and we played a FOREVER long game of Horseopoly (just like Monopoly only with the horse theme). When the medicine wore off he had a bad headache and fever right away which knocked him down to the couch. Poor guy. He was awfully delighted to hear the doorbell ring and for me to discover that it was his buddy Nathan delievering a fresh box of popsicles to cheer him up! Are they fast or what??!! He was sooo happy because we were clean out of popsicles and of course "I was just getting ready to ask you for a popsicle Mom". : ) Soooo, I don't know exactly what his troubles are. We'll see how the day goes tomorrow.

Madison had a better day today, her cough was better. She was a huge grump after school though because she had a lot of homework and "homework is always miserable" according to her. Oh, when does the true love of learning finally occur? After you are done with the intense learning years I guess. Her music class is now learning to play the recorders.... oh, my. All I can say is THANKS to my mom and dad for putting up with the practicing and many mini-recitals I must have also given!!!! Well, she has now accomplished the first few bars of 3 Blind Mice and I'm ready for a different song!

So tonight I went grocery shopping around 7:45 or so.... I didn't get that chore done today and I hate to go on Saturdays, it's SO BUSY! So, after Tony got home I went to Meijer and it wasn't busy at all so that was really, really nice. I guess Friday nights are the nights to go! Check that off the list.

So, this weekend looks like it will be a fairly quiet one afterall. Quinn won't be able to go anywhere tomorrow... no friends over to play... what is he going to do all day??? I see lots of Yahtzee and more Horseopoly in my future! We've played so many games of Yahtzee I think I could play that game in my sleep.

Tony is working again tomorrow. : ( Boy has he ever worked a lot this week. I bet he worked at least 60-70 hours this week. He said he didn't bother to keep track of the hours. I think he really can't count that high. Ha! I hope that slows down.

That's all from our home front. Let me know what's going on at yours...

Love to all, Leah

Madison is back in the game of life!

Madison woke up without a fever on Wednesday morning so I guess the antibiotic finally kicked in. She went to school and said she had a pretty good day. She had an allergic reaction to the Puffs-Plus kleenex(es) that she used for 2 days straight and she broke out with a fine rash all along the sides of her nose. She said a couple of girls made fun of her but she turned around a walked away. Girls can be so mean to each other. I just don't get it. Anyway, after some hydrocortisone cream her nose looks much better today. She wasn't as self-conscious about it I don't think.

Anyway, I'm trying to get myself out the door for work. I can use every single minute I'm there. I had to leave about 20 charts on my desk yesterday so I have my job security waiting for me. Ha!

More later!
Love to all, Leah

How it all turned out...

Madison went to Rollpak with Tony today, after they dropped me off at the dentist. Don picked Madison up after his morning bus route and brought her back to our house. I guess he got initiated to the Playstation. Isy came over after her school bus aide duties were done and she was initiated to the car racing game as well. Tony picked me up at the dentist around noon and took me home (I couldn't drive because they gave me some sedating meds). I slept the whole afternoon away while Madison "watched herself" and made sure to welcome Quinn home from school. It was a weird mixed up day that took some ochestrating. Quinn said he didn't have a good day at school because he missed Madison and on the bus he just imagined that she was there in her seat and it made him sad that she wasn't. Of course I thought that this is all sweet and good but when Quinn wasn't looking Madison made the cuckoo sign to me! Ha!

Madison continued her fever and facial/eye pain today (symptoms of the sinus infection) but overall I thought she was a little better today. Like, I really didn't even see her much though. Her fever did get up to 103 though. Isy is on stand-by for tomorrow morning. If she wakes up with a fever she can't go to school. She's been on the antibiotic for 24 hours now. I guess if this is viral, the antibiotic won't matter and it will just have to run it's course. That would stink! I would hate to have her miss another day. We'll just see how it works out. She is hoping to go to school because she's tired of being sick. Can't blame her!

Tony got home around 8:30pm or so, just in time to finish up watching Iowa lose to IU in BB. Nathan S. called Quinn just to tell him that he was watching the Iowa game too. I thought that was so cute. He's one of Quinn's brainwashed Iowa fans. : )

Remember those 4-10inches of snow promised last night? None, nada, zero, zilch!

Here's to hoping we all have good days tomorrow...!
Love to all, Leah

Change in plans

Well, this Monday sure didn't go as planned. Madison woke up with a 102.5 temp this morning so I stayed home with her and she proceeded to feel rotten pretty much most of the day. (Remember yesterday's fore-shadowing?). When the Motrin is at it's peak she felt much better... temporarily. She pretty much warmed the couch all day (literally and figuratively). I'm certain she has a sinus infection so I started her on antibiotics late this afternoon. Quinn played at Nate's for most of the day which was great and allowed Madison to rest more without his busy commotion going on. ...Actually, her ears are plugged and so I was repeatedly asking her to turn the TV down! She said, "but I can hardly hear it!" She took a 2 hour nap which I was so hoping would help but it didn't much. We read some books together and other than that she didn't want to do a thing. She still had a temp at bedtime so we have to figure out how to connect all the dots tomorrow. I have a dental appointment for some work to be done and if I miss it, they will charge me $200 per HOUR! Boy am I ever in the wrong business!! She may end of going to work with Tony until I'm done at the dentist's office. We are promised to get 4-10 inches of lake effect snow tonight. That would throw some more issues into the morning I'm sure. We've been promised snow many other times though and haven't gotten it so I'll believe it when I see it!

Tony and Quinn had Upward BB practice tonight. Madison wasn't very happy to have to miss her's. That's about all the news for today. I hope to report on a happier note tomorrow. In the mean time, say a prayer that she'll get over this soon. It's hard to see them feeling so bad. : (

Love to all, Leah

Science Experiment

In my last post I mentioned that Quinn started his science experiment (read yesterday's post). Well.... Quinn's mother ended up monitoring the thermometer until 12:30am! It took that one can of pop exactly 4 hours and 4 minutes to get to a cold 37 degrees! Obviously we started it too late. I thought is would be only a couple of hours at the worst... boy was I wrong! Quinn wasn't too happy to go to bed and leave the timing to me but there's no way he could stay up that late! We have a couple of more methods to try yet so I've learned a lesson... start early in the day! Ha!

Today was church in the morning and then the youth had a Haystack Dinner for a fund raiser followed by the annual congregational meeting. After that we were home for the rest of the day. It's rainy and cold outside. It didn't stop Quinn and Nate from playing football outside... Quinn in his Vikings jersey and Nate in his Colt's jersey. Madison is getting the cold that the other 3 of us have had already so she laid pretty low today and said she didn't "have the energy" to even go up and down the steps. : ) You know she isn't feeling great when she sits down and watches football with us!!! The colds were relatively mild... although annoying for a few days.

Tia!!... so good to hear from you and great to know you are reading along! For those of you that don't know Tia... we went to college together at Olivet although we didn't know each other, except for may be being acquaintances, until we found ourselves working at Elkhart General together. She quickly became a great friend. We ended up working in pain management together and shared our lives inside and outside of work too. She moved to Indy but we've still kept in touch. So far those years of my nursing career have been my favorite. We were easy to remember in the hospital because we were the only nurses in our dept. and our names rhymed! : ) Her first of 3 little boys used to be a toddler and now he is a freshman in HS. How did that happen??

We are supposed to get an ice storm tonight. The kids are off of school for Martin Luther King day so that's probably a good thing. They are already going to Katie and Nathan's for the day. I'll slide my way in to work and if the roads truely are bad, some of the morning patients will reschedule... that would be an OK way to start out a Monday. : )

Have a good week! Love to all of you, Leah

Happy Saturday

I hope you all had a good ending to your week. Today was a rare day when the kids and I actually had nothing planned! It almost felt "weird". I did "umpteen" loads of laundry today and got that all caught up. Nate was over for most of the afternoon to play with Quinn. Tony worked this afternoon but he's not working tomorrow so that will be a good thing too.

Quinn and I started his science experiment tonight. He is trying to find the fastest way to cool down a can of pop from room temperature, to a chilly 37 degrees. So, right now we have a can of pop in the refrig with a thermometer in it. The digital read-out is outside the refrig and we are timing the process. He is also going to check how long it takes by putting it in the freezer, and sitting it in a cooler of ice, ice and water or ice,water and salt. He thinks it will the ice and water that will cool it down the fastest. Both of the kids love the science fair. It's a pretty big thing out here and they love the experiments.

I really don't have much more to report.... for now all is quiet. We are supposed to get rain, sleet and some snow tonight and tomorrow. We are ready for the snow... the other stuff can hold off.

Love to all, Leah

doctor's appointment and random question

Today started out with a doctor's appointment for Madison at 8am. She sprained her left wrist over a year ago and occasionally she says that it still hurts her. She seems to be mentioning it more lately so I took her to see the new ortho doc in Goshen. He is going to get another x-ray (the first one after the injury was normal) to check for a hairline fracture. He said it could be a tendonitits or a type of arthritis (I'm not really worried about that). Her left wrist is weaker than the right so she has some PT to do with it. We'll see what happens. The kids were very disappointed that I was able to get them to school just in the nick of time not to be late. : )

It was another busy day today at work. It sure makes the day fly by. The kids and I went for coffee at Don & Isy's house. John and Evelyn were there too. We stayed for about an hour and a half then were home after that. Tony didn't get home until 9:45 tonight so he was out of the picture. : (

Here's a strange random question for you... Quinn was real sleepy and almost asleep and he said (out of the blue, without any known conversation to plant these ideas), "what happens if you don't pass your first year of college, how many more years do you get to pass that year?" ...like, why would he be worried about that now? : ) Anyway, made me laugh.

That's all for tonight. Love to all, Leah

Basketball Begins

Happy Monday to ya (ha-ha right?).

Just to update those of you that are interested... Saturday night Madison played at the half-time of the Concord girl's varsity game. We went out for supper first with Don & Isy to Chili's to use a gift card that I had (and forgot at home). Then we headed to the game to watch the varsity girls lose by 30 points, their record is 0-13. : ( I would love to post a picture of Madison at half-time but I forgot my camera at home (0 for 2).

Sunday brought church in the morning and then Tony went to work in the afternoon until about 6:30. We watched the movie "Invinsible" for our family movie night. It was good but a little slow moving.

Today was Monday and the first day for the kids to go back to school after their Christmas break. Neither one of them wanted to go... Quinn had his stomach ache and all. They ended up having fine days and I think it's good to have them back to a routine. Going to bed earlier is a harder transition though. Madison is much more of a night person than a morning person (like her dad) so it's especially hard for her to get to sleep at a decent time and then it's painful to get her up.

Tonight they had their first Upward basketball practices. Tony is coaching Quinn's team. It is such a great program! If you haven't heard of it before, it's worth checking out at www.upward.com to see if there is a program in your area. We highly recommend it! So, the kids were excited to see who is on their teams. Madison is on the same team with Peyton, Raeann and Erin (Gordan and Cynthia's daughter). So, she was happy to know half of the team very well. Quinn and Nate are together which isn't a surprise since we requested each other with their "car pool link" request. He didn't know anyone else. They were happy to get their uniforms, CD's and magnets for the van.

Well, the Ohio State vs FL half-time is over with... better get back to the tube. : )
I threatened Ohio State that if they don't play better, I'm going to have to go to bed on them. Why can't the Big Ten play better in bowl games? Anyway...

That's all for now. Love to all, Leah

Night at the Museum

Good Morning!

Yesterday afternoon we went to see the movie, Night at the Museum. It was a great movie! It's family friendly (although not perfect) and entertaining for kids and adults too. So, I highly recommend it! We also went to the grand opening of our new Cold Stone Creamery. It was quite expensive... $10.50 for nothing fancy for the kids and I. We decided that Ritter's or Culver's is better. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon though. We went with Karla, Katie and Nathan which of course made it even better. : )

Last night we just relaxed at home. Tony's good friend and co-worker, Dave, is leaving Rollpak. His "last day" was yesterday. That's in quotes because both Dave and Tony are working this afternoon and I'm sure they'll be talking lots over the phone during their work days. Dave is hoping for more time with his family and took a job with a plastics company in Elkhart. We wish him only the best. Tony has been feeling some of the stress of needing to pick up some of Dave's job and figure out how to do his own as well. God is in control and it will all work out!

Today Quinn has Nathan's birthday party to go to. He got him an Iowa t-shirt so I hope he doesn't get kicked out of the party! : ) It's a lego theme and Karla has fun games planned for them so I'm sure he'll have to be dragged home. Madison and I need to do some running around during that time. There's always errands to do!

Tonight Madison is going to demonstrate her basketball skills at the half-time of the Concord girls varsity game. I'm sure she will have fun with that. It will be interesting to watch the girls play too.

Well, that's all for today. Enjoy your weekend! I'm sure going to!

Love to all, Leah

Happy New Year!

Well, by now you've all gotten off to a start on the new year of 2007. I hope this year is a great one for all of you. We spent our new year's eve at home with a little party which included family... AJ & Bonnie, John & Evelyn, and Don & Isy. We played lots of card games and some played Horseopoly which is basically the horse version of monopoly. We were in a tough game of Shanghi Rook which took us until almost 2am. I can't remember the last time I stayed up that late! Of course when I went to bed I couldn't immediately fall asleep. The kids stayed up until 2 as well. They thought that was pretty cool. We got up around 8:30 to go out for breakfast and sent Bonnie & AJ off for their 10 hour trip back to MN. The rest of the day we spent "recuperating" from our late night. Nate came over and played with Quinn for a while.

The kids were at 3 different homes this week because they are still out on break (thanks Karla, Lisa and B & P!). They were happy to play with their friends. Katie and Madison made pots on her new Christmas pottery wheel, Beppe gave the kids their first art lesson, painting an apple scene (I'm so impressed!) and Quinn went to a basketball camp with Brock this afternoon. They definitely haven't been bored. I'm so thankful that I had their first week of their break off to share in the fun too.

It was a rough jump back into work this week. I was served a subpeona on Tuesday at 4pm to appear in court to testify on behalf of a patient going through a divorce... this Friday!... the kid's last day off! Boy was I ever mad! To make a long story short, I had a meeting with the hospital's lawyer in the afternoon today and she got me out of it... because they didn't give me 30 days of a notice! I was so thankful!!!

Well, Madison had Flames practice tonight. She hasn't ran like that for 2 weeks now so she is already saying that her body is aching! It's amazing how fast you loose what you work so hard to gain.

I hope things are going well for you. We've enjoyed reading many of your Christmas cards and letters this year.

Love to all, Leah