Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a happy, joyful, safe Thanksgiving day! :-) Ours was just a pretty much normal day. We'd planned on going to a friend's in the evening, but they got sick so we didn't go. I was pretty disappointed. Not because of the food, but because it gets very lonely and long for me these days. I don't have the strength to go out much at all, and I'm missing church and fellowshipping with church friends. We were also invited to Jere's folks for lunch, but the invitation came as we were fixing a VERY late breakfast and it just didn't work. Instead, we did school (horrors I know, but we got behind over the time of my surgery so we're working hard to catch up) and the little ones got nice naps. Jere took Jaron hunting in the afternoon, and then Jere's parents came for a little visit in the evening. So it was a nice, quiet day.

I was very thankful to find my strength returning some! I actually made pancakes for breakfast as a special treat, and still had strength enough to sit up to the table and eat with the rest of the family. And then I spent some time working at getting my violin in working order again. Our new piano is just out of tune enough that I can't quite get the violin tuned right to play it, but at least now the pegs don't get so stuck that I'm afraid of breaking a string every time I try! One of these days I'll try dragging out the keyboard and see if I can't get it right then. It's been years since I played my violin... By the way, anyone know of a luthier in the area here? It needs a bit of a touch up to a few areas that are starting to crack, and I don't want to stress it out too much and ruin it. And one of these days we need to get a piano tuner up here to get the piano sounding right. And, since Jere JUST found my camera, I should be able to post pictures of it pretty soon!

Things are feeling more and more like home around here now. Not that it's really looking any homier inside yet, but we're starting to make memories in it. It helps that we're still living on the same property so that already feels like home. Jere got the lights in the basement hooked up today--hooray! Now we don't have to use the big, too bright work lights anymore! He also got some outside lights working, so that will be nice too once it gets dark out again. Now that the wiring is about done in the basement, he's going to finish the insulating on the exposed basement wall so that should help things not be quite so cold in our "bedroom". Even the little bits of progress are exciting!

I think about the best news yet is that it looks like we've sold our mobile home! Someone came to look at it today, and offered us a decent price for us. Now they need to go to the bank to finish applying for the money to buy it, or something like that. So, we're cautiously optimistic that it's sold, and hoping and praying they come back with money in hand and trucker in tow. :-) We have a LOT of memories wrapped up in that little house--two of our children were born in it, and we brought the other home to it from the hospital. I walked out of the house pregnant with Treasure, and have never been back into it since he was lost. We've laughed and cried and argued and played games and enjoyed raising our family in it. So, it will be a little sad to say goodbye once it takes the journey out of our yard...

And we look forward to life in our new house! Even though we're not even heating the upstairs yet, we have so much more living space. The children love being able to run about, playing hide and seek or tag. I think it eased their transition into it because they were thoroughly familiar with it before we actually moved in. We've had a few interesting times since they are all sharing the one bedroom, and naps have been cut short because of one thing or another. Oh well. I'm just hoping not too many more months go by before we can get the upstairs livable and all have real bedrooms again! But come to think of it, that means I have a lot to look forward to, doesn't it? Real bedrooms, a working bathtub, doors on my kitchen cabinets, a utility tub in the back entry... oooh, I can hardly wait!

Uh oh

I'm really disappointed and a wee bit worried... I can't find my camera!! I'm guessing it grew feet and ran away, but where I have no idea, and the little feet seem to have forgotten as well. Oh dear. I was really wanting to get some pictures of our house now that we're living in it! And, yesterday Jere moved the trailer house--bummer I didn't get any pictures of that! It just got moved enough to be out of the way so he can make the driveway come up to the new house before things freeze too hard. Maybe. But it sure looks different out the windows now--we can SEE!! Wow. I didn't realize we had such a nice view... Jere had to go down to the job again today to finish up a few things before hunting season starts for his client, but I think he's hoping to start moving dirt this afternoon. I'm SO eager to be able to drive up to the house!

We are doing fairly well. I'm just better enough to want to do more than I can/should do, and it's getting a bit... frustrating. Yesterday I decided I was well enough to do laundry in my new machines. But till I managed to sort out multiple piles of dirty laundry (our laundry hampers/baskets were full of books and other items people didn't know what to do with when they moved our stuff so all the dirty clothes ended up in heaps on the floor) and haul a BIG armload up the stairs and get two loads washed and one dried, well, suffice to say I felt something like jello. So at bedtime Jere managed to empty two of my laundry baskets, empty and refill the dryer, and sort out a few other things so we actually have room to walk around our bed comfortably. I still can't even dream of getting to my crocheting supplies, or the computer programs I've been wanting. They're buried. Along with most of my sewing stuff. Sigh. I'm ready to start making order out of mayhem, but if I can't even do a couple loads of laundry however will I have energy to do more?

I really shouldn't be whining, though. We're all under one roof, and it's warm--as long as someone remembers to load the wood furnace! I have a functional kitchen, and children who know how to load, unload, and run the dishwasher for me. It's sunshiney today, with a sprinkling of snow on the ground. And besides my energy level being in the dirt, we're all healthy! Now, I need to go give my children their oatmeal...

And maybe, hopefully, find that camera...

Birthday party!

Well, finally I'm getting around to posting pictures of Leanna's birthday party the other night. We had a very nice evening, thanks to all of our guests chipping in to bring the meal!

The birthday girl with her birthday "cake".

We had a butterfly theme, in case you can't tell! ;-)

All ready to sing Happy Birthday!

Blowing out those candles...

"Yeah, I did it!"

Opening gifts--a new dolly from the aunties.

And the general hubbub afterwards of trying to put the new kitchen together. :-)

We're moved!!!

Our hearts were rejoicing last night as we crawled into bed, very tired and weary though we were. Rejoicing greatly in the Lord, and His blessings to us. For the first time in over a week, the whole family was under one roof for the night! I have no words to say as to how good that made my mother-heart feel. After coming home from the hospital I have been living in the new house as I don't care to try climbing the 6-foot ladder to get into the other house. But things weren't ready for our beds and other furniture in the new house. Saturday night and into Sunday morning Jere varnished our living room floor, and Monday and Tuesday a friend was busily putting up the duct work. So, last night a number of dear friends came to help us. They cleaned the basement (quite an operation as it's been a workshop for the past months) and moved all of our beds down there. Our sofas, desk, and piano were set in place in the living room, and all the numerous odds and ends were packed into boxes and totes and stacked everywhere. Then the ladies present cleaned the trailer thoroughly, down to mopping floors. I'm quite amazed it all got done, and ever so thankful!

I was up and about some yesterday, feeling stronger than I have yet. I can't express the weary joy of making my way down the basement stairs to be able to direct my children getting ready for bed, then to walk only a few feet away to crawl into my own bed again. To have them be able to come running to us through the night with their worries. I felt like a mama again even though it wore me out completely. :-) God is so good to us. The blessings He has poured out on us are so much above what we deserve! As I look around at our much larger house that is on its way to being so nicely fixed up, God's blessings seem so real and abundant.

There are pangs, yes, as I think of the diaper changing area I had planned out that won't be needed now, at least for a long time to come, and thinking of the crib being packed away once Leanna's done with it. But God has brought peace to my heart that even this is in His hand, and because of His great love for us. Treasure is with Him, in a place where there is no pain and no tears. A love that would keep him in this world of troubles and cares would be a selfish love indeed! I do mourn over the little feet that will never patter over our floors and little lips that will never lisp out "Mama", but I joy that my child has been freed from this world of sin and if forever with the Lord.

There is still a mountain of work ahead of us. They tell me I probably won't be back to "normal" strength for about 3 months, so it looks like an awful lot to do in finishing our remodeling and moving in before spring! We have almost all the trimming yet to do on the main floor, tile to lay in the mudroom, and then the entire upstairs to remodel. Plus bookshelves to build and curtains to sew and a number of other odd things to do. One thing at a time, and I'm just so glad to get done what we do have done already!

Outside, there's sunshine melting snow. I'm glad to see the sun again after it was hiding for so long. Somehow it's easier to feel cheerful when the sun's out! God bless your day, as He has blessed mine!

We lost our baby...

God is good, all the time. Even when it's hard to believe. As in now, when I am in the hospital recovering from surgery after having a ruptured ectopic/tubal pregnancy. I was in a tremendous amount of pain that came suddenly Monday morning, and as our family doc was busy with another emergency and we had no idea what was really going on we waited until afternoon to go to the clinic. Once we were there they couldn't get a blood pressure or much of a pulse, and our friendly ambulance crew screamed us to the hospital. After an ultrasound that confirmed the thought on everyone's mind, I went into surgery to have the ruptured tube--and, obviously, the baby--removed. (As I was only 6 weeks along, the baby was about the size of a sesame seed and they wouldn't have been able to find it.) They suctioned out more than 2 liters of blood, which is about half of the normal adult's blood volume, and said I came fairly close to bleeding to death. Recovery had been difficult from losing that much blood and the abdominal pain I've been having. And obviously also the emotional struggle of losing a baby we were longing for. Though I can't cry, for I struggle to take deep breaths because of the pain. That will come, I'm sure, since I have many close friends and two sister-in-laws who are expecting and we have been desiring another baby for a long time.

So please pray for a rapid return to health during this very busy time in our lives. I will be in the hospital overnight and possibly through part/most of the day tomorrow. And that God would be glorified even in this.