Friday, September 30, 2011

Sick and pregnant equals sick and tired!

I've been absent for a few weeks now.  My last post was about needing some structure and well... life happened and smacked me up-side the head and said "here's some structure"!!!  It's been a busy few weeks adjusting to our "out of the house by a specific time four days a week".  Then to top it off, the girls passed along their little cold to me... being pregnant and getting sick is a really bad combination for me.  It happened my last two pregnancies (at almost 9 months!) and I went into labor with both girls recovering from bronchitis.  Sounds fun, huh?! 

Needless to say - the little sniffles the girls had has hit me like a ton of bricks and knocked me almost flat for the last 10 days!  Today is the first day that I feel like I even have the energy to tackle more than their and my basic needs... which is good because my house needs a little TLC!!  Anyway - I'm hoping this "little" bout with sickness will exempt me from having to go through it again at 9 months like the last two times!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Needing some structure

Lately I've been feeling sort of adrift... I'm coming to the realization that there is no pattern or organization to my days (ok... truthfully I realized this LONG ago but have been resisting the notion that this is largely responsible for the struggles I've been having).  "Routine" is always something that has been a struggle for me.  So, starting from my single days and somewhat continuing until now, life has been pretty on-the-go, no routine, and definitely no structure.


I'm finding as a stay at home Mom, especially as my girls are getting bigger and I'm looking at another one on the way, that I'm spending way to much time wandering around my house in circles wondering where to start and what to tackle.  There are too many trips to town followed by another one a day or two later because I wasn't organized enough to realize there were a couple of other things that were going to be needed or done.  I also know that most kids thrive on a structure in their lives and knowing what to expect.  Now that Karen has started back at preschool two days a week and I will be taking her to speech therapy for three sessions a week... things are going to be crazy without a little better organization on my part!

I'm also finding that, as someone who wants God to be at the center of our family, of my daily life with the kids, and just ever-present in our house - not having a structure in our day makes it very challenging to remember to include those extra times for prayer, for song, for teaching my girls (as much as can be taught at nearly 2 and 3.5...).

So... I don't really have an answer as to what "structure" I'm going to put into my days - but just sharing that I know it HAS to happen and while a part of me resists the idea, a larger part of me is really looking forward to having a rhythm to our days and weeks.  I think the girls will thrive better and I know that I will certainly feel calmer and be able to accomplish more.  I would love to hear what your daily/weekly routine looks like and how it came about for you, if you feel like sharing.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Flower Girl

Last weekend we attended the wedding of a good friend of my husband's.  Our little 3.5yr old was asked to be the flower girl.  We accepted with the caveat that we couldn't promise that she would actually cooperate... to our relief, she did!!  It was a beautiful wedding and really sweet to see Karen in her role.
Walking back with her Daddy to join the wedding party
Our thoughts: "Yay!!  She's doing it!!"
She had to pull out the duck lips at the "picture pause"


Once the ceremony was over, she got back to her favorite activity... dancing!

Thursday, September 1, 2011

The Harvest Bee

I have never regretted moving back into a small farming community and yesterday I was reminded just how special these communities can be.  A little more than a couple of weeks ago, a local farmer (and cousin to my husband) was severely injured in a forklift accident.  He had to be life-flighted to the closest trauma center and is now recovering from 16 broken ribs, shattered collar-bone, collapsed lungs, among other injuries... he has a long recovery road ahead of him but fortunately survived!

Grain harvest started around here right after his accident - we have been going strong for a couple of weeks now.  So many people were asking what they could do to help that a Harvest Bee was organized... if you've never heard of it, it is where local farmers donate their time, equipment, and harvest crews for a day to help another farmer in need.  It is a pretty neat sight!

There were 24 combines in total spread out in two groups.  My husband and our other combine is in the picture below.  This particular group cut with 10 combines and the other 14 were put in a different location.  Between the two groups, they managed to cut 600 acres of fall wheat in less than a day!
Group of 10 lined up for a photo

Carl leading the charge from the picture taking to wheat cutting...

They made short work of their 200+ acres



We are praying for you Jerry and hope that you rest better knowing that your fields are taken care of!