Complaint Cure: Take 6

Thanking God for ...

~ restored health
~ a finished scrapbook
~ the excitement of Christmas lights
~ chocolate
~ family that is willing to come to us for the holiday
~ a membership to the YMCA as an early Christmas gift
~ weather that is warm enough for the kids to play outside
~ "aha!" moments
~ a patient husband
~ the joy of giving
~ God's Word
~ His constant protection and provision for His children

Football Frenzy

I didn't grow up watching football. So, it was quite a shock when I married and found that my husband planned to watch all Ohio State games and several others inbetween! For years, I have resented football season because it takes away from family time on Saturdays.

But today, I had a startling realization! As I stood ironing behind my husband as he watched the last game of the season, I realized that our entire family was gathered in the living room. Football wasn't taking away from family time, it was actually creating it. My oldest was asking questions and learning about the game, my middle two were snuggling on Dad's lap, and my youngest was happily playing on the floor nearby. What a shock! Instead of spending these hours rushing around trying to get our various tasks accomplished, the entire family was enjoying one common activity.

Now, I'm not a big fan of using the TV for family time, and I still can't say that I'm a huge football fan. (Basketball is another story!) However, I can grudgingly admit that I'm beginning to see a positive side to the game of football. Or, as my daughter used to call it, "the run around and fall down game". :)

Letting Go

For a few years Josh and I have had an ongoing discussion. The debate is over the decision to get rid of our baby stuff. We have so many baby clothes, the baby tub (which is huge!), a saucer, a door jumper, a baby bjorn, another bathtub ring, the cradle (which is a keeper), etc., etc. It's just ridiculous. And while, at times, I think having another little one would be awesome, Josh and I feel that we are done. I'm fine with our family the way it is and since all of our kids are close in age, having another one now doesn't make sense unless we have two. Six kids might be a bit much!

So, today we finally decided to pass our baby things onto others who can use them. With the economy so bad we really hope that others will benefit from using our things - especially since everything is in really good condition. I had always talked of doing a garage sale, but Josh cringes at the thought of all that work. I can see his point. For a small amount of money, it's probably just not worth all the time and effort.

We brought up the many boxes of clothing and I set aside one to use for "keepsake clothes". These are clothes I want to pass on to my kids. Ones that were special - like Zack's giraffe costume from when he was 7 months old, a few items that all the kids wore, handmade sweaters for Abby, the outfits the kids wore for their one year pictures... I probably kept more than I should, but my rationale was that if the outfit brought me to tears, it was a keeper. Let's just say that I shed several tears today.

I loved being the mother of babies. I love my kids now too, but there is something about the baby stage that is so very special to me. I have memories of my children in each item of clothing and for most I could even tell you who gave us the outfit. It's amazing how just looking at a shirt can bring you back to an exact moment of time and a precise memory of the person who wore it.

But, it's time to let go. My baby days are gone. We're making more memories each day as the kids grow. And, as I reminded myself today, it's much more important to enjoy the kids than to hang onto the stuff. I have to hope that others who end up with these items will also someday have cherished memories of their own little ones in these clothes. That thought makes the letting go worthwhile.

Complaint Cure #5

It has been a few weeks since my last "complaint cure" blog entry. We've been on vacation. However, I've been home sick for the last week and need a complaint cure for myself. So here goes ....

~ A wonderful two week vacation with Josh and the kids. We built so many special memories and did many once-in-a-lifetime things.

~ The safety God granted us for our entire 3000+ miles of driving. We got lost once or twice and hit traffic and construction, but never once did we have any car problems.

~ The generosity and hospitality of so many. We had many feed us and offer their homes for us to stay in. We even had complete strangers meet us and give us a wonderful discount to Disney along with incredibly helpful tips for our day at the park.

~ Health. I'm missing my health right now, but being sick always makes me thankful for the good health I normally have.

~ A very helpful and loving husband.

~ Breath

~ Digital pictures

~ Soft blankets and pillows, throat lozenges, tea and honey, and good books.

~ An unexpected card in the mail today. :)

~ The patience of my children as I tried to teach them with no voice this week.

~ The soothing sound of hearing Josh play hymns on the piano

~ The opportunity to worship again at Oak Grove tomorrow

~ Salvation by grace through faith

~ The omnipotence of God

~ That we got to see our butterflies hatch just in time to set them free in Florida. And that our tadpoles now have legs and are losing their tales. Sure is neat to see God's incredible creation!

~ Free passes to the Creation Museum in northern KY

~ Less Halloween candy than normal. :)

Vacation South - Take 3

Thursday: We were still in Tennessee on Thursday and decided to head to Pigeon Forge to enjoy some touristy stuff. We took the scenic route to get there and really enjoyed seeing the beautiful Smokey Mountains.

Once there, we found a place where the kids could pan for gems and fossils. They loved doing this! They each found a bagfull of "treasures" to bring home.

After that, we just wandered around a few shops and enjoyed a lunch of ice cream and nachos.

That evening, Uncle Bob came for dinner. It was nice to reconnect with him - especially since we rarely have the chance to see him.

The downside to the day was that I felt sick. I began coughing on Wednesday night and started with a fever on Thursday. It put a damper on the day, but we still had a good time.

Friday: I woke up quite sick on Friday. I spent the morning in bed while Josh tried to pack up all of our things and get the kids ready to go. We said our goodbyes to Grandma and headed out to Cincinnati. Our original plan was to stay with the McKittricks (friends of ours), but because I was sick, we opted to stay in a hotel for the last two nights of our trip. Josh and the kids still went over to their house for dinner and I stayed in the hotel and slept.

Saturday: I was still rather sick on Saturday, but didn't want to miss out on the day's events. So, after Josh took the kids for a quick swim in the hotel pool, we all headed out to the Creation Museum. This museum was the original motivation for our trip, so we were all excited to go! The museum is so well done and we really enjoyed it. We went through all the exhibits and most of the side videos as well. It was very educational for the kids and a good reminder in many ways for Josh and me as well.

After the museum, we went directly to the McKittrick's house for dinner. They invited our mutual friends over for dinner as well and we had a nice evening of conversation and food. Josh and I also got a chance to see where the new building site for Horizon Community Church is. Since we have sent two families out from Oak Grove to Horizon, it was especially meaningful to see the plans for the new building.


Sunday: Once again, I woke up feeling ill on Sunday, so Josh and the kids went to church and then picked me up at the hotel afterwards. We began our drive towards home. Unfortunately, because we started late and because of traffic, it was a very LONG drive. We finally were about a half hour from home when I asked to stop at the Urgent Care nearby. I was having a lot of trouble breathing and knew I needed some help. Turns out that I was hyperventilating because I couldn't get enough oxygen and had begun to panic. They also tested me for H1N1 and although the test came out negative, the doctor assured me that I have all the symptoms. She said 28 out of every 100 tests are wrong and put me on meds for the flu. It wasn't a fun way to end the vacation, but I'm thankful that I didn't get it mid way through our travels! We finally arrived home around 10 pm. Here's our final mileage for the trip:

So, a wonderful time! God granted us safe travels, excellent times with family and friends, patient and obedient children, and many, many memories!