Nesting

I'll bet that if you read my post from yesterday, you thought--from the title--that this was an update on my nest-building robin.

Well, today I want to share with you what has been happening in our home since January...

Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.

Females of the animal kingdom are all equipped with this same need. It is a primal instinct. Just as you see birds making their nests, mothers-to-be do exactly the same thing. The act of nesting puts you in control and gives a sense of accomplishment toward birth. You may become a homebody and want to retreat into the comfort of home and familiar company, like a brooding hen. The nesting urge can also be seen as a sign of the onset of labor when it occurs close to 40 weeks of pregnancy.

I am thankful that God has planted this instinct into "moms-to-be." There are just some things around the house that are better put off until tomorrow...and have been!

Like cleaning the mini blinds. I don't know how others do it, but I get out the box of baby wipes and start cleaning. I have one more window to tackle--my goal is to have it done by sunset! Today's sunset!
















Oh--and if you have any suggestions on a different way to keep the mini blinds clean, please let me know! I really don't like this job.


O.K. See all those tins up there on top of the cabinet? I couldn't tell you the last time that I got up there to clean. It's a real mess. I had a couple of close-ups of the tins but decided that the amount of dust up there was just too embarrassing to post. I'll let you use your imagination. This job has not been tackled yet. Hopefully sometime in the next week I will be able to cross this one off the list.


Our bedroom was the big job this week. The ceiling fan was a mess. Paul got up on a ladder to clean it--and when he got down from the ladder, he had these huge dust bunnies all over him. They were so big and scary that I don't even know if I could call them "bunnies." The last time that the ceiling fan had been cleaned was when I was pregnant with Joshua. I told Paul that we would either have to get on a yearly schedule of deep-cleaning the ceiling fan or have our babies closer together. He decided on the yearly plan.

My wonderful mother-in-law came over on Tuesday and helped me wash curtains, dust, and sweep in my bedroom. It took all day--and I think we were both exhausted--but the results were well worth it! Thank you so much, Judy!




Here is William and Joshua's bedroom.





And this is Carrie's bedroom.








These rooms have been cleaned since February. Maybe you remember the pictures that showed how we cleaned Carrie's room.



All right...I won't leave you wondering.
Here is a true inspiration! She did it! She took bits and pieces of all sorts of things and created her nest! In the rain!



I'm sure that she is feeling quite pleased and content--ready to place her eggs in the nest.

There's also one other thing she is feeling--very protective.
As I came close to take the picture, I could hear her chirping at me from the branches of the nearest maple tree.
I know how you feel, Mama Robin! Isn't that the same sound that I emit when my nice clean rooms are tampered with?!

Feeding the Birds--and Other Such Delights

I love birds.

You wouldn't know it by the way I treat them, though. I have multiple bird feeders around our house, but I don't keep them filled. I start out in the spring with good intentions--in fact, there's a bag of birdseed in the back of my truck right now--but after a few weeks, I run out of the food and leave the birds to fend for themselves.

And I don't feed the birds when they most need it--in the winter.

So, what's the excuse? Laziness? The cost of food? Forgetfulness? Too busy?

Whatever my excuse, I really do love birds.

I even let Nicky talk me into trying out this Uppercase Living wall decoration in my living room. I absolutely love it!




Yesterday, as I was reading to Josh on our couch in the living room, I happened to look up and see a robin collecting things off the ground for a nest.



He would collect all he could and then try to make it stick to the top bend of the downspout bedside our porch--with little success.



Back and forth he would fly, trying to construct the perfect nest. He would even seem to be throwing his body down on it to make it stay. As soon as he would fly away, though, it would fall.



Poor thing. He seemed to be watching all of the other robins in the yard collecting things for their own nests. It was almost as if he was saying, "A little help here?" Carrie even took out a couple of balls of dryer lint and scattered them on the ground, hoping that the lint would have some magical sticking power.



We all set up camp in the living room for awhile, silently encouraging the robin. Finally, he flew away and didn't return.

This morning, as I was saying goodbye to Paul, I looked over at the "nest" and thought that it looked a little more shapely than it did yesterday morning. Maybe it's just wishful thinking.

We're all hoping that the nest will be successfully built right there--on the bend of the downspout--so that we can witness babies sometime this spring. Josh is already talking about the eggs that will go in nest, comparing them to the plastic Easter eggs that we still have out. He even wants to "feed birdies."

Maybe Joshua's desire to feed the birds will be the encouragement I need to take better care of my feathered friends.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Scowly Faces...

Our Almost Favorite Day of the Week

Ah! Piano lesson day!

This is the day when we get to go to our church and run free in the Family Life Center! Just run and run and run!



With a trash can!



It has proven to be a great "energy releaser" during the winter months.



Carrie chooses not to run with a trash can. She usually practices basketball while William has his lessons.



And while Carrie has her lessons, William likes to play with Josh and our piano teacher's little boy. He gets a kick out of how they play together--especially when they are carrying on conversations with each other.

By the way, what do you think of that cheesy smile Josh has painted on his face? I remember Carrie and William going through the "cheesy smile" phase.

My mother-in-law just asked me a few days ago if he was going to use that smile for the church directory picture that we have taken in about a week...

Speaking of church directory pictures, I have yet to get a picture taken for our church's directory when I am not pregnant. Funny timing, huh?



And what do I do during piano lessons?
I clean out my purse. It's amazing what can be collected in a purse in just a week!

Our Favorite April Fool's Joke

Happy April Fool's Day!

Is that Fool's or Fools' or Fools?

There was the same confusion with President's Day...Presidents'? Presidents?

Now I'm not saying that the two days are connected in any other way than by where the apostrophe goes! Shame on you if you think I was suggesting anything. We respect our president.


Besides, if I really was trying to make any associations between the two days, I would start somewhere besides our current president...



Anyway, the shenanigans have already begun at our house this morning. The only problem is that everyone is ready and waiting--even Josh can tell that something is different today. We are all wearing our skeptical faces...






If you would ask Carrie and William, the very best April Fool's Joke ever was when we were visiting Hilton Head Island several years ago. We stayed in a condo for a week with Grandpa, Grandma, Great-Grandma (GG), Uncle Brian and Uncle Scott.

Just the day before, the kids had spotted an alligator not too far from our condo. Everyone would go out on the balcony pretty regularly to see if it had moved yet--it was so still we questioned whether it was real or not. GG and Grandma were very anxious to see it move.

Bright and early on the morning of April 1st, the kids were already conspiring. They stepped out on the balcony and yelled, "Hurry! Come see! The alligator is moving!" Grandma came running down the stairs to see the alligator finally move, only to be greeted by, "April Fool's Day!"

The kids loved it! And as you can imagine, the rest of the day was full of, "Your shoe is untied!" "You have a hole in your pants!" "Your zipper is down!"

So, here we go! I'm ready and waiting to be fooled today. And as "on-guard" as I can possibly be, I am way too gullible! There will be many moments today when I get to play the fool.

And, in case you were wondering, the alligator finally did move. On the very last day of our vacation! As William says, "It moved when we moved."

Trick Photography

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a blog about my trip to the local salon and my very first pedicure. I even had a picture of my feet. Here's the picture I used...



I got tickled when I received a comment from my friend, Sherry, about that picture...

Hey...I just realized you are 8 months pregnant and can still photograph your feet! Not fair!

Well, after I received her comment, I had to check it all out for myself, so standing straight and tall, I looked down for my feet. They weren't there!



Leaning a little bit forward, I looked again. Ah! There they were...sort of.



Leaning forward even more--dangerously forward now, I might add--they came into full view!



I guess it was a case of trick photography.

Now, if I could just figure out a way to use trick photography on my "laugh lines!"

Order! Order!

Who knew? Alright, maybe everyone but me. That's O.K.

A couple of summers ago, the kids and I were standing in the dentist's office talking with the receptionist about stuff. We got on the subject of The Chronicles of Narnia and how much we loved reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. We were talking about how we were looking forward to seeing the movie when our dentist walked up and asked if we had read any of the other books. I told him that we had read The Magician's Nephew. I also told him how happy I was that we had already read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before we read The Magician's Nephew. He told me, "Wait right there!" and he disappeared into an office.

He came back with another one of the dentists in the office. The other dentist was carrying a little yellow sticky note which he handed to me. He said, "Here is the order in which you should read the books!" He then told me about how C.S. Lewis had written them in a different order (the publication order) than they were numbered (the chronological order)by HarperCollins publishers.

I really didn't understand it all, and I really haven't put too much thought into it until recently. I do think it's interesting that the movies are coming out--so far--in the publication order rather than the chronological order.

Publication Order Compared with Chronological Order

Publication Order
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
Prince Caspian (1951)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
The Silver Chair (1953)
The Horse and His Boy (1954)
The Magician's Nephew (1955)
The Last Battle (1956)

Chronological Order
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle


I found this great article about the reading order on Wikipedia. I didn't realize that there was such a difference in opinion among the fans of the series as to what order the books should be read.

As for us, we are going to continue reading them in the publication order since that is how we began.

Another great thing about blogging...now I can throw away this little yellow sticky note that I keep misplacing!

In Mourning...

We are in mourning at our house.

O.K., it's not really that bad.

We just finished reading our 40th and final book of the Left Behind Series for Kids . We've been reading the books since a year ago Christmas. That means that we have developed relationships with the characters. We've gotten to know them--really well! And now it's over. After a year and a half, we had to say goodbye. It was a pretty bittersweet moment. It reminds me of when I finished reading the last Little House on the Prairie book when I was a kid. I just wasn't ready to say goodbye! As I remember, I moped around for a few days until I found another book to stick my nose in.

So today, to help alleviate our sadness, we reconnected with others that we've already met. This afternoon, we began reading Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis. We figured that this was a pretty good choice since the movie will be coming out in May. We love being able to read the book before seeing the movie.




Now, if you ask my older two, they will tell you that we have read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at least a hundred times--it is true that we have read this book many times over. I think the first time that I read the book to them was when Carrie was 5 and William was 3. I had never read the book before, so I just jumped right in. As I read, I worried about whether or not the story would give them nightmares, but instead, they understood much more of the Christian parallels than I could have imagined--and they kept asking for more! Every time we read the book, the story just got better and better.

It was so much fun to go to the movie theater to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It was also fun to come home and talk about what was the same and what was different--what we enjoyed and what we were disappointed with. Joshua was pretty little when we went--still nursing, so we took him with us. I remember that he laughed at Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. I once again was afraid that the story might give nightmares--with all the scary creatures and noises--but he fell asleep before the most intense scenes.

Anyway, here we are again, saturating ourselves in the lives of "our friends," Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. In fact, we just popped the movie into the DVD player.

Reunion time...

Sweet William

It's so much fun to celebrate a birthday--especially when it is for one of your children.

William turned 10 on March 16. It's just so hard to believe that it was 10 years ago that he became such an important part of our family. Since then, he has brought so much joy to all of us. It's been so much fun to watch him grow and change. His personality has positively blossomed in the past few years. I am so thankful for this very special boy that God has created and shared with us.

Here, William is doing something that he loves to do...light his own birthday candles. This year he chose these really long, thin sparkler candles. They weren't easy to light--it took a long time for each one to catch fire. He got lots of advice on how to speed up the process, but he decided that lighting each one individually, with matches, was the only way to thoroughly enjoy himself. That's one of the many things I love about William. He knows what he wants, and he is usually able to figure out a way to accomplish it.










There were more candle-lighting pictures, but I think you get the idea. I couldn't stop taking pictures of him lighting candles--the whole things just struck me as funny! He was so determined!

And finally, he is able to enjoy the fruit of his labor! I'm not even sure if he remembered to make a wish or not.


The rest of the day was spent opening gifts, playing and just enjoying the family from far and near who came to celebrate William's life.



Happy Birthday, Dear, Sweet William! I love you!

Nicky...This One's For You!

The possibilities for naming this blog were numerous, but I decided on this one, because my friend Nicky has twittered recently about highlighting her hair. I also thought that since I have posted about the boys' trip to the barber shop, I should be fair and post something about a trip to our local salon.

So, laying all pride aside, it's the girls' turn!

Here I am with foil in my hair. Carrie really enjoyed taking this picture and made me promise that I would post it.

Lovely, huh? Well, just wait until you get to the end of the post. Just a warning if you don't like pictures of feet...



But first, here is Carrie patiently waiting for her turn in the chair. Just a trim for Carrie--no beautiful foil pictures. No foil because no gray to cover.



And don't forget the recently added "coffee and refreshment bar." Now tell me that this isn't better than the barber shop?!



And now, the feet. I had to put this on as a warning to anyone who has never had a pedicure. As you can probably tell from the first picture, I do not take care of my feet. No lotion, no filing, no buffing, no nothing.

My hairdresser talked me into having a pedicure before our baby comes. I decided to give it a try.



The warning? If you do not want to get hooked on something new, don't have a pedicure! It could become extremely addictive! Sitting with my feet in a whirlpool tub and having them buffed and lotioned, filed and painted was just too wonderful. It is an addiction that I just cannot afford right now! I'm hoping that this once will tide me over for a long time. In the mean time, I'm trying to be good to my feet by putting lotion on them everyday.



Now, I do have to tell you that Joshua will still tell you that the barber shop is better than the beauty shop. Just yesterday, he decided that he needed to take another trip to the barber shop for "new hair and a sucker."

The ultimate pedicure: $40, plus tip
Trip to the barber shop: $10, no tip--and don't forget the free sucker
Sticky 2-year old sucker face: Priceless

Aaahh!

When it rains, it pours.

I really shouldn't put it that way. Rain is associated with overcast days, a chill in the air, and being soggy. That is not at all an accurate picture of how the past 3 weeks have been.

In fact, all of the activity has been fun activity...basketball games and end-of-the-season celebrations, William's 10th birthday and all of the birthday fun, Easter and all of its anticipated traditions.

There were also the daily activities...schoolwork, chores, and making time for everyday family life together.

Then there was the "out-of-the-ordinary" activities...playing piano for worship service, hair appointments, and doctor appointments.

So, the blog had to be put on hold. I had to tell myself that it was O.K., and that eventually, life would slow down again.

Well, that time has come. And all the activity has left me with lots of things to blog about!

So, if your curious as to what we've been up to, stay tuned...

Meet Jack

This is Jack.
He is a Walker Coonhound.
We've had Jack for several years now--I think almost three.



When I was a little girl growing up on a farm in northern Indiana, we always had a dog or two around. Usually my dad chose German Shepherds or German Shepherd mixes. There were a couple of mutts along the way too--my favorites. But we never had a hound dog.

We began getting lonely for dog companionship after our hound dog mix of 9 years, Duke, died. So, it was no surprise when one evening Paul came home from work and told me that a friend of his had a hound dog that he was needing to find a home for. This dog, he said, was a Walker Coonhound--a hunting dog. In fact, he had been out on several hunts already. I asked if he was a good hunting dog, and Paul said that he was a "me too" dog. I guess everytime he went out with the other dogs to hunt, they would tree something and start howling, and Jack would throw his head back and howl, "Me too!" That alone made me fall in love with him before I ever saw him. So, one Wednesday afternoon, we went to meet Jack and ended up bringing home a dog, a bag of dogfood and a leash.

There are times that I wonder if we did the right thing--getting another dog. Like when I look out and see him digging yet another hole in the backyard. Duke used to catch the moles, but Jack just digs for them. Like I said, his hunting instincts aren't very strong. Or when I see that ring in our yard where the grass has died, because that's where he runs. Or when I see him do his bathroom duty right in the middle of the backyard. Or when I see a snake too close to the house--one that a dog should be scaring away.



But then I notice his loyalty. I notice how he stands nearby as William goes out in the early morning hours to sled, protectively watching his boy and wondering what fun he has up his sleeve.


Or how gentle he is with the kids. How he wants to be with them no matter where they are...or what they look like!


And how it doesn't really matter if they are actively engaged in playing with him. Just being near his people is enough.



Isn't that what true friendship is all about? I guess I can overlook the many, many holes and the dead grass in our yard. Especially when I hear the kids praying to God every evening to bless JackDog.

Me Too

Too funny. One evening, Josh came up to me with William's math book and a marker and said, "Me do my maff." As seriously as I could (I didn't want to discourage him!), I showed him where he could write in the book.

Just days before, he had come to me while I was cleaning the bathroom. I asked him what he had been doing, and he said, "Watching Mr. Demme." We use the Math-U-See curriculum, and Mr. Demme is the teacher on the videos. He had been watching Mr. Demme with William.



Later that evening, he sat down at the table with me and said, "Me do mine homework." Homework?! Where did he get that word? I don't think that I ever use the word homework. Everything we do is "home" work, so I don't ever use that term. He must have heard one of the kids talking about homework--or caught it from a TV show that we were watching. I don't know.

Anyway, here he is, sporting my reading glasses.




O.K. Funny story about the reading glasses. I decided last January that after many years of not having an eye exam, I would have one. Well, the doctor told me that I might benefit from having a pair of reading glasses. I tried them for awhile but never thought that they did all that much for me. They didn't even make me look smarter. See?



So, the funny part is that the glasses just disappeared. I figured that it must have something to do with Joshua. I looked and looked and never did find them. Well, back in October I got the box that holds our hats and gloves out of the attic. The kids were digging through it to find what they needed and low and behold--there were my glasses! Josh must have stashed them in there back in March, and then I put the box up in the attic.

It makes me wonder what else is hiding in my house. Paul would tell me I have too much stuff. I don't even have an arguement for that one.