HOUSE FOR SALE NE BAKERSFIELD

The Haner home is finally for sale!

The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, with covered back patio, three car garage, Tuff Shed, 1600 sq. ft., up the road from the fabulous Thorner Elementary School, and a spectacular view of the mountains and foothills. We are asking $219,500, but are willing to negotiate.

If you are reading this on Facebook, check out a picture of the view from the backyard on our blog at: http://hanerhome.blogspot.com/

Call (661) 330-0863 for the address and to make an appointment.

Movin' to the Country~hopefully

Image courtesy of www.clearybuilding.com/.../horse_barn5.jpg

Our dream is to move out to the country. Y'all knew that. We have chickens, we have crops, we pretend to be homesteaders in our little Kyle Carter development...but it's not authentic...yet.

We long for a life filled with farm chores, hard work focused on productive use of our very own land, and teaching our little ones the value of self-sufficiency. We desire to be less concerned with possessions and materialism and more focused on being close to nature and getting our hands involved in Godly things.

This dream has existed in our collective Haner minds for quite some time, and we are finally ready, as a family, we think, to make the move, Lord willing (that's a lot of disclaimers, huh?).

We are clearing out the clutter of our current home with our sights set hopefully on moving to some acreage. We don't need anything fancy. In fact, really, the less the better. That's the point after all.

PRAYER:

Give us a place for us to lay our heads Lord, keep our chickens, kitties and dog, and grow some crops. Help us prepare for the inevitable "inconveninces" and keep our flexibility throughout the process. Point us to the perfect location, right where you want us, where the kids can thrive and grow up knowing the value of hard work and getting dirty. We pray for patience with this process and for a good sense of humor for those who are unsupportive or think we are insane. Oh, and could you help us sell our house in this horrendous market? That would be swell. IJN, Amen.

Our Kids Are Really Loud~and Possibly Tone Deaf

I just accept it. Sometimes our kids are really really loud. I am not a fan of noise. I like peace and quiet. I like when one kid's asleep, to keep him or her asleep. I like when I can hear the sound of the hundreds of dollars we spend on PG&E in the summer whirring in the background. But alas, our little blessings often preclude such pleasantries. Enjoy this video at http://hanerhome.blogspot.com/ if you're reading this on Facebook and be thankful for the moments of silence...and noise...in your life. :)0

As a sidenote, I am a little concerned with the lack of pitch matching precision exhibited here, but I am still hopeful these kids will one day be musically inclined.

Free Rooster

Our latest baby chickens are now about three and a half months old and one has started to crow. Girl chickens don't crow I'm told. So this little guy (who is starting to exhibit all the typical male posturing around our poor little hens) has gotta go!

As much as I would love to live on a farm and have our own little homestead here on our 8,800 sq. feet of land, the sounds of a rooster at 6:00 AM are not warmly received by our very close neighbors. So, until we have a real homestead, and acres of land, no roosters allowed.

He is a Light Brahma (the kind with feathered feet.)

Any takers?

Baby Jail

We managed to pick up this fabulous enclosure for only $5 from a yard sale down the street a month or so ago and it has SAVED MY SANITY. Our youngest, Caden, almost eight months old, started rolling around the house at 5 1/2 months. He was full blown crawling by 6 1/2 months. I was certain I would have a few more months of peace only chasing around Kya and Wyatt. Now I have three kids to chase. I wondered how I would ever go the bathroom much less take a shower unless I got up at the crack of dawn (like 4:30 am) before Caden's first feeding.

As a side note, my schedule is crazy these days. Caden wakes for his first feeding at 5:00AM and usually is awake until his first nap at about 7:30 AM. Wyatt usually wakes up at 6:00AM and Kya sometime between 6-7:00 AM. Wyatt usually goes to bed around 7:30 PM, Kya at 8:30PM and Caden does not go to sleep for the night until 10:30 or 11:00PM. So, between the kids' sleep schedule and my after-everyone's-in-bed-chores, I get, on average, about 4-5 hours of sleep a night...assuming no one wakes up needing mommy during the night (rare). So you see how getting up at 4:30AM to shower and prep for the day isn't a very attractive option to me at the moment.

OK, back to baby jail. Because of my kids' ages and maturity levels, keeping them safe is pretty much a full time job.

Enter baby jail. This expandable enclosure, with child safe doors on each side, can be filled with toys and children, and only one of my children can actually open aforementioned doors (and she usually doesn't if I ask her nicely.) So, a mommy in my predicament (I mean, "blessed state") can safely leave the room for a few minutes without worrying that someone will put a fork in a light socket, play in the dog water, eat a crayon or climb INTO the dishwasher (it happens.)

I highly recommend baby jails. I don't know if this is actually what they are called, but that's what we call it. The gal at the yard sale said they paid like $100 for it! We paid $5. Best deal we've EVER gotten! And because it isn't as confining as a playpen, Caden seldom balks about being left in it, especially if his siblings are in there with him. On occasion, Scott and I have spent some time in baby jail as well...I have even fallen asleep inside with the kids crawling all around me because I can be assured no one will escape or injure themselves! Hey, I take sleep where I can find it!

Author's notes:

*Baby jail is pictured outside, but usually it is in the middle of our great room, where I can easily drop Caden off on my way to whatever chore or child needs tending next.

*If you are reading this post on Facebook, please check out our blog for more Haner Family Happenings: http://hanerhome.blogspot.com/

Sleep

There is something so wonderful about having rest these days. As a mom who has had three babies in four years, rest has been elusive to say the least. Even when I sleep, I am still on edge, waiting for a cry in the night, or, since our home invasion, somewhat irrationally waiting for someone to enter uninvited.

But this morning, my wonderful husband allowed me to sleep in...not just a little sleep in either. When I finally rolled over and looked at the clock, it was NOON!!!!!! "Noon?" I thought to myself..."how can this be?" Not only that, but when I awakened, it was quiet in the house. Both boys were sleeping and he had taken Kya to her private swimming lesson (with him as the teacher) at the Solera pool. Ahhhhhhh...seratonin levels were restored. I could face the laundry, dishes, sewing projects and MOPS publicity duties with fresh eyes (ones that didn't tear up every time I looked around the house or toward my overfilled inbox.)

I believe a special prayer lifted up by my pastor helped me find the sleep I needed. Thank you Lord, thank you husband, and thank you Pastor.

For those of you reading this on Facebook, please visit our blog at: http://hanerhome.blogspot.com/

Those Redneck Haners

Wyatt and his redneck root beer belly

Daddy stabilizing the trampoline

Kya napping on a sawhorse

The duct taped pepper grinder

Carrying wood...as always.

We haven't blogged in a while. The home invasion sort of dampened my desire to do anything productive or fun as my psyche was temporarily gripped by fear and "what ifs." But, the fear is subsiding and I realized today I have 179 pictures and videos on my camera from over ten different events. This is getting ridiculous. So, to what do I devote our first post after the long hiatus? Well, our super fun, frugal, and redneck life, of course!

As most people know, instead of buying new things when we have a whim to "improve" the Haner home, we try to reuse, recycle, build from scratch and improvise. This is partly because it's fun and challenging and partly to save money. It results in many hilarious contraptions, piles of free scrap wood and gizmos around the house (and yard and garage) and many unusual "toys" for the kids. (Man, I am using a lot of quotation marks this post.)

Anyhoo, Scott is currently building an extension on the chicken coop to accommodate the new hens (and we suspect one rooster darn it--the Rooster Chronicles repeated!) which means sawhorses and sawdust everywhere--fun for the kids and fun for Scott (most of the time.) Wyatt likes to hammer, Kya likes to observe and manage the construction site. Caden likes to chew on blocks of wood.

Scott has also taken a liking (more like an addicition) to smoking brisket in his new improved smoker (new to us through the magic of Craig's List, improved by Scott through much Googled research). This is a little like having a new baby in the house, since the nights he is "smoking" seem to mean he gets up every two hours to "feed" the fire, check the temperature, etc. etc.

Part of this process also involves preparing the brisket with Scott's super top secret brisket rub recipe (not really super secret--if you want it, he will be MORE than happy to share it, and talk to you about it, for hours...and it was invented based on the limited spice inventory in our pantry.)

The brisket rub requires, as a key ingredient, ground whole peppercorns--lots of them. Scott got tired of twisting and twisting that stupid grinder, so he duct taped (is that a verb? to duct tape?) his drill to it in an effort to lessen the wrist strain, and speed up the process...and let's face it, using a drill for anything makes it better for Scott...so...

Is it really worth all this you may ask? If you try Scott's brisket, you will never again question all these antics. It is fan-freakin-tastic!

Much love to everyone everywhere who takes time to read our blog. We are doing well and hope you are too!

My Dad Retires

There are really no words sufficient to describe the depth of the love I have for my dad, L. Michael McQuerrey, Mr. Mac, Papa Mac. And I know my love for him is shared by hundreds, maybe thousands, of people. He has been a rock in my life and the lives of many others. He has spent 35 years teaching, loving, mentoring, and ministering to teenagers through music. As I watched his final concert on Tuesday night, the emotions that welled up inside me were astonishing.

How does one really digest the last concert performed by one of Mac's high school choirs? Could it really be that this was the culmination of 35 years? How would life be without Christmas concerts, Spring festivals, choir tours, booster meetings, and how would the next generation of Kern County musicians fare without this man? It is a shame that anyone would live this life without being under the tutelage of Mac at some point.

And so the tears flowed. They flowed and flowed...in memory and celebration of Mac's career. I looked around at hundreds of teary faces while the Liberty kids sang Billy Joel's "Lullaby." "Goodnight my angel, now it's time to dream. And dream how wonderful your life will be. Someday, your child may cry, and if you sing this lullabye, then in your heart, there will always be a part of me...." dedicated formally to my babies, Mac's grand babies, but really, a dedication and promise to all those kids out there...some now in their 50's. Mac will never forget you or the time he spent with you...loving you, teaching you, singing with you, laughing with you, making fun of you.

And that is a part of Mac too...the making fun. He kids and jokes and can really call you out when you do something stupid. But he can do that, because he's Mac. Because he loves you. Because you know in your heart he would do anything for you and that his greatest joy and goal is to see you succeed. If he makes fun of the stupid part of you long enough, he knows you might just knock it off and get your "rear in gear!"

There are innumerable penguins, frogs, and other mementos decorating my dad's home office now--the penguins started when his Arvin High kids determined my tuxedo-clad father looked remarkably similar to one. The frogs? Well, the man likes frogs. I always liked the acronym "Full Reliance On God" (FROG) that reminds me of my dad's ability to commit his life to those loathsome (at times) teenagers only by the grace of a higher power. I wondered sometimes why such a strong, powerful man had so many stuffed animals in his office. I am beginning to understand that they remind him, I think, of the love he was able to extract from all those cool teenagers--so cool and yet so in love with Mac, that they purchased and presented fuzzy creatures to him as tokens of their devotion.

He didn't just teach his kids to be fabulous musicians. He taught values, compassion, etiquette, grammar, loyalty, commitment and poise. We are all better people for having sung under his direction. (or in my case, for having lived through it :)).

As with every concert for 35 years, this one ended with an invitation for all Mac's former choir members to join the choir on stage for, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You." There were so many people on stage, I thought it might fall down, and it was beautiful. I just listened from my seat in the audience, sitting next to my beloved husband, treasuring our three awesome blessings, crying more tears than I care to admit, and praising God...for all that my dad is and all he has been for others.

And I selfishly thought, "I can't wait to have this sweet retired man all to myself!!!"

I love you Papa Mac.

You Bought What on Craig's List?

So my sweet wonderful husband has taught me a lot about living a frugal lifestyle. One of our family theories is, "never pay full price for a new item when you can get it gently used for cheaper!"

With this theory in mind, my hubby often peruses the oft overlooked Craig's List ads for bargains. Sometimes we end up with things we shouldn't have--like the used and non-functioning water cooler in the corner of the kitchen. I am still holding out hope that one day the water from it will be colder than room temperature, but not much hope.

More recently, Scott called me after school and said he was going to look at a 14 ft. trampoline. "Really? Huh." was my only response. In my mind, all I could see was a giant trampoline somehow wedged beteen the rain barrels and the fence in our approximately 14 square feet of backyard. I just thought, surely this was nothing to worry about.

But then, the price was right, the family was so nice, the thing was practically brand new and they just bought a new one for their new house because they did not want to take the thing apart, and home came the 14ft. trampoline.

He got the thing up today and I think it might just be the most fun thing I have ever experienced. And I am certain once the safety pad and net are up, I will be able to breathe when the kids are on it as well...ONE AT A TIME!!!

Just goes to show, hubbies are really cool and moms sometimes worry too much. Happy Mother's Day!

Dress up anyone?

This week, we inherited what could be the most coveted little girl item in the world--an entire trunk of princess dress-up clothes. No room in the house is safe from the drizzling of jewels, garlands, dresses, shoes, crowns, gloves, or booties contained in its hallowed trunkiness. Thanks Kevin for the hand me downs...I think. Now my kids wear heels more than I do.

The Haner Family

Here are some recent photos of the crazy Haner kids. They sure do like to hang out together. I can't figure out if that's normal or not, being an only child myself. It is nice that they interract well and don't harm each other...very often. I sure love them a LOT. My love for them is more intense than I ever thought possible of my self-centered self. I pray every day that they grow up knowing that I love them passionately, intensely and with all of my being....even when I make mistakes, yell, and ignore them in favor of cleaning the house or sewing....or blogging. Lord, please remind me to pay attention to them and love them proactively.

Swine Flu and Vaccines~I Don't Mind a Little Controversy Now and Then

I worry, just like any mother, about illness affecting my children. That's why I do research and that's why I love this article (a reprint from Dr. Mercola's site, which is being bombarded with readers right now searching for answers to Swine Flu questions). As for me, I also believe that vaccines are dangerous; not all vaccines, and not necessarily to the point of complete avoidance, but I do believe there is danger there. That's why I do even more research. The answer, ultimately, lies in your gut. But Dr. Mercola brings to light some very important issues and questions in the context of the Swine Flu that I believe every mom should read.

This is a link to a reprint of Dr. Mercola's article because his own site cannot handle the influx of hits right now:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/183141-Critical-Alert-The-Swine-Flu-Pandemic-Fact-or-Fiction-

Especially important in this article, I believe, are the ways noted to avoid the Swine Flu (at the bottom of the article, reprinted below). I hope this can help other mommies feel more at ease and equips us all to avoid not only Swine Flu, but illness in general in a healthy, more natural, non-pharmaceutical way.

Quoting Dr. Mercola:

"Optimize your vitamin D levels.
As I've previously reported, optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of ALL kinds, and vitamin D deficiency is likely the TRUE culprit behind the seasonality of the flu -- not the flu virus itself. This is probably the single most important and least expensive action you can take. I would STRONGLY urge you to have your vitamin D level monitored to confirm your levels are therapeutic at 50-70 ng.ml and done by a reliable vitamin D lab like Lab Corp. For those of you in the US we hope to launch a vitamin D testing service through Lab Corp that allows you to have your vitamin D levels checked inexpensively at your local blood drawing facility and relatively inexpensively. We hope to offer this service by June 2009. If you are coming down with flu like symptoms and have not been on vitamin D you can take doses of 50,000 units a day for three days to treat the acute infection. Some researchers like Dr. Cannell, believe the dose could even be as high as 1000 units per pound of body weight for three days.

Avoid Sugar and Processed Foods. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately, and as you likely know, a strong immune system is key to fighting off viruses and other illness. Be aware that sugar is present in foods you may not suspect, like ketchup and fruit juice.

Get Enough Rest. Just like it becomes harder for you to get your daily tasks done if you're tired, if your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu. Be sure to check out my article Guide to a Good Night's Sleep for some great tips to help you get quality rest.

Have Effective Tools to Address Stress. We all face some stress every day, but if stress becomes overwhelming then your body will be less able to fight off the flu and other illness. If you feel that stress is taking a toll on your health, consider using an energy psychology tool such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which is remarkably effective in relieving stress associated with all kinds of events, from work to family to trauma. You can check out my free, 25-page EFT manual for some guidelines on how to perform EFT.

Exercise. When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads. You can review my exercise guidelines for some great tips on how to get started.

Take a good source of animal based omega-3 fats like Krill Oil. Increase your intake of healthy and essential fats like the omega-3 found in krill oil, which is crucial for maintaining health. It is also vitally important to avoid damaged omega-6 oils that are trans fats and in processed foods as it will seriously damage your immune response.

Wash Your Hands. Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. Be sure you don't use antibacterial soap for this -- antibacterial soaps are completely unnecessary, and they cause far more harm than good. Instead, identify a simple chemical-free soap that you can switch your family to.

Eat Garlic Regularly. Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. And unlike with antibiotics, no resistance can be built up so it is an absolutely safe product to use. However, if you are allergic or don't enjoy garlic it would be best to avoid as it will likely cause more harm than good.

Avoid Hospitals and Vaccines.

In this particular case, I'd also recommend you stay away from hospitals unless you're having an emergency, as hospitals are prime breeding grounds for infections of all kinds, and could be one of the likeliest places you could be exposed to this new bug. Vaccines will not be available for six months at the minimum but when available they will be ineffective and can lead to crippling paralysis like Guillain-Barré Syndrome just as it did in the 70s."

Chickens Among Us

We got new baby chicks the week of Easter. We are not sure why, except that the chickens we have are so great. They provide us eggs, fertilizer, bug control (they can only eat so many earwigs, but they try to help out), garbage disposal (they eat anything) and a good laugh now and then. So, why not have more???

??????

We're still not sure about this decision. It's kind of like having more kids. The ones we have are great, so...bad reasoning...

Anyway, the new baby chicks are different types than our old ones. My favorite new chick is the light brahma, which has feathered FEET! Scott built them a great little enclosure in the garage complete with pine shavings, DE, and the perfect little roost. It's nice to see the little girlies whenever I travel to the garage fridge for my daily (one of my daily) Diet Pepsi(s). It is sad for the van that it had to be displaced for now, but if the van ate earwigs, maybe we'd reconsider.

Everybody's gotta love that last view of the rear...I mean chicken cage. :)

Bread Dough Recipe

Photo from www. deliciousdelicious.com










I use this recipe for everything: bread (duh), dinner rolls, pizza dough, you name it. I like it because there are no eggs, no butter, and no sugar, and it still tastes fantastic. I have honed it over the years I have been making my own bread and this is what always works for me.

I love knowing what is in my kids' sandwich bread, and knowing there are no preservatives or fillers. I know bread flour and whole wheat flour (not self-ground) are not inherently nutritious, but it's still a good healthy recipe when compared to most store bought breads I think. I occasionally add some flaxseed meal or bran to the recipe, but have to be careful with little tummies not to overdo the fiber additives. I also add dried cranberries or blueberries for a fun breakfast bread.




Ingredients:

3 c. bread flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 1/4 c. warm water (borderline HOT water, not just room temp.--like 105 degrees-ish)
1/8 c. honey (I just make five big circles in the bread dough pan)
1 package active dry yeast (I use Fleischman's--sometimes rapid rise if that's all I have)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 t. salt





Put all this in the pan of your bread maker and start it.





For dinner rolls: Use dough cycle (on mine, this is about 2 hours and 30 minutes.) When the dough is finished, split it into balls and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until the balls are hard on the outside and lightly golden brown. Makes 18. (2 pts. each for Weight Watchers.)



For pizza dough: Use the same instructions as for dinner rolls, but instead of making balls, roll dough flat onto a pizza stone, cover with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings and bake at 375 until crust is hard to the touch and toppings are melted--usually about 30-45 minutes depending on how thick your crust is.



For bread: Bake on basic bread cycle, XL loaf. Mine takes 4 hours total. Voila! Yummy homemade bread, no work! :)





I just put in this recipe this evening and I can't wait to wake up to the smell of baking bread in the night. Yummers.



I would love to hear how this recipe works for you. Post your comment here if you use it.

Where Have All The Plantings Gone?

I went out to water my new plants this morning and all but two were gone!!! On closer inspection, I found that the root balls and tiny little stubby stems remained just below the soil surface. I suspect pincher bug devastation came in the night. I have replanted and sprinkled diatomaceous earth around to kill the little suckers from the inside out in an environmentally friendly way. We have thousands of earwigs (pincher bugs) around the yard right now. It is really creeping me out. Things like that always seem come in plagues here. We have had plagues of frogs, black beetles, aphids, but the only recurring plague has been these darn earwigs. EVERY year!!! Yuck.

In the Garden Today

It felt good to get out in the garden today and plant some things. It has been unusually hot here for late April. Our thermometer got up to 96.1 in the shade. Yuck. But as the dusk approached, before I got dinner started, the whole family headed out back to do some gardening.

We picked up the boards covering our freshly turned raised bed soil to find hundreds of earwigs scurrying about. Yuck again. So we set one of our hens over there to scratch and peck for a while and clear the area. The chickens have proven not only to be good egg producers but also great pest control.

Soon after Miss Chicken did her work, I got in the bed with a rake and some Dr. Earth organic fertilizer and mixed up the soil a bit. Then I planted six cherry tomato plants from seedlings and two basil plants, also from seedlings. We started them indoors a few weeks ago and are hoping they will be able to stand this heat (which the news man assures us is going to subside in the coming days.) I found last year that having a little basil and rosemary near our garden attracted the bees and kept pests at bay. I'm not at all sure this is scientific, but it seems to work. Also, I love a nice tomato, mozzarella and basil side dish with dinner in the summer, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Mmmmm, caprese always reminds me of my much too short time in Italy...

Oh, my mind wandered for a moment, but must return to the reality of Bakersfield...less culture, more fast food.

I also planted peas along the back of the raised bed where Scott will build a permanent trellis this year. Our pea trellis last year could not stand the weight of the plants and began to buckle toward the end of the pea growing cycle. I am looking forward to planting cantaloupe, squash, and zucchini this weekend.

TOMATO TIPS & WARNINGS:

-The best time to water your plants is from sunrise to 10:00 AM or 6:00 PM to sunset. -The plant enjoys water too. Don't just water the soil around the plant.
-You can wash picked fruit immediately and eat it. (OR I have noticed that if you are not going to eat the fruit right away, wait to wash it until you are ready to eat; otherwise, the fruit doesn't seem to stay fresh as long.)
-Avoid watering your plants during the hottest part of the day (12:00 PM - 2:00 PM).
-Discard any unused fruit that begins to rot. The tomatoes will appear darker in color and become very squishy feeling when they are starting to go bad.

-When you start to see yellow flowers sprouting, you've done it. You should have tomatoes coming off those sprouts within a week.

Some Tips & Warnings and Image courtesy of http://www.ehow.com/how_4512245_grow-tomato-plants.html

Mom and the Kids

Life with three kids under the age of four is so interesting. It is totally different than I ever imagined. I get to use problem solving skills in every decision I make during the day.

Who ever thought those critical thinking classes in college would actually come in handy? It may seem like an exaggeration when I say EVERY decision requires problem solving, and I do have a penchant for exaggeration, but this much is true. From the time I get up, I have to decide how I will manage to shower, eat, shop, organize, teach, play, change diapers, etc...all while keeping the non-occupied kid(s) sleeping, occupied, safe, caged...it's like a never ending riddle.

If one child is sleeping and the other is in the kitchen cupboard, how will one mom watch the third child coloring in the living room such that he or she does not Sharpie the entire living room? (to Sharpie: infinitive English verb, used primarily by moms of toddlers, meaning to take permanent marker and draw all over walls, desks and upholstery.)

If one mom has three children and goes to the grocery store, two children can ride in the main part of the basket while the baby rests comfortably in the top portion in his carseat, but where do the groceries go?

If one mom with a backache takes three children for a walk and carries the baby in a sling contraption, one child falls and skins his or her knee and the third child refuses to walk any further, how does that mom get them all home? (Thank God for cell phones.)

You see how the day is filled with little games and puzzles. Endless fun really. I'm certainly being a little sarcastic, but I am never ever ever bored and never lonely. And those are really nice things not to be.

One mom, three kids, and one fantastic husband...it's a pretty good recipe so far. Thanks honey for finally getting a picture of me with all three kids. (Yes, I made them all matching outfits for Wyatt's construction-themed party.)

My Cousins and Me

I got this picture from my aunt Tara (my dad's older sister) today on Facebook. I'm the one with the puffy pink shoes naturally. In this picture are my cousins Carlos, Miguel (who now goes by Joseph), Kristen (sp?) and Katie. My vague recollection is that we were at my Grandpa Mac's house for some sort of holiday celebration. Good times.

Oh Happy Day

All I can really think about today is how blessed we are, which is a nice change from my usual thoughts about how much I want to go to sleep.

We have three children now. They are Kya, age three and a half, Wyatt, who just turned two, and Caden, five months. Each has his or her own special contribution to our family dynamic and I cannot imagine life without any of them. Although I am increasingly frustrated with the fact that kids get sick all the time, I am thankful that my kids have strong immune systems that fight off invaders. I am thankful they are running crazy around the house because that means they are healthy and "normal."

I am so thankful that my husband has a job that is fairly secure. A qualified high school math teacher is always in demand. There is very little chance that his job will be affected by this economic mess. Kids always need to know math, and schools are always short on people who want to teach it. Our finances are nothing exciting, but we are committed to our 15 year mortgage and having no credit card debt, something I bucked at first, but for which I am now so thankful. We will have no mortgage at the age of 45 and be able to fund our kids' education, weddings, etc. because of these "sacrifices" now.

I am incredibly thankful that my husband trusts me enough to homeschool our kids.

I am so happy our federal tax refund came in today.

I am also having so much fun with my business. How many people get to make pretty stuff for a living? I have a new account with one of the most fantastic fabric manufacturers and am enjoying the new friends I have met in the crafting community. There are so many incredible designers out there. They inspire me each and every day. I am especially thankful for other stay home moms who want to help each other succeed in their home businesses. That is a true blessing. We're all in this together after all...our kids are the future, and those of us who choose to stay home should band together and support each other. We don't have to do everything alone, contrary to what popular culture says!

And finally, I am excited about Wyatt's construction-themed birthday party tomorrow. This will be the first real party we have had for him. The middle child is always neglected. So this one is going to be a big bash! I can't wait. I'll post pictures tomorrow night!

I am thankful for talented friends who are going to make this party awesome! Raquel, the best cook ever, thank you for being willing to "cater." Tina, the most crafty paper creater ever, thank you for making such creative, gorgeous invitations! Stacey, my new party planning friend, thank you for your AMAZING party favors! They are fabulous!

We are going to have a scavenger hunt for "boulders" (tin foil balls), truck races on a tarp, and running relays around orange caution cones. I am hopeful that Kevin Charette is actually correct about the weather for once tomorrow because it's supposed to be beautiful!!!

Glory to God for all our blessings and for making our life totally bearable even when things aren't going this well. Thank you Lord!

Easter Upon Us

Scott said to me today, "I am really happy with our home, our family and our life." I coughed in response. I have been sick all week and most recently a lovely cough and earache have added themselves to my myriad of miserable symptoms. I can barely hear anything because of the ear infection. But, truly, what have I got to complain about? My life is LUSH compared to many, yet I find myself a little melancholy today, the day before Easter.

Easter comes as a celebration for Christians of a risen Lord, a time for joy and rebirth, a time to take stock and clean up before Spring is sprung and the heat of summer swelters. But here I am sitting at the computer feeling melancholy.

I finished some projects and took a bath, but still felt melancholy.

I tried to rest on the couch, but Caden called, so I fed him and he slept for a little while and daddy had the other kids in the garage...still melancholy.

Then it hit me. I have been looking forward to something for a long time. I have been looking forward to Spring Break...and it's almost over!!! And there are no more holidays for Scott for a loooong time. It's that feeling that the happiness is almost over that is tugging at my mind and heart. So, I better get out of this funk and go do something fun before our time is up!

No more moping. I think I'll go get some Easter basket goodies for the kids and help my hubby in the garage. Oh, and it sucks to be on a diet during Easter time. OK, Lord, I'm sorry for my pity party. Back to the grind, with a joyful heart and a better attitude!