Advent Freakout

I thought about doing "a post a day" in December but Lord only knew it wasn't happening. The transmission went out on the big gray bus, my baby sis had her first baby, I had to do a job for St. Michael Patch (our new local news site...check to see if you have a Patch.com site for your town!), I put Trina in a few classes at the high school, and there are many many many other things still on the schedule until before Christmas.

I can't wait until Lent.

Lent is more of a time waiting than Advent is. Advent seems to be a little more "bustle-y" for our family and it's not a matter of going around freaking out about gifts. It's more of a time of everything-falls-to-crap and we're playing catch up all month.

Maybe it's the same for a lot of other families. I know that things aren't all bad or dramatic (like a new baby or two!) but it feels like I've been on overdrive and it's always one step forward, then WHAMO back about 10 steps. I need to focus more on the 'reason for the Season'. Of course, everyone needs to be reminded of that this time of year, right?

Part of my new project was to visit businesses in the area so I got to see a lot of what was available in my town and I've actually gone back to 6 of the businesses (so far) to purchase something in the past 3 days. I stopped by a computer refurb store and bought a computer so this one doesn't have any pictures loaded up on it yet for that oh-so-exciting picture people always want to see with a new post.

I'll illustrate with words:

I look like an old lady with about 10 new wrinkles, unshaven legs, barely showered body, haircolor that's all worn out, my house is a disaster area, my kids are ignored, my hubs is yelling at me to stop writing on my blog and get back to work, and I gotta gooooooo......

Adios. Until I have a minute to breathe.

P.S. My legs are always unshaven this time of year. I just threw it in for your extra added enjoyment.

Sick Days, Birthdays, Happy Days, Sad Days

After our Crazy Dance Party a few Friday nights ago, we got strep in the house. The whole works (except for Trina and I) had to go to the doctor and get meds. THEN, Tommy couldn't breathe one night, so we went to the ER with him and he got a steroid shot, with the lovely info that the doctor thought he must have croup. Really? Croup (virus) AND strep (bacteria)? How lucky can one family get? Everyone else got the virus too, including Trina.

It took three weeks and finally, today, everyone sounds and feels a whole lot better.

On Wed. we celebrated Tommy's 2nd birthday (he was sick and miserable, I don't have any pictures of that day, but here's a shot of him at that dance party the Friday before. He danced so much he collapsed on the floor...several times...especially when he saw the camera was on!)
We then celebrated Mari's 4th birthday on Friday. She went to a pre-school screening (I don't intend to send her to school, but I just like the screening and the people who do it in this town. They're very supportive of homeschoolers in this district.)
She wanted to wear her crown and bring her purse along for the screening. It was pretty obvious that it was her birthday, since she wore this special collar that said "Happy Birthday" that she'd been saving ALL year, just for the occasion. They sung "Happy Birthday" to her at the school. She was so pleased. She also said goodbye to the neighbor as he took his kids (that we babysit) off to see their grandma. Mari hollered across the street, "Bye! Hey, did you know today's my birthday?" The neighbor said, "Oh yeah! That's right!". Mari hollered again, "You forgot to say 'happy birthday'!". He thought it was funny...I thought she was getting a little to into the princess thing.
That girl's got some MAJOR sass going for her. I have a feeling she's going to work it until she figures out some other thing that will work for her to get out of doing chores and taking naps.

Saturday morning, Butch's parents took the birthday kids (including Butch) out to their breakfast/shopping for birthday gift/shopping for cake, tradition that we started a few years ago. It makes the birthday kid feel really special but we figured three birds with one stone was the way to go this year! Butch reported that this exchange happened at Perkin's:
Server: Do you want pie, or ice cream?
(she got a choice for her birthday)
Mari: Ummm, I think because I'm FOUR, I should have cake and ice cream.

She got ice cream. Butch put the brakes on the princess complex there, but she handled it just fine!
Saturday night, we had my side of the family over to celebrate the birthdays in our house (Butch's was Sunday!) and my twin niece and nephew (birthday today) and my other nephew who will be 4 this Saturday. It was super funny to sing happy birthday for 3 cakes (two names on each) and it ended up being a total blast. We had a couple other people over, too. Our neighbors (who are like family since we have their children over every week for babysitting)and Tommy's godparents, Rachie and Billy. Even Matt and Anna got to come from Menomonie with their dog, Jake. A good time was had by all!

The "sad days" in the title only refers to the illnesses...but there is some sadness in that the worry of an unstable economy is threatening Butch's job. He has been laid off (this will be the third week) for the first time in years and years. His company is very stable, one of the only companies that does what they do, and THEY are feeling the pinch...I can't imagine how the rest of the construction/industrial world is doing right now and for the past two years. I don't know how people live on just unemployment, but I know we can't. We can NOT sustain this for very long. I don't know what we would do if he were laid off for more than 5 or 6 weeks. We have to make some tough choices, I know that, but with 7 kids, there are certain things that pass the "want" category and really are the NEEDS. We need a roof over our heads, clothing on our bodies, food in our bellies, and transportation. What can we let go? Not much. We have come to depend on the internet for communication, education, and bill paying...although, the thought just occurred to me that if I can't pay bills, what's the point of paying them online? Just (mostly) kidding! I'm cracking up a bit here. This is all a lot of worry that a LOT of people are going through, I know that. It does make things a little easier, knowing that there are a whole lot of people in this sinking boat with us. Misery loves company, right? Ugh. How about misery can take a hike. I wish misery would leave people alone once in a dang while. Misery stinks on ice.

Well, the ONE good thing that comes from having Butch here is that he is helping with school. Math is hard (said in my best Barbie voice) and Butch does it so much better than I do! He gets to see how schooling works for each child, which is something he misses out on while he's working. He has also gotten to take them ice fishing a few times (something he's never really done before) with one of his retired co-workers (a great friend of the family). That's been great bonding time with the kids, too. Butch and the kids also primed and painted the entire basement. We had all of the equipment and paint but hadn't had the time to finish that job until now. If we only had money, as well as time, we could put in carpet and trim things up...but that might have to wait for a while. We haven't driven each other crazy quite yet, but I'm sure that day is coming.

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to gear up...

Find the strength to push each other to not give up...

Remember to lean on God, who will help us when we feel like falling...

And when we fall...

And get discouraged...

We can know that all of that prayer and love will carry us through...

And help us (however shakily) get to our feet...

Until we rise again!

Triumphantly calling from the highest mountaintop!

"Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his. For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us. For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts..."

Holla

Hey, any of you blogpeeps live anywhere's near Kansas City, Kansas? There is a strong possibility that we could be spending a LOT of time there in the near future and it would be nice if we had some good neighbors. More about this later when I am more sure...just wanted to send out the feelers.

All The Buzz

Now that I've got your attention using a cute, fat baby:



h/t Shelly and everyone else who is paying attention even while trying to keep bread on the table and to keep their jobs.

Duluth

I love Minnesota (for about 4 months of the year).

I may have mentioned before that Butch works out of town a lot. I don't advertise when he does (for obvious safety reasons) but lately, on and off, for the last few months, he's worked mainly in and around Duluth, MN. He works most of the week (sometimes all week) when he gets a job "out of town". He typically comes home on the weekend but on occasion has worked out of state and has had to stay for a weekend.

Last year, we went to Alexandria, MN when he had a job there. That was very nice and it introduced the kids to the idea of the "mini-vacation". It's great because we get to go to rinky-dink little museums where there aren't hardly any people (everyone's in school!) and the volunteers there love to spend extra time with our little group.

We've been promising the kids all summer to visit Duluth but I'm so glad we waited until last week! The weather was PERFECT. School was in session so we were the only kids around. We got to walk from Canal Park right up to Butch work site and take pictures and video of his crew in action! It was a little weird for Butch to have his worlds collide like that but he really enjoyed having us there to break up the boredom.

He stays in a hotel across the HUGEST bridge in Superior, WI (which is decidedly a NOT fabulous town) because it's a whole lot cheaper but very close to Duluth. We stayed in a suite so we didn't drive each other nuts and we all fit in there just fine.

I planned only one night and to visit the zoo but we ended up NOT going to the zoo and staying two extra nights.

Here are some pictures of some of the things we did.

HOTEL









(I had to buy a cheapy camera, another Kodak Easy Share, on this vacation so my pictures are a little blurry but as I was trying it out, I took this one of Bocker and Matty eating continental breakfast. Matty looked up and said, "No pictures on my vacation!" sorry Matty, no can do)



Mari started playing with the "kissing bears" she brought in her "packpack" to the hotel. They were REALLY gettin' it on, and the kids and I were completely shocked at the sound her bears made while making out. We asked her where they could have possibly learned that behavior. I still don't know.

(Trina is pointing out our "you are here" at the bottom tip of Lake Superior. This was a really cool, aerial view of the great lakes and was so huge it wouldn't fit in the camera viewfinder! I really recommend coming to this city and especially visiting the aquarium. It was a beautiful, interactive place that the kids really enjoyed.)

Ice Cream

Walking Around and In Canal Park

(aftermath of ice cream)








Butch's Work Site



We got to get up really close to see the building that he was helping to construct right downtown Duluth. He is actually looking forward to going back to do the upper floors because his view of Canal Park and the lake is phenomenal from up there! I hope we can go back too, and maybe spend one or two nights, go back to Gooseberry Falls, or see some of the lighthouses and visit some more museums.

The crane operator had to load a plank back on to the truck because it was wrong. I was amazed to watch how he had to lace it through the steel I beams, hoist it over the beautiful next door building with the really big windows, over the street lamp and onto the truck without really being able to have a clear view. It's quite an operation! You should have seen the look on the lady's face who was stuck in traffic under it as it was coming down. She looked up in horror and had that "get me outta here!" look on her face as she rolled down the window and craned her neck to see what was going on! Butch ran across the street to hop up on the truck as a way of reassuring her that she wasn't actually UNDER the plank and that she was perfectly safe where she was. The operator did a wonderful job of getting the plank back on the truck nice and safe.
SAFETY FIRST!
Gooseberry Falls
Bocker's always been obsessed with lava. He asks me a million questions about it all the time. This trip was FULL of references to lava. He was in lava heaven.
Weazy thought Tommy's toes were as pretty as the scenery.
I let Matty venture out much more than anyone else (against my instinct), but he needed a little freedom after being "extra safety monitor" for so many days! It did just the trick for an increasingly whiny boy who was getting a little stifled in the van.




Two Harbors Museum

The "Edna G" tugboat has been in the harbor for over 100 years. It's a floating museum (big ships don't need the tugs anymore we were told by the wonderful guide who gave us a private tour). We also got to see a big taconite ship load up and pull away from the big loading dock. It was quite interesting for us landlubbers.
Trina is freaked out by mannequins. So am I.

We all had a great time and had a very positive reaction to our little/big group as we walked around Duluth and the other places we went. Sometimes we got strange looks (probably because of the presence of school age children during school hours) but, overall, if someone asked me if all those kids were mine, they were very sweet and would say something like "Oh, I was one of seven!" or "I have 6 of my own!" or "Good for you!" or "They are so well behaved!". It was a good thing for everyone that we took this little trip.
Next post:

Kidspeak from the last few weeks

I've got some doozies from the trip.

At dinner after our first night home together, we discussed where we'd like to go if we had unlimited funds and time to do it right.

I suggested to go South.

Mari said "Keksis". Bocker said "Texas!". He also wondered how long it would take to get there. Butch said it would take a couple of days. Bocker then wondered how long it would take to walk there. Trina told him it would take about a week of walking. Bocker said we couldn't do that, we'd probably get "walk-sick".

On The Ledge

This has been a WEIRD Thanksgiving! We didn't get to go to my brother's house because Bocker and Mari were coughing and feverish so we just stayed home and had Thanksgiving dinner here with all of us (we need a bigger table, Mari had to sit in an extra chair off to the side. It's pretty bad when you need a "kid's table" for everyday meals!).

Now, Butch and I are BOTH sick. I sneezed about 2 boxes worth of tissues in the last two days and have a headache and a fever now. BUT, through it all, work HAD to be done so here's what I got done this weekend (in between sneezes)...

1. We changed the girls out of their bunk beds (Trina couldn't even sit up on the bottom bunk!) and cleared 3 TALL KITCHEN GARBAGE BAGS worth of actual garbage out of their room (junk that had worked it's way under and around the big bunk bed). I took off the closet, bi-fold doors because there is no room to open them and now they have a nice, neat, clean, EMPTY room to relax in. I had to sort Analise's clothes too (she gets most of the hand-me-downs from other people and deals from the store I work at).

2. I moved a dresser from the boy's room downstairs to hold the mittens, scarves, hats, etc. in the entryway. THAT project led to me cleaning their room again and re-organizing some of their toys to make more room for them to play a little in their room (only 1 garbage bag worth of garbage from THAT room).

3. I inherited a table/sewing machine from my grandma so I decided to move a couple of bookshelves and make a "sewing space" in my dining room. This project involved sorting books also and much dusting (and cleaning the living room...the toys have been sorted and, along with the doll house, have been moved into the classroom so Mari and Niklaus have easier access to them.

4. Trine got a free playset (big, plastic thing with slide) from the lady she gave her two cats to so she brought it over here and I set it up in the basement. Our neighbor also was getting rid of an old couch and easy chair so Butch made room in the garage for those (it's set up like a living room again! TV, surround sound, insulated and heated!) until either Anna needs them, or we finish the basement.

5. I cleaned the theme (spring/summer) from the ledge above the front door (I climb in through the window that's accessible from the kid's rooms above the porch) and changed it to a Christmas theme.


I am trying to simplify EVERYTHING in this house and get rid of ALL things that are useless or junk to make room for actual people but it's hard for me to stop once I get started. Butch calls this "nesting" but I call it "I can't stand living in FILTH". You know how once you get started on one, teeny, little project, you notice how much other stuff has to be done? Yeah. That's what happened this weekend. Hey, it's not so bad, I got a TON of dusting done and I got my walls painted FINALLY in the living room! I'll do a video tour when everything is all done. I promise I won't open drawers or cabinets to show you how obsessive I can get...I also won't do closeups of the bathroom floors...with all of this organizing this weekend, I sorta skipped the necessary bathroom cleanings. I'll get to it. Someday.

Working on Finding Work

"Deaf people can do anything, except hear."
I. King Jordan
President
Gallaudet University

I just found out that one of our good friends (who happens to be hard of hearing) has been laid off from his job of 22 years. He worked in a local cabinet shop and was not ever treated very well by the company. Please, pray for him and his family (wife and one 12 year old son).

He has one of the best work ethics I've ever known. He can do almost ANYTHING, and has helped Butch with every project he's ever done around both of our houses (we used to be neighbors in the town over. His mom and dad moved just down the street from us now so he has an excuse to visit often and will lend a hand no matter WHAT). You couldn't find a nicer person with a better attitude and I think it's a shame that his talent is going to waste. His wife taught me ASL and, even though I am FAR from proficient, we communicate very well and I'm so happy that God put us together over the years. We first lived in the same apartment building but didn't really know each other (I knew they were deaf and we waved to each other all the time, but never really moved in the same circles or had time to stop and say 'hello'). One day, when Trina was only a few weeks old, I saw my cousin with her-helping her move out. It turns out that my cousin is married to her husband's brother (they are sis-in-laws) and I finally got to meet her. I was all bummed out when I found out that they were moving, but my cousin told me, "Laura, don't worry, they are moving RIGHT NEXT DOOR TO YOUR PARENTS!". I always laugh when I think of the irony that two, deaf people moved next to my MOM (known for her talking...even worse than ME).

Anyway, the company our friend worked for has been almost borderline abusive of him and has given him only teeny-micro-puny raises, has gotten his attention by throwing things at him, has talked about him while he is in the room in a bad way, and generally never really tried to understand him or has given him credit for the wonderful person he is. I never heard him complain about it too much. Mostly his wife and other people that work there told me these things but it broke my heart to hear that someone like him could have been treated in any way other than with dignity and respect. He never really had the confidence to change jobs as many people are afraid to hire "handicapped" persons and I think he was just happy with what he had and that he could provide for his family with the job. I think he was WAY under-utilized and underpaid because he is so skilled at almost every project he attempts. He is a perfectionist. He is super social and gets along with everyone. I hope he finds a job soon so this won't be too hard of a winter for them. I know there are a lot of people in the construction business suffering right now and he is having a hard time finding anything around here for work.
Please pray for my sister, too. She still hasn't found anything (or heard back from any interviews) after a month of looking.

Thank you for your prayers and suggestions!

Dangit

Well, I guess I officially lost the challenge now. No excuses. I just woke up at 2 am and realized that I didn't officially post for Sunday. Oh well. I was too worn out anyway! We had my sister, Anna and her new boyfriend over for dinner. We just bought half a cow so we were using up our steaks from last year. It was pretty good! No E-Coli or anything! Then we mostly took naps and relaxed. Perfect Sunday, if you ask me. I did get called into work (I struggle to get hours, there are a lot of moms who work there more consistently than me so I grab any hours I can!) from 5-8, which was kind of nice. I love helping people during store hours (I usually stock late at night) and love chatting with people about who they are buying for, what ages their children are, what looks good with what...I especially love it when I see a dad buying for the kids or a grandma or grandpa with the kids. I helped a big, huge dad with sort of a Russian or maybe Polish accent, help buy some things for a 3 year old and a 7 year old (boys) that would be "sent overseas". I wish I could be nosey sometimes and ask more questions of the customers, but they do have to finish their shopping sometime! It's pretty amazing how many international people come to the Outlet Mall and how many different languages and accents I hear when I work there during the day! 20 years ago, you would NEVER have guessed that we would have this much of the world represented on any, given weekend in this little ol' town!