What Have We Been Doing?

It snowed this past Sunday night. It snowed a LOT this past Sunday night. Then, it proceeded to dump freezing rain on top of it on Monday morning. Our freezing temperatures that haven't been above 25 degrees have kept the snow and ice around all week long. Offices and schools have been closed. Most offices are reopened now but schools are still closed. Once everyone starts to be able to get out and about on the roads we can count on at least one more day of not being able to since we live on top of a mountain. And, this is what the roads look like! Andrew actually did make it to the office yesterday only to have them officially close again a few hours after he got there. But, then he was unable to get back up the hill in the car so he had to walk for about a mile home. A few hours later he returned down the hill and took note of special "grooves" he might be able to use to his advantage on the way up. He barely made it but made it nonetheless. This morning, he tried to go into the office but pulled off to the side of the road because he was sliding so bad. He and a nieghbor stood and watched an accident happen about 10 feet from where they were standing. So, he decided to come back home. This has been a rare treat to have so much FREE family time. Monday we played in the snow. Here are a few pictures of that. Tuesday, Wendesday and Thursday (so far) have been spent trying to have as normal of days as possible so everyone doesn't go crazy. It has been a good time to wrap my mind around some school plans that I have for Braedon (separate post). We haven't completely organized their room after putting the new beds in there. So, that is on the list for the remainder of today. I think the kids will be happy to get out and go for a ride again when we can. But for now, they are easily entertained. I told my husband the other day that when I think about getting frusterated because we are stuck inside I think about how I want this experience to end. What kind of memory do I want to have of snowpocalypse 2011? Do I want to be miserable because we are stuck inside? Or, do I want to embrace it, love on each other more, play together more, and come to the end of this time knowing that we made the most of it instead of wishing it away? We have made a lot of good memories. This is one of my favorites!

Garrett 5 Months

I am a few days late in posting this but I was only one day late in actually taking the picture. He is almost 13 lbs now. We have been dealing with cradle cap that was pretty bad but is now completely gone. Now that the cradle cap is gone he is having eczema issues. He hasn't been very interested in drinking his milk lately. So, I tried cereal on him and he seemed to take it really well. So, I guess you can say he has officially started solids! I wanted to hold off as long as I could but he has been acting like milk just isn't enough for him anymore. I am hoping that after eating more cereal during the day he will sleep longer than 3 hour stretches at night again. It has been a good couple of weeks since I have had more than a 3 hour stretch of sleep. He is becoming more and more playful and interested in things around him. I love it when he locks his eyes in on me. I look over and he is very intently staring at me. I smile at him and he gets a huge grin on his face. Melts my heart!


For comparison purposes, here are the previous posts:
4 months
3 months
2 months
1 month

Elusive Sleep and Gifts from God

It is the middle of the night, I finally fell asleep and am awakened by the baby crying. I don't feel like I have slept that long. I look at the clock...1:45 a.m. Ugh, I just went to sleep at 11:30 and it has only been 3.5 hours since the last time he ate. I should let him cry for a few minutes maybe he will go back to sleep. I can't let him cry, he might wake up my husband (since we sleep in the same room). So, I run over there and insert paci and then hop back in bed begging him (in my head) to go back to sleep. He doesn't so I get him up to eat and then we go back to sleep. Awakened again by the baby crying. Ugh, what time is it now?... 4:45 a.m. He can't be hungry again. He is *five* months old...he should be able to go longer than 3 hours without eating, especially at night. Maybe he is going thru a growth spurt. Maybe his exczema is bothering him. Maybe he can't breathe since his nose is all stuffed up. Maybe he is ready to start solids. Can't let him cry too long because he might wake my husband. I run over there, insert paci, hop back in bed begging again for him to go back to sleep. He doesn't. So, I get him up to eat. He doesn't eat but is pacified so he is back in bed by 5:00. I fall back asleep quickly but am awakened by him fifteen minutes later. This time inserting paci works and I sleep for another 3 hour stretch when then it is time to get up for a full day with three kids and myself who don't feel good. I think about going straight from bed to the couch to sleep while the 4yo and 2yo watch a movie. Then I think how unfair that is to them. They deserve a mommy who is engaged with them. God reminds me that He has called me to be more than that for them. I start praying for God's strength to have a good day and glorify Him with our time together even on such little continuous sleep and not feeling too great.

"Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16
God is so faithful and we had a wonderful morning beginning with prayer time and bible story, chores, a few activities, lunch...Ah, I made it...NAPTIME! I didn't lose my temper once. I wait for the two youngest to fall asleep. Then, me and the oldest quietly lay down in his bed (in the same room with 2yo). I am unable to relax enough to sleep and am becoming very angry. After about an hour my 2yo pops her head up. She and the 4yo start staring and smiling at each other. It is kind of cute but inside I am so angry and so tired. I just don't even say anything. Inside I know naptime is over and we just have to get on with the day. After a few minutes, the 4yo invites the 2yo over to the bed we are on. She looks at me and inside I think about telling her to go back to sleep. I thank God that out of my mouth came, "sure, honey you can come over here with us." She crawled up onto the bed and 4yo began to flip through our picture bible that had been laying on the bed (from bible story time earlier). He started *reading* (describing the pictures on each page) as my 2yo sat listening. I thought what a wonderful gift and how grateful I am for it. It is so much better than sleeping. I am still tired but God is so good to give me the strength and great gifts to keep me going through the day when physically I feel like I just can't do it.
"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

New Beds

Braedon outgrow his toddler bed long ago. Kaley was ready to move out of her crib long ago. With some Christmas money they got from their grandparents we were able to get them new beds. Here's to hoping that we won't have to worry about beds for a long while. We still have the toddler bed for when little G gets big enough for it.

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Our New Daily Routine

I am the type of person who if I don't have things planned that we actually get accomplished, then I feel like we didn't accomplish anything all day. Then, I feel like I wasted the time that with my children that I have been so blessed with. It all sort of spirals downhill from there. As much as I like to plan, I want to leave plenty of room for whatever God has planned for us too. So, my plans aren't so much scheduled, it is more like a general idea of the types of things I want to make sure we do each day. Then, I just sort of try to work them in whenever the kids would probably be most cooperative in doing them. We do have a bit of a morning routine that we have been following lately and it has been WONDERFUL! First thing out of bed the kids like t.v. and I like it too because they are contained while I am making breakfast etc... This gives everyone a chance to wake up, eat something, and get ready to start the day. Immediately after whatever they are watching goes off I ask them to turn the t.v. off, which they are happy to do (yay!). If I had to fight them to turn off the t.v. then it would not get turned on in the first place. We then all cram onto our loveseat and have prayer time and bible story. After that is over it is time to do some chores. Braedon loves to use the portable vacuum cleaner so I just turn him loose with that. I am having a little trouble focusing Kaley on cleaning but we are working on it. Then, after cleaning time we have some free play. And, the day just sort of goes on from there. After lunch, we have quite time where at least 2 out of 3 kids sleep and the 3rd is required to be quite. This is when I get some alone time to read with Braedon and some alone time to spend with God. A few other things I try to work in throughout the day are:
-Games
-Crafts
-Music
-Exercise
-Worksheets (to start getting Braedon ready for school)
-Talk to Braedon about what his name is, when his birthday is, how old he is, and the same information for his brothers and sisters.
-Name tracing
I have to admit that we didn't always start our day with prayer. It has been such a blessing to make prayer and bible story time a priority. Our days are so much more positive when they are God-focused. When I start to feel like we are wasting time I evaluate the things that need to be priorities. Of course, God always reminds me that my highest priority during my days at home with my kids is to teach them and point them toward Him. It is such a blessing and my honor to do so.

Fireplace

I love, love, love this picture. We built our first fire of the season in our fireplace on Christmas Eve and the kids loved it.

Smores

This

+this

=YUMMY!