Some fun pictures

It's been a while since i've blogged anything here, so i thought i'd share some fun pictures from the last few days.

Last week Thursday we too Brenden for a follow-up evaluation at the Hope Centre ~ in Quill Lake. On the way home we saw this most interesting "invention" driving/skiing along in the ditch. It must be something like a snomoplane ?? You might need to click on the picture and enlarge it for a good view of it. Also along the drive, some fun bales...

Btw, his appointment went well and we are seeing some good progress. We learned that Elizabeth Harms has written a book with some of her life experiences (especially with her son and his special needs) including a few other testimonials as well... very inpirational book.

Today we had appointments with the naturopath in Sherwood Park... for Brenden, Janique & me. So it's been a busy few days (expensive too ~ but probably well worth the cost). All three of us seem to have some similar issues (low iodine, too much histimine), but not all affected the same way, and each of us needing slightly different supplements.

Now to get everything together and ready for Brenden's newest program (there are always a few changes as his progress continues at different levels)... so that's what i'm off to get working on...

forgot to mention

Last week Tuesday we went for a lovely drive (minus a bit of "not the greatest" weather) out a bit more than an hour drive, to check out some violins and get a "second opinion" on the ones we've been renting. This homeschool family... the older two boys have a home based business selling violins, and we were very impressed. They ended up selling us two very nice violins ~ we weren't sure if we'd be buying one or two, but we decided/agreed that Reagan is close enough to ready for a full-size, and they had a second full-size to offer to us for a good price, so we went with it! Actually, the second one sounds very nice. It is old (which is often a good thing when it comes to violins). When i was playing it the other day i was trying to identify the smell... and the violin smells like the Western Development Museum! The case that came with it actually looks a bit antique too... It should be good huh? Lol...

If you're ever looking for a violin, we would recommend these guys (and you don't have to drive out ~ they do more email/phone/mail order).

Feeling restless...

crazy feeling actually... i know i have so much to do! Maybe that's the problem... i don't know where to begin, yet i keep adding to my lists?? (like i just found some free wooden pallets and i'm trying to figure out how/when to pick them up).

Feeling again like finding an acreage... getting out into the country. Jonathan bought a welder, so it would be nice to have a shop for him to use it. Actually, we looked at an acreage on Saturday. The yard & location were fine, but the house left a lot to be desired. There's a different place that has a wonderful house but only a few acres and a bit further away. I'm trying to convince myself that we should just work at finishing this house (and doing little fix-up/ improvements) so that when/if we find an acreage that might work for us, that we'd be ready to list this place. And if we never move, i'm sure we'd still appreciate a finished house.

Maybe it's a contentment issue... or is it perhaps time for change?

Too many thoughts running in too many directions.

Feeling more impatient about our wait for referral (and the wait after referral too as it seems to be taking longer and longer there too)... and the thought came to me again last night that maybe we should take in a few foster children while we're waiting. But that might not be the best thing either ~ i am still doing program with Brenden and can't let that fall behind because we're committed to that. There is also a good possibility that i will be babysitting again in April. And i already feel like i'm not involved enough with the rest of kids' school stuff (almost like guilt that i'm not "there for them" enough ~ but they know i'm available if they need anything).

Ok... wasted enough time... i need to figure out my afternoon to try and use that time efficiently.

Petty things??

First of all i'm happy to be able to say we are all feeling well again! Praise God for that!

Ok, the petty things...

Like Sears (the outlet site) ~ it used to be that shipping was free for orders over $30 or so. Ok, so it's been a while since i shopped there. But i found a few good deals recently, and (my fault) didn't look carefully to see that every order now has a $3 handling fee. Where this bites is that i made a total of 3 orders in 2 days because i kept finding more good deals after placing an order (not knowing about the handling fee at this point).

I only shopped in the categories listed in the discount offer, but several items didn't get discounted.

One item came with a broken box and missing pieces... they wanted me to re-order and return the damaged one when i pick up the new one, but when i went to re-order, it wouldn't give me the discount, plus they were adding the $3 handling fee (this is when i went back to all my previous orders and figured out that they slap it on every order now)! So after a few emails and a phone call, i think (hope) we've got that one figured out and settled (just need to pick up the new one and do the exchange thing).

Add to the hassle... a few items were back-ordered or something (didn't come with the original order), so now as each piece comes in, they are trying to add another $3 handling fee! I don't think so!!! (a $3 item that came later is now $6?? no thanks!). There is one other item still not delivered ~ i'm just waiting for it to become "unavailable" because it is one of the items they didn't honor the discount on and i'm not paying another handling fee.

Then yesterday, i went for a haircut appointment (had a coupon for a free haircut and wanted to use it before it expired). I specifically booked it for the 26th because i was planning to be in the city that day. Well, when i got there, the lights were out, "closed" sign hung, and a note on the door about them moving. Fun! Not impressed. When i tried calling later, their phone was busy... (or probably more like, off the hook). This morning i called again and asked about it... the lady i talked with couldn't find my name anywhere and said they didn't have anyone cutting hair on Mondays so no one should've booked me for then. The boss called back later this morning (left a message) to say my name was down for last week Monday with "no show." I have yet to actually talk with the boss... do i want to?

Leon's furniture... we ordered a recliner rocker in December (12th or something like that), were given a delivery date of Jan.9 or 10. We're still waiting... We've called a few times, the last time was just over a week ago and they said it was in transit, meaning it should be there within a week or so. They said they would call when it was in... still waiting... and wondering...

Petty things... (hopefully i've got it out of my system now ~ ha ha)

Pneumonia times two...

We like to do things as a family, but this is going too far! lol... both Reagan & Brenden have pneumonia. Being day 3 with their fevers, i finally took them in this morning to see a doctor. At least it wasn't a "for nothing" trip ~ typically the first thing a doctor thinks when there's more than one in a family with the cold symptoms is that it's just a virus. But with the lingering fevers, it didn't take long for this doctor to send the boys for X-rays which quickly told the rest of the story.

Janique started coughing a day or two ago as well, but so far no fever, so we're hoping she'll be ok, but IF she does get a fever, we're not waiting the traditional "3 days" to see if it clears up on it's own.

Reagan was supposed to have two teeth pulled on Thursday ~ i already rescheduled from last week when he was sick (and i have a dental appointment next week that i've already rescheduled 3 times), so when i called today to cancel Reagan's appointment i suggested to the receptionist that she was probably getting really tired of me calling already ~ lol. Of course she was totally gracious and all, but i'm REALLY hoping i don't need to reschedule mine again!

I've actually gotten out twice now to shovel snow ~ normally the boys are out there before i get a chance, but with two of them not feeling well, they haven't been out much. And we've gotten quite a bit of snow lately.

Anyway, i should go check on the boys, and maybe see if the other two are up to a game or something...

Different kind of Sundays...

Today is the third Sunday in a row that i haven't been to church because of someone not feeling well. This morning i thought i might be going because Jonathan was milking last night and only got to bed after 3am, but about 9:15 he was up and getting ready to go, so i'm home again... this time with Reagan & Brenden. It's ok with me... because i'm not sure how much Jonathan would've "been there" for the boys if he was home sleeping. And i'm a little extra cautious with Reagan because he seems to have hypoglycemic tendencies so i get concerned about his sugar levels when he isn't eating well. He had a fever last night and i almost ended up taking him in to see a doctor, but minor emergency was closed by then, and Reagan really didn't want to go to the hospital (??) so i called healthline instead (and i was very pleased with their help). He was soaking wet this morning and his fever was way down, so i thought he'd beat it, but now he's a bit warm again. I'm guessing he won't be doing violin lessons tomorrow...

Reagan wanted something to make him laugh this morning, so he & Brenden are watching a Ken Davis and friends video.

I made a batch of cookies to use up sour cream that needed to be used up. And i'm washing Reagan's bedding after all his sweating.

I updated a bit on our adoption blog yesterday ~ it's been 8mos. now since our file landed in Ethiopia. How much longer til we have a referral?? Hard to guess... but i'll remain optimistic and keep hoping it'll be before May. We did get an update from our agency that there are more steps (new in the last few weeks/months) for everything to go through court, so that means (as i understand it) that our wait to travel (after referral) could potentially take longer than we first anticipated. But we can leave that all in God's hands too...

Well, i guess i could come up with something for lunch before Jonathan & Janique get home (Darwin's Sunday school class is having lunch at church and then playing hockey after that, so he'll be home later). Any good lunch ideas?? lol...

Way behind again...

yikes... i didn't realize it's been so long since i've posted anything here. sorry... and to keep it simple this time, i'll just mention that i've posted on our adoption blog, so feel free to check my updates there.

I think maybe the baby is going to sleep now... i hope so. But i think i might try and sleep too ~ we've had enough late nights lately, and another busy day tomorrow.