Ouch!

I guess my fall the other day hurt my knee more than i realized. The bruise on that knee doesn't look all that bad, but the pain if i kneel on it!!!! It doesn't hurt unless i kneel on it, so i keep forgetting it's hurt ~ until i accidentally kneel on it. And then it burns! It feels something like a very nasty rug-burn and/or a big wound being ripped open. And then it continues to burn for a while. Strange, because it doesn't "look" like it should hurt that much. I think i almost scared my little guy today when i got down on the floor to get his diaper on him after he went potty... i forgot about my knee until i was on it, and it hurt SO bad i yelped in pain as i quickly tried to get off that knee. I think i've probably bruised the actual bone... Jonathan wondered if i might have chipped it too, but i don't think so. However, if it continues to hurt like this for too long, i might get it checked. Not that there's likely anything they'll do for it...




Oh well... most of the time I AM remembering now to stay off that knee ~ lol.



We had an absolutely beautiful day for Reagan's soccer tournament on Saturday. The forecast that morning was for showers, but all day was perfect soccer weather ~ not too hot, not too cold (light jacket over a t-shirt was about perfect for me ~ shorts and t's for the players was fine), and almost no wind.



We came home taking a drive through the country along the way, and as we neared home, the clouds were beautifully dark blue and grey. I suggested the kids quickly pick up anything outside that they didn't want blown away, and we brought our stuff from the van inside... hadn't been in one minute and it was hailing. Nothing too big, but fascinating since we don't see hail too often. It was pretty cool watching it come down the eavestrough with the rain that followed. The rain did a lot to melt it quickly too. I got a few pictures, but we had to download what was on the camera before taking more, so by that time the hail was melting quite a bit.

Well, i better run check on my kiddos...

Lazy Friday??

Well, hardly "lazy" with Robbie & Andrew here ~ lol ~ but i'm still in pj's anyway! (My other family isn't here today, so i took the liberty to sleep in a bit, and "feel lazier" in pj's, etc.). Normally i don't have R&A on Fridays ~ my younger sister used to have them Fridays, but she only committed til the end of May. And since we had the benefit supper last night that we help out with, Trudy offered to take the day off so i wouldn't have her boys, but then we'd watch them today. Although i still had the other kids yesterday i agreed to the arrangement. I thought i might not mind the break after our crazy busy Wednesday anyway.

Had i known the other family wasn't going to be here today i would've probably would've rather had Robbie & Andrew yesterday instead of today... but i guess this is a good arrangement for Andrew who's been dreading coming because he & the other little girl don't get along too well. (Of course, yesterday would've meant just Robbie since Andrew had kindergarten... and it would've been a shorter day... but i guess it's nice to have a day with just these two too).

I took a tumble yesterday ~ upon arrival at the watermelon supper. Coming to the front door, there's a bit of a step (like 1-2"?) just before the door that i forgot about and didn't see, so my foot hooked on it and i went flying. I thought i had almost regained my footing just before i totally crashed/crumpled to the sidewalk. The door was open ~ i think i had caught it from one of the kids who was just ahead of me (might have been in a bit of a rush to catch the door?? and i'm guessing i probably grabbed it as i began flying), so once i was sitting i made a good door stop. I kind of wish i could see a replay in slow motion to see exactly what happened ~ it must have been an almost funny sight anyway. So now I have a few more bruises to add to my recent collection, and a sore muscle on my left arm (doesn't bother me unless i'm trying to use that muscle). I won't be kneeling on my right knee more than necessary for the next few days, and my right arm is sporting two new bruises ~ lol.

The other bruise ~ At Darwin's ball game last week (the game where he hit a homerun ~ woo hoo!), at one point the ball went foul and came over the fence right in my direction (i didn't remember who had batted that ball, but Darwin told me later he was sure it was him). So there were two of us in line... the other mom was sitting just to my right and one row down. She scooted over to the right, me to the left, and we were both "out of the way" but she reached out to try and catch the ball at the last mili-second; the ball deflected off her hand and into my elbow. I didn't think it really hurt much (i was wearing imitation leather jacket), but later my arm felt stiff, and then i saw the bruise.

Reagan has his soccer tournament tomorrow, so another full day there. I wish they didn't spread the games out so far apart (11, 2 & 5), but this is the way it goes. There's a LOT of teams, so i'm sure they were just trying to space them evenly. The boys were hoping to go fishing, but i guess they'll have to wait. They're getting a bit annoyed that Jonathan is still working an occasional shift at the farm on weekends ~ taking away from potential fishing days ~ lol. They've really taken to fishing! (Thanks to Grandma & Grandpa! lol). Milking is a fun out for Jonathan though, and he gets paid for it too, so i won't try to take that away from him. (at least not at this point).

Well, i better go see how everyone is doing...

Feeling a little blah today... wondering if the last trip to the chiropractor was too much for my body?? I usually see a different one, but with our busy schedule lately i've been going to whoever is available when i feel i need it... and the one i saw now has been good for me before, but the last two times it's been a bit too rough. I'll feel good for a day, and then my head/neck feels tight and i feel tired!

Yesterday was another busy babysitting day. Over lunch time we had 8 extras again (all 5 and under). I had a brainwave later on that day, or was it this morning?? I should ask the parents to bring bag lunches for the kids ~ lol. I think it would actually save me a bit of work.

Today I just have one family (2 kids now, and their sister comes after school) ~ my sister took the day off so i was less tied down because we're helping out with a fundraiser supper today ~ Watermelon and Rollkuchen. But then i have her boys tomorrow (which will be a longer day for us because Robbie doesn't have preschool on Fridays... ).

Next week is our last week to babysit Robbie & Andrew (although we've already been asked to have Robbie one day the following week ~ lol). I am looking forward to that break though... and i'm still hoping we have most of the summer off altogether (although i know we'll end up doing occasional days for whoever all, whenever all ~ ha ha).

Darwin is asking to go to school, and we're having a hard time deciding. I'm almost ready to let him go, but i do have some mixed feelings about it. And then we'd have to decide which school... more mixed feelings. I am praying about it... and i've asked Darwin to pray about it too.

Anyway, i better go...

Had a good day

I had a pretty good day today! I got to sleep in a little this morning... my kiddos didn't come til 12:30 today. And I only had the two of them (til their sister came after school)... so since i needed to bring some stuff to the next town, i took the two with me and we did some garage saling as well. It was fun! I was surprised at how much i actually enjoyed that! One of the things i have appreciated as my kids have been growing up is their independance ~ not needing me to buckle up their car seats, etc. but i really didn't mind doing that for my "little kiddos" today. Somehow it gave me a picture of how I imagine it might be when we have our two new children home... and it just feels right!

Busy day miracle

Yikes... i had my four regular kids today, and then the 2 boys i used to watch regularily, and then my sister asked if i could watch two of her boys... so we had 8 extra kiddos today. It didn't hit me until later that this is probably the most kids of that age that we've had at a time (usually when we have this many, several of them are older). So let me see if i can remember everyone's ages... 16mos, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5... can i say i'm THANKFUL for my kids help! And THANKFUL for a miracle ~ both the baby & Robbie had a nap! The last time we had the baby over, he didn't go down easily, until he was so tired he fell asleep in his highchair ~ lol. It's not easy getting Robbie to sleep, so with this many kids over, it was a miracle that he went to sleep! My kids watched the other kids while i got Robbie settled/sleeping, and then once he's sleeping he usually sleeps tight. The baby had a BIG nap, and by the time these two woke up, 4 of the kids had gone home.

Anyway, i'm trying to get ready for garage sale on Friday, so i should get some more work done on that ~ i don't get far while babysitting.

Last week Wednesday I was curious if our file had arrived in Ethiopia yet (it was to be mailed on the 6th), so I emailed our case worker. Apparently it arrived and was picked up on the 10th, so we are officially waiting for a referral now.

We were told that with the number of people requesting siblings, the referral time is likely to be at least about 8mos. I guess that would put us into January of 2009. That is just about too long! I know it's better for us to expect it to take longer, and hope that it's sooner... but somehow i just can't quite imagine waiting into 2009. Naturally i'll be "hoping" for a referral by Christmas. But again, all in God's timing! I'd rather leave it in His hands and trust Him for His patience. (Easy enough to say at the beginning of the wait, right?) I honestly believe it is God who has lead us to/through this journey so far, and I am confident He will see us through in His way and in His time. That doesn't mean our patience won't be tested (it already has been numerous times)... but for now it does feel good to know that our dossier is complete, correct, and in Ethiopia!

Officially our request is "a sibling group, preferably a girl and a boy, or two girls, with the female child being the eldest within the age of 24 to 60 months, and a male or female child within the age of 6 to 36 months."

Or more simply put... "a girl (24-60mos) and boy (6-36mos), or two girls (6-60mos)."

Last week Monday & Tuesday were not easy with Robbie ~ he was extra difficult, and didn't take a nap, so that makes for a long day. Thursday though, he was much better. Maybe it's a bit of a chain reaction too... if he starts off well, it puts us into a better frame of mind to enjoy him more?? Not sure, but we all had a better day. He came in the door smiling, and very huggy! He climbed up on my lap and started hugging me, and when the boys would get close, he'd draw them into the hug too. He was being cute. He actually sat on the floor and played for more than a minute at a time too. Then later, after his nap (YES, he had a nap that day), he went into the bathroom, and i heard Brenden trying to get him out of there... and then Brenden called me. I've told the boys repeatedly that if they can't manage Robbie, let me know! so now i was sure he was having trouble getting Robbie out, but as i got up to go help, i asked anyway what was up, and he told me "Robbie is in the sink!" (he was sitting in the sink, and Brenden needed me to help get him out of there). Lol... i had him clarify to be sure i'd heard right, and then i quickly picked up the camera to get a picture before taking him out. It was too funny! I guess in a way he was still being naughty because he didn't listen to Brenden (come out of the bathroom), but we all had a good laugh before taking him out and locking the bathroom door.

So now we have four more weeks of watching him... hopefully we'll have more "good days." Tomorrow we have just Robbie and just for the afternoon (i think). So a "long weekend."

Jonathan did 3 shifts at the farm on the weekend (2 yesterday and one today), so it'll be nice for him to have tomorrow off!

Anyway, it's WAY late again (how do i keep letting the day get away on me like this??)...

I did it!

I've been contemplating for a while now... do i continue babysitting through the summer or not? We've got about 5 more weeks to babysit Robbie & Andrew, and when i took the other job, i was told til the end of June... and i was fine with that, but her job appears to be long term now, so i/we had a decision to make. After giving it much thought, i came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be a bad idea for us to take a break. I know a lot of it is just that the work-load with Robbie is just so tiring that we're all ready for a break... and that, quite possibly, if it was just the other two* it probably wouldn't be too bad. (Last Friday it was just the other two, and it felt like such a manageable/normal-ish kind of day that i thought we could probably keep watching them ~ feeling pretty well "adjusted" by now, and they really aren't all that much work when it's just the two of them).

* key to remember... through the summer we would probably have their older sister here most days as well. She's not a bad kid, but i have found that when all three are here, all three fight more with each other... (we usually have all three for 1/2hr. in the morning before school). So that's something to take into consideration. There would be another "adjustment" to having her here full-time too, but i think we're just ready for a break.

One of our children in particular has grown quite an attitude in the last few weeks (and has done his share of complaining about all the babysitting), and it's been difficult trying to get Brenden's program going strong between running for Robbie... plus I'm seeing areas where my kids are needing some extra one-on-one in their school work... so i believe it's time to take a break, take a step back, re-group and "get back on track?" Lol... and try to do all that during the summer when they want to be outside all the time??

So I had no idea how or when i'd approach it, but when she came to pick up the kids today, it kind of flowed into the conversation and i just said that we've decided to babysit til end of June, but would like the summer off; that my kids need a break. We didn't discuss after the summer... i'm guessing if she finds someone else they'd probably just continue there, but i'd consider having them again in Fall if she needed someone.

I'm kind of sad about it in a way ~ there's a good possibility that if we hadn't tied ourselves down so much with Robbie, the other job probably would've been good to keep long term. But that's where it's at for now. I feel good about the decision overall... and hopefully we make wise use of our break.