Getting Ready

It seems like so much time and energy is spent getting ready right now. Getting ready for Baby's procedure on Monday, for Thanksgiving, for Advent, for Christmas, for Boxing Day, and for Miss Pear's surgery. So much to do, so much I want to do.

This week has been busy. Yesterday while I took Miss Pear to get her N1H1 vaccine Mr Pear got Baby registered at the surgery center. In the afternoon we found out that, as parents of Miss Pear, we were cleared to get our vaccine now too, so that was this morning. It is strange to think that we need the vaccines now to ensure that they are fully functioning and we are fully healthy for the arrival of January.

I have a list of cooking and baking for the holidays and I am scouring the lists to see what I can do early and freeze. Which makes me think about January and what I can prepare in advance, how I can stock the freezer and pantry to make life easier.

We are almost done Christmas shopping, just and Amazon order left to do in December. It is mostly things we need this year under the tree with a toy for each of the girls from us, and one from each other. There are a couple things to be wrapped and shipped. And a Christmas garland with Isaiah 9:6 to be made.

Somehow it feels like my mind and body are in full preparation mode.

And in the midst of this I must be careful not to neglect my heart.

I must not forget to focus my heart on the Lord during Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, but also during this stress of our girls health issues. The crazier the time the more we need Him. The more pressed we are the more time we need to carve out. It seems contradictory, but a heart focused on God can carry a heavier load because it does not carry it alone.

Multitude Monday 10

87. That God loves Miss Pear, they are buddies. (this was the last one on my last list, and still very appropriate.)

88. That in preparation for the craziness of life coming up our freezer is defrosted and after some baking and a trip to Costco is nicely stocked again (all within our normal grocery budget)

89. All the baking sales - I am definitely stocking the pantry with the deals! After all, Miss Pear loves homemade everything and was shocked to learn that you could actually buy bread in the grocery store.

90. That Miss Pear loves to bake with me.

91. That Baby loves to be in the kitchen playing with the egg poacher while we are baking, or whenever I am in the kitchen and the dishwasher is not open.

92. That I can stay home each day to care for my family.

93. Mr. Pear's business trip last week was worthwhile (and not just to give someone the warm fuzzy).

94. We can study our Bible and read them whenever we want without fear or the need for stealth to protect our copies. And that we have full copies in multiple versions!

95. For God's faithfulness to teach us in His Word.

96. That Baby did well in the nursery today so that I could hear the WHOLE SERMON! on Ephesians 6:10-20, it was excellent.

97. For the love of God, for the righteousness of Jesus.

(P.S. Be sure to read Multitude Monday at Holy Experience next week, I will be at the surgery center with Baby and will not be playing, but it is such an encouragement to share what we are grateful for!)

Morning Reading This Week

This week in our morning reading time we are enjoying:

Bible Time

1. Everything a Child Should Know about God
   Excellent basic Bible doctrin
   
2. The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
   We finished it this week and started again
   
3. A chapter of the Gospels. We are in Matthew
   

Story Time

1. God Knows My Name
   At the end when I read "I will give glory to the Lord for ever for He loves me so much" both girls put their hands up - so cute! I have lost count of how many copies of this book we have given as baby gifts!
2. Baking Day (Rod and Staff)
   A sweet story about a little girl helping her mom bake
   
3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (If You Give...) a long standing favorite around here
   
4. Jonah & the Great Big Fish a great retelling of the Bible story
   
   

Read Aloud Time

We are almost finished reading Bunnies in the Bathroom. Miss Pear loves the Animal Ark series, and I love that she will beg for another chapter! We got our copy of this at PaperBackSwap.com.


What are you reading this week?

Who needs the gym...

...I spent the day chasing after a new walker who is not as steady on her feet as she would like to think.

It might just be easier to wrap everything in the house in bubble wrap.

Of course, no way would I trade today for a quiet day, it was great! (Except for when she fell and gave her noggin a floggin', I could pass on that part.)

Big Night...

...Baby started walking at 14 months 1 day...just in time to welcome Daddy home.

Counting Down

We are counting down to Daddy being home tonight in time for bedtime stories. The last day of a business trip always goes by fast and slow at the same time. What can we say, we are one of those families who loves to be together, even if we are all doing our own thing, we are still together.

Monday afternoon the girls woke up from their naps out of sorts, not sick out of sorts just knowing that we were not counting down to Daddy being home for supper. To pass the afternoon we ran a quick errand to Bed Bath and Beyond, and then headed to Target to get milk and a couple other small things (yes, Target has the best price on milk around here right now!). While we were at Target we wandered through the toy section and Miss Pear and Baby happily looked at things and played with the samples that were out. I forgot how blessed I am to be able to do this until I heard children demanding toys, asking for everything in sight and then screaming when they did not get it. My girls were just happy to look at stuff and play with it and then move on. We finished up by going through the Christmas section, always a huge hit.

To reward good behavior we had Burger King for supper, a very rare treat, but one we usually have when it is just the girls (which is not often as Mr. Pear only travels for business about once a quarter).

Yesterday we did our school in the morning and made 8 loaves of bread to restock the freezer (we only got 4 made on Monday, not the 8 we had hoped for), and then went out for a playdate in the afternoon. The family we visited also has 2 girls, but their youngest is the same age as Miss Pear, and their oldest shares her love of dress up! All the girls had a great time and when it was time to leave were all asking when we would be doing this again...an excellent sign!

And the snack was SO delicious that we only had a light supper.

Today we are getting caught up on things after being out so much for the past 2 days. I think I mentioned that we had to get a new vacuum last week because our old one broke? Well, I am very grateful for our new one, after using it twice now it is clear to me that our old one was just not doing a good job anymore. And our new one did an excellent job on the stairs today, a huge bonus for a vacuum cleaner. It also passed the mommy test - can it pick up cheerios the first pass?

I am planning a special treat for supper tonight - rice pudding. In these parts you often see it on breakfast menus, and I am told that is because it is a big breakfast treat in Mexico. We are big fans of breakfast for dinner so we are having it tonight. If it is good I will likely put it in my lunch rotation which needs some sprucing up (it is usually as follows for the week: poached eggs and toast, grilled cheese sandwiches and fruit, granola oatmeal and fruit, tuna sandwiches and fruit, leftovers one day...definitely needs some variety that is also quick!)

What are your favorite lunch ideas? Please include links and recipes, I need some new ideas!

Monday Meanderings

And we will be particularly meandering today. Mr. Pear left for a business trip yesterday morning and I never sleep well that first night. So last night, just as I was FINALLY falling asleep a toy started making noise downstairs and scared the begeebers out of me!

This morning Miss Pear and I took Baby to see the orthopedic surgeon for her check up. Everything is fine. He would have liked it if the left socket was developing faster to catch up, so would all of us, but the fact is, it is developing and it is catching up, so it is fine. He did watch Baby walk and said she is waking fine. So we go back in 4 months.

You know you have too many doctors appointments when your 4 year old is running through the doctors names trying to figure out who we are actually seeing.

Mind you this is the same 4 year old who just could not fathom that there was such a thing as store-bought bread. At first she would not believe me and then she could figure out who would buy it! It was pretty funny.

Our neighbor has the flu, and we were over there Thursday night so I am praying that we are all safe and no little bugs are incubating here.

The big plan for today is to clean the kitchen and make 2 batches of bread for a total of 8 loaves. We will see.

How is your Monday? Did you have a good weekend?

Feeling Motivated!

....or pressured, hard to say.

Life has been a bit crazy, and is poised to get a whole lot crazier in the near future. Here is my upcoming schedule:

• Saturday: Haircut morning
• Sunday: Mr. Pear leaves for a business trip...returns Wednesday night, and I am going to try take both girls to Church by myself.
  
• Monday: Baby has a follow up check up for her hip dysplasia (they actually expect her to stand for an x-ray and not sit down, crawl away, or walk away. Seriously.)
• Tuesday: Play date in the afternoon for kids, coffee for moms
• Wednesday: Do Mom's Christmas shopping for Mr. Pear.
• Next weekend: MUST GO TO COSTCO because...
• Sat Nov 21 we are going to visit friends whose Costco carries the stuff mine doesn't...like baking powder, so I need an emergency list for her!
• Monday November 23 - Baby's cyst is removed (a dear friend is staying with Miss Pear so that we can both go and not worry about her)
  
• Thursday November 26 - Thanksgiving with the neighbors

This has me feeling overwhelmed!

Which has me in stock up and get prepared mode. After a trip to Target last night where the C&H 2lb powdered sugar is on sale for $1.44 (and I had coupons) I am up to a total of 18 x 2lb bags of icing sugar. Once I place my Amazon order with my MIL's stuff I will have all the baking stuff I need for the Thanksgiving through Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, so I feel pretty good about that. She found a place through Amazon that has the Christmas Cake supplies like candied peel, and they have a great price in some pantry staples like dried milk powder even after shipping, so I am stocking up.

I think that once the Costco run is done I will only be shopping for fresh stuff and turkey for the rest of the month. I LOVE that!

This meandering post is brought to you by one overloaded mind.

But, I end with two questions:

1. What is your favorite seasonal grocery sale for this time of year? Are you like me who stocks up on baking supplies and cooks an extra turkey for meat in the freezer?

2. What are your most important pantry staples?

Baby Update

Baby is scheduled for her outpatient surgery on Monday November 23, first thing in the morning.

God has blessed us with a friend who works at the surgery center who gave us a whole run down on the place, so even though she will not be there that day, she has been an enormous encouragement. She also confirmed that taking the cyst out will be simple, and Baby will probably only be away from us for about 10-20 minutes. We will get to hold her while she takes the sleepy medicine that will ensure she forgets it all and is calm, it is once she is a bit...ummm...loopy that they take her.

I just keep reminding myself that God has a good plan and He loves our girls more than we could ever understand. Actually, I am holding on to that truth with 2 fists at the moment!

Morning Reading

Morning reading with the girls is a daily habit around here, and a cheerful one. If for some reason we miss there is great protesting, and reminders later that we still have not done our morning reading!

As soon as I finish feeding Baby we start Bible time. If Miss Pear is done she follows along in the first book and then colors and listens to the rest, otherwise she finishes eating. Baby eats Cheerios or some other finger food.

Bible Time

1. Everything a Child Should Know about God
   We read 2 or 3 pages in this book. It is basic Bible truths and doctrine, and when it gets to baptism, where churches handle this differently it tells about Jesus baptism and says to ask your parents about baptism in your church, so friends of many different denominations love this book. We have 2 copies of this, each girl has her own, so I read from Baby's copy and Miss Pear follows along in her copy.
   
2. The New Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
   We call this Baby's Bible. We read one story and Miss Pear answers the questions for her.
3. A chapter of the Gospels. When we get to the end of John we go back to Matthew and start again.

Story Time
It is hard to read paper books to little ones, but we think it is important to introduce them to more "advanced" picture books early, so while Baby is still in her high chair we read paper books. Miss Pear pulls a chair around so she can see, and I pull my chair right up next to the high chair and hold the book so both can see. I read the same four books each day for a week, and then I switch all but the first book. We are reading:

1. God Knows My Name
   At the end when I read "I will give glory to the Lord for ever for He loves me so much" both girls put their hands up - so cute! I have lost count of how many copies of this book we have given as baby gifts!
2. God Gave Us Work (Rod and Staff)
3. Canada in Colours
4. If You Give a Pig a Pancake (If You Give...)
   

Read Aloud Time

We then leave the table, clearing it, starting a load of laundry or whatever just needs to be started without a large amount of time needed, and head to the living room for read aloud time. The girls play quietly while I read for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time we have before Baby's morning nap.

We just finished Anne of Green Gables (Unabridged Classics) which we enjoyed. It took us just over a month to read it because it was more advanced than anything we had read so far, so we went slowly so it would not be overwhelming, and Miss Pear enjoyed all the way through! Now we are reading Bunnies in the Bathroom. Miss Pear loves the Animal Ark series, and I love that she will beg for another chapter! We got our copy of this at PaperBackSwap.com

What are you reading? Do you have any excellent suggestions for us?

Overwhelmed...again? still?

We took Baby to the ENT doctor today to have the cyst in her mouth looked at, and he said it will not go away on its own, it needs to be removed. And because children will not sit there happily and let you do it, it is outpatient surgery...I have to call tomorrow to schedule it.

It really is too much.

How do people who don't know the Lord handle life in general without Him?

Busy Monday Morning

Life has been crazy lately, and it is high time to get back on track.

After planting our winter garden last weekend and defrosting the freezer this past weekend, it was time to start refilling the freezer and getting some general stuff done!

So this morning, after morning Bible and reading time but before lunch time, we had:

• Washed a load of sheets
• Cooked and bagged a batch of Kidney Beans
• Cooked and bagged a batch of Black Beans
• Cooked a batch of pinto beans - they are still in the pressure cooker waiting for the pressure to drop
• Placed a tray of tomatoes into the food dehydrator
  
• Made 2 trays of bread crumbs (actually, the two trays are sitting in the over, I popped them in after the bread came out, so they are drying nicely)
• Made 4 loaves of cinnamon raisin bread
• Completed our homeschooling
• Prayed on the phone with a friend
• Put the dishwasher through
• tidied the living room

And I think that is all, or at least the bulk of it. I am still hoping to make cookies this afternoon.

Blissfully there was not much "weekend wreckage" to clean up!

How is your week starting?

One more thing...

I know that so many of you are praying for Miss Pear through this, and we appreciate it so much.

Could you please also pray that we would all handle this and behave in a way that brings honor to the Lord? That the Lord would be glorified through this?

Thank you so much.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
Psalm 34:3

Scheduled

Miss Pear is scheduled for surgery January 11.

The surgeon clarified a lot of things for us, and we understand lots of the finer details more clearly, which is important. The surgeon actually said that he would be surprised if she was not fully recovered in a month, and that the recovery in children is much quicker because they are cutting through cartilage rather than bone and children just heal faster. He also said that in most cases the children go home after 3 days with Tylenol, and that we can expect her to be sitting on the floor and playing.

It painted a much different picture than my husband had been anticipating after seeing his father go through open heart surgery 20 years ago.

But nothing changes the fact that this is open heart surgery and they will be using the heart/lung bypass machine.

The only thing really making this okay is that Miss Pear belongs to God, she is His and He loves her more than we can ever comprehend. I trust Him with this child.

Thank you for all the emails and comments of prayers for our family, they mean so much and we can clearly feel and see the Lord working in this and smoothing out the details and questions.

I decided to take the weekend to try and get my mind in gear again, and then, as much as possible, continue on like nothing is going on, because nothing happens now until January, so for the sake of our girls we are going to try and keep that perspective and act like that.

Therefore, as weird as it may seem, I am going to try to return to normal here too next week. Not to say that there will not be occasional mentions to this, not to say that we are ignoring it or it is not important, but rather that it cannot be my key focus or I will not function between now and January. Hopefully that makes some kind of sense.

Have a great weekend.

Moving Right Along

Well, I think my cry during church on Sunday helped me get a better perspective, and somehow crying before the Lord during worship made me feel like a load was off me. I still feel like I got the pins knocked out from under me, but not like I am trying to hold it together in the midst of a tornado...if that makes any sense. And I have learned the important lesson of not going anywhere without kleenex for the next while.

When I called pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon's office yesterday to make an appointment my options were this Wednesday or next Wednesday...I was shocked to not have to wait! Such a blessing! I took this Wednesday. We go tomorrow at 3:30, and we should have a very clear idea of where we are going after that, possibly including dates too.

Is it just me or do you feel conflicted about the term "pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon" too? Part of me wants to cheer and praise God that there is such a focused specialty to care for our daughter. Part of me wants to cry that such a thing is necessary.

So that is where we are.