Still here!

Here are a bunch of pictures taken during Christmas and New Years. I wish we could say we are all well, but it appears that we either all have or are in the process of coming down with RSV. Three of the girls got it first within an hour of each other. A few hours later it was apparent that this wasn't just a little cold as they were barking like seals! And of course it has now gotten to Jedidiah. He has been handling it well, except for the fact that he literally woke up last night at 2:30 AM and didn't go back to sleep!!! I fell asleep for about 30 minutes until he and I got up at 5:30 for the day. I even tried to put him down for an early nap....no go. So finally at his normal nap time he zonked out! His cough is really starting to sound nasty though this afternoon. So if you could all pray for him we would appreciate it. We weighed him about 5 days ago and he was two ounces shy of catching up to his previous weight. We really can't afford for him to go on a losing trend again.

We have started back to school after a much needed and prolonged break. The break was a bit longer than planned as the kids were so sick for so long. It is nice to be getting back to more structure. I am looking forward to working with our routine to focus on a few weak areas. I plan on really working with the girls on their chores, getting them to be more independent. And I need to stream line our schooling approach. I've at least come up with a plan, now I just need to put it into action. Which is easier said than done of course.

On the side I have picked up on some "lost" crocheting projects. I have decided I will not start anything new until the things I have are done. I only have to clip some strings off of one project for it to be complete. Then I am finishing up this log cabin blanket that Flannery decided to claim. It was going to be a baby size, but I bought more yarn to make more "logs" so that it will be a big kid size. Then I have a bit more left on the bath mat I was working on ages ago, which is a knitted item. Than after all that I plan to start a new project, making this little wee babe a blanket. I am planning on making it blue. The girls asked what will I do if the baby is a girl, and I said that I would give it away to someone who was having a boy (there are about 5 other women at our church expecting all around the same time). As a matter of fact I may just make a blue one and a pink one and give the one we won't need to someone else. As I am sure I will not have time to whip up a baby blanket post partum.

Ok, now for the pics. I hear Jedidiah waking so I am not putting these in any order what so ever:


So you get the impression that Isabella liked this gift? Ha, ha! She was thrilled to get a book about horses.

This is our Christmas Eve dinner. We had pierogies and ham, and the all time favored jellied cranberry sauce.

Here's the gang (minus Saoirse) on New Year's eve. We woke the girls up 15 minutes before the ball dropped. Without a tv, we watched it live online. They were thrilled to be able to celebrate. Here they are with their sparkling grape juice. Jerry and Isabella enjoyed to ritual pan banging on the porch, which Jedidiah did not appreciate! Although we actually skipped the coin shaking this year! Yikes :-)

Here they are enjoying the fizzies!

And this was where Saoirse was during our toasting celebration. She stayed awake for about two minutes! Oh well, we didn't really intend for her to wake as it was, but she heard her sisters getting up and had to get up with them.

This is Jedidiah's first reaction upon seeing his Christmas gift, a green John-Deere tractor. We had gotten a few library books that happened to be about tractors and he fell in love with them. He was ecstatic!

Here he is giving his new tractor it's first push.

Isabella received this wonderful sweater/jacket. She loves it! She wears it all the time!

Here is Saoirse with her new sweater. All the girls have been wearing their new sweaters all the time. They are so soft! As a matter of fact Saoirse actually slept with her sweater the first night. Too funny.

Here's another angle of our Christmas Eve dinner. The aloe plants were a gift from the wonderful family we hosted a few weeks ago. I have to say they have come in handy as Saoirse had burned her hand (not seriously) and I was able to put some aloe on it and the pain went right away!

Here's another of Jedidiah coming up to his tractor for the first time.

So there you have it. We have a very busy next few days with doctor appointments and therapy. I am hoping that it won't upset our days too much. Our house can literally become chaotic in like 60 seconds. I mean really! Here is a funny......We were at the chiropractors when the doctor, who always asks me about how Jedidiah has been eating that week, looks at me and says, "How exactly do you cook for so many people at once?" Huh? That was sort of like asking someone how they breathe. Ummmm..... I just do....I don't know you just add more stuff than you would for two people....ummmm, yeah that's it. Ha, ha....it was sort of funny to me to have to think about how I actually cook for a "large" crowd. I told her it was pretty simple, just open a box of noodles and pour the whole thing in the pot, and there ya go!

ok, gotta go. and do check out Isa's blog, she put up a cute ticker for the coming new sibling. I know she would love to hear from you all.