Party of Five

Tonight will be our last family night as a family of five. It's hard to believe that in just a few short days (Wednesday- to be exact!) we will have a new member of the family. Usually on family nights we have pizza, a veggie of some form, and some kind of dessert, followed by either games, drawing, or another activity the children would enjoy. Tonight will be a little different. We plan on sitting down after dinner and talking to the children about how life is about to change, what life will be like with the new baby, and how much we will need their help. That's the thing about big families, I've learned. Everyone has to help, everyone has to do their part, even the young ones.

John and I were talking last night about the new baby. And how it hasnt' really hit either one of us yet that we are about to have another child. Another little person who is going to be living in this house full time, with his/her own little personality and characteristics. It's fun to think about and I can't wait. Lilly and I went to the hospital on Wednesday to pre-register and fill out forms and so on. We stopped by the nursery to see all the new babies. As I was filling out forms a nurse came by with a baby who had just been born minutes before. Lilly was thrilled. From the looks and sounds of it she was on her way to being adopted. The family waiting outside the O.R. (I'm assuming they were the adoptive parents) even stopped to show Lilly. Her name was Haley. I pray Haley will grow up knowing she has a God who loves her and a savior who died for her. Just being around all those sweet babies melted all of my fears and worries away! I'm ready to have this baby!! :)

Anyway, it should be a busy couple of days. I'm going to try to leave the house in the best condition I can. I need to get laundry done for the children and maybe try to make a couple more things to stick in the freezer. 5 days!!

Running the race,
~A

Adventures of an almost-2 year old

If you haven't heard me talk about the shenanigans of my youngest son, Brad...I'd be amazed! From the time he was VERY young, we knew he was going to the adventurer of the group. He always had bumps and bruises and was never afraid to climb or fall. Well, last night, he finally had his first (and, yes, I anticipate more) trip to the emergency room!

We had just gotten done eating lunch and I was in the process of calling John to ask him a question when out of the corner of my eye I see Brad trip and land face first into our coffee table. I quickly hung up the phone to get him but didn't really think too much of it since he had done things like this before. But as soon as I got him into the bathroom, I knew it was a little more serious. Blood was gushing (!!) from his mouth and I could tell he was in some serious pain. It was all over him, me, the counter-top....eek. Poor Lilly, I was so freaked out I was yelling orders at her, "Lilly! Get me a glass of water!" "Lilly! Get me an ice pack!" (Even though she can't reach the freezer and did her best by coming back with a bag of frozen corn. Bless her heart!) He wouldn't let me open his mouth enough to see where exactly it was coming from so I called John and told him he had to come home because we might have to take him to the ER. By the time John got home Brad had calmed down a little big and let John see his tongue (kind of...). It didn't look to bad, so we just kept an eye on him all day. Every once in a while, when he ate or drank, he acted like it bothered him but he was playing, took a nap, and acting fine. As we were getting him ready for bed John took him to brush his teeth. Then I hear "Amanda!" and John comes into the bedroom with this really terrible look on his face. He says, "It's a lot worse then we thought. Come look." Oh my. It was. So, after a few short phone calls John, Bradley, and I were on our way to the ER....45 minutes away.

It's amazing how God takes care of you in those situations. The whole drive up there all I could think of were things I was thankful for. Thankful that we weren't taking him in for something more serious. Thankful we had the money to pay for it. Thankful we had someone to watch the other children so I could go along. I kept saying to John, "I'm just so thankful." as he looked at me kind of weird. :) After paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, more waiting, and, yes again, paperwork and waiting, we finally got to see a doctor. Another blessing-the doctor had a great personality and Bradley really warmed up to him. At this point Brad wouldn't let any of the nurses even open his mouth. (It might have helped that the doctor came in with a popsicle for him!) And, again, another blessing was that he didn't need stitches. My fear was that he would and they were going to have to knock him out to do it. I don't think my mother's heart could have taken that. So, after the popsicle, an explanation that he'd need a modified diet for a couple days, and a prescription we were sent home.

This morning he's acting as though nothing's bothering him. He's enjoyed his smoothie breakfast and popsicle lunch! Mommy and Daddy though...we are pretty tired. Tell me, how is it that children can stay up WELL past their bed time and still be up bright and early in the morning?? I'll never know. But I'm so thankful that it wasn't worse and that he's in no pain today.

And here's a tip that might save you a trip to the ER sometime: The only time they worry about putting stitches in a tongue is when it is cut somewhere along the edge to prevent a forked tongue...weird thought. Brad's was in the middle and even though it was pretty deep and nasty they said it would heal up by itself.

One last note. Congrats to the Riley's on the addition of their newest little blessing! Ainsley Nicole Riley! I CAN'T WAIT to meet her. What a lovely family!

Thanks for reading!

~A

Brown Bagging It

With John's recent schedule change, we've been having some meal issues lately. He goes in around 6:30 a.m., eats lunch as he's working, and then gets to be home a lot earlier, usually around 3:30 or so. Which is REALLY nice. But we've run into a problem. He's not home for breakfast or for lunch, which means I need to send something with him for these meals. If I don't, he winds up eating what they have at work and trust me...it's not pretty. Ick. I have never been good at packing lunches and certainly not breakfasts. Poor John might wind up with a PB&J and a banana everyday. Help! Ideally, I'd like to get it packed the night before and try and stay away from processed foods as much as possible. He does have access to a refridgerator and microwave. He's also got a mini-crockpot at work. I know some of you are very creative when it comes to meal planning. Care to share?

Does anyone have any good ideas of what to send with him for breakfast and lunch? What do you send with your husband/children?

~A

Good Eats

Here's what the Washburn's will be feasting on this week! Still trying to keep it simple.

Breakfast:
~Giant breakfast cookies
~ oatmeal
~ smoothies
~ pancakes
~ toast/fruit

Dinner:
Thur.- Taco Salad/ veggies
Fri. - Pizza/ Fruit (family night)
Sat. - Corn and potato chowder/ HM bread (HM= homemade)
Sun. - Waffles and sausage
Mon. - Grilled sandwiches/ chips
Tues. - sloppy joes/ oven baked potato fries

Snacks:
HM popsicles
HM graham crackers
fruit!
crackers
popcorn

I know. Not too spectacular, right? I like to include a couple meals that John knows how to fix just in case I am too tired to cook. Which happens more than I'd like to admit! Thanks for reading and happy eating!

~A

The pearl of price unknown

Every Tuesday, Laura hosts "Gradituesday". Today she was wanting people to write about things we love to be thankful for. There was only one thing that came to my mind- the Bible. Years ago, before I was a christian, if you had told me that one of my prized possessions today would be a book, I probably would have laughed. But, as most of you know, this book isn't just any book. It's a key, a gift, a treasure, a personally written message from my God. Ahh...how can you not love that?

Yesterday I took the children to the park (it was beautiful!!). I brought along my water bottle, bought a bag of Skittles, and took my Bible. With what has been going on with Cora I was somewhat of an emotional mess yesterday. I'm not sure why it has effected me so deeply but my heart is just full of mixed emotions. I'm happy for her gain. She gets to be with Jesus, away from all the pains and struggles of this life. But my heart certainly hurts for her parents and family. How hard this much be. I struggle with disappointment too. I think, in my heart I really felt she was going to be healed. SO MANY people were praying for her. But, I know, that God makes no mistakes. His ways are much more perfect than mine.

Anyway, back to my story! Yesterday, I needed some good one-on-one time with God. As I sat at the park I began reading Psalm 23 - 25. My heart was so uplifted. And it just hit me, how thankful I was for this precious book that many people in the world haven't even heard of. A book that can teach, encourage, edify, and so much more. It seems like too often I don't appreciate it. It sits on dresser for days not being touched (confession!!). If only I could remember the pricelessness of it. It holds SO much for me and others. Praise the Lord!

Also, please remember to pray for the McClenahan's today. Their daughters funeral is today and...well, I truly cannot imagine.

So, what do you love? What are you grateful for today?

Running the race,
~A

No words...

I came home from church today to find out that sweet, little Cora had lost her fight with cancer this morning. All I could do was cry. I don't always understand why God works the way He does but I can rest in the assurance that He is a good God. Please keep Joel and Jess in your prayers. I can't imagine all of the feelings they much be having at this time.

~A

Getting closer!

It's getting to be very exciting times here at the Washburn house. We are very busy preparing for the arrival of our fourth little one. And I must say....I'm getting pretty excited. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday and we set the date! I suppose to some of you it might be kind of weird that I know the day but, it's just a normal thing for me! So, on February 25th around 9:00am be praying for me.

As far as how I am feeling, I'm tired....a lot. Today is a particularly hard day. I woke up exhausted! Which is never a good thing. I have found that it is more exhausting with each pregnancy. Which probably makes sense considering each time I have more children to take care of, I'm older, and just have more responsibilities. I feel so fortunate though to have never had any health problems with any of my pregnancies. What a blessing.

I love making preparations for the new baby. I've got all of my cloth diapers washed, folded, and ready to go. I ordered a new bouncy chair which is due to arrive sometime next week. I've gotten out all of our gender neutral clothing and put in the drawers. And can I say how CUTE newborn clothes are...sigh. I'm having fun, even if I am exhausted!

I'm rambling today, I know. Honestly, I've just been too tired to blog lately. I've had a couple little thoughts of things I'd like to share but nothing to really justify a whole blog post about, ya know?? So, in closing I thought I'd share pictures of all 3 of our children when they were first born! :)

Lilly

I was SO happy to have a girl. I really wanted a little girl. I'm still SO happy to have her.

Luke

Today, Luke looks nothing like he did when he was a newborn. He was born with jet black hair and then at around 2 months, it all fell out and came back blonde! I was 15 days late with him, 25 hours of labor, and still had to be taken by c-section. No wonder...he was huge! 9lbs. 15 oz. 23 inches. Again, I really wanted a boy and I was SO happy to have one! He is still the sweetest little thing I have ever seen.

Brad

This picture isn't from the day he was born. As I have shared before, they had to take Brad to the NICU as soon as he was born. And, quite honestly, I just can't stand to post the pictures of him from his first couple days. He had this helmet thing (C-PAP, for those of you who know) on and tubes everywhere. This is a couple days after he was born he still had a feed tube in and and I.V. attached to his hand. But he looked much better! He brings such joy to this house everyday. We just wouldn't be the same without him!

And those are my babies. I'm excited to be able to post pictures of the next one. Stay tuned!

Running the race,
~A

Menu Monday!

That's right. I'm actually posting my week of meals on a Monday! Hey, I told you I'm random. As I was making my list this week, I was trying to keep it as simple as possible. I even threw in a couple convenience foods. Wow! But I figure since I make all of the children's snacks and I am 9 months pregnant...I'll give myself a break. :) Here we go:

Breakfast:
~smoothies
~baked oatmeal (this usually lasts us a couple days)
~organic pop tarts
~muffins (don't know what kind yet)

Lunch:
~leftovers
~sandwhiches
~ PB&J roll-ups

Dinner:
~Chili/cornbread
~Frito pie (with the leftover chili)/veggie
~Homemade Pizza/ salad/ banana "milkshakes" (Family Night)
~Mac & Cheese (Annie's) w/ hot dog slices/ fruit
~Lasagna rice/ salad

Snacks:
~homemade popsicles
~fruit! fruit! fruit!
~homemade graham crackers
~goldfish crackers
~prunes (my children love these!)
~homemade pretzels (maybe...)

John and I are going on a date this week! WOW! We are REALLY, incredibly bad about dating each other. Moment of honesty- we haven't been on a date since June. Yikes! We still have time together as a couple at home but as far as going out together... well, it just doesn't happen too often. It's something we both want to work on more but just haven't got there yet. We figure with the baby coming in just a few short weeks, we'd better take advantage of the baby-free arms now. John's co-worker, Kristen, graciously said she would baby sit. Kristen, you're a gem. I promise they won't scream all night. :)

And that is what the Washburn's will be feasting upon this week. If you've come here looking for new, exciting recipes, or creative ideas...sorry. Check back in a couple months. It's gonna be pretty simple around here the next month or so. Although, on an exciting note, we are very close to purchasing our own grain mill. So, I will soon be grinding all our own flour. Hey, I'm excited. Freshly ground, whole wheat flour is WAY better for you. Thanks for checking in!

Running the race,
~A