Late Night Thinking

I have been doing a bunch of lesson planning, internet surfing, and photo reminiscing this evening. My house is very quiet now, and sometimes I love the sound of quiet too much to want to spoil it by going to bed.

As I was going looking through some of the photos we've taken this past year, I came across something that struck me.

My girls love to take pictures. If we give them a few minutes with the camera, we're likely to find hundreds of fuzzy, random pictures of feet, toilets, aquariums, nostrils, and the like.

What struck me this time, were these pictures....

....taken the last time we were at my IL's house....

...it was probably one of the nicest visits we've ever had up there. Everyone was so relaxed and had a wonderful time.

But...

...a few short weeks later, their home was devastated by a tornado. That was the last time we ever saw it, and those pictures are the last pictures we have. Those fuzzy, random photographs taken by the girls. Images, I may have deleted without thinking before are suddenly much more special.

The bathroom had *just* been re-tiled the week before. They hadn't even had a chance to use it yet.

Work goes on at the site, as their new house is being built. We hope to visit again soon, so we can see the progress.

Home for the Holidays

Welcome to my home for the Holidays. I'm so glad you braved the 17+ inches of snow, on top of what we already had. It's bound to be a very white Christmas around here; that's for sure. Well, come in; come in!

The cheapy wreath I beefed up last year with some ornaments, berries, and extra greenery pics hangs on the door to the garage.

The stockings are hung on the staircase with care (because we don't have a mantle).

I made some Pear Cinnamon Cider (Trader Joes). Would you like some?

It's steeping with mulling spices...all ready for your visit. (Hint: Wait until the day after Christmas; then stock up on this stuff when it's only a couple of bucks.)

Candle glow love!

My table centerpiece, complete with the lazy person's no sew table runner. (Don'tcha just love the view of the O2 concentrator in the background? I'm so thankful we haven't needed to use it for a little while, but it's there if we do!)

(Yes, my dining room is our homeschool room, hence the maps and spelling lists on the walls.) I'm keeping my eyes open for the perfect tray to hold the centerpiece, but I haven't found the right one yet.

Cutie patootie snowman, resting against a bowl filled with yummy candy cane and cherry cordial kisses.

The kitty who followed me around on this tour, trying to get in every. single. picture.

(Pine Hutch - wedding gift made by my father-in-law. It will be getting a facelift, hopefully in the new year.)

The loverly martini glasses I found at Home Goods last year.

Crystal bowl filled with Dollar Store ornaments. That little bear is made out of a gumball and frosting. My husband brought him home from a shopping trip back when I was on bedrest with the twins...if that tells you how many years we've had that little guy.

Kissing angels that belonged to my husband's Grandma. She gave them to us a couple of years ago, and the girls love them. And, that's more greenery I beefed up last year.

Doesn't the leftover look cute in my pottery wall vase?

The girls love making seasonal posters. Here is their Christmas one.

A few more of my snowmen topping the homeschool bookshelf. My dad made the welded one many years ago, and I love it.

Christmas cactus, not blooming yet. Maybe it'll bloom between Valentines Day and Easter again this year. That's what it did last year anyway.

My Dollar Store homemade hurricanes filled with Dollar Store ball ornaments.

One of my husband's favorite decorations from his childhood. My mother-in-law passed it on to us a few years ago.

The paper chain has Bible verses on it. Each day, kind of like an Advent calendar, we take one off and read the verse.

Nativity. I found the golden trees while thrifting on Black Friday last year.

The little crystal-ly rock with the star on top was an Elise touch.

The tree:

We don't have a fancy themed tree. Ours is very much a family tree filled with family ornaments, many handmade, some new, some vintage. I think it's fun and whimsical.

Here is an ornament I found last year on sale...

Mark made the mitten yesterday.

Our very first Christmas ornament. A good friend of ours (Cindee) made it.

The tree topper is an angel crocheted by Mark's Grandma.

Leah was so excited that this was her year to put the angel on top!

Mark's Grandpa painted this ornament.

Made for me by someone I used to work with back in college.

Mark's Aunt made this snowman. I *love* him!

S'MORES!

In all her splendor...

This nativity was given to us by one of Lily's homecare nurses, and I think it's one of the girls' favorite Christmas decorations. They absolutely LOVE it! (Elise even asked if we could keep it out all year long.)

And, this little hat can be found somewhere every year. This year, it's keeping the octopus warm.

I hope you've enjoyed your tour of our patchwork abode. Come again soon!

Linked to Nester's 2010 Christmas Tour of Homes

Summer is about over...

The last time I posted, summer was just beginning, Lily was really sick, and it had been about 2-1/2 weeks since my MIL & FIL were rendered homeless due to a tornado that totaled their home.

To catch you up a bit, Lily did not end up going to the hospital that day. After we got to the pulmonologist's office, she started improving, needing less O2, and didn't appear to be working *as* hard. And, we did get to see fireworks on the 4th of July!

We went on our second big family vacation. I got sick the night before we were supposed to leave. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure how I managed to get us all packed up and ready to leave, but I'm pretty sure having an awesome husband and wonderful neighbors had a little something to do with it. And, despite me being sick, we still had a wonderful time! (I still need to post pictures, but those will have to wait until we can actually get into iPhoto again. One of the girls accidentally deleted it--sort of. It's there, but not exactly easy to get into. Well, not hard, but I'm worried about accidentally permanently deleting the photos, so I have chosen NOT to know how to open the program. Thus, none of the pictures have been edited, which means many are sideways, and some have subpar lighting.)

I have spent much of the summer de-cluttering, going through things, giving things away, selling things on CL, and just generally trying to get as much done as I could before school started up again.

We also squeezed in a few weekends with my parents and sister's family, with Mark's sister, with Mark's parents, and camping at what just might be my new favorite state park.

Homeschool started up again last week, and I have officially gotten very little done around the house since....except yesterday when I managed to get through a few more bins of the girls' fall/winter clothes. Big. Job.

My wonderful husband planned a mystery date for me, which we had on Friday. We went snorkeling. At the Mall of America. In the reef tank. With beautiful colorful fish and bamboo sharks! It was STUNNING! Made me wish for contact lenses so I could see even better and an under-water camera so I could enjoy all the beautiful photos for years to come!

Oh, and my IL's have officially decided to rebuild their house.

So, that's about all for now.

It's My Blo-og....

....and I'll vent if I want to,

vent if I want to,

vent if I want to.

You would vent to, if it happens to-ooo yoooou....

Tangent. Sorry.

One kid gets the sniffles.

My kid gets this:

Oxygen tubing snakes through my house.

Oxgen concentrators to be dealt with (it's been showing insufficient oxygen off and on all morning).

Moving regulators from the portable tank to the back-up big tank. Switching out tanks as they empty, which is often when you're on 5-6 liters of oxygen per minute.

Pulse ox machines that seem to be permanently alarming for low O2 saturations.

Percussive vest treatments.

Meds.

Please, if you're sick, if your kids are sick, stay home. Please. Play in the yard. Run through the sprinkler, but please limit your exposure. For my sanity.

Having my kid in the hospital over the 4th of July isn't exactly what I would have planned. Not that she's in the hospital yet, mind you. But I'm pretty sure that's where we're headed. Lily sees her pulmonologist in a couple of hours, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if they end up admitting her. Which would make FOUR hospitalizations in less than a year.

Snuggly, sick sweety.