I had never been into a neonatal intensive care unit before last November. Since then, I have been twice. I was blessed to visit some friends whose baby boy had to be in the NICU for several days, and I was able to go in and see the baby once. Scrubbing in and putting on a hospital gown to help maintain a clean healthy environment, I walked past the incubators with babies, all attached to tubes and machines. I saw their tired yet hopeful parents watching them, holding their hands, just waiting for the day they could take them home. It is hard to see babies like that, but I also realize that just a few years ago most of the babies in the NICU would not have even had a chance to live. We have so many medical advances now, and doctors are able to save so many babies that would have died in the past…but still not all of them.

Right now there is another family we know who has a baby girl in the NICU. She is in very serious condition, but has shown some improvement today, so they are hopeful that she will keep getting better. Her loving parents and her brother and sisters are anxious for her to get well and come home. Please pray for Lindsay, that she will get stronger each day, and for her family too. She has two sisters and one brother. Her mom has suffered with slipped discs in her back throughout the pregnancy, and continues to have a lot of pain from them. It has been a difficult few months. They are fortunate to have family helping out at home with the other children.

Children are such a blessing, and it is hard to see them sick and suffering. But their resilience is amazing sometimes! Let’s pray for all the babies, especially the ones in NICUs, and think about what we might be able to do to encourage and help their families when we have the opportunity.

We have been without water for several hours each day for the past 3 days. Today it was off from about 9:30 this morning until 8:00 tonight. My laundry is piled up in mounds. I am washing some tonight while watching Monk and Psych, and hoping that the city employees get Saturdays off! The city is working on the water lines, and I’m sure there is a good reason for it, but being without water is really quite difficult! Reminds me to be thankful for the things I usually take for granted. Today was the worst day because it was off for so long. I mean, you can only go so long without flushing toilets…sorry if that’s too much information. This evening I finally went out and bought 8 gallons of water at Foodland, only to come home and find that the water was back on .

This morning, the Bible lesson I did with Jacob was from Genesis 26, where the Philistines were quarrelling with Isaac over the wells his servants dug for him. Isaac just kept moving on and digging more wells until they left him alone. When Isaac finally found a well that the Philistines did not take from him, he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.” Water is such a necessity for so many reasons, and we know it is a blessing God gives us. I was pretty exasperated today while doing without it. I think I felt Isaac’s pain, but I’m not sure I dealt with it with Isaac’s patience…and going to the store for water sure was a lot easier than having to dig wells for it! Lesson learned.

Sunday was my wonderful husband’s birthday! We actually celebrated more on Saturday and Monday than we did on Sunday. He was gone most of the day Saturday, so the kids and I went shopping for his present, made his birthday cake, and had everything ready for him when he got home. Sunday we just got fast food after church services because he had to get back to the building for the men’s class that he teaches on Sunday afternoon. Once we got home, we just stayed there since we were having messy, slightly icy weather. Monday evening we had his birthday dinner out at Red Lobster (of course).  Those cheese sticks we love just don’t go as far as they used to before we had two kids eating with us! It was all very enjoyable, and I am thankful for such a great family!

Jacob read his first story today! It consisted of the words cat, rat, sat, and fat…and he read it himself. He actually read several other words ending in “at” also. When he finished the story, he jumped up, hugged me, and said, “Now I can read to Gary next time I see him!” Gary is his cousin who is 8, and he read some stories to Jacob the last time we saw him. Jacob is anxious to be able to read to him, too.

We are using “Hooked on Phonics: Learn to Read” for Kindergarten, ages 4-6. He’s not quite 4, but since he already knew a lot of his letters and sounds I felt like he was ready for it. I got the kit at Mom’s store when we were there in December (it’s not on her website yet, but she does have it). It has audio CDs, flashcards, a workbook, reading books, a computer CD with games, and a reward chart. He gets to put a star sticker on the title of each story that he reads. I really like the program so far, and Jacob is doing well with it. He enjoys it, too. It is designed so that you can do as much or as little as you want to do at a time. Monday…words that end in “an.”

Just thought I would share our big success with you!

I cooked ham a few days ago, so we’ve had ham and eggs, ham with vegetables, ham sandwiches, and now it’s time for potato soup with ham in it! I thought I would share my potato soup recipe:

8 large potatoes, diced

1 onion, chopped

3 Tbsp butter or margarine

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled OR 1 1/2 cups diced ham

6 cups water

2 cups milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours. Then combine 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup flour to make a paste. Stir slowly into the soup. If you want it cheesy, add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, or your choice of cheese. Cook on low for another hour.

This soup is great, and it’s even better warmed up the next day!

Amberly has tagged me! She recently started a blog called Moments Amid Messes which I have enjoyed reading! Anyway, I’ve been tagged to do the following:

1. Grab the book closest to you.

2. Open to page 123 and go down to the fourth sentence.

3. Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog.

4. Name the author and book title.

5. Tag three people to do the same.

“And…ooooh…it’s going to feel so good to be in a horizontal position, to rest our weary mind and body, to draw up the covers and close our eyes–until we rise up before the next new day dawns! These are the kinds of thoughts and feelings that enter our mind via a tired body as God closes His curtain of darkness on the activities of another busy day. But wait a minute!”

The book is called “Beautiful in God’s Eyes: The Treasures of the Proverbs 31 Woman” by Elizabeth George. The quoted passage is from the first part of chapter 12 called “A Little Night Work: Her Diligence.” The book discusses the woman described in Proverbs 31 and makes some practical applications about how to achieve the virtue that she has.

Now I’m tagging Peni, Kendra, and Diana!

I decided to start doing some more structured preschool lessons with Jacob. He is almost 4, and is clamoring to learn more and more. A while back he told me that he wanted to learn more math. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a 3 year old ask to learn more math, but that’s Jacob. We have done some structured lessons over the past few months, especially Bible lessons, but I haven’t really made lesson plans and tried to do schoolwork everyday. I am a believer in free play and learning on the go for preschoolers. However, I do think that Jacob is ready to benefit from a little more structure and planned activities…I’m aiming for 1-2 hours per day. Anyway, Sunday I sat down and planned out lessons for phonics, math, and Bible for each day this week. Monday we started with a phonics lesson and a Bible lesson before our trip to the dentist. It went well, and he is really excited about learning to read. He already knows a lot of phonics skills, so I think he is ready.

Well, Tuesday we had plans to visit some friends, so I was going to do our schoolwork when we got home that afternoon. Jacob got up with a runny nose, and by the time we got home all he wanted to do was lay in the recliner and watch movies. He felt pretty rotten. Today he is still in lounging mode and just not feeling well. So, schoolwork lasted one day and we’re already off schedule!

This is just one of many examples in our lives of things not working out as planned! James wrote, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’” (James 4:13-15). We make short term and long term goals and plans, but we also realize that we don’t know what is going to happen. We have to be flexible and adjust our plans as we go along. On the bright side, I am ahead on my lesson plans!

Jacob had his first trip to the dentist today. I scheduled our checkups back to back so that he could watch while I had my teeth cleaned before he had his done.  He actually had a good time! He asked a ton of questions, wanting to know what everything was, and the wonderful and very patient hygenist explained every detail to him. He also entertained her with his impressions from “Madagascar” (he does a good penguin). She said that most kids are just constantly asking when they can leave, but not Jacob. He was taking it all in. When my exam was finished, he climbed right up in the chair and waited for his turn, continuing to ask questions while the hygenist cleaned everything and got her tools out. He cooperated perfectly while she checked and cleaned his teeth, and happily let the dentist check them, too. Of course a prize from the prize box topped it all off, and we were good to go. I am really glad to get him started with a positive experience at the dentist, which to most people isn’t any fun! And of course, no cavities!

Happy New Year to everyone! If you haven’t given up on checking my blog yet, you may have figured out that I’ve been on vacation. We had a great visit with family and friends, and just got home today. I am posting a picture of my extended family. My grandparents celebrated their 60th anniversary in October, and we had a special dinner for them last week while we were all together. We are spread across several states, so we don’t all get together very often! It is so nice to see a good marriage that has lasted so long, and has produced such a wonderful family.