The flu changes the "to do" list this week!

 So...Teddy blessed us with the first wave of the stomach flu in our house...at 1 am Wed. and continued every hour on the hour.  I don't recover as quickly from the lack of sleep these days!  I lost count of how many times...but not Teddy!  He was keeping track...I think, it will be his badge of honor as he re-enters his school routine today.

 The girls and I made the trek to school twice this week without our guy.  The sunrises this week have been so pretty...bright pinks. oranges, and purples early on...then fading to pretty pastels.  We thought the sky on Thursday looked like a package of Smarties.  We talked about being thankful for the beauty of each day...whether sunny or rainy...and praising God...not just always asking Him for things.  Some days...our morning van rides are pretty convicting to this Momma!

 I am always relieved to see sick kiddos feeling better after being so pathetic!  Showered and resting on the couch while his room was sanitized.  He kept me company and kept Gilligan's Island playing as I took down Christmas.  What a mess!  Putting it all up is way more fun!

 Mari and I had to give up our crafting fun this week due to sick boys...then sick selves.  Maybe next week?  But there are still girls in the equation.

We brought out some snowmen stuff...but with temps in the 40s and 50s...maybe I should have skipped right to the spring decor!  We know winter will make a comeback...so we are enjoying the coziness of the snowmen, snowflakes, and lights.  What a bummer...the snow is melting into the muddy yuck as the rain falls!  "Soggy" was the way the weatherman described this morning.
Maybe when the rain stops, I will feel more energetic after two days of not feeling the greatest myself.  If that is all I will get, I am ok with it.  Mari and I decided that the cold flu is much easier to deal with than the bodily fluid type flu.  Yuck!  So far...no one else has been hit hard like Teddy was...but...the flu is just hitting hard around these parts.  Oh yeah!  Part of our grocery list...crackers, bread, 7UP or Vernors, applesauce, Clorox bleach, laundry soap, and the like.  The daily menu has leaned toward the bland after the taco night that preceded Teddy's bout.  Yak!

Well...the little noises I heard last night...

 were not from the wind blowing and rattling the plastic on the windows!  Turns out...this little guy appreciated the offer of peanut butter...under the kitchen cabinet.

 Yep, what a helpful dog!  Snoozes all day and all night long...but early this morning...his nose worked...after the mouse was stuck.  We found out...he can nose open a cabinet...if he really wants to!

 I...yes, I, because Ted wanted to video me dealing with the little furry guy...placed the mouse on the glue pad in the bucket with the tongs...so we could show the kiddos.

 The kiddos talked about keeping the little mouse as a pet...taking it to their teacher...sharing with Caden and Aunt Mari as show and tell...

but that gave me the shivers.  I finally had to set the bucket outside...I couldn't bear to watch him...all confined and stuck...and such.  I am still trying to figure out which traps are better...wooden ones with the metal snappy parts or gluey pad ones. Hmrph.

Finding our groove once again...

 demanded a little help according to the girls!  "Our teacher gave us tons of work today.  Mom, can we get a mocha since it is just us girls?"  Will that help you tackle your pile of  "Welcome back to school?"

Teddy had his first basketball practice tonight...and conked out not long after his head hit the pillow!

You can't help but laugh!

We both had the same reaction as we opened our glittery kitchen scrubbie...which made me laugh as I watched Mar!

 

 Love Brad's look of amusement and love...as Mar demonstrates how to use the bear claw looking paddles (for salad or pasta).

Ted showed her how to really use them...and it made perfect sense then.

Time with siblings...or...Moments in Cheese Delivery

 We loaded up the last two days of Christmas vacation with time with our cousins!  Grampy and Grammy sent cheese logs back for their kids and grandkids.  We got to be the transporters of such yummy goodness.  We enjoyed meeting the newest baby boy in our family...and this auntie's heart squeezed up tight when he snuggled up and fell asleep!  Becky, I am still working on whether a 2 hour commute would be too much to be your baby sitter.

 He looks like his Daddy.

 He liked the butterflies on Ash's shirt.  And how did I do that?  No pictures of big sister!  Sorry, Em!
I'll get you next time.

 Little A kept us entertained.  And Big A and Teddy had fun reconnecting with Nerf guns and such.

 Our next delivery included sledding, supper, and a fire.

 These kiddos are getting so big!

 Kiddos had a grand time sledding...till a neighbor lady yelled at them.  They handled themselves well...and we worked hard to do so too...when she came to our door!  We are learning how things work in a neighborhood like this...and we go by the lease/guideline sheet we were given.  We'll see what comes of this...

 Smores, anyone?!

This was a fun...and yummy gift...for Uncle Ted...some "Hanky Panky"!
Two weeks spent with most of our family members at various points...every moment enjoyable!  I am thankful for God's protection as we traveled.  I am thankful for God's provision for our family and the time we have together.

A lesson in lefse making

 The tools...

 The mixer man...

 The roller lady...

 Sharing the flipper do-dad...and waiting for the perfect look of color.

 The balls ready to be rolled thin on the flour covered board.

 The first taste...

 The learn-to-roller girl...

 The bubble popper...

It was quite a process and took a couple hours.  The homemade lefse is very good!

What a nice feature!

 A hill right out behind our home...

 perfect for sledding.  Not too steep to climb repeatedly.

 Great for sleds and tubes alike.

 Close enough for Mom to come out and snap a few pictures.

 Close enough to come in to throw clothes in the dryer for a few minutes and go right back out.

 Meanwhile...Mom gets the hot chocolate water boiling and gets a snack together...and finds that we have a little friend who likes marshmallows!  The girls' next project for school is to write a book based on the "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" books.  I think we have a new treat idea!  So I kept busy washing out the cabinet and silverware drawer...cause he/she also found the chocolate straws to put in milk. I didn't see the little thief, but I saw the evidence.

Today...more sledding, more cocoa, and lots of kleenexes for Mom!  The last few days and miles have caught up to me.

How we spent New Year's Eve...

 Not exactly how we planned!  But that seems to be the norm with us...God always has something He wants to teach us!  We kind of got stuck at the end of our driveway...lots of snow fell while we were gone.  While Teddy started shoveling...Ted and I went in our home and discovered the furnace was not...nor had been running for a few days.  Ted went to Lowes.  The kiddos and I unpacked and shoveled.

 A new thermostat installed...no heat...but we knew how cold it actually was after the electric heater had been running...in the 40s.  I ran to the grocery store.  A new thermo coupler installed...still not heat...oven turned on to make supper...fire started in the fireplace.  "Kari, I need a plastic bag.  Open the back door.  And don't scream!"  Uh, why would I scream?  "There is a dead bird...and it hasn't been dead too long...it hasn't decomposed."  Um, it wouldn't...it is too cold in here!

 The half gallon of milk taken out of the freezer...no way it is going to defrost!  So cold and praying for an answer...Ted was checking over everything again...temp was climbing a little more toward the 50s...oh, to call someone to fix this is going to be so expensive!  He found a button that seemed like a reset button...he pushed it and jumped back...and that was the answer God had!!!  I am so thankful for a husband who has the know how to do these sorts of things.  He pushes through a problem to the solution, regardless of the physical toll it takes on him.  I try to be the moral support he needs, but often dissolve into tears when the answer comes!

 We cuddled under the blankets and watched the temperature climb once the heat kicked on...the blower didn't shut off for over an hour and a half.  The kiddos camped out in the livingroom...their rooms were super cold!  We found out...that our wonderful Tempur-pedic mattress...doesn't like freezing temps either!  It was rock hard...and cold!  After 24 hours of heat...it is just now softening.

 God, in His mercy, protected the pipes and such from freezing!  We think this little bird may have caused the problem...but Ted only found it because he knew what components to look at in the furnace.  We needed a new thermostat.  Still not sure if we needed a new coupler...but by removing that piece...Ted found the bird...which could have caused a bigger problem?!

I believe I scared the neighbor cat away this morning when I checked the bag...two minutes later...it was gone...uncooked.
We had a hard time coming home to this situation...it was not what we expected to have to deal with...it messed up our fun plan.  Honestly, it pushed me to tears.  Now...after warming up...and seeing what happened and what could have happened...we are thankful.  And so is the neighbor's cat...it had a Happy New Year's Day...and we had a memorable New Year's Eve!

On the 26, 27, 28, 29,30,31 days of December...

fun at Papa and Grandma's...sleep, food, laughter, gifts, more food, more sleep, games, movies...

 The game of the season...Headbands!

 The day after Christmas Girls Outing...to spend gift cards and money gifts...and another taste of the season...Oreo Peppermint Dessert from Beefaroo.

 Then we loaded up our sleigh again and headed north...

 to Grampy and Grammy's house.

 More food, laughter, sleep, coffee, gifts...

and another bowling tournament!  

  

A restful but full visit!  We went with Mom and Dad to the two nursing home services they had on Friday.  We enjoyed Grammy's Swedish pancakes on Saturday before another outing and snow fun.

 And all of a sudden...it was time to load up and head south again.  We stayed at Papa and Grandma's over night and then headed home.

Another stop at one of our favorites...which also offered us a break from the "Leave It To Beaver" marathon!