Happenings

So this past week, we had company (again) for a couple of days. It was great to have an old friend of Art's here for a short visit. He was here on business, so we got to visit a bit in the evenings. We also had a couple of very sick girls. Everyone except Molly had high fevers last week, which wouldn't come down for anything. Thankfully, whatever virus it was was short lived, and each girl only had it for about 2 1/2 days. Then, Molly got a rash from her neck to her waist.... Man, did we ever have a good week!

Then, came the weekend....we did a Big Cook this weekend. If you don't know what that is, you need to! There were 4 of us ladies, and we made 144 meals in one day. Yummy, good meals. We worked from 9:45 am and were done and all cleaned up by 4 pm, and we each got to take home 36 meals. We did it at our house, and I must say, kudos to Art. My kitchen was pretty fabulous for doing such a thing, and we had lots of room and lots of fun. And my freezer is very full. All in all, again, domestic bliss for me.

In other news (well, not really, but I've always wanted to say that!), it's Abby's birthday on Friday. Can you believe it? I was thinking about when she was born the other day, and she really was a miracle. Here's the story, for those of you who don't know it:
When I was pregnant with Abby, I was very small (surprise!), but I wasn't getting bigger as I progressed in my pregnancy. So, my doctor sent me for tests and more tests...I think I had a total of 13 ultrasounds in the last few weeks of my pregnancy (and 3 non-stress tests, and an amnio). It seemed I was always at the doctor for something... He then sent me to an OB/GYN who spoke with the head of the neo-natal unit at the Alex Hospital, and nobody knew what to do with us. Abby was acting like a 'normal' baby, but her growth wasn't normal. They said this condition was seen more in women who were heavy smokers, which clearly, I am not! So, after much conferring, they decided to send me for an amnio, and if her lungs were developed, they were to induce me immediately. This was at 5 pm. The doctor's told us to come back at 7 am the very next morning for the amnio, and they found out the results, which were that Abby's lungs were developed. Their thinking was that they didn't know what was going on inside of me, so they would take her out where they could at least control her environment.
All of my ultrasounds showed that Abby would be around 3 lbs. if we were lucky, but we prayed, and when she was born the next day, she weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. What a miracle! My doctor had joked that the best time for her to be born would be between 9 am and 5 pm, when all the doctor's and specialists were at the hospital, and she was. The all couldn't believe how well Abby did, and after 1 1/2 days in an incubator, and another 9 days in the hospital, we went home! Abby wore doll clothes for the first month of her life, she was so little, and had not a single ounce of fat anywhere on her - not in her cheekbones, bum....anything. It was crazy to see!

And now, look at her...turning 6 on Friday!

Not mch

So, I have not much to write about these days...hence the lack of blogging. That and the truck loads of company that we've had lately (someone new almost every day!). I am going to give you a very boring play-by-play of my day. I awoke early this morning (8 am people!), to turn off my alarm and go back to sleep until 9 am. Art had gotten the girls up and started on their breakfast so I could have a few extra minutes of zzzzzz's. And now, as we are sitting here, Art has made a secret cupboard in my kitchen....it's stinking amazing!
I made banana bread, cleaned my house, washed the floors, cleaned bathrooms, changed sheets, made dinner, had company come, bathed/showered my Girls, had a short nap, educated my daughters.....hmmm....anything else? It was a completely industrious day, and I rock my world! Maybe tomorrow I'll nap?

Pure Domestic Bliss

This weekend was pure domestic bliss for me. We had a house full of people, a big turkey dinner to cook, and a KITCHEN to do it in. I loved every second of it. As soon as the toe kick is in, I promise to post some pictures....

For Thanksgiving, we had our family, Art's Mom and sister, a friend and some people from Ireland who are here for the conference at our church. It was great fun to meet some new people, and our girls loved listening to them talk. Then, for dessert, we had the prayer team from our church join us to visit with the Irish. It was good times at the Goerzen's (and good eats!)

Hope you all had a great holiday!

Negligent

No, the title of this post is not my parenting style....usually! Although I have been a little bit negligent in the past week with my Girls...and blogging...and cleaning....and cooking.... All because of the (infamous) kitchen! It finally arrived on Friday, and my brother and sister-in-law were here visiting (suckers!) I bet if they knew how much work we'd make them do, they wouldn't have come! So it came, and I've not really seen too much of my fantastic husband since they, because he's been working his butt of! He's been up 'til probably 2 am every day, slaving away, so that we can get this kitchen in and our home back in order. Slowly, it's coming. I am happy to report that as of about 9 pm tonight, we now have everything that one needs in a kitchen, working. Our ovens, fridge/freezer, sink, cook top, downdraft, microwave and dishwasher are are installed, with counter tops, and I can use them. It's a pretty exciting day here! I still don't have handles on the drawers, and there's no toe-kick, along with some other finishing touches, but it's usable. What a long road it's been. Just in time for Thanksgiving, since we will have a house-full on Monday for turkey. I am planning on making some pretty fantastic things in my new kitchen to 'christen' it.

Other than that, not too much going on here...(this whole thing has been a little bit consuming!). Oh wait - we saw a baby moose this morning on our neighbor's lawn. Very, very cool! It's been a while since we've seen moose here, and we were looking around for it's mama, but we couldn't see it. It sounds crazy, but for us, Moose have always symbolized the presence of God in our lives (really, really long story), so it was pretty cool that Art and I were talking out in the shop about what we've been hearing/learning from God lately, and he goes to the house for a minute and comes running back in the shop to come and see the moose. I was actually almost in tears...it was yet another reminder of God's faithfulness to me.

A snipet of Molly

Art: "Molly, what happened in your class today at church?"

Molly: "A little girl (who shall remain nameless) pulled my face!"

Art: "Ouch! That must've hurt!"

Molly: "Yes, but she didn't pull my face OFF!"

Sunday Afternoon

I am sitting here in my bliss. Sunday afternoon, the Girls are in bed and it's quiet. Well, kind of....My kitchen has (finally) arrived, and as I sit here on the sofa, my husband is working on installing it. I've only been without a kitchen for a year, gone a month and a half without an oven, and now it's almost been a week without a kitchen sink, cooktop, or dishwasher. My sister and brother-in-law are here helping, and, slowly but surely, it's getting installed. Good times, good times. A blissful Sunday afternoon!