Ramblings on Little People

I’ll I’ve got for this week is kid stuff.

Family: The Bean Incident
We learned this week that Wyatt is very stubborn. It started when we had him try a bite of shrimp. He kept it in his mouth for over 2 1/2 hours without chewing or swallowing! He never gave in and ate it. Then we had chili a few days later. Before we even started eating, he said he wasn’t going to eat it. He has a thing against beans of all types. We told him he needed to try one bean and then he could have something else to eat. He never gave in. Neither did we.

At least Liza loved the chili.

This little kissable face may be the reason I only can ramble about children’s things this week. The only time I feel like I’m making progress on the perpetual mess of inhabited house when she’s awake is when she helps unload the silverware from the dishwasher.

It is one of her favorite things to do. She takes a piece and passes it to whoever is near and continues until she can’t reach anymore.

Her other favorite thing to do is unload cupboards. The olive oil spray from the lazy susan,

the drawer of lids,

and the cupboard with paper products are her favorites.

She’s now dealing with the frustration of not being able to open this door. We liked the location of our paper products too much to move them and were sick of picking them up, re-rolling the foil and always trying to redirect.

Recommendations: 
I learned about a new Nebraska author this week, Julia Cook. She writes children’s books about a variety of social skills, health, mental health, manners and those kinds of things. Maybe these titles will peak your interest: Cliques…Just Don’t Make Cents, Gas Happens, It’s Hard To Be A Verb, I’m a Booger…, My Mouth is a Volcano.

BookLook Bloggers sent me this adorable Little Chicks Bible by PJ Lyons and Melanie Mitchell so I could review it for you. The cover is perfect for little fingers that like to feel softness. The beak and little wings are even movable. The inside is a sturdy board book. No worrying about ripping pages! Little Chicks Bible has eight Bible stories written with easy to read rhythm and rhyme (“…The soldiers all ran off afraid. Just the young boy David stayed….”), which is so great for little ears to hear. Each story is eight lines long with an appropriate illustration to go with it. This children’s Bible doesn’t even scratch the surface of Bible stories compared to children’s Bibles for older kids, but it could make a very fun and meaningful gift for a tiny person.

Small Town Blood Drive

Update:
Juliet is back in the ICU again! We’re praying she can stay off the ventilator. I haven’t seen a recent blog update, if you were thinking you might go check. She is getting her very own soup and pie benefit supper next weekend! I thought about tempting you to all go and support her, but what if you would end my auction streak and out bid me in the silent auction? If you’re interested, ask me for info; and I’ll see if I like you enough to let you come and bid against me.

Small Town Nebraska:
I had no idea living in our village would make me a frequent blood donor. They just make giving blood too easy and desirable. Who wouldn’t want to go somewhere for an assortment of free cookies, juice, breakfast and lunch?

Wyatt has this figured out too. He doesn’t stall one bit when I say we’re going to give blood because he gets his 100% orange juice in a can and offered cookies from the local volunteers, grandparents, and anyone sitting at the food table. Last week he told me he ate three and a half. It’s kind of hard to regulate when you have a needle in your arm.

I like the cookies too, but I really like the convenience. They’re scheduled just over eight weeks apart, so you can give every time. We’re in walking distance. I usually figure a relative will be there to keep an eye on my kids. One time I saw 5 of my in-laws there while I was donating. I’m not exaggerating. If they’re not there, we have a friendly neighbor girl who is happy to come keep an eye on them.

Where ever you live, the only thing that hurts is the initial poke. I’m experiencing no pain in this picture.
Filling the bag doesn’t take as long as convincing them your blood is healthy enough to share.

Notice the boots in the picture above? I have a picture of his plasma if you’re interested. He was donating double reds. Where we live, you can always find a cowboy and farmer giving blood and someone friendly to visit with while you’re eating your cookies. You basically know everyone who’s there or can figure out who they are and who they’re related to with a couple of questions.

If you’re not careful, you might start getting sentimental while you’re sitting there waiting to get your cookies. I think of giving blood as serving God and using my time for something worth while, but really shouldn’t everything I do be done in that way?

Little Lambs

Family/Farming:
Today = Gorgeous! I wore a t-shirt on a walk and pushed these two.

I know he’s a little big for the buggy; but I stop less this way, and he helps Liza eat her lunch.

Brad needed us to come pick him up close to the local “zoo,” so we went and took in the new babies, 23 little lambs.

This little has a broken leg because his mom accidentally stepped on him. He still runs around even with his cast, and his mom won’t make that same mistake again. As for the mommas in the picture, you wouldn’t believe how soft their wool feels and your fingers disappear into it if you go to give them a scratch.

This little one is less than two days old. Did you know that when lambs are born their coat is like sandpaper? This little one felt like cardboard, but in a few days he’ll be as soft as the others. 

Farming:
If you have the impression that farmers are not smart, educated people, please get to know a few of them. The way they smell after a day of work and the cleanliness of their vehicles are not indicators of their intelligence. How well they manage their cash flow and what they know about their crop and equipment might be better indicators. Brad has been in education mode lately; planter clinic, sprayer clinic, safety training…. He might not be learning things you or I would want to learn, but he’s learning and excited about it. He was quite disappointed Friday when he realized he missed a chance to go to a class on weed resistance. What a bummer.

Small Town Nebraska:
In our village, you can take your outdoor plants not made to survive a Nebraska winter to the post office if you don’t have room for them in your house. It brightens up the post office, and if you go there almost everyday you won’t forget to water them. Can’t beat some of those small town perks!

Highest Bidder

Family: Is it a small town thing to have a “benefit supper” for someone dealing with very tough life circumstances? We went to one of these benefits this weekend, and it had a live auction. Brad convinced Elliana to bid on a cheesecake. She raised her hand every time he told her to and then couldn’t stop laughing when she won. It would’ve brought a smile to your face to see it. I bid and won my first item at an action too. Is it bad to be happy about getting a good deal at a benefit auction?

Nebraska: Brad and I got to attend the Todd Becker Foundation‘s Annual Banquet this week. In front of over 1,700 people we heard Nebraska’s governor, attorney general, and the always influential Tom Osborne, proclaim that faith in Jesus Christ as the only way for eternal life. Go Nebraska! This fundraiser had a silent auction. I scored $125 worth of Norwex products for $85. Is it bad to be happy about getting a good deal at a benefit auction? Nebraskan’s clearly haven’t caught on to the power of Norwex like they have the power of God. Don’t judge, this powerful ministry was glad that Brad is working on being more generous.

Farming: ‘Tis calving season for many in Nebraska. If you want to feel a part of if, you really need to see if Mary Connealy will let you be her Facebook friend. She posts a lot of furry, little calf pictures and entertaining stories to go with them. Elliana stayed with her cousin one night this week and got to see a new baby calf, some cute new lambs and help move the cows across the road.Her cousins’ house will always seem much better than ours, I’m guessing.

Recommendation:  Recently in Sunday School we went through the marriage series Staying in Love by Andy Stanley. I loved it! It’s funny, hits you where you need to hear it, and is full of truth when it comes to marriage. You can watch some of the videos free or buy it.  Whether you are getting married, happily married, or struggling in your marriage, check it out!   Because I liked that series, I thought I would like to read Ask It, and Blogging for Books provided me with a copy of it to review. I did not love it. It did not beg for me to read it, and I didn’t feel like I learned a lot. That being said, one point that will stick with me from this book is that we rarely have to rationalize to do the right thing, but “it’s the bad decisions that require creative reasoning.” (page 14)

I know you want to know “the question”, but I feel it would be wrong of me to tell it to you when it isn’t on the cover of the book or even in the first chapters. I will tell you that Stanley bases “the question that will revolutionize how you make decisions” off of Ephesians 5:15-17.

“Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

If you’re looking for an easy, not too threatening or complicated group study, the book has discussion questions for each chapter and you can get the Ask It DVD series. I do wonder if the book might be good for high schoolers to read as it really encourages you to avoid foolish decisions that lead you down a slippery path. What I would really recommend is to read the Bible and pray for wisdom as the best ways to “understand what the will of the Lord is” as it says in Ephesians.

RareJul.com

Update:
For all who have been praying for Juliet, you can now go read more about her and send her some love on her adorable blog, RareJul.com. She is once again at her home away from home, Childrens Hospital. Go read her blog now!

Farming/Family:
You know one group of people who are really excited about the low gas prices?! I do. If farmers have a way to buy fuel ahead of time, they’re doing it. Brad figures these prices could save him .18 an acre spraying. That adds up.

We’re having a taste of spring weather, so my farmer started working on his planter. He took the green hitch for the fertilizer trailer off to make it easier for him to reach the middle boxes.

I thought I was going to snap my arm in the two minutes I helped, and Wyatt happily ran the cherry picker.

Small Town Nebraska:
We’ve had a guest book ever since we were married. I have gotten great joy out of using it and looking back through it to remember who we’ve had in our home. I’ve decided that small town Nebraska is detrimental to a guest book. Our use of the guess book tanked when we lived here the first time and has tanked once again. I’m blaming it on that we have so many situations when people come by that aren’t “guest book signing” appropriate:

• Neighbor kids
• Bible study
• Family 10 minute stop by to say hi or let us know something
• Frequent fliers

That’s pretty much everyone. So…my new plan is to call it the “Visitors-from-over-a-60-mile-radium-guestbook” and to make sure I at least use it with those guests. If you’re one of those special people sometime, could you remind me you need to sign the book?

Recommendation: 

A new Berenstain Bear book came out in 2014; and thanks to Booklook Bloggers, I got a complimentary review copy. I love a good Berestain Bear book, and my kids do too. The theme of The Berenstain Bears and the Biggest Brag by Mike Berenstain is something my two oldest kids need to learn. The book cover shows it perfectly. They tend to compete over the silliest things and love to try to one up each other. This book shows kids the problems with always trying to be one better than someone else and tells them, “Where there is strife, there is pride.” That’s something good for all of us to learn.

 

 

 

 

 

12 Months

Family: This special time happened this week:

Since they’re only three days apart, we did a joint first birthday party. I’m so glad we did. It was a wonderful time with many wonderful people.

That was the fastest year of my life I believe, and now I can take “take monthly picture” off my to-do list. Maybe I will refer to her as 12 months instead of 1. It doesn’t sound as old.

Farming: Brad actually did a lot of farming things this week in addition to his winter electrical work. He went to a planter clinic to learn about planters. He attended a land action, primarily because it’s a small town social event. He took his sprayer in to get worked on, so it can be all ready to go in a couple months. He had to get some tires fixed, which means I go the chance to do my special job of driving to pick him up and bring him to another vehicle.

Believe it or not, farmers do have things to do in the dead of winter.

What I’m Thinking/Recommendation: So I did actually make a resolution other than to sweep my floor, which has been a great resolution by the way. I told myself I wouldn’t look at my phone until I’ve prayed for my kids and Brad. I love how it has changed my mindset in the morning and how it’s reminded me to pray for them.

Small Town Nebraska: My small town Nebraska experience this week was going to that big store that starts with a W. It’s an hour away from us, and I saw someone who lives two blocks from us there, someone I go to church with, someone I know from work, and an acquaintance from college. I had an easy time seeing people I knew and a much harder time finding all the things I wanted to buy.

Triple Parked

Small Town Nebraska: The white Honda is mine. I wasn’t the first car parked in the row when I parked, and there was only one row of cars when I parked. Welcome to an unmarked gravel parking lot.

This happened to a coworker earlier this year and the principal asked, “Did you check to see if the keys were in the car?” That solved the problem for them, but it didn’t work for me this day – the white pick up was locked and the pick up behind me didn’t have the keys where I could easily see them.

Family: We were able to spend an evening with friends that are kind of like family, Juliet’s parents. We each drive an hour to meet in the middle. The option for things to do together in this town are eat supper, go to WalMart, go to Menards, eat ice cream, go to a movie, and go bowling. We usually eat supper and ice cream and go to Menards. We switched it up this time and went bowling. It was a new adventure.

How often does that happen?

Family/What I’m Thinking:

If you’re feeling impatient with your children, go look at pictures of them from a year ago.

If you’re like me, it will make you wonder how in the world they grew up that much in one year and will make you want to cry and then spend more time with them.

Recommendations/What I’m Thinking:

If you have time to read some more blog posts, I would check out what Jess had to say about a new year and a never changing God and what Jen had to say about new years resolutions.

Farming: If you want to try and start up a conversation with a farmer, you might ask them about the decision they have to make because of the the new farm bill. Just be ready to have your thinking cap on if they decide to give you a real answer.

Recommendation (and a coupon!): 

I was sent a bottle of Children’s Mucinex for free to try from Smiley360, and I wish I could’ve given it to Liza who had a cruddy cold this week. (Don’t worry, she’s recovered.) It says it’s for children 4 and up.  Wyatt had a tight cough over Christmas when we were out of town, and I wished we would’ve had our free bottle of Children’s Mucinex with us then. We used it when we got home, and I witnessed no negative side effects from it, and he didn’t mind swallowing it down either. I’m not big on drugging kids unless they really need it, but I’m glad there’s an option for a way to help them git rid of snot when they have a lot of it. If you’d like to get some for your home, you can get a $2.00 coupon here.

Man, I hope I save one of you $2.