Sunday Rest

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

~Psalm 23 (ESV)

***

Today I stayed home from church with Liam since he is still a little under the weather. It isn't so much that he is miserable, but that his little nose is runny and he is sneezing..so, we have been home this morning.

So, instead of listening to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ singing and hearing our pastor's sermon, I've been listening to the Christian music station on the internet (we have lousy radio reception in our place).

Some of the music I don't enjoy...but some is so very lovely and encouraging.

This verse above is one that was a favorite of my Grandma Gloria and it was said at her funeral. It is also a favorite of mine. So I thought I'd share it with you all today.

May the Lord bless you this day!

Blessings,
Sommer

Kleenex and Blessings

Perhaps this seems a strange post title, but it is what I'm thinking on today.

Last week we dealt with migraines, this week we've been battling colds and ear infections. First, I started out with a sore throat on Friday of last week and felt pretty miserable, then Brenna complained of sniffles and the like. Then Fiona! Now a day or so ago, Liam, started tugging at his cute little ear and crying and asking for Mama to kiss it:-( At first I wasn't sure what it was(none of my children have had problems with ear infections but once...when Fiona was a baby(8 years ago).) But I decided I better have him looked at after a night of difficult sleep. Sure enough...he has a mild ear infection and so now he is on antibiotics(he hates the flavor of course!). Now, this morning he is stuffed up and I hate to see the poor guy suffer so.

All this being said, you may wonder what I see in this as a blessing?! I understand the question. Seriously, this is the most sick any of us has been this winter I believe and really it is no fun in the sense of being sick, but....up until January we had no insurance! For about 2 years I would stress every time some one came down with something. Would they need medical care? Or, is this something we can handle at home?

Praise God, He saved this ear infection and Brenna's migraine concern until AFTER we got back on to some insurance! I am very blessed simply because of this. He provides in ways I often don't expect and I just wanted to acknowledge that even in the midst of mountains of Kleenex, and nasty antibiotics there ARE blessings to be seen!

Thank you Lord for giving me another opportunity to praise your name!!!

Blessings,
Sommer

Which Wind In The Willows Character Are You?

A fun little quiz! Maybe you'd like to play?!

I am....







Which Wind in the Willows character are you?


this quiz was made by Auntie Krizu(:>)

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is Valentine's Day and I am loving my little family:-) We aren't doing a whole lot for it, but what we are doing is enjoyable for us.

I left out stickers and Kisses for the kids and a card and chocolates for my hubby. I made pancakes and we enjoyed a leisurely morning. My hubby came home from a night of work bearing a single, beautiful red rose and lovely, sweet words for me...sweet!

This afternoon we will be taking the kids over to FreshChoice(a lovely all-you-can eat spot). They are rather excited as we don't often get to go out to dinner. We will be using some very lovely gift cards we received for Christmas;-)

And finally, tonight, Dan and I will enjoy a quiet evening of dinner and dessert together before he must head off to work again. I look forward to enjoying a raspberry creme brulee with him. Yum!

All of this is simple and lovely...just how I like it:-)

***

One thing that I think gets rather blurred during Valentine's Day(and perhaps throughout life) is what "love" really is. Most of us at one time or another think the little butterflies we feel the first time around is a sign of love or that all the fancy pretty things we give or say is love. It is a feeling to a lot of people. But if we head to scripture, we find that God says it is an action! It is something we "do".

" Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant
or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. "

1 Cor. 13:4-7

It is sometimes hard to remember to show love..to "do" love. We find ourselves snappy and selfish, impatient and irritable. Sometimes we'd rather it be our way or no way. But that isn't really showing love to those around us. I am often very bad about showing love(esp. through patience or not being irritable)...It is something I desperately need to work on.

So today, as you celebrate with your loved ones, remember to "show" them love, to do for them what you might rather not. And not only today, but everyday of the year. It will go a lot further than chocolates or roses:-)


"with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, "

Eph 4:2

" However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. "

Eph 5:33

Toddler Beds and Migraines

Over last weekend I decided it was time to move my Little Man into a toddler bed. But, instead of just "kicking" him out of our room, I'd convert the crib temporarily into a toddler bed. I figured it might be an easier transition for him, if he knew Mom and Dad were right there still for a bit.

So, I asked him if he wanted to be in a "big boy" bed and if he wanted to use his new Thomas sheets. He gave me a very excited "yeth!" and took the package of bedding off to our room. He watched impatiently as I converted his crib and tried to help me screw in the bolts. That was especially cute:-)

Once I finished, I invited him to get on the bed and try it out. I don't really think he needed much prompting...he was so very excited:-) He climbed on and off and on again several times. He laid down...

And got back up again. He said hello to Thomas, Percy and James and I think he explored his new bed for a good 30 minutes afterward.

He took his nap...without any issues and he even went to bed that night with out a peep! Since then, he has occasionally climbed off, but pretty much he has gone to sleep with little trouble. He has fallen out of bed 3 times, but I always am right there to reassure him and he goes right back to sleep.

What a big boy he is now! I will be keeping him in with us for a little longer yet and then, when we get and put up the bunk for the girls, he will move in to their room and begin using Brenna's toddler bed(which she is just about to tall for now!). I think he will make the transition well and we will then be ready to welcome our little girlie to the home:-)

In other news....we have gotten a tentative diagnosis of migraines for our Miss Brenna. It really came as a surprise for us. Last Friday she informed me(in tears) that she'd been noticing a strange red, blinking spot in her right eye. I couldn't see it she said, but it was there and it was annoying her. I told her that we would get her an appointment with a vision doctor figuring maybe she needed glasses(which she still may). On Monday, we started school as usual and by 9am she began to complain about a headache. She had done so here and there over the year but nothing had ever come of it. I told her to let me know how she was feeling and we continued with school. At about 11:30am she decided she'd had enough being up and laid down on the couch holding her head. Obviously, I was concerned,but wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

I decided I'd better call a pediatrician instead of an eye doctor and got on it right away. Thankfully they were able to see her the next day. But before the day was over, my dear girl had pretty much slept or rested the day away and had thrown up twice! I did give her pain meds twice, but it seemed the headache was just too bad to be cured by the meds.

She felt fine the next day. I took her in and my suspicions were confirmed as the doctor listened to the symptoms and such. Yes, she was certain that Brenna had migraines.

We are still going to do a vision check and perhaps eventually see a neurologist if needed, but for now, she has me doing a headache diary when ever she gets a headache. Hopefully, we will be able to find a pattern to what may be triggering them and then maybe we will be able to help her control them better.

As I do my research, I find myself nodding at the symptoms I read about and realizing that Brenna has definitely had many of these from time to time. It breaks my heart to think she may suffer with these throughout her life, but hopefully we will be able to help her.

My week has been busy with worry and excitement this week, but I am so thankful for my children and for the opportunity to show them love as I care for them.

Well, I must be off to do a little mending and I hope this weekend will be a little more relaxing!

Blessings,
Sommer

Finished!

After just a few days of knitting and sewing(I think figuring out my gauge took longer than the actual knitting!) I have finished my Little Girlie's slippers! I'm excited by how fast they knit up. I've never knit anything this fast..I started on the 30th of January and finished last night:-) Perhaps some may chuckle at my excitement...I know that many can finish a project bigger than this quicker than I, but the last time I made booties...it took me a couple of months! So, to say the least, I'm thrilled:-)

As I said before, I used a bamboo/nylon yarn and really it was quite nice to work with. It had a lovely texture and sheen to it and was similar enough to the silk they suggested, that I am pleased with the look. They knit up differently than one might expect in that instead of knitting something like a sock, it came out flat and an odd shape. Once the knitting was finished I just needed to sew up the seams and put on any trim I chose. The sewing was really the most challenging part...kind of hard to get the seams to look smooth all the way around. One slipper is a little smoother looking than the other...but I am pleased with them over all.

I chose contrasting trim because I couldn't find any to match the color. But I like how the off white ribbons look. They make me think of little princess slippers:-) Can't you just see little, sweetly pink feet slipping into these? Sigh...

I will most definitely be making more of these and perhaps even making some for Fiona and Brenna if I can figure out how to increase the size up. My friend suggested increasing size of yarn and needles..so we will see. I also found a pattern for adult sized slippers that look like they are the same except for slight changes. I may have to make some for me as well:-)

Now, onto bonnets, day gowns and sweaters!

Blessings,
Sommer

My Little Man Turns Two!

Yesterday was Liam's 2nd birthday...wahhh! The time has steadily sped by and he has changed so much since that first day I held him. There is something so special about having a little man child that just makes you want to cherish all the sweet kisses and requests for hugs. As he holds my face between his sweet chubby hands, I melt...so darling:-)

We actually celebrated his birthday with my parents the same day as Fiona's little party, so this was a more special family day of simple pleasures. We started out with him opening his remaining gifts...a Toby and Thomas train set and James train. He is happily showing me James above there:-)

As you can see he LOVES his trains. He was sitting with(and often in)his track for most of the morning. He also wanted to sleep with Toby in his bed...LOVES Toby the best I think:-) I went ahead and let him sleep with him...how can you resist sweetly twinkling eyes?!

I also made him a train cake. I am no cake expert, but I was pleased with how it turned out. Liam requested one that was red like James...so, here is my version:

James' tender and smoke were made with crushed cookies, the wheels and window with little jimmies and his red "coat" I used pink icing(I did try to make it red..no such luck) and red sugar sprinkles. Knowing my children are happy with my creations makes it totally worth while:-)

And one last thought...a very happy, satisfied birthday boy:-)

Happy Birthday Little Liam!!!!!

Love from your Momma:-)