Just blink your eyes. . .

and they've all grown up. Time has flown so quickly in the last ten years. "Eenie" turned 10 years old yesterday. It amazes me how much she has grown, changed and matured over the last ten years. She is truly a joy to be with, and it is a blessing to have a daughter old enough to have "girl dates" with. God has been very good to me.

On Sunday, we celebrated "Eenie's" birthday with a family birthday party. She got a movie, a bible study book and a doll that she chose herself. Her cake was a rice Krispy treat in the shape of a purse (milk and egg free, so that "Miney" could enjoy it too). After the party, she stayed to enjoy the evening with Grammy and Grandpa. Yesterday, on her actual birthday, I took the kids to McDonald's for breakfast and to the park for a play date. After that, they enjoyed a few hours at Grammy's while Mommy took a nap (I don't remember the last time I got to take a nap while someone else watched the kids!). Tonight, she will spend the night with her aunt and uncle and have pizza and watch her movie on their big screen TV. Since we don't generally allow sleepovers, this is a special treat for her. We were going to go on a field trip to a museum today per her request, but "Meanie" woke up in the night, running a fever. We have decided to postpone the trip so that we can all enjoy it at a later date. All in all, she has had a very nice birthday :-)

Homemade Bread

I baked three loaves of homemade bread last night :-) I have never made homemade bread by myself before (I baked it once with a friend from church a few years ago--at her home). When I did our family grocery shopping last Monday, I realized that our bread had gone from around $2 a loaf to $2.50 a loaf :-0 We can't buy the cheap bread or go to the Day old Bread store because "Miney" is allergic to milk and we can't find cheaper bread without milk in it (that doesn't go rotten too quickly). Realizing that the prices are only going to continue rising, we buckled down and invested in a Bosch and a Nutrimill. They were having a Mother's Day special, so I got them cheaper than I normally would have. I had never used either of these before, and with Jason's help I managed to figure out how to get the job done last night. This bread is so yummy and much healthier than what we can buy at the store. I got a great recipe and tips from my friend, Beth, who checked on me a couple of times throughout the process. I'm looking forward to making other yummy and healthier foods with my new equipment.

Level II Ultrasound results :-)

We are having a little girl :-) We got to have quite a long look at her today, and she is healthy and beautiful. We also got to have a 3D ultrasound, which we weren't expecting. Very exciting!!!! "Meanie" has resigned himself and is actually very excited even though he had prayed and hoped for a boy. Oh well. . . I told him that God must want him to learn to protect and defend, rather than wrestle :-)

Convention and Catch-Up

I have been so busy with the OCHEC convention (held May 2nd & 3rd) over the last week or so that I haven't had time to post. Normally, I spend my winter months planning and praying over the next school year, so that by the time I get to convention, I know exactly what I'm going to do with each child. With things so topsy-turvy this winter, that did not happen, so convention left me feeling a little scattered. I'm still not sure if I have all the bases covered for next year, but I will evaluate things over the next couple of months, and make any additional purchases over the summer. Mardels will have their education sale in July, so I can probably finish up then, if I need to.

This was my first year to be part of the convention committee. It was amazing to see what goes on behind the scenes as far as coordinating the convention each year. I still have a lot to learn, and I have really enjoyed the opportunities I've had this year to meet new people and help (a little) with the convention.

I have spent the last couple of days trying to catch up on the house after being gone so much. Also, I did the grocery shopping thing yesterday, and went to my mother's to cook up batches of meat. I have not been able to use my kitchen for several weeks due to sink problems (which are now fixed) and now ant problems. It seems that we are spraying poison (which I hate!!) every day, and things are not getting much better. They are all over everything--even clean dishes, so I've had to remove things from my cabinets and they are stacked everywhere. It is driving me NUTS!! With some pre-cooked meat, I can at least do some crockpot meals. We are using paper products for now (thank God for the Dollar Tree), so that we don't have to wash our dishes before and after we eat :-0

I will probably post again tomorrow after I have my big ultrasound. I am hoping that he/she will be ready to show us who they are :-)