Hello out there...

It's me...

'Lyssa!

I know, it's hard to recognize me at my new desk in my new house but it's really me! That's right, MY new house.  Not my husband's grandparents' extra house. It's our own home!

And boy is it a whale of a house! 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large kitchen, dining room, and enclosed porch/mudroom that's bigger than most people's living rooms!

Oops! I'm getting ahead of myself... Let me tell you the story - from the very beginning.

Once upon a time there was a handsome young man, and a beautiful, skinny (it's my story, hush!) young lady.  They got married but their housing fell through a mere 3 weeks before their wedding.  What were they to do? They moved in to the young man's grandparents' house while they tried to find a home for themselves.  In 6 months they looked at 7 different houses to possibly move into but nothing worked out.  Finally they moved into a little trailer down the road
. 
The ceiling was caving in, there were mice, lots of cheap "wood" paneling and green shag carpet that disintegrated each time she vacuumed.

One day the dashing husband came home to his lovely bride and declared he had a solution.  The original house they were to live in was now an option again.  The man's grandparents owned a house nearby and could get water pumped to it again so they could live there! Within a month they were moving.

A few years later the wonderful young couple discovered the household of two were to become three!

What a joyous time in their lives! As time went on in this house they weren't very cramped, however, if another babe were to arrive it definitely would be.  But there were no housing options in the area of his work. 

After laying their little girl in bed one evening the most admirable husband surprised his loving wife.

"What do you think about buying Mrs. Brehm's house?!"

"No, thank you." the wife modestly said.  "I just don't see how we can afford it."

They talked for a while and realized that this was an opportunity they couldn't let pass by.  They went to the auction where the brave husband did not back down from the bidding until, victoriously, the house was theirs!

What a lovely story, eh?  So here we are.  On April 7th we closed on this house and it has been nothing short of a whirlwind since then.  My friend, Maggie, cam down immediately to help us paint because every square inch of the walls and ceilings were institutional green.  It was also carpeted in 1968 and that all stayed in the house until we ripped it out.  The house is so great but needed a lot of TLC! A week later she went home and my brother, SIL and 2 nephews came and stayed with us for almost a week.  After that we had a big Easter celebration for both families at our house. Then... Then... Then...

Oy.

The house:
2200 square feet on the main floor plus an almost-full basement.  Beautiful hardwood floors throughout the main floor except some tile left to be reckoned with.  Fireplace upstairs and downstairs, dumbwaiter, LOTS of windows, and a very large kitchen (built for a short lady!) where I can do a lot of damage.  Tons of storage everywhere including an eight foot wide linen closet in the hallway, 2 built in display hutches, very large (not quite walk-in) closets and an office lined with desks and bookshelves.

Aspen started walking about a week after we moved in.  (I think it may have something to with the hard floors but she hasn't told me.)  She loves to run around the house squealing, enticing someone to come chase her!  The floor plan has a round-about nature to it so we can run a lot of miles before stopping.

I got so wrapped up in the work that I didn't take any "Before" pictures until about the 2nd or third day.  Maggie has those on her camera.  The walls are plaster so we've had a time getting things on the walls, so the "After" pictures are still coming.  And no one room is complete yet.  The majority of the upstairs is done all except for new baseboards.  But what can I say? Harvest (if you can even call it that) interrupts a lot of things.

It'll take a while to get it all the way we like it but that's how remodeling goes.

So if you're ever in the area and are bored, stop by. I'll be glad to hand you a paint brush!

Friday Foto - "O"

Taken in my dining room

1-6-11

Angle and clarity.

The quirkiness in my daughter's face! 

I hope I never forget how funny she is right now!

"O"

Aspen - 14 months

This girl brings so much joy to our lives everyday!  Everyone around her watches in anticipation for her smile because it will undoubtedly light up the room.  What a wonderful privilege we have to be her parents!

She isn't walking on her own but we can persuade her to walk back and forth to us.  That is unless she decides to fall face first and let us catch her.  In that case she would much rather play that game.  So there are times that instead of practicing walking, she just stands there, grins really big then purposely leans forward to feel the rush of falling only to be scooped up by an adoring bystander then giggles uncontrollably!

One of her other favorite things is feeding me while I'm feeding her.  A lot of times I'll put her in her highchair with a snack while I get her meal ready.  When I sit down next to her to feed her she has a few snacks left so she puts them in my mouth as I spoon her food into her mouth.

Oh, the music she'll play!  This girl loves music! We sit her in her Bumbo seat on top of piano bench and let her "play the piano" almost everyday.  She loves it and will often "sing along."  With every little thing in this house that has some kind of sequenced pitches, she dances.  Whether it be the music I have playing, a toy that has music or even my washer/dryer chime.  (I have front-loading LGs that chime a tune when they finish instead of that annoying BUZZ!)

Speaking of laundry, she also enjoys standing in front of the washer and dryer and "singing" to the clothes as they go round and round.  She does this several times a day.  Now if I could just get her to fold the clothes when they come out of the dryer! =)

Bath time is an instant spirit lifter for her.  She doesn't need toys, just a cup and a washcloth are plenty of entertainment!  Her new favorite bath time game is splashing.  She will slap her hands on the water and give a little chuckle.  Then she'll splash a really big one and look at you expectantly.  To play her game you must then act like you got splashed unexpectedly.  Once you do this the giggles erupt!

Jerrad and I are also doing well.  We have no excitement in our lives alone anymore.  It's all her and we can't imagine our life pre-Aspen!

It is, however, getting really busy on the farm.  It's February and that means calving season for us.  We had our first calves on Monday.  A first-calf heifer dropped twins all on her own!  We are very proud of her and her little ones, a bull and a heifer! We are working on names for them.  We usually only name a few here and there.  Like I told my SIL, when you have over a hundred calves in less than 2 months, it's hard to name all of them! 

Here's a little biology lesson for you. When there are bovine twins born, if they are bull+bull they are both fertile.  If they are heifer+heifer both are fertile.  But if they are born bull+heifer the bull is fertile but the heifer will be sterile.  Interesting, you think?

The weather is also warming up and that means spring is on it's way.  We are getting pastures fenced for new arrivals and unfenced from cows and heifers being out all winter.  Jerrad is busy getting machinery ready to hit the fields and penciling chemical, fertilizer and fuel figures.  This time of year also brings the joy and dread of counting down the days until Kitty leaves for camp.  We love that she is able to be a part of such an awesome ministry and yet we hate her being gone for so long.  We are praying that this spring brings a lot of moisture (In the right forms too! No hail or floods please!).  We didn't get the snow that much of the country did this winter so we are still pretty dry.  The wheat is starting to come out of its dormancy and needs a little drink.

I'm really trying to make myself blog at least twice every week.  Maybe I'll be better about keeping you all informed so that updates don't have to be this lengthy.  Ah, who am I kidding?  No matter how often I do it, I'll still manage to make it long!

Friday Foto - "Make a Wish"

Friday Foto is back!

Taken on my front porch

2-8-11

I love the angle, depth of field, coloring, and contrast.  All of it.

This dog has the most personable facial

expressions and while I love the looks he gives

his blinks are so full of character also!

"Make a Wish"

It's been a While

It's been a while since I've blogged... at all!  I have a list of different blog ideas and I need to just sit down and do them.  As my daughter grows up and learns new things everyday I look forward to homeschooling her.  One thing I want to do with my kids  in their schooling is some heavy journaling.  If they are to do this, I must also get back into the habit!

I know it's not the most popular decision, homeschooling, but it is one that Jerrad and I are passionate about.  There are a lot of controversial points in the home school debate but I'm not here to explain myself.  I just want to talk about a few things that I plan to incorporate into our daily curriculum. 

1. Journaling - As I mentioned we will be doing a lot of journaling.  It gets the brain and imagination going.  I'll start them with simple things like fun prompts and such, then I'd like to eventually get them into a more freestyle writing.  One of the in between stage ideas that I have is what I call the "A Picture's Worth" segment.  I have a ton of pictures and can't imagine how many I'll have by the time they hit this stage.  I'll randomly pick a picture and have them write a 1,000 word entry based on the picture.  Anything to do with the picture. 

2. Music - Jerrad and I are both very musical. While I know it is possible for our children to not be musically inclined, I feel it is our job as parents to help nudge that exploration.  Each of our children will take a bit of piano lessons and then go from there.  Whether it be to continue in piano, find another instrument, do voice lessons, or figure out that music isn't their forte. 

3. Sports - One of my favorite quotes is, "I only run to the bathroom and away from enemies." I'm not athletic, I try to stay active, but I am NOT athletically inclined.  This is another issue of us encouraging that exploration.  We have wonderful recreation departments around here that the kids can be involved in.  Also, the last time I checked home school kids can participate in  sports through the schools as long as they live in that school district.  So Aspen will be able to play sports for a school that she would be eligible to attend, but she doesn't have to actually attend that school. 

4. Science - One of the beauties of homeschooling is customizing curriculum.  I never thought I liked science.  But my mother in law has taught me that I actually do!  Cooking is just a series of chemical reactions.  Learning household science as well as textbook science will give my kids a grasp on things practical and things a little less tangible.

These are just a few of my ideas.  Do you have any fun projects and ideas to help and encourage your child's education?

Ketchup... err... Catch up!

Well, I haven't blogged in about a month and a half and I'm starting to feel really guilty.  One of my friends asked me yesterday to update her on Aspen's milestones and such.  Her daughter was born the day before Aspen so we kinda bounce stuff back and forth.  It's nice to have mommy friends even if we're far away.  But that's the beauty of the internet! 

On May 12 my beautiful niece arrived safe and sound into this world!  Kaitlin Ann is growing and thriving just like a newborn babe should.  She is being showered with love and affection, ya know, the things required to grow and thrive!  She is 2 weeks old today and looks ever so much like her daddy. 

This has been an adjustment for us.  All this time I've only had nephews and as much as I love being an aunt, it's been difficult to be a part of their lives due to death or geographics.  William is really great, and I love him so much but it's still hard to get together with my brother's crazy work schedule.  Not to mention it's summertime and Jerrad's schedule gets pretty crazy too!  But the adjustment has been with Katarina and I.  We were so used to her playing Auntie Trina and me playing Momma that it's kinda odd for us to be wearing both hats now.  I try not to bother them much because I know they are still working out the ever elusive sleep schedule, yet I know she desires to keep up to date on all things Aspen as well.  But life is one big adjustment, isn't it?

Aspen

Aspen will be 6 months old next Friday.  Can you believe it? I can and yet it still eludes me.  She is so awesome and amazes me everyday!

She laughs a lot!  She will roll wherever she wants and has started to get her knees under her so I can't just plop her down on the floor with confidence anymore.  We are working on "high five" currently and she is getting the hang of it.  She loves people.  One of the greatest things about taking her to work with me is that she is very used to all sorts of people talking to her.  And she loves all of the attention that is afforded her.  Oh, and Dr. Bill seems to be one of the greatest people around!  She will give him the flirtiest eyes and practically begs for his attention! 

Some other great people in her life are Pappy and Grammy.  Jerrad's dad has been working on getting her to say "Pappy" since before we got out of the hospital!  When he gets her going she really starts moving her mouth around in effort for something, even if it's just his satisfaction.  When she hears Grammy on the phone she'll look at the phone in a kind of confusion.  She just knows Grammy should be there! 

We started solid foods recently and she has really taken to it!  She loves all of the foods we have put in front of her.  Carrots, peas and a little bit of rice are what is on her regular menu.  We tried butternut squash and while she really liked it, she was up that night with a tummy ache so we'll wait a bit longer to try that one again.  I have been making my own baby food and I really enjoy that.  I can't wait to start trying more complex foods for her in the future!

Since starting solid foods she also controls her drool a lot better.  This is very nice for me!  I'm sure that will change completely when she starts teething.  We don't seem to be very close to teething, she's just doing normal baby things like sticking EVERYTHING in her mouth and chomping down.  But only when there is something to be had.  Her temperance is evening out (thankfully) so I should be able to notice those changes when she does start teething.

Aspen is also entertaining herself a lot better these days.   This allows me to get a few more things done in peace, hence the blog!  One of the ways she found to entertain herself was scooting over to her toy basket and stealing toys out of it.  Ornery already!  She is also finally (knock on wood) starting to take to a longer afternoon nap!  She usually only naps about 45 minutes 3-4 times/day.  The last few days she has taken a longer nap in the afternoon and we're hoping it's a habit, not a phase.  She sleeps through the night though so I don't have much room to frown on the cat naps.

I think all the time she is spending in the high chair is great for her muscles.  She is really starting to sit up on her own very well.  Still has a bit of teeter-totter that sometimes gets the best of her but she is getting stronger all the time in that area.

I still take her to work with me in the mornings and Kitty takes her to the farm in the afternoons.  We do a full day one day/week.  This is for my workload and for her transitioning to full days eventually also.  This summer when Kitty is at camp, we have friends in town that have agreed to help watch her.  I will be very happy to know that she won't have to be in daycare.  We have great daycares in our little town, but I really would rather not go that route if we can help it.

Well, once again I have managed to catch up by composing a bit of a novel.  If I could score it with music and dance I could sell it as a musical - complete with intermission! 

Wisdom in Writing

#11 - From My Kitchen Window
I was given this book from my husband's "girlfriend", Donna Rae.  (I may have to expound on that alone some other time for those of you that are not privelaged to know this amazing woman!) It was a gift shortly after we were married and I have read it through many times!  It is a collections of articles written by Jessie Rice Sandberg (daughter of John R. Rice) for the Sword of the Lord publication.  They are all set in the 50's and 60's but are so real to us today also. 

Every entry is challenging and encouraging in the Lord.  The forward in the book, written by her father, says that even men reading The Sword of the Lord have sent letters stating how they looked forward to reading Jessie's column each time.  He jokes that even though the carnal side of him wants to be a little jealous he couldn't be more proud of his daughter. 

She writes about normal, everyday things from cleaning house to keeping a good spirit for her children and husband.  She writes of witnessing to strangers and her own children - hanging sheets on the line and the "junk drawer" in her desk.  It's so real I can't help but connect with her.  It's like reading a friend's journal - without getting in trouble! =)

I may start posting some excerpts from this book from time to time to give you a taste.  It's too good not to share!