Halloween? It’s more like a second Easter!

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me . . .”

This has been running through my head the last few days, as it seems death has been looming over our family. A few days ago Peter says, “Lay your head on my chest and tell me what you hear.” At first, everything sounds normal, and then all of a sudden his heart stops for a second, and then starts again with a whomp. This happens about every 15 seconds. I am officially freaked out. Peter is worried, too, and we decide if it keeps doing that, we’ll get it checked out.

Meanwhile, Debbie is having problems, too: a bad rash, chest pains, and nausea (caused by the extreme chest pain). This is especially worrisome because she is diabetic, and any change in her health can have major ramifications. She saw her regular doctor, who ran a whole series of tests, but couldn’t find what was wrong. He told her to rest and come back if it didn’t go away in a couple days.

The next day Peter calls from the office to tell me that he had a dizzy/faintish spell while he was at the office, and asked me to make an appointment to see the doctor as soon as possible.

The day after that, Peter and I see our insurance agent to finally set up our life insurance policy (WAY overdue, and we’ve been getting quotes and such since the end of September, and things were finally falling into place – just really odd timing!)

That night, as I’m just about to start putting the kids to bed, I get a call from Debbie saying she can’t get a hold of Trevor, and she needs someone to pick her up because she can’t make it home. She was halfway home, but her hands wouldn’t grip the steering wheel, and she was scared to keep going. So I packed up all the kids and went to Trevor’s; Peter went to get Debbie (he was on his way home from work anyway), and when they got back Trevor left to take Debbie to the emergency room. By this time, it was past bedtime, so Peter stayed and put Trevor’s kids to bed while I took our munchkins home. Peter didn’t come home until 1am, and in the meantime I was praying like crazy – for Debbie to find out what was wrong, and for Peter not to have a heart attack alone with Trevor’s kids!

The next afternoon the insurance underwriters call and double check our medical history (“Have you had an EKG in the last five years?” “Um, not the LAST five years” (we won’t mention the appointment to have one this afternoon . . .)

At 3:30 Peter saw our family doctor (picture me watching the clock – ok, now he’s driving there . . . now he’s in the waiting room . . . now – ) and everything is OK. It’s a fairly common thing, nothing to worry about, but he gave Peter a prescription for something to steady his heart if he had trouble.

Today, Debbie saw another doctor (at a local clinic, who is her perspective regular doc) who told her that she had swelling around her heart, probably caused by a virus, which was extremely painful (apparently another person who’d had a similar problem had needed morphine for the pain!) but not life-threatening. They gave her a mild steroid (they couldn’t give her anything stronger because of her diabetes) and warned her that she would have to take it easy for at least two weeks.

So, that’s why my Halloween feels more like Easter – these two loved ones are alive, when I feared they would be gone. Of course, God could still call them home at any moment, but at least my immediate fears have been allayed. And even if things had turned out differently, I know that, because of that first Easter, there is really nothing to fear. That has been a huge comfort this week.

It’s Real!

For the longest time, I thought my family just made up this game (or at least its name!), but it’s real! Our old standby for camping trips and long car rides (although we just played it with a regular deck of cards):

(I found it in the holiday Rainbow Resource catalog (www.rainbowresource.com) This is the best catalog ever; it has EVERYTHING a homeschooler could conceivably be looking for – and it makes a great booster seat for visiting two-year-olds, since it’s roughly the size of the Milwaukee Yellow Pages!)

Yup, I’m Strange!

Kirsten sent this to me, and I just had to pass it on:

http://www.homestead.org/SheriDixon/TheUnsungBenefitsofHomesteading.htm

A woman after my own heart!

SNOW!!!!

This was all the excitement this morning at our house – SNOW! Elaina claimed it was just frost (after a month of everyone telling her, “No, that’s not snow, that’s just frost” she didn’t know the real thing when she saw it!) There was jumping up and down, running from room to room making sure everyone saw it (and that was just me!) I don’t have the heart to break out the Christmas music yet (I’m fighting a head cold, and just don’t feel quite up to it) but we decided to break out the cold-weather food: oatmeal for breakfast (with a hint of cinnamon, a few handfuls of dried cranberries, and a drizzle of maple syrup – yum!), homemade (of course!) mac and cheese for lunch, and pot roast (from our half cow – $2.09 a pound!) with carrots and potatoes (harvested out of our garden just last week!)

I think I’ll work in a little hot chocolate sometime today, too. That should round things out nicely

(I know, I know, I’m round enough already – but it’s a special occasion!)

If I were a Winnie-the-Pooh character . . .

Much to my chagrin, I realized yesterday that I would be Rabbit. I found myself muttering “Why does this always happen to me? Why, oh why, oh why?” and suddenly realized I was quoting! I am also very Rabbit-like in that other people bouncing around having fun while I’m working, and especially making messes in my garden, really gets my dander up (although if you point out that I can have fun sometimes, I will loosen up!). And then there’s the multitude of my relations . . .

Speaking of said multitude, last weekend was Punkinfest (cue fanfare) Our total for this year was 17 kids and 11 adults (of whom 15 kids and 5 adults slept in my house) Oh, yeah, and four dogs (one of whom was in heat – just to add to the general chaos!) Much fun was had by all, even though this year’s celebration was fraught with controversy (“you just can’t argue with a word like ‘fraught’” – help! I’m channeling Winnie the Pooh characters!). The big dilemma came over the tradition of making donuts every year. Debbie and I, being outlaws, are apparently not as sentimental about this tradition as “real” Westendorfs, and so we suggested that we do something else for a snack Saturday night. There were low rumbles of protest (mainly from someone who wasn’t coming anyway!) but no out-and-out refusal, so we went ahead and cancelled the donuts. In our defense, Debbie is diabetic and I am overweight, so we preferred to ease up on the sweets, plus the whole donut-making process takes most of the day on Saturday and is, to put it bluntly, a huge pain in the rear. Debbie’s idea was to make apple fritters instead (which are so much more healthy! ha!) and I, being the no-sugar-for-kids Nazi that I am, wanted to make popcorn. In the end, we made popcorn for the kids during Kent’s story telling, and then the adults ate apple pie around the campfire after the kids were in bed. Win-win, I say!

I was looking forward to Punkinfest being the last hurrah in a very busy October, and then finally being able to rest and relax. Fat chance! This turned out to be one of the busiest weeks yet. All of the Westendorfs left after lunch on Sunday afternoon, so I quick cleaned up and had a very fast catnap before everyone arrived for church at 4 (Ack!) Then Monday we had Phy Ed class and it was also Sam’s birthday, so there was cake baking and going out to Perkins for supper (for the record, going out to eat with five kids is MUCH harder than cooking at home!); Tuesday we went to the Pumpkin Patch with a group of friends again (sort of as part of Sam’s birthday present) and his friend Andrew stayed for the afternoon, plus of course piano lessons after supper. Wednesday was our milk run day (an hour round-trip to get REAL milk) and then in the afternoon we were watching Isaac and Levi. Thursday we did grocery shopping in the morning, then watch the cousins again, and Friday we had another fieldtrip (Farms Of The Future – at a state-of-the-art dairy farm that’s currently growing from 1,400 cows to 4,000! Plus they have a manure digester, which enhances the methane produced by the manure and turns it into electricity, which in turn goes to power about 700 homes in the area. Pretty neat stuff – although a little boring for kids. I was amused by the fact that this is the only field trip I’ve been on where there was about a 30/70 Dad to Mom ratio of attendees – apparently the guys were pretty interested in this trip! Even Peter came along!) Obviously, other than field trips, we got very little school done this week.

So I’m feeling a little stressed and out of sorts, but my ever-sympathetic husband was quick to say (as I was whining about how busy I was), “What are you complaining about? That’s what normal people’s lives are like all the time!” Yes, dear, but I’ve worked very hard to make my life NOT normal . . .

Speaking of not normal, apparently I’m rubbing off on my kids, because we all got a “free” pumpkin from our trips to the pumpkin patch (which makes two for each of us now, actually) and the kids immediately were declaring what each of their pumpkins were to be used for. Sam was vehement that his would be made into pie, Naomi wanted hers used for pumpkin bars, and Hannah was prevaricating between the two (Sam, obviously all boy, later changed his to “it’s for smashing!” *sigh*)

So, not to let them down (and always game for baking!) I made pumpkin pie bars on Thursday (but ended up taking them to Bible Study, where all but two were eaten, so I may have to make another batch just for the kids), pumpkin muffins for breakfast Wednesday, and pumpkin pancakes for breakfast Thursday and again today. Yum! Plus we’re having pumpkin bars (made from Naomi’s pumpkin, of course!) for church tomorrow. Anyone want to take bets on how long it is before the kids get sick of pumpkin?

Peter also thought it was funny that I made pumpkin pie bars rather than a *real* pumpkin pie. I was surprised that he’s never noticed that I hardly ever make pies, and told him in no uncertain terms not to expect that to change. I do not like making pie crust, and I do not like eating pie crust. He laughed at that, because here I was the big baker, unwilling to make pies, while my little brother, the grease monkey, loved making pies and was known for making them for our family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas. How very ironic.

A Beautiful Day

Yesterday we went to Interstate Park to meet our friends Sarah and Dave and their kids, who were camping there. It was definitely the day to be there! The colors were just awesome. We took a one-mile hike around the lake (with all nine kids) and then played for a while on the playground next to the hiking trail while the dads went to pick up the hot dogs and buns we were supposed to bring for supper but forgot (oops!). Of course, while they were gone, it started sprinkling (Naomi was counting the rain drops – she got up to 32 before she got distracted . . .) but we stuck it out, and when our knights (in a white van, no less – but with a squeaky alternator belt, which rather lessened the romantic effect)

Ahem, when our knights arrived to rescue us we went back to the campsite to cook the hot dogs, where it proceded to rain cats and dogs on our cooking dogs! I had been pestering our friends to come back to our house for the night so we could have some more time together, and the pouring rain (and the neighboring campsites quickly filling with college kids with lots of beer) finally convinced them to come back and have a nice, dry evening in Cameron (I think the showers and flush toilets helped, too!)

So we had a nice, sleepy chat last evening, and a fun morning (although JD was disappointed that the surprise in the chicken coop was eggs, not toys) They left in time for naps, and now Peter is working on installing my dishwasher and I am off to take a nice, warm bath in preparation for going out for dinner and a movie tonight. Life is good.

Sonnet for the Twelfth of October

I got this via email this morning from my lovely and talented friend Chris, and I loved it so much I just had to share it. I think this is my favorite birthday present so far!

All hail the great Homesteader of the North

On this momentous and beloved day,

For it be right that we our cheer outpour’th

To honor well this loveliest sun’s ray.

She is not only mother to a brood

As charming, fair and clever as they come,

But also, with great care and fortitude,

Tends garden, orchard, fowl, and kiwi – yum!

And still wise teacher of the youth she be!

And much the paint on coop and more she flings! (I love that line!)

And all the while, with great consistency,

Sweet love, contentment, happiness she brings.

So let us to this lady, fair and couth,

Hurl festive wishes. Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Guess what, Mom?

You CAN re-down the whatchacallit!

I love my mom, and one of her endearing quirks is her penchant for odd and interesting remarks. I was roused in the morning with “The squeaky wheel gets the worm” and “turn the window off, it’s cold in here.” On one fateful day, as I was fiddling with the “safety button” on the top of a jelly jar, she finally cried, exasperated, “Stop doing that! You can’t re-down the whatchacallit!”

I was reminded of this incident yesterday, as I finished making two small jars of apple jelly (this was step two in a three-step apple processing process. Step one was to can apple sauce and pie filling, step two was to use all of the peels and cores to make apple jelly, and step three was to feed the leftover pulp to the chickens to make eggs! I declared my self The Ultimate Recycler for the day. Aren’t you proud of me, Kirsten?)

Anyway, I only had enough jelly for two pint jars (which knowing my kids will be gone in under two weeks). Figuring they would store in the fridge that long, I wasn’t planning to can them, so I just pulled out some old used lids and screw bands from the cupboard and slapped them on. Well, apparently the jars were still hot enough and there was enough seal left on the lids, because I heard that miraculous “pop” as the whatchacallits most definitely re-downed!

So there you go, Mom. Proof positive. Now I must go tell the girls to put their sweatshirts on, because I’m cold.

So, we meat again . . .

It’s been the craziest week. If you know me (which I hope you do if you’re reading my blog!) you know that I like to stay at home and do homesteady things, not run around town like a chicken with my head cut off, as I did this week. We have been out of the house every day this week, for two dentist apointments, renewing my driver’s license, picking up a box of misc. stuff from Freecycle, buying a dishwasher, meeting our friends for Bible Study, and last but not least, picking up a half a cow, all frozen and packaged and now happily housed in my freezer (hence the cheezy title). (I feel very “harvest home-y” knowing that my freezer is stocked for the winter, and we won’t have to brave the cold winter storms to get food for us all – although I suppose that’s only true if we live on meat alone, but let’s not quibble over details!)

So today I am committed (or perhaps I should be committed! Ha!) to staying in my pajamas all day so I’m not even tempted to leave the house. Hopefully this will also help me finish making the bushel and a half of apples in my basement fridge into the canned apple sauce, apple pie filling, and jelly I’ve been planning to make out of it since I picked it two weeks ago! Ack!

Oh, and I almost forgot to talk about the joy that is my new dishwasher! Our old GE that came with the house finally died its slow, painful death, and I’ve been doing all of our dishes by hand for the last few weeks (driving me in desperation to buy Palmolive dishwashing liquid, because my hands were so unbelievably dry!) (did you know that non-functional dishwashers make great drying racks for handwashed dishes? I do now!)

Anyway, I digress. Last night we went to Amundson’s Appliance and picked up a nice, shiny new Bosch dishwasher for my birthday present. This of course means that I am now one step closer to being as cool as Kirsten, since she has a Bosch dishwasher, too Amundson’s just happened to be having its big “Gumball Sale” and I got a yellow gumball, which meant that I got $30 (there were $10, $20, and $30 gumballs). And they gave it to me all in $2 bills, “so that every time you spend one you’ll think of Amundson’s Appliance!”

And it’s true, I did!

Now I just have to get Peter to install my exiting new birthday present before everyone arrives for Punkinfest next weekend . . .

And before I close, I want to say a big THANK YOU to my sister-in-law Debbie for watching my kids through all of the dentist appointments and DMV runs this week. That made everything so much easier!

Jessica’s Wedding

Wow – you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for a wedding! Not too hot (I was comfortable in my cardigan) and not too cold (the kids were fine in their short sleeves) and beautifully sunny. Perfect. Jessica was beautiful, my kids were adorable, and everything was too fairyland perfect to believe

 

Going in, we had our doubts – an outdoor wedding in October? All five of our kids participating? But the kids performed beyond all expectations, and even Josiah did his part perfectly (even if his part was just to sit in a wagon as Hannah pulled him up the aisle – but we half expected him to climb out halfway, or at least be screaming the whole time. But he sat perfectly still and silent for the whole ride.) Elaina was the flower girl, and did her part just “wrong” enough for cuteness’ sake (she scattered all of the rose petals in one spot, instead of all the way up the aisle) but not enough to be a problem.

Peter and I were in charge of lighting the unity candle (which was promptly blown out by the breeze) and a joint scripture reading (parts of 1 Corinthians 13 – out of context, but whatever! We’re not going to raise a theological discussion on their wedding day!) So we actually had already been ushered in and were sitting down when the kids walked down the aisle, so we were thankful that Peter’s mom and sister came up to help out (Hooray for Grandma and Aunt Meg!!!) We had Grandma set them up in the back, and Mom lure them forward from the front – it worked out great!

The little white wagon was definitely a stroke of genius (if I do say so myself). Josiah is a strong walker, but it’s usually in the wrong direction! Judging by his proclivities the rest of the day, this would have been true for walking down the aisle as well. So our little red wagon, with its new coat of white spraypaint (that was my job on Thursday) saved the day. Plus the kids had fun playing with it while they waited for the dinner to start.

Oh, and while I’m tooting my own horn the dresses turned out great. We kept getting comments on how the girls looked just like little dolls (although for a good bit of the afternoon they looked more like action figures)  

They LOVED the dance – Uncle Kent, Uncle Trevor, and Peter were the DJs, so the kids felt free to start out the dancing with some very winsome frolicking (well, perhaps it was more running around in circles giggling, but I think I am allowed a little poetic license on my own blog)

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Even Sam, who was sceptical of all this dressing up stuff, declared that it was really pretty fun.

So, Congratulations Jessica! May God bless your marriage, and may you soon have cute little ones that we can babysit!