finally...my planting chums post

After six days of a  sick Samuel I can finally state that I think he's on the mend.  I did take him to the pediatrician yesterday, and they did run a bunch of tests...which we'll find out today.  The doctor seemed relieved once the first tests started coming back normal, as she didn't like how sick he was and was slightly concerned.  Praise God for His healing!

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Planting Chums (CLICK HERE TO ENTER) for this last week is four random facts. I love this one.  Being a semi-random person this allows my creativity, aka randomness, to shine through.  So grab your coffee, tea, LaCroix water (that was for you Hanni), and enjoy!

1.  I never ever ever ever lose my patience. I am so calm all the time.  It's almost as if I have an extra dose of rational thinking.....okay...this might be a little eensy bit of a fallacy.  Truth?  I've got to work daily to not react, but to speak with intentionality.  When I'm reaching the end of my rope with craziness I've discovered several antidotes.  Which my kids know as well.  One of them?  Coffee.  Hannah or Chloe have been known to state, "why don't you quick go get yourself a latte?  We'll tidy for you...." They've got me figured out. :)

my birthday gift from Hannah and Chloe

2.  I've got a collection of magnets on the side of my fridge.  I don't like much on the front of my fridge.  Less clutter? Nah...I reserve the front for my Truth Magnets.  Ones like Never Ever Ever Ever Give Up or Prayer Changes Things.  The front is pretty empty.  The one side?  Full of magnets from destinations all over the world.  Most of which I have never gone, but a member of my travelling family has visited (the most recent?  New Zealand.)  I love them.  And I'm so glad that my mother convinced me at a young age to NOT collect mugs from travel spots due to space.  Thank goodness I heeded that advice.

my magnets

3.  I love to find the deal.Put a red Target clearance ticket on it and it's a beauty to me.  I used to be an assistant to the regional merchandiser for Pier 1 Imports and started coming across lots of deals while there.  In fact, when I worked there (waaaaay back then) my home probably looked like an add spread for Pier 1.  Now I'm content to scour garage sales and the back endcaps at Target.  Those pics below?  Made up from my finds.  I've got an entire wall of black and white prints put in my "find" frames.

my wall of finds

4.  I love yard work.  Love, love, love gardening and lawn care.  As a child my dad had this huge garden...and I mean huge.  I told him that I would never, ever, ever, ever have a garden when I grew up.  I didn't want to spend hours shelling peas or pulling weeds,  Until I grew up.  Now, I love my garden and my green grass.  I've got these weird concoctions that I put on my grass...beer with dishsoap with ammonia with xyzzz (thanks to the garden guru Jerry Baker).  I love to take my morning stroll and see what's growing.  It's about beauty, about putting my hands in the ground, about peace.  And yeah, going back to number one, if I don't get coffee the next step the kids take is, "why don't you go check your garden, Mom?"

see my garden starting?

new growth

my greening grass

I must thank my daughter Hannah for a) putting together the Planting Chums post and b)taking these fabulous pictures for me (which fyi I saved the wrong way...shouldn't have been saved as a jpg, but rather a png...they'd be even better).  It's amazing the pictures that I get when SHE takes them and I don't USE MY PHONE to take my pics.  I know it's late in the week, but seriously if you're reading this and haven't linked up to Planting Chums now is the time to do so.  All you have to do is list four facts and then you are entered in to win one of 10 amazing Etsy give-aways.  It's awesome.  And I'm not saying that cause I'm her mom. :)




Thanks again for all the prayers!!

a (hopefully) final update on Samuel

temp is way down this morning.  I'm thrilled!  He's eating more, which is good because I can tell he lost weight.  And, now, he's sporting a rash on his belly, back and neck.  My hindsight guess?  Roseola.  An odd case of it.  My kids typically don't get it till thy're over twelve months.  When they did they had a really high fever, but not many other symptoms.  Samuel was s.i.c.k.  When he first spike the temp my first thought was roseola, but I dismissed it once he got so ill.  And the doctor didn't think it was that either...he was too young...symptoms didn't match.  This morning? I'm thinking that's what he had.  I'll take that over the other options thrown out.

Thank you so much for the prayers.  I really believe and have faith in the power of prayer. I am so grateful for each prayer that went to the the Father's throne.  Thank you.

sweet Samuel this morning

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I'm planning on doing my Planting Chums post later today.  It should be fun....they'll be some laughs...:)  I need to have a light-hearted post again.

Planting Chums - Week 2 - Fun Games - A story of family

My daughter, Hannah, is hosting a Planting Chums get to know you on her blog Aspire.  She's also got amazing give-aways, and if I wasn't her mother, I'd be putting my entry in NOW. She's got several prints, some amazing jewelry, a home-made journal, and more.  More than the give-aways, what I love about Planting Chums?  Is the ability to fellowship...to find more about our blogging buddies lives...that's beauty.

Click HERE to go to her blog and link up.

This week's topic is on fun games.  Well, once anyone gets to know me they will find out three things:

1. I love games.
2. I am very competitive.
3. I really, really, really dislike losing.

So when Hannah came up with this topic I was thrilled.  Pick a game?  Tell why I like it? This should be fun and easy.  I began to think of all the games that I love to play: Scrabble, Killer Bunnies (and yes, that truly is a game...I might have to put a link up to prove this one...), Settlers of Catan (now that is one game where I really dislike losing), Phase 10, LoopIt, and more.  But the one game that I really love to play?  And, ironically, I only play it several times a year.  The game?

Cheat on your Neighbor

Now perhaps you know it as Nertz, or Solitaire Frenzy, or Nuts, or Pounce or more.  In fact the popular game Dutch Blitz is quite similar in feel and play.  I like to think of Cheat on Your Neighbor as Dutch Blitz on steroids. Whatever the name...I love playing it.  It's basically a crazy game of solitaire played with a bunch of friends where you try to get rid of your pile of base cards and build off the aces in the middle.  See this wikipedia linnk on Nertz for more because I could never explain it properly...it's one of those games where you have to play.  In fact, I have specific cards that I like to play with, including ones that I bought at a small gift shop in Valdez, Alaska only to be used for this game.

my cards

Why do I like it?  Many reasons.  Probably the biggest one is that we typically only play that game when we go up north for our annual trip to the lake.  Remember that picture from several posts ago?  That was taken at the lake.  My family, my parents, my siblings, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents (before they both passed away) have all gone "up north" (a very Minnesotan saying) for many years.  How many?  It's getting close to thirty.  Yes, that is 30.  And "Cheat on Your Neighbor" became THE game to play at night.

the game table

Oh, we've got our rules...safety ones like all nails need to be trimmed and short...and game ones like if you finish a pile by putting the Ace on you need to remove the pile.  If you don't?  Watch out....eight other people will be yelling, "take off the pile! take off the pile!"  We laugh, and drink rootbeer floats, and put soothing aloe on our sunburned faces, and complain that the reason we're not as fast is because we're getting old.  But, you know why I truly love this game?  (again, besides the fact that I AM pretty good at it, and can typically win or cause the winner to seriously sweat.)

It's about family.  And generations.  And memories.

my kids on our dock

Did you think I could get through a post without nostalgia? Or linking it to life?  Or finding a deeper meaning? Well, not today...in fact, I love looking at the everyday, or the special, or the insignificant and finding beauty and joy in those moments.  With this game, it's all about our family.  My children have all come up to the lake since the first summer of their lives.  We talk about going there constantly.  My dad will tell them that there's only six months till we go there...right after Christmas.  It's a huge thing.  For a week of life all of my relatives say NO to the daily grind and YES to family.  We cook together, we eat together, we play games, we talk, we rest, but most importantly?  We're together.  It's teaching my children the beauty in family, and that we VALUE family.

my girls with their cousin

Hannah and Chloe just learned how to play "Cheat on Your Neighbor" two summers ago.  (And, yes, I was easy on them while they were learning...most of the time.) I taught them how to play a couple weeks before we left.  There was something generational about teaching a simple card game to them.  Something that will be passed on someday.  To their children.  Now, that, gives me goosebumps.

Bottom line?  I don't need to win.  In fact, many times while the massive frenzy of the game begins, I will quietly and quickly tell my daughters that they need to put "that 4 of spades" out, or likewise.  The most important quality of this game? That game represents family, generations, and traditions.  That is priceless. 

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I'd love for you to hop over to Hannah's blog aspire and link in.  She's hosting a give-away as part of the promo for Planting Chums.  The image below is of the five items that you can be entered to win.  Blessings on your day!

planting chums giveaway - and those pesky allergies

i love this

My daughter, Hannah, is hosting an amazing give-away. And I mean amazing. Wait. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.  Let me just state that this bracelet is stunning. And, if I wasn't Hannah's mother I'd be right there signing up to win it.

Planting Chums is her new title for her week 4 project.  I love the new name.  This is the week 1 of 4 that I wrote about below.  You remember, the post about coffee?  Mmmmm...coffee...I'm firing up the Keurig as I write.  :)  I'd love for you to join in.  There's an adorable journal, fabulous prints, and some earrings made by the same designer Marchese Creations  who created that FABULOUS bracelet. I think I might just need to "send my kids" over to the site for some new mother's day ideas. ;)

And don't you just love the new button?  When I came home from my Bible study (The Truth Project) last night she was so excited to show this to me.  I think it's beautiful...and inviting! Would you leave me a comment if you peek at her blog? I'd love to hear from you. :)

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My allergies are terrible right now.  I never had them until five springs ago.  I'm allergic to the pollen from trees, specifically birch trees.  Honestly, as much as I love spring I also dread spring.  None of the meds really help, so this year I'm trying to move forward through the season with natural remedies and prayer.  I'd love if you'd say even a quick prayer for me.  I've been praying that every day my body gets a little better and that I'm winning against the allergies. I have to carry an Epi-pen because when my allergies are in full bloom (Camden that was a pun for you) I can't eat any produce from trees.  It's because they are all related, kind of like distant relatives.

So....if you see a post come through at, let's say, 3am...now you know why.  I was up sneezing!  And then writing.  Thanks for your prayers.  And, if you know of any remedies or tricks that you know of I'd love to see them!  

the birch tree - my nemesis

Blessings on your Sunday!  And remember to click over to Hannah's Blog so you can enter Planting Chums.