The Long Winter

March 12, 2014

Here in Indiana we are having an extended winter.

I'm sure you've heard.
Unless you live under a rock. Or a snow bank. Seems like the weather is the hottest topic of conversation around here.

Not only did we have an additional week of Christmas break due to weather related issues, we've had multiple closings and delays since then. Yes, it has added a few days of school to the end of the year, shortened spring break a day, had two Saturday schools, and we are adding an hour to the school day for a week or more depending on what kid you are. I'm not complaining.
Not doing it.

I usually cannot wait for winter to be over.  I love summer. Warm weather in general is my favorite. Winter comes with so much stuff. Coats, hats, gloves. Oh my the gloves. Drives me crazy looking for gloves. And boots that match. But I'm not complaining. Not this year.

*For the most part* I've enjoyed our snow days. I put a pot of soup on the stove and let the kids help themselves. I read a Young Adult Science Fiction series. I put clean pajama pants on after my shower. The kids played nicely. (mostly) When I needed a break from the little people, I got in the plow truck or tractor and spent some time with my husband. We also left them home a couple of times and went into town for dinner for some conversation with other adults. Not complaining about that!

The snow and freezing temperatures sure had an impact on my running plans as well, but I'm positive I'll be back training for my mini marathon like a crazy person soon. I have my running clothes on now.

I've been thinking about this long winter the last couple of days, and you know what? With all that bitter cold and snow, there were a lot of good things too.

1. Despite William getting the flu on Sunday, our family as a whole has had the healthiest winter in years. I may have just jinxed myself, but for now, I'm thankful.

2. We got enough snow and in such regular intervals, that the dirty, nasty, dead, yucky brown was covered by a beautiful, sparkly, white blanket. And when the snow got dirty, it snowed again. My favorite was when it would come down in those big, fat snowflakes that fall so slowly you wonder if they are going to change their minds. The prettiest winter we've had in years.

3. My sump pump never had an opportunity to stop working. (Can I get an AMEN?)   It stayed cold. All. Winter. Long. I hate the whole "snow*melt*mud*rain*freeze*snow*melt*mud*rain*freeze* routine.

4. Not a single fly in my house all winter. And that, is a BIG deal. I'm really hoping that the cold temps also impact the summer pest situation as well.

5. Thanks to my hard-working husband, our house has been a cozy 74+ degrees all winter long. Not a single person has complained about cutting/stacking wood!

6. Spring is coming.

For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:11&12

My Two Minutes of Fame and a WINNER! (finally)

Did you hear? 

I was named Modifamily Member of The Month for September!

To say I was excited when they contacted me is a gross understatement.

They needed a few things: 1. A picture of me with my Mods.

 2. My favorite combination.

Even with my *limited* collection,  it was a hard choice.

But, I went with the navy strap and the chevron face.

Which is now named: "Sarah's Spectrum" in my honor!  How cool is that?


Tonight, I had my lovely assistant help me draw a winner,

and he chose......

Lucky number 5!
Elizabeth Smith! 

Don't forget to check out modifywatches.com, and make sure to friend them on facebook!
They're pretty awesome.

It's Monday.

And I'm home *hopefully* all day.

In addition to my regular daily things-to-do, I have a couple of organizing projects on the list:

Organize the pantry.

Organize my side of the closet.

Combine my four current purses into one.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Do you have a crazy organizing project on your list?

soccerfootballsoccersoccerfootballsoccer



I know what ya'll are thinking. she said she was back. HA! I haven't seen any blog post in the last week and when is she going to draw a winner for those fabulous watches anyway?

 

Oh, the wise words of my friend Maryhelen: "September is the new December".

 

Soccer practice started for Elizabeth mid-August, and her last game is tomorrow night. She has had 1-3 games a week since the beginning of September, and practice every other weeknight. *phew*

 

 

 

She has consistently played a defender this season.

 



Judging from these pictures, it may look like she doesn't do much out there.

But really, if the rest of the team is doing their jobs, she's pretty much a cheer leader. Or on-field coach if you hear the things she shouts at her fellow players. And hey, if Elizabeth was doing her job we wouldn't need a goalie either, and she's out there every game doing a fabulous job.

I think Elizabeth would like to see a little more action, and some games she's pretty busy. We love to watch her play and we are very pleased with her work ethic and sportsmanship on the field. But, I'll be honest. Her schedule just sucks the life right outta me.

And then we have Williams schedule....

Lucky number 86. Lucky because he hasn't got hurt yet.

His practices started mid-September, twice a week. Not at the same place or same time as Elizabeth's of course.

He has a game EVERY SINGLE Sunday afternoon.

Yup. right in the middle of my nap.

And last week it ruined my Friday night when we had to watch him be introduced at the high school game half time show. In the rain.

I have no idea who thought letting him play this sport was a good idea, but I think we'll be having a strongly-worded conversation about it next year.

Honestly, he loves it.
Honestly, I have no idea how he's doing or what position he plays.
Shoot I have no idea how the game works at all. I go, I sit, I cheer when the other parents are cheering. I tell him he looks cute in his uniform.
I buy the popcorn.

I'll not bore you with how crazy hectic it is to get home from work, pack up the car, kids, toys, drinks, snacks to get to these events, but Jackson and Isabelle are always very excited to know the nights we get to stay home!

What have you been doing?

Room For Improvement

 I have a stack of new books next to my bed. These two are on the top:

And it begs the age-old question, 

Them or me?

After a really great run tonight, I think I'll choose them. 

I'm afraid it's mostly about me anyway. 

Our New Addition

Phanita

(Pah nee tah)

From Thailand.

 

Miss Phanita moved to our home on August 28th.  

 

 





She is a delightful young lady, and we all are enjoying getting to know her better.

It sure does feel good to have one more person at our table!

Eggs

I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I get our eggs delivered.

That's right. Delivered to my door. It's the nicest thing ever.

It's so much fun to open up the box and see what is inside.

These guys were bursting out of their "Extra Large" box.

And this week, we got a green one!

We love our neighbors! Thanks Jeff!

Sunday=Family Day



Sunday afternoon we headed into Fort Wayne to catch a Komet Hockey game. The Komets lost, but we had a great time anyway!

 

 

 

American, Dutch, Dutch, Austrian, American, German, German.

Logan, Marieke, Janneke, Jackline, Hayleigh, Shelly and Elena.

Isabelle and Elizabeth are back there too!

These two girls. Oh my. Personality overload. And William loves to harass them!

Poor sweet Janneke... I'm afraid we've shocked her pants off.

...and this is how Jackson spent the first two periods- at one point he woke up, looked around and pulled the hood over his face. Sweet boy has his daddy in him!

Me. Today.

I hate to say my life is busy because I know everyone's life is busy.

But man. I'm ready for a change up. One of the things I like about blogging getting all the junk out of my head.

So.

• I usually average 25 appointments a month for work- November and December are typically slow- my February, March and April already have 40+ appointments on the books. blech. It wouldn't be all bad except for all the paperwork that comes with it.

• Elizabeth has her last basketball game/s this week. *phew*. Just in time for track. Practice starts in two weeks. ~insert eye roll~

• Marieke signed me up for 'instagram' to say I love it would be a total understatement. You can follow me at: sarahanguilm.

• We had Steelhead for dinner tonight. Talapia last Thursday. Besides fish sticks (and I really don't think they count) it's the only two times I've made fish. The kids loved it, Ryan and Logan have had steak both nights.

• Logan introduced me to a very addicting game: "What's The Word" or "4 pictures, 1 word". ugh. drives me crazy.

• My face has been so dry with this crappy winter weather. I totally lubed up with Mary Kay's extra-emolleint night cream. I feel like a grease ball and my face itches. Any one else ready for summer?

• I started the laundry on Friday night. It's still not done on Tuesday night.

• Saturday, my friend Carol and I took our girls shopping. Five teenagers and Isabelle. Nine hours and a bubble bath later, I was wondering when my shopping stamina took a sharp dive.

• Ruby had nine puppies on February 1st. Yes, NINE. again.  They are so darn cute, and have grown so fast. I seriously think you could watch them grow.

• Ryan is recovering from his surgery very well. Thursday it will be one month- and we all will be happy that he can get back to his regular activities.

• I made my nieces dresses. Sewing for me is like reading. When I get started I don't want to stop. The trip to Joann Fabrics on Saturday didn't help. Probably why the laundry isn't done.

• Ryan and I went to dinner and a movie on Friday night. While we were eating dinner, a cute little girl came up to us carrying a box. She asked if we would like to buy some Girl Scout Cookies. Having a live-in Girl Scout of my own, I politley declined. Does that strike anyone else as innappropriate?

• I made the kids clean up their toys in the basement on Sunday. It looks fabulous. They have Thursday and Friday off of school this week. I sure hope they are ready to play down there because I need to clean up my stuff now.

• Marieke's best friend Janneke is coming in from Holland on Saturday. She'll be staying for a week. We are excited to have a peek into her other life. The day after she leaves, Marieke is going to California for week to see "my inner circle, my number one" (according to Marieke) I am so insainley jealous.

• Friday night at the movies, I loved all of the previews for up-coming movies. Any one ready for summer? oh, I said that already.

• A few of the blogs I read on a regular basis have completley inspired me. Flower Patch Farm Girl, Emily Clark, The Lettered Cottage. I want to hire an interior decorator. Have no idea how to go about that.

I'm good for tonight. Thanks for listening.

Take 2

Thought you would never get through that looooong post about Ryan's health?

This is a much shorter post about his leg.

He's having back surgery tomorrow to fix the bulging disc that is pinching a nerve.

After a doctors appointment this morning, he (the dr) decided to admit Ryan so they could do some blood work and manage his pain before the procedure.

Here's hoping for an efficient surgery and short pain-free recovery!

Flashback Friday #3b

Since Ryan was feeling a little puny last spring, a few of our favorite people came and helped him get his spring work done.

 

 

With three men over 50, we'll be telling the funny stories for years to come!

 

While the men were farming outside, Jackson was farming in the house!

We also celebrated Papa's 59th birthday!

Flashback Friday #3

Or: A very lengthy post about my husband. And his liver.

Last March I was helping Ryan and our fabulous new employee- Zach move these calves from the little "hutchers" to a larger group pen. Catching our breath after that intense work-out, I noticed that Ryan's color was a little off. Upon closer inspection, (peeling down his eyelids) it was confirmed.  He was yellow. Having seen very few grown men with jaundice, I told him that he needed to see the Doctor. Oddly, he agreed.

Fortunately, our Doctors office has after-hours- hours on Mondays. You know, because, Ryan had work to do. Unfortunately, Our Doctor was on a work vacation. We both were disappointed, because we love, love, love our Doctor, but I didn't think he should wait until the following week when she would be back.

Dr. Park was concerned with Ryan's symptoms, (fatigue, upset stomach, obvious elevated bilirubin) and wanted him to have some blood work done.

The results of the blood work on Tuesday prompted the Doctor to order an ultrasound of Ryan's liver, kidneys & gall bladder. Something was causing his liver to not function properly.

Ultrasound on Thursday, more blood work, and back to the Doctor on Friday.

The results of the ultrasound found no issues with his kidneys or gall bladder. Both seemed to be working fine. But, his liver was enlarged. His labs were negative for Hepatitis A, B and C. but his AST and ALT levels were 1200 and 1300. Normal range for AST is 5-40, and ALT is 7-60.

Since Ryan is not an IV drug user, alcoholic, or sexually promiscuous, The Doctor was a little stumped. When the blood work came back with such increased levels, Dr. Park had his nurse schedule an appointment for Ryan with a specialist. For the next Monday.

Dr. Park told Ryan not to miss the appointment with the specialist- it usually takes 2-3 months to get an appointment, not the next business day.

Upon visiting the GI specialist and answering lots more questions, scheduling more appointments and more blood work drawn, Dr. Jain thought Ryan may have Autoimmune Hepatitis. Ryan would need to have a liver biopsy first to confirm the diagnosis.

After hours of waiting- (we were early- go figure.) the procedure was finished and we were in the recovery room for a while. Orange Popsicles eased that waiting.

The results of the biopsy showed some cirrhosis, and the Autoimmune diagnosis was confirmed. Ryan was put on two different medications. Prednisone to quickly get the liver numbers under control, and a "maintenance" drug to maintain the liver function.

Within 4 months, he was off of his Prednisone, and just taking the maintenance medication. Liver labs were withing normal ranges and Ryan felt significantly better.

Flash forward: It took some time for Ryan to feel back to his "normal" self. He still tires easily (maybe because he's 40!) and a few weeks ago he was having some pain in his liver region. We've also noticed that he does not digest some things very well, and if he eats those things (pizza) he'll likely experience some pain.

This disease does not resolve itself, and we expect to deal with it for the rest of his life. We are very blessed that he is feeling better, and that there is medication he can take with very few side effects to keep the disease in check.

For those of you who knew all about this, we appreciate your kind concern and thoughtful prayers!

Beautiful Saturday & Logan's Birthday!

Saturday here in Indiana was a gorgeous day.

Simply beautiful for January!

So beautiful, Jackson and William decided to farm outside.



So gorgeous, Jackson and Isabelle decided to make some mud, and play in it.

So lovely, Jackson decided to take his shirt off.

So wonderful, Jackson decided to take his pants off and wash the hot wheel.

So nice, we took down the outside Christmas lights!

Saturday night we celebrated Logan's seventeenth! birthday with his mom, brother and best buddy from Ohio.

He requested: Straw hats, green bean casserole? and ice cream cake.

He's totally counting down the days until his next birthday!

Flashback Friday #2



February~

Looking back through my pictures, I wondered... 

 

 

Is that really all we did? I think the pork stuffed pastries are cute, but wow.

And then, I started looking through March, and realized in February my camera lense broke. ugh.

March did prove to be a little busier~

Jackson played in this cat carrier almost non-stop:

We saw Foreigner in concert again. (With friends this time!)


I painted a dresser I had picked up at a second hand store.

Navy blue of course. So navy, that in some light it would look black.
I had a hard time getting the blue as dark as I wanted, but after my friend Holly put black, black and more black in it, it came out perfect.

I have it in the dining room with all of my table linens in it.

I love the way it looks, especially with the upgraded brushed nickle knobs!

And yes, those photos were taken with the wrong type of lense. argh.


The kids helped Ryan clean a couple loads of corn.

William really didn't mind the dirty job-

Elizabeth, on the other hand.. not so much.

The kids pushed the corn to the back of the truck and through the door.

Ryan helped feed the corn in to the cleaning drum,

up the elevator and into the bin.

Very tiring, very dirty work, but worth it!

Dad and I took my nephew Wesley to the cemetery to see  Great Grandpa & Grandma's headstone.
(I have more photos in cemeteries than the normal person should. Confession time.)

This cute little girl was born. There is nothing better than a new baby. Nothing.

Ryan and I worked at clearing out a fence row. At the end of the day we had a huge fire to burn up the brush.

I started framing my favorite pieces of the kids art and created a gallery wall in the basement stairwell. I've added to it since, and have more things to frame. I love the way it is shaping up!

Isabelle was writing on EVERYTHING. Even the windows.

Jackson fell asleep.

He fell asleep dirty...

He fell asleep reading...

And snuggled up with his sister.

And that, was our February and March 2012.