Reasons to be Thankful

Some of my favorite shots from this past week...

 Althea Grey!

Loving Cousins

Favorite Uncles

Not Quite Normal Family

Gorgeous GG and Grace

What did I say about not quite normal?

 

Granny, Grace, and Althea

 

Stephen (Tommy) as Judas in "The Jewish Wedding. On campus at CFNI tomorrow.

My Mom, Me, five of my seven kids, eight of ten grandkids Thanksgiving 2014

 Dramamine

 

 

Little Peach!

At the moment I have no way to get the pictures off either my camera or Becky's... so it will be a bit before photos are forthcoming.
(Oh, perhaps that sentence belonged later in this post)
Monday, Paula had an appointment with the midwife. I got to go along. It appeared little Peaches could either come soon... or keep us waiting into December. The Braxton-Hicks contractions were sporadic... but doing their job.
After supper, we left Ben and Paula to their evening, and headed out to Becky's where we have been sleeping in her in-laws camper. Meanwhile, Paula went to bed. She woke about midnight for a drink, and shortly after going back to bed, was awakened with WOW! contractions. They were strong and insistent... so she wasted no time in waking Ben and calling those who were to attend the birth.
Baby made its debut a few moments before 4 am!


Oh, keeping you waiting am I? OK... 6 lbs. 8 oz. 19.5 inches tall. Looks very much like the Schroeder clan. Light brown hair with red highlights.


Peaches is a girl!
She was named Althea Grey Coder. Althea means "healing"... very appropriate.

Off the Grid?...

Tomorrow afternoon, I pick up Connor and Alana. We head to Texas for an entire week, wherein we shall partake of at least TWO enormous Thanksgiving get togethers, back to back. Extended family and friends, lots of food. and hopefully, we will have a new baby by then.
So far, Peaches hasn't put in an appearance.
Dan and Sam have to work all week, so we get to leave Jaffa behind with them.
This dog is so funny. He loves to burrow, and just can't sleep without a blanket. Since the colder weather has set in, we have needed to be extra diligent in making sure all the clean laundry gets put away, or we find our clean garments have been borrowed. Or burrowed. Or both.
This morning when Mr C got up, Jaffa was in a pickle. He had burrowed into one of Sam's clean long sleeved dress shirts that had been left across the back of the couch. He had wriggled his head deep into the sleeve, and couldn't get backed out. He was wandering around looking like some bizarre mutated anteater, bumping into furniture as he tried to give Tom his morning greeting. He had to give up any appearances of innocence regarding his venture into the clean clothes.
Still no call backs from Staffmark. :(
I had big ideas about dragging out the sewing machine and catching up on some projects. I dragged out the machine. And three totes of fabric and craft supplies. And swept the corner where they were stored. Rearranged items stored in the area. Did laundry. Dug through the totes.... and put it all back without sewing a stitch. The laundry room does look better. :)
With all the guys gone to work, I decided on baking something. But then decided not to do that either. I settled for a big batch of caramel corn... I don't know where my motivation has gone lately.

Anyway, I don't know if I will get a chance to blog anything about little Peaches arrival until we return home. I am hoping to take the laptop and will update if I can!
 Be blessed!

Good Morning, all!

I am still not back to work after my Ohio adventure. And by the end of next week, we should be on the road to our Texas fall adventure. (Again, leaving the Individuals at home...)
So far Baby Peaches  hasn't arrived. It is still a few days until the actual due date, and Jasher went beyond his! Dakota turned THREE yesterday... so looks like she isn't sharing her birthday.

Everyone here is in good health.
This past weekend, I was surprised and blessed to hear from Tom's mom's cousin Joan! I mentioned her book in my post regarding our Ohio trip. She was so much fun to talk to, a completely amazing person. I learned a few things about modern publishing that I absolutely did not know. I always imagined that places like Amazon have big warehouses full of books just waiting to be purchased. They don't!
Like Shutterfly (You all know how much I  LOVE  Shutterfly!), books are stored on disks- or maybe even in computer memory- and then printed when you order it! Whoa! That's pretty awesome. (I am sure some of the big authors who write best sellers DO have their books printed and stocked and ready to go out... but for the small time writer- it's nice to know we still have a chance to be read.)
Dan and Sam are on a countdown to the Appalachian Trail hike. Meanwhile, their Ouchita (Wash it aw) Trail hike looms closer- they are working on menu plans for that. Since there is no viable resupply point along that trail- especially in the winter- they are faced with carrying ALL the food they will need for their 16 day journey.
Sam got a refurbished tablet that arrived yesterday. It has been fun playing with it today while he and Daniel are at work!

Today I have a pot of chili cooking in the crockpot. Yesterday, I cooked up a pot of pinto beans- they are in the chili now! A warm, welcome meal to the BRRRRRR weather we are having. When I was talking to Becky earlier, it was 22* here! (Becky got an 8 point buck last night! Remember back three years and a couple of days ago, she got a deer? Then had Dakota the next day.) Too bad I don't have any venison for the chili... but it should taste like summer- with jars of home canned tomatoes and jalapeños in it.

I suppose I'd best get back to working on the house- not sitting at the computer all day.
Be blessed!

The ChangingTapestry

About five years ago, I wrote about how our lives are like a tapestry. Along with those we love, our lives intertwine to make the design we leave behind us.  People are added and new designs are formed. Weddings, births, new friends... all add to the richness of our life tapestry.

Threads break- the loose ends left behind to be woven in to the picture to keep it complete. Holes may be formed in our life tapestry, as in one woven of real thread. The ones formed in cloth may be knotted off. The holes formed in our lives, they are eventually closed up as family and friends move closer to fill the void. I know sometimes the hole remains, it becomes part of the design.

In the time since I last wrote about my life tapestry, so much has happened. Chris going to prison seemed a discordant thread- a blotch, if you will. God has used his time there to change him in many ways. It is no longer a blotch, but is becoming in itself part of the masterpiece of our tapestry. His wife filed for divorce just a few weeks ago. She was ready to knot the threads that bound our tapestries to one another. I know it was hard for her- it was a decision five years in coming. Her pattern stays in our lives- to try to eradicate even a single thread from the woven pattern is futile.
Bill Joe passed on. Roger. Granny. My friend since grade school, Robin. Grandbaby Ellie. The past couple years would be such a painful part to look back on that I would think perhaps, after all, a section of the tapestry should just be removed... But I see that would take away the good parts as well.

Paula became part of our family. Jasher, Grace, and any day now, "Peaches" will join us. In the glaringly painful endings, there were the beautiful beginnings as well.

Yesterday, Bill Joe's wife remarried. I am glad she is happy. I hope that she and the husband will prove to be good parents for granddaughter Nickole.
I am grateful that Jennifer continues to stay interwoven into our family, making sure we have opportunities to see and visit our grandkids.

Thank you for reading.