HEALTH & Thanksgiving

Monday, September 12, 2011

Oh, my goodness, I'm SO, SO, SO thankful to be feeling better today! I haven't felt good since last Wednesday, and I HATE being sick! I would make a terrible JOB from the Bible! ha!

Thankfully, the LORD gave me enough strength Saturday to make a homemade pot of soup, and make my Nate some of his favorite pizza: chicken alfredo, his birthday dinner was postponed [as was Mary's]. But Saturday night I put in TONS of veggies [onions, celery, zucchini, broccoli, potatoes, summer squash] in my big Nesco roaster with all the chicken bones to simmer overnight. Well, yesterday, I felt WORSE than I had in the whole sickness! It was horrible! The sinus pressure was so bad that I just cried in pain [and this was after 4 IBprofen!] so my simmering had to go yet another night. Now I've taken all the veggies and pureed them and added them back into the chicken stock, and it's in the fridge so I can skim the fat and then can the broth.

I also was able to clean out the fridge, make bread, do homeschooling, and help make granola [Monday afternoons are our home economics time]. Do you know HOW AWESOME it feels to have a tad of energy back. My dh went to town yesterday and it completely wiped him out, so I'm hoping I didn't overdo today! But for sure, I'm not exercising until this stuff is further out of my lungs! My cough is HORRIBLE!

Mary went with Andrew and Daddy today to Duluth. I was planning on the trip, but dh didn't think it would be a good idea with my sickness. Andrew has ortho appt. and Mary is getting her baby mini blue rex bunny [show worthy] and is MORE THAN EXCITED!!!! We were so tickled to find a source in Superior WI that was WILLING to pick one up for her at a bunny show this weekend! God is SO good! She has been so grieving the loss of her cat, that this will hopefully fill a void in her little heart!



Well, that's all for now! Thank you EVER so much for the tremendous prayer support! I love you guys and have VERY MUCH missed sparking!

Huge hugs, Susan

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2011-2012 Class & Memorial

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Jonathan starting his Junior year


Daniel starting his Freshman year


Stephen starting 7th grade


Mary starting 3rd grade


Sammy starting Kindergarten

I have a GREAT class!!!!


Last night was a VERY special time for our family. Sad but also healing, as we buried Gussie.



Hope this isn't too much, but I just was so touched by Jonathan capturing Daniel's tenderness as he lay Gus to rest.



We will miss you, buddy!
1995-2011

Well, off for my 5 mile walk. JUST a beautiful day in Northern Wisconsin! Made some black bean soup and fresh whole grain bread for lunch!!!!! Mmmmmmm

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Saying Good-bye to our MUCH loved cat

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Good-bye Gussie Boy--we love you and THANK YOU for all the memories!

Our special guy came to live with us in 1995. He was a Manx cat with 6 toes! And he was HUGE! One time he weighed 18#'s.



I will NEVER forget my 4 little boys [5, 4, 3, 2] when they met their kitty for the first time. Immediately, there was a bond of love, and Gussie certainly took lots of loving 'abuse'! ha!

Here's an example of some the loving abuse! ha!


I remember the time that Nate TRACED him so he could draw the cat! My Nate [almost 20 now] had an insatiable hunger for tracing and drawing. All he did from the time he was 4 years old was TRACE! He just wanted tracing paper for his birthday! Now he is a talented artist, and to think it all started with tracing the cat!


Nate and Gussie were HUGE buds!

One time he was meowing and Mary meowed back and Gussie took his paw and swatted her!


It was SO cute when he took dirt bathes in the flower beds.





Sammy getting ready to drive his car over Gussie--Gus NEVER was bothered by anything the kids did to him [we taught them early on not to hurt the kitty].


And Gussie getting kisses:


When the kids would come out of the tub or shower, he would lick them dry! ha!

We loved watching him sun himself.





And BIG stretches after his sun bathing:


Saying good-bye to our friend:



WE LOVE YOU, GUSSIE--see you when we get to heaven.

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This and That--Sept. 5th

Monday, September 05, 2011

WOW, WOW, WOW THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for all the goodies, notes, and birthday blessings yesterday! You guys CONTINUE to amaze me EVERY day!!!!! Can't imagine not being a part of this community!!!!!!



Well, my heart is burst in TWO today!!!! Nicholas has left! It doesn't seem to get any easier for me when they leave! I just cried and hugged my almost 21 year old baby! You know they say the umbilical cord is never really cut--and that is SO true!



I'm SO proud of him! He is starting his Junior year at UWStout and this will be the first year living off campus with some friends. And this mama is trying my very hardest to make sure he is well fed!



He took 50#'s of brown rice, 25#'s of pinto beans, 25#'s of rolled oats, and 25# of Montana white wheat. His brother let him borrow his heavy duty Bosch mixer and his grain grinder, so he'll make his own buns/bread and cook beans and rice and oats to keep him well fed for the semester! And I bought 35#'s of all natural peanut butter at the Mennonite store recently and had most of it in the freezer in smaller containers--he took a 5# container of that, as well!




His youngest siblings saying good-bye:

Can you tell Sammy is a HAM for the camera! ha!


Gracie and Lady saying good-bye! Oh, and it was VERY sad when Nicholas said good-bye to our cat--they've been buds for almost 16 years!



Okay, you know I love you guys when I'm willing to share a photo with my hair messy and NO MAKEUP!!!! ha! But I was so blessed that my family wanted to make me a cake and sing Happy Birthday to me, that I'm willing to share! ha! My son insisted on taking my picture!



School starts tomorrow [I'll take a pic of my dwindling class!] so today I've made 14 loaves of bread, 10 quarts of yogurt, have given 4 haircuts and EVEN Gracie got trimmed and bathed! Putting the finishing touches on my lesson plans and then going for my 5 mile walk and doing strength training. Help me JESUS! I'm so dependent on His strength each and every moment!!!!

Have a GREAT Labor Day!!!!! {{{{love and hugs to all my dearest of friends}}}} Susan

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50 YEARS

Sunday, September 04, 2011

"I'm not 50, I'm 18 with 32 years experience." ha!

That sounds so old, but I probably feel better today, on my 50th birthday, than I have in 20 years! And I owe that to God's rich mercies in leading me to SparkPeople.com! If I wouldn't have lost this weight, I think I'd be SUPER depressed today!



Feeling philosophical today so I'll write down some of the things I'm pondering.

"A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind." James Allen



In this journey of life, I need to keep cultivating my 'mental' garden and not allow one minute of neglect, because it's SO easy to allow those weed seeds to fall and grow and choke out the life that we were meant to embrace and live. This journey requires us to never give up no matter how faint we might become. And the pity is not the fall, but the not getting back up and running the race!



I just watched Chariots of Fire the other night, and I was so impressed with Eric Liddell, even when he FELL, he got back up and ran with all his heart and soul and WON the race! He could have gotten discouraged and given up because HOW could he possibly catch up to the others! But He kept going, and not only overcame the adversity, but won the race!!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeYxH8VMeXw

"You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul. You experience elation when the winner breaks the tape - especially if you've got a bet on it. But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe you're dinner's burnt. Maybe you haven't got a job. So who am I to say, "Believe, have faith," in the face of life's realities? I would like to give you something more permanent, but I can only point the way. I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race. " Quote from the movie



And on a personal note, I just feel SO, SO blessed by my children today! Last night the house was a mess, even though we had a partial cleaning day on Friday, but with LOTS of kids sick, it just wasn't the same; well, I went to bed feeling kind of blue for two reasons--getting up to a house that needed my attention, and TURNING 50! I told one of the boys I would probably cry myself to sleep! ha! Such a pity party! Anyway, I woke up to an immaculate house! I couldn't believe it! Then breakfast burritos [and Mary cooked me LOADS of veggies for mine--I love her desire for good health!], homemade coffee cake [that I had 3 small bites of--my oldest son made this and did a great job!], and fried potatoes [again I had a taste]. I had 381 calories and 21 grams of fat! Then all the cards! And my 5th son is making me a 'steak dinner' with homemade pound cake w/strawberries and whipped cream and homemade french bread! I feel VERY loved and extremely blessed!



Thanking God for these 50 years! Oh, I ESPECIALLY want to thank Him for my SPARKPEOPLE friends! You guys are a GIFT to me EVERY single day!!!!! I even got a CRUISE today! How amazing is that?????




All my love, Susan

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