Meager Christmas; or is it?

Well, like everyone else, money is tight this year, so hmmmm… what am I going to do about Christmas presents? 

Fortunately in our families, we only buy for “the little ones” so that helps make things a little less straining on the ol’ bank account, but there are 8 kids all together, so still a little stressful sometimes.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE getting things for the kids, but sometimes it can get to be overwhelming.  This year it was proving to be even harder with money tighter than usual. 

PINTEREST.com to the rescue!  Yep, I MADE all the gifts this year.  And though I started out thinking how meager and pitiful it was going to be (and praying all the nieces & nephews forgave me), they turned out quite well if I do say so myself.  Here’s a peek at what I made, but shhhh… don’t tell the kids who haven’t gotten theirs yet (it’s Christmas eve as I type).

 

I started with calming jars for all the kids over the age of five. 

I found these adorable light-bulb shaped jars at Hobby Lobby and just HAD to find something to do with them!  Calming jars are really cool!  They’re basically jars (of any sort) filled with water, glitter and clear glue or glitter glue (food coloring optional).  The idea is when you’re upset, you shake it up and watch everything settle (and don’t respond until all has settled).  I made them for the kids, but probably need one for myself (I keep wondering when my kids are going to offer theirs to me—I made some for them back in the summer out of jelly jars).

 

Next I made themed wooden letters (first letter of their name) for the older nieces and nephews.  Of course I tried to personalize them with things I knew each child was interested in.  No, I didn’t intend to spell the word “sobs”, but hoping that’s not the sound they all make when they open their gifts!

I also made wooden inspirational blocks for each child according to their interests (designed each one on my computer after “stealing” the wording from the internet).

Next up came the “material presents”. 

First, scarves for the girls (Jonah was my model for the picture) and hand warmers for the boys.  Fortunately, both nieces like camouflage, so that made it easier (and cheaper) to just buy one material for all.

I made this Batman cape and mask for Jonah (he is going to be so thrilled!).  I’m not a huge super-hero fan and generally don’t allow such things around here, but yep, I caved!  On the up-side, the only Batman show they’ve ever seen is the original (I guess it’s the original) from back in the 60’s that plays on ME-TV and Jonah just LOVES Batman now.  I don’t think they have a clue what the modern Batman is like.

I also gave each niece (and my mom) a container of Peppermint Lip Balm I made from genuine shea butter amongst other things.  Then I made Lemon Sugar Hand Scrub for the kids’ Sunday school teachers, p.e. coach, speech teacher and my mom.

For Levi, I made this baseball shadow box and, with the help of my dad, these baseball bookends.

Here’s a look at the assembled gifts for the older nieces & nephews.

Last, but not least, with lots of help from my dad (he made the frames) I made these cute pup-tents for the younger nephews (and Jonah).  Jonah is pictured “modeling” the tent here, but I have to tell you the story behind (or should I say after?) this picture.

I realized there was no way to “hide” these tents from him since we’d be giving one to the nephews before Christmas day so Jonah would see them then.  So, after getting it put together, I just left it in the living room for the boys to see when they came home from hunting.  Jonah came in and got all excited about it until he realized it was not for him.  When I said that these were for Cayden & Aaron, Jonah added, “And maybe I’ll get one too!” To which I responded, “Why would you get one?” (with much seriousness).

The boys went on to take a shower and shortly Levi came out of the bathroom saying that Jonah was not coming out of the tub because (in Jonah’s words) “no one loved him or even liked him”.  Levi said, “I told him you and Dad loved him, but he just said no they don’t because no one is getting me anything.” –OH did I fail to mention that I’d told the boys weeks ago that we may not buy them anything due to money?  They were perfectly okay with that until now ;)

Isn’t Jonah going to be surprised when he gets up Christmas morning to see HIS pup-tent in the living room (with the garnet sheet he picked out thinking it was for his bed I’m sure)?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  And please don’t forget the real reason for the season.

Home Made

We still haven't gotten Levi's bites/eczema under control completely

 but I sure am feeling like Suzy-home-maker while trying! 

 

I started with making a lotion "bar" (and chap stick).

 

Then I made him some soap.

He said it was a little "weird" (with the oatmeal in it), but I think we've all grown to love it!  --Except Jonah, that is, who says he can't stand to look at it because it looks like "throw-up".

 

 

Next, I moved on to making cream/ointment (not sure what to call it).

 

I've made a few different batches of this stuff (trying to figure out the best approach).  I think I like this one the best, and yea, you guessed it... it's one I just threw stuff in and so I don't remember exactly what and how much!  No worries, I'll have fun experimenting all over again when I get my real/pure Shea butter!

 

As so often is the case when I get on a roll.... I just kept rolling!

I made laundry soap...

 

Another lotion bar (or ointment or cream or whatever you want to call it) in a deodorant container (because Levi hates to get the creams and lotions on his hands).

 

and hand soap & dish soap (these are mostly for me!)

 

I'm quite enjoying myself and can't wait to decide what to make next!

FYI: nieces & nephews may be getting home-made stuff for Christmas this year ($$ is tight around here), so be warned (and feel free to chime in with suggestions)!

 





Our Little Writer

Jonah has always had a great imagination (unlike anyone else in this family).  He has always told us great stories (whether we wanted to hear them or not).  About a week ago he "wrote" this story and I'm just so impressed I want to share.  I even had to assure Jake that I had NOT directed him or corrected him at all (which should've been obvious by the time he got to the "scarder and scarder" line).  I simply wrote down, word-for-word, what Jonah dictated after he drew the pictures (he drew the pictures, brought the paper to me and while looking at each page, told me what to write).

 

 

Like his great art work of the fire truck, he may never write anything this great again, but I'm still impressed with this writing (since he's only 6-years-old).

Catching Up

Wow!  October is almost over.  I'd always heard about how fast time goes as you get older... I totally believe it now!  Lots of catching up to do here, but I'll try to make it quick ;).

It doesn't happen often, but I've recently gotten out the ol' sewing machine.  Jonah is so pleased with his Wild Kratts outfits (I made him two since I anticipate him wearing them often). 

 

 

And after 6 years of Levi having his own "special covers" (that I made before he was even 2 years old, I think)...

 

 

Jonah has finally requested "special covers" for himself. ---That couldn't have anything to do with the fact that Levi is majorly attached to his (the covers above, on the right) and makes a big deal about not wanting anyone to touch them and now the two boys are actually in the same bed and Jonah gets fussed at if he touches them!!  (For those who don't know, Levi has always slept on the floor under the bed and now he's IN the bed.  YES, I said UNDER the bed (the boys have a big captain's bed that is high off the floor and Levi has always slept underneath and never in the bed with Jonah, but has now been in the bed with Jonah for a month or two maybe).  ANYWAY... now Jonah has his own special covers to love and cuddle with.

Two happy boys!  And they're even happier when they think about the fact that when the carport is closed in they'll each have their own room!  I'm so excited to be getting a new room myself (with a WALK-IN CLOSET)!  And maybe just as excited to be getting a school room (which is what our bedroom now will be)!  I know we're way behind the times, but that's okay.  We're happy and we knew when we decided for me to stay home and homeschool the boys that there would be sacrifices to make.  We're okay with that :).  God has given us way more than we deserve already!

In other news... I know Jonah is the one you're used to hearing about with ailments (and make no mistake, he's always got bites that are on the verge of infection because he won't leave them alone), but this time it's Levi.  He has bites that he's scratched and now they look horrible (similar to the last one that the doc said was staff).  But we took him to the doctor on Friday and he said he saw no sign of infection.  My self-diagnosis was apparently right again... eczema (which I thought he had outgrown years ago).  The doctor said it looked like they began as some sort of bite (probably mosquito) with eczema being a factor (or however he said it).  I'm getting pretty good at diagnosing things around here.  It just sometimes takes me a week or so to figure it out.

(trust me, this picture not only doesn't show all of them, but doesn't even come CLOSE to showing how red and nasty they look.)  And, yes, even after 5 days of treating with prescription ointment, they still look just as bad as when we began.

On the school-front, we've just finished up our second six weeks, took a week off, and are excited about the fact that we will finish the first semester before hunting season (we always take all of hunting season off since Levi goes hunting with Jake every day--and Jonah goes many days).  Both boys are doing very well in school (even though I just discovered that I had Levi doing more work than he was "supposed" to--Science was to be part of a semester and Health the other part and then History was to be second semester.  We're almost done with all three!  Won't he be excited next semester to learn 3 subjects are completely done?!)  Shhhhh.... don't tell him!

We're all excited about this cool, crisp air, and the anticipation of finishing up our first semester and taking a long, deserved break!  I hope your life is as blessed as ours.  I'll leave you with another one of Jonah's wise moments.

We were getting ready to put Jonah to bed when he said he wanted to preach.  And, while I love that he loves the Lord and knows His Word, I felt that it was just a tactic to stay up later so I told him, "That's great that you want to preach, but right now it's bedtime."
He answered with, "What's more important... sleep or preaching?"
I told him that preaching was very important and I hope he will continue to do that, but that right now there's no one here that really needs him to preach to them, so sleep is more important.  Without a moment's hesitation Jonah said, "Umm... L, E, V, I." (he spelled Levi's name).
He is still concerned that his brother has not asked Jesus into his.  He's a sweet and thoughtful kid and we are blessed to call him our own.





Jonah's Deep Thinking and A Thorn in My Side

Jonah’s Deep Thinking (9/06/12)

The latest from our sweet Jonah…  with tears in his eyes and having a very hard time holding it together he says, “I hope me and Daddy are the same age when we die,” (i.e.- die at the same time), “because I love him too much to be away from him for long.”   Then he lost it and climbed in my lap to cry.  He is so deep, so sweet, and so amazing!  Love that kid!

After that he told us that he’d been praying earlier in the day for God to help him to be better (not hit his brother when his brother hits him, etc.) and wanted to know when he’d be changed/different.  Faith of a child! J

He also talked about “if” he gets older (what’s with the IF?—a little scary for a parent when it’s coming from a kid who seems to be so in tune with God) and if he plays baseball for the Wakulla War Eagles, he hopes God protects him from getting hurt.  I think he was thinking about Jeffery Barnes though I don’t know why because we had not been talking about him or baseball or the War Eagles or anything.  (Jeffery is a great Christian teenager who goes to our church and plays baseball for WHS.  My boys, especially Jonah, really look up to him).

A Thorn in My Side (9/06/12)

Okay, so it wasn’t a thorn (it was a splinter) and it wasn’t in my side (it was in Jonah’s foot).

Jonah obtained some pretty bad splinters from a dock at Mrs. Joyce’s house on Sunday, August 11^th.  Mike picked out as much as he could shortly after it happened, but they were pretty deep.  Jake proceeded to pick out some more when he got home from work that night, but as luck would have it, Jonah had an appointment at Shands Hospital the next day, so Jake left what he couldn’t get in hopes of Dr. Weinstein being able to get them (which he did—or so we thought).  Guess he didn’t get them all because earlier today I noticed a black spot on the bottom of Jonah’s foot so when Jake got home he “operated” on it and this is what came out!

Can you believe this has been in there for almost a month with absolutely no complaints from Jonah?!  That’s our tough little man (he didn’t even know it was there)!

School Days

“Oh my phalanges!  My phalanges!”

That was the cry that came from my third grader’s mouth after accidentally grabbing a bee while working in the bee yard with Jake.  That kid is something else.

It seems like it’s been ages since I last blogged.  As I type, we are finishing up week six of our homeschooling.  Wow!  I can’t believe we’ve already completed SIX WEEKS!  And, lest you think it’s been an easy six weeks, let me quickly correct you!

 

Jonah’s working hard to improve his reading while at the same time steadily improving his math skills that were already pretty good.  He also started back to his speech class at Medart Elementary this week.  I can’t believe he’s in first grade now!

Levi’s learning division, capitalization and punctuation (okay, so that’s more review), American history (more detailed from what he learned last year), classes of animals and some of our body’s bones and muscles.  Yes, I said BONES and muscles----my third grader!  Well, we’ve only covered a couple of muscles so far, but he’s pretty versed on the main bones of the body now.

I don’t think we learned this stuff until tenth grade when I was in school!  But my third grader can fairly easily tell you where his skull, scapula, clavicle, sternum, pelvis, patella, phalanges, femur, humorous and several other bones of his body are.  And we know he’s truly learning them because in addition to the phalanges statement, on another day shortly after that, he came home pointing to his chest and telling me that he’d gotten stung in the sternum.  I think he’s having fun with it now despite the rough start.

Levi’s also attending P.E. at Medart Elementary on the days Jonah goes to speech (as he did last year).  And, let’s not forget gymnastics.  Yep, both boys are now enrolled and loving every minute of it!  On top of all that, AWANA has started back so they’re also steadily memorizing Bible verses on a daily basis.  We’ve even had brief geography lessons as some friends of ours moved to Alaska and we tracked them there and learned a few facts along the way.

But lest I make it sound like peaches and cream, I’ll confess that there was some head butting and fussing and pouting and ugly attitudes when we first began----- but I’ve repented of all that now and am trying to have a better attitude.J

I almost forgot to include that Jonah had his annual appointment with Dr. Weinstein at Shands earlier this month and got a great report.  We did find out that some bacteria love cornstarch (Jonah’s medicine that he has to take daily) so that explains many of the problems we’ve had and that there’s not a lot we can do about it (other than probiotics which I’d already started him on).  But, all-in-all he got a great report and we’re very glad about that.

Another day, another antibiotic

Seriously?! 
Another infection? 
More antibiotics?
The saga never ends, does it? 
Are you tired of hearing about it yet?  We're a bit tired of dealing with it!
Yep, you guessed it... Jonah again.  Though it's not impetigo this time (not that I know of!).

We were in "town" for Jake's doctor appointment (more shots for his back/leg) and for Jonah's routine blood work for Shands.  After those two things, lunch, new tires for the van and a little mall shopping for Levi who has gotten too tall for most of his pants, we headed over to Sam's Club.  As we were getting out of the van, Jake noticed the lump on the back of Jonah's neck.  It's been there for a long time (months at least), but it was noticeably bigger today.  Enough so that Jake advised we call the doctor right then (which we did and they got him in within 30 minutes.  We so love the boys' doctor's office!). 
The nurse takes his temperature and says it's 99.5 (we had no idea he had a fever) and when she started asking us how long he'd been complaining about the lump we had to tell her (as usual), "He hasn't!" He hardly ever complains of anything.  Jake pushed on the lump at 3:00 to ask him if it hurt and he then said it did, but this was now 3:30 and we're sitting in the doctor's office... so how long has he been "complaining about it"? 
About 30 minutes. 
That is if you count his "Yes" answer to "Does this hurt?" as complaining.

The lymph node in his neck is swollen a good big indicating infection (the doc is not sure if the lymph node itself is infected or if it's reacting to another infection). 
So, here we go again... another 10 days of antibiotics :(
But, at least he's still happy and not complaining (other than the leg that he has said hurts ever since we left Walmart---not sure if he bruised it on something or what).
Another day in our already stressful lives... but, as always, God is good and is in control and taking care of us all.  This too shall pass.

P.S.-  I know I've already said that Jonah doesn't complain and he's tough as nails, but can I just brag a bit in that area about him?  For his blood work they had to stick him in both arms (couldn't get enough blood out of the first vein) and he never even flinched (as usual).  And just a minute ago, Jake pulled his loose tooth with no opposition in the slightest.  THAT'S our Jonah!

The Darndest Things

I know you've all heard it, "Kids say the darndest things." And I'd venture a guess that you're in complete agreement with that statement, but in case you're not, let me share a few of Jonah's "darndest things" as of late.

After a full day of Sunday school, church, lunch at Grandma's with cousins, and church again, Jonah and I were sitting at the kitchen table getting ready for bed (corn-starch, meds, etc.---normal nightly routine). While sitting there, Jonah was sharing things about his day with me (don't you just love when your kids do that!). This is how part of that “conversation” went (I say conversation with quotes because it was really more of a monolog than a dialog as is often the case when Jonah is sharing things).

JONAH: (talking about Olivia & Levi playing Temple Run on Olivia’s ipod while at Grandma’s) They never let me play! 
(with even more expression) They don’t think I know how to play! 
(with even more totally exasperated expression)   How am I ever going to get better if they don’t let me play? 
(at this point, he’s getting pure emotional about the seriousness of this situation)  When I get older, my son may save up his money and buy an ipod.  He might download the game Temple Run and I’m not even going to know how to play it.  (his voice is almost quivering and he’s practically in tears over his pain of this situation)
PAUSE (now with calmness returned to his voice in a very matter-of-fact way he says)  Might happen, might not.


And kids DO the darndest thing as well.  Jonah had gotten himself dressed for church yesterday and was in the living room waiting for us.  Jake walked into the living room and looked at him and said, “I think you might need to go look in the mirror, Son.”  So, Jonah walks to the mirror, looks at himself and says (in all seriousness), “What?”

So, let me ask you, do you see anything wrong here?

How about now... does the back view help?

And if that wasn’t bad enough, he got himself dressed again after lunch (same clothes) and came out this time with the shirt backwards AND inside-out!  How can you not know something is wrong when it’s not winter and you’re wearing a turtle neck?!

Okay, so one last thing… this time it’s one of Jonah’s deep thoughts that he amazes us with on a regular basis.

The other night while getting ready for bed, Jonah says to Jake, “Dad, you know what happens when Jesus comes into your heart?”

Jake, “What?”

Jonah, “Your heart stops beating just for a second.   Jesus comes in and it beats real loud!”

He continues, “He stands outside knocking and you need to let Him in because He won’t always knock.  Someday He’ll put up a wall where you can’t get to Him.  So when He’s knocking you need to let Him in.”

And that, Folks, pretty much sums it up! J  From the mouth of babes…

There’s no place like home (if you like barns)!

Calamine, Tea Tree and Bleach… oh my!

Have you ever smelled Tea Tree Oil?  It’s a bit strange (though Jake likes the smell, but we all know he’s a bit strange anyway).  When I was young, our family had horses and it seems this stuff reminds me of something we used with the horses, though I can’t put my finger on just what it was… Caron, you know???  Anyway, the age-old question, “Were you raised in a barn?” might seem a bit suited for our house right now because it seems it smells more like a stall than a house, but we’re praying this does the trick!!

Okay, so I’m sure you’re all tired of hearing about our “burdens” here on the honey farm but yep, we’re at it again.  Trying to clear up Jonah’s impetigo (at least I assume that’s what it is again).  Maybe the third time’s the charm ;)—and, no I am not superstitious at all!

As most of you know, I hate medicines and antibiotics and all such nonsense and try to avoid them as much as possible (which is why I don’t go or take the kids to the doctor any more than I do).  I’m a firm believer that if we never allow our bodies to fight off things, they’ll never learn.  I do NOT want to weaken any of our immune systems (Jonah’s seems to be weak enough already) and we all have a high pain tolerance in this house, so we tend to “tough it out” with most things around here.  But this one is about to get the best of us!

Also as most of you know, Jonah’s already been prescribed an antibiotic ointment (for the first round of impetigo) and an oral antibiotic later (for the second outbreak which was Bullous Impetigo).  Now, I’m trying the ever-present internet for advice before heading to the doctor again!

Jonah’s doctor already recommended a cap full of bleach in his bath water a couple of times a week, so I do that when I can, but I’ve now read that Tea Tree Oil helps to heal it; so that’s what I’m trying now (in addition to the bleach baths, Calamine and antibiotic ointment!).  Thank you, Walmart for carrying the Tea Tree Oil (I’m not a fan of visiting specialized stores).  I am also using a mixture of water and vinegar for down in his ear because I suspect the impetigo is down in there, too!!  Bless his heart (sniff, sniff).

The washer is running much more often than usual now (washing his towels, bedding and pajamas after every use), the tub is getting a workout (bathing Jonah 2-3 times a day when we’re home), and the strange Tea Tree Oil smell fills the house while the ever present “STOP SCRATCHING, JONAH!” can be heard all day most every day.  Pray with us that we’ll get this thing licked and get back to normal (whatever that is).

To Begin With...

I should've shared this link when I first started this blog.  It will give more background on our lives after becoming parents :)      http://leviandjonahanderson.shutterfly.com/

Independence Day

So, this year, we are not only celebrating the country’s independence, we are also anxiously awaiting independence from the ever-present impetigo we’ve been dealing with for weeks now.  Jonah’s first break out on his hip (see last post) was about cleared up,


June 21



June 18

June 29



when we started seeing these nasty sores everywhere.

Ear

Finger

Legs

Hip

Back & Neck

Head (even way above ear)

Side

Doctor said these are Bullous Impetigo.  Jonah’s on oral antibiotics now (AGAIN!).  We were trying to avoid the antibiotics (treated with prescription antibiotic ointment before), but it can’t be helped.  We’re just trusting God that with all the antibiotics Jonah’s had throughout his short six years, that he doesn’t grow immune to them.  And, as always, Jonah’s not complaining.  He is and always has been quite a trooper!

And now, on to what I “promised” in my last post—a clip of the “swimming hole” here at the house that Jake has cleared out around.  While the rains from Tropical Storm Debby have caused havoc on much of our county (and I’m so sad about the loss so many have endured), it did wonders for this swimming hole.  It has already gone down since these pictures/video, but this was it shortly after the rains and the boys are so enjoying it.  Oh, the joys of country living J