Hanging Around

Is it just me,or is playing with playdough not quite the calm, relaxing activity I thought it would be?

Sock Bunnies

Another result of Heidi's never-ending quest to do something new, these little friends were whipped out in about 20 minutes apiece last night. She helped me stuff, choose buttons for eyes and showed me where the nose and mouth went. Oh, and, "don't portet the whipskas!" (don't forget the whiskers). And the best part? They're made out of old socks, so there's automatically two!

They're being well loved already.

Running with Heidi

Yesterday I took my daughters to the city all by myself. This was the first time I had driven there on my own, and I'm pleased to report that it went rather well. It seems silly that I have lived here for almost six years now and my maiden voyage to the city happened yesterday, but I had some physical problems that put a halt to my driving for a few years, and it's taken some time to regain confidence on the road.
It was something else that happened yesterday that made me realize just what a huge step this was. Heidi and I were walking on the sidewalk, pushing Hannah in the stroller, when Heidi asked if she could run. I said yes and we ran and laughed together, Heidi telling me "I love to run, Mama, it's my favorite way to go!" I don't know why it hit me at that moment, I've run with her before, but suddenly I realized I was running.
I was RUNNING!
You see, I spent nearly six years of my life using a wheelchair to get around practically everywhere but at home. I had extreme pain in my legs that increased with walking or standing. I spent a couple of years going to doctors and enduring what my mom calls "modern tourture chambers" (otherwise known as tests and procedures) all to discover that I had dysautonomic neuropathy. Which is a difficult way to spell "my-body-wasn't-doing-the-things-it-should-on-its-own-properly-and-this-was-somehow-related-to-my-nerve-endings-causing-me-pain". Which is a difficult way to say, "We have no idea what's wrong".
Not knowing what was causing the pain meant not knowing what would eventually happen with it. I was told, "It could stay the same for the rest of your life. It might get better and you could even be symptom free some day. Or, it could get worse." I thought, "Wow! It's a good thing you neurologists go to school for so many years, I never could have made that prognosis on my own!" But I said thank you and let them feel like they had helped me.
That season of pain was also one of growth for me. God certainly used it for good, and while I don't look back at it with pleasure, I do look at it with gratitude. Without it, I would not have learned many valuble lessons, nor have the same level of trust in my Lord. That said, I am pleased to report that He has chosen to heal me. It was a gradual process, one that seemed to start a couple of years after Karl and I got married, and to tell the truth, is still continuing. I last used the wheelchair when Heidi was an infant, and though I go through periods of pain, am so happy that for the most part I am able to keep up with my little ones. That had been one of my biggest fears, what would happen when I had children? Would I be able to care for them? Play with them? God took care of those things for me. I never should have worried. I know He is sufficient. Even had He not healed me He would have provided all I needed. To Him be the glory!
My Heidi asked me to run with her, and I did.

Growing in the Greenhouse

I moved the seedlings to the greenhouse today. That may not sound like much, but around here, it's cause for celebration! I started planting last Saturday, and since then my home has been invaded by trays of dirt on the counters and various other high places about the house. High places because I once made the mistake of putting a freshly planted tray on the floor while I searched for another location for it. It lasted approximately 47 seconds before it was recognized as highly desirable snack food and duly consumed.
The seeds needed to be started inside because after our flood it looked more like we had a covered pond/mud pit than a greenhouse. Karl's been working hard before "going to work" all week to pump out the water and raise the floor about 10 inches with rocks and sand. Now that it is possible to walk inside without sinking to your knees in mire, he moved the tables in. All that was left for me to do was move the trays out, and that I gladly did! I'm baking more dirt today, and now that there's a little more elbow room, I'm hoping to get some more seeds started. Maybe next year we'll be able to plant out there from the beginning!

Anniversary

Today marks six years since the day I walked through a flowery arch, held aloft by my friends, and pledged my life to the man who had captured my heart. Six years since I went from that simple to write and pronounce name of "Root" to the rather complicated "Wagenhoffer" (who doesn't cock their head to the side and ask me to "spell that please" when I say it?!) Six years since I had my first kiss (yes, we waited for our wedding day for that, and are so thankful we did! But then, being two thousand miles apart for the majority of our six month engagement did make that goal a bit easier to attain). Six years of loving and being loved by my very own Mr. Wonderful. I so often don't feel worthy of his love, and yet, he continues to give it. I am so very thankful for these six years we've had together, and pray that God continues to draw us closer together in the time that He has ahead of us.
Thankyou Lord for my wonderful husband!
Thankyou Karl for loving me!
I love you so very much!

Dirt in My Oven

Lest you think the blog title is a farce... today, I really do have dirt in my oven. It's time for spring planting around here and I'm working on getting the potting soil ready. It doesn't smell so great, but that's okay. I'll make brownies when I'm done and take care of that problem (maybe everyone else will think it's still dirt and let me eat them all by myself). Heidi's having a great time playing in the dirt and helping me fill my dishes. She really thinks it's funny that Mama's baking dirt!

On a completely different note, Karl came home from town this morning with some beautiful roses as a surprise for our aniversary tomorrow. He had taken Heidi with him, and allowed her to pick a flower for Mama all by herself. What a delight!

Blessed

It's been a full day. A very. full. day. Hannah's sick, Heidi didn't nap. To say the least, my hands are full. And then I think, how blessed am I! My hands are full, not empty.

Stuck in the Muck - Daddy Style

Our driveway just keeps getting better and better.
This is the time of year we are reminded that, yes, 4-wheel drive was a neccessity when shopping for a vehicle. These pictures were taken on two seperate occasions. Now, Karl thinks we'll probably be parking the truck a bit farther away and walking to the house. And yes, I did wear rubber boots to church yesterday.

My Little Flowers

With Grandma and Great Grandma

Easter Eggs

Please ignore the mess. I had to make a choice and it wasn't too hard to pick between having fun with my Heidi and cleaning the kitchen. What a time we had together! I had a tough time keeping up with her and have a new-found appriciation for my mom's willingness to do this with five of us.

And Hannah? She had fun too.

Life on an Island

For a couple of hours yesterday I lived in an island home. Thankfully, it remained an island. The ice was working its way out, and got stuck a bit on the way, causing a fair amount of flooding. First, it was lodged above our house, causing flooding for our little town. Then, it broke loose and piled up below our home, causing flooding for us. In fact, the river rose about 2 feet in 15 minutes by our house at that point. We brought in sandbags, just in case it continued to rise, but thankfully, the ice broke, and the water left as quickly as it had come.
Hannah added to all this excitement by finding our just-started seeds and helping herself to a good handful of them- plus potting soil. Then, in the evening, she started her first official crawling! What a big girl she's becoming! Here, she's showing off her newly aquired first teeth (with a bit dirt mixed in).
"Mmmm...dirt!"

Our driveway and flooded greenhouse

A bit of the ice jam that was causing the whole problem (think I could can that and sell it? Canadian Ice Jam - kind of has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?)

Water covering our front yard and lower culvert crossing

water quickly approaching our home

isn't our driveway looking lovely?!

Karl walking on our driveway. For those of you who have never been here, this is on the opposite side of our house from the river.

driveway again

Heidi helping hold the plastic for sand bags. She was quite impressed by this whole adventure and wanted to keep sand bagging all day. She did want us to keep the door shut on the house so the water wouldn't come in.

Our little dike went up quickly with a big crew here to help

The water was just beyong our bags when, whoosh, the ice went out and the water with it. Thankyou Lord!

Frozen Flood

Our river has decided to exceed its boundries. The funny thing about this flood to me is that most of the water is still frozen. It just looks strange to see huge sheets of ice rising on the water! Karl was sand bagging at neighbors' houses for most of the day, and went in to work at about 7 this evening. I think he'll deserve his sleep tonight! The water is currently returning to its banks, but we're not sure if it will continue to go up or down from here. I'll keep you posted! Our driveway seems a little more impassable than yesterday. The building in the background is our greenhouse, it had water flowing though it most of the day. I took this picture after the water started going down.

The view from our living room. The water was within about 15-20 feet of our house. The white out in the middle is the frozen mass of river water.

Stuck in the Muck

Our driveway is a little, um... un-drivable these days, and today, Heidi decided it wasn't very passable on foot either . We were going to go for a walk together, and I sent her out while I got Hannah and I ready to go. A few minutes later, I opened the door to see her standing in one place and singing at the top of her lungs. (I think the song was something about being stuck in the mud and Jesus is alive). The standing in one place was due to being "wary stuck!" and the singing was just because. I mean, what would you do while waiting to be rescued?

Brilliant!

Mr. Wonderful offered to feed Hannah last night so I could shower (yes, I do try to squeeze that in once or twice a week whether I need it or not) and he had the same problem I do: Hannah getting distracted by Heidi, and thus not eating properly. Difference was, he came up with a solution: Have Heidi feed Hannah! It worked great, and both girls were thrilled! Maybe I ought to have him do things for me more often so I can learn how to do them better!

In other news, Hannah likes boxes...

and grapes!