Stinking Suitcases and Bed Hopping

We've been away from "home" (wherever that is) for a week and a half now. I will post photos soon. But anyway, I am tired of living out of a suitcase. I mean, how many places can a simple pair of underwear hide in a suitcase?! It's a big suitcase, but still… Someday we will have a closet again.

We are having a good time, but the trip and the excitement and the lack of sleep is taking its toll on all of us- the boys especially. Evan has it in his head that it is cute and perfectly acceptable to scream these short, obnoxious screams at me. He is refusing to greet people when they say hi to him. He is practicing (and excelling in) his whining and clinging skills. Eli is doing much better socially, but still experiencing the negative side effects of our current situation. He can't take naps and has been getting to bed very late. Last night he shared a room with Evan (and me and Kendall). After I tucked them into bed, Evan called me back to the room where he was hiding under the bed. He refused to come out no matter what I threatened. I would reach in one side of the bed and he would slither out of my reach. So I would go to the other side and reach in for him and he would slither away from me. Grrr!!! A tiny bit funny, but so maddening. Finally I went and got Kendall to help me drag him out. When we went into the bedroom to complete the mission, we heard Eli quietly whimpering. Kendall quickly fished the littlest guy out and handed him over to me. Then he laid down beside Eli who had moved into more vigorous crying. Poor Eli. He just wanted to be at our "white house" (in Red Lake). He didn't want to sleep here. He has a great time during the day, but he was exhausted and overwhelmed. I didn't have the heart to tell him that he still has 2 more places to sleep before we get home.

Anyway, tomorrow is Wedding #2 and I'm looking forward to it. Dreading the hours of traveling the next day, but tomorrow will be fun. And maybe Evan will cooperate in walking up the aisle. Judging by his deteriorating attitude and his "rehearsal" of the event tonight, I sort of doubt it. I'll keep you updated.

Fervent Prayers

Evan led us in prayer the other night at supper. His prayer was short and sweet: "Dear Jesus, thank you for the food. Next time won't you sing with me."

The other night Eli and Evan had a very hard time settling down after being tucked into bed. Kendall was supposed to get off work at 8:00, but wasn't able to come home until after 9:30. So it was one of the on-my-own nights. And it wasn't a good one. The boys talked and carried on in their room, then they complained that they couldn't fall asleep and that was just the beginning of the saga. Finally I said I would lie down with them for a bit. But once I settled down with Evan, he said he had to go poop. (Still a favorite trick of his.) So I went over to the bathroom with him. As I was waiting on him I could hear Eli trying to get himself worked up about something. He was talking to himself in very mournful tones and starting to whimper. It sounded like he was trying pretty hard to start crying. Finally, after working at it for awhile, he burst out in a wail. Evan and I went back into the bedroom and, trying to speak patiently and compassionately, I asked Eli what why he was crying. This was the moment he was waiting for. He burst out with great sorrow, "Because you get more letters than me!" Yes, he was very sad that I get mail more often than he does. And, no, trying to reason with him about how he gets way better packages and how he doesn't get bills did not help. And though my prayers asking for Kendall to walk through the door at that very moment were fervent, God chose not to bail me out this time.

Comments From the Boys

This morning when we left for school I pointed out to the boys the pretty snow. Evan stood by the car complaining that he was cold. I told him, "We're in Canada. In the winter. It's cold." (I was annoyed.) When we were all buckled in and on our way, Eli said, "I love it here. Except for the skunks." That's enough to keep me warm for awhile.

This is what I'm looking at right now. Of course, a photo doesn't do it justice.



On another note, we're getting closer to being able to do some short-term foster parenting. I was talking to the boys about it this morning. I was talking about taking care of a baby for a few days. Eli said he didn't want to- he wanted a baby that was "born." And he was concerned about a baby getting into his room and messing things up. (If you saw their room most days, you would wonder what more a baby could mess up.) I assured him that we'd close the door so the baby couldn't get in. I think he'll come around. In general, he really likes babies. And we're not locked into anything, so we can give it a try.

Anyway, after listening to this discussion, Evan came up with an idea of his own: "We could borrow a baby."

Me: "What baby should we borrow?"

Evan: "Maybe we could go to a garage sale."

Ah, yes. A child after my own heart. Garage sales are a great place for a bargain.

Snow

The snow struck me as especially beautiful today. The snowflakes were huge and shimmery.

Family Time

We had a great time with my family over New Year's week. Lots of late nights, laughing, good food, games, cheese ball taste-testing, etc.

Fun times with Grandma and Grandpa. If you notice the title of this book, it was a gift from Uncle Rod and Aunt Nathalie.




The happy couple. Only weeks away from their big day!

We went for a winter picnic on Thursday. Unfortunately, we had pretty cold temperatures during the week. This was the warmest day, with temperatures around 0 Fahrenheit. But my family was great sports and did the picnic thing. And for Mom and Dad there was some reliving of old times. 30 years ago they were doing the same thing with their visitors.

We parked close to the lake then were ferried across by the snowmobile.


Collecting wood for the fire.


Yummy! Hot ham and cheese! We learned our lesson with Ben and Jen and burned fewer sandwiches. And though the smoke was brutal, the fire helped to keep us from freezing.

A game of fox and geese.



Apparently, the game was exhausting. (Kirsten, Evan, Eli, Mom)


Just like old times.



He wishes this were true.



Kirsten and Eli tried snowshoeing. It would appear that Kirsten is having some difficulties.