It IS cold where we are....

Here is baby all ready to get the job done.

He is helping to fix the toilet.

The current temperature here is -6 degrees with a wind chill of -26 degrees. Do you know what that means in this home? Well yes, we get the kerosene heater out to help the furnace along... but also it means that the toilet freezes up. No there isn't a little skating rink in the tiny bowl, but the water line feeding into the tank runs along a northern (apparently uninsulated) wall. It seems to run around the heavy porcelain tub. You can't just cut a hole in the tub to gain access to a frozen water line. I am trying to thaw it by placing my forced air heater directly in the tub to heat the porcelain. I know it will probably be in vain. I have also knocked a little hole in the wall on the other side of the tub. (My dad helped me with that.) Then I aimed my hair dryer directly in there for a while, but to no avail. I just want to survive tomorrow, without the rest of the pipes freezing, the high tomorrow is predicted to be four degrees below zero with wind chills between -35 and -45 degrees. I have all the faucets on slow drip and I'm catching the water in jugs to use to flush my toilet. The temperature is supposed to be a balmy 18 above on Friday. Wish me luck.
Peace Love and Brrrr.






A little update. It is the next morning now, and the water line had thawed during the night... Yay! Oh, the joy of properly functioning plumbing.

Misc.

I'm a little bummed. I can't get my usb ports to work on my computer. Which translates to no photo downloads. I would love to show you pictures of K's first piano lesson, the kids playing at gym time at the YMCA, baby decorating himself with an entire pack of Veggie Tales stickers, or how he helps with the cookies you are soon going to get in the next care package. But I am unable to bring those images to you in color.

So instead I'm going to post some not so new ones just random shots I've taken since you've been gone, for instance... this beautiful sunset I took the first night you were gone. I was looking SW a little just over the bean field.

Or there is this one of K's breakfast. She often asks me to draw certain things with her frosting packet. It is usually a flower or diamond or even a cat. But on this morning, she wanted a picture of Daddy on her toaster strudel.. so here you are, kind of.

For those of you who didn't know, something happened at our water plant on December 29th, and we have been under a boil advisory since then. Well it was lifted yesterday. Yay! I'm so sick of boiling water before using it. And now the big pot can be used for more important things. (even though I took the picture well before the advisory was lifted.)

Love to all

Our special project

You know we've been trying to keep us busy. I like to plan things that we can do together. Well my mom came up with this idea, so she helped with this project. We bought several yards of costume satin, and cut them into strips. Then Mom serged them on her machine and we tied them on our trees. We have one on each tree in our yard. Mom has one, T and L took one for their front yard too... and we have extra for family and friends who may want to "tie one on". We just want you to know we are thinking of you.
Love and yellow ribbons.

Is it cold where you are?

Last night, I went up to tuck K in and she was already asleep. I had to stiffle my laughter as I went back down for the camera. Notice the gloves and scarf as well as the hat. Honestly it isn't that cold upstairs, and I did have the heaters going. I wondered if she was trying to protest sleeping upstairs, but when I asked her in the morning she didn't remember putting those things on. Even the teddy bears are wrapped in the scarf. The brown bear is her Daddy bear, when you push his paw she gets to hear daddy's voice anytime she wants. I know that helps to warm her heart.
Love and cold sleep

P.S. check out the older posts, I was able to get some pictures up.

birdwatching

This time of year is the best for birdwatching. I had some birdseed left over from last year, so I took it out to put a little on the stump in the front yard, and a little on the table by the yard swing. When I got it off the shelf from the back porch, I noticed the scattered sunflower shells all over. I assumed that the mice have been helping themselves all summer. I'm pretty sure they opened the lid just like baby does when he wants into a container, with their teeth as leverage. Well, I took it out and was going to just make small piles to make it last until I could get more. I lost my grip and 3/4 of the box fell out on the table and ground just outside the dining room window. Now Polly (the cat) has a new favorite way to pass the time. She lays on the dining room table and watches the birds gorge themselves on seed. This morning, I had to laugh at her as her tail twitched and her gaze never faltered. So I sat down to see what she was looking at and found myself mesmerized too. There were lots of slate colored juncos and big old bluejays, squirrels were waiting near the drive for their turn at the feast. A bird I didn't notice last year has been coming around lately. I think it is a starling of some sort, but I have to see it again to identify it. We also have lots of redheaded woodpeckers. I think they miss the tree from the front yard because I hear them pecking on our house... a lot! Of course they could be seeking and eating all of our asian lady beetles that reiside within the walls of our humble abode. More power to em. But I fear it makes it easier for the flies to find a way into the house. (We really have to plug up those holes.) I wouldn't think that flies would still be around, but last night I was knitting by the light of a headlamp while one lone fly was really bent on getting into the lamp, or my hair, I'm not sure which.
I wish I could feed our houseflies to the birds.

Peace and Birdwatching

spaghetti sauce

We started taking links off the Daddy chain yesterday. It will be something to look forward to every morning. The first one was a nice reminder, written by Daddy.....
Now on to the spaghetti sauce.....

Today I decided to make that yummy homemade spaghetti sauce. It tastes so much better than jarred spaghetti sauce. It makes 16 cups so I freeze it in 4 portions to use later. This time I added mushrooms, and used italian instead of sweet sausage. I have to tell you it tastes just as good! I got out all the ingredients and was busy cooking the meat with the onions and mushrooms when I turned around to find baby helping me by measuring the basil... all over himself and the floor. He was doing it right he had the measuring spoon on the floor and was dumping the basil as close to the spoon as he could get it. I did stop long enough to snap a picture of his "help", before I swept it up.

We hope your flight to Qatar was good and can't wait to hear from you again.
Peace, Love and Sauce

The countdown begins

This chain has the same number of links as days Daddy will be gone We will remove one every day he is gone.

Just 125 days until Daddy returns. Here is a picture we took today at the airport.
We were able to get a special family pass to accompany him past the checkpoints and to the terminal, so we waited with Daddy until he boarded his plane. The kids enjoyed watching the planes taxi up with all the hustle and bustle that goes along with an airplane full of people flying across the country. The pilot even came up to offer lollypops to the kids, and to thank daddy for his service to our country. All in all, we did pretty good. The kids were well behaved, and "K" and I even held off crying until he boarded the plane. The baby only cried because he couldn't run freely about the terminal. In the interest of maintaining our composure, we left as soon as he disappeared through the tunnel.
On the drive home I was thinking about how the next 4 months would go and how much I was going to miss him, when a song came on the radio. Randy Travis' "My Love is Deeper than the Holler", which made me smile and tear up at the same time. That song is special to me because besides the obvious, "I love you more than anything" theme of that particular song, If you didn't know Daddy used to help K fall asleep by singing Randy Travis to her when she was a baby. I could almost hear him singing the song along with me and Randy on the way home today. Just another reminder that our loved ones are right there with us always, no matter where they are.
Honey the kids and I love you and miss you and can't wait for you to come home this spring!
always yours...

Love and Peace