Happy Valentine's Day

My new favorite place (yes, Pinterest) gave us some great Valentine Card ideas...

We also made some cute teacher gifts...pics to come tomorrow. Because we had a snow day on Monday, our homework was much lighter for today.  So we enjoyed our Valentine's a little more today.  John and I ended the evening with a fun surprise date to Outback for dinner.  The kids enjoyed our traditional heart pizza from Papa Murphy's.  Happy Valentine's Day to all my avid readers :)

All Recovered

Sorry the late update.  We are all finally better from our 24 hour stomach bug.  Josh began Tues, John and the other kids on Wed, and me on Friday.  We are officially not contagious and getting our appetites back.  What a rough week!  Hopefully that will be all the stomach virus' this winter....today we had our first snow (over an inch at least) We got about 3 inches total :)

Chain of Events

• One week ago today - body aches, fever, horrible headaches, nausea for Mamma Bear

• Thurs all day and into Friday - complete misery for her.  But finally better on Sat. and never officially threw up

• Sunday - Pappa Bear started getting same symptoms.  Lasted through Tuesday morning and better

• Monday in the middle of the night - Joshua Bear throws up all night.  Unable to do any homework on Tuesday and miserable.

• Tuesday morning - Jonathan Bear's cold turned more crupe like.  Cough sounded horrible with low grade fever.  Pretty bad running nose too.

• Wed morning (today) - Joshua Bear is finally better, but missed school to make sure contagious symtoms are not spread.

• Today after school - Caleb's teacher notifies us that Caleb feels like he might throw up around 3:30

• By 4:00, Caleb Bear is officially sick

• By 5:00 - Ashlyn Bear joins him and says that her stomach has never hurt so much before in her life

• Around 6:00, Joshua Bear and Mamma Bear enjoy making dinner for one another - Cashew Chicken (I didn't know we would all be sick this morning when I picked the menu). 

• Around 7:00, Jonathan Bear joins the other 2 in the bathroom and begins throwing up.

• Around 7:15, Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Joshua Bear start dinner.  We realize half way in that the chicken was not cooked all the way.

• Around 7:30, Papa Bear joins the rest of the crew and begins forming a line at the two bathroom doors

• 8:00, Joshua Bear joins the other 4, but believes it is the chicken and not the stomach flu he already had...we will wait and see.

• Yes, it is only 8:30.  Yes, I have cleaned up way too much already and wished our 3rd bathroom was done.  I have setup a temporary bed for me tonight in between the two bathrooms where the rest will most likely sleep.  Wonder what I will report tomorrow...

To love or hate Broccoli

At dinner tonight, we had two children who ate their broccoli like it was candy.  Ate it faster than the rest of their food and then asked for more.  They even snacked on it from the serving dish.

The other two fought tooth and nail to only have to eat 2 cuts.  They cried, gagged, and complained the entire meal.

Any guesses on who they were?

Bear Day

Jonathan has the privilege to go to Caleb's former preschool 3 days a week.  It is really a fun place to be every M, W, and F. They focus on one letter and one number a week.  So the handwriting sheets focus on that letter as well as the craft and snack.  Last week, the letter was "B." Jonathan got to bring a stuffed bear one day and got to play cubs all 3 days.  When I picked him up from school, the classroom was dark like a cave, and the half door was open.  Each cub came through the cave to go home with their mamma bears.

So since last week, we have been playing "bear day." In the morning, Jonathan will wake up and say, "Mamma bear, today is bear day!"  Then all day, he uses "bear" at the end of our names.  So Ashlyn Bear can help him with the Wii, Caleb Bear can help him pick up his room, and Joshua Bear can help with his lunch.  Even Daddy Bear comes home from work in time for the fun.  It's hilarious.  And it reminds me of the Berenstain Bears.  Mamma Bear wanted to get it on record :)

A Letter to my Children about Marriage

I read an excellent article today on Raising Homemakers that I wanted to share.  John and I pray this same message for our kids and their future spouses....

Dear Children,
Should the Lord give you the good gift of a husband or wife, and I hope He does, there are a few things I want you to know. Things that you may not hear from anyone else, and certainly not on TV or other media. Sadly, your church may not even tell you. Marriage, sweet little people, is not for the purpose of your happiness. Happy as I want you to be and hope you will be, you must yet understand that marriage is God’s design and His purposes must be pursued in order for you to be truly happy. His end is holiness and He will use all things in a life devoted to Him to fulfill that end.

To my girls:
Marry a man whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, he is not hard to please. Admire him, cheer him on and show gratitude, and he will fall over himself trying to please you. Smile often, speak well of him always, and do whatever necessary to try and maintain a pleasant mood about you so that it transfers to your home, making it a place where he and your children love to be. You’ll have bad days of course, crying days even, and that’s when you go to your bedroom, kneel on the floor and beg the Lord to carry you. Then get up, get a fresh perspective (crayons will come off the wall), and try again. Above all else, make a home.

To my boys:
Marry a woman whose first pursuit is Christ. After that, she may be hard to please only if you don’t know “the secret”. What is that? I’m glad you asked. The secret to pleasing your wife is to make her feel safe and treasured. You may have to move out of your comfort zone to do this at times. She won’t always readily translate the oil change to love, though it means that. But let me give you a “secret question”–a question you need to ask her often. It’s not just in the asking, though. Be sure to focus your eyes on hers, maybe even touch her shoulder or face, and then ask: “What’s on your mind these days? “ And then be ready to listen. She wants you to draw her out. She will perceive this as your protection over the matters of her heart. Tenderness, listening, protection. That’s what she wants.

To you all:
If your wife or husband does something really stupid, forgive. If they do it again, forgive again. Forgiveness must be the propelling force in your lives each day. Dwell on the strengths, push out thoughts of their weaknesses. Take every thought captive–choose to love.

Here’s that part you are not going to hear often:
If you find yourself “not happy”, having lost attraction, disinterested, etc., you are not permitted to even think about a divorce. If you find yourselves arguing more and more, don’t think for a minute that “the children will be better off out of this”, because they won’t.

The vows you took on your wedding day were not suggestions. They were covenant vows, before a Holy God, family and friends, to stay with this person the rest of your life, even if you don’t feel like it. You swore a solemn oath and if you can’t live up to it, don’t get married. Decide up front that your marriage is irrevocable. There is far more motivation for getting along if your “marriage house” has no door.

Do not share intimate thoughts or feelings with anyone of the opposite sex. Do not find yourself alone for any length of time with such either.

Divorce is not a “private option”. It will affect multiple families for many generations. When you “separate what God has joined” you permanently injure far more than just yourself. Guard your marriage as fiercely as you would guard your own life. Treat your spouse as an extension of your flesh, just as God sees you. Treat your spouse like other family members. You know, “you gotta love ‘em, they’re the only family you’ve got”.

I want you to be happy, I surely do. But I will pray for you to be holy.

Homemade Fabric Canvas

So I am totally addicted to Pinterest now. What a great place to find some amazing craft and decorating ideas! I decided the other day to try making a fabric canvas for the Maids office I am redecorating that would match the new curtains I made for in there. It was so easy that I decided to make two! Here are the steps I used to make one.

1. First buy enough material to cover the canvas size you are making. I made a 20x20 canvas so I went to Lowe's and had them cut my lumber to the size I needed. To make one canvas, I had to have them cut two pieces of wood that are 18 inches long and 2 pieces that are 20". I also bought a package of wood screws while I was there. I think I got about 27" of material for each canvas too. Here are my supplies...

2. Then I built the canvas frame. I put the two 18" pieces in between the 2 20" pieces and used one screw on each corner to keep them together....

3. Then I layed the material face down on the floor and put the frame on top of it.

4. Then using a staple gun, attach the material around the wood.  Be sure to pull it tight as you go along with the gun.  If you are using a pattern material, be sure it is straight as well.

5. And at the end, you have a wrapped fabric canvas!  I am going to have my two 20x20 canvas's next to each other above the office desk.

The Maids Makeover

While Gary and Sue are retired in AZ for 3 months (winter hibernation), I have had the opportunity to get more involved with our family business.  Gary printed weekly invoices and financial statements and in his absence, I have begin doing that an hour or 2 a week.  He was also responsible for ordering cleaning supplies, vacuum parts, and shopping at Sam's weekly for our Maids breakfast items (yes, we provide pastries, cereals, oatmeal, and waffles for our teams before they go out and clean every morning).  So I have also taken over those job responsibilities each Wed at Sam's.

So while I began my new "job" a few weeks ago, I found a few things that could be re-organized and improved to make my new job easier. I began by completely re-organizing the inventory garage where all of the supplies are located. Bought new shelves, labeled everything and got re-stocked on everything. I also moved anything that was not cloths or inventory to an attic storage area. That room needed a makeover too. Then I moved on to Gary's office that he shares with a part-time employee as well as a vacuum repair friend.

I wish I took some before pictures.  Picture one white wall of paneling and 3 dark brown walls of paneling.  Then picture a chipped built in table with tons of books, stacks of papers, and misc office supplies on it.  A printer on the floor along with a black shelf with vacuum supplies, a huge vacuum repair table, a big office desk and misc vacuum parts all around the room. Oh, the big electrical box for the entire office is in this room that takes up half of the back wall.  There was a little walk way to the desk in front of the shelf of supplies. Overall, picture a gloomy catch all kind of space where vacuums get fixed and Gary enjoyed listening to talk radio most of the morning.

Thankfully when I went down to start this project this weekend, James (our friend and vacuum repair Maid) was there working on vacuums.  He spent some time organizing his supplies and moving items into our new "vacuum supply" closet in the inventory room.  I moved his huge work table in that closet too which hold fixed vacuums and extra parts the teams need each week.  John helped clear off the chipped built in table and out came the rest of the furniture/trash/mess.  I painted the paneling a sage green color  and moved the desk right in front of the office door.  Because we took out the ugly work table, I was able to paint the built in table and use it for 2 sitting areas - one for the vacuum repair and one for an extra desk for someone (possibly a marketing intern John is looking for).  I sewed some curtains to cover up the ugly electrical box and make a pretend window. I am using that same fabric to make two 20x20 canvas pictures to hang above the desk...I finished one today (pics to come soon).  I also bought 2 lamps at Gordman's clearanced for $14 each to help with lighting. The paint color doesn't show well on here because the lamps are on, but it is much brighter than the brown paneling before.  Here is a sneak peek before the pictures are hung on the main wall behind the desk...

Those who knew what it looked like before will be most impressed. Sorry again for not taking the before picture for you :)