Corn, Raisins, Peas, and Crackers?

So you wonder "what do these four foods have in common"? I could tell you they are all you need for a healthy diet but that would be a lie. These are the only 4 foods Ella will eat right now. We have been pretty sick here at the Andrews house. Blake has the flu, Ethan has the flu and an ear infection, Ella has the flu, and I have broncitis (and am guessing the flu but they did not test me). Today is a bad day for Ella and the only things I can get her to eat are corn, raisins, peas, and crackers - does not sound good to me but at least I am getting a little energy in her. Ethan was really sick on Tuesday and Wed but is feeling a little better today as you can tell from the picture. Poor Ella - I even ask her to smile and she just could not find it in her to smile for one second.

When it rains it pours...

When it rains it pours... but God sees us thru. Yesterday was a very trying day for my family. A day of constant prayer and worries. Yesterday morning I got the news that my dad was admitted to the ER on Sunday night due to sever abdomen pain. After some tests they determined that his gallbladder was infected and diseased, his colon was not working, he had a blood clot in his leg, and the worst news was that the atrium of his heart was not pumping.

Now to top everything off Blake was home sick with the flu, Ethan came down with the flu and I was anxiously awaiting the results of an MRI I had last week. Yesterday became a day of constant prayer. Knowing that God can do anything I was praying for a miracle. I was reading in Matthew 17 - the disciples were trying to heal a man but could not so they came to Jesus to ask why - Jesus relied "because you have so little Faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move." So with faith many of us were praying for my dad. As the day progressed we found out that his colon was fine, there is a small blood clot in his lung (they gave him blood thinner to help with that, his gall bladder is not diseased, and then to top all the good news off my dad's heart started beating again on its own. WOW God heals today - there is no doubt about that.

Blake is back at work today and Ethan is doing ok, but still pretty run down and lethargic. My MRI results came back and I am going to be referred to an endocrinologist for further tests but it is believed that things are ok. So yes it rained and poured yesterday but today there is a rainbow and a promise that God never gives us more than we can handle. Plus my sister had her first ultrasound and saw the face of her precious one. To hear about that go here later today. I hope this story of God's glory brings happiness to your day - He is so amazing!!

When I get big....

Since I do not keep a journal, this is my journal. Today Ethan told me "Mommy, when I get big, I want to be a fireman." I then ask Ella what she wanted to be and she said "princess mommy - oh no dancer." Could they be more different -- Ethan is such a boy and Ella is such a girl. Of course we all had hopes and dreams for when we got older. I remember always saying that I wanted to be just like my mommy - I wanted to be a mommy. Well, I sure got my wish. What about you and your kids? What did you want to be? Did you accomplish that? What do your kiddos want to be when the get big?

Make a Craft Monday - Soap Crayons

Here is an easy thing for you to make for your kids - my kids are a little young to help but they enjoyed the outcome. All kids love drawing and coloring - so why not make them clean at the same time.

Mix about 1/2 cup of soap flakes ( you can etheither buy soap flakes or grate your own). Of course I suggest one from a natural food store or Melaleuca. Ok so mix that with 1-2 Tablespoons of very HOT water. Stir well. Divide into bowls and miz with food coloring. Place in mold (I used ice cube trays). Let dry until very hard. This could take as long as a week, depending on the humidity. Let you child draw on your bathtub wall - while getting clean all at the same time.

I have decided to turn Make a craft Monday into -- Make a craft or snack Monday. I have some good kid friendly healthy recipies that I would like to share and some that I want to try so stay posted for my successful meals.

Pictures of Ethan and Ella

Here are our lates prof. pics. of Ethan and Ella. My friend Vicki took the pictures and I think she did a fabulous job. We have a whole CD of the pictures she took. Here are just a few.

Make a Craft Monday

So I have decided to post a kids craft every Monday. I am doing this to encourage me to keep my mind creative when playing with the kids, and to share with all of you (most of you are moms of young kids). So here is it Homemade Play Dough.

Not only do kids love play dough but they love to help make it. Ethan loves mushing it all together to make the consistency right. I have made more than a few batches of play dough for the kids but this recipe is by far the easiest and the consistency of the dough is great (creating hours of creative play). One more great thing is that you know exactly what is in it, in case you have a child like Ella - who likes to sneak a bit when I am not looking. Yes I know you are saying "gross".

Ingredients:

2 + cups of white flour

1/2 cup of salt

1 cup of hot water

1 teaspoon of cooking oil (optional)

Mix flour and salt together then slowly add water and oil (I used only 1/2 teaspoon of oil) Add more flour as needed. Add food coloring if you want or just leave it white. Store in air tight containers.

If you have a craft idea for me just email me and I will get it posted but make sure it is cheep and easy.

Another year!!

So I have now kept this blog up for a year. GO ME! I am pretty proud of myself since when I started it, Melissa had to pull my arm to make me do it. It is fun for me to look back at all the fun times we have had (and all the black eyes, and fat lips). Here are a few pictures from this week. This first one is of Ella and Ethan in their puppy sleeping bags and Blake in his Colts blanket.

Ella with her crew of puppies. She sure loves her puppies.Not sure what this face is but Ethan wanted me to add it to the blog.

Craft Crazy

Ethan and Ella had a lot of fun doing this craft. It was a wonderful Christmas present because it is something fun we can do during the cold winter without getting out. The strep bug hit us for the first time this week. Poor Ethan! So inside craft fun has been a huge success to help get Ethan's mind off of his throat hurting.

Pictures for Nonna

So little miss Ella let me put a bow in her hair today. She really does not like bows in her hair but she kept it in long enough for Daddy to get home to see how pretty she was. When Daddy did get home she said "look at me Daddy, see - I'm pretty". After Daddy got home she asked me to take a picture of her for Nonna (yes for you Nonna - I know your heart is breaking because you don't like being so far away from them). So here you have it -- Ella hamming it up for the camera for Nonna to see.
I think in this last picture Ella is actually starting to look like me - yes I know - maybe one of my blond kids will end up looking like me after all.

Christmas and Birthday Highlights 2007

Get ready for a lot of pictures. I am way to tired to write a long meaningful blog entry. Instead here we have a whole bunch of pictures. We had a great past few weeks. On Christmas Eve we went to church and celebrated the true meaning of Christmas - The birth of our beautiful Lord Jesus. After church we came home and made Christmas cookies with the kids, my mom and dad, and Aunt Debbie. The kids put 4 cookies out for Santa along with apple juice (because Ethan really thought Santa would like apple juice better than milk). We then put reindeer food out one the front step (we heard that the reindeer got hungry while they were waiting for Santa to eat his cookies). Christmas morning we opened gifts with the kids and then went to my parents house for Christmas dinner and more gifts. Then just when the kids thought all the fun was over - Nanny, Pop, and Uncle Isaac came to stay with us for a few days. The kids had so much fun. We celebrated Ella's b-day with the whole family. It was great but of course we missed the Chatraws' and Schafer's.