Popsicles, Ice Cream, Apple Juice, and Perspective

This is Avery with tonsils.


This is what we look like at 5AM.


This is how Daddy looks at work. He checked on us all day!! What a great Daddy!!


This is her student nurse Randi. She just kept bringing her toys and pajamas and more popsicles than I thought she could ever eat.


I was wrong. She ate every one they brought and kept asking for more. She also made a great dent in the yogurt, the chocolate ice cream, and vanilla pudding they brought, along with an apple tree worth of juice. The gauze is to keep her from pulling on her IV.


Avery underwent a tonsillectomy and adnoidectomy this morning. It is hard to describe that feeling you get when you watch your child go with the nurses toward the surgery suite. It is so difficult knowing you can't follow them. You just go to that empty room and wait. I tried to read, watch TV, sleep...but I couldn't do any of those things. I just ended up sitting and fretting. I think that is just the way I am wired. I knew she would be just fine. I knew because I had peace from the Spirit, but I still had to be human and fret for our girl. She just seems so small to have to worry and endure what the next few days has in store for her. I know. I know. LOTS of us have endured the same thing and even worse than that. But she hasn't yet, and that is what makes it so dreadful for me to watch her bear. I never like to see my kids hurt, even if it is for their welfare. I think it comes with the territory of parenthood. It is a beautiful blessing and an ugly curse.

In two weeks this will physically be over for all of us, but that feeling of watching her suffer will always be part of me. It makes me want to show her how to live her life so that she will minimize the hurt that can come from poor life choices and sin. We all have to learn, and that involves some pain and discomfort, but some heartache is definitely avoidable. It seems a little trite, but the most important thing to me is their happiness...not the kind they get with a new toy or a mountain of candy, but true happiness and real peace.

Yep. Tonsillectomies make me deep. That and sleep deprivation. Tomorrow I will probably be surprised at my deep and personal entry, but for now, I will go get my daughter a popsicle, some medicine, and do whatever else I can do to ease her pain. Tonight and always, that is the most important thing I can do for her.

Bye Bye Canning Apple Pie....Filling!...And Everything Else 'Til Next Summer!!!

Apple Pie Filling Is A Sticky Project!



...But Sooo Worth It!!




I Think 30 Jars Ought To Be Enough!!



Canning Can Really Fill Up Those Food Storage Shelves!!Each Row Is 4 Jars Deep!!

It has been a great canning season...and I am all canned out-on my can-with a can of whoopdeedoo!! We have canned every fruit in Idaho Falls, or at least it seems like it. We finished the apple pie filling last night(THANKS,MOM) and all the jars are on the shelves ready for whoever may partake.

It has been tougher this year with THREE small children who need SOMETHING almost every 10 minutes (which divides out to be something for each child every 3.33 minutes, not accounting for incidentals, fits, and stopping to eat). I have had doubts that I would do ANY canning at all this year, but I am always glad to have the re-knowledge of how to do it and the reassurance of extra in the pantry. The sticky messes this year were worth it.

I have learned how to enjoy the work...make sure you have friends (Thanks Kristen and Sheri), family(It would've never happened without you, MOM and Cameron), the proper equipment (I love the CAMP CHEF. It also helps to have numerous and abundant snacks and a tall stack of child's movies), and the WILL TO PERSEVERE!!

Oh, we'll be canning again next year, for sure...but for now, bye bye!!

"...And A Kerr Jar In A Pear Tree"

I must be really getting into the spirit of canning this year. I am modifying old favorite carols into fruity (pun intended) renditions of canning carols!! All I have to say is that it is good to have all that canning on the shelves when winter comes. I am looking forward to breaking the seals of these beautiful jars long about December and January and be thankful my mother, my friends, my husband and I took the time and effort to create jars of fruity yumminess to see us through the year.

Some may ask, "Why don't you just BUY the canned fruit and skip the hot, sticky, all-day project?" I would simply have to reply that home canned fruit is just better...period. No factory can make fruit taste this good. Once you have had it, it is hard to go back. It is almost impossible. And I guess if you have to ask that question in the first place, you have just plain been missing out. I suggest getting some jars, some sugar, and some friends and family over to help you see the light. Good Luck with that!! I am busheled (pun intended) and I am going to bed!! I'm hopin' for some SUGAR PEARS to dance in my head!! G'Night!!

P.S. If you haven't seen Avery in her dance leotard and tiny dance shoes, scroll down-you are in for a treat!!

Avery... I Hope You Dance!!

Her first dance class. She wore her leotard all day and waited for two weeks for her dance shoes!! She was one of two girls who DIDN'T scream the whole time)My prayers are with any dance teacher crazy enough to take little dancers at 2 1/2 years old), but she sure is cute!!


She started posing right away. The teachers said she must be a natural!!


This is one of the crazy dance teachers. She was so cute and fun. Avery loved her!


Look at her beam!! She loves being a dancer...and looking like one, too! I can get her to do almost anything as long as there is an outfit involved, and I love to dress her up so it works out for both of us!!


Standing in front of Iona Elementary (Her new preschool meets there)


She was so excited to have a backpack just like Kendal. She was really hoping she could ride a big yellow school bus, too. I am sure that won't last long once she really starts riding for real.


Miss Ranie is her teacher. She uses sign language and speech in all her classes. She really gets how Avery works. They get along great!!

Avery started new things this week. It seems like she is still too small to be jumping right into dance and preschool, but she handles herself surprisingly well. She has not had any accidents, fits, or overall misbehavior, but it IS only the first week. I reserve the right to be cautiously optimistic. I can't get over how that smile of hers seems to charm everyone into thinking she is shy and innocent. Well, I hope it lasts. I think she is adorable...in pictures!! There is so much more to her than meets the eye.

When we found out a girl would be coming into our home, I had some hopes for her. I wanted her to be her own person. I wanted her to be strong and independent. I wanted her to be spunky and adventurous. I wanted her to be confident in her abilities and believe she could accomplish whatever she feels is worth pursuing... I got what I hoped for... tightly packaged in a two year old body. I thought all her grace and wisdom would grow in time...she believes she has it all NOW!! She tries me as a mother and a person. She makes me want to be better, do better, know more, and reach higher. All my kids do...but she tries my abilities the most. I guess that may be one of the reasons why she is ours for this season of time.

I am so proud of her desire to try new things!! She is completely everything I had ever hoped for and more. She's got it all!!

Good Luck This Year, Avery! We are proud of you!!

Can You Can, Can, Can?

Our peaches were as big as softballs!!


"Do Rags" are a must!!


We start them early!!


Just peachy!!


Lots to be thankful for!!

Cam and I found these awesome peaches at a roadside stand-and I just HAD to have them. Kristen Haws is a really fun neighbor down the street and she wanted to do some canning, too, so we decided to really ease into it. FIVE BOXES of PEACHES later...we had 80 jars of peachy bliss bottled and ready to put on our storage shelves!!

It was a really fun day. I guess it can seem like the kids are never happy and the peaches just go on and on and on...but when it is all over, and you've had a little time to recover, it ends up being a great experience with a yummy outcome!!

It just wouldn't have been as fun without Kristen and her awesome attitude and smart-alec comments for Cameron (Thanks for the great day!!), my fabulous mom who I lean on heavily to make sure canning turns out well each year, and even Cameron has turned out to be quite the hands-on hubby and peach slicer extraordinaire!!

Next stop...pear bliss, then apple bliss. I hope we can handle all the harvest goodness coming our way...and all the labor for our fruits!!