Pregnancy Test Recall...

Yes, It's very serious... I think they should do a recall on all pregnancy tests. At least all of the ones that I purchase... I've taken FOUR this last week and they all don't seem to work... they all keep saying, NO, ANGELA, YOU ARE NOT PREGNANT! Or maybe, in truth, they need to do a recall on me, since I don't seem to function properly! Yes, this may be TMI for some of you, but you caught me at a moment of frustration. All of us here at the West household are ready for a new little bundle to love and kiss and hold. Our great Lord even says in His word, "Be fruitful and multiply..." It seems I have trouble with the "fruitful" part. Most of the time I do pretty well and I try to focus on the fact that there are others out there who never get the chance to carry a child once, and I have been blessed with two living miracles! And I tell myself that God must have a reason for not allowing it thus far. And I also don't want to beg and beg, like an ungrateful child. And yet, there are a few days here and there when I just get into a funk and have my little pity party for a day or two. (If you didn't notice, today is one of those days.) But, on the other hand, I do think that God puts this desire to create life and be a mother into all women. It may manifest itself differently for each of you, but I think it is there and put there for a purpose by our Creator. What is it that He wants to birth in your life this year that you can nurture (mother)? Maybe it is a long lost passion, or vision. I know that if these desires for another baby are not fulfilled on this earth, He will most certainly bring about "new life" in another way in my life. (Poor Ted will come home and find a wall missing between our kitchen and dining room one of these days...) But for today I'm hogging down on dry coco puffs and "pitchin' a fit" as they say down in Memphis. And as Anne's teacher says on Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is a new day, fresh, with no mistakes in it." Another day for breathing in, looking up and asking Him what the day will birth. I will leave you with a song that has been on my mind the last few days. We sang it in the mornings at camp when I was little. "Oh, praise the Lord for another day of life. Oh, praise the Lord for His promises are bright. I will praise the Lord with heart and soul and might and give Him glory, glory, glory from morn' till' night."

I'm not a Stealer....

While Hannah was playing in our bedroom this morning, (as I was trying to wake up) she suddenly told me, "Mommy I am not a stealer." I thought to myself, "Good! But why are you telling me this?" She went on, "I do not steal things...." I told her "That's a good girl." and then she continued on, "...Like my daddy!" While I resisted breaking out into laughter, I said, "Daddy is a stealer?" "Yes" she said. I said "What does he steal?" "OH, he steals lots of things.... like my worms!" (She is referring to the gummy worms given to her and big sister by Grandma Carol.) What a laugh I had then. So, here's a warning out to Daddy... you better stop stealing the worms or the Hannah police will be putting you in the slammer!

Tagged!

My sister tagged me, which apparently means that I have to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder of all my photo files. It didn't exactly work that way for me... as many of you know I take a lot of pictures, so it was something like, 6th folder, 6th folder, then 6th photo. This is the tree that I drove by many times on the gravel road to our house in Iowa. I always loved this tree, it was so moving to me and like an old friend saying "Hello" each time I drove by. I miss the tree, and sometimes the amazing amount of space we had in that old Victorian, but not the mold and stress and constant projects. I have new tree friends here where we live now... I am greeted by three enormous pine trees out my kitchen window each morning. I am glad that God decided to create trees. There are so many kinds, and variety's all displaying His glory. I hope that you have a special tree near you to enjoy as well.

Oh yes, and I now tag Ria, Dana, Joanna and Amy - dear friends who I know take pictures too!

Bell Ringers

For the past two years we have signed up the girls for Bell Ringing at the local grocery store to try to teach them about "working for the Lord". Mommy is excited about it, since I know how cute they look while ringing bells... who would not want to drop a few coins in the bucket with these sweet faces looking you in the eye as you leave the store? Although, they do not think it is as fun as Mommy does. It is a whole lot of fun for about the first five minutes and then the rest of the hour seems as an eternity for them. No matter how much I tell them "Jesus is so pleased with your service...", it does not seem to inspire them:) Hopefully someday they will look back and thank me...Here they are after the fun has worn off...And then they realized toward the end of the hour that they could sing and dance... so that brightened things up a bit!

Christmas Card Finalists...

Here's a few of the finalists that didn't quite make the Christmas Card cut. I always just wish I could send out a mini-album instead to tell the whole story of our year... but alas, I cannot. This family shot was taken by Oomps the Great at Angela's Grandma's house last 4th of July.

Oh, to capture them both smiling sweetly at the same moment. It seems an easy task, but for those of you who have tried to accomplish this before, you know how hard it can be:)

And this last one was taken by Uncle Chris the Great! Thanks for getting such a great shot!

Hunting...

I should have posted these about a month ago... but better late than never, right? Here is Ted all duded up and ready for hunting. I'm not sure if I will ever quite understand why men love to go sit out in the woods while it is freezing cold and eat dried out beef jerky, I guess it has something to do with that "Wild at Heart" stuff that God wired into them! Anyways, Ted had a great time out on his first hunt. I am guessing that my dad and the others "got him hooked" since he's already planning his next major purchase for Cabellas:) While we women folk were back at home, we were surprised with roses from Daddy/Ted! The girls were so excited that they got their own flower.Here's is Mommy's bouquet - my favorite roses are these with the yellow bodies and red on the tips. What a lucky woman I am!And here's a miscellaneous pic of Hannah dressing up in some cowboy boots. Me and my sisters used to do this with our Daddy's boots. Does this bring back memories, Nana and Oompa?

What we did on Christmas Day...

Well, we usually have many family activities planned over the holidays, but this certainly was not on the agenda. Hannah came down with Pneumonia and Daddy, Mommy, and Hannah spent Christmas day and the next day at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis. Hannah came down with Pneumonia also at the age of 6 months, exactly three Christmases ago. Her Mommy also had Pneumonia at 6 months of age. I guess she is trying to carry out the tradition, although I think we could come up with some more pleasurable family traditions to adopt:)

She was not very interested in her stocking, as you can see...

Hannah had been refusing to drink or eat, so needed fluids and a different medication (the first med did not work for her). Once they got some fluids in her and the meds, she was able to finally rest and get some good sleep. Mommy got the privilege of sleeping on a luxurious cot beside her bed.

The next morning we got her to eat about a half of a pancake, which was about the only food accomplishment for the day. She was offered every juice, pop and popsicle under the sun, but did not want a thing. Lunch was one bite of pizza, one bite of chocolate pudding, and that was it. Talk about stressing Daddy and Mommy out! What child won't eat a popsicle?

Big sister came for a visit and brought a sweet get well letter for little sis. (Side note - when we called Nana (Angela's mom) to give her an update on Christmas night, Nana informed us that Emelia was now coming down with a fever and coughing alot... uff dah! So, Emelia had to wear a mask when she came to visit. Daddy also came down with Hannah's cold... so nice of her to share:) And Mommy was being protected by the Lord, for she can't be sick right now! For those of you who know Emelia, even sickness does not put this girl down. She came into the hospital bouncing as usual... we could hear her before she arrived, bringing with her her always full bag of joy!

For the rest of Friday, we tried to get liquids down Hannah (and food). But, she is extremely, extremely stubborn and would not cooperate. The doctor had a really hard time deciding whether to let her go home or not, because she was doing well for everything else, but still refusal to drink the minimum for survival. Ted and I think that Dr. Dobson may have to write another revised version of the "Strong Willed Child" just for her:) As you can see above, Hannah was not happy with her nurse when she insisted that Hannah get out of her bed and go for a walk to see how she could function before deciding whether to release her or not. And she was doubly unhappy when nurse told her she had to wear a mask.

Miss Grumpy Pants in her cute hospital nightgown.

Mommy's favorite part was her back end showing out the back of the gown:) She was mildly happy when she discovered the fish tank at the end of the hallway.

Finally a smile. Hannah gets to go home. YAY! She is sooo happy! We all decided that we would hope for the best (that she would decide to drink and eat when at home) and the doctor released her. She was a bit stubborn at first, but every time we tell her now that she needs to either (a) take the medicine/drink the juice or (b) go back to the hospital, she is suddenly able to make the right choice:) Oh, one last hospital funny... when we were waiting in the emergency room the nurse came in to take Hannah's temperature, and she totally refused to cooperate. While Mommy tried to come up with some creative way to convince her, the nurse cut to the chase and said, "OK, we'll have to do it rectally." When Mommy explained to Hannah what this meant, she cried no and opened wide her mouth. Yep, given a choice, she will make the right one:) We are happy to report that she is home now, and much happier, healthier. We hope your Christmas was much more un-eventful and hopefully next year ours will be too:)