"Mommy, this is not good!"

Hello! Its me. I'm back from - well - wherever I have been! Not only have we had a busy week or two, but we also have been sick! Liam, Leila, and I all had nasty head colds last week. It was not the worst thing in the world, but not the most pleasant either! I was chatting with a good friend of mine yesterday about how constantly wiping noses and such is definitely not too fun and sorta gross. But, a mommy's gotta do what a mommy's gotta do! The good news is that I think we are over it and just praying that Daddy doesn't get it too. His throat is a little sore and he is starting to feel a little sinus pressure (which is how it started with me), but he is trying to nip in the bud before it starts.

So, we were occupied with that, as well as our crazy busy weekend we had last week getting ready for the weekend. Friday night we had our Fear Factor Youth Rally. We try to do at least two bigger youth things each year - one in summer and one in fall. This year we planned to do the Fear Factor, which the teens were totally excited about. Each week, we average about 10-12 teens, so for the rally we were really praying and hoping for about 20. Well, we ended up having 29 - wonderful! Over half of them had never even been to our church before, and almost all of them went forward to be counseled for salvation. None made "official" decisions, but they did get some questions answered and definitely the seed was planted.

The rally was really fun - we had all kinds of gross games and different than usual games. Of course, it couldn't be Fear Factor without having to have an eating game, so Matt went to the local butcher, who gave Matt a ton of pigs feet. Let me just tell you one thing - GROSS!!!! They aren't just little feet - there is like part of the leg on there, the "hoofs" and even still some hair/fur! They smelled yucky, too! The kids were competing the whole night for a grand prize, so in order to qualify to win, they had to eat at least one bit of one. I was surprised that almost everyone did. I had to go out of the room because it was making me gag. And to think that some people LOVE to eat that stuff! One boy ate the whole thing (well, all that he could -not the bone!) because we had a special prize for whoever finished all of theirs. So, the night went well and we were exhausted when it was all over.

Then, Saturday night we had a surprise party at church planned for one of our elders who just turned 75. That was a lot of fun and a great time of food, fellowship, etc. Sunday was busy as usual, and we had a Young Adults fellowship planned at our house after church Sunday night. We were up/out late all those nights, so come Monday morning, we were just done it. I think we have recovered a little, though still tired, but hey! Who isn't?

Matt is still struggling with his intestinal pain. Still waiting for some more procedures to determine the cause of it. But other than that, he is pretty good. He is trying to find the time to accomplish all of his normal weekly stuff, as well as fit in taking his first class for his Masters that he is working on.

I am doing well. When people ask me how I am feeling, my answer is usually, "Pregnant." If you have ever been pregnant, then you know what I mean. It is not terrible, just uncomfortable and stuff. The baby is definitely growing and running out of room. She kicks me a lot - and seems to favor the right side for some reason. But everything is good there. My recent blood work did show that I was a little low on iron (which I suspected) so I have been taking extra iron pills, which seem to be helping me some with my energy level and sleeping. I still can't get comfy to sleep, and still am quite weary, but it is a bit better. Yay for that! I will be 29 weeks tomorrow! Almost to the 30's!! I like it so much better once you are in the 30's. The end is easier to picture then!

Liam and Leila are great and seem to have a super dose of energy lately. They have a lot of fun playing together and keep us laughing all the time. Leila is really trying to talk a lot more, which is fun for us. She is cute and she knows it! Liam is always busy playing with his cars, or helping me with something, or talking on his imaginary phone that is installed in his hand. He is always talking to someone on that thing! :-) I took a video of him today singing, which I will try to post in the next day or so. He sure loves to sing! He is now into making up his own songs. Today, I asked him what song he was going to sing, and he told me, "I want to sing, 'Liam is here'." So, then he sang a song about how "Liam is here," and how he is eating pizza, etc. It is just too fun to see his imagination at work!

So, that is how we are here in Canada. I will leave you with this cute story, then I am going to go relax on the couch with my book.

I will readily admit that, the farther along in my pregnancy, the more I let certain things "slip." I am one who hates clutter and loves a clean, neat house. I usually don't have too much of a problem keeping up with it all, but, lately I have been slacking in some things. I don't know about your house, but usually the last room in our house to get cleaned and straightened up is mine and Matt's bedroom. This is basically just because that is one of the only rooms that no one ever goes in but Matt and I. So, if we have guests over (which is all the time!), the rest of the house is clean and I am not embarrassed for them to go into. Of course, people use the washroom, they usually go into the kids' rooms, they are in the kitchen, living room, dining, etc. So I try to at least make sure that all that looks presentable, and if our room is a little messy, its okay cuz no one will see it. (Oh come on! Surely I am not the only one who is like that!)

Anyways, Liam and Leila are more than capable of picking up their own rooms, which I am teaching them to do. Sometimes, their room will be a huge mess and I will take them in there and stand there while they clean (helping them out a little too.) Okay, now to the cute story...

The other day I was in my room making my bed when Liam walked in. He looked around and saw that the hamper was overflowing and there was stuff all on top of my dresser and shoes out in the floor and not in the closet. I will admit that it did look pretty bad. Well, Liam looked all around with a very serious look in his face, then looked at me and our conversation went as follows:

(Liam) "Who made this mess? Did Mommy make this mess?"

(Mommy - trying to keep a straight face) "Yes, Liam, Mommy did make this mess."

(Liam, looking around again and shaking his head) "Mommy, this is not good!"

(Mommy) "Yes, Liam, this is not good. Mommy is going to clean up her room."

I lost it then, simply because of how serious he looked! Also, it is pretty much an exact replica of many conversations I have had with him. When he makes a huge mess in his room, I often ask who did it, and then tell him that it is not good (he seems to understand "not good" better than "very bad").

But, it was yet another reminder to me that our kids are watching what we do, and how our actions speak louder than words. It is not right for me to get on to him for having a messy room, when mine is even more messy. Kids notice that stuff - especially the older they get. Ahhh... out of the mouth of babes, huh?

Well, have a great rest of your week! Ours looks like it should be somewhat "normal" so that is nice!