Fun at our gymnastics class!

Merrie Ferris
267-625-6401

Javan was eating some oatmeal and strawberries. I was in the middle of pouring a nice big cup of coffee when Javan said....

"Mommy, why do some little kids get to live with Jesus?"

Gulp...I took a huge gulp of my coffee hoping that it will kick in quicker that way ;-)

Oh, its going to be one of THOSE mornings....

Carving our pumpkin with Harrison. Oh what fun!

Missing

Yesterday, I kissed my baby goodbye as he spent the night with daddy and anticipated his trip to Disney World with Grandma and Pa Pa.  From Wednesday through Monday Javan will be enjoying sunny weather and hopefully a run in with Buzz Light Year. 

Lance and I, on the other hand are looking forward to a QUIET relaxing week of being able to sleep in and get some things done around the house....  

Last night I couldn't sleep.

I woke up at 1am. I don't know if I had a bad dream or what it was BUT... I couldn't fall back asleep after countless trips to the bathroom... drinks of water...blah blah blah.

I was thinking about Javan and how much I missed him ALREADY.  I started thinking of worse case scenarios like if he got hurt or WORSE while he was gone.  I started thinking about when he is a teenager that   he might want to live with Chad... only because "the grass is greener on the other side" and I couldn't stop thinking about THAT! How I could help him to see that living with us would be the safer more stable option.  What could I do now to help him make wise choices as a teenager (this thinking comes from the Love and Logic book, which we LOVE).  

By 3am I was still thinking about what ifs... and just missing his little cuddle sooooo much.... hating that he wasn't sleeping in the room next to us, safe and sound.

I did eventually fall asleep. I think I looked at the clock last at 3:30. I definitely wasn't expecting all of this anxiety about him being gone....lets hope the rest of the week goes smoothly.

Fall fun

Well, this fall has certainly not been dull.  :-) Last weekend we went to a fall fest and Javan had a blast ...

Lance and I had fun too, except that moment when we couldn't find Javan and while I am a frantic mess, Lance managed to find him in a strange man's arms (ok, not strange.. just another dad who probably has experienced the awful feeling of a lost child).

That aside, it was a great time... lots of slides and pumpkins and train rides and a corn maze... can't really beat it.  Then the NEXT day we went to Louisburg cider mill with Lance's sister and her family and had some AWESOME apple cider and some apple cider donuts.  yum! A great weekend :-)

The weekend BEFORE that Javan went to a friends birthday party and they were able to decorate their own aprons and then decorate their own cupcakes.  Jav had so much fun playing with all the boys (especially Luke and Seth whom will forever be his little role models).

Pictures from this weekend are uploaded on the web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Merriettgrace/Fall2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCPS2ooP6-MW6hgE&feat=directlink

Gotta love google

As a wedding gift, we got a whole bunch of new towel.  Towels seemed to be the gift of choice among family and friends, which is great because we really did need some new towels (I mean, seriously, is there a such thing as too many towel - don't answer that).

These new towels are so soft and snuggly and nice... we haven't used them yet, for fear that they will soon turn rough and scratchy like all of the other old towels we have.  This maddness must come to an end, especially since we are planning to repaint most of the house and our bathroom would look soooo pretty with the new towels in it.

So, google search it is... "How do you keep your towels soft and new"

The answer:

Vinegar and baking soda... mainly vinegar

I've heard of several families getting rid of their chemical cleaners and just use vinegar for pretty much everything... but I wasn't quite sold on it.

However, this morning I read this post:

Just a thought: i know my previous comments are long, but i really think that we are all complicating our lives with convenience. i am not saying to abandon your favorite cleaners, because there are things i love and would not give up. i love my dawn, cascade, tide, and downy and i wouldn't give them up.

But what if you could simplify, save money, and time, reduce the amount of spray bottles and cleaner, and not have to compromise?

Let me ask you this: what do you clean your microwave with? what do your wash your fresh veggies with? what do clean your frig with?

My answer used to be bleach, then i got sick and was diagnosed with lupus and had to rethink things.

What did my granny and my great-grandmother use? Then it came to me: vinegar and baking soda. You can literally clean everything in your house with vinegar. (except granite and marble).

i remember cleaning windows with vinegar and news paper, and guess what? It still works, but would it work on anything else?

I thought long and hard about what it would take to make me a believer (a convert if you will. i used to clean everything with bleach). then it came to me: the oven.

I took the racks out and put them in the bathtub and sprayed them down with full strength vinegar and let them sit. I turned on the warming drawer to heat up the oven just a little bit and sprayed the oven, door and the glass and let it sit.

I waited until about an hour passed and then sprayed the racks with hot water and wiped a few spots with a scrubby. They looked new!

i resprayed the oven and used the scrubby on the glass and wiped it down with hot water and it worked.

I was stunned, hooked. Glass to grease, no steaks and no residue.

i kind of feel like the Lorax in Dr. Seuss,

shaking my fist, "glub, glub" at you know who.

Try some, try some you will love it too!

I'm a geek. I tried to resist but it was no use.

Sorry i got carried away. star

***************************

And suddenly I'm a little intrigued. So.... a little vinegar we will try.  I will let you know how it goes.  

By the way, I was stunned at all of the many  uses vinegar has... check this link:

http://www.versatilevinegar.org/usesandtips.html

Merrie Ferris
267-625-6401

One day I decided to make my own bread.  Not really sure why, just a new challenge I suppose.  It was a disaster and ended up in the trash.  I tried again.... another pile of dough that didn't rise for me in the trash.  

Then I bought a breadmaker.  It was an amazing purchase. I just throw in the ingredients and kazow... fresh baked bread.... and quite delicious I might add....

I started to explore this machine's capabilities... Jelly, Pizza dough... you name it... it pretty much makes it.  A great purchase and it got me to thinking... all of these years we are sort of conditioned to believe that those things we buy at the store are just way too much work, if even possible, to make ourselves.  

Cake and brownie mixes, for example.  its so simple, you take the box... add some eggs, water, and oil and its done. Why would anyone do anything different?

.....wheat flour enriched with Niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cocoa powder processed with alcal, dextrose, artificial flavors, carrageenan, sodium bicarbonate.......

that's why.  

high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil are both TERRIBLE for your body and is in NEARLY every item we buy!

I feel like i would just overlook the long list of ingredients that you can't pronounce just because I thought that it was my only option... then I realized..

its not my only option.  

I could avoid all of those unnecessary ingredients by just taking the extra 10 min and add my own flour, sugar, cocoa powder... and whatever else the recipe calls for... Its really not that hard... the 10 extra min to add a few extra ingredients totally worth the health of our family....

Everyday Lance comes home from work and has wheat thins and hummus.... Now, the hummus we buy is about $4 for a little tub so i decided to save us some $$ and make our own.  I was appalled at how easy it was!!  Today I was reading about Wheat thins REALLY REALLY REALLY RIDICULOUSLY high in sodium.  So.. today i made wheat thins... do you know its only 7 ingredients (all ingredients i already had in my cupboard) and takes 5-7 mins to cook?  My cupboards that were once stocked with boxes and cans of "food" is almost completely bare. 

And then I watched Food inc and realized all of those big companies that pretty much control the food industry... are all in decision making positions in the FDA and  USDA.... and so that answers my question as to why no one really cares what is put in our food and the regulations are so lax.... and my trust is broken...

ps....i grind my own flour which makes bomb-diggity bread AND  I spend about 1/2 the budget I used to on groceries... everything we eat is made at home :-) Plus, no more wasted time clipping coupons and deal searching.  Its really a win win :-)

Silly Willy

Yesterday I started the morning like I always do... make the bed, remind Javan to make his bed, get dressed, breakfast, feed the dog, feed the fish...... that's when I realized something was not quite right... As i dropped the little pellets of food in his bowl, silly willy just layed there...

 

I texted Lance.  "Silly Willy is dead :( "

 

I kept on thinking of how in the world I was going to break the news to Javan. I really didn't want to get into the whole death, heaven..bye bye fishy conversation with him (although I knew it was inevitable when we decided to purchase the fish...and adopted the dog for that matter).  I went back over and tapped the bowl a little and noticed the most pathetic little "glug glug" come from him...

 

HE'S STILL HANGING ON!!!

 

All day I kept a close eye on him as he layed at the bottom of the tank, hoping and praying he'll pull through (I realize he's a fish, but ya know, he's our pet and we love him).  In the afternoon, I saw him swim up and finally take a tiny bite of his food from the morning.... then returned to his place at the bottom of the tank... resting.  Oh dear.

 

After watching him lay around all day, we decided to get Javan prepared because Silly was not looking so good.  So, Lance and I start a conversation about how people (eh hem...and pets...) get sick sometimes and sometimes they go to heaven and sometimes they get better. Then I said, "Javan, Silly Willy is sick." i wish I could remember exactly how the conversation went from there but I was too wrapped up in Javan's adorable little concerned face when he decided to pray for Silly Willy.  He put his tiny little hands over the fish tank where Silly Willy was laying.  I don't know what he prayed because there was music playing and I couldn't hear him. 

 

We watched as Javan finished his prayer and moved his little hand away...

 

 and Silly Willy swam up and around the tank looking as healthy as ever....The miracle of a small child's prayer!

 

I put Javan to bed and took a last look at Silly before I got ready for bed too.  He was looking pretty good... at least swimming around (albeit a bit slow).  This morning Silly Willy was pretty much back to normal - Praise God for caring for even the smallest creatures that He created.

 

Of course, this brought on the conversation about heaven in the car on the way to school. Kind of a huge concept for a little boy, but I thought I'd try to explain what I can...

 

He said "Mommy, some little boys go to heaven"

I said "yes, some do." 

Javan: "Mommy, I want to go to heaven too." 

Me: "Well, those little boys that go to heaven are usually sick and need God to take care of them.  Its sad for thier mommy's because they will miss them but it is what is best for the little boys. Mommy isn't ready for you to go to heaven yet. You aren't sick and I still want to take care of you."

Javan: "Well, mommy, I want to go to the heaven at OUR HOUSE!" 

 

haha. Glad to know he thinks home is heaven.  I just smiled and left it at that.  What a sweet little boy.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

This weekend was loads of fun! We ended up sticking around at Harrison's birthday party (I mean.. you can't leave without having some cake!!) haha. And then we drove up to Lance's grandma's house.  Lance, his dad, and Javan set up the tent...  Javan LOVED being such a helper and asked all night if it was time for bed yet ;-)

We enjoyed lots of yummy food... Javan had other kids to play with... and a big bonfire that Javan was delighted to throw some sticks in and roast marshmallows.. We brought smores but Javan and the other kids were less then thrilled about the chocolate and graham crackers.  So, lesson learned, save your money and just roast marshmallows :-)

And then we bundled up and got ready for bed.  I dressed Javan in long johns, footy pajama's, socks and a hat...... he woke up with his footy pajama's unzippered and no hat. haha. That boy just doesn't get cold. ;-)

Javan's air mattress deflated so at some point in the middle of the night he ended up in bed with me and Lance. Lance's grandma has a couple of dogs that were barking at coyotes all night and someone decided to sleep in their truck...and let it run... all night... it wasn't a quiet truck ;-)  We woke up in the morning to grandma scraping the icey dew off  her car.  Lance on one side (I think we stole all the blankets cause he said his back was cold all night) and Javan on the other.. I woke up roasty toasty and comfortable...except my nose which was completely frozen.  

It was definitely an experience to remember and I would even consider doing it again !

Pictures of our night (and a few other summer fun days) on the picasa web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Merriettgrace/Summer10?authkey=Gv1sRgCPzk-pm1qpfLMg#

javan playing w/ the chickens at lances parents house

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide

ooooh boy... its gonna be CHILLY!!

Hour-by-Hour Weather Forecast for
Milford, KS

° F | ° C

NEW! TruPoint forecast with more detail for each hour. Learn more.

Saturday, October 2

12 am

54°F
Clear

54°F

0%

72%

From WSW
1 mph

 

1 am

53°F
Clear

53°F

0%

74%

From W
1 mph

Next 

2 am

52°F
Clear

52°F

0%

77%

From WNW
2 mph

3 am

51°F
Clear

50°F

0%

77%

From NW
4 mph

4 am

50°F
Clear

48°F

0%

80%

From N
5 mph

5 am

49°F
Clear

46°F

0%

83%

From N
6 mph

6 am

48°F
Clear

45°F

0%

86%

From NNE
7 mph

7 am

49°F
Clear

46°F

0%

83%

From NNE
8 mph

 Sunrise 7:25 am

Things have been crazy as school has started. I think finally things are falling into place and the days are a little calmer.  Javan started school and he seems to love it.  Chad has been good about picking up Javan from school every Tuesday and for the next few weeks he is taking Javan to a "science class" which Javan has been having a lot of fun at.  Every other Tuesday Chad has been taking Javan over night. Wednesday night Javan has Awana and Thursday night we just started him with gymnastics... which I completely forgot to take pictures of his first class yesterday but it was great and he has a lot of fun.  

This weekend is Harrison's first birthday party and then we are going to Wamego for Oztober fest.. get it.. oz.. haha. and they going to have one of the original munchkins there from wizard of oz.  I know... I can barely hold in the excitement.   After all of THAT great fun, we are going to get BACK in the car and head even further west to his grandmother's house where we will be celebrating his uncle's 50th birthday - complete with a hog roast, smores, and a campout...oh yes, we are borrowing a tent and an air mattress from Shane and Shana and camping out. Javan is THRILLED.... except it is supposed to be pretty chilly that night... we'll see if I make it all night in a tent in the cold.... 

Fwd:

Javan concentrating playing pool  Gotta love that tongue hanging out !

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Lance Ferris <lferris03@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Sep 27, 2010 at 9:06 AM
Subject:
To: Merriett Ferris <merriettgrace@gmail.com>