Our Family Jots and Tittles

Sunday- Father/Son Hunting
Today is the "youth" hunting day in TN, so Pappa and Elijah went out twice; in the morning and in the late afternoon. They didn't get anything, but it was good Father/son time for both!

Monday- Stitch and Cut
Hailey and I are back to sewing this week, working on quilts. We are also learning to embroider in the process as we hope to have one square of each quilt embroidered. I hope the recipients don't mind that they receive the results of the beginning of our learning curve in both of these skills! :-)

Tuesday- Suds Everywhere
Last week, we had seemed to have a few calamities, but I forgot to post them as they went along. One was the stove over heating (our fault). The other was the washing machine over flowing! We buy our detergents in bulk and then pour them into smaller containers for daily use. Well...one of the kids was helpful in refilling the laundry detergent bottle. (I didn't realize this good deed.) Then through out the week, the machine was especially sudsy. I did notice that and reminded people that we only use 1/2 the cup of detergent and someone is putting too much in. (We have a front load washer.) Everyone insisted that they knew that. Then...one load the suds started oozing out of the door mid-wash and filling the bathroom floor. We ran to stop it and clean it...then it was discovered what the cause was. The helper filled the laundry bottle with dish soup - not laundry detergent! Oops. It seems that there was no long term damage done....thankfully.

Wednesday- No corners
A couple weeks ago, when I was away all day for dental appointments, on my way out I told the kids, "I will play a game with any kids who have 'no corners' today. Will everyone be helpful and co-operate with Daddy while I am gone?" ("corners" meaning standing in the corner for transgression - or even worse, doing something to merit a switch.) They were all very excited, and agreed. Two of the three littles accomplished their goal. Now this has become a daily check point and really been a motivation for the kids to declare "no corners today", when they have behaved all day. It doesn't always result in a game with mommy like it did on that day, but it does always result in positive recognition for good behavior, and give them something them a little target to hit each day.

Thursday - A Rough Day for Chazaq
Baby Chazaq (1 yr) had a rough night last night. Tummy troubles. Maybe he wasn't ready for broccoli quiche for lunch just yet. :-( He did love it and ate a bunch...but I think it didn't sit well with him. Mommy and Daddy are a little sleepy this morning too!

Chazaq got a couple of good naps and so by the end of the day (around 4) he was back to himself, playing hard. However, we had one more "scare" before the say was out. We gave him a little bit of our lunch (we ate a really late lunch today) which has salmon and tuna in it. I think he had an allergic reaction to one or the other (because they were the most obviously new thing...but I suppose the confirmation of that is yet to be seen). He broke out into big red welts on his arms, legs and butt. Poor kid, the first one we saw popped up while I was reading to the children. The book was interrupted, mommy hopped up and prayerfully and hastily undressed him on the counter under the track light to inspect him. The kids crowded around (because it was highly unusual behavior on my part!). All hoovered over him in concern as these red puffy splotches and swelling were revealed over a large part of his body. I had Hailey fetch some chamomile, nettle and yarrow from the pantry and brew a couple infusions. (For internal and external treatment as deemed necessary) Elijah scrubbed the tub with baking soda, to prepare it to soak him if needed, Pappa (who had come home 30 seconds before the discovery) had soft cotton clothes to change him into and a fresh diaper (after having taken pictures). Elijah checked his bed for any evidence of things for him to have had reactions to (he had just come out of his nap). Then Pappa hit the Internet with naked baby in his lap to double check our diagnoses, while Mamma hit the books. We became pretty confident it was an allergic reaction and decided to watch him closely before intervening. He did not appear to be uncomfortable, and his respiratory was not effected. His body was doing what it needed to do. (YHVH's is such an amazing Creator and Designer! Halleluyah!) In about two hours, the welts that appeared almost instantly (if we have properly isolated the cause) and covered almost a third of his body were gone!!! NO treatment necessary, but as I reflect back on it, I have giggle and realize how blessed this little baby is as his family buzzed around him like a pit crew at the Indi 500 when their was the slightest sign of concern for him.

Friday - Meal Blessings
A friend of ours, Julie, (who has nine kids) posted something on her blog about family hugs at meal time. Ben and I have been talking about being more deliberate with encouraging and bonding and edifying the children. Something that we felt we were not being "regular enough" with. It was easy when you have 2 kids, but when you have 6 and so many littles...it is easy to forget in the daily routine. We have started implementing this idea around our own family table, and it too has had a positive effect on our family. This is how we do it. When we are called to the table, we all stand around the table, behind our chairs. Then Daddy (except for lunch, when he is often away now - then mommy starts it) tells the boys, "lets show some love" and the boys go to the girls and give them hugs. Then they give each other hugs and then momma and girls hug one another. This is such a simple but uniting thing! Mamma and Pappa also make it a point to try to edify the children at this time too. We thank them for things they have done thus far in the day, good choices that have made, things that we have noticed about them, thing like that. This fills their cup and reminds us...how important it is for us to notice and communicate as parents. Again, it really effects the atmosphere of the home. Doing it at meal time, helps mommy and daddy be regular, consistent and deliberate. Meal time always happens, 2-3 times a day, which is why we have chosen it as our "place" to exercise these things. We have done the traditional "blessing the children" thing with prayer on Erev Shabbat meal, (which is good!), however, we really wanted to make that the atmosphere in our home as a daily habit or "lifestyle", again, like it once was. It really helps keep our attitudes and priorities "in check". We may go back to doing it in a more special prayer way again during our Shabbat meal, like we did in seasons past....but for now...this is a very good casual daily habit that is blessing everyone in the family.

Shabbat- Smoky Shabbat

We had another incident with the wood stove this morning. We think it might have been a delayed consequence to our overheating last week in combination with having gotten into some green wood and maybe even the moisture level outside (??) ...but that has yet to be confirmed.

We had smoke pouring out of stove pipe inside. Not good. There seems to be a build of of creosote in our chimney (this can cause chimney fires...we don't want that!). Ben put a call in for "chimney guy" to come take a look at it and clean it out for us. We are hoping he can confirm the cause for us so that we can prevent it from happening again! It also looks like we will be buying some wood from a different source to get us through the next couple of months. This is also a really good reminder that we need to be better prepared AHEAD for next season and from now on.

"The Smith family" came down from Dixon for Shabbat together. Good times as always.

May you stay in Yah's precious will this week! We'll see you next week.

Ben, Pamela and the Tribe