Our week in a nutshell

(Or should that be "our nuts in a weak shell"? We are a little nuts, and a little weak...)

We didn't escape the sickies...
It seems like everyone's dealing with some sort of yucky stuff, and the Greenhouse is no exception. The cough and fever started with little Garfield, then went to Emma, and now even poor baby Elizabeth is congested. It seems like they're on the mend, but appetites are slim, and moodiness abounds. Thankfully, my mother was here this week on Spring Break and was able to help me with the kids, doctor visits, etc. Whew!

Garfield's birthday weekend...
...was a whirlwind! He finished up his irrigation course to become a licensed irrigator on Friday, then we ordered pizza and ate peach cobbler (which isn't very conducive to holding candles, by the way--they melt before they can get blown out. But you gotta honor the birthday boy's requests). Unfortunately, I had to rush out on the event to attend the funeral of a lady who was in my Motherwise Bible study last year. Barbara was a sweet woman who homeschooled her two children, and went to be with the Lord at a fairly young age due to cancer.

On Saturday, I surprised Garfield with tickets to attend the Dave Ramsey Live event! First, we drove the older kids out to Fredricksburg to stay with some dear friends of ours, the Waltons. They kept Emma and Garfield quite happy with plenty of goat-holding and sandbox adventures, and even the sleepover part of the weekend was a sucess. Garfield and I got to have lunch together and were highly entertained by Dave Ramsey. If you've read his books and listen to his radio program, there wasn't a ton of new information, but it was a good reinforcement and motivator for what we already know.

The movie "Amazing Grace"...
...is as great as all the reviews make it out to be. Worthy of big-screen viewing for sure. It'll be one we'll add to our family collection, but I'm glad we got to see it at the theater. It seems very few films are worth paying $17-$25 to see at the movies, but every now and then there's a real winner like this one.

It's hitting me...
...that I still have a brand-new baby in the house. When she was about a month old, I felt quite well. So rather than taking things slowly, I (insanely) thought I could tackle organizing our entire house at once, along with several other projects. I think I'm starting to pay for that now. The cumulative lack of quality sleep over the past two months, plus the daily demands of caring for the three kiddos is wearing me out. As in, I'm sleepy. All the time. I think I need to reaquaint myself with those trusty little iron pills.

And lastly...
...we've been tremedously blessed by our circles of Christian friends recently. Both our church and my HOPE homeschool group have graciously smothered us with diapers, wipes, and other bottom-freshening paraphanalia. I doubt we'll need to buy diapers for Elizabeth within the next three months or more! Also, our family, church members, and MOPS friends have gone above and beyond in providing meals for us. (We even received some packed in dry ice, via UPS, all the way from a sweet friend in Kentucky!) They kept pouring in for weeks, and like the shoes on the feet of the children of Isreal as they wandered the desert, those meals seemed to stretch for a curiously long time. I've only recently had to start cooking again, and I am SO grateful for all the help. There is nothing better than meals and diapers when you've got a new wee one.


So that's our little world. Hope you all have a great week.