Snow!

It began snowing last night and this morning we were greeted by a beautiful white wonderland.  This is the most snow we've had since Lilly was alive.

The timing seemed rather unfortunate to us because we're all sick.  Fevers and coughs.  But still, we couldn't waste the opportunity to take Solomon out into his first real snow!

Solomon enjoyed walking on the road and singing a little song:

 
The chickens refused to come out of the coop today.  But the goats seemed to enjoy the snow:

Dixie kept her puppies warm with the help of a heat lamp:

Within a few minutes of coming inside, Hunter was asleep in front of the fire:

 

Lord willing, we will all be feeling back to normal soon.  

How much is that doggie in the window?

For whatever reason, both of my boys have loved the song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window."  They liked to help make the animal noises in the song and it was fun.  Little kids making animal noises is too cute!  Solomon likes making the cow's "moooo" noise whenever he sees a cow and he likes other people to make cow noises.  Which is ironic because when Hunter was a baby, if someone (Frank!) made a cow noise - he would always cry.

Anyway, I am getting off topic here.  The point of this post is to share some pictures of Dixie's puppies and let you know that if you have been thinking about getting a puppy - we will be giving her's away for FREE!  (No coupons required!)

Awwwww ... just look at these sweet furry little pups!

Dixie  is a German Shepherd - collie mix.  We are not positive about the father, but the only dog we see running the neighborhood is a big black dog that looks like a lab - pit bull mix.  The dog has come on our property a number of times, but never bothered us.  I'm not totally positive about what kind he is. 

If you know a lot about dogs, and think you can identify what kind of puppies these are (other than the German Shepherd/collie part, I'd love to hear from you.

We are thinking we may keep 2 of the puppies.  But we need to see how they are with the chickens before we decide for sure.  So that means we'll have at least 3 puppies that need a home.

In other news, we are still waiting for our appointment with the lead detection guy.  Frank is still waiting for the kidney stone(s) to pass.  Thankfully though, the pain has not increased. 

I found some bird pictures Tabby took on my camera this morning.  This tufted titmouse made me laugh:

Just what do you think you're lookin' at!

"Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name." - Psalm 97:12

Welcome quintuplets!

Yesterday we welcomed 4 little puppies into our life.  This morning there was another one.  Dixie is the proud - and very tired looking - mama of FIVE puppies!  Three black and 2 brown.

No names for the puppies yet, though one of the black is trying hard for Houdini as it escaped a few times.

Yesterday Tabby told me Dixie was panting and shaking hard.  We watched her - completely clueless as to what was going on.  (Remember we had just found out Monday she was pregnant.)  I googled it and learned that she was in labor!   Goodness!  We weren't used to the idea of Dixie even being pregnant!  And now the puppies were coming?!

Of all days, Tabby had piano lesson in town yesterday afternoon.  I felt funny cancelling the lesson at the last minute so we went.  Before we left there was one little black puppy.

 When we came home there were 3 more.  And this morning there was another one, bringing the grand total to 5.

I will try to get some good photos today. 

Silver in the eyes

In my last post I mentioned that Solomon was still sick and had "goopy eyes" so I was going to take him to the doctor.  Well his eyes are almost completely better - thanks to a suggestion from my friend C from Haven Enterprises.  She told me to try putting a little collodial silver in his eyes.  I posted recently that we use silver as a natural antibiotic during sickness.  But I had never thought of putting it in our eyes!  But I gave it a try and his eyes looked better after just one application - of a few drops on eyes he was squeezing shut as hard as he could!  Amazing!  So no doctor visit needed.  Plus he's all better except for a lingering cough.

the blue munchkin

oh yeah - a front end loader!

 Frank is still battling his kidney stone(s) but we think he may be winning!  He still has some pain but not as bad as it was.  We are following suggestions to dissolve the stone and help it pass from a book called Be Your Own "Doctor": An Informative Guide to Herbal Home Health Care by Rachel Weaver M.H.  This book has been invaluable to us and the section on kidney stones is proving to be also.  We followed the directions for dissolving the stones and used water, limes, and alfalfa tablets the first day.  Then the next 2 days Frank drank apple cider vinegar and honey in water, and took alfalfa tablets.  He noticed improvement but still felt them.  So now we're using the book's suggestion to use Herb Pharm Stone Breaker compound three times a day, along with the alfalfa tablets and a banaba leaf supplement.  (The book suggested banaba leaf tea but I couldn't find that readily.)  The compound is 3x a day.  In the evening I give him apple cider vinegar with lemon juice and olive oil.  (Yuck!  Apple cider vinegar helps dissolve stones and relax the urinary tract.)  I'm going to keep him on this until he's better.  I have ordered a kidney cleanse and kidney cleanse + function tea from Supplement Warehouse, but am still waiting for those.  Finally, the book suggested having a bottle of lobelia on hand.  (I've also ordered that from Supplement Warehouse.)  The book's author said she was having terrible pain from a stone and took 2 droppers of the lobelia by mouth and then rubbed lobelia liberally onto her kidney stone area.  Within 5 minutes she was off the floor and sitting in a chair.  Lord willing Frank won't get to that point, but I thought we better be ready.  Finally, I decided that he will do a kidney cleanse twice a year from now on, as a preventative. 

So there's my crash course on trying to get rid of kidney stones naturally.  Hopefully that will help someone else!

If you saw Tabby's blog earlier this week, you know we were surprised to see that the goats aren't the  only furry creatures around here that are pregnant:

On Monday Frank and Tabby both realized that Dixie was "with puppy"!

Dixie trying to look innocent - "Who me sneak off?"

As part of Tabby's schoolwork today, she's going to write up a report on dog pregnancies so we're fully informed on the whole process.  I'm looking forward to puppies - I've never seen newborn puppies.  (Or any newborn animal except baby birds.)

This made me laugh the other day - Solomon was pushing Hunter around in an old baby doll stroller that was Tabby's.  Push hard Solomon!

And speaking of Tabby, she has been enjoying taking the goats for a walk.  On a leash!

 

 "This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalm 118:24

Still waiting on The Man With The Gun

I've had several inquiries from people wondering when the man with the (lead) gun is coming.  I don't know - I'm still waiting to hear back as to when our appointment will be.  I rather expect to hear something this week.  In the meantime, I'm continuing Solomon's lead detox.  Something new I've learned is that I need to give him extra snacks.  Apparently more food in the tummy can help with the detox too.

One of my Trisomy 18 mama's told me that a neighbor's son had high lead.  It turned out to be from the mini blinds next to his crib!  (There is lead in the pre-1997 blinds.)   Whenever the blind was raised or lowered the lead dust spread all around.

Solomon is still sick with a cough, even though he's running around acting normal.  He also has "goopy eyes."  (Keeps getting crusty stuff building up in his long eye lashes.)  I will probably have to take him to the doctor tomorrow as I remember whenever Lilly got the "goopy eyes" she needed some special eye drops to clear them up.

Solomon "blowing his nose" (He just blows air out his mouth into kleenex)

Earlier this week, I got a fresh bag of soap nuts.  (To read about how to use soap nuts to wash clothes cheaply and naturally, see my post here.)  Hunter loves playing with them for a bit before I put them in the laundry area.  Soap nuts are great for filling up the back of a toy dump truck with.  This time, Hunter set up a rather arty looking display:

yes that really is a washing machine Christmas ornament!

Ahhhh ... a fresh one-pound bag of soap nuts

By the way, my friend H. told me that she uses soap nuts to wash cloth diapers.  They are low sudsing and she says they work great!  I have not tried this myself.  I still have a jug of Allens Naturally that I am using for washing Solomon's diapers.  But I'll have to give the soap nuts a try soon.  (Don't forget - you can order soap nuts and get a 10% discount.  See the Olive Shoot Institute ad on the right side of this blog.)

modern cloth diapers: no pins required (photo credit: Hunter)

Early last week we had some very cold days along with rain.  We had a laugh when we looked out the window one morning and saw a bunch of the hens hanging out on the porch while Dixie snoozed in the chair.

Hmmm.  When my sister-in-law bought us that white wicker furniture, I bet she never thought it would be used by furry and feathered creatures trying to stay dry!  (I know I didn't.)

Speaking of feathered creatures, one of our hens has been acting odd lately.  Tabby thought she was just broody, but we're not so sure now.  We're afraid she's getting sick.  (That would be very disappointing as she's our last Buff and is a good layer.)  Tabby posted about the problem yesterday.  If you know about chickens, please read her post, and let us know if you have any suggestions.   

If you would, please say a prayer for Frank.  He's battling a kidney stone.  I've been dumping all sorts of remedies into him to try and dissolve the stone(s).  I've only seen him with a kidney stone once, and that was pretty scary.  (It was about the time of Lilly's first Thanksgiving with us.)  I feel blessed to never have had one.  (They are supposed to be more painful than giving birth.  I think giving birth is painful enough!)  If the remedies work, I will post about them in case they help others.

"Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."  - Jeremiah 17:14

Well I'm off to make an "angel tin" for in memory of a sweet baby boy who's angelversary is later this week.  (Or "heaven birthday" as some friends call it!)

"For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;'" ... - Luke 4:10

Considering those birds and lilies ...

We are now officially a house full of coughing people.  Solomon finally weakened and joined the party.  Like Tabby and I, he started off the "fun" with a fever.  Don't know if he had the aches like we did too.  But he's got a runny nose and ... the cough.  If you hear his angry screams, you know that I'm squirting saline spray up his nose and suctioning him out with "the snotsucker."  (It made Lilly mad too!)

Showin' off his bottom teeth (photo credit: Tabby)

I'm so sick of hearing every one cough.  (Yes I include me in that.)  Sigh.  So thankful we're usually healthy.

For Christmas last month, my gifts were from Haven Enterprises.  (I blogged about this new business last October, and posted photos here.)  This business sells homemade things like trivets, cutting boards, door casings, etc. - all with scripture engraved on them.  I love knowing that these things were designed by my good friend C, and made by her husband.  They make most, if not all, of the wooden things they sell from old trees on their own property. 

I got a cutting board and trivet.  I also got a special gift from my friend and her husband - a plaque to hang up that has lily-of-the-valley flowers on it!  That was such a sweet surprise.  I have it hanging in the part of our home we've dubbed "The Lilly Hall."

plaque and trivet

small sized cutting board

 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" - Matthew 6:25-30

I am very pleased with these things and the quality is really good.  Here is the link for Haven Enterprises shop:   http://havenenterprises.storenvy.com/  The pictures are wonderful and so are the descriptions.

The Mystery of Solomon's High Lead Levels

"We're from the government and we're here to help."

I've seen those words in enough legal briefs and court opinions to make me very, very wary and even a little nervous if they are concerning me.

Yesterday they were.  At 11:00 in the morning, two employees from the Chatham County Health Department knocked on our door.

Who was the target of their visit?

I'm innocent I tell ya!

Last fall, at Solomon's check up with the pediatrician, his iron and lead levels were tested.  (Routine testing at that age.)  Results were that his iron was too low and his lead level a little high.  Those two things can be related.  So I began giving Solomon herbal iron drops each day.  It worked - last month during a re-test, his iron levels had risen nicely.  But unfortunately, the lead level had not dropped.  Not nicely.  Not at all.  It rose a bit more.  It was a "5".  (Anything above "3" starts to become a concern.)

Good thing I read Nancy Drew books as a child, and was used to medical mysteries with Lilly, so I took on the case.  First thing was to have Hunter tested to see if this problem was larger than Solomon.  His results came back shortly after Christmas.  No lead levels to speak of.  Very very good news.

Next I started Solomon on a detox, to see if we can get his lead levels down.  (He's to be re-tested in March.)  I did some internet research, and also consulted with Mountain Meadow Herbs.  (This company had a fascinating beginning - it was with a mother trying desperately to find treatment for her son.  She wrote a book called A Mother's Guide to Herbal Extracts:  Saving Tristan and you can get this book for free here.)  From all of that I put my detox plan into action.

Here is the lead detox I am doing, if you are interested.  Each day I give Solomon:  Herbal Calcium (calcium and magnesium compete with lead for absorption), SuperKids multivitamin (Selenium, Vitamins A, B1, C all help excrete lead), and fermented cod liver oil (fish oils counteract lead and protect blood cells.  I'm stopped giving him dairy products because even though calcium is helpful, dairy products apparently increase lead absorption.  I also read Fluoride can enhance retention, but this isn't an issue for us as we're on well water and I use the Berkey water filter.  Though I have not done it yet, I am going to bathe Solomon in bentonite clay. Finally, I am being sure he eats a lot of foods high in iron and calcium.  Oh and a lot of handwashing throughout the day.

I think I could really do without that icky fish oil ...

Back to our government officials from the county health department.  They were flagged when LabCorp repeated Solomon's tests.  The visit with them actually was very educational.  The county we live in is one of 3 counties in our state that has an aggressive lead detection program so they had a lot of information.

It takes only 1 teaspoon of lead dust to poison a child.  It must be inhaled or digested.  Obviously Solomon still puts a lot of things in his mouth and chews on his fingers, so this is easy for him to do.

We live in a beautiful old farmhouse, built in about 1907.  However, it was re-done in the later 1970s.  But is there pre-1978 lead paint still in here?  I'm not sure.  The previous owners painted too.  Nothing is peeling though, and Solomon doesn't go around chewing on the walls or window sills.  Vinyl mini blinds made before 1997 are a huge concern for many - the lead laiden dust from them blows all around when they are raised or lowered.  But that doesn't seem to be an issue here as we have shades and fabric blinds.

Lead can be in the ground, from the leaded gasoline of the past.  Guess what - one of the men who lived here way back when - was a mechanic.  Relatives of his told us he would have a line of old cars across the back of the yard that he was repairing and selling.  (Remains of one car is in our woods!)  Maybe that is it?  Solomon has been known to eat dirt on occasion.  But really not very often.

Fresh country dirt ... delicious!

Toys?  Solomon and Hunter have a box of matchbox cars that my brothers and I had when we were little.  They're probably chock full of lead.  Furniture?  Quite a bit of the furniture we have is from my mother-in-laws antique shop.  The paint is cracked on some.  But how old is that paint?

So you see we have lots of questions.  It's time to bring in ... the BIG GUN.

Literally.  Yesterday I consented to having the government officials come back soon with a man with a gun.  A lead detection gun.  It is a 35K gun that he points at objects and gets lead level readings.  He will spend 2-3 hours in our home "shooting" things and also check our soil and water.  Lord willing, he will find the answer.  (I was assured he only looks for lead and isn't looking for other problems - like things not "up to code."  I wasn't thinking about that, but apparently a lot of people have worried about that.)

Out of curiosity, I asked the officials yesterday what kind of things they had found lead in in their investigations.  Here are some things:  keys (keys are full of lead! don't let your baby chew on your keys.), antique furniture, ceramic dishes, fishing weights, painted boards that people burn in fireplaces, and a variety of toys - from dolls to backpacks.

Lord willing, we will have answers soon.  I will share them here with the hopes that they might help someone else out there dealing with this.

In the meantime, we'd be blessed if you would remember Solomon in your prayers.  That his lead levels would come down and we would find the source of the problem.  Thank you!

UPDATE:  I should have noted this.  Solomon's lead level is NOT dangerous.  It is only at the "ALERT!" stage.  Kids have a level of about 55 before they receive medication. 

Also, in case you don't know, too much lead in the body - lead poisoning - is bad because it can cause:  decreased bone and muscle growth,poor muscle coordination, damage to the nervous system, kidneys, and/or hearing, speech and language problems, developmental delay, and/or seizures and unconsciousness (in cases of extremely high lead levels).  (Source: Kids Health.)

If you have ever dealt with this issue before I'd love to hear from you with any hints!

Tips to stay healthy during the germy seasons

If you read my last blog post (this past Monday's), you might remember I ended it by saying I would be sharing some tips to stay healthy when people around you are sick.  My timing in this is INCREDIBLY IRONIC.  Guess what?  I AM SICK.  Blah.  There goes all my credibility, right?!

But maybe I can regain a little if I tell you that for the past 20 years or so, it has been rare that I am sick more than once a year.  So see - that's really a pretty good record I think. 

For several weeks, Frank has had a terrible cough (violent at times) but felt fine overall.  (Except during painful coughing fits.)  This with congestion more of the throat area, than deep in the chest, is something that is going around in are area.  People call it the "creeping crude."  Entire families we know have been repeated wiped out from it.  Symptoms also can include sore throat, swollen glands, and discomfort in the ears.

I consider sick people "walking germ machines" though Frank frequently reminds me I have no idea if they are or were contagious.  OK that is true.  But I still think it.  So as the days over the Christmas break passed, and the kids and I stayed healthy, I thought "wow - what a great job I am doing in keeping everyone healthy." 

But then I guess God thought I needed some humbling.

First Hunter succumbed to The Cough.

Even when sick, Hunter loves to create what he calls "hook ups"

Then Tabby got it, though her's started differently.  It started in the typical "Tabby is getting sick" way:  headache, fever, one good throw up session, and general achiness.  After moving past all that she has The Cough with some congestion.  Oh and pink eye in both eyes.  What fun!

Tabby the day before she got sick.  I just think this is a cute picture!

Then Saturday while doing our weekly shopping at Walmart (which always exhausts me anyway) I suddenly started feeling incredibly achy, and sort of dizzy/floaty, and my throat didn't feel right.  Noooooo!  Things are bad when the Mama is sick!  Then yesterday I felt a little feverish, with some achiness in my throat and ears and some of that congestion in my throat.  A little coughing.  Sigh.  Same thing this morning.

However, there is one little warrior in the family who is still going strong!

Solomon loves building/stacking anything he can find

If we have been out in public and around sick people, or are traveling, we all take a few rounds of Echinacea.  Or if someone in the family comes down with something, everyone else stays on the Echinacea until that person is better.  The forms of Echinacea are a bit different for each of us.  Solomon takes the Infant Immune-Booster by Mountain Meadow Herbs.  Tabby and Hunter take Herb's For Kids Echinacea and Astragalus.  Frank takes a straight Echinacea supplement.  I like Beeyoutiful's BerryWell.  If we have cold symptoms, I also add Nature's Way Umcka ColdCare.  (There is an adult version and a children's version.) 

Or you can take a different route and give everyone elderberry syrup.  This is even safe for babies.  You can buy it or easily make your own.  (Making my own has been on my "to do" list for awhile.  For an easy recipe, check out my friend's C's post about it over at The Haven Enterprises.  C also talks about how to make a healing ointment called GOOT.)

Back before the current man made antibiotics, collodial silver was a natural antibiotic that was used.  I am currently taking the maximum number of doses of collodial silver right now.

The above weapons are what I pull out as soon as anyone starts coming down with something.  (It's usually respiratory illness in our family.)  We also take daily supplements.  I've adapted supplements to what each person needs, so we have some variety  between each of us.  However every day, we each take a good multivitamin (Beeyoutiful has them for men, women, and children), Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and cod liver oil.  (The boys and I take Green Pasture fermented cod liver oil and Tabby & Frank take Beeyoutiful's cod liver oil capsule.  See both here.) 

Finally, one HUGE step you can take to get everyone's immune systems operating at peak again is to STOP EATING SUGAR.  Eating anything with sugar in it drastically suppresses your body's immune system by 75%, for at least 4-6 hours.  (Info. on this is widely available online.  Here is a link to one very good article.)  I really believe the sugar thing is what finally did the kids and I in.  Usually when one person is sick, we hold off on desserts for everyone.  (Our daily meals are healthy with low, if any, sugar.)  But how could I do this at Christmas time?  We recklessly ate our yummy treats, didn't get as much sleep as usual, and didn't follow routine.  The result was our bodies were completely run down.

Note:  If you have a child with a fragile immune system, like our Lilly did, you may find some more helpful tips in my "immune boosting" post. Actually anyone may find those tips helpful.

I'll leave you now with a funny picture.  Solomon think's Hunter's "hook ups" are great fun for climbing on and touching.  Hunter does NOT think that anyone messing with his work is fun at all.

"Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul." - 3 John 1:2

It's Epiphany ... and dark and cold and raining ...

Wow - it has been over 2 weeks since I posted - my longest ever stretch.  Did you miss me?  Or were you relieved I wasn't filling your inbox with posts?  :)  Where have I been?  Well mostly home.  But I just didn't have it in me to post.  No one huge reason, just lots of little ones I guess.  For years now, I've felt rather overwhelmed by the whole Christmas season.  And since Lilly's death (Dec. 15, 2011) I've felt an extra "weight" to this time of year.  We had company and then went visiting - both very good.  Finally, I got this pesky thing called "writer's block."  Now that's rare for me - usually I don't have time to write about everything I'd like to.  I've been praying for direction for my blog.  I need the writing outlet but I'm just not feeling completely clear on what my focus should be.  (If you have any ideas please leave a comment for me!  Seriously!)

Thanks Hunter for letting me borrow your toy truck!

When Tabby was 3 (she's now 12), I was a single mom and decided one of our Christmas traditions would be to cut our own Christmas tree.  We did that every year until this past Christmas.  This year, our favorite Christmas tree farm was sold out of trees early.  We checked around with a few other farms, but on "tree cutting day" I just didn't feel like driving far.  So I asked the family how they felt about a pre-cut (gasp!) tree.  No one else minded so off we went looking.  We ended up at Lowes of all places, and there - on clearance - was a beautiful, glorious, Frasier Fir tree.  (I consider those the KING of all Christmas trees!)  It is the nicest tree we have ever got and it was marked down to only $10!!!!  The only bad thing was, I forgot to take a picture of it all decorated.  HOW could I forget??!!

We tried two other new potential traditions.  One was a daily advent activity calendar.  I printed out 25 large tags that had a related scripture on one side, and I wrote an activity on the other.  Then I hung a long ribbon across our dining room windows and hung the tags with clothespins.  (I forgot to take a picture of that too!  But you can see a tiny bit in the below picture on the right.)  I was quite proud of all the activity ideas I came up with.  However, for whatever reason, no one else really got excited about this.  In fact, they thought I was being was too regimented in scheduling a specific day for some things. (What me?  Regimented!  Don't answer that ...)  So I don't guess that activity will make "tradition" status.  We'll just stick with the daily chocolate advent calendars instead.  (That is probably Hunter's favorite tradition.)

The other "trial tradition" was to take all the Christmas cards we received and have a contest.  Yesterday I laid them all out on our table and wrote out a number of categories (such as "funniest," "cutest," "best homemade," "most spiritual," etc.) and then Frank, Tabby, and I voted.  Solomon picked the "best store bought card" - it is one with Santa by a train and Hunter LOVES the card.  I'm going to make up little awards certificates and we'll mail them out to our winners.  (I wanted to include a little prize but couldn't think of anything.)  This was fun and we decided it will be on the "annual traditions" list.  (By the way, I got the idea for this one from a book called Celebrate With Joy: Transform your Christmas Season by Sondra Burnett.  This book is chock full of ideas!  You can get more info, and order it here.)

Our goats are back home from being breed.  We bought Nutmeg (the brown goat) from the L. family and they gave Tabby Pip for free.  (Pip has been re-named Pippi.)  Hopefully both girls will have babies in May.  (It is common for goats to have twins.)

I'm not sure Christa (the largest goat) was thrilled with seeing them or not.  (We bought Christa too.  If you have bought or received goat milk soap from Tabby and I - it is Christa's milk we used for the soap.  FYI - we should have more soap available for sale next month.)

Here is Ryan.  He is the "stud" goat.  The L family named him after the teenage boy they bought him from. 

One thing a male goat does to make himself more attractive to female goats is to spray himself with urine.  Oh yeah - sounds REAL attractive, huh?  Thankfully Ryan didn't have on his "urine cologne" the day we went over to the L's property to see him and see how our girls were.

Did you notice Solomon's bangs in the above pictures?  They remind me of that "vintage baby" look.  I've had to trim parts of his hair a couple times, but after Christmas I finally had to give him a full haircut.  (Well OK - I left the curl in the back.  I couldn't bring myself to cut that part yet!)  It makes me nervous to cut a little one's hair - I'm afraid they'll suddenly move and I'll poke them with the scissors.  Whenever I cut Hunter's hair, he sits in my lap at the computer and watches home appliance repair videos on YouTube.  (His favorite are by the "Repair Clinic" and usually involve washing machines or air conditions.)   So for Solomon, I thought he could watch his favorite videos too, while I cut his hair.  He is pure boy and is obsessed with heavy equipment - especially dump trucks and tractors. 

Solomon likes the videos from "Twenty Trucks" best.  He gets to watch a couple most evenings with Frank.  Actually our whole family has grown to rather enjoys them.  They have catchy songs (which make me laugh at times) and are very descriptive about how the trucks work and the parts of the trucks, etc.  (I keep telling Frank that Solomon "needs" the Ultimate Twenty Trucks package: dvds, cd, and t-shirt - all for "only" $19.95!  He's not convinced since they can be watched on YouTube for free and we rarely have the kids sitting in front of the TV watching anything.)  Anyway, if you have someone in your family that likes trucks - type in "Twenty Trucks" in YouTube and you'll see lots of different videos.

Well I'm sure at this point (if you're still reading!) you're thinking "OK - it was good to see you post again, but will you please stop now as this post is too long!"

Sure I will stop.  And I'll be back in a few days with a timely post about ways to keep your family healthy when it seems everyone around you is sick. 

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, . . ." - Psalm 48:1