Babies, Brownies and Blessings

Have you heard about Ebates.com? It's a website that pays you a percentage back for using them to shop at your favorite stores. I ran across it just before Black Friday and am I glad I did!! When doing all my shopping I just clicked on the store I wanted to shop at from their website and they tracked my purchases resulting in CASH BACK! If you do a lot of shopping online, be sure to check it out. They send you a check every three months or so (so they can account for what things you returned) but just for signing up and spending your first $25 through them you get a free $10 gift card to one of several stores like Macy's, Walmart, Target, Kohl's . You can follow this link from which I'll get referral credit or feel free to just go to the website, too. I'm more excited for you to start getting cash back than for me to get the $5 referral bonus. :) I LOVE getting money back for shopping I was going to day anyways, it's almost like using a coupon and...

Thanksgiving begs reflection and this year I decided to give ample thought to all it held. A year ago we were cozied up in our sweet little home where we had celebrated every holiday since we wed. No thoughts of moving, building, temporary housing. Simply content that our family was complete, I finally had no more longings of pregnancy or babies and we were satisfied. Then came February. The month of cyclic dissatisfaction and discontentment. Every.Single.Year. Somehow the house starts to feel small and inadequate that time of year. This year, we contacted a realtor. Long story short, we sold our home in a month and a half and here we sit...homeless and building and grateful. When we got out of debt last year we felt God calling us to give of our finances. There are tons of teachings on giving and tithing and I'm not an expert on the topic. We decided to follow God's nudging and have been giving back to Him. Funny thing, since we've been giving we have not ...

7 years and about 45 minutes ago we met the little boy that changed us forever. He made me love more and know less with his entry into the world. The story of his birth brings back floods of memories as I think about the myriad of emotions, feelings and pains such as I'd never known before. Oh and his beautiful little face... The birth of a child is nothing short of miraculous. The birth of a firstborn alters your world forever. BigBoy #1 was so excited about his birthday that he was literally up most of the night. Thoughts of Pokemon and ice cream cake and whatever other unknown presents floated through his mind all night. Happy birthday, Man-Child...may this year be full of lost teeth, new Pokemon, adventures and the continued molding of your life into the man God has made you to be. I love you and am so proud of who you are. Love, Mom

It has been a couple weeks since the migraine episode . I was surprised at how long it took me to recover (not surprising to those of you who suffer from them frequently, I know!). The next week was marked by a pukey BigBoy #2, a pukey me and a deer-tick bitten BabyGirl. Doesn't life just wear you out sometimes? Each little thing chips away at your restfulness, your contentment, your ability to do what needs to be done. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and ineffective. Life takes on a shade of gray...until you come across someone with real trials. God used several people to remind me of His faithfulness and His covering in the midst of my issues. He used those around me to recenter my perspective and help me to see that I've got it really good. In a short span of time I was given the opportunity to pray for people who have real struggles like the sudden loss of a loved one, an unexpected ending to a pregnancy, a long-term health problem, cancer. Suddenly my probl...

12 years ago today I stood beside the man I loved and promised for better or worse. In sickness and health, we agreed. Til death do us part. Every year we seem to gain added depth of relationship and insight. The big milestones like having children revealed a set of qualities I did not know my man had. The amazing love, desire to teach, and true enjoyment he had in just being with our children was astonishing to discover. The not-so-big things were marked by the realization that we like doing life together. And it was a true mark of maturity when we no longer totally dread those "conversations" that started with a bang and ended with honesty and clarity. This year I saw yet a different side to my man. Pardon the melodrama that is about to ensue but here is my account of my first experience with a migraine and all the crazy symptoms that encompassed that experience and how my man showed me yet another layer of who he is. (Consider it a PSA of sorts (Public Servic...

...If so, do I have a post for you! I'm still in house selling/moving mode and it would seem all I think about. So far the crying and mourning our first home hasn't started but I'm getting a little more fragile. Yelling at the kids more. Requiring more chocolate... Did you know these are gluten-free? Random fun fact...   This weekend we are moving most of our possessions out and close on the house in one week. The house we have lived in since we got married. The one we brought our babies home to. IN ONE WEEK! It seemed we would never reach this date but now that it's near I'm starting to feel the pressure. We will be moving into Bri's folks' until our new home gets built so at least we don't have to worry about closing on a new house right now and I think hope they are ready for us. Now I need to go deal with my Neosporin and sunblock-covered 2 year old. Wish I was lying, but I'm not... ...where are my Milk Duds??

SOLD! Well, almost. At least, we're pretty sure it is because we ACCEPTED AN OFFER on our house! To say we're stoked is an understatement. In the last 50 days I have cleaned my house 19 times from top to bottom to allow people we don't know critique our home and decide if it's worthy of their permanent presence. Thankfully the majority of the feedback was fabulous with many compliments on the updates and condition of our home. The negatives: location and narrow driveway...you don't need to tell us that, we've lived here 12 years and have had our fill of that! With many things still pending like inspection, appraisal, financing, we're doing our song and dance with cautious excitement. Turns out the slowest part of selling a home occurs after the offer is accepted. For 5 days we've sat around twiddling our thumbs wondering what's next and praying that nothing comes up to make it fall through. In the meantime we have been perusing lots and...

As we march on in our quest to sell our home and buy another we have come across the idea of building. It would seem in the market around here it's nearly the same price to buy new or used. We have been pondering what we would do, what our musts are and what are would-be-nice s. In the process we've looked at a few homes and a couple of lots around town. Last week we decided to check out our favorite lot and walk it to see what a home would look like on it. Naturally the kids came with us. While I'd prefer to think we're a fairly classy little family, the events of this outing made me, and our potential new neighbors , wonder... Pulling into the cul-de-sac of our dream home's lot I threw the blue mini into park. Turns out an actual caravan of sheiks and camels would've made less of an impression than our Grand Caravan of kids, or monkeys, or whatever it is they decided they were. Tape measure in hand, Bri and I walked the lot like it was a chessboard,...

Dust, mop, vacuum, windex, wipe dirty fingerprints off everything, repeat. I don't think my house has been this clean for this long ever . We are completely submersed in the process of home selling and it as gone better and worse than I expected. Keeping the house clean hasn't been a problem. Staying patient with the ridiculous messes my kids make often by accident have been. I've been using my outside voice inside a bit too often. My constant prayer is for peace and grace. I quit praying for patience a long time ago because it seems God always wanted to teach me that by requiring me to practice it a lot. :) The two weeks it's been on the market has felt like two months. How do people do this over and over again? When we buy our next house I hope it's the one I die in may years from now so I never have to repeat this process!! The good news is there have been some people interested and we've had several showings which is encouragement to stay the ...

Whew... The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions and activity. Starting with saying our earthly goodbye to Bri's grandpa and culminating in a For Sale sign in our yard! Technically the sign is not out there yet but we are up and running on the MLS and we've had a showing with 2 more in the next couple days. It's a lot of work getting a house ready to sell! Remember when I told you about my Totally Tidy Plan? I had just gotten started on my list of things to-do in the bathroom when we decided to sell and that sent me in a million different directions with a list that overwhelmed both my man and I. So if anyone has tried "my" plan, please let me know how that's working for you because I'm CERTAIN I'm going to need a plan when we get into a new-to-us house. As for where we are moving, the answer is "not far". After nearly 12 years in our wonderful home we are ready for a change of location and perhaps a 2 car garage? Maybe ...

Many years ago I said goodbye to my grandparents. All but one left this earth before I was a parent, the last just shortly after. How I wish my children could have known them. There is always a sadness when our loved ones are taken too soon...I, however, was blessed with a new wonderful grandpa, one my children got to know. I married into a family that boasted more longevity than my own. And I said hello to Grandpa Ralph. One of the great things about G'pa Ralph that eased that ache in my soul was that his manner was familiar. He reminded me of my grandpas. Few words but big, back-pounding hugs. His "oh yep, uh huh, sure" was a sufficient response to most questions. Quiet faith. He had a belly laugh that was music to the ears and a commanding presence. And in the end, his stoic demeanor spoke of the quiet inner strength in the midst of the unknown. I had the privilege of helping care for him in the last few weeks, stopping in here and there to change a d...

It's the middle of the night and my man's wacky schedule (and his need to share his sleeplessness with me) has me a wake, hopefully not for long. My brain is full with thought of all the changes this time of year brings. BigBoy #1 finished his last day of Kindergarten! It is truly surprising how quickly the year has gone and overall how well he did. The day was bittersweet for him and he said when he got home that he doesn't like weekends when there's no school after them. :) Nevermind that just yesterday he was fussing about wanting to stay home and play! But it's good for him to be left wanting more and looking forward to 1st grade. And a guinea pig. Yep, for real, he is pining after a guinea pig in the worst way. Being our single-track minded child he has a hard time thinking about anything else when he has something on his mind and right now that's a furry rat-pig. We're talking about it but teaching him to wait for things AND save his money so...

On the heels of my last post about feeling overwhelmed and behind I started thinking of ways to get un-behind ahead at home. About the same time came a good-natured prompting from my husband to do as I challenged all of us to do in Facebook Inferior  and give up FB for a week or two. I wonder if the combination of less time on FB and a more focused plan will result in a cleaner, happier, more-organized Dickman household??? I'm sure going to give it a shot. There are so many cleaning plans and experts out there and I'm NOT pretending to be one. A few years ago I read the FlyLady's book Sink Reflections and got some great tips on how to keep out clutter and cut cleaning into bite-sized chunks. I followed the plan religiously for a while and did enjoy the benefits. It encourages you to get rid of the things you don't need (either toss or donate) and to clean up "hotspots" for junk like the junk drawer (or room, if you're like some of us), coffee tabl...

This is how I'm feeling these days. Can you relate? If I were to take the time to look back over my blogs I would guess there are more than a couple on this same topic. It's a frequent plight of mine...of yours...right? Instead of papers piling up, or rather along with papers piling up, add mountains of laundry, dirty dishes, messy floors, toys askew, closets stuffed, store-rooms jammed, vehicles full of this and that. Not to mention that little one (or 3 or 4) pulling on you, interrupting you just when you got into the groove. Need I go on? You get my drift, you have a list of your own. The issue isn't always time. The fact remains that we all have the same amount of time. We get to make choices each day, each hour. My biggest struggles? Lack of motivation and difficulty with time management. Time to get back to writing a to-do list because there's nothing better than checking them off, one by one! I also need to get my butt in gear and start worki...

This holiday weekend we are staying in town. No big plans, a few get-togethers and a 12 hour shift at work stuck in there. Today is a day full of nothing and I'm finding it...challenging. Wouldn't you agree it's easier to keep busy sometimes? The day started all too soon, before the 6am hour and I have already perused the internet and picked the brains of my friends to see if they have any ideas of what we should go do. I've contemplated a hotel away, the science museum, indoor playground (did I mention it's been raining all morning?). As I was looking into plans my husband wisely commented that we need a day like this. A day full of nothing. Let the kids get bored and see what they decide to do. Turns out, he was right as usual...a day of games and legos, wrestling and biking. (now if only I can find a way to fit in a nap, the perfect culmination to a nothing kind of day)

Wow, thank you to all who read, commented and shared Facebook Inferior. I love to hear your thoughts and methods, why you post what you do and how you feel about social media in general. As one commenter said, it turns out we are not alone AND more importantly we are all more similar than any of us realize. Both in marriage and other relationships I'm finding out that if I'm feeling something, chances are the other person is, too. My kids are naughty, my husband isn't perfect (but pretty darn close, right, Honey??), my job stresses me out, JUST LIKE YOUR'S! Isn't that comforting? It means that we really are in this together. We are not in competition, we are meant to complement one another. When we keep things like FB in their correct place in our lives they can be so enjoyable. I love seeing my friends' kids grow up, hear what's happening in their lives and know when they need extra prayers. I'm trying to learn to celebrate the differences and...

Never before has it been easier to compare our inadequacies with the accomplishments of others. With the click of a mouse suddenly we are inundated with glowing snipets of achievements, family vacations, daily outings, darling sayings or pictures of a "friend's" child. So and so is a model, whomever just got the job offer of a lifetime, that person just had their seventh child and somehow their other six children are perfect angels. Over and over in the last few weeks I've heard from friends and family how hard it is to feel content when they constantly feel they aren't measuring up...at least compared with the "lives" of their friends on Facebook (FB). Before I go further, I am NOT saying FB is bad, wrong, or any other thing. It simply allows us to be privy to information we used to only get at class reunions or at an annual outing, or never! Many of us are friends with people on FB who are more aquaintances than anything (or sometimes perfect st...

Nurses Week has me thinking about those whom I work with and why I became a nurse in the first place. Ever since I was a little girl I knew I wanted to be a nurse. I've always been compassionate and empathetic and nursing was a good fit. However, it was my Grandma Bobs that inspired me to make my dream a reality. Grandma Bobs worked at our small local hospital growing up doing mostly the evening shift. I remember her talking about the perks of that shift, not the least of which was popcorn. For whatever reason working the off-shifts in a hospital make you yearn for popcorn. And here I am, 400 miles away from my hometown and that rural hospital, finding myself munching on popcorn in my scrubs in the middle of a night shift (made on our theater-sized popcorn maker at work). Whenever a newborn baby made his or her appearance at church on Sunday, Grandma Bobs would beeline it for the baby. Sometimes she would even beat me there. :) Over and over again in my growing up ...

Writing is a way for me to gather my thoughts. I'm actually incredibly inarticulate when in conversation with others...even simple words escape me and leave people guessing what I mean. I blame most of this on that fact that for over 6 years I haven't been able to complete a thought or sentence due to some little person or persons interrupting me. I also accuse pregnancy of killing off vital brain cells (previous pregnancies as I am NOT, repeat NOT, pregnant). And occassionally I claim lack of sleep for my lack of intelligence. When I started blogging a couple years ago (I can't believe it's been that long!) I found it an effective way for me to work through things. I may not always have something worth reading but that's when you get to enjoy the beauty of the internet, click on the x to close out the window and stop me mid-sentence. :) The last few months I have been working through yet more feelings of inadequacy and have been reminded in my spirit th...

I mentioned yesterday that my grandma died when I was 12. Grandma Olga Melby would have been 88 this year but was taken much too soon in her late 60s. She got sick with what we now know was autoimmune hepatitis...a treatable disease in this day, but not as much 20 years ago. Yellowing of her skin and her eyes were the first signs. After much testing, poking and prodding they reached a diagnosis, but not a cure. In my 12 year old brain I didn't realize how sick she was. Instead I was focused, along with my siblings, on sneaking our dog in to show her and other things that tweens do. The phone call I received from my family while at Bible camp saying she was gone left me truly shocked. Not Grandma! For the first 7 years of my life we lived just a field away from her and Grandpa. I remember May Days running through the field with my sisters to their house, knocking on the door, leaving a basket on the handle, certain Grandma wouldn't know who it was from. N...

Week four of Bri on the night shift and we are still pumped about it! The sleep, of course, is the biggest issue. I spent all morning with the kids yelling at them to talk quieter...yep, really did and realize it makes no sense. It would seem that's the hardest thing, keeping the kiddos in a more hushed state to assure uninterrupted sleep for their slumbering dad. The weather has cooled again which brings us back inside more. Soon we'll be able to spend every morning out again. The shift itself has been a blessing...quieter in the factory, more productivity, less negativity. All in all a good shift for our family at this time. But the real kicker??? BigBoy #1 is doing GREAT with school these days! It was as close to a 180 as you can get. Bri started on nights and within a week Sam wasn't having any tearful mornings. No more drudging into school and constant obssession with staying near me or Dad. He's still not going all the way by himself but he does the ...

A few weeks ago we had our ductwork cleaned out. To our knowledge this had never been done since our home was built back in the 50s. Four families, numerous construction projects, pets and 60+ years left tons of dust and dander. I would wipe everything down and a day later every surface was covered again. The sun streaming in revealed particles floating through the air. In the weeks since the ducts were vacuumed my dusting has been cut down to once a week! We're feeling pretty good about the decision to start fresh and breathe clean air. In a strange turn of my thoughts I began to consider the similarities between the duct cleaning guys and Jesus (this analogy is much more like my husband to come up with...guess that's what a decade of life together does for ya!). This Holy Week has me considering the journey of Jesus to the cross. Two thousandish years ago today he was questioned, sentenced and sacrificed. The only reason He was killed was to cover my si...

As I was walking to pick BigBoy #1 up from school the other day I found myself about 10 feet behind another woman. In a matter of moments I caught this delightful whiff of...something... She smelled great and I'm not sure if it was perfume or her shampoo or what. All I know is I was impressed that at 3:40 in the afternoon she left behind a delightful waft that made me feel I was walking through a field of flowers... After enjoying the scent for a few yards I got to thinking, what must I smell like? Would someone behind me be considering what perfume I was wearing or want to find out where I buy my hair products? Pretty sure not. In fact, I'm guessing they would look something like this:  Because halfway through my day all I know for sure is I've been inundated with the most unsavory sights, sounds and most certainly, smells. I'm guessing you'd describe my "perfume" as earthy with a touch of boy-sweat, baby milk spit and a hint of grease with und...

For the better part of the last 7 years, over half our marriage and all of our parenting years, Brian has worked the evening shift. This particular shift is some 8 hour variation of 3pm to 11pm (3:30pm-midnight, etc.). As a nurse, I'm not stranger to shift work, and to be quite honest, this schedule didn't bother me too much. ...Until lately. Slowly over the last couple years I have tired of doing the bedtime routine alone with 3 little ones. I miss being a family when something fun comes up on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday evening. Now before I make it sound like this is all hardship for me and peachy-keen for Bri I will explain what he has been missing out on all these years. Family meals, impromptu picnics, grabbing a beer with the guys, Bible studies or small groups, and the list goes one. And he's had to listen to me complain. Something I'm not proud of.... Enter the school year of 2011. BigBoy #1 is a kindergartene...

As evidenced by my slightly melodramatic post earlier in the week, it's been a challenging path for me lately. The last few months BigBoy #1 has been gradually regressing into a separation anxiety state. It started in December with a sudden decision that he didn't like sleep-overs, even at Papa and Nannie's. New Years he didn't want to stay at G'pa Lee and G'ma Kerri's or his cousins' house. January began a trend of not walking into school alone. February reached a climax with a kicking, screaming, crying, hanging-on-for-dear-life 60 lb 6 year old this week at school drop off. Uffda. We have spent the week probing events and thoughts and feelings, desperate to find an answer to this newfound anxiety (both his and ours). Maybe it was that time I left him in the van too long while I did a return... Could it be from the fire drills and 911 practice calls...? I wonder if someone is bullying him at school... Is it getting too hard having Bri w...

I admit defeat. Today is a day that has me beat. Sleepless night begets teary waking hours. And me crying out to His Holy Powers. One child wakes crabby and febrile Another does not want to go to school, even for a little while. The hand of my man provides strength and support. The day has passed and it took much effort. I wave the flag of white tonight And pray tomorrow's morning will be bright. *Even in the midst of the blessing that is parenthood the trials can overcome, if even for a few hours. I know you all have many sorrows, some so huge that things like a child with separation issues and another with pneumonia would be just a blip on the radar. It is with a tired, heavy heart that I am thankful for problems so small. God brings us through it all, may His hand be ever comforting and strengthening as He has promised.*

2012 is going full-steam ahead! It's amazing how quickly the days are zipping by and here we are in the middle of the month already. The beginning of the year was riddled with sickness but we are grateful to report health...finally! BigBoy #1 just finished his 14 days of antibiotics for pneumonia and that is one fight I'm thrilled to be relieved of. BabyGirl figured out how to take her pajamas off and I discovered her buck-naked in bed the other morning. I'm still thanking God that she hadn't pooped because that would've been nasty! The new year has brought with it the realization that there is a limit to the amount of orange chicken a 6 year old should eat in one sitting. I'll spare you the details but it wasn't fun to clean that up at 2am! BigBoy #2 has discovered that it's fun to say that some words are not words in an effort to argue his case with me. BigBoy #1 is reading! He's catching onto sight words and loves to read his little...

My sweet and ever-challenging BigBoy #2 has added a few more witty conversations to his collection... Caleb, stop arguing with me or I'll have the cop come and talk to you. "And give me a ticket?" Yep. "I'll just tell him to give you a ticket because you were going too fast." No, buddy, this is about you. "Well I'm going to tell him it's about you." C:Mom, can we go swimming today? T:Maybe. C:Stop saying maybe! T:Why? C:Because I don't like maybe and it's not a word! At bedtime I gave Caleb a kiss and he promptly wiped it off. In explanation he said "I like to wipe off your kisses, do you know why, Mom? Nope. "So I can make room for more!"

Whew, 2012 came crashing in with the sickies for our family! Christmas was spent mostly at home with a feverish, coughing BigBoy #2 and a resulting diagnosis of pneumonia. A full course of antibiotics later (and steroids) his pneumonia was worse. 2 injections and a different oral antibiotic later we have our loud, smiley boy back! On the heels of that comes BigBoy #1 who seldom gets sick and even more seldom does he get horribly sick. Pneumonia settled in his lungs as well and we spent New Years Day in Urgent Care getting Xrays and antibiotics. Disgusting antibiotics, too, unfortunately. And so we fight twice a day to get the meds down and keep them down. Finally we have a little system that sort of works and only takes 15 minutes. Chocolate syrup before and after the medicine helps coat the taste buds so the meds don't taste quite as nasty. Anyways... 2011 was a good year for us. Bri got an extra week of vacation (for a total of 3 weeks FINALLY!!!! ) BabyGirl...