July in Chicago!

I was a little bummed that I didn't get more pictures of everyone...like the night we had the dinner, but we sure have sweet memories tucked in our hearts! I am a picture taker...you all know that! I am constantly taking pictures of food, people, shoes, flowers, you name it, I have a snap of it. BUT...something happened to me this weekend. I had both of my grandbabies here at one time...and I forgot to pick up the camera very often. No one else thinks of it around here until it's too late, so this is all we have. I'll settle, b/c I think there are some pretty sweet moments! We ate till we almost busted open...talked, shopped (Amy and I went thriftin' and she got the DEALS!), the boy's went to a Cubs game, my grandson cried everytime the car went in forward motion all day long on Monday...but then felt bad for ruining our day and was an angel the rest of the time!, played dollhouse with Rylie, ate, made our own pizza's, sat on the porch, slept late (well, at least till 7 or 8!), cuddled and listened to Teddy Ruxpin with Rylie, prayed, cried (Rylie, Carter, Kierstyn and Grammy), and said goodbye this morning. I'm so thankful for the internet, phones, and airplanes!! My sweet, sweet hubby bought me tickets to fly to Phoenix late October. We are trusting that he'll have a job by then, or he'll be lonely! I know the Frahm kids are exhausted from all the visiting, etc., but we were so blessed by their trip to Chicago!

Family Picture, July 2009

Slideshow to come. I didn't get near as many pictures as I had hoped, probably b/c I didn't put that baby down much!! It was a MARVELOUS 3 days! What a gift!

The Rain in Africa...

Carolyn just sent me this amazing video...I wish I was young and had a good voice and I would LOVE to be a part of this amazing choir! Enjoy! (it takes a few moments before you can actually hear it...so hold your horses!!

A sweet visit..my girl, my grannyson and my galpal!

Brian, Amy and the kids got into Omaha safely this afternoon and enjoyed Val's at Andy's while catching up with the family and watching the cousins play and squeel with delight! Oh how I love to see Rylie and Cami greet one another after being away from each other for a long time!

After dinner...the brothers and sisters took Michael to play putt-putt and Amy stayed with Sandy and Steve...and the NINE grandchildren! (man, their quiver is getting full while mine is just getting loaded!) Amy had hoped to break away sometime to visit with my dearest friend in the world...so since they were literally just blocks from Mimi's house, Steve and Sandy let her borrow their shiney new Suburban and buzzed over for a quick visit!! Speaking of "BUZZ"....lookie here what was waiting for her when she arrived! Marty was busy in the kitchen, serving up his famous latte's!! Did she stop with JUST ONE?? OR will she be awake all night tonight?? : )

Now...here is what I was waiting for all evening! A picture of my beautiful girl with her chunky monkey! WHAT are they feeding this little man?? Isn't he darling??

And this is what happens when his mommy won't let HIM have a sip...just one SIP MOMMY!!

I can't WAIT until Saturday so I can get my lips buried in that neck of his!
Thanks Carolyn and Marty for lovin' on my gal!

Somebodies Coming to Visit!!!!

I've been enjoying a busy day today as my AZ kids are flying to Omaha!! I've been praying for good "airplane" ears for Carter and Rylie and scrubbing all the while. I started in the room Rylie will sleep in (Ally's old room) and made it all little girlish in there complete with her "Dora girls" waiting on her bed. I put the "kid sheets" on her bed and have a couple little surprises waiting for her. Also scrubbed up the Pack-n-play that I found on Craigslist for little Carter to slumber in. Really, I had little to do to that since it was in "like new" condition! So thankful to pick up this gem at $20.00, only a fraction of the cost new! Gotta love Craigslist! Have you ever wondered WHO Craig is? I dunno, but he had a GREAT idea when he made his "list"!
Then, moved on to the bed Brian and Amy sleep in. I found this darling primitive pencil post bed on CL too, but they said it wobbled in the night. Can't have a new mommy and a tired daddy wobbling...so Dennis heaved the mattresses off and secured the corners with L-brackets. I am married to the smartest man alive! I have to make a run for 4 more brackets...b/c he wants it sturdy enough they can jump on it if they want...and he only had 4. So..off I go to Schilling Bros. just down the road!
Oh...I also did my "annual" cleanings on the shutter blinds in the LR and DR. I hate to admit that I don't clean those often, but today, they got a good vaccumin'! Makes me happy to have that done. The Fly Lady and Aunt Lynnie would be so proud!! Now I MUST get my fireplace doors shined up b/c Aunt Lynnie and her beautiful daughter, Lane (bride to be!!) are coming in September!!! For now, I have old shutters sitting on the hearth in front of them hoping nobody will notice!
Hubs is out putting on one last coat of new paint on the garage doors. I had the paint tinted to match the siding, only my mister gave me a piece of NEW siding! After one coat, we decided it was too "crisp" and needed to be muddied up a bit so it matches the FADED siding! Back to the paint store I went early this morning to have my boy Justin fix us up with faded paint. He's amazing! That man can match ANYTHING! He can even read my mind...and know what color I want when I don't know! He doesn't read my blog...or even know I have one, and I'm not going to tell him, but HATS OFF TO JUSTIN!!! My dauts know who I'm talkin' about and they'll testify to his brilliance!!
Okay...downstairs I go. Finishing up the sheets in the laundry (OHHH...that homemade soap?? Well, it WORKS!!!! Love the fresh smell. Don't love the smell when it's in the container, but it's so fresh when the laundry is done!)
I LOVE to have overnight company...it makes me clean in places I don't normally clean!

Note to self: clean top of fridge...my 6'4" SIL will be here soon!!! : )

Homemade Laundry Soap

Okay girls...I DID IT!! I just happened to be out of Tide. Kathy (or was it Natalie?) and Carolyn BOTH send me this link last week and I was going to the grocery store the next day. So...I popped myself on in to Big Lots (I did some research on where to find this ZOTE soap) and that store happened to be next door to Ultra grocery store, where I think they might just have all kinds of "old school" stuff. Sure enough, I was able to find all the 'ingredients' I needed in 2 quick stops. I'll give you the price rundown at the end. First, you gotta see this stuff being made! Here's what my shopping list consisted of...

Now, the website where this was found said you could use 3 bars of Fels Naptha, Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote soap. I found all of those at Ultra but b/c the PINK ZOTE was so pretty, I decided to go with that. Also, the Fels Naptha smelled a little more "industrial" to me and I've heard tell that Ivory Soap really isn't 99.9% pure afterall! (horror or horrors!!) The Zote has a very soft, "grandma" smell to it and since I JUST HAPPEN to be a new Grammy, I picked that one! (rocket science at it's best!) When I found these bars, I thought it felt like there were 4 smaller bars in each of these bricks, so I only picked up 2 packages, thinking I had 8 bars on my hands. I was wrong...I just had 2 BIG bars of soap. BUT...since I'm thinking the ZOTE is only used for 'scent', I decided to just make it one bar short. I also thought if my water wasn't warm enough, those little ZOTE shreds would make a mucky paste on my black t-shirts...and that don't make Grammy happy! Here's what this old fashioned soap looks like all unwrapped! Kind of like Pepto Bismol in a bar...but it doesn't smell like wintergreen!

The directions said that I could shred it by hand, but I'm not that much of a naturalist...and opted for the rapid method and whipped out my handy-dandy food processor. This is a very soft, waxy soap (probably all filler!) and shredded really easy. I just cut this bar into 4 pieces to fit in the tube and it shredded like cheese!

Pink cheese...

I don't think I'd like pink cheese, so I wasn't even tempted to nibble on this once!

But OHHH BABY....when it got mixed into the other ingredients, it looked a lot like confetti cake mix...and I WAS tempted to shove some of that in my mouth! I hadn't said any bad words lately though, so I proceeded to the packaging part of it. Sofar, I've spent about 10 minutes...that included getting out my big mixing bowl to mix it in, and set up the food processor AND finding what I wanted to store it in!! I just dumped it all in together and mixed it with my bare hands. Now I have soft hands AND 2 Gallons of homemade laundry soap!!

My packaging isn't nearly as pretty as The "Beehive lady" but I did get it stored in an airtight container. (that isn't a rule for storing laundry detergent, but I like it that way!) For now, I have mine in a 1 gallon Ice Cream container (I had to eat all the ice cream first!), a 1 gallon ziplock bag (that's my idea of a refill package!) and a pint for Ally. (b/c she's out of Tide too, and wanted to try mine BEFORE she invested in all the ingredients and made her own! (chicken...bawk, bawk!) I have NO idea if this will work, if it'll smell good or if I'll ever make it again, but I WILL be back to let you know if I like it or not! In the meantime, if you are brave, here's the 'recipe'!

Homemade Laundry Soap

3 bars Fels Naptha Soap (grated) or Ivory, Castile or PINK Zote bar soap
1 Box Borax- 4 lbs.
1 Box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda- 4 lbs.
1 Box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda- 4 lbs.

Grate soap with cheese grater (or food processor) and mix with other ingredients.

For lightly soiled clothes, use 1 T., for heavy soiled, use 2 T. per load.
For the rinse, use 1/2 c. white vinegar to the rinse cycle. No odor, whitens and softens clothes!
No need for fabric softener or Tide anymore!

Here's the breakdown on price, so you can compare if it's worth your time!

Zote soap- .80 each at Big Lots (I read that The Dollar Tree has it too...but then it'd be a dollar...so I beat the price!)
Borax, 4 lb. box- $3.69
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, 3.7 lb. box- $2.99 each
Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, 4 lb box- $2.79

Total cost for 15 lbs. of soap??? $11.87

Cool, huh?

This one's for Amy...

Good times...good times!!! We missed you!!

Answered Prayers...in order of sequence

WARNING: This is long.

I have had 2 of the most awesome "answered prayer" days these past couple days and I just had to share what the Lord has been doing in my life!

First off, I have to tell you that I have become lazy, weary, frustrated, lazy (did I mention that?) in my prayer life for many things these past few weeks. You see, I've had new grandbabies and THEY and my dauts have been occupying most of my prayer time. It is such a privilage to pray for others and I guess, for me, priority has been my children. Amy posted something on her FaceBook page a couple days ago that made me re-think my priorities, even though I KNOW what they are. My dear hubby has taken back seat for a couple months and has become discouraged. Not so much with me as just the lack of job opportunities. I am, first of all, to be his helpmate. With 2 new babies coming back to back, my girls have needed me more and Dennis is the type of man that recognized that and joyfully gave me up to serve them for a time. Now, it's time I tend to him again. NOTHING...absolutely nothing has come his way in the past 8 months and he has been trying so hard to keep a positive attitude. The Lord has blessed him with a good outlook on life...cup 1/2 full as opposed to 1/2 empty, so this is new for him. With Carter coming and now Kierstyn's birth, God has given us such joy in the midst of our trials and we are sooo thankful!! Dennis loves his daughters and is just overjoyed with the birth of our grandchildren, but he needs work. I could go on about that, but you get the picture. Anyhow, yesterday morning, bright and early, I came before the Lord and fervently asked HIM to encourage my husband TODAY in a way that I have not been able. I talked to HIM about the job situation, Dennis' frustrations and my inadequacies and just begged the Lord to extend mercy this very day. When I arrived home at the end of the day, Dennis told me he had a message on the phone for a possible job lead. {answered prayer #1} This morning, the guy called back and they were looking for a "driver" and their drivers had to have 6 months experience. Dennis was open to that possiblitiy however, he didn't qualify b/c he managed those drivers for over 30 years, but hasn't driven much.

This morning, Leslie reminded me that I asked for "encouragement" yesterday and THAT is what he got...now today, PRAY FOR A JOB!! Hmmmm...she's so smart! Why didn't I think of that?? Ha! SOOOOOOOO...this morning, after the phone call, I prayed for a JOB interview!!! Hold onto your seat girls....when we got home from our errands today, there was a message on the phone from Atlas Oil and they wanted to interview Dennis for the Operations Manager at their facility!!!! {answered prayer #2} I was awestruck at how amazing our God is!! "you don't receive because you don't ask." I've asked before...many times over, but I don't believe I've gotten specific with God on this matter until the past couple days. So...if you think of my mister tomorrow, he's interviewing at 2:00 PM and we'd sure appreciate specific prayers on his behalf! We are not asking that THIS is the right job, but we are praying for clarity and wisdom in the decision making IF a job were offered. I'm sure they are interviewing several, so there will be a time element most likely. This is him...you all know him...he's so sweet!! And he's a new Papa...and Papa needs a job so Grammy can buy some baby stuff!!!

Next SPECIFIC request...remember these feet???

Ummmm...yeah...Ally went to the Dr. today since she had pre-eclampsia and they wanted to do an early follow up with labwork. Here's what those tree trunks looked like yesterday...

LITTLE LIMBS!!!

AMAZING transformation isn't it? {answered prayer #3} 12 days after she gave birth and she lost 50 (yes, that's FIFTY!!!) pounds!! She has 13 to go to be back to where she started...so she gained mostly WATER WEIGHT! Of course...it was worth it to get this little package!!!

Now...my little Carter has been having a time of it switching to formula. He did great at first, so Amy thought it would be no problem for him, but after he was on it full time for a couple weeks, her little man got cranky...and started tellin' his mamma that he didn't like it very good. So....I've been praying for him specifically that Amy would have wisdom to know how to deal with these issues. You girls know how hard it is when you don't know exactly what's wrong with your crying baby and today she called her Ped. and he was VERY encouraging for her. Changing his formula and wants to try that before they give him any "antacid" type of medication. Reflux has been going on for as long as there have been babies born.{AKA: spitting up!} But when your baby cries after he eats, mamma doubts herself...and wonders if it's going to last until they get married. {probably so Amy, but he'll quit crying about it someday!} Anyhoo....we don't know if this change of formula is going to do the trick for little Car-Car, but I got an answer to my prayer that Amy would have the wisdom to know what to do amidst all the wonderful ideas she made a plea on FaceBook for. {answered prayer #4} Every baby is different, but it's important to KNOW your baby...and she is getting to know him! Just incase you forgot what our little man looks like...here HE is!! (taken at 4 weeks, if I remember right) I'd put a newer one on but the ones I snagged off her page are fuzzy! I must get the files!

So...long post, but I am just so encouraged with the way my precious Savior has seen fit to answer me today. It's so wonderful when we get those moments...that give us such hope when we get low. Our God IS an Awesome God and HE is worth waiting for!!! Be encouraged!

Hurried Prayers...

July 15, 2009
Hurried Prayers

”And Lord, I pray that . . . um . . . you’ll keep us safe . . . and . . .”

“Come on, Mom, we’re ready!”

“Oh dear, it’s 7 o’clock—we’re late!”

“Come on, we’ve got to go!”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: I’ve come to believe that a rushed or hurried attitude is one of the deadliest enemies of an effective devotional life.

I remember years ago hearing Henry Blackaby explain how he felt rushed in the morning when he woke up to pray and read the Bible. God convicted him about this, so he started getting up half an hour earlier. He still felt rushed, so he started earlier.

Dr. Blackaby said, “I kept moving the time up in the morning until I knew that I could meet with God as long as He wanted to meet with me, without being hurried.”

Do you feel hurried when you meet with God? What would it take for you to meet with God as long as He wanted tomorrow morning?

Isaiah 26:9: ”My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.”

With Seeking Him, I'm Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

July BD's

July is a HUGE month in our family!! Not only is it Ally's, Kierstyn's and Adam's birthdays, it's also Dennis Dad's on the 21st as well as our 33rd wedding anniversary on the 17th and Mom and Dad's 58th wedding anniversary is on the 22nd! Just a month long celebration!! And we will have a little of that going on at the end of this month when Brian, Amy, Rylie and Carter come back! Do you think we can get by with shooting off fireworks in our backyard to celebrate? (just kidding...but it WILL be a wonderful celebration deserving of fireworks!) My grannybabies are too tiny to have that loud noise going on...so we'll just have a low key cookout with about 20 people! :)

July Garden

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The babies are here...and while I've been tending to my youngin's, my mister's been busy as a bee keeping the garden in order! There is a LOT of work to maintain a garden of this size, and I am so thankful Dennis has been home to handle it while I'm off holding babies! Anyhow...I grabbed a cup of coffee and my camera and headed to the backyard this morning. This is what I found! Enjoy!!!

Pretty Girl, Day 3

Make a Smilebox slideshow

After church we had brunch with Mom and Dad, then took them over to the hospital to meet their great grand daughter...they were thrilled! "Beamed ear to ear" thrilled! In fact, the only thing that could thrill them more would be to see their Great grandson!! (soon!!) So we had a little photo shoot there! Ally got moved off the Labor and Delivery unit about 8:45 last night, just in time to watch the Crown Point fireworks display right out her 7th floor window! What a way to celebrate Kierstyn's BD! They slept real good during the night (except for feeding times) and she got a nice shower today and straightened her hair. (that was very important to her!) Her labs continue to improve and her midwife comes in around 5ish to let her know if she can go home today or not. I'm thinking if she thinks she is ready, Ally will leap to get out of there! The room in the L&D unit was big and quiet. This one is small and loud. It's time for them to take her home...where the REAL FUN begins! ;) Thank you all for praying for her. God has been good and has brought her through quite an ordeal. Quite a different labor and delivery than her sister went through, but each person is unique when it comes to birthin' babies. Amy had the awful pregnancy and easy delivery and Ally had the easy pregnancy and difficult delivery. Both babies are here and my girls are healthy. THAT is an answer to MY prayers! Now...it's time for this Grammy to have a little nap!

Kierstyn, Day 2

Dennis and I ran over to the hospital this afternoon to visit and this is what we found!! Actually, her room was full of visitors and after I saw the exhausted face of my daughter we decided to just stay a short time. There will be plenty of time for me to love on all of them later. Bout broke my heart though b/c you KNOW where I wanted to be and who I wanted in my arms. Tomorrow is another day! Anyhow...I grabbed a quick snap before I left so you could see how pretty she is! I've got about 3 more...so I'll try to post those later. We're headed to Mom and Dad's for a 4th of July dinner and it's time to be there one minute ago! Just wanted you all to see what a pretty girl she is! I especially liked the pic with Adam dozing in the background! He has NO IDEA how tired he's going to be in the next couple months! It's a beautiful thing, huh? ;)

Kierstyn Emmaleigh McKown

Little Kierstyn Emmaleigh has arrived! Typical Ally style...we waited, and waited and WAITED for her to come out! Ha! She was born very healthy after Ally spent 3 hrs. 10 minutes trying to push her out. We were so thankful that all during that time, Kierstyn's heartrate was very good so her midwife let her continue and she was able to have a natural childbirth. There is more to this story which makes us count our blessings however...
Ally had gone to the Dr. on Wed. for her weekly check and her BP was a bit more elevated and she had protein in her urine. The Dr. ordered more bloodwork as well as starting her on a 24 hr. urine test to look for early signs of Pre-Eclampsia. Ally had come back to our house at 6:00 AM Thursday morning b/c she had to finish her 24 hr. test and drop it off at the hospital, so she dropped Adam off at work and came to spend a leisurely day with us. About 11:30 her midwife called and said that the bloodwork had just come back a little elevated and she wanted her to go on over to the hospital for induction. The cure for pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby. Since Ally's cervix was favorable for induction, she opted to do this, knowing it was going to be a long haul for her. We had her checked in about 2:00 Thursday afternoon. Her BP was pretty high on admission (160/108) so they all got excited and put her in full Eclampsia precautions. Lights dim, little noise, etc. Ally was doing fine, hooked her up to the monitor to check the baby and she was fine too! Her midwife came in and started the EASI method of induction...I forgot what that meant b/c I'd not heard of that method before, but basically, they inserted a foley catheter INSIDE the cervix and filled it with saline to expand it to about 4 cm. This would induce light contractions, hopefully to begin to dilate the cervix by stimulating the body to release protaglandins. (follow??) She did begin having contractions on her own about every 3-6 minutes, but after a time, they dwindled out. They had started her on Mag Sulfate as well, which counteracts the contractions, so we knew we were in for a long haul at that point. She did continue to dilate and the balloon fell out at around 1:00 AM, and they started the Pitocin. Contractions began after about 40 minutes and just didn't get strong right away. They kept turning it up and she was 5 cm. dilated and quite uncomfortable but b/c of her falling platelet count they wouldn't consider doing the epidural, so again...for the long haul!! Her labs came back a bit more elevated and platelets were dropping, so there was some talk about a c-section, but after the midwife talked to us, we felt the best thing for Ally was to continue to press on and aim for a vaginal delivery. (high bp, falling platelets, etc. is like a train wreck headed for surgery!) We pressed on. Pitocin continued to be turned up at regular intervals. Ally got more tired as it went on, but worked like a trooper. The mag sulfate made her groggy, gave her hot flashes and basically makes a person FEEL like a train wreck! (or wish they WOULD!) No progress...8:00 AM...midwife in and her cervix was thinning and she was 4-5 cm. The mag works against the Pit, so what the Pit was doing to make contractions happen, the mag was counteracting...thus not very effective contractions. Labs held steady at her 6:00 draw. Pressing on. By 11:00 she had made it to 6 cm and completely effaced...pressing on. 4:00 she was just a "rim" and knew things were going in the right direction, but baby was still high, but midwife felt like she had enough room. 5:30...COMPLETE and ready to push!!! Pushed in bed, pushed on her right side, pushed on her left side, up to the BR and pushed on the toilet, walked back to bed and started the same process again. Pushed with her head up, and with her head back, using a sheet with a knot, having us support her legs, holding her own legs...you name it, we tried it! She worked soo hard! Her midwife called in an MD in the group at 7:30 incase we needed to use the suction vac to help little Kierstyn out, but PRAISE THE LORD, about 8:00 PM, that little girl turned the corner and her head made it under the pubic bone and she began to crown!! THEN...after a bit more pushing, our little lady was born. Full head of hair, head shaped like a mallet and perfectly healthy!! If it had not been for her midwife, she would have had a c-section in the night. Ally was so thankful that it turned out the way it did!! Dennis and I left the hospital about 10:00 and I CRASHED into bed! My goodness...having grandbabies is hard work! But I woudln't trade it for anything in this world!!

....and that's the rest of the story!

Another week closer...

Ally's another week closer to giving birth. And as usual, it's not soon enough for her! This past week off work has proven to be beneficial for her in that her weight gain was down this week from previous weeks and her feet aren't "quite" as swollen as they were last week. She still responds to the "how are you feeling?" question with "LARGE!" But to me...she is a beautiful mother in waiting. There is just nothing quite as special as a mother waiting for the birth of her firstborn child. Yes, it can be quite miserable from time to time, but it is also a time that you know your life is getting ready to change forever. I just experienced this with Amy and now again with Ally. My cup truly is overflowing!!

I was able to go to Ally's Dr. appointment today with her since Adam was working and it was earlier in the day. She has made PROGRESS!!! She is dilated to 2 cm. and is now 50% effaced!!! Baby is still high, but she'll come down as soon as labor begins. Her BP was a little more elevated today and she has a trace of protein in her urine which won her a few tests to determine if she is beginning to get pre-eclamptic or if she is just ready to deliver. My gut tells me that she's just ready for a baby...and that her final tests will come back good, but we could be surprised. (remember, I called the sex of BOTH of my grannybabies WRONG!!) Anyhow, she'll get the results of those tests early evening tomorrow. If they are indicating she has signs of pre-eclampsia, she'll go to the hospital and they will start the procedure to induce her Friday morning. If not, well, her midwife told her she'll either see her next Wednesday, or in the hospital if she goes into labor before.

All in all, it was a great day and a great Dr. appt. We have PROGRESS!!! Thanks for your prayers ladies. We've been wonderfully blessed with extraordinary cool weather this past week, last night and tonight getting down in the 50's of all things! It's JULY!! I keep reminding Ally how much worse it would be if we still had 99 degree days with 99% humidity! We are thankful indeed!

I'm thinkin' EVERY ONE of you girls who reads my blog knows exactly what she's going through and that it'll pass...in the meantime, pray for her to endure the race!!