Fried Ham, Fried Ham, Cheese and Baloney....

...after the macaroni, we'll have some onions, pickles and pretzels, then we'll have some more fried ham. Fried ham. Fried ham - fried ham - fried ham.

Same song, second verse....

Yes, I've slipped a gear or two. That was a song I used to sing at camp, and then having brought the song home running a broken record in my head for years. The key here is the "same song, second verse..." part.

As I was making pizza the other night (Chicago Style deep dish, ThankYouVeryMuch!), that phrase popped into my head and I couldn't get "Fried Ham" out of my head, playing it through in all the oh-so-very-un-PoliticallyCorrect versions. I'm sure hubby thought I'd cracked a bit as he was trying to talk to me about some relatively important matters as I worked and I kept smirking...especially when I sat down to write the phrase "Fried Ham" on a post-it note and stick it up behind my computer, in an effort to STOP the broken record.

Side note: The song went "same song, second verse, Texan accent, a little bit worse" and proceeded to sing the same song over again with a 'Texan' accent, as well as a 'Chinese', and 'German' and whatever we could come up with ...see...how very un-politically correct of us, right? *blush*

So, what's the "same song, second verse"??? Remember this? and dated slightly before that, this? And slightly before that... this? Yup. Again. (said as she tries REALLY hard not to roll her eyes in sarcasm)

VERY long story made short, the contract here was not completed in August as it was expected to be, and at this point (right NOW. It could change by end-of-business today. Or not.) my sweet Hubbyman has no job as of December 31st. The full explanation comes with a "Big Government/Congress changed the laws and although the local level is ready to keep their workers, there is a disconnect between the two as to how to pay said workers and who gets to do so." blah-blah-blah.

So, job hunt is on, as if we are to be moving back stateside, we will have to have that completely accomplished by end of December. Yeah. 6 weeks-ish.

Now, panic-mode past, I'm relaxed as possible. I can NOT freak out over this. Later, maybe, but not now. He has a firm job prospect in North Florida (Hey, Zanne!) that looks promising, but we are not discounting the possibility of God keeping us right here in place, again. He did it before, he can do it again, and we are simply praying for very clear direction and clearly open/shut doors. So, if you would, pray for Clint to have that discernment.

So, you'll forgive me if I'm not on here as often...but hey, the last post was from October 11th, so maybe you won't even notice? HA!

...now will it be "German accent" or "Floridian accent" or somewhere else altogether? ~*wink*~

I'd like to fully introduce...

Recently (August 30th), we celebrated a very important birthday in our home. Elijah Matthew Thornburg turned one year old. He is our little miracle-boy. Eli was born a month early under some really stressful circumstances, and we are so very grateful that he is here, and healthy, and hearty, and ONE!

(if you don't like birth stories or are my Mom or Dad and would get completely stressed out,
even though a year has passed already, you might want to scroll past to the pictures :D)

I was 36 weeks pregnant and um...LARGE. I had gestational diabetes and had been under treatment with insulin injections since I was about 19 weeks pregnant. I had the fun little monitor to check my blood glucose 4 or more times a day and had to give myself injections at least 3 times a day. My formerly laid-back life very quickly became scheduled and monitored at every turn. I had to measure the carbohydrates I was consuming and balance that with an appropriate amount of protein. At 32 weeks, I got to begin the dance of twice-weekly Non-Stress tests (NST's) and once-weekly Ultrasounds to monitor the amniotic fluid around the baby.

At my 35 week ultrasound (Tuesday), the midwife (who was monitoring the NST clinic that day) noted that my water was up, and my little guy was a "footling breech*". Other than a "wow, I bet you feel that!" it really didn't make any difference because we knew we were headed for a scheduled C-section on September 19th, at approximately 38 1/2 weeks gestation.

*Footling breech - one or both feet come first, with the bottom at a higher position. This is rare at term but relatively common with premature babies. (defined by Wikipedia)

So, on with our lives we went. Wednesday evening at church, I secured a sitter for our oldest four children. YESSS! I could relax, now. Right?

That following Saturday, we went on with our duties, with hubby and the oldest two children heading up to church to do some work, and me with the younger two (Z and S) at home, doing some house-cleaning and finally getting around to packing my bag for the hospital. I already had baby's bag packed, but still had things to get for him. I still had time, right? It was still a good 2 1/2 weeks until my C-section date. Bent over to check what I'd packed in the suitcase on the floor and POP! There goes the water. Uhhhh...I didn't sign up for THIS, today, God! Keepin' it calm, I headed to the bathroom to care for myself and realized that my water was not only continuing to come, but was dark. Baby was still wiggling away, but I was getting nervous as I hadn't felt him turn head down this week. Gulp.

Call hubby, say "I need you home NOW. My water just broke."

Call the sitter, our sweet Pastor's wife. She wasn't home. Prayed with Pastor. I think he could hear the fear in my voice. He called his wife. She called me. Said she was on her way.

I'm trying to figure out how to get my (large) suitcase down the stairs. Forget it. It's not even completely packed. Clint can deal with it. I'll have him get what is still needed after we have this baby, because he's comin' tonight!

About 3 pm, and they all make it in at about the same time. We hand keys over to Pastor's Wife, tell the kids not to worry and get outta dodge. On the way, I tell hubby that the water was dark. He hits the gas, and I tell HIM not to worry, baby boy's still wiggling.

Check in to the labor ward. They check me and ask what position he was in at my last ultrasound. I tell her "footling breech". She says "yep. I can tell."

They prep me with whatever they need to, and get me ready to go to the OR. They do a last-minute ultrasound before rolling me back to check the position, as that will determine the cut and urgency. He's still footling breech, but has pulled his foot back IN. Yipes! Yeah, I knew there was something. Dr. B says "we may have to do a more extensive cut to get him out safely." but we agree that she'd take it a step at a time and see, as I'll be awake and hubby will be in there with me. They take him out to scrub up and roll me to the OR. I'm prepped, numbed, and hubby comes in. The screen is put up at my neck, across the field of view. Procedure begins.

I hear "WHOA." from Dr. B.

"What?"

"He's turned, the little stinker. He's head down, from just a few minutes ago!

Dr. B: "WOW!"

"What Now?" I asked

"His cord is wrapped around his neck. Twice."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine!"

"Oh, Thank You, Lord!"

Dr. B: "WHOAAAA!"

"WHAT NOW?!?!"

"He has a true knot in his cord. Little stinker swam through the cord loops. Thankfully, you didn't try to have him normally! And thankfully, he was born today! That would've tightened!"

"Oh, thank You, Jesus!"

Photo is of Eli on the table, and the knot in his cord, in the Pediatrician's hand.

Eli spent just over 30 hours in the NICU, for some mild breathing problems, and it was about 12 hours before I got to see him in the NICU, and hold him for the first time. After scrubbing up, the children and Clint were allowed to visit him as well. I don't think they will ever forget the memories of visiting their new baby brother while he was hooked up to all the wires and tubes to "watch" his heart and breathing. (sniff)

He was well enough that he was simply monitored, without many alarms going off. He seemed SO tiny, but was a pretty good size for having been born 4 weeks early. He was 6 lb, 8 oz, which was actually a full 3 oz larger than Alex, who was our other 36-weeker. Elijah was tube-fed while in hospital, and we struggled to continue feeding him that way, using a finger-feeding method with a tube to get him enough nourishment to keep growing. That only lasted for about the first three weeks, and then on to a formula bottle. Those first few weeks were difficult, but now...

He's an eatin' machine.
We have him on the Four-Meals-a-Day plan right now and wonder if it's enough! ~giggle~

He's a content, smiley baby boy, with four front teeth that he's proud to show off, especially when buttering up the Momma or Daddy for something we have. ;)

He's also a playing machine...
(following three pics recently taken in the church nursery)

...and more often than not, a blur of action. He moves at full speed from the moment he wakes until he crashes for one of his two naps or the night.

He's best with drumming, and the louder the better. ;)

So, that's our Eli, and we just KNOW that you met him you'd love him as much as we do!

YAWN...

Shh! Don't wake them! My house is totally silent...and I'm still awake. Don't worry, Mom, I'm headed up to sleep in a bit. ;) Just wanted to pop in and say hello!

I talked to my Dad today and he mentioned pictures. I needed to get a few new ones up. And Mama D mentioned it when I spoke to her this last week, too. I figure since it's been mentioned a few times...maybe I should. ;)

Let me see....This sweet lil' gal lost her first tooth recently. And yes, I agree. She's too little to have that happen, but as you might be able to see, there's a new tooth ready to come on out and play in its place, so I guess it's time, whether Momma likes it or not! :D

Our trip to Florence was fabulous. Definitely the whirlwind trip, but oh, so worth it! We had two short flights to get there, with a nice long layover in Rome each travel-day. And that was good, really. It was nice to NOT have to run to the gate, as we did for our first flight. I really appreciated that, but altogether was simply thankful that we were not having to run for the gate WITH strollers, car seats, extra carry-ons and a total of seven people. That HAS been done before, and let me tell you, is a feat that is not easily forgotten.

Our hotel was situated right between Santa Maria Novella and the Basilica San Lorenzo, and although our actual view from the hotel window was more like this

with a short walk, we could end up at either basilica,

making our way through busy streets full of open markets and what seemed to be a dizzying mesh of streets with signposts that didn't seem clear to our untrained eyes.

We did survive it, with the help of our trusty map and the boost of some lovely gelato along the way... mmmm, Melon for me and Tiramisu for him...

We managed to find some interesting sights that our redneck eyes had never beheld. Yes, we toured the galleries, but photos were not allowed in there, and we obeyed the rules. However, the several gallery guidebooks we brought home will fill in that desire to look back at the tour. Down the street that our hotel was on, we found a local butcher. Look deep into his storefront and see the lovely layers of pork...bacon, prosciutto, hams...and yes, that IS three little piglets having a tea party at the door. LOL!
We also saw some amazing street performers. Aside from the "living statues" at the Uffizi Gallery (I tried to get him while he was moving, but was unsuccessful), we saw these guys, working on their tribute to "Supper at Emmaus" by Caravaggio. One of my (many) favorites.
We visited the Ponte Vecchio at one point in the day, only for me to be surprised by the gifting by my sweet husband of matching anniversary rings. The 10th of September is our wedding anniversary, and this year was the marking of 16 years married.
The Ponte Vecchio is the home of goldsmiths, working precious metals in traditional (and very untraditional in some cases!) styles for centuries. While we waited on adjustments to Clint's ring, we were blessed to sit at a lovely little cafe, sipping cappuccino and snacking on some more gelato and a cannoli. The cannoli was my birthday cake! ;) I consider it not only a well-spent anniversary, but a very blessed birthday.

With that note, I think I'll close and get up to bed...must get up early in the morning and get the family going! I hope you enjoyed this quick summary of the trip and I'll try to get back here with more photos as I get to sort them out!

Gobble Gobble!

I know I haven't posted here in a week or so (Hi, D!), but have "written posts in my mind" all week. Unfortunately, most include photos that I actually need to SCAN in. And until I get around to that... well... but yes, I need to just go do it.

This last couple of weeks was busy with all sorts of busies.

School started again, the last week of August. I have a 6th grader, a 4th grader, a 2nd grader, and a 1st grader. And Eli. Who likes to take naps.

YESSSS!!!

This big girl came home from her first short mission trip, to Romania and Hungary, with dear friends of ours from church. A big exciting time, and lots of pics on the way, I hope!

This lil' guy turned one.

And this sweet man gave me my Anniversary and Birthday gifts early this year... although I have to now wait to GET them, but just a few days. He put an Italian phrase book and a travel book into a birthday bag, accompanied by two tickets for a 3-day stay in Florence, Italy! Oh, AND a sitter for all five children!

He done good! ♥ ;)

So, I hope you forgive me if I'm not on here often. I'll get to posting as I can, but lately, I've crashed into sleep shortly after the children each night. I'm getting old. Scratch that.

I'm turning 22 (again) in 8 days.

*wink*

Oh, you were wondering about the title of the post...wouldja, couldja, hop on over to and comment on Needle Little Inspirationthis post and tell her I sent ya? I'd love this layer cake of "Gobble Gobble" fabrics...and if you mention me, then I get another entry, and you get one, too!

If you're a crafter, check out her site...it's chock-full of goodies and inspirations that we can all at least dream about doing, even when we don't have the time to even sneeze. Oh, the plans I can make!

Please do go check her out right now...she's having an open house and several giveaways of fabric, in cooperation with other sites. Love. It. ♥

Family expansion photos...

Since the last blog was full of our newest HUMAN family member, I thought I'd finally introduce our newest non-human family member to you...

Meet the new van...we haven't named her yet (doesn't everyone name their vehicles?) but she's a very welcome part of the family. After spending weeks with one van limping along, and a few days here and there with no vehicle or a rental car because transportation was necessary or the use of a sweet friend's vehicle, we finally have two running vehicles, that will just fit all members of our family. (the white van in the background: Dead. Inoperable. Might be repairable. It may be evicted from the family in coming months)

Can you tell we've never had a NEW-new car? This was the coolest. And this is after having driven it a couple-three days. It came to us with 23 miles on it. W00T!

YESSSSSS!!!!

No, I take it back. THIS is the coolest. You see that black space below the speedometer? It's black because there is not a check engine light on. Or a low oil light. Or a gas-low light (even though it's not low). Or...
You get the picture.

...because it's been a while...

a pic or two of our almost one year old little man! He'll be one at the end of August.

Eli loves his feet. Uses them as a second set of hands! Here, he'd just been playing with his toy monkey with his feet, and had just dropped it. You can see his "upper hands" reaching to get it back into play with his "lower hands". Crazy boy! He can usually be found playing with one toy with his feet and holding his bottle or a second toy with his hands.

I love this shot! Shows his "toddler face". This was taken just this past Saturday.

Mom, check out those little wisps above his ears...makes me think of Dad every time they stick out!

Figuring it out...

There's a few things that were a bit of a mystery to me, but I'm working out bit by bit.

Crispy-on-the-bottom pizza crusts have eluded me. I use baking stones to bake on, and supposedly, this means that the crust will be crispy. Notsomuch. It comes out COOKED, and the top of the pizza is lovely, but the bottom is never CRISPY. We LOVE thin crusts for our weekly pizza night. It's not my recipe, as I've tried others (and gone back to old faithful), but it's just the stones. Yes, I could add some dry cornmeal to the stone, and have found that that does help, but the fam did not like the cornmeal texture on their tongues to eat the pizza. *rolls eyes* Whatever.

I got it! I prebaked the crust for 8-9 minutes. And then FLIPPED IT OVER. Topped the crust with goodies and baked again for about 8 minutes....VOILA! A cracker-crispy crust.

Yes, this is sort of 'double the work', especially for the 3-4 pizzas that we make to fill this crew, but it enables me to prebake earlier in the day and just top and bake at dinner time. So, half the work and bake time is gone by dinner-prep time!

Now to share with you my recipe...this is one I found several years ago on www.allrecipes.com (therefore the title) and is one of the EASIEST recipes I've ever used. It is a yeast dough, but only requires 10 minutes rest time, with no long rise...and it WILL bake up fat and fluffy for you if you want your crust that way. Six ingredients. I always feel like I'm forgetting one, because it's so simple. And if you replace all or some of the water with warmed milk and the fat with butter, instead of EVOO, it makes a lovely cinnamon roll dough! And I've even done it up as an Apfel Flammkuchen, along with our pizzas one night!

This recipe is for one batch. I double it for this crew. Single recipe will make 1 fat crust or 2 thin crusts, Double is 2-4 crusts.

Valentino's Pizza Crust

1 C warm water
1 T white sugar or honey
2 1/4 t (or 1 pkt) active dry yeast
3 T olive oil
1 t salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
~Mix water, sugar, and yeast. Allow to foam 3-5 minutes.
~Add oil, flour and salt. Blend. Allow to rest 10 minutes while you prepare the toppings. Preheat oven to 425 during this time, too.
~Flatten pizza crust(s) using olive oil onto baking pan, top with toppings as desired.
~Bake 13-15 minutes.

Apfel Flammkuchen, quick American-chef style:

Prebake crust for 8 minutes or so, flip crust over, and allow to cool. Mix 4 oz (1/2 of a block) of softened cream cheese with 1/2 tsp vanilla, and spread on the crust, then sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Top with thinly sliced apple slices, completely covering cream cheese. Sprinkle again with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 8 minutes, or until apples are soft (keep checking them every 2 min's or so after the initial 8). Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and/or ice cream. VERY yummy. (especially served with walnut ice cream! ;)

Oh, and if you can't use the entire crust recipe at once, ball up the "extra" crust, wrap in waxed paper and freeze for next week, in a ziploc bag....or go ahead and prebake the crust and then freeze! Pull out of the freezer, top and bake from frozen!

Oh, I'm SO bloggin' THIS!

Last weekend, our family was on our way onto base, and got behind a very unique car.

Or rather, a car with a very unique accessory.

(real quick...Note to my sister, Chrissy: I couldn't believe that the owner was allowing this, but hey, I honestly couldn't stop laughing long enough to really worry)

I seriously had tears rolling down my cheeks, I was laughing so hard.

Can't see it? let me help you...

You know the way dogs love to stick their heads out of the car windows? Yeaaah.

Apparently, Doggy has been to the vet recently. But that didn't stop her from crusin' down the main street in her fly Nissan...accessories and all!

Is it REALLY Friday again?!?!

That's what it feels like right now! We've had another busy week, with growth, lots of school, bunches of play, baby milestones, and big stuff ahead. We've also had two vehicles die on us, childhood fumbles and bonks and a smidgen of extra stress. Those things alone make life interesting enough.

Sunday started with Eli deciding to pull himself up on the toybox in the church nursery. Momma is NOT ready for that, not that it means anything. He also has discovered the very boyish word: "CAR". And that was quickly followed by "VOOM." Because you know, CARs go VOOM. He's definitely a boy. (and not a "ma-ma" in sight. Sigh.)

Monday through Thursday brought fuss and bother over vehicles in various states of repair and disrepair. School was accomplished by all, and math books are close to completion, even with the time taken off for our move. We have adapted to year-round school around here, at least for now, as the 2008-2009 school year started with the arrival of baby brother, a month early, and we have been able to make up for that time with ease.

Oh, that "big stuff ahead" is not another family member...at least not another human family member. ;) Here's a hint:

catching up again

So, now that there are a limited number of boxes inside the house, and most of the ones in the garage are getting themselves prepared to take their final trip up to the attic, I can take a breath and write you a note or two this week.

Yes, pictures are coming. I took a couple the other day, but even since then, some things have changed. I'll get some tonight.

It's VBS week, and we're on the run each afternoon/evening to get to church and participate.

And at least for last night and part of today, we have added two sweet little blonde boys to my household. That means that my friend Heather went into labor yesterday and had her third precious boy in short order. They were doing wonderfully last night when I spoke to her and although baby boy had no name at the time, they were in prayer for God to give them the perfect name to call their newest son.

So, since I now have seven children in my house, I better make this short and go check on the smallest of my own sons...he was supposed to be napping, but I hear his joyful squeal upstairs. Later Gators!