Our Milwaukee Trip

We enjoyed a trip to Milwaukee last week and had a grand time. We loved Disc*very World. What a great place. One wing is devoted the the Great Lakes. You can view a scale model of them.
You can also tour a ship - inside and out - and learn about shipping on the Great Lakes.

They have an aquarium there. The fish swim over your head. I almost reached out to grab one at one point because it was so close to me.

They even have a place where you can "pet" the fish - sturgeon, sting rays, starfish and sea urchins. Jonalyn didn't want to touch them, but it did get her to agree to pet the starfish and sea urchins. She was really most happy waving to the fish and shouting. She was very excited!


Then we went to the other side, which was mechanical things and the Les Paul Sound Stage. We had fun here as well. Brian drove a "virtual" car. Doug and I did, too. It wasn't as easy as it looked. I flipped my car over!
Jonalyn touched the thing that made her hair stand on end.
We had to teach Alyssa what a telephone booth was! And how to dial a rotary phone!
Some views of Milwaukee.

And we ate at Friday's Front Row at Miller Park - home of the Milwaukee Brewers. What fun! Imagine eating there when a game is going on. Too rich for my blood, but maybe someday.
We made lots of good memories and maybe even a New Year's tradition. See, Milwaukee is more than beer and cheese.

FOR TODAY... January 4, 2010

Outside my window... It's a typically cold January day. Brrrr. Snow still covers everything.

I am thinking... about getting back into the routine.

I am thankful for... all of the thoughtful people in my life.

I am wearing... jeans, a maroon turtleneck, a beige cardigan. And I have my handy afghan thrown around my shoulders.

I am remembering... what a wonderful holiday season we had, how many new memories we made this year.

I am going... to the doctor in a little while. I'm having what I think is a bad fibromyalgia flare-up, but I want to see for sure. And I want to see if he has any treatments that might help me.

I am currently reading...nothing. My mom just finished reading Lynn Austin's new book and said it was excellent, so I'm DYING to read it, but I don't know when I'll get the chance.

I am hoping... I manage to stick to my schedule and get everything done that needs to be done. It's going to be a busy day/week, but I'm confident I can stay on track.

On my mind... my hubby. Some stressful things are going on in his life and I pray that he will get plenty of sleep and not start having problems with his migraines again.

Noticing that... my house really needs to be revamped. It needs to be painted and the kitchen needs to be remodeled. We're starting to make some decisions about the countertops and floors.

Pondering these words..."I love you, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1. That's the joyous attitude I want to carry with me into the new year.

From the kitchen...beef barley soup. Doug has a meeting and 5 and another one at 6, so I need something ready to go whenever he gets home. Maybe, if I'm ambitious, I'll make homemade french bread to go with it.

Around the house...the cat is walking around with a bandana around his neck. The kids enjoy tortouring him this way. Otherwise, the Christmas decorations are all put away. Kind of sad when you do it, because then we settle into the long, dreary part of the winter.

One of my favorite things...Sunshine in January! It makes the cold so much more bearable.

From my picture journal...from our trip to Milwaukee last week. Check back tomorrow and I'll tell you more (hee hee!)

To read more daybooks, go to the Simple Woman's Daybook.

Joy in Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas day. We started with homemade cinnamon rolls, which got done in the middle of our opening stockings. My parents came over and we opened the rest of our gifts. Brian got a digital camera, Alyssa got a Leg* doll house, I got a steam mop, Doug got matted and framed photos he'd taken this summer, and Jonalyn got lots of cars. The big family gift was Band Her*. We're having fun with it. In the midst of everything, Doug had a birthday, which we celebrated on the 24th at my parent's house. My sister and her family came for dinner: beef tenderloin, baby carrots, corn, homemade crescent rolls, homemade applesauce, jello, mashed potatoes and gravy, and grasshopper pie. Yummy. I still can't move! A couple of days earlier, Alyssa & I made a gingerbread house. It was a kit, but the "glue" wasn't very sticky and the thing collapsed. We'd been studying inventors in history and how they had to keep trying until they got it right, so I found a recipe for icing glue on the internet and we got it to stay together. Decorating it was lots of fun and we're pretty pleased with the results. Enjoy the pictures.

Joy in a Silly Story

On the radio yesterday, one of the hosts was talking about his pastor's sermon from Sunday. The pastor said Christmas was a really silly story. Who could ever believe it? Who could make something like that up? The pastor then went on to explain that it is exactly because it is such a silly story that it is so believable. Who could make up something like that? It's enough to make you want to laugh for joy. And that's exactly what I did when I thought about it some more. God gave a baby to a virgin. They had to travel far from home and when they arrived at their destination, they had to sleep in a stable. The baby didn't have a cradle, but a manger. Shepherds and wise men from hundreds of miles away were the only ones to welcome him. And most of all, this baby was born to die. Yes, what a silly, awesome, amazing, wonderful, love-filled story. I'm still laughing for joy! May all of you find your only true source of joy in this story.

Joy in Not Doing Anything

I'll admit - I was stressing out over how I would get everything done in time. Gifts for friends, school teachers and Sunday school teachers needed to be made and assembled. There were deadlines for all of these. I didn't have enough hours to accomplish it all.

Then I decided I wouldn't do it. At least not now. Maybe after Christmas, when I had the week at home with no school and people around to help me with chores. I wouldn't be pressured into following timetables. I would get it done when I had time to get it done.

Pressure off. Stress greatly reduced. Deep breath taken. Alyssa's recital (pictures will follow one of these days - when I get time :) and dinner out with my family enjoyed. Sigh of relief.

And you know what? My kids are picking up the slack. Alyssa made a bunch of God's eyes for school and Sunday school teachers. Brian is going to make chocolate covered pretzels for his teachers. It's going to get done after all. It makes me laugh - with joy!

Sheer Joy

I don't have time to post a Simple Woman's Daybook today, but I wanted to share my daughter's joy. Really, cognitively disabled children seem to be some of the happiest people in the world. They find joy in simple things. Maybe because they don't understand the worries of the world. I don't know. Anyway, last night was our church's Sunday school program. Jonalyn did great, but wouldn't say her lines. They needed to be fed to her one word at a time and someone forgot to do that. But she sang the songs and knew many of the words. The rest she made up. She swayed to the music, copied the leader's arm waving as she directed the music, and smiled and smiled and smiled. At the end of the last song, as the notes faded away, Jonalyn pumped her fist in the air and shouted, "Yes"! Oh, that we all would have such joy in the Lord.

That goes along with our pastor's sermon from yesterday. Our joy shouldn't come from gifts - giving or getting - or even in the gifts Jesus brings, as fundamentally important as they are. Our joy in Christmas should be in Jesus. Period. Just in Him being God. Just in Him being our God. So simple. So joyful. I feel my joy over this season returning.

Finding Joy in a Ten Year Old

Happy, happy birthday on Thursday to my beautiful Alyssa. We had dinner and a small celebration with my parents - hamburger soup, homemade bread and birthday cake. It was a very joyful day as we celebrated her life.