Due to mold issues in our basement, we decided not to use the Christmas decorations stored down there this winter. This year, then, has been a time for doing things differently than in the past.


We had always hung our stockings on our mantle, but I think the highlight of our decorating this year has been our garland made following "The Nester's" suggestions.

At night we light the candles, turn on the Christmas music, and enjoy the lights from the tree and mantle.

It has been so good to hear my children say how much they are enjoying our Christmastime- even though at first they were skeptical that Christmas could be any fun without our special things.

And the starfish? We had to put one in- just because "The Nester" had one in hers!

*Update on Hannah*

Hannah mentioned last night that she thinks her hearing in both her ears are back to normal! She is still hearing a lot of popping sounds (due to the ruptured eardrum?) but the hearing is back.

We are very grateful! Thank you for your prayers!

He Took Me Seriously

"Hey, Jacob- you've lost so many teeth this past month, you could make them into Christmas ornaments..."

Making a Snowman...

Is much more fun than thinking about mold...

And here we thought fixing the basement was a fun project to do in winter.

This is what the outside of my living room looks like right now. A storm is moving in and the wind makes strange sounds against the Tyvek as it blows against it.

Underneath the Tyvek is the side of our house where we had a big water leak- the builders did not do a good job of caulking the siding and we are just now seeing the results of eight years of leaks. We still remain hopeful (ignorant, hiding our heads in the sand?) that this is isolated to the side of the house. Although we know of one other place on the front of the house that will need fixing.

These are the helpful books that have given me nightmares recently (!). After reading these, I think I see dust mites and mold everywhere... It is a good thing I never went to medical school.

Brian spent 7-8 hours working on the basement crawl space this weekend. He thinks that part is done and all that is left to do is to finish vacuuming and seal the walls. The floors (I think) have been sealed although the cracks still need to be caulked.

Christmas Decorating

Since we are still in the process of making the basement safe for us mold-sensitive people, we made the decision to not use any of the Christmas decorations that have been stored in the basement for this year. We plan to take them out in the summer to clean/air them for next year.

Thankfully, not all of our Christmas things are stored in the basement! Brian's mom sent us the "Willow Tree" nativity set this year. We have it in the family room and have been enjoying it since fall (!). I love how in this set Mary is holding Jesus instead of looking at Him in the manger. If I were Mary, that's what I would be doing, too.

We bought a little artificial tree and put on our Precious Moments decorations. We hope to make gingerbread ornaments this week.

Flocked wrapping paper? Be still my heart!

We decorated the mantle following the wonderful advice of "The Nester".

On top of the piano.

A wreath for the back door.

Even though our Christmas decorating will be very simple this year, we are grateful that we have a few special items we can display. We are listening to Christmas music each night watching the lights on the (ever so little) tree, the mantle and the candles on the piano. I hope this year's more quiet celebration will bring fond memories in the years to come.

Thanksgiving

Abby and Mrs. L

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our "holiday family". We have been getting together for Thanksgiving and Easter for over ten years now. It is so fun to look back at pictures and see how the children have grown as the years have gone by. The "L" boys are SO tall whereas once they used to be little toddlers...and the H's boy has grown almost 5 inches this year. Of course the parents haven't changed a bit.

Brian in the "after dinner fog".


We tried a new recipe from the"Barefoot Contessa" cookbook- "Smashed Sweet Potatoes with Apples". Another hit (with us, at least).

Lots of good food.

Jacob loves to play with all of the toys!

Hannah played on the piano...

A few of Mrs. H's many quilts. Mrs. H is an a talented quilter and I always enjoy seeing what she has made each year.

I took pictures of some of her quilts for ideas for me in the future and because they are so pretty!

She entered this one in a quilt show this year.

Outside of the fact that I had a terrible cold and sneezed my way through the evening, we all had a lovely time and enjoyed getting caught up on everyone's happenings.

We are thankful that while Hannah's hearing is not 100 percent (she estimates it at around 90 percent in the affected ear), she is feeling much better. We continue to pray for that final 10 percent to be restored!

It is always sad to lose a loved one through illness or an accident, but it seems particularly hard to lose someone to suicide. You wonder if there was anything more one could have done to prevent it, why what *was* done wasn't enough.

When I was growing up, I was taught that suicide was "going to heaven uninvited". I have always struggled with the lack of grace and mercy behind that thought. While there are no doubt situations where people take their life to spite another or for some other evil motive, I believe that most people who end their life are deeply troubled. God knows how we are made and knows all our weaknesses and struggles. He understands the imbalances in our bodies and in our minds- and I believe that those who are so mentally ill that they do the unthinkable- they will be welcomed, find forgiveness and wholeness in heaven if they knew the Lord.

Rest in peace, dear cousin Ronny. Your family loves you and will miss you greatly.

Around the House

This was birthday week, with two children celebrating their birthdays just one day apart. They choose each year to open all gifts on one day, then have the cake the next.

One child requested pizza for their birthday dinner, the other requested macaroni and cheese. Today (Sunday) was the day for the mac and cheese and we tried a new (to us) recipe from the "Barefoot Contessa" cookbook. I am not a "foodie", but I must say that the cheese sauce for this is divine. I could have eaten it all with a spoon and not saved any for the noodles. The unexpected ingredient in the sauce is nutmeg- wow. I think we have all gone over our cheese quota for the year between this and the pizza!

The basement project is coming along. (Look! You can see the floor!) Dumpster out front, "keeper" stuff in the garage, "still to throw away" things on the side of the house, making our neighbors displeased, I'm sure.

While Daddy works, we take a walk...

I made this tree skirt the winter I had pneumonia (I was 13, I think). I remember those long hours latch-hooking away. It was so boring, but I was determined to finish it before Christmas. It needs to go into the trash, but I took this photo to remember it.

And truly, what could be more wonderful than the "Last Supper" plaque given by Grandma J. when I was first married? The sheer tackiness of it has always made me giggle. I struggle to know which pile to place this in- the "keeper" or the "trash".

Christmas Candy

Part of our family's Christmas tradition is to make hard candy. It is the recipe from the Lorann flavoring oils package- we have always made cinnamon, wintergreen (the kids say this tastes like toothpaste), peppermint, and spearmint in the past, but this year we thought we'd shake things up and go for the fruit flavors- grape, orange, watermelon, peach, strawberry and apple.

Getting the cookie sheets coated with powdered sugar ready while Daddy cooks the candy.

We make "tracks" in the sugar to keep the hot candy in lines- easier for cutting.

The more help, the better. Once the candy is ready to cut, you have to work fast before it gets too hard.

That sifter over by Abby?- you have to sift the candy after it's cut to get off the excess powdered sugar. The Lorann recipe says to pour the candy onto greased cookie sheets and to break the candy into pieces, but I think the way we do it works better - and gives you that extra dose of sugar we all need around the holidays...

The candy needs to reach 310 degrees before adding the food coloring and flavoring. This is the part that takes the longest. It's hard to wait until the first batch is ready.

Pouring the candy, dusting the top with more powdered sugar, then the cutting with scissors. The candy is VERY hot so we have to wait a few minutes until it is cool enough to handle.

First batch done! Repeat five more times. (Make that six- one batch burned).

Clean up (sigh).

Boxes and Cobwebs and Dust, Oh My! -Or- My Entire Life Has Flashed Before My Eyes This Week

I wish I could say that these two piles were all we threw away, but there was more that didn't get captured in a photo.
The stuff that made the first cut is in the garage, waiting for a second look before going back down into the basement in new plastic containers.

The boxes are so dusty and have mold spores on them, so we were careful to minimize our exposure.

Sorting through boxes in the snow! Nothing like an impending snowstorm to put a damper on any sentimental feelings towards the basement contents!

While most of my baby dolls had to be tossed, my troll collection appears to have survived the years intact.

I was amazed at all the things I came across. I made this mushroom looking thing as a child and my mother saved it. I also found my favorite pillowcase I used around the age of ten and thought- "Wow! I had forgotten about that!" Quickly followed by the thought "No one should have their old pillowcases, *every * single* toy, *bedding item* piece of paper they colored on* books *school notes * and more that *they* ever *had * languishing in their basement!!"

I found a book called "All About Me" that I had filled out. I realized that I was a terrible speller. I don't even know what I thought my favorite food was. Tumado soop doesn't even sound good. And I do like carets now. I eat them regularly.

Some things never change.

Dad admitted this week that he and Mom were both packrats, coming from a long line of packrats. My children get upset when I throw anything away, but as I told them this week, "I am giving you a gift- the gift of knowing how to throw things away when they are no longer useful."

I cannot express how freeing it is to throw this stuff away. I wish I could've done it under happier circumstances, but it was past time. I was waiting until Jon could go through these things with me and I have saved a few things he would want (along with "family heirloom" items).

I think I will throw away a lot more in the weeks to come.
Freedom!

Cleaning Up

We began removing boxes from the basement today. We had to take them out through the windows since to bring them through the house would allow the dust and other nasties to come into the main part of the house.

One box was still wet from the summer damage that came when we were on vacation in July. One box was stuck to the floor with mold.

We have about half of all the stuff out on the lawn now- I can only imagine what our neighbors are thinking.

I can't believe how much stuff we have down there. My mom saved (seems like) everything and she wasn't even from the Depression Era. Brian's folks have passed down things to us and of course we have all those baby and toddler toys too.

I bought a new vacuum online last night after doing some research. We need one with a HEPA filter so we can clean up any contaminated dust on our furniture and floors. I have been dreaming of a Dyson for a long time. My children even know how I long for one of those...and I didn't end up buying one! The Kenmore 35923 was rated by Consumer Reports to be very good - even better than Dyson at half the cost (or less- Sears was having a big sale). Christmas is coming early for me! Our current vacuum is a sorry excuse for a cleaning machine, so I can't tell you how exciting it will be to vacuum and have the floors/rugs look clean after running it. Up until now we didn't feel that a new vacuum was a priority since all our floors are hardwood and I always sweep the rugs with a broom or take them outside to shake. I think I'll do nothing else but vacuum for an entire week once it comes!

We are all tired after working in the basement this afternoon. I have been reading my books from the library on mold and sick building syndrome. When I can post pictures again, I'll share some of this adventure...

Mold and Mildew on the Windswept Plains...

Our chip reader won't let me upload any pictures, so I'll just have to update with words for now.

We had an indoor air specialist come out to our house yesterday to see if we had any mold (or anything else) problems keeping our immune systems low. He looked through the ENTIRE house- closets, cupboards, under sinks, etc. This is the gentleman that helped us when we built the house nine years ago and he is excellent at what he does. He was made sick from mold exposure about twenty years ago and knows first hand how devastating it can be.

I found it interesting that he got out of breath walking up the stairs to the bedrooms. I get winded doing that too, and I know it's not because I'm out of shape. He commented that he was just at a high altitude and was fine, so his reaction was due to something in the house.

After checking out the rooms and making various suggestions and comments, he headed to the basement- and immediately knew there was something wrong. With his measuring devices, he determined that the moisture content of the basement cement is high and the humidity is high as well (but the humidity is still within acceptable limits). Dust and debris has settled into the cracks in the floor, causing mold and bacteria to breed and it is being released into the air (and then, through the upstairs as well). He feels this is the cause of the terrible musty smell and the source of our lowered immunity/worsening reactions.

The solution for this will be for us to move everything into sealed plastic storage containers and clean the basement floor very well (shop vac with hepa filter). Then all cracks need to be sealed (lots of cracks...). Hopefully in a few weeks we'll know if that was enough to help us.

A job I've been putting off for years- getting the basement organized. Well, I guess this is just the motivation we need to hurry up and get it done!

*Update on Hannah*

She is on her last day of antibiotics and feels the hearing in her "bad" ear has returned to about 50 percent (much better from zero percent hearing...). She is looking better, eating normally and is smiling more, so we continue to pray that her hearing will return 100 percent. We are grateful that she is feeling better and is up and about much more than last week.

I took Hannah to the chiropractor on Monday and she felt that was helpful for her ear- and as soon as we got home, her ear started to bother her again. So we knew something *is* most likely affecting her in her home environment. Also, Hope has been having some allergic reactions. Clean out the basement- quick!

Update on Hannah

Hannah begins antibiotics today for her ear infection. The doctor thinks she may lose hearing in her infected ear. Please pray that the antibiotics will cure this infection, that she will have a full restoration of her hearing and that she won't have any side effects from the medication (such as a systemic yeast infection).

Thank you!

*Sunday Morning Update*:

So far Hannah seems to be tolerating the antibiotics well. She feels the draining in her ear is going down. The doctor said that the infection is behind the eardrum and since the hole is up high, the infection cannot drain from the ear - the prescription ear drops, all that garlic and olive oil we've been putting in, hydrogen peroxide, heat to encourage draining, herbal antibiotics, etc. cannot touch the infection so deep inside.

I do think Hannah's immune system would have eventually conquered this, but the doctor felt the chance of permanent hearing loss was high due to the severity of the infection- and that the antibiotics offers us the best hope at preserving as much of her hearing as possible at this point.

Hannah has not noticed any improvement in her hearing today (she can't hear at all out of one ear), but we are praying the next few days might bring some encouragement in that area.