The weather was crisp today, just 8 degrees when we left for sledding, but the sun was shining. Plenty of snow had fallen in Grand Rapids over the past few days, and the girls were excited to try their new sleds on a hill larger than the one in our back yard. We drove to a nearby park and took the girls sledding for the very first time! Yes, believe it or not, Kayla is six and a half years old and has never been sledding. (It probably wouldn’t be fair to blame Mt. Pleasant for the fact we didn’t sled while we lived there, but we may have been more likely to if it would have actually had some hills!)
Decorating for Christmas
First, to find the perfect tree.
We searched and searched and searched …
At last we found it.
Nine feet tall, and perfect for our living room. Our first tree in our new house.
Time to decorate.
All done! Well, minus the tree skirt. 🙂
The Kerr Pumpkin Tradition
Step 1. Visit a local pumpkin patch and select “perfect” pumpkins.
Step 2. Clean, remove top and scoop.
Step 3. Count seeds. Wash and roast. (This is something we added to our family tradition last year. Guesses are on the left next to first initials, and the actual number of seeds is circled on the right.)
Step 4. Carve.
Step 5. Display.
What I Wish I Would Have Known Years Ago
Muscle tension—primarily in my neck and shoulders—has been an unwanted companion of mine for years now. I’m a problem solver by nature, and I really wanted to get to the bottom of this. Was it stress? Poor posture? Sleeping the wrong way? All I knew was the problem wasn’t getting better—in fact, it was growing worse. The muscle tension started the moment I woke and lasted all day, every day. Most days this would produce a headache, which made it hard to be cheerful and fun with my family.
In June I started seeing a chiropractor. It turns out I had major problems with the alignment of my neck. With adjustments three times a week, then two times a week, and finally weekly, this improved dramatically. The muscle tension, however, did not improve—it increased and the headaches remained.
Less than two weeks ago my chiropractor suggested taking a magnesium supplement. I was skeptical: I really believed I was causing the tension by something I was doing (or not doing).
The result since I started taking the supplement? The tension is gone; the headaches have ceased. I feel so different—so free! From the reading I’ve done, magnesium deficiency is very common. Many physicians say somewhere between 80-95% of Americans are deficient, and muscle tension is just one of many symptoms associated with it.
Each night as I take my magnesium, I thank God for this new discovery. And each day as I’m free of pain, I’m so happy to feel like myself again. I still love problem solving, but this was one problem I couldn’t solve on my own.
Our Gardening Mistake
Before Madeline was born, Kayla and I went to a biweekly playgroup at a local elementary school. Though Kayla doesn’t remember the playgroup, I still have fond memories from our times there together. One of Kayla’s favorite activities was playing with containers of dried beans. We replicated this for her at home, but since dried beans are a choking hazards for babies and young toddlers, we put the beans away before Madeline was born.
A couple days ago I was researching ideas for keeping little ones occupied while you’re teaching older children and came across the dried bean idea. Now that our youngest is almost 2 1/2, we don’t have to worry as much about choking hazards.
We found that doing beans on the deck didn’t work so well because the beans got stuck between the planks. Our next idea was to play with the beans on the cement area outside our basement. This worked better, though a few beans got stuck in the cracks of the cement. Yesterday, when we were playing outside, this is what we discovered.
We didn’t intend to grow beans, but the girls sure think it’s fun!
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