A Momma's Love

Funny how life brings us in full circles when we least expect it?  Yesterday I made my first batch of homemade granola.  It smelled delicious in the oven.  And looked wonderful cooling on the table.  I am looking forward to having some on my yogurt!  However, laying in bed last night I was reminded of how many times my mother had made granola and how I hated it.  I dreaded having it for breakfast.  I remember not liking how it smelled at that time.. I wonder how my children will feel about my granola?  Will they eat it or will they turn their noses up at it like I did as a child?  I hope that someday my children will look back on the things I have done and come full circle as well.  Maybe they will find out I was not as crazy as I appear and that their tastes will change as well.  Maybe I should look thru mom's recipes to find more that I want to try now- maybe I will even come across her granola recipe!

  Today is the day!  Jeff is celebrating his birthday today.  The old man will be 42 this year.  Here he is sporting his winter beard.  I asked how long this would be around since he has not grown one before and his reply was that he wanted a family picture with it at Christmas and then we would see.  Well the picture has been taken with most of us!  Missing Greg in the picture- be assured I will be working on that one as soon as Greg gets back from school on the 22nd!!!  I thought the beard would be soft but it is not.  Very deceiving.  To celebrate this monumental day we are having dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings tonite with the kids.  Then a quick trip to Target.  I tried to go last night to Target but the car was not cooperating so I turned around and came home.  Happy Birthday my love!!!

Who would have thunk that on the weekend with the first blizzard warning of the season we would be soo busy?  On Friday night we ventured out to Cedar Falls to see the How Many Kings Tour Concert with our friends Phil and Louanne.  There we were treated to the music by Ali Rogers, Downhere and Mark Schultz.  On Saturday we found ourselves enjoying dinner at Gringos in downtown Cedar Rapids and then settled in at TCR for their performance of White Christmas.  It was the first time we had seen that production and they did a great job!  TCR never fails to impress me!  I love attending the theater there!!! On Sunday after we braved the cold and watched the childrens christmas program at church then we slid out to Jeff's Dads house for Christmas.  This was the first year that Greg did not join us as he had to work, however we were blessed to have Jenna's boyfriend Jonah join in the festivities!  Tom and Mary made us all feel very welcomed and a great time was had by all! I no

So Thanksgiving is over.  What a busy day that was! We started out the morning with the 2nd Annual Turkey Bowl at church and then came home to fix dinner for 9 people at our house.  Jeff is a wiz in the kitchen so it was not that difficult to get ready.  The day after Thanksgiving Magge Rose (my 13 yr old niece) helped me decorate the house.  She loves to wrap presents so this year I had her wrap up the pictures on the walls so that we would have gifts up.  This is an idea that I had seen in magazines several times and have heard how wonderful it is to unwrap the things on your walls after the holiday.  So our tree is up and the house is ready for Christmas!!!  How wonderful! So where is the snow?

So yesterday I started getting phone calls and txt messages from people I had not talked to in a very long time.  Come to find out people were concerned that I was in Madrid Spain and needed assistance.  I am safe and sound in my home in the states.  My email and facebook had been hacked.  What a feeling of violation.  I am so used to being able to use technology for everything- only to be locked out of what I use on a daily basis to communicate with my friends and family and do business!  I am slowly rebuilding my contacts, getting things back in order and restoring my sanity.  I hope that everyone that received that disturbing email will be safe and not be hacked as well.  It is not a good feeling!

What is it about the weather turning cooler that got me in the mood to knit hats? I am not sure but it has been my obsession this week.  I am on hat #6.  No two are the same.  It is a good thing that they are collecting hats and mittens at church for the needy....I will be able to donate this year!  Also it was a good way to use up some of the yarn that is around here- seeing as Jeff thinks we have too much yarn...not sure how one can have too much yarn!  

Taylor's first homecoming!  He did not take a date but went with a group of friends.  The funny thing is that he and his cousin Sam ended up almost being twins.  Without knowing it they dressed alike except for their ties!  Great minds think alike.  Sounds like fun was had by all! Jenna Bea and Jonah had a big weekend.  Friday was Jenna's 17th birthday and the homecoming game.  Saturday was the homecoming dance and their one year anniversary.  Sunday we went out to dinner to celebrate her birthday after church.  A big thanks to Jonah's parents for letting us borrow him as much as we did this past weekend!!  Aren't they cute? 

Today is Princess JennaBea's 17th Birthday! Wow how time flies! As I went upstairs to sing Happy Birthday to her and wake her up this morning I was reminded of how warm it was the day she was born.  When we brought her home from the hospital we brought her home without a blanket in a pink onesie with a headband.  Today when I woke her up she was in a hooded sweatshirt and sweats huddled under two blankets!!!  Definitely a little different weather wise.  I am very proud of all she has accomplished and look forward to seeing all that she does in the future!!  A very proud momma moment today!  Love you Princess more than the world!!!

Jenna was home early from school today so she could play with Jace.  They are best buds! 

This past weekend we celebrated Taylor's confirmation into the Lutheran Church.   It was comforting to hear him give his faith statement on what he believes in front of a group of people who love him on that day.  However, it was also a bit tough in the fact that he is my youngest and last child to complete this series of classes and take this sacrament.   My prayer for him is that he will continue on his faith journey- that he will grow closer to God and continue to ask questions about the things he does not understand. Congratulations Taylor on your Confirmation!! We love you and are very proud to call you our son!

Wow how time flies! It has been 2 weeks since school started and Greg moved out to attend UNI.  We are all adjusting to our new routines.  Taylor and Jenna have totally reworked the upstairs bedrooms- now that they only have two of them they did it their way.  Greg is settled in at school- and had more room than we thought.  It was organized when we stopped up the first weekend, but who knows what it looks like now! This weekend Taylor will confirm his faith at our Lutheran Church.  This marks the end of a three year program for him and the final of my children to go thru this process.  It is a proud moment to watch a child confirm their faith in Christ in front of the congregation and the Lord.  He had to write a faith statement that tells what he believes and why.  This is something that not only goes into a book to share with everyone but he also has to read it in front of a group of people.  A day of celebration!

This morning I woke up to only 2 of my children living in my house.  Greg left for UNI last night.  At first I was a bit nervous cause he was leaving at midnight.  It felt like he was sneaking out while we slept and running away.  In reality it was kind of nice to not have the emotional part of this morning.  I kissed him good bye and told him I loved him and was proud of him before I went to bed.  When I got up this morning a new chapter in my life had started.  Needless to say we have spoken several times already today as he moves in and unpacks.  He left me a list of what to bring up when I come on Saturday and has been adding to it! Jenna and Taylor started school today.  Jenna beginning her junior year and Taylor his freshman year.  Time really flies by when you are having too much fun!  They did not want me to take the annual first day of school picture so we skipped that part.  I look forward to them coming home and telling me all about it in a couple of hours!  Tommorrow th

It's been awhile since I have posted on the blog.  Time seems to be flying by.  Registration for high school has already started which means that in 3 weeks we will start school again.  WOW! Greg moves to UNI the same day as Taylor and Jenna go back to school.  Before that can happen we have to have band camp, choir camp, finish RAGBRAI, pack up all of Greg's stuff, rearrange the bedrooms upstairs, and clean clean clean... all while working.  UGH!  The last three weeks we have not had a full house of Chitticks- Jenna was in New York on her mission trip, Taylor and Jeff went to the Boundary waters with Scouts, Jeff is riding RAGBRAI, and Jenna and I went to Des Moines to take in Adventureland and the Blank Park Zoo.  I am looking forward to next week when we are all home again.  Noise level will definitely increase though-was enjoying having the whole bed to myself as well.  However, Jeff being home means that I won't have to cook as much! He loves to cook and does a wonde

Miss Jenna Bea is about to embark on a mission trip to NYC!  I am excited for her as well as a bit nervous.  She has been on mission trips before, but her daddy has always gone with her.  This will be her first big vacation away from us. I will miss having her home but I am so proud of her for going, I know that she will have fun and will truly be the hands and feet of Jesus while she is there.   Now the issue of packing....wonder who will do her chores while she is gone?  She leaves tomorrow and comes back just next Sunday, in time to help me celebrate my birthday. What a great present that will be to hug my girl!!!  Love you JennaBea!!!

Thought I would take this moment of peace to update you all!  ( I have three little kids asleep and 2 watching a movie at the moment while the older ones are off to the pool!) Jeff has returned from a week long fishing trip to Wisconsin with his dad and brother.  This is a trip they have been taking for many years. Always to the same lake and about the same time.  A Chittick family tradition...without the women and kids!  While he was away I held down the fort as best I could.  Actually I made the kids do some cleaning and moving of furniture.  We took a van load to the local Good Will.  Still lots to do but that is ok cause Jeff is gone another 2 weeks this summer.  I get my best work done when he is out of town for some reason. The kids were actually helpful once they got over the mom is in charge hahaha thing.  I think my first words after "Hi honey, welcome home" were "don't mess up my house!"  Looking forward to the next week he is gone because I am not w

One of the best things for me as a child about summer vacation was the summer reading program thru our local library.  We had a book mobile that would drive to a park by our house and I would ride my bike up and fill my backpack with books to take home.  I don't remember the prizes or anything but all of the books that arrived!  I loved to read!  So today I took the daycare children up to our local library to sign them up for the summer reading program.  I also signed myself up for it.  Then we came home and I selected my first book for the summer- Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury.  I am looking forward to reading this summer- especially when it is too warm to knit.  Too bad the adults don't get cool prizes for reading like the kids do!  Oh well!  Reading is fun no matter what!

Another proud momma moment...brought to you this time by Taylor. Last week we attended an award ceremony for Taylor. He has received the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence. He was 31 kids in his class that achieved this award. I am very proud of him and all of his hard work!!! Hopefully he will keep it up as he enters highschool in the fall.

Done! Can't believe Gregory has graduated! The ceremony was this weekend but the real fun comes next weekend when we hold our first graduation party!

Woke up this morning and realized that Gregory only has 3 days of high school left.  Seems like yesterday he was a newbie to this world!  I know I will be a proud momma at the ceremony on Sunday- but also will be shedding some tears thru this transition.  This is him at Prom this year.  He looked pretty dapper in his tux!  Next year he will attend the University of Northern Iowa and study computer science. Yep a proud momma I am, and one wondering where the time went!  WOW!

If Bandaids are a sign of active children then I have cornered the market on a new renewable energy source! Around here we go thru bandaids almost as quickly as milk. Besides my own three teenagers, I care for 6 preschoolers. There is not a day that I am not searching for a bandaid or bandage of some sort. It amazes me how they have changed over the years. I remember the plain old bandaids. No fancy colors, shapes or designs. Now when I make my purchases I can choose from plain, colored, cartoon characters, tatoos and several sizes! WOW! I should also mention that the majority of my kids are boys- which means lots of stitches/staples as well. A sure sign of spring is the increase in bandaids and stitches around here! Today we are celebrating a 4 year olds birthday around here- he reminds me alot of my own son when he was 4. The activity level, the determined attitude, the head wounds... my son was the king of stupid human tricks at this age. If he was not going under a tru

Rhubarb happens to be a family treat around here. Unfortunately we don't have enough good sun in our yard to grow a good crop. So we rely on friends and family for the bulk of what we eat. Oh well! Yesterday, Jeff, Jenna and I went out to the farm and gathered rhubarb there. It may be the last time we are at Jeff's grandparents farm as it has been sold. His mom advised us not to take all of the rhubarb- not a problem! I was surprised to see how much was there. It was a stock I had not known about! WOW! Anyway, here are some pictures of what we gathered and the farm in general. Jeff had lots of good times there as a child. I am sure he has many memories! Enjoy!