Okay, I know I've been horrible about keeping up with this blog thing, and it's probably crazy to think that I'll do that much better somewhere else, but we have started a blog for our little Eli to let everyone know how he's doing. So far I'm not doing such a bad job of keeping it up! And I hope to start one soon for the whole family so nobody feels left out. :) It seems much easier for me to figure out how to post pictures and videos on blogspot (sorry to the pleogods for that confession). So.....if you are interested in checking it out, here is the address:

http://elisheahen.blogspot.com/

If you didn't know that we have had a child who's been sick, then it will explain everything if you read his plog from the beginning. (and you'll see why it's called a plog) He is a pretty amazing little guy! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for him so much. We have felt everyone's love and prayers.

Since I'm somewhat new to this pleo thing, I had to look around to find out what "I've been tagged" meant. As I was looking, I found out that I had been tagged by her. (that's where "her" is supposed to be highlighted so you can see who "her" is, but I don't know how to do that)
Anyway, here are 6 weird things about me...

1. I can't sleep with my door open. That's how I've been as long as I can remember. It doesn't have to be completely shut, but closed so that nothing can drift in. :)

2. I don't believe in ghosts but I'm afraid of them just in case they are real and want to teach me a lesson. (this kind of goes along with that) I am fine to sleep in the dark but I don't like to walk around in the dark. Like turning the light off and then walking to bed. Don't like that.

3. I always look at the tissue after I blow my nose. Why is that? I guess I'm just interested to see what comes out.

4. I don't like baths. They make me too hot. (not in a good way)

5. I have a weird equilibrium thing with my toes. If I pop one toe on one foot, I have to pop the matching toe on the other foot or I'll feel totally off.

6. Although I don't personally think this is weird, alot of people do, especially my brother. I don't eat meat. Why, you ask? Beacuse MEAT IS MURDER!! Just kidding. It's just because I think it's healthier to not eat it. And who wants to with such a plethora of delicious alternative meat choices out there, like tofu pups, veggie pepperoni, veggie corn dogs, chicken maggots (as Silas calls them) and don't forget tofurky. Yum.

Thank you Natalie. That definitely took some soul searching.

While I'm on here, I guess I should write a little more since it will probably be another couple of months before I post again.

As many of you may have read on my dear husband's page, we went to North Carolina last week because he had an interview for a Lower School Director at a school in Chapel Hill. It was quite interesting to say the least. I was there when a teacher asked him how he would feel about promoting their gay and lesbian agenda at their school, and as I was sinking in my chair, he was standing up for his belief in God and said "I am a Christian, and no, I would not be comfortable with that." I was so proud of him! Although this was a Quaker school, founded on Quaker principles, somehow they have turned into "an unusually liberal school" (in their own words) and are the black sheep of the Quaker school community. Wouldn't that have been nice to know before we drove 10 hours to get there? If that's what they were looking for- for someone to "embrace diversity" (as long as you are on the liberal side of diversity)- then wouldn't it seem like they would want to weed out the more conservative applicants before paying for them to drive 1300 miles round trip and two nights in a hotel? If they had done any research on Jonathan, they had to have known that he came from a conservative background and I would think wouldn't extend the invitation to come to their hippie Carolina compound. It's all a little mind boggling to me. However, I have to say that the trip wasn't a complete dissappointment. Alot of the things that they are doing at the school seemed like they were really doing the right things for kids. It made me think outside of my very traditional school box, and really reconsider where I want my boys to go to school. They had no desks, no grades (only narrative assessments), no homework, electives like quilt-making, mountain biking, rock climbing, gay pride (just kidding), etc. Everything was very hands-on- they did lots of great little projects for all kinds of different subjects. The Lower School kids had just finished a project where they collected found objects on nature walks and made them into cars with little people in them, all the while keeping a journal of their progress. The Upper School kids were working on taking one of the buildings on campus completely off of the power grid. They had music class every day, art twice a week, lots of outdoor recess time, reading lofts in the classrooms, and three Vietnemese pot-bellied pigs that students took care of. They strongly focus on the power of silence. Every day they "settle in" and "settle out", both which consist of 5 minutes of complete silence. This included everyone, even the youngest children. Some of this may sound a little hippie-ish, but it really made me think about all the strictly academic and sports focused schools that are the norm these days. I see some of my nieces and nephews so stressed out about the hours of homework they have every day (in elementary as well as higher grades) along with fitting in whatever sports practice or music lesson they have that day and I just wonder if kids need to be so busy and so hurried through life. I think sports and music are great, but those combined with a rigorous academic schedule are just sometimes too much maybe. Let kids be kids. Although I haven't read this book, The Hurried Child, Jonathan has talked to me alot about what it says and it all makes sense to me. Do I really think Silas needs to learn Spanish in preschool? At first I might think sure, that sounds like a great idea, but we have to remember that kids can only learn what is developementally appropriate for their age. At 4 months, we could have tried to teach Cooper how to walk, but as hard as we might have tried, it just wouldn't have been developementally appropriate for him to learn to walk at that age. Even if Silas is able to learn Spanish, why does he need to at 3? I don't know. I keep having little battles in my head about things like that (the Spanish thing, not the walking thing). The whole Carolina Friends School experience definitely had an impact on me though. So not a completely wasted trip. And we get to stay in Nashville at least one more year. Yippee!

a little small

Well, I guess I need to post since I keep getting new messages from my friends. Now it's to the point where I just feel rude- like I'm not answering back. I'm not saying this is going to be a habit or anything, so don't expect another one anytime soon. If I had the time I'd love to post away. But time is not something I have a lot of these days. Even as I'm typing this I really should be working on the 3 Christmas card orders I need to finish, not to mention my own Christmas cards. I think the last time I had time to just sit and really do nothing was when I was pregnant with Silas (4 years ago?). I wasn't working the last few months of my pregnancy, and I would sleep 'til 9 or 10, then maybe take a nap later if I felt like it. I read books, looked at magazines, actually played with Millie, our sweet dog (who later we gave away due to lack of time spent with), went shopping (and didn't check my watch every ten minutes or call Jonathan every twenty minutes making sure everyone is fed the right food or asleep at the right time). Yes, back then I would have loved to have been posting away into the vast cyberspace of Pleonast. But not these days. Now I feel guilty when I don't even make time to play one game of "fast race cars" with Silas. He constantly asks me "Do you want to play with me Mom?" and I constantly answer, "No, I can't right now, I'm feeding the boys" or, "No, I can't right now, I'm working" or, "No, I need to fold this laundry." If I finally say yes, his face lights up and somehow he thinks I've agreed to play "a THOUSAND games!!!" All car games of course. Eli and Cooper at least have each other to play with. I wonder if they will always be content with each other or if they one day will ask me "Do you want to play with us Mom?" I LOVE being a mom to three boys, don't get me wrong. It's just that I'm amazed at how little I can get done in one day even when I'm not stopping to play or stopping to do anything else besides feed them, dress them, dress me (maybe), change diapers, do laundry, clean the kitchen, etc. But somehow when Jonathan is home for a few hours with them by himself, he manages to get more cleaning done than I do. How is that? It makes me wonder what the boys are doing while he's busy cleaning. Kind of scary.

Anyway, this isn't a very good post. Sorry I'm talking about things that most of you are probably not interested in.

We went to Rosemary Beach for Thanksgiving and had a really great time. Eli and Cooper were both very sick, but as Dr. Mishu (their doctor) told us in her crazy Iraqi accent, the warm beach air was good for them. That's when the picture was taken. (if it works) We've had a quiet couple of weeks at home since then, and the craziness of the holidays start soon. Traveling to Tampa, then to Atlanta, then back home with company for a few days. Although I love Christmas, I'm already looking forward to January! I am very excited about Christmas at my parents house though. Mom and Dad will be just getting home from a 6 week trip to Hawaii, Malaysia and the Philippines on the 21st, and my brother Jeff and his family are coming in from Oregon for the week. The entire Tant family (all 27 of us!) will be together for the first time in 3 years I think. 16 grandkids running around (or crawling) is always exciting!

Saturday we are going to take some toys to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to give to some of the kids who will be in the hospital over the holidays, and whose families don't have much. This is where Eli spent his first three weeks of life in the NICU. They took such unbelievable care of him, I just thought we needed to give back something to the hospital, or better yet to some other families there who aren't as blessed as we are. I can't even imagine having your child in the hospital over the holidays. It's sad enough to have to be there at all, but to have to spend Christmas next to your child's hospital bed is just heartbreaking to me. After watching Oprah's show a couple of weeks ago on giving back, it really made me want to do something for some complete stranger who needed help. There was a girl on the show who had spent her $1000 dollars to buy plane tickets for families in Hawaii who had children in a hospital on a different island than where they lived, and couldn't afford to fly to see them. Can you imagine?? Your child is sick and hundreds of miles away, and you don't have the means to be able to go visit them, much less stay with them. Every time I think about tiny, 5 pound Eli in that hospital crib, so helpless and so sick, it just kills me to think of one of us not being able to be with him. I remember getting upset with Jonathan when he would sleep in and eat breakfast on the days he would be going to the hospital to sit with Eli (which he did almost every day for 12 hours a day). I couldn't bear the thought of him being alone any more minutes than he had to be. And some babies were there by themselves most of the time. It just makes me so thankful to God for so many things that He has blessed us with!! A healthy child who has been very sick at one time is definitely towards the top of the list!!!

Anyway, again, not a super interesting post. Just some thoughts in my head tonight. Sorry, Kim Bond to dissappoint! Maybe I'll have time later to post again. Just kidding.

Merry Christmas to all!!
And to me, a very good night's sleep.

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