I can see clearly now....

Welcome to the new Allison, full of confidence and excitement that she is no longer the only Bentz in our household who doesn't wear glasses. She is very stoked about them and wears them religiously.

She is also very protective of them. When she needs to take them off, she is very careful with them and makes sure she puts them in her new glasses case.

And in case it isn't obvious by what you know of Allison, her glasses are even etched with the Barbie logo along the side.

Isaac's strep, Allie's glasses, Our date

Hi family and friends! Just a quick update today -- it's long overdue, I've been meaning to do it, but I'm feeling weird and it's almost time to put supper in the oven. A couple of hours ago, my head started pounding loudly in my ears. This usually happens when I get a fever, but I don't have one, although I feel like I am fighting something. Hopefully, it's not what Isaac has.

Isaac is home with strep throat today. I'm so glad I took him in to the doctor! I had no idea -- I thought it was just a virus because his fever was only 100. I was surprised when the nurse called me back with the results of his strep test that were positive. He didn't act a bit sick at the doctor's office. He was happy and energetic. This morning, before I gave him pain medicine, he was almost in tears because his throat hurt so bad. It's amazing the difference a little Ibuprofen makes in a sick child. It's always good to see your child back to being themselves.

Allison is getting glasses. Our school district recommends vision screenings for incoming Kindergarteners, which is a good thing for this family! Isaac got his glasses at 5 1/2, the same as Allison. Both kids are farsighted. Last week she picked out the frames and we're now waiting for them to come in. She picked out pink frames -- they're a subtle metallic rosy pink which looks lovely with her blue eyes and blonde hair. I can hardly wait to take her picture and post it on here so you all can see what see looks like.

Shane and I went out for dinner last Friday. Allie's preschool, which is in a church, offered babysitting in the preschool room to raise money for a trip for the Junior High youth group. The kids had a great time. Shane and I went to Tony Roma's, which is known for their ribs. We didn't order any. I had steak, baked potato, and steamed broccoli; Shane had a shrimp pasta dish. One of the kitchen staff brought out our meal and assumed that I had ordered the pasta and Shane had ordered the steak. We got a chuckle out of that. Shane said, "Actually, I ordered the shrimp and pasta, and no, I'm not gay!" I just rolled my eyes at his joke. After we picked up the kids, we came home and watched our favorite TV show, "Psych" and played The Settlers of the Catan with our friends Wesley and Kimberly. I really enjoy our Friday nights in general, and it was really special to go out to dinner as a couple.

We have very little snow on the ground at the moment, but that's supposed to change come Tuesday night. Rain will turn to snow overnight and on Wednesday the total accumulation is expected to be 6 to 8 inches. No doubt the kids will be excited to have snow to play in again!

A Morning of Thankfulness and Praise!

I'm having a great morning. School was cancelled again today due to freezing temps and I am at home with my two lovely children. Isaac just left to go on a playdate with his friend D.J. Allie is singing loudly in the bathtub and playing with her tub toys.

As for me, I am praising God because my ears are finally opening up. I've been trying unsuccessfully to pop my ears for weeks, when suddenly I heard a click when I swallowed and I thought, "This could be it. Now would be a good time to try to pop my ears." I tried it and I heard a rapid succession of popping that sounded like fireworks. I knew right away it had worked because I suddenly became aware that the music in my room was unbearably loud. This is only my right ear, mind you. But I'll take what I can get. In the meantime, I'll keep believing that the left ear will open soon, too. Praise the Lord! - which is exactly what I did when my ear opened up. I was listening to praise music by Phillips, Craig, and Dean (PCD) and boy, did the lyrics ever speak to me:

"Like an ocean breeze blowing on your face

like a summer sun with it's warm embrace

like a gentle rain plays a symphony

that's what I want my praise to be.

Like a fragrant rose in the early Spring,

like an eagle soars when it spreads its wings

Whatever, Lord, you may need from me

That's what I want my praise to be."

I love how the lyrics in this song captivate my senses. Having one of them restored to me filled my heart with thankfullness and praise. Thank you, Lord! May your name be praised!

Happy New Year!

It's been awhile since I last wrote. Here's what's been going on in the Bentz household.

• I registered Allie for Kindergarten this week. We went to the District Office to drop off the forms and I turned to Allie and said, "That's it. You're now registered for Kindergarten!" Allie jumped up and down and said,"Hooray! Can I ride on the bus with Isaac tomorrow?" I told her, "Not yet. You have to finish preschool first and then you'll go to Kindergarten in the Fall."
• We are under a Wind Chill Warning from 6pm tonight (Wed.) through noon Friday. Area schools are expected to be cancelled. Tomorrow's high is minus 5 degrees and the wind chills are expected to be between 35 and 45 below zero. Even if school isn't cancelled, I'm keeping Isaac home!
• Isaac and I went to Cub Scouts last night. He decorated some lovely votive candleholders and colored a page that showed the Food Guide Pyramid. Afterwards we went to the library to get some books and videos to ward off any cabin fever we might get in the next few days.
• Last Friday we had friends over to watch our favorite TV show "Psych" and play a board game called Settlers of Catan, which I got for Christmas. We had a great time. The game went for an hour or two and we opened a bottle of wine which I got for Christmas from Dad and Diane. It was good red wine from Steuben County, IN, called 101 Lakes.
• Allie has her first eye doctor appointment coming up in a week or two. It's not required for addmission to Kindergarten, but they strongly recommend it. I'm curious to see what her vision is, because we're forever telling her to back away from the tv.
• Isaac seems to be doing well in school. He's reading at a 2nd grade level. I wish he enjoyed reading as much as I do. I can only get him to read the books he brings home for homework. Otherwise, he wants me to read to him. I bought him some chapter books recently to try to peak his interest. Some of them are simplified versions of books like "Treasure Island" and there's also a book about the history of chocolate, which he loved.
• I have an appoinment with my ear doctor in a few weeks to test my hearing and talk about whether I qualify for ear surgery yet. In case you forgot or didn't know, I have a dead bone in my ear that needs to be replaced when my hearing gets bad enough. Aside from temporary hearing loss from my headcold and allergies, I haven't noticed any dramatic hearing loss, so I'll be surprised if I qualify for surgery yet.
• I just finished cleaning the kids' toilet upstairs, a job I hate. Brock had an accident, which is rare and totally fine and understandable. There was pee on the floor and on the sides of the bowl, which I cleaned up. While I was there, I cleaned the toilet and the walls and floor around it because Isaac keeps missing the mark. I'm so glad I painted the walls with semi-gloss paint! Cleaning that toilet would be so much easier if he made the mark.
• I've enjoyed seeing my Mapes aunts and uncles and cousins on Facebook recently. If you don't know what Facebook is, it's a social networking website. I've been in better contact with them lately than I ever have been. What a blessing it's been to get to know my family all over again. Many of them live in the Fort Wayne area. Others live all over: Southern Indiana, San Diego, Seattle, Tucson, Ft. Sill, OK, Phoenix, and Arkansas. I've also been able to reconnect with old friends from high school and college who I thought I would never see again.
• I'm currently reading a large volume of short stories about the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as "Memoirs of a Mangy Lover" by Groucho Marx. It's not Groucho's best work; I far prefer his autobiography called "Groucho and Me," which I own a copy of and read it over and over again because it's so funny. Back to Sherlock Holmes. The stories are very interesting and often have plot twists. The stories take place in London in the late 1800's. If you know me, you know that I love English literature before 1900. They have a way of writing with such wordy conciseness (an oxymoron, I know) and they sometimes use big words that stretch one's vocabularly. Perhaps later this year I'll look into Charles Dickens' books too.
• Time to go read to Brock and Allie before naptime. Brock usually sleeps from 2 to 3:30. Allie usually stays up and plays quietly. Today, I may have her take a nap because she's been such a grouch. Wish me luck! :)