A Neal Family

My Mother-in-Law

2012-01-27T15:56:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to do a little post about my mother in law for a long time now, but just haven't gotten to it. When she comes to visit I take a picture with her and the kids under the gazeebo and this is the one we took this visit.

Vail is the kind of mother in law any wife would hope to get when she gets married. I have heard horror stories about mothers in law and anyone that has seen Everybody Loves Raymond would think twice about marrying!!! But I have to say how thankful I am for Vail. I know that no one is good enough for your kids. And Billy's mom loves him with all her heart. And I am FAR from perfect. Even I know that I'm not good enough for Billy, but his mother has NEVER made me feel that way. She isn't critical! When she comes to visit I don't have to worry about her walking through the house and seeing the cobwebs and looking for messes so that she can point out my shortcomings. She has never criticized my parenting and I KNOW I have a long way to go in that department. She is such an example of grace. She has never made Billy feel like he has to choose her or me. She has never made me feel ex centric for homeschooling even though she was a public school teacher. I am just so grateful for her. I hope that I can be as good of a mother in law as she is. I can imagine that it isn't easy. Watching your baby love another woman besides you....and then seeing her be impatient with him or treat him any number of ways that you don't feel like he deserves. To be unsure of how much you should say or do in regards to the children. To wonder if your daughter in law appreciates you. Well, I know that my day is coming. The day my boys will love another woman and move away from me. I will have to share them and my grandchildren. I will have to have self control....and grace. I am SO thankful for the example she has been to me. I love you Vail. And I appreciate you so much!!!

Zoo

2012-01-25T17:24:00.000-08:00

While Billy's mom was visiting over New Years we decided to go to the zoo. The last time we were at the zoo Molly Beth was 3 weeks old. It was time!!!! Unfortunately it was chilly....and windy. We still had a good time and the kids are ready to go back! :)

Our Happy New Year's

2012-01-19T07:19:00.000-08:00

We had a fun New Year's celebration. Billy's mom was in town which made it extra special. We started it off right by having black eyed peas and corn bread at my folks house! It. was. so. good. Then we played In a Pickle. The verdict is still out on if we'll play it ever again! HA! I think the rules were a little too vague for our liking, but it made for some good laughs. :)

Billy, his mom and Suzannah headed to pick up fireworks and I took everyone else home to get them ready for bed. When it got dark we bundled up and went outside of the show ;)

Our children are afraid of sparklers...I know! ?!? So he got some of these incredibly long ones!!! It helped a little.

Billy set up some seating for the spectators and started setting everything up

while the kids ate pop rocks.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this man?! He is so fun!!! :)

Ooooooooo!

Aaaaaaaaa!

Then we came back in to warm up and toast and kiss to the new year! :)

I forgot to mention that Cakes fell asleep in the car and missed out on all the fun :( Oh well, next year maybe she'll be able to stay awake!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. It was our smallest Christmas gift wise in my whole life. Billy has tried to reign me in for years and finally I agreed. I read a great article about a family that keeps their Christmas's reasonable by using this guideline:

~Something they want

~Something they need

~Something to wear

~Something to read

It was perfect and made for an extremely enjoyable Christmas morning!!! :)

Santa came!

The anticipation was almost more than they could handle!

The big guy did not disappoint this year :)

We had our traditional Christmas breakfast of sausage balls, monkey bread, fruit and eggnog. Looks like someone was sneaking monkey bread! ;)

Will was happy with his loot. But mostly they paper!

We always get Dad coal in some form. The kids think it's hilarious! This year it was in the form of crispy chocolate. Not too bad!

We get him real presents too.

My favorite gift to receive from the kids is coupons! They are SO much fun! It's neat to see what they come up w/

We love Chuck around here!!!

Daddy loves coupons too!

But wait! What's that? There in the tree! I thought Christmas was over, but no, there's more!!!!!! It's MP3 players!!! SO exciting! ;) My parents used to do this. The "but wait, there's more just when you think it's over" so we have passed this tradition down. It's my favorite part! :)

Ah, yes. Our "holy pete, we were up till 2 and got Christmas ready for 5 children and we survived!" photo.

The kids headed outside to ride their bikes while we got ready for lunch at my folks house. This year Billy made his Grandmothers dressing and squash casserole by himself!!!!

Mom and Billy slaved in the kitchen.

And Charlotte and I watched ;)

After our delicious Christmas feast we just lounged around for the rest of the day. It was such a nice Christmas and it's been such a wonderful year. I am continually amazed at God's goodness.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T09:15:00.000-08:00

We had a really nice...WET Christmas Eve. It was raining and cold...worst combination ever. But it was warm and cozy at my Mom and Dad's house and that's where we go for Christmas Eve. I volunteered to bring an appetizer supper b/c my Mom was going to make Christmas dinner, so I was cooking all day. The food was good and we just grazed as we opened presents from my folks.

We made the kids wait in the living room b/f we let them com in and see their stockings. They were super excited.

Ya-Ya always finds the best stuff.

Then it was present time!!!!

On the way home the three littles fell asleep so the big girls set out the milk and cookies for Santa...

and read The Night Before Christmas w/o them.

Once the children were all asleep we turned on American Pickers and got to work! Oh boy, it's always so much fun getting everything ready....sometimes I wonder who's more excited. The kids, or us! ;)

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T10:48:00.000-08:00

Scenes from Round Here: December

2011-12-28T01:52:00.000-08:00

Peppermint cocoa mix

I bribed the kids to work together on this 100 piece puzzle. It was hard for Suzannah, she just wanted to do it herself. I completely understood, b/c I "do not work well w/ others" so it's something I really want her to be able to do. She had a moment where she quit, but after talking to her she was able to go back and delegate and they did it! And then they got a cookie ;)

The candle lighting service.

My Dad led the service and they were on the news. Kind of neat. (they used this for their Christmas card)

Drive through Nativity.
Notice, Charlotte and Will slept through the whole thing ;)

They had a bubble machine that looked like snow ;)

And passed out cocoa.

Decorating the house

Decorating the tree

Even the little ones...

Yummy holiday pastries!

Awesome big helpers

Stockings hung

Santa and Mittens, ready to be reading snuggle buddies.

Christmas cards sent w/ love and bringing SO much joy :)

Ornament making w/ the best of friends

Obscene amounts of cinnamon rolls baked for Billy's work

Lots of Christmas movie watching

Lots and LOTS of holiday baking for family and neighbors. This year we outdid ourselves. We were up to our elbows in sprinkles and powdered sugar. We made platters of iced (and sprinkled) sugar cookies, Chocolate Espresso Snow caps, these wonderful treats and Santa's new favorite! I meant to take pictures of the kids delivering them, but it was raining....and it wasn't pretty! Lots of running and ducking and screaming and praying, "Dear God please don't let them drop the platter!!" ;)

December was crazy busy!!! We school year round so we take the entire month of December off. It is wonderful!!! We were able to weed out a lot b/f the holidays, do some fun Christmas crafts, lots of holiday baking and read some really good books. We read Mr. Popper's Penguins and the biography of George Muller (we're not quite finished w/ this one). I have to confess that I let stress beat me yet again this year, but I have hopes of conquering it next year. Anyway, it was a full month and I'm so thankful school was not an issue!

8 Months: Will

2011-12-27T09:38:00.000-08:00

Oh this boy is getting so big so fast!!! He has been pulling up since the day after I posted his 7 month update!! He's a pro at it and and is getting so strong!!! But bless his heart, he's covered w/ bruises. I think that just comes w/ the territory when you decide to start pulling up @ 7 months!!

He's crawling and sitting like it's nothin'! He has a great sense of humor. Very much like Charley Kate. She just "got it" at such an early age, and so does he. Oh, and he is such a little charmer!!! I've called him dream boat since day 1, and boy does he live up to it. :)

Silly kid still isn't into food!!!! It's like he wants some, but once it hits his mouth he acts completely offended?! I've never had a baby like this. I can't figure if it's flavor or texture that freaks him out? We have tried different textures and you don't get more bland than mashed potatoes....so, we'll just see. He isn't wasting away on milk so I guess it's just going to be more of a gradual process than the others.

The kids are all still crazy about him and vice verse. Ck has him wrapped around her little finger. She calls him "my baby boy" which is about the sweetest thing I've ever heard. :)

Sleep is a bit better now that those two huge top teeth broke through!!! They were doozies! He only has one bottom tooth so we're enjoying a little break for now. He is just a light sleeper, but at least Billy can get him to sleep now. That is a HUGE help at bedtime!!! Let's see....what else? Eating, sleeping and moving. That pretty much sums it up. He's wonderful, wonderful!! :)

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

And to add a little Christmas cheer to your holiday, here is Suzannah playing her song for our program. It was SO hard, but she worked and worked all month and has completely blown me away. I was sure it was too hard for her, but she proved me wrong. I am so proud of how hard she worked and that she accomplished her goal! Enjoy :)

This is Molly Beth's first year to take piano and yet the piece I gave her to play was very difficult. She has also worked very hard and I am so impressed w/ her diligence in learning how to play this piece. I hope you enjoy it :)

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and beautiful memory making!!!! :)

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

2011-12-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to see Santa! There were some super sweet moments that I'm so thankful to have captured on film. Cakes was enamored! She smiled and was so sweet and polite and Will wasn't the least bit afraid! He just stared at him and hung out.

Part of the problem w/ waiting till last minute to see Santa is that you are done shopping, but they have changed their minds!!!! Charley Kate asked for a baby. He's not bringing her one.
Molly Beth asked for a Barbie?! Out. of. tha. blue! She has said nothing about Barbies! He's not bringing her one.

Suzannah asked for a skate board. This wasn't out of the blue, but he's not bringing her one. And Jack (I don't have a picture of him talking to Santa) asked for a BEE-BEE GUN!?!? Needless to say...he's not bringing him one. Sheesh, should be great fun Christmas morning...

We got business taken care of now it was time for the pictures. Five kids + $25 photo=stress.

K, first shot. What's wrong w/ this one? NOTHING! But silly me, I thought it would be simple to try one more and get Will to smile.

Finally, I said, "K, LAST ONE!" And this is what we ended up w/. Jack was D.O.N.E. and Will had his "Cheeburger, Cheeburger" face on, but I thought it turned out OK. And I learned a lesson. If the FIRST one is good.....get it!

Wordless Wednesday: All I Want for Christmas is....

2011-12-21T10:35:00.000-08:00

Cookie Party

2011-12-19T19:22:00.000-08:00

I have a super fun friend that let each of her children invite friends over to decorate cookies. Abi is her sweet daughter and one of Suzannah's best friends. The kids were very excited about this party and had such a great time!!

Aimee supplied the cookies and everyone brought a decorating item. Such a great idea!

I'm pretty sure my kiddos piled a little of everything on their cookies!

Here is a picture of the girls (plus 2 little boys;). She had a separate set up for her son's friends and then the teenage group emerged from the back to decorate cookies after all the little kids went outside to play.

Suzannah was so cute. She took a break from playing w/ her friends long enough to lead a game of Simon Says w/ the little ones.

They thought it was so great! :)

It was a great time. We have been so blessed to be involved w/ so much this month. And things aren't slowing down this week. UG. I'm going to need a vacation to recover from our Christmas vacation! Isn't that the way it always goes?! But the kids are having an absolute blast!! :)

Gingerbread House 2011

2011-12-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

Decorating the gingerbread house is one of the most anticipated Christmas traditions around here. We've had it purchased for awhile but haven't carved out a chunk of time to do it.

Finally this weekend we were able to break it open!

This is an activity for Billy and the kids. I pretty much stay out of it due to my...OCD. But I enjoy them having fun together! Will and I were in charge if photos.

Ck got really into it. But for some reason she thought she had to "lick and stick" everything? Maybe that was her way of getting a taste of everything.

Will is pulling up on everything. Laundry baskets, the couch, legs, boxes of home school stuff from last school year!! (yes, that should have been out in the shed a long time ago!!) It really keeps me on my toes!

Ahh, one of my favorite pictures each year. :)

Tis the Season...

2011-12-14T16:45:00.000-08:00

for Hot Cocoa!!!! We made a batch of our favorite cocoa mix and it fit perfectly in this canister. I decided to see if the bag of marshmallows would fit in my granola canister and it did! So I thought this looked so cute and fun I had to share! :)

Hop over to my recipe blog and whip up a batch of this d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s mix so your children will rise up and call you blessed!!!! HA! And while your over there, check out my latest recipe. It's a man pleasin' meal that will be sure to get a yee-haw!
Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! We have been busy but I hope to have time to sit down and post soon. :)

Ornament Party

2011-12-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

We have been busy, busy!!! There are so many Christmas activities on our calendar this year that I'm having trouble keeping up but the kids are loving it!! We went to an ornament decorating party last week. My mom kept the babies so that I could assist the others. It was a lot of fun and they made some beautiful ornaments. I can't wait to pick them up on Saturday and see how they look on our tree. :)

Will: 7 mo.

2011-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Will's 7th month has been tough. He has had his first cold (possibly RSV) and fever. It was bad and he was pitiful, but he's back to acting like himself. He still has a lot of gunk in his nose and lungs, but it's loose and he's breathing fine so I think we're out of the woods now.

He has made the transition from napping in the swing to napping in the pack-n-play. This transition took a lot of effort and loss of sleep, but the work paid off.

He is doing his army crawl so fast now! Man, he can move out! He is sitting! This is great, but the problem w/ babies that crawl b/f they sit (of which I have had MANY!) is that they aren't satisfied to sit! They would much rather GO! But, technically he can sit. Finally.

Still no teeth, but his lower gums are swollen so I'm thinking by 8 months he'll have one or two. We haven't tried solids again and he seems fine w/ it. We'll probably give it another go sometime soon and just see. I'm really in no rush.

All in all, he's doing great. This cold is nasty and it knocked him down for awhile, but he continues to smile and laugh his little hoarse laugh and go, go, go! We're still lovin' every minute! :)

The Terrible Awful of Diabetes

2011-11-30T08:24:00.000-08:00

This is the last day of Diabetes Awareness Month. I'm sure I haven't shared everything about diabetes this month, but I've really tried through my blog and facebook to give an overview anyway. My blog isn't a diabetes blog, but b/c it is such a huge part of our lives I will continue to share things occasionally.

I have saved the worst for last.

Diabetes can be a deadly disease. There are 2 extremes w/ diabetes. The highs which cause long term damage...and the lows which can cause death. We have seen Suzannah go from fine to about to pass out in a matter of 15 minutes!!!!! And because so many things affect blood sugar there is no way to prevent this. Thank God Suzannah is incredibly in tune w/ her body. There are many children that end up in the ER from diabetic seizures on a regular basis. Our goal is to NEVER have to do this!

When Suzannah gets very low she has trouble thinking, speaking and walking. When this happens it is imperative that we give her something w/ sugar to bring her blood glucose up quickly. Chocolate, cookies, cake all have lots of sugar but not the quick kind that would help her. Juice and soda pop are the two best things to bring her up as quick as possible.

Sometimes when someone gets low they are very uncooperative. There have been several times where Billy and I have had to literally pour juice all over Suzannah in hopes that some would get in her mouth b/c she was unwilling to drink . The worst is when we have to get her up from a deep sleep to treat a low. Imagine US being woken up in the middle of the night and forced to drink orange juice!! Not pleasant. But, it's amazing how quickly they improve. It may take several minutes b/f they are back to normal, but you can SEE them come back!

Thankfully we have never had a low that we couldn't treat, but we have been trained and are prepared for one just in case. Suzannah always carries this w/ her no matter where she goes:

This is her Glucagon. We call it her "Fire Extinguisher". This is the one tool that could save her life. Just typing about this makes my chest tight and my eyes watery. If she were to ever "bottom out" and go into a diabetic seizure this is what we MUST have and have the courage and clarity of mind to use!

The needle would best be described as a harpoon. So to be able to stab that into your baby requires a Goliath amount of courage. But before that, the fluid in the ~~harpoon~~ syringe must be injected into the vial of powdered glucose and shaken to combine. Then the needle inserted into the vial to draw up them mixture to half way. I don't know if you have ever been in a terrifying situation, but I personally shake. It is VERY difficult to insert a needle into a vial when you are shaking that badly. Not to mention that your child convulsing on the floor could slip into a coma which you know "coma survival rates are 50 percent or less, and less than 10 percent of people who come out of a coma completely recover from it" so THAT is in the back of your mind. Now you have it drawn up and you're summoning that Goliath sized strength. Your husband is holding her as still as he can and you are trying to find a good place to stab. OH, but b/f all of THIS you have to remember to CALL 911!!!!!! So hopefully by the time you've give her the injection, turned her onto her side (because the injection causes them to vomit) you'll hear the sound of the ambulance. They will then hook her up to a bag of glucose and rush her to the ER.

Like I said, thank God we haven't had to go through this, but if ever you judge us for not leaving her more, please understand, she is a BIG responsibility!

So, this is the worst and scariest thing about children w/ diabetes. Research has made SO many advances and management has gotten so much better. Diabetes is my other child. I must be just as aware of it as any of my other children. It is such a challenge and has changed our lives in ways we will never know, but there is hope. There are scientists that devote their lives to trying to find a cure and truly they are getting closer!

Thank you for reading all of this. I know it was a lot and it was heavy. Thank you for the support and love that so many of you have shown us through these past 5 years. It means so much. If you ever feel the compulsion to donate to help find a cure, just go to jdrf.org. God is good...all. the. time.

*Because I don't have time to video Q when she's low, to give you a good idea of what it's like, here's the famous scene from Steele Magnolias. This is a very accurate depiction of the way a person might act when a low sneaks up on them:

Too Much Insulin

Steel Magnolias

— MOVIECLIPS.com

**b/c of research, people w/ diabetes CAN successfully have babies now!!! :)

Giving Thanks

2011-11-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Full of family, food and fall fun. Billy made our traditional Thanksgiving breakfast of corned beef hash and poached eggs (well, this year we had a little trouble w/ the poaching so we just scrambled them) and my parents came over. While Billy cooked we watched the parade. I think this is the first year that all of the kids have been interested in it!! Then we watched the dog show. It's so amazing to see all the different breeds. The kids enjoyed Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving feast while Billy and I got ready. Then we headed over to my parents house. They out did themselves! It truly was a great day worthy of thanks.

I don't know how I managed not to get any pictures of my folks!? They worked so hard to make Thanksgiving wonderful and it was. We are so blessed.

Happy THANKSgiving!!

2011-11-24T11:16:00.000-08:00

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 107:1

Changing Her Pod

2011-11-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

Here's what we do every three days. Sometimes we get a defective pod and have to changes it sooner...and sometimes it gets ripped off while playing (depending on where it is) so we have to change it. But all agree that every 2-3 days is way better than 6-8 shots a day. PLUS (and it's a BIG plus) this amazing devise can calculate insulin to very small and precise doses where the syringes only allowed us half and whole units of insulin. It's an amazing advance in diabetes management and we are so very thankful for it. It makes it so much easier for her to feel and act normal!! :)

Two things, first of all, these site changes hurt and are occasionally met w/ tears. Usually we hold her and she hides her face for the click. Sometimes she cries, depending on how sensitive that site is. What it does is, it shoots a needle w/ the tubing around it into her and the the needle immediately retracts. It's no small needle, but she has learned to put on a brave face. :)
And number two, I did have a talk w/ Jack after this about telling me no, even if he was just trying to be silly. And he did go to time out....I just didn't feel like it would have been appropriate to deal w/ during the video. I always say, if nothing else (and there IS so much more) kids keep you humble!!! ;)

Mother's Day

2011-11-20T17:19:00.000-08:00

*Yes, I'm JUST now getting around to posting about Mother's Day. I'll be putting it back in my archives but will leave it here for a few days.

Mother's day this year was great....except that I had mastitis. If you've had mastitis you know that it feels like you have the flu....and worse. Luckily it was just coming on and I was stubborn enough that I wanted to take my mom out for lunch.

The kids woke me up w/ breakfast in bed, sweet cards, a spa gift card (a MUST for every new mother!) and chocolate!!! It doesn't get better than that! I felt very loved and appreciated.

My precious little blessings!!!!!!!

And my amazing mother. I've posted and gone on and on about her many times. So I'll keep it brief. She is my hero and everything I aspire to be. I wish everyone was lucky enough to have a mother like mine. She is such a godly example of spiritual maturity and a role model I'm thankful I was able to have and that my children get to have! She is able to be tough and honest and keep me in line (still) but her humbleness and gentleness are evident to all. She is the closest thing to a Proverbs 31 woman I've ever known...and she's MY mother! I'm so very thankful God gave her to me.

On Mother's Day I am particularly sensitive to the fact that she is missing one of her children. Her only son. It's a big hole in her heart. She walks around and feels like she's missing an appendage, but she does it w/ such grace and hope that you would never know the ache she feels daily. Anyway, on Mother's Day I try to give her something from both of us. Something that makes her feel like Ryan is able to thank her for being such an amazing mom...b/c I know he thinks that.

I had an outline of his hand from a quilt that I was making for Suzannah (still haven't pieced it together even :s ) and I've always loved this little saying so it all just came together in my head. Originally it was going to be a pillow for the couch in their den, but my brother's hand was so enormous the whole thing ended up being too big. I wasn't really sure what to do w/ it so I just gave her the pillow top. She got the wonderful idea to mat and frame it. I think it came out beautifully!

Being able to celebrate being a mother by spending the day w/ my sweet babies, my own mother and the men that made both possible is all I could ever ask for. I am so thankful to get to be a mother and can honestly say that I don't take it for granted. It is a gift like no other and a true honor.

NOT Ready

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

See for your self:

Mmmm, mashed bananas

Mmmm? What IS this stuff!!!???

More?

What am I supposed to do w/ this stuff?!

Gag!!!

Waaa. I don't like this...

No more!! NO MORE!!!

Noooooooooo!

MOMMY!! He's getting more!!!

At this point we decided that....he's obviously not ready.

12 Years 3 Months

2011-11-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

In August Billy and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary!!! 12 is my favorite number and I had hoped to do something special, but the tummy bug struck us w/ vengeance! Then life happened and we never got to go out. Well, finally this past weekend we were able to sneak away for a quiet meal together....just the two of us. :)

I believe w/ all my heart that I am married to the most wonderful man on earth!!! He is the man of my dreams and the love of my life. Our love grows stronger daily. He makes me so happy. He is honest, faithful and kind. He is spontaneous and fun and unpredictable. He is wise and good and loves God w/ all his heart. Every day he tells me how thankful he is that I'm his wife. He is one in a gazillion and I'm so thankful he's mine!!!!!

And boy howdy, is he good lookin' or what!!!!????? I am a very, very lucky lady! God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve in him! "This is my lover, this is my friend..."

World Diabetes Day

2011-11-14T02:08:00.000-08:00

World Diabetes Day raises global awareness of diabetes. My goal in particular is to raise awareness of Type ONE diabetes for 2 reasons. #1. We need a cure. The more people that understand this disease, the more likely we are to be able to raise funds to find a CURE! And #2. So that people will stop confusing Type 1 and Type 2. It is difficult when someone thinks that she has this disease b/c of eating poorly and tells me that she'll out grow it. Or any of the misconceptions that come from our culture knowing more about Type 2. I don't mind educating people about Type 1 at all....I just wish I didn't have to.

So for today I'm going to pretend that a Cure has been found. And imagine how differently our life would be:

We would be able to sleep at night free from worries about blood sugar.

We wouldn't have to set our alarm to go off at 2AM.

We wouldn't hold our breath when we went to wake her up in the morning (on those rare mornings she wakes up in her own bed ;) praying that she's still alive.

We would never have to wake her up from a deep sleep and make her eat smarties or drink juice.

We would be able to eat a meal w/o having to check blood sugar first. If you ask, Suzannah will tell you this is the worst part of having diabetes.

We would forget the carb. value of every food imaginable!

We would never have to have her sit out a quarter of her basket ball game to bring her up from a low or interrupt her play to check.

Her fingers wouldn't look dirty anymore b/c there wouldn't be hundreds of holes in them.

She wouldn't have to have scars and bruises from shots or cannula's.

She wouldn't have to be brave every three days to get a needle inserted into her w/ that loud click for her pod.

She wouldn't be connected to any kind of device on a daily basis.

I would no longer see my child's blood every day.

She could have more independence.

She could have juice when she wanted...not just when she had to.

She could go away for college w/o her parents having to pack up and move on campus. ;)

She could live a life free of the fears of the consequences of not constantly being in tune w/ her body.

She could be a care free kid and not have to remember to take her kit w/ her everywhere she went.

She could eat what she wanted w/o asking permission! (I'm thinking teenage years)

She could drive a car w/o checking her blood sugar first.

She would experience a freedom she has never known and that we all take for granted.

It would be amazing and wonderful. And I would give my left arm for her to not have this disease anymore. Really, I WOULD! In a heartbeat w/o even thinking about it. But through suffering comes compassion. Those who have suffered much have much compassion and there are many blessings that have come from this disease. I wonder all the time how different our kids would be, how different our life would be if Suzannah had never been diagnosed w/ Diabetes. I hate how she acts w/ her sugar is off. She is sad and tired and fuzzy headed when she's low. She is irritable, frustrated and aggressive when she's high. It is SO hard to know how to parent a diabetic child b/c of the variables....but parenting is hard in general. And truly w/ all she has to deal w/, she is a very impressive young lady. She continues to grow in maturity and has fewer and fewer "pity parties" b/c of diabetes. I love her like I never knew I could love. She is who she is b/c of diabetes and I think it will end up making her a much better person than if she'd never had it. I have to.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11

I believe that the Lord has wonderful things in store for Suzannah and that He is going to use diabetes to draw her closer to Him. And hopefully she will use diabetes to bless others.

That being said, we will still do whatever we can to help find a cure!! If you ever feel like you would like to donate to Find a Cure for diabetes, you can go to JDRF.org and donate any time.

Friday Funny: The Facilities

2011-11-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

After one of the hottest and driest summers in Texas' history, I wasn't expecting much from the leaves this fall. But, to my surprise, the trees are turning!!!!! And not just to brown! We were working outside last weekend and I was noticing some really beautiful pops of color in our yard. So I went in to get my camera.

Billy building a new chicken tractor.

Some of the pretty girls.

Me playing photographer wanna be.

Beautiful.

Love it.

Wish you were here.

Wait a minute! As I was walking around over by the woods I saw this? I couldn't figure out what it was?

Upon closer inspection.....yup. So that's what they needed the duct tape for....

I called Billy over and we laughed and laughed. I forgot to talk to them about it....and it's still out there. :s I really should take care of that. But oh, how funny!!!!

Checking Her Sugar

2011-11-08T06:18:00.000-08:00

It's Tuesday so it's time for another diabetes post. If you know Suzannah in real life then no doubt you've seen her do this more than once, but for those that have never seen it, here it is. She has been doing this all by herself since she was 4 1/2. And she has to do it about 10 times a day...

Menu Plan Monday

2011-11-07T06:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday
b-French toast, berries
l-out
d-Black beans, saffron rice, pineapple chunks, guacamole and chips
prep-soak oatmeal, and flour for bread

Monday
b-Soaked oatmeal w/ dates, bananas and walnuts
l-fried rice (using leftover rice)
d-Cheesey Potato Soup, cheddar garlic biscuits
prep-make bread

Tuesday
b-egg casserole, toast, oranges
l-Spaghetti, Garlic Toast, Salad
d-Tuna Steaks, sauteed green beans w/ garlic, pickled beets, baked sweet potatoes
prep-make yogurt

Wednesday
b-yogurt, granola, blueberries
l & d @ Mom's
prep-make English Muffins

Thursday
b-leftover egg casserole, English Muffins, green smoothies
l-Loaded Baked Potatoes (our toppings of choice, diced tomato, shredded cheese, steamed & chopped broccoli, crumbled turkey bacon and ranch)
d-Cabbage Chili, Cornbread
prep-soak pizza dough

Friday
b-cereal, fruit
l-leftover Chili and cornbread
d-Personal Pan Pizzas, salad

Saturday
b-pancakes, green smoothies
l-egg salad w/ whole grain crackers, celery and carrot sticks
d-Roast Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Acorn squash, salad, green beans

Sunday
b-omelets (using leftover pizza toppings)
l-Loaded Nachos
d-Chicken Noodle soup, crackers

I can get discouraged by how expensive groceries are right now!!! However, we are committed to not sacrificing good food. I don't splurge on many special treats anymore, but produce is still welcomed in abundance. Our bill for this week's groceries for our family of 7 was under $150. Keeping in mind we had ground beef in the freezer and our milk is from a dairy.

These were my shopping helpers this week. And I do mean helpers!!! We rounded our spending to $150 even by donating to the veterans outside the store. So nice to spend time w/ these two sweeties!

Let's Call the Hogs!!!

2011-11-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

We are Razorback fans. I have been from birth only b/c it's in my blood. I don't understand how men can sit around all Saturday and Sunday and watch game after game, but I do enjoy cheering for a team that I like. And the best part of football??? Tailgating! But if you don't tailgate, the chips and dip are reason enough to attend! Here is a list of our favorite football dips! :)

Pineapple Cheese Ball w/ Wheat Thins

Spunky Spinach Dip w/ Bagel Thins

Spinach Artichoke Dip w/ ANYTHING! Crackers, chips, veggies, spoon!

Sausage and Cream Cheese Dip w/ Tostitos

Texas Caviar w/ Frito Scoops

Rotel w/ Tortilla Chips

Layer Dip w/ Doritos

So fix up one of the delicious dips, grab something to dip in it and get ready to call the hogs!!!! :) Or your team of choice.

Chores and Habits

2011-11-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

UPDATED:

"Having more children doesn't mean more work

it means more workers."

I have had several people ask me to go into a little more detail about our habits and chores and b/c it has been such a blessing to me, I thought I'd share w/ you how we do it.

The first and most wonderful thing has been Morning Habits and Bedtime Habits. When we first started implementing this idea I had a separate card for each habit I wanted the children to learn. After they did the thing that was on the first card they were to flip it over and move onto the next card. I made sure there were pictures and that I went through it w/ them until they had the hang of it. Now I have all their habits compiled onto one piece of paper and they are able to go through them w/ little to no help.

The front has their Morning Habits:

And the back has their Bedtime Habits:

These are things that they are to do every single day. The goal is for them to KNOW what to do next and do it w/o me having to go down the whole list. Or to at least say, "Have you done all of your morning habits?" instead of having to ask them about each individual thing....b/c I just don't have time for that!

As for chores. The above quote CAN be so true. But it takes a lot of training! I would love to do it ALL by myself, but I have come to realize that not only can I physically not do that....it's not good for my children. It is my job to train them in life skills and helping out around the house is an important part of being a member of a family. Everyone helps out.

I have tried about a million chore systems. They have all gotten us closer and closer to what my end goal was, but nothing really lasted. Chore Packs were the answer. I read the book Managers of their Chores by the Maxwells and it was wonderful. The way we keep up w/ our house is to do a room a day. This accomplishes two things. First and foremost, we are all able to be together so I can keep an eye on everyone. And number two, we are able to deep clean every room of the house every week w/o having to dedicate tons of time to it!

So I sat down and wrote down all the things that needed to be done in each room and figured out who was capable of what. Then I cut index cards in half and wrote the child's name, day of the week and chore on each card (drawing pictures on the non-readers cards). Then I numbered them in what order I wanted them to do it. Every day I put that day's chore cards into their "chore pack". They are little clear packs w/ a clippy that clips onto their shirt. You can find them @ Wal-Mart w/ the office supplies. When they finish w/ the card that says #1, they put it in back and do whatever is written on card #2 and so on. When they've gone through all of their cards, I inspect. Have you ever heard the saying "You must Inspect what you Expect?" Well, it's SO true.

Here's a close up so you can see what the individual cards look like. Don't judge my art....

Once you get the cards written up it's time to train them how to do each task. And if you're diligent about that, they will be cleaning the house for you in no time!!!!!! ;)

* I forgot one very important part of our system! "Bless the Mess" This is something that we do every day when Billy calls to say he's on his way home. We use this time to pick up the house. We do chores in the morning so by the time 5:00 rolls around things have certainly gotten messy. After we bless the mess things are all picked up and we don't start behind the next day.*

A Lesson in Submission

2011-11-02T15:42:00.000-07:00

I believe that husband and wives are to submit to one another. Actually for any relationship to be strong and successful I believe there must be mutual submission. But when you come to a cross road and neither want to budge....I believe it's the wife's job to submit to her husband. SO, when my "World's most Awesome Husband" came home from the store w/ Halloween costumes and candy....I had a choice to make. I could either turn cold as ice and jab him w/ my icicles for participating in this horrible holiday or I could be supportive and jump in. See, I have posted several times about my feeling about Halloween. I am not a fan. I think that it glorifies death and gore and fear, and Billy agrees....to an extent. See, he is able to be less black and white and is able to see the potential harmless fun that can be had by dressing up and getting candy. I swallowed my pride, shot him a "naughty, naughty" smirk and let the kids go crazy and think he was the most fun dad in the world.

We always carve pumpkins. The kids couldn't wait to get a glimpse of that gooey yucky pumpkin goo.

Cakes was so excited about drawing on the pumpkins!

Mmmmm, there it is! Jack was not a fan. Check out his face in all the following pictures!!!! :)

The annual licking of the lid....

Ck said no thanks!

Q has come a long way. She used to not touch the stuff! Now she thinks it's awesome!

Jack could hardly watch!!!!

Billy didn't like it too much either ;)

Watching Daddy carefully cut out a happy face.

Playing w/ pumpkin parts...

After we carved the pumpkins we came in for dinner. I made a delicious! soup. I'm putting it on my recipe blog. You MUST check it out!!! :) The kids were beside. themselves w/ excitement about getting dressed up!! Seriously, like freaking out!! I told them they had to wait till after dinner and they had to eat ALL their dinner or no candy. (while this soup is wonderful for adults...it's not super kid friendly, unless your mean like us ;)

Will modeled Jack's hat for us while we finished eating.

Then is was time to get dressed up. Oh, if you could feel the joy and excitement....

We had a little hunter....

A little princess....

Another princess...

And, ahem, a prisoner....

And a big beyond handsome hunter!

And off they went.....to collect poison to their bodies and hopefully not see any demonic looking creatures that would keep them up all night. Submission, submission, submission...... ;)

I even sported the costume he got me, complete w/ wings and antenna.....I really was a good sport. Will and I passed out candy and watched the sing off until the crew came home.

The last stop was my folks house. That's where they checked out their loot.

It really was a good Halloween....and even though I can't believe I even said that, I'm glad for it. The kids had a good time, Billy had a good time, no one was warped for life, we will be flossing (and throwing away the candy SOON) and I got to feel like I have actually learned a thing or two in the 12 blissful years of marriage. :)

Walk to Cure 2011

2011-11-01T02:59:00.000-07:00

November is National Diabetes Month so posting about the walk seems like the perfect way to kick it off! Every Tuesday I will be posting about our life w/ diabetes. We will try to do a video every day (Tuesdays) to show you exactly what it's like to check sugar, change a pod, etc. I think Suzannah will be excited to share!

The Walk to Cure this year was great. We were out of town the weekend they did it in Dallas so we attended to one in Ft. Worth. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful location.

Here's Team Suzy-Q. We had so many generous contributors this year that we were able to exceed our goal and still have donations coming it!!! We have raised over $5000! It has been so much fun b/c Suzannah is able to appreciate money now and realizes how special it is when someone donates.

We had 3 first time walkers! Charlotte wasn't one, but I couldn't pass up this photo op w/ my Dad.

This is sweet Addi-Cakes. Oh she's a mess! I love this girl and all her precious spunk! Can't get over those red curls and that dimple....they do me in. Good thing she's not mine, she wouldn't have a chance!! ;)

My two best friends in the whole world. These girls are sisters to me!!! They are my iron and I don't know what I would do w/o them. They got up at 5 am to drive out and walk w/ us. That is love!

Ck was my shirt model. *sorry the pictures are all so blurry. i don't know what's wrong w/ my camera?*

Billy and Suzannah designed them and I think they did a wonderful job! :) Last time orange, this year purple, next year: tie dye!!

The love of my life and my favorite walking partner ♥

Q was having trouble w/ her sugar on the walk. She was so excited. She was high the whole time so we had to stop and give her a shot. That helped. :(

So proud of this sweet girl. She has a lot to deal w/ and she does it beautifully!!!

I never heard how many people came out, but it was a lot!

This was a posed shot. We have a picture of them holding hands the very first walk we did. Back then they were holding hands b/c they wanted to....not b/c their mom's forced them to. ;)

Jack didn't make it. He ended up in the stroller and fell asleep!!!!

We all finished!! Yay! Such a worthy cause.

I know that there are many, many other WORSE things out there that kids deal w/, but diabetes is tough too. For a child it's just wrong to have to poke their finger and make it bleed 10-14 times a day. And it's equally wrong for them to be so used to it that they do it to themselves...even in the middle of the night w/ no help. It's wrong for a child to have their parents give them shots up to 8 times a day. It's even more wrong for a child to learn to give a shot to them self. It's wrong for a child to have to stop playing a game or come inside to check their sugar b/c if they don't they could pass out. It's wrong for a child to have to learn that if they don't take care of their diabetes they could lose a LIMB when they grow up. It's wrong that I can't tell her that she can be anything she wants to be....b/c she can't. It's wrong that she can't go even one night w/o being woken up to prick her finger. It's wrong that she can't sleep in w/o one of her parents coming and waking her up to make sure she is still alive. It's wrong that she is dependent on a man made insulin to keep her alive. It's wrong that she has to be aware of how she feels all the time and remember to take her kit w/ her every where she goes and count every carb. she puts into her mouth for the rest. of. her. life. Diabetes effects every single part of our life. I don't mean to complain b/c truly there are so many blessings and it could be so much worse. But diabetes stinks. And it is heartbreaking as a parent to watch your child have to deal w/ it all the time. That is why it means SO much to us that so many people contributed to finding a cure! That's why it means so much to Suzannah. She wants a cure so, so badly. And w/ her childlike faith, she BELIEVES they will find a cure...in her lifetime! So, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for caring enough to take money away from something for your own family to help these children. Thank you....

The Extraction

2011-10-29T06:14:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone that left a sweet and encouraging comment on my post about my "epiphany." Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and share that you can identify!!! Isn't it amazing how helpful it is to know that you aren't alone!?! So once more, thank you for your encouragement.

The day of Jack's "procedure" started very early. My mom came over to watch the other children and we loaded Will and Jack into the truck b/f the sun even hinted at rising. Jack was tired, but cooperative and thankful to get his teeth fixed. I was a ball of nerves, but could feel God's peace. We got to the surgical care place and we watched cartoons till they called us back. We walked through the doors and all of a sudden....it looked like a hospital. There were doctors and nurses in scrubs, hospital beds, people on gurneys and curtains. They took us to where they keep the children b/f surgery. Again we watched cartoons. They put stickers on his chest and listened to his heart. They checked his blood pressure and had him put on a gown w/ panda bears on it. He was doing good....watching cartoons. He wasn't talking much and I wondered what he was thinking. The anesthesiologist came in and started walking us through what was going to happen. Up to this point Jack didn't have a clear idea of what was going to happen. I just wasn't sure how much to tell him. So the Dr. left and I explained things to Jack. He continued to keep his eyes glued to the television barely even acknowledging that he could hear us talking to him. I explained that they were going to take him to a special room w/ no germs where our dentist would fix his teeth and that we would be waiting for him. I told him that he was going to be asleep and when he woke up we'd be there. I told him that we needed him to cooperate w/ the doctor and smell the stinky gas. Billy made a silly remark. Something about stinky human gas. Jack started laughing. He was sitting in my lap. His laughter turned into tears and he buried his face in my chest. He DID realize what was going on, he was just dealing w/ it totally differently than Suzannah (our only point of reference). He was scared, but he was trying so hard to be brave.

The nurse brought him the "goofy juice." He does not like medicine. Not even Tylenol, so I knew this wasn't going to be easy. We couldn't talk him into drinking it so I pretty much poured it down his throat. It took pretty well. When they came to get him he said he wanted me to come w/ him. I told him that I couldn't, but that I would be waiting for him. He went like a big boy. No tears. For him anyway.

We waited for what seemed like forever. Finally the dentist came out and said that everything had gone well. She gave us his molar they had extracted w/ MONDO roots!!! A little later they said that one of us could come back. Because I had Will, Billy went back. Then I had to wait for what felt like an eternity!!! I was the one that went back w/ Suzannah when she was 3 and had hernia surgery so I kind of knew what was going on in there. I think it was good that Billy was back there. FINALLY they came to get me. Jack started crying when he saw me. His lips were so swollen. He was sleepy and sad and wanted to go home. He had thrown up.

We loaded up in the car and he was ready to go. I was so glad to have my baby back. So glad that everything went well. Thankful for a reminder that I'm not in control. The drive home proved to be a bit bumpy and he tossed his cookies as we pulled in the drive way. We got him cleaned up and in bed. His sisters were so worried about him and so glad to see him. They laid w/ him and hugged on him and kissed him and gave him cards they'd made and made him feel so special. He got to look at the tooth they pulled and couldn't wait to show them!!! They made him feel so good that he wanted to lay on the couch. His tummy was still yucky and he was sleepy so my mom took the girls to her house. I put Will down for a nap and Jack and I fell asleep.

When he woke up he was acting so much better. I made some jello when we got home and he said that sounded good. Then he ate some baked oatmeal and then some yogurt. And then his tummy felt bad. I knew I shouldn't have let him eat so much. :s

We had been promising Jack a new scooter since our yard sale. He was feeling more like himself so Billy decided this was the perfect opportunity to take him and get one. He was so excited to get a BOY scooter!!! No more Barbie for him!

He stayed up pretty late b/c of that long nap. It was kind of nice to be up late w/ all my boys. ;)

I wish we hadn't had to do it....but it's done. We may not be able to have Christmas this year, but we all survived it and my boy has never had a more beautiful smile!!! ;)

Oh, and in case you're wondering what the tooth fairy's going rate is for a molar that was extracted by a dentist in the hospital ....it' a whopping $5.00! The girls almost wanted to get theirs extracted....almost.

Say it Ain't So!!!!

2011-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

How can my baby be 6 months old!?!?! His first half birthday. Half a year. Already.....it flies!!! And me more kids you have, the faster it flies....and the more desperately you want to slow it down!

This boy is a sweet mess! He is all giggles and grins! He still doesn't have any teeth, but he's constantly chewing on his fingers. He sucked his thumb for a day or so, but it didn't stick. Nothing sticks. It's all me! Oiy. It wears a momma out I tell ya'. But God will sustain me. :)

He is movin' out!!! Inching! He gets up on his knees and elbows and GOES! Sometimes (if it's a soft surface) he puts his head down and uses his feet to move himself forward. See:

He can totally get what he's going for. He is as cute and sweet as ever. He is still a super early riser and cat napper, but when you wake up to this grin how can you complain?! :)

An Epiphany

2011-10-18T03:26:00.000-07:00

I always thought that you were supposed to take your children to the dentist when they turn 4. So we took Jack this month. Apparently you should take them once they get teeth because he has a lot of problems! He even has a cavity so bad between his teeth, that we can't even see, that needs to be pulled!!! It makes me sick just typing this. Did you know that you should floss your 2, 3 and 4 year old's teeth? I didn't, but you should! I don't think this happens very often and probably what happened is that when his teeth were developing in utero I got a fever which compromised his enamel development and now his teeth are just more susceptible to decay :(. Because of his age we will have to take him to the hospital and have him put under for the procedure and pay a FORTUNE!!!!!! Really, I just can't hardly think about this for so many reasons.

I was laying in bed last night feeling so upset about this. Thinking about my baby being put under and fighting fears about fluky things happening and all this money....and it really boils down to being my fault. I truly take full responsibility for all this. And it got me thinking about the fact that he is suffering physically b/c of my choices. I was thinking about eating and how many children are fed junk (mine included) and it's not their fault. I was thinking about how many children aren't trained well b/c it's too hard (mine included) and it's not their fault. The ramifications for these things have life long consequences for these children and it's not their fault. I began to really feel the gravity of my responsibility as a mom. I know that there are no perfect parents. I know that we are not called to perfection. But I also know that I am lazy and lacking in self discipline....and it shows. It shows in Jack's teeth which weren't flossed, it shows in the junk we ate this weekend, it shows in my house in so many ways and worst of all it shows in my children. There are things that Suzannah is struggling w/ which are a result of MY lack of self discipline. There are sibling issues and attitudes and lack of diligence and so much more and it isn't their fault. At some point in an individuals life their choices become their responsibility and the consequences are deservedly theirs. But my children are too young for that. Any issues they have right now are b/c of me at this point. Parenting is HARD!!!! And all to often I am the one acting like an immature child. How am I going to raise children to maturity (I'm not speaking of physical maturity here) if I give myself permission to act immaturely? I've just got to start holding myself to a higher standard and not give myself permission to be lazy when it comes to my kids. They depend on me more than they are able to realize at this age and I have got to keep that in mind. I HAVE GOT TO BE THE EXAMPLE!!! They are w/ me all. the. time and I've got to be the example.

Man I feel like a broken record! When will I get it?!

So, all this to say, I feel the gravity of my responsibility. God is good! And I know that raising children isn't all about me and that HE is the only one that can give them pure love and that HE is their salvation. I just want to do my best at this calling he has given me. It's hard, but I can do hard things. I can do hard things b/c He is my strength and will give me everything I need to be a fiercely devoted, dedicated and disciplined mother.

Whole Lotta Bakin' Goin' On!

2011-10-16T11:11:00.000-07:00

We started rising money for The Walk so late this year that we decided to do a bake sale to help get our numbers up. It just so happened that we needed to have a yard sale too, so we did both this Saturday and it was a huge success!

I baked for 2 days straight!!!!! Like literally my oven didn't turn off almost all day for TWO days! It was insanity. I took the last batch of cookies out of the oven a little after 11:30 PM Friday night!!! My kitchen smelled like fall heaven!!! It was shear torture for the kids to be surrounded w/ cookies and pumpkin bread and chex mix and chocolate covered marshmallows and monster munch!!!! Goodies were everywhere and I didn't let them have any!!!

We got up at 5:30 Saturday morning (after going to bed around 1) to set up. Suzannah was up b/f the sun to set up her stand.

She stood out there till closing time! By 3 she was glad it was over. We sold everything but one bag of granola, some of the ginger cookies and 2 pumpkin muffins!! She raised $360!!!!!!! We are so blessed to have such great friends. Jessi came out early to help set up and slice pumpkin bread and keep me sane. ;) My mom came to help out w/ the littles and clean my disaster of a kitchen!!! So many friends came out just to buy from Suz and give her donations.We are very blessed!!! Thank you all. :)

It was a LOT of work, but it paid off in the end. Suzannah is proud of the money she made to take to the Walk. She was able to talk to people about diabetes. And she felt so special to have so many people donate. Yay for bake sales. Yay for fundraisers. And yay for generous donations :)

Walk to Cure 2011 UPDATED

2011-10-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

It is that time again. Its time to help raise money to find a cure for diabetes for Suzannah! After not participating in the Walk to Cure last year due to a busy schedule, we are making the trek to Ft. Worth in a couple of weeks. This will be the first time to participate in Ft. Worth. Normally we go to the one in Dallas, but we were gone on vacation the weekend they had their Walk. We are looking forward to it, and we hope all of you can participate in any way possible. If you want to donate to our team, simply click the link in the upper left-hand corner of the blog. You can do the same if you want to come walk with us. Just follow the links on the JDRF site. Check our Suzannah's video below. Billy did a great job. It is a doozie. Be sure to grab a tissue before hitting play! :)

To see our video from last time click here :)

Heavenly Pumpkin Bars

2011-10-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

Oh. My. Word. Head over to my recipe blog and make these A. S. A. P!!!!!!

{This Moment}- Tough Stuff

2011-10-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

~tough stuff....in more ways than one

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. Joining with SouleMama, sharing a moment from our week.

A Day in the Life...

2011-10-06T07:36:00.000-07:00

I am just now remembering that I never posted about my Mother's Day. Oyi! Will I ever catch up?! Anyway, I've been wanting to document my day for a very long time. Just for posterity so that I can look back and see how crazy busy I was and marvel at how we all survived it (we will survive it right?! :). So, I picked Monday b/c it's our lightest school day, in hopes I'd have time to jot stuff down throughout the day. I'm sure this will bore you to tears so you might want to move on to your next blog! :)

The alarm went off at 6 am and after one indulgent snooze I got up and took a shower. As I was drying off I could hear Will's swing music. He must have woken up and Billy put him in his swing so he could exercise. I didn't hear any crying so I went ahead and got ready for the day. I love the idea of having a quiet time in the morning to sit and read the Bible and I do that when I can, but b/c I had to take a shower this morning (I usually shower at night) I knew that wasn't going to happen. So I started praying. Praying for our day and for patience and gentleness and please, God, wisdom.

I went and got Will and set him in his Bumbo while I started a load of laundry and began breakfast. I finished the bacon and Billy fixed the eggs while I cut up oranges and changed Will's diaper. We sat and ate together...just the two of us. It was so nice. We usually make the kids get up between 6:30 and 7, but Mondays are hard and we selfishly let them sleep in.

As Billy was putting his shoes on Jack stumbled in squinting and smiling. I told him that I'd be right back and walked Billy to his truck. Jack came out but wasn't out for long b/c it was chilly this morning. Billy left for work and I came back in the house. Jack was on the couch looking at books. I asked if he'd like eggs and bacon (turkey) or yogurt and granola and bacon. He requested just yogurt and bacon. I went and put Will down. He's a very early riser, but he fades pretty quickly.

The girls were up and doing their morning habits and I fixed Jack's breakfast. Apparently Jack was pulling on Molly Beth's outfit so she decided the best thing to deal w/ that was to kick him. Wrong! Consequence was to do Jack's morning habits, so he was able to finish reading.

homemade yogurt. made thursday

The girls finished up and fixed their breakfast. Suzannah; yogurt and granola, Molly Beth; scrambled eggs. While they were cooking/eating I remembered that I hadn't printed out Jack's school work so I sat down at the computer and printed away. In came a sweet little red head w/ a thumb in her mouth. She crawled up in my lap and I soaked in that "fresh out of bed" warmth and sweetness. She asked for yogurt so I gathered up Jack's papers and got her breakfast ready. I told the girls to move straight to independent work after they finished their breakfast.

I switched out the laundry and called Jack into the living room to do his school work. When Ck finished up she came and joined us. On lazy mornings like this (most Mondays!!) I just make some extra copies of some of his work and have a simple activity for her to do and she sits w/ us. Jack does great w/ school, but when we've finished....he's ready! Before I can finish up Suzannah comes in w/ all her POD stuff and informs me that she has a POD change this morning. So we stop and take care of that. New site is on her tummy....not her favorite so I take Charley Kate out of my lap and replace her w/ Suzannah while she pushes the button. She is getting so much more independent w/ all that...I'm proud of her. She goes back to continue her school work and I get a snack for Charlotte and Jack and send them to the play room. Suzannah and Molly Beth start arguing about something so I send Suzannah back to work at the desk in their room.

Will wakes up. It's 9:30. I change out the laundry. Molly Beth has finished her handwriting and math and is ready for my help w/ spelling and reading. We manage to make it through spelling w/ no interruptions, but during reading Charley Kate comes and crawls into my lap...where Will is and wants to play w/ him. Reading still takes a good bit of concentration for B so this is very distracting and she starts getting hung up on words she shouldn't. Will is playing w/ my water bottle and somehow it spills on him. So I take off his wet onsie and lay him on the floor. This is too much for Charlotte. She MUST suck her thumb on that sweet soft belly so B and I have enough time of quiet to finish up. :)

I call everyone to the table for Morning Board. This has taken the place of my walls of school. It's everything for circle time condensed to a poster board sized deal. Friday we were supposed to have our memory verse challenge, but it was a crazy Friday and we didn't even get to morning board. The kids are very serious about this challenge and have amazed me by what they are able to memorize!!!! The verse this week was Matthew 22: 37-40. Even Jack remembered most of it! I am blown away by how much their little minds are capable of!!! :)

Chore time. They get their chore packs and get busy. Suz said something ugly to B. The consequence for being ugly to someone is apologizing and blessing them. The way they bless them is to do their chores for them (or morning/bedtime habits). So I have Suzannah apologize and have B hand over her chore pack. Molly Beth gets her snack and the middles go outside to play. I load breakfast dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the counters with Will cooing on my back. Change out laundry.

I get the kitchen cleaned just in time to fix lunch. Billy is headed home. It's 11:45. I put Will down. I fix tuna salad w/ whole grain crackers, carrot sticks and grapes. Suzannah finally finishes her chores and joins her sibling outside. Billy and I get another meal together...or at least part of one!!! This never happens. We enjoy it :) The kids come in and wash up for lunch. We all visit a minute and then Will wakes up. It's 12:15. Billy (Will) and I go out to the shed to talk about our upcoming garage sale. We are really trying to get down to the bare minimum of what we need! We want to "have what we need and need what we have." Right now we have way more that we need! I kiss him good bye, check the mail and head inside.

we moved all the kids into one room.. pink walls will be painted ASAP!

The kids have thrown their plates away and are in on their beds reading?! I can count on 1 finger the number of times they have gone straight to rest time w/o me having to tell them. I praise them and tell them how proud I am of them for "doing the next thing." This is a theme that I've been working on w/ them to try and help us through our days. I lay Will on his play mat and wash the tuna bowl, wipe down the counters, gather carrot, onion, celery and grape scraps for the chickens and take the trash out. It wasn't full, but I can't stand the smell of tuna!!

the playroom. it's far from done!

I call Suzannah into the kitchen and we do history. We finally finish LAST years history book!!!! History is just one of those things that gets left out when things get hairy. So we are just now wrapping it up! It is 1:30. I tell the kids they can go into the play room and play quietly for the rest of rest time and I put in Peter Pan. A book on cd. I wanted to read this to them SO badly, but I haven't been able to work in read aloud in the afternoon ever since Will was born. I still read to them at night, but I just don't have time during the day. Not if I want a moment to myself. Will is fussy and needing a quality nap so I nurse him to sleep and hope he is able to finally get a good nap.

still shirtless from his spill this morning...

I sit at the computer and work on this a bit and eat a left over brownie from Billy's birthday. At 2:15 I put brownies and milk on the table and tell the kids to pick up. While they eat I read our Bible story. It's about Rebeka. We spend some time talking about going the extra mile, being a blessing to others and having a servants heart. They clean up the table, I grab the baby monitor and we go outside. Billy got me some beautiful mums (I love mums) and I want to get the front porch cleaned up and decorated for fall.

We pull weeds and sweep down spider webs. The kids ride their bikes and help me carry flowers. I hear Will through the monitor. A neighbor boy comes over and they all run off and play. Charlotte comes in w/ me and I read to her while I nurse Will. We go back outside and pull up the summer garden. I'm thinking about planting a fall garden, but the only thing we've ever had success w/ in the fall is spinach! The school bus goes by which is a sign to me to get started on dinner. Taco salad tonight. I come in and get the frozen beef out and decide to grade papers. Charley Kate comes in b/c she has spilled Gatorade on her tummy (I was smart enough to have her take off her shirt!) and I see that she has a half circle hickey on her upper lip. Nice. We have left over Gatorade from Molly Beth's soccer game so the kids asked if they could have some. Good thing we aren't getting family pictures tomorrow....or the next day!

it isn't much, but it's a start

I put the kettle on and grab my smiley face stamp and red pen. Charley Kate comes is b/c she's "sweaty" and asks if she can have some tea too. I get her a cup out, go change Will's diaper and hear screaming from the kitchen. She pulled a chair over and touched the burner. It's pretty bad. I put some green salve on it, tell her to blow and put on her favorite show. Baby Einstein Old MacDonald. It's 4:45. Almost time to call the kids in. I put Will down for one last nap.

I finish grading school work. The girls are both doing really well. Suzannah's only problem is that she didn't go back and do corrections....again! They are building up. I guess I'll need to have her work on them tonight b/f bed instead of reading. That should make a big impression. I finish my tea and go check on Charlotte. She is sipping her tea w/ her good hand. Then she informs me that she "pee-peed." WHAT? She's sitting in the chair!!!!???? Arg. I take the cushion off and throw it in the washing machine and decide to go ahead and throw her in the bath.

5:15 I get "Tha Call." The call that tells me I've made it. Billy is headed home!!! :) I get Charley Kate out of the tub as the big kids come in. Jack gets in the bath and Q and B "bless the mess." Molly Beth has a splinter so I take that out first. There was much less wailing and gnashing of teeth this time than there was last night when she had a sliver the size of a fleas ear in her foot! Sheesh! Jack gets out and B gets in the shower. Chalrey Kate jumps on the cushionless chair and I get her b/f she falls and breaks her head open so that we don't have TWO E.R. bills this month. Don't ask....

I start cooking the meat, open the black beans and the corn and Billy walks in the door. I get that familiar feeling when he walks in the door. He kisses me hello like always and I finish getting dinner ready. We get the table set and salads in bowls and sit to eat. Molly Beth says the prayer. She is so sweet to thank God for a wonderful mommy that loves to cook. Billy has taught them this art of expressing gratitude for me through our supper prayer and it does make me feel appreciated. :) Charley Kate asks if she can ask the blessing too. She whispers her prayer and all I can pick up is "amen." We eat and visit and play High/Low. The big kids highs are all the same. Playing in the forest w/ Jacob. I'm glad they had fun outside today. Jack's low was when Molly Beth got the splinter in her finger. He is a sweet, compassionate boy.

We finish supper and Q clears the table. Will wakes up. We tell the kids to pick out a Veggie Tales. We have only had our TV plugged in for 2 days and I've already used it twice as a babysitter of sorts. I make a conscious decision to NOT do that and to only plug it in on the weekends. Billy, Suzannah, Will and I go outside to move a table and chairs and a few other things to the garage for out yard sale.

Suz, Will and I come in. Q takes a shower and I finish cleaning up from supper. Charley Kate is watching the show and holding up her burned finger. Molly Beth is laying w/ Will on the recliner and Jack is looking at a book on the couch. Things are calm and quiet except for Suzannah singing in the bathroom and I take a moment to say thank you. I should have said it so many more times today....I'll do better tomorrow.

apparently Charley Kate wasn't the only one that ended up w/ a hickey :S

I put some toast in the toaster oven and tell the kids to pick out a library book and sit on the couch. I fix peanut butter toast and pass it out and start reading. Billy gets out of the shower and gets Will. He's getting fussy. I finish Jack's book and trade jobs w/ Billy. He finishes reading and I nurse Will and put him in his swing. I come back into the living room and Billy is reading out of The Book of Virtues. We're on the chapter about self discipline....and we are going to need to hover here awhile!!! I get Charley Kate some warm milk and rock her while we say prayers. Jack's sweet prayer goes on and on as he thanks God for everything from his daddy who is "the strongest boy in the world" to thanking God that our clock works. Then he goes through all his friends. He pauses and looks at Billy and says, "who's the one w/ the snotty nose?" We all try to stifle our laughter. Precious boy. We give kisses all around and Billy goes to tuck them in. I sing "Oh How I Love Jesus" and by the 3rd verse she's out. I go lay her down and give one last hug and kiss to the others. Suzannah checks and is low. This is never good at bed time. I treat her low and say a little prayer that it's enough. We'll know better when we check her b/f we go to bed.

Billy gives me a hug. The kind that says "phew" and I go soak in the tub. This is my time to reflect on my day. I pray and go over the things I want to do differently and the things I'm glad I did the way that I did. I realize that the cushion cover and random towels that I threw in the wash never made it to the dryer. I took advantage of the beautiful weather and forgot to fold all of our laundry so we'll have to move that mountain to the rocker b/f we can get into our bed. I remember that I forgot to have Suzannah do her math corrections....again. But, it is what it is. And really, it was a good day. I'm so thankful that we get to just live. We are all healthy and get to be together and it really is a blessing. His mercies are new every morning and I am excited to see what tomorrow holds. I finish getting ready for bed. Run the dishwasher and put oats in buttemilk on the counter to soak for breakfast. Now it's time to relax w/ Billy. These are such wonderful years. When they are little, and here and we know all about everything in their life. When they need us and we can give them everything they need. Oh please help me be here. Really here and not in tomorrow or yesterday. Here.

appetizing, eh?

It's 10:00. Billy takes kiddos potty and I check Suzannah's sugar. 127. Not a good bedtime number. Billy sets his alarm for 12 so we can check her again. We crawl into bed. For most people this would be the end of their day, but since I'm documenting this for me and I want to be able to remember how life really was I will continue. I drift off to sleep and and woken by Will at 11:30. He hasn't slept well all day and I am not sure what's going on? He had been a little stopped up and now doesn't want to nurse on the left side so I wonder if it's his ear. I nurse him and we both fall asleep.

The alarm goes off 30 minutes later. Billy comes back in. I ask what her sugar was. 226. High? He gave her a correction. And we fall back to sleep. 2 something Jack wanders in and snuggles up to Billy. Around 3:30 Suzannah comes in and asks me to help her check her sugar. She is even higher?! I ask Billy how much of a correction he thinks we should give. We bolus and she gets some water. Billy moves Jack to his bed and Suzannah crawls in. Around 4 Will wakes up. He has pooed. I can't even remember the last time he pooed in the night? I go change him in the living room. We get into bed and I nurse him to sleep. Before I can drift off I hear Charley Kate crying through the monitor. I'm nursing so I wake Billy and ask him to go get her. She's had a cough and sounds stopped up. She curls up against my back and I can hear her sucking her thumb. I take note that Molly Beth is the only one still in bed. 5:30 Will wakes up again. He has wet his diaper. Molly Beth snuck into bed while I was asleep. I reach over her and grab a diaper and change him. I get up to use the restroom and when I crawl back into bed Billy says, "so sorry, babe." It's been a rough night and the alarm will go off in less than half an hour. I am thankful that all our nights aren't this interrupted and say a little prayer about the cold that seems to be trying to make it's way through the family. I fall back to sleep and don't even hear the alarm the first TWO times it goes off. The third time I get up and try to gear up for a new day. Starting off tired is hard b/c it makes patience and joy that much harder, but God is faithful if I just remember to ask for help!!! :)

Phew, that was long!!! It was a really mellow day. Reading it makes me feel like such a wimp for complaining about how busy I am, but you'll just have to trust me when I say there was a lot going on, constantly and I wasn't able to capture EVERY little thing. But this is a season. Our life won't be like this forever and I'm glad to took the time to write it all down.

Happy Birthday William

2011-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Today was Billy's birthday. We got up early to fix him cinnamon roll pancakes. He has been on a super strict diet the whole month of September and was self disciplined like nobody's business, so we celebrated that too. Starting tomorrow we'll go back to being healthy and self disciplined and all that good stuff, but on your birthday you've got to let loose! ;)

We learned that hot pancakes are good...but putting a birthday candle in hot pancakes is bad.

I love him so much! He is amazing and I'm so thankful that I get to have him in my life. I'm also thankful that he's the same age as me....for four months anyway. Then I go back to being his older woman...

My parents took us out to lunch and then we headed to the Library. We've started doing this on Sunday afternoons b/c there aren't very many people there. I used to take the kids on Fridays b/c we didn't do school on Fridays, but now that we are doing ELO on Wednesdays there isn't time on Fridays. Plus, I need the help! So Sunday's work out really well. Then when we get home we just relax and read till supper time.

Billy's request for a birthday cake this year was butterfinger brownies. This is a picture of them b/f they were cooked. They were SO good.

It was a low key but wonderful day. The kiddos made him some really sweet cards and took him on a special hike through the woods on our property this morning while I got all of the pancake stuff ready and it was cool out. Then this afternoon while the kids were playing outside w/ friends we watched You've Got Mail. When we were newly weds and didn't have cable we borrowed that movie from Billy's sister (for a LONG time). We watched it a lot. It brings back fun memories of our first apartment that was the size of our living room! Plus, it just seems like the right thing to watch when it's fall. Anyway, we watched the movie and ate his favorite spinach pizza and just took it easy. I sure hope we were able to make him feel special b/c he totally deserves it!

Happy Birthday William! We love you!!!!!

Snakes and Snails...

2011-09-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

I put Will down on Ck's school blanket so that I could get dinner in the oven and he rolled himself into a little burrito!!! And boy did he think he was cute!!! ;)

I do realize that I have other children! HA! Seems like I haven't posted about anyone but him in a long time! :/ But it's coming!

Sigh...

2011-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

*this photo was taken B/F our dietary changes!*

I have so much I want to post about but I have NO time to post!!! Moments not cooking, cleaning or child rearing (read: teaching, hugging, training, enjoying, disciplining, etc) are stolen. Stolen from time I should be using more wisely. We have made some major changes this month and on top of our very full life, it has broken me....several times. That is a post I'd like to write in and of itself....not to mention our family vacation, a post on "remembering", Will's baby blessing, SCHOOL/first day stuff, and all the other things rolling around in my head that I'd like to document!!! The changes that have "broken" me have been a result of a diet make over and unplugging our TV for the month of September. Typing it out it sounds so small and I feel a bit pathetic, but both have created more work for me and I already have so. much. to. do!!! However, the month is almost over and we have survived....and THRIVED!!! The changes have brought wonderful change to our family and I'm thankful for them. I am even more thankful for what I learned from the meltdowns (mine). Boy, if I ever thought I was a work in progress I am more convinced of it now that ever! I realize this is just bits and pieces of stuff and put together it makes no sense, but I don't want to forget what I am wanting to steal time for to write...and I don't want to forget that there were times in my life where it was so full that I had to steal time. :)

5 Months

2011-09-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sweet Baby Will turned 5 months old today. Oh what a wonderful 5 months it has been!!

He is so much fun! He rolls all over the place. We don't even put blankets down for him to lay on b/c he is off of them in a minute. He is a mover....like his siblings before him. He still can't figure out how he likes to go to sleep. It was the thumb, then the paci, then ME, then the swing, then a blanket and now we're back to the sling. Which is wonderful....or at least it would be if there weren't 4 other little ones needing me. So, we do what we can and we've made it this far....so I guess we'll continue to do what we have to and he'll figure it out eventually.

He found his toes this month. I was SO excited! It's just such a sweet and fun thing and I was looking forward to it. So cute....and it keeps him entertained! ha :)

We've never had a drooler. I have been given bibs, but have never once used them. Our babies just don't have an excess of saliva running from their mouths. But he is definitely starting to teethe. He puts everything into his mouth and gnaws ferociously on it!

He's still just a big ol' happy face!!! Oh that smile....it's wonderful.....HE is wonderful :)

Go Bulldogs!!

2011-09-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

We have a little soccer player this year!!! Molly Beth has been wanting to play soccer for 2 years now but we kept missing sign ups?! We finally got in this year and she wouldn't be happier!!!

Cutest soccer player EVER! ;)

She played her first gameS last Saturday. She had one in the morning and then one in the afternoon. It's still sinfully hot here so the girls got worn out quickly....oh, and did I mention there were no subs?! It was hard but she had so much fun.

Suzannah took these pictures of her warming up.

The Sweeper and goalie bonding :)

Game time!!

Getting a motivational pep talk from Dad.

She was red faced by the end. She loved it though and can't wait till her next game Saturday. Thankfully there is only one ;)

♥Oh Boy♥

2011-09-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

Just because he melts my heart! :)

Every age is endearing but when they are this age they look at you and you can

feel how in love w/ you they are. Their smile makes you feel like

your heart may burst. They are warm and soft and delicious!

They are beginning to see the world and get excited and at times need your reassurance. They are 100% sweetness and you just want to eat them up! This boy....I tell ya, he melts me like butta!!!

{this moment} Milk Bubbles

2011-09-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

Joining with SouleMama, sharing a moment from our week.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.

Celebrating Charlotte's Second

2011-09-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sweet Cakes turned 2 way back in July, but I had to document it. Now I will finally be caught up on birthdays ;)
She requested an Elmo theme....which is what all of our children (except Jack) have requested for their 2nd birthday.

It's tricky to get those little fingers to show "two".

"Happy Birthday dear Charlotte....."

Goodnight Moon (aka "Cow Jumped over the Moon")

Awww, little kitty.

After she opened all her presents we had a little surprise for her...

A bike of her own!!!

She was so proud!

This is a Ya-Ya's girl, I tell ya!!!

Notice the books in the back. She always has to have something in that little compartment!!! And there's always someone ready to help her w/ whatever she needs!! ;)

It was a sweet little birthday to celebrate a sweet little girl! :)

Hello Mornings Challenge

2011-09-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Click the link. The video says it all. A challenge worth taking!!!! :)

Works For Me Wednesday

2011-08-31T12:25:00.000-07:00

In trying to find ways to bless my husband, I think of things I can do to make his life easier. Our dresser w/ socks, tee shirts and underwear is in our room and his work clothes are in our closet (which is in our bathroom). SO, I decided to try to help him out in the mornings. I got a shoe holder and put his socks, underwear and white tee shirt in it for every day of the work week right next to his work shirts. That way, when he gets out of the shower everything is just right there. It's not the most amazing thing, but it works for me. ;)

Thumbs by Shel Silverstein

2011-08-30T08:04:00.000-07:00

Oh the thumb-sucker's thumb

May look wrinkled and wet

And withered, and white as the snow,

But the taste of a thumb

Is the sweetest taste yet

(As only we thumb-suckers know).

4 Months

2011-08-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

We had so much going on around Will's 4 month birthday that I forgot to take his photo. Then when I remembered he was in no mood for photos and we were in a hurry to get out the door so this was the best I could get. ;)
He's doing great. Growing and getting so smart! He's creeping and rolling everywhere!!! We moved him to the pack-n-play and moved Charlotte to the big girl bed. I was not looking forward to it as I tend to sleep better w/ my babies by my side, but he's such a light sleeper that I think we were disturbing HIM! Ha! We have done well w/ the new sleeping arrangement. I just bring him into bed w/ us when he wakes up to nurse and he stays there the rest of the night. It's somewhere between 1:30 and 4:30.

He is a go-er. He will lay content on the floor for a little while, but he'd much rather be strapped onto me watching me do whatever it is that I'm working on. He sucked him thumb for a day....I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but was going to let him do what he wanted. The next day he forgot about it. He's been giving me trouble going down for naps so I've been trying to teach him to take the paci. He isn't in love w/ it, but it helps calm him down. Hey, you do what you've got to do. We are enjoying the stew out of him and can't get enough!!! ;)

More Visitors

2011-08-21T13:34:00.000-07:00

We had some special visitors earlier this month. Billy's Mom, little brother and Granny came.

Billy's Granny is 91 years YOUNG! She's full of spunk and is sharp as a tack. She's an absolute HOOT and we enjoyed her so much!

She is interested in everything! We teased her a little about how she asks so many questions, but she just loves to learn. She even wanted to know about everything I cooked.

The kids got lots of snuggle time w/ Uncle Brian and loved when he would get them all wound up!

Granny lives on a farm in PA. She still lives alone and throws hay down to the cows from the hay loft. She is in amazing shape and did great at WII bowling.

Charley Kate's favorite show right now is Baby Einstein's Old McDonald. Granny enjoyed watching it w/ her and telling her all about the different things.

We had such a great time w/ her and are so thankful she was willing to ride all the way down here to see us.

Special thanks to Grams! She has done a LOT of traveling this summer and was the one that made this visit possible! We love you Grams :)

The Big 3-0

2011-08-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today is my half birthday and my brother's birthday. He would be 30 today. I can't even imagine it?! He would probably be married w/ kids (I can't dwell on the nieces and nephews part...that is too much) and have a real job and a house and a yard? C.r.a.z.y. The fact that he died at 20 is somehow appropriate...though obviously too soon. See, he was just a big kid (emphasis on big...like SUPER tall!!!). He loved video games and skate boarding and telling jokes and drinking coke and eating Captain Crunch and hanging on my mom. And this is how he will always be. Never an adult/legal. He was a goof. I can totally see his face and hear his laugh! I would decorate his ceiling on his birthday. Carefully balancing on the edge of his bed and taping the streamers to the ceiling so that when he woke up he'd feel special. Once I planned a surprise party for him. There are people that you can do special things for and never really feel like it meant as much to them as you had hoped. He was not one of these people. He was always good to let you know what it meant to him. I wish we could talk about memories together b/c mine is so bad. But most of all I wish I could tell him how much I've learned from him. I knew he loved better than me. He was never judgmental...it probably came from being judged so much himself. He had a soft spot for the underdog. He was super generous...this certainly came from my dad. And he was crazy about my mom. He was never embarrassed to put his arm around her or hold her hand. He thought she hung the moon (and I'm pretty sure she did ;)! It's hard not to get choked up when I think about what my kids are missing out on by him being gone. He loved kids and would have been the best uncle ever. His endless energy and sense of humor would have been the perfect combination for fun!!! Not to mention the size of his heart which even surpassed his shoe size!!! He always had an excess of love and nieces and nephews would have been the perfect thing for him. But at the same time, I see so much mercy in his passing. He did not suffer. The amount of peace that provides is priceless. The other thing that is counted as mercy in his passing is the journey our family has gone on because of it. Where we started was where anyone who lost a child/sibling would be....hell. It took many years for my parents to find healing. They still hurt. Losing a child is different from any other kind of loss...but because of it, because of the brokenness that it caused, God was able to perform a miracle in my Dad's life. Out of respect for my Dad I won't go into all the details, but Dad was touched by God in a way that I have never known (personally) anyone to be touched. Through this miracle (and I don't use the word lightly) his heart softened to the point that he was able to know God...instantly. His relationship w/ God is like nothing I've ever seen and it has changed. our. lives. It is the most amazing gift b/c through it we have in turn been able to see God like we had never seen Him before. His goodness and graciousness is in all things...and we are able to see that now. There is a lightness it has brought that is priceless!!!! We don't know all the whys that come from losing someone, but we are certainly able to see the blessings. I will document all the details someday, though not on this blog, b/c it is a legacy like no other and I'm so thankful that my children get to have it. God is so good. Even in suffering. And I have no doubt that healing.....true spiritual healing, can only come from brokenness....true, undeniable brokenness. It's the only way we are willing to open our hearts enough to see Him w/o all the indoctrinations of our past. We get it.....and it's b/c of Ryan. Eucharisteo! Eucharisteo!!!

"I pray that out of his glorious riches the Father may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

I love this verse. And I can say that I DO grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is. Beauty for ashes. Thank you Father and thank you Ryan. Happy Birthday little brother :)

Happiness is...

2011-08-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the

desires of your heart.

I will give thanks to the LORD because

of his righteousness

and will sing praise to the name

of the LORD Most High.

Exciting News!

2011-08-04T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hope I didn't get anyone's hopes up. It's the little things that do it for me! ;) And this is truely exciting for me. Just ask Billy! LOOK:

Now look closely:

BROWN rice!!! Yay for fiber! ;) But even better than brown rice is that this is not made w/ high fructose corn syrup! Super exciting I tell ya! Now you can run to the store and buy some to throw in your yummy granola bars!!!!

Wordless Wednesday: I ♥ HU

2011-08-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Will 3 mo.

Charley Kate 3 mo.

Jack 3 mo.

"Not" Back to School Blog Hop: Curriculum

2011-08-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

For 2 years now I've wanted to participate in the Not Back to School Blog hop but for one reason or another haven't been able to. So finally I'm getting to. :)

The Art of Loving: they need both milk and honey from their parents. Milk symbolizes the care given to physical needs: brush your teeth, drink your orange juice, eat your vegetables, get enough sleep. Honey symbolizes the sweetness of life, that special quality that makes life sing with enjoyment for all it holds. Fromm says, "Most parents are capable of giving milk, but only a minority of giving honey, too." To give honey, one must love honey and have it to give.
--From "Honey for a Child's Heart" by Gladys Hunt

There is so much more to home schooling than curriculum! I want to get honey in there too! My biggest goal this year is to instill in the children a love of learning!!!! I am excited about all the things we will be doing this year and hopefully my excitement will rub off. As always I'm learning to be more relaxed and go with the flow. "10 before 10" is still at the heart of our school year goals. But here is what our curriculum will look like:

Charley Kate

Blanket training and bins. A different bin for each school day (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri). The activities in these bins will be based upon the Montessori approach and will be focused around these activities:

Transferring
Pouring
Beading
Spooning
Pasta Fun
Sorting
Counting
Matching
Small Spaces
Cutting
Gluing
Stickers
Simple Art/Crafts
Fine Motor-Muscle Skills

PreK: Jack

We'll be using Before Five in a Row, Preschool Packs and Sensory Bins.

Reading {Daily}

1st Grade ~ Pathway Readers Year 1. As her reading confidence grows we'll start her on some grade level read alouds. (this curriculum does vocabulary and grammar as well)

4th Grade ~ Living Books. I'm still working on a list that I'll share on the sidebar. She will be required to read these aloud.

Writing {Daily}

1st Grade ~ journal entries

4th Grade ~ journal entries and Excellence in Writing. Super excited about this program. It looks excellent!

Spelling {Daily}

1st Grade ~ Sequential Spelling was a great way to introduce spelling for Suzannah so I think it will work well for Molly Beth.

4th Grade ~ The Phonetic Zoo. I have read wonderful reviews of this program. While Sequential Spelling has been great to teach certain concepts, I haven't seen enough of an increase in correct spelling to continue w/ it. This is also a sequential approach, which I think makes the most sense, but I'm hoping it will have better results as far as spelling words correctly rather than just understanding the concepts. Not sure if I'm making sense?!

Vocabulary { 2 x weekly}

1st Grade ~ she will get this from her Pathway Reader workbooks

4th Grade ~ Wordly Wise 4. This will be our first time to use this but it looks great and I've heard good things about it. Suzannah likes words, so I think she'll really enjoy this.

Grammar {2 x weekly}

1st Grade ~ She will get this from her Pathway Reader workbooks

4th Grade ~ First Language Lessons 4. I had really indended to start grammar at 3rd grade, but she was enjoying the Pathway Readers so much and they have some grammar in there that I decided to wait. I'm wishing I hadn't and hoping that this won't be too overwhelming for her. She knows the basics so hopefully it will be enough and she won't be lost in this book!!!

Handwriting {daily}

1st and 4th Grade ~ A Reason for Handwriting has been great. Both girls enjoyed it and their handwriting improved. Suzannah's cursive is even better than her print. Handwriting has never really been her thing, but these lessons were short enough that she didn't get burnt out and enjoyed trying to make it look nice.

Math {daily}

1st Grade ~ Horizons 1. B is great at math and I think she's going to have a great hear w/ this workbook.

4th Grade ~ Saxon 4/5. I went ahead and got Saxon. I'm nervous. Suzannah loves math and I don't want that to change. BUT I want her to be very proficient in math so I'm hoping this is a good fit for her.

Science {once a week}

1st and 4th ~ both girls will be taking science in ELO. Suzannah will be doing apologia Land Creatures and I'm sure will LOVE it! It really is silly to say science is only once a week. Science happens every day in this house...it's just not at a table.

History {2 x weekly}

1st and 4th Grade ~ Story of the World. this will be the first year that the girls will take a subject together. I think they will have fun with that! Should be fun. :)

Geography {3 x a week}

1st and 4th Grade ~ Daily Geography. We didn't finish these last year so we will pick up where we left off and go from there. They are great little lessons that don't belabor the topic for the day.

Bible {daily}

We will be reading Psalms and Proverbs daily, doing hymn study weekly and reading Heros books starting w/ George Muller. This is just what we'll be doing in a formal way. Teaching them about God's love will happen hourly.

Art {once a week}

We will do artist studies and make lap books per artist. We will also be using Artistic Pursuits. Our book hasn't come in so I'm not sure how frequently we will need to do it, but I'm planning on one afternoon a week.

Music {once a week}

We will do composer studies and make lap books per composer. Suz did this last year and loved it! We will aslo be reading the composer books suggested from Beautiful Feet...but renting them from the library. Also, both girls are doing piano lessons. Molly Beth is SUPER excited!!!

Greek {once a week}

My dad will continue to teach the girls on Wednesday afternoons after ELO. We will continue using "Hey Andrew, Teach Me Some Greek" The girls really enjoy this and have picked up on it very quickly. I'm thinking about seeing if Jack can sit it.

After rest time, I read aloud for 1 hour. This is a great time that the kids all look forward too. This will be the first year for CK to join us, but she should be able to handle it. There is a list of books we'll be working through this year on the side bar...or at least I'll try to get it up soon. We also read aloud at night. In the evenings it's a different set of books. We have gotten out of our real aloud time habits b/c of Will, but are looking forward to getting back into it as his schedule has become more predictable and he's pretty good about going to bed early.

The only other thing I can think of is Life Skills. I'm going to make more of a conscious effort to work on some specific life skills once a week. I was truly inspired by this post and will be picking things from this list:

Handicrafts

Beading
Calligraphy
Carving
Ceramics
Chalk drawing
Charcoal sketching
Clay sculpturing
Crocheting
Cross-stitching
Embroidery
Finger painting
Flower arranging
Gardening
Iron sculpturing
Kiting
Knitting
Latch-hooking
Leather tooling
Loom weaving
Macrame
Oil painting
Pencil sketching
Photography
Picture framing
Pottery
Quilting
Robotics
Rubber stamping
Scrapbooking
Scroll sawing
Sewing
Spinning fibers
Spool-knitting
Videography
Watercolor painting
Weaving
Weaving pot holders
Whittling
Woodworking

Life Skills

Auto mechanics
Baking
Canning
Changing a car tire
Changing a lightbulb
Checking the car’s oil
Cleaning: mirrors, sinks, toilets, tubs and showers, baseboards
Clearing the table
Cooking
CPR
Driving a car
Drying: clothes, dishes
Dusting
Electrical wiring
Emptying trash
First Aid
Folding: clothes, towels, sheets
Mopping
Mowing the lawn
Organizing: closets, cupboards, sheds, attics
Painting a room
Plumbing
Raking leaves
Setting the table
Sweeping the floor
Vacuuming
Vegetable gardening
Wallpapering
Washing: clothes, dishes, windows, car
Welding

Life Skills but also Business Skills

Computer skills
Keyboarding/Typing
Tracking personal finances

There are several things Billy will add to the list, but I think this will help me be more deliberate about training the children in more than just what their chores encompass.

Phew, this is long. I will link all the curriculum and put book lists on my side bar as soon as I can. Hope everyone is having fun w/ their last days/weeks until school starts :)

Fun With COUSINS!

2011-07-30T02:49:00.000-07:00

All the cousins came to Texas!!!! Our family was so excited all week with the impending arrival of the cousins. They got here late Friday night....after our kids went to bed....which I didn't think would happen b/c they were so excited! Saturday morning they woke up bright and early and had a wonderful, wonderful weekend!

From left to right: Katy 4, Jack 4, Charley Kate 2, Avery 7, Vail 6, Suzannah 9 and Molly Beth 6.

Aunt Jen, Micah 2 and Uncle Michael. Billy's sister and older brother.

We put in a water slide to really show off how we east Texans have fun in 100+ degree weather. I think they were impressed ;)

Yes, he is extremely edible!!!! I LOVE this picture!

Jack and Katy would play for LONG chunks of time just having a ball!!

Avery rode home w/ us after church so I had to get a red head picture. Beautiful girls :) Love, love, love the toothless smile!!!!!

Here they are lined up waiting for Vail to see her birthday cake. She turned 6 and we were able to celebrate w/ her!

Aunt Jen did a great job on her sleeping beauty cake!

Mom offered to keep CK for the afternoon on Monday b/c Will was needing to be held so much and while she was there Mom painted her fingernails and toenails for the first time. She learned that fingernail polish doesn't hold up to thumb sucking....

Avery loves babies!!! She was the same way w/ Charley Kate when she was a baby. She wanted to hold Will every chance she got. She will be a sweet mommy someday :)

We had such a great time w/ everyone! It was a long drive but we sure were grateful they were willing to drive it. There's nothing like family.

3 Months

2011-07-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

I missed his actual 3 month b-day b/c we had family in town and then he got a cold so I'm posting it a week late. Like I said, he had his first cold. Ran fever and had a runny nose, wasn't sleeping well and wanted to be held all. the. time! He didn't show off for his aunt and uncle, but at least he's back to his sweet self again.

Will is rolling over and scootching when he's on his belly. Crazy! He loves laying on his floor mat and grabbing the hanging toy and putting it in his mouth. He's a big fan of patty cake and attention in general!

He is growing like crazy and wearing 6 month clothes! He goes in to the doc on the 8th so we'll see exactly what he weighs. He is happy and healthy and wonderful. What more could we ask for?

Celebrating Jack

2011-07-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Oh, my word, Jack's birthday was so long ago!!! I don't even remember all the particulars of the event. It was my due date, I was huge and I was having lots of contractions. We knew that we were going to take him to the rodeo that night and I was so scared that I would go into labor while we were there! I was so thankful to be able to be a part of his birthday celebration, but I was a little distracted.

Jack wanted a spider man cake. I was in no position to make him one so this is what he ended up with. He was happy as could be, :)

I couldn't believe that our baby boy was turning 4!!!!!

We got him his very own bike. No more pink hand-me-down for him!!! ;)

It's always so sweet to me how excited the others get for the birthday kiddo to open their presents.

Just Jack and Mommy and Daddy going to the rodeo.

He was SOOOOO excited about this! He was talking about how he was going to be a bull rider. Little does he know, that is number 3 on the list of things his is not allowed to be when he grows up ;)

We had VIP passes (ooh-la-la) b/c Billy's company was a sponsor. The perks were free dinner and dessert and special seating. The food was great, but Jack was too excited to eat!

The buckin' bronks were the first to come out.

Then there was a pretty impressive deal where this lady from Oklahoma bossed these Buffalo around and convinced them to get on top of this trailer. It was neat.

There was calf roping and the part where the kid do the stick horse race and then the sheep wrestling and then FINALLY it was time for some bull riding!!!

Jack loved it! We just knew that he'd fall asleep on the way home, but he was finally hungry. So at 10:30 at night we stopped at Sonic on the way home and picked him up some popcorn chicken and a banana split. He didn't make it to the banana split, bless his heart. But boy did he have a great time. My folks watched all three girls all night. Jack felt like such a special boy to get to spend to much time w/ just us. It was a wonderful day for a wonderful boy! :)

Just Cuz

2011-07-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

I just can't seem to catch up on my blog, but it's a good sign that I'm staying caught up t home ;) I have learned (the hard way) that once you get behind w/ five kiddos....it's impossible to get caught up w/o outside help. So, I'm trying not to get behind again and get school stuff ready which leaves no time for blogging. Hopefully next month I'll have more time!

That being said, I HAD to put some sweet pictures of Will up to tide family over :)

Hooray, it's Friday!!!! :)

It's a Special Kind of Day!

2011-07-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Guess what!?!

It's a secret and you can't tell!!!

I am cute stuff!

Aw, that's no secret. Wink, wink ;)

The real secret it...

It's my birthday!!!!
And I'm 2

*special thanks to Grams for this cute shirt*

Charley Cake's top 10

10.Baby Einstein

9. juice

8. books

7. singing

6. playing w/ her brothers and sisters (especially B)
5. seeing Pops as we pull into their driveway
4. kissing Daddy's freshly shaved cheek...and sucking her thumb on it

3. going outside

2. fruit snacks

1. it's a tie: sucking her thumb and her Ya-Ya...although, I have seen her offer her Ya-Ya her thumb...so you decide. ;)

Sweet, sweet Charlotte,

Oh to freeze you at this precious age. We couldn't enjoy you more! You are so funny and sweet. You bring us such joy and warm our hearts every day! You are smart and tender and have such a great sense of humor. I love that you like to make people happy and that you are so sensitive. You are your own person and aren't easily convinced to stray from what you set your mind to do...ahem. I pray that this focus and determination will always be for good and used w/ a humble and gentle spirit. We are so loving watching you grow and learn. We are thankful to be able to listen to your sweet singing and see your beautiful smile and feel your precious hand and face as you suck your thumb on our arm, or leg, or even foot. I have never seen anyone capture the heart of your Pops the way you have. You have a gift for making people feel special and you've had it since you could smile. You are a gift. A wonderful, wonderful gift. Our prayer for you is that you will continue to be full of joy and share that joy w/ others. We pray that your sweetness will never go away and that your strong independent side will help inspire others to be more confident and encouraged. We love you so much and can't begin to imagine our lives if you hadn't come into it!!!!!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Happy 4th of July Weekend

2011-07-01T02:47:00.000-07:00