A Post in Pictures

Seth took Eve into his "Hair fixin shop" and tried to put her hair up in a pony tail, to cute!

After her beauty appointment with a little help from assistant mom....isnt she lovely?!?
Mud bricks that my boys made a few days ago...isnt homeschooling a blast!

Elijah found these sticks out front and decided they would work great for Elk Horns ;-)

The legless brothers...this is the hole my boys dug in my raised beds a few days back.......

.....it is very deep and a perfect round shape, silly boys!
The weather is perfect right now, so the kids spend quite a bit of time outside....even Eve loves to just hang out in the backyard. Aww spring....its when I feel at peace the most, just an inner calmness that I wish I could bottle and take all year round.

Heather and Candy, thank you so much for the advice. I went to the Dr today and he said that my urine showed signs of infection and blood, then he sent me over to get a CT scan to diagnose what was going on in there. I have never had a CT scan before and it was a bit nerve racking (I am closterphobic) but I made it through it and should know the results today (if its serious) but at least by tomorrow. The Dr was not convinced that it was my kidneys though due to the location of my pain.

I had thought that I had a UTI forming about 2 weeks ago and began to take Cranberry capsules, garlic and echenachia (sp) along with lake loads of water. Then on Wed the pain hit in my side. I called my uncle and he called me in some amoxicilin (I hate to take antibiotics, but was concerned the infection was moving into other areas of my body) although the antibiotic does not seem to be kicking the infection.

The Doc said that there is really nothing more that he can give me while nursing, and my hubby (not truly understanding the importance of nursing and also worried about my health) said that if its an infection that requires strong antibiotics he would want me to stop nursing and take the medication. I DO NOT want this to happen!

I am not sure what I am hoping for at this point. At least if it were a kidney stone I could get through that naturally without medication. I will know more shortly and at that point can decide what to do. I'll keep you posted...once again thanks for the advice and I will be drinking lemon water if I do infact have stones. ;-) I did find an herbal tincture online tha is supposed to desolve the stones, but once again I dont know if it is safe to take right now.

MIA

Sorry I havent been blogging much lately. I have not been feeling real well lately. All of my research seems to be pointing to a kidney stone. Ughh!! And from what I have read most people say that "it is the worst pain I have ever felt in my life" or "Its comparable to labor" which is not really fare because I did that a few weeks ago and no person, no matter how horrible they may be, deserves to give birth two times in a 3o day period.

The pains had subsided for about 24 hours which made me hopeful that it was not kidney stones, only to return again today. This is all really strange because I eat really well and I do not take or eat excessive calcium. Who knows?

I have a bunch of cute pictures to share as soon as I am feeling good enough to sit here long enough to upload them. Please pray for me if you feel led, that this would go away quickly.

Baby Parts

My precious baby girl is 3 weeks old today. Time just comes and goes like the wind. She has already changed so much from when she was born. The only bad thing about babies is that I just want to sit all day and snuggle and sniff and eat up their precious cheeks. She is sleeping pretty well through the night with little to no bouts of crying. I have been super blessed with all my little ones personalities.

Angel Face

Yummy Fingers

Tasty Toes

This has been a challenging and long week. It was particularly hard to get things done, sense Rob was gone all week. Its amazing how much work it is to be a care giver to 7 children and a home all by your self. I guess throwing in a 2 week old and little sleep adds to the challenge. But we pulled through!

Robs test is today and let me just say that as of last night he was very discouraged! Please continue to pray for him. He will not find out if he has passed for another 6-8 weeks. So the wait will be frustrating as well.

I sent this to him yesterday as a pick me up...but I'm afraid it didnt have much of an effect ;-(

Elijah got lost back there, his sign says luck. LOL

Random Thoughts

* What I want most for Valentines Day is a shower, or better yet.....a hot, bubbly bath.

* Did you know that a baby will sleep all night long in the cruck of your arm, and that you sometimes will be tired enough to actually lay/sit in that one position all night.

* Sometimes a girl just needs to regress.


* When you have older children who adore babies just as much as you do, try not to panic when you turn around from doing dishes to see that your new addition is missing from their bouncy seat, where you will then run frantically through the house only to come upon this scene, and you will choose to take a picture of the cuteness, instead of ringing his neck for scaring you.

* I want to call a "do-over"of this day! Where the temperature was not 20 degrees, and the children are all digging happily in the dirt just as children should.

Continue to pray for Mary!

Please continue to pray for Mary Zander. She had a scan done recently that revealed that her lungs are continuing to deteriorate. She is and has been completely sedated for a while now. This is a picture of her taken with her little brother before she was sedated and hooked up to all the tubes and hoses.

This little girl has touched my heart so deeply. I just hope that she will one day soon walk out of that hospital room. We are so truly blessed when the Lord spares us of such dark paths, and blesses us with health and life!

Oh precious Mary, may the Father hold you safe in His arms!

A long night....revisited!

My little angel decided she wasnt sleepy last night, this change of heart after 11 wonderful nights of much sleep. Infact she is still awake now, sitting on my lap and looking around contently. I was up about every hour to nurse her....that seemed to be all she wanted to do. So needless to say I am a bit tired this morning and today is our first day back "on schedule" and doing school work. Hope I make it through!

My hubby is taking his CWI (certified welding inspecter) class and exam this week. It is apparently a very challenging test and one that is hard to pass. PLEASE pray for him, that he does well and passes the exam. I believe his exam date is the 17th, this Saturday. The boys and I are fasting from all sweets this week ;-) and praying for daddy to do well!

Well I'm getting tired of typing with one hand and apparently she is ready to eat again!
Have a blessed Monday!

The Rules of The Home

We obey our Lord Jesus Christ

We love, honor and pray for one another.

We tell the truth.

We consider one another’s interest above our own.

We speak quietly and respectfully with one another.

We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds.

When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.

When someone is sorry, we forgive him.

When someone is sad, we comfort him.

When someone is happy, we rejoice with him.

When we have something nice to share we share it.

When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.

We take good care of everything God has given us.

We do not create unnecessary work for others.

When we open something, we close it.

When we turn something on, we turn it off.

When we take something out, we put it away.

When we make a mess, we clean it up.

When we do not know what to do, we ask.

When we go out, we act just as if we were in this house.

When we disobey or forget any of the rules we accept discipline and instruction.

MMmmmmm

I am sitting here with chocolate under my finger nails, a milk mustache and a serious tummy ache from eating about 10 chocolate covered peanut butter balls. Thank you sooooo much Letisha, you are such a sweet heart! How did you know I have been having a serious sweet tooth these past few days?

Eve thought they were fabulous as well!

Now what to do with all that practical packing material you used, I loved that! I think sense the weather is so nice and we have an endless supply of trash bags, the boys are going to go pooper scoop and pick up the back yard ;-) Yep thats their sighs you hear. Actually they are arguing over who is going to do it...and that would be my sighs you are hearing now ;-/

We are settling in pretty well over here. Rob stayed home for two days and that was such a blessing. The boys are doing most of my chores for the next week, and we are just relaxing and enjoying each other. I am trying to be good and not do anything strenuous for two weeks. Those of you who know me know that this is odd, because I am usually up and cooking the next meal. I have read that it is so important for us to get one week of in the bed rest, then the next week being off your feet as much as possible. With six weeks total of no picking up heavy things or strenuous activity. This helps with all the structural support of moms insides and allows mom time to rebuild muscular integrity. Especially those of us with more than a few kiddos. So no more super mom for this gal, I am going to rest and if the house is not as ship shape as I would like that is OK.

The boys love their new sister and Jordan cant keep his hands off of her ;-) Eve has been having a harder time adjusting than any of my others have had. She is a bit more emotional and has developed an attitude of sorts. She loves her "sissy havva" but cant understand it all I guess. She has grown up a little bit. I was taking a bath a few days ago and she was standing next to the bathtub. She pulled down the wash rag and started washing my leg and my back.....so sweetly. Then as I was standing up to get out she grabbed the towel off the bar and handed it to me....geesh where did my 20 month old go?

It snowed here for the three days after Ava was born. The boys were in heaven!

Well, Ava is telling me she's hungry! Everyone have a blessed week!